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sage-nebula · 3 months

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I'm not a fan of Neil Gaiman's -- not for any personal reasons, just because his writing style is not to my tastes -- so I'm not going to dig into the controversy currently going on or make any grand statements on it except to say: it sounds like he did some pretty awful things, and I feel for the women who were hurt by him, and I hope that they can heal in time and get the help that they need to do so. No one should ever have to suffer sexual assault, but those who do definitely shouldn't have to do so without support in the aftermath.

The reason I'm making this post, though, is that I feel that this is yet another instance where . . . I don't want to say "tumblr," because it's not everyone on the website, and it's not even just people on tumblr that do this. But this is another instance where a large number of people take someone with some degree of fame and put them on a pedestal, and then when it comes out that said person is fallible and have done something wrong (in this case very wrong), the reaction to that isn't just the standard "wow, you suck," but it's magnified tenfold by feelings of betrayal, because how could you, Pedestal Stander, do that to us? You were supposed to be different. You were supposed to be better.

This has happened so many times. Sometimes it happens as a result of people who, tired of seeing posts about a particular tumblr darling on their dash, go looking for dirt so that they can "expose" the Pedestal Stander as a Bad Person to break the pedestal and get the site to turn on them. Other times it happens because the Pedestal Stander is a complete buffoon and decides to get drunk and shoot their mouth off on twitter. (This happened earlier this year in the Sonic fandom, where Eggman's voice actor, Mike Pollock, first decided to start spouting off on twitter in support of Israel's genocide on Palestine, and then decided to dig in and make it worse by getting drunk and opening up a twitter . . . live? I don't know if that's what it's called, I don't use twitter -- but basically it was like a voice cast thing where he was live streaming his voice and others could join to ask questions via voice as well, if he let them in. He also started talking about his penis at one point I think, though that might have been in his tweets. It got wild. Sonic fans were in upheaval. His PR team made him apologize the next day. IIRC the apology was not great.)

Whatever the case, eventually, something comes out. Because there is not a person on this earth who is perfect. Of course, not all mistakes are equal. There is a huge difference between, say, calling someone a fucking idiot because they pissed you off on twitter, and sexually assaulting someone. One is forgivable and the other isn't, and I don't have to point out which one is which. (At least, I hope I don't.) But the point is, no one is perfect, everyone is fallible and everyone, no matter who they are, has ghouls that would put cracks in the pedestals you'd put them on. The ghouls are there, even if you don't see them at first.

Which is why it would be best for everyone to just never put anyone on pedestals at all. It's easier said than done, I know; when you find someone you really like, the natural human instinct is to see them with a rosy tint over them, to want to gush and glow about how awesome and great they are. I have numerous lowkey celebrities that I think are the bees knees. But even with them, I remind myself that the version of them that I think is just fantastic is the version of them that they've allowed me to see. I love Jenna Marbles and wish for her happiness every day, but also, I know that I love the version of her that she allowed me to see through her videos and podcast. I think K.A. Applegate is a stand-up person, but I think she's a stand-up person because of the version of herself she allows me to see through what she's posted online. So on and so forth.

And this was not a lesson that I always knew. It was a lesson hard-learned through what happened with J.K. Rowling.

It's no secret that I used to be a huge Harry Potter fan. I grew up with those books like many millennials did. I was an abused child, and the idea of escaping abuse to go to a magic school was one that was captivating to me. Growing up, I didn't recognize the many problematic elements in the writing, either because I was ignorant (e.g. I'm not Chinese, so I didn't realize that Cho Chang's name isn't an actual Chinese name), or because I didn't know of her views and thus couldn't catch the dogwhistles she included (e.g. the stairs leading to the girls' dormitories in Gryffindor tower turn into a slide when boys try to climb them -- who wants to bet that they'd turn into a slide for transgirls who tried to go to bed in their own dorms?). I decided that I wanted to be an author when I was in fifth grade, and at the time I idolized Rowling as a writer and I decided I wanted to be just like her. As I grew older and learned about her rags to riches, "writing on a napkin" story, I felt even more inspired. Learning about how much money she donated to charity, seeing her approval of fanfiction when so many authors didn't, how she interacted with fans -- I put her on a pedestal, I really did.

And then her bigotry came to light. She started railing against trans people. Transwomen in particular, but she's also pulled that whole "transmen are really women underneath" bullshit as well. Once her transphobia came to light, it wasn't hard to see the transphobia in her books; aside from the Gryffindor tower example above, there was also her description of Rita Skeeter's "mannish hands," that Slytherin girl Millicent's description, etc.

And lest we forget, it wasn't just transphobia. There was also racism (the Cho Chang example, what she ended up doing with Nagini in one of the later Fantastic Beasts movies); antisemitism (the goblins at Gringott's, Blood Libel the video game, denying aspects of the Holocaust), and so much more. People are capable of change and one could say that some of these were, perhaps, accidents. Designs for goblins are part of a cultural consciousness in fantasy literature, after all; we aren't going to pretend that Tolkien was antiracist in the designs of his fantasy creatures, and he set a huge precedent in the genre. But the blood libel game was recent, and apart from that, Rowling has quadrupled down on everything, and is using her influence and money to try to pass legislature for the oppression of trans people. She has not only not changed for the better, she has actively grown worse.

While this might seem like an anti-Rowling tangent, my point of writing all of this out is -- I've been there. When I was growing up, I loved Harry Potter and I put J.K. Rowling on a pedestal. Then I learned the hard way that she is a fucking horrible person, one of the worst people imaginable. And it was difficult, to let go of a franchise that meant so much to me, that got me through hard times. To be clear, I didn't do it because I wanted to "be morally pure" or whatever; I did it because once I learned about her bigotry, I couldn't read the books without seeing it, and for me personally, seeing it made it so that I couldn't look at them the same way anymore, and I couldn't enjoy them. That doesn't mean I don't read or can't enjoy problematic literature, but it's different when you know going in that something is fucked up, versus when you think something is just a fun children's book series about wizards and then it turns out to be Oops, All Bigotry!.

So I got my shit rocked with the Rowling debacle and realized then that putting celebrities on pedestals is just bad news. Because anyone, no matter how good they might seem to be, has the potential to be awful, possibly more awful than you can imagine. I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to it; I don't believe in conspiracies that the more awful someone is, the harder they try to appear good. I mean, some people might, but for the most part I just think that people are complex human beings who might want to donate millions to charities while also being nasty, scum sucking bigots, because human beings contain multitudes. But the point is, after going through that, I realized that the best course of action is just to remember that putting people on pedestals can only ever lead to heartbreak and disappointment.

So with this most recent thing with Neil Gaiman happening, and tumblr getting its shit rocked yet again, I implore everyone to take this as the final lesson they need to please, please stop putting people on pedestals. It never ends well. Remember that the version of them you see is the version of them they allow you to see. You don't know them. Even when you can chat with them on twitter or here on tumblr, they are still only allowing you to know a version of them. They can cultivate their responses to you. They can think about what they say before they say it. You don't know who they are in their personal lives. You don't know what they are like offline, just like they don't know you. You don't know what ghouls they have shoved under their mattress. Maybe the worst thing they've done is flip off someone who cut them off in traffic. Or maybe they've raped and murdered someone. You don't know, so it's best to tell yourself, "This celebrity seems awesome -- or at least, the version of them they allow me to know seems awesome," so that if it turns out that they did rape and murder someone, you can say, "Wow, they suck actually," and then move on with your life.

#not really sure how to tag this tbh #but yeah just stop putting people on pedestals - celebrities especially and included #you'll be happier in the long run i promise

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childofaura · 1 year

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I didn't realize you were a Sonic fan! who are your favorite Sonic VA's?

Yes! I’ve been a Sonic fan since I was a wee lass, kind of came with being autistic, lmao. But Oh MAN, if we’re talking about Sonic VAs then I HAVE to break it down character by character. Sorry but this WILL be long:

Sonic: Jason Griffith, hands down. My first Sonic actor was Ryan Drummond (My actual first very own Sonic game was Heroes but I was watching the AoStH cartoon and watched the OVA when I was a kid. But this is strictly for the games), but all things considered I really warmed up to Jason’s Sonic, especially because he was the warmest and friendliest-sounding Sonic. Easily the best Sonic voice for me overall. I will give props to Roger though for FINALLY sounding decent in Frontiers, the decent writing (THANK YOU, IAN FLYNN) and the voice directing helped him out. But Jason’s still the best.

Tails: Amy Palant. While I do like Colleen O’Shaughnessey a lot, Amy’s was pretty distinct. Though my actual favorite Tails voice, William Corkery, was very short-lived but it was the cutest. But I liked the fluctuations of tone in Amy’s Tails voice.

Knuckles: oh man, THIS one is hard. It’s a toss-up between Scott Drier and Dan Green. Travis Willingham is ok but he was just imitating Dan’s voice. And I like Dave B. Mitchell but I think I need to hear his voice more. But yeah, Scott or Dan are both my top faves because Scott made Knux sound younger and less like a stereotypical musclehead, but Dan Green is… well, it’s Dan Green! You can’t beat his “ARE YOU CRAZY?!?! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!?!��

Amy: Could go either way between Jennifer Doulliard or Lisa Ortiz. I respect Cindy Robinson, but… I don’t think she was the best fit for Amy.

Shadow: MAN this one is also tough, between David Humphrey and Jason Griffith, they were both insanely incredible choices for Shadow. May have to lean with Jason due to nostalgia. Also side note, I think people give Kirk Thornton too much shit because of the horrible voice direction in the games he was in. He can do a decent Shadow when the voice director isn’t screwing him over (AND WHEN THE AUDIO MIXING IS ACTUALLY COMPETENT. LOOKING AT YOU, FORCES).

Rouge: I like all three a lot, though Kathleen Delaney is the one I probably lean the most towards. Perfect sultry tones for Rouge. But I adore Lani and Karen as well.

Omega: uhhh, I think as long as the voice has the proper robot filter, it doesn’t matter too much lol

Silver: Pete Capella. No contest. Though Quinton Flynn did a good job too.

Blaze: Probably stick with Bella Hudson, she was the OG Blaze and she did it best in my opinion.

Babylon Rogues: The OG cast, Jason, Dan, and Bella, we’re the best. I can’t be convinced otherwise.

Team Chaotix: I think they’ve all had good voices each time around, though for Charmy I will say that Amy Birnbaum was the best.

Eggman: No contest, Mike Pollock. His voice is iconic! He has the range! He IS Eggman! I did like Deen Bristow though too, for the short time we had him. But Mike is the best and I can’t stand to hear anyone else playing as Eggman.

I think that’s my general opinions so far, I mainly covered the games since that’s what the media is based in more. BUT! Special props to OVA actor Martin Burke, AoStH actor Jaleel White, and movie actor Ben Schwartz for their roles too, they were all fitting voices (oh and Idris Elba was such a badass pick for Knuckles).

#Kiiinda overlooked Cream and Big but mainly because we don’t get to hear them often #though I will say Big’s voice in Frontiers was endearing

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egg-emperor · 2 years

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As an Eggfan, how do you feel about Mike Pollock being unprofessional on Twitter?

He isn't "unprofessional" just because people don't like how he's honest about his thoughts and opinions, misinterpret his style of humor and snark, dislike the fact that he sets necessary rules and boundaries in his interaction with random strangers online, and don't like being told the truth when they're wrong. 💀 Those are the only things that I've seen people complain about him being on social media in order to claim that he's unprofessional and I'll never understand why they have such a huge problem with him, to the point they'll even make YouTube rant videos. (Which I don't give the watch time, I've just been told about it.)

Something I really have a problem with is how, as one of the only actors that will consistently interact on social media, people think they can say whatever they want and are so rude and entitled, then have the nerve to get pissed if he deals with it accordingly. With all the bullshit people give him, I have no idea how he has the patience and how he can still be open to interaction with random people but it's admirable how he doesn't let it get to him and stands up for himself, he handles it well. I kind of subconsciously took inspiration from that when finding the confidence in saying what I really want online and I can relate with how people constantly misinterpret my humor and intentions too, it sucks.

His humor and snark on Twitter is also just funny because he isn't trying to be rude, he's explained multiple times. You can see any video of events or interviews where he uses the same humor, only it's harder to misinterpret than in text, and it doesn't seem rude or unprofessional at all. He seems like a great guy and I know people that have met him that can vouch for that. And I'm so jealous lol I also admire his honesty and how he'll educate when it comes to acting and such. And by responding to people that are being hateful or spreading misinformation, he clearly isn't trying to stir drama or encourage attacking them. It's not his fault that Sonic Twitter is so hostile and love jumping on people.

People should be grateful that he'll take any amount of time out of his day to respond to them and I don't see anything wrong with the way he goes about it. He's sensible about it but at the same time takes no shit and it's other people that need to be more mature and respectful. He has a page on his site about the rules and boundaries he sets, they're perfectly reasonable and it's a shame that people disregard them. I've even come across people on Twitter insulting, obsessively hate posting, and making rant videos about him on YouTube and it's very surprising and concerning. You won't see me jumping on that bandwagon.

#asks #mike pollock #my post

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mooshs-crack-headcanons · 2 years

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Okay, now that things have (sort of) settled down I want to talk about this:

I know what you're saying: "Oh that's cool but Moosh what does this have to do anything?"

It does! Before gamescom started there was a leak going around on twitter that I've been keeping my eye on, in this leak they mentioned the fact that Sage would be voiced by the same JP VA as Rei from Evangelion. Now that has been confirmed true, meaning this leak has some standing ground and I want to talk about it.

WARNING! SAID LEAK IS UNDERNEATH THIS CUT. IT DOESN'T GIVE "EXACT" DETAILS BUT THERES VERY SPICY PARTS TO IT SO DONT CLICK TO SEE THE REST OF THIS POST!

Have a nice day/night if you're leaving :)

I want to specifically talk about two things: the deep 'weird theming' this game is apparently going for and Eggman.

1. Weird shit and deep philosophical bullshit in my sonic game? Sign me the fuck up. This tells me a fucking whole a lot of what to expect by making the NGE comparison and I'm already suspecting Sonic to *actually* be a character for once for the first time since 2009 (Black Knight) and is going to be hurled face first into at least some kind of moral dilemma when it comes to the situation of the island and wanting to save his friends and I'm fucking EXCITED for it.

2. Mike Pollock even in the worst of the worst of the Boost era games writing has always been a phenomenal voice actor. Even with the stupidest of lines or the corniest of jokes he ALWAYS fucking sales it with his performances and that's why he's my absolute favorite voice for Robotnik and always will be. So for Robotnik to actually be on the verge of *crying* and expressing *actual* fucking regret for his fucked actions? With Mike Pollock voicing him? There's no way this isn't going to be one of top memorable Eggman scenes ever - him threatening to fucking shoot Amy in SA2 or fucking actually fucking murdering Starline in the IDW comics be dammed.

I can't wait. If the Megumi Hayashibara voicing Sage in the JP dub of all things can be real. I believe this can as well. And with Ian Flynn writing this game's story? I think this game could be phenomenal, maybe even singlehandedly make up for the "meta era" games entirely.

Who knows?

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic frontiers #dr ivo robotnik #moosh speaks #non request related

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thankskenpenders · 3 years

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What are your thoughts on how Eggman and Amy were treated in Boom?

Eggman is absolutely fantastic in Boom. He’s maybe my favorite part of the show. I just love the trope of the supervillain who barely poses an actual threat so the good guys just kind of let him hang around town, and Mike Pollock’s at his absolute best in this show. His delivery is perfect on like every line

Amy is... okay. I like that they deemphasized the Crazy Sonic Fangirl angle that had overtaken the character in a lot of the games and Sonic X, but similar to many of her recent Sega appearances it also kind of feels like in toning that down she’s now just kind of... The Girl? I mean with her and Sticks it’s the eternal cartoon pairing of the Girly Girl and the Other Girl. Amy has traditionally girly hobbies and interests that the others make fun of her for, she likes everything to be neat and tidy, she’s good at decorating, she’s into romance, the boys all think she’s a bossy nag because she’s basically their surrogate mom. She still has her temper at times, but it feels like it’s usually used to lecture the boys. You’ve seen this a million times. And it’s not like any of those traits in isolation are bad for her, but it doesn’t feel like she has much going for her aside from all those stereotypical Girl Character In A Cartoon traits and occasionally getting to hit things with a hammer. She wants to be an actress I guess? Not that that comes up much. The performance is good (it’s still not my favorite Amy voice, but Cindy grew into the role and toned down the Minnie Mouse affectation), she gets good jokes, but she’s not a particularly compelling character. And then there’s shit like the scene where Knuckles mansplains feminism to her. Maybe she gets better later in the show, but I’m not holding my breath

And it’s not like Sega’s normal Amy is all that much more complex, but in stuff like the Adventure games the actual serious stakes let her stand out as this eager up-and-coming hero who has this incredible drive to do the right thing and see the good in people. She’s occasionally naive and she can have a temper, but she also gets some of the most heartfelt moments in those games. But I feel like her later portrayal as The Crazy Sonic Fangirl has made people write off the whole early 3D era and forget about how good Amy actually was in those two games

#anon #ask

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game-boy-pocket · 2 years

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I saw the Sonic movie 2 today. Spoiler free thoughts:

It was pretty bleh in the beginning with humor that didn't land for me, but the jokes and the movie overall got better as the movie went on, I think the worst of it was behind them when Sonic and Tails got out of that bar scene.

Tails and Knuckles were handled way better than the games have handled them in over a decade. I do think Tails could have used an "standing up to the egg-walker" moment but it beats the pants off of just following Sonic with a tablet and cowering in the corner. It's a little weird that Knuckles speaks like he's Thor or something but I guess it actually fits the kind of character he is. Jim Carrey was still just playing Jim Carrey, same character as Batman Forever's Riddler who wasn't even a good Riddler unless he was going for the 60's TV series. I can honestly take him or leave him.

There were lots of references to the games, classic and modern, but mostly classic. And I appreciated them. They're still building their own lore using the games as a skeleton though, taking liberties here and there, and it mostly works, I don't need a 1:1 adaptation of the games, I think that would be a very boring approach honestly.

All in all it was way better than the first movie and I enjoyed the first movie quite a bit.

Now for my spoiler full thoughts:

The post credits... it seems a little too early to be introducing Shadow into the franchise. We still haven't seen Amy or Metal Sonic, those two are a pretty significant part of the Sonic mythos. And frankly, I am extremely worried they'll botch any attempt to adapt Sonic Adventure 2, it's my favorite 3D game in the series and possibly my favorite game in the entire series. It shaped my view of what Sonic should be.

And I hear Jim Carrey is going to retire, and they don't want to bring Robotnik back if they have to recast him, and I think that's dumb. Say his appearance has changed even further as a result of the Emerald exposure and now he looks even more like his video game counterpart, and just recast him.. hell, make him CG and have Mike Pollock start voicing him. At any rate, I just don't think the franchise could continue without Robotnik, and they absolutely cannot do a proper SA2 adapatation without Robotnik. No, Shadow should not be a main antagonist. He needs that moment of redemption or he's pointless shit character.

As cautious as I am, I'm looking forward to Sonic 3, and now I do kind of want to check out that Knuckles TV series... I know it's not likely to happen but I hope Team Chaotix get involved in that.

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andrewmoocow · 3 years

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Steven Universe Alternate Future chapter 29: Made Me Realize (originally published on October 11, 2021)

AN: As there are now only four chapters left till we reach the end Alternate Future, I just want to say right now that all the support means the world to me. 30 reviews, almost 15,000 views across the world as I write this, one fan on Tumblr wanting to make a webcomic adaptation, I don't think any of my other stories received this much attention before! But anyways, enough with the tears of joy, let's get on to some regular tears of sadness.

Synopsis: While captured by the rogue Gems, the Diamonds recollect how it all led to this. Meanwhile, the Crystal Gems are held captive by the United States Army.

Cast:

Patti LuPone as Yellow Diamond

Lisa Hannigan as Blue Diamond

Christine Ebersole as White Diamond

Noël Wells as Black Rutile

Lauren Ash as White Topaz

Della Saba as Aquamarine

Charlyne Yi as Eyeball, Navy

Sarah Stiles as Spinel

Aparna Nancherla as Lemon Jade

Estelle as Garnet

Michaela Dietz as Amethyst

Deedee Magno-Hall as Pearl, Volleyball

Shelby Rabara as Peridot

Jennifer Paz as Lapis Lazuli

Uzo Aduba as Bismuth

Kimberly Brooks as Jasper

Lin-Manuel Miranda as President Eduardo Suarez

GZA as Major General Wade Grant

Wendie Malick as Vice President Theresa Maxwell

Grace Rolek as Connie

Tom Scharpling as Greg

Dee Bradley Baker as Lion

Susan Egan as Rose Quartz/Pink Diamond

Zach Callison as Monster Steven

Jinkx Monsoon as Emerald

Christine Pedi as Holly Blue Agate

Hayley Kiyoko as Morganite

Featuring Tim Curry as General Lloyd Waller

Steven Ogg as J. Edgar Hoover

Mike Pollock as Harry S. Truman

Avi Roque as Cinnabar

With Alex Hirsch as Lawrence Abrams

And Keith Olbermann as Kent Whitman

"Good afternoon America." Newscaster Kent Whitman greeted his viewers before getting onto the hot topic of the day. "Just a few hours ago, a message to the world by a being calling herself Black Rutile called for the apprehension of a group of alien rebels known as the Crystal Gems, causing uproar across many countries for their relation to the disappearance of the ocean and more recently, the appearance of a strange pink monster that has emerged in the Delmarva town of Beach City."

"-It's because of her that this monstrosity plaguing the Earth at this moment is running amok and the Crystal Gems have done nothing to stop it, or her for that matter." Black Rutile's message was played again.

"According to this Rutile character, the Crystal Gems are in league with another Gem known as Pink Diamond, whom she claims is the source of the monster problem." Kent stated. "And on that note, we now go live to Lawrence Abrams, reporting from the Crystal Gems' current location at Area 42. Lawrence, what can you gather from there?"

"Thank you, Kent." Lawrence thanked the anchor at the studio while standing in front of a military base far outside Las Diego. "This is Lawrence Abrams reporting live, with special clearance, in front of Area 42, where the US government is rumored to keep some rather suspicious lifeforms. And here come some now!"

A military van soon pulled up to the base and Wade Grant hopped out the front seat before opening the backdoors. "Okay ladies, let's get a move on! Single file, all of you!"

"As I speak, these extraterrestrial criminals are here to be tried for repeated offenses against the planet Earth." Lawrence continued narrating as his cameraman got a good look at each of them. Some of the Gems looked resigned or ashamed, namely Garnet, Lapis, Peridot & Jasper, others were less than enthused about being branded as criminals like Pearl, Amethyst & Bismuth, and Volleyball was left completely stunned at what just happened. "Let's try and get an interview with the Major General." Abrams muttered before racing up to Wade and putting the microphone to his face. "Excuse me, sir, what tipped you off about these creatures in the first place?"

"You all might've seen it, but allow me to repeat for those just tuning in," Wade answered. "These lifeforms have been living among us since the dawn of man, and we're only now learning of their existence thanks to a helpful tip from one Black Rutile."

"Helpful my butt!" Amethyst yelled. "Black Rutile's a total psycho, she probably might kill you all!"

"That's enough outta you!" Private Eric growled and shoved his rifle in Amethyst's face.

"Joke's on you Patton, your bullets can't hurt me!" Amethyst bragged before she was prodded into continuing following the line.

"There you have it, folks. The Crystal Gems: threat or menace?" Lawrence asked. "Back to you Kent."

"Thank you, Larry." Kent organized the papers in his hands with a grin. "Coming up next, the ten cutest little animals who you wouldn't expect to be some of the deadliest predators in the world! More on this at 4."

Inside Area 42, Eduardo Suarez shut off the TV and pinched the bridge of his nose in shame. "Lo siento mi amigos, but my country comes first." Ed said to himself. "And I especially need a word with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl."

"Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, eh, el presidente?" a curly-haired man in military garb announced his presence by driving his wheelchair into the same room as the president with a smarmy grin. "Why, I haven't heard those names in ages, my boy!"

"Ah, General Lloyd Waller!" Eduardo yelped as the semi-retired general made himself known. "I thought you were off vacationing in Cancun? What brings you back to the States?"

"After watching that Black Rutile's message go viral, I just felt the need to see this for myself." Lloyd grinned cheekily. "Besides, not the first time I've run into Gems either."

"Wait, are you serious?" the Latin-American President asked.

"Si, my friend!" Waller grinned. "Why, I think it was back in the Truman days."

"So it is now written." J. Edgar Hoover stated while he stood around a table with Rose Quartz and then-president Harry S. Truman. "With the signing of these Quartz Accords, the Crystal Gems shall no longer interfere in government affairs, and vice versa."

"I'm happy we were able to seal the deal." Rose smiled softly. "After World War II, I don't think I'm in the mood for any more wars."

"So after this, you're just going to stand by and watch so many lives be ended without a second thought?!" a younger Lloyd Waller, then a young trainee on one of his first big assignments, accused Rose. "I thought your whole thing was about peace for everyone!"

"Waller, behave yourself!" Harry S. Truman shouted. "She just doesn't want to fight any more battles, you should know that."

"You want to go back to push-ups, kid?" Hoover threatened Waller. "I'll do it, just try me."

"No sir, I'll be good." Waller said before turning to Rose. "And I'm sorry for talking back to you Ms. Quartz."

"It's alright Lloyd." Rose chuckled and patted Lloyd on the head. "I think you have a bright future ahead of you."

"And wouldn't you know it, I did!" Lloyd grinned nostalgically. "Well, up until the stroke a few years back, but I'm staying alive."

"Dios mio, I don't think you ever told me this," Eduardo said with stars in his eyes before shaking his head and his face became more serious. "But regardless, we need to have a word with them, to settle things once and for all."

"Just a little bit more now. All I need is one last adjustment and victory will finally be mine." Black Rutile snickered to herself in her cavernous lair while making some last modifications to her shattering weapon while White Topaz & Aquamarine stood guarding the mastermind's captives, with Spinel being tied up around the Diamonds & Lemon Jade and Steven being held by Aquamarine's wand.

"So, what is your plan this time Black Rutile?" White Diamond scowled at her traitorous subordinate before the Rutile stepped out of the cave and presented her newest invention.

"Behold, my Breaking Point 2.0!" Black Rutile declared bombastically. "Unlike the one that Bismuth created for the Rebellion; I don't need no spikes to break Gems. One zap and a Gem is left completely disintegrated, not even any shards will be left to put them back together!"

"And I suppose you'll be planning to use them on us?" Yellow asked.

"Quit reading my mind." Black Rutile answered. "Then, I'll film a dire cry for help telling everyone that Steven has killed you all and must be stopped!" After fake-sobbing for an uncomfortably long amount of time, Black Rutile composed herself enough to give the Diamonds an ultimatum. "However, we can let bygones be bygones and I won't obliterate you all if you are filmed by me abolishing Era 3 and naming me the supreme ruler of the Gem race in my Era 4. Are we clear?"

"We will never!" Blue argued hotly. "After all we've done, after all we've been through the past two and a half years, you think we'll render all that meaningless to satisfy your ego?"

"Enough, "my Diamond"!" Aquamarine derisively shut up her former superior. "You shattered Gems regularly back in the day, and yet the only time you draw the line is when you're threatened with being shattered yourself? Unbelievable!"

"It wasn't on a regular basis!" Blue defended herself. "Though it was a bit of an unhealthy habit of mine."

"Enough prattling out of you." Black Rutile scowled. "Allow me to demonstrate how destructive my Breaking Point is." With a few taps of the controls on the Breaking Point 2.0, a holographic reticle popped out that allowed Black Rutile to point the laser at a tree Eyeball was practicing her flame chisel on and fired, destroying the tree and making it look like a tree was never planted there, to begin with, giving Eyeball a spook.

"Is that what you'll do to us?" White nervously asked.

"I'm giving you one hour to decide." Black Rutile stated as she marched back into the cave. "Topaz, continue keeping watch. Aquamarine, I'm going to need your help."

"Right away my Rutile." Aquamarine obliged and fluttered over to her master's side while giving White Topaz a disdainful glare. "Don't ruin this like you always do."

"Roger." White Topaz looked down at the ground before gazing up at the Diamonds. "So, any last words before my Rutile kills you all, or whatever?"

"I got one." Spinel said. "Why do you keep hanging with that creep? You know she's a total sociopathic jerk who doesn't care about anyone but herself!"

"Yeah, but so is Pink!" White Topaz tried to justify herself. "Black Rutile really does want what's best for Homeworld, and she'll do anything to get her way!"

"Well frankly, you just have a bad taste in friends." Lemon Jade said, making the Topaz standing guard think about what she just said. "Sure, a good portion of every problem we faced can all be traced back to Pink Diamond, but she just didn't know any better!"

"And she didn't know any better because of how we treated her." Yellow mused dourly. "And because of that, we're all soon going to die."

"Remember how she always begged and pleaded us for a colony until she was given Earth to make her happy?" Blue chuckled mirthlessly. "And then she started loving it to the point of faking her death and turning against us?"

"Again, because of how we treated her." Yellow added.

"Y'know, this kinda reminds me of a story about one of the times Black Rutile watched over Pink." White Topaz said as she began to have a flashback. "You see, it all began on the planet Zembilla. Remember that place?"

Thousands of years ago on the jungle planet of Zembilla, the orange-furred inhabitants were in danger of extinction. While many of the bandicoot and weasel-like fauna of the planet managed to flee, some weren't as lucky and were cut down by Black Rutile's sword as the invading Gem laughed evilly.

"That's right you furry fools, run while you still can, but I'll always find you!" Black Rutile yelled sadistically, ending the lives of more Zembillan critters by her sword while White Topaz excitedly clapped for her master and Pink Diamond had a wary expression on her face.

"Whoo, get 'em my Rutile, you go girl!" White Topaz cheered before Black Rutile returned to the two other Gems, wiping her face in exhaustion.

"Causing extinction on your own is quite a workout." Black Rutile let out a sigh, snapping her fingers for a Robonoid to turn into a chair for her to sit on. "C'mon Pinky, why don't you give it a shot?"

"I don't think I want to." Pink stated her reluctance, much to her Rutile caretaker's shock and anger. "Just look at these creatures, they're scared of us!"

"And they should be." Black Rutile casually said. "The Gems are among the most powerful empires in the universe right alongside Universal Lords such as King Serpentes and Velhallen Beo. And it's our duty to ensure we remain feared."

"But I don't want to spread fear!" Pink argued like an angry child. "If you think staying in power means bullying others to get our way, then I don't want any part in this."

"Oh, here we go again." Black Rutile rolled her eyes as she got up from her chair. "We have had this discussion tons of times before. You are a Diamond, yet you always act like you aren't ready! You're selfish, bad-tempered, and more importantly, there are far better Gems who are more deserving to lead."

"I wouldn't make her mad if I were you, my Rutile." White Topaz said to her boss. "Remember how one tantrum alone broke her Pearl?"

"That Pearl was easily replaced anyways, what do I care?" Black Rutile said to her bodyguard before turning back to her larger ward. "As much as I hate to say it, I'm basically the only one who can take care of you without losing my mind!"

"Probably because you love being such a big bully." Pink pouted. "You constantly brag about how a mere Rutile like you was so dedicated and hard-working that White Diamond noticed and gave you such a high seat on her court, but you let it go to your head."

Enraged at the insult, Black Rutile jumped up and slapped the Diamond in the face. "Oh really, kinda like how you expect everything to go your way just because you're a Diamond?" Black Rutile argued back. "Newsflash you accursed pebble, crying and whining won't get you everything you want! If you want respect from the other Diamonds, you must earn it! Keyword being earn!" At that final word, she let out a loud sigh, showing reluctance to deal with Pink any longer. "All forces fall back; this invasion is a bust."

"Well, I guess you got what you wanted." White Topaz said to the Diamond.

"But don't think this is over." Black Rutile added with a scowl. "Once we return to Homeworld, I will inform the Diamonds of how we failed because of you. Are we clear?"

"Yes, Black Rutile." Pink said sadly while walking back to her leg ship with the Rutile & Topaz following her.

"Oh yes, we heard about what happened on Zembilla." White nodded in realization. "But Black outright slapping Pink?! We may have been hard on her, but at least we never went that low!"

"You think that's bad, you should've seen how she reacted to Pink getting shattered." White Topaz responded.

"My subordinates, I have the most horrifying of news." Black Rutile sobbed dramatically to her army in the immediate aftermath of Pink Diamond's presumed death. "Our dearest Pink Diamond is no more, struck down where she stood by an insurgent Rose Quartz!" However, her crying soon turned into maniacal laughter now that she was finally free of the Diamond she loathed so much. "At long last, freedom! Pink Diamond is dead, she finally got what she deserves for being such a brat! ALL HAIL BLACK RUTILE!"

"ALL HAIL BLACK RUTILE!" the Rutile's forces began chanting before their leader suddenly donned a black-on-white pinstripe suit with a matching fedora and a white tie and started dancing like a smooth criminal. "ALL HAIL BLACK RUTILE! ALL HAIL BLACK RUTILE!"

"Did that actually happen?" Lemon Jade asked White Topaz, who looked rather nervous.

"Sorry, my imagination tends to get a little vivid." White Topaz replied. "Blame watching too many Earth music videos."

"Well, that's another indication you're in with the wrong crowd." Spinel quipped. "What business do you have running with a sociopathic revolutionist and many other insurgent Gems?"

"Like I said, I thought Black Rutile truly wanted what was best for Homeworld." White Topaz continued. "Plus, I thought she was my friend, but recent events kept proving me wrong."

"My Rutile, your guests should be arriving here any minute." Cinnabar, a crimson-skinned Gem with a military buzzcut and wearing a matching jacket with orange trimming, said to her commander. "The Rubies, Emerald, Aquamarine, Holly Blue Agate, Emerald, and Morganite should be arriving any moment now."

"Very good Cinnabar." Black Rutile purred as she played Steven's message to Gems across the galaxy on loop. "I've waited too long to put this plan into action, and he doesn't know a thing about it."

Just then, Black Rutile heard a door open and a childish voice storm in. "Hopefully this isn't another excuse to sling insults my way just because I threatened that stupid Steven's life!"

"You think being a pariah for endangering Pink Diamond's brat is bad, try being powerless to stop a bunch of unruly Quartzes from ruining everything you worked so hard to get into order!"

"Or a blasted human being allowed to get away with stealing your property!"

"I don't really care what you all say, at least I can still do what I do best."

"Perfect." Black Rutile grinned before she took an elevator to greet her guests. "Greetings to you all. I suppose you all know why you're here."

"What I want to know is what are these Rubies doing here?" Aquamarine asked while pointing to Eyeball and Navy.

"Hey, I nearly killed Steven, y'know!" Eyeball argued with the short blue Gem. "Show some respect!"

"Relax Ruby, don't want to make her uncomfortable here." Navy stuck herself between the pair.

"So, Black Rutile, what brings the Striking Shadow of the Rebellion here?" Holly Blue asked Black Rutile.

"Oh no Holly, you don't understand." Black Rutile corrected the Agate. "I'm the one who brought you altogether because your lives were all ruined by Pink Diamond! Or as everyone insists he be called, Steven Universe." She then began pointing to each of her visitors.

"Aquamarine, you were among Blue Diamond's finest and successfully captured Steven to put him on trial for his mother's heinous deeds."

"Rubies, you attempted to capture him twice and even nearly killed him once!"

"Holly Blue, you ruled the Human Zoo with an iron fist before the Crystal Gems played you like a fool. I mean, the Pearl didn't even bother to hide her star."

"Emerald, your Sun Incinerator was pilfered by a human of all creatures and a bunch of Off-Color Gems."

"And Morganite, you can no longer toss out any Gems that dare break your rules."

"That is very true." Morganite nodded. "So in other words, you wish to become like Rose Quartz and fight back against tyranny?"

"Yes, in a way." Black Rutile answered. "As the supreme commander of what I dub the Rutile Rebels, together we shall punish the Crystal Gems for oppressing against the hard-working Gems who were only doing what they were made to do, before abolishing Era 3 and establishing myself as the ruler of all Gems in the Diamonds' place."

"YEAH!" the new rebellion cheered and pumped their fists at the thought of revenge on Steven.

"Now then, here's what you all need to do." Black Rutile declared as she began laying out her plans on a hologram from her visor.

"Holly Blue, you shall remain at the Human Zoo, but you shall also serve as my eyes and ears on the Quartzes and human slaves residing there."

"Emerald, continue hunting down the so-called Lars of the Stars with assistance from my accomplice Cinnabar, who I've assigned to help reclaim lost colonies."

"Morganite, your assignment is like Holly Blue's, keep spying on your fellow Gems and relay what important information you gather to me."

"And finally, Ruby, or Navy as you've been called, a Yellow Zircon is running for democratic leader of Homeworld. With your expertise in manipulation, you can squeeze in as her campaign manager and make her the perfect mouthpiece for my insurgency. Are we clear?"

"Understood." The Gems obliged, except for Eyeball and Aquamarine, who Black Rutile didn't mention.

"Hey, what about us?!" Eyeball yelled.

"Don't tell me I have to partner up with her." Aquamarine groaned.

"Oh, you'll learn your places in my plot in time." Black Rutile answered. "But in the meantime, I have another spy to attend to. Good day."

As the small Gems walked away, Black Rutile turned her back to them as she keyed up a screen showing Volleyball. "Pink Pearl, report."

Even further back in time, not too long after being freed by Steven from White Diamond's control, Pink Pearl wandered around a Homeworld far different from the one she had last seen. Last she remembers, White Diamond had taken her in after Pink Diamond accidentally broke her eye and now it seems like thousands of years have passed in the blink of an eye since then.

"What even is this place?" Pink Pearl muttered fretfully. "Everything's just so different. I mean, where was Pink this whole time?"

"She's gone." Black Rutile's voice rang out, scaring the Pearl as the Rutile emerged from a shadowy alleyway. "Ah, the replaceable servant, long time no see."

"Black Rutile, you're still here?!" Pink Pearl yelled.

"Yeah, and me too!" White Topaz responded while popping up from behind her boss. "Hiya Pinky, how's the eye treating you?"

"What happened here?" Pink Pearl asked. "I mean, Homeworld looks so different from when White Diamond used her powers on me, and now everyone's talking about these Crystal Gem whatevers. Could you please get me up to speed, Black Rutile?"

"It's quite simple really." Black Rutile placed a hand on the Pearl's shoulder as she began explaining. "All of this is Pink's fault. The little brat just couldn't help causing a scene to get her way, so she faked her death and caused a war that ended so many lives. When I participated in that war, I knew deep down something was wrong with the Rose Quartz identity she created and sought to investigate."

"And that's how you found out Pink Diamond was Rose Quartz, right?" Pink Pearl realized.

"Yeah, took a lot of work too, but it made revealing what we found to White Diamond all the more worth it!" White Topaz answered.

"Hundreds of years' worth even." Black Rutile added. "All to learn that this was merely a little game she was playing, and you were but one of her many playmates she cast aside."

"Are you serious?" Pink Pearl continued.

"Why yes!" Black Rutile exclaimed joyfully while circling the Pearl. "All of this was just one big thousands years-long tantrum simply because she couldn't get the Diamonds to listen, and now she's made them waste all their resources and manpower too while doing nothing but cry. But now, we can make a change. If you spy on that Steven boy for me and report back with your findings, I promise you shall finally get payback for what Pink did to you."

"Wait, spy on Steven?" Pink Pearl wondered aloud. "I barely know him, but he seems like such a nice boy."

"Yeah, a nice boy that used the Diamonds to essentially take over." Black Rutile said. "All it took was one stupid joke to bring freaking White Diamond to her knees! You know how ridiculous that is, right?!"

"Okay, that does seem a bit ridiculous." Pink Pearl agreed reluctantly before Black Rutile offered a handshake.

"Now then, do we have a deal?" the Rutile asked with an award-winning smile. Pink Pearl gazed at her gloved hand and back at Black Rutile before she let out a huff and shook.

"Fine, I'll do what you want." Pink Diamond's Pearl accepted the offer. "But you won't do anything to harm him, understand?"

"Cross my nonexistent heart." Black Rutile complied, making an X-shape with her free hand over the diamond symbol on her chest before crossing her fingers behind her back.

"So, that's how she started putting everything together?" Lemon Jade wondered.

"Sometimes I wonder who's more at fault, her or us?" Yellow bowed her head in shame.

"All of us were to blame." White stated. "We mistreated Pink, then she started the Rebellion and led to Black Rutile gaining power."

"It's all our fault!" Blue yelled and emitted a forcefield that compelled the other Gems to start crying just like she was.

"Can you all keep it down?!" Eyeball yelled while swiping her flame chisel against another tree and shedding a few tears. "I'm trying to practice here!"

"Has she been here this whole time?" White Topaz asked as she wiped her tears. "But anyways, I don't think it's all your fault. Pink wasn't just an annoying baby. She just wanted to be seen, she just had some really bad ways of getting attention."

"Alright bluey, talk." A soldier at Area 42 said to Lapis when she was locked in an interrogation room. "What's your deal with the Crystal Gems?"

"My deal?" Lapis asked. "Okay, it all started when I was sent to terraform Earth-"

"I don't need your life story babe, just tell me everything important that happened between 2014 and now!" The soldier commanded the terraformer.

"Alright." Lapis complied. "I was stuck in a mirror for thousands of years until Steven let me out and I stole the ocean to try and get home. When I succeeded, it instead got me roped into a mission to invade Earth which ended when I fused with Jasper, and we used each other as our personal punching bags."

"So, is it true that you were the reason behind the disappearance of the ocean?" the soldier continued. "Killing 550 people across three third-world countries, nearly driving thousands of fishing villages out of business and endangering dozens of species of aquatic life?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Lapis declared in defeat.

"Miss Peridot was it?" another soldier began interrogating Peridot. "You might remember when you hijacked America's television broadcast signals to deliver a message to this Yellow Diamond, correct?"

"Yes." Peridot confirmed. "My original purpose was to check up on the current progress of a superweapon buried beneath the Earth that will destroy the entire planet once it awakens. However, the Crystal Gems informed me that what I was doing was bad for their home, and had no choice but to enlist my help in stopping the beast. Afterwards, I lived comfortably on Earth watching trashy TV shows."

"Like Camp Pining Hearts?" the soldier asked the green Gem.

"You watch that show too?!" Peridot squealed in excitement. "I may be imprisoned for crimes against humanity, but we can both agree that reboot is trash, right?"

"It's so bad, I found myself laughing like crazy!" the soldier replied.

"Jasper, Jasper, Jasper." A soldier tutted while seated across from Jasper. "What can you tell us about the monster situation?"

"Other than it was my fault?" Jasper cowered while covering her face in shame. "He just shattered me and went insane!"

"Who shattered you?" the soldier kept egging Jasper on for more answers. "And what is shattering exactly?"

"Don't talk to me, I'll just ruin your life just like I did his." Jasper groaned and curled up underneath the table.

"Okay you little one-eyed monster, either give us what we want, or you and your friends are gonna end up like that little freak over there." A soldier that was confronting Volleyball threatened before turning on a light, revealing a dissected Watermelon Steven laying on an operating table while a pair of scientists ate its remains. "Okay, to be honest, I'm not sure if you can be dissected, but it doesn't hurt to try."

"How much do you want out of me?" Volleyball asked.

"Just some basics for discrepancy, miss." The soldier continued. "Like for example, what's with the eye? I've seen some ocular damage in my line of work, but nothing like this."

"This, it was an accident by Pink Diamond." Volleyball answered while gesturing to her broken eye. "I'm sure you're just as tired of her being demonized so much, but it was an accident."

"Accident how?" the soldier kept interviewing.

"Bismuth, Bismuth, Bismuth." The last Gem to be interrogated was, of course, Bismuth. "Before we start, I must ask, bismuths are supposed to be metals, so what business do you have being a Gem?"

"Does it look like I care?" Bismuth asked. "But what I do care about is saving Steven. He's been letting all this pain and suffering he's endured for years build up inside of him and now he's let it turn him into a big monster! And if we don't act soon, he's gonna stay that way!"

"My word, is this true?" the soldier gasped.

"You bet." Bismuth replied confidently. "Look, I know we don't see eye to eye right now, but we need all the help we can get to save him and Earth from Black Rutile. You wouldn't dare let a child suffer this much, right?"

The soldier got up and paced around for a bit before he came to a decision. Though these Gems were supposed to be their enemies, he didn't want to harm an innocent, traumatized young man either. As he sat down, Bismuth put on a small smile.

"I'll talk to the president and see what I can do." The soldier said.

"Thanks sir." Bismuth nodded. "Any little bit of help means the universe to us."

"Mr. President, Vice President, General Waller, we reached a breakthrough." The soldier declared as he stepped into a room where Eduardo, Theresa, and Lloyd were talking with Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl. "It seems this monster was once their ward and he has changed into this form through years of childhood trauma combined with a bit of borderline personality disorder."

"I see." Lloyd nodded before turning to the three Gems. "And you just let this happen? Makes me wonder who the real monster is!"

"Yes, I get it, it's all our fault!" Pearl broke down crying. "Go ahead, lock us up, execute us, just anything to rid Steven of us!"

"Pearl, calm down." Garnet soothed the ex-servant. "We may have been partially to blame here, but it's not entirely our fault. Steven just has very unhealthy ways of coping, and now his stress has built up to toxic levels. So please, we're begging you, we need your help."

"Ditto." Amethyst responded. "We gotta save Steven before it's too late. Plus, it's just as much our fault as it is that Black Rutile jerk's! She's been stringing everyone along all this time, and you guys are all no different! Seriously, did humans get THIS dumb over the past thousands of years?"

"Dang kid, you got fire." Theresa chuckled. "I like that. What say when this is all over, we have a little spar? I am proficient in krav maga from studying abroad, after all."

"Oh, you're on!" Amethyst declared while shaking the vice president's hand.

"Well, I see now that you Gems haven't changed a bit." Eduardo stated while taking Garnet's hand. "If there's anything you need, we're here to help." Suddenly, an alarm began going off. "Ay caramba, what now?!"

"Mr. President, we have a break-in!" an elderly man in a black suit yelled as he and his African American partner burst into the interrogation room. "A middle-aged man and an Indian girl suddenly came out of a portal riding on a pink lion!"

"Wait, what?!" Eduardo yelled just as Connie, Greg, and Lion burst into the room ready to rescue the Gems. "Everyone, please remain calm!"

"Don't worry guys, we're here to save you!" Connie exclaimed while drawing her sword and pointing it at General Waller. "You let the Gems go, the world needs them!"

However, as the dust began to settle, the two human allies began to realize that not everything was pretty okay, as Greg looked around the room and asked "What did we miss?" while Lion let out a purr.

Back in the woods, the Diamonds seemed to have reached an understanding with White Topaz, with Black Rutile seemingly none the wiser. However, that would all soon change.

"So, do you agree that Steven is better than Black Rutile passes him off as now?" Yellow Diamond said.

"Yeah, I've met him before, so I'm speaking from experience here." White Topaz answered, unaware of her master angrily watching from the cave. "Steven really is that nice of a guy. Sure, he's still got a few flaws like breathing down everyone's neck and thinking the universe can't move without him being the center of everything, but his heart is in the right place and has changed everyone around him. Unlike some Gems I know."

"So that's how it is." Black Rutile angrily declared as she stormed out of her cave with Aquamarine in tow. "After all you've done for me, after all we've been through together, all it takes is just words to turn on me?! Are you so stupid that you don't even know you're being brainwashed?!"

"We aren't brainwashing her Rutile." White Diamond declared while slowly wriggling free from her Spinel-made restraints. "We're just showing her that she has bad taste in friends and you must be stopped!"

"Well, have it your way." Black Rutile snapped her fingers, cuing Aquamarine to take back her wand and release Steven from the forcefield. "Steven, destroy your tormentors now!"

Unfortunately for Black Rutile, Steven was too confused to even listen and bashed his head against the mountainside, causing a cave-in that destroyed her lair and a rockslide to nearly crush her before he began running away.

"Steven!" the Diamonds yelled as one and began chasing Steven back to Beach City as the pink monster began leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

In Little Homeworld, the Gems living & studying there were going about a seemingly normal day when the monster stampeded into town, destroying much of the village in its path and causing multiple Gems to run & hide in fear.

"Hey guys, wait for me!" Spinel cried before Lemon Jade grabbed her by the arm.

"No Spinel, we have to stop Black Rutile!" the Jade fusion bravely declared before twirling Spinel around like an Olympic hammer to toss at the mastermind.

"Ah Spinel, almost forgot about you, just like Pink did." Black Rutile said while heaving Spinel off her. "You remember how I gave you the Rejuvenator and the Injector, didn't you?"

"Yeah, that was you." Spinel answered.

"You may not know it Spinel, but this garden contains secrets even you didn't know." Black Rutile explained to the abandoned playmate not too long ago, soon after running into her while testing the Warp Pads. "I helped build this atrocious locale, so naturally I'm the only one who knows these secrets."

"But other Gems helped you, how come they didn't know?" Spinel asked.

"Save all questions until after you finish the job." Black Rutile answered before she turned on some lights, revealing a secret room beneath the garden housing a massive Injector Spinel would soon use on Earth. "Now then, your job is to go down to Earth, inject this pink bio-poison that will slowly kill all organic life, and take down anyone that stands in your way with this." The Rutile then presented the Rejuvenator to Spinel. "Should you fail, you will pay the price when the time comes. Are we clear?"

With a sadistic grin, Spinel took the Rejuvenator from Black Rutile. "Crystal."

"And as for you," Black Rutile yelled after tossing Spinel to the ground and storming towards White Topaz. "how dare you betray your only friend?!"

"You're a bad friend!" White Topaz argued back as she summoned her brass knuckles and punched Black Rutile in the face, while Aquamarine & Eyeball contended with Spinel & Lemon Jade. "You always treated me like garbage because I was too nice for you and never showed remorse for it, among all the other horrible things you did like manipulating, gaslighting, and even murder!"

"Oh please, we Gems were natural sociopaths before Steven came along, we never showed remorse for anything!" Black Rutile said while readying her Breaking Point 2.0.

"You were only using Steven's own trauma to your advantage so you can use him for galactic domination!" White Topaz yelled, causing her now-former boss to let out a hoarse, sarcastic laugh.

"You know something Topaz?" Black Rutile asked as she aimed her shattering device. "You're right. I do deserve better minions, hence why Aquamarine and Eyeball have stuck by my side throughout all of this. So in other words, consider yourself replaced."

"TARGET CONFIRMED." The Breaking Point 2.0 declared in a mechanical monotone while Black Rutile aimed it straight at her Topaz. "COMMENCE SHATTERING IN FIVE. FOUR. THREE. TWO. O-"

Without a moment's hesitation, Spinel ripped the Breaking Point 2.0 from Black Rutile's arm and smashed it to the ground before shoving Black Rutile into a tree before taking White Topaz & Lemon Jade by the hand. "Come on, Steven's waiting for us!"

As the three Gems raced off after Steven, Black Rutile was helped up by her two remaining minions, who were worried for their boss's safety.

"My Rutile, are you alright?" Aquamarine asked worriedly.

"What happened to this?" Eyeball wondered while picking up the damaged remains of the Breaking Point 2.0.

Black Rutile did not answer as she stepped towards the clearing where she attempted to shatter White Topaz and shakily took off her green visor with a warm, but creepy smile. Suddenly, the Rutile snapped the visor in two with her bare hands, furious that everything had been falling apart. And now, she only had one boy to blame.

"STEEEEE-VEEEEEN UNIVEEEEEEERSE!"

Ooh, she's pissed! Even with the government and the Diamonds on their side, is it too late for Steven to be saved from both himself and Black Rutile? How many more suggestions from devoted readers can I insert at the last minute like Connie and Greg's attempted Area 42 raid? Join us for the next chapter where we finally see Steven again, but things will be way different on his end. Be seeing you. Also, special credit to TheCurryAstute for letting me mention his character Velhallen Beo.

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aawesomepenguin · 5 years

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I’m back from the Sonic Movie! What are my thoughts? I LOVED IT!

I’m still processing this movie, and I’m definitely going to return for more viewings in the cinema, but I can tell this movie was done with a lot of care and love for this franchise.

The way they referenced Sonic games and other media left me with a huge grin on my face. The way they used some of the classic games’ VFX in it, the music, it all made me feel very happy!

One thing that I REALLY liked in this movie was the way Sonic’s character was portrayed. You can really feel that this was a Sonic at his beggining, he is unsure about some things, longs for connection with others, and feels VERY human (even though he’s a hedgehog dashbdasklads).

Also, Sonic’s REALLY FUNNY in this movie! Like, I’m not even doing it justice, he has a really couple of great lines.

I loved Tom, he is really a good character, he has more personality than some of the trailers show, and I really liked his dynamic with Sonic. And another good thing is, he never becomes too intrusive. This movie is about Sonic the Hedgehog, most of all.

Different from Sonic X, where Sonic really sometimes felt like he wasn’t the main character of his own cartoon, this one makes clear that Sonic, indeed, is the protagonist.

And oh man, Jim Carrey as Robotnik. He really is great in the role. This version shares with us a fascinating perspective of how maybe Eggman was in his past. We even get to hear Robotnik give some details about his past! And the fact that Jim taps into a little of Deem Bristow and Mike Pollock in the third act, is VERY good! He really shows he was made for this role.

His talk about the character in interviews show how passionate he is about the role, and I’m very thankful for that, I genuinely think he was born for this role.

There are some details here and there that I was “really?”, but it doesn’t impact in my overall impressions of this movie. My point ever since I’ve known more details about this movie in 2018 still stands: It’s a VERY fun family movie, it doesn’t try to do anything groundbreaking, but it does it well, and I’m thankful for it!

THANK YOU Jeff Fowler, THANK YOU Patrick Casey and Josh Miller, THANK YOU Oren Uziel, THANK YOU Neal H. Moritz, THANK YOU Tim Miller, THANK YOU Tyson Hesse, THANK YOU Haruki Satomi for believing this crew was capable of pulling off a Sonic Movie, THANK YOU Takashi Iizuka for overseeing this movie, and THANK YOU Paramount and SEGA.

Please go watch this movie in cinemas, we need to show them that we want more of this!

My Grade: 8/10

#Sonic Movie #What Fans Thought #Me #Sonic the Hedgehog

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my-brodie999-fan · 4 years

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The Fats follows a evolved fox-rat family of 8 brothers and 1 sister as they fight a human mad scientist and other threats to humanity alongside their adaptive father/mentor, 2 human allies and other cross-animals in the distant future while trying to accept each other as family. Patriot Fat(voiced by James Arnold Taylor) is the “den-mother and leader of the team and is the most calm and experienced member, but hurt his family and he will hunt you down to the ends of the Earth. He is a hard-headed and serious cone, scolding his siblings when they don't follow orders. He is colored brown, blue pants, has a red belt, black gloves and boots and has blue eyes.

Wreck Fat(voiced by Nolan North) is the most angry and self-loathing loner of the group. He often argues with Patriot about who should be leader of the team. However, they will work together when the situation calls of it.He has intense arm firepower, wiping out enemies in a matter of seconds. He is coloured grey, speaks with a New Yorker accent, red pants, red belt and hazel eyes.

Engineer Fat(voiced by Yuri Lowenthal) is the kind-hearted, calm and gentle pacifist and inventor of the team. He is socially awkward and book smart so much so that his sibling cannot keep up with him. Even though he shows a greater interest in technology than his training, nevertheless, he will defend his family and fight his opponents when there is no other choice. He is also skeptical as he believes humans do not exist and that animals have always been the sole species of Earth. He has red eyes, has a mole on his right cheek, has a cyborg arm, has metallic yellow pants, a blue belt and is coloured silver.

Mischief Fat(Voiced by Mikey Kelley) is the most wild, funny, immature and party-loving surfer dude of the team. He loves riding on his hoverboards, fighting evil and is extremely creative with arts. He is also a member of the Prank Trio along with Runt and Bullsnark. He wants to be part of the human world and he will convince his family to do the same by any means necessary. He also serves as an unofficial second-in-command whenever he comes up with brilliant plans that save the day or gets the Fats out of life-threatening situations, becoming the closest thing a team has to a second leader.He also has a sad side as he borders on depression as a result of spending years with his siblings and father on a island. He is coloured Yellow, has freckles, dark blue pants, a gold belt, has a beard at 16 years old and has green eyes.

Angel Fat(Voiced by Colleen O'Shaughnessy) is the smart, tomboyish, arrogant and independent tech support of the team and bit of a narcissist and will often bring on about her intelligence. As the only female member of the family, she always has the best of intentions. She is coloured yellow, has a gap between two of her front teeth and has green eyes. She is a great mathematician as she can easily hack into any computer data base by correctly guessing their security codes, Unlike the rest of her family(who wear pants, gloves(except for Buster, Engineer and Growly), shoes and are shirtless), she has blond hair, wears a Fat shirt, is coloured mix-purple/Yellow as a result from a lab accident, has a pink belt and gloves and blue shorts with sockings.

Buster Fat(voiced by Steve Blum) is the biggest and most strongest member of the family. He loves training all day and he hates it when his sibling interrupt him. However, he has a good heart and will go by any means to protect them. He also cares for normal animals, fighting to his last breath to save them. He is coloured green, speaks with a Brooklyn accent, has dark green pants, yellow belt, black boots and has golden eyes.

Runt Fat(voiced by Josh Keaton) is the most dim-witted and dizy, yet lovable member of the team. He’s been part of the Prank Trio since Day One and is often made fun of his stupidity by siblings, however when the situation is necessary, it ultimately proves to be his greatest strength. He is also something of a womaniser as he tries to say something to cross-animal females, but can't bring out the exact words and he is the most gullible of the family, causing him believe whatever lies are told to him, even causing him to betray his family, only to rejoin them in one of the future games. Nonetheless, he is one of the most purest cross-animals, never truely joining evil and always finding out to know the truth about himself and his family. He is coloured red and has one red eye and one hazel eye.

Bullsnark Fat(voiced by Roger Craig Smith) is the adventure-loving everyman slacker, jester-like and thrill-seeker who wishes to travel the world. He is sarcastic, playful and completely devoid of cynicism. He is also one of the member of the Prank Trio along with Mischief and Runt. He’s very loyal to his family and always stands up for them and keeps his promises despite his impulsive and impatient nature. He can be sentimental when villains threaten the world and won't stop until they're defeated and can provide tactical strategies. He is coloured orange, has black boots and gloves, yellow pants, a blue belt and has purple eyes.

Growly Fat(voiced by Trevor Devall) is the strict and irritable, yet caring and kind-hearted powerhouse who breaks up fights between the family. He is prone to anger when someone pranks or tricks him, but deep down, he loves his family very much. He was born somewhere in Mississippi and he is also a history junkie as he collects every newspaper, article and art of the world's history. He isn't fond of humans too much until much later on in the game. He is coloured blue, speaks with a Southern accent, dark grey pants, green belt, black boots, and has blue eyes.

Hopper Frog(voiced by Billy West) is the mean, brash, cocky, militaristic and demanding yet kind-hearted father of the Fats, but as the game progresses, he becomes a more supportive, caring and wise parental figure. He has a soft spot for children and he will be a role model to them whenever he sees them. At the beginning of the game, he is overprotective of the Fats, fearing they could die if they go into the human world, but throughout the game, he accepts that his children are teenagers now and he says that he is proud of them. He wears a green military uniform with no pants, speaks like a mad scientist and has brown eyes.

Sarah Stewart(voiced by Jennifer Hale) is the most beautiful, kindhearted and attractive teenage girl the Fats have ever known. She was abused in school and she has recently graduated from high school to apply for science. She can also sense betrayal in strangers she doesn't know. She is also an orphan as she lives with her aunt, uncle and their daughter. She is a blond teenage girl with pink sleeveless shirt and blue jeans. She also has light freckles on her nose and baby blue eyes.

Peter Braxton(voiced by Ben Diskin) is the comedic, shy and loyal sports player whose life is forever changed when he meets the Fats. He is like a modern-day Prince Charming and he has a crush on Sarah Stewart when he first sees her, but does not kiss her until the end of the first game, He also becomes best friends with Wreck and Growly throughout the game as they play hologram games together. He is also a pacifist as he lost his father in a flying car accident and starts campaigns and TV ads to prevent anyone from suffering the same fate. He is a black haired teenage boy with orange eyes, a sports jumper and brown pants.

Dr. Otto Jekyll(voiced by Mike Pollock) is a highly selfish, insane, cocky and arrogant mad scientist and the main antagonist of the series. He wants to end peace and liberty on Earth and will do it by gaining control of the world's governments, police and money. He is also a deceptional liar as he constantly lies to the Fats and their friends, trying to convince them that he can help people have more improved lives until the end of the first game when he reveals his true motives. He is an mildly obese man with balding brown hair with a goatee and a lab coat with red clothing and black and white rubber gloves and boots. He also has yellow eyes. Gaming Mechanics:

1. The video game series will be an open-world where you can play side-missions and help people in addition to the main story. You can also visit other countries in free-roam in the game.

2. You can use multiplayer as 4 of the each titular 9 Fats with the ability to change between the 8 other Fats until all 9 are all dead and the game resets.

3. You can have collectibles, art and unlock new weapons throughout each level of the game.

4. You can also play as the human characters Sarah Stewart and Peter Braxton in stealth missions.

5. Once you’ve completed the game, you can revisit any of the levels. So you won't have to worry getting through 13 hours without completing the entire game 100%.

6. As I said, you can fire weapons with 2 of the Fats, Engineer and Angel who are the tech support of the team while the rest of the team fight hand to hand.

7. The game will have the feel of a Disney movie , Thomas Perkins-like art, the art of Ratchet & Clank and the backgrounds of Young Justice and The Super Hero Squad while still rendered as a 3D dimensional video game.

And lastly, here’s the title for the prequel tie-in novel: The Raoxs: Animals of Science.

Series Outline:Set in an utopian future where all war, problems and disease has been wiped out, the Fats live on a peaceful island with their adaptive Frog father, Hopper Frang, but they have never truly accepted each other as family or understood their father’s lectures, even starting a war with one another once. On their 16th birthday, they are allowed to leave the island and venture into the Human world. But when a scientist named Dr. Otto Jekyll(a pun on the Dr. Jekyll character from Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) becomes Dr. Peace-Destroyer and threatens to end the era of peace by conquering the world, the Fats are forced to come to term with their calling as a family and what it means to be heroes with the help of 17-year old science intern (smart blond) Sarah Stewart and 18-year old Sports player Peter Braxton.

This would be a Playstation 4 and Playstation 5-exclusive and would be rated E+10 for more cartoon, fantasy or mild violence, mild language, and/or minimal suggestive themes.

Do you want to see this video game series brought to life?

#playstation 5 #disney #insomniacgames #sony interactive entertainment #playstation4 #video games #fats ps5 #fatsps4

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nicomoviewatchinpsychopath · 5 years

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Sonic the Hedgehog Movie Review

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG: VIDEO GAME BASED MOVIE IS FORMULAIC BUT OFFERS PLENTY OF FAST-PACED FUN FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY AS WELL AS LONGTIME FANS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

The world’s fastest hedgehog hits the big screen in Sonic the Hedgehog

PARAMOUNT PICTURES AND SEGA

The blue blur (or Blue Devil as the movie calls him) makes his big screen debut in Sonic the Hedgehog, based on the beloved Sega video game franchise of the same name. Believe it or not out of all the video game franchises, my favorite is and always will be Sonic the Hedgehog and have been a proud supporter of the hedgehog since childhood.

Granted, it wasn’t until after Sega became a third-party developer for consoles like PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo when I became a fan of the blue hedgehog, but ever since I got my hands on the Nintendo GameCube port of Sonic Adventure 2 as a kid, my Sonic fandom was pretty much instant. I’ve played many of the video games both old and new, watched all the cartoons, read the comic books published by Archie Comics at the time, and I owned several action figures, plushies, and other Sonic merchandise throughout my childhood…in fact I still have most of those even to this day.

I’ve been clamoring for a Sonic the Hedgehog theatrical movie for years despite video game film adaptations usually being critical and/or box-office poison. But given the popularity of Sonic especially during the 90s when he was rivaling Nintendo’s Mario franchise who already had a theatrical film released in 1993, I’d assume one would have been made back then or at the very least in the early-late 2000s when Sonic Adventure DX: Director’s Cut, Sonic Adventure 2 Battle, and Sonic Heroes as well as the hit Saturday morning anime series, Sonic X were released, I was so eager for a Sonic movie that a couple of friends and I got together and made movies of our own when we were kids (They sucked BTW!).

After years of waiting and Sonic making a few big screen appearances prior in Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph movies and Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, the beloved hedgehog finally gets a movie of his own which leads us to today. The film is directed by newcomer Jeff Fowler in his directorial debut, produced by Neal H. Moritz (Fast & Furious franchise, XXX, 21/22 Jump Street), and executive produced by Tim Miller (Deadpool, Terminator: Dark Fate) and is a live-action/animated hybrid (Yep, just like Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs), which had me very worried when it was announced back in 2014 and was even more worried and disgusted when the first trailer came out last year which had an absolutely atrocious design for Sonic, fortunately they fixed it.

So, how does Sonic’s first movie hold up? Honestly, while I can’t call it the Sonic movie I wanted as a child, I had a fun time with it. It isn’t a perfect representation of its source material and the plot is pretty generic, but the charm of the film’s leads, humor, and subtle references to the games that inspired it are enough for me to overlook that flaw.

The film follows Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz-Parks and Recreation, The Other Guys, The Walk), blue anthropomorphic talking hedgehog from another dimension with extraordinary speed who travels to Earth to escape from those who want to capture him and harness his power. However, when he accidentally causes a power outage while hiding out in the town of Green Hills (Get it?), Sonic is targeted by the government and the tyrannical mad scientist, Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey-Ace Ventura 1 and 2, The Mask, The Truman Show) who plots to use Sonic’s power for world domination.

This forces Sonic to team up with Green Hills sheriff, Tom Wachowski (James Marsden-X-Men franchise, Enchanted, Westworld) who agrees to help Sonic on his adventure to find his missing bag of magical rings that have the power to get him home. Of course, while getting into all sorts of trouble along the way. The film also stars Tika Sumpter (Ride Along 1 and 2, Get On Up, Southside with You) as Tom’s wife Maddie, Adam Pally (Happy Endings, The Mindy Project, Iron Man 3) as Wade Whipple, and Neal McDonough (Star Trek: First Contact, Band of Brothers, Justified) as Major Bennington.

Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog probably isn’t the movie longtime fans wanted, but it still manages to be an entertaining and fun adaptation in its own right. It’s easily one of the best films based on a video game alongside Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and The Angry Birds Movie 2 and shows that we’ve come a long way since the dark days of Uwe Boll’s directing career.

As mentioned before, the plot is nothing special and rehashed from other kids’ movies however what sets this apart from things like The Smurfs or Masters of the Universe is that Sonic and Tom do have a strong chemistry together. It’s amusing to see them interact with each other on their road trip, cracking jokes, getting into trouble, and over the course of the film they learn more about one another thus making you care more for them over ANY Smurf or Chipmunk.

While there are a few jokes that don’t quite stick the landing, the humor for the most part not only made me laugh but there were moments in this movie where I laughed hard. Whether the film was poking fun at the entire Sonicfranchise, a particular running sequence that’s obviously a reference to the Quicksilver scenes from the X-Men movies, or Sonic breaking the fourth wall similar to Deadpool, I was laughing while also admiring how clever some of these jokes are, and let’s not forget Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, but we’ll get to him momentarily.

The redesigned Sonic is a lot better than what we could have gotten, he doesn’t have those ugly small eyes, questionable muscular arms and legs, or the terrifying human teeth anymore. Now, his appearance is more faithful to the source material recreating the hedgehog’s cartoony nature but is different enough to stand out from the rest of the character’s previous designs and be its own unique creation, this is a really good design for Sonic and had the filmmakers went with their original version, this movie would have crashed and burned even harder than Sonic ’06.

Besides Sonic being more appealing to look at now, he’s also just as entertaining to listen to, Ben Schwartz while he’s far from being a replacement for Roger Craig Smith, Ryan Drummond, Jason Griffith, or even Jaleel White, does a solid job providing Sonic’s voice and captures the cocky, arrogant, but good-natured attitude Sonic is known for having. He actually almost sounds like Ryan Drummond’s Sonic voice without sounding like a cheap impersonation. Moving on to Sonic’s new friend that doesn’t have two tails, James Marsden as Tom, his performance is decent even though he doesn’t quite make as big an impression as Ben Schwartz’ Sonic and especially Jim Carrey’s Dr. Robotnik. With that said, he gets some funny lines once in a while and as mentioned before has good chemistry with Sonic, so yeah, believe it or not James Marsden was partnered up with another CG animated character and this time came out with his dignity unlike his performance in Hop.

Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik owns every scene that he’s in, he’s no Mike Pollock and is a radically different Robotnik than from the games, but Carrey’s energetic and wildly animated personality shines through and gives a million percent whenever the crazy evil genius is on-screen. He’s certainly a lot better than Dennis Hopper as Koopa from the Super Mario Bros. movie.

Hopefully, this movie will be a hit during its theatrical run because I’d love to see a sequel especially if it introduced other Sonic characters like Tails, Knuckles, or even Shadow. Don’t make this like the recent Power Rangers movie, I need my big screen version of those characters!

Whether a fan, newcomer, or just looking for something fun to take the kids to, Sonic the Hedgehog should make everyone happy. It’s not perfect but it has enough action, wit, and charm to make it worth checking out. You’ll be “Up, Over, and Gone” before you know it.

For more movie reviews please visit: https://moviewatchinpsychopath.blogspot.com

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog movie #sonic #jeff fowler #ben schwartz #james marsden #jim carrey #sega #paramount #paramount pictures #neal h. moritz #tim miller #original film

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cutegirlmayra · 6 years

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Okay, I usually see this fanart but barely in fanfiction, so how about Boom Knuckles x Rouge? Since Boom Knuckles has a different personality, I want to see how it'll play out. I think she'd find him adorable and definitely tease him in a different way from his Modern counterpart XD

I illegally step away from being forced to write the last two chapters of my novel to bring you this thrilling saga.

Prompt:

“Rouge!” Eggman billowed, throwing a quaking hand up in the air.

“My, my… now, that’s no way to call a lady.” Rouge, having stowed herself away in the rafters, flew down in perfect elegance with a sassy remark. “You really should try and keep that tone of yours in line, Doctor. What would happen if one day, you find you can’t hit that note anymore?”

He ground his teeth together, in no mood for her shenanigans, “Quit the quick remarks already. You’re real flighty, you know that? It’s taken me forever just to track you down.” He leaned on his console.

She placed her hands on her hips, looking off to the corner of the room as though keeping a secret. “I’ve been busy.”… ‘With G.U.N so gung-ho on being one step ahead of you, I haven’t had one restful night to get my beauty sleep. Blame me for your temper-tantrum, ha!’ “You’re the one acting batty.”

She folded her arms. “I’ve heard you’ve really stumbled upon an alternate universe. What’s the deal, then? Need me to steal something?”

“How did you-?” He was actually pretty surprised, but twitched his mustache and turned back to his computer.

“As a matter of fact… you’re stealthy feats are exactly what the job order…” He grinned widely as his glasses shined with the glow of the screen. “My other self, in that world, refuses to give me a secret formula for transmutation! Steal it for me, and you can have… These!” he grabbed a briefcase, spinning around and opening it to reveal a wide array of sparkling gems, each looked ravishing as her thoughts quickly spiraled into luxurious fantasies of wearing them while on a mountain of glittering treasures.

She reached for one, “And what would this formula look like..?” But he quickly closed the briefcase and set it down.

“Ho-ho-ho… have I enticed those old thievery hands, yet?”

‘I haven’t robbed in a long time, not since Knuckles…’ she stopped her thought, “Alright, old man. You’ve tickled my fancies with your little… bribe.” she twiddled her fingers towards the briefcase. “Give me the coordinates.”

She offered him her hand.

She smirked, this would be genius! Not only could she go undercover and discover what world he was lurking in, but she could also inform G.U.N of transmutation plans he has in store.

And pack up those lovelies to boot, too!

Flying herself into another dimension, she changed her looks to fit in with the local crowd, all too easy-going for her taste. She tried to get data on this world’s Eggman when she noticed Sonic and Tails. “That can’t be..?” She put a dainty hand up to her mouth, blinking at the uncanny resemblance. “What is this? The timeline where Sonic goes on vacation?” she joked, moving on when suddenly…

“Knuckles! Look out!”

“W-woah-woah!”

CRASH.

“Knuckles?” Rouge turned back around.

There was a crushed fruit stand, Zooey exclaimed a shriek as her hands moved up to her face, “My watermelons!” she looked like she was about to faint before Tails quickly rushed over and caught her, blushing with a smile.

“Oh no, is he dead?” Sticks walked up with Amy then, before they both turned to Sonic who approached soon after.

“Not another wipeout. That’s gotta be a new record!”

“Sonic, he was the record.”

“Not for long. I plan on beating his record, towering over his as it blasts through the sky!” he pointed skyward, but the girls just looked unimpressed.

“Men aspire to the most strangest and pointless things.” Sticks commented before a crowd gathered.

Being used to the attention, the Sonic team paid them no mind, but Rouge sneakily weaved her way to the front, all while pickpocketing and gathering a feathered boa and sunglasses as a disguise. She swiped the walrus’s necklace and rings before finishing her walk to the front.

Then…

Her boa lowered over her shoulder, her sunglasses fell forward and her mouth gaped wide.

A shadow casted over the crowd as a wet Knuckles rose from the watermelon remains and shook himself off from the juices.

In a slow-motion montage, Rouge was faced with the hardest challenge she has ever faced.

A beautiful distraction to her mission.

Biceps.

“Oh no.” Rouge’s eyes shrunk as she fell to her knees, ‘He’s even hotter in this world!!!’ she rose her face up as her signature heart pattern flew around her head, having small black bat wings as they did so.

She was infatuated, purposefully withholding the priority of her mission to meet with him.

“Uhh… I told ya, Lady. I don’t have a job other than being awesome.” Knuckles shrugged, then flexed as Rouge let a long line of a smile stretch over her face.

“Nothing? Not even a … ancestorial vow of guardianship to overlook the safety of- oh say… a Master Emerald?” she scooted closer, but Knuckles was too caught up on all the technical jargon to know what she was talking about.

“Emerald? What emerald?”

Her eyes shot straight open with stars in her eyes.

No distractions…

“And with that,” she pulled two of his long, trailing hairs down to force him to bend to her level. It didn’t matter though, her wings were already pulling her up to his height.

His eyes were right smack in front of hers, unsure how to process such a pretty woman’s actions, nor understand what they implied.

“You’re now officially the better of the two.” she went to flirt and move up closer to his wide chest she could literally sprawl herself out on when-

“Rouge! What’s the hold-up?! Where’s my formula?!” a mic triggered from her belt and she tsk’ed.

“Dratt. Even without your angry demeanor, there’s still something there to interrupt.” she pouted, glaring with a twitch of her eyebrow at her dimensions Eggman calling.

“…Wait, that sounded like-” It just so happened that Knuckles picked up the voice acting skills of Mike Pollock, which just so happened to be the same voice actor of his own Eggman.

“I hate to leave you wanting more, but I believe your rather large frame begs the question of if you can even fit more?” she let him go and blew him a kiss, heading for the other Eggman’s base.

“…I always have room for Meh-burgers…” He blushed, seeming to like the blown kiss, “Hehehehe…AH!” he placed a hand on his chest, snapping out of his timid blush, raising his head out of his scrunched up shoulders. “Is she calling me fat!? the humiliation! I knew I shouldn’t have skipped torso day!” he ran away crying, his self-esteem completely devasted.

The Sonic team attacked Eggman’s base, giving the perfect avenue for Rouge to steal the formula, but she was constantly distracted by this new Knuckles.

Then, a robot shot a beam at her wing and she began to fall.

“Woah! Bat lady!” Knuckles leaped to her rescue, punching down the robot that had struck her.

“No, Knuckles! It’s Batman- Hey! It’s a girl!” Tails was amazed to see a woman in his arms.

She lifted her leg up, squeeing a moment before flopping herself upright again. “No time, Knucklehead. I’ll swoon when my mission is- The vile!” she saw the formula, literally written down and rolled into a sailor’s bottle, crash to the ground as Eggman raced to get it.

“No, she’s a lady, Tails.” Knuckles argued, as though unable to follow the current pace of the conversation as she flew out of his arms. He looked offended on her behalf, but when turning back to his arms, noticed she was gone. “Woah! Hey! Where’d the pretty lady go?”

“Spy!” Eggman shot more lasers, but she skillfully dodged them, kicking them with her tornado kick and hitting them off his machine.

“Yeeeep!” Eggman ducked in fright as Rouge looked ticked off, grabbing the front of his Eggmobile.

“You’ve ruined my summer fling for the last time!” she tried to grab the formula but was swiftly removed by Knuckles again, delicately placing her back to the ground as the Sonic team gathered in front of her.

“What’d you steal this time, Egghead?”

“Me!? It’s her universe that’s- Grr… scratch that. Nothing to hear here!” he shook his hand as if to dismiss the topic. He flew off then, grumbling about the inappropriate attire and how anyone could sneak around with a pink heart on their chest.

The comments rose a fire in Rouge. She maneuvered out of Knuckles’s protective embrace and flew after Eggman. “Why you-! How dare you comment on a lady’s attire!”

He turned around, smirking as he summoned a portal back to her universe.

She gulped, “Oh drat. Can’t a lady get a vacation of her own too around here?” she accepted her defeat and flew through, after all…

She had what G.U.N needed, and…

There was only one Knucklehead for her.

It wasn’t fun if there wasn’t a Master Emerald to steal, or some raging red-faced echidna calling her names.

“It was a sweet summer, I’ll always think of you.” she blew a kiss to the Knuckles in this dimension, who looked relatively sad at her departure.

“Parting… is such sweet sorrow. I barely knew her, and yet,” Poetically, Knuckles bent down and picked up her calling card. “She remembered my birthday.” he thought the card was a birthday gift since he couldn’t read.

He was on the verge of tears as everyone and their mombot looked to each other with a ruffled brow to show their confusion on the matter.

Sonic stepped forward, lifting a finger up- “Uhh… Knuckles-” He was cut off by Amy shaking her head, placing her arm out.

“It was his first love, let him believe what he will.”

Tails scratched his head, “Wait,… is it really his birthday?”

The gang freaked out and hurriedly made plans for him, all the while… he sat and watched the sunset, holding her calling card in his large, fingered hand.

“Did I mention he had FINGERS? Ahhh-haha! Why couldn’t I have just stayed a week longer!?” Rouge fawned to her G.U.N reporting manager, who took a deep breath in and an elongated breath out. “Miss Rouge, PLEASE. For the love of this planet… what did you learn about the other world?”

“I’m telling you, Topaz. it was GORGEOUS.”

#knuckles #rouge #boom!knuckles #knuckles boom #knuxouge #boom!knuxouge #sonic boom #rouge the bat #knuckles the echidna #rouge boom #boom!rouge #cutegirlmayra #sonic prompt #knuxouge prompt

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crusherthedoctor · 6 years

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Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite? - Part 9: CAPTAIN WHISKER

There are some villains I like. And there are some villains I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a series of mine in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the villains in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves in the game(s) they featured in. Keep in mind that these are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, we’ll be starting a new venture as we discuss the scourge of a faraway dimension's seven seas, and the envy of frozen food mascots everywhere: Captain Whisker.

The Gist: Aboard the Tornado, dynamic duo Sonic and Tails were en route to a mysterious energy signal, in the hopes of uncovering what it could possibly be. They were instead greeted with an actual tornado.

They died.

Credits.

"Ahh! We’re getting sucked in!” “Yeah! Alright! Cool!”

Nah, not really. They washed ashore on Southern Island (presumably not too far from Western Island and Angelern Island), where they met a young girl named Marine, whose ambition quickly proved to eclipse her capabilities a bit too much. Initially, the heroes simply want to return home and have a Winston break, but upon being attacked by a mecha T-Rex, they soon realise someone must be causing trouble around these parts. And Sonic doesn't let evil relax for long.

They soon come face to face with the leader of the nautical-themed robot army they're facing: Captain Whisker. Something about the captain looks... familiar.

“...What’s going on to my right? I can’t see anything on that side.”

As it turns out, Whisker wants the Jeweled Scepter, a vastly powerful tool that is said to harness the Power of the Stars, which in Sonic lingo basically means "Get fucked, Goku." He steals it, but not before he gets ambushed by the dramatic arrival of Blaze the Cat... who fails to stop the theft, and doesn't even land a hit on the guy.

E Rank.

It doesn't take long for Blaze to explain to the confused Sonic and Tails that they're the ones in her world, not the other way around. It's assumed that the power of the Jeweled Scepter was responsible for bringing them here in the first place. Blaze also acknowledges that Marine in fact exists. Together, they continue to take on the robot pirates, all the while Whisker continues to commit some dastardly, whisker-twirling crimes. Like freezing the local vikings.

“It’s one of my most famous abilities, right up there with spinning around the globe to turn back time. I’m also quite good at superweaving.”

With everywhere else in the sea covered on the map, the do-gooders eventually arrive at Whisker's front door, where they trick the captain into giving them the info on how to get in. After a bit of backtracking (and telling Marine to fuck off and stop wasting their time), they make it in and kick some ass in the pirates' Soleanna-looking hideout. They corner the pirate leader, but his second-in-command, Johnny, arrives just in time to even the odds.

“No, Sonic. The emblem on my chest is a coincidence.”

They proceed to have an all-out brawl with frankly amazing music, but Johnny chickens out and runs with his pipe between his hydraulics. Crestfallen, but not willing to yield, Whisker insists that he will deliver the Jeweled Scepter to an unnamed client by hook or by crook, and Sonic and Blaze ain't gonna stop him.

But they do. With a little help from the surprise return of Marine, they take back the Jeweled Scepter, defeat the captain's Ghost Titan mech, and blow his ship to kingdom come. With the pirates taken care of, the royal guards assure Blaze that they'll take better care of the magical device. The princess expresses relief, confident that her loyal subjects can defend their kingdom's treasure and honor.

They can't.

In less time than it takes to complete the Water Temple in Ocarina of Time, the Jeweled Scepter gets itself stolen again, this time by the fallen captain's creator and superior: Dr. Eggman... and Eggman Nega, but whatever. Retreating underground, Eggman proceeds to show off with his newfound power (the ladies love the magma dragon trick), but he is eventually defeated by the combined efforts of Super Sonic and Burning Blaze... with a little help from Marine. Again.

The Jeweled Scepter is reclaimed. Sonic and Tails head home. Eggman gets sued by Michel Ancel.

The Design: Captain Whisker is an Eggman robot. He's Eggman's robot. He was built by Eggman. But you wouldn't know that by looking at him.

The logo doesn't grin. Totally different.

Sarcasm aside, I'm actually a fan of Whisker's design, because it strikes a good balance between comical and badass, which reflects well on his bumbling exterior masking a capable fighter. The skull gauntlets are stylish, and I especially like how one of his eyes lacks an iris, as if to stand-in for his hypothetical eyepatch. For a design that can literally be summed up as "Eggman but if he were a robot pirate", there's a surprising amount of thought put into it.

If only the same could be said for Nega...

(By the way, Johnny has a kickass design as well. The torpedo-for-a-head is a winner.)

The Personality: Whisker doesn't just one-up Nega with his design. He one-ups him in personality too. Sure, he shares some traits with vanilla Eggman. He's loud. He's hammy. He takes his moustache grooming seriously (even though his is made of metal). He doesn't like it when people aren't paying attention to him.

But here's the thing. He's got his own distinctive flavor. Rather than copying Eggman's mannerisms beat for beat like Nega does, Whisker offers a different spin. He trades the megalomaniacal theatrics for a buccaneer swagger. He trades the spotlights and the statues in favor of singing shanties and using words that were probably out-of-date even when they were in-date. He's more of an airhead compared to the brilliant Eggman. And he actually expresses fear, in particular at the thought of his master's ire.

“You wouldn’t know him. Big guy, ‘stache like mine, hates hedgehogs, sounds an awful lot like Mike Pollock...”

Compared to Nega, Whisker simply makes much more of an effort to be his own character. In spite of his physical resemblance, he's not just Eggman #2. And in a world where Eggman #2 is an officially approved thing, I can appreciate that.

The Execution: Captain Whisker isn't your Eggman, or your Chaos, or your Black Doom. He's not the final obstacle. He's here to provide a few hijinks before the real mastermind turns up. In the role that he plays, he plays that role marvellously.

While the Captain sadly lacks much screentime outside of evading the heroes' wrath, he makes up for it with a memorable presence and a barrel of laughs. They could have completely phoned it in here. Why wouldn't they? He looks like a ripoff, and he's ultimately the equivalent of a filler villain anyway. And yet somehow, this decoy antagonist has more life and character put into him than a sizable margin of the "serious" villains in the Sonic universe, including Eggman Nega, Mephiles, and every single Archie recolour you can shake a lawsuit at.

Look, if Blaze absolutely MUST have an arch-enemy, and if said arch-enemy absolutely MUST look like Eggman... why not pick Whisker over Nega? He provides a better contrast with Eggman and with Blaze, and you can even handwave his presence as Eggman's way of keeping tabs on Blaze's world whenever he's too occupied with his own. Surely that would be a little better than having an identical looking guy running around in a different dimension (or the future) for no reason.

Well, until then, I'll keep supporting the good captain. I have to. He might kill me.

"Omae wa mou ye scurvy shindeiru. *hic*"

Crusher Gives Captain Whisker a: Thumbs Up!

#Sonic Villains: Sweet or Shite?#Opinion #Sonic the Hedgehog #Captain Whisker #Sonic Rush Adventure

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