#which i understand some avatars are going to be more human than others but yknow

[youmustfixyourheartt]

fucked up what happened to mike crew.

[goremet-chef]

its so cute i need to. ramble okay

in creatures of sonaria like. man. a year ago at this point? i made friends with someone and like. just by chance, they decided to add me to their pack and let me kill with them and like. I WAS NERVOUS im not known for. my social prowess 💀 but they liked me? and they added me as a friend and idk it was nice. like it was a group and i was kinda in the group? even if i was mostly quiet the whole time, i was still helping and covering for them yknow?

i didnt play for a while, i went from like. playing daily to playing monthly but i started playing again and i remember i think they invited me a few times to come play like with the roblox invite function but i wasnt online at the time and so. IDK i didnt think anything would come from it yknow? but. when i joined their server on accident, they added me to their pack immediately and said hi and im like SHOCKED. did i matter enough for them to like. feel the need to say hello to me and invite me to hang with them? IT. its happened more and more, i like to play with them whenever i can and i get nervous maybe im annoying them by joining them all the time but they always invite me and say hi, and its to the point where other people in the group also say hi to me and it

you must understand! im a fucking loser man, im not someone people get along with, im painfully awkward, i feel like an alien trying its best to act human okay. but it feels good, it feels like. NORMAL. we arent serious friends like i dont know shit about them, probably never will honestly i just like to wreak havoc with them. ive always been afraid of like. INFILTRATING a group, thats what it feels like!! whenever im accepted anywhere, im so terrified im latching onto false hope, im scared that im forcing my way in and im too happy to really see it. but. they say hi to me and they mess around with me and they JOKE WITH ME like. OKAY!!! im still quiet like 90% of the time but they know alright im busy playing the game, its not like i have much to say anyways!! its fun to be. social? like im too scared, fearing itll go so horrible wrong and bruise my already quite small and fragile ego, so when it goes RIGHT?? idk i just wanna. ramble about it cuz

i joined today and one of the other members said "YAYY looksee" and it. MY HEART... i like all of them cuz i hang out with them enough like. i really only talk to the one who has me added since they will actually say things to me directly but i feel like im opening up more? just a little, im still shy but. IDK knowing theyre like getting used to me? yay looksee?????? teehee!!!!!!!!! idk why it makes me so happy, i guess im easy to please if you show me the slightest bit of. positive acknowledgement im absolutely giddy. the bar is on the floor 💀 but i dont care!!

when have i ever made a friend on roblox? ive been called slurs and insulted and told to kill myself more times than anyone has ever like. tried to be my friend 💀 i get it, im not very welcoming, its not like i try to be. im friendly sure, but quiet, and if im in any sort of social interaction (which can range from someone speaking to me and not going away after they say what they wanted to say to literally just. something cute, like someone sitting with me or giving me some food) i cant handle it (i scream and close the game as fast as possible, my heartrate goes up im BREATHING HEAVILY IM SCARED... it was nice but. terrifying!!! i feel the obligation to stay and thats too big of a commitment OKAY... roblox creature you must understand)

ITS A LOT FOR ME OKAY.. and i mean. i know how my roblox avatar looks, ive been told its cringe enough times for one lifetime, im tired!!! i get it. catboy with a skirt ooo so scary. that boy is a faggot, yeah yell it louder at me.

the worst part about that is like. IT HURTS... i know i shouldnt care about what a child on roblox says to me in creatures of sonaria trade realm, but lord! it hurts. i dont socialize, ive had enough bullying!!!!! ive done my time IN SCHOOL. alright thats enough im good on the bullying. idk im just weak i guess I CANT HANDLE IT. im not good with confrontation, i wont come up with a witty response, ill just sit and wait for them to get bored from me ignoring them and leave me alone. ITS ROUGH. especially cuz its ALWAYS about my avatar, i look gay i get it, thats the point.

im a very like. ive spent TOO MUCH TIME kicking myself down over 'cringe' alright. i literally lost my interests and passion cuz i was scared of being cringe, wanted to fit in better. it made me MISERABLE. im very pro cringe i love it cuz? its only cringe if you suck, things that are 'cringe' i never find cringey even a little bit, cuz i like it when people are happy. but. i find it hard not to be a little embarrassed. its ROBLOX i get to look however i want!! i love silly roblox avatars okay, i dont want to be embarrassed about mine!!! im not a confident person, i wear it around because i like the image of this stupid catboy clothes on a very man shaped man alright looksee is my pride and joy i give him a little kis. but maybe they get the wrong idea? idk. i dont think so, i think they just dont like how i look. whatever. also my avatar matches with my friends really well so. its iconic to me!!!

still, like i said. its why i try not to play social games alone on roblox, im scared to be bullied i will admit 💀 if my friend was there, she'd tell them to kill themselves for me!!! but. shes not always there. i literally panic anytime someone runs up to me directly i sigh and say 'here we go again' cuz im waiting the imminent insults alright. IM TIREDDD so tired. they dont get him like i do. hes an avatar ive DRAWN before hes just an oc at this point, i wont ever change him cuz i like him but . sometimes it gets hard!!!

im so off topic here i just. NEED TO RANT A LITTLE cuz it. it does genuinely bother me but im too scared to like. VENT ABOUT IT to any of my friends cuz im absolutely sure some of them would roll their eyes, its just a game!! game is important to someone like me, game is the closest i come to like. living in a real social world, of course its important to me!! game is the easiest way for me to interact with strangers and not die of a panic attack immediately after 💀

WHATEVER im yapping i love to yap but. idk i just wanted to talk about it, im still so . it feels good to know that even if im weird and quiet, im not so weird and so quiet that people want to avoid me all the time. theres SOMETHING about me that they think is cool enough, like. well. i can overthink if i want to. maybe theyre adding me into their pack out of pity? maybe they dont actually like having me around but they feel too awkward to like. they feel like its gone too far now? in too deep? or maybe. im not as awful as i think i am!! maybe im weird and offputting but its okay :]

LISTEN. maybe this is normal for everyone else but its a big deal for me oky. ITS HUGE ACTUALLY. like just to have a mindless video game buddy? someone i dont even like. I DONT EVEN KNOW THEIR PRONOUNS BRO thats how little i actually converse with them but. like its not serious its just a little treat for myself, a little thing i can have. shaking like a chihuahua right now. its embarrassing to be so excited about it but. i dont do this sort of thing ever really, maybe im getting better? even if im not, ill still enjoy it

[beelzebubisbestwaifu]

Flowers for my Boys (pt 10)

Demon brothers x reader - gender neutral reader, sweet boi hours whos up, cuddles, some kisses, nothing too wacky and wild. 

The past three days have been draining, to say the least. Each brother begging for time from their human in their own way. From Lucifer gently guiding (y/n) by the lower back for seemingly no reason, to Satan offering dances to the human, to even Diavolo himself arriving with no warning just to say hi. It’s enough to utterly drain one’s mental battery. 

Which is, of course, how (y/n) found themselves when they were heading to the attic. Just a little time and space away from their gaggle of friends was what they needed 

The smell of dust and old boxes fills (y/n)’s lungs as they meander into the attic space, eyes bloodshot and watery from rubbing them so hard. A lantern hangs from a nearby hook on the wall, but considering that there seems to be candles constantly burning in the House of Lamentation, the young florist doesn’t pay much mind to it. A large bed sits across the room, blankets piled high up onto it and radiating the utter miasma of comfort. 

“Perfect,” They sigh, approach the bed, flopping down face-first into the plush blankets. The quilt fabric is soft, smelling of patchouli and buttercream frosting. It’s almost irresistible, the human curling up with their head on a firm spot in the blankety mountain. 

“Mm....” A groan emits from the pile, surprising young (y/n) out of their relaxed stupor. 

“Oh-um...hi?” They stammer, shuffling back as Belphegor sits up from the pile. His hair is a total mess, strands sticking to his cheek where his head was resting on his arm. Belphie’s skin has small red lines in it from the fabric of his cardigan squishing into his cheek.

“hi (y/n)-” the youngest brother pauses to let out a large yawn, stretching his arms before flopping unceremoniously back against the pillows, “what are you doing up here?”

“I um,” The human vaguely wonders if it would be a good idea to tell Belphegor that they came up here to avoid him and his siblings, “I just needed a break.” 

“That’s okay, everyone needs breaks sometimes...” He yawns once more. 

“Yeah...”

Belphie’s gaze locks onto (y/n), frowning slightly. 

“Do you want to sleep here? With me?” He asks softly, like speaking too loud could scare off his cute crush. (y/n) pauses and thinks, tapping their cheek with one finger as they look around. 

“I...I guess that’s okay.” They smile, squeaking slightly as Belphegor unceremoniously grabs them and drags them down into his anaconda-tight grip. Wrapping the duo in blankets, the youngest demon grins widely and lets out another sleepy yawn. 

“I...don’t suppose I could help you fall asleep?” Belphie smiles softly, one hand rubbing (y/n)’s back through their sweater. 

“How?” they tilt their head ever-so-slightly, “I...didn’t know you could do that.”

“I’m the Avatar of sloth, (y/n), how did you not know this...” 

The duo lapse into amused silence, (y/n)’s face flushing a bit as Belphegor moves closer, tangling their legs together. 

“B-Belphie? How do you....yknow...” 

“I....there are many ways of doing this,” He whispers, cheeks turning a tad pink as he stares at (y/n) through his eyelashes, “but...I want to try my luck with one I...don’t exactly use much. You don’t have to do this with me, and if you do please know I’ll stop for you at any  moment.” The floral beauty smiles, nodding softly and gently holding onto the demon’s free hand.

“I trust you Belphegor, go ahead and do your thing.”

He leans in, dark blueish hair falling over his eyes a bit more than  usual as he slowly presses his soft, cool lips against theirs. While appearing calm, the demon is actively shaking in his clothes, face flushed and  the corners of his lips pricked up in the slightest smile. (Y/n) kisses back, not missing the delighted sound coming from their bedmate as they kiss him like he’s made of glass string and tissue paper. Sleep washes over them, their forms sinking into a warm bath of rest and darkness. 

---

A warm ray of light glows on (y/n)’s cheek, their skin feeling warm as they lay in the grass, Belphegor by their side. 

“Hey, are you up?” Belphie hums, tapping on (y/n)’s forehead gently. The (e/c) eyed beauty snaps up, head twisting around as they try to figure out where they are. 

It appears to be night time in a lovely forest. Moss coats the ground, broken up by patches of grass and clovers. Large trees, mainly weeping willows, fill the area with their lush foliage. Strings of bulbous lights have been put up in the area where the duo is. Rushing water bubbles up from their right, lilypads and algea on the surface. 

“Where are we?” (y/n) mumbles, looking over at Belphegor who has stood up.

“A place I made,” He smiles, holding out his hand and helping (y/n) to their feet, “In my head, I mean.” he says no more as he leads (y/n) off down a trail nearby. Random glowing plants and fireflies illuminate the forest ever-so-slightly as the couple walk. 

After a minute or so of trekking across the forest, Belphegor stops. Turning to (y/n), the demon gives a wide grin and gestures around the corner. 

“Ta-Da!”

Before them is a beautiful old cabin, the roof weighed down by moss and the windows decorated with countless windchimes, dreamcatchers, and plants. The walls are a reddish color, logs stained that way after being put in place. Bulbous lights hang from the roof of the porch, glowing and showing off three rocking chairs below. The front door appears to be painted a beautiful shade of (f/c). 

“W...what?” (y/n) hums, approaching the cabin, “What is this place?”

“My home, well...” Belphie blushes, approaching the door with them, “It will be some day.” Reaching out, (y/n) grabs the doorknob and jiggles it.

“It’s locked.” 

“Well duh,” he smiles, holding out a small metal item, “you didn’t use your house key.” The human blushes, still confused as they unlock the door and step inside. 

“Belphie I don’t understand-” (y/n) pauses, staring around at the room. Blankets, rugs, and pillows take up the living room, making the entire space like a large couch. The sofa itself being buried under all the softness. A large fireplace takes up the far end of the room and many vined plants hang from the rafters. To the right is a doorway to a kitchen almost bigger than the living room. 

“Welcome home,” Belphegor smiles, closing the door behind them. 

“Home?” 

“Yeah,” the Avatar of Sloth blushes, rubbing his head softly, “I...dreamt of this place when we met you. I...it would be cool to live here...with you... and Beel of course.” He chuckles, one hand in his pocket and the other being used to gesture to two doors. “The one on the right leads to the bedroom, one on the left leads to the guest bathroom....make yourself at home.” Belphegor meanders off into the kitchen, leaving (y/n) in the living room. They quickly take a seat on the overstuffed couch, not wanting to know what could be waiting for them in the bedroom. 

“He....made this for Beel and I?” 

“Hm? Did you say something?” Belphegor returns with some mulled cider, sitting down and sipping from his mug. 

“I...NOpe!” (y/n)’s voice cracks, their face blushing violently as they take the cider from the demon’s hands. Belphie snuggles up to their side, smiling and hugging them around the waist. 

“Mm...right.” the demon purrs, staying close by and polishing off his cider fairly quickly, miraculously not burning his throat. (y/n) leans back, essentially laying down against a large plush cushion. They let Belphie lay on their chest, guiding them to rest their hands (and by extension: mug) on his shoulders as he lays face-down against them. 

“Are you sleeping...in a dream?” 

“Well yes,” Belphegor admits, “It wasn’t much of a dream without you here. Now it’s a real dream...so I’m going to enjoy it.” he affirms finally, snuggling up and relaxing to the crackling of the fire and thrum of (y/n)’s heart. 

And so the duo revel in their silent affections, knowing full and well that their sleeping bodies are still snuggled up right where they were left. 

In the attic. 

Lips barely brushed together, like a soft secret between young lovers. 

[serena-hart-09]

A Story’s Analyzation Chapter 1 : A new fresh page...

This is a GN!MC X Lucifer fic

Mc wakes up in an unfamiliar place or rather, in a chair. Seriously of all places they could find themselves sleeping…. in a chair? They groan a little and struggle to wake up as their back aching as if someone is loudly screaming at them. ‘Where am I?’ they think to themselves. The place is like a big courtroom of sorts. Suddenly, a man shouts: “Welcome to the Devildom, Mc!”

“WAAAGH!” Mc screams startled and falls off the chair. “Oh, my is the human broken?” someone speaks. Mc gets up quickly on high alert only to face several men looking at them some of them with concern while some amused. Adjusting themselves they say “I’m not broken, thank you very much. I just got surprised is all. Anyone would be especially if someone screams at you with that volume. Dammit, my back hurts.” A red-haired man speaks, “oh I apologize about that. Are you alright?”

“I’m alright now. Anyways, who are you?” Mc looks at all of them suspiciously. ‘There are 5 of these weirdos it seems’ they think. “Oh, pardon me. Feeling a bit shocked, are we? Well, that’s understandable. You’ve only just arrived, after all.”

“True, I am quite shocked. But doesn’t answer my question. As it seems you haven’t understood the question, I shall ask it again.” Mc takes a deep breath and askes in a cold and dark voice “Who are you all?” The redhead and everyone look at them with a surprised face. The greenhead beside him also is shocked but looks at them with anger the moment after “That is no way no talk with the Young Master.”  “Well, I’m sorry but I talk with people like this with those people who don’t answer a question as simple as this” they say with a bored face. “Who do you think you are?” a black-haired man with scowl on his face askes them.

‘Why all handsome men are rude, taken or are assholes? But at least he has normal hair and doesn’t looks like a person begging for attention with unnatural hair colour’ they think to themselves. “Me, you ask? I’m ‘just a human’ you know?” they tell him with a sly smirk.

“Do not test my patience, human-”

“Now now Luci calm down!” the redhead says.

“Luci? Your name is Luci? Quite cute name for man who looks like he lives with a scowl on his face every single day of his life.” Mc laughs at him.

“You dare-” ‘Luci’ looks at them with a bashful expression. He turns to look at the redhead with shock as he laughs out loud, “Lord Diavolo don’t laugh at this. This rude human is insulting you-”  

“Hey, I’m not insulting you. Especially, if you don’t have the courtesy to even tell me your names or introduce yourselves.” Mc says with an annoyance in their voice. “…” the man says nothing while looking away from them, while ‘Lord Diavolo’ (Redhead? Maybe?) is still laughing “But- but they are right Lucifer! Pfffft-”

The redhead looks at them and finally introduces himself “I apologize for the delay of introductions. I am Diavolo. I am the ruler of all demons, and all here know of me. As the Prince of Devildom, one day I shall be crowned king of the Devildom. You are in Devildom.”

“Devildom, you say?” they ask with interest evident on their face.

“Yes exactly, the Devildom. I see that you catch on quickly. Excellent.” He says with small smile. He continues, “This is the Royal Academy of Diavolo. We just call it RAD. You are standing inside the assembly hall, the very heart of RAD. This is where we officers of the Student Council of RAD hold our meetings and conduct our business. I’m the President of the Council”

“……..I see, why am I here? Mc asks cautiously slowly trying to take the information that is bombarded on them.

“I will explain everything to you.” ‘Luci’ says suddenly with a serious expression. “Ah, yes. Mc, this is Lucifer. He is a demon and the Avatar of Pride. ‘Luci’ is his nickname. He is also the Vice President of the Student Council and my right-hand man….and not just in title, I assure you. Beyond that, he’s also my most trusted friend.” Mc raises an eyebrow at that.

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Diavolo and do not call me that nonsensical ‘nickname’.” Lucifer tells him with a stern expression. Then he looks at Mc again with a small smirk (or rather a forced one) while still looking like he wants set them on fire, he continues anyways, “Speaking on behalf of the entire student body……. I offer you a most heartfelt welcome, Mc.”

“I shall be little polite now, but as I said, please answer my question. Please do so before I do something we both would regret.” They say with a tired expression. They were tired. Tired taking this whole new bag of information swung at them like a bat. They wanted this to be over. They knew that this wasn’t a dream, they knew very well how dreams are like………but by God they wish that this was a dream. ‘Please let’s just get the formalities over with!’ they begged in their head.

“Interesting. This one is quite different from Solomon.” Lucifer smiles.

“….” They said nothing as shock covers their face for a minute.

Ignoring their shock, he continues “Diavolo believes that we demons should start strengthening our relationship with both the Human World and the Celestial Realm.” ‘Wait…. WHAT’ Mc’s mouth was agape with shock. “As a first step towards this goal, we’ve decided to institute an exchange program. We’ve sent two of our students to the Human World and two to the Celestial Realm. The period of stay for all exchange students is one year.”

Recovering from the shock, Mc asks “So I’m one of the two exchange students? And other there are other two from the Celestial Realm?”

Lucifer wearing a little comfortable expression, agrees. “……. I see that’s good I shall try my best and help you!” they say with an excited expression.

“It’s true you may feel agitated-” Lucifer stops mid-sentence to look at with a baffled expression but continues, “…. after one year, you will write a paper about your stay here in Devildom.”

“Alright! Will do!” the human says with a happy expression.

“…..” Lucifer now thinks that this human maybe is broken or naïve or probably stupid.

After a moment Mc speaks, “I don’t know much about this place and the education system or the syllabus so, I request your help during the stay.”

“…. Of course,” he says. “You need someone to guard you in this place as you are a meal to the other demons here.”

“Really? Do I need a guard? I can just guard myself very well.”

“Yes, you will need one. That someone will be my brother Mammon.”

Ah, the ‘I want to punch you but I’m holding back’ smile is back. This man-…. demon gets very mad very easily it seems. ‘He should probably attend some anger management classes.’

“Okay I won’t complain.”

“Good. Back to the topic….”

 He hands them a device which looks similar if not is a smartphone. “Oh?”

“This is a D.D.D. similar to the smartphones you have in the Human World.”

Mc inspects the device and turns it on.

“The contacts of my brothers and I have been already added to D.D.D.”

“Wow. Thanks.” They him a little smile.

“Now go ahead try calling Mammon.”

“Alright, I guess.” They press the call option.

“Yoooo.” A new voice is heard through the device.

“Yooooooo, to you too.” They say while snickering.

“Are ya foolin’ around? Who the hell are you?”

“I……am a human! Tada!”

“Whaaaa? A human? Geez, I was gettin’ all chilly here thinkin’ it was Lucifer again. Should’ve told me right away.” He continues after a huff “So, what does a human got with THE Mammon?”

“Lucifer here said that you will be in charge of me from now on. So, he told me to call you. I think wants you to come here.”

“No way! There’s nothin’ in it for me. Whaddya even mean by ‘be in charge of you’?”

“Well….”

“AHH! I get it now, you’re the other human- the new exchange student!”

“Yeah so-”

“Good luck with that, and see ya.”

Mc felt as if something snapped in them. “What do mean by ‘see ya’? You think I wanted this? Well don’t worry, because when I see you, I’ll punch you hard. I’m already on edge as it is after all, I found out I am transported in Devildom of all places. If you think this is trouble then I will show you trouble once I send Ling Long at your arse. Mind you, Ling Long is a dragon. Plus, I think it’s alright even if you don’t come here after all, he needs a new toy to play. He’s getting bored with the old one yknow?” they say with a small sadistic smile. “And I’m serious, Mammon or whatever. So, get here in the assembly hall of RAD you lil-”

“OI you can’t be serious!”

“I am, try me.”

“Oh yeah? Well-”

Mid call Lucifer comes near me “You’ve got 10 seconds 9…. 8…”

“YESSIR” Mammon yells. Then the call ends.

“About the thing with Ling Long…… it’s not true. I don’t hurt people with families especially if their families are near the place where I’m standing. I just want to get things over with.” Mc says with an apologetic and tired smile. This time, Lucifer smiles as well “ah, yes I see. I figured as much. However, what about the aforementioned dragon?”

“Yes, he is my pet dragon.”

“Oh? Where is he then?”

“……. You want to meet him?” Mc looks at Lucifer with nervousness and hesitation evident in their face.

“…. Yes? Why is he shy?”

“No, quite the opposite actually. The problem is…he is huge like very huge his size alone may destroy the assembly hall……so…” they look at their side.

“I…. see. Though I am interested to meet ‘Ling Long’. You see, even I have a beloved monster pet too.”

“Woah! Really?!” they ask with sparkles in their eyes. Lucifer looks at them with a smile. Lucifer opens his mouth to say something but before he could Diavolo’s voice interrupts him, “Lucifer, why don’t you introduce your brothers?” Lucifer sighs dramatically as if to say ‘when is this day going to finish?’

“Do I have to?” he groans in displeasure.

“Lucifer how mean! How could not introduce your adorable brother?!” a man with beautiful champagne-coloured hair pout at him.

“You are a shopaholic more than adorable, Asmo.” A blonde hair man dead pans at him.

“Both of you, stop it. Mc this over-excited brother of mine is Asmodeus.”

“Hi!” at a minute Asmodeus is at your side “I am Asmodeus! But you may call me Asmo!” Mc looks at him with a bashful face. ‘Does this man know of personal space? Why are his eyes shining like that?’ they wonder.

“Asmodeus, stop it now.” Lucifer’s commanding voice makes the man look at him but he only smiles at Lucifer.

“Hey Asmodeus, why are your eyes shining like that?” Mc asks him.

This make Asmodeus grin at them “Do you like them, Mc?” he asks them with a husky voice.

“No, I think they are creepy.”

“WHAT?” He looks at them with shock. “Wh…… Why…….?” Mc continues to look at him with a question mark on their face. “He was bewitching you.” A new voice fills in.

“What?” they look at the blonde-haired man.

“He was trying to seduce you. He is the Avatar of Lust after all. But it seems you are not affected by him……. Interesting.”  

“……What……” They look at Asmodeus with a scary looking face.

“EeeeK-”

“Lucifer, I’m hungry” A giant orange haired man frowns looking at Lucifer.

“Endure it for now, Beel.” Lucifer tells him while he pinches his nose bridge with his fingers. Asmodeus screams about how weird and how this is his first time that a human is not bewitched by him and stuff. ‘I feel bad for him’

“Here, I have some candies.” They say as they give the candies to the giant man.

“Thanks!” his face lights up with a childlike excitement. “My name is Beelzebub. Avatar of Gluttony.”

‘He is cute like a puppy…. hehe’ they think, “I am Mc, Beelzebub. It is nice meeting you.”

“You can call me Beel.”

“Alright, Beel it is.”

“I know Lucifer won’t introduce me but I am Satan. The Avatar of Wrath. I hope we get along well.” The blonde says with a polite smile.

“Ah, yes thank you for warning me about your brother.” They shake hands with Satan. A distant “Hey!” from Asmodeus could be heard in the back ground.

“It’s my pleasure. Also, I would like to know more about your dragon.” He smiles at them.

Just then, a loud bang is heard as the oh so awaited THE Mammon comes in. “Human, you have some guts to threaten the Great Mammon!” He looks at them with anger.

“Maaaaaamooooon?” Lucifer voice is laced with hostility. ‘Well, wow.’ They think.

“I- I mean I’m happy to meet ya!” his face covered in fear as he stutters out the words.

Lucifer sighs for like a hundredth time that day before he says, “Well, now the introductions have been taken care of, Mc.”

“Yes?”

“You will be living with me and my brothers in The House of Lamentation, for the whole year.”

“Oh…… um alright I guess.”

“Now” He looks at Mc with a smirk. “Let’s go back home brothers.”

Mc smiles back at him. The others brothers are either complaining about their responsibilities (Mammon, obviously) or complaining about other stuff. Throughout the ride Lucifer looks at the human and observes them with intensity……. because they are smirking……throughout the whole ordeal.

…….

…..

…

‘Well, it seems a new story has begun.

Let’s see, if this one is interesting. If these pawns are worth the effort……hehehehe…….’

[smallestclowninthecircus]

Season 3 notes popping off

due to my desire to not completely fail all my classes this year i made myself slow down significantly while listening to this season, and the fact that the other person i'm listening along with had to catch up. We've managed to convert several other people to start listening and its pretty great.

ep 81: what does it even mean to be chosen by one of them? And if he was chosen by the eye. we know Gertrude wasnt? Because she cut the eyes out of the magazines?

ep 82: elias lmao. I understand why people like him so much bahshdhdk i thought he was gonna snitch on Jon but he didnt so he's fine. Ok but how do we think he knew all that stuff. Idk probably just institute connections. I love the fact that the recorder just wants to record stuff randomly bjahsjdhd. Elias feels a lot like Michael in the sense that he knows more than he should and talks in a way that implies he just wants to wait and see how things play out for his own benefit. I understand him knowing the things that happened but his description of her emotions implies something paranormal. Maybe he's connected to one of the entities. Which one I cannot guess.

ep 83: did a file get delivered randomly to the place he's staying at? Probably elias lmao. He thinks the mannequin is related to the stranger. Idk I would believe it.

ep 84: worms? I know he says earth worms but idk. Again? Is she making gordon golems out of trash? Martin popping off. You can tell the statements get to him more that they get to Jon. How come martin is so mad about it? I want to assume he just doesnt want her to get stuck there but idk. Jude Perry. The calliope organ. Jon heard a circus in one of the last episodes

ep 89: he's talking to perry? Like jude Perry? He says ... God? Is that what it is? Lmao. The Desolation. Jon is tired of ppl being vague and not telling him stuff lmao. Oh God Jon is so confused. Compel her? Is she assuming he has some kind of power? Does he have powers? Hmm. im agreeing with jon here please jesus christ why does everyone have to be so cryptic. Just say what you mean. "maybe you get an itchy eye" bahasjkdfklsjdf girl what. Agnes saved her? Oh this is the girl from the cafe story? So theres the Cult of the Lightless Flame? They worship whatever entity this is? The Desolation? Why do they all seem like they sorta worship her then? Is Gretchen gonna die oh god. fuckin michael. a different michael aaah. i see. dont do it shes gonna burn you. sir. please. sir dont you dare do- WHAT DID I SAY what did you think was gonna happen hhh.

ep 90: try to make it less obvious you're trying to get fired big T. Elias that doesnt sound like the most healthy thing to do. oh dear is this gonna be triggering for me. uuuuuh. uuuuuuuuuh. doesnt seem like it ok gonna keep listening. Jared. hmmmmm. Ok we've seen Keay and hotner or whatever his name was.

ep 91: Michael Crew. Oh is this the lightning scar guy. Mister jon sir did you just die. No? God everyone is so fuckin cryptic. Say normal things please. They all just like to go on about pain and agony and j e s u s c h r i s t we get it you got hurted by whatever thing. So theyre avatars? question mark? Jude Perry is an avatar of The Desolation? hhhh fractals. thats a spiral thing innit. Yup. messing with your perceptions. God they all talk about feeding their god and feeding that which feeds them and. hh what does that meann. Leave big J. please. uh oh. is it daisy? how come he has the web lighter still? the tape recorder just turns on sometimes you know how it is. So he can compel people? not that he knows it obviously but. a bit wack. powers go brr i guess? If the eye just wants knowledge i guess he feeds it by getting the statements? b/c i doubt it wants him to murder ppl or whatever.

ep 92: elias you all knowing fuck what do you know. (i guess all given what i just said) Lukas. Heard of them before. Mordecai Lukas. Loneliness. The lonely even. Jonah Magnus. Elias ur sounding like a bit of a dickhead rn. lmao jon's just like "i dont care" elias what is ur deal. Why does he want to tie her in. ohh i see. lmao theyre all just like "elias why" The Unknowing lol seems very much like something the eye wouldnt like. lol elias is gettin all philosophical. what does it really mean to be human. this still doesnt answer why gertrude wanted to destroy the archives tho.

ep 93: bahsjdfh he seems so dead inside rip. awww admiral. i love him already. ghh breacon and hope. purple mold. doesnt sound like anything we've seen so far. I think the funniest explanation for breacon and hope is that they dont actually serve the stranger they just kinda happen to be a random neutral party that cart around random spooky entity related stuff. ooooh. when we hear the slight static of the tape recorder it's cuz he's compelling ppl.

ep 94: the end! listen man they were all just grayed up for 4/13.

ep 95: the end also? death but also savagery/ animalistic shit. aww martin. lmao becerra. she's just been chillin in the corner.

ep 96: return to sender. haha minecraft go brr. prediction: breacon and hope? yup there we go. jon why is there an echo. are you in a stairwell? is he gonna eat it- yup. how did i call it. unsure abt what theyre talking about but ok. they kidnapped someone? Sarah Baldwin. ooooh that guy.

ok im just putting this here so i have notes for when nicholas gets to this part. It seems like (from jon's conversation with jude perry) that the desolation and the eye are kinda at odds with eachother? like i guess not directly but it seems like they dont really vibe? so how could be with both. Cuz if he has the heat powers and shit then we know he's an avatar of the desolation. but then why does he have so much eye imagery. also he got burned intentionally? like jude did when she went on her monologue about the feeling of burning? but then why did he wear the eye pendant. it stops him from being burned all the way which seems like he's not fully accepting the fire or whatever.

Nooooo I lost like a bunch of my notes rip. I keep forgetting to save.

Ep 104: tim gives a coherent statement without jon even being there. Ugh. Fucking robert smirk. Dont like him. Joey. Dont recognize the name. The show must go on. Clown. The spooky circus?

ep 105: total war... shogun 2? jon is just understanding languages again. "if i understood mandarin or cantonese" are you sure you dont big man?

ep 106: havent we heard this one already? mans in space? oh no this is just another episode in space. fairchild... uuuh. cant remember. oh! this is related to that! this is one of the ppl from the other side. sounds like a Vast thing. oh he's the one that the dude saw? but that guy didnt have a face... she's sorta like jon. wanting to dismiss the statements. lmao i love the workplace gossip. ace jon for the win! oh cmon elias dont be a dick. sunny meadows or whatever. thats the place we heard about.

ep 107: oh great is it jude perry again. Third Degree. bahahsdkfj she was arrested. sorry but imagining this old british lady getting arrested is funny. she was trying to resurrect him. using the skin book. he's not feeling well. jon take a nap. i wonder if this is what happens when he uses his powers too much. He gets into The Zone when he reads statements lol. didn't we have a burning train car in anothre statement? is it julia fairchild? bahahahs "kidnapped. Again." poor jon honestly. julia... about her dad. daughter of the murder shed guy? hunting like your dad liked to hunt or normal people hunting. oh hunting vampires!

ep 108: melanie has been suffering. poor martin peter lukas why do you have to be like this. can he not just use the front door? does he have to bother the ppl doing statements?

ep 109: how come he cut her off? kinda rude tbh. its either jon's influence or there was smth he didnt want her saying. is it gerard on the table? this sounds kinda like smth from one of the university episodes. is it the closed eye on the hand? yup. he's like one of the students! if the thing listening in is elias then... he can do that without the tape recorder yknow. plus who's to say it wont just turn itself on again

110: who wants to bet its a leitner?

111: Lukas related to The Lonely. I used to not like Gerard that much but i like him more now. but i thought there were 15? ohhh thats right isnt flesh newer? gerry for the win honestly. finally telling jon things.

112: lol "again" no one ever tells any of these ppl anything. tim and basira are just out of the loop constantly. music, like the war episodes. The hunt or the slaughter? probably the hunt. so Daisy is related to the hunt right? basira likes the reading, she's doing fine at the institute. daisy's getting worried...

113: it just turned on randomly. what is it lol. explossives! oh boy. why do they always assume he turned it on intentionally. melanie youre not making me like you that much. which entity is this about i cant tell. lol he was disappointed it was just the end. The title Breathing Room made me think it was gonna be about the buried but i guess not. So many of these entities deal with death but the end is one that deals in just death. it has no need for fancy deaths, just death is enough

114: more hilltop road statements? the tree. oh boy. ok the tree has 8 arms obviously theres the spider parallels. was she taken into an alternate universe? oh no. jon tries to phrase things so he's not asking questions. thats honestly good. "sometimes i was kidnapped" oh dear. they got gertrude. daisy ur so odd lmao. who wants to bet they dont know the tape recorder's running?

115: silaca? or whatever? antique man? meat grinder... related to the meat is meat episode? oh wow. they buy antiques from him. maybe dont antagonize this creature which can kill you?

116: lol theyre all just so done with elias. music? is it like the one band that if you hear them you die or wtvr. oh its chess? i am very much confused. mmm stranger go brr. gorilla skin? oh shit the dance. woah. this is so good. this is so gender. the words are wonderful. "you can just say tim" lmao trying to fool elias never feels like a good idea.

117: except elias lmaoo. oh shit. leitner getting some use for once idk. bruuh poor melanie she has been thru so much shit. martin you can just say youre worried about jon. lol he's so accurate in his jon impression. lol who was that. was that daisy? lmaoo. oop hi tim. oh god i hope tim doesnt die. i feel like i wouldve heard about that? but im not sure. destroying the source of knowledge is gonna be hard for jon. yay jon! you did a good thing. let him rest.

118: go off martin lmao. awww poor martin. oh god the tape gets that squealy quality and its awful.

119: woah. lots of things happening. uhh. POP OFF TIM!!

120: lmao elias giving a statement about jon's dreams lol. damn jon doesnt even get his own dreams? has to stay Watching even when he's asleep? f in the chat this man goes thru so much shit. oh boy its peter. lol martin my beloved. idk i dont trust peter.

[tumblunni]

Ehh i think i finally summed up why all of this steven universe diamonds stuff has been so underwhelming.

YES you can redeem a villain

but you have to

actually

TRY

Yes you can write a story about the world’s most fuckin horrible person being really actually sad at heart

Yes you can write a story about an abusive parent actually being able to change

Yes you can write a story about some wild genocidal alien civilization of asshole space rocks actually only doing it because something something societal pressure DESPITE BEING THE ONES IN CHARGE WHO SET THE DAMN RULES I GUESS

But fucking hell its not gonna be EASY and you shouldn’t treat it that way.

All of this shit was SO fucking quick?? And everything else WASNT!

You spent SO long hyping up these guys you spent SO long convincing us that they WERE evil and that they had entirey different motives for what they were doing and EVEN WITHIN THIS FUCKING EPISODE you spent more time showing us White Diamond being absolutely ridiculously existentially horrifyingly awful and refusing every offer everyone gave her to help and refusing every chance and fucking fucking goddamn violating people’s entire minds and just.. fuck.

After all that you cant just fuckin have steven walk up to blue and yellow and say “hey everything you did was bad” and them go “GEE WE NEVER KNEW!” for some reason this time they’re convinced in a single sentence despite it being the same sentence steven said before in every damn episode and pink said to them years before and every person they abused and enslaved and mutilated and KILLED said while they were DYING

And you can’t fucking have white diamond never redeem herself and never change and never admit she’s wrong and steven SOLVE IT WITH FUCKING FIGHTING WHILE SAYING HE DOESNT WANT TO, WHILE THE ENTIRE SHOW TRIES TO CLAIM THE REASON THEY ARE DOING IT THIS WAY IS BECAUSE OF PACIFISM

because seriously he?? just defeated her?? and this made her?? change???

redeeming a villain shouldn’t be easy. redeeming a villain has to have the villain TRY. white diamond has done nothing to prove she really has a heart, prove that she really did all this for sympathetic reasons, prove that she’s able to change, AND ESPECIALLY NOTHING TO MAKE IT UP TO ANY OF THE PEOPLE SHE’S HURT

she just got defeated and basically admitted she’s wrong cos she has no other choice. and i guess her blushing because steven issued a SICK BURN to her is meant to be enough proof that her entire motivation so far has been because of self confidence issues forcing her to put up a false front aka her entire personality we saw so far. If you wanna tell me she’s entirely different to what we saw so far then please could you please give it more screentime than twelve goddamn seconds.

This is like how yellow and blue just suddenly were accepted as part of the family and steven agreed to go with them to homeworld literally just because they realized he “is really pink diamond”. Like they never fucking repented or actually learned to empathise with humans or ever explained why they dont empathise with humans no nope the only answer we got is that they were sad about their sister/daughter/friend dying even though they were already doing all the same evil stuff before that and its what caused her to leave in the first place. no we’re gonna just completely trust them instantly and not even continue making an effort to convince them? we’re gonna trust them so much we’re gonna trust that white diamond will also change just cos we beat her up? COS SERIOUSLY STEVEN FUCKIN DEFEATED BLUE AND YELLOW IN A FIGHT AND THATS THE END OF THEIR ARC, HOW IS THIS PROVING THE POWER OF PACIFISM!! beating everyone up and then saying the same singular sentence again and somehow now it works!! or saying “my mum was pink diamond” and it doesnt convince them but hey if we say it again with magical proof its true then i guess it works now. wow that sure does argue the power of words i guess

everything EVERYTHING they did was just a fuckin misunderstanding cos they dont UNDERSTAND they were doing bad and thus they dont have to face any form of consequences beyond being mildly embarassed i suppose.

if you wanna make that the ending then you need to work to disprove all the hours you spent implying that.. yknow.. they were doing things because they were evil

and even if theyre sympathetic they still did evil things and they still need to work to prove that theyve changed

and ESPECIALLY if you’re making a show very heavy on subjects like LGBT discrimination it shouldnt be FUCKIN WOW UNEXPECTED that the audience would see this plot as a metaphor for stuff like homophobia and abusive parents and.. yknow.. societal oppression in a law system that forces you to live in the closet in constant fear of being discovered and killed. and all the other apparantly accidental undertones of racism and extermination of indigenous people in stolen land which YOU REALLY SHOULD HAVE EXPECTED PEOPLE TO SEE WHEN THE PLOT IS LITERALLY EXTERMINATING PEOPLE TO STEAL THEIR LAND

all of that means you need to do MORE work to prove that that isnt actually what the plot is supposed to be, and more work to redeem villains who are very heavily goddamn triggering to a large part of the vunerable audience YOU SPECIFICALLY MARKETED YOURSELF TOWARDS

this was just so fucking overwhelming and somehow rushed despite being an hour long episode, and i hate it because the show spent so much effort on so much other stuff yet decided to half ass it at the really important part that NEEDED to have thought and time put into it if it was gonna nail the landing

especially after ALL THAT FUCKIN TIME AND EFFORT INTO THINGS THAT ONLY AMPED UP THE VILLAINY AND TENSION OF THESE GUYS AND MADE IT SO MUCH WORSE

like fucking hell how can you be so tone deaf??? this has been in the planning for so damn long and theyve been working on it forever and THIS is what they chose to rush over? this is the priorities they thought were important? even just within this episode if youre struggling to fit it all in then like seriously cut out some of the stuff like the montage of unseen fusion forms that did basiclaly nothing but a few jokes, and the equally as rushed bad lars and sadie romance resolution. Which is another thing that needed a lot of work to fix when the introduction we got to these two was a really unhealthy relationship and a dude who refuses to change despite being given twelve chances but suddenly changes COMPLETELY on the thirteenth one and i guess cos he died that proves he’s all good now. Except he acts all weird and creepy in the very next episode and endangers his new friends by acting all possessive over sadie again and getting angry that she has other friends????

i hate it because ive had to deal with the fandom telling all the people who were rightfully uncomfortable with how these subjects were handled that oh we’re just overreacting and oh wait and see cos they totally have a big plan for the ending or something that’ll make it all make sense. And comparing people being triggered by child abuse and racism to “huhu those dumb su criticals who hate the art style” or whatever...

god, man, its just a deflection of what the issue really is

“oh youre saying NO VILLAINS can EVER be redeemed and NOBODY can EVER talk about dark stuff in shows without being SECRETLY BAD AND SUPPORTING IT IN REAL LIFE?”

no im not saying that im just saying the subjects are fucking depressing to people who’ve suffered from the real life stuff and the villain redemption should be GOOD and should THINK ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE if it wants to make up for it

like fucking hell look at how much zuko from avatar went through before his redemption. look at how long he struggled with his morality and how long it took him to realise he was wrong. look at how much detail they showed us on all the people who negatively influenced him into making the bad choices he did. look at how much he went through to make up for what he did and apologise to everyone he hurt. look at how everyone he hurt didnt believe him at first and it took a while for everything to work out. look at how sometimes he messed up and took steps backward before getting to where he needed to be. and look at how he actually changed as a person and continued learning and growing and trying to be a good person even far into the future after the story ended.

hell, fuckin look at PERIDOT! peridot had a full goddamn zuko arc! peridot had more screentime than all of the diamonds combined, and it was way better utilized! she had a full process from being introduced as a scary villain BECAUSE OF MISUNDERSTANDING WHO SHE REALLY WAS, then being revealed as having a fully rounded personality, flaws and redeemable traits while still being a villain. and moments of her proving that she did indeed only become a villain because she didnt understand what she was doing was wrong, and a personality that matched with that reveal rather than having NO INDICATION she was like that until it suddenly happened only after she was defeated. and her redemption came slowly through friendship with steven and it had moments of the other characters not instantly trusting her and also of her making mistakes and struggling with believing steven’s philosophy when it went against everything she knew about life. and speaking of which it was established that she had a very different life which had negative influences pushing these ideas upon her, and tough stuff that made her scared and pressured. Not just being in a high position of ruling over a planet in the lap of luxury and ONLY AFTER BEING DEFEATED do we learn that they feel pressured by the societal expectation to be perfect and they actually would have agreed all along with dismantling the system but they were just too afraid to be honest. Or whatever the fuck that rushed ending was trying to go for! And man even after peridot joins the team she’s NOT redeemed yet, she’s initially only halfway doubting herself and only teaming up with steven because they’re both afraid of the cluster. And she messes up and says horrible shit to her new friends and feels the consequences of her actions and chooses to change. And her ultimate choice to switch sides is REALLY hard, she gets so close to going back to the diamonds and its a great personal sacrifice on her part when she chooses to give it all up and make an enemy of the person she was so scared of!

and GAHHH that good redemption is one in a million episodes that really set up the diamonds Being Bad and should have been a goddamn tally in the “effort required in the fuckin ending” chart!

could we not have even just had one ten minute episode of blue and yellow going around earth and experiencing human life and realizing there’s things worth protecting? or a few damn scenes foreshadowing white being actually insecure and lying to protect herself, rather than GENUINELY ABUSIVE BECAUSE SHE’S BAD?

and seriously even if you hurt people because you hate yourself YOU STILL HURT THEM

a sympathetic backstory should be a reason why they COULD be redeemed, not proof that they already are redeemed just because the backstory was stated in words and nothing else has fuckin changed.

imagine if zuko just lost one fight to aang and said “yes but my dad abused me” and aang was like “oh no now lets team up with zuko to beat up his dad” and none of the bad things zuko did were ever mentioned again and also he keeps his season 1 personality throughout the entire series

imagine if peridot fuckin.. just changed sides cos she’s funny and we like her. people wantedher to change sides as soon as she acted funny and likeable but they still made the effort to actually prove she had changed! the diamonds didnt act remotely harmless or remotely good until they just suddenly are in the very last episode.

hoo

fucking

ray

also why are we constantly just ignoring all these dark things about homeworld? like the episode with holly blue agate and the famethyst slave caste and all the creepy ways the entire place operated. i totally thought thatd.. yknow.. EVER BE REFERENCED AGAIN?? its never even mentioned that anyone even WANTS to go back and save them?? and the human zoo were outright stated to be like.. unsaveable. “oh theyve never known real human life and theyre happy in their slavery so itd be cruel to take them away from it” One off episode, forgotten about. And the creepy as fuck scenes of gems being BUILT INTO THE WALLS AND DOORS AS SECURITY SYSTEMS and the confirmation that more lapis situations are constantly going on yet somehow that singing hairbrush person doesnt get all the sympathy that she did. And steven going daww at the pebbles instead of being horrified that theyre born to work as servants and forced to live in the walls because the noblewomen dont want to look at them? and he asks them to make him a new outfit?? and theres no plot anything involving them except them puttering around in the background outfitting?? like was none of this meant to be seen as PROOF THAT THE DIAMONDS WERE EVIL and PEOPLE WHO NEEDED TO BE SAVED????

goddddd

please say they were rushed or something please say this is all the faultof being given less time than they expected please say there were other plans for other episodes we didnt see that would have given at least slightly more substance to any of this

also why wasnt this even advertised as the last episode if its the last fuckin episode

hhhh well at least obsidian was a great character design and so were the other fusions and new outfits even if they only appeared for twelve seconds. and white’s whole scary evil mind invasion stuff was really good even if it actually hurt the episode by being good, kinda

man im not even mad or anything i just feel mehh and bored and like im actually glad its over. i never wanted to feel that way about a show that used to be so good. i kinda wish the earliest episodes werent so good if the answers to all those well set up mysteries were gonna have so much less effort than the setup itself

...man i should make a whole post about all the mistaken ways i THOUGHT the show was gonna go that actually would have been way more interesting than the real answer.

i’m just super glad that my last theory was wrong cos wow that would have been the only thing worse than this ending! when white pearl first appeared before we’d actually seen white diamond, and it had all this thing that white diamond hadnt been seen in ages.. well i was worried it was setting up some sort of reverse twist where actually white pearl is bodysnatching white diamond instead of vice versa. So the whole evil empire would actually be run by a member of the slave class that its oppressing, and the diamonds/representative of the upper class would actually be poor victims all along. dear god i am so glad i got that wrong! tho im weirded out by how evil white/pink pearl looked in that first hint that she was originally pink pearl??

anyway basicallly im just so fuckin tired

[mobianstrip]

sonic forces me to analyze the game

this is by no means a full, in depth review of sonic forces. however, since im working on a Forces au i think its only fitting to talk about my personal gripes with the game. just to be clear, i dont hate sonic forces by any means! there are some really neat concepts about it that i enjoy, which ill include my thoughts on as well! though with that said, theres a lot about it that could have been dealt with better. this post is gonna be a bit long and messy, sorry!

now i cant speak for what the gameplay controls itself are like since i havent actually played it with my own hands, so my primary focus will be the story and general format of the game. everything under the cut!

ill start by saying that in hindsight, i think the general premise of the game is actually really neat (had the war framing of the plot not been so overly glorified and bland. more on that below). eggman taking over most of the world is very reminiscent to the initial circumstance of mobius in the early archie sonic publication. it seems especially reflective of the comic in the fact that sonic forces takes place on a planet setting more akin to that of Mobius than that of Sonic’s World/Earth, the difference being the lack of human beings aside from Eggman. while this does somewhat bother me for the fact that it paints an inconsistency with the setting, im also all for the planet being strictly Mobians + Eggman again tbh. the concept of sonic being on earth populated by humans, complete with a mock version of the united states, never really settled well with me. it always felt like just a means to make sonic more relatable, which is true, but not done because it made anything more interesting. a problem that then arises is that the origins of shadow and silver/blaze would be radically different or at least would need some retcon alterations to make sense...but thats a topic for another day

overall, looking past the inconsistency with the setting and its implications, i enjoy how the premise of the game feels like going back to the basics. but even the premise still has its problems...which is never a good sign, and this point practically sealed forces’s fate of inconsistency: the theme of war and how it frames the story is so, so poorly written

starting with whats presented at the beginning of the game, sonic is captured by eggman as a prisoner. if the writing had just left it at that, fine. however, the exposition goes on to say that sonic has been there for six months being tortured...and that tails has completely lost it. again id be fine with this - the theme of war is a darker one so these two events would make sense in this circumstance. however, that tension is just totally lost in a matter of a few episodes. you rescue sonic who is just as cheery and jokey as ever, somehow able to fight a boss despite being supposedly locked away and tortured for six months

of course i understand that its not like they could give sonic ptsd and make him look tortured and weak and so on - but why even mention the torture thing at all? the same problem is apparent with the first cutscene with tails. tails is hardly given enough time to seem like he has "lost it". i will say though that tails WAS given a bit more of an emotional response to work with than sonic overall. particularly when tails is about to be attacked by chaos, and he ducks his head in fear and calls for sonic to help him even though sonic isnt there - i actually enjoyed this small segment bc it does reflect some of what was said about how he reacted to sonics capture (aside from also being across the planet...for seemingly no reason except bc he "lost it" and to get him away from the main group so that classic sonic can appear)

frankly speaking from these two points alone, the games tone just feels kind of confused. its obvious the writers wanted some parts of the darker theme of war...and its also obvious that going all out wasnt gonna be an option bc of the nature of sonic as a character and franchise being about more lighthearted, easier to relate to stories about sonics heroism. which im fine with that being the case; sonic is a hero and more importantly a mascot that profits off of kids being able to relate and look up to. my issue is simply that the premise of this game makes consistent writing kind of doomed from the start if the writers are trying to appeal to both the kids AND older fans. they cant go to the lengths necessary to adequately build the narrative. cant go too dark, cant go too lighthearted, and not finding a balance between to two gives you a confused and bland story 

on that note,  i personally find the theme of war to be...uncomfortably glorified and unchecked (adding to the tone confusion and blandness). sonic forces is named so because...yknow. armed forces. armies. the whole point of the game is that theres a war going on and youre on the good guy side. i mean its not as if youre fighting against other living creatures, just infinite and eggmans robots, but still. i think what put me off the most is the first comic with the soldier cat. after they save the day, the last lines are "I'll do better. I'll be better. I'll become a real soldier and a real hero." now slap that as the tagline to a united states army corps commercial and suddenly its really...sour tasting

war is just one of those subjects that i think needs to be handled with a bit more care. i mean think about it: the primary gimmick of forces is that you get to make your own character, to be the sonic version of yourself in this world. the plot of the game is that theres a war, and your character joins the resistance to defeat eggman. this game is pretty blatantly glorifying the idea that joining in on a war can make you a REAL soldier, a REAL hero. to some kids, that might sound pretty cool. but theres no nuance to it whatsoever, nothing thought provoking on the subject. no one steps back to be like ‘its good to do good things but wars are tough and not fun, and being a hero isnt everything’. none-a that

now do i think a sonic game could get it into a childs head that they should join the army for real? no, not necessarily. i think its possible, but i think that would also be due to a larger issue of military glorification present in modern culture in general (especially in america). mostly i just find the implications at play with glorifying the theme of war in conjunction to the avatar gimmick to be in poor taste and also entirely avoidable because...

i dont think the war and army framing even had to be a thing. not only is it just so sloppily done in general, with that fact that the supposed soldier forces on the Resistance side are literally never seen on screen except for some dialogue boxes in one episode and the rest of the time only being mentioned through other characters, but i seriously think never saying the words “war” or “army” and not including literal soldiers would have worked just as well and even been the better route. they could have just been like yeah heres eggman taking over the world, heres the resistance fighters that have come together to stop him, they are opposing forces and you play as your avatar to stop eggman - and just leave it at that. it wouldve made the glorification of war less obvious and the handling of the topics at hand appear less confused, appealing to a more lighthearted tone rather than weighing it down with frankly out of place hints to a darker subject of war

finally i wanna talk about the story as it relates to how its told through the game. the plot itself is fairly standard - eggman starts war, captures sonic, takes over planet. you rescue sonic, and together you fight eggman and infinite and ultimately defeat them. thats all good and well even if its cheesy sometimes. the REAL problem is how its executed. a lot of the exposition is given not through cutscenes, but through spoken dialogue with text box subtitles over the episode select screen. and it just feels so...stiff. it doesnt feel like world building, it just feels like being forcefed information with no substance behind it

i get that fully rendered cutscenes throughout can be expensive and time consuming, but shoot id take in-game rendered cut scenes at least. (like in sa, sa2, shadow 2005...) anything that could have provided the world building with a bit more ground to stand on would have been great. sure, there are levels to traverse which look cool...but they dont provide any sense of scale, they dont tell us what the area is like, and more importantly, you never see the other characters who are supposedly on the battlefield "alongside" you in a couple episodes. the storyline from the exposition along sounds like it could be an epic journey - but the way its told with the given game mechanics (i.e.: stage-based gameplay with no open worlds to explore) leaves a lot to be desired

i feel like the stuff explained in the comics should have just been cutscenes or exposition or something to pad out the game a bit. the comics are so short anyways so why just put it in the game? maybe not the first comic about the rando soldier saving the day or w/e...but the comic with silver and knuckles fighting chaos? the comic about infinites origins? all of that could have easily been included. at LEAST the comic with shadow was part of the DLC...but even thats just so gimmicky. they provide important background to the main plot of this game so i really dont understand why it was sidelined to comics and not just included from the beginning

the tension that the exposition already fails to build up is brought down even worse when coupled with the confusing timing of the stage complete screens, where you get your completion rank and see what new character creation items you unlocked. listen, i know immediate gratification for completing the level is important and all...but i swear, having these screens between the end of a boss fight and the cutscene showing what happens to them after being defeated seriously impairs the flow of the game. maybe having it there allows for the cutscene to load up in the background to improve efficiency, but personally id prefer seeing a loading screen as the break between a boss fight and the following cutscene after it and THEN the stage complete screen to finish the sequence off. the boss fight end cutscenes arent that long anyways for the most part, so its just nonsensical to have the stage complete screen interrupt the action when theres only a two minute scene left to it

i cant stand how streamlined forces is to the point of the main plot. what happened to games that actually take the time to explain stuff, show us extra bits to the story and how they connect? and even when forces' does explain SOME stuff, its through audio/text only dialogue. nothing visually interesting, just...dialogue. and then its off to the next level. forces' feels very bare bones honestly. the story is supposed to feel big and epic but it just wasnt given enough to bring that feeling into fruition. this is probably the only thing that saves forces’ from the war glorification issue because the game simply fails so miserably at telling a compelling story due to poor writing and poor formatting that the war stuff gets lost in the mix - and thats just sad

all of this brings me to my conclusion. fuck i wish sonic forces was a better written and executed game, because i do think it could have been so cool. i really like infinite as a villain, in both his design and personality. yeah hes kind of a whiny, edgy bitch - but he had potential. and its really gonna suck if this game killed off all that potential in one fell swoop

(then again, thats why we have fan content and aus :3)