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sukioyakio · 4 months

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His little Stress Relief

genre: fluff just fluff,(the title doesn’t sound fluffy to me,it probably the amount of amount of smut I read 🤷‍♀️😔🤪💖 Will have some bit of angst

SUMMARY: Sometimes your 6’9 foot tall man can be an little bit clingy at times.

Author note: “I just love me an big Buffy guy being such an clingy and cuddly guy towards their girlfriend (I’m not forgetting about my guys here)anyway I’ve been changing the way how my intro a lot 😭😔🤪.”

ANYway hope you like it.

It was an very busy stressful week for Miguel,everything and everyone was annoying him.The entire spider society was just so stressful to deal with,and when he didn’t have to deal a lot,those stuipd anomaly kept popping up,left and right.

But knowing miguel,he deals with it pushing his body to the limit.He will protect the spider society no matter what,But that doesn’t make him tried and exhausted from working,fighting,yelling at people who get on his skin.The achy scars and bruises on his skin were an pain to deal with.And right now He was in his office or bat cave whatever people says,he was standing on his platform with holograms around.Grumbling about to Lyla to tell some of the spiders that they have an mission to do,and him typing out the information about these anomalies.

peter b Parker who was walking with Jessica drew,they were coming back from their mission,and were going towards to Miguel little bat cave.

“Ughhh,it’s been such a busy week” Peter says in a tired voice,as he stretches his back and his shoulders.

“Oh c’mon now,at least your not the one who has to collect all the mission reports”Jessica says with an annoyed look on her face,sighing at the work that she will have to do later.As she rubs her swollen stomach walking towards Miguel office.

Peter just let out an amused scoff out,as they were walking down the hallway towards the BIG BOSS.

“Don’t you think Miguel would let us slack off for a day!! I haven’t seen my lovely wife and daughter”peter says with a whiny voice,as he made a loud dramatic sigh.

Jessica sigh with a playful smirk on her lips. “Aye man at least after this,we can take a long ass break,cuz my ass need it”She says with a sarcasm,as she let out a chuckle.

Peter suddenly remembered how much Miguel calmed down he was after his wife when Peter asked her if she could come over to talked (helped) him out with Miguel.In which peter had that dorky grin that only means that he had another wonderful idea.

In which Jess turned to look at peter face and saw that grin which in her mind means “he gonna get his ass kick again”,but right before she could say anything to Peter.

“Gotta go bye for now— I’ll be back!” As he zapped off to where Miguel’s wife was.

“DONT do!!— something that will get your ass in the hospital” Jess says in an loud tone but soon lower as she get more closer to Miguel office,she always says that his office is so far away,she rolls her eyes to the back of her head,and letting an scoff out her lips.

She enters Miguel man cave,her heavy but professional steps could be heard from the man who was standing up on his little platform,As she walks in an steady pace and was finally met with Miguel batman era.She stands an few steps ahead but wasn’t quite at the edge of the cliff.She looks up at Miguel,with her one of her hands on her hips and the other one was rubbing her pregnant stomach.

“Ahem” She says loud enough for him to put down his attention from all the work he was doing and putting himself through.Miguel eyes have this dark circles under his eyes,you can tell that this men take his dedication and time for all he does for.But there time where all he takes is to come home to his lovely wife,who his stress reliever.But he does this so people doesn’t have the same fate as him or try to do what he did,nor to do anything that would cause them any harm.

He turned his head towards Jessica,looking down at her,with a sternly expression on his face.He clicked something on his watch to make the platform start moving down towards the ground,very . . . Slowly. very slowly.Jessica wasn’t bothered by it at all,it just meant that she had a time to herself to calm down and free her mind from work.

And in which off letting the platform on the ground nope,he just kept it fairway there,and so he looked at Jess with a sternly and serious expression,and that instantly imitating persona he had.

“Bueno, ¿cómo fue la misión?,and where the hell is Peter”Miguel says in an seriously voice,as one of his eyes brow raises up in question of where would that idiot of the worlds most talkative person you would ever meet,would be possibly be.As he stares at Jess for an good minute before letting out an annoyed sigh,pinching the bridge of his very strong nose,grunting at how much of an goof ball peter is.

“Well I came here to say that the mission was a success,but the part with Peter,better watch out for him and don’t kill him we need him” she says with an playful laugh as she walks out the door with an open smile on her face.

To which Miguel rolls his eyes to back of his head,and went back to work and there he was back working in his bat cave.Calling Layla to inform him about any updates about the anomaly’s,and to inform the other spider in the spider society.Some times layla would be annoying (an tease) to him.But after an hour or so,(peter was having difficulty finding which house is Miguel house) Peter finally came with you into Miguel office,with his cheeky techniques.

Miguel didn’t even get a chance to react to when Peter opened the portal onto his platform.

“Hello!!Big Boss” peter say with a cheerful voice,having a bright smile on his lips.”Look who I brought with him”he says with a warm smile.

The moment he turned around he saw you,with Peter.Holding a worry smile on your face.While peter was standing there with a cheeky expression,Miguel let out an annoyed sigh towards peter.He face was turning more angry then before,his eyes turning the color red.

“¡¡Por qué carajo!!Did you bring my wife here WITHOUT MY DAWN MALDITO permission!” He says with a raging voice,practically shaking the ground,easily making peter gulped down his own saliva.”im soooooooooo getting my ass in an hospital bed” peter said in his head of thoughts.

But luck was on his side for now. . .

“Peter go back doing work I’ll have a little chat with my husband”you said softly as ever to him,with a calmly smile.Giving him a look that gesture for him to leave.In which he did,He left with an awkward chuckle,and he gone.

Now you and Miguel were now alone in his big bat cave.Miguel aromatically regretted for having you see him get angry at his co worker.He hated for you to see him anger,he was insecure about how you felt about him.You words were the light of joy to his ears,but your words could be the ones that made him feel trapped.If he ever told you that he’ll be so vulnerable towards you his wife.Your the thing,the love,the drug,the crave,the addiction that he would never get over.

He was probably over thinking for a while,that he woke up from your reassuring touch.Pulling him to the ground so he could lay down on your thighs.He would do anything for you.

“Until death due us apart”

Now you both are on the floor on Miguel floating platform in silence;comforting silence.

You were sitting upright while patting,scratching, rubbing your hands against Miguel scalp.He looks like a little boy who only wanted to be next to his mama.After a few more minutes of the comfortable silence.You knew that he was very insecure about himself,especially after getting married and even before getting married,when you two were boyfriend and girlfriend,you knew he had some insecurities.

“Miguel I love you . .” You says with a calmly voice,calming him down.

Signal him to talk about what happened during this week

He instantly opened up about what happened at work,and all the exhaustion he endured,and the BS he gotten this week,basically vented about how much work and Be an hero was like a curse and an blessing.

He had that Grumpy Pouty on his beautiful lips,he just an enough of laying on the floor-ahem platform,and So he pulls you down on the floor,as he lays comfortably on tops of you.

You let out a light headed chuckles,He was your big scary,intimidating husband who can break any guys bones,but right now he’s acting very clingy with you.

You let him know that your love him so much,that seeing him like this pains you slowly but deeply in your heart.He was laying on top of your chest,in between of your breast.Letting him melt all his problems away.

“I’m sorry. . .no lady should have to seen what had happened with my co worker” he says with his eyes closed not wanting to be seen vulnerable.

As he continues to mumble apologies,to the point that he says like a whiny child.You couldn’t help but laugh at him being a whiny cringy child.

“What so funny about me apologizing,mhmm cariño”he said to you as he raised his head to look at your eyes. Seeing you laugh,seeing you felt like the world was pause,his body felt so calm.

“Ha-ha,your are my clingy hobby.You could be one whiny old man.” You said with a playfully voice,as you felt him lift your body put you into his laps.You couldn’t help but smile at him.

“I’m not an old man,nor a whiny kid.Im literally just 3 years older then you” Miguel says with a whiny voice,as he rolls his eyes.

You know he love it.You already know that he’s ok,that he is no more tense.

“I still love you gramps” you said as you leaned towards his face to give him a passionate kiss,which he accepted.Love was felt through your body.

as you both end the kiss,leaning on each other forehead.

“I love you” you said softly with a warm smile.

“Yo también” he says softly with a warm smile.

THE END

I hope y’all like it,and I probably suck explaining the positions of them but IM trying 😄 anyway I hope y’all enjoy it,but I low key think I put so much fluff here

THE QOUTE OF THE DAY: by an friend

“THE day can be boring when nothing eventful happens”

✌️

#miguel o'hara fluff #miguel o’hara x reader #miguel ohara fanfiction #across the spiderverse #miguel o'hara #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel x reader #random thoughts #pls send feedback

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some-pers0n · 2 months

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Hey guys here's writing of Mastermind and Starflight with Morrowseer there too ig. It's a rewrite of his intro scene. Yayyy. Will I come back to this and make it into an actual proper oneshot? Who even knows at this point. No formatting or anything, I just needed to get writing down before midnight for my daily words

"Ach!" The NightWing across the room hissed. "Make no more movements. I was tasked with solving this *crisis* that we have found ourselves in, and I intend on finding a solution before we are all buried in rubble. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important things to tend to."

"...father?" Starflight spoke hesitantly.

He winced as he saw the dragon– Mastermind, the royal scientist– pause. He dropped his tools. "I swear to the *moons* if you don't stop pestering me with these strange..." As he craned his neck to face them, his words trailed off.

It was like staring at his own reflection. Starflight always felt out of place when it came to being the only NightWing in the cave, but here on the volcano? Every other dragons looked like him. Scales black as the night and wings made up of the skies above.

By this dragon was different. There was a light in his eyes that Starflight knew too well. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. His own father right before him.

Before he could properly get another word out, Mastermind lurched forward, grabbing him by the snout.

"Wh– what?"

"Hold still! I'm inspecting..." Mastermind murmered beneath his breath. He squinted as he looked over Starflight, jerking his head around and brighting his face up close to see. "Dark green eyes, splash scale pattern along the wing membrane, a rather perfect jawline..."

Without warning, he hugged Starflight. "Moons above! My son has returned!" He wrapped his wings around him, holding him close.

"Wh– what is..." Starflight was distracted by the sudden comfort and gentle embrace he had found himself in. Though, just as quickly as it had arrived, he let it go.

"My son! Morrowseer, I almost thought you to be useless by now, what with your little scheme."

"It's not a scheme, scientist."

"Oh, come now, don't get all formal." He scoffed. "I was led to believe that this little gamble of yours, personally setting up the Dragonets of Destiny and the formation of the Talons of Peace, was a fruitless endeavor. A waste of time and resources that, in all honesty, should have gone to my research either way."

"And what have you done in the past six or so years to make up for it?"

"Oh, plenty! You wouldn't truly appreciate it though. Yes, yes, indeed your mind is more for other, lesser matters." Mastermind's energetic eyes landed back on Starflight. "Which brings us to you! You already inherited so many of my most valuable traits. Although, you are missing my glasses. You also do not quite have the same, well, vibrato in your voice as I do. That's a problem for later. You'll adopt the accent and my very own spectacles soon enough, young newt."

He flinched upon hearing such an awful nickname. "My name is Starflight," he said.

"Starflight! Oh, Starflight!" Mastermind looked him over once more. "Hm, doesn't exactly strike me as a 'Starflight'. I would say you would be better off as a... 'Bigtalons'?" He laughed at his own comment. "I jest! I kid! It's only a rather common and boring name. Me? I fit the title of 'Mastermind' like a glove! You? Well–" He waved his talons– "I suppose I can't be upset at you. Rather, your cavegivers. Guardians, is that what you called them?"

Starflight nodded, slightly overwhelmed by how much this dragon was talking.

"Guardians, bah! What son of mine needs to be guarded? I doubted they were any good."

"They weren't. They were...not very nice." Starflight broke eye contact with him, staring at his talons.

"Oh, so you must have trauma of some kind from how you phrased it."

"H– huh?"

"It's obvious! Such a tone and hesitancy would mean you're inclined not to exactly talk about it. Play it down. It's basic behavioral psychology. You must also have been severely punished and have gone through rigorous and repeated trauma if you had left that cave in a state like this."

"Mastermind, I assure you the Guardians were not entrusted with five dragonets if only to harm them. It was to train them for the outside world. Pyrrhia is a cruel, uncaring reality that we live in."

"I agree with you, yes, but look at him!" Mastermind pointed to Starflight. "Healthy minds do not have a face like that. Clearly, despite growing up in far better conditions, he was subjected to enough mental trauma to become...this." He gestured in the general direction of Starflight. "No offense, of course."

#sp-writing

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sgkophie · 1 year

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And we're bacccckkk! (Hate To Love You Sneak Peak - Charles Leclerc x Reader Series)

You can catch up on chapter 3 HERE.

Synopsis: Lily Wilson, Mercedes first female driver, has only one goal: to win the world drivers championship. There’s only one thing standing in her way - a certain Ferrari driver who is determined to not let that happen. [Enemies to lovers series with Charles Leclerc] Check out the full intro synopsis + full story master list here.

-------------

Chapter 4 Sneak Peak

“Well, Toto what are you going to do about this PR nightmare?”

“Nothing, Meredith,” Toto responded in his dry Austrian accent. “Your daughters’ love life is no business of mine – and quite frankly, yours.” I let out a small smile at Toto’s insolence, and then walked into the office, clearing my throat to make my presence known.

“Mother, good to see you.” My phrasing may have sounded happy, but in no way did my tone match those words.

“Lillian,” was all she responded, eyeing me up and down, likely assessing my hair and make up. Finally, she added, “Do you have nothing to say for yourself? I told you to not get involved with that French boy.” The way my mother spit out ‘french boy’ made it sound like she was Admiral Nelson and she was about to mount an Armada to seek out the French – and not on my behalf.

“Yes, you made your feeling quite known on the topic.” Behind my mother I could see Toto rolling his eyes.

“And now you’ve gone and embarrassed yourself in front of the entire paddock.”

“You act as if I am the one who cheated in the relationship.” As I said the words, I saw Georgia walk past. As soon as Georgia saw my mother in Toto’s office, she backed up and leaned against the office’s doorframe, sizing my mother up. To say that the two of them had a tense relationship was an understatement. My mother blamed Georgia for the lack of all of my WDCs, claiming favoritism at the Bugatti F1 team. She, in this case, wasn’t totally wrong – but Isabelle had made it clear when I joined. Georgia was Bugatti’s #1 driver, and she earned that title over and over again.

It was partly why I had made the move to Mercedes. I hadn’t accounted for Georgia getting pregnant, although arguably neither had she.

“Meredith, good to see you,” Georgia said in the most sanguine voice I had ever heard come out of her mouth. My mother gave her a small smile in greeting, but made no move to walk towards my racing coach and Georgia’s outstretched hand, instead opting to go back to her rampage.

“I think there needs to be a statement made. This could reflect badly on Lily’s career – makes it look like she is sleeping her way around the paddock.” Part of me wanted to inform my mother that I had, in fact, sort of slept my way around some of the paddock – but now didn’t feel like the time. I might be a world-class racing driver, but I was still a 25 year old woman with needs, and considering I was traveling 26 out of 52 weeks of the year, my pool of men to pick from was pretty much the Formula 1 paddock.

Hate To Love You Tag List

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outpost51 · 10 months

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The 51 Post

Figured I'd start some kind of digest!

Contents:

Things You Might Have Missed

This Week's Jams

WIP Breakdowns

From the Skwad

Around the 'Blr

Things You Might Have Missed:

I've got a taglist form now! Because who doesn't love a good form?

BRHP: Chapter 14 posted; Atria learns the meaning of touch starvation and really, really misses her dad.

WIP Intro: Caught in the Crossfire (18+)

WIP Intro: The Arsonist Chronicles (18+)

WIP Whenever (Open Tag): BRHP chapter 15 snippet; pop pop is having a time time

Crossing Over: the 5th entry into the Lighthouse in the Fog shorts; a new player has entered the fray, and a familiar face reappears.

Vampire Council lore and vampire origins lore

Aria/Omega snippety snip

This Week's Jams:

friends like these || Brassie [spotify/youtube]

Little Girl Gone || CHINCHILLA [spotify/youtube]

EVERGREEN || PVRIS [spotify/youtube]

Eyes on Fire || Gold Souls [spotify/youtube]

WHEN THE PARTY'S OVER || Cami Petyn [spotify/youtube]

Lizard Lady || Laura Doggett [spotify/youtube]

WIP Breakdowns:

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Chapter 15 should be coming out later today, with 16 slated for release sometime late this week or early next week. I'm finally in the chapters that don't require a ton of rewrites; most of what I've been doing is adding content. The whole thing is outlined through chapter 30 though! Since this is my entry for WIP Big Bang, updates will "stop" at chapter 18, since that's what I had published before the rewrites. After that, you'll have to wait for the release date! Which also means I have to wait for the release date for the serotonin, and that's going to be a nightmare.

Unlikely Adventures of Bitchface and Go F*ck Yourself

At this point, it's just a matter of making myself work on it. About a third of chapter 9 is written and the entirety of Act II is outlined.

Blinding Neon, Shades of Grey

nervous laughter

Stellar Parallax

Fuck, I missed this WIP. I missed Jane especially, she's so fun to write -- I'm about a third of the way into chapter 9 and it seems to be flowing pretty well? I just wanna get to the part where she and Saren beat the shit out of each other LMAO

Lighthouse in the Fog

Dunno if y'all saw, but the lighthouse keeper stories have a tag and a tentative title now! It's going to remain as a series of loosely connected shorts, and that may very well be what I end up doing with Xatal as well. Anyway, we have some lore groundwork laid! Look out for the 6th short later today!

In the Works

I still have questions in my inbox that I am absolutely getting to! I've also got a bunch of unanswered tags in my drafts and Notion. Losing a week and a half of planned answer time threw my schedule WAY off. Submission for SSSC #006 is in the planning stage. Hannah and the MILF Squad Get Up To No Good is about 30% written and fully outlined. I have... so many Kryterius prompts left to fill, and so many more spotify wrapped prompts left, send help. Still working on separating out the Daddy Issues smutshots, hoping to finish up the rewrites for the F!Shali one before the end of July. TIPYNTS is most likely going to come out in October, and by then I'm hoping to have a backlog of chapters to make posting more consistent.

From the Skwad:

Door's always open! 18+ writing server for both fanworks and original works! Camp is starting soon! We also have a flash fiction challenge and three bingo cards running until the end of the month!

@teamdilf continues to absolutely baffle me with her productivity here we go: A Cheesy Situation is now complete, ch 16 of Alice's Adventures in Andromeda is live, ch 18 of The In-Laws and the Grandparents is live, A Night in the IKEA dropped which I'm absolutely dying over, and that's not even all of it. holy shit J i don't know how you do it but i'll have whatever you're having thx

@thetrashbagswasteland dropped ch 4 of the Sunseeker rewrite and I'm adsfdafdadsf yes. thank you king

@sparatus is tearing me to fucking pieces with Make Less the Depth of Grief. i hate you (i love you)

@uraniumwriting also obliterated me with their FFF entry.

@wrathbites is back and I'm literally beside myself I missed the Vampire AU so fucking much.

oops @commander-krios got me invested in Star Wars please look at this.

@starknstarwars updated Smuggler's Ruin aaaaaaaaaaaaa

A few of our members participated in Shenko Summer!! @dandenbo wrote Volta and @mrsd-writes wrote both We Got Here the Hard Way and Forever Home!

@regalbois dropped a new original oneshot and has been going bananas over Bioshock lately and gifting us MORE mlm deliciousness, ch 3 of Magnum Opus went live last night.

@inflarescent has a new wippppp aaaaaaa -- intro post for The Roulette Paradox here!

@discoeffect updated Far From Any Road and I am devouring the first book so I can read this one!!

Around the 'Blr:

Have you checked out the Writeblr Directory or Writeblr Cafe yet?

I'm literally still thinking about @captain-kraken's Heitha translator.

@void-botanist dropped some witch lore I'm eating with a spoon.

@tc-doherty ALSO popped off with the conlang.

The dates IRL are lining up with the dates in @elshells's Agent Ace EXCITING also a new chapter is dropping probably by the time I post this lmao

@liv-is dropped this GOLDMINE of relationship writing tips also TIL what Liv does for a living not sorry

@writernopal first of all made me absolutely CRY being sweet in the tags last night and also dropped an aasoaf 3 sneep while i was composing this thank you my friend i needed the energy snack

did y'all see Find the Word XVIII from @artdecosupernova-writing i'm going FERAL

@tabswrites's Silver Sentinels has a second chapter, I am VIBRATING

@oh-no-another-idea just slid in with this little diddy that i LOVE.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

Outpost Updates Taglist: @tabswrites @writernopal @freedominique @asher-orion-writes @liv-is @starknstarwars @captain-kraken

Ask to +/- in the tags, replies, DMs, or HERE!

#my fic #outpost updates #in which everyone learns korble cannot talk about himself without also sharing the floor bc anxiety #if i missed you throw something in my inbox or tag me!!#there wasn't a plan for this one but now that i know what i want to do i'll be collecting stuff throughout the week!

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talesfromthebacklog · 5 months

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Tales From The Backlog: Super Mario Bros Wonder

9/10

ALRIGHT. I LIED. The fomo got me after I saw the singing piranha plants OKAY?

And to be honest, I picked it up on (employee) discount after a bit thinking I wouldn’t get to it as soon as I did. But I’ve been knock out drag out sick since Sunday before Thanksgiving and platformers are traditionally my feel good sick games. I was sick two weeks in a ROW WITH TWO DIFFERENT ILLNESSES. (Neither of which were COVID shockingly.)

BACK TO BACK.

I couldn’t even taste vinegar that well. VINEGAR. I debated on just writing fanfiction and skipping this week too but weirdly I found inspiration in Wonder and Rayman Legends. Both types of platformers I am not historically drawn to.

BUT TODAY IS ABOUT MARIO.

I mean this in no uncertain terms, Mario Wonder is THE BEST 2D Mario experience to date. Hands down. No questions asked. I will die on that hill. I feel like Nintendo has really made it a priority to try and knock their mainline Switch titles out of the ballpark and they keep landing the hits.

Now I think Nintendo always has decent quality titles. At their core they’re almost always built well, functional, and decently fun. But the opinion that their 2D “New” Super Mario franchise was getting old, repeated, and stale is not a new one. I think Mario Wonder really encompasses how I feel about the Switch in general. As always Nintendo has stuff they can improve on, but it is clear they really are pushing to make the games truly special this generation.

WiiU (which the short lifespan is partially to blame for this) is so… empty of personality in comparison to the Switch library even at launch. Like the indie and niche selections? Don’t even get me STARTED.

The WiiU sank so the Switch could fly.

But this isn’t a review of the Switch. It’s a review of Mario Wonder. If you can’t tell I really love it. And this is a legit opinion. I’m not in the paid corporate pockets of IGN or Nintendo. No. The game really is just that solid.

Firstly Mario Wonder has so much personality. I dare say it has old Paper Mario levels of personality. It has a small selection of power ups, but it makes up for this in satisfying level design and… general amusement.

Those singing piranha plants are a really great example. As that is what made me crawl over and go “fine”. I don’t buy 2D Mario’s on launch. I just don’t like them enough. But I think it’s such a good example as to what the game is like as a whole. Mario Wonder is constantly finding new ways to be entertaining and enjoys doing so.

It even starts off with a “bit”. You choose your character and for the intro you walk to the kingdom through a stage as your selected character. The other unselected characters? They’re all here too walking to the kingdom! We were all walking together! Everyone was accounted for! It was so cute and a great introduction to the experience.

On top of standard levels there are all sorts of hidden areas, secret exits, alternate routes, challenges, and collectibles that pay off.

And listen. I know the series is called the MARIO series, but seeing multiple female characters to play as that weren’t locked behind easy mode or late game is amazing. I still distinctly remember being a child myself and us girls fighting over who got to be the ONE GIRL in any of the older Marios.

And then we’d fight about who got Yoshi. Because if we couldn’t be pretty we wanted to be cute.

Anyway most of the time I played Luigi. Now that I’m older and have refined taste Luigi is my favorite.

…But I still pick Peach or Rosalina preferentially! Sorry buddy I like being the pink one and I’m healing my childhood hurt! I DESERVED A TURN TO BE THE PRINCESS BETHANY!

Whatever. I was annoying anyway. They had to eliminate pink carpet squares from a preschool because I was so territorial about having them to myself. So don’t feel bad for me.

Anyway.

Mario Wonder is also a departure from the “New” Super Marios Bros style. Which is… thank god. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that style looks bad. It doesn’t.

But it does look like nothing, especially in comparison to the more stylish pieces they’ve been putting out as of late. Mario Wonder exudes style from start to finish. We are finally in an era where it’s okay for cartoons to look like cartoons again. Sorry if you like the older style, but its blankness was always a turn off for me. That doesn’t make the games inherently bad though. They’re… solid Marios. Just not solid… interesting Marios.

Stylistically I do like it when companies like SEGA dip their toes into “realism” like with Sonic. (Sonic gets to have both. They’re clearly not as consistent as Mario but they have both styles to satisfy all tastes. Though Sonic could use some stronger stylization too. We’re getting there.).

But Mario… is so unique in concept and aesthetic that when they stray from the more intense stylization, I think it’s a disservice. Sonic is unique too! But Mario almost reminds me of Alice in Wonderland. That is another franchise that demands strong aesthetics for its weird choices and suffers without them. Mario is weird in every sense and I think it IS very much like Alice in Wonderland in terms of style and story. I see very strong parallels. Mario is a weird fantasy story. Wonder especially seems to really take note of this stylistically.

And I’m not suggesting “New” Super Mario Bros is realistic per se… but I wouldn’t call it stylized in the same way Wonder or even Odyssey is. It’s cookie cutter and easy to produce. Which I do get, I don’t necessarily dink companies for that. But it’s still obvious that effort on this level produced results.

The color choices of Mario Wonder are also… wow. This game is just an amazing glow up. Can you tell I think the game is pretty? The backgrounds, the colors, the models. I love how we’re exploring a different kingdom which allows for even more environmental diversity.

Then there’s the levels themselves.

Again. I like 2D Marios, but normally I solidly enjoy his 3D endeavors more. (This is not unique to Mario. I feel this way about Sonic as well. So I’m not blaming Mario for player preference).

Mario Wonder is a big exception. Mario Wonder hits all the sweet spots in my brain and takes a lot of the stuff I liked about 3D World and enhanced it. The collectibles to unlock standees is cute. I like that the seeds lock progression because most areas don’t require a lot. (Well. I’m 100%ing each level so I’ve not actually run into an area that told me I didn’t have enough)

Most of the levels have two faces to them which has so many benefits! For example when I mess up the flag pole, if I simply skip the wonder flower for certain levels it physically shortens the level so I can try again. This can also provide alternate exits which net you additional seeds.

The effects the wonder flower have on each level can also be wildly unpredictable. I don’t always know what challenge or activity I am walking in to and I think this was an awesome tactic to keep players on their toes.

For those who like challenge there are more challenging levels available. I don’t often ‘struggle’ in Mario games as an adult but there were a few stages that required real skill to get through and 100%.

Right off the bat there are lots of little explorable avenues clearly off the intended path on the map. I like the player autonomy in that and I like finding weird little nooks. You also get rewarded for this by getting extra seeds, special areas, and badges.

Oh yeah. Badges. This was a weird idea to see pop up outside of Paper Mario, but honestly about time? This was another choice I liked a LOT. Special abilities used to be adhered to certain characters (Hence Peach being treated as easy mode). Now you can apply a badge with special abilities onto any character! And there are lots of badges and abilities. Levels will even have side areas and challenges that require the use of certain badges. Of course some levels are clearly geared to support certain badges as well. And you can change them out darn near at any time. Badges are great. I love swapping them out and problem solving. While most are just functional; some badges are just small rewards throughout a level. I like those too.

The only thing I really can’t commentate on is multi-player. It supports local multiplayer which I’m sure is solid.

I know some people are split on how they feel about the talking flower. I like it. That’s it. Also the caterpillar prince sitting on your shoulder as you run around is dumb cute. He wears the little badge you’re using and you can see it in the levels.

The weird online multiplayer shadow thing I haven’t tried (which is what those standees are even for). I may try that this week and amend the post to include my thoughts on that.

I think the inclusion of an almost brand new set of power-ups was a strong choice. It’s a new kingdom with new activities. It’s okay to be different! (As long as it’s good). The costumes for the power-ups are killer on all of the characters. I like pink Bubble Mario. He makes me happy! I’m rocking that as my Nintendo Avatar right now! 🤣

Overall Wonder is so solid! We can’t keep it in stock at the small game store I work at! When I go to look physically at other big stores I’m not seeing them in stock there often either. Along with Mario RPG, we can’t keep that in stock either.

It’s crazy how on point the new Mario voice actor is. Makes me wonder if they searched for new voice actors during auditions for the movie as a cover. (Initially, not after they announced Chris Pratt as Mario) They managed to keep it under wraps somehow. Cause how else would you hide Mario voice auditions? That’s speculation though. I do need to rewatch the movie to see if they out any Wonder easter eggs in. Probably not.

If you’re looking for a strong AAA title this is it. I think I’m out of nice things to say and I have to prep for my birthday tomorrow! (I’ll be 30.)

So! Take it easy! And don’t get sick this season like I did.

#Super Mario Bros #Super Mario #Mario #Luigi #Peach #Princess Peach #Daisy #Princess Daisy #yoshi #toad #nabbit #toadette #princess toadstool #super mario bros wonder #Mario Wonder #mario bros #nintendo #nintendo switch

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solalunar-eclipse · 11 months

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Sonic Boom - S3E10

Episode title: The Obligatory Band Episode

Summary: When a boy band competition comes into town, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles immediately decide that they have to enter as Dudeitude. The only problem: their other two teammates who aren't allowed to join...

AO3 Link

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[Episode opens on a shot of a poster.]

BATTLE OF THE (BOY) BANDS!!!! the poster proclaimed, using far more exclamation points than were necessary. All boy bands (and ONLY boy bands) welcomed to join and compete for the prize of 10,000 rings and a record deal!!

A crowd of villagers had quickly gathered around the sign—which of course soon drew the attention of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, who had been wandering around the village chatting happily about nothing in particular. (No, literally, they were discussing what the word ‘nothing’ meant to each of them.)

“Hey! What’s going on here?” Tails asked, taking to the air in an effort to better see what was making everyone else so interested.

He studied the poster, growing more and more excited by the second. “Sonic! Knuckles! Check it out!”

“Whoa!” Knuckles cried. “Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?”

Sonic’s smile widened. “I think I am thinking what you’re thinking….”

“It’s Dudeitude time!” all three shouted at once.

[They snatch up the poster so that it fills the camera frame, leading to a transition where the camera zooms back out on all three of them smiling hopefully.]

[Camera cuts to Amy, sitting on her couch with a distinctly unimpressed look on her face.]

[Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles’s smiles take on a rather panicked quality, before the opening sequence begins.]

…

[The same intro sequence plays as last time, complete with a reluctant Shadow.]

[Eggman’s villain reveal starts off similarly to that of the second episode, but the malfunction is caused by most of the minor villains turning the lights on and photobombing him. The green screen glitches out, leading to green and choppy outlines around each villain, before Eggman chases them out while shaking a wrench at them angrily.]

[The sequence then continues on, before ending with the title of this week’s episode.]

…

“What is it, Ames?” Sonic asked, the smile slipping off his face.

“Seriously?” She sighed. “Why aren’t they letting any girls participate at all?”

“Oooh, yeah.” Tails winced. “That’s kinda rude, I guess.”

“I don’t know about rude—it’s mostly just downright juvenile.” Amy sniffed disapprovingly.

The fox and Sonic both turned to stare at Knuckles. “Man, I thought you knew about this kind of thing!”

The echidna cringed. “I mean…I dunno, guys, I can’t know everything all the time! Gimme a break, okay?”

Amy nodded approvingly. “That’s very true. There’s always more to learn!”

In the background, Sonic winced, more at the concept of learning from Amy Rose than learning, full stop.

“We don’t have to compete, then.” Tails said decisively.

Sonic and Knuckles were fully prepared to agree, but then they saw Amy’s determined expression.

“I have an even better idea.” she explained. “You guys are going to compete—and win—with a girl as your manager.”

“Uh…hang on, who would be our manager?” Sonic asked, frowning in confusion.

Amy facepalmed. “Me. I’d be the manager.”

Sonic grinned sheepishly. “Ohhhhh.”

“What’s a manager?” Knuckles added.

“They’re a person who helps organize all of your paperwork and performance dates.” she explained.

At that exact moment, Sticks kicked the door open and rushed inside, a pair of binoculars dangling from her hand. “You guys are hanging out? Without me?!?” (This of course ignored the fact that she was implied to have been watching them ‘hang out’ in Amy’s house for an indeterminate amount of time.)

“Oh, Sticks!” Amy’s expression brightened up considerably. “Do you want to work on the lighting for the show? There aren’t any government agents, aliens, or ghosts involved, I’m afraid, but it’ll still be worth your time!”

The badger frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, but that sounds boring.”

It took two minutes of explaining (and convincing) to get the idea across to her, but the moment the words ‘fight the patriarchy’ came into the conversation, she was onboard instantly. As a matter of fact, the word ‘fight’ probably would’ve been enough all on its own.

After that, the entire team ended up so excited that they spent the rest of the day planning out a dance and lights routine to some of their music. By the time they were worn out and crashed in various places around Amy’s house, there was paper strewn everywhere, but the general concept for the show was complete.

Just before Sonic fell asleep, using the couch armrest as a makeshift pillow, an idea came to him.

I wonder if Shadow would want to join Dudeitude….

…

Of course, the next day, they ran into a (not at all plot-convenient) problem almost immediately. When Amy sent Tails over to get the forms necessary to enter the competition, he found that there was one minor issue with their entire plan.

All competing bands were required to have at least four members.

Amy rubbed her eyes in frustration. “I can’t believe we’re going to have to rework our entire performance routine!”

Tails sighed. “That’s the least of our worries. We can’t even compete right now!”

Suddenly, Sonic dashed into the room, his arms laden with to-go chili dogs from Meh Burger. “Hey guys, how’d it g—oh. What happened?”

Amy looked up at him sadly. “We need four members in the band to compete. And right now we only have three!” she cried.

“Oh! Well, if that’s all, then,” Sonic said, putting down his food and dusting his hands off at sonic speed, “I know what to do!”

And with that, he vanished in a blur of blue.

…

A black ear twitched as the telltale zooming sound of Sonic’s running reached its owner. Shadow straightened up from what he’d been doing—adjusting a new bed frame in his room—and walked out to the front of his cave, wondering what could bring Sonic here in such a hurry. Knowing him, it could be anything from just wanting to race to the world actively ending.

“Shadow! Great, you’re here. Listen, we have an emergency.” Sonic said quickly.

“An emergency?” he asked, concerned. “What kind? Is it the doctor?”

Sonic shook his head. “No, worse! Listen, we need you to join our band, like, now, or else we won’t be able to compete in the battle of the bands competition.”

Shadow stared at him blankly. “I…I think your definition of ‘emergency’ is somewhat different than mine.”

“But will you do it?”

“Let me see what you have planned first.” Shadow sighed.

Sonic did a rapid fist-pump. “Yes!”

Shadow rolled his eyes. “I didn’t actually agree to join yet.”

“But you did agree to look at the plans, which means you’re considering joining.” Sonic said smugly.

Shadow muttered “You’d better not make me regret this.”, but with that, they took off, leaving twin trails of blue and red behind them.

…

“So let me get this ludicrous plan straight. You want me to join your rock band, which involves playing on absurdly designed instruments and wearing insanely sparkly suit jackets, in order to win a competition exclusively for boy bands. That way, we can rub it in the organizers’ faces when they discover that we have multiple girls—or rather, one girl and one demigirl—working with us.” Shadow said slowly.

“Yes!” Amy exclaimed. “We’ll come out onstage after the others have claimed their prizes, and then we’ll take the most smug bow in the history of bows.”

“I still think that a speech calling out the secret underground alien-cryptid alliance would’ve been better.” Sticks muttered, rolling their eyes.

Shadow frowned. “And why can’t either of you—” he gestured to Amy and Sticks— “just be part of the band anyway? It isn’t as if they’d know whether or not the band was made up of all boys until the concert.”

“Actually, they would.” Tails explained. “There’s a rehearsal the day before that all band members have to be there for.”

“Ugh…” the hedgehog groaned. “Whose idea was it to join this stupid competition?”

“Well, first it was me and Sonic and Tails.” Knuckles said. “And then we were ready to quit when we realized they didn’t let girls in, but Amy said we should do it with her plan, so we did.”

Shadow leaned back against the couch for a moment and closed his eyes. “….fine. I’ll do it. But this is a one time thing, understand?”

“Alright!” Sonic cheered. “Now we just need to find you one of those suit jackets!”

Soon enough, the team had scrounged up Sonic’s spare outfit and handed it over to Shadow, at which point he began to regret every single one of his life choices.

“No. No way. This is utterly disgusting.” he snapped, holding the offending garment as far away from himself as possible. “I will never, ever—”

[Cut to a shot of Shadow standing stiffly while wearing the jacket.]

“This is humiliating.” he grumbled.

Amy winced. “Is this seriously what you guys wore while saving the town from Justin Beaver?”

“It was the best we could come up with on short notice, okay?!” Sonic cried defensively.

“You know what?” Shadow said. “Fine. Fine. I’ll wear it. But don’t you think that we should each customize our own outfit instead of all looking the same? After all—wait. You’re not doing this as…that tacky pop group, are you?”

“Nonono, don’t worry, we’re doing this as Dudeitude, not Dreamboat Express.” Sonic explained hurriedly, trying to stave off Shadow’s growing expression of horror.

“Actually, that sounds like a really good idea!” Tails said excitedly, pulling out his own jacket. “I wanna put, like, cool gear cufflinks on mine—let me go get the Build-It Box!”

[A montage ensues, complete with lots of tacky fashion choices and comical mistakes, including (but not limited to) a patch that was supposed to say ‘Knuckles’ but instead came out as a strangely detailed fabric replica of the echidna himself.]

[The team’s brief experiment with differently-colored jackets was also strongly vetoed by Shadow after they all came out of the box in different varieties of neon.]

Eventually, the three original members of Dudeitude had their new outfits all set and ready to go.

Sonic’s white jacket now had red and gold stars around the cuffs and hem, while Tails’s had—as he had mentioned—gear-shaped cufflinks and buttons with a crossed wrench and screwdriver stamped into them. He had also added golden sequins along the back spelling out ‘Prower’, akin to a sports jersey.

Knuckles’s jacket, on the other hand, had all sorts of patches sewn onto it, including a barbell, a circular one labeled ‘Weightlifting Champion’, and multiple stylized green emeralds. He seemed awfully proud of it, enough so that Sonic and Tails had to keep preventing him from flexing in front of the mirror so that he wouldn’t rip a seam.

When Shadow walked out, though, his jacket didn’t appear to have changed at all. Sonic frowned. “I thought you were the one who wanted us to change our outfits up!”

Shadow smirked. “I did.” he said proudly. “Tails, do you happen to have an ultraviolet light handy?”

The fox’s mouth dropped open. “You didn’t.”

Shadow’s smirk widened.

Tails scrambled to get his biggest UV light, shining it on Shadow’s jacket…and then everyone gasped at what they saw. Blue and purple threads wove throughout the entire garment, creating a variety of geometric patterns that almost seemed to shift as Shadow moved.

Amy looked over at Sticks, smiling excitedly. “Hey Sticks?”

“Yeah?”

“How do you feel about adding some black light to the show?”

…

It had been decided that Shadow would play the bass guitar, since Knuckles was already handling the drums and Tails had taken on the keyboard/synthesizer role. Sonic, of course, was more than excited to use his two-necked guitar, tearing through riffs and fills with ease.

They’d had a week to practice before the rehearsal, and it became clear that Shadow had taken the time to learn every single song, as he played chord after chord perfectly. Despite his skill, his backup vocals were barely audible, and he outright refused to sing alone at any point in the show.

This only encouraged the entire team to try even harder to get him to change his mind, of course.

In the end, it was Amy who got lucky enough to hear him first—they’d all stayed behind to watch the other bands play so they could get an idea of the competition, but she and Shadow had been the only ones with enough patience to suffer through three poor performances in a row.

Their only real competition was a new band made of some boys whose personalities had seemed almost custom-built to sell well with fans, run by Justin Beaver himself as part of his new reality show. They had decent vocals and a generic backing track, but the test audience ate it up. The team had nearly suspected them of using mind-control technology again, but a quick reconnaissance mission on Tails’s part showed that the audience’s reactions were legitimate.

Somehow.

After the rehearsal had finished, the organizers left most of the microphones set up so that they’d still be in place for the concert tomorrow night. Amy had been getting ready to leave (and maybe snag a couple of the complimentary refreshments to take home when nobody was watching), when she noticed some movement out of the corner of her eye.

Quickly, she crouched behind a conveniently placed bush just as Shadow stepped forward on the stage.

He cleared his throat, looked around nervously, and then began to practice his backing vocals in a small, awkward voice. At first, his voice was too weak to carry very far, but when he saw nobody around, he began to relax.

His speaking voice was raspy and clipped. But when he sang, all of that fell away, and his vocals became smooth and deep, nearly making Amy gasp.

Quickly, she texted her friends and told them to come over discreetly, but also right now.

The moment they showed up, crawling into the bushes next to her, their faces immediately transformed into nearly identical shocked expressions.

“Is that Shadow?!” Sonic hissed under his breath.

Amy rolled her eyes. “Who else would it be?”

They watched in silence after that, still stunned. Shadow’s singing voice…well, it really couldn’t be described as anything other than beautiful.

The moment he finished, Knuckles shot upwards and began to clap excitedly. All of the others whispered at him furiously and yanked him down behind the bush, while a decidedly uncomposed shriek came from the general direction of the stage.

After a moment, Shadow barked, “Who’s there?”

The entire team stood up awkwardly, wincing. Sonic smiled nervously. “That was really good!”

The other hedgehog’s hands tightened on the microphone stand until his fingers nearly left imprints in the metal. “Sure.” he sneered sarcastically.

“No, seriously, it was amazing!” Tails cried.

“Yeah, it really was.” Sticks added.

“I loved it!” Amy exclaimed.

Shadow’s grip loosened slightly. “You mean it?”

The team rushed onto the stage, gathering around him. “Yes!” Knuckles exclaimed. “It was so cool!”

“Ah. Well then.” Shadow said tightly.

But as the team watched, his mouth curled into the tiniest of smiles.

…

On the night of the performance, all four members of Dudeitude had the jitters. Tails was making sure all of their equipment was accounted for the tenth time in a row, Knuckles was doing his best to curl up into a ball, Sonic was literally shaking in place, and Shadow was grinding his teeth and hissing at anyone who came near him.

“Alright!” Amy declared, clapping her hands together. The boys all promptly hit the roof, before turning to stare at her with various degrees of fear and frustration.

“Listen,” she continued, lowering her voice, “I’m so proud of all of you. You guys did a great job in the practice sessions, and you’re sticking it to all of these stupid organizers, too.”

Knuckles sighed. “Yeah, but not as much as the people out by the front fence.”

What he meant, specifically, was the all-girl band protesting the entire competition out front by playing their own songs loud enough to be heard from the rehearsal tent. They had camped out long before the concert had begun and were showing no signs of flagging, no matter how many people tried to drive them off.

(They also had a sign in front of them that read If you can be petty, so can we.)

Amy shook her head. “Everybody has different ways of dealing with these kinds of people. Just because ours isn’t as loud as theirs doesn’t make it any worse.”

“Right, but what happens if we’ve put in all this effort and don’t win?” Tails asked nervously, holding open one flap of the tent and gesturing to the band run by Justin Beaver. They were doing, quite frankly, a really good job, and the judges seemed almost won over already.

Amy frowned. “Well, I’m still glad I got to do this with all of you anyway. The only way we could’ve done this wrong is by giving up or by not having me and Sticks participate at all.

“And,” she added, “I’m also glad we now know that Shadow is an amazing singer!”

The hedgehog in question looked away briefly, embarrassed.

Sticks darted into the tent suddenly. “It’s time.” she whispered dramatically.

(Shadow and Sonic had to do their absolute best not to impale the walls of the tent with their quills at that.)

…

“And now, the final band of the night…it’s…Dudeitude!!”

The announcer’s voice rang in the ears of all four band members as they took to the stage. Sonic grinned at Knuckles. “You ready, dude?”

“Yeah, dude!” he whispered back, practically bouncing in his seat.

Tails leaned over to tell Shadow, “They’re always nervous until they hit the stage. It’s the waiting that’s the worst for them.”

“Oh. Good for them.” he muttered tersely, obviously not experiencing the same relief.

“You’re gonna do great!” Sonic cheered under his breath, smiling at Shadow in the darkness.

He didn’t even have time to react before the lights flashed on and the drumbeat began.

Shadow played his music almost entirely on autopilot, his hands moving more on memory than knowledge. He performed without thinking, doing the choreography (or the stripped-down version of it that he’d demanded they give him, because he didn’t dance) while staring blankly out at the audience. He’d never been more grateful that he was joining the band in its rock incarnation instead of when it was a full-on pop band.

As they entered the breakdown of the final song, where Sonic vocalized solo over chords from Shadow’s guitar, that autopilot ended up betraying him. Shadow had, on his own time, tried out singing along to this part in the test track an octave lower, because he’d found it enjoyable. It hadn’t been made part of the performance plan, and if he’d been in his right mind he never would’ve done it, but as it was…

…well, the audience ate it up.

They finished their song, accepted the audience’s applause (with much whooping and bouncing up and down from the original trio), and filed offstage, all while Shadow was still processing the performance.

The moment they entered their tent, Shadow’s knees gave out and he collapsed abruptly onto a chair.

“Whoa, Shadow, are you okay?” Sonic asked, hurrying over to stand next to him, his hands hovering nervously over his former rival’s shoulders.

“I sang.” Shadow wheezed. “I wasn’t even supposed to sing then, and…”

“It was incredible!” Amy gasped, stars in her eyes. “That was such a good idea!”

“So…I didn’t ruin the show?” he asked, looking up with a carefully blank expression.

“Honestly, I think you just won it.” Sticks said, poking their head into the tent. “I mean, the crowd is still shrieking.”

Shadow’s limbs went obviously loose with relief. “So you’re not upset.”

[The entire team suddenly locks eyes, remembering Shadow mentioning that his last brush with friendship ended badly.]

“No, no, no!” Amy cried. “No, not at all! Honestly, I’m glad you decided to sing.”

Sonic smiled at him. “It sounded amazing.”

Shadow shook his head, stunned. “I was so out of it up there. I barely even realized what had happened until I was done.”

Tails’s eyes widened. “Wait, does that mean you were practicing the song like that this whole time?”

“…maybe?”

“You should’ve told us!” he exclaimed. “I would’ve done all the sound prep so the audience could hear you better!”

Shadow looked cautiously down at his skates. “Thank you, but I’m alright.”

“You at least have to do karaoke sometime with us then!” Knuckles insisted cheerfully.

The entire team looked so excited that Shadow found himself smiling wryly against his will. “Well, I guess, if you insist…”

“The awards are starting!” Sticks called from the entrance to the tent. Then they frowned. “Wait, when did I become the responsible one here?”

All four members of Dudeitude took to the stage, along with the other bands. They were forced to jostle with their rivals for room, leading to many dirty looks and a minor shoving war. However, they all stood up straight when the announcer called, “Now, the winner of the competition is…”

“…Dudeitude!!”

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all screamed at top volume, making Shadow flinch before watching his bandmates with a smirk. As soon as they had received a check for the money and a guaranteed record deal, however, two things happened.

First, Amy and Sticks raced out onto the stage to celebrate too, completely forgetting their plan in the process. The audience went absolutely silent upon seeing them—and then burst out into cheers that were even louder than before. Sticks and Amy stared at the crowd for a moment, before smiling, putting their arms around each other, and taking their well-earned bow.

Then, the entire team all gathered together in a group huddle for a minute. Sonic whispered something to them that made their eyes widen and the hero bounce in place excitedly.

He snatched up a microphone and ran to the edge of the stage. “Hey guys, listen. All of us loved playing for you, and we had so much fun tonight. But, uh, being a hero is kind of a full-time job, and most of us already have enough on our plates. So…I wanna give this to a band who’s really gonna use it. A band who actually performed tonight, but never got judged, and a band who we all think was probably both one of the best ones here and who deserves this more than anything.”

“Yo! Ladies out front!” he yelled, getting the attention of the band who had been protesting the event all night.

“Yeah?!” their leader, a chipmunk dressed in a blue vest and white leggings, yelled.

“Can you guys come up here for a sec?”

The crowd parted to let the band through as they came to the stage. It was composed of the aforementioned chipmunk, a lynx in a pink dress, a lemur wearing all yellow, and a wolf who looked like she’d stepped off the pages of a goth/punk magazine.

“What is it?” the chipmunk asked.

“Hey, uh, do you want this?” Sonic said, offering her the prizes.

The crowd was completely silent.

“Why are you giving this to us?” the lynx asked softly.

“‘Cause we think you guys sounded great, and you really deserved to be included in this competition. And now that it’s ours, we get to do what we want with it. So we thought you should have this.” he explained.

Tails gave a thumbs-up from behind him, and Knuckles smiled encouragingly. Cautiously, the chipmunk stepped closer and took the prizes. “What’s the catch?” she asked.

“No catch. Seriously.” Sonic told her.

She watched him skeptically for a moment, before holding out a hand to shake. “Thank you.” she said quietly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you—my name’s Sally, by the way.”

“Nice to meet ya!” he said cheerfully. “Name’s Sonic.”

“These three behind me are Nicole, Tangle, and Whisper.” she added, pointing at the lynx, lemur, and wolf in succession.

“Hey! Thank you, like, so much!” Tangle cheered, appearing directly next to Sally. “Man, we’ve been dying for a chance to do something like this for ages!”

Whisper smiled in agreement.

“Uh….” Soar the Eagle (the reporter covering this event) stammered, trying to regain his bearings, “Well then, how about a picture with the…two winners of this competition?”

[The camera flash obscures the screen for a moment, before revealing a picture of Dudeitude (plus Amy and Sticks) and the other band. Most of them are smiling, and Shadow has mustered up a moderately friendly neutral expression for the camera.]

[roll credits]

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hareofhrair · 4 days

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Wizard City preview

While I'm posting previews, this is the intro for the text game I'm currently working on, which is essentially a walking tour of a city populated almost entirely by wizards.

In terms of plot, you are a wizard's apprentice, and your wizard has gone missing, so you must go out and explore the city to find him! Originally, I wanted to reuse an apprentice character I'd created for a different (unfinished) game, a little chicken legged kid named named Wiggins who was half witch half baba yaga witch hut, but as I started writing the Apprentice in this story very quickly morphed into the wizard's fussy little gay husband. A Holmes and Watson scenario but Holmes can cast fireball.

This is just the intro, what you get on opening the game, since it's difficult to preview much else than that lol.

---

You are standing in the tower of the great wizard Egrithar.

You are Egrithar's apprentice. You have been for a very long time, as wizarding apprenticeships are notoriously endless. No wizard likes to promote their apprentice and pass down their title until they are on the edge of death, and as most wizards are varying levels of circumstantially immortal unless they blow themselves up, this means wizard's apprentice is more or less a lifetime appointment. This makes it rather important that the wizard and apprentice like, or at least tolerate one another. You think perhaps your relationship with Egrithar is somewhat less stable then it should be, given how often you would like to strangle Egrithar with one of his ridiculous little pashmina scarves.

Sunlight pours in through the high windows in the stone walls and pools dusty on the wooden stairs that spiral up to Egrithar's room at the top of the tower. Down here is the workshop and the little storefront where you sometimes sell potions and alchemical concoctions. There are several wooden work tables and large cabinets for holding potion ingredients. One of tables holds the small alembic where you prepare potions, and another holds a large crystal ball, currently covered by a velvet cloth. It's early, but soon customers will begin arriving, expecting you to have potions ready for them.

Unfortunately you don't care about all that, because Egrithar is missing.

You saw that he'd never made it to bed when you got up this morning and assumed he was in his study, probably dozing off on whatever ancient tome he'd been unable to put down last night. You'd gone down stairs to put on a pot of coffee and bothered Mistress Madrigal at the little bakery down the street for your usual breakfast order. You'd been passing off her pastries as your own for almost as long as you'd been apprenticed to Egrithar. You thought he'd probably figured it out by now, but he fortunately had the minimal tact required to not bring it up. That or he truly hadn't noticed, which was equally possible. He could be powerfully oblivious sometimes.

The smell of coffee and baked goods was usually enough to bring Egrithar shuffling in bleary eyed, where he'd need to consume at least two full mugs of coffee and three croissants before he could manage anything as complicated as speech. But this time there was no sign of him. Not yet overly concerned, you'd gone up to his study to see if he was simply too deeply asleep or if he'd done something unspeakable to himself with magic and needed help de-spelling. But he wasn't there either. You went up and down the whole tower calling for him, but not even the sparrow-gryphons roosting in the highest eaves answered you.

You know he was up late tinkering with something and summoning starspirits to consult their wisdom, which is always a good sign he's about to throw himself into some sort of foolhardy and ill considered research, which never ends well. But the results are usually more... explosive. Simply disappearing without leaving some sort of disastrous mess to indicate he's turned himself into a lizard and needs to be rescued before he's eaten by the neighbor's cat is unusual for him. You're hoping he maybe just wandered out in the wee hours of the morning to seek out fortifying beverages or borrow an astrolabe and then became distracted and just hasn't returned yet. You'll probably find him napping in a bush in the Garden of Marvels.

With a weary sigh you pull on your coat. You'd better get out there and start looking for him.

#my writing #original writing #wizard shit #text adventure #wizard city

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littleperilstories · 1 year

Text

The Prince of Thieves: I'll Settle for the Ghost of You

Mood Boards | Chapter Titles | Also on A03! | Playlist | Story Intro

Warnings: chased/pursued, hypothermia, lost in the woods, mention of death, physical violence (choking, tackling, punching), angst central

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Word count: 2244 || Approx reading time: 10 mins

I'll Settle for the Ghost of You

Teaser: Rage mingles with terror as my pace slows, hobbled by the uneven ground and the thick darkness beneath the trees. Why did he do it? How could he? Why did he simply…give up?

Bree

The woods at night are eerie and quiet, nothing but shadows and noises that crack the air. Did I kick a stone, snap a twig? Am I being followed? It’s all terrifying, of course—but the silence itself is not nearly as terrifying as the reason for it.

I’m right here. Don’t turn back. Keep running. Those were Will’s exact words.

His exact goddamn words right before the stupid bastard stopped running.

He better hope Hatchett kills him, because if I ever see him ever again, I might just murder him myself.

Rage mingles with terror as my pace slows, hobbled by the uneven ground and the thick darkness beneath the trees. Why did he do it? How could he? Why did he simply…give up?

I know why, deep down, I think. It hurts too much to accept.

What is Baden Hatchett going to do to him for trying to escape again?

What is he going to do to me for actually making it out, if he catches up? When he catches up?

There must be constables out looking for me now. Hopefully they’re searching the town, storming through the streets and alleys to find a stupid girl in a stolen coat and bare, frozen feet and a ruined, bloody dress. But I’m not so naïve as to think that none of them are checking the woods.

I don’t dare to slow my pace too drastically, or pause to cry or rage or lament the fact that I’m alone. Again.

I’m on my own again.

It was supposed to be us both.

I was stupid, so stupid, to pull him into this. I was there, saw how hard Hatchett struck him for his lies during the last interrogation. I knew he was hurt, and bad. But what was I supposed to do? Leave him there? Or worse, stay with him and die?

No. I did what I had to do, I tell myself. I took the only choice that I could. I did what I had to do.

Which was leaving Will behind to die.

I fucking deserve to freeze to death.

Fall days are fickle, quick to switch between summery sunshine and wintry wind. Fall evenings are crisp, quick to bring a chill.

Fall midnights are frigid, quick to bring misery.

I stop by a stream for only a minute or two, plunging my hands into icy water to quench my thirst and scrub my face even though it’s cold enough to sting my skin.

The threadbare prison dress and the shreds of it hanging off me hardly make appropriate attire for wandering the woods at night, but I’m glad that I stole Gysborne’s jacket, as it offers some protection from the cold. Even so, within an hour, my feet are frozen and my teeth are chattering.

So cold. I left him behind. Need to find shelter. I deserve this. Find shelter soon.

Exhaustion drags at me, and other evils, too: guilt, worry, fear. I want to walk with an empty mind, to just keep putting one foot in front of the other and move and get farther away from Hatchett and his cursed prison.

But my limbs are cold, so cold, so cold they hurt.

Still, I know if I stop, they will go numb completely, so I push forward, propelled by the same tormenting thoughts I might never escape.

Will.

Is he dead? I’d give anything for the answer to be no. How angry was Hatchett when he found out? I can’t even imagine his rage. Did he beat him again? I think I know the answer to that. Why didn’t I listen? He told me he couldn’t run.

It isn’t only Will who haunts my thoughts. Gysborne, too, comes to mind. I don’t care about him, not as a person, because he’s as wicked as the rest of them who work within the prison walls. But he was bleeding on the floor, and I did that to him. Did I kill him?

And me? What am I supposed to do now? I’m alone and lost and fucking freezing and so tired.

Sleep. Just go to sleep.

I’ve been here before; the reminder rises sluggishly from my slowing thoughts. I kept going. I survived. And that is what I will do now.

Please, I beg the sky. Let me live through the night. Let me see morning. And please… Please let Will be all right.

The stars were out earlier, and the moon, but cruel clouds are creeping over them now, little by little blocking out the only light by which to see. Soon, I’ll be lost in complete darkness.

Maybe this is what I get for murdering one man and leaving another behind to torture and death.

When the barest hint of dawn creeps into the horizon, pinkish-grey and sullen, I hear them. Footsteps.

My gait has slowed to reluctant, agonized dragging, and my eyes can barely stay open, but at the sound of the voice behind me, I am given life anew.

“Give me a reason why I shouldn’t kill you, Breanna.”

No.

I’m too tired, too cold, too angry, and too heartbroken for this. Still, shivering, I turn around.

There he is. Standing…standing alone. Big talk, but no weapon drawn. Head cocked to one side, face pale against the gloom that swallows us both, arms at his sides.

“You’re n-not allowed to do that,” I say. “Y-You said it yours-s-self.” My chattering teeth do nothing to make me sound more intimidating.

“We find ourselves in quite a different situation.” A cold breeze rustles the brittle leaves still clinging to their branches, shifts the folds of his heavy coat. No danger of him freezing to death out here. “You’re a fugitive now. And if I say you’re a violent madwoman who attacked me, there is no one around to dispute it. No one who will wonder if you… If you had to die.”

Something inside me is withering, shrivelling up from cold and from terror. If you had to die.

“After all,” he says, opening and closing fingers as if he might twist them around my throat, “no one would be surprised, would they? After what you did to Gysborne.” My breath catches in my chest. “You better hope he wakes up Breanna, or you’ll be remembered as not just a thief but a murderess, too.”

I desperately want to believe he’s bluffing.

“Does it m-matter?” I take a step back. “You were going to h-h-hang me anyway.”

He smiles grimly. “It appears, Miss Cooper, that despite your best efforts—no matter what you do—your pitiful life will end only in disgrace.”

Maybe he’s right. But something else he said snags in my memory.

No one around to dispute it. He came after me alone? This… This must be good news. Mustn’t it?

Maybe Baden Hatchett is wrong. Maybe, for the first time, he's made a big fucking mistake, lured in by rage that lay dormant for so long. That’s the only explanation for his foolishness… Because between him and me, it’s personal.

I glance around, wondering if I can make a run for it. Though my numb, frozen limbs tell me it’s unlikely, I have other weapons to hurl at him.

“You’re n-n-not going to kill me,” I say. “You’ve had p-plenty of opportunities. And s-still you haven’t.”

“Bold assumptions, Miss Cooper. I kept you around because you were stupid enough to let your insipid feelings for the boy show. Not unlike you, I saw an opportunity and grasped it. Nothing more.”

Now that I’ve stopped moving, I can’t feel the ground beneath my feet. Too cold. I wiggle my toes, praying the tiny movement will bleed life back into them. “Or m-maybe… Maybe there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to watch me die.”

“Incorrect,” he growls. “You assume too much.”

“I don’t b-believe you.” Please, please. “You say you don’t c-c-care, but you do, don’t you? Care enough to be pissed off that I ran. That I challenged you in front of everyone. That I care—” Does that word really encompass everything I feel when I think of Will Wardrew? “—more for a—for a lowly thief than I ever d-did for you.”

He stands still, shaking with unspent rage, and it feels good to hurt him in at least one way he can’t hurt me.

“The thief…” he says, drawing closer now, eyes wrathful and wild and wide. “He will die.”

I know this, and I wish I didn’t. But it means that Will is not dead yet.

“He was playing the hero again, you know. Giving you your chance to run.” He lets his pause drag on. “For nothing, obviously.”

There must be something warm and alive left in me yet, because there are tears welling in my eyes. Burning, stinging heat.

“Still you left him behind. Left him to die. Because that’s what Breanna Cooper does, isn’t it? She runs away.”

No, that’s not true, I want to say.

“Are you going to run again? Make me chase you?” He takes a few more steps, fast and sure and agile now. Flaunting the fact that he is healthy and not half-frozen. I back away, breaths coming more frantically now. “I don’t wish to turn this into a spectacle. But I will.”

Why can’t I stop shivering? “You could choose not to, Baden. If no one else is here, then you c-can just look the other way. Nobody would ever have to know.”

“Indeed. And perhaps while we’re at it, I’ll just let the Wardrew boy go, too. How about that? And then I’ll forget about the whole gang. Yes. Everyone will live happily ever after.” He laughs. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.” A dream, nothing more, cruel in its temptation. “But you won’t do that.” I’m not as stupid as he says I am. “Your pride won’t allow it.”

“You think this is a matter of pride?” He closes more distance between us, and I back away again. “You and he and Iustitia aecum have been making a mockery of the law for far too long. And my duty—it is to maintain order, plain and simple. Pride has nothing to do with it.”

“That’s what you want to believe? Fine.” I brace myself for his fury. “Doesn’t change that you’re a sadistic, repulsive worm of a man, Baden Hatchett, and I’m not going anywhere with you.”

I turn and run.

From behind me, three words: “So be it.”

My frozen feet are clumsy, sliding along frost-flecked ground. Darkness from the cloud cover should be a gift now, a shroud of invisibility, but my panicked steps and gasping breaths give me away.

I’m doomed.

Once, my pathetic legs fail me. Such stiff, frigid muscles can’t avoid a fallen branch, and I find myself sprawled on the ground, one elbow screaming in pain. A fresh scrape decorates my palm, drops of blood beading on torn skin, the redness muted in the watercolour night.

Hatchett starts to say something, but I’m not finished running yet, not ready to die. I scramble to my feet.

Ahead, a miracle.

Maybe. Maybe.

A cabin.

I know it is unlikely that the house before me will be my saving grace—it is tiny and dark and dilapidated. What chance is there that anyone is inside? Even if there is, why would anyone help a fugitive bearing the sigil of Iustitia aecum?

But I have to try. I fling myself against the door, pounding and screaming.

Hatchett yanks me backward, and I know then it’s over.

“Foolish girl.” My limbs crumple beneath me as he hurls me to the ground. “What a life you might have known.” He appears above me, and a heavy boot presses into my chest. “Instead, this.”

I close my eyes when his fingers close around my throat. Forget going to my death with dignity, or whatever it is the great poets are always going on about. I don’t want Baden Hatchett’s face to be the last thing I see while I draw my dying breath.

Crash.

At the sound of one body crunching into another, my eyes fly open.

There is no way I am truly seeing what seems to be before me: some monstrous figure flying from the darkness, all fists and too-long limbs. Attacking my attacker. Knocking him right to the ground.

I must be dead, if I am being rescued by terrifying beasts born of night, appearing out of nowhere and dwarfing even Baden Hatchett with their bulk.

The creature and the constable scrabble in the dirt, the sickening sound of blood-pulling, skin-splitting punches echoing through the woods. I didn’t think there was anyone who could best Baden Hatchett in a fight.

But this thing, this man, whatever it is, is huge.

I don’t know if I’m screaming or crying or gasping in silent, breathless terror as I scramble backwards, still on the ground, the too-long jacket ensnaring me with every movement. All I know is that one minute Hatchett is bellowing and brawling, and I am close to freedom, ready to snatch up this precious gift of a moment as he is distracted and hopefully getting beaten into the dirt.

The next, he falls silent.

From the darkness, someone—something?—grabs my arm, pulls me upright, and covers my mouth with a hand that sears my skin like molten iron, stifling a fresh, terrified scream.

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Tagging: @starlit-hopes-and-dreams, @gala1981, @kixngiggles .

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sixthweyoun · 1 year

Text

[semi-plotted starter for @constable and eventually also for Julian once the intro's out of the way]

Almost there. Just need to reach the Founder's office, and he'll— he'll help me, just like he helped that defective Weyoun. Just need to find him, tell him I'm looking for work, he'll— no, shut up, you deserted, you should have died with Rondac III, but you dishonored your purpose with that escape—

Vanath tightened her hood. Being recognizable as a Vorta so soon after the end of the war couldn't possibly be a good thing. Even with how hungry she was, and how disoriented she was, she had enough presence of mind to know that.

She flagged down a passing civilian. Tall, reddish hair, probably a man. Human or possibly Bajoran, she couldn't tell from this distance. "Excuse me, sir, I'm in need of— I've only just arrived, would you be so kind as to—"

He approached, and she saw the nose ridges as he came into view. So my second guess was right, she thought, noting the lack of an earring. If he'd been wearing one, the gentle chimes of moving metal would have alerted her. "You're in need of directions?" he asked.

She lowered her head. Not out of respect, as she would with a Founder, but because it would be dangerous for her to let anyone see her eyes. "Yes," she said quietly. "I'm trying to find the... the constable's office." The title was unfamiliar to her. It felt wrong in her mouth, in her very bones. "I'm looking for work, and I, well, I heard he could help me find it."

That wasn't a lie. She had heard that he could help. She'd heard that the Founder had risked his own life to save the life of a Vorta who had been declared defective, slated for termination, and chose to escape rather than face his punishment. Such a blatant violation of the order of things— it inspired her, and scared her, at the same time.

The Bajoran nodded. "Oh, Odo's office? Sure, just keep going straight on this floor, past the temple, it'll be right next to that Klingon restaurant. Don't know how he stands the noise," he said. "My daughter was one of his deputies during the war, can you—"

The good news was that the office was much closer than she thought. The bad news was that this stranger was getting a little too friendly. She had negative interest in his family troubles, especially not at the moment. "I'd love to help with whatever that is, but things are a bit urgent right now. Maybe we'll see each other around, if I stay." She gave an obligatory smile that probably looked out of place on her very much not diplomatically specialized face, then darted off, ducking and weaving through the crowds before finding herself at the Founder's door.

Upon being allowed entry, she removed her hood and bowed in full ceremonial fashion. She didn't want to only go halfway, she wanted to make a good impression. "Founder, I present mys—" she began, then paused, "wait, why's it not translating right?" She shook her head, then decided to carry on as if it were and hope that the spirit of her intent came through. "Founder, I present myself to your custody and offer my service. If it is your will, let me follow you above others, and follow you I shall, from the first to the last."

#constable #tell me that i haven't failed / odo #vanath #this is so long i'm so very sorry #also i had to include that cameo from anaru's dad lol #side note once i inevitably get my multimuse set up anaru will be on it and so will vanath probably

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cloudslostlibrary · 2 years

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A new book has been found !

Book Title: Maybe You’re Not So Bad After All… Part Two

Characters: CC! Wilbur Soot, Reader

Genre: Fluff to slight Angst

Summary: You decide to do a minecraft date with Wilbur but it doesn’t quite go as planned.

TWs: Break up mentions, rude ex.

Author’s Note: This is the second part of this three part series! Below is the other released parts.

Part One

Masterlist

After a few days of hanging out together online, off stream, you had taken a real liking to Wilbur. Once you put aside your competition to be Tommy’s internet sibling, you two actually had a lot in common. Every time you guys hung out you were both constantly laughing and smiling.

Wilbur was really helpful in assisting you get over your break up, he had been keeping you very occupied. When he realized you were feeling better about it, he asked you about a stream idea he had.

“What would you say about going on a minecraft date for a stream?” Wilbur asked you over the discord call.

“That sounds like fun, let’s do it!” You agreed, smiling ear to ear just thinking about it.

Wilbur had decided that he would have Foolish build a restaurant in the middle of nowhere on a server Wilbur owned. It only took Foolish a few hours to build it and make it look nice. Wilbur then had to figure out who the waiter would be.

“Who’s going to be the waiter?” You’d asked him over and over, trying to prepare for who you’d be spending your time on stream with. “It’s not Tommy is it?”

Wilbur laughed, “No, it’s not Tommy.” He reassured you, “but it is a surprise, so stop asking. You’ll find out who it is when it’s time for the date.”

Date.

The word rang out between your ears.

You were about to stream a minecraft date with someone who you seemingly publicly hated, for all of his viewers.

“Wilbur, what if your chat hates me?” You worried, scrunching your eyebrows in deep thought.

“They won’t. Everytime we’re on a stream together they are always begging me to be nice to you.” He chuckled thinking of your past feud. “This is going to be quite the whiplash for all of them.”

“I mean Tommy doesn’t even know that we’re friends now, does he?” You questioned Wilbur, knowing he talked to Tommy more frequently.

“No, he doesn’t. He’ll find out soon though I’m sure. I’m going to go and start up my stream, alright?”

“Yup, I’ll be here.”

Wilbur deafened and muted in the discord call, leaving you all alone with your thoughts for a few minutes.

“Ding.” Your phone buzzed with the Twitch notification for Wilbur’s stream.

Curious, you clicked the notification and pulled up his stream on your phone. Instantly an ad played so you decided to subscribe for the first time so you didn’t miss his intro. After you subscribed you refreshed the stream and Wilbur’s face appeared.

“Hey Chat, how are you all doing?” Wilbur leaned into his mic and spoke gently, watching him do so made you giggle.

“Oh shit.” You said aloud to yourself as you saw his sub box update.

“Oh! If it isn’t the person of the hour!” Wilbur stood up and threw his arms in the air, “Y/n subscribed with tier one!”

Chat stopped moving for a split second. The calm before the storm it would seem because soon after it exploded with questions.

“What??”

“Person of the hour?”

“Y/n?!”

“Chat, today I am going on a Minecraft date with Y/n!” Wilbur announced, only causing the chat to go even faster.

You could see mods deleting messages left and right and honestly it was more funny than concerning.

“Poor mods,” you thought to yourself.

Wilbur however just seemed to move on, sitting back down in his seat and messaging you.

“You ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” You responded, opening up minecraft and turning on your camera.

Wilbur stopped for a second to look at you, “wow.” He thought to himself before quickly averting his eyes when you looked in his direction.

Wilbur unmuted and undeafened, switching his screen to minecraft. “Y/n!” He yelled, walking up to you in the game.

“WIlbur! Hey!” You smacked him and he jumped back.

“OWW!” He screamed.

“Oh god, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” You quickly apologized and Wilbur moved on almost immediately.

The restaurant looked so much better than Wilbur had told you. It looked like an Applebees got dropped in the middle of a flower field. It was perfect and because of that you had a cheesy smile plastered on your face. Wilbur could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat when he saw it.

You both strolled up to the front door of the restaurant and Wilbur opened it for you.

“What a gentleman,” you remarked as you passed through the doorway.

Wilbur could feel his cheeks burning, and chat was calling him out on it, much to his dismay. You noticed and blushed yourself, making Wilbur feel a bit better.

“Where’s the host?” You asked looking around for someone to seat you.

“I think we can just seat ourselves?” Wilbur answered unconfidently before leading you to a table in the corner where you both sat down.

“Good afternoon.” Another British voice echoed through the restaurant before walking up to you.

“Oh! George is the waiter?” You laughed at his character’s silly waiter outfit.

“Whose George? I’m Jorge.” George plainly stated.

“Oh my bad, Jorge is the waiter then?”

“Mhm,” Wilbur hummed.

George dropped two pictures on the table, one for each of you. “Here are your menus, I’ll be back in a minute to take your order.”

“Thank you!” You opened the menu to look at it. “What do you think you’re going to get?”

“Uhm, I’m not sure.” Wilbur responded looking to the corner of the room before laughing.

You turned around to find what he was looking at and saw George crouched in the corner staring at the two of you at your table, causing you to break out laughing yourself.

“Are you ready to order?!” George screamed from across the restaurant.

To match his energy Wilbur did the same, screaming, “Yeah we’re ready!!” back at George.

George walked back over, “what would you like to order?” he asked you.

“I’d like some steak and a water if that’s alright?” You responded, throwing your menu on the floor near him.

“Alright, and for you?” He questioned your date.

“Could I also just get steak and a water?”

“Sorry,” George answered, “All out of both.”

“Oh- umm,” Wilbur looked back at his menu, “Can I have mushroom soup then?”

“Sure.” George took Wilburs menu and left.

“What a coincidence I ordered the last of both, they must have been really busy today.” You looked at Wilbur’s stream and saw his chat had slowed down ever so slightly.

“Sure looks like it.” Wilbur glanced around the empty restaurant as George made his way back over to the table.

“Two orders of steak and two waters.” He recited before dropping them on the table.

“I thought you said that you had run out of both?” Wilbur took all the food before handing you back yours.

“No, I never said that.” George ran back into the corner to watch you two again.

“What an odd guy.” You remarked making Wilbur chuckle.

“Yeah, I’m not so sure about him.”

You started eating your food and talking about random things while you both enjoyed your food.

“Buzz.” Your phone went off.

Thinking it was a text from Wilbur you smiled and picked it up before your smile quickly dropped upon reading the message.

“I can’t believe you would just immediately jump on Wilbur to get back at me. You don’t even fucking like him! Really glad I broke up with you now that I’m seeing your true colors Y/n.”

Wilbur looked at your camera confused and sent you a message on discord, “Y/n, what’s wrong??”

Your eyes started watering as you finished reading the text from your ex and Wilbur decided it was time to end the stream, not knowing why you were on the edge of tears. He deafened in discord briefly to end stream, messaging George asking him to leave and that he would explain later.

With George and Wilbur now both gone you started sniffling, letting stray tears fall down as you blocked your ex.

“What’s wrong? What happened??” Wilbur asked once he returned to your call.

“I sent a screenshot.” You told him before bringing your knees to your chest in your chair.

You waited a few seconds for Wilbur to read it, wiping away the last of your tears.

“Why didn’t you block them?”

“I just did, I forgot.”

Wilbur sighed and frowned at your tear stricken face, just wanting to be able to comfort you.

“Do you have anything else to do today?” He asked, breaking the silence.

“Umm,” you thought of your plans for the day, “No I don’t think so, why?”

“Do you want to go on a real date?” Wilbur realized how he sounded and started to backtrack, “It doesn’t have to be romantic or anything if you don’t want it to be. I think it could be a nice distraction, we can just go somewhere and do something fun-”

You cut off Wilburs rambling and said, “I’d love to go on a real date.” a soft smile crossing your face as Wilbur sighed in relief.

“I’ll pick you up in half an hour?”

“Sounds good.” You answered before saying your goodbyes and leaving the discord call.

Taglist:

@graymoon2 @allywritesforfun @wrenqueenisboss @graymoonspam @bi-narystars @toodeepintofandoms

#wilbur soot #wilbur #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur x reader #x reader #wilbur soot oneshot #wilbur oneshot #wilbur soot imagine #wilbur imagine #mcyt #mcyt x reader #dsmp #dsmp x reader #fluff #angst #cloud writes #clouds library books

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mlgneverdies · 1 year

Text

Generator Rex: Lonesome [Creepypasta]

If you grew up with Cartoon Network, chances are you might have a favorite action cartoon of theirs whether it was Teen Titans, Samurai Jack, Ben 10, or Sym-Bionic Titan. My personal favorite is Generator Rex. From the punk rock attitude to the tight worldbuilding and action sequences, I'd say it's easily Man of Action's magnum opus. But why do I open with this factoid about me?

Well, it started when I was on my walk back from the local dump when an orange USB drive caught my eye. Now, I'm no stranger to peculiar litter being found on the side of the road, but this was a bit different. It looked clean and unused which had me wonder why it would be tossed in the first place. Whatever the case, I decided to take it back with me on the trek. I got home and turned on my computer, then inserted the USB so I could see if there was anything interesting, after a quick antivirus scan just to be on the safe side of course. Fortunately, the drive was clean, so I carried on.

It held a single .avi file titled "Lonesome". The preview image of the video was blank, so I had nothing to go off of but the file name. Gripped by the typical bit of curiosity that happens in these tales, I double clicked on the file, and it opened in VLC Media Player.

The video started with a clip of the earth and a massive explosion kicking off with Revolution by Orange, which made me realize that this was, in fact, an episode of Generator Rex. It was odd to see the intro sequence play first rather than start off with a cold open like the show usually does, but I passed that off as a little quirk. At least until something else happened.

The title stayed there for 15 seconds then hard cut to the interior of Providence, specifically Dr. Holiday’s lab, which was in mass disarray and dark to the point where you’d have to squint to make out the scenery. No music was playing, only a long, ambient droning noise. Then Rex walked in with a worried look on his face. His colors were duller than they usually were in the show and his animation was close to movie quality smooth.

Rex called out to the empty lab. "Holiday? Six? Bobo? White Knight? Anyone here?"

I couldn’t help but notice he sounded genuinely worried, as if the VA was undergoing immense fear himself.

It cut to a POV shot from Rex’s view, which was animated like one of those found footage films. Distorted moans were heard, causing Rex to stop and look behind him. For a split second, I thought I saw a silhouette of some type of entity. It didn’t look anything like any of the EVOs seen throughout the show, though the appearance was so brief I didn't know what it could have looked like.

Rex got to the briefing room, and it was just as derelict as the rest of the place. The only difference is there were several limp bodies all over the place. There was a bit of blood on some of them, albeit not hyper-realistic. Rex looked to the large screen where White Knight usually showed himself and it turned on by itself, fading in with static. The static then switched to one of the live action promos for the show. In this promo in particular, two kids were arguing about something while a third kid held a camera only for them all to see the multi-faced EVO from the first episode attack, prompting them to run away to safety. Well, that’s how it originally played out. In this twisted rendition, a car came flying at them as soon as the EVO was seen, and before they could react, they were crushed by the car. The camera cut to black as the car landed, but the screams of agony and crunching of bones and flesh played crystal clear before being cut off by a silhouetted face. A hushed voice was then heard after 8 seconds of silence:

“You couldn’t.”

Just then it cut to Rex holding his chest in pain as a slowed down, echoing voice played in the background. His chest then burst open with bloodied metal tendrils that latched to the floor, which disturbed me since usually the machines Rex builds are an outer layer instead of internal. Blood ran down the tendrils as Rex struggled to break himself free.

Rex then woke up in a cold sweat in his trailer. For a brief moment, I was thankful that it was all just some twisted dream and hoped that everything was okay. Rex got up and walked out of his trailer, only to find the rest of the plant empty save for the bodies of the other Providence defectors, all of whom were pale and had the usual bit of blood. The slowed down voice returned as the lights began to flicker.

"No…" Rex whispered with deep sorrow. "This can’t be…"

Rex ran out of the plant as fast as he could and formed his Boogie Pack, taking to the skies. It was a pitch-black night. No stars, no moon, nothing to speak of. All that was visible on the frame was Rex flying around. He landed in the nearest city and saw that bodies were strewn everywhere, pale and somewhat bloodied like the others before. Rex looked around, unable to comprehend the situation, as that silhouetted entity formed behind Rex. It was in the shape of what appeared to be a seraph and the only thing visible in its inky black form were two white eyes. It spoke in a faint whisper:

“You failed to save them.”

Rex turned around and saw the entity. With a look that can only be described as a mix of fear and anger, he formed Smack Hands and tried to hit the entity, but they proved ineffective. The hands broke apart likely due to the immense stress Rex was going through.

"I don't believe you...I cured the world..."

"You never got back the Meta-Nanites. The Consortium had defeated you. You were sent into a coma for the past five years. The earth was at the mercy of them, and all life perished, but they banished you to this realm that only I inhabited. No light. No life. And the worst part of all…the blood is on your hands. The blood is on your hands. The blood is on your hands."

The entity kept repeating that phrase as Rex fell to his hands and knees turning away from it, and the captions for VLC Media Player turned on by themselves to display the phrase. I didn’t even know this video had captions. The background faded to black while Rex had his saturation cranked up to the max and that moaning voice came back growing louder gradually until the video froze, the audio skipping and the phrase "The blood is on your hands" written in red and repeated in the inky blackness Rex and the entity were left in. I had to turn the player down to 10% to hear it normally. Then after 20 seconds of this, the episode ended and the credits rolled.

The credits were dimmed in brightness and the zoo theme didn’t play. Instead, it was The Lonely Man by Joe Harnell, but slowed down considerably. When it got to the voice credits, it all turned dark to the point the background art was barely visible, and Rex was the only voice credited. It held on longer than usual, then went back to "normal" after that.

The Cartoon Network Studios logo stayed still and dim. Only the sounds of old radio static and distant screams of agony could be heard along with an active buzzsaw. And after that it cut off.

I stepped away for a bit to attempt to comprehend what it was I just watched. I know the show is notable for its darker subject matter in comparison to other action cartoons at the time, but this was practically diabolical for the standards of the show. I’m not sure if it was some actual lost episode kept on the cutting room floor at Man of Action, or if it’s some high quality fanwork that might have proposed a bad alternate ending for the show.

One thing I know for sure is that I’m keeping this with me. I’d rather not have anyone else exposed to this through internet uploading or selling it on eBay because who knows what could happen to others who see it. I will share a screenshot, but that’s about it. I still enjoy Generator Rex all the same, no question, but this is an experience that will remain burned in the back of my mind for years to come.

#generator rex #creepypasta #lost episodes #Cartoon network

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ladala99 · 3 months

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One Spyro Level a Month Until the Next Spyro Game Releases - Intro

First Level

Rather than putting the rules/whatever into the first entry, I'll start it here.

In December, someone on the Spyro subreddit make a joke post about shaving an eyebrow until Spyro 4 was announced. They only did one post, probably because the image they used wasn't of them and had happened quite some time before.

I saw that and was like: well, that might be fun to do an infinite countdown. See how long it takes. But I'd want to do something that isn't really a big time-sink or would hurt me in any way. Just something short and fun.

And hey, the Spyro series has a lot of levels. Mostly because it has a lot of games. Let's see how far in the series I make it before the next announcement! And to make it really low-stakes, it'll be one level a month. That way I only have to do a write-up once a month.

And I decided the best time to start this would be 2024 rather than December 2023 - Year of the Dragon is pretty significant in the Spyro franchise, as that is the year the batch of baby dragons hatches. Chances were that we'd see at least an announcement this year, right?

...Right?

Well, with Microsoft completely gutting the formerly Activision teams, including Toys for Bob, we might not be seeing Spyro anytime soon.

Which makes it a great time to start this project. Keep in mind: Spyro 1 alone has 35 levels. 1 a month from January 2024 onward means I won't be finishing the first game until November 2026. I have not calculated how long the entire series will go - but the point basically is that it should be impossible to finish, as the fun is finding out how long I go before the next one comes out.

Rules:

I will be playing one level each month and making a write-up of the experience/reviewing the level/thinking way too hard about it, etc.

Despite actually starting in February 2024, I will act as if I started in January 2024 and start with two reviews. These may be on separate days.

I will be going through the series in chronological order, playing every game I own and can play in the moment. (Disclaimer: as of writing I lost access to my PS3 so if I don't get another one or copies of those games on another system by the time the games I have it for come up, those games will be skipped)

This include GBA, DS, and 3DS games if I own them. I may or may not obtain the ones I don't own when or before they come up. In cases where the same title has different experiences on multiple systems, I will first play the console version, then the handheld versions in ascending hardware quality (example: ANB PS2, then GBA, and finally DS - assuming I get the handheld ones since I don't currently own them).

I am including the Legend of Spyro and Skylanders.

Reignited Trilogy counts separately from the original three games.

I will only play the Skylanders levels I actually have. I may or may not care enough to get Adventure Packs or elemental characters I do not already own.

If my Skylander figures do not work by the time the respective games come up, I may skip the game. Same as if I lose access to any other required hardware.

Backtracking will count separately from the original level. For example, once I obtain Climb, I will be taking three extra months to climb the ladders in Summer Forest, Glimmer, and Sunny Beach.

I will not be using glitches to skip backtracking.

When the next Spyro game releases, the project ends wherever it is.

First Level

#spyro #one spyro level a month until the next spyro game releases

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hambrababy · 4 months

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Diving into the Digital Trip

“This series was conceived with the intention of taking impressions from animation, comics, and other visual works and developing them into a completely fresh musical world using synthesizers.”

-Obi Strip Digital Trip Series Description, 1983 (SDF Macross DT, translated by Windii)

Intro

When I first started listening through tokusatsu soundtracks, I was going through the two-disc set for Uchuu Keiji Sharivan’s BGM and noticed that the second disc began with a set of songs titled “DIGITAL TRIP Uchuu Keiji Sharivan SYNTHESIZER FANTASY.” Upon playing those curious tracks, I was greeted with a very electronic, synthesized, and striking series of compositions. They were still recognizable as variations of the OST and BGM I’d heard earlier, yet they sounded almost otherworldly.

Years of anisong searching and listening later, and now as an avid music enthusiast, I’ve plunged into the huge range of the Digital Trip – Synthesizer Fantasy albums. Though only lasting around five years, the series saw many releases from a variety of arrangers offering their own, synthesizer-heavy takes on anime and other Japanese media music.

Some of the albums recently received worldwide streaming releases for the first time, but I wanted to write about this series anyways because of how much I enjoyed listening through and discovering so many favorites. I love synthesizer music of all kinds, especially ones that aim for their own distinctive style. The Digital Trip series is unique among both electronic and anime music, and I think it’s worth highlighting as a creative and entertaining series of albums.

This retrospective is a mix of contextual overview, notes on the styles of the main arrangers, a look at some of the tech used, the end of the line itself, and ten personal album recommendations.

(VGMDB is the source for most of the credits and dates in this post.)

Overview

Digital Trip – Synthesizer Fantasy is a series of instrumental image albums released by the Nippon Columbia record label in Japan from December 1981 to May 1986. 51 albums (and one compilation) were produced for it, with each receiving a simultaneous vinyl and cassette release. At its peak, multiple albums were released almost every month, though the typical schedule had more gaps.

Befitting the name, the albums are synthesizer-focused re-arrangements of vocal, BGM, and image songs for select anime, manga, and even tokusatsu. A few albums have original compositions, but the majority are reinterpretations of existing songs and scores. The albums feature some of the newest emerging synthesizers, samplers, sequencers, and drum machines of their release years, though a rare few have more traditional instruments mixed in. Despite the “digital” name, older analog synthesizers are used on some albums alongside newer digital synths.

Nippon Columbia had other similar image album lines that started running concurrently in 1983. The Jam Trip series is the same concept as the DT albums but with jazz-fusion rearrangements instead of synthy ones, and the Roman Trip series is image songs for manga and books that had not received animated adaptations yet. Some of the early DT albums are original image albums for manga, but they soon switched to covering anime while the Roman Trip line focused on new image songs for non-animated works.

Image albums were common music releases throughout the late 70s and 80s onwards, but the DT series is focused on a more specific, overarching concept of making distinctly electronic renditions. The potential of synthesizers and newer computer technologies was captivating for musicians and audiences across the world at the time, so the DT series served as a chance to both experiment with these new tools and to showcase the kind of layered and unique compositions synthesizers were capable of.

This concept is also reflected in the album art, which tends to feature more abstract designs and lots of futuristic grid lines and shapes that aren’t always obvious reflections of their source anime. Most of the anime selected were science fiction and fantasy given the nature of the concept, but several non-fantasy anime also received albums.

The tracks on DT albums are mostly based on the existing works of composers, but the actual arrangements and performance are handled by different arrangers, with a few exceptions. While the original compositions still influenced how each album ended up, the arrangers played the largest role in shaping them through their own skills and visions. The music in each album ranges from more conventional rearrangements, airy ballads, electro-dance, faster rock, atmospheric soundscapes, longer suites, and a whole host of other styles.

I don’t think any of the DT albums are bad, but the less unique ones fall into the trap of keeping the compositions too similar to the originals. The least interesting tracks sound just like the original songs with the instruments swapped, but those are thankfully rare. While the DT albums can be listened to without any knowledge of their base soundtracks, comparing them with their original scores highlights how creative and varied the rearrangements can be when working with a totally different sonic palette.

At their best, the DT albums strike a balance of being faithful enough that the original compositions are still recognizable while also transforming them such that they stand on their own. Sometimes multiple songs are mixed into larger suites, and other times each vocal song and chosen BGM gets its own track, but each track contains new flourishes and notes that add to the original compositions, as well as going into unpredictable directions and styles. The rearrangements of vocal songs are some of the livelier ones, but part of the enjoyment is seeing all kinds of songs reinterpreted though this “Synthesizer Fantasy” concept.

The Main Arrangers

While there were several one-off arrangers, the Digital Trip series had a rotation of regulars that carried their own styles across multiple albums. A few of the more prominent ones included:

Osamu Shoji (“The Galaxy”): 20 albums

Osamu Shoji was the primary arranger of the DT series and handled a plurality of the albums. As the first and last arranger of the series, his progression throughout the run is interesting to track as he adopted many newer synthesizers and changed his sound the most.

Shoji’s arrangements are mostly straightforward, but that helps them maintain a solid base structure no matter how different the styles are from one track to the next. It reflects his adaptability that he was able to integrate so many different composers and genres into his DT albums that are distinct from both each other and their original soundtracks. Lots of his tracks tend to be more sequenced, but they use that to their advantage to create complex rhythms, tight grooves, and sturdy percussion backing the more active main melodies. His music’s audio mixes sound deep and well-rounded despite their many different sound tones. Shoji remained the most versatile and reliable arranger in the lineup, shaping the bulk of the DT series.

Shoji released many solo electronic albums and other assorted anime image albums, including the two “Synthesizer Fantasy” image albums that were not in DT series. He composed for a few anime including Adieu Galaxy Express 999, Cobra, and Wicked City.

Nobuyoshi Koshibe & Takashi Kokubo: 11 albums + 1 Koshibe solo

The second-most frequent arrangers, Nobuyoshi Koshibe and Takashi Kokubo used some of the wider varieties of synthesizers in the DT series. Their albums have a very crisp and buzzy sound, and their tracks often undergo several instrumental and style changeups throughout. They also feature some of the hardest rocking tracks in the DT series, especially with their louder use of sharper and heavy FM synth tones, but also with very processed, effects-heavy guitars for accents and solos. That said, their albums still have considerable range beyond their rock tracks, with many slower and more atmospheric songs that are gentler when needed.

Koshibe was already an extensive anime vocal song and soundtrack composer prior to the DT series for shows in the 60s and 70s, including giants like Saze-san and Mach GoGoGo/Speed Racer, and he continued working in anisong music afterwards. Kokubo only contributed to one other anime album outside of his DT work, and he was more focused on his solo electronic and new age albums.

Jun Fukamachi: 4 albums

Though his albums were few, Jun Fukamachi had one of the most distinct and beautiful sound palettes in the entire DT series. Compared to the others, Fukimachi’s albums emphasize a much more “live,” almost classical performance with lots of gentle and expressive keyboard flourishes. His arrangements are mostly scarce on percussion and instead aimed for a more symphonic sound with layers of pads and arpeggios backing his sweeping synth leads and solos. While he has more upbeat and harsher songs, most of his works are ethereal and lush. Fittingly, three of his four albums are based on works by Leiji Matsumoto, and his arrangements excel at capturing the grand atmosphere of space opera.

Fukamachi made a couple of other image albums and never composed any anime scores, but he did have an extensive jazz-fusion and electronic career spanning dozens of albums.

Goro Ohmi: 4 albums

Goro Ohmi was more involved in the early run of the DT line. His first few albums have some accompaniment from live instruments while his later ones were more synth-centered. His works are some of the more accessible ones in that they tend towards more straightforward covers that stick closer to the original compositions. Still, they’re solid reinterpretations with enough creative additions. His synths are a touch more primitive than the others, but he still managed to make his arrangements sound full and varied.

Ohmi pivoted to handling many of the Roman Trip albums for Guin Saga, which he continued into the 90s. He composed a few anime and tokusatsu soundtracks afterwards, including Ginga Nagareboshi Gin, Grey: Digital Target, and Hikari Sentai Maskman.

Akira Ito: 2 albums

Akira Ito only composed two image albums of original music near the start of the series before he left the rotation early on. His works are some of the less “digital” in that they contain lots of traditional rock instrumentation, with the synths usually playing only the leads. His style is most akin to 70s progressive rock, with lengthier songs that all flow into each other to form large suites. His two albums have a very fantastical, journeying sound that’s not too representative of the DT line overall but remain interesting outliers.

Ito has a few anime image albums credited to him, but he was more focused on his solo electronic albums that continued this same style.

Appo Sound Project: 2 albums

Appo were a production group of composers and arrangers that arrived near the end of the series, but they still carved out a distinctive treble-focused, more high-NRG sound relative to the others. Their arrangements use sharper digital synthesizers that are very bright in their sound mixes, if occasionally on the thinner side. A lot of their arrangements were more up-tempo and not as subtle, but they have a constant energy that’s still enjoyable, especially in their tracks with multi-suite melodies.

Also of note is that the group features Kohei Tanaka in one of his earlier arranging roles. In fact, a lot of the synth sounds of their work are used in the electronic tracks he composed for his Choushinsei Flashman soundtrack soon after. Tanaka remains one of the most well-known anime composers of all time and went on to compose many, many soundtracks afterwards, though none really sound like his DT work.

Tech

(From the Adieu Galaxy Express 999 DT Album)

Given their concept, the Digital Trip albums are tied to the synthesizer technology of the early 80s, with all their quirks and limitations. The albums are rather accessible for early electronic music, but their sounds are challenging for those not as predisposed to synthesizers. Nevertheless, exploring aspects of the synth technology at the time illustrates the ingenuity needed to make the albums.

Early synthesizers and sequencers were trickier to operate and program compared to later advancements. All settings for sounds had to be individually connected with cables, tuned with knobs, or programmed with basic keypads. On the few units that had them, display screens were minuscule and had few lines. Storage banks were also limited, so saving any sounds to reuse for later often required meticulous notetaking.

Keys on older synthesizers were also not as touch-sensitive, meaning the notes would sound the same regardless of how fast or hard the keys were pressed. Pitch and modulation control were often present but rather basic. Polyphony, or the ability to play more than one key at once, varied widely by keyboards, which also made full chords harder to play.

(Osamu Shoji, from the Adieu Galaxy Express 999 DT Album)

Many of the albums were made before the MIDI standard was codified in 1983. Pre-MIDI sequencers had limited interfaces that required all aspects of each note to be programmed individually, though this did allow for finer precision. Timing sequences with live playing was also a challenge for units that had variable sound consistency and different communication formats.

This made configuring each part of a single song with only synthesizers a laborious process, especially for albums that were 30 to 40 minutes long. The arrangers not only had to rearrange the original notes to work within the technical capabilities of each synthesizer they wanted to use, but they then had to make sure each synth was attuned and set up correctly for recording and mixing. Some DT albums have additional engineers credited who assisted with the tedious work of configuring these different systems and note sequences, but the arrangers were still responsible for the bulk of the work in planning and connecting all of these machines.

The liner notes for some albums include lists of the synthesizers and instruments used, which also reflect the habits of their respective arrangers. While going over the instruments for every album would be lengthy, comparing two albums that were both released in 1983 yet contained wildly different sounds illustrates these varying sonic approaches.

(Osamu Shoji using the Fairlight CMI, from the God Mars DT)

The Macross DT album by Osamu Shoji only lists the Fairlight CMI sampler, the Linn Drum II (the “classic” LinnDrum), and the Roland MC-4 sequencer. This means every non LinnDrum sound on the album is produced just from the CMI’s digital sample library, albeit with his own modifications and even his own sampled noises.

The album’s diverse styles and instruments, from the upbeat pop and action to the grander slow songs, reflect both the CMI’s depth and Shoji’s skill as an arranger and programmer. Shoji’s equipment range is broader on works like his Adieu Galaxy Express 999 and Gundam DTs, but the Macross DT demonstrates how it was still possible to make a wide-ranging album with such a small selection of tools that had expansive capabilities in the right hands.

(Koshibe using the Roland System 700 and MC-4)

By contrast, the Urashiman DT by Koshibe & Kokubo has a longer and more peculiar list of instruments, and it also includes the recording and mixing equipment. The first synth listed is the analog Roland System 700 from 1976, an older modular synthesizer that required connecting streams of wires between each individual sub-unit and lots of manual tuning to get the desired sounds. A picture in the liner notes shows Koshibe working with both the System 700 and the MC-4 sequencer. The rest of the list contains a mix of synthesizers, both analog (Roland JP-4, SVC-350 vocoder) and digital (Yamaha CE-25, DX-7, Korg PS-3200), with vastly different sound tones, many of which show up across the duo’s other albums. The amount of moving parts to sequence, tune, and play is daunting, but the album’s layered sound reflects this approach well.

Not all the albums list the synthesizers used. Most of Fukumachi’s albums only have a generic “synthesizers” credit, which is frustrating considering how distinct his style is. Some albums have liner notes describing the process and approach taken for every track. The Macross DT liner notes go into the techniques Shoji used with the CMI and sequencers to make the album. I hope to get more of those translated in the future, but the depth of the arranging process is still reflected by the structure of the tracks.

While the technical craft in employing all of these tools is remarkable, there are limitations. Some albums unapologetically use presets that became cliched as the decade went on; the DX7’s tubular bells, the Fairlight CMI’s panflute samples, and the LinnDrum’s tom-toms show up quite a few times. The depth of the sounds and tones varies across the albums and arrangers, and many presets were at lower bit resolutions and sample rates than what future samplers were capable of. However, the use of digital instruments and sometimes recording does give most of the albums a better mix clarity than many of their associated soundtracks.

Knowing about the technical aspects is not needed to enjoy the albums on their own, but it does give deeper insight into how certain sounds and stylistic choices were possible. While it is easy to lump all early synth music of this kind as being generically “80’s,” the actual process was much more varied and evolving. The changing styles in the DT line reflect the technological advancement and programming refinement spreading throughout music at the time, which the arrangers furthered through their continuous work.

Other Uses

While some Digital Trip albums came out long after their respective anime and movies, most were released a short time after the first batches of official soundtracks. This meant they tend to cover music from the earlier episodes of 40-50 episode shows, though a few got sequel albums that covered later music.

Because the DT albums are image albums, their music was not intended for use within their respective anime, especially for shows with more traditional and orchestral soundtracks. I haven’t seen all the anime, shows, and movies with the associated albums, but I have seen enough to know it is exceedingly rare for any DT tracks to appear.

However, there are a few exceptions. Urashiman uses a few tracks from its DT album in some episodes across its endgame arc. The most memorable scene is in episode 45 where a stylish non-binary assassin demonstrates their skills to the villains, set to the DT version of the villains’ vocal insert song. It’s a great choice that makes the scene even punchier. Episodes 46-49 also use other more sweeping tracks from the album to accentuate more dramatic scenes.

Sharivan also starts using DT tracks in episode 35, which uses a lengthy portion of the final song on the album for a heartfelt montage. More of the DT songs are used as insert songs in episodes throughout the rest of the series, making it likely the most extensively used DT album for its respective show. Sharivan does have lots of one-off synthy songs that aren’t the DT songs or on its official soundtrack, but the DT ones are still discernable with a keen ear.

In both cases, the respective shows’ soundtracks already had numerous synthesizer songs, so the DT albums fit more naturally in with the rest of the music. Coincidentally, both shows had their original soundtracks released by Nippon Columbia, but that’s a sample too small to make definitive claims about. Though rare, hearing DT tracks used in the shows is always a nice touch.

(If I ever find other examples of DT tracks used as insert songs, or other people are aware of some, I’ll update this section.)

The End of the Series and the Changing Landscape

The last album released in the Digital Trip series was the Arion album in May 1986. I can’t find a source on why the series ended, and it’s not helpful to throw out baseless speculations on why. That said, the changing landscape around the DT albums is still interesting and reflective of the series’ legacy.

As the 80s rolled along, synths became more conventional parts of anime scores rather than getting used primarily as accents, a change facilitated as the technology advanced and got easier to use. Some of the original novelty of hearing electronic-centered albums was dissipating as some anime scores themselves became very electronic. Nevertheless, the DT series was still dedicated to making unique arrangements on their own that differed from the synth work in their respective anime.

However, other sublines of electronic rearrangement albums began emerging at the same time. The Animage label launched their own line of synth-focused image albums called the HI▾TECH series in 1984, although those albums often included more regular instruments than most of the DT entries. Because both the DT and HT lines were covers and rearrangements, some anime received albums in both lines. The HT series ended its regular releases in 1986, but it released a few other albums over the following years.

Additionally, other electronic-centered image albums were increasingly helmed by the composers of their anime’s soundtracks. As Joe Hisashi’s career began taking off, he started creating synth-focused image albums that were often released before their respective movie scores, in some cases functioning as “prototype” scores as he was still working on the main soundtrack, including ones for Nausicaa and Arion. He continued the practice through the end of the decade with albums like his Venus Wars image album.

Shiro Sagisu, another then-upcoming composer, took a similar route with his music for Megazone 23 under his TOKIO 23 unit. Megazone 23’s score was already very electronic, but he released two additional synth-heavy image albums in between the releases of the scores for Part I and II that were not only rearrangements, but also contained unique compositions. More composers were feeling confident and adept with synthesizer and electronic music to begin releasing their own image albums in addition to covers from outside arrangers.

The case of the Arion soundtracks illustrates this expanding field. Through the span of year from 1985-6, Arion had its partially synthy movie soundtrack, a Digital Trip album, a Hi-Tech album, and a separate synth “prototype” image album by Hisashi himself, not to mention an even earlier 1983 synthy image album based on the manga that predates the movie score. That’s a huge saturation of Arion synth albums, reflecting how more releases were competing for the same niche the DT series had occupied.

Now, I’ve had enough experience with nonsense internet anime rumors to say that none of this is verifiably connected to the reasons the DT series ended, and it should not be treated as such.

Nevertheless, these circumstances highlight how aspects of the DT series became featured in contemporaneous soundtrack and image albums, which to an extent succeeded the DT line after it ended. More producers, artists, and most importantly, consumers were now acquainted with and enthusiastic about synthesizer music than ever before. Synthesizers were now a core, if not predominant aspect of many anime and popular music albums compared to their marginal use earlier in the decade when the DT series began.

The Digital Trip Albums Now

After the initial run in the 80s, 14 of the albums were remastered onto CD in 1993 under Columbia’s Digital Trip 1800 series. The original LP art was shrunk within a wider blue border, but the booklets mostly contained the same liner notes. 10 of those CDs were reprinted again on CD-R’s under the R-Ban series in 2001.

A few were also remastered onto CD on other compilation releases: the Sharivan DT on the two-disc Sharivan OST and other compilations, both the Yamato and Final Yamato DTs on the Yamato Sound Almanac series, and the Harlock DT in the Harlock Eternal File series, to name a few.

In 2012, Columbia put out a digital-only compilation release that included a few tracks from DT albums that had no CD remasters. Curiously, the release has no tracks from Osamu Shoji and has a large chunk of its tracklist taken up by songs from the Ultraman DT album, except for its final one.

Unfortunately, the majority of the DT albums remain exclusively on their original vinyl and cassette releases and have not seen any official CD or digital transfers, and it is uncertain if they ever will unless Nippon Columbia decides to do so. The 2012 compilation is evidence that Columbia still has the materials available to make remasters for at least a few more albums, but there’s been no sign they’re considering any more.

Somewhat recently, the DT albums in the R-Ban series and two other CD-released ones were officially uploaded to streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, and Youtube Music. Curiously, the artwork on these releases is edited to remove all mentions of the phrase “Digital Trip”, both on the title borders and the original album cover. This does result in a few comically empty spaces, like on the Arion cover, but it’s an odd choice since they’re still titled “Digital Trip” in the album names.

As usual for anime fans, the best option to find most of these are through the varying places online. A fair number of them get uploaded to Youtube for the more casual listeners, but the majority are not too hard to find through other sources including conventions, digital stores, and fan rips floating around online.

Conclusion

There’s more to the Digital Trip – Synthesizer Fantasy line and its many albums, but this is about everything I wanted to touch on for now. The albums remain decently well known among retro anime music enthusiasts, but that’s about three layers of niches, so I think I can say that they are still relatively obscure to wider anime fans. The electronic nature of the series is its defining attribute, and that may take some time to get invested in. Still, this is a topic I wanted to cover mainly as a passionate fan but also to provide a decently comprehensive overview of a noteworthy anime image album series.

Synth-focused image albums appeared before and continued well after the Digital Trip series, but it stands as a noteworthy confluence of trends whose arrangers produced many unique, varied, and most of all, engaging albums. A DT album is appreciable irrespective of the original soundtrack it is arranging. Some of my favorite DT albums are for anime I haven’t seen or whose scores I haven’t heard because they were still that evocative on their own. Still, comparing the two highlight interesting aspects of the rearrangements needed to bring the music to synthesized soundscapes.

In the future, I hope to have more of the liner notes from the albums translated to shed even better details on the arranging process. Some of this overview involved generalizing, but I always want to get down to more precise details whenever possible. I may return to covering other aspects of the albums in the future, and I also plan to check out more of the non-DT works from all the respective arrangers.

After this section, I have ten personally recommended Digital Trip albums, in no particular order, as well as additional notes for a few external links, including a playlist of all the officially streaming ones on Youtube.

I encourage anyone interested in anime music, earlier electronic music, or those curious in general to check these albums out. The Digital Trip series is one of my favorite anime image album lines, and I think they carved out a distinct identity that remains interesting even so many years later.

10 Personal Favorites

SDF Macross (Osamu Shoji) – A solid selection of the show’s most famous vocal songs and BGM tracks (although curiously lacking “Watashi no Pilot”) that mixes idol-pop catchiness, fast-paced action, and grander spacey tracks. The bending and expressive keyboard basslines are a huge highlight. The Macross II: Minmay’s Songs album by Koshibe & Kokubo is also an interesting contrast in tech and style. (Translated liner notes for the album are here.)

Uchuu Keiji Sharivan (Koshibe & Kokubo) – My favorite of the Koshibe & Kokubo albums and the first I listened to, this one has lots of very sharp and buzzy FM synth tones. The rare splashes of electric guitars have tons of processing that make them sound roaring. Since Sharivan had a larger album of vocal songs to draw from than most of the other shows, the arrangements here are very lively and go through some fun changeups.

Umi no Triton (Osamu Shoji) – Though much later to its anime compared to the others, this album shines the most in its very catchy beats and rhythmic pulses. While not as atmospheric and sweeping, it still captures an oceanic feel with its twinkling arpeggios and chunky bass. It’s an unexpected combination of styles that works surprisingly well.

Gekkan La La Rensai Hiizuru Tokoro no Tenshi (Akira Ito) – This one is technically closer to the Roman Trip albums since it contains original compositions based off a historical fantasy manga and uses more traditional instruments in several parts. Still, it has a wide range of tracks that all connect into a continuous suite, making it one of the more cohesive and adventurous albums of the DT series, with lots of Japanese-styled instrumentation.

Mechadoc (Koshibe and Kokubo) – An underrated album that reflects the automotive feeling of its anime. Its highest energy tracks capture the grittiness and speed of racing and rally cars, especially some of the sharp FM lead solos, while the more mellow tracks round them out with gentle tones. The songs are lengthy but shift and develop in engaging ways.

Lensman (Osamu Shoji) – As well as having a more futuristic vibe overall, this album really excels with its rapid, complex drum and percussion patterns. Most of the album is a solid combination of upbeat action and funkier tracks, but towards the end there’s slower atmospheric cuts that balance things out.

Cat’s Eye (Osamu Shoji) – A more city-pop effort that’s very playful and even cutesy at times, most so with its danceable beats and bouncy basslines. The longer track list also allows for more songs that are focused and succinct. Shoji’s New Cat’s Eye album for the show’s second-season music continues a similar style.

Nausicaa (Junko Miyagi) – From the one-off (and only female) arranger Junko Miyagi, this one is among the most fantastical and soaring of the DT albums, especially with its thick bass pads and whistling tones. It’s also different from the many image albums Joe Hisashi made for Nausicaa, so it’s a good entry point for those already familiar with his music and curious about the DT albums’ overall concept.

Queen Emeraldas/Emeraldus (Jun Fukamachi) – My favorite of Fukamachi’s works, it features some of the lushest arrangements of the entire DT series, including several original compositions. The many glistening arpeggios and gentle keyboards perfectly evoke the feeling of travelling the immense galaxy with tracks that sound both forlorn and blissful. It also comes the closest to feeling like a “live” performance with its subtle, expressive keys.

Arion (Osamu Shoji) – The last DT album released, Shoji showcases his widest range in a lengthy tracklist covering almost every major cue from the movie score. The rapid and rhythmic drums accentuate many tracks nicely, the synth tones have greater depth and layers, and the varied arrangements capture the score’s fantasy atmosphere. It’s a well-rounded and solid album that’s also a fitting sendoff for the series.