#gave up on the hat too hard grr

[luwqa]

scccccccaranara

[artblock-tm]

Can I get the director's commentary on literally anything you want from Shadow Rift. You can do the whole book if you want. I wanna hear your thoughts

Okay okay okay SO! Grr Shadow Rift. Me and my complicated relationship with Shadow Rift………

For those who don’t know DP Lore, Shadow Rift was a fic originally posted to a different website by a different author. The author wanted to abandon it, but I really enjoyed it, so I reached out to them and asked if I could continue it. Shockingly, they agreed, but I had to follow the original idea for their story.

Writing (part of) og Shadow Rift really dipped my toes into fic writing, and was what initially drew in some of my oldest readers (hi Marci). However, after some years of improvement as a writer with the publication of Masked, I just… didn’t like the story anymore. So I reached out to the original author again for permission to rewrite it and they basically just gave me full control of Shadow Rift.

I won’t talk about it too much since they’ve asked to remain anonymous, but they weren’t satisfied with it either but didn’t have the spoons to finish it. And that’s what brought us to Shadow Rift THE REWRITE!

Now that I think about it… I wish I hadn’t deleted my SR planning doc as soon as the epilogue was published… oops.

ANYWAY. SR is quite different from the original, both in quality of writing and character. While the plot moved generally in the same direction, some lore things were changed and the characters actually had concrete ARCS! WOAH! INCREDIBLE!

Like Hat Kid had an arc that improved her view on the world, however subtly. Although you may argue that it was the return of her soul that did this, the soul was only the macguffin. Her developing relationship with Snatcher is what made her develop as well!

Speaking of Snatcher… ugh he was so fun to write. I loved his and Hattie’s dynamic of continually butting heads. I love the parallels that originally appear as foils… AND it was great to make Snatcher an actual character too! I got to fill him with transgender allegory! Happy pride!

However, the character that drew the most evil giggles from me as I planned how to screw over was none other than Elliot. Oh, Elliot, how I love putting you through the wringer. I also had so much fun giving him a new character arc… in the opposite direction of Snatcher’s.

While Snatcher’s perception of himself merges together and he comes to accept himself and Elliot as the same person, just with changes, Elliot comes to make a distinction between himself and Snatcher. Snatcher is okay with himself, including Elliot, but Elliot isn’t.

Snatcher to me is a lot of hard edges with a softer demeanor. Even though he’s soulless, that doesn’t make someone incapable of kindness (like Hattie thought).

But Elliot is the inverse. He’s all soft edges with a sharp pointed center. And, understandably, the events he’d been through- bodysharing, getting cursed, literally mind-merging with Snatcher for a hot minute- wore his patience thin. It doesn’t help that his fate, like Hattie’s, was swiftly approaching, only his was unavoidable.

It shouldn’t be selfish to want to live, but isn’t it tragic that his actions only ended up speeding the process of his and Hattie’s death? Hehe.

Those are my thoughts on the main characters, but there are some minor ones I’d like to comment on too.

I’m sure that many readers noticed that Karmin wasn’t originally part of AHiT! Yes, I used Shadow Rift as an excuse to write her more. And if you noticed that the arc with her was surprisingly open-ended, that was intentional! You see, I did it for thematic purposes. I’m not gonna hold your hand on this one though.

More importantly, though, Vanessa.

Urgh. Vanessa.

I’ve never been able to write her adequately (UNTIL RECENTLY!! I LISTENED TO MISS MISERYGUTS BY RIP AND EVERYTHING CLICKED!! EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU TO GRACEBETH3604 FOR INTRODUCING ME TO IT!!!), but I’ve had kind of a renaissance on Prince and Vanessa characterization recently. SR!Vanessa was a way for me to experiment with a Vanessa that regretted her actions.

But don’t get me wrong- she doesn’t regret them because she’s becoming a better person- she regretted her actions because they had consequences for her, too. She lost her prince and she came to grieve that loss, but not what she did.

(Also Elliot getting cursed was essentially a nod to Gracebeth3604 also. A!au my beloved. Makes me go insane)

For those people who know the original story, they’d know that the whole thing stayed in Subcon. I thought that was rather stale, so I had the setting move to Alpine, and then to Time’s End. That was fun :)

and ummmm I think I’ve run out of things to say! Sorry I started watching a movie in the middle of writing this and for so caught up in analyzing it that I forgot everything I meant to say

[travellingarmy]

║Scaramouche║Mr. Short

Requested from Wattpad.

Warning: Usage of foul language (I mean, we're talking about Scaramouche here).

Male reader as requested.

Fluff.

Word count: 1.1k

---

"Haha, is it in your family blood or did you just not eat your veggies?" The eleventh Harbinger, Tartaglia, laughs mockingly at the height difference between himself and the sixth Harbinger, Scaramouche.

Scaramouche clicked his tongue and turns his head away, crossing his arms in full displeasure. "Hey, hey, Pedrelino, take a look at this guy!" He calls on over, waving his hands as he beckons you closer with one hand while his other rested upon Scaramouche's hat. Yes, one of your a great many alias was Pedrelino. That being said, yes, you were a Harbinger.

Scaramouche's face flared red in anger. "Grr, cut that out you fucking bastard!" he growls, shooing the ginger's hand away which just pushed Tartaglia to mock him even more, all the while laughing.

"What are you going to do? Punch my face? I'd like to see you try," he laughs, clutching his stomach as he tries to take it down a notch.

Scaramouche glares at him, jaws tightening as well as his fist. Without warning, Scaramouche kicks the eleventh right on his reproductive system hard. Tartaglia's eyes widened as he stiffened up before falling onto the floor whilst clutching his part, groaning. "No, but I can do that," Scaramouche spat, glaring eyes hovering the taller male.

He walks away from the groaning male and to you. "Uh, Scara, you know you could've killed him." You chuckled forcefully as small beads of sweat trickle down your forehead.

"That was my plan." He clicks his tongue, taking one more look at the eleventh. "Too bad he didn't." More sweat went down your head, but said nothing and gave him a forced, close-eyed smile.

"Then, should we go now?" you asked, changing the topic. He silently nods and the two of you left the place where Harbingers would group up, leaving the ginger aching on the floor.

It wasn't anything strange for you to hang around Scaramouche. In truth, you two were lovers. Surprising as it sounded, it was a fact that not even the Fatui diplomats could avoid.

How did someone as cruel as Scaramouche, ended up with you, someone who is completely the opposite and more outgoing than he was? That was one if the great mysteries of Teyvat and the only ones who knew the answer to that was you and Scaramouche.

"Master Pedrelino!" A Fatui underling calls your name in a rush, drawing your attention to your side. "Hm? What is it?" you ask. The diplomat looks to short male beside you who was glaring at them. "Sir, I've been sent with a message by the Tsaritsa about your mission," they said, gulping back a lump in their throat under Scaramouche's gaze.

"Oh? Could you hold onto that until tomorrow?" you said all the while smiling. "But, sir, the Tsaritsa.." the diplomat trails. "The Tsaritsa is important, yes, but I'm about done with my fair share of work today," you reminded them kindly that it was literally time to go home and have dinner.

"Ah, my apologies, Master Pedrelino. I have forgotten the time. Please, pardon me of my rudeness," they said, bowing their head's down. You laughed it off, waving your hand in front of you in small motions as a way to say that it was fine. "It's alright, you're just doing your job. Anyway, I'm sure you're dying to go home too, yes?"

"A, ah, yes, I am. Then, have a good night, sir, and you too, Master Scaramouche." The diplomat quickly leaves, your smile not dropping from your face at the retreating figure. "Tch. Look at how loose your subordinates are, (Y/N)," Scaramouche comments, calling you by your name now that you two were done with work, "This is all because of your carefree ruling."

You chuckle. "Well, if I were to scare them, they would apply to be moved to another Harbinger and then we wouldn't get anything done for the Tsaritsa just like a little somebody," you teasingly comment. He clicks his tongue. "They are fine under my ruling," he said, referring to his subordinates, and crossed his arms while looking somewhere else.

You chuckled and place a hand on his hat. "Whatever you say, shorty." "Has Tartaglia rub his filth on you? Do you want me to go back and kick him again?" He glares. "Haha, no need. I'm sure you'll kill him for sure." You dismiss his serious tone. "I was planning on it."

Not wanting to actually make him turn around to kill the brunette, you stayed silent until you two got home. "Anything you want for dinner?" you ask, making your way to the kitchen as soon as you stepped inside. "No," he simply answers, taking of his ridiculously large hat and setting it down on the living room's sofa.

"Okay. Wash up and come back down, I'll have dinner ready by then," you said, soon hearing him go upstairs after a quick 'okay' from him. As promised, dinner was ready and the two of you ate whilst enjoying a nice conversation.

You joined him in your shared bedroom shortly after you showered, getting under the blankets with him. "What are you reading?" you ask, crawling on top of him-- encaging him between your arms and closing your eyes, sighing. "A book," he answers blandly. You chuckled. "I know that it's a book. What is the book about?"

"A person," he answers, yet again in a bland tone, eyes glued boredly onto the pages. "Wow, that totally sums it up," you huffed. "If you want to know, you can read it after," he said. You smiled. "No, I'm good."

A comfortable silence was shared between you two and the only sounds to be heard was the rustling of pages being turned and his loud heartbeat that was right beside your ears.

Slowly, your eyelids fell heavy, the sound of his rhythmic heartbeat lulling you to sleep. Soon, you fell asleep. Scaramouche continued on, not realizing that you had fallen asleep until he finished the book.

"Huh, (Y/N)?" He looks down to see you sleeping. His brows furrow in disbelief and places the book on the bedside table.

He tried to nudge you off of him, but you were simply a much bigger man than he was. He sighs and with nothing to do about his situation, he slid his body underneath you.

Actually, he didn't mind the added warmth, but he rather not be caught dead with you on top of him, although most already know of your relationship. He just awkward, let's be frank.

He takes a glance at your face and every little detail of it-- your long eyelashes that would flutter once in a while whilst you dream, your nose, and lips. The sigh that left his lips soon after sounded irritated, but really, he wasn't. Not one bit.

To prove it, a small smile tug the corner of his lips and whispered, "Good night."

---

[cutegirlmayra]

Hello. I don't have a fully fleshed out prompt idea, more like a concept to play around with. I've recently had a fascination with the concept of pirate AUs and have been trying to find Sonic ones. It makes no sense- since canon Sonic hates/is afraid of water/the ocean, but that's never stopped an AU before. Then again, no one said Sonic had to be the pirate. Maybe he's fighting pirates. Is there Sonamy involved? You decide. Go wild. Have fun. If you want to write about pirates, that is.

Dude, I want to do a pirate AU for Sonic so badly!!! This isPERFECT to pitch my fanfiction idea! :D thanks for the opportunity! Also, I graduated, lol. So I should be able to finish these up more now! :Db

PROMPTS ARE ON SHUTDOWN! Please don’t send me any at this time!

Prompt:

You’ll need this for the opening: (x) – Drunken Sailor

What will we do with a drunkensailor?What will we do with a drunken sailor?What will we do with a drunken sailor?Early in the mornin’!

As drums pound, symbolizing the brotherly band of hearts thatsoar these skies, the clouds disperse ahead as a magnificent ship burststhrough them like fluffy, floating waves.

Way hay and up she risesWay hay and up she risesWay hay and up she risesEarly in the mornin’!

The Ship gracefully, but with greatweight and impact, barges through the clouds as though roughing the seas. Ittears its way through and sails on with a green glow that blinds out the sunabove them.

Shave his belly with a rustyrazor (x3) Early in the mornin’!

On the boat, the Master Emeraldshines brilliantly hoisted down with ropes, tethered to the back of the boat…and below it, Captain Sonic stands with one hand resting on the steering wheel,tapping his finger and smirking at the happy tune his swashbuckling crew singas they go about their duties upon the mighty Babylon Jewel!

Making fun of the tune, Knucklesmimes taking a shaving knife and scraping it up and down his belly as he sings.The crew jumps at the chorus line and begin to rhythmically go about their daywith the song.

Way hay and up she rises (x3)

Early in the mornin’!

Tails, Sonic’s first mate, isteased as he’s thrown into the long boat over the side of the ship. The crewlaughs as they keep him there but he smiles and twirls his tails, blastinghimself forward and through them all to land safely back on the flying ship. Henods triumphantly as the men collapse behind him. The clouds rose up with hiswake, and the deck on that side was now covered in mist.

Sonic gave him a thumbs up and thendirected him to the wheel. Excitedly, Tails hurried to his side. Sonic ruffledhis hair affectionately and moved down towards the stairs.

Put him in a long boat ‘til he’ssober (x3) Early in the mornin’!

Way hay and up she rises (x3) Early in the mornin’!

Stick him in the scupper with ahosepipe on him (x3, this means to hose him down with sea water.) Early in the mornin’!

However, below the merry deck ofthe Babylon Jewel, lay the Red Rose Scarlets. These ladies were a fiercecompetitor of the seas, the true seas. Unlike the high-flying, MasterEmearld-powered ship that Sonic had obtained through an alliance with Knucklesafter the dastardly Eggman sunk the island by kidnapping it in the first place,the Red Rose wanted something other than the gift of flight…

They sailed below upon the seas,looking up in the clouds at the underbelly of the Babylon Jewel.

Captain Amy silently slid herhammer under her throat, giving the order as the girls wickedly smiled andpulled out the hooks… They aimed the long spears up towards the wooden hull andwaited for the next order.

Blaze and Wave manned the first twohooks, and Rouge gently, though awkwardly, bade Cream to go under deck.

This was going to be a sneakyoperation… they had to make sure it was flawless.

Way hay and up she rises (x3)

Early in the mornin’!

Sonic turned his head and stoppedadvancing to the deck when he heard the next line, confused as Tails justchuckled under his breath and shrugged to Sonic who looked at him perplexed. Hehadn’t heard this sea shanty before, having just recently taken up piracy whenthe opportunity to be above the water was available. He was a natural piratecaptain though, only stealing from the crooks and running from the law. It washis speciality~

Put him in the bed with thecaptain’s daughter (x3) Early in the mornin’!

“We’re awaiting your orders, Captain.”Blaze spoke silently, looking to Amy as she took a deep breath.

“You lied to me once, Sonic.” Shefolded her arms, speaking to herself as she looked up at the singing crew ofgreen-flying light.

“…But I will have my revenge.” Shereadied her hammer out in front of her, looking to her crew who were on edge,…not even blinking… ready.

Way hay and up she rises (x3) Early in the mornin’!

That’s what we do with a drunkensailor (x3)

Early in the mornin’!

Way hay and up she rises (x3) Early in the mornin’

Sonic moved back to the deck,unawares of what lurked below him, and patted Knuckles’s back and moved over toSilver, who was using his abilities to sweep the poop-deck and keep the shiptidy. It was his day to clean, anyway, but he didn’t mind.

They seemed to chat while Jet andStorm groaned and didn’t participate in the singing.

“How could you lose the BabylonJewel, boss? It’s been in our family for centuries!” Storm billowed, as Jet’sanger mark kept growing with intensity.

“Shut up! He cornered me! Fixed it!I couldn’t-! Grr… We’ll get it back! Even if it means mutiny!”

“S-shh… Boss… Not so loud.” Stormtried to causion.

Jet grew so enraged he threw themob down below him, crushing it with his continual foot stomps. “I’ll get thathedgehog for stealing my family’s heirloom! If it’s the last thing I-!”

Sonic turned around the twowhistled to the tune, acting like the perfect crew members, stellar in theirdutiful tasks.

He smiled with an eyebrow raised,knowing full well Jet and Storm were not of that description.

Way hay and up she rises

“Steady…” Amy instructed.Way hay and up she rises

Wave gripped her hand tighter tothe arrowed contraption, waiting…Way hay and up she rises

Rouge drew her duel-guns, eyeingthe top with anticipation as Cream peeked her head up from below deck.Early in the mornin'…

Amy smiled, “FIRE!”

The hooks scaled all the way upfrom sea to sky, piercing the hull of the flying ship as the whole floatingmass heaved and was pulled back by its strength.

Below, the Red Rose’s anchor wasdropped, two of them to be exact, as it reared up a moment at the strength ofthe Babylon Jewel.

“Steady!” Amy called, gripping therailing near her wheel and then looking to Shade who dived for the wheel andbegan using all her strength to wring it back and hopefully, turn the tide…

“What was that?!” Sonic cried out,feeling his feet slide out from under him before regaining his balance. Most ofthe crew had fallen down, but Knuckles had leaned against the captain’s door tohis quarters.

“Feels like-“

“We’ve been hit!” Tails interruptedKnuckles, peering over the steering wheel to look down at Sonic.

“MY SHIP!” Jet cried out, havingfallen on Storm and quickly jumped off of him to peer over the railing. “Oh,Chaos…” He gripped his head, “PIRATES!”

“Jet, we’re all pirates!” Silverlooked concerned about that statement, wondering about Jet’s IQ before Jetshook his head and turned to point back at what he was looking at. “No, youidiot! GIRL pirates!”

“The Rose?” Knuckles looked toSonic, figuring it was the only ‘girl’ pirates they had a history with.

“Shoot!” Sonic’s face strained to aunpleasant frown.

“Why is it she can always find us?”Shadow rose from below deck, throwing everyone their weapons as he addressedSonic. “They’re climbing up for a showdown.”

“Already? But it’s too-“

The entire crew shouted out, “Earlyin the mornin’!” and laughed, some even scaling down the side of the ship tothe ropes, sword in hand.

“Well, if it’s a fight they want,it’s a fight they’ll get!” Sonic caught his sword and swished it around,adjusting his captain’s hat and jumping to the rim of the ship, peering down.

The second Amy saw his smug face,her eyes fixated on it and she immediately cried out, “Attack!” Dropping herhammer and then raising it up.

The girls were already climbing upthe ropes, but seeing the boys falling down to meet them, they quickly gotready for a brawl.

Knuckles jumped the full distancedown to the Red Rose, his impact with his feet shook the entire boat and hadsplashes rise up from the corners of the ship.

“Rouge.” He greeted.

“Knuckle-head.” She replied with aflirtatious hint in her tone before firing at him.

He rolled to dodge the bullets andthen placed on his hard gloves with golden spikes. “Heh, been a while. How’sthe sailing?” He threw a punch towards her.

“Oh, you know.” She dodged byarching her back completely, leaving him blinking at how flexible and fast shewas. “Constant winds.” She winked, holding a gun below his neck as he slowlymoved back to let her extend her back properly up and straight again.

“Must be a view… always tracking MYMaster Emerald…” he flicked the first gun away and punched her rising hand withthe other.

“Offph!” she dropped the second gunbut brought the other back up, blasting off his gloves to reveal the normalwhite ones underneath and then kicking him to his back. “Now, how is that anyway to treat a lady?” she lowered her eyelids, seeing him defenseless. “TheSecond Mate is down, Captain.” She giggled, as Amy raced by her.

“Cuff him and don’t let him out ofyour sights!”

“More than happy to~” she gesturedwith her gun for him to turn around on his stomach. Begrudgingly, he saw howfar she had blasted his gloves off and complied.

“Normally… I’d just face youhand-to-hand…” he thought of ways of getting out of this, but figured theothers would get him a more… ‘humane’ way out.

She stomped a foot on his back andtook his hands, binding them behind him. “Hush up, now. You’re talking almostlike a gentlemen.” She teased.

Silver floated down and started touse his telekinesis to rip the hooks out of the hull, but before he couldfinish, a powerful blast of fire smeared across his side.

“Ah! Hey!” he turned to see Blazeupon the rope, defending her shoot. “Who… who are you?!”

“First Mate of the Red Rose!” Shejumped, using her fire to propel her and then pulled out her sword.

“Wah!” He quickly pulled out hisown sword and started to combat her. She jumped and balanced on the ropes. Herefforts of pushing him down to the deck of their ship succeeded though, he hadn’teven realized he was floating down till his foot reached the bottom.

“Huh?” he looked down but Blazepounced him, her sword to his neck…

“Pinned, Captain!”

“Bind him up!”

Amy was still knocking othercrewmates of Sonic’s away, trying to make it to him.

Sonic was doing fine against Waveand Shade, Shadow and Tails near him before Amy entered the scene.

“The Blue Boy’s mine!” she criedout, jumping to land a powerful hammer hit, but he looked up and jumped out ofthe way.

“Have it your way, Rose.” Sonic swishedhis sword around, leading her to the tip of her ship. “Couldn’t live withoutme, eh, Rosy?”

“Grrr… You said if I handed overthe Chaos Emerald, you’d marry me!” she charged after him as Shadow and Shadefenced it out and Tails fought against Wave.

Above, Jet and Storm watched thebattles below.

“Heheheh…” Jet snickered. “Whilethey’re distracted, let’s get my ship and skedaddle!” Jet was about to movetowards the wheel when he looked up and saw Cream and Cheese flying up to standon the steering wheel.

She looked to Jet and Storm andpointed to Cheese, “I was only told to secure the ship, but please play nicewith Cheese!”

Cheese puffed up his chest and tookout a huge canon, holding it on his shoulder like it was a light-weight.

“Chao, CHAO!” he blasted the canonlike a bazooka. Jet and Storm cried out before jumping off the now blasted sideof the ship they were at.

“AHHHH!!!!” they crashed ontoShadow and Tails.

“Hey-OFFPH!”

“Secured!” Shade and Wave tied thefour down.

“Well, well… Looks like I’ve finallycaught the wind, haven’t I? Captain Sonic…” Amy didn’t turn her gaze away fromhim, but hearing that his crew was captured sent a huge confidence boost to herheart.

Sonic looked around, growingnervous. “I’ll admit… you took us by surprise…”

“Oh? Is that all you can say toyour future wife?” She spun her hammer, placing it over her shoulder.“Surrender now, Sonic. And I may spare your crew an… unfortunate fate.” Shepointed to his ship.

He looked up at the Master Emerald…still shining in its place.

“…Grr…” He had a few ideas ofgetting out of this mess, but then-

“Whew. I’m glad I snatched thosetwo extra Emeralds from Eggman. Otherwise, I don’t think I would have been ableto find you as soon as I did.”

His ears twitched and his eyeswidened.

“Two… you say?” hesmirked.

He fell to his knees and let thefake tears fly, “Oh, Captain Amy! I’m no match for your beautiful piracy!”

“…H-…Huh?” Amy looked down,unsure of what to make out of this behavior.

He gripped her dress from below,making her blush as he seemed to beg for his life. “I should have kept my endof the deal! Now how will I ever win such a rose of the sea! I’m a fool! Takeme back, Amy! Take me ba-!”

She shoved her hammer into hisgapping, pathetic mouth. “A-Al-Alright! That’s enough! Take them below thebridge and string them up to the under-mass!”

“Aye, aye! Captain!”

Sonic’s crew was tied to a giantbeam that they supposed was what she meant by ‘under-mass’. The part of thewood that continued down below deck.

Tied in sections, Tails squirmed totry and break free before noticing Cream watching him intently.

He sweatdropped and pulled histails back under the ropes, hoping she wouldn’t say anything.

“Well, Captain. I’d say it’s abouttime to split the bounty.”

Some of the girls laughed, and Amyjust twirled the newly collected Choas Emeralds in her hands. “Well, theCaptain’s mine. And as we’ve always done, you can take your portions, ladies~”

After catching the tossed ChaosEmerald, she smirked at the remaining boys, Sonic was tied up separately fromthe beams, and lead away by Amy. “Have fun, but not too much fun, girls.”

“Hmm… So many to choose from.”Rouge teased Knuckles, moving her fingers over his muzzle, “But then again… Ido kinda like the silent types.” She peered over to Shadow who just lookedaway. “Blaze, why not take the white hedgehog? He’s been staring at you allday…”

Blaze blushed and looked to Silver,who quickly turned his gaze with an equally embarrassed blush.

“Don’t you even think about it!”Knuckles kicked back. “W-We’re not some meat patties for sale!”

The girls laughed.

Sonic quickly stopped Amy fromguiding him away, forcing a foot down. “Be warned, Amy… the same treatment yougive my crew… is the same that will be offered to you.”

She turned her head back, a bit spookedby the seriousness of his tone.

His crew heard that though, andraised their heads up,… they seemed to understand that he had a plan to turnthe tables on this predicament…

Sonic’s face was covered in thedark, but he turned to smile towards his crew. “…See ya soon.” He stated andcontinued to willingly follow Amy out.

The girls began to disperse, stilljoking about which ‘treasure’ to take before Wave walked by Jet and Storm.

Jet was grumbling about his fate,first losing his family’s ship and now this before Storm noticed a piece ofsymbolic jewelry off of Wave’s bandana, dangling with the sign of their peopleon it.

“Hey! You’re a-..! You’re a BabylonRogue!” Storm shouted out as Amy and the rest of the girls stopped while Waveflinched.

“W-what?” Jet stopped hisdisgruntled muttering to look up and saw what Storm had noticed first. “Ahh!You’re right!” his eyes lit up with stars. “It’s your sworn duty to serve me!I’m Jet the Hawk! A direct descendant of the legendary clan leaders! I’m yourking!” he kicked and squirmed to make his point, but he kinda lookedpathetically throwing a tantrum on the ground.

Wave’s eyes looked conflicted, abead of sweat dripping down her brow…

“…Wave?” Amy stopped Sonic as Blazeand Rouge took both his arms as Amy moved over to her.

“If I recall… you swore yourallegiance to me… You know how I treat liars too.”

Sonic stared back at them…

Wave bundled her fists together,“You’re… You’re supposed to be..?” she spoke her thoughts out loud, “H-how didyou lose the ancestral ship!? You idiot!” she suddenly spoke very quickly, aswas a trademark of hers and scolded the two, before turning back to walk outthe door. “How could I ever serve an idiot who lost to a hedgehog!?”

“You-!” Jet held in a curse,“You’re serving a hedgehog right now!”

“Don’t worry, Rose. I wouldn’t daredesert the winning side.” She closed her eyes, regaining some composure afterthat outburst.

“…Very well, then. Take him to myquarters. Remain on guard. Blaze, you’re steering for the port town tonight.”

“Aye, aye, Amy.” Blaze nodded, butas the doors closed to Sonic’s crew, Sonic smirked back to Tails.

Once the doors closed, Tails poppedout his twin tails and got to work.

“These ropes are tied a lot betterthan I thought…” He began to get disheartened after so long of struggling andbeing unable to untie their bounds. “What are these girls using?”

“Sheer strength.” Shadow grumbledunder his breath. “To think, Sonic allowed himself to be captured…”

“It’s not like you were anybetter!” Jet cried out from the side, sitting down now that it seemed they weregoing to be here a while.

“What did you say?” Shadow grewmore annoyed by his arrogant talk, “You didn’t even join the battle!”

“We were… s-securing the ship!”

“You were going to steal it back,is what you were going to do.” Tails commented, still fiddling with the knots.

“If you had even TRIED to steal myMaster Emerald!” Knuckles shouted back before the doors slowly creaked openagain.

The men all hushed.

Silver nervously added, “What ifthey really meant what they said? And they were going to take each of us…”

“Shut up, that was just anintimidation play. You can’t seriously expect them to-“ Shadow began but thedoor slid more open with keys dangling.

Wave poked her head through thedoor, “I’ll take of the night shift, Cream. You just get some rest, alright?”

She closed the door and quicklyheaded over to Jet and Storm, touching her technological jewel to the rope andhaving it light up with cyber-fibers triggering the release of the mechanism.

Tails gasped, “It wasn’t rope atall! Where’d you get this technology!”

“No wonder…” Shadow muttered, “Theywere extra careful after all… Amy really does want her revenge.”

“You’re… You’re helping us?” Jettossed the rope off of him as Wave helped Storm up, who happily scooped her upin a bear-hug.

“Ugh! Easy, big guy… Pfft, don’tthink this means I take back what I said about you! You still lost the BabylonJewel! I’ll never forgive you for that astounding idiocy!” She let Storm hugher and then gently place her back down.

“We’re not leaving without thecrew.” Jet then stated, “One because they’ll tell Sonic and he’ll kick me offmy own ship!” Jet gulped as Wave face-palmed herself.

“You’re completely incompetent…aren’t you?”

“Is that anyway to speak to yourking!?”

“Ugh… keep your annoying voicedown! I have a duty to fulfill… I’ll join your crew if it means you PROMISEto get OUR ship back!” she waved a stern finger at him and then began to untiethe rest of the crew.

“Our? Who said anything about ourship!” Jet protested, but Storm quickly intervened.

“B-bu-but, boss! The Babylon Jewelbelongs to all Babylonians. Captained by their leaders descendants, it’sunstoppable in its revolutionary technology and-“

“Quit it, Storm. You freak me outwhen you start talking smart sense with all that slow speech of yours…” Jetsaid begrudgingly. He looked exhausted, “Let’s just get this escape plan overwith and get back to our ship!”

“Better do it fast,” Wave finishedhelping everyone out, it being the dead of night now, and looked to Tails, thefirst mate. “Amy has some plans for your… Captain.” She sweatdropped as thewhole crew flinched a moment with uncertainty.

Back at Amy’s cabin, Sonic restedon a barrel and kicked his feet up, yawning as it seems Amy hasn’t triedanything yet.

She was removing her hat at whatlooked to be a makeup mirror station and sighed. Was she nervous?

He opened one eye, staring back ather, “You know… I don’t think you’re as tough as all the rumors make you out tobe.”

She flinched, turning around to himand directing her hammer to the side of his face. “Y-You..! You don’t knowanything!” She was blushing, and he was rather calm.

“Hmm..? I know you’re a lot sweeterthan a crooked pirate. That’s for sure.” He lovingly hit the tip of her hammerwith his nose. This action made her reel her hammer back and away from him, herface still red with her lies.

“I-… You promised to marry me!”

“Is that why you’re taking us tothe nearest port town? A criminal wedding arrangement?” he smiled, raising aneyebrow up. “So dastardly. Truly you’re a rose with sanded thorns.” Hesnickered.

“Hmph! I don’t understand you,Sonic!” she turned around, pivoting and then twisting the tip of her shoe intothe wood floor below… looking like a lovesick girl.

“W… Why did you lie to me? I don’tthink you’re much from your rumors, either! A swashbuckling Robin Hood? Ha! Youonly steal from the Eggman Fleet, anyway! That’s hardly piracy if his only goalis to take over the world.” She stuck her nose up, thinking herself back on topwhen Sonic just spoke again.

“Then why do you want those ChaosEmeralds so badly?” he itched his nose nonchalantly with the tip of his pointy,red and white striped, buckled shoe.

“…Because…” she lightly skimmed herfingers over a drawer, and Sonic eyed that motion out of the corner of hiseyes.

“T-that doesn’t matter!” shepounded the table aggressively, turning around to him.

“Why did you deceive me? You couldhave just stolen the Chaos Emeralds without promising-!”

“Woah, woah, little rascal, I neversaid anything about a ‘promise’.” Sonic interrupted. “You heard only what youwanted to hear. And besides…”

He leaned his head towards her own,angry one. “To protect a girl’s innocent heart, you break it and hope she’swise enough afterwards to stay away.”

Amy eyes sparkled, seeing how closethey were to one another.

He smirked and tilted his head,“Guess I should have figured… a girl like you doesn’t quit so easily…”

There was a moment of silence… thenAmy began to lean into him and he broke his persona, growing nervous andleaning away from her with frightened eyes.

“Traitor!”, “Captain! We’ve beenbetrayed!”, “Stop them! They’re heading up the ropes!”

“What?” Amy turned around butSonic’s whole demeanor changed at hearing those cries from beyond the captain’scabin door.

He looped his feet around her bodyand threw her down.

“WAH!”

“Excuse me.”He rolled off of her and used his tied hands behind him to open the drawer.

“What are you doing?! Get backhere! Hey!” Amy tried to get up but he danced around her reaching hands fromthe ground.

“Sorry, Rose.” He winked, “Guessthe wedding date’s gonna have to be postponed!” he fiddled with the drawer tillit popped out of its socket, racing with it behind him and full of ChaosEmeralds to the door. “In here, mates!” he cried out.

Knuckles burst through the door,Sonic side-stepping and using his feet to block Amy from getting hit by any ofthe debris.

“Just in time.” Sonic winked andtossed Knuckles the drawer of Chaos Emeralds.

“Ah… These are…” Knuckles’s eyeswere blinded by his amazement at holding so many sparkling Chaos Emeralds inone box.

“Not all of them, buddy. But that’stwo more to the pile.” Sonic saw Wave beside Jet and Storm and looked confused.

She sighed, walking over and usingher bead to free him of his chords.

“Makes sense.” Sonic rubbed his nowfree wrists. “Not like girls can’t tie good knots, but these were somethingelse.” He smiled to her.

“…I…” Wave looked ashamed, butSonic just placed his hand on her shoulder.

“I know. Welcome to the FreeWinds.” He beamed.

Wave looked up and held back asmile, whacking his hand off of her. “I serve for the ship’s sake! If you’reher captain, then for now, anyway… you’re my captain too.”

Jet grabbed a sword out of Blaze’shands and with Storm grappling her from behind, held it to her throat. “Are wedone with negotiations, Sonic?” He refused to call him captain…

“Heh, new change in plans, boys!”Sonic was tossed his sword and jumped to the beam of the ship, cutting theropes to send him up to the crow’s nest. “The Red Rose has so graciouslyoffered up her wood to repair our own!”

The crew laughed.

“And as I said before, with thesame curtsey as they showed us, let us not shirk to do the same!”

“Aye!”

Espio and Vector, who had beenhiding with Charmy on the ship above, revealed themselves to have been an extrabackup in the case the crew didn’t make it back.

All together, they cornered thegirls and tied them up, once again, to the beams of their own ships.

Sonic got the crew all down belowdeck and tossed a knife inbetween the pillars where the girls were tied up.

“There. With all the rocking of theocean, one of you is bound to have that knife slide over to you. Now… what wasit you said last time, Amy?” he tapped his finger to his muzzle, then chuckledand winked to the boys. “Split the bounty, was it?”

Knuckles moved over to wave, “Gee,so many… but which to decide?” he skimmed his golden and spiked tip gloves overher muzzle before looking to Shade, “But I do like the silent types too.”

“Oh, go jump off the mast!” Rougecountered.

Tails chuckled, “Hey, Silver. Thecat’s been staring at you all day.”

Silver flinched, but continued tostare at Blaze as she closed her eyes, sweat from the awkward situationlingering on the side of her face. “This isn’t the end, Hedgehog… Our captainwill-!”

Amy burst into tears, “You can’tjust leave us here! Sonic! You wouldn’t be so cruel! Have mercy!”

The girls all lost hope then,sighing.

Cream looked to Tails, “What if theknife stabs us while we’re asleep, Mr. Fox?”

Tails whispered quietly to her,holding a hand up so the other girls didn’t hear him. “Don’t worry, we didn’ttie the ropes very tight. They’ll loosen way before the knife method works.”His little comfort brightened her once terrified face.

“Oh, thank you, Mr. Fox!”

He winked to her, not wanting herto worry too much.

“Alright, crew! Fall out!” Sonicbegan to walk away before remembering something. “Oh yeah…” he moved over toAmy.

She stopped crying to look up,hoping with all her heart that maybe… just maybe… he…

Sonic took out her captain’s hat,dusted it off, and placed it on her head, wiggling it into position to be nice,firm, and tight.

He also whispered to her, so no oneelse could hear, “There’s a reason I need those Chaos Emeralds. Eggman has tobe stopped.”

She blinked her eyes, not sure whathe meant by all that.

“He’s more dangerous than you or Icould possibly imagine. But if you ever want to team up, I wouldn’t mindanother few mates on the Babylon Jewel.” He smiled down to her sweetly, tappingthe hat’s tip in an affectionate farewell.

“Bye, girls! Happy trails on theseas! As for us, we prefer the skies!”

Once gone, Sonic was deeply sick.They fled away, leaving some of the Red Rose still intact so the girls couldreach that port town safely. But his legs weren’t used to the sea, and he wasmostly green in the face until the skies rocked him gently back into his old,confident, pirating ways!

PART 2: (x)

[neatcointricks]

Christmas Sucks

who the fuck expected this bitch to come back especially since dbh is fuckin dead

also this was requested uwu

Masterlist

Ko-Fi

Word Count: 1.3k

Connor RK 800 x Gender Neutral Reader

“I’m going to die because of feelings, wow, it really be like that.”

“Please get off the floor.”

“You’ll have to drag me, coward.”

You’re on the floor, specifically, the floor of your Police District’s Department, next to your table, your feet laying over the wheels of your rolly chair, one hand is laying over your eyes to block the fact that you are actually fucking crying right now-- And the other is doing some class act finger guns at Connor.

What a dumb robot, actually coming to your aid when you started to breathe irregularly and fell on the floor. 

“Are you alright, Detective? You should’ve gone home hours ago. You know there’s no pay in overtime this week.” He grabs your protruding arm, dragging you away from your table.

You keep your other hand still over your eyes, your lips twitching and you speak yet another intrusive thought into existence without thinking.

“I want to die.”

Your arm is instantly dropped to the floor, you choke on your spit realizing what you just said- Letting out a pitiful gurgling noise. For a second it’s quiet, not peaceful kind but eery kind. It doesn’t help that you’re still blind. Waiting for the response, the ‘typing’ speech bubble of real life. 

The android grabs your shoulders, pulling you up so fast your arm falls from your face and you get minor whiplash. 

“What. Is. Wrong?”

You look at his stern expression and try to mimic it to distract from your mental spiral, and maybe get him off your case thinking you’re just being a goof. “Grr.” The sound effects might seal it in. 

He keeps face and the more you stare the more the anxiety builds, and his choice of tension break doesn’t help. 

“You do realize you’re crying, right?” Connor squints, swiping a tear off your cheek with his index finger. 

You let out an exasperated sigh, sucking in as your eyes switch between his face and finger, you try to smile but with your turbulent emotions, it’s rather screwed. “Please don’t lick that.”

Connor tilts his head to the side, prodding you on, “Detective.”

“I want to help.”

Your screwed smile falters, twitching till the corners of your lips point right to the floor, you squint as your sight becomes too wobbly with all the tears to keep focused. 

“Christmas fucking sucks!” You slam a fist into the carpeted floor, gazing at the ground “Every fucking year-- I’m like ‘this year, no matter what, Christmas is going to be great!’ And guess what? It never is! It never fucking is! Everyone’s always got their own fucking prerogative and guess who’s left alone with nothing and no one? ME BITCH! I couldn’t even afford a fucking tree this year. I’m...”

You clench your fist together, holding it in your lap-- You want to hit something.

“I’m fucking pathetic.” You breathe in deep, unclenching your fist. 

“Of course, no one wants to hang out with me, of course, seasonal depression still hits like always, of course, I can’t afford anything nice for anyone or myself-- Not even a fucking tree. Of course, even at work, I manage to fall over just cause I see a Christmas photo on Facebook and that broke the camel’s back in half.”

You prod your cheek with your tongue, shaking your head chuckling, “There’s no fucking point in trying anymore. It’s always going to be horrible. So I might as well do what every movie I’ve ever seen has taught me--” You pat your legs, finally looking back up at Connor with a charming smile, holding your arms out comically. 

“Drown myself in my work on Christmas Eve and keep going until this nightmare is over.”

You stretch your legs out as you stand up, paying no mind to Connor’s distraught expression. You crack your hands behind your head and shake the numbness out of your legs, you look at Connor with a one-sided smile and do jazz hands. 

“Bah-Humbug.”

You plop back into your chair, rolling into your desk. 

After about 5 minutes of you silently working in pain and Connor sitting in the exact same position on the floor, he finally gets up and walks up to you-- Pretty expected as you two are the only ones working on Christmas Fucking Eve. 

“I’ve made plans.”

You keep typing but glance up at him for a moment, “Good for you, it’s good to get out of here for a bit.”

“They’re plans with you.”

You stop typing. You look up at him, giving your full attention, “Why?”

“You’re my priority.”

Despite the pang to your heart, you snort, getting back to your work. “Dude, I get what I said was troubling but I’m not gonna kill myself or anything- Don’t worry about me- I don’t need to be ‘priority’.”

“You’re my friend.”

You shut your eyes and stop typing once again, “Connor--”

“Humans make me tired.”

Connor, without a moment to waste, picks you out of your chair, throws you over his shoulder, and slams your laptop shut in only a few short moves. “Let’s go.”

“Crime never sleeps, Connor.”

“Neither do I.”

It’s a silent taxi ride on the way to wherever. You open the window and watch as snowflakes fall on your arm. 

“You’re going to get frostbite.”

You shrug.

“At least something will bite me.”

“You have reached your destination. Thank you for travelling with Detroit Taxis. We look forward to seeing you again soon.”

Once you get out, you’re met with a shockingly normal house. You side eye Connor as you walk up to the porch, “I didn’t expect you to live here.”

“What did you expect?” He asks, sliding a key into the front door. 

You pick at the paint on the porch beam, rubbing it off of your fingers, “Something more ‘2038′ I guess.”

He opens the door, his shoulders slug when he steps in, almost immediately leaving your side, “Hank!”

“You gave me like 20 fuckin’ minutes! What was I supposed to do?”

You smell fresh Pillsbury cookies and note the Christmas lights strewn across the ceiling. By your feet, a dog walks up, he’s wearing a Santa hat, it’s super festive. 

Hank on a ladder painting a white banner to say “CHRISTMAS SUPPORT GROU” is less festive.

Hank looks to you, dropping the paint bucket quite aggressively on the floor. 

“Full disclosure, I didn’t have a lot of time so your gift is from a suitcase I found in my attic.”

Connor comes back to you, handing you a Santa hat and offers you cookies in another hand. “Here is your festive hat, your festive cookies--” He looks down at the dog, “Festive Sumo--” He points to Hank with his plate of cookies, “Festive Hank--” He moves to point at the Christmas tree in the corner. “Festive tree-- That we can light on fire in respect of our support group.”

You squint, smiling but still confused, “I don’t quite understand.”

Hank comes down from his ladder, with the hat, he looks like a homeless Santa. “Christmas kinda sucks, for a lot of people.” He puts his hand on your shoulder in that dad type way, “But it shouldn’t suck alone.”

Connor pipes in, “I’ve curated the most classic Christmas movies to date and have a playlist ready to go-- Also an excellent hot chocolate recipe that I’m very sure we don’t have all the ingredients for.”

You grin, “Sounds good-- Sounds- Sounds like a good Christmas, for once.”

“Well, it’s my first Christmas, so I hope it gets better than this.”

--

uwu what’s this?

me writing a Christmas special based on my own experiences but with a happy ending? more likely than u think

For real though, Christmas is hard for me and MANY other people, likely a couple few reading this- And while I know an old man and his robot dog can’t come into your life and actually fix everything, I hope this made things less shitty. 

Hang in there champ, it’s almost 2019 and even if times a construct it’ll vaguely feel like we get a restart at least. 

also

saw spiderverse today and it’s mad my new favourite movie and ik Marvel is kinda tired but genuinely this movie made me feel the way watching Spiderman when I was 8 made me felt. I haven’t felt that kind of childlike wonder in a long fucking time, especially with a movie-- I highly RECC that cause it healed my sour mood today. 

i wonder if i still have my taglist sticky noted,,,,,?

i DO

but it’s SUPER ANNOYING CAUSE THE INTERNETS LAGGING SO F U C K IT

thanks 4 reading wow

also didn’t read this over there are probably agregious errors but leave comments to boost my confidence anyways

[courage-a-word-of-justice]

Reflection 12 (FINAL) | Netjuu no Susume 1 | Mahoutsukai no Yome 1 | Code:Realise 1 | Kino’s Journey (2017) 1 | Dynamic Chord 1 | Houseki no Kuni 1 | Anime-Gataris 1 | Idolmaster Side M 1

Kekkai Sensen seems to be off limits, even when I try to comprehend the relevant JavaScript after dodging region lock. Grr…I spent and hour and 30 mins just trying to figure out that code!!! Oh well (dejected tone), at least I have Classicaloid…

Reflection 12 (FINAL)

Oh please, X-On. Fighting fire with fire is the worst thing you can do. Haven’t you learnt that over the course of this show?

Gahhhh! Finally, the magical girls have arrived! Thank you, Stan Lee!

Wowee, that was some concentrated sound, so to speak.

Well, that’s just original, y‘know? Pyramid. In the desert. Whoop-de-doo.

Rule number 14138008 of crime-fighting: Always make sure you have a backup in case someone uses yorur kryptonite against you. Or in this case, a superpower-stripping technique.

I don’t think X-On’s become one with the Darkness yet. He has some flippin’ plot armour on his side, after all. Why haven’t any of these guys succumbed to the ageing process yet?

Well, I got my answer to my previous question, but how did vision!Eleanor appear, anyway?

Wait…wait. I knew he had plot armour! Argh! X-On! What the heck did you do to deserve plot armour???

Oh, the magical girls are part sentai and part actual magical girl. Notice they have kanji across their chests for their associated element.

“Why won’t you accept Darkness’s darkness?” – Okay, “Darkness’s darkness” is a bit too redundant, y’hear?

Wait…wait. Ninth Wonder only had 4 members??? Wat. Then Ian goes and undoes all their hard naming work by calling them by their real group name, dangit. You ruined a perfectly good magical girl show, Ian.

They didn’t even put in the crack on X-On’s helmet…head…thingy.

Okay, I am so confused…Guh. Thank goodness it’s over.

Netjuu no Susume 1

I like the rare stories where a girl transforms into a boy for non-hentai reasons. This is the closest anime I’ve gotten so far to that concept, so…yay, me?

“Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life” and “Recovery of an MMO Junkie” mean two very different things on the same topic. What was happening in the localiser’s mind when they created this title for the English-speaking audience???

That scene where Moriko collapses on her bed…for some reason, someone was watching a show with the Moonlight Sonata in the background, so now I think MMO Junkie is sad. (Which is probably wrong.)

Oh, by the way. The –juu in Netjuu gives the word a special kind of connotation. A riajuu is what’s known as a normie, or a non-otaku, non-gamer sort of person. A netjuu must therefore be a net addict. Kiznaiver taught me that.

“I chose the NEET life.” - I know that feel, Moriko.

Oh, they even gave Moriko’s character Saiyan hair for a moment, LOL.

Okay, here’s a pun. Mori (forest) is 3x ki (tree) and hayashi (grove) is 2x ki. That’s using the kanji, though.

The guy with the glasses looks like a dude from Occultic;Nine. I have bad memories of that show because of Ryouka…er, big knockers girl.

Owee. I once joined an RPG because of some IRL friends but I forgot to ask them what group they were in, and so I was a solo quester…so I know that feel, Moriko.

This is based on a Comico manga, so the designs are simple to draw and they were originally in colour, so they just needed to be reworked for animation. See? Backing Comico in my Superstar wa Nemurenai days wasn’t such a bad idea, now, huh?

Himeralda? For a guy character? Well, that broke the gender barrier.

Christmas is a holiday for lovers in Japan, so I suspect it’s something to do with that.

Lawson -> Cowson, LOL.

Despite all the obviously still motion shots, I’m really enjoying this. Why does it have to be 10 eps??? (By the way, why didn’t I get Kekkai Sensen??? Dangit, Funi!!!)

Oh, this is so adorable! Lily even dressed up and Moriko got her chicken! It’s such a heartwarming Christmas for these guys.

These transitions, while not original, I find are really cool. Not Disney-level, but still inventive. Also, that green dot is definitely Hayashi and the pink one Lily.

LOL, Lawson was a sponsor this ep, it seems. Had I paused a little later, I would’ve missed its credit!

This is a keeper for sure. I’m just disappointed about the short ep count (due to the nature of Comico)…and Kekkai Sensen, uwu…

Mahoutsukai no Yome 1

Le hype. That’s all. I’ve been watching 1 – 2 eps per day (for these first eps of the fall season) and since the weekend is so full of good shows, I don’t know how people can watch entire seasons like this…As for my take on this show, it’s pretty and well-received after the OVA and advance screening, so hopefully this will deliver. I’m not an AMB manga fan by the way.

It’s normally a bad sign to start with an OP, but it shows off the animation, so I’m not complaining.

The English title shows how interconnected the world is these days…it’s kinda scary, actually.

Chise looks lke a bride here, or she’s on her deathbed. Both symbolic meanings are applicable.

I never thought Japanese people would be able to capture Western elegance so well.

The chibi-ish style doesn’t suit such a serious show. Are these chibi-ish sections also part of the manga?

I thought the woman with the bonnet was called Silky? Not Silver? The promo materials all say “Silky”, and the OVA did too IIRC.

I think the biggest descriptor of this show is “whimsical”.

Historically, fairies lure people into Fairyland like the stereotypical portrayal of sirens, and they’re not as benign as my portrayal of them in One Wish They Never Wanted.

The irony of a dog-face skull calling you his puppy. It really brings an odd sense of humour to this show.

Welp, that’s another safe keeper. I’ve being quite definite about my choices, as you might have noticed, since the weekend is positively overloaded with shows (as I mentioned earlier).

Code:Realise 1

It’s an otome game adaption. They don’t always go down well, but it’s worth a shot.

Isn’t it “London Bridge is falling down”?

CR seems to have forgotten to title this ep “London Steam” on their site.

Well, they’re guards. Y’think lowering their guard would’ve been a funny pun, at least if this were dubbed in English (which this will be…eventually).

Ooh, so this plain bishie is Arsene Lupin? Me likey.

Like, seriously, Where are this tiny spark-star-thingies coming from?

Impey…who? Update: Google (plus previous spoilers) tell me that Impey is Impey Barbicane, accomplice to Lupin.

LOL, I’ve watched me too many Kaito Kid heists. Me likey, once again. However, the thing I don’t get is the voiceover. Couldn’t Lupin have actually said these lines instead of putting them on voiceover???

Gahhhhhhh! This eyecatch’s bishie has such horrible eyes that they burn mine! Get me out of here!

How does Impey know Cardia’s name??? Update: You’ll get the answer later…

It’s a few generations too early for a man to go to the moon, LOL. Poor Impey.

Victor…well, I never. Anime really does cover everything. Plus, Frankenstein ain’t his monster in this one, which would make Mary Shelley proud.

Hey, Kaitou (Phantom Thief) Lupin is one thing but using your real name as your kaitou identity is taking it a bit far. Sure, there was Kaito Kuroba, but at least he was Kaito Kid as well.

Sheesh, the Horologium sounded like nuclear power before Lupin explained it was Cardia’s heart…that would’ve been tonnes scarier, had Cardia been a nuclear monster.

LOL, Lupin’s so tsundere! Hahaha…

Oh please. Don’t let the vampires steal away Cardia (LOL)!

Victor being pegged as a terrorist has something to do with Isaac, right?

Lupin’s so effin’ short. No wonder he stands in high places when he lords over the British Army, haha.

Smol corgi with cyborg leg is probably my new dog aesthetic, haha. Plus top hat. I like top hats.

Shouldn’t the corgi have died when Cardia grabbed it though, or was that because of its leg?

The rainbow transition was a bit much, but okay. I can live with it.

So smol corgi is called Sisi? What a weird name.

It’s…not bad, I could probably watch until the end. However, the colour scheme seems to be “bright” with these recent female games (see Sengoku Night Blood for another example of what I mean). Well, since I said that, it’s a keeper. (I think the random James Bond-esque scene involving shooting guns then being in front of an explosion in the ED sealed the deal though, LOL.)

Kino’s Journey 1

I’m a noob to the world of Kino, so please don’t spoil me on anything you’ve seen in the previous adaptations! All I really know is the shtick: Kino is neither a guy nor a girl. They stick around in a country for 3 days then leave. They have a talking motorbike named Hermes…that’s pretty much it.

Lerche? On Kino? Y’think someone else could’ve done it better? I feel like a washed-out, subdued feeling would suit this show best. However, these words are coming from a Kino’s Journey noob, as I just said, so disregard me if you want.

Mori no naka de…b? What’s the “b” for?

A few times when they say “country”, I imagine a sea. That makes sense, considering it’s the sea that separates a lot of us.

How does Hermes talk???

Hermes is CGI. Trust my eyes, they’ve seen a lot of CGI for their time.

The gun is called Cannon? Wuh? The other gun is called the Woodsman? Wuh wuh???

A motorrad appears to be a motorbike, but…okay. It’s a BMW make of motorbike. Like a Ford Gran Torino.

*Kino points the gun* Whoa! What a fakeout!

Kino is CGI sometimes, too, it seems.

Those cows seem to be angry at Kino for some reason…

Why does no one question the talking motorbike???

Oh, I see. That was what I suspected from the moment the rifle was shown in the store. Public order is good here because people simply turn a blind eye.

I think Kino hopping behind Hermes should’ve been 2D. It’s not fluid enough in 3D…not quite yet to convey a proper sense of action, but enough to create a sense of disquiet. (Which is what I believe the show wants, so I’ll take my words back for the moment.)

“Ow!” is an understatement, considering it (the arrow) must’ve severed a muscle or two.

Ah, loophole. I didn’t see that coming.

Whoa. What dramatic irony.

I swear they recycle parts of this footage over and over again. I’m getting dejavu.

Hahaha, that crepe ending was funny. It wasn’t an ideal way to finish such an unsettling episode, but it was a good punchline.

Well, I think this is going to be really repetitive, so I’ll put it on hold and roll the next show up.

Dynamic Chord 1

More Ume. As an Ume fan, I’m spoilt for choice this season.

Cherry blossom opening is probably a bad omen. It’s probably the most cliched opening you could go for.

Holy eye colours, Batman! “That yellow should not exist as an eye colour,” is all I’m saying.

Honestly, this is the least gripping band/idol anime I’ve tackled all season. If they’re just going to be angsty in the rain, they should’ve been one season earlier because I would’ve taken this over The Reflection or In Another World With my Smartphone, laser eye boy be damned.

Wait, is pinkhead in the car or out of it? Update: He’s in a convertible. So it’s a yes and a no.

That metronome transition was pretty bad. Really hamfisted.

That transition away from the metronome, I couldn’t even tell that was a transition!

Aw gawsh, spare me. This looks like one of those ads you see play between shows on TV channels without company sponsorship. Or an only-half-decent MV.

I think they’re trying to be Dark and Edgy (TM) in comparison to, say, TsukiPro, but that was better than this.

Extended Pans for No Reason Whatsoever (TM)! Also, Bumblebee car. I’m having fun ripping this show apart, man. Now I see the real quality of Hatewatches (with a capital H), but it’s only been 5 minutes...

Dual eye colour boy (Reon), oi. You really didn’t do anything. Don’t give yourself unnecessary credit.

Bumblebee boy has way too long eyelashes, by the by. Did I ever mention that?

At least they justified the previous shots. That one there, at about the 6 minute mark, was not justified.

Based on Dai Murase (Ume’s role in TsukiPro), I thought the Kyohso doppleganger was gonna be Ume, but he thankfully got someone more attractive (Kuro of apple polisher). I still don’t like the name apple polisher though, how the heck did that name “get popular overseas”???

The camera shakes sometimes for no reason at all.

Reon seems constantly grumpy for some reason…

C’mon…this production is visually quite junky. Admit it.

Please don’t make this another ad fakeout. Only play your cards once for a certain trick…

Pink and blue eyed boy looks like a villian, but he’s probably a “hero” in this story.

This is probably a music video, but if I wanted a music video, I’d go to YouTube. Not an anime, unless it were an anime musiv video (a proper one, not an amateur effort YouTube Poop).

Wait, they spent 5 minutes just showing us a music video? It was pretty bad, so of course I noticed it in a bad way.

What is up with black and blue guy’s hair? I thought bumblebee guy was bad enough.

Sometimes removing the volume is all you need to figure out if an anime is good, since if they cared about their visuals and plot enough, then they wouldn’t be relying on shots of dudes rocking backwards and forward so much.

I get not all band people are singers, but still…bumblebee boy, if you’re so willing, why not you take Reon’s place?

Wait, so pink-haired convertible boy is the famed Yorito??? Dorito, more like it!

If the animators for this show were any good, they’d animate the fingers when the guitarists play. I’ve seen people play the guitar before. I used to take music classes. Geez, Pierrot. Stop skimping.

Another Skimping Technique (TM) – Speedlines in Replacement of Actual Motion (sic).

Too bad Dorito’s skipping practice, eh, Reon?

C’mon, Dorito. First it’s an angsty rain scene, now it’s an angsty shower scene? You don’t even look half hot here. Or half wet, for that matter.

I know anime is meant to look flat, but these sections I’ve been calling “music videos” are…superflat, to give them a name. They look like paper overlaid on the anime background, with little to no real animation being done, and that’s why I’m giving this show such a bad rap.

All that angst…for this? It seems a little anticlimatic, is all I’m saying.

Well, I made it through one episode. It’s probably not as bad as I made it out to be, but I do hatewatch picks for my own pleasure and this just became one of them. Onto the drop pile it goes…

Houseki no Kuni 1

This is the last debut of the fall season, at least until someone hands me Kekkai Sensen. Okay, here’s the story about why I’m here: I heard good things about Steven Universe in my home country, so I went on a trip and tried some Cartoon Network there. Thing is, Steven Universe didn’t resonate with me as much as I thought it would. Therefore, to take the concept and turn it into a real anime – would that do it for me? Let’s find out.

Hmph, I had the sound on this time and I had the feeling all the gems were voiced by women. Like Steven Universe.

When they said “sunspots”, they…uh, kinda meant it.

I feel like Master Kongo’s VA is a bit too soft. Otherwise, this show is pretty good.

Whoa. Seeing Phos shattered like this and still conscious must be freaky. Makes for some good body horror, eh?

Well, this show has some excellent worldbuilding. That’s something I haven’t said in a few seasons…in this simulcast commentary, that is. Made in Abyss has good worldbuilding too. The only problem with this is…where did Phos’s gloves come from?

The eyecatch seems to be in English. Like Princess Principal last season.

The echo, I think, had a worse effect this time than when Kongo destroyed Phos.

“Don’t use that hand!” - LOL.

So Cinnabar’s poison creates amnesia and (an indirect need for) amputation, eh? What a duo of afflictions.

Well, it’s…actually pretty good. Let’s press on.

Anime-Gataris 1

I actually wanted to pass on this, but after seeing Karandi pass judgement on its second episode and seeing a Haruhi reference, I decided I would pass a judgement on it too. Well, it’s an anime about anime. What do you expect, really?

Hahaha…Oarai is known for being popularised by Girls und Panzer, so Galtan is short for Girls with Tanks.

Haritaro = Hamtaro, Dezumon = Digimon, PreFae = PreCure. Haha, it’s an anime watcher’s paradise of parody anime!

“Double riding is illegal.” - I think that’s a reference to the first episode of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun and the tandem bike.

Fish??? Wuh???

Aw. That fakeout, I was hoping for it to be A Certain Magical Index or something.

Geez, typical School Council Pres with optional Ethereal Glow. Now available in Blonde too, it seems.

Sebastian Michaelis right there.

The teacher just did the flippin’ Ringo (from UtaPri) intro! Holy gender-barriers, Roppongi is a man??? Why I don’t react like that to Ringo, I’ll never know.

The “I should go by myself” bit is also from UtaPri, IIRC. The bit where one of the boys reveals he’s actually the star Haruka likes.

Obvious Chuunibyou with extra Fake Magic. Geesh, if it weren’t for the anime references…I really wouldn’t be covering this…

That’s my face when people talk about anime, LOL. Hero School = Boku no Hero Academia while R:Zero is Re:Zero.

Shika = deer, hence the weird deer. I don’t know what the references around the Shikabari one are, though, including the fence jump.

You picked a fight with the wrong anime lover, Anime-Gataris (I specialise in recent anime, for obvious reasons)! Tamukeda = Tanakeda (Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge) and Toramiko = Kumamiko. Clearly someone doesn’t remember that Kumamiko was a controversial flop, anime-wise.

Bakusou = Bakuon. Therefore, Shikabari is probably…Kiznaiver? No, it’s Kabaneri. That’s the best match, considering we’re talking about spring 2016. Time Travel Shonen = Time Travel Shoujo. Still don’t get the fence jump though.

Kyou Kara Sessha Wa!! = Kyou Kara Ore Wa!!, where “sessha” is an pronoun for…I think it’s older males. Angel Story = Angel Legend (Angel Densetsu).

The OVA references went over my head again…

Gachiemon = Doraemon, naturally. Nobue = Nobita and Karashi = Takeshi (Gouda). Well, while looking for the Gachiemon movie, I found Reddit spoiling it all for me. Refer to it if you don’t want me doing it for you, because I’m going to...ignore it! Haha, you thought I was going to use it as a crutch now, didn’t you? I like this challenge.

The dog one is A Dog of Flanders, Everstrike is Evangelion. I thought the Cinnamon Roll one would be the not-often-mentioned Powerpuff Girls anime  but Reddit says it’s Dragon Ball??? Autumn Wars = Summer Wars.

Light music club = K-On, classical literature club = Hyouka, NJ club = GJ Club.

The cover of this magazine appears to be Newtype or Animage, which I think both started around the 70s or 80s. That’s definitely Urusei Yatsura on the front, though.

The Girl who Slept Through Time = The Girl who Leapt Through Time and Replica…Paprika, perhaps? (Think I was recalling Reddit there.)

Is that…a Boueibu reference?! Or is that just a cliché…? (If it’s a cliché, I’d feel sad, man.)

I feel like the video quality seems to warp a little at infrequent moments. It’s quite disappointing for a 2017 anime to be suffering from strange visual problems like that.

There’s a KonoSuba poster…sort of.

Maria Clara doesn’t look like anything I’ve seen although it does kind of look like Hatsune Miku or Elsword.

Dang that fakeout, I thought she meant the beret.

I feel like this is best binged to get at all the references, so onto the on hold pile it goes. I think its plot will be cliché but its references are the best thing about it.

Idolmaster 1

Time to thin out the herd! This’ll be tough, since all the contenders I’ve kept have the potential to be great.

The pun here is that 315 (saikou) can mean “the highest”, or in this case, “the best”.

The eyeless producer (and Saito, by the by) was probably a bad idea.

Hey, it’s a 315 business card!

The cardboard boxes say “Bear Mark Moving Company” (Kuma no Ma-ku no Hikkoshi Kaisha).

Ooh! I like ponytail boy. I have a thing for bishies with ponytails.

“Handwriting” is probably the wrong word for a typed contract, CR subbers.

An odd juxtaposition between lawyer (or any other job) and an idol. That’s what piqued my interest about this idol anime specifically – because there is clearly going to be some dirty stuff that comes to light once characters have debuted as idols, and the more disconnect between the past and the present, the more the paps are gonna eat it up. At least, that’s my thoughts, having written Half-Paid Heroes. (I’m currently not sure if I should continue on HPH though, since I had a fight with fellow Honeyfeed writer Aura…).

Nice shirt, Teru (LOL).

When Kaoru broke the cheery atmosphere, Teru’s shirt suddenly said roiya (“lawyer” in katakana, transposed to hiragana).

Dandou literally translates to “male way”. It’s actually hilarious since it sounds really macho…in a bishie show intended to capture a female audience.

“I want us to work together…”

Does this producer have a name? I get the feeling he doesn’t. Maybe, instead of that woman producer they were hinting at at the end of Side Jupiter (was that a woman?), it was this guy.

Sakuraba’s being kind of awkward on the side with his fistpump. I like him.

“Then from now on, the three of you…”

If you know me from Boueibu, you’ll know the line Saito says should actually be “Boys be ambitious”.

The board up the back of the Dramatic Stars’ party says “Celebrate! Dramatic Stars’ Formation”…or something like that, anyway…(Happoro beer, LOL.)

Oh, it’s Hokuto, Shouta and Touma from Jupiter.

It’s this shot from last episode. Oh, okay. It’s kinda like Death Parade in that there are two backstories leading to the same ending shown in ep 1.

What’s with those 17 badges, guys???

This frog mascot looks kinda funny in a (LOL) sort of way. I think Ume’s character will be in a unit with the shota that likes this frog mascot, so…good on me.

At least “Drive a live” doesn’t sound as bad as “Burny!!” or “Crazy Baby Show”, namewise. It does, however, sound like a slogan for a drink-driving government prevention scheme.

I think Ume’s character is the guy behind the counter, although I’m a bit sketchy on that. We’ll see in a few eps.

I think I’ve probably been missing out on something by not listening to the trio with the music. Even though I threw the others out based on visuals and plot, an idol/band show is nothing without its music, so I’ll put Idolmaster on hold so that I don’t become too attached to any of the trio and maybe someday I can evaluate TsukiPro vs Idolmaster better.

[cutegirlmayra]

Prompt: After the Boom episode "Return to Beyond the Valley of Cubots", Sticks finds D-Fekt in Cubot Village.

So, the video games and cartoon series don’t mix/talk and aren’t consistent with each other. But I decided to write this with that idea of trying to blur the line a little more between the two.

Prompt:

Sticks, peeking her head out of a dead bush, surveys the area with shifting eyes. Once clear, she rolls behind a rock and jumps up on the rock and lands on all fours.

“Day 2. After the unanimous decision of keeping tabs on D-Fekt’s progress with the Rejected Cubots, and especially after his little robo-demise operation fell through, I’ve been assigned to do this recon mission!”

She then flopped down and scurried behind a large rock mass, formed to include their desert surroundings and caves.

“Ah-ha!” she excitedly spotted the Cubot’s all huddled together, passing rocks and then laughing when one Cubot dropped it.

“Hmm… seems innocent enough. But my expert experience with robot takeovers confirms to me that there is nothing too innocent to be overlooked!” she climbed the rock formation, hovering over the little village as she looked around for D-Fekt.

“bbbzzz… S-Sticks?…bzzz… Sticks, this is Tails! Do you copy?”

“Nah, I’m losin’ ya. I think I gotta go this alone.” Sticks took out a wrist communicator but barely looked at it, keeping a sharp eye on the Cubots.

The same Cubot was unable to take the rock when passed, and the group laughed again.

“I’m going to stake out the night. I’ll report in 1800.”

“Sticks!?! Bbzzz.. Don’t be a hero!”

“It’s my job.” She squinted her eyes as she saw the Cubot with twisted black locks about to drop the rock.

As the rock started to fall, a pair of hands under the rock formation lifted up and Sticks watched as the power levitated the rock…

It flew right into her arms, and she smiled with a swooning sigh to D-Fekt, observing with his pitchfork as a body-guard, and had a proud, strong look on his face.

He puffed up his chest before she turned back to the game, then collapsed his ‘tough-guy’ appearance and put a finger to his mouth. Hearts swirled around his head as he lightly chuckled at being noticed.

Sticks smirked, “Gotcha.” She started to observe the way they interacted, before still unable to see D-Fekt, only seeing that he helped the girl Cubot when she would miss the rock exchange.

“Ohh… That’s not fair! He should be helping all of us!” One Reject admitted, and suddenly D-Fekt’s countenance changed and he started overusing his power to help all the Cubots pass the rock from one to another.

“Huh. He seems to be overexerting himself…” Sticks suddenly felt her heart changing towards him, seeing him frantically try and make sure the rock never fell as the Cubots passed it, and sweating oil as he did so.

“…Hard to watch over them when they can be so demanding…” Sticks suddenly felt her military-spirit die out…. And withdrew further into herself.

She looked like a cat watching the mice squirm under their sad circumstances. And then…

“WAHHHHAA!!!” she had accidentally put too much weight on her center, her hands under her, allowing some loose rocks to slip underneath her weight and roll her down off the cliff.

“It’s raining rocks!” One Cubot exclaimed, overjoyed. They all reached their hands up.

“It’s a miracle! Ow!” One got his head hit, another got his hat knocked off.

“Ah! My identity!” he patted the ground, his hand only a few inches from the hat, but he acted as though he had lost his glasses.

Once the last of the rocks fell loose, D-Fekt flew into action, holding his pitchfork, and looking aggressive.

“Stay back!” he flung his arm out, warning the Cubots.

They all floated back as he helped the one Cubot regain his hat.

He then poked the pile of rocks, “Grr…” he got frustrated and rose his hand up. “Reveal yourself! Coward!”

The rocks lifted up and Sticks looked like her eyes were rolling around, her tongue out as if knocked out and seeing stars.

“Huh? Sticks! What are you doing here?!” he threw the rocks away and pointed the pitchfork at her. “Do you dare disturb the Valley of the Cubots!?”

“Ugh… my head.” She shook it and then looked at D-Fekt. “Aww… you remind me of my little poochy~” she clasped her hands together and put them on the side of her face.

“… Come again?” D-Fekt thought maybe something in her brain-programming was damaged. He wasn’t unfamiliar with damaged machines…

“I had a robot dog… he felt strongly about protecting too. Until a few loose wires… well, anyway. Amy’s got a Beebot. We’ve got Buddybot… heck, we all even have Robot copies of ourselves! Whom I still can’t trust.” She glared to the skies, hunching down as if her other-robo-self was watching her.

“Anyway, I understand now that some robots like to feel they have the purpose of protecting something. It’s odd because we of the organic variety have the same kinda wishes as well.” She got up, rubbing her head and behind before D-Fekt stuck the pitchfork out in front of her.

“You hate robots!” he argued, as the Cubots all fled behind him.

“W-…Well…” Sticks, feeling a bit guilty, looked away and held her hands up. “Guilty. But only the bad ones. You know, that either choose or are just forced to be evil.” She nodded.

“…And what am I then?” D-Fekt kept his aggressive look.

“…I’m not sure yet.” Sticks admitted, her eyebrows suddenly bending back as if her mind was being conflicted against what her heart had seen him do. “You really do care about your friends here… and I can understand that.” She looked over at his cowering Cubot friends.

“And… You seem to have a kind heart… or… ticker.” She corrected herself, but he seemed to be lowering his guard a little at her words.

“Look, everyone’s special and needs some attending to. It’s awesome you’re protecting those that need protecting and guidance. We just wanted to make sure you weren’t using your friends here like last time to get your own vendetta.”

D-Fekt looked down, processing the information…

The Cubot with curls placed her hand on his shoulder, and he looked back to her with kindness.

“Alright. I’ll let you go! Just quit spying on me!” he removed the pitchfork from her face.

She smiled.

“I don’t like your reasoning… I WAS helping the Cubots cause!…. But I won’t lie and say I wasn’t putting them in danger through it.” He looked away. “I just didn’t want them to fear… if they had me, I wanted them to feel empowered.”

“Uh-huh.” She was slowly sneaking closer…

“Well, you and your friends won’t need to worry about me for a while. The Cubots have a lot to work on. I need to strengthen them. If you dare step foot in this valley again though, I’ll-! AH!”

He was scooped up and Sticks gave him a big, dotting hug.

“Aww~ Look at you~ A little hero~”

“P-put me down! This instance!”

“Hehe~ You know… Robots might grow on me…”

Suddenly her eyes widened, “ROBOTS MIGHT GROW ON ME! AHHHH!!!”

She placed her hands on her cheeks and dropped D-Fekt, who landed with a harsh hit on his metallic bum, but got up and floated away from her, moving the Cubots as well.

He shook his head at her craziness. She ran around and jumped up in a panic, before fleeing away.

“Lifeforms.” He sassed, judging her. “They’re as unpredictable and stupid as-“

Suddenly he looked around him, not seeing the Cubots.

“C-Cubots?!” In worry, he turned fully around.

They were passing the Cubot’s hat that once lost it as a rock.

He was on the ground again, searching. “My Hat! My Identity-y-y!!!” he cried out, shaking his head and hands in the air as the Cubots kept passing it, before dropping it and laughing at the Cubot who dropped it.