#just them Shadow Powers doing Things

[dont-look-me-in-the-eye]

Origins Pt. 6 - Stirring Shadows

*evil cackling*

tagging @spxcenotic

TW: Referenced child abuse, panic attack

Adri didn't really know what to say. Neither did she.

Not so often your dad beats your ass and you end up soakin' wet in a boat in a tree in a fuckin swamp. An' probably dead, too.

And not so often that someone who's probably her son ends up in your end of the bayou, bein' dragged in by a Shadow, too.

"Your gumbo's burning." He pointed out, so he wouldn't need to stare at his reflection in her dark glasses. Was rude. Didn't matter. She thought he was shit anyways.

The boat wasn't that bad. Least not as bad as stories he'd heard.

Supposed to be rotten and falling apart.

She turned and yelled something to the snake for not telling her that it was burning. Said something about how this happened every time.

No floorboards fallin' out, no ghosts jumpin outta corners.

Adri was somehow still standing, although his shadow was swaying side to side. Looked whacked. Like it was gon' pass out. The boat was warm, he noticed before he did.

For the first time tonight, his shadow was still.

Came back a few seconds after he didn't hit wood, but a soft... rope?

Oh. It was the snake.

He lurched back, trying to take in a deep breath when a pain in his lungs stopped him. Stood up, swaying a bit from side to side.

What was he gon' do?

She said something, he didn't hear it over the sound of rushing in his ears. What the fuck was he gon' do?

What was he doing here?

Remembered a pull. Didn't seem much important now.

I can't go back I can't-

He couldn't breathe. Nonononono not again. Wasn't doing that again. Breathe.

Couldn't see for shit. Couldn't hear for shit. Everything was muffled. Everything was wrong. Like lookin' through the bottom of a glass.

The light hurt. Too much. Constant ache, but now it was unbearable. Felt small.

She said something else. Hurt too much to hear.

He left John there, what was he thinking-

There she was, Hoodoo Queen of the Bayou. Holding a club with a fire at the end of it.

He burned. From the inside.

...

Shadows weren't new.

Been around long as there been light.

But Shadows were...

She'd dealt with them before. Loa, the darker ones, sent 'em all the time.

This one had pulled this child here, let go of him, then passed out.

Tried to get rid of her and then somethin' happened to him?

What's The Other Side messin with?

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[luck-of-the-drawings]

THIS THING IS SCUUUFFED AS HELL & ITS ALSO THE BEST THING I HAVE ANIMATED THUS FAR. IM SO IN LOVE WITH EMIZEL. JUST WISH I GAVE HIM MORE STUPID TATTOOS. NEXT TIME THO. NEXT TIME. I ALSO LOVE VEX&VIV SOOOO MUCH. charlies flavor of Deranged is my FAVORITE!!

[proudfreakmetarusonikku]

all the robotniks have autism I think. it’s not even a genetic thing half of them are adopted they’re just all autistic

[pergaminaa]

omg hold on i just realized something!!!

the Blackbeak Matron is the ONLY one who knew about Manon's bloodline, like-- Manon is an actual fucking queen by birthright and the Matron is the only person who knew it because Manon never learned about this.

so remember when Asterin was telling Manon what happened to her with her hunter and witchling? The Matron warned Vesta and Sorrel not to bring it up to Manon or there will be dire consequences.

Now hear me out: Manon fucking loves Asterin. If she knew what her grandmother had done, she would have probably done something like take the Thirteen and just leave or something like that.

We all know how the Matron loved threatening Manon that she'd replace her, but while it worked on Manon, her grandmother never really intended to do that.

It's the same reason why she wanted Vesta and Sorrel to remain quiet: she has a literal fucking queen at her beck and call. Manon is ready to do anything for her grandmother just to get some praise, and the Matron isn't going to let go of that. It's why she needed Manon loyal to her (through fear because Manon didn't really trust her but she fears what she'd do)

So at the end of the day, the Matron was after more power. She kept Manon by her side through unorthodox tactics because she loved having so much control over her. And also because of Manon's royal blood, she can have so much.

I think it's also why she wasn't fully against Erawan showing interest in Manon. Because with that union, she will reign supreme.

It's just-- the way she played Manon for her whole life for no other reason than being a shitty person is what irks me the most. She literally used everything that is Manon and twisted it, turning it into something ugly.

I'm sorry but when Manon just killed Rhiannon without even questioning it? Just blindly obeying her grandmother because it's what she's been conditioned to do???

Later on, we see Manon really struggling between doing what is right and doing exactly what her grandmother wants even when she doesn't agree with it. Every time, her grandmother wins (until the part where she was about to execute Asterin) and I honestly think that the Matron was happy with how she has the actual Queen of Witches under her command.

[snackugaki-jestsjapesjokes]

In commemoration of this

Let us remember what Frida can do canonically

gave her the ol' Shikamaru's Kagemane no Jutsu treatment for ninpo which is fitting really since

And what's more ninja than shadow manipulation?

Just y'know, from a 90s weeb standpoint who saw how fucking obsessed U.S media was with ninja in the 80s and 90s, the earlier TMNT could have stood to be MORE ninja. The newer iterations kinda sorta have gotten "more ninja" instead of generic milk chocolate martial arts with a shiny ninja candy coating

[bottombaron]

psst hey baby gays

attributing power dynamics to top/bottom positions when advocating the validity and equality of queer ships to hetero people who have no understanding of it and probably already view queer sexuality as something k-inky and imbalanced compared to hetero sexuality…

you’re being a part of the problem

[wormonastringtime]

sooo cringe

[omgafhsfanin2024]

Oh god is my fnafhs phase coming back. I have an AU Idea and it's very magical girl-y help (a Lil summary in the tags)

[quibbs126]

Aight, so here’s the thing I wanted to discuss and why I was looking at the Black Citadel assets, namely a thought I had about the Sovereign of Darkness and how they could appear

So we know that Pomegranate says something that possibly hints towards the Sovereign when Dark Choco leaves, as I’ve mentioned before

Thing is, he leaves it behind, meaning this wouldn’t just happen on its own, and something would have to happen to him. But I mean, I think we all know that, right?

Well something we see sometimes in the background is a particular set of armor that looks suspiciously similar to the Sovereign’s armor

Now yeah, I know we see it next to Dark Choco’s Portrait, along with what looks like part of his Young Prince costume, so it sort of just seems like a little reference to his Ovenbreak costume, except it also shows up in other stages in the background, implying that it’s more like armor that the Citadel has (that we never see anyone wear for some reason), and not just a reference

Something else I want to show are these enemies from the episode, the Cursed Weapons that come to life (which as @psychicdreamersteaberryjamsword pointed out, are never explained and have this strange red aura, which is odd since the priests, the people here we know with magic, are associated with purple, implying that it isn’t them and instead could be connected to the Strawberry Jam Sword)

Now again, we know that Dark Choco left the sword behind, but we also don’t really know what happened to it, whether the Cookies of Darkness took it or it was left at the Citadel

So, what if the Strawberry Jam Sword, left at the Citadel, came to life and ended up possessing that armor, and then going around looking for Dark Choco?

[blueiight]

rubinsky recognizing his son’s similarity to himself + said son’s aspirations to overthrow him v. reinhard begging for an enemy..reinhard is calling for strong guys to meet him in a neutral starzone to have mutual combat

[vampiresuns]

having a tav that's a Lloth-sworn life domain cleric of a noble background who before getting yeeted into the nautiloid was a sacrificial priestess (gn) during one of the cycles of Drow society and had their own altar and temple under their care, means Solune would have the most insane however many minutes they spent interacting with Minthara and I am obsessed about it. As far as I'm conceptualising it, I'm thinking of Lloth as extremely Ungoliant-like. Goddess of hunger, goddess of wanting and consumption, goddess of excess and exuberance, goddess who unmasked the hypocritical gods of starvation, guilt and purity into a society that cherishes a certain kind of clarity about the double standard they impose. For Drow are evil for their wars and their wanting and their taking, but those other people with their other gods kill, warmonger and enslave with no regard and no self-awareness, calling the indignation about receiving scraps from a bunch of silent, unrepentant gods, "guilt and shame". There is violence in denial and her Children will not suffer it.

In the season of Life, they do not sacrifice the unwilling. It is taboo. The only sacrifice that matters is the desire to be devoured and destroyed by the things you love the most.

And Solune sees Minthara and is like fucking finally, someone rational enough to get what I'm going through, that they're losing their mind that their life was taken from them and if they become this other thing, if they transform, if they do not remain Luxe Solune Mizzmyrra, Life Knife of Lloth, they're never going to be able to be reintegrated into that life. They will die away from home, from their temple, from their (first) spouse, from their mother and their siblings and there won't be the day when they too succumb to the knife, when it is time, when the day they no longer feel hunger comes.

And then the parasite gives them an in into Minthara thinking she was raised from the darkness into a FALSE GOD? One thing you do not do is steal from Lady Lloth, and oh my god, there could've been a time, a chance that existed only in ignorance, of Solune lending a hand to Minthara but this to them is unforgivable because Solune is genuinely a good friend to their friends, but if you keep peeking into whatever mindset nobility and religious authority has given them it's like realising your friend is a cesspool of "what the actual and everliving fuck", and when the knife of the morningstar priestess comes down on Minthara it won't be with love but with absolute rage, grief and disgust and I will be thinking about this for evermore. Thanks, I'm not well

[cheetahsprints]

Hopping on the Sonadow fankid train lol

This is Nova, formerly SSCE11324-GA001. They were the last in a series of experiments attempting to make a Sonic clone called Project Supernova. May make a separate full lore post. They'd meet the Sonic main characters at age 7, wherein they get freed from Robotnik's lab. Sonic and Shadow would be in their early 20s at that point.

Character info:

Nicknames: Little star, Superstar

Species: Hedgehog/Black Arm

Gender: Nonbinary (Any pronouns accepted, preference for They/Them)

Sexuality: Panromantic Gray-Asexual

Voice: Medium deep, fast. Higher pitched when excited.

Alignment: Neutral Good Active Abilities:

Immense speed

Super strength

Extreme stamina

Heightened senses

Regeneration

Teleportation

Telekinesis

Mental projections

Chaos energy manipulation

Other Traits:

Nearly invulnerable

Functionally immortal

Living generator

Genius intellect

Excellent at deductive reasoning

"Super" form is the default; but contact with chaos emeralds will recharge them faster when exhausted or powered down

Drawbacks:

Needs to sleep 18-20 hours per day

Active power usage gradually drains life force;

Overexertion will eventually cause them to entered a weakened, vulnerable "powered down" state (depicted in 2nd image);

Can't use any abilities when powered down

However this form is rarely seen as long as they are able to eat and sleep off the exhaustion and recharge

Clumsy

Easily distracted

Likes:

Flying

Music

Reading

Astronomy

Forensics

Dislikes:

Arrogance

Thunder

Robots

Laboratories

Hurting feelings

Favorites:

Colors: Coral, violet

Foods: Pizza, pineapple, strawberries, pecan cookies

Beverage: Cinnamon tea

Music: Alt Rock, Metal, Bardcore

Novel genres: nonfiction, science fiction, crime and mystery, detective, dystopian, paranormal romance

Family:

Sonic (biological father) Shadow (biological father) Tails (surrogate older brother) Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge, in spirit

[flowering-darkness]

hi ari i do have a question - how do u imagine the giratina wings would work .. like would they be solid .. trying to imagine lunadri cuddling with the wings in the way

Hello friend!!! Thank you very much for this question ^-^ (I apologise for how long my answer ended up becoming ;w;)

To answer your questions/comments succinctly:

The wings work a bit weirdly because they're to do with the original Giratina, which I'm saying was Reborn-Shiny because so is the Arceus (I think). ..Don't ask me how she got tied up with it in the first place.

They are more spectral than properly solid, but you can still feel them (putting your hand through them will make it feel numb though, and it also feels weird to Adriana, so perhaps don't do that). They look more solid when she's in a New World.

We can work around them! It basically just means Luna can't hug Adriana from behind without needing to take them into account, but.. everything else is theoretically on the table. So, I like to think that works out ^-^

Okay, now for my actual initial very long-winded response to this.

Hmm.. I will admit that I hadn’t considered this. I think it would make sense if Adriana’s wings were at least somewhat non-solid, in that, like.. most things can pass through them, but with some resistance, to the point that you can probably push something through them quite easily, but if you just sort of threw something at them then it would probably just lose too much momentum and fall. Adriana will feel it if something goes into or through her wings, though (at least after they become fully apparent, which happens after the Giratina quest in postgame. Specifically:

Only Anna is able to see Adriana's wings to begin with, similarly to the other traits she perceives others as having (like Taka's own wings or Cain's pitch-black eyes), and Adriana cannot see or sense them whatsoever. However, Anna never properly specifies what they actually look like, just insists that she has them.

After becoming void-kissed (so, after the Glass Workstation), Adri starts very vaguely being able to sense her wings occasionally, and they also start sometimes appearing in glimpses in her shadow. Other than that, no-one else can see or sense them, though Luna definitely does her best to accommodate them from here on out, regardless. It still isn't clear what type of wings they are. (Note that it's after becoming void-kissed that Adriana starts being able to perceive others as Anna does, so this means that this occurs with the exception of herself.)

Whenever she is confronting Umbral Trainers or Anomalies, Adriana becomes more aware of the presence of her wings, but is generally too caught up with what is going on in the moment to properly dwell on it like she wants to - and most New World areas are so shadowy that she can't really tell if they're constantly there in her shadow or not.

The moment her wings finally become visible and tangible to everyone is the same moment in which Anna starts mistaking her for a doll of Lin's - after she catches the original, Reborn-Shiny, Giratina that Zina sealed beneath Byxbysion. A comparison of this false perception versus the new truth is given below:

From this point onwards (which.. admittedly isn't that much more of the story, but still), Adriana's wings are spectral in the normal world, but fully-formed and solid whenever she's in a New World space. This is going to be my explanation for why they appeared solid during those old grand finale renders I made ages ago, but fade out on her other sprites and renders.)

It’s probably quite a strange sensation, both to Adriana and to someone else if they stuck their hand through them; I quite like the idea of anything that goes into or through the wings feeling very numb, rather than necessarily hurting or anything. They feel more solid, and the sensation is more intense, as you move closer to the part of her back where they look like they emanate from. I like to think the wings are solid enough (to Adriana at least) that she tries to take them into account when moving around, but also intangible enough that nothing can really affect them, necessarily - so, like, you couldn't grab them and use them to pull her towards you or anything, and she would also be able to put her back against a wall without too much issue (it might just feel odd to her). They also don't interfere with her clothing, thankfully. Such are the conveniences of spectral energy.

So, with all that said.. I do think that Adri’s wings would need to be taken into account to at least some extent when cuddling with Luna. However, it is not as much of a big consideration as it could be, simply because the two of us are already used to considering things when we cuddle, like making sure we don’t scrunch up our skirts for example. Adriana can also curl her wings fairly freely after they become fully apparent, so that helps, and they aren't that big to begin with (smaller than the ones Anna sees Taka as having, certainly), so that also helps. For example, I like to think that she would be able to lift them both so that Luna is underneath them, if we were both on our sides ^-^

Sorry for going on such a tangent there, oops ;w; I hope that this is still alright as an answer for you, friend! Thank you so much again for sending this in, it really means a lot~

[punkcherries]

sonic prime so cool ............

[onestepfcrward]

yaknow, i've complained about it before, but if there is one thing that gives me the ick it is fanon depictions of shadow and rouge being 'siblings'

the fact that rouge flirts with him in canon aside, it feels so ooc for either of them to go 'yeah thats my brother/sister' like ?? theyre both loners with a shadowed past who keep everyone at arms length. family is a tough subject for them both. neither of them would refer to one another as their sister/brother and you'd be lucky to even get shadow or rouge to admit theyre friends (even if they are friends)

i guess it also has to do with my frustration regarding how narrow-visioned people can be about what a found family dynamic looks like. found family doesn't automatically mean sibling coded. there's far more complex and nuanced relationships that are unique in their own ways based on the bond the characters share.

[yuridovewing]

I haven't read TBC yet but I already know for certain that in my rewrite in my head, Needleclaw is the protag not Rootspring