#//anyway time to eat strawberry milk and drink goldfish

[reflections-of-mobius]

Type: The Chaos Emeralds Universes: All

Hold onto your fuckin' hats-

General

The only thing that's common between the various versions of the Emeralds that I personally harbor in my universes...is that they're all immense sources of power, and look the same. How they grant that power, their level of sentience, if they have elemental affinities, etc., changes depending on universe.

I'd advise checking my post on how Chaos Energy works per universe before reading this, if you haven't read that yet!

ONWARD!

Sandstorm

The Chaos Emeralds in the Sandstorm universe are very sentient, and are more the balancers of the universe- if you ask them for immense power to right a wrong, then they will force you to harbor the opposing energy as well- whether for a short (but lethal) burst, or a long (but survivable) period.

This was what led Bless to his current state of being a Werehog every night, without fail.- And that was just from borrowing power. In Sonic Unleashed, he tried to use the Emeralds to beat Eggman (at the start of the game) and made a deal with them...to take in the Dark Chaos Energy every night for the rest of his life- transforming into a beast so he could become a superhero when he needed to (so long as all the Emeralds were present).

The Chaos Emeralds of the Sandstorm verse, in essence, are deal makers- and all their deals are technically fair, ensuring that the balance of the universe never falls out. Though Bless got slightly around this deal with Chip and his amulet- which allows Bless to maintain his mind even as a Werehog. Without said amulet, he would go on a wild massacre- focusing on impulse and doing whatever came into his mind until the sun rose.

Enlightened Darkness

The Chaos Emeralds of Enlightened Darkness are not sentient, at all.- They will succumb to the whims of anyone, without making the wish of the user into a monkey's paw, or some sort of 'balancing deal'. These Chaos Emeralds are most like the canon counterparts. They don't have any elemental affinities, and essentially just act as 'wish granters'. Or, as Silver put it in Sonic 06:

"It can turn thoughts into power".

Burnt Soul

The Burnt Soul universe's Chaos Emeralds follow Enlightened Darkness' lead. No differences between these two worlds~ (in that regard).

Wielders of Chaos

The Chaos Emeralds here are vaguely sentient, and have elemental affinities. One can think of them like pets, in terms of overall thought processes- they can only figure out simple things and respond to the emotions of their wielder.

The Chaos Emeralds, unlike in canon where they will just scatter, will scatter in a pattern- each Emerald, once it has bonded to an individual, will scatter somewhere near their wielder. They also hold to the same principles as Enlightened Darkness/Burnt Soul's Chaos Emeralds in how they grant power- one needs merely wish, or think it while holding the Emerald...and if they direct that thought at the gem itself, it will become reality. However, how this occurs depends on the Emerald- since the Emeralds can only manipulate their given element, unless they are all gathered together.

And while it's tempting...the Chaos Emeralds will not force Super/Hyper forms onto all of the wielders- just those who want them at the given time. Of course, when all the wielders are gathered, they must be in agreement about what they want to do with the Emeralds- otherwise, there will be a conflict of elements/Chaos Emeralds, resulting in nothing but a massive explosion that blows everyone back.

[slbp-holiday-exchange-blog]

Goldfish Fireworks and Snowflakes

I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year as I submit my gift to my recipient in this year’s SLBP Holiday Exchange to @avtrefois - from @aeirwen!

I thought a lot about what I wanted to give you, from impractical gifts to more practical ones…but in the end, this was what I have been able to create for you.

I hope you like it, I tried my best.  :)

Goldfish Fireworks and Snowflakes

~*~*~*~*~

I have a friend who’s very friendly and very uninhibited.  He has lots of confidence and seems to never be afraid of speaking his mind whether he is right or wrong.  (Sometimes, that gets him in BIG trouble.)

I also have a friend who’s actually quite shy and reserved.  She’s also really smart and undeniably pretty.  She’s usually quiet, but she’ll complain about things every now and then when she feels like putting in the energy to do so, or she’ll just completely ignore other people or the situation at hand, keeping her mouth shut and just watch and let others do the stupid things they’re bound to do anyways.  (Like my other friend, for example.)

And in our small, little trio, I’m…actually, I don’t know what I would call myself.  Maybe I’m just there, haha!

Sometimes, I feel like I’m just there…

I’m not very good at talking, like my first friend, and I’m not very smart either, like my second friend.  I’m not exactly sure what I’m good at besides existing, actually.

Because, sometimes, when I’m with my friends, I feel like I’m just there.  I just exist for some reason.

Why do I feel that way?

Because, maybe I’m just getting in the way…  Maybe I’m just getting in Sakon’s way.  And for some reason, just because I don’t want to be alone and I’m afraid of being alone, I latch onto Saki even though I know that Sakon’s obsessed and in love with her.

I guess the term anyone can use to describe me is a cock block.

Ahh…I’m the cock block… I guess that’s what I’m good at…

The three of us have actually known each other for a very long time.  Sakon and I are actually next door neighbors since childhood.  And when we went to school together, we met Saki, the prettiest girl in our kindergarten class.  Everyone wanted to be friends with her.  All of the boys fought over who would get to marry her.  With just the bat of her eyes, Saki was immediately the most beautiful girl in the world, which, you know…she does have a very beautiful mother after all.

But despite our many years of friendship and Sakon’s constant pursuit of love, she would always stare him down indifferently as if bored of his ridiculousness, shift her eyes away uncomfortably, and continuously tell him to back off and stop pursuing her.  It’s not uncommon for her to go off and hide by herself either, sitting away in a hidden corner of the library with a book in her hands, letting the setting sun reflect upon her, making her bask and glow within it’s golden light.  It was there were we had our small, little book club and I didn’t feel as unintelligent when voicing my feelings about the books we read together.

In the warmth of the sun, painting the walls of our small hiding spot with its gentle glow, sometimes I wonder why I’m not jealous of her at all.  Always so beautiful, always so smart, always so quick witted, always attracting the attention of boys, always had long hair and long legs, always someone to be envious of.  Always.  And yet, here I am, enjoying our time and presence.

I never considered the possibility that I could be romantically in love with her, because, after all, I grew up to believe that (for me) girls fall for boys and that boys fall for girls, even though I do know there are couples who contradict that and I can accept that.  In fact, I am happy for them.  In fact, I am quite jealous that they have someone who they can hold hands with and confide in.  I don’t know if I am actually romantically in love with her, but I do know this:  I will always, always love my best friend, Saki.

~*~*~*~*~

“Let’s go to that manju shop that Saki likes!”

“Oh, okay!”

“Actually, I feel like Mister Donut today.”

It was currently winter break and New Year’s Eve and because we felt it was unfair for Saki to travel to our houses by herself (and because for some reason Saki’s mom didn’t like having Sakon in the house (I mean, maybe I get why…  I mean, he acts like he lives at everyone’s house…  And he can be pretty loud…  He’s not exactly very smart either…), we all decided to go out to the city together.

At Saki’s quiet rejection and suggestion, I looked over at her in confusion.  The one who was more bewildered though, was Sakon who actually made a big deal out of it, questioning her if she was sick or if something was wrong with her, to which Saki only looked down at me and replied with slight irritation, “Why are questioning me?”

“I-yah!  Nevermind!”  Sakon laughed it off and began immediately marching down the sidewalk ahead of us.  “Let’s go get some donuts then!”

Following after Sakon, walking side by side with Saki, step by step, I couldn’t help but smile to myself as I laced my fingers together behind my back.  I looked over at Saki only to see her looking down at me indifferently before looking forward again, watching where she was going.

Saki prefers traditional Japanese sweets but she knows that I like Mister Do-ACK!!

“What are you doing?” Sakon shouted, “Why do you keep walking into poles?  Do you need to get your eyes checked?  You should be more like Saki and pay attention to your surroundings!”

To be honest, Sakon’s comments hurt more than hitting my face against the pole…  But being able to link my arms with Saki felt better than anything at the moment.

Because, at least, I’m able to actually hold hands with Saki, unlike someone else I know…

~*~*~*~*~

Everything I seem to do…  Sakon always has something to say about it..especially when Saki’s around.

Why am I not pretty like Saki?  Why am I not slender like Saki?  Why am I not tall like Saki?  Why am I not smart like Saki?  Why am I not girly, like Saki?  Why do I eat a lot, unlike Saki?  Why am I so loud compared to Saki?

Honestly, a lot of the time, I just want to stop inviting Sakon just because I’m tired of fighting with him…

After I had paid for my donut and my strawberry milk shake, Saki had all of a sudden changed her mind about wanting a donut and opted for tea instead.  Sakon, being quite the gentleman, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, bought her a donut anyways and paid for her tea.  I-it’s not like I really mind…I mean…they’re not even dating…  But it would be nice to have someone buy some treats for me too…

The moment we sat down together, it’s me and Sakon arguing about my eating habits again and Saki just calmly ignoring us.

“If you’re going to talk about MY eating habits, you honestly don’t have any room to talk!  Look at YOU!!”

“I’m a guy!  Of course I’m going to a bigger appetite!  You’re a girl, you should care more about the way you look, like Saki.“  Trying not to tear up, I frowned and narrowed my eyes at Sakon.  "If you keep eating donuts and drinking milkshakes, pretty soon you’re going to become an Ochibi-chan,” he laughed, poking my cheek.

“Stop it!"  I slapped his hand away.  "You could at least have the decency to be more respectable towards me as a girl.”

“Are you really a girl?”

I closed my lips and stared at Sakon, trying my best not to break down from that question.  “Happy New Year,” I said, staring down and getting up.  Even though I was planning to just leave them by themselves, a sense of regret regarding wasting food hit me and I picked up my donut and milkshake just in time to see Saki splash her tea on Sakon’s face, earning quite the yelp from him.

“Happy New Year,” she said with her low voice before standing up and pulling me by the arm, dragging me out of the shop.

“S-Saki?”

“Stop talking,” came her annoyed and exasperated voice.

Ignoring Sakon’s confused apologies and calls, the two of us literally got lost within the crowd and made our way outside of the mall.  She kept a firm hold on my arm just to make sure we didn’t get separated by the large amount of people traveling about outside in the cold.  Actually, we headed back to the train station and took our place at a window, facing the Tokyo Square, just standing around in silence as we waited for the fireworks show and the count down.

I still had the donut in my hand and my milkshake had already completely melted…  “Ne, Saki…”

“Just eat your donut,” she mumbled, scrolling through her phone.

Feeling a little shy and embarrassed, I murmured, “I…want to read too.”

For just a small moment, she stared at me before holding her phone closer to me so that I could see the book she was reading.  Any moment she received a call from Sakon, she immediately declined the call.  Any time I received a call from him as well, or even a text, I ignored it.  By the time Saki and I knew it, we were both on the floor, reading the text on her phone until a loud boom sounded from outside.

“Uwaah!"  Already distracted, I immediately got up to my feet to watch the fireworks show.  I’ve seen fireworks a billion times probably, but they were always…  "Suteki…!"  New Years, usually, was the time they took my breath away.  Why?  Because, if I was lucky…  "It’s snowing!!"  I’d get to see gold flakes glittering down upon the earth with cold, white ones.  I held my hand out to catch them, only to be reminded that I am indoors when my hand hit the glass.  "It’s lovely, isn’t it, Saki?”

I looked over to her with a smile on my face as she stood there, next to me, staring out the window with no expression on her face.  Maybe I’m a simpleton.  Maybe it doesn’t take much to amaze me or please me, but nevertheless, “It’s beautiful."  Huh?  Saki looked down over to me, "It’s lovely,” she said.

A smile bloomed further on my lips, “Happy New Year, Saki!”

There was a subtle blush on her face, but she smile back, a small one, “Happy New Year.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Ne, Saki, this year, what’s your New Year’s Resolution?”

“New Year’s Resolution?”

Already having been at the train station, Saki and I were riding home when I decided to ask her what her resolution would be.  I mean, maybe she doesn’t have one.  After all, I think she’s already perfect the way she is.

“I didn’t think about it,” was her short answer.

“Hmm, I didn’t think you’d have one either, but I’m not surprised,” I replied, laying back into my seat.  “Saki is perfect and amazing at everything!  I’d probably have a hard time thinking about one too.”

As we sat there in our comfortable silence among the chatter of other passengers, Saki finally decided to ask, “What’s your New Year’s Resolution?”

“Me?  I didn’t really think about it either,’ I laughed, shrugging.  "Maybe, I want to become the me I want to be?"  Maybe I confused her…  "I want to be smart like you, I want to be able to have confidence in myself, like Sakon…  "I have lots of things I want to do.  It eems like a lot, but I can only try my best!”

“…"  Saki doesn’t talkmuch, I know that.  So I never get bored with her (sometimes) but I’m okay with that.  "I think you’re alright the way you are.”

“But, you see!  I want to be more than alright!"  Already pumped up, I balled my hands into fists.  "This year, I’m going to start trying to make myself look pretty.  I’m going to try to get stronger and more physically fit.  I’m going to try to get better grades, just like you.  And, if anything, I want to try to be more like you.”

“I think that it’s better for you to be more like you,” I smiled to her statement, “Of course, there could be some more improvement, like your grades."  Ah!  It sounds harsh when she says it.  "But I want you to be like you.”

“Then, I guess, the person I’m going to try to be is my future me!” I declared.  “My future me, is the me I want to be.  My future me is going to get good grades!  Is going to dress nice!  And is always going to do her best!  That’s the me I want to be.”

I looked over to Saki confidently, watching a smile blossom on her pretty lips, “Good luck.”

~*~*~*~*~

On New Years Day, the restaurant was closed down for the day so that my family could go and visit the shrine for prayers and luck.  Of course, we met Saki there with her mother, who both looked stunning in their kimono!  But we had our fun and even got matching charms.  She probably didn’t need it, but I figured, if I was going to get better grades this year, I’d get one for my education scores.  Of course, I still have to work for them too, I can’t just rely on luck.  (We deliberately ignored Sakon and left him out, although, I do feel bad for doing that to him though��)

It was after New Years day that I wouldn’t see Saki until school started again.

At the restaurant, it was just my mother, Yahiko, and I and every day was a busy day.

It was the first day back at school that I had walked in on a surprise.

“Good morning!” I greeted the principal before walking over to my locker only to see someone already waiting there for me, covering their face with a book.

The moment, I appeared, this person revealed their face and I stood there stunned and shocked, ignoring all the other surprised and confused faces around us.

“S-Saki?”

“This is the me that I want to be from now on.”

There she was, standing in our school uniform, only…with pants on instead of her skirt.

“This is the me that I’ve always been and will always be from now on.”

This year, I learned that my best friend Saki has always been a boy since birth.

And while it took me a while to stop calling him “Saki”, there’s no denying that he’s my bestest friend in the world.

All that awaited the both of us were quiet and subtle adventures and lessons about each other.

~*~*~*~*~

[suckitsurveys]

1. What’s the last thing you ate? Overnight oats with peanut butter and banana.

2. What’s your favourite cheese? Goat and cheddar.

3. What’s your favourite fish? Catfish, if crab doesn’t count as a fish.

4. What’s your favourite fruit? Pomegranates, watermelon, pineapple, bananas.

5. When, if ever, did you start liking olives? I don’t remember? I never liked the Kalamamamamama olives they have in greek salads, but I love black olives and green olives with pimento. That was always on my dad’s go-to tray of appetizers when we’d have Christmas at our house. 3 kinds of olives, some cheese, and salami or whatever. I always ate the green and black olives from there. I also like green olives stuffed with other things too, like bleu cheese or garlic.

6. When, if ever, did you start liking beer? I only like some beers really. I think I’ve been conditioned to like it at baseball games because my dad does, haha.

7. When, if ever, did you start liking shellfish? My whole life dude. When my parents would go out to dinner with us when we were little, they always just gave us stuff from there plates to eat. So if someone had lobster or crab legs or shrimp I would too.

8. What was the best thing your mom/dad/guardian used to make? My dad makes KILLER bleu cheese dressing. I could eat that shit with a spoon it’s SO GOOD. He also makes amazing spaghetti sauce and is pretty good at getting popcorn perfect everytime. My mom used to make really good beef stew, and her famous potatoes and eggs fr dinner. She also made the BEST potato salad, and that recipe has been handed down to me. Everyone claims it’s amazing, but I still think she made it better.

9. What’s the native specialty of your hometown? Deep dish pizza, hot dogs, beef sandwiches, caramel and cheese popcorn.

10. What’s your comfort food? Everything.

11. What’s your favourite type of chocolate? Milk chocolate. With caramel. 12. How do you like your steak? Medium rare.

13. How do you like your burger? Medium rare.

14. How do you like your eggs? In omelet form.

15. How do you like your potatoes? I ain’t got no type.

16. How do you take your coffee? I don‘t, really.

17. How do you take your tea? Green.

18. What’s your favourite mug? The one I use most often is just a plain red one that I got from Home Goods because it came with a tea infuser.

19. What’s your biscuit or cookie of choice? Sugar cookies. My favorite ones are actually those Pillsbury pre-made-dough ones you break off and bake. I also love Oreos.

20. What’s your ideal breakfast? Lox and bagels.

21. What’s your ideal sandwich? ^. Or tuna on any bread.

22. What’s your ideal pizza: Very saucy, lightly cheesy, with pepperoni and black olives.

23. What’s your ideal pie (sweet or savoury)? Cheesecake. <– Same, and it’s been waaaay too long since I last had a good piece of cheesecake. <----CHEESECAKE IS NOT PIE YOU HEATHENS, IT’S CAKE. Anyway, pumpkin pie has been my go to since I was a baby.

24. What’s your ideal salad? I don’t really have an “ideal” salad, but I like spinach salads with various toppings.

25. What food do you always like to have in the fridge? Hmm. Eggs, soy milk, condiments and marinades, sriracha, pickles, olives, cheese, water.

26. What food do you always like to have in the freezer? Ice. :P And frozen dinners for Mark. We don’t buy a ton of frozen stuff.

27. What food do you always like to have in the cupboard? Oatmeal, Ramen and other soups, pasta, rice, flour, breadcrumbs, olive oil and other oils, tea.

28. What spices can you not live without? Celery salt, red pepper, and cilantro. And of course salt and pepper.

29. What sauces can you not live without? Sriracha.

30. Where do you buy most of your food? Jewel-Osco. We might start shopping at Aldi for boxed and bagged goods. I don’t trust meat and produce from there though.

31. How often do you go food shopping? Twice a week. Once on Sunday to get lunch things and snacks for the week and dinners for that night, Monday, and Tuesday, and then Wednesday just for dinner things for that night, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

33. What’s the most expensive piece of kitchen equipment you own? I mean, probably the fridge or stove? We don’t really own those though? Sooooo the food processor?

34. What’s the last piece of equipment you bought for your kitchen? It’s been a while since we’ve actuall bought something for the kitchen. A lot of our stuff is hand-me-downs or wedding gifts. So probably something from when we first moved in and needed basic things like plates and silverware.

35. What piece of kitchen equipment could you not live without? Probably most of them? Like we need the fridge and stove for obvious reasons, so I guess next to that, the microwave?

36. How many times a week/month do you cook from raw ingredients? We try to almost every night.

37. What’s the last thing you cooked from raw ingredients? Chicken and spinach last night, unless overnight oats count, which I made shortly after that to eat this morning.

38. What meats have you eaten besides cow, pig and poultry? I’ve had lamb, duck, goat, alligator, buffalo, and ostrich. Well I guess duck and ostrich are poultry?? Oh and a shit ton of seafood too since that wasn’t listed in the question. Way too much to name.

39. What’s the last time you ate something that had fallen on the floor? Yesterday. I ate a chip that fell in sand oops. Haha.

40. What’s the last time you ate something you’d picked in the wild? Uh, I mean, we have a veggie and herb garden in our yard. I packed some cucumbers and tomatoes from there for lunch today.

41. Arrange the following in order of preference: Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Sushi – Sushi, Thai, and Mexican are tied for first. Then Italian, Indian, Chinese.

42. Arrange the following in order of preference: Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy, Rum – Rum, Vodka, Whiskey, Brandy.

43. Arrange the following in order of preference: Garlic, Basil, Caramel, Lime, Mint, Ginger, Aniseed – I have no idea what aniseed is, but the rest are all tied.

44. Arrange the following in order of preference: Pineapple, Orange, Apple, Strawberry, Cherry, Watermelon, Banana. – Watermelon, pineapple, banana, strawberry, orange, apple, cherry.

45. Bread and spread: Um. My favorite bread is garlic bread, if that’s what you’re asking.

46. What’s your fast food restaurant of choice, and what do you usually order? Popeye’s. I get chicken strips and Cajun fries. If they are having some promotional thing with the strips I’ll probably get that.

47. Pick a city. What are the best dining experiences you’ve had in that city? Any city and any restaurant that has crab legs is a good dinning experience in my mind.

48. What’s your choice of tipple at the end of a long day? What the hell is a tipple?

49. What’s the next thing you’ll eat? Lunch. I made tuna and have cucumbers and tomatoes to eat with it. I brought bread too but I probably wont end up eating that.

50. Are you hungry now? I’m a little hungry.

51. Do you eat your breakfast everyday? Yes. I have oatmeal or cereal every day.

52. At what time do you have breakfast? When I work, it’s sometime after 7am. On weekends, it’s whenever I get up.

53. At what time do you have lunch? 11:30am on weekdays, whenever on weekened.

54. What do you have for lunch? I mentioned this above.

55. At what time do you have dinner? around 7.

56. What do you have for dinner? Obviously different things every night? Tonight’s dinner is up in the air because my cousin is coming in from Hawaii and we are staying with my dad so my he will most likely order takeout.

57. Do you light candles during dinner? No.

58. How many chairs are there in your dining room and who sits in the main chair? We don’t have a dining room in our apartment. We have a kick ass coffee table that pulls up to dining-table height and we eat on the couch at that.

59. Do you eat and drink using your right hand or the left one? I eat with my right and I don’t have a hand preference with my drinks.

61. Mention the veggies that you like most: Spinach, asparagus, zucchini, butternut squash.

62. What fruit and vegetable do you like the least? Apparently fennel is a vegetable, so that. And water chestnuts if that’s a veggie too. My least favorite fruit is blackberries and raspberries.

63. You like your fruit salad to have more: Watermelon.

64. You prefer your vegetable salad to contain more: Uh. Cucumbers, I guess? Is a vegetable salad just raw veggies thrown together?

65. What’s your favourite sandwich spread? Peanut butter, I guess?

66. What’s your favourite chocolate bar? Butterfingers.

67. What’s your favourite dessert? Brownies or cheesecake.

68. What’s your favourite drink? Root beer. Preferably Barq’s.

69. What’s your favourite snack? Chips and guac or salsa, popcorn, Goldfish crackers, Cheez-its, Chex mix.

70. What’s your favourite bubble gum flavour? WATERMELON BUBBLICIOUS. I haven’t had that in a hot minute.

71. What’s your favourite ice cream flavour? Salted Caramel Butter Pecan. Only one brand makes it. I haven’t seen it in a while though.

72. What’s your favourite potato chip flavour? Sour cream and cheddar.

73. What’s your favourite soup? Potato. Egg lemon. Lobster bisque.

74. What’s your favourite pizza? Deep dish from Lou’s, thin crust from Marie’s, and 8-corner pan pizza from Jet’s.

75. What’s your favourite type of dish? Seafood dishes.

76. What food do you hate? I’ve kinda mentioned these throughout this survey. There’s not much I dislike.

77. What’s your favourite restaurant? Any place with crab legs.

78. Do you eat homemade food, food delivered from outside? Both.

80. Who cooks at home? Mark usually.

81. What kind of diet (e.g. low-fat, high-fiber, high-carbohydrate, balanced diet etc.) do you have? I try to balance it.

82. How do you keep yourself fit? I work out every day. I’m by no means “fit” yet, but I am getting there.