#Game Shadow is pretty decent all things considered

[speedofsoundsketches]

I keep seeing criticisms of poor modern interpretations of Shadow as "Vegeta Shadow" and it's confusing because.... which Vegeta are y'all talking about here? You've seen DBZ or Super, right??

Vegeta was overly aggressive and a downright villain up until the Cell saga and partially the Buu Saga. His character arc led to becoming a family man, a friend and fellow protector of Earth. Shadow's initial concept was always meant to be the Vegeta to Sonic's Goku, it's in his original concept art sketch notes. Take Vegeta's arc as a whole and it fits Shadow's pretty neatly from antagonistic enemy -> aggressive rival -> well-adjusted, even friendly equal.

When Shadow's antagonistic with Sonic and co, it's usually because he's on a mission and perceives them as in his way, like his battle against Knuckles in Rivals.

But most of the times after 06, in Rivals, Generations, Forces, TSR, the TSR animations or Sonic Channel's short stories, he's often dismissive, maybe even abrasive, but not an ego-driven jerk. Sonic does agitate and annoy him, just not enough to the point he'll attack for that reason alone. He'd usually just prefer running off if he's ticked off enough. Unless there's a need to start a fight, he won't and is pretty composed otherwise. In fact, Shadow's good-natured enough that when Sonic's challenging him to a fun race or suggests they work together, he's willing to take him up on it without much arguing.

Are people mixing up their criticisms of Boom Shadow with Game Shadow? Because criticizing HIM for being a quarter-inch deep Pre-Cell Vegeta makes more sense but he's barely related to Game Shadow. Boom Shadow doesn't even HAVE a tragic backstory in the context of that series. He's just a brooding weirdo who lives alone in dank caves and has zero reason on why he's like that.

Anyway, I think calling poor portrayals "Vegeta Shadow" is a misnomer and missing the root of the problem. If they are trying to make him like Vegeta, seems they're only going off very early-Vegeta. It's most likely short-sighted writers only referencing SA2 to ShTH Shadow believing that's his entire character arc, ignoring Battle, 06 or anything else after that. :/

#shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #text #ramble #Zoomer Sonic #It's one of the strangest complaints I see for Shadow because it doesn't add up in the games #Game Shadow is pretty decent all things considered #The guy even went to Sonic's birthday and hung out with the gang after Forces so he's not against hanging out entirely lol #Shadow can be a tough character to write for because he's got unique nuances that separate him from Vegeta #But it's not that hard to watch his whole story-line throughout the games and see what he's about #Also I guess it seems IDW Shadow took notes more from Boom than the games so I guess that's also where this came up #oof #Boomer Sonic

[drysaladandketchup]

Mattdrai and 14 please for the Game. Thank you 💜

Thank you, anon! Once again I have failed to understand the word 'mini'. Seriously never ask me to write something short I don't know how to anymore. I hope it's to your liking :)

14. things you said after you kissed me

He expects a lot of things when he walks into the airport toting his life behind him in a suitcase: the drone of hundreds of voices, the inevitable bustle of bodies, brightly lit screens flashing so much information it makes your head spin, lines, because there's always lines everywhere for everything, the smell of fifteen different coffee shops vying for traveller's attention. Fuck knows he's going to need one of those soon.

What he doesn't expect is to be grabbed mid-yawn as he's on his way to check his luggage. If he was already jittery about the move before, he nearly has a heart attack now when a hand latches onto his bicep and drags him into a shadowy alcove, half-concealed by a thick pillar.

Matthew's brain very unhelpfully provides him with the image of being mugged before he's even out of Calgary. Pissed off fans angry he's leaving for bright, sunny, warm-all-year-round Florida, perhaps? Some even more pissed off Edmontonian who saw he was leaving and came down here thinking now's my chance? He wouldn't put it past some of them.

He's not too far off the mark with that last one. When he rips his arm free and spins to face his assailant, he laughs right in their face.

"Jesus, dude, you look like a stalker."

In fairness, Leon usually dresses pretty decent. But right now he's in plain jeans and a thick, unassuming pull-over sweater--it's fucking summer in Calgary, who does that?--with the hood pulled up over a snap-back, head ducked low so the brim hides part of his face.

"Didn't want to be recognized," Leon says, somewhat defensively, like he's only now realising how very conspicuous he looks in a place like this.

"I got that." Matthew checks his phone. He's got a bit of time for... for whatever this is, so he sets his stuff down and leans against the wall across from Leon. It only puts a couple feet of space between them.

"What are you doing here?"

Leon tugs the hood and hat off his head, runs fingers through his hair. It's still pretty long--Leon's let it grow since the spring, and Matthew has very distinct memories of running fingers through it--but it's also uncharacteristically messy. He doesn't look entirely focused, either; there's shadows under his eyes.

"I came to see you," Leon says.

Suddenly, Matthew really wishes he wasn't here. Either of them. It's been two weeks since they've seen each other, since Matthew broke the news. Not that it was Leon's business. They weren't... weren't anything. Not partners, anyways. Not really. And this was Matthew's choice, his career, his future he was considering. That had to come first.

But now Leon's here, and Matthew has never wanted to run so badly in his life. This didn't feel like running before. The earth could split open and swallow him whole, and it would be kinder than that look on Leon's face, all anger and desperation and confusion and... God, he looks so fucking tired.

It's a 9am flight to Florida. It's just past six now. The sun's barely up.

"Have you slept at all?" Matthew asks, instead of a million other questions.

Leon shoves his hands in the pocket of his sweater and shakes his head. "I couldn't."

"So you drove all the way down here."

"Don't sound so surprised."

"Hard not to be when you haven't talked to me in weeks."

Leon's mouth twists. Slumped back against the wall, curled in on himself, it may be one of the few times Matthew could ever say he looks small. Fragile.

Sighing, Leon finally, finally looks Matthew in the eye. He's not scowling like the last time they met, the night he stood in Matthew's doorway and told him he didn't understand anything before storming out of Matthew's life.

"I thought we should talk. Before you go," Leon says.

Matthew does understand, now. He put it together staring at Leon's back as he disappeared into the night. He knows why Leon's really here. What he really means.

I wanted to see you.

It's amazing how many people say Leon is hard to read. He's always been an open book to Matthew, even when he was snapping and bearing his teeth. All his emotions spilling from the pages.

"Okay." Matthew swallows. "We can talk."

Neither of them does, for a minute. They stare at each other, through each other. Remembering. Committing all the little details to memory. Matthew's palms tingle with the urge to touch.

"You kissed me," Leon finally says, "then said you were leaving."

Yeah, not Matthew's finest moment, if he's being honest. But he didn't know what else to do. There was already so much turmoil around the trade and the shit going on with the Flames.

And then there was Leon. There was no way it wouldn't be gruesome.

"How long did you know?" Leon's voice is rigid, but still calm. "Would you actually have told me, if I hadn't come to see you?"

A year ago, yeah, he would have said it was none of Leon's damn business. Why would he care? But they've come a long way since then. Farther than Matthew could have anticipated. Farther than he realised, until he was staring at Leon's retreating back and silently begging him to turn around, to come back, to stay.

Of course Matthew was going to tell him. He's not an asshole. But that's not what this is about.

"Does it really matter?"

"It matters to me."

"You're not here because you're pissed I didn't tell you sooner."

He knows why Leon's here, and he knows why part of him is stupidly happy Leon is here. Even if nothing will change.

"Did you even think about how I'd--" Leon groans, scratches at the back of his head.

"I did," Matthew says, because it's the truth. Of course he thought about Leon. How could he not?

Leon's gaze drops to the floor, and he grits out, "Fuck. I wanted to do this better."

Matthew can practically hear time ticking by. His heartbeat makes a good clock, thudding away in his chest.

"What is this, Leon? What do you want?"

Dangerous question. Leon could say a million things that would make Matthew's entire resolve waver. If they're not done, if there's even a sliver of hope...

But Leon doesn't say anything. Instead he steps forward, cups Matthew's face between his hands, and kisses him. Not rough or desperate. There's no urgency. It's slow and deep and bruising, and Matthew melts into it because he could never do anything else, and Leon holds tight like he thinks Matthew will disappear if he doesn't.

It's an apology and a confession. It's not the first time they've kissed, but it may be the first time it's been an honest one.

It doesn't last long. Matthew barely has time to taste it, savour it, get a fistful of Leon's hoodie like he's the one threatening to leave. There's a moment as Leon pulls back where Matthew thinks he's imagined it all. Where it feels like something precious is slipping between his fingers.

But no, Leon's still there when he opens his eyes, pressed from hip to chest, noses brushing, beard catching Matthew's freshly shaved cheek. Hot breathes mingle between their mouths.

"Would you stay," Leon whispers, hand sliding back to tangle through Matthew's curls, "if I asked?"

He didn't ask the night Matthew told him. He was too angry, too upset. It took Matthew too long to realise why, to recognise what he was seeing on Leon's face was heartbreak.

But they both know the answer. Still, Matthew closes his eyes and takes the luxury of thinking about it. Considers the possibilities.

"Would you actually ask?" he says.

Leon's fingers curl around the back of Matthew's neck. "If I thought you'd actually say yes."

"But you won't."

"No."

"Because you know I won't."

"I know."

"It's not you."

"I know." Leon steps back only as far as Matthew's grip on his hoodie will allow. "Fuck, you don't make things easy."

Matthew chuckles. "When have I ever? You're not winning any awards either."

Leon scoffs.

"Still," Matthew says. "This is better than what you said to me the first time we kissed."

"What did I say?"

"Pretty sure it was, 'Get the fuck out of my arena.' And something about hoping I lose my next game."

Leon smirks. Doesn't look even a little sorry. "And did you lose your next game?"

"Fuck off." Matthew shoves his shoulder, unable to keep a grin from tugging at his mouth.

He looks away only long enough to straighten out his shirt and run a hand through his hair, but when he looks back, Leon isn't smiling anymore, and his brows are pulled low.

"I really fucked up my timing, huh?"

Matthew winces. "Just a little, yeah." Makes two of us. He's about to say more but Leon waves a hand.

"But you were going to leave anyways, I know. I got it."

"Leon--"

"I'm not here to stop you. I just wanted to... you know."

I don't want this to be over. I want to make this work.

Still an open book.

Matthew angles his head, forces Leon's eyes back to him, staring right into that mystifying grey-blue that always reminded him of a thunderstorm. Everything about Leon kind of reminds him of one. What does that make Matthew? A whirlwind? A hurricane? Storms, both of them.

"Yeah. Yeah, okay." Matthew steps closer, crowding Leon against the wall this time. They may not have known what they were doing before, but Matthew knows what he wants now.

Leon must have found his answer too, because he kisses Matthew again, no less meaningful than the last, pulling Matthew into his body, into his hands, his mouth. Breathing his air and tasting his tongue, giving and taking until they're light-headed and fitting pieces of each other together.

"You better not be fucking with me, Draisaitl," Matthew pants out once he's got his breath back.

He doesn't get far before he's pulling Leon to him, into his arms, getting the bulk of him in a crushing hug. And Leon hugs him back, a deep laugh rumbling right in Matthew's ear and fingers carving into his back. That's answer enough.

Somehow, Matthew is strong enough to let go. And just like that the world is moving again. He's too aware of everything outside their little alcove, so loud and invasive. He's running out of time. His future's waiting for him down south.

When they step back out into bright lights and bustling strangers, Leon's got his hat and hood back on, keeping his head tilted low. He doesn't stray far, bumping Matthew's arm every so often as he walks with him through luggage check and down towards the gates.

They get to security, and for the first time since the trade decision was made, Matthew hesitates. This is what he wanted. What he still wants. What he needs. The only variable left is...

Leon has stopped a few steps behind, leaving Matthew stranded and alone. He turns back around to find Leon watching him silently. They may as well be the only ones in the world, the way his vision tunnels.

"Well," Matthew says, words clogging his throat. "Guess I'll... see you around. We'll talk. I'll call, or..."

"I'm serious, Matthew." His name always sounds beautiful and dangerous on Leon's tongue. "About this. You and me."

And fuck, Matthew's only human. He drops his bag, marches back over to Leon and tugs him into another kiss. He nearly knocks the hat off Leon's head with the force, crushing his lips and clacking their teeth together. It doesn't even matter if people see them.

One more time. Just one more. Until they can see each other again.

"I know." Matthew shudders against Leon's eager mouth, kissing the smile that breaks out under his lips. "I want to try us too."

He swallows the strangled sound that comes up from Leon's throat, tipsy with it, like he's getting drunk just from this. Is that possible? Fuck knows, but he sure as hell wants to find out one day.

Matthew jerks back, breathless, hot-cheeked, and beaming.

"And I'm gonna be fucking great."

If Leon wasn't slack-jawed, if they weren't the them they are now, he would have chirped Matthew to high hell. If they were on the ice he'd probably put Matthew into the boards just for fun.

But the Leon here and now only scoffs, shaking his head like he's been well and truly defeated. Then he smiles.

"Yeah, I know. So get the fuck out of here and go be great."

#hockey #mattdrai #matthew tkachuk #leon draisaitl #my writing #asks #florida trade drama my beloved #there's photos of them making out in the airport all over social media the next day. publicity shitstorm. good luck boys #This is over 2k. Even less 'mini' then my last one wtf is wrong with me #I used to be able to write drabbles but no no no too many ideas to write down now it seems #I realise this has the same 'can't admit we're in love until it's too late' energy as my last ask fic but apparently that's my fave trope #I CAN write other dynamics I swear

[acourtoflostandwanderingstars]

ModernCollegeAU! ACOTAR headcanons

p.1 -- the bat bois

i loved writing this, addign all the little detail and working on fleshing out this world

i may or may not already have a fic in the planning stages

anyways, enjoy the sfw version of the bat boys (slightly suggestive but nothing super explicit)

BAT BOYS:

They met each other by joining the same fraternity

That’s where the whole ‘brother’ thing started

Ever since, they’ve been pretty damn inseparable

They are drop-dead gorgeous

Like, everyone on campus wants to sleep with them

And, to be real, it sometimes feels like they have

They’re in a band together, and it would be called ‘The Bat Boys’ [inspo elenana.art on insta]

They play at shitty, underground clubs because as rich as Rhys’ father is, and as little as he seems to care, Rhys kinda doesn’t want him finding out

And Rita’s, of course

He is paying for a majority of the amenities the school has implemented

And most of his tuition

The band does make them more appealing – adds an edge to already ridiculously attractive men

They are the upperclassmen that freshmen are warned about going into college

Now that they have moved on from the fraternity, their apartment has become a hotspot for parties

The biggest parties on campus

Landing an invitation to one is akin to being personally invited by a celebrity to hang out with other celebrities

I feel bad for their neighbors

They are decent enough in the day though

They keep their yard clean and trimmed, they are considerate of parking regulations, they know the names of their neighbors

Which, by the way, is a pretty big deal because their neighbors cycle in and out fairly frequently

On campus, they have a gig revolving around tutoring going

Rhys heads up the operation, Azriel is elusive and can be hard to book, and Cass is usually just there for moral support

But they are frequently booked out

(Some are suspicious that studying isn’t the only thing that happens)

It can make finding free-time very difficult during finals

So they designated Rita’s as their hangout place

They can be found there most Saturday nights

They pregame there most of the time too

Y’know, since they have to host a party during the game

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AZRIEL:

Azriel is the quiet, elusive homebody

He’s definitely bi

And everyone positively drools over this man

And the rumors that spiral around him?

Don’t get me started 

(They mostly revolve around bedroom behavior and wingspan [iykyk])

They are well known on and off of campus, somehow

One of the bat boy’s neighbors is an old, grandmotherly lady

And she teases him endlessly about the rumors

(Much to Rhys’ chargain and Cassian’s endless amusement)

He’s in school for business and computer science, but he’s dabbled in some art– [because i read Midnight Muse by @azsazz ~ 10/10 would recommend]

Nothing too specific, just art

He loves things that revolve around the dark lines and spaces in between

Like inks and charcoals

So he’s considered ditching computer science for art school after he graduates in business

No one’s 100% sure where he works

He’s very dodgy about it

He is totally a cat dad – he found three black kittens in the dumpster

The one behind the dormitories and the greasy pizza place next to them

(He and Cassian had gone dumpster diving for pizza)

So he picked them up while Cassian enjoyed his pizza

The first two he kept and named Wisp and Wisteria

The third Cassian requested for a girl he was seeing

Azriel didn’t find out until much later that he gave it to Nesta (who named him Bryaxis)

Anyways, he used to have a major crush on Rhys’ cousin, Mor

Until Cassian’s current gf brought her sister to a party

He’s figured out where she works

He figured it out quickly – within the first week following the party

The little flower shop

Now he needs to figure out an excuse to go there

He owns a motorcycle

It’s like the one big purchase he made for himself

It adds to the intrigue

To the untrained eye, he’s a man of the shadows

The mysterious bassist that rides a motorcycle, ever elusive

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CASSIAN:

Cassian is in school for Project Management and a minor in the Science in Health and Human Performance

He works at two of the campus’ gyms, and one off site

No one is sure where he gets the time

Or the energy

Which he seems endlessly full of

His freshman/sophmore year, he signed up for the dorm warming committee

He got kicked out because he brought barbells and beer

(Which were not meant to be served to the freshman)

(The beer, that is)

Morale had never been higher, though

He’s a junior on the books

But because he’s failed enough classes to count for a semester or two, he’s technically a senior

The only reason he didn’t flunk out was because of Rhys

Actually, he started (aka was the first customer of) Rhys’ monopoly over the tutoring business, and now shows up purely for ‘emotional support’ (Rhys’ customer’s are hot)

He’s the drummer for the Bat Boys

And, although you might not guess it, he actually manages the band most of the time

Like he makes sure they have a place to play when they feel like it

Because a lot of the bars owe him favors (we won’t say why)

Rita’s is, of course, his favorite location

He’s befriended the owner

Or intimidated

The man is nearly 7 ft tall of solid muscle with a reputation round the block

He drives an old, run down truck

It has issues – with the exhaust, the muffler, sometimes the oil leaks, and he’s had to have the cylinders re-aligned multiple times

But he loves it

It’s one of the ‘tests’ he puts his dates through – how much do you love (or tolerate) the truck

The noisy, stinky bucket of bolts

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

RHYSAND:

Rhysand is in school for business and law

His father is the CEO of the ‘only’ law firm in town (the others disappeared without any real explanation)

He is passing all of his classes with flying colors, miraculously, though the way he carries himself you’d never know he’d be the type

Like, he radiates spoiled rich kid who’s dad is paying his way through college

Which isn’t true

Feyre hates it

She just can’t understand how 

How his grades are so good, how his ego is so high

To make it worse, he’s her tutor

Much to his delight

He’s a junior, so he qualifies as a tutor if he keeps a certain grade

(He probably only keeps the ‘A’ for Feyre, be real here)

He has a sort of monopoly over the tutoring program and makes a pretty penny off of it

It doesn’t hurt that most of his tutoring sessions could end in something MUCH more personal if he was in the mood

Everyone who hangs around him has become known as the ‘inner circle’

Often abbreviated to the ‘I-C’

Everyone knows who the ic are

Everyone

So, of course, they have enemies

And they have taken to referring to his friends as the ‘ick’

A play off of ‘ic’

A cheap, uncreative insult in Rhys’ opinion

His cousin, Mor, keeps a fair amount of people off of it though

He doesn’t want to know what she did to scare them off

Because of his charming, well presented nature, he has been able to climb his way to success

And he’s only a junior

He lands every scholarship, he has internships lined up, he’s gotten into several vacation plans

The guy is insane

He plays guitar for the band

But he can also sing

The guy can sing

Smooth, rich, almost throwback quality but still modern

Perfect for a bittersweet love story

Perfect for sweeping his lovers off their feet

So the rumors about his pillow talk

Gods

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

||| ~ mk mk loves, i'm finishing up Feyre, Elain, and Nesta's, and i have Mor, Gwyn, Amren, and Emerie written out. Then I'll slowly eat my way through Tampon, Lucien, Eris, and the other high lords [and then maybe i'll do some nsfw headcanons, and perhaps move on to some reader x character headcanons] ~ |||

anyways enjoyyyy <3

#booklr #acotar #booktok #acomaf #sarah j maas #acowar #fanfic #my thoughts #acosf #acowaf #headcanons #headcanon #azriel #azriel acotar #azriel shadowsinger #mysterious boi #cassian #cassian acotar #rhysand #rhys acotar #rhysand acotar #acotar fanfic #feyre #feyre archeron #i love this #im in love #its beautiful #this is so #oml #okay goodnight

[fanficfanatic000]

Edward fucking munson

Eddie Munson x fem reader enemies to lovers 18+ TW no minors

Hawkins was a small town but you were always quiet and a loner you didn't really have many friends at all. You worked at the arcade and it was a decent job except for certain customers like a blonde haired basketball player to a adult slob that greased up the machines..It was a normal work day. You were on your lunch break on a normal Saturday the usual customers came and went until a shadow of a short frame came up behind you short curly hair and a lighter voice "hi um one of the games are not working can you check it out?" You were just about finished with your lunch and he seemed pretty kind compared to others you stood up "uh yeah sure just lead the way." He grinned "hi im dustin." "Im y/n glad to meet ya dustin""So do you like nerdy things?"he said walking slowly "mmm i guess yeah i am considered a nerd...." you thought he was trying to make small talk... "do you like dungeons and dragons?" "Well ive never really played but yeah it kinda interests me "He led you to the arcade machine and it wasn't processing the coins hmm there must be a wire loose or a jam but that wasn't in your skill level "sorry kid its jammed or something ill try to get it fixed tomorrow" he looked slightly disappointed You barely noticed the group of people looking at you 2 other boys younger than you and one much younger girl..all wearing the same t shirts Then you looked at dustin as he spun around to maybe his friends "guys this is y/n i think she should join hellfire" a taller much sarcastic boy says "what! But shes a random girl!!" A dark skined boy says back "but eddie said to recruit people he didnt say male gendered"The smaller girl shouts "look mike shes all we've got.. its better to show up with her than no one!" You just watching this happen not knowing what to say The sarcastic one Mike rolled his eyes "fine but if eddie says no im throwing you all under the bus!" Dustin nodded his head"So y/n hellfire is a dnd club at Hawkins high after hours every other day if you want to come play some dnd just meet me outside of Hawkins high at 4:00pm" you nodded "okay i will be there" they left after that and the rest of the night was pretty normal. Sunday passed so fast you basically cleaned your room and watched your favorite movie than fell asleep and it was Monday you got dressed in a tank top your favorite color some ripped jeans and your converse and your favorite jewelry and threw your jacket on. You put some black eyeliner on and you were ready You listened to one of your favorite bands on a cassette player and it was 3:40 so you drove to Hawkins high and you parked and saw dustin he was kinda like a little brother you stepped out of your car and "Y/N yes! You're here!" "Just on time " you look down at your watch and see it change to 4:00 "okay lets go" you followed dustin through the school halls you remembered see you went to public school until freshman year and you got bullied so bad you had to do homeschooling instead you were graduated now though. You watch the door open to reveal a dimly lit room full of people. Mike. Dustin. Lukas. Erica. And 4 others you walk in and dustin moves out from infront of you "eddie this is y/n."A tall handsome intimidating man stands up from a throne of some kind he stepped around the table and stands infront of you his frame slightly towering over you" this is who you found Henderson " he pinched his nose bridge "this girl is what you found she probably wouldn't know anything about dnd or anything!" You felt attacked but little did they know is that you can snap back " this girl probably would probably win anyways" you said with a smirk he stepped closer smugly bending slightly "you think so Princess?" His eyes meeting yours and they felt familiar for whatever reason. "Okay lets play!"

#fandom #eddie munson #eddie x fem!reader #eddie x you #eddie munson lives #eddie munson x reader #eddie stranger things #stranger things 4 #fanfic #eddie #enemies to lovers #Em enemies to lovers #Edward fucking munson

[multi-fandomsfreak]

Hi, It’s me the anon that requested the Xenophanes x Demon Reader that was friends with Fleeway.

I have another idea 💡

So continuing on from my previous request let’s say reader and Xeno are just hanging out and somehow Sonic stumbled into Xeno’s dimension and he sees the reader next to Xeno and he freaks out because he thinks Reader is Amy so he runs up and grabs Reader trying to save them from Xeno and both Xeno and Reader are confused and shocked by what’s happening. So now we have Xenophanes and Sonic chasing after each other because of Sonic’s confusion.

Meanwhile Xeno’s puppets (Eggman, Tails and Knuckles.) are just watching the whole thing go down while Majin Sonic and Unused Sonic (His name is just Unused but yeah..) are just silently making jokes and laughing at Xeno.

Once again, I hope you’re doing okay! 👍🏽 And I’m doing alright as well 😽✌🏽

Xenophanes with a demon reader (Part 2)

Hey there again! Thanks for the ask!

Honestly I love the idea you just said that I started writing this as soon as I saw the request. Although it’s almost 5:00am where I am and I should be asleep right now I don’t care. Just imagine Sonic having an Amy moment when she accidentally confuses others like Shadow for him. Kind of ironic when you think about it. Anyways glad to hear your doing well and once again hope you enjoy reading this! ~J/Blaze

Here’s Part 1 of the Ask

Pronouns: She/They

Warning: ❌ (Sonic has his Amy moment lol)

Requested: Yes/No

Characters: Xenophanes + Sonic + Xeno’s Puppets (Tails + Knuckles + Eggman) + Majin + Unused

Proofread: ❌

Credits: Art by OrcaTheArtist on Deviantart + Banner by 5macc13 on Pinterest

———————————

- It’s been a while since you’ve met and eventually befriended Xenophane and you got to say you honestly don’t regret it. Pretty much after being ‘introduced’ to him by Fleetway you two have been attached to the hip. You even got to know his puppets which although at first they only got along with you because of Xeno eventually they did manage to genuinely get along with you outside of him.

- You even got to know some more of his ‘friends’ , for example people like Majin and Unused. Honestly you found the two of them interesting. It didn’t seem they did any harm yet they seemed to hang around people like Xeno. Just like the puppet gang they were actually decent to be around. Sometimes when you aren’t hanging out with Xeno or Fleetway you three like to have a get to gather and just talk. Kind of like the Unused and Majin Show (By Nominal Dingus on YouTube) just minus the talk show part.

- Surprisingly the two of them somehow don’t confuse you as Amy. Although they do see the resemblance just like Eggman they can distinguish the difference between you two. Plus they understand that you are your own person and understand that it can be annoying when you get compared to someone you aren’t. They respect that so they don’t do it.

- You’ve pretty much gotten used to hanging out with demented version of sonic and his friends as well as being one yourself you haven’t really had the chance to think about what would happen if you met the real deal. Although you couldn’t really care less if you met the actual Amy, however with someone like Xeno you severely doubt that he would be kind meeting the real Sonic or any of his friends. Considering what he did with his versions of Tails, Knuckles and Eggman, who knows what he would do with the actual characters from the hit game series. However, you were about to find out what would happen and although nothing too violent happened it was definitely funny at least to you and those who witnessed it.

- Somehow Sonic found himself in the universe that contains all of you. Not recognising where he was and wondering where his friends were he immediately went and looked trying his best to not get caught by whatever could hurt him. After looking around he stumbled between all of you hanging out. At first he was wondering who the hell all of you were but when he saw you his eyes immediately widened. Although you didn’t have that much of Amy’s appearance, he saw his friend's silhouette and automatically assumed that you were ‘Amy’. He didn’t want ‘Amy’ to get harmed by Xeno and the others so he figured he risked his life and save you.

+ As soon as Sonic saw his friend hanging out what looked like disturbing versions of him he let his emotions get the of him and placed a hand on your shoulder and pulled you back. At first you were confused at who the hell was pulling you back and it seemed like the others were as well. “Amy! Be careful!” Sonic said hugging you tight, keeping an eye on the others still not paying attention to you who clearly wasn’t Amy. “Who the hell are you? And why the hell are you grabbing onto them like that?” Xeno said slightly growling at Sonic like a goddamn dog seeing another dog. “I’m not letting you get close to her or harm her so back off”. Everyone including you just looked at Sonic. The puppet trio whispering to each other about their friend confusing you for Amy, wondering what Xeno may or may not do to him. Majin and Unused slightly chuckling to themselves, well mostly unused and Xeno preparing himself to attack Sonic.

+ “What do you mean? They aren’t going to attack me?” You said as you tried to remove Sonic’s arms around you “What are you talking about Amy can’t you see…” Sonic was about to explain how clearly dangerous the others looked, however he quickly stopped himself and took a minute to take in what you said. Why weren’t you worried about them? Then he finally decided to look at you directly. That’s when he finally realised that you weren’t Amy. Well at least not mentally and sort of physically. “Wait your aren’t…” he said slightly, stumbled back removing his arms from you. “Unfortunately I’m not your friend ‘Amy’ I’m [Name]” you explained yourself giving a shocked Sonic a smile. You can hear Unused letting out a slight snort trying to hold in his laughter as Xeno approached him. Sonic slightly chuckled to himself out of awkwardness and slowly tried to get away apologising before quickly running off with a slightly pissed off Xeno chasing after him. The rest of you pretty much just stood still watching this whole shit show go down. “Should…we stop him?” Majin spoke up suggesting how to stop Xeno from harming Sonic “Nah just let him do it” Unused waves Majin off slightly entertained with what’s happening right now “Yeah I agree, let’s at least let him get it out of his system before stopping” You added on trying your best to conceal the smirk appearing on your face.

———————————

#sonic.exe #sonic.exe x reader #xenophanes #xenophanes x reader #xenophane #xenophane x reader #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #majin #majin sonic #unused #unused sonic #miles tails prower #soul tails #knuckles the echidna #soul knuckles #eggman #soul eggman #sonic series #sonic series x reader #sonic x reader #x reader #request

[hoodedchishiya]

♦️Random Headcanons — My Version of Chishiya.♦️

Friendly reminder to everyone that these are my headcanons (these are not canon) therefore do not steal and don’t reblog.

🧠Chishiya enjoys heart games a little more than he’d like to let on, even though he’s a diamond specialist— and playing with people’s minds in general. It’s the only time he gets the opportunity to purposefully fuck with people’s brains without having to suffer the consequences of his actions or have people questioning his motives. Heart games allow him to be who he truly is.

🧠The rooftop of the hotel is his favourite place in the entire world— including places in the real world too. Chishiya enjoys looking out at the eerily abandoned city below, seeing the occasional red of the laser come down from the sky. Makes for a pretty decent view despite knowing that the laser has probably just taken another players life. If anything, it amuses him.

🧠He’s a sociopath. Chishiya will deny it over and over, but he is. He has always struggled to determine what is right and what is wrong and shows no remorse for anyone. The rights and feelings of others simply don’t exist in his world. Always looking out for number one.

🧠His biggest insecurity is his height. It’s no secret that he’s quite short for a male and that bothers him, especially when other players use that to their advantage in games. Chishiya wishes he was at least a little bit taller.

🧠Kuina is his sole confidant. Chishiya will tell her the majority of his plans without a shadow of a doubt that she would betray him. Deep down he knows that’s not how she operates and he values her opinion on his ideas above everything else— although there’s some things he won’t even share with her.

🧠Chishiya often uses sarcasm as a shield to hide his true feelings. It has always been a coping mechanism of his, designed to keep people out and push them away.

🧠 Both of his ears are pierced and his favourite type of earrings to wear are plain black ones. He will never wear them in Borderland though, as they could get snagged on something in games and he’d much rather keep his ears in tact. Of course he still carries the pieces of jewellery around in his pocket for comfort and a piece of normalcy.

🧠Whenever Kuina is upset with him or feeling down in general, Chishiya will put his crafting skills to work and make her little pieces of jewellery as a peace offering. From necklaces to bracelets, he’ll use her favourite coloured beads to make it more appealing to her. With all of their past arguments, it’s safe to say that she has quite a few.

🧠He won’t ever put a label on his sexuality. Instead, he’ll claim that ‘he likes who he likes’ which admittedly isn’t many people, and doesn’t care about what people think. You don’t like it?? Sounds like a you problem, bud.

🧠His way of flirting is smirking and sarcasm. Maybe the occasional glance down at the other person’s lips to try and tempt them in, or the sultry once over from across the way. He’ll never make the first move though. As if he would lower himself to that level.

🧠Chishiya will happily lend Kuina his gadgets whenever she’s going off to a game without him. From his taser to little bombs he’s made, he’ll make sure that she’s well prepared even though she’s a weapon in herself. The words ‘come back to me in one piece’ are always exchanged before she leaves, along with a kiss to her cheek for good luck.

🧠Chishiya was the youngest in his class, yet the smartest. Always got the highest grades and the perfect scores, leaving his peers jealous and bewildered as to how he did it considering he never seemed to listen in class. It’s part of the reason he thinks he’s better than everyone else and has the right to tell everyone around him how dumb they are.

🧠Psychical touch has always been a no-no for him. Public displays of affection is off the cards. In his mind, it’s a weakness and he doesn’t want to come across as soft around the other players.

🧠He owns several pairs of the same white hoodie because he adores them so much. He’s definitely a comfort over fashion sort of guy.

🧠He’s an only child given his parents didn’t want anymore children— they didn’t even want him. He was the product of pressure of society getting to his parents and starting a family. No siblings at all. But truth be told, he has always wished that he had a younger brother or sister to confide in when his parents’ lectures got too much. Maybe then he would’ve turned out differently.

🧠Chishiya is slightly jealous of Arisu because he has the one thing he’s always craved: someone who actually loves the bones of him. Secretly he wishes that someone would look at him in the same light Usagi looks at Arisu.

🧠He dyed his hair blond at the age of sixteen specifically to spite his strict parents when they told him not to. After a while he grew a liking to the look and kept it that way throughout adulthood.

🧠Chishiya completely disowned his family after they sent him off to med school. As soon as he left home, their numbers were instantly deleted out of his phone with no regrets whatsoever and he never spoke to or saw them again.

🧠Kuina is the only person who ever gets to see the softer and more human side of him since he feels safe around her. To everyone else, he comes across as cold and manipulative. He has one hundred percent confidence in being his true self around her, exposing both the good and bad sides of himself.

🧠The real reason he constantly has his hood up is because he uses it to shield his eyes, making it harder for other players to see where he’s looking. As sneaky as always, it’s a tactic he uses to deceive people and observe them without them even catching on.

🧠 The only scar he has is a horizontal scar on his back between his shoulder blades which he obtained during his first ever Spades game— a part of the reason he hates those types of games. The scar is also part of the reason he constantly wears his hoodie at the Beach despite the hot weather to conceal it away from other players who may see it as a potential weakness. Chishiya likes to be seen as untouchable after all.

🧠Before his father forced him into med school, Chishiya always wanted to open up his own repair shop where he could fix things and make gadgets for people. He’s always had a knack for making things and wanted to turn his hobby into a potential career path since it’s his passion.

🧠 Chishiya has never been close to his parents. With their constant neglect and pushing him to follow in his father’s footsteps into a career he never wished to pursue, he grew a hatred towards them from a very young age. His father was always too busy to spend time with him and his mother was never around, constantly disappearing for weeks on end.

🧠Along with his parents neglect and the constant let downs at work, Chishiya stopped caring completely about the world around him. He became emotionally numb and lost faith in humanity, thus shaping him into a cold and condescending person who only looks out for himself.

🧠On his travels through Borderland, you bet Chishiya will stop off at abandoned shops to scavenge little gifts to bring back to Kuina. He’ll pay close attention to the makeup brands she likes, taking mental notes of the names and grabbing whatever he can from the stores in order to surprise her whenever the occasion calls for it.

🧠He’s afraid of commitment, especially in relationships. It’s the reason he has and never wants to be in one, therefore sticking to spending most of his time alone or the occasional hook up with no strings attached.

🧠He loves animals. Cats especially, even though he’ll never admit it.

🧠At first, Chishiya wanted to remain in Borderland because at least there he gets to choose who lives and who dies.. unlike his job back at home.

🧠 Chishiya has depression and Antisocial personality disorder— he often takes anti-depressants to combat his depression and to keep it at bay but considering he doesn’t have them in Borderland, he goes off the rails and let’s the intrusive thoughts start to seep in. This often leads to him acting out as a means to find new ways to distract himself from the hurt and past traumas that are usually numbed by the pills. Chishiya loathes to feel anything. He’d much rather be emotionless and numb while getting off on other people’s pain.

🧠Kuina is his first real friend. Chishiya didn’t see much point in making friends back in the real world, deeming it unnecessary. However.. Kuina came along and began to heal something deep within him. It was then he started to realise that maybe not everyone was as selfish as he once thought.

🧠Sex has never been something Chishiya is overly interested in. Of course he’ll indulge in the occasional hook-up from time to time, but very rarely enjoys it. If anything he finds it boring, but with the right person.. things could change. His sex-drive is very low though.

🧠He’s the youngest doctor in the hospital he works at and is the best in his field despite his disliking for the job. He makes sure to rub his accomplishments in the faces of others in his field.

🧠 Another insecurity Chishiya has is the small gap between his two front teeth. It’s partly the reason he never smiles with teeth.

🧠 There’s always a small compact first-aid kit in his pockets in case of emergencies between games— but he’ll never share his medical aide with others, as selfish as he is. It’s an occupational habit and you never know when you’ll need bandages/medicine in a place like Borderland.

🧠‘You can trust me.’ Is a lie he often tells to newcomers at the Beach who know little about him and his conniving ways. Chishiya is never to be trusted, not even by his closest companions. He isn’t loyal to any one but himself and knows no limit to deceiving people. Much like a cat, he’s never your friend despite the bond you build with him and once he deems people useless to him, they have to go one way or another. The whole ‘you can trust me’ act only lasts for so long, and ever the heartless liar that he is, he’ll have no trouble showing whoever falls for that lie just how merciless and unforgiving the Borderlands can really be.

(More to be added. Let me know what you want to know about him.)

#DO NOT REBLOG #headcanon #headcanons #alice in borderland roleplay #roleplay #aib rp #aib roleplay #roleplay account #roleplayer #alice in borderland #alice in borderland rp #shuntaro chishiya #chishiya shuntaro

[irradiatedyeehaw]

I need to motivate myself to finish this longfic. I'm like 20k in on a 50k story and have stalled out so hard. I have an outline, I'm just floundering. Anyway, here's the opening!

Cooper sticks his head around the corner, low and fast. From the shadowed hallway, he has a decent vantage on the open space of the decrepit lobby. Two men, tattered clothes, emaciated builds: generic wasteland loonies. They’re wearing matching hats. So maybe cult-flavored loonies. Why do these fuckin people always match. Something about erasing a person’s sense of self, Coop figures, but also, he’s about to turn them into a bloody mess. Not the optimal moment for considering the nuances of fashion choices in high-control groups. The most noteworthy thing about these peckerwoods is their rifles. Specifically that they’d been using those rifles to shoot at him thirty seconds prior. The other half of their scraggly posse has dissolved into the brightness of the desert beyond the crumbling entryway to the apartment complex. If these guys are smart--and that if is doing some heavy lifting--they are presently skulking about the back of the building looking to ambush him. Well. Him and Lucy. Lucy’s here, too. Of course Lucy’s here. A fact that he’s pretty sure surprises both of them. She’s crouched at his side, fixated on him with those big watery doe eyes. It’s a little unnerving at times when she stares at him. He’s not accustomed to being looked at anymore. At least not like she looks at him: like he’s a person. Eye contact and everything. Considers his words and gives thoughtful responses. Even, on occasion, smiles while doing so. Despite all he put her through. She also does this little frown/furrowed brow combo that he once thought was her “you can do better” glower of disapproval, but he’s now come to suspect that it’s caused by something else entirely that’s rattling around in that too-busy brain. He still hasn’t figured her out. What her deal is. From foundation to roof, the construction of their whole relationship is improbable. And yet, it feels stable. Safe, even. He kinda hates it. Settling down onto his haunches, Cooper presses his back to the crumbling wall, and glances at her. She has her pistol drawn, but doesn’t look too confident about the iron in her grasp. Like she finds its weight distasteful. She stares down at her gun, then his rifle, then up to his face. The little crease between her eyebrows smooths out. She holds up her free hand, thumb tucked against her palm, and wiggles her fingers at him, then points to the west--the rear of the building, opposite direction from the lobby. Four men total. New, but not stupid. For this, at least, Cooper is thankful. Quietly: “Yeah, that’s what I counted, too.” “Who are they?” “Who fuckin knows. Guys with guns. Guys with guns who shot at me--at us. That’s all I care about.” “But why’d they shoot at us?” “You still gotta ask that? After all this time? And here I thought you were maybe a quick learner.” He grins after she punches his bicep. “Ow. Whaddya do that for?” “Because you’re being a jerk,” she hisses. “Ain’t fair, y’know. The Rule. You gettin to hit me like that.” She raises her eyebrows. Ah, he knows this expression. Incredulity, with a hint of indignation. The Rule: under no circumstances is he permitted to make physical contact with her. After their rough start (her words), he understands her need for this boundary. Otherwise, Lucy had informed him, their partnership could start to feel awkward. God forbid. Having a companion has thrown him off his game, so it’s good to be back in his element with regards to the current situation, vis a vis: folks trying to kill him. He hasn’t been able to walk more than a single goddamn mile without some bullshit thing or another fucking up his day.

#ghoulcy #i just love westerns. so much. #so i'm writing them a little western adventure. #hopefully i'll finish it because i won't post it on ao3 until it's actually FINISHED.

[crystalelemental]

I have completed a run of Emerald. We've been watching the Hoenn anime and it put me in the mood for the games. Pretty great still! Much worse time overall.

My team, as it turns out, was Not Ideal.

Sceptile was the starter. Fun fact, I think the last time I ran Treecko in Gen 3, or really ever, was before Gen 4 came out. I opted to prep from my last Emerald run, getting a Bagon that learned Dragonbreath and Crunch to pass along as egg moves. Miracle hatched a Naive female with what felt like really good stats (seemed higher than the initial starter), and had a great time with it. If I had planned my team better, I likely would've gone Earthquake as the fourth move to make Wallace less of a problem.

Camerupt is one I don't think I've ever run ever. In general, it was a pretty excellent pick! Camerupt did a lot of great stuff the entire run...until the League, when it stopped having like any utility. It didn't even contribute that significantly to the Steven fight, since Earthquake is a thing. I want to like Camerupt, but it's not great in its debut generation's main game. Lots of problems. Then again, I did get Sassy, so maybe it's more a speed issue.

Sharpedo, by contrast, is excellent. Has no use for its physical attack given the HMs, but Surf, Ice Beam, Crunch handles a lot. Crushes Phoebe and Drake, contributes fantastically against Sidney, actually does help against Steven by basically one-shotting Aggron and Armaldo both. Fantastic Pokemon to run.

Altaria was...okay look this was not my best work. I got Quiet, and for some reason, my train of thought went "I should try Dragon Dance, because it has to have Fly." This was unfathomably stupid. Altaria didn't contribute much...until I got my own Metagross, and taught Altaria Perish Song. Then we had hilariously beaten Steven by locking him to his last Metagross, which couldn't OHKO my own, and letting Perish Song do its thing. Owned, idiot.

Seviper was one I wanted to use, based on an old ORAS run where it did pretty well. It did not do as well here. Like, it tried to contribute, but it was my lowest level Pokemon by a decent margin, solely because I just never had a situation where it was the best choice. The others covered pretty much everything it could contribute against, better than it did. Flamethrower didn't make up for the prevalence of Earthquake, Crunch didn't make up for Sharpedo being much stronger, and Sludge Bomb didn't have a whole lot of relevant targets. It would've been good for Glare while catching legends, but I tried and Groudon had Rest so I stopped trying when it Struggled itself to death.

The last Pokemon changed a lot. Initially, I was going to run Hariyama, who I regret dropping for Seviper honestly. It would've been a much, much better option for Glacia, who was a big initial problem, and for Steven's fight. Wallace too, probably. At one point I had Swellow, and dropped it solely because I just wasn't feeling it. Which wasn't a great reason but here we are. In the end, I ran those five for the initial League run, got bodied by Glacia twice, and by Wallace like five times. Tentacruel was a much more significant roadblock to the team than expected, given the only easy answer was slower and quad weak to Water. Which then made me regret not working on that Gardevoir after all, but I ran Gardevoir before, I didn't want to do the same thing twice. I considered Banette, but didn't really feel like it either. Which, again, maybe not my best call.

So in the end, I settled on Metagross. Who took a long while to get up to speed, but as soon as it evolved, contributed massively. I rolled Adamant first try, and with Earthquake, Brick Break, and Shadow Ball, it absolutely smashes the E4's first three. It's bananas. And it's pretty good for Steven's fight too, handling Cradily easily, which was a major, major threat in my last run. I do think Earthquake was...entirely unnecessary. It barely used it, and if I were to do it all again, I probably would've given Sceptile Earthquake to handle Wallace, and just let Metagross run Psychic or something.

We ended sub-level 60, though. Seviper was the lowest at 54, Sceptile the highest at 59, so approximately the same levels as the last team. Which is pretty good considering how much worse this team feels. Sceptile and Sharpedo did fantastically well, while Camerupt had its day in the Sun but falls on terrible times barring the Skarmory KO. Metagross is absurd, though, definitely enjoyed that one. But Alteria was too awkwardly set up, and Seviper didn't have as much to contribute on the team with the others around. This run also went a lot longer, because I was so wishy-washy mid-game around who the sixth was going to be, only to drop everyone and resolve using Metagross later.

I think the next game is going to be Platinum. I kinda ran out of steam on the last run again. But I know why. It's because @alphakuriboh...might be right about somethings. About how I play these games. Specifically, I got really over-focused on the plan for Platinum and it stopped being interesting and fun. So I think I'm going try without that fixation and just play to what I can pick up. Be a little more free-flowing. Though there are one or two that I'm kinda set on using this time around, I admit. I'm also thinking of dropping the starters. I don't like Infernape at all, so it'd be between Torterra and Empoleon, who are both, perhaps predictably, overlapped types with things I haven't run before. So I think I'd like to set them aside and try something a little different this time through. Maybe also be a bit less insistent on getting just Gen 4 Pokemon. I tend to focus on "the team has to be all stuff new to that game," but I could stand to be a bit more flexible.

#pokemon emerald

[thedragonagelesbian]

For the BG3 character development asks: 1 , 10, and 19 (sorry!).

1: Where in the Faerûn is your Tav from?

Main timeline Cyrus is from Baldur's Gate (with the caveat that he spent the first ~25 years of his life on the move across the Sword Coast with his mother and father).

Ranger Cyrus is... uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

/crawling out of the forgotten realms wiki five hours later covered in blood/

I am (with immense hesitation and tentativeness for fear that ed greenwood may strike me down) going to claim the city state of Iriaebor as the providence of the dispossessed noble that Cyrus pledges himself to. [redacted] who uses him to violently reclaim and maintain power while assuring him that it's for the greater good (and who Cyrus eventually kills before vowing to root out as much of their influence as possible). What existing lore there is for the city includes its lawful ruler being ousted by the Zhentarim, which seems to me to be a perfect set up for the lord's daughter/son* to have need of a paladin who could very easily be convinced that the Zhentarim must be expelled by whatever means necessary.

This also means Cyrus' decision to leave that life behind lines up with the city coming under the influence (but not the direct control) of a recently established Elturguard, and I can't help but wonder if that might've had something to do with it-- a reformed and redeemed Champion of Iriaebor being hailed as a symbol of the city's independence or something.

As for his exile cottage, I think it makes the most sense for that to be in the Wood of Sharp Teeth for its proximity to Baldur's Gate, putting him in decent tadpoling range (and, unlike the other place I was considering, the Reaching Woods, THIS woods doesn't have a thing about gnolls very recently slaughtering all the other humanoids because canon D&D lore is just fucking like that sometimes.)

*I don't have a definitive identity for [redacted] yet, but depending on the day/mood, they're based either on Cullen or Meredith............................

10: Are they proficient in playing any instruments?

Nope-- in any timeline or game, Cyrus doesn't consider himself to be particularly creative (or intellectual for that matter), and it's not like a full-fledged point of insecurity, but he's much happier to leave it to others

(Unless he gets drunk and starts singing)

19: How do you think they'll meet they're end?

Hmmmmmm not sure for shadow sorc and ranger Cyrus-- while I have a pretty strong idea of ranger Cyrus' immediate endgame (living a very good life with Duke Wyll), I haven't thought at all about what things will look like after Wyll passes (do we know if the devil transformation has affected his lifespan at all?).

And as for shadow sorc Cyrus........................................ well. He's a sword. That situation will resolve itself SOMEHOW, but I haven't planned much beyond some vague ideas of it involving a Wish spell (ESPECIALLY if Astarion has to choose to use it to help Cyrus instead of curing himself of his vampirism...)

As for our darling main timeline oathbreaker, I am quite content imagining him living a long and happy life with Halsin in the recovering Shadowlands, with all the work and the joys that are entailed in trying to rebuild an ecosystem that sustains and nurtures more equitable relations and communities. I just love the idea of this high leveled Oath of the Ancients paladin and archdruid pair planting deep, unshakeable roots and becoming mythic quest givers a la Keyleth of the Air Ashari (and also fucking nasty all day everyday).

In which case, if Cyrus doesn't martyr himself protecting the land and its people (which Halsin won't let happen easily), I imagine his death is a peaceful one of old age.

#undying sentinel (15th level oath of the ancients) means you don't suffer the drawbacks of old age but still age normally afaik #cyrus bg3 #ANYWAY THANK YOU #my complaining about the forgotten realms wiki is mostly dramatics im quite pleased actually to have forced myself #to try to anchor ranger cyrus' backstory a bit more to the setting #like i know if i wanted to no one could really stop me from just making something up #but now its slightly more structured making something up

[askkrenko]

Krenko’s Guide to Pokemon: Spinarak Line

Don’t count the legs, just trust that it’s a spider

DESIGN:

Spinarak is an amalgam spider with various bits from different real-world spiders, like coloring, face designs, and general build, coming together in a creature that can be read as a spider despite being a heavily unique design. It’s cute, but just a bit creepy, looks both friendly and dangerous, and gives this strange feeling that I both want to hug it and don’t want it anywhere near me.  It manages to be the generic spider enemy for the Pokemon games while not being the same generic spider enemy that shows up in every other game.

Ariados just looks cool and badass, still functioning as an amalgam spider that comes up very distinct from any other spider design. Despite the strong recolor, it’s thematically similar enough to Spinarak that you can tell it’s the evolved form, with a larger horn, longer legs, and less rounded features in general.  The extra appendages sticking out of its back add a great visual, and its low stance makes it look ready to charge or leap. Ariados has to be the result of designers just taking spider traits and throwing them together without actually attempting to make a specific spider, and it came together great.

Art by TsaoShin

ECOLOGY:

Spinarak live throughout the forests of Johto and Kanto, spawning and swarming during autumn, though only a tiny percentage of them will survive through spring. They primarily feed off the Caterpie that are so common in those regions as well as smaller insects. Spinarak catch prey by spinning webs and by ambush rather than being particularly good at self defense. They’re easily caught by Spearow, Pidgey, and other predatory birds.

Those that survive to evolve into Ariados leave Johto and Kanto in the spring in one of the great mysteries of the Pokemon world. Fully-grown Ariados travel across the ocean to Alola, despite the fact that they can neither fly nor swim. Some theorize they craft gliders out of their webs, though this behavior has only ever been recorded in the smallest spiders. Others suggest they travel through shadows, through an underground tunnel, or along the world wide web. As reasonable and ridiculous as any given theory might be, none have actually observed direct evidence of the Ariados migration, only the end result.

Art by Dawn Breaker

TYPING:

Bug/Poison has some decent resistances, including a few doubles, though it does have to worry about being weak to the commonly-used Rock type. Defensively, it’s pretty fine. Offensively, though, these are two of the worst types. Combined, they only hit four types Super Effectively  and are resisted by far too many, with Poison, Ghost, and Steel resisting attacks from both types.

STATS:

At 400 total, Ariados is basically just leaning on a 90 Attack, which is good, but not enough to carry a Pokemon. 40 speed is painful, and its three defensive stats are all 70 which isn’t nothing, but also isn’t anything. It’s not a bad allotment of stats, it’s just that the numbers are pretty low overall. 

Art by ShinySketches

ABILITIES:

Swarm is still bad. Moving on.

Insomnia, as mentioned before, has its uses and can save you in a pinch, but can’t be leveraged and is usually considered a plan B for a Pokemon without actual good abilities.

Sniper significantly increases the damage dealt on a critical hit. Ariados has Cross Poison by level-up and can be bred with Night Slash. As Cross Poison is one of Ariados’ best attacks anyway, this is a great option if you want to build your Ariados to attack. 

Art by Sunnyfish

MOVES:

In the past, the first step to building an Ariados was to get a Heracross, but thankfully Megahorn is now a TR. Slap that thing on Ariados and you have a 120 power STAB attack that, admittedly, gets resisted by far too many things.

For a poison attack, Cross Poison with Sniper, or Poison Jab without. 

Ariados’ STAB moves don’t work on Poison, Ghost, or Steel types, so if you want coverage, you’re going to need to go digging. But not for Dig, because while you can get it, it’s too easily dodged. Throat Chop can be found via move tutor, and you can breed for Night Slash to use with Sniper… but with Ariados’ low speed, you’re generally better off using Sucker Punch, which it learns naturally, to ensure the first hit.

All that said, Ariados just isn’t a heavy enough hitter to be used as a primary attacker and doesn’t have the durability or speed to set up with Swords Dance if it’s built for attacking. 

What Ariados can do, though, is combine the rarely seen Spider Web with Toxic Spikes, creating serious entry hazards when trained for defense. This will end with Ariados taken down relatively easily on the opponent’s part, but should make the fight easier for the rest of your team. Toxic Thread, its signature move, can also deliver poison and slow an opponent, making it easier for your next Pokemon to defeat.

Art by SmolSammich

OVERALL:

Spinarak and Ariados are great designs with a lot of cool mechanics and interesting build options that are just too weak because they’re early route Pokemon. Ariados is stronger than Ledian both because it has a better stat distribution and because in Gen 7, the devs gave it another 10 stat points just because. Why Ledian didn’t get that, too, I don’t know.  I don’t have any actual complaints about this pair, they’re just not going to be able to do anything without a larger stat total. Bug/Poison is a pretty weak type combination, but that’s more a fault of the types not being created equal and Bug being horribly underpowered than anything Ariados is doing.

Art by TheMadJip

#Krenko's Pokemon Guide #Spinarak #Ariados #Seriously Alola is full of Ariados and just has almost no Spinarak #They're not even on the same island #Where do these Ariados come from?

[morrigan-sims]

1, 6, 9, 16, & 17 for an OC (or OCs) of your choosing! ♥️

Ahh, hi Ash! Thanks for the ask! (and for making this great ask game!!) I'm going to answer these for a variety of OCs, I think.

What memory would your OC rather just forget?

Captain Blackthorne wouldn't want to forget any of his memories, even the most painful ones (such as Rosalynn's death). They are the things that drive him forwards, and make him who he is.

Rook would like to forget his entire time spent with Captain Wolf. It was very traumatic and painful, both physically and mentally, and he would be leaving a lot of trauma behind if he could forget it.

Morana would choose to forge her parents' deaths. It was a very violent thing to see as a small child, and even though the memory is very foggy, it's still painful. A decent part of her wishes that she could just forget her parents entirely and move on without that shadow over her.

Similar to Blackthorne, Asola wouldn't want to forget anything, even her most painful moments. They empower her and motivate her, even when they hurt. She's an Oath of Vengeance Paladin, so her worst memories are the fuel for her Oath.

Fallon would choose to forget a certain something that happens during the course of RTQ.

gonna put the rest of these under the cut, because it's gonna get long...

6. How easily could your OC be convinced to do something that goes against their moral compass?

For Captain Blackthorne, it would be nearly impossible. His moral compass is incredibly strong, and he would have a very hard time turning against it. But he might be able to do it if it meant saving Fallon from harm.

Rook could be convinced, but it would have to be for a good reason, like saving a friend or preventing some great calamity.

Morana barely has a moral compass, so it would be pretty easy for her to be convinced to do something most people would consider immoral.

Asola would also have a very hard time turning against her moral compass. Perhaps if it meant saving the lives of many people, or of a friend, she could do it. But the decision would haunt her.

Fallon would do what is necessary to protect her kingdom and her loved ones. If that means going against her moral compass, she would do it, but would feel absolutely awful about it. There are still some lines she might never cross, though. And if she had the choice between saving her kingdom and saving someone she loved, it might just destroy her.

9. Do you have a specific lyric or quote which you associate with your OC?

For Captain Blackthorne, I don't have one yet.

For Rook, I think the (very over-quoted) phrase "Of course it's dangerous, that's why it's fun." feels fitting.

I don't have one for Morana yet.

Asola doesn't have one either, but I like the phrase "If I can't find peace, give me bitter glory.", though I'm not sure if it fits her character yet.

I mentioned two that I associate with Fallon here, but I also have a soft spot for "Heavy lies the head that wears the crown." when it comes to royalty.

16. What is your OC's pain tolerance like?

Captain Blackthorne's pain tolerance is decent? He could keep going through pain if he needed to, but in general, unless it's absolutely necessary, he knows that giving your body time to rest is the better choice.

Rook's pain tolerance is pretty high. It's the result of 2 years of literal torture, I suppose. He can definitely ignore a lot of things that would at least give others pause. (Which is helpful when you're an adventurer who might die daily.)

Morana also has decent pain tolerance, but not for any specific reason. She just manages to shut out the pain and focus on something else.

Asola has pretty high pain tolerance, which just comes from about a decade of adventuring, and suffering all kinds of horrible injuries and pain. She'll grit her teeth and bear it, as long as she has to. (It's also fitting for her as a Scourge Aasimar, but she doesn't know that about herself.)

Fallon has a lower pain tolerance. She's never really been seriously injured, or experiences intense amounts of physical pain. But she does have a tendency to try and pretend everything is fine, even when it's decidedly not. She wouldn't be very good at it if she were in physical pain, but she'd probably try anyways.

17. What is the worst thing you have put your OC through story-wise?

This question feels hand-picked for me specifically. Goodness knows I love torturing my characters...

For Captain Blackthorne, it was definitely Rosalynn's death. She was his closest friend, and it was his job to protect her. Even though it was in no way his fault, he feels like it was his personal failure that resulted in her death.

For Rook, there's a few options. But I think the most obvious one is being sold to Captain Wolf and spending 2 years as her prisoner. Not only was he betrayed by his own crew, but he was taken away from the only person who had ever been truly a good influence in his life, and he had to endure physical torture. But I have more bad plans for him in the future, including seeing Captain Wolf again...

For Morana, likely her parents' death, even though she hardly remembers it at this point. She's had a relatively calm backstory compared to some of my OCs.

For Asola, it was also the murder of her parents, and her entire hometown, at the hands of (she suspects) werewolves. It was the first and only time her Aasimar powers have been unleashed, and they come out in times of intense negative emotion. Though, I'm hoping I can work with my DM to get to a point where I can give her a reason to unleash them again.... (I literally have a detailed plan of what will happen if it does.)

The worst thing Fallon has been through to date is her mother's death thanks to her father's betrayal. Already reeling from that, and the grief of losing her mother, she was then immediately thrust into a leadership position. Anvia was enraged about Rosalynn's death, and some people were calling for Fallon to resume the war against Oryn. (They don't know about the rebels.) As for other horrible things, well, I have a pretty awful one planned for during RTQ, but we'll have to wait and see...

#salemssimblr #ask Morrigan #oc asks #rtq: Captain Blackthorne #rtq: Fallon #oc: Rook #oc: Morana #oc: Asola #🖋

[khaoscontrol]

More about my AU because I spent the whole day thinking about it and I’ve been so merciful to not post every single random thought I have about it. (Still merciful enough to add the read more though)

Relationships are always a big focus for me in any of my works, it’s no different for an AU. Maria’s relationships with other characters are really important to me, I’ve gone pretty in-depth with her dynamics with Shadow and Eggman (and I’ve slightly touched on her rivalry with Rouge) but I’ve put a lot of thought into many many other characters and frankly I just wanna get my thoughts down somewhere. So I’m just gonna go over anything and everything I’ve put any thought into.

Maria’s dynamic with Shadow is the one I try to handle with the most care. I don’t have a huge amount to work with from the games, but I normally try to keep it as close to canon as I can with a good dose of pulling from my relationships with my own siblings. The main thing I expand on is the tension in their relationship due to Maria being on Eggman’s side, but honestly for the most part that effects the people around them more than it effects their dynamic.

Eggman I’ve gone into a bit, but not a whole lot. I was literally working with crumbs trying to think of what their canon relationship might look like, and luckily for me Frontiers confirmed basically what I’d assumed. Eggman didn’t really know Maria. So as far as their past I left it as Maria remembered him better than he remembered her. I place him as decently younger than she was, so in Maria’s mind he’s her younger cousin. Eggman sees Maria for her maturity and respects her for it, he still views her as a child, but treats her more as an equal than a kid he’s responsible for. Over time in the AU he begins to consider her as a right hand man because of her level-headedness and unwavering loyalty.

The rest of Team Dark aren’t exactly fond of Maria. Rouge is convinced Maria was created by Eggman entirely to trick Shadow and Maria thinks Rouge is just a GUN agent hired to keep a leash on Shadow. Neither of them think the other has Shadows best interest in mind. Omega is in Rouge’s line of thinking Maria is just some other Badnik and hates her just as much as he hates any of Eggman’s other creations. He only holds off on trying to destroy her on sight because Rouge told him not to. Eventually some trust is gained between them and Maria, but there’s always at least a rivalry between them.

As a fully fledged member of the Eggman Empire, basically all of Eggman’s creations see Maria as friendly. Orbot and Cubot are especially fond of her as she’s the only person there who’s consistently nice to them. Metal Sonic starts out pretty neutral to her, but over time is enthusiastic to be teamed up with her as often as possible (because she spoils him sooo much). Sage being the newest addition to the family I haven’t put more thought in their relationship yet than the fact Maria views her as a niece and Sage exclusively refers to her as her aunt.

NOW the most important part. Look me in the eye, this is important. Her relationship with Sonic is honestly my favorite second to only Shadow. I just like to keep the ideas to myself. They are enemies, more so than she is with the 2/3 of Team Dark. Their first introductions are brief and almost always accompanied by Metal Sonic. Maria adamantly dislikes Sonic. She sees him as a roadblock to what she believes is best for the world (which is of course, under Eggman’s rule). Even on the occasion her and Sonic are working towards similar goals, she will try to undermine him to do things her way. This mentality spreads to how she views the rest of Sonic’s friends. She thinks she could handle the Master Emerald better than Knuckles, she trusts Eggman to have better plans than Tails, etc. etc. This is where Eggman’s personality (and programming) has rubbed off on her, she’s egotistical.

But the most important part of her relationship with Sonic differs from how Eggman treats him is that she does not hate Sonic at all, she just views him as irresponsible. She feels bad for him because she knows he thinks he’s doing the right thing, but as far as she’s concerned, he’s not. Sonic similarly doesn’t dislike Maria, he thinks she’s misguided and is always trying to convince her to ditch Eggman. It never works, but he’s always trying. They’re foils in similar ways Shadow and Sonic are. She’s stubborn and rigid where Sonic’s more laid back. They do so enjoy fighting each other though, both of them see it as a bit of a game.

#Sonic and Maria would be SUCH good friends if they weren’t such good enemies. #ophidian lore #metal maria

[childofaura]

I didn't realize you were a Sonic fan! who are your favorite Sonic VA's?

Yes! I’ve been a Sonic fan since I was a wee lass, kind of came with being autistic, lmao. But Oh MAN, if we’re talking about Sonic VAs then I HAVE to break it down character by character. Sorry but this WILL be long:

Sonic: Jason Griffith, hands down. My first Sonic actor was Ryan Drummond (My actual first very own Sonic game was Heroes but I was watching the AoStH cartoon and watched the OVA when I was a kid. But this is strictly for the games), but all things considered I really warmed up to Jason’s Sonic, especially because he was the warmest and friendliest-sounding Sonic. Easily the best Sonic voice for me overall. I will give props to Roger though for FINALLY sounding decent in Frontiers, the decent writing (THANK YOU, IAN FLYNN) and the voice directing helped him out. But Jason’s still the best.

Tails: Amy Palant. While I do like Colleen O’Shaughnessey a lot, Amy’s was pretty distinct. Though my actual favorite Tails voice, William Corkery, was very short-lived but it was the cutest. But I liked the fluctuations of tone in Amy’s Tails voice.

Knuckles: oh man, THIS one is hard. It’s a toss-up between Scott Drier and Dan Green. Travis Willingham is ok but he was just imitating Dan’s voice. And I like Dave B. Mitchell but I think I need to hear his voice more. But yeah, Scott or Dan are both my top faves because Scott made Knux sound younger and less like a stereotypical musclehead, but Dan Green is… well, it’s Dan Green! You can’t beat his “ARE YOU CRAZY?!?! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!?!”

Amy: Could go either way between Jennifer Doulliard or Lisa Ortiz. I respect Cindy Robinson, but… I don’t think she was the best fit for Amy.

Shadow: MAN this one is also tough, between David Humphrey and Jason Griffith, they were both insanely incredible choices for Shadow. May have to lean with Jason due to nostalgia. Also side note, I think people give Kirk Thornton too much shit because of the horrible voice direction in the games he was in. He can do a decent Shadow when the voice director isn’t screwing him over (AND WHEN THE AUDIO MIXING IS ACTUALLY COMPETENT. LOOKING AT YOU, FORCES).

Rouge: I like all three a lot, though Kathleen Delaney is the one I probably lean the most towards. Perfect sultry tones for Rouge. But I adore Lani and Karen as well.

Omega: uhhh, I think as long as the voice has the proper robot filter, it doesn’t matter too much lol

Silver: Pete Capella. No contest. Though Quinton Flynn did a good job too.

Blaze: Probably stick with Bella Hudson, she was the OG Blaze and she did it best in my opinion.

Babylon Rogues: The OG cast, Jason, Dan, and Bella, we’re the best. I can’t be convinced otherwise.

Team Chaotix: I think they’ve all had good voices each time around, though for Charmy I will say that Amy Birnbaum was the best.

Eggman: No contest, Mike Pollock. His voice is iconic! He has the range! He IS Eggman! I did like Deen Bristow though too, for the short time we had him. But Mike is the best and I can’t stand to hear anyone else playing as Eggman.

I think that’s my general opinions so far, I mainly covered the games since that’s what the media is based in more. BUT! Special props to OVA actor Martin Burke, AoStH actor Jaleel White, and movie actor Ben Schwartz for their roles too, they were all fitting voices (oh and Idris Elba was such a badass pick for Knuckles).

#Kiiinda overlooked Cream and Big but mainly because we don’t get to hear them often #though I will say Big’s voice in Frontiers was endearing

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

DreamWorks’ Great Reset?

This looks to have been a banner year for DreamWorks Animation LLC.

Pierre Perifel’s THE BAD GUYS was a critical and commercial success, once again a showcase of their software and how they can produce such dynamic visuals without spending as much as Disney Animation and Pixar do each time out on features. The incoming PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH, the belated sequel to the SHREK spin-off from Joel Crawford, is already a critical darling, already has a Golden Globe nomination, and appears to be Universal’s over-all big push for the animated feature Oscar. It’s sure to make some decent money, too!

Universal in general seems to have had a fantastic animated year, when you add in 3/4 of SING 2′s gross, as that movie was a late December opening. Then you have MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, which is the highest-earning animated movie since the 2019 release of FROZEN II... Not too shabby. The Walt Disney Company, by contrast, had some real pains this year. I liked all three of the big-time animated movies released by them this year (not counting D+ pics like RESCUE RANGERS, the new WIMPY KID, and the NIGHT AND THE MUSEUM continuation), but the way they were handled and released didn’t work out. Bob Chapek is out as CEO, and a restructuring of his way of running the movie end of the business is already underway. Even though COVID-19 is still a thing, audiences have returned en masse to the movies... Especially proven by the biggest blockbusters this year, from TOP GUN: MAVERICK to JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION to Disney’s own BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER... TURNING RED, LIGHTYEAR, and STRANGE WORLD could’ve definitely benefited from that, but for various reasons... Did not.

But not Universal... They weathered the storm, they smartly delayed pictures and stayed committed to the theatrical release. MINIONS 2, for example, was pretty much ready to go for a summer 2020 release. After the outbreak of COVID-19, they pushed it to summer 2021, but it seemed like things - even with vaccines out - still had a ways to go, they pushed it to summer 2022... Probably the best thing they did for that feature... I couldn’t imagine it making the kind of money it did this past summer, in summer 2021.

DreamWorks is a curious case, really. DreamWorks had many growing pains in the early 2010s. Being independent, each movie they made had to be a big hit in order to keep the place afloat. Problem was, whatever they were doing at the time... And being based in Cali didn’t help, it lead to their animated movies costing $125m minimum... That puts a ridiculous strain on a movie like, say, TURBO or MR. PEABODY & SHERMAN. If those had cost half of what they ended up costing, they’d be considered minor hits... But with those budgets, they were crushing flops. Animators and staff bore the brunt of it, too. Layoffs, pictures being cancelled (R.I.P. ME AND MY SHADOW), restructurings... An entire studio shut down, too. R.I.P. Pacific Data Images.

Comcast bought DreamWorks in 2016, and the studio’s distribution deal with 20th Century Fox was cut off the year after, with a few more movies being put into limbo (THE CROODS 2) or outright cancelled. (LARRIKINS) It was a rocky transition, and it seemed like the game plan and leadership changed a lot. For a little while, Chris DeFaria was heading up animation and some projects with a lot of potential got optioned or even slated... Only to go the way of the quagga. The studio took 2018 off (which was when LARRIKINS would’ve opened), and came back with a HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON threequel with a baffling ending (though it nonetheless scored great reviews and solid box office) and a co-production called ABOMINABLE. Somewhere down the line, DeFaria was out, and later in came from Margie Cohn from DreamWorks’ TV animation division... Running both wings, now. COVID-19 cut into TROLLS WORLD TOUR, which did stellar business as a PVOD title in April 2020. Universal tested a theatrical/PVOD strategy with THE CROODS: A NEW AGE, which paid off nicely.

TROLLS 2 and CROODS 2 marked the beginning of DreamWorks’ new way of budgeting their animated movies. CROODS 2 especially. The first movie cost them $135m to make back in 2013, the sequel? $65m... And it looked just as good as the original. 2021 saw the release of SPIRIT: UNTAMED, which didn’t do well, but THE BOSS BABY: FAMILY BUSINESS scored okay enough as a hybrid release. THE BAD GUYS was their first big-time theatrical release in a while, and it performed pretty well! Now PUSS IN BOOTS Dos looks to really make a wallop, and be their biggest pic in a while.

In the lead up the film, they’ve created an all-new logo that showcases characters from their past films/series. There’s talk I hear from the trenches that indicates that they are on their way to a grand reset of sorts, now that they’ve found their footing.

Though surprisingly, their slate seems rather incomplete.

They have two features coming out next year, and the only one that got any kind of formal announcement is the 2nd of the batch... TROLLS BAND TOGETHER, which is currently slated for November 17, 2023. That title had been quietly rumored for some time, but European Universal documents confirm it is so. The picture also seems to be releasing earlier in territories like Switzerland, mid-October. Wouldn’t be surprised if it moves there in the U.S. as well, given that the current date puts it five days before Disney Animation’s centennial celebration feature WISH. We’ll have to see...

A feature called MEET THE GILMANS (or is it GILLMANS? I’ve seen two spellings of it) has been quietly rumored for quite some time, too, and has popped up - mysteriously - on the resumes of DWA staffers. Little is known about it, apparently it has to do with a family of sea monsters. That’s kind of similar to the Pixar picture LUCA, but animated movies with similar premises are a regular occurrence. Not everything is an ANTZ/A BUG’S LIFE scenario... Anyways, it’s pretty much all we know plus a few other things. An Italian Universal recently executive confirmed the movie’s existence and it being a summer release, despite no U.S. records showing that. Universal did previously have the date 6/30/2023 reserved for Illumination’s Benjamin Renner comedy MIGRATION, but then moved that to the Christmas season... Not at all suggesting that a DreamWorks movie had taken its place. There was a DreamWorks movie set for late March of 2023 at one point, but Illumination’s SUPER MARIO BROS. movie took the first weekend of April instead. Additionally, that Swiss release calendar that got out indicates that MEET THE GILMANS indeed opens in late June of 2023...

So GILMANS is our mystery movie here. It exists, yet it kind of doesn’t. This, strangely, isn’t new for DreamWorks... But this close to release and we know next to nothing about it? THE BAD GUYS had gotten a similar rollout. I reckon once PUSS IN BOOTS Dos opens, DreamWorks and Universal announce GILMAN as their summer 2023 picture, or even unveil the new slate of movies that has been quietly prepared all this time...

The only other movie on their slate is KUNG FU PANDA 4, currently scheduled for March 8, 2024. Notably, that date places it after Pixar’s ELIO (3/1/2024) and a few weeks before Sony’s SPIDER-MAN: BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE (3/29/2024)... Another tidbit that surfaced concerns KUNG FU PANDA 4, actually... Joel Crawford is directing. The man seems to be the DreamWorks Franchise Reviver of sorts. Directed CROODS: A NEW AGE, this new PUSS IN BOOTS movie, and now a KUNG FU PANDA that arrives eight years after its predecessor. Will he be the one to bring MADAGASCAR back as well? DreamWorks did have a MADAGASCAR 4 in the works that they scrapped during their growing pains years, who’s to say that can’t be revived? After all, a different version of PUSS IN BOOTS 2 was also shelved right around the same time as that MADAGASCAR 4 project. CROODS 2 was also a shelf-and-restart situation.

But what else? I hear their game plan is an original and a sequel every calendar year. 2022 filled that quota: BAD GUYS (yes, I know, a book adaptation... But not a sequel to something. That’s what I mean by “original”) and PUSS IN BOOTS.

Next year: MEET THE GILMANS and TROLLS BAND TOGETHER.

2024... KUNG FU PANDA 4... And?

What’s a possible candidate? In the recent years, DreamWorks has announced a plethora of optioned material and original stories, and many of them disappeared. At one time we could’ve seen an adaptation of THE WIZARDS OF ONCE - a book series by HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON author Cressida Cowell - come out, or an adaptation of MICE AND MYSTICS. In 2020, two projects were announced: An adaptation of Dav Pilkey’s DOG MAN (same man who created CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS, which DreamWorks adapted into a movie in 2017), and an adaptation of Thomas Lennon’s RONAN BOYLE AND THE BRIDGE OF RIDDLES... There’s also an untitled picture that’s to be made in collaboration with Unanimous Media.

Out of all these, I reckon it’s either one or the other. DOG MAN could go through given how CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS did for DreamWorks and the additional stuff it spawned (such as the Netflix series), and the fun style of Pilkey’s work is already right in line with what DreamWorks does. It also has a director in Peter Hastings, who worked on several TV projects for DreamWorks, including the CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS stuff. He was also - supposedly - at one point eyed to direct the UNDERPANTS movie, and at one time... The first HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON!

RONAN BOYLE has Fergal Reilly as its director, and original author Thomas Lennon as screenwriter. I’m leaning on this one being their other 2024 release, likely a fall debut. Late September. DreamWorks seems to like that slot a lot. CROODS 2 was aiming for it in 2020 until COVID-19 pushed it to Thanksgiving, BOSS BABY 2 was looking at it for 2021 but got moved up to July 2021, PUSS IN BOOTS could’ve been a September 2022 release but it went to this coming Christmas week...

Curiously, Universal has one other animated movie set for 2024... February 9, 2024 to be exact... But no specification. Illumination? DreamWorks? Something else? Universal does have the rights to the LEGO movies and will make the next one, be it THE LEGO MOVIE 3 or something else... But I don’t know if it’s ready for February 2024... I reckon KUNG FU PANDA 4 moves to that slot instead, leaving March to ELIO and SPIDER-VERSE. Illumination releases DESPICABLE ME 4 in summer 2024, I think it’ll be their only picture for that year. What else do they even have in development? A picture called BIG TREE, an untitled Pharrell Williams films that feels like it was announced eons ago, and a third SECRET LIFE OF PETS movie.

Anyways, here’s what I see so far...

06/30/2023: MEET THE GILMANS

11/17/2023: TROLLS BAND TOGETHER

02/09/2024: KUNG FU PANDA 4

09/27/2024: RONAN BOYLE

2025: SHREK 5

2025: DOG MAN

There’s also a third BOSS BABY movie in the works, and a third CROODS as well. Not sure where those will all fit in when all is said and done, but... We’ll only know from either Universal or DreamWorks themselves. Interestingly, the Swiss slate also adds late September 2025 and late September 2026 for “Untitled Animated Event Films”... I’m pretty sure those will be for DreamWorks movies, and in the U.S., the exact dates would probably be 9/26/2025 and 9/25/2026. Illumination typically takes the summer and Christmas slots, though sometimes they share. MARIO opens in April of next year, with GILMANS in the June slot, and we’ve got PUSS IN BOOTS opening in a few days... But I think everything goes back to the usual after next year.

So...

06/30/2023: MEET THE GILMANS (DreamWorks)

11/17/2023: TROLLS BAND TOGETHER (DreamWorks)

12/22/2023: MIGRATION (Illumination)

02/09/2024: KUNG FU PANDA 4 (DreamWorks)

07/03/2024: DESPICABLE ME 4 (Illumination)

09/27/2024: RONAN BOYLE (DreamWorks)

Early 2025: Untitled LEGO Movie (LEGO Group)

Spring 2025: SHREK 5 (DreamWorks)

Summer 2025: Untitled Illumination

09/26/2025: DOG MAN (DreamWorks)

Christmas 2025: Untitled Illumination

Spring 2026: THE CROODS 3 (DreamWorks)

Summer 2026: Untitled Illumination

09/25/2026: Untitled DreamWorks Original

It was fun to predict this stuff back in the day, so... We shall see.

[sofibeth]

Out of all the complaints about IDW Sonic’s principles i find the one most perplexing is him being consider an asshole for defending his beilefs ot his friends instead of I dunno a character flaw.

Forgive if I’m more open to more flawed Sonic interpretation so I’m explaining this more on that angle instead of the more role model game portrayals . But I don’t see the comic as making his ideals the absolute correct way considering characters openly argue over against him. Which while he stubborn buckles down on his beilefs still lets them argue with him and even then still on good terms with them. 

Only example I could see as mean spirited is the Sonic and Shadow panel that tends to be brought up alot. I’ll agree their could be couterarguements on if Sonic should have manipulate Shadow feelings their or not. (adding factor of Sonic booked into a corner trying defend who he beileved was an innocent man at the time) Unfortually considering that Shadow is being pushed into a more rival\vegeta type where BOTH writers admit they were restricted to how to write him, I feel that hinders the scene in hidsight. (not an excuse, just a possible explaination)

I’d say the grip that I do agree with is Eggman with Tinker situation since Sonic does feel he could change him when we know its never really gonna happen as the main villain. (sidenote if you want Sonic to subdue villains you should really focus on that prison in bad guys just sayin) Tho I feel that been dropped in recent arcs since Sonic’s interaction with Eggman now is just escaping from or stopping him via explosion like the games again. (aka beginning of Zeti Arc)

Aside from it being too preachy in recent issues I admit but one thing I appreciate now is now only their is more challenge of Sonic’s beilefs getting called out but Sonic struggling to hold on it.

Unironcially I think this scene holds up better on in hidsight now knowing their going to be more to this. The story actually pulls Sonic principles into the focus and brings up the drawbacks of the one time he was actually merciful (which for Sonic’s defense aside from the Metal decision I feel are pretty reasonable at the time) I apreciate that for one spilt panel he seen to either be in thought or hestiants before answering cause he does a silmilar thing when he defeats Surge.

Also why I can’t really see Sonic being unremorseful here cause the expression in that pause before he re-focus himself on another objective makes it feel he had some regret in how he dealt with Surge. Keep in mind Surge literally came up to him and declare he ruined her life and then proceeds to just threaten him in action before he had time to even process what she said to him. Can understand if some would have wanted Sonic to be more understanding but I can also why he’s more tough love stance here since she’s so aggressive to him. Eitherway it didn’t work out 

But yea its not perfect and not even my favorite aspect of the comics, butI do feel their is decently to good structure where they can go with this.

#idw sonic #sonic the hedgehog #want to share a more open minded perpective on this subject #and also since I still do like IDW #do find it funny how more Sonic portrayals being complained are because he's too mean #yet this one is complained for being too nice #with a bit being too stubborn I'll admit #did have to omit some thoughts cause I have a life but I'm open if anyone wants elaboration on thoughts.

[puer-magus]

I am genuinely curious, how would you rank Magibaru compared to canon characters? (Magia Record is included.) Can he beat Homura? He does have natural time stop immunity but idk, it is from isekai quartet.

First ask! Thank you for sending your question!

In PMMM, a lot of strength is kind of dependent on how cleverly a magi uses the magic they have. Magibaru is pretty strong considering he doesn’t have any game-breaking powers (ignoring Return by Shadow for a second). A lot of his strategies are ‘get in there and kill it as fast as possible’ as to avoid drawn out battles, because Witches tend to pull out nasty stuff the longer a magi spends trying to fight them.

Subaru’s magi power is Gun. He can summon any kind of (wieldable) gun he wants for a small magic cost, and once they’re summoned they don’t take any magic to maintain. The bullets take an even smaller amount of magic to make, although fancier effects like exploding or ricocheting take more mana. Items that are not quite Gun but gun-related (bayonets, grenades, small knives, etc) take more magic (but still not a lot). Otherwise, he’s mostly very fast and strong and able to regenerate, and he can ‘double-jump’ mid-air. His favourite party trick is to throw a gun up, have it freeze mid-air and then fire, and then catch the falling gun.

Magi Subaru has large magic reserves and severe PTSD. This means that despite the fact that he can throw around ridiculously strong attacks if he wants, his soul gem tends to darken very quickly regardless. It’s also why he tries to end battles faster.

Homura on the other hand is very conservative magic-wise, and while she has to reload her guns they also don’t cost magic. She also has time powers, which kind of no-sells most normal threats (ex. anything that isn’t Walpurgisnacht). Normally I’d say that while Subaru would give her a run for her money she would win, simply because while Subaru can regenerate there’s not a lot you can do against getting blown into chunks in an instant.

But.

Magi Subaru has Return by Shadow. And with it he does have the time stop immunity, which counters Homura’s main strategy (stop time, set up bombardment, resume time, boom). This natural time stop immunity also does not cost any magic, crucially.

But Homura can turn back time, you say. The thing is, because the Witch of Envy’s fuckery can already mess with time, in this fic’s canon I would say that Magi Subaru can remember past time loops. Definitely not perfectly. Probably only flashes of insight. But it’d give him a shot.

Magibaru’s own Return by Shadow itself is a very useful tool, but due to the heavy Witch Miasma it also darkens his soul gem a decent amount. This can be an issue. He’d need quite a few Grief Seeds if he kept spamming it.

Overall, they’re pretty evenly matched. If Homura went all out and abused her time powers and shitload of guns she would probably win, mostly because she could outlast Magi Subaru unless he had a mountain of grief seeds. If she assumed he was a normal magi and didn’t Subaru would probably win, mostly because he no-sells most of the powers she uses in a fight and is basically kind of a mirror of her.

I’m not an exhaustive expert on Puella Magi Madoka Magica canon and this is fanfic anyway so please take this with a grain of salt.

I hope I answered your question!

#puer magus fic #ask answered