#personally I like the idea that sonic started to realize that he may of had romantic feelings for shadow during sa2

[skachacharealsmooth]

Actually obsessed w the way sonic looks at shadow

[allpainnogain99]

Time to screech about Sonic Prime S3E1

Alrighty. Having taken a while to screech about the first episode to myself...now I’m gonna screech about it here LOL I’ve got a LOT I could say about it, soooo here goes. Enjoy my random musings and mostly just me reiterating what happened in the episode lmao

Starting off with Nine. He says that the Grim could have been everything Sonic ever wanted. He and Sonic have the tendency to talk past each other in a way, and they were both inadvertantly using each other. Neither is entirely in the right OR wrong here (which I will absolutely go into more depth about).

Gotta take a second to talk about the fortress Nine creates. I absolutely love the symbolism of it (well, what I’m choosing to take as symbolism, anyhoo). He could very easily have just created a simple lab for himself, like he used to have (and like Tails had), but he didn’t. He created a giant, elaborate fortress. Why? Well, for the obvious reason of “someone might come after me, I need protection”, but I like to think there’s more than that. It’s about power (this will also get brought up again). Nine is more than capable of protecting himself, which is how he has managed to survive for so long on his own. But now? It’s not just about protecting himself. It’s about showing that he can protect himself. It’s a physical manifestation of everything he has had to hold inside for his entire life. All of the mental strength he has, all for the world (or lack thereof, as the case may be) to see. He doesn’t have to hide anymore, and he wants everyone to know.

Then we switch over to the two hedgies, and oh boy is there a lot to talk about here.

It hurts seeing Sonic so lost and confused as to why Nine would have left, “betraying” him in the process. Seeing it from Sonic’s point of view, he doesn’t understand why Nine would want to leave behind what he believed would be the perfect chance to make everything right. Despite being told all the way back in season 1 that Nine wanted to start “our new life” over in the Grim, Sonic failed to see how much the idea of them staying together meant to Nine, as just the two of them. He doesn’t see how much he hurt Nine by not seeing him as his own person. No matter how much he tried to deny it, he was somewhat using Nine as a stand-in for Tails. Do I believe Sonic was being malicious and purposefully stringing Nine along? No. Of course not. That’s not in Sonic’s nature. He was just desperate to have his friends back, and failed to realize how much his words and actions were hurting Nine. Which of course is still wrong and something he needs to realize and understand.

And then there’s Shadow. While many people headcanoned that Shadow would just up and punch Sonic the moment he stepped foot inside the cave, I was pleasantly surprised that he did not. Granted, it was because their lives were literally on the line, but still. Shadow took one moment to say “I toldya so”, and left it at that, prioritizing their escape. He didn’t constantly berate Sonic as they were running, either. The insane amount of character growth that shows just makes me so happy.

And can we just talk about the escape scene? (both parts LOL but in due time). The way they both looked out for each other as they ran, and the fact that Shadow risked falling behind to make sure that Sonic made it to the ground safely??? I just...golly I can’t screech about that enough. (Also this brief frame of Shadow going from being on guard to being annoyed about Sonic’s rough landing is absolutely hilarious and it will live rent-free in my head...forever.)

The ghost scene. Shadow doesn’t berate Sonic for stopping, he’s calm and even tries to reach out to Sonic.

He understands how much it hurts Sonic to see the illusions, a major turnaround from how he acted in season 2 (granted, Shadow had more time to come to terms with the ghosts, seeing as how he had been in and out of Ghost Hill before, but I digress.). He does try to get Sonic to move on, but in the end gives him his chance to grieve and reflect, which Sonic has not had a chance to properly do this entire time. I love how caring Shadow is in this moment. (Also SEGA LET SHADOW SAY “OUR FRIENDS” YOU COWARDS! ROUGE IS SHADOW’S FRIEND, DAMNIT).

And Sonic. How he had gone from hopeful in season 2 that he could save them because he had all the shards, to now being emotionally scarred by the idea of not being able to fix it if they can’t get the shards back from Nine...and watching literal manifestations of specters of your friends being drawn into oblivion...damn it hurts. But I’m glad he was able to snap out of it enough to follow Shadow out.

Escape pt 2: Hedgie Boogaloo. These two are so in sync, they barely have to exchange any words at all, they know exactly what the other is going to be doing, and I love it. I mean, look at this.

Shadow reaching out his hand and Sonic instinctually grabbing it to pull each other forward? Hell yeah!!! And here, all it takes is one glance and they both had the same exact plan. I cannot get over how much I love seeing Sonic and Shadow work together like this.

Nine making his own Metal Sonic. This means soooo much. Nine feels like Sonic betrayed him, but he can’t bring himself to entirely give up the idea of having Sonic by his side. The solution? Create a robotic version, of course. But also, the tiny bit of malicious tone when Nine says “Hello...friend” just gave me the shivers, I love it.

“If there’s anything knowing you has taught me, it’s that there’s always another way”. This line made me screech out loud, I love it so much. Shadow being willing to admit that Sonic not only taught him something, but that Sonic taught him to think outside the box, that things could have more than one solution, that there’s no such thing as giving up. I was grinning like an idiot at this, because yay character development!!!

(ALSO fduoghdfoighdf my grumpy baby being annoyed I can’t oh my golly look how adorable gahhhhh)

ALSO THEY BOTH GET TO ENTER ANOTHER SHATTERSPACE TOGETHER WOOOHOOO!!!!

It was all about power (remember that earlier? XD). In a way, Shadow knows what Nine is feeling. Feeling like the entire world has betrayed you, and having the chance to get back at them? Sound familiar? Granted they went about it two different ways (Shadow trying to destroy everything vs Nine trying to literally create a new world, to an extent), but they both went off the deep end when offered a chance at an ultimate power. Neither one cared what was happening around them, all that mattered was that they got what they wanted. But of course Shadow won’t admit to seeing himself in Nine’s actions, instead opting to just be like “OK yeah this kid is a menace, gotta destroy him”. Do I wish Shadow would be more willing to give Nine a chance? Absolutely. Is he going to? Probably not, that’s more Sonic’s shtick.

Was Sonic in the wrong for wanting to get his friends back? Nope, not in the slightest. That’s what he wanted all along. He spent so long trying to do that, after all. Was he wrong in seeing Nine as a stand-in for Tails? Absolutely. Again, he may not see it that way, but both his actions and words make it clear that he at the very least had a hard time seeing Nine as his own person. Even now, with the words “this isn’t you, Nine”, shows that Sonic doesn’t truly know Nine, because yes, this is Nine. Has been from the very beginning. A broken, distrustful, lost child who just wants a home and safety, friends or no friends.

As for Nine? Was he wrong for wanting safety and a home? Of course not. Everybody deserves safety and a home. Is he wrong for not caring what happens to New Yoke? Ehh...thin ice there. Wrong for not caring what happens to any Shatterspace? Yeah, there the line is crossed. At least in Ghost Hill there wasn’t any living beings (sure, the ghosts/illusions were there, but keyword there is living), but what about the others? Nine could end up having the lives of entire universes on his hands, even his own if he’s not careful.

Grim Sonic. And the fight against Grim Sonic. Have I ever mentioned how much I love seeing these two work in sync? Just that one little nod, and off they both go. It’s such a treat to see, and I will never stop loving it.

(Also Nine just casually making a robotic copy of Birdie is hilarious to me. Like, “Yeah, I made copies of Sonic’s friends, but also the bird is cool, so I just copied her too ‘cause why not?”)

“At least I can trust them!”. Nine is willing to spend his entire life with just robots for friends, and why? Because he can program them however he wants, to be whoever he wants. Nine is eerily similar to the original Eggman in that regard. He’s done with dealing with people, because people are inferior and betray you. Robots can be reprogrammed if anything goes wrong (Sonic Heroes, anyone?). Part of me is curious to see just how close to Eggman that Nine will end up becoming.

Talking about rebuilding the prism. This whole scene. What takes literally the span of just a few seconds, says so much, without even using a single word. Sure, Nine said he would need one missing thing, but after that? It’s all spoken through body language. Nine looks down to Sonic’s hands and shoes. It’s subtle, but he’s trying to show Sonic what he means.

Of course, Sonic doesn’t figure it out, he doesn’t see where Nine is looking. but you know who does? That’s right. Shadow. His face says it all. He doesn’t even have to say “I know what you’re up to”, it’s entirely unspoken, and I love that.

And Nine? He responds in kind. Look at this.

It’s a challenge. “Oh, you think you have me figured out? Then try to stop me”. Again, no words need to be said. He’s calm, confident, smug even. He thinks he has Sonic and Shadow right where he wants them. He doesn’t see any way that they’ll win, and he, again, wants them to know it.

But he didn’t account for how ready Shadow is for war.

Being entirely willing to take on all the Grim robots in order to keep Sonic safe? Sure, it’s for the good of the entire universe, but also because as much as he doesn’t say it, he cares. I mean, listen to what he says as he’s carrying Sonic away. He doesn’t say “This is to save the universe” or “we’re all dead if he catches you”, he says “this is for your own good”. Someone who doesn’t care wouldn’t say that. He’s getting so much good characterization in just this one episode alone, and I hope it keeps up, even if he ends up being seen in small amounts (I swear if he only appears in the finale I will cry).

Aaaand yeah. That’s the end of the episode. I honestly can’t wait to see what happens when the rest of the season drops. I am soooo not ready for it to end, but I’m excited to see how it ends.

TL;DR I screeched like crazy about how much I love this episode LOL

[sparky-x]

Hey guys. No art today, but I’m here to talk about an idea for a Sonic Reboot that I conceptualized.

It was originally titled Sonic Neoverse. This was made to, well, fix many of the problems plaguing the franchise. I had this 2 years before Sonic Frontiers came out/announced. Most of the events and characters were lifted from the games, and comics, but with a few major adjustments. Keep in mind that this topic will be in two parts. In Part 1 I will be discussing about the characters in the reboot, and then I will talk about the world and setting in Part 2.

Let’s start with the face of the entire franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog!

Sonic’s personality would be a mix between Adventure, Toon, and a bit of modern.He Would have his family back. It is composed of Aleena, Manic, and Sonia from underground. Because he had two separate moms, I did some alterations and made Bernie the hedgehog Aleena’s daughter. 

After his parents disappeared, the Oracle of Delphius sent the triplets to their respective adoptive parents. Sonic’s caretaker would be Longclaw much like in her movie incarnation.

Knuckles may at times not be the guardian of the Master Emerald because……. The Echidnas from Archie would be present in the neoverse; therefore, Knuckles is no longer the last of his kind. Locke, Knuckles’s Father will be the one to look after the Master emerald.

Amy Rose would be drastically different in Neoverse. I turn Amy Rose into a tomboy in this version. I also had her like a female counterpart to Sonic similar to how Batgirl is a female counterpart to Batman. Changing her would mean getting rid of her Piko Piko hammer. I have to come up with many alternative weaponry for this new version of Amy from dual blades to axel’s disc weapons from Kingdom Hearts. The latter that I kind of gone with to coincide with her ‘surname’.

Silver the Hedgehog would be a lot smarter and wiser in Neoverse unlike his original incarnation (‘A well thought out strategy’).

Shadow the Hedgehog would be the same as he was in Sonic Adventure 2 but he’ll later have a personality like Jak from Jak and Daxter.

E-102 Gamma? Well, I’ve had him rebuilt by Rotor and teamed with the Freedom Fighters along with Big the Cat and Amy. It was to match the main cast of Sonic Adventure DX. and since Cream was part of the Freedom Fighters in Archie, Team Rose had been merged with it.

The freedom fighters would return in the neoverse having a massive role during eggman’s invasion of Mobius. Most of the characters like Tangle from IDW, Tekno from Fleetway, and scrapped characters like Tiara Boobowski would be brought back in Neoverse. Talking about an all-star franchise….. that would never be realized as the Sonic Franchise is as good as it is. 😔😔😔😔😔

Every original Sonic media had to have some new things right? Well the secret is that the entire Sonic Neoverse all started with remaking Sonic 06. By that, I mean the one character everyone seemed to dislike, Princess Elise.

What I did with Elise was that she was going to be much more serious and warrior-like than her original self (In a natural way). Unlike her original counterpart, She has a deep hatred for the humans/overlanders especially when Eggman attacked her kingdom. Elise in Neoverse is now a Mobian Sphinx, a mythical lion with wings and can shoot energy blasts. She’s also physically strong given that her lion race were warriors. I will discuss more of Neoverse Elise’s history for part 2.

With the heroes said and done. Time to talk about the villains of the neoverse starting with Dr. Eggman

In Neoverse, Dr. Eggman was formerly a GUN member when he fell into his own Retro-Orbital Chaos Compressor. It corrupted his mind making him hostile toward the Mobians, and during the Overlander war, he joined the opposing faction. When the war was over. He overthrew King Acorn and launched the attack on Mobius. At one point he retired from his quest and hid for 2 years. After he decided to get back on his quest again after learning that the creature (Chaos) was a powerful creature.

All of his henchmen from Metal Sonic to Dingo would be in the Neoverse.

Time for some other villains beside Eggman himself.

Starting with Zavok. Instead of being, well, generic, I’ve turned him into a massive manchild who would fly into fits of rage when he doesn’t get his way.

I saw the Zeti or the deadly six as Bowser Koopalings knockoffs, so I did some adjustments to make them standout. The Zeti would be more reptilian with a primitive, cavemen-like personality.

Mephiles and Iblis would return and both would fuse into Solaris like in the original instead Solaris would be along the lines of Darksied from DC.

Ifrit from Sonic Rivals would join a reborn Mephiles’s team. The two along with Iblis would become a more powerful Solaris.

Remember Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric? Remember its antagonist, Lyric the Last Ancient? Well, I’ve made him a member of the order of Ixis, a group led by Ixis Naugus. He specializes in necromancy. When he was accidentally revived by Eggman, he used parts of the doctor’s aiding Egg Pawns to create a temporary body similar to his original counterpart.

Now for everyone’s hated villain, Infinite the Jackal. Rather than a generic shadow wannabe, He would have been a disgruntled scientist from Soleanna. ‘wrongfully’ rejected by Elise (due to his poor research). Infinite would later join Eggman in his effort to overthrow Elise.

Emperor Metallix would return in a saga based on the Metal Virus arc. About that along with the Zombots? Stay tuned for part 2.

Mammoth Mogul would also return along with Ixis Naugus, who would have ties to only Sonic’s missing parents but also the Phantom Ruby from Sonic Mania………..

Some people were unaware that in the Archie reboot era, Dr. Eggman had Egg Bosses, a group of robotic used Mobians who controlled each of Sonic’s world’s regions. These guys would now work for Mammoth Mogul rather than Eggman. Like their original incarnations, they are assigned to the regions of Mobius for global domination. Some members like Nephthys the Vulture and Thunderbolt the Chinchilla would be excluded from the group.

Nephthys would be among the heroes along with being the leader of the Midesta Freedom Fighters (AKA The Desert Raiders From Archie). I based Thunderbolt off of a particular Sonic fan who wants to ‘merge dimensions’…….

Great Battle Kukku/Battle Lord Kukku would be a greedy corporate boss who tried to deforest Coco island so he could build an amusement park. He would do the same to the Babylon Gardens.

Lord Mordred Hood from Archie would become Amy Rose’s worst enemy. Why? We shall find out in part 2.

Now lastly the final two villainous groups. That is The Nocturnus Clan, and the Dark Legion from Archie.

 That one point, because of the similarities these two had, I decided to mix the two together, that means Imperator Ix may be Dimitri’s ancestor. Dimitri himself would be Enerjak like his Archie Counterpart. Kragok would be the legion’s leader and Dr. Finitevus would return as a member of the clan.

Most of the characters I’ve reimagined seemed to be a lot better than we think though the other half remained the same as they were. I have intentionally left out major details of the Neoverse characters like Ixis Naugus. These will all be explained in part two.

[midnightshard06]

Flufftober Day 28

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/50489362/chapters/129336673

Summary: Super's found out that he sort of enjoys physical touch, at least from some people. Now if only he actually knew how to ask for it.

Pairing: None

Warnings: None

Word Count: ~850 words

AN: Set in my Chaos Uncontrolled AU (also this was finished yesterday I just was unable to post it here yesterday)

@flufftober

Super was slowly starting to come to the realization that he sort of liked physical touch. Not from a lot of people, but from a few he trusted. Maybe that small list would expand over time, but he wasn’t in any sort of rush. He still wasn’t really sure why. Maybe it didn’t matter why. 

Tails was the one he enjoyed some sort of physical affection from the most though. Even before he’d struck a deal with Sonic and Tails he’d felt sort of… pulled to the fox? More at ease at least. At first he’d blamed it on some sort of influence from Sonic but he’d learned that while Sonic did have some sway over his own personality, he was very much his own person and there was plenty that was different about him. Whatever the case may be, Tails had quickly become his favorite person. Not that he’d admit that out loud, but Super was pretty sure Tails and Sonic were already well aware.

Of course this newfound realization came with its own set of complications. He had no idea how to really express when he was ok with someone hugging him or something. He was still worried about initiating anything himself because he was worried about hurting someone. Despite his training with Shadow going well he was still worried about accidentally hurting someone. It still felt like the core of his person was that angry creature that wanted nothing more than to hurt and destroy. With Tails it was different though.

Somehow Tails had managed to calm him down multiple times when he was out of control. Through his words, but more importantly some sort of physical contact like a hug. It somehow never failed to calm Super down, or at least snap him out of whatever was going on so he could get himself back under control. Maybe it was because he really didn’t want to hurt Tails. He didn’t want to hurt any of the people he called friends, some more tentatively than others, but even in the beginning he’d been hesitant to do anything to the fox.

Sure he’d gone after Tails during their first meeting but he never actually laid a hand on him. He might have had Knuckles not stepped in, but Super could have easily caught Tails before the echidna stepped in. After that? Well he hadn’t even tried to go after Tails; his attention focused more on people like Shadow. Maybe some sort of influence from Sonic really was to blame for that, but Super found he didn’t mind even if that was the case. It put him slightly more at ease knowing that there was someone else who could reliably pull him back from the brink.

One night he decided to try something. Sonic encouraged him enough to actually get him to try, but thankfully quieted down as Super tried to nonchalantly approach the couch Tails was sitting on. It was the weekly movie night that Sonic and Tails tried to keep up. Of course sometimes things got in the way, but they were fairly consistent. Super had always just kept himself back seated for these nights, watching through Sonic’s eyes. Tonight though, tonight he was trying something different.

Super awkwardly set down the popcorn he’d had Sonic prepare before sitting down stiffly. Of course he tried to make the action look far more natural, and maybe it did with the dimmer lighting. If Tails noticed he didn’t say anything, just smiling at Super. “So… why the sudden switch up? I’m pretty Sure Sonic was the one who went into the kitchen to make popcorn.”

“Yeaaah.” Super flicked an ear. “I just wanted to try out this whole movie night thing from a different perspective?” 

Tails chuckled. “Are you asking that?” Super just huffed and looked away. “It’s ok if you want to try things Super. I was just asking.” Tails scooted a bit closer and pat his arm.

Super relaxed a bit at the touch and did his best to settle in for the movie. Sonic helped calm him down further by keeping a running commentary on the movie. While normally he might be annoyed by the constant talking, right now it actually helped keep him focused on the movie. He became so focused in fact that he nearly jumped when he felt Tails settle into his side.

Once Super realized what was happening he felt himself relax entirely. As usual the fox had succeeded in calming him down without a single word. Admittedly Super had wanted this but still. It was more of a struggle to focus on the movie now but he didn't really care. All he cared about was the fox currently snuggled into his side. 

Slowly he reached up a hand and placed it on Tails' head. When Tails showed no negative reaction to the move, Super began to carefully run his claws through Tails' fur. Super smiled to himself as the fox leaned into the touch. Yeah this was nice. Hopefully he could actually figure out how to ask to do this more often. For now though? Now he'd just enjoy the moment.

[evachuber]

More theories because I am on a brainrot

I spent some time to think of theories and what everything means during the wait for part 2, and whilst it's quick, I do think I should lay down some I have right now and see if they make sense. Let's begin.

Spoilers for all of Chapter 2 but I think you all knew that the moment you saw my post's title.

I do think that if David IS telling the truth about his secret, then Hu can be the three suicides one. After all, she mentions not being useful after David's big reveal and seems to hold a significant amount of trauma due to that.

It WOULD also help show why the fuck she keeps babying Nico, seeing them as someone who needs guidance on how to survive a killing game with people like Ace in the room, not to mention, she already has a friendship with Nico, so it's a starting point.

Does that mean I like her?

Look I may have such low standards I like Veronika but Jesus Christ Hu is a fucking annoying character, just cuz she has a good reason DOESN'T mean she's likable

ANYWHO, enough Hu hate or else she will give me at least 20 Aneurisms in a matter of a millisecond, we got another killer suspicion

Do I believe it? No. Not because It's not right, but because if it IS right, my discord pfp changes and I am naturally very biased because of it.

People are saying the killer is Levi. Which... definitely has points.

Levi using the crazy sprite here makes him seem like he's fucking insane, but also... hiding something? most of the cast has something to hide, and by this point, Levi is definitely the most sus one who's hiding something

close second/third is David/Arturo but they've revealed big something already so they're not on the list

Dude was MEGA quick to hit the vote button on David, even to the point of it looking too quick. Since David is the most sus person this chapter, it's natural to think he's a suspicious person and the best person to vote, therefore get them out of the way and win the trial. The only reason this fails is because Teruko's thinking and Charles realizing the group fucked up (Just between us, that's the most BS cliffhanger I've seen. Makes sense, but damn it was fucking abrupt.)

I find it oddly out of character for Levi to instantly push Eden as the killer. David? You can make the argument he revealed a new side to him and confessed to the murder instantly, but EDEN makes less sense to me. They are shown to be friendly, as shown in the first episode of the chapter.

ANOTHER THING is that Charles brought up a point I would see the calculative Levi agreeing with; No one was going to accuse Eden of murdering, she was just suspicious as the note had her name on it.

All this makes Levi very suspicious, and that's just from the trial. There is also evidence that points back to him.

I will not cover every evidence. Not because this post is too long as is and you'll need to read it when you have the next few hours free, but because I do not remember how the evidence plays into the case and my IQ usually isn't higher than 5

Man I am such a good DRDT fan :D

ANYWHO- One I will cover is the Merry go round, or as Infinite from Sonic Forces Teruko describes it, "The spinny thing".

Now, tape being wrapped in some sort of way around the merry go round is already looking suspicious, but then you look at Arei's wrists.

There is a mark on her wrists. It also can't be rope because of the shape, rope would leave a few patches of untouched skin, whereas in this case, Arei has a complete rash around her wrist, showing that tape was definitely used to drag her. This is also why her glove was missing, most likely to keep people from either guessing it's tape compared to rope or her glove was resistant to tape. It's one of the two, I have 0 idea.

Now, the main idea is that Levi used the Merry go round to push Arei up on the swing set to make it SEEM like she hanged herself in order to stage a suicide. However not only is that not the case due to Suicides not causing a trial, but also look at the fact that we can confirm that Arei's death had nothing to do with drowning (meaning no relaxation room ravine was involved.)

Arturo confirmed her neck was broken.

At first, this seems irrelevant. After all, hanging usually ends in broken necks, right?

APPARENTLY NOT.

seems sus for someone to die from a neck snap without the use of a noose. and let's remember what Arei's talent is...

Yeah, she's pretty fit

Of course, a Bowler has uses with the arms...

OK that sounded wrong- but I can't explain it better-

ANYWAY, Given her strength, it would be natural she could overpower most of the cast, even if they tried to hurt her. Some people are also not physically fit enough to either fight back/kill Arei or even fight her, and I doubt most people would know how to snap her neck.

Levi looks like he has healed, so I don't see him looking like he CAN'T snap Arei's neck. He also could easily push the carousel as long as his arm doesn't get hit with the pain, but the dude is buff enough I think his remaining hand will be fine.

There is DEFINITELY more I can think off, but remember, I'm some British guy theorizing on how buff dude killed a character who nearly got character development, but DR;DT played it well. If I think of more shit I can make a part two to this post but until then imma go commit tax evasion and angering Karen's with my shitty opinions, have a nice life

[dyadhogs]

it had taken no time for him to set off, to throw caution to the wind and do what he did best. run. red sneakers tore up the ground at sonic’s feet, over the beach, the jungle, the grasslands. to the bridge that stretched over the ocean and delivered him to the edge of the mountainside. to the excavation site.

there were several sections to it, and it was interwoven in the reddish-orange rocky region. usually occupied, the site was oddly empty. something the hedgehog would have found weird had he not remembered that cliff and the others had taken a bit of a break, leaving amy to explore on her own. yeah, that was a great idea. the only good thing was that he had a vague idea of where she had set up camp, close to the cave she was exploring in a recess a mile or two from the main base.

he knew when he was in the right area, and he didn’t like what he found. items strewn about the rocky ground, the tent in shambles, clear signs of a struggle. and amy was nowhere to be found, and that’s when a real sense of worry hit the speedster. amy wasn’t one to go down easy, he knew that for a fact, and she hadn’t set off anything with her communicator, which was also bad. no sos, no homing signal. so either she didn’t need it, which he didn’t believe, or she had never gotten that chance. and he didn’t like that. 

and sonic knew standing there was going to accomplish nothing. she wasn’t here, and there was only one way to go by foot. it was the only thing he had and he wasn’t willing to waste time so he took it, off like a shot further into the ravine. his eyes were peeled for any sign, or clue of what had happened, or where his teammate was. or who had taken her.

he had only just turned another corner in the stony labyrinth when something collided with his stomach. hard. it sent him flying back, and his only saving grace was instinct telling him to curl in on himself. his quills took the impact as he hit the ground, bouncing before landing on his feet. and when he did, when he looked at his assailant, he gasped.

❝ amy? what are you doing? ❞

the pink hedgehog didn’t answer. in fact she hardly moved apart to straighten up again, hammer held in both hands as she stared…through him. something was wrong. very wrong. her jade hues were almost clouded, expression virtually emotionless. not to mention the fact she had just smacked him a good six feet for no reason. usually she would at least gloat about it if she wasn’t apologizing. yet before the speedster could form another word, he was cut off.

“she can't hear you, you blue buffoon.”

that was a voice sonic recognized, and he growled as he glimpsed around. there was no one there. ❝ eggman? ❞

despite the emptiness the scientist’s laugh managed to rise up around the two hedgehogs, eerily, with a knowing tone. “the one and only! you’ll have to excuse me if i’m not there to greet you in person. even so, i've really outdone myself this time if I do say so myself. you see, that crystal your little friend found had all sorts of power, enough that my sensors had no trouble picking it up. and once they did? i wanted it for myself.“

sonic‘s eyes narrowed, even as a realization hit him the longer he looked at his far-gone teammate. he knew something wasn’t right, and it was only then he spotted the bizarre headband that was resting on her forehead when things started to click. he didn’t recognize it, but he did know it was nothing the pink hedgehog had ever worn before, much less bought. she would never wear anything so gaudy. but his suspicions weren’t confirmed until eggman kept talking, and that was where the second realization came in. the doctor was speaking through that weird device. 

“of course she wouldn't just give it to me so i decided to put a new invention of mine to work. one i may have…borrowed from a mutual friend of ours.” there was a short pause, and sonic just knew that eggman was relishing in his accomplishment. “and of course, there was only one robot i could trust to really get the job done.”

never let it be said the doctor didn’t enjoy his theatrics, as hardly a second had passed before the clang of metal behind sonic announced said robot’s arrival. and he had never wanted to see those glowing red eyes again after their last encounter. 

❝ metal? ❞

eggman just laughed. “now let’s see how you handle your robotic duplicate. and your little girlfriend.”

with those words it was like a flip had switched, and just like that the speedster found himself nearly sandwiched between a metal fist and an equally solid hammer. had he not quite literally hit the ground, he would have been in a world of pain and the brief moment of confusion from both his teammate and metallic doppelganger gave him a chance to move out of the way completely in a burst of speed.

this was going to be a problem…

metal was one thing, always a little bit of a challenge but not something sonic couldn’t beat. even with the strange magenta glow from their chest, something he could only guess was that stupid crystal. amy on the other hand? he didn’t get long to think about that as he had to dodge another onslaught of that hammer, the ground splintering where his feet had been just a moment prior. there wasn’t an ounce of thought behind amy’s eyes as she did so, which caused a small knot in the speedster’s stomach. 

❝ amy snap out of it! this isn’t – ! ❞ the sudden impact of a metal fist to his cheek cut him off abruptly, and the speedster reeled back. far more than he should have from a single punch from metal and he let out a groan, trying to force the stars in his sight to go away. it wasn’t soon enough. pain flared in his back as the robot followed up with a kick, and once again it was quick thinking that saved the speedster from a third hit with the other metal fist. 

rolling away quickly, he only uncurled when he knew he was out of reach. yet, he had to wonder if that really mattered when his eyes came to rest on metal. and the large glow from their chest, a light that matched the crystal and bled into the machine’s eyes as they raised a hand to the hedgehog. one that soon morphed into a rounded barrel, and sonic didn’t need to know more than that as it too started to glow. 

okay, that was new…

as if he didn’t have enough problems. 

one by one the shots came, and one by one the speedster dodged them, barely. he could feel their heat on his fur after each shot, hitting the ground and walls around him. man, he didn't think he'd miss getting shot at by lasers so much. and yet the thought that he was thankful metal and amy were actually on the same side crossed his mind. at least this way amy was safe. deadly and didn't recognize him, which hurt, yes, but safe. still…

his eyes went back to his teammate, to the device she was wearing. he needed to get it off and hope that was all it took. if it didn’t…well, he didn’t want to think about that.

one quick sidestep saved him from another onslaught of shots, and another from the rapid approach of that yellow hammer. but he was stuck in the middle of the battle again, a twisted monkey in the middle as he dodged fists, kicks, hammer and attempted grabs alike. there was little to no room to attack back, and once the speedster nearly met that hammer head-on as he slipped on the grit at his feet.

then he had his lightbulb moment.

it took dodging the next fist from metal, but the opportunity was too perfect. he kicked, not to hit the machine but rather pitch dirt, dust and a few chucks of rocks into their eyes, effectively blinding them. that only left amy for a few scarce moments, and that was all sonic needed.

he took the chance. 

all it took was one flick of his wrist and his communicator buzzed to life with a blue glow. one that soon shifted and morphed into a tangible beam of energy. every time he used it, he was more and more thankful tails had figured out how to harness the enerbeams. and more thankful still that amy couldn’t move fast enough to dodge it as it whipped at her head, making easy contact with that headband and knocking it off and to the ground. 

there was a still moment that followed, and sonic found himself holding his breath as he watched his teammate stand there, seemingly frozen. until she blinked. once, twice and then rapidly as confusion flooded her face and she fell to her knees. in shock, maybe.

just like waking up from a surreal dream, she hardly registered where she was, what was happening, what had happened.

but she did register the abrupt sound of something moving fast, a clank of metal, the sound of her name…

and the gunshots.

[anacecherry]

Ace Lore

Everyone in my friend cycle is posting their lore and Louie gave me the idea to make my own as well so here we go. Kept switching between 3rd person and 1st person because I felt like using both so the phrasing may seem weird

This isn't in any order I wrote them down as they came to my mind

Named Ace because of Among Us

Had a Danganronpa phase in 2020

Was a mod in dr-transparents

Also had a dr edit blog have fun trying to find that one

Used to be homophobic but one day during breakfast I asked my mom if being gay was a sin and she just thought for a second and said no so I stopped being homophobic

Dad in jail (out in march 9 😎)

Watched the entire mcu once

Goes to one of the greatest schools around the area and its shit

Watches how to learn Turkish videos despite being turkish

Has been pirating movies ever since I started using computers because I didn't know you had to pay for it until 3 years ago

Has an """uncle""" and """aunt""" thats younger than me (the aunt is a toddler)

First experience with the sonic franchise was that flash fangame based on sonic advance 2 and I thought Knuckles was a girl

Has an evil twin named Allo, who likes reddit and men

Knows every single frame of animation in Rise of the TMNT

funneylizzie follows me. I forget about that a lot.

The only person that never misread Penosh's og url

.w batman

Will :handshake: me

The CEO of Rise Casey Jones (Cassandra)

The mere sight of Cjj is enough to fill me with rage

Got kicked out of a toh youtubers server bc I tried to explain the owner that the potion coven was, in fact, a real coven and not just a track that they only teach at Hexide

Once woke up and saw a short weird girl with long black hair watching me from the side of my bed, she disappeared after I closed and opened my eyes again. No it wasn't sleep paralysis.

Has a sunflower seed addiction

I was Penosh's first follower I think that should be here

The 6 kittens we took care of after their mom died, most didn't last 2 months alive, the 5th one ran away like an idiot and the 6th lives with our neighbors and hates us

Most likely had a crush on my middle school best friend

Says "Lan" a lot in real life my friends think it's funny

Grew up near the sea so Im immune to the smell of fish

Remembers her first earthquake in 3rd person

When I clear out likes it takes a long time and I end up rebloging a lot of posts, and it might happen again & will be real big this time so be prepared

The Ralsei icon is traced from the og sprite from Deltarune and I will never ever change it it is a part of my identity now

Url used to be tsundere-blue-cherry before I changed it

The first time I remember throwing up might be one of my core memories. did you know you cant talk when you're just about to vomit

Has headaches forever ever since elementary school

Had a budgie named Şans that flew away because mom kept forcing us to keep the windows open

When I was ~6 I a dream where a Caillou toy that I had came to life and I got so scared that I tore it apart and ran. When I woke up I checked the drawer I put the toy parts in and he was still there and greeted me I screamed and slammed it shut and never looked at that drawer again

Ayıcık the teddy bear

Had 2 imaginary friends and one of them was a mirror

Diagnosed as American

I have cherry in my url but cannot eat cherries bc when eating cherries I realized it had worms in it and it happened twice and I have not been able to eat cherries without drowning in anxiety ever again

My youngest sister called my middle sister Dede despite her name not having those letters in it and the word dede meaning grandpa in our language. We started calling her that as well

Had a dream, before the sonic 2 trailer came out, where the trailer released and it was normal except Boom Knuckles was there as a separate character from normal Knuckles and had his model from the show

Made up number lore when I was younger

Uses light mode

[breckstonevailskier]

What if Vision was the airport battle turncoat?

The concept art for Captain America: Civil War includes one piece where Vision phases his hand through Tony's arc reactor in order to stop him from attacking Wanda, which would've alluded to a similar scene where Vision shuts down Iron Man's armor in the original Civil War comic. This seems to suggest that in earlier drafts, Vision was either part of Team Cap during the airport battle, or betrayed Team Iron Man at a key moment, similar to how Natasha uses her Widow's Bite to stun and incapacitate T'Challa so Steve and Bucky can escape on the Quinjet.

Honestly, it makes me wonder if Vision, not Natasha, should've been the member of Team Iron Man who served as a turncoat in the airport battle. Natasha's motive seems to be that she realized Tony's judgement was off, or she was always Team Cap but pretending to be for the other side because she wanted to get the lay of that side of the political landscape concerning the Accords and pass this information to Steve.

Vision, meanwhile, has a much stronger and personal motive to change sides: his feelings for Wanda. He's developed feelings for Wanda ("What is grief, if not love persevering?" 😍😭), but they're also on opposite sides of the Accords debate since he's for them and she's against them. So Vision turning on Team Iron Man because of his feelings for Wanda would be an interesting plot point that could also allow him to get onscreen the development he seems to undergo offscreen between Civil War and Infinity War.

Another reason it would make sense for Vision to be in this position is because it would make more sense for him to be stuck in the middle. Like, he makes this argument in favor of the Accords...

"In the 8 years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of known enhanced persons has grown exponentially. And during the same period, the number of potentially world-ending events has risen at a commensurate rate. [...] I'm saying there may be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict...breeds catastrophe. Oversight...oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand."

...but at the same time, he also knows that he probably has less rights than a human because he doesn't quite meet the legal standard of well...personhood. He can put on a human disguise for sure, but since he's not a natural-born human, the Accords will not be kind to him in the same way they won't be kind to the Avengers who have innate superpowers (Steve, Wanda, and Thor if he was around) as opposed to being really skilled Muggles (Clint and Natasha) or having removable suits (Tony and Rhodey). Not to mention we have proof of this thanks to WandaVision. We know in that show that the Accords outlawed sentient weapons (which is why Hayward's a criminal for trying to bring Vision "back online to life" and trying to coerce Wanda into doing it for him), and I doubt that Tyler Hayward's the only bureaucrat to see Vision as nothing more than government property.

Having him be a turncoat in the airport battle would also be consistent with Vision's character when one considers how often he lets his feelings for Wanda compromise his moral beliefs. I've seen some people posit that him shooting down Rhodey wasn't a case of his beam being off while trying to shoot Sam, but as him intentionally hurting Rhodey as retaliation for Rhodey using a sonic cannon earlier on Wanda to cause her to drop the rubble of the control tower that Vision needlessly destroyed. Not to mention that the zombie episode of What If...? had Vision feeding people to a zombified Wanda because he couldn't bear the thought of having to kill her.

So having Vision turn coat in the airport battle to help Wanda escape would also go a long way as far as him providing an olive branch to Wanda for when they start their relationship between between Civil War and Infinity War. Though obviously this would probably mean having to rewrite the final act to put Wanda in Siberia, because if Wanda still ends up in the Raft, Vision's decision is all for naught. This might be a problem since the writers clearly intended for the showdown in Siberia to be with just Tony, Steve, and Bucky. Not sure what contributions Wanda would have in Siberia, other than maybe this feeling of looking herself in the mirror when Zemo describes his motivations for revenge.

[nintendouniverse2023]

Scene I have a few ideas of Super Mario Rebirth Show AU, I figured that I would make My own AU Series of Sonic the Hedgehog with also of few ideas, with redesigns of The Sonic Heroes and Villains.

Bio: Knuckles was raised as a warrior amongst his tribe, the echidnas, an ancient order of heroes who had been feuding with the owls for centuries over the echidnas' Master Emerald, a weapon of ultimate power that the owls had hidden away somewhere. During his childhood, the echidnas managed to locate Longclaw, the last of the owl warriors, whom they prepared to go after to get her secrets on the Master Emerald. While Knuckles wished to join his tribe in their battle, his father told him to remain behind and await the true moment where he would honor his tribe. However, Knuckles' father and his tribe died on that very day, leaving Knuckles as the last of the echidnas.

Knuckles remained on Angle Island growing stronger as the same speed as Sonic but his Strengh is very strong, his claws gives him the ability to climb and glide. Dr Eggman would arrived a crash landing to Angle Island and meet Knuckles after “Sonic the Hedgehog 2 arc” Eggman then Tricks Knuckles into believing that Sonic is the enemy. In reality, Eggman plans to find the Master Emerald, and use it to power up his Death Egg. After Sonic and Tails arrived to Angel Island at the Start of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 arc, Knuckles encounters Sonic and took all of the Chaos Emeralds. After going through all this trouble to get to the Master Emerald and Fight Sonic, He finally realized he was duked the whole time. He would eventually part ways of defeating Dr Eggman and Joined the Freedom Fighters.

After serving for 2 years and both Sonic and Sally falling out, He with Tails and Amy continued to be by Sonic’s side and Protecting Angel Island as well as the Master Emerald. This is were he first meets the Jewel Thief and Stealthily “Rouge the Bat”, He and her had some encounters and as well working together if necessary. Knuckles may have a little crush on her but didn’t hesitate but hide it. For the next 5 years, he continued to destroy Eggman's Evil Robots and would make new friends like the Chaotix.

He did found the News about The Old Freedom Fighters came to Green Hill Village and The Fall of The Acorn Kingdom, but couldn’t remember that much. He would eventually become apart of the New and improved Freedom Fighters and will be ready for Eggman or other villains next move.

Appearance: He has the appearance of part Modern and Sonic Boom and a Green Gem Necklace.

Voice Actor: Idris Elba

Age: 22

Height: 5.10 ft

Weight: 212 ibs

Personality: Quite Tempered, Loyal, Native, Not that Bright, Scarred Brained, Very determined and Meticulous

Favorite Foods: Grapes

Family: *Deceased/Unknown*

Allies: Sonic, Tails, Amy Rose , Sally Acorn, Antoine, Bunnie Rabbio, Rotor, Shadow, Rouge, Cream, Vanilla, Sticks, Blaze, Silver, Team Chaotix, Diamond Cutters, Jewel Beetle and Belle

Enemies: Dr Eggman, Agent Stone, Emma Robotnic, Team Jet *Sometimes*, Surge the Tenrec, Chaos, Snively and Lyric the Snake

Likes: Smashing Robots, Having Honor and Having a Contest with Sonic and Shadow

Dislikes: His past mistakes, Lying, Failure, The Master Embrele getting stolen *Most Eggman and Rouge attempted to.* and not knowing much.

[that-one-girl2020]

The Lonely Angel

A/N: This is pretty platonic, and the idea is inspired by another story on AO3, it’s great so I definitely recommend it. I don’t post often and this is the first story I’ve posted on here in a long time so hope you like it!

P.s.- Sorry if the formatting is a little weird, I copy and pasted from google docs...

An Enigma of Broken Wings by Catlorde

The Doctor stepped out of the TARDIS cautiously. Once more, the TARDIS had taken him somewhere he hadn’t been meaning to go, in fact, he was trying to take Donna to an alien market that he had once gone to. Instead, he poked his head out to find the TARDIS parked in the middle of a cemetery on Earth, around the same time that he had picked Donna up from if he was correct.

“Unless there’s another planet identical to Earth, I’m pretty sure we’re not on Kalla-whats-it,” Donna remarked as she followed behind him and they both looked around curiously.

“Uh, no, this is Earth, United States, Michigan, 2008 to be exact,” He tugged at his ear as he stuffed one hand in his jacket sheepishly.

“What are we doing here then? Or are you just that bad of a driver?” The redhead snipped at him and he rolled his eyes and huffed.

“I am the best driver around, I’ll have you know,” he snarked right back as they began strolling around curiously. “I’m not sure why we’re here but there’s no harm in looking around.”

The continued looking around quietly, looking for anything out of the normal that would have drawn the TARDIS and the Doctor there but there wasn’t anything out of place that they could find, no people, no signs of alien life or events. That was, until Donna took notice of a particular statue stationed in the center of the cemetery. “That statue sure is pretty, too bad it’s so run down,” Donna remarked as she gestured to said statue. “It’s a little sad though.”

At the center of all the gravestones, there was what seemed like a stone bench with a statue of an angel kneeled beside it, it’s arms resting on the bench with her head buried in its arms, its wings sprawled gracefully behind her and donned in a simple white dress that clung to her form scarily realistically. Like Donna had said, the statue was beautiful despite the obvious aging, the stone worn down, turning green from weather, plants starting to creep up her legs and dress, and stone chipped in some places. The only odd thing about it was the old radio resting at her feet, in a similar state as the statue itself.

At first, the Doctor didn’t think anything of it as they slowly approached the statue to get a better look at it. However, the Doctor pulled Donna to a stop when they saw a chipmunk climb up the stone and approach the bare arm of the statue and gently nudge it with its nose, as if the statue would come to life and pet it. Despite the gentleness of the scene, the only thing that happened was the chipmunk disappearing before their eyes.

“Donna, do not blink, do not look away from the statue, don’t touch it, and don’t blink,” The Doctor ordered sternly as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver to scan the statue quickly, not looking away for a moment.

“What, why? What is it?” Donna questioned, a hint of panic in her voice.

“Don’t look away from it,” the Doctor ordered once more when he noticed Donna turn to question him.

“Why? What is it?!” Donna asked once more, this time not moving her gaze away from the statue.

“A Weeping Angel,” the Doctor answered her solemnly as he continued to scan the angel and the stone she was sprawled against.

“Okay, and what is a Weeping Angel?” Donna fished for more answers, becoming irritated with the short responses.

“The kindest assassins in the universe. A Weeping Angel doesn’t just outright kill you, they send you back to the past to live out your life and consume the years that you should have had in the present, that’s what happened to the chipmunk,” The Doctor explained distractedly.

“And why can’t I look away from it?”

“Because they have the most solid defences in the universe as well. They’re quantum locked, as soon as they fall under the gaze of any living thing, they turn to stone, because you can’t kill a stone and a stone can’t kill you. But then you blink, you look away, and yes it can,” The Doctor finished ominously and the two were silent for a minute as Donna absorbed the information and the Doctor finished scanning the statue and looking around the area. “I don’t get it though, Angels usually hunt in groups, even if it's just a couple, like four or so. But this one is alone, there isn’t another Angel anywhere in the city, let alone the state. And the plants around it signify that it hasn’t moved in years, I’d say ten at the least, and erosion suggests that it hasn’t had significant food in the same amount of time.” The Doctor furrowed his brow as his thoughts raced, trying to figure out why the Angel was here. It wasn’t trapped, it wasn’t well fed, it wasn’t even in an area where it had access to people. “One thing is for sure though, this has to be the loneliest creature I have ever come across.” The Doctor continued to explain without being prompted, “Weeping Angels, even in groups, are still the loneliest creatures in the universe since they can’t even look at each other or they’ll turn to stone, freeze. However, Angels have a weak telepathic connection, allowing them to communicate on some level, which is why they stay in groups. But this one is by itself.”

The two of them frowned as they looked at the Angel, still tense but slowly relaxing as they realized that the Angel hadn’t moved even when the both of them had scanned the area to look for other Angels. “Poor thing, what do we do then?” Donna asked with empathy clear in her voice.

“I’m not sure, if we touch it, we risk being sent back to the past, without the TARDIS, leaving us trapped, but we can’t just leave it here,” The Doctor frowned thoughtfully.

The two of them blinked however when the radio flickered to life without either of them having touched it. There was static as the radio seemed to adjust before the sound of a young woman’s voice came through, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

The Doctor and Donna blinked in shock at the sound of the voice before the Doctor questioned, “Who are we speaking to?”

There was a pause as the voice seemed to think for a moment, “Me, I think.”

“Whose voice are you using?” The Doctor asked, a little bit of anger in his voice as he knew somewhat that the Angel wouldn’t have been able to use the voice without spending time around said person.

The voice paused once more, “I think it was mine.” The Doctor blinked in shock as Donna frowned, confused.

“What do you mean?” Donna asked softly, concerned for the statue she held empathy for.

“I used to draw a lot, I think. I saw an angel statue once, in the park near my house, and I drew it. I stared at it so long, my eyes started to hurt. I got dizzy and fell. It was late. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t move. Then I was stone,” The woman explained, the sadness in her voice obvious as she tried to remember the events. The Doctor and Donna’s hearts clenched painfully as they realized that this was once a woman with a life and a family. “The other one didn’t like me. She didn’t like that I didn’t send them back. She and the others left. I stayed.”

“What happened to your family,” The Doctor asked softly, even though he could figure out what happened.

“They were sad. They left too. They took everything but this stone. They left this stone here. Animals keep me company. They’re kind. They feed me when I’m hungry.”

The Doctor nodded as that explained what had happened with the chipmunk earlier. He thought it odd that an animal would approach a Weeping Angel so willingly. He went around to the other side of the bench where there was an inscription, what they had thought was a bench, was actually a grave.

“In Loving Memory of…

(Your Full Name)

Daughter

Sister

May 8th, 1976-October 20th, 1998

“Life is more than just what we see…” ~(Y/n)”

He looked down sadly as he realized this was the woman’s own grave and she probably didn’t even realize it. She sounded like an amazing woman, it was difficult to think that a woman he would have liked to meet was now reduced to a statue living, no, existing off the kindness of the animals around her.

Donna joined him on the other side of the stone and gasped softly as she came to the same realization, “Your name was(Y/n)?”

There was another pause as the Angel thought for a moment, trying to remember, “I… think so.”

“It’s a beautiful name,” The Doctor remarked softly as they gazed down at the Weeping Angel.

“Is it? I think I liked it too,” the woman replied thoughtfully. It was sad for Donna and the Doctor, that this woman was once living a bright and happy life, and now she could barely remember it.

“Doctor, we can’t just leave her here,” Donna told him softly and he agreed silently even though he had no idea what they would do. He was reluctant to bring the Angel into the TARDIS as it would be an eternal food source for the statue. However, he couldn’t leave the once human woman here to slowly waste away as stone.

As if knowing his thoughts, the woman spoke once more, “It’s okay, you can leave me here, the animals are kind to me,” She spoke simply as if that was all she truly needed, which made the Doctor’s hearts clench even tighter. He knew what it was like to be by oneself. That deep sense of loneliness that settled into your soul and wasn’t easily shaken.

That just solidified his decision, “You can come with us. The TARDIS can make a room for you and we can visit you everyday. You don’t have to be lonely anymore,” The Doctor offered kindly.

At that moment, both Donna and the Doctor blinked, and in that split second, the Angel turned their head to look up at them in shock, which they returned. The Angel had her hair tied up in the same fashion as any other Weeping Angel, a little more softly so that some hair could frame her features, but her face was significantly different. Instead of the sharp teeth and frightening snarl that he expected, they were instead greeted by soft features and a kind face. She was beautiful. “Really?” She questioned innocently.

Neither of them responded for a moment, shocked by the beauty of the statue before them. After shaking themselves from their surprise, the Doctor answered her innocent question, “Of course. You’ve spent enough time by yourself.” After a moment of hesitation, the Doctor looked away, offering his hand to the statue in a show of trust, which Donna followed. For a minute, the Doctor waited, he was about to take his hand back when another hand slid into his. It was a strange feeling. A living hand of stone that wasn’t quite stone at the moment. When he knew she was standing, he began walking back to the TARDIS, Donna walking alongside him, opposite the hand that was holding the Angel’s, (Y/n)’s. It was a strange walk back, both having to fight the urge to look back at the Angel as it would halt their progress.

Once the trio got to the TARDIS, the Doctor hesitated for a moment before opening the door to his most precious belonging. Then, he tightened the hold he had on the Angel’s hand as a reminder of what he was doing and why. This woman had been alone long enough. He led the woman down the hall that the TARDIS lit for them, leading them to a new room that neither the Doctor or Donna had seen before. The Doctor opened the door to what looked like the outdoors, a large field of long grass and wildflowers, in the distance, they could see a lake in the distance with a willow tree next to it and a forest beyond it. It was a beautiful setting that fit the Angel behind them.

The both of them closed their eyes to let the Angel ahead of them to familiarize herself with her new home. “Thank you,” the Woman breathed softly in awe and the two opened their eyes. The Angel had set the old radio she had carried with her down at her feet as she had wandered a few meters into the field, now frozen in a standing position, her head tilted back in the light as she soaked in the sky and the artificial sun pleasantly. The Doctor could feel the slow yet steady stream of energy the sun gave off as the Angel revitalized before their eyes, the signs of weather and corrosion fading away. She was even more beautiful now than when they had first seen her, now that she was whole and they could see her face. Unlike Weeping Angels who were Angels their entire existence, (Y/n) was a light grey, unlike the ominous dark grey of other Weeping Angels.

“We’ll leave you to explore, the TARDIS will transmit you to wherever we are in the TARDIS if you want to talk,” The Doctor told her kindly and as he blinked, she turned to look at him with a smile that warmed his hearts, glad he made the decision that he did.

“Thank you,” She repeated once more.

The two left the room, closing the door behind them as they returned to the console room. After a moment, Donna spoke, a content tone to her voice, “We did good today, eh, Spaceman.” His hands rested comfortably in his pockets as he thought back to the kind Angel they now housed on the TARDIS. “Life is more than just what we see…”

“Yeah. Yeah, we did.”

The End

[nayarablueglasses]

hello hello hello gay panic headcanonns for kirishima, bakugo, sero, shinsou, and iida is my request i saw your denki post and wanted to give you sumn attention miss ma'am

i was honestly not expecting this!! so sorry it took this long to respond, I don't know if you can tell but i wrote these in the span of a week because i got really really busy and was inturrupted everytime i sat down to start.

also... i do apologize deeply but my shinsou hc just wasn’t turning out right and in the end i decided it’s not worth posting. my apologies ;;

so glad you enjoyed my denki x male reader!!

here you go ♡♡

warnings:

kirishima’s reader really likes strawberry milk and that’s the theme of it, vv sorry if you don’like strawberry milk ;; personally it’my favourite thing ever along with coconut bread

bakugo’s has a brief mention of a kick to the chest and the following nosebleed, it doesn't go into detail but if that bothers you then please do skip ^-^

and just a little author’s note, please enjoy and let me know what you think and if there should be other warnings ♡♡

☞☆ Kirishima

oh he’s mad

i’ll tell you why

you came out of your dorm today looking sad

so of course, being a manly man, he asks you what’s wrong

you’re out of strawberry milk and didn’t realize, it seems

manly man that he is

he found some more for you

that’s not why he’s angry

your eyes lit up and you got so excited

strawberry milk is apparently one of your favourite things

so you thanked him with a hug

but no that’s not exactly why he’s angy

he’s angy because all he said was “THAKOME”

“thakome" wtfl (what the fairy lights)

he was trying to say thanks for the hug and “you're welcome” for the milk

he ran away

and then began pondering how deep in the shit called love he was

turns out he’s very deep in love shit

now what does he do

he’s not afraid to like guys especially cos you're super manly

but what if you don’t think it’s manly to like men

just his luck

you invited him to your room to play games and there’s an lgbtq+ flag on your wall

he saw an opportunity and was super casually like “heY where can i get one cos liKE i gotta represent too y’know"

your eyes lit up again, stop that

then you two got to talking about how you realized you were gay

you shared your story and asked for his

took some convincing but manly men don’t lie so he told you that you're pretty much his story

highkey you teared up a little and told him you really like him

bakugo rolled his eyes when he saw you two holding hands and was all like

“about time you two dumbasses”

you just ignored him while kiri turned red and started mumbling

☞☆ Bakugo

what is attraction

no like he really doesn’t like people

but you two were sparring, right

and you were sweaty

and you were grinning

and you kicked him in the chest ^-^ look at you i’m so proud you landed a hit on bakugo

the exact moment he fell in love

and then you rushed over and you made the saddest face he’s ever seen

you were honestly so afraid he was hurt from the face he made

...

...

...

“holy shit”

so maybe you must’ve kicked him in the nose, not chest

because he’s got a nosebleed

it didn’t help that you help your shirt to his nose and you were leaning all close

he may or may not have exploded a little bit of the floorboards

don’t blame him, he has no idea how to communicate with words

so when he goes to recovery girl (at your insistence) he’s pissed

like

why does he keep thinking about you

literally what is the point, you’re shit at fighting anyways

poor baby

he doesn’t understand this

next time he sees you he’ll literally scream, “GET OUT OF MY HEAD EXTRA, WHY AM I THINKING OF YOU ALL THE TIME”

you’re confused

kirishima will have to coach him, with plenty of quips from denki and sero

so the next time he’ll confess with kiri’s teachings in mind

☞☆ Sero

you’re trying to tell me he hasn’t done this gay panic shit before?

he knows how this goes

he’s fully content to just sit here and look at your handsome face

like

he was scatter rained enough

but he’s not even listening aizawa-sensei anymore

just

--staaaaare--

you know what i’m talking about

it’s not creepy or anything, just

“pay attention, cellophane”

oh shit

play it cool

just pretend to be actually listening for a few

it’ll be fine

he’s been through that situation so many times

at this point the whole class knows

everybody’s certain that’s aizawa’s way of wingman-ing

except you never look up on time

you catch him looking sometimes but he plays it cool and points at mineta with a grin

it works every time, mineta is always trying to perv someone >:(

he likes to imagine what would happen if he confessed

his favourite is where you butterfly kiss him

he has less nice scenarios in his head but that one always makes him smile

once in the dorm kitchens you asked him why he’s smiling

you said it super innocent and it sounded so neutral he didn’t stop himself from answering

“just because i like you”

aizawa stopped telling him to pay attention after thfe irst time he saw you holding hands in the hallways

sero will never stop smiling

what a goof but you love him

☞☆ Iida

oh boy why you gotta confuse sanic like this huh??

and when i say confused i mean he doesn’t understand this at ALL

don’t get it twisted, he knows what “gay” is

sanic just didn’t realize HE was gay

and boy is he

see, sanic is well put together

he knows exactly who he is

and then you

y o u

you gave him some art you did of him

he was like ??? thanks for the art??? when did you draw this???

he’s supportive of this new artistic talent but it’s  n e w  to say the least

so you went “oh i just look at you all the time”

you said it so casual

but you ran away after that as i would

not as fast as sanic but he wouldn’t have gone after you

because he was dumbstruck anD i MeAn he was struck dumb

you??? look at him?? aLL tHe tIME? like??

so being the responsible class rep that he is

he had an existential breakdown

came face to face with the fact that his friendly feelings towards you are’t as friendly as he’d been convincing himself

denied it

accepted it

and then ran after you in the five seconds after you ran off

oh boy words are awful because how do people confess? i don’t know but don’t ask him, because he butchered it BAD

but at least the words left his mouth

honestly this boy didn’t even stop to consider what would happen after he confessed

he just word vomited

which is why he’s extra happy when you hug him and tell him you feel the same

in more simple words of course

“i like you too, tenya!”

sonic’s in heaven please hug him some more

[transneonneko]

Things from Archie Sonic that I would love to see return in the Mainline Games and/or IDW Sonic!!

Recently, I decided to read some of the Archie Sonic Comic, from like issue 186ish up until the first MegaMan crossover and the reboot, mainly because there were some gaps in my knowledge of those stories. Mainly Issues 198 till 235, which I never got to read as a kid and, I have to say, there were a lot of really interesting concepts during Ian's run of comics before the reboot that I really loved. There was a lot of really interesting concepts I love after the reboot too. I wanna celebrate that. A lot of these concepts and story idea I feel really deserve another chance.

So I wanna make this list of stuff I wanna see return in either for stories in the Mainline Games or the IDW Sonic comics. Before we start, I do wanna add somethings. This post isn't meant to be shitting on IDW and being like "IDW would be better if they did this". I really love the IDW comics and universe. I also know that some of these concepts likely can't be done due SEGA Mandates and I'm not gonna include stuff like "Bring back the Freedom Fighters" because I feel asking to bring back characters isn't gonna be very productive, as much as I would like to see their return. Anyways, let's begin.

The Fate of the ARK

One thing that really inspired this list was this scene right her. We'll talk more about Silver's Future later but for now, let's focus on the ARK. I'm gonna assume anyone reading this knows the story of the ARK from SA2 and Shadow. Sadly, the ARK hasn't really been revisited in the main canon since Shadow, despite how iconic of a set piece it is. In the Archie Comics, we get a look at Silver's future and one of things that may have been the cause of how bad things are is the ARK crashed. Sadly, Archie got rebooted before the writers could go more into it but, from SA2, we know that the ARK was set to crash into the planet if all 7 Chaos Emeralds are placed into it, wiping out all life on the planet. This could be an excellent premise of another Silver adventure, whether it be in the comics or games, where Sonic, Silver and some friends have to stop someone from making the ARK crash into the planet.

Expanding the Eggman Empire/Egg Bosses

Something I've always found a bit lacking in the game canon is how the Eggman Empire itself has been presented. In the games, the Eggman Empire is usually just made up of Eggman, Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot, a bunch of robots and (recently) Infinite. It's not really an Empire if it's just one guy and a bunch of robots. The main goal is the conquer the world but we hardly see Eggman actually see what happens when Eggman conquers a place, like what happens to the people who used to live there, besides like Colours and Forces, where the Wisps and Mobians are usually just seen being imprisoned. The Egg Bosses are the perfect solution to this and adds so much to Sonic's World.

The Egg Bosses are Mobians who, either willingly or unwillingly, aligned themselves up with Eggman for whatever reason, becoming commanders of the Eggman Empire. This usually comes about when Eggman has taken over a part of the region and the people living in that region have no choice but to join the Eggman Empire, for their own safety. Not only does this make the Eggman Empire feel more than just one person but it also makes Eggman more a villain himself. It able to portray Eggman as someone to be feared and, I mean, this is a dictator and genocider who is pretty much declaring war against the world.

It also brings up some interesting thoughts about the world. Characters like Maw, Thunderbolt and even Nephthys to a degree joined up with Eggman because they felt it was the right thing to do for the sake of the world, or in Nephthys case, to stop things getting worst later on, meanwhile characters like Grand Battle Kukku are plotting to usurp Eggman, with Clove and Beauregard only working for Eggman to protect family or close ones.

As I said before, having these Egg Bosses also makes Eggman look more threaten, both because he's able to look like a "bigger bad" next to these villains he has command of and, because almost all the Egg Bosses hate Eggman's guts, they are cyberized, a terrifying process in which those who work for Eggman are focus to have parts of their body replaced with cybernetics, with either bombs which will blow if they decide to leave or a locking mechanism that will paralyze their entire body, ready to be locked up.

If either in the game or the IDW comic, I would like to see the Egg Boss concept return. It doesn't even need to be the same characters or use the name "Egg Boss." It would help expand the army of the Eggman Empire, as well as provide some fun bosses for the games I think.

Mobians and Humans living together

This was always a weird hangup I felt the series had. In the case of games between Sonic Adventure & Unleashed, Sonic and friends were the only Mobians, humans made up the NPCs while Mobians were reserved for main characters. Then in Forces and IDW, Mobians made up the background characters, so then Eggman is the only human. I really prefer it when they have the two living together, it makes it seems more normal and, honestly, a better solution than the whole "Two Worlds" explanation.

Eggman Seemingly Defeated

Can I just that I love Issues 198-200? In these 3 issues, Sonic and friends Eggman's main base, the Egg Dome. This including fighting on the outside of the base, involving fighting hoards of the Dark Egg Legion soldiers and Eggman in the Egg Phoenix. After dealing with the outside, Sonic and friends raid the Egg Dome itself, taking different directions, with the Dark Egg Legion seemingly retreating, until they reach the center of the base, where they are blocked off by a barricade, which only Sonic can pass through, giving a "Point of No Return" vibe, Dark Egg Legion soldiers lining up and saluting Sonic. Then Sonic reaches the center and finds Eggman in the Egg Tarantula, starting their final battle which Sonic wins. This defeat is enough for Eggman to lose his sanity, seemingly ending the war Sonic and the Freedom Fighters have been fighting their entire life.

Of course Eggman returns but, god, it's just such a memorable couple of issues. There's a real sense of finality to it. I would a sequence like this in the games, something that feels like truly ending the Eggman Empire and defeating them once and for all. Of course, it wouldn't be the end, Sonic games are always needing to be made which would lead to...

The New Rulers of the Eggman Empire

In the comics after the defeat of Eggman, the Eggman Empire is taken over by some of it's Commanders, the Iron Queen and Iron King, who rules the Empire as their own until they are defeated and Eggman's return.

I love the idea that even if the Eggman, there will always be someone there to take his place. The games could do this by having Neo Metal or Infinite take his place. Hell, IDW did have Neo Metal take over but I think what made that less interesting was that Neo Metal wasn't doing it for himself, he was doing it for Eggman. I think this would work well if a concept like the Egg Boss was introduced in the games, maybe have one of the characters part of that group take over OR have a lot of the more ambitious Egg Bosses war against each other to take command, until eventually Eggman returns and puts them in line.

Silver's Future

Silver is one of the most recurring characters, who always joins the gang when his future is in trouble. The problem is that we never see his future besides 06. We have no idea what Silver's future is currently until it's in danger and, even then, we never see it.

We see Silver's Future in both continuities of the Archie Comic, with two different takes. Pre-SGW has a destroyed city vibe, like 06 but less lava. Post-SGW brought a whole new take where people are ruled by a corrupt council where people are put into class groups, and security robots will arrest if you are not at your job at the right time. They even re-contextualize Silver's bracelets as cuffs that the robots can activate. With Silver being my favourite character as a kid, I remember being obsessed with this new world and story, wanting to know more.

I'm not saying they would need to copy this world exactly but it would be nice if they gave us a concrete and consistence look for Silver's Future.

The Heroic Metal Sonic

Right before the SGW, we were introduce to Shard the Metal Sonic. His story is that he was the original Metal Sonic, the one that raced Sonic in Stardust Speedway. He appeared later in the comic, where Sonic made him realized there was more to life than just being Eggman's killing machine. He seemingly died, but was rebuilt to serve as a member the Secret Freedom Fighters.

This one would be tricky to be included. It worked in the Archie comic as they had been many Metal Sonics throughout the series, each one getting destroyed. Meanwhile, there's only officially been one Metal Sonic in the games made by Eggman (two if we count Classic and Modern). Admittedly, Gemerl fits Shard's personality and does need to be used more in the games but having it be Metal Sonic is just a cooler concept.

I think a solution to this is that we have Metal Sonic 1.0 made by Eggman and, in Rivals 2, we have Metal Sonic 3.0 by Eggman Nega from the future. But what about Metal Sonic 2.0? I think we could have a game where after Metal Sonic fails, Eggman builds a replacement, being 2.0, which would give reason to Metal Sonic wanting to revolt, which could lead to a redemption? While I am loving the IDW comics, I do really miss a lot of what both Archie continuities offered. I haven't mention the some other concepts and stories I liked that really focused on certain characters such as Naugus, Geoffrey St. John, Dimitri etc. Maybe I'll talk about that another day...

[triplethreatsonic]

Hey! I just wanted to ask what parts do Amy, Rouge and Blaze have? Do they know about the boys' powers and destinies, or are they figuring it out on their own? Are they friends with each other? Have they known the boys for a long time? (Sorry, I know thats a lot 😅) still love your au so much! 💖

SUCH GOOD QUESTIONS.

I have been SO EXCITED to answer this ask! You may want to pull up a chair, this is probably gonna be more than you bargained for. :)

Quick clarifying point first: The boys aren’t actually ‘destined’ for anything— there’s no prophesy or chosen one thing going on in this universe, although perhaps it initially seems that way. Tikal is not a deity but the spirit of a young mortal girl; she gets the boys involved simply because she feels she needs help and they seem like good guys who also have the potential to harness chaos power. That may seem like a random detail but it’s kinda important in the story so there you go. :) Onward to questions!

All three of these girls play big roles in this story and are in different grades: Amy is a 16 yr old sophomore, while Blaze and Rouge are 17 yr old juniors. Blaze and Amy became friends in an elective cooking class they took together last year, in which Amy excelled while Blaze somehow managed to burn almost everything she touched. Amy helped her through it though. :)

Amy has known Sonic (a junior) since late elementary school, meeting him some time after Tails and before Knuckles. She’s had a crush on him since FOREVER, and she used to be a lot more blatant about it. However, as they’ve gotten older, it’s become something more subtle on her end—she eventually figured out Sonic is an extremely late bloomer, and they have a great friendship. She definitely still likes him though, and it definitely plays a role in the story. Sonic likes her too but hasn’t really realized it yet/has been subconsciously avoiding it up to this point because he’s nervous.

Blaze and Silver (a 16 yr old sophomore) have been friends for a very long time—they live on the same street but have always gone to different schools since the school boundaries cut right down the center of their road. However, at the start of this semester, the boundaries change to include Silver’s side of the street. So when the story starts, he has just moved to Blaze’s school, Green Hill High. They are incredibly close and talk about everything.

The first friend Silver meets at Green Hill aside from Blaze is actually Amy. Their lockers are really close to each other and she helps him feel welcome with her bubbly, kind personality. Amy is also the first person Silver talks to about his crush on Blaze (which he’s just realized exists of course). She talks to him about Sonic too, and they give each other advice :)

Other than Rouge, no one at Green Hill initially knew Shadow. Shadow originally lived in a different part of town with his family: the scientist Dr. Gerald Robotnik and his niece Maria, Shadow’s sister (Shadow was adopted around the age of 8). Shadow was homeschooled up until high school but even then he lived in a different school district than everyone else. He was incredibly close with his sister with whom he shared a love of astronomy, and he was very dedicated in helping her manage her Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Then one night, when he and Maria were hanging out at the lab, it was violently broken into. The intruders seemed to be robots, not people, although those memories are hard for Shadow to remember clearly now. During the break-in, Shadow and Maria tried to escape, but Maria was killed in an act to protect her brother. Gerald went missing, and at the start of the story still has not been found and is presumed dead. Shadow was taken into the foster care system, and in an effort to help him heal from the trauma, he was moved to a different part of town—Sonic’s school district. It's then that Sonic and Silver first meet him.

Shadow has done extracurricular martial arts at the local rec center for years, which is how he first met Rouge. They became close, which was a rarity for Shadow even before the recent tragedy just because he was so introverted. Rouge met Shadow’s family once or twice before the incident and liked them (she and Shadow mostly hung out away from his home just because Shadow’s home was a very private space to him). She went to Maria’s funeral. She’s one of the only ones who can make Shadow smile these days.

Rouge moves in a slightly different social circle than the rest of the cast, so no one at Green Hill knows her very well before they meet her through Shadow. However, she and Sonic have interacted a bit (it’s hard not to know the school’s track star) and she kissed Knuckles once in middle school-- he couldn’t look her in the eye for a year. :)

Aaaaaand Amy and Shadow meet formally when Shadow wanders into a flower shop thinking about applying for a job, and Amy happens to work there. :)

None of the girls know about the boys’ powers—at first. They each learn about things at different times.

Rouge finds out when Shadow does something stupid and hurts himself on a mission and she has to be taken into the boys’ confidence in order to help. She definitely chews Shadow out big time for not telling her things earlier and for being stupid in the first place (which was due to him being hurt and angry about some new information and trying to take care of things himself instead of letting others help him).

Blaze is the most suspicious before finding out—who wouldn’t be when their best friend suddenly stopped sharing things with them and was gone for long periods of time with two strangers, only to offer terrible excuses for doing so? Blaze definitely wants Silver to make friends at Green Hill, but everything about the situation just seems weird. Though she’s heard through Amy that Sonic is a good guy, she has no idea how trustworthy his judgement is, and the mysterious new student Shadow makes her nervous. She’s worried about Silver’s naivety and what he could be getting involved in. And it kills Silver to not be able to tell her (he and the others promised Tikal not to tell anybody anything about what’s going on). Eventually Blaze’s concern-turned-frustration boils over, and when Silver still can’t give her a straight answer, it causes a big angry, hurt rift on both sides.

After this, however, Blaze is by chance attacked by some of the robots. Silver ends up saving her. While she doesn’t recognize him at the time due to the whole chaos-warps-reality thing, he says something during that instance that sounds too familiar. It takes her a while, but eventually Blaze figures it out and has the panicky thought process of wait. Oh my gosh wait that had to be HIM. But it didn’t look like him… but he’s the only one who knows about [thing] and could have said that, oh my goodness it HAD to have been him--!!

Amy is the last of the girls to find out about the boys’ dual lives but she’s the first to interact with them in their superhero forms. While she doesn’t recognize them at the time, the first time Amy meets them, she stops them during a fight and is the one who puts the idea in their heads that perhaps some of these robots they’re fighting aren’t just robots-- maybe there’s something more to them. As time goes on, Amy interacts with the boys in their chaos forms frequently, helping out and stuff. She really likes them and finds it incredibly fun and meaningful to be connected to this secret protection force she’s discovered. Eventually however, Amy has a mini-crisis: the boy in the green and blue suit in this superhero band is really attractive, and he’s stirring inside her some of the same feelings she gets around Sonic. But Amy is loyal to Sonic and loves Sonic and wants to be with Sonic, but everything becomes very confusing and it eventually gets to the point where she doesn’t know what to think anymore, ahhhhhh--!!

So what happens when the girls eventually all find out about the boys’ powers and stuff? They join the party! Amy and Blaze both learn how to perform chaos control and gain cool powers themselves: Amy (along with the help she was already providing), is able to manifest her hammer and use it with incredible strength, while Blaze gets pyrokinesis (chaos powers are random and weird guys just roll with it). Rouge does not use chaos control (though it’s hard to get her to keep her hands off the emeralds because they are just so shinnyyy). However, she becomes a huge asset by contributing in intelligence, her flight ability, and her natural skills in stealth and espionage.

[jennsterjay]

y’all I’m so excited to share this with you XDD

So I have this Adventure-style story idea that is driven by Knuckles’ and Shadow’s interactions with each other as they face a new threat. The story is called Never Turn Back From M.E. which is a fusion of Shadow’s Theme “Never Turn Back” and Knuckles’ Theme “Unknown from M.E.” 

I hope you enjoy :) !

-----

Never Turn Back From M.E. [Full Plot]

Act 1: Knuckles and Shadow only know each other through their friends and comrades, but every time they try to interact they end up fighting due to one reason or another because they both have the tendency to square up and act tough rather than rely on others. Eventually they interact more because there are a growing number of problems happening on their planet due to the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds acting up. As the Master Emerald Guardian and Master of Chaos Control, they go on more missions together to figure out what’s going on and learn that they’re not so different from each other after all. Between missions, they start to hang out more and Shadow visits Knuckles on his island from time to time and they talk about anything, everything, and sometimes nothing at all.

Act 2: Eventually Shadow asks Knuckles if he can help him control his raw energy so that he can learn to fight without his inhibitor rings, but still be in control of how much power he uses. Knuckles helps him by telling him to take off his rings while Knuckles himself acts as an inhibitor that regulates Shadow’s power when he powers up. He does this by holding Shadow in place by his arms. During this scene, since they’re on Angel Island the ground under him starts cracking from immense power and Knuckles asks him if it’s working. Shadow almost gives up because he admits his power is like this because he still has inner turmoil from his past. Knuckles reminds him of all the good that he’s done and that he still has a future he can protect and then Shadow finally accepts this. It’s then that he is able to finally control his power without his rings. After that, Shadow feels as though a weight has been lifted off of his shoulders and laughs. Knuckles congratulates him and they really become close.

Act 3: Shadow acts slightly different. He’s still mostly the same stoic and ‘few words more action’ kinda guy, but he’s not as rough around the edges. He even interacts more with his friends on a personal level. His friends and comrades notice this, and they also notice that Knuckles seems to be the person he interacts with the most. When Shadow and Knuckles are alone one day, it’s then that Shadow realizes he’s fallen in love with him. He doesn’t outright admit it or say it, but when Knuckles catches signs like Shadow laughing around him, staring or making eye contact a bit too long, or Rouge straight up giving him massive hints, Knuckles realizes that he has feelings for him too...but he also has a duty as the Last Guardian of the Master Emerald, and tries to tell himself that his duty comes first.

Act 4: They address it, Shadow confesses first. He knows he may get rejected because Knuckles has a destiny, but he also knows Knuckles does have a social life with others despite his duty, so it’s at least worth a shot. When the words are finally in the air, Knuckles is torn as to what to do, and what he wants. Shadow understands this and gives him time to think about it. More chaos-related instances occur and seem to be getting worse with no lead and no source. Even Eggman is working with Tails and Eggman Nega who has also contacted the prime dimension to report that it’s happening in every dimension. A few days after, Shadow and Knuckles feel something shift on Angel Island and explore the disturbance together. A new part of the ruins has opened up that Knuckles has never seen before. They explore it and discover an ancient prophecy, one where the Last Guardian battles an interdimensional monster on Angel Island and sacrifices himself to save everyone. Knuckles thinks about how this is what he is here for, his destiny. However Shadow refuses to accept this. Shadow and Knuckles have a falling out over this, but Shadow comes back to tell him that he’s not alone and doesn’t have to do this by himself.

Act 5: Knuckles and Shadow’s friends and comrades as well as Silver, Blaze, and a few others that have traveled to their timeline all meet up on their planet to hear Knuckles account of what’s going on. Knuckles tells them about the prophecy and Shadow occasionally says more info, and Tails and the Eggman’s say their account of the data and research they’ve collected. They predict that the arrival of the interdimensional monster will be in three days, and they’ll have to stop it. Everyone plans and finishes collecting the Chaos Emeralds, Sol Emeralds, and other game related powerful items to prepare. Knuckles with his role as Guardian, and Shadow with his role as a tactician and G.U.N. Member means the two don’t interact much, but on the last night before the big day the two find each other because they don’t know if this will be the last time they’ll ever be with each other. Knuckles finally tells him he loves him, and they finally kiss and spend that night together at Shadow’s place and fall asleep together in each others arms.

Act 6 Final Story: Shadow wakes up but Knuckles isn’t there beside him. He has a sinking feeling about this and soon after he gets red alerts on his communicators. He thinks about last night an for a moment feels like he’s going to lose him, but he remembered what Knuckles said to him in Act 2, and Shadow smiles and says “no one can tell us what our destiny is, we make our own” and he leaves his place with newfound determination. Shadow arrives to the base of operations with everyone involved and everyone looks worried at Shadow. Shadow asks what’s wrong and what’s going on. Tails shows him that there is a giant chaos energy field around Angel Island and no one is able to get through. Knuckles is also trapped on the Island. Shadow breathes for a moment, then has his game face on. He asks if there was anything they could use, and Tails says Super Sonic tried to get through but got burnt out, Burning Blaze found a weak point but no entry, and Super Silver tried to create an opening with his telekinesis but it only thinned the barrier out somewhat... Shadow then says “Then how about you send me”.

Meanwhile Knuckles has woken up on Angel Island against his will and has resigned to completing his destiny. He’s aware that his friends are trying to get through the barrier, but even with the Master Emerald he couldn’t lower the barrier. There’s only 12 minutes left until Doomsday and Knuckles really thinks he’ll have to do it all alone. Suddenly the Master Emerald glows brightly until it becomes blinding, and when the light subsides Knuckles sees someone that he thought he’d never be able to see again. In his super form, surrounded by the Chaos Emeralds, Sol Emeralds, and other powerful items...was a slightly worn out Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow the Hedgehog who had used the Master Emerald and other items to connect a portal and get back to him.

Knuckles walks towards him in disbelief and gives every excuse why he shouldn’t be here asks why he would do this, and Shadow runs and kisses him.  He hugs him tight and then puts his hands on his shoulders so he can face him. Shadow says “Because you and me...we’re in this together and that’s a promise. No matter if the world is against you, or you’re at the end of your row, you’ll always have help at your side”. It’s then that Shadow lets go and uses all the items at once as well as the Master Emerald’s power and says Chaos Control. It’s then that Knuckles sees one by one as all of his friends, enemies, and comrades appear avengers style on Angel Island in their super/hyper/powerful forms and cheer and prepare for battle. Sonic and his friends who heard everything through Tail’s tech cheer Knuckles and Shadow on which momentarily embarrasses them and Shadow laughs while Knuckles is confused and a bit overwhelmed. Shadow refocuses and holds out his hand, and asks Knuckles “So Knuckles the Echidna...are you ready to do this together?” and Knuckles breathes and then smiles at Shadow and says “Yeah, let’s show that beast what were made of!” and the moment Knuckles grabs his hand he turns into Hyper Knuckles.

When Knuckles turns the hand grab into a hug, something else unexpected happens. A bright light shines where the two stand to reveal an entirely new person in a form greater than Hyper, Sol, and Super.

In Knuckles and Shadows highest combined form, and as a fusion of them both stands someone ready to take on any challenge, even destiny itself.

Primordial Knuxadow: “Are you all ready to do this??!!”

Everyone: YEAH!!

A golden helmet and armor forms on him, and the interdimensional being finally appears and roars.

Primordial Knuxadow: “Then let’s show them OUR destiny!!”

----------

(The End)

[silverisbestboy]

Boom!Shadow x Reader

Requested by anonymous: If your requests are open, may I ask for headcannons of a date with boom!Shadow?

Warning: Suggestive flirting, children avert your eyes

You were good friends with Sonic and witnessed the first fight between him and the infamous Shadow the Hedgehog

Although he wasn't the worst person your friends had ever fought, you were still reasonably mistrusting of him

You ended up running into him once again when taking a walk through the plateaus one day

He didn't recognize you as you didn't partake in the fight

"Out of my way pathetic human."

"Tough talk for a fella with a small co-"

"Hey, I know you, you're that guy that fought Sonic the other day!"

"You're friends with that sorry excuse for a hedgehog?"

"Yeah, and I gotta say. You're a bit of a bastard."

Shadow was taken aback, no one had ever dared talked to him like that before. Didn't you know who he was?

But then you laughed a little at your own comment, and for some reason, Shadow didn't feel insulted or angry

No he felt... what was that.... humor?

"Anyways, I think it's time I properly introduce myself."

You give him your name and hold out your hand for him to shake

And he almost goes to take it

And then he remember he has a reputation to uphold

"Tch, get that out of my face. I've got better better things to do than mingle with a weak human."

But as he walks past you dismissively, he feels as sense of... guilt

You were just trying to be friendly, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to socialize with someone for once

Days later and Shadow has put quite some thought into you

Maybe there was a way to talk to you without being uncharacteristic

If he kept up his usual commentary while just casually hanging around you, then he wouldn't have to act any different than he usually did

He tracked you down to your house and knocked on your door

"Oh, hello Shadow, what brings you here?"

"If you insist on being around me, you can meet me in the canyons at 6pm on Saturday."

Now, Shadow is definitely not the best at social skills, he prefers to be exact and to the point and not waste words on small talk

So it's no surprise that he doesn't realize the way he worded his statement might come off a little differently than what he intended

"Wow, Shadow. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were asking me on a date."

"What?! A-a date--"

"Though you are kind of a jerk, I guess it's good that you're trying to express your inner feelings."

"Hold on a second, that's not what I--"

"And there is this nice floral dress I've been meaning to wear."

"No, you're completely misunderstanding--"

"Alright, Saturday it is! See you then!"

You shut the door in his face before he could get out another word

Well this is a problem

He considers knocking on your door again and explaining the misunderstanding

But instead he simply teleports back to his cave where he promptly freaks out

Before Shadow knows it, Saturday comes around and he shows up at the canyons 30 minutes early with the intent of cancelling the date and maintaining his "lone wolf" reputation

But then you show up right at 6 in a casual but pretty floral print sundress with a basket in your hand

You greet him and he just kinda stands there blushing

Afterall, you showed up true to your word and went through the trrouble of dressing up nice for him

And he wanted to turn down the date

In the end, he decided to keep his mouth shut

"What's in the basket?"

"Oh, I brought some sandwhiches and some snacks and stuff. Thought it would be nice since I figured you weren't gonna take me to an actual restuarant anytime soon."

"Pfft. Like I'd ever take you to one of the pitiful establishments they dare to call restuarants here. If I'm taking you somewhere, it's gonna be a place that actually matters."

"Aw, Shadow, you flatter me."

He smirked at that; maybe this wouldn't be such a bad idea after all

You layed out your food on a nearby rock and you and Shadow got to talking

Of course, you'd kinda have to carry the conversation as Shadow would prefer you to make the first comment (he'll never admit it but homeboy's a bit shy)

Y'all's converation is full of playful yet snide comments with slight flirting from your side which Shadow would promptly redirect you from

But as the day got darker, you got bolder, and your flirtatious attitude became more and more prominent

"So I hear you live in a cave."

"Yeah, I like living there it's dark and quiet."

"Well, your cave's not the only hole you can go into tonight." *wink* (A/N: I am so sorry.)

"......what...."

Shadow starts to become increasingly aware of the fact that you're starting to move closer and closer to him

He tries to continue the conversation as normal and goes to insult something in an attempt to maintain his previous attitude

But suddenly his voice cracks

Uh oh

Mission failed, we'll get em next time

Shadow quickly clears his throat and realizes he's getting too nervous for this

"This meet-up has been going on for hours. I've got better things to do than sit here and talk all night."

With that, he promptly stands up and and turns around to leave

But you grab his hand last second

"Wait, did you at least have a good time?"

He stares down at your hand

"I...did....Thank you."

Shadow then teleports away, leaving you happy and planning for another date

[theeverlastingshade]

Favorite Albums of the 10s

25. Shaking the Habitual- The Knife

The Knife made a name for themselves with their third and most celebrated LP, Silent Shout, but it’s their fourth LP, StH, that pushed their idiosyncratic blend of electroacoustic synth-pop to the furthest, most far-flung places that they’ve gone yet. The record deals with a diverse range of topics from the surveillance state, to fracking, pollution, gender discrimination, and unchecked greed with colorful, ketamine-fused candy cotton synth work and ritualistic percussion. There are long passages of ambience like the menacing build of “A Cherry on Top” dispersed between roaring apocalyptic dance numbers like the astonishing industrial eruption “Full of Fire” and the electro-acoustic freak out “Without You My Life Would Be Boring”. With the exception of the mid-album ambient epic “Old Dreams Waiting to Be Realized” every song on StH justifies its length with consistently engrossing arrangements that sustain their momentum without compromising an ounce of their potency. Everything about the record lives up to its title, from its thematic ambitions, to the breadth of the sonics, pacing, and performances themselves. StH if the full manifestation of the darkness that was lurking beneath the surface of their music from as early as their breakout single “Heartbeats”, but thankfully the music never collapses under the weight of their thematic concerns. Their resilience remains inspiring all these years later, and if Karin and Olof never reunite for a fifth LP we couldn’t have asked for a better send off.

Essentials: “Full of Fire”, “A Tooth for an Eye”, “A Cherry on Top”

24. XXX- Danny Brown

Hip-hop grew to remarkable heights throughout the 10s, and yet there were few rappers that displayed the level of growth and consistency from record to record throughout this past decade quite like Danny Brown. The Detroit native spent the aughts hustling the mixtape circuit, finally catching a spark with 2010’s The Hybrid, his strong debut LP. But a year later Brown returned with his sophomore LP and magnum opus XXX, a twisted rap odyssey that ignited the blogs, and signaled that a new era of hip hop was beginning to emerge. XXX found Brown rapping over an assortment of wonky boom-bap instrumentals courtesy of Bruiser Brigade producer Skywalker that fused classic hip-hop, trap, baroque pop, and techno into shapes far more disorienting than the beats that the vast majority of his contemporaries were rapping over. While it was evident beforehand, XXX really cemented the notion that Brown could rap over anything. The beats here are generally extremely impressive, and there are plenty of singular stylistic touches like the slurring violin stabs of “Lie 4”, the menacing synth lurch of “Monopoly”, or the distorted brass loops of closer “30”, that really stand out, but the appeal is first and foremost Brown’s rapping. His voice alone is one of the most versatile and unpredictable instruments in hip-hop, but aside from his masterful vocal alteration, always perfectly synched to the tone of any given moment on any given song of his, he’s a naturally gifted writer, as thoughtful as he is straight up hilarious. Whether bragging about his destructive lifestyle (“Die Like a Rockstar”), describing how much he loves cunnilingus “I Will”, mourning the desolation around him “Party All the Time”, or reveling in his come-up “30”, Brown is a thoroughly engaging presence throughout the entire album. On XXX profanity and profundity march gleefully hand in hand with one another, casting Brown as one of the last decade’s most singular voices.

Essentials: “Die Like a Rockstar”, “Monopoly”, “30”

23. House of Sugar- Alex G

On Alex G’s latest LP, House of Sugar, his concoction of warm guitar pop and warped electronic production reached a new peak. The songs on HoS detail the misdeeds of various characters succumbing to their greed, and the vignettes that he paints are growing increasingly well-realized thanks to a continuously sharpening songwriting voice and a plethora of tasteful pitch-shifted vocals that help imbue his characters with color and personality. HoS opener “Walk Away” provides a reasonably sonic barometer for what’s to come before dropping us into a series of the most immediate pop songs that he’s ever penned. “Hope” and “Southern Sky” are nimble acoustic guitar pop songs that are almost disarming in their immediacy, and framed around references to the real life death of a friend of his due to opioids and a dream he had, respectively. By the time we reach acoustic guitar and sitar-drone of “Taking” the pitch-shifted vocals are at the forefront of the music and HoS shifts gears into its abstract middle section which owes a lot to the new-age beat deconstruction of avant-garde electronic producers, specifically Oneohtrix Point Never. On the instrumental “Sugar”, a sublime concoction of pitch-warped whispers, dissonant strings arpeggios, and creeping acoustic guitar plucks, HoS reaches the depths of its depravity. The next song, “In My Arms”, leads us to the suite of sublime acoustic reveries that close HoS, arguably peaking with the gorgeous acoustic love ballad “Cow”. The dramatic sonic left-turn that HoS takes midway through may leave some new listeners a little cold, but for most Alex G fans nothing about the eclecticism of HoS should come as a surprise. Nor should the overwhelming quality of the songs here. From Alex G’s debut, Race, in 2010 up through HoS, he released a remarkable catalog of some of the most eclectic, and vital indie rock of the century, and I have no reason to believe he won’t top HoS at some point.

Essentials: “Gretel”, “Sugar”, “Walk Away”

22. Sea When Absent- A Sunny Day in Glasgow

A Sunny Day in Glasgow may be one of the 21st century’s most underrated bands, but not even Pitchfork could resist the coveted BNM tag when it came time to review their fourth and strongest LP, Sea When Absent. Building off of their first three idiosyncratic LPs that superbly fused electronic pop with shoegaze and dream pop, A Sunny Day in Glasgow moved into decidedly more psychedelic territory with their fourth LP while still retaining the sharp melodic sensibility of those first three. Much of the shift is easy to credit to vocalist Jen Goma who joined the group on their third LP, Autumn Again, and here her soaring vocals deliver rich melodies that are more fleshed out and focused than anything on their past releases. SWA sidesteps the kaleidoscopic sprawl of their 22 song sophomore LP, Ashes Grammar, and instead delivers 11 tight, stargazing pop songs. Whereas on the prior records it more often than not felt like the band were throwing ideas at the wall to see what stuck (with primarily successful results) on SWA the band commit more thoroughly to their ideas, writing songs that are well within their wheelhouse but have never been so well-realized. “Byebye, Big Ocean (The End)” and “Boys Turn Into Girls (Initiation Rites)” erupt with a wall of dazzling distorted guitars that slowly build into engrossing melodic payoffs while “Never Nothing (It’s Alright (It’s Ok))” and “The Body, It Bends” are sublime, soft spoken breathers that put a premium on texture and melody, and are among A Sunny Day in Glasgow’s most impressive songs yet. Even seemingly inconsequential moments like the “Double Dutch” interlude positively radiant with melodic warmth and joyous energy. Their strain of sun-kissed, jubilant dream pop tonally stands in stark contrast to much of the pop that’s dominated the airwaves this past decade, but their temperament doesn’t sound naïve so much as defiant. They have yet to follow up SWA with another LP, and I can’t blame them if they feel like they’ve said everything that they have to say with SWA.

Essentials: “The Body, It Bends”, “Never Nothing (It’s Alright (It’s Ok))”, “Boys Turn Into Girls (Initiation Rites)”

21. Strange Mercy- St. Vincent

Annie Clark has spent the past decade releasing music under her St. Vincent moniker, collaborating with the likes of David Byrne, producing for Sleater-Kinney, and appearing on the sketch comedy Portlandia. Although she began her solo career in earnest with her strong 2008 debut, Marry Me, in 2011 Clark released Strange Mercy, her third, and strongest record to date. Produced by John Congleton, SM is a compelling fusion of art rock/and chamber pop that often lands with a jarring, visceral impact, but is still imbued with a sense of grace that heightens the sentiments of her bewitching songwriting. Her first two records showcased her singular voice and tastefully, ornate baroque arrangements, but on SM Clark begins to let loose and lean into her virtuosic guitar playing. Songs like “Cruel” and “Northern Light” are propelled by her nimble riffs caked in distortion while strings rise and fall in a satisfying sweep all around her triumphant vocals. “Surgeon” brings the pace down to a crawl and gets a tone of mileage out of sensuous synth arrangements as Clark sings softly of depression and carnal desire “Stay in just to get along/Turn off the TV, wade in bed/A blue and a red/A little something to get along” before the song erupts into a furious storm of guitar distortion. The balance between fury and serenity animate the record from start to finish, and Clark seamlessly toggles these impulses from start to finish. On the title track, over a lumbering tom/kick drum rhythm, the incessant ping of a synth, and bluesy guitar licks Clark brilliantly sums up the record’s theme with a scene of police brutality “If I ever meet that dirty policeman that roughed you up/No, I, I don’t know what” that depicts the contraction inherent in the way justice is carried out by police in the west, and the way those contradictions bleed through to our understanding of morality on the whole. SM is a record full of these sorts of messy contradictions, and the music constantly reflected that perpetual sense of disarray with songs as colorful and chaotic as they were controlled.

Essentials: “Northern Lights”, “Surgeon”, “Strange Mercy”

20. A Moon Shaped Pool- Radiohead

Radiohead’s eighth LP, 2011’s solid but unremarkable King of Limbs seemed to cement the notion that while Radiohead may not have another game changer left in them, they were probably weren’t ever going to make a bad record. And with all of their various solo pursuits it seemed plausible that we may never get another Radiohead record, as underwhelming as capping off a career as thrilling as theirs with KoL would have been. Thankfully things didn’t pan out that way, and in 2016 Radiohead released their ninth LP, A Moon Shaped Pool; the platonic ideal of a master stroke from a legacy act. The album is partially composed of older songs re-worked into new forms, such as the tense string onslaught of opener “Burn the Witch” while a few of the newer songs like the gorgeous, ambient “Daydreaming” are string-laden compositions that are as eerie as they are radiant. For a band that’s been prophesizing the increasingly dismal state of the world that we now find ourselves in for the past several decades, they sound increasingly comfortable with their position in the world, and there’s no question that they’re in full command of their craft here. The production is sublime throughout the entire record, with a sense of encroaching doom bubbling just beneath the surface juxtaposed against rich baroque instrumentation. AMSP is the Radiohead album most informed by Johnny Greenwood’s work scoring films like There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread, and as a result there’s a remarkable sense of immersion at work even for a Radiohead album.

So while there are some recognizable forms from records past, such as the brass-lead krautrock strut of “Ful Stop”, or the twitchy IDM drum work of “Identikit”, the spectral production heightens the potency of everything here. The compositions on AMSP are the most elegant, and nuanced of Radiohead’s to date, and Yorke’s voice continues to age superbly. Yorke’s lyrics touch on familiar topics, more relevant now than ever, such as climate change on “The Numbers” “The numbers don’t decide/The system is a lie/A river running dry/The wings of butterflies” the dangers of unchecked authority on “Burn the Witch” “Abandon all reason/Avoid all contact/Do not react/Shoot the messengers/This is a low-flying panic attack” and the broader, horrific realities of the world that we live in on “Ful Stop” “Why should I be good if you’re not?/This is a foul tasting medicine/A foul tasting medicine/To be trapped in your ful-stop”. What’s more unexpected are songs like the graceful string-led “Glass Eyes” and the devastating ambient closer “True Love Waits”, two songs that are poignant tributes to Yorke’s ex-wife, Rachel Owen, who passed away from cancer in late 2016. AMSP isn’t just a spectacular late-career gem that would make a superb swan song; it’s also the most human record that Radiohead have made yet.

Essentials: “True Love Waits”, “Daydreaming”, “Ful Stop”

19. Eye Contact- Gang Gang Dance

Few bands set the tone for the kind of cross-culture hybridization that would become the sonic norm for music throughout this decade quite like Gang Gang Dance. Throughout the early aughts they cut their teeth in the Brooklyn noise scene alongside bands like Animal Collective, Black Dice, and Exceptor blending noise, experimental rock, and worldbeat into blistering, unconventional shapes. As the years progressed Gang Gang Dance gradually began to open up their sound, folding elements of hip-hop, dance music, and psychedelic pop into a colorful concoction of rhythmically robust, delightfully manic pop music that was just as forward-thinking as it was infectious. The shift really began on their criminally underrated 2005 LP, God’s Money, but began notably on their terrific 2008 LP, Saint Dymphna. On the follow-up to SD, their remarkable fifth LP, Eye Contact, the sound of Gang Gang Dance crystallized into something more immediate and far-ranging than anything that they had done prior (or since so far). On EC, everything that the band had attempted throughout the course of their career (tribal rhythms, eastern melodies, shards of refracted noise) was gloriously combined into a hyper-saturated tapestry of progressive future pop. EC is the peak of Gang Gang Dance’s prior decade of sonic exploration, and nearly a decade later there’s still nothing that sounds anything like it.

Beginning with the astonishing slow-burn intro of “Glass Jar” that finds the band patiently building up what begins as a pent up ambient composition toward something more volatile that eventually rips open midway through, spilling into a calamitous, euphoric release into the song’s second half, EC is bursting with joyous energy and possibility. The melodies are some of the sharpest, and most direct that vocalist Lizzi Bougatsos has ever penned, providing a warm immediacy that cuts through even the most outre arrangements here, and they continually expand into shapes as the songs continue to progress. “Adult Goth” and “MindKilla” are bolstered considerably by Lizzi’s dynamic vocal performances, and the off-kilter, spellbinding synth arrangements of the band’s keyboardist Brian DeGraw, while “Romance Layers” provides an ideal mid-album psychedelic breather.. And on the album’s closer, “Thru and Thru”, the band deliver a send-off that succinctly sums up a prior decade’s worth of experimentation into a nearly six-minute song overflowing with eastern melodies, mesmerizing chants, and infectious tribal rhythms that congeal into a sound that couldn’t possibly be mistaken for anyone else. Although they’ve only graced us with the somewhat underwhelming 2018 record Kazuashita since, when Gang Gang Dance are firing on all cylinders, as they are on all of EC, there’s simply nothing like it.

Essentials: “Glass Jar”, “Adult Goth”, “Thru and Thru”

18. Shields- Grizzly Bear

Although the zeitgeist was already beginning to dramatically shift by the time that Grizzly Bear released their fourth LP, Shields, guaranteeing that it wouldn’t have the same immediate impact that they enjoyed with its predecessor, their 2009 breakout LP, Veckatimest, they still ended up releasing their magnum opus. Compared to Veckatimest’s approachable folk-pop leanings there are moments on Shields that sound downright prog, but the band never let these intricate baroque pop/psychedelic folk arrangements get away from themselves or compromise the remarkable melodic instincts that were undeniable on their terrific sophomore LP, Yellow House. The ten songs throughout Shields are perfectly paced, and there isn’t a single moment that overstays its welcome, but they each develop just as much as they need to. The band’s primary songwriters, Edward Droste and Daniel Rossen, were each peaking as singular songwriters in their own respective rights on Shields, and they both deliver a handful of the band’s strongest songs to date. Droste’s songs tend to creep in ethereal waltzes with delicate baroque instrumentation (“gun-shy”, “A Simple Answer”) unfolding patiently while sustaining a remarkable sense of tension while Rossen’s are jaunty folk rippers that unfurl in unpredictable, and thrilling cacophonies that still retain the grace that the ornate instrumentation demands (“Yet Again”, “Speak in Rounds”) but unfurl in far more complex structures than those on Veckatimest.

Grizzly Bear’s progression from Droste’s cozy lo-fi folk bedroom project to a knotty baroque folk juggernaut was one of the most quietly satisfying of any band from the past decade, and on Shields they hit a gorgeous peak. While Droste and Rossen had peaked as songwriters here, their contributions never overshadowed those of Chris Taylor or Chris Bear, and the chemistry on Shields is sharper than most bands ever come close to achieving. It’s easy to get lost admiring the sheer craft of their meticulous arrangements, crisp production, provoking but elusive songwriting, and the sharp interplay between Droste and Rossen each on their own individual merit, but on Shields everything that previously stood out about their artistry is amplified, and congealed in a way that’s approachable yet inimitable. On Shields Grizzly Bear umped the ante from Veckatimest on both fronts, and proved that they could grow more immediate and melodic while still dazzling with rich compositional complexity. Grizzly Bear followed it up with Painted Ruins in 2017, that while a perfectly good record in its own right is nowhere as cohesive, and most unfortunately, patient. And to be honest, I haven’t heard a baroque folk record released since Shields that’s as consistently engrossing, or one performed with such remarkable execution. Shields isn’t their most immediate, but it best distills their singular essence, and its generosity knows no bounds.

Essentials: “gun-shy”, “Yet Again”, “The Hunt”

17. The Money Store- Death Grips

Anyone from future generations looking to hear a band that’s most emblematic of the 10s as a full decade probably couldn’t do better than Death Grips. The trio consisting of vocalist MC Ride, keyboardist/producer Flatlander, and drummer Zach Hill released their abrasive Ex-military tape in 2011, and right out of the gates the trio had a fully-formed sound that plucked unapologetically from west coast hip-hop, industrial, hardcore, and noise. Although far from the first band to draw equally upon genres like these, Death Grips stood out immediately thanks in no small part to MC Ride, who has since proved to be one of the last decade’s most compelling frontmen. His lyrics are cryptic, and intelligent yet visceral, with a deceptively wry edge. Although there’s quite a bit of variety to his delivery, it’s always propelled forth with an overwhelming intensity that can take some time to become accustomed to. Ex-military was received rapturously by critics and bloggers, but as exciting as group like them may have seemed at the time it would have been hard to predict any kind of real longevity for them. And their unrelentingly antagonistic streak (leaking No Love Deep Web, putting a picture of Zach Hill’s dick on the cover of said album, skipping performances or just playing recorded music instead of performing, trolling fans, faking a breakup) would have decimated the momentum of almost any other band, but Death Grips feed on this sort of chaos like a troupe of anarchist vampires. Their arc from Ex-military to 2018’s Year of the Snitch is one of the most rewarding streaks of any act throughout the 10s, and while most of these records are great, there isn’t one that better distills their essence than their 2012 debut LP, The Money Store.

While Ex-military presented them as an admittedly idiosyncratic, yet undeniable product of their environment, TMS blew their sound wide open proving that they had range far beyond sounds of their native state. Right from the bass arpeggios that jolt opener “Get Got” to life, it’s clear the fidelity has improved considerably, but they haven’t compromised an ounce of their fury. This still scans as music custom-tailored for little other than violently thrashing your limbs, and little else from the past decade as been anywhere near as effective at distilling that aesthetic so neatly across the run of a single record. But on TMS Death Grips were still writing actual songs, with memorable hooks, sticky melodies, and conventional structures that served to heighten the potency of their tantrums. Songs like “I’ve Seen Footage” and “Hacker” are shocking for how immediate and unthreatening the band sound despite MC Ride’s sour bark, while songs like “The Fever (Aye Aye)” and “The Cage” showcase early peaks for Flatlander’s immaculate, and underrated synth work. MC Ride is at his best here, whether talking shit and espousing authenticity (“Hustle Bones”), calling out doubters (“Bitch Please”), or just railing against general conformity, he delivers 13 career defining performances in neat succession. Death Grips have continued to relentlessly experiment on all their subsequent records, and while some have come close to matching the excellence of TMS, they’ve all fallen short. Thankfully, the immense exhilaration and urgency of TMS sound more potent with each successive year that we inhibit this desolate hellscape.

Essentials: “I’ve Seen Footage”, “The Fever (Aye Aye)”, “Hacker”

16. Twin Fantasy (Face to Face)- Car Seat Headrest

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that a re-recording of a devastatingly personal LP that Will Toledo recorded at 19, with better production, stronger arrangements, and cleaner vocals, would end up being his best record to date. What was surprising was that he decided to return to the record of his that’s most important to him, and give it the sort of justice that it deserves after having developed into a far more adept talent in the years following its release. And although I’m sure some of those songs (if not all of them) were painful to revisit, the discipline and audacity paid off enormously. Twin Fantasy centers entirely around falling in love with another man at 19, and the arc of their relationship from mourning the distance between them on the opening song “My Boy (Twin Fantasy)” to the newfound acceptance of their relationship’s dissolution on closer “Twin Fantasy (Those Boys)”, detailing the highs and lows with unabashed sincerity. While the original still holds up fairly well, there’s no question that the re-arranging, cleaner vocals, and stronger fidelity overall just heightened the potency of what was already there without diminishing any aspect of the original record. Will’s cleverness, sense of humor, and dynamism as a bandleader elevate TF beyond a melancholic teen drama into a searing document of formative growth, demonstrating craft, ingenuity, and wisdom far beyond his years. More so than any other record released throughout the last decade, TF exemplifies just how potent indie rock still is.

This new version of TF is more of a “re-imagining” of the original record than anything else, and as such the thematic scope as it initially existed, along with the exact same track listing, is held perfectly intact. The record’s two epics, those being “Beach Life-In-Death” and “Famous Prophets (Stars)” are both even longer, and benefit more so than anything else here from their new arrangements. The fidelity has been cleaned up notably, but TF is still far from overproduced, and without any fuzz obscuring a lot of the detail you can hear just how crisp, and superbly layered these arrangements are. The new-wave outlier “Nervous Young Human” practically radiates with a newfound sheen, and is handedly the most radio-ready song the band have ever written, but it still folds seamlessly into the record’s mid-section between the anthemic, distortion-fueled peaks of “Sober to Death” and the record’s mid-album power-pop stunner, “Bodys”. Toledo’s drawing from a great deal here of different sub-genres here, and he manages to land on a remarkably uniform sound that belies the myriad of intricacies at work that prevent these compositions from being crushed underneath the weight of their own ambition. The album’s greatest achievement is how deftly Will manages to tell a story about the most profound event of his life coupled with music that’s as multi-faceted as the human experience being conveyed. TF may be proudly out of step with the current cultural zeitgeist from a sonic perspective, but the sentiments conveyed throughout are sublime missives from a distinctly millennial outlook. As far as concept albums about a single relationship are concerned, Toledo has set the bar this century with TF.

Essentials: “Famous Prophets (Stars)”, “Beach Life-In-Death”, “Bodys”

15. Modern Vampires of the City- Vampire Weekend

Vampire Weekend have come a long way from the indie afro-pop roots of their debut to their pastoral, jam band informed fourth LP, Father of the Bride, but on their third LP, Modern Vampires of the City the band refined their sound to a sublime strain of chamber music and art pop filled with Ezra Koenig’s strongest writing to date. Whereas their first two records were entirely produced by the band’s multi-instrumentalist and not-so-secret weapon Rostam Batmanliij, on MVotC Ariel Reitscheid, a producer known for working with acts like Charli XCX, Haim, Solange, etc joined the proceedings, and there’s a lighter feel to a lot of the arrangements, but everything has more dimension overall, and the low-end really pops on a lot of these in a way that it hadn’t really before. There are plenty of welcome production choices throughout, like the sprinkling of auto-tune on “Step”, or the blistering saxophone solo on “Worship You” that do a great deal to expand the parameters of the band’s sound without ever finding them really going out of their depth. Compared to their prior records there’s a fairly vast tonal gap on MVotC, with a heightened sense of existential dread and fixations on mortality, nostalgia, and faith. It’s weighty stuff without question, and the exceptional pacing goes a long towards helping evenly pack in the melancholic, languid compositions like “Everlasting Arms” and “Don’t Lie” with infectious up-tempo numbers like “Diane Young”, “Unbelievers”, and “Finger Back” that, while far from the best of what’s here are still as immediate as anything they’ve ever released and benefit from the same immaculate arrangement, production, and writing as everything else here even if they don’t break as much new ground. But the best of what’s here are without question among the best pop songs released so this far century.

Both opener “Obvious Bycycle” and “Step” are devastating looks at nostalgia that frame Ezra’s thoughtful character sketches in rich compositions that in the case of the former consist of soft wisps of grand piano, percussion that sounds like a stamp being punched, and surprisingly visceral bass, while in the case of the latter the band opt for gorgeous harpsichord arrangements, and a swaggering bassline. But “Hannah Hunt”, which is for the record the best VW song to date, is on another level entirely. It opens like the sun after the storm with field recording of a crowd of people clearing away for delicate grand piano and the gentle rumble of bass. Ezra sings of a relationship slowly starting to break apart as a couple travels the country together “A gardener told me some plants move/But I could not believe it/’Til me and Hannah Hunt/Saw crawling vines and weeping willows”. The song slowly builds into a rousing baroque pop crescendo over roaring keys as Ezra delivers one of his most devastating lines to date “If I can’t trust you then damn it Hannah/There’s no future, there’s no answer/Though we live on the US dollar/You and me we got our own sense of time”. Rostam left VW in 2016, and although their first record without him, the aforementioned 2019 comeback LP, FotB, his absence was sorely felt. On “Hudson” it almost sounds like Rostam is singing to Ezra, under that lens especially, it’s functions as a poignant, but fitting cap to VW’s first era. As great as FotB, Rostam’s 2017 debut Half-Light, and I Had a Dream That You Were Mine, his 2016 collaboration with Hamilton Leithauser of The Walkmen, I hope that MVotC isn’t the last time the two of them work on a full LP together.

Essentials: “Hannah Hunt”, “Step”, “Ya Hey”

14. Channel Orange- Frank Ocean

Few albums released throughout the last decade have brought about the sort of sweeping sea change that Frank Ocean’s sublime debut LP, Channel Orange, did. Ocean’s kaleidoscopic, self-released 2011 mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra established his artistry as something far beyond that of the go-to hook ghostwriter identity he cut his teeth establishing for himself. A year and a half later, amidst signing to Def Jam, collaborating extensively with Tyler, the Creator, Kanye West, and Jay-Z, and writing a now legendary tumblr post stating that his first love was for another man a few days before releasing his immensely anticipated debut LP, Frank Ocean released that album, and decided to call it Channel Orange. Like Ocean’s music itself, the narrative surrounding his ascension feels both timeless (moving to LA after Hurricane Katrina struck his hometown of New Orleans, ghostwriting and joining Tyler, the Creator’s hip-hop collective Odd Future before releasing his own music, which drew primarily from soul, classic r&b, and funk more than anything that was on the radio at the time) and modern (sampling extensively on N,U, having a few key co-signs that seemed to unlock all the right connections, leveraging the power of the internet along with the rest of Odd Future to build and sustain a fanbase) but none of it would matter if the music didn’t live up to the hype. But all of this is particularly interesting to consider when talking about CO, especially considering that it’s the best debut LP of the 10s, and an absolute master class in songwriting.

CO is a remarkably fully-formed debut LP that finds Ocean in complete control of his craft on all fronts. The instrumentation is a lush palette of analog keys, bass, and strings, and with the exception of a few fairly stripped down ballads, shows a keen command for maximalism that never sounds overwrought. Even a song like the colossal, mid-album change-up “Pyramids”, is saved from complete indulgence after the beat seamlessly shifts into a woozy down-tempo trap instrumental with plenty of space for Ocean’s falsetto to linger in. Ocean would shift gears dramatically with the 2016 visual album, Endless, and his second studio LP, Blonde, trading in the rich, dense analog soul and r&b for a minimal psychedelic soul sound. While the production on Blonde and Endless is more impressive than that of CO, neither record was quite able to match the lush immediacy that seemed to come to Ocean so naturally here. Ocean produced the record alongside the musicians Jonathon Ikpeazu, Malay, and Om’Mas Keith who all provided additional keys, drum programming, and/or guitars. Earl Sweatshirt, Tyler, the Creator, and Andre 3000 are the only guests that provide verses, and while each completely delivers, CO is Ocean’s record through and through. Regardless of whether Ocean is singing about the emptiness of privilege (“Super Rich Kids”), or depicting a tale of someone’s life falling apart due to crack addiction (“Crack Rock”) or delivering the closest thing he’ll likely ever come to a straight forward love song (“Thinkin’ Bout You”) his eye for detail, wit, intelligence, and empathy render the characters as rich, and multi-faceted regardless of what angle he’s coming at them from. The warmth and immediacy of the instrumentation and Ocean’s voice draws you in, but it’s the sheer strength of his songwriting that elevates CO from simply being another immensely promising debut to the classic that it is.

Essentials: “Crack Rock”, “Bad Religion”, “End / Golden Girl” ft. Tyler, the Creator

13. Sunbather- Deafheaven

Deafheaven were far from the first band to blend black metal, shoegaze, and post-rock, but on their stellar 2013 record Sunbather they distilled elements of these genres into a punishing, and breathtaking sound that’s unmistakably theirs. Their solid 2010 debut Roads to Judha showed tremendous promise, but their songwriting wasn’t on par with their ambitions yet. But on Sunbather, Deafheaven lived up to that early promise. Sunbather is primarily a blistering fusion of black metal drumming and shrieks engulfed in walls of shoegaze guitar that often give way to instrumental outros that shine with the radiance of Sigur Ros or Explosions in the Sky. George Clarke delivers the lyrics in an indecipherable shriek that either amplifies the intensity of the surrounding arrangements, or is used as a sublime juxtaposition to their fleeting moments of transcendent beauty. Sunbather is seven songs long, and superbly paced so that the band’s lengthier compositions are evenly split between songs that include a dreamy minimalist guitar/piano composition (“Irresistible”), a menacing baroque-noise march that congeals midway through into a jangly guitar conclusion (“Please Remember”), and an eerie collage of vocal samples and droning strings (“Windows”). This odd assortment of songs may seem random, but they do a nice job of breaking up the surrounding onslaught, and demonstrating the band’s range, while still adhering to the record’s searing aesthetic. It’s remarkably accessible music as far as metal is concerned, and if you can make it past the tone of Clarke’s voice there’s a lot to love about this album.

For all of Sunbather’s seemingly impenetrable harshness, there’s a great deal of beauty glistening just beneath the surface. On Sunbather, Deafheaven managed to strike a near perfect balance between beauty and chaos that, while greater heights were achieved later on, they never quite improved upon. The longer numbers here transition into moments of transcendent, cathartic beauty, and back into frenetic fury so subtly, and masterfully, that the juxtapositions quickly begin to seem less like extreme exercises in contrasting dynamics and tones so much as the fluid spectrum of Deafheaven’s multi-faceted artistry. And while the lyrics throughout Sunbather match the brutality of the corresponding arrangements, they also match their life-affirming, triumphant sense of urgency. Whether Clarke is reflecting on habitual patterns and habits that he just can’t shake “Lost in the patterns of youth/And the ghost of your aches comes back to haunt you/And the forging of change makes no difference” on “Vertigo” or ruing the alcoholism that he inherited from his father “In the hallways lit up brightly but couldn’t find myself/I laid drunk on the concrete on the day of your birth in celebration of all you were worth” on closer “The Pecan Tree”, his lyrics throughout Sunbather imbue his tortured yelps with a devastating poignancy rendered all the more morose by the band’s unflinching, formidable poise. It’s not hard to hear why Sunbather was the best reviewed album of 2013, and a game changer for black metal. Few records, metal or otherwise, have managed to convey such overwhelming emotional intensity through such ambitious composition. Its crushing beauty hasn’t lost an ounce of its potency in the years since.

Essentials: “Dream House”, “The Pecan Tree”, “Sunbather”

12. To Pimp a Butterfly- Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar caught the attention of the zeitgeist with his generation defining sophomore LP, Good Kid, M.A.A.D. City, but that record’s follow-up, To Pimp a Butterfly, cemented his status as one of the definitive musical auteurs of his generation. Whereas the former record was a gripping street epic that seamlessly tucked a coming of age story into the larger fabric of a blockbuster west coast hip-hop record, the latter record blew open the history of black music and wove together a tapestry of disparate styles that congealed to express a more multi-faceted look at the black experience. The beats are composed of live instrumentation courtesy of Terrance Martin, Kamasi Washington, Thundercat, and a plethora of the west coast jazz elite, and they span the likes of jazz, r&b, soul, and funk alongside instrumental hip-hop without showing the seams. The music runs the gamut from uplifting anthems (“Alright”) to bouts of unbridled fury (“The Blacker the Berry”), and everywhere in-between, but thanks to Kendrick’s deft pacing and execution nothing sounds out of place, and there’s no mistaking these songs for the work of anyone else through sheer scope alone. Kendrick’s writing and rapping had increased considerably since GKMC, but throughout TPaB he spends less time trying to prove what a capable rapper he is, and far more time using his ability to explore the nuances of systemic racial issues through the lens of a plethora of different characters. TPaB couldn’t have possibly sounded more out of step with the zeitgeist upon its release, but in venturing beyond what hip-hop in the mid 10s sounded like, and exploring perspectives beyond those of himself, he was able to tap into something far more universally human.

Throughout the course of TPaB Kendrick tackles a wide plethora of topics with music that’s matches the breadth and scope of his thematic ambitions. The g-funk strut “King Kunta” is one of the most immediate songs in his career, and he juxtaposes the song’s infectious backdrop against verses that evoke the resilience of Kunta Kinte in the novel Roots as a through line for the jarring shift he experienced throughout his come-up after growing up in poverty. “u?” brilliantly distills the sort of tragic survivor’s guilt that Kendrick experienced in the wake of his success watching so many of his friends continue to succumb to the perils of systemic racism through harsh free-jazz arrangements, while “i” gains power within the context of the record as an uplifting neo-soul anthem of self-love after the preceding storm has subsided. The uplifting anthem “Alright” has become a canonical protest song in the wake of civil unrest as a result of excessive police brutality while the finale, “Mortal Man”, begins with some of his strongest verses to date before transitioning into a fabricated interview with 2Pac. There’s an absurd amount to unpack within the songs on TPaB, but the album never buckles under the weight of its ambition, and delivers performances that are striking at every turn. Kendrick never shies away from depicting the devastating realities throughout the history of the black American experience, but he finds reasons to persist through these tribulations in the power of community, god, and love.

Essentials: “The Blacker the Berry”, “u”, “Wesley’s Theory” ft. George Clinton

11. Lonerism- Tame Impala

On Tame Impala’s debut, Innerspeaker, the band proved adept at piecing together the finest moments from their record collections into strange, idiosyncratic new shapes, but on their sublime sophomore LP, Lonerism, they began to push their sound into the present moment. The flanged guitars, shuffling drum rhythms, and frontman Kevin Parker’s Lennon-esque falsetto are a hallmarks of classic psychedelic rock, but the spellbinding synth textures, evocative samples, and cavernous production showcase a definitively 21st century sensibility. There was no mistaking them for a pure homage act on Lonerism. With the exception of piano on a few tracks courtesy of Jay Watson, and a spoken word interlude courtesy of Melody Prochet, Lonerism was written, recorded, and produced entirely by Kevin Parker, and it helped signal a major shift from bands being the dominant artistic vehicle in indie music to the solo artist taking up that mantle. Lonerism is a perfectly paced album, and aside from a few breathers, and a few epics, it almost plays like a greatest hits set. There were signs of the disco-prog synth act that Tame Imapa developed into on a few of Lonerism’s more immediate moments, but this is still thoroughly steeped in the lineage of psychedelic rock, acid rock, and blues rock. With Lonerism, Parker began to show signs of the poptimist that he was all along, but he hadn’t yet compromised the instrumental ingenuity that he’s capable of for a strong melody, and so here you get the best of both worlds; the band’s sharpest hooks and most adventurous production. Lonerism is where Tame Impala evolved from a promising project with immense potential into one of the defining musical acts of Parker’s generation.

Lonerism is a record that completely lives up to its title as a concept record about isolation. Every song here finds Parker grappling with some aspect of self-imposed isolation set against hazy, psychedelic pop/rock instrumentation. Some songs like, the disarmingly immediate “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” spells out his anguish explicitly, with a love interest that he keeps falling for against his best judgement, while “Endors Toi” finds Parker rejecting the hardships of reality for the bliss that’s only possible when you’re literally dreaming. The lyrics rarely go deep, but on a record like this they’re entirely beside the point. Thankfully Parker’s writing works superbly within the context of the concept without detracting from the instrumentation and production. Parker wrote a few strong hooks on IS, but they were the exception, not the norm. On Lonerism, Parker’s melodic intuition had fully blossomed, and the hooks on songs like “Elephant”, “Why Won’t She Talk to Me”, and “Feels Like We Only Go Backwards” were more immediate, and more memorable than anything on the top 40 at the time. The songs on Lonerism are bursting with sonic personality; whether we’re talking about the euphoric streaks of synth that send “Apocalypse Dreams” into the stratosphere, the phaser-smeared guitars and immersive samples that bring “Sun’s Coming Down” to its triumphant finale, or the propulsive drum fllls that propel “Endors Toi”, Lonerism is the most sonically rich record that Parker has ever released. Parker would achieve more audacious and unexpected heights on his superb 2015 follow-up, Currents, but he has yet to top Lonerism’s consistency, and near perfect balance between studio experimentation and pure pop craftsmanship.

Essentials: “Nothing That Has Happened So Far Has Been Anything We Could Control”, “Sun’s Coming Up”, “Apocalypse Dreams”

10. Flower Boy- Tyler, the Creator

Flower Boy may not have come as a surprise to those who closely followed Tyler Okonoma’s progression from the lo-fi hardcore hip-hop days of Bastard and early Odd Future through his chaotic, candy-coated third LP, Cherry Bomb, but for the casual listener it may have seemed like an unthinkable evolution. And no one could have predicted its consistency. The signs of Tyler progressing into melodic, psych-leaning neo-soul were on the wall as early as his terrific 2013 record, Wolf, but on FB his melodic sensibilities, compositional chops, and an increasingly empathetic outward writing perspective all coalesced into an idiosyncratic tapestry of vibrant sound and color unlike any hip hop record ever recorded. It’s the first time that Tyler’s chops had fully caught up with his ambition, allowing him to completely deliver on the promise of a truly genre-adverse opus that Cherry Bomb merely hinted at. The lyrics are somber, and reflective, demonstrating Tyler’s newfound sense of maturity that would have been unthinkable throughout the early OF days. The sincerity and vulnerability of the lyrics go a long way towards heightening the potency of his vibrant, melodically rich compositions. FB capitalizes on all the strange contradictions that have always been inherent in his music, while removing the adolescent excess that have bogged down each prior release. The result is a highwater mark for what hip-hop and neo-soul can sound like unbridled with concern for what music should sound like. That attention to detail and unrelenting creative spirit are what helped propel FB into being the classic record that it ended up being.

Eschewing the lo-fi Neptunes meets MF DOOM beats of his past records, Tyler landed on a perfect blend of neo-soul synths, jazz strings/horns, and drums that split the difference between classic boom-bap and mid-10s trap for FB. The music is bright and vibrant, with a wealth of detail tucked within each mix that rewards multiple listens. There are songs that are completely in Tyler’s wheelhouse, like the frantic, mid-album trap cut “I Ain’t Got Time!”, and a few like the show-stopping psychedelic soul ballad, “Garden Shed”, that dramatically expand the parameters of his sound, but they all cohere together superbly into a fully-realized kaleidoscope of sound. Even the songs like “Pothole” and “November” that seem like more run of the mill Tyler cuts showcase a renewed sense of focus and tight production that belie their simple construction. FB is a record that’s focused on unrequited love, and while themes of abandonment, disillusionment with fame, growing pains, and insecurity emerge as on past records, the bulk of the action is focused on Tyler coming to terms with both his bisexuality and the anguish of a missed connection. Rarely does heartbreak sound so unflinchingly, thrillingly alive. True to form, the music is never mopey or saccharine, but it’s always brimming with the intensity of young love. FB is the record that Tyler has always set out to make, and while I’m sure he’ll top it at some point, it currently stands at the definitive realization of his singular vision.

Essentials: “911 / Mr. Lonely” ft. Frank Ocean & Stevey Lacy, “Garden Shed” ft. Estelle, “See You Again” ft. Kali Uchis

9. Until the Quiet Comes- Flying Lotus

After Steve Ellison, aka Flying Lotus, dropped his masterful third LP, Cosmogramma, it seemed like he could take his sound anywhere, but doubling down and improving on the maximalist excess of Cosmogramma would have proved a near impossible task. Thankfully, on his stellar follow-up LP, Until the Quiet Comes, FlyLo swung all the way in the opposite direction, and despite it being the flavor of the decade minimalism rarely ended up sounding better on any other artist. UtQC is a minimalist electronic jazz/instrumental hip hop record with dreamy meditative arrangements that belie their complexity at every turn. The album is a concept record that finds FlyLo exploring the realms of human consciousness coupled with ambitious arrangements and immersive production that complements his thematic ambitions perfectly. FlyLo is still making beats in a traditional sense, but the compositions on this LP are more rich and varied than the entire discography of most producers, and the music he draws from spans the likes of ambient, psychedelia, r&b, post-rock, progressive rock, and meditative astral jazz as much as his usual instrumental hip hop, IDM, and free jazz touchstones. And so while UtQC is more insular, less immediate, and more likely to necessitate multiple listens than any other record of his, it’s the best showcase of FlyLo’s versatility, melodic intuition, and use of texture.

The compositions are short and sweet, and barely last longer than it takes for FlyLo to introduce an idea, tweak it, thwart expectations, and move on. Like on Cosmogramma, UtQC incorporates live instrumentation weaved throughout various compositions (Thundercat’s bass playing was cemented as a staple element of FlyLo’s sound here) as well as vocal features from the likes of Thundercat, Thom Yorke, Laura Darlington, and Niki Randa. The features are all utilized tastefully, and heighten the potency of the existing arrangements without detracting too much. There are songs like “All In” and “Yesterday/Corded” that just feature FlyLo alone constructing remarkable, lived-in soundscapes from his usual toolkit of drum machines, samplers, sequencers, and keys, while others like the title track and “DMT Song” that commit thoroughly to their minimalism, and coast effortlessly around strong melodies or guest vocal performances. Many of these songs retain the visceral low-end and celestial sweep of his best work, but they don’t serve to overwhelm and disorient as much as they sedate and mesmerize. “Getting There” hits the sweet spot, with and infectious, heavy-hitting low-end juxtaposed against Niki Randa’s sweeping falsetto. UtQC may not go for the jugular as FlyLo’s prior two records, but it’s just as captivating in its own quietly confident way.

And a few of the songs on the back half of the record are some of the most gorgeous that FlyLo has ever composed. The loose and dreamy “Only if You Wanna” provides a simple but sublime bridge from the drum and bass rush of “The Nightcrawler” into the droning r&b mirage with Yorke’s vocals wafting eerily through the crevices in the mix. From there the record moves into “Hunger” and “Phantasm”, two songs that skew the closest that FlyLo has ever veered toward straight up ambience, and they slowly unfurl into gorgeous, unpredictable string progressions as Niki Randa and Laura Darlington deliver understated, ethereal vocals, respectively. From there we’re led into “me Yesterday//Corded”, one of the strongest songs that FlyLo has released to date. It begins in the same somber, minor-key tone of the preceding songs before erupting into a cosmic drum and bass coda with a euphoric melody and pitch-shifted vocals. The final song, “Dream to Me” is a whirring synth and woodwind lullaby that brings everything full circle, leading us right back into the intro, “All In”. UtQC breezes by in nearly 47 minutes, but there’s another singular, self-contained universe of detail packed into this record’s spellbinding grooves.

Essentials: “yesterday//Corded”, “Electric Candyman ft. Thom Yorke”, “All In”

8. Carrie & Lowell- Sufjan Stevens

By the time that Sufjan Stevens released Carrie & Lowell he had already released several classic records and had undergone several stylistic change-ups, but nothing in his discography established the precedent for a masterwork quite like C&L. On C&L Sufjan returned to the sparse chamber folk sound of his superb fourth record, Seven Swans, but he replaced the short vignettes and character studies that peppered that record with an engrossing scope that centers around his tumultuous relationship with his late mother who suffered from substance addiction and schizophrenia. The music is hushed, and minimal, consisting of little more than finger plucked guitar, banjo, ukulele, and an assortment of strings underneath Sufjan’s tender delivery. His music has always radiated a sense of overwhelming empathy, and so when plumbing the depths of his psyche for memories of his mother the tone is often devastating and cathartic in equal measure, but never overly morose or self-pitying. With C&L Sufjan succeeded in honoring his mother’s memory as honestly and as faithfully as he could while his songwriting hit a new peak.

C&L sustains an almost overwhelming poignancy throughout its duration, but it’s never a slog. The heaviness of the sentiments never really subsides, but these songs are each filled with strong hooks, sweeping melodies, and a disarming directness that he’s never quite managed on prior records. Songs like the opening cut “Death with Dignity”, “Should Have Known Better”, and “The Only Thing” soar with warm, infectious hooks and nimble guitar arrangements alongside a few electronic and orchestral embellishments, while songs like “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross” and “Fourth of July” bring the tempo to a crawl and bask in Sufjan’s falsetto and minor-key acoustic guitar arrangements. It all comes to a head on the devastating centerpiece “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross”, as Sufjan depicts the self-destructive behavior he engaged in right after his mother’s death “There’s blood on that blade/Fuck me, I’m falling apart/My assassin/Like Casper the ghost/There’s no shade in the shadow of the cross” just so that he could feel closer to her.

Essentials: “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross”, “Death with Dignity”, “The Only Thing”

7. Some Rap Songs- Earl Sweatshirt

Earl Sweatshirt was arguably the greatest living rapper before dropping his magnum opus, Some Rap Songs, but since its release it’s become much harder to dispute. On SRS Earl runs through 15 songs in 22 minutes, delivering sometimes little more than a hook and a verse per song before transitioning into the next one. The songs operate according to their own logic, and forgo traditional song structure for a loop-based compositional approach. Earl produced the bulk of the record himself, and heavily opted for dusty, de-tuned pianos, shuffling, lo-fi percussion, and a plethora of discordant texture. Earl’s precision is remarkable, and what may initially scan as awkward or clumsy flows slowly reveal themselves to be masterfully sidestepping the rhythms entirely. But for all its challenging aspects, SRS is hardly a precious, posturing sort of record. It demands your full attention, but will reward it several times over.

The songs throughout SRS are bleak missives from a remarkable talent unpacking years of trauma. The record tackles many of the same themes of abandonment, drug abuse, and depression as his past records, but he’s cut out any lingering excess in his prose, distilling only what’s absolutely necessary into each bar. The rapping is lean, and virtuosic, but never showy, and the brevity of the songs themselves is indicative of how succinct and substantial the music there is. Songs like “Red Water” have just a single couplet that he repeats a few times as the ebb and flow of the instrumental sustains the onset momentum, while other songs like “The Mint” are closer to convention, but still unfold along unpredictable loops, and verses that zig zag in and out of the mix at irregular intervals. There are songs like “Cold Summers” and “The Bends” that are the closest that Earl comes to rapping accessibly, and there are those like “Playing Possums” and Peanuts" that owe more to tape loops, ambient, and noise music than anything resembling hip hop. SRS and it’s follow-up EP, Feet of Clay, are easily the most challenging, experimental, and divisive records that Earl has released to date, but they’re also singular masterworks that push hip hop into stranger, and more human realms.

Essentials: “Peanut”, “The Mint” ft. Navy Blue, “December 24”

6. New Bermuda- Deafheaven

After releasing their superb second LP, Sunbather, Deafheaven had become one of the most acclaimed metal bands of the century, and had achieved a level of popularity unprecedented for metal bands. Never mistaken by anyone as purists, Deafheaven began their career flirting with through lines between shoegaze, black metal, and post-rock before tastefully combining them on Sunbather. While they easily could have churned out another LP of post-rock/blackgaze of the same stripe, the band went deeper and darker, and re-emerged with their third LP, New Bermuda, the heaviest, and arguably most melodic, record of their career to date. Across five songs that collectively clock in around 46 minutes Deafheaven continue to expand their parameters of their sound, incorporating heavier tremelo guitars, incendiary blast beats, and sweeping post-rock passages that are more adventurous, expansive, and gorgeous, than what any other bands are doing today. NB may lean the furthest towards the brutality of classic black metal, but the band’s 2015 onslaught still amplifies an immense feeling of transcendence alongside the terror.

Opener “Brought to the Water” rustles to life with the ominous sway of church bells before its lead guitar riff kicks into gear, foreshadowing the premium they place on atmosphere with foreboding timbres. Throughout the next several minutes the band continue to build a scorched earth black metal composition bristling with distortion and rapid fire drumming that eventually slyly segues into a sugary breakdown reminiscent of “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer. It’s disarming, and unprecedented, but a perfectly logical evolution of their sound that reaffirms their status as the most versatile band at the vanguard of contemporary black metal. “Luna” and “Come Back” are two of the heaviest songs that Deafheaven have ever released, and get a ton of mileage out of their seismic guitar riffs and pummeling percussion, while “Luna” boasts one of the loveliest melodies they’ve ever penned, gliding alone a star-dusted, stratosphere-bound guitar riff. Closer “Gifts for the Earth” is a succinct culmination of the preceding 38 minutes, capped off with their most cathartic coda to date with jangly guitar and minor key piano softly swirling around Clarke’s feral shrieks. The warmth exuded beneath Clarke’s shrapnel-laced delivery posits Deafheaven as a band executing well-beyond the scope and limitations of metal.

Essentials: “Gifts for the Earth”, “Brought to the Water”, “Luna”

5. Halcyon Digest- Deerhunter

By the time that Deerhunter geared up to record their fifth LP, Halycon Digest, they already had a rich body of work behind them, but very little of their music set the kind of precedent for where they would go on HD. Here, Deerhunter tapered down their most avant-garde impulses in favor of cleaner guitar arrangements and big, bright melodies, unearthing the pop band they’ve always been at their core with poise and aplomb. The walls of guitar noise, ambient interludes, and studio effects that had defined their previous releases became relegated to marginal aspects of their song craft, and they began opening up their songs like never before. Thankfully, they didn’t dilute their sound, they just cleaned it up, and the 11 songs that make up HD are the most immediate, and richly produced (thanks to Ben Allen, who produced this record after nailing Animal Collective’s Merriweather Post Pavilion a year prior) of Deerhunter’s career to date. Deerhunter’s shift towards accessibility only seemed to accentuate their inherent strangeness, and HD remains one of the most engaging and endlessly replayable indie pop records of the 21st century.

From the droning low-end thump that ignites opener “Earthquake” it’s clear something substantial has shifted. Allen’s biggest contribution was a heightened low-end that caused Josh Fauver’s bass to really pop without distracting too much from the rest of the arrangements. This extra oomph propels songs like “Don’t Cry” and “Coronado” well into infectious, anthemic territory while it helps ground more ambitious cuts like “Helicopter” and “Desire Lanes”. Frontman Bradford Cox had completely grown into his role as a charismatic, provocative frontman with the pipes and poetic disposition to back up the antics, and propel his band towards a stadium sized sound even if they would never end up touring them. Bradford’s vocal melodies on closer “…He Would Have Laughed” and centerpiece “Helicopter” are the strongest that the band ever penned, while he delivers two of his most impressive vocal performances on the lulling “Sailing” and the pensive “Earthquake”. The closer, a tribute to the late Jay Reatard, is perhaps Deerhunter’s finest moment to date, with Bradford spinning surreal couplets “I live on a farm, yeah/I never lived on a farm” around the band’s steady harpsichord pulse until the composition bursts with euphoria, and then slowly begins to fade out before cutting out abruptly. Deerhunter have never made a bad record, but HD was the last time they showed how simultaneously adventurous and immediate pop music can be.

Essentials: “He Would Have Laughed”, “Helicopter”, “Desire Lanes”

4. Black Messiah- D’Angelo & The Vanguard

In the years following D'Angelo’s spectacular second LP, Voodoo, it seemed increasingly likely that he would never release another record. But then in the twilight days of 2014 D'Angelo surprise dropped his 3rd and best LP to date, Black Messiah, with a new band supporting him called The Vanguard (which consisted of Questlove on drums, Pina Palladino on bass, Isaiah Sharkey on guitar, Roy Hargrove on horns, and a handful of other musicians). BM eschews the warm r&b/neo-soul solo singer-songwriter sound of the first two D'Angelo LPs in favor of a fiery cocktail of avant-garde soul, jazz funk, and psychedelic r&b that’s simultaneously more abrasive and experimental than anything he had done prior. D'Angelo still has a remarkably agile falsetto, but it’s been notably weathered by the years away, and it now has a grainier disposition that happens to be a much better fit for the songs throughout the record. The band’s chemistry is just remarkable, and it’s hard to believe that they weren’t all cutting records with each other for decades prior. Unlike most artists that come back with new work after a notable dry spell, D'Angelo has never sounded more human than he does on this latest LP of his. Thankfully, despite the years apart D’Angelo hasn’t lost an ounce of his remarkable talent, and brings a magnetic charisma, sublime range, and a much sharper point of view to songs that reflect the turmoil of the preceding years of unrelenting police violence, yet respond in a multitude of ways. The Vanguard prove to be an ideal backdrop for D’Angelo’s songwriting, and together they achieve a new standard for neo-soul.

Although it had been 14 years, D'Angelo’s return felt right on time in the immediate wake of the deaths of Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, and plenty of others at the hands of the police. While D'Angelo’s music has never shied away from political statements, BM is by far the most explicitly political record of his career. “1000 Deaths” opens to a sample of a Khalid Abdul Muhammed speech about Jesus being black and quickly gives way to a visceral, funk rock rhythm and red-lining guitars with D'Angelo dissecting the difference between courage and cowardice “Because a coward dies a thousand times/But a soldier just dies once”. On the following track, “The Charade”, D'Angelo opts for searing soul that builds into his most anthemic melody to date while he delivers devastating imagery of the cruelty still inflicted on black people all over the world “All we wanted was a chance to talk/‘Stead we only got outlined in chalk” while “'Til It’s Done” contains D'Angelo’s finest melody to date and finds him questioning the nature of our existence and whether we’re really reckoning with the way that capitalists are destroying our planet “Perilous dissidence evening up the score/Do we even know what we’re fighting for?”. He also delivers some of his best love songs to date, including the funky mid-tempo shuffle of “Sugah Daddy”, the tender soul ballad “Betray My Heart”, and the spellbinding centerpiece “Really Love”. These songs fold neatly within the larger fabric of the record as a whole, and complement the politically charged songs without breaking the greater aesthetic. D'Angelo’s conviction is palpable throughout it all, and the newfound wisdom that he accrued in the years since Voodoo enrich the perspective that he brings to the songs in such a generous, humble way. Even if D’Angelo never releases another record we couldn’t have asked for a better swan song from him.

Essentials: “’Til It’s Done”, “The Charade”, “Really Love”

3. MBV- My Bloody Valentine

Like D'Angelo, it didn’t seem likely that My Bloody Valentine would ever follow-up their masterful second LP, but 22 years after the release of Loveless, in the dead of February 2013, MBV, the third My Bloody Valentine, finally emerged. There are 9 songs here, and they can neatly divided into three sections that find the band progressing from an extension of what they were doing in the 90s to styles never associated with them. MBV picks up right where Loveless left off, beginning with expansive suite of shoegaze songs rendered with the kind of sublime texture and tone as we’ve come to expect from the group, and slowly but surely they branch out into psychedelic pop, ambient, and pure noise, realms they’ve teased in the past but have never quite committed to prior. You can hear the band straining against their limitations, and although seeking out perfection is a fools errand, they nearly achieve it.

There’s no mistaking MBV as the work of any other band, but here they’re painting in darker, bolder hues than they’ve used in the past. Beginning with the opening song, “She Found Now”, their sound is much richer, and more forlorn, than it’s ever sounded, with thick plumes of guitar washing over wispy androgynous vocals and faint, skeletal percussion. Even as the tempos increase and the melodies begin to peak out beneath the fuzz, that wistful, melancholic tone remains. “Only Tomorrow” amps up the tempo with a driving rhythm and scorching guitars perpetually firing into the red

while “In Another Way” is a bludgeoning slice of driving noise pop with a strong melody from guitarist Belinda Butcher. “Nothing Is” coasts off the hypnotic repetition of its bludgeoning guitars for 3.5 minutes, and perfectly segues into the glorious noise piece, “Wonder 2”, which closes the record on a note of whirring guitars that approximate the overwhelming euphoria of first wave shoegaze, but takes the listener to much stranger places.

The nine songs throughout MBV strike a perfect balance between updating the shoegaze style that they perfected on loveless while wading into new territory, but it all hangs together beautifully. Kevin Shields and Belinda Butcher still harmonize on the bulk of these songs, and they’re ethereal delivery is still the perfect counterbalance for the aggression of the guitars. The searing slow-burn of “Who Sees You” is the peak of their vocal interplay, while on the midsection pop numbers like “New You” and “In Another Way” Butcher takes the reins and delivers two of the band’s strongest melodies to date over driving percussion and sleigh bells. The relative immediacy of “New You” is new sound for the band, and they completely deliver on its hypnotic pop premise. “Is This and Yes” and “Nothing Is” are the two instrumentals at the polar ends of the band’s sound that perfectly balance out the more dynamic songs, and the aforementioned noise piece “Wonder 2” complements the opening song “She Found Now” perfectly in that it’s an exploration of what My Bloody Valentine might explore more of if they ever release a fourth LP. It’s a miracle that MBV even exists in the first place, so the fact that it’s this good is just icing.

Essentials: “Only Tomorrow”, “New You”, “In Another Way”

2. Blonde- Frank Ocean

After releasing his generation defining 2012 debut Channel Orange, it was hard to say where he was going to take his music next. A cryptic series of videos in mid-August 2016 featuring Frank building a ladder led to few clues, but at the end of this week we received an audio-visual album titled Endless. Before anyone could really acclimate themselves to sleek, genre-agnostic minimalism of Endless, the proper follow-up to CO, titled Blonde, released a day later. Whereas CO was the sound of a singular talent discovering what he can do, Blonde is the sound of that talent capitalizing on those gifts with unparalleled precision. On Blonde Frank opts for a striking minimalist palette of psychedelic pop, avant-garde soul, ambient, and jazz, that are off-kilter and adventurous without sacrificing the warmth of his past work. Like CO, Blonde primarily explores themes of nostalgia, heartbreak, identify, and the nature of human perception, and here his eye for detail and attention to detail remains unmatched by any songwriter of the last decade.

From the opening song “Nikes”, Blonde presents itself as a drastic stylist departure from what Frank was doing prior. The first half is a distorted r&b dreamscape with Frank crooning in a pitch-shifted higher register, and actually has him rapping a few verses, before returning to his normal register. Blonde is filled with strange, yet tasteful stylistic touches like this, from the distorted shrieks at the end of “Ivy”, to the collapsing, pitch-shifted orchestra that gives way to an eerie children’s choir’s on “Pretty Sweet”, the album rarely shifts into anything that scans as conventional. “Pink and White” is the most straight forward moment on the album, but the verses rarely stay grounded, and soon give way to a soaring chorus that slyly tucks Beyonce’s voice into the fold before the instruments dissolve from the mix entirely. “Skyline To” and “Godspeed” flirt with ambience and put a great deal of emphasis on exploring texture and negative space, while “Close to You” is a brief, glitchy cover of Stevie Wonder’s classic that provides a terrific segue from the “Facebook Story” interlude into the record’s devastating centerpiece, White Ferrari. The record covers a remarkable amount of ground sonically, but it coheres in a way that completely belies this scope.

“Nikes” sets the tone for the record on the whole as Frank watches his friends lose themselves to the spoils of his fame and begins to recognize himself as a placeholder for a partner’s lost love. “Self-Control” depicts the story of one of Frank’s relationship’s imploding “I’ll be the boyfriend in your set dreams tonight/Noses on a rail, little virgin wears the white” set to a mesmerizing neo-soul slow-burn that unfurls a gorgeous, understated melody while “Nights” juxtaposes the highs of the come-up “Oooh nani nani/This feel like a Quaalude” with a guitar pop/boom-bap instrumental and the perils of fame with a woozy, cloud-rap adjacent second half “Shut the fuck up I don’t want to hear your conversation/Rollin” marijuana that’s a cheap vacation". The record hits its peak with the spectacular ballad, “White Ferrari”, the strongest song of his career to date. Over warm acoustic guitar provided by Alex G Frank details the permanence of the love that he’ll have for someone that he’s no longer in a relationship with “I care for you still and I will forever/That was my part of the deal, honest/We got so familiar”. The humility and humanity of the moment is heartbreaking, and speaks volumes about the depths of Frank’s artistry. Blonde set a new benchmark for avant-garde pop, and is arguably the most influential album of the past decade.

Essentials: “White Ferrari”, “Nights”, “Self-Control”

1. Cosmogramma- Flying Lotus

After breaking through with his superb sophomore LP, Los Angeles (a singular blend of IDM, trip-hip, and woozy Dilla & Madlib-esque instrumental hip-hop) it would have been easy for Flying Lotus to continue mining the same sounds for successive records that were just slight variations on that singular template. But for FlyLo’s third LP, Cosmogramma, he blew his sound wide open, eschewing the quantized beat grid for a lusher, more sprawling sound that couldn’t be confined to standard rhythms. Cosmogramma is steeped in the lineage of instrumental hip hop and IDM like its predecessor, but it manages to juggle a wider palette of disparate styles such as four on the floor, drum and bass, jungle, free-jazz, and experimental bass while incorporating a wide variety of guest musicians that do a superb job of fleshing out his expansive compositions. Cosmogramma is a record that can barely contain its ambition, and despite having been released over a decade ago it still shines like a beacon illuminating the boundless possibilities of where music can go.

The sublime fusion of the live instrumentation, supplied by Thundercat on bass, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson contributing string arrangements, and Ravi Coltrane providing tenor saxophone, among many others coupled with FlyLo’s mind-warping production is what gives the album it’s compelling thrust. The first half primarily splits the difference between frantic drum and bass/synth-pop heaters and atmospheric cosmic-jazz interludes, and the pacing is just remarkable, with no moment overstaying it’s welcome and plenty of space to give each idea the space it needs to develop. Thom Yorke drops by for a wispy vocal performance on the agile IDM strut “And the World Laughs With You” while Thundercat delivers a formal career introduction on the tender ballad “MmmHmm” before the record shifts into the infectious four on the floor centerpiece, “Do the Astral Plane”. From here the record deploys the astral jazz and eastern influences in a more pronounced fashion on songs like “German Haircut” and “Dance of the Pseudo Nymph” respectively. The celestial ambience of “Table Tennis” featuring Laura Darlington is a welcome breather for the life-affirming synth surge of closer “Galaxy in Janaki”, ending the album on a somber, but ultimately uplifting note with Flylo sampling the ventilators that his mom was hooked up to on her death bed for a euphoric, synth-streaked send-off.

The enduring appeal lies in its function as ambition existing for the sake of ambition. The songs throughout Cosmogramma all vary in texture, tempo, and tone, and they all around great on their own, but it’s the journey from start to finish that Cosmogramma exemplifies as a spiritual experience. Cosmogamma was intended to function as a loose concept album of sorts about lucid-dreaming and out of body experiences influenced by the study of the universe, heaven, and hell, and it’s remarkable to hear just how much of that vision that he’s able to convey without the prevalence of vocals. Although electronic music has changed dramatically in the decade since Cosmogramma was released, the execution of FlyLo’s masterpiece hasn’t been in matched, in electronic music or anywhere where else. Cosmogramma is both the pinnacle of where music has been, and a glimpse at the possibilities of where it could go moving forward.

Essentials: “Galaxy in Janaki”, “Do the Astral Plane”, “MmmHmm” ft. Thundercat