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krissiefox · 1 year

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Adventures of Sonic The Hedgehog - The Little Merhog (Screenshots & Review)

Despite what the episode name is clearly spoofing, this isn't a story about a young girl running off to marry some dweeb she just met who eats her friends, but is thankfully instead another undersea adventure episode!

The story starts with...oh, wait. Maybe this is closer to The Little mermaid than I thought. * mr plinkett voice* oh no.

The little hair stubbles on Lt. Bananas exposed butt are a nice touch. 😉 😅 So.....Sonic and Tails are fishing, which implies that they're planning to physically maim and/or eat the same kinds of sea critters who end up saving their lives later and also seem to be friends with the lady they're about to meet. That's awkward.

Tails accidentally snags his fishing line on a merhog gal named Merna, who tells Sonic that her home is under attack by a Captain John Paul Memo (and his assistant, Lt. Bananas) . Sonic begins flirting with her, which she is surprisingly okay with as Sonic and Tails are clearly carrying fishing poles. Either she doesn't know what fishing is, or she's as messed up as Ariel....

Tails ends this awkward moment by showing that he has produced scuba suits for him and Sonic, which they can use to safely deep dive underwater to help the merhog folks. The scene transitions to the Mertopia, home of the merhogs, and the inside of Captain Memos ship. It's interesting in this episode that Captain Memo is the primary antagonist for quite a while, as opposed to the usual Robotnik. He's also a pretty funny villain, with the odd personality quirk of constantly having his assistant - he is pantsless for some reason - write down notes for him,even when the two of them are in danger!

Captain Memo is planning to bulldoze the homes of all the merfolks and replace them with condos that he will charge folks to live in. Darn these old 90s cartoons, with their liberal woke anti-capitalist politics!!1 (that's sarcasm, by the way). Sonic, Tails and Merna try to fight his octopus ship, but it's big tentacles quickly grab hold of them. Merna reveals her "Aquaman" powers - she can communicate with all the other species of ocean dwelling critters, and calls to them for help! This is why I found it messed up that she seemed fine with Sonic and tails fishing...

Zapped in the dick! Merna is able to summon a pair of electric eels to zap the heck out of Captain Memo's ship - we even see inside that he is getting electrocuted right in the dick! This lets our heroes escape the tentacles, but Sonic finds he is not able to cut through the ships hull, so they have to retreat into Mertopia. Merna introduces Sonic to the queen, who looks more human than merhog but maybe her strange facial deformities are why she was deemed queen? *shrugs* The conversation between everyone is cut short when Memo starts breaking into the cave, but thankfully Sonic and Tails get an idea on how they can still help save the little kingdom.

The ships hull is so tough it gives Sonic butthole eyes!

Big gal! She doesn't look very hedgehog-like though....

The scene cuts to Scratch and Grounder, who are hard at work cleaning the kitchen. One of the nice things in this episode is that these two get a good amount of screen time and cuteness, especially little Grounder. 🙂 Poor Grounder is trying to deal with a lasagna fridge monster when Sonic and Tails show up with faked pizza delivery order (and did I mention that the pizza have anchovies on it, which is really messed up as they now KNOW they’re killing Merna’s friends!). They use this opportunity to tell Scratch and Grounder that Memo is trying to take over the entirety of Mobius’ oceans. The two badniks rush off to tell Robotnik the news, as Sonic and Tails wait to see how Robotnik will react.

Poor Grounder! Beware the lasagna fridge monster!

Yeeeah, look at Tails, he’s so cool with his 90s shades! (He does look pretty adorable in overalls, but he’s Tails, he probably looks cute no matter what!) When Robotnik gets the news, he does just as Sonic and Tails hoped he would - he becomes jealous that Memo is trying to take over a place he himself wants to invade, so he orders Scratch an Grounder to build him an attack sub. They do so, and the trio head out in their new sub to pick a fight with Memo. Th two blast at each-other for a while, until Sonic says just a little too loudly to his friends that it is was a trick, and Scratch and Grounder end up telling Robotnik. Because of this, Robotnik then makes a pact with Memo instead, and they team up to attack Sonic! But thanks to Merna's fish talkin' abilities, she's able to call on a big army of sea beasties to sink both the villains ships and save the day. She and Sonic share a kiss, and hopefully Sonic realizes that maybe eating the friends of the gal he just smooched on is something he shouldn't be trying to do.

Another one for the hug collection!

Robotnik’s submarine looks very pleased with itself, like it just ate the tastiest burrito ever. 😃

In the Sonic Says segment, Sonic teaches Grounder not to play with matches "even if he thinks its safe". My friends and I played with matches and magnifying glasses as kids, and had quite a bit of fun, never burning ourselves or starting a house fire. However, I do acknowledge that there's a lot of dumbass motherfuckers in the world would probably would accidentally burn their own house down or incinerate their own asshole - so I think the more fair advice would be "if you're going to play with anything that can start a fire, do so with adult supervision and make sure you have a means to quickly put the fire out!".

While the beginning of this episode makes most of what Sonic and Tails do in it have a creepy context to it, it does have a fun villain in Memo, lots of cute Scratch and Grounder moments, and introduces a new location and new race of mobians, the merhogs (who seem to either be mostly or all female-coded). So, it's a pretty decent one, still.

Til next time folks, stay cool and be good people!

#Aosth #adventures of sonic the hedgehog #merhogs #merhog #Merna #Dr. Robotnik #Robotnik #Sonic #Sonic the hedgehog #The little merhog #Tails #Miles Prower #Queen of the Merhogs #Scratch #Grounder #Aosth Scratch #ladies if a guy is eating your friends you probably shouldn't date him just sayin'#Captain John Paul Memo #Lt. Bananas

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mobiusxyearslater · 3 years

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Rekindling (A Sonally Story)

A/N: This whole thing takes place about two years before the whole AU/Your Dork starts off for context. ~Mun @t-vict101

On a cool night in New Mobotropolis, Princess Sally Acorn is walking back to her cottage from the Tommy Turtle Memorial Hospital. She witnessed her friend, Bunnie Rabbot give birth to her firstborn daughter Annabelle. The whirlwind excitement and joy practically drained Sally’s energy, it was time for much-needed rest. She quietly walked along the dirt path still thinking about her new niece, how cute she looked, and how happy Bunnie and Antoine looked. That’s the kind of love that could last lifetimes. Sally starts to wonder if she could feel that way someday. Well, she did at one point, the only person she felt happy with was--

“Hey there Princess! You’re out late!” Sally heard a voice pipe up.

She looked forward to see the source of the cheery voice, well who else could it be? The one and only hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog, sat there on her porch giving her a soft wave. Sally stared at him for a few moments unsure of what to do. The last time she saw him he was off fighting Doctor Eggman and saving the world once again. That was almost half a year ago. But that was how Sonic was. There was no tying him down after the job was done which led to their romantic relationship being more on and off if anything.

The ironic part was that their last break-up wasn’t because Sonic wasn’t around. It was because Sally was too busy juggling her life between her duties on the council and her duties as leader. Sonic did confront her about it which led to a big fight then eventually they agreed to go their separate ways. There was a twinge of guilt in Sally’s heart because of that and seeing Sonic there acting as if nothing happened. All Sally could do is muster up a small chuckle as she looks at the blue blur.

“Well, you know me. I’m always busy with one thing or another.” she joked as she took a seat next to Sonic, who gave her a chuckle.

“Oh, boy don’t I know it! So what was it this time?” He playfully props his chin in his palm, “Council meetings? Ribbon cutting? Oh! A big speech in front of the entire kingdom?”

Sally gives him a small nudge and shakes her head, “Oh shut up. If you have to know, Bunnie and Antoine just had their baby tonight..”

“What??” Sonic perks up, “Those two have a kid now? Man. I feel like I miss out on a lot.”

Sally chuckles and shakes head, “Well that’s what happens when you’re gone for months on end.”

Sonic chuckles and scratches his head, “Heh. Well, I do come back once in a while though so it’s not all bad.

Sally let out a small chuckle and nod looking out to the moon, “Yeah.. I guess so.”

The two sit in silence just watching the moon. There was a feeling that someone should say something but neither of them did instead soaking in the atmosphere. Somehow, someway, the silence was relaxing for them both. No one brought up the past or having to suffer the awkwardness of reliving the whole thing over again. But there was one burning question that rattled in Sally’s head. Of all places to go in the middle of the night, why hers? Sonic still had his parents, his Uncle Chuck, heck he could just crash at Tails’ place if he really wanted to.

Sally cleared her throat, making Sonic’s ear twitch. “So, you just randomly decided to pop up here?”

Sonic sweats a bit and gives off a nervous chuckle, “I guess I made it too obvious huh?” He looked at her shrugs, “...I guess I just missed you.”

Sally quirks a brow tilting her head, “Is that right?”

Sonic huffs at her tone and tilts his head, “What’s with that tone? I really did miss you.”

Sally chuckles and pats his head, sighing out tiredly, “And I missed you too.”

Still unable to get a read of what she’s thinking, Sonic wags at her at a finger, “...Why do I feel there’s a huge BUT coming up.”

Sally frowns and sighs out, “But… This feels like a pattern..”

Sonic gives her a confused look, “What do you mean..?”

Through her tiredness she starts to pet through the blue hedgehog’s quills, “...This. Us. You leave for a long time then come back saying you missed me. Old feelings come up and we try again. Then…”

Sonic watched Sally as her words tiredly trailed and looked down to the ground. He always loved Sally, that fact is the solid truth, but being committed was a whole different ball game. Thinking about her words more, he started to see the pattern too. Sure his feelings were genuine at the moment but he’s always changing his mind about them. He started to think that maybe Sally wanted more than just part of him. Maybe she needed all of him, just like he wanted all of her. Maybe just maybe, him leaving for months after each attack isn’t fair to her at all.

Sonic huffs out a chuckle and slides his hands behind his head, “...You wanna hear something funny?”

Sally rubs the tired out of her eyes and looks at him, “What’s that..?”

Sonic rubs his nose a bit, “While I was gone I actually dated someone for a small while.”

All Sally could do is huff in response, “So you can here in the middle of the night to tell me about your exes to your ex?”

Sonic nudges her a bit, “Just listen for sec. While I was away, I actually dated Amy for a small bit.”

Sally’s brows perk up hearing the news, “Wow. You actually let up and let her catch you huh?”

Sonic shrugs letting a small chuckle, “I did. I was always running and she was always there. I figured that was something I wanted or something. At least I thought I did.”

His words slowly trailed off as he thought about his time with Amy. The pink hedgehog sure was a spitfire. Wherever Sonic went she gladly went along with him for support. He figured giving her one date wouldn’t hurt. Then it turned into two. Then it turned to something exclusive. Their honeymoon phase was sweet but soon after Amy found herself in a bit of a rut. Hopping from city to city, fighting badniks left and right, she was all in on that no doubt but she wanted something more. At first, she thought Sonic was that solution, but when she had him that feeling never really went away.

Sonic sighs out softly circling his thumb in his palm. “So she dumped me. She said something about traveling around to find her purpose or something.”

Sally stared at the dejected hedgehog and softly petted his head, “You’re number one fan dumped you. That must’ve been a blow to the ol’ ego of yours.”

Sonic stifles a small chuckle letting himself relax under Sally’s touch, “Yeah it was but I get it. It was fine for a while but I guess somewhere down the line. She realized I couldn’t give HER what SHE needed.” He lets out a sigh and looks up at the sky, “...I am proud of her though. Whatever she decides on doing for herself, she’ll be great at it.”

Sally nods in agreement and lets out a small yawn, “Yeah. She’s too determined to let herself fail at anything that’s for sure. She’ll probably be the best.”

Sonic shakes his head and looks at Sally, “Alright, enough about my dating life. What about you? Anyone in your life?”

Sally huffs out a chuckle and shakes her head, “Not really. There have been dates here and there but my busy schedule made it way too difficult to really settle into anything.”

Sonic snickers a bit, “Woo boy don’t I know it--” he stops himself when he watches Sally’s face slowly fall into a frown, “Come on Sal. I don’t blame you for your hectic schedule.”

Sally gives him a look and crosses her arms, “Isn’t that the reason you dumped me the last time?”

And there it was. That sting of awkwardness they worked so hard to avoid has finally come to the forefront. The silence draped over them as they sat there with their thoughts. No one knew what exactly to say at that moment. Sally realized she still had her hand on Sonic’s head and quickly pulled away looking away.

Sonic took a deep breath, “I know I gave you grief about it before. I just thought we could be how we used to be when we were 17.” Sally opened her mouth to say something but Sonic held up his hand. “Which I realized now… It can never be like that. I guess… I was…. I dunno.. Anxious about everything changing. You and Rotor on the council, Bunnie and Ant having a kid, Tails being the next inventor of the century, even Amy…” He takes a deep breath and kicks the dirt a bit, “...Seems like everyone is running this race and I'm dead last.”

Sally hums a bit pondering about his words, “...I guess… You’re feeling everyone is outgrowing you…?”

Sonic’s ear twitches and lets out a small pout leaning his chin in his palm, “....Maybe yeah…”

Sally lets out a small laugh and Sonic gives her a pouty look. She nudges him playfully, “Oh stop. I’m laughing because you’re the hero of Mobius. Everyone loves talking about you and practically wants to BE you.”

Sonic huffs out and crosses his arms, “I KNOW! I know I just… feel like I can do… more… Like I could do more for the world, my family, our friends, even you--”

Sally’s brows perk up at the last part Sonic started to say but cut himself off. It was kinda strange seeing him so vulnerable. Usually, he had a real cocky attitude with everyone and was the brightest in the room. Honestly, this was a side of him that she tried to bring out a lot of the time but he would always brush it off like it was nothing. He seemed almost embarrassed that he was saying all of this out in the open, especially saying it to her.

She softly puts a hand on his shoulder, “...Hey. It’s normal to feel that way. Almost everyone feels that way sometime or another, right?”

Sonic sighs out and looks at her, “Yeah but it’s ME we’re talking about.”

Sally huffs and stands up, “Yeah and I know you better than you think. You’re a guy who takes action. You’re always putting others first before yourself. You’re a hero that inspires everyone to be the best versions of themselves.” She holds out a hand to him, “...Now are you going to stop moping and do something about it?”

Sonic stares at her hand remembering those were the words he said to her years before. He huffs out a chuckle before grasping onto her hand and standing up, “You got me there. And you’re right, like always.”

Sally chuckles and shakes her head, “Of course I am. I’ve known you way too long to be wrong.”

Sonic chuckles a bit and watches her make her way up to her front door. He leans on the porch rail and tilts his head, “So I’m guessing I shouldn’t keep you from your beauty sleep any longer huh princess?”

Sally chuckles and shakes her head turning back to him, “Well that all depends if you’re going to keep me up all night.” She opens the door and gestures inside.

Sonic gives off a snarky chuckle as he walks up the steps stopping in front of her, “Oh ho ho! And what exactly do you mean by that princess?”

Sally rolls her eyes and pushes him inside of the cottage, “I mean you’re sleeping on the couch!”

Sonic pouts and leans back in her hands, “Aw but I could really use a nice big warm bed after months without one!”

Sally shakes her head, “You should’ve gone to your parents then.” She lets out a soft chuckle before shutting the door behind her, “You big dork.”

END

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic au #sonic #archie sonic #archie sonic the hedgehog #archie sonic comics #sonic fanart #sonic fandom #sonic satam #sally acorn #sonsal #sonally #fan fic writing #fan fiction #writing

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cosmicyeen · 3 years

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i was looking up owl terms, wanting to know if a group of them was called a parliament.

And??? found such a killjoy of an article??

Okay cool, what does he have to say?

Alright, so he has an issue with their presentation, aka clickbait. Understandable. So, why AREN'T they "quirks of the english language?"

Okay, thats a personal issue there buddy. He sound like that dude who went into a reptile group and told people to stop saying "snek" because it was "unprofessional."

Why would he think there's malicious intent behind it? And who cares if someone's digging up terms that are lost to public knowledge? Maybe people don't use them because they don't know; i've seen tumblr use the phrase "murder of crows" all the time, who cares if it's for fun?

I swear I've heard the term "bask of crocodiles" somewhere before, actually. And crocodiles absolutely do form groups, sunbathing on shores, where they BASK!

Okay, probably the first argument that makes sense, "don't have group names for animals that are strictly solitary."

But also, crows, owls, etc often form groups! lots of animals congregate for one reason or another! why should anyone have authority over what terms are correct or not?

Calm down there buddy, trivia isn't candy rotting people's minds! Has this guy never heard of having fun? Does he drink soylent green and eat nutrient bricks because flavor doesnt have "real-world applications?"

Scientific integrity, what does that even mean? People suddenly lose all their knowledge and deductions skills if they learn a term that others think are frivolous? Wait until he hears about the Sonic Hedgehog gene, scifi-inspired names in our solar system, and the PENIS ssNMR technique! The horror, scientists have the option to enjoy themselves!

So, only the ones he likes are worthy? i bet this dude also has unnecessarily strong opinions of the pronunciation of gif

Language is fluid! Words are made up! Why does it matter if we don't take ourselves seriously sometimes, or revive things from the past that give us lighthearted joy?

Accuracy? how is removing a descriptive term making science more accurate?

And humans aren't flash drives! We don't run out of "bandwidth"! thats not how our brains work!

And i guess he likes trivia, but only if it gives him a smug feeling of superiority over those "poor gullible people who believe a term that is coined for an unnamed thing is false?"

I don't know why this was so shitty for me, probably because it was published in the freakin audubon society.

Let people have fun! don't use a large platform to make a bunch of people feel sad! yell it into the void on twitter like the rest of us if you have to!

#yeen yelling #audubon society #murder of crows

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chaosworthyarchive · 3 years

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8.26.3227 Location ¦ Starlight

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“This is going to be amazing.”

The words were spoken with such confidence that no one there in the extended taxi seemed willing to argue the fact. That, or they were all merely on the same page. Looking around at the six of them, Sonic imagined it was more of the latter than anything else and he would admit it brought a certain contentment to him seeing his team, in full, smiling in giddy anticipation. It was rare that they were all together like this and, in that moment, he understood why Amy had insisted upon it. After all, at the end of the day, titles be damned, they were all friends.

Friends who had saved the world from a demi-god and an evil madman, yes, but friends all the same.

The fact they were somewhat crammed in the back of their main transportation, dressed to the nines, hadn’t even seemed to phase them. In fact it had only made sure there were plenty of jokes and playful nudges to fill their modest trip, with laughs aplenty. Once or twice Sonic was certain he had even heard their driver snickering. It was promising to be a good night, if only for the sake of company.

In response to Amy's comment, Tekno had snorted, giving her partner a mockingly pointed look. “I can’t tell if you mean the charity part or the party part “

“Why can’t it be both?” Was Amy's nonchalant response, her eyes practically twinkling as she gestured to the group. “I mean they both have their perks but I meant more of this. The six of us together again, doing some good. It may not be our traditional way but you have to admit it feels good.”

Judging from the excited murmur of agreement in the cab, everyone was on the same page in that regard. Even Porker had given a nervous little nod (and how Amy had managed to drag the pig down from Angel Island, Sonic still didn't know).

The hero just happened to be the one to voice that understanding first. “Can’t really argue with that, I guess. 'S nice t' be able t' hang out and not worry too much about one thing or another.”

“We may have to suck up for a few hours but it’ll be worth it in the end,” Mina agreed, sounding anything but put off by the idea. Once she had gotten word of the plan she, as Sonic had suspected, had been all for it. She had always been the more outgoing one in the relationship, especially in recent years. Just another one of her quirks the hero had fallen for, not that he said that out loud.

He did, however, alongside everyone else, laugh as Johnny scoffed, feigning offense. “Speak for yourself, I’m here for the free food and that’s it.”

Given that, next to Porker, the rabbit was probably the furthest from his element, they could all believe it. Fancy to-do parties weren't nearly as common to the Green Hill natives as they were for the pair of couples, and even then neither Sonic nor Tekno often went to them willingly unless their partner asked. The blue hedgehog and canary were homebodies, capable of socializing with the cultural elite but preferring their own spaces as opposed to some foreign one with strange faces. Sonic more than Tekno, but the fact remained.

It was, of course, the opposite for Amy and Mina. Both were far too used to being around other people and working alongside a plethora of personalities. They could put on a genuine smile and work the room as if it were second nature, and it truly was a sight to behold. There was little doubt in the hero's mind that those two would be doing the bulk of the night's conversation. As for the rest of them?

Well, free food was a plus.

The next few minutes were spent with excitable chatter and talk of their plans after the charity dinner. Needless to say, apart from maybe Porker, the group was far more eager for the promised excitement that the new club would offer than, as it had so accurately been put, ‘sucking up’. Some theories were thrown around, it seemed no one really knew what the place’s gimmick was, and none of them even noticed they had arrived at the tall, ornate skyscraper until their driver turned to announce just that.

“Now let’s go show these higher-ups how it’s really done.” Clearly, Amy was excited, and it wasn’t long until she was the very first out of the cab. Or perhaps that was to calm a word given how she had thrown the door open and leapt out, which truly was an impressive feat considering she was wearing heeled boots.

With a little less grace than they would have liked in their cramped quarters, the team members followed her lead, filing out one by one and all craning their necks to look at the impossibly tall building before them. And to think the gathering was on the very top floor; it was going to be a hell of an elevator ride. Still, before Sonic could follow suit and exit the vehicle he felt a hand on his wrist and turned to see Mina looking at him from where she was still sitting on the furthest end of the cab.

There was worry in her eyes and in her voice, which she lowered to be just between them. "Are you going to be okay?"

While a simple question, the hedgehog hadn't missed the underlying reasoning and merely smiled at his partner. Whatever had happened the other night was over and done with, probably just his imagination running wild as he had assumed. It wasn’t the first time, and wouldn’t be the last. Taking her hand, he gave it a gentle squeeze before giving the soft knuckles a gentle kiss.

"I'll be alright. There's nothing t' worry about. I'm sure it was just my head playing games. Let's just go enjoy our night, alright?" Sonic could tell the mongoose, again, wanted to press the issue but a call from their friends put a stop to whatever it was she wanted to ask. One more moment was spent between the couple, both pairs of green eyes staring at one another in a silent conversation before it seemed the mongoose relented.

Leaning forward, just enough to catch the hedgehog’s lips with her own, Mina pulled back, smiled, and gave her boyfriend a gentle push towards the door.

It was time to mingle.

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makeste · 5 years

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BnHA Chapter 248: Internships II: THE MENTORING

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor asked Deku and Kacchan to give him the rundown on their character arcs, and Izuku said that he was trying to master his new definitely-not-a-second-quirk quirk, while Katsuki explained that he was trying to find “what he lacks” because he is going for 100% completion in his redemption arc and will accept nothing less! Gotta finish all those sidequests! Anyway so Endeavor was surprisingly into the whole mentoring thing for both of them, but then his own son was all “dad I’ve got something to say too” and Endeavor was like “oh shit” and Shouto was like “I still don’t like you as a person or a father and I only came here to learn flashfire from you!” and fandom was like “HOLY SHIT RIP THAT MAN HAD A FAMILY” and Shouto was like “YEAH I KNOW THAT’S THE WHOLE PROBLEM.” Anyways then they went on a walk, and Endeavor told the boys to try and take down a villain faster than him before the end of the winter break.

Today on BnHA: Endeavor and the Rowdyruff Boys take to the streets and fight some crime. Endeavor spends a lot of time giving the youths advice about how not to be so fucking slow, and even though he’s a bit of an ass about it, he makes some strong points about how a split second can mean the difference between life and death in a hero’s line of work. Anyway so he tells Shouto and Kacchan to work on storing up their power and releasing it all at once, and he tells Deku to work on making his Air Force as automatic as his Full Cowl is. They all sit around and munch on some bread, Deku does a bit of monologuing, and then we cut to ONE WEEK LATER and FUYUMI WANTS TO INVITE ALL THREE OF THE BOYS TO A FAMILY DINNER!? Motherfucker why does the last fucking panel have more exciting content than the rest of the chapter combined. Well anyways, at least we’ve got that to look forward to.

(All comments are my unspoiled reactions from my initial readthrough of the chapter. I did a quick edit for grammar and clarity afterward, and added a few ETAs in the process, but aside from that there are no changes.)

YESSSS IT’S MY GIRLS

is this a new dragon form for Ryuukyuu? it seems like something in between her big ol’ Smaug form and her human form? or maybe this is just forced perspective making her seem smaller than she actually is here. anyways she kicks ass as always and still want to see her breathe some fire

I just realized everyone on this team can fly? except maybe Hadou? but I seem to recall her hovering over some bad guys when using her powers a while back though. I really don’t remember much about her quirk; I’m glad the anime will be getting up to that soon, because actually seeing it in motion will probably help it to stick more in my memory

(ETA: she can release her shockwaves from her feet to levitate! everyone on this team can fly confirmed! well Tsuyu can’t, but her quirk is basically an offshoot Spider-Man brand so it’s close enough.)

moving on! looks like we’re getting some DEKU INNER MONOLOGUE

okay, several things that I like about this before we continue:

look how fucking comic-booky this is. the main character parkouring through the city streets, thinking Deep Thoughts in square boxes? pretty sure this is the first page of every single comic book ever made and I LOVE IT

that metaphor about learning to walk when everyone else was already focused on where they were going to run. god I love me a good metaphor. though Deku, you were technically 15 when All Might actually gave you the quirk. that’s not on you though, that’s on Horikoshi who I’m sure has already realized the error by this point and is probably kicking himself and will write a 10,000 word apology in the volume omake

the fact that SIXQUIRKS!! IS FINALLY BEING ACKNOWLEDGED AS A THING AGAIN OMG. I’ve only waited like 5 million years for more of this, so pardon me if I lose my fucking shit depending on where this is all headed. omg. this stupid manga

anyway!

they seem to have stumbled upon a game of Mario Kart in progress. at least I’m pretty sure this is a Mario Kart character. actually it might be Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog

so now Endeavor is MERCILESSLY CUTTING OFF HIS PATH WITH A WALL OF FLAME forcing him to abandon his bike if he doesn’t want to die a fiery death!

Endeavor truly does not give a fuck! not that All Might was any better, punching huge dents in the hoods of cars and shit. the moral of this story is, don’t be a villain. just don’t. because the number one heroes will fuck you uuuuuuup

now Endeavor is yawning and looking over his shoulder at Kacchan and Deku all, “oh you guys were there too?” but not really but basically though

(ETA: oh my god I just noticed the “hit-and-runner” part. have the people in this town never heard of brakes? do they know that red means stop?? also does Endeavor really spend the majority of his day just flying around dealing with traffic violations. I guess technically it’s still New Year’s, so it’s probably a slow day and also everyone is probably drunk.)

god you kids are so slow. it’s because you’re on that social media all the time! and watching all that MTV. kids these days don’t play outside in the fresh air anymore! back in my day!! anyways tough luck you young whippersnappers

Kacchan is grumping that he’s at a disadvantage because of the temperature. I forgot all about that

hey Kacchan I think your best friend has something he wants to tell you there

loool

OF COURSE HE REALIZED but uh, go ahead and spill it anyway if you want. but he definitely did realize. whatever it is that you’re about to tell him

so Shouto says that Endeavor is propelling himself by shooting flames from his feet, and that it’s probably a compressed version of the “jet burn” technique he used in Kyushu. you know, the one he used to fly, and Hawks was all “Endeavor you can fly!?” and Endeavor was all “this isn’t flying, this is falling with style” and we all rolled our eyes

anyway guys. if this is the beginning of Shouto finally learning to fly as well, I will get up and do some kind of happy dance, I don’t even know. do you even know how long I’ve wanted this. PLEASE

lol so Kacchan is all “okay I actually did know that, are you telling me you only just figured that out now” aaaaand yeah. I wasn’t gonna say it, but. Shouto how many times did you sit there and watch Endeavor blast off before you finally said “oh my GOD he’s BLASTING OFF!” sob. IT’S ALL THAT MTV AND AVOCADO TOAST! that noise isn’t even real music! get off your phone and have an actual conversation!

Shouto is so handsome and so good at accepting criticism. what an all-star. please start flying around soon my little Canadian flag

so now Endeavor is blasting off again and sassily hinting at which direction he’s flying off to next. “there’s a major street in that direction”

so now they’re taking off after him

that’s an interesting way of saying that he’s setting the whole town on fire. how do the people in Endeavor’s territory all manage with their daily commute? “almost there boss be there in five... oh hold up... Main Street’s blocked off by a raging inferno, I’ll call you back”

Endeavor says that heroes must be able to do “anything and everything” on their own, which is a curious thing to say in this manga which has time and time again made a point of demonstrating how teamwork gets the job done! I’m not sure I agree with this, Endeavor!

though I guess he just means they need to be able to handle it all if necessary. but I mean, sometimes that’s just not possible. using his own example of Kyushu, there’s no way he would have been able to handle the Hijinks Noumu while protecting all the citizens and fighting off all the other cannon fodder noumus all at the same time. I’m not even sure All Might would have been able to do that. maybe this is an example of how Endeavor still doesn’t have all of this hero stuff figured out yet

lol oh my god

Endeavor that was like four chapters ago, why are you only now bringing this up. act your age

OH SNAP GUYS HE’S MENTORING BAKUGOU. AND BY MENTORING I MEAN PICKING A FIGHT OH MY GOD

DON’T MIND ME I’M JUST WATCHING THIS OLD GRUMP TEACH THIS NEW YOUNG UPSTART JUST LIKE TOMMY LEE JONES IN MEN IN BLACK OMGGGG

so Kacchan is again saying that he needs more time in the winter, but like. Kacchan that’s not like you to make excuses. are you just going to hibernate for three months out of every year and only save people when it’s warm out?? or what

and Endeavor’s saying the same thing

oh shit y’all he’s getting real with them now

oh shit

by the way how fucking dangerous is this town, jesus. supposing that Endeavor wasn’t out here on patrol, what would be the daily casualty rate? first we had that glass guy rampaging downtown earlier, then that motorcyle guy who probably hit a dozen people, and now Tommy and Gina here nearly get run over by a speeding truck. what is this, Gotham City

anyway now Endeavor is saying TodoBaku rights so I’ll shut up

BECAUSE SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME KACCHAN THAT’S WHY! now hush!!

Shouto’s asking if this is related to him learning flashfire, because lest we forget, he’s here for ONE REASON and ONE REASON ONLY lol

so Endeavor says the two of them have to learn how to store up their energy and release it, and how to “condense” their power

you guys I am super hyped about this. not only because BEST FRIENDS PART TWO: THE FRIENDENING!!, but also because this will be the first time Kacchan has gotten a physical power-up in like, ever. (well, AP Shot I guess, but shh.) if he and Shouto are not both flying by the end of this arc then what even is the point!

anyway so Endeavor’s telling them all this technical shit about what to do, blah blah blah, but the short version is they need to be able to go from zero to sixty instantaneously, and release all the stored-up firepower focused into one single point, and to practice doing that until it’s second nature to them

omfg Deku’s so excited

BECAUSE HE HEARTS YOU KACCHAN lol this isn’t anything new, don’t be so shocked. ACCEPT HIS LOVE

though come to think, that really is impressive even for Deku that he knows about that particular technique, because Kacchan created AP Shot back when Deku was supposed to be developing his own ENTIRELY NEW FIGHTING STYLE, which you would think wouldn’t have left him with much time to spare to also keep tabs on his rival and write down his every move. so is his Big Hero Brain just that good, or is this chapter also promoting BakuDeku rights in addition to TodoBaku rights? you decide! but you already know which one I think it is lol

so now Endeavor is giving some bonus mentoring to Shouto

(ETA: why is Kacchan the only one who actually eats his lunch sitting down. these weirdos.)

you guys I love Shouto so much but does he really need it broken down for him to this degree? “son, you know all the things you do to control your right side? try doing those things to control your left.” Shouto: “!!!!” all those video games and participation trophies have fried his brain! too much Instagram! this new generation is going to the dogs

now Endeavor is turning his attention to Deku! but I’m more focused on the fact that they’re eating lunch, because my priorities are just like that

like lol, check out this panel of Deku talking with his mouth full

whole chapter was worth it just for this. boy you’re gonna get crumbs all over your super suit

Endeavor’s asking if Deku can raise his power level subconsciously, and he says he can for Full Cowl, but not for Air Force

so he says the first thing Deku should do is learn to control Air Force subconsciously, and forget about the Bloop for now

and Deku is all “what about parallel thinking” but more importantly, LOOK AT THIS

CAN I JUST GET A WHOLE CHAPTER OF EVERYONE EATING BREAD. LOOK AT THOSE CHUBBY CHEEKS. THIS IS AMAZING

Endeavor says a big part of parallel thinking is being able to do it without consciously thinking about it, and damn he’s right

IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT INSTINCT! also how does he know the man is yawning? you can see him from up there?? DOES HE JUST KNOW EVERYTHING

and he says that once Deku can do two things at once subconsciously, he just needs to add one more thing. damn, he really managed to break it down so that even this chronic overanalyzer can understand the concept

practice, practice, practice until it’s second nature. solid fucking advice

hey everyone Kacchan is still eating. just a PSA

that’s one for the family album. my handsome boy

okay like. it’s a nice speech, but we get it already dude. you can stop talking now and we can move on to something new

so then there’s some more Deku monologuing, pretty much the same stuff he was saying at the start of the chapter, and then Endeavor hits us with this little bait and switch gem

like, the first part sounded almost comforting, and then PSYCH!!!! but I guess he’s just trying to get them all fired up

(ETA: and like, just a few chapters ago we established how the success of these three kids is actually CRITICAL TO THE FATE OF THE ENTIRE WORLD, APPARENTLY. so yeah this is a total bluff. deep down he’s actually sweating and thinking “holy shit they better not fail.”)

and Deku’s finishing up his monologue by saying his maximum speed is doing things one by one. well that’s fine. so now will there finally be a segue?

YAYYYY

OH SHIT YOU GUYS!!!

are we gonna finally get into that TODODRAMA I have my popcorn ready to go!

lmao “and he’s even got friends with him, right?!” ah Fuyu you are the best. she’s so happy Shouto has finally found himself some good pals

OH MY GODDDDDD

HEY WHAT THE FUCK!!!

YOU SON OF A BITCH!! TWO THIRTEEN PAGE CHAPTERS IN A ROW, AND YOU FUCKING END WITH “NEXT TIME, IT’S A TODOBAKUDEKU DINNER AT THE HOUSE OF DRAMA!” AND THEN YOU HIT US WITH THIS. NEXT TIME I’LL JUST HAND YOU A KNIFE AND YOU CAN JUST STAB ME DIRECTLY IN THE CHEST TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR YOU, YOU BASTARD. WHAT AM I GONNA DO FOR THESE NEXT TWO WEEKS WHILE I WAIT FOR THIS CHAPTER OF EVERYONE SITTING AROUND AND EATING BREAD WHILE FUYU PRESUMABLY TELLS THEM THE STORY OF “THERE ACTUALLY USED TO BE A FOURTH KID BUT WE DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM ANYMORE BUT WE WILL NOW!” BECAUSE THEY GODDAMN BETTER

sob. this chapter was basically just a thirteen page trailer for the real meat of this arc. some nice mentoring did occur, I’ll give them that, and I very much enjoyed it. but I’m tired of feeling like we’re just treading water waiting to get to the next big thing! surely all of the set-up is finally done now, right? everyone has their goals established now, we’ve had a mini-time-jump and school is about to start again, and we’ve done our preliminary testing of all of the TodoBakuDeku dynamics and confirmed that all components are firing on all cylinders. basically what I’m saying is we are good to go! ready to get off of this bench! GO AHEAD AND PUT US IN, COACH

anyway guys so here’s a list of what I want to happen at this dinner:

Shouto being all “this is my sister Fuyumi” and Kacchan and Deku being all “COME AGAIN?” because they legitimately thought he was an only child

Fuyu chuckling about how Kacchan reminds her of her dad, and both Kacchan and Endeavor being grossly offended by this

Deku and Kacchan spotting a family photo on the mantel, and Shouto explaining “yeah, that’s my mom, and my brother Natsuo... AND... MY OTHER BROTHER, TOUYA” and then the camera rapid-fire pans to Fuyu and Endeavor and Shouto’s SUPER AWKWARD EXPRESSIONS, before ZOOMING IN ON THE PHOTO OF TOUYA, AND BOY DOES HE LOOK FAMILIAR OH MY GOODNESS

Deku and Kacchan eyeing each other all “holy shit wtf did we get ourselves into” as it begins to dawn on them that they wouldn’t have enough time to unpack all of this even if they had an entire crew of movers on the job. not even Marie Kondo could clean all this shit up. GOOD FUCKING LUCK BOYS

so yeah! lots to look forward to! so I’ll try and be patient. at least we’ve got the anime to keep us all occupied. who’d’ve thought the Basement arc would one day be our salvation. life sure is funny

#bnha #boku no hero academia #endeavor #midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #todoroki shouto #todoroki fuyumi #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #makeste reads bnha #and it says a lot that one of the reasons I'm so sure it's finally going to be That Time #is because out of all of the remaining unresolved plot threads #the todoroki 'our dead brother who isn't actually that dead and has now turned evil' plot #is actually the *least* effed up of the remaining plots #so like assuming that we're going to keep escalating from here #this is actually the natural place to start #and from there we can move on to the child experimentation and afo theory reveals and the end of the world #lol we sure are in for some good times #bnha 248

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erictmason · 5 years

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INKTOBER DAT TWENTY ONE AND TWENTY TWO: Freedom Is The Greatest Treasure (And We Even Have A Ghost On Our Side!)

No matter how many seas will separate us I'll always be there for you Without any fear, heading straight Don't ever forget We fight together

So I might have gone a bit crazy on this one?

For context: recently @thankskenpenders’ ongoing retrospective of the Archie “Sonic the Hedgehog” came across something very rare: a story I didn’t just not remember but in fact had never read before. Said story, “Fairy Tale (Or The Adventures of Pirate Sally)”, is, to be clear, Not Very Good? But the premise was just so 1000% Up My Alley that it lodged itself into my brain anyway, and before I knew it I had in fact dreamed up a whole-hog Pirate Alternate Universe for the Archie “Sonic” crew (with ideas for others not even seen here!). And this is the result! If you want to know the details of these takes on the characters (which I have written at length because again this idea just took me like fire), feel free to check under the Read More.

SALLY ACORN (Captain)

Once, Sally was the Princess of the powerful kingdom of Mobotropolis…until the day, not long after her eighth birthday, the evil Baron Robotnik came to her home. With his mechanized army he ravaged the land and attempted to hunt Sally and all her family down. The King attempted to evacuate Sally, her family, and her closest friends out of the city safely…but the ship meant to take them all to safety was sunk, and all aboard were taken for dead. In truth, however, Sally and her lady-in-waiting, Bunnie, had survived (though Sally had lost an eye in the attack), drifting through the ocean on wreckage from the ship…until they were found by the Dread Pirate Shadow and his young boatswain Sonic. Though Shadow was no friend of the Crown, he ultimately took pity on the lost children and took them under his wing and onto his crew. Years passed; Sally excelled in her duties aboard Shadow’s ship (the Dark Rider), proving herself exceptionally intelligent, fierce in a fight, and able to shape the most effective plans…but always she dreamed of the home she’d lost, and the monster she’d lost it to. Ten years later, having risen through the ranks, Sally was made Captain of the ship when Shadow, for reasons he chose to keep secret, decided to step down and leave for parts unknown. Re-christening the ship The Freedom Stormer, Sally dedicates herself and her crew toward a new mission: acquire enough wealth and forge enough alliances to mount a full-scale attack against Baron Robotnik and reclaim her fallen kingdom.

SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (Gunner)

Sonic has never known his parents or his home; the only memories he has of either are about being on the run. From who? Why? He doesn’t really know the answer to that either. But as a young boy, gifted with supernaturally incredible speed, his aimless travels led him out to sea (an irony, as the hedgehog could not swim), where his tenacity earned him the respect of the Dread Pirate Shadow, who chose to take him aboard his ship as a junior member of his crew. Thus was Sonic there when Shadow took two other children onto his ship, the young Princess Sally and her lady in waiting Bunnie. Sonic had never shared Shadow’s distaste for the crown (indeed he barely understood what that even really meant) so he bonded with Sally very quickly, and the two became nearly inseparable from that point forwards; as time passed, and their bond deepened, the two learned well how they could always depend and lean on each other in times of need, and it helped both to manage the struggles they held in their hearts. When Shadow chose to step down as Captain and handed the mantle over to Sally, Sonic held no jealousy; he’d never desired the role of leadership anyway, and was only too happy when Sally named him the ship’s chief Gunner, allowing him to be at the front lines of the action he so craved. He still doesn’t have that strong an understanding of the politics and conflicts of Sally’s homeland, but he also feels he doesn’t NEED to understand that much: he believes in freedom, and he believes in Sally, and that is motive enough to make him a fiery fighter for the cause he now works so strongly towards.

BUNNIE RABBOT (Quartermaster)

It was a quirk of fate that led Bunnie to become Sally’s lady in waiting: her parents, wealthy land-owners of the long-lived Rabbaeux family, often attended parties at the palace, and every single time they did, Bunnie and Sally managed to find each other, becoming fast friends who could spend hours at a time playing together. Bunnie’s parents and Sally’s thus agreed to make Bunnie Sally’s lady in waiting so that the two could spend even more time playing together, which they did happily until the day of Baron Robotnik’s invasion. Though she and Sally managed to escape the sinking of the ship meant to evacuate them, the attack severely wounded Bunnie’s arm and leg; after the Dread Pirate Shadow took her and Sally aboard his ship, both limbs had to be amputated, and ever since, Bunnie has been outfitted with special multi-functioning prosthetics (upgraded over time as she grew older and thus bigger). Her friendship with Sally has never wavered; the two remain close confidants who place a great deal of trust in each other and it was thus only natural that upon becoming Captain Sally named Bunnie her quartermaster, a role she has fulfilled with her bright spirit, strong fighting skills, and reliable courage. As well, she’s able to keep the ship one step ahead of the Baron’s fleet, as she has formed a secret relationship with the captain of the fleet’s flagship, Antoine D’Coolette.

TAILS (Boatswain)

Not long after Sally was made captain of the Freedom Stormer, a mysterious item crossed the ship’s path: a small life boat, a woven basket the only thing to be found on it. How the boat had managed so long without anyone to steer it was a mystery but even more mysterious was what the basket contained: an infant fox with two tails. There was no indication of where he had come from or why he was adrift at sea, but Sally and the rest of the crew all agreed: as Shadow had done for many of them, so too would they take this child onto their ship and raise him as their own. Sonic and Sally especially took a key role in taking care of the young boy, who they named Miles for the long journey they knew he must have had on that boat, and he in turn grew up to idolize them both, hoping to one day be a great Pirate just like them. For now, though, he helps around the ship as best he can (in particular acting as look-out, since he absolutely loves being high up in the ship’s crow’s nest) helped by his unique ability to fly with his twin tails; indeed he has begun insisting that he be called Tails, following advice from Sonic that he should not be ashamed of his second tail, but instead take pride in it and the special things it allows him to do that others can’t.

ROTOR WALRUS (Navigator, Medical Officer)

Hailing from the far arctic, Rotor set out from home as a teenager with the intent of learning everything he could about the world: every discipline, every fact, every skill. His travelling studies thus enabled him to become a talented medical doctor, cartographer, and even engineer. That great collection of talents eventually brought him to the attention of Baron Robotnik, who attempted to use his mechanical agents to forcibly recruit Rotor into his service; not desiring to work under the baron, Rotor attempted to flee and was only successful because of the intervention of the Dread Pirate Shadow. Realizing he would be safest from the Baron aboard Shadow’s ship, Rotor thus offered to work for him instead, acting as the ship’s doctor and navigator. Impressed with Rotor’s show of skills, Shadow accepted, and thus did Rotor enter the position he has retained even now that Sally is Captain. Sally’s new mission, however, has meant the walrus has also begun having to make more use of his mechanical skills to not only maintain and repair the ship’s existing weapons (and Bunnie’s prosthetics for that matter), but to begin experimenting with and designing entirely new weapons to give them an edge against Robotnik’s forces.

ANTOINE D’COOLETTE (Royal Captain)

In days of old, Antoine’s father, Armand D’Coolette, served as the Fleet Commander for the Royal House of Acorn…but when the Acorn Family was deposed and Mobotropolis fell under the control of Baron Robotnik, Armand chose to save his family by offering to serve under Robotnik. The Baron accepted his terms, and the agreement held until Armand’s death several years later. Hoping to protect his mother and younger siblings, Antoine chose to continue to uphold the agreement, and became Captain of the Baron’s Flagship, the Dragoon. Eventually, the Dragoon was assigned to deal with the Freedom Stormer, which had begun to interfere with Robotnik’s activities more and more. It was during the pursuit of the Stormer and the many battles the two ships fell into that Antoine came to meet Bunnie Rabbot; impressed not only by her skill in battle but by her strong spirit. Over time she too came to respect his abilities and realized he served the Baron not out of loyalty but because he wanted to keep his loved ones safe; she thus decided to convince him to act as a kind of Inside Man for the crew of the Freedom Stormer, passing along secret information that could help them counter Robotnik’s moves and keep them safe. Antoine agreed, and has been helping the Pirates ever since, as well as gradually growing closer and closer to Bunnie via the letters they exchange as part of the agreement.

NICOLE (Ghost)

Before Bunnie and Sally met, the princess’ closest friend was a young girl named Nicole, the daughter of renowned inventor Doctor Ellidy. But alas, only a year prior to the invasion of Baron Robotnik, Nicole was struck with a deathly illness. Her father tried everything to save her, but no medicine or science on record seemed effective, and so he resorted to drastic measures, turning to the arcane and occult: through the Ritual of Ixis, he sought to transfer Nicole’s soul into an enchanted gem stone, believing it would cause her original body to fall into a kind of coma that would keep it preserved until such time as a proper cure could be found. However, the ritual seemingly failed, and Nicole’s body finally gave out. Heartbroken at his failure, Ellidy chose to leave the Kingdom of Mobotropolis, but he gave the stone he had used in the ritual to Sally in honor of her and Nicole’s friendship. Many years later, however, upon becoming Captain of the Freedom Stormer, Sally, who had taken to wearing the stone as a necklace, would learn the ritual HAD succeeded: Nicole’s spirit lived on within the stone and, through the connection she shared with Sally, she could even emerge in a ghostly form (which for reasons neither Sally nor Nicole fully understands has somehow “aged” the way Nicole would have if she were still alive)! She cannot retain this state for long as it drains both her and Sally of a great amount of energy to do so, but even so Nicole now uses her ghostly powers to aid Sally and the others in their quest, and Sally has vowed to one day find a way to create a new body for Nicole to inhabit and live anew.

#sonic the hedgehog #archie sonic #thankskenpenders #Inktober #sally acorn #Bunnie Rabbot #tails #rotor Walrus #nicole #Antoine D'Coolette #fan art #ericthemason #inktober2019 #my art

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knuxfan24 · 4 years

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Sonic ‘06 - Greenflower Zone Mod Technical Write Up

On April 27th of 2020 I released the Version 1.1 update for my Greenflower Zone mod for Sonic ‘06, a few days before release, I got the idea to do a technical write up on the process that I went through making this mod, as it is a strange one that has morphed over the span of almost a year, evolving and growing with the ‘06 Modding Scene itself.

Original Proof of Concept

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Back in May of 2019, I started toying around with some old Sonic ‘06 tools, thanks to my interest in modding the game rising following improvements in Xenia which made the game more playable within it. As I’d previously done Greenflower Zone Act 1 for Shadow The Hedgehog in February of the same year, I decided to use it as an experiment for importing stage terrain into ‘06; as I already knew the rough process for converting a model to an XNO thanks to me trying to put one of my Sonic Forces Avatars over Sonic. However, we didn’t have a way to do collision at this point, so my initial plan was to use the common_stopplayercollision object to kind of fake the collision so I would at least be able to walk around it. Unfortunately, the character doesn’t treat that object as ground, so they just float above it. Yet I still decided to place some objects around by manually typing in coordinates based off the object placements I’d previously done for the Shadow port.

Initial Collision Experiments

Shortly afterwards, Melpontro offered to convert a collision mesh for me, while we didn’t have surface tags on it, it was a good enough job to let me experiment more with the stage, which I did by continuing to copy and paste object coordinates from the Shadow port, again, all in plain text XML files. As a result, objects weren’t rotated correctly due to Quaternion Rotation being literal satan and I would have to check an object in game to even see if it was close to being correct.

SonicGLVL

At some point, I hit upon the idea of using SonicGLVL (the Sonic Generations Level Editor) to visualise the object placements. This mostly came about due to me remembering that object rotations in Generations SET Files are also Quaternions, so I could copy and paste their values to get the rotations correct. While I was still hand typing everything, this made it easier to determine object placements, especially considering Shadow The Hedgehog could spawn multiple Rings from one Ring object, a feature ‘06 lacks, as a result, I had to guess the right coordinates for the other Rings with no way to visually check it without booting up the game.

Surface Properties and Sticky Walls

A few days after I’d done more SET work, I sent Melpontro a version of the collision with various meshes tagged by type, allowing him to create collision with various Surface Properties, resulting in proper footstep sounds for surfaces. However, this also led to an issue caused by ‘06′s unusual tagging system for collision meshes.

Walls in ‘06 need to be tagged as such, resulting in quite a bit of trial and error until we got it mostly working. With Act 1 done to a good enough state for a proper work in progress, it was time to move on to Act 2.

WinForms and HedgeLib

Around the time of working on Act 2, I decided to start cobbling together various small C# programs using HedgeLib to try and help me with the process, while I was roughly familiar with bits and pieces of the ‘06 SET Format thanks to my previous work on the Sonic ‘06 Randomiser there was still a lot of things I didn’t know.

One of the first things I wrote was something that would load a SET File and allow me to see all the parameter values of the objects within the SET. This allowed me to document what I thought the parameters for certain objects do (while also discovering a frustrating quirk in HedgeLib). As time passed, work continued on Act 2, while I also started creating an original layout for Shadow, designed under the mindset of playing the stage backwards. Before I got sidetracked working on something else.

The Mod Manager’s early beginnings

Over time, I gradually became frustrated with having multiple copies of ‘06 and accidentally cross contaminating them with various mods thanks to me copying them to the wrong install. While Hyper had a GitHub page for a Sonic ‘06 Mod Manager, it didn’t actually work, leading to me to write a small C# Command Line application to copy and remove the Greenflower files for me. This eventually led to me creating a small GUI for it with the ability to load multiple mods together, which would soon be expanded upon.

Around the same time, I also experimented with Melpontro’s old Emerald Coast stage mod, managing to get it running on Xenia, while also figuring out how ‘06 handles volume objects such as camera volumes. I also brought back a joke Sonic Forces mod at this point, Chair The Sonic, which would evolve into Furniture Adventure 3 before I killed the joke thanks to it going far enough to become unfunny.

Greenflower did take a backseat at this point, only really being used to test Vertex Colours for underwater colouring, as well as experimentation with the game’s dynamic lighting system. Though it would soon be used as a testing ground for something.

The GLVL Converter

On the 2nd of June, I posted this image to my Twitter, based on the wording of my tweet, it sounded like I already had a system in place to convert Generations objects to ‘06. However, I would have still had to do all the parameters manually in an XML. This process seeked to change that, with me manually creating GLVL Templates for objects as I needed them and writing code to auto convert them (shamelessly ripping off the GensToForcesSETConverter in the process). At a future point, I wrote a tool that would autogenerate the templates for me, although the object parameters were just labelled as Parameter1, Parameter2 and so on.

Throughout the process of experimenting with and understanding objects, Greenflower was used as my test bed, as I was too lazy to make a proper test stage for myself at the time and didn’t really have easy access to the unused test level recreations.

The Mod Manager and Tropical Jungle Extra

While working on the SET Conversion experiments, I continued to work on my Mod Manager alongside it before creating a new experiment to mess around with the DLC system and the converter. I started creating a layout for the third section of Tropical Jungle for Sonic, as he does not normally visit that segment of the stage.

Greenflower took a massive backseat at this point, as most of the focus went into Tropical Jungle Extra, before me and Hyper teamed up to create a better Mod Manager out of both of our work. After releasing Tropical Jungle Extra, I worked on a similar concept for Silver and the first section of Dusty Desert, although this never saw the light of day, nor did my short lived attempt at creating a DLC episode for Knuckles.

Lost in Translation and Camera Experiments

At some point in July, I started tinkering with Greenflower again, rebuilding the SET files from the ground up with our new templates and the GLVL Converter, while also experimenting with using dynamic cameras for some parts, at some point I also inserted the music thanks to our XMA workarounds. However, thanks to me having no ability to experiment with the collision, I drifted away from it again and started working on a new project, messing around with Google Translate’s API. This project became Sonic The Hedgehog: Lost in Translation.

I was still working on the Randomiser at this point, so my attention was very divided, with Greenflower slipping down the priority list. At this point, I was also aware of SRB2 2.2′s intent to redesign the zone from the ground up, which pushed it even further down while I waited for it.

The Collision Converter

Towards the end of the month, I remembered Sajid’s previous attempt to write a Collision Converter for me using LibS06, after requesting that code, Skyth provided me with the line to make it work, which I tested on a shoddy import of the Sonic Adventure 2 version of Green Hill Zone Act 1.

With a Collision Converter in hand, I started experimenting with other stages, creating a version of Westopolis for ‘06, as well as some other experiments that didn’t go very far. Before eventually jumping back into and finishing Lost in Translation.

At this point, Greenflower was still on the backburner, with me only really using it to see how the Sonic Adventure HUD mod would look with it and also putting it into the ‘06 demo for the hell of it.

More focus was placed into the Mod Manager around this time, with us rewriting it (leading to the creation of the Aldi Mod Manager jokes).

Mortar Canyon

For some silly reason, I started messing around with Mortar Canyon from Sonic Forces, there isn’t really much to say about it, other than the fact that I needed to use the Switch terrain, as the PC terrain behaved unusually.

SRB2 Version 2.2

Following the release of Sonic Robo Blast 2 Version 2.2, I tested opening and exporting the Greenflower Act 1 terrain for it from Zone Builder to see if it still worked, and it did. As a result, I started messing with it again, although my priority at the time was on my Tropical Jungle mod for Sonic Forces. Issues with the Zone Builder export also lowered my motivation to work on it, although I continued to experiment in the background, trying to find fixes.

About a week later, I toyed around with the Zone Builder source code, finally managing to correct the issue, which was caused by Zone Builder’s OBJ exporter “optimising” the exported terrain by throwing out certain vertices.

With the source for Zone Builder, I also experimented with having 100% accurate object placement, writing a small hack to export the Thing Placement into a text file which I could then use to write into a SET file with HedgeLib. However, object heights are handled incorrectly in Zone Builder, requiring me to fix certain objects manually.

As I finished up work on Tropical Jungle for Forces, I started working more on Greenflower in the background, while also experimenting with some dumb jokes. However, I soon hit another motivational block, The water and grass edges...

Nonami the Material God

Thanks to poor documentation of the XNO format, we had no clue how to make transparent objects look good or how to make translucent objects at all. As a result, I kinda trailed off for a while. However, on the 2nd of March, Nonami showed an image on the Lost Legacy Discord server of translucent water in their Emerald Coast mod and also told us the byte to hex edit to enable it. A quick test later, and I had translucent water

I soon moved the level over to the Kingdom Valley slot, as I wanted to use the breakable wall object that stage has, which meant I needed that slot for the sound, before following up with creating Vertex Colours for the underwater terrain.

Hyper later took over some work on the Skybox and Grass Edges, experimenting with hex edits and texture upscaling to help smooth out the transparent edges while I worked on creating the SET files for the other characters He also worked on fixing up the fence collision for me, as the way it exported from Zone Builder caused Sonic to be able to fairly easily clip through them.

Eventually, I decided (with very little thought behind it) to make various elements of the stage grindable, before following it up with (incredibly tedious to make) Light Dash splines. Eventually, me and Hyper screwed around with it in Multiplayer late into the night, giving us the inspiration to start trying to create a Prop Hunt gamemode for ‘06 too.

With most of the motivational stumbles out of the way, I decided to tackle the flowers and trees by recycling models from Sonic Lost World and Sonic Generations, a process which proved extremely tedious, as the XNO Converter we use only allows for one model at a time. A fact which didn’t help when I needed to export every single flower and tree one by one.

The Act 1 Release

On the 18th of March 2020, I decided to FINALLY release a version of Greenflower, with it soon being updated to correct a few small issues I’d overlooked. After a small break, I started working on Act 2. Thanks to my workflow developed for Act 1, Act 2 went fairly smoothly at first, as I already knew what I needed to do to make the grass edges and water look good. I could also copy the Skybox from Act 1 with no problems, which was nice.

The Act 2 Retargeting Whack-a-Mole

When it comes to level layouts for ‘06, easily the biggest annoyance comes from objects such as Springs. In ‘06, Springs can target other objects by their IDs, which is a really nice feature. However, if the object IDs get changed around, then the target will no longer match up, as a result, I had multiple points where I had to comb over the act to make sure every Spring still targeted the correct object. This was an issue that was much more pronounced in Act 2, due to there being many more Springs in it.

To make matters worse, the object IDs shown in SonicGLVL seem random, so to get the ID of the object I wanted to target, I’d have to convert the SET and look for the object there to get the correct ID. Towards the end of development, I hacked something together that would make the GLVL IDs match the converted ones, making it much easier to handle, if still tedious. My insistence on deleting unneeded objects in the various other character SETs is the primary reason for this headache.

Another problem I noticed a lot in Act 2 were seams in the terrain where Zone Builder didn’t export the terrain correctly, while these were (mostly) easy to fix, it was tedious every time. As it involved the following process.

-Remove the Skin Modifer -Edit the affected meshes so they’d join up correctly -Reapply the Skin Modifier -Export the edited meshes -Import them one at a time -Edit the collision -Export the collision -Convert the collision

Not hard, just tedious, as with a lot of the work that needed to be done on this project.

Specular Mapping

At some point, I toyed with the idea of adding a small specular map on the windows and roofs of the various houses scattered around the zone. After multiple attempts which blew up in my face, Nonami pointed me to a shader that would do what I wanted, creating this nice, actually fairly subtle effect which was also added to Act 1 for consistencies sake.

However, attempting to add this trick to the water did not go well at all...

Developer Time Trial

At some point when working on Version 1.0 of Greenflower, I changed the text for the Hard Mode selection on the stage select to Not This One. Thanks to me not bothering to make a Hard Mode SET thanks to me finding them to be a waste of time.

In Version 1.01, I did sneak a small SET in that would be loaded if you selected the option, but it otherwise served no purpose.

While messing with the Town Mission timer for Prop Hunt, I realised I could use it to create a Developer Time Trial mode, by simply recording my best time and setting it as the Timer’s value. Originally I intended to record runs for all nine characters, but a limitation of the DLC system prevented me from neatly adding them for the amigo characters, so it was cut down to just Sonic, Shadow and Silver.

youtube

These also use slightly modified SETs, mostly to remove the Bronze Medals, Starposts and Voice Triggers.

Bronze Medals

When initially importing the SETs, I decided it would be a cute idea to replace the Emblem and Emerald Tokens in SRB2 with the very underused Bronze Medals. As it turns out, ‘06 actually has a counter for these medals that goes unused in the final game, activating the counter was a simple as adding OpenMedal(_ARG_0_, 15) to the main event in the stage’s Lua file. While the medals serve no purpose in Greenflower, I felt like enabling the counter just to show an unused piece of ‘06 off while also encouraging exploration in the form of Medal Hunting.

Closing Words

While it may not seem like too much on the surface, I personally am actually quite happy with how Greenflower has turned out. Its long development time and various restarts have given it the chance to fully take advantage of our advancements in the Sonic ‘06 modding scene. While there is still a lot left for us to learn, I’m content with this project’s release state and am ready to move on to something new in the future.

Greenflower for ‘06 has being nearly a year in the making, and I’m glad to have been able to see it through. A special thanks goes to the people who helped me in this mod’s creation, it wouldn’t look as good as it does without Nonami’s XNO research and it may not even have gotten finished if Hyper hadn’t helped me test it and thrown some ideas my way.

Here’s hoping we can do some more quality ‘06 mods in the future and realise some of the potential this game never got to show (and maybe do some silly stuff along the way too!).

#the knux rambles #technical write up #modding #sonic '06 #development notes

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leagueofidiots · 4 years

Text

I'm great at keeping us occupied at least

Heya, so I had a rough Thanksgiving and started that draft I've talked about...after certain things happening I no longer really want to work on it anymore, but enjoy what used to be a good concept! Still can't do the "keep reading" thing, sorry

No trigger warnings, just know this is after my NaNoWriMo, but you can read it without context just fine. Some Shigadabi and Magnetmagic, but nothing huge

"Everybody pack up your crap, we need to drive up to Sapporo," says Shigaraki, laying Father over his face.

"Why can't Kurogiri just take us? And why do we have to go anyway?" Toga groans.

"He's not feeling well, so I don't want to overwork his quirk. We're going because I said so."

Twice lowers the bottom half of his mask to cover his mouth. "Whatever you say, boss!" He begins shoving various things into a knapsack. "I just wanna lay around and do nothing!"

Dabi slowly gets off of his bar stool. "Oi, creep, you know I get car sick, right?"

"What?" He continues placing hands over his upper body. "Since when?"

"Since I made a slightly large turn. Personally, I think he just likes whining," says Spinner, nose pointed up to the air.

"Well we just won't make any 'slightly large turns' then." Kurogiri gives him a sideways glance, but Tomura promptly ignores him. "Toga, I'm serious. Get up. You're not getting out of this."

Magne pulls up the younger girl by the arm. "Who's driving? I'll have to take a pass, I don't have a license."

"You're in your thirties, how do you not have a licence?" asks Twice, standing at the door like an eager boy scout.

"My parents took mine when I got my pronouns and name changed, and then I committed two murders. That sort of eliminated the option."

"Oh." He shrinks sheepishly. "Well, I'd say they had it coming then. Murder is not a good way to solve your problems, Kenji!"

She shrugs. "I have Pringles, you think I should bring them?"

Compress grins, debating between his masks. "Oh, absolutely. I would still like to know our business in Sapporo though, Shigaraki. It could affect what I wear."

"Well, I'm hoping to avoid the public once we're up there, so bring one of the ones you can stuff in your bag."

Dabi looks at his boss in disgust. "Really? We're stuffing things in bags, and you're bringing all fourteen of your corpse hands?"

"You say that like you're not a walking chunk of rotting barbeque as is, player two."

The black-haired villain shrugs. "Fair enough. Just don't make me carry the bag or anything."

"So can I drive?" asks Suichi eagerly, trying to get back on topic. "I really love feeling the power of a car under my hands."

"If you've already made Dabs blow chunks, I don't think that's a great idea," says Toga, digging knives out from under the couch cushions.

Spinner pouts. "Fine."

Kurogiri finishes a drink he'd made for himself, and looks around at his murder babies. "Is everyone all packed? I am sorry I couldn't make us a warp gate."

"It's no prob, Kuro, we all feel under the weather sometimes," says Jin, back to looking like he's waiting for Disneyland and not a sixteen hour drive from Yokohama to Sapporo. "I blame you for my suffering."

"We're all packed," says Atsuhiro loudly, finally placing a mask over his face. "Which car are we taking?"

Over the past several weeks, the league had stolen a lot of cars. Toga said a crime that took such thought and planning was basically pointless, but Jin liked hotwiring cars, so what else was there to do? So the league now had five vehicles, including a baby blue minivan, a pink bug, an orange pickup truck, another minivan (this one white, it was Tomura's favorite), and a bright green sports car. Compress had them stored as marbles in one of his coat pockets.

"The minivan," says Shigaraki, grin creeping past Father's fingers. "You know which one. And I'm driving."

"Shotgun," calls Dabi, sulking over to the door. "One more window to look out of as I try to keep my insides where they belong." Tomura rolls his eyes.

"So, are we gonna play any road trip games?" asks Toga, considerably more excited than when Magne had to drag her out of her chair.

"I dunno, what did you have in mind?" The tone in their boss' voice suggests he's going to turn down whatever she says, but Himiko never has been good with his social cues.

"Truth or dare! Twenty questions! Spin the bottle! Two truths and a lie! Would you rather! Kiss, marry, kill! Concen---"

"Okay, okay, I get it!" he snaps. "Whatever, just pick one. Maybe it'll stop Dabi from puking his guts out in my stolen car."

As Compress expands the white van in the alleyway next to the League's hideout, Toga cheers. "Jin, what do you want?"

"I don't care. Two truths and a lie!" He quickly clambers into the car, seizing the back left window seat.

"Sounds great!" She shuffles in next to him. "Kuro, you start!"

He lets out a short sigh. "Yes, alright, fine. I suppose I can come up with something."

Dabi hesitantly gets into the front seat, setting his own empty knapsack by his feet. "This better not get weird, or I'll just hop out of the window."

Shigaraki gives his boyfriend a pointed glare as he takes the wheel in his half-gloved hands. "I told you, you're not allowed to make jokes like that anymore. You worry me."

"Sorry," he says dryly, not sounding very sorry at all. "I'll just eat all my Altoids at once then."

The rest of the team piles in, Suichi next to Toga; Compress, Magne, and Kurogiri in the middle row. "Why wear our villain costumes if we're being discreet when we arrive?" asks Spinner, struggling with his scarf.

"To scare civilians when we stop for food. I hate lines," says Tomura, starting the car.

"Are you sure you know how to drive?" asks Jin, hand raised. "I have complete faith in ya, boss man!"

"Yes, I know how to drive, I've been playing racing games since I was younger than Toga!" he snaps.

"Okay, okay, go," says Himiko, smacking her hand on Kurogiri's shoulder.

The purple void thinks as Shigaraki pulls into the street, already scratching at his neck. "Hm...Alright, I'm ready. Number one: I am twenty-eight years old. Number two: my real name is Morimi Yoshiano. Number three: I have a scar on my eyebrow that makes it look like I shaved a slit in it to be edgy."

Magne laughs. "That third one has to be the lie."

He shakes his head, sending swirls of mist into the backseat. "Entirely true."

"Number one is," rasps Tomura. "If that were true, I would have met you when you were thirteen or so. Possible, but unlikely."

"Well, I suppose it's fitting you guessed it. Is it your turn then?"

"'Morimi Yoshiano'. That sounds off for some reason. I think I'll stick with 'Black Fog'," says Compress.

There's a murmur of agreement across the car. "Okay, I think I'm ready. My hair used to be black, I hate Sonic the hedgehog, or I've never been in a movie theatre."

Dabi turns to him with a "ha". "I know for a fact your hair was black as a kid. And everybody hates Sonic, so---"

"Excuse me, what?" Tomura almost swerves into the next lane as he turns to his now-green-tinged boyfriend. "Everybody hates Sonic?!?"

"Face the street, creep, and stop treating this like bumper cars," he says in a wavering voice.

Shigaraki faces forward. "Sonic was and is an iconic video game, vital to the development of---"

"Was it the lie or not?" whines Toga.

He huffs. "Yes, it was the lie. Your turn."

"One: I used to think Tomura was cute. Two: I've eaten dog before. Three: One time I stabbed Dabi's arm while he was asleep, and he didn't even notice."

Kurogiri looks back, slightly disturbed. "I'm not sure which answer I want to be correct."

"I don't think you'd eat a dog," says Jin, though he sounds unsure.

"That's what she wants you to---" A weird noise from Dabi cuts Spinner off. "Gross, man."

Dabi tosses a mint at his teammate's head after popping one in his mouth. "Shut up. I can't help it."

"This is getting boring, you guys are being too easy," says Toga. "The lie was the dog one."

"So what now?" ask Twice. "I am perfectly content!"

"I dunno, why don't we play spin the bottle like you suggested earlier? It's certainly high risk," says Magne.

"High risk? What do you mean?"

She grins, adjusting herself in her seat. "Well, we have a gremlin with crusty lips, a queasy piece of bacon, me, Sako, a void, a sociopath, Deadpool, and a lizard. There's not really any solid wins besides my boyfriend, and that's brought down by the fact that his not-singleness makes it awkward."

Suichi grins. "Like a game of chicken. I'm in."

"I wouldn't call myself a void, but alright, I guess."

"Isn't Himiko a minor?" asks Shigaraki, itching his neck.

"You're concerned about that but not---" Dabi hiccups, "---not driving with a hand over your face?"

Tomura huffs and takes the hand off, tossing it onto Dabi's lap. "Happy? Now I may be a criminal, but I have, like, morals."

"Oh, come on, Shiggy. I'm consenting. And it's just a little kiss," she whines. "I don't have any people my age to be my age around, you know? I want my teenage years to be as teenager-y as possible."

He stops joltily at a red light. "Alright, but if this is what we get arrested for, I blame you."

She grins. "Okay, just let me pull up the app!" Jin huddles over next to her for a minute as they type in names and adjust settings. "Ready! Who's spinning first?"

"What's the punishment if you pass?" asks Compress, taking off his mask and fanning himself with it.

"Hmmmmmmm." She taps her chin. "A good question."

"Whoever chickens out has to buy the person they didn't kiss something from wherever we stop," suggests Magne.

Everyone groans. Everyone is broke. Even the author, writing this at 1 am after a mental breakdown is broke. The fourth wall is broke.

Anyway.

Toga presses the button on her screen, and the automated sound of a spinning game wheel sounds throughout the car alongside Dabi's groans of discomfort. "And I will be kissing...Suichi!"

The scaly villain groans. "Why me?" Still, he faces his left and takes the quick peck. "Okay, my turn." His clawed finger presses the button, and once again suspense fills the air. "Compress, that's you."

"Must I?" he asks dryly, turning around. The ordeal is over as quickly as the first round, and Compress removes his glove. "This is setting up to be a long road trip." The clicking begins once again, and finally lands on Kurogiri's name.

"Whoaaaa," crows Jin. "Are you gonna have to deactivate your quirk? We don't want his face going through. That would be hilarious!"

Kurogiri tenses. "Um. Well, there is always the option of buying you something."

"We're all broke and you know that. Come on, it isn't that bad." The magician pulls his glove on, leaning over his girlfriend.

"Yeah, besides, we wanna see your face! It's like a fun little mystery!" says Toga, leaning forward on her elbows.

Tomura glances back. "You don't have to if you don't want to, Kuro."

"No, no, they have a right to know what I look like. It's waited long enough," he says with a sigh.

Dabi, bag held lazily in one hand, turns around slowly, trying to act apathetic. Kurogiri rolls down his window, letting a gust of air in, and the fog around his slowly dissipates.

"Whoa, you're kinda hot, in a weird, battle-worn kind of way," says Jin. "That's a lot of damage! And we're gonna repair it using flex tape!" He puts a banana sticker on the man's forehead.

Kurogiri peels the sticker off slowly, taking a few purple hairs out in the process. His face is scattered with patches of light skin, making his dark eyes stand out against his features. "What is flex tape?"

And this is where I stopped oof

#lov #league of villains #save me #the last sighting of Kuroplier #RIP #writing

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ladylavellaan · 6 years

Note

(bnha)Can I get some death in arms, angsty angst? The reader is dating Katsuki and its the readers birthday, they ride on a Subway on their way to a dinner date to celebrate. The Subway is attacked by a pro villain that is just way to powerful. ( If you'd like, I would appreciate you sprinkling in some more sadness about Aizawa being the readers dad and the villain being someone he failed to capture. Only if you want to though, I don't want you over working yourself :') Ty!! -Lavender Anon

Ohhh boy it’s been a while since I’ve attempted angst. I might be a little rusty, but I hope this is okay

I decided to make Kacchan and the reader 3rd years in this prompt. The attack ended up outside of the Subway!!

No need to worry about me though Lavender!!! I’m doing great and I’m soooosoo thankful that you sent me a request

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The city is alive at night.

They are in love as they watch it pass by, a blur of light. Peace finds them. It makes them feel small, watching the world move as they stand still.

But they don’t mind. [f/n] finds that there is strength in the revelation of mortality.

Geez, [f/n], they squint at their reflection. Good birthday thoughts, good birthday thoughts… Why’re you philosophizing on a train to Kamino, huh?

Sighing, [f/n] passes a glance to their boyfriend of three years, Katsuki. They smile. He’s changed so much. That rage that engulfed him for most of his life is now a calmer fire he can control. Fury was replaced with energy, the energy and motivation to be able to move forward.

They’re so proud of him.

Katsuki catches their gaze. A teasing smirk lifts his lips. He coyly remarks, “You gotta stop being cute and shit. You’re too old for the schoolgirl act now, you know.”

But he’s still an ass.

“So rude… How else am I going to charm you now that I’m withering away?” Keeping in mind that he’s the same age as them, too, they giggle out. Their expression turns serious again, quickly adding, “You’re only dating me for my money.”

“Yeah, you fucking got me. Right on the bullseye, as always. Nothing less from you.” Katsuki deftly grabs their chin, his smirk growing into a wolfish grin. “I’m dating you because you’re the best, and I love you.”

They flush. “I-I love y-”

“-happy birthday. Now stop fishing for compliments, idiot,” he murmurs and pulls them into a quick kiss. Their heart skips a beat. “You’re already pushing it. I gave up my study sess with Ponytail for this.”

“A valiant sacrifice,” they laugh, and he smiles. “You’ll do fine.”

“Memorization doesn’t do shit for me, but with all the chapters we have to cover? It doesn’t help the fact that-” He suddenly stops, ruby eyes distracted by a flashing red notification on his phone. The expression on his face changes from relaxed to on-guard in a matter of seconds.

[f/n] straightens, and flicks out their phone from their jacket pocket. Just like his, the notification pops up red, sending a chill of anxiety down their body.

ATTENTION: Villain “Blink” spotted approaching the Naka ward. Pro-heroes Star Justice and Lovelace are trying to apprehend the villain, but he overpowered them and made a break for it. Please be careful and stay indoors if you are in or near the Naka ward! 38 casualties follow this villain…

“38 casualties?” They air out. “Star Justice and Lovelace are ranked 16th and 21st respectively, right? No, the villain must be too strong. Blink- he’s the fast one, isn’t he? That’s-”

They recognize the name. That’s the one Aizawa-sensei failed to capture, far too fast for his eyes to leave the villain powerless. They didn’t pay much attention to the details. They only cared about Aizawa, a parental figure in their life, who dealt with failure by blaming himself.

“Yeah,” Katsuki answers, distracted. Panic seizes him for a second. Who the hell will take this guy down, then? Speed has always been an issue in any fucking battle. The moment your opponent is too fast for you to handle, it’s over. Even widescale attacks can’t do much if the enemy has half a brain cell. And this guy… 300 mph in less than a second. Fuck…

He clicks his phone on. Another notification flares across his screen, this time white.

From: Kirishima

bro, we gotta do something about this blink guy. deku and shouto are gonna go too, along with iida and momo.

Katsuki immediately makes up his mind. “Sounds like the bastard is giving the pros hell. We should-”

He turns to them quickly, a plan forming in his head. It’d be easy. So fucking easy, and with them at his side, it’d be a piece of cake.

“Katsuki, I…” Their voice wavers, and he’s snapped out of his thoughts. The look in their wide eyes depict something he can’t quite name- fear, maybe? They look like they know something bad is going to happen. 38 casualties and that number is rising, no doubt about it. Katsuki can’t just ignore something like this. He’s a hero, goddamn it, he’s supposed to do something about this.

But he is also theirs. And that look in their eyes… He can’t just ignore that either.

“The fucking nerds at school have it,” he reassures them, wrapping a strong arm around them. “Let’s just enjoy your birthday, yeah?”

To: Kirishima

From: Bakugou

i can’t. celebrating [f/n]’s birthday. you better have this one in the bag. if that villain beats the shit out of you, i’ll bring you back to life and end you again. and be fucking careful!

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

“Soooo, can I open my present now?”

“When we get to the café, idiot. I made reservations and everything, and we’re cutting it close. So hurry your ass up, come on.” A rough tug on their hand has them stumbling side by side by him, unaware of his growing paranoia. The station of Kamino is desolate, the wind whispering into empty space. This already feels wrong.

Some station shops are open, but he can feel the anxiety of the workers, itching to lock the door shut. Katsuki clicks on his phone. No new notifications, nothing from Kirishima or Iida or Deku. He makes a ‘tsk’ sound and wraps an arm around [f/n], pulling them close.

“You’re worried,” they say, after one look at his expression. Katsuki looks away with a glare. “Katsuki…”

“Don’t make such a sad expression,” he grumbles and runs his hand down their face. They scrunch up their nose and swats his hand away. He continues, “I want to spend your birthday with you, here. Just the two of us. Hell, Aizawa-sensei even suggested we do something together for today. But I’m on high alert, can you really blame me? With a villain running loose?”

“Villains are running loose all the time, Katsuki.”

“What the fuck does that- I know that. But on your birthday, of all days, and the villain just had to be the one sensei couldn’t capture? A smart, competent villain, with a powerful quirk like that? I don’t want this asswipe to ruin your day-”

“Our day,” they insist. They pull him down for a soft kiss. “Yeah, it’s my birthday, but I wanted to spend it with you. Just us two. But I’m… kind of anxious as well. For the others who are dealing with Blink, especially.”

His expression softens. “Yeah? Alright. I’ll accompany you back home, and then I’ll go to the fight and help those sods out.”

“What? Katsuki, that’s-”

“-Not necessary,” an unfamiliar voice grumbles out, smooth and low. Katsuki whips around, a protective arm hovering in front of [f/n]. Is this real? Did he seriously not hear this fucker coming? Blink snuck up on them like ground squirrel nabbing a seed. Those little shits are sneaky! Fucking damn it!

“Blink,” Katsuki growls out, and he suddenly notes the blood staining the man’s silver-blue villain suit. Fuck. Kirishima, Deku, everyone else… You all better be okay. “Fucking bootleg Sonic the Hedgehog over here doesn’t know how to make an entrance. That’s a nice trick you got there, sneaking up on me like that.”

“I can do so much more.” Blink’s voice drops an octave, expression wild with bloodlust. His brown hair is mussed. Underneath that eye mask might be someone who is handsome and paired with such an attractive voice Katsuki can only guess that this man is popular. But right now, he’s a villain and he’s a threat.

“Stay back,” Katsuki orders, not sparing a glance at [f/n] as he wolfishly grins.

”I’ll call for help,” they say. “So give me cover.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Charging with no room for mercy, an explosion sends Katsuki flying forward at breakneck speed.

The villain’s name is Blink for a reason. One second he was in front of them, visible and intimidating. The next second? He was behind Katsuki, standing between him and [f/n]. Katsuki is sent flying from a kick delivered harshly to his back, slamming into the wall.

[f/n] flips out their phone and starts to run the opposite direction. They trust in Katsuki to end this fight, but he needs backup. Help. From anyone. The others must have not stood a chance… Not even Todoroki or Deku. Or even Momo…

Who to call, who to call. Not a student, no. Who would answer now, someone capable, someone who knows what to do?

Aizawa-sensei.

Scrolling through their contacts furiously, [f/n] hits the call button beside Aizawa’s name as they run. Behind them, Blink disappears again. “Damn it,” they curse, running blindly into the tunnel. “Come on, come on, Aizawa-sensei-”

Suddenly, blue flame lights up the dark, swallowing the hand holding their phone. A shriek of pain echoes through the station, and Katsuki feels his heart drop in the midst of the debris.

“There’s no need for that,” a boy with patchwork skin says. Beside him, a blonde girl with buns grins at them, cheeks flushing pink. “Now, be good and don’t you move an inch. We can make this painless for you.”

Two more of them. Damn it!

Still disoriented by the pain, they spit out, “What the hell do you want?”

“Get the fuck away from them!” Katsuki roars, a large explosion launching him into the tunnels. The ground tremors from the sheer power of it all, but Blink is fast- he reappears and rams his knee into Katsuki’s gut.

“Katsuki!” They cry out. Damn it, damn it, damn it..! On your feet, [f/n]. There we go. Now activate your fucking quirk and buy time for Katsuki.

“Oh?” The boy with the patchwork skin smiles. “You’re gonna-”

A roar of fury and energy leaves them, an explosion of light terrifying the villains. Now with the three of them blinded, f/n can dive for their phone and make a break for it. Away from Katsuki to separate the villains so he can fight maybe two or one and he can get out of this, alive-

Instinct and reflexes grab a hold of Blink, and he wastes no time delivering a merciless punch to [f/n’s] stomach. That alone is enough to send them flying, the force taking their breath away. They hear the shatter of their ribs, the breaking of something else as they slam into an adjacent wall.

Now, unable to breathe properly, Blink staggers towards them, eyes squinting. “Nasty quirk you got there,” he comments. “I’ll finish this one off. You two get the other one.”

“Oooh, can I kill him please? Can I? Can I? He was the one who rejected us before, and we never really forgot that.” That voice is beginning to ring in their head. They feel lightheaded.

“Better yet,” the other voice, the one with the patchwork skin, purrs out, “make him watch what’s about to happen to them.”

“You bastards! Don’t underestimate them! They’ll-” Katsuki, that’s Katsuki. He really believes in them, huh…?

Something sharp cuts into them. A strangled cry leaves them, the pain spreading. Knife deeply lodged into their side, Blink twists the blade in a slow semi-circle, darkly hushing, “That’s it. You can die like the rest of them did.”

“No,” they whisper weakly, horrified. Momo and Deku and Todoroki and the others, are they...? No, no way.

“Rest,” Blink commands, and sends another graceless stab into flesh and bone. Blood rises up their throat and spills from their mouth, small hics and gasps leaving them.

Memories flash through their head: the spot underneath the tree where they went to eat lunch with their friends, that night underneath the stars with Katsuki, making it to the top 20 in the Sports Festival, the internships, Katsuki’s confession, their mother’s gentle kiss on their forehead, their father’s smile when they showed them their test scores, Aizawa-sensei patting their head when they revealed they beat Katsuki in sparring, the first time Katsuki said ‘I love you’…

They’re left there to die.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Katsuki is victorious. Bone-shatteringly so. Every part of his body screams, blood obscuring his vision. Nothing feels right anymore. He can’t even get up to find [f/n], apologize for this wreck of a birthday.

The two delinquent villains have run off with their tails between their legs; after Blink was blinded, Katsuki took advantage of that and send explosion after explosion his way. Close combat sufficed more effective than keeping him at a distance, so that forced him to rely solely on instinct. He is pure instinct, though, raw and wild. Blink lays a few feet away, silent and unresponsive.

“[f/n],” he rasps out and rolls onto his side. His eyes try to focus but to no avail. Double vision. Great.

Silence.

“[f/n], where are you?”

Silence. Katsuki forces his eyes to focus. Their body is near, but it’s weird, it’s twisted wrong. And the blood suddenly blooming on their shirt…

“Hey,” he whispers and reaches out for them. A futile attempt. His arms scream in pain. He doesn’t care. His hand doesn’t even reach them. “Hey.”

Nothing.

He knows what this is. This is mortal life and how fragile it is. This is flesh, and bone, and how easy it must have been to rip apart. This is [f/n], laying their ungracefully, treated with no care. He knows what happened. He knows, his mind knows. But there’s just no way…

Katsuki army crawls towards them. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, but he remembers the look in their eyes, how scared they looked. He can’t just leave them alone. He remembers their hand shaking when he held it, he remembers that. He remembers the grassy field they lay on when they stargazed, and they said, It’s so beautiful, but he was staring at them and how fucking astounded they looked. It was just fucking stars in the sky but they looked so amazed that he couldn’t help but smile.

How did they look, in their last moments…? Scared? No, they must have put a brave front. That’s one of the things he fell in love with.

“Hey,” he wheezes out, finally by their side. Their eyes are open and blank, mouth slightly agape. Blood had poured from their mouth to their neck, an unholy sight. “f/n.”

Nothing.

“Hey,” he tries again.

Silence. Their eyes are hollow, unexpressive. He suddenly sees them in the hallways of U.A, laughing loudly at something Kirishima was saying. The sunbeams hit them the right way, and they looked at peace, they looked like how they should be: Happy. Safe.

Alive.

“… No, god, fuck,” he whispers, and his voice gives out. “No, f/n, no, no. Don’t tell me you had to…”

Die alone, like this.

“This is unacceptable,” he chokes out, and the tears build up in his eyes. His arms shakily reach out for them, pulling them into his weak embrace. No. They can’t die! How is he supposed to accept that? Their fucking birthday and they didn’t even get to experience anything yet, and his present, what about his present? How are they supposed to open it?

What about the rest of their lives? What about graduation? What about…?

A brilliant young hero is gone because Katsuki couldn’t fucking protect them. The person he loved died because he wasn’t strong enough.

The realization makes him heave, a shaky sob leaving him.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

When the authorities find him, Blink is captured successfully. Katsuki was still holding onto f/n at that time. He was congratulated for taking down such a strong villain, but it felt like static- like ice had overtaken his body. Victory didn’t feel like anything to him.

Everyone wept with him; their parents, their friends, their classmates. He caught Aizawa-sensei drinking alone, once. Katsuki left him be, reminded of how close [f/n] and sensei were.

The city never looked alive anymore afterwards.

#you can tell i struggled with this one a little bit #its been a while since i did angst #bnha #bnha x reader #mha imagines #mha x reader #bnha imagines #bakugou x reader #bakugou katsuki imagines #bakugo katsuki x reader

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sylvaniaschoolofmagic · 7 years

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A Quiet Moment

[Life is fast and tough and sometimes boys need their rest.]

Knuckles was an enigma of claws, long sideways glances, and mumbled, foreign words. Half of the time, Sonic didn’t get him, but he was used to going with the flow, watching as things cropped up before him and taking note of them. Sonic was perceptive, observant, everything common sense said he shouldn’t be, because if there was one thing he had time to do at the orphanage, it was watch the tourists. He was good at picking up subtle things, small eccentricities and habits that made people unique. In a different life, such a skill would probably save his life—being able to quickly pick up cues was a valuable thing—but, in this one, it just made him really obnoxiously attentive to those most important to him.

Right now, that was solely Knuckles, so he knew he could recognize every little tick of Knuckles’s head and shoulders, the way he rubbed his hands when he was nervous or worried, even judge the inflection in his voice. He could read Knuckles’s emotions like a book when he really tried, but he didn’t like to try all that often; made it unfair, plus he knew Knuckles hated it. The echidna wore his thoughts on his face most of the time and Sonic didn’t want to feel like he was intruding on something so sacred. So, he usually just pretended not to see, and it was working to an extent.

Still, even with all of that, he didn’t get Knuckles the way everyone else seemed to think he did. The teachers watched the way they interacted because Sonic was Knuckles’s first friend, the other students watched because they had never seen Knuckles laugh as freely as he did with Sonic, and the ghosts watched because they could see the death on Knuckles but also the life that Sonic brought out of him. Sonic was perceptive, sure, but he didn’t quite understand what made Knuckles tick, how he got up every morning with all the expectation and angst the world heaped on his shoulders. He admired Knuckles for it, but he couldn’t predict his actions or anything. Hell, most of the time he barely had time to pick up on his expression before Knuckles was punching him in the shoulder for a slip of the tongue.

Their friendship was hard and fast. Both outcasts, both lonely, both lost, both children without parents—it was a necessity, yes, but it was also a binding of two people who didn’t have anyone else. They clung to one another the way one clings to their parent’s leg, for safety but also for a tether to the planet.

But, after all that, that didn’t mean Sonic got Knuckles. The same way Knuckles probably didn’t get him. Motivation and decisions were opaque, but that made their friendship all the more interesting.

Today, for example, they were studying on a heap of pillows the Room of Requirement had summoned for them. Just to the right of the shrine, in the grass, they laid out on their stomachs, reciting facts to one another in order to hammer them in. Sure, Knuckles had heard all of Sonic’s muttering before and Knuckles’s were a year above Sonic’s head, but it helped, reciting them. They both had Charms exams coming up—trust Professor Robotnik to schedule tests for every year on the same day—and Sonic had the theory down pat even if he couldn’t really do most of the spells. Knuckles was the opposite. He was great with spell work, but he didn’t like reading—the Mobian swam on the page, he said, and he didn’t have time to focus on it when he had other things to worry about.

Eventually— Eventually Sonic ended up propped up on his back by a pile of pillows, Knuckles next to him. The echidna had been muttering to himself as he reread the book, but he eventually trailed off. Sonic didn’t think anything of it, but then Knuckles’s head lolled onto Sonic’s shoulder.

The hedgehog froze. Knuckles snored.

Sonic, a tactile person by birth, touch-starved by circumstance, felt every hair ripple up on his body because this was very close and very... Dare he say nice? He could feel Knuckles breathing against his shoulder, breath hot on his collarbone. He shook his head, almost jostling Knuckles, and the echidna grunted, eyes flickering open. Then, noticing his position, he jolted away, sputtering.

“Don’t worry about it,” Sonic muttered before Knuckles could even attempt to apologize.

“I—”

“I said don’t worry about it.”

“Nng,” Knuckles groaned. “I knew this would happen.”

Everything stopped for a second. “...What,” Sonic decided to say eventually.

“It’s a... thing... in my culture.”

“What? Laying your head on someone’s shoulder?” Sonic meant it as a joke, but Knuckles was giving him an expression that said very different. “Dude, this is gonna sound totally insensitive, but are we married by Echidna law now or something?”

The joke hit just the right spot. Just there, Knuckles’s lips quirked up, losing the tense worry. “No, of course not, it’s just that... We’re very aware of our surroundings at all times. Resting with another proves trust.”

“Oh, is that all?” Sonic waved a hand. “Like I said, don’t worry about it. I trust you too.”

Knuckles’s expression took on that pinched quality again. “Chaos,” he groaned, “this is so hard to explain without the words. You don’t just... put your head on someone else’s shoulder where I’m from.”

“Even in sleep? I feel like everything in sleep is excusable.”

“No, not even in sleep.”

A long beat of silence, like a bass drum, rumbled between them. “So, whose shoulder do you usually put your head on then?” Sonic ventured eventually because he just couldn’t take it. Knuckles wasn’t giving him any signs other than worry. Hell, he wasn’t even wringing his hands!

Knuckles shifted uncomfortably. “Those closest to you.”

Sonic could tell he needed some words to describe it. “Like a best friend?”

Knuckles nodded once, tightly. “Yeah, exactly like a best friend.”

Sonic felt something release in his chest then. “Dude, no worries. You’re my best friend too.”

Knuckles looked at him completely then and the look on his face was so openly relieved that Sonic felt a bit guilty just for seeing it. “Good,” Knuckles declared, and laid back on the pillows, dropping his head back onto Sonic’s shoulder.

It was totally a cultural thing and Sonic couldn’t feel awkward knowing that now. Softly, he closed the book resting on his knees, extended his legs out, and leaned his head so that it was touching the top of Knuckles’s, tentative.

It was the right thing to do. Knuckles relaxed completely and Sonic felt him drop into a deeper sleep as if by magic.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #knuckles #art #katie #writing #ashe #1st year #katie did the art ashe did the writing #i hammered this out real quick sorry if there's typos #i swear to you #this au is completely platonic #but we are also VERY aware that platonic cuddles are a Thing #don't let society's conditioning ruin this for us lmao

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mobius-prime · 4 years

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146. Sonic the Hedgehog #81

Two things before we get started. First, for whatever reason, for most of the duration of the Sonic Adventure arc starting now, everyone apparently just felt like being credited with only their last names, as well as not bothering to list who actually worked on what. Not sure why, and it makes it more annoying to try to credit everyone properly myself, but I think I got most of the names figured out properly. Second, this and many of the rest of the issues of this arc have a weird quirk with the lettering. Specifically, nearly a full quarter of the dialogue is printed not by hand, but by a computer, which is usually a sure sign that some dialogue or lore was changed in between the lettering process and the printing process. Of course, this happens from time to time with scattered lines here and there, and it's usually no big deal, which is why I haven't bothered mentioning it before now on the rare occasions when it's happened, but it's incredibly prevalent in these next few issues, and I'm not really sure why. Most of the changed lines have something to do with the worldbuilding or the specifics of the hidden city, so my best guess is that their explanations for everything they borrowed from the games and how it all fits into the preboot universe changed significantly halfway through the production process, and they had to change all references to those materials as a result. But no matter! Onto the story!

City of Dreams…

Writer: Bollers and J.F. Gabrie Pencils: FRY Colors: Gagliardo

Amy is still struck by wonder at her sudden age-up, but is shaken from her thoughts as she gazes into a reflective window by the exclamations of the rest of the group as they stand in the middle of the underground city. Pretty much all dialogue pertaining to the city being underground, and the specifics of how that works, are machine-lettered, making me think perhaps originally the city was above-ground and just hidden behind the mountain or something, and late in production they decided to change it to being an underground city in an artificially controlled environment. Anyway, as you might have guessed by now, this Hidden City of the Ancients is actually Station Square, and the group, looking very out of place amongst all the gawking Overlanders, quickly find themselves surrounded by police, who quickly drop their confrontational demeanor as soon as they recognize Nate standing amongst the Mobians.

Damn, Sally, eight months old? Are you including words like "googoo" and "dada" in that claim or were you really just that level of infant savant? The lieutenant escorts the group to the Station Square Hotel, where they spend the night, and in the morning the leader of Station Square, Mayor Bullyani, takes them on a tour of the city as he informs them that they've seen no sign of trouble around the place lately, though they appreciate the Freedom Fighters' concern about Robotnik's potential invasion. He invites them to explore for themselves, and while most of the group is content to stay aboard the Elerail…

…Sonic, Tails, and Amy all race off to do some solo exploring. Amy hits up the shopping mall, Tails does some aerial tricks in the Tornado above the city (being mindful of the false sky), and Sonic initially stops back at the hotel, intending to go off and find some "real excitement," but instead finds himself content to lounge next to the pool playing guitar for a gaggle of heart-eyed Overlander women in swimsuits. I gotta say, Sonic being drawn in by the attention bikini-clad women doesn't really seem very in character for him - it's not like he's ever been the ladies' man type - but eh, whatever. As the tour comes to a close, the mayor mentions that in fact, his people don't even call themselves "Overlanders," but "humans." Well then! Finally the H word has been spoken! I suppose this is just another way to differentiate themselves from the four-fingered Overlanders, and indeed, since the city is underground, it would indicate the term "Overlander" is actually more descriptive than previously thought - they literally live over the land.

I find it interesting that these guys have somehow remained so perfectly hidden that even Robotnik never troubled them until now. I mean, I guess in that regard their isolationism has worked well for them, although now that they've finally been found, we know trouble is on its way - or rather, chaos…

All You Need is a Bit of Chaos

Writer: Penders Pencils: Butler Colors: Gagliardo

Ey, speaking of! Robotnik is trying to "feed" the weakened Chaos with the shards of the Master Emerald he picked up before, but it only feebly wiggles, unable to grow very large. He decides to analyze one of the shards to find out why, and…

Well, maybe this is why you shouldn't have outright shattered the thing, Robotnik! I mean, how hard would it have been to just pick it up whole and haul it out of there? Now you've got useless green shards in your lab, all sorts of real emerald pieces scattered around the immediate geographical area, and a random piece of Chaos is missing to boot. Somehow, he already seems to know that this missing piece was absorbed into a frog, and thus sends out his E-series of robots to find it. Ah, so that's the explanation for Froggy's kidnapping! Of course, anyone who had played the game or watched the anime knew already that the robot that took Froggy was Gamma, which means the scene we're looking at now happened a little bit in the past.

At the current moment, Knuckles finds himself in the ruins excavated by Robotnik in the Mysterious Cat Country, finding them to look eerily similar to many of the ruins on the Floating Island and wondering if echidnas had a settlement here too in the past. He happens to stumble upon a few Master Emerald shards, and tucks them away to take with him as he searches, though he seems to feel a chill as though someone is watching him… For now, though, we cut to a boat sailing the choppy sea waves, with four familiar faces on board, guarded by those angry-looking kitties from before!

Maybe because you haven't said a thing till now, lady? She has her guards usher the captives along while she walks ahead to an ornate building in the jungle, saying she's going to fetch the queen. However, once she's inside, another cat addresses her as "majesty" and hands her a cloak, which she dons, saying she intends to interrogate her prisoners as to their intentions. It's not made very clear here from the dialogue, but essentially, in the culture of these cats, clothing dictates ones role in society, meaning that she truly wasn't the queen until she put on the cloak. It's explained more in a far future issue, but for now, that much will do, I suppose.

A Rose Plucked

Writer: Bollers Pencils: Allan Colors: Gagliardo

Amy hasn't bothered meeting up with the rest of her group yet, enjoying the freedom that being older affords her, no longer needing a babysitter. She's brought back down to earth, however, when she looks up only to see a small green bird being shot at by several robots. One of the shots clips the bird, which lands on her head.

She deduces that these must be Eggman's robots, and - wait, Eggman? That's right - now that we've reached this arc, Robotnik officially begins to switch his name to Eggman in most cases! There are still a few instances here and there where he gets referred to as Robotnik, but for the sake of simplicity, from now on Robotnik is the original dictator who died in Endgame, while Eggman is our current metallic foe. The robot Amy's confronting advances on her, and in her anger, a hammer suddenly poofs into her free hand. She's surprised but doesn't miss a beat, smashing the robot upside the head and sending it flying.

Well that's certainly a departure from the game - more than one Zero, huh? The two robots grab her and fly away with her kicking and yelling in their grip, and the bird, left behind, decides to attempt to rescue her as she did for it, flying determinedly after her. Wait, if the robots were initially after the bird, why did they leave it behind to grab Amy instead…? Ah, never mind, this scene hardly even makes sense in the game itself, let alone the comic.

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 81 #writer: karl bollers #writer: justin f gabrie #writer: ken penders #pencils: james fry #pencils: steven butler #pencils: chris allan #colors: frank gagliardo

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jenniferasberryus · 4 years

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Why Sonic Is the Perfect Mascot for Gen Z

Ever since the film based on the Genesis’ Sonic games got regenerated for Gen Zs, it’s got me thinking: “Gen Z’s” sounds a lot like “Genesis.” But, beyond that, it’s got me thinking about the ever-improving system we have in place for marketing nostalgia to Millenials, while also trying to convince new clusters of Gen Z kids to embrace these characters and franchises as their own.

Marvel comics became the MCU, the Star Wars continue unabated, and everyone’s so aware that we’re living in recycled times that... that’s all I’m really going to say about it. What’s interesting to me is just how perfect Sonic the Hedgehog is as a vehicle for this kind of weaponized nostalgia, and how he’s served as a measure of our relationship to coolness for three generations now.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=sonic-the-hedgehog-a-visual-history-of-segas-mascot&captions=true"]

Obviously, by casting Jim Carrey in a wacky role and re-doing the CG to make Sonic look more like his classic self, the filmmakers aren’t shying away from appealing to fond Millenial memories (you know, for money!). But Sonic remains primarily a kids’ movie, and thinking about the ways that today’s young people may relate to the blue blur made me realize that Sonic said a lot more about the Millennial generation than we realized - whether he intended to or not - and he sheds light on some of the things that connect us across time, no matter our generation...except for the Boomers, who I guess we all hate now? Is that the meme? Regardless, to understand why Sonic is the fuzzy multi-generational mirror that he is, we’re going to need...

A Bit of a History Lesson

To be clear, I’m considering a Baby Boomer someone born between 1950 and 1965, a Gen X-er someone born between ‘65 and ‘80, a Millenial someone born between ‘80 and ‘95 (prime Sonic age), and a Gen Z-er anyone born after 1995.

When Sonic was initially released in 1991, I was six years old, and “being cool” was super important both to myself and all of my peers (except for the kid who brought a gavel to school every day). What I think younger folks today might not understand is that this quest for coolness was not about authenticity, individuality, or any kind of meta-awareness of our identities. We weren’t “cool,” we were Cool™, and Coolness™ was defined by brands, something most of us didn’t grow up with the media-savvy to question. It was about being in a minority product vertical: skateboarding, black clothes, skitchin’, rap and/or punk rock on MTV, and unironically spelling the word “extreme” with a capital X.

[widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=9-corporate-ad-games-that-didnt-suck&captions=true"]

Speaking of irony, I’d argue that the ’90s were the decade where Detached Irony was born, grew up, got perfected as chronicled in the 1995 Alanis Morisette song “Ironic,” and, in a sense, died. Irony is a toy we make memes with nowadays, but it used to be what we used to identify ourselves as - we were misfits who were “over it,” and therefore cooler than you. You were Coke, we were Pepsi. Flash forward twenty years and I’d call myself more of a Blueberry Acai caffeine-free Diet Coke guy; my point being that identity issues have gotten more complex over the years. And Sonic has all of that wrapped up in his fur. Needles? His…hedgehog...texture.

The ’90s were a gaming landscape dominated by Mario: a fat, middle-aged human who focuses primarily on jumping. This made Sonic feel like pure, uncut, corporate-designed cool in a way that immediately juiced the X-centers of my brain. If you were a Sega kid, you felt indie, edgy, a little more Pitchfork than your Nintendo playmates. Sonic focused on going fast, his head had Liberty Spikes, and he was such a crude, rude, awesome dude that if you stopped playing for a few seconds he’d look right into camera and give you the stink eye for wasting his time.

Amazingly, none of that seemed corny to us at the time. Sonic’s Cool was genuine and accepted by his fans with a naivete born of the mono-media culture of the ’70s and ’80s, and which has been slowly decaying ever since Fonzie jumped the shark. These days it’s almost been completely dispelled as the internet and other technologies drive us to be more aware of the systems around us from a younger and younger age.

Considering that, it’s no coincidence that the 90’s saw the ascendance of grunge music, pop-punk, an explosion in goth culture, the advent of “The Gritty Reboot,” and popular films with nihilism as a central theme. As a culture, we became obsessed with the “fakeness” of all the sheeple around us — irony became a way to interact with the broader world, and a signature part of the Gen X and Millenial attitude. Suddenly we were only interested in bands that hadn’t “sold out” yet, and anyone who didn’t think everything sucked was probably a phony.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2015/10/14/history-of-awesome-1998"]

In that environment, Sonic’s cool started to taste a little Chemical Zone-ey, a little factory-produced. Although the fact that his transition to 3-D graphics was far less graceful than Mario’s was definitely a factor, as a pop-cultural icon Sonic had to shift gears, too. The first Sonic TV show, essentially a kid’s comedy, was canceled and replaced with a much more action-packed and serious take on the Battle for Mobius (if you didn’t know, Sonic’s from a planet called Mobius in the year 3235, but it’s best not to question it).

During the same period, Sonic stopped moving merch, and Sega announced their retirement from the console wars. Which finally brings us to Gen Z, the generation that’s proud to be themselves and frankly doesn’t give a f**k what you think about it.

Sonic & Gen Z (or... Zennials or… Whatever You/They Want to Call Your/Themselves)

These days, truly being yourself, unique, authentic… just you, is huge business. Youtube and Twitch are filled with child billionaires who lean into their personality quirks and are loved specifically for that reason. Also some racism. But the bigger point is, in the new normal, ironic detachment isn’t nearly as valuable. It’s actually cooler, these days, to be into something than to be over something. Young people feel more empowered to simply like what they like, which makes it an ideal time for Sonic to re-enter the fray.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/12/sonic-the-hedgehog-old-and-new-design-comparison"]

None of this is to say the movie will definitely do well (or even be good), but as a Sonic fan for life, it’s been interesting to watch him go from cool, to corporatized and “fake”, to “kinda corny and silly and… still fake, but that’s what’s funny about it.” The whole debacle with the initial CG Sonic reveal speaks to that...the filmmakers tried to make Sonic “realistic” and the internet said, “No you idiots, he’s a cartoon rascal that thinks he’s too cool for school, just let him be that!”

Gen Z is the first generation of humans to have grown up fully immersed in a digitally-enhanced society. Everyone is able to indulge their interests and hobbies much more thoroughly now, which has resulted in a galaxy of fragmented fan-bases and communal identities that make the “Are you a Sega person or a Nintendo person?” question seems quaint by comparison.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/01/why-are-there-no-good-video-game-movies"]

Nowadays, someone isn’t just a Nintendo or Sega player - they’re an anime cosplayer with an interest in tabletop gaming, or a maker of pixel-beats who crochets Star Wars scarves on Etsy in their spare time. The pop culture landscape is richer. Case in point: there were 130 more movies released in the US in 2018 than in 2017, and the number of scripted TV series’ have increased by 85% since 2011. In such a dynamic environment, generalizations are tough to make, but there is a lot of statistical data on Gen Z folks -- mostly marketing data about buying trends, because Capitalsim™ -- that I think bodes well for the possibility of a Sonic Renaissance.

Environmental Consciousness

Gen Z kids are more concerned about pollution, sustainability, and conservancy than any previous generation. Sonic the Hedgehog’s arch-nemesis is a boomer in a non-self-driving vehicle who’s here to automate all the flowers and animals and build a giant factory.

Fiscal Responsibility

Gen Z-ers are notoriously thrifty, more likely to work a series of freelance jobs or change careers frequently, and always looking for bargains or a place to live that they can actually afford. Sonic the Hedgehog hoards gold rings and emeralds and is in danger of being gentrified out of his neighborhood.

Cord-Cutters

Gen Z is the generation that “cut the cable,” and consumes most of their content on their mobiles, seeing screens as essentially interchangeable and TV as outdated. Sonic destroys hundreds of old-fashioned TVs every game and is mobility incarnate.

Data Protection

Gen Z places less emphasis on the importance of personal privacy. Sonic wears gloves and shoes but no pants.

Ethically-Sourced…Chili Dogs?

Gen Z is consuming far less meat than previous generations. Sonic loves chili dogs, which is a tube of several kinds of meat with ground-up meat on top. Okay, that one doesn’t work. Um...

Blue Hair

I’ve been seeing lots of kids with blue hair lately? What’s up with that?

Let’s see, how can I sound older than I already do? Oh! Bidets? No thank you! What’s all this fuss lately about bidets and bidet seat add-ons? I’ll stick to good old-fashioned American-made two-ply, thank you very much! Now, in my day, we had the Virtual Boy, and he was my best friend and oh my, the times we’d have…

[poilib element="accentDivider"]

Editor’s Note: Michael just kept typing out SNES titles until he got sleepy. We put a blanket over him to make sure he didn’t get cold.

What’s your take on Sonic these days? Corporate Shill or Moderately Funny In Sort of a Kitschy Way Corporate Shill? Let us know in the comments, or to really see how far the internet has fallen, check out what happens when you put the creepy old CG sonic’s teeth on other game characters.

from IGN Video Games https://www.ign.com/articles/2020/01/09/why-sonic-is-the-perfect-mascot-for-gen-z via IFTTT from The Fax Fox https://thefaxfox.blogspot.com/2020/01/why-sonic-is-perfect-mascot-for-gen-z.html

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chaosworthyarchive · 4 years

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5.06.3226 Location ¦ Scrap Brain

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The sound of the bedroom door opening caused Mina to look up from her phone, and upon seeing exactly who she expected she broke into a smile. She always had found Sonic pretty adorable first thing in the morning (or the start of the afternoon in this case) when he was still just waking up, messy quills and all. Something about it was almost innocent, so unlike his typical casual self, that she couldn’t help but adore it.

Which accounted for the smile on her face as he walked into the kitchen to join her, though it was accompanied by a raised brow before too long. “So this sleeping in thing really is normal for you, huh?”

It took just a little longer than she expected to get an answer, obviously the hero’s brain wasn’t quite up to speed yet, but he returned the quirk, soft smile and all. “You’re just now figuring this out? Almost two years int' this?”

Mina stuck her tongue out at him, but wasted little time closing the space between them. With one hand carefully tracing along the jagged scar on his chest, though never touching the mark, it soon raised to cup a tan cheek gently, her smile unwavering. “No, I’m just saying maybe you ought to try to go to bed at a normal time every once in a while. I miss you at breakfast.”

It was the last words that made the hedgehog's smile turn into something more apologetic, even as he reached up to bring their lips together in a gentle kiss. “I wish it were that easy.”

The response didn’t exactly surprise the mongoose, the hedgehog had been a night owl for as long as she had known him but not necessarily by choice. A part of her had hoped that would have changed when things settled down but it hadn’t. It hadn’t gotten any worse, luckily, but it still worried her at times.

“Everything’s okay though, right?” She had to ask, even if she had predicted the look he gave her as he turned to pull the kettle out of the cupboard. In return, she gave him a pointed look. “Hey, it’s my job as your girlfriend to check every once in a while, okay?”

Sonic seemed to consider that for a few seconds before making an off gesture with his free hand. “Alright, alright. Fair enough. Everything’s fine, I promise.”

There was a slight pause after that, a thoughtful look coming to his face as he sincerely considered the question, a grateful tone slipping into his voice as his lips quirked. “Better than fine, really. Things are pretty great, all things considered.”

It was said in such an earnest manner that Mina, caught off-guard, didn’t know what to say after, she could only stare for a few seconds as the hedgehog went about filling the kettle and putting it on the stove to heat up. It wasn’t until he turned to grab the tin of tea they kept on the counter that Sonic noticed both the silence, and the look she was giving him, and quirked a brow. “What?”

Mina smiled, perhaps a little too brightly, as jades met emeralds with a content air. “Nothing, it’s just…nice to see you like this, that’s all.”

“...Like what, exactly?”

“Yourself.” It was simple, matter of fact, and when Sonic looked none the wiser the mongoose took it onto herself to explain, smile steadfast. “Ya know, without the whole hero ‘stigma’ and all the crap that comes with it. I mean...I know that’s who you are but it’s nice to see you be - I don’t know, normal? - every once in a while.”

“And here I thought you’d be the last person t’ ever call me normal,” the quip came with a feigned shock, and the hedgehog only chuckled at the playful glare that followed. Though, after a few seconds, some of that mirth seemed to die away as he looked back to the kettle. “’Sides, I’m not sure the title really fits when people aren’t that fond of me anymore.”

Mina scoffed, a sound that was almost bitter though the scorn wasn’t directed at the hedgehog. “Don’t be ridiculous, of course it does. It doesn’t change the fact that you’ve saved the world and more than half the people on it, does it?”

Sonic didn’t answer, and she knew exactly why. He was right, after all. Ever since the fight with Chaos, ever since that day in the city, things had changed. People were scared, and some (if not most) of that fear was directed at the hedgehog himself, and it sucked. She hated it and, deep down, she knew he did too. That brave face couldn’t fool her.

Reaching over she grabbed one of his hands, fingers intertwining with his and he looked back at her as she offered a soft smile. “Do you really regret it? Saving Chaos, I mean.”

It took a moment before the hedgehog shook his head, this time with a conviction. “Of course not. I regret a lot of things but that’s not one of them.”

“Like what?” The question was almost automatic, asked before the mongoose could bite her tongue, and yet, at the same time, she found she didn’t want to. She wasn’t wholly surprised to learn that her boyfriend had regrets, everyone did after all, but it was rare he brought them up, or even hinted at the fact. “What do you regret?”

Sonic gave her a look, a silent warning. “This is not a road you want t' go down, believe me.”

“Why? It’s not like it involves me, besides I’m curious.” There was something in the mongoose’s voice that said she wasn’t going to force the conversation. Or, rather, that would have been the case if not for the look that came over the hedgehog’s face next.

She was pretty sure that was guilt, and she didn’t like it.

“Wait...it does involve me, doesn’t it?” She already knew the answer, knew it by the silence that lingered after the fact and she pouted, only half reassured when Sonic gave her an apologetic smile, both hands raised in reassurance.

“’S not what you think, I promise.”

“Then enlighten me. What is it about?”

“It’s...” Sonic paused, this time with a frown as he thought his words over. Though he had to wonder why because no matter how he spun them in his head they still sounded wrong but he took the dive anyway, giving the mongoose a defeated look. “I mean, let’s face it Mina, ‘s not like our relationship started on the best of terms. I guess I just regret…acting on impulse. It was kind of a grimy thing t' do, even you can’t deny that much.”

Comfort wasn’t quite the expression he had expected from her but it was the next look to come over the singer’s face, and he was only partially surprised when she didn’t sigh in relief to add to the appeal. Instead, she smiled at him with understanding, and just a hint of playfulness in her eyes. “Okay, so we don’t have the most romantic story, so what? In case you forget it takes two to tango, Blue, and I’m definitely not complaining about the end result. Besides, we were teenagers, convinced we were alone in the world and we needed someone to show us differently. It was just a roll of the dice that led us both to that club that night, it could have been anyone, but I’m glad it wasn’t.”

Even though she was technically right, Sonic didn’t look convinced. In fact, Mina would almost say he looked ashamed and this time she did sigh, shaking her head. She couldn’t count how many times she had tried to convince him that their night together hadn’t been a mistake, that it was a companionship they had both so desperately needed at the time, but this time she wasn’t letting it go. This time, she had an ace.

“I, personally, choose to think it was a stroke of good luck that night,” she continued, and her tone suggested nothing different. “If it hadn’t happened, we never would have met, never would have become friends, and we never would have gotten here. That’s something to be glad for, isn’t it?”

She was glad when she saw her boyfriend's lips twitch. Even he knew he couldn’t argue with that one, and he relented. “Yeah, you got me there.”

Silence lingered for a moment more, not uncomfortable but clearly one of reflection, and it was only broken when the kettle started to whistle, turning the hedgehog's attention to it. It was only after Sonic saw to it and finished making his tea that he turned to the mongoose again, his tone curious. “So you really don’t have any regrets? About any of it?”

Mina had to resist the urge to roll her eyes, and she only managed to do so because of the straightforward look in the hedgehog’s eyes. It was like he needed confirmation, in spite of everything that had been said so far, and she gladly smiled at him.

“How could I? It was a pretty good night,” her tone kept that playful air but there was pure honesty in her eyes as she took both his hands in hers, squeezing them reassuringly. For a moment, she looked away, almost embarrassed by what she was going to admit, but saying it regardless. It was about time she got it out anyway. “Besides, as far as I know, it’s still our little secret and, not to be cheesy or anything, but...there’s not a lot of things out there that’ve come close to that night, or you in general, for me.”

Be it out of embarrassment or doubt, Sonic snorted. “I’m flattered.”

“Sonic, I mean it.” This time there was little room for argument in the mongoose’s tone and it was enough that the hedgehog fell oddly silent, head cocked in a sign for her to go on. He knew it had to be something serious because Mina hesitated, looking down at the ground between them uncertainly, a rare expression for the singer to have.

This time, it was Sonic who squeezed in reassurance, the action enough to get the mongoose to look at him again and she found that she had his undivided attention. It really only made her more nervous but she had brought the conversation up, so she knew she had to finish it. It just sounded so...bad in her head and she had to look away again before taking a breath and speaking. “I’ve...had a handful of terrible times with some pretty terrible people, and those I regret. The fact we spent one night together and I couldn’t get you out of my damn head says something. And before you say it, it had nothing to do with what we did...well not entirely, it was about everything before, and after, that.”

Sonic hadn’t had it in him to even think such a thing, namely because he knew she was right. He wasn’t an idiot, he knew that, unlike himself, the mongoose had been in other relationships before him but they never seemed to pan out (not that he was in a position to complain) and he knew that, for some odd, unexpected reason, they did work. He was grateful for that.

It was something that made a little more sense when she continued, awkward tone or not. “Up until then people had always been treating me like I was some kind of..., hell, I don’t know. Like some sort of goddess and not like a normal person, and I thought that maybe I was just being stupid, or overthinking, or something like that, but it didn't take me long after the last one to realize it had nothing to do with them. It was you.”

To that, the hedgehog blinked. It hadn’t been said in a bad way, just the opposite, and when the mongoose did finally turn back to him he saw nothing but earnest adoration on her face, despite the embarrassment she was still feeling. Yet, the smile she turned to him was readily returned, which only made it that much brighter.

“I didn’t realize that I was so disappointed with everyone else because they weren’t you. They were always nice at first but then they were either too intimidated by me or what I was, or just in it for the publicity. But you never changed,” she told him, pausing only for a moment to rethink her words and give a small shrug. “Well, I mean, you did, but you were still the same guy despite that. Even years later we still talked like normal people, we were still friends with a lot more in common than anyone really realized and, maybe it was dumb, but after I realized that I…wanted to wait. I wanted us to take a fair shot at this.”

Much to his own amazement, the hero felt something give away inside him and he reached out to mirror his partner's early gesture, cupping her cheek with a bare hand as he looked at her fondly. “I picked up on that part, believe it or not. I’ll never know how you managed t’ wait so long, but...I’m glad you did. I don’t say it enough but...I think you were one of the few things keeping me grounded this whole time.”

Mina was the one to look shocked this time, though it was in a grateful way. It was like she had said, despite their differences and different choices in careers, they still had a lot in common, and that was something they had found out that night and every day they had talked since. Their love of music was one thing, a strong thing, but it was the weight of being famous that they had truly bonded over. It was that pressure, the weight to be perfect, that they both hated, and it was always the first thing they dropped when they were around each other. That had meant the world to her, and him, but there was more to it and the sullen expression that came to Sonic’s face told that fact very clearly, his eyes locked on her’s with certainty.

“You’re right, y’know. Back then…I didn’t have anyone, or anything. Not after I got back.” After he got back from The Canyon, that was. It was a time in his life the hero would never forget, no matter how much he wanted to. It had been his all-time low for a number of reasons, and he had hit rock bottom just a few weeks before meeting the mongoose.

And that was when everything had started to change.

“You were the first person in a long time who wanted t' bother with me and…that helped me out a lot. T’ be honest, I didn’t expect you t’ stick around after that night but I’m glad you did,” he smiled again, brightly and this time he looked just a tad embarrassed. “Not t’ get too cheesy either, an’ I know it sounds awful, but I was kind of hoping you’d wait. Believe it or not, I think…I might have fallen for you pretty hard that night, and not for the obvious reasons, but with everything else I didn’t want t' start something I didn’t think I’d be around t' finish.”

“It doesn’t sound awful at all,” she countered without hesitation and, giving into emotion, she brought their lips together for the second time that morning. It conveyed all her feelings at the moment, and when they parted, her eyes shone with appreciation. “And I’m glad we waited. I’m glad we get to spend time together like this and not having to worry about looking over our shoulders all the time. Now if I could get you back to playing guitar, everything would be perfect.”

The last part was a joke, a small chuckle leaving the singer before she wrapped her arms around the hero with no signs of letting go anytime soon. Which was perfectly okay since it didn’t take the hedgehog long at all to return the gesture with the same fervor, and while silence did reign for a few more seconds, there was one last thing the hedgehog needed to point out as the mongoose’s last words hung in the air.

“Everything already is.”

#give a little time to me | queue #// long as hell per usual; also not super important #// just a little insight on their relationship~#everything has changed | update #all that you are is all that i'll ever need | main ship #mina | guest stars

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