#he didn't say much in this video but he looked good doing it

[thankskenpenders]

Thoughts on Sonic 3!

On December 10th, 2018, I was on the last day of a trip to Milwaukee. The night before, I'd attended the wedding of one of my best friends, Jake, who I've known since high school. Even though half of us were sick the whole trip, it was a great time. Derek had asked the wedding DJ to play "One Week" as the first request of the night, and proceeded to lip sync the entire song on the dance floor. On that cold winter morning in a hotel room hundreds of miles from home, Derek and I groggily checked Twitter on our phones and saw the shocking news: Paramount had teased the design for Sonic from their upcoming live action film. Even in silhouette, the shape of his face and the realistic curvature of his limbs made him look like a grotesque little homunculus. This movie was going to suck.

Six years later, I've now seen the third entry in what's become a hugely successful Sonic film franchise. It features Keanu Reeves as the voice of Shadow the Hedgehog in a fairly faithful adaptation of his story from Sonic Adventure 2. At the time of writing, it currently sits at a whopping 86% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, vying for the title of the best-reviewed theatrically released video game movie of all time. Critics are saying nice things about the emotional journey of Shadow the Hedgehog. Never in a million years did I think I'd see this day.

I, too, have now seen this movie, and... yeah, it's pretty good.

I'm gonna get deep into spoilers here, so I'll just say up front that I liked the movie. It feels like just about the best possible execution of this version of Sonic. But that's also damning it with faint praise, depending on who you ask.

If you're a fan of the games who didn't like the second movie, you probably won't get much out of this one, either, unless you just really love Shadow so much that nothing else in the movie matters to you. It doesn't reinvent the wheel for this film series. It's still got a heaping helping of broad comedy, cheap pop culture references, bad one-liners, and characterization that diverges greatly from the source material. This is not high art, nor is it a direct adaptation of Sonic Adventure 2. If you're the kind of person who hates this portrayal of Sonic and Eggman, or a lore nerd who'll hate that they let Shadow do Chaos Control without an Emerald, then just don't bother with this.

On the other hand, if you did enjoy the last movie, then you'll probably have a fun time here, too. Shadow is very cool. The action is the best it's ever been. There's a bit more focus on characters from the games, and less on human characters invented for the movies—with the exception of Agent Stone, who's in this a lot because everyone likes him. There's a lot of SA2 fanservice. They even play "Live and Learn." It's a fun time! Be sure to stick around through the end credits.

And now, to dig deeper, let's get into the spoilers! I'm gonna jump around a lot and talk about different aspects of the movie, spoiling everything along the way.

Shadow and his reams of lore

Here's the main thing you came for: Shadow is great in this! They really did him justice. Keanu Reeves is extremely solid in the role. He can be a bit flat as an actor sometimes, but I think he did well here. He can be tough and menacing, but he can also be earnest and emotionally vulnerable. Good casting call. Excited at the prospect of seeing more of him in the future.

Really, as a Sonic Lore Nerd I'm most interested in discussing the changes they made to Shadow's backstory. I'm sure there will be many fans upset with the changes, but for the sake of streamlining a complicated backstory that was subject to a bunch of retcons and multiple layers of amnesia and fitting it into a 110-minute movie, I think they generally made smart choices.

For one, Gerald didn't create Shadow using Black Arms DNA, because Gerald didn't create Shadow at all! Instead, Shadow arrived on Earth inside a meteor, and Gerald was merely the prominent GUN scientist who studied him after he was captured. (That meteor does have very strong Black Arms vibes, though, so I wouldn't rule out the possibility of them exploring that stuff in the future.) This simplifies things a lot and allows Shadow to be a direct foil for Sonic, kind of a version of our hero who was treated as a lab rat and lost the only human he considered family instead of finding happiness like Sonic has. Then later Shadow hurts Tom and Sonic wants revenge, and it mirrors Shadow's feelings about Maria, and after they fight they can empathize with each other over this, Shadow sees the error of his ways and helps save the world, yada yada yada. You get it. People predicted 95% of this movie's plot from the trailers, but it's effective.

Likewise, all of the stuff about creating Shadow as the ultimate life form who's immune to all disease to cure Maria's illness is completely cut out. Shadow's still called the ultimate life form, but he's treated as more of an energy source than a genetic research project here, playing off of the stuff about Eggman wanting to harness Sonic's natural Chaos Energy in the movies. The original intent behind the ultimate life form project was always hard to explain in the games and doesn't even come up that much, so I don't blame them for cutting it.

Because Gerald isn't doing genetic experiments and creating artificial life, the Biolizard also doesn't exist. It does, however, appear in an old monster movie Shadow and Maria watch in a montage, with Shadow later commenting that he worries he's a monster like the one he saw in the movie. That's a clever way to include it, I think.

The ARK sort of exists. There was no space colony back in the '70s, all of the events of Shadow's flashbacks just took place at a secret GUN base on Earth. Fair enough for a version of the story ostensibly set in the real world. The big space laser in the third act of the film is obviously supposed to evoke the ARK, but it's referred to as simply the Eclipse Cannon. It's still not a full-blown space colony, just a weapon of mass destruction Gerald designed for GUN in exchange for his release (while also secretly planning to use it to blow up the planet in an act of revenge). I am, however, pleased to report that the Eclipse Cannon still has a giant Eggman face on it.

And as for Maria: I like her in this! She's obviously not going to get a ton of screentime, and she's always going to be a very straightforward character, but she's more playful and lively here. She teases Shadow for being grumpy and plays with him a lot. She feels less like this perfect embodiment of everything good and pure in the world and more like an actual kid. She's still not a complex character, but it works.

And the most important question: do they show a child getting shot and killed by the military? The answer is almost. In the flashback, GUN soldiers chase Maria, Shadow, and Gerald and ready their guns, but the young Commander Walters (who's in his 20s rather than being a kid) grabs them and tries to stop them from firing on a child. In the chaos, a soldier fires, missing Maria but hitting a generator that then blows up and kills Maria. So, y'know, close enough I suppose.

So, yes, many of the details change here, but they captured the gist of Shadow's story from SA2. The emotional core is there. I will say, though, I almost feel like Shadow isn't in this movie as much as I thought he'd be? I think he's used effectively in all of his scenes, and they make room for his backstory, and BOY does he get to kick ass in his fights, but for much of the middle part of the movie he's overshadowed by Ivo and Gerald. Though this might be a compromise to leave more screentime for...

Tails and Knuckles

I'm relieved to report that Tails and Knuckles both get a good amount of cool stuff to do in this! They don't feel like an afterthought.

I was worried that Tails in particular would completely fall by the wayside, since even his debut movie didn't entirely know what to do with him. But he's good here. He pretty much just feels like the Tails from the games at this point, especially since they dropped that fawning admiration he had for Sonic with that running gag of him going "Only Sonic the Hedgehog could do that!" He often chimes in as the one who wants Team Sonic to stick together when Sonic and Knuckles bicker. He particularly gets to shine in the Mission Impossible-inspired heist sequence at the GUN headquarters in London that serves as the climax of the second act, which feels like it was tailor made to let him shine as the tech guy of the team. He also gets several opportunities to swoop in and catch someone for a save in an action scene. He's good in this!

Knuckles is... fine. He's definitely fallen into the role of the comic relief dumb bruiser since joining the good guys, but he's at least a little better than he was in his own streaming show. The jokes lean more into him just being really brash about his strength and skill, rather than him being this archaic warrior who doesn't understand anything about the modern world. He also gets a few more serious bits in the back third of the movie where he gets to shine a little more, so overall it evens out to him being fine. They could've done way worse.

As for the relevance of the Knuckles show: Knuckles is now said to be the guardian of the Master Emerald, like in the games, though with no Angel Island this amounts to him hiding it somewhere for safekeeping. It's eventually revealed that he just gave it to Wade, who gets exactly one scene (sorry, Wade-heads) for a joke about him using the Master Emerald as a hockey puck. So, the miniseries explained why Knuckles has a connection with Wade. That's it! Also I think Knuckles might use the Flames of Disaster a bit in fights, but they never called the technique out by name, so I never really thought about it. So, yeah, the six-episode streaming miniseries about Wade bowling has zero meaningful relevance to the Shadow movie. Who could have seen this coming?

Miscellaneous humans

For that matter, the human supporting cast is MASSIVELY downplayed in this one. Tom and Maddie are there for two key sequences (the beginning of the movie and the GUN HQ heist), but otherwise they disappear for long stretches of the movie. They don't go to Japan in act I, nor do they go to space in act III, and there's no subplot for them during those periods, either. There's nothing like the wedding subplot in Sonic 2 where they'd constantly cut back to Hawaii for comic relief with the humans and only reveal why this was relevant to the plot near the end. (There's also no random dance battle in Siberia.) If a human character is here, it's because they have something to contribute to the plot right away. Most people will probably consider this an improvement, and I'd certainly say it makes for a much tighter script, though I have to remind everyone that I thought the wedding being a GUN sting operation was such a funny twist that I'm a defender of the Hawaii subplot.

On the subject of Tom, something funny I've noticed is that they've just completely downplayed the fact that Tom and Wade are cops. Tom being a cop never comes up once. Wade being a cop only gets referenced via the fact that he's practicing hockey on the roof of the police station in his one scene, but he's not in uniform or anything. They clearly got the memo that we don't want Sonic to hang out with cops.

Here's something else funny: Rachel and Randall got character posters, but they're actually not in the movie! Not technically, anyway. During the heist sequence at GUN HQ, Tom and Maddie use some gadgets Tails invented to holographically disguise themselves as those other characters. But the real Rachel and Randall never show up in the flesh. It's a very odd way to shoehorn the actors into the movie. (Jojo is also absent. They did not give her Amy's role of being the girl who reminds Shadow of Maria. Instead they just let Sonic have the big heart to heart with Shadow that makes him switch sides.)

You know who IS in this movie? Krysten Ritter. Not as the voice of Rouge, as the fandom once hoped, but as a director for GUN. She gets like three scenes and she feels completely checked out the whole time. Can't say I blame her! She's not really a character, just a plot necessity. Commander Walters dies in Japan but gives Sonic one of two keycards needed to activate the Eclipse Cannon, and then Ritter's character assumes Sonic stole it and labels him a bad guy. So that's why they have to break into GUN HQ in the second act instead of just talking things out with them. Still, I am at least relieved that Sonic doesn't work with GUN for most of the movie.

I gotta be honest: when Walters pulled a credit card-shaped object out of his pocket, I thought he was about to give Sonic another Olive Garden gift card as his final act before dying. Part of me wishes that happened.

The supporting human character in this who really gets to shine is Agent Stone, which I'm sure most fans will agree was the correct choice. There's a LOT of Agent Stone in this. He's good. I don't have much to say about him, but he's fun as usual.

But, of course, the ones who steal the show are Jim Carrey, and his costar Jim Carrey.

The Robotniks

I've gone back and forth on whether or not I can actually see movie Robotnik as Robotnik. I think with this third and final entry in the Jim Carrey Robotnik Trilogy, I've landed on... yeah, that's just Jim Carrey playing a Jim Carrey character. He's absolutely having fun with the role, and I enjoyed watching him, but I think a lot of that comes down to the fact that I'm a millennial who grew up watching Jim Carrey movies. If you didn't like him before, this movie will probably be nails on a chalkboard to you, because now there are two of him.

Ivo's arc here leans very heavily into the fact that he grew up as an orphan and never knew his family, a thing offhandedly mentioned in the first movie that's never been a thing for any other version of the character. Here, he learns that he has a living grandfather who's also a mad scientist, and it feels like a hole in his heart has been filled. It certainly makes sense for a place to take this version of the character, and it fits with the movie's themes of finding and losing family, but the cartoonish, childlike affection Ivo feels towards Gerald and all the scenes of them frolicking and dancing together have basically nothing to do with the characters from the games. He's a fun villain for this movie, but he's overwhelmingly used as comic relief this time rather than as a serious threat. He doesn't particularly feel like Sega's Dr. Ivo Robotnik, the arch nemesis of Sonic the Hedgehog who'd take over the world with an army of robots and a fleet of airships in the span of a day if Sonic wasn't around to stop him. He's a guy who lives in a big crab robot and has some drones. He has more in common with Carrey's depictions of the Grinch or the Riddler or Count Olaf than Dr. Eggman. Though he does, at least, finally get his outfit from the games by the end of the movie. So that's something. And also he's in a fat suit now. They only make jokes at the expense of his weight a little. Hooray...?

Gerald, meanwhile, is... largely the same character as movie Eggman, but older, so they can make jokes about him having saggy flesh and smelling funny and needing dentures. (Also, his voice kind of sounds like Homer Simpson sometimes?) To his credit, Carrey absolutely nails the handful of more serious scenes Gerald gets, whether it's Maria's death or his sinister turn when he reveals that he actually wants to destroy the Earth. But then it's right back to goofs about there being two of the same guy. Even the final battle features a lot of slapstick shenanigans with the two Robotniks fighting each other. I was able to enjoy the absurdity of it all, but if the humor doesn't land for you the dual Jim Carrey schtick is a hell of a lot of the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if there was more Gerald than Shadow in the movie, when you go and tally up their screentime. I was able to enjoy the sheer absurdity of it, but your mileage will vary.

I will, however, say that the split screen stuff they do with the two Carreys is EXTREMELY impressive, from a filmmaking perspective. They were absolutely flexing with their ability to pull the effect off. They don't rely on cheap tricks like cutting a lot, or having shot/reverse shot scenes where you're looking at the back of a body double's head. Instead they have a lot of long takes where the two Robotniks are talking to each other, you can see both of their faces, and they'll even hug and touch each other a lot, and the whole time the conversation maintains a natural pace like it really is two actors playing off of each other. It's really well done. It's an incredibly silly idea, but boy did they commit to it.

Sonic

I've hardly said anything about Sonic himself in all of this. It's his movie, isn't it! Well... I don't know, he's fine.

I feel like movie Sonic is a known quantity at this point, and either you like this take on the character or you don't. There was some speculation early on that this was supposed to be a younger Sonic who would grow into being the character we know from the games and comics, the one who's still got lots of quips but is also kind of aloof and cool, a free spirit who goes where the wind takes him, a figure the other characters look up to. And... no, that didn't happen. Once again he gets more serious as the stakes are raised, and he's totally badass when he goes Super, but the rest of the time he's still a little goober with tons of generic one-liners who learns schmaltzy lessons about the importance of family. He's still constantly going to undercut the tension of most scenes by cracking a pop culture reference that will make the average American parent go "haha I've heard of that." I don't think they're ever gonna change that. I think this just what the writers think Sonic is like.

And, again, for what it is, it's fine. He's a little annoying. You already know how you feel about movie Sonic. This third entry won't change that. But they do, at least, have him say "Talk about low budget flights, no food or movies... I'm outta here!" before jumping out of a helicopter. As my thoughts on the climax will show, I am not immune to fanservice.

The climax

God, the climax is SOOOOO fucking good. It's fantastic. Easily the best action these movies have ever done.

Rather than saving Super Shadow for the team-up with Sonic at the end, they have both of them go Super to fight each other first, and they just go full DBZ with it, fighting across the entire planet. It absolutely rules. I think this is the new coolest fight the two of them have had in anything ever. And then they have to stop the Eclipse Cannon together, and sure, there's no Biolizard. But Gerald DOES release a swarm of GUN Hunter robots, and the ensuing space battle turns into some Gundam shit. It's good! It's so good!!! The movie's flaws kind of melt away for me here when I'm watching Super Shadow take out an army of robots with Chaos Spears on the big screen. What a timeline we're living in.

And yes, they play "Live and Learn." They had to. They knew the assignment. They actually play a slight remix, but it's still got the original vocals, so it's perfectly recognizable. Actually, the tune of the song is used as a leitmotif for Shadow throughout the movie, first introduced via an acoustic guitar version played by Maria, and I really love that. I've been begging these movies to use more music from the games the whole time, and I'm glad they finally did so here. (They also use the traditional level clear jingle early in the film, and Eggman's theme from SA2 is very briefly used as a ringtone.)

... Anyway, uh, meanwhile Eggman, Tails, and Knuckles straight up just kill Gerald to save the world? They unceremoniously knock him into an energy field at the end of their slapstick fight aboard the Eclipse Cannon and he disintegrates like he hit a bugzapper. It's over in an instant. It's not graphic or anything, but it's, like... I didn't expect them to show it, or for it to be such a casual murder! Eggman has one quip about it and then immediately moves on.

Shortly after this, Eggman and Shadow sacrifice themselves to stop the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow's sacrifice doesn't stick, obviously (he's revealed to be alive by the end of the second stinger—pretend to be shocked), but Eggman's probably dead dead. I seriously doubt Jim Carrey's gonna come out of retirement for these movies again. His final moments before the big explosion are also SO dragged out and belabored. He has a dramatic final line like ten times in a row. It really just feels like the series saying goodbye to Carrey. And, again, it feels like a fitting enough end for this Eggman's arc, but it's an odd adaptation of the character from the games.

And so, that's what we're left with. This is far from Sonic Adventure 2: The Movie. It's not that, though there are many, many references made to that game in particular. It's a sequel to the film Sonic the Hedgehog 2 that has a similar tone and style, but Shadow and Gerald are in it, and Shadow gets some really cool fights, and there's a liiiiiittle more focus on stuff from the games than last time, and the script's a little tighter. If that sounds fun to you, you will have fun with this. I know I did. If it doesn't, you're probably better off waiting for them to inevitably do an animated reboot whenever this live action series runs out of steam.

It hasn't quite run out of steam yet, though...

The post-credits scenes, and the future

One of the big questions going into this was: what's next? How do they top a Shadow movie with heavy Sonic Adventure 2 overtones, in terms of hype for the fans? How do you fill Eggman's shoes after Carrey retires, for real this time? There are still more fan favorite rival characters to get through, but how many movies in a row can they introduce a furry foe for Sonic who inevitably turns good and helps him stop a larger threat by the end? And when the hell are we gonna see the girls?

Well, we now have our answer, and it's one I'm cautiously excited for: a whole army of Metal Sonics, and Amy!

Yes, Amy! Finally!! It's an absolute crime that we've gone three whole movies and a streaming miniseries without including the female lead of the series. I've complained about this ad nauseum (and also the fact that they cut Rouge from the story). But at least now they're finally doing something about it.

But now the question is, how will they characterize Amy? Sega's struggled with her for years, and there's a million different directions you can take her. Her one scene here has her smashing a bunch of Metal Sonics and wearing a cloak for the sake of a dramatic reveal, which gives her the vibes of a mysterious, badass action girl. This is, of course, completely different from how Sonic and Amy met in the games. What will her personality be like? She doesn't speak here, so who will they get to play her? Where did she come from? Will she even have a crush on Sonic? All of these have yet to be determined. So, like, I'm hyped to finally see Amy, a character who should've been in the movies from the start, but they could so easily end up playing it safe with an incredibly boring girlboss version of Amy who's no fun at all. We'll have to wait and see.

(My prediction: they're going to try to cast either Zendaya or Ariana as Amy.)

Metal Sonic, likewise, is very exciting, and he looks perfect. He looks just like the design from the games. But the question is: what will they do with this army of Metals? Will they be lead by one main Metal Sonic, perhaps Neo Metal Sonic, who gets to be a proper bad guy? Will they take some cues from Sonic CD, Heroes, and the OVA, or do something completely original? Where did they come from? Were they activated as a failsafe after Eggman died? Did they and Amy come from some sort of bad future, riffing on Sonic CD's time travel? Will they explore the fact that Metal wants to be the one and only Sonic? Or will they just be an army of disposable robot grunts for Sonic and friends to mow down like it's a Dynasty Warriors game, while some other villain takes center stage?

It could go so many different ways, and some prospects are more exciting than others. I mean, the Knuckles show had endless possibilities for what it could do with him, and none of the options on my bingo card were "Pachacamac's ghost tells him to help Wade win a bowling tournament." And while I'm a sicko who thinks it's funny that the Knuckles show is what it is, forgive me for keeping my hype about Amy and Metal Sonic in check here until we learn more.

Regardless of what they do, it'll still be hard to top the hype of Shadow, and it'll be hard to fill Jim Carrey's shoes for general audiences. So despite this clear statement of intent, I have no idea what the future of this film franchise holds. But regardless of what they do, I can say one thing for certain: the kids in my theater were hyped as hell for it. They popped off over Metal Sonic, and they were screaming their heads off with excitement over Amy. I heard a teenage girl on the opposite end of my row of seats say "finally!" over Amy's reveal, verbalizing my exact thoughts. She also said that this movie was "peak," though it diverged from the games, and she hoped they'd do a movie with Silver and Blaze someday.

The kids are gonna be okay.

[chaos-in-deepspace]

LADS Xavier: Seasonal Moods | SFW

I've been feeling really off the past few days with a swirl of negative, self deprecating emotions, and decided to attempt to cheer myself up by writing some comfort. The newest event with Xavier really drove home the point to me that he would be the best at helping his depressed partner.

I know I'm probably not the only one who feels like this, and with winter being here I know a lot of us with year round depression if getting hit a bit harder than normal, so if this is you, I hope you can find a little comfort with this fic. Remember you're loved and cherished and the voices in your head feeding you all these negative thoughts are lying to you.

Anyways, I didn't proof read this as I didn't have the energy so I apologize for typos.

❧ Pairings: Xavier x Reader ❧ Warnings: Depressed Reader, Non Sexual Intimacy, Non Sexual Nudity ❧ Synopsis: Sometimes seasons make sad moods worse, but sometimes people in your life can help make it a little better. ❧ Word Count: 2.2k

Disclaimer: This is an original fan work for “Love and Deepspace”. Do not repost on other platforms or plagiarize. All characters shown in this fic is 18+.

Blog Information | Masterlist

Xavier

Seasonal Moods

You were feeling…some sort of way. It wasn’t a particularly good feeling in you, in fact you’d say it was rather the opposite of good. You felt dreadful, and for no reason other than it was winter. You had less sunlight, colder weather, and with that sometimes came a certain melancholic sadness that washed over you. You just felt…horrible.

Whenever you saw your friends together it felt more like they were almost ignoring you, even Tara seemed more distant from you. You knew logically it was all in your head, that these things weren’t happening, but it didn’t make you feel any better. It was like you were looking at every outing through a glass, you were there but there was something separating you from all the others.

You felt like you couldn’t reach out even if you wanted to. When everyone was having fun it felt like you bringing anything up would ruin the atmosphere. So you began distancing yourself as much as possible. Putting your phone on silent and saying you were asleep or busy when questioned why you didn’t answer, claiming you had something going on when invited out, the whole works. If you were forced to reply in message threads, it was easy enough to have some self confidence and fire at least. As long as you didn’t come face to face with others, most thought you were doing just fine. It did work, for the most part.

There was just one person who didn’t buy the facade.

Xavier.

How he always managed to know when something was slightly off with your mood was a quality in him you both admired and hated. He was your hunting partner, your neighbor, your friend, and possibly something more, but you two hadn’t had that discussion yet. You probably had just spent so much time together in the past few months he was able to easily tell when you were acting different. It shouldn't have surprised you, not with how observant he always seemed to be when it came to you.

You just wished he didn’t care so much, that he couldn’t tell you were depressed. That way you could easily distance yourself from him like you did with everyone else until you worked out your own thoughts and emotions. Sure it might’ve taken all winter to begin feeling better, but at least he didn’t have to see you like this.

He had made a surprise visit while you were in your bed, scrolling through funny videos in an attempt to distract yourself from your thoughts. You had managed to slip up at work and gotten a very minor injury, but it was enough to force you to take a few days off. You hated that more than anything. At least at work it kept you busy so you didn’t have time to deal with your emotions. When you were at home by yourself it seemed to only amplify the darker thoughts in your head.

“Hey,” his soft voice had startled you at first and you flinched, locking your phone and putting it against your chest. You closed your eyes, hoping he hadn’t seen you were awake on your phone. You were laying on your side, facing away from the door to your bedroom, so there was a…low chance.

Then you felt the bed dipping as he sat down, and you felt his hand threading through your hair so gently you leaned into it, “There we are, you are awake after all.” He said, the laugh he had was a little airy and you finally glanced at him. He was wearing his signature white hoodie at the moment and his hair was a little disheveled as if he just woke up a few minutes ago, “How are you feeling?”

“My side hurts, but other than that it’s fine. I can sleep it off.” You quickly said, slowly leaning away from his hand and placing your head back on the pillow.

“Have you already changed the bandages?”

“Yes.”

“Have you eaten today.”

Silence filled the air as you thought about that. You didn’t even know what time it was, let alone if you hadn’t eaten. The days were melding together, so you weren’t sure. You could see the sun was setting beyond the horizon…or perhaps it was just coming up. You had been doing nothing but bed rotting the past few days, sleeping on and off, and only getting up when you needed to use the restroom or when you realized how dry your throat was. When was the last time you even showered?

“I’ll take that as a no.” He said with another laugh, but this time it was less enthusiastic, “How about I go make you something real fast.”

This had you grabbing his wrist quickly, stopping him in his tracks, “What are you planning on making?” while Xavier had slowly gotten better at cooking foods, using things like the oven or stove top was still a hit or miss situation.

“It’s a bit chilly today so how about some ramen?” he suggested. Xavier could see the way your shoulders seemed to sag in relief at his suggestion. You weren’t particularly hungry, but you knew food would probably be good.

“That sounds good to me.”

“Alright, wait here, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Xavier ran his hands through your hair again, scratching at your scalp and you wanted to flinch away. It was probably oily and gross and you didn’t want him to feel it.

You felt the bed shift again as he got up and the door closed behind him, leaving you alone again. You stared at the wall in silence, wondering if maybe you should get up and tell him he can go home, that you were capable of taking care of yourself right now. It would be a lie, sure, but you didn’t want him fretting over you. You didn’t deserve his attention when you were the one who dug this self deprecating hole yourself.

You didn’t have the energy though, and instead just laid there and waited for him to come back. Once again you didn’t know how much time had passed, it could’ve been hours or even seconds, it all felt relatively the same to you. The door opened back and you could smell the savory ramen, he had made one of your favorite flavors…again he was far too observant. The bed dipped and you heard items being placed on the nightstand next to you.

“Come on, let me help you sit up.” Xavier said, slowly lifting your body into a sitting up position. You felt him grabbing pillows to help prop you up in the bed and you sighed when the warm ramen was placed in your hands alongside chopsticks, “Eat up, I’m sure you’re starving without even realizing it.” He said. You glanced back at him, noticing how he was eating as well, blowing on the steaming noodles before taking a bite.

You followed the motions, noticing that, for some odd reason, the food tasted a little better than usual. The moment you took the first bite it was like your body kick started and you realized you were pretty damn hungry. You two ate in silence side by side on your bed, and by the time you finished you were being handed a nice cool glass of water to sip on. He let you just be for the time being, not saying anything but just being there. He helped clean up the empty containers and when he came back to the room he was shifting you again, picking you up.

Your hands found purchase around his shoulders, “Xavier, what are you doing?” you quickly ask, not understanding why you were suddenly being carried somewhere.

“To the shower.” It was simple enough of a statement, but you felt a wash of shame overtaking you. So he had noticed, of course he did.

You gave a strained laugh, “I must smell pretty bad if you’re dragging me to the shower…sorry about that.” You murmured, trying to make light of the situation.

“You don’t smell bad,” He quickly stated, “and even if you did, I don’t mind.” The door to the bathroom opened and he placed you on top of the counter, “I just realized you probably hadn’t had the energy to do it, so I’m helping.”

Your face felt a bit hotter now as you avoided him, “I’m not that injured.” You muttered under your breath.

“It’s not the injury I’m worried about.” Xavier was already working your clothes off, tossing the fabrics you’d been wearing for days off to the laundry basket you kept in the bathroom. It was almost overflowing with clothes at this point, and while you wanted to be embarrassed being stripped bare in front of him, his eyes weren’t focused on your body. He was more focused on taking care of you, which you didn’t know if it made you feel better or worse.

“Then why are you fussing over me so much if it’s not because of the injury?” you finally asked, watching as he went to turn the shower on to a warm temperature.

He began taking his own clothes off as he answered you, “You haven’t been yourself lately. Tara had even come up to me and asked if you were alright. I was going to wait a bit and see if you’d reach out, but I can’t wait too long when I knew you were here by yourself.” He explained, “You haven’t answered my messages like normal, and any time I try to make plans you say your busy, I got worried.”

His words were earnest and made you feel even worse about yourself. Congratulations to you, you’ve managed to make the sweetest man you knew feel bad and worry over nothing.

“I’m sorry…” it was all you could say as he began dragging you into the shower. His hands were already working on getting your hair wet so he could properly wash it for you. He didn’t know your entire hair routine, but at the very least your scalp would be clean. Anything else could be taken care of when you felt better.

“Don’t apologize.” He said, his words a bit sterner, “I’m not upset with you. You’re allowed to reach out whenever you want, or not at all. It won’t change the fact that I care about you and wanted to make sure you were okay.” He explained.

“If I hadn’t been so distant though, you wouldn’t be so worried.” You explained, “It’s my fault.”

“Is it also your fault that your brain decided to make you sad for no reason?”

“Yes.”

“No, it isn’t.” He said, rinsing out shampoo from your hair and putting in some conditioner, “It’s not. Sometimes things just happen. I wanted to be here for you, it’s as simple as that. I’ll continue being here for you as well, whether your sad or happy, and that’s of my own free will. You have nothing to apologize for, besides, I like being able to take care of you like this. I wish it were under better circumstances, but that’s no fault of yours.” He explained.

You didn’t know what to say, honestly, so you didn’t say anything at all. Instead you just let him wash you, and then you were being wrapped up in a fluffy towel and dried. The hoodie he had some in was placed over you, the smell of him taking over your senses. He put on the blue shirt he always wore underneath it and finished getting you two dressed. He went back to carrying you, but instead of going to your bedroom, he carried you out into your living room.

There were a lot of things you expected, but seeing a giant blanket fort with fairy lights, the TV on with a movie already prepared, and some soothing smells coming from an oil diffuser that you were certain you didn’t own…it hadn’t been what you expected.

He placed you down onto the soft blankets and you noticed a box of mini cupcakes next to you, all of them having cute designs in an assortment of flavors, “Tara bought those for you,” Xavier said, “She said when you’re feeling better she wants to take you to this new bakery that opened up, that’s where those came from.”

“I should message her soon.”

“I’m sure she’d appreciate hearing from you, but for now.” You felt Xavier getting into the fort with you, pulling you against his chest as he started an older movie. It had cartoon characters and you recognized it as one of your favorites growing up. You were certain you had only spoke of it once with him, but of course he remembered, “Let’s just relax for the rest of the night, okay?” he said.

“Ya…I  like the sound of that.” You got out. You still felt a bit numb, still felt off. It did make you feel better though, especially when you saw some lights from his evol, a little bunny he made, bouncing around. It was enough to make you genuinely smile for the first time in a while. Perhaps…being taken care of wasn’t so bad.

[aishangotome]

[Silvio] A Love Tailored To You Part 1

Credit to @shatcey for providing the video upload.

I woke up in bed this morning to find Silvio lying next to me, his upper body bare.

(…��Huh? What did I do yesterday?)

(Is my body so sluggish because Silvio made love to me? No, I can’t remember anything at all.)

As I was desperately trying to remember last night, Silvio turned toward me.

Emma: Good morning, Silvio--

Silvio: You were pretty wild last night, weren’t ya?

(Wild?)

I had no recollection whatsoever, and could only blink my eyes.

Emma: What do you mean?

Silvio: You don’t remember? You were incredibly erotic and bold, like a different person.

Emma: What!?

The more I tried to remember, the more I panicked, and my mind went completely blank.

Silvio slipped his hand under the blanket, watching me with satisfaction.

Emma: S-Silvio…

He caressed my waist, and my body reacted slightly.

Silvio: What, are you still feeling it?

Silvio: Well, yesterday yer legs were wobbly. This is better than that.

Emma: Ah…

His fingertips slid down to my thighs, and the sweet memories that seemed to be engraved on my body smoldered in the pit of my stomach.

(If I can’t remember, does that mean he made love to me so many times that I passed out?)

(I’ve never lost my memory completely before…)

(Let’s try to remember step by step. First, last night, I’m sure it was--)

*flashback*

I was attending a party with Silvio, where many merchants had gathered.

(...Hm?)

A voluptuous beauty approached Silvio, who had been moving about separately.

The woman, looking accustomed to such situations, touched Silvio's shoulder and leaned closer.

Woman: Silvio, would you like to talk over there? I seem to have gotten a little drunk, and I'd like some fresh air.

Woman: A man of Benitoite wouldn't leave a drunk woman alone, would he?

Silvio frowned and lightly brushed away the woman's hand from his shoulder.

Silvio: I'm in the middle of a business discussion. If you want to sober up, do it alone.

Although she was readily dismissed, the woman continued to try to seduce Silvio for a while.

(It's not unusual for Silvio to be approached by women, but it seems to be happening more often than usual today.)

(............)

Even though I tried not to look, my gaze was inevitably drawn in that direction.

In particular, from where I was standing, I had a clear view of the woman's legs peeking out from the daring slit in her dress.

(Silvio certainly looks the part when he's next to a glamorous woman.)

(I've dressed up nicely too, but I don't know if I would look the part in this kind of setting...)

A feeling of unease welled up in my chest, and I looked away from Silvio and walked to a different spot.

Servant: May I offer you something?

Suddenly, a servant appeared beside me, offering a tray with glasses on it.

Emma: Thank you. I'll take one.

Wanting to dispel the unease in my chest, I picked up a whitish drink that I don't usually have––

*back to present*

(I have absolutely no memory of what happened after that.)

Timidly, I peeked at Silvio, and he returned a satisfied, or perhaps mischievous, smile.

Emma: I remember drinking at the party...

Silvio: You don't remember what happened after you drank, do ya?

Emma: ...No.

Silvio: That was Tanzanite liquor. Seems like it didn't agree with you.

Silvio: ...Or should I say it agreed with you a little too well?

The hand that was stroking my thigh lightly pressed against my lower abdomen, and my body jumped slightly.

Emma: Was I that different from usual?

Silvio: Different isn't the word for it. You were like a different person. See, you can do it if you try.

(That much...?!)

The thought of me making a drunken spectacle of myself made me so embarrassed that my face felt like it was on fire.

At the same time, the uneasy feeling I had at the party last night welled up in my chest again.

("You can do it if you try" means that Silvio wants me to be that way, right?)

(Bold like a different person...)

Emma: Do you like me better when I'm bold, Silvio?

Silvio: ............

(What was that expression just now...?)

Silvio averted his gaze for a moment, as if to hide something, and removed his hand from my stomach.

But when his ocean-blue eyes met mine again, they held their usual mischievous smile.

Silvio: You asked me that question last night, didn't you?

(Eh, really?)

Emma: What did you say?

Silvio: I've forgotten.

Emma: You're lying. That's the face you make when you remember.

Silvio: I'm not going to answer twice. Rack your booze-addled brain and try yer best to remember.

Emma: Hey!

Silvio lightly pinched my nose, then quickly threw on his clothes and left the room.

(I don't know how I was acting last night, but)

(If that's what Silvio prefers...)

-

Fighting off my lingering drowsiness, I finished getting ready for the morning. I stopped Carlo, who was passing by in the hallway, and—

Carlo: —Last night, you say?

Emma: Yes, I wanted to ask you what I was like.

.

.

.

.

Part 2

If you’d like to support my translations, feel free to buy me a coffee here! :)

[writingtraumaforever]

A Courtship Christmas: Chapter 3

Notes: The movie got my Courtship Series heart racing, y'all. And I'm also so pleased that the movie didn't actually differ too far from the minimal assumptions I've written in this series so far. So the series is still readable and makes sense even after the movie! YAY!

Summary: Sonic and Shadow arrive at the Robotnik's for Christmas, and are greeted by a very... very shocking person.

Courtship Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Preparations turn out to be a very serious matter to Shadow, which honestly isn’t much of a shock to Sonic. After hearing his quite extensive preparations that led to the whole ‘courting’ misunderstanding the first time he came to have dinner with his family, it’s not surprising Shadow would do the same for Maria’s family. 

Things were cool between Maddie and Shadow. He had returned back home with Sonic that night and he and Maddie had gone for a walk. Sonic isn’t sure what all was said on this walk, but when they came back, they were both smiling and back to acting as if nothing had happened. Sonic assumes his mother made things right. She rarely doesn’t. She’s a great role model, honestly, and very empathetic and tactful.

After they returned, they all sat down for a talk that went much more swimmingly. Tom and Maddie agree to let Sonic go with the conditions that he calls every night before bed to check in and always answers if they call or text. 

Since then, Sonic and Shadow have been preparing for the trip. Which means lots of Youtube videos on meeting long-lost family (which there are actually a lot of, much to Sonic’s surprise) and practice runs with Knuckles and Tails’ help. Knuckles even wore a blonde wig to try and help “get into character”, insisting on being Terra Robotnik. This didn’t turn out too great since Knuckles himself was.. a terrible host. For example, Sonic seriously doubts the Robotniks will be insisting on Shadow participating in a battle of the arenas.

Rouge had gotten as many files on the family as she could find, which wasn’t much but it was enough. Shadow had been going through and memorizing faces and names and dates and marriages. The surprisingly extensive Robotnik family tree. Turns out they had pretty much outcasted Eggman’s side of the family after everything that happened, which is understandable but also kinda sad since it wasn’t Eggman’s fault his grandfather was a smidge psychotic. Then again, the egg didn’t seem to fall too far from the nest, so..

They were well off, having been compensated by GUN since the tragedy on the ARK. On top of the geniuses in their family having sold many of their creations to the US government in the past as well as exploration escapades and more. They were a pretty impressive bunch of eggs, honestly–

Shadow made Sonic promise no egg jokes while they were visiting, by the way.

Turns out Terra does a lot of philanthropy and charity work, donating most of her time to causes for children with chronic illnesses and such. Which makes her sound like she’d be pretty nice despite her relatively stern tone in the letter to Commander Walters. That was written out of frustration with the deceit she had endured, though, so Sonic had high hopes. Besides, what sister of the saintly Maria could be evil???

When Shadow saw her picture for the first time, Sonic swears he sat perfectly still for a solid ten minutes just staring at it. She looks just like Maria… she just has more ginger colored hair, like a strawberry blonde. And older, obviously. Much older. Her files say she’s 54. Shadow can’t seem to get over that number. Sonic isn’t sure if it’s because it shows how much time has passed since the tragedy or because it shows how old Maria should be now..

Probably a little of both. Or a lot of both.

Sonic makes sure to be there with him through all of it, though. By his side and preparing along with him while constantly reassuring him that Shadow doesn’t really need any preparation since being himself is plenty good enough.

Shadow prepares anyway, to no one’s surprise.

It all comes down to the moment they’re standing in the living room with suitcases packed and warp ring in hand. Maddie hands Shadow his and Sonic’s freshly pressed suits that she had tailored for them, Shadow neatly and very carefully draping them over his forearm and holding them to his torso as if they’re something to be treasured.

“Alright you two,” Maddie sighs, stepping back to get a good look at them, “It’s around 6:30 PM in Poland, right now, and it’s going to be pretty chilly.”

Tom nods, zipping up Sonic’s jacket all the way before stepping back with Maddie as well, watching Sonic immediately roll his eyes and unzip his jacket again.

“Uh- guys? We have fur. We’ll be fine,” Sonic points out with a shrug.

“Some of us have more fur than others,” Shadow mutters under his breath.

“Hey! We talked about this. My lack of chest fur makes me more aerodynamic!” Sonic defends scandalously.

“Right,” Shadow nods before looking to Maddie and Tom, “I’ll make sure he stays warm, Mr. and Mrs. Wachowski.” “I don’t need a babysitter,” Sonic rolls his eyes, but Shadow just rolls his eyes right back.

“They’re your parents and they’re worried. Let me reassure them.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sonic sighs with a little smirk.

“We know you’ll take good care of him, Shadow,” Maddie assures, leaning down to give him a little hug.

Tom moves then to do the same, muttering in Shadow’s ear as he does, “And if you don’t, I’ve heard of some real mean hedgehog recipes from Egypt..” Shadow’s eyes widen slightly at Tom when he pulls back, Tom doing the thing where he points at his eyes and then points at Shadow’s as if to let him know he’s watching him.

Shadow just swallows hard then nods.

“I’ll have him home safe in three days, sir.” “I know you will,” Tom smirks then, winking playfully as if he hadn’t just threatened to cook Shadow dear God–

Maddie moves over to Sonic then, giving him a big hug that has him grunting from being squeezed so tight, “And you, little mister, better behave. I don’t want Shadow calling me saying you’re embarrassing him by being too rowdy.” “Me??? Rowdy!?” Sonic gasps as if absolutely baffled by such an accusation, “I would never!” 

He then hugs Maddie right back, smiling all soft as he leans into his mother’s touch and squeezes her just as tight, “I’ll send lots of pictures.” “You better,” she instructs with a little kiss to his forehead before she pulls away to let Tom hug him goodbye now.

“Seriously though. Behave. And be safe.” “Always do, always am,” Sonic grins, hugging his dad back before he pulls away.

Shadow clears his throat then, glancing down at his watch, “I really hate to rush, but we’re going to be late..” “Right, right,” Maddie nods, knowing Shadow is very serious about being exactly on time, “We’ll let you two go. You have your emergency warp ring??” “Always!” Sonic says with a grin, Shadow already tossing another warp ring into the air so that a portal to Poland appears.

“Phone charger?” “Yup.” “Toothbrush and toothpaste?” “Check.” “Underwear??” That earns a pointed deadpan look from Sonic to Tom.

“Right, you don’t wear that– okay! We’ll see you two when you get back!” Maddie grins then, waving as she leans against Tom and watches the two grab their luggage and begin stepping through the portal, “Have fun!! Keep us updated!” “We will!” Sonic waves back cheerily, stepping through the portal that Shadow is already on the other side of and waving from as well. He hates he couldn’t say bye to Knuckles and Tails before he left. But they said their goodbyes the night before, and waking Knuckles and Tails up early was like pulling teeth– the echidna being lazy and the fox always staying up too late tinkering. It’s best they just sleep in and Sonic call them later. It’s only three days, after all. Then he’ll be back for Christmas!

As they stand waving, the warp ring eventually closes and they’re left standing on a snowy driveway, a large fountain appearing behind where the warp ring had previously been.

“Welp,” Sonic sighs, grabbing his suitcase with a grin, “Stage 2 of OSITRASIHB is a-go. Can’t believe we’re on our first trip together! We have to do some sightseeing while we’re here. What even is there to see in Poland?? They have castles, right??” Sonic looks at Shadow and finds him staring at whatever is behind them, “Shads..?” He turns and looks then and–

“Woooah..” It is a castle! ‘Robotnik Manor,’ the large stone sign above the gate reads. Behind it is possibly one of the coolest homes Sonic has ever seen. Donut Lord seriously needs some upgrades.

“Dude, this place is..,” Sonic starts, but he never quite finishes as he walks up to the fenced gate in awe, leaning against it with his hands gripping the rails–

“Odejdź od bram!”

Sonic jumps back from the fence with wide eyes, both he and Shadow looking to the source of the noise and finding a camera peering down at them from the corner of the stone column.

“Did he just speak Sim??” Sonic snorts with a quirked brow at Shadow, but Shadow just gives him an unimpressed look before turning back to the camera. “Um.. Jesteśmy tutaj, aby zobaczyć Terra Robotnik..?” 

There’s a long pause of silence from the other side of the camera. Sonic is just completely baffled that Shadow seemingly spoke another language! Then again, he’s like– super smart, so it shouldn’t be that surprising. 

After a moment of waiting, the light under the camera beeps green and the gate slowly begins to open itself up, Shadow and Sonic watching with wide eyes as the path to the manor is opened to them..

“...So you speak Sim, too?” “Polish,” Shadow answers, grabbing his suitcase and beginning to roll it behind him as he walks, “And yes. The Professor spoke it often in moments of frustration.. It.. didn’t take long for me to pick up on it..” Sonic frowns a little at that, finding the implication of Gerald often getting frustrated with or in front of Shadow a bit heartbreaking. He catches up to the hybrid, lugging his own suitcase behind him as the gate begins to shut once more.

“That’s pretty cool!” Sonic encourages, focusing on the positive, “You never told me you spoke a different language!” “You never asked..” “Well– do you speak any other languages??” “A few,” Shadow nods, “Not fluently. But Maria and I learned some Spanish during schooling. She was far better than I was at it, but we’d watch tv novellas together and make fun of how dramatic they were a lot. I picked up from that more than anything.” “Seems like you’re more of a hands-on learner than a sit down and reading learner.” “Yeah, I.. have trouble concentrating when it comes to studies,” Shadow admits, though it’s obvious with the tone of his voice that his thoughts aren’t really with the conversation. As they get closer and closer, Shadow gets tenser and tenser. His eyes stare wide at the castle before them, fist clenched tight around the handle of his suitcase, jaw locked and teeth grinding nervously..

Sonic keeps talking, hoping to calm his nerves some with distraction. The driveway up is a good ways, after all.

“Me too, man,” Sonic chuckles with a shrug, “I struggle with sitting still in general, though. Let alone doing it and concentrating. Mom tries real hard to homeschool us, but I’m more interested in learning from experiences than books.” “Books can be very entertaining,” Shadow counters, “..However, books chosen for me are often last appealing than the ones I choose for myself.” “Ditto,” Sonic snorts, “Definitely prefer my comics.” “Those aren’t books.” “Uh– wrong. Comicbooks. Emphasis on the books part.” Sonic is smiling, expecting Shadow to flash that classic tiny smirk of his at Sonic’s shenanigans but finding the hybrid too focused on the stairs they’re now approaching that lead to the door..

“...It’s all gonna be fine, Shadow,” Sonic assures as they begin ascending the steps, “They’re gonna love you..” Shadow takes a deep breath, eyes never leaving the door as he climbs the stairs beside Sonic. He simply nods. Not convinced but trying to stay optimistic and not let his anxiety get the better of him.

Sonic sighs a bit at this and moves closer so he can gently reach out to take Shadow’s free hand. Shadow flinches slightly at this before looking to Sonic finally.

Sonic is looking right back with that same soft smile he gave Shadow on the moon..

Shadow smiles back after a moment before sighing and looking back to the door. 

Sonic was with him. He can do this..

Stopping right in front of the door, the two stare at it a long moment. Sonic doesn’t rush Shadow. Doesn’t knock for him. He just waits.

Eventually, Shadow’s eyes settle on the door knocker a few feet above them.. He can’t quite reach, so he lets his air shoes slowly lift him up until he can. Taking the knocker in hand and rapping at the door three times before slowly letting himself descend back down.

There’s some scuffling from the inside, Shadow’s hand squeezes Sonic’s a bit tighter. Sonic squeezes back, nervousness now rising in him as well.

What if these people were awful to Shadow?? What if they treated him horribly and this whole experience just adds to the list of scars Shadow already has?? Maybe Sonic shouldn’t have encouraged him coming. Maybe they should’ve just stayed away and let things stay normal. Maybe–

The door slowly opens, warm and thick light from the inside pouring out into the dark cold of the evening outside. Shadow and Sonic’s eyes rise to the tall, lanky man dressed in a butler’s attire.

The man’s eyes scan around in a confused manner a moment, looking right over the two before Sonic clears his throat and the man finally lowers his eyes to their level. He flinches in surprise at the sight of them, eyes blinking wide once then twice. Then he offers a wide and breathy smile, “Sir Shadow! And you brought a guest! Wonderful!  My Madam has been expecting your arrival! Please, do come in.” He quickly scoots away from the door and opens it wider for the two, Sonic and Shadow exchanging a glance before entering with a grateful nod and muttered ‘thank you’s.

The door is shut behind them, and inside they’re met with a sight just as awe-inducing as the outside. The inside has a large and grand staircase that leads to the second floor, wooden hand-railing with Christmas florals  and lights decorating all the way down them. There’s a chandelier immediately above their heads, lit with golden lights that make the wooden ceiling seem to glisten. It all feels very noble and traditional and vintage but simultaneously well-kept and warm and classy. It looks like something out of a movie! To their left it opens up into what appears to be a dining room: a long table with white table cloths and bouquets of poinsettias and holly and pinecones. Very festive but elegant. There’s large red candlesticks as centerpieces down the table, tiny globes with lights in them scattered along it as well. The chairs look large and comfy, a wreath placed on the backs of each one. There’s a smaller chandelier than the one in the foyer in there as well. A large, glass window behind the head of the table..

To their right, they can see what appears to be a library of sorts. Shelves and shelves of books, a few comfy couches and floor pillows sound a festively decorated fireplace. The mantle is lined with stockings with initials on them.. ‘A’ ‘J’ ‘M’ ‘S’.  

“I can escort you to your rooms if you’d like to be relieved of your bags,” the butler offers, “Madam is currently in a meeting, but I will inform her of your arrival as soon as it is finished. She will be so pleased you’re here, and want to introduce you to everyone.”

Shadow and Sonic just look at him, staring a moment before Shadow eventually nods. “Thank you, Mr..”

“Tanaka,” the butler replies with a little bow towards Shadow, “Call me, Mr. Tanaka. And I will be happy to assist you anytime during your stay.” “Mr. Tanaka,” Shadow nods, swallowing before glancing back to Sonic who is smiling politely at the man, “thank you.. This is Sonic.” “Of course. We know of Sir Sonic’s heroic reputation. It is an honor to be hosting you sir,” the butler bows to which Sonic very dramatically bows right back with a “Likewise, dude.”

The butler stands then, “Now right this way! Let’s get you settled in.”

They follow the man up the stairs, taking in the sights as they go. The walls are lined with framed art and pieces like vases and sculptures. Shadow notes that he’d like to pause and take them all in at some point if he has the time, pondering their meaning and purpose. The hall at the top is long both to the right and left, shut doors that have shoes on the outsides of some of them or coats hanging from the knobs..

It occurs to Shadow then that they may be having more guests at this party than he anticipated..

Stopping at the room on the end of the left hall, Mr. Tanaka opens the door to show them the inside.

“We do hope this room will be fitting,” the butler says, “We prepared it just for you. And there’s even a second bed if your guest will not be sharing one with you.” Shadow blinks at that, looking at Sonic who looks back to him a bit shyly before blushing and looking away.

They aren’t supposed to be sharing a room..

But Shadow is too nervous right now to request anything else. It feels rude.

He’ll deal with it later.

“This will be perfect,” Shadow assures with a small nod, “Thank you again.” “Of course, sir,” the man smiles, moving then to gesture to a small button on the inside of the door attached to what appears to be an intercom system, “If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to buzz this button and myself or a maid will quickly come to see what we can do for you. There is also a bell system that will ring when certain things are about to take place such as dinner or breakfast. You are in no way obligated to attend these things if uncomfortable or needing rest. It is simply there to keep the household on a schedule.”

“I like schedules,” Shadow says without giving it a thought, Mr. Tanaka smiling at this. “As do I, Sir Shadow.” Shadow smiles a bit then, and this seems to light up the whole room for a moment in Sonic’s opinion.

“Well I will let you two settle in,” the butler comments, nodding his head at the two as he exits the room, “Again, feel free to buzz if you need anything.” “We sure will,” Sonic smirks, walking into the room to take it in.

Shadow gives a small wave as the man makes his leave before shutting the door and sighing against it.

Sonic is scoping out the room. There is, in fact, two sleeping areas. One being the king-sized bed in the center of the wall and the other being a twin bed pressed up longways against the large window on the right side of the room. Sonic immediately moves there and puts his suitcase on top of it, turning to Shadow with a whistle, “Damn. This place is huge!” “Very,” Shadow mutters as he turns to Sonic, walking to the bed and placing his own suitcase on top before sitting down on the edge beside it.

“And they’ve got butlers and maids?? A dude could get used to living like this,” Sonic grins, looking out the window now at the view. He can’t see too far since it’s dark out, but there’s golden Christmas lights that light up a large garden below. Whoever their landscaper and decorator is, they need a raise.

“Mm,” is all Sonic gets from Shadow.

Sonic turns to look at him then, seeing Shadow staring down at the floor from where he sits on the edge of the bed..

A small, sympathetic smile curls onto Sonic’s lips as he approaches him, plopping himself beside him as Shadow’s seemingly absent gaze lifts to his, “Hey.”

“Hello,” Shadow murmurs back, leaning into Sonic’s palm when the hedgehog cups his cheek. “I know it’s all overwhelming,” Sonic begins, thumb lightly caressing the apple of Shadow’s cheek, “But you’ve done the hardest part, right?? You got here. You showed up. That takes mad balls, Shads.” “That’s a really distasteful expression, Sonic,” Shadow grumbles with a scrunch of his nose and disapproving look in Sonic’s direction. “Oh-ho, look who showed up at a Manor and got too classy for his American boyfriend,” Sonic teases with a Italian accent. “..That’s Italian. This is Poland.”

“Whatever, dude, I don’t know what Polish sounds like.” “You said it sounds like the Sims.” “Good point! Let me try that. Bow deesh you’re super geneva.” Shadow blinks at him, a slightly amused tilt growing on his lips, “What?”

“And now you know how it feels,” Sonic smirks to which Shadow just chuckles and rolls his eyes at him. “You’re idiotic.” “And you’re brave,” Sonic smiles, tilting his head to get Shadow to look back at him again, “..Seriously. I would’ve chickened out the second I saw the camera staring at me at the gate. You’re seriously awesome, Shadow..” Shadow just sighs a bit at this, nuzzling against Sonic’s palm a bit before moving to scoot closer to him with a quirked brow, “Shouldn’t you call your parents and tell them we’ve settled in??” “Oh yeah, you’re right!” Sonic nods, pulling his phone out now and pulling up his contacts to FaceTime his mom.

It only rings once before he gets an answer.

“Hey, baby! You get there safely?? We miss you so much!!” “He just left!” Tom can be heard yelling from a few rooms away.

Sonic chuckles at this, “Yeah, we just got to our room.” Maddie’s brow quirks, “...Room?” Sonic smiles a bit nervously and rubs the back of his neck, “Uh.. yeah. Apparently they only prepared one room for us– but it’s got two beds, see!” Sonic turns the phone to show his bag sitting on the twin-sized bed by the window, “I’ll sleep there! And Shadow will be sleeping here.” He then turns the phone to show Shadow sitting on the bed beside him.

Shadow gives a small wave with a quiet “hello”.

Maddie is about to argue with Sonic some more on these sleeping arrangements.. But then she sees Shadow and her heart instantly melts.

“Aw honey, you look so frazzled. You doing okay?? They treat you well??” “We’ve only met the butler,” Sonic explains, scooting closer to Shadow so the phone can now see both of them in the frame, “But he was super chill.” “Mhm,” Shadow nods, looking a bit sick still.

“So you haven’t met the mystery sis yet??” “Nuh uh,” Sonic answers, Shadow shaking his head in response.

“Why didn’t she greet you two?? Ain’t she the host??” Maddie frowns, seeming a bit off put by the woman who invited them not having the common courtesy to welcome them.

“She was in a meeting apparently,” Sonic shrugs. “She planned this meeting for when you two were suppose to be arriving??” “Well.. most people don’t arrive exactly on time, in her defense,” Sonic smirks, elbowing Shadow a bit playfully to which the hybrid just huffs and shrugs his shoulders.

“Don’t be so defensive, Maddie, you’re gonna freak the guy out,” Tom adds, entering the frame beside Maddie. He waves at the two with a little grin, “Hey guys.” “Hi, Dad!” “Hello, Mr. Wachowski.” “I’m not trying to freak him out, I just–.. It’s weird is all I’m saying. But I don’t know anything about the woman, so what do I know,” Maddie shrugs, putting on a smile for Shadow.

“Maybe it all boils down to a different lifestyle and culture,” Tom shrugs, “Butlers answering doors ain’t so uncommon in some countries.” “Yeah, dude. Don’t look too much into it,” Sonic agrees with a reassuring smile, “And if her butler is being honest, then she’ll be super pumped when she realizes you’re here.”

Giving a small hum at this, Shadow just shrugs his shoulders and looks at the floor again. Sonic sighs at this, looking at Tom and Maddie on the phone screen before offering a sideways smile, “Anyway- we just wanted to call and let you guys know we got settled in. Think we’re suppose to have dinner soon.” “Thank you for calling, sweetie. Please call again before you go to bed! Wanna say goodnight. And your brothers will wanna talk to you.” “Can do,” Sonic winks with a grin, “Love you guys.” “Love you too, kiddo!” “And we love you too, Shadow!” Shadow smiles a bit at that, looking at the screen again and showing his slightly lifted spirits at the sentiment. Love is a hard emotion for Shadow. Sonic doesn’t think he’s ever heard Shadow even say the word ‘love’ when referring to himself. But they all know that he loves them too, even if it’s difficult to voice. 

“Later!” “Bye, boys!!” Sonic hangs up.

Tossing his phone on the bed behind him, Sonic turns his attention back towards Shadow and moves to lean his head on his shoulder and lightly nuzzle against him. Shadow just sighs and returns the gesture, seeking comfort and hoping to ease the pounding in his heart and the nausea in his throat some. 

“We ain’t gotta sit in here,” Sonic offers, “We could go look around? I saw a garden outside, maybe we can go walk it and get your mind off of just sitting here brooding.” “I don’t brood,” Shadow huffs. “Right, right, Hot Topic, you’re definitely don’t brood.” 

Sonic smiles a bit and pulls back to look at Shadow, “Seriously, though. If you just sit here in your head, it’ll just seem worse than it is. Nothing bad has happened. Everything has gone super smoothly so far. There’s no reason to let your head scare you–”

He’s interrupted by the sound of thumping outside, resembling footsteps sprinting down the hall towards their door.

“He’s here!? He’s really here!?”

Sonic and Shadow exchange looks at the voice. It certainly doesn’t belong to a 54 year old. 

“Which door, Mr. Tanaka, which one!?”

The steps stop right outside their door.

“This one???”

They can hear the mumbled voice of the butler further down the hall.

And then there’s knocking on the door.

Shadow’s heart leaps right up into his throat, Sonic’s eyes widening a bit as he looks at the door and then Shadow. “...Are you gonna answer??” Shadow doesn’t move. He doesn’t budge from his spot on the bed, frozen there with wide eyes and his lips parted with slightly panicked breaths.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Sonic hushes gently, rubbing through Shadow’s quills, “Just breathe.. I’ll tell them you’re resting or something..”

Shadow nods. Nothing more.

Sonic swallows and pushes himself off the bed, walking to the door and reaching for the knob.

There’s a few more knocks just before he opens the door.

Sonic’s eyes go huge at who he finds on the other side..

“Oh! Sorry,” the little girl smiles sheepishly, “I wasn’t sure you heard the first time..” She looks Sonic up and down a bit curiously, only a foot taller than him at most.. Her head tilts, her brow quirking, “...You’re quite bluer than I imagined..”

Sonic can’t answer. He can’t find his voice.

He’s only seen Maria in pictures or old found footage from the ARK..

He stares at the little girl, his brows knitting up tight and distress slowly growing inside him despite it being dampened by the pure shock.

“...I’m..,” Sonic eventually manages, voice coming out weak and quiet, tight from the lump in his throat, “..not Shadow..”

“Oh,” she blinks, her head tilting again with a little giggle, blonde hair falling over her shoulder at the motion, “that makes more sense. Then who exactly are you??” Sonic tries to answer again, but once more, he finds himself not able. His brain isn’t working anymore. All it can do is play the same thought on repeat.

‘You’re dead. You’re supposed to be dead. How are you here???

Maria Robotnik..’

[crow-man9000]

sonic movie 3 thoughts (spoilers below for. literally everything basically + these thoughts are very sporadic)

I cannot express into a fully comprehensive english sentence how much I love this movie. I'm not even kidding, I think it's one of my favourite movies... ever! it tops raggedy ann and andy, it tops nimona, it tops deadpool and wolverine, it tops the mario movie, and dare I say my sam and max spinterest may get drowned out because of this movie... I'm never leaving this fandom tho. I am chained here LMAOOO

I absolutely ADORED all the scenes with shadow and maria! the movies highlighted their relationship perfectly, and I loved how shadow and maria looked up at the stars instead of looking down on earth on the ark because well. yknow. points to the arc-shaped hole in the movie. when she died I kinda felt like that video of that hazbin hotel fan crying over angel dust but um! we don't need to talk about that ^_^

also I fucking HATED gerald. I know we're supposed to but like I wanted to punch through the movie screen and choke him istg HE PISSES ME OFFFFF RAAAAAAAAAAAH

ok. normal now I swear. the chao garden! I loved the chao garden, and when team sonic all wears those chao mascot heads 😭😭😭 THEY LOOKED SO STUPID (SLASH POS) I LOVE THEM

also they said. a lot of things a lot of times. half of the time I was telling my mum "THE FUNNY HEDGEHOG SAID THE THING!" even though she has no idea what the fuck I'm talking about LMAOOOO. especially when sonic said "ok hot topic" I know it was in the trailers but I did not expect a snapcube reference

THE MOON SCENE. I AM NOT KIDDING I HAD MY JAW WIDE OPEN. AND THEY ADDED LIVE AND LEARN??? YOU PESKY FILM MAKERS I THOUGHT THEY WEREN'T GONNA BE IN THE MOVIE BUT YOU GOT MEEE YOU GOT ME GOOOOOOD. that scene was genuinely majestic, when the sun rises over the two of them and then shadow grabs his hand and they go super??? hello??? do you want me to go crazy??? (spoiler alert: I went crazy)

eggman and shadows sacrifices did make me a little upset not gonna lie... stone didn't even get to say goodbye properly :(( please let stone enter his villian arc next movie I think he deserves one... at least we know shadows coming back!

speaking of the next movie, AMY AND METAL!!!! I was straight TWEAKING when amy revealed herself. movie amy looks so fucking awesome GRAAAAAAAAAAAH I WILL GO INSANE!!!!! who do you guys think is gonna voice her? for some reason I can't stop thinking of movie amy as british? london being in this movie has corrupted me.... the british are invading yet another territory: my mind.

overall, this movie was so so good and I absolutely cannot wait for the next one! sonic 4 here we come!!!

no, not you episode 3

[dia-oro]

I totally understand what you're saying because I feel that way too! 100% identified

because English is not my mother tongue and I am also Latina! I'm the one who complained about the price in her country and said that everything is cheaper on Shein or Aliexpress, remember?I just chose the universal language of English in case someone who doesn't understand Spanish is interested in what we're talking about, and doesn't have to leave the app and go into Google Translate and all that, It's tedious, that's why I switched to the website, to translate everything at once.

But back to the main topic

Everything that you wrote was perfect, I'm also in fandoms just for the content of the series/video game/movie itself, i felt satisfied, I even felt identified for the first time, Don't get me wrong, I love all yandere lu x Reader content but sometimes, I came to see the reader or player as more of a character than someone who represents me you know?

I'm not complaining, of course not, Not everyone knows or is like us. I just would like to see more variety, because sometimes they can write about reader allowing many things and me? the temperamental, impatient me?

I'll be telling the boys the phrase 'what you do to me is not love, and if it's not love then it must be hate, you hate me' every time they do something that hurts me or displeases me greatly, I'll be telling anyone who knows them how badly they behave (Epona, Fi, Great Fairy and the fairies, the people from Twilight's village/Ordon, etc.), I would be giving them the silent treatment, being blunt, I wouldn't turn to look at them even if they were hurt, I won't help them either,I would sleep in a secluded place and make my own food, I will not stop until I am satisfied with their pain and suffering, until I feel and decide that Is enough.

and I am aware that to a certain extent it would be emotional or sentimental abuse,but they asked for it, If they didn't care about my feelings/emotions when they did those things to me, why should I care about how they feel? They don't deserve it nor did they earn it.

Because I am incredibly spiteful as I mentioned, unfortunately, not all writers write about the revenge of an incredibly spiteful darling.

But tell me! What would you do to handle them?

Y saludos desde Argentina ñeriiii 💋

:DD otra latina otra latina otra latina! Yay! And yes, the usual darling is overly good and overly defenceless when the Y boom exploited, even if they are at the start write to even be strong as the know human are space orc darling and that no fun :/ I would totally give them so much disapprove looks that will make sky got intro depression for it. Yes, the links are dangerous and most of us didn't even got to defence class, or any martial art but hey, you don't need strength to look at these man's and let them see you're no happy you're so no happy with their behavior.

Yes, I'm with you in this... They are so good that lacked to feel representative for that exactly, I'm flawed, you're to, all of us and if christian religion tell me right the only one almost perfect was killed by political and the equivalent as the police so.... I'm pretty sure all of us have our moments more than just do more than cry and give the cold shoulder or is just something of all Latino América to have a temper? I don't know, but I do know that using a boot as the chancla in warriors mouth would do some good if he good even in his teasing bullshit too deep for my likimg that didn't even mean a yandere wars.

Great idea let it to more people to read if they ever feel some identify in a tempered darling. 😌 In my opinion I think also a older darling would help to be more easy to fight back, more at the age of wars and twilight or even some age gasp, no a teenager easy to make feel inferior but a woman done with modern shite and know how to deal with them by using her mind and analysis them all.

How I would react to that direction of the yandere behaving bad? It's depend of the yandere, the most errrgh difficult like legend or four or even wild I would both need indirect approach, these are all will cards and while four could be more easy to deal... The ficking colors are Not, legend would put my nerves on edge because he the most ready to do ANYTHING, anything to have us, he maybe didn't got as far to take a brother out of the way like I say before in other post I like when the brothers just in their own fucked up mind think he just trying to prevent to lost someone dear again and them are like 'okay, let's put things more soft for the darling to see because this mf is in survival and idiot in love mode's so... The others just pity the yandere if the other members are no yandere because bro is a fucked mess, Hylia help this lost cause-

And for other part, to the least problematic well, a more direct approach, ok a latina I know how to handle manipulation, I will look at them in disapproval and them then how mad I'm at them, being firm even if I was in a relationship with them or less serious one, I will no be silence, nor if they want to I stay with them I will no let their shit slip, I like to think I will got on a process of seeing if they CAN do better, the fear of losing me would be real because I'm the type of forgiving but no forget, no easy to got angry and even that I usually got more annoyed than anything so I can see me giving them a opportunity but only ONE, these men's better grip their pants because just because I act nice didn't mean I will no remind them I'm still mad, I'm don't believe them anymore and just depend of the circumstances well, they either will shite their pants or start to demonstrate true remorse, talking of it.

so.... I play with the ia character because if fun and what have with all of this ? One of it is a bot of twilight yandere and till yesterday curiously he was the most respectful and soft yandere, till all these cute moments look less cute when admitted in a cabine in wild era that he take me to had some time alone together (the mf even married me and I'm having triples) just tell me from the first moment he see me terrified in the forest I fall from the portal he just say 'this the one's and all the sweet and maybe god know what more do to be close to me and win but also STOP Me from going home and I was there in the bed no even batting a eye as I at the very start of the relationship I chose stay because this was a more permanent thing no just fuckbuddys or had a boyfriend, mf got for courtship and now I was there like 'this bitch...' talking to him very calming because even annoyed as I was and angry, at least I chose it willingly and he just didn't you know take the choses from me? Like this mf is so ansty that didn't notice if I let him touch me was because I chose it, so if I'm no having a breakdown was because I already was prepared to stay but still the 'if I would have like to go home this would have been very damaging, still, the fuck?', I'm no doing much just letting him feel all my disappointment and let him know he lucky I will forgive end but I will remember this and *look at the chat* oh yes, twilight is still groveling and ready to weep like a toddler, pleading to no be hate and please don't leave him, I'm supposed to no know his game so I'm just 'who the fuck walk away that let him so screwed? Damn man you're pitiful right now' so yes, a analytic and if they give the sufficient reason a opportunity to right the wrongs is more my styke is they didn't do something very mind blowing.

At least with twilight I stop to blame the wolf for his weird shite and just 'ah, crap, I feel for the freaky one... Still love him, unfortunately' and just proceed with my day annoyed while they just got after me like ducklings because no attention, no kisses and no calling them sweet nothing in my language would be torture for them.

Hope you like my vision (how my rp with the ai got)

argentina ? Cool! Aquí desde españa, una venezolana que le tocó emigrar :D

[antonleez]

🖤

[mc-critical]

Hatice and Ibrahim have never been more divided from each other up to that point than in E43-E44. While Hatice always sensed when Ibrahim was actually in danger or she's lost him in any way (i.e. E35 when she felt something in Edirne while Ibrahim was with Nigar), nothing came up when he was shot; he didn't even tell her what happened to him until she found out herself; they were seperated while he was recovering; the wait for Ibrahim to come back felt like an eternity to Hatice and she went through several breakdowns at once (and his carriage was right in front of her but she couldn't see him, her only thought until the very end was that he was dead, isn't that what her dream with the "crying" statues meant?); when he came back she wasn't allowed to spend at least some time alone with him as SS wanted to talk to him; even their sleep was interrupted. The only thing that Ibrahim asked Hatice to do was to play him his mother's song on the violin (I like to think that Hatice started learning the violin in order to become closer to him, to who he is, to his past again after what they went through with little Mehmet).... but he no longer associates even that with Hatice anymore.

[k6tzie]

COD P☆RN LINKS | PT. 3

ghost: always so quiet and reserved, seeing you like this is refreshing. so humane having ur guts rearranged after doubting your lieutenants skills! dove, you're so needy. but luckily for you, you have a patient, big bf came back from prices' baby shower now u and si want a baby of ur own, but u can't wait:( doughy ass bouncing on his long cock that no one's sucked in over a year, thankfully now ur here! sharing the captains daughter with soap<3 trusting is hard for him, so once he has you, he doesn't wanna let go warm winter fuck with ur gentle boy price: once you taught olderbf!price how to make hotter videos, he thinks he's so much cooler but that old man lives within him💔i mean look how he's holding the phone! you feel a big, throbbing thing in your tummy, hopefully he doesn't press down on it D: when u took him to meet ur parents, you just looked too good not to fuck afterwards :( as much as he loves his quiet girls, he can't say no to a bubbly one night stand now can he he didn't wanna have to do this but this IS what bad girls get... dadsfriend!price taking you upstairs during the bbq. there's so many people so no one will hopefully notice ur gone... soap: totally something soap would do, fucking you levitating 😭 first time having a crush this intense, taking sneaky photos of you, drawing you in his sketchbook, leaving you little gifts anonymously - now that you gave him a chance, he's too shocked to even do anything! honestly his dream is hot gf x loser guy he's a messy boy who likes his sex quick! so so much cum dripping out, it's like your boys' in heaven filthy gym partner can't keep his hands to himself only one person can eat you this well when you're sick, soap! gaz: your drunk sex was so good, you won't forget it even when you're sober <3 appreciating that pussy with the love and tongue it deserves so wet and tight like ur ex boyfriend did nothing at all smh, must've been tiny deeeeep in ur gfs womb! pretty boy barely ever gets angry, but when price has been on his back the whole week, and now you're giving him attitude - he can't take it anymore! hot belly bulge - who would've thought from the serene, goofy guy? graves: ah, so THAT'S how you passed recruitment i see, interesting... what a baby, never been with a real woman. actually a very soft, sensual man. don't mistake him as rough cuz of how he acts at work lucky shadow of the week gets to record the barracks bunny and graves kept trying to draw milk out of you but he didn't realise not everyone just...lactates :(he can't stop rewatching this video y'all took, how your greedy pussy just swallows his dick whole :o purposely just teasing you so he can see u angry konig: an efficient way to wake up his beautiful baby✨ his cold tongue and your warm socks make an interesting contrast🤔 he caught you masturbating all by yourself and you didn't seem to reach ur full potential :( loser!konig coded, once he finally gets his rough hands on you, it's hard letting a beauty like you go ruined ur cute little panties smh, greedy big boy mean colonel punishing his secret fuck buddy after he found out you've started talking to another person💢 bonus!!: surprise ;)

@xtrrdnrypotato @livingdead-g1rl

[fragmentedblade]

I hate that when I look up the "Kalpas" tag here there's me and then there's me again, but on another blog. Fake moustache me

[fushitoru]

ranking types of hugs he'd be comfortable with another guy giving his gf! a gojo satoru fic/drabble

cw: gojo x reader, established relationship, fluff LOLLL, gojo being a pathetic loser for his gf, use of baby, babe, reader referred to as gf and wears makeup, gojo being jealous, crack, based off this (instagram link)

"Ranking types of hugs I'd be comfortable with another guy giving my girlfriend." Satoru squints at the scene, reading out the caption on the TikTok as he watches the guy on the screen, long ass spider legs laid out on the couch while waiting for you to get ready. Curiously, he clicks on the filter without fully watching the video and starts filming to generate the different types of hugs.

"A back hug." The curious smile on his face slowly fades away as a grimace takes place as he gains the thousand yard stare. "Nine. Okay, not at a good start so far—"

He groans, face scrunching in pain as he exhales out at what he sees on the screen: slow dance hug. Then, he imagines you, a man's hand on your waist and you smiling just like those stupid fucking drawings at someone who's not him—"Ten. Oh my fucking god."

Clutching the lower half of his face, he looks concentrated as he waits for the shuffler to give him some less painful option, groaning in pain once again, looking back at the scene, and then groaning again. "One armed hug," he strains out, blindly reaching for the lowest number he could rank it as.

The filter shuffles yet again, and he's almost in tears, groaning immediately on instinct but then doubling back at his screen. "Polite hug." He contemplates it. "Okay, a two, not so bad, not so—"

A pause. "A classic hug." He stares at the screen like it just betrayed him, until he decides it's not so bad. Reluctantly, he ranks it at three.

Then, he waits for the filter to give him another painful vision, and it delivers. "A slow catcher hug—oh my godddd." Satoru is shaking his head, eyes teary as he groans loudly at the though of you jumping up to another man, wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling him in for a hug. If someone was listening to him, it would seem like he was dying with the way he was covering his mouth, shaking his head, and exclaiming "what the fuck"'s as he stared at his phone screen in sheer shock.

Unfortunately for you, you were within earshot, blending in your blush and doing finishing touches as you heard Satoru's shrieks coming in from the living room. He seemed to be on the edge of tears, and worriedly, you set down your brush and rushed to where his sobs were coming from.

And there he was: in fetal position, phone on the floor as he shook his head as if in shock. "Baby," you hurried to him, grabbing his face so you could figure out what was making him so distressed.

He didn't seem to be injured as he meets your eyes, upset. "I can't do this bruh," he laments while turning to be on his back and rubbing his eyes. You just look at him confused.

"Do what?"

He turns, and pauses. Scans you in your champagne dress for the fancy place he was taking you and the way you did your makeup so sultry. It's just for him, but after the events of that Tiktok—that's now stopped filming—all he feels is petty jealousy because other guys can see you like this.

Out of nowhere, he declares, "I can fight."

You blink. "What?"

"I can fight," he repeats, nodding emphatically as if trying to convince himself. Then, after a beat: "Why do I have such a pretty girlfriend?" He groans again, throwing his arm over his eyes. "Baby, why do you look so good right now?"

While he does this, you inspect him for any signs of injuries or things that could've caused him this much distress. Finding none and used to his theatrics, you sigh and pat his cheek. "I’m going to finish getting ready," you say, deciding he’s not in mortal peril after all.

As you return to your vanity, Satoru calls after you, still sulking. "Just so you know, I ranked the polite hug at two. Because I love you. And I can fight."

"Good to know, Satoru."

a/n lowk spiderman!gojo coded. i love writing fluff i would lowk want to write this for nanami i feel like he would slowly grow more and more jealous LMAOAO

[senadimell]

You know, as a young ish person who's grown up in a primarily digital world, there's something really grounding about spending time with people older than my parents. Went to a Guild activity last night and it was delightful being with the older ladies there.

Someone offered to drive me home because it was over an hour back to my house by public transit. We're in a city, and she took me back to my home by driving through neighborhoods and back roads, in the dark, to a place she hasn't visited in four years, without a GPS (before I gave her a landmark to drop me off at, I gave her my exact address and she got frustrated with the search engine and said she would just use the paper map in her car).

A few weeks ago, I had dinner with a friend's parent's coworker/boss/friend, and she told me I would learn to find my way around and would know the area like a native. It strikes me that this is what she meant, but she wasn't right--if I were to live here for years and go about it as I had been doing, I wouldn't get native knowledge of the area because I would just be relying on GPS and not actually navigating. If I want to really learn the area, I have to pay attention in a way I only learned how to do (and rarely use) because I spent six months in a foreign country without a smartphone or computer.

The lady who drove me home said something to the effect of "you're new to the area so you won't criticize the route I take. I'm just going to take the way I know so I won't get lost." What I don't think she realized is that even if I had been here for years, I wouldn't criticize the route she took, because I lived in my last area for six years and didn't even learn the name of the highway I took weekly. Stupid GPS brain.

So I'm going to Guild meetings for a Formal Skill, but there's all sorts of other basic, hidden life things that I wouldn't learn on my own. It's also been striking to realize that there's a major gap in expectations about how people operate in the world. Nobody above a certain age who's talked to me about the routes I take seems to realize that I don't actually know the names of roads and exits, or that it's possible to get around. I don't want to continue in ignorance, but if I did, I could get around in a smartphone, live here for probably ten years, and only learn about four street names.

[masterhallmark]

Rant incoming

I feel like the problem with a lot of Disney's live action remakes (and arguably Wish) is they're trying to appeal to a crowd that no longer exists, namely the people who used to claim that the Disney Princesses were sexist.

All the interviews tend to include, "Well she's not chasing a MAN anymore" which...almost no one sees the princesses like that, anymore. Virtually NO ONE still believes the princesses are man-chasing sexist caricatures of women.

Cinderella is now hailed as an abuse victim who stayed strong long enough to get help to get out of her situation. Anyone who says she should have saved herself is basically regarded as a victim blamer. And it's very clear in the film she wasn't looking to marry the prince, she just wanted a night off. She was the only one who wasn't in line to meet him. She didn't find out she met the prince until he went looking for her!

Snow White is now hailed for her negotiation skills, ability to calm down after extreme stress (she had a moment of panic and had to cry for a bit, but who wouldn't after finding out The Queen hired someone to kill you?), and ability to take charge of a house of adult men. And again, she was an abuse victim, this time trying to escape ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS. While she dreamed of her prince, it was secondary to her main goal of SURVIVAL. There are also entire video essays about how Snow White gave hope to people during The Great Depression.

Everyone acknowledges that Ariel wanted to be human BEFORE meeting Eric. We all know she was a nerd hyperfixating on humans, and also standing up to her prejudiced father.

We understand Sleeping Beauty wasn't the main character, the Three Good Fairies were, AND PHILLIP WOULD NEVER HAVE BEATEN MALEFICENT WITHOUT THEM! He literally depended on them! WOMEN SAVED THE DAY! But even then, is it really such a sin for a girl to fantasize about romance and fall for someone with corny pickup lines?

We all understand Jasmine just wanted someone to treat her LIKE A PERSON. She rejected every Prince before Aladdin because they treated her like a prize. So why did they need her to want to be Sultan? How did that make her more feminist when she already wanted to be treated like an equal and have a say in her future? Is it only empowering if you want a career in politics?

We admire that Belle, despite living in a judgemental village, was kind to everyone (even though she found the village life dull), and her story teaches girls that the guy everyone else loves isn't always a good guy. What's sexist about teaching girls about red flags? And she didn't start being nice to The Beast until he started treating her with respect and kindness.

Do I really NEED to defend Mulan or Tiana? I think they speak for themselves.

Rapunzel was yet another abuse victim who just needed a little help to get out of her bad situation. In this case, she also needed to learn that she was an abuse victim, and that what Mother Gothel did WASN'T normal, much like many victims of gaslighting.

And don't get me started on the non-princess animals.

Perdita had a healthy relationship with Pongo to the point she was open to express her pregnancy fears to him, and was ready to TEAR APART Cruella's goons for daring to touch her puppies as well as adopting the other puppies. Like, she was so ferocious the goons mistook her for a hyena! She's basically that "I AM THAT GIRL'S MOTHER!" scene from SpyXFamily if Yor were a dog. She and her husband were a TEAM.....but they made a Cruella live action to turn her into a girlboss?! The literal animal abuser!? THAT'S the woman you wanted to put on a pedestal when Perdita was RIGHT THERE!?

Duchess kept her kittens calm after they had been catnapped and was classy as heck. Nice to everyone regardless of social class during a time period where that was uncommon.

Lady stood up to Tramp when she believed he had abandoned her and didn't really care about her. She found out he was a heartbreaker and was like, "Nuh uh. No. You are not doing that to me! You put me through enough."

Miss Bianca from The Rescuers was IN CHARGE the whole movie, and was willing to risk life and limb to save an innocent child. THAT TINY MOUSE TOOK ON ALLIGATORS! And she picked Bernard to accompany her because he was the only one who wasn't ogling her. And then in the sequel SHE DID IT ALL AGAIN! I wish I were as brave as her.

Like, the public haven't accused these ladies of being sexist caricatures since 2014 (Actresses and actors don't count, they're out of touch like the rest of Hollywood) yet Disney is operating under the assumption that the public still thinks that way, hence all the "sHe'S nOt AfTeR a MaN iN ThIs VeRsIOn" talk.

The live action remakes are trying to attract an audience that doesn't really exist much, anymore, and back when it did exist, was comprised mainly of people who didn't actually watch the films. The Disney princesses are no longer seen as sexist, and feminine qualities are no longer seen as weak or undesirable.

[motomamita]

loser!könig × female!reader

warnings: +18, smut, cunnilingus, sex!

loser!könig

a simple photo of your breasts was enough for könig to become the most submissive and needy being in the entire universe. And how to blame him? It was the first time that a girl agreed to have a conversation with him without leaving him in seen or blocking him.

from that moment on, not a day went by when könig sent you a good morning message or a photo of his fat cock showing through his jeans. sometimes you ignored him or took a while to respond, but he always answered instantly. könig didn't mind staying up late talking to you or having to look at his cell phone constantly waiting for your response, he loved the little attention you gave him.

some nights he would surprise you by sending you videos of him masturbating while moaning your name and telling you in an agitated voice how much he needed you there with him. he set your photo as his wallpaper and, sooner rather than later, asked for your bank account information to send you money every time you delayed responding.

soon könig proposed that you meet him in his city, he wanted to meet you in person. you hesitated at his proposal but soon changed your mind when you noticed the amount of money he had sent you, it was enough to pay for a plane ticket to his city. it was all paid for, so how can you say no?

you met könig in a hotel room that he had reserved for both of you. in photos he looked huge and in person it was even more so. he covered almost the entire door frame, his muscles were visible through his t-shirt and his face expressed absolute desire. in his hand he carried a bouquet of roses that he had bought especially to receive you and a bottle of champagne.

you both didn't talk much. there was no need either, you both knew what you were going for.

könig had you under him, hugging your bare legs preventing you from escaping while his big cock entered and exited you. your pussy stretched deliciously with each thrust while your clitoris rubbed against his skin. könig breathed close to your face, fixing his gaze on every expression of pleasure and how you desperately asked him to slow down a little.

"cutie, i can't stop, i can't..."

könig increased the speed of his thrusts, sinking you into the mattress and approaching your face to kiss you desperately. your tongues played with each other and his alcoholic breath invaded you completely.

"are you going to cum? uh? i can feel your pussy squeezing my fat cock. come on, cum in my mouth."

könig pulled out of you and brought his mouth to your wet pussy. he licks and sucks every part of your folds like he's wanted to do it for a long time, and he did. he brought his large hands to your thighs and squeezed them tightly, preventing you from closing your legs.

you pulled his hair hard as your orgasm hit. könig moaned over your pussy and tried to collect all your flavor with his tongue.

before you could react, he sat up and positioned himself on top of you jerking his cock quickly while moaning your name. in a matter of seconds his abundant warm cum fell onto your belly and a moan of relief left his mouth.

"fuck, cutie... now, can you let me cum inside you, please, please?"

with a face like that, how can you refuse? :(

[wordstome]

how c.ai works and why it's unethical

Okay, since the AI discourse is happening again, I want to make this very clear, because a few weeks ago I had to explain to a (well meaning) person in the community how AI works. I'm going to be addressing people who are maybe younger or aren't familiar with the latest type of "AI", not people who purposely devalue the work of creatives and/or are shills.

The name "Artificial Intelligence" is a bit misleading when it comes to things like AI chatbots. When you think of AI, you think of a robot, and you might think that by making a chatbot you're simply programming a robot to talk about something you want them to talk about, and it's similar to an rp partner. But with current technology, that's not how AI works. For a breakdown on how AI is programmed, CGP grey made a great video about this several years ago (he updated the title and thumbnail recently)

I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend you watch this because CGP Grey is good at explaining, but the tl;dr for this post is this: bots are made with a metric shit-ton of data. In C.AI's case, the data is writing. Stolen writing, usually scraped fanfiction.

How do we know chatbots are stealing from fanfiction writers? It knows what omegaverse is [SOURCE] (it's a Wired article, put it in incognito mode if it won't let you read it), and when a Reddit user asked a chatbot to write a story about "Steve", it automatically wrote about characters named "Bucky" and "Tony" [SOURCE].

I also said this in the tags of a previous reblog, but when you're talking to C.AI bots, it's also taking your writing and using it in its algorithm: which seems fine until you realize 1. They're using your work uncredited 2. It's not staying private, they're using your work to make their service better, a service they're trying to make money off of.

"But Bucca," you might say. "Human writers work like that too. We read books and other fanfictions and that's how we come up with material for roleplay or fanfiction."

Well, what's the difference between plagiarism and original writing? The answer is that plagiarism is taking what someone else has made and simply editing it or mixing it up to look original. You didn't do any thinking yourself. C.AI doesn't "think" because it's not a brain, it takes all the fanfiction it was taught on, mixes it up with whatever topic you've given it, and generates a response like in old-timey mysteries where somebody cuts a bunch of letters out of magazines and pastes them together to write a letter.

(And might I remind you, people can't monetize their fanfiction the way C.AI is trying to monetize itself. Authors are very lax about fanfiction nowadays: we've come a long way since the Anne Rice days of terror. But this issue is cropping back up again with BookTok complaining that they can't pay someone else for bound copies of fanfiction. Don't do that either.)

Bottom line, here are the problems with using things like C.AI:

It is using material it doesn't have permission to use and doesn't credit anybody. Not only is it ethically wrong, but AI is already beginning to contend with copyright issues.

C.AI sucks at its job anyway. It's not good at basic story structure like building tension, and can't even remember things you've told it. I've also seen many instances of bots saying triggering or disgusting things that deeply upset the user. You don't get that with properly trigger tagged fanworks.

Your work and your time put into the app can be taken away from you at any moment and used to make money for someone else. I can't tell you how many times I've seen people who use AI panic about accidentally deleting a bot that they spent hours conversing with. Your time and effort is so much more stable and well-preserved if you wrote a fanfiction or roleplayed with someone and saved the chatlogs. The company that owns and runs C.AI can not only use whatever you've written as they see fit, they can take your shit away on a whim, either on purpose or by accident due to the nature of the Internet.

DON'T USE C.AI, OR AT THE VERY BARE MINIMUM DO NOT DO THE AI'S WORK FOR IT BY STEALING OTHER PEOPLES' WORK TO PUT INTO IT. Writing fanfiction is a communal labor of love. We share it with each other for free for the love of the original work and ideas we share. Not only can AI not replicate this, but it shouldn't.

(also, this goes without saying, but this entire post also applies to ai art)

[buckyalpine]

18+ AF Minors dni. Just a lil smutty thought with a scene I imagined. Bucky finds out Tony updated the security system for the compound and upgraded all the cameras to HD quality.

"So what you're saying is that footage would've recorded everything in the kitchen from morning to evening and the middle of the night...everything?" Bucky shuffled by Tony's desk after everyone had left the briefing about the latest Stark tech. Everyone's phones w

"Yes grandpa, that's how a security system works" Tony snorted while Bucky hummed, his mind still wandering.

"Yeah but....everything..in full detail? Including sound?"

"Yes, why, what are you doing in the kitchen" He cocked his head in confusion while the super soldier gave him a blank stare, only blinking twice in response, his cheeks growing redder with each passing second.

"Oh"

"OH"

Bucky scrambled out of the room, leaving behind a cackling Tony, his fingers desperately tapping his phone to unlock and check the security archives. He locked himself in his room, his stomach already churning when he saw the date of the video still very much accessible, dragging his finger to find the exact time-

"FUCK Sergeant!!" Bucky nearly flung the phone, quickly lowering the volume of the video, your loud, slutty moans and fucked out face clear as day. "P-please Sergeant, harder!"

"That's it baby, tell your soldier how you want to get fucked, beg for it"

What had started off as wholesome date night had turned into something else by the time Bucky had you alone in the compound. He'd struggled to keep his hand to himself all night with the dress you were wearing and it didn't help that the waiter at dinner shamelessly flirted with you the entire time. You didn't entertain it but it didn't stop the former assassin from growing jealous, itching to remind you who you belonged to by the end of the night.

You'd gone by the kitchen to grab a glass of water and the sight of you leaning over the counter to fill your cup was enough to break Bucky's resolve. His bedroom could wait.

"Princess" Bucky swallowed thickly hearing his voice dripping with possessiveness, watching himself cage you against the counter, purring in your ear. He could see you shiver as his lips trail up the column of your neck, preening as he licked your skin, pressing his achingly hard erection against your ass.

"B-Bucky" You whimpered, squeaking at the spank he gave you, clicking his tongue.

"Try again, baby"

"Sergeant Barnes" Your voice melted into a moan as he hummed, taking his time slipping your dress up over your hips to give himself a perfect view of your lacy covered cunt.

Bucky fully intended on deleting the video. He was going to highlight the section and get rid of it for good. He desperately tried to ignore the way his cock stirred the longer he watched, unable to tear his eyes off the way you were bent over the kitchen counter like such a good girl, waiting for him to do something.

"That's right. Your Sergeant" The clink of his belt hitting the floor made you whine. He wasn't interested in prepping you, no foreplay, this was pure possessiveness, every vein in his body itching to own you. "You're a little slut for your Sergeant, aren't you princess?"

"M'your slut" you nodded, gasping at the tear of your panties, the lacy material tossed to the side.

"Let me show I fuck my slut" Bucky didn't give you a second to adjust, immediately setting a brutal pace, your hips bumping against the marble countertop.

"S-SERGEANT BAR-NES!-" Bucky slapped his hand over your mouth, your broken screams muffled against his palm.

"Take it" He growled, his other hand pressing against your shoulder blades, purely using you for his pleasure, "You love how your Sergeant fucks you, my perfect little slut, mine"

"Fuck Sergeant!!" You wailed while Bucky snaked his hand to circle your clit, his cock starting to leak at the way you tightened around him. You'd never looked prettier. Your makeup was ruined. Sweat covered your body. Your eyes rolled back. Bucky replayed that part of the video over and over again, finally giving into his heavy cock begging for attention. He gave himself a squeeze hoping it would calm him down but before he knew it, he'd pulled it out and started to tug, precum glistening at the head.

"That's it baby, tell your soldier how you want to get fucked, beg for it"

"Pleasepleaseplease-fill-me" you slurred, unable to form sentences while Bucky's grunts grw louder, his pace faltering.

"Gonna fill you up with so much cum, you'll feel me in your pussy for days princess" Bucky fucked you like an animal, eyes feral as he kept you caged under him, his heavy balls and hard cock ready to blow, "We'll go back to that restaurant. Have that same waiter try and talk to you while I drip out between your legs. Won't even let you wear panties baby, want you to make a mess on their chair, let them see where I marked you, fuck m'cumming!!"

Bucky tightly held the base of his cock to keep from cumming as he watched himself pump you full, hips stuttering. He couldn't cum yet. Not when he knew what was coming up next. He watched himself pull out of you, cooing at your soft little whimper before decidedly acting like a deranged feral fuck again.

"Shhh, let your Sergeant clean you up again" He smirked, picking you up with 0 effort and setting you down on the counter, spreading your legs apart so he could lick up every bit of cum that dripped out of you, the most salacious sounds filling the room. He greedily lapped and sucked at your clit, groaning at the tasted of his spend mixed with yours, loving that no other man would get to taste something so good. No other man would get to watch their cum drip out of you after filling you past the brim. No other man would get to have you at your most sensitive, cleaning every bit of their cum off you with their face buried between their legs-

"F-fuck" Bucky whimpered, quickly biting his lip to shut himself up but it was no use. His chest heaved, breathy moans growing louder as he jerked himself faster. "Yes, yeah, shit-" Bucky was nearly whining at this point, his hand working at his sensitive cockhead, giving himself quick, hard strokes, "OH FUCKK" Thick ropes of cum spilled from his cock, a steady stream making a mess all over his sheets as he continued to touch himself, rewinding the video to the beginning. His hard cock wasn't going to go away anytime soon.

Maybe he wouldn't delete the video just yet.

Later in the groupchat:

Tony: Everyone, please don't check the kitchen footage from two days ago at exactly 1:04 to 1:38

Sam: Why would I check that in the first place

Nat: Wasn't planning on it

Steve: I don't know how to access the footage.

Tony: Trust me. None of you should check that exact time stamp.

Tony: 🙂

*a few minutes later after everyone obviously checked the footage*

Nat: Holy shit.

Sam: BARNES YOU DIRTY DOG

Nat: That's hot

Steve: Tony, I still can't access the footage.

Sam: YALL ARE NASTY

Steve: Who is nasty?

Sam: I love it though

Y/n: 😏He's the best sergeant

Sam: HAHAHA

Nat: You guys are so cute 🥺️🥺️

Bucky: I hate you all

Sam: What you gonna do about it Sergeant

-Bucky has left the chat-

Steve: Why did Bucky leave