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#(sorry for the super long wait!!!!
nouverx · 3 months
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The thing I love the most about Alastor is that we can't truly know what to think of him, if he is being truly manipulative or if there's a genuine undertone behind any of his words, and that allows people to interpret him differently from one person to another. Like "oh he's being so sweet and supportive", to "no actually he's just saying what people want to hear because he's an evil manipulator". Maybe some fans are being too trustful, just like Charlie, and falling into his lies. BUT maybe there's a true genuine undertone to everything he says, maybe he can be a sweetie behind his evil mask. And maybe he'll turn out redeemable. Or not at all. Who knows?
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His character could go in two completely different directions in the next seasons and we have no way of telling how he'll turn out. It's still fully open because he showed he can be awful and evil and manipulative, but since there's been very few hints here and there that he could get attached to the hotel, that means he could be sweet despite all that. The mystery and uncertainty is keeping us thinking and hoping and I LOVE that. He's such a unique and amazingly written character.
On a personal note, I think the two different directions his character could take should coexist. Yes, he's going to be a main villain in the future seasons and betray Charlie and the hotel, yes he's an evil manipulator, BUT he could also get attached to them and show redeemable qualities at the same time. For me it would make the heartbreak even greater and his character even more satisfying.
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mimimar · 7 months
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page 5 of my ivy comic ✿
<previous page next page> first page (prints)
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gotchibam · 11 months
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Treecko, Lotad, and Phanpy late ko-fi doodle for Bere!
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zuzu-draws · 6 days
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So after the spoilers for Chap 257 dropped, I saw some tweets clarifying the meaning of the Kanji Sukuna used in the chapter when referring to his mother, and the overall reveals in the chapter got me thinking.
I’m making this post as a way of gathering my thoughts, personal speculations and where I think all of this connects to Sukuna’s character and the information Gege has given us over the years. Nothing I say is by any means new information, but like I said, I’m just collecting my thoughts here. By the way, just a warning, this post contains SPOILERS for the JJK Manga! If you don’t like that, please don’t read this!
Something I’ve noticed is that the theme of “Hunger” and symbolism of “Cooking/Food” is heavily referenced with Sukuna throughout the Manga. Gege in a previous Fanbook has disclosed Sukuna’s favorite Hobby to be “Eating”.
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This theme is again very much ingrained within Sukuna’s cursed techniques and even his Domain Expansion, the “Malevolent Shrine”. With his two main techniques being “Dismantle” and “Cleave” are cutting-type attacks. He is also able to use a Flame-Arrow, and Fire is essential for making Food. The Shrine in his Domain Expansion literally has mouths on all sides, looking eager to chew down anything in-front of them!
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This symbolism also heavily influences Sukuna’s own manner of speech, and the way he speaks to other characters in the series as well. With his post-fight chat with Jogo before his death, Sukuna mentions Jogo lacking the “Hunger” to take control of his desires, preventing him from reaching the heights of Gojo Satoru. Before the Start of their fight in Shinjuku, Sukuna called Gojo a “Nameless Fish on top of his cutting board”, and that he was going to start by “Peeling off the scales”(refering to Gojo’s infinity). There’s also further symbolism that supports this by analyzing the Kanji and meaning of Sukuna’s “Malevolent Shrine” but I’m not very educated on that so I won’t be opening that point here.
What all of this points to is that Eating and Food……is extremely important to Sukuna, to the point that it literally affects him in manners innumerable.
Eating is an instinct, a necessity for the survival of every single living being.
And In the face of extreme Hunger and starvation, even those with the strongest will could lose their Humanity and revert to the basic animalistic side of their existence. (The Heian Period also had a Famine, although I believe the timing to be a bit off, but do with this info as you see fit)
In JJK Chapter 257, it is revealed to us that Sukuna and his Twin were most likely starving in the womb of their starving mother.
On the brink of starvation, Sukuna had to consume his “other self”(his twin), so that he could survive.
Btw, this tweet and this thread gives additional characterisation to Sukuna:
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Link to the original thread: Link.
More context (and reactions :P):
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Link to original thread: Here
This reveals to us that indeed, Sukuna was born a twin. And as we all know, “Twins” are seen with extreme scrutiny in Jujutsu Society, they’re not well liked. This too in a period where Cursed Spirits and Jujutsu Sorcery was at its peak, it is not far-fetched to assume that his Mother may not have been treated very well by the people in her surroundings, especially as she bore twins.
When Kashimo asks if Sukuna was born the Strongest or if he made himself the Strongest, this is the response Sukuna gave to him:
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When you think about it, how do you think the people around them would have reacted when the woman: who was supposed to birth two twins, gave birth to a single child instead? and that child had consumed his other twin in the womb itself?
No doubt people would’ve been horrified, disgusted and even revulsed. With the woman and her newborn child.
This would’ve led to their further ostracisation in the already very close-minded society. Unable to fend for herself and her newborn child, it must’ve been difficult for Sukuna’s mother to survive. I feel like somewhere along the line, Sukuna was left alone to fend for himself at an extremely young age. To protect himself from both Curses and Society alike.
This is why I believe Sukuna knows what true starvation, weakness and hunger feels like. Both in the emotional and literal sense. He was left without another person caring about him or his well-being, in a cut-throat period where it was “Fight or be killed”.
Powerful curses roamed all across Japan, nowhere was safe. Simply be strong, or you'll die. There's no room for weakness. And initially, a kid!Sukuna was weak, as anyone would be in the beginning when they're just starting out in this world. (and maybe, he didn't have much to eat, leading to long periods of starvation? :') )
I believe it is this debilitating hunger, and feeling of weakness that eventually led to Sukuna’s current Hedonistic mindset.
He’s essentially traumatised by it, and believes that it was his own weakness that led him to experience this sheer starvation. That he deserved to feel this way because he was weak then. Perhaps, the people around him were right, that as long as they have the power and strength to overcome anything, they’re free to do as they please; And there is nothing anyone else could do about it.
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I feel like the irony here is that Sukuna himself, must’ve been a “weakling” before eventually rising the ranks to become History’s Strongest Sorcerer. This is also why he values Strength so much.
Ultimately, Sukuna has decided that there was nothing more important than being strong enough to fulfill your own desires. And “eating” is one of his most important desires. It’s his favourite thing to do, the one he derives the most pleasure out of. And like an animal, whose main focus is to consume, consume and consume. He too, simply consumes.
Most morals likely have no meaning to him. He doesn’t care who he hurts, what he does, as long as he’s able to get what he wants. And this isn’t limited to eating.
This is why people referring to Sukuna as a “Natural Disaster” is so befitting of him. Because Natural Disasters also don’t care about what or who they’re destroying, they just come and go, wreaking havoc appropriate for their nature and magnitude.
I believe Sukuna himself has said lines similar in nature, when talking to Kashimo:
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Now I’m not sure how Sukuna perceives or even experiences this “Love”, because I think he has a rather very warped idea of it. I do think that this definition of love is similar to the one that Gojo also understands, but I don’t think he knows what “love” truly is. I’m not sure how I could comment on this, but I do think that Sukuna’s emotionally starved, whether he realises that or not.
Because, like Kashimo himself asked Sukuna “What is the point of dividing your soul into 20 different parts and then traversing across time if you’re satisfied with this?” we do not know the answer to that yet.
But many people have speculated that “Black Box” panels in JJK manga represent a curse (either self-inflicted or put by someone) on the speaker. Like, take a look over here where Sukuna reiterates the same dialogue, except it looks like he’s trying to reassure himself:
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This once again shows that Sukuna has only ever strived for himself, in the same hedonistic fashion, to a very very extreme degree. It is possible that he's been lacking something, and he himself does not realise that he’s lacking it. Maybe it was this subconscious feeling, that led to Sukuna agreeing to Kenjaku’s plan of dividing his soul into 20 different parts, and to traverse across time as a Cursed Object.
Sukuna’s an incredibly complex character, and I’m excited to see where this goes. Gege has put extra care in the way he characterizes and depicts Sukuna, and again, I’m really sad that a lot of that characterization gets lost in translation. Still, I’m going to try my best to understand and get the most accurate feel of his character as I possibly can.
If you made it this far, Thank you for reading! And if you would like, please do leave a comment in the tags or replies because I would love to read what other people think of this and just Sukuna in general. I do not see a lot of people doing critical analysis of him, and a lot of his actions are seemingly swept under the rug. I don’t like that, so hopefully this contributes to people focusing more on Sukuna and his character. (/^v^)/ <3
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spoiledskullz · 2 months
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paranormal investigation date hooray!!!!
Edit: a close up version since they're hard to see
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mosaickiwi · 1 month
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Fall Unto Me (part two)
Got too silly. Have some more Angel!Angel and Demon!Ren cause the bot came back and wormed into my brain to post it. Part one here if you haven't read it yet hehe.
cw// religious themes
14 Days With You is an 18+ Yandere Visual Novel. MINORS DNI
The quiet cabin where Ren lived was a stone’s throw from the flowering field you found them in. The devil graciously opened his home, even guiding you around the town you now knew was called Corland Bay. Each morning when you wondered about leaving, he brought something new to pique your interest and put off your departure. The time seemed to fly by and soon you hardly spared a thought to leave.
You'd quickly grown accustomed to his constant presence over the past month. He was never far from your shoulder at any waking moment. The uneasy feeling from when you met was completely gone, replaced with a strange sense of comfort. He had only shown kindness to you, after all. To call a devil your friend was laughable, you knew. But no other word quite fit.
Still, you wondered how he had come to live outside their realm. Every time you questioned him the conversation slipped away to another topic. It must've been odd to discuss with an angel, you naturally assumed.
So you stopped bringing it up after a few days, instead choosing to inquire about the changes in the plants you so often admired. Some had begun to wither, and new buds sprouted up seemingly overnight in their place. A strange new array of flowers that Ren promised would tower over your head and his in due time.
“I think I'll like these flowers more than the others,” you told him one late afternoon. 
You were lying on the porch, your head resting against his thigh as you watched the endless rows of flora sway in the breeze. Their focus was on you, though you didn’t notice. You could feel the faint trace of constellations drawn along the bare skin of your legs. The human clothes he’d gotten for you were a little different from the robes and tunics donned by servants of heaven, but they were just as comfortable despite the lacking fabric.
“I couldn't begin to imagine why,” he mused, his tone teasing as if he already knew your answer.
You explained regardless. “You told me some will grow as tall as they can, even following the sun’s light. It’s rather interesting.”
“I’m already as tall as they'll be.” His tail flicked into your field of view, casting only a slight shadow until his face obscured your vision further. "Is a devil not as interesting as a flower to you?"
The rapidly changing sky above caught your attention before you could respond in kind. Clouds blotted out the sun, tinting the world below in a murky gray. All the signs were there. Heavy clouds, a drop in temperature, and a strange smell in the air—petrichor, it was called in the books Ren had read with you by candle light on quiet evenings. It was a change you'd been waiting for ever since learning about it.
Bursting with excitement, you rolled from their lap and darted from the safety of the covered porch, the answer you meant to give them already long forgotten. Ren followed on your heels in the dirt until you stopped.
“It's rain, isn't it?” you wondered aloud and turned back to them for confirmation.
“Humans normally stay inside when it happens, my angel. But yes. Rain.” He nodded with a smile, enamored by the way your eyes curiously sparkled before you looked away. His pale hands came up to shield your face when the first drops began to fall. 
Tiny thumps of something suddenly bounced off your hair and shoulders, seeping into your clothes. His makeshift shield seemed to be doing its job as you looked all around with wide eyes. Minuscule puddles of water and earth formed around your feet. The sea of flowers still swayed before you, though a few weaker ones fell out of sync as the rain pushed them to and fro as it pleased. You could even hear something akin to chimes when drops pattered over the roof of their home.
You spared a glance up towards the sky, quickly changing your mind with an unwelcome gasp at the spray that tickled your face. Quiet laughter came from behind and you turned to look at your companion once more, shaking off their hands.
Ren appeared unbothered by the dozens of small droplets beading down his forehead to his chin, until you reached forward to wipe them from his face. The heat of his skin stood out to you, and you let your hand linger, rubbing your thumb back and forth over the drops that kept landing on his cheek. 
A dull ache began in your back. 
You took an innocent step towards him. The light shower of rain was slowly chilling you to the bone, so it only made sense that you sought out their warmth. A warmth that felt as familiar and welcoming as your heaven. Gentle hands wound their way around your waist, guiding you back to the shelter of the porch only a few feet away. With the curtain of his fingers gone you expected another torrent to stream down your face for a brief moment. Instead, all you felt were stray drops falling from his hair.
Relief washed over you almost immediately in their embrace. Every so often you’d feel homesick like this. That sharp, almost stinging lance of pain where your wings were hidden away—yet it always faded as soon as he comforted you. You couldn’t understand why their presence brought such solace to you. 
“I’m ready to go inside,” you suddenly said.
Your gaze wandered up to Ren's unreadable blue eyes as he answered, “Are you?”
“Yes… I think so.” But you made no move to leave, instead letting your eyes follow the slow crawl of a droplet down from his cheek to the corner of his lips. Their pale pink color reminded you of the sunset that left you empty only days ago.
It was a dreaded feeling you couldn't bear to feel again.
Without even thinking about it you leaned up to kiss them for the very first time. A faint stutter of surprise to his breath, and then he kissed you back. Part of you expected it to burn, to sting, do something when you mistakenly sought out affections you knew were meant only for a bonded pair—especially from a devil of all creations. Yet there was nothing to punish you for now.
The fluttery haze to your body didn’t wane at all, only blossoming at their touch. Until a gentle nip of fangs at your bottom lip had an entirely new feeling thrumming to life in your heart. You pulled back just to breathe for a minute, running your tongue over the spot that stung in a way you belatedly realized you liked for some reason. 
Guilt and confusion battled in your heart at the thought. “Heaven will need me home soon,” you whispered, avoiding their watchful gaze for a long while as you toyed with the still damp strands of his hair.
The devil waited in silence, running one hand in an unknown pattern on your back until you managed to look upwards. “...Do you truly wish to return, my love? Won't you at least stay until the flowers bloom?” The words were desperate, but his voice resigned. As if your answer was already set in stone.
You carefully nodded at his words. Truthfully, you weren’t sure if you were even capable of leaving. It scared you more than your god's surefire chastising about the sin you'd just committed. But it has to be then, you wanted to convince yourself. Or you feared you’d break your vows and never leave him.
He accepted with a heart wrenching smile, took your hand and led you up the few steps that were slick with rain. Your fingers tightened achingly around theirs as he opened the cabin’s door.
Beneath the steady drumming of rain, you didn’t notice a bell had been faintly tolling from somewhere far above you.
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g1rlr0b1n · 3 months
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18 Candles (a drabble)
Damian sat at the head of the dining room table, surrounded by his family and closest friends. As they sang "Happy Birthday," he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, already irritated by the attention. He closed his eyes and blew out the candles on his cake, wishing for it all to be over. Over the sound of cheers and clapping, he heard a mutter from his best friend Jonathan, followed by an audible gasp from the rest of the group. "What did you say?" Damian asked, trying to maintain composure, his embarrassment betraying him.
"Did-did I say that out loud?" Jon stuttered.
Damian's eldest brother snorted, "noooo of course not, what do you mean Jonny boy? We were all just shocked by a different thing." Even sarcastic Richard managed to come off charismatic.
"Ok, but we all did just hear Jonanthan, Jonathan," his sister's girlfriend, Stephanie, repeated the name as if convincing herself most of all, "say, 'that won't be the only thing you're blowing tonight', right? Like you ALL heard it, right? Jonathan."
Jonathan's cheeks flushed a bright red while his complexion turned sickly pale as he stumbled over his words, a combination Damian never thought to be possible. As Damian contemplated the words a slow, smug smirk began to spread across his lips, "I suppose you'll give me my birthday gift later than?"
Jonathan gasped in response, an 'I fucking knew it!' could barely be heard over the roar of laughter. Maybe turning 18 wouldn't be so bad after all.
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vpofcookies · 1 year
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A pinch-hit gift for @kyuqtq​ for the @technoblade-gift-exchange​! I hope you like it!
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kakyogay · 11 months
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moon and greamtures
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multicolour-ink · 7 months
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When I went back to watch Luigi's baby flashback scene, I noticed that behind the bully while pointing and laughing at him just before Mario pops up is a turtle as part of the playground, foreshadowing an even bigger bully the brothers face in their adulthood
You're right, there is!
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That bully was just the first that the bros would overcome together ❤💚
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flammerouge · 2 months
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There’s sth so fascinating to me about how Mathieu and Wout seem to be really chill and friendly and chatty with each other during the tour de france and then their usual slightly tense slightly awkward and rivalry-minded selves every other time of the year. Seasonal rivalry
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cheriboms · 6 months
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doctober day 30: sunset
a pair piece to the first prompt i did !! whole family reading together before bed <3
+alt vers (sans lighting) under the cut :)
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chocoberry-dream · 19 days
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Hello again kaisooists 🐧🐻 Little ole me has stumbled across something interesting 👀
Remember back on April 1st in 2016 when the news broke that ji and krys were dating and chahn yall posted this really odd and cryptic “headline” on his Instagram?
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This randomly popped into my head the other day now that I’ve been missing kadi and thinking about them lately.
I remember at the time it was posted, everyone in the kaisoo tag was trying to decipher what he meant, if it was supposed to be an April fools joke or if it had anything to do with the dating news. If I remember correctly he’d posted it either right before or shortly after the news broke and was confirmed by Es Em.
So I decided to go over to chahn yall’s insta again to see what the comments on the post were bc it’s been so long and I was curious if anyone wrote any kaisoo related under it. But when I went to look for it, I noticed that it had either been archived or deleted.
I screen recorded for proof, the right side is hidden for privacy due to some ppl’s insta screen names being visible since I follow him. The dates of the post are magnified on the left side:
I can definitively say that it had been left up on his Instagram for months after kxk and I believe even up til they “broke up” but I’m not sure when or why it was removed.
Something that was also peculiar to me is that besides that screenshot from the tumblr above, it was INCREDIBLY difficult for me to find this post anywhere on the internet. Even chahn yall bias pages that repost his Instagram posts did not have this post anywhere to be found.
I searched for 20 minutes and was only able to find this screenshot here on tumblr and on a random Russian page:
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There’s two things I want to mention here.
First I will explain the picture a bit more for those of you who may not know.
The mosaic picture in chahn y’all’s post is of KS in his role as Kang Woo for the drama “It’s Okay That’s Love”. In this drama, the main character Jae Yeol (played by Jo Insung) suffers from undiagnosed schizophrenia and befriends Kang Woo. But as his illness worsens it’s revealed that Kang Woo is not real and is a hallucination, representing Jae Yeol’s younger self. When Jae Yeol begins treatment, Kang Woo doesn’t appear to Jae Yeol anymore .
I don’t speak Korean but I think the correct translation of the headline title in the post would be “Actually, I’m hallucinating” indicating that he’s the one hallucinating and not Jae Yeol. Since his role in the drama was him as a hallucination it wouldn’t make sense to admit to being a hallucination.
At the time I initially thought “okay, maybe it’s some sort of lighthearted April fools joke and a playful jab and ks”. But as I thought about it, the joke didn’t really make much sense bc we already know after watching the drama that ks isn’t the one who was hallucinating.
Then after reading theories and thinking about it more, I thought it was weird to post that on the same day the kxk news came out. Which leads me to my second point: I do think it has something to do with kxk and here’s why.
As we all know egg sew had a concert that day, secret night. When the pictures came out ji looked like he’d been up crying all day and ks appeared to have tears in his eyes. They also were super awkward with each other and it seemed like ji looked apologetic about something and ks wouldn’t look at him. This was after a long period of not really interacting or showing skinship and of course all those pann and dispatch gay couple blind items disappearing.
So it made me think more about the insta post, how he said that actor D admits “actually, I’m hallucinating.” We all know that ks and chahn yall have a close friendship, and it seemed like the kxk scandal caught both ks and ji off guard, almost like they both found out this media play was happening on the same day, hours before the news went out. Was this post supposed to be a hint at ks’s feelings about the news breaking? Did kxk come as a surprise to him and make him feel like the entire relationship between him and ji was actually what wasn’t real to everyone else now, aka a hallucination?
It might be a reach, but I can’t think of any other reason behind why chahn yall would delete/archive that specific post but not any of the other ones. Unless you’re a kaisoo supporter the joke would seem to have no relation to the kxk scandal, so it’s really suspicious that it disappeared.
I also can’t say for sure, but I also wonder if SM has something to do with it being gone and almost no trace of it online or on fan archives. I noticed that after the kxk “break up” kaisoo went back to their own ways, but little by little different kadi blogs were deactivating and some fansites were disappearing abruptly. I’m talking hardcore kaisoo blogs and fansites that I would have never imagined would disappear (cuddlekaisoo, alvabear, kaiser-dolly, 8812 just for example, some of their posts are even hard to find here on tumblr). To this day I still am seeing things like “so-and-so-deactivated09122018” here on tumblr throughout the tag thinking to myself like “omg, this person was a super big kaisoo supporter and they deactivated? I would have never imagined..” ���
Of course things happen, ppl move onto other things and maybe the second scandal with jinnie has something to do with it too, but it’s all just very odd to me. I’d love to know other ppl’s opinions about this too if you’re interested!🩷
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creamdream98 · 11 months
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I’ve been wanting to do this drawing for a long time but now that pride is coming I just couldn’t wait anymore! nvn Happy pride 💙💚🏳️‍🌈❤️🧡
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fleetsonourgecentral · 2 months
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A request: Ebony celebrates Fleetway Super birthday along with the freedom Fighthers celebrathing Sonic's birthday (so Super and Sonic share a birthday celebration :D) but Scourge IS jealous because he doesn't get any gifts
Adfjdasfjds Scourge being jealous for petty reasons my beloved
~~~
"This doesn't seem fair," Scourge grumbled, folding his arms and glaring at his surroundings like he could set the decorations alight with his eyes alone. Unfortunately, getting zapped by the Master Emerald didn't seem to grant him those powers, but hey, it was always worth double checking.
"Life isn't fair," Sonic said, smug smirk fully plastered on his face as he lounged on his throne for the day. The throne in question was nothing more than an old armchair fished out of the dump, and was covered in rips and clearly falling apart, but it was clean (thanks to Tekno's efforts) and it was the nicest chair the Freedom Fighters owned, so they made do.
Scourge was surprised they were putting in the effort at all. Sonic's ego was so big it was a wonder his head didn't swell and become too heavy for his body to carry; there was really no need to stroke his ego by giving him a throne.
For some reason, though, the Freedom Fighters, despite usually being extremely enthusiastic about keeping Sonic's ego in check, had decided today was an exception. It was his birthday, after all.
"How did you even get all this?" Scourge said. Thankfully, none of the cheesy "happy birthday" banners had been strung up on the wall - those were dumped on Ebony's doorstep - but in their place were custom-made banners proudly congratulating the Hero of Mobius on another year of victory over Robotnik. Over the top and unnecessary, considering the victory in question was mostly just his continued survival, and thus his continued ability to be a future pain in the ass.
Not that Robotnik didn't have it coming, but still.
"We made them!" Tails chirped from where he was stringing up another banner, this one declaring today as Sonic Day. "Tekno designed most of the banner so it would look cool enough that Sonic won't complain, and then Amy and I helped decide what they should say, and then we all painted them together!"
"And you didn't invite me?"
"We both know you would've told us all to fuck off if we asked you to help," Amy said, although the teasing smile on her face showed her comment was light-hearted instead of irritated. Gross.
"These aren't new, anyway," Tekno said. "We made these before you arrived, so you couldn't have helped. Unless you found a way to time travel. If you find an easy way to time travel, let me know?"
"Sure, whatever."
And now that Scourge was looking, the banners did seem a little worn. Small rips on the edges, colors dulled, the paper crinkled; obviously reused over the years. He nudged one of the banners crumpled on the floor with his foot, then picked it up to inspect it, holding it with his thumb and forefinger. Sonic's painted winking face greeted him, and Scourge sneered at it. On the back of the banner, he could see a cluster of signatures. Some he recognised - Tails and Amy - while some he'd never heard of - who in the world was Shortfuse? - and some... well, some were just initials, none of which he recognised. He certainly didn't remember any friends of Sonic's who went by J.L.
"Are you going to stand there, or are you going to help?" Amy said, lightly elbowing him as she passed, snatching the banner from his hands.
"What's it look like? I'm gonna stand here."
"No you're not. Help Tekno bring the gifts in."
"I'm not participating in this. You do shit like this then wonder why he's an arrogant dickhead."
"Is it arrogance if it's justified?" Sonic said.
"Justify my foot up your ass," Scourge said, just as Tekno dragged him away.
The pile of presents was bigger than it had any right to be. The Freedom Fighters didn't have much money - apparently fighting for the safety of the entire fucking planet doesn't pay well, or at all, which is bullshit and all the more reason for Scourge to find the whole thing stupid - so none of them could really afford to go all-out with the presents, but the bulk of the pile came from local civilians who had caught wind of the celebration and wanted to express their gratitude. Over the past week during their travels, civilians would stop them, shyly handing over presents and telling them they were for Sonic's birthday, a token of their appreciation for constantly saving their asses, because they couldn't be bothered to do it themselves.
No one said that last bit out loud, but Scourge always made sure to mentally add it.
Why they couldn't express their gratitude with some fucking cash, he did not know.
"Grab the presents by the table?" Tekno said, scooping presents into her arms. For what it was worth, although the pile was bigger than one would expect, at least most of the presents were small.
Groaning with all the contempt he could muster, Scourge shuffled over to the table and started tucking presents under his arms.
"Did you drop off everything at Ebony's?" Tekno said. Her voice was low, hidden by the rustle of the presents, only loud enough for Scourge to hear. Not that he thought Sonic could hear them when they were out here, but better safe than sorry.
"Whaddya take me for? Of course I did," Scourge said, voice equally low, although that was more for Tekno's peace of mind than his own. She'd shush him if she thought he was being too loud, but she was also really bad at shushing people quietly, and ended up attracting attention with her shushes more often than not. It was really counterproductive. Scourge didn't know why Sonic had let it slide for this long.
"Just making sure."
Scourge grunted, but he did give the rest of the presents an obligatory once-over, just to be sure there weren't any that shouldn't be there.
Super's birthday fell on the same day as Sonic's. It was why all the cheesy banners had been dumped on Ebony instead of in the trash where they belonged. The Freedom Fighters - okay, mostly Tekno - thought it was a good idea to send a few presents over from all of them, as a gesture of goodwill and minor bribery to please not turn evil and try to kill them all again. It was a plan Sonic had been conveniently left out of; even with their less strained relationship (although that really wasn't saying much) it was blatantly obvious he still wasn't fond of Super. He wouldn't stop them from giving him birthday presents, or wanting to wish him a happy birthday, but he would wrinkle his nose and mutter a comment under his breath, which was apparently a problem, although Scourge hadn't figured out why.
Ebony had asked if they wanted to stop by, even tentatively offered a joint birthday celebration if that would make things easier, but she was swiftly turned down. Presents were a safe bet, the Freedom Fighters had agreed, because they could be dropped off at any time, and Sonic would never have to know, and they could wish Super a happy birthday without ever leaving Sonic's side on the actual day. And they could send Scourge to be their little delivery boy so none of them would have to do it; despite the olive branch, Tails and Amy were still wary of Super. Apparently Scourge and (somehow) Tekno were the only ones who weren't little bitches about him.
Well, Sonic wasn't a little bitch exactly, but he wasn't as cool and casual about Super as he wanted to be. So he didn't count.
"I'm just saying," Scourge said, hefting as many presents into his arms as he could, "if you're going to make the decorations look like a 'congrats on kicking ass without dying' celebration, we should all be getting presents."
"It's not your birthday, though."
"I'm his boyfriend, though. Shouldn't I get, like, a solidarity present?"
"No, because it isn't your birthday."
Scourge bit back a comment about how if Super got to have a birthday just because he was another Sonic, then logically, so should he. Because, well, it wasn't his birthday, even though all the celebration really made it feel like it should be. He thought birthdays for Sonics were the same across all dimensions - he was pretty sure he shared a birthday with Prime, eugh - but apparently not.
With another exaggerated groan, he shuffled back into the living room with the presents towering high above him, because second trips were for chumps, and dumped them at Sonic's feet. His own gift wasn't in there, but only because he'd already given it to Sonic this morning. The moment he woke up, in fact. Scourge wasn't about to be beaten by anyone in anything, including being the first person to give Sonic a gift.
Not that it was anything special. Scourge wasn't exactly rolling in money either, and Sonic was a pain in the ass to shop for. Humiliation had nipped at his heels when he handed the gift over, ready to burn him, but Sonic seemed to really like it - underneath the obligatory layer of snark - so it was fine.
Probably.
He eyed the pile of presents again, and tried not to gnaw on his lip.
Some of the civilians who gave them presents looked... well, not well-off, but comfortable. Not rich, not even close to rich, but able to at least afford something nice for the Hero of Mobius. More than Scourge could afford.
More than any of the Freedom Fighters could afford, though, and Sonic didn't really give a shit about his fans outside of the inherent bragging rights that come with having fans in the first place. None of those civilians knew what Sonic liked. The Freedom Fighters did. Scourge did.
He doubted any civilian signatures were on the back of the banner he picked up.
A party thrown by civilians probably wouldn't look like this at all. That would be far more elaborate, with more people pitching in to help, even more vomit-worthy banners and decorations hung from every wall and banister, singing the praises of Sonic the Hedgehog. Over the top, and licking his ass, and making a huge deal out of him. Exactly the kind of celebration Sonic would like; he always loved it when people lavished him with praise for his efforts in saving the world, the arrogant bastard.
Sonic didn't have any of that, this year. Oh, sure, the party would stroke his ego, but it wasn't lavish. Compared to what he could have, it was almost humble.
But. He didn't look upset by it. Didn't even feign annoyance that it wasn't as big as it could be.
Scourge couldn't remember any of his own birthdays looking like this growing up. No friends surrounding him, bickering as they hung birthday banners or fetched presents or argued over the cake. No shitty birthday chair fished out of the dump. No lavish party to sing his praises. His birthdays weren't humble like this one, but they weren't extravagant, either.
They were... cold. Empty. There was no soul in the presents, no warmth in the candle of the cake. No signatures on the back of a hand-made birthday banner.
Scourge swallowed down the ugly feeling in his stomach.
Whatever. He didn't need any of that shit. He was Scourge the fucking Hedgehog, he knew exactly how great he was. Who needed a giant party? Not him. He wasn't that fragile.
"Scowl any harder and your face will get stuck."
Scourge flipped Sonic off without even looking. "Eat shit, birthday boy."
"Are you sulking because Pixel Brain jumped on you this morning when he came to wish me a happy birthday?"
"He crushed my fucking ribs," Scourge complained, glad for something to focus on. The interruption had been rude, and Tails was fortunate they were already awake; had he done that shit while Scourge was still asleep, he would've gotten an ass full of quills.
"Right. And you're definitely not sulking because you wanted to cuddle."
"I don't cuddle."
"Bullshit you don't."
"I don't. You have no proof."
"Then you're gonna start."
Before Scourge could say a word of protest, Sonic grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him onto his lap.
"Fuck off and let me go," Scourge snapped, shifting to get comfortable.
"It's my birthday," Sonic said, smirking his stupid, smug, victorious grin. "That means you have to do what I say."
"I'm not doing shit, you can't tell me what to do, birthday or not," Scourge said, leaning further into Sonic when he wrapped an arm around his waist to pull him closer.
"You'll get the chair when it's your birthday, if it's any consolation."
"Fuck the chair! What about my presents?"
"We'll see."
"Asshole," Scourge grumbled, biting Sonic lightly on the shoulder to emphasize his point, but he only got an amused chuckle in return.
"You're getting off when the cake gets here," Sonic said.
Huffing, Scourge snuggled further into Sonic. They'd see about that.
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tired-biscuit · 7 months
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okie okie okie, last update on the fic until i post it; i am currently at almost 23k and slowly finishing it. if all goes well, i think i’ll be able to post it in a couple of days :)
THAT IS ALL
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