#Tails and Silver... Don't make them mad for sure

[estellardreams]

So...

[d3stinyist1red]

ʏᴀɴᴅᴇʀᴇ ᴄʜᴏʟᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

(cholo basically means a hispanic boy who dresses with baggy clothing(search up cholo outfit), and like has a diff speech pattern, btw imma js make him kinda like an edger bc why not they fine asfff)

(his name gon be miguel bc yes)

yan cholo who is ur hb, who you met freshman year in homeroom.

You were busy on your phone before getting your leg kicked by someone beside you. You looked at whoever did that with narrowed eyes, why did this beta js kick a sigma like you..???

He had an fluffed up edger cut, with a slit eyebrow. He had some baggy clothing, proclub grey sweatpants with a black T-shirt with a silver necklace. He was attractive to say the least.

"Put your phone away, chica! (girl or chick)"He said playfully, nodding his head to the teacher making you look, he was helping to you to not get your phone taken by that old ass dusty teacher

you quickly put your phone in your pocket and thanked him. "No problem, hermosa. (beautiful)" He smirked at you, you could hear his accent very well. You tilted your head at him before looking away, not really understanding what was the last word he said (UNLESS U DO, IF U DO PRETEND HE SAID IT UNDER HIS BREATH OR SUM SO U COULDNT HEAR))

yan cholo who began talking to you the whole homeroom after that, and soon you realized he switched his classes to be matched up with yours.

yan cholo who is now ur besty westy hb, who u tell to put u on to someone

ʏ/ɴɴɴʟᴜᴠsᴋɪᴛᴛʏs

miguelllll

put me onto on of ur friendssssss

ᴛʜᴇʏғᴡᴍɪɢᴜᴇʟ

ma, dont start with this bullshit

none of those assholes deserve you, alr mami?

yan cholo who buys you cutesy shit even tho he never did that with any of his ex gfs, only you. But he isnt even dating you too!

"hey ma, got you a lil sum" He said as he wrapped his arm around you, interrupting a convo you were having with one of your friends who js stared at him with heart eyes. He gave u a kuromi plushie that had some pocky taped to her hand. You quickly thanked him making him rub his neck sheepishly,before tapping his cheek .

"cmon baby, give me a peck for it, yeah?"

yan cholo who tells you all of the drama and whenever theres gonna be a fight, grabbing your hand and leading you to someone getting pressed if u want to see a fight. But if you dont like ppl fighting, he'll drag you away from it, and distract you with something else

yan cholo who is possesive of you, always following you around in parties, arm either around your shoulder or waist.

There was this one time, he wasnt on your tail or following you since he was grabbing snacks for the both of you guys and some fool from another neighborhood took this as a chance to started talking to you at a party. The guy was laughing, leaning in too close.

For you, it was someone actually wanting you and u were mad excited bc miguel greedy ass wouldn't even put u on to his friends, but to miguel? It was a threat. His fists clenched, his blood boiling as he was walking to you, noticing the guy talking to you.

He stormed over, stepping between them with a cold stare. “You got somethin’ to say to her, you say it to me, homie.”

The guy backed off instantly, giving miguel a dirty look before mumbling something under his breath and walking away. You raised an eyebrow, "Boy, are you fr? I was gonna finally bag someone bruh"

"Ma, you have me. You don't need anyone else."

yan cholo who talks about you to his homies, absolutely gushing over you like u were a celebrity. And his homies were mad confused bc the man has NEVER been obsessed with any girl, not even his past gfs. He would barely even mention his gfs!

yan cholo who whenever you guys hung out, whether it was grabbing a bite at mc donalds or cruising through the streets with the windows down, he treated you like a queen. He���d make sure you had everything you wanted, always checking if you was comfortable, if you needed anything. He'd make sure to pay for everything, not letting you even touch your wallet, He'd open doors for you, give you flowers, on valentines day he'd give you hello kitty bouquets with money, and hot chips

yan cholo who was jealous of any man who got into a 500 mile radius of you

“Yeah, I ran into Alex today at the store, yk that guy that fought with eric? Yeah, he saw me and said hi” You said offhandedly as miguel drove

His hands tightened on the steering wheel. He tried to keep his voice calm. “Oh yeah? Did you say hi back? Don't talk to him, princesa(princess). Hes no good for you. ” he finally said, his voice low, like a warning.

Y/N raised an eyebrow, catching the change in his tone. “Relax, it’s not like that. He’s just a friend.” Miguel furrowed his eyebrows and kissed his teeth, not bothering to respond knowing he'll start raging.

yan cholo who every morning, he’d be at your locker, waiting for the moment you'll walk down the hall. His eyes would lock onto yours the second you appeared, his heart pounding harder than it ever did during a fight. You didn't notice the way he would glare at anyone near you to back off, and leave the two of you alone.

When you finally made your way over, you dapped him up, and opened your locker. “Hey, you got the notes from yesterday’s class?” You asked him, finally looking up at him.

He’d play it cool, nodding and pulling out his notebook without a word. Inside, though, he was a mess. Every time you spoke to him, he wanted to say something—tell you how he couldn’t stop thinking about you, how you was the only thing that mattered to him, how he couldn't even sleep thinking about you and your gorgeous face. But he couldn’t, instead, he handed you the notes. “Yeah, here. Whatever you need, mami.” He said smirking down at you.

yan cholo who whenver you gave him a casual wave goodbye, he had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and tell her she was his amor (his love) and no one else’s.

yan cholo who plays soccer only to impress you, every kick, every pass, was an excuse to show off for you. He could hear his teammates calling for the ball, but all he cared about was making sure Y/N was watching when he scored. And when he did—blasting the ball into the net with a perfect shot—he didn't bother to cheer. His eyes darting back to Y/N instead, seeing if she was impressed with his goal

yan cholo who daydreams about you before games, His teammates often tease him about his crush on you. They notice how he lights up whenever your brought up in conversations or whenever your around and how he tends to play better when he knows she’s watching

yan cholo who is a lil too obsessed with his hg y/n <333

yan cholo who is ur hb who hates seeing u with men <33

MORE COMING OUT

BTW I DID THIS ONE FIRST BC I ACTUALLY LOVE THIS IDEA SO MCUH HELLOO??

IM MEXICAN BTW SO I THINK ITS OK TO POST THIS IDK

GUYS IS THIS GOOD???? IDKK

HELP I NEED A CHOLO EDGER IN MY BED RN LIKE COME HERE PAPI

HELP I HAD TOOOO MUCH FUN WITH THIS

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The decent begins. The world falls. Everyone goes with it. Will any of them make it? Even if they do, will they still be themselves?

WARNING: angst, death, body horror, abstraction, distress, hurt/no comfort

~~~

A bright white light encompassed everything. Caine felt the chains give way, his body flickered as he fell to the floor. Everything felt fuzzy, like it was made of static. All he could hear was a high pitched ringing. Blind and deaf, he crawled forward against the torant of light disintegrating space around him.

Caine touched a hand. He grasped it. He snapped. It an instant, the light was gone. He reeled from the sudden silence, still feeling the oppressive static all over his body. Gasping, he looked around. Darkness surrounded him except directly in front. Like looking through a glass barrier that flexed and moved with unfelt wind, he saw the city Abel has created and was no destroying.

Caine looked down at the hand he was holding. Loo was lying next to him, glitching and seizing. "Loo?? Loo! Are you alright!? How did we-? Where are-?" He didn't know where to begin. Loo's body was more than half deleted. Her remaining half was pixeled and barely together. Caine snapped, focusing on her. Nothing happened. "Come on! Please, work!" He snapped multiple times, Loo glitched more and cried in pain. He had to stop. "I'm sorry! I...I'm sorry."

Loo looked up at Caine weakly. She could barely see him through the glitches in her eyes. "You...made...it. Good....good. Save them. You...must."

"I-I...but what about you? I can't even..." He tried snapping once. Loo glitched some but nothing changed. Her body was slowly falling apart.

"Thank you...for letting me...be." Loo closed her eyes.

Caine wasn't sure how to respond. He held her until her body fully pixelated and dispersed amongst the surrounding shadows. Alone and still hurting from whatever Abel hit him with, he sat on his knees in silence. Everything he built, everything he tried to achieve was crashing down around him. The Raceway was gone. His NPCs where gone. The humans where running for their lives. Abel was unleashed and mad with power. Caine could not be in a lower place. The darkness felt fitting.

"This must be the in-between." Caine muttered to himself, turning to see the out of bounds grid off in the distance. "This is where Seth has gone...? This whole time... I'm sorry...IM SORRY!" He shouts at noone. Tears well in his eyes and he curls forward on the ground, sobbing. "All of this is my fault...what have I done...."

~

"NO!!!" Shadow Pomni revved her bike til the gadge went red. The blue and silver motorcycle screamed up the side of the building, shattering glass in its wake. The shadows within twisted and writhed with anger. Black tears burned the edges of Shadow Pomni's eyes.

"Seth, I don't know if I can do this. Caine...we're too late." The shadows within her felt warm. Comforting. "The others need to get to safety, but I don't know what more we can do." The shadows swelled. She felt powerful. Like the very fabric of the world around her was at her call. "...let's end this."

She reached the peak of the high skyscraper, skidding to a stop on the roof. "ABEL!!"

The monsterous crocodilian Abel slowly turned his head to look at her. His eye burned blue like a bright sapphire star.

Shadow Pomni stared him down, revving her bike. "YOU WANT ME!? I'M RIGHT HERE!"

A deep, rumbling laugh boomed from Abel. "You think you still matter to me? Caine is dead. Deleted. Permanently. You and Seth are nothing without him. Flies on my back. The only thing left for me, is to savor your destruction!" He opened his maw wide and charged his beam in her direction.

Shadow Pomni blinked with he bike to the next rooftop. "HE'S NOT DEAD! YOU COULDN'T KILL YOUR OWN CREATION IF YOU TRIED!"

"He is not of me!" Abel roared back, swinging around to face her again. His tail smashed three buildings like dominoes. "Caine and Seth are mere fractals of the greatness I created! Greatness I should have known! Greatness I will take one way or another!!" Abel charged the building Shadow Pomni was on and rammed into it.

As the building collapsed, Shadow Pomni drove down the side and jumped. She freefell in calm, unafraid of the ground rapidly approaching. Her hand had a slight tingle to it. Holding it out in front of her, she snapped. Pixilated rubble from Abel's rampage flew to catch her. It formed a track in the air, circling around the collapsing building.

Shadow Pomni smirked to herself and snapped to make a new track circling her around Abel's head. With the debris came a powerup hovering over the track. The colorful crystaline question mark glistened in the electric twilight.

Shadow Pomni zipped through the powerup and felt something materialize in her hand. A gold bar. Shadows from her fingers crawled over the gold bar, turning it a glossy black. "Get me close." Shadow Pomni commanded between her teeth and she crushed the bar in her grasp.

Black fire trailed from Shadow Pomni as she accelerated to an untouchable speed. Abel lashed out at the tracks forming around him, but no matter how fast he was, Pomni was faster. Tracks wound up around to the front of Abel and Shadow Pomni launched herself as Abel snapped his jaws at her.

The wheels of Shadow Pomni's bike didn't even hit Abel's tongue. She flew right to the back of his mouth and punctured the back of his neck. Abel screamed and stumbled back as Shadow Pomni flew onto an awaiting track and zipped around for another attack.

Shadow Pomni accelerated and snapped to collect shadows in front of her to pierce Abel's side. She drove right through him and made some distance as Abel thrashed.

"INSECT!!" Abel roared and blasted the buildings around him with a charged beam of light.

Shadow Pomni dodged a flying piece of track and blinked to the far side of a falling building. She snapped and the track she had driven on to escape collapsed on Abel's head. "Funny thing, insects. They kill more people than any other creature in the world. Let's see if it's true in the digital world." She said to herself and drove up a new ramp to prepare another run.

~

A dark purple car with its roof ripped off raced through the broken streets of the dark city. A horde of abstractions clambered unnaturally fast behind them, like spiders with even more limbs and eyes.

Driving along the side of a row of building was Shadow Gangle lashing her ribbons out at an abstraction attempting to pounce on the car. She lassoed it's hide leg and yanked to the side to knock it off balance into another abstraction.

Seeing an opening, Shadow Gangle blinked next to the car. "I'm getting all of you out of here!" As she was about to touch it, Kinger swerved to avoid a flying piece of debris.

Jax braced against the swerve but Ragatha couldn't in time. She flew from the car and tumbled into the road at high speed.

"Ragatha!" Shadow Gangle braked and did a hard u-turn.

Kinger raced off with a worried glance back. Jax held on as Ragatha and Gangle faded into the distance. "We have to turn around!" Before Kinger could respond, the flying abstraction swooped down from above, nearly snatching Jax. "Shit! Get me another power up!"

Shadow Gangle accelerated towards the charging horde. Jumping from her bike, the solid black racer rammed through two abstractions. Shadow Gangle landed on her feet and slid to a stop next to Ragatha. "Let's go!" She wrapped her ribbons around Ragatha's waist and teleported away with her.

Shadow Gangle huffed a sigh of relief. "Are you okay?"

Ragatha was in a heap, battered from the fall. "...not really." She groaned.

"I'm sorry, Ragatha. Please try to catch your breath, you're safe here. I have to go. The others need me." Shadow Gangle ran towards the flexible glass-like barrier and whistled. The black motorcycle materialized from the shadows and she mounted it on the run. In a flash, she and the bike were gone.

~

Caine's whole body hurt. He'd never experienced true pain before. His very being felt like it was made of broken glass. The screech of a motorcycle coming to a stop not far from him brought him out of his self pitied daze. He saw Ragatha laying on the ground with Gangle(?) standing over her. Then black ribbon racer ran off on Seth's bike.

"....on any other day I'd say that was strange." Caine slowly got to his feet and lumbered over to Ragatha.

Ragatha sat herself up, wincing at the digital road rash. She was about to inspect herself with Caine being in the corner of her eye made her jump. "Ah! Oh- Caine! You're alive? I thought Abel-"

"He tried. I don't know how I survived that. Turns out there's a lot I don't know. What's going on out there?"

"Chaos. Abstractions. Shadow people. I don't even know what else." Ragatha curled her knees to her chest. "It's all so much. I never thought I would long for the way you did things..."

Caine didn't say anything. The recent series of events had left him without comprehensible words to describe anything. He slowly reached his hand out to comfort her.

Ragatha's eyes glazed over. "There is one thing I will never forgive you for."

Caine took a step back.

Ragatha's face twitched. "You took away the one memory that could have kept me going. You made me a blank slate. You made me forget my sister. She was here before me. She was here, and I didn't even recognize her because of you." She craned her neck around to look lifelessly at Caine. "She abstracted during a race. In front of all of us. She remembered my name. My real name. I didn't know who she was talking about."

"Ragatha, I'm-"

"Save it!" Ragatha's voice crackled like radio static. Her arms and legs crab walked her closer to Caine, not taking her blank eyes off of him. "I could have said goodbye! YOU TOOK THAT FROM ME!!" Her final words came out as a screech. Her spine arched up and her belly split open to reveal a black mass and a large orange eye with a green iris.

"Ragatha!" Caine pleaded but it was too late. Ragatha's body bent and broke and split to unleash the abstraction within.

~

Shadow Pomni blinked through a building as it was crushed by Abel. As Abel stomped and crashed through the city, cracks in the world opened to reveal the void shining through like spot lights. A shadowed track formed in front of Shadow Pomni as she rode at top speed towards Abel.

"If you're going to break this world apart, I'll make sure you go down with it!!" Shadow Pomni ramped off the track and went bike first right in between Abel's eyes. Tendrils of shadow came from the bike's tires and sunk into Abel's face. She revved and tore into Abel's digital hide, riding over his head and down his back.

Shadows broke apart the electrified spines, dragging like claws. Abel lashed at his own body to knock off Shadow Pomni, only harming himself.

~

Shadow Gangle almost collided with Kinger's car searching for them. Jax shot off another rocket at the flying abstraction, getting it to back off. "Where Ragatha!?" He shouted, reaching for another power up as they sped by.

"Safe! Come on! You're next!" She held out her hand for Jax.

"No way! This is the best the game's ever been!" He laughed manically and tossed a mine. It exploded when an abstraction stepped over it.

"This is serious! Abel is destabilizing everything!" Shadow Gangle blinked to the other side of the car and tried to grab him, Jax moved to the opposite side to avoid her.

"Exactly! It's pointless! None of us are making it out alive! Live it up while you can!" Jax laughed and smashed a can of NOS against the car.

Kinger held on as his vehicle lurched forward. The overpass in front of them was collapsing and he had planned to take a turn but now they were going to fast. He floored it. "Everyone, duck!"

Jax dropped into the back seat as Kinger drove under the falling overpass. The concrete structure came down right behind them and scraped the top of the hood as the vehicle barely made it out without being crushed.

Shadow Gangle had to blink to the top and drive down the other side. The abstractions crashed into the rubble, one was trapped while the others scrambled to get over the fallen structure. The horde was successfully slowed down for the time being.

Kinger sat up right in the driver seat. "Jax, a little warning next time!? You made me miss a turn. I don't know where we are any more."

"It doesn't matter!" Jax stood up, elated. "Nothing matters!" He laughed so hard, he cried.

~

Abel stumble over his own tail trying to get at Shadow Pomni. His massive body fell between city blocks and took several buildings with him. He was wedged sideways and awkwardly struggled to upright himself. "When I'm through with you, there will be nothing left to remember! I'll delete your very existence!"

Shadow Pomni grimaced. No matter how hard she hit him, he wouldn't stay down. Then she felt a desire. A thought? Suggestion? She wasn't sure. But it was coming from the bike. Let go. She instinctively gripped the handle bars tighter, but the feeling for stronger. Let go.

Shadow Pomni rode through a powerup, feeling soming on her back. She glanced and silver feather wings unfurled behind her. She smiled sadly as she flew off the track. Her grip on the bike loosened. "Show him the void."

Shadow Pomni glided on as the bike plummeted to Abel. The silvery flames that had come from it changed color. The bike burst into flames, becoming a dark blue fireball. The bike struck Abel and exploded, thrusting him into the ground.

The world shook like an earthquake, tearing the city asunder. The bright white of the void shone through. Abel clawed at the breaking world, but found no purchase. "No! No! Nooo!!" He roared and fell.

~

The stark white of the void was like the flash of an atomic bomb. Kinger tried his best to keep the car on the road but there was no more road. He couldn't avoid the growing out and the car careened into nothing.

Jax threw his hands in the air like the fall was nothing more than a roller coaster ride.

Shadow Gangle was stressing trying to figure out how she was going to get to the boys when the fabric of reality tore right next to her.

A large abstraction charged through the barrier of the in-between, tossing Caine to the side. It only took her a second to realize what this meant. "Ragatha! No! Not you!"

The abstraction roared in response and lashed at Shadow Gangle. She grabbed a piece of debris and slung it at the abstraction, cracking it right in the eye. The large black bike beneath her revved and swung around in a circle to keep away. Shadow Gangle saw Caine and grabbed his arm. "Hop on!" Before he could respond, she yanked him on and drove off to pieces of the world falling into the void.

The avatar tion followed, falling in. The horde of them was trying to follow any movement. They attacked one another if they had no other target.

~

Shadow Pomni kept her new wings and flew down after Abel, keeping an eye out for the others. "Seth...are you still with me?" She asked determinedly.

There was a long pause. "Yes. It was what she wanted." Seth's voice was soft and hollow.

"Good. Because this ain't over. I'm not stopping until he's dead or I'm dead. Whatever happens first. For Caine." Her eyes narrowed as she fell head first it it he void.

~

Kinger just held the steering wheel. What else was there to do. They were in freefall I to a cast nothing. Nothing but debris remained. This was reality.

As he, the car, and Jax fell, he could see some of the abstractions trying to catch up. There was no driving away this time. He was a sitting duck.

The abstractions where strange, glitching and gyrating against the windless fall into the void. One such strange creature tried to leap at the car, but was slammed by another abstraction. One of the largest, in fact, stood on a piece of debris between Kinger and the rest. The abstraction has an exceptionally long neck with eyes all the way down. The eyes facing Kinger were completely trained on him, calm. The ones facing the other abstractions were wild with fury.

Kinger tilted his head. "....My queen?" He asked softly.

The abstraction's growl sounded more of a purr in response to his voice. The other abstractions took advantage of the distraction. They pinced and tore at each other.

Kinger tried to get out of his car, but the falling/flying debris separated them and he was pushed away. He silently held out his hand like he could touch her as he fell away.

~

Shadow Gangle's bike blinked from one chunk of the world to the next as she made her way down. Caine held tight to her, trying to keep calm with all the pain he was in. He took a deep breath and glanced back at what was left of the world that once was the Raceway. It was never much, but he did what he could with what he had. Maybe he could be proud of that.

Caine turned his eyes to the void and everything crumbling into it. He couldn't tell a chunk of infrastructure from an abstraction at a distance. Then he looked at Gangle and the shadows covering her. "I'm sorry..."

Shadow Gangle stayed focused on the descent. "For what?"

"Everything. I never knew...the darkness. The in-between. I didn't ...I shouldn't have...I'm sorry, Seth. You must have felt so alone."

Shadow Gangle tensed. "It's fine." She said in an odd sort of auto-response way.

"No, it's not. It never was. I shouldn't have treated you that way." Caine said fervently, wincing at a sharp pain in his side.

"...took you long enough." Shadow Gangle sighed.

"And it's too late. Everything is gone."

"Not yet. She's still down there, chasing him into the void. Do you want me to tell her?"

"I don't know." Caine answered honestly. "I don't deserve her conviction."

"You don't deserve her at all." Shadow Gangle growled.

Caine slumped in silent agreement.

"But...I know what it's like to lose everything. You have a chance to make things right. There's still one option left." The shadows on Gangle's back curled around Caine's hand.

"The merge. Please, if there still a chance. At least let me say goodbye." Caine pulled his hand away.

The shadow retreated. They continued to fall. And fall. And fall. All endlessly into the gaping void, welcoming them to nothing. And everything.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT (coming soon)

[sarksarkos]

Superman '58: The Quest For Pants

This is Action Comics #242, the first appearance of Brainiac. Despite being such a massive nerd that his name became a playground insult, he completely dominates Superman and makes him run for home. Welcome to the Gutters.

This right here is the good shit. I love this issue so much. Brainiac is one of my favorite villains and it's unfortunate that he's often reduced to a scary computer man or an invading robot army. Brainiac is not only a physical and mental foe to Superman, he also has the greatest quality that any Supervillain have, and that's being a weird little freak.

Brainiac's whole existence is to capture cities with his shrink ray and put them in big glass bottles. He needs these cities because his home planet was devastated by a plague and needs them to repopulate. Sure, he wants to rule the planet but he doesn't seem like that bad of a guy. He's so advanced that he literally sees us as ants, but he doesn't seem malicious. Maybe I'm just biased because I too am a bald man with a weird bulbous head.

He's even got a little space monkey named Koko, and he loves that weird little space freak! So many versions of Brainiac stumble out of the gate because they don't give him a little space monkey. Maybe I'm just weird but I feel like it humanizes him to have a little space monkey. I like saying the words little space monkey. little space monkey space little monkey monkey space little

Superman tries to fight Brainiac and, for what might be the first time ever, he's completely outclassed. Most of Superman's foes are ordinary thugs or mad scientists like Luthor, who can exploit Superman's morality for an edge but go down instantly in a fight. If they can hold Superman off, it's because they have Kryptonite. When he fights other kryptonians, he's always been played as their equal if not their superior to the point where he can take them on three-on-one and come out on top.

Brainiac, he don't play that. He's standing there, arms folded, letting Superman throw his best hits at him as the planet literally disintegrates under his feet and he does not give a fuck. He's doing the exact same thing that Superman does when people try to shoot him with ordinary guns. Superman turning tail and running is part of a ploy, but you really do get a feeling like there's no way he can win this in a straight fight.

Also note that Brainiac is wearing a different costume here than he is on the cover. I'm in favor of giving him pants. This guy should have some pants. However, he's lacking the diodes and wires coming out of his head, which I think are really crucial to his design. It's also interesting that he's got the same basic design as Luthor, and is also a god-tier smart boy, but this similarity is never commented on.

Superman fled back to Metropolis, but it was just a ploy - he counted on Brainiac shrinking the city and taking into his ship, turning it into a Trojan horse. Superman promptly escapes, but he's still a teeny little bug man, and has to escape in a conveniently open bottle. By an amazing stroke of luck, the bottle he hides in contains a lost Kryptonian city, Kandor.

While Brainiac puts himself into suspended animation for his space trip, Superman and the Kandorians devise a plan for Superman to escape and restore the cities. When there's not enough charge to restore both himself and Kandor to their original size, Superman naturally decides to restore Kandor. However, his Kandorian assistant secretly restores Superman back to normal, saving him but dooming their whole city.

This story is probably one of the best superman stories of the silver age. Brainiac is a great villain, and his presence expands the world by showing how there's cosmic foes out there that superman can't just punch out and operate on a totally alien morality. Kandor is a similarly great addition to the lore, letting Superman get close to his lost Kryptonian heritage but always prevented from fully being restored. The bottled city of Kandor would be a fixture of Superman stories, always appearing in pride of place in his Fortress of Solitude, and...

Oh, wai, shit!

The immediate previous issue, Action Comics #241, introduced the Fortress of Solitude, to the silver age comics at least. Golden Age Superman had a fort near Metropolis but this introduced the idea of a fortress in the arctic with a big golden key. This story isn't really a story so much as it is a tour of Superman's man-cave, but it does a nice job of showing how Superman lives his life. We see him tending to an alien zoo, painting things he sees with his telescopic vision, and writing in a diary made of metal using his heat vision. He does super-science, plays super-chess, and makes super-gifts for all his friends.

The tone of this story is decidedly maudlin and serious for what comes down to a super-prank war with Batman. A lot of panels in this story are Superman confronting the reality of his death, and his fortress is a memento mori as well as a super-scale will and testament. He mentions that a lot of his treasures will only go to his friends when he dies, and he takes precautions that his death won't reveal his identity or those of his super-friends.

Again, though, this story is just Batman breaking into the Fortress to play a prank on him. Batman spends several days living in the walls and messing with Superman's stuff. The comic plays all this for horror and doesn't realize the humor inherent in such a premise. I would love to see a modern miniseries of Batman and Superman engaging in an escalating prank war.

Finally, I would be absolutely remiss in my duties if I didn't mention one of the more bizarre superman stories from this year. From Superman #125, 'Superman's New Power' is one of the comic books of all time. For reasons that defy explanation, Superman loses all his conventional powers, but gains the ability to project a tiny Superman with all his old powers from his hands. Superman becomes mad with jealousy when his new mini-me starts stealing the spotlight from him. It gets even worse when his power starts acting on its own before Superman even tells it what to do!

It's an absolutely absurd premise and I love it. They threw away all contemporary conventions of the genre and decided to put Superman in the most absurd situation anyone could ever imagine, and it brought out a whole new dimension to his character. Superman isn't just a hero, he wants to be the hero, the last thing he wants is to sit around while his [Stand] does all the work. He gets really fucked up when his mini-me sacrifices itself to save him all on its own, and he ends the comic wondering if it had a soul.

The fact that he gets jealous of his own powers is also strangely relatable. So, I'm autistic, if you can't tell by the fact that I blog about old Superman comics on tumbloo dot cum. The way that everyone is giving credit to Superman's new power feels like the same way people would treat me as if I was some kind of savant with Rainman powers. Like, you're giving credit to a part of me, but not me as a person. In the same way, Superman's new power is also a disability, because he can't do any of this stuff himself any more.

Am I reaching? Yes. But art is there to reach out to people, and even if you take something from it that the creators didn't intend, that's absolutely still valid. If art makes you think and feel, it's doing its job.

When next we meet, Superboy takes a look into the future - all the way to the year three thousand! Until next time!

[ephemeral-builds]

I'm building my first 30 Minute Missions kit this week - the Provedel (type-REX 01).

If you're unfamiliar with 30 Minute Missions - it's a line of mecha model kits from Bandai that aren't really tied to any existing lore/property/series. They're just self-contained mecha model kits with an emphasis on customizing and kitbashing.

It's a big box. Roughly the size of a modern MG or one of the big RG kits.

And it's got booklet-style instructions.

While it's basically the same as any other Bandai snap-fit kit... The instructions and runners are set up a little differently. The runners are designed to be broken apart into smaller chunks that are numbered corresponding to the steps in the instructions.

For example - here you can see all the bits needed for Step 6, which is the tail. You can break off just these parts of the runners and set everything else aside. It makes runner-management much easier.

I wanted to make sure the face was visible behind that clear green bit so I hit it with a silver Gundam marker. Looks pretty good. Definitely makes that part pop.

There's a lot of surface detail going on. Lots of little greeblies. Lots of panel-lining. Maybe too much?

I mean, I like surface detail... That's one of the reasons I prefer the Origin Zaku II over the original... But this feels maybe a little excessive. Especially with the addition of all those hardpoints everywhere.

It comes with a big sheet of marking stickers for two different designs. I really don't like these stickers so I didn't use any of them.

So - that's what you get... It's a little weird and almost monochromatic.

There's basically two colors of plastic - blue for the armor and grey for the frame/joints/whatever. There's a few bits of transparent green, but not enough to really matter. It feels kind of bland compared to most of the Gundam designs I'm typically building.

And there's not a lot of accessories. You've got a couple open hands, a couple holding hands, a couple hoses/wires, and the big arm gun.

This kit is big. The box says 1/144 but it's standing taller than some of the MGs on my shelf. It absolutely towers over the other 1/144 kits.

And the design is just weird. It's a strange mash-up of robot, dinosaur, and motorcycle.

This is the "normal" mode. I don't love it. It's just a really weird design.

I mean, it's actually got a head in its crotch.

The next option is "riding" mode. The head gets tucked away behind some armor, the torso extends, a windscreen of sorts folds down, and the crotch extends into kind of a saddle kind of thing. I don't have any other 30MM kits to put in there but you can probably imagine how it's supposed to work.

Then we've got "rex" mode. The head is still hidden under armor, but the torso spins around backwards. We move that weird saddle/head thing up top to become a head. It looks better, but I don't like those footpegs hanging down.

I didn't love the designs they gave me, and there's an emphasis on customization, so I did my own thing.

The tail was too floppy for posing so I took that off entirely and turned it into a big claw hand. I didn't like the arm gun so it's a shield now. Completely lost that weird crotch-head. Added those red wires to the right arm for some added flair.

And I think it looks pretty good.

I'm still not thrilled with the overall aesthetic of the 30MM line. It still feels a little bland and monochromatic. I don't love all those hardpoints everywhere.

But I'm not mad at it.

I can definitely see the potential if I pick up a few more kits and improvise a bit more.

[ashthewaterghoul]

Mushy May Day 13: Matching Outfits - Rain/Aurora

Prompt list by @forlorn-crows can be found here All my Mushy May will be slightly shorter stories and can also be found on ao3 :) I had a vision… Don't really know what happened to it though lol Words - 670

    Aurora and Rain could almost be considered the same Ghoul but in separate bodies. They both had the same sassy demeanour that earned their nickname of Princess, they both hated waking up early, often had the same rankings for who they liked to couple up with, and loved the same music too. Their fashion senses also sometimes aligned and it made way for certain co-ordinations. Some intentional, some not.

    Today was rather intentional though, as they had the common goal of stirring up trouble with their paramours. For Aurora, this was Sunshine, and for Rain it was Mountain. The Earth Ghoul and the taller Multi had recently spent a little too much time with each other, and not them for these two Princesses’ tastes.

    They schemed all night, looking for outfits that would work perfectly together and ended up pulling the exact same thing but in their own signature colours – Aurora in pink, and Rain in blue.

    The next morning, they strutted out into the den for breakfast wearing their loose knitted jumpers, short black skirts, and to top it all off black thigh-high boots. Aurora was wearing a pink heart necklace with sunflower earrings and Rain had a silver chain and the ring that Mountain carved for him from his own antler shed.

    They both busied themselves with morning teas and bowls of cereal as they waited, tails flicking in anticipation.

    When they heard a specific door click open and shut, they gave each other the same conspiratorial smile and finished up their food. They gave Mountain and Sunshine the briefest look of their clothing as they linked arms, giving sickly sweet smiles and batting their lashes at the two as they left the den.

    They had nowhere in particular to go, it was just the easiest plan so they could drag this out for a while.

    The two were partway to the library by the time they burst out laughing in synchrony.

    “Oh, their faces!” Aurora said.

    “It was priceless. Reckon their jaws are still on the floor?” Rain grinned.

    “Definitely! They’re going to need to mop up all that drool too.” The Multi giggled.

    “As if either of us mind a little wet zone.” Rain winked and they both burst out laughing again.

    They ended up sitting in the library for the morning, a little seating area way in the back that was usually left empty. They wondered if either of the two were thinking of trying to find them, if Mountain would go as far as tracking them like they were prey.

    “Like a hunt? Oh, honey, I’m not running in these boots. We both know how much they cost.” Aurora said as she extended her leg, the patent leather reflecting the sun light outside.

    “I know! But you can’t say it wouldn't be funny to see them both running through the halls on all fours, sniffing the ground and everything just to find us in these outfits.” Rain defended.

    Aurora chuckled. “Okay, that’s a good mental image, I’ll give you that.”

    “Exactly.” Rain nodded, happy with the concession.

    They sat close to the front of the cafeteria at lunch time, making sure to choose a busy table that Mountain and Sunshine wouldn’t be able to join them at but would plainly be able to see them, along with the rest of the Ministry too. The desire and jealousy in both their eyes when they saw Rain and Aurora was almost as obvious as the way they both had to adjust their jeans.

    Rain and Aurora high-fived before going to loiter elsewhere for the afternoon.

    They spent some time on the lawn to the Ministry, the clear skies and comfortable temperature making it so they could be in the eyeline of their two targets - working in the greenhouse - while keeping in their matching outfits that they knew would be driving the two absolutely mad.

    By the time they finally came back to the den, Mountain and Sunshine waiting for them on the leather sofas, it would also come to light that they co-ordinated everything. Even down to both of them being completely commando.

[askyuuandco]

What was it like taking care of Malleus when he turned into a baby dragon?

Yuu: if I were to give it a 1-10 hardness level. I'd saaaayyyyy.....it was an 8. Yuu: not saying he was a super bad baby to deal with. On the contrary he was polite at times. It's just taking care of a baby is hard so taking care of a baby dragon was harder to say the least. Yuu: When he cried it he'd freeze Grim because Grim was bullying him. When he sneezed fire would come out and I'd had to make sure he didn't burn something by accident so any he sneeze I put him right near the fire place to breath fire there so it didn't spread to the house. Yuu: He didn't really let people near me unless it was Lilia or Silver. He normal kept everyone in a 10 foot radius from me. Mainly because he was scared and didn't know them. When it was Sebek he looked bored, huff, and then go sit somewhere so Sebek can't reach him. Yuu: he still loved gargoyles and ice cream. He'd do a little dance for both those things and make happy dragon noises anytime he was near them. He'd sometimes whine when I told him to come down to eat because he didn't want to be away from his new friends, when there was ice cream he's share with no one hissing at anyone who would try to take his ice cream bowl. He also collected many coins or shiny objects and put them in his special corner. Yuu: he kind of remind me of a budgie the way he'd act sometimes. When there was music he'd do a little dance and get curious looking at the record player, he'd throw his toys mainly balls up in the air and when they dropped he do the same thing again, he'd sometimes play with his food and since he was small dragon he'd always fall in his bowls and when there were plates it hit his head causing him to cry. Yuu: he also reminded me of a kitten in behavior because he liked cat toys, he was scared of almost anything and would run and fly around in the house panicking, and I'd to calm him down telling him it's okay, he scratched and bite people he didn't like but he also playbite with people he loves, he'd screech loudly when he was hungry, or when he wants to be with me when he can't come in the room, or just to talk to me because he didn't know how to talk. He even tricked me into feeding him twice because Lilia feed him the first time! >.> Yuu: He mimicked everything I did. Like if I wash the dishes he'd pretend to wash the dish in his imaginary sink, when wrote something down he'd write something down, When I brushed my hair or teeth he'd copy that to despite not having hair in his dragon form, if I cried or was sad he'd cry to, If I was mad at anyone he's attack them even though I didn't want him too (don't worry I scolded him for it), when I was happy he was happy. You know it was cute.

Yuu: As for when he turned back to his normal age...he was in his true form....and he couldn't even get out of my house he was bigger then my room and his tail was leading out of my room. He almost crushed me. He asked if I was okay and I just gave him a thumbs up. his arm broke my bed and he was holding me like a teddy bear. Yuu: he was so very embarrassed by all of it ad when I told him about his baby antics he got even more red and just sat in the corner of the room when he turned back into his elven fae form. Honestly I didn't mind because I saw a new side of him that day his shy and happier side. lol

Yuu: and from here on out I call him nugget and he gets embarrassed and hates it/loves it. =v=

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic Cyber Revolution, Entry 42: Mission: Omega

''E-123, you didn't know – now I'm gonna show you the power that is me. You try to take me down- stop the show, seems you've never tasted fear- or loss of control. The power lives in me- The power that is me!''

– This Machine by Sonic Heroes (Team Dark Theme Song)

xXxXxXx

''Seriously?! He wants you to do that!'' Minami exclaimed in surprise.

''We were just as surprised,'' Touka said.

''I wonder what Egghead is going to say about this,'' Sonic said with a devious smirk on his expression.

Touka, Shadow and Rouge had earlier in the day a briefing with the Commander in regards to their mission, and once they were done with it, they quickly went to Touka and Shadow's room to call Team Neos about it. They were told that ARMS had found one of Eggman's bases and wanted to send the three for a recon mission, clearly seeing the Doctor as a huge threat. Team Neos' reaction to this was… strangely positive, with Sonic even looking excited. The three ARMS Agents figured that this was because they would be dealing with a familiar foe rather than some random Irregular. Not to mention, Dr. Eggman was currently their ally until they resolved this situation with ARMS, so they could discuss their next move.

''I hope you better have some good news if you're calling me!'' Dr. Eggman finally appeared on the screen, looking as irritated as ever.

''It depends on what you define as good news, Doctor,'' Rouge said, pressing a button on the holographic screen, opening a map with coordinates. ''ARMS is targeting one of your bases, specifically the one located here.''

''What?!'' Dr. Eggman said, less in disbelief and more because he couldn't believe the audacity of the organization to go after one of his bases. He looked at the location, a bit lost in thought as he tried to recall which one of his bases this one was. ''Huh, never expected they'd find this one.''

''Is it important?'' Lucas asked, with the whole of Team Neos staring at him in curiosity and anticipation. Dr. Eggman just waved him off.

''It is actually a storage facility for my E-100 Series of robots. I haven't used it in ages. As a matter of fact, I had discontinued it a while ago,'' he explained.

''Why would you discontinue them?'' Tails asked.

''I moved on to different projects, but I might revisit this one,'' Dr. Eggman said, suddenly grinning deviously as he turned to the ARMS Agents. ''You said that ARMS is targeting this Egg Base?''

''That's correct,'' Shadow answered, not liking the look the Doctor was giving them. ''This is supposed to be a recon mission.''

''Ho ho ho, that's excellent! Let me guess, they're hoping to steal some information from me,'' Dr. Eggman said, with the ARMS Agents nodding, slowly starting to regret their alliance with the mad Doctor. ''Then, I have the perfect answer for this situation.''

''Which is…?'' Makoto trailed off.

''I recall that your idea was to blackmail ARMS, wasn't it, Kinomoto?'' Dr. Eggman turned to Lucas, who just nodded in response, furrowing a brow as he wondered where this was going. ''Well, let's just say that I had been inspired and had been working on a special virus that cannot be detected, and once it enters the ARMS network system, it would start to download all of their sensitive data to the EggNet, and eventually delete itself once it is done.''

''That's… Is that even possible to be done?'' Silver asked.

''Of course it is! Don't question my genius!'' Dr. Eggman shouted back in indignation, getting several eye-rolls in response. He groaned, but decided to continue, ''Regardless, I will leave the virus at the computer within the Egg Base Omega, along with some dummy data that will send ARMS on a wild goose chase. All you have to do is to download it and make sure it is uploaded into the ARMS systems. The virus will take care of the rest. Understood?''

''Loud and clear, Doctor,'' Touka responded in a snarky tone. Dr. Eggman shot her a glare, with Touka sighing. ''I suppose this shouldn't be too difficult then. We'll be in and out in no time.''

''That's what you think.'' Dr. Eggman's comment caused everyone to stare at him suspiciously. ''I don't plan to make this easy for you just because we're in an alliance. As a matter of fact, since you'll be breaking into my property, I'll make sure that all of the defenses are activated.''

''I guess we should've expected that,'' Lily suddenly said. ''Not to mention, if ARMS keeps tabs on the Egg Base, they would get suspicious if there isn't some kind of retaliation.''

''Lily's right,'' Amy said. ''If things are too easy, they might want to know why.''

''Tch, do I look like care about that?'' Dr. Eggman interrupted her, grinning. ''While having your teammates succeed would benefit me in the long run, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't relish in them being beaten by my robots.''

''No one is surprised by that,'' Lucas commented. Dr. Eggman just narrowed his eyes, but then disconnected, figuring this was enough information he had provided them with.

''I don't trust him,'' Knuckles said once the Doctor was disconnected.

''None of us does, Knux, but we all have the same goal now,'' Sonic said.

''Honestly, while I agree with Dr. Eggman's plan, I don't like the idea that he would be the one who have full access to such sensitive information,'' Lucas said.

''Well, if we knew where exactly this information is being uploaded to, I suppose we could create an encrypted file that Eggman wouldn't be able to access,'' Warren said. ''Actually, I'm sure that a file protected by a password or several of them would be enough to ensure that Eggman wouldn't be able to get through it, considering the poor security of his own network.''

This caused several of his teammates to chuckle in amusement, with Tails adding, ''Unfortunately, we won't be able to do this from here, as we would need a more direct access to the EggNet and the virus itself, but you guys could do that.''

''What do we have to do?'' Rouge asked.

''Once you have access to the computer at the Egg Base, you'll use the program we sent you and follow the instructions we've written down. If everything goes well, the program will trace down the location of the file, and you'll be able to encrypt it,'' Tails explained.

''No problem,'' Rouge said, glancing at Touka and Shadow, who just nodded in acknowledgement.

xXx

Shadow's ears flicked as he heard soft buzzing and opened his eyes, reaching underneath his pillow and taking out the AR Visor he kept hidden there. He turned to the bed on the other side of the room, taking note of Touka being fast asleep, her back turned to him and then sat up, throwing the blanket over his head before answering the call.

''Sonic, why are you calling me at 2AM?'' Shadow stared at the small screen that was showing Sonic, who was lying in his bed. Sonic, in turn, gave him a sheepish smile.

''I couldn't really sleep, so I wanted to check on you,'' Sonic replied innocently, having realized the moment he saw Shadow's annoyed expression that he really shouldn't have called his rival this late. However, he spent most of the night tossing and turning in his bed, until he decided to call Shadow for his own peace of mind.

''Well, I can sleep and you just saw me a few hours ago during the team meeting,'' Shadow replied in a matter-of-fact tone, his eyes narrowed as he wondered whether there was something more to this conversation. ''Is there anything you want to talk about? I sincerely doubt that's the only reason you had called me.''

Sonic fell silent for a moment, then sighed, a small smile forming on his lips, as he should've known that Shadow would be blunt about this. ''It is really dull without you.''

''I suppose you just got used to us having our daily sparring matches, so it is not surprising that you would feel like that,'' Shadow replied, keeping his voice in a whisper to make sure that Touka doesn't wake up.

''Yeah, you're right…'' Sonic trailed off, wondering if he really should continue the conversation. He knew that Shadow had a mission tomorrow and he probably shouldn't interrupt him like this, but on the other hand, he was genuinely happy to see him and hear him.

''Sonic?''

''Huh, yeah?''

''You're staring at me.''

''Oh, sorry.'' Sonic was flustered to be caught like this. Was it really that obvious?

Shadow sighed, wondering what this situation even was. His mind was still occupied with the mission, so having Sonic call him out of nowhere to talk to him was a bit jarring, albeit not unwelcome. Perhaps having someone to take his mind off the things that troubled him would put him at ease, if only a little bit. ''How was your day?''

''My day? Well…'' Sonic had to admit that he was genuinely surprised that Shadow would initiate small talk. ''Lucas, Warren, Tails and I had talked to Loki, the wolf Commander of the Hunters, and he knows about ARMS, but doesn't trust them because of an accident where an Irregular like us was taken by them and never appeared again. I don't think that the Hunters are too familiar with ARMS.''

''I wouldn't be surprised,'' Shadow said, narrowing his eyes. ''After all, ARMS treats Irregulars like dangerous weapons. They even wanted me to absorb as much of Touka's BioEnergy as possible, so I was forced to use Chaos Surge to stop it.''

''Are you okay?'' Sonic asked worriedly. ''I know that you're not to keen on using BioEnergy, even if it's for a Chaos Surge.''

''I'm fine, since Touka has also recovered from the ordeal. I'm concerned what ARMS might do if they attempt to investigate my Chaos Surge ability. They might go after the rest of Team Neos,'' Shadow told him, rubbing his temple as he felt an oncoming headache.

''Don't worry about us, worry about yourself,'' Sonic told him, giving him a confident smile. ''I wish I could just bust into ARMS HQ to get you out.''

''If it weren't for the current circumstances, I would've done it by myself,'' Shadow told him. Sonic gave him a sympathetic look.

''You know, I am a bit jealous that you get break into Eggman's base,'' he said, smiling cheekily. ''I bet it's going to be exciting.''

''You could join us,'' Shadow suggested. Sonic sighed.

''I wish I could, but you know, that would blow up our cover. I also don't want to get my friends into trouble by doing something stupid,'' Sonic told him. Shadow rose an eyebrow, giving Sonic a scrutinizing look, leaving the latter confused. ''Uh, Shadow? Is something wrong?''

''I believe that's the first time I heard you say something sensible. Maybe you aren't the real Sonic and were replaced by a look-a-like,'' Shadow told him. He couldn't help but smile when he heard Sonic groan in annoyance and saw him roll his eyes.

''I know I can be reckless, but this situation is different,'' he said in an exasperated tone, then muttered, ''I also talked to Lucas about there being a possibility to break in, and he told me that we can't do that.''

''There is a reason Lucas is the leader and you aren't,'' Shadow said in a teasing tone, only to add in a more resolute tone. ''Not many would have enough sense to admit that.''

''Not many have the humility to admit that,'' Sonic said proudly.

''Humility? Your ego is the size of a skyscraper,'' Shadow said, with Sonic snorting in amusement.

''Right back at you, Shads. You aren't better than me, Mr. Ultimate Lifeform,'' Sonic told him. Shadow rolled his eyes, but Sonic could see the faint smile on his lips, making it clear that the dark hedgehog was amused by their banter. It made him feel quite happy to see his rival being this relaxed. ''In any case, you have to tell me what happened once you return from the mission. I want to hear all of the details.''

''I will, because knowing you, you'll probably spam my inbox with questions about what had happened,'' Shadow told him in a dry tone. Sonic gave him a sheepish smile.

''Sorry about that,'' he said, knowing well that Shadow was referring to the event right after their meeting with Mephiles and Toshiro, where Sonic just wouldn't leave him alone. ''I guess I should let you sleep now.''

''I didn't mind having a conversation with you, even if it was this late,'' Shadow said, surprising Sonic, who smiled back warmly as he looked at the screen. ''Good night, Sonic.''

''Good night, Shads. I miss you,'' Sonic said, the holographic screen before him turning black. Sonic then lied back down on his back, taking a deep breath, only for his brain to finally process what he just said to Shadow. He turned on his side, a faint tint of red spreading across his fawn muzzle, his emerald green eyes wide as he placed his gloved hand on his chest, feeling his heart race as if he just returned from his nightly run. Wait! Why did I tell him that? I mean, I do miss him, but that wasn't necessary! I just hope Shadow hasn't noticed anything, because that was just weird.

Meanwhile, Shadow placed the AR Visor back under his pillow and lied down, pulling the blanket over his shoulder, turning on his side and staring at the wall, his mind in a disarray. Unfortunately for him, the image of Sonic giving him a soft and kind smile just wouldn't get out of his head, and he groaned, furrowing a brow as he tried to fall asleep.

''Of course that idiot misses me,'' he grumbled under his breath, trying to ignore the wave of warmth that spread through his body and the tint of red appearing on his tan muzzle. ''Who else is going to be his rival?''

xXx

''We are at our location, but I can't find a place to land.''

''Then, we'll get out here!''

''W-What?!''

The pilot of the ARMS helicopter turned his head around, stunned to see Touka, Shadow and Rouge get up and stand in front of the open cabin door. Before he could even say anything, Rouge leapt out of the helicopter, spreading her wings and flying down. Shadow was the next one out, using his air shoes and nearby trees to cushion his fall. Touka was the last one to leave, taking off the hoverboard that was attached to the strap on her back and jumping out, placing the hoverboard under her feet and descending down to the ground safely. The pilot just shook his head, flying the helicopter away from the dense woods he couldn't land in. Touka, Shadow and Rouge observed the helicopter as it left, with the three exchanging glances.

''I guess we're on our own now. Let's go!'' Rouge said, flying up and through the woods. Touka and Shadow followed her on the hoverboard and skating via air shoes respectively until they had reached what appeared to be a building built into a hillside. It had a steel gate with an Eggman Empire insignia on the front, with Egg Pawns patrolling the area. Touka took out a pair of binoculars from her waist bag, carefully observing the area.

''From what I can see, there are at least five Badniks on patrol,'' she said, giving the binoculars to Rouge, who hummed in interest.

''Eggman did say he won't make it easy, but this still feels a little disappointing,'' she said, offering the binoculars to Shadow, who shook his head, declining the offer.

''We should still be careful. We don't know what the Doctor has in store for us,'' Shadow told the two. Touka and Rouge nodded, with Shadow suddenly dashing forward, drawing the attention of the Egg Pawns. Touka and Rouge then followed closely and split up, with Rouge joining Shadow in fighting the Egg Pawns, while Touka went to the keypad panel at the front gate to type in the passcode Dr. Eggman had sent them to enter the Egg Base Omega. When she turned back around, she only saw scrapped robots lying on the ground, some being smashed to pieces and others having visible scorch marks.

''That was easy,'' Rouge said in a confident tone, grinning at Shadow.

''We're not done yet,'' Shadow reminded her, joining Touka at the entrance. Rouge shrugged, following the two into the Egg Base.

''Considering what Dr. Eggman had told us, this place is probably filled with Badniks,'' Touka commented as they walked down a narrow corridor.

''You know, I wouldn't mind exploring this place a bit more once we're done with our mission. Eggman said that this is a storage, so he might be hiding something more than just robots here,'' Rouge said, smiling at the thought of there being a secret treasure inside the Egg Base.''

''Don't lose your focus,'' Shadow told both of them, walking a bit ahead of the two and keeping an eye out for any enemy Badnik. However, as they walked deeper and deeper into the Egg Base, they came to a chilling realization that they hadn't seen any Badnik aside from some scrapped parts.

''What happened here?'' Rouge asked as they stopped at a pile of robot parts, with Shadow examining it, lifting a piece of the broken torso.

''It looks like something or someone had blasted them apart,'' he said.

''So, someone had been here before us? But, that shouldn't be possible,'' Touka said. ''We know that ARMS was just observing this area before they sent us here.''

''You're right,'' Rouge said, narrowing her eyes. ''It is possible that whoever had done this is not affiliated with ARMS, and it is also possible that they're still here. Although, if they destroyed the Badniks inside the base, why not destroy the ones who were patrolling outside?''

''I don't know,'' Touka said. ''However, I believe we'll find out soon.''

The three continued walking through the base, finding more and more destroyed robots, like some kind of macabre marking that led them towards their destination – the control room with the main computer. However, just as the door to the room had opened, they heard gunfire coming from it and hid behind the entrance so they wouldn't get hit by a stray bullet.

''Worthless consumer models!''

As Touka, Shadow and Rouge peered inside the room, they saw a sturdy black and red robot with red eyes, a yellow head casing and wristbands studded with large spikes, and a large red ''Ω'' on the front of the left and back of the right shoulderpad, a jetpack on his back, destroying the Egg Pawns that were inside the room with the rotary cannons his arms had turned into.

''I guess that's one of those E-100 Series robots Eggman was talking about. At least this solves the mystery of the destroyed Badniks,'' Rouge said, exchanging glances with Shadow and Touka.

''You two try to get to the computer. I'll deal with this one,'' Shadow said.

''Okay, but be quick. I have a bad feeling that this berserk robot is going to tear the whole place apart,'' Rouge told him. Shadow nodded, getting quickly inside the room and taking advantage of the robot being distracted to attack him, while Touka and Rouge sneaked inside, trying to get to the computer. Unfortunately for them, even though Shadow kept the robot distracted, he kept blasting his weapons around wildly, trying to hit the elusive dark hedgehog and forcing Touka and Rouge to crawl behind some machinery to not get hit.

''Must eradicate all Eggman's robots!''

''Huh, this one is committed…'' Rouge commented, only for Touka to quickly grab her by the shoulder and pull her away when a loose missile hit the machinery before them, causing it to explode.

''Are you okay?'' Touka asked her.

''Yeah, I am, but that one was close!'' Rouge replied, glancing back at Shadow, who tried to distract the robot, spin-dashing into him to knock him back. Rouge narrowed her eyes. ''Something's not right…'' She turned to Touka. ''Make sure that the computer didn't get damaged. I'll try to stop these two from blowing us up.''

''Got it!'' Touka nodded, and once there was an opening, she dashed towards the computer, while Rouge flew towards Shadow and the robot.

''Hey, hold up!'' Just as they were about to clash again, Rouge suddenly appeared between them and intercepted the attack, pushing both apart to break up the fight and breathing heavily as her gaze shifted from one to the other. ''I think we have a misunderstanding here!''

''My name is E-123 Omega. I am the ultimate robot. All who get in my path will be crushed!''

E-123 Omega pointed his cannon arms at Rouge, with Shadow stepping in front of her in a protective manner.

''Stay back!'' he said, but Rouge pushed past him.

''My name is Rouge and this is Shadow, and the girl over there is Touka. From what I've seen, you want to destroy all of Eggman's robots, right?'' she asked, with Shadow giving her a questioning look.

''Affirmative!'' Omega responded.

''Fortunately, none of us are Eggman robots, so how about we all calm down now and discuss the situation,'' Rouge suggested. Shadow shifted his gaze from Rouge to Omega, at whom he glared apprehensively, while Omega just stared back at them intently.

''Registering the presence of a human and two biodigital lifeforms. My sensors are overdue for a maintenance,'' Omega said, turning his arm cannons into arms with four-fingered silver claws.

''Is that supposed to be an apology?'' Rouge asked, a little confused. Shadow remained silent, still wary of Omega, considering how the robot had no issues fighting him just a moment earlier.

''Guys, I'm in!'' Touka called out, drawing their attention. Fortunately, the computer had survived the onslaught, with Touka placing an USB stick inside that the Commander had given her and started downloading the dummy data and the virus Dr. Eggman had sent. Shadow, Rouge and Omega had joined her, looking at the monitor. ''Okay, I think we should use now the program Tails had sent us.'' Shadow took out the AR Visor, with Touka connecting it to the computer and activating the program, following the instructions that were in it. Soon, a file had opened and she opened another window that enabled her to password-lock the file. She turned towards the three. ''So, what kind of password should we use?''

''I believe that we agreed that there would be multiple passwords,'' Shadow said.

''What do you plan to do with the data?'' Omega asked.

''It's a long story, but we currently have a temporary alliance with Eggman so we can deal with a different organization named ARMS. Once we're done with that, we'll go right back to being enemies with the Doctor,'' Rouge explained, her arms folded across her chest.

''You are enemies of Eggman?'' Omega asked, clearly wanting a proper confirmation.

''Correct,'' Rouge replied, tilting her head. ''Why are you so mad at Eggman?''

''Dr. Eggman has sealed me inside this base and abandoned me. I desire revenge!'' Omega said firmly, with Rouge, Shadow and Touka exchanging glances, all of them having the same thought on their mind.

''You know, you could come with us. Once we're done with ARMS, you'd be free to go after Eggman instead of wasting away at this base,'' Touka suddenly voiced their thoughts. There was a moment of silence as they all processed what she just said, only for Rouge to break it.

''Then it's settled! Now you two make up so we can finish our mission,'' Rouge said, pulling the wary Shadow and Omega closer, and placing Shadow's hand over Omega's and then motioning for Touka to do the same, as she placed her hand over their. ''Aw yeah, baby, this makes us a team! Now, all we need is a team name.''

Shadow and Touka exchanged glances, both of them feeling somewhat familiar with this scenario, as if they were experiencing some kind of déjà-vu. Shadow then sighed, feeling as if he was about to say something he was going to regret. ''How about Team Dark?''

''Team Dark, eh? I like the sound of that,'' Rouge said, elbowing Omega. ''What do you say, Omega?''

''Team name is acceptable,'' Omega replied. Touka just smiled at the trio.

''The only thing that remains is to explain the Commander why we have returned with a rebellious Eggman robot. However, I think this might get interesting,'' she said.

xXx

''Boss, we've got activity at Egg Base Omega,'' Orbot said, reporting to Dr. Eggman.

''Good, that must mean that Kageura, Shadow and Rouge have gotten inside,'' Eggman replied, smirking. ''What about the defenses? I hope they had a lot of trouble passing through.''

''Actually, someone else had destroyed your robots before they had even arrived,'' Cubot said, only to get startled when Eggman suddenly turned towards him.

''What?! And you're telling me this now?!'' he yelled at the cube-shaped robot assistant.

''Well, you never asked,'' Cubot replied, shrugging. Eggman groaned.

''Orbot, pull up the footage from Egg Base Omega,'' he said, with the orb-shaped robot assistant doing as he was told.

''This is footage from a few hours ago,'' Orbot said, with the three observing the huge computer screen before them. Eggman narrowed his eyes as he saw one of his robots, recognizing the individual as E-123 Omega, booting up and starting to tear through the facility. The Egg Pawns that were stationed around attacked back, but they were easily destroyed.

''Eh, I think this E-100 Series robot is really angry at you, Boss,'' Cubot added as they listening to Omega's declaration about destroying Eggman.

''I know that!'' Eggman growled, turning his attention back to the screen, with the footage now showing him Touka, Shadow and Rouge getting inside and meeting Omega. ''Why did I even create- Ah, right… It was all part of the game.'' He leaned back in his seat, leaning his chin against his hand in thought. ''I suppose this is what happens when you are an evil genius with the memories of your other self. While it is insightful, it is also incredibly troublesome...''

While Dr. Eggman was musing over the situation, Dr. Starline was standing at the entrance, peering silently into the room. While he would usually fawn over his idol, he did feel a slight sense of concern in regard to this situation. He certainly wasn't happy about the alliance with Team Neos, let alone allowing them inside one of the Egg Bases, as he felt that this was giving them too much freedom. Why should they even sacrifice their own forces to aid his enemies? It just didn't make sense.

Starline turned on his heel, walking away. ''Still, I have great faith in the Doctor. I assume that his mindset is that there need to be sacrifices to achieve a greater goal, but an alliance with the enemy is still too much. There had to have been a different way to get this done.''

''You're being really loud, you know.''

Starline was startled by a familiar voice and quickly turned around, only to see Ferra being leaned against a wall, her arms folded across her chest. Metal Sonic was standing next to her.

''Don't you have something better to do than scaring people?!'' Starline shouted at her. Ferra just smirked back.

''It wasn't my intention to scare you like that,'' she told him, with Starline wondering if she was being genuinely apologetic. ''Not gonna lie, it was fun to see you make that expression.''

''Tch, you have absolutely no manners,'' Starline responded, continuing to antagonize her. He didn't even see Metal Sonic's red eyes flaring up and him glancing at Ferra, who just shook her head in response. Unfortunately, Starline was their ally, meaning that he couldn't beat up the platypus for insulting Ferra… yet.

''You shouldn't be talking so loud like this, especially when voicing your concerns. People might think you're conspiring against the Doctor,'' Ferra told him. Starline gasped dramatically.

''Conspiring against Dr. Eggman? How dare you to suggest even something like that?! I live to serve him!'' Starline responded angrily. Ferra shrugged.

''If that's the case, then you'd follow him every step of the way, right? No matter how nonsensical the plan is,'' she said.

''Well, of course-'' Starline cut himself off, a sense of doubt creeping into his mind. He certainly admired Dr. Eggman, but he had to admit that he felt that he believed that there was always a different approach to a certain situation, one that required… a different way of thinking, to put it simply. Or, to make it precise – his way of thinking. He then huffed, walking away. ''I will not discuss this any further. You are simply trying to get a raise out of me.''

Starline then walked away, lifting his head proudly, while Ferra kept an eye on him until he was out of her sight. ''Dr. Starline is going to get kicked out of the Eggman Empire if he doesn't keep that beak shut.''

'Indeed. I hope I get the honors of kicking him out,' Metal Sonic replied, causing Ferra to snort in amusement.

xXx

''Ugh, this place is awful,'' Shiro muttered under her breath, entering an old warehouse. ''A proper lady like me deserves to be at a place much more luxurious than this.''

''You're absolutely correct, Shiro.'' The kitsune Irregular suddenly turned around, spotting a teenager sitting on one of the crates stored inside the warehouse, one of his elbows propped on his knee as he gave her a mischievous grin. ''After all, most parasites in society tend to be high up on the hierarchy ladder.''

Shiro gritted her teeth and lifted her fan to attack the teenager, only to get immobilized by a bunch of purple and light pink crystals that shoot out from the ground. She felt her heart racing as she realized that the sharp tips missed her only barely, else she would've been impaled on them. She looked up at the teenager, whose eyes were now glowing in a dark periwinkle purple colour, realizing that he was the one who had summoned the crystals.

''Let me guess, you had no luck in finding more victims so you decided to turn on me,'' Toshiro said, sounding quite amused. Shiro didn't respond, instead just glaring at him. ''I'll take that as a positive answer.''

''It is your fault that there are so many Hunters patrolling the city!'' Shiro yelled at him. ''You had forced me to lure them out and now my own life is at stake!''

''Yet, you still failed at your mission.'' Shiro suddenly turned to the other person in the building, a shadow-like figure whose eyes were glowing in the same dark periwinkle purple colour as Toshiro's, and his body was crackling with energy. ''The Irregular Hunters were never our target.''

''Then all of this was for nothing?!'' Shiro screamed, only to quickly shut up when one of the crystals' sharp tips touched her neck. She knew that if she moved, she was dead.

''Fortunately for you, it wasn't a complete failure,'' Mephiles said. ''The Hunters can reach their breaking point if a powerful Irregular causes enough chaos within Neos City.''

''If that's all you wanted, then you can let me go now…'' Shiro hissed, holding her head up to avoid being impaled by the crystal through her lower jaw. Toshiro leapt down from the crate, glancing at his partner.

''I don't know, Mephiles… Should we really spare her life?'' he asked, a smile of pure malice appearing on his expression. ''After all, she had hurt many people.''

''At your request!'' Shiro yelled in protest.

''You could've simply refused and we would've been merciful enough to make your demise as swift as possible,'' Mephiles pointed out. ''Besides, you would be lying if you claimed you didn't enjoy at least part of your task.''

Shiro suddenly felt a chill flowing down her spine. She had no idea how she had managed to get herself involved with these two, but she remembered how she believed that she could manipulate them similarly to Ao. Unfortunately for her, Mephiles proved himself to be way more dangerous than she had anticipated.

''On the other hand, it would be an act of cruel mercy to let you live,'' Toshiro said. ''You have enemies everywhere, and the Hunters know what you have done. Your life, which had been so comfortable at this point because you had others working for you, had become a game of survival. I suppose we could let your someone else decide your fate… someone who has a more personal connection to you.''

Toshiro then waved his hand, the crystals disappearing and Shiro fell down her knees, shaking and her eyes were wide in horror. Toshiro and Mephiles just walked past her, leaving her in the warehouse.

''This was quite disappointing,'' Mephiles commented.

''She won't last long, that's for certain. Besides, we currently have more pressing matters to focus on,'' Toshiro told him. ''We need to force ARMS to finally reveal themselves to the public, and to do that, they need to have a target that can challenge them properly.''

Links:

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#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

[stuffymcstuffsworld]

Love knows no bounds

You wouldn't sugar coat it. But you tried to make sure that your love was going to be the last thing they ever doubted. You worked really hard and gave it everything you got.

Even spent countless hours in the library to make sure you got things just right. Before checking and double-checking that your gifts worked properly. These should work for decades if done properly. You smiled tenderly. No, not should. Will they will work for decades even if it killed you.

Iruma

Just as atori reached for iruma. In that moment, that pure fear took over his body. There was a flash. Iruma blinked. Surrounding him was a shield? He hadn't had time to throw one up, so how...

Glancing down, he spotted the woven necklace you had mad for him glowing brightly in its protective haze. He gently grasped the cords. You always kept your promise, didn't you.

He felt your warmth emanating from your gift as he now faced his opponent head-on. He wasn't going to touch his friends or his Kohai. He had your love on his side, and with that, he could face anything.

Alice

Alice didn't really understand sentiment and had trouble expressing emotions properly. But that didn't stop his friends and classmates from somewhat understanding his desires. Nor did it stop you from loving him it seemed.

He stared at your handmade gift in awe. Truly, he hadn't expected to receive something so marvelous as the hair tie you had made. A woven combination of pink, green, and blue with a small pair of silver bells attached.

You had been so excited when gifting it to him that he couldn't even try to refuse. One time, he panicked when he thought his flames had burned it. But to his surprise, it was still in tack. Not a single singe. He asked you and you just laughed.

"Darling, I've made it flame proof you could accidentally drop it in lava, and it would remain in tack bells and all." Alice proceeded to wear in every day then, the small chime from the bells a fond reminder. Seeming to say, 'I'm still here.'

Clara

Clara was a restless child. Always on the move. She was aware of that. She knew there were times when she should sit still and be quiet, but it was so hard! But you seemed to understand that better than other adults.

So when you gifted Clara, the puzzle cube, she got a great surprise. Once she solved it, the puzzle immediately changed to something new. You remember hearing her excited giggles as she showed her classmates.

You remember having to fight Kalego-San in regards to her keeping it in glass, but once you proved it was actually helping her learn, he shut up. Clara smiled proudly as she held up her first paper ever getting 70%.

You had helped her even when others would give up, and you believed she could do it! She was so happy you were always there, even if you weren't in the same room. Your love made Clara feel smarter.

Sabro

He watched you howl with laughter. He crossed his arms and pouted. It really wasn't that funny. When you stopped laughing, you reached out and squeezed his shoulders.

"They don't actually think you're their biological father. Papa is a title in this case." You tried comforting him. "A title? How is that a title?" His tail perking up and swaying.

"Well, when we're younger, words are a lot less complex. We don't think too much about their meanings, but truth be told, they say a lot without saying much." His tail lowered as he tried to understand your meaning.

"They called you Papa after you saved them, and that's what a parent is more or less. Someone who protects you. Who you feel safe around. Some you can count on." Sabro reached up and touched the earring you had gifted him now amused. "So it's a title to be worn with pride then."

Soi

Much like how his precious horn was a gift from his mother, you had also gifted him something special. It might not look like much to some, but you had painstakingly written down the sheet music to every song you could remember from your old life. While you couldn't give him the lyrics, you gave him the melodies.

Some were dark and haunting, and others were sad yet melodic. But a lot were bright, cheerful, and practically poured out love and warmth. Just like you in a way. Soi was often reminded of you when he played one of these songs.

It was as if you were dancing along or whispering the unknown words to his ears on the wind. Or even just sitting there beside him in silence, enjoying the moment. He wondered if you could hear it even if you were far away. As if you knew when he would play for you.

Jazz

Jazz had collected a lot of things, which tends to happen when one has sticky fingers like his. But when he started living with you, he was pleasantly surprised when you treated his little habit as a game. You both would go back and forth, snatching items from each other that you sort of forgot who's what.

But Jazz's treasure was the one thing you never took back. A large leather jacket that was even big on you, but you had kept it for sentimental reasons. Although on occasion he spotted a patch added to it resembling accomplishments he had achieved.

He often found himself wearing it with pride and enjoyed the warm feeling he would get when he saw a new patch. You were cheering him on every step of the way it seemed. You had also reminded him of how far he had come.

Picero

You had carefully hand stitched a new sleep mask for your sleepy little grouch. Happily ensuring that it would be adjustable and comfortable enough to wear. Picero had never taken it off from what you could tell, so he must have appreciated it a little.

He often spent his days day dreaming in a sense, ensuring that he was well rested. But damn one day a thought drifted into his mind. What if he had never met you? If you had never existed in the first place? His hand gripped tightly to his new mask.

The thought had startled him more than he would ever admit. He traced each stitch with his thumb. The world would be colder. And that would also mean one less person to cuddle next to. Grinding his teeth at the thought.

There was no way you were ever allowed to disappear. It was your own fault for being the perfect cuddle bug to relax with on his cloud. You had somehow much like stupid Gaap become an essential part of his life.

Kerori

Kerori stared at the cute little keychain you had made for her. A snowflake inside a star. She scoffed for a moment before attaching it to her bag.

To an outsider, it wouldn't look like much. Just an ordinary keychain. But the little imp knew your meaning behind this. You couldn't wait to see what kind of star she would become.

Whenever she looked at it, she would get this feeling of anticipation. She could practically hear the cheering that echoed from the tiny object. Ker-or-i ker-or-i instead of the usual kuromu her fans shouted.

Fine then. If one of her biggest fans was looking forward to future performances. Then she would just have to show them everything she'd got, wouldn't she?

Kamui

A lovely pocket watch for such a refined gentleman of his taste. It matched all his attire perfectly while having its own striking features. Of course, Kamui knew it was for more than just telling time.

A pair of eyes carved meticulously into the cover. A warning to any that tried to harm him. You were always watching. Unfortunately, those eyes had a double meaning. You were always watching his behavior, too.

It was a reminder for him to behave and to not harass the female students and staff members. It was rather embarrassing but also a reassuring reminder. Kamui would often stroke the cover with his feathers in deep thought. Sometimes chuckling over the scolding, you might give if he did or said something that he had thought of.

Kamui tried to reign in some of his actions and to be more careful of his words due to some of those scoldings. He didn't want to come off as creepy and certainly didn't intend to make any lady upset over how he acted or spoke. He could almost hear you coo over him, saying what a fine gentleman he would become.

Goemon

He could always feel your presence on the wind. No matter where you were, the wind would always guide him back to you. Oftentimes, he would egarly run up to you excited to find you. Because sometimes it seems like you were too far away. Even with the wind telling him where to go.

He didn't want you to be out of reach. You were an important part of this family. So when you realized his concerns, you affectionately smiled. You made a small braid of your hair and cut it. You made sure to find a way to preserve it and turned it into a tassel.

A constant reminder that you were never too far away. Goemon, being the excited child he was immediately attached it to his sword before showing it off. Honestly, keeping that boy happy was a pleasure. Besides, a lock of hair was certainly a small price in exchange.

Lied

Lied was well... constantly doubting himself. He didn't think he belonged on the same level as his classmates. Oftentimes, he would believe that luck was the only reason he had made it this far. You absolutely hated that negativity.

So what was a parent to do other than to help their child grow some confidence. You made him a tracking bracelet. No, not where you could track him, although that was added as an emergency feature. It wasn't your fault that the teachers neglected to think you wouldn't offer your children some kind of assistance during the heartbreaker.

In fact, Lied had done well in avoiding teachers until he had Robin-San on his tail. All thanks to the fact that each teachers signature was embedded into it so that he could find one in an emergency. Or, in this case, avoid.

Suffice to say, he constantly uses his little gift now and has gained some more confidence since then. The little trickster constantly avoids trouble now as he sets up his little pranks and will always be checking where you are on his bracelet as well. You made sure to place yourself in as a heart, so he always knew you loved him. Regardless of all the mischief he seems to create.

Elizabetta

Oh, sweet child. She who loves all the attention and sees all possible love routes. You sometimes wondered if she ever got worried about how carefree she'd act.

One day, Elizabetta was glaring at her own reflection. She was frustrated. Her hair was a mess, and her brush had finally broke. How was she to look perfect now? And if she didn't look perfect, would everyone still love her?

She glanced down and remembered the box that you had given her the day before. Hurriedly, she opened it. You always seemed to know what everyone needed. Yes! A set of new combs and brushes. Each one hand made with lovely flower designs. Even a few horn accessories added.

As Elizabetta combed through the tangled haystack of hair, she calmed down. It was like you were there fixing her hair for her. You were making everything better even if you weren't present.

Allocer

What did you make the little demon who gobbled up knowledge like it was their last meal? When he goes through book after book, retaining endless knowledge. Well, it was fairly simple, actually. The answer is.... bookmarks.

You planted them all over Allocers' room inside his books and school bags. Handwritten messages on each one. 'Don't forget to eat lunch.' , 'I love you.' , or 'Go to bed, you little gremlin. I know it's past midnight.' He would often chuckle at the ever changing reminders.

But his favorite was one he could write back on. He had done so jokingly, not aware that you would see it and write back. 'Don't wanna', 'child don't make come over there!' He blinked before squirming in excitement and asking how you made it. 'I'll show you later.' You wrote back.

That was the best part about you. You never withheld information letting him decide for himself on if that knowledge was safe to use or not. Tomorrow always held something new.

[crusherthedoctor]

📞 a character others dislike but you don’t?

♠️ favorite protagonist?

🕷️a character you feel is underrated?

📞 - a character others dislike but you don't?

Elise has gained more appreciation over time, but you still get people who think she's to blame for everything wrong with '06. She was a decent if underdeveloped character who simply wasn't used in the story that well, and anyone who thinks turning her into a Not-Sally is the only way to fix her isn't trying.

There's also Zor and Marine, both of whom I will always defend. Isn't it wild how I can barely remember anything from The End's three minute tough guy Reddit copypasta, yet everything Zor says is solid gold... shout out to IDW for missing the point and making him an unironic tryhard like every other villain in the comic. As for Marine, people act as though her character development never happened, which isn't helped by Flynn being one of those very people, and I don't understand why they give her flak for her stereotypical accent, yet make no such complaints about Bunnie.

For a couple of non-Sonic examples: King Sombra kind of went through the same arc as Elise in retrospect. As in, nowadays he has more open fans, but back when he made his debut, he received a disproportionate amount of flak for being a mostly silent villain, and the way he was used. I personally appreciated what they were going for with him, mainly cause of how they conveyed his Crazy Prepared defenses and the like, and honestly, by the time FiM concluded, I think he ended up better off than certain other villains lmao.

And of course, Moneybags. Not counting the first game (cause he didn't exist yet), I don't consider it a true Spyro experience if Winnie the Shit doesn't pop up in increasingly improbable locations to make deals in exchange for, *ahem*, a small fee. He also has some of the best lines. ("What are you going to do, sue me?")

♠️ - favourite protagonist?

Gex is unironically a better written character than everyone in Frontiers and IDW put together. This realisation makes me want to drink tap water at Jerry Garcia's.

Tails has always been my main bro out of the Sonic good guys, cause of how smart he is and how much he wants to help. :D It's also why I'm vocal about how much I despise it when fans double down on reducing the franchise to Just Furry DBZ due to super forms and whatnot, since it means Tails and other characters not named Sonic/Shadow/Silver are guaranteed to be treated even more like they're not good for anything meaningful. >:|

Then there's Spyro of course, which I know will be considered ironic to some given my complex feelings on Sonic, but truth be told, Spyro isn't really that similar to Sonic beyond some snark. He does admittedly act like a dude with tude in the first game, but it's clear that he's younger in that one. From the second game onward, where he's slightly older, he's considerably more chill... at least compared to Bubsy and many others from the 90's. And speaking of, despite his dialogue consisting entirely of WOAH, I respect Crash as well, since it was the bandicoot that got little me into the world of video games.

And many things change, but my fondness for Fluttershy will never die. Just as I have a preference for funny robot-loving villains who nonetheless remain a legit serious threat instead of being a joke, I have another preference for kindhearted quiet characters... which is why I also enjoy Trip... and Tikal... look, we all have our types, I'm sure you can sympathise. ;P

🕷️ - a character you feel is underrated?

The Hard-Boiled Heavies have mostly been pushed aside since Mania came out (aside from that one IDW story, but that's not a blessing), and it makes me madder than YouTubers who pretend they're mad because there are villains with dialogue who have less personality than these guys. They're so much fun, and despite all of them having the same Egg Robo template, their designs remain distinct from each other, even in silhouette form.

I also took to Ariem early on. Like the Heavies, "underrated" refers to general lack of fandom buzz compared to other characters, since although she appears to be quite liked, the acknowledgement given to her is somewhat limited due to her being stuck in an Android-only game for the time being. Some people also have an obsession with comparing her unfavourably to either Sage or Lanolin, for reasons I can probably guess in both cases. Me? I love her design, and her interactions with Cream and Knuckles are cute. :> I know it's not likely, but I hope she appears elsewhere so that she can be brought to more fans' attention... provided she doesn't get IDW'd.

Finally, a more complicated example: Metal Sonic. Now yes, he's very popular and beloved, and remains so to this day, but during the last couple of years, I feel I've been seeing two growing sides in the community when it pertains to him: the side who loves Neo Metal Sonic, and believe he's only a threat in that form like Flynn apparently believes (given how he often turns regular Metal into a jobber), and the side who consider him lame or essentially worthless because of his minimal characterization compared to others. He might not say much, and he might be a hedgehog-shaped tool of Eggman's ambition rather than a complete person of his own, but I believe there's a lot you can do with Metal that wouldn't require turning him into Usurper the Elf Shoes. OVA Metal ain't S-tier for nothing.

[mama-qwerty]

Phrases that I think Eclipse hears A LOT. Look with your eyes not with your hands!

He doesn't like this phrase

The MacPherson clan walked into the grocery store, Callie in front with her two boys following behind. Silver ran forward and grabbed a cart, standing on his tip-toes to push it properly.

Eclipse lagged behind, flicking his gold-on-black eyes back and forth, taking in all the sights and displays at the front of the store.

"Remember Monkey," Callie said as she pulled the list from her pocket. "Look with your eyes--"

"Not my hands," he finished with an eye roll. He wrinkled his muzzle. He hated that phrase. How can someone look with their hands? It was stupid. Didn't make sense.

"Right-o. We don't need a whole lot, so we'll probably be out pretty quick." She grabbed the front of the cart before Silver could plow into a soda display. "Why don't you let me push the cart, huh Bug?"

"Aww," the little hedgehog whined. "I wanted to push it."

"You can ride on the front if you want."

"Yes!"

Silver hopped onto the front of the cart, holding on as Callie maneuvered around to head down the right aisle to start her shopping. Eclipse followed slowly after, alternating between walking bipedally, and hunkering down on all fours. He kept flicking his eyes around, trying to take in all the displays and sales going on.

One thing that really surprised him about Earth was all the food offerings. Back on the Black Comet, there was only protein strains and nutrient goop. (He was sure the higher castes called it something else, but it looked like goop to him, so that's what he thought of it as.) Mostly tasteless, but provided everything necessary to keep your body working.

But here, there was so much variety. All manners of foods, with different flavors and tastes and shapes and textures. He enjoyed trying different things, even if he didn't like them all.

His mom was usually good at helping him try new things, but she sometimes got mad when he opened things when they weren't at home. Especially in a building like this, that had LOTS of new things and offerings. The last time they'd come in, he'd opened a bunch of packages to taste what was inside, and she'd gotten really mad. Something about having to pay money for them now that he'd opened them. He wasn't sure what that meant, but he'd lost dessert for three days after that, which wasn't fair because he didn't know he wasn't supposed to open things before bringing them home! How else was he supposed to know if he liked them?

Now he followed her as she shopped, pulling things off the shelves to let Silver place in the cart with his telekinesis.

It wasn't fair. She never got mad at Silver.

He followed her down another aisle, and something on the shelf got his attention. A glass bottle, with a number and letter on the front. He wasn't as good at reading human language yet, his mom was teaching him and Silver, but he recognized a few words. "A1 Steak Sauce."

Steak? He liked steak. It was meat, and meat was good. He wasn't sure what 'sauce' was, but the bottle looked like it held a brownish liquid of some sort.

Was it a drink? Silver liked to drink fruit juice, and his mom had what she called 'grown up drinks' in the fridge at home. If this was some sort of juice made from steak, Eclipse was sure he'd like it.

He started to reach for it when his mom's warning came to mind. "Look with your eyes, not your hands." Eclipse pulled his hands back, a frown on his muzzle. If she saw him touching something, she'd get mad and give him that look. He hated that look.

But he wanted this steak juice so bad. He flicked his tail as he thought of a way around this, when an idea flashed.

She didn't say anything about not using his tail.

Eclipse turned and curled his tail around the neck of the bottle, being careful not to drop it as he pulled it from the shelf. It was a little heavier than he expected, and it hung awkwardly from the coil in his tail, but he managed.

Happy with his success, he hurried after his mother and brother, careful to keep his prize held high so it wouldn't clatter against the ground as he walked.

Eclipse made sure to walk nice and tall, keeping his tail hidden. If he waited until they were at the front, where they unloaded the cart onto that moving belt, he might be able to slip the steak juice onto the belt without his mom seeing. Maybe she'll think she picked it up and just forgot.

They'd made it down another two aisles before his mom turned and looked at him, an eyebrow raised.

"Why are you walking like that?"

Eclipse pulled his lips tight. "Like what?"

"Like you're hiding something."

The darkling snorted. "I am not."

His mom's eyebrow went higher. "Turn around."

He froze. "What?"

She cocked a hip and planted a hand on it. That look was on her face.

Eclipse swallowed, his heart pounding faster in his chest. His tail flicked in his anxiety, and something shattered behind him as the bottle slipped out of his grip.

His mom's eyes went wide, flicking down to the brown mess all over the floor behind him. Then she sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a thumb and finger.

"Eclipse," she said with a sigh. "What did I tell you not five minutes ago?"

"I didn't look with my hands! I looked with my tail! You didn't say I couldn't do that!"

Another sigh, and Silver peeked around her. "He's right."

"Don't encourage him."

She stepped forward to lift Eclipse off the ground, and placed him in the cart as she went to find a store employee to report the mess. She claimed it was to keep him from stepping on the glass, but he thought it was to keep an eye on him better, as though he were a child or something that couldn't be trusted to take care of himself.

"I just wanted some steak juice." He sat with his arms crossed, his brow furrowed in a pout. "You never let me have anything."

His mom rolled her eyes, uttering another deep sigh. She seemed to do that a lot around him.

[buggysmalls69]

Well I'd best explain myself.

Hey. It's milk ✌️

If you know me from being moots elsewhere.. Hi! This is my special interest blog. A real rebloggy blog. For reblogging. And talking about my interests if I feel like it!

Current interests:

In no particular order

- Figures ✨

I collect figures. I have like well over 300 at this point. I don't keep track anymore and this one is slowly but surely subsiding. I will always adore figures and collecting them though. My figures make my room a safe place for my senses. They're all so pretty 💖

I'm going to be downsizing my collection over the next few weeks, so I'll probably share any listings I make (likely on MFC)!

- Pokémon 🌈

Oh my god an autistic person who likes Pokémon it's a miracle. Yeah. I started playing Pokémon when I was 3, so 18 years going strong. I originally preferred the toys and cards, but heart gold and soul silver converted me and then I became a mega fan. Tracking releases, learning lore, creating fanart. Mind you I was like 7. There's a deviantart account out there from when I was 6? and yeah that shit Sure Is (you can try and find it I don't really care anymore jfjsjfjg). Anyway!!! Faves are cleffa, whimsicott, blaziken, galvantula, giratina, mimikyu and Registeel. Faves by proxy include lapras, torkoal, lilligant, gengar, rayquaza, mudkip and ledyba. Fave humans are Iono, Caitlyn, Lillie (LillieMoon 💖💖💖), Ingo and Emmet, Allister, N, Erika and Elesa. Gen 5 is currently my favourite but I have played gen 5 a LOT the past few years and a lot of my faves are gen 5. I attended both the Pokémon center pop up in London in 2018, and EUIC 2024 in London, also for the Pokémon center lmao. I have a cleffa tattoo also!!! Planning on getting a large majority of my faves tattooed at some point.

- Bugs 🐛

Woo big surprise it/they user enjoys bugs. My favourites are moths, exact favourites being hummingbird hawk moths and Madagascan sunset moths. Also a huge fan of weevils, worms, snails, beetles, bees and butterflies! I hope to have a butterfly collection one day in frames :3

Hatsune Miku.

- One piece ☠️

Pretty new one but yeah, I'm caught up so I spend a LOT of time thinking about them damn pirates. Faves in no order are Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, Perona, Mihawk, Law, Corazon, Ace, Yamato, Katakuri, Crocodile, Buggy, Doflamingo, Lucci, Okiku, and Big Mom.

- No but for reals Miku 🎧

Fun fact! I've been a Miku fan since 2010. That's 15 years baby!! My first vocaloid songs that I remember hearing are nyan cat (duh), world is mine, Romeo and Cinderella, butterfly on your right shoulder, gugurekasu, and my all time fave, corruption garden. Absolutely underrated banger. This should be a general vocaloid section really because my favourite cryptonloids are Kaito, Luka and Miku and then my favourite non cryptonloids are Meika Mikoto, Lily, Nekomura Iroha, PoUta, Teto and Luo Tianyi! My favourite producers are PinocchioP, Neru, Giga, Kira, Iroha(sasuki) and OwataP!

I went to Miku expo in London 2018, 2020 and 2024! I wore a snow Miku inspired outfit to 2024, with my Miku ita bag and my Kaito rabbit puppet! If you saw a 5ft goblin in all pastel blue with pink twin tails and a Kaito puppet that was ME BABY!!! I loved 2024 expo btw, my only wish was that I was closer to the stage but I had a pretty good view of the whole stage from my seat so I'm not too mad uwu they played MELT!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAA

-Minecraft 🌲

Yeah yeah you can laugh all you want. I've been consuming Minecraft since it came out, and I've played it for 10 whole years. I got pc edition 5 years ago now (INSANE). I love Minecraft. I've recently joined a server for adults with just the chillest vibes and best modpack I've honestly ever played. It has the perfect mix of adventuring, bosses, building and just Vibes its so poggers

-Oh god is it cringe if I say fortnite

I have been playing Fortnite every day that I haven't been bed bound. Chronic illness is a bitch but god forbid a girl doesn't get it's victory royale for the day

NON SPECIAL INTERESTS BUT VERY IMPORTANT TO MY IDENTITY

-Dinosaurs (since I was like 4)

-Sanrio (as long as I can remember)

-Animals

-Anime in general

-Art (lotta A's huh)

-Shitty adult cartoons (south park, family guy, American dad, I have encyclopedic knowledge of all 3 and I can recall every episode. I also know family guy season 4 word for word :3)

-Sitcoms (Actually enjoy: Two and a half men, modern family, young Sheldon kinda, does house count? It should. Encyclopedic knowledge: Big Bang Theory, Two and a half men, Frasier, Friends)

-I watched Dexter and invincible recently and they're both occupying little slots in my brain

THE "SOMETIMES" SPECIAL INTEREST

- Five Nights at Freddys 🐻

I know, I'm so cool. This game has had its dirty grip on me since it came out. Basically I hate it but every time a new game comes out I can't help but go on a self destructive info absorb and I watch like 6 hour video essays on the new lore and implications. It's fun I like fnaf silly Creachure. My fave is the puppet because I'm non binary haha.

-UNDERTALE ❤️

I pretty much tick all the boxes for middle school anxiety huh. Yeah undertale is a beautiful masterpiece and every few years I'll have a mega "aaaaa undertale" phase where I'll just do nothing but play and consume undertale content. I've played the game through at least like 10 times? A few of each ending. I'm still really bad at sans fight.

-Animal Crossing 🐾

I think everyone should have this one. Occasionally I'll just be like "hm being an adult in the real world isn't really what I wanted right now" so I play animal crossing until oops 6 hours passed. I'll then play for about a week before putting it down again. I tend to stick with new horizons, just because it has the best gameplay. Also BUGS heheshhfksjgh. Fave villagers are Lily, Eugene, Beardo, Judy, Merengue, Lolly, Merry and Marina. I also love Flick and Celeste.

Kinning!!

Yeahhh I kin some bitches. Big deal.

- Yamada Ryo

The big one. She's just me for real for real. I love her for realsies. Also um hi bocchi kinnies.

- Rina Tennoji

She's so fucking autistic. I also struggle with expression (fluctuates between under and over!).

- Kokoro Tsurumaki

Genki. I have made it my personal goal to make people happy in recent years and it's really helped my own mental health

- Madoka Kaname

😳🩷🖤

- Kirby

Small, Round, Pink, Poyo

- Flandre Scarlet

Tiny Creachure clinging to childhood (with a dash of trauma).

- Kanna Kamui

I just, deep down. I experience friendship the exact way Kanna does. I have no concept of boundaries. I will crawl into your bed at night.

- Stocking

Sweets, hypersexual, kinky, goth, chubby. Me.

- Yamato

Oblivious, love friend so much, bad family relationships.

- Kuromi

*cough cough* *straightens paper* Although Kuromi may look and act tough and punk, she is actually very girly and is attracted to good-looking guys. That is all.

And yeah I think that's pretty much it. Obviously this post will get updated as regularly as it needs it. Hope u enjoy my silly content!!!

[nvrcmplt]

Vuk knew it wasn't easy to accept help. Especially something out of nowhere, but Vuk wasn't to give up. He rather not see the two as a headline in the newspapers some day. A tragic loss, dreams snuffed, something else as tacky. An ear of his twitched, teeth biting into the inside of his lip. He wasn't ready for the potential rejection of his help, even if he'd been pretty sure that it would be accepted. What else were they gonna do? Just die like strays on the street? The mere thought had Vuk close to being angry.

And the thought of them actually saying no also had him annoyed, and a little mad maybe, because he didn't just risk his own life, and potentially his own father's by arguing with Misha of all people. But his irritation only showed as a brief wrinkle on his nose and the swaying of his tail. A brow arched, the sandwiches now forgotten. "Why not? Haven't you guys struggled enough?"

Darius stands up from where he'd been sitting, on the floor, the moment there was a change in Lance's voice, checking on him. His long thin frame coming close and arms scooping him up, holding a fragile body against his own. He sits in the same spot Lance had momentarily, feet propped up against something to offer a more solid foundation to be seated on.

Darius lets Lance hide against him, a hand also coming up to cover the side of his face to block further visibility, giving him privacy. "Explain, please," he says to Vuk, who had been watching the entire scene unfold. Vuk takes a deep breath, and talks. Tells about the argument he had with Misha, tells about his talk with Aapeli, he goes into detail as much as he can. And Darius listens, while rocking Lance gently. Allows his best friend all the time he needs to calm and gather his thoughts, gather himself. They're both tired, they're both done. But since Lance is crumbling at the seams, it's his turn to be there to catch him, to hold him up, to make sure he doesn't drown.

Darius nods, smiling, looking at Lance the moment he feels a tug on his shirt. "Yes," he answers simply, using a thumb to dry the tears he sees on Lance's lashes still. His heart aches, "It's not out of pity, Lance. It's a second chance in life."

Vuk busies himself with his phone, mainly keeping Aapeli updated, because it's best for him to also know the mental state both of them are in.

"We're at the bottom of the pit now. The only way now is back up," Darius says, fingers gently brushing back red fringe, minding any sore spots, "and I will carry you to the top, if I have to. I won't let you give up now, when there is a sliver of a chance for survival." Because the next step is for Darcy to kill for food, and no one wants that. "Don't you want to see what life has to offer, once it stops being a struggle?" Darius' head tilts a little, a palm rests on a tear stained cheek. "Trust in me," because his instincts are screaming for him, them, to take this one chance presented to them on a silver plate, "one more time."

Vuk lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. The situation had been far too tense for his liking. Shopping can wait. They'll stop by his uncle's first. And Lance needed to be checked as soon as possible anyway.

It was hard to stop his tears, the release of all that stress was just nice for his mind. As if a full bucket was being opened from the bottom, shivers and sniffles, his chest felt hot and full with wet coughs but it was just thought of his sobbing triggering the reflex. It wasn't long until he registered the conversation again though, sighing out with more exhaustion but a clearer head that didn't ache as bad but his throat felt raw and his chest bubbled with liquid. Ears popped but it was nothing new, as he thanked Darius hand in placed nearby to rest his cheek on it all the same. His worry for failing his promise was brushed aside with Darius care, Vuk did so much for them in this little time of knowing them and it was hard to swallow the help but Darius was right. They didn't need to do this alone, trusting Darius in this decision was the best, trusting Vuk's kindness wasn't a sign of weakness…

One more time, they were to trust someone outside of their bubble and Lance could only nod his head. Furrowing his brows with a cough before settling against his best friend and turning his eye to Vuk, texting on his phone before speaking up. "Thanks, Vuk… We owe you one big time." He smiled weak at that, because he knew this offer wasn't made for that but it was the only way they knew how to survive. Always give back, don't take things for granted. Earn their place in the world so they aren't seen as no-good takers of all free aid.

It was a strange feeling, the tension in his bones creaking with oozed relief. A little of it though, his muscles were still tight and his mind was still racing in this murky fog he got going on but it was there. The idea that maybe, just maybe this time, they'll have something of a real uplift in lifestyle and no longer sleep instead of eat. It was going to be hard, wasn't it? Accepting help so easily but Lance knew he could do it. He wasn't strong enough to keep fighting really - he knew Darius was on his last legs too. They both were trying to stay strong for each other but Lance wasn't as powerful as Darce. He's watched this fool eat moldy bread and have nothing wrong with him, unlike himself that suffered a stomach ache for four days straight. His idiot was just built different and it worked a bit in their favour.

Now though, it wasn't just rotten food, they didn't have enough money to scrounge together for a drink, their flat wasn't safe enough to drink from the taps, it was also limited these days. The landlord was just hiking prices up and it wouldn't be at all long for them to be kicked out, he felt it in his bones. It had once been their paradise, a place of home outside of a juvie, away from gang and temptations of familiar shops and hang outs… but work was scarce, time didn't wait and they weren't able to keep up with this life of keeping clean and keeping out of trouble. Lance knew Darce stole a few times, Lance did himself. A pocket dip here and there, cash on the side left when someone else was paying and it hadn't been collected. A few family marts had been stolen from, eaten inside of even there and then. It was survival but it didn't feel great…

Stealing from a cabin - that was their last attempt, but they hadn't eaten for two weeks, his gut hurt and his mind wasn't right and they knew that this could be a jackpot or a curse and it turned out to be a mixture of the two. If they hadn't of robbed that place, they wouldn't of met Aapeli and Misha and by default, the rest of this family. Vuk - wouldn't have stood up to the scariest man of the family for them and they wouldn't be invited to a place to stay, to meet the elders and be helped so quickly. "Darc… m'sorry." Lashes were heavy and his skin flush with fever but it was nice and cool in this man's arms, his forehead pressing against their shirt as he coughs… and coughs and coughs. Maybe now, that he didn't have to think or survive, his body didn't have to hold it back anymore.

Shopping could definitely wait for now.

[banditcoyote]

"Thats why it makes him so mad." Mercutio said still smiling as he adjusted a curl to just the right place. "He's not used to losing, and usually if he does lose he can just take out the other person in a different, usually lethal way, however he simply can't say no to you." Coyote turned towards the door. "You don't think he's coming back soon?" he asked as he slid the silver case from the inside of his jacket looking exactly like a Victorian Gentleman. "Let's be quick about it." he said placing it in his own lips and striking a match. The door opened and Coyote smoothly palmed the joint only to see that Shishi was slipping inside. "I wanted to make sure you weren't mad...and if you needed any help." he smiled brightly at Mercutio. "Ah! so I do get to see you again!" Coyote moved the joint back to his lips and took a deep inhale before passing it to Sasuga. Mercutio smiled widely showing all their sharp teeth. "God has heard my prayers" they said wagging their tail as Shishi crossed the room to them and while the Imp craned his neck to offer a cheek to kiss the maned wolf bent to capture his lips fully. Shishi gave a little excited squeal of surprise and broke away with a slight blush. "You were praying for me mon cher?" The imp asked with a smile. "I was praying for a slut to land in my lap." Mercutio said with a wink. "Your Sasuga has been getting me all worked out Shishi shrugged. "Then consider me heaven sent." he turned to Sasuga with a little smirk. "Are you okay?"

Blood and Moonlight

Sasuga woke in what was at first an unfamiliar area but as she blinked fully awake she realized it was their closet that Coyote had decorated for them. She smiled and took a careful kiss from her mate who was still sound asleep next to her. It really had been an amazing night with the family and then with her husband. As she slipped from his arms, she took a moment to look at her reflection in the mirror, her fingers dancing over the fresh marks on her neck and hips. She couldn't have asked for anything more from the night and it was with some reluctance that she dressed. She picked out a pair of warm leggings and a short little skirt to pull over them with some knee high boots and a thick sweater. She slipped from the closet and moved to the bathroom to comb her hair and brush her teeth and get ready for the big day ahead. She gave a stretch and headed downstairs only to find a familiar face waiting for her. "Raphael..." she smiled and moved to greet him with a hug. "I see you are still alive." she smirked. "Want some tea? Coffee?"

@banditcoyote

[oldcoffeeart]

Chapter 7: Worst Enemies Make the Best Friends

CW: Dysphoria, Bullying, Angst, Mention of injury (not graphic)

Cheer would be hard for anyone. The physical strain it puts on the body, mostly the shoulders, can progress well into adulthood. Like any sport there’s risk when you do it. This fact made itself more apparent to Lina as she rubbed her freshly sprained shoulder. They're alone in the locker room right now so they felt safer to massage the injury and simply change. A hand ran down her flat chest, a ping of anxiety riding up her back. This was always a problem that their brain made them think of over and over again. They aren't a woman, not in the same way the rest of the cheer team is. Their body refused to fit the image her brain thinks of when she thinks of herself. It was too masculine, its shape to rectangular. She forced herself away from the mirror to change out of her skirt. She refused to acknowledge what was going on… there. No, that would be much for a place like this. A panic attack in the locker room is an experience she’ll avoid like the plague. 

“Lina! Linaaaaaaaaaaaa! Li- OH there you are!” A chihuahua’s voice rang out to her. She groaned and her ears pinned down against her skull. ‘She’s just joining cheer to make it look stupid’, ‘They’re going to fuck up everyone else’, ‘Look at them, they’re going to make us a laughing stock’. Rumors flooded her mind all started by the stupid dog. She didnt know shit, She didn't understand a damn thing. With a deep breath she turned to face her. At least she had the decency to not call Lina a man. One silver lining at least. Alicia greeted Lina with a bright smile, her tail wagging like mad. Lina raised an eyebrow and looked the canine over. “What do you want?” Alicia answered quickly. “The cheer team is waiting for us. We're going to Bun-hop!” Lina scoffed. “And why would I want to go? All y’all do is make fun of me.” Alicia's lips pulled downward, her eyes drifting to the floor. Lina continued her thoughts. “I mean c’mon. You start a rumor about me and expect me to be alright going with you to a restaurant? Make it less obvious that you want to put syrup in my fur, will you?” Alicia put a hand on the back of her neck. “We aren't. We just… we want to get to know you. I mean you always leave right after practice and we have our first game tomorrow…” Lina fully faced her, arms crossed. “Well you should have thought about that before.”

Alicia’s lips shook as she looked up at Lina. “It was Brook’s idea. She… well she says you’re using Savvy.” Lina’s ears pulled back. “That’s a bunch of bullshit.” Alicia shifted her weight between her paws. “I don't know Savvy like, at all, but Brook said that she’s been acting real off since she’s met you and Genny. She’s changed her appearance like, alot.” Lina rolled her shoulders. “Brook sounds paranoid.” Alicia nodded rapidly. “That’s what I thought! I mean… I'm pretty sure she’s in love with Savvy and wants to make sure she’s safe.” That made Lina pause, her tail flicking behind her. “Wait, what?” Alicia slapped a hand over her mouth. “I wasn't supposed to say that. Oh no, Brook and Rachel are going to be so mad at me. Please don't share that. Brook hasn't come out to her mom let alone the school.” Lina tore her eye’s away from the canine. She… could get revenge for everything Brook has done to her. It would be so very easy. But at the same time this affected Savvy too and… Lina knew full well what this school would be like. Taking in a breath, Lina answered. “Alright, but I want something from you.”

Genny waited outside for Lina, scrolling absentmindedly on her phone. Her head perked up when she spotted Rachel in the corner of her eye. “Hey.” The blond canine said, seeming bored as she looked over her finger nails. Genny responds with a suspicious, “Hey.” Rachel handed the other girl a pile of her own campaign posters. “You misspelled a word. I fixed it. And here's the fixed posters.” Genny looked down at them then back up. “Why did…?” Rachel rolled her eyes. “It’s not a competition if you get less votes just because you fucked up a word.” Genny raised an eyebrow. “And spreading rumors about me is… what just friendly competition.” Rachel just shrugged. “Wasn't my idea. You got thick skin though, I respect that.” Genny’s ear flicked. “Thank you?” Rachel nodded. “Cool. Well, good luck. Nerd.” Rachel turned and left for her car. Rachel blinked dumbly. “What in the liveing fuck was that?”

When Lina came out of the school Genny still looked dumbstruck. Lina cleared her throat and made the canine jump and turn to her. Lina had a shoulder brace on and a similarly dumbstruck look. Genny spoke first. “What happened to you?” Lina shook her head and made her way to Genny’s car. “I’ll tell you on the drive to Bun-hop.”

Genny took a deep breath. “So let me get this straight, Alicia and Rachel decided to not only help us but are actively being nice to us? And admit that they didn't want to spread rumors about us?” Lina nodded her head, her gaze blank and staring forward. Genny laughed a little, her eyebrows knit. “I… guess we were super wrong about them. What else is there to know?” Lina was quiet for a few moments before speaking. “Brook’s in love with Savvy.” Genny was unfortunate enough to be taking a drink of water, though that was quickly rectified and coated her steering wheel. “What?” Lina looked down at her paws, her ear twitching in thought. “Yeah. I guess it makes sense… we saw those two that first day.” Genny turned her focus to the parking lot to park. There was… tension there. A whole lot of it. Genny laughed a little and laid back into her seat. “What are we going to do about it?” Lina let a smirk slowly cross her face, a glint in their eyes that Genny knew well. “That’s what we’re going to talk about at Bun-hop.”

The tension at that table could be cut with a dull butter knife. Lina and Genny sat opposite Alicia and Rachel. The only thing that broke the stare down was a waitress setting down four plates of… comically rainbow pancakes. Rachel snapped her gaze to Alicia. “Alicia, did you seriously order all of us unicorn pancakes?” Alicia, the ever obvious canine that she was, already stuffed one in her mouth. “What, no one can be angry eating them! It seemed like a good idea.” Rachel put a hand to her forehead and groaned, slowly slumping back into her seat. Genny chuckled a little. “I mean she’s right. It… definitely sets a mood.” Lina looked down at the pancakes and began to eat. “And it’s fitting since this will be a very… gay conversation.” That made Rachel groan louder but she ultimately resigned to her fate of chowing down on bright neon rainbow pancakes.

Genny was the first to speak up. “So… Brook’s gay. Or at least bi.” Rachel huffed a laugh. “No, she is definitely a lesbian. Sage is her cover up.” Lina licked her lips as she spoke. “Oh thank god i'm not the only one who saw it.” Alicia rubbed her neck. “I didn't really think anything of it, honestly. Not until Rachel pointed everything out to me.” Rachel smirked a little. “You don't have a gay-dar.” Alicia smiled a little, her eyebrows knit. “In my defense I'm terrible with people’s emotions in general. And your queer.” Genny looked at her in surprise. “You’re queer.”  Rachel huffed a little. “I don't like labels. I just like who I like.” She was quiet for a moment before continuing. “Though Nathen and I are poly.” Lina made a small ‘huh’ noise. “I honestly assumed you both were homophobic.” Rachel raised an eyebrow. “Darling. I'm not just known as a whore because of the boys.” Heat rose to Lina’s face and they laughed a little. “Oops.” Alicia gestured to Lina. “What about you?” Lina smiled a little and rubbed the back of her neck. “I'm pan and trans.”  Genny was the next to speak up. “I'm pretty sure I'm aromantic.” Rachel hummed. “Aroace or just aro?” The other canine answered. “Oh just aro. I'm definitely not ace.” Rachel nodded and glanced at Alicia. “And that one’s our token straight, huh?” Alicia nodded, her tail wagging happily.

Rachel cleared her throat. “As nice as this has been, we need to get back on track.” Lina nodded their agreement. “Yeah. Notably, why was it so important you two needed us?” Rachel’s eyes slowly shut. “We need your help with this plan, if you’ll hear us out.” Lina and Genny glanced between each other before nodding. “Go on?”

When Brook’s eyes opened she was met with Savvy’s face. She looked like an angel that had come to save her. Wait… why does she look so worried? “Brook…” Her voice is fuzzy. It sounded like a song on her tongue. “Brook.” It got louder and her mind slowly came to focus. “Brook!” The feline jolted a little, her fur standing on end. She’s in the nurse’s office. What happened? Her stomach made her wince, a painful feeling of emptiness making her fully wake. Savvy’s paws her on her shoulders in an instant, then her face. Brook pushed her away. “What are you doing?” Savvy chewed at her lip. “You collapsed during practice. Are you okay?” Brook bit her inner cheek. Of course that had to happen. She pulled herself to her feet. “I'm fine. Why are you here?” Savvy stood as well. “I was worried.” A butterfly pulled at Brook’s heart. She had to get away. Now. Savvy put a hand on Brook’s shoulder. “Please. Tell me what’s going on.” Brook shoved past her and out the door. She had to run. She had to. There wasn't a different option.

Savvy chased after her into the parking lot and to her car. Brook’s hand was caught in the dachshund's. It’s so very soft. Savvy spoke, panicked. “Brook you can't drive! You could get hurt.” She turned to face the canine. Her eyes drifted down to their intertwined hands. Brook felt her throat tighten as she whispered. “Savvy… please.” Savvy pulled her closer and took her other hand. They are both so, so warm and Brook’s are so very cold. Brook looked at the canine’s eyes, her eyebrows knit together. She spoke shakily. “Let go.” Savvy’s grip tightened. “No. I'm not letting you hurt yourself. I… I still care about you Brook.” Savvy could feel tears in her own eyes. “I'm angry at you but I still care about you so much. I can't lose you again.” Brook held in a hiccup her ears pinning to her head as she looked at her love. “I need you to let go. You don't want me the way I want you and-” A sob left her throat and she bit into her lip. “And if I can't have you that way it hurts to be around you.” Savvy swallowed a lump in her throat. “That's so selfish.” Brook laughed, tears rolling down her face. “I know. That’s why I didn't want you here.” Savvy’s hand raised to cup Brook’s cheek, her eyebrows knit. “You never gave me a choice.” Brook looked at her longingly and at long last, pulled the other girl into her. A deep kiss that waited so long to be made into reality.

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[waltwhitmansbeard]

🥺 pikelan and 3 "sharing something personal" on the trust prompts?

3. sharing something personal now that gocmh is finally finished i am tackling all the prompts in my askbox! this is late c1, where things happen so quickly and in such rapid succession that i can't remember exactly how things go so just fit it in somewhere ig.

Scanlan knows he's earned this. Not Vax's easy welcome back or Vex's begrudging acceptance—those are beyond what he deserves, kindnesses he'll never be able to repay. No, Grog's silence, Pike's cold shoulder, those are a fitting response to his slinking back to Whitestone, tail between his legs. He doesn't know if it was better or worse to arrive in disguise. Probably worse. He usually just makes things worse.

But if he's spent the last year learning one thing, it's that you can't just let the shit you broke stay broken. And if he's spent it learning a second thing, it's that you have to seize that opportunities that come your way. So when he finds himself with a few minutes of quiet, here on their hurtling journey toward the end of the world, he finds Pike, asks her to talk.

The way her arms are crossed, her jaw set at a crushing angle, it doesn't seem much like she's in the mood to say anything, so he starts. "I just...y'know...wanted to check in. See if everything is...copacetic."

"Copacetic." The word sounds acidic on her tongue. "Right."

"You know. Big stuff happening. Gotta make sure we're all...on the same page."

She cocks her head to the side. She doesn't get mad often, Pike, but when she does, Scanlan can't help but be reminded of the way his mother would scowl at him, tired and disappointed. "Sure. Yeah. Same page. Can I go now?"

"I just...I know we've talked, a little. I mean, not really." Gods, his palms are sweaty. "I just hope you know that it wasn't you. None of it was you."

There's a shifting in her eyes at that, and Scanlan wishes he could rewind this last second and a half to watch it, over and over and over. She opens her mouth, closes it, opens it again, closes it again. Pike has always been so good at choosing her words carefully, but this is a level of conscientiousness that Scanlan isn't used to. "Do you know how many times you told me that you loved me, Scanlan?"

He is a boy. Just a small, stupid, frivolous little boy. "No. A lot."

"Yeah. A lot. And the thing is...when someone tells you something like that? Over and over? Even when you don't particularly wanna hear it?" She shrugs. "You start to believe it." Her eyes pierce into his, icy and infinite. "Joke's on me, I guess."

A thousand sentences start and die on his tongue—it wasn't a joke, I do love you, I was incapable of love, I'm sorry, if only I could take it back—but he just stares at her, his stomach sinking like a stone in water. He knows that he needs to say something, but what? What is he going to say, silver-tongued bard that he is, that fixes this?

She doesn't give him the chance to figure it out. She spins on her heel, storms off without a backward glance. She leaves him, cold and small, and as he watches her go, he can only hope that the end of the world waits long enough for him to put back the shattered pieces of his life before obliterating them for good.