#drat now I want to go to a theme park again

[slightly-nerdy-rambles]

Robstar Week Day 5: Romance and Roller Coasters (Prompt: Date)

Admittedly, this is probably the combined-prompt fic that most loosely follows this year's prompt. I'm originally from Central Florida and pretty much grew up going to theme parks, so I really had fun with this one, which was originally based off of last year's day 2 prompt of "Carnival/Amusement Park". I based the theme park the Titans visit here off of the Disney and Universal parks, especially Islands of Adventure's Jurassic Park area (as if that won't be obvious to anyone familiar with it, lol). Ironically, despite the presence of a raptor-themed roller coaster in this fic, I haven't been on IoA's Velocicoaster (it opened shortly after I moved out of state, and I haven't gotten a chance to visit the park since then) and I had in fact forgotten the coaster existed when I first got the idea.

Romance and Roller Coasters

It was a pleasant surprise for Robin whenever he could get Starfire excited over something new.

Of course, “surprise” hadn’t always been quite the right word. He still remembered a few years back when just about everything on Earth was new to her. Starfire was as curious as she was optimistic, and quite nearly as impulsive when it came to casual outings, so she had a habit of diving headlong into everything from team sports to sandwiches.

But as time passed, more of the unknown had become known and things that were once strange and magical became normal. And while Starfire never lost her zeal for life, it was sometimes easy to forget the sheer enthusiasm with which she approached new experiences.

When she first set foot in the Adventure Studios theme park, that enthusiasm came roaring back.

“It’s like we are in another world!” she marveled aloud, lifting a foot off of the ground and turning every which way to take in all the sights at once.

Robin grinned as he cast an only slightly more subdued gaze around. “Yeah, that’s the idea.”

Adventure Studios was one of those big amusement parks that had whole sections themed after different movies and the like. The other Titans had been needling Robin to schedule a day trip ever since he had, as Beast Boy put it, “rediscovered his fun side” in Tokyo. Now, all five of them were gawping up at the stylized buildings, decor and rides that drew the gaze every which way.

“Ooh, ooh!” Beast Boy practically shrieked, shaking Cyborg’s arm in his excitement. “It’s the Kraken Whirlpool ride from Terrors of the Deep! Let’s go, last one there’s kraken chow!”

Robin frowned thoughtfully. “Maybe we should wait to see what everyone – and he’s already gone.” Cyborg had run off as well, leaving him standing in the middle of the shop-lined central street that Adventure Studios had named “Hollywood Road” with Raven and Starfire.

Raven shrugged. “They’re big kids, they’ll be fine. Even if the word ‘kid’ applies more than it should.”

Robin rubbed the back of his head, still frowning a little. “Yeah, I guess they can do their own thing and just call us when they want to meet back up.”

Starfire, meanwhile, had busied herself looking over a map of the park. “Oh!” she cried, pointing out one of the map regions in particular. “This area is styled after that dinosaur movie we watched last year.”

Robin craned his head to look. “Yeah, that’s a pretty popular franchise so I’m not surprised. Do you want to check it out?”

At Starfire’s enthusiastic nod, he turned to Raven. “You coming?”

Raven shrugged again. “Maybe later. I actually wanted to check out the Wizard Barry land before it gets too crowded.” She spared a moment to scowl at the small flood of people that was already starting to pour into the park, despite the fact that they’d arrived shortly after it opened for the day.

Robin nodded and took Starfire by the hand. “Okay then, call us if you want to meet up later!”

*******

While he felt a little guilty admitting it, Robin was kind of glad that the team had split up. He enjoyed spending time with all of his friends, of course, and he still hoped that once they all had their fill of running off to the first thing that grabbed their attention, they’d at least get to meet up for lunch or something. But for the moment, he got to focus on letting Starfire’s sheer enthusiasm for everything infect him.

“Oh!” she cried out again, lifting a few feet off the ground to inspect a looming Allosaurus animatronic. “Fascinating. It’s so lifeli–”

The animatronic suddenly moved to face her and leaned forward with a gaping, tooth-filled maw and a screeching roar playing out over its speakers. Starfire squeaked and flew back down to duck behind Robin.

Robin himself had admittedly taken a startled step back at the dinosaur’s sudden threat, but then he craned his head to fix her with a playfully teasing smirk. “What are you hiding behind me for? You’re the one with the starbolts.”

Starfire huffed and settled her feet on the ground. “Perhaps, but I doubt the owners of the park would appreciate me damaging their lifelike robots.”

Robin chuckled. “Fair enough.”

The two of them continued on down the path, marveling at the thick jungle-like landscape pressing in around them and the Mesozoic facsimiles dotted throughout the foliage. They took their time, pointing out familiar dinosaurs, trying to remember which of the forms they’d seen Beast Boy take in training and battle, and reminiscing on their favorite parts of the movie it was all built to resemble. It was like an impromptu date, and Robin was enjoying every moment of it.

Starfire squeaked again – in delight this time – when the path turned to reveal a looming building that resembled the movie’s infamous dinosaur lab. She lifted off the ground curiously to approach its doors, but before she could make her way in, something else caught her eye.

“I do not recall that from the movie,” she said, cocking her head thoughtfully at the big sign for a coaster that proudly identified it as “Raptor Pack Attack!”

Robin smiled. “It’s still an amusement park, so even the themed areas have roller coasters and other rides. They just have to be more abstract about the theme – like, if I remember it right this one’s all about speed, so it feels like you’re being chased by the raptors.”

Starfire’s eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, so it is a ride! Is it like the roller coaster at the pier?”

Robin’s smile widened into an anticipatory grin. “Sort of, but that's kind of a small and simple one compared to what the big parks can do. Want to try it out?”

Starfire nodded enthusiastically, a grin overtaking her own face as she caught on to his knowing excitement. She thoroughly enjoyed all of the rides at the pierside park back in Jump, and he could tell she was eager for a chance to experience something like that on a grander scale.

It had been ages since Robin had gotten to ride a big steel coaster, so he matched her energy as the two of them ran up to join the queue. Luckily it was still early enough in the day that the wait time hadn’t gotten excessive, so it wasn’t very long before they could see the start of the ride looming up before them. Starfire leaned over the railing to watch the ride attendants and mechanisms at work, as enraptured by the process of loading and unloading riders as she had been by everything else.

Robin let out a contented little sigh and leaned onto the railing as well. “You know, I’ve kind of missed this.”

Starfire blinked and gave him a questioning look. “Missed what? The roller coasters?”

Robin flinched a little, heat crawling up his cheeks – he hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “No. I mean, yeah, a little, but uh… I was talking more about seeing you get excited over new stuff.”

Starfire blinked again and tilted her head. “You think I have lost some of my enthusiasm over time?”

Robin shook his head. “Oh, not at all! It’s just… Well, there’s kind of something magical about experiencing something for the first time, and you are the best example of that I’ve ever seen. It’s great that you’re more familiar and comfortable with Earth now, but I also like how you get when you’re trying new things, you know? It’s like… it gives me a fresh appreciation for those things, if that makes any sense.”

Starfire hummed in thought for a moment, letting her gaze drift back to the roller coaster entrance. Finally, she smiled again, and Robin could swear it not only reached her eyes but made them sparkle.

“Well, I still maintain that Earth is full of amazing things to discover,” she said. “And I do not believe I will run out of such discoveries anytime soon. Perhaps we can experience some of them together?”

Shooting a meaningful glance at where the line had shuffled forward while she spoke, drawing enticingly close to the coaster, she held out a hand to him. “Such as, for example, a roller coaster that I believe you referred to as being ‘all about speed?’”

Robin smiled back and wordlessly took her hand in his, and as they approached the front of the line, the adrenaline of anticipation for the thrill ride wasn’t the only reason for the tingling rush just beneath his skin.

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic & Tails: Beyond the Stars - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: A Drop of Life or Death

"Just keep following me, guys!" Sonic called out to his pursuing friends as he breezed along the ocean with his amazing namesake. Who needs a boat when you're the fastest thing alive? He directed his attention towards what appeared to be a tranquil beachside area, which courtesy of its boardwalks, and its white, pristine sands, he couldn't help but be reminded of his favourite relaxing spot in Station Square.

"Where are we headed to?" Amy asked quickly, as she continued to hold onto Cream while the latter flew in the air.

"The local coastal resort is not too far from here," Lutrudis replied, while she did the same with Tails. "Being such a destination, it's naturally a popular spot in Viridonia. If Dr. Eggman is the kind of character I've been led to believe, it's possible he may be sabotaging the place for... whatever selfish reason."

"Maybe he's forcing everyone to worship him..." Cream pondered out loud fearfully.

"If he's not busy worshipping himself," Amy added with a bit of sass, having known the evil scientist's self-aggrandizing habits for some time now.

"Eggman makes me feel older..." Tails muttered somewhat absent-mindedly.

"Did you guys say coastal resort?" the sea-walking Sonic questioned, with a notable drip of dread in his voice. "There won't be too many unavoidable pits of water around, will there?"

"...Aren't you running on water right now?" Tails pointed out, trying hard to hide his amused tone.

"Not the same thing!" Sonic denied defensively, as he dashed off to their destination. The remaining four exchanged glances with each other, before picking up the speed themselves. Unbeknownest to them however, the blue droid from before was spying on the group once again. High above their own heights, he rubbed his hands in glee, in tune with the siren atop his cranium.

"Heh heh heh..." he giggled, betrayed by his unthreatening voice and nervous pitch.

---

Coastline Resort Zone

CR Act 1: Shining Shore

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Crabmeat - “Yet another 'classic' in the doctor's repertoire of mischievous metal myrmidons. Not only do they use those great big pincers to pinch you in the backside, like any crab with a short fuse, they also fire pellets from afar. Better turn them into Crabscrap before they cause you grief.”

Gameblow - “Based on the older model known as Game Game (darling name, I must say), these innocuous looking turtles spin their shells like a deadly frisbee. Regular frisbees are bad enough, but at least they only hurt your neck rather than, y'know, potentially slice it.”

Aquis - “Despite being based on seahorses, these ones never touch a single drop of water, instead opting to swim through the air... as well as rain down bullets on you. Not very advertiser friendly.”

Sweep - “Can you run on water? So can these pests, unfortunately. Trimming along the deep blue with surprising grace, they like to insert their spiked noses into your person... I trust it goes without saying that this would hurt quite a bit.”

At the risk of disappointing Sonic greatly, welcome to your first water zone in Viridonia. There may have been the odd watery area in the previous zones, but this will be the first one to really make use of your swimming skills... or non-swimming skills. Well, it may not suit the Blue Blur's tastes, but you're not gonna stop Eggman otherwise, right?

Anyway, you won't have to fret too much about inescapable underwater sections for the time being, as this act takes place at the lovely beach by the sea. If you expect this to simply be a textbook Emerald Coast however (you know, like Wave Ocean), you've got another thing coming. True, there's elements of those stages here and there - the palm trees filled with juicy coconuts, the wooden boardwalks leading off into the ocean, the occasional flashy yacht floating along to make you feel dissatisfied with your own life choices - but even a quick glance will reveal the beautifully decorated plaza, the higher cliffs teeming with stunning waterfalls, and the tall torches complimenting the gradually darkening sky, as it's close to reaching sunset by this point.

You can even stop by the tourist centers if you want to, of which their residents will be happy to provide you with interesting facts about the place... when they're not grumbling about rival tourist destinations, that is.

"I heard that Apotos once got corrupted by a dark force, causing its residents to act out and commit heinous acts of evil... Now between you and me, would they have went through all that suffering if they came here...?"

"You know the worst thing about that Dr. Robotnik? His vacation planning make no sense! Who puts a theme park in space? Was it his plan all along to kill everyone through lack of oxygen?"

"Soleanna? More like SoleanNAH... Look, I don't get visitors often..."

By this point, you'll have noticed that Lutrudis isn't the only one tagging along with Sonic and Tails this time around. Amy and Cream are tagging along too, and like Miss Hadeer, they'll try their best to help out here and there, as well as provide banter that doesn't get repetitive or redundant. You can't rely on them too much though, or else this would be far too easy. The Crabmeats and Gameblows still put their focus on you when attacking, though the Aquis seahorses will prove to be the most obnoxious of the set due to their tendency to hang around in the air. Suffice to say, Tails can get rid of them a lot quicker, unless you're really good with Sonic's momentum.

By the time you reach the home stretch, represented by an impressively sized lighthouse, an orca whale will pop out of the water. Luckily, despite your initial reservations, this one is friendly to blue hedgehogs, as it happily allows you to run along its back... But once you jump off its back, and leap high into the air, another orca will suddenly jump out to try and eat you. After narrowly avoiding the hostile orca's vacumn of a mouth, you're quick to notice that it's been equipped with highly advanced armor... and it appears to be acting against its own will, as you also notice the blue robot hovering down with a remote control...

Amy: What's going on!?

Sonic: Wait, that's-!

Gunner: Heh heh heh...

As the first orca wisely flees the scene of the crime, you're forced to run away from the clutches of the second, mechanized orca. As tense as orca chases were in the past, they didn't fire lasers and bombs at you. Poor Cream in particular is frightened beyond belief, but you've made it out of these situations before. Unfortunately, the actual terrain is a lot more complicated than past incidents of this sort as well, as you must traverse through piers, caves, AND cliffs to escape the jaws of the beast.

Eventually however, the ray of the lighthouse will shine upon the mecha orca, and with its temporary distraction, it'll crash into the nearest cliff, Monstro-style. Don't worry, it's not dead. But it did get rid of the armor encasing it, thus freeing it of its operator's control.

Gunner: Ohhhhh nooooo...

As the robot rather pathetically crushes its remote in anger, before flying away, you can finally complete the stage by freeing the critters from the end capsule. But in the distance, you can hear a lot of splashing, and a lot of children in particular yelling out gleefully. Or could one of those be a manchild...?

---

"Who was THAT weirdo?" Amy wondered as she squeezed the last drop of water out of her quills. "Eggman's newest hunk of junk?"

"Is the poor whale okay...?" Cream worried to herself. Lutrudis was quick to nod in reassurance, and gave her the A-OK hand signal for good measure. Amy also nodded sympathetically as she rubbed her little friend's head in affection.

"That wasn't a new guy," Sonic muttered, still soaked from head to toe, and not too pleased about it if his slumped body language was of any indication. "That was a Heavy."

"A what?"

"A Heavy, Amy. A Hard-Boiled Heavy to be precise. Me and Tails tangled with them long ago... I didn't think I'd ever see them again, but here we are."

"Them?" Cream asked nervously. "How many of them are there...?"

"Five," Tails answered bluntly. "They were tougher than they looked too," he added dejectedly.

"Drat," Amy cursed out loud, complete with a fist in her palm. "And I guess Eggman didn't decide to only rebuild one of them? Now we have a whole GROUP of jerks to watch out for."

"There's five of us though, right...?" Lutrudis gestured with her left hand. "Surely they're not much different from the doctor's other robots."

"Well actually," Sonic scratched his ear as he looked to his side awkwardly. "These robots were enhanced by a really weird jewel."

"Oh... of course..." Lutrudis trailed off, before quickly regaining her confident burst. "Well you still beat them once before. We can handle them... At least, you guys can... Myself, well..."

Before Sonic could argue with what he perceived as an error in her statement, Lutrudis cleared the last set of bushes that revealed the source of all the excited noise: a hustling, bustling water park. The vaguely ancient architecture suggested that it was formerly a set of aquatic ruins, but with the addition of industrial gizmos and doodads in the modern age, it was now a colorful array of seaside adrenaline. Dazzling fountains were dotted all over, and it truly caught the group's attention.

"Wow, this place looks cool!" Tails beamed with youthful glee. His tails couldn't help but twirl around in excitement. "We should hang out here for real when this is over! What do you think, Sonic?"

He was quick to notice the look of subdued resignation on his lifelong buddy's face. Evidently, the blue hedgehog had wearily accepted that he was about to get very wet once again.

"Oh man..." Sonic sighed, as Lutrudis put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

---

CR Act 2: Crazy Rapids

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Lobstrike - “These lobsters practically become heat-seeking missiles the moment they spot an enemy. Fortunately, while they're certainly fast, they can't turn around once they fire at you. Can't say I was fond of the taste of lobsters anyway.”

Scuba Pawn - "The most clever thing about these Pawns is that they're sea green. Slightly less clever is their tendency to throw their floatie rings like boomerangs, as well as launch a torpedo if you're under the sea. The doctor's compulsive need to mix deadly and daft would be almost admirable if it weren't for his equally compulsive need to conquer the world through it."

Returning Enemies: Crabmeat Gameblow Aquis Sweep

Doesn't this place look amazingly fun? Not if you're aquaphobic. Good thing no one on the team is, or else this would be very awkward.

Being a water park, you have a plentiful amount of gimmicks to experiment with. Water slides, water whirligigs, giant bubbles for you to substitute for temporary platforms, and even jacuzzi hot tubs that launch you up in the air with their overwhelming heat. Everything's coming up wet around here! The hybrid of marble ruins and wacky equipment certainly makes for a memorable scene, but don't get too distracted, lest you get bumped off by a Scuba Pawn.

Speaking of which, does no one here realise the gravity of the robots' presence? One lanky zebra in khaki shorts seems to have a unique take on them...

"Yoooo! Digging these mascots, dude! So full of life, know what I mean dawg?"

As you attempt to avoid shutting down emotionally upon hearing the word "dawg", let's discuss the swimming in this adventure at last. As Sonic, you naturally can't swim, but as Tails, you can count on that cute little doggy paddle of yours to help you go places. Compared to the old days however, Tails can now swim a lot faster, making underwater sections a lot more bearable than they would be otherwise. Of course, Tails will still tire out if you doggy paddle for too long, and regardless of who you're playing as, failure to obtain oxygen in time will result in a certain memorable countdown... followed by death.

That's not to say that you can't complete underwater stages with Sonic. The level design is always laid out in a way that ensures he can still make it through as well. But basically, you're better off with using Tails in these type of stages, unless you have something to prove.

And what would a place called Crazy Rapids be if it didn't have any rapids? There's a whole bunch of them, and you gotta watch your step, as the current during these sections is way too speedy for you to swim through without getting washed away. Like the honey in the Hornet's Nest though, you won't die if you get caught in it. You'll simply be momentarily inconvenienced... which is nonetheless a big deal when there's Lobstrikes willing to take advantage of your situation.

After all the slides, the rapids, and the trips in and out of the water, you'll eventually find yourself running along a straight path that takes you to the park's information center... But right before you enter it, you're suddenly bombarded with missiles. Once you dodge them for a brief period, the source of the missiles will hover down and reveal itself... a familiar helicopter, with a familiar passenger. With a push of a button on its control panel, the copter dispatches the rotors in exchange for a round underside, and the vehicle slams down onto the floor behind you with a mighty crash, breaking the floor apart instantly. With the contraption now taking the form of a boat, you must run for your life as an old friend tries valiantly to earn himself some much desired payback...

BOSS: Heavy Gunner

On one hand, this is kind of like your original fight with the police-themed Heavy, in that you're keeping up the pace against his vehicle of choice, and he's firing an onslaught of missiles everywhere he goes.

On the other hand, everything else is completely different.

For starters, Gunner's boat is always behind you, and its chipping away at the ground you're cruising along. Falling into the water here won't technically count as an instant death, but you'll be a sitting duck for the balloon-sized bombs that he sends down your way, so try to avoid that fate as best as you can. Should you stay above the ocean however, Gunner will opt for continuing his missile assault with his trusty yet blocky bazooka.

Now, Gunner's missiles have different colours, just like your past encounter with him. But this time, he fires red and green, not blue. Red missiles go straight for you, while green missiles arch upwards, loop around once, and then crash down onto the floor ahead of you, thus risking a watery trap for your character. The cybernetic sail on the front of the boat prevents offensive measures from the front, and neither type of missile can be deflected back, for it is proven that a robot can learn from his mistakes. So what do you do?

Wait for a green missile. Then, when it loops around and is close to ground level, grab onto it. Keep holding on until the missile is at the highest it can go, and right before it crashes down to the ground...

Gunner: Uhhhhh ohhhhh...

...let go of the missile and slam yourself down onto the boat with all your might. Gunner's subsequent arm flailing and eyeball popping will indicate that he did not account for this maneuver, and his boat will notably sink ever so slightly.

Three more rounds of this is all it takes. But be warned, for in an effort to prevent you from pulling that stunt again, the pattern of the green missiles will grow increasingly erratic after each hit, culminating with some truly fast zig-zag sweeping. As well as that, he'll also start firing missiles while you're up high in an attempt to make you lose focus. But speed is your middle name, so you've got this in the bag. After four strikes, the boat will finally give way and sink altogether, but not before Gunner ejects from his craft and jets away. This won't be the last you see of him, but you've foiled him for now. Let's just hope his buddies follow the same destiny...

---

"Y-you'll pay for t-this..." Gunner muttered timidly, as he used his jetpack to fly off to an unspecified destination.

"Sorry cop, but you ain't taking me in," Sonic quipped. "Wasn't fun being in jail the first time around..." He and his friends carried on running through the path, only to stop by an isolated building hidden away by trees and bushes. Upon taking a step inside...

"Look, Mr. Sonic!" Cream clasped her hands happily.

"Huh?" Sonic turned around after making sure Gunner was gone, and to his own surprise, occupying the lobby area was a whole bunch of Chao, of different colours and shapes, all playing around without a care in the world. Some of them were enjoying the pool, others were sliding down minature slides and throwing balls with each other, content with the other's company.

"A Chao Garden...?" the hero wondered.

"Yep," Lutrudis answered, hands on hips. "You didn't think we'd have any of our own here?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Sonic said nothing, too caught up with watching the little Chao. Amy and Cream wasted no time in petting and playing with the nearest Chao they could find, and even Cheese greeted himself to them through their own unique language.

"Chao!"

"Chao Chao!"

"Chao Chao?"

"Chao! <3"

As they got along with each other, Tails turned to Lutrudis. "Do you come here often?"

She nodded wistfully. "I love Chao." She rested one arm on her hand. "They're such beautiful little creatures... And so calming to one's senses. I've considered having one of my own, actually."

"Why haven't you got one?" Sonic questioned, as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not sure if I would make a good parent figure for them..." the horse rubbed her arm, while looking aside. "I don't really have the experience for that... and I doubt that'll change anytime soon..."

"Well, I think you'd be great with a Chao," Sonic gently nudged Lutrudis with a wink.

"Yeah!" Tails agreed. "You've treated the rest of us fine, right? You're nowhere close to having the inhospitality of someone like-"

"Guys, watch out!" Lutrudis suddenly called out to Amy and Cream, after having briefly glanced up at the transparent glass roof. Before they could react however, said glass roof suddenly exploded in a shower of broken shards, which threatened to cause serious damage to everyone within the lobby. Thinking fast, Sonic used his speed to get most of the Chao out of harm's way, and his four friends followed suit to the best of their own abilities. While the damage had been done to the surrounding area, the Chao were understandably in a state of panicked frenzy.

Sonic looked around to make sure his friends were okay, and he was subsequently relieved to see that Lutrudis had successfully herded all the Chao to a safe corner of the room, and was currently attempting to calm the poor things down. Before he could do anything else though, he immediately sensed another's presence. He didn't need to guess who it was. He could already hear the culprit's voice in his head before it even came out, as he had arguably heard it more times throughout his young life than even his own. Yet sure enough, out it came.

"Well, well, well... Sonic, my old pal. Long time no see, eh?"

The hedgehog looked up with distaste, and there he was, floating above in his signature hovercraft. The man who had caused so much trouble over the years. The man who saw himself as an emperor. The man who had a lifetime score to settle with people a quarter of his age. His two lackeys of questionable usefulness, Orbot and Cubot, were alongside him, as expected.

"Hey, what's all this commotion?" A burly duck in a suit and tie had walked into the scene, not at all happy with the carnage he had just heard, and certainly not with all the collateral damage. "Do you KNOW how long this will take to clean u-"

The duck immediately froze upon seeing the notorious scientist. He stood there in silence for a few long seconds, as his life flashed before his very eyes. The doctor simply turned to him, awaiting the expected reaction. Cubot was at least friendly enough to wave at him.

"R-R-Robotnik..." he stammered. "Gotta go...!" He promptly bolted out of the room, having cared very much about his own mortality.

"Oh, please, come back!" Eggman called out sarcastically. "I'm only here for a chat!"

"What are you doing here, Eggman?" Sonic asked with apprehension, ready as ever to put up his dukes if necessary. Tails and Amy were likewise quick to prepare themselves.

"What am I doing here?" Eggman pointed at himself with artificial innocence, as if he were hurt by the remark. "Surely the real question is what are you doing here. Must you always be like this, Sonic? Always following me wherever I go?"

"I think you've got that the other way around, doc," Sonic muttered, unimpressed with the man's fooling around.

"Just tell us your stupid plan already!" Amy complained, gripping firmly on her hammer. "Like you always do!"

"Now now, that's not how you greet yours truly," the doctor slowly waved a finger at the temperamental pink hedgehog. "I was just in the mood to visit the Chao that I hold so dear to my heart!"

"Because he wants to kidnap them," Orbot helpfully added. Eggman wordlessly glared at him.

"Kidnap the Chao...?" Cream contemplated with horror and revulsion. She immediately held Cheese tightly to her chest. "Why would you do such a thing!?"

"Yeah, why would you do that?" Tails questioned in a more quizzical tone. "What do you need Chao for? You're always after stuff like the Chaos Emeralds, and you've never cared about Chao at all until now..."

"Ah... I don't think I'll be telling that," Eggman leaned back and chuckled deviously. A grin started to appear on his face. "You see, things are a little different this time-"

"Don't you say that every time?" asked Cubot.

He got smacked in the face for his troubles.

"Things are a little different this time," Eggman repeated, looking in Cubot's direction in annoyance while doing so, before turning back to face the heroes. "If I explained everything right now, I'm afraid none of you would understand any of it! You'd have to reach MY level to get it." He smugly tapped his bald head, clearly alluding to the genius he prided himself so much on. "So if it's all the same with you, I think I'll be taking these girls and boys with me now."

Sonic was ready to thoroughly jeer at Eggman's amazing optimism in expecting to do as he pleased without his say in the matter. But before he could do so, another voice spoke out for him.

"You're not taking any of them."

Eggman looked confused as he wondered who had dared to say No to someone of his self-appointed stature. He quickly turned his Egg Mobile around, and saw Lutrudis standing in front of every last Chao. Her arms were outstretched, fully indicating that he would have to go through her to get them. The Chao were all terrified.

"Oh, right, you," the doctor commented. He stroked his right whisker. "I almost forgot about you. You're the new one, aren't you? The newest friend."

"~Ooooooh, friend!~" Orbot overdramatically clasped his hands joyfully.

"~Friend!~" Cubot added, and did the same in response.

"You're not taking these Chao," Lutrudis reiterated firmly, unflattered by the mockery directed at her.

"Surely you know who I am...?" Eggman asked.

"Yes, I do."

"Then you also know what I'm capable of...?

"Yes."

"And you know full well what I could do to you right here, right now...?"

"...Yes."

There was an audible hint of anxiousness in the horse's voice. This was her first face-to-face encounter with the most dangerous criminal in the world. She knew that he could mess her up in unimaginable ways, most likely with the push of a button. There was palpable fear on her face... Yet she remained where she was, not budging for a second. Even if it resulted in misfortune for herself, she refused to hand over the Chao.

"Then why do you dare to oppose me...?"

"Knock it off, Eggman," Sonic commanded fiercely. His hand began to curl into a fist, and his ears were straight up. His spines also sharpened a tiny bit.

"Why do you dare to oppose me...?" Eggman repeated, with added emphasis. His face was now inches away from the horse's own. "What's your story, hero?"

Lutrudis simply glared, despite the fear in her eyes. "No one owes anything to a rotten madman like you."

"...Madman...?" Eggman sneered venomously at her. Orbot and Cubot both shook their heads in fearful unison, explaining to Lutrudis non-verbally that saying such a thing to their master's face would not end well for anybody.

"Hey, egghead!" Sonic called out impatiently, tapping his foot. "We're still here, you know! You think WE'RE gonna let you take them?"

Eggman turned to Sonic with irritation. "Right, okay, let's get one thing sorted out about this 'egghead' business...!"

While the doctor was distracted, Lutrudis noticed that Cream wasn't too far from where she was. With a whisper, she called Cream over, to which the rabbit obliged. Kneeling down slowly so as to prevent her leg bones from straining, Lutrudis whispered in Cream's ear for a few seconds. When she finished, Cream nodded without a word, and she in turn called Amy over with a whisper of her own. Amy briefly looked to make sure that Eggman wasn't paying attention to her...

"If you absolutely HAVE to make these puns, why not go for something more original? More refined?"

...before tip-toeing over rather daintily to her two friends. After Cream whispered to Amy in her ear, the hedgehog nodded too. Eggman still didn't notice...

"Is this really the best you can think of, hedgehog? Have all those years of getting in my way gotten in YOUR way of coming up with something clever?"

As quickly as she could, Amy grabbed every last Chao, which turned out to be complicated given there were at least a dozen of them. But, not to be underestimated, she had them all in her mighty grasp... or at least, they were grasping her. This was then followed by Cream picking Amy up, and flying her out of the scene, taking the Chao along with them.

"...And that's why you need to come up with more original insults! 'Egghead' is so bottom of the barrel! Now then, the Chao..."

Eggman turned once again in Lutrudis' direction, only to notice her smiling with her hands behind her back, looking as innocent as can be. He also noticed that the Chao had all mysteriously vanished.

"Huh...?"

"Ha! Nice one, Trudy! Catch you later, egghead!" Sonic promptly dashed off further into the building.

"Better luck next time!" Tails added playfully, as he too followed Sonic's course of action.

After seeing them leave, Eggman stared at Lutrudis with confusion, who simply saluted at him with a smirk.

"See ya."

And with that, she ran off to follow her friends. As he watched her run off - but not before noticing she ran in a weirdly stilted way - Eggman simply floated in his craft in silence. He crossed his arms in thought.

"Oh dear, looks like you got tricked," Orbot thought out loud.

"Aw, you'll get 'em next time, boss," Cubot reassured. "Unless you lose next time, and the time after that... and the time after that..."

"I don't know why we're treating this as a loss," Eggman simply said, backed up by his surprising degree of calm nonchalance. "I'm still one step ahead, and maybe a few steps more..." He continued looking to where Lutrudis once was, as he gave his moustache another stroke. "Clever girl, that one. But she won't feel clever for long... Ho ho ho ho..."

"Hey, I heard a lot of noise earlier, what happ-" The pelican that entered the room turned tail and ran out as quickly as he came in. "Oh god, Robotnik's here! I'm too young to die!"

Eggman merely glanced at where the pelican was, and shrugged to himself.

---

"Where did they take them?" Sonic questioned as he kept jogging.

"To my castle," Lutrudis replied, trying her absolute best to keep up with him. "It should keep them safe, at least for now."

"You think they'll be alright with the Chao?" Tails asked in concern.

"Dude, Cream's oldest friend is a Chao. They've got this." Sonic looked around the hallway they were running through. It was rather fancy, with dark reds and silvers complimenting the mood, as well as a black and white checkered floor. "So uh, where are we actually going?"

"This takes us to the aquarium," Lutrudis informed him, while attempting not to sound like she was already out of breath. "I don't know what use Eggman would have for it, but his robots have been everywhere else so far, so..."

"Ahem, excuse me," a polar bear with a beard stepped in the way of their path to the entrance of the aquarium. "I'm afraid this area is reserved for celebrities only."

"What? But..." Sonic didn't often like to flaunt his world saviour status, but given the potential stakes at hand, it was evident that he didn't have much of a choice here. "But I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!"

"Oh yeah?" The gruff polar bear raised an eyebrow. "What's your proof?"

The hero stared at him in silence for a few painful seconds.

"...I'm Sonic the Hedgehog...?"

The bear shrugged. "Can't argue with that. You may enter."

The three friends simply looked at each other, each of them as baffled as the other. They soon made their way through the entrance in a single file, and once they were out of the bear's sight, Tails turned to Lutrudis with one ear lowered.

"Not to be mean, but that guy wasn't very good at his job, was he?"

"Apparently not," Lutrudis lightly brushed her ponytail aside to scratch the back of her head. "I don't recall anything about this place only accepting celebrities... Still, considering the circumstances, we should be grateful for his ineptitude."

"I just hope we don't need to make too many dips here," Sonic added, though his weary tone confirmed that deep down, he already accepted the reality.

Meanwhile, the bear looked behind him to check that they were gone, and upon confirmation, he smiled deviously to himself. All of a sudden, a puff of smoke had engulfed him, complete with a few dramatic sparkles, and when the dust settled, in his place was a droid much like Gunner, only this one wore yellow and a top hat... it seemed to be unable to stop moving its hands around.

"Hmm hmm...!" the robot chortled in a feminine tone, before disappearing in another puff of smoke.

---

CR Act 3: Aquarium Gallery

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Blastoid - “The good news is that they stay put. The bad news is that they're often placed in a rather intrusive fashion. Little do they know however that with the help of a certain shield, their projectiles can hardly put up a fight in the slightest.”

Shelly - "Looks like a bog standard seashell, right? Wrong: they may look all pretty and divine, but the moment you go near it, they'll clamp down on you like a deranged bear trap. Doesn't necessarily motivate me to sell seashells on the seashore..."

Returning Enemies: Crabmeat Aquis Sweep

This is the friendliest and the deadliest aquarium you've seen yet. There are fishies of all shapes and sizes (and colours) here, but as it turns out, some of the normally docile fish have been forcibly turned into mindless killing machines, just like the orca from earlier. You can leave them be if you want to, but freeing them of their armored shells will net you more points, and also make you feel good about yourself.

Tails: Why did Eggman do this to these poor fish?

Sonic: I don't know Tails, but I'm not standing for it.

Lutrudis: Perhaps they're being used to guard something from us...

Blastoids make an appearance in this stage, and they're the same as ever, right down to being rendered inefficient if you have a Water Shield, as you can simply deflect their projectiles away. However, they can still pose a threat, as they're fond of sitting atop glass roofs that - should their pellets make contact - will break a piece off, potentially sending you into the water below with a mechanized fish for company.

As you progress through the stage, you'll notice a change of environment. The red and silver halls filled with glass tanks and statues will gradually get phased out in favor of beautiful turquoise caverns, with the ripples of the water reflecting on the cavern walls. Speaking of the water, that too takes up a mildly turquoise hue, as do the stunning waterfalls found all around. Giant seashells rest easy, with funky patterns... just make sure you don't get them mixed up with Shellies. You can even see a little bit of sunset poke through the holes in the wall. Is this even part of the aquarium? Who cares.

What you should care about is a new force of nature at work: cybernetic sharks, with metal teeth and glowing red eyes. They're huge, they're fast, and you can't hurt them at all. You can only evade them, as starting a fight with one will cause them to eat you without a second thought, thus making you die instantly. Don't you just hate it when an enemy is inexplicably invincible?

But as long as you avoid the robo sharks, you'll make it out in one piece. The end of the stage takes you outside the caves, showing off the sunset in all its rich glory. The purple and red contrast beautifully with the briny blue sea, but you're also quick to notice what looks like a dam. It looks... rather old, actually...

---

“Tch, there sure aren't a shortage of weird buildings around here,” Sonic mused as he examined the rusty dam beyond him. It didn't look to be of Eggman's design, but it certainly gave off a creepy atmosphere all the same. Despite that, for all its decay, it was still sturdy enough to keep the nearby water under control. The sunset shined brightly upon the dam.

Tails noticed that the park they were in not too long ago was now a short distance away from where they were at the moment, having spotted it far away from the dam. Those caverns they came through must have been more expansive than they realised.

“Do you think Eggman plans to do anything with this?” the young fox asked. His eyes glanced left and right, as if to seek out the evil scientist.

“I can think of some ideas, but I'd rather not blurt them out in case he's... listening,” Lutrudis answered lightly.

“Good idea,” Sonic added, having also glanced all around for Eggman's possible whereabouts. “He always appears at the worst times, like back pain.”

“I know the feeling,” Lutrudis joked, as she stretched her arms.

The three of them went further down the path to the dam. The size of the structure impressed them even more the closer they got, and though a relic of an older time it may have been, they couldn't help but marvel at the effort of construction that went into it. For all their attempts to locate him however, the doctor himself was in fact standing at the very top of the dam. He was on his own, and he looked down at the curious adventurers. He kept watching.

They looked at the entrance with wariness. It appeared to be empty inside, but they knew better than to think they would be so lucky. Sonic turned to his two comrades.

“Well...?” he motioned towards the gate.

His friends simply nodded. Lutrudis had her bow in her hand in preparation for an unexpected attack. As they went inside one by one, Eggman took one of his hands off the nearby railing, and pulled out a communication device from his pocket. He put it right up to his ear.

“Now,” he commanded.

---

CR Act 4: Hydro Plant

Lutrudis' Badnik Logs: Drisame - “Watch out for that hammerhead! They hide in walls before leaping out to ambush you, and they also love to shove you into other hazards. If you get them facing upwards though, you can actually stand on them like it's no big deal. I don't think that was an intended feature on the doctor's part...”

Inkbrink - “These elongated squids can poke you with their sharpened noggins. They can also soak you in toxic black sludge, and if you're REALLY unlucky, that monitor of yours will temporarily get covered in the gunk as well, thus blinding your vision for a brief period. (Incidentally, what exactly is that monitor for...?)”

Returning Enemies: Crabmeat Gameblow Lobstrike Blastoid

It's quiet here. Possibly a little too quiet, if one were to be cliche. Well at least you're given a chance to breathe. Though the inside of this old dam is a tad dreary and full of shadows, you don't have to deal with too much at first. There aren't even that many enemies. For now, use the conveyor belts to go even faster, which still work perfectly fine despite their age. You can even stop to look at the occasional bit of graffiti, which includes inspiring quotes like:

Stand Up 2 The Pain + Turmoil

Toot Toot Sonic Warrior

All Hail Shadow

For The Mania

justice for kidd

One of them is tragically spelled incorrectly:

Make belif reborn

Anyway, as you go further down, it gets darker, but not to the point where you can't see anything. There's the occasional robot hiding around, mainly Drisames, but hardly anything for you to worry about. The sunset once again seeps through the few windows here, but don't get too enraptured. It might feel like a maze, but Lutrudis tends to go the right way, so just follow her if you're as clueless as a grey hedgehog during his debut.

It's subtle at first, but you might begin to notice that the area is growing slowly more high tech. The near-withered bricks and stones are gradually exchanged for silver metal, some of which is shiny enough to show a reflection. It dawns on you that this is the heart of the plant, and what's keeping it functioning despite appearing to have seen better days from an outsider's point of view. This is where the enemies ramp up in presence... along with underwater dives, to Sonic's misfortune. He even expresses envy when Lutrudis shows herself to be highly skilled at swimming by comparison.

Sonic: I really gotta learn how to swim sometime...

Lutrudis: I can teach you if you'd like... y'know, when this is over.

Of course, this wouldn't be a problem if you picked Tails, since he can swim. But you can still make it with the blue one. Just be sure to keep grabbing those bubbles for air regardless of who you're playing as. Inkbrinks and Lobstrikes can be troublesome in the tunnel sections here, but if you get an Inkbrink's sludge on you, it'll disappear after five seconds... better hope you don't run into another one during that time. There'll be no S Rank for you anytime soon if that keeps happening.

As you get closer to the end, you can spot a very complex, towered structure in the distance, full of bright green lights that contrast with the blue and silver all around. Some of Eggman's minions seem to be making an attempt to break it down, but you're not having any of that. Beat them up, and you'll hear the doctor himself chime in:

Eggman: You bothered to come all the way down here? I expected nothing less from you fools... but at least this will be entertaining to watch now! DROWN them, Crabgrind!

Right on cue, a crab mecha of intimidating stature bursts out of the ground like a possessed drill. It immediately starts drilling away at the structure, and it doesn't take long for the heroes to realise what the intention is:

Tails: Wait a minute... this is the heart of the dam... he's trying to cause a flood from the inside!

Sonic: And it'll seep through to the outside... we gotta end this fast!

BOSS: Crabgrind

Don't let the name fool you, it looks nothing like a Crabmeat. It's more like a hermit crab in design, if the shell had a bunch of spikes all over. Mix that in with a couple of drill pincers, and you've got a formidable beast. At least it's slow... right...?

This is NOT a timed fight in the traditional sense, despite the current urgent situation, but you'll want to do it as quickly as you can anyway, because the longer you keep at it, the longer Crabgrind will get to drill through the structure, and the more water will fill the arena, which will of course reduce your speed a little. There will be air bubbles if it gets to that point, but... try not to let it get to that point, okay?

As for the fight itself, Crabgrind may be focused on the structure, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have time to spare for you. As it does its work, it'll fire the spikes off its shell like pointy missiles in an attempt to keep you away from its job. Due to the size of the spikes, they're actually rather tough to avoid, especially if you're avoiding them underwater. It's not impossible, though. A well timed spin dash is enough to do the trick. If you try getting closer to the shelled monster, it'll use one of its pincers with the intention of drilling through your fleshy body. This is fortunately not shown in realistic detail. You can knock the pincer back to prevent the attack, but that won't damage it. What's the secret?

Like the Paindozer, Lutrudis is your key. In the brief period that Crabgrind's spikes are detached from its shell before gaining a new set of them, you can spot some fragile-looking wiring through the holes. Lutrudis will try to shoot an arrow through one of those holes, but Crabgrind will in turn try to attack her if she does so... unless you've got it distracted. Reflect its pincer a couple of times, and that'll be enough time for Lutrudis to fire an arrow through a hole without issue. Upon getting an arrow lodged inside, Crabgrind will start spinning around in a frenzy to try and get it out, while firing its spikes more erratically all the while, before clumsily falling on its side... revealing a weakpoint on its underside. Give that a whack to damage the mecha.

This carries on initially, with not much variation bar the expected longer periods of attacking, and ramping up the defensiveness... After six hits however, things take a dramatic turn...

Eggman: Hmm, this is getting a little boring now... Time for Plan B, Crabgrind! Ha ha HA!

Without warning, Crabgrind will cease attacking the structure... and instead lunge straight for you and Lutrudis, knocking you into a conveniently placed chute where you're constantly sliding along the current. You may be reminded of certain adventures from an earlier period, but now is not the time to dwell on the past, for Crabgrind will now use its shell to poke through the water and shank you. You can tell where it'll appear by spotting the bubbles that briefly pop beforehand. Even then, this demented game of Reverse Whack a Mole can be hectic. Keep your nerves under control, and you'll be smooth sailing.

Again, Lutrudis is your key. After several rounds of it popping in and out, Lutrudis will use all her strength to straight up grab one of its pincers with enough grip to actually slow it down temporarily, to the point where she's now surfing along the water with her feet. An impressive display, but not an easy one for her...

Lutrudis: Quickly...! I can't hold on for long... not with these bones...!

While she's grabbing one pincer, Crabgrind will go multi-purpose again and launch the other one at you in confused rage. Dodge the drill, notice the exposed point in the now empty pincer, and give it mayhem. This will take that pincer out of commission for good, though it will still hang there and limp along. Repeat this procedure with the other pincer, and then - with both pincers rendered unusable - Crabgrind will lose its mind and fire all of its spikes everywhere, without even bothering to aim at you. You don't even need to wait for an arrow at this point. Wait for a hole in the shell, jump through and attack his core, and watch as the once fearsome crustacean slowly sinks one last time. Tragic... if it weren't a mindlessly evil machine.

---

"Okay, that's the crab down, but now what!?" Tails asked in fright as they continued getting swept away along the tunneled river. The current was too fast to handle, even for Sonic.

"Relax!" Sonic grinned sheepishly, clearly hoping this wouldn't kill him. "What life or death situation haven't we gotten out of? We made it out of the fake emerald ordeal in one-"

"Look out!" Lutrudis pointed with wide eyes.

"Oh sh-"

A barrier had appeared at the end of the tunnel, which sent them flying over it, and through to outside civilization... represented in this case by more sea. Sonic was especially unlucky to have banged his head on the barrier, which knocked him out hard. His unconcious body began to sink in the sea, as Tails and Lutrudis came to their senses.

"Sonic!" Tails panicked. He and Lutrudis immediately swam below to grab him, but their own fatigue from their experience proved to be an issue. Thinking quickly, Lutrudis snapped her fingers. She motioned for Tails to grab her from behind, which he did. She pulled out her whip, closed one eye to aim as best as she could, and launched the whip in the drowning hedgehog's direction.

As luck would have it, the whip latched onto Sonic's leg. Lutrudis turned her head to Tails and nodded. Tails nodded himself in response. Using their combined strength, they pulled, and pulled, and pulled... and they pulled just a little bit too much, for Sonic's body was suddenly sent flying out of the water and into the air. Their eyes bulged in disbelief upon witnessing this, and Lutrudis pointed up frantically. Getting the message, Tails shot out of the water like a turbo submarine.

Meanwhile, Sonic was beginning to regain consciousness.

"Huh...?"

He was quick to notice he was falling back down to the sea.

"AHHH!"

Mercifully though, Sonic's initial panic came to a halt as Tails grabbed him. Sonic looked left and right in puzzlement, then looked up to see Tails' relieved face. He looked at his foxy friend for a second, then gave him a sheepish thumbs up.

"Is he alright?" Lutrudis called out to Tails from below.

"He's fine," Tails answered. "Just a little dazed."

"Yeah..." Sonic muttered in agreement, as Tails hovered down to pick up Lutrudis. The horse grabbed onto the hedgehog's legs, and they began to fly away together.

"What happened...?" Sonic wondered.

"You, uh, nearly drowned," Tails awkwardly explained.

"Oh... well it's a good thing I didn't. Thanks, guys." Sonic then thought to himself for a moment, then looked down at Lutrudis with a lighthearted smirk. "I don't suppose there was any mouth to mouth?"

"Oh no, no, not at all," she shook her head lightly. She looked down for a moment, and then looked back up. She smirked as well. "But I could give you that, if you want..."

Sonic paused abruptly. He looked like a deer in the headlights.

Lutrudis laughed. "I'm kidding," she gently teased him, to which the blue one chuckled somewhat bashfully. "Let's head back to the castle. Amy and Cream may be good with Chao, but there was still a lot of them. We better help them out."

"Right!" Tails obeyed. As they began their journey back, Sonic couldn't help but look down at Lutrudis once again. This time around, his expression was that of warm amusement.

Less amusing was who was spying on them from afar... Eggman watched them fly away in the comfort of his Egg Mobile. Despite witnessing the miserable defeat of his minion, he appeared to be in a good mood. He floated away in a different direction, smiling fiendishly to himself all the while.

---

Back to Chapter 2-3 Interlude...

To Chapter 4...

[kintailscape]

CONfabulation 2017

This weekend, I had a wonderful time at CONfabulation, a multi-fandom convention by the people who brought us Wincon. As always, it’s hard to adjust to real life again after several days of being a fangirl at the height of excitement and being uncensored around/among my people. So I thought I’d write it up while the experience is still somewhat fresh.

I headed out on Thursday morning a little earlier than I’d planned. There was a Penguins game that night and the hotel I was heading to was next door to the hockey arena in Pittsburgh, so I was worried about parking. Google said it would take me 4 hours to get there.I left at 10:30am and made it there at 4:45pm; I’m not so sure, but that seems like a little more than 4 hours. But it wasn’t all the fault of traffic or the weather. I did make one wrong turn and had to pay a toll for a road I didn’t even go onto (Grr!) but I got there without too much difficulty, especially once I left Northern Virginia. I was traveling alone this time, as my con friend was unable to get off work, which meant I could stop for snarfs I saw on the side of the road along the way. I earread Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer by Rick Riorden during the drive.

When I got to Pittsburgh, the traffic wasn’t all that bad, but it was FILLED with Penguins fans. As a Capitals fan, it was a bit stomach-churning to witness. Luckily, the hotel had self-parking spots available. So I checked in and then unloaded, realizing on my last trip that I’d left the giant bag of food I’d bought at home! Arg! I settled into my hotel room within two minutes (I never really unpack much). My room had a giant space in it (where another bed or a table once was, I assume, or else it was for playing Twister).

I headed down for the meet & greet and ended up sharing two fandoms (Carry On and Grantchester) during small fandom speed dating. I also wrote down several fandoms I now definitely need to put on the high priority list. Then I joined a few people who were heading out to a 7-11 in order to stock up on food. We learned a lot about Pittsburgh City Center during our exploration including: streets are layered, hilly, and confusing; alcohol cannot be purchased at 7-11, and all stores close ridiculously early. I stocked up on some protein bars, bananas, and cereal for the week, then we ventured out to find an open liquor store. Three stores later, we found one that was still open (it was 7:15pm). I also found a good handful of historical markers; my new friends helped me spot them.

We got back to the hotel and I knew from the sight of the downstairs and the streets packed with Penguins fans that I didn’t want to go back out (besides, everything seemed closed). So I spent the night in my room watching Doctor Who episodes, writing fanfiction, reading Outlander, and eating room service. Every so often I checked the hockey score and, when the Pens unfortunately won, the streets outside my hotel room exploded with noise. Ugh. Not where I wanted to be, that’s for sure.

I had a rough night sleep-wise, so I was glad to have my Always Keep Fighting hoodie to snuggle up in Friday morning.

Friday Morning Schedule:

10:00am–10:30am Dealer room I hit the dealer room and bought a few presents, items for future swaps, and something for myself. I also picked up the custom order I made from NightengaleNeedles for a pillow. It turned out so nicely! I had to run it back up to my room so that I wouldn’t fall asleep in panels with it. heehee

10:30am–11:00am Opening Ceremonies Yay! We made it here!

11:00am–12:00pm Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 20 years Later Panelists started by playing the theme song, which definitely got us in the Buffy mood. We had a good time talking about our favorite characters, moments, and episodes as well as discussing the uniqueness of the show itself. It was wonderful to find there were quite a few Spander shippers there, including among the panelists. We all pretty much agreed Spike is the fandom bicycle, but we meant it with love of course. I also liked the discussion about how the show highlighted the concept of inventing yourself and that change is possible without losing your friends.

12:00pm–1:00pm Plushie Workshop I We had to start from scratch as bodies weren’t pre-made, and deciding what to make took me a while, but this was a much needed fun crafting break up in the Quiet Craft room that happened to also be on my floor of the hotel.

I headed out with a new friend to find Jimmy Johns for lunch. After walking in the wrong direction and stressing about time, we ended up at a pizza place on the other side of the block from our hotel where several con attendees were also eating. I had a veggie hoagie, which I ate while walking back to the con and finished during the next session.

Friday Afternoon Schedule:

2:00pm–3:00pm Ohana Means Family This was the found family panel, and we started off by trying to define found families (does joining an existing family like Harry joining the Weasleys count? do they have to have a parental figure?). I adored the discussion of non-human species (like werewolves) who have a sense of otherness already who need to seek out others for a shared experience (I love a good wolf pack). We also discussed the many different ways they come about—choice, workplace, survivalism, world-saving, etc. Other discussion topics included how fandom is our found family, subsets within families, the greater diversity in a found family compared to biological family, how people with different skill sets help each other, and if there are any found families lately without tragic backstories. You get a tragic backstory! You get a tragic backstory! Look under your chairs, everyone get s a tragic backstory! I was THRILLED to get to talk Sense8 for a while! Squee!

3:00pm–4:00pm A Galaxy Far, Far Away We started off by sharing our own Star Wars origin stories, and it was neat seeing the diversity in the group (and also finding others who like the Ewoks). We talked about ships and ships as well. I’m clearly going to have to properly make my way through the Darths and Droids Webcomic. And we ended with discussion of The Last Jedi (SPOILERS!!!!!!) including how even though Finn is wearing Poe’s entire outfit it doesn’t necessarily indicate that Poe is naked, though there is a strong case for such.

4:00pm–5:00pm Vid Show The vid show was wonderful; I’d seen only two of the vids before (and as one was Leverage with my OT3 and to an Ingrid Michealson song, I certainly didn’t mind seeing it again). I was utterly destroyed by Darcy’s SG-1 Jack/Daniel vid entitled “Living Alone” and had to break out the tissue pack almost at once. So good!

As I had no one to do dinner with, I worked on my plushie a little and then went back to the only food place I knew was open and ordered a salad (healthy) and onion rings (my weakness). I sewed through dinner and got the body done (even though I had to reinforce the crotch better after stuffing him).

Then I got ready for the masquerade. I wore my Marauder’s Map dress with Marauder’s Map pin on my badge, Marauder’s Map bow in my hair, and the actual Maurader’s Map as a necklace. (I maybe like the marauders a bit, you know) I also had a black mask I bought with the cape I wore to the Walk to End HIV a few years back when the theme was superheros. I discovered upon arrival that I had taken the masquerade title too literally and I was only one of a few who had masks. Still, it went with the outfit and made me feel a little bolder to be hiding behind a mask, so I kept it on. There was a mashed potatoes bar and a dessert bar as well, and the decorations were wonderful. I had a lot of nice conversations with people, including getting to geek out on Classic Who (and ask some questions about it… and get some lovely audiobook recs) and catch up with one of my favorite fellow hurt/comfort writers. I don’t like dances much and attempted to retire to the fandom lounge for button-making with friends like last Wincon, but it was locked up. Drat! So we headed back to the dance. I did dance to the Time Warp, because that one has scripted dance moves. And I danced to the last song with everyone, which was Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” (so perfect, though were were a little iffy on which verse was which LOL).

Oh, the movie never ends It goes on and on, and on, and on … Don’t stop believin’ Hold on to that feelin’

I went back to my room after the masquerade and worked for 2 hours on my plushie while watching Doctor Who. I finished up watching the Fifth Doctor’s episodes! I also discovered I cut the underwear too small for my plushie. Then I went to bed at 2am.

I got up at 9 in order to eat breakfast and get down to the dealer room as soon as possible.

Saturday Morning Schedule:

10:00am–10:30am Dealer’s Room My friend put in a request for merch and I was hoping to squeeze it in before the morning panels. However, the dealers didn’t all get there early, so I ended up missing half of the first panel. I also dropped a few BookCrossing books on tables in the fandom lounge to give away. Worth it, though. The dealer had the thing my friend wanted AND I ended up buying things from pretty much all the other dealers. Good start to a morning indeed!

10:30am–11:00am Disability in Media A LOT less angry and complainy than most of the disability panels I’ve attended at other cons. There was a lot of talk of positive examples and analysis of things. That was refreshing to hear. I’m sorry I missed the part where they discussed Bashir because, I mean, Bashir, right?

11:00am–12:00pm Invisible Unicorns I had the HARDEST time figuring out this time slot. It was up against Book Recs for the People (I adore books) and Totally 80s Toons (possibly my only chance to talk about my first fandom with people: Pound Puppies). I asked the panelist heading from Disability in Media to Totally 80s Toons to please NOT discuss Pound Puppies because missing such a discussion would break my heart. Then I stayed in the roundtable room for Invisible Unicorns, where we talked about bi, ace, pan, etc. representations in fandoms. The session was so well attended we had to keep grabbing more chairs. LOL It was wonderful. I came out with a LOT to think about. We talked about the whole “prove it!” thing and the problematic usage of “born this way.” One thing I had never heard put into words before was how there is a shorthand for sex onscreen but no shorthand for things like asexual romance (YET!). There were also some hilarious moments i.e. “Once you cross the het barrier at knotting…” “That is NOT where the het barrier is.”

12:00pm–1:00pm Plushie Workshop II I was considering going to MCU, but I’m behind on S.H.I.E.L.D. and haven’t seen the second Guardians yet, so I decided to craft. I had big plans: Finish the head, make new underwear, make the suit jacket, sew the head on to finish it. I managed the first 2 of 4. I made the suit jacket then discovered it’s just a little too small. Drat! I’ll have to redo part of it. But it was definitely another nice break. Except now I have what looks like a headless Morman and not a Ianto Jones yet. One lovely attendee brought a ton of little figures, and we had fun going through them, sorting them by property, and selecting a few. I got a couple for myself and one for a friend. At the end of the day, after everyone else had a chance to look through them (and they were no longer sorted) I took a few more.

I worked on my plushie through lunch (thanks to snacks from 7-11) then headed to afternoon sessions.

Saturday Afternoon Schedule:

2:00pm–3:00pm OT3: A Love Story We listed our favorite OT3s in fandom (Leverage, Force Awakens, White Collar, Haven, Marvel, Sense8, etc.) I ship some very rare OT3s so I didn’t bring them up (Wolverine/Iron Man/Captain America; Sherlock/Watson/Lestrade) but it was fun hearing about other people’s ships. We discussed why OT3s are the best (solves love triangle problems, avoids ship wars, solves problem of killing off awesome female characters). We also talked about dynamics of OT3s (relationship negotiations–swoon!, soulmate AUs, imperfect moments, overlap with found families, inviting someone to join, etc.). And, of course, this lovely quote “My fandoms have orgies all the time” which pretty much sums up my writing style. LOL

3:00pm–4:00pm Fandom as Genre This one was interesting, and I’m very glad I went. What’s unique to fandom that makes it its own thing and makes it special? Some topics of discussion included: ability to have different versions of the same character, ability to have different settings/situations with the same characters, ability to explore minor characters, having less exposition (already know the shared universe, history, appearances, etc.), POV differences, how much of the community aspect is needed to make it fanfiction, the difference between authorized tie-in novels and fanfiction, why we write fanfiction (for ourselves or for a certain population that knows certain things already about the source material), what we’re allowed to write in a fandom vs. what is taboo, how A/B/O originated in fandom, and the concept of headers/tag wranglers. Some quotes I liked included “Fanfic is the only place characters go into the bedroom and come out as the same people,” “We need to make supernatural disgusting again!” and “We’ve come a long way from ‘we’re not gay, we just love each other.'” There was also a question raised regarding what is at the core of a character that makes him recognizable and feel like the same character when everything around is different?

4:00pm–4:30pm Charity Raffle The charity was Planned Parenthood, and people were generous both in the donating of items and in the buying of raffle tickets. I bought $40 in raffle tickets, so I was expecting to win a few things (especially as a few things I put tickets in for only had one or two tickets in the cup). I didn’t get the Ace scarf I really wanted and put a lot of tickets in for, but I did get a bunch of things, including a Martha plushie (who can hang out with Ianto, once he’s done–the Joneses!), tons of comics (including some Archies, Buffys, Marvel, and more), a Donatello figure (he’s my turtle), a Spider-man hat, and some gorgeous fannish jewelry. I was also super happy to see the items I donated to the raffle go to people who will love them. One super nice new friend gave me something she won in the raffle and had two of. Squee!

After the raffle, I bought a few things from the other vendor I hadn’t purchased from yet (I’d frankly been avoiding her booth because I wanted every single thing she had for sale and didn’t trust myself). I ended up with a few buttons I’d never seen before and a super soft Kaylee Bear. I thought about also buying the Jayne Bear, but I just couldn’t do it without a Simon Bear to ship with him. #noregrets.

A few of us stayed in the fandom lounge to finally take advantage of the button machine. Making buttons was one of my favorite parts of Wincon, and it was fun to have one of my button-making friends back as well as some new button-making friends joining the crew. We had a great time going through stickers and magazines, looking for things we wanted. I made a kickass perfect RuPaul button that is sort of now my favorite. I also made an Alexander Hamilton button and a kitty King George button to go with him. And some others, of course. We were at it for a little over 2 hours. It was such fun seeing the creative things people made!

I had just enough time to pop over to Jimmy Johns (found it this time!) before it closed (it was only 7:20, mind you!) and get back to the con in time for the trivia contest. I’d planned on just watching, but I got roped into playing. Glad I did; I even knew a few of the answers, like what century Outlander was in. However, I feel SHAME forever for saying “Flashverse” instead of “Flashpoint.” I will never shake off that shame. I was proud to be able to answer the question about all the Weasley siblings (including next generation) and probably could have done the hockey siblings one, but two people on my team JUMPED at that, so I let them have at it. I’m also sad I couldn’t remember the names of the Hansons! Terrible fangirling on my part; I’m just not good at remembering things when there are time constraints! In all, we had a great team and we came in second… though later I heard we misgraded another team’s paper and actually came in third. Just like the Puffs play says “Third or nothing!!!”

After trivia was Badfic Idol. My fic “Five Times Something Happened and One Time Something Else Happened” was read at the beginning. It was my first attempt and it didn’t win first place or even second. But it did get some laughs. And my friend appreciated the Picard on a Horse inside joke from Wincon I threw in there. Actually, 80% of the fic was thought up during Wincon a few years back, so it was fun to share it. Instead of the judges giving their thoughts after each fic like last time, they gave them all at once at the end, which was a little more confusing, but we got there in the end. The winning fic had no words and was written only in emojis starting with policeman knife fireman and ending with sailboat. I mean… sailboat, you know? That’s a damn powerful ending. Definitely deserved to win! It was a great event; all the stories were hilarious; I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. And the judges’ comments were amazing!

After Badfic Idol, I stuck around for a game of Cards Against Humanity. I actually won a round, which was great. I played some fantastic cards but just the one win. Everyone was bringing their best to the game, and it was definitely a hoot.

I headed back to my room and packed up so everything would be ready the next morning.

On Sunday, I woke at 8:45 sleepy but fine (one nice thing about never drinking is not worrying about con morning hangovers). I finished packing and, once again, headed to the dealer’s room for a morning purchase. I had forgotten a button I HAD to buy a friend and, luckily, there were still a few left (in various styles). Score! I’m not posting the photos of things I bought for people, BTW, because that would spoil the surprises.

Sunday Morning Schedule:

10:00am–11:00am The State of Fandom I had to ask but, yes, everyone agreed that LJ is DEAD. Someone suggested Pillowfort, which is like Tumblr only fixes all the problems Tumblr has and lets you have actual conversations. Someone else suggested Pinboard for bookmarking. We talked a lot about building our “brands” and the differences between us oldtimers and the new internet generation in terms of privacy concerns. We also talked about things like how releasing whole seasons at once erases that anticipation we once had for week-to-week shows, how there used to be a fannish code and norms that get passed down but are being challenged now culturally, and how freakin awesome Fanlore is.

11:00am–12:00pm Hamilton: Who Tells Your Story? We started off talking about race and how it puts so many marginalized groups back into the narrative of our country. Then we went into discussions about gender (how women are in the war scenes and how it’s kind of Eliza’s story, or would be if she were in it more). I loved the point one person made about how in Revolutionary War times, a person’s writing style was uniquely identifiable just the way the musical styles for each character are uniquely identifiable for us today in the musical. I was shocked that more people hadn’t read the Ron Chernow book, and I was going to recommend it for people who write Hamilton fanfic, but then the discussion moved on (it’s filled with amazing details like the fact that Hamilton & Eliza had a dog named “Old Peggy” and how Washington’s aides usually shared beds at camp). But we did talk about how the American narrative actually wasn’t as rose-colored as we thought and how the musical humanizes history. Some recommendations included the book Colony in a Nation by Chris Hayes, the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast, and a Sleepy Hollow crossover where Alexander Hamilton comes forth into modern day and is stuck here. Also, I was given a rec that has Asexual!Dom!Washington and subby!Hamilton that is currently my favorite Hamilton fic EVER!

12:00pm–1:00pm Family Affairs: Incest in Fandom Was great to end the con with a good ol’ incest panel! We talked about our first and favorite pairings. I asked about Bates Motel because I LOVE me some Bates Motel and was told the fanfic is not good, which wasn’t too surprising. We also talked about what makes incest fic good and the different kinds (I’m in love with the term Gencest now!).

1:00pm–1:35pm Closing Ceremonies I had to leave during the closing event, because of my hotel checkout time and because I wanted to get home before it got too dark, but it was nice being there for part of it. And people waved to me as I left, which made me feel all warm and fuzzy. The con com did an amazing job putting this together and making it special and unique. I really hope the next Confab Con is somewhere close to me so I can attend it!

On my way home, I attempted to find some postcards of Pittsburgh to send to people and struck out everywhere I looked. I picked up a grilled cheese with onions and some more onion rings (did I mention I was driving home alone?) as well as a frozen slushie drink at Sheetz. My GPS wanted me to go one way that was blocked off with a detour, so I took the scenic route out of Pittsburgh and quite enjoyed the drive. Then I ended up on 40 heading to a big snarf stop I’d seen when I was driving up but couldn’t stop for because I’d been worried about Penguins game parking. I finished earreading Magnus Chase and the Sword of Summer and put on In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord, which I also ended up finishing on the drive. So then I started Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson.

I found the historical markers (snarfs) I’d been looking for and discovered it was General Braddock’s grave. Just down the street from that was Fort Necessity. I thought about just doing a drive-by with it and coming back some other time. I even went into the park, drove around the lot, and then went back to the highway again. Then I decided to just do it and went to the fort. I was still on a Hamilton high, and what better way to end my con weekend but with a George Washington fuckup? The park ranger was sad to inform me that the reenactments were all done for the day and that there was only one showing of the film left; I didn’t really care about either. I went through the museum and headed out to the fort. Apparently the Braddock Road by my home is, actually, the very same one I’d been driving on for an hour up in Pennsylvania. I snarfed all the signs and took some nice shots of the fort, the tavern, and the monuments. Hopefully no one thought less of me in my wearing my Hamilton/Harry Potter mash-up t-shirt.

I found a few more historical markers on the drive home, stopped for gas in the little town that literally has an interstate running right through its middle just above it, and got home around 8:30. My cats were happy to see me, and Ozma kitten has already claimed my CONfabulation bag as her own.

CONfabulation 2017 was originally published on The Fangirl Project

[curlicuecal]

i subject myself to bad things

I still wanna do an actual “Dinosaurs and the Bible” movie, but just for fun, (and by request) here are my live-blogged notes for 

Zoo Tycoon 2 Dinosaurs in the Bible the Movie

not gonna link it, you can find it if you feel deeply moved to do so

I’m guessing you won’t

but I don’t judge

okay, I’m starting....... now.

-clearly starting with a surprise close-up of a five nights of freddy character was the best way to welcome me to this film

-hmm.  a lot of thought apparently put into this 'film studio' intro? and yet it still appears to be random spooky(?) clips of other people's cartoons set to 'the circle of life'

-where'd  the music go?

-ominously silent title card -oooh first person video game footage clipping rapidly through the landscape, wheee -i hear mosquitos?

-"think about all the dinosaurs that moves to any country where ever that all in the same country” -oh yes, this bodes well -this video has crashed my browser three times now

-a dinosaur! -or maybe a bird

-movie takes a brief detour for a random close up of what is either ants or static in a log.  I am 100% behind this decision. -ah ha, apparently the video maker has uniquely envisioned a theme park with dinosaurs from around the world -i think i've seen this movie and i'd like to get off the ride now -six browser crashes and counting (three ads)

-dinosaurs! -it's like i'm there -they are so happy -I approve of these happy north american dinosaurs

-the most exciting event so far has either got to be this dinosaur clipping directly through this tree, or the small wobbling mystery-dino-blob that is slowly sinking into the ground at the base of the tree -the sudden, inexplicable drop in quality is mostly just baffling

-hunting down lizard to a death kill -(my new desktop wallpaper) -*ominous music plays* -9 crashes -dino kill occurs off screen while we become distracted by close up of dino poo -this next segment is entitled 'when dinosaurs fly to the sky' and contains almost 100% pterodactyls walking along the ground

-a good boy, a friendly boy -10 crashes, apparently this player does not like when I pause it -a beautiful pixel sunset over the dinos -(i'm going to stop pausing to screencap as much and crashing the player so you will have to imagine the splendor) -title card says we are now on our own; how will we survive without the skilled guidance of our narrator -this dino appears to have clipped into a hill and become stuck, poor thing -oh my god i am only 7 minutes in, there is almost half and hour left, i don't think i can do this - ooh, hunting.  i wonder if these dinosaurs will actually make a kill on screen -false alarm, guys, nothing happened -ahhh, a beautiful sunrise.  what an eventful night it has been -slowly losing my mind here, people, i may not make it out alive -oh my god they're like walrus dinos hang on i'm going in for a pic

-SWEET HAPPY BABY -but what i still want to know is why these are dinosaurs OF THE BIBLE -like are they-- -hold up, suddenly we are in "africa" now -that was an unexpected transition -african dinosaurs are very spiky, y'all -there's like 7 different kinds of spiky

-also they can apparently phase directly through each other, that was exciting -or unnerving -returning to my previous point, why are these biblical dinosaurs? -this question feels deeper and more philosophically meaningful the longer i watch -i think this movie is triggering some kind of existential crisis in me -good thing i'm.... one third of the way through oh god -would a loving god allow this to happen to me

-Eroupe -and now i'm hearing some kind of screams of the damned -can't tell if that's a dino sound effect of if it's coming from inside my own head -could be both -eroupe's dinosaurs are boring, y'all

-holy crap some actual dino carnage -and once again we missed anything that might have been exciting about this scene -i did get to see someone raking a quote "small poop" though, so that's okay -so a tadpole monster just walked face-first through a small dinosaur -which i thought had been eaten -but then small dino popped up on the other side and made a happy face emoticon and rolled around on the ground -so that was less exciting -but THEN small dino poofed into one of the ribcage carnage items -so now i feel like i just witnessed some kind of dino vore fetish -... -send help -commercial break! -my prayers have been answered -also halfway through and we've made it to asia -asia is full of tiny chirpy dinos -they have floofy tails -don't look now but i think these dinosaurs of the bible may be EVOLVING -these little protoceratops things are literally the loudest, echoiest, ground shaking-est dinosaurs we have encountered yet -i identify with them

-i assume this small bird floof thing is screeching about traditional marriage -on to australia! -we're running out of continents guys, i am excited -australia is home to the long moan-y sad dinos -i already feel at home -another ad, wheee -hello, there is a SNAKE in this dino movie -my suspension of disbelief has been blown -i would like my money back -whipping on through south america, i'm going to assume nothing of interest happens in this section of the movie so i can close my eyes for a little while and think of my happy place - i swear i just saw bigfoot out of the corner of my eye -another weirdly cheerful dino cannibalism thingy -i feel like the video is punishing me for complaining about not seeing these on screen -awww water dinos

-WE ARE UNDERWATER THIS IS THE COOLEST THING THAT HAS HAPPENED THE ENTIRE VIDEO -MAYBE MY STANDARDS ARE JUST DROPPING  -I CAN'T TELL ANYMORE -i think a rope with a tailfin just swam by -another commercial arises to save my sanity -oh no, the video appears to have perma-glitched and failed to load the next part -however shall i survive -guess i'll have to skip the last 9 minutes -sigh SIGH -:D -.......drat -on to africa -land of pine trees and noise -see i'm no longer even impressed by spiky crocodiles walking through tree trunks -i have become numb to this movie's grandeur -SPIKY SHOUTING T-REX

-I TAKE IT ALL BACK -welp, clearly that was the high point, let's all go home -oh no wait let's go to "new Zeland" instead -etc, etc, dinosaurs, strange noises, unexplained strips of runway -they're just standing here like this and i don't feel like i should ask -mohawk dinosaur -hairdye dinosaur -itchy dinosaur -flowers and shit -please let this be done -um -what the heck there are strange and horrible noises playing -i can't tell if that's thunder or music -it's music -oh man, please let this end with me getting eaten

-it ended with me in space idk guys -oh hey guess what -I SURVIVED THIS VIEWING EXPERIENCE -these credits are the best part tbh

-my new new desktop background -tag yourself i'm singular omnivore -"Pangea (Dinosaur World)" -yes clearly those are synonyms -i don't wanna be a negative nelly but i feel like crediting a director might be a little strong -i was gonna ask why they credited the movie "dinosaurs" but i guess we're doing some random footage of that at the end -interspersed with snakes and my little pony? -hot damn i'm confused -moral of the story: dinosaurs and the bible are confusing -i mean i’m assuming; i'm just spit-balling here -my brain melted out my ears 20 minutes ago -thank you all for helping make this a part of my life -i hope you are happy -i am going to bed