#[ star disliked that ] /ref

[pandelacreme]

at first glance i thought the fixation on till’s neck was a sly joke about a/b/o, a genre heavily based in bl works, in the same cheeky way ivan’s name is a play on korean lgbt slang.

but the recurring motif of strangulation, how till's relationships (excluding his infatuation with mizi) are largely characterized with him being the object while the other is the subject; how him being on a leash, not just a collar, is quite literally one of his defining visual traits...

it reminds me of shakespeare's othello, where the titular character strangles his wife to death in a fit of jealousy over her alleged infidelity... the results of round 6 almost feel like a subversion of that play, where the leading artwork, esp the red one, seemed to suggest that ivan would strangle till in an act of possession, but it ended up as just the opposite.

but i wonder if there's more symbolism we can extrapolate if we hypothesize that some of the imagery are allegories to othello...

[stars-mischief-archive]

*squishes his cheeks*

Smol

hrm.

i am five foot nine, five eleven when wearing shoes, dude.

i'm not small.

[cut-it-out29]

My designs for my DT twins!!!

These are some silly little alts I made who’re only now getting a full ref 😅

THEIR ASKS ARE OPEN!!! PLEASE ASK ME ABOUT THEM I. AM. DESPERATE.

Night’s design hasn’t changed much from how I’ve sketched him before but dream didn’t have much of a design so that’s new and I kinda hate it so it’s definitely subject to change but whatever-

It’s more so Night I care about anyway because 1, he’ll end up being more of a main character then dream in my verse but much more importantly…

He’s my favorite (´∀｀=)

Yeahhhhh I love NM sm so that was not even a question… not that I particularly dislike dream, unlike another certain star- but I just prefer Nighty ^^

And yet… I was too lazy to draw his 1 visible hand

Anyway enough rambling <3

PLEASE. ASK ME ABOUT THEM- ASKS ARE OPEN 🙏🙏🙏

I need to ramble on more about their lore or the little bits and bobs of lore or symbolism in their designs (which is still a bit under construction but who cares)

[what-is-love-babey-dont-hurt-me]

Sir Meteor has crashed onto Popstar for a special event!

>> He is joining the @kirbyoctournament ! >> If you want his ref click here !

Meteor is answering asks! Start here to see his adventures :D

“The planet I’m from has many different names from Terra to Shiver Star—but long before it had a name, I appeared in a flash of light. Or so my mother said…”

✨Sir Meteor would love to interact with other participants!

✨He thinks himself as a dinosaur, and disagreeing with him will get him to dislike you. Kids are often ESTATIC to meet a genuine celestial being dinosaur!!!

✨Sir Meteor is ancient, and his cheek markings indicate he belongs to a era long gone. From giving humans the first fire to inventing --—spear hunting——+<3 he has been around!

✨Hey if Meteor is ancient does that mean that he has seen a lot of people d-

“Look at that! The next fact is here early!”

✨Good luck getting him to answer something directly! His open demeanor isn’t necessarily a lie, however he has learned to talk less and smile more.

✨Sir Meteor seems a bit lonely when he isn’t distracting everyone with a smile and a show of flame. He is open to romance with adults a couple million years old, but he greatly craves a good friendship over anything.

[jellitchi]

vat7k designs in my head...

i thought their canon designs were a eensy weensy bit Unpolished so i made these mostly for myself. erm if u rly want it i think varian is 19 here, hugo 19, nuru 18, yong 12.

i also made rhem all playlists and had to draw them a cover so thats what the last img is I linked each of em under my notes for all of em... Under the cut is Like a Huge Infodump of notes i have for each chara,,,,,,

i kept varians design basically the same, i dislike the design w the orange neck thing so i just Nuked it😭... Here's Varians playlist

Hugos design i just wanted to put him in something more Loose. hes a thief, a professional escape artist. i dont think wearing clunky metal is ideal for him. i also gave him a prosthetic arm (blond w no arm design trope!) but u cant see it in the ref so i added another drawing of him in his under layering👍 i vaguely referenced russian(?) clothes for him as well... Yeah not too much changed w him i just tried to make him slippery-er. Here's Hugo's playlist

yong came relatively easy to me, if it wasn't obvious i did rip gaming from g*nshin's hoodie. i thought the lion hood was Adorable and freaking perfect for what i had in mind for hos character. since the og notes said the fire kingdom is loosely Chinese inspired i basically just kept that. i mashed tgt a buncha diff dynasties though sorry for how inconsistent i was... i think he looks Okay. anyways i changed yongs role a bit, ill explain why im adjusting some of their roles later but i kept yong as the Jinx Type character. hes the eldest in his family and has a buncha younger siblings, hes a lion dancer and does performances w his family/siblings. he rly like special effects n keeps tryna incorporate his fireworks into their performances (it flops and he has to sew up the dmg) ill explain more of yongs role in another post maybe shrugs... Here's Yong's Playlist

miss nuru was a bit of a struggle for me i might share my full design process with her coz i did a Bunch of mockups for her😭😭😭... i didnt have a specific country of reference for her but i chose to make her vaguely south asian inspired. i also really wanted to keep the sheer fabric w the star / constellation map. i love that idea its so cute so shes still technically the navigator. but she also wields a sword too, fencing or whatever. (her and varian r Huge Cass fangirls which is probably why she started tryna use a sword (snuck out to watch cass compete) Okay ill talk abt this later) in my head, okay ill Probably make a whole nother post talking abt how im interpreting/writing each chara, but in my head i think nuru is the youngest and her kingdom's archivist. shes mostly in charge of like Her kingdoms history / artifacts / etc. ok im getting too side tracked ill save the lore dump for later but thats Nurus role in the party. Here's Nuru's Playlist

uhm below i made their character stats mostly to help me with planning / role developing. the yellow is their base stats the color behind is their end stats i guess. i was gonna explain my reasoning for their stats but ermm this post is kinda Really long so sorry😭... varian max int for obvious reasons, also max charisma just coz i feel like u kinda learn a thing or two being around a couple manipulators and spending time in jail idk shrugs... (also lets not forget the "ud b surprised what ppl would do for a cookie!") Hugo slippery guy, if a brick is thrown at him as hes running hes gonna try n run faster to shatter it, his mindset is Run Run Run! i think hes relatively agile too but yeah mostly a Speedster. i think he n varian got no Physical strength varian maybe just like A little coz Farm boy but I rly doubt quirin is making him do a Lotta heavy lifting. yong has incredible stamina and agility because hed a performer. nuru is the strongest coz this team would literally Flop without a proper Offense😭... i think varian n hugo r able to outwit plenty of their opponents but i think nuru is pretty good in a fight, same w yong. Yeah Okay Sorry for a Long Long Post thanks hope u guys enjoy

[enstarsrefs]

this whole situation keeps getting worse and worse. speedrunning how to lose the goodwill of a good chunk of your fanbase while also making the most racist decisions possible. going to put some links and information about the situation and how to contact happyele below and ill probably be posting them on my refs for the forseeable future

why ibuki joining akatsuki is offensive

HappyEle support email: support_stars@happyelements.co.jp (be polite, do NOT be aggressive. you can write to them in english and they will respond. explain to them your concerns about adding a new member and also how it relates to ibukis identity)

do NOT spend money on the game - no in game purchases, no buying merch except for secondhand

i would also suggest you open the game as little as possible. dont do events. dont gacha. dont interact with official posts. unfollow any ensemble stars official accounts, dislike their youtube videos, leave low reviews on the app store/google play store/etc

spread the word, use the twitter hashtags, let people know what is happening

theres probably more i could add but i cant think of anything else off the top of my head

most importantly - educate yourself

[cosmogify]

Friday Night Fightin - GF Reference Sheet

The apples of my eye, have Stacie the classy succubus, and she will fight for and with her mans.

Friday Night Fightin BF Ref Sheet Friday Night Fightin Pico Ref Sheet

Name: Stacie Daemon

Nickname: Star

Birthday: 10th May

Age: 26

Orientation: Polyamorous demisexual

Species: Demon succubus

Height: 5'5ft

Weight: 166 lbs

Voice: Bubble's villain cover heh

Relationship status: Dating

Family: Marco Daemon (fightin!DaddyDearest), Janice Daemon (fightin!MommyMearest)

Partners: Mikey Angel (fightin!BF), Derrick Dino (fightin!Pico)

Friends: Neena Arachnes (fightin!Nene), Darnell Phoenix (fightin!Darnell)

Acquaintances: John Dino (fightin!Tankman), Skid Skelly and Pump Pumpkin (fightin!SkidandPump)

Enemies/Rivals: Neena Arachnes (fightin!Nene) (They like to compete in friendly rivalry when given an opportunity), Ayumu Obake (fightin!Senpai)

Personality: In juxtaposed to her two partners, she's the most reserved out of the trio and the emotional pillar for them to stand and lean upon. She's always open with her feelings and can act a bit aloof in dangerous situations. Despite this, she acts just as mischievous as her lovers, silently enabling their antics and would watch the chaos unfold from the sidelines with backup popcorn until she needs to intervene. She loves getting either Mic or Dee to wear girly accessories with her or bring them along in her Sunday Shoppings, always having the pleasure to spoil them with gifts and adoring affections.

Personality flaw: An idealist, she tends to be passive and often indecisive when stressed, unable to make a decision in a desperate situation due to growing up only knowing how to listen but not how to act despite being a social butterfly. Despite this, she's determined to get better at taking the lead, especially when it came to helping Dee and Mic with their mental disorders.

Likes: Fashion, socializing, shopping, Lo-fi songs, Mic's singing, Dee's marksmanship, her partners, spoiling her partners, giant teddy bears, fried tuna sandwiches, going along with her partners' shenanigans, Vocaloid covers, rosemary tea, Spring season.

Dislikes: Her parents (more so neutral of them), seeing her partners suffer alone, being helpless, thunder, jumpscares, quiet rooms, two faced people, lemons.

Powers: Heel kicks (basic combo attacks), Dual tail whips (heavy combo attacks), Airborn (uses her wings to double jump and glide), sweet kiss (blows a kiss as her tails create a heart shockwave at a certain direction), Heart stepdown (dives down heel first to the ground causing anyone below to take heavy damage), Devil's aroma (creates an enticing smoke that lures a person nearby with no resistance), Lovebeam (long range attack)

Backstory (summary): Stacie was a rich girl growing up, sheltered for almost her whole life. She was given a personal bodyguard that would later be her childhood friend and much later sweetheart Derrick. Wanting to live outside of her confined and monotone home, she would take any chance to be out in the warm daylight and meeting as many people as she could with Derrick by her side, along with Mikey soon after. Everyday was different than the last, and she wouldn't trade them for anything else. Well, if she was given the offer to trade their disorders away, she would offer her life without a second thought just for them, all so they could have the chance to feel inner peace and true happiness.

Additional notes:

She has sectoral heterochromia on her left eye

She wants to cuddle Mikey so bad during cuddle times but knows it makes him uncomfortable if it's too long

Has various kinds of hoop earrings

Always takes the opportunity to tickle her partners at their weak spots when they least suspect it

Hair is often tied and/or in a braid

Horns are supposed to shape a heart (Idk if that was shown well)

[seastarblue]

Character Intro: Mehri Al-Adwan

“We’ve only got so much time in life, ya know? Live a little!”

Basic:

Pronouns: she/they

Species: Human

Age: 24

MBTI: idk

Voice Claim: idk

Physical:

6’2”

Build: Muscular, a bit chubby

Skin: Medium brown, many small scars

Hair: Dark brown, very curly, mid back length, sometimes held back with a scarf or bandana

Eyes: Light brown

Special Features: Very warm due to fire magic, very Cuddlytm

Personality:

Mehri is really friendly and outgoing. She's been described as always having a smile on their face and is genuinely a very sweet person. She does taunt their friends a LOT, but she does mean well.

Speaking Style: Mehri is always smiling, and this is apparent in their speech. She sometimes slip into different languages when she talks quickly, and it confuses some people.

Likes: fire, adventure/exploration, causing chaos (intentionally or not), looking at the stars, cooking, helping people, learning new things, honesty, kindness, spicy foods

Dislikes: snow/cold weather (doesn’t get “cold” per se but she thinks snow sucks anyways), people who pretend to know everything, people who assume she’s naïve or stupid (she’s not fr), overheating from magic overuse, people who abuse their power, pineapple (burns their tongue)

Main Goal: “Haha… I just want to see the world! And also not get caught by those guys…”

Picrew refs: *coming soon!*

Backstory (under the cut):

Mehri Al-Adwan was born in Qultaar, to people she has never met. She was left at a small monastery near the desert, who took them in and taught them everything she knows now. Mehri played, prayed, trained with, and truly loved the people there, but she still felt a longing to... go somewhere. Anywhere, really. Life was getting repetitive, and Mehri wanted to see things beyond their desert home.

And so she did. She wandered across the whole continent, meeting people from different cultures, lands, and walks of life. She learned so much about the world, and even more about themself. For example, Mehri found out she was allergic to shellfish when she almost died after eating one in Reito (lmao).

Nowadays, Mehri is still wandering the place, and she occasionally takes messenger jobs to earn some cash. She’s gotta watch their back though, as someone—or rather, a group of someones—are looking for them.

[mad-voidling]

Character Ref/Info: The Peculiar Collector

(art done by my beloved partner!! you can find them at magpips on Instagram or magpip on Discord, they have commissions open rn so go follow them and commission them NOW!!)

Name: Idris Nightlocke/Mr. Trinkets

Pronouns: It/They

Species: Curator

Ambition: Heart's Desire (Ending: Power Truth)

Profession: Correspondent

Primary Attributes: Watchful, Bizarre, Artisan of the Red Science

Primary Quirks: Steadfast, Melancholy, Magnanimous

(More under cut)

Backstory:

A long time ago, far, far away from the Neath, a child was born to a criminal. Its memories of this time are few and indistinct, but it remembers one thing clearly - the stars. Bright and beautiful, a countless number speckling the dark world beyond the safety of its parent's hold. It was young, it was free, and it was happy.

Then, suddenly and without warning, there was cold. Before there had been an occasional chill, but it was protected by its fur and its parent's embrace. Now the freezing air and the pure white surrounding it was unrelenting, even its parent unable to protect it, them having gone still and the warmth quickly fading from them. Unsure of what else to do, the child wailed. It did not know how long passed before the light came, like its parent but not - large and soft and warm but not the same, could never be the same. It wanted to wail and scream and cry again but its throat was sore and its eyes dry so it remained silent as it was once again taken away.

Mr. Trinkets, though it was not called that then, was raised among the Masters of the Bazaar as their future colleague, though some contributed more to its care than others. There was an air of bitterness surrounding the child as it grew up - it was, after all, a child and not one theirs, but instead taking up the place of what should have been a fully grown Curator. Furthermore, the loss of one of their colleagues was still fresh, and its arrival was a salt in that wound.

None would grow to dislike it more than the Master that Londoners would come to know as Mr. Stones. It started early with Trinkets’ developing desire to collect knick knacks and baubles, the shinier the better. And what was shinier than items encrusted with precious gemstones? Thus their rivalry was born, though then one-sided and petty, for the child was too young to feel the same contempt. But after nearly a millennia its bitterness towards its older colleague grew alongside its size. Though now there was more to it than light thievery - jealousy, discontent, condescension, and unfairness to name a few - at its heart it was still petty, and that pettiness would lead to the breaking point.

The item itself was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, especially compared to what it would cause. But it lay within the overlap between Stones and Trinkets’ domains, both desired it, and it was the latter who was able to take it first. When next they met they of course argued over this, but as it went on it only got more heated. Out of patience, Trinkets turned to storm off, only to hear quick movement behind them, something pricking their shoulder-

Ego Mortis

Several days later, trapped up high in New Newgate, a newcomer to London would awaken with no memories of themself beyond a faint recollection of a star filled sky. It did not take them long to escape that place, but they left it without a name. It was only some time later that  they would decide on it in a flash of inspiration, fueled by the desperation of needing somewhere warm to shelter themself from the lacre covered streets:

Idris Nightlocke.

Canon Exceptional Stories

The Deadly Dapperlings: Happened fairly early on in Idris’ life, they were very early into their Ambition and had only recently started their lab/become a professor. They led their team to victory, but refused to let them become workers under Mr. Iron and have their dreams and passions be crushed

Cricket, Anyone?: Occurred much later, post-Ambition and while they were still actively help construct the railroad. Helped complete the sigil (they don’t have SotC 21 for nothing), learned Mr. Wines’ secret, and kept it for themselves. This is what happens when you entrust a near-stranger with a vital part of your plan

[sillyfreakingstrings]

Going with the trend!!!

i FINALLY got some inspiration to draw my oc again!!! well, a relationship chart at least. more detailed explanations are below the cut :3

oh yeah if you DOOOO want her ref it's right here:

https://www.tumblr.com/sillyfreakingstrings/771210759353073664/i-finally-did-it?source=share

And text reference! ↓

🌊 "You can also use her name or any water related emoji too btw!!!"

okay im just gonna say this SHE IS A HATERRRRR so that's why she dislikes so much people lol

Main Game:

Lil Mac ⭐:

I mean, other than the fact that she met him after one of his world circuit matches she doesn't really know who he is. She is proud of him for keeping up his wins though- She's a bit.. jealous of how he's only 17 and already set to become champion. Now if only she could reach for the stars too..

Glass Joe 🥖:

Ah yes, the latter of the bunch. They've never met, but she's heard of him. Sometimes she imagines herself with the persistence to keep going though.

Von Kaiser 🇩🇪:

Yeah, they've met. No, she doesn't plan on seeing him anytime soon. They've interacted, but she just doesn't vibe with the whole "dictator" vibe going on. Infact it's a little weird to be honest.

Disco Kid 🪩:

Hell yeah! Finally someone that matches her vibe. They're..friends? Sort of? There's a weird tension between the two that's just. Off. Occasionally she comes to the club to meet up and dance, especially when she wins her own matches! She's really only there because her friend..(ANOTHER OC will make a ref...uh later-)

King Hippo 👑:

She just thinks he's mad ugly LMAO

(In all seriousness they've met but she does not like to keep up a conversation with this man. Not like hippo can speak much in the first place.)

Piston Hondo 🍙:

Hondos like a father figure to her. From his wisdom, his honor..even food tastes! They both talk often both in and out of the dumb collabs both the leagues make them do. Guess there was some good coming from these in the first place.

Bear Hugger 🧸:

Great guy to hang around! Other than the smell of what seems to be like fish and tree bark she doesn't mind striking up a conversation once in a while. Pretty chill if you wanted to fish with him. Maybe in the future she'll show him how to catch an alligator...

Great Tiger 🐯:

Never met before and probably will never go out of her way to talk with him. She is not so keen about him as well, Disco or anything.

Don Flamenco 🌹:

Had to talk with him at least once while being on a girl's trip with Carmen, and let's just say..she isn't a big fan of him. She just doesn't get how sooo much people fall for him. Would never tell Carmen about that..it's probably for the best.

Aran Ryan 🍀:

The crazed Irish himself. Honestly she sees some of herself within him, which is why they both are friends. There's something about him that makes her feel..different. She can see the glances he does every so often when it looks like she's distracted, but it's probably to get a better look. Right?

Soda Popinski 🍾:

Jesus Christ dude chill with the red. Is that your whole color scheme? Hates on him in secret just because he sounds very insane. Probably blind sighted by Aran however.

Bald Bull 🐂:

He's just plain scary simple as that. It's the main reason why she stays away from him. Well, as much as she can anyway.

Super Macho Man!!! 🕶️:

She does NOT like how douchy he is. Like, at all. Just cause hes famous doesn't mean you can push another around like some dog toy. They argue on social media lol.

Mr Sandman ⏳:

One word, 2 vowels. Scary. I think that sums it up.

EXTRA CHARACTERS!!!

Doc Louis 🚲:

Who? All she knows is that he trains Mac..seems like a cool fellow to talk with.

Carmen 🌺:

The both of them are like, the bestest friends ever!! They go on girls trips every weekend and party together. She feels comfortable enough to actually vent to her about issues as well, which is pretty nice considering how closed off Tide is. She also might have a little.. affection towards her.

The Ref 🎤:

Appreciates how he has to deal with crazed fools all the time. I'm not looking at anyone, I swear! (🍀)

I just got 10 years taken off of my lifespan doing this PLEASE LIKE THIS PLEASE!!!!!!!! AHHHHH

also if you guys want you can link your ocs and i can make some interaction chart thingy for them too lol, lmk what u think 😆

[skullbonezz]

redoing this for like the FOURTH TIME. GOD. Hate you sunbeam. Anyways this is my basically main OC sunbeam! I love him dearly even if everything i do says otherwise 😇

Cracks on skull and fingerless glove are due to an unfortunate occurrence he’d rather keep to himself.

Said occurrence is the fact he gets possessed by a demon at random intervals. whoops.

A member of the Star Sanses! Closest with Dream, he feels like it’s an obligation rather than something he wants to do.

Lives in the Omega Timeline with his boyfriend and their kid. (Kid ref coming soon!! Trust!!!)

Sanguine’s twin brother

Misses his mom

Loves the heat and being productive. He likes cooking for his family even if Monochrome is the one who usually does it.

Dislikes being reminded of his home/past. Doesn’t like birds very much either. Hates being cold and sour things.

[kyayamo]

Random Gav info because I have no idea what's been publicly shared about him and what hasn't

Can speak German, Serb and English. Can only sing in German.

His mother is from Austria and his father is from Serbia. He's always been more fond of his mother's side of the family and she'd sing to him to sleep a lot before her work trips became longer and more frequent, which led to him learning a lot of songs in her language.

His full name is Gavril Ćosić !

He was raised in Belgrade and lived most of his teenage years alone with his father, whose abuse has led him to self harm on multiple occasions

Gavril was taught how to play the piano since he was around 8 years old and has kept on attending lessons until he joined VILE

Magic and card tricks are a special interest of his (he's autistic !) and has kept the magician act as a side gig alongside his musical studies

He's very fond of rabbits and any animal associated with magic

In his ref sheet it's stated that he dislikes astrology, that's because he's often mistaken as a fortune teller

Gav owns an extensive collection of playing cards of various colors, styles and shapes (including stars!)

He's fairly good at Jumpstyle dancing

His ref sheet doesn't show the turtle neck sweater he wears underneath the VILE uniform

Yes, the fuck ass bob allegations are true

His favourite ice cream flavour is melon :9

If more comes to mind, I'll write it down on another post !

[coloringthebanner]

pt. 2 of my fem losers refs is richie! blood oath scar & her eyes are lighter when she’s older cuz of deadlights! she also 100% gains weight after chapter 2 as a way to healthily start reclaiming her life

(more hc character info, a mood board, & spotify playlist below)

name: rachel margaret tozier

nickname(s): richie, trashmouth, rich, rach 

age: 13 (chapter 1), 40 (chapter 2)

birthday: march 7, 1976

star sign: pisces

height: 5’2 (chapter 1), 5’7 (chapter 2)

sexuality: bisexual, wlw leaning (i know people are going to have things to say about this. depending on the context i hc her as bi or lesbian, but for the sake of it i’m putting bi (i may just be projecting a little bit))

pronouns: she/her

love language: physical touch

character description: rachel tozier, deemed trashmouth by her peers, richie by the losers, is a loud, mouthy, awkward girl. born as the oldest daughter of maggie & wentworth tozier, to whom she owes her humor. she loves works of fictions- movies, video games, comics, etc. & takes a lot of inspiration from them for her bits & voices. she doesn’t openly display her feelings, but boy does she have a lot of them. she tries not to let things get to her, but she can’t help but take any bit of dislike of her to heart. she puts on a brave face, but she’s really the most scared of all. she’s too afraid of being her true self cuz she’s worried her friends will leave her if she’s real with them. so she sticks to being the “funny one” & bottles up all her feelings. what her friends don’t know won’t hurt them… it’ll only hurt her.

extra info: has anxiety & adhd, naturally really smart, theatre kid, has a younger sister (they don’t get along much), smokes because she thinks it makes her look cool (it doesn’t), gets nauseous when nervous, rarely wears contacts cuz the prescription isn’t strong enough

[bizarrescribblez]

🌟 she’s so lucky ! she’s a star ! 🌟

FINALLY REDID MY OLD REF OF MY MTL INSERT AAAAAAA 😭 and added little likes/dislikes bubbles hehehe

[sonicreferencephotos]

Why I Dislike Sonic Speed Simulator

I sometimes see people in the notes of Speed Sim refs saying that maybe they should start playing it/get back into it. I want to ask, for your sakes, that you do not. The only reason I still play it is for this blog. I would love to stop. I keep going so that no one else will have to play to unlock characters for references. I will also be adding a disclaimer to future Speed Sim posts. Maybe this is a bit excessive, but this game is starting to break me.

I understand that some people like the game, and you all control what games you choose to play. In my opinion however, playing Speed Sim is really, really not worth it.

If you want a specific explanation of the problems, you can read it below the cut

Problem 1: Gameplay

The gameplay of SSS is simple, to put it kindly. There are a few different aspects of the game, each of which has only the bare minimum amount to do.

You can run around the world. This lets you collect rings and experience. You can also destroy badniks, which exclusively consists of doing repeated homing attacks until you destroy them. They can technically hit you, but all that does is knock you back.

You can do time trials. Actually somewhat fun. Not much more to say about them.

You can enter races. PvP races which are fine. Fun at first, get boring when you have to grind for race tickets.

You can fight bosses. By "bosses" I of course mean "Eggman" and "Eggman but with more health." It is almost exactly the same fight. You run around breaking shield generators, dodging the same two attacks, and then deal a set amount of damage to him before the shield returns. Repeat. Your prize is spins on (one of) the gacha wheels.

You can complete quests. Actually decent! At least until you run out of quests. Good thing there are daily quests to keep you "entertained" with their repetitive tasks. Also, ignore the fact that the tasks for quests are just engaging with the rest of the mediocre game.

All of the above mechanics grow dull and grind-y very quickly. Soon, every part of the game becomes a chore. The game itself even seems to have realized this, and thus includes an auto-run feature, so you can collect rings and xp without needing to do anything!

I am generally of the opinion that it's a bad sign if a game is un-fun enough it needs to add in the ability to skip the gameplay, but that's just me (that's part of why I stopped playing Star Rail).

Problem 2: Skins

We all know the real reason people play SSS isn't the game itself: it's the cool outfits! 95% of which are only available during limited events and/or by spending actual money. You can also expect to do a lot of boring grinding if you don't spend money. Speaking of spending money...

Problem 3: Microtransactions

Time to talk about the true "heart" of the game: Robux. Now, I will give Speed Sim itself half a pass on this one, as from what I've seen, Roblox as a whole has what I would consider an unsavory emphasis on microtransactions, especially for a game with a playerbase of 50% children aged 12 or under, and another 15% between 13 and 16 (Statista: Roblox user distribution worldwide 2022, by age group). With that being said though, Sonic Speed Simulator doesn't seem to have any qualms about asking for money wherever they can.

I could make a whole other post about all the ways this game offers for you to spend money. You want more spins on the gacha wheels? Spend money! You want to get three gacha eggs for the price of one (certain vending machines only)? Spend money! You want to skip the animation you have to watch every time you buy an egg from said gacha machines? Spend money! You want to do less grinding for xp/race tickets/event objectives/candy/whatever? Money, money, money!!!

The game has a lot of the trademark warning signs for a cash grab gacha game:

Several different kinds of currency, most or all of which can be purchased with premium currency

Many different skins to unlock, using the assorted currencies mentioned above (including ones that are specifically only purchasable with premium currency)

Gacha wheels. Many, many gacha wheels. (Not counting the dozens of vending machines, I can think of at least four)

Grindy gameplay that can largely be skipped by spending money

Again, if a game is un-fun enough to have an option for players to spend real money to skip the gameplay, that's a bad sign.

Problem 4: Crunch

I haven't done much looking into it myself, but I've seen many people say that GameFam (the company that creates Speed Sim) treats its employees very poorly. The game advertises its weekly updates, which requires a lot of crunch in order to get content out quickly. This is obviously bad for the people involved, and also has negative effects on the game.

Many features are clearly rushed, and there's a general lack of polish. From glitching through the map, to races starting several seconds before or after the countdown ends, to untextured models, to many small bugs, it's clear that the developers are not given enough time to clean things up before they have to move on to the next week's content.

*

Thank you to anyone who actually read this far. This was a long post, but I wanted to be thorough in my explanation. This is probably the last dedicated post I will make about this, since this is really not what this account is for, but I still think it's an important one.

You are welcome to ask questions about any of this — preferably in the replies so as not to clutter the sonicreferencephotos feed — but otherwise the disclaimers are all I'll be saying on the topic for the foreseeable future. Take care of yourselves.

[creatureeditsandredesigns]

Baby Octavia redesign! I drew this from scratch using her official ref as reference. In this redesign, she’s a obvious hybrid of both her parents (Stolas, Southern White-Faced Owl) (Stella, mute swan), so she has mostly gray feathers starting off thanks to being a cygnet, but gains a bit more white plumage as she grows older and has some owl spotting and patterns. She loves stars and space, and some other kids bully her because they mock her by saying she looks like a pigeon instead of some “dignified bird”. (Pigeons are awesome tho >:( )

RAMBLING YAYYYY In this sort of redesign/rewrite, Octavia is also autistic (based on my personal experience with being so + having not great parents), but have their own bit of flaws when it comes to parenting her such as Stolas growing uncomfortable being around her because of her whitening swan plumage as he dislikes Stella and her family and that reminds him of that, and Stella often pushes her to be a proper royal even if she is uncomfortable with it because that’s how Stella was raised to be. Of course the constant fighting too. They both are absent when it comes to her needing reminders that she is loved and accepted while she was growing up and having trouble understanding herself as nobody really helped her when it came to learning she was autistic. Rather, most everyone ignored that part of her or resented it. So, she grows up to become a bit isolated from her parents and full of internal self-loathing because she doesn’t know why she is the way she is, and because she had no healthy and loving reassurances. Maybe later in life leaves both of her parents and takes the Goetia throne and begins a new legacy promoting acceptance of everyone, abolishing harmful generational ideals for new generations to come.

Can you tell I love Octavia so much lol