#sonic wacky pack

[furby-junkie]

Are these ALREADY available??!

The photos are from a Shopee Thailand listing.

[doctorfurbenstein]

Friendos, you don’t even know the lengths I went to to score one of these. I hit Sonics across multiple states. (Which was an extra pain because I can’t drive anymore, so I dragged various loved ones along on this adventure! Many thanks to my patient and loving family!) Some of the locations weren’t giving these toys out yet because they were still on the previous ones (Transformers, I think) and some were out of the Furby ones.

I finally, FINALLY got one in at a Sonic in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, that was nearly inaccessible from the freeway due to road construction, and when we finally pulled into the drive thru, we were greeted by a big red “UNACCEPTABLE” sticker meaning this location had *failed its health and safety inspection* . Dear Furby friends, I ate a bunless child’s hotdog from a failing-grade restaurant in order to secure my treasure, and I lived to tell the tale, and I would do it again.

FURBY TOY COMING SOON IN WACKY PACKS AT SONIC!!!!

[furbee]

YIPPEEEE!!! Turns out you can buy the toys individually, and ask for the full set. Toys are only $1 each!!!!!!! I'm so excited, they didn't have the toys when I went last week!

[littlejazzy]

I made homemade ecto cooler!!! It was discontinued when I was 7, and I'm not even completely sure I drank some when I could, but it's nice to have some now because, well, I like Ghostbusters now!! (I didn't watch the films until I was 9, so it was too late to try it w/ Ghostbusters in mind)

The recipe is from the San Diego Ghostbusters franchise and is as follows:

4 parts Tampico Citrus Punch 1 part Minute Maid Lemonade As many drops of green food dye necessary to achieve desired color

I got this nifty acrylic carton from Target, so to fill it I used 2 cups of Tampico, 1/2 cup of Minute Maid, and 2 drops of green food dye! It's really tasty! And it goes perfectly with episodes of The Real Ghostbusters!!!! And the movies, of course, lol

I also got some of the Ecto Collection blind boxes!! I used this guide to get the ones I wanted! (not pictured here is a mini puft w/ a smore)

Anyway, this is a fun and a tasty recipe that I'm definitely gonna enjoy for the rest of the month!

[horribleyearnings]

After all these years.

[justanothermemestrider]

Nothing Ever Stays Dead - Part 4

Action sequence time baby let's gooooooo

Thank you guys so much for all the support so far. This one took a little longer to cook because fight scenes take ages to choreograph lol.

If you missed the previous part, you can catch up here :)

A lot for explicit violence in this one, including blood and gore, so be prepared for that. Also, I spent ages researching Dark Eldar weaponry, but it's all so wacky and weird that I just kinda did my own thing? I know I know, it's kinda lazy, but I've already twisted the lore so much for this story already, what's the harm in a little more?

Aside from that, apologies for spelling and grammar errors, I hope you enjoy and as always, thanks for reading!

Ellicent yelps in surprise as Gadriel grabs her. When she glimpses the Dark Eldar skiff, though, it quickly becomes a snarl "Severus!" she hisses. "Severus, you fucking rat! You-"

The screeching song of metal clanging against metal drowns out the rest of her furious cries.

Shredder rounds. Fist sized shells packed with razor-sharp monofilaments and the prefered weapons for this particular war band. Their function is in the name: to shred. Everything. From flesh and bone to steel and concrete. And, if the grimace on Gadriel's face is anything to go by, even space marine ceramite.

Just beyond his right shoulder, Ellicent spots the skiff again. It's hovering, now. Flanks split open like misplaced mouths, spewing scores of Dark Eldar raiders. Their armour is black and sleek; all crossing belts and studded leather. Except the studs aren't studs at all, but are rather chunks of skull and spinal bones. And the leather... Throne. Some of their chest pieces still have hair. Still have faces. Ellicent feels her stomach tie itself into knots.

The xenos still on the skiff cease their rain of fire as their melee force joins the fray. The latter hits the rooftop running. Gnarled spears and serrated blades flash in their taloned hands. Their long, elven faces are twisted into wicked grins. Some of them shriek in bloodlust and ecstasy.

Ellicent sets her jaw. "Turn left, Gadriel!"

Without hesitation, he does as she says. Twisting his hips, keeping a hold on Ellicent as he does. A trio of Dark Eldar are in front of her now. Screeching in delight with their weapons raised. Ellicent lifts her gauss canon towards them. With a cry of her own, she squeezes the trigger with her entire hand. The necron weapon cracks like a sonic boom. A lance of green energy- blinding, sparking, pulsing- explodes from its barrel at the speed of light. It hits the centre-most raider in the chest. For a moment his squeals turn agonising. Then, he says nothing at all. The beam devours him whole, blowing his body apart before stripping the pieces of their very atoms. It leaves no remains. Not even a pile of ash.

Alarmed, his comrades scatter, but Ellicent is on them like a hawk. Two more times, she fires. And two more times, a xenos is obliterated. She releases the trigger. Her gauss canon whines at her as if in disappointment.

Above her head, she hears Gadriel laughing.

His voice sounds different, now. Mechanical. Modulated. Ellicent glances up to find his face is now covered by a red Astartes' helm. The sight startles her a little. "Holy Terra," he says. "I'm glad you didn't hit me with that thing."

At first, the comment makes Ellicent wince. Then, she hears the smile in his voice.

He's joking. Seems like such a trivial thing, especially now. But even so, Ellicent can't help the warmth she feels inside at the realisation.

All around them, the Dark Eldar raiders circle them like sharks, no less blood-thirsty, but definately wary now. Their skiff continues to orbit overhead and its shredder fire has started up again. But it's not aimed at them anymore. It's aiming behind them. From that same direction, Ellicent hears the periodic bellow of a bolter.

The other Ultramarine. It has to be. What had Gadriel called him again?

Titus.

Gadriel releases the arm he'd had pinned across her middle, returning Ellicent to her feet. She hears a sword unsheath, an energy field activate. In her peripherals, she glimpses his power sword in one of his hands.

He stands at her back. His armour and undersuit are rough against her skin.

They're also wet...

"Are you bleeding?" she asks.

"I was. But no longer."

Despite herself, Ellicent's chest tightens. "Are you alright?"

Gadriel's response is a growl. "Dont worry about me. Focus on looking after yourself."

Ellicent stifles a growl of her own. You don't need to tell me; that's all I've been doing for the last fifty years.

Limber as they are, the Dark Eldar are still impossibly quick. They don't sprint so much as glide across the floor, and when they duck and dodge, their bodies are literal blurs.

Ellicent fires her gauss cannon again. She tags one on the arm. In a flurry of screams and green light, the limb evaporates, all the way up to the creature's shoulder. The raider collapses to the ground, writhing and wailing. The sight makes Ellicent grin. The Dark Eldar are infamous for deriving pleasure from pain; not just other's but their own, too. Looks like atomisation, though is too excruciating a pain even for the likes of them.

Holding down the trigger this time, Ellicent swings the weapon from left to right, carving into the incoming raiders with a continuous spray of lethal anti-matter. Three more fall victim to its fire, but one- a long-legged male in nothing but a skin loin cloth- manages to slip through. He's getting close. Too close. If Ellicent were to fire on him now, she'd risk catch herself in the blast. Taking her hand off the trigger, Ellicent grips both of the canon's handles tight. As the naked raider cocks his arm back to slash at her, she drops low. Putting every ounce of body weight and cybernetic strength behind the swing as she can, Ellicent slams the barrel of her gauss canon into the alien's groin. The xenos goes down like a corpse, howling in pain and fury. Before he can rise, Ellicent raises her necronian leg high and slams her foot into his head. Bone and blood spray as her metal heel plunges through his skull. When she lifts her foot again, her heel and sole are both splattered with pulverised brain matter.

A roar at her back catches her attention. She spins just in time to see Gadriel cleave one of his attackers in half with his power sword. Another, he punches in the chest with his free hand. The alien's body explodes as if it'd just been hit with a tank round.

Ellicent watches him with shock on her face. She's seen and fought enough space marines in her time to have overcome the transhuman dread that the sight of them afflicts in mortals. But seeing these things in Gadriel- her Gadriel- it brings that sickly feeling surging right back.

It unsettles her. Throws her off-balance and out-of-focus. It lasts only a second. But in that same second, for reasons unknown, the Dark Eldar skiff steers its sights away from Titus and back to her. And Ellicent realises it too late.

Releasing her gauss canon, she drops to one knee and throws up her robotic arm. She angles it across her head and chest, trying to shield her most vital parts. It's pointless, she knows. Even if she manages to spare her heart or brain, the shredders will just cut the rest of her to ribbons. But it's all Ellicent can think to do. She has to try. She can't just-

An enormous ceramite hand grabs her around the waist and yanks her out of the way.

"Head down!" Gadriel yells. Dropping his sword, he hugs her to his chest with both arms and crouches on one knee. His ceramite screams as the shredders make impact. Ellicent pictures their bladed edges biting through the plate and sawing into the undersuit beneath. Sparks fill through the air. The stench of burning metal is almost sickening. Ellicent squeezes her eyes shut. She shimmies her arms free from where they're pinned against Gadriel's midriff and covers her ears.

Her breath hitches. Her hands; they feel wet and sticky.

Is that...

Reopening her eyes, Ellicent looks at her palms. All over her arms, from her finger tips up to her biceps, she's streaked with human blood. Same as down her front, where she's pressed into Gadriel's torso.

Ellicent's throat tightens.

Gadriel.

She can't see his face from behind his helmet. Its slanted red eyes make it look like he's glaring with rage. But his grip isn't as strong as it had been before, and with every third or fourth shredder that hits, she hears him winces.

The knot in Ellicent's throat winds tighter. "We can't stay here!" she cries. "We've got to move!"

"And go where?" he grunts. The thinness of his voice only confirms what she'd already feared.

"Get me a shot at the skiff. I can take it down."

"You expose yourself like that and you'll be dead in a second."

"I've got to try!"

"Don't you dare."

"If I don't, they'll tear you-"

"I said no, Ellie!" Gadriel shouts.

It's then the shredder suddenly stops again. Still holding onto Ellicent, Gadriel looks over his shoulder.

"What?" she asks.

"Oh Throne," he mutters.

As the curse leaves his mouth, his body lurches forwards and his voice devolves into a pained groan.

"Gadriel?" Ellicent grasps his sides of his helmet with both hands. "Hey! Are you okay?"

Gadriel falls to one knee. Releasing one of his arms from around her to catch himself. Ellicent takes the chance to wrestle free from his grasp. Quickly, she scans him up and down. What she finds makes her stomach drop.

It's an impaler. A two-pronged, ship-mounted harpoon weapon, one the Dark Eldar typically reserve for taking out vehicles or skewering heavy armour. And they've just shot Gadriel with one. Speared him in the back and straight through his right side. Blood pours from both wounds in a torrent. Already, it's made a pool on the floor.

"Oh no..."

Ellicent runs back to him. Grabs his helmet again as if she were cupping his cheeks. "No, no, no, no!"

"Ellie..." His voice cracks like broken glass. It brings tears to Ellicent's eyes. "Listen to me. You... you have to..."

"Shut your mouth," Ellicent growls. Before he can argue with her, she steps away from him. Aiming her gauss canon at the sky, hunting for the skiff. She finds it, but never gets the chance to fire. The raiders are waiting for her. The second she's out of Gadriel's protective shadow, they're on her. Kicking out her legs. Ripping her weapon from her hands. Slamming her face into the floor, then a club into the back of her head. The last thing she sees is Gadriel. Kneeled over, covered in blood, a monstrous alien spear sticking out of his ribs. A scream tears through her throat. The sound is the truest embodiment of fury and grief.

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

Gadriel dreams of steel and blood. The stench of hot iron. The taste of copper. A haze of blinding light and shredded nerve endings.

He doesn't know where he is, how much time has passed. He doesn't even know if he's still alive.

And what about Titus? What happened to him? And Ellie-

Oh Throne. Ellie...

The haze suddenly dissolves. All at once, his senses return. They do so with startling clarity. The smell of hot iron is replaced by that of dampness and decay. His ears ring with the high-pitched hum of an alien engine. He suddenly remembers he has eyes and gingerly, opens them one by one.

A single, white lamp illuminated the entire space around him. Black metal surrounds him, save for the walls on his left and directly in front of him, which instead are made from thick heavy bars. The air is humid and warm, like the inside of a beast's stomach. The stench is nauseating. Gadriel reaches for his helmet to turn on its filters. Instead of ceramite, however, his fingers brush his bare cheek.

My armour...

He looks at his hands. His gauntlets are gone, too, along with every other piece of ceramite plate he'd been wearing. All that remains is his black undersuit.

They've captured me. The thought sends dread spiking through Gadriel's veins. Very few of the brothers he's met have fought the Dark Eldar, and fewer still have been captured and survived to tell the tale. But those few he does know told him about it. What they said had stayed with him right up to this very day.

I have to get out of here, he thinks. Planting his palms on the floor and pushing himself to his feet. I have to find Ellie and Titus, and get us all-

A spear of agony pierces Gadriel's right side and pained roar rips from his throat. He falls back against the wall, breathing hard and fast. Thick bands of sweat are pouring off his brow.

Tentatively, he touches his side. His finger come back slick with fresh blood.

Gadriel bares his teeth. That's right, he thinks bitterly. I'd almost forgotten.

The fresh blood, however, is deeply concerning. The moment the harpoon had been removed, his larraman cells should have sealed the wound closed tight. Wiping his hands on his thigh, Gadriel presses them to his stomach, chest and left side. Once against, his palms return bloody.

It's not just the spear wound; the cuts and gashes from the shredders haven't sealed either.

Gadriel's vision starts darkening again. His head now pounds in time with his injuries. It could just be his panicked mind playing tricks, but it feels an awful lot like he's about to loose consciousness again.

Shit. Not good. This is not good.

"Gadriel? Is that you?"

His vision suddenly clears. Gadriel looks up, peers through the bar wall separating his cell from the one next door . In the corner closest to the back edge, a shadow moves. Unfurling into the silhouette of a woman, crouching in front of the bars and gripping them with one hand.

"Yes it is," Ellie says quietly. In the low light, her eyes twinkle like a cat's. "It's really you."

With a grimace, Gadriel pushes off from the wall. His hearts are soaring, but in his current state, he can manage is sitting a little straighter. "Ellie! Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"Just have a sore head. They hit me pretty hard."

"I saw," Gadriel says. He swallows as a surge of acidic bile fills his mouth at the memory. "But you are otherwise unharmed?"

Ellie hesitates for a moment. Her silence is almost confused. "Yes," she eventually replies. "Yeah, I'm okay."

Gadriel sighs in tangible relief. "Thank the Emperor for that."

"What about you?" Ellie asks.

Gadriel grits his teeth in a rueful smile. "I think the bastards might’ve tagged me," he says.

Ellie isn't amused by his poor attempt at humour. "How bad is it?"

"It's not good," he admits.

"Can you move?"

"Probably. The bleeding hasn't stopped, though. Even though it should've."

"It's poison," says Ellie. "Kills larraman cells. They coat their projectiles with it. Meant to make space marines bleed to death."

Gadriel looks at his hands. The pounding in his head grows tenfold. "Well. Isn't that just great..."

"Yup." He hears shuffling as Ellie changes position. Sitting on thefloor now, she rests her left side on the bars separating her cell from his, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Gadriel asks her.

"Oh yeah," Ellie says. "Only the most cursed, ugly pain-ridden ship in this entire system." The dryness in her voice borders on resignation. "Welcome to the Dark Star."

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

If the ending feels a bit abrupt that's because it is lol. I was writing this part, and it just kinda kept going and I realised it was gonna be way WAY too long. So I split it into two :)

Anyway, thank you so much for reading everyone. Part 5 is coming soon <3

Taglist: @solspina @beckyninja @egrets-not-regrets @wolf-feathers12 @jaghatai-khock @lemon-russ @moodymisty @hatsubara-8chan @nereidof40k @yanagikou @fyxestroll @yurihasurunbara @lylakoi @justfreakynothingelse

[lady-nuggetz]

Because no one asked, I decided to draw up my OWN special interpretation of Team Hooligan, ✨WITH JEST!!✨

Mind you everything is mostly based off of my own headcanon, so enjoy it as you will!! I'll write brief descriptions that you can read right here !!!!

—————————

Fang the Sniper/Hunter

He/Him // 21 yrs old // Australian🇦🇺 & Dominican🇩🇴 // Bisexual

Fang is a mercenary/bounty hunter and the leader of Team Hooligan. Though he often works alone for most gigs, he considers his team to be a found family of sorts, despite not always getting along with them. He has a great fascination for guns, but often uses his regular cork gun unless it's for serious situations. He's easy to anger and is heavily motivated by his greed and desire to prove himself as a top notch mercenary. Though things don't always work in his favor.

He's told very few people about his origins, how he had once descended from a noble family, until "one incident led to another and now suddenly I'm all on my own!" The one thing he absolutely REFUSES to tell people is that Fang isn't really his birth name.

• Cocky, Greedy, and Selfish. Probably has a slight tinge of insecurity due to past failures with Sonic and company.

• Keeps cigarette packs on his person often.

• Has a small shack he and the others share together over in Mirage Saloon Zone. He started sharing his room with Jest once she started hanging around.

• Loves mechanics, no one else but him drives the Marvelous Queen, it's a vehicle of his own design.

• Likes playing card games, spicy food, and keyboards.

—————————

Jest the Jack Rabbit

She/Her // 21 yrs old // Puerto Rican🇵🇷 & Trinidadian🇹🇹 // Bisexual

Jest is another bounty hunter, who despite her silly clown appearance, is a very threatening figure. She's agile, quick witted, and carries around a baseball bat she calls the Wacky Whammer, that's bound to give anyone a painful concussion. She came across Team Hooligan after they [Mainly just Fang] attempted to mug her, to which they received a harsh beating at her hand. She has found herself to be fixated on their leader however, and sticks around them to watch them struggle for success.

She grew up in a circus with her sisters, before finding herself fixated on the chaos emeralds and chaos energy. Unleashing an ultimate chaos has been her grand goal as she hopes to spread her madness across the world. She plans to achieve that, either by herself or with other comrades as her stepping stool.

• Loud, Annoying and Obnoxious. Loves to push Fang's buttons and watch him lose his cool. Her not so secret crush on him is absurd.

• A known sadist, she enjoys intimidating others and seeks out the emeralds for power and chaos.

• Enjoys gossiping with her friends, Ace and Solar, particularly about the Hooligans.

• What her and Fang have is a somewhat open secret. It's hard to tell if they hate each other or love each other. From their endless bickering to Jest's raunchy flirting.

• Likes cinnamon buns, yo-yos, and fondant.

—————————

Bean the Dynamite

Any Pronouns // 15 yrs old // Brazilian🇧🇷 // Pansexual, Genderfluid

Bean is a young and spontaneous explosives expert, with a goofy and hyperactive personally that keeps the team on their toes. He carries around comically large bombs, no one is really sure HOW he does, but they don't ever seem to question his methods. Despite his lighthearted demeanor most of the time, no one can ever seem to tell what he's got cooking in that brain of his.

Not much is known of where Bean came from, but from what Bean's told about himself, he remembers being in an egg. And a great amount of movement. Up until he hatched and found himself all alone in the middle of the forest. Most just assume he hit his head or something before he ran into Bark.

• Silly, Scatterbrained, and Crazy. Hard to tell if he's a bad guy when he's so comedic.

• Fidgets constantly, he can't sit still for more than a few minutes.

• His bombs are handmade, and he likes gifting them to the others as surprises or as little pranks.

• Considers Bark to be an older brother figure who keeps him in check. Buys him Father's Day cards.

• Likes comic books, explosives, and gummies.

—————————

Bark the Polar Bear

He/They // 23 yrs old // Russian🇷🇺 & Haitian🇭🇹 // Pansexual Demiboy

Bark is the overall brawn of the team, being the strongest physically and able to do most of the heavy lifting if necessary. He's the most level headed as well, and finds himself being the one to pull everyone back when things get too complicated [If Fang himself isn't having a pissy fit]. He's particularly shy and doesn't really like communicating much with others, as he finds it quite difficult. And despite his rather prickly job, he means well and cares for others like Bean and Amy Rose.

Before he had become a member of Team Hooligan, it's been said that he's gotten his fighting experience from being that of a professional fighter. He doesn't enjoy bringing it up, but he prefers what he's got going on now. If any of the others ask to fight him, he'll consider the offer.

• Quiet, Tough, and Stoic. He cares though, he's just a bit shy when it comes to feelings.

• A walking furnace, he gets warm easily and has an itch for cold food often.

• Used to fight professionally at one point before joining Fang's gang.

• Selective mute and often communicates with sign language or writing.

• Likes seafood, belly rubs, and coloring books.

[crusherthedoctor]

Not a hot take, a general question

What are levels that most hate that you enjoy, and levels that most enjoy that you hate? :>

Sorry this took a few days, but I've been trying to stick with examples that are near-unanimously loved or hated rather than being simply divisive. I also excluded examples of the "this game in general has weird physics, etc" variety… with one exception that won't surprise you.

I Give It a Gex/10:

Marble - The level design is blocky, though I can forgive that more than most since it was the first game, but the aesthetic is really unique for a lava stage, let alone the first one in the series.

Labyrinth - This one is cheating because I'm mainly including it for various mods that have given it a serious glow up, such as the Mania Misfits Pack. As such, I can't bring myself to hate the original, because I always think of those versions now.

Sky Base - Autoscrolling doesn't work so well for Sonic, but conceptually it's a climactic zone.

Wacky Workbench - Growing up is when you realise it's not a tragedy, but a comedy. Whereas other people jeer at it, I jeer with it. Also, the Good Future is beautiful, and so is the Past.

Marble Garden - Slightly downplayed since few outright hate it, but it's often considered the weakest zone in S3&K. I don't know how this can be, given the music, the spinning tops, the boss encounter with Tails helping you out, and the gratuitous pools of Pepsi.

Sandopolis - Act 1 is perfectly fine in my book, and I will not sit here while fans continue to slander it. Act 2 may involve a lot of stopping and waiting, but even so, I find it less tedious than other examples.

Egg Rocket - I really love the concept here, and while it kicked my shit in as a young'un, I don't think it's that bad as an adult.

Mania's Oil Ocean - I saw frequent complaints about why they included this zone, to which I say "Did you forget about the Fire Shield? Did you forget about the remixes?"

This Is Like Underselling Eggman At Crusher's House:

Prison hallway levels in SA2 - Overly cramped grey hallways are not particularly fun. And before someone points out the small graphical details, yes, those are nice and all, but ultimately they can't change how I feel about these stages overall. While I'm not keen on the mech shooting in SA2 in general, the other stages at least give you some room to breathe.

Lost Impact - I feel like this one stage has received the '06 treatment where it was once hated, but is now hailed as a 2deep4u masterpiece because of vibes and interpretation. This is not the case with me. I don't care what your intention is, I don't care what infinite IQ stunt you're pulling with your method of gameplay and story integration: if it's not fun, you've lost me. "But Crusher, this is perfect because it compliments the context of the story, it makes you feel just like Shadow in his situation, muh deep layers would be lost if it was actually enjoyable-" Call me basic, but if the only way you can paint a narrative is by making it shite, I don't think I can trust you with anything. And remember, this is Sonic the Hedgehog, not some indie RPG that most people watch other people's playthroughs of rather than play it themselves.

'06 Crisis City - Generic dilapidated city is not too interesting, despite the tornado carrying a car's best efforts. The Generations version is thankfully salvaged by having fun level design, even if it's the same aesthetically.

All the islands in Frontiers - The Cyber Space stages don't count since they're just Non-Specific Highway and reused Generations assets. Otherwise… well, as you might have guessed by now, bland atmosphere is my Kryptonite. I can put up with some questionable design choices if it's at least memorable in other areas, as that can soften the blow for me to an extent, but if it can't even provide the latter, it makes the former so much more excruciating for me. Needless to say, I do not have much nice things to say about Grass Simulator, Sand Simulator, Rock Simulator, Grass Simulator 2: The Return of Jafar, or Grass Simulator 3: This Is Why Eggman's In Mario Land Now.

[paulagnewart]

Sonic the Oz-Hog Act 4/12: Knux Readux!

Knuckles the Echidna Volume 2 issue 1 AU Publication Date: 14th April 1997 Price: $2.70

Spinoffs. No self-respecting media can live with them. No self-aggrandising media can live without them. And for those of us who lived through the space year that was 1997, corporations were chomping at the bit for a slice of those sweet spinoff dollarydoos.

Best place to start and witness such influence would be, arguably, the cinema. After Baz Luhrmann's blockbuster remake Romeo + Juliet spent weeks atop the box office, the majority of March was a bitter struggle between Wes Craven's thriller Scream and Cameron Crowe's football drama Jerry Maguire. A fascinating if ultimately pointless grudge match between two distinct genres. For all their efforts, neither claimed victory when by month's end, a film 20 years their senior blasted both off the map. The Star Wars Special Editions had arrived.

The promotion (and merchandise deals) was huge. A New Hope proved an instant hit, swiftly followed on 10th April by The Empire Strikes Back. Everything old was new again, and the re-hits just kept coming. Audiences pounded the pavements, eager to revisit Jurassic Park when its sequel The Lost World saw release on 29th May (only a week after its US premiere, a then-impressive feat). Superhero buffs ignored the winter freeze to watch Batman and Robin on 26th June, a film often lauded yet pulled respectable numbers and local reviews at the time.

Speaking of space, following a successful campaign through latter 1996, the Oddbodz were back. Smith's Chips and Glow Zone launched their second series of 61 collectable glow-in-the-dark cards featuring a myriad of wacky, wicked and occasionally controversial space-themed characters. If gross-out humour wasn't your speed, ripping into packs of Thins, Ruffles, Cheetos or Doritos chips instead offered adventures in a galaxy far far away with official Star Wars 3D Magic Motion and Techno Tazos.

After the toyline's initial launch in January, Beast Wars had successfully put Transformers back on the map, though kids would have to wait at least three more months to see their favourite characters in animated action. To Channel 7's credit, they at least gave the program a decent timeslot. More than can be said for Channel 9's decision that April to broadcast the all-new Star Trek: Voyager season 2 and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine season 4 at the ghastly time of 11pm weeknights.

In spite of the former losing 30 minutes off its timeslot, the rivalry between weekday morning children's entertainment continued between Agro's Cartoon Connection and Cheez TV. Both were banking on the spinoff craze, and viewers waking up 14th April could choose between the premiere of Power Rangers Zeo episode 'Oily to Bed, Oily to Rise', or the premiere of Earthworm Jim episode 'Darwin's Nightmare'. For the musically inclined, American rockers No Doubt had enjoyed 8 weeks atop the music charts with the third single on their third album, 'Don't Speak'. At least until April saw them bumped off by Aussie pop prodigy Savage Garden and their third single 'Truly Madly Deeply'.

But of all the spinoffs to arise and bedazzle locals, after three years of development and an exclusive preview party the night prior, SEGA World Sydney opened its doors at 4pm on Saturday 22nd March 1997. Touted in print and on TV as "Australia's Largest Indoor Theme Park!", it offered hours of unrivalled entertainment and programs for Sydneysiders and visitors alike. Anyone who could afford its hefty entry fee lost themselves in all the games and rides they could handle (except Mortal Kombat, which was pulled last-minute). An escape into pixilated fantasy guaranteed to forget their real-world troubles for several hours. Mundane adult things like Victoria and Western Australia's brief yet brutal summer bushfire seasons where 3 lives and some 59 homes were lost. Or how after one year into the top job, captain conservative John Howard faced international anger over comments at the United Nations General Assembly, and local anger over casual dismissing threats by extreme right-wing rival Pauline Hanson's One Nation party.

Be it stage shows, costumed cameos and all types of merchandise featuring their antics, fans of Sonic, Tails, Sally and Robotnik were in paradise. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for a fifth member of the cast. For someone who enjoyed strong popularity and a species originating right there, SEGA World put the bare minimum effort into giving Knuckles the Echidna his own time to shine. A remarkable oversight undoubtedly leaving young fans wondering where that embattled echidna was hiding. As luck would soon have it, they needn't look far.

Nestled comfortably among the shelves between Sonic issues 45 and 46 came Knuckles: The Dark Legion. Sales had proven strong enough (or at least stronger than Tails and Sally's comics) to warrant the development of a second miniseries. Exciting in its own right, only amplified when exclusively announced through AOL in January 1997 it would evolve to a fully-fledged ongoing spinoff. No longer was trotting off to the newsagents exclusively a Friday end-of-month treat. Knuckles' arrival meant a mandatory Monday mid-month booster for us deprived of Mobian adventures.

Over the course of its 32 issue run, Knuckles the Echidna was, much like Endgame two months later, once praised as a pinnacle of Archie Sonic. Fans adored the series, giving ol' Rad Red his own unique mythos and adventures. While Sonic naffed around aimlessly in a post-Robotnik world, we saw Knuckles as the cool, 'mature' comic. He had stakes. He had drama. Quite a turnaround after the heavy criticism its writer took in late 1996 over Sally's leaked demise. Within months he was described as "a kewl writer!", or "one of the ONLY "good" and "balanced" writers Archie has", or how they're "so much better then sonic comics now its not funny." with "all the good villains and family members." Fans swarmed en mass to his WWWBoard, creating their own stories, characters and entire websites tied to the Brotherhood and Dark Legion. Not everyone agreed on the book's mission statement "Why does everybody liek it so much? All it is really is a bunch of Penders' characters running around with slight appearacnes by Chaotix and occasionally knuckles himself.", but it made a lot of other people happy. Enough for both The Dark Legion and Lost Paradise reissued as 'back catalogue' orders to selected comic book stores in late 2004.

And just like Endgame, those nostalgic memories have since dissipated when adults reflected on his tales with matured, scrutinous eyes. We grow. We learn. We reevaluate on what was once adored as adolescents, realising perhaps those good times weren't all that good. Maybe the series and characters were fine in concept but lacked competent execution. Maybe our childish expectations meant they were never good to begin with and the critics were right all along.

The youthful, creative glory days from the late-90's to mid-2000's of Knuckles of an Echidna, Kragok Comics, Echidna Gals, Dark Legion HQ, Echidnapolis, Knux Redux, Tisha-Li's Dark Legion Camp, Kensuke Aida's Julie-Su Shrine, Echidnoyle, Shattered Moonlight, Knuckles 9000, Kiri Megami's Chaotix Hideout, Darkest Mysteries, and of course True Red's mighty Knuckles Haven have long passed.

It's from learning said past our futures are forged, but do any of these characters have a future? Do they even deserve a future?

Or maybe it's just best they're all forever banished to the Twilight Zone of cultural irrelevance.

Next Time: For years I said it wouldn't be done. Yet promises, like the hearts and cheekbones of fictitious rodents, were made to be broken. Will May's hedgie rectrospect-y truly be worthy of such hate? Or have revisionists painted a far worse picture over the past two decades?

< Previous \ Index / Next >

[cgarttrailsandtails]

Intro post! Also, Au list, yayyyy!!

Read before interaction please ⤵️

Hiya, Cg here. I do stuff. Pronouns are in bio if it means that much to you, and I’m on both Quotev and Ao3, though I post my fanfics here too.

Requests and askbox are open, dw, I’m nice.

Quick ground rules:

Be nice

Be respectful

And that’s all for those.

Fair warning:

I can sound mean/rude over the internet, even when I’m trying not to. Please don’t be offended if I act this way, I try to catch it and make a note like (joke) on comments that seem disrespectful.

My main fandoms:

Rumble pack/shorts wars

Sth, as well as some other games such as batim and og fnaf

Twomp (this is a big one, it’s what my first posts ever were about)

Tadc (no explanation needed)

+unlisted fandoms (there’s too many to list em all)

AUS:

Rumble Pack:

Circus au: Uh they're circus performers, lore will be revealed in time :3. for now they're just silly goobers like in the real podcast

Tadc:

Supernatural + human au- (I don’t have a good name for this one yet) no current planned out lore, it’s mostly just a silly thing where they’re humans with supernatural abilities, pretty self-explanatory qwq

SAMS: (all on hiatus)

(Actual) Celestial au (AC! Au): Sams au where they are actually celestial beings. [HIATUS]

When the lights go out au: Everything seems totally fine! Until the power goes out… (normal sams and laes during the day, but in darkness, things aren’t all that they seem…) [DISCONTINUED]

Mortal Masterpiece au (MMau)- Link [DISCONTINUED]

Fallen stars au- ON AO3- Follow Gemini, Lunar, and Taurus on a wacky adventure to avoid the astrals after Gemini makes a grave mistake!

STH:

Sonic corruption au- A corruption virus breaks out in the universe of Sonic the hedgehog. Can our band of heroes stop it before it infects them all?

The Roomies au- Who would have thought that a band of two redeemed villains, one cursed soul, and a drowned hero could become buddies? And who could have known that they could take on such a big evil as the top dog in the EXE ranks… (Sonic the hedgehog au)

Eggman won?! Au: After years of hard work and failures, and even his finest creation leaving, eggman finally did it. He finally won. Or did he?

Marvel:

Together a team au (TaT): After the team splits ways, they come to an important realization. They need each other. They need to be a team. Otherwise, they’ll lose. Like Cap said all those years ago, they’ll do it all together. And with a bunch of villains popping up around the world, new and old, what better a time to assemble?

My other accounts:

@positivepenguinandcaringkiwi

@ask-actual-celestial-au

@Sonic-corruption-au

Helpful posts:

Ideas

My oc:

[tuckerspot]

Truffle and devo enjoy the sonic wacky pack toys!!

Reminder to join my discord server^^

[furby-junkie]

Furby is getting a Sonic Wacky Pack promo!!

Source (archived)

[satellite-sunday]

If you ever have to order from Sonic

Sides

3pc buffalo chicken dip bites- 170 (5pc- 280)

Small tater tots- 250

Small fry- 250

Breakfast

Jr bacon egg and cheese burrito- 270

Jr sausage egg and cheese burrito- 280

Bacon egg and cheese croisSONIC- 450

Lunch/Dinner

Corn dog- 230

Small popcorn chicken- 330

Chicken slinger- 350

Hamburger wacky pack w/ applesauce and 0 cal drink- 385

Drinks

Water- 0

Unsweetened ice tea- 0

Plain coffee- 0

Diet sodas- 0-10

Sprite 0 with 0 sugar flavors- 0-15

Mini 1/2 sweet/unsweet tea- 40

Mini 1/2 unsweet tea/lemonade- 50

Mini Fanta orange- 70

Mini fruit punch- 75

Mini Powerade- 45 (sm- 70)

Slushes

Mini peach or mango slush- 120

Mini cherry, blue raspberry, blue coconut, Powerade, Polynesian punch, or tropical colada slush- 130

Mini grape, strawberry, lemonade, or limeade slush- 140

Sweet

Vanilla cone- 250

Mini Oreo sonic blast- 370

Mini strawberry shake- 400

[anosci]

(256-270 albums etc that I’ve listened to this year, copied from twitter) (now with art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19])

names and thoughts below cut

256/ BLÆRG - Solace Vertex (2016) feel a little like a groovier kind of chrome cylinder. unfolding perhaps. "The Dodecahedonist" ez standout. love the spacious vibes.

---

257/ VA - Nocturnal Edge 3 (2023) this. is trippy. psy without the trance. check out the bass in "Reina"! the dist in "bizarre invention" god damn "yag si urowak" will rinse your brain. it feels a bit like how breakcore felt when the genre was new to me.

---

258/ Juggernaut - Immortal (2023) some mixtures of adjacent clubby genres honestly pretty cool even if it doesn't entirely vibe with me. the one track that really stands out to me is "Invoke", for how it brings the guitars. its kinda like an alt reality retro infected mushroom

---

259/ Super Shrimp - Popcorn Shrimp (2023) (listening first track) oh this is silly. yeah its a playful little thing. imo there are two reasons to tune in: "It's So For You" for a bit of a juke throwback and "leaves" for its soft beauty. that one's my favorite, ez.

---

260/ VA - Atelier Tunes vol.5 (2023) a variety of clubby tunes. "condemnation!!" stands out to me. nice vocaloid tune with the DISTEST BEAT. good shit! i admire the plucky flavor that "Angelic Mirage Field" brought to (ostensibly) dnb

---

261/ C-Show - C-Show House Collection Vol.1 (2023) houzzzzzzzz "Let It Drop" touches all the fun bases: M1, sax, wob. that's prolly my fav track but its all around good vibes in here

---

262/ icesawder - 新生生活DREAM (2023) i love the attitude in this. it's loud. it packs a punch. the coring of my breaks in "axex" :') the massive chords in "abrandnew…" !!! the push-pull in "dori-min" :O this whole album is a standout among M3-51 imo. banger after banger

---

263/ Phasma - H-N Label Sampler (2023) this brings some 00sidm-ish clicky beats + floating pads rly not what i was expecting from "hype nation" but it's lovely "AxSQ" like cmon. this could be from merck. "New Pattern (Phasma Remix)" sounds like smth youd hear on warp today.

---

264/ VA - Aquarium (2023) lush tunes with a smooth future sound. the mix of soundscapes (plinky arps, big bass, orch stac, and pitched vox) in "Wastmundia" stands out as a sweet fav to me. even tho dnb lol "Orca" has a really cool vibe. fresh. "Challenger" is… fzgx if i may.

---

265/ 7mai - Colorful Palette : Gray (2023) rly shiny and bright tunes! "Pearl" is so good. SU vibes in a cool cool way. piano & midtempo beats. ez fav of the bunch "CUTE-Mythology" is a close second but like. u cant beat that sweet piano sheen

---

266/ Aice room - IT's U (2023) the last two tracks here are where its at. "Miss U" clicks with me idk why. its good ok lol but then "Need U" goes hard. also specific shoutout to the mingling of the chord textures and melody at 34s

---

267/ Current Value - Beneath the Sonics (2023) challenging my "i dont like dnb" stance with rly good sound design and nrg. "Monster" god damb also…. whatever tf you call that wonky vibe in "Against". A+ fav

---

268/ Nathan Micay - To The God Named Dream (2023) really weird: this reaches into trance vibes (and timbres) that i just dont like. but only sometimes. "Fangs" is very much my personal highlight: cool vox! call and response! breaks! "It’s Recess Everywhere" runnerup

---

269/ Aphex Twin - London 19.08.23 (2023) 3 new tracks out of nowhere! "Soog E" is simple but effective at grabbing a sort of analog afx feel. analord feel? fav. "Body Pads" is wacky for its tonality, close 2nd fav. that only leaves 1 other track lol. its alright. a lil empty imo

---

270/ SDEM - IIRC (2019) "i want more like autechre" and this delivers while being its own thing. kinda wish "Kaelie" weren't so high pitched bc its good otherwise "Pranging" is def my fav here, despite "Usens" being the bangeringest.

---

next page

[smoohdasmoochi]

Sonic re-release the Wacky Pack Tots Plushies. I am no longer asking. I demand it

[horribleyearnings]

I've gotten like 7 wacky packs from sonic since the furby promotion started and all I've gotten so far is 4 furby spoons, nothing twice, and today a frickin matchbox car. Why do they hate me .