#also woah tumblr has changed... been a while

[tokocoo]

[yxine]

— ADMIRE. ❞

part 1 — part 2

Bada Lee x Original Character!:

— in which Bada unexpectedly gets to see and battle her long-time idol and crush on a survival show she was in, Street Woman Fighter.

— Everyone expected that Jam Republic would be only full of western dancers, so imagine when they found out that the "Queen of Dance" in the Korean Dance industry was joining the survival show Street Woman Fighter.

note: I do not own any of the people here nor the show except for Lea Chang. This was also made for entertainment purposes only.

This is also my first time writing in Tumblr so please excuse me if there are any mistakes and I hope you like this small chapter!

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"I'm so glad you could make it!" A woman's voice called out speaking in English as she embraced the tall female figure in front of her. She was Kirsten Dodgen, a very respectable western dancers that is part of the crew that everyone knew, the Royal Family.

"Well, I wouldn't refuse an offer from an old friend." The said tall female replied to Kirsten as she hugged her back.

"I thought you had the schedule packed, especially knowing you're the Queen of Dance, Lea." Kirsten said with a wide smile on her face, excited to finally be able to dance with her closest friend again, this time as a crew.

Lea Chang, a woman with chin length hair with strands of ash blonde highlights, sharp yet beautiful features and a lean body type that looks a bit musculine, she's the definition of a woman who can melt all genders. Her dance style going far with variety types of dance, hence her title 'Queen of Dance'. Not only that, her aura was dominating, fierce and full of confidence. Her sense of style going through they oversized boy-ish clothes with rare feminine styles.

Going from one battle to another from the past and choreography being one of her strongest points these past few years, but that does not mean she can't battle anymore, no. Even if it had been years since she had battled, she still polishes her dance just incase this type of situation happens.

"Ready to meet the others?" Kirsten excitedly asked Lea who nodded her head yes. Grabbing her by the arm she led her friend to one of the dance practice rooms where the other crew of Jam Republic are.

"Ain't no freaking way!" A voiced called out as both Kirsten and Lea stepped into the room. Immediately, all three people inside stood up straight in shock.

"Lea Chang!?!"

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All teams except Jam Republic has been settled down on the battle ground. The tension was high as every crew glanced at each other in unease, it was to be expected as this was a survival show, a competition where everyone wants to be the best and show that they are the best.

Suddenly the large screen showed the logo of Jam Republic making everyone stiffen at their seat in anticipation.

"Woah, it's really Jam Republic." One of the members of Deep n' Dap muttered outloud.

"I can't believe I get to see Kirsten in person!" A member of Mannequeen also said as they waited for the crew to step down the stairs.

"I remember signing up for one of Kirsten's classes and even went up early just to see her but they said her flight got cancelled, I literally cried when I found out!" One member of Deep n' Dap whine out to one of her crew before getting shutted up by her leader.

"Sh! Stop it, this is a competition!" Mina Myoung, the said leader warned her member.

"Right! Get out!" The member said while throwing her hands out acting as if she threw something.

"Woah, this is so cool!" A voice exclaimed in amazement as they stopped by the door frame of the entrance. It was Kirsten and her crew, the Jam Republic. All five of them began talking about how amazing the set was as they walked through the large hall down to the battle ground.

"Wah, look at how she carries herself."

"So cool!"

Jam Republic stood in the middle of the stage looking at the large screen in front of them waiting for the words of the other crew.

"This is harsher than I thought.." Kirsten muttered as she heard the translation of the other crew's view of them.

"She's a fake royal family."

"Where is Parris Goebell?"

"Woah, that's really harsh." Nob, the leader of LadyBounce muttered as she sneakily glanced at Jam Republic nervously.

"She just has a pretty face, there's nothing more."

"Look at how high her shoulders are! You can't even see her pretty face!"

Two no-respect stickers for Kirsten and Lattice, six no-respect stickers for Audrey. Seeing this, Audrey cheerfully raised two thumbs up smiling widely at everyone making them chuckle at her.

"She must be thrilled."

"Thumbs up? What does she mean?"

After Jam Republic seated the lights suddenly changed before the large door revealed the mc, Kang Daniel.

"Hello. Welcome to Mnet's original dance series, Street Woman Fighter 2, and I'm your host, Kang Daniel. Not only will we see the competitions between some of the best dance crews in Korea, but we have gone international this season - with global named crews, making the competition more intense." Everyone cheered and clapped for him as he continued to explain the first mission.

"You'll fight to crush all the other crews and reach the top. Only one crew can do that. Here's the first dance battle to be the winner of this competition." This made everyone cheer louder in anticipation, Kang Daniel did a pretty good job at hyping everyone up.

"The signature of the dance series is your first mission, the no-respect battle with the weakest dancer."

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"The first no-respect battle is... 1Million Redy." 1million cheered as the hyped up Redy who was adjusting her beany and sleeves before walking up on the stage with a mic on her hand.

"The person I pick as the weakest dancer is..." Redy pauses adding a dramatic effect to the tension building up in the whole room before looking towards BEBE. "Bebe, Bada Lee."

Everyone howled in excitement for the battle as Bada the leader of Bebe only nodded her head while flipping her bottle of water before walking up the stage.

"Let's go Bada!"

"Captain you got this!"

"Kick her ass, Redy-yah!"

"I just don't respect you. That's it." Said Ready as she made a cutting motion before handing the mic to her leader.

"Bada Lee from Bebe, do you have any words?"

"Not Redy, Soobin-nah! To me you're no older than an 8th grade." Bada dissed the 1million dancer who shrugged seemingly unaffected.

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"Is the mic fine now?" A woman questioned the staff who did a last minute check up on the mic before nodding in confirmation. Sighing and shaking her arms she began to stride towards the long hallway to the stairs of the battle ground.

She was late due to the mic malfunction, turns out they gave her the wrong pair and went to find another one for the last one and a half hour. It made her a bit upset on how sloppy the new staffs are on these kind of shows now but it was done so now she was on her way to her crew.

She took a bit longer walking as she saw that the mission has already started. Redy was the first one to dance, although she must admit. The young woman was good at using the fluidity of her body but...

"There's no impact." She muttered as she slowly became uninterested with the battle until it was time for the other one to dance.

Bada, the woman knew her from all those viral tiktoks and videos all around her feed. She was admittedly very good, making iconic dances, the way she moves her body and the way you could see she enjoys what she's doing. You could say that the woman was a bit of a fan.

Seeing Bada dance personally now, was a new experience. It's better than through the screen. The quality, isolations and etc. was top notch. It made her feel something new ever since she kept watching her through her screen.

"You interest me, Bada.."

Seeing as the battle ended, Bebe gaining a win. The woman decided that it was time to head down, her clanking on the pavement. Everyone heard her coming down making them look at the stairs in wonder.

"Is there another member on the other crew?"

"Is it another judge?"

"Yah, Jam Republic is smiling do you think it's another member of theirs?"

Everyone gasped at the figure that's walking down the stairs.

"Wait hold on!"

"Are you serious?!"

"She's participating in this show?!"

"I lost! I don't wanna be here anymore!"

"There is no way that Lea Chang is battling in this show!"

That's right, it's Lea Chang. The one and only Queen of Dance. Everyone was shocked even the judges because they weren't informed by this. Was this last minute?

"Woah! This is insane!" Monika, one of the judges exclaimed in shock as she watched Lea walked down the stairs with a dominant aura that covered the whole room. To say she was a fan was an understatement. The same could be said for Mike and Shownu as they both looked up to the dancer even when she was younger than them.

"I'm getting goosebumps just from watching her alone!"

"She's so tall, taller than Bada!"

"Woah, now that's an aura of a queen."

"Which crew is she in?!"

Everyone watched as she stepped towards...Jam Republic?! Staring at her as she took a seat next to Kirsten.

"I thought Kirsten was going to be a challenge but Lea?! Lord what have I done to see such a powerful duo?" Yoonji from Mannequeen jokingly—or is she—prayed to the gods.

Lea was just sitting casually as she glanced at everyone who tried to avoid eye contact with her. She knew she was popular and scary but not this much, it made her sweatdrop awkwardly chuckling inwardly.

Her eyes landed on a certain leader of Bebe, who tried not to seem nervous as she stared right back onto the queen who has been her idol since she started dancing. Lea noticed how nervous Bada must've looked because she smiled at her—well it looked like a smirk— making her flustered and look the other way.

This made Lea chuckle at how cute the Bebe leader was before settling down her gaze somewhere.

This show might be more interesting than expected.

[amorisastrum]

How to use tone tags! :D

Because @flaming-green asked and also neurodivergence !!

Long post woah

Commonly used tone tags:

/j = joke

/hj = half joke

/ly or /lyr = lyrics

/pos = positive

/neg = negative

/lh = light hearted

/nm = not mad

/s or /sarc = sarcastic

/nbh = no body here (this is used alongside a rant/vent that has not named a specific person- people may think you are talking about them and spiral)

/genq = genuine question

/nf = not forced

/plat = platonic

/r = romantic

/srs = serious

/t = teasing

Why use tone tags?:

Tone can be a very difficult thing to pick up, especially through text. Use of punctuation and capital letters and certain word choices can make a sentence seem completely different. For example, if I received a text saying "Come see me right now." I would instantly think I was in trouble and would panic. However, if I received that same message with a "/nm" I would feel much better about the situation. People use punctuation in different ways as well! I personally use exclamation marks to show how excited I am !! While for others, a multitude of exclamation marks could indicate sarcasm. Same with the use of emojis. I personally use some emojis to indicate sarcasm, but I know people who use those same emojis to indicate... Well, what the emoji is showing. So, to use a tone tag avoids any sort of miscommunication.

When to use tone tags?:

Deciding when to use tone tags can be difficult. I personally use tone tags when I reread a message and realise it is ambiguous in tone, or when I reread it, it sounds more aggressive or rude than I intended it to be.

If somebody asks you what you mean by a message, this is probably a sign that you need a tone tag of sorts. Not all people are going to interpret things the way you intend them to be, so tone tags as a whole are helpful to avoid miscommunication. Sometimes the context of the message being sent can change someone's perception so tone tags are not always needed e.g. "omg I love you so much! You're so awesome!" This may be seen as genuine, while "omg you're so awesome." Can be seen as sarcastic. It depends on how that person's brain works.

If you are talking directly with one person, or a small group of people, and you know their typing habits (such as using emojis for sarcasm or use of punctuation) then tone tags may be needed less! But if you are talking to a group of people, such as on Tumblr, it may be easier to use tone tags as more people will see what you've said and... Well people may not understand what you meant!

Some words may have different connotations through different contexts, such as the word "silly". But sometimes people may not understand that context. I typically use Silly in a positive way, but at one point I referred to a character I didn't like as a "silly man" with my friend who had no clue who this character was. To them, this meant I liked this character, which left them confused when I started talking about them in a bad way. So, I started adding "/neg" anytime I meant silly in a negative way to avoid confusion.

Other tone tag things:

Try and avoid piling of tone tags at the end of a message/post as this can be confusing. Id say try to use no more than 2, 3 at a maximum.

If you're cutting into the middle of a message with a tone tag, you can use brackets, but you don't have to! Do what makes you comfortable.

Use punctuation where you see fit.

You don't have to use tone tags for every message you send/everything you post! Use them when YOU think the tone could be ambiguous or if someone has directly asked you what you mean.

You don't have to know every tone tag ever. I've been using tone tags for a good 2 maybe 3 years now and I mainly use /nm, /j, /srs, /sarc and /pos.

I also use /silly, which I'm not sure is an actual tone tag. I use this if something I say seems passive aggressive or if I am in fact just being silly.

I hope this has helped! Tone tags are something that help me communicate with people and make me more comfortable! And I hope they can make it easier for you to communicate as well :]

Also sorry if this makes little sense it is 2am. Feel free to add any more information in reblogs or replies!!

[kengan-daddies]

My Byzantine Romance: Ohma Tokita x (F) Reader

Chapter 1, Chapter2

MY BYZANTINE ROMANCE : OHMA TOKITA X (F) READER

Anime : Kengan Ashura

Pairing: Ohma Tokita x (F) Reader

Warnings: Mention of death, horror, Violence, Mental Heath, Toxic Parents

You were an average woman, living in the big world, the city was busy and as loud as usual. The peoples where hustling and bustling, going to and fro. It was cloudy, but it wasn't raining. A relaxing breeze in the air, the leaves slowly changing colors, matching the cooling weather. Men and women of all ages, all going to different places.

You walked along the crowd, your mind wondering yet focused as you just walked, a destination in mind yet also not. You were an average woman, nothing special stood out about you, you weren't pretty, you weren't ugly, your weren't smart, you weren't dumb, you weren't tall, you weren't short, you weren't strong, you weren't weak. You were just average.

Average everything, you lived with your family, never having enough money to own your own place, you just made enough to take care of your needs, your hobbies and to help your family with groceries and household products. You sighed as you stopped suddenly in the middle of the sidewalk, your mind processing before you shook your head and you continued on walking. 'Nope, got everything this time.'

You thought as you walked through the crowd, you passed by all kinds of people everyday, but nobody every really stood out that much, every now and then you'll see someone wearing your favorite anime as a shirt or hat, a favorite band or even have a similar aesthetic to yours. For a split second you'd think of walking over an talking to them about it, but then you'd loose your nerves. 'What fi they think I'm weird? What if they don't actually know the anime or band? What if they don't feel like talking? What if they're a bad person? A kidnapper? A murder? A rapist?... Never mind, I should keep to myself.'

You'd think, you wanted to make friends, but with how messed up the world was, you'd always second guess it. You were a scary cat, you'd rather stay inside then actually go out an adventure alone. You'd dream of going out, going to places at night, or to stores you never been in. You'd think of moving out, getting away from your toxic parents, you'd think of dating... but non of it would ever happen. You were too scared, too cautious, too aware of your reality.

'I need to get home, I'm ready to start on this new fanfiction, it looks good and I wanna read it. Not to mention I even found an amazing writer on Tumblr who has a pretty large masterlist. They write about my favorite character, he doesn't get enough love.' You thought, as you can see yourself now, laying in your bed, the room dark, the TV on low playing your favorite show/song in the back. You sighed blissfully.

"Woah!!" You said, as you came back into reality right before you ran into a person. You stared at them for a while. 'Man, this guy is huge.' You thought as you looked up at him. His skin was tan, and his hair was shaggy and wild, he wore a red and black jacket with blue jeans. "Sorry!!" You said with an awkward laugh and a little wave. He stared down at you, a strange fire in his fierce eyes before he seemed to relax. "It's fine." He said in a low voice. 'Wow, he's sexy with a sexy voice too?' You thought as you stepped around him with a small nod as you continued on your way. 'Man that guy was hot... Wonder what he would be like if he was my boyfriend....no,no,no... he probably already have a girlfriend, and knowing my luck he wouldn't even spare me a second glance.'

You thought in self pity as you walked on, slowly forgetting about your encounter with the man as you made your way on to your destination.

You sighed in happiness as you crawled into your bed, tossing your phone onto your pillow as you plopped down next to it, your aching legs tensing before relaxing. "HEHEHEHEHEEH!!!! I've been on my feet ALL DAY LONG!!!!" You giggled in glee as you pulled the blankets on you, snuggling into your cocoon. Your hand slipped up from the blanket to grab your phone, you turned it on, punched in the password, the screen lightening up to revealed your newly obtained fanfiction. "And it's 20 chapters long too? LETS GOOOO BABY!!!" You thought in glee as your began reading. 'Not to forget that it's a smut too? I must've hit the jackpot.' Was your last thought, before you got lost into your story.

5 hours later, you awoke up to your room was covered in a slightly orange hue, the TV was still on but nothing was playing, the sun was beginning to set. You sighed as you stretched before you went limp on the bed. Your sleepy mind slowly going back to sleep, but the sound of a large banging noise shook you awake. You laid there, still... BANG! BANG! BANG! You heard. Your lungs became tight and your body ran cold from slight fear. You seen the light come on from under your door, the sound of your family waking up and coming to the front to investigate.

You laid there, listening for a while to your parents and siblings complain about the crazy noise. "WHO THE HELL IS BEATING ON MY FUCKING DOOR LIKE THAT!?" Your mom shouted in anger and irritation. You could hear everyone speaking about it before the banging started again. BANG! BANG! BANG! "THIS BETTER BE THE FUCKING POLICE!! OR ELES I'M CALLING THE DAMN POLICE!!" Your father shouted as the sound of the front door unlocking and opening sounded out. You listened intensely, but everything went quite, the the sound of screaming and gun shots sounded throughout the house. You sat up quickly, your chest raising quickly as your breathing became labored, fear coursed through your cold body.

'Holy shit.....what the fuck..... why......I gotta go.' You mind thought, as you quickly reached for your phone, you tuned it on, checking your percentage. '55%... shit.' you thought. You looked at your door, seeing that it was locked. The sound of glass crashing to the ground made you jump, heavy furniture moving, small furniture being thrown carelessly. Every new noise made you jump as you shakily got up from your bed. You put on your sweat pants, before you shakily pulled on your hoodie, stuffing your phone and charger into your pockets. You walked over to the window, sliding the curtains to the side.

You looked out, checking your surroundings before you unlocked the window and you slowly slid it open. 'Never thought this shit would actually happen.' You thought, as you stepped on your bed, your body was so cold, but your mind was on auto pilot. You jumped up on the window seal, pushing your body up until you sat on the window seal. The sound of the robbers roaming about your home grew louder as they drew nearer to your room. You looked back at your room, one last time before you jumped out. You hissed in slight pain as you landed on the uneven dirt, but you forced yourself to move quickly. You reached back up to your window, sliding it back closed to the best of your ability, but you gave up half way when the sound of your doorknob began jiggling.

"Fuck it." You said as you made a mad dash for it. Your bare feet slapping on the ground as you ran down the street, you breath labored and your legs burned your lungs ached but you refused to stop until you made it to the park. 'If I make it to the park, I can blend in, and match the people.' You thought. Honestly, you probably could've just acted like a young woman walking past the house, but your adrenaline was pumping, your fear was guiding you.

You huffed and puffed, as you staggered over to the park bench, you plopped down on it, as you focused on your breathing. "Holy shit." You breathed out, you sat there a while longer before you began to chuckle to yourself, your laughter growing in volume as the people around you stared at you like you were crazy, but you didn't care. "I survived... I survived... I actually made it out... the one person in the family, who never been in any form of real life situation as extreme as that. The sheltered child of the family, the one who was 'lazy' and 'cuddled'.... actually survived.....all by myself... I'm actually alone now... no more annoying siblings... no more toxic parents... no more anything....everyone is dead... they're all gone... I'm the only one left... I'm the only one.... left." You said, your chuckling died down, as you were left sitting there, numb.

No emotions could explain how you felt, no words could describe how lost you felt, nothing mattered anymore, as you sat there, lost in the daze, as shock over came you. The people in the park, non the wiser of what you just experienced, of what you just went through. You felt small, you felt alone, as you sat there in the park, on the bench. You sat there for a long time, the crowd of people slowly getting smaller and smaller, as the area grew quiet, dark and empty... just like your home... You sat there for hours, you should've called the cops, you should've asked for help, but the adrenaline wore off, and the crushing weight of reality kicked in... making your mind go blank and empty.

Someone walked past you, their walking was confident, and strong, no worries, no insecurities, you looked up, your dull eyes seeing the familiar black and red jacket, the Tan skin and the shaggy hair. 'It's the man from before.' You thought, as you watched him walk past you, not giving you a second glance as he went on about his business, you stared at him for a moment. His back was straight, sharp, and strong. He didn't have any issues, he didn't have any weight, he was his own man. You stared at him, suddenly moved by his own confidence, as you reached into your pocket, and you pulled out your phone, unlocking it as you went and dialed 911.

"This is the local police department, what seems to be your emergency?" Asked the male operator... You sat there for a moment longer, watching the man walk into the dark, towards what seems to be a larger silhouette. "Hello, I'd like to report a murder robbery, sir." You spoke calmly. "Okay, and can you tell us where this took place at, ma'am?" He asked, not sounding as relaxed as he was at first. You gave them the address of your home as well as much information about the situation as you could. "6 family members. 2 sons, 2 daughters, a mother and father, all dead." You said. The operator was quiet for a moment before he spoke once more.

"How many robbers are in area?" He asked. "Not sure, but I'd say 4 to be safe." You said. He went quiet once more before he asked one last question. "Do you have any relations to this family?" He asked. You answered, without hesitation. "No, I never knew them, I just seen what happened, and I'm reporting it." You said, your eyes never leaving the two men's silhouettes as they seemed to be in an heated argument. The man spoke once more. "Your name, Miss, for records, and where is your current location?" He asked, a edge to his voice. You remained silent, as you hung up the phone.

You turned it on airplane mode, before you pocketed it. You stood up, pulling the hood over your head, making a move to follow the two men. You didn't know what made you want to follow. By right you shouldn't care, by right you should be grieving, you should be waiting for the cops to come find you, you should be a mess by now, you shouldn't be like this.... so numb.... So empathetic. But you were, and for some reason, you couldn't find it in you to be sad. In fact, you were starting to feel glee, happiness, joyous even.

"I'm free." You said, your feet feeling light, your shoulders not so heavy, your mind free. "I'm free to do whatever now... no more hiding behind my parents, who were oh so strict with my safety, keeping me chained home with their manipulative head games... no more getting told how much of a fuck up I am, just because I make one little mistake... no more... I'm free." You spoke, a smile stretching on your face, as you followed the men around the corner leading to the city. The sound of police sirens filled your ears, and you looked back, seeing swarms of cops getting out, as they searched the area for you.

You stared at them all for a second, before you waved them goodbye, as you walked around the corner. "I'm gonna need a job, I need a place to live, I need to make it out here... as a new person." You said as you followed the men for so long before you stopped, you watched as they dipped into an alleyway, before they were followed by a wry old man with a briefcase.... 'Hmm.'

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Sonine Prime ... Part 6

Hi, everyone and welcome back to Sonine Prime! The part of the show when I come out and talk about Sonine (and a bit of Sontails) in Sonic Prime!

Last time we started Episode 6 of Season 1 of Sonic Prime and went over a bit of the New Yolk portion at the beginning. This time we'll be tackling the rest of the New Yolk portion at the beginning and moving onto the Grim.

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<< Part 5 | Part 7 >>

(Essay/thoughts/analysis under the cut)

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Let us start out with some little things.

As we covered last part, Nine pretty much came to New Yolk to fetch Sonic, only fighting long enough to give Sonic an opening to escape. During this short fight sequence, Sonic starts spin dashing into eggforcers higher and higher until he eventually lands in the cockpit of Nine's ship.

When Nine notices Sonic climbing up to him, this is the face he makes:

Then, as Sonic arrives in the cockpit, he keeps the expression. In fact, even though he moves to close the cockpit cover (where his expression changes to a more focused one), he smiles again whenever he's not focused. And funnily enough, there's also the way Nine smiles when Sonic enters the cockpit and says his name.

"Nine! Ha ha holy man just in time!"

He leans back before Sonic shakes his seat like he's preening under the attention.

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As will become a pattern soon (not always Nine's conscious fault, but...), Sonic begins to tell Nine how they need backup in New Yolk and mentioning how bad the fight is (i.e talking about his current goal/concerns) before marveling at the place between the shatterspaces.

"We could really use some backup. Woah, woah, where we goin'!"

...

"We got a fight on our hands back there and– oh what did you just do?"

This of course switches the point of topic from the fight in New Yolk (Sonic's focus) to Nine’s ship, the portal/space in between, and where they're headed (Nine’s focus).

It's worth mentioning that while Sonic is talking about the fight (the bit I just quoted) through to Nine telling Sonic he opened a portal, Nine has this smug expression on his face (very proud of himself).

"I opened a portal."

(If any of you go back to watch this scene, it's worth mentioning he also smiles while he speaks his line here, and he ALSO smiles when he speaks his next line about how he calls the worlds "shatterspaces". Like I said, he's proud of himself here, and he likes the attention from Sonic.)

In any case, as Sonic changes the subject back to his point of focus, Nine's smile falls into a frown (I'd put the image here but I did say I'd try to be a good boy, which means trying to get fairly far into this part before hitting the tumblr image limit🥲)

"Really glad to see you, but we have to go back! The rebels need my help."

Nine, of course, quickly changes topic, thus changing Sonic's focus.

"Not until you tell me where you've been!"

It's a fair question to ask, especially after that ending of Episode 3. Sonic disappeared so suddenly, leaving Nine alone (man that ending man that ending), and Nine hasn't seen him until now. However, whether on purpose or not, this distraction from Sonic's goal (helping the rebels in New Yolk) allows Nine to segue back into his talk about his discoveries and the shatterverse (which falls in line with his current goal).

"Then you showed up in your spaceship and pulled me into this portal thingy!" *Deep breath in*

"That confirms what I've discovered."

Then, as Nine starts his next like ("From the moment you vanished") he begins to smile again.

"From the moment you vanished, I suspected there was more to the shard than I'd realized."

Nine presses a button on the console which reveals the red shard. Still smiling (proud of himself, but also showing off), he brushes off Sonic's comment about how he stole the shard by talking about how he hacked into the Chaos Council's power core schematics and created his shatterdrive, allowing the two of them to travel the shatterverse at their discretion.

However, as before, Sonic begins to change the subject back to the fight in New Yolk (props to him for trying to remember and come back to his topic even as Nine continues to distract him, honestly 😂). This, of course, causes Nine to frown once more.

"Shatter-what? Uh, this is cool and everything, but we really gotta get back to New Yolk!"

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Let's take a jump to Sonic's pov here.

I think there's no question that Sonic is excited to see Nine (what, with all the smiles, shaking his chair, him saying he's glad to see him), but he's focused on a goal at the moment. He'd just resolved to help the rebels and ensure that they have a future. He's fighting for their last bits of hope, and he's also fighting to clear both his and Nine's names as traitors. This fight is so important because to Sonic its akin to the rebels' last stand.

If they lose, the palm, the rebellion, all hope for bringing back what once was, is lost.

That's a lot of heavy weight to carry.

And not to mention, when Nine appeared in New Yolk to fight, from Sonic's pov this was proof Nine isn't a traitor. To Sonic, Nine wasn't coming for him, he was coming to make things right and to fight alongside them for a better tomorrow.

So Nine leaving New Yolk with him, that goes against the idea Sonic had in his head of this situation. Even though he and Nine haven't talked about it, Sonic has an idea of Nine's intentions and their shared goal in his head, and he doesn’t want to believe it's incorrect. So, rather than assume bad faith (which in this case would be taking Nine's talk and actions to mean that Nine doesn't care about New Yolk as much as his personal wants), Sonic is tackling this from the perspective that Nine is getting distracted from their goal.

Look at the language. It's not "I've got to get back".

It's we.

And you can see it in the sad half smiling expression Sonic has when he says that this is cool, but they need to get back to New Yolk (and you'll see it again later. Most notably, in the final episode of Season 2). It's like he's softly pleading, bidding Nine to remember what's at stake and what their goals are (even if it was Sonic who assumed they shared this goal).

Let's cut to Nine’s pov for a moment.

Nine is incredibly happy to see Sonic again (what with all the obvious and secret smiles abound), so much so that he doesn’t ask anything regarding Sonic's disappearance until Sonic mentions the rebels in New Yolk. Ever since Sonic's disappearance, Nine has been working on his pet project (creating the shatterdrive, finding a new place to call home, and experimenting with the power of the prism shards).

Nine wants to create a new world, believing that the one he came from is beyond saving. This is why The Grim being a blank slate is so important. The honor of him wanting to bring Sonic along (to create their new world, their new home together) is that he believes that Sonic is worth saving, someone who should exist in a "better" world. Sonic, the only being he currently believes to be kind and selfless, to have the capacity to care for others, and the being he's (Nine's) currently attached to, is someone he finds worthy to create a new world with him.

Like Sonic, Nine has this idea of him and his goals in his head that he doesn’t want to be challenged. He arrived in New Yolk only planning to fetch Sonic and to bring him to the Grim. Since he's planning this "new world" and has been focusing on bringing Sonic along, to him this goal takes precedence over everything else.

Because yeah, Sonic risked his life to save him, but the rest of New Yolk is beyond saving. Creating a good, better world, takes precedence over saving people in a worse world who don't deserve it. So surely Sonic will understand this, right? And Sonic also wants his home, so surely he'd fight just as desperately to create a home with Nine since his old one is gone, right?

To Nine, as a good person (and because he only really likes it when Sonic is kind and selfless to him specifically), this is just a matter of logic. Just like Sonic does with him, he assumes Sonic will go along with him and agree. So, when Sonic keeps mentioning New Yolk and the battle, it frustrates him. Not only is Sonic putting his attention on what Nine doesn't think matters (or deserves the attention), he's pushing against Nine's idea of him as a kind and selfless guy who ultimately is only this way to Nine and upholds his (Nine's) goals over others. So, he keeps dragging Sonic's attention back, forcing him to focus on him, explaining his goal.

Sonic is trying to make Nine come around, to get him to focus on the others fighting, to "remind" him of "their" goal of protecting the innocents in New Yolk and their future. Nine is trying to make Sonic come around, to get Sonic to focus on him, to convince Sonic that creating a better world, a new home, is a better goal. Neither of them think they should have to convince or remind, so it frustrates and confuses them each time they're forced to change topic.

We will come back to their povs later.

ㅤ

So, after Sonic mentions how they really have to get back to New Yolk, Nine attempts to redirect Sonic's attention once more.

"I have to show you what I found..."

Nine is still smiling as they land in the Grim, doubly so as he explains their "bright new future" (as he puts it).

"Another world..."

"Welcome to our bright new future!"

Getting into Sonic's personal space before jumping out of his ship? Check.

Our, man🥲

Sonic's "we really gotta get back" versus Nine's "our bright new future" is gonna kill me

ㅤ

As we're approaching the image limit, I shall be employing the usage of embedding a video (mostly because I really want to get to talk about this part in this post). I will be referencing both Sonic and Nine's body language as well as quoting it.

So, after Sonic arrives and the two marvel over shard energy, Nine talks about the Grim.

"Be on the look out for whacked out versions of you, me, or anyone else you might know."

"That's the best part of all. There's no one here! It's a clean slate... The perfect place to start over and get the world right."

There are so many smiles in this portion on Nine's part, from him just explaining the goal he seeks to share with Sonic alone, that I would probably hit the image limit a hundred times trying to point them all out.

Nine is just...so earnest here, and the smiles he keeps on sending Sonic alone are heart melting.

"With the proper fortifications, and enough shard energy, it could be home!"

And Sonic's little gasp here, the sad look, tells you so much about what he's thinking.

He has never seen Nine this happy or excited. He's never seen him smile so much.

But...

"The one you lost, the one I never had. I could make that hope a reality."

Man and the sealing the deal here with the shoulder touch??

"For both of us."

You can tell how much these words hit, how Sonic knows that this matters to Nine.

Because he looks so guilty by the time he speaks.

ㅤ

Let's jump back to Sonic's point of view for a moment.

When Nine starts talking about home, I believe Sonic recognizes that this isn't just some fun side project of Nine's that's a distraction from the goal. This is because Nine gets personal with it.

"With the proper fortifications, and enough shard energy, it could be home!"

I think this is the line that first alerts Sonic to just how bleak things are for Nine. This is a line that tells Sonic that Nine doesn't have a home. So this project is important to Nine, because it's about home.

And Sonic understands the desperate want to be home right now, to get home. He's wanted to go back home since Episode 1.

"The one you lost"

His expression changes just slightly at this line.

He recognizes now that Nine's goal here is to create home, for himself and for Sonic. And while that's going to make Sonic feel a bit conflicted inside no matter what (because he doesn't believe his old home is fully lost and knows he wants that more than creating a new place with Nine), it's a sweet one. Nine is empathizing with him.

But, this is also Sonic M. Hedgehog. Despite all his efforts to get back/find "home" up to this point, he always puts it on the backburner if the lives of others are at stake. Maybe that's his big goal, and maybe during this story he pushes people to achieve this goal faster, but he cares about people (In fact, part of his arc is him coming to care about the residents of the shatterverse as their own people who deserve to live as much as he and his original friends do).

Sonic is holding onto the hope that gathering the Paradox Prism shards is the key to returning/finding his home. And those shards aren't going to somehow disappear (and Sonic is holding onto the hope that there will always be a way). So, even if he steps aside and helps overthrow the council, or fixes some friendships, or saves worlds from being attacked, his goal will always be waiting when he's done. Sonic has no intention to knowingly achieve his goal at the cost of others' lives.

So perhaps Sonic recognizes that finding "home" is also important to Nine, and maybe he does find everything Nine's working on cool and awesome, but there are people out there in danger.

"Now, look, Nine, it's incredible, but it’s... it's not going anywhere. And those rebels really need our help. Come with me. Help me finish the fight."

I believe that this is Sonic sympathizing with Nine. He does think that what Nine's doing is incredible, and he wants him to know that. In fact, I'm sure part of what makes his expression so sad is that he does want to enoy this moment for what it is with Nine, but the battle in New Yolk is urgent.

Sonic understands what Nine wants, and it's nice that Nine wants him (Sonic) to have a home again too, but it’s just as he says. The Grim isn't going anywhere. The mission to get Sonic's home back and Nine's mission to create a home, these will still be possible after people's lives are no longer at stake. To Sonic, they can have both. It's simple logic. They can save other people, they can fight for the bright future of all those poor people in New Yolk and then also fight for their own bright futures. And so, Sonic goes about explaining with that sad sort of smile again, like he's trying to "remind" Nine of the importance of the immediate goal Sonic thinks they both naturally share. He's, again, taking Nine's actions in good faith, taking it as if Nine needs a reminder that people's lives are important. And if he does that, surely Nine will come with him and fight alongside him for New Yolk's future, right?

Surely, a good and reasonable person would do that, right?

And it's not just that, that Sonic has this idea in his head of Nine having the same idea of the "right thing to do" as him and the same goals that he wants to keep seeing. The usage of "we", "our", "together" for Sonic.

*Sigh* "I hope I see you back in New Yolk."

No matter what, Sonic intends on going back to fight, but the emphasis is on the togetherness. Sonic wants to go back with him, he wants to fight with him, he does want to be with him.

He hopes Nine will do the "right thing". He also wants Nine to go with him, and I wager that extends beyond the battle for New Yolk.

Because if it was just about doing the right thing, then Sonic would have put more emphasis on how it’s something Nine should want. Instead, he approaches this like he's reminding Nine that this—doing the right thing—is important, while emphasizing that he wants to be with him.

Whether you believe he only wants Nine at his side because he's trying to fill the hole Tails' absense has left or not (although for the record, I think by this point Sonic recognizes that Nine is his own person and does want him by his side in the way Tails is, without realizing that he kinda is/intending to fill the hole by his side that Tails left), my point is that Sonic wants Nine by his side when he fights to protect, wants Nine by his side when he's traveling, and he wants Nine by his side when he's trying to achieve his own goal of bringing back his home. This point will come back in season 2 with more evidence behind it, but even this far back, before Sonic's considered Nine a "best friend", he wants Nine there by his side in the coming times.

So Sonic can't understand why Nine would place his goal over fighting in the battle (fighting for hope and for their own honor), but he also hopes that Nine reconsiders. He hopes that his convincing, his wish made clear to have Nine with him, is enough to make Nine choose him and his (Sonic's) immediate goal.

ㅤ

Now let's jump to Nine's point of view again.

After Nine finishes his piece about creating a new home for him and Sonic, he gives Sonic a moment to speak, awaiting his answer. Partway through Sonic's explanation about how The Grim isn't going anywhere and the rebels need them, Nine withdraws his hand from Sonic's shoulder. He backs away, eyes wide, with his hand still out (this is before his expression changes in reaction to Sonic's words).

It's like he...can't believe what Sonic is saying. It's as if after all of that—the whole demonstration, the heart to heart—Sonic...doesn't want this. It's as if he'd expected Sonic to get over his confliction and choose him, choose to work towards this "bright new future". Even if Sonic hadn't meant it that way, it's...a rejection.

"That city never brought me anything but misery. I owe it nothing."

What Sonic couldn’t have known is that Nine had given him a choice, an unspoken ultimatum of sorts (at least, that's how I see it).

"Them? Worlds and people that are beyond saving? Or me? A bright future and a perfect world to call home?"

To Nine, Sonic had chosen others wants and needs over his own (the wants and needs of those Nine doesn't care about). This not only goes directly against the idea he had of Sonic in his head and those unspoken expectations (to care about Nine but ultimately focus on Nine's their goals over other people), but it surprises him, because he thought he and this demonstration would have been enough to show Sonic what's "really important".

Not to mention, it's possible he thought (or hoped) Sonic understood by now what New Yolk means to him. That was the city that hurt him, full of people who'd never go out of their way to help him or protect him. How could Sonic say that the city needs him (Nine) when the city has never done anything for him, when no one was there to help when he needed it?

"I'll help you get back."

But I also think Nine is...used to disappointment in his life, which is why he takes the percieved rejection surprisingly well. He'd held onto this goal in Sonic's absense so hard (for a hedgehog he barely knew), thinking constantly about how Sonic will love what he's doing.

But it's clear to him (in his pov) that Sonic doesn’t feel the same, doesn’t care about it as much. He swallows his disappointment, his frustration, and he gives Sonic another chance to choose him.

He opens the portal without looking at him, tells Sonic that he (Nine) "has work to do".

Sonic counters his "I hope you choose to stay with me" with his own "I hope you join me in New Yolk", and he leaves. And all we see of Nine before it cuts to Sonic hurtling through the space in between is his shift in facial expressions, his frustration and anger deepening visually.

I suppose what I'm saying is that Nine is trying to be good and reasonable here. He's trying to give Sonic a choice, because it's not going to be the same if Sonic doesn't want this too. He's not in the business of forcing Sonic to join him just because he wants him to. But at the same time, Nine's setting these choices up like ultimatums in his head. In fact, later when he shows up in New Yolk, he'll try to make it more clear to Sonic that he won't get another chance if he doesn't choose him (Nine). He almost expects Sonic to choose him. And when Sonic doesn’t choose him in his unspoken ultimatum, and when Nine ultimately gives him more and more chances to, it's hard not to see it as Nine seeking to get Sonic to prove that he cares about him.

Does this make sense?

In any case, if there's anything I want to get across as The Grim section of this episode comes to a close, it's this. This entire scene is one large miscommunication. Nine and Sonic both are wrapped up in their own goals, assume the other will just go along with what they want or are on the same page as them, and are both operating as if they are right and are giving the other the chance to make "good" choices. They're different people with different povs and context and goals. This scene hurts so much because ultimately they both want good things and they BOTH want to be together, but this never quite comes across, because neither takes the other's words as intended. And yet, that's what makes this scene feel...real to me, as a real conversation that could occur. A conversation like this, where both clearly care about each other, but it seems like each thing they say is wrong, like it doesn't come across right, is something that can happen irl.

And it sucks! It sucks because this scene ending the way it does is unavoidable, both because neither have yet progressed and learned lessons on assuming others agree with them, and because miscommunications like this just happen even when people try their hardest to be clear.

ㅤ

Also, bit of a side note I wanted to mention but didn't have a moment to fit it in, I actually hadn't quite shipped Sonine after finishing this episode, much less season 1. At the time, I was still really new to Sonic fandom and hadn't consumed much of the media. I'm sure I've said this all in another post before, but this scene gave me second hand embarrassment when I first watched it. I didn’t know how I was meant to feel, nor how I was meant to interpret being beamed with the concept that Nine wanted to create a new world with Sonic and be at home with him, and only him. I didn't dare let myself think that it was intended to come off as romantic, but to myself it never felt very..."brotherly" of them (as was the idea I got from the bit of fandom I was aware of at the time). In the end, all I could think was: "I'm not sure if it was intended to be romantic. Probably not, but Nine definitely has strong feelings of some sort. Honestly, this is such a big scene I wouldn't be surprised if it sparked a bunch of fan content." In the end I got curious enough to find out that, no. Sonine does not have a lot of fancontent😂. But this scene was the first to alert me of the possibility, even if I wouldn't ship it until watching S2, and I think it says a lot that someone who had no Sonic ship bias at the time (except for a passing enjoyment of S0nadow) had a hard time figuring out how to feel about this scene.

Okay, okay. I'll be a bit more normal now. Let us move on and follow Sonic back to New Yolk.

As things are starting to look bad in the fight with the rebels (+ Sonic) versus the Chaos Council (Rebel has collapsed on the ground, Renegade is cornered at the mercy of Deep's sword, and Sonic is squeezed in the fist of Mr. Dr.'s mech, Nine arrives.

The fact that Nine chooses to come back here despite what happened earlier is something that will come back.

Nine intervenes and ends up freeing Renegade, Rebel, and Sonic. After this, Sonic finds himself running beside Nine's ship, smiling.

"Nine...you came!"

And yet...Nine isn’t as happy about this as Sonic is. While Sonic is overjoyed that Nine gave in and chose to join him in this fight, Nine is still frustrated, angry.

"When this is over, I'm going home and never looking back. Whether I go it alone is entirely up to you."

This is the line I referenced earlier during the scene in the Grim. Sure, Nine gave in to Sonic's wishes and ended up helping, but he's not here so he can claim his place by Sonic's side and be a obedient little fox who only wants what he (Sonic) wants.

This is Nine giving Sonic another chance, and with clearer wording regarding the consequences of not choosing him. What Nine is saying here is that he's planning on going back to The Grim after helping, and that after this battle Sonic will have his last chance to choose him. He's saying "I'm helping you, but after this I'm going home and I'm staying there. Are you going to go with me?"

Sonic, meanwhile, doesn't seem to take in exactly what Nine says. Whether it's because he doesn't take it seriously, isn't paying attention, doesn't have time to let the words sink in, or whatever, nothing about Nine's serious statement causes Sonic's smile to fall.

"I knew you'd come back, buddy!"

Although, despite the fact Sonic doesn’t seem to take in Nine's words, I would be remiss if I didn't emphasize how happy Sonic is that Nine came back🥺

ㅤ

Anddddd with about seven minutes left in Episode 6, it's time to cut this part short. We've hit the tumblr media limit on images and videos, as usual😂.

Next time we'll be finishing up Epsiode 6 and, with any luck, we'll be on track to finishing Season 1 of Sonic Prime. Thanks for reading and I'll see you all in the next one!

[wylanzahn]

OC en Tres

Yes, the main language I use on this page is English, but I need to stand out somehow; this is my way of doing so. Also, a huge shout out to @hessdalen-globe who I only started following recently but I really appreciate the return (also I love your lore and I wanna read more and I wanna ask so many questions but also for our first interaction this feels like a big ask and I haven't been on Tumblr long so ahhhhhh big and scory).

Too much? You're getting my "Post-Nap Vibes," and we're here for it, at least I am.

The rules, as they were ordained to me follow... Rules: Pick three pictures that summarize one of your characters.

Now it doesn't say... OCs and while I am very indecisive I'll try to stick to only one for right now, and since I've already announced my original Tumblr story

"All the Deaths we See Before the End,"

I'll have to write about Dimos of Tarras! So without further a dood-ily-doo, let's dood-ily-doo.

First, on the list, we have a picture of the IRL city of Atrani in the region of Campania, Italy (basically southern Italy), which is a semi-inspiration for Dimos's home city of Tarras. Situated in a cape safe from stormy seas Tarras is Dimos's, and his best friend Albus's, hometown, it's a mercantile city of a relative recluse, having flourished under both the monarchy and the republic. The ruling Podesta acts like a baron-like bureaucrat rather than a humble city servant.

Secondly, we have Lôtān, aka the Leviathan. A beast of epic proportion, this serpentine fishmonger lurks below the waters of Tarras, though its visage is often rarely seen. Many a tale has been told of Lôtān, some good, some bad, but all of them remain consistent, that if you are to see the Lôtān your life will change forever. While I would get deeper into the lore we do have to keep a liiiittle secret before the Prologue (A Prologue as Deep as the Sea) comes out.

Lastly, but of course not least-ly, we have a grave. ;) ;)

More to come on Dimos soon!! And the tales he and his friends carve out into an epic Age of Heroes in the world of Matos. To join this wide-ranging activity of writers and so-ons I'll be tagging: @somethingclevermahogony, @thevampirelibrarian, and (reveal?) the wonderful @solabees, my amazing supporter and partner.

I'm so sorry if I've tagged someone who's already done the OCs in Three, think of it as a chance to explore a different character! And if you see this pop up for you, give it a go and try it yourself!! This was a fun experience for me and I love getting to create stuff and share it outside my small friend group.

Also also also also quick another shout out to Vampire Librarian for stoking my crippling Webcomics addiction, your comic the Vampire Librarian (Woah a coincidence? I think not). Idk if you'll see this but you are one of my favorite creators and the fact we're mutuals is insane.

Okay onto the next thing! A good morrow, a good day, a goodnight, and a happy 3 AM to all.

[marvel-rhapsody]

Drunken Words | Sebastian Stan x fem!reader

A/N: I wrote this back in 2019 for a Sebastian Stan imagines book/story I did on Wattpad. I’ve been wanting to get into writing again, but I have no idea whether or not my writing will do well on here …. So here we go, I guess. Also, I’ll have to learn formatting and such for Tumblr since this is the first time I’m writing on here, so hang in there with me ❤️ Feedback is always appreciated!

Drunken Words | Sebastian Stan x fem!reader

Word Count: 1k+

~~~~~~~~~

You've known Sebastian for years. Since he moved to America, in fact. You were his first friend, and you've been inseparable ever since the day he accidentally knocked you over in the hallway.

You were twelve then, and now you're about to turn thirty-seven. Twenty-five years of friendship later, the connection is still there, never dulling for a moment.

Your friendship did, however, go through some rough times. Like when Sebastian leaves for a long time to film... and some relationships. He never really got along with your boyfriends... And as much as you tried to like his girlfriends, something felt so wrong about them. Like they weren't right for him. 

Things have changed these past couple of years. Your feelings for Sebastian kept growing and growing. And now, they're to the point of combustion. You want to tell him, so badly, but you don't want to ruin the one thing you've managed to keep healthy in your life. 

But you love him.

That's it. That's what the feeling is.. love.

But you don't think Sebastian could ever love you back. He couldn't love you as much as you love him. And that kills you. 

You've accepted the fact that you'll never find another love like this. You've accepted that you will never be with the one you really want. You will never, ever be with Sebastian. 

However, Sebastian has other plans.

You see, you're birthday is just around the corner. And your best friend has a little something up his sleeve. 

He's taking you to the premiere for Avengers:Endgame. [your birthday might not be around this time, just pretend lol]  Not as a date, he would never admit that. But secretly, he wanted you. He wanted to take you out, love you... Give you everything you ever want or need. He wants to scream to the world that you are his and he is yours. 

But he doesn't want to ruin the thing he's managed to keep healthy. He doesn't want to throw twenty-five years out the window. He wants to keep everything perfect.

He's accepted the face that he'll never find another love like this. He's accepted that he will never be with the one that he really wants. He will never, ever be with his best friend. And that kills him.  

"(Y/N). Let's go, we can't be late!" Sebastian tells you. 

He looks really good tonight. His blue suit matches his eyes perfectly. He bought you a new dress, as a birthday gift, which matches the suit as well.

You step into your living room where Sebastian is waiting. 

"Woah..." he says. "You look beautiful, (y/nn)."

You smile, feeling your cheeks grow hot. "Thank you. You don't look too bad yourself." 

~~~~~~~~~

The ride to the premiere didn't take too long, but the awkward silence didn't make anything better. 

Once the car stops, someone opens the door, and Sebastian slides out first. He then reaches his hand back into the car to help you get out. He holds your hand for a while, up until you reach some of the fans. 

Sebastian smiles and waves and signs some things for the fans while the two of you make your way to the red carpet, where photographers are waiting to take photos.

"I'll wait over here for you to get finished..." you tell him,

He frowns. "Come with me... and take a few pictures."

You reluctantly agree and walk beside him. You stop, take pictures, and then do another pose. Sebastian takes some photos by himself as well. 

Afterwards, you are led to another section of the purple carpet, where Sebastian does a couple interviews. One of which is with Anthony Mackie. Once they are done, Anthony runs over and wishes you a happy birthday, which leads to him and Sebastian singing a terrible version of the song, making your face grow red. 

"Sometimes I wish I didn't know you guys..." you laugh.

Anthony laughs as well. "You know you love us..."

"Yeah, yeah.. Don't flatter yourself." 

The three of you walk into the theater together. You had assigned seats next to each other, sitting a row behind Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth. 

The movie was riveting; you couldn't contain your emotions. You cried, laughed, as well as everything in between. The credits come to an end, and you wipe tears from your eyes. 

"Afterparty, anyone?" RDJ turns around and asks. "I don't know about you, but I am in the need of a drink." 

Most of the cast is at the party already when you and Sebastian pull up to the club. Robert apparently rented this club out for the night; he wanted one last hurrah before the original Avengers ceases to exist. 

Sebastian opens the door for you, and you're surprised when there are no lights on. 

As if your thoughts were read, the lights flicker on and everyone yells, "Surprise!"

Your jaw drops. "Did you do this?" You ask Sebastian.

"With a little help... Happy birthday, (Y/N)." 

The rest of the night is filled with karaoke and drinks and laughter. An all around good time. 

You get a little drunk, to say the least. A few shots of vodka, tequila, even a couple margaritas. It's your birthday, who cares?

You've seem to have lost Sebastian, however. You find him sitting alone, stirring his drink with a straw.

"Hey, Sebby..." you slur.

Sebastian chuckles. "Glad to see you've had a good night."

You sit down next to him, a little bit closer than your sober self would normally allow. 

"I need to tell you something."

He cocks an eyebrow. "Yeah? What is it?"

You tip back your glass, looking for some extra courage. 

"I don't know if you've noticed.. but I'm pretty in love with you. Have been for a while..." 

Sebastian's heart swells, and then drops. He knows it's just the alcohol talking. You could never actually think like that.

"(Y/N), you're drunk. You're not thinking straight... Let's go home, yeah? We'll talk more in the morning." 

You reluctantly follow Sebastian out of the building, but not until you tell everyone goodbye.

The car ride is, yet again, silent. Sebastian doesn't know what to say, and you're too drunk to know what's going on. 

When the car pulls into the drive, your head is against the cool window, and you're fast asleep. 

Sebastian struggles to get you out of the car without waking you, but he manages to somehow get you inside and into your bedroom without you stirring. 

He quickly changes you out of your dress, somewhat thankful for the time he accidentally walked in on you getting out of the shower. You didn't mind it that day, however. You wouldn't mind it now. 

Sebastian grabs one of his shirts that he keeps at your place for last minute sleepovers, and slips it over your head. 

Once he finishes getting you into bed, he slides the covers up to your shoulders, and gives you a quick peck on the forehead. 

With one last glance, he turns off the bedroom light and shuts the door behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~

You wake up with a blaring headache. You sit up, groaning at the sunlight that's seeping in through your windows. 

You look over to your phone, which is somehow charging. The time reads 11:35 AM. 

Your eyes glance over to beside the phone, seeing a bottle of pain relievers, a glass of water, and a note. 

(Y/N)... Thought these might help. Hope your hangover isn't too bad. Call me when you're feeling up to it. I have to talk to you about something important. -Sebastian

You pop the bottle open, pouring a couple pills into your hand before tossing them into your mouth and swallowing. You grab the water and take a few sips.

You get out of bed, and look down at the clothes you're wearing. You smile, knowing that Sebastian was the reason for the shirt. You go to your bathroom and freshen up before eating a quick bite of breakfast. 

You remember that you need to call Sebastian.. He said something was important.

But something feels wrong when you're about to press 'call.' Almost like you don't want to hear what he's going to tell you.

You push the feeling away and press the button anyways.

"Hey, (y/nn). How are you feeling?" Sebastian answers.

"Good, thanks to you. Thank you for helping me last night.. I don't know what I'd do without you." you tell him. "You said that you needed to talk to me about something important?"

The man sighs before replying. "Yeah... You said something to me last night... Do you remember what it was?"

You think for a moment, and no words come to mind. "I don't think I do, Seb. Did I say something stupid? You know how I get when I'm drunk... I probably didn't even mean it anyways.." 

You can't see it, but Sebastian's face drops at your words. He should've known better than to hope you'd actually love him. 

"Yeah, probably... It's not that important anyways." 

"What did I tell you?" 

"Oh, nothing... It's stupid for me to think-- Never mind."

"What, Sebastian? What did you think?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

Sebastian hangs up before you can say anything else.

You lay your phone down on the kitchen table. 

What could you have possibly said to make him act this way? What would make him feel stupid?

You decide to head over to his place. You grab your things and leave your house. The walk isn't too far, maybe five minutes. You've always lived close to each other, even in your adult lives. 

You raise your hand up, your knuckles tapping on the dark wooden door. 

Sebastian opens it, and his eyes widen, not expecting you to be on the other side.

"What are you doing here?"

"Whatever I said must have bothered you. I need you to tell me what's going on!"

"You said you love me."

You grow silent; you're not sure of what to say. 

"Oh."

"Tell me it's not true." he says.

"Tell me you don't love me!" he demands. 

"Dammit, (Y/N). I don't want to go on, feeling the way I do about you if you don't actually love me!"

You look up at him. Right into his blue eyes. "What do you feel about me?"

"I love you. I have. For as long as I can remember. But you're my best friend. I thought it was wrong for me to feel the way I do. But I don't care anymore. I want you to know; I want the world to know. That I am utterly, hopelessly in love with you." 

You laugh, a tear falling from your eye. 

"I love you," you whisper.

A huge smile grows on Sebastian's face. "Say it again."

"I love you, Sebastian Stan."

[hhoneycloves]

Sometimes, especially with all the Tumblr jash content I consume, I wonder why my partner and I chose to swap Heart and Mind's colors.

Not the purple and blue, but the black and white. Despite lyrical and canon interpretation. And we refuse to change it [It's been over six months].

And then I remember that we had this discussion a little while back about how it doesnt matter which is black and which is white. They're two sides of the same coin. Two extremes on the same spectrum. Anything you could argue for one being one color I'm sure there's equal argument to support the opposite reason. What matters most is the interpretation that neither will allow himself to see in shades of grey; they each think they are right with no consideration of the other's thought process.

It's fitting for Mind, as the Sun, to be white. He's bright, both in terms of intelligence and light. Similarly, it makes sense for Heart to be black, as he spends most of his time in darkness, whether visual or emotional.

You might be saying [in the rare event that someone is actually reading, woah] "but mister honeycloves, their opposite colors in canon, especially aginst their backgrounds in songs, allude to a whole yin yang thing going on that they dont even realize!" And to that I say "We Didn't Think About That When We Designed Them. You Got Me. This Eats At Me While I'm Trying To Sleep, Yes."

All of these thoughts are going through my head as I prepare to give HMS long overdue redesigns [it has been six months for fuck's sake, they need new reference art DESPERATELY]. The thought that has crossed me the most has always been "what if I swap their colors back to canon?" But I think I'm going to double down and stick with mine and my partner's unique designs for them :3

Also we REALLY wanted them to stand apart from the rest of canon/fanon designs. Their designs and our interpretations of them and their shenanigans are really just for our enjoyment. Bonus if other people like them too ^^

[animalnarratives]

re your post about autistic traits: Yeah. i realised a little while back that part of the reason why i like max is because i relate to certain traits of his, which are definitely autism manifest (for me). like, i'm not saying he is autistic (my asd encompasses much more than just those specific things i recognise in him) obviously. but like. seeing him mocked for those things, like his manner of speaking, level of enthusiasm, type of interests etc is Not Fun.

on top of that. i thought we all wanted f1 to be a sport primarily and not just reduced to show entertainment. why do you want him to be entertaining you so bad. he is not obliged to.

(greetings tumblr user landoscar from my main blog)

glad im not the only one feeling that way ... spot on on the max part. i also think hes got traits that are at the very least similar to (not to say actual.........) autistic traits. and then people make fun of him for them ?:,:;:?§!,!, like i personally believe its one thing when autistic people do it as like. woah boy your spectrum so autistic and disordered kind of jokes. i do it to my blorbos i think finding relatability in other people's traits is one of the joys of being autistic. but there's this very weird aftertaste to the way some people treat drivers with these traits. both when theyre mentioned in a bad AND good light---i wont even speak on how people clearly think some traits are by far better than others especially for men (hint its the less obvious non disruptive ones---except bluntness---unless you're not successful enough to deserve being blunt. in that case you are arrogant)

and yup... i mean its kind of the problem with so much of the content being centered around the drivers themselves and not the racing im afraid. i think it's less that people think they are entitled a certain level of entertainment and more that the intense scrutiny we are allowed to partake in allows for criticism of personalities on a personal like/dislike level. if you get what i mean. more than ever drivers' personalities are put forward as part of the whole package deal. youve probably noticed that pr teams in the past few years have put an enormous emphasis on trying to make drivers relatable and fun and likeable through challenges and vlogs and what have you. and are trying to appeal to meme communities and especially stan circles by more or less successfully running memes to the ground (how long has it been since the george intro pose joke first started... i got a mercedes tiktok on my fyp about it the other day) or hijacking terms (shipping names (infamous ferrari tweets), nicknames (estie bestie)...) or generally just trying so hard to blend in with stan communities. pr teams try to change the way viewers interact with racing: you dont root for a racer, you root for a person. the competition for likeability is much more insidious than the actual racing but i personally believe that it's there and purposefully fed into by teams. disliking a driver on the basis of his personality therefore allows criticism of his personality the same way you'd criticize his driving. does this make any sense at all!

[itafushin]

WOAH! Hello! It's me! Here to tell you it's been a while but you're still really freaking cool!

My hyperfixatation changed minecraft grabbed me and said you're a hermitcraft viewer now.

But! I just spent that last week without wifi so I moved my desk computer from, well, my desk and hooked it up to my tv to watch the one show I have downloaded (totally and one hundred percent legally downloaded. Mhmm yuppers.) which happens to be Lego Monkie Kid so I spent everyday for four days straight playing single player Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and powering through hundreds of hours of fanfiction all while watching LMK start to finish, every episode.

So that's how my time offline has gone. Unplugging was terrible and I hated it but I did get a lot of reading done so I want to do it again sometime.

Sincerely your beloved (/p) from now until I leave tumblr for good (probably wont happen tbh),

Volleyball 🏐

GWAA !! HIII !! i missed you !! abcjakxj thank you what the heck

that sounds like fun but also i know i woulda gotten tired of doing just that pretty quickly AJCKAKXKS my attention span is not. big enough and always gets overrided by boredom pretty fast but !! im glad you got some reading in !! i havent been reading any fan fiction much these few days because the last one i did one shotted me straight into the void /jov

but !! its nice to hear from you again !! i don’t remember much of what i did last week but i can say ive been writing for squashed so theres that ajcajxz

[bingus-my-love]

Hello! Its been a while (literal years) So heres an update!

1. I'm in college now! Woah crazy, i know

2. Tumblr has changed! Since I've been gone the logo has been looking pretty....uh modern

3. My interest have changed! Atm I like NuMetal, Anime, Manga, Cartoons (Bob's Burgers, AdventureTime, WeBareBears, InvaderZim and much more!) Video Games (Minecraft, Stardew Valley, Animal Crossing, MTG [a tad], MonsterProm, Danganronpa [a tad bit also])

4. I MIGHT CHANGE MY USER: I still love bingus but it caught me by surprise when i logged on but I'll think about it

😼THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I LOOK FORWARD TO BE ON TUMBLR AGAIN!!!!😼

[forabeatofadrum]

Ebb and Flow (6/12)

Notes: Woah, we’re halfway there!

AO3 | S&C | Tumblr

--

That evening, Blaine tells Kurt about his friends’ reaction.

“I mean, I don’t think my dad will have a similar reaction, but it’s nice they have my back. I’m also building upon their advice by maybe adding some music stuff to Splatoon 2.”

“How so?” Kurt asks.

“Look, Kurt, I’m about to absolutely bullshit here, but that’s just the way it is with my dad and my career choices-”

“Fair.”

“-but I am coming up with this story of how Splatoon 2 also challenges me music wise, because let’s be honest, the soundtrack of this game is amazing.”

“It is,” Kurt agrees.

“The fact that it is able to have all these kind of genres within the game is explained by all the different in-universe bands. What if I tell my dad that Splatoon 2 is also pushing me to look into composing work?”

“And you think your dad will buy that?”

Blaine shrugs.

“I have no clue. On one hand, it does sound a bit fantastical, but on the other hand, so does my current job.” Blaine had to explain the whole orchestra subbing several times. Luckily, he can somewhat compare it to freelance work. Shows can hire him to substitute and that’s all fine. “And also, I am certain my dad has no clue what the entire music industry even entails, since he never bothered to really look into it.”

Kurt hums.

Then he says: “I hope you’ll have a great time, Blaine. And I hope you’ll find a team of sorts.”

“No one matches you,” Blaine says.

“Blaine, I am not a pro at all!” Kurt says, but he does sound happy with the compliment, “You keep saying so yourself, you know, with the gear and abilities and what not. You have your in-game music, I have my in-game fashion.”

“Even if your playstyle isn’t pro-level, I don’t think I’ll ever enjoy playing Splatoon 2 with someone else,” Blaine says. He thinks back to the earlier thoughts he had. He doesn’t actively think about Kurt talking about The Guy, but this is another reason why Blaine got so upset about Kurt playing with The Guy. Kurt and Blaine are a team. They’ve been a team ever since they met each other online. Blaine thinks that if it weren’t for Kurt, he might’ve gotten tired of the game after months of playing it non-stop.

But no, Kurt keeps encouraging him. Kurt keeps playing with him.

And it’s very hypocritical. Blaine’s aware of that! He heavily dislikes the idea of Kurt sharing ‘their’ game with someone else, whereas Blaine’s about to actively look for new people to play with.

But again, that’s in a different context, namely the competitive one. And Kurt doesn’t want that.

Blaine lets out a frustrated sigh.

“Everything alright?” Kurt asks. Shit, Blaine should’ve muted his microphone.

“Yeah, yeah,” Blaine quickly says. He checks his Nintendo Switch Online app on his phone so that he can change subjects. “Hey, there’s Clam Blitz on The Reef and Piranha Pit at the ranked battles! Shall we do a match?”

Blaine already reaches for his docked Switch.

“Actually, I have some work to do. I mean, I’m doing work now, while voice chatting with you,” Kurt says.

“Oh, uh, that’s fine,” Blaine says. He doesn’t know what to do with himself now. They always play during their talks. “Yeah, that’s fair, I might also have to do some work.”

“How’s your job?” Kurt asks.

“Great, especially now that that colleague is no longer an ass.”

Yes, Mr. 21. Blaine’s been giving Kurt some updates, but he was always overshadowed by Kurt talking about The Guy. It feels great to be the one leading the conversation for once. And there’s been a lot of development.

Kurt lets out an laugh. “Oh, I feel you.”

“Yeah, he’s actually… well, okay, nice might not be the best word- not that he isn’t nice!” Blaine quickly adds.

Kurt makes a confused sound.

“It’s just that I don’t know if he’s nice,” Blaine clarifies, “He’s definitely no longer an ass and I think he might be nice, but he doesn’t say much. Which is fine! We travel to work in silence and it’s no longer awkward, but yeah, I don’t even know his name. He’s never told me.”

“Like I said, you never know what is going on inside his head. He might have his reasons for silence. I certainly do.”

Once again, Kurt is right. Since Blaine has no idea what is going on in Mr. 21’s life, he cannot tell. Mr. 21 doesn’t speak with a lot of people. Blaine’s once asked Avalon if they know Mr. 21’s name, but they shook their head. The others at the wardrobe crew probably know.

Blaine knows that Mr. 21 can be loud. He’s had some noise disturbance from the other apartment, but maybe Mr. 21 is like Kurt in that regard. Maybe Mr. 21 is more at ease at the comfort of his own home.

“You’re right.”

“I usually am,” Kurt says and Blaine can hear the smile.

--

Blaine knocks on Mr. 21’s door. This might be a ridiculous idea, but it just came up to him. He waits for Mr. 21 to hopefully open the door.

And he does.

Mr. 21 looks very confused when he sees Blaine and he turns red.

“Hi neighbour,” Blaine says and he gives Mr. 21 a friendly wave, “Are you ready to go to work?”

Even though Mr. 21 is the only other person here and Mr. 21 works with Blaine, he still looks around to make sure that Blaine’s talking to him. He even points towards himself, which makes Blaine laugh.

“Yeah, you. I thought it’d be easier to actually see if you were in, instead of waiting at my door for you to possibly come out.”

“One sec,” Mr. 21 says quietly and Blaine’s smile widens. Mr. 21 just talked to him.

Mr. 21 hurriedly puts on his shoes and coat and the two of them make their way to the theatre. Blaine talks a lot and Mr. 21 doesn’t talk back, but he’s listening to every word that Blaine’s saying. He nods and hums along.

As usual, they part ways at the theatre.

“Wait,” Blaine calls out before Mr. 21 is out of sight. Mr. 21 looks back over his shoulder and he raises an eyebrow. “What is your-”

“Hey dude!” Avalon throws their arm around Blaine, “Did you hear who’s in the audience today?”

Blaine faces Avalon.

“Wait, one second.”

But when he turns back to Mr. 21, Blaine sees that he’s gone.

Avalon follows Blaine’s gaze.

“Oh, damn, did I interrupt anything?” they ask.

Blaine shakes his head.

“No,” he lies, “Tell me who’s in the audience.”

The two of them walk to the orchestra pit while Avalon talks about a small indie singer-songwriter that Blaine doesn’t know.

--

Mr. 21’s waiting for Blaine at the exit. He’s typing on his phone like a madman.

“Texting someone?” Blaine asks.

Mr. 21 looks like a deer caught in headlights. He puts his phone in his pocket and mutters something about a friend. Blaine nods. He won’t pry.

“Shall we?” he asks. The road back home is similar as their road to work. Blaine does most of the talking, and Mr. 21 does the listening. They say goodnight.

When Blaine’s in bed, he checks his phone and he finds multiple messages from Kurt. He’s sent them an hour earlier.

someonetocrowdyouwithlove BLAINE Blaine!!! You eould not believe what happened I’m at my job now and I’m about to go home with The Guy Okay not like that, but we do live close by and today he showed up at my door to ask me to come along Like… holy SHIT OH wait he’s coming gotta run

Blaine stares at the phone for a few seconds. He wants to react. He wants to say he’s happy, but he can’t. He locks his phone, puts it on his nightstand, and turns away from it.

--

Another week passes like that. They travel to work together and back. Blaine tries to catch Mr. 21’s name several times, but it sometimes feels like he’s in one of those comedic romcoms where he gets interrupted all the time. He’s certain that Mr. 21 must know his name, since he never asks, so it’s frustrating to no end.

Online, he reads the stuff Kurt writes about The Guy and he gives generic, supportive responses, but he never delves into it and instead he almost insists on playing Splatoon 2 every time they’re both online.

It all goes so fast and suddenly, Blaine’s setting foot at LAX Airport with his father walking next to him. The flight from Columbus landed around the same time and they’re walking towards Cooper, who’s excitedly waving a sign.

An hour later, the three of them are in Cooper’s tiny apartment. It’s not glamourous, but the location is ideal. Blaine’s been here before, but Cooper did repaint the walls.

“I’m going for blue now,” Cooper yells from his kitchen, “Blue keeps you awake, and whatnot. That’s why all social media platforms use a blue interface to keep you scrolling. Hopefully my mind will allow me to go on and on when I’m rehearsing.”

“Doesn’t sound too healthy,” Blaine mutters.

“Good to hear you’re motivated, Coop,” their father says.

Cooper comes back with two mugs with piping hot coffee. He has a radiant smile on his face.

“Look at this, the Anderson men reunited,” he says cheerfully. Cooper’s really glad that everyone’s here and Blaine feels a bit of guilt. He’s yet to drop the World Championship bomb. He knows it’s extremely rude, but he can’t go back now.

Well, it’s also partially his father and Cooper’s fault. They didn’t plan anything.

In fact, Cooper is now talking about all the places they can visit. A lot of them are very self-indulgent.

“- and of course, the Hollywood Boulevard. That’s where the real stars are made!” he beams and then looks at Blaine, “I mean, no offense Blainey, but Broadway?” He makes a mocking sound. “I suppose a sign on Time’s Square with your face on it is nice and all that, but the Hollywood Walk of Fame is forever.”

Blaine shrugs it off. This happens all the time. He can bring up the fact that there are other ways to immobilise Broadway actors, but Cooper won’t budge.

“I mean, Blainey, I know you’re doing the orchestra thing for only a few more weeks. Have you considered moving to LA to try your luck here?”

Their father’s interest is also piqued.

“That’s not a bad idea, Blaine.”

“I like New York,” Blaine says. He doesn’t want to elaborate more, but of course, the others keep pressing the issue.

“No, really, you should give it a thought,” Blaine’s father says in his usual interested, but slightly condescending tone. Blaine’s also gotten used to it. Blaine’s father is genuinely interested and he wants Blaine to succeed, but partially on his terms. “You’ve been living on savings, trust fund and those piano lessons, and now The Street. But you gotta look for something more stable soon. Blaine, you graduated a year ago with that fancy master’s degree!”

Blaine suppresses a sigh.

“You guys know I’m not just sitting around.”

“Well, have you applied to a job recently?” Cooper asks.

Blaine shakes his head. He refuses to break eye contact. He can’t let Cooper know that he’s embarrassed to admit it, because it’s true that he hasn’t pulled all his weight. Apart from that other job he applied to, the one that rejected him, he doesn’t have any other possible jobs and because he’s been so busy with The Street and Splatoon 2 and other stuff that he just didn’t always find the time and energy to look into it.

His father doesn’t suppress his sigh. It’s a sigh of disappointment.

“You know, Blaine,” he starts, “You know I support you if you ever want to try another academic field-”

“I know you do, dad,” Blaine snaps, “In fact, you are actively encouraging me to leave music.”

It falls silent for a few seconds until Cooper starts talking about something vastly different in order to change the subject. Blaine drinks his coffee in peace and his father does look a bit guilty, so Blaine’s watching him. He wonders what’s going on in his father’s head.

This always happens, so Blaine is not too worried. Every time the three of them are in the same place, it goes wrong. Back when Blaine’s mother was still in the picture, she was a great neutral ground, but after the divorce, that got lost.

But then the three always move on. Todd Anderson might not be like Burt Hummel, but Blaine and his father still love each other.

“Cooper, stop talking,” Blaine’s father suddenly says.

Cooper’s mouth goes shut at an instant. Blaine’s never seen him shut up this quickly.

“I apologise Blaine,” his father says to Blaine and Blaine’s eyes widen. An apology? “I know you’re passionate. It’s been difficult for me to support that and that’s only burdened you. I don’t want to repeat our troubled relationship from your teens. I sometimes still don’t understand why you’re so hell-bent on having a music job. Look at your friends, Blaine! They’re all happy in their respective fields and they have music as a hobby! Isn’t the idea of stability and a great passion at the same time appealing?”

It is.

There’s something left unsaid though. Blaine has stability, because his father does monetarily support him. Everyone who attended Dalton has money. Stability wasn’t the reason his friends left the industry.

But a plan forms in Blaine’s head. It’s a very messy thing to do, but this was never going to be great in the first place. His father looks remorseful, so maybe Blaine can use that.

“I’m fine, dad. I know you’re worried, but I’m fine,” Blaine says, “Apology accepted. And, uh, I have other hobbies outside of music. In fact, uh, I have tickets to a video game championship in LA. Uhm, anyway want to come along?”

Another silence.

Cooper’s frowning and Blaine’s father opens his mouth to say something, but he changes his mind. Blaine smiles nervously.

Cooper is the one who breaks.

“… a what?”

--

End notes: Ooooh, livin’ on a prayer!

[jade-palette]

Inscryption: scrybe gaming headcanons.

Author note: This is based on games I have played, and thought they would personally enjoy. I would suggest you to play them as well if you haven’t. Just going to pretend they have access to PCs and consoles lmao. I can imagine their minecraft chat logs being hostile as fuck.

If this is badly spaced, sorry! Something is up with my tumblr where no matter how many time I change it to nicely spaced it cramps together again.

Also my dumbass forgot the uberbots and students, they are next.

Warning: Language, minor spoilers for Viviette, advice for stardew ig? (?).

Leshy

He prefers games with an interesting story or based around nature.

He loves Minecraft.

While playing, he is rather peaceful. Only really playing the game for exploration and mobs.

He is the type of player to tame as many animals as possible, having a pack following him as he travels the world.

Currently has 23 wolves, 17 cats, and 3 horses. The number decreases more than increase.

If anything ever hits him, it’s instant death by wolf.

When he stumbles onto a village, he doesn’t loot or commit mass murder.

He would also play Stardew Valley.

His farm is well decorated with plants and trees

Unlike P03, he doesn’t make bank each harvest. This is partly due to him choosing to focus on live stock and their quality of life than the money.

Because of this, he opted to marry Shane because of the blue chickens.

“Woah.”

“I know, glorious isn’t it? My farm is a safe haven to the beasts of this game-“

“ Your farm is shit.”

“What?”

“Your farm is shit.”

“I have put a lot of effort into this, why-“

“Just because you have a variety of animals and decorated the place, doesn't mean it’s good. I bet you’re broke as fuck. Your husband is a bum and-”

*Offended gasp.*

“And...how did you get a blue chicken?”

Grimora

Grimora enjoys horror games and multiplayer games.

She also has minecraft, but doesn’t often play it.

This is because she prefers to play with friends, and the other Scrybes just do their own thing. So it isn’t as fun as it could be.

She loves realistic horror games, but she adores the ones with a cuter art style more as they tend to have better writing and gameplay.

This includes games such as Viviette and Inmost. The two games were adored by her due to the cuter art-style, and the gameplay.

In Viviette, despite having extremely difficult puzzles had been extremely fun. She liked how you had to run and hide, even if you were doing a puzzle.

Despite the game being short, she had spent about 7 hours trying to complete it.

Out of curiosity, she told P03 to play the game.

They completed it within four hours and had little difficulty.

Inmost’s art style and music did wonders to create a sombre mood.

The game had a lovely story as well…

She had recommended the game to Magnificus, as well as a few other things she tried.

“I feel as though you would enjoy this game.”

“Ok.”

“You should try it.”

“I will.”

“When you try the game, tell me how you feel about it.”

“Ok.”

“ You would appreciate the art-“

Magnificus

He doesn’t play video games of his own free will. He is either forcefully made to play, or bullied into trying.

Often, he wonders what he has done in life to deserve his treatment.

But if he had to pick his favourite type of game, he would pick something that focuses around visuals or has a interesting story. Genre doesn’t matter.

Once he was forced to play layers of fear by Grimora and ended up genuinely enjoying it. The visuals were great, especially when things started to warp.

Then he was forced to play minecraft by the other Scrybes.

He found the enchantments interesting, as well as the ender. However due to being shit at video games and the dumbass twins (Leshy and P03) being unhelpful and Grimora being offline, he hasn’t managed to get to the ender dragon.

“Everyone. I require assistance and resources. I need to find eyes of ender to continue and I do not have to necessary resources to retrieve them myself.”

“Sorry I do not know what that is.”

“Lol, noob. I’m not helping by choice.”

“…”

Then several days later.

“Hello, sorry. I do not have anything to spare.”

P03

As mentioned in a previous headcanon post, they prefer to play games that make them feel productive, or that are challenging.

Other games not mentioned included Hollow knight and Minecraft.

With Hollow knight, they got pissed off at gameplay and were shit at first. But out of spite, they tried to get every achievement available and got them all within 4 days.

They hated god seeker mode with a vengeance.

But god was it worth beating it. He got bragging rights for a fairly unknown game.

In minecraft, they commit arson or they hack into Leshy’s world to kill his pets.

They find it funny because Leshy gets attached to his pets, even though they aren’t real.

The fool holds Stampy style dog burials.

Despite often being the murderer Leshy always invites them to the funerals.

They still attend to pay their respects… and to commit arson again.

“We have assembled here today, to pay our respects to one of the best boys of minecraft. My wolf Jeremiah. He-“

“Boo you whore.-“ *Pulls out flint and steel.*

“P03 stop disrespecting the grave.”

“Let the machine. This is more interesting.”

[etherealluminescence]

op, p l e a s e do this one.

gn-mc is a great fighter according to their profile, but everyone severely underestimates them, since they’re kinda short and they’re thinking it’s to human standards. as soon as they come though the three (Diavolo, Barbatos, Lucifer) realise that the number of fights have gone down, and that RAD is a lot more quiet. Apparently mc had fought all the trouble makers or scary students on a whim, and has forced like 30+ scary demons into pacts, and plans to conquer RAD’s bad students. on top of that, they’re just like “one day i’ll beat the shit out of diavolo too fair and square, and conquer him as well.” for the brothers and undateables. bonus if mc said they only started their “conquest” because someone tried to bully Luke, so they decided to just conquer the demons for him like a good? older sibling

Holy shit OP this is what I signed up for when I started doing headcanons. Recently I’ve been working on my actual novel but I am still writing these out! I decided to answer this first because the creativity just HIT me.

The part that killed me is just how they did it for luke, I love him like my own son. Also side note the goth theme on tumblr hits different I really like. WARNING - a little bit of language, and violence.

Everyone reacting to GN!MC “conquering” RAD’s demons

Lucifer

He had chosen you and noticed your profile, thinking that is was almost cute humans would consider a tiny thing like you strong.

He immediately brushed you off when he saw how close you were to the chihuahua, thinking that you too, are just like a tiny chihuahua then.

But he soon hears less and less about fights going around, and even Diavolo investigates with him, and he is beyond shocked. He severely underestimated you.

He finds out because he forced some lesser demons to talk, and they were in tears saying you forced them to make a pact with you each time they lose, and by your order they weren’t allowed to fight students anymore, or else you’d punish them.

Although it was the truth he didn’t quite believe it, so they followed you around for a day before realising it absolutely was, you kicked ass so hard, the demon was crying and unrecognisable, and you forced him into a pact while snot was even coming out his nose.

He then sees you open the door behind you and take Luke’s hand before walking away from the bloody scene you had just caused. He was slightly angry and a bit intimidated, how did you, a tiny human do that?

When he confronted you about it, you just held onto his shoulders tightly, answering with “I’ll conquer you too, I’ll conquer Diavolo, I’ll conquer all of RAD, fucker. I am going to protect this child with my life.”

He was about to argue back, possibly attack you, but according to all the students investigated, you had well over 50 pact marks by now, and Diavolo found it amusing, so you were let off with that.

He swears he won’t submit to you, and has to stay on high defense because even at the HOL you will try to attack him with murderous intent to get the pact. 0/10, wants a new exchange students.

Mammon

He was the first one you made a pact with, and afterwards he started following you around like a dog, despite literally calling Luke a dog.

He knew you were a good fighter since you kept saying so, but he kept telling you demons were another level, and you should be glad to have him.

You and Luke hung around a lot, while Mammon thirdwheeled, and finally came the day of your first fight. Mammon was ready to defend you, but you ordered him to sit as you beat the literal fuck out of the demon.

Mammon couldn’t tell if that was a lesser demon or a dismembered corpse at that point, and covered Luke due to all of their screaming in agony. When you were done, you kicked their head into a wall and demanded a pact, making him slightly pouty but happy he’s alive:

Getting the pact, you left and gave a head pat to both Luke and Mammon, telling them that they’re safe with you. Mammon didn’t like it at first but then he loved it.

It didn’t take Lucifer long to find out, and when you told him with such confidence that you’d “conquer all of RAD, including Diavolo” he was like woah!! You’re going to die for that, but you’re amazing!!

And then you didn’t die, because Diavolo found it funny, and you were only serving justice to those who cause mayhem at the moment, so it was fine. He also accidentally finds out that you rival Lucifer in power, and absolutely won’t let Lucifer punish him, because in your words, “Mammon is my property now, whore.”

You were the only person to protect him, and he absolutely loves you, he may be weaker than you, but he loves staying by your side and saying he’d beat people up for you anyways.

Leviathan

Levi never really talked to you at first, nor found out about the incidents because he didn’t go to school, but when he heard Mammon talking about it he thought he was exaggerating a lot.

Even Lucifer said you were strong, but he refused to believe it at first, even denying the pact marks you had. Until you beat the life out of Levi during the TSL games.

He got angry at you and tried to kill you, so you ripped him apart, quite aggressively. He swore his tail had bite marks in them, and that he couldn’t see out of his left eye for a week. The icing on top was you demanding a pact from him. He finally believed.

After you calmed, he made a pact with you, and was now afraid of you, until you comforted and apologized to him, telling him he did try to kill you first.

When Luke comes over one day, you invite him into Levi’s room, no permission, and start to talk, and when Levi tries to make fun of him, Mammon shuts his mouth.

“Luke is the whole reason they decided to start their conquest, the whole school knows that by now!” Mammon shushed him, and Levi began feeling a little jealous that the chihuahua got more of your attention than him. But when he hears that you ALSO want to conquer Diavolo, he’s just like !?!!??? You’re crazy.

But more than that you’re like some over powered anime protagonist who got sucked into a different world with over powered plot armor, Levi thought, and he really liked it.

Begs you to come with him when he’s trying to buy stuff in lines, so anyone who tries to cut gets the life beat out of them when they do.

Satan

Absolutely member #2 of your fan boy club, Diavolo being the first one in it.

He thinks oh yeah, you can fight sure. But when he witnesses it he absolutely loses his mind. A human shouldn’t be that strong, but the way you force a pact mark from them, and even defended the tiny chihuahua before leaving, while being tiny yourself, he was interested in how your body worked.

But what really excited him and made him like you is when Lucifer entered the room and you sent a flying kick to him, putting up a harsh fight as well, before you break the table when you were knocked into it, calling it a tie.

“I swear one day I’ll conquer you and force you to make a pact with me. I’ll wipe that smug look off your face, fucker. And once I do that, I’ll beat the shit out of your prince, too.” You spat, getting up and holding your back.

So now you went from protecting the chihuahua to devildom domination? Basically asks you to make a pact with him so you can use him to fight Lucifer. When you tell him you want a fair fight, and that you’ll beat Lucifer yourself, he’s just so excited because you held your own for five minutes, and Lucifer can’t even kill you!

Literally tags along each time you decided to fight Lucifer and cheers you on so hard. Will purposely try to make you and Lucifer run into each other at the halls, so you automatically try to hurt him.

Please tell him not to eat so much popcorn, we know the show is good but it’s like he has boxes of them now knowing you’re hating? on Lucifer like him.

Asmodeous

Has absolutely freaked out and began cowering in a corner, shaking, begging you anywhere but the face.

He came to watch the show of you beating up a demon, not realizing it was you at first. When he did, he was so shocked and got closer to make sure.

You mistook him for the demon’s crew who made fun of look and tried to attack, seeing red. He held his own for a minute, before you almost rip off his wing in one swing.

He’s begging for forgiveness like the demons, despite not doing anything wrong at all. When you calm and realize it’s just human, you make the other demons unrecognizable and get your pacts, before making your way to him.

He’s just crying not his face, while you just say “Pact mark.” Pointing out you won fair and square against him, too.

He gives it too you beyond willingly, just not his face, he doesn’t even think twice. Nodding, you take Luke’s hand and leave.

He has to leave too for then next class, but then sees Lucifer, Diavolo, and Barbatos confront you.

Is afraid for you but then you literally punch Lucifer and tell him you’ll conquer him, and then turn to Diavolo and declare his ass as your own, making Asmo secretly swoon but worried.

Actively tried to avoid you while at the HOL for awhile, but noticing your docile nature when you’re not fighting, he felt a little comfortable with you, and right now his only concern is how many callouses your hands are getting from punching thick skulls.

Beelzebub

This man wanted to believe you when you said you were a strong fighter in passing conversation with him, but he just couldn’t. You were the tiniest creature he’d ever seen, and he was so sure you’d crush under one of his hugs.

He heard you were protecting Luke from the whispers of lesser demons, but he didn’t think it was through fighting.

This all changes when on his way to practice, he watches you beat up one of his teammates so hard they’re crying, they’re so huge, and yet lost to you, and the fact you sent him flying and cracked a wall, by one kick.

When you said you wanted a pact mark, he was shocked the rumors were true. On top of that, Luke was near by holding a cake he planned to give Beel as thanks for something he did for him earlier that week.

He watched you wipe the blood off your hand and pat Luke’s head, with a gentle smile. When he came in, Luke ran to him and gave him the cake, and he learned everything.

You were the one subduing the demons around here, big or small, and even protected Luke. He even learned that you challenge three totally strong demons, Lucifer, Barbatos, and Diavolo.

He totally believed you could do it now, with what he just witnessed. He’s seen his fair share of fights with egotistical demons thinking they’re so tough just because they play sports, and he’s seen guys at the gym, you were beyond that.

You had speed, strength, and great perception. Wasn’t even mad that practice was delayed, and began going to the gym with you, and will happily play with Luke too, another older sibling figure for Luke.

Belphegor

When he exited the attic and tried to kill you he watch his brothers grab popcorn from the sidelines, as they said to him enjoy dying.

He was confused at first, but then got the LIVING HELL beat out of him, oh how the turns have tabled. He intended to murder you, but you nearly killed him.

You forced a pact out of him as well, kicking him repeatedly where the sun doesn’t shine until he agreed, understanding why even Lucifer stood back. It’s not because they wanted you dead, it’s because they couldn’t stop you.

When he gains consciousness later, he finds out Lucifer is the only brother you haven’t made a pact with, and that you have over 80 pacts at this rate, and that you even planned to conquer Diavolo.

He thought it was stupid at first but after seeing you fight Lucifer, with no cheats just your normal hands for combat, while Lucifer was in demon form struggling, he understood he really liked you.

“Soooo... when are you beating the shit out of Diavolo?” He asks, and he also nearly makes the mistake of calling Luke a dog before Beel puts a hand over his mouth.

Jaw nearly drops and he loses his mind when he finds out you only started beating the shit out of people to make Luke happy.

Diavolo

This man just fucking cackles, like after watching you fight, he’s just in full tears from laughing. He’s just clapping, and telling you that’s amazing.

When Lucifer asked why you did it, you stood tall despite your short stature, and looked him in the eye with no fear. “I’ll beat each fucker who approached Luke, I’m going to defend him with all my fists got, and if you get in my way, I’ll do the same to you.” You said, before turning to Diavolo.

You walked up to him, and pulled his tie down so he could meet your eyes, and declared, “I’ll even beat the shit out of and conquer you too, one day, prince. I’ll be the ruler of this place one day. Prepare yourself for that day, until then, I won’t stop:”

This makes him laugh, not belittling you, but telling you he can’t wait, and he hopes that day comes soon, because he wants to fight you as well, and he hopes you hold nothing back against him.

He loves how strong you are, he loves how you want to protect Luke, he loves that you only did it to protect, and didn’t even bother to summon a demon, you did it with your own style. That took guts, confidence, and the fact you told him of all people with that confidence you would one day conquer him, his heart fluttered.

He would definitely start watching over you, and probably fan boy over you. The first person to ever force the prince of the Devildom to lower himself; and they even declared they would be the one to make him their’s, by forming a pact mark. It was honestly amazing to him, and he likes it.

Barbatos

He really should of seen this coming, a new fighting student, who was clinging to Luke protectively, and suddenly all the bad demons were being silenced.

Guess there’s no need for his torture chamber anymore, you’re much more feral than whatever he does, he just needs to sick you on them.

Joking aside, he doesn’t really take it too seriously. It’s great you can get a lot of pacts, and defend yourself, and even want to conquer Diavolo by forcing him to give you a pact mark, but he knows you’re still no match for him yet.

To get to Diavolo, you’d need to beat him up, and he’s a bit of a harder fight than Lucifer, by that he means a lot, he won’t even flinch if you bite his tail when he grabs you by it and puts you out the room, with a smile on his face.

It’s become a game at this point for the both of you to try and fight each other, you trying hard to get a pact mark out of him. He even offered it to you at one point, but you told him you wanted to win it fair and square, and he’s just in love with you even more because of that.

He’s pretty much a dad to Luke, so he appreciates how kind you are to him, and appreciates how you have your own set of morals for fighting, making him know that if Diavolo were to ever make a pact mark with you, it would all be fine.

Solomon

“Hey... are you sure you’re not actually the demon?” Solomon asks you, looking at the sheer amount of pact marks on your body, one week after coming to the devildom.

He’s seriously impressed by you, considering how easily you beat up demons without any weapons, magic, or underhanded tactics. You simply use your fists and legs, sometimes your head, but you get the job done scarily.

He’s even more impressed when he finds out the reason, you were visiting purgatory hall and Luke was being rather loud. “I can’t believe that’s the 7th demon this week that fought with you! You’re just so cool, you’re so strong! Thank you for protecting me!”

Probably wants to try to enhance your strength with a potion, and offers it to you when you try to have your epic showdown with Diavolo, claiming he is the boss and Barbatos and Lucifer were his right hand men who dragged Luke into this mess.

You decline though, wanting it to be fair and square. Truly admires yet fears you. But then again, i don’t think you stabbing him would making him afraid of you. I don’t think this man can feel it at all, unless it was you dying.

Anyways, he’s delighted to ask the demons you make pacts with to make pacts with him as well.

Simeon

Nearly loses his mind at first. He’s so concerned if you’re hurt,, but then he’s just like wait what.

Luke had told Simeon all about it when he reached purgatory hall, about how you beat up a demon for him, and even promised to always protect him. Simeon is really distraught you may of been hurt protecting Luke while he was busy.

But then Luke tells him about how you forced a pact mark out of the demon, and you didn’t even break a sweat, and that is was the coolest.

He doesn’t tell Diavolo about this thinking it was just a one time thing, and tries to watch over you two more. But then he sees you and he’s literally just frozen.

Humans aren’t that powerful right? And when Lucifer Diavolo finally confronts you about it, he watches as you just stare him down and declare that you’re going to conquer him as well, to make Luke feel happy and safe in devildom.

Needless to say Simeon is extremely panicked about your well-being, but extremely happy Luke is protected by someone so kind to him. Probably doesn’t approve of the violence, but Luke adores you.

Luke

The first time you met him you told him not to worry about the demons, because if they ever bullied him you would beat the life out of them.

He thought you were just saying that, and he said that he too would protect you, which you found extremely adorable and nearly went “I’m taking this kid home with me and he’s my child now.” not that anyone could physically stop you.

He found out you were actually sincere about it when the two of you were alone in RAD’s hallway, trying to leave for purgatory hall since he invited you over.

You two were stopped by a demon, who tried picking a fight on easy prey, and it was quite frankly, the worst mistake of his life, ever.

You beat the LIVING SHIT out of him, and even told Luke to look away, because this man was beyond recognisable, because you were so small you could easily duck and move fast, so the demon didn’t even land one hit on you.

Just because he’s a demon, doesn’t mean his stamina is forever you figured, and beat him up, forcing him to make a pact with you. You had one with Mammon already, so you knew how it worked, especially knew you could have multiple due to Solomon.

When it was over, you told Luke he could look, and there was zero damage to you and he was just like woah!! You’re so cool! And from then on you stuck close to him, literally demolishing any demon he thought looked scary, or just stared at him for too long.

When Diavolo comforted you about it, you stared him dead in the eyes saying “I would literally beat the shit out of you for Luke, so you better hope he starts liking the devildom soon, fucker.”

Diavolo laughed and Luke insisted you didn’t have to go that far, but you just patted his head and said it was okay.

[silverskye13]

How did you come up with the hels story?

So there is a fic on AO3 Still Can't Shut The Closet Door by bananasofthorns and there is another fic that I thought was by betweenlands , but I just scrolled through their blog and couldn't find it - about Wels leaving season 8, while Hels sits in the shuttle with him, mocking the fact that he's running away. [I know theminecraftbee made a follow-up fic to it... Maybe they made the first one too sjdjfh I need to get better at bookmarking things].

I had Tumblr-osmosis'd enough about Hels to know he existed by the time I read those, but still knew next to nothing about him outside of "probably riding the post darkiplier/anticepticeye wave", so reading this really interesting take on a dark mirror character as something akin to intrusive thoughts, not entirely real but still incredibly physical, was really really cool to me. And then that sat in the back of my head for a couple months slow-burning.

Converging on this I've also been trying really hard to lower my personal standards on writing. Previously most ideas I had never made it to text, because if I couldn't polish it into a long fic or something I deemed high enough quality to throw on AO3 standalone, I'd just drop it. But I've been trying to change that, because that was more creativity stifling than anything else. So I've started just opening the Tumblr app and word-vomitting my quick ideas to see what happens.

That was the first Wels / Hels fic, with Wels in the cave talking to his double in the dark. I was really leaning on the idea of a double who's so tightly bound in whatever Wels is that they can feel each other's emotions. Very soulmate-ish. And it turns Hels into something less like intrusive thoughts and more like a personal thundercloud. He's weather in the fact that he kind of just happens, and he follows his own logic, and that logic is mostly "I have what I consider rational reasons for hating Wels." Because at the time I was also kicking around the fact that if current fanon likes the idea of Hels as intrusive thoughts, has anyone ever done anything with the fact that intrusive thoughts, for all their badness, always feel painfully rational when you have them. Even intrusive thoughts about self harm, logically you can think "I know what x neurological problem is, I know this is a symptom of that," and still think it makes total sense that you're doing whatever you're doing. It's not until you're no longer under that influence that you can look back and go, "Woah shit, that was kinda messed up, huh?"

So I took that concept and I shoved it in a quick fic. And I left the fic pretty open ended in case I wanted to kick it around some more. There's a lot of implied things [hels can go between dimensions. Hels and Wels can feel each others' emotions, sometimes so intensely it has a physical effect, Hels exists but only his effects are really witnessed by other people, etc]. And then when I posted it, and other people started talking about those things I'd hinted at but had no plans for, I kept thinking about those things, and I got more ideas about them. Now it's kinda snowballed. I get to chase threads where I find them. Maybe the hermits and helsmits are two halves of a whole, and at some point those halves have to rejoin? Maybe Helsknight hates Welsknight so much because he feels self righteous as a knight, and he thinks Wels is a mockery of knighthood? Maybe that feeling is mutual? Maybe only some hermits have helsmets, and maybe those hels don't manifest the same way every time. Maybe The Red King could be a hels, or human!Cleo. Maybe the hels don't think they're the hels at all. Maybe they're incredibly aware they are, and that their days are numbered. What does that do to someone, to live your entire life knowing you weren't supposed to exist, not in a creation vs evolution existential way, but in the sense that you were made of someone's issues, and when they rectify those issues and move past them you no longer have a personhood? Do you fight it and become your own person, or do you submit to what you believe is the natural course of the universe?

To be honest! I've just been having a lot of fun with how much it all evolves, and how informed it is by other people yelling in the tags about little ideas I threw in flippantly that could have really interesting implications if you followed the thread a little further. That's kinda just the fun thing about fandom in general, and something this little snippet-on-tumblr style has really facilitated? The idea that an idea can start as one thing and dramatically snowball into a dozen others because no idea exists in a vacuum and you're allowed to be inspired by everything. It's a lot of fun! It's like playing in a sandbox, or really, like playing in Minecraft. You don't know what you don't know until someone else does, and suddenly a while new world has opened up to you, like learning you can use stairs to build a roof for the first time.

[blackbat05]

Night talks and Dim Sum

Shangqi x Reader

A/N: Hey y’all! This is my first time trying to write a one-shot/fic on tumblr. I have an existing wattpad account where I have some stories published! It’s mainly DC (young justice) combined with hunger games so if you are a fan, do check out @Runnerpottermore! Anyways, I have no idea why I suddenly decided to write a fic after so long - maybe because I wasn’t going through the best of days and also watched the movie recently? I just love the whole cast in general and Mr Simu Liu just killed his role - so yeah! Before I ramble on, I hope you enjoy my fic that I came up with!

Genre: Fluff, PG13, platonic friendship that can maybe turn into something more?

Warning: None? Just maybe broken Mandarin and sweaty people?

Extra Note: Please be kind to me!🥺

‘Bye.’

I take a deep breath, moving the cursor to close the window. Another day was done. Leaning back against the office chair, I stare up into the celling before closing my eyes, taking in the conversation a few hours ago.

‘It’s difficult to change what has already been so ingrained into our childhood. But what you can do is ask - what is the part of yourself that you want to keep?’

Rubbing my temples from the simple yet complex question, I decided that it was time to hit the road and get some fresh air. It was 6pm, Shangqi and Katy were probably still at the hotel.

As dreadful as running sounded to many people, this was one of the days where I could just zone out and mull over the day. The feeling of my shoes pounding into the pavement, body slowly being covered by a sheet of sweat… it felt good. Turning into the last corner of the run, a light tap on my shoulder jolted me out of my little world.

‘Woah is just me!’ My sudden stop had almost resulted me barreling right into Shangqi’s equally sweaty frame. He gives me his signature boyish grin only to earn a smack on his shoulder.

‘干嘛!’ (gànmá) [‘What are you doing!’]

‘吓死我了!’ (xià sǐ wǒ le!) [‘You scared me!’] I retorted back, removing my headphones. ‘What are you doing here, I thought you still had work?’

‘We did, but our shift ended early so I thought I’ll get in a quick run.’

‘10km is quick?’ I look at his phone that was calculating the distance, brows raised. ‘You’re a beast.’

‘Ha ha, very funny. Enough about me, what’s got you out today? I thought you were taking a break?’ We walked side by side, towards the direction of a renowned dim sum stall. ‘Yeah…’ I dragged my words for a while, hesitating to continue. ‘Just needed to think some things through.’ Shangqi nods. That’s the thing I liked about him. He never forced me to tell him things that I didn’t want to. He would wait quietly until I was ready.

‘I don’t know if I’m even going in the right direction. I thought I was doing things right - getting the grades, making sure I understood what was being taught at school… I was so sure that I could help people if I put my mind to it. But these feelings of not being able to do more… I don’t even know my future as a social worker anymore.’ I bit my lips, kicking a stray pebble.

‘Hold up!’ Shangqi steps in front of me, gripping the sides of my shoulders. ‘What did you say?’ He asks me in mock disbelief. ‘I said I’m not a good-‘

‘Nope! The conversation before this has been void! Because the (Y/N) I know is an amazing person and social worker who helps these kids to become the better version of themselves.’ He waves towards the many young Asian-American kids running around merrily in the playground as if to make his statement. A small smile formed on my lips watching Shangqi’s exaggerated movements to the disapproval of an elderly man with wispy white hair. He seemed to have noticed the looks he was getting as he dropped his hands to the sides in embarrassment.

‘Look, my point is that not many people can do what you do. Putting people before yourself, how many people would do that in this world?’

I throw him a skeptical glance. ‘You’re doing it. You’re a literal superhero that stopped a mythical creature from destroying our world. Not that it hasn’t happened.’ Shangqi snorts, ‘Sure. But hear me out. Who were the people that worked day and night to restore some order when the snap happened? Who made sure that these young kids weren’t afraid and reassured them that everything was going to be alright.’

He did have a point. Five years ago, the whole world was thrown into chaos. If I could forget something, it would be the chaos at the children and youth center on the exact day of the snap. Kids as young as four, crying uncontrollably for their missing parents. The older children who put on brave faces for their younger siblings but they too couldn’t make sense of the situation. The remaining social workers scrambling to attend to every need, every child. I was one of them. The sleepless nights, the constant worries - the social services were already overloaded, anymore pressure and the whole industry would collapse. I wanted to believe him but the doubts were becoming stronger by the minute.

Shangqi carefully stares at me as if analyzing my micro expression. ‘I know what I’m saying won’t change anything instantly. But what I do know is that we all have these moments of doubt, even me. I can’t offer you professional advice, but just like how Katy, my aunt and my mom were there for me when I needed them the most in Ta Lo, I’ll be here if you want to talk.’

‘You’re a good friend you know that right.’ My heart felt much lighter compared to the day.

‘Better than Katy?’

‘Don’t push it.’ I joked, eliciting laughter from both of us. Before we knew it, we arrived at the dim sum stall. As always, it was bustling with hungry customers. ‘Come on! Katy’s got a seat for us already, I’m starving!’ He opened the door for an young couple pushing a stroller.

‘Wait!’ Shangqi looks at me curiously. ‘I know we’re both sweaty but I think the situation calls for one.’ I gave a huge hug, ‘Thank you, that meant a lot to me.’

The sudden bear hug definitely threw the man off, but he to was glad for the heart to heart conversation. For more reasons than one.

‘Alright then! Who’s up for some char siew bao! I’m gonna inhale them - deserved it!’ I loudly declared my war against the dim sum, walking towards Katy who was enthusiastically waving at us.

Little did I know, there was a lot going on in Shangqi’s mind too.

A/N: Wew! That was long! If you’ve read it up till here, thank you for reading it! This idea really just popped out at the last minute so I’m not sure if it’s to y’all taste. Please do forgive me for my inaccurate translation - I am Chinese but like Katy my Mandarin is super rusty. Also whichever countries you come from, please give your social workers more recognition. They deserve it for a long time coming! Do give a comment or like if you wish! Just here to write and try and give simple joy to people who are such fans of Shangqi and the MCU in general.