#whys he built like a jerboa

[coolclipartfree]

"Blue Mouse"

[chat-rouge-et-bleu]

fuckin mous fukin thingy

[oxenfresian]

Animus magic thoughts

Ouhhh my first real post methinks

Been thinking a lot about Animus magic and how it could work in wings of fire and mayhaps how I have built up a system that would sort of fix the main magic issues in the main series

Animus magic isn't, an all powerful all spell casting magic, it instead has different levels of magic. Most Animus dragons can do some limited magic- like, say, make something similar to orcas statue, or turtles bowl. Some dragons are more powerful, and can create things like a whole palace, or enchant someone to be an entirely different dragon. Kind of a sliding scale, still not fully sure on exactly how powerful certain things are, but the general gist is that most Animus dragons cannot do crazy things. It's the reason why enchanted objects just have one use, an Animus dragon cannot just make something that will, for example, protect the queen from any danger and make her invincible. They'd only be able to possibly, protect her from assassination attempts, or natural disasters, or something like that. A bit of their soul, and a lot of energy that takes a while to recover from, is taken from them every time they cast huge spells.

Then, there's true Animus dragons. These are the ones that can truly do any sort of spell, but many don't simply because they don't know that they can, and everything they've heard about Animus magic is that you have to be specific and you can only do one thing whatever. These Animus dragons are WAY rarer than regular Animus dragons, like, one every few hundred years rare.

In the sort of world building au thingy I've been building up, most Animus dragons are regular Animus dragons. Stonemover is turning to stone because he pushed himself too far with the tunnels, Arctic's soul was visibly rotting from using too much magic and constantly wearing himself out, etc etc. The only two true Animus dragons in the series were the first Jerboa, Darkstalker, and Turtle. That's why Arctic also wasn't able to get Darkstalker "under control", Darkstalker's magic was so much stronger than his own. It's why the tribe fled, they'd never seen magic that could be cast so easily with so little effort.

Turtle is a true Animus, he made his sister an Animus, and he was the only one able to sort of "outdo", in a way, Darkstalkers magic. I imagine in the au thingy, it's also why he won the Animus fight against Anemone so easily, she wore herself out very quickly with all the spells she was casting, and he was able to get the jump on her.

Jerboa the third isn't a true Animus, but her magic is strong. I don't think her getting rid of Animus magic will happen in the au, but if it did, it would've been such a huge, strong spell, that it would've withered her away and killed her. It probably would be a risk she willingly took- and probably didn't even achieve. Not sure, idk if it'll even happen in the au, but yeah!!

[keyokayo]

Some random wof hcs I have:

Of all dragon tribes, Leafwings are the one who can go the longest without eating as long as they have access to sunlight. 90% of the energy they need to live is from photosynthesis and that's how they survived in the poison jungle for so long

The main reason Skywings kill all of their dragons with "dangerous differences" isn't because those dragons are dangerous. It's actually because Skywing's society is built on competitiveness (see the sport tournament in the guide book), fairness, and equality in opportunities. Things like animus power or firescale are unfair advantages that must be eliminated, and dragons who have them are considered "cheaters" in the game of life

The smoke emitted by the volcano on the Nightwing Island contained a large amount of lead and mercury, and all Nightwings born on the island had lead and mercury poisoning. This explains why they had such a low birth rate (asides from the lack of food) and why they lost so much knowledge about their special powers. If smoke blocking out moonlight was the only problem they faced, Nightwing parents could have simply carried their eggs and flown above the smoke, and I suspected this was what they used to do when the volcano had just become active. Over many generations more Nightwings were exposed to lead/mercury, which made them suffer from memory problems and eventually forget how to obtain mindreading and foresight

Mudwings have a very strong sense of smell. A Mudwing can determine whether or not another Mudwing is their blood relative just by sniffing the air around them. And yes I made this hc because canonically there's no way to prevent inbreeding between parents and children in Mudwing society. I can't believe Tui never considered this when writing them

Both Moon and Secretkeeper have some form of anxiety disorder

Qibli definitely has god complex which stems from his insecurities and obsession with control. He also has trouble feeling empathy (thanks to Cobra) but knows how to hide it well by expressing sympathy instead

More of a speculation than a hc but Kinkajou is gonna turn evil in arc 4

Jerboa III is aro/ace

Whiteout's synesthesia works by linking her sense of sight, her mindreading and her foresight together. We all know she sees good people and visions in shades of blue. I hc that bad people and visions appear almost black and white to her. Future visions are always tinted in purple while past memories are tinted in brown. She also sees the emotions of other dragons as blotches of colors, but the colors change depending on the dragon

Also technically speaking her foresight is actually stronger than Darkstalker's. Not because she's born that way, but because Darkstalker is always so blinded by the visions he sees as good, he never bothered to spend time contemplating the bad ones and how to prevent them. Whiteout ultimately gets more out of her power despite being weaker and an optimist

Ahhh these are so cool! Ty anon!

[teamfortresstwo]

young ares. probably somewhere between 6 and 8.

yes he always looked like that. boy why are you so small. why are you so tiny. what is up with him?

HES SO SMALL I COULD CRADLW H IN THE PAPM OF MY HAND ??? World’s smallest guy ?? Built like a jerboa

[frogbrainedfool]

Okay so here’s my UNORGANIZED THOUGHTS ON LEGENDS: DARKSTALKER AFTER STAYING UP READING IT LAST NIGHT! TM

SPOILER WARNING

I would read an entire book about just Clearsight, she’s so freaking interesting. The timelines and how they affected her relationships, it was just so fascinating.

I imagined her as this wise adult when I read the prelude to book 11, but now I’m like dang she was just some kid who ran away from home.

Fathom is pretty much Turtle, part 2, Not Annoying This Time! And tbh I don’t mind that at all. His refusal to use his animus magic felt a lot more justified.

I sort of understand why people would like Darkstalker now, but I myself still hate him. The whole statue thing, the spell to make Clearsight unable to see negative futures. Dude.

I kept on anticipating Indigo to get her own chapters but it was just the three protagonists.

I’m stuck between finding Indigo annoying and knowing her paranoia was entirely justified.

I really wanted to like Whiteout but she just wasn’t that endearing to me. I didn’t even dislike her, she just was sort of “meh”. I kinda wanna crack her brain open like an egg and examine what’s going on in there, if that makes sense.

I expected Arctic to be worse. Really setting a high bar when he literally schemed to kill his own son and puppet around his daughter and I still thought he was gonna be worse-

TBH I thought Indigo was going to die at some point. Glad she didn’t.

I wish the scene where Clearsight put the bracelet on Darkstalker was a little more dramatic.

Similarly, “The Scene With Arctic” kinda fell flat for me but that’s probably because the fandom built it up so much.

Darkstalkers chapters in general felt kinda underwhelming. The downfall of Jerboa the first felt a lot more impactful. It just felt pretty lame, as though Darkstalker wasn’t becoming more rotten but his good parts were just gradually removed. I suppose we’re supposed to assume his corruption spills over into arc 2.

I find the relationship between Darkstalker and Clearsight rather interesting. They just.. Knew they’d be together. What a bizarre thought, knowing the names of your nonexistent children before you even spoke.

From what little I knew of Albatross before reading, I always imagined him as this creepy skeletal old man dragon. Like he’d always been a little off or something along those lines. Seeing him described as a jovial, wise, grandpa-ish sort of guy did catch me by surprise.

Blob is love. Blob is life.

I wonder what’s up with Pearl. Like is she cool? She okay? Probably not, and I wanna know more about that.

It was fun recognizing scenes from MAPs, like the wooden figure or Albatross’s description of his first spell. Speaking of, it’ll be fun to watch the MAPs I’d avoided so long due to spoilers.

It was kind of jarring watching Arctic and Foeslayer jump from star crossed lovers, all sparkly eyed and fuzzy and excited, to screaming matches in the kitchen. It makes me want to learn more about them.

So are all dragonets relatively intelligent when they hatch or is Darkstalker just a special little guy? We do see from Moon’s hatching that she understands hiding, and she picks up the word “Mom” pretty quick, so is this just normal? Or maybe it’s like a nightwing thing? And is it affected if you’re moonborn? Ah, questions upon questions…

Why didn’t Fathom just enchant away his magic? Like, cast a final spell with his vow to make sure he’d never be able to use his magic? Bam, his paranoia problem is solved! But then I guess the bracelet plan wouldn’t work.

Kind of hilarious how Darkstalker is like “Nothing will ever go wrong with my animus magic because I’m really cool and powerful and always make good choices! How do I know that? Because I have animus magic on my side, of course!”

Overall, I did enjoy the book! Really wish I could read more about Clearsight, she was definitely my favorite character.

[bunny-j3st3r]

because I can’t stop thinking about paks

Paks in spider au are still larger then an average human and are built bulkier to, even the ones on the smaller side.

They are classed as mutants but no one seems to know exactly where they came from or what type of species they are, some say they are cats, some say they act more like broody chickens and others have thought of them as very big jerboa mice.

Paks, although mutants they seem to garner a lot of respect, it could be down to their larger size or strange unnatural abilities or even just the fact they are a friendly species and it’s hard to dislike them in most aspects.

Paks are pretty spread out but aren’t uncommon to see either, a lot of them seem to take on work residing around the care for others, a them being big fluffy friendly creatures seem to be soothing for a lot of people in need. (daycare workers, nurses, therapy animals, etc)

Azzy and Rm are known around nyc because of there connections but Boss seems to have a higher status and also has a say on what a lot of the other paks do, thus why he is simply only known as Boss.

Boss still like the regular verse dyes his fur, pink being the colour he chooses most, he is a well known fashion designer but also has a taste for terrifying most of the local men by being overly forward.

Black cat hangs around him a lot like a pet, he gets pampered and spoiled by Boss

[parappa-and-lammy]

Disabled OCs 2: Electric Boogaloo

it’s them, they’re here! Or yknow, a chunk of em. i had a LOT backlogged and there are even more in store i have saved away - the ones here are the most fleshed out!

To start, with who appears to already pique peeps interest:

⬆️ Bumble Bea the flower-capybara! 

Most notable is her golden and wild long flowing hair. It has green streaks through it, along with plenty of flowers; some grown by her, and others gathered throughout her life. They’re able to stay alive as long as she keeps them in her mane. Definitely the hippie type, she enjoys being around people and in nature. She is friendly towards everyone, and calls them all some variation of “honey” (hun, honey bun, hun bun..,), she’ll even sometimes pluck a flower to give to you!

Her original dream was to be a rockstar sensation, specializing in psychedelic rock. She even has her own custom guitar (which looks like a bumblebee!). Has hyperthyroidism and fibromyalgia - the chronic pain of which made her decide to retire. She’ll come out to play every so often, just not so extensively as before. For now, she simply hangs out with her family and helps them with their own problems.

⬆️ Lonnie Lop the jerboa-rabbit!

Lonnie is a jokester who doesn’t take much seriously. So much so, he sometimes forgets that some topics are off limits. Barely being an adult, he has trouble judging people, and tends to take things at face value. He’s an overly emotional immature thing at times... but he’s discovered that his family is most important to him.

Lonnie wanted to become an idol more than anything way back when - he had the cuteness, the singing skill, the dancing and everything else! But they had all turned him down, and it’s not really a mystery why. He has a stoma on his abdomen and has a colostomy bag - the most decorated and brightly colored ones are his favorite. He is also borderline anemic and has pica - both of which caused an event that led to him getting the stoma in his childhood.

For now, he simply helps his family out with random little jobs. He looks up to Bumble, who he considers his sister. He still insists on becoming an idol somehow.

⬆️ Otto the otter!

He is a jolly old man with a big heart, and a laugh so loud it shakes the building. Some people might be off-put by his openness, but he’s nothing but sincere. He will always set time aside to listen to whatever problems you may be having, though he isn’t exactly the most intellectual. He’s a lil’ confused but he’s got the spirit.

Otto has epilepsy, along with chronic migraines. All his sons and daughters left the nest and got careers in the technological industry, and he’s nothing but happy for them. But he stays away from screens and such. He’s moreso a man that works with his hands. And he does! Whenever he isn’t in the house with his new found family, he’ll be outside working on a project.

After the passing of his wife and his kids going on to do great things, he’s opened his house up for the ones who have no home. Many people have come to call his house ‘home’ and become part of the family. He fosters kids and helps people feel appreciated when they never have. Bumble came by long ago and is officially part of the family. Lonnie was the first foster kid at his home, and also was the first to be adopted by him.

⬆️ Kato the croco-llope and Lea the sheep-leopard!

Lea has high morality, which many remember her for: she shall never speak ill of someone. Never outwardly be rude or mean to someone. She tends to prioritize helping others over herself, even to the point of bringing harm onto herself. At times like these, usually standoffish Kato will step in and stand up for her. They known each other for a very long time - Kato has known her most of his life, and Lea has known him for over a decade now.

Lea was born deaf and is very adept at ASL and reading lips. Kato lost his arm and eye, has hearing loss in his right ear, among other things, due to something that happened long ago. Despite this, he’s become quite skilled at kung fu - even CCMO has commended him, and request he train others at the dojo alongside him.

The two live at Otto’s Foster Home, with Lea having registered to be the full-time caretaker there. She made Kato go through the training and begrudgingly become registered as well, though he now enjoys it. Lea owns a specialized dulcimer while Kato has and can play his adungu. They’ll play as a duet for the kids sometimes, who always enjoy their little performances.

⬆️ Donna the chameleon-iguana!

She herself has barely any recollection of what she’s like. She remembers slipping away... and then ‘waking up’ in PaRappa Town. after an unpleasant run-in with a certain flower girl, Donna is guided towards the Otto home with the help of a kind rapping dog. She was shaken from the experience still, and simply finds vacancy there.

She wasn’t willing to open up to anyone there, yet finds an unlikely friend in someone called Theo. With his roundabout help and the eventual help of the others who live there, she manages to recover from her past experiences and unlock her past, so that she can finally put her best foot forward.

Donna had untreated juvenile arthritis, and now consequentially has joint damage from it, among other things. She wears loose clothes and has long ties attached to zippers in order to help her move with less strain.

⬆️ Theo the bugbot!

He is an old, cranky, pessimist grump who always has something snarky to say. You’d be lucky if he didn’t directly tell you straight to your face. Doesn’t acquaint much with the other people in the Otto household (where he resides), until he met Donna. They form an unlikely friendship - his abrasive attitude was what she needed to address her problems, and in turn, she helps him be less of an ass.

Congenitally amputated legs, so he attaches large wheels to spurs to get around. He also has pulmonary fibrosis that developed from sarcoidosis. He wears a powerful respirator he had built himself everywhere outside of his room. Hoists oxygen tanks on his back thanks to a vest he designed for himself. Theo also has a sort of addiction to chocolate - the one he wasn’t able to kick. He was very self-destructive in his youth, though he begrudgingly takes better care of himself now.

Theo is talented at home improvement, as can be seen with his assisted living tools. Though he’s embarrassed over it for multiple reasons, he can play the hurdy-gurdy quite well, and does so often when he’s alone in his room. He even played for Donna on one occasion, though he wouldn’t dream of showing the other people in the house his playing skills.

⬆️ Angel the anteater and Cupcake the sugar glider!

Angel was an overachieving student at the college, going for a degree in writing, until the day she became sick with what she thought was the flu. But after weeks of rest, she became worse and worse - and was eventually diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis (commonly known as chronic fatigue syndrome). She joined a support group so as not to be alone during this time. and met Cupcake, who instantly took a liking to her.

Cupcake has Crohn’s disease, and visibility problems due to complications with Crohn’s disease. She had to radically change her diet from before; she eats plenty of honey which helps, but misses cocoa products. The two live together in one dorm, with Cupcake not even hesitating to help Angel with whatever she needs. She always wanted to be a nurse, though she was teaching as Home Ec now.

When Angel inevitably loses her schooling and thus her dorm, the two move in together into Otto’s home. Angel gives what she can by helping the kids with their school curriculum. Cupcake helps her with that, and also teaching the kids other things they need to know. Angel is able to play the harp, while Cupcake plays the harpsichord. They make a fantastic duo, both as a duet and otherwise.

⬆️ Gilly Gary the garden snail!

A boy with the voice of an angel, Gilly was one of the foster kids at Otto’s home before being adopted by a quadruplet slug singing group. They all have a dream of being able to make it big performing all over the world - but until then, they perform at small venues all across PaRappa Town. They’ll sometimes even host fundraisers for homes and institutions that need it.

Though Gilly wants to be a star in the singing world, he doesn’t take much seriously. He just wants to goof off and have fun! He and Lonnie would raise trouble together, seeing as they brought the most mischievous side out of each other.

Gilly had his leg amputated at a young age due to a rapidly spreading infection, and uses Lofstran crutches to support himself. He really doesn’t care, though since he’s a bit of a fashionista (he adores the aesthetic of the mid to late 70s), he won’t EVER cut off a pant leg, and resigns to tucking it in instead. It comes in helpful when trying to sneak stuff into the movie theatre haha funni reference

⬆️ Pekh the wolf-rooster!

This is a cheerful, euphoric man who rises up early every day to greet the sun. He is incredibly happy with himself, and chivalrous - anything he has, he immediately gives to someone else. He already knows he’s glorious, so someone else should have it instead! Though, he isn’t really the sharpest beak on the block. He may be easily confused by something you say, but he’d support you all the way.

His kidneys don’t work very well, and so he gets a dialysis 3 days a week, but takes care of his body otherwise. Why wouldn’t he? He’s the best! On his way to the doctor office, he’ll yodel aloud to himself and everyone around, and will continue while getting the dialysis done. He has an AV fistula in his left arm. He wanted the graft, but the fistula was the better option.

Some people are a bit annoyed by his self-euphoria, but others find it endearing. His family (everyone in the Otto household) see him as a beacon of happiness - Lonnie looks up to him, Theo gets irritated by his bubbliness, while everyone else in the house cheers him on.

~

And that’s the 2nd round of disabled OCs! I had a blast designing them all. I still have so many more that have yet to be 100% done yet (and i even have the first round to shine up and reintroduce)! I’ll see yall when i put up round 3! These were so exhausting to draww

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 53

For everyone reading this it’s only been about four days since the last update, but it’s been like two weeks for me between writing and editing XD Suffice to say, life was kind of weighing me down. But here we are. Claymore has appeared and everyone is together. Seemingly to Ix’s expectations. What does that mean? Read on and find out in...

     -Sonic, Rosy, what’s going on. Guys!-

     “Hmhmhmhmhm,” the laughter of Saber the Red filled the room that Sonic and Rosy had caught up to Ix in and distracted them from Tails’ voice across their wrist device radios.

     “No!” Rosy shouted in surprise as Saber had appeared but a moment sooner, and after Claymore had strode into the chamber. What made Rosy scream however was that Saber had taken one of his namesake weapons from his shoulder pylons and jammed it straight up into Claymore’s midsection.

     “Ho!” Claymore shouted as he looked down at the far nimbler suit of armor. “You would show yourself now, traitor!”

     “Come now Claymore, I had hoped you would be more of a challenge than the autogolems you have roaming these halls.”

     “Curious,” Ix remarked as he looked back at the scene behind him. “How long did I slumber for the Sword Knights to turn on each other. Truly, the state of this world is wrong.”

     Twirling his staff for but a moment above his head, Ix slammed it into the ground, the crystal Rose at its head shining a bright purple. In response the ground cracked and splintered, a torrent of Rings bursting forth in response.

     “Ho! “Claymore shouted as he fell to a knee. “You would risk your own destruction as well foul mage. I had believed you would face me in battle at the heart of Tower Point.”

     “There is little need,” Ix remarked as Fukurokov and Fang stared at him in horror. “I can eliminate two knights at one time and simply choose a new vessel to continue my pursuit.

     “Then…? Ho! It was a trap!”

     “Sneaky,” Saber commented and withdrew his sword as he stepped back from Claymore. “I did not come to be buried this day however.”

     “Neither did I!” Fang shouted before turning pleading eyes onto Rosy. “You hafta get me outta this Rosy!”

     “You think I’ll let you get away?” Doctor Fukurokov leveled Fang’s own gun at the treasure hunter’s head to emphasize his threat. “And what trickery is this! You promised me a return to glory!”

     Turning the pop gun from Fang, Doctor Fukurokov took aim at Ix, and quickly paled as the stone golems rose around them. It was the opportunity Fang needed however and he fell back and lashed out with his tail. “Gah!”

     “Sorry, but I’m not hanging around here any longer,” Fang laughed as he knocked his gun free of Doctor Fukurokov’s grasp. Catching it as he braced himself on his tail, he shook the firearm a moment before springing up into the air and shouted at Rosy. “This time, I’m ready Rosy!”

     “What!” Doctor Fukurokov’ shouted as he saw a Ring Gate appear in Fang’s path disappearing with the jerboa-wolf hybrid in an instant. “Who~?”

     “Was that really a good idea, kid?” Sonic asked looking at Rosy who looked quite pleased with herself. At least until Sonic asked.

     “Soni~c,” she whined and puffed up her cheeks. “Fang is my friend and I had to help him, and now that he isn’t in danger, I can try to talk Ix down.”

     “It’s too late for that, Lady Medium,” Claymore scoffed as a dark purple mist began to swirl around his left arm. “The foul mage has already taken his leave. You fell for his bait and now he likely has another vessel en route to the heart of Tower Point.”

     “To think you failed so badly Claymore. Your sleep has made you rusty,” Saber mocked the far larger autogolem knight.

     “And you have lost all honor, Saber! Ho!”

     With his trademark shout, Claymore became a well of gravity and everything in the room became stuck in his pull. Ix’s stone body along with his golems were pulled apart, the debris pulled into Claymore’s body. A body which healed and grew with the consumption.

     “What is this!” Doctor Fukurokov shouted helplessly before being pulled off his feet and right into a Ring Gate that appeared before him and vanished.

     “You would save your obvious enemy, Ring Mage, Sonic the Hedgehog?”

     “You’re getting closer,” Sonic shook a finger at Claymore. “Just drop the mage bit and we’ll be good. Well, after I clean up your mess, stop Ix, and yeah, make sure no one gets more hurt than you already have today.”

     “Hmhmhmhmhm, it’s too late for that,” Saber laughed and took to the air and out into the cavernous main hall beyond the small room everyone had gathered in. Form his new vantage point, he could see everything collapsing around him and an army of golems rising past the golden twinkle of collected Rings. “Pir’Oth has already begun to collapse the whole of Tower Point. Soon, Yoluku will wake again! Hmhmhmhmhm!”

     “Yeah, not happening! Let’s go Amy!”

     Grabbing Rosy’s wrist, Sonic took off so fast she barely got her feet under her. When she did, Sonic noticed the drag immediately as she still had a long way to go to catch up to him in the use of his speed. Not wanting to waste time, Sonic scooped her up into his arms, and just in time to avoid collapsing debris.

     “Phooey!” Rosy complained, puffing up her cheeks even as she nestled into Sonic’s embrace and blushed happily. There was conflict in that joy though as the situation had gotten dire. “Why did it have to happen like that?”

     “Doesn’t matter,” Sonic dismissed the past. “But if we don’t do–”

     -Guys! Please tell me you’re okay. The data is going crazy and the whole city is starting to collapse!-

     “Tails!” Rosy shouted before remembering she had to activate the radio on her wrist.

     “Tails! I was right! It was Ix, and now he’s collapsing the whole city. I don’t know what to do, but Sonic and me are heading towards Ix now! And hopefully, we stop him. But you need to get out of here! It’s not safe, and–!”

     -What is that!-

     “What is what?” Sonic asked as the whole of the catacombs began to tremble and shake as though the entire landmass was being torn apart.

     The answer did not take long to be discovered.

     As Saber flew out of the growing sinkhole Tower Point was becoming, he was joined by the Tornado under remote control from a desperate to not lose it Zooey. Following them, not in pursuit but rather growth, Claymore emerged.

     He had grown massive beyond compare, the collapsing city feeding his gravity well. Whether or not the people of the city were spared as he grew was a mystery, but his artificial frame could easily harbor them all as it grew.

     “Are we going to be able to get away from that?” Draw asked looking at the absurd sight of the impossibly huge autogolem and the storm of purple clouds that swirled around him.

     “I couldn’t rightly say, lad,” Gill confided from where he joined Draw on the Deck of the Skyskipper. “It’s likely that knight will consume us all.”

     “I thought I was going to be safe here!” Fang surprised Gill and Draw as he came out onto the deck. “What is that fox girl doing!”

    Running to the deck and leaving the other’s confused, the sight of the Avocado Green joining the Skyskipper had no meaning to Fang. Neither did Mighty as he ran by him to demand an explanation, even as Zooey worked to open a Ring Gate large enough for both airships. Mighty did not follow Fang or return to the bridge as he watched the cloud of darkness around Claymore’s left arm become a giant maw of light filled darkness. With that looming maw the knight took a massive bite out of the city with.

     “SO~NI~C!” Rosy cried out at the top of her lungs as everything collapsed around her and Sonic within the gigantic maw.

     “Just get ready!” Sonic yelled as he tossed Rosy into the air in front of him.

     “Wah~!”

     “Just don’t enjoy this too much!”

     Leaping up after Rosy, he grabbed her hand and spun her about into him as he curled into a tight ball forcing her to do the same. Together they formed one giant rolling hedgehog ball and plowed through practically everything in front of them with growing speed. Until finally, they broke apart and Rosy flopped onto her back with swirling eyes and red face.

     “I said don’t get too excited,” Sonic sighed as he looked back at Rosy behind him. “That was simply the Rolling Combo Tails and I came up with. You didn’t do bad for your first go at it though.”

     Unsteadily stumbling to her feet, Rosy smiled as Sonic flashed her a thumbs up. But the expression did not last for long. Sonic had donned a dead serious look and turned his attention forward to the heart of the clockwork sphere they had arrived in. Following his gaze, Rosy gasped.

     “Ix!”

     She could not find the words to continue however as there were two of him. A wooden one, and one like the autogolem knights. A clockwork skeleton with a suit of armor built onto it, and of course his signature flowing purple robes.

     “So, you really had laid a trap for us,” Sonic gritted his teeth as he looked at the swirling gyroscopic device around the autogolem Ix, and how it and the gears within the clockwork sphere had nearly come to a halt.

     “One I had not expected you to survive,” Ix acknowledged his plan. “Yet, you do not seem to be the hero foretold of by the medium. My plans remain unchallenged. You two are far, far, too late, and there is nothing the fool Sword Knights can do to stop me. I am but one step closer to returning at last to the side of my old friend.”

     “We’ll see about that!”

     “KYAA~!!!!!”

     “Amy!”

     Sonic stopped mid-preparation to leap forward as Rosy suddenly screamed. Turning back, he saw the red light of a Red Star Ring pouring from her left eye, her face trapped in a moment of true fear. “AMY~!”

     ~Those were the last words I remember hearing Sonic say while I could see him. Everything after that is almost pure darkness. I can’t really remember anything. But I know I saw the Gear Star Ring in my eye crumble some more, letting the gear be fully connected along three points of the star. I just wish I hadn’t seen that in Sonic’s beautiful green eyes. He looked so desperate as he reached for me, but then I was just gone. But I heard it. At least for a moment. It was my voice. I was talking but it wasn’t me. It wasn’t me, and I’ve never been so scared.~

    “I am most afraid not, Dirt Dweller. ‘My’ Medium is gone.”      

Scene 53 · CLEARED Party Crashing, to be continued

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And isn’t that a doozy to end it on? XD Don’t worry, the next scene is out on Saturday (or already if you’re reading this after the publication date). As for who has possessed Rosy. Well, I’ve finally introduced my AU’s villain and I hope you enjoy this initial tease into their character. Next scene is the end of Season 1 and huge changes will be coming after that starting April. Please enjoy and I hope you’ll continue to follow me on The Journey!

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Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”) - Vocaloid Version – Azina, Masayoshi Soken – Insatiable (From “Final Fantasy XIV”)

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.

[thebibliomancer]

Mythologi-Girls short: For the Dinosaur Who Has Everything

It was the second snow of the year in Colossopolis. First snow had come in July thanks to a weather control device built by the Flurry Fury. These things happened in this city.

But with first non-machine assisted snow came Maria Martinez, the Marvelous Mariposa’s annual secret gift exchange.

Those that ranked superheroes solely by powers might dismissively say that Mariposa’s only power was the butterfly wings growing from her back which gifted her flight. And sometimes sleep or poison powder that could be dusted from those wings, depending on era. Superhuman physiology could be startlingly inconsistent.

But Maria Martinez, the Marvelous Mariposa’s true superpower was alliteration. But also networking. She was friends with nearly the entire superhuman community. Even gruff loners with no friends who ‘work best alone’ like Nemea, grudgingly counted Mariposa as a friend.

She was the big heart of the Exemplars, the amazing, spectacular, and pick an adjective assemblage of heroes dedicated to protecting the world, Colossopolis, and the world again, for good measure. There was no mightier league of defenders on Earth than them.

Even the Mighty League of Defenders from the 40s would gladly admit that the Exemplars were, well, exemplars.

And this reputation owed to Mariposa’s efforts at building a bond between the team so they weren’t just some high profile heroes sitting at the same table. And she claimed that the secret to that was team building activities. Which included, among other things (such as an annual baseball game against another hero team), secret gift exchanges during the happy holidays.

So there came a day, like many others, where Mariposa herded everyone into the lounge where a variety of different holiday decorations signaled that this was certainly the most wonderful time of the year, as the bard said.

She did a quick headcount. There was herself, obviously.

Shieldmaiden and Jerboa sitting next to each other on a couch. Shieldmaiden had been vocally against letting the ex and sometimes current thief join the team and had kept a close eye on her while at headquarters and on missions.

The Archimage was on a mission to the space between spaces and probably wouldn’t be back until spring. Or he might arrive before he left. The space between spaces was odd like that. Filling in from the regular kind of space was Zxyqb, the alien enchanter. As in, the alien who was an enchanter, not an enchanter of aliens.

“I do that too,” he said with a triple wink. And then preceded to clarify that he meant romantically.

Out of kindness to human tongues, he went by Z or Q for short. He was the Archimage’s sometimes enemy, sometimes apprentice, and sometimes godfather. Space was also odd like that.

Z was sitting on top of the tv because ‘lol doesn’t understand human culture’ was the aesthetic he had chosen for this iteration of himself.

Founding member Al Wight, the Cobalt Champion, sat in a special reinforced end chair that could support his war machine of a body.

Last but certainly not least, not an official member of the team but still valid: Hank Higgins, Two-Fisted Science Adventurer. He had been Mariposa’s husband back in the day when it felt like they had to marry someone and it may as well be a friend. Now he was the Cobalt Champion’s boyfriend slash mechanic. And also a two-fisted science adventurer.

He had pulled a chair next to the Champion’s.

“Is this everyone?” asked Mariposa, shaking the top hat of the Mystifying Legerdemon. The hat had been an extra-dimensional storage space but after the Exemplars had freed the magical Hardaway Bunny from within, it lost its power and was now just a fairly fancy hat in the Exemplar trophy room and part time storage for slips of paper with names on them.

“There’s Clever Girl upstairs,” said Cobalt Champion. His servos hummed at the lower bound of hearing as he shrugged. “She’s not on the team but she is a house guest.”

“You know the unspoken rule for house guests. If they sleep on our couch, eat our food, and fight our home invaders, they’re close enough to team to participate in activities and chores.”

Mariposa told the HQputer to contact Clever Girl in the labs. In a nanosecond a link was formed between the vidscreen in the lounge and the one in Clever Girl’s special machine lab. On the activated lounge screen, a Compsognathus face loomed large sniffing at the corresponding screen curiously.

“Get down! Get down from there!” cried out the high-pitched synthesized voice of Clever Girl. The pink-feathered velociraptor spoke English only thanks to a device implanted in her throat. “You learned to beg at mealtime, you should be able to learn that you are not allowed on top of that!”

A floating mechanical hand, controlled by a device around Clever Girl’s wrist, picked the Compsognathus up and placed it on the floor.

She noticed the active vidscreen and the Exemplars staring at her on the screen.

“Naughty Thing!” she shrieked at the off-screen Compsognathus. “This is what happens when you sit on control panels! You activate vidscreens and lasers with your butt!”

“Actually, we called you, Clever Girl,” said Mariposa.

“Oh, hello allies of Cobalt Champion. Very busy currently. No time to help fight colorful rival tribe in human streets. Very busy.”

Clever Girl had learned that explaining exactly what she was busy with would be met with bafflement from anyone but the most science inclined. She had started imitating excuses she heard from others but after a few parroted excuses like ‘I have to wash my hair’, ‘lady troubles,’ and ‘I have been framed for murder by my dark reflection’, Clever Girl had decided that it was safer to just stick with ‘very busy.’ Which she repeated to emphasize the level of business.

Only two ‘very busy’s was fairly promising.

“If you’re only very busy very busy, would you like to join us for the first half of the secret gift exchange?”

Clever Girl tilted her head in confusion so Mariposa explained the concept. And then explained it again. And then had Cobalt Champion explain it. And then forbade Jerboa from explaining it.

Mariposa wouldn’t have thought it would require so much explanation. But Clever Girl was a velociraptor from a lost world who was made super-intelligent by a glowing meteor.  You just couldn’t assume the same life experiences.

In the end, Clever Girl agreed that it would be faster to just experience it in person.

Clever Girl doubtfully hovered her helper hand over the hat in Mariposa’s hands. It delicately hovered lower and plucked a scrap of paper from within.

“And what do I do with this now? Do I eat it?” the velociraptor questioned. “Ha ha, that was a joke. I do not eat random items anymore. But first question was serious. What do I do with this now?”

“You read the name inside and keep it a secret.”

“Oh, it has writing inside. … I have read the name. Now what?”

“Now you have until the end of the month to get the person written inside a gift.”

“In this context, what is a gift?”

“Its… like, a present. No, that’s a synonym!” Mariposa chastised herself.

“I should obtain a… synonym?” The voice synthesizer was sophisticated enough to convey the skepticism.

“Okay. A gift is a nice thing you give someone. Something that you think they’ll like or something you think they need. You either make it or buy it but…”

“Yes, I have no money,” Clever Girl confirmed. “But I am good at making things. I can make something for the name written on this paper. Yes. Much to plan, much to do. Very busy. Very busy. Very busy. Very busy-”

And the very busy’s trailed off as Clever Girl walked out of the lounge, pondering and planning.

“Okay so apparently we have a dinosaur living in the tower, that’s cool,” Jerboa said. “Thirteen-year old me would be thrilled. But hey: I have experience with mad scientists from heisting and such and it is usually a red flag when they get that absorbed into a new project. Should we have… clarified like a size limit or a…. megaton limit?”

“Why do you hate fun?” asked Zxyqb, dismissively.

“How dare you.”

“Alright, alright,” soothed Mariposa. “Try not to piss off someone that might end up getting you a gift. And also: I shouldn’t have to say this but no spite gifts.”

She passed the top hat around the room and everyone selected a scrap of paper. The hat was passed back around to Mariposa and she took the last one.

She unfolded it, read it, and frowned.

Clever Girl.

This was going to be difficult.

“What do you get the dinosaur that has everything?” Mariposa mused.

“A storage unit?” suggested the Cobalt Champion.

The two heroes were on the moon, fighting a rabbit-person with a hammer. At some point, probably right before the end, it would all start to make sense, but now the two heroes were just going with the flow.

The Archimage had indeed returned before he left but had only had time to shout “MOOOOOOON!” before vanishing.

This morning, Mariposa and Cobalt Champion retroactively remembered that happening three weeks ago. Nonetheless, they flew to the moon to check it out. Given that the Moon was fairly big, it was astonishing that they ran into something the first place they looked but that’s the life of a superhero.

The Champion blocked a hammer blow that pushed him back, furrowing the ground. His retaliatory blow sent the rabbit-person soaring into the sky. Less impressive than it sounded due to the lower gravity.

“Why are we fighting rabbit people on the Moon?” the Champion wondered. “What happened to fighting bank robbers with gimmicks?”

Mariposa dodged another one of the rabbit-people, juking to the side and sticking out her leg so the over-enthusiastic moon lapine sprawled into the dust. “The economy?” she opined.

The Champion laughed, a harsh staticy sound. Another moon rabbit took a swing at him so the conversation lulled for a bit.

“I guess you got Clever Girl for the gift exchange,” he eventually said.

“She is hard to shop for!” Mariposa wished she could fly. This fight would be easier with some mobility. But physics are physics and they were on the no-air part of the Moon. “She likes building death machines, likes eating meat, and likes her pet Things. But outside of that…”

“She’s only known about human civilization for half a year,” the Champion said. A hammer hit him in the head and he paused to throw the offender. “It was very overwhelming for her. Discovering a whole world outside her valley. I tried to ease her into some movies but…”

Mariposa spotted a glowing whatsits half-buried in the Lunar dust. It was clearly some magical nonsense so she dove for it. Once she lay her hands on it, she felt a tingle pass from it through her gloves and then the rabbit-people were gone.

Well. Hopefully this made sense at some point, Mariposa mused.

“Wait. You didn’t start her off with Jurassic Park, did you?”

“It was Hank’s idea,” the Champion said, defensively.

“Don’t pass off the blame,” she chided. She patted some dust from her spacesuit. “How’d that go?”

“She went off and sulked somewhere after seeing the velociraptors.”

Mariposa wondered if seeing unfeathered giant shrink-wrapped versions of herself had hit the uncanny valley hard. “So she’s probably not going to be keen on movies. And we probably shouldn’t let her learn about society from media anyway. I wonder if I can just get… pet sweaters for her two compies.”

The Cobalt Champion held out an all-purpose radiation/magic/etc blocking containment unit for Mariposa to drop the glowing whatsit into it. “Well, they’ll like the gift even if she doesn’t. In that they love tearing at fabric.”

“I had wondered what happened to the curtains.”

A week later, moon nearly forgotten (Z had explained it but Mariposa hadn’t understood the explanation and had eventually stopped asking follow-up questions), Mariposa was stopping an eerily luminous legion of little dolls from robbing a bank.

It was that kind of whiplash - going from fighting aliens from an alternate dystopic moon one week to stopping a semi-automated doll heist - that kept life fresh. Some superheroes complained about how repetitive the life got, fighting the same villains month to month. Mariposa did not have that problem.

The doll heist ended as these things must inevitably. With a woman in a turquoise dress in handcuffs.

After a brief fight scene - page or two tops, if that's how you’d measure it - where Mariposa had to dodge the surprisingly agile dolls and their tiny knives, she pulled down a hanging advertising banner and used it to round up the dolls.

They would cut through that eventually so she took the bundled dolls and locked them in a filing cabinet.

Dolls restrained and bystanders not in danger of receiving tiny stab wounds, Mariposa found the Turquoise Fairy watching nearby.

She immediately offered her wrists when she saw Mariposa approaching.

“Coming quietly, Turquoise Fairy?” asked Mariposa, locking the handcuffs around the offered wrists.

“I do not agree to that name,” said Abella Guignol. “I don’t know why the press dubbed me that but I don’t agree to it.”

“You always wear a turquoise dress and you bring dolls to life like that movie,” Mariposa said.

“I wish! There are cell phones from 90s smarter than these semi-automated idiots!”

“What were you doing here today? I didn’t think robbing banks was your MO.”

“MO-st certainly not!” Abella scoffed. “I’m above scrabbling for money like the colorful idiots you fight. I’m an artisan!”

“Who sends dolls to attack superheroes.” She picked Abella up and flew her to the bank.

“It's the best way to stress-test them.” She shrugged and booted the filing cabinet open. She snapped and the dolls obediently climbed out one at a time and stood in a line. “Tsk. You broke Denver’s head.”

“Consider her stress tested. So what were you doing here today?” Mariposa repeated.

“Well, I’ve been working on their object recognition. I showed them various coinage and then sent them out to gather coins. From fountains and the street. Wherever.”

“... So you had them scrabbling for money?”

“No I- When you put enough layers- it's different when its an experiment, clearly!”

“And you, Abella Guignol, alias Turquoise Fairy, programmed or taught or whatever your little wooden robots to prioritize efficiency.”

“I wouldn’t personally term them robots. Seems reductive.”

Mariposa sighed. “So you taught them to prioritize efficiency so they went for a bank to hit whatever small change goal you set for them all in one go.”

Abella also sighed, but with much less frustration. “The dears do try so hard to meet my standards.”

“And since you were nearby, I can only guess you saw that the ‘experiment’ had gone off the rails but decided to watch instead of course correct.”

“If I hold their hands-”

“Their tiny, creepy hands,” said one of the bank tellers, coming out of hiding.

Abella narrowed her eyes but continued on. “If I hold their hands, they’ll never learn.”

“What am I going to do with you, Abella?” Mariposa shook her head.

“Historically? Take me to a cell for a couple hours until I can be deported back to the realm of magic.”

“So this is what monotony feels like,” she mused.

“Well, I for one enjoy our talks,” Abella deadpanned. “I do of course feel....”

“Sorry?”

“Well, more embarrassed. Is there anything I can do to make up for it?”

“I’ve been trying to think of a gift for a friend and she’s a hard shop. I don’t suppose you know Clever Girl?”

“Is she the purple one?”

“Pink.”

“Then I don’t think so.”

“She’s a dinosaur.”

“Maybe a damsel?”

“I think that’s dragons.

“Oh. Well. I always say that you can’t go wrong with a nice doll?” Because of course Abella would say that.

“I don’t know that she’s particularly into dolls but… You wouldn’t happen to do commissions would you?”

“Hm, well I don’t typically but for a good acquaintance like you who I’ve inconvenienced, I could make an exception. Do you need it soon?”

“By the end of the month. Probably not enough time for you-.”

“Oh, I could make a quality doll in a week. Not to brag but I’m a peerless craftswoman,” she bragged.

“Oh!”

“But gathering the materials would take some time. I’d need the first moonbeam of spring and I’m fresh out. And wood from a blood-blooming tree.”

“Okay. But what if you made a not-magical doll not made out of murder tree?”

Abella cocked her head and looked at Mariposa like she had suddenly started gibbering. “What would be the point of that?”

Mariposa was flying patrol over Colossopolis, on the lookout for ne'er-do-wells or a nice bagel, when a shadow suddenly crossed overhead.

The butterfly-winged hero reflexively dodged the taloned divebomb that crossed where her flight path had been.

There was another blue blur towards her so Mariposa looped to dodge. She ended the loop with a midair axe kick that nearly missed the winged woman who reared back flustered to avoid the attack.

Harpy of the Mythologi-Girls paused, her strong brown and tan wings keeping her stationary for a moment. Her expression changing from fluster to determination.

Mariposa could barely get out a “Giving up after two tries?” before Harpy’s uniform again blurred into a blue streak and Mariposa had to dodge another rake of her taloned feet.

It had become their thing, testing their respective airborne agility against the other. A creature of the air her whole life, Ciel- Harpy, was the superior six out of ten times. But the other four, Mariposa managed to surprise her and earn a look of awe.

And that was the second greatest reward.

After Ciel was satisfied with the back and forth, she flew down to land on a rooftop and gestured Mariposa down. No sooner had Mariposa’s boots crunched gravel, Ciel engulfed her in wings and planted a kiss on her.

And that was the greatest.

“Next time, you surprise me,” Ciel demanded.

They sat down on the roof ledge. Ciel put one wing around Maria like a blanket and nuzzled her head into Maria’s shoulder.

“You’re cuddly today,” Mariposa noted. “We usually mess around in the air for longer before you want to snuggle up.”

“Haven’t seen you around much lately.” It may have been a reproachful statement. It was hard to tell with Ciel. She was a soft-spoken woman of subtle expressions and long stares at the horizon.

“Sorry, busy month. Had to go to the moon to prevent… still not sure, actually. And then there was some other stuff. It’s always something or other.”

“We’ve been investigating a weird orange present stealing goblin,” confided Ciel. Where we meant the Mythologi-Girls team. “It turned out to be Ginger. Someone had shown her the Grinch. So she got Ideas.”

Ginger being the Teumessian Fox of legend. Early in her career that might have weirded out Mariposa but she was dating a harpy these days so weird was the new normal.

“How’s she working out?”

“She’s fun,” said Ciel. Not answering the question, not really. “You’re preoccupied. I can practically hear your brain ticking away. Tick tick.” She tapped Mariposa on the forehead with each tick.

Ciel was perceptive, for all that she seemed absentminded.

“A little preoccupied. I’ve been trying to think of a present to get Clever Girl for the Exemplar gift exchange. No luck all month.”

“Clever Girl? That pink proto-bird? I don’t know much about her.”

So Mariposa explained Clever Girl in brief. How a velociraptor had been exposed to a glowing space rock, became super-intelligent, was alienated from her kind by her intelligence, tried to capture Cobalt Champion a couple of times to reverse engineer him, how she ended up in Colossopolis after chasing the Champion, had a breakdown at discovering intelligent non-dinosaurian life, and had ended up living with the Exemplars.

After she recapped all of that, Mariposa was surprised to find Ciel crying.

“You okay?” she asked, pulling out a handkerchief.

“Yes. Sorry. Yes. I didn’t think I’d ever empathize so much with a proto-bird. When I appeared in this modern world, I had no direction, no family, no friends. I was a monster of the gods with no task and no gods. I was lucky to be found by M.A.G.I. I was lucky to help found the Mythologi-Girls. It sounds like Clever Girl had a similar situation. She’s lucky to have you and the Exemplars.”

She leaned harder against Maria who put an arm around her. They sat together, warm despite the winter wind.

“Okay,” Ciel eventually said. “Buy me a sandwich?”

After a month of trips to the moon, struggles against supervillains, one rather polite alien invasion, one rather less polite one, and a living statue that broke into Exemplar Tower for some reason, it was finally the day to exchange gifts.

Provided the emergency alert didn’t go off, calling the Exemplars into action. But it hadn’t so far.

“Okay, I’ll go first,” Jerboa announced, disappointing Mariposa and her magical hat full of numbered slips.

Jerboa stood up and shoved a small wrapped box at Shieldmaiden. “Surprise, I’m your secret admirer!”

“Gift giver,” said Mariposa.

“Potato, potahto,” Jerboa said, flapping a hand dismissively.

Shieldmaiden took the box and shook it cautiously. “If this explodes…”

“Why, I would never!” Jerboa said, jumping behind the couch.

Shieldmaiden sighed but nevertheless ripped the wrapping off and opened the box. Inside was a very fancy comb. Shieldmaiden raised an eyebrow. “Well. Thank you? I sure hope you didn’t steal this.”

“I would seldom ever!” Jerboa protested. “For your information, I sold my thieves tools to buy that!”

“Well, unqualified thank you then. I will be sure to use it once my hair grows back.” She took off her hat and as said, her head had been shaved.

“Gasp! I sold my thieves tools to buy you a comb but you shaved your head to buy me a primo thieving tip? How gift of the magi of us!”

“No I- wait, how did you know that I drew your name?”

“Oh, I rigged the drawing so we’d get each other.”

“So next year Jerboa isn’t allowed to touch the hat,” Mariposa announced.

“That just means I’ll have to think of a way to rig it without touching it. Challenge accepted.”

“I shaved my hair to donate to one of those kid wig charities,” Shieldmaiden said. “I got you this.” She handed Jerboa an envelope.

The ex and sometimes current thief opened the envelope. “A gift certificate?”

“Its like money. You can buy your own primo thing.”

Jerboa moped.

Zxyqb floated off of the television. “Then I shall go next, shall I?”

Mariposa dumped out the hat. It’s time would come another day.

The alien enchanter extended thumb and forefinger on each hand and held them in a rectangle. He drew the hands away from each other to make a larger and then larger rectangle until a large box appeared in the shape.

Zxyqb pushed the floating box towards Mariposa. “For you, beautiful chairwoman, a token of my esteem.”

Mariposa opened the box. There was an alien skull inside with razor sharp teeth and an elongated cranium. “Is this real?”

“Of course. Only the worst space knave would attempt to pass off a fake. It’s a great challenge to beat one of these beasts in close combat and preserving the skull is no mean feat either. By possessing this, the galactic community will know that you’re the kind of person who could manage such a task, or has the respect of someone who could, … or bought it at a souvenir stand.”

“Okay. Thank you. What am I supposed to do with it though?”

“Paperweight?” Zxyqb suggested.

Mariposa put the skull down. “Okay, so who wants to go next?”

Hank Higgins, Two-Fisted Science Adventurer raised one of his two fists. “I drew Z’s name so I’ll go.” He pulled out an envelope with a gift certificate. “Sorry, I didn’t know what to get you. You drink music to get intoxicated and have six eyes. Your ways and biology are literally alien to me.”

“That is true. The way my liver functions doesn’t correspond to any of the physical laws of this planet. But thank you. I shall take this money and spend it on a hat. Love a nice hat. Did you know Earth is known as the planet of hats to the greater universe? Have a devil of a time cracking lightspeed but your hat technology is light years ahead of most planet’s.”

“I……. did not know that.”

“And that knowledge is my gift to you.” Zxyqb tipped an imaginary hat. “Who next then?”

“Since it seems we’re doing some sort of chain, I’ll go next,” said the Cobalt Champion. He pulled out a small box and passed it over to Hank Higgins.

Hank opened it up. “A reservation card?”

“Since I was lucky enough to draw your name-.”

Jerboa snorted.

“-Or because someone rigged it.” A synthesized sigh. “I scheduled us a fancy dinner date night. You always do say we should go out more.”

“I do. But you can’t eat. So until the date, I’ll spend every moment in my lab writing a sense simulation program so that we can both enjoy our night out,” Hank Higgins said, putting an arm around Champion. “Even if was sinisterly arranged by a former master thief.”

“Pfft, ‘former,’” Jerboa said.

Nobody stepped up to volunteer. “Who drew the Champion’s name?” asked Mariposa. She ran through the names that had already gone. “Clever Girl?”

The labcoated velociraptor looked up from a small computer she had been working on. “Oh. Apologies. I had been watching, of course but when I got what I feel was the gist of it, I decided to multitask. I have been listening. It is now time to present my gift or present to Al, yes?”

Clever Girl stood up and gestured at a massive and lumpy wrapped object bigger than a person. “Please, unwrap it.”

The Cobalt Champion tore the wrapping loose, revealing… a big piece of technology, vaguely weaponlike.

“I built you a proton cannon!” Clever Girl explained.

“You sure did.”

“Why not try it on?” she suggested.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea to do inside… city limits.”

Clever Girl moped.

Mariposa reached behind her chair and pulled out a box. “By process of elimination that leaves my gift for you, Clever Girl.”

The dinosaur turned toward her.

“I kept asking myself ‘what do you get the dinosaur that has everything?’ and, well, open it up.”

Clever Girl tore open the box and pulled out a bomber jacket with an Exemplar E logo on the shoulder. The jacket had been heavily tailored to fit the velociraptor.

“And what is this?” she asked.

“The Exemplars used to have team jackets. Back in the 90s. And there were still a few spares in storage so I had one altered for you.”

“I see.”

“I hope you like it.”

“If she doesn’t want it-” Jerboa started before Shieldmaiden elbowed her.

“The reason we wore these jackets was that the 90s were a very chaotic time for the Exemplars. Weird changes in powers, personal drama, clones, things that seemed important at the time but didn’t really go anywhere. And in a small way, we wanted a symbol of stability, that we belonged somewhere and that people had our back. I kept asking myself what to get you because you have all the science stuff you could want, a nice lab, and two… pets? But someone reminded me that only very recently your whole world changed. So I just wanted to give you a token to remind you that the Exemplars are here for you. We have your back.”

Clever Girl stared at the jacket. “I am really quite moved! Thank you, Maria Martinez. I shall try it on.” Her floating mechanical helper hands helped her into it. “I appreciate your token. It may be outside the rules of this gift exchange but I got you a token of my own to thank you for my residence here.”

The helper hands dropped a box in front of Mariposa. She opened it up and pulled out a weapon looking red-colored pod-shaped machine.

“This is the prototype I built to test of concept the proton cannon for Al.”

“So, a kind of proto cannon?”

“Try it out?”

“Not inside!”

The emergency alert went off. Shieldmaiden ran over to a console. “A spaceship has just landed in the park. They are… demanding we turn over all of our snow?”

Mariposa stood and pointed. “This looks like a job for… THE EXEMPLARS!”

“Maybe bring the proton cannons?” suggested Clever Girl. “Also safety goggles. And some mild radiation shielding.”