#it makes more sense for knuckles and co to go on their own adventure

[spiderman616]

i dont know if this is a hot take but team sonic should be sonic tails and amy. knuckles can get his own freaking team he lives on a floating island. its pretty inconvenient to get him down whenever the games need to do anything with team sonic

[stedipace]

"What if?" My Pitch for the Dreamcast 2

So after the bird app got bought by a rich moron, I got to thinking: what company would I impulsively buy if I had more money than common sense? I mean I wouldn't, I'd probably try and end world hunger or something but if there was anything left I'd just buy SEGA.

Like, for a laugh.

This started out as a design exercise for coming up with a launch title library but I got carried away...

So here's my plan:

The Actual Console

I think I'd like to honour VMU of the original Dreamcast and seeing Sony's recent announcements, we wouldn't be the only ones hopping on the Nintendo Switch Bandwagon.

The Actual console could stand to be a bit more powerful than the Switch but it doesn't have to be a top of the line behemoth. focus on making it fun, rather than powerful, thats how Nintendo sold a buttload this generation.

Launch Titles

Sonic Adventure 3

Ok, so right off the bat this one is a bit tricky.

Let me be clear: I LOVED Sonic The Hedgehog when I was a kid, but I'm sorry, I'm beginning to think there has never actually been a good Sonic game. Even my favourite ones haven't aged gracefully. Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 are a bit crap, I think we can all agree there. I love them games but the lack of polish on display, considering its SEGA's flagship title, is inexcusable. And since a SEGA console needs to ship with a "mainline" Sonic game (we've seen what happens when it doesn't), I say we go with Sonic Adventure 3 but maybe, like... good?

The idea of a 3D, momentum-based mascot platformer isn't a bad one. In fact, it's kind of a resurging genre in certain indie dev circles.

Twitter user @Cornf_Blue has been developing what looks like the best Sonic Adventure game Sonic Team never made. Actually, let's just hire this dude to run the project.

I'd also refer you to Spark The Electric Jester.

IT CAN BE DONE.

I'm not going to go into too much detail about my idea for SA3 cause I might do another "What If?" post specifically about that at some point but basically, here's the gist of it:

3 Playable Characters are Sonic, Tails & Knuckles

Stages connected by a hub world the player can explore as they like in SA1 but make it bigger and more open to exploration like Sonic Frontiers

3 Kinds of stages: Sonic "speedy" stages, Tails shooty mech stages and Knuckles treasure hunting stages like in SA2 (but keeping it to 3 characters instead of 6 so the team isn't spread itself thin and can focus on delivering quality over quantity).

Special challenge modes like Boss Rush, Speedrun mode etc..

In fact, just put in a bunch of speedrun-friendly features and modes.

Chao Garden! (but more on that later)

Power Stone 3

You need a big, fun multiplayer game in your launch titles and what's more fun than a 4 player fighting game with items and (kind of) platforming elements? It'd be fun to have a big co-op story mode and an online lobby system for multiplayer matches, but mostly, if you've got more than one kid and you're buying them a console for Christmas or whatever, this is the game you'll want to get with it.

Jet Set Radio: Legends of Tokyo-To

Another SEGA IP that started on the Dreamcast, this game was just a ton of fun. The game had a VERY distinct 1999/2000 timestamp on it and I think we're juuuust starting to see the nostalgia wave from that period swelling, so instead of going to the future like the game's sequel, it continues immediately after the plot of the first one. Get Hideki Naganuma, Cibo Matto, Guitar Vader and the rest of the gang back to do the soundtrack, keep the cool cel shading art style BUT make it an open-world game, having all of Tokyo-To available to roam around in, with different gangs controlling different territories, skating and tagging challenges, customizable art (players can make their own tags), and a faction system with rival NPCs (kind of like the nemesis system in those Lord of The Ring games but with graffiti instead of murdering). Heck, get the folks who did Bomb Rush Cyberfunk to make it.

Phantasy Star Online II

So it turns out this game already exists! And it's free to play! I didn't know that before I started making this post but honestly, that's perfect. If there's already a community of players, however small, that's already a lot of the legwork out of the way. Get some crossplay in there and you're set! Imagine getting the new console and your launch title but then, on the home menu, you see Phantasy Star Online II available to download for free! Old school players can enjoy the influx of new blood, revitalizing the game with a massive story event like new colonies being discovered or something, to explain the arrival of all the new players.

Crazy Taxi 3

YAHYAHYAHYAHYAH!

Everybody loves Crazy Taxi, there'd be something wrong with you if you didn't. Honestly, there's not much I'd do in terms of changing up the formula except maybe add a company management element to it, like you're trying to build a little taxi service where the main characters work. Upgrading cars, drumming up business and expanding to new areas. Just something to balance out the relentless fast-paced arcade gameplay. Online leaderboards for challenges and a local multiplayer with a versus mode (see who makes the most money) and a co-op mode (try to reach a set goal together) too, for good measure.

Bayonetta 4

Bayonetta isn't an OG Dreamcast title but IS currently an extremely successful franchise that would absolutely help sell some units on launch. I'm putting it in here because it's published by SEGA so I guess it's technically their IP? But it's also a Nintendo exclusive so I don't know how that would work. Platinum Games has a 4 contract deal with SEGA, but whatever, for this little exercise, pretend SEGA keeps the publishing rights to all their stuff as they move back into making consoles.

Virtua Tennis Pro

So we need a sports title in our launch library and I think it should be Vitrua Tennis. EA Sports games aren't exclusive anymore so you would eventually your FIFAs and whatnot, but it'd be nice to have a proper SEGA sports game again. For this one though, it would have a big, cinematic NBA 2K17 style where you're a rising young tennis star on your way to the top, singing deals, beating rivals etc... Get some competitive online multiplayer in there too of course.

Skies of Arcadia: Dusk

I've always loved the idea of Skies of Arcadia, a big, bright and colourful swashbuckling adventure, and you need one of those in your launch library, but I only played a little bit of the GameCube version unfortunately.

That doesn't matter cause I think I know exactly what to do with this one. Make a traditional RPG title, honouring the franchise's heritage BUT, since we now know how to make a fun pirate game thanks to Assasins's Creed IV: Black Flag, we add in the ship boarding/crew capturing mechanics from that game! So imagine you have the trusty, old-school dungeon crawling/battle systems when you get of your ship but you can get back in and sail through the skies, looting other airships and slowly building your fleet!

Chao Garden

Kinda like Nintendo Land but with Chaos!

Remember the Mii characters in Nintendo consoles? What if they were cute instead of creepy? Every console would have a Chao Garden where the player would create, customise and raise their own Chao. That Chao would also serve as the player's online avatar when connecting with friends and shopping in the SEGA store or whatever.

Players would be able to meet other Chaos, have them compete in minigames and lots more. Essentially the SA2 Chao garden but online. And of course, this would also connect to our Sonic Adventure 3 Chao Garden.

Obviously, this would extend to the console's portability function, like how the 3DS could actively search for the profiles when the user would walk around with it, letting you meet other Chaos!

Make a mobile app for it too so you can check in on your Chao.

These videos were massively helpful to me when writing this post:

[rvmmm21]

. unpleasant reminders (3.0) .

small note : i don’t know how tipping works in other countries (i promise this is relevant), perhaps, but where i live it isn’t mandatory to tip your waiters? also i know it can be rather condescending to say ‘keep the change’ as opposed to ‘here’s a tip’, but uh i decided to stick with the theme, i suppose. anyway i don’t really know what this is, but the idea was fun to play around with.

tw : exhibitionism, public sex-ish? dubcon.

...

She knew. She just knew it wouldn’t go well, to let Seungwan talk them into going to that café. She deserved to be punished for even asking, in all honesty. But she’d just looked so… so happy that day, and she looked so cute bouncing up and down like she’d just gotten a gold star in class for best effort.

“Come on, please, baby?” the alpha had asked ever so sweetly. “It’ll be fine, and you already know Seulgi’s a beta. We’ve been friends for ages!”

And when Joohyun didn’t answer immediately, Seungwan all but relented, feeling extra brave and sidling up to her, making sure to peer up with those soulful, puppy-dog eyes she knows Joohyun just loves. “Hyunnie, I’ve been good, haven’t I? I’ve been extra good! No punishments this week!”

Is she serious? How is her girlfriend hellbent on visiting this café which apparently does ‘the best bangers and mash in the city’ when Joohyun herself is an adventure and a half? And seriously, ‘bangers and mash’? What a godawful name. Why is her innocent little alpha so intrigued by something that sounds like it has to be code for something lewd and lecherous?

“It’s just sausages and mashed potatoes, unnie… it’s nothing dirty like what you’re thinking!” Seungwan had reassured over and over, but Joohyun remained skeptical the entire drive up there.  

…

So now she finds herself forking begrudgingly delicious sausage bits into her mouth and chewing angrily, feeling her irritation rise as she watches Seungwan, her alpha.

Flirt.

With this beta.

Seulgi, or whatever her name is.

The other girl all but senses this, of course, too focused on catching up with her childhood friend to pick up on the waves of the woman who’s as good as a stranger sitting across her. Not that she hadn’t tried to, initially, however it seemed as though Bae Joohyun was content staying a brick wall.

Joohyun very nearly chokes on her drink when Seulgi insists Seungwan try a piece of something that looks exactly like what she’s already got on her plate. Seungwan doesn’t notice her poor girlfriend almost choke to death, but that’s because she’s got her lips around Seulgi’s fork. The omega doesn’t even feel her own incisors sinking into the inside of her cheek to keep them from sinking into this other girl’s fucking neck. How she mentally trembles, shakes in anger when she sees Seungwan blush at yet another thing Seulgi says. The blush that belongs to her and no one else.

That’s an indirect kiss. Sharing food off the same fork is an indirect fucking kiss, Son Seungwan.

Yeah how does she taste, Joohyun internally seethes, bet you’re enjoying that, aren’t you, beta. The way Seungwan tastes should only ever be reserved for her.

Everything about Seungwan should only ever be reserved for her. Sure, Seungwan and Seulgi have this funny childhood incident involving Pringles, but does Seulgi know things about her ‘best-friend’ like she does? Seulgi hasn’t the faintest clue about the real Seungwan. Not like Joohyun. Joohyun knows her – she can recite Seungwan’s order at any restaurant they’ve ever been to backwards and blindfolded, she knows Seungwan still needs to squeeze her little stuffed bunny to sleep, she knows where and when she’s had her first kiss; she knows if she’s having a bad dream based on how tightly she clings onto her during the night.

And…

… and she knows how to make her cum. Whether it’s pressed up against the counter with her tongue pressed flat against the underside of her cock or controlling the movement of her hips when she’s grinding into her, Joohyun knows every in-and-out of driving her alpha crazy to the point where it’s all she can do to just lay there and pant.

Seulgi will never know her like that.

Joohyun will just have to prove it.

She couldn’t care less about table manners, not now, anyway. Not when Seungwan hasn’t given her a choice but to remind her who she belongs to.

Seungwan’s too busy yapping with Seulgi to notice her girlfriend’s wandering hand – slipping down under the table and across to where she’s sitting – until she feels a light pressure on her crotch. Joohyun side-eyes her, watching as Seungwan shifts a little, probably wondering if Joohyun had meant to rest her hand on her thigh or her lap… you know, like many couples do. But a prompt squeeze tells her otherwise. Seungwan’s voice breaks in the middle of her reply to Seulgi and her lips fall open. She shoots Joohyun a quick glance but continues as though nothing had happened.

Playing tough, huh, puppy, Joohyun thinks. Easily sorted.

Her hand explores a little more. She feels her target through Seungwan’s favourite pair of sweatpants; it’s soft, but that’s something she intends to fix. She rubs her through the thick fabric, failing to conceal her growing smile at how uncomfortable her alpha looks right now. Good enough to devour; that’s how she looks. Focused eyes take a moment to scan the patrons of the café, who are all obliviously going about their day, all none the wiser. Joohyun can’t help it, she just knows every omega in this goddamned room must be brimming with jealousy that it’s her who gets to walk under Seungwan’s arm, that it’s her who gets to take Seungwan home every night.

She wouldn’t be surprised if Seulgi, beta as she is, hasn’t felt the same.

It doesn’t take two seconds before Seungwan is juggling between holding an increasingly awkward conversation and constantly trying to hide her raging boner from the public, lifting her knees, adjusting her chair, anything to get that hand away from her crotch. It’s tough luck, though, Joohyun’s found what she wants, and she isn’t letting go. One of them is going to have to give in at some point, and by the looks of Seungwan, it’s not going to be Joohyun.

Seems like things have taken an unprecedented turn, and Seungwan is looking like she’s closer and closer to asking for the bill.

“Are you alright, baby?” Joohyun asks casually as she tightens her grip on Seungwan’s erection through her trousers. “You look a little… flushed.”

Her hand is so soft, so supple, and it knows what it’s doing, much to Seungwan’s dismay. Then again, she really shouldn’t be surprised. Joohyun knows exactly how she likes it, where she likes it, and how the underside of her head gets so sensitive after it’s been teased for a while. Her omega’s favourite thing to do before letting her cum is to tell her she can’t. She loves hearing her whine all high-pitched when she rubs a thumb, or a finger, or a tongue over that spot on her tip; the spot which never fails to pull a reaction from the younger girl that Joohyun considers utterly delectable.

And this time is no different. Seungwan’s pleading little mewl is enough to get her panties slightly more damp, so she focuses all her pressure into palming the head of her cock through her sweats as a punishment.

Aw, sweetheart, Joohyun thinks, you can’t be so obvious, now. Seulgi’s going to notice.

It’s dreadfully noticeable; the way Seungwan’s knuckles are turning white from gripping the edge of her seat, and not to mention the fact that she has to find a way to surreptitiously bite her lip to keep from gasping every time Joohyun gives her a firm, downwards stroke.

Seulgi has no clue what Joohyun’s doing to her best friend under the table and continues to attempt to keep up the dying conversation (although the progressive confusion at Seungwan’s disjointed responses is showing more and more on her face).

Whether or not Seungwan had been ecstatic to get groped over her trousers in public, she can’t deny the swelling in her balls and the humiliating dark patch right at the seam of her crotch where she’s leaked enough precum to sink a battleship… and say if they were in a more private setting, that she’d be begging for Joohyun to take care of her.

The friction is driving her to the edge, Joohyun can tell by how it’s twitching in her fist that Seungwan is desperately trying to keep it in.

What do you think, she gauges Seungwan’s rapidly declining self-control, does my puppy need something better than a hand?

The alpha should be thankful her omega is feeling exceptionally merciful today. She decides not to make this lesson any more degrading that it already is, and with a final squeeze, she lets go completely.

But the sudden release of pressure doesn’t quite have the same effect on poor Seungwan. She doesn’t think she would’ve lasted another second. As soon as it’s relented, she feels something of a bolt of electricity shoot down her spine, and the muscles in her hand contract on impulse. The hand that she had decided to wrap around her drink so she could clench it, play with the condensation, just to overall lessen the intensity of what was going on in her lap.

And fuck! Now there’s sugary liquid all down the front of her t shirt, staining her trousers and dripping off the edges of the table.

“Oh goodness,” Joohyun exclaims, immediately retracting her hand from her lap to get her a tissue to soak some of it up.

Seulgi scoffs at her friend flushed crimson. “Well co-ordinated.”

“It’s okay, thank you, Hyun. I’ll just go clean up in the bathroom.” Seungwan hurriedly grabs the tissues from her girlfriend and awkwardly stumbles away from the scene, keeping them against her crotch in the hopes that no one can see how aroused she still is.

Joohyun is in the middle of paying (for their lunch and the inconvenience) when she catches Seungwan in the corner of her eye, waiting by the entrance of the bathroom. Her eyes are wide, watery and pleading, and there’s an unmistakable blush dusted over her cheeks. She recognises that look far too well, but she only ever sees it when Seungwan’s feeling particularly… needy, or in need of assistance in a special sort of way.

Does she mean… here? Now?

Joohyun feels a stir somewhere deep in her belly, and she turns to look up at the waiter.

Young-ish, just out of college, maybe. He looks like he could use what she’s about to give him to get himself a properly functioning razor.

She gives him her best, tight-lipped smile and hands him a single note, ignoring the way his brow quirks up. “Keep the change.”

After rat-boy slinks off with probably the hugest tip he’ll ever receive in his time working as a waiter, Joohyun stands up so fast she barely manages to catch her own glass from toppling over. Seungwan is already in the bathroom, and Joohyun makes to follow her, but she’ll be polite first.

Besides, it was Seulgi’s idea to meet up today, so she kind of has her to thank for what’s about to happen.

[hanawrites404]

Twice My Age

Show : Jojo's Bizarre Adventure/Jojo No Kimou Na Bouken

Pairing : Noriko (female Noriaki)/Jotaro Kujo

Warnings : Age-gap romance and sex along with swearing.

Characters : Jotaro Kujo, Noriko (female Noriaki), Jolyne Cujoh

Timeline : Pre-Stone Ocean

This story is based on this song :

This story is also based on the author's headcanon when she had finished reading Stone Ocean and was recovering her brain cells.

Third Person POV

It was a normal afternoon at Florida. Today was Friday, which meant the last day of the working week. Students at the school were frustratingly tapping the heels of their feet on the floor waiting for the school bell to ring and mark the end of the tiring session.

The teacher obviously minded his own business and lectured the pupils without averting his gaze from the blackboard. He kept ignoring the sounds of whispers and paper-tearing and snickers of the children, until for once he recognised one of the students who was continuously talking in his class, and decided to take some action.

"Ms. Cujoh" the teacher called out harshly as he teared his gaze from the blackboard and stared at the student.

The talkative student looked at the teacher and went silent. She had a piece of folded paper in her hand, her arm stretched out to the student for whom it was meant for. She retrieved her hand back and answered the teacher who was glaring lasers at her through his glasses.

"Yes Mr. Anderson??". "First, please stand up while you speak to a teacher" Mr. Anderson pushed his glasses up. The student sighed and stood up, putting away the paper she had in her pocket.

"Would you please answer the question which is on the board??". Ms. Cujoh read the question. She then rolled her eyes and read the question the teacher had written in white.

Prove that Cos2x = Cos^2x - Sin^2x

"What the??" The teenager reacted.

Mr. Anderson's gaze never left Ms. Cujoh. He was observing every move of her of how she was looking around the classroom, silently asking for help and her friends were giving her a shrug or a thumbs-down.

"Ms. Cujoh. We don't have all day"

After that, she knew that she would have to answer the question by herself.

"I-It's simple Mr. Anderson. Multiply both the sides by zero, and there you go. LHS = RHS".

The students roared with laughter at the teenager's statement. Mr. Anderson was actually expecting such kind of an answer from the rowdy teenager.

"Silence everyone" the teacher stomped his ruler on the table and the room became quiet. But it didn't last for long as the bell finally rung, meaning that it was time for dispersal.

The students quickly packed their bags by shoving their books and stationery inside and exited the classroom, scrambling on their feet. The whole classroom became empty, leaving the astute teenager and the stoic teacher alone.

The silence in the room grew kind of tense. So the girl started to pack her bag and leave the class. Until.......

"Jolyne". The teenager looked at the teacher. She really wanted to leave the vacated classroom and go home. Also she had successfully survived today's class. Now what was the problem??

"Your behaviour is getting worse day by day. And I'm afraid that you might need some extra tutelage for your discipline and your academics yet again".

The teenager rolled her eyes once again. She then placed one of her hands on her hip and looked at the teacher with disinterest.

"Give me a break Mr. Anderson. My answer was correct". "You can argue with the ones who will correct your answer sheet Ms. Cujoh. I'm definitely not the right person to go against with your illogical statement".

Jolyne held her fist tightly. She really wants to punch her teacher square in the face and make sure to get the glass shards of his glasses cut his eyes. But she decided to bottle her anger for now.

"Your discipline is very concerning. Also you are not taking your studies seriously. Even the previous teachers whom I had appointed to improve your etiquettes returned home with a broken nose and teeth" he said to himself.

Jolyne smirked to herself with pride.

"So I have decided to change my plans" he spoke.

"Ha!! So you finally understand, Mr. Anderson" she then crosses her arms and sits on the table while putting her leg on the other. "You will never be able to transform me into nerds like you want to. I'm what I want to be and I don't give a fuck to anyone who wants me to change".

"We will see about that" he then pushes his glasses. "Huh??" Jolyne raises her eyebrow at him. What was this thick-skulled teacher really planning to do to her??

"If it's another teacher, then do keep some extra bandages for the injuries, because I'll not go easy on them" she then cracks her knuckles.

"Now that's where I stop you Ms. Cujoh".

Jolyne then glared at the teacher.

"I'm not going to appoint a teacher to straighten you up. This time, it's a student of your age. Your own classmate".

Jolyne was slightly taken aback. A student?? Of her age?? And the student of her own classroom?? But she barely knew anyone who was good at both discipline and studies. The only persons she was aware of were mostly the divas, the jocks and the bullies.

"W-Who is this student you are talking about??" Jolyne asked. "You will meet her outside the school premises. She is actually one of my best students and has been topping her class for the past 3 years" Jolyne witnessed a sense of pride in Mr. Anderson's tone.

Jolyne became a bit nervous. Who was this nerd whom she hadn't even notice that she was in her school and her class?? And also, a girl??!!

"You might be wondering--'why a girl??' It's because I really want you to get along with her and learn whatever she teaches, and her being the same gender as you would be a good boost".

Jolyne then sniggered and got up from the table. "Just because she is a girl and is of my age, doesn't mean that I can't afford a bruise or two on her".

"I had already warned her about your..........tendency and she is perfectly fine with it. So do whatever you want to do to her, she will be alright with it as she was the one who chose to take the risk and tutor you".

What a daring one for a nerd......Jolyne thought.

Mr. Anderson then looked at his wrist watch. He then spoke "It's getting late. You may leave now".

"Oh thank you, Mr. Anderson" she said in a very sarcastic manner and she even bowed to add to her mockery as she left the class.

"And another thing Ms. Cujoh". Jolyne then looked behind at her teacher lethargically. Can the teacher just leave her already before she actually punches him??

"If you hadn't been the daughter of Dr. Kujo, I would have already expelled you. But I'm still giving you a chance because I'm sure that you too can be as disciplinary as your father".

"Alright first of all, Dad was a delinquent when he was my age. And second of all, he would have already punched your face and shove your stupid glasses into your mouth just to make you shut up if he was at my place" and she then goes away without saying anything else or looking back.

Mr. Anderson sighed as he stacked the sheets and registers he had to take home and correct. After he was done, he looked at the empty classroom once more, especially at the seat where the spiteful teenager sat.

"Hopefully you know what you are doing, Noriko.........."

*One minute time skip, brought to you by Binod*

"Stupid Anderson, he just doesn't know how to mind his own fucking business!!!!" Jolyne angrily stomped out of the premises. She then turned around to look at the clock which was installed on the school building.

It's 5 already. I need to return home fast. Dad is coming home earlier than his usual time so I better reach home before him..........

"Umm....Jolyne Cujoh??".

"What?!!" She turned to the voice. Jolyne relaxed her eyes a bit when she saw who was the owner of the voice.

It was a girl wearing the same uniform as her. The only difference was that she was comparatively shorter than Jolyne and was fairer than her.

She had her red hair down which was a bit longer than shoulder length and purple eyes, one red wavy bang was framing her pretty face and her lips were a glossy, cherry red.

"Do I know you??" Jolyne raised her eyebrow at the unknown girl.

"Not yet, but you will. My name is Noriko. I'm the one who is supposed to mentor you" she then goes closer to her and offers her hand to shake. "It would be a pleasure to get to know you better".

Jolyne observed the girl's hand. She had her nails perfectly trimmed but there was no polish on them. Jolyne then looked at her face and asked.

"Japanese??" She asked. "Yeah" Noriko replied. Jolyne then smirks and shakes her hand firmly.

"Then we will get along pretty well" she said. Noriko then smiles and brushes her bang behind her ear with the other hand. "I'm glad you think so" she replied.

Both of the girls let go of their hands and then they walk home beside each other.

"By the way, why did you say that we will get along well, judging by my nationality??" Noriko asked the taller girl.

"You see, I'm a Japanese myself".

"You are??" Noriko asked, a bit surprised.

"Yeah. I know. I may not look like that but yes, Japanese is one of my nationality" Jolyne replied.

Noriko then snickered and asked "Just how many nationalities do you have??". "Well, my mother is from Florida and my father is Japanese, Italian and British" Jolyne calculated.

"Wow, so many citizenships" she commented. "Haha, it's not that cool as it sounds like. Trust me" Jolyne joked. Noriko chuckled and slapped the taller girl's shoulder lightly which made Jolyne chuckle.

"So Noriko??". "Yes??". "Why did you choose to mentor me?? You do know that I have a certain.........reputation at school".

"I am aware of everything you do in school. Mr. Anderson has updated me everything on you".

"*Ugh* That fucker. What is he, a spy?? Did he only find me to spy on?? And not the ones who actually harass girls or bully lowerclassmen behind the school??"

"Actually, I should be the one at whom you should be angry at". "Huh??" Jolyne looked at her.

"Wait, don't tell me--". "Yes. I was the one who told him to note everything you do".

"*Ugh* Noriko~!! I didn't expect this from you~" Jolyne whined. "Sorry, but this was the only way to plan on how to get you into discipline just like how Mr. Anderson want it". "Fuck that teacher!!!" She then kicks a stray rock on the road which goes very far.

"You seem to be very strong". "Heh, thanks. It's not much, but I can surely lift a heavy table pretty easily". "I'll take a note of that. It might come handy to me when I need to move a table" she chuckled. Jolyne then laughs and Noriko too joins her.

After their laughter died, Noriko spoke.

"You are really fun to be with". "Thanks. I had assumed that you were going to be just like Anderson but you are one lively person" Jolyne said.

"Oh really?? Thank you. Actually, no one has said that to me before" she then brushed another strand of her hair behind her ear.

"What do you mean??" Jolyne asked. "I don't really have friends. Only a few classmates talk to me but only when they need my assistance".

"Huh?? How is that even possible?? You are such an amazing person. Also, you are very pretty. You should have at least a boyfriend with you".

"I don't have a boyfriend". "Oh......a girlfriend perhaps??". "No.....". "Oh, you love a trans??". "What?? No. I'm not interested in anyone for now". "Ahhh....I see".

"Say, do you have a boyfriend??". "My status is also as same as you. Even I'm not really interested in getting into relationships. It will just..........get in my way, that's why". "I understand. Love is.......a very new subject for me" Noriko said.

"Yeah.....me too.....Hell, I don't even know why Dad fell for Mom in the first place just to leave her after that" Jolyne stated. "Huh?? What do you mean??" Noriko looked at Jolyne.

"My parents got a divorce after I was born. And according to the laws, both of my parents have the rights on me. So I visit one of them after every alternate month. This month I'm staying with my father" Jolyne explained.

"I see. Your father is Dr. Jotaro Kujo right??". "Yes, the famous marine biologist. The one who wrote thesis on starfish and other marine creatures. How interesting" Jolyne said, adding a dramatic sarcasm to it.

"Honestly, I'm a big fan of him" Noriko added, a light blush on her cheeks. "What?? Seriously??" Jolyne gaped.

"Yes. I have read every report and thesis he has ever written. The way how he observes and analyses the creatures is just wonderful. I bet that he is going to be the one who will discover a new species of marine life which humanity has never seen before" she spoke with amazement.

"Ha!!! You are flattering him now. My Dad is nothing like how you think of him" Jolyne argued. "Oh really??" Noriko raised her eyebrow.

"Yes. I know he is smart and all but he is not Einstein-level" Jolyne answered. "I never compared him with Einstein, Jolyne. It's just that I really think of him very fondly, and I admire him a lot" Noriko said.

"Yeah yeah, but don't fall in love with him. He might break your heart" she joked. Noriko blushed pink. It's good that Jolyne didn't notice it, otherwise it would have been very awkward.

"Well, here we are. My Dad's house" Jolyne stopped and showed Noriko her house.

"Wow, it looks very big" Noriko looked all over the lavish bungalow.

"Heh, these are the perks of being a Joestar" she said. "Joestar?? What do you mean??" Noriko asked. "You first come inside and then I'll tell you" and so Jolyne and Noriko entered the luxurious house. Both of them removed their shoes and Noriko looked around the house with an agape mouth and wide eyes.

"Wow......this looks so much better from the inside. Just how rich are you people??" Noriko commented and asked Jolyne.

"Well, there was a guy named Robert Speedwagon who was friends with my great-great-grandfather. He then became rich after finding many oil ores out of nowhere. After he died, all of his luxuries went to my great-grandfather and that's how all of our expenses are taken care of" Jolyne explained.

"That's amazing. You guys are literally royals" Noriko commented. "Yeah. And also my great-great-grandfather was a noble in England, so he was rich even before the Speedwagon guy came" she added.

"I see" Noriko then sat on one of the loveseats. "Being a Joestar must be very lucky right??" Noriko asked. "If you think like that, you are gravely mistaken" Jolyne told her.

"What?? Really?? I can't believe this. But you guys have everything!!!.............I guess everything has it's pros and cons" Noriko told herself.

Jolyne was about to speak more, but then the bell of the house rang.

"That must be Dad. You stay here Noriko. I'll be right back" and then she goes to check the door. Since Noriko had nothing to do for now, she looks at her skirt and straightens it up a bit.

Jolyne on the other hand opens the door and sees her father standing outside, just as she expected.

"Hello Dad" Jolyne greeted. "Hello Jolyne, how was school??" Dr. Kujo entered the house and Jolyne stepped away to give him some space.

"Meh, it was fine. Mr. Anderson barked at me as usual" Jolyne told him. Mr. Kujo sniggered a bit.

"He doesn't seem to stop critisizing you, does he??". "Of course not. I bet he won't even shut up even after he is an old man and cannot even lift his hand to push his oversized glasses up" she mocked.

Dr. Kujo smiled a fraction as he removed his shoes and his coat. While he was putting his shoes on the rack, he noticed another pair of school shoes which were similar to that of Jolyne's.

"Jolyne, have you brought a classmate here?" Dr. Kujo asked.

"Uhh yeah. She is actually my mentor who is supposed to tutor me, starting from today. I hope you don't mind if she stays here".

"No, not at all" The professor replied. He then hung his coat up and headed to the living room, her daughter following her.

As soon as Mr. Kujo entered the room, he spotted the red-haired girl. She looked awfully familiar to him which made the professor stop on his tracks.

"Dad, what's wrong??" Jolyne spoke from behind her father.

"Noriaki........" He whispered.

"Noriaki?? No Dad, her name is Noriko"

Jolyne corrected.

Even her name is similar to his...........

Mr. Kujo continued to stare at the red head who was scribbling something in the notepad on her lap with a pencil.

That red hair, those amethyst eyes, and how she was concentrating on her work, everything Mr. Kujo had seen already a long time before. It all felt like Deja Vu to him. And he clearly remembers the person whom this girl reminds him of. He was his highschool lover after all.

"Noriko-chan" Jolyne calls her. Noriko looks up from her notepad to her friend.

"Here is my father, who is also your 'sole idol'. And Dad, this is Noriko, my friend" Jolyne introduced them to one another.

(Part 2)

[crusherthedoctor]

The Lutrudis Hadeer Characterization Masterpost

A while back, I made a big post about the thought process that went into the design for Lutrudis, as well as her name, species, and choice of weapons. In the midst of doing a bunch of other stuff (like the Eggman Sweet or Shite review, which is definitely still coming guys I swear, please don't leave me D':), I recently figured I could do the same for the character's... well, character, and provide some further insight into how her personality was shaped together. Cause why not, right?

Obviously, we won't be covering literally every single personality trait that Trudy has, like her hobbies and whatnot. If we went over all of that, we'd be so far into the future that Tumblr's search system might actually start working again. No, we'll just be keeping it to the central ingredients that make up the overall package.

1. A cool head? In my Sonic OC?

The recurring cast in the Sonic universe is filled with fiery, hot-blooded sorts in one way or another. Sonic might as well be the love child of Mentos and Diet Coke with how full of energy he is, Knuckles and Amy are both prone to letting their temper do the talking, Eggman... is Eggman, and the list goes on. And while there are a number of characters who are more low-key or even outright introverted by comparison, they still tend to exhibit a trait or two that makes them more in-line with the rest of the crowd, be it youthful excitement (Tails, Cream), a fiery temper (Blaze), or the odd bit of cockiness (Shadow).

So what better way to help make Trudy stand out... than by not really having anything like that at all? Contrary to most of the hot-blooded cast, it takes a lot to truly enrage her, and even then, you'll be lucky to get anything past tranquil fury. She's not particularly hammy either - flowery with her language at times, certainly, but not hammy - nor is she a cocky type, even against the weakest or most ridiculous of opponents, and although she does grow as a person over the course of the story she's involved in, all of this remains fairly consistent.

That's not to say that Trudy is not a passionate person. Far from it, in fact. She has a lot of passion. She just shows it in a different way than the average Sonic character.

2. Lutrudis? More like Unsureofdis.

Uncertain characters are also somewhat rare in Sonic's recurring cast (at least in the game universe), and just like with the previous point, even when they're there, they'll usually have something to counter it. Blaze may have been a bit insecure before meeting and befriending Sonic and Co, but as mentioned, she’s got a fierce temper, and even when she started off on her own, she felt that only she could take care of the threat of Eggman and Inferior Eggman Nega. Likewise, while Silver may have doubted himself about Leslie the Crack Dealer’s Iblis Trigger ruse cruise, he still got cocky when he had Sonic on the ropes, and he could be quite full of himself in the Rivals duology as well.

The point being, they still tend to show some semblance of the same “yep, I'm the one for the job, no questions asked” confidence and swagger that nearly everyone else has, no matter the flavor. Trudy, suffice to say, does not have this mentality. Trudy accepting Sonic and Co's help in dealing with sinister affairs in Viridonia without any haughty protest on her part isn't just because she knows they can handle it, or because they're Sonic Heroes and they'll show 'em the real superpower of teamwork... it's also because she's genuinely not sure if she would be able to take care of the matter on her own.

When she saved Cream from the wrath of the Wraith for example, she wasn't thinking “This looks like a job for Miss Hadeer!”

She was thinking “This could very well get me killed, but I have to help the poor bunny somehow...”

In other words, Trudy doesn't consider herself to be some sort of destined protector who has to do this herself. She constantly second guesses herself, and frequently believes her friends are more qualified and competent than she is. Her only reason for doing her best and helping out regardless is simply because she wants to.

3. A light at the end of the tunnel.

For the sake of tact, it's not shoved in your face relentlessly, but reading between the lines, it can be easy to get a sense of melancholy from Trudy. Particularly due to past experiences, she does indeed have an element of depression within her, and this can occasionally show in her body language and facial expressions, even if she's currently feeling positive emotions.

And yet, notice how she continues being a friendly pony. Notice how regardless of her experiences, and her thoughts on said experiences, her actual behaviour is (mostly) free of bitterness or cynicism, and that she doesn't hide the joy that her new friends make her feel. She's not outright ignoring her experiences or pretending they don’t affect her, because they clearly have affected her, and she's never ignored her scars (metaphorically and literally, the latter being a permanent side-effect of her condition), but she knows better than to let it consume her, so she tries her best to look at the bright side of life even during the darkest days.

It's Sonic's opinion that Trudy's inner spirit is a lot stronger than she thinks, with or without his help. Her refusal to give into misery and lash out at the world foreshadows that he's not unjustified in that belief. That, and it ties into the franchise’s usual taste for optimism and idealism against the odds.

4. Hadeer? More like Hadork.

So, everything thus far helps set Trudy up as a mellow, down-to-earth sort of personality. So far, so good. However, it's still the Sonic the Hedgehog universe we're talking about, filled with many colorful characters of all shapes, sizes, and eccentricities. When a franchise has a larger than life cast in a larger than life world, the characters who are meant to be grounded often risk coming off as boring and could end up easily overshadowed, because the creators or writers often neglect to give them any quirks of their own, usually out of fear that it'll disgrace the character's gracefulness. In fact, I personally feel this was a common problem with Sally, in both SatAM and Archie (mostly pre-reboot admittedly).

IMO, these writers are just being plain old silly. Just because a character is quirky doesn't mean they forfeit all their dignity altogether. Like a lot of things in life, you just have to balance it out, and that's what I did (or tried to do...) with the green equine.

So yes, Trudy is elegant, but she's also a really goofy dancer. Yes, she's gentle and motherly, but she also goes back and forth between being a heavy sleeper and being an insomniac. Yes, she serves as a warmhearted auntie figure for Cream (and a big sister figure for Amy), but she also spends a quarter of her time looking like a ninja with the way her bandana covers her face (whether it be due to cold weather, strong scents triggering her sensitive nose, or doing it in the presence of villains as a mildly theatrical way of visually conveying her disdain for them).

And of course, in the right situation, she can be just as much of a dork as the titular blue hedgehog is.

Which leads me to my next point...

5. “You might know everything I'm going to do...”

Trudy was created with the intention of having a character who is actually like Sonic himself in a lot of ways, but it's not apparent initially.

This sort of yin-yang contrasting routine has been done before a few times in the series, with Knuckles, Shadow and Blaze being the most obvious examples. But with them, their similarities are easier to spot from a distance. Knuckles is more earth than wind, but you can tell he's as stubborn as Sonic is. Shadow's methods and outlook differ, but you can tell he's still a mirror of Sonic (cause you know, he looks like him). Blaze is more distant, but you can tell how she can easily be just as worked up and angered as Sonic.

With Trudy however, if you take her at face value, you would think she's the exact opposite of Sonic. She's an introvert, he's an extrovert. She's got a calm temperament, he can get impatient even at the best of times. She's quite fancy, he's more rough and tumble. She takes things slowly, he leaps ahead without a care in the world... You would think that, outside of them both fighting for good, they would have nothing in common, and that their dynamic would be more akin to Sonic's relationship with Sally, which although they were friends, their relationship could often be somewhat rocky due to their differences in... basically every area and opinion imaginable.

But then you get to know Trudy, and the unfolding of the adventure reveals the rest of what she has to offer. The aforementioned soldiering on in spite of any depressed moments is in itself a small hint that Trudy shares Sonic's philosophy of never giving up. She believes that most people are good at their core, and while she won't excuse especially evil people or actions and will punish them appropriately (albeit with regret that it had to come to that), she's willing to give a chance to those who are willing to take it, just like with the Blue Blur. Not only does she NOT find Sonic's jokes and hijinks annoying, she actually has a similar sense of humor herself. And while reasonable people generally tend to loathe injustice and oppression, Trudy shares Sonic's uniquely intense contempt for it, and believes in one's own personal freedom just as much as the hedgehog does, let alone freedom in general.

In short, Trudy is what you get when you take Sonic's deeper qualities and general outlook on life, and apply them to a more introverted and taciturn personality. The exact same beliefs, but from a different perspective, so to speak.

6. A different kind of intelligence.

Tails and Eggman are the resident kings of scientific prowess in Sonic's world, and it goes without saying that I wouldn't want to do them a disservice by having Trudy one-up them in that department. But that doesn't mean your character can’t be talented in other areas, right? Contrary to what all those Mary Sue tests dictate, your character can in fact have a high IQ without intruding on an official character’s territory.

Therefore, Trudy is pretty good at innovation and craftsmanship in her own right, but whereas Tails and Eggman do it through technology, her field of expertise is more to do with arts and crafts, and to a lesser extent geology. For example, both her bow and her whip were crafted by the lady herself, using nothing but her decorative knowledge and flair.

Outside of that, she tends to know a fair bit about a lot of things in the world, largely attributed to her photographic memory, meaning she's bound to have a few answers no matter the subject of discussion. Granted, she's unlikely to be the absolute number one expert on any of those things, but she's at least a useful jack of all trades in that regard.

7. Feeling a little horse.

I very much approve and flat out adore the idea of Sonic characters having characteristics that remind the audience of what species they're supposed to be, so I made sure that Trudy had a wide selection of little mannerisms that would reveal her for the little horsie that she is. These include, but aren't limited to...

- When she’s fascinated or concerned by something, she’ll lean a little forward with her hands close to her chest, which subtly mimics the act of prancing.

- When she wakes up, she briefly stretches her arms and legs (albeit not too recklessly so as to risk straining her sensitive limbs).

- Her tail has a number of quirks. If she's happy, it might slowly swish to and fro. If she's REALLY happy, it might flick...

- And if she doesn't approve of someone or something, it might stiffen and raise a little bit, as if to helpfully inform the bad guys where they can kiss, if ya know what I'm saying.

- When she's being affectionate with her friends, she might give them the ol' nuzzle.

- When she's in a playful mood, there might be a little skip in her walk, the anthro equivalent of trotting.

- When she's annoyed, she might humorously let out a snort that sounds identical to a real life horse snort. And while she certainly doesn't neigh in the traditional sense, when she finds something hilarious or Sonic's making her laugh with his antics, her laughter can't help but take on a neigh-like touch to it. (The latter was actually a headcanon suggested by @darklightheart​, and I immediately agreed with it because it's cute and funny in equal measures.)

Naturally, she gets all shy and embarrassed when the neigh-laugh comes out, thinking it sounds silly. At least Sonic finds it endearing.

Note that I'm well aware that some of this differs from how real life horses react to certain things. (Eg: tail swishing tends to happen when a horse is agitated rather than happy.) But I freely admit that it's more for the sake of giving the character that extra bit of soul than it is for utmost accuracy. That's the way it goes with fiction sometimes. :P

Interestingly, Trudy tends to get Sonic indulging in a funny hedgehog characteristic of his own. That being, he might curl into a ball if Trudy's being particularly... ~complimentary~ towards him.

And there we are! These are the core elements that make up Trudy’s characterization. If you ever wanted a general list of what makes her tick, then hopefully this post will help in scratching that itch. And if it doesn’t, then hopefully it still proves that more thought was put into her than Scourge. :]

[theobsessor1]

Curious Happenings

summary:  Thomas’s great grandfather has recently passed and in his will, he left his large house and giant sanctuary reservation attached to it to Thomas. Only Thomas comes to learn that it’s not quite as it seems, as every day it seems to get stranger and stranger.

pairings: none yet

Warnings: mild language Word count: 4089 co-written with my friend @i-crave-luck , if you wish to be added to the taglist let us know.

(previous chapters ch.1 )

Chapter 2 of Right Here by Your Side

Thomas groans, turning over to his back as he rubs the sleep from his eyes. Warm golden light leaks in from the window, lighting up the room. 

It takes a moment for Thomas to remember where he was as he sits up, confused, realizing he wasn’t in his old Florida home anymore but was in Oregon in his grandfather's home. A small meow catches his attention as the cat from yesterday sits at the door of the room, watching him.

“What? Are you hungry?” 

The cat meows again, more insistently this time, before trotting off. 

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Thomas gets up from the bed, wrinkling his nose at the fact he fell asleep in his clothes from the day before. Heading to his room, he takes some clean clothes from the closet before looking for the bathroom. Trying to remember where it was. 

The cat seems to glare at him, making an annoyed sound. 

“Okay, I get it, I’ll feed you in a sec. Unlike you, I can’t lick myself clean.” 

Thomas isn’t sure if he imagined it, but the cat seemed to be disgusted by this, turning around and haughtily leaving once again. 

Rolling his eyes he takes his time to shower, enjoying the warm water, washing away the anxieties of the previous day. He has time to think, a particularly distressing thought crossing his mind and causing him to pause in washing his hair, realizing he spent possibly the whole night with the giant cat in the bed...yet he’s fine? He usually has an allergic reaction to cats! Did he even remember to pack his epipen or pills?

He would have to check his room before going downstairs, maybe take the pills just in case when he finds them. Could a giant cat like that even be hypoallergenic? You would think not, with all that fur. 

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he finishes up his shower. Finding his small case he had stored his medicine in, taking out some pills before heading down the stairs. 

He’s wonderfully surprised by the scent of something good cooking. He goes down the stairs and pauses, shocked to see Logan in the kitchen making breakfast and humming quietly. The cat was happily sitting on the counter next to him, drinking from a mug that looked like one of the many from the upstairs bedroom they found the cat in yesterday.

Logan looked really different from yesterday, his skin strangely tinted green and ears extremely long and pointed. When the light hits his eyes they would almost appear to glow. 

Thomas took a few steps closer in awe and confusion, though honestly he should be probably questioning how he got back in the house instead of his new appearance. “Logan?” 

Logan jumps slightly, turning to Thomas with wide eyes and brandishing a wooden spoon. “Oh, Thomas! Apologies, I hadn’t noticed you come in. You are wearing a protective charm, correct? That would explain why I appear to have trouble sensing you.” Logan grabs a plate from behind him, handing it to Thomas, stacked with scrambled eggs and wild berries. “Now that you are here you must eat up, there is a lot of work to do to get this place back into proper shape, and I hope we can start as soon as possible.” He sets a plate in front of the cat, snatching away the mug, to its annoyance.

“Oh, uh, thank you, uh, what exactly is there to do?” Thomas asks, bewildered. What did he mean by protective charm, or this talk of sensing him? Logan’s ear twitches, catching his attention. 

“Well, how much do you know?” Logan has begun cleaning up the utensils he used for cooking, and now that Thomas looks around, the whole kitchen looks a lot cleaner. 

“Well, uh, depends what you mean.” Thomas shakes his head. “Okay, wait a moment. Could you explain why you look like that first?” 

Logan pauses in his cleaning, tilting his head to look at Thomas, eyes glinting. “What do you mean? I am an elf, this is how we naturally look.” He squints at Thomas, metaphorical wheels turning in his head. “Thomas, what do you believe Alkwin did here?” 

“He took care of hurt or displaced animals, right? I don’t-- I don’t understand, elves aren’t real, those are all just in movies and books.” 

That cat makes a sound akin to laughter behind Logan, causing the elf to turn to him with a glare. “Remy, this is not a humorous matter. If you will not help, then I must ask you to leave.” 

The cat huffs, taking the time to stretch before hopping off the counter and wandering off. 

Thomas can’t help but feel nervous when Logan turns his dark gaze back onto Thomas with a sigh. “I assure you the Elven race is real, among many other creatures and legends. Please tell me you know something about this? Had Alkwin, or your parents, ever spoken of such things to you at all?” 

Thomas takes a moment to process how strange the cat was acting and Logan’s information before registering the question. “Uh, well, I remember being told stories as a kid, sorta. It’s a bit hazy. But my parents adamantly disapproved of all that, especially after...Well, after they stopped letting me come around.” Thomas rubbed his knuckles on his chest self consciously before forcing his hand back down. The prominent scar across his shoulder blade and arm itches, reminding him that it’s still there. 

Logan glared at the counter top, grumbling something in another language. If Thomas were to guess, it was probably some not-so-nice things. “I can’t believe your parents would raise you to such naivety, your mother was mostly raised here, like you were to be! Growing up knowing the truth!” He shakes his head, closing his eyes with a huff. “To have locked you away from such knowledge and your own family like that is disgusting.” 

Thomas clears his throat awkwardly. “Okaaaay, but you can’t possibly be an actual elf right? You’re just pulling my leg?” 

Logan glances up, looking deeply into his eyes, taking a deep breath to cool his temper. “I am not ‘pulling your leg,’ I am serious. Alkwin helped creatures, yes, but not just ordinary ones, he helped all range of creatures, magical and supernatural alike... Myself included.” 

Thomas blinks, brows furrowing. “But...they can’t possibly exist?” 

“Yes, they do! I am standing right in front of you, clearly not human!” Logan groans in annoyance. “Alright, alright. This is fine, we can go out and show you a few things to help bring your fragile human mind to peace with this. We can use this to start teaching you proper etiquette and care with creatures around here.” He grumbles.

Thomas nervously spoons some eggs into his mouth as Logan starts mumbling more to himself. This morning has been all kinds of strange. 

The cat, Remy, jumps onto the kitchen bar next to Thomas, startling him. He hadn’t heard the cat return. He might need to buy him a bell so that doesn’t keep happening. Remy was most likely seeking attention if anything from yesterday was to go by, the attention hog. But Thomas was happy to provide, petting the cat as he finished his breakfast. 

“Very well, I believe I have come up with the best course of action. You will accompany me to check on the calmer creatures to help ease you into all this and your role as caretaker. We will be leaving as soon as you’re ready.” Logan looks at him expectantly.

He freezes, mind turning blank “Oh, uh, should I bring anything? Or change?” He asks awkwardly.

“You will want to be adequately dressed for traipsing around the forest. A dagger would not hurt.” Logan suggests coolly, before turning to leave. “I’ll be out back waiting for you, do hurry. I like to keep to a schedule.” 

“Wait! Why would I need a dagger?” 

“Well, it is better to be safe than sorry as that saying goes, correct? There are many creatures that inhabit the forest and not all are friendly, though I doubt they’d attack with me around.” 

Thomas watches as he leaves, feeling his anxiety grow. It would be fine right? They would be safe? He forces himself to take a deep breath, it will be okay. He isn't a scared little kid anymore, he’s not some easy prey like he was back then. He can handle the woods. 

He probably didn’t need to change? Wearing jeans and tennis shoes would be enough, and he hadn’t exactlly packed much of his closet, so he would have to wait for the rest of his wardrobe that's packed away in the moving truck that’s on its way. That would be alot of unpacking when it arrives...and probably a lot of rearranging too. 

Steeling himself for his adventure into the unknown, he leaves the kitchen looking for the back door, Remy silently at his heels.

He finds Logan standing at the border of the tree line, leaning against a tree, inspecting an arrow. He had equipped himself with a quiver full of arrows and a bow, along with several daggers strapped to his person. Where on earth did he get all that?

He looks up as Thomas approaches, an ear twitching. “Stay close and do not stray, we do not need you getting lost. If you do, Remy will keep you safe until I find you again.” He puts the arrow back in his quiver before heading down a slightly worn path into the trees. 

As Thomas follows Logan, he can’t help but notice how smoothly he seems to move and traverse through the forest, each of his movements precise. It was like the plants around him moved out of his way. 

He looks away, aware he might have been staring, focusing on not falling on his face. It’s wild wrapping his head around all this. “You uh, knew my grandfather right? Since you said you worked with him?” 

It’s silent for a moment, making Thomas question if he heard him before Logan finally responds. “I was a colleague of his, yes,” is the short clipped answer he gives. 

“Did you get to know him well? He was a pretty awesome grandfather and I had hoped he had some good friends that stayed with him, since most of the family kinda avoided him.” Thomas knows he may be starting to ramble but he can’t help it, feeling nervous out in the woods does that.  

Logan stops himself from turning around, jaw clenching slightly. “Possibly.” 

“If magical creatures are real? Then how come the entire world doesn’t know this?” Thomas could hear Logan huff in front of him. “ Simple, really. Most creatures keep hidden from humans or humans mistake them for other creatures, subconsciously refusing to believe them as real.” Logan turns his head to look at Thomas from the side of his eyes, baring his teeth frustratedly, slightly sharper than the average person. “You would know all this if your mother hadn't acted so rashly about a simple mistake-- disregard that.” He quickly cuts himself off, eyes widening, before turning his head back forwards to focus on where they were walking, speeding his pace. 

“Wait! Did you know my mom too?” Thomas attempts to clumsily speed up to walk beside Logan, who keeps silent. 

“You do, don’t you, you mentioned her earlier too!” 

“I will not admit to such things,” Logan hisses, moving faster. 

Thomas groans childishly with annoyance, stumbling a bit to try and keep up pace with the more nimble of the two. He was starting to sense a pattern with these conversations. It seems Logan liked to avoid talking about his folks. 

He cries out, tripping over a tree root. Unhelpfully, Remy sits in front of him with a light mew. “I’m fine, thanks for asking,” he states dryly, before flipping over to his back to catch his breath. 

He couldn’t hear Logan, so he could only hope he hadn’t kept walking without him. 

A chittering sound off to his left catches Thomas’s attention. What looked like a rabbit was peeking out of a burrow in the ground, under the tree roots. Keeping still to not scare it away, Thomas watches with awe as the animal skittishly comes out, its little nose twitching and sniffing. 

As it hops slightly out of its home, Thomas realizes with a start that it is not an ordinary rabbit. Mini antlers protrude from its head, and- oh my gosh are those wings! 

He has to keep himself from squealing, seeing something so cool as this. Oh gosh how cute would the babies of this thing look!

“That is a wolpertinger.” 

“Jesus!” Thomas jumps, startled by Logan’s sudden presence as he stands by his head. Thomas’s sudden exclamation and movement has scared the bunny creature back into its burrow. “Dude! Warn a guy before sneaking up on them!” He might need a bell for Logan too, gosh. 

“Apologies, I did not mean to startle you. I thought you were aware I was still here. We will have to work on your perception skills, it seems.” Logan offers a hand to help him up.

Thomas shakes his head, taking the hand. “It’s fine, uh, what did you say that thing was called?” 

Logan perks up, smiling slightly, happy to teach. “A wolpertinger, they are native to Germany, though many of them have been displaced and have been scattered about in sanctuaries to protect the species.” 

Thomas looks up to Logan, bewildered. “Wait, there’s more places like this?” 

“Yes, of course, sanctuaries like this are built all over the world. Many are disguised as regular sanctuaries, much like this one here.” Logan motions for him to follow as he talks. “Magical creatures around the world are often harmed or displaced in the modern day, with the ever expanding human race. Places like this allow for them to continue to live safely and usually within their native type of habitats, undisturbed by technology.” 

“Huh, that’s really cool. Like, it sucks to hear that they have to leave their homes but it’s pretty cool that my grandfather is one of those people that were helping them find somewhere safe.” 

“Indeed.” Logan steps through a curtain of leaves, glancing around at the trees scattering the area. 

Thomas doesn’t understand what he’s doing until the wood on the trees seems to ripple and shift. Small children, maybe young teen size begin, to separate from them, wandering over to Logan like little kids ecstatic for their parents to be home, even though they left only for a few hours.

They all seemed to be made of earth, skin dark and different shades of dirt, hair made of vines and leaves, eyes grey like stones. Logan welcomes them with open arms, crouching down slightly as they all hold tightly to his sleeves, bouncing about and seemingly speaking to him, though it was in no way that Thomas could understand. 

“Hm, yes, it is good to hear the population is rising. Though, we will have to be careful to watch the numbers, we don’t want them having too many kids now, no matter how adorable they are.” Logan tilts his head to another that’s wildly gesturing to him. “No, I believe it will rain later today, don’t worry your little heads about that.” He perks up, ears standing straight. “Oh yes, I brought someone along today.” 

Thomas gives a shy wave as all of them look at him “This is Thomas, Thomas say hello to the nymphs. They are nature spirits that live in most of the plant life found around the world.” 

“Uh, hello.” The nymphs are suddenly surrounding him, tugging at his clothes and touching his skin curiously, making a range of chattering sounds as they excitedly bounce around him like a gaggle of school girls. 

“Apologies for their wildness, there is not much one can do in manners when it comes to nature. They are just trying to get to know you, touch being one of the ways they primarily communicate with one another alongside gestures. I believe you humans have something similar called sign language, correct?” 

“Yeah, people with hearing impairments usually grow up learning it.” Thomas squeaks when one of them touches his butt, jumping away with a light blush. The nymphs collectively make a sound like a chorus of giggling. 

“Alright, that’s enough. Leave him be, you little heathens.” Logan fondly shoos the nymphs away from Thomas. “There’s a reason in myths why men would often be running after them, ugh, the little beasts will tease until you give chase before disappearing. A game of theirs that’s usually harmless but not everyone appreciates.” 

“I--” Thomas again jumps, a sudden ringing and buzzing from his pocket as his phone goes off. 

Logan flinches away, wide eyed. “What on earth is that?” 

“Shoot, I hadn’t realized I left that on.” Thomas sheepishly takes out his phone. Looked like Joan was trying to call and check on him, but the service didn’t look like it was going to cut it to make a functioning call. He can try texting him real quick. As he does this, Logan creeps closer till they are practically butting heads. 

“What is that?’ 

“Have you never seen a cell phone before?” Thomas peers at him after sending the text. 

“There is the telephone on the wall in the house, but I have never seen something like this, is this some kind of advanced  rune magic? No, that can’t be it, you humans don’t use magic anymore. Technology, then, correct?” 

“Uh, yeah, It’s technology, it’s like a mini computer in your hand, if that makes sense?” 

“Not really, I have no idea what a computer is.” 

“Oh.” 

Well, guess the first thing he is going to need to do to the house is get some proper wifi and a computer. He’s sure Logan would have a blast with the internet...Or possibly want to destroy it. It could go either way. 

A loud shriek goes off further in the forest drawing their attention. Logan stands straight, looking off to the distance and ears up twitching slightly. A few of the nymphs have appeared again, feverently chattering to him, looking upset. 

“There’s a problem, let’s go.” 

Shit! Thomas could hardly keep up with his long legs as Logan runs expertly through the woods. He has nocked his bow, that can’t be a good sign. 

Going a bit further into the woods, the trees noticeably becoming much larger as they traverse to a large clearing, finally slowing down, Thomas leans against a tree to catch his breath as Logan continues on ahead. Remy went with him without a second glance. In the clearing stood three gryphons, all looking rather disgruntled and upset, screeching at each other angrily. 

Logan raises a hand towards them, giving a sharp whistle to announce his presence. Each of them turn to him with more angry sounds. “Shush, what's got you all upset? Shouting amongst yourselves will solve nothing.”

They ruffle their feathers unhappily, trilling restlessly at him. Thomas approaches slowly, he’s watched Harry Potter, he knows how this works. Of course, that doesn’t make it any less scary when the giant angry creatures turn their gaze to him. 

“Thomas, I suggest you don’t come any closer. Gryphons can be quite-- what are you doing?’ 

Thomas cautiously bows to the gryphons, feeling a bit ridiculous as he glances at them. Everyone is staring at him.

Logan watches with surprise as the gryphons bow back, puffing out their chests and pleased with this show of respect as they straighten. “What? You said you didn’t know anything about magical creatures!” 

He chuckles abashedly. “Ok, well, um, I don’t really, I just remember a few things that Hagrid said in Harry Potter, that gryphons should be treated with high respect was one of them.” 

The gryphons seem to like this response, chirping happily. Logan looks rather bewildered. “I don’t know who this Hagrid or what Harry Potter is, but you just earned their undeniable respect easily! That takes years to earn!” Logan frowns, putting a hand to his chin. “I will need to study this man you speak of later, he seems to have a good knowledge of magical creatures.” 

“I’d be glad to show you the movies sometime.” 

Logan furrows his brows, opening his mouth to ask a question when something bursts from the tree line, screeching furiously, causing Remy to yowl  loudly in alarm. “Fuck!” 

The gryphons shriek angrily, stomping and flapping their wings at the new creature in the area. It seemed to be a deer-like creature, covered in shimmering teal and gold feathers. It’s hind legs ended in wickedly sharp talons that it dug into the ground. It had a gorgeous peacock tail that it spread angrily, stomping its hooves and throwing its head, showing off it’s antlers. It screeched at the gryphons again, baring too-sharp teeth and flapping it’s gleaming wings. 

“Thomas, I suggest heading home as I try to get this peryton back to its proper territory,” Logan says calmly as he nocks an arrow back, shooting it to the ground near the creature’s feet, startling it in the opposite direction a few steps, flapping its wings some more with an angry, spooked snort.

“But--”

“Go!”

Thomas’s breath catches in his throat, watching Logan and the gryphons continue to shepherd the creature back towards the trees. He feels Remy rubbing against his leg, insistently, glancing at the cat before he can find himself move again and do as he is told. 

Hurriedly, he follows Remy back, hardly paying attention to the trees as they rush past him. His lungs shudder harshly with the need for oxygen as he runs, having been quite far from the house. When he makes it back to the house he quickly shuts the door, leaning his back onto it as he steadies himself. Taking extra care to take deep breaths and calm his heart rate. 

His scars seem to burn with the memories that seem to be taking joy in torturing him at the moment, brought back by the startling encounter. 

He sighs, running a hand through his hair. 

Wait a moment, that burning wasn’t just in his head. Reaching under the collar of his shirt, he takes out the small amulet he always wore. When he was younger, after the accident in the woods his grandfather had given it to him, promising it would keep him safe. It had originally been his, taking it from around his neck to give to Thomas. And so Thomas had kept it, always wearing it for good luck, in a way. 

He’d never suspected it was anything other than an old locket, though by what Logan said, it seemed to be more. 

Curiously, Thomas held it in his palm. The metal of the locket seemed to be heating up a bit and glowing a slight red. Something scratched at the door and he turned. It was probably Remy, right?

Something stopped him from opening the door though, a cold feeling of dread as he spots Remy a few feet away, fur raised, baring his teeth and hissing. 

He doesn’t move, holding his breath he hears something breath heavily outside with a strange inhuman noise. If it were Logan he would have spoken up and attempted to open the door to just come in, he reasoned.

The amulet burned in his hand, pulsing as the red glow grew stronger. He winces, dropping it and letting it fall to rest back around his neck again, the burning smothered slightly by the fabric of his shirt. There are more scraping sounds from outside before it goes silent. Remy quiets down, still wary.

The amulet slowly cools and loses its glow.

Whatever had followed him seemed to have left. He found himself too frightened to turn and check the window, for fear it may be there. Remy comes over to him and mrowed. 

He waits a moment more, just to be sure whatever creature that had been there was gone before finally taking a desperate breath of air and sliding to the ground with relief. Remy happily plops himself into Thomas’ lap, butting his head against his chin. 

He’s going to need to talk to Logan about that when he returns. 

Unaware of the old claw marks in the door frame, left by that very creature long ago.

[itsclydebitches]

I consider taking angsty prompts and turning them into absurd fluff to be a specialty of mine~ 

Wretched 

Aziraphale had always had a soft spot for children’s books. One wouldn’t think it based on the antiques and religious texts crowding up the shop, but if you took your time and wandered all the way to the back you’d find a sizable collection waiting, enhanced by the occasional plush and toy truck. They were mostly books from the mid-18th and 19th century, didactic texts with (surprise, surprise) religious bents. A Little Pretty Pocket-Book Intended for the Instruction and Amusement of Little Master Tommy and Pretty Miss Polly had been a long time favorite of his, both for the brightly colored paper it was bound in and the absurdly long title by contemporary standards.

The History of Little Goody Two-Shoes. The New England Primer. Millions of Cats. Peter Rabbit, The Secret Garden, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland...that was about as modern as Aziraphale was willing to go—for now at least—with the exception of one co-authored series from the 1990’s.

“The Bailey School Kids,” Crowley read. He flipped through one at random, eyes already skittering away from lack of interest. The cover got an amused snort though. “Dracula Doesn’t Drink Lemonade? Wouldn’t mind showing that to old Bram sometime.”

“You’re welcome to take that copy if you ever pop back downstairs.”

“Isn’t he with your lot?”

“Can’t quite recall anymore.” Aziraphale’s fingers skimmed the spines until he found the book he was looking for. With a dramatic flourish he showed off this cover too: a glowing woman performing a kick in front of four children.

Crowley’s lips twitched. “Angels Don’t Know Karate.”

“I’ll admit this one certainly doesn’t.”

“‘She’s too good to be true!’ Well they got that part right at least.”

Crowley’s admiration was rarely verbal. He preferred actions over words and when something did come tumbling out it was quickly followed by an insult for balance. You’re so clever. How can someone as clever as you be so stupid, and so forth. Thus, Aziraphale waited for the blow and instead felt his cheeks heating when all Crowley did was glance up over his glasses, eyes soft. He’d bent to get a look at the book and having him in such a, ahem, submissive position did nothing to calm Aziraphale’s racing heart.

What absurdities human bodies were. His palms had begun to sweat so badly that Aziraphale feared he’d do damage to the pages.

Yet when he dropped one hand to brush against his trousers he found it caught halfway, Crowley’s fingers ensnaring his, right at the tips. He drew Aziraphale’s knuckles to his mouth and placed a kiss there, reverent.

“Too good by far,” he murmured.

“Oh,” and Aziraphale was floundering, choking a bit, trying to put the book down and pull Crowley forward all at once until they were simply a mess of limbs and laughter. They finally succeeded and as Aziraphale bent to press his own kiss into the hollow of Crowley’s throat he forgot the reason he’d brought him over here in the first place.

I was making a joke, he thought faintly. Then Crowley took his face between his hands and Aziraphale forgot that too.

***

It came to him thirty hours later when a stray cat nearly upended itself into a drain in its attempt to get away from Crowley.

That was it. The Bailey series was missing a title: Demons Don’t Keep Pets.

“Wretched beast,” Crowley muttered and Aziraphale kindly ignored that the words were spoken in the same tone as, ‘I’m not nice’ and ‘That’s ridiculous,’ and ‘Shut up, angel.’

“We merely startled the poor thing,” Aziraphale said. He kept his eyes straight ahead.

“Shut up, angel.”

Hmm.

Spending time in the company of demons resulted in all sorts of odd, but really quite predictable outcomes. The stench of sulfur and chlorine was a given. Aziraphale had long ago ceased trying to cover up Crowley’s scent with any human-made creations and after the first couple of hundred years he’d forgotten why he’d wanted to in the first place. Minor mischief was another. Not anything planned, demons simply had a sort of... bad luck that surrounded them. Minor falls, forgotten words, and lost socks followed them everywhere. There was the expected gravitation towards warmer climates—many were cold blooded by nature—and the inevitable itch to groom one’s wings once the encountered concluded. Though that was due more to self-comparative embarrassment than anything the demons actually did.

And then there were the animals. Needless to say, creatures of Earth didn’t take kindly to demonic entities from the literal depths of hell.

Over their multi-millennium friendship (Courtship, Aziraphale silently corrected himself, experiencing a little thrill) he had seen Crowley interact with every animal imaginable. Or rather, unintentionally terrorize every animal imaginable. Cats, as established, had enough sense to get out of his way. Dogs were a little dumber, but that just resulted in shaking, whimpering, and a pungent mess on the floor. The Bentley was beloved not only for it style, but the freedom it had afforded him. Over the years Aziraphale had watched Crowley get bucked off of horses, camels, donkeys, mules, and on one memorable occasion an elephant. Though there were upsides too, of course. This particular body was quite susceptible to bug bites, though Aziraphale never needed to worry about such things when on a dusk stroll with Crowley. In decades past a visit from him had been more than enough to scare off the rats and cockroaches plaguing Aziraphale’s home. Squirrels and other rodents never bothered them while eating outside. Birds wouldn’t dare to defecate anywhere in their presence (smarter than the dogs then). It had taken a hundred years for the ducks of St. Jame’s Park to become accustomed to their routine... and even today they very obviously only ate the bread on Aziraphale’s side of the pond.

In short, there was a reason that poor unicorn had bolted the moment Crowley come on the scene.

“You’re thinking about how I’m responsible for the extinction of the unicorns, aren’t you?”

Aziraphale faltered only briefly. Uneven pavement. Such a danger. “Not at all, my dear.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Zira.”

“I am quite accomplished in the art due entirely to your influence. Now hush and enjoy the sunset.”

Crowley grumbled, but slipped his hand into Aziraphale’s when they just so happened to brush. They did enjoy the sunset while strolling back from dinner and as they did not a single mosquito, bird, or daring cat came their way.

***

Crowley would have dearly loved to have a pet.

He’d never said as much, not even at their most inebriated, but the desire was clear as day to Aziraphale. Put aside how well they knew one another; Aziraphale was, quite literally, a being meant to understand and exhibit love, someone who could feel it in all its forms. He knew that Crowley loved animals with the same surety that he knew Crowley loved children. And him. The duck obsession, the drunken worry for all the ocean’s creatures, they were just neon signs pointing to an already obvious statement.

Aziraphale had briefly thought that Dog was the answer. Who better to love a demon than a hell hound? Sadly, a visit to the Young household established that Adam had been a bit too thorough in transforming Dog into a normal dog. The puddle on the family room rug had created quite the stir.

So, with Armageddon two weeks behind them and all the freedom to do as he pleased, Aziraphale went shopping.

“Angel, when you said you’d gotten me a present...” Crowley’s mouth worked for a moment, seeming to taste a whole lot of words before rejecting all of them. “Weeellll. Kinda thought it was another stuffy old book.”

“You love when I give you stuffy old books.” Aziraphale had seen the small collection in Crowley’s apartment, as loved as anything else in that minimalist space.

“Is this a stuffy old book then?”

Crowley pointed to the box. The box moved.

“No, dear.”

In truth Crowley already knew what was inside. He could no doubt smell it, but he went through the motions of surprise all the same. Aziraphale watched how hard he swallowed and the shake in his hands as he pulled back the flaps.

“...You got me a snake,” he said and Aziraphale smiled at how wet his voice had gotten.

Specifically, Aziraphale had gotten him an Eastern Hognose Snake, black with a reddish tint to match Crowley’s hair. Docile and small, the little dear had no sooner tasted the air then it was making a beeline for Crowley, around his wrist and up onto his shoulder.

He’d been right. The curse didn’t extend to one’s own species.

“I’m surprised you never got one for yourself,” Aziraphale said. He watched as Crowley ran two fingers delicately over the scales, entranced. A soft, subconscious hiss was emanating each time he breathed. “It’s rather the perfect pick for you.”

“Way to toot your own horn. But nah, just... snakes. Not very cute, are they? Not the sort of thing people want in their home.” Crowley used his free hand to sit his sunglasses more firmly onto his face and... oh.

Oh.

Aziraphale felt something in his chest tighten. He stepped forward and removed those glasses, despite the protest.

“I think they’re positively adorable,” and a laugh bubbled out of Aziraphale as Crowley spluttered. The tension in his shoulders released though and the little Hognose ended up better settled between them. “A snake will make a wonderful addition to this home, rest assured. You’ll have to give him a name.”

“Her,” Crowley croaked.

“Her then.”

“Got any suggestions?”

“Not just yet.” Stepping closer Aziraphale laid his head on Crowley’s shoulder, eye-to-eye with their little lady. He wasn’t at all scared though. Like with the snake above him, Aziraphale knew he was perfectly safe. “I hear these lovelies play dead when feeling threatened, so the name must be something suitably dramatic. You see? You’re perfect for one another.”

“Shut it, angel.”

“And yes, there’s a collection of stuffy old books in the second box. You must read up on how to properly care for her. You don’t really think I’d pass up the opportunity to—”

“Somebody give me strength do you ever shut up?”

Crowley finally decided that the best way to achieve silence was to get it himself, which was precisely why Aziraphale blathered on in the first place. Kissing one snake while another watched wasn’t precisely what one would consider angel-like behavior.

Although, given that Aziraphale was an angel and here they were, perhaps it wasn’t so far off the mark after all.

[askaceattorney]

Dear sinyove,

Mod Maya: we have lives ;-;

Mod Kristoph: College. ‘nuff said.

The Mod: Blatant apathy and a disregard for others. Also a full time job and adult responsibilities.

Co-Mod: What they said.  Also, I’ve been doing at least 90% of the work, so there’s that, too.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Guquis,

Co-Mod: Glad to hear it!  For anyone who didn’t get the joke, it’s from a meme based on a quote from Avengers: Endgame.

I’ve gotten into memes a lot lately for some reason.  Please send help.

Mod Kristoph: Took me a while to get that joke.

Dear Anonymous,

Co-Mod: Hang on, let me go look up what those terms mean...

...

...

...

I was born in 1990, so it looks like I’m a millenial/gen y.  That makes me between 2 and 3 years older than Phoenix.  Man, I need to get a life soon...

Mod Maya: We’re baby boomers, in fact

The Mod: I’m actually a millennial, so please end my life.

Mod Kristoph: I’m actually Gen Z. You guys are old.

Dear skibot99,

Co-Mod: Whew, that’s a tough one.  There are a lot of great ones out there, both old and new, but I’d say my favorite series is Sonic the Hedgehog.  The more recent games have mostly been hit or miss, but the classics (Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic 3D Blast,  Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, etc.) are deeply etched into my childhood, and I still love going back to them.

As for genres, I like any sort of game that has at least one of the following: an interesting story, good music, and fun mechanics.  I only know of a few that capture all of these well (i.e. Celeste, The Legend of Zelda, Paper Mario, Kirby, etc.) but I can also enjoy a game that has only one or two of them (i.e. Rhythm Heaven, Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario games, etc.).  I’m mostly a sucker for good music, and Sonic games keep me coming back for it.

Mod Kristoph: Same with Co-Mod. I’m also a fan of Professor Layton, Assassin’s Creed, Metal Gear Solid, Super Smash Bros.,

Dear sinyove again,

Co-Mod: Eek!  Sorry.  I didn’t quite understand what “namerulehideparentheses” meant.  It’s been fixed now, though, so just take it easy.

And don’t take it out on the other mods, either.  That was all me.

I’ve never intentionally tried to build any storylines through linked letters, but there are times when that ends up happening on its own.  One recent example is the one about the unfortunate murder of Iris.  An older, less tragic one involves Apollo and Athena arguing over each other’s fashion sense.  I sometimes get tired of typing “(Previous Letter)” over and over again, but I never get tired of seeing where non-canon events might go next.

Dear skibot99 again,

Co-Mod: Nah, it’s probably just one of those nutty nightmares.  If Phoenix can have them, so can you.

(Previous Letter)

Dear Anthony,

Co-Mod: Over me not wanting to pick random letters and answer them?  The Mod’s already been doing that, so there’s really no need to purchase any signs or torches just yet.

Dear snowballstumbl,

Co-Mod: I’ve seen the letter in question, but I didn’t see either of those titles in it.  I’m guessing either you didn’t send the letter in question, you sent it before you were finished writing it, or Tumblr ate it.  I’m sure we’ll figure it out, regardless.

Dear Mothmouth,

Co-Mod: I’m doing pretty good, thanks!  My sister recently got married, my dad celebrated his 60th birthday, and I finally have a job that I think I’ll be able to hold onto (I’ve had been through different ones since I joined this blog).

I’ve had a few Ace Attorney-related dreams, but none about a new one coming out.  That definitely sounds like an interesting title, though.  In fact, it sounds like another Ace Attorney/Professor Layton crossover.  There’s a sequel I’d love to see.

And as it turns out, someone else came up with that idea and drew a game cover of it!

(Art by Lady Layton Speculations)

It may never happen, but the idea is enough to get anyone’s fan senses tingling, isn’t it?

Mod Kristoph: My fan senses are tingling! Quick! To the Fan Cave!

(Previous Letter)

(Video in Letter)

Dear Inferno,

Co-Mod: Aaaaah, okay.  It was a pretty short speech, so I guess that’s why I forgot about it.  It was very sweet to see (and hear) Maya say out loud how much trust she has in Phoenix.

-The Mods

[sonic7ischaos]

Sonic Adventure 3

So I’ve been a part of the Sonic fan community for a long time and one of the most contentious issues that crops up is discussion of a hypothetical “Sonic Adventure 3″. What usually happens is that someone says “I want sonic Adventure 3!” and someone else points to Sonic Heroes or Shadow the Hedgehog or Sonic 06 or Sonic Unleashed. THAT or someone brings it up and gives a list of things they want. “I want there to be a more serious story and multiple characters and 3d platforming etc.” There’s no consensus on what Sonic Adventure 3 would even be.

For those opposed to the idea, this would be the part were I stop or dismiss people’s wish for such a hypothetical game with the above notion of a missing consensus. That’s not what this is. People in general but Sonic fans especially have an exceptionally hard time articulating what they want or what they mean. I’m not interested in being dismissive in general.  Personally, I want something like a Sonic Adventure 3 but in talking about it, I run into the same issue the whole fanbase has always had. What makes my input more valuable than any other? The answer is nothing. My input is just another voice screaming into an indifferent void. Still, I have a voice, it costs nothing for me to use it.

SO, let’s define what we mean (what ALL or MOST mean) when we ask for such a game to be made and to start, let’s define what “Sonic Adventure 3″ isn’t. I’m writing this under the (presumably correct) assumption that none of the above games count as Sonic Adventure 3 and I’m doing this because the fans of the Adventure games aren’t satisfied with them (myself included). Fans of the classics don’t treat Sonic 4 as the actual continuation of the legacy of Sonic 3&Knuckles but they mostly do for Sonic Mania. Why? Because an emotional need/want was recognized and filled by the latter and neglected by the former. We didn’t want a game CALLED Sonic 4, we wanted a game that FELT like a Sonic 4 (which Mania gave us).

Now, let’s get more granular in why these games aren’t Sonic Adventure 3 and lets start with Sonic 06. The reason we’re starting with 06 is because, among the existing contenders for Sonic Adventure 3, this one comes the closest in terms of design, mechanics, narrative, and tone and is the game referenced most in this discussion. Sonic 06 in its entirety is a callback to Sonic Adventure 1. You control several characters on an interconnected narrative with a mostly action movie esque story (with some, perhaps too serious melodrama) as you go from level to level through interconnected hub worlds populated with human npc’s. Eggman hopes to unleash some kind of monster to harness its power for world domination. You control Sonic, Shadow, and Silver (plus others) through linear levels that have slight path branching as they converge near the level’s end. Each character has unique abilities they use to navigate levels and challenges in different ways. Each main character has their own character theme song (and the soundtrack sounds very SEGA). By all accounts, it SHOULD be considered an Adventure game, so why isn’t it? Put simply, it’s the mechanics and their effect on the game’s design as a whole. What do I mean? Well, unlike Sonic Adventure 1 and 2, Whose abilities and movement were built to get Sonic and co through the levels quickly, by building momentum (less than the classics but it’s there). There’s a focus on platforming that isn’t present in 06 which focuses more on combat encounters. Sonic is slow and moves more precisely so it’s easier to land hits on enemies who now have health bars. Shadow and Silver are like this too and I think it’s because of Silver and his PK mechanics. Enemies were given health bars so Silver couldn’t just one shot everything with tons of projectiles (built on what was probably an expensive physics engine they wanted to show off). If they wanted to save on resources, they had to re use assets meaning enemies in Sonic and Shadow’s gameplay needed health bars as well. What this means is that all enemy encounters require the player to stand around wailing on them one at a time and in order to pad the game’s length, they gated sections of levels behind groups of enemies you needed to defeat to move on. The pace of the game is entirely dictated by these encounters. Lets say that every other part of the game functioned perfectly. The automation worked so you were never thrown off loops, the hub worlds were smaller and had lots of landmarks and signposting (plus items and secrets hidden throughout to give them a purpose). Lets say that the controls were better, still having the same abilities, just not so stiff to move around. This game would still not be a Sonic Adventure 3 because on a fundamental level, Sonic Adventure games are structured like platformers while Sonic 06 is structured like a beat em up (Final fight, Castle Crashers, Streets of rage, you get it). The goal in Adventure games isn’t to defeat enemies, it’s to race to the end of the level or explore it (your choice).

Sonic Heroes and Shadow the Hedgehog have almost this exact problem but those games control better and in Shadow’s case, it makes sense with the guns being a focus. The characters move faster and enemy health bars are smaller. They’re also better designed in lots of other ways than 06 but this isn’t the post for bashing 06, I’m trying to define what Sonic Adventure 3 would be (for the purposes of future discussion because the Sonic fanbase NEEDS to have this discussion).

Now, on to why Sonic Unleashed isn’t Adventure 3 (besides the continued requests and desire for such a game, see above thoughts about Sonic 4 and Sonic Mania). In a similar way to  06, Heroes and Shadow, the reason for it’s lack of consideration as an Adventure game is it’s separate design focus. Ignoring the werehog (for whom most of this applies in a general sense anyway) The gameplay of Unleashed isn’t focused on platforming in the same way as Adventure 1 and 2. Sure there IS platforming, but the skillful navigation of in game environments isn’t the focus. Making sure Sonic gets moving and STAYS moving is the focus. The platforming isn’t the goal, it’s an obstacle in itself. The way the boost is implemented in Unleashed (and all 3d Sonic games going forward) re-contextualizes the way the player interacts with platforming sections. It’s not about using momentum to adapt to your circumstances and skillfully navigate through and around enemies and obstacles, it’s about not stopping. That platforming stuff is a hindrance to your speed so you want to always take the shortest route. It doesn’t use 3d space in any meaningful way unlike even Sonic 06, which comes closer in terms of design philosophy but falls FAR short in terms of quality.

I don’t think Adventure gameplay is tied to any extraneous elements like narrative or tone (though those certainly add to the “feel” of an Adventure game). I think the core design philosophy of Sonic gameplay and its roots as a platforming series is what makes it An Adventure game. How you control the character and how you interact with the game world through that character is THE most essential element.

That said, Can we please have different writers (Ian Flynn.) I don’t want to drag anyone but Pontac and Graff CANNOT write a compelling Sonic story to save their lives. Maybe they’d be a good fit for something but Sonic the Hedgehog is NOT that something. Also bring back Crush 40 and character themes.

[the-doctors-strays-blog]

Mutual Friend

@onebeatleft, continued from ryanxsinclair

“Okay, now I believe you know the Doctor. ‘Cos if you didn’t, you’d be major freakin’ out right now. What is that thing?“

“Excellent friends, I like to think.” Clara said, standing her ground between Ryan & the creature. Her fists were held together tightly, knuckles white as she took in a deep breath. “Cyberman. These things have killed too many people I love, promise you won’t tell the Doctor what you see me do,” she said, looking over her shoulder to the man for a second. “Clara Oswald, by the way - & you are?”

“Ryan. Ryan Sinclair. What are you plannin’ to do? Because if they’re as dangerous as you say, shouldn’t we go tell her they’re here?” One of the Cybermen stepped forward and Ryan flinched, “Are they some sort of robots? ‘Cos, if they’re robots perhaps we could hack in? Or I saw the Doctor do a trick with a power unit once… Knocked a bunch of SniperBots down flat.”

“Ryan Sinclair - brilliant idea!” Clara smiled. Her tone reflected the Doctor’s - a telling sign of how long she’d been alone, how much she’d been forced to change, how she’d modeled herself after the time lord, just to be able to survive. “Might I recommend you go tell her they’re here, I’ll just deal with this one. Cybermen & I have something a bitpersonal I need to take care of. D’you mind?”

“Don’t know how it was when you traveled with the Doctor, but that’s not how we roll. ‘Cos you’re talkin’ ‘bout killin’ it, aren’t you? See way I see it, he’s metal and he’s walkin’ ‘round on a metal ship, and that just screams bad idea.“ He peered out at the Cyberman, from their hiding place, as the metal man marched past, then turned back.

“You traveled with the Doctor for a long time, yeah, think you could use this to magnetize the floor?“ he held up the Doctor’s sonic. It had fallen out of a tear in her pocket, which was how they’d come to get separated from the rest, to back track and find it. “Cause she said the gravity’s a demagnetized thing,” demagnetized centrifugal gravity conductor, “and I’ve been seein’ those pipes there everywhere we’ve gone so far. Might be some sort of access.“

“Yeah, well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.” Clara shrugged, pausing for a moment before turning & raising an eyebrow. “Hang on,she? Blimey, Doctor’s changed since I last saw them,” she said, trying to hide the hurt from her voice. That meant the Doctor she knew had regenerated again, & she could only hope that they hadn’t been alone… taking the sonic out of Ryan’s hand, she nodded.

“Course I can - but you can keep this one, got my own.” She smiled, pulling her own sonic from her pocket. “You need to take it back to her - don’t tell her you met me, though. She doesn’t remember me.”

“What are you on about, her not rememberin’ you? She’s mentioned you a couple times. You’re the school teacher, yeah?“ Nevertheless, Ryan took the screwdriver back, tucking it into the depths of his trouser pockets. He frowned at the sonic Clara held up - that the Doctor hadn’t mentioned. And how was it that Clara was here, without a younger version of the Doctor traveling with her. The Doctor had mentioned her, in a story of one of their adventures, going up against an entire sentient sun, but he’d never heard the end of Clara’s time with the Doctor. “If I go back to find her, m’tellin’ her you’re here. She doesn’t take to us keepin’ secrets. She’ll be right cross and she’s still goin’ on about a button I shouldn’ve pressed last week.”

Clara’s heart would’ve stopped if it was beating. The Doctor remembered her. Stopping where she stood Clara could only stare at Ryan in confusion, heartbreak, pain. Clearly the Doctor hadn’t told the full story if Ryan was considering telling her.

“The Doctor & I were… close. Too close. When we knew each other, she was a man, & he spent billions of years suffering the worst torture imaginable because I’d died & he wanted to bring me back. Then, when he went to erase my memories of him, he forgot. The Doctor can’t know I’m here, I don’t know what she’d do.” Clara paused for a moment before speaking again. “If you do tell her, tell her a while after this trip - give me time to get away. Tell her I miss her, that I still love her.”

A laugh escaped Ryan’s lips and he clamped a hand over his mouth and cast a glance over at the retreating form of the mechanical man. “What,”he whispered, “you tryin’ to say you’re exes or somethin’? Look,“ he ran a hand against the back of his neck, “m’goin’ to go find the Doctor, but you should come too, okay? She said once that she was alone, that she carries her loved ones with her. Kinda get the idea she hurts more than she says, you know? You should tell her that yourself, that you miss her. That you’re here.“

He stuck the sonic into his jean pocket and stood, slowly venturing out from the alcove, aware of every slight sound from the ship, any hint that one of the Cybermen might be returning. “Or are you just goin’ to stay and fight Cyberthings?”

Clara thought on that silently. They weren’t exes in any traditional sense of the term. They had never dated & they had never broken up - but they had loved so passionately & fiercely, & the universe had split them apart for its own good. Seeing the Doctor again was dangerous - she didn’t know if the feeling would still be mutual, & if it was, what would they do? But her selfish desire to see the Doctor again made the decision for her. She wanted the Doctor back.

“I suppose I’ll come - I can’t stay, though. Don’t let me stay,” she said, pointing a finger at Ryan. Clara could always excuse herself saying she was just making sure Ryan made it back safely & be on her way before saying more than a word to the doctor. “Which way did you come from?”

“Back that way,“ Ryan said, nodding down one of the branches of corridors that webbed out from the rest. The sounds of the metal men’s footsteps echoed all around them from the floors above and below, never seeming to fade and prompting Ryan to glance over his shoulder every few moments.

[angustdtt]

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Summary: The arrogant Dr. Kim Namjoon has gloated of his superior intelligence all his life. Always in the pursuit of his own realization as an inventor one day he finally manages to shape what he believes, is the culmination of his life’s work.

 But at what cost, and under what consequences.

 Now he will be willing to break any barrier in front of him- even putting his own work at risk with only one goal in mind: Power the clock, turn back time and fix the fault.

 ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┛

TimeTravel!AU | Steampunk!AU

wordCount: 1.7k 

pairing: namjoon x reader(she)

genre: angst| fiction| fluff

triggers: mentions of severe health condition and mentions of death.

tarot cards: the chariot | death

masterlist | Ch 1 - 2 -3 - 4

A Dead Writers Co. Collaboration - Masterpost

Who takes the poison so the other person doesn’t have to?

“Just breathe, ok?”

“Take my hand you’re gonna be fine”

“Somebody help!”

“You are okay! I’m okay, We’ll be okay.”  

“Focus on my heartbeat, just focus on that.”

The dust from the storm hadn't yet settled. The untamed power reverberated and echoed across the barren land. While standing at the top of the gritty hill, it was easy to see over the horizon the big gray upcoming stormy clouds leaving towards the north, and the thunder rolling across the malevolent sky.  

Clenching his fist strong enough to turn his knuckles white he raised the device constricting his wrist to look at it.

‘It’s no use.’ the weary footsteps of the adventurer stopped making a subtle noise while stumping over the dried sand. ‘We can’t chase that storm forever.’ The voices on his head tangled as one by one tried to take control of his actions, to make the venturer stop his mad quest and actually think for a moment. Namjoon cast his eyes to the charcoal sky, his attention held by a golden streak, a crack in the cloud layer where the sun should peek.

“I need the power of that lightning,” the mad-man stepped forward, the decisive weight of his stride leaving a rooted mark over the sand. “I need to make amends for my mistakes.” Without waiting for the storm to break he hurried forward, only paying attention to one thought that conveyed him forward.

Power the clock,

Turn back time,

Fix the fault.

The gods must have felt merciful and obedient after seeing the storm-hunter exhaustive journey.

The only way to escape was to go in the storm. In the middle of the desert, he had nowhere to safeguard from the rippling waves of wind. He had to be fast, otherwise, his risk would be without a point. If he died now then it would all be lost.

Thunder cried out from the blackened sky and a growl so low that would scare the heart of any sane man. Oh, but for Namjoon the more brutal the storm, the more hopeful his heart. He feared not what was ahead, only what was left behind. The brass goggles protected his eyes from the grains of sand biting and leaving marks over his skin. When the rain began to howl and lash the lightning conductor was finally placed firmly, the only thing left to do was connect it to the wrist-watch and pray somehow he'd make it alive to the other side.

Time is of the essence, the dampened sand could potentially ruin everything. But if Doctor Kim Namjoon calculations were correct, the big lightning that gave life once before to his time-jumper ticker was close. And so, he raised his eyes as thunder rumbled and a bolt of lightning cracked the sky in two behind the droplets of rain hitting the goggles. Jagged flashes of pure light cast a glow against the monochromatic background that reached the metal stick settled on the ground. The charge was complete in less than a second, and he pushed the small copper button in the side.

He was left blind by the intense light, but it was only for a few minutes.

There was now no rain, no sand, no storm- but a big dinner table set for two people on a large and elegant hall, outside the oriel window there was healthy green grass as far as the eye could see, and somewhere, on the upstairs floor a waltz played from a gramophone, and the sound of heels moving to the rhythm.

“It worked.”

The water dripping from his long jacket was making a mess once they touched the dainty floor. In haste, he sprinted towards the back of the cottage where the kitchen was- he could use the door leading to the backyard and drop outside his soggy clothes. Namjoon knew very well the handmaiden would be upstairs taking care of dusting the top floor while the miss of the house practicing her dancing so the kitchen would be empty.

While making a beeline for the door and taking off his coat, the rich aroma of something being cooked over the stove beckoned him, triggering so many senses at once that even his tongue circled the edges of his fleshy mouth.

In his trance, he accidentally tripped with a small wooden bench which crashed into a milk bucket, which in turn met with a tall coat rack making a whole domino of pretty noticeable noise.

"Miss Y/n?" called the grating voice heading fast down the stairs. "Miss Y/n is that you, M'lady?"

Without trying to rearrange anything, Namjoon opted to get out the house completely and hide under the kitchen window instead- he had no other chance but to wait until Ms. Hill went away to re-enter afterward.

A stompy pair of steps entered the kitchen. "Good lord," she exclaimed presumably due to the turmoil found.

"Ms. Hill? Oh dear," a softer, calmer voice entered just behind. "Did you fell again, Ms. Hill? Are you okay?" Namjoon's pulse accelerated just by that elegant, tone.

A desperate need formed inside his heart, scorching everywhere. He needed to peek, to see that face he had been chasing after, throughout time, throughout his painful memories. 'It's dangerous.' The voice inside his head warned 'too dangerous.' -and it was right. If Namjoon was discovered outside the window his journey would come to an end. He couldn't meddle, not yet at least—or not like this. He was after all now a mere intruder, still a stranger to both of them.

“It must've been the stupid dog again running about.”

Oh, but the temptation. How much his poor, and lonesome heart missed her. How many days he had cried over her before planning this escapade through time. Not caring for anything else, not even his own life, only to make things right again- to save her.

His legs moved faster and made a choice on the behalf of his head. Chatter was still going inside the kitchen, he can now only pray both women were looking away from the window as his eyes scanned to meet hers.

There is an ache once he is able to see her, something that comes as goes, somewhere between complete blissful happiness and a blackness so deep that devoured every color in the world.

She talked to her handmaiden in the most natural way, because of course, it was.  But for Namjoon her silhouette resembled a photograph. She was there again, present right before his eyes, but in a time where both still haven't met. Where he still hadn't changed her, where he hadn't hurt her to then reassemble again like a toy, so insensible and detached from human emotions as he was before.

“You need to change those clothes, Miss,” Hill mentioned, giving a little nudge to her waltz practice clothes. Namjoon couldn't help but smile, remembering how she absolutely adored that copper-colored striped dress, even if the corset Hill made on her own was a little too tight for her figure. “Chop-chop! Or you’ll miss the tinker’s fair.” she hustled Y/n outside the kitchen.

Namjoon tilted his head, did she just said...tinker?

“It's not a tinker’s fair,” she chuckled rolling her eyes, but with an amused expression. “It's the ‘Age of Steam: Inventors Fair’, Ms. Hill”

“Same difference,” The handmaiden insisted. “It’s just a bunch of old off-their-rocker people showing off their fancy and not  too reliable knick-knacks.”

“Not all of them are-,” she stopped mid-sentence.

Ms. Hill cocked a brow up, crossing her arms over her prominent chest. “You were saying, Miss?” she taunted.

“Nevermind.” she turned around and began walking away.

“Was the lady about to mention... Dr. Kim Namjoon?”

From his hiding spot Namjoon opened his eyes wide at the mention of his name, he traced the steps and watched as the two ladies left for the front part of the cottage. 

His curiosity kicked: Why was she trying to dismiss it? Did she knew him?

A little more dare wouldn't be dangerous, right? So Namjoon took the opportunity to stealthily move under the windows to where they both had went, his eagerness to powerful to be countered. His ears perked up trying to locate from under the windowpane her voice.

“I’m simply saying Dr. Kim Namjoon is a well-respected member of the inventor's society,” she argued, with a much more deliberate and conscious form of speaking.

“...A dapper young member,” Hill inserted.

She gulped a visible blush forming at her delicate cheeks, whilst she continued speaking voice trembling just a little. “ And I do not think he deserves to be under the same light as other, less-respected, members of the socie-”

“Just go and get changed, Miss. The Chariot will get here in an hour.” Hill interrupted after giving a look at the father clock on the center of the living room.

“Yep, I’ll do that.” She let out relieved of the interruption, that hard and stern washing away from her face while darting to the top floor where her room was.

So it was a lie when you assured never to have heard of me before. he thought remembering specifically the first time both met. After the—

“Welcome to the aether!” Namjoon entered the big, ornate, waiting room greeting with a prideful smile that grace his features.

A figure, sitting by the massive windows, gazed at the flourishing gardens beyond the tinted glass. She didn't turned her head at the sudden interruption.

“My humble home.” Namjoon continued speaking while he strode across the room, coat-tails swingin behind him with his every step.

Stopping right in front the wheelchair he towered the girl sitting on it. Her whole body still wrapped around in meters of bandage and patches of gauze. Her dead eyes reflected the green of the garden. They seemed without soul, so voided of emotion that Namjoon couldn't help but to think they fitted perfectly what she was now- an incredible biological contraption- a machine so exquisite -so rare- so formidable and beautifully strong that saved her life at the very door of death.

The project that promise, his name to endure through history. The very first fusion between human and automaton- The everlasting White Rose.

[woodchipp]

Love how you immediately begin your argument with an insult directed at the OP. Really helps to establish what kind of discussion this is going to be <3

They’re stuck, and them being stuck, looking in from the outside and realizing how often they depend on Sonic is keeping them from growing as people.

No? The only one with the “I need to distance myself from Sonic so I can grow” character arc is Tails. Amy’s goal apparently is to “share love that transcends time with the world” (???) and Knuckles’ goal apparently is to get off his island and “live a little”, as Sonic puts it (even though he’s been involved in almost every adventure of Sonic and co. since Sonic Adventure 2)

The thing is that all of these character arcs don’t really make any sense if you think about it or were executed much better in prior games. Amy’s goal to “share love with the world” is kinda redundant because she has been already doing that since SA1 (she stands up for Gamma in SA1, she protects and cares for the Flicky ZERO is hunting down in the same game, she convinces Shadow to give humanity a chance in SA2, she cares for Emerl in Battle, she cares for the critters in Lost World), so I don’t really see how is this supposed to be groundbreaking. 

As I’ve stated before, Knuckles’ character arc doesn’t make any sense either because he’s been “living a little” and accompanying Sonic and co. on almost every adventure since Sonic Adventure 2. Like, isn’t one of the criticisms of the Pontaff era how much it neglected to mention Knuckles’ guardian role and constantly had him away from his island? Why is Sonic advising him to do the thing he’s been doing for almost a decade now? Why am I supposed to treat it as revolutionary characterization?

Tails’ character arc was executed much, much better in SA1 because we actually got to play as Tails there. We got to see his character journey first-hand, culminating in him single-handedly preventing Eggman from destroying a large urban center. In Frontiers, Tails’ character arc is literally “I need to grow out of Sonic’s shadow” all over again except it gets resolved in two or three conversations between Sonic and Tails and Tails acknowledges the inconsistency of his characterization in a way that’s much more meta than anything Pontaff have ever written. Again, why am I supposed to treat this as groundbreaking?

Tails, Knuckles and Amy all said that they want to develop outside of Sonic’s influence, but it doesn’t have any impact because they all go their separate ways at the end of each game anyway.

Sonic’s “character arc” of learning to let his friends go also doesn’t make sense because he is a globetrotter. That heartfelt scene Frontiers tries to shove in our faces at The End of the game (pun entirely intended) doesn’t work as Sonic saying a meaningful goodbye to his friends because a) he doesn’t spend his time with his friends 24/7, as evidenced by the SA1 manual stating that Sonic has just returned from a long sabbatical and him running off to do his own thing at the end of Forces, and b) everything will most likely be returned to the status quo when the next game rolls around. 

Forces was about an external threat that was poorly defined and poorly executed.

Ah yes, because Eggman conquering 99.9% of the world, creating what is essentially an orbital internment camp for anyone who dares to rise up against his rule, having a three-day plan to eliminate any remaining dissidents and having multiple contingency plans in case the Resistance foils his plans is “poorly defined” lmao. I can agree that the execution of some plot points is half-assed, but the threat of Eggman being on the cusp of victory and Sonic and co. having to stop him before he can execute the aforementioned three-day plan is very much established and defined

Funnily enough, Frontiers’ The End pretty much is a random external threat that is poorly defined and poorly executed. We don’t know anything about The End other than ithat it’s a big eldritch monster that destroys worlds for no discernible reason and that it’s a Big Purple Ball 

You can erase Sonic's friends and Eggman from Frontiers, and nothing would change.

Meanwhile, even Forces, a game so 'reviled' by the Sonic Fandom, you can't erase most of the characters in it, because that would mean Eggman won fully in it. Silver can't be erased, Tails can't be erased, Knuckles can't be erased, the Resistance can't be erased...

Methinks people really need to analyze shit more, lols.

[lexiemybestfriend]

Time to move

After: two years in Springfield, one failed attempt to move to Colorado, starting a college education, a failed long-distance relationship and complete failure of most goals for returning to the mid-west, it was blatantly clear that I still did not belong there. But, I had met the best friend I would ever have, in the form of a four-legged mutt. I still wanted to live near mountains. So, it was, again, time for attempting a relocation to Fort Collins, CO. After selling most of what I owned in a garage sale and my motorcycle to a particularly shady fellow, who was in jail within the week, I was able to pay off a fair piece of my debt and had just about enough left over for the move, a down payment, and first month’s rent. I searched craigslist for hours. I learned Fort Collins seemed to be, single-handedly, trying to keep marijuana imports into the US at an all-time high. Finally, I found a place that wasn’t “420 friendly” (puke) and sent my deposit to rent a room in a two bedroom townhouse that appeared nice enough and pleasantly located on the west side of town, making it close to the mountains. I was able to register for classes in a community college and felt like I was much better prepared for this move. I was anxious to get the next step in my life started and couldn’t wait to take Lexie on hikes in some actual mountains, with the smell of pine in the air.

Then, like always, Missouri kicked me in the face. A massive ice storm rolled through on the day before I was scheduled to leave. Missouri never seems to get snow, like it did when I was a child, it gets freezing rain, which coats everything in sheets of ice. It’s nearly impossible to drive on. For two days, I was stranded and angry.

Finally, on the third day, I decided I was going to risk it and leave. Probably, it was a stupid decision since I had Lexie with me and my car was a rear-wheel drive. I had already shipped my few possessions to Colorado in a container. I packed a few things in the car, loaded up the big dog, and headed into the cold gray.

We made slow progress but we were moving. Kansas is even more mind-numbingly boring when driving slow and white-knuckling the steering wheel. It took every bit of concentration I had to stay inside the snow tracks that fell on top of the ice. Visibility was terrible with heavy winds blowing snow from every direction. The windshield looked like a tunnel of white streaks. At that time, Lexie still traveled pretty well. It seemed that old Camaro was the only car where she didn’t panic while driving. Somewhere in the middle of Kansas, we found a cheap hotel. I snuck Lexie inside since it was not “dog-friendly.” Like always, Lexie was so quiet and well-behaved, they never knew I was breaking the rules. The next day’s drive wasn’t as bad. The freeway had cleared a bit so the stress level dropped and, once again, excitement for Colorado entered the picture. Crossing the KS/CO border was a great feeling, tempered by the fact that the geography looked exactly like Kansas. For hours.

I expected some kind of change to the horizon but it was flat for a frustratingly long time. Finally, there appeared ripples in the distance and gradually the Rocky Mountains grew closer and closer. I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived in Fort Collins but I looked forward to what lay ahead. Metaphorically and literally, I felt like I was going home. Hovering over my shoulder, Lexie’s big, black head stared out the windshield as intently as I. Maybe it was the weeks of me holding her face in my hands and excitedly asking, “Lexie, want to go to the mountains?!” Every time, her tail would wag with abandon and her eyes open a little wider. Or maybe, she sensed that we were approaching a place that is perfect for a dog who loves nothing more than an empty ribbon of dirt trail and an adventure. Once again, it was Lexie and I headed into a completely unknown future, with only the two of us to trust. We were both okay with it.

[blackcatmanor]

RWBY V8 Ep 8 Photo Review (SPOILERS)

Overall a cool episode with some issues, big and small (Spoilers below)

The good:

Story and structure of the episode:

The structure of the episode was really great. The very beginning and end being one small story, but not lingering too long was perfect. The main story of the episode being Ruby and Co’s horror adventure was awesome!

After some planning and setup, there is a tussle with the hound outside, where once again it shows its greatest power: The ability to immobilize licensed huntresses in sheer confusion. 

However after the initial tussel, I LOVED when it became a horror movie-style suspense story. Wondering where it was going, who it’d run into next was pretty well done.The Schnee family working together was well done also, with Willow watching on the cameras, then defending Whitley, followed by Weiss coming to save them. A+ Schnee family interactions.

I am also taking the summoned boarbatusk attacking the hound as a Willow glyph, because the summon comes after she tries to warn Whitley about the hound and he ignores her, and she appears directly after to rescue Whitley. The Glyphs are a Schnee family trait on the mom’s side, so I think Willow has the abilities, but is too drunk, depressed, and worn down to ever use them, nor does she usually need to. But Whitley being in danger left her no other choice. 

The ending of the horror arc was….spooky yet kind of expected? A lot of people expected that Summer was the hound, and it turned out to be indeed a person but not Summer. Thank goodness. Summer should just be dead, plain and simple. She followed Ozpin’s futile fight against Salem and it cost Summer her life (It would also be cool if this is part of the reason Raven turns on Ozpin. Perhaps Raven knows the truth behind Summer’s death and it caused her to abandon Ozpin). I’m a little nervous that the confirmation that Salem can make people into Grimm, and the fact that this guy was a silver-eyed warrior is a possible foreshadowing of Summer being a grimm, which would be super lame. It would be SO melodramatic to almost cringeworthy status.

Nonetheless, the ending was kinda eerie and emotional, and shows the depths of depravity Salem plunges in her twisted quest to get the relics.

Fun fact: For a hot second I thought the Hound guy was Yuma.  😆  They look too similar. But then I realized this guy was a cat faunus soooo….ya. Maybe you could have made him a little more unique looking or something, CRWBY.

 Fun fact #2- People don’t have three knuckles on their thumbs. It should have been 2. 

 Friendship moments:

Blake’s speech is really cute, if a little forced into the situation. Arryn has always been the best voice actress of the main 4 and this is one of the best ones. She seems earnest and sincere and gives Ruby a reason to be a doe-eyed optimist even in rough times. It’s also cute to see Ruby how Blake sees her, and it’s way more meaningful and thoughtful than as a beacon of “purity” like in Volume 5’s Blake Speech about her friends. I will say it doesn’t really fit here in the middle of a war, and the speech seems a little pre-planned as it doesn’t actually respond to what Ruby was saying that nothing they’re doing seems to be helping, but I still liked it. 

Nora’s speech to Penny to help her overcome the influence of the Watts hack was nice, too, if a little predictable. I am just glad it wasn’t Ruby who said it, because Ruby has been the exclusive Penny friend for the last two volumes. It’s nice to see other people forming friendships outside of their established single BFF or love interest. 

The bad:

Shot composition.

The shot composition of the jailbreak was SUPER weird. We start from Qrow’s perspective and Robin is behind him in shot. Then they hear a breach and Robin turns into Watts.

Then there is the explosion and the camera shows a fireball and dust cloud. The shot makes it seem like the camera simply zooms out but where Qrow should be is now Robin,

Then Robin looks to the source of the breach and sees….Qrow in bird form? I’m going with Qrow in bird form even though he’s now on the other side of the room. It took me like 7 re-watches of the scene to make this call.  

The reason it was hard to discern th is is Qrow is because the composition is so confusing that on first watching, I thought it was Raven. This is because: 

1. This bird is on the entire other side of the room in relation to where Qrow was in the preceding shot 

2. I thought the person in the zoomed-out shot after the blast was STILL Qrow, as he was the preceding focus. It would then smash cut to Robin looking confused as to why a Raven would be the source of such an explosion (turns out the small figure in the zoom out transforms into Robin)

3. I thought Maybe the directors wanted there to be a misdirect in thinking it would be Cinder that causes the jailbreak, but make it Raven instead because she saw Ruby’s message to Remnant in the previous episode. 

But then I realized that would be kinda dumb because Raven’s entire motivation is to NOT fight Cinder. That and, after re-watch and noticing the person in the zoom-out changes into Robin, (though it’s hard to see), I guess the intent is that she’s looking at Qrow squawking at her about the soon-to-be falling debris.

The composition of the Mama Schnee summon is kind of the same. We don’t see her summon it and that’s for suspense reasons, but we also have never learned that she CAN summon, only that the abilities run on her side. I have to assume it’s her because she tried to warn Whitley, was ignored, and took off from her own room to intercept him. She saw she was too late and summoned a boarbatusk to distract the hound before immediately appearing in the door after the summon to get her son out. 

I don’t think this could be a Weiss summon because Weiss presumably didn’t know where they were at the moment, and they had to run down two long hallways before they met back up with her. It also has never been established that Weiss can just summon things and send them on their own way, a summon has to be in eyeshot and directed by the summoner. If this IS a Weiss summon, the fact that it can be mistaken for a Willow one is more proof that the composition of this and other scenes could use some work and polish. 

  The RWBY Hamster Wheel, AKA Ruby and Co still not really doing anything:

Ruby dead-on saying they haven’t done anything, and May having to ease her guilt was kind of 4th-wall breaking. After the launch of Amity, Ruby’s team have done nothing while Jaune and Co are the ones presumably about to engage with the main battle. Even with Amity Ruby and Co did that super half-assed. The feed cut because the thrusters can’t keep it in the air, and they have zero desire to try and find a way to get the communication tower back up. The hobbled tower, Pietro and Maria have been abandoned by the plot so the girls can sit around and do little side quests like fixing Nora and Penny, and having a horror adventure. 

Although I really did like their horror adventure, it still didn’t add much to the plot because the hound fails and dies (by NOT the huntresses, no less), so the threat of Penny getting the staff for Salem against her will still relies on Watts’ hack of her systems. If you’re going to have an attempt fail, why not move it up a little and cut out the time Ruby and Co spent sitting around drinking tea? 

It is getting hard to ignore that each episode of V8 has the main protagonist, a licensed huntress, and her group of fellow licensed huntresses not actively doing anything other than power cycling things, and then sit around drinking beverages waiting for the next thing to do to fall into their lap (literally). This episode was hamster wheel, implying motion without actually going anywyere. It starts and ends with Penny being unconscious at the manor, with a fight for her in the middle. This kind of story was okay with the Apathy arc in V6 because a kingdom wasn’t falling, but Ruby and Co’s sitting around not engaging with the plot unless being forced to by the script is getting to be a problem. 

I just wish there was a sense of what Ruby is going to do!  Before she had to wait for plot to fall into her lap, but now Penny has revealed explicitly what she is going to do, and there is still no indicatoin that a plan will be hatched to keep her from delivering the staff to Salem. We are more than mid-way through the season, and there was a 2 month hiatus and we still have zero clue what Ruby’s plan for anything is. 

You know who they should ask what to do: Whitley. Whitley comes up with more of a plan of action in 5 minutes than Ruby, Weiss, and Blake did in 7 episodes. Does the inclusion of his plan to save Mantle mean that Ruby and the team will do THAT? Though they mentioned the ships will be flown with drone bots, so do they need to be a part of that? Are they going to try only to be sidelined by evil Penny? No one knows. At least team Jaune have a plan of action. Can’t wait to see that next episode. 

Overall score: 7/10 Though RWBY is never truly suspensful IMO, the horror movie aspect was still pretty fun to engage in. Seeing the writers make a lot more effort to make these characters actual friends is nice to see as well. Some technical hiccups and more importantly the frustration that Ruby isn’t actually doing anything hinders this episode a lot, especially after such a long hiatus. 

Bingo update: I’m giving myself mama schnee summoning, though only half a jailbreak right now because we only saw the bad guy get out. Robin and Qrow still TBA. 

[piahautea]

Appreciation Post: My Lovely Barkada

I’ve always been the stick-to-one type of friend.

Back during the first two years of junior high, you’d only see me with just one friend. One lunch buddy, one fair week constant, one automatic partner, one let’s-go-to-the-library-during-intrams-instead co-lazy bum, one companion and one everything. But never really the more meaningful ones like: a confidante, a tell-me-your-secrets-they’re-safe-with-me type of chill, a laughing comrade or a wingman /pagdating sa mga crushes na iyan/. That was until I met each of the cartoon people above. 

This post is dedicated to them. The not-so-small barkada I never thought I’d have. They've also been so supportive of my blogging ever since and I want y’all to meet them! Somehow you may also try to see a part of yourself in them with their little intro’s /but that's only if you want to/.

A little disclaimer by the way: Their art banners are filled with silly deets about them while their actual descriptions are a lot graver; although, it's still sounding a lot like silly Pea wrote them, aye. 

This is Leila. Leila’s been one of my best friends since 10th grade. I never thought we’d be in the friendship situation we have now because I only thought surface-level bros were all we'd ever be. But, nah. What are those for anyway? She was the quietly-acing-my-way-in-the-honor-rolls type. And, well, I was trying so hard to be that student. But we just randomly sparked up a convo about my blog and her love for Niall Horan and then she became my confidante in an instant with her shipping me so hard with a Tumblr boy that I used to like. In the things I thought highly impossible for myself, she believed I could turn them around in my favor and she stood there behind me with her hand on my back. She’s the best. I still wish she'd become a doctor, even though she's already faced towards a different track.

This is Margaux. When she spots you and you tickle her fancy, she’d probably talk to you. Basically, that's what happened to us. We were just batchmates in the same baking class. That changed when we bumped into each other at a charm store; she saw me first, tapped my back and said, “Hi!” like it’s nothing. Post the little meeting and the year after, we became classmates. And then I knew that smiling was her best asset and her laughter was her best type of music. She’d made me cookies and a chocolate-mint birthday cake for my 18th because that’s her. You hear little words and phrases like pastries, being top-level artsy, beauty queen pageants, genuine grins, dressing up for fun and you got it. That’s still gonna be her.

This is Froilan. If you know me well enough, you’d know that this dude’s been one of my constants since the beginning of time /‘di naman haha since 9th grade lang siguro/. You'll see him almost everywhere I go and part of almost everything I do. We’ve also been constantly teased by past classmates about us having that chemistry and that maybe we were already secretly a couple. All I can say is, nope. We’re merely bros. I love him, though. In the gayest way possible. He’s amazing in general. He loves getting and slaying the D so much. Drawing, dancing and designing *wink wink*. I’m never afraid to be myself when I’m with him and for that I’m eternally thankful. He’s also my punching bag hehe he enjoys the force of my knuckles kissing and smashing his fudge brownie skin /poetic/.

This is Nesli. She’s the first friend I’ve ever made in our circle. We’ve been together since the 7th grade and mutually sworn to be each other’s best friends during 8th grade. She’s also one of my confidantes. And the one who’s literally seen me in the good, the bad & the ugly and has still loved me no matter what. She has a heart large enough to fit in giraffes, all her favorite Filipino & European dishes, historical fiction books, her family, her art, her hoes and all her other friends. She’s my happy pill, tbfh. She’s going to make it big in the animations field or in any other field because she’s that flexible. She can write, draw, paint /in both the common mediums/, care for wildlife and humanity vividly. It's such a cakewalk to believe in what she's capable of because when she dreams, she dreams with her eyes open and with stellar passion running freely in her veins.

This is Brian. He’s one of my sister’s former tutees. I’ve heard stuff about him being sassy and loud /which he was/, but our friendship was a bit like of a plot twist. An unexpected thing. Although believe me when I say this: my sister predicted that we’d be the best of friends in the future. And she was right about it. 9th grade and I can still fondly remember it all. We’d sit in a corner where people weren't around to sing Defying Gravity because it was his fave and I was his fave duet partner, too. Sooner or later, we begun that singing routine. He easily became the person I’d always wanna sing with and now he’s worked his way to get into theater by switching schools for both SHS and college. I love my theater geek friend /who apparently knows how to get wasted now/. And I miss having to deal with him and his antics everyday. 

This is Gia. Being friends with her was also an unexpected one. She’s quiet and was only the closest to Cather /you’ll get know her later/. We’d never really had those talk-talks until the final years of junior high. She lent me her copy of To Kill A Mockingbird and it opened me to widen my reading choices. We also discovered each others’ love for indie/alternative rock music. She loves Nirvana, blink-182 and The Killers and it killed me. I’d also boast to those who love her brother’s band from the indie OPM scene that I’m friends with the vocalist’s baby sister because Hello? it’s not everyday you get to be friends with someone who has blood thick and rich of musical notes and art. She's an epitome of those two things.

This is Mika. Mika was Froilan’s friend first. And then she randomly talked to me in class and we became instant friends who loved hugging each other. She’s the type to get crafty and make you keychains or little drawings of your favorite things for Christmas or your birthday. She’s the sweetest soul and she likes to share stories with you; it doesn’t matter how long you’ll chatter with her. She’s also super smart! She helps me with all the Math help I needed back when we still had to take Math. You would just never see an honor roll without her in it. And yes, she had a phase with Big Time Rush back in junior high. But now, it seems like she’s also been bitten by another Kpopper /probably a friend from outside the circle/. She's the kind of treasure I'd like to keep with me anywhere I go. 

This is Carmela. This one’s another plot twist kind of friendship. Like Margaux, she’s also extremely loud and friendly. Like randomly-popping-into-your-face kind of friendly. She’s chatty but it’s a reasonable kind of chatter. She also dances like a pro. I envy her grace on the floor and the flat stomach she'd cultivated out of that. We may not have the same amount of time as we had before but we see to it that no matter how busy we are, we’d never fail to exchange short stories and warm hugs when we see each other. Also, yes, she is my co-bully when it comes to Froilan. Everything she does to put him in artless misery cracks me up every time /that’s how we roll/.

This is Seline. I’ve only known her this year but since then, she’s already been one of my closest friends in class. We just vibe well and we could talk about anything in the pop culture spectrum or just anything Tumblr and art-related. I love how her mind just works like a charm and concocts puns real quick. I love how she'd update me and tell me stories about her dogs and their newborn puppies because we share the same love for these critters and it just makes me giddy every time. Because of her, I’m starting to rethink my stances on animated films /because I’m not big on those/. She makes some of the greatest digital artworks I’ve ever seen and I can’t wait to have more cafe adventures with her and our other amigos and to visit her in Benilde by the time we reach college. 

This is Cather(ine). Like Nesli, we’ve been friends since 7th grade and best girls since the 8th. She’s the cutest /next to my spot/ in the group and makes equally-adorable reactions to everything she sees. It kind of takes her a while to do almost everything she has to do but it adds up to how she handles anything with the utmost love and care not anyone would ever spare time for. She's also loud whenever she opens her mouth to speak /e.g. when we're in the car and it's quiet, she would completely ignore the silence and start a quickfire with her words but that's okay because she can never be irritating to me at all/. I love her that much. I hope she’d find solace in the fact that she’s a bright, bright kiddo who would slay any scientific fate she’d choose. I’d always have her back as she's always had mine.

When we met, it suddenly just made sense to meet altogether, too. It wasn't like our personalities were so similar with the other that we just had to gather around a campfire and talk about starting a tribe or something. Our personalities differ; but in such a way that we complement each other, filling gaps that needed a little something of this or that. But about the tribe thing, yes we do gather. Annually. For Christmas. And it has to be in a different house each year until we get to be in everyone's humble abodes.

Ladies & gents, this is my second ohana. My very own battle cohort. Top 1 in my small list of kada’s. My most favorite non-blood related people in the universe. I used to be a stick-to-one kind of person. Now, I'm mostly a stick-to-ten. 

[fictionfromgames]

The Malevolence (Amalgam, Dark Claw, MURPG)

((Character sheet and setting info after the break)) Logan awoke, bound to the ground, hearing a series of memories played out on monitors around the room, and confusingly, smells from across his lifetime.

“Where, at forty, I attributed my looks to my mother, and my liver to my father,” Logan paused for the tepid laughter, “At sixty, I am forced to admit there were other forces at play.”

1992, when he’d come out as a mutant. Not as Dark Claw, just a billionaire who’d inherited even more luck than most people. He tried to play it off as though his power was just his health. As with all mutants then, he was banned from blood and tissue donations, making it easier to stave off his aging rivals from pestering him on a day to day basis. It made occasional extra work for Dark Claw, however.

Sentinels crashing down onto New Gotham streets, assaulting Wayne Tower and the Thompkins School for Mutant Education and Outreach. Shots of the Friends of Humanity storming DC.

93, he noted as he tested his bindings. They’d snap, but not soon.

Talia, wailing as he shot down Ra’s al-Pocalypse with a rocket launcher.

“Ninety-five,” he said, methodically pulling and relaxing, “What do you need to prove?”

The Joker laughing at a shrieking pitch, almost as if to cover up Sparrow’s screams.

“Bastards,” he growled. His head should have cleared, but there was something else buried into the scents they vented into the room. He blinked. How were they even witness to that?

Seeing Jubilee dying again started up the adrenaline, though. He cursed and spat, trying to slip out the way he knew he had to. Before the next parts.

Jean da Costa, the Dark Phoenix, caught off guard and killed by Erik Magnus via magnetokinetic stroke.

Logan saw red. Killing mad. There was grief in his scream. The mystery behind the Ravens might give way to the immediate need to end them, a quiet but resolute voice tried saying over the din in his mind.

The obituary of Thomas and Elizabeth Wayne, interspersed with grainy footage of the three of them, together.

One of the leg binds snapped as he did, and one of the odd, synthetic looking ropes had stretched just enough for a hand to slip free, allowing his left hand to cut away his remaining binds. flipping to his feet, still shouting. And then the lights went out.

They knew he tracked by scent, which was still confusing due to the manufactured nostalgia in the air, but they did not consider how well he heard. It was a good posture, to always sniff whenever he noticed something out of sight, in case someone was watching.

They were quiet, but not enough. He slashed out with his right hand, raking two someones across their torsos, while feeling blades sink into his left forearm, which had risen to block the assailants he knew were on that side. He growled and plunged his free claws into someone’s face.

Death cries at least drowned out the sounds of his past on the walls. There was enough light from the panels that he noted more arriving, which suited him well. He needed to get something out before he could work properly.

The Malevolence of Ravens was resourceful, even these assassins knew more of what they were doing than the typical street goon. Archival footage of most of this was plentiful. But how the hell were they there for the Joker?

He was losing blood faster than he liked, meaning if he didn’t speed this up, he’d be captured again, or worse. A lot of self defense worked differently with knife hands, but that just made forearm strikes less predictable than a punch or and elbow. It really only worked because of the adamantium, most peoples forearms would have fractured doing what he did, but it made openings for smaller jabs and sideways swipes with extended claws.

The last one stood well into the gloom of televised history. He was not afraid, but based on their rote fighting form, he was not prepared either. The assassin went for an overhead knife strike, which Dark Claw caught in between two blades and twisted sideways, so as to spare his knuckles some grief, and he drove his right fist into the man’s gut. The adamantium claws slid in effortlessly.

“How’s that work for ya, bub?” Dark Claw drew in close.

No response except a gasp and a gurgle behind a black bird mask. They could have been plague-doctor themed if the beaks were longer. Dark Claw dropped him and strode out of the room. Violence sated, for now. Just had to find the bigwig.

********************

The Amalgam Universe

Back in the day, Marvel and DC used to do cross promotion in Versus titles, and a couple of years, the Amalgam Universe, a big ole cross-company mishmash of heroes and villains and plots. The one character they co-owned was Axel Asher, whose power was to traverse between the two multiverses, and across timelines as well. He also had the power to smoosh heroes together, which tended to happen on accident if he stayed on one or the other side too long.

He, however, was not the only character who knew what was going on. Dr Strangefate, the amalgamation of Dr Strange, Dr Fate, and Charles Xavier, knew much too well what was happening, and was Axel’s main antagonist. See, the conflict was, Axel’s job was to keep the multiverses separate, and Dr Strangefate, being a product of the merged multiverse, wanted them to stay so he could live, alongside all of his loved ones native to the Amalgam Universe.

It didn’t stick, and they never collaborated like this again.

THIS Amalgam Universe

So in at least one instance the Amalgam Universe survived in smaller forms, waiting to reborn. Mostly, Strangefate rebuilt it for a return in 1997, but he is depicted as dying at the end of it all.

With the multiverses constantly expanding and contracting, there is always space for something weird. Even if it’s a pocket dimension, Axel Asher is swanning about in both properties and it could, fictionally speaking, always happen again, so right now, it is!

But it’s not the same one. Some of Access’ (that’s Axel’s superhero name) amalgamations were incredibly different depending on who was around, so my version of the Amalgam Universe has different stuff according to taste. Maybe it’s a cast off from the Queen of Nevers.

Dark Claw

Starting with Logan Wayne! I owned the two Dark Claw comics as a kid, because Batman and Wolverine were my favorites, and the Dark Claw Adventures looked like the Timmverse.

Logan Wayne was born in 1932, and orphaned at 8 years old after seeing the Gray Ghost. He would live in his parents’ estate until he was 18, attending New Gotham University. He’d go on to spend his summers travelling, and eventually, did so full time after graduating.

The 50s were a good time to learn how to drop off the grid. Besides postwar Europe, the Pacific saw continued conflicts in Korea and Vietnam. Japan was his last official known location from 1954 until 1970.

A man matching Logan’s description was found wandering in British Columbia. He wouldn’t claim his name or his birthright until 1973 after regaining enough of his fractured memories to give anyone his social security number.

Wayne Enterprises did not take this resurrection well. While the family’s estates had been held by the family butler, Edwin Pennyworth, the company fought any ownership claims or attempts at involvement for the next several years. It was during this time he had, back in New Gotham, full of skills and instincts he couldn’t quite place the origins of, that he took on the mantle of Dark Claw.

Street crime was at a fever pitch, and organized criminals ran rampant. With only a base of operations, a set of mutant powers, and an adamantium clad skeleton he still couldn’t account for, he set about clearing out New Gotham’s underworld.

The year after toppling the Silvermane regime, Logan Wayne finally accrued enough stock for control over Wayne Enterprises, rooting out the men that kept him locked out of his family’s company and installing a new board of directors. 1978 was looking up for Logan Wayne. And then the Joker appeared.

The Joker (an amalgam of the original, Sabretooth, and Whiteface) introduced to both mutant and costumed villainy. A series of gruesome killings, victims all stuck in a rictus grin, led Logan on a trail that ended with the Joker’s debut-- a plot to kill everyone in New Gotham with the Whiteface Poison. The Joker in this case is a little more clowny than the green backhaired Hyena. In this case, to represent the Sabretooth side, he’s got a healing factor, Sabretooth’s claws, keen senses (though played less animal than Logan or Creed would, more comedic), and a green fur trimmed coat instead. To add a little Whiteface (he’s from Supreme and is basically just an homage to Mr J), add the little red painted on dimples and vertical eyelines to the Joker’s normal face.

The Joker would become a consistent foe for decades to come, similarly living longer than he ought to and surviving things like adamantium claws.

The 80′s took Logan to Japan, where he would fight the League of Assassins for the first time, and have a romance or two. The 90′s, coming with an influx of mutants that society could no longer ignore, had him come out as a mutant too, in order to immediately establish the Leslie Kafka Institute for Mutant Education and Outreach, drawing an immediate line in the sand against the reactionary Friends of Humanity and other paramilitary orgs that preyed on mutantkind.

It was also a time that brought him his first sidekick, Jubilee, codename Sparrow. She would assist him for several years until the Joker killed her Jason Todd style. Logan tried to murder him then, though at that point, he hadn’t figured out how to kill anyone with a healing factor.

The standing rule from then on was “no sidekicks; no one else dies,” which would last from 1999 to 2010.

The year of this fluff is 2005, and Logan was puzzled and annoyed at the idea that any organization could have been ruling New Gotham they way the Court of Ravens claimed to without his knowing. It plays out mostly like Court of Owls, with added exposition for my setting’s benefit, and Wolverine style violence mixed in.

2009 brought the Near Apocalypse, perpetrated by Ra’s al-Pocalypse, risen again. Ra’s’ reasoning was that humans needed to end en masse, giving way to the true stewards of the planet, mutantkind. Logan heartily disagreed, as did an assortment of other heroes, and that’s why it became the Near Apocalypse.

2010 brought the second Sparrow in the form of Kitty Grayson, a phasing metamutant that had lost her family in a circus accident. She convinced a grudging Logan to take her on, the reasoning being that her phasing ability made her effectively untouchable, unkidnappable, and that he wouldn’t be able to stop her from visiting the Claw Cave anyway.

Ra’s’ back up plan came to light as well. The lead agent of the League of Assassins, Talon, came into her own. Initially mute, save for growling, Cassandra Kinney came at Dark Claw with everything she had, “everything” being an exact duplication of his powers and adamantium claws. She proved too resourceful for Dark Claw alone, but as mentioned, he was not alone. Sparrow provided him backup, and Logan ended up offering Talon help in the form of extensive therapy from Leslie Kafka and a spot in the Dark Claw Family.

Jubilee hadn’t stayed dead. She rose again on a full moon in 2000, becoming the independent hero Moonwing, and moving to Bludhaven to strike out on her own.

There’s a lot more, and an entire decade to explore for just a few characters since, but this is already long

The Marvel Universe RPG

The MURPG is a diceless system from 2003. It uses an energy resource pool and is entirely effort based, which I think is super cool!

One of the biggest problems is the “death spiral.” Your effort is diminished when you take damage, which sounds like a good idea until you realize that epic comic book style fights don’t tend to peak at the first punch and go entirely downhill from there. There are two ways around this that sound reasonable enough--

Second Wind

Taking one turn in which your character does not spend any energy (red stones), that character gets double energy regeneration the following turn.

I like this one because it can represent down time, like if you get beat up and the villain is monologuing. How often has a hero been hoisted by their shirt, blood on their lips, only to smirk and point out exactly what the villain has missed? I think even with energy regen tied to Durability, accruing additional energy while you’re beat up and climbing to a standing position (for instance) is very thematic.

Energy Independence

A lot of homebrew fixes just divorce red stone regen from health altogether, which works to form a more “whole-hearted” combat experience. This feels more like what you’d be playing like in other tabletop rpgs, where you can take plenty of damage and still swing for the fences.

In either case, it’s not called “the death spiral” because it was a walk in the park. Using any method to make player characters more survivable and feel like superheroes is encouraged, but don’t neglect a sense of danger.