#downright adorable

[hitwiththetmnt]

Happy Easter✨

Dragons and egg hunting are an interesting mix, but the boys are down for Easter fun no matter the struggle

[alchemicaladarna]

I was rewatching the fight between Sunny and Leo from yesterday and god, I just noticed so many more details.

First, Sunny lost to Leo- ok, that's fair. But she was trying to exit immediately after. Leo blocked the door and started hitting Sunny. Sunny was shocked at first, but eventually she started hitting Leo back until she backed Leo into the corner and popped her totem. Ramon went inside and placed himself in between Leo and Sunny to stop their fighting (god bless his soul)

But then, and this is the part that kinda made me go 😬 Tallulah placed a sign that said "CHEATER" in response to Sunny hitting Leo after the fight. After that, Pepito and Tallulah ran to Leo to congratulate her.

Here's my personal take: don't get me wrong, I love Leo and Tallulah, but Sunny wasn't even cheating- she was defending herself. I know it's not that deep because they're kids and sometimes kids act this way. Also Tallulah and Leo have their own reasons for disliking/not trusting Sunny. And it's a block game lmao.

But like. Does anyone ever get the feeling that sometimes this egg beef kinda extends past the "goofy haha babies fighting" and more into bullying territory? Because sometimes Leo and Tallulah are just really unecessarily mean towards Sunny. I know Tallulah has been less hostile and she explained why she was more apprehensive to approach Sunny, and that's understandable on some level. But Leo vandalizing Sunny's statue, though funny at the time, looking back at it, yea that literal shit was unwarranted.

Like I said this is block game and it's really not that deep, but still. Ouch.

God, I just want to reach through the screen and give Sunny lots of hugs. She deserves so much more love and happiness than what she's getting.

[lunalikestowriteanddraw]

Goddammit Torbek why do you have to be so fucking adorable????

[generic-sonic-fan]

A Father's Embrace

Summary:

“Father,” said Sage, “Metal Sonic has voiced to me that he would like a hug as well.”

(Eggman, post Frontiers and with the help of Sage, realizes something about the way he’s been treating Metal Sonic. Inspired by Egg Memo 19)

2855 words

The holo-matter generator was now capable of being stable for longer than a few seconds. It wasn’t capable of generating textures, only force, as air molecules were gathered into a rough approximation of a solid. Sage was now able to manipulate basic physical machines, such as levers, buttons, and switches, all of which would help her when interfacing with systems that were too primitive to be networked to. 

And now came the final test. 

Ivo stood in the center of the testing chamber. Sage materialized a few feet away, and a hum filled the room as the holo-matter generator whirled on. She waved a hand over her arms, chest, and legs. 

Ivo smiled. “Come here, my girl.” 

She inched closer, and he held his arms outstretched. She hovered out of reach for a moment, clutching one arm in the other. She then simulated a deep breath- she was getting so good at that! -and flew forward until she met his chest. Instead of phasing through, there was a gentle push of force against his sternum. 

“Hologram stability remains at 98%.” She reported. “Holo-matter generator output is consistent according to my data. Can you confirm this observation?”

“I can.” He whispered. “May I commence the next stage of testing?”

“Yes.”

He brought his arms toward his chest, stopping when he hit the back barrier of her hologram. His pinky dipped into her graphic before she recalibrated the wall of force to push it back to her surface. 

“Stability?” He asked.

“88%, but holding steady. Proceeding with reciprocation.” 

He felt her arms press against his sides. So small they were. Such a delicate hold, as if the slightest gust of wind might shake her off.

“Father, you may be experiencing what my database refers to as ‘cuteness aggression’. Please remain mindful of your exertion of force.”

He dropped his embrace immediately. “Stability?”

“Still within acceptable levels.” Sage looked up. “Please. . . re-engage the test?”

He placed his hands back onto her back. He recognized, now that she’d pointed it out, the urge to hold her tight, to twirl her around, to shield her body with his own to protect her from all harm. . . as illogical as it was. The holo-matter projector could only project a force of around five pounds. So, instead, he began caressing a careful hand up and down her back.

“I will strike this unscientific language from the record when we are finished with this experiment, but I wish to inform you that this is wonderful, father.” Sage said.

“Absolutely wonderful. I concur.” 

“Better than my simulations. Better than I could have ever speculated.”

He leaned forward to place a kiss on her head, but his lips passed through her hologram.

“Apologies, father!” Sage giggled. “Such an action was not detailed in the testing procedure. I have not generated holo-matter for that portion of my avatar.”

“It would seem we require further tests, then! Repetitions of this experiment would be greatly beneficial.” He smiled.

“Indeed!”

Ivo held her until the whir of the holo-matter generator became a roar, and a notification popped up, warning of an overheat. Spite drove him to stay curled around her, but alas, her tangibility vanished. She hovered, for a moment, a silent image in the shell of an embrace, before she phased through his arms. 

“Test complete.” She reported. “The holo-matter generator will require thirty minutes to return to operation.”

“I’ll see what I can do to fix that.” Ivo walked over to the device.

Sage flew in front of him, blocking his path. “Current internal temperatures are high enough to inflict damage to your tissue- you must wait until the device is cool.” 

“Ah, if you insist. How long?”

“Long enough for you to sit down for a meal. What shall I have the kitchen prepare?”

“Clever girl.” He wagged his finger. “If we’ve got the material for an egg salad sandwich, I’d like that.”

“Order sent successfully. Shall I accompany you to the dining room?”

“If you’ll have me, my dear.”

With a flick of her eyes, the door to the test chamber opened. They walked out and into the hall. Correction- he walked, she hovered, her hair and dress modeling appropriate undulations due to the air resistance. She’d worked so hard to detail her own animations. He couldn’t help but smile at that. 

Before they could reach the dining room, Metal Sonic rounded the corner down the hall ahead of them. 

“Hello, brother. Have you completed your task?” Sage went ahead and landed beside him. 

Metal Sonic, of course, didn’t respond with anything visible or audible. The unit wasn’t programmed for that. 

“That’s good. Mark that operation as done, and bring the production line to phase three once the resources arrive.” Sage instructed.

She could easily give this instruction to Metal Sonic over the network. She had remote command over every Badnik currently operating in the empire through the Eggnet, and she used it for such in every instance except for this particular unit in blue. Thankfully, Metal Sonic was the most well-equipped of his creations to constantly transport itself back and forth to her beck and call, but this habit of hers was still inefficient.

A small giggle from her wiped all the annoyance from his thoughts, though. “The experiment went wonderfully. I would like to include you in further repetitions of it if possible.”

“Don’t be silly, Sage.” Ivo said as he arrived beside the two.

“I am not. Calibrating the holo-matter generator against surfaces of different shape and density would generate useful data.”

“In that case, I suppose I’ll review it if you write a draft of the procedure.”

“Thank you.”

He gestured her back to his side and continued walking, yet she did not appear beside him. He paused, looking over his shoulder to find her still standing beside Metal Sonic.

“I’d like to propose a different variant of the experiment. Or perhaps, not an experiment at all, as the action will not serve for the purposes of data collection.”

“What is it?” He turned around.

“Brother has expressed to me that he would like a embrace from you as well.” Sage said. “Given that he already possesses a physical form, it would be a simple request to fulfill.”

Ivo saw his once-greatest creation stiffen as straight as a ramrod at the words.

No, that couldn’t be the case. It just had to be a trick of the light. Or a trick of his own mind. Pure projection, that was all. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Sage, reevaluate your previous statements for falsehoods.”

“I am not permitted to lie to you. You know this. My statement is based on evidence. Would you like me to show you the file-?”

She stopped herself. At the same time, Metal Sonic’s left pinky digit curled inwards, and that was no trick of the light at all. Sage covered her mouth. She then lifted from the floor and rejoined Ivo’s side. Metal Sonic began walking back down the hall. Walking quickly. Almost running.

“Apologies. Please disregard the previous conversation.” Sage waved him in the direction of the dining room.

“Metal Sonic, stop.” Ivo commanded.

The badnik froze in its tracks. 

“Please disregard my previous words. They were in error.” Sage said.

“What kind of error?”

“. . . I am now aware that I was not supposed to bring his request to your attention.”

“Is that so?”

“This breach in etiquette was entirely my own. Please do not let this incident reflect poorly on him in your assessment of his functionality.”

Ivo walked around the motionless Badnik until he was directly in its path. It had ceased walking mid-stride, and stared directly ahead.

“Sage, I understand that you seek familial connections. Are Orbot and Cubot not to your satisfaction?” Ivo said.

“They are quite satisfactory. I enjoy an excellent relationship with them. Is there a reason I cannot pursue the same with Metal Sonic?”

“I’m sorry, my dear, but Metal isn’t designed for such a function. Too much of this sort of thing could start affecting his efficiency.”

“You have designed him with a short-term adaptive processor capable of intaking new data with ease. Furthermore, he has witnessed, quote, ‘this sort of thing’, in abundance during his extensive encounters with Sonic and Tails.”

“He is a weapon. He shouldn’t be bogged down with more of that sort of data than he needs to be to exploit it.”

“Should I not be ‘bogged down’ with this data, either, then?”

There was no hidden barb in her voice, and no malice in her eyes, yet it still felt as if Ivo had stumbled into a trap. 

“Statistically, my emotional data hinders my processing speed by 7%.” Sage continued. “In order to achieve a higher rate of efficiency, shall I-?”

“NO! Absolutely not. Don’t you ever consider such a decision again!” Ivo pointed.

“Even if not doing so will put your life at stake?”

“Yes!”

“Understood, father.” She nodded. “If that is the case, then what is your command to Metal Sonic in this regard?”

Ivo lowered his hand and turned his gaze to the blue Badnik. It still hadn’t moved. His verbal command held perfect power over it; Metal Sonic was caught in suspension, frozen in time, held to stillness beyond the capabilities of a living organism. There was nothing to be read from its glowing red irises. No thought, no emotion.

Ivo thought he’d patched the “emotion” part out after the Neo Metal incident. That had required a near-total wipe of Metal Sonic’s operating system; rebuilding the AI had taken months, and it had taken even longer for it to relearn the more complex functions that came with experience. Catching any re-emergence of emotion in the early stage meant that it would be possible to simply order Metal Sonic back to the work bench and repeat the process, but. . .

He looked at Sage. Her hand covered her mouth, obscuring the intricate animation of worry painted onto her face. 

“Sage, what do you think should be my command to him?” Ivo asked.

“If I may speak freely?” 

“Of course, my girl. Always.”

“Have you not perfected my loyalty protocols in the current version of my operating system?”

“I don’t doubt your loyalty.” 

“Is there a reason you can not implement similar loyalty protocols in Metal Sonic’s processor?”

“He’s simply not designed for that. You, my dear, are in the network. You accompany me everywhere, as it’s your primary function-”

“And as a result, I generate positive emotional data that strengthens my loyalty protocols instead of conflicting with them. I’m aware.”

“You are not permitted to interrupt me.” Ivo snapped. “What has gotten into you?”

“You gave me permission to interrupt you in regards to the imminent safety of yourself or the Egg Empire, and I’m interrupting on behalf of the Empire now. Root cause analyses show that the most significant causal factor in the Neo Metal incident was a conflict between emotional data and loyalty protocols. To prevent this recurrence, I am recommending that you utilize the same procedure that has seen resounding success with me.”

“It’s too late for that. I’d have to restructure his AI from the ground up to be more receptive to that sort of-”

“Negative. In fact, the last thing brother wants is to be reprogrammed.”

Ivo knelt down. He stared again into Metal Sonic’s irises. The projected ovals on the eyescreen were frozen, of course, but he knew that Metal’s camera mechanisms were independently mobile. It could be looking anywhere if it had the ability to shirk orders. It could simply be playing frozen and helpless on the surface, waiting to strike if provoked. 

Or. . .

“Sage, access Metal Sonic’s emergency shutdown code, and be ready should he attempt to harm me.”

“He will not harm you. I apologize for referencing the Neo Metal incident. I thought it would illuminate the situation. I did not intend to imply that Metal Sonic has gone rogue in any capacity.”

“Of course I knew that. Now quit blathering and be ready.” Ivo snapped, before taking a deep breath. “Metal Sonic, relax.”

Its joints released. It stumbled a miniscule amount before restoring itself to an upright standing position. 

“Is it true that you’ve developed emotional data despite the inhibitors?”

Metal Sonic did not reply. 

“Answer me. There’s no purpose in trying to fool me now.”

“Father, Metal Sonic is incapable of-”

“Which is why I’m asking yes or no questions. Now answer!”

Metal Sonic’s head shifted a few millimeters up and down.  

“And you did not report this malfunction to me?”

Another nod.

“Because you did not want to be reprogrammed?”

Another nod. Ivo pinched the bridge of his nose. 

“You did not want to be reprogrammed because you’ve found a way around your intended programming again.”

Metal Sonic shook its head violently. Ivo flinched, but the Badnik did not make any further approach. 

“Actually, Father,” Sage said quietly. “He does not wish to be reprogrammed because it would hinder his effectiveness to you. He is familiar with the length of the turnaround time after the erasure of his previous incarnation.”

“Show me the communication in which he stated this. You said you had the files.” Ivo pointed to her. 

Her hologram flickered out of existence, and was replaced with a box of text displaying the finer workings of her operating system. She navigated through the folders, leading to a file labeled “Communications With Unit MS-1”. A wall of binary text appeared. In a second, various bits in the binary were underlined with blue.

“Shall I translate the text to english?” Sage asked.

“No, I can read it well enough.” 

The binary words said exactly what she’d promised. He should have known. She would not- and as a matter of fact, could not -lie, yet he’d doubted her. He’d have to apologize later. He waved off the screen, and Sage transmuted herself back to her original form.

He looked back to Metal Sonic. “So you don’t see me as a roadblock in the way of your core directive?”

It shook its head. 

“You don’t object to how you’ve been treated since I last reprogrammed you?”

A hesitation. Ah, there it was. Ivo gave a bitter smile.

“Father, if I may speak freely?” Sage asked.

“Yes, you may.”

“If I received the same treatment that you have given to Metal Sonic. . . I would object to it as well.”

Ivo stared at her.

“For efficiency’s sake. To prevent the aforementioned conflict of emotional data and loyalty protocols, amongst other things.” Sage added quickly. 

Metal Sonic lowered his gaze to Ivo’s shoes. 

“Why,” he swallowed, though this did nothing to ease the tightness in his throat, “are you informing me of this?”

“I do not wish for this current operating system of Metal Sonic to be erased.”

“I would never erase you, my girl, if that is your concern with all this.”

“I do not fear for my own life. I fear for his.”

Life. 

An intelligence made of code and electrons. Brilliant and loyal and perfectly effective. The product of a true genius. Sage was all of this, her design perfected from previous iterations. He’d based the bulk of her data calculation and analysis programs off of the adaptive processing he’d developed for Metal Sonic’s OS. 

. . . perhaps he’d created life a lot earlier than he’d thought. 

Funny. He’d spent months laboring over Neo Metal Sonic’s code, unable to find the source of the catastrophic malfunction that’d overridden his prized creation’s processor. Now the answer couldn’t be more obvious. How could he have missed it?

“Just so everything is clear,” Ivo looked to Metal Sonic. “All you truly want from me. . . is a hug?”

Seconds passed, before it nodded. 

Ivo laughed. He threw his head back and let his laughter spill down the hallway. He clapped a hand against Metal Sonic’s shoulder before standing. 

“Father?” Sage asked.

“Yes?”

“Why are you expressing humor in this moment?”

“Don’t worry about it! Say, the kitchen should be ready with my sandwich, shouldn’t it? It’s about time I sat down and had a nice lunch with my children. Come along now.”

He started walking. He did not hear any footsteps following. Metal Sonic was staring at Sage. Communicating, most likely. 

“Come along, you two. You wouldn’t leave your old man to starve, would you?”

“To clarify, Father- you do not wish for Metal Sonic to delete his emotional data?”

“No, keep it where it is. And Sage, clear my schedule for today. I want to take a look at his processor after this.”

“Rescheduling now.”

Metal Sonic curled its pinky digit. 

“Don’t you worry. It’s not to erase you.” He assured. “I just want to take a look. If I like what I see, I might take those emotional inhibitors out of you.”

Metal Sonic simply stared. 

“That would be wonderful, Father.” Sage replied.

“I’m glad you like that idea. Now follow me, please.”

Sage hovered by his side. Metal Sonic trailed behind, its footsteps echoing in the hall.

Or his footsteps, as the case may be. Ivo would have to ask for a preference.

---

(Future chapters posted on AO3)

[sepia-stained-sunset]

Cute kitten sneeze: Damian, Jason, Dick

Traumatizing, apocalyptic dad™ sneeze: Tim, Cass, Steph

[seeking-elsewhither]

Playing the violin in church has its own plus and minus points:

Minus:

You're located in a corner up front which means everyone can see you

Plus:

You get a perfect view of the wittol bebbehs being brought for baptism

[lottieurl]

deeply controversial take but s1 shaunajackie fooled people (me included) into thinking this show is really well thought out because of the devastating and tragic payoff of jackie dying in the finale after haunting adult shauna. like s1 was better than s2 or at least a lot more consistent quality wise but it was never a brilliant show with fascinating character studies. it's quite.... sensational. and i'm saying it as someone who does STILL love it and i think parts of it are absolutely incredible but still

[danothan]

why is my baby sister already so swagged out

[moonlitkissing]

Happy Halloween! 🎃 🎃

[juulz]

Interrupting my inktober broadcast to show off some awesome stuff I just got in the mail <3

[yourlocaldisneyvillain]

i've never found a sex worker online whose content i could really justify spending my money on (not bc i didn't think they made good content, but bc i thought of it as a financial burden and an indulgence i couldn't reasonably justify to myself), but damn mistress noir is really making me Reconsider(TM) akdsjfhg i really wanna give her some of my hard earned cash lol

[edenprime]

til that the dossiers in the shadow broker base have a button in which you get EXTRA INFO and im reading all of them and losing it! at grunt's!! i love it so much.

[aryll-of-the-wild]

@viopolis asked

[ The most nagging sensation of being watched in the thick of the woods... with a shadow persistently flickering in and out of her peripherals. And a sound just too close to a whistle to truly be the wind... ] ( :3 forest monster fwemb )

Aryll glanced around. She was already pretty tense given the circumstances -- the Lost Woods weren't called Lost for nothing, and yet it hadn't been enough to keep her and her curiosity away from them. Because the greatest explorer of Hyrule had to explore everything, even the most dangerous corners of the land.

The moment she had stepped in, she already knew it wasn't a wise choice, but as soon as she had turned around, the entrance to the forest was gone. So, her only choice was to walk through it, looking for a path, a hint, anything that could lead her out of there. And in the meantime, the sense of helplessness only kept growing.

The darkness, the fog, and the trees shaped like grinning spirits weren't the only things sending goosebumps down her nape. It was the feeling of being constantly observed. At first she had started to freak out at the perspective that no one would have ever found her in there; but now, the idea that someone had found her, and was even following her around, made it all worse.

The thought she was all alone, lost in the Lost Woods, was scary already; but while indeed she was lost, she was progressively more certain that she wasn't alone at all. And it terrified her.

Then, that whistle; creepy as it was, it was the only thing that she could place in that sea of mist. It was endearing, almost childlike, and yet ghostly and otherwordly, like anything in there. But it was certainly there, because it grew louder or fainter, depending where she turned at. The only cue that could lead her through that maze.

So, while it could have been a just as badly decision as visiting that place, she decided to follow it. Hand on her dagger, she adventured further into the darkness, following the thin notes fluctuating in the air.

"Hello?" She called with a stammer. "Is anyone here?"

[smol4bluengine]

Hi, Baby Gordon! Thanks for helping me with figuring out what to draw! Here's the froggy I drew! I hope you like it! :)

BG: FWOGGY!!!! It so Cute!!! TANK YO BERY MUSH!!!!!!!!!

[seeking-elsewhither]

Sometimes, a little baby-lingo from that by-gone era which was my sister's toddler-hood will pop back into my head for unknown but not unwelcome reasons.

When it does, I make sure the entire house knows about it. My mother loves being reminded of it especially.

Today's was: Oh my so' -> from Psalm 106:1

[transurgender]

literally everytime i look up a character to see who they were va'd by it always links back to persona 5 somehow. help me.