#feels like being the object yourself when a beautiful cd player is in my hands

[crtlcrunchrrr]

I wanna be tucked into someone’s pocket

To be loved deeply, like an object

That’s why I choose to fill my heart with trinkets and doodads

To desire the worlds affections , I’ll hide them from myself

So I can remember what it’s like to tenderly yearn once more

Kiss its screen , gently dust it off , my arms are full of joy,

I’ll never regret this kind of love

Playfully scratching off my chest

Putting them there again

[soft-thrills]

XF Fic: Too Much, Just Right

I fear that if I don’t post this now, I may never post it.

Summary: Mulder/Scully smut. Dom Mulder. NC-17. Classic PWP. Mulder and Scully get kinky on a vacation to Big Sur. That’s it, that’s the plot. It’s embarrassingly long, what else is new.

It satisfies two prompts from the Dec ‘18/Jan’19 @xfpornbattle​, which, LOL, could I be any slower?

Those prompts are:

Dom Mulder draped over Scully's back, pounding into her and whispering the dirtiest things in her ear while playing with her clit. Bonus if there are people nearby.

and:

Dom Mulder blowjob, slapping Scully's cheeks with his dick while she touches herself

I reserve the right to revisit this setting, by the way, because Big Sur is the most surreal landscape I’ve ever visited, and it’s a BIG Mulder/Scully mood.

If I’ve not scared you off, keep reading, friends. Unbeta’ed. Sorry for the typos or tense slips. I tried to catch ‘em all. If you like it, hate it, it makes you feel something, anything, please let me know.

He books them a cabin in a redwood grove on the California coast. Their cell phones lose reception as they begin the winding drive through Big Sur, dramatic scenery seemingly all around them — jagged cliffs and primal, roaring ocean waves on one side; mountains and thick forest on the other. It feels like the edge of the universe. 

They are in a rented Jeep, with the top taken off, and Mulder had popped The Beach Boy’s Pet Sounds — somehow at once upbeat and melancholy, not unlike him — into the CD player.

They are relaxed, happy. Blessedly alone.

“No shared apartment walls out here, Scully,” he says, his voice dark and low, the way it always sounds in the evenings when he takes charge.

His hand lands on her thigh and she jumps. He smirks. She feels off balance — the rush of the wind around the Jeep, Brian Wilson’s voice, the sheer edges and the blue sky — and it feels good. 

“No neighbors. I’m going to have so much fun making you scream,” he promises. “Just you and me in the middle of nowhere.”

...So he hadn’t realized there would be another cabin about 20 feet away from theirs, occupied by a friendly couple in their twenties who wave when they pull up, just as the sun is setting. She shoots him a trademark raised eyebrow. 

“All alone in the middle of nowhere, huh?” 

In the end, it works out. Ed and Mary are lovely, and they spend the evening sitting around a fire pit between the two cabins, sharing a cache of West Coast IPAs, pinot noir and marshmallows. Sadly, Mulder and Scully have to politely turn down the couple’s generous offer to enjoy some fine California Gold marijuana, what with the federal employment and all. 

A couple hours later, it is well and truly dark. Scully knows from past trips out to Big Sur when she was young that the sky is full of stars, though they can’t see it from their vantage point beneath the thick canopy of redwoods. She feels warm from the fire and the drinks and the easy camaraderie. She feels happy, relaxed, far from her responsibilities. 

“Ready to hit the hay, Scully?” Mulder asks, a voice so sweet she’d almost forgotten the mood he’d been in earlier. 

Almost.

She felt warm all over again.

“Yeah, if we want to get up early tomorrow and hike, I suppose we’d better.” 

And so they say goodnight to Ed and Mary, who say they’d be outside a little while longer, making sure the fire safely dies down. Very responsible. 

The cabin is small but well appointed — for once it really is a nice trip to the forest. It has sliding glass doors, and once they were inside, Mulder drew the curtains almost all the way. Almost. It would be unlikely Ed or Mary could see anything from their vantage point, but not entirely impossible if they ventured out of the clearing. The walls are thin enough that she can hear Mary laughing at something Ed said outside.  

“Guess it would be a little rude to make you scream, Scully,” he says, and she jumps, because Mulder’s low voice is right against her ear, and she hadn’t even realized he was behind her.

“I guess so,” she says, not happy about how shaky her voice is already.

“Maybe I’ll just have to settle for making you whimper. Making you beg. Making you moan.”

She could settle for that. Doesn’t really feel like settling at all, actually.

“And maybe, Scully, if you’re very good, and you promise not to make too much noise, maybe I will let you come.”

She watches her own chest rise and fall, listens to the sound of her own breath. He is so annoyingly, wonderfully good at this. It was hard, at first, for her to accept that she liked it — that bossy Dana Scully liked being bossed around in bed. She supposes it’s not particularly shocking. It might even be predictable. It took Mulder next to no time to figure out, brilliant profiler and whatnot.  But it’s still hard to be vulnerable with someone when you want them to treat you as an equal in a relationship. Harder still when you also work with that someone in an environment where it is imperative that they treat you as an equal.

Needless to say, she got over it.

“Would you like that, Scully? Would you like me to make you beg?” he asks, running his hands up her sides, and she can’t help but shiver.

“Yes.”

“Take your clothes off,” he says, not a whisper anymore, and his voice is enough to make her jump.

He stalks out from behind her as she sheds the fleece jacket she’d worn to keep warm by the fire, then her t-shirt, then her jeans.

“Stop,” he says, when she was down to her underwear and bra, simple but matching black cotton.

He kisses her, hands in her hair, like he’d been waiting to do it since he’d made his now-amended promise back in the Jeep all those hours ago. A needy sound escapes from the back of her throat, and she can’t tell if she’s squirming because of embarrassment or desire but she’s pretty sure it’s both.

She is out of breath when he pulls away. 

“You’re so beautiful, Scully. You’re perfect,” he says, and while she doesn’t think of herself that way, in that moment, she believes him.

“I want to make you deliriously happy,” he tells her.

She leans into his chest as he strokes her hair.

“But first,” his voice drops again, his hand goes from stroking to gripping the hair at the nape of her neck, pulling back so she looks up at him. “You’re going to suck my cock.”

He is good at that — setting her at ease with sweet little touches and then jolting her back into their kinky little game — and she is a real sucker for it. 

She glances in the direction of the bed, but he shakes his head. She feels herself get hotter. He pulls a pillow off the bed and places it in front of him. She knows what he wants, but she wants to hear him tell her.

“On your knees, Scully.”

She’s always been good at following directions. When she is settled, he unbuttons his fly. He takes his cock in hand, but instead of pressing it against her lips, he rubs it against her cheek. She feels herself blush and then he gently taps it against her cheek, and then a little harder, and that’s something new and Christ, it’s almost too much, which means it makes her wet.

“Does sucking my cock turn you on?” 

She silently curses him for expecting her to speak in this condition. “Yes. Please,” she says, although she’s not entirely sure what she’s asking him for.

He slaps his dick against her cheek again and she squeezes her legs together. Too much. But God, she likes it. 

“You can play with yourself,” he says. Of course she can, she is a grown woman, and she can do whatever she likes to her own body… and yet on this evening, in this mood, she wouldn’t dream of it without Mulder’s permission.

He puts his cock in her mouth, and she takes him up on his offer, slipping her hands inside her panties and finding herself predictably wet.

She takes him as deep as she can, concentrating until she gets into a rhythm, then looking up at him and making eye contact. He groans, and she’d smirk if she could.

“I’ve been waiting all day for this, Scully,” he mutters. “Been thinking about sliding into your mouth since I started teasing you in the Jeep. I could barely concentrate out by the fire, I wanted you so bad.”

She moves the busy fingers under her underwear a little faster, and he notices. 

“It makes you wet to have my dick in your mouth, huh?” 

She moans around his cock. Too much. Just right. 

Kinky sex with Mulder never fails to remind her what a good interrogator he is. He is constantly talking to her, asking her to react, asking her to admit her secrets — yes, I want you to make me beg, yes, I want to suck your cock, yes, I like having your dick in my mouth. It is a temporarily lopsided power dynamic — there is no doubt that Mulder is in charge right now — but there’s rarely any sense of force. She wants every filthy thing he does to her, and he makes her tell him that. 

It is overwhelming to be the object of his intense focus, his questioning, his curiosity. At first it was terrifying how little she could hide from him. It is still a little scary — in an exciting, pulse-quickening way that reminds her why she turned in her stethoscope for a gun. It’s also oddly comforting: She doesn’t have to hide, or pretend, with Mulder. She just has to be herself, strange quirks and kinks and all. He could see through any pretending she could try.

She takes him a little deeper, deep enough that it makes her eyes water. A gentle thumb wipes away a tear that had formed at the edge of her eye. She looks up into his eyes and when he smiles at her, she nearly melts. 

“Hands where I can see them, now, Scully,” he says, and she reluctantly stops touching herself. 

Mulder withdraws from her mouth a moment later, and helps her to her feet. He steps out of his jeans, then pulls his t-shirt over his head. 

“Did you enjoy that, Scully?”

That he calls her by her last name, even now, as she wipes the corner of her lips, it’s somehow a thousand times more intimate than if he’d used her first name. It’s like he sees right through whatever walls she might want to build, flimsier than the walls of this cabin, outside of which the fire is still burning as Ed and Mary keep talking.

“Yes,” she says simply, finally, answering his question. Then she flicks her eyes at his erection. “I could feel that you enjoyed it as well.”

Despite how much she likes it when he’s in charge, she can’t help but try to claw back a little pride.

“Of course I liked it,” he says, pulling her close against his erection. “What’s not to like about my buttoned-up partner getting on her knees to take my cock down her throat while she plays with herself?”

She moans -- an embarrassing, unintended, not very quiet moan. 

“What did I tell you about being quiet, Scully?” he teases, followed by a sharp swat on her ass. 

Too much. Just right.

“I can’t help it,” she whines, a whisper.

“Well you’d better try, if you want me to let you come.”

On any other evening she’d laugh. She’d scoff at the idea that anyone could *let* her do anything. But it isn’t any other evening and she’s ready to dissolve into a puddle at his feet and so she bites her lip and she nods like a --

“Good girl,” he says.

When she is back in her right mind she is going to murder him. Or buy him breakfast. She can’t really be sure. 

He shoves her -- shoves her! -- onto the cabin’s king size bed, which takes up most of the small space. Her pulse is racing. 

Scully knows, rationally, that there are lots of reasons people like any manner of kinky sex -- the trust, the intimacy, the letting go of responsibility, all of those things are appealing to her. But she thinks the biggest draw is the sheer thrill. She doesn’t know what Mulder will do next. She is a little afraid but terribly excited, the way she is as a roller coaster cranks its way up a hill, or when her heels click on the pavement as she chases a suspect. She slinks backward on the mattress, away from him, back up against the headboard, even as all she wants is his touch. 

He slips out of his boxers. 

“Where ya going, Scully?” he asks, all boyish charm and wolflike grin. He yanks one leg, hard, pulling her down the bed until she’s flat on her back again. 

“Mulder, please, I --” and she stops, because she doesn’t even know what to say.

“You looked very pretty with my cock in your mouth, Scully. Would you like me to touch you? I haven’t yet, have I? Touched your pussy, I mean,” he says, marking that last bit with a firm squeeze of her left breast.

“No,” she replies.

“No, you don’t want me to touch you?”

“Oh, god, please touch me. You haven’t, but please,” she begs, and it’s embarrassing to beg, but it’s also hot, and it’s also all she can do, because if Mulder doesn’t touch her soon she’s going to lose her mind. 

He slides her underwear, embarrassingly wet, down her legs, his fingernails scraping their way. 

“Turn over,” he says.

She does, arching her ass up almost unconsciously. He gives it a playful smack and she moans.

“What do you want?” he asks her, drawing his penis up and down her labia, teasing.

“I want you to touch my clit,” she says.

He waits. She waits. 

“No,” he says, the only real warning she gets before he slides his cock inside her, to the hilt. 

She cries out -- and his hand covers her mouth.

“What did I tell you about being quiet?” he growls.

The feeling of him inside her -- hot and hard and so big -- is overwhelming. But she knows she won’t come without his fingers on her clit, and so does he. He’s going to keep teasing her. 

He moves his hand away from her mouth. She’s prone on her stomach and he’s draped over her, all over her. His lips are against her ear.

“Are you going to be quiet for me, Scully?” he asks her.

“Yes,” she whispers.

“Good,” he says. “We wouldn’t want our friends outside to hear what a little slut you are, now would we?”

Too much. Just right. She whimpers, muffling the sound into the mattress beneath her. 

“I bet you’d like to rub your clit right now, wouldn’t you?” he asks her.

“Yes, please,” she says.

“But you’re not -- why aren’t you touching yourself?” he asks.

She squirms, just another subject of his interrogations, just as helpless against his probing questions as any of them have ever been. 

“Because you haven’t let me,” she admits. “You haven’t given me permission.”

“That’s right, and I’m in charge, aren’t I?”

She has heard Mulder’s voice crack like a whip. She has heard him bellow, heard him snarl, heard him command a room of men with just his words.

But this — this rough, ragged whisper, so close to her ear she feels it more than she hears it — it’s so unbearably intimate, so unnerving. It reverberates to her very core.

“Yes,” she admits. “You’re in charge. Please.”

“Please what, Scully?” he asks, as he slams into her. “Do you want to touch yourself?”

“Yes,” she breathes. And then: “No. I want you to touch me. Please.”

“That’s my girl,” he says. 

Before she knows it, two fingers are working her clit in tight little circles as he pounds into her. In another moment she might envy his athleticism, be impressed by his coordination. But all she can do right now is moan into the pillow beneath her, overwhelmed, overloaded. 

Too much, just right. 

“I told you to be quiet, but you just can’t help yourself, can you?” he asks.

She assumes all he can hear is a moan, but what she’s muttering into the pillow is: “Pleasepleasepleaseplease.”

“I like it when you can’t control yourself, Scully,” he mutters. “Because even if you can’t -- I can. You know that, right?”

“Yes,” she whispers. “Yes yes, please, please.”

“Come for me,” he says, his voice practically a growl. “Come for me, Scully.” 

She’s so worked up that a few flicks of his wrist is really all it takes for her to tumble over the edge, as sharp and severe as the cliffs they drove past a few hours ago. 

“That’s right” he says, so fucking smug she wants to suffocate him, except she’s busy gasping for air herself. 

She’s coming down as he starts moving faster. She realizes, appreciatively, the amount of self-restrain that was probably necessary for him to focus so singularly on her orgasm. She arches a little higher, moans a little breathier. He deserves it, doesn’t he?

“Give it to me,” she moans, knowing what buttons to press, wanting it to be as good for him as it was for her. “Please, Mulder.”

A moment later he spills into her, collapsing on her back, overwhelming her, surrounding her in the best possible way.

For a moment they both just lie there, flattened, useless, happy, sated people. Scully feels empty in a good way, a way she rarely feels. Divorced from her worries, from her expectations. Elated. 

He slips out of her, slides to her side and spoons against her. 

“God, I love you, Scully,” he murmurs into her shoulder. 

“I love you too, Mulder,” she says, pressing back against him.

“I hope I wasn’t --”

“Stop. It was perfect,” she sighs. 

A beat.

“But I hope we don’t run into Ed or Mary tomorrow.”

[moonlightdreamzz]

Serenity — Mark Lee

Request: “Hi love! 💋 can you do a scenario with Mark Lee where he sees you being too in your head, stressing about life, being low-key frantic, freaking out about basically nothing, pulling at your hair, over organizing, etc. and he tries to calm you down and get you to relax in however way you see fit??? That was a whole lot... sorry lol”

A sight always too painful to see—you in distress. Mark can’t stand to watch you pulling at your scalp, taking deep breaths in attempt to calm your staggered breathing. Watching you run around the house, scrambling to clean every spec of dirt, delete every residue; he always was quick to step in and tell you to stop.

You getting like this wasn’t a common sight. Truthfully, you never got angry when you were supposed to. In those moments, you would suppress your feelings, always wanting to stay the ray of sunshine you had been labeled as. Mark is watching the way your curves are making their presence known in your velvet pajama shorts, and crop top that will show what’s his if you reach up the shelf just a little bit more, and his fingers are rubbing up and down his legs. He’s thinking about all the times where he would get on you about being so nice to the wrong people.

“Slow down.” He finally speaks, but still he doesn’t move.

Not to his surprise, you ignore his request. Quite frankly, you probably can’t even hear him. Once you get in this zone, you’re stuck until someone yanks you out and Mark understands this—he understands you, so he’s up and he’s walking to the bookshelf where he finds his home behind you. His arms snake themselves around your frame, and he makes sure to press his soft cheek to yours.

You’re trying to move, but he can feel you giving up slowly.

“Just let me finish re-arranging these, please.”

Your voice is slightly cracked as you whisper your request, and naturally, Mark presses a kiss to your ear. It’s poetic, similar to when he has a pen and pad in his reach, and he doesn’t remove it. He keeps his lips there, even as you try to wiggle out.

“This isn’t what you need.” He says. “You need me.”

“Why don’t you help me with this?”

“Because this isn’t how you cope with your problems. I promise you this is only making you more stressed.”

He waits in position, expecting you to at least turn around and look at him with your beautiful eyes that could bring a thousand memories to his foggy mind, but you don’t. You lean over the shelf, placing your forearm down for your forehead to land on. You’re fighting yourself. One half of you so badly wants to tell him to please just give you an hour alone to rummage through all the unpacked boxes from your home, or unnecessarily clean the bathroom, but then the other half—the half that Mark is trying to get to hear him wants to relax. It knows it needs to have a seat and talk to your boyfriend who’s only passion in his personal life is to make your everyday serene.

You take another deep breath before dropping everything to the ground.

“Mhm.” He cheers and rubs your belly at the same time, although his voice is still very quiet.

“You’re lucky you’re you.”

And he is. He knows the power he holds over your entire being, and he can’t say he doesn’t enjoy it. The way you look at him, crave him—it makes him feel like the most important man in the world, and he has a duty. He’ll never take advantage of it though. I mean, how could he when he feels the same way about you? You have him on lock, and the key was thrown away a long time ago.

“Your hair looks nice.” He compliments as the two of you plop down on the couch. It was a wig he had seen you purchase not too long ago over a very lengthy FaceTime call. Of course it looked amazing on you. Everything did.

He can’t help but notice the way you lean towards his opposite. He knows you’re not upset with him, but he always gets so somber when you run from him regardless.

“Thanks.” You sigh, and your hands are covering your face. The french tip polish that’s covering your fingers are a perfect match; your hickory colored skin creating the perfect comparison point for him, and anybody else who was an intellectual.

“Your skin looks good too.” With this statement, he rests his hand on your ankle, rubbing up and down.

“I’ve been using that new face wash you gave me for Christmas.”

Anybody else would assume they’re talking to a wall, but Mark doesn’t mind. He presses his lips to your knee, before slapping your butt. “Talk to me.” He prompts. His sweet demeanor is still there, but his tone has become much more firm. You don’t have but so many more seconds to speak before he starts to purposely annoy the truth out of you.

“Honestly babe, it’s so stupid.”

“I know.” He says instantly, and he mentally slaps himself. The shocked expression on your face tells him that you weren’t expecting it either, but it also makes a smile creep onto your features. “Wait wait, I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant, I know you sometimes get stressed about small stuff. But it’s nothing wrong with that. It’s not like you walk around pushing people and yelling at them.”

“I know.” You breathe out, “I just have so much studying to do it doesn’t make sense.” You’re finding your voice just as you always do, and he always loves this part. You’re about to rant about everything that’s happened in your week. Well at least, that’s what he was expecting. You tell him a dribble of things that annoyed you, but after that, you stop. You also find your way into his hold, and he doesn’t hesitate to embrace you tightly. “Make me feel better.” You mumble straight into his chest.

“In which way?” His eyebrow raises, and as soon as you laugh, his hand is slapping your behind again with a thud as his bottom lip connects with his teeth.

“I’m not some toy, Mark.” You giggle, but even so, you’re straddling him.

“You’re right.” Your lips connect sweetly, “You’re not some toy, you’re my toy.”

“Is that right?”

“You don’t agree?”

You don’t respond—well, verbally. Your bodies are connecting in something heated before you pull away.

“Let’s make dinner.”

“Okay.” He speaks quickly before moving back to your neck.

Your hands are on his chest pushing him back. “No Mark, I mean right now.” You’re teasing him, but he never minded. He would wait forever for you, and you know that.

“You want your favorite?” He sighs, although the smirk is prominent on his face even through his flushed and hued red features.

“Well, I get that after dinner.” You say as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “But I do want my second favorite.”

“Aka something I can’t make. You want me to call Doyoung don’t you?”

“No. I want me and you to go in that kitchen and do a lot of stupid things.”

Any other day, he would fight it, but he can’t now. Your eyes are too pure as your hands rests on his cheeks, nose nuzzling his own.

“Okay. But don’t get mad when I burn your shit, baby.”

“You won’t!” You assure, before he’s picking you up in the same position, and running you two into the kitchen.

Mark was in fact correct, just as he always was. It was actually worse than be predicted, and you also ended up cutting your finger.

“I told you.” He says, voice echoeing through your large bathroom.

“You did tell me.” You pout like a child.

He’s wrapping up all your wounds better than you would have imagined. You expected everything to fall out of place the minute his hands released the cloth, but he didn’t.

“I have a better, more safe idea.”

“Mark—

“Shh.” He voices, pressing a finger to your plump lips. Of course you kiss it, and that brings an intense smile to your boyfriends cheeks. “Come on.” He encourages with a hand.

Mentally, you’re questioning it all, but you take his hand anyway, letting him lead you back to the living room. He’s rummaging through your many movies, and you’re about to sit on the couch before he pulls out a much bigger object. It’s Frank Oceans first album—made to be played on an original record player.

“You don’t have to do this.” You plead. You know how much Mark hates to dance, especially in a setting like this, but he ignores you just as you did to him earlier.

“I know.” He agrees. He approaches the device smoothly, lifting what you referred to as “the pointy thingy”. He places the cd on the spinner gently, pressing the button to make it move.

Thinkin Bout You is slowly crawling all over the walls, and bringing chills up your spine. Mark was constantly playing this song on the guitar and whether you had the voice of an angel didn’t matter. You both would make attempts to sing in attempt to make your day a little brighter.

You’re so lost in your recollections, you jolt when your boyfriend approaches you—left hand on your waist and the other grabbing your hand to hold. “Don’t try to fight me on this.” He whispers, and it’s in a tone you had never heard before. He was always so gentle with you, but as if it was even possible, his voice is even lightly and fluffier. He was really worried about you this time.

“I won’t.” You agree, putting your chin on his shoulder.

The two of you are swaying side to side, allowing Sir Ocean to keep your steps in check.

“How was your day?” You finally break the silence, but even so, your voice is barely audible.

“It’s always a great day when I’m with you like this.” He mumbles, pressing a kiss to your shoulder.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

“No—I mean thank you for—

“Always knowing what to do.” He’s chuckling. Even when you try to take away his credit for knowing your every move, he proves you wrong.

You’re shy, head buried into his shoulder now. “Exactly.”

“You know I’m always going to be here for you, right? I’ll never get tired of this.”

“I hope so.”

“Don’t hope—know. I love you.” Are his last words before he’s haulting your dancing slowly. Now his arms are wrapped around your waist, and his kisses are wetting your neck. It’s loving, and it’s proving he meant what he said as if he was touching you already. Your favorite feeling is up next—him rubbing up and down your back, then moving to your bossum. “Let me show you. Can I show you?” Are his final words before he’s picking you up and lightly placing you on the couch.

His kisses are hungry, and they’re saying I love you all at once. Mark was so, so good at making you feel like the only girl in the world.

[ridemedaddyjames]

Split - Part IV

Split - Part III

Pairing: Kevin Wendell Crumb x reader

Warnings: angst, cursing, stockholm syndrome

Words: 2,100

“You mean you don’t wanna leave?” Hedwig questioned, completely befuddled by your response, his attention span dwindling again. “Okay, I’ll show you my room,” he shrugged, taking your hand in his as he led you through the complicated maze. When you finally found his room, it seemed to be a well organized mess. Of course, you could never find anything in here, but he had no trouble at all.

“Hedwig, this is your room!?” You exclaimed, smiling widely at how much it truly represented his mind and personality. With everything strewn about, it made it difficult to maneuver through the mess, but he managed to get to the CD player and turn up the music.

“Do you like it? Miss Patricia gets kinda angry when it’s a mess, and Dennis refuses to come in.” Hedwig said, wondering how you’d feel about all of it.

“I think it’s amazing, it really represents you,” and, just like that, you couldn’t stop yourself from grinning like a child. Hedwig always had that affect on you, to make you happy no matter what the situation may be.

“Wanna dance to some Kanye West?” He asked, grabbing you and showing you how to move as he twisted his body into different directions. You tried to mimic him, turning yourself in the same way, but, instead of dancing, you’d just ended up tripping on a pile of toys and clothes.

Hedwig laughed, bending over to help you up. Being the deviant you are, though, you decided to pull him down with you instead. He landed on the pile of clothes, rolling with laughter. “You’re the bestest friend ever,” he said, finally catching his breath as the two of you got up.

“Well, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you,” you reminded him as you wrapped your arms around him, comfortingly. He held you close, and you could feel him playing with your hair as you giggled.

“Okay, we gotta get back before Mr. Dennis comes, or he’ll be really mad that I let you out. Etcetera,” Hedwig nodded, walking with you back to the room where you were supposed to be being held.

The two of you exchanged one last hug before he disappeared, leaving you alone with your thoughts once again. This time you imagined what it may be like to have kids. Patricia would be the aunt that would spoil them rotten. Hedwig would look at it as having a new friend and twenty-four hour playmate. Dennis would probably see it as a nuisance, and would ask that you keep it contained, and Kevin...Kevin would be the happiest he’s ever been. He would want to prove that he could do it; raise a child without all the problems he had to face growing up. That in itself seemed reason enough to do it, but it was all a fantasy made up in your head, and you realized that when Dennis opened your door and let himself inside.

“I brought you something,” Dennis fidgeted, awkwardly, as he did his best to hide whatever it was behind his back. “Close your eyes, and put out your hands.”

If he’d have said those words to Marcia or Claire they would be screaming with fear, but you could hardly contain the excitement that was coursing through your veins. When you opened your eyes, you found a book resting in your palms. ‘Frankenstein’ you read, feeling an immediate attachment to him as a person with this inanimate object. You ran your fingers over the cover. The pages looked as if it had been read a thousand times, but the binding was so perfect that it seemed to be brand new. This represented how well put together he seemed on the outside, and the story behind those walls; his beautiful disguise. Your eyes lit up at the gesture, your heart racing in your chest.

“I thought you might like something to pass the time. It’s - um - it’s my favorite. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to, though.” Dennis stated, his Boston accent thicker than usual in part to his nervousness. Tears swelled in your eyes, but you did your best to blink them away, still so awestruck that he had given you something that meant so much to him.

He was being so gentle, and, without even thinking, you leapt from your spot on the small cot to throw your arms around his neck. His hands rested against your waist, taking in the smell of your hair. Dennis was falling for you, and it absolutely terrified him, but you were just as broken as he was, and he couldn’t help but find some sort of comfort in knowing that.

“Dennis, will you dance with me?” You whispered in his ear, feeling his muscles tense at the feeling of your breath on his skin. It had been a weakness of his, and you’d known it from the start. That day he brought you here, asking Marcia to dance with him, you still burned with jealousy that it hadn’t been you in his arms. At first he was hesitant, his fingers landing stiffly against your sides, and you prayed to no one in particular that he would loosen up.

Finally, he moved with you, slowly at first, before the steps had taken on a life of their own. The two of you seeming to follow the same nonexistent rhythm as you danced to nothing at all. By the time you’d finished, you were entirely out of breath, arms around his neck, beaming widely up at him as you felt his chest against yours. You hadn’t realized how close the two of you had been, or how natural it all seemed.

Your insides fluttered, dying to say what was on your mind, but there weren’t enough words to speak how this man made you feel. Which is why you broke the nonexistent barrier, and, without warning, leaned up on your tiptoes to press your lips to his.

Dennis stood there, awkwardly, letting it happen, eyes wide in horror before slowly easing into it. You felt his hand slowly move up your back before holding you closer to him. His other placed, softly, against your cheek. Your eyes fell shut, enjoying every second. Your gut told you that this was wrong, but Gods how it felt so right. This was absolute bliss. This was love.

Suddenly, Dennis pulled away, taking a step back as he put his hands on his hips and stared at the ground. He was thinking, and you wanted to know what went on inside that beautiful mind, until he said something that cut you to your core.

“We can’t,” he realized, breaking the silence. “I shouldn’t have done this, it was a mistake. I can’t get close to you, it’ll only make things harder than they have to be.” He seemed to say it more to himself than to you. Finally, Dennis reached for the door to slam it shut, but you stopped him, taking hold of his thick, bulging, arm, and pressing yourself against him once again.

“Please, please, don’t go. I just,” you stopped, trying to find the words. “I dont want to be alone.”

The hurt in your eyes made him hesitate, and it was that split second of worry that told you he really did care. Before you could stop him, he’d rushed out of the room, leaving you in silence.

Feeling defeated, lost, and alone, you through yourself down on the cot before breaking down in tears. To your surprise, and after what felt like an eternity of sobbing, a soft voice came from the other side of the room. “Y/N, why you cryin?” Hedwig muttered, coming to sit beside you on the tiny bed. You had pulled your legs up to your chest, and, although you hesitated at first, you couldn’t stop yourself from falling into his arms. Hedwig didn’t know how to react, his body going limp compared to the stiffness of Dennis. You rested your head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Ultimately, he opted for the safe route as he ran his fingers through your hair, soothingly.

“Is this because of Mr. Dennis? Was he mean to you?” Hedwig finally asked, mustering up the courage to talk to you. “If it is, I told him we’re dating, and that he doesn’t have a chance.”

“Hedwig, I need to tell you something,” you muttered, feeling your heart break once again.

“Wait, wait! Do you like Mr. Dennis?!” Hedwig gasped, unable to comprehend what was happening as he pushed you off of him. “But - but I thought you were my girlfriend?!” He stammered, looking at you like a lost puppy.

“You’re my friend, and I care about you in a different way than I care about him.” You confessed, trying your best to clear up this whole entire situation. “I love you both, just in different ways,” saying it out loud meant finally coming to terms with it, and it only made it hurt worse. Maybe you’d been wrong; maybe Dennis didn’t care about you at all.

“He didn’t pick you! He wanted them. The other girls! You’re mine!” He shouted, bringing you back to reality as your breath caught in your throat. This nine year old had found a way to pour salt in an open wound, and you could feel it eating at you from the inside out.

A heart wrenching sob pulled from your throat, echoing off the walls as you tried to stop yourself from falling apart in front of him. Fuck this, fuck all of it. What made Claire and Marcia so perfect?

Hedwig sat there, fearing what you might do next as the truth soared through your veins like a venomous drug. Your eyes were bloodshot, your throat burned, and you felt like you could never shed another tear, but they still came. “Y/N...do you want me to talk to him? I mean, he doesn’t really listen to me, but I can if you want me to,” Hedwig offered, seeing how hard this was for you. As much as he wanted you for himself, he couldn’t help that he also wanted to make you happy.

“You would do that for me?” You whimpered, wiping the tears from your eyes. There wasn’t a doubt in your mind that you didn’t deserve Hedwig as a friend, he was too kind hearted.

“Of course I would, but, I don’t know what you see in him, I think he’s creepy,” Hedwig shivered, making a disgusted face. It was enough to make you smile, leaning in for a quick hug before he took off.

Part of you hated yourself for what you were about to do, but the other half convinced you that it was okay. So, instead of shredding the book that Dennis had given you, you’d decided to read it instead. With every turn of a page you found yourself falling more in love with him as a person, and understanding why this book mattered to him so much. As your eyes grew heavy, you pulled the book against your chest, cradling it in your arms; which is exactly how you’d fallen asleep.

When you woke up, Dennis was standing over you, arms crossed, breathing heavily. It seemed as if he were contemplating how to go about this whole ordeal. Looking up at him, you were sure your eyes were bloodshot, and you realized your appearance must have been questionable.

“Speak,” he finally ordered, making you jump at how dark his voice was. This was a side of him that you’d rarely seen, and it was starting to make you nervous. It should’ve absolutely terrified you, made you cower beneath him. No, this voice did something entirely opposite. It awoke something in you that you’d never felt before; a burning hunger in your gut that was completely alien to you. You needed him like a moth needed a flame, and like an addict needed a drug. He was your drug. Dennis never made it feel like love, though. No, this was cat and mouse to him. Just another game, and, with your head in the clouds, you couldn’t help but let your mouth flow freely with how you’d been feeling from the moment you were brought here.

“I think I love you,” you muttered, giving it everything you had as you threw all caution to the wind. This was your chance to get exactly what you wanted, pain, and lies, and chaos combined. If he didn’t kill you, the adrenaline of your love for him would.

[ask-svt-hearteu]

All The Stars ` Wen Junhui

Anon requested: “ hey! can i request a jun oneshot where the reader is an artist? like how does he deal with reader having a breakdown over some small mistake and their way of thinking? basically just what he thinks about having an artistic partner. oh, if it's not too much can you write it in jun's pov? thanks a lot 💕 “

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 1928

to Jun

you were radiant

there had always been something

a feeling

that made him know

you’re the one

he remembered that first day

when he had been wondering the classrooms of the university aimlessly 

ditching English literature was a favorite hobby of his

the class was too easy

the easiest A to get for a general education class he knew 

not to mention as a theater major 

he already ate, breathed, and lived literature 

there was no need for him to show up to such a useless class

and so

English lit 101 was spent wondering the campus of the university

finding the best spots to read for an hour

or discovering the unexplored corners of campus

or going out to town to try all the local restaurants and determine which ox tail soup was the best

and it was on one of these faithful days that he stumbled across room 610

a dark shady classroom rarely ever in use 

he quietly opened the door and slipped inside dropping his bag 

pulling aside some of the curtains from the front of the room

he revealed a few floor-to-ceiling studio mirrors

and gave himself a small smile

as he reached into his bag and pulled out a small CD player

and clicked play

the music gently filled the room

Jun breathed in

letting not just air to enter his system 

but the music itself

let the notes fill his lungs and his head

let the music lead his actions

as he carefully

but surely

confidently

danced through his own routine of his own creation for the song 

one he spent hours trying to perfect

until it became second nature

until it was no longer a dance

but merely an extension of his thoughts

and he felt like flying

with the music 

he gently laid down on his back smiling up at the ceiling after it ended

what a high

the best feeling in the world was when he was dancing

he couldn’t imagine doing anything else

he didn’t seem to notice someone standing in the doorway to that very classroom

that Jun wasn’t the only one who took refuge in room 610

but you did too

and as your voice broke through the silence

Jun likes to think it was that moment

the very moment you first spoke to him

that made him fall in love with you

he likes to tell it that way

the look of surprise on his face clear as day when you caught him 

“How long have you been standing there?” He said

“The whole time.”

“I didn’t expect anyone to be in here.”

“Neither did I”

Jun stared at you passively at that moment he knew

the way the slit of sunlight rested right on your face 

illuminating your eyes

and the look of pure amazement

that you gave him

“I’m really sorry to ask if this sounds weird but... Can you stay here for a few minutes?”

Jun raised his eyebrows but didn’t object 

after all you were the one who had caught him having a moment

he stood frozen in his spot as you ran across the room and slid onto the floor uncovering a pile of canvasses he had never noticed before

his breath caught

on the canvasses were some of the most beautiful paintings he had ever seen

he watched quietly as you pulled a sketchbook from the pile of art supplies and sat crisscrossed on the ground

the tip of your pencil gliding easily across the surface of the page never pausing in hesitation once

and he suddenly thought

that perhaps that pencil was dancing too

that you drawing was like him dancing

an extension of a person and their thoughts

an expression of something that no words could ever describe

he was mesmerized as your fingers flew across the page

slowly taking form and matter

he couldn’t look away

this is why he names the moment he fell for you

because from this moment he saw more about your heart 

saw just how meaningful that pencil on the paper was

as the music and dancing was for him

you both had offered up a piece of your hearts right there 

he watched as you sighed

satisfied for once as you lifted the sketchbook for him to see

and he was breathless

on the sketchbook page

was him

but it was more than just Jun himself he thought

the figure in the drawing was him

but it was him freed

a sketch of his figure mid dance 

as the curtains fluttered in the background of the drawing 

his clothes loosely flowing around him before forming wings 

a picture of an angel

lost to the happiness of mid flight 

“I know it’s not very good...” you sighed quietly turning the drawing away from him before ripping the page out and putting away the sketchbook and the pencil

you walked over to him still standing there 

but he couldn’t stop staring at you

as you gently placed the drawing in his hand

“You can throw it away if you want.” You shrugged before turning away

Jun grabbed your arm quickly and turned you back to face him

“What’s your name?”

“Y/N”

“Do you... maybe wanna grab a coffee or something?” He said rubbing the back of his neck nervously

“I’d love to.”

it was one of those storybook meetings

one for romance novels or the movies

the two of you sort of just clicked

you were both pretty different in some aspects 

but made up for what the other was lacking

and you both were also similar too

he became something like paradise for you

after a long day of classes and work

you’d plop down on the sofa and he’d make you something to eat

even if he was tired

or you’d both just lay together in bed staring up at the ceiling and talking

about anything

about everything

about how stupid that one chemistry professor was before they fired them

or how that freshman accidentally pulled the fire alarm

or about Jun’s latest show adventures

or about this showcase you entered artwork for

Jun would just hold you in his arms

let you rest your head on his chest

as he played with your hair

and listened to you talk

you were nearly inseparable

he’d hold your hand whenever he got the chance

“Jun, I can’t do any integral calculus if you’re holding the hand I write with.”

“Hmm that’s too bad for calculus then...”

“Jun...”

“Yes Y/N my love? Hehe...”

“I need my hand to get my stuff”

“That’s really too bad for your stuff...”

“JUN OH MY GOSH JUST LET GO FOR A SECOND.”

“NEVER HAHA.”

and how the classes without him literally stretched into infinity 

he would stare at the clock thinking

“only half an hour before I get to see Y/N...”

yes you were that couple

and when he finally was free 

he’d literally run up to you 

catching your face in his hands

before his lips brushed yours

“Jun we’re in public-“

“I’m ok with being that couple if you are.”

giggling into his next kiss as he pulled you closer

“Ok ok really we have to go to class.”

“Awwww but whyyyyyy.”

“Because we have to come on.”

there were moments where he’d just stare at you

thinking how incredible it was

how incredible you are

and just staring fondly at your smile

and ruffling your hair playfully every time he passed you in the halls

or tapping your left shoulder only to appear on your right side

and ordering Chinese food takeout to eat on the floor of class 610 when you were both ditching

and running around in the early morning when he dragged you to run through the sprinklers

“JUN I’M WEARING CLOTHES THAT AREN’T WATER PROOF.”

“AWWW come on it’s fun!!!”

and laughing like crazy at the water droplets across your gray sweatshirt

or how he’d randomly show up with stuffed plushies and flowers on those days where you weren’t feeling your best

almost as if he could read your mind

when stress and sadness washed over you

he seemed to know and would cheer you up somehow

whether it was by his little pranks

or his attention to little details

like your favorite ice cream to get if you failed an important test

Jun saw you through it all

the good and the bad

because he loved you

Jun noticed things

about people and of course about you

those moments when you were working on an important piece for class

or when you were just painting in your free time

he noticed the little frown

the sigh of frustration

the dozens of crumpled sketches you had deemed “not good enough”

and ended up as trash 

the little furrow of your eyebrows when something wasn’t going the way you wanted them to

or when you had spent hours working on something

only to throw the canvas on the ground because of a mistake and sit and cry

he noticed

and he knew

as someone who had attempted to perfect his own skills

he got equally frustrated with himself over the smallest of mistakes

but seeing you tear yourself apart

the snidest self deprecating comments

it broke his heart

“Why can’t I do anything right?”

“What’s wrong with me?”

the words that fell from your lips about yourself

the words Jun hated hearing the most

and the nights where you would lock yourself in the bathroom because the colors and shapes had started to swim around your head

float off the pages

contort and twist in your nightmares

you didn’t understand

couldn’t get why you couldn’t do anything correctly

and it was Jun on the outside of the locked bathroom door

quietly singing your favorite lullaby 

making sure you had something to eat when you stayed up all night in the studio

who held you in his arms when you said you weren’t enough

and told you he loved you over and over again

and that your art was beautiful

that mistakes defined who we were

that mistakes could be beautiful

he knew what it was like to get torn up by yourself in your own thoughts

and so he did his best to tell you that you were worth all the stars

Jun was your stars

he brightened up the darkest nights 

made you laugh

maybe that was naturally what those who create think

he couldn’t think he was enough

until he saw that first sketch of him you ever did

and suddenly he felt whole 

like this was who he was meant to be

and you had helped him too

Jun led you out one night

“Where are we going?”

“Haha you’ll see.”

the two of you walked along together hand in hand 

until you reached the beach

it was cold at night

but the city lights sparkles off the water

and if you squinted

you could sill see the stars

he laid out a blanket for you to sit on before holding you in his arms for warmth

“Are you a camera?” 

“Oh my god Jun no stop.”

“Because I smile every time I see you.”

“Please no more cheesy pick up lines”

“Oh come on you love them.”

“No I really don’t .”

“You do too.”

“Pfft no.”

“Fine But you love me right?”

“Oh my gosh.”

“ADMIT IT!”

“Yes I love you of course.”

and he would respond 

“I love you.”

he was your angel

and you were all the stars 

MASTERLIST

[seganerds]

NOTE: We try to keep our reviews as spoiler-free as possible, though there is a chance some minor spoilers may be mentioned in this review. But I promise not to give away the game’s ending or any major spoilers.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter a good year of build-up, with hands-on previews at countless gaming events and shows, Sonic Mania is finally here!

But will Sonic’s return to its 16-bit roots be a positive outcome the franchise has been yearning for, for years? Let’s find out!

Looks like Classic Sonic

From the moment you boot up Sonic Mania, you feel as though you’re back in the mid-’90s with an excellent sprite-based ‘3D effect’ of a rotating island and Sonic sitting in his usual title screen emblem.

If you leave Sonic floating there for a few seconds, you’re treated to a nifty animated intro (created by Sonic Comic artist, Tyson Hesse), similar to the old Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon series. This opening intro isn’t a cutscene – it doesn’t have any voice over work or tell a coherent story – it’s more of a subtle and very fun introduction for the game, presenting the main characters and giving a nod to the storyline.

As for the story, Sonic Mania is set immediately after the events in Sonic 3 & Knuckles. After saving Angel Island, Knuckles is now firmly on your side and all is good with the world, when suddenly Tails picks up an energy reading. But Dr. Eggman has detected the energy reading as well and unleashes a new team of Egg-Robos known as the ‘Hard-Boiled Heavies’, sent to reach the source of the signal first. With Eggman up to no good, it’s up to Sonic, Tails and Knuckles to stop him.

Jumping into the game, everything about the 16-bit era flows back, as you are treated to a beautiful, pixilated experience almost exactly like the Mega Drive originals. Unlike Sonic 4, SEGA hasn’t opted for smooth, up-to-date graphics and fancy animations, everything about Sonic Mania exudes ‘retro’ – even the few moments where 3D polygons are used, they are created in a way that it looks like a Mega Drive game.

But of course, Sonic Mania isn’t a 16-bit game; while the visuals maintain their retro appearance, there are moments of ‘flair’, such as transparency and subtle depth of fields that were too complex for a 16-bit machine to handle effectively – even with blast processing.

These moments of flair are often very subtle during main levels, such as occasionally seeing the odd ring bounce to the fore/background after being hit by an enemy, but they are prevalent during boss battles, with the use of foreground and background objects in play.

Feels like Classic Sonic

Now, regardless of visuals, what really makes a Sonic game is the gameplay. It’s part of the reason Sonic became a firm favourite with many gamers and a genuine rival for Nintendo’s Super Mario series. Sonic The Hedgehog was fresh, fast and offered a unique platforming gameplay experience unlike any other game at the time.

‘Classic Sonic’ is pure: it’s a combination of well thought-out platforming brilliance, combined with the flow of a fast game of pinball. While ‘Modern Sonic’ is a mixture of balls-to-the-wall, (virtually uncontrollable) speed and (often unnecessary) gameplay mechanics interweaved into a story line – some people like it, but it’s not for everyone.

Sonic Mania takes the simplicity and purity of Classic Sonic and does very little to change it, which is great. You have no lock-on attack, no additional moves or gimmicks to get in the way of reaching your end-level goals and beating Robotnik.

Returning to retro Sonic gameplay can take some getting used to, but once you get your groove going, everything comes together to make a wonderfully fluid experience.

Wait, this is Classic Sonic!

If Sonic Generations paid homage to every main Sonic game over the past 20 years or so (both 2D and 3D), Sonic Mania is a homage purely to the 2D classics. There’s so much fan service that at times it feels like a re-release of early Sonic games, with nods to each of the Mega Drive originals at every turn – awesome little details, such as the birds and fish from Sonic 1‘s special stage, featuring in Mania’s special stage.

While the game does feature entirely new zones, it also features remakes of classic zones from Sonic 1, 2, 3, Sonic & Knuckles and Sonic CD – fan favourites that are synonymous with Sonic, such as Green Hill, Chemical Plant, Flying Battery, Stardust Speedway, among others.

At times, you feel like you are playing the original games, but then Mania will throw in some massive curve balls that totally change everything – such as new enemies, boss battles or entirely new sections and mechanics to a level, such as the springy goo in Chemical Plant Zone. It’s really fun to reminisce over old levels, but have them feel fresh at the same time and I applaud the developers for this.

On the boss battles, these are great fun in Mania. The bosses that are similar to the old Sonic titles have been changed up enough to feel fresh. The brand new bosses are great, making good use of the modern technology to add some subtle visual or gameplay enhancements to make them exciting.

The old music in the game is remixed slightly, with zone remakes feature the same excellent soundtrack, while new levels feature appropriately original scores – which are catchy and in-keeping with Sonic.

…With added extras

For the most part, the new levels are awesome, keeping the flow of the game going, with some very fun settings and unique elements to each level that makes them stand out – such as one zone where Sonic shrinks and looks like a baby Sonic; standing next to badniks, he looks hilarious and added something new to the game.

Sonic Mania’s special stage is one of my favourite additions to the game. Sonic runs around a flat quasi-3D environment, similar to those in Sonic CD (or Mario Kart on the SNES, if you will), as you chase after a UFO carrying a Chaos Emerald, against a time limit. To catch the UFO, you need to collect blue balls, to build up Sonic’s speed, while collecting rings will boost the precious time limit.

These special stages are really fun and, while can offer a challenge, never feel unfairly taxing. However, finding them is a different story – as the entry points, which are giant rings, are hidden throughout the levels (some levels have multiple rings to find) and that can be a problem for first-time players. I only got four of the Chaos Emeralds on my first playthrough, simply because I couldn’t find the rings in the levels!

But that’s the beauty of Sonic games, replaying the games over and over lets you explore and find the secret areas or new routes to get the best times in each zone.

Mania has also added new mechanics to already established pickups – such as the fire shield being able to burn things, such as wood and oil. As you progress, you unlock new gameplay modes, such as Time Attack and Competition (2-player vs) Mode. There’s additional abilities to unlock, such as Sonic’s Peel Out move from Sonic CD  – which you need to select in the options menu after unlocking to activate them, so you can play through without these new abilities.

SEGA, you’ve made me soft

At times, I found Sonic Mania weirdly hard, but I think it’s because I’ve become so unaccustomed to playing games that require skill to complete, and I was struggling in the early levels. Modern Sonic titles have so many moments where the game basically plays itself and the lock-on attack means that you can just continuously tap jump and you’ll kill everything on screen and bounce off the nearest spring pad: the skill has been removed.

But Sonic Mania takes you back, it makes you work for your success. I had a ‘Game Over’ early on, too early really, I’m ashamed to say. But once I got back into the flow, I progressed through the game without any more Game Overs – though plenty of deaths.

The good news here is that, like Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Mania offers save files, so you can pick up from where you left off, should you find yourself struggling at any point.

There’s also the bonus stages (not special stages, bonus stages), which felt incredibly difficult. The bonus stages are the same as Sonic 3 & Knuckles’ special stages – where you run around a big 3D ball, collecting blue balls and rings, while avoiding any red balls: touching a red ball instantly ends the stage and when you touch a blue ball it turns red.

Now, not one to boast usually, but I was pretty darn good at Sonic & Knuckles’ special stages – my friend and I played the crap out of them over and over (using the S&K lock-on with non-Sonic Mega Drive games).

So, I was super happy to see this return in Mania… until about the 6th or 7th time, when suddenly they became really hard. Using an Xbox One controller probably didn’t help as the d-pad is rather ‘spongy’ and the analogue stick isn’t designed for the precise turns that you need to pull off. But halfway through the game, I found I no longer enjoyed these stages like I once did, often feeling cheated when I lost at the stage.

Completing the bonus stage will either earn you a silver or a gold medal. Silver when you only collect the blue balls and gold when you collect all the rings and the blue balls. To be honest, I have no idea what the medals did (there’s no manual) – though, as mentioned, you do unlock new abilities and game modes, so maybe they unlock those (I’ve asked SEGA to confirm).

That seems a little unfair…

Putting aside from my diminished Sonic gaming skills, I did find that Sonic Mania had more unfair deaths than I’d ever experienced in a Sonic game. There were times where the game would literally force you into enemies/traps, with no control or ability to avoid them.

I also found some of the levels took far longer than previous entries. That wouldn’t be a bad thing, except Sonic games have a time limit; as soon as you hit 9 mins 59 secs on a level, you die, due to time out.

I have only ever had this happen to me once on Sonic 1, when I was really exploring a level, trying to find different paths. But it’s never happened to me since… until Sonic Mania, where I managed to get time outs three times in a playthrough. One of them was because Tails kept screwing up in a boss battle (he kept jumping on something when he wasn’t meant to, meaning I couldn’t hurt the boss) and the others because I just ran out of time. It’s weird, I didn’t feel like I was going slow, yet I ran out of time more than once.

Summary

While Sonic Mania has moments of frustration, it doesn’t have any serious problems that hold it back. This is a bold statement, but Sonic Mania is the very Sonic game fans have been dying to play for years!

SEGA has finally done the right thing, removed all the nonsense of Modern Sonic titles and, through Christian Whitehead and the teams at Headcannon and PagodaWest, delivered a Sonic The Hedgehog game in its purest form.

Sonic Mania takes some of the best samples/examples of the 16-bit Sonic games on the Mega Drive/Mega CD and mixes them up to be one of the best Sonic game in years; bringing back the replay value and the challenge needed to complete the game fully (with all Chaos Emeralds), plus some added extras, so things don’t feel stale.

However, I don’t want to say this is THE best Sonic game of all time, that’s too big a call to make – especially when the original material was so damn impressive back in the day, only hampered by the technology behind it. But ultimately, if you are a big fan of Classic Sonic games, then Sonic Mania is an absolute must-have.

Pros: + It’s Classic Sonic gameplay, visuals and sounds, in its purest form + Fun, additional extras to unlock + Both re-imagined and brand new zones are great fun + Hard to master, easy enough to pick up (as a Sonic game should be)

Cons: – More unfair deaths than other Sonic games – …Modern Sonic games have made me weak – …I wish it was still the 90s, when I was a kid and could play games like this all day, rather than work

#SonicMania goes old school & it's wonderful! Read our full #review to find out more! #Sonic NOTE: We try to keep our reviews as spoiler-free as possible, though there is a chance some minor spoilers may be mentioned in this review.

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10 Key Lessons On Starting Your Own Business From Women Entrepreneurs Who’ve Inspired Me

Starting and running a business is one of the most rewarding things that I believe one can do with their life. That’s why I try to seize every opportunity I get to help promote entrepreneurial spirit. I’m especially passionate about helping female entrepreneurs. Now more than ever, women are being encouraged to start businesses and there’s never been a better time in history to do so. But there’s still a long way to go for us, along with obstacles that we have to face that our male counterparts don’t necessarily have to deal with. I wanted to put together a post about some of my top tips for starting and running a business, but as I set off to create that post I thought, “I’m just one woman starting a particular type of business. I wonder what the female entrepreneurs that I admire would have to say about what they’ve learned along their journey?”. So I reached out to a few of the women that I look up to and asked them to share a crucial lesson that they’ve learned from starting and running their own businesses. Some of these women you might recognize, and some you may not have heard of yet, but each of them has shared what they feel the number one lesson they’ve learned and how they believe that has contributed to their success as entrepreneurs.

  Lela Rose, Designer–

“The importance of building a great team has been my greatest lesson. The people that you surround yourself and your business with are extremely vital to success. In addition, these are people that you spend a majority of your time with and creating a community/ family like atmosphere makes work feel like fun.” 

  Karen Behnke, Founder of Juice Beauty and Serial Wellness Entrepreneur–

“Follow your passion and that will get you through all the ups and downs of running a business. Becoming an entrepreneur is incredibly rewarding and amazing, but at times it can be lonely and a bit scary. If you are working in your area of passion that passionate energy will fuel and allow you to overcome the hurdles that inevitably happen in an entrepreneurial life. My lifetime passion is wellness and organic living with Juice Beauty being my third business in this area. Starting an organic beauty company TWELVE years ago was pretty crazy given that, in 2005, not many consumers were thinking about their beauty product ingredients! My zest for organic living and changing an industry has fueled me and our company’s growth beautifully. I think the main downside of being a driven entrepreneur can be lack of sleep; however, there are so many benefits of running your own business including creating an interesting life, completing your sense of purpose and meaning in life, and having some control over your destiny.”

  Reese Witherspoon, Founder of Hello Sunshine & Draper James, Actress-

“Don’t be embarrassed if you don’t know something. Ask questions. When I first started Draper James, people were talking so fast and I didn’t understand half the terms they were using. So I would turn to the person on my right and say, I’m so sorry, can you please explain? Now after 2 years of being in retail, I know all the terms. But it was really beneficial to ask a lot of questions in the beginning.”

  Chloé Adelia Watts, Founder and CEO of chloédigital–

“Find people who share your vision. From the very beginning I set out to work with people who felt the same as me about the industry we are in. Whether they be my team, CD members or friends. It’s so important to keep you motivated through all the ups and downs that come from being in business. They feed your soul and help you stay focused on the dream you are building.”

  Alli Webb, Founder of Drybar–

“One lesson I learned early on was how critical it is to remove “toxic” employees, regardless of how skilled they might be. For example, in one of our first shops we had a stylist that was such a major ring leader of negativity. She brought morale down for the entire shop and create an uncomfortable work environment. I was reluctant to fire her for a long time, however, because she was such a talented and requested stylist. When I finally reached a boiling point and let her go, I couldn’t believe how dramatically the vibe atmosphere in that shop improved. And my fear that it would impact our business proved to be unfounded. It taught me that the most important part of hiring employees is finding people with the right attitude, not just the right skills. My brother Michael (and Drybar business partner) and I always say, “You can train people to do almost anything, but you can’t teach them to be nice!”

  Aimee Song, Founder of Song of Style–

“My #1 biggest lesson I’ve learned was to hire people for the things I’m not good at. It was only two years ago I started hiring people to work with me. Hiring people meant I could focus on the creative parts that I enjoyed and work more efficiently. Also, another lesson I’ve learned recently is that being busy doesn’t always equate to success and the power of saying no.”

  Lisa Sugar, Founder, President & EIC of POPSUGAR–

“There are so many lessons I’ve learned as each year brings on new challenges but I think the most valuable lesson is to think about the long game. There are distractions left and right and new shiny objects that set companies off course. Its great to experiment, adapt and try new things but the core of what you create with your voice, vision and values should remain the same. That and the need to work hard and play nice which I wrote about in Power Your Happy. Starting a business is not easy and it can be very stressful. It’s important to give it your all while also being positive, respectful and a team player as you hire people to help you create something epic.”

  Natasha Oakley, Founder of A Bikini A Day & Monday Swimwear

“The most valuable lesson I have learned in running my own businesses is the importance of passion within your work. Running a business, especially when it’s one you own means working long days, 365 days of the year which can take a huge toll if you don’t genuinely love what you’re working on. You can easily get burnt out, lose interest and you will take natural challenges and obstacles much harder. If you’re passionate no goal is too big because you will do whatever it takes to reach it.”

  Jillian Bremer, Founder Sweet & Spark–

“One of the biggest things I’ve learned along this entrepreneurial journey is that nothing changes overnight. You have to be willing to put in unwavering dedication and patience to let your ideas and business evolve organically. It takes a lot of trial and error to find your unique voice in the marketplace and the right business partners to help strategize and then execute your ideas from a creative standpoint. Nobody is an expert in everything! I never could have told you five years ago that today, in addition to our vintage jewelry collection, we would also be offering feminine clothing from some of our favorite designers. My biggest piece of advice is to let go of your expectations, trust your gut and time will always tell.”

  Annie Lawless- Founder of Suja Juice & Lawless Beauty–

“My most valuable lesson learned from starting and running my own businesses is to trust your inner voice and ignore anyone who tells you your idea is a bad one, or that what you are doing will never work out. I have had naysayers doubt my ideas, vision, and choices. It’s ok, you can’t please everyone and usually those in opposition are uncomfortable with your confidence. In the end, I am always right when I follow my inner voice and do what feels right to me. As women, sometimes it can be very easy to allow other’s opinions or input shake our belief in ourselves, our direction, and our decisions. Understanding the difference between valuable constructive criticism and unnecessary noise is incredibly important when selecting which advice to take and leave behind. Additionally, age is irrelevant. I was very young when we launched Suja. It is easy for people to make you feel too young to do something or doubt you because you don’t have “experience.” I quickly learned, I was willing to push harder and try things some people twice my age weren’t. Being young can be an incredibly valuable asset because your hand is on the pulse of social media and up and coming trends that can be really helpful in your marketing efforts.”

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