#me trying to come up with a reason to just have my sonic walk over and be a menace to pom's amy for fun

[fstbmp-a]

The hedgehog urge to be a brat...

[babysukiii]

regina’s puppy (1)

// regina has a soft spot for you, but when she refuses to accept why, someone else might swoop in and take your attention away from her. //

warnings: mean!regina (not to reader), protective!regina, oblivious/innocent!reader, pinning, mutual pining but reader thinks it’s one-sided, use of “y/n”.

regina george definitely has a soft spot for you. if you ask her, she’d refer to it as a weak spot; resembling more like an invisible bruise inside of her that only you could see. you’d push and push it, til it bruises some more. until she’d sickly do just about anything you ask. it wasn’t a secret either; regina could be in the middle of being the worst human being on campus, and you’d just walk up to her with those big eyes of yours.

“hey gina!”

“did you see the new shake flavor at sonic? wanna ditch and go?”

“i stayed up all night reading the bell jar!”

regina would shift her undivided attention onto you within a millisecond, and you didn’t even realize it. you were so obliviously innocent. you didn’t have an underlying reason for getting close to the queen bee, you just caught her reading a book one day and started talking her ear off about it. the blonde, who got pure joy out of making girls like you cry, for some reason didn’t have it in her to tell you to fuck off or call you a dork. there was something about you that regina couldn’t quite place; it was something that made her heart flutter in her chest.

maybe it didn’t fully hit regina just how bad she had it for you until junior year. it was the middle of fall, and you had rushed up to her with a pair of sad eyes. “hey gina.” you greet her, but it isn’t your usual eager greeting. regina looks away from the mirror in her locker, looking at you. her brows furrow and a wave of concern washed over her, as she realizes you appear upset. “what’s wrong?” she demands, not even bothering to say hi back. “stacy matthew’s said i can’t be in debate club. she says i’m really nice and that’s not what they’re looking for.” you admit, and regina can feel the rage course through her before she slams her locker shut.

“where the fuck does stacy matthew’s get off telling you that you can or can’t be in debate club? she’s a fucking dork. come on.” she grabs your wrist and your eyes widen, shaking your head in protest but the blonde is already set on giving the raven haired girl a piece of her mind. nobody was going to make you sad and get away with it. “gina it’s okay i—“ you try but regina is already turning down the hallway, making her way up to a random group of students. they all go quiet as soon as regina is near. “where’s matthew’s?” regina questions demandingly, causing one of the students to nearly begin to tremble.

“st-stacy? she’s in the library i think—“ regina doesn’t even let the poor girl finish before she’s dragging you in the direction of the library. you weren’t really sure what you were expecting when you told regina about why you got rejected from the debate club, but this certainly wasn’t it. you weren’t expecting her to storm into the library. “everyone out.” she commands, and just like that, every student in the library is scurrying out. “not you.” the blonde hisses as she glowers at stacy who was in the middle of gathering her belongings. you watch the girl tense up, freezing, and a part of you feels guilty because of how terrified she looks.

“so it’s come to my attention that you think your dorky little debate club is too good for y/n…” regina trails off, and stacy’s eyes widen as her gaze flutters over to you. “don’t look at her for help, look at me.” regina snaps her fingers in stacy’s face; her behavior should cause you to be horrified, yet you can’t deny the heat at the bottom of your belly that comes from watching regina defend you. “it’s not— i didn’t say we were too good, i said she was too nice, regina. you know it too, that’s why you’re here debating for her.” stacy’s comment causes you to look down at your shoes, knowing she isn’t wrong.

“y/n is smarter than you will ever be. her gpa is higher than yours, and she had better exam grades last year. she doesn’t need to be a cunt to debate, she just has to be right… and she always is. you didn’t deny her a spot in your club because she’s too nice. you’re afraid she’s better than you.” regina hits her right where it hurts, and the way stacy’s face morphs into an ugly angry expression causes your eyes to widen. you had actually believed stacy when she said you were too nice for debate club, but now as you watch her react to regina’s accusations, you realize she only said that because she didn’t want you in the club at all.

“i’ll give you the rest of tonight to reconsider giving her a spot on the debate team. if you don’t, i have no control over whether or not the club gets banned… i mean, considering my parents are the ones who fund it.” regina puts on her best falsified sorry expression, and it causes stacy’s eyes to widen at the threat. her eyes lock with yours before regina clasps a hand around your wrist. she drags you out of the library, muttering angrily as she does so. “ugh, the nerve of that fucking bitch.” regina sounds genuinely upset, and you frown.

“you didn’t have to do that…” you whisper, barley being able to find your voice. she comes to a stop, turning around to face you with a deadly serious expression etched onto her features. “i did because you would’ve just let it go. she can’t just act like the queen of debate club; even the cheerleaders started being inclusive!” regina rambles a bit, and you can’t stop yourself from giggling. “yeah but i’m pretty sure debate club is all stacy matthew’s has. it’s fine. i mean, it’s not fine, but it’s clearly more important to her.” you shrug easily and regina huffs in clear frustration.

“that’s exactly why people think you’re too nice! you can’t just let people do or say whatever they want to you, and just let it go! just twelve minutes ago you wanted to cry about it.” regina points out, and you press your lips together. “if i held on to it every time someone upset me, i’d be a really sad person.” you confess lightly, but this does nothing to ease regina’s anger. “well, i’ll hold on to it for you. she’s going in the burn book.” regina mutters the last part, making you a quirk a brow at her. “the burn book?” you question, and she purses her lips tightly, realizing she might have said to much.

“it’s just this thing the girls and i have been working on…” regina’s demeanor shifts, and your brows knit together. “you and the girls? as in gretchen and karen? can i see?” you ask hopefully, and regina shakes her head quickly “no way.” she answers, and as soon as she sees you deflate, a look of disappointment taking over your features, she relents. “it’s not finished yet, and it’s kind of a secret…” she trails off, “i promise i won’t tell anyone! at all! not even riley.” you promise, mentioning your best friend who’s being home schooled this year. regina chews on her bottom lip; she’s well aware the burn book is just a harsh joke her and her friends came up with. but she isn’t sure whether you’d think it’s funny or not.

though regina can’t seem to be able to tell you no. “okay, but most of it was gretchen.” she lies as she begins to lead you towards the exit of the school. karen and gretchen furrow their eyebrows in clear confusion as they watch their best friend leave with you. even though school ended almost half an hour ago, usually regina would opt to hang out with the plastics. sometimes she even just stayed after school to “ogle” the football team during practice. but here regina was, leaving school with you. sure, her friends knew about her weird tolerance of you… but now you were hanging out?

“wait are we going to your house?” you ask uncertainly as you both approach her expensive car. she flashes you a look that says “duh”, “that’s where the book is.” she states as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “shouldn’t you call your mom and ask her for permission for me to come over?” you inquire timidly, and although the butterflies in her stomach flutter due to how adorable you are, she rolls her eyes feigning annoyance. “she doesn’t care. get in, loser.” she commands, and you immediately obey; getting into the passenger side.

regina’s car smells like her perfume, and the backseat is messy. “your moms so cool for letting you drive by yourself with just your permit.” you say out loud and regina shrugs, “she’s alright.” she mutters as she hands you her phone. “pick a song.” she insists and your cheeks flush. “o-okay.” the way you stutter causes you to mentally facepalm, but regina finds it hard to stifle a smile at how cute she finds you. you put on a taylor swift song, and she snorts, “so cliche.” she says, her eyes unusually soft, as the sky and your heart does this pathetic little lurch at the sight of her smiling. regina looks so beautiful when she smiles; it almost makes you forget how she almost made stacy matthew’s piss herself a little while ago.

regina’s house is even bigger than you imagined. you knew her family was rich, but you didn’t think they were this wealthy. your eyes are as big as dinner plates as you look around the house. as soon as you walk in you can hear regina’s little sister in the living room; practicing dance routines in front of the tv. “ignore her that’s my sister kylie. everything she does, i did it first.” regina retorts simply, and you raise your brows as you follow her through her house. “hi honey! i made lunch— oh, who’s this?” a woman who you assume is regina’s mom comes out of the kitchen.

she’s wearing tight leggings and a top that barely covers anything. regina grimaces at the sight of her mom, “this is my friend, y/n. we’re gonna be upstairs for awhile. don’t bother us.” she warns harshly, and you offer the older woman a bashful smile. “it’s nice to meet you, mrs. george.” you let out before regina pulls you up the stairs, and towards her room. “your mom seems… nice.” you say as nicely as you can, and she scoffs. “she’s totally embarrassing. she lives vicariously through me.” she deadpans as you both walk into her bedroom.

her room is exactly how you imagined it. it’s pink and girly; there are various posters of celebrities on the walls. her bed was huge. “your room is so cool!” you exclaim, and she tries to fight the grin tugging at her lips. “it’s okay. i’ve been meaning to redecorate it, but i’m gonna make gretchen do it.” regina snickers and you giggle. “that’s mean.” you halfheartedly respond, and she tenses up. she wonders if you’ll laugh that way when you see the burn book. even though you aren’t in it, she isn’t sure if anyone you know is.

“so where’s the book?” you ask curiously as you take a seat on the corner of her bed. regina’s smile falls as she keeps her back to you, she reluctantly disappears into her closet, only to reappear with a big pink book in her hands. your eyes light up as she makes her way over to you, and sits by you. “you have to promise you won’t leave after reading this.” she states stringently, making you pause. you look at her in confusion, “it’s just… this book is like a fucked up version of the year book. we make fun of all the girls from school in it.” she admits hesitantly, and your face falls.

“am… am i in it?” you quietly ask, and regina shakes her head rapidly. “no! no, you’re not.” she promises and you nod. “okay, so why would i get mad?” you question, and regina sighs as she opens the book. you begin to read all of the cruel things her and her friends write about other girls. when you get to the part where regina makes fun of becky martin for getting a bob freshman year, you involuntarily giggle. suddenly there’s this lightbulb that lights up above her head.

“y/n, you should sit with me at lunch tomorrow.” she says, and you tense up, prying your eyes away from the burn book to look at regina. “you mean with you and the plastics?” you ask uncertainly, and regina rolls her eyes. “why does everyone call them that?” she mutters, and you shake your head. “because you’re all perfect like plastic barbie dolls.” you answer simply, and this causes the blonde to quirk her eyebrows to her hairline. “you think gretchen and karen are perfect?” she asks with a scoff, and you nod quickly. “duh! you’re all so… pretty. everyone knows girls like me don’t sit at the “it” table.” you half joke, and regina rolls her eyes.

“i decide who sits at that table, and i’m deciding you’re sitting there with us from now on.” regina stringently states, her tone indicates she’s up for no debates. “we’ll start by giving you a makeover.” she declares, as she gets up. “come on, we’re going to the mall.” she adds, and you throw her an “are you serious” sort of look. “gina… i really don’t think that’s a good idea.” you try, but she pulls you off the bed, and onto your feet. “i’m already picturing how cute you’d look in bellbottoms.” she says, as she drags you out of her bedroom, the burn book long forgotten.

“i can’t buy bellbottoms! they’re like forty bucks a pair!” you stress, as regina leads you down the stairs, never once letting go of your hand. “i have my dads card, relax.” she assures you easily, and you frown, but don’t protest. you know better than to try and argue with regina, especially when you’d let her get away with anything and you think she knows it.

regina ends up spending over four hundred dollars on you, much to your dismay. no matter how much you protest, or try to secretly put items back, she was hellbent on giving you a makeover. thankfully regina claimed you had flawless features that didn’t need makeup, so you avoided the makeup stores altogether. when regina drops you off at your house, you have a hand full of shopping bags and you have to rush to your room in secrecy. fortunately your brothers are too transfixed with some horror video game, and your older sister was nowhere to be seen.

as soon as you’re in the privacy of your bedroom, you let out a little breath. today was the strangest day ever. you were used to your strange friendship with regina, but it was usually only a few meaningful conversations here and there. regina george was never full on “queen bee” around you for some reason, but she had never defended you like she did today. a part of you felt bad about telling regina what stacy did, but the way the blonde threatened the debate teams captain for you made your heart flutter.

tomorrow you were having lunch with regina and “the plastics”; you had to pick an outfit before you went to sleep which was out of the ordinary for you. you’ve never been the type to get ready for school, but there’s this insistent need to impress regina that you suddenly have. the way she ogled you when you had tried on the out of character outfits made your stomach tingle. the nerves in your body only increase as you think about it. as you stare at the various shopping bags, you know there’s no going back now; you feel indebted to regina george.

[rainychaoloveshack]

May I request Shadow or mobian!reader in a time loop. One of them is stuck, the other is blissfully unaware and won’t remember every time it’s reset. You can pick who is stuck! They are Asking for help and then the other giving a sudden smooch? Maybe more… than a smooch? Little heated if you so desire. They’re not yet together, or aware of the other persons feelings until that little kiss. After the loop is fixed, it’s awkward cause the one that was stuck in the loop knows. Like what’s the aftermath shsosnszk

ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ ☂︎ ⋆ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝. 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐠.

you’ll love shadow even after every reset possible. no matter what.

⋆°•☁︎ content . shadow x gn!reader, angst to light fluff, friends to lovers, slight suggestive material warning. light mention of not eating/drinking for days, implied depression.

☂︎ wc. 1.6k ☂︎ a/n. i loved this request sm. like this one just spoke to my angsty soul. might be the longest thing here yet; sorry its too long ^^’ srry this took a while! i was flip flopping on who i wanted to be stuck ^^’

likes, reblogs, and especially comments are extremely appreciated!!! (i like chatting to you guys!)

Two hundred and thirty-six days. That's how many times you’ve watched the clock strike twelve exactly on Saturday, signaling to you the day had started over again. Never to watch the next day pass. Forced to live everyday like its a new one, yet still subject to HIS charming nature, even if he’s so stubborn in the way he shows his affection towards you.

You try your best to switch up the routines as you go nowadays, trying to excite your life, yet nothing ever works. The clock strikes twelve as it always does. At this point, it’s become numb; infuriatingly so. Some days you’ll gain that motivation back to try something different, whether it be surrounding yourself with new people to serve as a distraction, or trying to dig deeper into the cause of your time loop, to no avail. And other days you rot inside your room, staring at the clock on the wall, watching it tick. And tick. And tick, until it hits twelve again.

Some days you’ll forget to eat and drink, sometimes on purpose, first finding comfort in that pitting feeling in your stomach, finally feeling something after so long, but soon falling numb to that feeling too.

The only reason you have the strength to keep going is the belief that you’ll see your friends again. No matter what. In your timeline, without any interference.

Nothing changed today. Another day wasted, yet someone raps on your door sharply, forcing you to open your eyes gently and utter a small ‘okay’ to let them in.

… This hasn’t happened before. Why is he here?

“You’ve been stuck in here all day.” Shadow grumbles as he pushes your door open, the door squeaking on its hinges, with the moonlight already shining through your blowing curtains. “Have you even gotten out of bed today?” He says sternly, walking over to your bedside and nudging you, causing you to stir out of your resting state. You had already given up for today, so the plan was to just fall asleep until tomorrow.

‘Tomorrow’... What a dream tomorrow is to you.

Turning over, you meet his crimson eyes with a dull sigh leaving your lips, briefly glancing over to the clock set on the wall.

10:35 PM. It’s almost twelve. One more hour. One and a half.

He shifts his weight to one of his feet, setting a hand on his hip as he growls down at you. “No one saw you today, so Sonic told me to go and check on you. Especially since it’s this late and you’ve been missing for all of today.” He scoffs, clearly aggravated at your lack of energy or action. “You couldn’t at least tell one person that you 're going to stay inside all day?” Your blankets drop down to your lap as you sit up slowly, peering up at him through the blurry haze of your mind.

“At least I know you’re alive.” He says, walking over to your covered window to peel the curtains back, letting the moonlight illuminate your room with a soft, white glow. “Come on.” Shadow sits across from you on the bed, tugging the blankets away from you to encourage you to get up.

Why is he so persistent? Why can’t he just leave you alone? But even then, he’s still so…

Lovely.

Suddenly, tears prick and poke at the back of your eyes, welling up to the corners as they threaten to spill out and drip down your cheeks. Shadow stares at you as you hang your head low, refusing to meet his gaze as you try to shove that feeling away, despising that feeling of your throat tightening, even if you’ve begged to feel something other than despair for the longest time.

Of course. He doesn’t know what to do, but he’s still so charming…

“[Name]?” His hand presses against your calf under the blanket, slightly leaning forward to see the tears fall on your face, your shoulders trembling. “Wh-What’s wrong? Is it me?” A tremble flows through his hand; barely noticeable to someone who wouldn’t be paying attention to such a small detail. “[Name], tell me what’s wrong. Why’re you crying so suddenly?” Shadow murmurs, grabbing you by your shoulders to try to ease your worries.

Tell him. Tell him. Tell him you’ve been living every day hoping it’s the last one. Praying to be ripped from this curse. Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him Tell him

“What?” Shadow’s ear flicks in an odd manner, clearly confused at your sudden declaration. “I’m sorry? … Time-looping?”

And so you shatter. Break in front of his eyes; incessant ramblings about you feel like you’re going insane, yet the only thing to bring you back down to earth is getting to see him everyday on this agonizing, pitiful day. 

Something in his heart really does want to believe in you, truly. Although disbelief stands present in his head, he’ll reach out to you anyway. No matter what.

“[Name].” he utters your name, his gloved hand grazing your cheek to wipe a stray tear away. “I…” Shadow stares into your eyes, trying to fight back the shock from showing on his face. His hands twitch as he reaches out for yours, grazing the back of your palm. “If you really think that you’re… Looping; then I believe you. I promise.”

What?

This is different. New. Two hundred and thirty-six times. Never had something like this happened before. Two hundred and thirty-six. Two hundred and thirty-six. Two hundred and thirty-six days. Five thousand six hundred and sixty-four hours. 

It feels like your head is going to split into two, pulled and ripped apart by the hour and minute hand. It’s agonizing. But it’s something.

“[Name].” Shadow tilts your head up from your chin to face him. “I…” It looks like he’s at a loss for words, not that you blame him. 

“Come here.” He says softly, beckoning you closer to him with two fingers. What in the world does he want? Even though you ask multiple questions in your head, you lean in closer anyway to-

Huh?

His lips brush against yours, and it’s slow but sweet; still hesitant before he presses them further onto you, nipping at your bottom lip, almost desperate for something more. Deeper. Deeper. Even more so.

“[Name],” he growls in between pants, his voice trembling at the end of your name. “[Name], [Name], [Name], [Name]...” Shadow keeps on saying in between your kisses and breaths for air, almost like a record constantly on repeat. His palms press into your shoulders, pinning you down on the bed, as he leans over your trembling form. His eyes dart to the clock hanging on the wall, before looking back at you, cupping one of your cheeks.

He really feels the same way about you? He does? Your head subconsciously leans into his touch, pressing your face against his hand, desperately wanting- No. You have to feel the warmth coming from him.

“I’ll use whatever time I have left to spend it here with you. Even once it hits twelve; you have my word.” He whispers, leaning in to kiss you again…

Your head's pounding, the blankets laying heavy on your body this morning. Strangely heavy. Ugh. The mental toll of last night might be hitting you already, even if it’s another reset.

Wait, no, it’s not the blanket. If it’s not the blanket, it’s…

“How’re you feeling?” Shadow murmurs, raising his head off your chest to look at you directly. It’s really nerve-racking… But not in a bad way, somehow. “Are you sore anywhere?”

His question makes you cock your head to the side in confusion. Sore? Why would you be-

No. More importantly, what in the world is he doing in your bed? The day starts with your alarm ringing, but it hasn’t done so at all. In fact, it’s later than you would usually wake up; the clock’s hands say so.

Wait. So it’s really Sunday? Is it?!

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Shadow chuckles softly at your bewildered face, opening his mouth again to respond, but your arms toss around him, bear-hugging his body tight against yours.

“Ah, okay, okay, you’re happy; I get it…” Shadow grumbles, starting to pull away from you, but the tears welling up in the corners of your eyes makes him stop his protesting movements immediately, reaching up to wipe them away. “Oh come on, don’t start crying again.”

… Again? 

Your happy sobs are cut short by your own shock; this morning is getting both happier and weirder by the second. Again? So that means he knows it all? Everything?

A rare smile spreads across his muzzle, his eyes staring thoughtfully into yours. “Two hundred and thirty-six times…” Shadow starts, brushing his hand across your shoulder, and your face heats up gradually at the mention of the number coming from him. “So you really were telling the truth.”

You never told him that number. No way. Shouldn’t it just be like another reset?! Did he really remember your breakdown? No way, no way…

“When you mentioned the loop, something was telling me you were right, even if it sounded absurd.” He says, pausing his thoughts to think a bit harder about the situation. During this, he lifts himself off your body to sit at the edge of your bed, stretching his arms out in front of him. “I just…” He mumbles, his voice softening with his own strange embarrassment. “If it was really a time loop like you said, I wanted to try something I knew I wouldn’t regret.”

All time stuff aside, something else is nagging at your mind…

Did you two really do all that stuff last night?

Shadow peers over at you, before turning his head away; surely holding back some laughter by the way his shoulders shake, cupping his hand over his mouth.

“It’s nothing; don’t worry about it, then.”

(the set-up took longer than i thought it would, sorry for the yapping…)

[eomayas]

new thing (pt.1) • pcy

pairing: chanyeol x f reader, age gap

genre: smut 18+ MINORS DNI!!!

synopsis: reader begins a sexual relationship with an older man who happens to be the friend of a man her best friend babysits for.

warnings: big d*ck yeol, riding, praise, ~10 year age gap

series masterlist

“oh my god, is that mr. kim?” you best friend, seulgi, screeches, grabbing your arm and stopping in her tracks. you follow her line of sight to a table of five men, her boss dead center. “oh my god, what if he sees me?” she says, looking at you with wide eyes.

you shrug. “so what? it’s not like you’re working,” you try to reason, but she’s frantically shaking her head.

“i babysit his kids! he can’t see me dressed like a slut,” she says, and you snicker. neither of you have enough clothes on to even make a full body suit. “let’s go the other way.” she says, and you let her pull you around the backside of the bar to get to the actual bar counter. every few moments, she keeps looking over your shoulder to check that he hasn’t seen her.

“seul, relax. you’re not even doing anything wrong. he’s chill” you say, thanking the bartender when they slide your drink across the counter. seulgi shrugs, taking a sip of her drink. you’ve met mr.kim and his wife before, and they’re really nice people, and didn’t have a problem with you hanging out with seulgi while she babysat their children.

“i mean, yeah,” she starts. “but, i don’t know, i don’t want him to see me like this. its like getting caught with your pants down.” she finishes, and you roll your eyes, because it’s not even that big of a deal. yes, neither of you are dressed appropriately for running into any respectable adult, but its a saturday night, and you’re both young.

you turn to look at his table, and make eye contact with one of the men sitting around him. he holds your gaze for a beat, a small smirk on his face, before you blush and turn around, taking a gulp of you drink and ignoring the burn of your throat. “you should probably go say hi,” you tell her, kind of selfishly. she should at least say hi, but you also want to get close to that man.

seulgi frowns at you. “why?” and when you only shrug in response, she rolls her eyes at the realization. “who did you see?” she asks, and you can’t help but giggle.

“third from mr. kim, on the left,” you say without turning around. you see seulgi pretend to scope out the room, watching as her expression morphs from a squint to sheer sonic.

“fuck! oh my god, he saw me!” she cries, turning back to you. because she’s panicked, you keep your smile to yourself and slide off of the bar stool. “fuck, fuck, fuck! this is all your fault!” she moans, dropping her head onto your bare shoulder.

you push her off and link your arm through hers. “you are literally being so dramatic. it’s just mr. kim, you can always babysit somebody else’s kids,” you try and she glares at you. you glance across the room at their table, and you make eye contact with another one of his friends. they’re expecting you both to come over. “we have fans waiting for us. cmon, girl.” you say, downing the rest of your drink and encouraging her to do the same.

you two walk over, arm in arm, and you start to feel slightly nervous when 5 pairs of eyes are watching you walk toward them. you make eye contact with the man from earlier again, and watch his eyes roam your figure, lingering on your thighs before dragging down to your feet and going back up. he leans back in his chair, and you look away from him, un phased with the attention.

“hey, seulgi!” mr. kim says, standing up from his chair to give her a hug. you can tell she feels insanely awkward hugging her boss in such little clothes, but it’s brief and he’s back in his chair before you can blink. “hello, y/n.” he says, nodding his head at you. you smile and wave, and try not to put your gaze back on the man from earlier, but it’s getting harder by the second. you can feel his eyes on you.

mr. kim introduces (and reintroduces) the four men to you and seulgi: minseok, junmyeon, baekhyun, and chanyeol. chanyeol is the one who’s been eyeing you all night, and you don’t mind it one bit. you shake everybody’s hand, and when you get to the man of the hour, you make sure to smile at him sweetly and lean forward a bit. you knew you knew your strengths, and you also knew that you were not going home alone tonight.

you and seulgi manage to get comfortable in the group of men, and take one shot with them when baekhyun suggests it. you all click the shot glasses together, and down it, only you and seulgi being the ones to drink it in one go. “oh, to be twenty-two,” junmyeon jokes, earning laughs from the other men. you set the glass down and look over at chanyeol, and let yourself take him in, he’s wearing all black; black jeans, a black button up, and black shoes that look very expensive. a gold chain is visible around his neck, but its tucked under his shirt so it is only visible due to the first three buttons being undone.

he feels eyes on him, and looks over at you. you’re shameless in your ogling, wanting him to know that you want him. he motions for you to come close to him, and you scoot your chair over, leaning forward. one of your legs is between both of his, caging you in between him. “what are you drinking?” he asks, his voice deep and raspy. you put a hand on his knee as you tell him, and he stands up, pulling you with him. you two leave in the direction of the bar, without a goodbye, only throwing a look at seulgi over your shoulder.

chanyeol leads you to the bar and orders two drinks; one for you and one for him. you take a seat on the stool while he leans against the counter, facing you. “how old are you?” you blurt. he chuckles at this, which makes you feel better.

“how old do i look?” he asks, a playful smile on his face. you pretend to think hard, humoring him, before delivering your answer.

“thirty?”

“thirty-one,” he corrects and you raise your eyebrows. ten years isnt that bad, right? it won’t feel like ten when you are older, of course, but it really isn't that bad. “is that old?” he asks, taking out a few bills and putting them on the counter when the bartender sets your drinks in front of you both.

“no,” you reply, taking your drink and clinking the glasses against each other. “just older than im used to, i guess.” you say, keeping your eyes on him as you take a drink. 

chanyeol lets out a small chuckle. “you got a boyfriend, y/n?” he asks, tilting his head to the side. you shake your head and then avert your eyes to his left hand. no ring.

somewhere between the drinks and the flirting, you and chanyeol ended up stumbling outside and into his car. nobody was driving, no. there was a different agenda happening, which is how you end up on top of him in the front seat of his black corvette. you're thankful for the darkness of the sky and his tinted windows, because what you're doing is practically straight out of a porno.

chanyeols large hands grip your thighs tightly as you bounce up and down on his dick rhythmically, occasionally holding onto the dash or behind you, or the ceiling of the car, for support. "fuck, y/n," he groans, his head thrown back and his neck on display. you lean forward and start kissing on his neck, rolling your hips into his. "shit, you're tight. you're taking me so well." he says, one hand moving to the small of your back. you appreciate the praise, because getting used to him took way longer than it ever has--in fact, this is the only time you've ever really had to adjust to someones size. you're taking his dick like a champ.

"ch-chanyeol, fuck!" you cry out, holding onto his shoulder with one hand and the ceiling with the other. chanyeol opens his eyes and looks up at you, bringing his hand up to your jaw to pull you closer to him. you allow chanyeol to pull you into a sloppy kiss, and whimper in pleasure when he drags his hand from your jaw to your throat, and takes a loose but firm hold on you.

you bounce on him until the coil in your stomach tightens and then snaps, and you’re creaming all over him, head thrown back and moans leaving your mouth. but he hasn’t come yet, so he grabs your head and holds it against his shoulder as he drives his hips upwards and into you, careful not to knock your head against the roof of the car.

“f-fuck!” he groans, panting and gasping as he continues to fuck into you. you kiss at his neck, not leaving any marks like he asked when you first got in the car, but you so badly want to bite and suck on his skin.

chanyeol grips your ass as he pulls you up and down on him, and when his grip tightens enough to leave handprints, you know he’s close. “y/n, shit,” he groans, and you connect your lips to his, tongues clashing as he releases into the condom, his hips stilling. you practically deflate on top of him and he supports you by wrapping a muscular arm around your waist.

you pull away from his mouth and look down at him, a small smile spreading across your lips when you see the look in his face. he wears a lopsided smirk, and his eyes are low.

this certainly won’t be the last time you see him, not with dick like that.

[ulteriorm0tiv3s]

⚙️ ─ funfetti

✭─ pairing: metal sonic x reader (gender neutral)

✭─ genre: fluff

✭─ summary: it’s metal’s birthday! eggman tries to make a special gift, but you interfere to make it more ‘personalized’ from you.

✭─ song: https://spotify.link/7oI9LZ2RkDb

✭─ notes: LATE BIRTHDAY BIRTHDAYBITTHDAY BITTHFAY BIRTHDAY !!!! late birthday because his birthday was on my homecoming day so i didn’t have much time so 😭😭 thatz also why itz kinda short and poorly written, i didn’t wanna make something too long and have it posted too far away from his actual birthday 😞 so ya birthday oneshot kinda!!!! woo!!

༶•┈┈┈┈┈♡┈┈┈┈┈•༶

it was 4 in the morning, and you could not get an ounce of peaceful sleep. everything around you was so loud. the loud cranking of machinery was literally all you could hear. usually, you found the sound comforting, but it was far too noisy this time. you tried covering your ears in various different ways, but it was no use. sleep obviously wasn’t an option anymore, so you hesitantly climbed out of bed to go investigate.

eggman’s “tinkering room”, is what you called it, and of course that’s where the noise was coming from. it didn’t surprise you that eggman was causing your lack of sleep. there had been various other times where he kept you up. the evil genius was seated at a large metal table, working on some unknown creation.

“doc, it’s FOUR in the MORNING. what the actual fuck are you going this early,” your tone was cranky, which was understandable since you haven’t slept in 17 hours.

“i’ve warned you multiple times not to swear in my presence. however, i’m in a good mood so i’ll let it slide this time.”

“you didn’t answer my question.”

“i don’t have to answer anything,” eggman glared at you, a stern look on his face.

rolling your eyes, you leaned up against the wall, “i’m not leaving until you do though, soo…”

he just rolled his eyes as well and sighed, “fine, since you insist on pestering me. today is metal sonic’s creation anniversary. it has been 30 years since i’ve created him, my most magnificent creation to this very day. so i’m making something special for him, something that’ll finally get rid of that horrendous hedgehog.”

“creation anniversary? dude, just say it’s his birthday.”

“well, he technically wasn’t ‘born.’ so it isn’t a birthday.”

“well,” you mock his tone, “you sound goofy as hell when you say creation anniversary. but anyway, what exactly is the gift? are you gonna almost destroy the world again with some ugly counterfeit gem?”

you could tell you were pissing eggman off. he was trying his best not to boil over from rage and cook himself. the doctor just rubbed the bridge of his nose in annoyance, trying to focus on his current project.

“a deathray. i’m going to build it into metal sonic.”

“oh.” well that was straightforward!

“now will you finally leave me to my work? you’ve been distracting me long enough.”

“can i get some earplugs or something first?”

“get out.”

“okay, okay jeez…”

🔩♡🔩

eggman ceased his work around 30 minutes ago, but you still weren’t able to sleep. you were planning something quite silly since you knew it was metal’s birthday now.

instead of eggman, it was you who was seated at the large metal table, tinkering away. you were making a few modifications to this so-called ‘deathray.’ these modifications were sure to be more enjoyable than a deathray. well, in your opinion anyway. when you think of birthdays, you don’t think about deathrays, you think about cake that’s so sickeningly sweet you throw it up.

you knew metal couldn’t eat, but the idea of making him a cake was really funny for some reason. besides, what’s better as a gift than the sugary scurrility of a funfetti birthday cake? nothing, literally nothing. perhaps a blue funfetti cake though if anything. maybe you should’ve done blue funfetti…

🔩♡🔩

metal sonic’s feet clanked against the floors as he walked. he was newly equipped with eggman’s special gift. of course, no one knew you had customized it just a little bit.

“hey metal buddy!” you ran up behind him, making sure your voice was loud enough so he wouldn’t detect you as a threat.

last time you ran up behind him without saying anything, he almost shredded you like cheese. fortunately, that didn’t happen this time since you were loud enough. metal sonic turned his head in your direction, awaiting for what nonsensical thing you had to say.

“happy birthday! i'm assuming eggman already told you ‘happy creation anniversary’ or whatever. and just so you know, happy birthday is the correct term.”

he didn’t really understand what you were talking about. he was a robot created to destroy sonic, obviously, so birthdays weren’t really something he was programmed to know about. so he just tilted his head and whirred, showing his confusion.

“birthday, like, y’know, celebrating your birth. or… celebrating when you were built in your case, i guess. but that doesn’t matter, it’s still called a birthday. but anyway! today is your birthday!”

even though you explained it somewhat well, the robotic hedgehog still didn’t see how this was relevant to him. he kept his crimson eyes on you as they occasionally flickered over your form, wondering if you had anything else to say.

“i forget you can’t talk sometimes.. just gonna imagine you’re saying ‘thank you sooo much (y/n)! i’m so joyous about my birthday!’” you spoke in a very very awful impression of his nonexistent voice, patting his head afterwards.

metal sonic rolled his eyes as he turned away from you, beginning to walk away. he had more important things to attend to; like beating the shit out of his organic counterpart, sonic, or something like that. you bid him farewell, and he responded with a beep. maybe he was saying goodbye back. or maybe he was telling you to fuck off, who knows. hopefully he’ll still enjoy your gift.

🔩♡🔩

a tree tumbled down as a certain blue hedgehog was violently tossed into it, making said hedgehog groan in pain. it was a common occurrence of a fight; metal sonic vs. sonic the hedgehog. usually sonic would have the upper hand, but it seems that metal sonic is going all out today.

“aw man! that was my favorite tree! couldn’t you have thrown me into a different one?” sonic sneered, crossing his arms and doing his infamous foot taps as he stood up.

his robotic counterpart was in no mood for his mockery, clutching his sharp metal talons before lunging towards the hedgehog once more. luckily for sonic, this was easy to dodge. the tension of the battle was starting to slow down a bit, causing sonic to yawn.

“man…this is starting to get a teeeensy bit boring. just a tad. how about we finish up?”

metal sonic beeped, seeming to agree. however, he had something planned. he would take the win this time, and get rid of this horrid hedgehog once and for all.

“alrighty! this’ll be an easy win!”

sonic dashed towards the robot, preparing for his final hit. metal sonic did the same, clashing into sonic. the two blue blurs continued the battle, the intensity revving up again.

unexpectedly though, sonic was thrown into a tree a second time. this time, the tree hadn’t snapped, but bended. this caused the hedgehog to be flung across the field, giving the robot an opportunity to finish charging up his final blow.

“thanks for throwing me into a tree that wasn’t my favori— why is your chest glowing. that isn’t normal is it!”

indeed it was not normal. the robot had finished charging up his deathray; the birthday gift from eggman. he wasted no time putting it to use. it was game over for his rival.

…

rather than being blown to smitherines, sonic had been blasted with…

“is this funfetti frosting?”

the hedgehog, still in one piece, was coated in bright blue frosting and cake. specifically funfetti, but that didn’t matter. what mattered is what the fuck happened to the deathray eggman made, and why metal sonic was blasting out cake.

seems like he found your surprise!

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 46: This Machine

''We all danced in fire, trapped in this machine! Don't know how long we've waited, as the Eggman's watching! We all danced in fire, looking thru the screen! Don't know how long we've waited, as the Eggman watches!''

– This Machine by Sonic Heroes (Team Dark Theme)

xXxXxXx

''Sir! Are you certain that this is a good idea?''

Dr. Eggman has grown quite irritated having Dr. Starline follow him around, constantly questioning his decisions and suggesting alternative solutions. He already knew what he was doing and he wasn't going to let the platypus dictate how he was doing his business.

''Oh, I'm absolutely sure…'' Eggman replied, trying not to show just how annoyed he was by Starline's constant questioning. ''As a matter of fact, I was sure the last hundred times you had asked me that.''

''Well, I am just trying to make sure that your plan is completely solid, Sir. You do have a contingency plan, right?'' Starline asked eagerly, with Eggman taking a deep breath and suddenly turning around, giving Starline a sinister smile.

''Yes, Starline, I have a contigency plan. Shoot until everything has turned to dust,'' Eggman told him, with Starline rising an eyebrow instead of being intimidated.

''But…''

''No more of that!'' Eggman turned on his heel, walking away. ''Ferra, Metal Sonic!''

''Yes, Doctor?'' Ferra and Metal Sonic walked up to Eggman. Admittedly, since their alliance with Team Neos, the two decided to see this situation as a vacation. Even if ARMS was primarly focused on Team Neos, both Ferra and Metal Sonic understood that they would also become targets, especially if ARMS learned about their connection to the Eggman Empire. So, the smarter option here was to lay low.

''You two will keep an eye on this place until I'm back,'' Eggman told them, with Starline giving him a baffled look. ''I know ARMS would never be able to piece together where the headquarters of the Eggman Empire is, but this more of a precaution.''

''S-Sir, wait a second, why them? You could just put me in charge!'' Starline protested.

''I could've put you in charge, but I didn't because you've been constantly questioning my decisions,'' Eggman replied.

''But… I was only trying to help!'' Starline replied, still stunned.

''Then you can use the spare time to figure out how to help me properly!'' Eggman told him in a sharp tone, walking away while being followed by Orbot and Cubot. Starline was still baffled, his beak slightly open as he stared at the Doctor walking away in stunned silence. He then huffed, shooting a glare at Ferra and Metal Sonic.

''I assume you two are happy now,'' he said, tapping with his foot and his arms crossed on his chest. Ferra and Metal Sonic gave him the most deadpan look they could manage.

''We're never happy,'' Ferra replied. Starline scoffed, walking away.

''Well, I can certainly do better. This alliance the Doctor has with Team Neos will soon be over, so we need to prepare our next move. I will make sure that the action we take will be their downfall,'' Starline told her, vanishing into the next room. Ferra sighed.

''You know, I think the reason Eggman told us to keep an eye on this place is less because of ARMS and more because he wanted someone to babysit Starline,'' she told Metal Sonic.

Metal Sonic nodded in response.

xXx

''Do you think that Eggman will actually keep his end of the deal?'' Minami asked Lucas, who could only sigh in frustration and shrug.

''Well, he was the one who told us to come here and that he'll pick us up. While I know that he will backstab us eventually, I assume that's going to happen after we storm ARMS HQ,'' Lucas responded, only to pause for a moment, narrowing his eyes. ''Although, I suppose he might as well just abandon us there, but I'm sure we'll be able to find our way back.''

The rest of Team Neos didn't look too convinced. Last night, they had one more group call with both Team Dark and Dr. Eggman, talking about their next step. Team Dark had provided them with a map of ARMS HQ and other information in regards to the facility, the agents and what the easiest way of breaking inside would be. Eggman had told them that he would take care of their means of transportation and agreed to be their back-up, as he wasn't going inside the HQ. Team Neos was fine with that, with Tails and Warren presenting the blackmail material to everyone and revealing that they would be able to send it to anyone they wanted, meaning that depending on what ARMS answer is, their secrets will be leaked to the public.

They all agreed to meet up at the Codex Research Facility, and were now waiting for Eggman to arrive with their means of transportation. What they didn't expect was that a huge aircraft would suddenly materialize above their heads.

''Huh, what's that?'' Silver asked, his jaw dropping. Team Neos was completely stunned to see the aircraft as it got lowered down. Thanks to the fight between Team Dark and Mephiles and Toshiro, the crystal walls did tear through the tree line, allowing for more space for the aircraft.

''Is that the Egg Carrier?! No, it can't be…'' Minami said, shaking his head.

''As you can see, it can! Now, get inside before I change my mind!'' Eggman's voice suddenly boomed through the loudspeakers. Minami exchanged looks with her teammates, following them into the aircraft while muttering under her breath, ''How the hell did he hear what I said?''

Once inside the Egg Carrier, Team Neos was greeted by Orbot and Cubot. ''If you could please follow us to the cockpit. The Boss awaits you.''

Team Neos did as they were told, finding Eggman in the pilot seat and turning towards them. ''As per our agreement, I will bring you to ARMS HQ. However, I will leave all the liberation and fighting to you. If you fail, I'm leaving you behind.''

''Have some faith, Egghead,'' Sonic said, with Eggman shooting him a glare because of the insulting nickname. ''I've been waiting to storm the ARMS HQ for days, and knowing what we know, we'll be out in no time.''

''Only if Commander Williams decides to co-operate,'' Eggman said, pausing for a moment and humming in thought. ''Maybe I should just raze ARMS HQ to the ground.''

Lucas sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ''Even if we agreed to that, I doubt that we would be even achieve exactly what we want. I'm not arguing against that ARMS needs to go now, but not this way.''

''Suit yourself, but I wouldn't mind dropping some of my specialized Badniks as punishment for even daring to go after one of my Egg Bases,'' Eggman replied, turning back to the controls.

''How come we hadn't noticed the Egg Carrier? Does it have some kind of cloaking device installed?'' Tails asked, walking up to the Doctor. Eggman grinned.

''Ah, so you noticed! Indeed, I added some nifty surprises to the Egg Carrier to make conquest much easier,'' he said proudly, only to see literally all of Team Neos just giving him an unimpressed glare. He narrowed his eyes, well aware that their collective gaze meant that they weren't going to let him get away with this.

xXx

''So, ready to break out?'' Touka asked, with Shadow, Rouge and Omega giving her a determined, if not eager look. They were currently at Touka and Shadow's room, preparing for the eventual mayhem that would soon occur. They knew that Dr. Eggman would be transporting Team Neos somewhere close to ARMS HQ and for their part, there were three important things they needed to to. First, get Team Neos inside ARMS HQ without too much fuss. Second, fight their way through to the Commander and the main control room. Third, they needed to negotiate their own freedom with the Commander.

''We will show no mercy,'' Omega said, quite excited about the upcoming fight.

''Omega and I will join you as soon as possible once we get the keycard for my collar,'' Rouge said. Once the plan was set, she realized that the ensuing chaos would be exactly what she needed to finally steal the keycard she needed, and with Omega as backup, she was certain that no one would pay too much attention to her.

''Now, all that's left is to wait for the right moment and hope the Commander won't suddenly call for us,'' Shadow said, holding his own AR Visor in his hand, only to place on top of his head. He was done hiding it from the other ARMS agents.

Fortunately for them, they didn't have to wait too long, as Shadow got a sudden message from Sonic, simply saying ''We're here.'', along with the tracker turned on, showing their location. Shadow smirked, turning to the rest of Team Dark.

''It's time,'' he said, linking hands with Touka, and performing Chaos Surge. Then, he warped away, leaving the three alone. Touka then turned to Rouge and Omega.

''We should also go, since they'll be in the main building,'' she said, her dark brown eyes now glowing a crimson red and orange. The three then exited the room, and while several agents did take note of their fast pace as they went to the main building, no one questioned anything.

xXx

Eggman had landed the Egg Carrier at a more wooded area close to ARMS HQ, but fortunately far enough to keep it hidden from it. Team Neos has already walked out of the aircraft, all of them powered up via Chaos Surge and waiting in anticipation. There was a sudden flash of light, revealing Shadow as he had Chaos Controlled to their location, giving them a firm look. Sonic walked up to him with a wide smile, only to get confused by Shadow's response.

''You're late again, Hedgehog,'' Shadow told him. Sonic was puzzled, only to realize what Shadow was referring to and snort in amusement.

''Well, I wanted to be here several days ago, but you know how things are…'' Sonic said, with Lucas approaching the two.

''We're ready to go. I guess Touka, Rouge and Omega are also ready,'' he told Shadow.

''They should be at the main building at this point,'' Shadow said, getting surrounded by the rest of the team. His eyes then flared up as he extended his hand. ''Chaos Control!''

xXx

It only took a moment, but the intruder alarm started blaring, with the ARMS agents being directed towards the main building. Touka had already separated from Rouge and Omega, who left to get the keycard, while she was running towards where Team Neos would be. Fortunately for her, none of the agents suspected her of having anything to do with this, at least until she snapped her fingers, summoning a Chaos Spear and using it as a melee weapon to fight off the agents that were going after her friends.

One of the agents managed to dodge a swipe of the Chaos Spear, reaching for the baton she was carrying that suddenly crackled with electricity. ''We have a traitor among our ranks!''

The agent swung down the baton, but Touka was faster, dodging it and hitting the female agent in the gut, then fired the Chaos Spear into the Irregular who attempted to assist her. Touka then kept running, summoning another Chaos Spear and trying to clear the way, only to stop when a man with a bigger frame stopped her. He attempted to grab her, but was suddenly knocked down by a blue ball of spikes and fur.

''Thanks, Sonic!'' she said, with the ball unfurling himself.

''You're welcome, but are we going in the right direction? I may have taken a wrong turn,'' Sonic said, looking back at the hallway he came from. Suddenly, Knuckles and Lily emerged, both upercutting an Irregular and his human partner, their fists crackling with red energy.

''Hey, aren't we supposed to go that way?'' Lily asked, pointing down at the corridor ahead.

''Yeah!'' Touka replied, her and Sonic joining them. At the back of the corridor, they saw Silver and Makoto forming a cyan barrier to stop the ARMS agents from advancing, while Shadow and Lucas were at the front, Shadow leading Team Neos to the main control room. Tails, Warren, Amy and Minami were in the middle, fighting off any agents coming from the side corridors. Touka and Sonic went ahead, with Sonic joining Shadow in spin-dashing another Irregular that was blocking their path.

''This way!'' Touka called out, with the group following her lead. While Team Dark did describe the layout of the building, even providing them with a crude map drawing, Team Neos was still relying on Touka and Shadow to lead them there directly. Unfortunately for them, ARMS HQ had additional defenses aside from the agents and Irregulars, with a heavy metallic door slamming down as they got closer to the core of the building.

''Oh, no, you won't!'' Amy shouted, her and Minami slamming their hammers into the metallic door and breaking through it, allowing for Team Neos to pass.

It took them a bit, but they had eventually managed to get to the main control room, with Sonic rushing inside and quickly knocking out the agents who guarded it. Tails went after him, connecting the Miles Electric to the main computer, with him and Warren doing the final bit that would hopefully secure their friends' freedom and ARMS' downfall, while the rest of the team was keeping an eye out on the hallway outside. There were those they had knocked out, but there were no new enemies to fight against.

''Where are Rouge and Omega?'' Makoto asked since, according to their plan, they were supposed to meet up here. The moment he asked that question, they heard an explosion, followed by some cursing.

''I believe that that was Omega,'' Silver said. He and Makoto had used their psychokinesis to move away the unconscious bodies of the ARMS agents and placed barriers on both ends of the hallway, but removed one when they saw Rouge and Omega walking towards them, with Omega pointing his cannon arm at Commander Williams who had his hands lifted up in surrender.

''Look at who we had managed to find,'' Rouge said, waving at Team Neos. She was twirling the collar that was on her neck around her finger, holding a keycard in her other hand, before throwing both of them away.

''You will pay for this betrayal!'' Commander Williams growled, glaring at Rouge, who just gave him an unimpressed look.

''You have no power here, Commander. Omega, do you want to remind him of that?'' she said.

''Commander Williams, do you wish to die by a bullet to the head or a missile to the back?'' Omega said gleefully, having had exploded several parts of the building in his attempt to act as Rouge's back-up. Commander Williams gritted his teeth, refusing to respond, but the trail of sweat made it clear that he understood that he had no say in how things would go.

He was then led into the main control room, with Lucas closing the door behind him and pointing at the microphone at the computer. ''Tell the ARMS Agents to stand down. We are here to negotiate and we'd like to do it without having to fight them constantly.''

Commander Williams shot him a glare, but given how the room was filled with people who had no issue of beating him up to a bloody pulp and he was completely defenseless, he knew that he would have to do as he was told. He walked up to the computer, activating the loudspeaker.

''This is Commander Roy Williams. All ARMS agents, stand down. I repeat, all ARMS agents, stand down. Do not engage into any further fighting,'' he said, stepping back and turning towards Team Neos and Team Dark, his stern expression mirroring theirs. ''What do you want from me? What is the meaning of this breach?''

''I assume you already know who we are, but I'd still like to properly introduce myself,'' Lucas said, stepping towards the Commander. ''My name is Lucas Kinomoto, and I am the leader of Team Neos. You have made the mistake of kidnapping two of my teammates, which is why we have attacked ARMS HQ. We are here to bring them back home.''

''Forget it. I won't let any of my agents go, and as for you, I will have all of you arrested and imprisoned,'' Commander Williams threatened, feeling furious about this situation. This group of teenagers and their Irregular ARNavs just stormed a military base, beat up his agents with the help of Team Dark and were now making such a ridiculous demand. He was not going to let them get away with this.

Upon hearing this, Sonic turned to Tails, holding out his hand. ''Tails, give me the the Miles Electric.''

''Uh, sure,'' Tails said, a bit confused, only for Sonic to walk up and sit down on the control panel, now being at a height where he was eye-to-eye with the Commander.

''I will give you one last chance,'' Sonic suddenly rose his voice, with everyone inside the room turning towards him. He was uncharacteristically serious, his tone low and calm, to the point that even Shadow was giving him a stunned look, as he never saw Sonic act like this. ''Release my friends, or you will suffer the consequences.''

''No, I won't-'' Commander Williams cut himself off when Sonic shot him a cold glare, pressing a button on the Miles Electric. Suddenly, a new window popped up on the screen, showing a red uploading line, already getting to 5%. ''Wait- What is that?''

''This is all of the information we have gathered about ARMS, and it is being uploaded online for all the public to see,'' Sonic replied. Commander Williams' eyes widened.

''You're kidding me!''

''You hurt my friends. I'm dead serious,'' Sonic told him in a cold tone, then smirked. ''It also pays off to have a genius as your little bro.''

He then turned to Tails, who was now hovering next to him, and both gave each other a high-five. Commander Williams remained shocked.

''Y-You're bluffing! There is no way you could've had any access to ARMS-related information…'' he trailed off when another screen suddenly popped up, obscuring the line below, which was now at 13%.

''They aren't bluffing, Commander. In fact, they had made an alliance with me. My own genius allowed them to access any information ARMS was hiding,'' Dr. Eggman said. Commander Williams turned back to Team Neos and Team Dark furiously.

''So, all this time, you worked for Dr. Eggman?!'' he growled, only to get startled when Eggman scoffed.

''Bah, as if! Team Neos is not affiliated with the Eggman Empire, and the only reason we're allied at all was because of your foolish actions,'' Eggman told him, clasping his hands and placing them on the panel in front of him as he leaned closer. ''As you have already learned, the terms of the negotiation for Team Neos are the release of Team Dark. I'm here to add my own terms…''

''Do you really believe that I would do anything like that?!'' Commander Williams shouted furiously. Eggman just rolled his eyes.

''So stubborn…'' he muttered. ''I believe Kinomoto and the Blue Rodent have told you that you have no say in this and that it would be smarter for you to just go along with our demands.''

''Y-You can't just blackmail me!'' Commander Williams protested, but seeing the line at 50%, he realized that he was running out of time.

''You blackmailed Shadow and Touka, so we decided to do the same,'' Sonic responded, then glanced around at the room, locking eyes with Shadow, who nodded in acknowledgement. Commander Williams gritted his teeth, gazing at the line on the screen again and seeing that it got to 53%.

''You-'' He was clearly struggling with his decision. On one hand, he knew that he would lose Project Shadow if he agreed to this, a project that had been in development for more than a decade. On the other hand, he also knew that he was screwed if any of the military secrets get out to the public. Not only would he lose his position, but he would be the one sitting in prison for this. He hissed through his teeth, ''Fine! Agents Sakamoto,…'' Commander Williams almost flinched when Touka shot him a venomous glare. ''Agh, Agents Kageura, Shadow, Rouge and Omega are free to leave.''

''You will also swear to never pursue them again and to let them have their freedom to live their life as they wish,'' Sonic said, earning a hateful glare from the Commander.

''Not only that, but ARMS will also not meddle in the business of Team Neos, as well as delete any information you have on us. We are not your enemy, Commander Williams. We just want to protect Neos City from anyone who wants to hurt the people that live there, be that an Irregular or a human,'' Lucas added, earning the same hateful glare as Sonic did.

''Lastly, ARMS will also not meddle in the affairs of the Eggman Empire, or any battles between Team Neos and myself,'' Eggman said, with Commander Williams giving him a somewhat confused look.

''What?''

''It seems that you either don't understand or don't know, but I don't like having outsiders interrupting this game. The only players allowed so far are Team Neos and their allies. ARMS doesn't have that privilege,'' Eggman told him.

''I won't just stand on the side and watch-''

''That's why we're here,'' Sonic interrupted him, giving the Commander a determined look. ''This is what we do. This is what I do! We are all willing to fight for what is right.''

''You're just a bunch of teenagers…'' Commander Williams trailed off when Touka and Shadow suddenly stepped up.

''Yeah, we are teenagers, but you still forced us to work as ARMS agents,'' Touka pointed out angrily. ''All we wanted was to live a normal life outside the Codex Research Facility and you took that away from us! We didn't ask to be created or live this kind of life!''

''Don't make this harder for yourself, Commander. Your hypocrisy will be your downfall,'' Shadow added, arms folded across his chest. Commander Williams looked back at the line, which was now at 79%. Time was of the essence.

''Fine! You have my word that ARMS won't meddle anymore in any of your affairs, and you can live your life however you want. Now stop that upload!'' Commander Williams growled. Sonic got off the control panel, still holding the Miles Electric and strolling over to Shadow.

''I guess I'm not the only one who kind of ran out of patience. Should we go home?'' he asked, giving Shadow an innocent smile. Shadow smirked at him.

''We have no business here anymore. I agree that we should leave now,'' he said. Before the Commander could even react, both Team Neos and Team Dark gathered around Shadow, whose body was crackling with energy due to Chaos Surge.

''Chaos Control!''

''W-Wait!'' Commander Williams shouted, but the group had already vanished. His attention turned back to the screen, with Dr. Eggman being gone as well, but the line remained, showing that it was at 85% and continuing the upload. His eyes widened in shock and despair as he realized that Team Neos had no intent on cancelling the leakage of information.

xXx

''Finally! It's over!'' Lily exclaimed, stretching her arms as Team Neos and Team Dark found themselves back at the wooded area where the Egg Carrier was. ''Now we can go home!''

''I'd say that we should celebrate this! This is a big victory for us!'' Minami said, with everyone giving her a look of interest.

''Yeah, this calls for a big party!'' Sonic said excitedly.

''I suppose we could celebrate this at my home. Knuckles and I will arrange everything,'' Lily said, with he rest of the group cheering in approval and getting into the Egg Carrier, and Rouge and Touka trying to convince Omega not to blow up Eggman yet as they still needed to return home. The last ones to climb inside were Sonic and Shadow, with Sonic having given the Miles Electric back to Tails, the upload having been complete.

''That was a quite decisive behavior you had displayed earlier,'' Shadow commented, drawning Sonic's attention.

''You think it was decisive?'' Sonic asked in a sheepish tone, rubbing the back of his head. ''I don't know… I did come off as a bit… rough and cold, I guess.'' He then stopped walking, only to snort in amusement. ''Actually, when I think about it, I kinda sounded like you.''

Shadow rose an eyebrow. ''So, I sound rough and cold?''

''Well, now that I think about it… You actually sound way warmer than before,'' Sonic said, scratching his cheek and grinning. ''It's actually really nice and calming to listen to you talk.''

Shadow remained speechless, being genuinely surprised by the compliment. He then tried to play it cool. ''I suppose I will also have to listen to you talk as well.''

''Heh, I missed you too, Shadow,'' Sonic replied, taking note of how tense Shadow looked and just figuring that the latter wasn't going to admit that he missed his rival as well.

xXx

Kisaki sighed, feeling quite sick. Physically, she was actually fine, but mentally, she felt ill. The past few days had put her under a lot of stress and she felt like she was at her wits' end. The fact that she couldn't do anything to protect Touka and Shadow from ARMS and had to forget about their existence left her with pure nightmares. She was worried sick about them and felt incredibly helpless. She had some idea that Sonic and his friends might try to get them back, but so far, she heard nothing from Team Neos.

''Huh?''

Kisaki suddenly stood up from the couch she was sitting on, fear gripping her. She didn't expect any visitors and she was afraid that those were ARMS agents opening the door. For a moment, she held her breath, only to see two figures entering the house.

''Kisaki?''

Kisaki's eyes widened in pure shock, her heart racing. ''Touka? Shadow? Are you-?''

''We're home,'' Touka said, her and Shadow standing in the hallway. Suddenly, Kisaki rushed towards the two, pulling both of them into a tight embrace and falling on her knees, crying her heart out.

''I thought I'd never see you two again!'' she said through her tears, her grip around them tightening, as if she feared that they would vanish if she didn't. Touka and Shadow remained silent, well aware that nothing needed to be said. They weren't going anywhere. They were safe.

They were at home.

xXx

''…the military and security branch, the Advance Reconnaissance & Mission Support, also shortened as ARMS, has been under heavy scrutinity by the Starpoint Area Self-Defense Forces (SASDF). ARMS is a specialized branch focusing on the threat of Irregulars, but now it us under investigation due to allegations of corruption, inhumane experiments on Irregulars and humans, espionage, arms trafficking and information trade,'' Midorikawa reported, turning to the holographic screen behind her. ''As you can see on the comment board behind me, the wider public has already been made aware of the situation via an anonymous online leak that had spread at the speed of light. The SASDF has made the statement that they had nothing to do nor do they approve of ARMS actions and that they will be taking the appropriate steps to shut down and reform ARMS.''

''I suppose that anyone who was a firm believer in anti-military conspiracy theories is now celebrating,'' Kero said, trying to joke, with Midorikawa shrugging.

''I don't know, but I'm just here to deliver the news, not analyze them,'' Midorikawa replied, turning back to the camera. ''But what I do know is that public opinion is very low, especially because the existence of ARMS had been kept a secret. People are calling for ARMS to be shut down and instead have the funding go into the Irregular Hunters organization, especially due to the recent losses they had suffered.''

''We also have a video circling on online forums and social sites that confirms the existence of Irregulars that show no signs of aggressivness, but were still treated with nothing but complete cruelty. We will show this video, but viewer discretion advised due to the disturbing content,'' Kero added. What followed next was a quite disturbing video of an Irregular cat, pleading for her life, getting electrocuted by one of the ARMS agents, while another agent off-screen could be heard wondering why they were doing this, since they had even mistaken the Irregular for a regular ARNav due to her having shown no aggressive behavior or even try to drain the BioEnergy.

''That's horrifying…'' Lily commented, with her and her friends watching the news broadcast on a huge holographic screen in the yard at the Crystle Mansion. It was late evening, with the flood lights being turned on inside the yard.

''There is a lot more to it, but Tails and I had deleted anything in regards to us or to Project Shadow,'' Warren said. ''The last thing we need is more attention from the public.''

''Honestly, thank you two for your work! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't be able to get Touka, Shadow, Rouge and Omega out of ARMS, not reveal to the wider public what ARMS really is doing,'' Lucas said, with the rest of the team cheering for them.

''Thanks guys, but that's what we would do for everyone,'' Tails said. Sonic grinned, placing his hand on Tails' shoulder.

''You've done great work, little bro, and I'm really proud of you!'' Sonic told him, only for his tone to get serious. ''Now, get some sleep or I'll drag you personally to your bed and make sure you're asleep. No more late night projects. Same goes for you, Warren.''

Both Tails and Warren chuckled, having to admit that, yeah, Sonic was right and they really needed some rest… even if they wanted to work on other projects. Nevertheless, they were happy that all of their hard work has payed off.

''Speaking of Project Shadow, those two still haven't arrived,'' Rouge said, having swapped the purple and black bodysuit for her usual black, white and pink outfit.

''Touka did send me a message that they would be a bit late because they wanted to explain to Kisaki what had happened,'' Lucas replied. ''I'm sure they'll be here soon.''

''Speak of the Devil,'' Rouge said, suddenly spotting the two missing teammates at the front gate. Touka and Shadow had soon joined them, with Touka carrying a plastic bag with her, looking around at the yard in front of the Crystle Mansion, clearly impressed by how fast Lily and Knuckles had arranged for the place to be decorated and food to be delivered for the party. As for Shadow, he was suddenly approached by Sonic.

''You're late, Faker,'' he said, giving Shadow a smug grin. Shadow snorted, just shaking his head, well aware what Sonic was referring to. Meanwhile, Touka approached Omega, holding up the plastic bag.

''Hey, Omega, could you please dispose of this for me?'' she asked.

''What kind of disposal do you desire?'' Omega asked, holding the plastic bag.

''Something that involves a lot of explosives and fire,'' Touka said casually.

''I approve of your approach,'' Omega responded.

''Uh, what's in the bag?'' Silver asked.

''It's the ARMS uniform I was given. Honestly, I want to see it burn,'' Touka replied, with her and Omega exchanging a knowing look that made everyone else uneasy.

''If you're going to burn the uniform, please don't use my yard for that,'' Lily said. Omega gave her a look of clear disapproval.

''Huh, I knew there was something different about your outfit!'' Minami suddenly exclaimed, snapping her fingers as she stared at Touka, who gave her a confused look, only to realize what Minami meant.

After removing the uniform, Touka was back to having her hair down, placing her AR Visor (after Warren and Tails returned it back to its usual settings) on top of her head, and was still wearing her dark red jeans shorts and the short black leggings underneath them, as well as her black, red and white high top tennis shoes. However, she was wearing a different T-shirt, this one being black with red sleeves and a red stripe on each side of the T-shirt that went up vertically to the sleeves, and the print on the front was the dark red logo of the Shadow the Hedgehog video game, also known as the Black Arms logo.

''Oh, that… I had actually ordered a new custom T-shirt a while ago, but never got around to wear it,'' Touka said.

''It definitely suits you better,'' Rouge said.

''Thanks. I was also planning to get new sneakers, since these are kinda worn out,'' Touka replied, tapping with her foot on the ground.

''If you want, we could all go out shopping together,'' Rouge suggested, a sly grin on her expression. Next to them, Makoto had a conversation with Lucas.

''I really hope that things won't get worse for us after we leaked that information to the public,'' Makoto said.

''I don't think it should. Point is, SASDF will be focused on trying to keep people calm and deal with ARMS. Whether they knew what ARMS was doing or not is another topic…'' Lucas trailed off, narrowing his eyes. He knew that their own future was still uncertain, but he did hope for the best.

''Hey, Shads, did you and Touka also watch the news?'' Sonic, who overheard this, asked Shadow.

''We did watch it on our way here, and we both agreed that this will cause an uproar among the public,'' Shadow replied.

''Honestly, it might even change the way how people look at Irregulars. The fact that there are Irregulars who mean no harm to humans wasn't public knowledge until now,'' Amy pointed out, joining the conversation.

''If we're lucky, you guys will be safe from being targeted by the Irregular Hunters,'' Makoto pointed out.

''I guess we'll have to wait and see how things turn out,'' Tails said.

''Don't take my word for granted, but I have a feeling that Loki has an idea who we really are,'' Sonic said. He then placed his ams behind his head, smiling. ''In any case, we're here to have some fun and celebrate, so let's just put this behind us and start the party!''

''YEAH!''

The whole group then moved on to actually having fun, either listening to the music, eating from the buffet that had been placed outside, talking or playing darts, as Lily activated the game within the AR Field that was covering the yard. Her parents were away that evening and Lily completely ignored Bennet protests about hosting a party, pointing out how this was her home and so long as nothing got broken, she was free to do whatever she wanted. Therefore, the butler decided to remain inside the mansion, as none of the guests needed his aid. Things did get a little heated when Omega offered to set off some fireworks, with Touka quickly assuring him that wasn't necessary and Lily pointing out how she told him already to not use explosives in her own yard.

Meanwhile, Rouge had stepped away from the group, having been talking to Amy about their shopping plans for tomorrow and cast a curious look towards the mansion.

''Don't you dare to go inside.'' Rouge suddenly turned around, with Knuckles standing right behind her, giving her a stern look, his arms crossed on his chest.

''Don't worry, Knuckles, I'm just here to have a good time,'' Rouge assured him.

''Since our alliance has come to an end, I am well aware that we will go back to our usual routine. Therefore, I'm warning you this once – don't you dare to even think of stealing any of the games inside the mansion,'' Knuckles warned her. Rouge just smiled, having to admit that Knuckles wasn't wrong about her antagonizing him, but she decided to give him a break today, at least in regards to trying to steal the gems. That didn't mean that she wasn't going to mess with him in a different manner.

''Oh, my, don't tell me that you actually missed me,'' she said, with Knuckles giving her a flustered look.

''Wh-What? I didn't say-'' he stuttered, but Rouge gave him a coy smile, stepping closer.

''You even called it 'our usual routine'. Not to mention, you were willing to search for me when I went missing,'' she said, placing her finger on Knuckles' chest and tracing it up to his chin. ''As a matter of fact, I think that you genuinely care about me.''

Knuckles shivered at her touch, being completely frozen in shock as he didn't expect her to pull a move like that. While he wouldn't admit it openly, he was actually a little worried about Rouge, especially after learning what kind of organization ARMS was. He did have complete faith in her ability to take care of herself, but there was a lingering sense of concern in his mind.

''I-I suppose I do…'' he started, only for Rouge to press a kiss on her gloved fingertips and place them on Knuckles' cheek. Knuckles' jaw dropped in complete shock and his mind went blank for a moment as it had trouble processing that Rouge the Bat, his sworn rival, had just kissed him indirectly. Rouge smiled, having to admit that it was quite amusing to see Knuckles' muzzle turn as red as the rest of his fur, while his mind was probably playing an ''Error'' message on loop.

''I care about you too,'' she said. ''Do you mind if I go ahead and quickly make sure that all of the gems are where they belong?''

''Wh-What?'' Knuckles was still processing what just happened.

''Aww, thank you so much, Knuckie. I'll be back soon,'' Rouge replied, spreading her wings and quickly flying towards the mansion. It took a moment for Knuckles to break out of his stunned state, with the familiar sense of rage and irritation taking over.

''Rouge! Come back! Rouge!''

Knuckles shouted after Rouge, rushing towards the mansion and almost knocking Sonic over, who decided to take a break from the darts game after losing to Silver. Apparently, only because he was good at throwing the darts fast, it meant nothing if he was precise. Nevertheless, he had a good time, and so did his friends. However, he did notice that someone was missing and decided to search for this person, but it didn't appear that he was in the yard.

Sonic then looked up, spotting a dark figure on the roof of the mansion and smirked. He managed to find his way up to the top of the roof, with Shadow giving him a slightly questioning look, well aware that Sonic was about to interrupt his moment of peace.

''Do you mind some company?'' Sonic asked, with Shadow pausing for a moment, then shaking his head. Sonic sat next to him, with Shadow taking note of just how close he was, but he didn't mind his presence. Sonic gave him a curious look. ''Why don't you join the others at the party? After all, you're one of the guests of honor.''

''While I am happy to be here, this doesn't mean that I'm going to socialize,'' Shadow responded, glancing at Sonic. His rival just grinned, understanding well that Shadow still wouldn't socialize with other people unless necessary – even if they were his own teammates. Nevertheless, that didn't mean that he didn't appreciate them.

''It seems like things are gonna go back to normal,'' Sonic said, both him and Shadow watching over their friends as they had fun.

''I don't think that you can call this kind of life normal in comparison to those of other people,'' Shadow remarked.

''Yeah, but you can now live a life without having to worry that anyone from Codex or ARMS will go after you and Touka. I'd call that a 'normal' life,'' Sonic pointed out.

''I suppose you're correct in regards to that,'' Shadow responded, feeling a sense of relief. It was as if someone removed a huge boulder from his chest and he could breathe a bit easier now. He knew that Sonic was right and that with Prof. Sakamoto being dead and ARMS not bothering them anymore, he and Touka could live a life without having to worry that they would be used as weapons again. ''It is a relief…''

Shadow was startled when he was suddenly pulled into a hug by Sonic, his own heart racing and his tan muzzle turning a faint shade of red. His crimson eyes were wide and his body tense, with his first instinct being to push Sonic away. However, he knew he couldn't do that. He couldn't explain it, but there was just something about being hugged by Sonic like this, something comforting, and he wasn't really sure how to respond. But, before he could even say or do anything, Sonic had released him, giving him an awkward smile.

''Oh, right… you don't like physical contact that much,'' Sonic said, rubbing the back of his head. Shadow stared at him for a moment, only to sigh, realizing that Sonic was just happy that he was here and wanted to show it in a different way.

''Since it's you, I suppose I can give you a free pass this time…huh?'' Shadow was startled when Sonic suddenly pulled him into another hug, burying his nose into his shoulder and holding him tightly. Shadow, trying to ignore a familiar sensation of warmth, narrowed his eyes, adding in a deadpan tone, ''What I meant is that I'll give you a free pass for the hug earlier. That wasn't an invitation for more.''

''Too late, Faker. You won't get rid off me so easily,'' Sonic lifted his head, gazing into Shadow's eyes and grinning at him mischievously. Shadow remained unamused and, for a moment, he thought about his response. To Sonic's surprise, he suddenly felt Shadow's arms wrapping around his torso, with Shadow burying his head into his shoulder, pulling him as close as possible. Sonic felt a wave of heat spreading through his body, his fawn muzzle turning a slight shade of red and his heart beating like crazy. Rest assured, he never expected that Shadow would hug him back, but it wasn't an unwelcome gesture. In fact, he really enjoyed it.

''Heh, so you are a hugger,'' Sonic said, his voice carrying a comforting warmth, only for the smile to fade a moment later when Shadow spoke again.

''I don't mind getting a hug so long as it is from a person I trust. It was a source of comfort for me, especially whenever I couldn't deal with the pressure I was put under or when I suffered from nightmares,'' Shadow said in a calm, somber tone. Sonic felt his own heart breaking for Shadow.

''Shads…'' He wanted to offer words of comfort, but nothing came to his mind. His ears then perked up when he heard Shadow speak again in a sharp tone.

''If you tell this to anyone, I will personally throw you into Cosmo River,'' Shadow threatened, moving his head back and glaring at Sonic, but still keeping his hands around Sonic's waist. Sonic snorted, trying to sound as serious as he could.

''Understood,'' he said, offering a sincere smile. While Shadow still kept a stern expression, Sonic did take note that his gaze did soften a little. ''Thanks for telling me that. I'm really glad that you trust me so much.''

''It cannot be helped… After all, you are a thorn in my side,'' Shadow responded, with Sonic suddenly burying his head right into Shadow's white chest fluff.

''D'aaaww, I heart you too, Shads,'' he said.

Shadow sighed, knowing that, if Sonic had done this several weeks ago, he would've kicked his rival off the roof and yelled at him for getting so close. But now, he realized that he had warmed up enough to Sonic to let him do whatever he wanted. Shadow then buried his muzzle on top of Sonic's head, feeling the soft blue fur, and took a deep breath. It was certainly a confusing feeling, and he had to admit, it was a bit daunting to deal with it, but at this point, whatever wall he put between himself and Sonic had been broken down. He knew that he could trust Sonic with his own life, but he still wouldn't trust him with his own insecurities and show his vulnerable side… at least until now. As a matter of fact, he was looking forward to going back to their usual rivalry.

''So, do you want to race?'' Sonic's question snapped Shadow out of his thoughts, the latter having no clue how long they had remained in that embrace. Sonic, clearly clueless about that, grinned as he gave Shadow a confident smile. ''I had been itching to finally challenge you again.''

Shadow just gave him a haughty look. ''I see… I suppose I should've figured that you'd be eager to lose to me.''

''Lose?'' Sonic suddenly got up, scoffing. ''Only in your dreams, Shads. You won't catch me so easily.''

Shadow stood up, folding his arms across his chest. ''Hmph, don't get too cocky, Hedgehog. One distraction, and you'll be suffering a humiliating defeat.''

''We'll see in a bit! Ready?'' Sonic said, taking a running stance.

''Set,'' Shadow said, smirking as he felt the familiar rush of adrenaline.

''GO!''

There was a rush of wind, with the blue and black-orange blurs vanishing into the night, both determined to continue their rivalry and prove who the faster Hedgehog between them was.

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[lhoandbehold]

What Does a 100 Hour Work Week in Animation Feel Like So I saw (and commented on) this post remarking on the working conditions on the new Spiderverse film which were less than stellar. I'm not surprised, I was literally talking to animator friends about how it seemed like it was a tough project even as the trailers were coming out. But I think we see news like this break all the time - ah a game got delayed. Don't worry. "Oh the dev team is working 90 hour weeks until it comes out". Red Dead Redemption infamously had a manager brag about 100 hour weeks. Some members of the team on Sonic the Hedgehog did 120 hour weeks to update the model to something with much less human-looking teeth. It's all very abstract. So I thought I might provide a little insight into how different workweeks feel for me. For context, I am an able-bodied high functioning person who is, by all accounts neurotypical, but who still struggles with overstimulation and needs a lot of therapy. If I feel this way, then imagine how someone disabled is faring under the same conditions, and consider how much of a barrier of entry this really is to the industry. Disclaimer: I'm going to be describing a not great work/life balance from a practical point of view. I work a lot. I try not to. I don't always get it right. Please don't think of what you're about to read as how you 'should' be working in the industry. Whenever possible, insist on your rights to rest and live a life outside work.

40hr week - What would be considered a standard workweek. Animation is a thinking heavy job, so I’m usually tired at the end of the week, but I do still have energy to see friends, do personal work, go for walks, work out. I would prefer a shorter week but it’s doable.

50hr week - Probably my personal average if we’re being honest. This is not always due to the animation job itself - for financial reasons, I usually have small sidejobs next to full-time employment and the hours add up. This week works alright so long as I plan them well. Mealpreps, using google calendars to make sure I'm carving out time for workouts, cleaning and a bit of rest.

60hr week - I have spent a lot of months this year pushing 60 hour weeks and let me tell you, I don't like it. I'm tired. Social life and personal projects go on the backburner. I'm less delighted, less inspired. I still work out, but less. Wrists begin to tingle, shoulders sometimes get more sore than I like. If I fail to mealprep I end up spending so much money on prepackaged lunches. I'm processing stress in my dreams, so I often wake up in the middle of the night and lie awake. Light brainfog starts kicking in. I'm more sensitive to things not going my way because I just don't have much energy left to problemsolve anything that isn't work.

70hr week - This is when I personally start considering a schedule to be 'crunch'. For some the number is higher and for some lower, but for me, a 70hr workweek starts to really fray me at the edges. I have time for work, the commute and sleep, and not much else. I try to get in workouts where I can, to avoid my RSI flaring up too badly. I am no longer seeing friends. I am no longer drawing for myself. I'm not reading books. Maybe I watch a youtube video over dinner. It's not a state I can (or should) sustain for very long. 80hr week - This is where I'm hitting my ceiling. I have done this on rare occassions. My personal max is 85 hours of work in a week, and the personal record of maintaining it was 4 weeks, and those weeks were a shitshow. Cannot recommend. Towards the end, my shoulder was on fire and I had recurring headaches. I was doing all of my stretches and still managing the gym, and somehow it was never enough to soothe the RSI symptoms I can otherwise usually manage. The should injury I got during that month still haunts me to this day.

And I cannot stress enough, I never made it to those famed 100 hour weeks. I honestly don't know how anyone manages anything above 60 for an extended period of time. I know people sleep under their desks to avoid commuting time cutting into work hours, but i just feel like the brainfog would render me incapable of making anything good or even passable.

[cyanocoraxx]

sickness (main fic: damage)

"Are you going to let me out of here, you monster?"

"Doubtful."

"Come on, Metal. I-If you let me go, we can forget about all of this, can't we?"

Neo turned his head to look at the doctor. He was cowering in his prison cell, hands white-knuckled around the bars. A common sight for the past few days. This kind of grovelling made the machine sick. His optics narrowed in disgust.

Eggman had already tried everything. Reason, conversation, even sneaking up on the robot when he was close to the bars to try literally anything on him. But nothing seemed to work, and the robot wouldn't budge on this.

"We cannot."

Eggman sat back on the floor and folded his arms. "Can you at least tell me why I'm locked up in here like some animal? It's inhumane!"

Neo gave him a long, suspicious look. The doctor had a bucket. That was enough for a human. He was sure of it. So, he didn't afford the doctor a response, only looking away.

"Humans need air, water, food- the blasted bathroom, for God's sake! Depriving me won't make you-"

Neo hissed and sharply stood up, frame rigid and claws tense. His engine revved as if to throw himself right at the doctor.

(I won't hurt you, but I need you to see me.)

"Say it. Say it, doctor. I know what you want to say."

Eggman gritted his teeth with uncertainty. This was the most "present" the robot had been in a few days, and he wasn't sure how to speak to keep it that way. "It won't… make you…"

"It won't what? Make me the hedgehog? Stop reading my mind." Neo spat, taking a few steps towards him. "You are broadcasting my thoughts to everyone so that they know to tell me I'm not Sonic. You have to stop. I order you to stop as your overlord."

"Metal- you're insane. You've truly lost your mind," Eggman warned him carefully, trying a more forward approach, "a-and you haven't slept for weeks. Why don't you just go and sleep? You might feel better."

Neo moved to stand right in front of him. "I feel fine. I feel on top of this worthless world, doctor. I see everything clearly- I see what you're doing to me. You can't hurt me when you are in there. You can't stop me in there. You can't broadcast my thoughts in there- no, you can't get your cameras to watch me in there. So, I cannot let you go."

Eggman considered playing into his beliefs. "W-what if I turn my cameras off, Metal?"

"You will not. You lie." Neo growled in response. He turned and walked away to the other side of the room, back to where he came from.

Eggman was quiet for a moment. "If you feel so fine as you say, why do you keep destroying yourself? Metal, your arms are shredded. You've painted the same crap on your face twelve times since I've been in here. You talk so much nonsense- you don't make sense. You're..."

"Crazy. Say it, doctor." Neo cut him off, fists clenched hard at his sides. He lucidly noted that it took more force to fully ball his hands now as the tips of his claws were blunt from overuse. They would need to be sharpened later. Sharp meant powerful. Powerful meant he would show everyone. Everyone would know what this world was doing to him. Whilst losing himself in thought, his head subtly twitched a couple of times, out of his conscious control.

The overlord never said it, but the loss of control was terrifying. He hated it to his very core. To have no control over his movements, his words, his own thoughts, was maddening and frightening and he didn't know what to do with it. The only other defense was to disconnect and pretend it wasn't happening - so, he did, and he tried desperately to detach his mind from his situation.

This display of unhinged behaviour finally led the doctor to snap. There was apparently no getting through to him. So, Eggman gave in to his anger at being imprisoned and betrayed. His patience with the robot was running thin. If reason wouldn't work, all he had left was rage. He stood and threw his hands around the bars with a bang, now leaning forward with a growl, accentuating his next words by pointing an accusatory finger at the machine.

"No. I was going to say monster. You're a monster, Metal. I never thought I'd say it, but I hope that blue pincushion and his friends defeat you! A-and you hardly even qualify as Metal Sonic at this point! I might rename you to Metal Madness if you keep this up!"

Neo hardly registered what the doctor said to him. In fact, it didn't register as any language at all. He sat down in the corner quietly, occasionally looking around. His auditory sensors tuned themselves in and out several times as he tried to understand what he could hear - music? It was faint, and he had to strain to listen, and the doctor's murmuring in the background was distracting. What was it saying? What? He tilted his head to one side, then the other, trying again and again to make sense of it.

The words he spoke soothed him a little, as if defending him from the words of the doctor in the cell.

"I don't care what you're thinking… what I have… enough…"

Eggman banged a fist on the bars to grab his attention. "Metal! I'm still here. I'm still asking you to let me out of here! Whatever you're doing, it's not going to make me feel sorry for you!"

Neo could feel the electricity on his armour plating. The itch was suddenly infuriating. He scratched and scratched and scratched with blunt claw tips.

Eggman sighed loudly and deeply. "Metal. Stop it. Pay attention when I speak to you."

"I cannot." Neo replied flatly. He put his head in his hands and tried to calm himself amidst the stuttering of his engine. His systems would struggle to keep up with him.

"Metal! Let. Me. Go! You have no right to keep me here whilst you walk around in circles talking crazy to yourself! I am your creator, your master, your-"

Neo lifted his head out of trembling hands. "Father. Father, please do not speak to me that way, I cannot... I cannot handle this alone..."

(Don't give up on me, please. I need you to understand that I'm scared.)

"Let me go. Let me go, let me go, let me go, let me go. Let me go, Metal. I'll keep saying it until you do. Let me go!"

Something in him snapped at the overstimulation. Neo grabbed onto those words and repeated them as if his life depended on it.

"LET ME GO. LET ME GO."

The robot screamed and wailed from somewhere deep within its soul. He slammed himself into the wall repeatedly, dislodging his shoulder joint in the process - but that didn't stop him, and he wouldn't stop, and he would never stop until that electric feeling left him alone. It whispered that he wasn't Sonic under his very plating. In his wiring. It wouldn't stop. It tormented him and left him with nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide.

Eggman scrambled to the back of his cell. His back pressed against the cold metal wall. His heart thudded in his chest as every sense in his body told him to run. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to hide. Watching his own creation, one he almost considered his son, unravel in such a brutal and raw way right before him was borderline traumatic.

He was terrified of his son and his son was terrified of him. They were both terrified of different imaginary monsters. Eggman, the monster he deemed his son, who was no such thing. Neo, the monster ravaging his mind without mercy.

It took minutes for Neo to register that he was being restrained by a pair of strong, unwavering arms from behind. The reverberating sound of metal-on-metal continued to ring in his ears like static long after he had stopped ramming into the wall. Slowly, Neo recalibrated his auditory sensors and made out a voice against his ear.

(Unknown to Neo, Mecha Sonic had already entered quietly behind him, delivered a serving of food and water to the doctor, and apologized to him for any inconvenience.)

"Lord Neo. My Lord. This is an inefficient use of your energy and time." Mecha stated factually and calmly.

Energy… time? How long had it been? His internal clock was unreadable. The numbers didn't make sense. The voice beside him might have been fake, too. Mecha was used to this and unfazed. The silence likely meant that Neo was unsure of his presence. So, Mecha did what she had done before and squeezed her arms around him tighter, triggering his pressure sensors. It forced Neo's CPU to process new sensory information in a way that brought him out of his haze a little.

"Lord Neo. You need not display such fear. I have scanned the surrounding area in infrared and sent out a ping for mechanical signals, and there is nothing of note that would warrant this state."

That's right. Mecha didn't lie. She was almost incapable. Mecha could be trusted. If Neo couldn't trust his scanners, he could trust his brother's. Gradually, Neo relaxed back into Mecha, allowing Mecha to hold him back.

Nobody else could touch him this way.

"You must attempt to relax, brother. Accompany me so that we might improve your chances." Mecha told him quietly. He carefully released one hand from around his sibling to take one of Neo's hands, preventing him from damaging himself further.

Neo nodded but said nothing. He trusted that Mecha had good intentions. So, he followed Mecha out of the prison block and onto the deck of their ship.

"Are you capable of flight today." Mecha asked, pausing for a moment. She had to allow him ample time to respond, she noted, as his response times were growing longer with each day.

Neo tested his engine. It came to life with a quiet whirr.

"... Yes."

"Good. Come with me."

Mecha took off with a bang of his own engine as it quickly came to life. He rocketed up to the towers of their flying fortress with precision. Neo took off after him, focusing as best as he could manage on Mecha's flight trajectory.

High above everyone and everything else, the siblings landed side-by-side.

The brothers stood atop the tallest tower of the Final Fortress. From here, the world was minuscule, cloaked in heavy black-grey clouds that separated them from the living world. As Neo calmed further, the skies did too. He lifted his head and watched as the clouds turned from heavy charcoal to lighter slate. A very real ability like this didn't exactly help with his delusions, and Mecha had to redirect his attention. This choice of location was purposeful, however. Here, Neo was away from the other beings down below, for his own safety as well as theirs. Mecha didn't deem his sibling dangerous, but their reputation needed to remain strong to keep order amongst the ranks. The change of scenery would hopefully ease Neo's distress, too.

"We are but small beings in this world," Mecha began, looking calmly out across the stretch of the fortress, "but our troops, our fellow machines, look to us for guidance. They require your presence. Your wellbeing. I do ask that you endeavour to take better care of yourself."

"I am a monster. Father deems me so," Neo said flatly, "so my wellbeing is of… little conse- consequence."

Mecha shook his head. "Negative. A monster is defined as a large, ugly, frightening imaginary creature. You do not fit these characteristics."

Large, ugly, and frightening. That was exactly what he would become in a few days. But, for now, he was small, afraid, and suffering an internal battle that nobody else could comprehend.

Neo looked down, surveying his future kingdom with refreshed lucidity. He reached out with one hand as if to touch the world below. A world behind a pane of imaginary glass, frosted from time to time - separating him from sense. In truth, Neo had always been a child looking out of a window thinking that one day he would touch this world with his hands and make it his own (make it less frightening). Even if it burned. Even if it hurt. Even if some things had to bend and break. Even if he had to become a monster to do it.

"Do you hear the song, Mecha?" Neo asked softly. His optics dimmed a little - with what emotion, he wasn't sure.

Mecha remained still and poised. "Negative. I cannot detect any audio input out of the ordinary. What is it that you detect."

Neo murmured the words he could hear aloud. "Resist it over time... it's too much to take... you sneak up from behind..."

Mecha listened silently, wanting to understand. This wasn't an uncommon thing. He noted, though, that the words Neo said seemed to relate to his emotional state. This time, it seemed that Neo was struggling to resist whatever was happening inside his head. The paranoia was becoming too much. That was just speculation on Mecha's part, though, and she couldn't pretend to understand it.

"I do not detect those words at this time. However, if they are detectable by you, they must be important in some regard." Mecha responded kindly.

Neo felt numb, now. A curious feeling. His attention to the world around him faded and something hummed within him. Voices would try to brush up against him and his ears would fill with the muffled sounds of water. He focused on the humming in his head. He was inside his CPU, a little mechanical cave, and within, he would curl up inside. Below, his frame stood unattached. Mecha quietly took his brother's hand in his and held it with gentle solidarity.

Mecha would never understand nor comprehend the disconnect within his sibling, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't stand beside him and try.

[toomanybandstocare]

{By Your Side Tonight}

Program: As the 501st's support agent, you've come to grow fond of your boys. Even if they're reckless and obvious. You only just marked it up to be a part of their charm, and two members of the boys in blue enjoy pulling at your heartstrings. Always trying to stay one move ahead of them in your game, a night out to 79s has you kneeling before one of them after what should have been a fatal blaster shot.

Pairing: Arc Trooper Fives x GN! Reader

Side Pairing Ref: Jesse x OC! Embrey, Rex x GN! Reader -> tiny hints

Genre: Fluff, Teasing, Flirty Humor

Length: 3930w

Warnings: Flirting, Petname (Cy'are, Little One, Mesh'la), Blaster wound, Some swears

Counselor Note: So excited to be apart of @cloneficgiftexchange!! The lovely @miaowshacat requested a funny/serious situation for their gift. Hopefully, you enjoy this! My sense of humor is definitely flirty irl, so I know that's not typically what humor is considered.

Request Prompt: "Please stop getting shot, it stresses me out". "Oh, well if you don't like it".

Camp Resolute's Masterlist

Skyscrapers shoot pillars of faint illumination through the night sky, and speeder taillights leave trails of neon in their wake. As war rumbles across the galaxy, the blaring bass and sonic speakers from the surrounding clubs cause Coruscant's lower levels to vibrate. Overly excited club goers stumble and giggle amongst themselves on the walkways as wary eyes peer out from alleys.

Even on nights out, a heavy unease seeps into your bones once you step onto the landing platform. Your eyes narrow as you try to take everything in, but not even the bright signs help you see past the heavy rainfall tonight. 

“If you keep glowering like that, you’ll scare away anyone who might consider asking your sour ass for a dance,” Fives shoulders past you and throws a wink over his shoulder.

You roll your eyes and follow the rowdy boys in blue closer to the pulsing music, “I’d be more worried about anyone seeing past your ego, if I were you. You do know that sweet words and drinks will only compensate for so much. Right, Fives?”.

Jesse howls in laughter, and Echo claps your shoulder. “Got you there, vod. For the so-called ‘people’s man’, you’ve been striking out lately,” Echo laughs. Each clone walks beside you with buzzing excitement, fitted with their new planetside outfits. Similar to their blacks, they all wear a tight, compression top with short sleeves with matching cargo pants. 

“Who’s side are you on, traitor,” Fives shouts back. With an unconcerned shrug, Fives’ face melts into a smile of soft admiration: “Maybe, I have my heart set on someone, and I don’t want to fuck it up”. 

Your breath hitches. For the faintest moment, you catch Fives’ eyes flickering to you. The rain splutters as it lands in the forming puddles by the line to 79s. A few stray away to kiss his cheek bone and trail down his glowing expression. They hang, frozen, on his jawline before they race down the column of his neck and find a home in the dip of his collarbone. Quick as the moment, the storm thickens, and Fives refocuses on his brothers leaving you with a racing heart.

“The side of reason, di’kut,” you cough as you shuffle closer to the entrance when the line moves. Knots twist and sit heavy in your stomach as your gaze shifts from one group of friends in the line across the walkway to a group of illegal speeders in the next landing bay. Pushing a deep breath through your lungs, you roll your shoulders. Even shifting your weight from side to side, you still feel restless surrounded by some many unfamiliar people.

Fives takes you in with a gentle look and holds your face, “Hey, look at me. Look at me, okay?” His soft voice rings clear from the cybernetic cacophony that makes your ears prick. You meet his honey colored eyes and feel your gaze soften. He leans in close to your ear, “Everything is going to be okay, I promise you. 79s is the safest club down here, and you have a small army of clones that’ll have your back. I’ll be by your side the whole night if you’d like”. 

Calloused fingertips carefully soothe your warm cheeks. Cool droplets of rain help tame the frenzied tingles burning your skin. Fives looks towards his brothers while carefully running his hands up and down your arms to help ease your nerves. While you think about his offer, you notice the coy looks and smiles directed at Fives over his shoulder. Pushing a heavy breath through your nose, you close your eyes and lean into his hold. Fives’s hand naturally falls to rest at your hip.

Swallowing the lump in your throat, it plummets into your stomach. Crushing the few butterflies who hoped to soar. “Well, I would hate to sour your night,” you shoot him a teasing smile and pat his chest moving up in line. Your lips purse as you hand over your ID to the bouncer, and the thumping stereo only further irritates you.

While you wait for the rest of the group to hand over their IDs, a warm hand rests between your shoulder blades. Although very similar to the ones that held you moments ago, you know it belongs to another. Slightly larger and holds you with a firm tenderness that you allow yourself to ease into. “Safe to assume this game’s continuing tonight then?,” Rex asks as he shuffles closer to you, allowing Hardcase and Dogma to pass over their credentials.

“Care to elaborate on what game you’re referring to, Captain?” you ask with a raised brow. Your blood sears through your veins as Rex meets your smoldering gaze with a knowing glint in his eye.

“There is not a single person who doesn’t see the two of you playing cat and mouse,” Rex lowly explains, “I’m getting quite bored watching you play around, little one”.

His hand trails up and across your shoulder line to rest on your upper arm, tucking you into his side. The only relief from the flush of warmth washing over you is the fact that you feel Rex’s heart hammering against his chest almost as fast as your own.

“And what would you have me do, hm? Or would you like some more attention instead? All you have to do is ask,” you ponder, “Besides, it’s all good fun. Did you ever think that I might like being the one who’s chased? This little game isn’t as straightforward as you may think”.

He shakes his head with a small laugh and guides you through the entryway into the club. “Then I’ll leave you to your fun tonight. You’ll have to teach me the rules to your heart next time, mesh’la,” Rex’s voice darkens as he parts away from you with a lingering touch. The fleeting feeling of his calloused fingertips trailing along your side makes you dizzy.

Bodies twist and bend around each other to the DJ’s beat. Flashing lights twirl and surround you in a warm glow as you step down into the ever fluctuating crowd. The boys in blue start to holler and skirt past you to get a jumpstart on their night. Kix pauses by you, “If you need anything, just grab one of us, alright? Have some fun tonight, too”. Before you can even spare a smile, he disappears into the mass of bodies.

You push and shove your way through the wave of patrons swarming the entrance to try to make it to the bar. Sweaty bodies graze up against you trying to get to their next destination while the deafening bass pounds your chest with every beat. Glimpses of the illuminated shelves of drinks and mixers being tossed in the air can be seen in the small openings between passing bodies as you squeeze through the last line of people.

Your chest constricts as more people seem to push you from behind and others shuffle you sideways. Reaching out with one arm, you huff before pushing back against the wave of people around you. With everyone moving in different directions at once, you’re jostled in the thick of it. When you break free of the rushing crowd’s pull, you tumble forward from its hold and it into the welcoming arms of another.

“Thought you said you didn’t want me by your side tonight,” Fives’ warm breath tickles the shell of your ear. He pulls back with his signature smirk and leads you with a hand resting on the small of your back to a pair of open bar stools.

You shoot him a playful glare as you settle onto your seat, “Don’t put words in my mouth, love”. You rest your head on your fist and kick him gently underneath the bar. Once the pet name slips past your lips and registers in his mind, Fives’ breath hitches. “Afterall, you were the one who called me sour when I’m only ever sweet to you boys,” you wink at him before signaling over the service droid.

“Now hold on a minute,” Fives leans in on his forearm with a smile pulling at his lips, “You’re sweet to us? Who else is graced by your kindness and charm? Thought I was the only man for you, cy’are”. Tearing his playful gaze away from you, Fives orders for the two of you. In a moment, two vibrant mocktails are set between your seats.

“Wouldn’t the people’s man like to know,” you drawl out and take a sip of your drink. A refreshing mixture of juices and ice blend together in your mouth. “Now, back to the boys-- how do you think the night will end for them?” you ask and do a sweep of the club with your eyes.

Most of the boys have managed to find partners to join them on the dance floor. Jesse is tucked away in a secluded corner with his partner, Embrey. The two men have only just started seeing each other, but you also catch Jesse smiling at his data pad more often now. Hardcase is tangled with the wolfpack in one of the booths as they continue their usual boisterous recollections of the latest events. Rex joins Wolffe and Cody at the unofficial CO booth on the raised level as they keep a careful eye on their legions.

“Jesse won’t be coming back to the barracks with us. That civvie’s got him wrapped around his little finger,” Fives pulls himself closer to your side and slides an arm to rest on the back of your stool.

You hum in agreement, “I somehow think that’s not hard to accomplish with you boys. You’re all practically a pack of tooka kittens — from pulling at each other's ears to pushing each other to try to get someone’s attention”. You smile at him over the rim of your drink, and the look of utter betrayal on Fives’ face sends you into a flurry of laughter. 

“Oh, don’t leave yourself out of that either,” Fives wags a finger at you, “Nearly bit my head off when you found out I didn’t get medcare after Teth only to keep me close when we were all playing sabacc. You’re just as bad as us when it comes to attention, and I would reckon that you’re even worse”. 

As Fives points out your shared similarities, you can’t help but lean into him more. Nearly tangled together, to the point where anyone could rightfully question if the pair of you are just friends, you rest a hand on his chest. You play with the collar of his shirt with your fingertips. The rise and fall of his breath upticks beneath your palm, and you find comfort in the steady thrum of his heartbeat.

“What’s the matter, love?” You tilt your head, “Cat got your tongue?”

As you pull your gaze away from where your fingers fiddle with Fives’ collar, your heart drops when you realize his attention lays elsewhere. “Now what could be more captivating than our conversation,” you weakly laugh. Twisting your head, you immediately notice the handsome Nautolan man eying Fives from his table. His eyes shift from your friend and widen when he meets your gaze. Even as your breath freezes, lungs constrict, want to push Fives’ arm away -- you instead send the man a soft smile and nod your head.

Turning away with slightly slumped shoulders, you put on a brave face and pat Fives’ arm. “I’ll make sure to tell Echo you won’t be returning to the barracks tonight as well,” you say as you rise from the stool. With a swift swoop of your arm, you grab your drink and quickly finish it off.

“Cy’are, come on. Sit back down. I said I’d stay by your side tonight, which means I’m not going anywhere you aren’t,” Fives pleads. One hand grasps your forearm and weakly attempts to guide you back to the stool.

Even with his warm expression inviting you to rejoin him, his hand feels cold against your skin.

Even with the teasing tip of his smirk pulling you back to his side, his silence rings clear.

Even though Fives is the person you dream of waking up next to in bed each morning, Fives’ eyes wander everywhere except for the one person who stands by his side.

“Go have fun, Fives. I’m going to search for some of mine own,” you reassure him and slide his hand away. You shoot him a wink as you walk past him and blend into the wave of patrons.

Once again flooded with the overwhelming proximity of strangers, frustration flames through your blood. The sticky atmosphere chokes you as your heart pounds against its cage. The corners of your vision blur and darken while you move solely focused on the entrance. Stinging static drowns out the annoyed protests and looped music tracks from your hearing. The moment you break free from the club’s hold, you stride into the crisp night air that envelops you in a thick downpour of rain. 

Not sparing a glance behind you, you continue to move as far away from the clone club. Yet with every step, something nips at the back of your neck. Not even an hour ago, you wanted to leave and return for a night in the barracks. Now you follow the near-empty streets as they twist and wind and lead you further away from your friends and into an awaiting pit of darkness. Finally able to blink away the rain just long enough to catch sight of a nearby storefront awning, you dart for cover and shiver against the cool durasteel building.

Heavy breaths wrack your body as you watch the trickles of rain plummet from the awning. 

Maybe it was time to put a stop to your little game and come clean?

The occasional speeder joins the rushing soundscape that drowns out your comlink’s alert. 

You heart wrenches at the thought of cutting off both men.

Faint shapes of bodies not even glancing at your hiding place come in and out of focus from the downpour. 

Then again, neither seemed too interested in making the next move.

Until one shadow stops. 

You shake your head to clear your mind from memories of their shared looks, and you push away your thoughts.

Its shape growing and defining itself against the curtain of rain that had shielded you.

Steadying your breath, you carefully stand. “Not another step,” you demand. In the moment the shadow pauses, you slip off your comlink and send an alert to the shared channel of the 501st. Hopefully, the darkness is your ally this time.

“Wouldn’t you want some company?,” a husky voice calls out, “This isn’t the type of place to be wandering around by yourself — especially in this weather.”

They take a step closer.

A faint alert chirps from your comlink.

“My friends are on their way,” you coolly reply as thunderous footsteps and shouts roar against the brewing storm.

The shadow’s head tilts, but not in contemplation. 

“That’s what we were hoping for,” the shadow snarls.

Shivers shudder down your spine in realization.

Just as you launch yourself from your spot, blaster bolts strike through the night sky like lightning. No longer concerned about the shadow who slipped into the darkness, you run towards the echoign command. Clenching your fists, you slam your feet against the rain soaked platform.

“Fives,” you shout.

Blaster bolts illuminate the walkway and reveal silhouettes struggling against one another.

“You picked the wrong person to go after, ge’hutuun,” one of your boys grunts.

Rain droplets pelt down on you and leave stinging splotches on your skin.

Bringing your comlink up to your mouth, you grit your teeth against the howling wind. “This is 501st support agent to base, do you copy? We need back up. This is an emergency, do you copy,” you try to speak clearly against the growing panic bubbling inside you.

A single scream silences the street’s symphony.

“Fives,” someone calls out.

“Fives?” you breathe out.

It feels like the rain weighs down on you and locks you in place. Each footstep harder to take than the last. As the 501st comes into view, tears blur your vision as you hastily look each man over.

Rex and Jesse stand just off to the side, speaking to a holograph of Commander Fox with apprehensive expressions. Hardcase, Dogma, and Tup surround the dazed assailants while pacing every few steps before returning. 

Echo and Kix kneel on the ground beside a body just ahead of you.

“Fives?” you croak.

Echo raises his head and motions you over to join them. His serious gaze pulls you from your cemented spot and into a run.

Skidding to a stop, you sink to your knees next to Fives’ head. Your eyes flicker from his pained expression to his heaving chest to the blaster graze just above his hip. The outfit he was so excited to wear out for the first time now smolders around blistering skin.

“This wasn’t the show I was hoping to put on for you, cy’are,” Fives hoarsely laughs.

A watery chuckle breaks your chapped lips, “Well, you’re quite the showstopper. You can put on an actual show for me another time. But, please stop getting shot, it stresses me out”.

Fives lets out a booming laugh that’s quickly cut off by a groan, “Oh, well if you don’t like it, I’ll just have to ask the Sith to stop the war for me. Sure they’ll be real understanding -”. His sentence cuts off when he sucks in a sharp breath.

You look over to Kix who has a less than amused expression at the two of you. One hand barely applying pressure to Fives’ wound.

“Calm down, you’re not going to die,” Kix rolls his eyes and slightly shoves Fives’s side, “You have second degree burns, di’kut. Just need some bacta patches, and you’ll be fine with minor scarring”.

“That should have been a direct hit though,” you murmur, looking at the wound. You face Fives once again, yet this time he won’t meet your eyes. Resting your hand on his jaw, you make him meet your pointed gaze. A slow warmth grows underneath your touch.

“His clothing is made up of an experimental light-weight, ballistic material. It’s a prototype for casual bulletproof clothing,” Kix explains and pulls  your attention back to him. He tugs at the singed edge of Fives’ shirt. The cloth barely moves from the strain. “Did -- did he not tell you why we came out tonight?” Kix asks you with an incredulous laugh.

“He actually went through with his dumb plan. Kriffsake, this should be good,” Echo snickers and shuffles away from you.

“It’s bulletproof?” you shriek at him.

Fives quickly throws his hands up and scoots away from you to push himself up into a crouching position. “Not completely! That’s why we had to test it out,” he defends.

His words still you. Narrowing your eyes, you watch as Fives pales under your sharp gaze. “Test it?” your voice comes out a low growl.

Fives sends a weak glare over your shoulder, “Who’s side are you on, traitor?”

Echo and Kix burst into laughter, barely spitting out coherent words. “The side of reason, di’kut,” they reply in unison.

“You were the one who volunteered to be the mark,” Kix notes.

“‘Just you watch, I’ll put an end to this little game of ours tonight,’” Echo say in a poor imitation of his twin, “‘By the end of the night, I will confess my undying love for my cy’are”.

“I did not say that,” Fives barks back.

“I am so grateful that shot didn’t kill you,” you confess while you drop your head in relief. You try to conceal the snickers that threaten to slip past your lips.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Fives perk up. “Does that mean I can take you out on a date?” He asks.

“No,” you say. When his posture slumps once more, you slowly raise your head and meet his disappointed gaze. “No, I’d like to take you out myself,” your voice drips with false sweetness.

“Well, who am I to say no to a lovely date with my cy’are,” Fives leans closer to you with a small smile spreading across his face.

“I’m so grateful that bulletproof material kept you alive just long enough for me to take you out myself,” your voice growls in playful anger. 

Fives’ eyes widen, and he pushes off the ground and sprints away from you. “Cy’are, I’m sorry,” he laughs and shouts over his shoulder.

“Too late. Get back here, di’kut,” you yell and launch after him.

Footsteps slosh and slap against the platform while both your laughter mixes with the comforting hum of the evening. As you near Fives, your gazes meet as he turns to check on you with an adoring expression. Reaching out with one hand, your face lights up when he turns completely to face you. Arms open waiting for you to join him by his side once more.

Throwing your arms around his neck, you press yourself close to him. His hands rest comfortably on your hips, and Fives ducks his head in the crook of your neck. The gentle scratches as you play with the edge of hair bring small hums from his mouth that softly tickle your skin. 

“I’m still going to murder you,” you mumble into his shoulder.

Fives hums, and his hold tightens around you. “Just wait until after the date. I’m looking forward to it, and it would be my life’s regret if I never actually had the honor to spend the night by your side”.

The soft glow from flickering neon signs wraps around your bodies as the rainstorm eases to a gentle lull. Neither of you pay attention as the Coruscant Guard passes. Some send Fives a celebratory salute while others clap your shoulder with a chuckle. As the night life fades to distant hum, Fives straightens himself and pulls you under his arm to lead you back to the group. Soft smiles and shouts of relief greet the two of you, now that the game has come to an end. 

At least for tonight. 

One pair of eyes linger on you for a moment longer than they should have. “Rex, we’re good to head out now. Gave Fox the report and analysis already,” Jesse states.

Rex pulls his gaze from where you stand tucked comfortably in his vod’s hold, and he nods at Jesse. “Then I think it’s time we head back to the barracks and get some rest. I’m sure we’ll find ourselves absorbed in another game by the time we deploy again,” Rex shakes his head with a small laugh.

Jesse looks at him with an impressed, yet shocked, expression. “Don’t tell me you’ve been keeping out on us and have your eye on someone,” he says with a light elbow jab to Rex’s side.

With a knowing look in his eye, Rex motions for Jesse to make his way over to the awaiting transport. Once everyone from the 501st and guard are accounted for, Rex allows himself to relax against the wall. Letting his head fall to one side, he steals one more glance and smiles at the sight of you dozing off on his brother’s shoulder. Rex raises his gaze and meets Fives’ eyes, and they subtly nod at each other.

The night may be over, but the game is still in play.

[thedo0zyslider]

Cleo looks out her window. She doesn't know why she does so, it's just another action she does without thinking. And the zombie wishes they hadn't done so, really. Out there, sitting on his ugly little bastion, is her soulmate. Martyn himself, in all his annoying glory. And he looks.....sad about something. For some reason.

And for some other reason, Cleo finds herself feeling the smallest bit of sympathy for him. Maybe it's because, if they focus really hard, Cleo can feel the smallest amount of pain that is not hers. His pain, the emtional kind. Not that the zombie will ever admit to that.

Cleo sighs, and stops what she's doing. Which had been making bread. She'd been making bread with some wheat that they'd stolen from the Ranch. Cleo sighs and opens her door, with hands that still have the slightest bit of dough on them, and walks out towards the bastion. They hope they don't regret this, and that Martyn is too sad to try and bite her head off today.

"Hey." Cleo says, once she has walked across the bridge between her and Scott’s houses. Because that's the side Martyn was on, and the cliff was closer to his house on that side. Startled, Martyn looks up, and Cleo thinks that small prick of pain in their shared heart gets worse.

"Hi." Martyn says, looking at them rather suspiciously. "Did you come to make fun of my house again?" His voice is thick with distaste, his mind no doubt full of their friends prior jabs at his house. Cleo just rolls their eyes.

"No. I came to sit." She says, and looks at the gap between the cliff and the bastions edge. Martyn stands, seeming to hold back a sigh.

"I guess you can sit with me." He says, walking closer to her. "Over here. You can get up here from this part of the cliff." Martyn motions to where he is now standing, and offers out a hand. Cleo takes it with a nod, and tries not to think of the feeling of his hand in hers. Once she is on the bastion, Martyn let's go of her, and sits back on his previous spot with a huff.

"Why're you here?" He asks, eyeing the zombie when she sits down next to him. Two pairs of legs hang dangerously off the bastions edge, like the fools they were. If one of them slips, that's two lives lost. So Marytn better not slip again.

Cleo just shrugs. "You looked sad. Felt sad too, if I focused enough." They state it simply, not being good with all the emotional stiff. It's not their forte, but Cleo will try. Just this once. For the two of them.

Martyn sighs, and places his hand on his cheek. "You're not gonna leave until I talk about it, are you?" He grumbles, gaze fixed on the water below. The water still with a warden in it. Right. Cleo had forgotten about that thing. She apologizes to Reggie in her head for forgetting about him, depsite the spectacle it had casued a few days prior. And the constant clicking sounds it made, which were horribly annoying once you tuned into them.

"Nope. And you know I'm willing to sit here for a while." The zombie responds, briefly hoping the warden can't hear the from all the way up here. Getting sonic blasted wouldn't be very fun.

Martyn says nothing for a few minutes, his eyes still fixed on the water. They look troubled too. Cleo says nothing, and idly kicks her legs off the edge of the bastion, waiting for him to speak first.

"I....want another soulmate." Martyn admits after a moment, doing so hesitantly. He sounds like he feels bad about it. "Not a chosen one, a.....real one ya know? Not that chosen soulmates aren't-"

Cleo cuts him off with a small laugh at his rambling. "I know what you mean. I get it." He turns to look at her, and there is lingering curiosity in those yellow eyes. Both their eyes are yellow, because of him. The zombie frowns, and tries not to think about that.

"I wish I bad someone else too. Bdubs, maybe." She admits, wistfully thinking of a time they cannot have back. Of a castle with a stupid bubble elevator and a mote around it.

Martyn hums in agreement, and they know he's thinking of the same time as she is. They also know what he's going to say before he even says it. "I wish I was bound to Ren." Martyn murmurs, looking back at the water for a second. There's a blush already spreading across his face, because he is still so gone for that man. Even after all this time.

Cleo has to hold back a laugh. "I knew you were gonna say that." She teases, going to nudge his side playfully. Marytn makes another huff, and blushes more.

"You're not that bad of a soulmate, though. But I still want Ren." He continues, looking back at her. Cleo finds she agrees with him, on the first part that is. Martyn isn't that bad of a soulmate, they just had some rough patches. Maybe....if those hadn't happened....they could've....

Nevermind all that. This was about Ren and Martyn, not her and whatever feeling they had for the blonde next to her.

"Yeah." Cleo agrees, holding back a smile. "Maybe if those cheating rumors are true, Ren will come to his senses."

"And what?" Martyn snorts, the pain in their shared heart feeling a little lighter. Like it was starting to mend. "Choose me over BigB?"

"Maybe~" Cleo hums, and the both of them burst into a small fit of giggles. This isn't like either of them, to be so open and emotional with each other. But it's nice, the zombie decides. And she wouldn't mind doing it again, as long as Marytn remains civil about it.

He leans on her after a minute, head resting on the zombies shoulder. Cleo says nothing, just lets him, and remembers their height difference. And the fact that she's stupidly tall. Cleo says nothing about the contact (because secretly, the touch feels really nice,) and listens as Martyn starts to complain about the warden below, and how it akways keeps him up at night. It might be Jimmy and Tango's baby, but the man next to her wants Ranchers Revenge dead. For the whole server and not his own convenience, of course.

Cleo listens, and stops fighting a smile. The rest of the day can be theirs. Even if it's not going to be her and Martyn in the end. It's going to be Martyn and Ren, when all this is said and done. It always is. But just for today, it can be Cleo and Marytn. Just for a little bit.

She'll give him back, because she couldn't keep him if she tried. If Cleo tried to keep Martyn, he'd just fight until they freed him. Maybe that was why she seemed to care so much, because he fought and fought like a warrior if he truly loved someone. A rather endearing trait.

Its why Ren loved him, that was for certain. Maybe not why Cleo cared for him, but it's why Ren did. And that was enough. That was enough for her to be comfortable letting him go back home.

[biscuits-of-bagend]

DnDoc, A Man's a Man #5 - He’s But A Coof

Part 1 Part 4

Previous stories: DnDoc, Coming Home DnDoc, Space Band

Song lyrics in Scottish Poetry Library Paolo Nutini performance of the song

Dictionary of the Scots Language entry for ‘coof’

It occurred to me that for historical clarity I should probably mention that Fergusson is fictional. The song, Burns's wife Jean Armour and Burns living in Dumfries rather than Ayrshire at this point are all real.

---

"No, no, come on. I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for this, " said the Doctor. "What exactly did you hear, sir?"

"Well… sir… Everyone heard the singing. It was impossible to miss. Overhead those sanctimonious, traitorous verses rung out, leading towards the farmstead of surprise, surprise, Robert Burns. Then there was a crash, which I assume was whatever carriage or cart the singing had been coming from. Perhaps this slightly unusual blue carriage here flew off the road - yes, I'll wager the driver's blood rushed so fast to his head he completely lost control." The man surveyed the room, watching the reactions of each of the suspects.

Burns stared at the Doctor, his nostrils rippling with anger. But as he took in this explanation from the policeman, if that was what he was, his face stilled. His gaze flicked between the two groups - the travellers and the law - clearly shaken. He must have thought the policeman had heard him and the Doctor singing this very moment. But even if it was the earlier singing that had been heard - the sonic from the TARDIS - clearly that was still the travellers' fault. Ruby couldn't blame him for wondering if he'd been set up.

"And now these papers," said the policeman, taking them from his subordinate. "With, what are these, alternate verses? You had more ideas to send to the Glasgow Magazine?"

Burns kept his lips tightly shut, eyes darting about the room. Suddenly the lower-ranking policemen flanked him and grabbed an arm each, dragging him towards the door.

"No!" the Doctor shouted, but they were off.

The policemen marched Burns out of his house, TARDIS team hot on their heels. As the senior policeman opened the gate at the end of the farmstead's garden path, a figure appeared in the doorway of the house.

"Robert!" She began to run down the path. "Fergusson, what is this?"

"Jean, stay inside!" Robert shouted. "Get the tea ready for the children."

"Do as he says, Jean," Fergusson barked, yanking Burns extra-roughly into the road. "Though you'll need one less place for the moment, perhaps for a long while…"

The Doctor burst through the gate after them and ran round to the other side of Fergusson, walking backward as he tried to reason with him. "Come on, sir, surely you can see how poorly this will-"

Fergusson used his free hand to shove the Doctor squarely in the chest, so hard and so sharply that the Doctor flew backwards and landed on his arse. He snarled down at the Doctor, glaring at him if he made a move to stand up. The Doctor let them pass then jumped up and ran over to Rogue and Ruby.

The Doctor ran his hands down his face. "Ugh, right, fine. Looks like you two are going to have to take the lead. Ruby, you be posh. Rogue, you be her footman. Tell that guy Fergusson that the country will never forgive him. That man is a national treasure. He's clearly worried about unrest like in France - this would really have been the moment for those ruffles, Rogue - so you need to convince him that hanging Burns will create more unrest than that song did, okay?"

"Got it," said Ruby. She grabbed Rogue's sleeve, but he didn't need to be told twice either. The two of them sprinted to catch up with Fergusson and Burns. Ruby stopped just short of them and looked to Rogue. She whispered, "You'd introduce me, right?"

Rogue nodded and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Good sir. My mistress has some questions about your business."

Ruby did her best to look authoritative, pointing her chin upwards and trying not to slouch.

Fergusson stopped and looked Ruby up and down. He threw Burns at his two henchmen, who caught him and gripped each arm tight.

"And who is your mistress, might I ask?" said Fergusson.

"The Lady Ruby Sunday," said Rogue. "Of Bridgerton Park."

"I do not believe I've had the pleasure," said Fergusson. He took Ruby's hand, which she had no choice but to allow, and planted a kiss on it. "What, may I ask, could the concerns be of a visitor regarding this internal political matter?"

At the last second Ruby had a gut feeling that a posh, southern accent wasn't going to be convincing. So instead she did her best to enunciate as clearly as possible as she put forth the Doctor's arguments. "The fate of this man concerns all of us who care for the arts, all up and down these isles. His contributions to Scottish and British literature have made him a beloved figure of culture. He's a natural genius and you would do best to consider your position within this country before you question his. If you fear unrest, do not take out your anger upon a national treasure."

Rogue's mouth hung slightly open as Ruby finished her speech. She allowed herself a moment to take that as a compliment, then focused on Fergusson to see what his response would be. He was thinking, it seemed. The other two men still had their hands clamped around Burns's arms. Ruby noticed that it wasn't nearly as dark outside as she had expected after the dark study. It was just cloudy, so not that much natural light had come into the room. But it seemed to be the middle of the day, and there were other people on the road and across the fields. The two henchmen also had a look around, then drew closer around Burns as if to shield him from view.

Eventually Fergusson spoke. "The man has not published anything of note in years. A tragic fall from grace is as expected as any other outcome. I do not fear an angry mob as I do not see one assembling."

Ruby could see Rogue biting his lip to stop a retort from bursting out. Clearly this man was not going to want to hear from a lowly footman. Ruby thought about tragic ends of musicians in her own time - rockstars drinking themselves to death, Amy Winehouse and the rest of the 27-club's lives cut horrifically short, and her eyes stung just thinking about Freddie Mercury. Rage bubbled in her at the suggestion these things were poetic.

"However…" she started, "I believe… you underestimate the strength of feeling of those who grew reading and hearing his work. They will be heartbroken, they will feel as though their past has been taken from them. And not by senseless, blameless tragedy… but by you."

Rogue nodded slightly at her and let out a breath. She must have hit on what he'd been thinking. Fergusson hesitated again and turned to look at Burns.

But just at that moment some noise began to rise from a group of young lads cutting across a nearby field. Ruby's stomach dropped as she recognised the tune. Then as they got closer she could make out the words.

See yon birkie caw'd a lord,

Wha struts an' stares an' a' that,

Though hundreds worship at his word

He's but a COOF for a' that,

For a' that an' a' that,

His ribband, star, an' a' that,

The man o' independent mind,

He looks and laughs at a' that.

Some of the boys laughed and pointed at Fergusson as they passed, shouting the word 'coof' over and over again. Ruby didn't know what it meant but it was abundantly clear from context that it was an insult. Fergusson snarled and shoved his subordinates, one hand in the centre of each of their backs, so that they resumed their march towards the magistrate.

---

Part 6

@off-traveling-in-the-stars @casavanse @monster-donut (let me know at any point if you no longer wish to be tagged in each post)

[goldenquillarchive]

More about 'where the boy gets the guy' and 'sakura notes' please!!

→ Wip Game Post

WHERE THE BOY GETS THE GUY

literally the only info i have written down on this is that it's an alternative universe, it's NorthSonic, it's set in college, North is a popular gay jock, and Sonic is the stereotype breaking Cheerleader wearing skirts and hating on jocks, the only stereotype he isn't breaking is being a cheerleader that's dating a jock, but who can blame him for falling for north?? have you SEEN his arms?? and he makes him laugh.

SAKURA NOTES

is actually two works that are basically the same story but one I've actually thought out and discussed with @ohanny , the other (the one I'll talk about here) is just Inspired by what we talked of together but mainly pieced together by me and major plots were my idea

it's a Canon Compliant to the end of Season One of Pitbabe, It starts where the last episode left off.

Both works are about Kenta visiting Japan after everything happened, to go on a journey of self finding and getting healthy and stuff like that.

In this work kenta obviously doesn't end up in Jail, With the Help of Pete he gets out of any legal issues, Kenta was taken under the wing by the X-Hunter team and was taken care of for a bit, he helped with some Accounting stuff for Alan. Kenta, Babe, Charlie and Jeff got to work and help out the Special kids that were still at the foundation and find Kids that were already adopted and help them back to safety and into an actual SAFE Adoption Centre and everything is Monitored by them closely.

Basically Kenta throws himself back into work, trying to make up for all his mistakes and everything that he was part of that he's not proud of. He wants to prove that he's a good person and that he doesn't want to disappoint the others again.

All the work obviously leads to a burnout, Kenta is still majorly Traumatised and needs time to actually recover

therefore the team (majorly kim and pete) decide that kenta needs to get back into the real world and figure out who he really is without Tony and the Chen foundation.

Kim suggests Kenta should go back to his roots for a little vacation to Japan, and quickly offers to go with him (because he's the one closest with kenta rn) so he doesn't have to go alone.

Kenta eventually agrees after being a little MEH about the idea, but after a good breakdown he decides he actually does need a break, and if the pretty boy he has a silly crush on wants to join, who's he to say no?

so they travel to japan, they stay in tokyo for a while before traveling to a slightly smaller city, but ultimately they settle down for a week or two in a small town that sounds familiar to kenta and itches a place in his brain.

they make a lot of memories together and get closer with every day and often share deep talks at night watching the sky, or just sitting there watching eachother, it's all very intimate for some reason.

a few days in town they stumble upon a very cute tea shop surrounded by cherry blossom trees, they decide to go in and grab something to drink and eat for a break from their exploring.

The owner of the shop is a cute little japanese lady, she's so nice and really happy about kim and kenta coming in, she calls them handsome and makes some small talk with them before letting them order.

while the old lady goes to prepare their food and tea, kenta walks around the shop and looks around, especially looking at the pictures that are hung on all the walls, some of the pictures are really old (atleast over 20 years, kenta would guess)

there's one picture his eyes keep coming back to, it scratches an itch in his brain, something so familiar about it that he can't quite explain.

the old lady notices when he brings them their order and asks kenta if he would like to know about the little boy and the man on the picture.

kenta says he doesn't want to intrude on anything, the picture seems private.

the lady tells kenta that he doesn't need to worry and tells him to sit down, before she proceeds to tell him and kim about the picture.

the picture is 24 years old, the little boy is her 3 year old son named Ken, and the man is the father and her husband. she looks sad as she talks but she's still smiling, happy she gets to talk about the two lovely men in his life.

she tells them it's the last picture that was taken of both of them, it was taken before they both left for Thailand, her husband was visiting some family and wanted to take Ken with him, because the lady didn't want to leave the shop alone she let her boys leave without her.

A few days later, a message reached her that they were in an accident that killed her husband, and her son went missing.

Kim tells her he's very sorry for her loss, and that's she's a strong woman and he's glad she's still smiling and living for them.

Kenta is at a loss for words, he can't shake that the picture looks familiar to him.

They get interrupted by another customer coming in and the old lady leaves to take care of them.

Kenta and Kim finish their things before leaving the shop and going back to their rented flat, kenta is still acting off....a little weird.

when they get home kenta calls pete, asking him to send him pictures of everything Tony kept in Kentas file, everything he had that belonged to him, everything he kept under lock that had kentas name on it.

Kim asks Kenta what this is all about, Kenta then explains that he thinks he's the boy in the picture, he explains how familiar it felt, how everything about this town felt familiar, how it has to be a sign that the name of the town scratched an itch in his brain before they decided to come and stay here.

the next morning, pete sent him everything he could find, and kentas suspicions were confirmed, hidden in his files and belongings was the same picture that was hung up in that shop, signed on the back with a message in cursive that read "be safe my boys, love ma <3"

Kenta takes a few days to recover and make sense of things, Kim and him get even closer, eventually getting so close that they kiss, confess and get together.

Together they go back to the shop but Kim stays outside while Kenta goes inside and tells the Old lady....his Mother, everything that happened.

and that's all i have on that ur so welcome for that, I hope it's gonna be as stuck in your brains as is it is in mine.

genuinely don't think I won't be getting to write this for a while, purely because I don't think i could make it justice like i wanted it to. i want to practice more writing before writing something as intimate as this, but if anyone wants to take it off my hands I'd be more than happy to give you all my thoughts so you can write it for the fandom!

[inkabelledesigns]

Today is a really special day in gaming. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door is rereleasing on Nintendo Switch, and I am so happy. This was one of my sister's favorite games growing up, and subsequently, one of my favorite stories in the Mario world by far. So today I'd like to tell you a story about how we got introduced to this game, because it's actually quite funny.

See when I was a kid, we didn't have a lot in the way of videogames the way that most people know them today. Our first home console was a Wii in 2008, and by then I was a preteen. We only had an inkling of what games were outside of a CD-ROM because of my cousin, who played on a Gameboy Advance at all of our family gatherings. But as we got older and were ready for the internet, my sister got into Mario, and I was into Sonic. And we'd scroll through Wikipedia, looking at all these games that made up our favorite heroes' adventures. That was the first time we heard of the Paper Mario series. Seeing as we had no GameCube or way to play GameCube games, we found a let's play of TTYD that was really funny, and we watched it all the way through more than once.

One fateful day, Mom took us out to GameStop, and we were browsing through the used games. This was back when they still had GameCube games mixed in with the Wii selection, and we struck gold. Paper Mario TTYD was hiding amongst the other games present, and my sister and I freaked out. We knew this game sold for a lot, but there it was, right at our local GameStop, for a relatively reasonable price. A treasure of legend that seemed unattainable, and yet here it was, right in her hands. We knew nothing of how to make a GameCube game work on the Wii, we'd never had a reason to learn. But in that moment, we asked for help. The GameStop employees there were kind enough to help us. We walked out of there with the adventure of a lifetime, Sonic Riders Zero Gravity for me, and I wanna say a Madcatz controller, because that was all they had. X'''D They had to call the GameStop in the mall for us, because the last thing we needed was a memory card, and sure enough they had one! So Mom brought us over, and we had all the tools so that my sister could play this thing.

Booting it up was magical. It's one of the most fun stories Mario has ever told, and seeing it on my screen was nothing short of a treat. And it's continued to be that way for a long time. I've got fond memories of my sister coming home on college breaks and taking some time in the evening to try and beat it again. It never got old.

Yesterday she texted my other sister and I, so excited about the remaster today. And I couldn't help but smile, remembering just how much she loved that original experience. And while I'm not playing it yet (not until we get a really good discount), I'm hoping it's a wonderful experience for all of you who are. There's so much I love about this entry. It's got great characters, a fun art style, great music, and truly a wonderful story that kept me on my toes. The humor was great too. The party members in this one are some of the best Paper Mario has ever had. I hope you love them all. I hope you have so much fun playing it or watching someone you love play it.

[scittyscribbles]

I wake up and I see someone calling me a predator for the art done on Scitty-Titty (18+ Twitter) and an older commission over on Twitter. Literally all my followers know about these pieces, so it's not like I'm hiding them. Longpost down below

I've been a member of the Sonic community since I was 11. I've known artists of all walks of life that draw various degrees of pornography of the characters. And then there are also artists who draw actual pornography of minors.

I'm not one of them.

I'm actually disgusted that they would even assume that. When I draw characters for pinups, they're over 18 everytime. Their bodies aren't minors. The thoughts behind it isn't "I'm drawing a child." The thought is clearly "This is Amy Rose as an adult".

People have been throwing this at Sonic Pinip artists for such a long time. It's something the community sees at least once a year brought up and then they have to fight back and explain common sense to newer people or people who just want a reason to take an artist down.

"You also drew Cream the Rabbit! She's canonically 5!"

This is the picture. This was commissioned by a friend of mine. He strictly did not want her to look like a child and I also didn't want her to look like a child. "But she's still short! It's minor coded!!" People can be short. I'm 5'3". My grandma is 4'11".

And if you are of age and go onto Scitty-Titty on Twitter, you can find the Amy piece. It's the first picture on there. A lot of other people saw it (over 2k).

Also, if you're talking about the art on Scitty-Titty and you mention Cream-- do you mean that Vanilla picture? The one with the wedding dress? That's literally Cream's mom. Dandy refuses to draw Cream and says "Her mom is literally right there."

Now let me tell you what a predator actually is. A predator isn't someone who draws nsfw of Amy Rose with big tits. A predator is someone who contacts children and grooms them for sex. They talk to kids in private, try to become close friends with them and then want to have a sexual relationship with them. Or, in some cases, waits for the minor to grow up and then date them because "they're fair game."

There are also predators that prey on people that aren't minors that are going through a rough time and use that to get close to them. I also don't do this. If someone comes to me to talk to me about their life, that's fine. Feel free to vent. But I'm not going to use that against them or control them with it. I'm literally just nodding and letting them get it off their chest. It's usually clients that do this to me, believe it or not.

I have literally only talked to one minor in my DMs and it was about a purchase their parents made on my store. That's literally it. I haven't talked to them in private. When I do talk to a minor, it's usually because they're in a public group in a server or they show up in our streams over on Twitch. I also don't talk to a lot of people in my DMs as it is. It's mainly for work, and like stated before, talking to that minor was also work related and confirming that their order was being shipped to them. People who actually know me and don't judge me for drawing, what literally half of the sonic community is already drawing, know this. I'm not a very social person, and I don't go out of my way to make friends. The friends I do talk to I've known for over 10 years or are over the age of 21.

I'm not even going to go and fire back and start yelling about that person who's taking shots at me. All I want is for them to leave me alone. I don't even want to be part of this fight that's been going on in the Starlight Express Fandom. The Fandom is literally blacklisted because I'm tired of seeing it. I'm friends with an alter whose whole identity revolves around that musical. That's the only reason I know about it.

Also. Me and Kerk haven't been a couple since December 2022. I broke up with her because of my anxiety. I felt like Kerk wasn't interested in being with me, so I ended it in person. It wasn't my intentions when I visited her, but it happened. We didn't tell you Kat because we didn't tell anyone. We just went on like nothing happened. It's still a sore subject to me because I didn't want to end it, but I realized the feelings weren't mutual.

Just because Dandy is dating two alters in their system doesn't mean that I'm dating Kerk. It doesn't work that way. I'm not Dandy. Dandy isn't me. You, as a system, should know this. That's like saying that Obsidian dating Golden meant that you were dating Kerk. And I don't believe you two were.

What I do know is that you were good friends with her and alters. You were there for Greaseball and Kerk when they were having that falling out with their old friend. You warned them about the disciminaton that happens in that Fandom towards alters. You were even one of the Mods in a server they ran. You were close enough that you felt comfortable to have your alter Obsidian date Golden after he manifested as RailJack. I remember that you guys were really good friends and sharing art all the time too. The fact that it did become this all out war is hard to watch.

But yeah. I don't know what else to add without it becoming too personal about my experiences with predators in the past (both as a minor and an adult). I never want someone to go through what I've been through. You can still be nice to a minor and not be a predator. That's just being a decent human being. And drawing a character clearly over the age of 18 in artwork doesn't make you a predator.

Please leave me out of this.

[myymi]

okay so, this takes place a day after sonic prower

happy wednesday everyone 👍

@starrjoy @passionartx

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

Sonic took a deep breath before stepping out onto the stage, waving at the audience full of mobians and humans alike, all clapping and cheering for him.

He smiled at everyone as the security guards silenced the crowd so he could speak. He sighed and straightened his posture.

“I’d like to start this off by thanking everyone who allowed me to come speak today,” He gestured off to his right, running through his pre-made script in his mind. The crowd clapped again, but quieted down much more quickly.

“The reason I asked to give a speech is because I wanted to address a certain, uh, rumor that’s going around on social media.” He explained, swallowing a lump in his throat.

He glanced behind him at the wall that would project everything he wanted to show for a brief second, as if he was expecting it to fall apart then and there.

He cleared his throat and looked back to the crowd, “It’s come to my attention that a lot, and I mean a lot, of people have been saying bad stuff about my buddy, Tails.”

There were a few quiet murmurs throughout the crowd, but Sonic didn’t focus on them. He wasn’t here to listen to the crowd anyway.

His ear flicked when he heard one of the producers click a button, which meant the first bunch of articles were now being projected behind him.

Checking over his shoulder to confirm it, he frowned at the news headlines before pointing back at them.

“As you can see, a common theme here is that Tails is the reason it takes a bit longer to take down Eggman.” He gritted his teeth, he still couldn’t believe that people were blaming Tails for all of this.

If anyone should be blamed, it should be Eggman. Y’know, the guy who’s trying to take over the world.

Nobody should be blaming the kid trying to save it.

“I’ve come here to end those rumors once and for all.” Sonic made sure he kept his voice clear as he spoke.

He wanted everyone to fully understand what he was about to say.

“Tails is not, and never will be, responsible for however long it takes for us to defeat Eggman.” He glanced over the crowd, watching as the onlookers talked amongst each other. Some would look up to the big screen, then immediately turn back to whoever they were talking to.

“Especially,” Sonic spoke again, waiting until most of the crowd was looking at him before continuing, “not when he’s being held hostage.”

More shushed arguments were exchanged, but the hero continued on with his speech.

“And, to whoever had the genius idea to make this comment,” He paused to gesture to the wall behind him as the projector changed to show an image of a reply to one of the other articles.

‘It’s probably fake. Sonic just keeps the kid around for his smarts, he doesn’t actually care about that thing! They don’t even have the same last name.’

“I’d like to publicly announce that since yesterday, December Fourth, my name has been legally changed to Sonic Prower. Approved and signed by Judge Nicholas Howard.” He silently thanked Amy for helping him with this speech, he could only imagine how much of a train wreck it would be if he’d done this by himself.

“From now on, I don’t want to hear or see anyone saying Tails is at fault for Eggman’s destruction,” He said as the projector clicked off, “that is all.”

As he walked off the stage, he heard a few hesitant claps that soon turned into the whole crowd cheering.

He just hopes they'll listen to what he said.

He glanced down at his communicator when it started vibrating, smiling when he read the contact of who was calling him.

‘micro buddy💛 is calling..’

Sonic quickly tapped the green phone button, a wide grin on his face when he saw the two tailed fox on the screen.

“What was that about?!” Tails yelled, glancing between the communicator and what the hedgehog assumes is the T.V.

“What?” Sonic asked, though he knew what the kit was referencing.

“That!” The fox grabbed the side of his head with his free hand, “wh– you– Sonic!”

“Ain’t a big deal, bud,” The teen shrugged as he walked down the street, “can’t have them blaming you like that for Eggman’s stunts.”

“You didn’t have to do that, Sonic,” Tails shook his head, “it really wasn’t that bad. I-I can handle it.”

“I found you curled up on my bed crying because of it, Tails.” Sonic shook his head, “sure, maybe you can deal with it, but that doesn’t mean you should. Nobody deserves that, especially not you.”

He looked down at his communicator when he heard sniffling, frowning when he saw his brother scrubbing at his eyes, “Hey, dude, need me to come there?”

“No, no,” Tails shook his head, “it’s fine. I’m fine, it’s just–” he took a deep breath to even out his breathing, “unexpected. And a little overwhelming?”

“You sure?” The hedgehog raised a brow, glancing at the other civilians around him, “‘cause I can be there in just a second, pal.”

“No, really, it’s fine Sonic.” The kit sat down on his sofa, a small, genuine smile on his face, “thanks. For, y’know, all of this.”

“‘Course, bud,” Sonic smiled back, “s’what best bros are for.” He winked at the fox, earning a fit of light laughter for it.

“Yeah, alright,” Tails shook his head, “let me know when you’re heading back here next. I’ll make some chili dogs for you, as a thanks.”

“Ya don’t gotta do that, li’l bro,” The teen snorted before putting on a fake deep-in-thought face, “but~ if you plan on fryin’ those dogs for me..”

The fox rolled his eyes, “You say that as if I cook them any other way,” there was a big smile on his face, “I know how you like your chili dogs, big bro.”

“Alright, alright,” Sonic laughed and held up his free hand in a mock defense, “how ‘bout I come over next week, then?”

“Mmm, I dunno if I can fit you in then, Sonic.” Tails hummed, his smile turning into a smirk, “you might have to come in next month.”

“Don’t mess with my heart like that, little buddy,” The hedgehog said with a fake pained tone, dramatically placing his hand over his heart, “you’re killin’ me, bro.”

The kit laughed and looked over his shoulder, “well, I definitely have enough for you. Just let me know when you’re gonna come over ahead of time so I can have them ready when you get here.”

“Sure thing, li’l bro!” Sonic said, giving a two finger salute.

“I gotta get back to work,” The younger said as he turned back to his watch, “I’m assuming Amy’s gonna call ya. Tell her I said hi!”

The teen rolled his eyes, “You know, you could just come over and tell her yourself instead of staying inside all day.”

“Sorry, can’t hear you!” Tails stood from the couch, making his way into his workshop, “I think you’re breaking up!”

“You said that these things were built well enough so that wouldn’t be an issue?” Sonic questioned with a raised brow, smirking at the other’s shocked look.

“Uhh,” The kit looked around and shrugged, “I don’t have another excuse. Byeloveyou!”

The line clicked, signaling Tails had hung up.

Sonic sighed, a fond smile on his face.

“Love ya too, li’l bro.”

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: The Game!

Hey, all! As part of an effort to further potential with my Tumblr project, I have a huge announcement to make for you all. Introducing...

An official game adaptation of Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond!, and boy, will it be a treat to behold, huh?

The game has started development today, and you'll be able to look forward to:

Each of the stories in gameplay form

Over 20 playable characters

Plenty of cutscenes to enjoy

Interactive environments to explore

Epic boss encounters with many rogues from the Sonic multiverse

And so much more!

I really hope you're all looking forward to-!

OMT!Tails: Woah woah woah! Hang on a moment.

Huh?

OMT!Tails walks into frame.

OMT!Tails: The story's barely 6 months old yet, and you're seriously pitching a game for it?

Ah, right. I forgot.

CR!Sonic and CR!Sally show up.

CR!Sonic: You okay, Tails?

OMT!Tails: You guys might want to look at this.

CR!Sally: A video game of all our endeavours? Seriously?

CR!Sonic: Looks like it. How would it even work out, though?

OMT!Tails: I doubt it'd ever see completion, though. I mean, over 6 quests to fill out into gameplay form? That'd take AGES, and it's likely going to risk cancellation partway through the process.

CR!Sonic: Yeah, you got a good point there, kid. I mean, can't people just enjoy the stories as they are? They're not meant to be "played".

OMT!Tails: Yeah, exactly. Especially after what I've been through...

CR!Sally: I get you, Tails...

CR!Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond! is meant to be a story project for free and for fun! Pico doesn't have the time or energy to dedicate part of his life to making a game. I bet those children and hate band-wagoners on Twitter would just jump at any opportunity to hate on it for petty reasons. And that's why they have so much-!

D-Sides Mighty enters.

D-Sides Mighty: What's going on here?

OMT!Tails: Oh! Hey, Mighty.

D-Sides Mighty: A game, huh? Don't people have enough Sonic fan-games to play?

CR!Sonic: That's what I've been trying to get at, bud. I mean, the story here on Tumblr's satisfactory enough.

OMT!Tails: Wait, "Tumblr"?

CR!Sonic: Hmm?

OMT!Tails: I thought it was called "Tumblelogs".

CR!Sonic: It was! Well, used to, anyway. I'm guessing it's still called that in your dimension?

OMT!Tails: Mhm.

D-Sides Mighty: Yeah, we don't need to go for a game of this, considering the Spider-Verse IP is copyrighted.

OMT!Tails: Hmm... Give me just a moment!

OMT!Tails spins around the lower text, tweaking it a bit.

OMT!Tails: There! Better?

CR!Sally: Much better! Well done, Tails!

D-Sides Mighty: Well, that's one situation we can finally close the book on, wouldn't you say?

CR!Sonic: Yep. Come on, Sal. Let's head back now.

CR!Sally: Good idea, Sonic.

The couple headed off.

D-Sides Mighty: Wanna go grab a bite at Burger Monarchy, Tails?

OMT!Tails: Sure thing!

They left too.

Well, that's that, then. You're NOT getting that game. In the end, it was a cleverly-veiled April Fools' gag!

Happy April Fools' Day, folks! You've got all there is so far of the story to enjoy here from the comfort of Tumblr. Plus, I've been generous enough with each post to compile links to every post for this project on a Master Post that you're more than welcome to view on my profile. Well, see you around in the next post!

...

...

...

...

???: It's all the same for your heroic delusions. That is, until you finally meet ME. I already won because I was two steps ahead and found a way to tap into what I desire most. You think a hero of Mobius, let alone a type of Sonic, always has a chance against Dr. Eggman? HA! Don't make me laugh. I ripped that hope to pieces for my Sonic long ago. And soon, with the power of MY Chaos Emeralds, all other universes will follow... Now, you'll all see how big a man I can be. It's time to say goodbye to humanity, heroes...

???: And hello... to the NEW NORM! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

The reveal of the final main antagonist... coming soon.