#ark: stars aligned

[rainesaur]

ARK: Stars Aligned

As 2024 draws to an end, I'd like to thank everyone. All my friends, family members.. hell, even people who have just interacted with my ARK ramblings. I have improved significantly this year, both in art and storytelling, and started to make the comic I have been dreaming of for more than eight years. And animations. Woah.

As a huge thank you... have a teaser of some dialogue of chapter 1. Hopefully Helena will be fine and mentally unscatched.....

[rainesaur]

Finn staring at the abberation gang

fuuuuck that is my circus. are those…? yep… those are my monkeys….. goddammit.

[rainesaur]

"Amidst the barren earth..."

My first art piece in both 2025, and february! Was looking at @arkartascended 's Bob's Box Of Prompts randomizer and got a cute "draw a jerboa poking it's head out of a survivors bag" and just had to draw Radar and Helena :)

[yjyt85r98r]

Differences in the philosophy of different Aikatsu seasons

Aikatsu has a pretty consistent set of values, but each series is a bit different.

Aikatsu

Every Aikatsu series puts a lot of emphasis on self-improvement, but the original series probably does it the most.

There's also a lot of focus on worthiness and becoming worthy, such as getting accepted into Starlight Academy, earning the approval of the brand designers, and earning the right to be in Tristar. Aikatsu is honest about the fact that not everyone can be worthy of everything. "Only a few stars at a time can be the brightest in the sky", and all that stuff.

Aikatsu encourages using the tools and support that others have set up for you, but also doing what you want. Yurika refuses to break characters during the Tristar auditions. Sumire rejects the modeling jobs she was offered because she wants to be a singer, not a model. In both cases, the opportunities they turned down ended up coming back in another way, a way that suited them better. Aikatsu says it's worth it to turn down opportunities that don't align with your vision. And that the further you get down your own path, the more people will come to understand and support your vision.

Aikatsu's philosophy is like a cross between a business/institution and a personal trainer. The business aspect is about getting external validation through institutions, and how once you get in, you are welcome to make use of everything provided, but there are expectations you must meet. The people around you are here to support you, but also to compete with you. The personal training aspect is how you should go down the path you want, and be responsible for yourself. Above all, Aikatsu's biggest value is probably discipline.

Aikatsu Stars

Aikatsu Stars probably has the biggest emphasis on "personal brand", that is, turning yourself into a product people will want to consume. As such, it has a recurring theme of pushing yourself to appease your fans at any cost, such as in episode 11 when Hime puts on a concert while having a migraine, or in the movie when Subaru tells Yume not to let her fans see her depressed. (Luckily, they add nuance to this through Lily, who is very strong-willed but still genuinely has limits she can't surpass because of her health condition. She can't always give the fans exactly what they want, but she still has a loyal fanbase despite that. The thing with Yume's rainbow powers also explores the dangers of pushing yourself too hard.)

The personal brand thing also ties into the whole "self-producing" theme that Aikatsu Stars brought up a lot around the beginning. In the original series, most characters follow their school's curriculum and do fairly standard work (with the notable exceptions being WM and the Dream Academy students). Aikatsu Stars idols have more choice, and therefore more responsibility, in the path they choose to take. Yotsuboshi students have to choose whether to major in song, dance, theater or beauty. In season two, some of them choose to attend Venus Ark. Many of them travel around the world. No one is laying out a path for them to follow − they must create their own.

The original series' focus on worthiness turns into straight-up elitism, with a lot of focus on getting into elite groups such as S4 or Venus Ark. Joining those groups provides special opportunities that are closed off for regular idols. However, the series still shows that your dreams don't have to end just because you didn't make it into a special group, as opportunities are everywhere.

Aikatsu Stars' philosophy is closest to that of influencers and self-employed people. It's a mishmash of DIY and elitism, with a strong emphasis on doing your own work and forging your own path.

Aikatsu Friends

Well obviously Aikatsu Friends puts a higher value on friendship compared to the other seasons. It's about having others help you do things you couldn't do alone − perhaps the exact antithesis of Aikatsu Stars' philosophy. (They do go against this in the third cour of season 1, but it's so out-of-the-blue that it ends up coming off as unreasonably harsh, especially in the Halloween episode.)

There's still an emphasis on self-improvement, but this time, it's for the sake of others rather than for oneself.

Aikatsu Friends is the least elitist of the shows – there's an idol division at a regular school, and the main character transfers to the idol division easily. Units are always formed by creating bonds between the two members, not passing a competition. Of course, there's still some elitism, because elitism is sort of baked into Aikatsu's DNA, but it's not as strong here as it is in the first two series.

Aikatsu Friends' philosophy, at least in season 1, is sort of like a friendly competition between teams. Players should work well together, but also be strong on their own. Bonding is just as important as training. (I'm not sure what season 2 is like. Season 2 moves away from the competition aspect and is overall less Aikatsu-y.)

[ebrofour]

Ebro4 Character Sheet!

Name: _ (Father didn't name it)

Titles: EbroFour.

Nicknames: Ebro, Edro, Euro, Pedro, and any other misspelling of "Ebro"

Age as of 2024: late 50's

Age as of when his story takes place (2005): 40.

Pronouns: HE is HIM. (He/Him)

Sexuality: "Hell if I know at this point, I only like attractive people anyways"

Gender: Male.

Species: Human.

Disorders: Narcissistic personality disorder. (He doesn't believe anything is wrong with him).

Religion: Athiest (Yes, he has met gods and is still an atheist out of spite)

Job: Running his Militia Group. Will take up most job positions to maintain cover.

Lives in: Colorado, America, 2024.

Languages: English and French. Attempting to learn demonic for no reason.

Height: 5'9.

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Accent: He talks casually in an Cockney British accent, however when he's trying to speak in more preachy or rude tone, he speaks with a more Shakespearean British Accent.

Voice Claim: Hoxton from Payday 2/3 for his casual, Victor Saltspyre from Vermintide 2 for when he's being a stuck up jackass.

Strengths: He'll play along with your games if they don't directly hurt him or his plans. He's also wealthy with a fair bit of connections.

Weaknesses: His ego is the size of Kansas. He won't keep his mouth shut, and frankly he enjoys watching people suffer.

Weapons: He always makes sure to pack a handgun. He's also been dabbling in some...other types of weapons.

Alignment: Chaotic Neutral.

Main Hobbies: Cards, horse racing, really any type of gambling.

Favorite Food: Peaches, Wine, and toast.

Favorite Flower: Mimosa pudica.

Scent: Smoke, peaches.

Handedness: Right Handed.

Blood Color: Red.

Birthday: September 1st, 1965

Theme:

Combat Theme:

Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/619ir588dsWsqAfpxIzQT3?si=04f537447f28426a

Fun Facts: The title of "ebro" is simply given to who ever is the leader of the Militia. Only Ebro4's father and son (Ebrothree and Ebrofive) are related to him.

Comfort Objects: The only objects that bring him comfort are substances and a small plush bear.

Family:

Zachary Crest (Father)

Random Runaway (Mother) (Dead)

Bobby Montague. (Son) Daisy Bell (Adoptive Daughter) Star (Ebro4 see's himself in Star a bit and wants to mentor him)

Friends: The Specialists, Lancia, Zandeeee, Zailyn, Jumper,

Allies: Sleuth (Uneasy Alliance). Romance:

Elizabeth Montague (Wife)

Grat (Boy Wife) Enemies: Just about anyone who's every spited him in any way, Specifically Kriston Bell and Radio Bell, Along with Cultivator, Lil Uzi, and Evil Ebro4 (that last ones kinda obvious though). He doesn't like Pancakepieman or Pixy either but their non issues to him.

Brief Personality: Egotistical with a capital E. Always has to be either the best or one of the best at whatever he does, if he can't he downplays the achievement. Finds enjoyment out of others failing or feeling bad, which has resulted in him being very alone.

Brief Backstory: He was born because his father wanted somebody fit to run the Militia. No other reason. Zachary hired some random runaway girl to carry the child, and after tying up loose ends raised the child to be a manipulator and a con artist who would do anything to win. This would result in Ebro4 taking control, but after years of neglect and abuse from his father, starting with the fact he wasn't even given a name till his title of Ebrofour, Ebrofour would kill his father and take over. He vowed not to raise his child the same. He would later accidentally kill his wife because neither of them realized back blast on rocket launchers exist, resulting in him losing on of the last few people who actually cared for him. His relationship with his son has been strained too, given the whole being a criminal thing. One day, Ebro4 found a strange looking book outside his estate. Upon opening it up, he was met with confusion. It appeared to be the exact details of his life up to this point. Curious, he wrote in the book...and it comes true. Ebro4 posses the power to re-write reality. As long as he keeps the book of course. He then promptly lost said magically book cause he's a fucking idiot and now craves that power he once held.

[rainesaur]

real footage of helena, gary, skyla, athena (the horse) and glorp (the cat)

Oh yeah there's a part 2 of the horse desensitizing that I love.

🐎: Hey what's with that tiny predator, the one you're hold- WOAH WHAT THE FUCK WHY IS IT UP SO HIGH

[theluckygroundhog]

★Who We Are Under These Stars★ Series Masterpost

aka sleepy hedgehogs and their wild trust dynamic, the series

Sonic is restless and Shadow has nightmares. Often, they find each other in the night and spar instead of sleeping. When not sparring in a way that looks similar to a murder attempt, they may be found being soft, opening up, and (literally) sleeping together.

Shadow is trying to learn how to heal. In attempt to give everyone a chance to be happy, he has to extend that to himself, and doing so means letting the people he cares about grow closer to him (even if it hurts).

Reading/Chronological Order:

"You Hold My Life In Your Hands (But Never Take It)" (+doodle of the following morning) ->"Yet You Save Me Without Hesitation" (bonus scene of #1, read when it makes sense to you)

A Break in the Fog: directly after #1, Shadow-focused. (Rouge and Shadow friendship!!)

"A Shared Cup of Chamomile": ~a week after end #1

Don't Pull Your Punch When You Strike My Heart: ~A month timeskip. Their relationship is more 'established'. No label, but they are more healthy and comfortable with each other

...and more to come!

Some people have noted they interpret my fics as them being a QPR, to which I say: good! >:)

I am 100% down with ppl interpretting them as queer platonic or romantic. its like choose your own adventure

Series Playlist!!! ↓

Background info that is canon to the series ↓

aka hcs I can make canon bc this is my story >:)

Things otherwise no stated can be assumed to be aligned with game/idw canon

Shadow was like a toddler when he came the The Tube. Although this period was very short due to his accelerated aging, it reinforced Shadow and Maria's relationship with him being her baby brother, even if around the ARK raid, he was probably a bit older mentally. He lived on the ARK a few years.

Shadow knows basic medical practice, it is innate to him the same way he came out the tube speaking language.

SHADOW IS DISABLED!! His airshoes are mobility aids. Without them, he has poor control of his legs, so the shoes correct his balance and gait. Additionally, they powered by his Chaos energy and redirect some into his legs. He mainly controls his legs with Chaos energy rather than with his muscles. Without his inhibitors, he would be chronically fatigued.

Sonic technically doesn't live at Tails' house, but there is space reserved for him, and he very regularly crashes there, especially when it's too cold to sleep outdoors (Tails keeps saying he will catch a cold, Sonic doesn't always listen)

Sonic and Tails are brothers. I mean. They canonically are. But, yknow. It means a lot to me.

SONIC CAN COOK! Shadow can NOT. Sonic has traveled the world and raised a child (Tails). Shadow was raised on frozen astronaut meals or smth and his mood chronically too low to cook.

Maria was hispanic (from her mom's side) therefore so is Shadow. This is never mentioned in the fics but whatever.

(also irrelevant) English and Japanese was spoken on the ARK, so Shadow knows both. He also knows Spanish through Maria and Russian from Gerald.

Shadow has PTSD and is diagnosed, but little is done for that bc: so far his body has proven resistant to medication, and he doesn't really invest time into treatment.

SHADOW HAS FREQUENT NIGHTMARES. This is a driving factor of the story. Even on nights he doesn't have them, he has insomnia, or will purposefully avoid sleeping.

SONIC ALSO DOESN'T SLEEP. Again, a driving plot point. He has Restless Leg Syndrome and insomnia (and ADHD).

Their Chaos energy is linked, meaning they can almost always find each other, for better or worse.

My fics are post-Shadow Gens, but where else on the timeline is ambiguous. If it means anything, I have in mind that Sonic and Shadow are about 19.

Now, finally, I will yap about my aroace hcs that readers don't need to adopt but are obviously shining through my fics anyhow:

As a behind-the-curtain/out of universe look into how I write them I generally consider Sonic to be gray-biromantic asexual and Shadow to be demi-homoromantic asexual. In-universe, I think Shadow has never touched a label in his life, and Sonic is either unlabeled by choice or uses a general term like queer (mayyybe asexual? broadly?)

You can also hc them to experience NO romantic attraction and I think that is also a great way to interpret them. Or use your usual hcs. I really don't mind, and it's not like I would know 🤷

[rainesaur]

My art piece for ARK: Art Ascended's Art Trials!

Prompt used: Mountain "A lone survivor from The Iron Brotherhood and their parasaur on their first stroll through the nearby territory…"

[dailydemonspotlight]

Uriel - Day 180

Race: Herald Arcana: Justice Alignment: Light-Law June 6th, 2025 Requested by @/Wakawakawaka on our Discord!

Haha, get it? Yuri-el? Eh? Eh? I'll, uh, see myself out.

Angels are, despite their more heroic appearances and how one might assume they'd be focused on, not actually given many names in the Bible. Much of the field of Angelology is less a field and more something derived from various extrapolations based on the various texts making up the major Abrahamic religions; the hierarchy of angels isn't even really a thing in any of the original works, and is instead pulled from various Scholarly readings of the Talmud and many other Jewish works that have been adapted into the other Abrahamic faiths. However, even with this comparative lack of spotlight, there are several angels that shine and are given unique names... even if not considered canon. Enter today's Angel of the Day, Uriel!

Uriel is a... weird case, even in the rather strange ranks of angels. Only really broadly recognized in Russian Orthodoxy and Folk Catholicism, Uriel's main (and only) appearances are actually in many apocryphal texts, texts that are no longer considered canon (or at least aren't important any longer) but once were, and he never makes a named appearance in any Biblical texts, despite being recognized pop-culturally to be one of the Archangels. In fact, Biblically, only one Archangel is recognized, being Michael. Gabriel also makes an appearance, but he's not directly stated to be an Archangel. Maybe he got demoted after fighting a gopro.

Uriel's main appearance is in the Book of Enoch, an apocryphal text shared between Christianity and Judaism, wherein he's described as one of the seven Archangels that watches over the world, and a notable appearance is in 21:3, which I'll helpfully paste here so you don't have to look it up, which shows him presiding over seven fallen angels who are being punished for all eternity. (Possibly where modern conceptions of hell came from?)

1 And I proceeded to where things were chaotic. 2 And I saw there something horrible: I saw neither a heaven above nor a firmly founded earth, but a place chaotic and horrible. 3 And there I saw seven stars of heaven bound together in it, like great mountains and burning with fire. 4 Then I said: 'For what sin are they bound, and on what account have they been cast in here?' 5 Then said Uriel, one of the holy angels who was with me and was chief over them, and said: 'Enoch, why do you ask, and why are you eager for the truth? 6 These are of the number of the stars of heaven, which have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, and are bound here until ten thousand years, the time entailed by their sins, are consummated.'

Uriel first truly appears, however, in chapter 10, wherein he's carrying out an incredibly important duty: being the one responsible for telling Noah about the flood, which led to basically everything in the Bible happening, including Noah's Ark.

Then said the Most High, the Holy and Great One spake, and sent Uriel to the son of Lamech, and said to him: 〈Go to Noah〉 and tell him in my name "Hide thyself!" and reveal to him the end that is approaching: that the whole earth will be destroyed, and a deluge is about to come upon the whole earth, and will destroy all that is on it.

I wonder if the original text has those weird brackets over big G's speech. Uriel's role in warning Noah, as well as being a generally friendly (if cryptic, like all Angels) being who helps the devout and punishes evil led him to being a rather popular figure in many other apocryphal texts, and he quickly became widespread. This got to a point, however, when people began to combine together the many angels actually mentioned in canonical texts- Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel- and decided to assign each of them a cardinal direction. However, they lacked a final angel for North, as Raphael was the East, Michael the South, and Gabriel the west. As such, looking at the literature provided, even if deemed non-canon, Jewish scholars decided to take Uriel and plop him into the group, deeming him an important and relevant enough figure- making him the North of the compass.

From there, Uriel became a very prominent Saint in many Abrahamic faiths, being the patron of Arts and Intellect for... reasons that I'm not really clear on. Even still, though, for a non-canonical Angel, he has a surprising amount of relevance and reverence, especially given his role in warning Noah, which I'm just gonna say is canon in my own reading of the Bible. Why? Because why not. I think it's neat.

Uriel's design in SMT is definitely a product of its time, but it's also an absolute classic, so I can't give it much (if any) slack. Being depicted frequently with a flaming sword, though, I gotta wonder why they didn't actually give him a blazing blade- it'd add a lot to his already iconic design.

Of course, I also gotta shout out the SMT IV angels.

...I dunno what else to say! SMT IV angels are terrifying and I love them.

[valkariel]

Savage Overture

» Love&deepspace Cosplay Glamour «

The rabies banner crossover glamour for her... Stars aligning with FFXIV having all these pieces in DT and rabies banner drop is wild.

Head: Ark Angel's Circlet of Healing - metallic silver / gunmetal black Body: Gomphotherium Thornvest of Healing - jet black / default Hands: Dark Horse Champion Halfgloves of Healing - soot black / soot black Legs: Idealized Arbatel Bottoms - jet black / soot black Feet: Night of Devilry Boots - default / default

Earring: Eternal Dark Earrings of Healing Neck: The Emperor's New Necklace Wrists: The Emperor's New Bracelet Right Ring: The Emperor's New Ring Left Ring: The Emperor's New Ring

Main Hand: -- Off Hand: --

Fashion Accessory: -- Minion: -- Mount: -- Location: Haukke Manor (Hard) - White Hall

Shader: Faeberry Bokeh

[semi-sketchy]

Okay I 100% legally watched Sonic 3.

6/10, overhyped.

I think I enjoyed the second movie more actually, but let me walk through this.

As a brief summary, basically Gerald was imprisoned for 50 years and designed the Eclipse Cannon (it's just a flying saucer laser) in return for his freedom. GUN built it, but it needs two keys to activate. So it's kinda a race to see who can get both keys and either destroy the world or save it. Gerald was also the one who hacked into the system and disabled Shadow's stasis as well as stole Eggman's tech to lure him to the research facility for a team-up. That's the basis of the plot.

Firstly, the beginning is...a million miles a minute. I thought the trailers were hypercut, but no the scenes really are just that fast. (At least until we get to Carrey. Animating hedgehogs is too expensive.) Sonic's having a party, GUN shows up like "we need Team Sonic" and Sonic is literally just like "I like the name, let's go!" that's it. No briefing, no convincing from the organization that tased and captured him, just go.

I did find the little "What did you do, Sonic?" "I don't know, I do a lot of things" line to be funny, though.

Also before they jump out of the chopper, Sonic does the "talk about low budget flights" but it is...so forced. Like the entire idea behind that line in SA2 is Sonic is being a cheeky bastard because they captured him, here he just randomly says it for no reason.

NOW THE ACTUAL BEST PART OF THE MOVIE, Shadow and Maria. God they were SO CUTE. Like this is the stuff I wanted out of Dark Beginnings. Maria on roller skates while Shadow pulls her around the base, just getting into kid mischief, watching movies, slipping keycards to go sit out and watch the stars... Oh my god AND THE BUNNY FACE SHE DRAWS ON HIS TUBE. These scenes? 10/10.

Actually, when Commander Walters finally briefs Sonic, the way it was edited really made me think "oh shit did...did Shadow accidentally kill Maria in this movie?" that's obviously not what happened, but I was interested to see what angle they took.

Oh yeah and Maria didn't get shot. She died from an explosion CAUSED by a gunshot. The solider was trying to shoot her though, just Walters knocked the gun because "that's a child!" So there's that. (Not allowed to hate the GUN commander here, after all, he's on Sonic's side! He can't be for child murder!)

It was also...not as dramatic as I thought it would be. It's like 30 seconds. Gerald runs up, says "We have to go, they wanna take Shadow from us!" Then 10 seconds later, boom. I'm not paraphrasing, by the way.

Oh yeah, I guess I should mention Gerald. He's 110 and still alive. I was not opposed to this, I like to think I'm receptive to changes in AUs and I was curious what they could do with Gerald actively manipulating Shadow. Here's what they do: Jim Carrey. It's just double the Jim Carrey shenanigans and yes, it is tiring. Shadow has a moment like "I don't know if this is what Maria would have wanted..." and Gerald just goes "it's not about what she wanted, it's about what they deserve" and that's...basically it. YOU COULD'VE DONE MORE WITH THIS, BRO.

On top of that, Shadow was not created: he was found inside a meteor that looks A LOT like the Black Comet. Considering this is meant to be modern day Earth and not a huge fictional universe like the games where there's advanced space stations and such in the 50s (oh yeah the ARK ain't real here) I'm fine with this. Keeps his alien origins while aligning to the movie universe.

And I was kinda surprised but I THINK there's a reference to the fandub?? Sonic calls Shadow "Hot Topic" nooo my secret!!! so that was interesting. Could also just be some of their famous product placement, but this movie is also less...commercial than the others. No Olive Garden mentioned. Guess they used all the ad space on Knuckles.

Anyways, while getting the second key, Shadow punches Tom because he has the key and is currently disguised as Commander Walters, the one who sealed Shadow away. This is important, this is like the basis for the entire end of the movie because apparently one punch to the chest is enough to knock Tom out and put him in the hospital.

Now Sonic ALSO wants revenge, so he gets the Master Emerald to go super and...I just gotta point out, Knuckles left it with Wade. The way EVERYONE IN THE THEATER GROANED WHEN WADE POPPED UP ON SCREEN it was beautiful. Nice to know we all hate the Knuckles show.

This all leads to Shadow's reform which was...ech? After Sonic is like "no I won't kill you, that's not who I am, revenge doesn't make things better" Shadow is like "I didn't have a choice in who I became" and Sonic says "you always have a choice", Live and Learn plays and they go to stop the cannon firing on Earth. It felt so...shallow for a character like Shadow. Nothing about how Maria loved the world, so he should protect the world to honor her memory, it's just "revenge is bad". I guess it's to be more relatable to Sonic because they lean more into them being two sides of the same coin, but it's just so rushed and hollow.

Meanwhile Eggman kills his grandfather in a really drawn out unfunny sequence because he wants to rule the world, not destroy it, but the canon is already set to fire so they instead turn it away from the Earth while Super Sonic and Shadow block the ray. (The moon getting hit is an accident.)

Also you have no idea how much I wanted them to show Sonic trying to save Shadow, but only getting his inhibitor ring, THOUGH SONIC IS THE ONE WHOSE SUPER FORM FAILS. In this universe, I guess it makes sense because Sonic isn't the absolute powerhouse his game version is. But does Shadow show his growth and try to save him? No, it takes Tails and Knuckles awhile to address that.

Anyways, the reactor is unstable so Eggman tries to buy time while Shadow pushes the weapon away from Earth and then it blows up, killing both of them. ...Well Shadow shows up in the post-credits alive so I guess just Eggman is dead...maybe. Because the other scene shows a shit ton of Metal Sonics a la Shadow Android and Amy shows up to save him as the 4th teaser.

Overall, my issue isn't that it changed SA2's story, I wanted something different because I literally have SA2 at home. It's just these changes have all their potential completely squandered in favor of a lot and I mean a LOT of Jim Carrey nonsense. He's like half this movie.

With the writing quality of these films, I shouldn't be surprised, but I really thought after the second movie, they were on a good track. After seeing everyone else love it, it's kinda disappointing to find it rather mid.

Oh yeah and nothing from the bowling tournament teaser line in the Knuckles series, either. After making us sit through that hell, I WANTED to see Shadow bowl. We truly were robbed.

[simstraterrestrial]

My Sims Kingdom Inspired Legacy Challenge

Recently, with the re-release of the My Sims games, I've began feeling nostalgic about the series. I played My Sims Kingdom a LOT as a kid and I love how the main Sim's games constantly make references to the My Sim's characters/games. Then, while i was deliberating on how to make the sims 3 more interesting, I decided to mix two of my most beloved games, My Sims Kingdom and The Sims 3, to create a legacy challenge!

I took some inspiration from the Store World Legacy by florydaax with this version of the legacy challenge as it encourages your sims family to move to a new town every generation to simulate the wandolier visiting different islands.

Each Generation is named after an island from My Sims Kingdom and is accompanied by my suggested world for your sim to live in.

Generation One: Capitol Island (Sunset Valley or A Small Empty Island)

Wow, you can't believe this is happening! You won King Rolands contest and are dubbed a royal wandolier! Now, with a magic scepter in hand, you are tasked with helping sims around the world. Are you up for the challenge?

Traits: Brave, Friendly, Sailor

Lifetime Wish: Seasoned Traveler, Great Explorer (Or any lifetime wish that aligns with your career path)

Careers: Any Public Service Career or Explorer*

Rules:

Make this sim a witch (You can ignore this one if you don't own supernatural/don't want to play with supernatuals)

Reach the top of your Career

Befriend 30 sims

Complete 10 opportunities (Another sim must be giving you the opportunity for it to count)

Reach level 10 of 2 different skills of your choosing

*If you have World Adventure, being an Explorer can be your career. To fulfill the reach the top of your career while being an Explorer, you must explore all ruins and finish all WA questlines. To see the quests look under WA opportunities. Generic Opportunities don't count towards finishing your career.

Generation Two: Renee's Nature Preserve (Riverview or Aurora Skies)

Your parent's dedication to helping others inspired you. After moving to Riverview, you decided that you want give back to the world by opening an absolutely adorable nature preserve for all the animals around town! Get ready for a full house because your home will be jam packed with fuzzy, fluffy, and scaly friends!

Traits: Animal Lover, Vegetarian, Eco-Friendly

Lifetime Wish: The Ark Builder, Animal Rescuer, The Zoologist

Careers: Gardening and Collecting

Rules:

Have 2 cats, 2 dogs, and 2 horses be apart of the household (You can only adopt one of each pet and will have to befriend/tame a stray to add any other pets to your household)

Own a bull ride game

Collect at least 10 minor pets (They cannot be brought)

Have at least 5 caught fish living in a fish tank

Make you sim home a nature preserve!

Generation Three: Cowboy Junction (Appalooza Plains)

You spent your whole life caring for animals, but you know you were destined for something greater. As a child, you discovered your talent for cooking and decided that serving delicious meals was your destiny. So you packed your bags and made your way to Monte Vista! Except. . . you somehow got stuck in Appalooza Plains along the way. Despite the slight mishap, you won't stop chasing your dream.

Traits: Natural Cook, Neat, Technophobe

Lifetime Wish: Celebrated 5 Star Chef

Careers: Culinary

Rules:

Reach level 10 cooking skill

Reach level 10 gardening skill

Reach the top of the culinary career path

Learn every cooking recipe

Host 3 great dinner parties

Own the Bistro and Hogans Deep Fried Diner

Make your house look like a restaurant

Generation Four: Rocket Reef (Lunar Lakes or Oasis Landing)

TODAY'S WEATHER CALLS FOR A 100% CHANCE FOR SCIENCE!!! Everyone in that dingy old town is a boor and HAS NO RESPECT FOR SCIENCE!!! You are a GENIUS and should be treated as such!!! Of course, the next most reasonable course of action is hopping in a spaceship and heading to outer space!!! At least on another planet you won't be judged for your "morally questionable" experiments!

Traits: Eccentric, Bot Fan, Computer Whiz, Genius

Lifetime Wish: Become a Creature-Robot Cross Breeder, More Than a Machine, Monster Maker

Careers: Science, Inventor, selling plumbots

Rules:

Reach level 10 logic skill

Reach level 10 handiness skill

Reach level 10 bot building skill

Reach level 10 of science skill

Reach level 10 of science career

Build a simbot

Build a sentient plumbot and install the steel chef and competent cleaner chips into it

Have a bad relationship with your plumbot

Make your home a science lab!

Generation Five: Candypalooza (Starlight Shores or Isla Paradiso or Sunlit Tides)

Your parent's obsession with science was really crashing your style. Yeah, being smart is cool and all, but you wanna be the life of the party! That's why you packed up your turntable and made your way to Earth. Get ready everyone, you're about to paint the town in multicolor LED's!

Traits: Party Animal, Social Butterfly

Lifetime Wish: Super Popular, Resort Empire

Careers: Resort Owner or Nightclub Owner

Rules:

Reach level 5 of the DJ Turntable hidden skill

Reach level 10 of the Laser Rhythm-a-con skill

Reach level 10 charisma

Have 20 friends

Throw a party once a week

Create a 5 star resort or open a fully upgraded nightclub

Generation Six: Forest of the Elves (Dragon Valley)

How did you get here? One second you were playing sweet tunes in the club and now you're suddenly being told that you are the chosen one!? Recently, the unicorns have disappeared and the animals are acting strangely. The elves in Dragon Valley tasked you with saving everyone by bringing the unicorns back to Dragon Valley. Will you be able to rock out hard enough to bring these mystical creatures back home?

Traits: Virtuoso, Loves the Outdoors

Lifetime Wish: The Fairytale Finder, Rock Star, One Sim Band, Vocal Legend

Careers: Musician, Singer, Horse Rider

Rules:

Reach level 10 of guitar skill

Reach level 10 of riding skill

Reach level 10 alchemy skill

Cure 5 cursed sims with alchemy

Befriend a Unicorn

Build the temple of the woods (add a hot tub in the temple)

Generation Seven: Cutopia (Hidden Springs)

Living as the child of a legend, you were always treated like a princess/prince. Despite getting spoiled with gifts and praise constantly, you felt like you had a different purpose. The world just isn't as cute as you think it should be. So, you decided to solve this issue yourself by making the town cuter, one pink house at a time! Maybe, along your mission, you might find the cutest thing of all - LOVE!

Traits: Snob, Hopless Romantic, Irresistable

Lifetime Wish: Home Design Hotshot, Fashion Phenomenon, Heartbreaker

Careers: Fashion Designer, Interior Designer

Rules:

Reach level 10 of the painting skill

Reach the top of your career

Make each townie or home you work on cute

Go on 10 dates

Have your home be worth at least $100,000

Lock your heir for the next generation in a dark tower or basement and make them home schooled (You can't let the world know that one of your children aren't cute)

Generation Eight: Spookane (Midnight Hollow or Moonlight Falls)

You lived your childhood surrounded in darkness. During the time you were locked away, you thought about life and it's meaning. As a result, you took to writing poetry to express your feelings of melancholy. Once you became an adult, you moved to a place where the people understood you and gothic self expression wasn't shunned. Now you can live your life freely as a writer. . . or you can get revenge on everyone who has wronged you and cover the world in darkness.

Traits: Bookworm, Brooding, Evil (optional)

Lifetime Wish: Illustrious Author, Emperor of Evil,

Careers: Author, Criminal, Mausoleum

Rules:

Write 5 poetry novels

Make $15,000 from book royalties

Learn the recipe to make cookies

Have your sim discover the meaning of life*

*This rule is a goal for you to set for your sim and entire depends on what you believe the meaning of life is (e.g Having a big family, having a lot of friends, being sucessful, having fun, etc). This goal can be more than one thing.

Generation Nine: Trevor Island (Monte Vista)

Art has always enraptured you since a young age. Music, painting, sculpting - the form of art never mattered. What you especially loved most of all was theater. The drama! The emotions! It is all so glorious. You knew you were destined to be an actor after your debut role as Spagula in your school play. So, you moved to Monte Vista to fulfill your artistic persuits.

Traits: Star Quality, Charasmatic, Dramatic

Lifetime Wish: Superstar Actor

Careers: Film

Rules:

Be in the drama club in high school

Reach level 10 of the film career

Become a 5 star celebrity

Obtain a statue of yourself

Complete the local celebrity skill challenge

Write an auto-biography

Own the town theater

Generation 10: Academy Island (Twinbrook)

Education is the key to sucess! Your parent encouraged you to follow you passion like they did. As it turns out, education is your passion! Make straight A's, find love, join a club or two, become valedictorian, and then guide the next generation into sucess!

Traits: Ambitious, Nurturing, Neurotic

Lifetime Wish: Perfect Student, Big Happy Family, Major Master

Careers: Education, Daycare

Rules:

Make perfect grades throughout your school life

Reach level 10 for 3 skills

Enroll in university and obtain a degree

Adopt 4 child sims (Your sim may not have any biological children)

Home School all of your children

Build the perfect academy with a classroom, dorms, and headmasters office!

If you have any suggestions or changes, please give them to me!

I cross posted this challenge on the sims 3 subreddit here.

[luxudus]

Neurodivergency becomes the Norm

old drawing that was meant to be my final spectember entry for this year.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To the people who built the guidestones in orbit of our world. This message is towards you and the rest of your kind

We are the Savunato of the planet Apsis in the Oese system. it may not seem like it, but we believe to be your descendants. You may not remember our ancestors of your kind, who first landed on Apsis. It has been 10 million years since that happened. But we are happy to refresh your memory.

From the knowledge we gathered, catastrophe had struck your home planet. We don't know what happened, but it was bad enough for your kind to lose all hope of mending what was broken.

So you looked to the stars for a second chance. In a last ditch effort to save your kind, you launched the Eos Ark program. Sending 35 colony ships across a sea of stars, looking for any habitable planet to call home.

However those colony ships were flawed, they were made in a rush. And had no way of holding its own plants and animals to start agriculture. And too little gear for the colonists to survive in their current form.

Our colony ship just so happened to land here on Apsis. And we couldn’t have been more thankful for it. Apsis is very much like earth, having her own oceans and life. The flora here are fleshy and adorned with red broad leaves. While the fauna walked on three legs, saw with three eyes, and were protected by a woody exoskeleton.

By our sheer luck, the 6 planets of our system had aligned and gifted us a world we could actually survive on. The native life was digestible and the air was breathable. We had our second chance.

Our ancestors’ ship however, was ill-prepared. Again there were barely any tools to help them survive in their current form. We couldn’t shape the world to our needs.The world shaped us to her needs. We adapted, and we evolved.

Relative to your anatomy and lifestyle. Our arms became hyper-extended and stronger. Meaning we can switch between bipedal and quadrupedal locomotion on the fly. Our ancestral thumbs have become vestigial. In place of this, our Index and pinky fingers have become opposable so we can manipulate our environment once more. Our faces too have elongated, our teeth grew harder to get through the exoskeletons of our prey. And we grew fangs to slice through the trees.

One of the most significant things in our history was a slow but all encompassing change to the way we think of the world. Several mental states spurred on by genetics had spread across our population. Mental conditions you would classify as Autism, ADHD, OCD, Dyslexia, Anxiety, Depression, and so on. For you, you’d call us neurodivergent, For us it’s simply the norm, It makes us who we are.

Our modern society has been slowly reworked from the ground up. All in order to empower our new mentality. Now revolving around organization and efficiency. Our work ethic is streamlined to the point where we can get all the day’s work done before noon. With our goal being placed on long term results rather than pure production. Extreme emphasis has been put on the care and wellbeing for the developmentally disabled.

We put as much care into texture as they do with colors and patterns. Plenty of our cultures have a wide array of both visual and tactile patterns and a variety of textures to best fit the wearer. And affection through physical contact is revered as a sign of deep trust within many of our cultures.

We have sailed far beyond the reaches of our new cradle. Reaching new heights by reaching the other worlds that orbit our sun. We’ve explored, colonized, and have begun terraforming the most habitable worlds to make them as comfortable as apsis. We have even begun plunging into the interstellar depths to survey our closest neighbors.

One day we found your wayward stones. The plaques made of the spirit of our original homeworld, like the embers of a great fire holding out in the cold quiet night. We found them on the space station that brought you here, that brought our ancestors down to apsis.

I myself, the Savunato writing this, was one of the lucky few to board your station. We found it still orbiting apsis, Everything was still intact and untouched like a day hadn’t passed. Like we were connected from the depths of time.

We looked to the cosmos to find the others. Sending probes out into deep space with our history. And beaming messages to distant stars, All in hopes of finding you or another one of your descendants. No one’s responded so far, We may very well be the last living descendants of your kind.

If any of you are still out there. Let us show you we did it. we did it humanity, we made it. We survived. We made it through the toughest Apsis had to offer. We shared the worst mistakes the both of us have made. We learned for the better. We kept the flame going. May we survive for another 10 million years. May we be your successors.

If any of you are still out there.

I hope we made you proud…

[sonadowwiki]

Is romance or marriage hinted between Sonic and Shadow officially directly/indirectly

Hello!

To answer your question, there are moments within the Sonic series that do imply or say directly to there being romance between Sonic and Shadow.

For an instance where it is stated directly, it would be in Sonic Prime where Sonic tells Shadow after he saves him, "I heart you too, Shadow." Hearts being used in this manner can indicate love or loving something, which is how Sonic decided to use it here to express his appreciation and to hint towards knowing that Shadow ultimately cares deeply about him whether he expresses/mentions it or not.

For an instance where it is implied, it would be in the Sonic x Shadow 2021 Calendar Story between the two and in the first game they ever met, Sonic Adventure 2.

In the 2021 Calendar Story, the story shows implications of calling the two lovers by having parallels to the Japanese Tanabata story and by being a story posted in July, which is the same month the holiday takes place in Japan. In this story, Sonic is compared to the "moon" while Shadow is compared to the "ARK" and in this story, the two only align once per year in a specific manner like how the two star-crossed lovers only met with each other once per year if the weather was clear. It is said in the story that this astronomical show is Sonic's favorite and it was during the time this show was happening that he met with Shadow. After defending the town from a bomb together, Sonic follows after Shadow and points towards the moon then himself to indicate that he is the moon while Shadow is the ARK next to it. This was further indicated with the text afterwards stating that the "moon," in quotes, continues to look after the lone shadow, which is to represent Shadow. It is also implied through Sonic by saying that the show is his favorite astronomical show, that the rare moments he meets with Shadow are also his favorite times in his life since he compared the moon and ARK to himself and Shadow at the end of the story, therefore indicating that his favorite moments in life are when he spends time or meets up with Shadow in those rare moments it happens.

With this story, and the bottom description stating that the two have an intimate relationship with each other that only they have, it implies and somewhat blatantly suggests there being romance between the two and even suggests them as lovers, when taking the story into context as well. It is even stated in the bottom description that only Sonic can reach the deepest most intimate parts of Shadow's heart at times, which suggests even further the deep/intimate connection between the two and how much they truly care for each other to share that type of connection with one another.

In Sonic Adventure 2, one can say it is implied that the two were hinted to have romance because of the connection they obtained once turning Super with each other to defeat the Final Hazard. When turning Super, it is implied that the Chaos Emeralds connected the two in a way that was never done or seen before. Their hearts were connected and the two became as one. They learned to care for one another and learned about the other in more ways than one. From there, their relationship continued to grow as they continued to understand and know each other on an intimate and deep level from their hearts ever since that moment.

You can look at this link of a post of ours that goes into more depth about this subject if you wish to know more:

There is also the Sonic and Shadow Chao in the Chao Gardens that can be shown to imply romance between the two since they are the only character Chao from the Sonic series that can mate with each other to create another Chao egg. Since the other character Chao are immortal, they cannot mate with another Chao under normal means. With this, you can say it hints at the two being able to have romance with one another since they can nuzzle/kiss each other when mating with one another for another Chao egg.

Lastly, there are also SNS posts that can indicate Sonic and Shadow going on walks together that can be interpreted as dates since they went to go view the flowers together in a calm and pleasant manner. You can see it with these posts here where they go see the sakuras and hydrangeas together from both Japanese and Western social media posts:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by セガ公式アカウント (@segaofficial)

I hope this was able to answer your question and give insight on the times such indications was shown or mentioned within the official Sonic medias.

[box-o]

I love seeing colony ARK fanart where there are shooting stars and constellations able to be seen out the window I really do but unfortunately these things simply wouldn't exist on the ARK because shooting stars only happen when small bits of space rock burn up in the atmosphere which the space colony ARK does not have, and constellations are very VERY specific alignments of stars millions and billions of light-years away viewed at a VERY specific angle to get the pictures we see so Maria and Shadow may not have had Ursa Major and Minor or Orion they may have had their own constellations that could only be seen from the ARK

[rainesaur]

stars aligned helena walker

there should be a jesus on the cross emoji. not for any religious reasons. just so I can use it for every slight inconvenience.