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ambrosiagourmet · 1 year ago

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Hey, Kabru and Mithrun spend some interesting time together, don't they?

With Mithrun having just officially premiered in the anime, and a lot of discussions swirling around about him, I've been thinking a lot about that section of the story quite a bit. These chapters - Roasted Walking Mushroom and 6 Days - are some of my favorites. For a lot of reasons, really. Not only are they are a huge turning point for the story as a whole, but they have some excellent character work, and represent an important shift in Kabru and Mithrun's individual arcs and relationship to each other.

The chapters are also kind of a fully contained story arc just on their own, which is an impressive bit of writing, and makes them super fun to analyze. So that's exactly what I'm going to do!

This will be structured as a close reading of chapters 61 & 62, with some asides for additional important context. I'm going to talk a little bit about a reading that I disagree with, but for the most part I just want to focus on how Kabru and Mithrun's relationship progresses during these two chapters. In particular, the ways they both grow from the time they spend together.

Also I just want to quickly note that this isn't written as Ship Content. It's meant to be an analysis of their relationship as presented in the text - layer whatever additional meanings and filters on top of that as you'd like, but please respect that my intent is not to talk about or champion a ship, or frame any of this content as romantic.

So, with that all being said:

How do Kabru and Mithrun help each other?

First of all, I think there are two important pieces of context that inform the Kabru & Mithrun Dungeon Adventure chapters. Both are related to Kabru's state of mind, and both are set up before or during the chapters in question.

The first is the context of what happened just before Kabru and Mithrun fell into the dungeon. Specifically, the events that led Kabru to make them fall.

Kabru, essentially, gives up his life at the end of chapter 55. When he stops Mithrun, and when they both plummet with the collapse of the first floor, he is okay with dying. Mithrun warns him that they will both die if Kabru doesn't let him go, and Kabru accepts this as a worthwhile exchange.

Why?

Well, because he doesn't want the elves to take over the dungeon. Throughout the last 3 chapters, the Canaries have been effective, but they have also been cruel in their efficiency, and they have made it clear that they don't care about collateral damage. They lured people into the dungeon specifically to provoke a violent reaction from it, without regard for who might get hurt by the violence.

What's more, they are keeping important information from Kabru, and he knows it.

He's not just looking for a solution, he's looking for the truth - a truth that he believes that he will only find through conquering the dungeon. With good reason, to be fair! The elves make it very clear that they aren't there to treat the other races on the Island as equals.

So Kabru uses the only tool he has available to him - his own life. It won't get him the truth, but it at least gives a chance for another person from a short-life species (namely, Laios) to earn it in his place.

This dovetails nicely with the more thematic context that's introduced in at the start of chapter 61: the room where he could eat all the cake he wanted.

This place, a place that Kabru never wants to go back to, is a place where he is safe, and a place where he is ignorant. A place where he is sheltered from danger, but also from the truth. The same place the Island would become, if the Canaries had their way. He doesn't just want to be safe, and he doesn't even just want the world to be safe, though he does want to be able to protect people from what happened in Utaya.

But he doesn't just want to entrust that safety to the paternalism of the elves (especially since he is all too aware of the ways they can fail, or the people they are willing to sacrifice in the name of that "safety"). He wants to be given the agency to seek safety and peace for himself.

He wants to understand. And he wants the chance to act.

This is the context we have, going into the arc of 61 & 62. But before I talk about how the chapters build on this context, I want to take a step back and look at what else the chapters establish early on, before delving into their exploration of Kabru's agency.

First of all, I kind of want to challenge the framing of Kabru and Mithrun's relationship as solely that of a caretaker and his charge.

Obviously, Kabru is forced into a caretaker position - at the threat of his friend's safety, no less. (Okay, it's actually Toshiro and Namari that are being held, but still. There are hostages involved in this) But I do think it's important that Mithrun isn't the one who puts Kabru in this position - Cithis is.

Before this conversation, Kabru and Mithrun are already exploring the dungeon together. Mithrun doesn't threaten Kabru, or force his hand. He kind of just assumes that Kabru will join him. It's rude, and not particularly respectful, but given the dangers of navigating a dungeon alone, I don't think that's really an unreasonable assumption. And it certainly isn't the same as Cithis' approach.

If they were left alone with no intervention, they probably would have ended up in a similar position to the one that Cithis leveraged them into. Kabru is smart, and he could have figured out the things that Mithrun needed help with. And, to be clear, those are things that Mithrun needs help with not because he is selfish or thinks they are owed to him, but because he is disabled. It's not unreasonable for him to need that help, and it's not unreasonable for Kabru to provide it, under the circumstances.

Besides, they both need each other down there. Kabru wouldn't have survived without Mithrun - he doesn't know enough about monsters, and isn't familiar with the deeper dungeon's layout. And Mithrun wouldn't survive without Kabru - he isn't able to notice his basic needs and would burn himself out without food or rest, making him an easy target for the monsters he could otherwise take care of on his own.

Aside from both needing each other, another interesting layer to their relationship, which is established right away, is that Kabru doesn't have to - and literally cannot - put on a mask of social niceties around Mithrun. He can't suck up. It doesn't work.

So Kabru, who spends so much of his time concerned with how others perceive him, and who compromises his own comfort in order to become the most appealing version of himself at any given time, has that tool taken away. He has to help Mithrun, but notably, he can only help Mithrun to a certain point. He cannot compromise his open and honest feelings to help maintain someone else's view of the world - or at very least, it doesn't benefit him at all to do so.

Instead, they sit together, in the same position, share the same shitty mushroom dinner, because they both have to:

And that's notable, too. They both have to. Cithis' demand is most specific about the need to eat. Three meals a day! But this is something they both need, not just Mithrun.

Still, their relationship at this point still isn't exactly supportive, or even respectful. Kabru may have realized that he didn't need to keep up an act around Mithrun, but ya know, he still turns around an immediately try to, with that shitty mushroom dinner.

(The 'badly drawn shapeshift Kabru' gag here isn't just funny, imo, it's also a reminder of the thing he JUST LEARNED. Mithrun is immune to the Kabru smile anime sparkles filter.)

Mithrun also doesn't tell Kabru any helpful information at this point, and doesn't really put much effort into helping him at all. He slaps him awake out of a Nightmare, and treats him with the same disregard he did at the start of the chapter, focused entirely on moving ahead.

But then Mithrun collapses, and the current structure of their relationship collapses with him.

I think it's interesting here that the shift in their dynamic also includes Mithrun explicitly noticing Kabru's desires. Obviously it's not actually like some kind of I truly see you and recognize your humanity moment shared between them, but I do still like the way that it pulls Kabru's internal wants to the surface. Kabru not voicing his desires doesn't mean they don't exist, and Mithrun recognizes that the same way the dungeon does.

And then Mithrun does, in fact, grant one of Kabru's deepest desires. He tells Kabru the truth.

Just like how they are working together in the first place, this truth is as much a necessary concession to survival as anything. But that doesn't mean it's not impactful for Kabru. This is the thing that every other elf in his life has kept from him. A secret foundational to his core belief that long-life and short-life species can never come to mutual understanding.

And Mithrun isn't just giving him the bare minimum information here. What he shares isn't just a truth, it's his truth. It's a level of complete and total vulnerability that few people share with each other. And again - some of this may just be coincidence and necessity. I imagine Mithrun is so open, at least in part, because he doesn't have the same barriers that other people do when it comes to sharing these things.

But, then again... we see Mithrun at his most vulnerable and empathetic when he is talking to dungeon lords & potential dungeon lords, and trying to convey to them the truth of the trap they are walking into.

This face:

Is very similar to this face:

These are some of the few instances that we see Mithrun emote in this way, and his story does come just after he notices the dungeon responding to Kabru's desires.

But, no matter if Mithrun's openness is in response to Kabru being tangled in the dungeon's hunger, or just part of his nature (or, maybe, a little of both), his story changes things for Kabru. It gives him the chance to make actual choices, now that he understands the truth. It gives him a chance at agency in the story.

And he immediately turns around and uses some of that agency in an interesting way:

When asked about why he can't sleep, Mithrun says he needs to be magically compelled. Being magicked to sleep is simple, and it is efficient, but he doesn't even just say it's the best option. He seems to believe it is the only option.

So much in Mithrun's recovery has been framed through how it will let him fight the demon. Recover so that you can return to the dungeon. Sleep so that you can return to the dungeon. Eat so that you can return to the dungeon.

But rest, much like eating, isn't just about achieving the bare minimum required for efficiency. And as Senshi would probably say, the easiest path isn't always the best.

I don't think that the Canaries are intentionally running Mithrun ragged or anything, but as I mentioned earlier, they are very focused on efficiency, with little thought spared to what is lost or hurt in the process.

And there is something different about Mithrun's time with Kabru in the dungeon. Lycion even notes it, when they finally connect back up.

I don't think it's a huge leap to say that how Mithrun falls asleep here is emblematic of that difference. When Kabru helps Mithrun to sleep by massaging his feet, rather then using magic, he is explicitly taking a step beyond the minimum. He is providing comfort to a body that has been given only necessities for a long, long time.

These two events - Mithrun sharing the truth of the dungeon with Kabru, and Kabru choosing to help Mithrun to sleep through a foot massage - shift their relationship. There's a clear difference in how we see them treat each other, and especially in how Mithrun treats Kabru.

Before, Kabru provides food that he has gathered himself (okay, it was a mushroom he put his foot through on floor one, but the point still stands that Mithrun offered no help at all with getting food).

Afterwards, they gather food together.

Before, Mithrun teleports Kabru towards a monster, using him as a weapon when he can't find anything else.

Afterwards, he helps Kabru escape monsters, and fights them directly.

Before, he slaps Kabru awake after 5 hours of uncomfortable, Nightmare-filled sleep. A rest which, notably, Kabru didn't even intend to take for himself.

Afterwards, we see Mithrun keeping watch while Kabru sleeps in a bedroll.

I don't necessarily think that all of these things are choices that Mithrun consciously makes. Like, after 6 days, Kabru would have to get some actual sleep eventually, and Mithrun would pretty obviously have to keep watching during that time.

Nonetheless, there's still a difference in how these scenes are framed, and the fact that it is these things that are used to portray their journey together. Kabru is not the sole person providing food and sleep and safety - they provide these things for each other. Kabru eats alongside Mithrun, hunts alongside Mithrun, and he sleeps in the same way we see Mithrun sleep, laying down and resting deeply enough to be groggy when woken up.

What's more, during their time together, there are even a couple of instances of Kabru being more willing to care for himself and accept care. The sleeping is one example - note how he is surprised at having slept "that long" when told he was asleep for less than even the minimum recommended amount of nightly sleep - but I think the pattern of his eating is even clearer. In making sure that Mithrun eats regularly, he is forced to eat regularly too.

And I especially like the progression with the Barometz meal. After Mithrun has fallen asleep, Kabru thinks about wanting to "give [Mithrun] something nice to eat," but also notes that Mithrun's lack of desire "means there isn't even anything he wants to eat." So what does Kabru do?

He makes Mithrun something that he wants to eat.

I've already talked a bit about the ways that Dungeon Meshi depicts people finding support through "borrowing" the desires of the people who care for them, and I think this scene is a great example of that idea. Especially in the way that it pulls an expression of desire from Kabru, who is so prone to ignore his own hunger and needs. The meal may not end up anywhere close to the flavor intended, but it's still a far cry from the roasted walking mushroom.

All of these pieces come together at the end of chapter 62, resulting in a pivotal choice that could only happen because of the ways Kabru and Mithrun have, at least a little bit, grown closer to each other.

As they are preparing to leave, Kabru hears a bell ringing in the dungeon, just as he hears Toshiro's matching bell on the other side of the portal. Realizing Laios is nearby, Kabru hesitates. He knows the truth about the demon, and how he has a chance to act on it.

Cithis, the person who extorted Kabru into taking care of Mithrun in the first place, pushes for Mithrun to follow along with the plan.

(okay a quick aside here I just want to say I do love Cithis and I'm not trying to bash on her here. I just think it's interesting that she is the one to establish the terms of Mithrun & Kabru's cooperation, as well as the one who tells Mithrun to leave the dungeon at the end of the chapter)

But Mithrun doesn't go along with her command. Instead, he does something unexpected:

He asks what Kabru wants to do.

In contrast to Milsiril's smothering comfort,

and in contrast to his Mithrun's own assumption that Kabru will follow him, when they first wake up in the dungeon,

Mithrun follows Kabru's lead.

This, right here, is the change between them. Not only that, but it's a shift in the entire balance of agency in the dungeon. For what might be the first time in a very long time, Kabru - a tall-man - knows the truth, and is acting on it. He makes a huge decision purely on his own judgement. He is not trying to appease or coerce anyone, and he doesn't win Mithrun over by hiding his true intentions.

Rather, it's the honesty between them that builds to this moment. Mithrun's honesty earns Kabru's trust, and Kabru's honesty earns Mithrun's respect. They bond not because they are forced to spend time together, but because they choose to spend that time giving each other more than the bare minimum - even when they are both people used to accepting the bare minimum.

It echoes Laios' argument with Toshiro, in a way. They eat three square meals a day (Cithis mandated admittedly), they get plenty of sleep, and in doing these things, they take each other seriously. They treat each other as more than just a means to an end.

I don't necessarily think it's a flawless, unbreakable bond that's built during this time - hell, they both kind of revert back to their old behavior, once reunited with the rest of the Canaries. People don't completely change their habits overnight, after all.

But it is a shift. It's a shift that gives Kabru the chance to steer the story towards the ending he has fought for all his life, and it's a shift that helps Mithrun find a way to move forward after he loses his own reason for living. They reach their goals, and then they step past them - facing life beyond the moments they thought defined their reasons for living. Facing life beyond the bare minimum.

And that is how they help each other.

#dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #kabru of utaya #mithrun of the house of kerensil #dungeon meshi spoilers #dunmeshi analysis

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aylacavebear · 3 months ago

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My Favorite Stories

I've read so many amazing stories on here by amazing authors. I've been meaning to make a post so I can keep them in one spot, and, of course, share them easily with all of you.

There were far more of you than I realized. lol Enjoy everyone and feel free to recommend any fics you think I might enjoy in the comments.

Supporting Writers <3

@spnexploration - Pack - A/B/O - Collared

@zepskies - Smoke Eater - first one of hers I read. - Dean Master List - everythings good.

@dean-winchester-is-a-warrior - Master List Dean - Green is My Favorite Color - Things Learned & Unlearned

@holylulusworld - Honestly, anything by them. Amazing writer. Lots of A/B/O stuff too.

@luci-in-trenchcoats - Master List Dean - Series lots to choose from. Read The Ranger first. Amazing series. A/B/O - Feral A/B/O - The Dark Lord

@artyandink - Old Fashioned - Amoralism

@queen-of-deans-booty - Right After All - Deadly Proposal Lots of amazing things to read on their master list.

@yet-another-deanw-girl - The Prophecy

@jollyhunter - Master List - Daily Dean Winchester

@ambiguous-avery - Chasing Shadows - A MUST READ!

@my-stories-vault - Dean Winchester Series Purgatory & The Supernatural Wars are amazing!!

@maddie0101 - Rodeo Nights

@kazsrm67 - Dean Winchester Series I have SOOOO many more to read on here. lol

@angels-silhouette - Ten Years Gone

@bewitchedfaeyrie - The French Mistake (I think is the title)

@jessjad - Rightfully Deceived

@girls-alias - Master List Dean Fics I recommend Dean's Dream - Djinn, which is excellent.

@stusbunker - Never Doubt The Best Man - Known

@k-slla - Master List Several excellent fics to read.

@waywardxwords - Master List Several excellent fics to read.

@deanbrainrotwritings - Master List Dean Fics

@julesthequirky - The Choice

@notinthislife50 - Dean Masterlist

@deanwritings - Master List - The Guest House I recommend Night Falls - Excellent. Lots to read though.

@impala-dreamer - Good Vibrations They have a lot of other great fics too.

@layce2015 - Supernatural Rewrite

@deanwanddamons - Mechanic & Mistletoe

@pink-sparkly-witch - Can't Fight This Feeling A/B/O

@nescaveckwriter - Paintbrushes & Romance I couldn't find the master list link for this story. It's beautiful and so worth the read.

@whimsyfinny - Master List Recommend both series they have written. Amazing.

@alexsoenomel - Dean Master List Pretty sure I read everything on here, lol.

@maximumkillshot - When You Call A/B/O I also read a lot of what they wrote. lol

@spnhunter4life - So Long

@meowmeow-motherfucker - The Fox & The Squirrel

@winchesterfanatic1967 - Master List - Recommend Picking Up the Pieces I've read a lot of these. Amazing.

@fanfictionalraven - Master List Recommend - Piece By Piece & Dream Warriors - excellent

@winchesterwild78 - Unexpected Hunter

@dwonfilm - Come Hell or High Water

@jawritter - When the Lights Go Out Other amazing fics on their master list, including A/B/O

@brightlilith - In Another Universe

@acreativelydifferentlove - Carry On A/B/O

@thelibrarylesstrektraveled - To The Victor A/B/O

@sofreddie - New World Order A/B/O

@lila-lou - Taking Her In

@kittenofdoomage - Neiras - oneshot but excellent

Another List of Amazing Authors - Here

@supernatural-jackles - Where It All Began

@godmadeaterribleerror - Willing to Break

---------------------------- Permanent Tag List: @roseblue373 @flamencodiva @reignsboy19 @stillhere197 @foxyjwls007

@hobby27 @megs-gadom @cheekygirl2309 @mxtansy @ladysparkles78

@ambiguous-avery @spn-fanfic-reblog-writes @jackles010378 @suckitands33 @my-stories-vault

#spn fanfic #supernatural fanfiction #supernatural #dean winchester fanfiction #spn #dean winchester fic #writer appreciation

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eyrieofsynapses · 1 year ago

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why Aurora's art is genius

It's break for me, and I've been meaning to sit down and read the Aurora webcomic (https://comicaurora.com/, @comicaurora on Tumblr) for quite a bit. So I did that over the last few days.

And… y'know. I can't actually say "I should've read this earlier," because otherwise I would've been up at 2:30-3am when I had responsibilities in the morning and I couldn't have properly enjoyed it, but. Holy shit guys THIS COMIC.

I intended to just do a generalized "hello this is all the things I love about this story," and I wrote a paragraph or two about art style. …and then another. And another. And I realized I needed to actually reference things so I would stop being too vague. I was reading the comic on my tablet or phone, because I wanted to stay curled up in my chair, but I type at a big monitor and so I saw more details… aaaaaand it turned into its own giant-ass post.

SO. Enjoy a few thousand words of me nerding out about this insanely cool art style and how fucking gorgeous this comic is? (There are screenshots, I promise it isn't just a wall of text.) In my defense, I just spent two semesters in graphic design classes focusing on the Adobe Suite, so… I get to be a nerd about pretty things…???

All positive feedback btw! No downers here. <3

---

I cannot emphasize enough how much I love the beautiful, simple stylistic method of drawing characters and figures. It is absolutely stunning and effortless and utterly graceful—it is so hard to capture the sheer beauty and fluidity of the human form in such a fashion. Even a simple outline of a character feels dynamic! It's gorgeous!

Though I do have a love-hate relationship with this, because my artistic side looks at that lovely simplicity, goes "I CAN DO THAT!" and then I sit down and go to the paper and realize that no, in fact, I cannot do that yet, because that simplicity is born of a hell of a lot of practice and understanding of bodies and actually is really hard to do. It's a very developed style that only looks simple because the artist knows what they're doing. The human body is hard to pull off, and this comic does so beautifully and makes it look effortless.

Also: line weight line weight line weight. It's especially important in simplified shapes and figures like this, and hoo boy is it used excellently. It's especially apparent the newer the pages get—I love watching that improvement over time—but with simpler figures and lines, you get nice light lines to emphasize both smaller details, like in the draping of clothing and the curls of hair—which, hello, yes—and thicker lines to emphasize bigger and more important details and silhouettes. It's the sort of thing that's essential to most illustrations, but I wanted to make a note of it because it's so vital to this art style.

THE USE OF LAYER BLENDING MODES OH MY GODS. (...uhhh, apologies to the people who don't know what that means, it's a digital art program thing? This article explains it for beginners.)

Bear with me, I just finished my second Photoshop course, I spent months and months working on projects with this shit so I see the genius use of Screen and/or its siblings (of which there are many—if I say "Screen" here, assume I mean the entire umbrella of Screen blending modes and possibly Overlay) and go nuts, but seriously it's so clever and also fucking gorgeous:

Firstly: the use of screened-on sound effect words over an action? A "CRACK" written over a branch and then put on Screen in glowy green so that it's subtle enough that it doesn't disrupt the visual flow, but still sticks out enough to make itself heard? Little "scritches" that are transparent where they're laid on without outlines to emphasize the sound without disrupting the underlying image? FUCK YES. I haven't seen this done literally anywhere else—granted, I haven't read a massive amount of comics, but I've read enough—and it is so clever and I adore it. Examples:

Secondly: The beautiful lighting effects. The curling leaves, all the magic, the various glowing eyes, the fog, the way it's all so vividly colored but doesn't burn your eyeballs out—a balance that's way harder to achieve than you'd think—and the soft glows around them, eeeee it's so pretty so pretty SO PRETTY. Not sure if some of these are Outer/Inner Glow/Shadow layer effects or if it's entirely hand-drawn, but major kudos either way; I can see the beautiful use of blending modes and I SALUTE YOUR GENIUS.

I keep looking at some of this stuff and go "is that a layer effect or is it done by hand?" Because you can make some similar things with the Satin layer effect in Photoshop (I don't know if other programs have this? I'm gonna have to find out since I won't have access to PS for much longer ;-;) that resembles some of the swirly inner bits on some of the lit effects, but I'm not sure if it is that or not. Or you could mask over textures? There's... many ways to do it.

If done by hand: oh my gods the patience, how. If done with layer effects: really clever work that knows how to stop said effects from looking wonky, because ugh those things get temperamental. If done with a layer of texture that's been masked over: very, very good masking work. No matter the method, pretty shimmers and swirly bits inside the bigger pretty swirls!

Next: The way color contrast is used! I will never be over the glowy green-on-black Primordial Life vibes when Alinua gets dropped into that… unconscious space?? with Life, for example, and the sharp contrast of vines and crack and branches and leaves against pitch black is just visually stunning. The way the roots sink into the ground and the three-dimensional sensation of it is particularly badass here:

Friggin. How does this imply depth like that. HOW. IT'S SO FREAKING COOL.

A huge point here is also color language and use! Everybody has their own particular shade, generally matching their eyes, magic, and personality, and I adore how this is used to make it clear who's talking or who's doing an action. That was especially apparent to me with Dainix and Falst in the caves—their colors are both fairly warm, but quite distinct, and I love how this clarifies who's doing what in panels with a lot of action from both of them. There is a particular bit that stuck out to me, so I dug up the panels (see this page and the following one https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-30/):

(Gods it looks even prettier now that I put it against a plain background. Also, appreciation to Falst for managing a bridal-carry midair, damn.)

The way that their colors MERGE here! And the immense attention to detail in doing so—Dainix is higher up than Falst is in the first panel, so Dainix's orange fades into Falst's orange at the base. The next panel has gold up top and orange on bottom; we can't really tell in that panel where each of them are, but that's carried over to the next panel—

—where we now see that Falst's position is raised above Dainix's due to the way he's carrying him. (Points for continuity!) And, of course, we see the little "huffs" flowing from orange to yellow over their heads (where Dainix's head is higher than Falst's) to merge the sound of their breathing, which is absurdly clever because it emphasizes to the viewer how we hear two sets of huffing overlaying each other, not one. Absolutely brilliant.

(A few other notes of appreciation to that panel: beautiful glows around them, the sparks, the jagged silhouette of the spider legs, the lovely colors that have no right to make the area around a spider corpse that pretty, the excellent texturing on the cave walls plus perspective, the way Falst's movements imply Dainix's hefty weight, the natural posing of the characters, their on-point expressions that convey exactly how fuckin terrifying everything is right now, the slight glows to their eyes, and also they're just handsome boys <3)

Next up: Rain!!!! So well done! It's subtle enough that it never ever disrupts the impact of the focal point, but evident enough you can tell! And more importantly: THE MIST OFF THE CHARACTERS. Rain does this irl, it has that little vapor that comes off you and makes that little misty effect that plays with lighting, it's so cool-looking and here it's used to such pretty effect!

One of the panel captions says something about it blurring out all the injuries on the characters but like THAT AIN'T TOO BIG OF A PROBLEM when it gets across the environmental vibes, and also that'd be how it would look in real life too so like… outside viewer's angle is the same as the characters', mostly? my point is: that's the environment!!! that's the vibes, that's the feel! It gets it across and it does so in the most pretty way possible!

And another thing re: rain, the use of it to establish perspective, particularly in panels like this—

—where we can tell we're looking down at Tynan due to the perspective on the rain and where it's pointing. Excellent. (Also, kudos for looking down and emphasizing how Tynan's losing his advantage—lovely use of visual storytelling.)

Additionally, the misting here:

We see it most heavily in the leftmost panel, where it's quite foggy as you would expect in a rainstorm, especially in an environment with a lot of heat, but it's also lightly powdered on in the following two panels and tends to follow light sources, which makes complete sense given how light bounces off particles in the air.

A major point of strength in these too is a thorough understanding of lighting, like rim lighting, the various hues and shades, and an intricate understanding of how light bounces off surfaces even when they're in shadow (we'll see a faint glow in spots where characters are half in shadow, but that's how it would work in real life, because of how light bounces around).

Bringing some of these points together: the fluidity of the lines in magic, and the way simple glowing lines are used to emphasize motion and the magic itself, is deeply clever. I'm basically pulling at random from panels and there's definitely even better examples, but here's one (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-16-33/):

First panel, listed in numbers because these build on each other:

The tension of the lines in Tess's magic here. This works on a couple levels: first, the way she's holding her fists, as if she's pulling a rope taut.

The way there's one primary line, emphasizing the rope feeling, accompanied by smaller ones.

The additional lines starbursting around her hands, to indicate the energy crackling in her hands and how she's doing a good bit more than just holding it. (That combined with the fists suggests some tension to the magic, too.) Also the variations in brightness, a feature you'll find in actual lightning. :D Additional kudos for how the lightning sparks and breaks off the metal of the sword.

A handful of miscellaneous notes on the second panel:

The reflection of the flames in Erin's typically dark blue eyes (which bears a remarkable resemblance to Dainix, incidentally—almost a thematic sort of parallel given Erin's using the same magic Dainix specializes in?)

The flowing of fabric in the wind and associated variation in the lineart

The way Erin's tattoos interact with the fire he's pulling to his hand

The way the rain overlays some of the fainter areas of fire (attention! to! detail! hell yeah!)

I could go on. I won't because this is a lot of writing already.

Third panel gets paragraphs, not bullets:

Erin's giant-ass "FWOOM" of fire there, and the way the outline of the word is puffy-edged and gradated to feel almost three-dimensional, plus once again using Screen or a variation on it so that the stars show up in the background. All this against that stunning plume of fire, which ripples and sparks so gorgeously, and the ending "om" of the onomatopoeia is emphasized incredibly brightly against that, adding to the punch of it and making the plume feel even brighter.

Also, once again, rain helping establish perspective, especially in how it's very angular in the left side of the panel and then slowly becomes more like a point to the right to indicate it's falling directly down on the viewer. Add in the bright, beautiful glow effects, fainter but no less important black lines beneath them to emphasize the sky and smoke and the like, and the stunningly beautiful lighting and gradated glows surrounding Erin plus the lightning jagging up at him from below, and you get one hell of an impactful panel right there. (And there is definitely more in there I could break down, this is just a lot already.)

And in general: The colors in this? Incredible. The blues and purples and oranges and golds compliment so well, and it's all so rich.

Like, seriously, just throughout the whole comic, the use of gradients, blending modes, color balance and hues, all the things, all the things, it makes for the most beautiful effects and glows and such a rich environment. There's a very distinct style to this comic in its simplified backgrounds (which I recognize are done partly because it's way easier and also backgrounds are so time-consuming dear gods but lemme say this) and vivid, smoothly drawn characters; the simplicity lets them come to the front and gives room for those beautiful, richly saturated focal points, letting the stylized designs of the magic and characters shine. The use of distinct silhouettes is insanely good. Honestly, complex backgrounds might run the risk of making everything too visually busy in this case. It's just, augh, so GORGEOUS.

Another bit, take a look at this page (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-15-28/):

It's not quite as evident here as it is in the next page, but this one does some other fun things so I'm grabbing it. Points:

Once again, using different colors to represent different character actions. The "WHAM" of Kendal hitting the ground is caused by Dainix's force, so it's orange (and kudos for doubling the word over to add a shake effect). But we see blue layered underneath, which could be an environmental choice, but might also be because it's Kendal, whose color is blue.

And speaking off, take a look at the right-most panel on top, where Kendal grabs the spear: his motion is, again, illustrated in bright blue, versus the atmospheric screened-on orange lines that point toward him around the whole panel (I'm sure these have a name, I think they might be more of a manga thing though and the only experience I have in manga is reading a bit of Fullmetal Alchemist). Those lines emphasize the weight of the spear being shoved at him, and their color tells us Dainix is responsible for it.

One of my all-time favorite effects in this comic is the way cracks manifest across Dainix's body to represent when he starts to lose control; it is utterly gorgeous and wonderfully thematic. These are more evident in the page before and after this one, but you get a decent idea here. I love the way they glow softly, the way the fire juuuust flickers through at the start and then becomes more evident over time, and the cracks feel so realistic, like his skin is made of pottery. Additional points for how fire begins to creep into his hair.

A small detail that's generally consistent across the comic, but which I want to make note of here because you can see it pretty well: Kendal's eyes glow about the same as the jewel in his sword, mirroring his connection to said sword and calling back to how the jewel became Vash's eye temporarily and thus was once Kendal's eye. You can always see this connection (though there might be some spots where this also changes in a symbolic manner; I went through it quickly on the first time around, so I'll pay more attention when I inevitably reread this), where Kendal's always got that little shine of blue in his eyes the same as the jewel. It's a beautiful visual parallel that encourages the reader to subconsciously link them together, especially since the lines used to illustrate character movements typically mirror their eye color. It's an extension of Kendal.

Did I mention how ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL the colors in this are?

Also, the mythological/legend-type scenes are illustrated in familiar style often used for that type of story, a simple and heavily symbolic two-dimensional cave-painting-like look. They are absolutely beautiful on many levels, employing simple, lovely gradients, slightly rougher and thicker lineart that is nonetheless smoothly beautiful, and working with clear silhouettes (a major strength of this art style, but also a strength in the comic overall). But in particular, I wanted to call attention to a particular thing (see this page https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-12-4/):

The flowing symbolic lineart surrounding each character. This is actually quite consistent across characters—see also Life's typical lines and how they curl:

What's particularly interesting here is how these symbols are often similar, but not the same. Vash's lines are always smooth, clean curls, often playing off each other and echoing one another like ripples in a pond. You'd think they'd look too similar to Life's—but they don't. Life's curl like vines, and they remain connected; where one curve might echo another but exist entirely detached from each other in Vash's, Life's lines still remain wound together, because vines are continuous and don't float around. :P

Tahraim's are less continuous, often breaking up with significantly smaller bits and pieces floating around like—of course—sparks, and come to sharper points. These are also constants: we see the vines repeated over and over in Alinua's dreams of Life, and the echoing ripples of Vash are consistent wherever we encounter him. Kendal's dream of the ghost citizens of the city of Vash in the last few chapters is filled with these rippling, echoing patterns, to beautiful effect (https://comicaurora.com/aurora/1-20-14/):

They ripple and spiral, often in long, sinuous curves, with smooth elegance. It reminds me a great deal of images of space and sine waves and the like. This establishes a definite feel to these different characters and their magic. And the thing is, that's not something that had to be done—the colors are good at emphasizing who's who. But it was done, and it adds a whole other dimension to the story. Whenever you're in a deity's domain, you know whose it is no matter the color.

Regarding that shape language, I wanted to make another note, too—Vash is sometimes described as chaotic and doing what he likes, which is interesting to me, because smooth, elegant curves and the color blue aren't generally associated with chaos. So while Vash might behave like that on the surface, I'm guessing he's got a lot more going on underneath; he's probably much more intentional in his actions than you'd think at a glance, and he is certainly quite caring with his city. The other thing is that this suits Kendal perfectly. He's a paragon character; he is kind, virtuous, and self-sacrificing, and often we see him aiming to calm others and keep them safe. Blue is such a good color for him. There is… probably more to this, but I'm not deep enough in yet to say.

And here's the thing: I'm only scratching the surface. There is so much more here I'm not covering (color palettes! outfits! character design! environment! the deities! so much more!) and a lot more I can't cover, because I don't have the experience; this is me as a hobbyist artist who happened to take a couple design classes because I wanted to. The art style to this comic is so clever and creative and beautiful, though, I just had to go off about it. <3

...brownie points for getting all the way down here? Have a cookie.

#aurora comic #aurora webcomic #comicaurora #art analysis #...I hope those are the right tags???#new fandom new tagging practices to learn ig #much thanks for something to read while I try to rest my wrists. carpal tunnel BAD. (ignore that I wrote this I've got braces ok it's fine)#anyway! I HAVE. MANY MORE THOUGHTS. ON THE STORY ITSELF. THIS LOVELY STORY #also a collection of reactions to a chunk of the comic before I hit the point where I was too busy reading to write anything down #idk how to format those tho #...yeet them into one post...???#eh I usually don't go off this much these days but this seems like a smaller tight-knit fandom so... might as well help build it?#and I have a little more time thanks to break so #oh yes also shoutout to my insanely awesome professor for teaching me all the technical stuff from this he is LOVELY #made an incredibly complex program into something comprehensible <3 #synapse talks

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rednightmare18 · 1 year ago

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I will never shut up about how Kingdom Come: Deliverance is the most tenderly written game served to the most loutish horde of jackasses. I think it is possibly one of the greatest pieces of popular fiction made about feudalism in recent history, even if it's not always the most historically accurate.

And that's because the whole damn thing is about the profound, authority-enforced inhumanity that self-propels feudal order... but this time, it's written from the perspective of, for lack of better word, "humanity undermines, and humanity wins."

Love wins, if you want to be cheeky.

This was originally meant to be a reply to @feelinungry's excellent post on the subject, but it outgrew itself and got super bloated, so I'm plopping it in its own post to not be obnoxious...

KINGDOM COME: DELIVERANCE MAJOR SPOILERS BELOW

And the reason all this about humanity and love is so important to the core of the story, to the very backbone of the narrative (even beyond the plot), is that it exists in opposition and to the impairment of the feudal system. Kingdom Come: Deliverance means to teach us, by way of deeply dramatic plots following individuals, how feudalism works and why it worked the way it did. And why and how that system fails.

The vehicle by which the game does this is by showing us, over and over, how the stratification of feudal class is eroded and sometimes outright dissolved (either in general, as with Henry and Hans, or when it matters most, as with Radzig and Henry) by plain and simple love.

Feudalism, like most class-stratified systems, relies upon 1. dehumanization of those beneath one's appointed status; 2. fealty (mock-love) to those above one's status, their title-appointer class; and 3. the maintenance of a deep separation between these artificially bestowed statuses, as enforced by church (as in word of clergy, not word of god) & state (legal rules and law). Those words and laws existed to propel the system by divide-and-maintain (of the workforce populace, placing it firmly below the next class in line, etc.) in the service of unify-and-profit (for the ruling class).

Sigismund & his invading army are wholly separated and adherent to the feudal theory, even if they have flouted codes of warfare & inheritance; they are presented to us as the main dehumanizing force of the story world, a wave of Order that indiscriminately burns opposition flat rather than an individual leading a royal coup, a cyclical destruction that paves the way for the next flavor of rule to continue the feudal system ad infinitum. They're thoroughly separated from the story even when they are burning down a village in front of our eyes and generally move as one, with Markvart occasionally stepping out of that mass of Feudalism and its antihuman nature to give it a face. They're more a force of nature than an individual as far as the narrative goes.

And we are meant to understand that in sharp contrast to the "close" story, the cast we get to know and watch as they attempt to answer this force of nature. And the second we see these characters get close enough to each other, by raw proximity, to poke a pin into the wineskin of feudal order as dictated to them by authority, it bleeds--everywhere. Not in the sense of ruination but in the sense that a tiny wedge of empathy cracks open the dam and leads, yep, to rehumanization--and love, the most human driving force there is.

And that changes everything, for everyone. Not just internally, as with a character's personal development arc (i.e., Hans learning why his duties, which he resented and viewed as an impingement on his freedom when dictated to him by authority, are incredibly important for real people who experience pain) but externally as well (as @feelinungry so elegantly points out in the original post).

Over and over, at every stage of the story, it's the rehumanization of and by these decision-makers (at a family level, at a community level, at a regional level, at a national level) that cracks the feudal cycle, even if in very small ways. Hans really brings this back home in a petri dish in late game, after the siege, when he complains to Henry about the noble's code (letting Istvan go) potentially leading to pain and disaster for the common people Istvan's machinations are likely to harm in the future. He chafes--and we chafe, and so does Radzig, and so does Divish--against feudal stratification because he has learned a general empathy through loving an individual, and that has in turn reshaped the way he sees the world.

And that's exactly why and when feudalism begins to fail, and why it thrashed itself the way it did, from the enforcement of sexual mores (though this wasn't exactly like it is in movies) and gender law to terror upon its own populations.

And it's the crucial understanding I think we begin to forget after being exposed to so much Hollywoodification of history, where the oppression always exists for cruelty's sake alone rather than in active and deliberate service to a political construct.

And I think it's why we've "lost the plot" so horribly when it comes to understanding that people in history were still people, not monolithic one-mind entities (as the feudal system demanded they be). And why we somehow forgot that such people fall in love, in all kinds of love, in a way that has never given a damn about authority. And that this in turn undermines supposedly supreme authority, even divine authority, and will always continue to do so, as long as people are people.

This is what it always comes back to. Always. From Henry's parents and their mysterious bond with Radzig informing the protagonist's journey from "the past"--to Henry & Hans falling into stupidly fierce soulmatehood with each other in the present--from Istvan & Erik's destructive fuck-the-world romantic love on the "enemy" side--to Divish's humbling, humanizing realization that he loves Stephanie in some way, he really does, despite the chasm of age/gender enforced upon them by their adherence to feudal order that doomed their romantic love to failure.

People will always love each other, even when the world orders them not to, even when faced with death and worse. People will always, given proximity and shared experiences, learn to see each other as human again. KCD reminds us of that. It's why the "slow" storyline exists and why it works.

And that is why this game is so fucking fantastic, and why the genpop fandom has utterly failed it.

#kingdom come deliverance #kcd #kcd2 #henry of skalitz #hans capon #radzig kobyla #divish of talmberg #stephanie of talmberg #redmeta

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silkythewriter · 1 year ago

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Vox and wukong with a cat demon reader!

Warnings: might be a bit OOC! Haven’t written for Hazbin hotel in a while I apologize!

Fandom: Hazbin hotel and LMK

Author note:IM SO SORRY I DONT KNOW WHY TUMBLER GLITCHED OUT ON ME AND DELETED THE WHOLE THING(｡•́︿•̀｡) BUT TYSM FOR YOUR PATIENTS AND THANK YOU FOR THE HAZBIN HOTEL ASK!!!

Summary: Wukong and Vox with a cat demon reader! :D

❤️Written by silkythewriter Do not steal or repost on any other platform please! <3.❤️

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

Vox

In all honesty...he finds it adorable, now will he admit that is another question with a different answer..

I'm sure he's seen many upon many of cat demons in his years damned to hell, but you are different in a way he can't pin point. Maybe it's the way your tail flicks when you see him, or how your pupils grow big just at the sight of him. It's honestly a knock out for him

He finds himself curious on how your ears and tail feel. But he would never touch it unless you offer him first which he exeitedly bun-gurglingly agrees.

He's a man that's excellent at words and selling something to you. But when it comes time to actually show Affection it's...a bit rough to say the least.

He buys you special types of conditioner and shampoo for your fur, one of the finest brand might i add, which he hands to you. Simply stating "well if your gonna be seen around me of course you gotta look your best" not that he actually cares for you and wants you happy of course! He's an overlord he has a status to up hold!

Now when it comes to you actually doing cat like things he finds it very interesting and honestly adorable-

I mean look how can he not melt when your purring out words after landing on the soft couch in his office.

One time he petted the top of your head and you let out purr, when I tell you this man’s knees were weak I MEAN IT

he just has a special soft spot for you and the things you do. Like when you were over at his place about to crash on his bed but you just started kneading the soft blanket.

Look he’s a hater on the outside but a lover on the inside he has to keep a rough attitude in a place like hell. But when you guys are alone he’s doting on you more then an actual person with a cat. He just can’t help it

He loves cuddling with you at night, like the warmth you provide him is enough to make him short circuit . Hell is hot enough but your warmth is different kind of warmth, not just the overheating and overwhelming temperature of hell, but the homey feeling you get form a nice hug.

He especially loves when you wrap your tail around him or his like leg i don’t know something about it makes him lose his mind!

Although he dose have to admit finding you asleep in unexpected areas is something he doesn’t hate but doesn’t exactly like either. He quite literally has the best bed and sheets of hell just for you and you still decide to spreed out and take a nap on counter. Now that is something he will never understand

Overall though he loves you to the lower levels of he’ll and back <3

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

Wukong

Oh boy… time for our favorite monkey boy phew alright…

First of all get ready for his lil cheeky self to go around and start scaring you

You know that old trend where cat owners would throw cucumbers at their cat? Yea that’s what he dose, not only that but 60% of the time it lands smack dab on your head like it seems intentional from how many times he’s smacked you by accident.

He honestly understands how sensitive ears and tails could be so he would never yank or pull on it as a joke. Trust me he gets and understands your pain very much.

His love language is grooming, so he’s happily sit for a good while just looking through your fur and picking out small particles or maybe small dirt specs. And he loves when you do the same! Honestly a very cute bonding moment he finds it relaxing!

I feel like cat demons are a bit rare to come by, (my guess don’t quote me on this) so he finds your quite cool to look at! Especially if you have some sort of pattern or rare fur color!. He asks you all sorts of questions please don’t mind him he’s honestly curious.

He purrs too so this man dos won’t discriminate when you do it, he honestly finds it adorable just like Vox!, but unlike Vox he doesn’t mind voicing it. Although he dose it too he loves teasing you for it, jokingly of course!

Please send this man your fur care cause lord knows he probably doesn’t own the right things to take care of his fur. He appreciates if you take a day off just to show him, also massaging some of the conditioner/shampoo in his scalp will make him purr and is greatly appreciated.

Honestly I feel like he’d get jealous of those who you also let touch your fur and other stuff. He won’t cop you on it! But he loves when it feels like something only he can do and you trust him with.

As kneading this man has A TONNN of blankets collected through the years of stealing or getting gifted it. So he has tons of blankets on his bed and if he sees you kneading them he’d probably let out a loud “Awe” before tackling you. He finds it adorable! What can he say?

He has good pulse control now then when he did in his younger years but still can you really expect him not to smoother you with affection from how absolutely adorable your being?!?? (≧◡≦) ♡

Please please PLEASE let this man intertwine tails with you or make like a heart shape out of your tail’s. He just finds it so comforting and adorable!

Overall have a cat demon S/O has to be the best for him, he just loves you! And he is very affectionate, it takes him a bit to show it but after a while he’s all over you! Ｏ(≧▽≦)Ｏ

🝮☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆🝮

AHHHH TYSM FOR THE REQUEST IT WAS SO FUN PLEASE REQUEST AGAIN❤️❤️❤️❤️💘💘💘💘

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adventures-in-mangaland · 1 year ago

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I'm going with 10 All Time Classics from the Captain America (MCU) fandom. I mean, they're all classics to me, at least. In no particular order:

1. This, You Protect by owlet

First installment in the Infinite Coffee and Protection Detail series, which are all amazing. It's a “Bucky escaping Hydra and rebuilding his sense of self” fic, which he does while spying on Steve. With eventual Avengers Family and a lovely cast of OCs bonding with Bucky in the meantime. It has a very distinctive perspective and writing style; Bucky's in constant internal (and sometimes accidentally external) dialogue with himself, making it hilarious and tragic all at the same time. I love it. I've recently been getting into The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells and this Bucky has a similar sassy-but-vulnerable vibe? Read this if you like that, anyway.

2. The One Who Knows by Dira Sudis (dsudis)

This is a Political Animals AU, in that no-powers Steve is inserted into the Political Animals world and Bucky is TJ. Discusses being outed and depression but is ultimately hopeful. The author is one of my all time faves and has written lots of great stories for this and many other fandoms.

3. Blue Scales by chaya

Steve is a merman AU. He's still Captain America, though. It's crack with heart, I love it.

Best line: "May your scales and your love story be our weird secret forever.”

4. Our Lingering Frost by eyres

AU where Bucky is rescued from Hydra in the 50s (?) and so is around for Steve to be found.

5. Assets Out of Containment by follow_the_sun

It's a classic to *me*, OK? Bucky goes undercover at Jurassic World just as that movie's plot kicks off. They're Hydra dinosaurs! It's just great. Also has a podfic and crossovers with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

6. Not Easily Conquered (series) by dropdeaddream and WhatAreFears

Some of the greatest fanfiction I've ever read, the whole series is epic. Anyway, it's a "Steve doesn't go into the ice" AU with added queer angst when (never sent) love letters from Bucky resurface. I particularly like the second installment in the series The Thirteen Letters, which are just Bucky's letters and are insanely well-written.

7. to memory now I can't recall by Etharei

Time travel AU! Featuring post-CATWS Bucky accidentally switching places with CATFA era Bucky.

8. If Wishing Made It So by Leveragehunters (Monkeygreen)

Genie!Bucky AU! This author is great at writing AUs with fantasy/genre elements, it was hard to choose. They've also written an excellent werewolf!Steve AU and a horse!Steve AU that I really love.

9. Into That Good Night by Nonymos

An Interstellar AU! Very angsty and tragic but with an eventual happy ending.

10. Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square by Speranza

Speranza must be one of the best writers in the fandom, so it was hard to pick just one of their fics. Other strong contenders were All the Angels and the Saints and The Fifties, so check those out too! But this one has a special place in my heart. Steve, Tony and Natasha accidentally time travel to WW2 London, leading to an accidental run-in with CATFA-era Bucky. The author does tragic and romantic time travel tropes so well, but with a happy ending.

I now realise that most of these are AUs, so here’s a bonus rec for a non-AU in-universe story that’s severely underrated and deserves more love:

Heart, Have No Pity on this House of Bone by Sena

This story follows Bucky in-action in the Pacific Theatre. It’s very well written and, from what I can tell, well researched. Steve only appears in Bucky’s imagination and the story focuses on the horrors of war rather than romance, but it’s gripping! And it explores unrequited love, being closeted and period-typical homophobia, which I also enjoyed. I’m still holding out hope for a sequel.

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ventique18 · 1 year ago

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Malleus book recommendations (⚠️ Warning: Adult novels)

Are you a MalleYuu simp? Are you tired of their endless pining that never goes anywhere? Are you frustrated and just want the Yuu♀️ to bed the Malleus? Well you're in luck because I've sacrificed my sanity to comb through heaps of trash just to feed my brethren's delusions!

If your fave is his temper tantrum: Rurik - The WitchSlayer. This is only one book, but very cute and satisfying. Not very heavy on the plot; more on a fantasy slice of life between a dragon shifter and a sweet part-dragon witch.

If your favorite is the playful in Malleus: Rhysand - A Court of Thorns and Roses Series. Note: Do not stop reading until you get to Book 2, at least. It's the actual start of the series.

If you like both Malleus and Silver and want to merge them into one person: Creon - Fae Isles Series. IMO the best out of all of them.

If you like Evil Malleus: Valroy - Maze of Shadows Series. From the most well-written book out of all of them, but requires the most open mind. This is a dark novel with an evil hero. When I say evil, he is EVIL.

Some rankings below:

Note that all of these are personal preferences.

Ranking the best boys:

1. CREON (Fae Isles). He's THE best hero out of all romance books I've read so far. He's complex. He's devilish. He's thoughtful. He has a unique feature about him that no one else possesses. You'll understand.

2. Rurik (The WitchSlayer). He's annoying, has a bad temper, grumpy most of the time, but he's very cute. He's a literal dragon. He's also smart and actually thinks things through to actively resolve misunderstandings because he understands that feelings can muddle the truth.

3. Rhysand (A Court of Thorns and Roses). He's perfect. That's all. Sometimes a bit too perfect, but he's much better than many fictional male leads.

4. Valroy (Maze of Shadows). This does not mean he stinks. He's literally just extremely evil, which in itself makes him very interesting and better than most cookie cutter heroes.

All of them are great characters. They're the main reasons why you would read these novels.

Ranking the stories:

1. Fae Isles. Its magic system is unique. A lot of it is unique. Just excellent all around and definitely my favorite.

2. Maze of Shadows. DARK romance. Toxic. But very interesting and a refreshing read for those who have the strength to stomach it and remind themselves that this is only fiction.

3. The WitchSlayer. Just a one-shot so you can't expect much, but its pacing is unique in that the conflict resolves fairly early, leaving enough room to tackle what happens after the big bad evil has been defeated. It also has a cute epilogue! Definitely read this if you only have time for one of these. You won't regret the sweet dragon moments, both in his tiny form and his giant form.

4. A Court of Thorns and Roses. I generally just enjoyed it for Rhysand tbh.

Do you know other stories with Malleus clones? Let me know because I need it 👀

#book recs #ventique shares #should i tag this as malleus #ok #malleus draconia

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mirandyficlists · 1 year ago

Note

Hi hi! I’d like to know what your Top 10 Holy Grail fics are? Like I’m talking about fics you would reccommend in a heart beat, fics that you feel are written extremely well that they feel like they should be published or something, fics that have really good pacing, right amount of fluff, angst, or smut. Or even ones that are just silly and fun. It would be cool to read some of your favs!

Hey Nonnie

First my standard answer to the top ten query...10!!! 10!!! You think i can narrow it down to 10!! LOLOLOL

Secondly, I'm flattered you want to know my preferences as a guide...but then that's what my spreadsheet is all about I guess. lol

Okay I did manage to keep myself to 30 fics and I will say I would live quite happily if the first 10 were all I was ever allowed to read for the ret of my life. Just saying. Heh

I've also included my reviews of each fic from my Spreadsheet of 2250+ Mirandy fics to explain my love for the fics.

If you want the fics that are no longer online just message me privately with your email and I'll send my zipped file of deleted Mirandy fics your way.

Happy Reading Nonnie

All the Breast

XVNot15

Top ten and why?

The Lady And Her Dragons by Bearblue https://archiveofourown.org/works/21738811/chapters/51860098

(WIP) OMG!!!!!!!!!! So amazingly wonderful and magical and well just damned hot! Full of myth and magic, Miranda and Cruella are real Dragons and Andy is their Lady. Magical machinations and battles ensue. The story is compelling and Bearblue controls the content of magical information absolutely beautifully, you're interest is captured, but you're not over whelmed with more information than what is required for the story she is telling. Again it has to be said. OMG!!! I have now read this fic over 500 times…and I mean that! Have read it once a week and sometimes 2 or 3 times a week for more than a decade.

Truth and Measure by Telanu https://archiveofourown.org/works/779826/chapters/1468543

The downfall of my anti Mirandy life that dragged me kicking and cursing into the heart of the Mirandyverse. This is what I call a Simchat Torah story. Much like the holiday in which the last chapter of Torah is read and then the first chapter immediately afterward to start the cycle again. And that's just what I did with this one. Miranda discovers after the separation with Stephen that she is pregnant and as she copes with that Andy helps her and eventually Miranda proposes a mutually beneficial relationship...which Andy then proceeds to turn on its head almost immediately. Excellently written and adored the characterisations of both women.

It’s All Relative by Hawkbehere https://archiveofourown.org/works/5884348/chapters/13561771

OMFG!! This is an amazing story. Well written and excellently paced as well. Post Paris H/C piece where Miranda is shot and Andy runs to her side to help and care for her.. A very complex and interesting characterisation of both M and A. The hints at Sub/dom with true love and respect were pitched absolutely meltingly perfect And the passion of Miranda's need for Andy is mind blowing.

Small Favors Series by Chillyflame https://archiveofourown.org/works/2793701/chapters/6270377

Andy wins a press award and sees Miranda. They talk and Andy acknowledges her feelings to herself. Andy sends a lily as a thank you. Hot first kiss in the conference room at the Mirror. The girls are very supportive as the relationship develops. INTERLUDE - Hot late night quickie in Miranda's office. BEAUTIFUL THINGS - sees the development of the relationship through some early rough spots. They're outed by Miranda's PR firm. Loved the twins with their pudding balloon bombs. HERE TO STAY - GOOD FORTUNE –

Fur No Thanks I’d Rather Go Naked by Writtensword (Deleted but I have the fic and can send it.)

Ooooooooooo so totally wonderful this story read it 3 times one after the other. Miranda is magically turned into a Mink and only Andrea can hear her speak and she takes care of her as they try to undo the spell. The characterisation of Mink Miranda is sooooooooooooooo terrific I want more Mink tales. heh Lovely denoument when Miranda turns back to her human form.

Like Andrea Series by Ginstan https://archiveofourown.org/series/1940092

Ooooooooooooooo romance, mystery, intrigue and damn fine writing! Loved this fic! Andy is alerted to the fact that Miranda needs help when Runway does an edition where every single model looks like her. She comes to Miranda's rescue and their relationship develops super fast and super beautifully.. And beautiful mini FOL crossover! heheh I adore the characterisations of a vulnerable Miranda and a very soft butch Andy.

A Failure to Communicate by thelastgoodname https://archiveofourown.org/works/5300144

Miranda decides to Marry Andy and is busy dictating the plans to Andy just one problem... She hasn't actually asked Andy out on a date yet or anything else. Cue a very confused Andy and a backpeddling Miranda. Ohhh my aching sides!!!! This is just soooooooooooo funny and sooooo well written.It's just brilliant!

Admiration by Punky_96 https://archiveofourown.org/works/14936337

Swooooooooooon!! Total romance and way HOT sex too! Miranda has a secret (not to us though) admirer who is leaving her daily gifts and notes. She becomes smitten and isn't quite sure until the big reveal. Beautifully written and I loved it, but it ends rather abruptly.

The Brutal Truth by Redcharcoal (Removed as it was published…both are AWESOME! FF is available in the FB Mirandy Group and in my deleted fic file.)

Wonderfully well written piece. Miranda claims to only want the Brutal truth and ends up having a bet with Andrea that she can't get an exclusive interview with a famous designer and the stakes are one day of absolute honesty for Andrea and one week for Miranda. Andy outs Stephen as a predator and Miranda fires her...but then she gets the exclusive interview with the Deuchamps and they become her friends.

Miranda’s Runway series by Jehc https://archiveofourown.org/works/1242412/chapters/2552452

Oh the joy of a well written and well crafted characterisation piece. Love this 4 years post Paris piece with Andy having a daughter she has actually named Miranda but who she calls Mandy who is somehting of an artistic prodigy. Andy has written a series of amazingly successful books on fashion but remains anonymous until she trades her privacy to foil Irvs latest almost successful coups against Miranda. Things follow on from there, when little Mandy meets Randa and they fall for each other as hard as Miranda falls for Andrea. Amazing fic.

The Fall and the Landing & 90 Days to Glory by Brithna/Ash_Mountain https://archiveofourown.org/works/481161

Warning: Character Death. My God almighty what a powerful piece of writing! This is not fanfiction, this is life, this is the most skillful playing of all that it is to be human, fragile, and to hold friendship and love as the reward for the pain and challenge that those prizes intrinsically bring with them. Have tissues ready, and be prepared to read with your heart and know that love is the force that truly connects all life.

On a Tractor by Bearblue https://archiveofourown.org/works/11696331/chapters/26333922

OMG! Absolutely brilliantly written long post Paris piece. Andy lends up inheriting a farm which she decides to run and she becomes quite the nature photographer as well. Miranda wants her farm for a photoshoot and goes out to visit and things take their natural course. Bear's writing is incredibly fluid and tinglingly evocative. Love the characterisation of Andy in this one. A Simchat Torah - immediate re-reader.

Break it Down With Joy by Winter156 https://archiveofourown.org/works/1394080

A drabble that is sheer perfection. A and M are friends, Andy has declared her love but Miranda has stated that they will never have a physical relationship, Andy stays anyway, suffering the pain of incompleteness, until that moment of decision. Excellently written, and soooo poignant.

By Heart by Chillyflame https://archiveofourown.org/works/2673044/chapters/5976851

Swooooooooooon, mushfest!! With lovely hot sexiness too. A H/C tale where Andy ends up with a broken leg on a ski weekend and Miranda cares for her in their cabin as they get snowed in for a couple of days and the heating fails heheh. But there is a fireplace and while 'keeping warm' one thing leads to another.

Basic Black by Beachbum https://archiveofourown.org/works/29045490

Brava BB, a lovely piece set post Paris. Nigel who has stayed friends with Andy decides to play matchmaker for the two women in his life. The description of Andy's suit was totally droolsome. And the love scene, wow, took my breath away. Loooooooooved the ending, god Miranda in nothing but a white dress shirt, but still so totally confident and in control of the situation. Yowsa!!

Disarming Athena by Politic X https://archiveofourown.org/works/11921940/chapters/26942895

Wonderful but sometimes distressing psychological exploration that occurs between Miranda and Andy. Many of the interactions take place in the elevator. Miranda appears to be torturing Andy with invitations and demands for her to touch her clothes but not her. Then she fires Andy and this behaviour continues as Andy works her notice. Eventual happy ending.

Hidden Yet Bright by needled_ink https://archiveofourown.org/works/97340

Swoooooooooooooon, a beautiful and well written short of a developing friendship gently shifting into more but without strings. Loved the chartacterisations of both Andy and Miranda.

In Some Quite Casual Way by Winter156 https://archiveofourown.org/works/621060/chapters/1120824

Holy mother of mountains what a fic. From a request for a story that involved a character with wings. Miranda is a fallen angel of sorts and saves Andy when she falls out a skyscraper window. Declarations of love, and serious sweaty snugglebunnies followed by major storyline and escellent denouement. Gret writing, amazing story, just amazing.

Lost Treasures by Jazwriter (Removed as it was published…both are AWESOME! FF is available in the FB Mirandy Group and in my deleted fic file.)

Wow! Andy works as a sales clerk and then a Window dresser in a small boutique. Her window designs cpature Miranda's attention and fascination. She takes Andy under her wing and mutual attraction sparks. Great little fic.

Objects and Space by Stormashke https://archiveofourown.org/works/15126698

Absolutely Stunning!!!! Compellingly written with just the right meter and timing. Wonderful internal dialogue from Miranda's pov in an established relationship. She travels through the different rooms of the house noting the evidence of Andy's presence that still bug her…but also noting their indications of Andy's space in her heart and the twins heart and the things she will live with in that space of love.

Rebellious Lock & When Locks Get Locked by Quiethearted http://ralst.com/RebelliousLock.HTM

Ohh soooooooo funny!!!! Miranda's hair has a mind of it's own and it's concentrating on one particular brunette. This is comic writing at it's best. I'm still chuckling.

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee, sequel! Woohoo, Miranda's hair has awakened an interest from Andy's hair and all is set for the clash of the tresses. Oh soooo wonderfully funny, I so hope this series continues, I want postcoital follicle frolics. Heheh

Sharp Relief by chillyflame https://archiveofourown.org/works/2672990/chapters/5976701

AMAZING fic!!!!! Wow Andy gets a call reporting that Miranda has died in a car crash on her way to her weekend cabin. She goes into shock and faces the fact of how much she loved her. She helps with the twins and stays at the townhouse until there is another call that send her and the girls out into the night chasing a hope agaisnt hope. So amazing this.

The Lily and the Crown by Telanu (now published) https://archiveofourown.org/works/750438/chapters/1400746

Andren is the reclusive daughter of one of the Empires most capable Station Masters. Assistant - her new slave is the dread space Pirate Queen Mir. Seduction, debauchery, abandonment and redemption in this Space Swashbuckler.Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Gaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwdddddddddd!!!!!!!!! Wow!!!! Fluids!!!!!!! This is just soooooooooooo wonderfully hot and romantic and hot and well good god I loved it. Okay, perhaps the Andren character was a little bit tooo clueless, but perhaps wonderfully evocative of another time. Still it was a great story and really interesting.

Unexpected Grace by Silverie https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9092005/1/Unexpected-Grace

Amazingly well written fic starting with amazing dream sequances of ancient days and a Goddess/priestess Miranda, perfectly mirrored in a waking world of events. Andy expands her life into music when she comes to own a beautiful guitar decorated with a dragon...linking to her desire for a certain dragon lady. Lyrically written. Brilliant!!!!

A not exactly storybook romance by writetherest https://archiveofourown.org/works/923207/chapters/1793725

An AU where Andy is independently wealthy and owns a book store which Cassidy starts to visit daily as Andy befriends her. Eventually Miranda and she meet and after a bad decision it's a wonderfully sweet love story. Absolutely wonderful romance done here, adore the shier sweeter Andy.

Farsighted by emeraldorchids https://archiveofourown.org/works/6129537/chapters/14047437

Excellent mid length piece. All from Miranda's pov, chronicling how she and Andrea slip into a wonderful and easy friendship after Paris, that several months later morphs into more. What I love is the realness of Miranda in this fic as a full fledged human being all balance and counter balance with strengths and weaknesses. And I enjoyed the reality check and stunned Miranda after Andy kisses her. As well as the gradual exploration afterward. The upshot with the page six comment picture in bed is a perfect ending.

Four Corners by Chillyflame https://archiveofourown.org/works/1039309/chapters/2073686

Truth be told, this is a ten star effort. I looooved it! A phenomonally wonderful piece, well written and amazingly characterised. All told from Cassidy's pov as she lives her parents divorce, the advent and demise of Stephen and the new and wonderful inclusion of Andy in her mother's and the twins lives.

Caught Between the Moon and New York City Series by Punky_96 https://archiveofourown.org/series/1027544

Brilliant story of Miranda as a werewolf and pack leadercaptured by a secret research facility that captures and studies paranormal creatures where Andy works. Grat adventure unfolds as they escape and Andy's true nature is discovered. Excellently written and intriguing backstory.

After Dark by LiteraryAssasin https://archiveofourown.org/works/20560673/chapters/48807857

A wonderfully characterised slow burn, friends to lovers fic. Well written and engaging of course, from an excellent bard. Andy grows a backbone in the best and most proactive way…almost swapping some of her softness for some of Miranda’s firmness so that they can both balance themselves and each other. I adored Miranda’s oh so careful way of helping Andy while trying also not to overwhelm her with that help. A nifty little sub pairing of a mirrored couple is so seamlessly done it’s just amazing. Also touches on an idea I’ve had for quite some time…may have to dust that one off.

If and When by Kamuraskan https://archiveofourown.org/works/12821418/chapters/29271045

WOOT!!! No greater love hath a Bard for another Bard than to make an offering in a completely unfamiliar fandom. (Thanks Gin.) Most wonderfully well written and amazing Disaster/survival fic. Andy uncovers a terrorist plot to blow up the EC building the night the VP is attending a party there. She isn't believed by Homeland security so she approaches the new CEO of EC...Miranda they manage to evacuate the building but are still on the 20th floor when the bombs go off....suspense, love and amazingness commence.

#mirandy fic searches #mirandy fic search #mirandy fanfiction #mirandy

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igglemouse · 4 days ago

Text

Week 3 ~ Just A Smile ~ Tuesday

I wake with even more chores to do which is sort of feeling like my life? I suppose it's not very exciting and because of that I could not help but wonder about that Caroline woman I met. A pretty odd character? Personally, I try my best to not seek out danger because I imagine it is never hard to find.

There. There it is! Your Sasism for the day. Don't look for danger because it is not hard to find.

There's enough danger in a good book any ways and whenever I have the time I can't help but dive into one. There is something about the written word that just sinks into you unlike a more visual medium. The words can bury deep into your brain and hang around there forever. Nothing like a good book!

It's Tuesday so that means it's the day I pay my bills. I make enough from writing for the rent here but I do believe you all know how much I wish to move out. It's just cramped and I would really love a bigger place someday at least enough to stretch arms and legs in my living room or bedroom!

I think because of my Sasisms I'm always the one people call on for advice but I do want to tell you life isn't as hard as you think it is. Wait, I suppose it is, but sometimes we do oversimplify things, especially when it comes to relationships.

For example, my brother, Kapp, as you all know him, calls to tell me about a potential love triangle between him and two women and he wants to know what he should do about it.

The answer I tell him is simple. Develop your relationship with one woman and then tell the other woman that it is not going to work out. Painful, I know, but sometimes you do have to rip the bandaid off.

Sometimes the day ahead of you is simply beautiful and it should be a crime to stay inside. We all have our hobbies but I strongly suggest one of them should involve being outdoors, it's just good for your health, isn't it?

Mines of course is fishing and with it being such a lovely day I manage to even catch a few fish at the end of my line! It was truly an excellent way to spend the prime of my day!

I was home before the rise of the moon but I am barely able to settle in before the arrival of a guest. Citra?

It was Citra and she comes inside with a glow that cannot be ignored and with a bit of purpose to her. So I sit her down and figure out that not only does she sell drugs but she does them? I know that shouldn't be too surprising but isn't there some rule against that? Not that I would know, I've been sober my entire life and my the only high I get is on optimism.

I guess I am learning that perhaps her hobbies and interest don't line up well with mines.

One of my interests is writing, for now at least and tonight I am starting my new book, Starlight's Exodus! It's a sci-fi book and hopefully the first of a series of books? That would be pretty cool! Maybe one day it could be a feature film even?

Index ~ Next

#The Sims #The Sims 4 #ts4 #Sims #Sims 5 #sims legacy #my sims #generation 1 #soot #sims of our time #sasi srisai #citra jawa #kapp srisai #caroline alford

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magnuspanoptes · 5 months ago

Note

Came across your blog and fell in love with your takes on arguably the most important dynamic in tma (like it made me miss them and actually start a relisten after like never finding the energy to after the finale years back). Do you happen to write any fics or have any fic recs?

RAHHH thank you!! this is exactly what i'm hoping to achieve every time i post yet another one of my delusional comparatives 🙂‍↕️

and i don't write fics but i do have recs!

I'd suffer all if you'd tell me, by RavenXavier is definitive S4 silence of the lambs / red dragon prison visit fic. to me.

Death Be Not Proud, by Startless - is another prison visit fic, but it's an AU where jon chose to die in his coma and woke up as an avatar of the end.

Pinned in vain desire, by statuscrows is about jon slowly developing compulsion which causes problems for elias :) they probably write the most in-character elias. he's not nice, but he's fond of jon. i recommend, like, every single one of their je fics. nobody writes beholding powers quite like them, almost every fic is based around an aspect of the beholding. Skeptic is an AU where jon finds gertrude's tape on the first day of the job. statuscrows always writes jon with his early seasons abrasiveness and mean streak intact, which is really all i want from jon's characterisation. i don't want nice jon, take that awayyy; Ritual misery is set immediately after 160 and is doing more interesting things with the web than all of S5 put together; From his prospect high - jonathan sims learns to See; Quenched in darkness you shall see - this is noncon and dead dove. read the tags! reccing this because ritual voyeurism to please the beholding is a real and true concept.

Perchance to Dream, by parva_dae and once upon a dream, by indelibleangel - are dream fics, inspired by MAG 120. first one is a snippet of elias poking around in jon's head and worsening his fear and paranoia. he would do that ^_^ and in the second one they talk. and kiss.

and lilies, by kototyph - i read two chapters while it was still ongoing but it's finished now and i haven't gotten around to it yet, but from what i remember this had, like, revolutionary elias characterisation. he's a disaster. a very well put together, beautiful disaster.

also these two one shots they wrote for jonelias week which i liked very much :3

something different crosses the threshold, by aguntoaknifefight - amnesia. classic.

a heavenly madness, by roundthedecay - this is one of the very few, proper gothic fics with these two. there's a cursed oil painting. jon's having his life ruined by said cursed painting. and jonah/elias gets a proper gothic villain treatment.

Worn to Shadows, by Ash_Rabbit, which somewhat satisfies my bluebeard itch, but it's an AU with no institute.

everything Candentia has ever written, basically. they write entity horror really well, and i think almost every one of their je fics are squarely in the horror genre, which i appreciate very much. i'm here for the horror. and you have to check out Beholding's Own if only for the jonah chapters. it doesn't have that older mentor shaping the younger in their own image dynamic because this an AU in which they're childhood friends. but it's so good. it's so good!! the georgian jonah chapters are exquisite. the tone, voice, word choice, atmosphere, general everything. also, some serious wuthering heights stuff happening between these two. like, they get it. they get it! they've also written a bluebeard (and cupid & psyche) adjacent fic - darkly, which is a fairy tale au. and Where Hope and Reason Part is tagged dead dove for the detailed descriptions of eye gore. which is my thing. we need more of that.

Professional Distance - takes place during the birthday tape, has an excellent elias voice. he's evil. and enamoured by jon. and evil.

a glass essay, by fairbanks is jonpeter and only tangentially lonelyeyes and jonelias, but it's one of the most gorgeously written fics i've had the pleasure of reading. excellent isolation narrative and has symbolism which pays off in an unexpectedly perfect way. and as a guy who does not care about peter lukas or any ships involving him in the slightest. well. this got to me.

Scenes from an Epicenter, by NeverwinterThistle which is set during S3 and the first je fic i recall reading. the bit where elias takes jon home after distortion helen drops him in his office is canon to me <3

Dark Square Bishop, by Blissymbolics, exactly what it says on the tin. homoerotic chess match at the end of the world.

#jonelias #fic rec #asks

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laneboyheathens · 28 days ago

Note

Glad I found you! I’ve been meaning to get into melshian. They’re a cute couple. Any recs?

Thank you for giving me this delightfully indulgent opportunity to gush about all of my favourite Melshian fics. Given I have read every (yes every) fic in the tag (and then some) and enjoyed ALL of them, I do encourage anyone to check out whatever piques their particular fancy, however, these are my favourites and some good starting points to 'get-into' the ship!

Melshian Fic Recs

The Boarders of Infinity 24k E

If you only read one fic on this list, it has to be The Boarders of Infinity by the talented @tellallthetruth-but-tellitslant Starting in Narkina 5 through to a canon divergent ending of Season 1, wobbly builds this wonderful and tender relationship between Melshi and Cassian. Funny, sexy and sad, I have come back to read this fic over and over (and its sequel The Warrior's Apprentices which includes my all time favourite line in Chapter 3).

Turn The Page 20k E

"When they meet after years apart, Melshi finds Andor has forgotten everything except him." Another wonderful and tender fic from wobbly, with a reunion, recovering from injury and amnesia Cassian, once again this one makes my heart ache.

Mirror 9K T

Another reunion fic that jumps back and forth between Yavin and post-Narkina/Niamos time. @faceofpoe succeeds in making me deeply melancholy as Cassian and Melshi toe the line between platonic and something more. The line “If I’m being entirely honest, I never really figured out how to do… any of this… again either.” has been stuck playing on a loop in my head since I first read this. Angsty, tender and bittersweet. (Another honourable faceofpoe fic has to be Double 3k G for beloved Melshi POV <3)

A Rock In The Water 9K M

Taste_is_Sweet is one of my favourite authors, and I deeply adore all of their Andor fics (One Bite at at Time is MY all time favourite). Set sometime before the events of Rogue One, Cassian receives some news while on a mission and takes it very badly. Heavy angst and heavy themes handled very well in a way that makes my heart hurt about them. TW Attempted Suicide

something beautiful 3k M

"Melshi loves Cassian; Cassian needs Melshi. All the way to the end." this is a very apt title because this fic really is something beautiful, the narrative construction and the poetic nature of love and need. And oh they are so doomed by the narrative (oh my god they were doomed by the narrative).

hope springs eternal 3K G

Missing scenes from Episode 11, featuring nerve damage, touch-starved Melshi, cuddling and hope. Very soft, tender and full of comfort, a really lovely Gen entry on this list.

Observer Effect 2k E

By the very talented @bright-thorn in which Melshi and Cassian overcome the limitations of prison life by having a long distance (six foot of electrified floor) relationship. With a angsty gut punch at the end that kills me every time.

The path will follow you 7k T

"Stationed on Dantooine a few years later, Private Melshi finds a part of his past converging with his future." I deeply enjoy each and every one of @p-paradoxa 's fics, but I keep coming back to this one. Reunions and farewells, reintroductions and "He could find his way back, but he couldn’t stay." <- losing my mind actually!!!

take these embers; burn with me 3k M

Melshi needs a haircut and is also No.1 Cassian Andor simp. So many excellent excellent Melshian tropes and headcanons in this one I adore it <3

Aller-Retour 4k T

@elwenyere is a wordsmith genius and has written many many of my favourite Melshian fics, but Aller-Retour holds a special place in my heart and on my re-read list. Comfort and stolen intimate moments, this really is everything I love about them as a ship (and they were doomed. oh my god they were doomed.)

Subsection: AUs

(it could be wrong) but it should have been right 6k E Omegaverse

@thevalleyisjolly *pointing* that is my very good friend who's fics I love and adore and who never fails to make me feel completely insane always and forever. AJ's Omegaverse AU of the time on Niamos is a wonderful, funny, and insightful exploration into agency, desire as an act of rebellion, the socio-economic implications of secondary sex/gender under Imperial rule. It's got it all! I highly recommend reading, even if Omegaverse isn't your usual cup of tea, this one is something special. (and if Jynmelshian floats your fancy What Is This Feeling? Is so so excellent I am gnawing on the doorframes shouting from the rooftops EVERYONE READ THIS!!!)

Pierce the Skin 71k (WIP) T Vampire AU

Another fic from Taste_is_Sweet which I devour with reverence every update because I am first and foremost an absolute angst loving goblin. Still set within the Andor timeline, Cassian and Melshi have a meet-ugly that almost kills them both, and then they keep meeting, again and again. Vampire AU my beloved, fundamentally changed my brain chemistry forever and I am constantly thinking about it.

Subsection: Life-Affirming Sexual Encounters

All of these hit a specific vibe of comfort and reclamation of self through sex, these bitches are touchstarved and I re-read these frequently.

Together, We Made It 3k E

meeting place 2k E

Shorelines 4k E

I would also be remiss not to mention that Whatever Happens Now: Melshian Zine comes out on 22nd April, with the theme reunions and farewells, and I will be absolutely going balls to the walls about all of the amazing fics that are soon to be dropping! @melshianzine

Thank you for the ask and for giving me the opportunity to gush about everyones work! This is by no means an exhaustive list, and every other fic in the tag is excellent and I hope you all know I cherish each and every one of them <3

#cassian andor #ruescott melshi #melshian #fic rec #rec list #sorry this is so long but I love all of the fics and they are all so good it was hard to choose a shortened list!#dani rambles #give me an Inch and I'll take a mile when it comes to these two

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viceofdionysus · 1 month ago

Text

Jack "Whiskey" Daniels x F!reader

Written for @penvisions Give a Little Love Challenge! My trope was Miscommunication! <3

WC: 4.6k Rating: 18+

Contains: Jack being Jack, feelings being caught, miscommunication, and happy endings!

The sheets are tangled around you and there’s something soft brushing against your bare back. You smile into the pillow.

“That tickles.”

His answering laugh is low and sleep rough. As he kisses up your back, his large hand settles against your hip. His callouses catch against your skin, sending sparks fluttering in your core.

“We should stay like this all day.” He whispers against your skin.

"That sounds nice.” His thumb digs into your hip, rolling in tight circles.

“Damn darlin’,” He laughs, “If you’re still this tense, I didn’t do my job well enough.”

“Oh trust me,” You roll to look up at him, “You did an excellent job, your next performance review will be off the charts.”

“That mean I get a raise?” He asks, mouth curling into a grin.

“I’m willing to negotiate.”

Jack shifts down and kisses you, warm and tempting like the first sip of a good whiskey. He shifts, taking you deeper into the kiss, into him.

His phone rings.

He growls, the sound vibrating through you. Even as he tries to pull away, he keeps chasing your lips. But the sound of his phone is insistent.

“Ignore it, it’ll stop ringing.” His hands find a hold on your waist.

“Jack.” You laugh.

His phone finally falls silent, only for your phone to start up.

“That means it’s Champ.” You ease back only for him to draw you in again.

“Which means the world is ending and we should stay right here and enjoy the time we have left.”

You laugh against his lips, “You know if one of us doesn’t answer, they’ll just track us down.”

"You’re always so logical.” He sighs.

He lets you slip out of his grip, but keeps his hands on you.

“Hello?” His hands wander up your sides and you turn to give him a warning look as you answer the phone.

He just grins back at you, his hand sliding down your side.

“Send Whiskey to me ASAP.”

“Yes sir.” You clear your throat, feeling yourself heat.

The line clicks dead, leaving silence ringing in your ear.

“Champ wants to see you ASAP.” You answer his questioning look.

He sighs, throwing his head back dramatically. You smother your laughter, not wanting to encourage him.

“I suppose that means I should find my pants,” He casts a look around the room, and the chaos left from the night prior. “Darlin, it looks like a tornado came through here.”

“And I wonder whose fault that is?”

“Not mine,” He answers with a grin.

You roll out of bed, shaking your head. Your feet barely touch the floor before he’s lunges across the bed and pulls you back into him.

“Jack!”

“C’mon darlin. Champ can wait.”

In answer, a shrieking alarm wails from your phones. You flinch, trying to cover your ears. Jack gives the phones a disgusted look and rolls his eyes.

“Bet that’s something Ginger worked up.” He sighs, “Suppose I should go before she pull out anymore nasty tricks.”

He pulls away from you slowly, reluctant to part. You slide out the opposite side of the bed, taking a moment to admire him. Your heart gives a traitorous thump and you shove it away.

“This is casual.” You remind yourself viciously, though everyday it gets harder and harder to remember. “When will I see you again?” You ask instead, swallowing past the lump in your throat.

You see his hesitation. Despite the sweet words he plies, Jack’s never been a man to really stay. “We’ll play it by ear,” He hedges, “But it depends on what Champ wants.”

You force a smile, “No worries! I’ll going to put the coffee on.”

You turn, missing the way Jack looks at you. He tracks the way your robe covers your body, wishing he could pull you back to him and undoing the knot and parting the fabric to see all of you.

“Casual, you damned idiot. You told her you wanted this to be casual.” But he can’t take his eyes off you as you walk away, something in his chest pulling at him.

****

Jack flys out that afternoon at Champ’s behest. You sigh, but try to be positive.

“Maybe a break is just what I need.” You tell the small figurine perched on the edge of your computer screen.

“What was that?” Ginger asks.

“Nothing!” You gulp, “Just talking through this problem I’m working on.”

Ginger gives you a doubtful look, but continues on her way. You let your head fall into your hands, trying not to laugh at yourself.

“See, I’m losing my mind.” You tell the figurine. “A break will be good for me.”

The figure remains silent and you sigh. You ignore the twisting feeling in your heart, instead opening up the latest data dump from the field. The data fills your screen and you set to work.

****

The days pass into a new week and there’s nothing from Jack, not that you were waiting for anything.

“Okay, maybe I am.” You tell your figurine. “I know we’re casual, but a text would be nice!”

Disgusted with yourself, your push back from your desk and stand. On your way past, you grab the empty mug standing guard by your mouse.

As you near the break room, you hear the murmur of voices. They’re indistinct at first, but as you draw closer, they become clearer.

“What are you doing this weekend?” Bob, one of the analysts asks.

“I got a hot date.” Your stomach drops as you recognize his whiskey rough voice.

“Oh really?”

“Oh yeah,” Jack laughs, “Found a pretty filly named Stella to spend some time with.” You can imagine the salacious wink that he sends towards Bob, your stomach twisting.

“Gotta be careful, some of those ‘fillies’ are a handful.”

“Bob, my man, that’s just how I like em. Sassy and feisty.”

Suddenly, refilling your mug is the furthest thing from your mind. You turn robotically, feeling disconnected from your body.

Ginger looks up as you reenter the room, about to ask you something, but she stops when she registers the look on your face.

“What is it?” She asks, her voice soft.

“I…” But the rest of the words won’t come.

“It’s okay.” She soothes, “That’s alright.”

She draws you down into your chair before gently prying the mug from your fingers.

“Casual.” The word keeps repeating in your brain, over and over, nothing else able to break through.

Ginger says something, but the words don’t register. You see her gaze flick over your shoulder and she frowns.

“What’s going on here?”

Jack’s words bring your spiral to a sudden halt. You see him out of the corner of your eye and then he’s nudging Ginger aside.

“Hey there, Darlin.” He murmurs, squatting before you, “What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” He grins up at you, but it only makes you feel sick.

“I have to go.” You push to your feet in a sudden movement, throwing Jack off balance.

In the time it takes him to right himself, you’re already nearly out the door. Before he can go after you, he feels a hand on his shoulder.

“I don’t know what happened, but give her some space, Whiskey.” Ginger’s voice is still soft, but there’s a hard edge to it.

He wants to buck her off, to race after you, but that wouldn’t be very casual of him. Instead he turns and smiles at her.

“No problem.” He forces himself to say. “I’ve got plenty of ways to entertain myself.”

But the worry lingers, your blank face imprinted on his brain. His fingers brush over his phone as he walks away, but he forces his hands away, despite the itch in them.

“Casual.” He tells his heart and can’t help snorting at himself. “Yeah right, Jack, you went and ended up head under water.”

****

You’re not at your desk the next day, your computer screen dark and your figurine lonely on its perch. Jack’s brow wrinkles, but he makes himself walk past.

“She didn’t come in today.” Ginger says as he passes her, “Said she wasn’t feeling well.”

Concern curls in his chest, heavy enough to drag him down.

He pulls his phone out and opens his message thread with you.

“Hey Darlin,” He types, “Heard you weren’t feeling well.”

He looks down at the words, the blinking cursor taunting him. With a disgusted sigh, he erases it all.

“Darlin, I heard you weren’t feeling well. I’ll come by with some soup from the diner later, if you feel up to it.”

He sends the message before he can think about it, before he can talk himself out of it. He ignores the soft feeling fluttering in his heart.

For most of the day, his message goes unread. When he checks his phone before heading out, the status has changed to read, but there’s no response. Jack frowns. He starts to type another text, but the shakes his head. He hits the call button instead and listens to the dial tone. It clicks off abruptly, his hope rising in response, only to be dashed when it rolls over to your voicemail. He ends the call before you finish telling him to leave a message.

“Casual.” He reminds himself. If you wanted some time for yourself, that was just fine by him.

****

Jack stops dead at the start of the next week as he walks past the door to your workspace. There you are, at your desk, typing furiously. He starts towards you and then pulls himself to a stop. He retreats a few steps back, trying to decide his next move.

At the feeling of someone watching you, your eyes flick up to the doorway, but there’s nothing but empty space. With a sigh, you return your attention to your computer and the overwhelming number of emails waiting for you.

A little while later, distraction comes in the form of Ginger, carrying a vase of vibrant flowers.

“Those are pretty.” You lean away from your computer, stretching as you go.

“They’re for you.”

“For me?”

She sets the vase on the corner of your desk, walking away before you can form an argument. The small corner of a creamy white card catches your attention. It’s smooth beneath your fingers, the logo of the flower shop deeply embossed in the corner. Familiar handwriting spikes on the other side.

“Glad you’re feeling better.”

You drop the card into your desk drawer and turn away from the flowers. The words you’d overheard, play on repeat in your mind. Briefly, you think of taking the flowers to the break room, leaving them for someone else to take home. But they remain on the corner of your desk.

Jack waits impatiently, trying to focus on the file Champ had slid over to him. But his phone feels like a lead weight in his pocket. Every time it chirps, he whips it out, but it’s never your name crossing the screen.

“Whiskey!” Champ snaps finally, “Take a walk.”

Without his usual argument, Jack shoves to his feet and leaves the meeting room. Tequila and Champ share a concerned look as the door closes with a whisper.

Jack winds through the halls, no destination in mind, but his feet lead him where he needs to go. He stops in the doorway, eyes scanning over the empty room.

“Jack?”

He turns at the sound of your voice. His heart gives a solid thump in his chest at the sight of you.

“What are you doing here?”

He swallows hard, trying to summon up his usual swagger, “Just wanderin’ by, darlin.” He smiles and shoots you a wink, “Those are some pretty flowers you got there.”

“Yeah, they are.” You offer him a weak smile, “Thank you.”

He forces himself to shrug, “Just glad to see you back.”

“Glad to be back. Unfortunately, I have a pile of work to catch up on, so I can’t talk.”

Jack frowns as you push past him, an unusual chill following you.

“Hey,” He says as you reach the door, “Let’s get together this weekend, make up for lost time.”

“I’m busy. See you around.” Your words are flat, lacking your usual vibrancy.

Jack’s frown deepens, watching you cross the room and take a seat at your desk. If you’d looked up, you would have met his gaze, but you stay focused on your computer screen.

You can feel the weight of his gaze, the temptation to turn towards him pulls at you, but you keep your eyes forward. Eventually, he looks away, leaving you feeling too lightweight. You risk a look at the doorway, but it’s empty again.

****

The next morning, the flowers are still there, but they’ve been joined by a second vase. You sigh, looking at the new flowers.

“Let’s get dinner tonight. And have dessert.” The card reads.

You want to smile, but there’s a sharp pain in your heart as the memory of his break room conversation replays. The card drops next to the first one and the drawer shuts with a snap.

You try to pay attention to work, but your focus keeps slipping away. Finally you push back from your desk in disgust.

“I’m going to get some air.” You call over to Ginger. She raises a hand in acknowledgment, eyes never leaving her tablet.

Outside, the spring air is warm, but with a sharp edge of chill. You shiver, wishing you’d grabbed your jacket on the way out. Deliberately, you head down the path away from the door, wandering towards the distillery buildings. Beyond the building is an open field ringed by blooming trees. You take a moment to pause, turning your face up to the wind, inhaling the scent of spring.

A long figure takes the path towards you, too far out to tell who it is, but you know anyway. You start to move away, but your feet have rooted to the ground.

“Well, hey there, darlin.” He calls when he’s closer.

You manage a weak wave in answer, still trying to convince your feet to move. But they remain stubbornly planted.

“Hey,” His name is on your lips, ready to sound so sweet, but you force it back, “Whiskey.”

His frown is immediate. “Feeling alright?”

“Just fine.” You snap, feeling the first flickers of anger.

He raises a placating hand, “It’s just…”

“Just what?”

The wind whips past you, sending goosebumps racing up your body. Jack notices, eyes trailing over your exposed skin.

“Here.” He shrugs off his jacket, wrapping it around your shoulders without waiting for an answer.

The lingering scent of his cologne sneaks into your senses as you try to shrug the jacket off.

“I don’t need…”

“You look good in my clothes.” He cuts you off, grinning.

“I don’t need your jacket, Jack.” You let the anger rise, welcoming the burn of it.

His brows wrinkle, “Darlin, what’s going on?”

“Nothing.”

“You can talk to me. Is it something with work?”

“No, it’s not work.”

“Something personal?” He asks, concern in his dark brown eyes.

“Something like that.” You try to keep the anger up, but you can feel it fading.

“C’mon darlin, I know we’re casual, but you can talk to me.” The words pain him, even as he tries to keep his tone light.

Casual, there’s that word again and suddenly your anger sparks back to life.

“I know we’re casual, Jack,” You snap, “You don’t have to remind me.”

Jack steps back, raising his hands, “Hey now.”

“Oh no worries, Jack. I didn’t forget we’re casual.” You spit the word with as much venom as you can muster. “I know we’re not exclusive and you can go play with whoever you want.”

“What?”

“But that doesn’t give you the right to treat me poorly!” You steamroll right over his question.

“What?"

“You can go on as many hot dates as you want because we’re so fucking casual!”

“What are you talking about?” He’s desperately trying to keep up. “What hot date?”

“Do you think I’m stupid, Jack?”

“No, of course not,” He pleads, “Darlin, I just don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Your eyes narrow at him, “If we’re going to be casual, the least you can do is be honest with me.” You hiss.

“Darlin, what is this about?”

“It’s because I need a damn break!” The words whip out of you, leaving your breathless, chest heaving, “Because I can’t do this anymore. I,” But you stop yourself before the rest of your confession can slip out.

“But why? I thought things were good?”

His confusion only serves to fan the flames, “Sure, they were.” You shoot him a nasty smile, “But I don’t want to be just another hot date for you to juggle.” Before he can respond, you shake your head, “I’m sure you’ll be fine. You’ve already got a hot date lined up this weekend and it sounds like you’ll have your hands full with Stella.”

You turn on your heel, marching back towards the main building. Jack watches you go, mouth agape.

“What?” He asks the breeze that rushes past him. “What was that?”

But your words turn over in his mind. “You’ve already got a hot date lined up this weekend.” “Now where did she get an idea like that?” He mutters. “Stella.” The name echoes in his mind and he wonders where you heard it.

He starts to follow you, to demand an answer, but then he immediately stops. “Found a pretty filly named Stella to spend some time with.” His words echo back to him. “Oh, I’m some kind of stupid.”

Instead of following you, he turns and walks back the way he came, plans already forming in his mind.

****

The next morning, a third vase waits for you. The temptation to throw it straight in the trash is strong, but you resist, knowing that would cause more questions.

“You want me to tell him to knock it off?” Ginger asks from behind you.

You sigh, turning towards her, “No, but thank you. I think this is a conversation I need to have.”

Ginger nods, “Well, let me know if you need any back up.”

You wait until she walks away before turning back to the flowers. You pick them up, rotating them gently, but there’s no card.

“Oh,” You whisper, not quite sure what the emotion in your chest is.

You work through the day, not even pausing to take lunch. Every time your focus slips, your gaze is pulled to the flowers.

Finally, Ginger stops at the edge of your desk, looking at you with a frown.

“Go home.” She says.

“What? No. I have a ton of work and it’s not…”

“Go. Home.” She says, turning, “Don’t make me fry your computer.”

Knowing she’d carry the threat out, you push back from your desk.

Your stuff collected, you stop at her desk on your way out. “Ginger?”

She looks up at you, “Take the weekend. Cry, rage, break something, I don’t care. But work this out. I need my best analyst at the top of her game.”

She shoos you out of the office, watching you on the security cameras to make sure you actually leave.

Once you’re out of the office, the door sliding shut behind you, a weight lifts off your shoulders. You roll your shoulders, lifting your face to the sunshine. The warmth sinks into your skin, spreading through you. As the breeze dances past you, you try to let your worries go with it. There’s a raw feeling in your heart, but you think with enough time it will heal over.

The paved path curls tightly around the building before leading you towards the trees. Your mind wanders the other way down the path, retracing your steps to your confrontation with Jack. You sigh, thinking back over your words.

“Okay, maybe I was a little harsh with him.” You tell the breeze as it races past, “We did agree to keep it casual. It’s not his fault I caught feelings.”

Your thoughts tumble over themselves as you keep walking. They start slotting into place as you cross into the trees, the shadows bringing a sharp chill to the air.

“Okay,” You murmur to yourself, “I’ll take the weekend. And then on Monday, I’ll ask if we can talk. And I’ll just tell him that I need some time to figure things out. And that I’m sorry. I just need to be strong.” You pledge to be as firm, as unyielding, as ice. To freeze your heart.

You can imagine the conversation, hearing yourself saying the words, see Jack nodding. A thoroughly reasonable conversation, straightforward and emotionless. And you have to admit that no conversation with Jack would ever be devoid of emotion.

Your imagination cuts off abruptly when you reach your doorstep and find Jack sitting there.

“Hey darlin.” He says, smiling up at you, “I thought we should talk.”

“Whiskey.” An ache radiates from the raw spot in your heart.

He frowns, “I don’t like when you call me that.”

You feel the ice you’ve tried to wrap around yourself start to thaw and crack. “Well, that’s too bad.” You try to keep your voice firm, but you can even hear the waiver. You roll your shoulders, trying to refreeze the ice, “I think we need some boundaries.”

“Boundaries?” Jack pushes to his feet, but doesn’t come closer. He sets his hands on his hips even though he wants nothing more than to touch you in this moment, to pull you close to him.

“Boundaries. I was going to talk to you about this on Monday.”

“Let’s talk about it now.” He raises an eyebrow, “I’m here, you’re here. Unless that’s a problem?”

“No, now is fine.” Like ripping off a band-aid, you think. “Come on in.”

You start towards the door, trying not to brush against him, but he side steps.

“Actually,” He answers your questioning look, “I thought it might be nice to take a walk.”

“A walk?” Maybe that’s better, you think, then he’s not in my space. “Sure, it’s a nice day!” It sounds reasonable, but confusion is wrapped around your words.

Jack smiles and gestures down the path, “Let’s go this way.”

“As good as any way, I suppose.” You’re trying to figure him out, but he just winks and starts down the path.

“Normally, I’d offer you my arm, being the gentleman that I am.” He says, “But something gave me the idea that you’d rather I not touch you right now.”

“Something would be right.” You answer, “Jack, what is this?”

“There’s something, I’d like to show you. And some records I’d like to set straight.”

“And what are those?”

But he doesn’t answer, instead he stops and admires a bush starting to bloom in a riot of color. “Now isn’t that pretty?”

“Very.” You answer, but your eyes are locked on him, “Did you bring me out here just to look at the flowers?” You try to inject annoyance into your voice, but Jack just grins.

“Didn’t know flowers would make you so upset.” There’s a bright note of mischief in his voice.

“Jack, it’s been a long week, and I’d like to go home and not think about it for a few days.”

He frowns, “I know darlin, and I know I’m part of that. I’m sorry for it, but if you’ll indulge me, I’ll do my best to explain.”

You sigh, turning to look how far you’ve come already, “Alright.”

“Come on, we’re not far.”

He leads you onto a hard dirt offshoot from the path.

“The stables?” You ask, “Jack?”

“You’re indulging me.” He reminds you.

You roll your eyes, but bite back another comment. Instead you wander down the path with Jack at your side, and you have to admit that it’s nice.

At the big horse stable, Jack undoes the latch on the side door and pushes it open.

“Do you trust me?” He asks.

“That’s a loaded question,” You tell him, “But yes.”

“Good. Close your eyes.”

Your eyes fall shut without hesitation.

“I’m going to touch you, darlin.” His voice is low and warm in your ear, a shiver running up your back.

Gently, he lays his hands on your waist, drawing you into him.

“Small step up here,” He says and you raise your foot accordingly, “Good, you got it.”

Inside the stable, the scent of horse and leather is nearly overpowering, but you take a couple of deep breaths, adjusting to it. Jack steps behind you, the door swinging shut behind him. You hear a quiet click and then the world beyond your closed eyes brightens. Jack settles his hands on your hips again and guides you forward.

“Not far now.”

True to his word, he guides you a few more feet and then stops. Gently, he turns you to your left.

“You can open your eyes.”

Your eyes open slowly, adjusting to the light, before you register the sight in front of you. The horse that comes to the front of the stall is a slender black horse, a white blaze on her forehead.

“This is Stella.” Jack says softly.

“She’s beautiful.” You answer, raising a hand to let her sniff. It takes a moment for your brain to register the name. “Stella?” You turn to look at Jack, pieces already fitting together.

“You said you’d like to ride with me sometimes.” He says, almost head, his head titling to hide behind his hat.

You step towards him, into his eye line, “Jack.” A small smile on your lips, “Did you buy me a horse?”

“No! Course, I didn’t,” He grumbles, trying to look away from you.

Hesitant delight curls through you. You raise a hand and gently guide his face back to yours, “You did, didn’t you. You bought me a horse. Jack.” You say his name so softly that his heart aches.

“Maybe, I did.”

“You said you liked feisty fillies.”

“Wasn’t a lie. And Stella is a feisty one for all she’s a sweetheart too.”

“If I hadn’t overheard and misunderstood, when would you have told me?”

“I was working up to it.” He coughs, “I know we’re casual.”

“But a horse isn’t a very casual gift.”

“Well,” He says, unable to say the rest.

“Jack.” You whisper it.

“I’m a pretty messed up guy, darlin.”

“Jack.”

“I don’t know what you see in me.”

“Jack.” You smile at him, “Tell me.”

“I don’t want to be casual with you anymore darlin.” He says, “I want you to be mine.”

You throw your arms around him, pulling him into a kiss. The heat of it scorches through you, leaving nothing but pulsing desire behind.

“Jack.”

“Darlin,” He sounds pained.

You laugh, “Jack, I want you to be mine too. I’ve wanted you to be mine for a while.”

He grins and pulls you into another kiss that leaves you breathless.

“I missed you.” He says it so quietly, so softly. “I wanted to talk to you a dozen times this week. Kept picking up the phone to message you.”

“Oh, Jack.” You kiss him, keeping it soft this time. “I missed you too.”

Behind you, Stella makes a soft sound and retreats from the door.

“Want to take her out?” He asks, wrapping his arms around you.

You turn in his hold, “As much as I’d love to, there’s a different kind of ride I want right now.”

“Shit darlin.” His arms tighten around you.

“Take me home, Jack, and let’s make up.”

#give a little love challenge #jack Daniels x F!reader #agent whiskey #kingsman the golden circle #writing challenge #jack daniels

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spikycannonball · 18 days ago

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What Inspired Prime Sonic’s Characterization

From what I’ve seen, Sonic’s characterization in the Sonic Prime series is pretty divisive in the fandom. Some people love it, others think Sonic’s ‘original’ character was done dirty as a hero in this series. According to the latter, Sonic should be a source of inspiration rather than someone who needs a character arc.

And you know, everyone is free to interpret a character or a show in different ways, and to prefer one version over the other. I don’t intend to change or discredit anyone’s opinion on the matter.

What I would like to point out is that the Sonic Prime writers clearly did take inspiration from the games for Sonic’s characterization, and it shows. You just have to look at the earlier games rather than the latest. But since most of those games are not so easily accessible these days, as someone who grew up playing them, I would be happy to show you why, to me and other fans, watching Sonic Prime felt so nostalgic.

If you don’t feel like reading over 7K words of early Sonic games’ recap and analysis, in short: I believe Prime Sonic is intended to be a mix of his characterization in the Classic games (starting with Sonic the Hedgehog, 1991) and the Modern games from the early 2000s (up to and including Sonic Advance 3, 2004 - but mostly Sonic Heroes, 2003). To make this essay easier to read, I’ve divided it into three parts:

Part 1: Introduction, and Sonic Games on the Mega Drive

Part 2: Dreamcast Games: Sonic Adventure 1 and 2

Part 3: Sonic Heroes, the Main Inspiration for Prime Sonic

Before I begin, I would like to reiterate that Prime Sonic’s characterization is great representation for neurodivergent people, especially as the lovable hero of a kids’ show. I won’t go into more detail about it in this essay because I’ll be focusing on the game adaptation aspect, but it’s rare enough that it bears repeating, and if you’d like to read more about that, you can check out descendant-of-truth’s excellent post about it.

Forewarning: I will try to keep this essay as accessible as possible to anyone unfamiliar with Sonic lore without spoiling major plot points (there will be some important spoilers for Sonic Adventure, Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Battle, though, careful with that!), but this is going to be long and image-heavy, so strap in, folks!

Part 1 - Introduction, and Sonic Games on the Mega Drive

First off, we should keep in mind that Sonic the Hedgehog has existed for over 30 years, and has been written in different ways by different people on different mediums. On top of that, there have been a lot of mistranslations and artistic liberties taken between the Japanese and English versions of Sonic games, leading to notable changes in character design, dialogue, and plot points - sometimes minor, sometimes major. More rarely, other mediums have influenced the games: some details from early Sonic cartoons were included in the games later on, like Sonic’s obsession with chili dogs, which first appeared in the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog cartoon in 1993, and was only added to the game canon from 2008 onward, starting with Sonic and the Black Knight. Sonic’s constant craving for chili dogs is also there in Sonic Prime.

That being said, one of Sonic Prime’s writers, Duncan Rouleau, has tweeted that they were "only adding to (the video game universe created by the Sonic Team)." This could either mean that Sonic Prime is set in the video game universe, or that it is simply based on it. (I know it’s a point of contention in the fandom, but I won’t be touching that particular debate here - I think you should feel free to interpret it however you want.) Either way, those tweets confirm that the games were the main source of inspiration for Sonic Prime. Therefore, I will be focusing on Sonic’s characterization in the games for this analysis, and mention the differences between Japanese and English dubs whenever it becomes relevant.

While I do admire the fans’ efforts to make sense of Sonic lore and establish a coherent continuity (and I do think those efforts are worthwhile when writing fanfiction or fancomics; some truly great stories have been and continue to be written for this fandom), the fact remains that continuity between the Sonic games is a mess.

It may be tempting to think that the games are linear and that ‘time of release’ = ‘place in the timeline,’ but that logic doesn’t always work. As an example: Shadow has amnesia in Sonic Heroes (December 2003), he remembers everything in Sonic Battle (also December 2003), but the entire plot of Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) revolves around him trying to get his memories back - so Sonic Battle should take place after Shadow the Hedgehog, even if the former got released first.

On top of that, several of the games’ plot lines and characterization directly contradict each other, and there have been a lot of retcons over the decades. To give a visual example: half of the moon gets blown up in Sonic Adventure 2 (2001). The moon is whole again in the opening cinematic of Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), which explicitly takes place after Sonic Adventure 2. And finally, in the prologue animation for Sonic X Shadow Generations titled Dark Beginnings (2024), which explicitly takes place after Shadow the Hedgehog, the moon is shown to be partly destroyed again. So unless the moon got repaired and then broken again offscreen, that’s a double retcon. (Also, the Eclipse Cannon, the weapon that blew up part of the moon, is fully operational in Shadow the Hedgehog, even though it got destroyed by the end of Sonic Adventure 2. In fact, getting rid of that weapon was Sonic’s main objective at the end of the Hero Story in Sonic Adventure 2, making this particular retcon especially jarring.)

And for one last example regarding Sonic’s character specifically: Classic Sonic (Sonic’s design for the earliest 2D games) got re-introduced in Sonic Generations (2011) as Modern Sonic’s past self, and is considered a child in the fandom nowadays. However, in his Sonic Jam (1997) game profile, Classic Sonic is stated to be 16, while in the manual of Sonic Heroes (2003), Modern Sonic’s age is stated to be 15. So Sonic technically got de-aged twice. (In light of this, it might be for the best that Sega ultimately decided to make all the cast’s ages ambiguous.)

My point is, the Sonic games can be inconsistent with each other, and that goes for characterization as well. Knuckles is one of the most obvious examples of varied characterization from game to game, and not in any linear way that could be explained by character growth: he is much stupider and spontaneously agressive in Sonic Battle (which explicitly takes place after Sonic Adventure 2) than in the Adventure games, but Sonic Frontiers (2022) and its animated prologue Divergence restored Knuckles’ personality to the Adventure version, where he is quiet and contemplative unless provoked, and his gullibility is a consequence of his social isolation rather than a lack of intelligence.

Game Sonic himself has been written differently over time as well. Therefore, before we can judge whether or not Prime Sonic is OOC, we need to establish which version (or versions) of Sonic the writers took inspiration from.

Thankfully, Iann Flynn, who was hired as a consultant for the show, gave an element of answer in a tweet: "Sonic Prime takes place sometime after Sonic Advance 3."

Taken as is, as Iann Flynn clarified himself in another tweet, this is very broad and intentionally vague: by that metric, Sonic Prime could take place anywhere from right after Sonic Advance 3 (2004) to post Sonic games from the 2020s. And honestly, it doesn’t really matter, because Sonic Prime can exist as its own thing, and you don’t need to know much about game lore to enjoy it - knowing the lore is just a bonus. (And to be clear: I’m not trying to establish where Sonic Prime fits in the games’ chronology, or whether or not the show should be considered canon to the games at all; I am only trying to pinpoint what aspects of the games inspired Prime Sonic’s personality.)

What this tweet does imply is that Sonic Prime mostly took inspiration from the games that came before Sonic Advance 3. As in, the Classic games on the Mega Drive (also known as Sega Genesis) and other Sega consoles, both Sonic Adventure games, Sonic Heroes, Sonic Battle, and all three Sonic Advance games - from the 1990s to 2004.

This seems to be confirmed by the choice of our main cast, the callbacks to game release dates in Sonic Prime, and the way distant flashbacks are animated: Big the Cat first appeared in Sonic Adventure (in 1998; hence his New Yoke alternate self’s name: ‘Citizen 1998’). Rouge and Shadow both made their debut in Sonic Adventure 2 (2001), the last Sonic game to come out on a Sega console - namely, the Dreamcast. (Team Chaotix was also introduced on a Sega console in Knuckles Chaotix (1995), but that game is a lot more obscure, which is probably the reason why their team wasn’t included in Sonic Prime - plus, the cast would have been too large with those three.)

To make the references to the 1990s games clear, the Sonic Prime flashbacks to Sonic’s first interactions with Tails and Knuckles are animated in a pixelated 2D style that’s reminiscent of the Mega Drive games’ aesthetic. Furthermore, the password to Tails and Nine’s respective labs in Sonic Prime - ‘1992’ - is a reference to Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (Tails’ debut game, which came out in 1992) and the flashback scene in Sonic Prime season 1, episode 7 is based on Knuckles’ debut game, Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994). Therefore, it stands to reason that part of the characterization would also be inspired by early games. Even the Sunset Hill Boss Battle from Sonic Advance 3 (2004), when it gets referenced in Sonic Prime Season 3, Episode 3’s introductory flashback (complete with a remix of the original boss music), gets redrawn in the Mega Drive games’ art style; except for Eggman, who keeps his character design from Sonic Advance 3. (Likely to avoid confusion for the viewers: in context, the Mega Drive art style is indicative of flashbacks set before Sonic Prime, but it would feel unnatural if Eggman's design changed too drastically from those flashbacks to the present.) This is why Iann Flynn quoted that specific game in his tweet about a plausible timeline for Sonic Prime in relation to the Sonic games: Sonic Advance 3 is the latest released game that gets a visual callback in Sonic Prime.

So what was Sonic like in the Mega Drive era?

Originally, Sonic was created to be a cool rebellious mascot for Sega, in contrast to their main rival company Nintendo’s more conventionally affable mascot Mario. That aspect was exaggerated in Western adaptations of early games: Sonic is drawn more cocky-looking on official Western game art, which started the infamous "mascot with attitude" trend in video games. However, in the Classic Sonic games, none of the characters talked, so their personalities were shown through body language: for instance, if the player keeps him motionless for too long, Sonic will get restless and tap his foot in annoyance while looking straight at the player, silently demanding to move things along already. (Unlike Tails, who just yawns in his idle animation.)

The opening and ending 2D animations for Sonic CD (1993) emulate Sonic’s sprites and add some quirks. They show that Sonic can be quietly confident, but also mischievous: a favorite tactic of his is to taunt robots until they rush into each other and break themselves. He uses it a lot in Sonic Prime as well, and it’s just as effective.

In general, Sonic’s sprites on the Mega Drive are very expressive and goofy-looking, especially when he’s about to lose his balance on the edge of a cliff. The Sonic CD ending animation and Sonic Prime both use these sprites as references for Sonic’s poses and expressions whenever he is in a pinch: he can get overwhelmed, but he is good at bouncing back.

In the first Classic games, the main story was fairly simple: Doctor Eggman is trying to build a robot empire and captures small animals or magical flower seeds so he can use them to power his machines, Sonic the Hedgehog destroys his robots to save the animals and let the flowers bloom. Pretty straightforward tale about environmentalism and fighting back against oppression.

It wasn’t anti-technology, though: as shown in the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 screenshot above, Sonic and Tails own a biplane, the Tornado, which they use to travel across seas or catch up with Eggman’s flying bases. Essentially, it’s the Studio Ghibli approach to environmentalism: humans and technology are not portrayed as innately evil, it is only nature exploitation and the dangers of upsetting the balance of an ecosystem that are condemned by the narrative - cautionary tales about the excessive use of technology, and a condemnation of weapons and war.

This underlying message was especially present in the first Sonic games, which were created in a time when Studio Ghibli films were highly successful and influential. At the very least, Knuckles’ homeland Angel Island (which first appeared in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, 1994), an island with overgrown ancient ruins that flies in the sky thanks to the power of a magical gemstone, is a clear hommage to Hayao Miyazaki’s Laputa, the Castle in the Sky (1986), and Sonic and Tails’s red biplane (which first appeared in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, November 1992) might be a reference to Porco Rosso (July 1992).

However, this environmental theme has become less prominent in later Sonic games, rarely brought up in the text since Sonic Adventure; and even then, it was mostly Amy talking to and saving Flickies (non-talking little birds) in the cutscenes. Sonic Prime brings back this core aspect of Sonic’s character from the Classic games by frequently showing him talking to Flickies and worrying about the state of nature, especially in New Yoke and Boscage Maze:

To this day, a lot of people are really nostalgic of the Classic games and their simpler approach to storytelling compared to the 3D games that came later, which is why Sonic Mania (2017) brought back that aesthetic. However, since Sonic Prime uses 3D animation for present and recent events (in contrast to the distant 2D flashbacks), the writers made the choice to base the character designs on modern games from the early 2000s, and their personalities along with them.

After the transition to 3D, in both Sonic Adventure games, Doctor Eggman was no longer the only human character: more realistic-looking cities and human characters started to coexist with the original cast of bipedal cartoon animals. Those games also added some complexity to the original cast of colorful characters by allowing them to talk and giving them character songs, Sonic included.

And what was Sonic like then?

Part 2 - Dreamcast Games: Sonic Adventure 1 and 2

Like in the Classic games, Modern Sonic shows a clear disregard for any form of authority, and not just towards Eggman: in Sonic Adventure, all through the level Speed Highway, Sonic can take down police vehicles along with Eggman robots. In Sonic Adventure 2, the first thing he does is escape from the military helicopter that arrested him on a false charge - then Sonic snidely complains about ‘low-budget flights’ with ‘no food or movies’ before jumping off. (Yes, that’s the line the third Live Action Sonic movie was referencing.) The lyrics to the first stage song, ‘Escape From The City,’ also hint at Sonic’s life philosophy of always moving forward regardless of the obstacles in his way, and making sure everyone has as much freedom as he does.

On the other hand, in contrast to the Mega Drive games, now that he has a voice, Sonic has become very chatty. It might not always show when you’re playing him due to Silent Protagonist Syndrome (in most of the early games, all of the playable characters are silent when you play as them), but becomes very obvious in cutscenes and whenever he shows up while you’re playing as someone else. For instance, when you play as Tails in Sonic Adventure, your usual goal is to beat Sonic to the end of the stage. Much like in Sonic Prime, in those stages, Sonic never stops talking in the English and Japanese dubs. (Alternatively to egg Tails on or compliment him when he catches up; it’s especially noticeable in the Icecap Stage, where the two of them are neck and neck for most of the race.) Sonic is just as much of a chatterbox in Sonic Heroes, where you play as him, Tails and Knuckles at the same time. And of course, Sonic loves to taunt his adversaries, especially Eggman (and to a lesser extent, Knuckles) every chance he gets.

It is worth noting that Sonic’s lines and tone became a lot more snarky in Sonic Adventure’s English translation compared to the Japanese version, where he is less provocative and boastful. Instead, in the Japanese dub, Sonic tends to randomly drop lines in English, which is a more indirect way to make himself sound cool. This trend continues in the Japanese dub of Sonic Prime, where he also has plenty of English lines.

Play-flirting is an extension of his usual playful banter, which was added in Sonic Battle (2003). Interestingly, Sonic only seems comfortable doing this to people who are not pursuing him romantically: in this game, he only play-flirts with Rouge (who teases him back but doesn’t reciprocate the flirting) and keeps avoiding Amy, who is constantly chasing him in the hopes that he will agree to marry her.

Sonic Prime cranks this up to eleven: Sonic flirts with several characters regardless of gender, including Amy, who is not actively pursuing him in Sonic Prime - whether she lost interest and moved on, or just toned down her pursuit of Sonic is left ambiguous. It is left just as ambiguous whether or not Sonic is genuinely interested in any of the characters he flirts with in Sonic Prime, or if his flirting is just another aspect of his tendency to tease his friends for fun.

As for his more defining personality traits, the lyrics of Sonic’s theme song 'It Doesn’t Matter' by Crush 40 sum it up pretty well: Sonic is a free spirit who just does things his own way, refuses compromise, and generally doesn’t think it matters ‘who is wrong or who is right,’ he just follows his ‘steadfast heart of gold’ and never gives up. It also fits with the description of Sonic in the Sonic Heroes manual (see the second image of this post).

In this character profile, I find the line "Saving the world is a nice distraction, but Sonic is soon off to find his next adventure." especially interesting: there is no sense of urgency in a 'distraction,' because Sonic is not saving the world solely for justice’s sake, or out of a sense of duty, but because it’s fun to him. When he receives what appears to be a threatening letter from Eggman at the start of Sonic Heroes, Sonic jokingly describes it as 'an invitation to a party' - fighting Eggman is a game to Sonic as much as it is a necessity. As he puts it himself in Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic is "just a guy who loves adventure."

Now, notice how neither this song nor character profile say anything about friends or friendship. (Unlike Tails’ character song 'Believe in Myself.') You know why? Because, (and I say this with all the love in my heart) as much as he cares about nature, helping others, justice, and freedom in general, Sonic from the early 2000s is also a brat.

Amy’s words, not mine:

In the English version, that is. In Japanese, she is just asking him to wait for her. Because he just left her on her own in the cell she broke him out of. Inside an active military base. On an island.

It’s not an isolated incident, either: Amy gets left behind in hostile territory very often in this game, by Tails and Sonic both. So it’s not a Sonic-specific problem, but since Tails, to his own admission, is always trying to be more like Sonic in the Adventure games because he admires him, it makes sense that he would accidentally emulate Sonic’s flaws along with his qualities.

Here is a particularly memorable example of Sonic (and Tails) not thinking ahead and neglecting their friend with disastrous consequences in Sonic Adventure 2: once inside Eggman’s base of operation, they come up with a plan to thwart the doctor’s scheme, and then just… leave Amy all by herself in enemy territory. It’s the third time in this game for both Sonic and Tails: twice before this, each or both of them left Amy behind to do their own thing; once inside the above mentioned military base, then on a street full of police officers trying to capture the three of them. Those previous times, Amy managed to catch up with Sonic and Tails. The third time, Eggman takes her hostage, and all three of them almost get killed as a result. Shocker.

(Side Note: Amy doesn’t say "I hate you" in the Japanese dub. What she says is more along the lines of: "Come on! Why do you always leave a cute girl like me alone?!" In both versions, she definitely has the right to be mad at them.)

Of course, that doesn’t mean they don’t care about Amy: the first thing Tails does in Sonic Adventure 2 is save Amy from Eggman. Similarly, as soon as Sonic finds out that the island they’re on is about to explode, his first reflex is to go get Tails and Amy so they can escape together. Likewise, when Amy gets taken hostage later on, both Tails and Sonic put their plan to thwart Eggman on hold because helping her is their priority. The problem is, they don’t take her into account unless she is actively being threatened: most of the time, they just leave her be and assume she will be fine on her own; up to the very end of the game, when they leave her behind again while (almost) everyone else teams up to save the world. (Sonic and Tails never learn their lesson about this in that game.)

It’s not just about Amy, either: Sonic acts like this towards his three closest friends, Amy, Tails and Knuckles. For instance, right before the very first stage of Sonic Adventure, how does Sonic react after seeing Tails crash his plane? His first reaction, naturally, is concern, with his quills spreading out and Sonic calling out Tails’ name; but in the next frame, we get this:

Sonic, buddy, Tails might be tough, but he just crashed his plane. Maybe act exasperated after you’ve made sure he’s okay? (And in case you were wondering: yes, Sonic’s reaction is the same in the Japanese and English dubs.)

This is not a critique, mind you: on the contrary, those flaws make Sonic more interesting as a nuanced character. In fact, this behavior of his is the negative side of one of Sonic’s core character traits: relentless optimism. He trusts that Tails will be okay, so he doesn’t dwell on worry: he just scoffs and then runs to the rescue.

None of that means that Sonic doesn’t care about his friends or won't listen to them. But it is demonstrably hard for his friends to get him to listen, because, due to the whole ‘I'm just livin' by my own feelings’ shtick, most of the time, Sonic is the ‘act first, think later’ type: in Sonic Adventure, during Sonic’s fight against Eggman’s robot E-102 Gamma (who defected after Amy befriended him, but none of her friends saw it happen), Amy first tries to scream at Sonic to stop attacking, but has to interpose herself between the two of them to get him to listen. (Although, to be fair, the same thing happens if Tails is the one fighting Gamma. But as stated above: Tails is just emulating Sonic in the first half of this game.) When she insists, Sonic (or Tails) does step back, even if he doesn’t understand her reasoning. Instead of demanding an explanation from Amy, he simply tells her: "Alright, you must have your reasons." A sign of unconditional trust, which is the generally more positive aspect of Sonic’s optimism.

This optimism extends to people in general, not just Sonic’s close friends: near the end of Sonic Adventure, he refuses to seal Chaos (an ancient deity who became destructive after his temple and the creatures under his care were attacked) inside the Master Emerald as Tikal suggests, because Sonic doesn’t just want to save the world from Chaos, he also wants both Chaos and Tikal to be free. Similarly, near the end of Sonic Adventure 2, when Eggman appears to explain the truth behind their current crisis, Knuckles is (justifiably) ready to blame Eggman and throw hands, but Sonic is willing to hear Eggman out - despite the fact that Eggman almost succeeded in murdering him an hour earlier. This shows that Sonic always tries to see the best in people, even his enemies, and is always willing to give someone a second chance: another positive aspect of his optimism that becomes a key plot point in Sonic Prime, especially near the end.

Basically, Sonic cares about everyone (strangers and enemies included) and is willing to listen to them, trusts his friends unconditionally (especially Tails, who has been with him the longest and a constant support), but his natural optimism, lack of tact, and tendency to act without thinking things through mean that he can also neglect his friends or dismiss their feelings. And sometimes, that makes him screw up spectacularly.

One of the most egregious examples of this takes place in Sonic Adventure 2, and is not too different from what triggers the plot of Sonic Prime: Sonic and friends are aboard a space shuttle to reach the Space Colony Ark and thwart Eggman’s evil scheme du jour. The shuttle hits a meteorite, which causes the back hatch to open and the Master Emerald shards to fall out. In case you didn't know, the Master Emerald (in the games) is an ancient and extremely powerful gemstone: not only is it capable of neutralizing the Chaos Emeralds or sealing away vengeful deities, its powers also allow Knuckles’ natal island to fly in the sky. As its guardian, it is Knuckles’ duty to protect it - his entire goal in Sonic Adventure 2 is to gather all the shards to repair the Master Emerald and bring it back safely to his island. Sonic knows all this. But how does Sonic react when the shards get scattered in space?

Yeah, no wonder Knuckles freaked out, took over the controls and almost crashed the shuttle trying to get to the shards. Yet Sonic was genuinely shocked that Knuckles would prioritize some mythical rock over all their lives. (Sonic even brings up the incident again near the end of the game, telling Eggman that Knuckles piloting the shuttle was way scarier than anything Eggman could pull off.)

So not only is it established that Sonic doesn’t understand the depth of Knuckles’ feelings when it comes to the Master Emerald (which makes sense, because a free spirit like Sonic would struggle to understand the very concept of a life-long duty - I would even go as far as suspect that Sonic resents the Master Emerald for keeping Knuckles trapped on a remote island), he doesn’t fully grasp how important it is to protect magical rocks in his universe, either. Sure, Sonic will track down and use the Chaos Emeralds to turn into Super Sonic because it’s useful and oftentimes lifesaving, and he knows that Eggman definitely shouldn’t be allowed to use powerful magical gems for his schemes - but if one such powerful gem gets lost in space, no one is using it for evil, so who cares?

This mindset is perfectly reflected in the first episode of Sonic Prime: Sonic’s priority is not to protect the Paradox Prism, it’s to get it away from Eggman. If he breaks the shiny rock, nobody can use it for evil, right? Isn’t that what Knuckles did in Sonic Adventure 2 to protect the Master Emerald from Eggman, too?

Except, you know, Knuckles is the guardian of the Master Emerald: he already knows that shattering the Master Emerald doesn’t make its powers run amok, and he knows that he can repair it. Sonic, on the other hand, has no idea how any of these rocks work; he just does whatever solves the problem faster, doesn’t think of the consequences, and trusts that everything will turn out okay. This is why, in Sonic Prime, in the heat of the moment, Sonic didn’t listen to anyone’s warnings, and impulsively broke the Prism to stop Eggman from taking it.

All this to say, Sonic can be a good hero, but he tends to act recklessly, and is not always a good team player. Even in Sonic Heroes, where the entire gameplay is built around teamwork (you play three characters at once and can switch up who leads the team at any time), the dialogue establishes that, even if Sonic enjoys working with Tails and Knuckles as a team, he is not very used to it, nor always good at it.

Part 3 - Sonic Heroes, the main inspiration for Prime Sonic

In Sonic Heroes, Sonic’s team is the most chaotic of the four combinations you can play as:

For Team Dark, Rouge immediately takes the role of leader by convincing Shadow and Omega that teaming up is the most effective way to reach their respective goals, and they rely on her for guidance. Similarly, Cream and Big trust Amy to help them find their missing friends, and follow her lead. Lastly, Team Chaotix is composed of three colleagues, already used to working together on a case, and the younger two answer to Vector, the lead detective of their agency. Meanwhile, in Team Heroes’ case, what the in-game dialogues show is that Sonic is almost always rushing ahead, with Tails and Knuckles struggling to keep up or expressing wariness, which Sonic dismisses - like these recurring lines:

Knuckles: We’re not going that way, are we? Sonic: Yes we are!

In addition to that, Sonic gets distracted very easily by anything fun-looking, and drags the other two along, regardless of their reluctance. The intro cutscene to the Casino Stage is the most blatant example of this: Sonic gets excited as soon as he sees the stage, and insists that they’ve still got time to play some games. Tails tries to stop Sonic by reminding him of Eggman’s time limit, but Sonic only takes it as an incentive to play games faster.

And here is another game special that Sonic Prime took direct inspiration from: Sonic’s eagerness to blow himself out of cannons, heedless of Knuckles’ attempts to dissuade him, and without checking where the cannon is aiming first.

It takes the entire game for Sonic to acknowledge the value of relying on others, and only because Knuckles calls out his bluff at the end of their story in the following dialogue:

Knuckles: Boy, talk about cutting it close.

Sonic: Eeh, not really.

Knuckles: Come on, tell me you weren’t scared?

Knuckles: If it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have had a chance.

Sonic: Well, maybe you’re right. Thanks Knuckles.

The English translation is fairly faithful to the Japanese version here. In both dubs, Sonic looks pretty sheepish about admitting it, and Knuckles is shocked that Sonic recognized his point and thanked him. Even Tails gets flustered and laughs nervously when Sonic thanks him immediately after, implying that it’s not very common for Sonic to thank Tails directly or be this open about his feelings - a possible sign that Sonic doesn’t like to show vulnerability.

Sonic’s sheepishness while thanking Knuckles in that scene might be partly due to the fact that, out of all his friends, Sonic is particularly reluctant to ask Knuckles for help. (Which is also the case in Sonic Prime, as evidenced by the way he calls out to his missing friends in the first episode: "Tails? Amy? Heck, I’ll even take Knuckles at this point…") Possibly because neither Sonic nor Knuckles has fully gotten over their initial rivalry, and they still tend to butt heads on occasion due to different values (the above-mentioned example of the lost Master Emerald shards in Sonic Adventure 2 is an extreme case, but illustrates the underlying tension between them pretty well). Even in Sonic Advance 3, another game centered on teamwork where you can pair up any of the five playable characters in a duo, Sonic refuses Knuckles’ help when the latter joins the party, and rushes ahead without waiting for him (Side note: it’s not obvious on the following picture, but Knuckles’ piece of dialogue appears first in that scene):

Considering that Sonic Advance 3 explicitly takes place after Sonic Heroes and Sonic Battle, this goes to show that Sonic still has some trouble with teamwork, even when his friends offer their help, because he does things at his own pace - which is too fast for most people. This behavior is pretty consistent with the way Sonic is described by his Green Hill friends in Sonic Prime: usually reliable in battle, but very reckless, and not always the best at teamwork, even if he has learnt to value it by the end of Sonic Heroes.

Amy: I guess he didn’t hear the "stick together" part. Knuckles: Does he ever? Tails: No. But he also hasn’t let us down when it really counts.

It’s especially fitting that Amy is the one complaining about Sonic leaving them behind (as demonstrated above, she is the one Sonic leaves behind most often), Knuckles is the one who backs her up (he is the one Sonic listens to the least), and Tails agrees with them, but still takes Sonic’s defense, assuring them that Sonic "will catch up eventually." Even though Tails is well aware of Sonic’s flaws, Sonic’s complete faith in Tails is still mutual thanks to their long history together - which is why, when their reality gets shattered in Sonic Prime, this history getting erased is especially painful for Sonic. It’s not that he never saw the value of his friendships: on the contrary, he put so much value into them that he never realized how fragile they could be. In Sonic Heroes, he went as far as to describe teamwork as a super power:

It’s not an English dub special, either. In the Japanese version, Sonic says: "Alright then, let’s use our teamwork to show him miraculous super power!" Which implies that teamwork is what allows Sonic to share the power of the seven Chaos Emeralds with Tails and Knuckles to bring them along for the final fight as Super Sonic. Essentially, ‘friendship is magic.’ (Speaking of which: as you can see, Sonic Prime’s occasionally corny dialogue doesn’t exist solely "because it’s a kids’ show." It’s because the games that inspired it already had corny dialogue.)

Corniness aside, the fact that Sonic puts friendship on a pedestal is a pretty interesting mindset for him to have in the context of Sonic Prime, where his reliance on his friends is constantly challenged. You could even say that after Sonic Heroes, Sonic might value friendship a little too much, without realizing that maintaining his friendships takes effort, and that unconditional trust in his friends and an eventual positive outcome to every battle is a double-edged sword.

In fact, valuing the Power of Friendship as a constant, reliable source of power similar to the miracles granted by the Chaos Emeralds can be equally dangerous. If you believe in your friends unconditionally, you might start to take them, and your relationships with them, for granted.

Because this kind of bond is unbreakable, right? And as long as you have a team you can rely on, everything will turn out okay… right?

It is definitely the case in Sonic Heroes, but in Sonic Prime?

In truth, things are not so simple: miscommunication can lead to rash decisions, and mistakes you can’t take back. It can lead to misunderstandings. There might be conflicting goals, even among friends. And those can lead to betrayals.

Those are harsh lessons to learn, but it makes sense that Sonic would need them. You could even argue that Game Sonic’s relentless optimism and unconditional trust in his friends can be challenged in a similar way if you (as Shadow) choose to betray him in Shadow the Hedgehog, where Sonic’s characterization is similar to Sonic Heroes' - but these ‘dark routes’ get retconned by Shadow the Hedgehog’s ‘true ending,’ so Sonic doesn’t actually get to live that betrayal in the main storyline. A game might not be the ideal medium to teach those lessons anyway (especially a game like Shadow the Hedgehog, which isn’t focused on Sonic), but a cartoon series works nicely: you get more time to focus on your main character and his emotions rather than the action, which gives him more room to grow.

So, if a show wants to focus on this characterization of Sonic and write a self-contained, compelling story centered on him, doesn’t it make sense to take all those elements from the early games and give him a character arc about not taking his friends for granted, and learning how to communicate better?

In addition to what Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Battle already taught him about the real possibility of losing people for good (both of these games had tragic endings, and one person Sonic failed to save; a bitter truth that Sonic does not like to acknowledge: he either hides his grief from his friends and pretends to be okay - Sonic Adventure 2 - or struggles to stay positive and move on by comforting his friends - Sonic Battle), Sonic Prime tackles another issue: the way Sonic’s overconfidence can play against him and his friends, and lead to disaster. The threats Sonic usually faces in the games are caused by elements beyond his control, but this time, the premise of the show is built on Sonic making a mistake due to recklessness, literally shattering his entire world in the process, being forced to face the consequences, and to realize that he can’t salvage the situation on his own. Not only that, but he has to rebuild all his friendships from the ground up. Those are odds he never had to face before, and fertile ground for growth.

Personally, I think Sonic Prime did an amazing job bringing back the spirit of those early games, especially Sonic Heroes, which it ressembles most aesthetically (no realistic human characters or cities, but plenty of bright colors and bouncy animation, a lot of shameless fun even in the face of a cataclysmic threat - and cheesy dialogue about the power of friendship) and making Sonic shine as a main character by pointing out his flaws and hitting him where it hurts: more obstacles for him to overcome and learn from.

Sonic Prime might not fit neatly anywhere in the games’ timeline (although, as I mentioned in Part 1, a lot of the games don’t fit together either, even when they reference each other directly), but it does work as an hommage to how Sonic was characterized in the early 2000s (especially in Sonic Heroes), and it can arguably work as a transition towards later games or other continuities where Sonic becomes better at communicating with his friends, learns some sense of responsibility, and relies more on his emotional intelligence to help people. He already cared about his friends, helping others, and was compassionate when it counted, but his recklessness and overconfidence could still be a danger to himself and others. As Shadow puts it: "You need to stop and listen for once!" (And in turn, Shadow needs to learn to communicate better.)

I understand if you prefer Sonic as a paragon of freedom and justice that inspires others rather than a character that can be fallible and may need to learn life lessons sometimes. But those two things are not mutually exclusive: Prime Sonic still becomes an inspiration to the characters he befriends, enough for them to protect him to the bitter end, and they inspire him in return.

Honestly, I am truly grateful to and impressed by the Sonic Prime writers: they didn’t just slap Sonic’s name on a brand new character for the kids to identify with, they clearly care a lot about the early Sonic games, and made sure to stay faithful to them, while still writing a cohesive story that can be followed by newcomers of all ages.

And as someone who grew up playing those games, this show felt like a love-letter to old fans of Sonic the Hedgehog. Watching Prime Sonic felt like reuniting with the character I grew up with: heroic, but still flawed and vulnerable in ways that got me invested in his adventures - the fact that he can make mistakes is good for suspense, and watching him learn from them is inspiring.

However you may feel about Prime Sonic, a lot of thought clearly went into writing his character based on early games; and I, for one, am really happy to have my reckless, overconfident bratty goofball back.

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