#THIS WAS A MESS

[cewwart]

another year gone and another toast to the stray dogs (￣^￣)ゞ

happy new year guys!!!!

[elibean]

i'm so mad this whole season felt pointless lol

[izztreme-art-n-stuff]

Back at it again with the Ai redraws, and this was a bit harder considering it's, as you can see, a complete fucking mess

I just simply funneled it down to something understandable

[hannyoontify]

svt as texts between me n my friends except i could only find a few good ones

[baudshaw]

The Dreams Hat controversy, four years later!

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground Episode 20: When in Rome

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): The Oracle of Delphius sends the triplets to another world under the control of an evil Roman emperor. But this time, the Sonic Underground has to save the day without their powers! Can they find their inner strength to save this other world, and learn something about themselves while they’re at it?

Not gonna lie, I mostly picked the image above because it embodies my general feeling about this episode, unfortunately. Manic speaks to my soul.

So this episode does not open with Aleena’s voice over, and does remind us that as much as they complain, Sonia and Manic do kind of expect Sonic to handle everything in an emergency because they’re not only insisting he get them through a ‘forty-foot' thick door, but also run them away from the bad guys when they’re surrounded. This is all fine in the moment, but it does make me raise my eyebrow when they complain about him in other episodes.

Apparently this is the third mission that’s failed recently. It leads to Sonic having a well-deserved vent session about how they’re not getting anywhere. Sonia, who is apparently the optimistic one this episode, suggests they go see the Oracle.

The omniscient oracle doesn’t know why they’re here though. I don’t actually mind the Oracle, mostly because I think he’s screwing around with everyone for funsies and/or fate, but you do have to roll your eyes at him.

The triplets rightfully ask him to, you know, help out. He offers to share some of his knowledge if they go help some people in another world. He does not tell them they have to do this without their medallions.

NOW. Here’s the thing about this episode. They leave their medallions behind, sure, but they also lose all their powers, including Sonic’s speed, which has never before and will never again be implied to have anything to do with his medallion. I make too much of this in my head. In universe, we just accept and move on.

Manic is in the new world for less than a minute before he runs afoul of this world’s Dingo and gets himself arrested. He does it for heroic reasons, but still.

Sonia also manages about the same amount of time (in her defence, she got dropped in the middle of the highly restricted palace), but this is also where we discover the triplets have lost their powers because Sonia can’t defend herself (Manic never can, remember, so his capture is less shocking).

Meanwhile, Sonic is on the outskirts of the city, and trips over himself when he tries to run. Because apparently his actual power is coordination, not speed. But the point is that he can’t get away when he’s approached and is asked for papers. So they’re all immediately captured.

The Song: Where there’s a will (there’s a way), which is just so ridiculously 90s, with the rap, and the funky ‘whoa�� and the bass, and the appropriate music video cuts and camera angles and yep. Yep, it’s… circa ’93, if I had to place it.

 And we meet this episode’s version of Sleet, who is some kind of Caligula or Roman Prince John or something, who knows what they’re actually going for. The point is he’s all for raising taxes and anti-music and who knows what else. The world building is not great this episode.

As punishment for playing music, Sonic is sent to serve as a gladiator who were the first celebrities, Manic is made a jester which was actually quite a high station and Sonia is made the emperor’s hand maiden which was a role only filled by minor nobles in medieval society and has always been a high serving role. This allows them to use all their personal skills to escape. Which are, in order, Sonic’s silver tongue (by teaching the guy threatening him how to pick up girls), Manic’s sleight of hand, and Sonia’s (irrational) political savvy.

Side note, Sonic, you have not shown any romantic or sexual interest in this entire series and you never will, do not pretend like you are good at picking up. You aren’t. Girls like you because you are sweet and comforting, guys become obsessed with you because you’re heroic and have a nice smile. It is NOTHING to do with you being slick.

Manic, on the other hand, really likes this world’s princess Lydia. This will not be a thing, it’s just a blink-and-you-miss it Manic-has-feelings reminder while we introduce this world’s real imperial family.

So while Sonic’s trying to teach the gladiator centaur-minotaur-thing swag, Sonia and Manic have been thrown to the lions. With spears. One could make too much of this. Sonia is not concerned, however, because she’s convinced that if the crowd that have come to watch her die a gory death via lions will see their rightful ruler, they will rebel. Because divine right or something. The world building is not great in this episode.

After some implication that his ability to pick any kind of lock is part of his medallion’s power (yes I make too much of this), Manic gets them out of the lion pit, they meet up with Sonic and the centaur-minotaur-thing, and they run to save Lydia’s father.

For some reason, Sonia’s divine right theory is proven correct. And the centaur-minotaur-thing is actually the Oracle of Delphius in disguise, and declares them announcing the emperor’s return as the right outcome. He returns their magic, and Sonia immediately uses it to get rid of emperor Sleet.

We end on a new prophecy: “You will rejoin Queen Aleena and become the Council of Four: destined to defeat Robotnik, if you are true to yourselves and your powers. And if your hearts never lose faith.” And an image of a multi-tiered… building... thing… that will supposedly be a sign of where they need to go.

I give the whole episode some serious side-eye, because this was clearly supposed to be An Important Episode, narratively (and it’s even the half-way point!), but it… mostly was a mess.

So appropriate to the Trashfire then!

Okay, so… I don’t like the idea of rewriting things to improve them, but I’ll give you a quick rundown of how I think the same story could have been told more effectively. The point was that the triplets aren’t the rightful rulers because they have magic medallions, it’s because they have inner abilities that make them good leaders. And granted, when you have three main characters, that is very difficult to SHOW in 20 minutes, let alone with 90 seconds spent on a musical number. But still. Let’s outline the things that actually make them good royalty:

Sonic (underneath his impatience and attitude) is heroic and kind

Sonia is politically and business savvy

Manic… has not actually shown any good leadership traits in the series so far, but he’s implied to be the most emotional, honest, and caring of the three.

So in theory, these should have been the things highlighted in this episode through an act of self-sacrifice by Sonic, some emotional connection with people by Manic, and some manipulation of Sleet by Sonia. Lydia could have been trapped in the dungeon with them, Manic could have sung her a song about not giving up hope. The centaur-thing could have been in the dungeon and Sonic could have told everyone to run while he fends off certain death alone. Sonia could have demanded to speak to Sleet and found some legal loophole that meant he never should have become emperor, or that Sleet had used underhanded means to dethrone the old one, or some actual and legitimate reason for the people to stop backing him.

As it was, it was just a weird sort of… ‘yeah, you’re going to get the throne back because you’re supposed to be the ruling class’ thing and it’s… it’s weird. Awkward and weird and…

Anyway. Anyway… we move on.

[flashingbands]

Yes I know Pride is over... but for these two pride month is all year!

Also all of this is my headcannons, nothing is confirmed cannon!

[gavinosbornedrors]

Month of Mecha 2023: Mech #8!

Weird "top half is a hovercraft/aircraft" bottom half is just leggies mech. I like the grabby arms, I like the final stretch where I cleaned it up a lot. This was a big ol mess though.

[p00dle]

Connor went to the lounge to hunt. He met the famous actress, Judith Ward, and compelled her for a drink. The glamour didn't last long on her... I wonder if it is Hollywood drugs resistance. Anyway, he also decided to turn someone into a vampire. The girl is called Lucia Markovic. A crime of opportunity, it seems.

[leejungjaes]

idk if it's just me but i'm glad that the majority of people outside of here believe tumblr is a dead site because like i've been here for 13 years and like this is my house??? i don't need thousands upon thousands of people flocking here it'd be like inviting chimps to a house party total fucking carnage

[atomiccryptid]

Ok, so you've been isekai'd to the dnd world and may or may not die due to the class you've been assigned. Better question. Are you human? (spinner wheel of all dnd5e species)

[adobe-outdesign]

the craziest beta 'mon is this guy, who would evolve into a random Pokemon upon evolution

like imagine finding this autism creature fighting for its life out in the wild so you catch it out of pity and two months later it evolves into goddamn Rayquaza

[onixiage]

successful night out!!!

[demaparbat-hp]

That infamous prison escape.

[starspilli]

ideal s2 dynamic

original pic