#but the two sonics thing bugs me. i miss just having one.

[aquillis-main]

It always bugged me how the fandom will grasp at straws to go out of their way to paint Aleena as an abusive/neglectful cunt of a mum. I wonder if it's a cheap way to insert angst .

I think it might be, considering the Underground triplets don't seem too preturbed about their situation in the show. Manic has expressed the most out of all of them on what he feels about the whole situation they're in, but the most 'angst' out of Manic in regards to his lifestyle was the lack of home he had with the thieves in 'Mobodoon'. He never really blames Aleena for anything that happened before finding Sonic and Sonia, but the 'potential' of him being angry at Aleena just entices people enough I guess.

... Even when it's pretty obvious in the show that Aleena having to ditch her kids wasn't just part of the Prophecy underlying the whole show, but also due to Robotnik's actions that forced her into exile. Three hungry babies that can only cry isn't going to allow her to get very far, after all. And even without the Prophecy hanging over their heads, it was a smart move on Aleena's part to separate her kids into three different class sects - less of a chance for them to meet before the alloted time, and also make Robotnik miss them since he's looking for three similar looking hedgehogs, not one. You'd be surprised how easily it is to not realize what you're looking for until your brain reregisters sometimes.

One final bit: Most of Manic's angst came from the fact that he, along with the rest of the Thieves Guild, had no solid structure/place to call their own. It's practially screaming that Manic was actually homeless for a while, yet he held no ill will towards any of the Thieves Guild members for the situation he was in (in fact, Manic happily hugs Ferrel for 'gifting' him new drumsticks as a kid. I don't think someone upset about the situation they're in would do that, even a kid), nor has he ever stated it was Aleena's fault for putting him in that situation.

To add to my final bit: in 'Artt of Destruction', Manic's own laminations about the situation they're in is due to the trio losing hope over the situation. They've bee at searching for Aleena for a long while, and it makes sense for Manic to be the most open of the three about the lack of finality. Sonic's not open to revealing his emotions too much, to the point of him not being able to express his 'fear' of water (really, more like 'a large amount of water reminds me how I can't swim'), while Sonia - Sonia may be able to expression frustration and cries easier than the others, you have to remember that she's grown up in high society, so she usually has a better handle on her emotions and when to express them. Manic, being used to a homeless group whom had a lot of close relationships because of the 'us versus them' mentality, is able to express his worries more openly than Sonic or Sonia at times, so he's more likely to talk about things that are bothering him in his head.

Sorry. This got a bit rambly, but basically my point is that Manic may feel strong emotions, but the only canonical evidence he has that is 'angst material' is mainly birthed from two things: his lack of a stable home in his youth, amd the longevity of the mission he was on woth his siblings. Neither of which have anything to do with Aleena, or are birthed from the consequences of one man.

[theautisticgamer]

Sonic Superstars: My Thoughts Before Release

A while back, Takashi Iizuka said that Sonic Team’s long-term goal would be to produce main-line games in the open-zone format roughly every five years, with the interim containing 2.5D platformers to appeal to casual audiences. We’re finally seeing the realization of that interim plan with Sonic Superstars releasing this fall. Here are my opinions on various aspects of the game.

I won’t be discussing the graphics here. Fans with a classic bias miss the pixelated style of Mania, while fans with a modern bias, which hated Mania’s pixel style, are eager for a modern polygonal take. My personal opinion, as a gamer heavily influenced by both of Sonic’s eras, I say either style is good. I'm also very glad that they are keeping Classic Sonic active to represent the side-scrolling platformer game style and keep it visually distinct from the open-zone games. This should be overall beneficial for marketing Sonic games both now and in the future.

What’s more important to me than the graphics are the physics, which I suspect are harder to emulate in the polygonal graphic route, but people from the Sonic community that were invited to play the demo, like Gamescage (Sonic’s self-proclaimed hype-man of YouTube and Twitter fame) say the physics feel exactly like the classics, so I trust his and others’ judgment. And no wonder the physics are so good, Naota Oshima is on the project!

Which is the beginning of my concerns. The game is being developed by Naota Oshima and his studio Arzest. At a glance, it doesn’t sound like that’s a problem, since Naota Oshima created Mr. Hedgehog/Mr. Needlemouse himself. The problem comes with Oshima’s reputation and credibility. Oshima and Arzest worked on Balan Wonderworld, a major failure in the game’s industry that severely cost the game’s publisher, Square Enix. What specifically caused that game to fail were poorly designed functions for character abilities, poorly laid out stages, poor animations, and bugs. While some have claimed Oshima and Arzest didn’t have much involvement in the specific parts of Balan Wonderworld that caused its failure, I find that hard to believe because Oshima was co-heading the project. I’m not calling Arzest into question here as much as I am Oshima; for one we don’t know which Arzest team members were employed there at the time compared to now, and we don’t know who contributed to which problems. But one thing hard to argue with is that Oshima was responsible for ensuring both his employees’ work and the work of other Square Enix employees had been up to snuff on the project, and he fell short of this. This doesn’t mean Sonic Superstars is doomed to fail, it could be a much-needed test to see if Oshima/Arzest can learn from their mistakes by what we’ve seen so far of the game, they have.I know this was a long section, so the TLDR of this section is that Naota Oshima and Arzest have some rough history and we could expect some bugs at launch.

I also think we should expect different level design from Sonic Mania. Sonic Mania was developed by Christian Whitehead and a team full of other indie creatives not just from the Sonic fanbase but beloved/trusted by them, now under the studio name Evening Star. I may talk more about why they’re not working on this game in a separate article, but Evening Star was inspired by Sonic 2 and 3&K when working on Sonic Mania’s level designs, games that were considered the best in the classic trilogy. However, Sonic Team had been split in two during the classic era, half of its members going overseas to the USA to create STI (the Sega Technological Institute) with members from the Sega of America branch. Sonic 2, Sonic 3, and Sonic & Knuckles were made by STI (fun unrelated fact, current head of Sonic Team, Takashi Iizuka, was part of STI starting in Sonic 3). Naota Oshima, however, was involved in Sonic Team’s work in Japan, so his contributions were on the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic CD. While these aren’t bad games, they pale in comparison to Sonic 2, 3&K, and Mania. I do think the levels we’ve been shown look better than Sonic the Hedgehog or Sonic CD, so I’m glad to see that, but I still wouldn’t expect the levels from this game to be the best we’ve seen so far.

I am excited for the game having co-op, but sadly it’s only local. This is a major missed opportunity to make the game fun to play with online friends, in the way Super Mario 3D World in its recent Switch port. I’m hopeful that with enough petition from the community, we can get them to add online co-op post-release. If not, there still should hopefully be a way to loophole some online co-op through Steam’s program made during the covid pandemic, Remote Play Together, which allows players to use local co-op features online.

While we haven’t seen the announced Lego DLC yet, I’m genuinely interested in the decision and I think it will provide fun additional content for the game. And since they added skins to the game for Lego, as well a DLC skin for people who signed up for the games’ newsletter (in the form of Amy’s modern clothes), what other skins could we be getting? Even though it was cool to see skins in Sonic Frontiers, we really didn’t get enough of them and I would love a chance to unlock a bunch of skins in Sonic Superstars as a reward for completing various challenges. This could further add to replayability on top of the character roster.

Speaking of the character roster, I’m glad to see Amy Rose added to it, giving us female representation, and while I’m glad Origins Plus DLC paved the way for her here first, I’m looking to her first genuine debut as an intended playable character in a classic Sonic game. It is suspected we’ll also be able to play as a fifth character as due to suspicious gaps in the title sequence and opening animation. Whether this will be Fang, the new character Trip, or even perhaps a return of Mighty as Plus DLC, we’ll have to see. I think that wraps up my thoughts on Sonic Superstars. The TLDR is that while some aspects of the game should be approached with caution this will be a fun experience and worth being excited for. What are your thoughts on Sonic Superstars? Do you agree or disagree with any of my points? I love interacting with the Sonic and gaming communities and would love to hear from you in the comments.

[400legends]

Dauntari Day 3

The outer door opened, and Merrin, a Kyrrov and the newest member of Malaka, came aboard with her arm wrapped around Esmae's shoulder. The Maeshari was sobbing.

Cosmic Peanut, the ship's captain, had been running diagnostic tests on the new VR rigs with EDI's help. The ship's AI had just pronounced that the rigs were functioning at 100%.

The captain took a sip of the drink in her hand, grimaced and set it aside just as Esmae ran past. Cosmic Peanut tried to grab their arm. "What happened? Is--"

"We're going to need a lawyer." This from Merrin. "Maybe two lawyers." She appraised the VR rigs. "These look great. Do these have the veli-sonic processors?" She crouched and began to remove the hatch on one of the rigs. "I have an idea to add something like that to Ping."

"Why is Esmae crying? What lawyers?" The captain put a heavy paw on Merrin's shoulder.

"Oh right." Merrin stood. "There was a kidnapping. I mean, Esmae kidnapped a croupier. Accidentally of course. But he's married, and who knows if he'll be able to have kids now. Oh and Garty is pisssssed about it."

"Do we need to get out of here ASAP? EDI, run preflight."

"Of course, Captain," said the AI.

"Does EDI have, like pest control?" asked Merrin. "There were these bugs. Only, they weren't bugs, but they tried to possess me." She ran her fingers through her hair. "They cut my hair and danced around it."

That stopped Cosmic Peanut, who had been about to reach for her drink cup. "What are you talking about? You didn't take anything last night, did you? There's this new drug I heard about--"

"No, just a few drinks. We saw the footage, CP. Garty has cameras everywhere! So these shapeshifters snuck up to the suite, and Garty says they were trying to do a possession spell on me. Take over my body."

"Not again with the bug possession," mumbled the Glabrau captain. She glared at Merrin. "You're you, right? How many fingers am I holding up?"

"None. I told you they didn't get to complete the ritual. I woke up and saw them around my hair, and then they scattered."

Cosmic Peanut turned around once as if taking stock. "Who are we missing? Have we done all the shopping? Where's Quinn? Is Requiem at the hotel? Merrin, figure out where Requiem and Dr. Quinn are. Get 'em here pronto. I'm going to talk with Esmae."

Merrin pulled out her handheld and created a three-way call.

Dr. Quinn, the Proxy scientist-bard, felt a vibration in her coat pocket. With dread she reached for it. "It's probably Brian, the crime lord. If that's even his name." She looked at her friend, the Hanadarian singer Requiem, who was sitting beside her.

"Hold on, I'm getting a call," said Requiem. "It's Merrin. She's calling you, too." Requiem placed her handheld on the table and hit the broadcast button.

"Where are you both? You need to get to the ship. Captain says we need to leave right away."

"See, Quinn? Not fired." Requiem smiled. Quinn had been telling Requiem about how upset Captain Cosmic Peanut was about a damaged VR rig.

"I'm still a criminal though," the Proxy countered. "Hey, ah, Merrin, did you happen to see any Brahvaaschi around the ship?"

"Yeah, I guess."

Quinn placed a hand on the table and leaned toward Requiem. "We need to talk with Garty."

"Merrin?" Requiem picked up her handheld. "Is Esmae still with you? She's onboard, right? Things are.... getting complicated. Make sure she stays put."

"Oh no," came the reply, "more lawyers?"

Requiem sighed. "Let Peanut know we'll be there soon." She put down her device and smiled at Dr. Quinn. "So you went carousing the other night with CP, and you don't remember what happened."

"No, I remember that I lost 29 credits at the roulette table. Sorry about that. And then I woke up to a text saying 'Thanks for helping me with that issue.' See?" She held the message up for Requiem to read. "I thought I did something nice! Something kind or, or noble." She leaned forward and whispered, "Not robbing the casino blind!"

"Listen, you obviously used the same hacking tunnel thing for this, ah heist, as you did to scope things out before we arrived."

Quinn put her head in her hands. "Don't remind me! I will never, ever, ever go carousing again."

"What I'm saying, Quinn, is that you can use those same skills to see what happened the other night, when you stole thousands upon thousands of credits from Garty O'Brien."

The Proxy groaned. "My life is over."

"No, it's not. Stop being a drama bard. Let's go."

Quinn grabbed Requiem's arm. "Brian is watching the ship. He told me not to leave. He called me a golden goose."

"We're just going to the ship so that we can figure this out as a group, alright?"

"We need to pull a Nexus then. Stuff me in a suitcase and smuggle me onboard."

"Quinn, I think that's drastic. Besides, I don't have any luggage big enough--"

"We'll go to the suite, and I'll help you detach my limbs. Then I'll fit in just about anywhere."

"I'm not going to make you a torso, Quinn. This is possibly the most insane--"

Quinn clasped Requiem's hands in her own. "Please? I'm holding on by a thread here."

[anarchoscrow]

After seeing two parts of Sonic Frontiers, I have a fair amount of thoughts, mainly with the mechanics and technical aspects

It goes without saying, that the game is very nice visually, if one ignores the popping in and the very short distance in which things will appear. The background and terrain is genuinely phenomenal, yet still maintains the feel of a Sonic game.

Story wise I usually clock out for, so I won’t give much stance on how I feel about it so far. However, the way the characters are portrayed throws me back to the late 2000’s, early 2010’s characterizations that I missed so dearly. Knuckles is written in a way that feels natural for him, and Amy has grown so much, becoming a lot more of an independent character.

My current opinion on the game is that it’s a good promising game, but still has bugs, and lacks the fluidity that Sonic games used to be known for. From what I have heard, the controls are smooth in the open world section and the 3D levels, but very rough on the 2D levels. Just from seeing the 2D levels, and comparing it to something like Generations, the issue people have becomes very apparent for me.

Frontiers so far, has given a lot of ideas for the future in terms of mechanics, yet still sets restrictions on such(like with the wall jumps) where you can only do it in specific areas, which might add to the lack of fluidity that I mentioned previously. It gives off the vibe that it’s very experimental, nothing is fine tuned, but it opens the doors for so much potential!! It makes me excited for what Team Sonic will take away from it, but also, I’m fearful they will become complacent.

Edit: THEY MADE THE BOSSES FUN, IM WATCHING SOMEONE FIGHT SUMO AND ITS SO COOL????

[soul-sparx]

Being a fan of Sonic and Mega Man at the same time is such a weird feeling. because on one hand, you have a series that takes several years between installments, but provides polished and generally excellent games on the rare occasion when it does update, and on the other hand you have a series that provides often very unpolished games but make up for it by being highly experimental but updating often-- i mean, 2024 just started and already this decade has given us Sonic Frontiers and its massive content update, the entirety of Sonic Prime, Sonic Superstars, Sonic Dream Team, two major hollywood movies with a third on the way, several issues of an ongoing comic series, multiple anniversary comic specials, and a spinoff miniseries for a minor fan-favorite villain. Mega Man, meanwhile, has, uh... Battle Network Legacy Collection. X Dive Offline. Mega Man 1 and 2, and X were put onto Capcom Town so you can play them all in your browser.

Like, the only release in the Mega Man franchise this decade that I can even think of is a comic series that nobody read based on a cartoon that nobody watched. Granted, the comic is extremely good, but I only know that because I'm a diehard superfan who follows this series religiously.

Between the two, part of me honestly prefers Sonic's format. Because yes, the games are often unpolished. Yes, they are extremely hit or miss. But when they hit, they hit hard, and there's so much experimentation and variation that if theres anything you don't like, you can pretty much expect it to be gone soon. The things we get from Mega Man are fantastic. The Legacy Collections are some of the best retro collections of all time, and I will sing the praises of Mega Man Fully Charged alone in my tower for eternity, but it's so rare-- the last new mainline Mega Man game was almost 6 years ago now. And that wouldn't be so bad on its own, only Capcom have made no indications since then that they're working on anything new. On top of that, Mega Man 11, the aforementioned last game, was...fine. It was highly polished, played like a dream, and the level design was perfectly serviceable, but it lacked ambition. It felt like it was made to ease people back into Mega Man, but there's been no followup.

Sonic, for all its faults and inconsistencies and bugs, is always there, and it's always willing to get a little weird. Sonic loves playing with the formula, and it doesn't always work out, but it does mean that whatever comes next is going to be something new and strange and different, and that's exciting. For Mega Man, it's just... I don't know, it begins to feel hopeless after a while. Maybe X9 will be announced tomorrow and all my prayers will be answered, but until then it's just frustrating having these months where Capcom decides to push Mega Man as the next big thing again, only to lose interest and stop for another 8 years. I still love both equally, but I'd rather the games actually come out than live a life of what-ifs and could've-beens.

[unknownmousezoe]

Well since Twitter is fucking dying (again), I guess Imma post my media watching stuff here now. Imma tag it with Cherry'sMediaWell so like if you do not wanna see it, mute that. Also gonna post what I done so far this year under a read more. Gonna post basically any media I consume that takes more then a hour except for youtube videos.

Jerma & Otto: The Curse of The Late Streamer- ... technically the first real game I sat down and played this year... as a fan game it was fine if not unfunny , as a point and click its reallllly bad 2/5

AI Sommnium Files: Nirvana Initiative- Finally got around to playing Nirvana Initiative, I am a little conflicted as like there was plenty I was not a fan of this time around, some odd plot beats here and there really muddled it. But when it got good it really got good so like ultimately a strong recommend if you like the first one , but understand it is in my opinion not as good. Still worth the time but missing something sadly from being a stand out sequel. Still is a 4/5 tho.

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog- This was something alright, as a April fools joke game I really could not have lower expectations but it was really solid. The story was fun and lighthearted and did not fall into the 4/1 trap of just being zany for zany sake. Genuine great time 4.5/5

Class Action Park- An "okay" doc, it didn't shed any new light on the subject. The animated segments where unexpected and honestly unneeded. Still a really interesting subject that is fun to hear about. I liked how they went though each rides history 3.5/5

Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County- A goofy old fake horror doc. As a horror movie its not the best, but it is fun to watch now just to kinda peek into alien mythos. 3/5

One Killer Punch- a really short 45 min ish doc? While the first two cases made me go "huh that's interesting" the last case really made me feel emotions, def worth a watch at the short time length 4/5

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line- Played this one kinda worried at first cus I loved the original on 3ds and thought it couldn't be adapted. Really fun and loads of songs to play with only real complaint is wish more enemy variation. 4.5/5

Mario Warfare (rewatch)- still peak cinema (10/10)

FE Engage: Fell Xenologue- Kinda weird beating and ranking this before the actual game but what can I say I wanted the units. Honestly I feel I am way more positive on this then I was for the Cinder Shadows, I just was way more invested in the story here then in there. the plot actually made me curious where it was going, I liked the twists and turns for the most part, and enjoyed its darker turn. Of course I can not talk about the dlc without talking about the maps, I played on normal which I am thankful for because god I would have raged quit on higher difficulties. 1-3 where pretty normal if not kinda bland maps. 4 was a really neat concept for a map (well neat for engage its been done in other FE games). 5 just SUCKS tho def would not play it on higher difficulty. 5 was fine on normal honestly just kinda eh. I liked the characters and stuff so idk I enjoyed my time with the Fell. Nel is prob one of my fav engage characters... while Nil is one of my least lmao

Fire Emblem Engage- Story wise was not a huge fan, felt like a big downgrade from 3 houses story (not saying 3 houses story was prefect but). The two things that really save this game for me is the later game units and the gameplay. Love almost all the later game units they add a lot of flavor, which I am glad for because early game units for the most part did like nothing for me and I was worried the whole game would have been like that. Map wise one of my favs, loved all the fun gimmicks and spins on maps. ultimately still had super fun (4/5)

Spookware- I went in really wanting to like this one. I love wario ware and funny/spooky games but dang this disappointed. Biggest issue was how damn buggy it was, constantly got bugs that made me loose levels some broke the game entirely. Episode 2 mircogames where all just GOD awful like I almost put it down multiple times. It also felt like they just ran out of clever mircogames and plot with episode 2 its weird cus it was just such a massive down grade. Plot started out interesting and fun but just ran out of steam super fast. Sadly to me (2/5)

Necrobarista- I REALLY liked this one. The constantly changing perspectives could be a real turn off for some but I thought it was fun. Story was really interesting/fun, liked the characters a ton. Only real complaint is I wished it was longer and a little more fleshed out 4.5/5

Jurassic Park Dominion- RE6 did the plot better 2/5

Fostering Apocalypse- Reaaaaaly short vn, that was hella cute with great art. Honestly so short not much to say, was not a huge fan of how mechanics work around endings but still a good time 4/5

The Spirit & the Mouse- This was great, a fairly short but really enjoyable experience. Kinda a walking sim, there is no really challenge or anything but I don't really think there needs to be. The story it tells is unique and makes me smile. 4.5/5

Idol Showdown- idk not really that big into idols but for the low price of free this is a pretty fun 30 mins or so with friends atleast. Again this game is NOT DEEP but like its a free game what do you expect lmao 3/5

Spawn HBO show- Overall really like this show... but it has some problems esp season 3. I think I liked the concept more then the actual story but like still was a fun time. Glad I saw it either way. Twitch and Burke are the best in this. 3/5

Wandersong- Honestly do not think I can put into words how this game made me feel. Back half of story was fantastic, story was well written and fun. Game play was really fresh without feeling tedious. Design and everything made me really happy. Honestly easily a 5/5

The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special- Decided to finally watch this since vol 3 came out... its fine. Animated segments where awful like wow, and the plot was really meh. It was nice to see more of the guardians interactions tho. 3/5

GOTG Vol.3- I may be a little crazy for saying this but this was an amazing send off to the best franchise in the MCU. Story was great, and like the first two movies the characters all played great off each other. The high evolutionary was one of the few great mcu villains 5/5

Please Be Happy- Sadly I did not like this one as much as I did the other two vns I played by the same devs, Idk just seems the weakest of the bunch. That being said still really solid, if this is their low , then the bar is still pretty high. 4/5

Mario Movie- Yeah it was fine, nothing amazing but did not really expect it to be lmao. The references where fun at times. No where as good as Mario Warfare tho. 3.5/5

Evil Dead Rise- A really enjoyable horror movie actually. I honestly do not have much to say it was just a well put together experience. Evil Dead continues to be one of the most solid long standing horror franchises. 4/5

Gunbusters- Like other Hideki Anno works I started off not feeling it, but it got so so fucking good in the second half. I really love the actions scenes and it did make me cry at the really end. Makes me want to get more into mechs cus this is great as fuck. 4.5/5

Diebuster- You can TELL they went on to make Gurren after this, honestly I did like gunbusters more overall but this is a solid af followup. 4/5

Soul Hackers 2- Kinda conflicted here, REALLY liked the characters and concept... but like the pacing is not really up to par. Wished there was more here. Also people where not lying there is some REALLY awful dungeon design here. Still Ringo and gang are great imo. 3.5/5

Transformers- Some fights where okay actually, but god everything else was abysmal writing was laughable bad wow. 2/5

Batman Soul of the Dragon- It is weird cus like, it is clear the makers of this movie really wanted to make a fun campy 70s kung fu movie but it really just fails at it. Movie also just REALLY did not need batman, like if you took him out nothing would change, felt forced 2/5

Spider-Man:Across the Spider-Verse-Going in I actually had mixed expectations. I knew people love it but the trailers really turned me off as it just seemed.. worse then the original. Glad to say that is FAR from the case, a huge improvement on something already amazing. Easy 5/5

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen- I went in remembering this being worse then the first.. but actually it was better. ITS STILL AWFUL but like the bar was low as fuck. I am scared for the next one as this is where I stop watching as a kid 2/5

(part two of recap coming soon)

[cozymochi]

🌻

I FORGOT TO EVER SAY THIS!! Imma talk about Sonic now because it’s... look m8 i may not be engaging w/ the fandom up here or anywhere but it’s a such a big part of my life it’s hard not to let it slip

But some weeks ago on a whim, I bought with my own money Sonic Forces and played through the whole thing + free DLC in a day (it’s really short) after years of avoiding it. It just haunted me. I had to tryyyy

And the whole thing just makes me sad after replaying crud like Adventure 2 or Unleashed because i saw bits and pieces of something that could’ve been really rad and :((( Also i still don’t appreciate the shafting of the supporting cast - WHOM BTW- SOUNDED LIKE THEY HAD MUCH MORE INTERESTING STUFF GOING ON whenever i was stuck playing “classic” Sonic (which ....stop....) Got me replaying watered down versions of old stages and couldn’t even be bothered to at least bring back the og music 😤😤 i know that’s played out too but my god at least they were catchy.... and oh man, maybe as the plot progresses and we’re stuck revisiting these stages maybe have the sonf become more bleak to go with the shifting environments??

This is turning into a review now. Lmao don’t need that.

Also I like Infinite,,,, 😔 homie embodies all the camp tropes i like... also he reminds me of any Yugioh villain. The character i made was a pink pastel scottish fold kitty, and in order to make the story more investing it became mostly headcanon based

The Shadow dlc was the best part 😂 made me just wish this was a Team Dark centric game BECAUSE SHADOW, ROUGE AND OMEGA ARE SO GOOD!!!! AND ngl, I felt something for once during their little plot. But :(.... yeah. The whole thing mostly made me sad about how... idk... safe things got once colors hit. (Which btw, replayed that. After Unleashed i dont think it was as much of a step up as the internet thinks o_o)

And the funniest bit to me was the insistence that i give af about Zavok lmaoooo like lmao okay. And also how hilariously bleak Knuckles’ lines were 💕

And tbh. I’ll be honest. If i could work on this series in some way I feel like i’d be really happy in this really childish way cuz it’d be like going full circle. I love it so much 😭

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

YO was it just me or was there like so many cuts to make the movie shorter?? its odd but i noticed that the movie would’ve probably been actually 3 hours without cuts there was so much to cut it down to 2 istg. still thinking abt the beautiful animation tho

OH MY GOD DID YOU NOTICE THAT TOO?!? JESUS I THOUGHT I WAS JUST IMAGINING THINGS.

Excuse me while my inner unofficial film student comes out for a bit...

For those who aren't aware by what we mean, during the film, especially during the entire 2nd act, the editing of the film became kinda....clunky at times? Certain shots looked like they were missing a part of scene to help the whole shot flow better, or stuff kinda happens but they don't have a extra scene to actually show the transition of the one scene to the next.

One example: when Sonic was snowboard down the mountain and destroyed all the robots, they had a shot of Knuckles coming through the explode of fire in attempts to chase him down, but the way the shot it felt incoming. They just cut to him suddenly in the air while the fire is around him and landing versus having the explosion happen and have him come through the flames then landing to pursue Sonic. It's kinda like how they have it in the official movie clip they released but rather its the actual movie scene.

Ex two: When Sonic runs across the ocean in order to get to the Master Emerald's location. The first part of that scene was just gorgeous to watch ngl, but then editing kinda got a clunky again once he was struggling to get over the waves until he is eventually hit by one and knocked put. He wakes up on a beach, which happens to be the same beach to where the master emerald is and he turns around and sees the green light and we suddenly cut to him up on his feet, walking right to the outskirts of the temple like he didn't nearly drown in the ocean

It's like that later one when Knuckles saves Sonic from drowning in the temple as it was collapsing and once he manages to grab his arm...BOOM, just back on the beach. No extra 10 second scene of Knux trying to fight his way through the temple while also keeping Sonic from drowning or anything like that. Just a bug jump cut and it kinda bugged me a bit.

...Ah idk, I think I'm rambling about this a little too much about a movie like this. I wouldn't mind a 3 hour Sonic movie either tbh The animation did look nice I do agree with that.

[beskarberry]

Krayt’s Teeth

Bargaining with Beskar, Chapter 3 (The Mandalorian x f!reader)

The sound of crashing and shouting was hot on your tail, the other hunters had followed you and were gaining fast. You saw a light rapidly approaching ahead of you, and the two of you burst out into the brilliant daylight to the worst possible place: a dead fucking end.

Rating: Explicit

Word count: 6.7k

Content warnings: Canon typical violence, killing in self defense, headcanon angst, FLUFF, sensory deprivation, body worship, oral sex (f receiving).

A/N: These are my headcanons regarding Mandalorian culture in terms of sex, I didn’t find much lore on it so whether it’s accurate or not idk but I like them and that’s all that matters! Enjoy~

<-Previous Next->

You could have slept forever, even on that horrible little cot you were so comfortable that you could have been out for days, but the only one on it was you. You did’t know when Mando got up from the tiny space you both shared through the night, or how he managed to get out from your tangled bodies without waking you up. You opened your eyes to tiny green baby hands tugging at your fingers. 

“Hey booger, is it time for breakfast? Where’s your papa?” You started to sit up, but the horrible sticky mess underneath you made you reluctant to move, a mix of passion and pain from the day before. “Yikes. I’m gonna run all his water out if I have to keep using the fresher. Come on, let’s get scrubbed up.” The baby gibbered excitedly at you, though you weren’t sure how much of what you said he actually understood. You scooped him into your arms without looking back at the sad little cot and all its stains. “You’re water proof, right?”

The ship’s engines were rumbling away, so you guessed tin man was up in the cockpit flying you towards your next bounty. Or Nevarro. You would have to find Mr. Mystery later, the grossness that was you had to be dealt with. Between you and the child your shower took forever, the two of you getting water and soap bubbles from top to bottom. You didn’t care. You had been on Tatooine for months without having a real shower, being consigned to the sonic freshers that vibrated the sand off of the moisture farmer’s bodies; and this was the second real shower you’d gotten to have in twice as many days. You spent a good deal of time trying to get your chatty friend to hold still long enough to be dried off, the little fart squealing with joy every time you went for him with the towel.

An ordeal later you were both fresh and presentable, but your host was still nowhere to be seen, though the ugly sheets had thankfully disappeared from view. The ship was quiet now, without the engine running you knew you had to be back on the ground, and you could hear a distinct hum of activity coming through the walls. Space port? He flew us into town? The thought was replaced immediately with a rich, savory smell coming through the air vents: FOOD! Your gut grumbled loud enough to resonate through the cabin and earn you a confused look from the baby. When was the last time you really ate? You’d been living on ration packs for the last couple of days. That was going to change right now.

“Ya hungry buddy? Me too! Maybe that’s where your dad is, hmm?” Grabbing your old backpack and hooking the baby under your arm you started punching buttons on the wall to get the door open, sending walls sliding and cabinets opening before you got one of the access ramps open. Bright double sunlight nearly blinded you, and on reflex you covered the baby’s giant googly eyes. It took a moment for your own to adjust to the radiant light of the Tatooine morning, and the smell of cooking food hit you like a ton of bricks, making your mouth water. As your eyes adjusted you were able to take in your surroundings: though it was bright outside you were parked low inside a maintenance bay, the walls of which soared high above you; littered with engine parts and humming with droid activity. Sound was the last input your hungry brain could process, but when it did you didn’t like what you heard. The sounds of an argument echoed around the hangar, high and shrill.

“I already told you, you can’t park here! You’re bad for business!”

“I just need to park here long enough to get supplies.”

“Well you’re gonna have to pay up, Mando! I’m not running a charity here! You got credits for supplies you got credits for parking! Up front this time!”

Oh no.

Of all the mechanics and docking hangars in Mos Eisley he had to pick this one. The fireball of a woman barely came up to your partner’s chest, but she made up for it with unbridled fury; and the giant cooked animal leg she was swinging around like a club between bites made her look even more formidable. She noticed you coming down the ramp and stopped grilling your comrade long enough to glare daggers through your skull.

“Oh NO! No nope nuh uh! You can turn right back around and get back on that ship, missy! I knew it! I knew you were bad for business, Mando! What’re you doing running around with her? I hope she’s your bounty because she’s your problem!”

“Peli.” Your words were cold as ice, but the squirming baby in your arms took all the malice out of your stance. He wiggled until you set him down, and he ran towards the mechanic with open arms.

“Baby! You can stay but your dad’s gotta take the mean lady somewhere else! She cheats at sabacc!”

“You lost fair and square, Peli! Try playing a better hand next time!”

“Ladies please!”  Mando cut through your bickering, holding his arms up between the two of you like he was trying to corner a pair of wild blurgs. “If I let the child stay with you for the day, will you let me park the Razor Crest here? Just for a couple hours?”

Peli bounced the child on her hip, offering him a bite of her breakfast. The baby squealed happily while he sank his little teeth into the mighty snack, though the size of it comically dwarfed his itty bitty hands. “I’ll tell you what, you let me keep him and then maybe I’ll let you park here in a week.” Mando cocked his helmet at her with disdain and she huffed loudly, “Well if you put it that way, I guess you can park here, but you gotta put five hundred credits down, and not a cent less!”

Mando reeled, stabbing his hands to his hips with indignation. “Five hund- absolutely not! What am I going to buy our-” You interrupted his tirade with a hand on his shoulder, waving a slew of credits in front of his eyes. Peli snatched them out of your hand, fanning them out like cards to count them.

“Who’d you cheat these outta?”

“Don’t worry about it.” You leaned casually against your metal man, eyeing Peli with a smug look on your face. “Let’s go, Mando. Bye baby green bean, have fun with Auntie Cheats-at-Sabacc!” You spun him around by the hand and dragged him towards the exit, ignoring the insults being slung at your back. “We are getting breakfast and that’s final!”

The Mandalorian allowed you to pull him along a few feet before grinding his heels into the sand, shaking his head. “You have to stay here.”

Now it was your turn for sassy head tilts. “I just paid for your parking, buckethead, that makes me in charge and I’m hungry! I’ll buy you breakfast too if you want.” He didn’t budge, fixing you with that intense stare of his and grabbing you by the shoulders.

“You are still being hunted. Mos Eisley isn’t safe for you.”

Ah.

You knew you could look after yourself, and he himself had compared you to a ferocious rancor just yesterday. You groaned loudly, “Shit balls of hell. But dad, I’m huuunngry!” The man bristled at your paternal harassment, sighing heavily and letting his helmeted head fall to the side like the world was ending. He glanced around the hangar exit, his shiny beskar snapping to each object of interest until he located a protocol droid corpse that was missing everything from the waist down. He strode over to it and held it down with one boot, yanking it by the head until it popped off. He began prying the droid’s vocorder apart at the mouth, pulling it wide until the droids face plate broke off with a snap! Tossing the rest of the logic processing unit to the ground, he held the face plate up to the light, inspecting the clarity of its photo receptor casings. He bent back down to the junk pile and fished out a stray wire to thread through the ruined audio processors, then tossed the finished creation to you.

“Put that on.”

You turned the makeshift mask over in your hands to check for sharp edges before you pressed it to your face. The bug eyes on the front were dirty, but you could see well enough. Before you could clean them more thoroughly you felt the weight of fabric on your head, his cloak now worn as your own. The thought of how you must look made you giggle. “You make me take my clothes off, now you want me to put clothes on. It never ends with you, Mando. Next you’ll be forging me beskar. Now can we eat something, please?” Without a word the armored man turned on his heel and walked out the hangar exit. I’ll take that as a yes.

Mos Eisley buzzed with life, people and animals and things you couldn’t explain made their way up and down the bustling streets. The smell of food led you to a vendor selling something that could have been a root vegetable, covered in herbs and spices and grilled to perfection. You couldn't wait, all thoughts of self-preservation went out the window as you hauled ass to the stand, waving two fingers in the air. When you had both of your prizes in hand you stuffed the savory veggie under your mask, sighing contentedly at the taste of real honest-to-Maker food. “Hey tin man, I hope you like... whatever this-” You turned to offer your partner something to eat, but he had disappeared from the crowd. “Alright... more for me.”

Taking a newspaper from the vendor you wrapped the extra snack up tight and threw it in your pack for later, continuing to chow down on your own. You would find Mando eventually, and you had credits to spend. You had held onto your hush-money for months to avoid suspicion, but now it was burning a hole in your pocket. Wandering the streets of Mos Eisley from merchant to merchant you began accumulating a small hoard of supplies, ranging from bacta to hand tools, and food. Whatever you could get your hands on that would survive hyperspace when you inevitably left this fucking dirtball for good; though you still weren’t convinced that you wouldn’t be making that flight in carbonite. You picked out new clothes and underwear, a much-needed bedroll, and some soft bantha-wool blankets. Something further down the marketplace caught your eye, and you made your way to the fancier items that glittered in the double daylight. You didn’t wear jewelry yourself, a poor choice of attire for a hunter, but the way the trinkets caught the light still made you wistful. Your hidden eyes danced over the glittering treasures; jewels and geodes that had been found deep in the sands and polished to a radiant shine.

You spotted something opalescent at the end of one table and found a pair of krayt teeth, each about the size of your palm. They had been sanded to a smooth, flat finish and carved with intricate desert patterns. The backs of them had tiny fittings that could be sewn on as buttons, or pulled off to reveal magnets. Something about their shape seemed familiar, though you couldn’t imagine why in that moment. You purchased the unique pieces anyway, something to remind you that even the harshest of places could hold hidden beauty. After a while you had so much junk piled in your arms that you could barely see over it, and tin man was nowhere to be found. You spotted a courier droid and paid for it to deliver your treasures back to Hanger 3-5, though you kept the pricey teeth in your pockets. With your arms free you started looking for your missing comrade.

The streets were busy with people, you would have to get somewhere out of the way in order to scan the crowds. Your eyes went from shimmer to shimmer, looking for his reflective chrome dome. “Big jerk,” you mused to yourself “‘Mos Eisley’s not saaafe...’ If he’s so worried then where the hell is he? Bah!” The scratched-up photoreceptor casings of your mask made it a challenge to see through the crowd, and you took a moment to adjust the iris apertures so you wouldn’t have to keep squinting into the double sunshine when you felt a hand on your back. Finally. “Mando, where have you-”

“Mando? Whos’sis man-do? Nah sssweetheart, I think you got me confused wi’ sssomeone elssse.” The slithering voice in your ear made your blood run cold. Not Mando! You rocketed your elbow backwards, connecting with the gut of the stranger on your back with an -oof! The hand let go long enough for you to make a run for it, and you tore off down the streets of the busy spaceport, smashing into bystanders in your wake. You cast a quick look behind you to see a large reptilian body flying after you, brownish scales catching the reflection of the noonday suns. Though you had your blaster, the risk of hitting a civilian was too great, so running would have to do. You were thankful for the courier droid that had freed your hands just minutes before as you barreled down the busy streets.

Market stalls flew past you, your boots kicking up sand and dust. The mask on your face, as dirty as it was, kept the debris from your eyes as you raced through the sunburnt city. You had to lose this fucker and fast. You turned down an alley, left, right, another right, leaping over supply crates and low fences like a lothcat. You turned to see if you had lost your chaser, breath heaving and heart pounding. Behind you was clear, but you took your eyes off your path for just a second too long, and were taken by surprise when a heavy weight fell on you from above.

The Trandoshan had gone over the low sandstone roofs, chasing you easily through the alleyways of Mos Eisley while you were none the wiser. He pinned you under him quickly, ripping your blaster off your hip and pointing your own barrel in your face. “Tha’ss enough, princesss! Nice n’ quietlike now. You gonna make me a pretty penny you are.” The lizard’s words dripped with metaphorical venom, though you were sure by the look of those fangs that real venom was probably right behind. “Ahm gonna cart yer arse right back to th’ Guild’n I’ll become th’ most famous hunter in th’ galax -urk!”  With a sickening gag the hunter above you grew a shiny new fang in the back of his throat before falling down dead on top of you, a vibroblade protruding from back of his skull.

“Took you long enough!” You hollered at your chrome companion, who was stepping forward to kick the carcass off of you. “Where the fuck have you been? Getting your rifle polished?” He pulled you to your feet, handing you your blaster while readjusting the mask on your face. You swatted at his fussing hands, but when you looked at him you were shocked to see not one but three blinking bounty fobs dangling from his belt. On the ground by the dead lizard was a fourth, flashing rapidly in the sand.

“I told you you weren’t safe! We need to leave right now.”  You were barely able to grab the remaining bounty fob while you were being tugged away by your allied hunter. He had a death grip on your hand, pulling you along behind him towards what you hoped was the docking hangar. You would have to cross the main street to get there, and as the pair of you plowed across the dusty, busy road there came shouts from either side. More hunters, fucking Guild! You didn’t have a single second to assess them before you were lead through an alley on the other side of the street. These were darker than the ones you had run through on the west side of town, and shady bodies moved quickly out of the way of your living locomotive.

At the end of a narrow alley you both burst through a door leading into an abandoned building. The darkness was almost worse than the blinding sunlight, you would need time for your eyes to adjust but the Mandalorian had enough sensory detection equipment that he ghosted through the ruinous building with ease; never once letting go of your hand as you tripped and stumbled through the dark. The sound of crashing and shouting was hot on your tail, the other hunters had followed you and were gaining fast. You saw a light rapidly approaching ahead, and the two of you burst out into the brilliant daylight to the worst possible place: a dead fucking end.

“There! Get down!” Mando pointed at a pile of rubble, probably big enough to hide behind, but that’s not how you handled business.

“Fuck you! I’m not going down without a fight!” You pulled your blaster out and aimed at the incoming assailants. He growled at you and stepped closer, putting his body in between you and the door. The reptilian hunters burst from the darkness of the warehouse, firing rapid shots of blaster charges that bounced off of Mando’s beskar. You fired over his protective arm, taking out the first one and tripping up the second, who fell over his cohorts limp body. Mando took shot after shot to the chest, reeling with each impact. His other arm cocked back and shot out, sending a wall of fire into the last of the Guild’s hired guns.

Both of you were panting, shaking and sweating from flying through Mos Eisley, but the sound of blaster fire would draw attention and you knew there was no time to waste. You stepped over the incinerated corpse, making sure the fob it carried was melted, the second body still squirmed in the dirt, and you weren’t going to let it get a second chance, firing your blaster through it’s scaly skull. You picked the remaining two fobs and stuffed them in your pockets, making a run for it back through the building with Mando right behind, the blaze of his flamethrower lighting your way.

You took a different door out of the building and were relieved to see the words ‘HANGAR 3-5′ painted in bright blue Basic straight ahead. You skittered through the entrance, rounding the corner and dropping down behind the edges of the hangar doorway. Mando did the same on the other side, both of you pointing your blasters back towards Mos Eisley’s dark heart. Bootsteps behind you made you snap around, and you nearly shot your mechanically inclined host.

“You kids have fun out there?” Peli stood over where you were hunched, and you lowered your blaster to the ground. At her feet your little buddy was holding onto her pant leg, making big puppy dog eyes at you. You looked over to Mando to make sure there weren’t any more coming, but he still held his blaster out ahead. After a few tense seconds he lowered it down until it was back in its’ holster, then pulled himself to his feet.

“We can’t stay any longer, we’re putting you in danger. Time to go, kiddo.” His charred beskar still shimmered when he bent down to pick up his adopted son, who chirped with delight. “Thank you for watching him.”

“He can stay any time! Oh and thanks for all the snacks you made that droid bring me!” Peli called after the three of you as your party quickly boarded the Razor, making you turn around and stick your tongue out at her. She happily flipped you off and started closing the ground entrance to the bay, letting you board the ship uninterrupted. Fortunately, the courier droid’s delivery had made it to the ship, though you couldn't help but notice a few of your most carefully picked snacks had been taken as collateral. Fucking Peli. As much as she infuriated you, there wasn’t another person on all of Tatooine that you would rather play sabacc with.

The old rust bucket rumbled to life, taking off into the midafternoon sky and pointed towards the stars. Finally! Bye motherfucker. The hazy atmosphere of the outer rim planet fell away below you until the light of the bright yellow world illuminated the Crest’s stern. The pre-Imperial scrapheap started howling with noise, and you were almost thrown to the deck when it blasted into the safety of hyper space.

Your heart was still racing and you struggled to catch your breath. Once you had yourself in order you started busying yourself with putting the supplies away, filling the food larder to capacity. The child was contentedly telling you about his day with his auntie in his cute baby gibberish, and you picked him up off the ground to give him a much needed hug, pushing your stolen identity onto the top of your head to give him kisses. You almost wanted to ignore the sound of heavy armored boots hitting the floor panel under the ladder, their wearer opting to jump down from the cockpit rather than climb. You could feel the fury coming off of him as he stalked over to where you were sorting your treasures.

“You could have been hurt! I knew it was a bad idea to let you go wandering around, even with your face covered. What if they’d caught you? I picked three of them off before you even saw one!”

“I had it under control, Mando! I’m not some princess that needs you coming to her rescue at every sign of a struggle. And you don’t get to let me do anything, you don’t own me!” The man under your scrutiny paced the cabin on stiff legs with his hands on his hips, helmet snapping with rage.

“I know you can handle yourself, but I need to protect you.” He said with a huff, “And that lizard was... he had you pinned down, had his filthy, scaly claws on you... Nobody should touch you like that! What if.. what if he... I- I- didn’t like that he was...” Listening to the sound of the gears jamming in his head made you realize the ridiculous thing he was trying to say.

“Are you.. Mando are you jealous?”

“No! I- I’m.. Cyar’ika I... ”

Oh no, you don’t get to be cute right now. “I don’t know what that means, Mando! What is that, some kind of sexy little pet name you use on all the girls you take underneath of you?”

“NO! I didn’t- I would nev- I’ve never had... There’s never been- no!” Oh how you wished you could see his face, watching him flail trying to defend himself from your accusation, he was probably white as a sheet under all that armor.

“Never what, Mandalorian?”

“I’ve never had anyone in this ship before!” The Mandalorian’s confession lost steam halfway through as embarrassment and fear crept into his throat, threatening to choke him with his own secrets.

“Wait.. wait wait. Never? You’ve never had anyone in this ship or...” You started approaching him, analyzing his visor for hints of meaning. “Or you’ve never had anyone at all?” The Mandalorian stopped his pacing, but his shoulders looked like they were carrying the weight of the galaxy. His silence told you everything, and the last piece of his puzzle fell into place. “Mando...was I your first?”

“Y-yes.” His visor tilted up to you, hands fidgeting at his sides. His voice was faint and sheepish, a stark contrast to the thunderstorm you were arguing with a moment ago.  Your eyes were full of questions, all racing through your mind so quickly none of them made it to your mouth. The metal man answered them all for you in one singular motion, raising his fist to knock a couple times against his beskar helmet. His creed.

“So, what, you guys aren’t allowed to have sex?”

He sighed his heavy, trademarked sigh and plopped down on the nearest supply crate with a defeated thud, cradling his head in his hands. “No it’s not that. Not... not exactly. In Mando’a the word we use is me'dinuir. It means ‘to give’, specifically to give yourself to another. And... when you give yourself away to someone-“ He turned the black gloss of his single eye up to you, “-you belong to them. That is The Way.”

The weight of his words made your blood cold. He was jealous, but not just because that other hunter had put his scaly hands on you. Everything about his attitude around you suddenly made sense, the way he had looked at you when you were presenting yourself to him that first day, why he never threw you in carbonite when he probably should have, and how he had stayed with you through the night after you nearly died hunting his bounty. His mysterious way of life decreed that giving his body to you meant that he had also given you his soul, and that made you just as important to protect as his foundling.

Mando reached out to pat the fuzzy green head of the baby you were still holding, who gibbered sleepily up at his armor plated papa. “I’m sorry to put that on you, and I’m sorry for how I acted. You’re not my bounty anymore, and I shouldn’t try to control you. I understand if you don’t want to continue with me to the next bounty. You can take whatever you want from the armory when we land next. I’m.. I’m so sorry.” The monolithic man looked so tiny now, sitting on the edge of the crate with his shoulders hunched. He reached his arms out to take his infant son from you, hugging him to his blast-burnt chest and smoothing his massive ears. "I didn’t get to thank you for washing him earlier, he smells really good.”

You desperately needed to know more, though the sight of him fawning over his sleepy son made your heart swell. “I kinda got the feeling that you were rusty when we met, but that was actually your first time? And what does that mean ‘you belong to them’? How can you belong to me? I don’t even know your name.”

"It means that I’m now sworn to protect the one that carries my soul. I’m not asking you to do the same, you’re not Mandalorian.”

His words made you feel sick, ashamed that you had taken something so sacred from him without a second thought, but how could you have known? He could have stopped at any time, you were the one in cuffs that day, not him. No, out of trillions and trillions of sentient beings in the galaxy he chose to give himself to you, knowing full well what his heritage decreed. Why you? Arms crossed, you dug deeper. “You’ve never seen another naked body than your own?”

He shook his head. “Just... holo-vids...”

You were going to have to ask him about those later. “Nothing? You’ve at least kissed someone before though, right?”

“Kissed?”

Maker fucking help you. “Yeah you know, kissing? The thing you do with your... oh, right." You reached up and tapped him twice on the beskar. “You need your face to do it.”

He cocked his helmet at you. “Can you show me?”

The innocence of his question made you melt. Fuck you, tin can, you’re not supposed to be cute when you’re in trouble. You reached your hand out, demanding he give you his, and shyly he obeyed. You pulled his hand to your lips, unsure of how much he could actually feel through his thick leather gloves. You pressed his hand to your lips and watched his whole body snap straight. “Kiss, like that.”

He was staring at his hand like he’d never seen it before, and after a moment he pulled your locked fingers to his head, tapping his forehead with the back of your hand. “Kov’nynir, But we do it with our helmets.”  At this rate you’ll be speaking Mando’a in no time. He still held your hand gently, running his thumb over your fingers. “I think I like your way better. Could... Could you do that again?”

So polite, maybe having him stuck with you wouldn’t be so bad. You pulled his hand back to you, giving him another soft kiss on the side of his thumb, and you heard the sound of his breath catching in his modulator. Your lips pressed to each of his knuckles, and then you turned his wrist to kiss his palm. “How’s that?”

“That’s amazing.”

“You like that? Watch this.” Addressing the bantha in the room would have to wait. You tugged his glove off, revealing the warm bronze skin underneath and kissed him again. The hitched breaths coming out of his modulator were honey to your ears, and you turned his wrist over to kiss his bare palm again, hunting for more sweet sounds. His body was so stiff, so tightly wound you thought he might snap. “Are you ok? Do I need to stop?”

“I- I- want to... Can... Can I try?” You nodded, your heart jumping to your throat at the thought of him removing his helmet in front of you, but instead he gently reached up to the busted droid face you still wore on your head. With a twist of a knob the armatures inside of the eye casings coiled shut, and when he slid the mask down into place you were thrown into total darkness. “Can you see?” You shook your head. “Promise?”

You sighed, long and frustrated. “I promise, dark as a sarlacc’s backside.” You were met with only silence. Then, after what felt like an eternity you heard the sliding sound of metal as the child’s pram shield slid closed, then the shuffle of armor being removed, and lastly the dull thunk of something heavy being set down on the crates. His hand found yours again, and he pressed his lips against your skin. They were hotter than you were expecting, and soft, almost plush. You understood right away why he was so rigid when you were doing the same, it was amazing. Gentle kisses made their way over the back of your hand and made heat flood through your veins. He moved slowly over each joint, following the same pattern you had shown him, then turned your hand over and kissed at your fingertips. Something fuzzy brushed along with his lips, and you imagined that he might have a mustache. The shivers that crept their way up from your captured hand knocked all the strangeness of your conversation out of your mind, but when he reached your wrist he stopped.

“Where else do you kiss at?” You nearly fainted at the sound of his unfiltered voice, a rich baritone that dripped with dark intentions and stole all the words from your mouth. You could only point with your other hand at the forearm attached to the hand he held. Again you felt his lips on your wrist, then slowly, inch by agonizing inch he made his way up your arm, each kiss slower than the last until your toes were curling in their boots. When he reached the edge of the tunic’s sleeve that hung at your elbow he paused again. “Where else?”

“Everywhere.”  Your tormentor hummed at your consenting words and let go of your hand to run his palms down your clothed thighs. When he reached your knees he pulled on their joints, bidding you to bring your legs up over his lap. When you were seated on him he resumed his trek up your arm, kissing at the crease of your elbow and then upwards over your tunic until he reached your shoulder. When he got to your neck you almost buckled over, but his hands were at your back in an instant, wrapping heavily around your waist. Your own hands made their way to the nape of his neck, and your fingers found the edge of his hairline that you had felt before. To your delight you felt that the tousled curls went all the way up, and you tangled your fingers in them, exploring their softness while he explored you.

His journey led him up your neck to the base of your jaw where he nipped gently at the sensitive skin like you had done to him last night, sending a fresh wave of goosebumps from your head to your toes. When his nose bumped the edge of your mask you were suddenly aware of how silly you might look with your big bug eyes. “Can I take this thing off?” you asked in a whisper. “I won’t look.”

“I have a better Idea. Hold on tight.” You dug your hands into his shoulders and felt his arms wrap under your legs as he stood up, lifting you with such ease that you wondered if he felt your weight at all. His boots echoed through the cabin until he stopped at the other end. You hung on for dear life while he climbed the ladder with you still wrapped around his front. When you both reached the top you let yourself unwind from him and scooted on your butt over the floor, listening to the sound of him pulling himself all the way up. You remained seated as your host fussed around the flight deck, the noise of buttons pressing and switches being thrown the only input to your deprived senses.

You were only unattended for a moment, then his hands found your waist, fishing for the edge of your shirt. The tunic was pulled up and over your head, taking your mask with it, and you squeezed your eyes shut to protect his modesty; unsure of what his unconventional oath to you included in the fine print. Your diligence was rewarded with a kiss on your forehead, then down to kiss both of your closed eyes, and then lastly to your lips. The searing heat of his mouth on yours threatened to throw your eyes open, but when they fluttered all you saw was darkness. The transperisteel’s blast shielding had been closed, and the only light in the cockpit came from a handful of illuminated buttons on the dash.

He was lying over top of you on the metal floor, one arm wrapped under your neck for support. The cold decking under you was uncomfortable, but you couldn’t be bothered to care, letting yourself be consumed by his kisses and becoming drunk on the scent of leather and adrenaline. The soft fuzz of his facial hair tickled slightly as he pressed into your lips, and you couldn’t help but smile. Your hands went to his face, running your thumbs over his cheeks and feeling what you weren’t allowed to see. His face was scruffy but not unkempt, and the bristles went all the way from his jaw up to the bottom of the defined nose that bumped against your own. You felt the creases on the corners of his eyes, wishing you could see his smile lines and all the stories they would tell.

You kissed him back, letting your tongue glide over his plush lips and making him inhale sharply. You licked into him again, and this time you were met with his tongue as well, just the faintest touch of its tip. He hummed in your mouth, and the sound of him so close made your belly pool with heat and your kisses bolder, sending your tongue deeper into his mouth until he was almost vibrating with the sensation of you exploring something as forbidden as his human body. He mirrored you as best he could, rolling the smooth muscle over your lips and the edges of your teeth until you were both lost in each other’s taste. He pushed his forehead against yours, pulling his mouth away with frantic breaths that spread fire over your skin. “Everywhere?”

You pushed your lips against his again, giving him an ambitions ‘Mmhmm’ as an answer. His growl made the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end, and you realized where his goal was. He kissed and nipped his way down your throat, letting his tongue glide over your skin. He made his way to your breast, taking its’ tender tip between his teeth and making you gasp. He sucked at it gently, rolling his tongue around it while it grew harder for his efforts. The hand not under you groped at your free breast so it wouldn’t be ignored.

"Beep!”

An urgent chime echoed in the tiny space, the hyperdrive indicator was flashing its countdown warning: 10 minutes remain.

The Mandalorian’s growl on your breast made your blood turn to ice and your core flush with heat at the same time. He wanted to devour you, taste every single inch of your exposed skin, but time was not on your side; and he became a man on a mission to prove himself worthy of you. Bristles dragged over your skin as he slid down your belly until he hit the edge of your pants. They were yanked off so fast you briefly worried about the krayt teeth that were still in their pockets, but you didn’t have long to think before Mando was poised over the apex of your thighs, kissing at each leg to make his intentions known. Those must be some good holo-vids you’re watching, tinman. You let him push your legs apart with his chin, receiving a soft kiss on each one once they were far enough apart for him to stuff his face in between.

Your back arched, hard, followed by the most ragged moan you‘d ever heard escape your throat. The grip on your thighs kept you in place as he lapped at your clit, sucking and teasing in an experimental way. His inexperience didn’t seem to matter, his hunger for you fueling his efforts and making you squirm in delight. Your hands sought desperately for something to grab onto to keep yourself grounded, finding his lovely curls to bury your fingers in deep. It was all you could do to hold on for dear life, tangling in his hair and struggling to breathe as he worked you into a frenzy.

The noises coming from below your waist were heavenly, wet and greedy in between his hums of contentment. It took you a while to realize they weren’t hums at all, but alien words of worship being prayed at your sinful altar; but the blood pounding in your ears and the gasps from your throat were too loud for you to hear his devotion.

“Beep beep!”  Five minutes remain. Fuck.

The Mandalorian’s efforts doubled, running his tongue almost too quickly in his attempt to eat you alive. You let your hips grind into his mouth, begging him to bring you your release, and it wasn’t long before he succeeded. Stars flashed behind your eyes as you came into his hot open mouth, but he refused to leave until he had drank his fill of you. Eventually he pulled his face away from your spent heat with agonizing slowness, as if he would rather drown than address the impending drop from hyperspace. He kissed at your shaky thighs, your soft belly, and each breast before pressing his lips into your panting mouth, pushing the taste of you onto your own tongue. His breath was ragged, and you could feel the sweat of his brow where it was pushed against your face. 

He lifted away from you, and the weight of the handmade mask was draped over your face, making you groan with the displeasure of your passion being cut short. However, once it was in place, it was almost immediately pushed under by strong fingers to lift its edge, and you were given one last kiss to swear his promise of return to you.

“Din. My name is Din.”

<-Previous Next->

TAG LIST  @mrsparknuts​ @cookiejuicedesu​ @mandoinevarro​ @kaermorons​

[thankskenpenders]

Honestly I’m kinda glad a second ongoing isn’t in the cards right now. The Archie Sonics never got as egregious as the big two in this respect but even stuff like back in the Knuckles Robin Hood story it bugged me that you had no context in the main series if you weren’t already reading the Knuckles series. To my knowledge Universe did this once or twice too and yeah I know it’s not asking a lot when it’s just one other series but it’s more the principle than anything.

I don't agree at all. I hate the way the Big Two handle things and I think superhero comics are usually extremely inaccessible (and costly to follow even if you DO know what's going on), but I don't think reading two issues a month of two parallel ongoings is a big ask

I mean yeah, even back in the Archie days they would do annoying stuff with the reading order, like starting a big story in a main series issue and then making you go buy a special to see the conclusion, or tying a single issue into stuff that had been happening in the Knuckles series. And I know having to follow a reading order at all is a pain for a lot of people. But if you do it right it really isn't that big a deal

And I think so far the IDW series has been doing it right. (I can't comment on Universe because, again, I'm not there yet.) For instance, Jewel didn't actually make a proper appearance in the main series until #31. If you hadn't read the first Annual or Tangle & Whisper, you won't know who she is... but she says up front that she's a friend of Tangle's who curates a mineral museum in Spiral Hill. So there you go. The side stories add a lot to the overall series and its world, but the main series doesn't become complete gibberish if you missed something

I think it's also important to remember that, you know... Sonic comics are written for kids. They're never going to require encyclopedic knowledge of every thing that has ever happened in every game and every previous issue to enjoy them. (Not anymore, at least.) They're never going to require you to follow seven series at once. And if something is important for readers to remember, they'll remind you of the basics

[popculturebuffet]

Kool-Aid Man’s Wacky-Zany Video! Review (Comisson for Emma Fici)

Hello all you happy people. I”m Jake and I do reviews and analysis of pop culture. And today we’re taking a look at something downright weird, a small sliver of pop culture history courtesy of one of my best friends and patreons, Emma Fici. 

This also came about because I had a missing spot in the schedule. See I was going to review Season 1 of Legend of Vox Machina, and still plan to find some way to review the series at some point... but after doing the incredibly exausting days long look at Venture Bros Season 3 (which at this point has gotten exactly one like “sigh”), I really coudln’t cover another series and emma was happy to fill the spot once she figured out something.. and what stygian void of madness she pulled this out of I don’t know but I went from planning to review the most promising show of the year... to a kool-aid man vhs tape from the 90s.

Anyways this tape was apparently part of the Kool-Aid points program, basically you got points off every packet of Kool-Aid and got stuff for them. By the time I was a kid I only remmeber seeing them noted on the packages.. and not really getting the point and throwing the packets out. Could’ve gotten a tote bag or maybe a pitcher with kool aid man’s face but with the horrifying implication this one’s a quadruple amputee. I dunno. I wasn’t with it. 

This tape was also partnered with KB Toys.. and I know all 2 of you reading this who didn’t actively pay me to write about this are probably asking what KB Toys is.. well it was essentially ToysRUs but.. it died first. I didn’t see them oftne, but I still have fond memories of seeing them as they were so rare by the time I was a kid it was like finding some hidden treasure of a store you never knew about and only heard of in some legend... that legend being a catalogue that got mailed to your house but a legend all the same. 

So what happens when two companies who are now dead and past their prime respectively combine their powers into a VHS tape? Find out under the cut!

So we open with a commerical for Kool-Aid... that I will try to describe to the best of my ablities despite the fact it’ll defintely make me look crazier than I already am. So a bunch of kids run around with sonic the hedgehog wheel feet, have bugged out expressions and distorted visuals, while Kool Aid man bursts in to quell their ravenous hoards. This is the FIRST THING I saw in the video

Things do not get more sane from there as we cut into a rap from the Kool Aid Man set to a video that I’m sure is what being on cocaine feels like. We get FOUR of these things and their all a generic rap about Kool-Aid and this wacky video set to whatever public domain footage the makers of this tape had access too and out of context clips of Kool-Aid commericals. At various points I saw him as a rock star, a superhero and jesus christ. And you can’t tell me if I saw that last one for sure there was a lot going into my brain at once. 

So then we get a commerical about hunting hedgehogs set to black and white public domain footage.. and at this point it became very apparent just how.. cheap the film’s budge it is. The ONLY new things are the audio and some of the graphics, some of which were probably native to the editing stuff they used. Everything is either is transparently public domain or old Kool Aid Man Commericals. This may be the cheapest thing i’ve ever seen and i’ve watched 1313 haunted frat aka a film that was marketed as a cheap horror movie.. and is even cheaper than it seems as 90% of it is just one chissled guy wondering around the director’s house in his underwear. But at least that guy needed to hire an actor, hire more actors so he could put in scenes to make it technically not count as softcore porn, and hire catering and all that. I’ve seen all of Doug Walker’s movies. Nuff said there. And this is still cheaper as they clearly just had whoever made this dub over clips. They MAYBE had to hire a guy to do the raps, and given it wasn’t the kool aid man’s va even that I question. Kool-Aid and KB put no budget into this and just wanted to fart something out to give to kids. I mean.. you have the commericals.. just.. put those together on a tape. At worst you have to pay residuals to the kid actors. Or just have kool aid man stumble around whoevers house was free that weekend for a half an hour. There were better options than “stuff whatever we can into half an hour and hope it’s good.”  Kids saved up their hard earned kool aid pouches for this you dicks. 

That said while I condemn Kool-Aid and KB for cheaping out, i’ll give credit to whoever they forced to make this as despite being cheap as all hell.. they tried. They tried to put some effort and creativity into padding the shit out of this.  The ways they pad out the film that aren’t rap or public domain short films, we’ll get to the latter, are at least attempts at humor. Most don’t, but they might for a kid. The target audience was obviously not 30 year old hairy goblins. I still think when making media for kids you shoudln’t talk down to them or pander, but for a vhs meant to sell kool-aid it works. 

The next bit shows that: going mental, which has the voice overs explained as aliens from the planet lip synch who demonstrate the technique lip unsynch. This one , using stock footage of course, has the viewer play a game where they move around squares. It’s goofy, impractical as you’d have been touching the tv (I was on my phone so it was easier) but the neat trick of always ending up on the kool-aid square is inspired. No matter what you do according to the tape it’ll always end up that way and I’m inclined to belivie it as it was clearly rigged that way and I guessed it would be... but to most kids, especially to me if I had seen it as a kid, it would be fucking cool. Even if it’s hoaky, I can still respect they know kids well enough to play them like this. 

Next is the first of three segments with a man trying to get a newspaper out of the.. newspaper dispenser thing... and everyone around him thinking he’s nuts while the thing is clearly haunted and ends up manically laughing at him after the police cart him away at the end.. DESPITE SEEING IT LAUGH AT HIM. So they know it’s cursed they just don’t care. It’s not terrible stuff, but it does feel mean spirited as the guy gets arrested.. just for wanting a paper and wanting to beat up a newspaper machine for actively fucking with him. The guy did nothing wrong. He just wanted a fucknig paper. He was quick to cane the machine sure but given it’s sentient, i’m inclined to agree with him on killing the bastard. 

We then get my faviorit ebit, a fairy tail.. it’s wonderfully goofy as it’s the story of wilbur, a chimp who sabotages plains to fuck with the pilot, pilot bob, overdubbing an old 20′s theatrical short clearly but to great effect. The punchline though is great as a “little girl” (clealry a grown woman but clearly part of the joke) promises if she’s lying may an airplane crash in. It’s funny, goofy and uses the stock footage well. Good stuff. 

Our final segment is Dog News Tonight, which is also pretty endearing. It’s what you’d expect, news from a dog’s perspective, such as  a dog trying to teach it’s master the trick to jump or “saving” a hanglider without understanding what they were doing. It’s good stuff. It also leads to the second and final interactive bit, a trick I recongized as they had me do it in school to show off division. Whatever you start with you end with 2. So while I recognized it it’s still neat. 

And after one final rap, the tape ends with a KB Toys advertisment. 

Final Thoughts: This video is stupid.. but it is enjoyable. It’s just so weirdly constructed, so cheap and such a product of it’s early 90′s time that it’s fun to look at. Will I watch it again? Probably not. Was it fun to peak at at least once? hell yeah. 

[generalbioniclefriend]

For @malwarewolf-mocs writing contest

Bionicle: The consequences of good actions

Tahu walked down the circular stairs of a dark dungeon, the smell of humid earth that would make his brother feel at home was all over the place. In front of him, a silver Toa of Sonics was guiding him with a lantern a hand. Despite him being able to light this place without breaking a sweat, but the Order of Mata Nui didn't want the Toa of Fire to use his powers in their newly constructed base.

The stairs came to an end, and a long tunnel was ahead of them, but Tahu noticed a wooden table and a being waiting with his arms crossed.

"I'm surprised you managed to convince him" exclaimed Triunuma, looking at Krakua.

Tahu knew exactly what he was talking about, ever since the death of Helryx and Axxon, the Order seemed to lose a sense of authority they once had, now just being another team of misfits dedicated to a lost cause, no better than the Dark Hunters.

"I came to see what happened to Takanuva, your friend here told me he knows" answered Tahu, his Golden Armor reflected all the light in the room, making his red cape see brighter than usual.

"I told you I know a way to find out" said Krakua looking directly at him, the silver Toa may have been smaller than him, but Tahu couldn't help but to feel some kind of fear about him. "Do you know what a Kratana is? Do you remember what it is?"

The name seemed familiar, but Tahu nodded no. Trinuma took a jar from behind his back, and took a squirming creature that resembled a Kraata, Tahu took a step backwards.

"Relax" whispered Krakua. Looking at him dead in the eye "we used this on Takanuva himself"

His voice was booming yet quiet, as if he could feel it inside his body, perhaps this was one of his powers

Tahu reluctantly took in the idea of the Kratana. If this was the only way to know about Takanuva's fate, then so be it. And besides, if things went wrong, he could defeat these two without a doubt.

The creature attached himself to Tahu's face. Everything went pitch black. Then, a swarm of lights passed by his side at incredible speed, he could see glimpses of something forming as the lights went by, walls, a roof and someone infront of him... it was Takanuva! He was there! Tahu tried to talk but no sound came out. Takanuva was in front of him, but he looked... different, tired. He let a sigh and began to talk.

"I... really don't know what to say, just... Jaller, if you're out there, know that I tried"

Tahu was confused, it seemed like he was watching a sequence with missing parts, now suddenly, Teridax's alternate self was talking directly to him.

"I'm really envious of those that didn't come with us, yes, there has been some fun but... I do not wish what happens next even to myself of this universe"

"If Axxon was here he'd probably be able to say something inspiring, pontificating about acceptance and moving on but our- my mind's going blank. Just bury me next to him if you find my body"

Johmak, and someone that looked like what the Turaga described as Nidhiki were next.

"I'm lucky me and my friend are here. Two order agents in the same place used to be a rare sight, Ha!... I'm just glad I'm next to a loved one right now"

"I don't deserve a funeral, if you do find my body, just disassemble me, I don't want any trace of me left"

"This is my fault, I should of seen it coming. But just like Brutaka asked, if you find my body, next to the rest of the Cordak"

Next was Varian, with a gun pointing a her head.

"I'd like to be cremated, I don't want my body to be in a closed space never again, and Norik, if this ever reaches you, know that I love you"

The Kratana changed to Takanuva again.

"Just to make myself clear, even after all that's happened, that will happen, I still don't regret ever taking off. The last few months have been great... I just wish I could of said my goodbyes when I had the chance... Tahu, if you ever get this message and - great beings I'm talking to a bug - if you ever get this message, know that inspite everything that happened before I left, you'll always be my big brother"

A slight smile could be seen behind his mask, yet the sadness in his eyes remained. Tahu couldn't bear the sight of it, not the little Matoran he met back there, not his little brother. His Golden Armor began to flicker.

"Takanuva!"

His Golden Armor began to glow.

"Takanuva!"

His Golden Armor began to buzz

"TAKUA!"

The scream of that name went through space and time, and Takanuva, confused, heard a distant voice from the past.

"Tahu?"

His surroundings got destroyed by the swarm of bright lights once again, this time moving in the opposite direction. Trinuma took the Kratana off his face. Tahu looked for air.

"That's all there is" said Krakua looking down at him "it seems they managed to obtain a Kratana and sent this message. That's how it works"

Tahu stood up, trying to find his balance. "From when is this message?"

"That's the interesting part" Krakua sighted "that message was sent five million years ago".

[timmy-the-madfox]

This took waaaaaaaay too long, but here's the second part of my SonAmy short story. If you haven't read the first part, I suggest you read that first.

As before, fair warned, this will probably turn out to be cheesy verging on cringe:

As Yet Untitled - Part 2:

It was a pleasant midday in the park. The sun beat down on the waters of the lake, creating a pretty sparkle effect on the surface. A slight breeze came in from the East, making the temperature comfortably warm.

Over the lake’s waters themselves, the chao could be seen playing. On the west side of the park, some of the village’s young people were playing a game of football. Everywhere people could be seen walking about, just going about their days.

After purchasing a coffee and a sandwich from a food van parked at the edge of the lake, Amy took a seat on one of the benches under shady trees and watched the world go by.

She’d been thus engaged for an indeterminate time, when she was gently taken out of her reverie by the sound of a familiar voice.

“Hi Amy!”

“Oh, Hi Big!” Amy jumped up from the bench, “Closed the shop for the day, huh?”

“Yep!” The titan feline nodded, “Now me and Froggy are goin’ fishing.” Big held out his fishing rod and Amy, having done this many times before, held out her hand for the frog that was Big’s near constant companion to jump into.

“Ribbit.” Froggy said, moments after landing in Amy���s hand.

“Heh, heh! Hello to you too, Froggy.”

Amy reached up to allow Froggy to jump back onto Big’s shoulder, “Well, you two enjoy your fishing.”

“Thanks Amy.” Big walked casually by and made his way towards the lake.

Amy decided to take a walk around the park before heading back into the village. On the way out of the park, she met one of her closest friends, Cream the Rabbit, and her mother Vanilla.

“Hello Mrs. Rabbit.” Amy curtsied, and then to Cream, “Hi Cream!”

“Hi Amy!” The young rabbit girl beamed at Amy. “How are you today?”

“Pretty good, thank you Cream. I’ll be heading over to Sonic’s house in a little while. Princess Sally has got another mission for him, and I want to make sure he hasn’t left his Chaos Emeralds behind. You know what he’s like.”

Cream turned to Vanilla, “Mother, can we go with Amy to Mr. Sonic’s house?”

Vanilla smiled, “Okay, why not?”

“Yay!” Cream leapt into the air and her pet chao, Cheese, circled around the three of them making happy noises. But as Cream landed, her expression turned worried, “Mother, look out!”

Before Amy knew what she was doing, she’d positioned herself between Cream, Vanilla and the football heading their way. She caught the errant ball mere moments before the youngsters that had been playing with it caught up.

“You guys watch where you’re shooting, okay?”

“We’re sorry Miss Amy.” One of the kids replied.

“It’s alright. Nobody was hurt, but be more careful, ‘kay?” Amy smiled and performed an energetic example of a “Throw in”. As the kids chased after their ball, Amy turned back to her friends, “Okay, I’m going to head back to mine to pick up a couple of things. Meet me at Sonic’s house in half an hour?”

Cream nodded, “Okay! See you there.”

The three left the park and went to their respective homes.

***

About 30 minutes later, Amy, Cream and Vanilla met up in the village and began the short walk to Sonic’s house. As they approached they could see the car that Sonic had won in the Planet Wisp GP parked outside. Sleek, curved lines with fins reminiscent of a hedgehog’s spines at the rear, coloured in a light blue that seemed to change shade depending on how the light hit the vehicle.

Their admiration was cut short though as a small, bug like robot travelling on a single wheel exited Sonic’s house, paused, seemingly looked straight through the three friends and proceeded to exit the village heading East.

“That was one of Mr. Jimbotnik’s robots!” Cream exclaimed.

“Yes.” Amy replied thoughtfully, “a Moto – Bug, if I’m not mistaken.” She looked in the direction of Sonic’s house and noticed that the front door stood ajar, “I don’t like this. I don’t like it at all. Let’s investigate.”

Cautiously with Amy leading, they walked up to the house and Amy slowly pushed open the door.

The scene that confronted them was as follows:

The room was littered with magazines, empty food packets, a frisbee. Balanced precariously but very accurately on one of the blades of a ceiling fan appeared to be a disposable soft drink cup.

“Oh no! That robot trashed Mr. Sonic’s home.”

“Actually Cream… this is what it’s usually like. Sonic may be handsome, heroic, charming and very, very clean, but he can’t look after a house for beans.” Amy replied. “I just hope that Moto – Bug didn’t find the Chaos Emeralds. Let’s find them.”

***

“There are five hiding places in this house.” Amy told her companions, “The secret compartment in the couch, the space behind that picture of Sonic and me on the wall, the space under the hollow floorboard, there’s a false book on the bookshelf with a secret compartment in it, and the space under the stairs. We’re looking for a wooden dovetail box with red velvet in the lid.”

“Okay Amy,” Cream replied, “let’s start looking.

Five minutes later, Amy hit the unwanted jackpot by finding the box behind the picture of her and Sonic on the wall. Sighing (she had been hoping that Sonic would remember to take the box with him, she withdrew the box with a degree of reverence, carried it over to Sonic’s desk, itself littered with maps, notes and a custom postcard he’d had made with a photo of Amy and him taken when they’d had a short holiday to Emerald Coast, which Sonic hadn’t entirely ruined by scrawling the words “We woz ‘ere” in one corner, and opened the lid.

Seven emeralds, each a different colour of the rainbow, sparkled from within the confines of the box.

“Oooh! They’re so pretty!” Cream said in appreciation.

Amy sighed again and closed the lid. Taking the box to her chest, she had a bit of a flashback to the time Sonic had rescued her from Miracle Planet.

“I wish I could go adventuring with Sonic!” she suddenly burst out in frustration, bouncing up and down, “I wish! I wish! I wish!”

While she was thus engaged, the lid of the box accidently popped open and the blue emerald was ejected from the box. “Oops!”

Cream caught the emerald from the air. There was a momentary blinding flash, and when Amy and Vanilla’s vision cleared, Cream appeared to stand before them at seven feet tall, with much longer fur and viciously sharp looking teeth and claws.

Amy laughed nervously, “Cream… are you OK?”

Before Cream could respond, Vanilla said, “Cream, place that emerald back into it’s box.” Not a command, not even a request. More of a statement than anything.

“Yes mother,” Cream replied in her normal voice.

With the utmost of care, Cream slid the blue emerald back into its compartment within the box and closed the lid. There was a further momentary blinding flash, and when this one cleared Cream appeared before Amy and Vanilla as her normal self.

“That was fun Amy, but please be more careful with Mr. Sonic’s treasure jewels.”

“You’re right, I’m sorry.”

The three friends started to laugh, but then the telephone rang.

***

“Sonic Hedgehog’s residence, Amy Rose speaking.”

“This is Commander Elmsworth, of His Majesty’s Secret Service. May I speak with Sonic Hedgehog please?”

“I’m afraid he isn’t here Commander… in point of fact, I thought he was with your people.”

“We lost contact with him about ten minutes ago ma’am. He was last seen headed back towards your location. We’re rather concerned.”

“Thank you for letting us know, Commander, I have some idea of where he may have gone, we’ll look into it.” Amy replaced the receiver in its cradle.

She inhaled deeply before speaking again, “OK, I’m going out to look for him.”

“Mother, can I go with Amy to look for Mr. Sonic?”

Vanilla looked doubtful.

“I promise to take good care of her, Mrs. Rabbit”

Cream’s mother finally smiled, “Well… OK then Cream, but you are to do anything Amy tells you to, is that understood?”

“Yay!” Cream leapt into her mother’s arms and hugged her tightly, “Thank you mother. I promise I’ll do everything Miss Amy says.”

“Alright then. You two go and look for Sonic, I’ll clean this place up a bit and arrange a hero’s diner for when you get back. Oh and Amy?” Vanilla brought a backpack over to Amy, “I’d take the box of emeralds with you.”

***

“Where should we start looking Amy?” Cream asked as the two friends left Sonic’s house.

“I have an idea where he’s gone. But first, we’ll ask old Mr. Lightfoot if he saw anything. He’s usually working in his garden and sees all the people coming and going from the village, so that should be a good place to start.”

The two friends started for the Lightfoot residence, on the east side of the Village.

They arrived at the Lightfoot house in short order. True to Amy’s word, Mr. Lightfoot was at work tending his garden.

“Hello Mr. Lightfoot!” Amy called.

The old rabbit looked up from his work and smiled broadly. “Hello there, ladies.”

“How’s your back, Mr. Lightfoot?” Amy asked.

“It’s doing OK, thank you Amy. You ladies look like you’re in a hurry, what can I do for you?”

“We’re looking for Mr. Sonic,” Cream replied, “have you seen him, Mr. Lightfoot?”

“I saw him a little while ago actually.” The old rabbit looked thoughtful, “he was in a tearing hurry, I can tell you that. He passed by here heading East, until he ran into young Ampleforth.”

There was something about the way the old rabbit said “Ampleforth” that seemed to add, “That damned fool.”

“I’m not sure why young Sonic was in such a hurry heading out this way though, nothing East of here but Jimbotnik’s scrapyard.” He took out a handkerchief and mopped his brow, “If I were you, ladies, I’d head over to young Ampleforth’s shack. It’s just a few minutes’ walk down here, and ask him what he wanted to talk to Sonic about. A word of caution though. He’s taken to watching insects from his shack. Don’t let him suck you into that, you’ll be there all day.”

“Thanks Mr. Lightfoot! We’ll do that.” Amy smiled and both she and Cream gave a small bow.

“A pleasure to help, as always ladies.” The old rabbit smiled, “You take care out there now.”

Amy and Cream left him to his gardening tasks as they headed for the shack of Ampleforth.

[krissiefox]

Adventures Of Sonic The Hedgehog - Trail Of The Missing Tails (Screenshots Set 1 0f 5) okay, this one is a lot of fun! For starters, we also get introduced to a fun new character, Dr. Warpnik. He is Dr. Robotnik's cousin whom got banished to a weird alternate dimension full of fish, and I have to wonder if it is the show's attempt at adapting the special stage from Sonic 1 because the whole place is even more surreal than usual for the show, and the fish just seem to fly about without the need for water. I really dig his design and highly animated hair, he kinda reminds me of The Boogermeister from Boogerman with those loose floppy gloves and deranged smile. It also seems implied that he likes to fuck fish, seeing as he is making out with one when Sonic meets him and Robotnik calls him a "fish fondling fruitcake" (Have I mentioned that Robotnik is very creative with his insults?).  In addition to that, the episode has lots of wholesomeness with Sonic and Tails being sweet to each-other.  It's also nice to see Sonic being so genuinely concerned for Tails and without any dismissive comments about "things getting too mushy/sappy" which is something that bugs me during sweet moments in other episodes.

The plot in this one is fairly simple. We find out Dr. Warpnik wants revenge on Robotnik for banishing him into this strange dimension.  At the same time he is plotting, Sonic is snagging chili dogs from another obvious trap that the badniks have laid. Because he feels it may be extra dangerous, Sonic asks Tails to wait at a distance. However, when things get messy, Tails disobeys and comes to see what's going on, adding to the commotion. This leads to Sonic getting upset with Tails, and shortly thereafter, not being able to locate him. Worried, Sonic goes right to Robotnik's lair, fearing he may have been abducted, but Robotnik sassily denies having done so and asks Sonic if they'd had a fight, to which Sonic starts to worry that Tails' disappearance is due to him being upset over Sonic's earlier scolding. Sonic sets out to find Tails and eventually finds the way to Dr. Warpniks' dimension.

Here, Dr. Warpnik is revealed to have been the one to kidnap Tails and introduces himself to the two. Robotnik and his badniks later arrive as well, and a big fight breaks out between the two of them. At one point one of Dr. Warpnik's machines even turn the badniks into giant robots!  After a great deal of commotion, Sonic and Tails escape, leaving the others trapped.

Lastly, the Sonic Sez segment gives kids advice on what to do if they get lost - have your phone number memorized so you can call for help from a phone! While this advice doesn't apply quite as well in the age of smart phones, it could at-least translate into a reminder for kids with smart phones to make sure they have the numbers for their parents or guardians already saved in their phone.

[upslapmeal]

Revolution of the Daleks

Can you believe Spyfall was just one year ago? Yeah neither.

a long time ago in a galaxy far far away....

ok Chibbs no need to remind us how long ago 2019 feels we know

ah glad to see the Big Onscreen Place Names haven’t gone anywhere

and now I wish I’d actually rewatched Resolution

you should have gone to a service station for your tea mate

how did they know he would stop at the lone tea and burgers stall anyway

eyy it’s Misfits guy

(who I’m sure has been in many other things)

water pistol dalek

well I guess even daleks have to face being replaced by a robot one day

“You built this yourself?” “Yes well I was inspired by all the times daleks have invaded London”

Chibbs’ DW is definitely a Serious Drama™️ in the way that RTD’s was soap and Moffat’s was......Moffat

I do genuinely wonder if kids enjoy/follow the more Serious Drama™️ bits

but come on Chibbs give us FUN give us RIDICULOUS

FINALLY the Doctor

hi Angela the weeping angel

I would have expected Angela to be imprisoned with some sort of watching eye to stop her moving

OH WHY

IT’S BEEN TOO LONG SINCE A WEEPING ANGEL JUMPSCARE I SHOULD HAVE SEEN THAT COMING

I wonder what that specific weeping angel did to make it worse than all the other weeping angels and deserving of space jail

yikes what happened to the peaceful ood

I see that the pting is in jail to atone for war crimes

The Doctor in jail feels a week bit ~when will my prince rescue me~

idk I feel as though I would have expected the Doctor to be trying to get out

I guess she’s using it as thinking time re: the whole timeless child jazz

did nobody ever notice the TARDIS house magically appearing on top of what I presume must have been some park overnight?

Detective Yaz

spider guy spider guy commits crimes a spider can

which unsurprisingly include tax fraud

Jack!

hiding things up his arse again, good to see nothing’s changed

THIRTEEN GOT A HUG

FINALLY

“we live in uncertain times” oh boy did Chibbs not know how hard that would hit when he wrote it

ey back with the human dalek puppets

“I had a suite with a cocktail lounge” I love knowing that this must have been during Nine’s time

“they took 7000 other offences into consideration” you were saying about Jack committing crimes to break you out, Doc?

“it’s been a tough few decades” yeah I know we’ve all had a rough 2020 you ain’t special

warm greeting from Graham - “you what?”

confrontational Yaz!

man genuine companion/Doctor conflict is something that has really been missing during Chibbs’ era

shame about the costume change though, Jack was right about it suiting her

Rose mention <3 </3

though Jack I think you’re giving the Doctor a wee bit too much credit with the whole immortality thing

interesting seeing Yaz choose to follow the investigation with Jack over sticking with the Doctor

“Being with the Doctor you don’t get to choose when it stops” unless you are absolute legend Martha Jones

I’m really enjoying this Yaz/Jack conversation

the sonic blaster!

.....when did that one dalek get a chance to start a clone farm in Japan???

loving Ryan and the Doc getting a proper conversation and how it differs from Yaz’s with Jack in how the 10 months has affected them

though let’s be honest 10 months is far from the worst the Doctor has done

“same Doctor, same Ryan, nothing’s changed” something something Ryan should have had a better arc something

this speech about change feels like something the Doctor would usually give to a companion

tbh Ryan things like purchase order numbers were bugging me too so I gotta side with knockoff Trump here

Doc if they managed to build a giant cloning facility from across the world then I’m sure they are very capable of getting to their casings

man I must have missed the daleks when I went through passport control this morning

“first the cyberdudes, now the daleks, no alien ship is safe from us two bad boys” 🤜🏻 “stop taking weird Graham” 👍🏿

Gwen Cooper <3

Ryan :’(

hug twooo

Graham :’(

hug threee

a bit of a weird exit since I’m sad to see them go but still feel as though I barely know them

especially Ryan

idk for their last episode I feel as though though the two of them should have had a lot more focus in the plot

got to do something big

hopefully we’ll still see them around, even if they’re not travelling

the benefit of this is we get more time rounding out Yaz as a character

Ryan and Graham, off you go to save the world

Grace :’(

Well as an episode this was perfectly enjoyable and it was good fun having Jack back but MAN if those two exits didn’t hit home how there’s just been something missing with the companions this era - let’s see how it goes next series when it’s just Thirteen and Yaz...and Dan Dan Companion Man.

[pbandjesse]

I am in my own bed. Which is excellent. I have a heating pad keeping me warm, because it seems our heat it still broken. But I am glad to be here. I love visiting my parents, but I much prefer our bed.

I was really, like out of my mind today. I made the bad call to take double the dose of melatonin because I was having trouble sleeping. And I was literally just zoned out all day. It did not feel good. This was very dumb of me. I didn't even really sleep great. That bed is just really narrow and I was cold and not cozy. James kept elbowing me. It was not the best sleep.

So I was kind of out of my mind delirious today. I tried my best but it was hard.

I got up and dressed. I felt really cute. SweetP was being really cute. Mom made me toast. And we sat in the kitchen playing on our phones.

I just felt really exhausted and hungry and I couldn't figure out what to eat to fix it. I was just a little uncomfy.

I would join James and my dad in the living room. Mom would go to the store and asked if I wanted to go too but I just wanted to sit in the comfy chair. I feel guilty about not going still.

James taught dad how to play the baseball video game they like, and dad liked it so much he made James show him how to buy a switch on amazon so now my dad is going to have his own switch which I think is so cute. I hope he gets into some fun games, it will be good for his brain.

It was just about time for us to go though. We were already a little later than we had originally planned. But James packed up the car and I held my forehead against sweetP's head and said goodbye. And then we were off.

I asked if we could make a stop at the new thrift store because I hadn't gotten to see it yet. And it was fun looking and we did get two candle sticks for the wedding. But I was just. To tired. And parking was annoying. And I was very hungry.

I was not having a great time. I needed to eat. And the only thing I could think of was Sonic and then I find out that location was closed for good and I was so sad. And then we went to wendys and I ate half of the food I got, planning on eating the other half later, and when we got down to phillly James collected all the trash from the car and I didn't realize and they threw my fries away. So sad.

But I had a nice time seeing James's friends. Giving cookies and little gifts. I got to play with James's one friend's dog. Who was just a huge love bug. And then we went to see Dante and their new house is so nice but also super bizarre. It has a stage and a huge chandelier and the kitchen has no oven but a gas stove top?? It almost looks like it was a restaurant or something, its the oddest thing.

I did get a kick out of how both places we went today had no girls living there. And you could absolutely tell. They were both very very dusty, and all of the furniture is bizarrely placed and mismatched. James says it was so everyone could play video games at the same time, which makes sense but made me laugh that both of these houses were so similar.

It was time to go home though. I was very very tired. We put on a podcast and I tried to hold it together but I wasn't having a great time. I eventually fell asleep.

When I woke up my skin really hurt. So after we stopped for gas, we would go to the walgreens in our neighborhood so I could get aquafore and it helped me feel a little better. The nap I had helped too. But I still felt pretty weak and not comfy.

Also we both miss sweetP way more then I think we expected. I wish he was here but mom sent me a video of him having fun there so that makes me happy.

Once we got inside I put things away while James did the last trip of stuff up. I was very on edge. I hadn't had enough to eat today and James kept suggesting things and all of them made me want to throw up and I snapped at them and felt really bad. But I ate and things were okay. I still feel weak, but I took a bath and put on medication for my skin. And I am in bed. I am really hoping I can sleep well tonight and wake up feeling more myself tomorrow.

Because despite being sad about losing out on big family Christmas, i am still looking forward to Christmas with James and the Fulwilers tomorrow. It will still be a really nice time.

I hope you all have a great night, sleep well my friends. Happy Christmas and goodnight!