#<- don’t care much about shadow i’m hoping for some sonic battle stuff

[un-pearable]

IT’S JUICE AND JAM TIME

[ashenpages]

Current Projects & Emoji Voting Key

Quick disclaimer: I’m a romance writer in all aspects of the term, so most of my works will contain mature content. Engage at your own risk, you know the rules, you’re responsible for curating your own experience of the internet, blah blah blah.

This post serves as a current mock up of fic ideas I’m either actively working on or considering working on next. You can drop me an ask about any of them, or just vote via the emoji combo I’ve assigned them.

Voting lets me know you’re excited about an idea and makes it more likely I’ll actually work on it. You can vote anytime, there’re no deadlines or winner announcements, just me gauging your interest by what I see in my ask box most often.

You can also ask me about the original stuff I’m working on currently. The current WIPs are Medusa centric and the emoji for them is: 🐍

Support my original work on Ko-fi and Patreon.

- Lupin: 🤑🤠💍  These are all oneshot ideas, between 5-15K each. If you want to vote for a specific idea, send me the emojis and the number of the idea.

Born from the idea that Goemon and Zenigata probably couldn’t be an item, my brain decided to come up with how I could write for them. Goemon’s teaching an ikebana class as part of his training, and Zenigata shows up as a student on forced recreational leave for his health from the ICPO. Zenigata wins the samurai’s heart through flowers. But what happens when Lupin and Jigen find out? (Only good sexy things, I promise. These beans are in a healthy polycule--be gay, do crimes) (WIP)

Jigen/Lupin, but it's Jigen deciding to seduce Lupin while wearing his own Lupin disguise. The thief is waaaaay too into it, and some artistry is taken with the sex so that they don't mess up the disguise too much during their encoutner.

Jigen/Zenigata/Lupin where Jigen has some fantasices about Zenigata, but is pretty sure they'll never happen. Tells Lupin about them. Suddenly the fantasies are coming true, in the middle of a heist, and Jigen doesn't what to do except get swept up in the moment and enjoy. Plot twist, it's Lupin dressed up as Zenigata granting all his gunman's dreams. Plot twist again, Zenigata catches them at it.

Zenigata/Lupin, where Lupin keeps doing good things in illegal ways and Pops has to find a way to punish him for it. Good thing for Pops Lupin's a masochist?

Trans!Lupin and Trans!Jigen premise: Jigen cares for Lupin after the master thief has top surgery, since Jigen has Been There and Done That. Caring, sweet, and a little sexy. Lupin is a much better patient than Jigen.

The one time Zenigata caught Lupin in an alley and kissed him and it was Jigen in disguise. Things get sexy anyway, and Zenigata has crushes on two thieves now. Lupin and Jigen "kidnap" him later for an evening of taking care of their inspector.

The background plot of Jigen's Gravestone where we see Jigen think he's done for and try to leave Lupin. Our thief has none of it, and we get to relish in the inherent eroticism of Lupin sitting in sniper fire, knowing Jigen's got his back. This is the moment I think Jigen finally believes he can be with Lupin forever.

I love the idea of something longer and more plot driven like a Lupin special where Lupin ends up in hot water and Jigen and Fujiko have to work together to save him. Jigen and Fujiko have such an interesting relationship. They're both partners of Lupin, they don't really like each other, they constantly screw the other over, but when it really matters they take care of each other. I'd like to see that highlighted a little more and also give them space to call each other out and bicker. Nothing sexy between them, but maybe a really interesting threesome with Lupin and Fujiko in a strap on once they save their boy.

- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐

Shadow is an immortal vampire who has seen the world change for the worse too many times. These days it feels like he only lives for his coffee dates with Rouge, another immortal who loves each new era they encounter, warts and all. He has to admit that the book series she got him into speaks to him, at least. If someone in this era can understand him without meeting him, it can’t all be bad. But he hardly expected the goofy blue barista at the new coffee place to understand him the way those books do.

This is a novel length romcom romp with some big feelings about what it means to watch as things change, grow, and die. Expect lots of Big gothic feelings from this one, emotionally charged kissing, and overly-adoring sex. But also expect shenanigans from everyone in the coffee shop, which include Rouge, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and more.

- Sonic Blazamy, "Like the Sun": 💖🌸💎

Amy Rose has been in love with Sonic for a while.

Or has she?

When the Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver are trapped as the fuel sources for Doctor Eggman’s newest evil scheme, Amy teams up with Blaze, Rouge, and Cream to save them. With Sonic out of the picture and Amy fulfilling his role, was she ever really in love with him? Or did she just want to be like him?

This is a novel length epic romance with lots of competent women and lots of romantic Blazamy content. Expect flowery hopes and dreams, badass self-actualization, and glancing hand touches that give way to cuddly and sweet sex.

- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕

After bringing down the Metaverse twice, Ryuji didn’t think graduating high school and figuring out what to do with his life would be so hard. Akira’s back in town, and the gang’s more-or-less all in Tokyo, but everyone else seems to have a plan while Ryuji just floats. How’s he supposed to change the world when he’s not a phantom thief anymore?

This is a novel length fic that addresses how powerless one can feel being just one person in the face of all the corrupted systems and bigotry the world has to offer. It’s about holding on to what you believe in, working through the doubt, and fighting your way to a better tomorrow with the power you do have. The whole gang is queer, featured relationships being Mako x Ann, Ryuji x Akira, Futaba & Yusuke as platonic life partners. Akira is polyamorous and omnisexual, Futaba’s asexual and aromantic while Yusuke is demisexual and very romantic, Makoto’s a lesbian, Ann and Ryuji are bi, and Haru’s pansexual, demisexual, and aromantic. They’re one giant band of queer Phantom Thieves, and even if they’re not really doing the Metaverse thing anymore, they’re still gonna save the world!

Also, I’m gonna make Makoto not a cop. That super didn’t age well. Zenkichi and his boss can work on making them better/abolishing them for other better organizations.

- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀

Oneshot. I just really need to elaborate on the threesome you can have with them in-game, okay? Healthy and canon poly relationships are so few and far between, so often I have to do a ton of groundwork to explain why it’s working in the fic, but NOT WITH THESE KIDS!

Get ready for Meg helping Zag and Than be better at expressing their feelings, lots of kissing, and probably pegging.

- Castlevania Animation Trevor/Sypha/Alucard: 🧛🏰🛌

Castlevania gave Alucard a threesome last season, and I just really need S4 to give me him being taken care of by his partners. They’re probably not going to give it to me, so I’ll need to do it myself. This is just an everybody loves Alucard oneshot, with the gang’s signature banter (to an extent), Sypha being sexy, and Trever being remarkably sincere. This fic is gonna feel like that Ann Hathaway picture with Trevor kissing Alucard and Sypha holding the end of Trevor’s whip while she leans her head on Alucard’s shoulder adoringly.

- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈

Nico’s gay, okay? Like really, really gay. And Lady’s bi and not into men who make her pay bills, but very into women who make amazing guns for her and demonesses with hearts who fight by her side. Trish is ace, but loves people and is pretty attached to Lady at this point. Plus it’s cute when Lady blushes and says nice things like they’re insults. I don’t have super solid ideas for them yet, and I envision these more like a polycule where Lady’s with Nico and with Trish but they’re not with each other more than seeing it as a threesome, but who knows what might happen. This is probably 1-2 oneshots depending on ideas, but might turn into a series of oneshots if people are interested (or I can’t control myself and inspiration strikes).

- Post FMA:B Blind Roy & No Alchemy Ed: 👀👑🙏

This is actually an old novel-length fic I wrote ages ago and didn’t post that didn’t turn out well because I was new to writing sex when I first wrote it. The plot is good, and is all about Roy learning to work with his blindness to reclaim his ambition of being Fuhrer and changing the system to something that actually cares for its people. He and Ed reconnect, fall into bed, and both set about working through their respective traumas about being “useless” having lost their sight/alchemy. They go to Xing as an ambassadorial party to offer Amestris’s collaboration on Al and May’s Alkahestry experiments--and uncover a plot that might threaten both kingdoms.

- Age of Calamity continuity Mipha x Revali: 🦚🐟💘

The first time Revali noticed Mipha, it was in the heat of battle. She stole his mark, taking them down with a flurry of quick blows from her spear. Violence rained from her like water--and then she healed him on her way to her next battle. No questions, no conditions, just pure kindness. The usual need to measure himself against those around him was quiet in her wake. And Revali couldn’t understand it. But how to get to know more about her? A fish and bird may fall in love, but where would they live?

This fic could be a oneshot or novel length depending on how far down the hole I fall. I need it to cover time, but it could be done in linked vignettes or with actually covering events in detail. I may elect to do a oneshot just to get it done and out of my system faster. So much fic to write, so little time.

Expect trans!Revali, polyamorous Zoras, scary competent Mipha, songbird Revali, love confessions that are made up entirely of berating Link for not loving Mipha the way she wants him to, and breaking these characters a little outside of their assigned roles in BotW and Age of Calamity. Background Link x Zelda, and Urbosa x Zelda’s Mom.

- Epic desert romance about Urbosa and Zelda’s mom: 🏜🏝⚡

I just think Urbosa should kiss women and Zelda’s mom should get more development and maybe a name or something. Also, lightning imagery/metaphors/play.

It also went way over my head that Riju wasn’t Urbosa’s daughter the first time I played BotW, so now I want to write about the Gerudo queen who refused to produce an heir. The Gerudo are fascinating and have a very interesting cutlure, but I think it could be examined from a nonbinary perspective that rejected pregnancy and wanting to find a husband. Not in like a hateful way, but in a way that examines if that’s really right for everyone. There’s that shop in town that sells Voe armor, after all. Maybe finding a husband and having children isn’t something you have to do if you don’t want to. And Urbosa really doesn’t want to.

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

Talking about characters that are in Sonic Forces Speed Battle but not Sonic Dash so I can pass the time

see title. under a read more because very long post. really just using this post as an excuse to pass time while i watch a 7 hour youtube video in the background.

Storm

since I’m doing this in order of Sonic wiki then Storm is first. Weird to me that he’s not in Dash yet. Core series character instead of a variant or anything, and there’s precedent for Extreme Gear in Riders since Dash already exists. Would hope Storm gets added soon.

Wave

Everything said about Storm applies to Wave. As a sidenote it’s so weird that I guess Olympics aside we’ve had to wait until a Sonic Forces tie-in mobile game to see the Babylon Rogues again really.

Chaos

Dash seems a little more hesitant to introduce playable villains for some reason? Which sucks. Chaos is one of the series’ oldest villains, needs to be playable in Dash smh.

Eggman

As above hesitant to add villains, although there’s at least more justification here since Dash has Eggman battles as parts of any given run. But just make it so those don’t spawn lol. And have Eggman. It’d be awesome. He’s like the second most important character in the series, come on.

Gamma

Dash only added Omega like a little over a month ago or something idk, wouldn’t expect Gamma to get added for a while perhaps. Idk. Hopefully they do though. Shocker but “hopefully this character gets added soon” is gonna be said a lot lol. More characters is fun.

Tikal

Again just a regular version of a core character, zero reason not to add. Pls add soon.

Zavok

Sigh. I did just say more characters is always better bc hey harmless mobile game why not? But I could really take or leave Zavok lol.

Zazz

As above although Dash has a Zazz boss battle still which is funny since it was added as a Lost World tie-in lol. But yeah if Zazz gets added ever then just make it so he can’t fight Zazz, something like that idk.

Zeena

yk something fucked is that these 3 are the only Deadly Six members in Speed Battle at all - so they added half of them then gave up. I know I don’t care about the Deadly Six at all but that just feels incomplete. Anyway add them to Dash or don’t I don’t really care. Add literally every other character first pls.

Super Sonic

Yeah okay now this one annoys me because Dash added Movie Super Sonic before regular Super Sonic and that’s sad. Pls add Super Sonic it’d be cool we love him.

Sir Gawain

Yeah weirdly the other knights of the round table are in Dash but Gawain isn’t. And it’s not just that he’s the last to have been added either because the current Dash event is for Paladin Amy which despite some Black Knight influence obviously isn’t actually a Black Knight character at all and is just a variant of real Amy. So Gawain is just missing. Very sad.

DJ Vector

PLEASE ADD HIM I NEED HIM SO MUCH HE’S DRIPPY AS SHIT

Punk Zazz

Did you know Tails doesn’t have any variants in Dash or Speed Battle (wouldn’t say movie versions count as variants really) but Zazz does. Fucked up.

Unicorn Cream

This is so goofy I love it please add it

Lantern Silver

for variants of characters I like all I can really say is “yeah sure add it this is fun”

Lucky Whisper

Having said what I just said it’s also wild to me that Whisper gets a variant even despite being a comic character. But Tails has none. I don’t actually mind much here tho bc I like Whisper lmaoooo, bias is based. Yeah sure add to Dash.

Spring Cream

gee bill how come your mo- but yeah sure add it

Tropical Storm

add his regular first but sure add this to. Still feels wild that no Tails variant but Storm has one.

Tidal Wave

Exact same comment as above.

Ice Slicer Jet

Funny to me that Storm and Wave get like tropical theming but Jet? Ice hockey. Sure lmao.

Quarterback Zavok

same opinions as with Punk Zazz.

Infinite

He’d be fun come on add him :(

Mephiles

I’m cheating because he’s not out in Speed Battle yet. But he’s upcoming! So put him in Dash too.

Super Shadow

same stuff with Mephiles - upcoming but I want him in Dash also. Also would like Super Silver since that completes modern super forms except Burning Blaze which also actually should be added. Dab.

Darkspine Sonic

Not in Speed Battle just yet either but coming eventually. So add him to Dash also.

That’s the post lol. Was that a worthwhile read? Who knows.

[steve0discusses]

S4 Ep 39: Pharaoh Can Fly (Selectively)

Guys, they’re back

Best storyboarder is back, and the visual difference between last episode and this episode is like when your art teacher picks up your charcoal and just fixes everything wrong with your gesture drawings. It’s like...I mean look at this:

I just really love and appreciate how illustrative this storyboarder is. And I say just storyboarder because this had about the same budget as the last episode--there wasn’t that much actual animation as per usual. But, all of the scenes were drawn so well, like panels out of a good manga. They just...they always nail it when they’re at the helm and I don’t know why they’re on Yugioh, but bless this storyboarder.

Plot wise, everyone got pulled into the dragon by gooey tentacles that came out of it’s stomach, don’t think about it.

Meanwhile, all of the minibosses could communicate with them and beg for help, yes, even the same miniboss who may have dressed up like Pegasus and catfished Seto Kaiba.

(keep reading under the cut)

The whole process of getting absorbed into the Orichalcos demon was a whole lot of symbolism and it was...kinda gross. Also kinda sketch. Also, for Kaiba it is a neat little nod to S1 when he had a vision that his brother was absorbed into a dragon mass.

I don’t think that the makers of the show remember S1, but either they just really like goopy dragons, or it’s a coincidence or I dunno, on purpose? Probably a coincidence.

And like I made this joke and realized...what if they actually meant to make that parallel though? This is the America crossover season, and they have referenced America’s love of trickster rabbits before with Pegasus but do they know about Br’er rabbit in Japan? Do they know? It’s a pretty Americana Deep-cut, and I have no idea how common this folktale is outside of the states.

I see anime busting out absorbing goopy masses all the time so I’m gonna assume that there might be a Japanese folklore I don’t know about which uses a similar structure (although I’m also assuming it has an extremely different history and association ((which I won’t be going into because I don’t feel like putting a trigger warning on this recap)).)

And looking at Wikipedia, there’s people that think the original reference to moist, absorbing creatures could have even come from as far as India. Which is...fascinating to how it also developed in Africa, and then the Cherokee also made the same story independently and then it fused together here in the States to make it what was eventually made into a Disney movie that will never be released again--this is just a really old ass story, all in all, possibly like over a thousand years old.

And a FASCINATING google deep dive I won’t go into for obvious reasons but knock yourself out.

Also, lets get distracted for a sec and see how well this storyboarder drew a fitted jacket at that angle. Dear Lord, did they get reference for that or did their brain just already know that those folds would be there? You can even tell that Pharaoh has just a little bit of padding at his shoulders. Ugh. Guys this storyboarder is so freakin good at these little fitted jackets.

So, once Yugi and his friends are absorbed into the mass, where they should have died...and maybe some of them did, but I don’t know if I should add that to the Death Count because like...they could have held their breath in the amount of time they were stuck in there...maybe...Anyway, they are saved by being tossed into the figurative briar patch--by the souls all hanging out in the Leviathan’s stomach--which again makes me wonder...did they pull a folklore on us? Again, I have no idea.

Like a lot of the people in this dragon have been thorns in their side this entire season, they’ve all tried to kill them at one point--all the minibosses, Mai, Pegasus--but now they have decided to team up with Pharaoh (along with the rest of the human race) and offer whatever they can to free them from the grip of the gross dragon mass.

And like, the ending of the folk tale is that the thorny ass briar patch is also where the rabbit lives usually. It hurts everyone else, but the rabbit--the rabbit can deal with it. And likewise, Pharaoh is freakin dead. He’s at home here. He’s surrounded by spirit power, his friends and their friendship power, this is like his zone, and now he’s crazy powerful for it and will be for the rest of the episode.

And like Yami is a very trickster God (especially Season Zero Yami) so like...it does make sense that he would mirror a folk tale based on trickster Gods, even if it is by complete accident.

So Pharaoh imagines everyone’s tears as individual drops in a glass or something--it’s not a literal glass or anything--it’s just there because the only thing actually happening on screen was his hand hanging out of this dragon’s weird puss skin.

And he’s now a fully charged Sonic the Hedgehog and no longer needs Kaiba or Joey at all. Just gonna grab his God card demons and take charge of everything else from here on out.

By first exploding his buddies right the hell out of this lizard and across hundreds of feet of open ocean.

Joey decides to remind Kaiba that he lost the Battle City tournament.

Seto’s roast was actually in the show, PS. He is not super excited to be reminded that Yugi owns every card that he spent 2 seasons failing to get.

And then Pharaoh did something really, really...

...just really really wild.

OH OK.

YEAH JUST TAKE OFF.

GO AHEAD THERE’S NO REASON THIS WOULD BOTHER ME.

I mean he IS super powered right now but like...

Like...WTF?

4 SEASONS. 4 SEASONS I thought this guy was glued to Yugi like Peter Pan’s Shadow and apparently--he can bounce.

Can Pharaoh do this every time Yugi asks Tea out on a date and tries to instead make the ghost in his head do all the work now? Can Pharaoh just be like “NOPE” and then phase out of the house, leaving Yugi to actually do the hard stuff?

It really adds a level of complexity to their relationship if Yugi can get a room.

(If not a room for romance, but at the very least a room to poop in.)

OR has he been able to allow Yugi to wicked poop in peace this whole time, but the show just never felt like telling us because they felt like it wasn’t important (although it is crazy important)?

Either way I am just...floored at this character development.

Yami just let Yugi out of his sight for like...I want to say 8 full minutes. Just incredible amount of trust on Yami’s part. Incredible. Knowing Yugi’s track record, he should have died in those 8 minutes but...he was being babysat by both Kaiba and Joey.

So Yami summons the Gods and they shoot lasers--you kinda expect this sort of thing.

And this is...probably...the real reason why Dartz didn’t bother trying to attack Pharaoh 5,000 years ago.

I can still think it’s because of Bakura but like...this is probably the real reason. It felt pretty chump to just shoot a laser at the bastard. Pharaoh just had to be reminded that this is a thing he can just do. If he felt like it.

Which he never feels like doing, because he’s too busy watching Yugi’s every move, and getting distracted by High School shenanigans.

After this happens, the giant snake falls to the ocean, splitting into just sooooooo many ghosts.

Over 7.8 billion ghosts, if we’re to assume that this is most of the population on Earth.

(thinking the weird-o in the hat is probably a Duel Monsters card? The duel monsters were throwing themselves into the Leviathan at one point so this is probably like a dark magician boy or something...I just don’t get very attached to the monster cards so it was like...whatever. The cards die like constantly so who cares?)

It is a pretty set dressing. Like Christmas lights but...dead people.

We also find out that the lost family of our minibosses Alister and Raphael, have indeed spent the last many years inside the Leviathan stomach, which is pretty tragic. We get a bitter sweet conclusion to Alister and Raphael’s story--although it’s not a full on ending for either character. Their life still hella sucks, they are in therapy for basically forever.

Where is Gurimo?

I don’t know what sort of job or life these two are qualified to have now, but youknow...Marik’s boat probably has jobs available.

Hold up. Can we talk about the windows?

I know absolutely none of you care about this, but I do, not to be picky or condescending to an overworked art team, but because I just want to know what they were trying to aim for.

There’s an iron stained glass style windowpane thing going on and that’s what’s really getting me. Like...I know these guys were technologically advanced, but why did you use this WW2 background? What happened to Ancient Greece that you were doing before?

Like doing a super past with future tech is so cool to me--I love that sort of concept art. That’s going into like Black Panther stuff where you’re referencing the earliest stuff in Africa and then blending it with stuff beyond our science. But Atlantis is a real big shrug and a “listen we ran out of time and had to press print,” and it’s such a shame. It feels less cohesive than even when this show does Egypt.

And yo this show and how it draws ancient Egypt--I feel like I’ve already talked about that. I have a feeling I’m going to talk a lot more about it next season. I’ll get to it when we get to it. I’m hoping that they have more time and budget to actually DO Egypt for once. (I say knowing they won’t)

Like it’s one of those things where this isn’t a history show, like at all, and it’s very much a fantasy. I’m not going to be like those sewing people on youtube that get annoyed because their TV show doesn’t have handsewn stitching in their Victorian bodices they rented from the costume department from an LA discount warehouse. Because, yo, it’s TV, and I can stretch my own imagination because it’s acting. (although I confess, I watch every single one of those videos).

But...the potential, y’all...the potential.

Anyway, Dartz isn’t dead. He was just taking his toot sweet time getting down the steps of his Gazebo.

This is where things get very anime. I get this problem a lot with anime, I really do--and maybe it’s just me. But like...sometimes it feels like anime changes the rules during the boss fight.

That happens a lot, right? Where suddenly the final boss reveals something that like...should have been addressed way earlier? And he’s alive but you don’t get why?

Anyway, Pharaoh reacts by getting maybe way too attached to his newfound independence.

Which like...I can understand Tea forgetting that Yugi is one people that is two people all the time, but the writers as well?

And what’s kind of great about this scene is that Dartz does see Yugi as two people here. He doesn’t look at Yugi, he looks at both. When Pharaoh is like “Leave me, Yugi!” Dartz heard all of that.

Just kind of a neat thing that we finally have a dude that can just...see Pharaoh for what he is, but it probably won’t matter because there’s like only one more episode left of this season.

Anyway, Pharaoh and Dartz have a chat about where evil comes from...and like...it’s some Yugioh lore, all right.

So before the show decides to give us the Genesis on Yugioh and reveal where the evil of the Orichalcos comes from, or if all evil was created by Orichalcos itself (which is IMPLYING stuff about Orichalcos) the snake shuts him the hell up.

As it should. Leave that Pandora’s box freakin closed. That’s going into extended universe of Star Wars books territory (RIP.)

As an aside--pretty sure that Yugi is standing outside that tornado. Maybe it was just the editing of the episode but like...

Yo I’m pretty sure Yugi is just standing there. For the first time, it’s not his nuts getting roasted. Wow. Tables have turned so much since he was dead.

Anyway, here’s the link for new people so you can read these in order

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

There’s only one left! We can do it! We can finish this season in 2020! And actually get back to recapping Full Metal Alchemist! ~~Woooo~~

Oh man that movie better still be on Netflix or I’ll have to buy it lolol.

[casascaytestt]

argentnaivety :

It really had been a tough day. Out of pent-up frustration, Silver went ahead and exhausted himself and didn’t allow himself time to catch a break. It was just one of those days where he felt a little… inexistent. He felt like he was weak. His mind boiled over the assumption that he was one of the many heroes in this world but not one with a name as valorous as certain friends he had always considered his equals.

Silver never felt like he was as good as Sonic or Shadow, or had the initiative like Amy, the steadfastness of Knuckles… He played it off like he did. He felt like he put up this facade of a hero that was confident– but really his actions were out of determination rather than having faith in himself.

While he trained alone on the outskirts of their temporary base, he fantasized about some amazing battle where he could show how much of a capable ally he was. After continuing to embarrass himself over and over these past weeks, all he wanted was to find a way to redeem it all. There was fear that when the time came for plans to be thought-up and missions to be completed, Silver would get left behind.

He adjusted his heated cuffs while the darkness of night settled in. It wouldn’t take much for a pair of emerald eyes to catch onto the glowing cyan of Silver’s gear in the approaching darkness. The feel of another’s touch on him startled him a little, but then immediate contentment once he knew who it was. A soft smile like a child who was being praised. He knew they were just checking up on him, and frankly the gesture made him feel a little more in-place in that moment. Perhaps he would have seen it a little strange coming from them, but he didn’t think about it like that; his mind was in too many other places. Hopefully Sonic couldn’t see the dampness that was still at the bottom of Silver’s tired eyes.

“ I can’t promise that. I always work myself too hard if it’s to reach a goal that’s really important to me.” His voice seemed different; he looked away before Sonic could take note of all the weird emotions shifting around on his face. “ All I did was move some boulders around. Some logs. Some other stuff. I didn’t hurt anything. ” Except his poor brain; that headache was going to hit him hard tonight.

“ Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. ” There wasn’t any intention to push Sonic away, but he didn’t want to show more weakness than he already felt he was. And to him of all people. Sympathy from his‘ peers ’ was the last thing he needed. He just wanted to know he was good enough.

He could recognize a dismissal when he saw one, could see that Silver may prefer to be left alone right now. He knew, but...while he strove to always respect the boundaries of his friends ( knew that not everyone had the same tolerance for sociability as he, and that space was something people needed at times ) another thing he could recognize was when people needed help  — even if they may not want it. ( but he’s never been able to ignore those in need of a hand. and for all the running and dashing he did, he would always take the time to stop for his friends if they need him to )

And there was a reason that he was hailed as a HERO. That the tales of the Blue Blur reached across the globe. He wielded speed and strength and drive that came easy to him, that only grew evermore as time passed on, and saving people was an instinct that came from the core of who he was. But, he never thought that the title of ‘hero’ suited him most. Not when in actuality he was just a speedy hedgehog looking for adventure. ( he was well aware of his reputation. sometimes even basked in the attention. but it was in these moments that he treasured the most. where he was simply beside those he cared for, not as the hero of mobius, but as himself, just another guy like everybody else )

Besides, there wasn’t anything heroic about being a friend. And he’d choose the comfort and warmth of friendship over the cheers and praise heroism any day. And right now? Silver looked like he could use a friend. 

“Hey now, working yourself too hard is never a good thing, Silvs.” It brought forth concern for the other hedgehog, because perhaps it was a just his imagination, but didn’t Silver look a bit too exhausted right now? Shifting just a bit closer to the other, Sonic tries to catch golden eyes, hoping to get a better look at the other’s expression in order to get a better read. It was — worrying. The fact that Silver could say he’d push himself beyond limits so nonchalantly. As if that was something expected of him. ( and Sonic knew all too well of expectations, of how they could be met with pride, could give you a boost when you need it the most. but, also how they could weight so much. burden you during every move you make, echo in your thoughts of how much faster you should be. of how much stronger you should be. of how much better you should be. and how you are never, ever, enough. ) 

And if that was anything like how Silver was currently feeling ( and how could it not be, Sonic realizes. after all, the other had the entire future resting on his shoulders ) then Sonic wanted to give him as much reassurance as he could. ( because Silver was good. was getting stronger every day, but was also plenty strong enough already. had already accomplished so much, a true hero in the purest sense of the word ) 

“I never tried moving boulders and logs with my mind before, but sure doesn’t seem like a simple run around station square. So maybe try and rest for a bit tomorrow. After all, you’ve already made a lot of progress that it’s impressive. Leave some growing for the rest of us, will you?” And he grins, hoping to add some cheer for the other, but he hopes his words are taken sincerely, because he means it. “I’m proud of you, Silver. But we kind of need you out there, you know? So don’t take yourself out of the fight early. Every hero needs their rest, too.” 

[mobius-prime]

161. Sonic the Hedgehog #93

Crime 'N Punishment

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: FRY Colors: Frank Gagliardo

Sonic races back to Knothole after his fight with Ken, wracked with guilt both over the king's injuries from the previous day, and from losing the sword today. That said, he's still not ready to face the consequences of his actions, as he's completely outraged when he exits the Great Oak Slide straight into a net waiting to catch him.

That's one hell of a way to try to put someone under arrest, Geoffrey. Imagine if real life cops just slung a net over anyone they wanted to arrest. Sonic angrily insists he doesn't have to answer to Geoffrey, but then Elias shows up, saying he does have to answer to someone after all…

Within Robotropolis, Eggman welcomes the crowd of Overlanders into his city, though the little girl, Hope, finds herself feeling uneasy. As Eggman invites the members of his immediate family into the palace to offer them a "luxury suite," beneath the city streets, Kodos continues to celebrate his acquisition of the Sword of Acorns.

Might wanna be careful of what you say when you've got a sneaky ninja spider hanging around you, buddy boy. In Knothole, Sonic tries to insist to Elias that he wants to speak to Sally before anyone else, but Elias says that whatever he has to say to her can be said to him instead, since he's the acting ruler. Sonic thus imagines himself apologizing tenderly to Sally while holding her close, and, deciding that that is definitely not something he wants to do with Elias, races off, which angers Geoffrey, though Elias says to let him go for now. Sonic is caught up in his depressed thoughts as he runs, until Mina happily races toward him, shouting that she's glad he's not in jail. However, she finds herself unable to control her speed as she runs, and crashes straight into Sonic.

IS THIS A LOVE TRIANGLE I SMELL? Man, I'm sorry Mina, I love you, but I cannot stand love triangles. Y'all already know this. Apparently Mina was actually originally introduced to the comic with the intent to make her a romantic rival for Sonic's affections against Sally, and so for a little while, we're gonna be dealing with that, until Mina is able to get her own characterization apart from being a love interest. Anyway, at that moment Antoine and Bunnie show up, having just returned from their trip to Mercia with the High Sheriff in tow, bound in ropes, because damn, if high quality mechanical restraints designed by the most advanced race on the planet aren't enough to keep a violent and powerful Robian in check, surely some plain old cordage from Home Depot will do! They say they have to speak to the king at once concerning their new prisoner, but Nate arrives as well, explaining to them that the king is paralyzed and Elias is acting ruler for now. Sonic becomes guilt-ridden once again, and to his everlasting credit, Antoine immediately, without first finding out the story behind Sonic's mood, says that he doesn't believe any of this can be Sonic's fault. With the strong, almost hateful-at-times rivalry that these two were depicted having in the original SatAM cartoon, I absolutely love the respect and friendship between Sonic and Antoine in the comics. Antoine in particular is just a much more well-treated character by the writers, who give him proper character development and depth every chance they get, instead of just having him be the Cowardly Frenchman. (Don't get me wrong, Antoine in the show was hilarious, but he really gets the proper love he deserves in the comics.) Anyway, Sonic explains both the king's injuries and the loss of the sword to everyone present, and when Nate tries to reassure him that the king shouldn't have even gone into battle anyway, Sonic suddenly stands and races off, saying he's going to do what he should have done from the start. Meanwhile, back underneath Robotropolis…

You may have messed up big time, Kodos. Elias and Geoffrey approach the queen and Sally to inform them of what Sonic has done, and Sally is shocked to hear the news. She starts to ask what she should do to rectify the situation before catching herself and asking instead what Elias plans to do. Her mother tells her not to worry, and leads her away, while Geoffrey gets his chance to address Elias alone.

I've never agreed so much with such an asshole before. He's basically said exactly what I've been saying this entire time - Sally is the one who has the necessary leadership experience. She ran a whole freakin' rebellion on her own when she was a kid, for crying out loud. However, I draw the line at Geoffrey's plan to basically install himself as a shadow ruler from behind the scenes. Geoffrey is known to be far too harsh in situations which don't call for harshness, and though he has leadership experience of his own, leading the Rebel Underground during Robotnik's reign, he's far less qualified to handle the running of an entire kingdom than he is at leading a small squad of covert operatives.

Back in Robotropolis, Eggman welcomes Colin, Lady Agnes (the woman Sonic saved last issue), and Hope into his palace. Colin explains who the other two are, but it's a bit confusing so I'll give my own spin on things. Colin is Snively's father. We don’t yet know who the mother was, but she isn't in the picture as of now. While in space, he remarried to another woman which made Hope his step-daughter, but that wife died before they reached their home planet once more. Lady Agnes, Hope's grandmother, is his mother-in-law as a result of the marriage. And in all of this, remember that Eggman/Robotnik is Colin's brother, which would essentially make Hope his step-niece. Enough about their weird-ass family history, though - in Knothole, Sonic races back to Elias and admits his guilt in stealing the sword, presenting himself for arrest. Elias, however, instead of arresting him, strips him of his knighthood and tells him that from now on he's confined to Knothole as a minor, all while Geoffrey smirks in the background. Come on, Geoffrey, you were actually acting chill there for a while back when Sonic was actually knighted, why are you going back to your old asshole ways? Sigh…

Bagging the Big One

Writer/Pencils/Colors: Ken Penders

I think this is the first time we've ever had a story where all the work was done by one individual. Unfortunately, that individual happens to be Penders, who has decided to take the laziest approach to his work possible. Seriously - the backgrounds for the majority of the panels are photos of real world landscapes, onto which the comic characters are awkwardly superimposed, making them look incredibly out of place. It's all just… really, really bad. I went ahead and chose some choice panels that demonstrate just how bad it is so y'all can see for yourselves!

Anyway, remember Charmy the Bee? You might not, since he's been ignored by the comic for so long by now, but he still exists, I can assure you! You might also not remember that he's a freaking prince engaged to another bee called Saffron, because Ken Penders is insane. Charmy and Saffron are lounging in a photograph of a field talking about their future children (YES, REALLY) when a flash of light interrupts them and Green Knuckles approaches them. They're surprised at his color swap, and as Charmy introduces him to Saffron, we see the three of them through a set of crosshairs from afar. Yes, that's right, Nack and Nic have tracked Knuckles to this spot with the information the Albion council provided them. Nic wants to take Knuckles down immediately, but Nack admonishes her for not playing dirty enough, and leaves her to her sniper's perch as he approaches the trio. Knuckles, meanwhile, is explaining his new look, as well as the disappearance of the Floating Island.

This next part drives me nuts, because Nack concocts some story about his aircraft breaking down and needing help repairing it, and Knuckles does not suspect a thing, even though he first saw (and punched) him all the way back during the Sonic Triple Trouble special! Granted, it's not like he ever exchanged direct words with him, and I guess you could say it's been years and he's forgotten or something, but you'd think someone who's supposedly as smart as Knuckles would recognize the face of someone he punched off his island previously. Anyway, Knuckles tries to brush Nack off, saying he doesn't have time to help, and in response Nack makes the very smart decision to throw a knife into the grass at Knuckles' feet where he could easily grab it if he wants to. Knuckles does just that, but then listens as Nack informs him that his partner has Charmy and Saffron in her sights and that Knuckles will come with him if he wants his friends to live. Knuckles reluctantly does so, and as they walk over to Nic, Nack reveals that he knows that Knuckles is the Guardian. This shocks Knuckles, who wonders how he even knows about that in the first place, and then we come to perhaps one of my least favorite pages in the entire comic, for a variety of reasons.

First of all - stop with the photo backgrounds, Penders, they look horribly out of place and incredibly ugly. Second of all, the actual art is awkward-looking as hell - for one, Knuckles just looks like he's amiably offering up his wrists for the handcuffs instead of seeming shocked. Third of all, Gala-Na, instead of being reasonable about the whole thing, has again shown herself to be a horrible person. Again, if she just took the time to try to reason with Knuckles, talk to him, offer him advice and help him with his newfound powers, he would probably listen, because he's confused and scared and in want of guidance from people who know more about this stuff than he does! But no, instead she's decided to lock him into a Chaos Syphon against his will, acting like it's some difficult decision for her to make when she's not the one who has to deal with the consequences on her very life and being.

And finally, we come to Yanar. To the image of Yanar, whom Athair once considered so close as to be his own son, whom Knuckles trusted and helped to reach his final destination after generations of wandering without a purpose, who has acted as an ally and even a friend before this moment - Yanar, handing over payment to Nic and Nack the Weasels, in exchange for helping them capture Knuckles to drain him of his power for Gala-Na's own peace of mind. Handing over the payment and ignoring the shocked and betrayed Knuckles behind him, turning his back quite literally on the one person who helped him and all of his people find their home after so long. He's decided that he likes his new home so much that he'll even betray the one who helped him get there. This was the exact moment I realized I hated Yanar. Even more than Gala-Na, I hate him. At least Gala-Na has the excuse of not being attached to Knuckles personally. If you ask me, Knuckles doesn’t show nearly enough anger, hurt, and betrayal from this event. Way to follow in the footsteps of your adoptive father Athair, asshole. You know, the one who actually cares about his family even though so many of them have turned their backs on him? What a complete piece of garbage. Sorry, I know this isn't actually even commentary on the quality of the comic and it's just me personally being all salty at the actions of one character, but I feel really strongly about this one. Just… screw you, Yanar.

[glapplebloom]

Since I decided to cancel this on Patreon, I’ve decided to make a Special Edition version for everyone, with week early access for Patreon Supporters. And this is the chapter that begins it all.

In the World of Kirby, Meta Knight receives the flash containing the message. Being someone who has traveled the vastness of space, he knows a week Universal Time translates to three days on Popstar. Knowing he does not have a lot of time, he gathers everyone he could. In the next day, all who he can find were gathered. Dedede and a large portion of his army was there. Blade Knight, Sword Knight and Silica were by his side as always. And Kirby, Tiff, Tuff, Lololo, Lalala, ChuChu, Knuckle Joe and Gooey were there. Anyone else he could find were either sick or busy with their own things.

Meta: I have gathered you all here for a very important reason. An entity known as the Cosmic Vizier informed me that we have to form a Ten Person team and win a competition or else his master known as Genisis will wipe out our universe.

The crowd is shocked and scared of the news.

Meta: I am already on the team, so we need nine volunteers.

Dedede: Well, all we need is me and my Army to take care of this!

Dedede turned around to see his army shivering in fear. The only one not to do so is Bandanna Dee. He salutes to indicate he is joining the team.

Dedede: Well, he's practically an army on his own.

Blade: Sword Knight and I are willing to fight by your side Meta Knight!

Silica: As will I!

Joe: You can count me in as well!

Kirby: Poyo!

Gooey: Blub!

And in such a short time, a team of one has increased to a team of nine. But after that, no one else wanted to volunteer.

Meta: No one else wish to help.

Tuff: No offense, but the rest of us just can't help.

Tiff: I can summon a Warp Star for Kirby, but outside that I can't provide much help.

Chu: And as much as I want to fight alongside Kirby, I can't keep up with all of you.

Tiff: You nine are the best fighters we have. I don't think there is anyone on Popstar who can help this team.

Meta: Hmm... Anyone on Popstar did you say...

In space, a few hours later, a strange female is floating in space. In one hand, she has a container with the remnants of the Amalgamate. In another, what appears to be a cell phone.

Susie: I'm telling you, this stuff will do wonders for your business. If you mass produce it you could...

She then spots in the distance Meta Knight.

Susie: I'll call you back. Something came up.

She hangs up and puts the cell phone away before Meta Knight arrived.

Susie: Hello Meta Knight. Finally decided to take up my offer? I have the designs for Mecha Knight++ and with a little work.

Meta: We have no time for that. Our universe is in danger and we need one more member of our team to save this world.

Susie: Wait. You're seriously forming a team with those primitives? Do you want to lose?

Meta: Those primitives as you say did defeat your father. And you know what Kirby is capable of.

Susie: Yeah, Pinky is impressive. So I take it you want one of our machines.

Meta: More precisely, you.

Susie: Come again.

Meta: Machines can only do so much unless they have the right user. And you know well and good you were more responsible for my capture than your machines.

Susie: Alright. Someone has to carry your team to victory. Might as well be me.

When the three days pass, the Team Meta Knight assembled enter the portal to their fated destinies. But it is not only their world that found it easy to assemble a team. In a world similar to Akuma’s, this world’s Kari was the one who learned the final lesson instead of Akuma. And it is Kari who received the flash.

Seto: What’s wrong?

Kari: We have to form a team or else our Universe is in danger.

In a day, she has gathered her team. Chosen by Kari is Seto: the son of herself and this world’s Akuma. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Shadow: versions who are closer to their game version than the AkumaVerse. Metal Sonic: reprogrammed by Tails who was responsible for this world’s Akuma’s death. Ova: an entity similar to that of the Undertaker. And Seiya: a Diclonius who remains undefeated in battle.

Kari: I received a flash with a message. We must create a team of 10 to win a battle royal or else our Universe will be destroyed.

The group gasped at the news. Some looked worried while only Seiya seemed to enjoy the idea.

Seiya: This sounds fun.

Ova: Can’t we fight this thing?

Kari: For any of us to be able to, we need a lot more than the 10 of us to put up a fight. And we don’t know if these other universes will be willing to do that.

Sonic: Why not call that other universe? I’m sure that Akuma will jump at the chance at fighting something like that.

Kari: If we did that, there could be a chance their universe will be dragged into this too. And we shouldn’t risk theirs too.

Ova: Should we prepare an evacuation? In case we fail?

Shadow: Evacuate an entire universe in how many days?

Kari: 9 days.

Tails: It does seem like a tall order.

Sonic: Then that just means we can’t lose!

Kari: So for the next few days, prepare yourselves. We have a universe to save… And others to condemn.

At the end of the following day, the portal opened for Kari. This caught her off guard because she expected 10 days and not 3. She informs the others of this news and despite being off guard, they are able to arrive when called. They were hoping for more time, but they accepted that it was time and entered together. 

The 7th universe in this Tournament is a world where Silver Fox came from. Specifically a world where a more powerful version took over and nearly conquered the planet. He was eventually foiled and the feud between Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters ended with a peaceful Treaty. Sally Acorn is the one to receive the flash for this Universe.

 Sally thought it was of nothing, but she soon spots a small pool of water. What rose from it was the creature known as Chaos. While no one in this universe knows its purpose, it usually does arrive to help when things are at their gravest. And if it is here, then that flash was indeed true. She informed the others and while scared, they’re willing to risk their lives to save the universe. She also contacted Robotnik to aid the team. He provided a Robotic Sonic that he created to fight Silver Fox. The next day, he rebuilt the fake Sally he used in the past with some modifications for combat. What he promised was a third creation that will take more time. He was hoping to get Rotor’s help in building it since it requires two sets of hands to complete it not only in time but at all.

Near the end of the third day, the portal opens. This caught everyone unaware. With Robotnik’s final machine still needing days to create and Rotor’s aid, they are one person short. Robotnik was panicking as the others were thinking who could they get in short notice or hope that the 9 would be enough. Before settling on entering as 9, a wolf decided to step up. She was known as Lupe and since this peace treaty started, she was spying on Robotnik to ensure this was true. When she saw Sally asking for robotic aid, she soon began to spy on the Princess. She eventually found out about the Tournament and their current situation.

Sonic: Lupe! Long time no see!

Lupe: I would say the same, but that would not be true.

Bunnie: What do you mean sugar?

Lupe: I do not trust Robotnik. My Pack and I have been keeping an eye on him since we first heard of this treaty. Then I noticed you have been visiting him more frequently. And now you are here with two of his machines.

Sally: Lupe, inside that portal is a Tournament we have to win. If we don't, everything we know will cease to exist. If you truly want to protect your pack, you could help us. We are one person short and a full team is better than one less. Will you join us?

Lupe: It seems I have no choice. Besides...

She points towards Robotnik.

Lupe: Someone must make sure he does not betray us.

With the ten selected, the Freedom Fighters enter with a hope that they can return to their world.

[runmilder]

Henchman

AO3 link here

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU, DCU (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen Relationships: Dick Grayson/reader Tags: coffee dates, Mind Control, And Romance, oh my!, POV Second Person

Summary: 

Sometimes you’re the hero. Sometimes you’re the victim. And sometimes… sometimes you’re just the overpaid lackey.

Living in Gotham is a bit like living in the eye of an infinite hurricane. Sure, it’s calm for now, but you can see the wall of the storm on all sides, and you’re left to wonder if you have enough time to make it to the 7-Eleven and back before the next wave hits. Except instead of rain and wind, it’s going to be clowns or cultists or whatever the villain flavor of the week happens to be.

This week, it’s… eldritch creatures?

“Oh, for the love of—” You dodge a whip-like tentacle and stumble into the brick siding of the convenience store. There’s nothing particularly convenient about it when its barred windows shatter and shower you in a fine hail of glass. You cover your head, eyes shut, and wish you’d just eaten what was in your fridge.

Somewhere nearby, sirens wail.

Today, it seems, you’ve been caught out in the storm. And unlucky you, you forgot to bring your umbrella and Lovecraft survival guide.

Another dark, writhing shape launches itself at you, suckers flaring, and you lunge into an alley at a run. You’ve seen this anime. Doesn’t end well for hapless schoolgirls.

Ordinarily, dark alleys are a huge no-go in Gotham city, but “ordinary” doesn’t really cover this situation. Besides, if there’s a gun-toting thug behind a dumpster, you hope the many-limbed creature—creatures?—go for them first.

Something flies over your head, close enough that you can feel the downdraft. You duck belatedly, knees hitting the pavement. There’s a sound like someone hitting a wet sack with a bat, then a crackle, a shriek, and a smell of charred meat. And over it all, the pervasive scent of garbage.

Eau-de-Gotham.

You turn to see the broad back of one of the city’s many costumed crusaders, and if you had the breath to spare, you’d sigh in relief. Nightwing wails on one thick tentacle, batons lit up and buzzing.

“Keep going!” he shouts back at you, hurtling into the heart of the mess. From the mouth of the alley, you see someone in red joining the fray.

Calvary present, you waste no time in booking it the rest of the way down the alley, resolving to take the long way back to your apartment.

Back home, the news blathers on about a science experiment gone wrong or some shit—what else is new—and switches to an aerial view of shadowed figures just going to town on equally dark, inhuman shapes. You can see your local junk food stop to their right, its windows shattered. You bet if you open your own window, you’ll be able to hear some of the commotion.

Your microwave shrills, and you flick off the television with a long-suffering sigh.

Just another Tuesday in Gotham.

Wednesday brings with it a fair number of actual storms, and a date with your sort-of boyfriend.

“You look rough,” he says, taking in your rain-ravaged form.

“Dick,” you say as both address and acknowledgment of his entirely uncalled-for observation.

He grins. “I bought you a coffee.”

“You’re on thin ice, buddy.” You take the proffered cup anyway.

Dick is sitting by the window of the coffee shop, legs stretched out under the small table. You sit across from him and try to figure out how to arrange your own limbs without disturbing him. He takes a sip of his drink, clearly amused, before trapping your legs between both of his own and settling back with a smug look. You consider struggling for a moment, but you can feel his muscles flexing beneath the denim, and hoo boy, that’s not a battle you’d win. You lean back, adopting what you hope is an impassive look, but from the way Dick continues to radiate smug satisfaction, you think it’s a loss.

“So,” you say, hoping to guide this interaction back to neutral ground. “How’s work?”

“Work’s good.” He shrugs, and you try not to stare at the way his shirt tightens around his shoulders. “Routine stuff. Uneventful.” He never wants to talk about work. “How’s class?”

You groan. That question has hounded you for the past four years.

“I just signed up for my last semester. Can’t come soon enough, honestly.”

Dick nods. “You continuing with that internship in the spring?”

“Mhm.” You jiggle your cup, feeling the liquid slosh. “Dr. Irving wants to keep me on. Says I’m “good with the kids.””

“The “kids” being…”

“Her plants,” you say.

You both share a smirk.

Dick sobers. “Listen,” he says. “I was thinking���”

“Dangerous.”

“Seriously.” His legs tighten around yours. “What if you had another offer?”

“Paying what she does? In this economy?” Your laugh is only half mocking. “Honestly, I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop there, but until then…” You raise your cup in a salute.

Dick leans forward. “What about double?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What if you were offered double what you’re making with the good doctor to… what? Water her plants and stay out of her way?”

Your mind blanks. “Uhh…”

Sounds shady as hell. You already feel like you’re getting away with highway robbery with what Dr. Irving is paying you. Or, at least, what her research lab is paying you. And also, rude, you do more than water plants and make yourself scarce.

You also make ungodly amounts of herbal tea.

“I… like all of my organs?” you finally say.

“I said a job, babe, not a back-alley procedure.”

“Actually, you said “offer,” which sounds infinitely more ominous.”

His eye-roll is more of a full-head-roll, and when his neck stretches, you catch sight of a discolored spot on the skin beneath his jaw.

“Is that a… hickey?” you say slowly. It doesn’t really look like a hickey. It actually looks like he was shot in the neck with a giant suction cup dart.

He claps a hand over the spot. “Um. N-yeah.”

“Nyeah?” You narrow your eyes.

This isn’t even about the possibility of Dick necking another person—a person with a lamprey mouth, apparently—as you’re not exactly clear on the parameters of your relationship. Such as it is. It’s just that the spot on his neck is niggling at something in your brain. His reaction is equally suspicious, although he locks it up pretty fast.

“Sorry, I—” He looks pained. “Stuff… happened last night. It was… electric.” The flat tone of his voice belies his words.

You open your mouth. Close it.

Is this where you ask for clarification about the two of you? Broach the topic of exclusivity?

…Why does this feel like one of those situations where a guy claims to have been watching porn when he’s really been watching something weirdly hard to explain, like Teletubby conspiracy theories?

“Dick, what’s really goi—” you start, but a low-tone buzz interrupts you, and Dick already has his discrete work phone in hand, eyes flicking over the screen.

He mutters something under his breath. “Look, I have to—” He looks at you, grimacing. “I am so, so sorry. I don’t mean to ditch you after—” He waves a hand to encompass the tense air between you.

You frown, confused and frustrated. You definitely feel like you’re missing something.

Dick slides his chair back, his legs detangling themselves from yours in one deft movement.

“Can I call you later?” he asks. The expression on his face speaks volumes for what answer he expects.

You surprise him by nodding. You’re still staring at the angry mark.

He lets out a short breath through his nose. “I—okay. Good.” He bends over you for a second, hesitating, before pecking you on the head. “Stay dry.”

And then he’s gone.

You’re left with half a cup of cooling coffee and a head full of questions.

Dr. Paula Irving is a little prickly, but also mostly absent, so she’s pretty much the best boss ever. When you were flipping through internship applications, S.T.A.R. Lab’s jumped out because—hello, “paid.” Right there in print. You weren’t sure what pittance could be expected for a botanist’s undergrad assistant, so when you interviewed—first with the lab, and then with the scientist herself—and she told you the sum, your jaw nearly hit the floor.

“It’s an incentive,” she said, eyes looking through you. “Treat them well.”

You didn’t care at that point whether her plants required only the blood of virgins—you were getting this internship, dammit.

Thankfully, the lab’s greenhouse inhabitants need only the usual upkeep: sunlight, water, and occasional pruning. You spend the first week learning the ins and outs of plant care under your employer’s watchful eye, and after that, you are left to your duties in silence. It’s calm, methodical work, and the green space is always nap-weather warm. It’s nice.

Sometimes, when you’ve finished tending the plants, you’re to help Dr. Irving with… whatever it is that she’s doing. It mostly involves you wearing protective gear in the little white tent she’s erected and keeping the temperature steady on the vials of plant extracts that she’s examining. Occasionally, she even trusts you with a small knife, and you dice what looks like diseased plant pieces and put them on microscope slides. She never bothers to explain what she’s working towards, and you’re not getting paid to ask questions.

It’s kind of a soap-bubble existence.

That being said, you don’t expect it to pop as it does.

“Hey, Doc, sorry I’m late. There was a guy with sonic weapons on my normal route, and my taxi had to—” You stutter to a halt, taking in the scene.

Normally, your employer is dressed to kill—business skirts, heels, the whole nine yards—but today she seems to be taking the saying a little more seriously.

“I’ll just...” You make a grab for the door handle, looking to make a speedy exit.

A vine darts out to cinch your arms to your waist. You suck in a shallow breath and wonder what it is about you and tentacle-like things lately. At least the vine doesn’t have suckers on it.

Wait—

“Now this is unfortunate,” Poison Ivy née Paula Irving says, shattering your thoughts. She glides closer, plants blooming in her wake. You feel like you’re looking at some carnal painting of Eve, all leaves and bare skin. “I had hoped to avoid complications like this. Keep my work and home life separate, if you will.”

You knew this job was too good to be true. Science credits and competitive pay? You should have just taken out a loan.

“Look, I won’t tell anyone—” you say, the words tumbling out before you can catch them. You really don’t want to find out what it feels like to have vines grow up your sinus cavities and into your brain.

“Of course not, sweet thing.” The woman has a smile as poisonous as her name. She strokes a hand down your face. “We’re going to make sure of it.”

The puff of pollen isn’t what you’re expecting. You sneeze, once.

Then things get a little… hazy.

“Now we have a lot to do today, and I’m going to need you to be a very good helper.”

You find yourself nodding. You can be a good helper. You can be a great helper.

Something soft pats your cheek. “That’s what I like to hear.”

There’s something wrong.

Dr. Irv—Pam—seems unfazed, and she would know—she knows everything—but there’s still… something. You pause in your fiddling with a line of heating concoctions, head spinning. It’s like a ringing in your ears. Like a ringing in your whole head.

“Don’t let that extract burn,” Pam says sharply, and the moment is lost.

You adjust the temperature, happy to be of help.

You’re not sure how long you’ve been here, but it’s not important. Pam says you’re close—so close—to completion, and it would be a shame to stop now.

You agree. Why leave when you could be here, helping?

Some distant message in your brain pings, but you send it straight to voicemail. You have the brief thought that maybe you should sit down, but there are no chairs here, and you can’t just leave. Pam says you should stay in this room, and that seems reasonable. There’s too much to do.

Something pings again, and this time it’s not in your head.

“Be a dear and turn off your phone, would you? It’s bad lab manners,” Pam says. She doesn’t look up from her slides.

You float over to your shoulder bag, feeling mortified. You didn’t turn off your phone! Pam must think you’re so rude. Maybe you should throw your phone in the garbage.

Yeah, that seems like the best course of action.

You reach for the power button, but the screen lights up again, another message coming in. You blink. There are… a lot of missed messages. That seems important, somehow.

“Something wrong?” Pam asks, suddenly beside you.

You start, and the screen goes black. You stare at the dark shape for a handful of seconds, unseeing, before giving a shrug and tossing it into the waste bin.

“It’s not important,” you say, smiling up at the woman.

“Hm.” She peers into your eyes for a moment, and you smell something cloying, like roses and overripe fruit, before she turns away. You waver in place, the ground bucking beneath you.

It’s not importa—

You’re happy to hel—

You pitch forward, losing the battle with your own equilibrium.

Something warm catches you around your waste.

“Easy there,” a vaguely familiar voice says in your ear.

The room around you shifts again. You feel like you should tell someone that you’re feeling a little under the weather, but your tongue grew wings and flew away, and you’re not sure about the state of your vocal cords. There’s suddenly a lot more green in your field of vision, and that seems cheerful.

“I can’t say I’m glad to see you, little bird.”

Oh, but Pam doesn’t seem to be cheerful at all. Your fingers twitch in sympathy. You can’t seem to manage much more than that.

“”Little” from whose perspective, Doctor Irving?”

No one seems very happy, actually. Such a shame, because other than your general inability to do anything, you feel great.

“I’m surprised it took you so long, honestly,” Pam says. “I thought one of your kind would come flying in here half-cocked weeks ago.”

There’s some maneuvering, and you’re lifted so that Pam is no longer in your line of sight—you’d frown if you still had lips, but you think they hitched a ride with your tongue—and you are instead looking up at a man in a mask.

Or, more specifically, you’re looking up at a masked man’s jaw and mouth.

“’ey,” you slur.

Blue eyes blink down at you, momentarily distracted. “What did you do?”

You’re not sure what he means. You’ve only been helping; he doesn’t have to sound so harsh—

“Just a little plant coercion,” Pam says airily. “Nothing permanent, if you’re so concerned.”

Oh. No one’s angry at you. That’s good.

The lips continue to frown. The shape of them is familiar, and you feel like you’ve thought about them before. At length.

“Dick,” you say muzzily.

The look now aimed at you is one of alarm.

“Are you kidding me?” your sort-of boyfriend hisses through his teeth.

You wonder why he’s wearing the mask. You like his face. It’s a good face.

Some of that thought must find its way out of your mouth, because there's a shushing noise—rude—and suddenly you’re in motion.

“Don’t think you’re getting away with this, Ivy,” Dick throws over his shoulder.

There’s a feminine scoff behind him. “You think you can just come and go as you please, don’t you? Men.”

Your free ride gets a lot rougher when vines start snapping toward Dick’s feet. He dashes out of the lab, dodging encroaching flora, and you resolve to close your eyes and hope for the best. You’re sad that Pam’s upset, but Dick is here now, and you really like Dick.

“I r’ly li’e you,” you say, because it’s important that he knows.

“Your timing,” Dick pants, tucking you in closer, “leaves something to be desired.”

“Mm.” You’d say more—something about his mouth, maybe—but something is tugging you down, down, down into darkness, and you see no reason to resist.

Dick will keep you safe.

“—orked for Poison Ivy for months without suspecting her, and I show up and get pegged in minutes. Even after the drugs!”

You’re not sure what death feels like, but you think you might be experiencing it.

“Eugh,” you can’t help but groan when you go to scrape your eyelids open. Too bright.

There’s the sound of footsteps and a hand on your forehead.

“Hey, take it easy, you’ve been out for a while.”

“Dick?” you ask, eyes still firmly winched shut. Your mind’s all jumbled, and your sinuses feel like they’ve been hit with spring allergies.

There’s a pregnant pause.

“…Yeah. About that.”

You crack an eye open.

“Oh,” you say, mouth dry for a whole host of reasons. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Nightwing says with a wry grin. “We have a lot to talk about.”

The coffee shop is sunny today, and you have a disposition to match.

“Well someone looks chipper,” Dick says when you come strolling in, grin wide enough to split your face. “The interview went well, I assume?”

You bend and smack a kiss against his cheek, but when you go to take your seat, he snags an arm around you and reels you back in for a proper greeting.

“Mm,” you breathe against his mouth. “So good.”

“I know I am.” He winks and lets you go.

You roll your eyes. “I meant the interview, you doof. I swear, if your ego gets any bigger, we’ll have to roll it behind you in a wheelbarrow.”

His ankles stretch out to link around one of your own. His smile is entirely unapologetic.

“So, you got the job?”

“Dick, your dad runs the company. Of course I got the job.”

“Nah, he didn’t have to pull any strings for this. You did it all on your own.”

You have to look down to avoid the warm look in his eyes. You might be blushing.

“Wanna celebrate tonight? My treat.” He waggles his eyebrows invitingly, as if you need coercing to accept the offer.

“Sure you don’t have any other dates tonight? Any eldtritch creatures you wanna get real personal with?”

Dick groans. “You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“I could be convinced to drop that particular instance. That I was so callously and impersonally seduced to out a super villain?” You give a haughty sniff and flip your hand in a so-so gesture. “Jury’s still out.”

Dick grabs your wavering hand and rubs his thumb over your knuckles. “I’m sorry it’s such an imposition for you.”

“Every day I suffer.”

He laughs, then. “Free up your schedule tonight,” he says, leaning in. “I’ll make it up to you.

The way his voice drops at the last has you shivering.

“I’ll… make some adjustments,” you say.

Gotham may be a hurricane, but you’re feeling weatherproof today.

[geek-gem]

A Serious Version Of Sonic Movie Sequel Ideas Explained

So had to click here again and I hope well I want the title to be truthful. Basically it's my thing about what I feel sequels would be. Just okay the movie isn't even out yet but I keep thinking ahead and this is in case.

But I wanted to talk about this and it relates to my post that silly one explaining events by the characters themselves. Along with relating to that Sonic movie Reddit leak whether true or not. Mainly I want to take advantage of this now and just have these ideas.

Including with the story taking liberties I'm want to build upon some stuff. Basically here's the trilogy. Along with a extra movie.

Spoilers for the Reddit leak because it references characters just in case or other things.

The first sequel. Stories taken from Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Heroes.

The first film and okay changed that last part text the first big text whatever. Wanted to change things up a bit and that change was a mistake I back spaced.

Yet the first film like the leak said the writers looked at Sonic stories mainly the Classic games and Sonic Adventure. The ones with the most are Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic Adventure.

The film takes place two years later. In 2021 almost left 201 but also the 30th anniversary of the Sonic franchise, 28th anniversary of Sonic CD Metal Sonic's first appearance, 20th anniversary of Sonic Adventure 2 Shadow's first appearance. Wanna say others but let's yet this over with.

Also seriously I keep thinking of that year as a sequel and in this timeline the 50 years not 6 but the many years after the Ark was raided not raised. Let me talk about this.

So it takes place after the first film where Sonic and his friends Tails, Amy, also new character Grant, along with Rouge and Madonna beat Dr. Eggman or Robotnik whatever name they use. Along with Perfect Chaos. With Sonic becoming Super Sonic.

The post credits scene is of Eggman building a big machine, looking at more manuscripts had to look on Google well YouTube at the top search had to use sonic unleashed gaia manuscripts almost forgot gaia. Including the end shows Metal Sonic being created.

Now here while he's building Metal Sonic, he also discovers about the government whether GUN or whatever are hiding something from the public relating to his grand father Gerald Robotnik. He then discovers Shadow.

Honestly knowing some Eggman fans I feel it's best to not have Eggman being tricked or whatever honestly this is different from Sonic Adventure 2.

Yet having Shadow and Metal Sonic. Also while I go with the theory GUN went after Sonic because they wanted to keep Shadow a secret. But just it's good to have both of these guys to help. Yet my silly post said people knew the difference or whatever with Metal Sonic and stuff.

Including Eggman tricks Knuckles into thinking Sonic is a bad person along with Tails and anyone else. Also Knuckles questioning why does Metal Sonic look more evil then Sonic. I've thought of this before but I guess Eggman saying to at least make him look different enough.

Including during the course of the movie while Eggman knows who Rouge is and she can't help them. Also theirs people who noticed some plotholes with her teaming up with Eggman and Shadow.

Yet during the course of the movie Shadow and Metal Sonic attack, and people thinking Metal could be Sonic until they find out it's a robot who looks like him. The people now start to think despite all of the good things Sonic has done. They were now thinking this is happening because of him. Theirs destruction that happens after battles, and people blaming Sonic that Metal Sonic was even born. They honestly want Sonic to be accounted for his actions.

Which actually at first Sonic does hear this stuff yet he understands and at times still helping. Also I don't wanna sound stupid at times doesn't listen some of them I don't wanna do that. Yet it's so much that he is actually thinking too deep into it.

Then connecting more into the first film. Mainly Sonic is met by Tikal's orb whenever he goes to some places even the old Echidna temple to go out and ease his mind. He's met by her and even Chaos in his normal form basically Chaos Zero. But after Sonic basically kicked his ass. Chaos then realized along with Tikal that the world changed. With the film introducing Chao but they aren't a big thing yet to Chaos they are. He's not angry anymore or not as much.

Was gonna write the thing about Sonic yet I wanna explain first this to connect and respect that in the games Chaos was angry for a reason. That he wasn't some random God Of Destruction and just this to be have audiences be aware of that lore.

Now the Sonic thing he talks to Tikal about the stuff of what's been going on. Also the themes and talks about scarifice. With Tikal despite everything she tried to stop. Chaos was angry and destroyed the world. So she had to make the choice of trapping herself in the Master Emerald wait....just....or just Tikal trapping herself with Chaos for thousands of years to make sure nobody was hurt.

I don't know well it seems to count. Yet basically sometimes scarifice comes in certain ways. Whether it be like that or other ways.

Shadow is basically still the same, being the Ultimate Lifeform and hating on humans and basically the world. With seeing his family and basically sister in a way Maria shot while trying to make sure he escaped. While still the same Shadow and trying to set up his supposed father's plans Gerald Robotnik's yet okay people say their some weird stuff with it such as why Chaos Emeralds always connected.

But basically the plan changes.

Metal Sonic is still the same thing. But basically as the film goes on he thinks a bit more for himself. Including of how his father Eggman treats him, and how this is basically getting him nowhere. Along with the obsession that he is the real Sonic.

Yet it's get more personal and he slowly losing it.

While it doesn't go the way of Sonic Heroes some people don't like how Eggman was trapped for most of the game.

Also theirs this theme with Shadow and Metal how they are similar. Both weapons in a way. Including with different relationships with certain families. With different goals.

Including Knuckles okay he figures out what's going with the Master Emerald being stolen. So he teams up with Sonic and friends. Including let's have half of the moon blown up still in a way.

Yet instead of some stuff. Okay just thought of this Gerald's video is released early and everyone figures out what's going on with Shadow.

Including Metal Sonic in secret studying Sonic, studying Shadow, and maybe some Chaos but basically for the Biolizard he decides to absorb it's energy or something and the others see this or just he kills it.

This is a different route instead of what Metal Sonic did in Sonic Heroes.

I'm seriously thinking wow Metal Sonic botched Shadow's and Gerald's plan to destroy the Earth yet Eggman... honestly he wants the Earth for himself.

So Sonic with Amy a bit but Sonic tries to change Shadow's mind. Including this is on Earth but Shadow basically kicks his ass in a fight. Including Shadow is not accepting that Maria died and what her final wishes were. He's choosing to ignore them because he is so enraged and just can't let go of her.

But it's until Sonic even admits that Shadow is becoming the thing he hates and even others learning of Maria never wanted this. Along with Amy protecting Sonic reminding Shadow of what Maria did for her and fully remembering his final moments of seeing her and her final wishes of giving them a chance.

While still I guess feeling angry. Shadow decides to help. But Metal Sonic is almost ready just he's Neo Metal Sonic now and he's so bent on killing Sonic and furious of how his own father has treated him and the world. He tries to kill Eggman but Sonic stops him. Including going Super Sonic. With Shadow becoming Super later.

Along with Neo Metal Sonic becoming Metal Madness and Metal Overlord. With Metal Overlord still being so powerful. The only way to defeat him is to get to his core. Since having the energy of the Biolizard in him and other things.

Sonic realizes that they need to get closer. Yet with how Metal is their is a high possibility of death. But also to Chaos Control Metal Sonic or his core basically his heart out of the area.

Realizing that this might be the only way and the world is going to be destroyed soon. With the whole reason Metal Sonic is doing this is that he wants Sonic dead. Knowing he could die, he wants to save everyone even Eggman and everyone who basically hates him. Showing who he really is. He doesn't care of what people think of him. But he's going to do what he thinks is right.

So he does that almost left dies. Even with Shadow using all four of his rings but Sonic going in first and Shadow supposedly keeping Metal Sonic at bay. With Shadow not approving of what Sonic is doing and even everyone else but Eggman just being shocked by this.

He gets close enough to Metal, gets to his core and some spear or something not Chaos Spear but something maybe of something fallen off of Metal then thought something Tails built.

Including Metal supposedly stabs Sonic in a way and Metal saying he is the real Sonic. Including as he Metal develops more he learns to talk. But Sonic replies their are no Sonic's with everyone hearing them. Yet also meaning both him and Metal are dying. With Sonic finally saying Chaos Control.

It happens and the explosion and Sonic's death screams are so loud along with Metal Sonic's too go across the world and even break some glass with everyone hearing them and watching them. Also yeah have it in the sky since Metal Overlord flies. As the explosion goes off Shadow basically falls down a visual reference to his death from Sonic Adventure 2 but just now witnessing Sonic's scarifice yet he manages to fly a bit yet is weak a bit after using all four of his rings.

Metal Overlord comes crashing down dead basically. Yet okay just put Sonic saying Chaos Control now but Sonic is nowhere is sight. No body and nothing. Just okay the spear there. The world just witnessed Sonic just had scarificed himself.

They saw him scarificing himself dying, Metal Sonic and even Eggman finally got what they want Sonic supposedly dead but gone. Yet Metal Sonic but died doing so. Along with Shadow seeing this made him realized now. Maria scarificed her life to save him. Now Sonic just had scarificed himself but it wasn't one person it was the whole world. Along with Shadow himself. With that symbolism of Maria and Sonic while different did similar things. They both died doing what they thought was the right thing and saved a life in Maria's case and in Sonic's case everyone on the planet including Shadow. Who was basically going against Sonic and hated him.

Basically in a way that ending people think of for Sonic Adventure if Sonic had died but differently in a way.

The world is in sorrow. Even cameos for the fun of it like Princess Elise and no Sonic 06 did not happen in this universe. He met her during those two years and is friends with her. Along with Chris Thorndyke who he met too and was friends with him and his family. Basically those are cameos I personally put in there showing those two while some or a lot of people don't like them. Wanted to show them how they would feel at something like this and not stereotypes of them because I'm okay with them and I guess like them. Not the biggest fan okay basically oh head be nice it's a nice little cameo for people who like them and I wanted to treat them with respect.

Along with a cameo building Buddy/Gadget/Rookie from Sonic Forces before the events of that game happened and him reacting to these events too.

They built a memorial for Sonic and even a statue, the world mourns for Sonic's death, while Eggman would of wanting to kill Sonic himself. For the first time in his life. He is basically shocked by an action like this and confused. Because he wants to retain his douchey self and not care.

Including after witnessing that. Shadow now wants to now help the world. But not just by Maria's promise yet seeing first hand what someone like Sonic would do.

Basically now remembered thinking he failed Sonic is life but he won't fail him in death. Including even talking to his friends with Amy there too thinking he was the one who killed Sonic and telling them he's not asking them to forgive him. With Amy and the others being confused by this emotion. That Shadow actually blames himself for Sonic's death.

But the post credits scene or whatever is of showing Blaze seeing a dimenison portal being opened and her being concerned.

Just thought of this and almost forgot or just I remember and realized this is going to be long.

Sonic Mania Movie

Basically a movie adaptation of Sonic Mania I guess the next year 2022 with the third movie coming out later. Still thinking at times a Team Chaotix movie and Shadow movie. Maybe a Team Chaotix movie before the first sequel and oh Knuckles but no it's Team Chaotix still just new ideas.

2nd sequels stories taken from Sonic Rush and Sonic Forces and a bit of Sonic Rush Adventure

Had to look at the first big text thing. Basically the world is depressed after Sonic was okay just put the Sonic Rush Adventure thing. But okay the world is depressed after Sonic supposedly died. While in Sonic Mania from what I know the Phantom Ruby dropped in this dimenison where the main movies take place. So Eggman finds it and the comic where Infinite before he becomes of what he is. Him leasing Jackal Squad to raid Eggman until Infinite discovers what the Phantom Ruby can do like Eggman. With now Jackal Squad joining Eggman and his forces now.

Shadow I guess this takes place a year after Sonic's supposed death also hey 30th anniversary of Sonic 2. But Shadow still trying to do what he can after Sonic scarificed himself. Inspiring Shadow and going by Maria's promise to protect this world.

So he finds Eggman at his hidden base and had to look so last paragraph put Shadow at front. Basically Shadow kicks the Jackal Squad's ass and him telling them stuff like this isn't worth it. Basically Jackal Squad just leaves Infinite and then Infinite tries to fight Shadow but as the story goes gets his ass kicked.

With Shadow calling him pathetic and let's put weak in there. But also him easily kicking his ass and his squad just flat out leaving it. This basically triggers even more of what happens with him. To go with Eggman's plan and become one with the Phantom Ruby.

Along with Infinite this version. The aftermath of what happened. After being left and considered weak by Shadow. Because of this Infinite's mindset grows even more negative. Disgusted by the concept of family and hating it along with despising the concept of weakness so much. He's basically losing himself at this point.

So since Sonic is supposedly dead. Eggman attacks and Shadow is the one who fights backs. With this time Infinite well they meet first or whatever or sometime. But also Infinite bringing clones of Shadow, Chaos, and Metal not a clone is rebuilt but made sure he's not gonna betray Eggman. Also the fact Sonic is considered to be dead at this point. They kick Shadow's ass and he's the one who vanishes.

Okay girl cleaned up some popcorn of mine on the ground. But basically Shadow is one of the world biggest defenses and while Shadow hates working with Shadow clones. This was Eggman's idea. Infinite decides he can torture Shadow since he's the one who increased this threat even more. I know torture wasn't the word used in the Japanese version and the English version for some reason used it.

Honestly Infinite seriously hates Shadow. I can see him doing this stuff. Also realizing Shadow can't not die or age. Yet you can mentally hurt him in some way.

For Sonic while confirmed dead. As a visual reference to Sonic Rush Adventure he washes ashore on the island where Marine resides at and she okay I had to watch the first part on YouTube I'm on my phone at Target I had the audio off.

But she starts poking him with a stick. So yeah Sonic is injured but he heals up on the island including some time meeting Blaze who wants to check on this. Basically Sonic using Chaos Control with all that power now teleported him here.

While wearing a bandage around his chest he tries to get back. Yet doesn't know how yet these Sol Emeralds could be the key. But because of what's going on in the other dimenison. With Infinite and Eggman using the Phantom Ruby and starts opening portals to other dimenisons. With Classic Sonic's world being one of them.

Also theirs no Tails vanishing and no he's not losing hope. Yet over time even with some of Sonic's last words he starting to lose hope but he doesn't wanna show it but people see it. Along with others like Amy having dreams of Sonic being alive and seeing her. Also this relates to old ideas. Even Shadow himself having dreams of Sonic being alive. Also the reversal of a racing scene between them. Instead of Shadow it's Sonic who says hey don't you remember I died which wakes Shadow up whether before he gets captured or while he is.

Also I know Shadow doesn't need sleep. Including let Grant and others be affected by this.

Including Tikal was shocked by Sonic's scarifice and even shows up I guess to help but basically pissed off at a fake Chaos and maybe Chaos helps.

Along with Buddy/Gadget/Rookie decides to help and overcoming his fear.

So instead of saving Sonic it's Shadow and he escapes and Sonic and Blaze and guess yeah put Marine there too teleport oh the Death Egg what about a random prison but using s teleporter that opened they go into that dimension and even Sonic saving Buddy/Gadget/Rookie.

Also their are changes like they have all the Chaos Emeralds but they won't work. Even for Sonic, Shadow, Tikal, Chaos, or even Classic Sonic. Including Sonic getting angry at one point.

Just okay the Sol Emeralds also theirs this critical thing the Chaos Emeralds being used so much and the idea they can think for themselves. Basically they aren't helping Sonic and the others.

Also the last Sonic movie post the silly one I forgot about Silver and I don't know I guess Blaze replaces him but still I don't know. This phone has 24 percent and I want this to be the end of this or some shit.

Looked over tags a bit got them done phone has 23 percent wanna post this

Edit got tags done and forgot Marine and Silver tags sorry for this being long now 22 percent sorry of this being long again wanted to share these

Edit well it said I reached 30 tags hope I could put Cheese. Now I'm waiting for Uber. I seriously felt like I was being unfair if Cream wasn't mentioned. Basically she cries when Sonic supposedly dies too

Edit I'm sorry even the last save I felt weird still have my large Dr. Pepper I'm very sorry waiting for Uber still I ramble

[superemeralds]

Sonic 25th anniversary art book review

Hey guys, it’s Shadow. I bought this book. And I’m really emotional about it.

This review will feature a lot of pictures to prove my points.

TLDR; Don’t buy the book. Just ask me if you want a picture of anything. I believe other ppl already made scans of the good pages but If you want me to I can make scans of the few pages that atually do have concept art.

edit: you can buy the book ofc i just think its not worth it, mostly when you are poor as fuck like me and u go in for an investment. (though it would help maybe getting another, better one? I’m kinda conflicted here)

Onto the review:

Fist of all: this book is bigger than you think.

This is an intuos pen&touch small as size ref

The book weighs a ton and the quality of color and pager is amazing! 10/10 for quality. The binding seems lovely too.

Opening up you immediately feel the sonic atmosphere and you are greeted with text that i was unable to read because it had long ass fucking text in unnecessary passages.

I guess it could be of interest for some hardcore fans, or people who know nothing about the series at all, but as a fan it is very disheartening to see a fuckton of text about one single game, and then have other games completely dismissed from existence.

Sonic and the secret rings was totally left out and not mentioned once in the book, design changes like they happened in riders were not explained.

But. I need to get back in track and start with some formal stuff here.

The book has 245 Pages.

About 160 of those pages are dedicaded to the classic games ( 7 first years of sonic the hedgehog)

(pictured is the distribution between classic area 1991-1998 on the left; and the entire rest of sonic to the right)

And, don’t get me wrong, I would not be mad about this if there was actual good content like tons of sketches and level concepts! But there’s none of that.

instead we get this:

Huge prints of ingame sprites. A fuckton of them.

It’s nice to see how they designed the enemies but why Did they print out pixelated sprites so huge and with so much care for clean back grounds and then have messes like this

These two pages are the only ones in which these characters were ever mentioned at all.

Blaze’s debut game, Sonic Rush, was not mentioned once except for the little “info” on her page saying that she did actually debut in this game and it did, infact, exist.

We get worse pages, though.

These two are the only pages to 06 that we do get to see, and silver didn’t even get a double spread page. They just slapped the sketches on there, tiny, crowded.

Disrespectful.

How did they introduce other characters? Let’s have a look at a classic character!

wow that is neat!

t-theres more?

that feels kind of unnecessarily big but okay.

(he got one more double page of art with him and sonic together and he is seen in multiple other art pieces for other games throguhout the book. He’s also on one of those cool pages that you can extend out for a parnorama of chemical plant)

I thought! Hey every character will get such a cool introduction!

Thought.

The last character to get one of these is Shadow.

I thought: hey cool concept art! I can’t wait for everyone to have concept pages vs Final pages! Mostly cant wait for the silver one haha (we all know how that ended)

b-black on black? Shadow SA style art from 1998 ????

Boom shadow from 2016??? But boom came out 2014 ??? (they got that right w all other charcaters)

What comes right after that boom shadow, though? Big the cat.

and after big comes this disgrace.

This is the first time we see our God of Destruction: Chaos. And, besides a sonic battle spread, it is the only time. We don’t get to see perfect chaos. We don’t get to see SADX concept sketches. all we get is this:

It’s the same hue of orange. Why is it the runners model? We don’t know. Theres no concept of the echidna tribe, nothing to the lore...

Infact, the only modern game they offer concept art of is SA2.

Like w the classics they gave us stuff like this

below is all just for sonic 1 (or just sonic in 1991 in general as the book tends to organize things)

( i decided to leave out the 30 more pages of sprites and promotional art and unrelated jumbo that was more abt sonics image as new mascot for SEGA)

The below art is for sonic 2

kinda sparse, and not as much, but still colored concept art for the levels and stuff, right! I mean there are also tails sprites and promotional art and box art and variants and all that!!

lets move on to the more modern games!

Oh cool the SA games!!!

screenshots next to concept art! Me likey!

Wow that’s so cool! I’ve already seen two of those in generations but that’s fine! Cool having them physical now!

Oh my god! So much concept art! This is so cool! Even when non of it is colored I cherish it its so good!

I can’t wait to see this for all the games!!! Story book ones!!! yes!!! I’d like to see early concepts of riders!!!

(I totally forgot how little pages were left at this point)

I can’t wait to see unleashed concept art!!! The one I saw in my game is sooo good cant wait to have this shit printed!!!

Dragon road? nice! Oh hello there promo art!

woha a double spread page! This image is really unspectacular but I guess it’s nice!!! Can’t wait to see-

oh. Oh. that’s already all there is to unleashed.

Concept art? Who is that? Never heard of her.

Box art and characters is all we know. Screenshots maybe

anyone ask for a giant ass print of a screenshot of greenhill classic? no? too bad.

Don’t get me started on the 7 pges of Sonic Boom they have squeezed in there

While I hate boom, we can’t dismiss this horrible layout choice. Tiny pictures? Really?

What’s on the next page then that you don’t have the space for making them ncie and big?

Did they literally use a filler on that right page? You could’ve used that for concept art.

?????  YOU COULD’VE USED THIS INK TO PRINT A PRETTY SONIC UNLEASHED CONCEPT COLLAGE W TINY ASS PICTURES LIKE YOU DID W SONIC BOOM ON THAT TEXT PAGE.

Maybe I’m the biased one who thinks of Modern games to be of importance and for them to be more aesthetic and pretty and all that (i mean its mainly bc my fucked up brain cant process the classic games, too much color, too much going on, too sharp on the eyes)

but is it too much to want an even spread between classic and modern? To want justive for all the amazing characters?

If you didn’t get the book yet, then please dont. It’s not worth your money.

There are 5k prints of this book, and I sure as hell hope that there will be 5k disappointed fans.

[theofficialautisticgamer]

No Tails, Not True Dat Why Sonic Forces' Story Is An Epic Fail Critique by TheAutisticGamer (Michael) SPOILERS FOR SONIC FORCES DOWN BELOW! WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE! People who play Sonic games are so divided nowadays. There are the ones who hate every modern Sonic Game, then there are the people complaining about the ones hating every modern Sonic Game, then there are the people who think Generations and Mania are the only good ones, but we also have people who think the Modern Games are good with the exception of the Xbox 360 Sonic The Hedgehog and Sonic Boom Rise of Lyric... It's just a god damn mess. But, for me, I haven't played a 3D Sonic Game since Sonic and the Black Knight (which I liked at the time) but when I finally played through Sonic Forces, I liked it. I liked the graphics, the short burst gameplay (Even if it's two and a half hours long) and the awesome kick ass soundtrack which was the Persona 5 of the Sonic series. However, aside from one of the worst and most cringe worthy villains of all time, there is one thing that Sonic Forces fails at tremendously. The story. Now people might think, Michael, of course the story is going to be shit, Sonic Adventure 2 had the moon blow up in half and the Earth didn't go out of orbit with the other planets. Or Michael, Shadow The Hedgehog's story made you play through it 10 times just to get to the real ending. This is on a whole nother level of shit. First, even if Sonic Forces had a good story, we would still have to sit through some of the most cringe worthy dialogue and scenes ever put to game by Sonic Team. So lets get into why the story was an epic fail, even for a decent game and how we could have fixed it. Basically, Eggman is planning something big and laughs evily at his new creation. Then, all of a sudden, you're thrown into a level with Modern Day Sonic with Tails being like "OMFG SONIC EGGMAN IS ATTACKING EVERY1 HELP!!11" and it feels really rushed and disjointed. The level ends pretty quickly as well so then you get to another cutscene where Sonic saves Tails and some generic looking OC characters. Who are they? Why should we care if Eggman kills them? With the exception of Tails? Then, Eggman beats Sonic while Tails looks at his IPad or whatever he has and DOES LITERALLY NOTHING TO HELP HIM. Tails doesn't just fly into action trying to fight the hallucinations of characters, he just sits there saying "HMMM... I can't identify them." Basically, everyone then thinks Sonic is dead and Eggman takes over the whole world. Uhm, you know, there are other people who wouldn't take that shit. Where is the military? Where is the president from Sonic Adventure 2? Where is ambassadors of peace? Seriously? No one? Of fucking course, because this world only has one human and millions of anthropomorphic people who do jack shit. So Silver, Knuckles and everyone else form a rebellion and say some pretty bad dialogue and then we are introduced to our OC who you create. Knuckles immediately tells him to go on a mission that could get him killed even though it's his first day on the job. So that's when we find out Sonic is alived and has been tortured for months. But when we see Sonic, he is acting like "AH YEAWH, DIS IS HAPPENIN!" from his Sonic Adventure type of character. This is not believable at all. First, he doesn't look like he is scarred, bruised, bloody, battered, anything that would make him look like he had been tortured. What was the torture? Making him watch Jersey Shore? Because that could psychologically damage him and not kill him. Also, he gets out easily because for some reason his bonds are untied automatically and then he fights Zavok and... punches him? SINCE WHEN DOES SONIC PUNCH PEOPLE!? So the OC rescues Sonic and even though Sonic was apparently tortured for months, Knuckles asks him to immediately go on a dangerous mission with the OC that could potentially kill him because of his apparent tortured state. You know what? I'm thinking he was tortured with boredom because he doesn't do anything. The whole game then consists of Tails trying to get Omega working, then Classic Sonic apparently shows up and Tails says "Oh, you're that Sonic from another dimension, Yeah, that makes 100% Total Accurate Not Bullshit Sense" which makes no sense at all considering we have no clue how we got there. Later, Tails joins up with Modern Sonic, OC and the Rebels and mostly it's just boring from there. Sonic makes a joke about how it's been Generations (GEDDIT IT'S A THROWBACK TO GENERATIONS!11) and it's cringey as all hell. It's not until we get to the big city that things start turning for the worst again. Eggman decides to pull something out of his ass then after Sonic meets him called Null Space that's apparently something you can't get out of. Sonic gets out of it immediately with OC. Also Tail's instead of going "SONIC NOOOO!!!11" goes "How can this be!? I thought we did Blah Blah Blah!" Way to be concerned with your friend pal. This is a Deus Ex Machin if I ever seen one as Sonic just blasts out of Null Space because why not. Then, oh god... The rebels, Sonic, Classic Sonic, OC and a hundred cut and paste generic OC Characters get together for the final "Epic" battle. First, everything is wrong. It's just the same OCS copy and pasted over and over again making me not care for them at all because they are literally the exact same. The charge is just embarassing and one of the worst things I have ever seen in a game. The fighting is also not exciting. Everyone seems to either use Wispons or Hand to hand Combat and it's just boring as fuck. The whole story led up to this and then... WAIT OMEGA IS BACK!? Yes, for some reason, Omega is now turned on and is ready to fight even though he couldn't possibly have known where the fight was taking place. What the actual fuck. Basically, the story is just more boredom from there as you play as Classic Sonic and OC as everyone starts brooding how they're going to die. Then, the big bad null space goes away and then we fight Infinite who is easy as hell and then you fight Eggman and apparently kill him. He's not seen going to jail after he has been beaten or people throwing rocks at him for being a dick, he just dies and that's it. Wow. That's kind of dark. Then it becomes incredibly stupid again. Classic Sonic fades away for some reason without any explanation of the science of it from Tails, the genius in science and engineering. Sonic throws a blatant and convoluted message at the audience and Tails then says the worst thing ever: "True Dat" Fuck you Sonic Team. So, the story is a gigantic epic fucking failure of behemoth proportions that couldn't have been saved because Sonic Team was on crack this whole time. Or could it? How would I have written the story to Sonic Forces? I would have done it kind of like The Empire Strikes Back. See, Sonic Generations was the light hearted adventures of Sonic and Classic Sonic just like how it was a fun adventure in Star Wars (A New Hope) with Luke, Ben/Obi Wan Kenobi, Han, Leia, Chewy, C-3PO and R2-D2. This should have been the dark horse of the series. The story should have been much more darker, while having a few funny moments here and there. The dialogue should be semi serious like a Marvel Movie, the villain should be three dimensional and tragic instead of edgy edgelord who cuts peoples hearts out with his brooding edginess. So basically, here is the ten things they could have done: 1. Have Sonic actually been tortured for months at the start, show him bruised up and lost some of his power. 2. Have the villain be a tragic hero who helps Sonic and the team defeat Eggman and realize he is not a slave to him. 3. Cut the kiddy crap and have actual edge. Not too much, just enough to make people actually care about what's going on. 4. Have a bunch of the OC characters look different and make them have back stories and personalities or quips like "Before the war I was baker, now I live in poverty because the economy crashed" 5. Don't make the story so fast paced, it makes everything feel disjointed as all hell. 6. Have Tails use actual science to explain things about Infinite, Classic Sonic, Null Space, that stuff instead of being a useless twat. 7. Have the OC Character talk and have some interesting dialogue and interactions with the Rebels. 8. Cut all the filler crap, it just makes the story and the gameplay boring to play and watch. 9. Make Omega a bigger part of the story. Why is Tail's repairing Omega? Is he significant at all? Can he possibly stop Eggman and Infinite? 10. None of that assinine dialogue meme crap like "True Dat" or Knuckles being a dumbass. Have actual character conversations and dialogue and some funny quips here and there to contrast the dark with the light. These things could at least make the story decent, if not interesting and pretty good. I'm not saying I want a Goodfellas story or Citizen Kane performances, I just want the story to not be so idiotic and brain dead. Everything about Sonic Forces story sucks (including the Shadow DLC, but that's a whole nother story), but that doesn't mean it's an entirely bad game. The graphics and good for the most part, the environments are colorful and classic, the handling of characters feels okay, the gameplay is short burst and fun. The only other complaint I have is that the game should have been longer. I hope you understand where I come from when making this critique. It's not to bash on Sonic or trash this game, it's to tell you how not to write a story and how not to do dialogue. Hopefully, Sonic Team will learn their lesson and make another Hybrid Sonic game with actual heart and edge to it. But not too much edge.

[semi-sketchy]

Hey Sassy, what are your thoughts and opinions on the Character Customization in Sonic Forces? Also have you thought/planning to get a Nintendo Switch?

Oh gosh, I’ve been waiting for an ask like this!

I’ll answer the simple one first: yes I do plan to get a Switch. My brother says he’s going to try and pick one up around Black Friday this year. However, I’m going to be buying Forces on the PC because mods.

Now the long answer… The character customization is something I’m iffy with. The announcement caught me highly off guard as I was like “there’s no way they would ever do that, it’s just not Sonic” and BOOM. Actually when I saw it I screamed “OHHH HELLLLLLL NOOOOO” because I was hoping for a good story. Now let me explain this…

I have been majorly turned off from character customization games and that’s thanks to Xenoblade Chronicles X. That’s meant to be a story-driven game, but aside from it being handled poorly, it’s a solid game. Without spoiling the story (just in case anyone actually cares about it) you play as an avatar and you get multiple voice options and a yes or no option in some cutscenes. The voice options are only for outside of cutscenes though (like grunts, battle cries, you know). The main issue is there’s a super serious cutscene and your avatar just stands there next to the other characters, completely blank like a third wheel being dragged around at a party. Once in awhile a character will turn to the avatar and ask a question, your options are always “nod” or “shake” and depending on what you pick, one line of dialog is changed and your avatar goes back to being ignored. Your choices don’t matter. The avatar feature doesn’t help me feel like part of the world, if anything it makes me feel really awkward in those cutscenes. The other thing they did to make this character a blank canvas with give them amnesia, which is a really cheap writing technique. Going on with it, it’s basically just brought up from time to time like “ohh yeah stasis hangover never wore off, lol, you’re part of us now” and it’s just…so annoying. I would have rather played as a fleshed out character with a backstory and motives, someone I’d want to help rather than represent me.

Of course, there’s no saying the custom hero will be handled just like that, but I can see how easy of a pitfall it is to fall into when writing a linear story. One way I can think to avoid it that would please me is just let us design the aesthetic of the character and forget the multiple choice options. Give us a backstory and the only difference would be a male or female voice actor in the cutscenes. although that defeats the concept of having a fully custom character, so it most likely will be avoided. The again, Pontac and Graff are writing the game, so I probably shouldn’t expect too much of the story.

Another issue I have with it is if I wanted to see me in the Sonic world, I’d look up some reader insert fanfiction. I play Sonic games for Sonic characters, so I would rather the story would focus on Sonic and the giant cast that hasn’t been touched in years.

Gameplay wise, it looks okay. It kind of makes me think of hybrid between Espio and Shadow with the grappling hook and use of weapons. (The grappling hook reminds me off that one mission from Sonic Generations. *Shiver*) I’m unsure of how it will control, but I have always been terrible at the timing on stuff like that. Those bars at the bottom of the building in City Escape on SA2 have been the bane of me for years. If you watched that video I linked, well, they make it look easy. I spent 2 hours just trying to pass that mission and is the only one in the game I haven’t S ranked. However, looking a bit more on the positive side, I’m thinking with the inclusion of Wispons, they’re going to try and make this character play more like Colors Sonic, which I loved to death.

Now I’ve talked about this entire custom hero thing for so long without talking about the major part, designing it. I guess because it’s not the part I’m concerned about. “lol sonic ocs are canon cringe” no. Just…no. That doesn’t matter. I’m not bothered by people making their own characters and if they want them in the game, more power to them. I think I’m going to really enjoy this part. There will probably be days where I’ll boot up the game and just mess around with the character creation tool. My only issue, and this is just a me thing, is that I get really frustrated with those. If I tried to remake a character of mine in there, I’d probably go nuts because it couldn’t look the way I want. Of course, I’m sure the modding community will really step in that part, and it doesn’t really affect the core gameplay, so it doesn’t matter too much to me.

Something I do want to come with the avatar feature though is the option that once you beat the story, you get multiple slots for avatars. The reasoning for this being is that each animal has different abilities and I’d like to try them out without having to delete my save file. It wouldn’t make sense to offer this from the beginning, just flip-flopping between avatars during the main story would make things a little weird. While you will be able to change your avatar’s appearance as the story progresses, you probably won’t be able to change what kind of animal they are and even so, I may like my avatar but want to try out another critter. You can say “just give us multiple save file slots” but that would mean playing through the game 7 times. I love SA2, but damn I don’t think I could stand playing through it 7 times, I think I’ve only done it 4 over the 5 or so years I’ve owned it. Plus, if I think “maybe the bird’s double-jump would help me get this red ring” or “the bears homing attack will help me reach this other path” I don’t want to have to play through the entire game again to try out one critter on a single level.

This is something I have to say real quick… The Sonic fandom on Tumblr has blown up with this with the entire concept that “it’ll stop the bashing on Sonic OCs and encourage frightened people to share theirs because SEGA has said it’s okay!” no. Sonic OCs have a stigma and frankly, I’ve seen more bashing on OCs since the news came out. SEGA is well aware of all the fan characters out there, that’s why in Smash Brothers, Sonic’s alternate skins only changed the color of his shoes otherwise they’d run into legal issues with recolors. Having an avatar in a game isn’t going to let up on the stigma. “SEGA says it’s okay” you’re missing the point. The people that are afraid of sharing OCs aren’t afraid of SEGA; they’re afraid of the people who are making all these jokes right now. The people that are making the jokes don’t like the custom hero feature. This changes nothing.

Overall, I could take it or leave it. Basically everything that’s keeping me on the edge is stuff we don’t know yet and won’t know for awhile, probably until the game is released. Just going to have to play the game to see how I truly feel about it.

Okay, there’s my tangent, sorry it was so long!

-Sassy

[ashenpages]

Current Fic Ideas & Emoji Voting Key

Quick disclaimer that I’m a romance writer in all aspects of the term, so most of my fics will contain mature content. Engage at your own risk, you know the rules, you’re responsible for curating your own experience of the internet, blah blah blah. This post serves as a current mock up of fic ideas I’m either actively working on or considering working on next. You can drop me an ask about any of them, or just vote via the emoji combo I’ve assigned them.

Voting lets me know you’re excited about an idea and makes it more likely I’ll actually work on it. You can vote anytime, there’re no deadlines or winner announcements, just me gauging your interest by what I see in my ask box most often.

You can also ask me about the original stuff I’m working on currently. The current WIPs are Medusa centric and the emoji for them is: 🐍

- Lupin: 🤑🤠💍  These are all oneshot ideas, between 5-15K each. If you want to vote for a specific idea, send me the emojis and the number of the idea. 

Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon always play rock-paper-scissors after a big heist to decide who’ll give the group a striptease, and who will get showered with money. Based on a piece of fanart that is basically this sequence of events in a 4koma (except in their version Jigen loses and in mine, it’s Goemon). (written, just needs editing)

Zenigata cuffs Lupin four times, and Lupin steals his heart. Very NSFW conclusion. Zenigata is the most caring lover you’ll ever find. Lupin is as thirsty as usual and twice as intense. (written, just needs editing)

Jigen protects Lupin from poison darts during a treasure hunt in an Aztec temple, and Lupin nurses him back to help--forcibly, since Jigen is a horrible patient. Born from my desire to spoil Jigen and talk about what ridiculous domestic husbands these two are. (WIP)

Born from the idea that Goemon and Zenigata probably couldn’t be an item, my brain decided to come up with how I could write for them. Goemon’s teaching an ikebana class as part of his training, and Zenigata shows up as a student on forced recreational leave for his health from the ICPO. Zenigata wins the samurai’s heart through flowers. But what happens when Lupin and Jigen find out? (Only good sexy things, I promise. These beans are in a healthy polycule--be gay, do crimes)

Trans!Lupin and Trans!Jigen premise: Jigen cares for Lupin after the master thief has top surgery, since Jigen has Been There and Done That. Caring, sweet, and a little sexy. Lupin is a much better patient than Jigen.

- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐 

Shadow is an immortal vampire who has seen the world change for the worse too many times. These days it feels like he only lives for his coffee dates with Rouge, another immortal who loves each new era they encounter, warts and all. He has to admit that the book series she got him into speaks to him, at least. If someone in this era can understand him without meeting him, it can’t all be bad. But he hardly expected the goofy blue barista at the new coffee place to understand him the way those books do.

This is a novel length romcom romp with some big feelings about what it means to watch as things change, grow, and die. Expect lots of Big gothic feelings from this one, emotionally charged kissing, and overly-adoring sex. But also expect shenanigans from everyone in the coffee shop, which include Rouge, Amy, Tails, Knuckles, Cream, and more.

- Sonic Blazamy: 💖🌸💎

Amy Rose has been in love with Sonic for a while.

Or has she?

When the Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, and Silver are trapped as the fuel sources for Doctor Eggman’s newest evil scheme, Amy teams up with Blaze, Rouge, and Cream to save them. With Sonic out of the picture and Amy fulfilling his role, was she ever really in love with him? Or did she just want to be like him?

This is a novel length epic romance with lots of competent women and lots of romantic Blazamy content. Expect flowery hopes and dreams, badass self-actualization, and glancing hand touches that give way to cuddly and sweet sex.

- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕

After bringing down the Metaverse twice, Ryuji didn’t think graduating high school and figuring out what to do with his life would be so hard. Akira’s back in town, and the gang’s more-or-less all in Tokyo, but everyone else seems to have a plan while Ryuji just floats. How’s he supposed to change the world when he’s not a phantom thief anymore?

This is a novel length fic that addresses how powerless one can feel being just one person in the face of all the corrupted systems and bigotry the world has to offer. It’s about holding on to what you believe in, working through the doubt, and fighting your way to a better tomorrow with the power you do have. The whole gang is queer, featured relationships being Mako x Ann, Ryuji x Akira, Futaba & Yusuke as platonic life partners. Akira is polyamorous and omnisexual, Futaba’s asexual and aromantic while Yusuke is demisexual and very romantic, Makoto’s a lesbian, Ann and Ryuji are bi, and Haru’s pansexual, demisexual, and aromantic. They’re one giant band of queer Phantom Thieves, and even if they’re not really doing the Metaverse thing anymore, they’re still gonna save the world!

Also, I’m gonna make Makoto not a cop. That super didn’t age well. Zenkichi and his boss can work on making them better/abolishing them for other better organizations.

- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀

Oneshot. I just really need to elaborate on the threesome you can have with them in-game, okay? Healthy and canon poly relationships are so few and far between, so often I have to do a ton of groundwork to explain why it’s working in the fic, but NOT WITH THESE KIDS!

Get ready for Meg helping Zag and Than be better at expressing their feelings, lots of kissing, and probably pegging.

- Castlevania Animation Trevor/Sypha/Alucard: 🧛🏰🛌 

Castlevania gave Alucard a threesome last season, and I just really need S4 to give me him being taken care of by his partners. They’re probably not going to give it to me, so I’ll need to do it myself. This is just an everybody loves Alucard oneshot, with the gang’s signature banter (to an extent), Sypha being sexy, and Trever being remarkably sincere. This fic is gonna feel like that Ann Hathaway picture with Trevor kissing Alucard and Sypha holding the end of Trevor’s whip while she leans her head on Alucard’s shoulder adoringly.

- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈 

Nico’s gay, okay? Like really, really gay. And Lady’s bi and not into men who make her pay bills, but very into women who make amazing guns for her and demonesses with hearts who fight by her side. Trish is ace, but loves people and is pretty attached to Lady at this point. Plus it’s cute when Lady blushes and says nice things like they’re insults. I don’t have super solid ideas for them yet, and I envision these more like a polycule where Lady’s with Nico and with Trish but they’re not with each other more than seeing it as a threesome, but who knows what might happen. This is probably 1-2 oneshots depending on ideas, but might turn into a series of oneshots if people are interested (or I can’t control myself and inspiration strikes).

- Post FMA:B Blind Roy & No Alchemy Ed: 👀👑🙏

This is actually an old novel-length fic I wrote ages ago and didn’t post that didn’t turn out well because I was new to writing sex when I first wrote it. The plot is good, and is all about Roy learning to work with his blindness to reclaim his ambition of being Fuhrer and changing the system to something that actually cares for its people. He and Ed reconnect, fall into bed, and both set about working through their respective traumas about being “useless” having lost their sight/alchemy. They go to Xing as an ambassadorial party to offer Amestris’s collaboration on Al and May’s Alkahestry experiments--and uncover a plot that might threaten both kingdoms.

- Age of Calamity continuity Mipha x Revali: 🦚🐟💘

The first time Revali noticed Mipha, it was in the heat of battle. She stole his mark, taking them down with a flurry of quick blows from her spear. Violence rained from her like water--and then she healed him on her way to her next battle. No questions, no conditions, just pure kindness. The usual need to measure himself against those around him was quiet in her wake. And Revali couldn’t understand it. But how to get to know more about her? A fish and bird may fall in love, but where would they live?

This fic could be a oneshot or novel length depending on how far down the hole I fall. I need it to cover time, but it could be done in linked vignettes or with actually covering events in detail. I may elect to do a oneshot just to get it done and out of my system faster. So much fic to write, so little time.

Expect trans!Revali, polyamorous Zoras, scary competent Mipha, songbird Revali, love confessions that are made up entirely of berating Link for not loving Mipha the way she wants him to, and breaking these characters a little outside of their assigned roles in BotW and Age of Calamity. Background Link x Zelda, and Urbosa x Zelda’s Mom.

- Epic desert romance about Urbosa and Zelda’s mom: 🏜🏝⚡

I just think Urbosa should kiss women and Zelda’s mom should get more development and maybe a name or something. Also, lightning imagery/metaphors/play.

It also went way over my head that Riju wasn’t Urbosa’s daughter the first time I played BotW, so now I want to write about the Gerudo queen who refused to produce an heir. The Gerudo are fascinating and have a very interesting cutlure, but I think it could be examined from a nonbinary perspective that rejected pregnancy and wanting to find a husband. Not in like a hateful way, but in a way that examines if that’s really right for everyone. There’s that shop in town that sells Voe armor, after all. Maybe finding a husband and having children isn’t something you have to do if you don’t want to. And Urbosa really doesn’t want to.

[mistermike1967]

5:31 - Started typing text for this reaction text thingy I do. 5:32 - Watching BrainScratch Commentaries play Gex: Enter the Gecko part 7. Good shit. 5:33 - I'm hoping for some new IP. Maybe Mother 3. Meh, I won't get my hopes up. 5:45 - Opened stream. 5:47 - I'm predicting we'll get three new characters revealed for ARMS. Don't know why, I just feel that 3 is a good number to go with. 5:50 - Ten more minutes. Let's go. 5:51 - One of the charatcers shsould be a pirate with ropes for arms. One of his gloves options should be an anchor. 5:55 - Fire more minutes. I doubt we'll be seeing any Super Mario Odessey, that sounds more like an E3 sort of thing. 5:56 - I dunno, am I the only one who isn't particularly excited for Splatoon 2? I mean it looks like it's just gonna be exactly the same as the first game except most of the weapons/gear you've accumulated in the first game doesn't matter. I dunno, just a thought. 5:57 - I still wanna know what happened to Callie. 5:59 - One more minute! 6:00 - It's time! 6:01 - Hey! Pikmin is the Pikmin 3DS game. Looks alright I guess. July 28th, and new pikmin amiibo. 6:02 - Talking about Ever Oasis. I've no interest in this. June 23rd. 6:03 - Monster Hunter Stories game for 3DS. Again, no interest on my part. They're going by these really fast. 6:04 - Yo-kai Watch: Emerald Version. Nobody cares. Fall 2017. 6:05 - Culdcept game for 3DS. Never heard of this. August 29th. RPG MAKER OH MY GOD THIS ACTUALLY LOOKS COOL!! June 27th. 6:06 - Miitopia. Don't care. FUCK MY FUCKING INTERNET IS SO FUCKING SLOW!! 6:07 - Fire Emblem: Shadows of Valentia. Kirby's 25th anniversary. Kirby Clash form Robobot coming today. 6:08 - Kirby 3D minigame from Robobot comign to eShop in the summer. Another Kirby game coming soon. 6:09 - Bye-Bye Boxboy. Looks cute. 6:10 - New Link amiibos, and the rest of the smash amiibos are coming. 6:11 - ARMS info. Going over stuff we already know. 6:12 - You can get new arms with in-game monies. 6:14 - New character! Min Min! Looks pretty cute. KICKS CONFIRMED HOLY SHIT!! 6:15 - Fight showcase. Stage is chinese as fuck. Commentary is kinda silly. 6:17 - OH MY GOD MIN MIN'S ARMS ARE FUCKING NOODLES. 6:18 - Battle is over. Tag team battles confirmed. June 16th release date. 6:19 - New colour of Joycon. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Looks alright. I've already played the Wii U version though, so I don't have much interest in playing. 6:20 - Street Fighter 2 May 26th. Minecraft for Switch coming May 11th. 6:21 - Neo-Geo games coming to switch tomorrow. Sonic Forces shown, New ally teased. 6:22 - Sonic Mania comign in the summer. Project Mekuru revealed. It's like if Bomberman was a Mario Party minigame. Fate/Extella and Disgaea 5 shown. Fuck me they're going fast. 6:24 - Puyo Puyo Tetris shown. Looks pretty dope. Demo coming after this Direct. 6:25 - Monopoly for Switch. I can see the destroyed friendships from here. Rayman Legends Definitive Edition coming to Switch. Great game. 6:27 - Sine Mora EX and Battle Chasers: Nightwar from THQ Nordic. Pay Day 2 coming to nickel and dime Switch users. NAMCO Museum on Switch. Looks like fun. 6:28 - Standalone Switch Dock on May 19th. Time for Splatoon. Splatoon torunament in the U.S. 6:29 - Splatoon 2 trailer. Seems to be the single player trailer. Looks like an old infomercial. 6:31 - Salmon Run mode. Seems like a sort of 4-Player Co-op mode where you collect eggs. 6:32 - It's basically zombies mode. 6:33 - I hope this isn't replacing single player mode. 6:34 - Single Player mode coming soon. New Splatoon amiibos. Basically what the first game did. Other Splatoon amiibo work with it. 6:36 - July 21st release date, alongside the amiibo. It's over. Well that was... underwhelming.

[the-sapphire-general]

My Thoughts and Feelings on Sonic Forces

Well, I played Sonic Forces recently, and before anyone decides to ask, I finished it...but I will not upload a playthrough of it. I changed my mind after going through the entire game, which didn't take too long. Well, actually I didn't even finish the game. I watched the rest of it online because...well I'll explain shortly. I decided to delete whatever videos I recorded and any screenshots I took with the exception of one. The playthrough I was excited to do for a long time has been cancelled. Yes, my first cancelled playthrough. This isn't just my thoughts and feelings about a game unlike Final Fantasy 15 and Crash N. Sane Trilogy where I simply praise it and say little criticism (but really, Crash didn't need any since I don't mind any of their minor changes). Sonic forces me to write this review. Get it? lol But let's get serious. This is my own review of Sonic Forces.

Oh boy, where do I even begin? Sonic Forces, the latest Sonic game in the franchise was released on November 7th, 2017. What do I think? Well, hang on to your seats because I will tell you....It is a disappointment. Yeah. You heard me. It's not a very good game, and this is coming from a longtime Sonic the Hedgehog fan who enjoys the games regardless of what other people think. Even I'm still shocked that I feel this way towards this game, a game I was so excited to play ever since it was announced only to have it all gone after I got my hands on it. I was so hyped for Forces, you had no idea how I felt throughout each month, excited just like everyone else as I saved money for it. Apparently, that money should have been better off being locked in my bunny bank and spent on another game.

I now officially understand what a lot of fans have been feeling for years despite the fact I enjoy the games they claim to dislike or flat-out hate. I never had any expectations for Sonic games as long as I had fun with them, but I got caught in all the hype because I actually had expectations. I had so many of them that I hoped Sega could deliver well to repair the Sonic series' reputation and get people to stop being hateful, only to find myself siding with them. Unlike them, however, I do not hate the Sonic series out of the blue. I just hate this particular game. You may be asking, "Why don't you hate Sonic '06? What about Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric/Shattered Crystal?" First of all, back in 2006, I hardly knew much about Sonic '06, and because I didn't own a PS3 or an Xbox 360, I couldn't check out the game for myself. Second of all, it's been 11 years now, and there's no point in me hating it. Sure, I bought it in what? 2014? The vitriol towards it died down, so it doesn't matter whether or not I hated it. In fact, I don't hate it. It's alright, but not as great as Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations, Sonic Rush, Sonic and the Secret Rings, and Sonic and the Black Knight (my favorite Sonic games). As mentioned in a Sonic fandom post I wrote before, I only hated Princess Elise (you should know why, it's because of what she did that pissed me off) and Mephiles (again, you should know why. Hint: The Last Story.). But that doesn't mean I was blind to see why people loathe Sonic '06, and all those reasons have been repeated over and over and over, so I will not go any further by writing my own review. There's no point. As for Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric and Shattered Crystal, I never played them because I don't have the consoles, but I did watch gameplay for both...they don't impress me, but I don't despise them.

With that tangent out of the way, Sonic Forces was the first game where I had a lot of expectations. I mean, Dr. Eggman takes over almost the entire world and Sonic and his friends form the Resistance to start a war to end his tyranny while facing a new adversary that managed to easily defeat Sonic, so they have to find a way to stop him as well. Also, a new recruit (aka your avatar) joins them to fight Eggman, and the avatar can be designed by the player. The premise sounded so cool at the time, and I was aware of the avatar creator causing concerns, and you want to know what my expectations were for this game? A Sonic game that had a great story to fit with the war theme that was going on, a difficulty spike, amazing gameplay, a fun avatar creator, challenges to unlock stuff for my avatar, cool missions, tons of levels to explore, and Infinite being the most intimidating villain ever. I have been going on for a while, so I will say this. All my expectations were destroyed.

Okay, at last I can get to the game itself to get all of this off my chest. Sonic Forces was a major disappointment. I don't know what ticked me off the most, the story, the gameplay, I don't know, but they all disappointed me. From all the hype it was getting, Sonic Forces had a good story idea, which kind of reminded me of the SatAM Sonic cartoon, but without the Freedom Fighters from the show and the super dark tone (I would have hated to see Sally Acorn in this game, but that's just me). The story, as much as I love the concept, failed to deliver. It had so much potential! The story had a lot of potential to be great, but instead of an interesting storyline to match with the hype and its concept, it came out as a rushed story. Well, rushed and just plain boring. Not much happens in it, and it had a lot of great ideas that just weren't executed well. I know this is a series meant for kids, so we shouldn't expect it to be an utterly in-depth story, but they could have done so much with it. Eggman conquers most of the world and Sonic runs in hopes of thwarting his plans, only to encounter Infinite, Eggman's new ally and a new adversary for Sonic. Sounds cool, right? Wrong. Infinite's introduction was rushed, and Sonic was defeated too fast. As much as I loathe seeing Sonic get hurt, his fight and defeat should have had a better impact. After he's captured, all of Sonic's friends form a resistance, and six months have passed since Sonic disappeared. It is assumed that he might be dead, but nobody shows genuine concern. Amy does, but it was barely there. Yes, they have to find a way to stop Eggman, but what about Sonic??? Did they actually care? How did they feel? How did these six months affect them? Again, the series is for children, but that doesn't mean Sega should ignore being realistic or not add depth to their characters. If I had lost someone I love, a mad scientist conquered almost the whole world, and six months have passed with no word about the person I care about, I would not be calm. I would be anxious, frustrated, basically stressed by all the chaos while I fear that my hypothetical friend may be dead. I would be sort of like Shadow, but without trying to get revenge on all of humanity. I wouldn't be as dark as him, but I would to a degree.

Now they later find Sonic imprisoned, and it was mentioned he was tortured during those six months. He didn't look or act like he suffered. He was pretty happy, like he's been only imprisoned for like twenty minutes. Now I love Sonic, and seeing him unharmed did give me relief, but it should have been handled better. I said I love Sonic, right? You should know already that I'm a fangirl (a sane one, might I add), and watching him get hurt gives me the urge to protect him. I don't like seeing that, but despite my own feelings, Sega should have went for the torture idea other than just mentioning it. They should have written it to have Sonic actually experience being tortured. Yeah. To make a good story, you have to "kill your own darlings", meaning you should make them suffer, go through obstacles, and deal with conflict because that's how reality works and that’s how we identify and feel for characters. It doesn't mean you should literally kill them, but it can work if your story requires it. I was happy to see that Sonic was fine, but at the same time, I felt like I was tricked. The game was supposed to have you go on a rescue mission and treat it like a serious deal. After all, Sonic is in danger, we have to save him! But no. He's fine, and it made us look like idiots for believing he was in peril.

Now to speed things up, Sonic and the avatar fight to reclaim the world from Engman’s rule and they battle Infinite, a new enemy who uses the Phantom Ruby, a ruby that is the source of his powers, which I can describe as…the ability to warp reality? Making illusions, and at some points he looked like he could glitch. Err, I don’t know how to explain it better. So, Engman threatens the team by saying that in three days, his master plan will take full effect, so Sonic and the whole Resistance begin a war against Infinite’s clones of Chaos, Zavok, and Metal Sonic. Speaking of which, yes, none of the clones weren’t the real Chaos, Zavok, and Metal Sonic. These clones served no purpose other than to make Eggman and Infinite appear more intimidating. Their bosses were boring and easy, and the Chaos clone never had his own boss. Then why have him there? So, eventually Sonic and his friends are in utter danger, but thanks to the avatar, they have a chance to stop Eggman. They succeed, the Resistance disbands, everybody starts to clean up the mess, and our avatar parts ways with everyone in a rushed manner, robbing the ending of a heartfelt and meaningful finale that failed to match the ending theme song (which deserved better because it was beautiful).

The story isn’t all that serious and it’s just rushed. Not much happens and things are dumbed down for their target audience. Now I’m not saying the game’s story should have been more like a Final Fantasy game, but the story should have been better. Children aren’t stupid, they could have understood what was happening if Forces had a deeper story and taken advantage of their ideas. I will give my own ideas that could have improved the story. Now the beginning was alright, though I would have liked to see how Eggman started taking over the world in the first place. We were just thrown into the game in the middle of the action. Maybe a few levels to get us on track of the action where everything is alright and then Eggman begins to conquer the world. Things get difficult as Tails tries to protect the Mobians (okay I know their world wasn't named Mobius and that's from the Archie  Sonic comics, but I'll say Mobians). Sonic comes to the rescue only to encounter Infinite. Now instead of making it a rushed battle where Sonic loses just like that, the battle is longer as it grants Infinite the opportunity to show off his abilities, shocking both Sonic and Tails (it kind of happened when he moved right before Sonic could attack him, but that was super short). Tails could have assisted Sonic in some way while still trying to analyze Infinite only to be unable to do so. The battle lasts for a while, leading to the first boss battle. Infinite defeats Sonic with actual effort, and (much to my dismay), Sonic is defeated terribly. Now we go to six months later, and there could have been character interactions as to what they have been through, how they feel, and how everything has affected them now that Sonic is gone. They assume he's dead, and they show actual concern and grief. Here's one example. Tails has been through a lot, and denies that Sonic is dead, even if others try to convince him of the possibility, but he wouldn't want to hear any of it. Amy, although she would hate it, she would respond out of anger and pain by telling Tails that they would have to accept it even if it hurts. That could cause conflict between the two. Heck, Shadow would be just as worried, but wouldn't show it because, well, he's Shadow. Rouge would ask what's wrong, but he would just say nothing. She presses further until he reluctantly admits he wonders if Sonic is alright. He may have had a rocky relationship with Sonic, but he does care in his own unique way. He lost Maria fifty years ago. Losing another person he cares about (though differently from Maria) would take a toll on him.

Now Knuckles is the leader of the Resistance. Personally I would prefer Sonic as the leader, but then again, I doubt he would want to lead and this is just my own preference (and the fact I would listen to him in a heartbeat). Well, Knuckles is better than Sally. I'd listen to his orders. In an improved story, his role would be a bit bigger such as getting his teammates to reconcile and remind them that they have to focus on their mission while still understanding how they feel. After all, he would feel just as bad. Let's say he was there with Sonic and Tails before Infinite arrived and defeated Sonic. He would feel guilty for being unable to stop him from taking Sonic away, but puts on a brave face to not have others worry. Fast forward to where Sonic is revealed to be alive. Again, although I DESPISE picturing this, Sonic would be shown actually getting tortured. I don't know how because like I said, I hate imagining this. Something that isn't too gruesome for children, at least. This isn't Final Fantasy or some other series that's serious and stuff. The avatar, our customized character, comes to the rescue and the mission is actually treated like serious business. Everyone counts on them, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, everyone! Everyone would want Sonic to get out of his prison alive and well. Once he's rescued...*sigh* Sonic shows signs of trauma. Again, not serious trauma to scare children (no shit), but he shows signs that he had suffered. Now to stick with his character, I will say Sonic appears that he has been through so freaking much, but would attempt to put on a brave face, though it would not be like what was shown in the game, all happy and casual as if nothing happened. No, he would not be his usual self. At least, not completely. To be honest, this part sounds kind of dark, but I'm sure it could have worked if Sega added far more effort in this game in the first place.

So the story would go from deep characterization for everybody, conflict between characters, more focus on Eggman and Infinite and their interactions, and of course the avatar gets their own development somehow. The game could have been long, with lots of levels and a big story. The battle between the Resistance and the Eggman Empire would last throughout the game as Sonic and his team search for the Chaos Emeralds (seriously, where were they?), Infinite would threaten Sonic and cause actual trouble, meaning he would actually take advantage of his abilities. Come on, he's supposed to have infinite power for goodness sake, hence his namesake! That could have been utilized better. Then near the end of the story where the Resistance prepare for war against all the Chaos, Metal Sonic, and Zavok clones, or other kinds of clones, would be the same but better, you know? An all-out war that could take a couple of levels, maybe an additional boss battle. Heck, the game could have used a few more boss battles. Then Infinite tries to use his powers to burn everyone into a crisp with the sun (which I admit was the only moment that showed things were serious, though it could have been better, as I mentioned before). Sonic and the avatar, heck everyone, would try to stop their demise, and they succeed. Infinite gets pissed, Eggman gets pissed, so boom! The final boss! Not just a boss that's a pushover, but a real final boss battle where you give it your all. Maybe it could have had like multiple phases. And of course, Super Sonic would be included. Sonic and the avatar fight them, hoping to end the war once for all. With some trouble along the way, they defeat them at last. The ending would be like the one in the game but more meaningful. The Resistance disbands now that there's no need for it, and Sonic recovers from his experience after realizing everyone has been there for him and if he could overcome such an experience, he can overcome anything. The avatar decides to part ways, which would be a bit hard for everyone, even Sonic because they got to know them well. But they would understand and bid them farewell, with Sonic giving them a friendly fist bump while he wishes the avatar to show the world what they can do. The end.

It had so many missed opportunities as you can tell, and I know other people believe so too, so they came up with their own ideas for the game. Prior to the game's release, people had ideas that would have been better than what we got. I still remember the theories, such as Tails is Infinite from another dimension, or the avatar is Infinite or is at least connected to Infinite in some way, or Sonic from the future becomes Infinite (looking back, that would have been interesting, albeit painful, to watch). People came up with ideas that were far more interesting than what was presented in the game.

Okay, now that the story is out of the way, I can move on to everything else. The gameplay...It is a mess. The controls are stiff and you can barely do anything well, and due to these issues, you can't maneuver through each level without accidentally dying. And running through the levels was a bit slow. Sonic wasn't as fast as I remembered, and Classic Sonic was worse to control! You fail to gain momentum when you try to run up some ramps, so you are forced to spin to make up for speed, and it happened a lot for me. Controlling both Sonics and the avatar was just awkward and movement didn't feel smooth at all. I didn't notice any of it right away until I died against Zavok on the first try.

Speaking of Zavok, well, the Zavok that Infinite created, what was his purpose? Zavok, Chaos, and Metal Sonic were just shown just to make Infinite look like a threat (which didn't help much). It should have been the actual Zavok, Chaos and Metal Sonic. Maybe Zavok could have gotten revenge for his defeat in Sonic Lost World (the rest of the Deadly Six could have been involved somehow as well), and Metal Sonic could have returned courtesy of Eggman. As for Chaos, perhaps he could have returned after being revived (I don't know how) and he would have been brainwashed, I don't know. Also, Classic Sonic being there was unnecessary. He was just shoehorned into the game out of nostalgia to entice older fans. And Episode Shadow was not only super short but boring and the stiff controls didn't make it any better. Aside from better gameplay, it could have been improved on story-wise, and it would have still remained as a prequel to Forces. And this was mentioned somewhere, but Silver could have had a bigger role. Everyone should have had a bigger role. Let's say Silver realized things had gone awry in his time so he travels back to Sonic's time to fix his future. That could also give more meaning as to why he went against Infinite because he knew he was the reason why his future changed. He also could have had his own battle if that were the case. And I'm still waiting for a Silver the Hedgehog video game (deal with it).

Finally, the last thing that has bothered me the most besides the lackluster story is...Infinite. No, don't give me the whole edgelord baloney. Infinite the Jackal is not an edgelord and he's not edgier than Shadow the Hedgehog. I had high hopes for this guy, even though I hated how he pummeled Sonic in his trailer. I listened to his theme song so many times, just as much as I heard Fist Bump. I really liked his song, and it just screamed "deep and complex character". The lyrics gave me the image that Infinite has been through a lot prior to Forces, he's dealing with a lot of pain so that's why he hides his face with that mask of his, he wants revenge, and he will get what he wants even if it means taking everyone down that dares to oppose him. Even a portion of the lyrics made me picture that he could have seen Sonic as a formidable opponent and vice versa, and would be willing to fight Sonic to reach his goals. In addition, the lyrics also made me think they're referring to the player themselves, which was a nice touch if you think about it. Sonic and the player/avatar both had to fight Infinite. See? The song had tons of stuff going on, and what do we get??? Infinite being a pathetic excuse for a villain.

Hear me out now. I didn't read the comics that take place prior to Sonic Forces, but I did look up that he was part of the...Jackal Squad? So Infinite and his squad try to...what stop Eggman? But his squad gets killed?? I have no idea. Fast forward to Episode Shadow, and Infinite gets owned by him. Shadow calls him weak, and Infinite...well...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYNO36bFwE4

So Infinite snaps, joins Eggman, and strives to become stronger to destroy the world...all because of that???????????...This is the lamest backstory I've ever seen for a villain. So the whole war occurred because of this??? Even Mephiles had a better backstory, and I despise that bastard! Yes, Infinite's squad was attacked, but that doesn't mean they died. Or maybe they did. I don't know. Also, if his desire prior to joining Eggman was a desolate world, then what were his reasons for that?? And were the members of the Jackal Squad his family? Friends? Pawns?? If they were loved ones, then him wanting to become stronger is somewhat justified, but taking it out on the whole world and throwing a tantrum about a single person calling him weak and pathetic just seems like poor writing to me. Infinite, quit being a big baby!

*sigh* Alright. I guess I was more angry about this than I thought. Infinite had wasted potential that just screwed him over. Let's see. Infinite could have been better if he had actual motives. The Jackal Squad could have been like his friends and/or family. Maybe members of a clan or something. They try to stop Eggman for whatever reason (maybe he tried conquering their home), so they set out on a mission to stop him. The plan backfires and his whole squad gets killed. Infinite grieves, feeling rage, guilt, and sorrow for being unable to protect them, and sees Shadow a short distance away from the gruesome attack. He accuses Shadow for killing his entire family, and decides to have revenge on him, unaware that Shadow was not at fault. No, I don't believe Shadow would have killed the Jackal Squad. This is where his desire to cause destruction to the world is revealed. He has experienced loss before, and losing his friends/family turned out to be the last straw, the last loved ones he had, so he tries to take over the world and get rid of everyone would prevent him from experiencing any more pain. He would not join Eggman in this scenario, so he would instead be vengeful towards him since he caused him pain from past memories. Infinite works to become stronger after stealing the Phantom Ruby, and willingly decides to forget all about his past, along with his old self believing that he was weak (hence the mask), and he would never want to feel that way ever again. He had lost everything, and he didn't want to deal with all the pain so he shuts all his emotions down, thinking emotions are for the weak. And so, Infinite, with no one to care for now that they're all gone, sets his mind on destroying everything, becoming cold, cruel, and calculating. What would his fate be for this? I don't know. Redemption seems tempting when I think about it, but it would depend on what you guys would choose with your own ideas regarding Infinite. For mine, I would consider redemption, though it would be a long journey for Infinite.

I'm not finished yet. Although I have been critical of Sonic Forces, I don't believe everything about it is bad. The level design is pretty good, but the levels should have been longer. They take like a few minutes to finish, and with better gameplay controls, it could have worked. The avatar creator is okay, but I hoped for it to have more. I mean, I couldn't create my character Sorina!

Yes I know you can unlock stuff, but you start off with little to nothing. It was so limited! At least Square Enix's avatar creator for Final Fantasy 15′s Comrades DLC had more (despite the few limitations from the start). And unlocking stuff isn't that hard, but I didn't like half of the stuff I saw. I was disappointed that I couldn’t create Sorina, so I wound up creating a random avatar. As time went on, however, I warmed up to my avatar. Everyone, meet Aquamarine the Hedgehog.

She’s cute, just as cute as Sorina. Maybe I can make her related to her, perhaps a cousin. Or a fan who admires Sorina! And I prefer Aqua to have only those two triangular spines as opposed to the short Sonic-like quills, so I didn’t take the screenshot with her head turned to make it look that way.

The game lacks any difficulty, which is sad because I was hoping for a difficulty spike. They just give you stuff after you pass the levels with little to no effort, and it's super easy to get an S rank on the levels. And the secret levels are boring and dull, and the missions aren't even real missions (Ex: Stomp once on Mission whichever one that has Modern Sonic). Those weren't worth doing because they are just lame. Now the thing that I truly love is the music. I love the music for Sonic Forces! I have several songs as ringtones for my phone, and I want to download the entire soundtrack so I can listen to it anytime I want. It's unfortunate the game didn't match the music. I heard Sega worked in the game for several years. I don't see it. I only saw like a year's worth of work. If it were four years, then the game should have been the best Sonic game ever! But it fell short in so many areas. If they had put actual effort during those four years, it would have been great. I wouldn't have complained if they delayed it for a while longer just to polish it.

Now just because I agree with a majority of the fans, it doesn't mean I will not defend anything about it. There are some things that I do actually like, such as Sonic's portrayal (minus the few problems I had), and Tails' portrayal was not bad to me. He's a child. The way he felt was normal because he believed he lost his friend, his big brother, and lost hope because of it, and their reunion was sweet in my opinion. Though it could have been sweeter. Returning to Sonic, I must confess that I can agree that he should be more...complex. Heck, the entire cast should get the same treatment. Sonic is my idol, my hero, and as much as I enjoy seeing him the way he is, I do wish he could have more depth so I can relate to him more. So I get why some people want that, and it would be nice to see Sonic showing multiple sides, be more multidimensional. For me, the last time I saw that was in the Sonic Storybook games. It's no wonder I love those. Maybe we'll get something like this in the new Sonic comics. But please let him be in-character! I know about his OOC moments in the Archie comics, and don't get me started on the old Sonic the Comic series.

Oh my gosh, this may be another one of my longest posts ever. lol I will end this in a bit. My overall score for Sonic Forces, as shocking as it may be, is 3/10. It has so many flaws: there’s too many wasted story opportunities for me to count, a terrible villain whose potential was never fully utilized, wonky gameplay, very short levels, a low difficulty level, and a short length. The game lacks replayability even if you wish to 100% complete the game, and to be honest, it's not even worth completing 100%. The music, the amazing level design, the fact that you can create a Sonic character, and the amusing "Sonic Forces" puns are the few perks I like, but the levels and avatar creator did not reach their full potential. For the very first time, as a longtime Sonic the Hedgehog fan, I now have my least favorite Sonic game. You may disagree with me on any of the things I said in this review if you wish, but my position stands. Sonic Forces could have been more than what we got, and it's a shame that we never had the chance to see what it could have been.

[geek-gem]

Sonic Unleashed 10th Anniversary New Content

I wanna have that title be truthful just be honest. Including this is something an idea I've had since the last post where I talk about in case if Sonic Forces bombs and next year we get a Sonic Unleashed remastered for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

In fact just I got some new ideas right now and don't wanna wait because of reasons mainly my hands. Yet talking about this I wouldn't be or would be surprised if Sega and Sonic Team takes notice of this and just....the idea is great and I would really want this to happen. Said it sucks in my head basically thought just the idea of no new version of Sonic Unleashed.

So I've talked about Sonic Unleashed next year for it's 10th anniversary it's on next gen console's with updated visuals, and all dlc on the game.

Yet this or these ideas new content not gonna use the dots periods. I do that to be dramatic.

But this was something I thought of. Including games like Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition and Gears Of War Ultimate Edition have new content and updated for next gen systems. Oh my head no it doesn't suck it rocks.

Basically these ideas I'll share these. Including the new ones.

Before Unleashed was released and still showing promos and shit. Such as the first image of Sonic and his werehog form. On the characters list I remember this was on Wikipedia even if it's a site that can't be trusted.

Yet Shadow and Knuckles were supposed to be characters in the game but that changed. Including I would of honestly loved that. Even some other characters.

Then their were these ideas to make them connect to the story and I didn't wanna say useful their not playable sorry or some shit oh head should care.

But Honestly this is a bit crazy I've thought of this and this was some months ago. If they were in the game here are these ideas boss fights.

Yes I'm saying boss fights and I'll explain. Because of Dark Gaia woke up early and gonna spoil a bit in case my head just it's almost been a decade since the game has been released for anyone to play yet at times oh head reasonable.

But because of Dark Gaia woke up too early because of Dr. Eggman and the planet shattered. Because of this Dark Gaia's influence is spreading. Unleashing demons of some sort considering one of the missions is a exorcism that was difficult to spell. Basically these Dark Gaia creatures at night only have possessed people and making them different versions of themselves. Whether it be good or bad. Yet still bad considering what Sonic and friends are dealing with these demons.

Dark Gaia notices thought after the first Chaos Emerald is restored and one piece of the Earth is fixed. Including Dr. Eggman sorry failed to stop Sonic that time. Dark Gaia decides to try something. While the creatures have possessed people first. Dark Gaia decides to try to possess more powerful beings. Hoping they can defeat or even kill Sonic. Including what makes the situation better Sonic is a werehog at night time. While a threat also at night but not as much powerful compared to his real normal form. Forgot to put powerful after I wrote that last sentence.

So what would be the perfect beings to try to take control at night.

None other then Knuckles and Shadow. The guardian of the Master Emerald something Dark Gaia could take advantage of possibly and the Ultimate Lifeform. Especially Shadow considering in a way Shadow is in a way some sort of God. What I mean by that him being so powerful.

Also I know in Shadow The Hedgehog his game even if I don't like it. He resisted Black Doom's mind control but were talking about the supernatural.

But I also wanna talk about the new stuff. Metal Sonic and Rouge The Bat.

I thought of these when just....that BFG Division track of Doom 2016 is beautiful as all fuck. Including even ideas of Dark Gaia possessing GUN soldiers to attack Sonic at night time.

Basically I thought of some ideas. You can fight against Metal Sonic during the day first and can beat him. Including Dr. Eggman bringing in Metal Sonic to even the odds in case. Almost left including again but the idea Shadow, Knuckles, and Rouge could help and whoever else.

Yet when Metal Sonic learns that Sonic in a way is weaker at night time. Basically the one thing that really helps against any enemy including Metal Sonic is that it's Sonic's own speed.

Realizing he could finally kill Sonic at a time where he can not be his normal self. I don't know if that's in character of Metal honestly he might not miss the chance to finally rid of the one thing he hates. Even Dr. Eggman would agree with that too.

Okay just sat back down switched channel to Cartoon Network West and it's well now it's on the 2nd showing of the new OK KO good episode 6:30 pm.

Now back to this basically Dark Gaia except Metal Sonic because Dr. Eggman would command Metal to kill Sonic. But also Metal would also want to kill Sonic personally the whole real Sonic thing trying to prove that.

But the others Dark Gaia this may sound weird yet would have to try to take advantage of their emotions. Mainly Knuckles and Shadow. No offense I just can't think of a reasonable way to get Rouge very emotionally pissed. Including I don't want the whole possession thing to be easy. Because compared to humans Sonic and others seem quite immune to the possessions such as Sonic, Tails, and Amy at night. Including theirs a reason why Sonic isn't so corrupted even if I said theirs spoilers in this. Just at times...that did got me thinking. But sorry I don't wanna talk about that but these okay not four but three characters.

Honestly Dark Gaia might have Rouge think something negative about her work life, maybe failure and no jewelry weird yet hey she likes jewels. With Knuckles could be the memories of how at first Sonic and Knuckles weren't friends. Also probably this idea I thought have Knuckles think the planet shattering and the Chaos Emeralds how they are drained of power is all Sonic's fault. Including I thought of this even fear of the Master Emerald being drained in some way this paranoid mind and said brilliant in my mind. Just was distracted by the word paranoid. Is it just wait paranoia okay seems to be that I'm sorry don't care. But you might get the point.

Now for Shadow it would be quite a lot more personal. Despite getting over and knowing of his past. Dark Gaia would honestly take advantage of Shadow's memories and emotions. Including keep reminding Shadow that after everything he's done why would he even protect the planet after his sister in a way Maria died and how they kept it a secret. Honestly I'm surprised their weren't huge mobs and outcries about that when people found out what happened on the Ark and that it was still up there. Even this theory of mine GUN kept the Ark in case if they wanna destroy anyone.

Basically Dark Gaia would try to make Shadow forget that even after being shot by humans Maria wanted Shadow to give the people of Earth a chance. Dark Gaia would try to keep blocking that and just push the bad memories so much like REMEMBER THIS REMEMBER THIS THEY DID THIS WHY ARE YOU HELPING THEM THEY TOOK YOUR FAMILY AWAY FROM YOU and basically having control of Shadow and all of his powers. Such as if possible with the drained Chaos Emeralds now that I think of it. Powers such as Chaos Control and Chaos Blast.

Basically Rouge, Knuckles, and Shadow aren't doing this on their own will they are being controlled and I'm thinking on certain nights when you go to another contitent or done with a mission. You see Dark Gaia trying to take control of them. Honestly not all in one night but just in trailers like the Sonic Forces villains trailer. Showcasing new bosses.

Honestly Knuckles and Rouge teaming up. Yet Dark Gaia would try to be careful of when to take control of them. Including I thought where to kill Sonic at.

But also on to the other idea GUN soldiers and possibly GUN robots. Since humans are easier to possess Dark Gaia notices that GUN is heavily armed and trying to go against Eggman and help Sonic. So Dark Gaia takes advantage of this so they can try to kill Sonic. Even if Sonic doesn't wanna hurt them. Okay yes theirs the exorcism missions but it's this neat idea to add some new enemies. The GUN robots are sent out with GUN thinking Sonic has gone rogue and going against them now seeing Sonic beating up soldiers. Yet honestly they would find out soldiers are being possessed I just now thought even bosses like in Shadow The Hedgehog thought sweet in my head.

Yet after the incident GUN tries to make sure no soldiers are possessed. If they are they would lock them up until the creature is gone. Or have Sonic come help in one of those exorcism missions.

But honestly the boss battles against the other okay not three but four are insane.

In fact it's almost suicidal and perfect for Dark Gaia. Sonic isn't as powerful as his normal form where he uses his speed. But basically when I mean suicidal I mean Sonic going against beings like Metal Sonic, Rouge, Knuckles and Shadow. I don't know which should be in order let me try.

Rouge, Knuckles, Metal Sonic, and Shadow. While Metal isn't possessed but focused on killing Sonic.

The Diamond Thief GUN Agent, The Guardian Of The Master Emerald/Angel Island, The Metal Son, The Ultimate Lifeform four beings able to take down Sonic. Honestly Metal Sonic and Shadow would probably be the most difficult of bosses even compared to the boss from Adabat however it's spelt, the Egg Dragoon, and Dark Gaia and I never could bear Dark Gaia. I think on with versions long ago.

Just got back in my chair switched to mtv2. But honestly it be insane including Sonic in his werehog form trying to fight them using his new skills and trying to survive everything they throw at him. Such as Metal Sonic holding Sonic by the neck and dragging him to places smacking him against stuff even dragging him on the floor. Rouge using her flying skills and feet and anything else she has, and Knuckles using gliding and his fists even digging too okay like Rouge also. Then Shadow another one of the worst using his speed and if possible Chaos Control to teleport to kick Sonic's ass and even Chaos Blast to try to lay waste on him. Honestly if possible he could get one of the emeralds that haven't been drained.

Wanna say this and looked at the paragraph I just wrote I thought of this and when I was listening to music. Remember Night Of The Werehog that lovely short film. I was thinking you can play that as a new mission with a new boss. Yet honestly the way it is. I think I prefer of how it is just let it stay as short film. Maybe an easter egg or even mention about it that Sonic and Chip went to a haunted house and if possible the others like Tails and Amy finding out what happened.

Including I'm thinking and hoping it's canon. I thought maybe as a treat you can watch it on the game as an extra maybe as an unlockable you find the house some where and Sonic mentions what happened there. It's a cutscene but you can't go inside and you unlock short film.

Got ringtone pop up gone but honestly this all sounds amazing. Yet here's the problem if adding new content to the game.

Possibly the engine yet the main thing itself the levels, enemies, and voice actors. That may sound stupid considering what I've seem Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition and Gears Of War Ultimate Edition managed to add new content while working with the same game and keep voice actors.

Yet even some what the whole game Jason Griffin isn't the voice of Sonic anymore also I honestly enjoyed his voice acting as the games went on. Now we have Roger Craig Smith who I enjoy too can't believe I thought Andrew Garfield. But it's mainly like the others like Jason Griffin voicing Shadow again, Dan Green almost left Dam and Damn right now instead of Dan. Just honestly other stuff.

But honestly it's weird how I feel this may be troubling. Including just.....we have the Hedgehog Engine 2 for Sonic Forces. Would we have a completely different version of Sonic Unleashed with different voice actors and possibly gameplay. I'm sorry sounding stupid and weird.

Including I wanna say I also support the idea of Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 getting actual remakes like Resident Evil 1 did. Including Resident Evil 2 despite their hasn't been news on it in a long time. While the remake of the game was different it still respected the original but you can play in a new way. It was mainly better everything.

Yet I'm talking about a remastered version for Sonic Unleashed not a remake. Honestly I want Sega to try that crap out it would make them money. Including if dealt with proper respect and care.

Got almost left that as rags but yeah got tags down. Seriously I wanted to share this 7:15