#little z

[the-knucklesverse]

Alrighty, I think it's time to dust off the Knucklesverse and really show all our boys.

We're planning on taking one Knuckles and really focusing on him to show who he is, what he's about, and (hopefully) drum up some interest for the many, many aus we have in this, well, au.

Pass it around! Let us know who you want to know more about, send us questions, and let us know what you think!

[mama-qwerty]

Same Difference

Yet another Knucklesverse piece.

~~~~~

Little Z sat to the side of the Sanctuary, watching as a few other Knuckles’ sparred, or chatted, or played a board game. His violet eyes flicked over them, watching so many faces that looked like his laugh and argue and furrow their brows in concentration.

Most of the time, he really enjoyed being here and seeing that he wasn’t alone in the universe. Universes. That there were others like him, who could understand him and protect him and care for him. It made him happy to see other echidna, even if they were technically all different versions of himself.

Most of the time.

Today, it was as if his eyes were pulled to the other echidna’s hands. Some of the others went glove-less at the Sanctuary, the only place they felt comfortable enough to do so. It was refreshing to have more dexterity for delicate tasks, without their bulky mitts getting in the way.

Without their mitts, the definitive spikes on the backs of their hands, right below their last knuckle, were plain to see. The others paid them no mind as they went about their fun. And why would they? Those spikes were part of them, they weren’t exactly something to pay all that much attention to. It would be like thinking about your own tail. Who puts any real thought into their tail? It was just there. It didn’t need contemplated. To the others, their spikes were the same way.

Z dropped his gaze to the back of his own hands. Rubbed his thumb over the spot where his spikes would have grown. Had he survived long enough to reach puberty, they would have started growing in earnest, becoming just as impressive and formidable as the ones on all the other echidna here.

Tiny little bumps marked the spots where he should have sported the same spikes as the others. They had mountains. He had mole hills. You didn’t even know they were there unless you rubbed your fingers across them.

Which is what Z did. He sat with his limbs pulled close to his body, eyes focused on the hands that should have sported spikes, but were glaringly, frustratingly, heart-breakingly bare.

It reminded him of how he’d become what he was. The priests who had been so nice to him as he grew up, so caring and kind and protective, suddenly changed when he had come of age to be linked to the Master Emerald. He trusted them, and they hurt him. The ritual they’d been preparing him for his entire life had gone wrong, horribly wrong, and they . . . didn’t care. He’d screamed for them to help him, and they didn’t. And he had . . .

Tears pricked his eyes, and Z wiped them away in a hurry. He may have been the youngest Knuckles, but he wasn’t a baby. He’d never seen any of the others cry. They were all strong and brave and confident. He had to be like them.

His thumb traveled over the back of his hand again.

Even if he would never be like them. Not really.

“I don’t have ‘em, either.”

The voice startled him out of his thoughts, and Z turned to see Gnarly walking toward him. The lanky teen stopped beside him, lowering himself down to a casual sit with one knee up. He offered Z a little smile, shrugging one shoulder.

“Saw you sittin’ all alone and thought you could use some company.”

Z looked down to the backs of his hands. “I died before they could grow.”

Gnarly watched the boy for a second, before pulling his own mitts off. He held his hands out for Z to see. They were rough and scarred, evidence of a life spent scraping out a meager existence in an overgrown jungle world. He turned them over, showing the backs.

They were as flat and bare as Z’s.

“Miss Maddie says it’s ‘cause we didn’t have much food when I was growing up. Called it malnu . . . malnu . . .” He furrowed his brow, before shaking his head with a shrug. “Mal something. My body didn’t get what it needed so it didn’t grow right.”

Z stared, and reached a tentative hand out to touch Gnarly’s. He paused for a second before making contact, flicking his eyes up to make sure it was okay. Gnarly was one of the more anxious Knuckles’, and Z had learned it was best to check before doing anything that may make him uncomfortable.

A little smile curled Gnarly’s lip, and he nodded. Z’s fingers gently traced the back of the teen’s hands. There weren’t even little bumps like Z had. It was just flat.

“Does it bother you?” Z asked as he pulled his hands back, his voice quiet. “Not having them?”

Gnarly looked away for a second, twisting his mouth a little as he thought. “I dunno. I didn’t even know echidna grew spikes on their hands like that.” He uttered a short laugh. “I didn’t even know I was an echidna before coming here. I just knew I was different from everyone back home.” He looked at his hands, shaking his head. “I guess I kinda felt like something was missing, ‘cause when I saw those thorns, it just seemed right to put ‘em on my gloves like that.”

Z looked down at Gnarly’s gloves and picked one up to slip onto his own hand. It was too big for him, but the large thorn spikes attached to the back made him smile. He felt like the other more grown up Knuckles’.

“There you are,” a new voice said, and the two turned to see Ren and Dread moving closer. “Thought we were gonna play cards.”

“As long as Dread doesn’t cheat this time,” Gnarly said with a snicker.

Dread huffed. “I make no such promises, lad. Ye two just need t’ get better at bluffin’.” He glanced between Gnarly and Z. “What be ye two chattin’ about?”

Z pulled his lips tight. It was one thing to talk to another of the younger Knuckles’ about this, but Dread and Ren were older. Grown up. They would just laugh if they found out Z didn’t have his spikes.

The little zombie pulled his hands closer to him, tucking them in to hide the backs.

Ren flicked his eyes to Gnarly’s ungloved hands, and the way Z was acting, his gaze softening a bit.

“Oh, I get it.” He moved to sit next to his little brother. “Don’t sweat it, Little Z. I don’t got ‘em, neither.”

Z’s head snapped up, eyes wide. “You don’t?”

The heavily scarred echidna shook his head, pulling his gloves off to show. Where his spikes should have been were jagged bits of broken bone protruding from the backs of his hands. Z winced. They looked painful.

“Do they hurt?”

Ren shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“How did that happen?”

“Sometimes the egghead’s bots don’t go down as easy as you think,” he said, flexing his fingers. “They musta been experimentin’ with some new metal or something a couple years back, ‘cause it took a lot more umph to take ‘em out.”

A silence fell over the group, and Z bit his lip. “Sorry, Ren. That musta hurt.”

The older echidna shrugged. “Eh, sometimes you break the bots,” he curled his hands into fists and held them up. “And sometimes they break you.” He waved his hand before dropping them into his lap. “It happens.”

“’Suppose it be my turn t’ show what I got,” Dread said with a sigh as he sat on Gnarly’s other side. He peeled his gloves off and showed the scars on the backs of his hands. “Lost ‘em when I be ‘bout yer age, L’il Z.”

Z’s eyes went wide. The scars were jagged and pink, crisscrossed with faint white lines that had long ago healed. “What happened?”

Dread pulled his lips tight. “That be a story I don’t believe ye’re ready t’ hear, lad.” His voice was soft, and held a strange combination of sadness and bitterness. “But I’ll tell ye this, losin’ ‘em didn’t stop me from becomin’ a mighty fine pirate captain.”

“And I still bash those Council bots just fine,” Ren added with a little smirk.

Gnarly shrugged. “I never knew I was supposed to have ‘em, so I didn’t exactly miss ‘em.”

Z looked between the three, his eyes big and round. “So . . . it’s okay if I don’t have ‘em?”

The triplets chuckled a little, shaking their heads as Ren lifted his hand to show the back again.

“Little man, these ain’t what make you a Knuckles. Ya gotta wanna do the right thing, and fight for what ya believe in.”

Gnarly nodded. “You gotta stick with your friends, and do what you have to do to keep everyone together.”

“Ye gotta destroy yer enemies and show ye be better than any o’ the rest of ‘em.”

Three pairs of eyes turned to Dread. The pirate smiled, flashing his gold tooth.

“’R maybe that just be me,” he chuckled. “Fine. Ye gotta . . . somethin’ somethin’ the true treasure be the friends we made along the way, I dunno. I still be figurin’ it out meself, t’ be honest.”

The other three snickered, and Z smiled as he handed Gnarly back his glove.

“Thanks, guys.”

“Feel better?” Ren asked with a smile, an eyebrow cocked.

Z nodded. “Feel better.”

“Good,” Dread said, grabbing his gloves as he pulled himself to his feet. “C’mon lad. Ye can wear me gloves if ye like, while I hand these two their tails in a completely fair and non-cheatin’ game o’ cards.”

Ren barked out a laugh as they headed toward the card table. “Fair and non-cheating? You even know the meaning of those words?”

“Maybe he stole a dictionary from someone,” Gnarly said with a giggle.

Dread leveled a stink-eye at both of them. “Ye be makin’ me look bad in front o’ the lad.”

“You don’t need our help to do that!” Ren laughed as they took their seats. “You do a good enough job on your own.”

“I’ll make ye eat that hat o’ yers, Rennie.”

“Don’t call me Rennie.”

“Oh lighten up, Rennie,” Gnarly said pulling the cards from the table’s drawer. “It’s your turn to deal.”

“Stay close lad,” Dread said, lowering his voice as he spoke to Z. “I’ll show ye how t’ tell when these two lubbers be bluffin’.”

“Stop warping the kid’s mind, Dread.” Ren shuffled the cards, his eyes cast to his pirate brother. “He’s too young for this kinda thing.”

“If ye say so, Rennie.” Dread flicked his eyes down to Z and dropped a quick wink.

Little Z smiled as he slid into the chair next to Dread. He pulled the pirate’s gloves over his little hands, and grunted when he discovered just how heavy they were. But he kept them on, and watched as the light in the Sanctuary shone on the metal spikes attached to the back of them.

The card game went on around him, and Z watched as the three older echidna played and argued and bluffed. It was nice to know there were others who were like him. Who didn’t have those signature spikes on the back of their hands. It made him feel less alone. Less weird.

There were plenty of other things that made him different. But this was one thing he was glad he had in common with them.

[soupnwaffles]

i know i’ve been like very quiet for a few days — super duper quiet but shhhhh…

i’ve been a big busy guy ! so, um…yeah. but anyways zheng, sweet hyper awesome princess warrior queen, zheng !!

i’ve been seeing lots of little z on the dash, and’ve been thinking things — headcannon things !!

she falls somewhere between 2-5ish — older than izzy, younger than jim

very demanding. like extremely demanding ! iz is def midly afraid of her, but she doesn’t mean any harm…usually

she’s a sucker for storytime on the deck ! she’s marked out the perfect spot — right in front curled up w/ auntie !

avid broth drinker ! most of the babies aboard have some sort of fruity drink but citrus doesn’t go well for her, so instead roach fixes her a mug-full of warm broth :)

she loves when auntie does her ponytails !! sometimes she lets eddie mess with them, but never iz — he and brushes are not to be near each other…

she is a cranky baby ! but unlike iz, she doesn’t get fussy, she starts…attacking.

stede knows this very well — with the bite marks to prove it

she goes so soft around olu and auntie !! even if she’s screaming and stomping around, the moment she hears auntie she’s falling, holding her arms for uppies and acting like she wasn’t just chewing ed out over the smallest thing ever—

she gets really self conscious whenever she’s littler than normal, opting to hide being auntie and keeping her distance…

uhhhhh that’s all for now ! i have school things to attend to which involves a loooong bus ride so yeah, bye !!

[n00h]

Pokemon Chess is a beautiful game where even when every piece but your king has been taken you can still win simply because their king missed their attack when you got close enough

[gr3-d12]

we like watching birds which is good because we have no choice ‼️-> losing with offence losing with stall the only anwser i see is use a landorus-t -> my dick is the future?

[hms-no-fun]

if a trans woman complains about the ongoing campaign of trans genocide in the united states and the uk and your response is “well it’s not TECHNICALLY genocide yet so you really shouldn’t use that word because it makes us look bad” i think you should perhaps actually just shut the fuck up and read literally any news coverage containing the words “trans” and “desantis,” just for starters

like wow so they’re not literally dragging us to camps??? it’s not literally a nazi germany style holocaust so you can’t call it genocide????? buddy do you think the fascists are BLUFFING?????????? grow the fuck up you child, because if you’re even a little bit not-cishetwhite they’re gonna use the “threat” us trans people represent as a pretext to come after you.

we call it a genocidal agenda NOW because that is THEIR STATED INTENTION. that is the ONLY logical outcome of the policies they’re proposing and the words they say and the hate they foment. we call it a genocidal agenda NOW because by the time it actually becomes a genocide it’ll be TOO FUCKING LATE

[insertcommonnoun]

Hey everyone I am really sick so made the alphabet in Spore

let me know your favourite and like & subscribe for more Spore

[determinedowl23]

Holy shit

[zarla-s]

We move forward, 'cause we can't go back...

It's the EIGHTH anniversary of Handplates, and the first one after I finished the comic back in July! I decided to dig up a very old wip that I never finished and finally do it. I've always loved WeMoveForward by The Midnight, and I think it applies not only to the comic itself but also this period after it... there's no way to go back to when I was doing it, only moving forward after it's done.

Even more appropriately, since I did this wip, these characters all moved forward even further... even as this sat in my files, they moved forward, in a sense. I don't know, the song gives me a sort of plaintive, longing, bittersweet feeling... it's hard to explain.

I had a very insistent voice in my head that always made me do a Handplates page over the years I was working on it, no matter what happened. I wasn't sure if that voice would ever stop, even when it's done, but it has! It's gotten quieter now, mostly only nagging me about other projects I should be working on (Defrag, the Ace Attorney/Frozen fic, web design, fic ideas, art ideas...) whenever I'm doing something, much like it did before I started the comic.

How I feel about Handplates finishing though is strange. At times it doesn't feel like it's over, even if I don't feel like I need to do another page. At other times I get sad thinking about it and I miss it, and other times I look back on it with amazement that I was able to do it. Sometimes I look back on it and think about what was happening in my life at that time, and sometimes when I look at it it's unreal and it's hard to believe I even did it, like someone else did the whole thing. It's like it's there but it's not, it's present but it isn't. It's a very strange feeling, it's hard to describe or pin down. I know it'll always be with me in some way, but it is strange to be able to focus so much attention on other things without that feeling of having to set aside a few days to do a page every two weeks... not bad or anything, but I'm not used to it still.

I don't know! When I read the comments on the last page a lot of them made me cry, especially those talking about how the comic had been their childhood, and now their childhood is over. It was sad to think that I had a part in something like that ending... but it ends for everyone, no matter what you do. We, you and me, everyone... we move forward, 'cause we can't go back. That line was so evocative for me that I even used it as a chapter title for the penultimate chapter on Comicfury.

I don't know, just nostalgic thoughts! I don't know if that's the right word for it... but thank you to all of you who read it and enjoyed it. Even now I hear from new people coming to it and reading through it again now that it's done. Even if it's finished, it's still new to people just finding it. It's still "living" in a sense. And thanks to those of you who stuck around even though it's done, I appreciate it. |D

(As a note, the Gaster ukagaka has a surprise if you boot him on the anniversary after seeing the brothers, if you haven't done that)

[index] [patreon]

[littlelionhorses]

Goku will forever be my emotion support dad 🐉

[turtletoads]

so many tails

[mama-qwerty]

Playing A Round

Have another bit of Knucklesverse writing. 'Cause this one was fun.

~~~~~

Quetzal curled in the far corner of the Sanctuary, his tail lazily flicking back and forth. It was a slow day—only a handful of Knux's were present at the moment. Dread, Gnarly, and Renegade sat at the table, playing a round of poker, while Little Z snoozed against the large dragon's side.

Bored. Q was soo booored. Sure, it was nice to nap and have a quiet day with his tribe. While he loved just about all the other Knuckles’, sometimes things could be a little too loud or crowded when there were a lot of them here.

But that didn’t mean that a quiet day had to be boring.

He looked down to the little zombie against him, a smile curling his lips. His eyes flicked up to the three echidna at the table. And an idea brewed.

If he really focused, Q could speak to the other Knux's while in his dragon form. Not much, just a few words, but it would do. He flicked Z gently to wake him, and leaned down to whisper in the boy's ear.

The little zombie listened intently, a smile curling his lips. Always up for mischief himself, Z nodded and hurried off.

Meanwhile, at the table, the game had gone from friendly pastime to fierce competition. The main battle was between Dread and Ren (of course), and Gnarly seemed a bit annoyed they'd taken what was supposed to be a fun way to pass the time and turned it into yet another way to try and best each other.

"C'mon guys, this is supposed to be fun," the teen said, the annoyance evident in his tone. "I was having fun, and I'm losing!"

"Aye, it be all fun an' games 'til this one falls behind," Dread said with a smirk, hooking a thumb toward Ren. His urban twin growled.

"I ain't 'falling behind', you're cheatin'."

A look of shock crossed the pirate's face. "I would never! I swear on me ship I be playin' as straight as an arrow, dear brother." A little smirk curled his lips, which didn't fill Ren with a lot of confidence at the honesty of the remark.

"Don't call me that."

"We all be brothers here, Rennie."

"Don't call me that, either."

Dread let out a snicker. "Feelin' a might touchy ‘cause ye're losin' to such a fine example of a pirate?"

Ren rolled his eyes. "Are you gonna play, or are you gonna keep yappin'?"

"YES," Gnarly said, his own lip curling in a snarl. "Can we play, please? It's your call, Dread."

The pirate cast another grin to Ren before looking back down at his cards. That smirk never left, and he tossed a few more poker chips into the middle. "Raise ye 10."

Ren frowned, looking down at his cards. Then his eyes flicked back up to Dread. "You're bluffin'."

Dread narrowed his eyes. "Maybe. But maybe I ain’t. How sure be ye?"

The two were locked in a steely gaze, eyes narrowing as they sized the other up. Finally Ren uttered a loud grunt, before tossing his cards to the table.

"Fine. I fold."

Dread uttered a little chuckle as he displayed his cards. Ren growled.

"You were bluffin!"

The pirate shrugged as he reached forward to pull the pot to him.

"Tis the name of the game, brother," he said, just as an ace slipped out of the cuff of his glove.

Ren leapt to his feet, slamming his fist on the table. "I KNEW IT!"

Dread looked between him and the card, a look of shock and confusion on his muzzle. "I didn't cheat! I don't know how that got there!"

"Yeah, right!"

"I don't NEED t' cheat t' beat ye!" Dread shouted, getting to his own feet. "'Sides, when I cheat I hide the cards in me vest! Ye seen me hands the whole time!"

"Guys, c'mon!" Gnarly shouted, holding his hands out to try and calm his brothers, when two cards fell out of his own gloves.

Ren and Dread pointed at their younger brother.

"CHEATER!"

"I'VE BEEN LOSING!" Gnarly slammed his fists on the table, making the plastic chips clatter. "I don't know where those cards came from!"

"I think ye just pretended to lose so ye could lure us into a false sense of security," Dread said, eyes narrowed. "Then yer luck would suddenly change, aye?"

"That doesn't even make sense!"

"Maybe you planted those cards on him to shift the focus off you," Ren said, pointing to Dread. "Sneaky jerk."

Dread cocked an eyebrow at him. "Are ye serious? What advantage would that give me?"

"I dunno, you're the sneaky pirate here."

"Ye're outta yer mind!"

"Can you play without cheating for once in your life??" Ren shouted, slamming his fist against the table, and a number of poker chips fell out of his glove.

Dread and Gnarly pointed at their middle brother. "CHEATER!"

Ren shook a few more chips from his glove, a look of confusion on his face. "I dunno how those got there!"

"Maybe ye're the one casting blame elsewhere t' hide yer wrongdoing!"

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

The three descended into bickering and accusations, until a soft laugh floated over them. Dread paused first, holding up a hand to quiet the other two.

"Ye hear that?"

They all paused, looking around for the source of the laughter. A look of annoyance passed over Dread's face, and he looked under the table.

"YE LITTLE SNEAK!"

When Dread stood, he had one of Z's arms in his grip.

Ren looked under his side and found the boy’s other arm. Pulling it out, he looked over to Dread.

"Looks like we've been played."

"Aye."

The laughter got louder, and Little Z came out of hiding, his armless shoulders shaking in his merriment.

"You guys were so funny!"

Three sets of narrowed eyes watched as he came closer, and Dread resisted the urge to smack the boy with his own arm repeatedly about the head.

"Very funny, lad," he said, tossing the boy's arm back. Ren followed suit, and Z called his limbs back into place. "Where'd ye get such an idea?"

Z smiled innocently, and shrugged. "No place. Bye!"

The Shatter triplets watched him go, and Ren rubbed the back of his neck with a hand.

"So, uh, I guess you weren't cheating. Sorry 'bout that."

Dread shrugged. "I cheated f'r the first two rounds, but when it became clear how unimaginably bad ye be at bluffin', I quit after that."

With a growl, Ren launched himself at Dread, and the two rolled on the ground, knocking the table over in their brawl.

Gnarly uttered a soft sigh, shaking his head as he wandered toward the kitchen for a snack.

"I thought I was the paranoid, unstable one."

[glossytreasures]

[stardestroyer81]

✨🍕Happy first anniversary to Pizza Tower!!!🍕✨

More specifically, the full release of Pizza Tower! This wonderful game has been a large part of my life in this past year, such as being the sole reason why rats are one of my favorite animals now alongside influencing my artstyle to be a smidge toonier!

I just had to draw a little something for it, and it's definitely one of the most detail-intensive Pizza Tower drawings I've made yet! 💙✨

[formerlyz]

Saw this tweet so naturally I had to do this

[zhxngii]

oh to be zhongli and haitham's little pet who'll do nothing more than please them and do whatever they ask. they call you a pretty little thing as you sit patiently on your knees for them, them taking turns to stuff your mouth full of their cocks loving the way you gag on their thick lengths. the way tears threaten to fall from your eyes, the drool dripping down from your chin and out the sides of your mouth.