#ONE MORE SHORT ABOUT SONIC BEING A JACKASS TO HIS FRIENDS

[beevean]

(1/2)yo, uh, hi. i've never actually interacted with you before but i think you have pretty cool sonic takes in general and are a cool individual in general. i wanted to say smth about an ask response you made a bit back about how sonic's game foils are stoic and serious while his western media foils are loudmouthed braggarts and like. jet the hawk exists. the babylon rogues are an in-universe parody of team sonic where jet is a braggart jackass, wave is snooty and prideful, and storm is stupid.

(2/2) just because a character intended as a foil to another, takes an unsavory trait of them and exaggerates it, doesn't mean they're always an accurate reflection of who they're foiling is. batman has joker and riddler as foils, completely different characters taking certain aspects of batman and shifting them to contrast him. chaos sonic takes sonic's taunts and verbal jabs and turns into a parody of what sonic is, and that's kind of like, his point. he's not sonic he's how the C.C view sonic

Lmao! My bad, I did forget about Jet 😂 the way you described them is precisely why I don't like the Babylon Rogues - sick designs and cute interactions with each other, but I don't like them as foils to the main trio.

Even then, Jet is one of many characters that work as foils to Sonic: he's his cockiness turned up to eleven, he's Sonic if he cared about winning more than anything else. But then you have Knuckles, who is the mountain to Sonic's wind: brash, aggressive, anchored to a place. Then you have Shadow: artificial, shackled to his past until his own game, introverted, cordial but aloof, more ruthless. Then you have Blaze, the fire to Sonic's wind: also introverted, straight up refusing to open up to others, burdened by responsibilities. And Metal, who is in short Sonic's power in Eggman's hands, completely chained to him.

I see more variety to explore Sonic's characters and give him different rivalries, and he has different relationships with all of these characters, from being genuine friends to being friendly rivals. On the other hand, Scourge and Surge are more or less the same archetype of "obnoxious edgy violent braggart" - Surge has a fairly interesting Shadow-esque backstory, but so far the story hasn't taken advantage of it, putting more focus on how "cool" she supposedly is (can't speak about Scourge in detail because I refuse to read Archie lol). And Chaos Sonic, well...

First of all, the problem with characters who are meant to be annoying is that they still are annoying lol. So uhhh good job I suppose? But I don't know how much I can praise you for getting on my nerves lol.

Second, Sonic here keeps making the same joke - "oh wow am I this annoying? stop talking!". He's the one who puts the focus on Chaos Sonic's singular trait: being unable to shut up. And, well... kind of? This Sonic is way more energetic and childish than Game Sonic. The joke falls flat for me because Chaos Sonic is not that exaggerated, he's just meaner.

Funnily enough, one can also see Surge and Kit as incarnations of how Starline saw Sonic and Tails: the former as a stupid (according to her) arrogant braggart, and the latter as a mindless sycopant. Get it, because he was all about being meta, blah blah blah sonic cycle :P in that case, I can accuse the writing at attempting to seem deeper than it actually was. Ah, don't let me start on the absolute mess that are S&K and how they came to be...

Anyway. The root of the problem is that generally speaking Western Sonic, from SatAM to Prime, has differed from game Sonic in having his cockiness amped up for cool points. That's his appeal here. Now, don't get me wrong, Sonic is cool in general, but he's more... effortlessly cool, I say. He's natural in his coolness, he doesn't try, he just is. That trait of his got flanderized in the '90s because of cultural differences, and writers nowadays are still playing under this misconception, from Flynn who writes a supremely arrogant Sonic (not even talking about his preaching attempts, even small things like basking in the praise of the crowd, or using his fame status to intimidate a waiter in Archie), to Prime Sonic being pitched as having to learn not to take his friends for granted, implying that he was too egotistical to care before.

And I see this reflected in the kind of rivals they create for Western media, which can be boiled down as "Sonic but meaner and all taunts, with zero redeeming qualities".

But hey, this is my opinion. Thank you for your nice words ^^

[metamelonisle]

i'm not SAYING i consume and create media better than other people BUT...

wait a minute. that's exactly what I'm saying.

[melancholydreadfuldream]

find me gone

Fandom: Doctor Who

Summary: The Doctor has gone missing for twenty years. You tried to find him in order to free mankind from the Time Lords.

  Warning: OOC, dark doctor, plot holes as usual, etc.

   It has been twenty years since the Doctor went missing. It has been twenty years since mankind is enslaved by the survivors of Gallifrey, a bunch of jackass Time Lord, whom according to the Doctor, was one of the founding father family of Gallifrey, the Bloodworth. 

  They are dangerous, insane and cruel. They invaded Earth in disguise of distress call from their crash-landing Tardis. UNIT and Torchwood calling the Doctor for help to figure it out and ended up leading the Doctor into a trap.

  The Bloodworth hated the Doctor for his part in destroying their home planet. The Doctor was giddy having not being the only Time Lord left in the universe and that happiness was short-lived when he found out who the survivors are. He was not above, to grovel for their forgiveness and explained his reasoning for destroying Gallifrey. 

  It has become apparent they won't see reason and hell-bent on revenge against the Doctor. The destruction of Gallifrey happened so long ago and the Doctor has come to term with it but to the Bloodworth, what happened to Gallifrey still fresh within their memories. 

 The Tardis they used to escape when opened are filled with amber, a sort of protective shield to contain or isolate time distortion. Apparently, their Tardis got damaged during escape and they use amber to contain it but something goes wrong and the Bloodworth ended up caught within the amber too. 

  The Doctor was able to figure out how to freed the occupants of the Tardis from the amber. The Bloodworth were preserved within the amber as exactly as they were, not aging, however, the amber damaged most of their brains and they have to regenerate in order to survive. The Doctor tried to aid them, saving their life. And yet, it wasn't enough. When they regained themselves, the first thing they do is turn against the Doctor.

  Knowing about Earth being like the Doctor's second home, the Bloodworth wanted to take over Earth for their own purpose. Although these past twenty years, the Time Lord did improve Earth's technology and 'protected' Earth from invasion by any other alien species. There were, of course, resistance against the Bloodworth at the beginning but it was futile. Like the Doctor warned, they were vicious and not above using threat, torture and kill to squash down the resistance.

  UNIT and Torchwood were destroyed like it was nothing. One of the Bloodworth was a mad scientist and was able to create some sort of machine which turned most of mankind docile enough to accept them and sort of mind-controlled the world's armies into their personal soldiers.

  Jack Harkness, the Doctor's former companion, was able to escape the hunt. Most of the Doctor's former companions are hunted as they were deemed too dangerous and to be converted with the machine to ensure their loyalty are no longer with the Doctor. Those who refused gets executed or worst become the subject of cruel experiments by the mad scientist.

  You were the Eleventh Doctor's current companion after the Ponds. You were properly scared at the reality falling apart before you. The Doctor is the Earth's defender. Who would have thought that he would be the reason for the mankind's downfall? He brought the Time Lord's most vicious wrath down on Earth.

  It was a complete chaos at the times and you got separated from the Doctor but you were rescued by Jack. You never saw the Doctor again.

  You sighed as you pulled your smartphone and play the last voicemail from the Doctor.

  "I'm sorry to have to leave you, (name). I need you to be brave. You have to lay low, don't get on their bad sides. Don't fight them. Relents with all their demands, renounce me as your enemy to please them. I have to go away for a while. I have hidden the Tardis somewhere the Time Lords can't reach. They must not get their hands on my Tardis. They can't track me, (name), I can't get to the Tardis to use chameleon arch. I'm taking the same play as them. Remember, don't fight them. When it is safe to do so, I have instructed my Tardis to locate you and you will find some instruction and hints of where to find me. When you do, you will need some help to free me. But for now, you have to forget these voicemail. Jack will get you a memory worm for it. Stick with him if you can. And, (name), I know you are scared. Be brave. I know you can do this. I have faith in you."

  And it has been twenty years. Clearly, the Doctor put his faith in the wrong companion. You have no idea how to do this. When the Tardis finally came for you and you get your memory back of the voicemail and finding the instruction left behind by the Doctor, you frantically trying to figure it all out. You have lived in bliss full ignorance after the memory worm while Jack is off somewhere you have no idea. The Bloodworth clearly thought you are no longer a friend of the Doctor considering you being docile with their assimilation on Earth.

  You were able to find your way into the resistance, or what was left of it. Jack has disappeared sometimes years ago. He used to be the leader of the resistance. He was able to undo some of the brain-washing of the people he need help from. You met a Clara Oswald, a genius in her own right, and together you tried to figure out the Doctor's location. It took years when you finally able to piece the Doctor's location.

  The Doctor has put himself within the amber in order to avoid detection from the other Time Lords. You glanced at the Doctor's form within the amber as the scientists within the resistance worked on the amber based on what you remembered of how the Doctor freed the Bloodworth which honestly you don't know much. The Doctor's technology babbles always goes over your head. 

  Luckily, you and Clara were able to recruit more scientists, well, technically you both kidnapped them, undo their brainwashing and have them help you figure out how to get the Doctor out of the amber.

  It was such a huge relief when they were able to freed the Doctor from the amber. The Doctor was disoriented and confused. The bright side, he did recognize you and he happily hugged you.

  "Oh, you are exactly as I remembered you to be. I missed you, (name)." He hugged you, spun you around and hugged you some more. "I always knew you could do it."

  You grimaced. "I miss you too, Doctor, but I'm sorry I took years to find you."

  "That's okay. You are only human. I still knew you could do it. Well, eventually."

  You glared at the Doctor between annoyance and fondness.

  Clara watched you two with amusement before she introduced herself. "I'm Clara Oswald. I have heard so much about you, Doctor."

  The Doctor beamed at her and much to your dismay, those two started to flirt with each other. 

  You pulled the Doctor away from his awkward flirting and asked him to focus. You and Clara then filled him in about the past twenty years. 

  The Doctor nodded and started to work on a technology to improve the resistance's defense. But he suddenly groaned in pain as he fell down to the floor. 

  You dashed forward to try to aid him. "Doctor..."

  "Oh no...I have a brain damage..." The Doctor moaned, nose bleeding.

  You gasped as you recalled that the Bloodworth themselves have to regenerate after they got out of the amber. The Doctor has explained in passing what regeneration is to the Time Lord. "Do you have to regenerate?" You asked fearfully. You just got him back and now he has to change himself. You really didn't want him to change yet.

  The Doctor glanced at you in sorrow, noticing your reluctant. "I have to. My brain is no longer good enough. I will need to be at my best if we are to free the Earth from them." He said. 

  "I wish we have more time..." You whispered as tears filled your eyes.

  The Doctor smiled wistfully. "I will still be me. I will still be the Doctor, just a bit different. I will still need you." he said as he caress your cheek, wiping your tears with his thumb. "Will you still stay by my side after this?" He asked, pleading you with his sad eyes.

  You nodded. 

  He beamed happily at your answer as his face and hands started to glow in regeneration energy. He asked you to give him space for the regeneration to take place.

  You stared at him, wanting to memorize this version of the Doctor.

  He smiled at you. "Be brave." He said. 

  You have no idea if he said that for you or for himself.

  Then he exploded.

  An old man with impressive angry eyebrows glanced at back you.

  You blinked at him in daze. "Doctor?"

  "Who are you?" He asked you.

  You stared at him in disbelief. "It's me, (name)." But he already not listening to you as he started to ramble really fast at himself.

  "I need to do something. What was it?" The Doctor muttered to himself. Then he has some 'aha' moment, pulled his sonic screwdriver and somehow summon the Tardis.

  Clara finally spoke up. "He just regenerated. The Time Lord probably has some sort technology to detect that energy, we need to leave here immediately."

  The Doctor look impressed with her. "You, funny nose, with me, in the box." He said.

  Clara touched her nose, not sure to be offended or not. But she shrugged and followed him inside the Tardis.

  You followed them inside the Tardis. The Doctor was already on the console, pushing some buttons. Clara is admiring the inside of the Tardis.

  "Wait, what about the others?" You asked.

  "What about them?" The Doctor asked nonchalantly.

  You and Clara exchanged glances in confusion.

  "We should evacuate them inside here."

  "No. I don't trust them. And we don't have time. The Time Lords are already coming." The Doctor said firmly.

  "But they risked their lives for you!!" You yelled at him.

  "And I'm thankful but I still don't trust them." The Doctor replied, snapping his fingers to close down the door.

  You and Clara about to protest some more but both were knocked around as the Tardis launched into the time vortex.

  "Where are we going?" Clara asked the Doctor.

  You didn't listen as you stared at the Doctor. You couldn't believe he had left those people behind. You wondered if this Doctor still have some brain damage from the amber. Where is his compassion?

  The Doctor seemed to get along well with Clara, sharing his plan with her, trying to impress her and practically ignoring you.

  To be honest, the new Doctor's indifference frightened you, reminded you that he is a Time Lord too. The way he acted just now, he is just like the Bloodworth. However, for some reason, Clara is hanging onto his every words. You wondered if he put a spell on her or something.

  The Doctor has changed into a new outfit, something a kin to Victorian suit which compliment his appearance. He look like a gentleman if not for his cold demeanor. Yet for some reason, he directed his cold demeanor to you. 

  He is not touchy-feely to Clara either but he treated her better than he did you.

  He was the one who ask you to stay with him so why is he being such a jerk to you?

  Before you could confront him about it, loud alarm sounded within the Tardis as the Doctor cussed saying that the other Time Lords has found them.

  The Doctor was able to evade the attack from the other Time Lord's Tardis. He was somehow able to maneuver his Tardis into cornering the other Tardis into a nearby black hole which ate and ripped the said Tardis. But the Doctor rescued the occupant inside, transporting him into his Tardis and immediately incapacitate him as soon as he appeared inside.

  The Time Lord, Finn, he claimed, glared at the Doctor menacingly.

  The Doctor stared him down, not impressed.

  True to his villain model, Finn even has a villain monologue about how the others are coming, that the Doctor can't win, etc, etc.

  The Doctor hushed him much to his annoyance as he shot down every words he has next. "I only want to know one thing from you." He said. "What did you do to (name)?"

  "What?" Clara blurted out, confused.

  "Who?" Finn asked, also confused.

  You blinked at the Doctor, wondering if the Doctor's brain does not regenerate as it should with the body. "Doctor, I am right here." 

  The Doctor ignored you in favor of staring at Finn.

  Finn glanced at you and then at the Doctor. 

  "Doctor!" You yelled at him. "You are scaring me!"

  The Doctor faltered just a bit before firmly stared at Finn. "Well?" He raised his impressive eyebrows at him.

  Finn snorted. "Am I supposed to know who (name) is?" He said in bored tone.

  "You should, considering she is the only reason I rescued you. Would you prefer I send you back to your Tardis?" The Doctor said in cold calmness.

  Finn frowned. "You would kill a fellow Time Lord for a mere human?"

  The Doctor only shrugged.

  "Doctor!! Look at me!" You yelled.

  "No!" The Doctor suddenly yelled back, surprising you and Clara. He finally turned to look at you. "You are not...." He is losing his composure. 

  He turned away from you, unable to look at you anymore. "It took me a while to realize. Mind still scrambled from being inside the amber. It has been twenty years." He said. He turned at you again, suddenly grabbed your arms. "It has been twenty years, (name)."

  You were properly scared at his reaction. Tears filled your eyes. You wondered if the new Doctor is angry at you for failing him for twenty years. "Doctor, I'm so..."

  "So, why do you look exactly the same?" The Doctor continued.

  You froze at that.

  Clara's eyes widened in alarm as she stared at you, bewildered.

  You glanced at the Doctor in daze before turning to your reflection reflected on the monitor at the console. Your mouth dropped open. How did you just now noticed it?

  "I forgot, you see, human lifespan, it's not long...and you aged with times...but, you, (name), you look exactly the same as you were twenty years ago." The Doctor said. 

  Finn glanced at you curiously. "I see, you are one of Frejya's pet project." He said.

  The Doctor snapped his attention back to Finn. "Frejya?" He paled. "What did she do to my companion?"

  Finn smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

  "I really do want to know." The Doctor said flatly.

  "What am I?" You asked the Doctor. "Doctor, what happened to me? Why am I...?"

  Clara rushed toward you when she saw you in such distress, rubbing your back.

  "You are a clone of (name) (last name)." The Doctor said. "You probably have all her memories too except the few they erased. They have been using you to track me."

  "Quite boring too, waiting for you to resurface again, Doctor. We knew you would come back for her, for the people of Earth. Your so called companion mostly are from Earth after all. I'm guessing (name) here is your last companion before you went into hiding." Finn said, finally understanding.

  Clara look horrified. "But that meant the Time Lords knew about the resistance..."

  Finn scoffed. "Of course we know. You lot are hardly a threat. We could squash you anytime we want. We even let you 'rescue' those scientists etc." He said, looking bored. "We want to know what you lot are up to. We know you would eventually led us to him." He glanced at the Doctor.

  The Doctor glared at Finn. "What happened to the real (name) (last name)?"

  The other Time Lord. "Oh, you know Frejya, Doctor, she always did damaged her toys a bit too fast and then throw them away like garbage." He said cruelly.

  The Doctor didn't speak for a while. He turned back to console, pushing some buttons. He glanced at Finn. "You better pray that is not the case." 

  Finn winced. "W-what did you do? Doctor, you can't..." He pleaded when he realized what the Doctor is up to. "You can't...send me back again...I will die..."

  You and Clara glanced at him in alarm before turning to look at the Doctor.

  "Doctor, what did you do?" Clara asked.

  "Doctor..." Before you can do anything, the Doctor pushes a button and Finn disappeared with a scream. You flinched. "Doctor, what did you do?" You asked, horrified.

  The Doctor ignored you, plotting a course somewhere.

  "Doctor, stop ignoring me! Look at me!" You pleaded.

  The Doctor glanced at you firmly but you noticed the pain in his eyes.

  "Doctor, did you ki-"

  "I send him to his death, yes. We have no time for more chit chat. The Time Lords know now that I am back." The Doctor said, stopping any words you have next. "I just declared a war with them when I send Finn to his death."

  "Where are we going?" Clara asked.

  "I have to make a preparation before the next play date with the Time Lords." He said coldly as he pulled a lever.

  He marched toward you, grabbed your arms firmly and glared at you with such cold fury. "I will come back for the rest of you."

  You blinked in confusion. The Doctor is talking to you but it is also like he is talking to someone in you.

  "I will descent hell upon you lot. I'm done playing nice. If I have to, I will make sure I will be the last Time Lord standing again."

  The Doctor touched a pulse on your neck and you fainted in his arms. The last thing you heard is Clara yelling for you.

  7777

  The monitor was shut down offline on its own.

  Frejya gasped in dismay, pushing some button to get the monitor back online but it was futile. She screamed in frustration. She turned to the other occupants in the room. "He killed Finn." She growled in fury.

  A young woman sighed in dismay. "I told Finn to wait. He was always so reckless."

  A man in suit stepped forward, pushing one hand on his pocket. He was calm as he glanced at the monitor, recalling the Doctor's declaration of war. He smirked. "Let him come. We need him anyway. Secure the Timeless Child at all cost."

     A/N: If you watch Fringe, you will recognized I borrowed the 'amber' from that TV series though the purpose probably all wrong? Anyway I'm just bullshitting my way with this too. Wish I'm a better writer who can make epic storyline but I'm just ordinary.  I suppose I'm done with this particular story. I am no good at making conflict for stories. The Doctor will most probably calling out his inner oncoming storm to the front to deal with the other Time Lords. Will the other Time Lords succeed in recapturing the Timeless Child? I guess nobody know because I don't know either. I suppose once again the version of the reader get the short straw again and be the reason of the Doctor turned dark. 

[cerysdelaney]

Hello! This is Sugar! Wanted to let you know I think you are an amazing writer and I believe in you! I had a quick question for you tho, how/when did you know this was what you wanted to do?

Sending you love!!💚💚💚

Short answer: This has been a long and broken path. Wanting something and making it happen was a series of false starts and self reflection.

But I have always loved storytelling. So here’s my long answer:

I started making OCs for my favorite shows since I can remember. They were all originally self inserts with powers or alterations. To name a few, I had a best friend to Sonic, a sixth Power Ranger, and an immortal being of the Force that helps Luke on his journey. There were so many.

My first fanfic was in Harry Potter, and… well… I don’t know if anyone remembers Fanfiction.Net and it’s toxicity level in the 90s… (who knows, maybe it’s never changed?) But my tiny little 12-year-old-written self-insert was eaten alive and spit out to die slowly. I had like 12 views, no likes, and 3 comments of vile cruelty.

So then I only wrote for my friends. I created a multiverse combining OCs from Dragonball Z to Star Wars… Gundam Wing to Harry Potter… Xanth to Xena and Hercules. I made their descendants, lore, etc. But it was all for my friends’ eyes alone.

In high school, I went to Creative Writing summer camps (which I later became a camp counselor in… Ah, summer jobs…). In college, one of my majors was English with an emphasis on Creative Writing. But I did realize I had another calling by then too. One that was a bit more stable. And, honestly, Creative Writing courses killed my drive to write. I was looked down on for aspiring to be a “genre writer.” And it’s crazy to think I listened to them, but I did… except once…

In my senior year of college, for my last story, I wrote about Lucifer’s fall from the perspective of the fallen angel himself. It was inspired by John Milton’s Paradise Lost (which I had taken an entire course on) and my own battle with my faith, Catholicism. I had been an active member in the church, but in college I finally let myself explore parts of me I didn’t before. I had sex. I let myself finally acknowledge that I wasn’t straight. I had more sex with everyone. I dated guys and girls, non binary and trans. And I became an outsider to the world I once knew. All that taken into perspective, I felt for a character who used to be so close to God’s right hand, and then loses his position because of choices that didn’t fall in line with the teachings. So I wrote from my heart in a tale as old as patriarchy.

And no one in class made a goddamn negative critique.

I don’t know how many of you out there have ever taken a creative writing class, but I still can’t put into words how shocking it was to not receive even a single red note. Not even that pretentious jackass who was already published in multiple online magazines had any comment for improvement. Instead, what was supposed to be a fifteen minute round robin of commentary became an hour long conversation about how jarringly relatable Satan is as a protagonist. Some were grappling with God as a tyrant. Others enjoyed the juxtaposition of Jesus and Satan. It was awesome. It was fun. It was everything I wished a my entire four years had been: talking about ideas.

But then I didn’t get a single call back from any graduate schools when I decided to use that piece and genre fiction in my portfolio. So I focused instead on the job I did get that does the other thing I love.

And I stopped writing.

Fast forward almost ten years. I’m now married, career secure, and looking to have a baby. I haven’t grappled with the fact that I love sex but have married an asexual man who I love beyond words. I’m also going into heat. (That’s a more honest way to describe the “ticking clock” everyone talks about as you near your 30s and then get into it. Holy hell ovulation is a hungry beast).

I needed an outlet, and it couldn’t be private. I was already too private. At the same time as I’m grappling with this, a friend introduced me to this deliciously dark character of Gaster in Undertale, and I just… started writing.

I created an AO3 account under the name Dark Crystal Demon and I let myself write whatever I wanted to write. I wrote rape by plants and ghosts. I wrote about women with dicks. Myself with a dick. I wrote about BDSM and Master/Pet play and It. Felt. So. Good.

I feel alive writing whatever I want because I can’t be whatever I want in real life. I honestly can’t. I’m highly respected in my career, but that all goes away if I reveal an account like this. I want to keep the career I have. So welcome to my secret den of dreams and nightmares. I’m very good at decorating closets I find myself hiding in.

I didn’t plan on writing for others, but my love for pleasuring others has definitely intermingled with my love for writing erotic content. Most of the time I write for me, but there are a few of you in my DMs who know when I’m writing for you ^_~ I can’t help but tease you. I adore you so.

Teasing friends made me realize I like world building around people’s desires. So that’s when I started taking commissions. But balancing family, career, and writing has been difficult these last five years. You all who have been with me for a while have seen my giant hiatuses in fanfics, etc.

During this pandemic I realized I wanted to finally give writing it’s chance. Instead of taking another career-advancing task, I decided to stay where I am in my job. So for the first time in a very long time, I can finally use my free time for my hobby and not extra work. (Can I just say, making a calendar for when I’m going to work on different fics, commissions, Master Classes, and erotic articles is exhilarating.)

So here I am. Told you it was a long story. Communities in writing are just like relationships, some are abusive and treat you poorly. I got lucky and found one that has let me be me. That’s why, when I tell you all I appreciate your support, it’s coming from the center of my soul. Thank you for letting me be me, especially you, Sugar. You are a very cherished supporter. 💜

[numeronubisexualhawkeye]

This One’s For You Steve Irwin

1818 words

(this is complete and utter nonsense but i had fun writing it lmao)

Clint wouldn’t lie and say he had been a little excited when Maria cleared them for this mission. At first he was going to pass it onto someone else or let Natasha handle it on her own this time. He had just come off a month long mission trying to take down an arms dealer in Benin, and was ready for some well deserved rest, but Maria knew how to reel him back in. At first she had just told him that it was in Australia, easy, would probably be up in a week, and he could stay in the country for however long he wanted until they called him back for another mission (the last part sounded too good to be true, but Clint had vacation days saved up and he would use them on the sunshine coast in a heartbeat).

That grabbed enough of his attention to ask just how “easy” this mission was supposed to be. When Maria told him that they had to discreetly take down someone who had been smuggling biological weapons through Australia Zoo, he actually laughed.

“Is the crime world so desperate they’re willing to smear Steve Irwin’s legacy for their evil plan?” he had asked.

Maria just shrugged. “I don’t know. But apparently, they’re doing a sloppy job, because Queensland Police have had multiple tips from staff and tourists reporting suspicious behavior.”

“Then why not let Queensland Police handle it?”

“Because it’s one of ours.” Maria said handing him the file with the mission report.

Clint vaguely remembered the face in the blurry security camera picture. Some cadet who had defected early into training, too tempted by the easy money of some crime lord one of his friends had been running with. Maybe this would be easy, Clint had trained him for a short while, and the young man, Jacob if he remembered correctly, was shrimpy, never ranked high in any of his physical tests. But apparently he was a good enough businessman to have a weapons deal running down under.

He accepted the mission, and three days later, he and Natasha boarded a painstakingly long twenty hour flight. When they finally got to their hotel, Clint sang the praises to every deity he could name off the top of his head.

“You gonna lounge around all day or are we gonna get to work?” Natasha said coyly, tossing a t-shirt on his head.

Clint had been spread out across the bed for several minutes while Natasha was coming out the bathroom from a shower. “Ugh, five more minutes. That flight was the devil.”

“This heat is about to be the devil. I can’t believe we have to stake out a zoo during Australia’s summer.” Natasha said as she brushed out her hair.

“Hey, look on the bright side, we can go to the Crocoseum when we’re done.”

“Hm, that's true.” Natasha laughed. “But seriously, let's get this over with. There's no way that skinny asshole can be that big of a problem.”

But as it turned out, that skinny asshole ended up being a complete problem. Since the calls had been coming in about suspicious behavior, security at the zoo had been tightened. They had to go in without weapons, which they most likely wouldn't have needed, but going in without at least a pistol made Clint feel naked in his khaki shorts and t shirt. The only sort of gear they took in was a radiation monitor that Natasha had smuggled in in her purse.

The tight security also made it that much harder to scope their target out without alerting any of the staff. Sure they were just moderately trained cops and staff, but Clint would have much rather preferred to not have their cover blown (that and he really wanted to see the croc feeding at four).

They didn't stay the entire day, only about two hours. It was crowded and with the security, all they could really do is scout out staff entrances and exists, and keep an eye out for Jacob's face in the crowd.

The second day was a bit more promising. In the crowded cafe, Natasha was able to pick up a reading on the radiation found in the weapon they were looking for.

“West side of the zoo,” she signed to him. He had his hearing aids in, but it was easier to talk about the mission this way.

“Oh goody, looks like we're going to Africa.” Clint signed back as he looked at the map to see where exactly they would be heading.

Once in the African enclosures of the zoo, the crowd had thinned out a little and the security was a little less dense. Clint walked with his arm around Natasha's shoulder, leaning a little too hard into their newlywed cover. But how could he not? The jovial energy of the zoo, the perfect weather, Natasha looking like an angel in her green sundress, ponytail, and New York Giants baseball cap she had nicked from him a few weeks back. It was painfully blissful, and here he was trying to chase down a defunct cadet instead of being able to fully enjoy it.

“I got it.” Natasha signed, walking out from under Clint's arm.

He sighed as the moment ended, duty was always calling. He followed her as she walked along the perimeter of the enclosure, passing rhinos and giraffes as he went. When she stopped and looked up, her gaze went inward to the animals.

“What the,” she started, “that can't be right.”

“What is it?” Clint asked.

Natasha didn't say anything, there was a security guard walking past them. Instead she passed him the monitor. The signal was strong alright, the blip on the radar binging like crazy. Clint looked in the direction the monitor was saying the radiation was strongest; the herd of rhinos.

“Wh-what?” Clint said perplexed.

Natasha nudged him in the ribs with her elbow, the guard passing them had turned around. She laced her fingers in his and faked a laugh, as if she was laughing at Clint's reaction to a bad joke she had just told. The guard turned and walked off.

“Let's go.” Natasha signed.

Back at the hotel, Clint finally blurted out his theory as to what was going on, “He's smuggling the weapons through the animals. Like some drug trafficking type shit.”

Natasha shook her head. “No that'd be too easy to find out. I doubt a rhino would be able to hold down an atomic bomb in its stomach for long.”

Clint raised an eyebrow. “Are you hinting at what I think you are?”

“It's so stupid it's almost amazing, isn't it?” Natasha said.

“Just to be sure, we are both thinking that the animals are the weapons right?”

“Yeah that's totally it.” Natasha answered. He couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

That night, they donned their catsuits and gear and headed back to the zoo. Clint felt like he was going to hell for breaking into the zoo. Australia Zoo of all zoos to run a weapons ring, and in the animals themselves? It was already bad enough that it was animal abuse, but the things this would do to Steve Irwin's legacy if it got out? Clint made a note to kick Jacob's ass a little harder when they caught him.

First they took out the security cameras and set off a distraction in the food court. “Sonic arrow should do well enough for a couple minutes right?” Clint signed to Natasha.

They made their way back to the African enclosures but the monitor indicated that wherever the radiation had been coming from had moved.

“Shit, we're too late.” Natasha said.

“No, look over there.” Clint pointed to a small spot of light across the large field. The shape of the truck was almost impossible to make out in the darkness, but someone had left the light on inside.

“We gotta hurry. I really don't wanna disappoint any of the Peta freaks at work.” Natasha said.

They jumped the fence and sprinted across the field, Clint a little wary of the animals around them, but they took a wide path to avoid spooking the herd. But by the time they were halfway across the field, the truck driver had caught sight of them and started the engine.

“Shit. Clint,” Natasha hissed beside him.

“I'm on it!” He whipped an arrow out his quiver and took aim at the truck's tires, but the driver braked in front of them, narrowly avoiding running them over. A man stepped out the driver’s side, Jacob.

“Ha! I guess I finally popped up on Shield’s radar.” he said, sounding impressed, “Guess my little operation is going better than I thought.”

“Dude, you’re using rhinos for some fucked up weapons experiments.” Natasha, irritation dripping from her voice, “That’s not very honorable.”

“And at Steve Irwin’s zoo? The hell’s the matter with you?” Clint followed.

Jacob rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Some jackass in Africa wants souped up baby rhinos, I’m gonna give him souped up baby rhi-” Jacob’s sentence was cut off by one of Clint’s trick shots piercing his shoulder and electrocuting him.

“G-d these guys just can’t pass up a chance to monologue.” he huffed.

Natasha went to apprehend Jacob while Clint went to the bed of the truck and found a baby rhino sedated in the bed. “Hey there fella,” he whispered, rubbing his hand along its side. “We’re gonna get you home to your mom safe and sound.”

The rest of the night went smoothly. They alerted zoo security, and told them about Jacob’s plan. Natasha assured them that all the animals sold through Jacob would be returned as soon as possible, she and Clint both knew it wouldn’t take much to get the young man to crack and tell where he had shipped the poor animals off to. When all was said and done, there was technically five days left in their mission, and Maria had said that Clint could spend however long he wanted in Australia until his next mission. The next morning at the hotel, Clint woke Natasha up early with soft kisses on her cheek.

“Good morning to you too.” she smiled. “Happy to see me?”

“Yes, but there’s also a croc feeding at noon, and I really wanna meet Terri Irwin.” Clint whispered. 

Natasha rolled over and hit him in the head with her pillow. “G-d you only took this mission to come to Australia Zoo, didn’t you?” 

“What? No. I took this mission to honor the late, great Steve Irwin, and go to Australia Zoo.” 

Natasha laughed, and got out of bed. The rest of their stay was as sweet and simple as their newlywed cover had been, and for the time being, Clint couldn’t think of a better job in the world to have. 

[robotnik-mun]

So...

A while back I said I’d stop posting about Penders, and so far I’ve been pretty good at following that vow, and honestly its been rather emotionally fulfilling not festering in negativity over that jackasses actions. 

From time to time I check out his twitter. I don’t go delving in depth anymore, I just go to see what’s up. Morbid curiosity. Long story short, there’s nothing really to see. 

Except this time. This time there was something special. Something that needed commentary. And so, just this once, I’m gonna break my vow. Let’s be clear here- I’m not gonna make a habit out of this. This isn’t some glorious return. This is just me shaking my head in disgust at the fact that somehow, this man has actually managed to sink to a new low. 

What do I mean? Well, it goes like this- its Comic-Con this year, and as per tradition, Penders has decided to blight us with his art. 

Long story short? A lot of it is mediocre to terrible. This is practically a truth that need not be spoken. 

Except for a particular picture of Shadow, which, to my extreme surprise... 

....was VERY well done. I couldn’t believe it really. Penders has never, ever been able to draw Sonic very well, nor has he even pretended to attempt to emulate the Sonic style. Yet here was Shadow the Hedgehog, in what was one of the best pictures to come from the man. 

Particularly puzzling since, days earlier, he’d done another picture for a fan, this one of Sonic and Amy. 

Don’t look directly at it, you might lose a portion of your soul. 

So yes, it made me wonder, why is it that Penders did so well with the Shadow pic, but had earlier futzed up the Sonic/Amy pic? Especially given that Shadow is far more elaborately designed than Sonic is, with his quills, highlights and shoes. 

I discussed the matter with a friend, and they brought up something that had completely escaped me- the reason that this art looked so good compared to Penders’ usual fare was because it was pre-existing. 

Penders had copied art. From Sonic Chronicles, of all things. And then proceeded to sell it to a fan for a profit. 

In case it isn’t obvious at a glance, let’s do a side-by-side- 

Uncanny, no? 

There are really few words to describe the irony, the hypocrisy, or how just plain old scummy this is. Firstly, there is the matter that for a man who screams about creator’s rights and the like, he’s demonstrated very little guilt in profiting off the efforts of others- he’s copied something someone else made, very blatantly at that, and made a profit off of it. 

And therein lies the second, and most sickening aspect of this- someone paid for this, and what he gave them was a copy of another person’s art, right down to the pose. See, when someone commissions art off of an artist, it is done so because they want to see what that artist will do- they buy for the artist to do the art, in their style, the way they would do it. Penders however decided ‘To hell with it, I’ll just copy this picture and get money for it’. 

It’s disgusting, and deeply shameful. Particularly for a man who screams about being a professional at every given opportunity, as well as the rights of the creator and integrity and all that good shit. 

Its long been known that Penders is a deeply hypocritical man, one who does not apply the standards he sets for others to himself. Yet even I never imagined he’d honestly copy art, and then sell it to a fan of his. 

But then, my first mistake was ever assuming that Penders was ever capable of any real standards, whether it be in his art or his own repulsive behavior. 

[smilingperformer]

SM073 - Thoughts

I think I’ve calmed down from Friday enough to write this now... let’s see. I’m not sure you guys even need me talking about this episode. It was so good!

It is finally time for Rocket Gang to go get themselves their very own Z-Ring! I’ve been waiting for this ever since I started watching this series almost a year ago now, and I was so god damn happy to finally see it happening. This also marks the start of Ula’Ula Island Arc, and I found it brilliant to start with Rocket Gang instead of Satoshi. Who, btw, is absent until the very last 10 seconds of the episode! This hasn’t happened since Diamond & Pearl’s first episode, if I remember correctly.

(This post is getting so god damn long because there’s lots to discuss so, I’m actually gonna put a cut here! To save your dashboards from this freaking long post! I hope it works for mobile people as well, if not, I apologize. I think I’ll continue on doing this in the future as well!)

Anyway, they head to Ula’Ula Island in search of Island King/Kahuna Kuchinashi/Nanu, who appears to be old acquitances with Rocket Gang Boss Sakaki/Giovanni. This is a detail I didn’t expect to be canon in Pokeani until the news hit, and I’m looking forward to learning more about this! Sakaki told the Trio (and Sonansu :D C’mon, it’s how Narrator said it) that they might be able to get a Z-ring from him, which prompted them to go on the Air Balloon ride. Which hasn’t appeared in Sun & Moon after it’s very early appearance in episode SM005! Great to see them still having it! (They did reference it in last episode so I guess it was expected!)

We then cut to a local Island Library to get us introduced to the character a lot of people had been waiting for to appear: Meet Acerola! She’s shown to be working at the said Library, and starts reading a book about the Greedy Lapoo to two young kids, who, according to VA cast list, are called Nene and Piko.

I must say, I love the designs of these two, and even if they seem to end up being CotD types, I’ll most likely be enjoying whatever screentime they’ll give us of them.

But, this scene also serves as a plot element teller as well, in addition to introducing these three characters to the story. In short, it’s a story about a ghost that stole people’s items, who then ended up being hated by people, because of it’s greedy nature. Thus, the name the Greedy Lapoo. It was then sealed away by a local Island King, and was never heard of again.

Anyway, we cut back to Rocket Gang, who are preparing to make good first impression with the Island King with some Malasadas. They get their disguises on because of the place they’re heading to being a Police Station, and when they get inside, oooooh boooyy. It’s what we’d expect from Ula’Ula Police Station.

It’s filled with dozens of Alolan Nyarths! Talk about over-kill. And they all get their eyes on one thing: the Malasada. Poor Rocket Gang.

That’s when we get to see the Island King thou! Meet Kuchinashi/Nanu! Or well. We know he’s the guy, but our dear buffoons don’t. So when they ask to see the Island King, well... you know what happens. I made a huge screencap post on it, but to put it short: he outright lied to them that Island King is away and may not be coming back for possibly a year! What a jackass! But I already fell in love with his characterisation at this point, so full points on perfect introduction. He clearly likes to avoid his Island King/Kahuna duties, which fits the game profile as well.

So, Rocket Gang loses all hope and head off. We then cut back to Acerola and co., who have finished reading the book, and decide to head to the tomb stone that is said to be the fairy tale’s Greedy Lapoo’s. However, Rocket Gang has decided to mourn their bad luck at the very same place, and when Musashi loses her temper and breaks the tomb...

Meet The Greedy Lapoo the Gengar! The fairy tale turned out to be true, and the Island King’s seal on the ghost is now broken. Way to go Musashi! Thou, tbf, she had no idea of such tale. I originally though it’d be a Totem Gengar, but then I realised that there’s no such thing in the games, so it’s probably something else that makes it so much bigger. Pokeani can do some interesting stuff with the Pokemon Universe anyway!

Anyway, Gengar steals Rocket Gang’s Dark Z-crystal, and then heads to Acerola and co, who had just arrived to the place. While the two kids are scared as hell, Acerola shows that she’s not.

I just noticed I’m rambling about all episode details again, but it’s hard not to. New characters were introduced, and as a huge fan of Acerola, I was stoked when this episode had so much focus on her! it’s great! Anyway, she gets kidnapped by the Gengar, who then proceeds to go steal stuff from random people around the Island. Acerola’s Mimikyu, who she calls Mimi-tan, tries to rescue her, but to no avail.

Mimi-tan gets thrown into air by Gengar, and while falling, Acerola jumps to catch it. Why thou?! I haven’t said it yet, because it’s actually revealed at the end of the episode, but Acerola’s Mimi-tan is an actual Ghost of a Mimikyu. So it wouldn’t really get hurt, would it? Then again, this is the first time Pokeani explores actual ghost pokemon, so there’s much we don’t know. We might learn more during this arc thou! I certainly hope so!

But y’know, this is where we start to see the good side of the Greedy Lapoo Gengar. It shows to be worried about Acerola after her fall, and when Acerola shows it she’s fine, he’s quite happy! Turns out, Gengar very much likes Acerola, and when Acerola tries to tell him to take her back home, he selfishly refuses, and tries to convince her to stay. When Acerola keeps on denying it thou, even when gengar shows the Dark Z-crystal that it stole from Rocket Gang, Gengar loses it. This is where I’m actually kinda spooked.

WHAT IS IT DOING??? Trying to put Acerola inside it? How rude is that??? Mimi-tan is unable to do anything, oh boy am I proud of the following moment:

Musashi came in and actually saved Acerola! Considering her dialogue earlier about how she can’t stand Gengar being so selfish with his liking to Acerola, I want to believe she actually did this to both save Acerola, and get the Z-crystal back. And it was really well done! Kinda reminded me of Satoshi and Pikachu thou lol. The pararrels between Satoshi and Musashi are increasing! They then mock the poor Gengar in hilarious ways, seriously, Rocket Gang’s writing in this episode is top notch and I have never loved them more in an episode.

Gengar then starts chasing after fleeing Rocket Gang (which actually seems like a lure plan???) and when Nyarth tries to counter-attack, Gengar possesses him. Spooky stuff. Musashi quickly orders Mimikyu to do something, who uses Wood Hammer on Nyarth. Ouch. Musashi cares for Nyarth, but she’s always been rough on rescue plans.

But then Gengar posseses her! And this honestly looks sort of scary at this screenshot. It kinda reminds me of a certain ghosts from Sonic Adventure 2 thou... : D Kojiro is shown shook, and he definitely doesn’t do hasty moves when it comes to rescuing Musashi. This is definitely something Satoshi’d do as well, and god damn it. Kojiro does come up with a perfect plan, and it shows how good of a trainer he is: Hidoide’s newly learned Dark-move Knock-Off is perfect counter for Ghost type, so he orders Hidoide to hit Musashi with it, gently. Musashi only gets a headbump from this so, all good. Except Gengar is mad as hell now. XD GG!

Then the best scene starts! Kuchinashi comes to see the situtation with Acerola, tells the Rocket Gang Trio that they’re actually better than he initally thought, so he throws them a Z-Power Ring! And then we get to see the god damn gorgeus Dark Z-move! it’s darn powerful looking, and man, the faces Musashi, Kojiro and Nyarth have while seeing Gengar get sucked into the Blackhole Eclipse is very, very well done. It shows both amaze and spookyness in them. This is the first time they’ve done the Z-move now, and oh am I glad they actually did it together. Even if Kojiro was the one to wear it, the energy def came from all three of them. This is the best outcome I could have hoped for the Z-move and I’m pleased. Very pleased.

Acerola then realises that Gengar was actually lonely instead of being greedy, so she decides to be friends with it. A happy end and all! Judging from Kuchinashi’s dialogue, this seems to be a norm to Acerola. Acerola also spills the beans about this old man being the Island King Kuchinashi to Rocket Gang, who aren’t very pleased with his trick. But Rocket gang also spills beans on being from the criminal organisation, where we realise Kuchinashi does indeed know Sakaki. And yet, he lets Rocket Gang keep the Z-Power Ring. Fits him.

In the end, Acerola’s Mimi-tan rewards Musashi with the Mimikkyu-Z crystal, which I bet is because Mimi-tan is greatful for Musashi saving Acerola earlier. It makes sense in my head at least. And imo, she deserves it. So, Rocket Gang ends up with a double-prize this episode: Z-Power Ring, and a new Z-crystal! Ii Kanjii indeed!

At the end of the episode, we finally have our appearance of the real main character of the show, who’s finally heading to Ula’Ula Island himself as well! It’s time for his third island adventures!

I’ll cya all next week, when Satoshi gets to battle Kuchinashi (all thanks to Acerola convincing him), Kuchinashi gets a call from Sakaki himself, and Lugarugan’s Red eyed Beast mode returns! Until then!

[dentalrecordsmusic]

Feature: Passive, Vancouver’s Favorite Dose of Atmospheric Rock Sound

"We're just a fucking rock band, it's not like we're doing anything new, so it would be stupid to say that we're not influenced by anyone, but at the same time, we don't consciously draw from anything. We absorb so much information, music, art, content, etc that it's all gonna seep into the music in some way anyhow. I suppose I did listen to Prurient all day today at work, though, so there's that." This is the response I get from Ian Schram when I ask him what the artistic or personal influences on his and partner April-Lee Johnson's Vancouver based two-piece rock band Passive. Schram, artistically spartan, isn't know for being indulgently vocal about his own craft, a trait which is easily paired by Johnson's, also a tattoo artist, confident ongoing steady creativity. The pair never intended for their two-piece show to become an exercise in minimalism although Schram concedes that it may have shifted towards being a two-person laboratory since.

In August 2015, after a year of writing songs, Schram and Johnson recorded their first LP N∅ 1 in the attic of an East Vancouver house, the space adding the ambient details that make this first release, even years later, as potent as it has ever been. Johnson's dependable drumming cradles the robust, static and often washed out guitars of this first album which is a face sweating deliverance from ego. The aggressive undercurrent that flows throughout the entire album is never enough to drag the listeners into the undertow but it sure as hell takes them down a frothing white water passage through a canal of angst, painful awareness, and shadow love. Throughout the record, Schram's haunting disconnected lyrics speak in raw stark emotion about the honest intentions and motivations behind youthful subversion, betrayal, and disdain. It is exceptional that these thoughts are conveyed with music that has a refined depth of maturity not typically associated with such rebellious musical tendencies. Highlight tracks from N∅ 1 include the introductory track "There is a Rot", which is so satisfying at a primitive it feels like a knowing wink from Johnson and Schram. The band achieves a seance with the punk rock pastoral "Dining with the Languid", Johnson applying pace to Schram's black pulpit hammering lyrics. The pair close it out with the raw pulse rocking "The Innocent Hand is Listening", a flex track that explores a range of tempo and muscle before unleashing one last stanza of ravenous lyrics, the whole thing settling in a pile of charred frequency. The structure of Passive's N∅ 1 is songwriting that operates like a well-oiled Glock: economic, dependable, and deadly.

After a year of playing gigs, building a performative repertoire and creative cache, in the scenes of Vancouver Passive released an expressive three track chandelier dropper entitled N∅ 2. Recorded by their friend out of Toronto, Alex Kurth, the production quality of this second recording is markedly different from the first. The expansive space the sound was given by the attic recording space is replaced by something more reasonably resembling a studio as the field of sound is refined, the whole operation being given a definition previously not accentuated. If Passive's N∅ 1 is a painting that is perfectly viewed from about eight feet back their N∅ 2 is a piece that despite its concise size could be considered exemplary if a person's face were mere inches away from the canvas. In "The Mind is not a Temple" Passive picks up where they left off on the stage of your ears, their humble confidence rising as the strong hands of Johnson's drumming looks you in the eye and drags you forward through the crowd to be cut to pieces by a swath of sharp textured riffage. "You Always Wanted a Family"  builds heat and vibrates through musical friction and escalating tensions that lead to a retching of "You always wanted a fucking family" from Schram. "Not Pray" begins with a sludgy funeral dirge that mires around your ears like marshland overgrowth before the heat comes out and the bog starts to evaporate, the mud shrinking and cracking, the dirge reconstituting as a beautiful dark hymnal, a black mass blessing us with some heavy atonements.

The structural quality and musical range of Passive makes them a band you can experience live over and over again. When I've seen them play in the past few years Ian is usually caught up in a pre-gig fugue state, chain-smoking between arranging his guitar and pedals, haphazardly setting himself up for what is often a set full of convulsions and erratic dives into the sonic surf of the tracks; while April arranges herself without spectacle or fanfare, usually slipping into the crowd to have a few beers before the set and enjoy the diverse artistic social climate or to just jackass with friends. The spectacle of Passive is in these live performances where the pair has been intermingling with the scene ephemera only to take the stage to be consumed, at least for a short while, with their performance. When Ian's playing guitar it's like he's been reunited with an aspect of his personality that's typically absent and the core focus and drive of April is apparent through her always improving drumming.  Passive's innate skill and durability paired with a lack of strutting ego makes them good no matter they are on the bill. Succeeding in what they do isn't contingent upon the initial tastes or moods of the crowd because Passive is good enough to at first lure their audience in with their breathy mysterious lyrics and then convert them by altering their heart rates and hypnotizing them with a sound that ripples in your pulse like it's been poured into you through an IV. When the set's done there's an understanding of experience in most crowds. A reverence or awe for the cutting musical mural that now melts off the walls.

If you're not familiar with Passive and their infectiously intelligent rock, get into it. As of writing this, they've just finished laying down the first tracking sessions for what will be a new album, and despite their name and unpretentious attitudes I get the feeling the new album is going to be anything but laid back.

Follow Passive on Facebook and Bandcamp.

Axel Matfin is eating ice cream sandwiches and thinking about how much shorter summer felt when he was in high school. You visit his website and follow him on Instagram.

[crystallinecrimsonmoth]

Future Serial Killer [ongoing]

Chapter 16

‘Carl’s very, very sorry for tearing the stitches. Aren’t you, little lamb?’

Carl whimpered at Negan’s tone of voice while Doc took out the ruined stitches to replace them, burying his face in his older boyfriend’s shoulder as a few tears of pain slid down his cheek.

‘Really, really sorry.’ He whispered, wishing his life would end when the needle went into his leg and started threading the gash closed.

He nuzzled further into Negan as the pain increased, leaning into the hand that stroked through his hair and trying to focus on that feeling rather than the needle in his leg.

‘It’s not that bad, Negan, the wound is still healing so the stitches haven’t affected that. He’ll be fine.’ Doc smiled up at the man and patted Carl’s knee to comfort him, backing up when it made a low snarl leave Negan’s lips.

Ada watched with a wary gaze when Negan snarled, worried about that temper being around her friend, but Carl was so cuddled into the man’s chest that she wondered if he was a threat to him at all. The teen seemed so comfortable in his arms, willing to cry in front of him and let Negan stroke his hair, something she had never thought was possible considering how closed off Carl had been when she first met him.

Carl snuggled into Negan’s neck with another small whimper as the stitches were finished and a fresh bandage was wrapped around his shin, letting him move his face enough to kiss his forehead. He looked up at the man, his eye still watery from the pain, and smiled when he smiled.

‘Feeling okay, little lamb?’

The teen narrowed his eyes, still not happy with the nickname, even if he was half-drugged and feeling the intense burn of his stitches as the medication he’d been given earlier wore off more than it already had.

‘I’d feel a lot better if you didn’t keep calling me a sheep.’ He huffed, jumping down off the table onto his good foot and testing the balance of the injured one.

It stung but it was bearable, so Carl put the barest amount of weight on it so he could limp without Negan’s help. Negan watched with a proud expression, about to stand and follow the teen before Ada walked up to him, standing in the way of his exit.

‘If you hurt him, I’ll hurt you. He’s my friend, and you killed his entire family. I don’t trust you for shit, so be careful how you treat him.’ She warned with a serious tone that made Negan smirk and stand up so he could use his height to intimidate her.

Being even shorter than Carl, Ada had a lot more of a height difference to use for intimidation.

‘I don’t intend to hurt him. I love him, he’s the most perfect creature on earth and I want to give him the whole world, so there’s no need to worry. However, if you threaten me like that again, when your safety here relies on Carl liking you, I’ll make sure to give you the same treatment as my head of security who shot my little lamb. Understand me, bitch?’ Negan snarled, only smiling when Ada nodded and stepped out of the way.

‘As long as we’re on the same page, sir.’

‘Don’t worry, little one, we are.’ He replied before walking out with Carl.

The teen walked a few steps ahead of him just to prove he could, but when they came to the stairs he stopped, looking a little worried. Negan sidled up behind him and wrapped his arms around Carl’s waist, bending down to rest his chin on his shoulder.

‘Something wrong, Sonic the Hedgehog?’ He smirked, teasing him about his earlier confidence that had faded so quickly at the sight of stairs.

He heard a grumble escape his lamb before he spoke.

‘I need help up the stairs, jackass.’

Negan grinned and pecked his cheek, poking his ribs playfully.

‘I know, baby. Hop on my back.’

‘I hate you.’

‘You love me, you soft-hearted little shit.’ The older man rolled his eyes, kissing Carl gently before crouching down so that the teen could climb onto his back.

He tightened his hold around his thighs as he started climbing the stairs and smiled fondly when Carl tucked his face into his neck, going quiet as he got comfortable in the strong hold.

~

Later on, after dinner, when everyone else had gone to bed, Carl found himself relaxing on his stomach, stretched out like a long noodle on his and Negan’s shared bed. He was comfortable, too comfortable to be living in a world where the dead were eating the living, but he was too blissed out to think about that.

He was half-convinced that Negan had drugged him with something to calm him down after all the crying he did when his leg was being stitched, but he knew it was more likely that his body was taking full advantage of the peace and quiet he had at the Sanctuary. The safety he felt in Negan’s territory was so relaxing, and with the fire that Negan had put on blazing behind the fireplace grate, he was so warm and cosy that he felt like he was melting into the bedsheets.

The raven-haired Saviour beside him was sitting up with a book in one hand, glasses on as he read while his other hand stroked through Carl’s let down hair, comforting him. Negan assumed the kid was asleep, based on his even breathing pattern and the fact that he hadn’t heard an insult from him for at least an hour, so he brushed through his hair gently to try and keep him that way, wanting the kid to get more sleep.

When it came around to bedtime, Negan got up to change out of his jeans, not realising that Carl was still awake. He stripped off his jeans without even glancing at the teen, whose eyes fluttered open at the sound of the man’s belt buckle and landed on the bulge in his underwear.

Carl knew what a dick was, obviously, because he had one, but compared to the bulge he could see in Negan’s boxers, he thought his own was quite measly. He’d overheard a few girls giggling about his relationship with Negan the day before and they’d certainly taught him a lot about what to do when you’re in a relationship with a dude when he joined the conversation, helping him with the stuff his dad had never taught him.

The idea of putting his mouth on another guy’s dick hadn’t ever seemed appealing until he started getting closer to Negan, more touchy, and now as the man tugged down his boxers to pull on some shorts for wearing in bed, Carl found himself drooling at the sight of his older boyfriend’s larger than average length hanging between his legs.

Carl did his best to muster enough bravery in that moment and, when Negan looked above his head as he stretched his arms out, the teen moved quick, wrapping his lips around the head, and starting to suckle.

The groan it gained from Negan was music to his ears and sent a jolt of arousal down to his own dick. He looked up at the older man, his one blue eye wide and innocent as it met the whisky gaze of his boyfriend.

Negan chuckled, running his fingers through the top of Carl’s hair.

‘What are you up to, darling? Where’d you learn how to do that?’

Carl flushed red at Negan’s newest nickname for him and pulled off only for a moment to speak.

‘Made some new friends, they taught me. Said I should know what I’m doing when we have sex for the first time.’ He answered in an innocent tone before his lips were back on him and he was suckling without abandon, listening to Negan’s helpless groans.

The hand on his hair got tighter as he sucked harder, managing to take all of the thick length in his mouth and closing his throat around it. He let out a whine of discontent though when Negan suddenly pulled him off and pulled his hair to keep him away from the dick he was licking like a lollipop.

Dark eyes looked down on him and the man’s other hand came to rest on his chin, stroking his cheek with his thumb lightly.

‘That little mouth was just made for sucking cock, huh? What would you have done if I hadn’t found you out there in the woods? Sucked cock for food and water, pretty little darling?’ Negan purred and Carl snarled at him, teeth bared despite looking debauched with saliva running down his chin.

‘Jackass.’ He hissed, making Negan smirk.

‘Such a dirty mouth.’ He purred before filling Carl’s throat with his cock again, letting the boy moan around him as he thrust into his mouth.

Negan kept going until he came. Carl’s shirt was soaked in his own drool while the man’s salty release filled his mouth, flowing over his taste buds as he moaned from the hard tug on his hair, panting when his boyfriend finally pulled out.

He swallowed, unable to do anything else with how fucked out he felt, and grabbed onto Negan’s arm when his hand left his hair, hugging it to his chest.

‘Have sex with me? Please?’ Carl pleaded with his eye wide, making Negan weak at the knees as he looked down at his boy.

It took everything in him to shake his head instead of giving into the teen, and he kissed away the trembling pout that started on his young face, ignoring the taste of his release on his mouth.

‘You don’t want me?’

Fuck, even his voice was trembling. Carl had let him fuck his face, but he hadn’t realised what he was giving away when he did so. Now he felt so vulnerable when Negan shook his head, and he couldn’t help the tremble in his lip and the tears that welled in his eye at the threat of losing the man he’d given his heart to. The kiss didn’t even register in his mind as he convinced himself Negan didn’t want him anymore, that he was going to drop him outside the Sanctuary gates and let the wild have him.

Negan’s heart broke at the sound of Carl’s question, and he quickly sat down on the bed, smothering the teen with kisses despite the mess of drool and cum on the edge of the sheets.

‘I want you so bad, darling, so bad, but I don’t have ten orgasms in me nowadays. I need rest before I open you up like that, so we’re going to sleep, and I’ll have sex with you tomorrow. Okay?’ He tried to reassure the whimpering teen, managing to get a nod out of him.

Cleaning everything up and stripping the sheets in favour of a warm blanket, Negan curled up in bed with Carl as the little spoon, tucking his face into the boy’s neck as they both fell asleep. He’d take good care of him the next day.

[rachelbethhines]

The Antoine and Bunnie Retrospective - 126

“Say You Will” Home: Epilogue - Sonic the Hedgehog #134 

The epilogue for the Home arc is one of those character driven, “lets slow down and focus on establishing the new direction” type stories in the same vain as “A Brave New World”, “A Day in the Life”, and “Changes.” I’m generally fond of these types of stories and personally feel some of the above issues are some of the best in the comic. However, while I did still enjoy today’s issue to some degree, I can’t help but feel something was slightly, well, “off” about it. 

For starters the pacing has problems. The previous stories had the whole of the comic to tell their tale. This story has to share page space with a second running arc. (I’m beginning to resent M25YL a little more than I did before) The story has so many characters to catch up with that as soon as it feels like we getting somewhere with one we’re suddenly off to see about another. It’s kind of jarring. 

The second problem is more behind the scenes driven and revolves around a certain writer not understanding a certain character and their relationship with another certain character. More on that later. 

So what do we learn about the characters, well... 

Sonic can understand his dog Muttski due to a babelfish implant he got during the Tossed in Space arc. This is a plot point that won’t go anywhere. 

Doctor Quack lost an eye

Jules finds out he is still a robot due to his injures being too severe

Tails learns about his parents, and is crushing on Fiona again

Rotor has become less of a field agent and more of an inventor though that’s really nothing new

Knuckles and the Chaotix retreated to Knothole when Eggman took over Angel Island

Mina is now a full time singer and is dating her manger, Ash 

Geoffrey and Hershey leave to go on their honeymoon 

King Max is going on a world tour to gain support from neighboring nations leaving Sally in charge while he is away 

The king also wants Antoine to accompany him as his personal bodyguard

And Bunnie explains why her and Antoine broke up....... Well, sort of. 

Ok so here is the deal, the writers are trying to create a mystery around Antoine’s sudden change in behavior. He’s all brooding and serious now; standoffish in a way he never was before. Cutting ties to the people closest to him. The idea was to slowly reveal how he came to be this way and what events unfolded in the missing year that effected him so. The problem with this? The writers can’t agree on how this development should unfold!  

Both Karl Bollers and Ken Penders were in disagreement over Antoine’s character arc during this era. They were openly feuding with each other, and while I don’t know if this is what started the argument, I do know that Antoine’s story became the major battle ground between them. Permanently ending their partnership and eventually leading to both leaving the book altogether. 

This makes reviewing this particular era difficult. I can’t discuss character motivation without revealing the ultimate twist that would explain Antoine’s behavior. And I can’t discuss the big reveal without going into the behind the scene politics and the alternate ideas that everybody was throwing around at the time.      

However, since there is a lot to cover, I’m going to try my best to drip feed you the details so that I’m not just info dumping on you all at once. So I’ll leave you pondering a little longer and let you guess your own theories before jumping into the nitty gritty.  

In the meanwhile I need to address the biggest criticism of this issue, The Slap. 

So some context first. All through out the story Sally had been trying to pull Sonic aside and have a talk with him about their future together. Only for other people to continually interrupt her before she could. During a photo opt. for the press she tried to bring it up again only for both of them to blow up at each other, in front of everybody!   

There’s three main things wrong with this. 

Sally could have waited until after the party or right before it to have this conversation. Making a scene and slapping someone in front of the entire city on a stage is forced drama on the part of the writer.   

Said writer, Bollers, is deliberately writing Sally OOC in order to assassinate both her character and her established relationship with Sonic. A relationship that he never understood how to write for to begin with. Either making them uncommunicative jackasses or sickly sweet “lets plan our wedding” lovely dovey. Seriously, Sonally isn’t the type of couple who would use cutesy pet names, just saying. 

The reason why Bollers is doing this is to cash in on the shipping wars that were running rampant in the fandom. SatAM and comic fans were mainly pro-Sonally, while Sonic X and and game fans were mostly for Sonamy. Unfortunately, Amy’s a ten year old in the comic and Sonally has been around since the comic’s beginning so none of this makes any sense continuity wise. But Bollers doesn’t care about continuity, even his own, and that is perhaps the most aggravating thing about him as a writer.     

However, despite all of the bullshit reasoning behind this, I’m going to try to defend this development from a in-story character stand point. 

If you’ve been following my reviews, you’ll know by now that Sally is clearly an abuse survivor. Her controlling dick-weed father has tried time and time again to ostracize her from her friends. Keeping her locked in the palace, forcing her to be home schooled away from her friends, preventing her from going on field missions ect. He did finally relent and allowed her to be acting ruler/heir to the throne but only because Elias ran away. There’s nothing to indicate that he let up during the past year. In fact without Sonic around, I dare say Sally would have been even more reclusive and a perfect target for a her dad’s manipulative abuse.  

Now add in the fact that Sally’s been known to deflect her frustrations with her dad onto others and has a real problem opening up to people, there was bound to be a angry blow out sooner or later. Her not being able to protect Sonic on missions just happened to be the breaking point. She suffered from depression for a year due to losing him and taking a page from father’s book decided to try and keep him close to her and “safe” through manipulation. Only Sonic of course wouldn’t go along with it. He hasn’t been conditioned like Sally has. 

Yeah it’s stupid and irrational, and probably not conscious on Sally’s part. Abuse survivors can pick up on manipulation tactics and other such learned behaviors and fall back on them as a defense mechanism. Sally may be in charge, but she’s not in control. She’s still doing daddy’s bidding rather than following her heart. 

Unfortunately, the writers aren’t self aware enough to make this into a plot point and to build character off of it. This could have led into Sally realizing she needs to escape her father and get help rather than just being a break up for the sake of cheap drama.     

In short I don’t hate the slap itself, I just hate what came after it. 

Oh an there’s more M25YL in this issue, but it’s not important.