#and i went. shadow has both. ultimate design

[superemeralds]

the ultimate fit

[emthimofnight]

Name ✨Stellar the Hedgehog✨

Age Varies based on what age I draw her, but let's say 16!

Pronouns She/Her

Basic Description The product of Project Stellar—a secret government operation aiming to perfect Project Shadow—Stellar is a genetic experiment combining the DNA of the Ultimate Life Form and the fastest thing alive. Designed to be a living weapon, Stellar was born in a hidden facility where she would have been raised to be an unstoppable weapon for the military. Thankfully, Shadow the Hedgehog (with help from Rouge the Bat) discovered her existence, destroyed the lab, and rescued her as an infant. Shadow then went on to begrudgingly inform his long-time rival, Sonic the Hedgehog, of their newfound child, seeing as she was technically just as much Sonic's problem as she was Shadow's. From there, the duo (along with help from their friends) raised Stellar as their daughter, sheltering her from the knowledge she was created to be a force of destruction for her masters. Along the way, Sonic and Shadow found themselves truly falling for one another, dissolving the barriers they had placed between one another as rivals, finding new appreciation for each other in their new parental roles.

Stellar herself is a bright, warm-hearted person. She has a strong sense of justice and never shies away from standing up for what is right. She takes after Sonic in personality, always cracking jokes and finding it hard to sit still. Despite this, she inherited Shadow's finesse and ability to plan out her choices, not to mention his abilities to utilize chaos energy. She has a love for figure skating, ballet, and make up (thanks to Auntie Rouge!), but don't let her feminine side fool you, she is not afraid to get her hands dirty! She would love nothing more than to spend her day smashing badniks into the ground with her skates if her dads would let her! Stellar loves both of her parents dearly, but sometimes wishes that they wouldn't be so protective of her. After all, what could they possibly have to be worried about?

Extra ✨Stellar's favorite color is red. ✨Her favorite food is chili dogs. ✨She is bisexual. ✨Her favorite flower is lavender, because it reminds her of home! ✨She learned how to skate from Shadow. ✨She calls Shadow "papa" and Sonic "dad". ✨She desperately wants to make her family and friends proud. ✨Her best friend is Camellia the Cat, the daughter of Blaze and Amy. ✨She loves racing Sonic, but is frustrated he always lets her win. ✨She can be VERY impulsive when angered, much like both of her parents! ✨She is SUPER dense when it comes to romance. She has no idea Camellia has been in love with her since they were little! ✨The inhibitor rings she wears keep her powers under control, but they also prevent her from truly mastering them. ✨Her powers are designed after collapsing stars/black holes. Extremely destructive to both herself and everything around her. ✨She has no awareness to the extent of the latent power inside her.

[sharpedgedfool]

i fucking love your monster au design for shadow could we have some lore abt him? (if you want to :])

Apologies for the essay I'm about to drop for your ask jddfgsdkgf, but here's a sketch as a peace offering and I'll drop all the lore I have for you under the read more! Glad people are interested in it cause I'm currently obsessed with it lmao

OK so basically Eggman in this universe is still the mad doctor type, he’s just obsessed with the occult instead of robotics. He’s a mortal human but hunts monsters for experiments and he’s obsessed with gaining supernatural powers to rule the world, and Sonic and Amy with their usual group are his main enemies.

He has a big following of humans (who think he’s trying to save them from monsters) and a rather large army of other monsters who work for him - so he has a ton of resources despite being a 'regular dude', and he’s slowly collecting spellbooks and teaching himself magic.

He finds a rare grimoire, and it unlocks a treasure trove of dark magics. Now his big master plan is to summon a demon to serve him and gain ultimate power, to do this he needs the seven emeralds for the ritual.

Sonic and Amy are the main hero duo in the story, Sonic was cursed with lycanthropy as a child when a pack attacked his village, he was spared because he was young, and went to find a witch in hopes of a cure. The witch he found was Vanilla, her daughter Cream, and Amy who is her apprentice. Before Sonic could be cured he made friends with a few other cryptids who live in the same woods and in the end decided he’d rather stay cursed with them as he had nowhere else to go anyways. He’s not in a traditional pack (all were-creatures) instead they have a rag-tag group with all kinds of different monsters that live with the witches (Tails and Knux are in there somewhere I promise jkfgdhdf). He likes having the werehog strength so he can fight back and protect his new family.

Rouge is a born Vampire, not turned. Her parents were killed at some point and she took over their coven after she avenged them and proved herself worthy. She’s like the Queen of sorts and rules over a majority of the vampires across the world - she has eyes (and ears) everywhere, there's very little she doesn’t know about. So Sonic and Amy ask her for help when they realise Eggman’s planning something big. She has a huge hoard of gems locked up in a big spooky cliffside castle, she’s obsessed with treasure still. She agrees to aid them to overthrow Eggman in exchange for the seven emeralds for herself. She doesn’t want to use them for their power, so they agree.

Everyone teams up to find the emeralds first, but Eggman outsmarts them, and the ritual begins before they can stop him, and once it’s begun it’s irreversible. The only thing they can do at this point is change who the demon is bound to, so Sonic throws himself into the curse (he already has one after all).

Shadow is the demon that’s summoned. Typical demon pacts imply that he’ll do whatever the summoner asks, granting them ultimate power, but he’ll get their soul in return. The catch is if Sonic never asks him to do anything, he’s technically not indebted and Shadow won't get his soul. It’s a game of temptation, but since Sonic was technically an unwilling participant, Shadow's more intrigued than anything - he’s confident Sonic will eventually cave and ask him for something (they always do) so he doesn’t attempt to trick him, he sees no need.

Sonic now has a demon chained to him constantly, and he’s extremely on guard (demons are as powerful as creatures get in this universe) and he’s off put by how genuine Shadow comes across. Shadow asks a lot of questions, and Sonic assumes he’s doing it to learn how to manipulate him - Shadow finds it amusing. Eventually they get used to each other, Shadow and Rouge get along well (though they both tease Sonic mercilessly together so he tries to avoid her but Shadow will nag him to visit) Amy tries to work on a spell to break the bond between them but it's a notoriously hard spell to break (perhaps impossible as they destroyed the grimoire in the fight with Eggman), but eventually Sonic and Shadow are both unsure if they want it to be broken at all…

Sonic starts asking Shadow questions too, and finds out more about Shadow. Originally he was an angel - thousands of years ago he had a mortal friend (Maria) and the two of them were inseparable. Unlike demons, angels rarely interact with the world so her village mistook her good fortune as witchcraft and assumed Shadow to be a demon. They killed her over it, and Shadow was heartbroken - in a fit of rage he lashed out, wiped out their town and proved to them he could be the demon they thought he was. He became a fallen angel, scorned and bitter - not born of pure evil but clearly capable of carnage all the same.

Unlike hellborn demons, Shadow doesn’t enjoy mindlessly committing atrocities - he has to feel it’s a necessary evil or he’ll turn it on his summoner (this makes him dangerous to summon, he’s normally considered off-limits). He’s one of the more powerful demons but he’s hard to reason with to make it worth it. Eggman targeted him specifically because he thought Shadow would side with him as Maria was a distant ancestor of his.

Once the annoyance of being forcefully summoned wears off,  Shadow’s rather pleased Sonic isn’t trying to use him for anything - he’s secretly happy to have someone with decent morals to hang out with (he’s an outcast in hell for obvious reasons) but he’d refused to make mortal contact with anyone willingly after Maria for fear of resigning them to a bad fate all over again.

Again thank you for reading!! I'll have more art to share soon!! :)

[eternal-kosmo-ghoul]

❝so dream, dream your dream❞

➵ “‘because when you’re awake a nightmare awaits.” —❤︎

pairing: vessel x gn!reader

theme: angst ❦ (with comfort), fluff ✿

a/n: this is my first sleep token ficlet, and so i wanted to rest out how well i write for them lmao

cw: reader has night terrors, implied that they had a fucked up life, vessel being mysterious and somewhat teasing but ultimately comforting the reader in the end

┅��┅

it always hurt to think of those bitter memories

those memories that haunted them in their sleep, awaiting in their dreams like a predator looming over its prey. nightmares that kept had them jolting awake and hyperventilating so bad that their chest hurt.

the feeling of waking up to such awful night terrors was like poison ivy constricting their throat, leaving them hoarse and speechless, almost too stunned to even.

y/n was in that same predicament when they shot up from their bed, cold sweat trickling down their forehead, their breathing heavy and labored.

another nightmare. why did the past have to keep coming back to haunt them?

it was such a dark time for y/n… something they wanted to leave behind and keep deeply buried within the crevices of their fucked up mind. it was such cruel wording, but it was the best way to describe their mental state.

a fucked up mind.

“god i’m such a mess..” y/n muttered softly, putting a hand to their face, feeling the dried tears on their face that they didn’t even realize was streaming down their cheeks.

groaning both out of sleepiness and frustration, y/n grabbed the nearest tissue and started to wipe their face, being a little rough with it due to how irritable they were at the moment.

moments like these just made them wish they could take it all back. say how much they were sorry, how badly they didn’t want to hurt those around them.

it was kind of pathetic for them, really. they fucked up, and yet they’re the ones crying on their own bed.

y/n just sighed softly and pressed a hand against their forehead, sniffling slightly and closing their eyes.

“what did i do wrong?” y/n muttered to no one in particular. that question really was meant for themselves.

but it still called out a commanding presence from behind them.

“nothing, my dear.”

a dark, and somewhat alluring presence emerged from the shadows behind y/n’s bed, making his way behind them and looming over them from behind, carefully observing the person below him.

y/n tried to look up at him, but their tears blurred their vision. they only caught a glimpse of the intricate mask designs, before they felt cold, calloused fingers cover their eyes.

“shhhh… relax, sweetie.” vessel whispered into their ear, his voice velvety smooth and dripping with a dark, mysterious charm.

it was almost haunting, but in a strangely, familiar way.

he always came around whenever midnight strikes the hour, but he’s never usually this… intimate. vessel was a strange, dark force that always came by to mock them with his arrogant superiority, looking down on y/n like a predator wanting to consume his prey.

but this time it was different.

y/n could only let out a meek, choked up hiccup from the sobbing they went though in their sleep, but they didn’t do anything to push away vessel’s touch.

“vessel…”

“relax, baby. i’ve got you … you’re okay.”

vessel gently crept around the side of y/n on the bed, gently laying them back down on the bed while making sure their eyes stayed closed. they couldn’t see him, not when he was being this tender.

he didn’t know what overcame him, usually he was a commanding and mocking presence for them. maybe it was hearing their screams and cries in their sleep that made this mysterious being feel the slightest bit of sympathy that was left in his empty, hollow heart.

“rest now. nothing will hurt you.” vessel whispered to y/n, keeping his hand on the back of their head and letting it gently rest on the pillow.

this is the most he’s spoken to the poor soul. he’s never like this… but maybe just this once, he can be a source of light to their sad, unfulfilled life.

y/n just let out one last shaky sigh, letting the comforting darkness soothe the aching pain that swelled in their heart. that pain that haunted them all the time, was slowly fading away. after a bit, the presence went away, and y/n only felt darkness— their eyes still closed.

but the darkness was comforting.

welcoming even.

it was enough to make them drift off into a dreamless sleep. no nightmares, screaming or crying.

just silence.

but the silence was enough to make them feel alright.

[theelectronicstranger]

Ultimate X-Men #5 and #6 Discussion

          Ultimate X-Men #7 comes out today, so I thought I’d finish talking about the last two issues of the first arc of the series. If you have not read Ultimate X-Men #5 and #6 then please look away now because I will definitely be spoiling things for you.

          To make this discussion a bit easier to read and easier to write for me, I’m going to split this discussion into two halves: “The Villains/The Antagonists” and “This Universe’s X-Men”

The Villains/The Antagonists

The first thing I want to talk about is this page from Issue 6:

This page actually confirms that the person we’ve been seeing for the last few issues is in fact this universe’s version of the Shadow King. I actually kind of like that they revealed it this way because I don’t think that revealing that this guy was the Shadow King in such a big way would have made sense for this universe specially since this universe has no sense of who the Shadow King is and why he would be a threat. I also feel like for new readers they won’t really understand why this person might be a threat just from his name and I think Momoko in this first arc has done a really good job in showcasing why Kageyama/Shadow King is a threat without really giving us parallels or showing us who the Shadow King is in the main Marvel universe. I’m excited to learn more about this character and the weird cult that he seems to be mixed up in in the next arc of this series. We find out in issue 6 that Kageyama has some sort of obsession on Hisako and that’s why he’s been following and stalking her these past few issues:                       

It seems that Kageyama/Shadow King has some sort of infatuation with Hisako and has this idea of her that is very clear in his head. That’s why in issue #6, when Hisako is fighting against him, he starts to lose it:

The wording he uses on that second page “My Hisako--- doesn’t talk like that!!!” confirms for me that he does have some sort of infatuation/obsession with Hisako. I think this tracks for this version of Shadow King. If I’m just going by his design, he looks like a typical shut-in otaku that would normally be obsessed with an anime girl or a Japanese idol, but in this case, he’s obsessing over Hisako and he also has the power to get in touch with her whenever he wants, which makes him terrifying as a stalker. I really want to know how his obsession started. He says in issue 5 that they went to the same middle school together, but I want to know what about Hisako made him want to latch on to her.

Kageyama and Hisako Went to the Same Middle School (From issue #5):

          Also, Kageyama seems to know the truth about what happened to Tsubasa. In the start of issue #5 we see him watching a video of one of Tsubasa's bullies, the one we see from issue #4, point a knife at Tsubasa:

Yes, we can say that this is could have been the final straw that made Tsubasa want to take his own life, but I feel like there’s something else going on. Especially, since Kageyama is watching this video. I feel like he knows more about what truly transpired the day Tsubasa died, and we’ll find out more about it in the next few issues. I don’t think he would have kept this video if there wasn’t something more. My guess is that these bullies were the people that actually killed Tsubasa rather than him taking his own life. Or that Kageyama saw Tsubasa being bullied and decided to make him take his own life through his powers. I’m not really sure but those are my main theories so far.

We also get more information on Surge/Noriko Ashida in issues 5 and 6 of this series. It seems that both her and the Shadow King are from the same cult. Also, she seems to be some sort of sex worker that uses her powers to fry her customers brains, so they can get off?:

I don’t know how else to explain this but that seems to be what’s going on here. This guy seems to be a regular customer of hers. This actually makes her seem terrifying to me, especially with her facial expression on the second page there. It seems like she doesn’t mind hurting other people to get what she wants and unlike Kageyama, she is very confident in what she can do to other people, which make her a very formidable enemy to our newly formed X-Men. I definitely am looking forward to seeing more of her in the next arc.

I want to talk a little bit more about this cult. I really like the idea that the Children of the Atom is a cult in this universe. It definitely makes more sense that this X-Men story takes place in Japan because there have been a lot of issues with cults in Japan as of recently. In fact, the last Kamen Rider reboot, Shin Kamen Rider, kind of explores this problem as well with Shocker’s cult-like behavior. Anyways, I’m really interested in finding out who is behind this cult and who this person is being crucified in their base:

My guess was that it’s Wolverine (Logan) because they seem to be using this person’s blood to heal people and Wolverine has a healing factor and has a lot of ties to Japan as well, so that’s where my mind first went when I saw this crucifixion. Also, there’s always this cover of Uncanny X-Men #251 that was featured in Deadpool and Wolverine months ago that made me think it is him:

          In regard to who might be the leader of this cult my first guess was Scott Summers because every time I see the swirling X Mark as their symbol it’s made me think of him in his black after Avengers vs X-men costume when I see it:

The Children of the Atom Swirling X-Mark:

Cyclops Costume After AvX [From Uncanny X-Men #1 (2013)]:

The reason why I’m thinking it’s Cyclops besides the costume is because I’m not convinced that it would be Magneto or Xavier that would be the leaders of this cult because I think it would be too easy to guess that they are. Also, I think The Maker, while perverting this universe, would have wanted to ruin the leader of the X-Men by turning him into the leader of this cult. Those are my reasonings so far. I don’t really have proof. I have not read issue #7, so if I’m wrong then forget this. Although if it is Magneto or Xavier, then I’m willing to think that the leader of this group would be magneto just from how much the term “homo superior” has come up regarding this cult.

This Universe’s X-Men:

We see the formation of this universe’s X-Men in issue 5 through Nico Minoru and Mei Igarashi:

I like that the main reason why this team has the letter “X’ on it is because Mei has bad grades, and it has nothing to do with the X-Gene. I don’t know how anybody else feel about it, but I like how unserious this whole thought process was. Yes, this is definitely informal and it’s at a stage where it’s just an idea being floated around but I think this could be a very interesting team. So far, we have Hisako (Armor), Mei Igarashi (Maystorm), and Nico Minoru as the key members of this group with Mori and Natsu Tsukishima maybe being part of the team as well. The reason why I’m unsure if Mori and Natsu are joining is because we don’t really know about them much yet. We actually don’t even know if they have powers yet. All we know is that they’re part of the Children of the Atom cult through their parents. I actually still want to know if Mori is this universe’s version of Molly Hayes. The reasons why I’m thinking that she is this universe’s version of Molly Hayes is because: Molly is a mutant in the main universe; she was first introduced in this universe with Nico Minoru, who is part of the Runaways in the main universe; and she keeps wearing bunny ears, which is what Molly would definitely wear. If she’s another character, then ignore this but so far, I think she’s this universe’s version of Molly Hayes.

Speaking of Nico Minoru, we get to see more of what she’s capable of starting in issue #5 when she does a reading on Hisako’s Armor Omamori:

So, it seems that this Nico Minoru also has the same powers that her main universe counterpart has and hopefully we find out more about what her power is. We’ll probably find out more about it in the next arc, but I wonder if in this universe Nico is a mutant rather than just a straight up sorcerer. Maybe she has some sort of psychic powers that is not dependent on the Staff of One. Also, regarding this scene, I really love how the Shadow King’s power is represented, and I like how Nico Minoru’s powers are represented as well, like she’s a mage that is casting this evil spirit away. I think that’s why Nico Minoru was chosen to be part of this series because her powers are supernatural in origin and this book has had a really big supernatural vibe ever since it started.

          I want to talk about Hisako a bit because she’s really grown since the first issue of this series. In the first issue, she was very much lost and devastated due to what happened to Tsubasa and the guilt that came with that. She cut herself off from the world around her, but in issue 6, we start seeing the more confident side to her. She’s taking a more proactive approach with dealing and fighting Kageyama/Shadow King:

She knows that she has people now; she’s no longer alone and therefore she can take on her demons, whether it’s the inner or the outer ones, with their help. I also liked that as soon as Kageyama stepped in Nico and Mei immediately took a fighting stance with Hisako. They look so much like a team on that first page, and it definitely made me want to see this team more in the future. These two pages felt like a teaser of what this team could be, and I am more than excited to see what they become.

   ��      I have really enjoyed Ultimate X-Men by Peach Momoko so far. I’ve said this in the first issue discussion, but I really love that she is doing the art and writing for this book because it gives this book uniformity and consistency that I don’t really see with other books; especially, with the X-Men books. Her art feels like it’s just another extension of her writing and because her art isn’t this traditional comic art, it feels refreshing every time I’ve picked up an issue of Ultimate X-Men in the past year. Also, she really knows how to utilize the space between her art because she uses her borders on a page to tell the story as well, which I love. Her J-Horror and supernatural choice for this book is really inspired and it just helps draw me in to this book. This first arc has been so fun to read. The only reason why I didn’t write this discussion sooner was because I was feeling burnt out on writing, but I wanted to really compliment her work because I’ve enjoyed it so much, so I forced myself to write this now as issue #7 is coming out. I really do hope that people keep picking up this title because I think it is one of the most intriguing comics currently out now for Marvel and maybe with the other publishers as well. This book to me definitely feels like it’s pushing the envelope on what they can get away with in a marvel book right now and it’s refreshing to see that, so please support this book if you can.

          Thank you for reading this discussion. I’d love to know what you think of this title so far and if there were anything I might have missed while discussing these two issues. Or if there were things that I just did not talk about clearly. I tend to write these really quickly, so if I was confusing then let me know. Have a great day! Thanks again!

[yourhighness6]

NATLA Debrief: Episode 3 (by yours truly)

Hi again! If any of ya'll are interested here's episodes 1 and 2. Thank you to those who have been following these deranged, unorganized posts, especially @phoebester (Just an fyi this will be hella long, just like the other two)

First of all, the way they framed the opening resistence scene was genuinely so cool because I immediately thought back to the cold open for the first episode. The streets are so similar that's where my mind went RIGHT AWAY and if that is not good set design and filming I don't know what is.

The resistance scene was so powerful for so many reasons besides those small details, too. The concept of a resistance within the FN was never addressed at all within the cartoon and I can't express how glad I am that they added this. It just makes logical sense that some people would resist, especially while so many are dying in war, and it really serves to humanize the FN people in a way that's reminiscent of book 3 ATLA. Perfect way to expand on the source material and introduce core themes earlier in the show (M Nite should be taking notes).

It was also a perfect way to introduce both Ozai and Azula's characters. Ozai is this menacing figure stepping out of the shadows (quite literally), an almost larger than life villain who seems to have every move planned and everything calculated. He's brutal and efficient and we can see that. Azula is conniving and smart, the kind of girl who can fool anyone and come out on top, but is ultimately still a weapon under her father's control. You can tell from the moment Ozai mentions Zuko that she is the underdog, but she is determined that it will not stay that way, and she seems just terrifying enough to succeed. (also idc what anyone says Elizabeth Yu has mastered Azula's look and general vibe. I feel like the whole 'miscasting' debacle was a mix of fatphobia and being shown the wrong stills before the show came out. She looked sort of sweet and innocent in those but I get absolutely none of that from this scene)

Ugh the exposition was great and then they have to give us this. What the absolute hell did they do to my Katara? Like there was a whole ass episode in the cartoon devoted to her getting mad because she wasn't progressing as fast as Aang and then in this fucking adaptation the maddest she sounds is when she emotionlessly declares, "I don't get it" to convey mild frustration. I'm sorry Kiawentiio, you're acting is great but the writers clearly have no fucking idea how to put your emotional range to good use. The same problem was present in the last episode and I just don't see them being able to fix it significantly enough at this point, even if they have a desire to. Not to undermine that, but there were a couple good points in this scene: Aang mentions something about bending being "beyond thought" which gives bending a more spiritual aspect that I like, and Katara's PTSD is brought up again in an intelligent way, but still, that doesn't matter if they're going to completely butcher her character. (side note: when is Aang going to learn waterbending? they haven't shown him training at all and I'm getting worried)

This scene was fine or whatever but what in the absolute fuck is going on with Zuko and Zhao? Are they not going to do the agni kai? Like I know there's still animosity there but they were really just sitting there (semi)-calmly enjoying a cup of tea and demonstrating only mild dislike for each other. All I have to say is if they remove the agni kai altogether I'm gonna be so fucking pissed it'll bug me forever and I'll be fucking insufferable.

Also Zuko is so mean to Luitenient Jee for no reason. I know it's because his abuse makes him see any kind of comradery as weakness so it's a good detail if that's what they're going for but ngl I also find it a bit funny. Like what did he ever do to you? And Zhao taking three tries to pass his officer exam is so perfect too like what a fucking looser lmao.

Ba Sing Se looks beautiful. There's something so mystical about it, especially in the way Aang describes it as they walk up to the gate. It's this hub of culture and science and art, but it's also incredibly militaristic and so changed due to war it's almost unrecognizable to someone who was there a hundred years ago. The adaptation of cultures during times of change is something ATLA does so well and I'm glad to see that it's continuing in the LA.

AHH Katara was so awkward during this whole scene and I loved it. For one thing Sokka's commentary was absolutely hilarious but it's also this reminder that Katara has been relatively isolated from other children her age and her brain is like "cute boy flirt how" and its so fucking funny. It might not be the same Katara as the cartoon who is effortlessly comfortable wherever she goes but this is so much more realistic and if she's going to be a bit different this is probably the best thing for them to change (now keep the awkwardness and give her back her anger Netflix I'm begging you)

I am slightly concerned because it looks to me like they're trying to condense at least four episodes into one and I'm not sure if that's going to be a cohesive plotline or a complete mess or not but if handled carefully I think they might be able to pull it off.

Ooooh the explosion was super unexpected and totally cray cray thanks for keeping me on my toes. I'm assuming it was Jet that planted the bomb although I cannot for the life of me think why. Anyways Teo was adorable I'm adopting him.

Also I am so so so happy that they gave him a little more depth beyond just 'happy glider kid' and gave a bit more nuance to his character. Of COURSE kids who grew up in war are going to be desensitized to the bloodshed OF COURSE they're going to be a little vengeful and be thinking about ways to win the war OF COURSE Aang is going to be uncomfortable with that because he didn't grow up with that militaristic mindset even if he did loose everything OF COURSE that's not going to change the fact that kids grow up hearing about death and experiencing loss as extremely young children versus Aang being suddenly thrust into this responsibility and grief because he didn't grow up like that he grew up in peacetime it just makes sense. Good job Netflix this was wonderful this was perfect I loved it.

Okay don't get me wrong I love the way Aang wears his heart on his sleeve I love how their in-the-face storytelling makes a bit more sense with how open and emotional of a person he is it's just part of his character that was improved upon by the LA in my opinion but this is also just... such a misunderstanding of the group dynamic. Like why isn't Katara seeing these people and thinking "I can help with this I have to help with this" and Aang giving this speech to Sokka jumping on the bandwagon? I would even accept them seeing the destruction together and mutually deciding that they need to help the people there (this would probably be best as it allows us to see both character's compassion) or Aang saying something about it and Katara immediately being like "ur absolutely right" but of course they can't do that all we need is a lengthy speech from the protagonist while Katara stands there like robot girl. My mistake.

STOP because her mocking face is so fucking perfect I love Elizabeth Yu she's perfect. Anyway, I think that they're kind of... adjusting her trauma a bit? I mentioned earlier how I feel like she's shown as a little more scrappy and an underdog as opposed to perfectly calculating and not a hair out of place, but after this scene I feel the need to expand on that. In the cartoon, Azula's abuse from her father centers around his unattainably high expectations for her that eventually cause her ultimate breakdown and the conclusion to her devastating character arc. But in the LA, they're portraying her as less of a prodigy and more of a hard worker. She still has incredibly high expectations, but in this version, she never meets them all the time. Her brother is almost leveraged against her in a way. Even if she feels like she is the best and has the constant need to prove she is the best to her father, there's always going to be this nagging insecurity that she won't be good enough to measure up to her brother. She's not being told she's worthless like Zuko, but she's not reaching every goal like cartoon Azula, either. This also might explain why she has arrows. In the cartoon, weapons are viewed with disdain by firebenders, making Zuko using them so controversial, but Azula definetely doesn't seem to be hiding her talent for the bow and arrow and even if it was a her-sneaking-away-to-practice sort of situation that's not very in character and I don't think she would do that. I think in this version she probably has them because she's trying to find every possible way to prove herself to her father beyond just firebending, and mastering a weapon is a way to do that. I'm not sure how I feel about these changes but she is clearly a different character in this version than in the cartoon and moving forward I'm going to treat her as such. (I've noticed this a bit with all of the characters except possibly Sokka: they're different people. I think this actually might be intentional. [even so I still don't like their characterization of Katara her trauma hasn't changed very much to my knowledge she should still have the same core drives and character traits])

As well done as Azula was, there was relatively nothing in the Ty Lee and Mai department. They're just kind of existing, watching her train. Ty Lee is vaguely cheerful (and her costume is great btw) and Mai has one line about exploring the world that gives a bit of insight into her character and has a monotone voice. They're both clearly a little scared of Azula but that's basically it. Hopefully we get more on them soon.

Back in Ba Sing Se, I noticed a bit of a parallel between Teo and Katara. The Mechanist mentions that they lost his mother due to the war, which reminded me specifically of Katara. Throughout this scene, we see that Teo remembers his mother's philosophy and adopts it into his own mindset far more than his father's. Their situation is different because while Katara is arguing for compassion Teo is arguing for fighting back, but they are both fundamentally saying the same thing. It's not enough just to accept their lot in life and try to survive or fight, it's about the big picture, and about defending the things they love. While Katara and Teo both approach this subject from a very different front, the core idea is the same. It's also telling how they are dismissed initially as idealistic for their values when they are really upholding what their mothers stood for in their eyes: for Teo, a symbol of hope in her retellings of the stories of the avatar, and for Katara, a symbol of kindness in her reminders to remain empathetic despite the horrors of war. Make of this what you will, I just thought it was a nice little parallel.

Anyway, allow me to have a few words on the whole Jet thing (in bullet points because I don't have enough brain power to do this)

I'm glad Jet got his freedom fighters outfit. I was a bit worried when I saw what he was wearing in the first scene he was in because the fit is iconic, and so are the swords

God he's so fucking dramatic "they call me Jet" while the sun glints off his swords and he turns slightly for affect it was so funny I laughed out loud

He and Kia have no on-screen chemistry I'm sorry. Like even the fight scene was so awkward and every time they speak to each other they sound so stiff. They're good actors independently but whoever was watching their chemistry check (I'm assuming they had one pre-production but judging by this crap I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't) was either asleep or it was their first day because there is NOTHING there

What the hell did they do to the Freedom Fighters? They're so cheesy and the costumes are so bad (especially Smellerbee's). Like seriously that entire fight scene was so awkward idk what the hell happened there but it was nowhere near the quality of the rest of the episode so far

Overall, I'm not a huge fan. Also where is Sokka I'm pretty sure he's supposed to be there somewhere

Okay here's Sokka finally. Are they just taking him out of the Jet shenanigans entirely? I wouldn't be surprised considering how many episodes they had to condense but still I would have liked to see that. Oh well, I guess they had to have Katara do something in this episode instead of just stand around while her brother and Aang have huge plot points. Anyway, this scene was very interesting to me. Sokka and the Mechanist bonded in the og but not to this extent, and I honestly liked that they did something a bit deeper with it considering they don't have as much screentime to establish Sokka's daddy issues (for lack of a better word). Anywho the Mechanist mentioning that there are other career paths to take besides just being a warrior was super cool and I think we can glean a lot from it about Sokka's future character arc. Maybe in this version he doesn't perfectly live up to his dad's expectations and instead finds his own way? It was nice to see Hakoda proud of him in the original but if they go down this path I definitely won't be mad. It's interesting while staying true to the character, it's just a different direction.

The scene with Aang and Teo was cute. They're both good actors who play off of each other nicely, and Teo talking about how he doesn't want to follow in his father's footsteps lends a bit of insight to the conversation the Mechanist had with Sokka. He probably mentioned Sokka's dad because he wondered if his parents were engineers too and maybe is looking for a bit of an apprentice since his son doesn't take after him as much. This is also another way Teo conflicts with the Mechanist's way of life and may be more similar to his mother.

The jetara scenes at the Freedom Fighter camp had a much better dynamic. I think the fight scene was probably just them figuring each other out as actors, it just sucks that it seeped into the final take. I confess I was a bit disappointed that the Freedom Fighters didn't live up in the trees, but I guess that would be a bit difficult to engineer. I also noticed how Jet repeated Teo's "if not us, then who?" statement, which is probably just your basic commentary on how the future generations are our hope blah blah blah. It's a major theme so I shouldn't be as disinterested as I am in it but as it stands I'm still not totally thrilled with the Jet plotline as a whole and I think that may be affecting it. I feel like Sokka should be here to add some variety and spice things up a bit it's kind of boring.

The last jetara scene was definitely the best yet. I can't get over how happy I was to hear Jet say his mother taught him to fight. So often we hear how dads or older brothers are teaching the women in their family to fight but here we have a canonically badass male character saying that an older female relative was the one who taught him. One of the major complaints I have from the cartoon was how for all its talk about women being able to fight and its supposed feminist message, there were no women of the older generation fighting at all except for Jun, who wasn't even a particularly moral character like all these older men. We do have to remember that the cartoon started production over twenty years ago so it is a product of its time, when feminist issues weren't very mainstream. Another factor that might have contributed to the lack of feminism in the original was the generational discrepancies; millennials were the first to have widely accepted equal educational opportunities in the US, and even though educational opportunities are still affected by sexism, college became the norm for both male and female students at that time. This isn't to say women older than millennials didn't go to college, but this is around the time women and men started to become relatively equal as of percentage seeking higher education. Basically, they were the first generation of women expected to have careers, and therefore the writer's minds were probably shaped alongside a similar number of female peers, but primarily by men. This could have contributed to the lack of older women, but as times changed, so to did the amount of older women in professional fields. This line is a reflection of that, and I hope we continue to see more badass older women and older warrior women and women in power as the LA continues.

Other than that, I did take my shipping goggles out during this scene at the "sunrise" bit, and it wasn't about jetara. I heard from other fans in the zutara tag that the "you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" line was removed but I keep thinking about how Katara is legitimately drawing power from remembering the sun rising, a time when the opposite element, Zuko's element, becomes more powerful. I know I'm reaching, but while I mourn the loss of our beloved "you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun" I have to find a new version. Anyway I think we should call this sunrisegate lol

Also, the way Katara is extremely hesitant to talk about her trauma whereas Jet seems completely fine with being emotional and dumping out exactly what he was feeling may have been a device but it does remind me of something I read about how ppl with PTSD will often react very differently when sharing their trauma and the same is true for many other trauma induced disorders. It was probably unintentional but I still thought it was a nice detail.

Anyway on a less serious note Iroh and Zuko's dynamic is still top tier. I've seen a lot of people complaining about Iroh's character but I don't see anything wrong up to this point. I might be in for a shock in future episodes but I have genuinely no idea what they find so off putting. He's a great actor and the character has legitimately not changed. The line above was a bit undercut by the fact that he's standing in the middle of an enemy city with a cloth half wrapped around his face to keep part of his face from being seen, but I'm just gonna take it at face value (haha pun). I think the thing Zuko despises most is cowardice, and it affects his perception of the war in a huge way. He calls Aang a coward for escaping from prison because he was running away or whatever and I've never considered Zuko a particularly logical character but it's like... bruh he's outnumbered like fifty to one what he is gonna do? Anyway his definition of cowardice is directly tied to his honor and his perception of it in relation to his trauma and the way he held back in the agni kai and him perceiving that as cowardice maybe... Ya'll got me? This isn't fully formed because I obviously haven't seen this new rendition of the agni kai but I'm guessing the events are basically the same. Do with it what you will.

I skipped over the Azula and Zhao scene because I don't have any groundbreaking commentary except to say that I liked it. It ties Azula into the story nicely and gives Zhao something actually interesting about him (I don't hate him as much as I did in the cartoon so whenever he comes up on screen I just sort of yawn).

Anyway, it was nice to see Katara get a bit angry. I think this captured the gaang dynamic pretty well. Aang being relatively neutral/ quiet while the siblings argue and Katara gets twice as mad as Sokka. Also he may have had the last word but she had the last laugh:

Again, the sibling dynamic was really great but I didn't feel like Katara was carrying it as much as in previous episodes. Sokka actually played his part in making it interesting and realistic. I don't think this single argument is enough to redeem Katara's characterization in my eyes but at least we know now there is a little spark there.

AHH THE SCARF SCENE! Scarfgate was everything I could have asked for and more. Like why does he appear directly behind her like that unless he's trying to fight her? Why does he just let her go by like that? Why does he hold out his hand in the first place? Truly is the Watergate of our time it deserves that name. (also in the same episode as the whole sunrise thing? come on) I'm probably being baited but at least I'm enjoying it.

So I was right about the bombings! I can't believe all those cute little kids are terrorists but I couldn't believe it in the cartoon either so I guess that checks out. Either way I find the bombing far less forgivable than trying to take out the Mechanist. Innocent civilians were hurt and even though I know there was a real possibility that civilians could have been hurt in the attempted bombing for whatever reason it just seems... more brutal somehow. Like the first one was in the center of town, you know? Anyway terrorism is wrong I hope Jet finds his way.

(I was worried about how they were going to tie all the seemingly unrelated plotlines together but I think they pulled it off. Again my main problems were all concentrated around the Jet plotline but when the Mechanist was tied in it became a lot more interesting)

When I heard this I was like "son ur about to get ur ass kicked" but the funny part is he was kind of right. Like when neither of them were bending he was winning. I guess in all fairness he is a lot bigger than Aang but I don't feel like that was an accidental detail. Anyway, I think this fight scene was the most entertaining yet and so much better than jetara against the firebenders earlier. Maybe the affects for water are just worse than air and fire (it feels slower somehow) but I'm very partial to this fight. And that's saying something because I usually fast-forward through fight scenes or just kind of tune them out or barely watch, so you know it was really good.

I think the reason I liked it so much was that it was funny, honestly, not in the same way or to the same degree the cartoon was but I laughed out loud a couple times. For instance Zuko gets hit in the face three times in the span of ten seconds, once with a plate, once with a wicker basket, and once with his own little stick thing. Aang also put a basket over his head and some random ass lady started whacking him with a fan. Kudos to whoever choreographed that it was the best.

Also I liked how Sokka and Katara saved the day together. Cute sibling bonding excersize. And it ended on a cliffhanger with the characters separated! My favorite kind of cliffhanger! It definitely left me wanting more.

Anyway, to recap, things I didn't like:

No Zuko and Zhao agni kai

Mai and Ty Lee were just sort of there

Katara's characterization is still so-so

Jetara plot line was boring and chemistry was not the best

It was kind of a lot for one episode, even if they managed to do it well

Things I did like:

Opening scene

Azula characterization

Teo

The Mechanist plotline

Teo and Katara parallel

Katara DID actually seem a little bit more firey in this episode

SCARFGATE

Zuko and Aang fight scene

Surprisingly good handling of all those loose ends

Cliffhanger

Overall, I would give it a 9/10. That's the highest score I've given an episode so far and I'm standing by it. I know others might have a very different opinion on it since it was condensed so much and differed a lot from the cartoon, but I agreed with many of the changes they made. One thing I would urge everyone to remember is that these are different characters from the cartoon. They're going to act slightly different and have slightly different journys and that's okay. I think it is worth comparing to the original, as it is an adaptation, but we need to remember that an adaptation is not an exact replica, nor should it be. That in no way means that we should make allowances for anything we found negative or mediocre, but it is going to be different and change in it of itself isn't a bad thing. Anyway thank you guys so much for sticking with me! I'll probably have the next episode's debrief up by tomorrow.

[gurt-the-great]

During Rosie's intro post, I mentioned that every Sonic character has been aged up by 10 years! Well I went ahead and designed five of them.

Most of these characters have a connection to Rosie, Shadow and Tails having the strongest bonds to her. This will officially be the 10 years later AU, or just Gurt's Sonic AU since it adds and focuses on my ocs.

The individual refs and more info for everyone will be under the cut

Sonic was a little tricky to figure out in this AU. He's not the type of character to settle down and he wouldn't have a typical job since he's not one for authority figures. Also he's 25 now, he's got to grow up at least a little bit, especially now that the down-time between Eggman's schemes have gotten longer. He needs SOMETHING to occupy the time.

Then I thought "what if he was a professional air-boarder?" Sonic Riders was the COOLEST Sonic racing game and Sonic being an extreme sports Tony Hawk-esque guy made sense to me.

The design was easy to figure out once I decided on his profession. I brought his riders sunglasses back, the SOAP shoes from Adventure 2 and gave him a cool racing jacket with new gloves.

Sonic doesn't have a strong bond with Rosie but he does know her since Tails was friends with her growing up.

Tails was easy to age up, all I did was give him a ponytail, some accessories, new shoes, and some brown fur on his limbs and ears.

Tails is an Engineer in the AU! He already makes gadgets and trinkets, why not make a career out of it? He actually made Rosie's boots!

Tails and Rosie have a very close bond, the two had accelerated courses in school together due to their high intelligence. They visit each other frequently and Tails feels like a part of her family.

Rouge was pretty fun to design for this AU! I took elements from the elite agent outfit in Sonic Forces speed battle, Rouge's outfit in Heroes, and her regular look as well. I gave her bangs too but I like to think she messes with her hair often.

I don't have many notes on Rouge, She's still a G.U.N. Agent but also she's married to Knuckles! This is the only ship I'm canonizing in my AU for now. I might add more ships later on, we'll have to see.

Rouge works with Rosie pretty frequently and tries to get her to come out of her shell. She thinks that Rosie is pretty and could use that well, but Rosie is hopeless when it comes to using charisma. Rouge still likes her though and tries to teach her.

I did not NEED to design Cream but I really wanted to! She ended up being my favorite design here. I didn't really have a major direction to go in for Cream's design since she's still a teen without any job. I took inspiration from different Cream designs I seen online and just merged some concepts I liked. The only big change is making her tall, I thought it'd be cute if I based her on a Flemish Giant rabbit! I wanted an excuse to make her taller than Tails for comedic purposes.

Cream is still the polite sweetie she was as a kid but now she does work with Chao! She volunteers and donates to local Chao gardens and trains Cheese and Chocola for races. Cheese evolved into a hero Chao! Being with Cream throughout the years and going on some adventures helped him evolve. Chocola is neutral fly type Chao! It's one of my favorite Chao evolutions and I wanted Chocola to be more different from Cheese.

Cream and Rosie don't have much of a connection but I'd say they get along well enough. They're both friends with Tails so I'd say they all hang out sometimes.

And finally we reach Shadow! Shadow was easy to design as well. I just gave him a cool jacket. I don't think Shadow would visibly age much since he's the ultimate life form.

He's still a G.U.N. Agent and an incredibly important person to Rosie. Rosie idolized him as a kid and wanted to be like him. Shadow took on a mentorship role to Rosie, seeing great potential in her. He would personally teach Rosie the various ways that chaos control is used and would also teach her chaos spear. He does care about her even if he's tough on her at times.

If you read all that, thank you! I've put a lot of time and thought into this AU and I'm excited to share more! If you have any questions about my AU or ocs, my askbox is open! I hope y'all enjoyed the post!

[quitealotofsodapop]

LMK assorted Spider Gang LMK headcanons/theories

sequel to this post. Focusing on the Spider Gang cus I just finished reading that section of Journey to the West.

Spider Queen:

Spider Queen was one of seven sisters... seven sisters who fell to Monkey King's staff after trying to capture Tripitaka/Tang Sanzang for their master; Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord/Centipede Demon. Spider Queen was the only survivor of the fight besides the sisters' adoptive sons. She has spent the last countless years trying to rebuild the family and home she once had, accidentally becoming a "queen" of spider demon-kind in the process.

The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord's current status is unknown. Spider Queen doesn't care. Her former "brother" refused to give up the Tang monk in exchange for the safety of his sisters. She views this as the ultimate betrayal from someone she had considered her mentor/older brother. She did steal his alchemy supplies though, hence her cauldron.

Spider Queen actually lost her legs in her and Wukong's original fight - hence why she uses a mechanical lower body. Modern mobility aids yall.

Spider Queen also has beef (accidental Pun) with Zhu Bajie for harassing her and her sisters when they were bathing. Homeboy really went so creepy that they predatory spider demons didn't even wanna eat him. Even Pigsy's brief lapse of braincells when he first met Spider Queen was more polite than what his predecesor did.

Spider Queen's motherly nature extends beyond her clan. It's why LBD deliberately possessed a child to approach her - she knew Spider Queen would think twice about hurting "just a little girl". Spider Queen even gets a little protective over MK once she starts talking to him on an equal level.

Syntax:

Syntax was once a scientist who worked at the Weather Station. When the station was damaged by Red Son and MK's fighting in "Bad Weather"; he got scapegoated by the company as it's lead programmer and was fired. This gives him mega resentment towards both the Monkie Kid gang and the DBK family specifically.

He ran into Spider Queen while trying to find work as a freelance programmer. She needed someone to design a delivery system for her venom that didn't require her biting every single victim's neck. Syntax scoffed and went "I could just program a swarm of mini-robots to do it for you. We use similar drones while cloud-seeding at the station." and the rest is history.

Syntax's name is not only a programming reference, but is a ref to a type of spider family called Synotaxidae - related to Huntsmans and Black Widows (family <3). His name in Mandarian is "Liù yǎn zhū"/六眼蛛 meaning "Six-eyed Spider", which could be a glasses joke from the rest of the spider gang (who normally have four eyes) or a reference to a species in the same family - a six-eyed sand spider, known for their reclusive natures, and having the most powerful venom of any spider species. Hilarious if Syntax ever accidentally bit someone and it was a 1-hit KO.

The antidote made by Red Son wouldn't have worked on Syntax. While it did cure those envenomated during New Years, Syntax getting the "first spin" of the refined venom meant that he recieved far higher a survivable dosage/damage from the spider-bot. He had to work out a few more kinks before the New Years parade or else Megaopolis would been filled with dead half-spider people.

Syntax is having a small crisis of humanity. Not as big as the gang expected, but more like "Oh dang. I could've just been a demon this whole time? This rocks!- Hey why do chickens freak me out all of a sudden?" There's lot of spider demon stuff he has no context for - Spider Queen probably has to give him the spider demon version of "The Talk" the first time Syntax drums his legs at someone he likes.

Has/had a very mild rivalry with Macaque, mostly cus the shadow monkey would poke fun at Syntax for being a magic-less former human, and the programmer could toss the criticism right back at him in words Macaque didn't understand. The hostility died down when Macaque got weirdly interested in an RPG Maker game Syntax was playing, and wanted to know how videogames worked. And so the development of the "Macaque VR game" began.

He def chose the name "Syntax" for himself.

Huntsman:

Huntsman is only slightly younger than Spider Queen. He was a fellow spider demon disgusted by what the pilgrims had done to her sisters. And was a little curious at how strong they truly were. Encountered Sha Wujing on the road when the river demon was foraging, and was immediately enamored with his strength. He knows Sandy is pretending to be a reincarnation, he could recognise his Blue from anywhere.

Hates being seen as weak. Will act out if he suspects someome is "going easy" on him. Even with spicy cooking.

Saw some Things in the potion-portal Tang accidentally sent him to in Laozi/Lao Tzu's lab. The "duck" label was a metaphor.

Beyond tracking devices, this spider is tech blind. Has no gotdamn idea Syntax is talking about half the time.

Goliath/Strong Spider:

Is a little older than Huntsman. But no one's really sure how old he is. Not even him.

Was a drifter from another clan before joining Spider Queen. He doesn't like to talk about what happened with his birth clan.

Deliberately trained his body so he could physically protect his friends/clan from harm. A lot of things can squish a spider, and Goliath wants to make sure that never happens again.

Goliath/Strong Spider has no idea how to make or spin a web. It's the folly of his sub-species. He can however, knit you a pretty good wool blanket instead. :3

Since he's based on a spider called a Goliath Bird-Eater; Goliath occasionally just plucks a bird out of the sky and noms on it like Hogsqueal in The Spiderwick Chronicles. If he ever saw Peng, not even the Buddha could stop Goliath from trying to take a bite.

Spindrax (sadly toyline only ;_;):

Has an obnoxiously black-and-pink colour scheme as a foil to Mei's white-and-green aesthetic.

Is Mei's equal rival in everything. Racing, pinball, arcade games, hand-to-hand combat, etc... Spindrax and Mei even go toe-to-toes when it comes to dancing.

Uses a stylized motorcycle helmet while driving, so much so that Mei honestly didn't know what Spindrax's face looked like until after a race/spider gang fight.

Youngest of the whole spider clan. She's barely considered a young-adult by their standards. Gets babied/underestimated sometimes by them and wishes to prove herself.

Would annoy Syntax while he's working by flicking rubber bands at him.

Bonus ideas+:

The original spider clan was once an actual kingdom, but it fell to silk-greedy humans during the mid Tang Dynasty when the empire began enforcing extreme measures to prevent rival nations from getting their hands on easy silk. When a few too many Roman and Greek tradesmen went to the Spider Kingdom instead of following the Silk Road - the kingdom was burnt to the ground. The Seven Sisters were the only surviving members of a very minor branch of the royal family - saved by a centipede schoolmate.

The Spider Sisters in Journey to the West had adoptive children in the form of other bug demons known as; Bee, Hornet, Cockroach, Cantharis/Spanish-Fly/Blister-Beetle, Grasshopper, Maggot/Wax-Fly, and Dragonfly, who came to defend their moms' after Zhu Bajie harassed them. However they were just little kids, so they could barely nip at the pilgrims even as a swarm of insects. Even the tallest of them was said to be "no more than two and a half feet". SWK simply scared them off by making his hair-clones turn into different birds. It's likely that Spider Queen had to care for her orphaned nephews/students in the aftermath of Jttw.

Would be cool if the seven niblings were still around, trying to avenge their moms and aunts. Hilarious if they were somehow more successful than Jin and Yin at villainy - if only a smidge. Then again that means at the end of canon S3 they're left without a family, if LBD doesn't see them as extra mech material that is...

MK: *driving home from a delivery* A voice off to the side: "Hey monkey-head!" MK, stops driving: "???" (MK turns, only to see seven scrappy-looking kids) MK: "Aww. You guys fans of mine?" Kid 1#: "No! We are sons of the Seven Spider Sisters! Sworn enemies of the Monkey King!" MK, tensing up cus arachnophobia: "S-spiders?" Kid 2#: "Yeah! Now you're gonnna get it!" The Kids: *transforms into their true demon forms* MK: *massive sigh of relief* "Oh thank the buddha! You're just regular bug demons. Sorry nothing personal, I just can *not* deal with a swarm of baby spiders right now. You guys get home to Spider Queen before it gets dark ok?" MK: *continues driving home* The Kids, briefly stunned: "HEY! Get back here!" "You're not suppose to run away!" "We're telling mama about this!"

Spider Demons are able to heal/hibernate inside cocoons similar to those seen in the cave system. Huntsman and Goliath were sleeping off the worst of the winter frost when New Year's woke them up. It could also give an explaination to where Spindrax and the seven adopted bug kiddos are - they sleepin'.

I leave you with this funny Gary Larson comic with a spider in it:

[hunny-pp]

i've been forgetting to yap abt it, but i think there's smth crazy abt the dynamic between su jue and yu ran (as if you can't tell w my fervent shipping of them)

read more for length

the clear black and white visual designs between them but within that they have the shared colour of similar shades of purple, in a way showing that they balance and compliment each other. Yu Ran representing light and justice while Su Jue is his shadow, doing all the dirty deeds - but I like that the reason why they work together so well is because they have a bit of that light and darkness in the other

like there's something INSANE about yu ran over the fact that he KNEW that su jue could take on masculine disguises (and almost exclusively we've only rly seen her w the exception of being yu xu disguise herself as men) and KEPT HIS MOUTH SHUT when his co-workers were explaining that her one weakness is her inability to disguise as men.

he was willing to let a powerful political and his superior get murdered, resulting in another man becoming a scapegoat for her. Granted, he went through that moral length so she can get some kind of justice for the abuse she went through by li tiangang, as well as knowing that if she went through with her original plan she would have been framed as a scapegoat and it'd set back esper rights by MILES, but he also WANTED the talent she possesses. He has a very ruthless side, succinctly put by his go/chess analogy of making the necessary sacrifices.

the reason why he thought so highly of su jue despite her terrible reputation, it's because he could see she has good in her, he knows she's always had a desire to use her powers to stand up for the little guy, to toy and mock with people who abuse their power. She was the person that INSPIRED Yu Ran to start standing up for himself, and to start wanting to do that for other people, leading him to be a politician. That compassion hidden within su jue is what ultimately convinced her to take the high road and let revenge run its course without her interference, inadvertently saving her life.

In the same way su jue does a lot of dirty work and is a lot more ruthless in ways yu ran cannot be for the sake of his personal values or public image as a gentle and benevolent politician, Yu Ran ALSO did some shady shit in order to save her life, letting someone important get murdered and another man imprisoned for it just by keeping quiet about the truth of su jue and convincing her (with yu xu to help) to take the high road. It goes both ways, it's why they work.

also just some other things that come from my shipping brainrot:

su jue liking the colour ivory for its purity (i wonder who's the same colour.....................)

also doing the gay mirrored single earring thing

yu ran's horns and su jue's tails almost opposite in the color wheel, and i know in some pieces, yu ran's horns are much greener too

also the inherent symbolism and dynamic of the fox vs deer....predator vs prey animal.........

anyway this is my yapping abt why im so obsessed with su jue/yu ran💖, if anyone's got context or a way i can watch the story events where yu ran's got his titties out and is tied up bc i stopped playing around there, much appreciated i need it for my fuel

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for killing my best friend’s best friend and then pretending to be them?

I(1000s, eldritch) am not human. Most of my - existence, I guess? - has been spent preying on humans both physically and mentally, and for as long as I’ve existed, that’s never been a problem. It’s what I was designed to do, and it wasn’t like I had the capacity to feel emotions like guilt for what I was doing.

Until recently.

Part of the… process, of consuming my victims, involves assimilating them and taking on their outward appearance. It’s how I maintain a physical form in this dimension, it’s a whole thing. (Basically think Invasion of the Body Snatchers, just minus the giant pea pods and plus the horrifying being of shadows and teeth.) Usually, I’ll maybe get a couple of memories from someone’s mind this way to better pretend to be them and avoid suspicion, but- but something went wrong when I tried to assimilate who we’ll call C(18, genderfluid).

Long story short, I have all of C’s memories. And all of the emotions to go with them; basically everything that he was is a part of me now. I remember how she got each of her scars, I remember her favorite color (and I’ve never even seen color before, so that was a shock), and most importantly I remember C’s best friend, M(17, transmasc), who was supposed to be- well, that’s sort of complicated too, but essentially my next victim who I was supposed to get to by using C.

But I didn’t want to kill him. Fuck, I still don’t. Ma- M is my best friend, even if these memories aren’t originally mine. I can’t put into words how fucking guilty I feel for the horrible death I put C through (I remember how much it hurt, by the way), and the countless sleepless nights leading up to it.

I kept up the façade for longer than I thought I would, but ultimately M saw me for what I wa- for what I am, and now they’re (rightfully) terrified of me. And probably more than a little angry, seeing as I’m the one who killed C, too.

I don’t know what to do. Something- something bad is going to happen to M soon, whether or not I’m here for it. I’m supposed to keep them in one place until then, but I don’t want to just be the monster outside of their locked bedroom door, whispering under the door. I don’t want anyone else to have to go through what C did, especially not because of me.

I want it to be perfect like before

Basically, I feel screaming-crying-throwing-up bad about it.

So, AITA?

[dropletr]

Now that I've finally finished it, I figured I'd share my thoughts on Sonic X Shadow Generations. It's good and you should buy it. O.K. Spoilers, below.

In terms of the Sonic Generations section, it's the same great game as it was 13 years ago. Ironically enough, I bought the original release back on December 23. Lucky me. The only real notable differences are in performance and story, so I'll focus on those. I'm not really an expert on performance. I can barely tell the difference between 30 fps vs. 60 fps. I'll just say that Sonic Generations ran better on my Switch than the original release did on my gaming PC. Take of that what you will. In terms of the rewrite, I thought it was lackluster. Ian Flynn is a writer that I like a lot, so it's a bit of a shame but not too much. The story remains virtually identical, with the changes adding nothing of note at best, and feeling slightly awkward at worst. I could have gone without the random Time Stone reference (it feels a bit off considering Sonic has time traveled in numerous other ways before), and Amy's crush on Sonic being toned town. I feel like making her less clingy was good, but they went a bit too far, in my opinion. I know she still mentions her attraction to Sonic in the dialogue, but I would have preferred it was mentioned in the cutscenes. Also, the removal off "I thought I was dead! Floating without a body in a black limbo... Ughhh, I'm gonna have nightmares for weeks!" is criminal.

Now, onto the main attraction, Shadow Generations. Now, this might be controversial, but... I think Sonic Frontiers is better. Don't get me wrong. Shadow Generations is still a great game, but it didn't quite capture the magic Frontiers had. In terms of the boost levels, Shadow Generations definitely beats out Sonic Frontiers. The level design was frankly more interesting, and I had a lot of fun using Doom Powers to take/come up with shortcuts. In terms of the Open Zone, Frontiers wins. While Shadow Generations White Space fits together more neatly, running around and exploring just isn't as fun as it was on the Starfall Islands. Part of that might be unlocking the map as you go, while in Shadow, it's just handed to you. Doing the open zone challenges in Shadow Generations feels like a chore, whereas it felt fun in Frontiers. Boss fights, I mean, come on, obviously Frontiers was going to win. The battling mechanics were so interesting, and it felt really fun to string them together. Shadow Generations also has really fun bosses, but I found them really easy. Honestly, the bosses characters are really what made the boss fights fun in Shadow Generations, I was geeking out like a kid in a candy shop. In terms of the story, I find them both great. I would heavily recommend Pariah695's video on Shadow Generations story as he goes into more detail than I will (even if I don't agree with his opinions on Ian Flynn). Ultimately, it might just be that the characters and their journeys in Frontiers mean more to me. They're both very enjoyable, and I'll probably watch the cutscenes of Shadow Generations for fun like I do with Frontiers.

Ultimately, even though I think Frontiers is the better game, Sonic X Shadow Generations are still great games that I would highly recommend.

[cru5h-cascades]

Givin' y'all a feast of content tonight lol

Here's my design for the Lamb in my Blue Crown AU (still thinking of a name for them. I think I might either go with Lake or River.)

Might as well explain the AU while I'm at it. After all, I did say I'd wait until I posted art for the AU to talk about it.

Okay, so this has been in the works for a while and I've been putting this off because I was working on Your Side of Order, but this is the jist of the Blue Crown AU.

Basically in this AU, the Lamb grew up in Anchordeep. Their parents died when they were young, so Kallamar, who refused to believe that sacrificing an entire species was the key to sealing away Nardiner and feared the consquences of him and his siblings actions if they went through with the genocide, took the Lamb in and raised them as their own in secret. When the lamb genocides began, Kallamar helped the Lamb hide from the other bishops, however eventually the Lamb was found & prepared for execution. Just before the Lamb was decapitated, Kallamar saved them last minute and rushed them out of the sacrificial area, giving them his crown in order to teach them how to fight (and to better protect them) (in this AU, the crown allows the Lamb to swap weapons at will instead of getting one at random and the Lamb can use multiple curses) (the Lamb can swap between 3 of each). After escaping the temple, Kallamar leads the Lamb to a secret area in Anchordeep where the Lamb can create a cult to help them become stronger and gives the Lamb a mission: kill the other bishops before they can kill both the Lamb & Kallamar and then kill Nardiner.

Same storybeats as the OG story: Lamb goes into biome, beats up some mini bosses, and eventually beats up the bishops. But in this AU, the Lamb fights Nardiner a bit earlier on (after killing Leshy, Heket, and Shamura), who also sort of has their own biome thing (all the enemies are skeletal and the mini bosses are Baal, Aym, and a shadow clone of the Lamb). The fight against Nardiner is a bit tamer compared to the OG fight since Nardiner hardly knows the Lamb, but it doesn't matter 'cause ultimately the Lamb kills Nardiner.

After returning to cult grounds, Kallamar is waiting for the Lamb and is overjoyed that the mission has been completed... for a few seconds. After realizing what he just made the Lamb do (killing all their siblings and decimating their lands), Kallamar becomes overwhelmed with guilt and begs the Lamb to do one more thing for him: put him out of his misery & let him be with his siblings. The Lamb refuses, resulting in Kallamar trying to hurt himself, but after the Lamb tries to stop him, a fight against Kallamar happens. Basically the fight's almost the same as the OG game's ('cause Kallamar is so fucking hard to beat), except Kallamar has an extra phase like Nardiner's OG fight. Anyways, the Lamb beats Kallamar & Kallamar gets absolved of all his sins. He's a bit shorter now but not as small as a follower (maybe two followers tall?), and doesn't want to fight the Lamb anymore. After seeing how strong the Lamb is, Kallamar gives the Lamb a choice: follow orders and kill Kallamar, or let him live as an act of mercy. The Lamb chooses mercy, not wanting to kill the one who let them live, and Kallamar becomes the right hand squid of the Lamb.

[emthimofnight]

Name ✨Stellar the Hedgehog✨

Age Varies based on what age I draw her, but let's say 16!

Pronouns She/Her

Basic Description The product of Project Stellar—a secret government operation aiming to perfect Project Shadow—Stellar is a genetic experiment combining the DNA of the Ultimate Life Form and the fastest thing alive. Designed to be a living weapon, Stellar was born in a hidden facility where she would have been raised to be an unstoppable weapon for the military. Thankfully, Shadow the Hedgehog (with help from Rouge the Bat) discovered her existence, destroyed the lab, and rescued her as an infant. Shadow then went on to begrudgingly inform his long-time rival, Sonic the Hedgehog, of their newfound child, seeing as she was technically just as much Sonic's problem as she was Shadow's. From there, the duo (along with help from their friends) raised Stellar as their daughter, sheltering her from the knowledge she was created to be a force of destruction for her masters. Along the way, Sonic and Shadow found themselves truly falling for one another, dissolving the barriers they had placed between one another as rivals, finding new appreciation for each other in their new parental roles.

Stellar herself is a bright, warm-hearted person. She has a strong sense of justice and never shies away from standing up for what is right. She takes after Sonic in personality, always cracking jokes and finding it hard to sit still. Despite this, she inherited Shadow's finesse and ability to plan out her choices, not to mention his abilities to utilize chaos energy. She has a love for figure skating, ballet, and make up (thanks to Auntie Rouge!), but don't let her feminine side fool you, she is not afraid to get her hands dirty! She would love nothing more than to spend her day smashing badniks into the ground with her skates if her dads would let her! Stellar loves both of her parents dearly, but sometimes wishes that they wouldn't be so protective of her. After all, what could they possibly have to be worried about?

Extra ✨Stellar's favorite color is red. ✨Her favorite food is chili dogs. ✨She is bisexual. ✨Her favorite flower is lavender, because it reminds her of home! ✨She learned how to skate from Shadow. ✨She calls Shadow "papa" and Sonic "dad". ✨She desperately wants to make her family and friends proud. ✨Her best friend is Camellia the Cat, the daughter of Blaze and Amy. ✨She loves racing Sonic, but is frustrated he always lets her win. ✨She can be VERY impulsive when angered, much like both of her parents! ✨She is SUPER dense when it comes to romance. She has no idea ✨Camellia has been in love with her since they were little! ✨The inhibitor rings she wears keep her powers under control, but they also prevent her from truly mastering them. ✨Her powers are designed after collapsing stars/black holes. Extremely destructive to both herself and everything around her. ✨She has no awareness to the extent of the latent power inside her.

[skaruresonic]

I'm reminded of the split opinion on whether Sonic Gens and Mania are suitable "first games" for people who want to approach the series.

I personally don't think so, because the appeal of those games is precisely revisiting old levels in a new format, with a new design: you're not going to get the subtle jokes as a newcomer (and Mania can get very obscure with it). But some do think they're nice pastiches for newcomers to at least get an idea of Sonic's history as a franchise, and it helps that they're both solid games.

I assumed Shadow Gens would be the same, but you make a good point, because this game has an actual story. For veterans, it's more of the same thing, if you know Shadow's story this adds very little new, and it's mostly a repeat of what he already went through in ShTH. But newcomers who want to learn more about the cool black hedgehog from the new movie would still be confused: why did Shadow become a hero? Who is Black Doom, why is he obsessed with Shadow, why does Shadow hate him? Let's not even talk about things like Mephiles' boss fight lol. (although personally I find Gerald's mention of the time portals of '06 rather cute)

So I guess this game is for veterans who just want to soak in the Shadow vibes once more, but this time with Good Writing™

If you based your knowledge only on the information provided by SxS Gens - so no supplementary material, no Dark Beginnings, no manga, no movie, no paratext - you would learn the vaguest and broadest strokes of maybe two games, SA2 and ShTH, at most. But nothing specific.

Everything else would just come off as garbled nonsense. Hell, it appeared that way to me and I've been a Sonic fan for (checks notes) 22 years. God I'm old.

I approached this game not with my purist hardhat on (though that wasn't always the case given some lines here and there lmao) but from the perspective of a newcomer who knew nothing about Shadow's past. If everyone was going to argue that this game's existence is necessary on that basis, I thought, how well would it perform as an introductory piece?

From that perspective, I don't think the game does a very good job in giving us a crash course on Shadow's history. Gerald and Maria do nothing - I hate to say it but they're ultimately window-dressing. They don't accomplish anything that, for instance, a posthumous diary or recording could have just as easily provided.

(Tbf, the NPCs in Gens also pretty much did nothing but cheer Sonic on, but it's not like, given this sheer gravitas as seeing your dead loved ones return to life via the power of timey-wimey shenanigans.)

I was actually surprised at how little plot progression there is, given my previous expectations of there being, you know, a coherent story. The plot doesn't really kick in until you've completed 4 out of the 6 available levels, and by then you've pretty much halfway done lol.

Shit happens in weird, patchwork, nonsensical ways. We get boss fights for characters that don't matter but not a boss fight against Sonic, AKA the guy we play as in Gens proper and in a context that echoes a game dynamic where we get to fight each character as the opponent. Shadow is the ultimate life form who gets his ass handily kicked by Sonic. Maria has a delayed response at the news of Shadow's heritage; she's not instantly shocked the first time, but when Gerald says it for a second time she suddenly becomes distressed. Omega claims they showed Metal "mercy" at the end of Heroes, despite questioning whether he should destroy Metal or Sonic to prove his strength. We have to fight Mephiles even though he doesn't matter because reasons.

Characters appear who aren't relevant to the plot, but are given the screen treatment as though the game expects the player to know who they are and why they might (or might not) be relevant.

---

Who is Black Doom, why is he obsessed with Shadow, why does Shadow hate him?

>>gets Silent Hill 3 flashbacks as Black Doom waxes poetic about "possessing" Shadow

---

Let's not even talk about things like Mephiles' boss fight lol.

No. Let's. :P

Mephiles' boss is one great big time-wasting in-joke that amounts to an MCU-esque "Well, that just happened." I can easily see newcomers mistaking him for one of Black Doom's minions or something, especially given that his boss arena is found in a cave under Chaos Island and not in Kingdom Valley. Because the latter is where you find Metal Overlord instead.

Yeah, this would definitely confuse newcomers.

As I've said before, the game does the "don't think about a polar bear" thing by bringing up the matter of Shadow's blood, only to backpedal immediately afterwards with "his blood doesn't matter, I swear." At times I felt like I was playing Parasite Eve with talk of mutations and what-not.

And like, sure, the game does stress that Shadow determines his own destiny, but if that's the case, why bring up his blood eighty million times? Why turn it into a friggin' gameplay mechanic? The guy turns into a squid FFS

Oh, and I forgot to mention: the light of God that shone down on IDW!Sonic during his Sermon on the Rock also shines down on Maria when she tells Shadow the reason she gave him his name. Just in case you couldn't get The Symbolism. Very subtle, much cinematic, felt like I was playing SA2 all over again.

[saikolikes]

“Si vis pacem, te ipsum vince”: the meaning behind Erina’s banner

I’m sure most people have noticed it, as it was shown firstly in the trailer and then in the opening: “Si vis pacem, te ipsum vince” seems to be the official motto of Persona 5 Tactica, and is indeed present on Erina’s banner when she uses Flag of Freedom.

The slogan is in latin, it roughly translates as “If you want peace, you must conquer yourself,” and it’s an alteration tailored to the game from the most commonly known “Si vis pacem, para bellum” (If you want peace, prepare for war).

What most don’t know (myself included before digging deeper to make this post), is that even the “original” phrase wasn’t exactly born as such and is itself an adaptation of a wider paragraph from a military treaty — Vegetius’ De Re Militari or “Epitome of military science” (the following quote comes from the beginning of Book 3):

Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum; qui uictoriam cupit, milites inbuat diligenter; qui secundos optat euentus, dimicet arte, non casu.

From what I read, the author does a sort of introduction by citing war masters from the past, including Athens and Sparta, and declares his task in compiling all their teachings in one place. Then, he concludes by saying “Therefore, the one who desires peace shall be ready for war; the one who longs for victory shall diligently instruct his soldiers; the one who’s after success shall fight following the art of war, not chance.”

The concept here is clear: you can’t search for and uphold peace without being skilled in battle and ready to fight for that peace if need be… which is a pretty interesting message in the wider scheme of Tactica.

(Warning for story spoilers from here onwards)

I didn’t reflect on it much as I was playing, especially because the game never gives you any “official” translation of what’s written on Erina’s banner. But as I went back to thinking about it, I realised just how fitting this alteration is. The whole deal with Salmael is peace should be the ultimate goal for mankind, a state of existence where no conflict is necessary—on the contrary, conflict is viewed as a bad thing, because it causes hurt and is ultimately harmful. So it makes perfect sense that “Si vis pacem, para bellum” is something that goes against Salmael’s philosophy.

What bothers me, instead, is that it perfectly fits what Erina represents, as is and without any alteration: she battles Marie like rebels do tyrants because the peace in the Kingdom has been disrupted and she wants it back. Putting metaphors aside, Toshiro is the one that realises that only by opposing his father and his fiancé he can right the wrongs that his family committed, and eventually find peace within himself. “Si vis pacem, para bellum” is actually already tailored on what the game is about, so thinking back about the alteration they made, I can’t quite explain it.

It has to be said, though, that “Si vis pacem, te ipsum vince” is also fitting. Reconciling with one’s Shadow self, tame it and embrace it is what awakening a Persona is all about and what Toshiro does later on in the story, so to have “If you want peace, you must conquer yourself” written on Erina’s banner is also a really nice touch!

I guess my main point here is that both phrases go well with the story’s themes and plot, but I do have to say, removing “para bellum” kind of ends up reinforcing Salmael’s point, which is that war (=conflict) isn’t necessary. It ultimately serves P5’s whole narrative that puts individuals at the center of societal changes without questioning too much what role society at large plays: it is acknowledged society needs reform, but reforming passes through righteous people and removing bad apples rather than dismantling and rebuilding anew a system that is designed to be exploitative. More so that “te ipsum” is a bit like saying “you yourself” so I’d argue that a really great emphasis is put on the person/individual. Also worth noting that “te ipsum” is specifically male-gendered as “ipsum” is accusative cause (direct object) for both male (“ipse) and neutral (“ipsum”) pronouns, but “te” is accusative case for the pronoun “tu” which can only be used referring to a person; this means that if the phrase was to be female-gendered it would be “te ipsam vince”. So it really seems to be tailored to Toshiro.

I think what they did with Tactica’s motto is cool (if anything because it let me put my high school diploma at use again after 7 years lol) and definitely a nice addition that shows this game was made with a decent level of care for being a spinoff… at the same time, I can’t help but find a subtle contradiction in the alteration they made.

[rubylarkspur22]

Random Spiralling for the KNY x AtLE AU

I'm hyperfixating, and wanna throw out some ideas for this AU! It's extremely rudimentary, but let's see what I cook up.

Characters (at least the most direct parallels):

Kanao -> Milo

Tanjirou -> Kida

Nezuko -> also Kida

Either Muzan or Douma would take the role of Rourke

Daki -> Helga

Inosuke -> Mole... I don't make the rules...

Genya -> Vinny

Kie -> Kida's father

Sanemi -> Whitmore(don't worry, very different personalities, mostly here for the connection to Kanae)

Shinobu and Kanae -> Thaddeus/Milo's grandpa (but they're Kanao's sisters here)

Himejima -> Sweet

Other rules currently do not have characters designated to them...

Story:

Destruction of Atlantis, Tanjirou gets the trauma of watching his dad get beamed up by the magic rock in the sky... Sorry, Tanjirou!

Kanao is trying to arrange meetings and get funding for expeditions to find Atlantis. This is difficult because 1. Atlantis is seen as a myth or conspiracy theory, and 2. Kanao is a lady in 1914, 'nuff said. So if she doesn't get outright rejected, her meetings tend to end up getting sabotaged(sudden schedule changes, or location changes tend to be the culprit).

Daki arrives at Kanao's apartment, and takes her to meet Sanemi. She has an extremely vague idea who he is from his surname, as Kanae mentioned she dated a guy named Shinazugawa before she died and Shinobu went missing(probably dead, but nobody found a body yet), and this guy seems about the right age.

The expedition begins, Kanao is at least a tad more aggressive with people.

Yadda yadda, volcano, then Kanao meets our intrepid siblings. Nezuko and Tanjirou discuss what to do with her, not knowing Kanao understands every word they're saying, and Tanjirou ultimately ends up healing her injury.

Nezuko is much more distrustful of the expedition team, being significantly more on edge around them than Tanjirou as they lead them to Kie. After the group is allowed to stay the night, Kie talks to Tanjirou and Nezuko about the decision and asks them to find out what the newcomers want. Nezuko goes the incognito route, spying from the shadows for anything suspicious, while Tanjirou approaches Kanao with the desire to ask her questions.

Tanjirou and Kanao talk, and Nezuko discovers the ruse. After Tanjirou and Kanao learn about the Heart, they actually end up being confronted by Nezuko before the team shows up. And Nezuko promptly rams Kanao up against a wall with a knife to her throat, demanding to know what the expedition is looking for. Tanjirou tries to meditate, Kanao is confused, then Nezuko explains she saw guns. They immediately realize something ain't right, and Kanao isn't in the know.

Expedition team arrives just as Nezuko steps back from Kanao, and tries to convince Kanao to join them because Nezuko attacked her. Kanao tells them she knows why they're really there, and a fight breaks out. Nezuko gets shot(nothing serious, just enough to stun her so they can restrain her), and the siblings are taken hostage to force Kanao to read the page.

The Crystal Scene happens, with Tanjirou being chosen and Kanao passing the hell out of the folks responsible for their conundrum. (An actual line I imagine here: "Oh, so you're gonna wave the gun around? Good luck translating when your linguist is full of lead.")

After Kie does(RIP), and since Tanjirou's been taken, Nezuko is suddenly given the title of Queen. She and Kanao(with a little help from Himejima) give each other pep talks and go to save Tanjirou!

Future sister-in-law tag team! They get Tanjirou back, save the day, and all is well!

Team goes back to the surface, Tanjirou becomes King and Kanao stays in Atlantis to help them recover their lost culture. Mostly. Getting a husband who loves and respects her as both a person and an academic is a pretty damn nice perk too...