#i'm glad they ended up at the version of the story that they did

[spmcomic]

i find it interesting that, in this version, tippi says she knows exactly how nastasia feels- but in the “final draft” as it were, nastasia is the one who says she finally knows exactly how the count felt.

The files for Super Paper Mario contain an unused Tattle for Nastasia that would be spoken by Tippi herself. In the finished game, Tippi is already gone by the time Nastasia can be Tattled and the only Tattle for her is by Tiptron, who has a different, less personal message.

The message is written as though it refers to a point where Count Bleck is already gone, but is spoken by Tippi. This puts it at a hypothetical point in the story where Bleck is already gone but Tippi isn’t, which doesn’t exist in the final game.

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[thankskenpenders]

At long last, the trailer for Sonic movie 3 is here, giving us our first look at Shadow! It looks like a fun time, though my excitement is probably more tempered than a lot of peoples' due to a few things I have mixed feelings on. Here are my off-the-cuff thoughts about it.

Shadow

Yes, it does seem like they've really nailed Shadow here. Fowler's attachment to the character clearly shows. The action looks cool and really sells Shadow as a serious threat. He's got his bike, he's doing Chaos Control all over the place, it's great. Keanu is very much just doing his regular voice, but it fits well enough. The backstory from SA2 seems to mostly be there, though I'm sure some details will be adjusted. Mostly I'm still just amazed that we're getting a major tentpole blockbuster movie this Christmas starring Shadow the fucking Hedgehog that treats him as a serious character worthy of respect. We've come such a long way...

I mean, just... what an image to see on the big screen.

I also really like the way they're setting Shadow up as a foil for movie Sonic, kind of his dark mirror image as a Mobian hedgehog whose family life on Earth ended in tragedy and turned him into a vengeful antagonist. It's pretty straightforward, but it works well.

Robotnik(s)

Welp. They put Jim Carrey in a fat suit. I suppose we knew this day would come eventually.

I guess a small part of me is glad that movie Eggman finally actually looks like Eggman in every way that matter, but they're completely playing it as a joke at his expense here. And, yeah, the Sonic franchise isn't immune to fat jokes, the early years of the franchise (particularly Western adaptations) gave Sonic tons and tons and tons of jabs about Eggman's weight. But I thought we'd moved past that. But here we are with a depressed movie Robotnik binge eating and gaining a lot of weight like Fat Thor and the other characters think he's so GROSS and look his clothes don't even fit him anymore, haha! There's so much of this crammed into the trailer. I can only pray they don't do this in every fucking scene he's in in the movie.

I do like the plot of Sonic reluctantly teaming up with Robotnik to try and stop Shadow, though. It's very different from SA2, but we knew it would be, and I think that gives the movie some potential for Sonic to have kind of a dark turn of his own that mirror's Shadow's. I have a feeling that Sonic will try to get back at Shadow for something he does - maybe hurting Tom or something like that - and in the end Sonic sympathizes with Shadow and decides they have to stop their cycle of revenge, teaming up to stop some final threat.

Oh, and, of course... Jim Carrey is also playing Professor Gerald. Who might still be alive? Or maybe it's a hallucination on Ivo's part? I don't know, but either way, I'm here for it. Everyone joked about them doing it and then they went and did it. Yes, it risks playing him as a joke character, but the shot of him and Shadow mourning Maria while surrounded by GUN soldiers makes me believe he won't be a total joke. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the true final antagonist of the film, which would diverge a lot from the games but would work as its own version of the story.

And again, WHAT an image to see on the big screen lmao

Everyone else

The human cast is VERY downplayed in this trailer, but let's not forget that they're still going to get a lot of screentime one way or another. The Sonic 2 trailer barely showed anything from Hawaii. Where oh where is my best friend Wade?

Speaking of the Wade show, Knuckles... frankly still seems to be mostly a comic relief character heavily influenced by MCU Thor here, getting some jokes in the trailer but immediately getting Worfed by Shadow when it comes time to fight. Tails seems to be flying the gang around in a real-ass helicopter, and his big pilot's helmet is funny, but otherwise he doesn't really do anything here aside from getting stomped by Shadow. I really hope they don't get sidelined too hard, but frankly I fully expect them to, Tails especially.

And, of course... I can't help but think about who isn't here. Namely: the girls. Yes, three movies and one streaming miniseries into this film franchise, exactly zero of the female (animal) characters from the games have made the jump to live action. Please allow me to bitch about this.

Despite her being both 1) a main character in the game this movie is loosely adapting and 2) my fave, I suppose I can understand why Rouge isn't here. Paramount took one look at that bat cleavage and went "nope," cowards that they are. There was some speculation that Kristen Ritter could be playing Rouge, but we now know she's just playing someone at GUN. But, again, I at least get why they'd be hesitant to include her.

But Amy... Amy is such a glaring omission at this point. There's no excuse. She's the female lead of the franchise. She's one of Sonic's closest friends. (Honestly, these days it's more accurate to say Team Sonic is Sonic, Tails, and Amy, not Knuckles, especially in the comics.) And she's also a key player in Shadow's arc in the game. Shadow has his change of heart because Amy reminds him of Maria! And yet, she's nowhere to be seen. It sucks.

(I know some fans are still holding out hope for Amy, but the toys for the movie already leaked and she didn't get anything, so I have to assume she's not in it.)

It's not like I really expected either of them to be in this movie, but that doesn't make it less disappointing that they set up the film franchise in a way that makes it logistically difficult to include 90% of the characters and conveniently managed to leave all of the girls in the "low priority" pile. Yes, I know everyone points to how much Tails was downplayed in the third act of Sonic 2 as evidence that it's just so impossible to introduce more than one new Mobian character in each movie and give them the focus they deserve. Yes, I know having to come up with a story excuse to bring more characters over to Earth is an obstacle, especially when they're gonna have to devote time to Shadow's backstory. But these are excuses. It's a writer's job to figure out solutions to problems like this. They could make it work if they really wanted to. I'd take Amy having a suboptimal amount of screentime over her not being in it at all. It's just not a priority for them. That's what disappoints me. You can justify these absences from a logical perspective, but I just care way more about Amy and Rouge as characters than I do about Shadow, so there's no way for this to not sting.

But, at the end of the day, for what the movie is actually trying to do, it seems to be pulling it off well. Aside from the fat jokes. I don't like the fat jokes. But the Shadow stuff is good. As always, this live action version of the franchise is never going to be my ideal version of Sonic, but it's turned out far better than it had any right to, and I'll probably have fun when I go see this in theaters and hear Live and Learn.

[astraystayyh]

Conversations with Hyunjin

or what i imagine dating Hyunjin would be like (kind of went overboard because i love this man).

warnings: reader feels insecure when hyunjin looks at them for too long. a little suggestive in the end. hyunjin is dramatic but we love him 🫶

if you enjoy please reblog or leave a comment,, means the world to me <3

Minho's version.

"Look a bit to the left... Perfect", Hyunjin gently grips your jaw, his paint-stained fingers slightly moving your head to the side. You were in Hyunjin's little art studio, and he was halfway through sketching a portrait of you.

He didn't explain why he suddenly wanted to draw one, but his multiple kisses on your face the night before were enough to convince you.

But now that you were sitting on this chair and he's been looking at you for the past half an hour, you can't help but feel self-conscious. He was intently staring at you- you wondered if he started to notice all the imperfections on your face.

Hyunjin's brush strokes falter when he realizes that you are fidgeting with your fingers. He tries to hold your gaze, but you avoid it each time, a tight smile drawn on your lips. You scratch your throat, once, twice, and he steps away from the canvas.

"Angel," he smiles when he's right before you. He doesn't have to look down to grab your hands- they find each other instinctively.  "What's wrong?".

"Nothing," you attempt to smile, but your voice is strangled, and Hyunjin feels his heart drop in his chest.

"Am I making you uncomfortable?". His voice is quiet, a stark contrast to his excited demeanor when he just started painting you.

"No! No, baby. Never", you reassure, squeezing his hand tightly. "It's just... I feel like the more you stare at me, the more you'll notice my imperfections".

"What imperfections?" he questions seriously, his head tilted to the side as if the thought of you having a flaw was inconceivable.

"I don't know... I just don't like it when people stare at me a lot, I guess".

"My love, you are the most beautiful person I've ever seen," Hyunjin leans down, leveling his eyes with yours. He needed you to know how serious he was.

"You are only saying this because you love me," you smile, and he shakes his head no vehemently. "The first time I saw you, I squeezed Jisung's arm so bad I almost broke it."

You've lost count of how many times you've heard this story. Each time you hang out with the boys, Han has to remind Hyunjin that he was starstruck when he saw you. But it still made you feel warm inside- like a blanket tightly wrapped around you.

"You looked so beautiful, and you also had this alluring aura surrounding you. I wanted to talk to you as soon as I laid my eyes on you", he pecks your nose, and you scrunch it up in response.

"And I'm glad I did because not only you're the prettiest human alive," he leans away, his hands gesturing up and down in reverence, "but your soul is the most beautiful thing about you."

"Now," he gently flicks your forehead, and you laugh, "no more talk about imperfections."

"Yes, sir!" you giggle, and he smiles softly at you. "You know what? Let's leave the portrait for another day. Come sit with me while I draw?"

"You know I can't say no to that."

And so for the next hour, Hyunjin paints your favorite flowers with you curled up in his lap. You don't talk much as he draws, but his minty breath tickles your neck from time to time and you haven't felt this content in a while. 

°°°°°°°°°°

"Babyyy, what's wrong?" you lean into Hyunjin's side, who was seemingly ignoring you. You've just returned from running some errands to find Hyunjin sulking on the bed.

"Nothing," he huffs, turning his head away from you.

"Then why aren't you kissing me?" you whine, and he steals a glance at you.

"Because you didn't kiss me first."

"What are you talking about?" you chuckle, making him sulk even more.

"In the morning, you didn't kiss me," he grumbles, and you internally melt at his antics. Sometimes Hyunjin made you feel as if he needed your kisses to breathe.

"I did, you were asleep, but I kissed your cheek."

"Well, I didn't feel it."

"Yeah, because you were asleep, dummy," you giggle, and he finally looks at you, his tongue poking slightly against his cheek. He knows he's been ridiculous but it was too late to back out now.

"Well, then you should've woken me up!"

"I will next time", you smile at him, and he brightens up, "You promise?"

"Pinky promise". You lace your pinky with his, and you both kiss your thumbs, stamping them together.

"Now come here" You open your arms wide, and he sinks into them. His mouth falls perfectly on top of your collarbone, and he grazes it gently with his teeth, making goosebumps erupt on your skin.

"Baby?", he calls out a while later.

"Mhm?"

"On second thought, don't wake me up. I probably need the sleep", he says sheepishly, and you giggle, "I know."

°°°°°°°°°°

"Hey, love," Hyunjin leans in to kiss your forehead, snapping you out of your haze.

"Hey," you turn your eyes back to the TV, hugging your knees tighter to your chest. You weren't really watching the movie you put on; you just needed something to take your mind off the weight on your chest.

"Bad day?" he asks, his tone soft, and you nod silently.

Hyunjin kisses your head again, and for a second, the world around you stills and you feel okay. But his lips quickly leave you, and you're left aching for his hold.

"Wait here," he tells you, and you hum in reply; you couldn't move even if you wanted to.

Ten minutes later, Hyunjin comes back to the living room. He pulls you up and leads you to the bathroom. There, you find some candles lit up and rose petals thrown on the ground.

"Let me take care of you," he says as he starts to undress you. You appreciated how he kept his voice barely above a whisper; the bathroom was fit for hushed conversations only.

When you are both bare in front of one another, he pulls you into the bath he filled- your back flush against his chest, and you sigh contently.

Hyunjin pours some gel wash into his hands, then rubs it on your skin, skillfully massaging your tense body. He's so gentle with you- his touch is featherlight, and his mouth leaves a sweet trail of kisses on your back. You feel as if you are floating in space, somewhere where no one can hurt you.

You notice that he used his body wash, not yours; and soon his scent surrounds you until all you could smell is him.

You know that this way, you'll carry Hyunjin with you throughout the night, and onto the following morning when he is no longer there with you.

His scent on your skin will remind you of how he took care of you, how he loved you, how he held you so close to him until you both became one.

°°°°°°°°°°°

"You don't have to stick your nose in the painting to see it", you giggle, and Hyunjin leans away, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

"I'm trying to see the details. Leave me alone", he pokes his tongue out at you, and you retaliate with the same childish gesture, which in turn makes the both of you chuckle.

You lean your cheek against Hyunjin's arm, and you both contemplate the painting in comfortable silence. "I really wanna be poetic, but this just looks like a child's drawing," you finally say, and he laughs loudly, head tipped back- you can't help but stare in awe at how much joy suits him.

"That's what I thought too!" he high-fives you excitedly before grabbing your hand and pulling you towards the next painting.

It's one of a Renaissance couple kissing, their hands cradling each other's cheeks closely- as if they can't possibly get enough of each other.

"Now this is beautiful", you sigh, and he pokes your side gently. "Let's recreate it."

"You just want an excuse to kiss me", you wiggle your brows at him, and he holds your jaw, beckoning you closer to him.

"And what about it?" he smiles bashfully before crashing his soft lips on yours.

Hyunjin might be biased, but he thinks that if someone were to capture this moment, it would look much better than the painting behind you two.

°°°°°°°°°

"This bag is so heavy," Hyunjin whines, and you stare at him pointedly, "I told you not to buy all that stuff."

"But they were dumpling-themed toys for dogs! I had to get them for Kkami."

"That dog doesn't even like you," you tease, and Hyunjin screeches loudly, stopping in his tracks. "How dare you!"

As you two continue your bickering, an old couple passes you hand in hand. They are seemingly arguing, but as you near them, you can tell they are just joking- just like you two. The fond way they gazed at each other with was a clear testimony of their love.

You and Hyunjin both turn to look at each other; mouths slightly hang agape. "I just got chills," he whispers, and you nod in agreement, "I think we just saw our future selves."

"I can't believe you'll annoy me even when I'm seventy", he jokes, and you lightly punch his side. But in true Hyunjin fashion, he yelps loudly as if you had hurt him.

"Will you still be this dramatic when we are older?"

"This is the only correct way of living", he declares solemnly, and you laugh heartily. The truth is, you wouldn't have it any other way.

Hyunjin throws his arm over your shoulders, bringing you closer to his side. He presses a quick kiss to your head, and you wrap your arm around his middle, resuming your walk.

"I was always afraid of growing up, but it doesn't seem as daunting with you. Because I know I'll have you with me in the end", he says and you beam at his words.

"I can't wait to meet every version of ourselves."

"I know I'll love you in each."

"Yeah? Even if I annoy you every day?" you smile cheekily, and he pinches your cheek affectionately.

"Even then. You are my last love, yn".

°°°°°°°°°°

"Don't come in!", Hyunjin shouts as soon as you open the door. His arms are open wide like a shield blocking you from stepping forward. 

"And why is that...?", you chuckle, slightly pushing him away to pass. He doesn't budge, and you frown.

"Please just go, go, go," he grabs your shoulders, spinning you around until you are facing the door again.

"Hyunjin, what are you hiding?" you ask, amused as you free yourself from his grip. He looks everywhere but at you, and doubt starts to seep inside you. 

"Are you... are you with someone?"

"NO! God, no, how could you think that?"

"Well, you are acting suspicious, I don't know!" You throw your hands up in the air defensively, and he sighs.

"Fine, come see."

Hyunjin walks first into the kitchen, and you gasp softly. To say it's a mess would be an understatement. There are pots everywhere, flour on the ground, and some clearly not-edible cookies on the table.

"This is embarrassing" He hides his face between his hands, and you giggle, gently removing them.

"Did you try to bake for me?" you coo, leaning your face into his until your noses brush together.

"Yeah, I know you've been working hard, and I wanted to surprise you. But clearly, I shouldn't have."

You feel your heart clench at the defeated look on his face, so to cheer him up, you grab a cookie from the tray. Its brown color throws you off, but you still take a big bite. You try your hardest not to scrunch your nose because he definitely used salt and not sugar, and oh- that's an eggshell you are chewing right now.

"This is yummy," you force out, and he rolls his eyes at your blatant lies.

"Please spit it out. I don't want you to die from food poisoning."

You oblige eagerly, thankful for the opening, and Hyunjin leans against the counter, gazing sadly at the cookies. 

"You are the best boyfriend in the world. You know that?"

He timidly shakes his head no, and you smile softly at him, "You are. Now let's clean this and order pizza. I'm starving."

"You are not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"The kitchen is a mess."

"Well, it's our mess to clean up., And you doing this for me made me so so happy." You stand on your tiptoes and grab the back of his neck, pulling him downward for a kiss. When he leans away, you smile cheekily at him, and he rolls his eyes at you, "Come on, just say it."

"Leave the cookies to Felix."

"Noted."

°°°°°°°°°°°

"Guess who?" you whisper in Hyunjin's ears as you cover his eyes with your hands.

"An intruder who is oddly romantic?", Hyunjin jokes, and you flick the back of his head playfully, "I hate you."

Hyunjin turns around to grab your arm and drags you across the couch. "You love meee", he singsongs as he makes you stand between his legs.

"Yeah, I do" you giggle as he looks up at you, a huge smile on his face.

He looks so pretty from this angle, you think, his eyes wide and sincere poring into yours. You liked how Hyunjin never hid any of his emotions from you; and right now, you could clearly see the adoration he felt for you painted on his face.

You swipe your thumb affectionately across his cheek, and he leans into your touch, totally unguarded. "So... your birthday is in a month," you grin at him, "but since you'll be busy, I figured I'll give you your gift early on."

"You are my gift," his reply is instant. You once thought phrases like those were cheesy but you quickly realized that Hyunjin means them. He says them so easily because it's the truth for him.

"I think you'll really like this present," you smile excitedly as you pull out an envelope from your back pocket.

"Open it," you urge him, and he does as you say. He takes out two plane tickets and looks up at you, confused.

"What are those?"

"We are going to Paris!"

"We are?"

"Yes! In a week. I've prepared everything! I made all the reservations and a list of all the places we could visit. And I got us an exclusive tour of the exhibition you've been dying to see", you explain happily. You've been planning for this trip for a month now, you wanted it to be perfect for him.

Hyunjin's eyes well up with tears and he bites the inside of his cheek to stop himself from crying. You knew how badly he wanted to go to Paris, and you went to all of these lengths to make him happy.

"Yn... I..." he stammers, and you hold his hands, gently squeezing them into yours. "It's okay, Jinnie. I know."

"No, I need to say it... I..." he pulls you onto his lap and you place your legs on either side of his body. He buries his head in the crook of your neck, and you pat his back gently, giving him a few moments to gather his thoughts.

"The reason why I wanted to draw your portrait is because I wanted you to see yourself how I see you. I wanted to capture you in a way only I can because I'm so in love with you," he pauses and you kiss his temple, overcome by emotion.

"I hoped that decades from now, someone would find those portraits and they will see how perfect you are. This way, you'll live again through my paintings and my love for you."

"Jinnie...." you whisper, at loss for words. Now it was your turn to tear up.

"Can I finish your portrait in Paris?", he clears his throat and you giggle through your tears, "Please."

"We also should get a portrait done of the two of us on the streets. And we'll hang it in the living room."

"Isn't that a bit pretentious?"

"It's our home. Who's picture are we going to frame? Han?"

"I mean he is our biggest supporter...", you trail off and he laughs at your words, "He really is. But I'm your number one fan."

"Prove it", you smirk and he flips you around until you are laying on the couch and he's caging you with his arms- the necklace he bought with your initial on it dangling over you.

"Oh I will."

------------------

(if you want to know how Hyunjin celebrated op's birthday, you can read When I fell in love heheheh)

[moo-siala]

FALINE — JAMAL MUSIALA

PAIRING: jamal musiala x best friend!reader

SUMMARY: jamal and reader have been best friends since forever but they can't hide their love for each other any longer.

CONTENT: fluff, jamal and reader being scared, slight mention of sexual intercourse (nothing too graphic), some teasing, not proof read.

NOTE: this is a repost because i didn’t realize i posted it with an ask that had nothing to do with this story 💀

you and jamal have been best friends your whole life. your mothers were best friends, so it made sense that you two became so close.

you were there when he had his first try out, you were there when he signed his first contract, and you were there when he won his first trophy.

you were also each other's first, that night being one of the most beautiful and intimate moments you shared. you can still remember how his hands caressed your whole body, how gentle he was, and the sounds both of you made. but in fear of ruining your friendship, it didn't turn into something more, no matter how badly both of you desired it.

when jamal signed his contract with bayern, you thought that was going to be the end of your friendship. with him going away and you still in high school, it was going to be very complicated to see each other. but that changed when two months before graduation, you received an acceptance letter from the university you had applied to in munich, meaning that the two of you would be able to see each other as much as you wanted.

jamal was so happy that he offered to be roommates, not wanting to be away from you anymore. at first you said no because he wasn't going to let you pay half of the rent like you wanted, but after he agreed to let you take care of groceries, you accepted.

it's been a couple of years since that, and you've never regretted that decision, neither has jamal. in fact, it brought you closer than ever, both of you seeing the best and worst versions of the other, and always supporting each other no matter what. that is how you became jamal's rock, like he says.

even on vacation you're together, like right now. after the euro, all jamal wanted to do was relax under the sun and in the ocean, that's how you ended up in italy, on a boat.

"fali, can you help me?" jamal asked, showing you the sunscreen bottle.

oh yeah, alfonso and leroy had given you the nickname "faline" after bambi's girlfriend and it stuck. you didn't understand why faline was the nickname chosen for you instead of thumper, who was bambi's actual best friend, but you never thought much about it.

"of course, bambi" you got up from your seat and grabbed the bottle, pouring some on your hand and rubbing it on jamal's back.

"that feels nice" jamal chuckled, making you playfully roll your eyes.

"you two! get a room already!" alfonso yelled from the other side of the boat.

"they never get tired, do they?" jamal asked and you shook your head no.

"it's okay, we're always bullying each other" you giggled as you rubbed sunscreen on jamal's chest. your hand made its way down his abs making jamal stiffen, but you didn't notice so he sighed in relief.

"all done" you smiled at him.

"thank you" jamal smiled as he planted a kiss on your forehead.

"no problem"

—

after spending the afternoon eating, swimming, and tanning, you all agreed to watch the sunset for a little before going back to the villa. jamal sat next to you, placing your legs on his as vou aave him a small smile.

"did you have fun today?" he asked, softly caressing your thigh.

"i did. did you have fun?" you hugged his arm as you leaned your head on his shoulder.

"i always have fun when you guys are around. when you're around" he was now looking at you.

"me too" you whispered.

"mhm, i'm glad" his hand found your cheek as he stared at your lips. "i have something to confess, but please hear me out before saying anything"

you nodded and jamal took a deep breath.

"i know we agreed on not trying because we didn't want our friendship to be affected, but truth is, it's affected already and it has always been." he caressed your cheek. "it was affected the moment you hugged me and told me i was going to do great before my try outs. it was affected the moment you kissed my cheek and said how proud you were of me when i signed my contract. it was affected the moment we became each other's first, when our bodies became one" his eyes intense.

thank god he told you not to say anything before he was done, because you were speechless, butterflies going crazy in your belly.

"so i want to try. i'm so in love with you it hurts not being able to call you mine just because we're scared of something that may not even happen. so please, give me one chance to prove to you that we can make each other happy" he softly said, his eyes pleading.

"you don't need to prove anything to me, jamal" he looked at you confused.

"you don't need to prove anything to me because i feel the same way. i thought about telling you this, but i was scared you wouldn't want me like that" you blushed.

"i want you in every way, schatz" he cupped your face and gave you a soft and tender kiss.

"ABOUT DAMN TIME!" mika laughed.

"shut up mika" you said at the same time.

"well, now you're officially faline" jamal giggled, placing you on his lap and hugging you tightly.

"i guess so" you kissed his cheek and cuddled up to bambi, your bambi.

[madraynesims]

The Sims 2 PSP Cut Content: Part 1

I had been looking for the best way to implement this info on the Sims Wiki (but these are cut Sims, so there's not really a place for them? Or maybe someone else can do it). I've also been working on some videos talking about them. (I love watching these types of videos and prefer that visual format) but at this rate who knows when I'll finish it. So here we go! If you love Strangetown and crave any ounce of lore that you can get like me, here's a few townies. They even have their own secrets! Please read p6tgel's post to get all the info about the cut character TA7, everything I know about him is over there, so I don't have anything to add here. All I'm going to say is... I remember wanting to find out so badly who Mister Smith's friend was after playing The Sims 2 PSP for the first time. I'm so glad they actually did add more to the story. Learning more about the alien society and getting another title (like Pollination Technicians) just makes me want a Sixam neighborhood even more lol go read about it!!

Missing Kine Society Cult Members

Tunak Tun

Tunak is the only cut character that I could find photo evidence of in an old screenshot. He is a cut Kine Leader (like Sara Starr), as seen in his brown robe talking to Bull Dratch. The schedule file for the Kine Dairy indicates that Tunak would have spawned only during the day.

Unfortunately, it's a view of his back, but his character file confirms this appearance. (just want to say... the details on the Kine robes are actually beautiful. The crunched down quality we got in the final release makes them look like rags) Gender: 0 = female, 1 = male. The eye color is only specified if they're not the default brown. (I'll be using the Sims 2 PC to recreate them, as it shares a lot of assets with the PSP version)

Tunak Tun's Details

Bio: "A member of the Kine Society." social = 7, intimidation = 1, personality = 1, His social and intimidation scores are on the lower end for Deadtree locals, so social games aren't as difficult. He has the Air personality type. His topic sets (interests) are cow, cow milk, cow bell, cow beast, full moon, and crystal ball. A visual of these:

Tunak Tun's Secrets

 (Personal): "Has been known to sneak in a burger or two on the sly."

 (Intimate): "Likes to wear loose robes for that 'fresh and ventilated' feeling."

 (Dark): "He actually just made up his other two Secrets. He's a pathological liar."

According to the game code, Tunak Tun would also count towards the goal to "Earn the Trust of a Kine Leader [Relationship 4]", just like Sara Starr and Sinjin Balani.

Zen Mu

Zen Mu is regular Kine Society member that wears a white robe. The schedule file for the Kine Dairy indicates that Zen would have spawned only during the night.

I went through every face template available in the Sims 2 PSP CAS and I can't find Zen Mu's (might be hidden like some hairs/clothes are) and I don't see the stubble hair in the PC version.

Zen Mu's Details

Bio: "A member of the Kine Society." social = 7, intimidation = 1, personality = 2, Their social and intimidation scores are on the lower end for Deadtree locals, so social games aren't as difficult. They have the Water personality type. Their topic sets (interests) are cow, cow milk, cow bell, and cow beast. A visual of these:

Zen Mu's Secrets

 (Personal): "Severe lactose intolerance has made her unpopular in the Kine Society."

 (Intimate): "She is deathly afraid of cows, but don't let the cows find out … they thrive on fear."

 (Dark): "When she meditates, her power animal is a horse … the highest form of Kine blasphemy."

Interestingly, Zen Mu's gender and character model is male, but all 3 of Zen's secrets uses she/her pronouns. Small fun fact - Personal Kine robe for the player: It looks like we would have received our own kine robe at one point, probably after passing inspection, according to the item list file (item 72). Now, we can just go to a wardrobe and buy a robe ourselves.

Extra fun fact that I randomly like to talk about on my twitch streams, but I don't remember if I've said it over here? These two award winning cows were actually given names by the devs in the Kine Dairy level spawning file. Bessie and Gertie! <3

[demaparbat-hp]

Hi Dema!! Your art is fantastic and even the lineart is awesome! Solid and confident in where it's thick and where thin. I really like how your style has characters look more realistic and they have specific consistent features. Your blog has a pleasant atmosphere, and you're skilled in weaving AUs! There's a lot of details and structure, and I'd like to ask if any of them have a full story arc? Could you do a list of all of the AUs? Is there a motif that you especially like that repeats in any of the AUs? And whenever you add comments to my stuff in the tags I literally smile, it makes me want to keep at my plan to create everything I have in mind. So I'd like to spread this joy! I hope you have a nice day! (from late-draft ^^)

Hello, Late-Draft! I wasn't expecting this ask at all but I'm so glad to have received it!

First of all—I'll try to hold myself back from giggling like a schoolgirl. I'm having a sempai noticed me moment over here and that's just embarrassing. So give me a second to compose myself, if that's alright?

Okay, I'm back.

Now, on to business.

Character design, especially when it comes to facial features and how they're unique to each person, has always been a passion of mine. I always try to have a solid design for each character. I choose which features feel like the character in question, which face feels natural to draw, and go along with it. I love drawing Katara as much as I love drawing Zuko. Meanwhile, I seem to be on a never-ending battle against Sokka's features. Woes of an artist, I suppose.

Character design is actually one of the reasons I love your work so much, in case you hadn't noticed. I'm currently experimenting a bit with a different style... Hopefully it won't be long before the artwork is done and I can share it over here. I'm so excited for everyone to see it!

Now it's time for the reason we're all here.

I have said it before and shall say it once more: AUs are my lifeblood.

I love them so much! Building them, daydreaming the scenes, thinking of the characters and how they differ from their canon versions. The arcs and the themes and the worldbuilding. Building AUs is my passion, and I have so many of them!

There are a lot of motifs and themes that tend to repeat themselves in several of my AUs, I believe.

You'll notice that most of my stories are Zuko-centric, with a heavy emphasis on grief and humanity. There's the question of what makes us human and how to move forward when the whole world seems to push you back. I put a lot of stock in metaphors and symbolism within the narrative itself. I'm especially interested in the nuance of war and how it affects people emotionally, physically, and psychologically

I also tend to reutilize some elements of the lore and/or worldbuilding! Such as the Painted Lady's backstory, or the existence of War Children within the ATLA universe.

Now, the list!

I think I'll start with my current project, if that's okay :)

For the Spirits (New Gods AU)

Zuko was a child when he met Agni. Then, the spirits started coming to him. Eyes hidden in the hallways, voices pleading for help, for recognition, for remembrance.

Zuko could see Agni. He could see the broken remains of a Great Spirit and the empty smiles of amnesiac ghosts.

And they could see him in return.

I've been working on this AU for a long time, but only now did I get the chance to start writing the fic (linked up there!). I'm extremely excited about FTS and where the story will lead us in the future, but I'll try not to spoil too much.

It's a Zuko-centric story, with a heavy emphasis on Spirits and humanity. I'd like to add a warning for depression/mental health issues.

To Hesitate (Lee & Kya AU)

As she watches Lee and Kya avoid each other's eyes from across the room, the phrase comes back to her, swift and silent:

"To hesitate is to lose."

.

As Song treats the victim of an unfortunate interaction with a rare poisonous flower, her day takes an unexpected turn when it becomes apparent that the old man's nephew and her assistant have history.

A vivid history.

The Lee & Kya AU is a vibe, a feeling. It's probably one of my oldest AUs out there as well as one of my dearest.

A classical Lee and Kya From The Tea Shop AU, full with wholesome fandom tropes such as: fake (but not really) dating, fake identities, Ba Sing Se shenanigans, vigilante stuff, White Lotus missions, Iroh is a great Uncle, Zuko is an awkward turtleduck, and, of course, the fluffiest fluff you'll ever see.

Other than that, Lee & Kya is probably one of the less plot-focused AUs I have. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't scenes I can't wait to write or a canon divergence or two where Zuko is concerned.

(I have another fic posted but I'll leave that one to the end. You asked for a full story arc and, oh boy, does Soundless deliver.)

Kintsugi AU

Closer to being canon-adjacent than canon-divergent, Kintsugi is yet another Zuko-centric AU (and are we not noticing a pattern over here?).

I'd love to explain it in depth, but I believe the caption of the artwork linked above does a better job at explaining than I ever will.

Kintsugi is the art of decorating your scars with pieces of Agni.

In the Fire Nation, the amount of golden marks are a sign of status. Only the Royal Family can afford to seal every single wound with Kintsugi. Such is the weight of this tradition that, among the ones with Agni's blood, it is the highest mark of dishonor to have a natural scar, for it proves you aren't worthy of the privilege.

After the Agni Kai, Ozai forbid Zuko's scar to be sealed with Kintsugi. The boy wasn't worth his title, his traditions or his pride. Zuko would be broken, but he wouldn't be beautiful. Not anymore.

(And sometimes it's easier to pretend he never was)

Kyoshi Warriors AU

One of my absolute favorites!

In this AU, Ursa took Zuko and Azula with her when she was banished, so they could start anew. With help from Iroh and the White Lotus, she managed to relocate her freshly burned eight-year-old child and her crying daughter to Kyoshi Island.

Years later, when Avatar Aang and his companions first arrive at Kyoshi Island, they're met by the Kyoshi Warriors and their leader, Noriko of pale skin and warm brown eyes.

The Gaang leave Kyoshi Island many weeks later with a new companion. And if Jian Li, with his war paint and his scar and his dual dao, gives the island that he has called home for so long one final, longing glance as they fly away on Appa, they pretend not to notice.

Hunters AU

We're starting to dwelve deep into dangerous waters!

This is a Katara Joins Zuko In His Quest To Find The Avatar AU, with a twist!

This AU was born as a writing experiment. What if we take Katara's character, and change one of her core characteristics? Katara, who looked up to the Avatar as a saviour figure, now blames him for leaving and allowing the Fire Nation to wage war on the world.

Then comes Zuko, a banished Prince with a crew full of traitors and his own agenda. Zuko wishes for nothing more than to dethrone his father and end the war. He is a White Lotus member, an honorable, driven young man, and he has a plan.

The catch? He needs to take the Avatar to his father if he wishes to regain his title and be able to rightfully take the throne. Oh, and he will deliver the Avatar to the Fire Lord—but nobody said it had to be in chains.

Halfblood AU

I watched Blue Eye Samurai a few months ago and it destroyed me. The idea of a half-blooded child dead set on getting revenge for their very existence stuck with me, and this AU was born.

Kanna made a life for herself in the Earth Kingdom after leaving the North. Katara was raised by her grandmother in a small village, being taught to hide her bending if she wanted to live peacefully in a place she was only half of. Her mother had died in childbirth. Her father, a nameless warrior from the Southern Water Tribe who had loved Kya and left her behind, didn't know of Katara's existence.

Katara took over Kanna's clinic after she passed away. Always taking care of others. Always suppressing her need to bend. Always wishing for more.

One day, he arrived. A half-child, just like her. But while she was of Water, he was a son of Agni. He was searching for the man who brought him to this world. The man who scarred him. The man whose face he couldn't recall, whose name he did not know. The man whose specter had chased his mother to her grave. The man who would die at his hand.

The answers were hidden in a small teashop deep within Ba Sing Se. Lee offered her a way out, and Katara took it.

Soundless (Uiscefhuaraithe)

Katara of the Southern Water Tribe has hands scarred by fire and great talent, though no teacher.

Zuko is a mute War Child, a herbalist and healer, and the Blue Spirit. He bears the mark of fire, and the scar of the blade that took away his voice.

The first time they met, the Blue Spirit had just saved her, tough not before her hands got burned. The second time they met, his name was Lee, and he was healing her.

They live in war and they will fight, if not for the world, then for themselves.

You asked for a full storyline, and I shall deliver!

Soundless is probably the only AU I have fully planned. Three-books, Azula redemption arc, role-reversals and all.

This AU has everything. From travelling through the Earth Kingdom together, to odd character team-ups that somehow manage to work, and a major goal/conflict to resolve.

Zuko and Katara must find their way to Omashu in an Earth Kingdom ravaged by war as they also grow to understand each other, themselves, and the world around them. They meet with new and old alliances, keep their ears open for rumors of the Avatar (They say he is an airbender, Lee. Do you truly belive that?), and do their best to always be two steps ahead of their pasts.

Meanwhile, both the Northern and Southern Water Tribes are searching for the runaway heiress, Aang must find his way alone on this new, hostile world, and Azula must face the revelation that, despite what her father has stated for the last two years (liar, he lied at her! Her! He lied he liedliedliedlied), her brother might just be alive.

I'm sorry for making this such a long answer! I just get very excited about these subjects and don't know when to stop. If you made it all the way down here: thank you again.

I hope you have a good day ❤️

[honeipie]

ANY OTHER WAY

izuku midoryia x reader

synopsis: your son demands answers

authors note: this is the short little ending to the toast little mini series! but honestly their little family is so cute i don’t wanna leave them :((( also thank you to everyone who read, reblogged, and commented. i literally love ur life.

psa: mentions of breastfeeding

one | two | three | four

"my life is a lie!" the voice of your oldest son echoed through the hall and into the living room. you didn't bat an eye as his antics, because you knew every time he went to hang out at his uncle denki and aunt jirou's house he came home talking about some new crazy story. though he'd usually wait to talk about it until he was in the same room as you all.

izuku and yutaka, your middle child, raised their heads at the sound of the door slamming behind him.

"koji, you've barely stepped through the door and you're already yelling. mayuka was finally eating" you shifted your youngest head back towards you chest. she had been startled by the door but you were able to calm her by gently rubbing your thumb against her cheek.

"sorry" koji mumbled going to stand in the very middle of the living room so he could get a good look at you all "but i still can't believe i've been lied to for the past twelve years, twevle years!"

izuku's eyes went from his son, then over to you. but all you could do was shrug. izuku grunted as he rose from his spot on the floor. all those years of daunting hero work along with just plain aging were catching up to him. specks of grey started to show, but he attempted to hide them with the green he still had.

"okay koji. what are you freaking out about?"

"i don't know, maybe the fact that you guys almost never got married?!"

now if there was one thing you were expecting to come out of his mouth, it wasn't that.

"did denki tell you about that?" you asked watching as he was now pacing the room back and forth.

"yeah! and i'm glad he told me because it seems like you guys were never going to let me know!"

yutaka looked up from his tablet “mommy and daddy weren’t gonna get married? why?”

izuku put his hands up before koji could go off again “listen, your aunt ochako and i weren’t very good at relationships back then and-“

“what does aunt ochako have to do with this?” koji’s face went from confusion to surprise “you were going to marry aunt ochako! what the heck!”

the tips of izuku’s ears went pink as he heard his surprise “i thought denki told you everything!”

“he only told me that you guys almost never got married! when i asked for more details he said that’s none of his business”

you snorted going to fix your bra since mayuka had finished eating “since when does denki mind his buisness”

“that’s what i said!” koji threw his arms up going to sit in between the two of you “okay so you guys gotta tell me everything! start to finish”

“i don’t know koji. i mean i need mom to tell the story with me and she’s kind of busy so-“

“i got time” you laid mayuka on one side of your body making sure her head was over your shoulder “may takes her time to burp” izuku gave you a look which you smiled at “i love you!”

izuku rolled his eyes before finally nodding “fine we’ll tell you the story. c’mere taka” he held his arms out which his son happily jumped into. after he got him settled on his lap he started on the story of how the two of you got together. the toast, the argument, and the rekindling all in one short (kid friendly) version. of course, you felt the need to add in little details when needed “and then we got married and boom. you kids were born”

koji’s mouth had hung open for almost the whole story, sitting at the edge of his seat. yutaka looked rather confused.

“so..” taka looked over at the two of you “mommy took daddy from aunt ochako?”

“well, sort of. we all agreed that how things ended up were for the best. no matter how it happened”

izuku nodded his head in agreement “i love your mom and i love all of you” he tickled taka’s side making him burst out in laughter.

“i just can’t believe it” koji mumbled shaking his head.

“you better believe it kid. your dad and i are in love” you wiggled your eyebrows making koji groan “in fact, give me a kiss!” the two of you leaned in placing a dramatic kiss on each others lips. both of the boys pretended to gag as they got up.

“not in front of us! not in front of us!” they both made a mad dash upstairs making the two of you laugh.

“they get their dramatics from you” you said scooting closer to him handing over may. an offended look plastered his face.

“they do not!”

“whatever you say mr. midoryia” you leaned your head on his shoulder pulling the blanket over the two of you. you eyes scanned over the home that the two of you created. toys scattered across the living room floor. family portraits hanging on the walls, even from when koji was first born. some random, educational kids show was currently playing on your television. someone had told you that this would ‘stimulate the baby’s mind’ even though she had just popped out. both you and izuku in your matching pajamas that you had gotten for christmas. ever since mayuka was born the two of you had been too exhausted to clean. shit was a mess, but honestly, you felt no sense of stress. you two had a silent understanding that everything would be done in the time that is intended, and you wouldn’t have it any other way

“i love you” you moved your head to look up at the man you had fallen hopelessly in love with. he looked back with a tired smile, but you noticed the crinkles at the corner of his eyes.

“i love you too”

taglist! @sagejin @aejabba @crybabyl0l @v3n7s @yoihoshi-maki @reads-stuff-quietly @valenspuppy @luvrluvrr 🫶🏾

[akanemnon]

I'm finally putting an ask here, now that it's open.

Anyway, did people often told you that your artstyle was just candy for the eyes? Like, I always use it when I'm blown away by an artstyle, but yours, it's like a visual box of M&M's appeared right before me.

The colors, the facial expressions, the cartoony looks and feeling... I think it's the best comparison I can make. M&M's. And it's a big compliment, I really like it.

Also, Kris being an angry animal with rabies all the time is hilarious. In fact, I would struggle finding a favourite moment because it's just really difficult with everything that is going on.

I love this comic. You're probably among my fav artists, at the moment, I love it, I just reaaaaaaally do!

Ah, yes, people have compared my artstyle to food a couple of times before (or claimed that they wanted to "eat" my art.) Actually hasn't happened in a while. You're the first one to bring it up again.

I'm happy to hear you like the cartoony style a lot. My style wasn't as cartoony before, but I'm glad it evolved in that direction. Even though when drawing other stuff it tends to fall back into my regular style.

This Kris really has become a creature of their own that is almost nothing like the canon version. Which I'm happy about, since it makes it easier to tell that this story is doing it's own thing in some regards. It's gonna make more sense in the end, I promise lol

But yeeeee thank you so much for enjoying the comic!

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I'm just curious since I absolutely adore all your trans Ed fics, what made you read Ed as being trans? Is it more of a personal headcanon since we tend to see ourselves in fictional characters, or did you notice some tiny detail on the show that made you think so?

Oh my friend, I'm so glad you ask.

The cool thing about reading Ed as trans, I think, is that you do not even have to squint to do it. Literally you need to change exactly nothing, and this read suddenly adds a lot of nuance and additional juicy layers to his story and his journey with masculinity.

Ed's whole deal with masculinity, precisely exactly all of it, makes him feel so much like a trans guy who never outgrew the "I need to be hypermasculine so I pass" phase, fitting that read so precisely that given there are trans writers on the OFMD team I would be absolutely SHOCKED if at least some of it wasn't intentional. Every single trans guy I know has been through a version of this, where you come out and you know you're a man but you need everyone else to know, too, and so you lean very hard into masculinity to make damn sure you pass. And not just pass, but pass perfectly. Ed is forcing himself into such a heavy ideal of masculinity that it feels artificial; he needs to make sure everyone sees him as this perfect ideal of a masculine man that he cannot possibly live up to because no one could.

Certainly, parts of Ed's hyper-masculine presentation seem to be things that genuinely make him happy and bring him joy. That's important. Ed's happy to be a man, the problem is that he's trying to force himself into such a narrow idea of masculinity that it's stifling him. It's preventing him from enjoying more ""feminine"" things that he genuinely loves, because he's terrified of being seen as less of a man for it, and people like Izzy reinforce the idea that if Ed fucks up in his performance of masculinity, he's going to be in danger because of that. It's very real, and the added juiciness from reading Ed as trans adds so much to the great story that's already there, I think. There's this additional element of Ed knowing he's a man but needing to make sure everyone else could never doubt it, there's an additional perceived danger to slipping up, there's a sort of jealous admiration for guys like Stede who seem, at least on the surface, so much more comfortable with a different type of masculinity that Ed wishes he could have more of.

And on top of that, there's just a lot of other little additional things, like:

Ed making his beard his whole brand, it just screams beard dysphoria and "no one could ever claim I'm not a man because the beard is my whole THING."

Something about his relationship with his name, and how hard he has to try to get people like Izzy to call him by his name in front of others

The way Ed is dehumanized when he dares to step outside a very safe, masculine gender presentation - it's why Izzy saying "this thing you've become" when Ed is wearing a robe and painted nails hits so hard for me, I think

Okay. okay. listen. You know the scene where Ed makes CJ whip him in the balls. Listen. Ed baby. It just SCREAMS "people here don't know I'm trans and I don't know how much getting hit in the balls should ACTUALLY hurt so I'm gonna lay it on really really thick just to be safe"

There's a lot to be said about Ed and his clothing in a lot of directions, but I'm gonna leave it at how he's really figured out a safe set of clothing that works for him and consistently allows him to be read as this super masculine guy, and he's scared to step away from that. Also, I really like imagining the full-fingered gloves at the end of s1 as a way to cover up the nail polish on his fingernails until it wears off.

I think it's very sweet that Ed tends to be very private when talking about his personal and sex life with others, but a very, very easy explanation for how that got started is he just doesn't want to go around sharing personal details about his body with people!

Yeah. A trans read of Ed is so shockingly easy, fits so well, and adds so much to his journey, frankly I'm amazed it's not more common.

[justin-chapmanswers]

Justin! How hard was it to fully commit to The Reveal™️? Did you and the team ever go back and forth about if MePhone creating the contestants was a good idea or not and was there ever a point where you thought about not including it?

Just clarifying that I LOVE the reveal so much and it's changed my thoughts on the show in a very positive way, but I'm just really curious especially because so many things in the stories I've made have gone through changes

Honestly- no! I don't exactly remember the call in which I pitched it to Adam but I generally recall a vibe of "okay, yeah, interesting, let's play with this and see where it goes." And some immediate enthusiasm from Brian, as well. I think once the can of worms was opened and we realized where we could take the story from there, there wasn't any interest in taking that off of the table and limiting ourselves. Perhaps if we had any contradicting ideas that we felt passionate about, but that didn't come up. We were so interested in exploring how the reality show could affect these characters, and then to have the reality show TRULY not be reality? Or, at least, their perception of what reality is? We had to push that forward. It also put MePhone and Cobs in much more interconnected roles with the contestants which helped tie the story together more cleanly. It gave us something more tangible to work through emotionally in the finale. I think we were all very jazzed about the possibilities.

On the flip-side, committing to how the finale plays out outside of the twist was always way up in the air, constantly changing. Early-on plans of an ending that was fairlyyy similar to how episode 17 ended, a short-lived version with a final three, a finale that started with a winner reveal, long-time concepts of the finale being presented more like a contestants vs Meeple war on a battlefield around Hotel OJ, a version that was contestants vs Meeple vs Shimmers/Phenomse (way earlier on when our alien pals were more like a third-party antagonistic threat) in space, etc etc etc. And I'm so very glad that we landed where we did. And I'm excited for y'all to see how things come together.

[daisies-daydreams]

Hey, how are you doing, hope your alright... I'm loving your work and if you don't mind can you do ghost and konig like.......uhmm let us be honest, in most of the story they end up getting jealous when a guy hit on reader right?? Let us 🤭 turn the tables, we want the reader get jealous and you know, like him and reader, went to pub to get there stress out by having some drinks and a girl end up hitting on him.....and you get jealous 😳😭 end up drinking alot, that u lost it, when you go to your (base or house) and head to your room and..... like you go wild 🫠😏😭 on him and they don't know how to react (smut)

Soo sorry to give u a long passage, 💞🥺 I really do appreciate your works, and thank you showing your work (HOPE PLEASE ACCEPT THIS REQUEST OF MINE AND THANK YOU AND FOR YOUR WORK) 🥺❤️❤️ Have a great day 💕

Next Round’s On Me (König x Jealous!F!Reader)

Pairing: König x F!Reader Category: Smut (18+) Warnings: Handjobs, Oral Sex (M!Receiving), Reverse Cowgirl, Doggy Style, Backshot, Drinking, Consensual Sex Word Count: 3.1k+

A/N: Hello and thank you for your request! I hope it’s alright, but due to the fic’s lengths, I made König’s and Ghost’s scenarios two separate parts (link to Ghost’s fic is below). I hope you enjoy!

Next Round's On Me (Ghost's Version)

MINORS/AGELESS BLOGS DNI

“Maus?” König asked. You turned around in your swivel chair, your eyes red from how much you’ve been staring at your computer. You grinned ear to ear as your boyfriend strode into your room.

“Hey, baby,” you sighed. He leaned down and gave you a chaste kiss. König glanced over at your computer.

“You’re still working?” he asked. You nodded before spinning back around in your chair.

“Mhm. They need these reports in as soon as possible, and I’m already swamped with-“ you were cut off when König wrapped his bulky arms around you. You looked behind you. “Kö?” you asked. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he pecked the top of your head.

“I admire your work ethic, (Y/N). But I think both of us need something to take the edge of, hm?” he suggested. You cocked your head.

“What did you have in mind?”

+++

The bar was humming with life. Tipsy patrons cackled and chattered as König and you sat snugly at a table near the corner of the bustling room. Smoke hung in the air as you took another swig of your drink. König gazed down at you, his usual sniper mask replaced with a common black medical mask. His blue eyes glistened beneath the dim lighting as you rested your head on his rough shoulder.

“You’re right-I did need something to take the edge off,” you chuckled. Warmth and a renewed sense of boldness filled you as you bit your bottom lip. You breathed out through your nose as your hand trailed up his jeans. König’s breath hitched as he quickly clasped his hand over yours.

“Maus, not here,” he warned, his eyes scanning over the room full of people. You poked your tongue out, an expression he seemed to mirror based on the tiny bulge that formed beneath his mask. You giggled and took another sip. “I'm glad you're enjoying yourself-though you are drinking more than I expected,” König said with a raised brow, concern laced in his raspy voice. You shrugged.

“I’m only tipsy-don’t worry,” you said with flushed cheeks. Your boyfriend eyed you up and down before pulling his mask down, taking a swig of his own beverage. Your legs squeezed together when you felt a familiar urge hit you. You slid out of your chair.

“Where are you going?” König asked. You lazily pointed towards the bathroom. König clicked his tongue. “Try not to get lost in there,” he jested. You stuck your tongue out again, something that made his brows arch and a smile stretch across his glistening face.

“I’ll be fine,” you waved as you wandered towards the men’s room. You paused, then turned to the correct door. After doing your business, you made sure to smooth out your hair and straighten up before stepping back into the main room.

Your face fell when you saw a young blonde woman placing her hand on König’s forearm. He seemed to stiffen under her touch, his eyes averting her tits that threatened to spill out of the tight fitting dress she wore. A dark pit opened up in your chest and swallowed you whole as you staggered towards them.

“I don’t think I’ve seen your cute face around here before,” she beamed while twirling a strand of hair in her fingers. Your nostrils flared as you approached.

“I-I’m sorry. You seem like a very sweet lady, but I already have a girlfriend,” König explained as he withdrew his arm from her hand, scooching over in his chair. The woman giggled as she leaned in closer, her face inches from his.

“Well, you are a big boy. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind sharing, since there seems to be enough to go around,” she purred as her eyes flicked down to his crotch.

“She minds very much,” you huffed as you crossed your arms.

Both of their heads snapped up, the woman's mouth snapping open as she scoffed. König’s eyes widened with relief as he slipped away from the flirtatious woman. She looked you up and down, her eyes filled with a burning contempt. You glared back, but your frown soon turned into a warm smile as your love came to your side.

“Hi, baby,” you cooed as you raised yourself on your tiptoes. König leaned down and gasped when you pulled his mask over. His eyes crossed when you smashed your plump lips against his. You made sure to moan slightly as the two of you locked your wet lips together. The woman scoffed as she rose out of the chair.

“Whatever,” she grumbled as she stomped away. You smirked at her as she quickly left, onto the next seemingly single man in the bar. You gasped for air when you pulled back. König’s pupils were blown as a string of saliva attached to your lips. His hand came up and rubbed your cheek.

“Maus, that was-“

“Get a room,” a drunk man hollered on a nearby barstool. Your lips twisted as you shot him a dirty glare. He didn’t seem too bothered by it as he went back to wiping his nose and slurring about the game playing on the TV to the poor bloke next to him. You sighed, your hands sliding up König’s pecs before landing on his shoulders.

“Let’s get out of here,” you whispered with a playful smile.

+++

König’s footsteps lumbered as the two of you made your way into your apartment. The keys jingled before he pushed the front door open. You gave him a wry grin as you took his hand, guiding him inside. Not long after he closed the door, you pushed him against the wall. His eyes widened.

“Maus?” he blinked. You wiggled your hips before trailing your hands down his abdomen. His eyes were trained on you as you fell down to your knees, his wide chest rising and falling with deep breaths. König gasped when you started to undo his belt, your fingers working deftly. “S-SScheiße,” he stammered.

You wanted to make sure that any thoughts of other woman were completely erased from his mind.

You licked your lips as you dragged down the band of his boxers, releasing his half-hard cock. You gave him a pair of doe eyes, your hands gripping at the front of his thighs.

“Oh, mein Gott,” he breathed. You chuckled as you kissed the tip of his cock, pulling his foreskin down across his shaft. His large hand immediately flew to the back of your head as you wrapped your fist around the base of his cock. You were sure that König was only half-human: your hand barely reached around his thick shaft. You sighed as you littered his head with small, wet kitten licks.

He released a guttural moan and curved his fingers into your scalp. You started to pump your fist around his shaft as you swirled your wet muscle around his pink tip.

“Yes,” he groaned, his cock twitching as you wrapped your lips around the head. You looked up at him with half-lidded eyes before suddenly taking most of him down your throat. You gagged slightly, his girth nearly unhinging your jaw. His knees buckled when you hollowed your cheeks around his dick. “Kätzchen,” König whined as he bucked his hips forward, threatening to sink his cock completely down your throat.

You shifted your shoulders as you adjusted your head. You let your throat relax as you grabbed at what you couldn’t fit into your mouth. He grunted when you gave the base of his cock a firm squeeze before pushing your head back. His hand rested on your head as you left his head snug between your plush lips. You sank back down with a wet squelch. König’s head fell back against the wall as you sank your head back down. Soon, your hands and mouth were working in tandem as his cock grew harder and harder.

“Mmm, can’t wait to see what my cum looks like when it falls from between your lips,” König rumbled. The thought made you moan, the vibrations causing him to gently grip at your hair as he gasped. “Keep going, Schatz,” he growled as he thrusted his hips forward. You obliged, your hands caressing his cock as your tongue stroked the underside of his veiny shaft. König groaned as he started to snap his hips forward. You could taste the salty precum dribbling into your mouth.

You blinked your eyes open and looked up. König stiffened right when he met your gaze, his cock twitching relentlessly as he suddenly spilled down your throat. You squealed as you squeezed his shaft a few more times, relishing in the feeling of his hot spend draining down your esophagus. You gasped for air when you finally pulled yourself off of his cock. Some of his cum oozed from between your lips. You swiped at it with your digits, locking eyes with your panting boyfriend. He cursed as you slotted it into your mouth, greedily sucking it down until there was nothing left.

“That, that was…” König’s husky voice trailed off as he smiled down at you dizzily. You gave him a sympathetic look before licking a stripe at the tip. König groaned.

“Come with me,” you whispered as you took his hand. He had no complaints as you led him to the bedroom. König’s eyes bulged as you stripped yourself, letting your panties fall to the floor more slowly than your other clothing. You pushed your chest forward as you shifted your thighs together, your slick smearing across your folds.

“Get on the bed,” you pointed with flushed cheeks. König arched his brows as he cracked a passionate grin.

“Yes ma’am,” he beamed. You gladly admired him as he removed his clothes; a walking, glowing Adonis in your presence. He huffed as he climbed onto the mattress, letting his cock rest between his sturdy legs. You stepped over and climbed on top of him, letting your thighs slot against his hips. König purred as he gently lay his hands on your waist.

“You’re so beautiful,” he breathed in awe. Your own thoughts seemed to falter at his words, a lump forming in your throat. König frowned. “What’s wrong, Maus?” he asked softly. You didn’t realize that your bottom lip was quivering until now.

“Nothing,” you waved as you began to lower your hips. His hands squeezed your waist and you looked up again.

“I know you, liebling. I can see that look in your eye,” he said. You frowned, your hands resting on top of his chest as you leaned back.

“I just…do you really think I’m beautiful, Kö?” you blushed while averting his gaze.

“Of course I do, Schatz,” he immediately replied. You glanced up at him again, your features more sheepish this time. A lightbulb seemed to go off in his head. “Is this about the woman in the bar?” König asked. You quickly hid your face in his shoulder as you nodded silently, your cheeks exploding with a deep shade of merlot.

“Oh, Kätzchen,” he cooed. You relaxed as he wrapped his arms around you. The pads of his rough fingers stroked your upper back, causing a blanket of goosebumps to fall over you. He tilted his head back slightly, taking you in with a deep breath.

“Ich liebe dich, (Y/N). Nobody’s going to change that,” he murmured, his thumb caressing your bottom lip. Tears welled in your eyes as you let your face fall towards him, your lips locking with his. His hands smoothed over your back as you kissed him slowly and deeply.

You sighed as you closed your eyes, relishing in the warmth that radiated from the man you loved. You pulled back slightly to gasp for air before kissing him again, this time sticking your tongue in his mouth. König moaned as you caressed his wet muscle with yours, your breasts pushing against his scarred chest. You squeaked when one of his hands snaked down and grabbed a handful of your ass. You mewled as he squeezed and jiggled the flesh in his large palm. You drew away from the kiss, trailing your lips up his scruffy jaw before resting just below his ear.

“God, I love you. Mein großer Bär,” you purred. His hand tightened around your ass as you nibbled on the shell of his ear. You traced your finger around the scars of his chest, all the way up to his lips.

“I’ll make sure you cum until you see stars,” you moaned. König shuddered below you, not used to such filthy language falling from your sweet lips.

“Fuck, please,” he begged as he bucked his hips forward. You smiled and licked your lips as you shifted yourself on top of him. König’s hand slipped to his side as he watched you with glazed eyes. You peeked over your shoulder as you turned around, pushing your ass out and wagging it in his face. You heard him swallow thickly as you lowered your hips, your dripping pussy hovering just above the scorching tip of his red, aching cock.

His hands flew out and grabbed your waist as you wrapped your hand around his burning length. You craned your neck to look back as you lined him up to your entrance. His mouth snapped into a tight “o” as you sank down on his dick-his cock head deliciously spreading you open with a loud squelch. A cracked moan erupted from König’s lips as your walls molded to the shape of his cock, your pussy swallowing him inch by inch.

“F-Fuck, liebling,” your boyfriend groaned, his nails digging into the flesh of your hips. You chuckled lowly as you felt his cock throb inside of you. It always felt so tight-but it was a slow pressure that burned you alive in the best ways. You sucked in a sharp breath as you felt the head of his cock kiss your cervix. Both of you panted as you adjusted your hips, your walls fluttering around his thick length.

“Y-You always fill me up so much, Kö,” you swallowed. König grunted at your words, his fingertips pressing into your waist. You took a deep breath before raising your hips, his cock coated with your slick as you left his head plugged at your entrance. He moaned as you sheathed his dick back inside. Every ridge and curve stroked the ribs of your walls so tenderly as you bounced yourself on his cock.

The room was filled with the wet sound of skin slapping as you arched your back. Your ass jiggled against his rough, lower abdomen as your slick coated his pubic hairs. You moaned as you felt the thick vein below his shaft caress a spot that made you crumble. You bit your lip as you snaked your hand down and rubbed tight circles over your puffy clit. A hot bolt of lighting struck down your spine and into your core when you heard a loud squelch rip through the room.

“Ah!” you keened. König’s nails stung as they dug into your sides, applying enough pressure to draw the faintest trace of crimson. Your head felt dizzy with arousal as you rocked your hips up and down, König’s cock hitting your sensitive g-spot with each deep thrust.

“So good to me. Meine braves mädchen,” he praised as he watched your ass bounce against his rugged flesh. You squeezed your eyes shut as your thighs shook. Your pussy screamed for release as your walls constricted around him. Hot tears streaked down your face as you continued to spear yourself on your boyfriend's member.

Your body was burning, exhaustion sweeping over you and begging you to pause. But the roaring heat boiling in your core was too powerful to ignore. You cried as you kept pushing yourself up and down, your fingers deftly working at your swollen nub.

“Just a little more,” you thought inside your lust-hazed mind. You whimpered as your thighs burned and gummy walls writhed around König’s length. Just as you were ready to collapse, you felt König press his broad, sweaty chest against you. You gasped as you were gently shoved forward, his cock slightly slipping from your gushing cunt. You whined as he adjusted your hips with his palms. Your mind felt like it was turning to mush as he sheathed his cock to the hilt. König’s hips were pressed against your ass as he heaved above you.

“Sorry, engel-but I can’t hold back any longer,” he strained before suddenly pounding into you with no restraint. A fire lit in your belly at his feral tone. You arched your back and cried out as he pistoned his cock into your tight hole-his heavy balls slapping against your clit with every deep, hungry thrust.

“Fuck!” you sobbed. Your head reeled with lust as he pushed you closer to the edge with every drive of his hips. He spouted curses and praises in German as he spread your asscheeks apart, no doubt watching how his thick length mercilessly plunged into your wet hole. Your breathing became ragged as the muscles in your lower stomach tightened. König bared his teeth before scraping them across your upper back. You released a silent scream as your mouth fell open, your gummy walls clamping down around his cock.

“(Y/N), s-scheiße,” he groaned as your pussy gushed around him. Your juices spilled from where your sexes joined as your body was wracked with wave after wave of pure ecstasy. König kept pushing his cock into you, his chest rumbling as he felt your last contraction roll over you. The side of your face was squished against the mattress, a puddle of drool forming below your cheek.

“König,” you slurred as you felt him split you open, your core scorching as pleasure seeped into every inch of your body. Your boyfriend grunted as he pressed his forehead against the back of your scalp. You shivered with ecstasy as his hot breath fanned over your neck.

“Where do you want me?” he asked, his voice thick and heavy with his accent. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head as his cock drilled into your slick, overstimulated walls. You wheezed as he bit into your neck and rolled his hot tongue across the red mark.

“O-On my back,” you mewled. König grunted before kissing your shoulder. He kept his forehead pressed into you as he bruised your hips with his leviathan grip. He shoved his cock into you a few more times before he quickly pulled out.

He released an animalistic growl as he shot his warm cum across the ridge of your back, painting milky white streaks onto your shivering body. Your hands curled into the sheets as he kept his hips snug against your ass, his cock spitting out the last few strings of cum. König’s grip on your hips loosened as he gave a stuttered breath.

“Liebling?” he asked, his brows furrowed with concern. You turned your head, revealing a deep blush that crossed your cheeks and rose up to your ears. His eyes were blown from the aftershock of his orgasm, his huge cock softening and resting against your lower back. You shivered as you felt his semen ooze across your back, your hole puckering and still gushing with your slick. You blinked as you slowly came up to your knees. König hummed as you turned and pecked his lips.

“That...was...incredible,” you exhaled slowly. König chuckled and nodded, his forehead snug against yours as he pulled you onto his lap. You kissed him again, this time savoring the flavor of his lips as we wrapped his arms around you. You slipped your hand out of his grasp and cupped them over his sharp cheeks. His deep blue eyes glistened as you swiped at the corner of his mouth.

“Next time, I want you to cum inside me,” you purred. You felt something twitch below you as a guttural groan escaped from König's mouth.

'Next time’ may be sooner than you expected.

____

Thank you for reading! ❤️

Translations:

Maus - Mouse

Scheiße - Shit

Kätzchen - Kitten

Ich liebe dich - I love you

Liebling - Darling

Schatz - Treasure

Mein großer Bär - My big bear

Meine braves mädchen - My good girl

Engel - Angel

Tag list: @notthatfanfictionwriter

[atthebell]

ok back from work as promised I think one of the most interesting parts of qcellbit’s character we get from the fuga backstory is we basically meet him post redemption arc. you have a character that did horrible things in the past that took steps to reconcile with the people he hurt and become a better person. and then you start the story there, and from there, the narrative asks what would it take to push him back to that person he used to be. It’s such an interesting way to set up your character, and it only gets more interesting when despite every hardship he goes through it turns out he can’t go back to being that person. that’s what I think a lot of people missed during the federation murders arc (due to all the blood. who can blame them really), the cell persona was just that, a persona. it was a tactical move to push away the people he cared about in an effort to protect them from the consequences of his actions. even with his mental health at rock bottom he was in his own way STILL trying to help other people. everything we’ve seen has shown that nothing short of losing everyone he cares about could push him over that edge, and yet there’s nothing he could ever do to make him trust himself not to. it’s enough to drive me to madness

YES yeah i think it's so interesting how like fuga as just a jokey incidental backstory to explain how tazercraft, felps, & cellbit know each other already ends up working so so well for qcellbit as a character and makes his narrative so interesting (and shows how great cc!cellbit is at roleplay). like yeah he was an awful cannibal murderer-- but when we meet him, he's just some guy who's a little too obsessed with puzzles and mysteries and a little on edge. he's a paranoid catboy with trauma, what's there to worry about?? but then we get to the eggs disappearing and the fed worker killings and you're SPOT ON with how he slips on his past like a suit of armor. none of that progress matters now, nothing of his life after that violence is important, look at the blood, look at the gruesome bodies, look at the messages and the big scary knife. but it's all an act, both for his loved ones & the other islanders & the federation. he wants them all to think he's lost it, that he's gone off the deep end and nothing can stop him, that losing his one thread to normalcy (richarlyson) broke him and reverted him back to f!cell. but that's not what happened-- it was a strategic, knowledgeable move from someone who knows himself and knows what would scare the people around him. the other islanders don't agree with his complete opposition to the federation, so he shows how far he's willing to go; the federation thinks he's compliant, so he shows them what he's willing to do to them to get what he wants, to show them that he's not under their thumb. and in the process he gets to shove aside all his own feelings and put on this version of himself, this monster that he thinks has been hiding inside all along, who can deal with it all and do what needs to be done. and we get to see the kinds of wounds that are still open that he's never really been able to heal from, and know that the cellbit we knew at the start wasn't really ever okay, even if he wasn't the man he was during fuga. that the therapy and the time and the freedom from prison still couldn't fix everything he has going on, that he has a lot to uncover and look into and heal from. i'm so glad you get the tactical side of the persona thing though i felt crazy at the time of the fed worker murders being like people he is doing this ON PURPOSE he's not reverting to anything!!!!! this is a strategic move to scare people and make himself into a target!!!!

[genericpuff]

I gotta say, I really like how LK Persephone is currently going down a VERY different road from the one LO Persephone walked, while LK Hades is actually performing a lot of the same actions that LO Hades did. I feel like it underlines how and why the relationship between Hades and Persephone could turn out quite problematic/toxic in the end. Not to mention, having him being WAY more into her than she is into him feels both very true to the source material and very refreshing, given how most retellings of this particular myth are.

!! thank you so much, honestly back when I first started drafting LR it was definitely a challenge trying to figure out who Kore was vs. how she could be developed further in relation to LO and the myths. It wasn't until I started to actually develop the plot of it and where I wanted it to deviate from LO that I started to get a better grasp on who she was meant to be in this version. I'm really glad people are liking my interpretation of her! And yeah, buckle up for when we get into the actual bulk of their intertwined story, because I've got things planned (•̀ᴗ•́)و

[sugoi-and-spice]

Y'all there's no freaking way the mystery character in 425 is Tenko. I don't think it's any character we've met before. (And it sure as hell isn't Deku's dad, god that theory is so dumb). The identity of this new character in fact is basically told to us in Todoroki's line earlier in the chapter.

This is most likely a new character entirely, a Tenko parallel who is on the cusp of becoming a villain and that needs someone to reach out to him the way nobody ever did for Tenko. Someone that's going to put Deku's new resolve and mission to the test. It's Horikoshi's way of saying that just because the heroes defeated Shigaraki and All for One, that doesn't mean that they're victorious - they've only gone back to square one.

But square one and the status quo is not a win for these heroes. They need to better their world and build towards a bright future that will prevent the creation of villains like the League. And I think the appearance of one last villain in this story is a great way to show that.

Deku and friends had to use the old hero ways to defeat the League, yes. But now they get to decide what the new image of a hero looks like. And maybe they can even get rid of the idea of villains altogether.

So, no. Even as a die-hard Shigaraki simp, I am not putting my bets on the "Tenko is revived" horse. And honestly? I don't even think I want this character to be Shigaraki or Tenko or whatever version of him people think it will be. I think that would actually invalidate his death earlier even more. Because if nothing else, Deku did save that crying child within him. He did heal Shigaraki's heart and get him to let go of his hatred. But look at this guy:

This man is in fucking DISTRESS. He has none of the acceptance or calm or even will to fight that Shigaraki had - during his death or otherwise. I think if this was the Tenko that was resurrected, someone so clearly disturbed and in pain, then it would make the one save Deku did make in that fight completely meaningless.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - I don't technically hate the way Shigaraki went out. I'm glad that in the end, he died as himself rather than turncoating to join the heroes. I'm glad he's not going to be rotting in prison for the rest of his life. And I'm glad his legacy is clearly going to live on in this world through Deku, even if he doesn't personally.

This issue that I have with Shigaraki's death is the pacing of it. That's all.

I'm still not giving up hope that Shigaraki comes back as a vestige/force ghost though. That for me feels like the only way to bring him back that wouldn't totally undermine the climax of the story.

[steddieas-shegoes]

Request: video gamer Steve who is very very private & constantly has competitions with his friends/followers. But one day he does & q&a and someone asks him about his ring/necklace (or something that is noticeable) & he talks about his partner. & Eddie who is a well known musician who talks about his partner Steve. And somehow their fans put it together that Steddie are together. Then they do a really cute q&a on Steve's channel all about their relationship & its really cute

MY LOVE!!! Honestly, if Liam didn't watch so many gamers on YouTube, I would be so clueless. I never got into video games (because I'm so so bad at them you guys it is actually embarrassing) and I never really watched streamers on YouTube or anything. But I know that some of them have like a cult following and so I am picturing Steve to be one of those here. Please don't ask what games he would play because this is a choose your own adventure part of the story. - Mickala ❤️

-----------------------------------------------------

Everyone made fun of Steve for how much he talked with his hands. Even on camera, his hands were constantly in the frame, moving and emphasizing his passion for whatever game he was playing for that stream.

He should have realized that wearing a ring on his usually bare hands would have given him away.

It was his first livestream competition since Eddie proposed on their trip to the Maldives.

He was still a little high off of, well, everything, and he wasn’t thinking clearly.

He ignored the first question that popped up.

who got you that ring?

He shared some basic personal stuff with his fans and followers, but he kept most things private, especially his relationship.

But then questions kept coming in.

R U ENGAGED???

usually the girl wears the ring right

If you’re taken I might have to unsubscribe

The last one made him pause.

It’s not like he was an idiot, he knew that there would always be a handful of people who followed him because he was attractive. He didn’t mind, especially because some of them would message him and explain that they ended up getting into games because of him.

“Okay, wait. Sorry guys. Um. I wanna address something before we start the actual stream.” He held his hand up, looking over at the ring Eddie proposed with. “I share a lot with you guys. I came out about a year ago during a stream as bisexual, and it really shouldn’t have been much of a shock, but it caused a bit of a…thing.” He grimaced. “And I guess most of the reason that I came out then was because my boyfriend had come out as well, and it felt like something we could do together without actually doing it together. Most of you know I was just gone for a week on a much needed vacation. I was with my boyfriend, and he proposed while we were there. I said yes because he is the only person I’ve ever wanted to spend my life with.”

Steve put his hand down, sighing.

“I understand if that makes some of you unfollow me, but I do hope you look at yourself and try to come to terms with why that is what makes you unfollow someone you enjoy watching. Anyways, the ring is beautiful, and it's a simpler version of one he wears every day, so it means even more.”

He felt relieved, but also a little stressed, and knew he’d be calling Eddie as soon as this was over to talk to him about everything.

“Let’s get gaming!” He gave his best smile to the camera.

—-------------------------------------

“Yeah, we had a nice week off together, alone, and I finally got to propose. I don’t think we left the bed for 24 hours after that,” Eddie laughed.

The interviewer laughed too, used to Eddie’s jokes and blunt answers.

“I’m glad you got to spend some time just the two of you. This has been a busy world tour for you and Corroded Coffin and you’re only halfway through!” The interviewer, Hannah, stated. She smiled at him when he nodded. “Anything new planned for the second half of the tour?”

“We can’t give out secrets, Hannah, you know that,” Eddie smirked. “But Gareth did say I should tell you about one thing.”

Gareth definitely had a crush on Hannah and had pouted endlessly about being scheduled for a different interview at the same time as Eddie’s interview with her.

“Oh?” she leaned forward, eyes gleaming.

She maybe had a crush on him, too.

“He actually wrote a song that’ll be on our next album. He doesn’t usually get bit with the writing bug, but someone’s inspired him,” he winked at her, smiling at her blush. “Anyway, it’s been added to the setlist for the second leg of the tour and we’re all really excited for everyone to hear it.”

Eddie felt his phone vibrating in his pocket multiple times. All the guys knew he was in an interview and couldn’t answer a call, so who the hell was calling him?

It was easy enough to ignore through Hannah’s next question, until it started again.

He reached in his pocket and checked to see who it was, eyes going wide when he saw ‘Stevie’ with a picture of them on their vacation lighting up his screen.

Steve never called twice in a row unless it was an emergency. He knew if Eddie didn’t answer, he was truly busy.

He felt his heart racing as he looked back up at Hannah, who instantly seemed to catch on to something happening.

“We’re going to a commercial break, but when we’re back, Eddie’s gonna share a few hints about the next album!” Hannah said, immediately shutting the mics off and gesturing for him to get up.

Eddie took off his headphones and stood, walking out of the room as he answered the phone.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, I just-”

“Hey, no, it’s not bothering me. I was just in a radio interview with Hannah so we had to cut to commercial break before I could answer. What’s wrong?” he asked, concerned that something terrible had happened.

“Fuck, I forgot that was right now. I’m sorry. Call me back when you get to the bus,” Steve seemed like he was trying to rush off the phone.

“No, Stevie, wait. What’s wrong?” his tone was firm enough to let Steve know he wasn’t going to let this drop.

“Um. I just had a livestream thing. And like, people asked about the ring, so I told them I was engaged and some people just didn’t take it that well and then I went online and some people have apparently put it together that the Steve you talk about is me because of something I mentioned about my vacation and something you posted about the vacation and so I think everyone’s gonna know and I’m sorry,” Steve was panting by the end, speaking a million miles an hour literally taking the breath from him.

“Okay, well, we knew this would probably happen eventually, my love. I’ll just call the guys and we can talk to Chrissy about it if it gets picked up by the media. No reason to panic,” Eddie tried to calm him down while watching through the window to the recording booth where Hannah seemed to be introducing a song to kill more time.

“But I ruined our plan!”

“No, love. People ruined our plan. And it’s okay, anyway. We’ll figure it out.”

“But your fans will be mad that it’s me. I’m just…me!”

“You’re not just anything and any fan of mine who says or thinks that, isn’t a fan,” Eddie sighed. “I love you, and we will figure this out. Whatever we gotta do, okay?”

Steve let out a long breath before responding.

“I love you too. Tell Hannah I said hi?”

“Of course. I love you so much, okay? ‘Til death and beyond.”

Steve let out a small laugh.

“You’re not allowed to use those lyrics in the vows. But I love you so much, too.”

“We can discuss that later. I wrote you a very metal love song that I fully intend to use some of in the vows. Okay, bye!”

He hung up before Steve could argue and walked back into the studio, mouthing an apology to Hannah, who just waved it off with a smile.

Everything would be fine.

—-------------------------------------------

“The lighting isn’t ideal, but it’ll be fine,” Steve was pacing, double checking his set up while Eddie watched.

He tried helping, but kept being told not to touch things, so he ended up just sitting on the hotel bed.

Steve had traveled halfway across the country to do this, his stress was at an all-time high, and Eddie didn’t need to get his head bitten off.

“Five minutes,” Steve said, shaking his hands nervously.

“Come here, sweetheart,” Eddie said, waving him over to the bed.

“No, you’ll distract me.”

“Yes, which is exactly what you need for a minute. Come here.”

Steve sighed, but went over to him, dropping onto the bed and resting his head against Eddie’s shoulder.

“What’s got you so worried?”

“Everything.”

Eddie sighed.

“But specifically.”

“I just don’t want you or the guys to lose fans because of me,” Steve was playing with the edges of the hole in Eddie’s jeans absentmindedly.

“Sweet boy, we lose fans because we endorse a certain amp brand over another. We’ll be fine.”

“This is bigger, though. I’m just a nobody who got lucky on YouTube playing some games,” Steve whined.

“And I loved you before that. If they don’t want me to be happy, they aren’t real fans anyway. You’re my future, not whatever woman still thinks she has a shot with my gay ass,” Eddie said.

“But it isn’t just you who suffers.”

“None of us suffer. We lose some homophobic, idiotic fans who shouldn’t ever have claimed to be fans at all. None of us want people like that around.”

Steve’s alarm went off to signal one minute before the livestream started.

He jumped up and pulled Eddie up with him.

They’d already gone over everything together, discussed it with Chrissy and the guys, even Steve’s manager, Robin, about how this would work.

Steve would pretty much act like it was any other livestream, but Eddie would be there for the first five minutes or so so they could do a quick explanation of things.

Eddie would do a phone interview with Hannah in 30 minutes while Steve was gaming, covering a bit more and answering some questions about their relationship.

Then they’d both have a night off to decompress in the hotel before Steve had to fly back home and Eddie had to head to the next tour stop.

Hopefully, the buzz would die down relatively quickly.

Steve did his normal intro, but Eddie’s hand rested on his knee out of sight, squeezing once when he heard his voice start to shake a little while introducing Eddie.

“There’s been some rumors about us, and we just wanna be completely honest about things so that the rumors stop,” Steve continued. “First of all, we’ve been together for almost four years. Way before I got anywhere with YouTube, before Corroded Coffin had even released their first album. And we were friends long before that.”

“Even though I had the biggest crush on him in high school, I didn’t admit I was in love with him until we both moved to Chicago. Wasted years,” Eddie shook his head.

“Second,” Steve smirked, looking over at him for a moment. “The week off in the middle of his tour had been planned for Jeff to go home and be with his family for his wife’s birthday and daughter’s graduation.”

“Anyone who thinks Steve threw a fit about needing a vacation and made the band take a break is just saying so out of spite that we had to move around one of the tour dates to make the week off work. It’s not up to you to come up with a narrative,” Eddie added, brow raised like he was chastising children.

“And finally, most importantly, what either of us choose to share is up to us. We do not owe anyone any explanations. Our relationship is ours. Being public figures already takes away a lot of our autonomy, and this is something neither of us will budge on. We are willing to share our happiness, but we are not willing to let everyone become a part of our life together.”

Sometimes, Steve said things in such a way that Eddie couldn’t do anything but stare at him in awe. He loved him more than anything, and sometimes the only thing he could do was kiss him.

He did so now, not exactly forgetting they were live streaming, just not really caring.

Steve tensed for a second, but then relaxed, cupping his cheek and smiling into the kiss.

Eddie pulled away and looked back at the camera.

“On that note, I’m gonna leave Steve here to his gaming. If you aren’t nice, I’ll ban you from Corroded Coffin shows for life,” he waved before standing and leaving the camera’s view.

Steve rolled his eyes, but smiled fondly as Eddie walked out of the bedroom, blowing kisses back at Steve the entire way.

—-------------------------------------------

After that, Eddie made random appearances on Steve’s live streams, and Steve flew out to a handful of shows to support Eddie.

It’s not that they were hiding before, but they just hadn’t felt like they should have to try to.

Now they didn’t.

Steve even did a Q&A with the band on tour while playing games with them.

They were all pretty terrible at it, complaining most of the time about how D&D was so much easier than this. Eddie didn’t play, but he sat next to Steve and braided his hair while he kicked their asses, asking them all the questions that popped up from people watching.

When he got to one for him, he smiled and kissed the top of Steve’s head.

“This question is for me. How did you know Steve was the one?” The guys all groaned, but they were smiling. “Well, I knew he was the one back in my first senior year. I tripped on the step into the gym and Steve was the only one there. He helped me up and smiled at me, and I was a goner.”

“He’s lying to you all,” Steve said without looking away from the game. “He knew when I made him homemade banana bread. His exact words were, ‘I’m gonna marry you so hard someday, Harrington.’ and then six months later he proposed.”

“Both can be true,” Eddie pouted.

Steve paused the game and turned to him, kissing the tip of his nose.

“Every moment I have with you proves you’re the one for me,” he said before turning back to the game and leaving Eddie silently shocked.

“This is the last time we come on this thing, Steve,” Gareth said.

“Yeah. You broke him,” Jeff agreed.

[thesiltverses]

I do find it a fascinating and appropriate choice for the most central representative of the government that we see, the guy who seems to be running the show more than anyone else, including the war effort, is the Press Secretary.

this entire situation is made so completely out of propaganda and bullshit that the bullshit artist in chief is now driving the ship. the propaganda matters more than the actual events anyway, so why shouldn't the propagandist be directing things? it's kinda perfect.

I'm glad Shrue got to beat him up a little. (I kinda wish they'd kept going until his trachea collapsed, but one takes what one can get.)

Thank you!

Yeah, it was really important to us both that as the stakes got higher in the series, the final antagonistic representative of the government shouldn't be the High Adjudicator himself or some Musk-esque billionaire CEO of one of the great faiths (although we did briefly consider it). Because then you get trapped in a story about the consequences of toppling an individual tyrant, which is never what the story was about.

So instead we have Carson, who is entirely symptomatic of the hollowness, selfishness, and lack of principle at the Legislatures' heart, but who is not seeking supreme power for himself and whose toppling wouldn't meaningfully affect the power structure, since he's ultimately only a middle manager and priest-like interpreter of the emptiness overhead.

There's a fun bit in Capitalist Realism where Mark Fisher talks about Kafka's bureaucratic nightmares as an allegory for the absence of "final authority" at the heart of late capitalism, which is really what we were going for with the character, in particular the second paragraph:

The quest to reach the ultimate authority who will finally resolve K's official status can never end, because the big Other cannot be encountered in itself: there are only officials, more or less hostile, engaged in acts of interpretation about the big Other's intentions. And these acts of interpretation, these deferrals of responsibility, are all that the big Other is. If Kafka is valuable as a commentator on totalitarianism, it is by revealing that there was a dimension of totalitarianism which cannot be understood on the model of despotic command. Kafka's purgatorial vision of a bureaucratic labyrinth without end chimes with Žižek's claim that the Soviet system was an 'empire of signs', in which even the Nomenklatura themselves - including Stalin and Molotov - were engaged in interpreting a complex series of social semiotic signals. No-one knew what was required; instead, individuals could only guess what particular gestures or directives meant. What happens in late capitalism, when there is no possibility of appealing, even in principle, to a final authority which can offer the definitive official version, is a massive intensification of that ambiguity.