#and one of the kid's big interest was Sonic so I would just sit and listen to him talk about Sonic the entire time I was there

[dan-crimes]

LMAO so funny thing is everyone knows the whole Sonic and Shadow looking alike thing is total bullshit and I totally agree those comments they try to pull in the games and show(s? I'm not technically a Sonic fan I dunno if it's multiple) make basically no sense to me but then my Mom comes in while watching Sonic Prime and says "So what, Sonic has a brother or something?" and this whole other world has opened up to me and I've seen the truth of it all

[vannysarcade]

I have to say, I haven’t been interested in Fnaf for a couple years now. Too much happening in the fandom, too convoluted of a story since sister location, too much drama. I just couldn’t enjoy the games the same way I used to.

That being said, your rockstar, mediocre Melody, and music man designs are still my favorite redesigns to this day, and I still enjoy just going back to look at them and imagining Chuck e Cheese performances with them.

Do you have information on their characters? Like voice claims, inspiration, personality, interests? I’m very enamored by this group!

Thank you so much!! That really means a lot to me that you still go back to them so often :') I haven't thought too too hard about the mediocre melodies or Music man, BUT! The rockstars are definitely a far cry from what I imagine the original gangs personalities to be! They're a lot more toned down to be child friendly and also appealing to 'cool" kids.

I imagine Rockstar Freddy's voice to be similar to Jaleel White's Sonic the Hedgehog. He's a natural born leader, but he's a very cool, fun and approachable kind of guy. Everyone in the fazbear band looks up to him and goes to him for advice. He's always THE life of the party no matter where he goes, and he can get along with anyone no matter who they are, which is why he works so well with the other rockstars. He's the glue that holds them together! He's Freddy Fazbear (jr) so Fazbear Entertainment wanted him to be someone kids could look up to. In doing so though, he has virtually no flaws compared to the other rockstars, so he can come off as a bit more artificial and boring compared to the others. His inspiration for his design is mostly Avenger Chuck E Cheese, because I really wanted to make a freddy that took inspiration from his cool "skater era" design. Rockstar Chica is actually not a chicken, but is instead a Parrot. Specifically a sun conure parrot! Hence her name being "Chica the Chick" instead of chicken. She's funny and sweet, but she can be very quick to anger. She's a little bit of a hot head with a strong moral compass, and will always stand up for what's right and protect her friends no matter what. I imagine her voice claim being similar to Cindy Robinson's Amy rose in Sonic Boom. Rockstar Chica is kind of the odd one out compared to the other rockstars, due to them all being woodland creatures and her being a parrot from a tropical climate. This is something she can be a little insecure about, but Freddy's always there to remind her that she's still one of them no matter where she's from. She's always wanted to be a musician and traveled far to try and "make it big" where she met Freddy and the gang. She blew them away with her musical talents and was immediately accepted into the band. She is also very sporty, and loves Football. She is loosely inspired by Helen Henny in her "rockstar" era. Rockstar Bonnie is a stereotypical chill, surfer dude. Like Freddy, he also vibes with just about anyone because of who he is, but unlike Freddy, he can come off as very apathetic. He's a very "live and let live" kind of guy, and would rather just sit back, relax, and play his guitar instead of dealing with other people's problems. Bonnie loves the beach and surfing, and is always daydreaming about riding that wave. I imagine his voice claim as Bill from Bill and Ted, played by Alex Winter. Rockstar Foxy is definitely the trouble maker of the group. He's got a habit for all kinds of pranks, which can be excessive and annoying for the other rockstars. Still, they love him anyway. Despite his pirate getup, he unfortunately not have a "pirate accent", and his voice is more...annoying teenage brother. Kinda like Rodrick Heffley, maybe? I'm not sure. His ideas for music are a little bit more extreme than what the others have in mind. In reality though, it's not actually that "extreme" LOL fazbear entertainment just paints it that way because it's a little different from the kind of music the rockstars normally play. It's very early 2000s rock in a disney channel movie.

[beevean]

Really dont get the hype for the Sonic 3 movie....just pissed me off

I knew that hyping for years as an adaptation of SA2 would piss off people when they would inevitably reveal that no, it's its own story that only vaguely resembles SA2.

Turning GUN from antagonists to allies and keeping Gerald alive are certainly choices, though.

You know the issue in my opinion? The movies have always been lighthearted, and it worked for the first two, whose plots are very, very light. The first one was a generic road trip, the second one meandered a while but managed to land on a solid reinterpretation of S3&K. They're fun for kids and if you want to have a good time. But this movie sits on the shoulders of Sonic Adventure 2, a giant in the fandom, the entry point of many fans of my generation, fondly remembered for its very serious and poignant story that tackles themes of anti-military, grief, insanity and revenge. Sure, SA2 is not a snoozefest and it has its goofy moments like Sonic quipping about low budget flights or screaming TERIA... but its brand of humor is very much not the same as the one in the movies, which is more... MCU? Watch the trailer and count how many times it cuts its tension with zingers.

They even snuck in a "character gains weight to signify he let himself go", which I remember being a big source of discourse when they did it to Thor - even worse here as Eggman is meant to be fat, and his weight is just part of his cartoonish design, he is still intelligent and resourceful and determined. I could have accepted Robotnik gaining progressively more weight as the movies go on, but not like this, man, we should be better than this.

(also I'm not a fan of the idea of Sonic and Robotnik teaming up to take Shadow down. It's been done to death, it's a cheap way to prop a new character, and Sonic should probably be much more against the idea of giving even an inch to the man who wanted to dissect him. But hey.)

Now, it's still early to judge the entire story as it is, and I don't care to speculate about the changes they could make. But yeah, the trailer was disappointing, because there is a general feeling of stagnation. I never even expected a full 1:1 adaptation of SA2 because I know the movies are not interested in that... but let's just say I almost want to play that fun game of "how much did the changes from the original story outright make it worse?". And this time there is definitely more material to work with.

(doesn't help that I personally don't love Shadow, so just seeing Shadow being the coolest badass in town doesn't appeal to me like it would to many other people)

[doyoulikethisanimesong-poll]

Hello! A pretty random question, but I’m curious.

I saw you answered some asks about which songs you discovered & liked thanks to the polls, but have you discovered any anime that you decided to watch through the polls as well? I mean, did you ever look at a submission, did some basic checks, glanced at the synopsis and went “huh this looks interesting, might give it a watch” or the likes? Or do you focus on the music only and don’t check the synopsis at all (which would be understandable, with how many songs are coming in)?

Have a good timezone!

I don't really check the synopsis at all however there are a couple anime that I've got on a list because I thought the songs fucked so hard that I just had to try them out. Devilman no Uta finally got me to sit down and atleast try out Devilman Crybaby after ignoring it for years and I'm really enjoying what I've seen so far. I was a bit iffy on the style at first but after a couple episodes, I just couldn't help but adore it. I'm hoping to finish it up in the next week or two when I get some free time where I want to watch stuff.

The other big one is actually Gundam as a whole. I'd watched Mobile Suit Gundam 79 a couple years back and watched a few episodes of Zeta but I was really struggling with Kamielle so I put the series down in hopes that I'd come back to it later but after hearing a bunch of songs from the later series, I decided to bite the bullet and watch more Zeta. I'm about half way through now and also decided to binge all of Witch from Mercury in one sitting which I adored. I knew WfM was a banger of a series but its the first time in a long while that an anime has gripped me so hard. I think my only really complaint is the fact that someone in production obviously really wanted to try and make the relationship ambigious so they can claim "they were just friends" which is a tad frustrating.

Another fun one that I just remembered is Sonic. The Sonic X submission got me playing the Sonic games again. I had been doing a full playthrough of all the Sonic games in release order and at the time of that submission, I had gotten through the 90's 2D games but hadn't started Adventure 1 yet and was just a bit burnt out. But since that submission, I have gotten through all the "main" 3D games from the 90's and 00's (except the Riders series which I will be checking out at a later date). My most recent completion was Colors which I enjoyed the gameplay of but dear god was the story a complete shitshow. I remember enjoying it so much more as a kid. I'm now alternating between Lost World and Forces (haven't started Forces yet but I have a few hours today where I'm gonna sharescreen with my friend and see if I can finish it in one session).

[nex-is-sleeping]

Hi Ned, how are ya?

Can I request a SFW alphabetical list of Boom!Sonic x fem!reader? Cuz Boom Sonic is just an adorable dork and I wanted to know how he is around this partner, what is his love language and all those good stuff

Thanks, please keep writing, they’re so good!! :3

Boom!Sonic SFW Alphabet

Hmm.. Ned, I have no idea who that is ! But I, Nex, and doing quite alright, thank you !

A-Affection (How affectionate are they ? How do they show affection ?)

While alone, Sonic is quite affectionate ! His love language is quality time ! So, while being with you alone, he'll talk so much with you. He just finds you so interesting ! But in public or with his friends ? Not so much.

B-Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend ?)

He'd want a loyal friend, who is honest and open with him ! And he has Tails, and he wouldn't trade his little fox friend for the world !

C-Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle ? How would they do it ?)

Sonic is in between about it. He wouldn't initiate it, but wouldn't protest if you came over and hugged on him for a while. He would insist on being the big spoon.

D-Domestic (Do they wanna settle down ? Are they good at cooking and cleaning ?)

The idea of settling down kinda doesn't sit right with him. Like, Sonic loves you dearly ! But it would take a loong while for him to decide to, He's not good at cooking or cleaning-

E-Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it ?)

He wouldn't do it straight away, after all, he didn't want these fun times to end with you. Sonic would still love to be your friend ! But a romantic partner not so much. He'd do it over text, he wouldn't be able to take it if it actually upset you.

F-Fiance (How do they feel about commitment ? How quick would they want to get married ?)

Sonic, he has a tad bit of commitment issues. it would take him at least over 5-6 years to even think about getting married.

G-Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally ?

He definitely isn't all that gentle physically. Sonic plays rough. But emotionally, he'll try his best, but he isn't that good in emotional situations.

H-Hugs (Do they like hugs ? How often do they hug, and how are they ?)

He likes hugs ! He won't often start one, but he loves it when someone hugs him unexpectedly. He'll hug you back, not tightly nor softly, but just the right tightness. His hug is oddly cold though.

I-I love you (How fast do they say the L-word ?)

Immediately. He just loves you so much ! Why wouldn't he ? He just doesn't say it in public.

J-Jealousy (How jealous do they get ? What do they do when they get jealous ?)

Sonic gets jealous super easily, and when he does, it's a raging fire. He'll turn the conversation to something else, or rest his arm around on your hip.

K-Kisses (What are their kisses like ? Where do they like to kiss you ? Where do they like to be kissed ?)

Sonic kisses are deep, and full of emotion. I dare say, he is quite good at it. He loves to kiss your insecurities. He just thinks you shouldn't be insecure, he loves them ! He on the other hand likes to be kissed on the neck. It just feels nice.

L-Little ones (How are they with children ?)

Kids annoy him. He will never have kids to be honest. Too much responsibility.

M-Morning (How are mornings spent with them ?)

Sonic always sleeps in, so you just don't spend the morning together.

N-Night (How are nights spent with them ?)

Sonic loves spending long nights with you. Most of the time you two play video games together, or sometimes you two fall asleep together.

O-Open (When do they start revealing things about themselves ? Do they say everything all at once or wait and reveal things slowly ?)

He would try to wait to reveal secrets about himself, but fails miserably when you ask.

P-Patience (How easily angered are they ?)

Q-Quizzes (How much would they remember about you ? Do they forget some stuff or keep everything memorized ?)

Sonic is easily angered when things don't go his way. But, with his friends and you he tries his best to be patient.

R-Remember (What is their favorite part about the relationship ?)

He remembers (most) things ! Just don't expect him to remember the little stuff-

When Sonic first met you, it was almost love at first sight. He loved the way he felt in that moment, and would love it over again and again.

Y-Yuck (What are some things they don't like in a partner.)

S-Security (How protective are they ? How would they protect you ? How would they like to be protected ?)

He's very protective, with Eggman attacking every day it seems like, why wouldn't he worry about you ? He would appreciate it if you protected him, but he'd say he didn't need it.

T-Try (How much effort would they put into the relationship ?)

Sonic would put a little bit more than the minimum ! Like, he would take you out on dates, but only to meh burger (basically the opposite of romantic)

U-Ugly (What are some bad habits of theirs ?)

He snores REALLY loud.

V-Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks ?)

Sonic loves how he looks !! He spends like an hour a day making sure he looks the best he can be

W-Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you ?)

Not really, he's an independent person. But, he would feel like something is missing.

X-Xtra (A random headcanon)

His favorite color is purple !

If they're dishonest. For Sonic that's an immediate no.

Z-Zzz (What are their sleep habits ?)

He has very irregular sleep patterns, sometimes he goes to sleep early, sometimes he goes to sleep at 4:46AM

~

Thank you for my first alphabet request Anon ! I had fun writing Boom!Sonic !! Always feel free to request more !!!

[lavolamp]

Too late to make a blog?

Hello. In a conversation with friends I decided to start using this Tumblr blog as a means of, well, blogging. I would use some website like Wordpress, Neocities or even Blogspot, because those tend to have features that make organizing blogs by tags a little easier, but I will admit I am a bit vain and don't want to feel like I'm screaming in to a void when I could instead reach out to the remains of Tumblr's userbase post-porn. This is absolutely the best website for it at the moment. And this would also make it easier for people to reach me for whatever reason. I kind of thought of blogs as outdated, because everybody's lives have become so consolidated in to websites like Twittex and Instagram and even this one that leave little room for larger scale personal thoughts and travels. I remember the Myspace or Geocities or Blogspot days where everyone had their own cute little website, and the internet was much smaller so it was easier to find people posting things that fit your interests. Nowadays things are just too huge, so apart of me thinks blogging might be a little ridiculous. But I think there is still a use for these, because I would ultimately like to use this blog to organize my thoughts on things and document my progress on my projects, mainly so that I don't just end up bothering my friends on Discord about stuff, because I'd feel bad. Maybe one of the goals of this blog is to find out if there is a reason to blog in 2024.

I suppose I should introduce myself. I've posted a few pieces of art on this blog before, so as you could guess I'm somewhat of an artist. The medium I primarily work with are comics, because not only are they a very accessible medium to work in but I also just have a deep appreciation for the medium. I'm working on many comics at any given time, but at the moment I'm focusing down on two. A comic made for the Webtoon platform and one that I would like to be published as a book. I'm more enthused about the book than the webtoon. Maybe I'll make a post about that later. Otherwise I'm big into cinema, animated cartoons and especially video games, and one of the two things I pretty much only think about is storytelling. Whenever I am not thinking about that and the other thing, everything in my life kind of feels like a dream. So I suppose this blog will primarily be focused on storytelling, but that's just a means about talking about my opinions on art in general. Otherwise, I think people would tend to describe me as very passionate in my beliefs, which is to say when I like something I really like it, and when I hate something I suddenly transform in to one of the world's leading professional haters. And I guess I'll make you know it. I'm bad about making impulse and useless purchases and I really like chocolate. Don't ask me how many video games I have on Steam or how many tubs of chocolate ice cream I've had stacked sitting in my room at some points.

Anyway, to kick things off I'd like to talk about the last thing I did, which is beat the game Alan Wake II from Remedy games. They've done a few things like the Max Payne games and the critically acclaimed Control, but the Alan Wake series in particular holds a special place in my heart. It was one of the first "triple a" games I ever played, because at that point I had mostly played Nintendo games on GBA, DS and Wii (I played Gamecube games too, don't worry) and adventure type games on my computer. Games outside of PC classics and Nintendo games were a new frontier for me. Earlier in 2010 I got an Xbox 360 in order to play Modern Warfare 2 with the other kids at school, in which afterwards I found out that they all had PS3's instead. But at least I could play Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing with Banjo Kazooie, whom I didn't even like or even ever had played his games but his design is fun so whatever. By the way, no spoilers for Alan Wake or it's sequel here aside from me saying how I felt about the ending.

The original Alan Wake game came out in mid May of 2010. I was about 11 at the time, but I was about to turn 12 as my birthday was at the end of the month. Around when the game came out I ended up catching a lot of press footage and playthroughs showing off the game, and I was just enchanted by it. It was a game that was really nothing like I'd ever seen before. It was dark, gritty, moody, realistic, and revolved around shooting but unlike other 360 games it had this incredibly unique and eerie vibe that pulled me in, and while I didn't really understand the story very much, I thought Alan was a really funny protagonist because he just kind of came across as a dick. Kid me's mind kind of rationalized it as Sonic but he's basically just in the real world. I also thought the main mechanic of the game was also really cool. I guess it sounds too convenient to be true, but I've always loved flashlights. It's a device that's just a beam you can turn on to dispel darkness. I feel like a detective. It's fun to wave them around and point at things, I always kind of thought of them like a really cool sword. I especially love the big ones because it feels like I'm holding a cannon in my hands.

But anyway, everything about the game was just really interesting to me, and in a way it also kind of made me feel a little more adult because of the graphics and tone. So with my birthday at the end of the month, you can imagine what I asked for. In the days leading up to my birthday, I was kind of obsessed with the game and I spoiled much of it for myself. But eventually my birthday came and I finally had the game in my hands! I've still got that copy next to me as I type this. It's in far better condition than my other 360 boxes too, cause my Sonic Unleashed box is in real bad condition. Maybe it's an object of power. Anyway, I played through the game, loved it, loved the twists, scares and turns, surprisingly hilarious characters and utterly beautiful music, and how unique of a protagonist Alan was. But then, I beat the game. I won't spoil the ending, but it's the kind of ending where I'm still not sure how it's designed to make you feel. It's basically a cliffhanger, (and while there eventually was DLC that continued the story I never got around to playing it and none of it really took the story anywhere) and it left a longing in me. I wanted more. I wanted to see what happened to Alan and the people in his life. But the game didn't provide any real closure. Afterwards I scoured the internet for answers, reading other people's theories and consuming all the lore in the game that I missed, obsessively trying to get a a straight answer, any kind of meaning. I desperately wanted someone to tell me anything so I could know how to feel. Nothing else before really left me like this! You know how a lot of people, especially in the past decade enjoy watching videos that explain the lore of their favourite games, like Dark Souls or Five Night's at Freddy's? That was me with this game. But it wasn't just for the sake of consuming content, I needed closure. But I couldn't find it. I guess like Alan I was left wandering in the darkness fruitlessly searching for a way out of this headspace this stupid game got me in. Sonic had fucking closure. I was happy I had the experience, but other games had closure!

By the way this is kind of irrelevant, but in case you're wondering why my parents would let me play games like this at a young age like that, I think my dad stopped caring after I had a little argument with him in 2008 when Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out and it had a T rating but then he saw the game was fine. Or maybe he just thought I could take it, or maybe he just didn't care. He let me play No More Heroes, which, for the uninitiated, is not a child's game.

Anyway, I eventually got bored of searching for answers and my interest in the game eventually faded into the background. As I grew older I didn't forget about the game. I still listened to the music from time to time, but it definitely became a second thought, and sometimes I felt it might have been because of the ending. Sometimes though, periodically, I would revisit the game. Watch the cutscenes, look at the ending again, try to formulate a theory. It was still a game I liked, but I couldn't kick the feeling of a giant blueballing. But as you grow up, you change, and experiences you just had become a nostalgic memory. I don't think you change as much as people say you do, I think it's more like you realize things about yourself as you're able to better articulate your feelings into words. As I grew up, and now I think I almost fully realize, is that I kind of love not knowing some things. Maybe not in like a, hell yeah I love not having answers kind of thing, but I find it's utterly intoxicating. Witnessing the rise of Dark Souls and Five Nights at Freddy's in the 2010s and also being able to think about storytelling on a deeper level, I realized something that seems kind of insane to me. Alan Wake is a video game with a definitive beginning and a definitive end. At some point, the game runs out of content to show you and you will have inevitably seen and done everything. But what if I told you there was a way to keep the game going even after it's exhausted it's digital limits?

You probably know where this is going, but I realized that it wasn't the fact that Alan Wake had an ending with a ton of closure that kept it going in my mind, it was the that it left a ton of things unanswered! There are so many pieces of media I've played, or watched where it just ends, and while I enjoy them I never really paid a second thought to them afterwards. They just fade. But Alan was a light that continued to burn bright in my mind. This feeling of longing that I had after beating it, in a way that's better than just a happy ending. Other works of fiction have used this to their advantage. I don't think it's any coincidence any time David Lynch gets his hands on Twin Peaks, which Alan Wake is teetering very close on being a ripoff of sometimes, it ends on things that leave you with a billion more questions than you came in with. Sam Lake and Lynch understand the power of planting a seed in your head. Because that not only lets the work of art live far past it's expiration, but that's where the imagination also flourishes. There are so many other people who come up with theories trying to interpret these works of art, and because of this I don't think they'll ever truly die. Now, I don't think every piece of art should do this, because I will admit, most of the time it is nice to just have a neat bow placed on something. But like every device in a story, it is merely a tool that is waiting for the right time to be used. Even in stories with closure we can use this to keep things going, the possibilities are never ending. It's so exciting to think about.

But like I said, as time passes other things take precedent. Other works of art and stuff, so these things, even Alan Wake will eventually fade in to the background. The game if I recall sold well and became a cult classic through word of mouth. Even some of my normie friends know about the game. But I never really thought it would continue. Mainly because of the open ended nature of the ending and the fact it isn't an uber popular game that exists in a gaming environment where the maximum amount of money needs to be pumped in to every game in order to make the maximum amount of money back, which is why to my absolute jaw dropping, during the Game Awards 2021, a fucking Alan Wake II was announced. When the trailer first came on, I had my suspicions it might be Alan Wake II, because even in my faded memory I could still recall the layout of the main town in the game. And then he showed up, it was fucking Alan Wake. Rocking a beard and looking very conspicuously a lot more like John Wick, but still, it was him. The title dropped and I couldn't believe it. It was actually happening. Now, this was already kind of insane year for me in games. Because it just so happened not one, but THREE other games I liked a ton as a kid got sequels I thought were utterly impossible earlier that year. In the same week no less, Psychonauts 2 and No More Heroes 3 came out! And then a couple of months later, a Metroid 5! Hell, Mega Man 11 also came out in 2018. What the hell was going on? Why are all these old ass games that I thought were just made for me getting sequels? Now, of all times? I guess nostalgia plays a big part in getting these made, but it's still kinda weird. Hell, even Shadow the Hedgehog is getting his own fucking game this year. If a Portal 3 happened, I think that might just be a sign of the end times. But, regardless, because of this, I also have to wonder if, just like starting a blog in 2024, if it's just kind of too late to make sequels to these kinds of games.

Admittedly, I don't think about this topic a ton, because at heart I'm a consumer of media and much of the time I like to see things I like get continued, but the adventures of Alan Wake is a weird one. This is a game that opened me up to the idea of never getting closure, but here we are with a sequel. It could either do two things, give us closure and kill the vibe or continue not giving us answers and leave us feeling the exact same way the original game did.

Because I'll finally cut to the chase, I think Alan Wake 2 is pretty much a perfect video game. The new survival horror gameplay that is apparently just ripping off Resident Evil 2 now was great, the puzzles were great, the scares were legitimately good, the music was still amazing, the game was funnier and had even more quirky characters and moments than the first one, and the story was very well thought out! I would recommend it instantly. Despite all the differences from the original game in gameplay, tone and even featuring a new protagonist, it still felt like a perfect followup. But I beat the game, got to the ending...and to what I suppose is not justified shock, I felt exactly the same completing Alan Wake 2 as I did completing Alan Wake 1 all those years ago. I feel a longing. Maybe not as painful, but it's still there. But for the record, I think this is a really cool thing, I think that just proves Sam Lake and the team at Remedy haven't lost it, that they can make a game that feels just like the original. But....is that even a good thing? It makes me feel good, on some kind of dopamine level to think that they haven't lost it, but do we actually want those exact same vibes? Is it healthy? Playing the game, I was ready for something different, something new, but instead I kind of just got exactly what I paid for...I got more Alan Wake. Like, you feel me, right? It's intoxicating to have a perfect recreation of those same feelings, but I'm also really conflicted here. From a consumer point of view, it's great that we just got more of what we like. And in a lot of cases, this is what a "good" sequel is considered to be. But here's my thing about that; I've never felt like that is sustainable. Assume a franchise keeps going forever with the same vibes, eventually it's just going to get stuck in it's own tropes and formulas and themes. You need to introduce new elements to the story to keep things exciting, I think that's just how it is. Some people might tell you that it's possible to do something new with a franchise while sticking to all the same things, but I think that's total bullshit.

Eventually, you will hit a wall where there isn't a new topic to be explored without introducing some kind of tonal shift or alien plot element. I think that's just how stories fundamentally work. Everything is a runner that eventually runs out of track to run when it reaches the end. Why do you think so many sequels to things end up so repetitious? I think many creatives at heart are aware of this, and in today's environment of nostalgia and IP centric mania we have people attempting to do new things with certain franchises, but sometimes that just ends up pissing old head consumers of those things off! But we're not allowed to make anything new so what else are we to do?? Everything these days like fucking Star Wars or Batman needs to be beholden to it's own internal logic and rules and established characters and themes to work, but if you don't do anything new it's just not interesting! But if you be different you'll just make people mad! It pleases nobody! Hell, an example is Psychonauts 2. I've seen several people complain about Psychonauts 2 (one of my all time favourite games for the record) because of the tonal shifts from the first game (granted, a few other things too, like not focusing on the previous game's characters more, but that's also another thing that contributes to my argument). It's an incredible game that I believe is a true work of art, but would it have just been better if it were a new IP rather than a sequel? Maybe so. I think it manages to build upon the established lore, themes and rules of the first game magnificently while still retaining the same twisted sense of humor, but for some people, they just wanted a goofy cartoon game with interesting looking levels and instead got a careful examination of several individual's deeply held personal trauma. It's just a like, a different thing!

We don't need new IPs...no, new worlds, NOT because of new characters, or even new storylines. We need them because we need new rules for stories to function under. We need them in order to elicit new, different feelings in us.

I'm conflicted. I think having the same vibes as the original thing is truly intoxicating, but I worry that it's not healthy. I worry that this definition of a "good" sequel just creates a negative trend where we just can't allow anything new to be done with established franchises. If we will just hit a point where any change is instantly disagreeable on the basis of not fitting some perceived version of the original product. Like, it gets even more insane when everyone just has their own version of something in their head, it all depends on taste. I could probably go on about what I think makes a sensible evolution of something, or if we should even respect the notion of evolution in favor of a new creation, but this post is already excessively long so I think the easiest way to put it is that I think we just need a healthy balance of the old and the new In both established series and new series, and in what the big slop corporations feed us. I look forward to the day this trend of sequels pass and companies seek out new stuff again. Despite my complicated feelings on Alan Wake 2, I think it is almost an exception to this, because I feel it is a true work of art that came from a place of passion and hard work. It thoughtfully takes elements from the original game and expands upon them in ways that are fresh and interesting while also introducing crazy new elements that make it feel fresh! But I guess this sentiment could also vary from person to person depending on what the work of art is.

The point is, Play Alan Wake and Alan Wake 2!

and uhh, Alan Wake's American Nightmare. You can play it, I think it's cool too. Anyway, as a reward for getting to the end of this post, here's an old sketch of the main character from the comic book I'm working on meeting Alan Wake. Your reward is more reading.

[blazehedgehog]

What are your favorite Sonic the Hedgehog characters (all media included) ? Are there any "forgotten" characters that you would like to see again in the main series?

I realize this is kind of a cop out answer but really... like, most of them are my favorites? Like it's hard for me to sit here and think of one specific character that is my favorite above all else. Or even characters, really.

Even sitting here and trying to think of characters I don't like, most of them have been used somewhere that I like them. Like, Charmy can be annoying, but when they lean in to that, and play up the fact he's this noisy little kid that everybody else hates, too, that can be fun in the right doses.

Or the Babylon Rogues, right. Jet was just Jason Griffith doing a more nasally version of his Sonic voice and the other two (Wave and Storm) were just cookie cutter doronjo-style villains.

But then the Babylon Rogues show up in IDW Sonic and there's this sort of winking "We know these guys are kind of losers, but in a way that it's part of their charm."

And that's perfect.

Cream, too, used to be annoying, for her squeaky voice and her aggressively sugary personality. But the way she was used towards the end of the Archie comics and how she's been used in IDW has been perfectly fine.

The only ones I unequivocally don't want back are the Deadly Six. I've talked about it before, but they've been pretty one-dimensional even in the comics. "They're just mean monsters" isn't much of a motivation and so far they haven't explored anything beyond that. Zavok is slightly interesting insofar as they've portrayed him as kind of a "cunning warlord" sort of character, but that's not enough to save the rest of the group.

If I could bring one character back... assuming it was just one character, the first one to jump to mind was Breezie from the Archie comics.

Here was a character plucked from the AoStH TV show and given a MASSIVE overhaul. In AoStH she was this weird looking Jessica Rabbit sort of lady that was supposed to trick Sonic with her good looks (since she was secretly working for Robotnik, as I recall).

The Archie comics redesigned her in to an insanely shrewd businesswoman who ran a media empire spanning all forms of entertainment. She was incredibly interesting because you never knew where her allegiances were -- she seemed to play all sides, as long as it was good for her bottom line. Never really good, never really evil, but very rich and powerful just the same, and a big showman. A true wildcard in the dynamics of that world.

If I could bring back multiple characters, I'd bring back back the five core SatAM Freedom Fighters (Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor, Uncle Chuck), full stop, no notes.

[soothingmelody]

Video Essays, Jealousy, Melancholy and Lies

Have you ever found yourself living a lie?

This question has been stuck in my head ever since I started therapy earlier this year. And I don't mean it in some grand way of being a kind of double agent or stringing an elaborate web of lies to trick your childhood friend into playing sudoku to save your past self from burning down in an incinerator, but... Something much more mundane. 

I guess I should start from the beginning, cause otherwise the title of this post won't make too much sense. 

It is interesting how much we can experience through communication. Be it a Discord message, a Tumblr blog post like this, a tweet or a meticulously put together video essay, finding out about other people's experiences has been one of my favorite things throughout my life. I find people endlessly fascinating. I love it when people talk about their lives and their life experiences, so to me, the long winded, sort of pretentious format of the video essay is right up my alley. 

So, this morning, while enjoying a bowl of instant-ramen with some haphazardly cut green onions and a creamy eggy broth, I was watching this one video essay that one of my good friends had recommended to me the night before. Said video essay was about the appeal of Elfen Leid and the video itself, I found quite entertaining and very interesting. But, it did leave me feeling a tinge melancholic and I realized that this is far from the only video essay that has had that sort of effect on me. 

Growing up in Ukraine, a land ravaged by the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of uncontrolled capitalism, where you could easily find syringes behind a children's playground and your average neighborhood screamed "Half-Life 2 Level", I was a pretty quiet kid, despite my extremely extroverted nature. I do think a lot of these issues start here, which is why I wanted to mention this. I was bullied from a pretty young age, disregarded by people I found important to me and disregarded by people I called friends. To me, it was always a feeling of being not "cool enough". I wasn't into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I wasn't into Transformers, being "girly" for a "boy" such as myself was seen as disgusting, was met with slurs and even more bullying. And in this environment, I was just a quiet kid, with a big heart, who'd sit at the back of the class and draw his funny Sonic the Hedgehog comics.

All of this is to say that I grew up in a pretty cynical place, where cringe culture was way more commonplace and I could only find respite in the internet, mainly the russian Sonic forums of the era, where plenty of judgemental people remained still. That cynicism has really seeped through me and followed me through so much of my life. There were so many times when I would do something that felt natural to me, that didn’t hurt anyone and I would be shut down even by people I trusted the most and I would once again retreat into my own shell. 

This constant environment led me to not really participate in many subcultures actively in fear of being seen as weird and cringy, this constant environment led me to not stand out to much, to not take opportunities that would’ve led me to a more interesting life and left me with barely any skills to express myself, besides music or art. It made me afraid of my own queerness that I had to come to terms with and understand for many many years, dealing with my own toxic masculinity, finding out that I was not really straight or that I am not even truly a “man”.

And now looking back, when I am more mature and have changed and grown so much, that I finally managed to open myself up somewhat and “be cringe and free”, honestly, there is a strong melancholy there. There’s a regret. I wish I’ve done so much over my teens that I sadly cannot turn back anymore. To please those people that were holding me back, I gave up so much. That I am having my self indulgent phase when I am in my early 20s and not my early 10s. And I am still a work in progress, I have no idea if I am still living some sort of lie, cause that is stuff you admit to yourself down the road and figure out with hindsight. But I am happier today. But, for how sad this all may sound, I wanted to tell you, the reader, that it is never really too late to change and open up a bit.

It is however interesting, that even with all of this said and this regret that I do bear, I consider that my experience was still rather valuable. I met many people, I developed in my own way and now I love who I am. Maybe that regret, a desire for a better teenage life is yet just another lie, me trying to conform. But, that will be for future me to decide in hindsight. 

If you relate to anything I’ve said in this little self indulgent post, please remember, that no matter what, if you are not hurting anyone, you should be free to do whatever you want and nobody has the right to take that away from you. If they laugh, let them, you are the master of your own life, so go and be cringe. Go buy that anime figurine. Go write poetry. Go ask out someone you like. Do something that will make you happy today and maybe you won’t be stuck writing long Tumblr posts. 

Stop living a lie. Be yourself.

[emeraldtied]

                                                              1.19.3234                                                                                                                                  Location ¦ Green Hill

                                                                 -------

“Has he been like this all day?” 

It was concern, disbelief and just a bit of incredulously that marked Max’s voice. Even though he, Mach and Mina were standing in the latter’s kitchen they were all staring into the living room. Namely to where their fourth member was lying on the couch, on his back with a small pink blanket over his face. The very image of gloom, in other words. The fact he had been like that for hours only made it more of a scene.

The mongoose sighed, a candid sadness in her eyes coupled with an air of uncertainty. “Yes, and it's kinda heartbreaking. I don't know what to do. I sort of feel bad...”

There was absolutely no sign that the hedgehog could hear them, though it didn’t matter. The reason for the hero’s mood was obvious, given that morning had been the first day of preschool for Lyra. And it hadn’t exactly gone smoothly, which was to be expected. It was just one more reason Mina was certain it was a good idea. Their daughterly sorely needed to be around others her own age, and hopefully it would help the young hybrid’s fear of strangers. 

It hadn’t been easy, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the couple had said their farewells in due time and left. Which was right around the time the mongoose noticed her husband’s shift in mood. 

“It'll just take some time to adjust to things. I wouldn't worry about it too much,” Mach offered, but paused soon after as he gave a shrug. “I mean, I assume. I don't have kids so I don't know.’

“I mean Sharps was pretty bad too when his kids came around, remember? We couldn't get him to work for more than an hour before he was callin’ it quits and trying to get back to them.” Max added, and the other two nodded in agreement. That had been an interesting time for the band and, had they thought more about it, it was the perfect catalyst for the chicken leaving just a few years later. Something they had never held ill will towards.

Especially now with the mongoose and hedgehog being parents themselves. In fact, the five of them still kept in touch regularly. Still bonded over their music and their love of the art. 

“It is a big change, you have to admit that much,” Max would continue a moment later, a reflective look given to the mongoose. “How are you doing with it?”

“I'm…fine,” it wasn’t all that convincing but Mina did present a smile. “I miss her, but I know it's for the best. Plus I do want to get back into the swing of things but…”

A look at her husband finished that sentence. It just wasn't the same without the hedgehog and she had just opened her mouth to ask their bandmates what they should do when Mach picked up one of the oranges on the middle of the counter from the couple’s fruit bowl.

…and threw it at the hedgehog.

It hit him right in the stomach and before Mina or Max could scold the rabbit the hero was already sitting up. He looked half stunned and half bewildered as he stared at the group with narrowed eyes. To which the pink rabbit just jammed his hands onto his hips. He wasn’t taking the subtle approach anymore. 

“Dude, you're bumming everyone out. Cheer up. You know Lyra'd be sad if she saw you like this.” Mach’s tone was curt, and before Sonic could open his mouth to protest, or maybe question why airborne fruit had been the other’s go-to, he persisted. “She’s out there making new friends, probably eating some questionable things and learning more than you ever did in school. And the second you two go pick her up she’s going to forget all 'bout that and be all over you. Preschool’s not going to change that you’re her dad, or that she loves you. Hell would freeze over before that ever happened.”

Whatever the hedgehog was going to say seemed to wilt as he blinked, and they could all see gears turning in that head of his. For a moment Mina thought that it couldn't be that easy; but when her partner looked uncertainly in her direction she couldn't help but give an encouraging smile. It wasn't as if she could deny what Mach said, it was all true, and a part of the hedgehog clearly thought the same as he frowned, though more in embarrassment than anything else. 

Not that his bandmates held it against him, in fact the rabbit just smiled as the hedgehog finally got up and not so subtly threw the orange back at them. It was neatly caught, right before Mach chuckled and made a gesture with his hand.

“Now get over here so we can do the only thing we’re good at.”

The hedgehog snorted before doing just that, but not without glaring at the rabbit first. “You really need t’ work on your speeches.”

“Worked, didn’t it?”

[smoreal]

Doc Drop - The one where sonic amy and tails are about to watch the Mario movie bc it’s all I can think about :)

Sonic leans back in his seat, cradling the bag of popcorn in the crook of his arm and drinking noisily from the Mario cup in his hand.

“Honestly, you’d think he’d have created the first video game adaptation with the amount of people in line out there.” He mutters around the straw in his mouth.

Amy gives him a warning love tap on the shoulder, glaring at him. “Sonic! That’s no way to show support for a friend!”

Sonic grins sheepishly. “Aw, c’mon, Ames, I was only kidding!”

She narrows her eyes and takes some of the popcorn from his bucket. “Sonic T. Hedgehog,” She warns, wagging a finger at him, “we are going to show support for our friends and enjoy the movie.”

Sonic gives a relenting shake of his head right as Tails shuffles in front of them, crossing to get to his seat. He’s donning a Luigi suit, much to Sonic’s earlier conflict. Bright, giddy, blue eyes look onto Sonic in excitement only to pout and level him with a frown.

Oh boy, what now?

“Sonic, where’s your hat?”

Chaos.

“Tails, I never agreed to—”

“Found it!” Amy chirps, pulling the infamous red hat seemingly from out of nowhere. “Here you go, Sonic.”

He gives her a deadpanned look, glances at Tails’s pleading expression, and sighs. He accepts the hat with a mumbled thanks and sets it on his head, relenting again to appease his best buddy.

Ecstatic, Tails settles into his seat, adjusting the denim straps of his overalls with a big smile on his face and shakes a box of Reese’s, silently offering some to Sonic. “I’ve heard they’ve got a ton of references to the games and even the consoles! I wanna see if I can manage to find them all the first watch!”

Sonic accepts the Reece’s, munching on them quietly and raising his brows in mild interest. He’d also heard about the many nods to the classics and was sort of curious to see how often they’d fit something in.

Most of his curiosity stemmed from seeing whether watching this was going to be worth the time; sitting down for so long watching his (technically) oldest rival have all the fun onscreen wasn’t how he imagined a fun night to go.

“Oh! Did you hear there are post credit scenes?” Amy pipes up, flapping her hands in Tails direction, nearly whacking Sonic on the nose. He smirks and sits up, providing her more space. “I think they said there was two, hang on—” She turns back into her seat, pulls out her phone and types with a speed rivaling his own.

“Ooh, a post credit scene!” Tails says, before taking a second to finish the reeces in his mouth. “I wonder if it’ll tease the next movie like yours did, Sonic!”

Sonic huffs, snickering at the possibility. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was better than mine. Doesn’t take much to beat that ‘Shadow Reveal.’”

Amy elbows him and he breaks out into an apologetic laugh. “Right, right! Supportive, got it!”

“Someone sounds a little threatened.” Tails sings, grinning mischievously and taking his turn to elbow at Sonic.

“Oh, please,” Sonic says, swatting his elbow away without heat. “As if the old man could outsell me. I’ve got two movies already!” He defends, realizing a moment too late that he just played into his little brother’s hands.

Tails laughs and takes a sip from his own (Mario Kids Snack Pack) cup. “You’d be surprised! They’re predicting that it’ll be the biggest opening for a game adaptation.”

“Who’s ‘they’?” Sonic asks confounded and frowning at the big screen that is now littered with… ducks… Okay.

“The movie analysts or critics or something.” Amy says rolling her eyes. She reaches over Sonic again, this time to enthusiastically share the contents of her screen to Tails. Sonic scoots into the corner so his seat to get a peek as well. “Look! TWO credit scenes AND they have some of the user scores out now!”

Tails gasps behind a hand. “I knew the user scores would be higher, but not by THIS much!”

Sonic grins, scrutinizing the list of red and yellow reviews. “What, the critics said it was bad or something?” He scrolls to the top, catches the words ‘disappointment’ and ‘empty,’ and chuckles.

Amy gives him a solemn nod and turns her phone on silent. “I read through a few of the articles and they were kind of harsh on it. Said that it was too fast paced and unoriginal.”

“Huh.” He says, trying to appear neutral, but the shit-eating grin seeps through and before he knows it he’s full on grinning. “Fast is not how I’d describe Mario.”

Tails shakes his head good-naturedly. “I’ve watched a few non-spoiler reviews and they all said that the movie’s best enjoyed if you know the games. I’m guessing the plot is simple and it’s more focused on action, and maybe a little character.”

“Hah, now we’re talking.” Sonic says, adjusting in his seat and watching the previews with more earnest. “I like a good action movie.”

[mama-qwerty]

This piqued my interest since the first movie (but amplified when the second movie came out). How would the Wachowski boys react to Tom and Maddie having a child/baby of their own? Or in this case, a new sibling?

I've been giving this some thought all morning. I'll address the different stages, because I think the boys would react differently depending on where in the pregnancy/baby thing it is.

And we'll say the baby's a girl, simply because it's fun to think about them having a baby sister.

PREGNANCY

There's general shock, as Tom and Maddie never expressed any desire to have a biological kid. But whoops, sometimes things happen and now there's a bun in the oven.

Knuckles becomes even more protective of Maddie now that she's with child. He is never far from her, especially when she gets closer to birth as she's HUGE and has a hard time moving well. She tries to get him more involved in things, like helping pick a name or feeling her belly move, but he staunchly refuses. He doesn't give much thought to the child within her, his focus is entirely on her well-being and safety.

Sonic is dealing with some internal conflict. He'd already gone through some jealousy/feelings of being forgotten when Knux and Tails joined the family. Now there's gonna be another kid? And one that's actually blood related to his parents? Does that mean they won't care about him as much? It's hard and complicated and painful to think about. Tom and Maddie eventually pull him aside for an afternoon out and explain that no matter how many kids come into the family, he will always have a special place in their hearts as their first. They love him, always and completely. That seems to help, and Sonic becomes a little more excited, especially when the baby starts to kick. He loves to feel the movement in his mother's belly.

Tails looks at the pregnancy more from a scientific eye, and loves to tell Maddie how big the baby is, what organs and such are developing, ensuring she has enough to eat and drink, etc. He studies up on how to have the absolute healthiest baby ever. Tom and Maddie think it's because he is subconsciously worried the baby might be born "different" like him, and he doesn't want the little one to suffer from the taunts and abuse he suffered when he was growing up. Maddie takes him to her ultrasound appointments to show him that the baby's healthy and fine. (And a girl!) He tries to build his own ultrasound machine at home, but Tom puts a stop to that pretty quick. He also loves to feel the baby move in her belly.

BABY - 0-6 MONTHS

After the baby comes, Knuckles' protective instincts flare dramatically. He's never far from either Maddie or the baby in the early days (when they aren't far from each other), but if he had to pick one or the other, he'll choose the baby. He stands nearby, arms crossed, ever watchful for any who may want to harm her. He is her protector, and will keep her safe.

In the very early days, when she co-sleeps with Tom and Maddie, Knuckles sits outside their bedroom door at night. When she moves to her own crib in her room, he sits cross-legged on the floor next to it. He soothes her back to sleep when he can, and bring her to Maddie when he can't.

Her cries have more of an affect on him than either of his brothers. Cries mean pain, danger, or fear. He'll sprint to her, inspecting the room for anything out of the ordinary, before lifting her into his arms and purring softly against her ear. The sound and vibration usually soothes her, at least somewhat, until he can bring her to Maddie for feeding or changing.

He is the warrior in their little clan, and he will do anything necessary to keep all members safe. Especially his baby sister.

Sonic isn't as enamored with babies. They're loud and smelly and don't do anything. They just eat and barf and poop. And cry. Oh man, they make so much noise for their size. And every little thing is so amazing. Oh the baby rolled over! Big deal. He once spindashed into a freaking tank. No one oooed and aawwed over that.

Still . . . she could be cute. Maddie would dress her in cute little outfits (before she puked on it, or had a diaper blowout that required another bath) and she had a giggle that was like music--Sonic couldn't help but smile.

Speaking of, Sonic was sure that he had seen her very first smile. And it was at him. Tom said it was probably gas, but knowing him, he was just jealous that his little girl smiled at her big brother before her dad.

So . . . maybe having a baby sister wasn't all bad. If only she'd stop drooling on everything.

Tails wasn't sure about the baby at first. Sure, the pregnancy was exciting, but . . . he's not the baby of the family anymore. He'd gotten used to being the youngest--and all the perks that went along with it--and now that she was here, he wasn't anymore.

Oh.

He wasn't the youngest anymore. He was a big brother. A big brother. The thought almost made him scream in excitement. He wasn't the baby because now there actually was baby! That meant he wouldn't be treated like a baby anymore, either!

He set his sights on being a good big brother. He upgraded the baby monitors and gave everyone watches to help keep an eye on her. (And allow Knuckles to relax a bit so he didn't feel like he needed to be with her 24/7.) He rigged up a swing mechanism under her crib that was sound activated, and would softly rock her back to sleep if she fussed. He tried to make a mind-activated stroller so she could control her own movements but that had been shot down pretty quickly by his parents. He'd tried a prototype on Sonic, and there's only been one small mishap involving stairs. He could have gotten it figured out if given some more time.

All in all, he liked having a baby sister.

BABY/TODDLER - 6 MONTHS AND UP

Knuckles didn't have other puggles around when he was younger, but he was sure, absolutely positive, they weren't as difficult to watch as this kid.

Once his sister learned to crawl, all bets were off. She was into everything, and you couldn't turn your back on her for two seconds. She'd be into Ozzy's food bowl, upturning his water, pulling on the curtains, opening cabinets, pushing over picture frames, climbing bookcases . . .

He felt he'd aged ten years in the amount of starts she'd given his heart. The girl had no self-preservation instincts. NONE. She nearly pulled the TV on top of herself, yanked on electrical cords, and actually did succeed in bonking herself in the head with an umbrella she had somehow pull down on herself. Her cries after that had brought all her brothers running, and he had cursed himself for not finding her sooner. Mother had said it was fine, she was fine, kids would just get into trouble, but it didn't ease his guilt.

He pursuaded Maddie to buy one of those backpack leashes when his sister turned one. She was walking by this time, and tried her damnedest to keep up with Sonic. The hedgehog, for his part, thought it was hilarious, and encouraged her. Something Knuckles absolutely despised. How could he keep her safe if her own brother was enticing her to misbehave?

When she turned two, Knuckles took it upon himself to teach her about the world around her. Specifically, how to identify danger and stay safe. Taught her about the plants and nature. To respect the natural world, and everything around you. Maddie would always smile when she saw her oldest and youngest children in the backyard, leaned down to watch a butterfly on a flower, or tending to the little garden Knuckles liked to plant.

Knuckles was an attentive, patient, protective, and loving oldest brother. His sister still liked to poke at him sometimes, but their relationship was strong.

Sonic enjoyed his sister more once she got bigger and actually, you know, starting actually doing stuff. He was quite impressed with how fast she was when she started becoming mobile, and the frustration it gave Knuckles was icing on the cake. Now this kid was getting interesting!

He also thought the 'terrible twos' where freaking hilarious. Watching his parents struggle with this willful kid who was too young to listen to reason or any of their little 'rowboat talks' (as they'd come to be called, whether a rowboat was present or not) always made him snicker. Tom and Maddie may have been great parents to him and his brothers, but they'd never experienced an actual baby before. This was all new territory for them, and it was kind of funny to watch them try their usual tricks and fail.

For his part, Sonic tried to step up a bit as big brother. Knuckles was still firmly stuck in the position of 'protector' so Sonic adopted the role of instigator. (In a good way.) He'd encourage his sister to try different things, push herself a little more, keep trying something she'd been having trouble with. He'd actually taught her to crawl, and would have races with her across the living room floor on his hands and knees. She'd laugh and laugh as he fell behind, then speed past her, then 'accidentally' bump into her and fall over. She'd crawl to him and climb on his belly, running her hands over his fur. It was a game they shared and he loved it.

He loved her. This little ball of drool was finally turning into a real person.

Tails absolutely loved his role as big brother, especially once his younger sister started interacting with the world. He took it upon himself as her 'teacher' and would play games to introduce colors and numbers and letters to her as soon as he thought she could understand them. By her first birthday she had a few words and knew most of her colors.

He'd take her flying--just short distances, barely off the ground--starting when she was one and a half. She loved it. The two would spend hours together, brushing through his fur, putting bows in his tail, and just snuggling up in the soft fluff. He was taller by this time, and could pick her up and carry her in much the same way the others had carried him not long ago. When she was tired, he'd do just that, and bring his tails around to curl around her, enveloping her in warmth and softness.

It was nice to be a big brother. It was even better to be her big brother.

[taki118]

Complaints with Sonic Prime

Overall I’d say it was a fun run with a gimmicky premise (par for the course with Sonic though) but I did have some issues with characterization and roles in the alternate worlds slight spoilers so i’m gonna go over it.

First was the background characters this is the most understandable have unique rigs takes time and money I know however its the presence of Big that makes it odd. Like i like Big but it just kept striking me as weird that aside from him and I guess Shadow there are no other recurring characters. I understand wanting to keep the cast small however the inclusion of big in this role just made me wonder over and over “Why big?” “Why aren’t we seeing other characters? like Cream, the Chaotix, Mighty, etc.” But it’s not that big a deal something odd I noticed.

Second and more importantly was the characterization and not surprisingly its Amy and Rouge I adore these characters and I have since I was a kid playing the adventure series. 

- For Amy it seems they took some cues from Boom making her crush on Sonic more hidden I think? He says he thinks she likes him at one point. Now see here’s my thinking I don’t think Amy’s crush on Sonic and her expressing that was ever really an issue it was how the writers often leaned on it as her only trait. I feel making her have a “secret” crush on Sonic is and overcorrection. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a character having a crush on another and expressing it, its just that it can’t be ALL the character does. Another is how they’ve mellowed her out more I can’t be fully sure till I see more of like base Amy but again her outbursts weren’t the problem it was leaning on them. 

- I had concern from the trailers about Rouge as it appeared she was in the main cast but the thing about her is she works best as a side character. Rouge is a morally grey character and is at her best when you don’t really know what she’s up to, she does what she thinks is right and that isn’t always what the heroes think is right. So having her in the main cast made me worry and not just cause Team Dark owns my heart. I was a little relieved when it appeared like her interests just aligned with theirs and got caught up in the chaos however then there’s the implication that she hangs out with Sonic’s group regularly which is odd to me then there’s the roles she takes in the Alternate worlds of which she seemed to get the worst of.

So the roles the characters took in alternate worlds often didn’t make sense to me and I don’t know if that was the point or not, like an attempt to keep fans on their toes by going very against type or character but it didn’t sit well with me. 

- Rusty Rose: The enforcer who was robotised due to wanting to survive and being made into a a weapon, I just don’t understand why it was Amy? I mean I guess they wanted the trope of the least expected or sweetest becomes deadlist but the backstory more fits Rouge. From her self serving nature to formerly working with Eggman it makes more sense for Rouge to be in this role than Amy. In fact their roles should have been switched she should be leading a resistance with Knuckles, a pair of characters who don’t often get to play off each other. (I have a sneaking suspicion that someone in the writers room is a big Rouge x Knux shipper as these alternate version are constantly working together) 

- The Monster: The frightening protector of a resource who refuses to listen to others and self isolates, you describe that to someone and you go “Oh thats Knuckles!” Cause like it is the entire storyline would work better for Knuckles than Amy whom they have added an new environmental angle to but even then it still would work better for Knuckles. 

- Capt. Dread: A self serving pirate willing to anything to get their prized treasure and throws others under the bus to do it......HOW WAS THIS NOT ROUGE!?!?! Like how was the jewel thief not the pirate captain????? I get the idea of Knuckles stubbornly sticking with things being his fault but again it would have worked better and been more inline with his character.

My final issue is why is Blaze not here? Like I thought this when viewing the first trailer for both Rouge being in the main group and alternate realities being used. Alternate realities is her whole shtick and I questioned it even more when Shadow showed up and he just felt very forced in almost like it was a mandate he be in this which I get Shadow is more popular than Blaze but he’s also been around longer. I just feel like Blaze would work better in the narrative than either Rouge or Shadow and it’s just kinda weird.

Anyway I know this is just my personal preference but I wanted to voice it overall the series isn’t bad but I just think these are missteps.  

[true-blue-sonic]

HI HI BLUE!!! Suddenly a had the thought "Hm, Gold never went in a amusement park before because there's no amusement parks in Onyx City... How would she react if Silver take her to one?"

And so I started to develop a hypothetical scenario where Silver asks to Sonic, Espio, Tails and co. to help him to present the place and concept to Gold, but it ends in be just him excitedly introducing every part of the park to Gold while she pays attention to every detail with tremendous curiosity, meanwhile, in the background, Espio all melted butterheart stares his boyfriend passing the teachings to his sister, and Sonic, Amy, Tails and whoever else stares proudly how much their boy grew and is now the teacher...

I don't know if it was well explained, I just know I had to share it with someone

Gooooood morning ^-^ ^-^ Awwww, Gold in the amusement part... Actually, that would be hilarious XD This girl has never been to any before (maybe when she was a little kid in her own dimension but that’s way too long ago for her to recall), so to suddenly be thrusted into all the colours and music and crowdedness will be a big shock for her... let alone how wild some of the attractions can get! The group probably starts easy with hoisting her onto a pretty horse on the carousel along with Silver and Tails, and she can deal with that just fine, but then Sonic comes in and drags the whole lot over to the most epic and tallest and speediest rollercoaster the park has to offer...

They’ll all be sitting on a bench for like an hour after until Gold’s legs have stopped shaking, haha. After that it is decided to split up according to everyone’s interests and abilities to deal with hectic rides!

Espio of course is tagging along with Silver and Gold, just keeping a bit to the background and letting Silv explain all the things and customs to his big sis. That of course gives Es plenty of opportunity to marvel from the shadows :3 I think overall everyone has a fun day, and Gold decides she would love to go again and try out some more things💕 (as long as she is kept out of anything too nausea-inducing, lol) And everyone is happy to also see Silver just finally relax a bit and truly allow himself to have fun! Both him and Gold deserve it🍀

[originalwinnercheesecake]

First Impressions and predictions based on the coven Leaders

After a full first season their fame adorning the banners and walls, who they are being hailed, yet they themselves being kept in the shadows we now get first looks (and throughout 2a will meet) the emperors top dogs: The coven leaders. I will not lie as a group... these guys dissappoint me. Making the majority of them very human in appearance for me is a big no. Compare this group to the many colorful and fantastical creatures that are shown teaching at hexside and the hexside teachers are far more creative, unique, and fun. Maybe the artists decided to make the coven leaders look more like normal people so the audience would have an easier time understanding their expressions and body language. Maybe the more humanoid whitches are a higher class and have a easier time climbing higher than the more beast and demon like residence.? We will have to wait and see. 

Seperate this group into individuals (like how we will hopefully meet them) and most of them become far more interesting, So below lets take a look at each coven leader individually, where the artists may have taken inspriation, and what  What kind of characters they could maybe turn out to be.

The Beast keeping coven Leader: One of the only two that are not humanoids. What type of animal is he? At first I was sure he was a hedgehog, but maybe he could also be like a chipmunk or a squirrel. I get the feeling he might be partially inspired by Sonic from Sega. I was really into Sonic back in middle school. I liked the cartoons and read through the archie’s old comic series. But I kinda out grew him since then. I know from helping to take care of kids though that he is still popular with the younger generation. That’s kinda how I thin the Beast Keeping Coven leader will be: less interesting for older viewers, but a real fun charcter for kids.

The Healing coven leader: Now this guy looks like fun villain all around. Is some kind of witch docotor? a Dark Priest? The size the purple Grin, he looks like the phantom boss from those horror films where you get trapped in nightmares. Tell me he has scary theme song music and talks in a very high pitched voice. I’ve heard some people wonder if he could be Selena (oracle girl from hexside)’s dad. I don’t thinks so, the macaroni crescent shape n his head looks more like a fancy cowl than part of his actual head. Also him having a daughter in Luz’s class could be used as a reason for him to change sides, I want this guy to stay as a villian/antagonist. We all know that with this size group some will stay with the emperor and some will defect to Luz’s side (possibility a couple will die, we haven’t seen yet just how dark Dana is willing to go). Personally my view with redemption arcs and if a character “deserves them” is it depends on what it will do for the story/character afterwards? IF redeeming them opens more doors for the characters and directions the story can take, do it. IF it closes doors leave them as they are. I absolutely hate when clever and well written bad guys get “redeemed” in to boring, plot useless, weebs. The only reason I could see having this guy change sides is for him to “cure” Eda and Lilith’s curse, and I would much rather see the two of them gain control over their forms than be “cured” of them.

The Illusion coven leader: Another fun looking antagonist. My third favorite of these nine. If the healer guy is horror movie based. This guy is Disney based all around. Looks like one of those Vegas suave showmen styled character. Love it. I guarantee you he does not actually look that young or slicked back, but is using illusion magic to make himself more pretty. Not sure if he will stay with the emperor or not. Illusion is Gus’s track and I could see Dana having the leaders of Luz’s friends tracks be the ones to stand by them. If so I am fine with that (in the case of the abomination leader I will beg for it). Gaining the respect of someone as high up as a coven leader could be really great for Gus’s character. Just as long as I get plenty of laughs from Gus and this guy both along the way.

The Potion coven leader: My second favorite and in my opinion the most creative idea of the whole bunch. A mosquito that works in potions! Does he suck them up with his nose and carry them in.. whatever it is mosquitos store blood in. Also he looks angry. Like everyone else is either amused or board. This guy is fed up and ready to do something about it. Not sure if it is the Emperor, the other leaders, or the owl gang he is mad at, but it should be a worthwhile show down.

The Abomination coven leader: Yes this is my favorite design. Yes it is because he is such a beautiful man. Would never have expected someone who creates mucks (the pokemon) with legs would be so fine. Its more than that though. He looks the most kind. Their is no malice or guise in his smile and his green eyes are bright and relaxed. I wondered what the purpose of the Abomination track was and why it had “more opportunity” all last season. Well slight spoilers if you haven’t seen episode 2x02 it is the industrialist field. When you learn about Industrialization usually the idea is that it is done to help the human race reach its full potential, and it is up to each individual to decide what to do with that potential. Whether you call that the passion of a creative mind or the carelessness of a fool would also be up to you. But I really don’t want this guy to be all bad. If for no other reason that more spoilers for episode 2 * with the interest/caution the emperor is showing the blights I expect this guy to show up to their house, probably meet Amity, and we really do not need another not so nice adult in her life. She has had enough.

The Oracle coven leader: What is this? He’s got nails/caws at the ends of dread thingys like Kikimore, so is this her father? Does he have anything to do with her being in the Emporor’s coven? But this is my least favorite. Like what was the inspiration behind this guy? With so many legendary oracles in mythology and we get this guy who mostly looks saggy, washed out, tierd, and just Blah. Hope thier is more to him, but here is one who I am not holding my breath for an episode on.

The Plant coven leader: based on her banner I was expecting something like the Swamp Giant from ALTA. Instead they went in the direction of a very traditional witch desgine: An old women with a wrinkled face and really messy hair, who probably lives alone in the woods, with maybe the exception of a cat, and dances around a fire at night. Okay. She is definitely going to become an ally of the owl gang. This is the only female of the group,and it is neither in Dana’s message nor would it be popular with her target audience to make a villain or even an antagonist out of a women who managed to climb the later into a male dominated success level. I am actually looking forward to seeing her, because it will probably be in a Willow based episode, and after 2x02 (which I personally feel should not have been a luminaty episode but rather a Willow and Amity one finishing up their reconciliation arc), Willow deserves an episode with potential centered around her. An episode where she goes against the Plant track Leader would be that. This witches Grin isn’t exactly friendly, but its more mischievous than wicked. She gives off vibes as one of those people who like to test the mains, and if you pass her tests than you earn her respect. I have no doubt Willow could win at her little games, and doing so would be a huge boost the confidence she has spent the show building.

The Construction coven leader: Oh joy here’s the other one I am unimpressed with. Unlike with the Oracle guy I know where they got his design. To everyone saying that we first saw him at the convention, your not backing far enough up. If you have ever seen any cartoon ever where the main character wanders past or onto a construction sight you have seen this man. Every trio of workers sitting on a iron frame eating from a lunchbox. Every pig that makes a catcall at a disgusted women. Every exhausted worker who watches as your slapstick mains chase each other past at quitting time... they all looked EXACTLY like this guy. This is really the character leading the track Dana herself has said she would pick to join? They could have done a Golem made of brick an stone that resembles a palace. They could have done some kind of humanoid ant with super strength. They could have done a wizard with shapes and mathematics on his robe who carried a scroll everywhere that he compulsively scribbled blueprints onto. But instead we get Mr. Generic here.

The Bard coven Leader: This is R, Eda’s old friend from her hexside days. Did I save R for last because of this connection? Partially. I am also unsure what R’s pronouns are. To me R looks physically male. I have seen other posters use “she” when posting about R. One person posted that Dana had confirmed R uses “they” and if so awesome, I would really like to see that tweet. What ever R’s pronouns though their appearance in the show will be tied with Eda, er past, and what she had to give up in order to live free. I look forward to this new insight onto her character

[ashenpages]

Current Projects & Emoji Voting Key

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

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

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

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

Support my original work on Ko-fi and Patreon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Sonic Vampire Novelist Coffee Shop AU: 📚☕💐

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

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

- Sonic Blazamy, "Like the Sun": 💖🌸💎

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

Or has she?

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

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

- Persona 5: 🗡🍛☕

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

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

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

- Hades Game: ❤️‍🔥💀

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

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

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

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

- Devil May Cry Nico/Lady/Trish: 💋✨😈

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[gthreepio]

i’ve been thinking about the future of the mcu and realized there’s a LOT that i didn’t know/didn’t remember in terms of where things are going so i figured i’d sum it up incase anyone else was in the same boat!! 

quick recap of (unresolved) mid-credit scenes:

doctor strange: mordo (a sorcerer that is one of strange’s mentors, who by the end of the movie becomes disillusioned with magic/the ancient one and quits) confronts pangborn (the paraplegic who healed himself with the mystic arts, who tells strange about mystic arts in the first place) and steals his magic because according to mordo, there are “too many sorcerers." of note, this guy is typically a villain in the comics but hasn’t been thus far...

gotg2: ayesha (leader of the sovereign, a golden skinned alien race obsessed with genetic purity), after spending most of the movie chasing the guardians for stealing some stuff, is revealed to have created an artificial being named “adam” which is presumably, adam warlock. (other stuff that is less relevant: kraglin appears to take up yondu’s mantle; the ravagers regroup and several old and obscure comic book characters are introduced [charlie-27, aleta, martinex, mainframe]; the watchers are watching things.) 

far from home: j jonah jameson basically tells the whole world spider-man’s secret identity, and frames him for what happened with mysterio....making him public enemy #1. ALSO, turns out nick fury and maria hill in the movie were ACTUALLY the two skrulls from captain marvel (talos and soren) attempting to do their job, while the real fury (and presumably hill) is ... up in space on some spaceship!!!

wandavision: monica (who we can assume is photon) is called by “an old friend of [her] mother’s,” up in space, which presumably means fury, talos, or carol. ALSO, wanda sits in the middle of nowhere reading the darkhold and hears the voices of her children who.. by all accounts, should not exist. 

aaaaand what we know about future movies (i’m not even going into the tv series.....): 

black widow: 

takes place after civil war

nat confronts a “dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past,” likely has to do with taskmaster who has apparently taken over the red room where nat was trained as an assassin

prominent new characters: yelena belova, who will take over the mantle of black widow after this; alexei shostakov aka red guardian, an ollllld marvel hero analogous to captain america except for the soviet union.

tony stark will make an appearance... SOBS

shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings:

shang-chi has never been seen in the mcu before, but he is, essentially, a superhero that is a master martial artist, and in some adaptations can also create duplicate (fake) versions of himself to confuse opponents

main villain will be the the mandarin who we have *sort of* seen before... he is the leader of a terrorist organization called “ten rings” whose main goal is to destroy world peace. brief history -- in iron man 1: one ten rings cell kidnaps tony stark and tries to force him to make weapons (he of course, makes his suit instead). stark and ten rings become enemies and fight a bunch. nat and nick fury fight them too. in iron man 3, the villain aldrich killian hires a dude to pretend to be the mandarin and claim responsibility for a bunch of stuff, but its not the ten rings or the mandarin at all. this makes the mandarin v mad and he has a dude kidnap the faker to punish him. they also briefly show up in ant-man, when a ten rings agent tries to buy the yellowjacket suit that darren cross is selling. BUT IN SHANG-CHI....... looks like we are FINALLY going to see the real mandarin after over a decade!! 

the villain razor fist will also show up, he is lesser known... he has no superhuman powers but he has surgically replaced his hands (1 or 2, depending on the version) with a steel blade, and is highly skilled at hand to hand combat.

besides the presence of these characters, the only bit of plot we know is “shang-chi is drawn into the ten rings organization and forced to confront his past.” so... yeah. we don’t know much at all.

eternals: 

quick explanation: the eternals are an immortal alien race who have been secretly living on earth for thousands of years. they were created by the celestials, who are most prominently in gotg2. 

more entirely new characters!!! their names are: thena, who can form any weapon out of cosmic energy; gilgamesh, who can make a super strong exoskeleton out of cosmic energy; ikaris, who has superhuman strength, flies, and can project cosmic energy out his eyes; kingo, who can shoot cosmic energy projectiles from his hands; makkari, who creates sonic booms, has super speed, and is deaf; phastos, who has enhanced intelligence, and is also gay (and married with a kid!); ajak, who has healing powers; sprite, who can project illusions; sersi, who can manipulate matter; druig, who can mind control; and dane whitman (black knight), a human with a mystical sword. 

regarding the plot... it seems the eternals have kind of dispersed, but have to come together again to fight the deviants, who are their “evil counterparts” (also created by the celestials, though i’m unclear on why). thena and gilgamesh have apparently been in exile, unclear why; sersi, who is posing as a museum curator, has apparently been in love with ikaris for centuries and it seems as if their love story may be central to the film; and kingo is a bollywood film star in his spare time. aaaaand that’s pretty much all we know.

directed by chloé zhao of nomadland fame! 

spider-man no way home: 

based on the post-credits scene in far from home, peter parker will now be known as spider-man to everyone. unclear if he’s going to be seen as a bad guy due to mysterio framing him, but i guess we’ll see! 

jamie foxx is electro, and alfred molina is doctor octopus; which is VERY interesting considering they played these roles in other spider-man franchises, once again stirring up excitement for possible multiverse. 

there have been *multiple* reports that andrew garfield, kirsten dunst, tobey maguire, and emma stone will be in the movie but tom holland has repeatedly denied this... so... who knows. 

there are also rumors that matt murdock / daredevil (from netflix) will be in several scenes! not confirmed though. 

MJ is still his girlfriend and i hope it stays that way!! 

doctor strange will be featured in the movie, taking on the mentor role now that tony stark is gone :( this will be interesting as i.. haven’t really seen them interact much before. because of this inclusion some people speculate that the film may draw inspo from some comic storylines where peter’s secret identity is restored with magic. 

doctor strange in the multiverse of madness: 

scarlet witch is essentially co-starring!!! it’s going to be really interesting to see if they bring vision or the twins into this at all, though i’m not counting on it. 

seems like mordo will be the main villain -- recall the ds1 post credits scene where he is apparently running around trying to steal people’s magic.

america chavez will make her debut!!!!!! i have no idea how this plays into anything but i am so excited!! 

regarding the plot, all we really know is that strange has been researching the time stone, mordo messes with him, and this results in him accidentally unleashing “unspeakable evil.” presumably there will also be heavy involvement of the multiverse, and who knows what kind of craziness that will bring!! 

initially was going to be directed by scott derrickson who did ds1; however he stepped down to being just EP due to “creative differences.” i am presuming this is because derrickson really wanted to make this more gothic and horror than disney was comfortable with. i REALLY hope they keep some of those elements though and don’t erase the idea entirely! anyway, it will be directed by sam raimi now (of evil dead and spiderman 2002 fame). 

the film also reportedly ties in with the loki series (will loki show up!?) and spiderman 3 (which is obvious enough, given that strange is in that movie and those curious electro and doctor octopus castings...)

thor: love and thunder

directed by taika waititi again, hell yeah!!! and he has stated, the film will be “so over the top now in the very best way" and would make ragnarok look like a "run of the mill, very safe film" .... so.... oh god

so many great returning players!!! including.... valkyrie (now the king of new asgard), jane foster, lady sif, korg, star-lord, mantis, drax, nebula, and kraglin (takes up yondu’s mantle after he dies in gotg2)

in this movie, thor isn’t thor anymore.... it’s JANE!!! she gets cancer :( and is undergoing treatment while simultaneously being thor. i’m a little nervous how this will be handled, but i’m excited. (it’s based off an amazing comic series by jason aaron) 

the big bad: gorr the god butcher, played by christian bale! the gist of it is, this dude HATES gods because nobody helped when his family was dying and in need. his weapon is “all-black the necrosword,” forged from the head of a celestial, and allows the user to create wings and fly at extreme speeds. honestly, he sounds cool as fuck. 

valkyrie is going to be made canonically bisexual!!! 

it will explore more of korg’s backstory, and also include... space sharks!?!?! an alien race from the comics.

taika has called the script “very romantic” so take that as you will 

black panther 2

will again be directed by ryan coogler

not much is known at this point, does not have an official name

t’challa will NOT be recast (which i’m happy about) so..... honestly no idea what to expect for this one. i think we can probably expect shuri to have an expanded role. all we know so far is they will be “exploring the world of wakanda.” not clear to me how this is different from the upcoming wakanda D+ series. 

tenoch huerta has reportedly been cast as a villain, but no one has any idea who. there’s also rumors that donald glover is in “informal talks” to play a role. note all of this is unconfirmed.

captain marvel 2

will be directed by nia da costa (candyman!) and written by megan mcdonnell, who is one of wandavision’s best writers! 

will take place in the present day 

will feature kamala khan / ms. marvel, monica rambeau / photon!!! this will be so interesting.... kamala is a huge fan of carol’s in the comics, she is her mentor/idol. the ms. marvel series will also resportedly lead into cm2. and monica, well, monica knew her when she was a little kid. wandavision implies that there’s some bad blood between carol and monica though, not sure why. maybe because carol left and never came back? (until endgame) 

post-credits scene of wandavision appears to tie into this, having monica go up into space at the reqeust of her “mom’s old friend.” again, not clear who that is. this could also be a tie in to secret invasion though, so we’ll see. or both.

zawe ashton has been cast as an unknown villain... a lot of people are actually speculating that she may play rogue? which would be fascinating, as there’s a comic arc where rogue steals her powers and memories. BUT there’s still no confirmation that X-men exist in the MCU so for now i remain skeptical.

they are looking to cast a ‘john boyega’ or ‘michael b jordan’ type which makes me wonder if they are going to create a new character, a “younger” war machine to be her love interest? (note: carol and rhodey are a huge thing in comics!) carol obviously does not look her age but her and don cheadle.... that just doesn’t work. which is why i wonder.

ant-man and the wasp: quantumania 

in addition to scott and hope, pretty much all the major players are returning including: luis, hank pym, janet van dyne

cassie lang has been recast with an actress 5 years older, which is really making me wonder if they are going to make her stinger in this movie! (aka one of the main young avengers)

the villain: kang the conqueror! this dude time travels. original name nate richards. in the comics, kang travels back in time to rescue his younger self (nate) from an attack that would help shape him towards a life of villainy. kang also gives him some fancy armor. his younger self actually is like, what the fuck dude? and renounces his destiny, becoming a hero. and he makes his armor look like iron man, calling himself iron lad. who is a young avenger. which also makes me wonder about cassie lang.

otherwise not much is known! 

guardians of the galaxy vol. 3

james gunn is returning, i’m mixed about this...he really does *get* the guardians though. 

based on the gotg2 post credits scene, i think we can assume adam warlock will be a HUGE part of this. there are multiple versions of him, some villainous and some heroic, but no idea how this is gonna turn out.

no word yet on whether thor will be involved, or if those ravagers they introduced will be involved. 

fantastic four 

will be directed by the spiderman guy, john watts.

otherwise we know literally nothing.

aaaaand that’s the roundup!