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ectoplasmic-entity · 4 months

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How about a platonic Dark Danny and a sweet, naïve ghost child Reader who is fascinated with Dan, grows attached to him and is affectionate towards him and over time Dan finds himself starting to care about the child and becomes like a big brother or father figure to them.

This was a bit of an interesting request anon, considering that I had to write from the perspective of a child. I generally don't write child characters.

I'd put the child reader in the 6, maybe 7 to 8 range. Kids are smart, but they're not the best decision makers and as you said it, naive.

So, this was good practice .3.

Genre: Gen

Rating: K

Content Warnings: N/A

Words: 3.1k+

Dan didn’t notice you the first time.

He’s quite distracted, all in his lonesome, with just the eeriness of the Ghost Zone for company. He hunches over on a huge chunk of rock, balancing perfectly on the edge. Dan’s cape drapes down behind him. Teetering back and forth with abandon, and the cape wavers ever so elegantly with his motions.

It cascades down his body, shrouding him in shadow. Hiding Dan from the rest of the world. The haunting essence of the Ghost Zone doesn’t help matters much. Infinitely spiralling as far as the eye can see. Few ghosts rarely stray off the beaten path.

No one else is here besides Dan. Isolating as it may be, it lets him unwind and be alone with just his thoughts.

He hears it first. A loud shuffling of fabric twisting around. Loud and clear, right behind him. It startles him, but he doesn’t react… yet. Slowly, Dan turns his head around. His ears twitch, searching for any sounds to alert him to unwanted visitors. His hair flows calmly with the occasional crackle. Posture tense and guarded.

There’s nothing there. An innocuous emptiness taunts him.

Dan grumbles softly, annoyance flashes across his face. Everything seems so distracting when it usually isn’t.

Carefully reassuming his original position, Dan bows his head down and slowly closes his eyes. His body slants down as he relaxes, the faint rumble of his breaths expel from his mouth. Calm and steady as can be, which are infrequent moments for Dan.

Several minutes of quietude pass. Eventually, Dan begins to relax, his limbs going slack and his muscles easing the tension. He tunes out his surroundings, nothing more than a white noise in the background. The thrum of his ghost core nearly brings him to a lull, pulsing a soothing rhythm through his body.

Then, again, another loud shuffling ensues. Ruffling and rumpling without a care. Dan twitches, his facial muscles pull slightly. Who could possibly be making such a noise?

He turns his head again. Red eyes narrow and wandering. Little by little, his lips slowly curl back to bare his fangs in warning.

A flicker of movement catches his eye. Something very small scuttling around, right below where he’s perching. It leads his eyes to a curious shape that forms under his cape. It’s long enough to drag on the ground, naturally something may have gotten trapped under it. Dan blinks, he thinks he sees what looks like a pair of spectral eyes glowing under the fabric.

Frowning in suspicion, Dan reaches down with his fingers splaying out. Grabbing a fistful of fabric, he swiftly strips it away without a thought. His eyes widen in surprise, the fabric slips from his hand and flutters to the craggy surface of the rock. Dan’s breath shakes lightly as he stares down at you, too surprised to speak.

You stare right back with wide eyes and a tiny grin that forms on your face. You then turn your attention to the cape and, taking a handful of fabric, you pull on it.

Dan hardly acknowledges it, only flicking his gaze to the side for a moment. Instead, he reaches down for you, imposing himself to be huger than you think. You squeal in excitement when he picks you up, your hands cling tightly to his cape and your body dangles in the air. Dan holds you close to his face.

“Where’d you come from?” Dan asks, one brow rises.

You only smile up at him, your body swings back and forth with increasing momentum. He’s certainly sturdy enough to be used as a swing.

“Not much of a talker, are you?” Dan says, tilting his head.

You look up at him again, your eyes lock into a stare with his. You’re both silent, waiting for the other to break contact. At one point, you hold your breath under Dan’s intense gaze. You can’t help but grin widely at him.

Only one thought ran its course through Dan’s mind. Why, of all things, is a ghost child doing here? He never picked up on your presence the first time. Though, the longer he observes you, the more he thinks you’re at the age where you aren’t fully capable of using your powers yet. Your ecto signature isn’t strong enough for him to sense it.

You stop propelling your body, slowing down to a gentle rocking. Dan’s flowing hair mesmerizes you, bright and calm to your eyes. It seems magical to you. Curious, you try to reach out to him. Just to brush your hand through his hair. You keep your eyes on Dan as you do so, silently taunting him.

Dan inhales deeply and sets his jaw. He stares back, his eyes glowing a bit brighter. He holds his arm out, creating a distance between the two of you, and prevents you from reaching towards him. Your jaw hangs open in surprise, you were expecting a far more vibrant reaction. Dan grins down at you, a shadow casts over a portion of his face. You hang there with a pout appearing on your face, your cheeks puffy and lips turn down slightly.

Bending over, Dan lowers you back down to the rocky surface and, with some light shaking, makes you let go. You land with a soft thud, forcing a small grunt out of you. You look up at him defiantly, huffing and puffing.

Dan’s face twitches. He’s a little put out by the entire interaction, his lips move, but no sound comes out of him.

How is this kid not scared of him?

Finally, “Go away, kid,” he says, standing up straight with a stretch. “Who knows what’ll… happen if you stick around.”

Without as much as a glance back, Dan seamlessly takes off in a flight. His dark form blurs as he blends into the chaos of the Ghost Zone. Twisting, grotesque amalgamations amass around him. Hopefully this will be more than enough to discourage you from following him into the depths.

No ghost child would be so daring.

Time is of little matter to him. With how this realm operates, it’s as useful as trying to make out what colours the ‘sky’ is to determine what day it is. It’s easy to get lost, which more than suits Dan to be alone with his thoughts. It’s eerily quiet as well, something that reaches far too deep into his ears for his liking. He doesn’t mind the quiet for the most part, he does get a bit fidgety at times.

Oddly enough, his thoughts keep wandering back to you. You aren’t the first, but one of the very few who didn’t actively show fear of him. Dan snorts softly in amusement, a small child has bigger guts than even the hardiest soldier. He supposes that does say something about you.

Dan does wonder if your parents are looking for you. Or, if you even have parents at all.

His chest aches dully with the sudden change of thought. He slows down to a stop, floating aimlessly in the vast darkness. Controlled breaths slowly blow through his mouth, Dan’s hands turn into fists like he’s trying to crush such emotions from within. His head falls back a bit in contention, he blinks several times. That you even approached him in the first place persistently nags at him, and now he can’t shake it.

Looking back, Dan is clearly no longer in the same proximity where you first came upon him. No ghost ever did, not with the Zone constantly shifting around. You might still be there, without a way to get around.

Dan hardly moves a muscle before he hears a small sound behind him. That same shuffling of fabric twisting about. He freezes on the spot, and waits. His body unusually tense.

Could it be?

No. You couldn’t have.

Although… you probably did.

With a turn of his head, Dan spots you almost instantly. Most of your body is hidden behind his cape, you pull it up to your face, hiding half of it. You avert your eyes, pretending you don’t see him. You smile to yourself now that he’s seen you again.

“Were you following me the entire time?” It isn’t a statement.

You move the cape from your face, tucking it under your chin, and beam a huge smile at him. He’s honestly quite funny with all these small reactions, even if they aren’t as enthusiastic as you want them to be.

Dan sighs heavily and folds his arms, eyes not quite hard, but not entirely friendly either. He doesn’t necessarily hate kids, they’re just small and get in his way. You following him is especially bothersome. Credit is given where credit is due, Dan has to admit.

You must be pretty resilient to stand being in his presence without being overwhelmed. And to physically keep up with him for such a long time.

“Better you with me than anywhere else, I guess,” Dan says to himself in resignation.

Still, he doesn’t want to drag you around with him forever. The notion has Dan rolling his eyes, at the very least, he can keep you in one piece long enough to find someone to hand you off to. If… he can, that is, ghost children are incredibly vulnerable without their parents.

That’s probably why you’re so insistent on following him. You feel safe in Dan’s powerful ghostly aura. You’re less likely to be noticed by unsavoury individuals that way, too.

Dan perks up at yet another small, but softer sound this time around. A quick glance reveals you yawning widely, the tips of your tiny fangs barely visible. A soft groan emits from your throat. You hastily wipe your eyes to keep the sleepiness away. It’s in vain, as you yawn again, and your eyes droop a little. Your hand relaxes its grip on Dan’s cape, and you stumble forward, your body heavy with exhaustion.

Dan tenses slightly, wondering if you’re merely just seconds from collapse. He didn’t consider that you’d expend all your energy keeping up with him. The sight of your tiny form teetering tugs at… something in Dan’s chest. A deep inhale, he lets it sit for a moment, he knows what that feeling is. He’d rather ignore it for now and focus on the situation at hand.

He turns around just as you start to sway, no longer having the energy to keep yourself upright. You’re too out of it to register your surroundings, except for what’s in front of you. Namely, a vast sea of darkness. You hardly notice a large dark shape approaching you, nor do you notice you curl up comfortably in a pair of arms, close to someone’s chest. You yawn once more and mumble incoherently, a protective aura washes over you.

For a moment, the Ghost Zone seems to sit still. It amazes Dan with how small you actually are, easily fit right in the crook of his arm. You curl up more, huddling into his chest, where the aura of his ghost core gently pulses.

“Okay… that was easy,” Dan mutters to himself.

Carefully adjusting the position of his arm, Dan makes sure you’re secure before he goes on the move again. Dan looks around, eyes shifting suspiciously. Somewhere discreet enough to hide the two of you to allow you a chance to rest.

A big rock or…

A cave. A huge rock-like structure sits nearby, a singular gaping entrance inviting. The inside is pitch black, no problem for Dan as he can light it up with ecto fire. He inhales deeply to steel himself for whatever may come, despite that his ghost sense hasn’t gone off at all. Dan slowly glides towards the structure; the eeriness encroaches in on him. Touches down his spine in a cold shiver and shadows whisper in his ears.

He doesn’t realize it yet, but he holds you more closely to his chest. Your presence seems… to ground him, keep focus.

Blissful relief floods him as soon as he’s within the confines of the cavern. It’s a strange feeling. Hiding himself, it’s a bit lonely. With you, it’s out of harm’s way. All there is with the two of you is the occasional drip, echoing out in a tune.

Dan leans against the wall and slides down to the ground, cradling you in his arms. He peers from the corner of his eye; the faint glow of the Ghost Zone scarcely lights up the entrance of the cavern. An uncomfortably bright green glow. Either way, he’d still see who’s coming before they ever realize Dan is even there.

Sitting back to relax, Dan lets his head fall back to ease the tension. Your weight on his chest continuously brings him back to why he’s doing this in the first place. He… sees a bit of himself in you if he’s being honest with himself. A lost, scared child.

Dan breathes softly, his chest rises up and down evenly. His ghost core thrums in parallel with yours, your own core pulses against his chest. He watches your expression as you slumber away. Your brows quirk now and then, your breaths soft and wispy. The ideal visage of a relaxed, content ghost.

With a sudden breath, Dan fights back a yawn that nearly escapes his mouth. Grumbling under his breath, Dan concentrates on his hand. For a few seconds, there was nothing. Then, with a quiet crack, a small ball of green fire sparks to life. It hovers dangerously above his hand. In a brief motion, Dan pushes the fireball out to the open. Its spectral green glow lights up the surrounding area.

Huffing in satisfaction, Dan sits back, and after he makes himself comfortable. Or, well, as comfortable as he can be with all these rocks. Casting one final gaze at you, Dan’s mouth twitches as his eyes slowly close. Allowing the darkness to lull him into a deep sleep.

You awaken with a full body shudder.

First, bleary looks have you jolt fearfully. Your core hammers as you attempt to regain control of yourself. Breathing deeply, you blink several times until your vision clears the sleep away. You find yourself staring at Dan’s calm visage, his throat rumbling quietly with small sounds.

You smile widely in anticipation and happiness. Likewise, you remember now – Dan sure helped you out yesterday. Was it yesterday? The time is pretty weird here. Sure, a lot of ghosts say Dan’s pretty scary. Maybe he is. But he’s scary enough to keep the other ghosts away from you.

You sit up straight, staring at him curiously. Unlike his grumpiness from before, Dan seems quite calm here. It’s like a whole new person.

Shifting your eyes around in thought, you hold a hand to your chin to focus. Since Dan technically doesn’t see anything right now, perhaps you can surprise him. Nothing too surprising. Maybe just show him you’re glad to have him around.

You shake with excitement, before you stop and hold your breath. You carefully watch Dan as he mumbles quietly and shifts around. He doesn’t show signs of awaking from beyond the morning stir. You breathe a breath of relief. Getting up on your knees, mindful of where you place them, you get up close to Dan’s face.

With a shaky breath, your eyes hyper vigilant, you slowly lean forward with both of your arms spread out. You slowly ease them around his neck, in awe of just how big he is. Your hands link together behind him with little effort. Your mouth twitches into a small, victorious smile.

A spike of bravery hits you, and you lay your head down in the crook of Dan’s neck. Again, you hear the quiet rumble emitting from his throat. It reverberates throughout his body. Your smile widens, you close your eyes in content.

Before you know it, your eyes snap open as Dan sits upright. You hear a loud yawn right in your ear, making you freeze up.

The first thing Dan notices is something clasping around his neck. In a sleepy confusion, he stretches his body out before he massages the space between his eyes with his knuckles. Dan then blinks a few times, his eyes still heavy with sleep. He turns his head, and is met with the sight of you clinging around his neck.

Dan blinks again to be sure he isn’t seeing things.

“Woken up by a hug of all things,” Dan says out loud, “that’s a new one.”

Without another word, he moves to stand up. You’re forced to let go of his neck lest you end up awkwardly dangling from it.

The mystical glow of the green fireball casts a beautiful glow over Dan. You stare up at him in an admiring awe. You’re sure you can see his ghostly aura glowing.

Furthermore, you grab his hand and tug on it, making him turn his attention to you.

“Hm… what should we do with you kid?” Dan says, cocking his head.

You continue tugging at his arm.

“Still not speaking, huh?” Dan grumbles in annoyance. “Do you… want something?”

Upon hearing the magic words, you stop pulling and hug his leg. Dan steps back in wariness when you do so. You breathe shakily, focusing on the protective aura that wraps around you. Your hold on him tightens.

“You want to… stay with me?” Dan asks, surprise flickers across his face. His hair flows in intensity with the brief spike of emotions.

You haphazardly nod. The corners of your mouth turn downward in a pleading pout.

Dan stops to consider the possibility. His mind works around in a whirlwind.

On one hand, you don’t seem that bad. Endearing, even. But you’d definitely slow him down, and judging by how you already seem attached to him, Dan would have to keep an eye on you in some capacity.

On the other hand, however, you show no fear of him. That already says a lot about you. Besides, ghosts might leave him alone if they see a ghost child with him. And well… there’s already one of Dan in this world. There doesn’t need to be another.

“How about this?” Dan kneels down when you let go of his leg. “You can come with, I keep you in one piece, and you can tell the other ghosts to… uh, leave us alone?”

He feels a bit silly for phrasing it that way. But you’d understand what he means.

You do a little jig on the spot and bob your head so violently it's surprising it doesn’t make you dizzy. You raise up your arms at him. Dan seems to get what you mean and picking you up, he settles you on his shoulders. His hands on your feet to keep you steady. You look around in exhilaration, you feel like you’re at the top of the world.

Dan turns to the ghostly fireball he made the night before. He stares into its flickering green void for a few seconds. He blinks and with the flick of his hand, the flame goes out.

#danny phantom #fanfiction #dan phantom #platonic reader #platonic #child reader #gender neutral reader #gen fic #tumblr writers #fanfiction community #fanfiction blog #dark danny #phanfic #dp fic #danny phantom fanfiction

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bulbagarden · 11 months

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guess what??? bulbapedia had its 50,000th wiki article created a bit ago, and to celebrate we made a news article celebrating bulbapedia! i'm actually in it, soo... take a look if you'd like!! (this was written by our twitter admin and my overlord wyndoncalling)

Celebrating 50k Bulbapedia articles with our favourite wiki pages!

As one of the world's largest media franchises, Pokémon is monolithic to say the least. Documenting every facet of this gargantuan IP is a task perhaps only the most dedicated and/or foolhardy would embark on, yet that's exactly what our Bulbapedia team and thousands of selfless contributors have done over eighteen long years! With Pokémon now encompassing nine generations of main series games along with dozens of spin-offs, mobile games, movies, anime and manga series, merchandise and much more, the wiki itself has grown in tandem - we recently hit a whopping 50,000 articles!

To celebrate, we've compiled a list from across the Bulbagarden team of our favourite wiki articles. For our non-wiki team members, these might simply be pages that they enjoy reading and help inform their work in other aspects of the site. For wiki Staff, these could instead be pages that they've sunk many productive hours into. Read on for an eclectic collection of articles detailing some of the most obscure corners of the Pokémon franchise!

Credits to Staff artist Sirius for the awesome header image!

WyndonCalling (Social Media) - Tall grass

On the one hand, I think it's faintly hilarious that anyone would go into such detail for a mundane and omnipresent mechanic of the main series games; the tall grass that awaits the player on every starting route just feels so self-explanatory in function. On the other hand, I think it speaks volumes about the commitment and mentality of the Bulbapedia team and contributors that no scrap of information is left undocumented - on the tall grass page you'll find the basic details about how it works, but also variations such as tall grass and seaweed, animations of the Cut mechanic, in-battle effects, and more. Who knew that simple grass could be so fascinating in a world with flame-throwing dragons and electric mice?

Runner-up - List of Pokémon by base stats

As the Admin of the Bulbagarden Twitter account, I'm always on the hunt for interesting trivia to share; having the base stats of all Pokémon in one, sortable place makes it so much easier to make fun comparisons between species (did you know that Krabby has more Attack than Eternatus?).

Maverick Nate - Bulbapedia - Coin (TCG) (and its three subpages: Gens 1-4, Gens 5-6, and Gens 7-8)

This page is what I consider my best accomplishment during my 10 years as Bulbapedia's TCG Leader. There is an incredible amount of research, time, (and personal financial investment) baked into the article, and it always gives me a swell of pride when I update it with fresh images of newly acquired coins. There are over 700 different coins documented here, and I still fondly remember the long-night research sessions I would have with my best friend when we would do things like watch countless YouTube openings to figure out release information, check out endless eBay and Yahoo Auctions listings for never-before-seen coins, hold up physical coins to a spotlight trying to determine the Holofoil pattern. Our other friends would poke fun at us for researching in the field, (which was just our excuse to go shopping for newly released TCG products with new coins or hitting up garage sales and card shops on the off chance they had old ones). All of those years of effort produced what is now considered the definitive list of all coins in existence for coin enthusiasts. Whenever I see people online referencing it and using it for their own collections, I just have to smile, knowing that my favorite article is helping people all around the globe.

Wowy (Bulbapedia) - Red (Masters)

This page is just an example for all the character pages for Pokémon Masters. As one of the main editors covering Pokémon Masters when the game was first released, I feel very content to see many other editors who have taken the mantle to make Bulbapedia's coverage of the game quite comprehensive! I also enjoy the gallery section at the bottom because there are some sweet artwork pieces that come out of the game / the PMEX Twitter.

Runner Up - Face board

An article that was initially written for fun ended up being moved from the userpage to the main Bulbapedia page. Like the tall grass page, it's a niche page that showcases how much we like to document every minor and obscure detail in the franchise (albeit there is still so much to cover)!

Lisia (Social Media) (omg HIIII that's me!!!!) (姉ちゃん見て見て、あたしテレビだ。。) - Pokémon world in relation to the real world

This is a very extensive page, and it's very useful for a lot of different things! I use it for worldbuilding for fanfiction and roleplay stuff usually, but it's fun to look at just in general as well! I remember looking at the page first like... years ago, and it blew my mind to see that the Pokémon world was actually based off of real locations! It's something that I'd call a huge resource for anyone who creates Pokémon fanworks, especially written ones!

Runner Up - Lisia (i had to LOL)

Maybe it's a little... self-serving? But I really like this article of my personal namesake; she's my favorite character after all! She's a relatively minor character within the whole of Pokémon so there's not a whole lot of information about her, so I like reading all the stuff there is about her! It makes me happy that people have put work into articles about everyone, because well... in a way I wouldn't be me without it. I should probably contribute to it sometime!

Orchid (Forums) - Pokémon food

I picked this article because it is astoundingly comprehensive on its topic, and offers a lot of really interesting insight into the Pokémon universe as a whole. From Poffins, to prey, to parasites, to Slowpoke Tails... it's all here! It's amazing how having all this information in one place puts into perspective just how much there is to cover on what, at a glance, might seem like such a simple subject. I find myself coming back here every now and then just out of curiosity (or perhaps to settle a debate about what an Aerodactyl really eats).

Runner-up - Twerp

This page is silly and I love it. I've even shown this one to friends and family who are fellow Pokémon fans, and they've gotten just as much of a kick out of it as I have! But as amusing of a read as it may be, what I love most about this page is the fact that even a short and lighthearted bit of terminology like this is documented thoroughly here, just like anything else would be. All across Bulbapedia, you can find so much care and detail put into the littlest of things, and that does bring a smile to my face

DapperCody (Multimedia) - Ash Ketchum

Like many people, I grew up watching the Pokémon anime as a youngster. I enjoy Ash's article because it is comprehensive account of the quarter century that he has graced our screens - looking it over is very nostalgic. The history section with photos is fantastic, and I love being able to see all the Pokémon he has ever owned or used and their current status. It also has an extensive trivia section like all my favorite articles do. I've fallen down the anime rabbit hole on Bulbapedia numerous times, and Ash's page is a great place to start.

Runner Up - Ash's Noctowl

See all of the above, but from a different perspective. Pages for individual Pokémon from the anime are fantastic to get a glimpse into all the highlights from their time in the spotlight, and what better example of this than my personal favorite, Noctowl? The move history is really neat, especially the fact that it designates the moves recently used (and the illegal ones when applicable). Did you know Noctowl was the first Shiny Pokémon in the anime?

bthrussellUK (Bulbapedia) - Pokémon Battle Chess

I really love this article because I think it’s an example of what Bulbapedia is great at; taking obscure Pokémon topics (especially outside of Japan) and saving them from being lost to the sands of time. The original Pokémon Battle Chess website has been taken offline, so without articles like this one, the game would be forgotten. Instead, because it’s here, I decided to find and buy a copy of both Pokémon Battle Chess BW Version and Pokémon Battle Chess and use them to help expand the gameplay section of the article. They're actually pretty fun games! Now I just need a copy of Pokémon Battle Chess W…

Runner Up - Pokémon games

It looks like it's just a really long list... and it is! But for me it's a really great reminder of how massive Pokémon is, how many games have been released in the last 26 years, and how many different platforms Pokémon games have released on. Ever heard of the Advanced Pico Beena or the iQue Player?

Whether they're popular or niche, wide-ranging or obscure, we hope you've enjoyed our short tour of our favourite Bulbapedia articles! Do you have your own? Are you tickled by the trivia on a given page? You can let us know on our forums or Discord server - or even start editing yourself!

The wiki can never have too many contributors, and if your love of Pokémon is as deep as ours we'd be delighted to have you with us for the next 50,000 articles!

(lisia note: thank you for reading!!!!!!!!!! hopefully you enjoyed it!)

#bulbanews #bulbagarden #bulbalisia #pokemon #pokemon news #bulbapedia

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moorishflower · 1 year

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10 Sandman Fic Recs!

I was struck by the absolutely heady and incredible thought that I have reached a. 800+ followers, and b. can place upon your dashboards the fics of friends and also people with whom I would enjoy being friends, and who I think should get more attention. There's going to mostly be Not the Big Fics in this particular list (I will rec all the big ones I'm readin later!)

Therefore, in no particular order, and containing everything from gen, to Dreamling, to Hobrintheus (or w/e the name for it is lol), ~fic recs~

I'm so sorry that you have to have a body by Taxonamie (AO3, Gen, Teen & Up)

A different take on Dream's capture; Dream's POV.

I DO love some good old body horror, and this fic does SUCH a good good job of really exploring what it'd be like for something that's supposed to be Endless to suddenly be trapped in a continuously dying and rebirthing flesh suit. EXTREME Lady Amalthea vibes. Immaculate.

2. Holy Palmer's Kiss by quentintoo (AO3, Dreamling, General Audiences)

Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much, Which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss.

I'm pretty sure this was the fic that sparked my intense obsession with longing and like, hand-touching and hand-kissing. Scintillating and sweet.

3. to sleep—perchance to dream by fishydwarrows (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

Hob Gadling remembers the night of 1889 well. He dreams and dreams of ways it could've been different, but dreams are often a way of escaping a more terrible reality.

For me THEE Hob whump fic, because if you're going to have an immortal why not make him miserable for a time? Mind the tags, but the payoff is SO, so good. I've read this, I think, at least a half-dozen times.

4. Heat Wave by spqr (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

“Sounds like you’re horny to me,” says Matthew.

Somewhat similarly, this for me is THE "Hob Gadling fucks and fucks severely" fic. Everything spqr writes is solid gold, but Dream being Endlessly Horny for his good old friend is both amusing and SCREAMINGLY hot.

5. Eros in Pragma by Delta_Pavonis (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

In all his long centuries never had he really done something like this. It was exciting and terrifying and exhilarating and too many emotions all mashed together. He felt like his skin was vibrating. Deep breath in. He could do this. He wanted to do this, desperately wanted to, a desire from deep in his bones. And yet… long breath out. Hob walked over to one of his bedside tables and opened the drawer. There was only one item contained therein and he removed it with shaking hands. The silver buckle jingled softly.

Here's a fun fact! I neither read nor wrote a lot of D/S before I got into Sandman, and now I do, and it's almost entirely because of this fic!

6. I have lately learned the difference by Chthonion (AO3, Dreamling, Mature)

While Dream is imprisoned, Hob dreams of prisons, until, one by one, all of them take the same shape: a glass cage. Hob doesn't realize why until he meets Dream again, and the dreams don’t stop afterward. Trauma, connection, and adventures in accidentally mixing two people’s subconscious demons together in the dreamscape.

This is just. SO good. I love anything that explores Dream's trauma wrt his imprisonment but chooses to do so through Dream's mindscape, and this delivers in spades. Let Hob Gadling smash more snowglobes 2k22.

7. point-set triangulation by therm0dynamics (AO3, Hob/Corinthian, Teen & Up)

Hob knows he is dreaming. He also knows he’s being hunted.

The dynamic between Hob and the Corinthian is FASCINATING -- they're truly mirrors of each other, both hungry for humanity, both wanting, both bound up in cosmic Endless bullshit. This is fairly tame, for the Corinthian, so if you're squeamish I can assure you that this is more psychological than visceral. There's an absolutely smoking hot sequel, though.

8. the pleasant punishment by romanticallyinept (AO3, Hob/Dream/Corinthian, Explicit)

“All right,” Hob says, fairly evenly, he thinks, for what he’s been presented with. “Would someone like to explain what’s going on?” Dream has the decency to look slightly abashed, as if he only just realized that he showed up, unannounced, in his friend’s flat, with a nightmare in tow. But it’s only slightly, because he’s still Dream. “I would not ordinarily involve a human in the discipline of one of my creations,” he says, inclining his head slightly, “but you are no ordinary human, Hob Gadling.” One day, one day, Hob will learn to keep his fool mouth shut.

Hey you know how I said I didn't used to be into D/S dynamics

Well if you weren't either, give this one a try. Gentle dom!Hob punishes a recalcitrant Corinthian while Dream watches. Surprisingly tender, incredibly sexy, lots of feel good subdrop soothing afterwards.

9. A Dream of Stars by jehannaford (AO3, Gen, General Audiences)

After the events of Watership Down, Fiver has a dream and is offered a choice. A very short story.

This is super short, super sweet, and super poignant. It's like 200 words, and it's worth every second of your time.

10. as long as this body shall endure by andunetir (AO3, Dreamling, Explicit)

Hob loves eating pussy. (He knows he shouldn’t be thinking about this at school, but it’s free period and the Year Elevens are more than capable of supervising themselves, so sue him, he’s bored.)

There's not a ton of fic that explores gender through Hob's point of view, but this is one I keep coming back to again and again. Trans!Hob gives me ALL kinds of life, and this is a fascinating exploration of immortality and transness. Also, again, it's super hot.

#the sandman fic recs #fic recs #the sandman #the sandman fic #the sandman fanfic

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lumosatnight · 11 months

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Lani's Birthday Oneshots: 2023 Edition!

So, today is my birthday (SCREAMING!), and as a continuation of last year's tradition, I present a ONESHOT REC LIST to celebrate 🥳! Here are 15 oneshots, all under 10k words, one for each day in June leading up to my birthday. Lots of genres, lots of tropes, ordered by ship (kinda).

🌼 - fluff | 💔 - angst | 🔥 - smut | 👀 - mind the tags

—

1. Potter's Got a Tiny Dick (that I can't stop thinking about swallowing whole) by @vukovich [Draco/Harry, E, 4.1k] 🔥🤣 This is crack. Hilarious and filthy crack with bff Ginny, nasty car sex, and unhinged Draco wanting "Just a little nom of a cock."

2. Boy Wonder by @maesterchill [Draco/Harry/Ron, E, 6.1k] 🔥🎹 Established in love Rarry with Draco returned from abroad! Wonderful Ron characterization, witty snappy dialogue, and dacryphilia!!!

3. A Saving People Problem by @the-francakes [Draco/James, E, 5.9k] 🔥🏍️ Draco living at Grimmauld place, and James can't keep his eyes off of him. Oh heck yeah! Surprisingly sweet for such a hot cross-gen pairing. Also poor Harry lol.

4. Gray Eyes (Tell No Lies) by @danpuff-ao3 [Sirius/Draco, E, 3.7k] 🔥🍏 Draco with a lingerie kink! Sirius with a one-way magic mirror! So hot, so delectable. Throw in a praise kink too, and I'm drooling.

5. A Sight to Behold by @lumoslyra [Sirius/Luna, T, 2.5k] 🌼🥐 Luna and Sirius dancing around each other. Hermione watching it all and Harry is just confused. Super cute and sweet.

6. in rivulets, in waves by @dulosis [Bellatrix/Luna, M, 2.0k] 💔👀 Dark and deceptive. I couldn't put this fic down. What happens if Bellatrix survives the war? What if Luna takes her in?

7. Catch Me As I Fall by @this-world-of-beautiful-monsters [Bellatrix/Lily, T, 5.8k] 🌼💔 This fic is a wonderful AU of Lily befriending Bellatrix at Hogwarts. How she slowly changes, how she still is roped into the war. Just spectacular!

8. (give me) the first taste by @iamsiriuslyriddikulus [Narcissa/Lily, M, 4.4k] 💔🌿 Narcissa and Lily as hot moms smoking weed!!! Yes!! This Muggle AU is so well thought-out. The characters are so memorable. (Also I'm a sucker for flangst).

9. Love in a Hopeless Place by @dragonsandotters-dh [Remus/Narcissa, T, 4.6k] 💔🐺 So much hurt but also so much comfort. Draco gets bitten by Greyback. A heart-wrenching and hopeful look into the aftermath.

10. Male Bonding by musigneus [Remus/Severus, E, 9.8k] 🔥👀 This is angsty fuck-or-die to the max. Trapped in a cellar before the full moon. But it's SO GOOD and a somewhat hopeful ending.

11. Open a Vault For Me by Sevanna_OHera [Charity/Severus, M, 3.4k] 💔🧪 I found this pairing recently, and the angst level is off the charts. So much hope and longing in this fic and also a canon-compliant ending.

12. Table for One by @littlesixxwrites [Dean/Blaise, T, 3.2k] 🌼🎄 I LOVE THIS SHIP. Bean is the cutest. This fic has instantly smitten Blaise and equally enamored Dean. Lovely fluffy fic that made me squeal with happiness.

13. Maybe This Time (alternatively: once more, with feeling!) by @wanderingdonut [Regulus, G, 4.6k] 🤣👻 THIS FIC!! I died laughing from this fic, then I came back to life cackling and died all over again. Ghost Regulus is perfect. Snarky and entitled and wallowing in death lol.

14. toxicology by @batmansymbol [Hermione, G, 2.9k] 💔💌 A fascinating dive into the possible implication of Harry being a horcrux for so many years. I love how we view everything through Hermione's unreliable narration.

15. just a few sweaters by Prettything_uglylie [Molly, G, 2.4k] 🌼🧶 This story is a cup of hot cocoa in front of the fire. Warm and sweet and content. I adore it with my whole heart.

BONUS FIC (>10k): Tiny Dancer by @rainchance [Neville/Pansy, M, 12.4k] 🌼🩰 A super sweet Panville fic with ballet dancer Pansy and film student Neville. Wonderful background characters and mutual pining.

—

Want more fics to read?

Try my rec tag: #lumosinthelibrary

Bday Oneshots 2022, 22 Fic Recs 2022, WLW Library

#lani's birthday oneshots #hp fic rec #rec list #lumosinthelibrary #birthday #2023

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carnivart-core · 3 months

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Aureole Glow is the descendant of Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon, and like their mothers before them, is very studious in their study of magic. But of course, like the rest, the future Element of Magic embodies their virtue until it’s a vice. Very adept at their craft, but pursuing it for all the wrong reasons. Having a fascination of trying to recreate the type of power Starlight Glimmer used to wield — hopefully some day soon the rest will be able to convince them to use their magic a bit more responsibly, and that just because they Can doesn’t mean that they should. - Yes this took so so long but my next gen mane 6 are now done !!! Ahhhh I'm so glad - its weird defaulting to all black lines now but I wanted them to match the older art of the rest - check out any of the 'mlp nextgen'-esque tags to see the rest of them! But I'm very proud of Aureole specifically right now

#oh crap art #art #artists on tumblr #MLP OC #My Little Pony nextgen #MLP nextgen #MLP fankid #Aureole Glow

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podklb · 1 year

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Nate-Centric Fic Recs: Part 1 (Gen)

This is my first post in ages, because I have decided I have something of value to contribute! And that is my knowledge of excellent fics about Nathan Shelley. I love pretty much all the characters on Ted Lasso, but Nate is my favorite, I’ve got a bit of a mental collection of great Nate fics, so I thought I’d type it out and share it with the world.

When I started to write this out, I realized that I have too many recs for a single post, so this one is just for gen fic, and shipfic will be in a separate post.

Nathan Shelley Gen Fic Recs

do you believe in ghosts? by @atlanticsea, ~2.5k. A character study of Nate’s journey through S1 and S2, gorgeously written with a very cool ghost metaphor woven throughout.

talk about me, make it all about you by @ohlafraise, ~1K. Nate and Jamie run into each other in S3. This fic is thoughtful, funny, insightful, and deeply satisfying, all in under 1000 words!

he can’t play it any faster when he plays the blues by @thatsparrow, ~3.5K. Rupert takes Nate out for drinks after work. This has a fantastic Nate POV that lets him be complicated about Ted and Beard and Rupert and beautifully explores all of his layers of feelings on top of feelings throughout the evening.

I Knew I Was Right (I Learned I Was Wrong) by @fandomfrolics, ~6.5K. After Nate leaves West Ham, Rebecca invites him to spend several days on her yacht. Beard tags along. The connections Nate has with both Beard and Rebecca and the way they unpack their past hurts and slowly begin to move to a different place than they started from is fascinating. This story understands all three characters extremely well.

Kitman, Backup, Wonderkid by @bisexualshakespeare, ~.5K. This is actually a filk, which means a fannish song! I love this type of fanwork and Ted Lasso fandom has very few, but we are very lucky that the ones we have are by bisexualshakespeare, who is one of the best filk lyricists I've ever encountered. This song is to the tune of Loser Geek Whatever from Be More Chill and it's absolutely perfect. Please PLEASE if you check this out, actually listen to the performance of the song, which is emotional and devastating in the best way. The lyrics are a perfect encapsulation of the headspace Nate would have gotten to by the S2 finale, and S3 so far has made it just age better and better. If you are a Nate fan, this is worth the 6 minutes of your time that it will take to listen to it, I promise.

Self-Care Tips for Lonely, Bitter-Hearted Fools by @boglady, ~5.5K. This is a character study of Nate via a bunch of self-care advice that is extremely unhelpful/frustrating/condescending because it doesn't acknowledge or address his actual needs. Kind of like most of the well-meaning advice he gets in canon! This fic is so smart about Nate and about retelling canon moments from his POV. Very formative to me when I first fell in love with this character and was gobbling up every fic I could find about him.

For a Minute There I Lost Myself by @boasamishipper, ~7.5K. Nate muddles through figuring out who he is as a head coach at West Ham. It takes him some time, but it's a beautiful journey, and the West Ham player OCs are well-developed and delightful! I love that this fic is about Nate continuing his journey on his own, that his growth here comes purely from figuring himself out, and he doesn't need the other Ted Lasso characters to do any of that work for him. He's got this!

Can't Take Them Anywhere by @hacash, ~2K. The history of kit man Nate's very detailed and specific list of what to not do with hotel furniture. One of the tags is "potentially the real Nate Shelley villain origin story" and that captures so much of what I love about the fic. It's hilarious and fun! While at the same time there's a real undercurrent of how deeply messed up and unfair it is for all the players to be so immature and self-centered and for Nate to constantly be the one who has to clean up their messes! A delightful romp, but with weight to it. Perfection.

Leave Elegance to the Tailor by TwelveLeagues, ~3.5K. Nate shops for a suit with Ted, then with Keeley, and then with Rupert. Like everything TwelveLeagues writes, this has incredible nuance and character insight in pretty much every sentence. Seeing the way Nate changes over time is painful, and the end is devastating, but there's also hope because throughout the earlier scenes we've seen so thoroughly who Nate is at his core and that he's so much more than the terrible situation he ends up in.

#ted lasso #nate shelley #nathan shelley #fic recs

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forgotten-elves · 1 year

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The Grey and the Dark Legacy Challenge

A six generation legacy challenge dedicated to morally grey and villainous sims.

Required packs: Get to Work, Island Living, Journey to Batuu, Strangerville, Werewolves, Vampires, Paranormal

Getting started: Aging can be set to whatever you prefer, including being turned off entirely. Gen 1 can be created alone, or with a spouse, sibling, parents, etc., and can be of any age. The listed aspiration does not have to be picked as the sim's first one; they just need to work on (and ideally complete) it at some point in their lives. This challenge is meant to be flexible and guide storytelling, not to be intentionally difficult, so feel free to make changes to the rules where you need to.

Currently play-testing. As I do, I may make some changes.

Generation 1: For Peace

The more you’ve learned about the world, the better you understand just how vulnerable the planet of Earth really is. You’re devoted to protecting the human race from the wilds of space, to ensure peace and security. Some might not agree with your methods, but you know that the ends justify the means.

Career: Military (Covert Operator Branch)

Aspiration: Enforcer of Order

Traits: Gloomy, Paranoid, Neat

Goals:

Max career and aspiration

Defeat the Mother Plant

Generation 2: For Chaos

As a child, you suffocated under the strict discipline of your parent. You want to be free of their self-righteous hypocrisy and embrace your flaws to the greatest extreme.

Career: Criminal (Boss)

Aspiration: Public Enemy

Traits: Evil, Hot-Headed, Slob

Goals:

Max the career and aspiration

Contract werebies and become a werewolf

Turn 5 Sims into werewolves

Have at least one non-werewolf child (this must be your heir).

Generation 3: For the Unnatural

You grew up in a household that was brutal, crude, and utterly boring. The only interesting people were the faceless whispers you heard in the trees, and the songs of sirens who drowned their lovers in the sea. You’re a romantic who yearns to fall deeper into the nether realm, and your favorite love story has always been a tragic one.

Career: Freelancer (Paranormal Investigator)

Aspiration: Villainous Valentine

Traits: Romantic, Loves Outdoors, Child of the Ocean

Goals:

Become a mermaid

Max aspiration

Max the charisma skill

Max the medium skill

Perform the Siren’s Call on at least one sim

Generation 4: For the Unknown

You never quite had the talent to invoke the nether realm the way your parent did. You found your solace in technology and science, but there’s a part of you that will always be drawn back to the supernatural.

Career: Criminal (Oracle)

Aspiration: Chief of Mischief

Traits: Mean, Creative, Geek

Goals:

Max career & aspiration

Max the logic skill

Have an observatory and complete the space prints collection.

Be abducted by aliens.

Generation 5: For Opportunity

You grew up with your parent’s fascination for the stars, but when you finally make your way into the larger galaxy, you find things aren’t really much different than they are on Earth. Money and greed still make the worlds go round, and though you’re disillusioned, you find yourself adapting quite well to this new truth.

Career: Astronaut (Interstellar Smuggler)

Aspiration: Galactic Privateer

Traits: Kleptomaniac, Self-Assured, Outgoing

Goals:

Max career & aspiration

Use the Listening Device to blackmail other sims

Have at least one child that is not an occult (this must be your heir)

Generation 6: For Eternity

As a member of the ever-changing galactic underworld, you watched your parent so often barely escape with their life, and the fragile nature of mortality became something you despise. You may have been raised with all the “right” connections, but you have greater ambitions than to just stay in the game. You want to build something that lasts, to be something that lasts for centuries.

Career: Secret Agent (Villain)

Aspiration: Mansion Baron

Traits: Materialistic, Loner, Ambitious

Goals:

Max career & aspiration

Become a vampire

Reach the rank of Grand Master Vampire

#sims 4 legacy challenge #sims 4 #sims 4 simblr #simblr #legacy challenge #sims legacy challenge #legacy challenge rules #sims 4 legacy challenge rules #journey to batuu #sims 4 vampires #strangerville #sims 4 mermaids #collages made with picsart #sims 4 werewolves #sims 4 occult #sims 4 occults #sims 4 star wars

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lesbisims · 2 years

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#fascination legacy #random legacy challenge #ts4 #ts4 legacy #ts4 gameplay #berry sweet sims #fascination gen 6 #tetra fascination #raven flyte

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cookieblobber · 8 months

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The Strength of Knuckles in Sonic Frontiers

After seeing how so much better the writing and characterization has been through Amy, it only leads one to wonder:

What are they gonna do with Tails and Knuckles?

By now you’ve probably already gotten the idea of what’s the issue with Knuckles. Once a fascinating, unique character who was the only one left in his species and isn’t very familiar or accustomed to the rest of the world due to the burden he has to carry of protecting the Master Emerald/Angel Island full of his ancestors’ history, to a big goober who talks about how much he is so strong and can do anything, yet gets easily shoved aside for comic relief (ala Gens and Lost World; also I don’t wanna really bring up Boom Knuckles since it is a whole different interpretation of the character and as we all know, he can be pretty funny).

Imo he was probably at his worst in Forces. Sure the idea of him leading the resistance makes sense since you know, ancestors being warriors and all, but…the motherfucker KILLED 80% of his troops doing “Operation Big Wave” …and it’s just kinda brushed aside too??? Like this isn’t even brought up as like a devastating emotional scene where Knuckles realizes he fucked up and nearly wiped out a whole army, or shows the whole resistance is losing hope or anything, it’s just a random text box told by Amy during a level…but we can’t focus on that as we have an Infinite fight with the Avatar coming up!

Ok ok I’m straying off topic; Frontiers Knuckles is beautifully written and the story takes his shit with the severity it needs

———————

Knuckles

was surprisingly given his own little animated short before the game came out, acting as a prologue (there was also a little comic featuring what the rest of the cast was doing before the events of the game but, it’s nothing noteworthy. Just kinda shows how they got interested into heading to Starfall Islands). After watching the little cartoon….

That was some of the best animated Sonic content I’ve ever seen.

The animated short establishes Knuckles’ character and background so fucking marvelously. A lot of past animated shorts from the official Sonic YouTube channel/Powerhouse Studios usually went for more slice of life, silly and cartoony stuff (which is fine and dandy, I like them too), so it was surprising how they went for a more serious and quiet route with this short.

We see Knuckles finally back guarding the Emerald again. He ponders once again about his ancestors, monologues about preferring to do things on his own while doing his job guarding the Master Emerald. He begins though to question about where did the emeralds even come from, why is it so important for him to guard what is essentially a burden to him? Tikal’s light shows up and guides him to somewhere through Sky Sanctuary, and along the way we see such beautiful animation of him gliding around (pretty sure this is the first time in 2D animation he’s shown to glide) and helping out Chao that inhabit the area.

After some exploring, Knuckles finds a Chao trying to retrieve a stone mask (eerily appearing to be the face of a Koco) buried under a pile of rocks. He smashes the pile, gives the mask, but notices a teal green gear on the ground obviously ripping off Pokémon Mystery Dungeon and a whole newly opened ruin…older than anything on Angel Island. At the end of it is presumably a Cyber Space structure, with a gear slot that he puts the gear in, transporting him to what, honestly seemed like Chaos Island; enemies show up, and a massive beatdown happens, showing just how fucking amazing Powerhouse Animation Studios’ can be and only blue balling every fan watching from the idea of a 2D animated Sonic tv show to happen one day.

Sage though shows up with Asura and defeats Knuckles. We then see Knuckles contained in Ares Island, no way to come out on his own. He begins to monologue again

“I don’t need anyone to get by…

“but sometimes…”

———————

In just 6 minutes, Knuckles has been redeemed. Yes he’s a bit clumsy, he can be hotheaded, but it’s clear he has his reasons for his flaws than just being the silly character who is that way for the sake of jokes. The red echidna is capable of having more serious thoughts, thinking about his family and his current position, how unfortunate things are. And regardless, it’s shown he really can do things on his own, he’s able to run the island by himself and be a strong presence any creature that lives on the island can rely on. He’s shown to be capable of putting up a good fight and taking out a whole group of enemies, he’s finally showing to be more than just all talk no game; out of all of the friends in Sonic’s group, he’s the one we’ve wanted to see again for so damn long considering his first ever introduction was being Sonic’s main rival who runs this floating mysterious land. Sonic works best with his legs, Knuckles works best with his fists.

I mean the motherfucker PUNCHED the Super out of Sonic, I think it’s reasonable people would have their expectations of the character to be somewhat high.

And coupled with the stellar animation and choreography, it’s some of the best 6 minutes for any Sonic fan to enjoy and revive their appreciation for the franchise, reminding them why they’re invested in it all these years later with all of it’s ups and downs.

———————

Sonic crash lands into the desert-y Ares Island, and see he has to hunt down the emeralds once again

Unrelated, but something I’ve noticed is that mostly each island in this game kinda acts like…it’s own Sonic game? If that makes sense???

Like, you look back on the classic games, specifically Sonic 3, right. You find a character and get a gist of their personality, throughout the new island you’ve landed on however, you go through levels and obstacles, entering special stages to retrieve emeralds, collect all 7 to take down the final massive boss in this epic Super Sonic showdown.

What do you do in an island in Sonic Frontiers: You find a character, get a gist of their personality, throughout the new island you’ve landed on however, you go through random separated obstacles, enter special stages Cyber Space portals to retrieve keys to unvault emeralds, collect all 7 to take down what many consider to be on par to a final massive boss in this epic Super Sonic showdown.

Specifically in Ares Island, you’re shooting back the missiles the boss is firing to be able to weaken and attack them…hmmmmmmmmm

Fascinating parallels if I do say so myself.

Sonic immediately starts investigating and to his surprise, Knuckles is trapped here. Freeing him starts some dialogue, and once again Ian Flynn showing off his skills and giving us quite possibly some of the best interactions between the two characters the franchise has ever seen. Sonic usually keeps teasing Knuckles and making jokes at him to of course get a reaction out of him; both are at bit of playful odds with each other, like genuine bros just handing out teasing each other and having a good time and bantering, and it’s just so wholesome to watch. Admittedly, probably cliche to say at this point but, some moments lead to slight homo energy, especially with how Sonic keeps looking at him 💀

Sega isn’t making things any less subtle 🫢🫢🫢

————————

What I like the most about Knuckles’ writing here is that he barely boasts about how strong he is an all akin to Generations and Lost World. In Gens and LW, it’s usually really played up where he says, “I could’ve done better, you know!” but then something overly comical happens to him that might make you think he’s just talking to look good and make you eye roll, that he’s a bit of a fraud overhyping himself up. Here in Frontiers: he definitely still tries to keep up a tough demeanor, but it’s not immediately met with him looking weak and powerless. Around the end of the boss fight, he claims about Super Knuckles could’ve done better, but it’s obviously just bantering with Sonic like how they’ve been doing throughout the whole story. And even then, it’s already been shown he really is capable of putting up a fight, shown in the prologue video and a scene in this game where he was about to fight Sage for attacking Sonic. There’s a level of respect still done to the character instead of being there for the sake of comic relief.

Like Amy, he’s helping his own Koco, that being soldiers of some sort of army. It turns out through a sort of interactive flashback, the Ancients that inhabited the islands had created massive walls of defenses of some kind. Unfortunately, some random powerful being immediately wiped it all out in an instant. This leads to Knuckles approaching the Koco that brought him to these defenses and noticed it’s still, signifying that the Ancients were killed in that sudden attack (since the ancients’ souls seem to be related to the Koco). A moment of silence is given for the fallen Koco, who’s soul has been now laid to rest.

Later, we see Knuckles trying to round up an army of Koco soldiers, cowering in fear of what happened to one of then, to head to their bunkers to protect themselves. Essentially it’s just Knuckles playing along to help the souls of the ancients within the Kocos be laid to rest as well. Sonic helps out, and in the middle of it, Knuckles notices the ruins around them seem similar to the ones on Angel Island, theorizing if the Ancients that have survived whatever attack on Starfall Islands have once inhabited Angel Island. It clearly resonates with him as it shows there could be a more noticeable connection between his people and the Ancients than he thinks (after all the ancients seem to look a lot like Chaos, the water god who protected the Master Emerald).

Suddenly, giant towers launch an attack on the ruins, and in this case, Knuckles is unable to fight due to his cyber form (he could only do so with Sage as she was able to interact with whatever happens in Cyber Space and Starfall Islands). He starts to worry about another sudden attack ruining the Ancients home, so it’s up to Sonic to stop it.

This helps put the rest of the Koco army finally to rest as whatever unfinished business they had has finally been settled.

———————

After everything is settled, Knuckles is seen sitting down, pondering again. The scene is silent, gloomy, and gentle. Sonic approaches him, attempts to say something but, realizes he’d just ruin his little moment thinking alone.

With him being alone with Sonic, he shows a rare moment of vulnerability: a fear of being alone. Knuckles starts to monologue about his ancestors and what they’ve done, and the consequences of their actions; being the last of his species. Seeing in the flashback how the Ancients were wiped out by an unknown powerful force, and seeing them be attacked at random by another unknown force, it reminded him of his own generational trauma.

Sonic, as optimistic and cheerful as always, reminds him he may be the only echidna, but it doesn’t mean he’s the only living person, as he got other people. Knuckles admits he’s into Sonic’s freedom lifestyle, which Sonic encourages him to pursue as well, of course once things are back to normal.

———————

As mentioned in my essay on Amy Rose, it’s gentle, quiet moments like these that sell the unique tone of Frontiers. Moments like these showcase why even after all these years later, no matter how these characters are made out to be in all these stories, there’s a good reason to be in love with them and invested with their personalities and goals. This franchise may be all about running around and going fast, but it doesn’t hurt to take a step back and sit down; these moments we haven’t seen since I guess, Sonic Unleashed, and moments that could’ve benefited games like Sonic Forces.

It’s so nice to just have characters taking a moment to talk things out and show appreciation for one another. It’s such a breath of fresh air to see them show to be more than just background characters that tag along Sonic; they have their own goals and wants in life. And at the time of me writing all of this, it makes me more excited to see what Update 3 does to these characters.

———————

Knuckles is a very special character, where the fact he has this very specific burden he has to put up with that no one he knows might ever be able to relate to or fully understand…oddly makes him relatable. We all have some problem in our lives that may feel like no one else will ever get: certain trauma, mental issues, just things that we just have to accept will be a part of us for the rest of our lives whether we like it or not. Said problem may never have a proper solution or a way out, it’s the unfortunate truth.

But, like Sonic, there will always be people around to keep you on your feet and show you why you should always put up with said issues and do what’s right. They may not fully know what’s going on, but they will always try to help you find a work around to your problems and other ways to enjoy life regardless of the issues that may hold you back.

You may be the only one who may go through a certain dilemma, but you’re not the only one in the world who can help you deal with it. There’s always people out in the world to turn to when times get tough.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic frontiers #Knuckles #knuckles the echidna

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swissmissficrecs · 1 year

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Underrated Fics, Part 18

It’s been almost a year since my last batch of underrated fics, so I’ve got a good crop to share this time. Criteria:

- Fic is complete - Minimum 10K word count (with wiggle room) - Last chapter posted prior to November 1, 2022 - Fewer than 150 kudos as of this post - “Favorited” by me on AO3

(Previous underrated lists here)

In order of length:

1. I can’t imagine why this hasn’t been picked up by the masses yet. Just look at that summary and tell me it isn’t what you want to read right now!

A Scandal at Paladia by disfictional (34K, E, Johnlock) An ill-fated visit to Uncle Rudy's drag bar unlocks a memory of John's past- a memory that wreaks havoc on their sex life. John has a secret, and Sherlock is determined to solve the case.

2. Yes, there is major character death but also time travel, soulmates, and devastatingly hot sex:

Come Back to Me by BenAddictViolaBatch (21K, E, Johnlock) A fusion of Sherlock and the classic 1980 film, "Somewhere in Time." In 1945, young army doctor John Watson receives a brief and mysterious visit from an elderly scientist, Sherlock Holmes. Intrigued, John researches Holmes and learns that he died on the same night of the visit. He becomes fascinated by Holmes's renowned work in criminology and his secret obsession with time travel. When he encounters a photograph of a young Holmes, he is instantly and deeply enamored, realizing that they are destined for each other.

3. An intriguing series 4 fixit casefic that delivers on the emotions:

The Slow Dance and Death of a Carbon Copy by batslikepastel (15K, T, Johnlock, Warstan) He hasn’t talked to Sherlock outside the bedroom since that first night. Today, though, when Sherlock painstakingly makes John’s favourite breakfast- eggs benedict- he smiles delightedly and kisses his cheek. “Thanks, Mary.” The first sign of delusion.

4. For those who want to see what Sherlock got up to during his time away, you can’t get more intense than this:

Serbia by BeautifulFiction (13K, T, Gen with Johnlock undertones) He could not return to John knowing this mess remained unfinished. He could not return to London and expect forgiveness if the ruse had no reason.

5. Deeply thought-provoking philosophy couples with exquisite narrative tension in this soulmate-esque apocalypse AU:

Learning the Heart by Calais_Reno (11K, T, Johnlock) An android tries to understand love and grief.

6. An exciting, snarky zombiefic with simmering Johnlock feels:

Haemophilia by kaasknot (10K, T, Johnlock) It started at Baskerville. A leaky pipe, a faulty experiment left to seed by an absent scientist; in the end, it didn't matter. What mattered was that an epidemic spilled through the medical halls of Baskerville, and no one knew the cause—or how to treat it.

7. This fic might look hardcore, but it’s really fascinating with a gentle, calming vibe. Not exactly Johnlock (yet), but the spark is definitely there:

Fit to Be Tied by Kameo (10K, M, Johnlock) Sherlock Holmes is ever on the lookout for new experiences, and for the first time he is exploring BDSM play at a tasting being held at a local dungeon. He has no idea what to expect but it certainly wasn't a rope-tying army doctor.

8. A tidy casefic/series 4 fixit with preslash setup for more:

The Adventure of the Solicitor’s Mansion by aTangledSkein (9.8K, Johnlock, M) Set post Season 4, this is an update to ACD's "The Adventure of the Abbey Grange." John is questioning his relationship with Sherlock and wrestling with his own demons.

#rec list #underrated

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galadhir · 6 months

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Tagged by @aintgonnatakethis and @judgeverse

Thank you! :)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

802,066

3. What fandoms do you write for?

I'm a serial monogamist as far as fandoms go, concentrating on one at a time until I move on to the next. Over the past 15 years I've written

Star Wars (Prequel trilogy - all about Qui-Gon Jinn)

Tolkien fandom (all about Celeborn)

Pirates of the Caribbean (started off with Commodore Norrington/Jack Sparrow, couldn't make it work for me and jumped sideways into Norrington and Lt. Gillette)

Marvel - (the Thor movies reactivated a nascent fascination with Loki, so I dragged a whole bunch of mythology into the MCU fandom.)

Stargate Universe (all about Colonel Young)

Star Wars (Sequel trilogy - all about General Hux)

The Untamed (all about Jin Guangyao)

I've also done a couple of little shorts for Torchwood, Motive and Talented Mr Ripley

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A Kindness Repaid - in which Loki and Captain America become friends

Supervillain Honeymoon - someone wrote a fic in response to A Kindness Repaid in which Loki and Steve got married, so I had to write a fic in response to that, in which I figured out how the Asgardians and the Avengers would take the news

The Same Last Name and the Same Coloured Eyes - in which Jin Zixuan decides to be a good big brother to Jin Guangyao, and averts most of the tragedy of The Untamed as a result

Defying His Doom - in which Doctor Doom inspires Loki to improve his public image, and they end up winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

Stepping Stones - an epic Stargate Universe fic I wrote with @seekingidlewild, in which an accident with the communication stones leaves Rush and Young bodyswapped and all communication from Earth cut off

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Of course I do! I've met all my best fandom friends by chatting with them in the comments of fic (mine and theirs.) Also who doesn't love talking to people about their writing?

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I tend to avoid angsty endings if I can. That said, it's probably Battle of the Golden Wood which ends with Galadriel and Celeborn saying goodbye, as she leaves Middle-earth and he refuses to follow.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Hard to say - I tend to make them all as happy as possible. If I can save the world at the same time, I'll do that too. Maybe Seeds of Old Trees, which gets Celeborn and Galadriel back together and sets Tolkien's elves on a path towards a future of exploring outer space.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have had some rude and entitled comments. People trying to convince me that my blorbo is actually a terrible person who should be locked up (SGU) or that my understanding of the lore is faulty (Tolkien) and therefore I should have written a different story from the one I actually wrote. But I wouldn't really call that hate.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Heh, it's funny. I came into fanfic repressed and writing gen. Then I unpacked the repression, had about ten years writing slash, during which I discovered the queer community, wrestled with God and came out as an asexual queer Christian. Then I leaned into the asexuality and ended up writing gen again.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

In general I don't, but the craziest one is also the only one I've written - Strange Meetings in which Qui-Gon crash lands in Middle-earth and meets Legolas. They were going to go to the drowned ruins of Doriath and recover a Silmaril, but I lost interest after a couple of chapters.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

The same last name and the same coloured eyes has been translated into Russian, and I think one of my Tolkien fics was translated into Chinese, but that was on a non-Ao3 site.

13. Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Absolutely! I wrote a number of Elu Thingol/Celeborn fics in the Tolkien fandom with Mirien, and Stepping Stones (where Rush and Young are bodyswapped, and Skipping Stones (where Young is age-regressed into a child) with @seekingidlewild

I loved it! It's a great experience writing with someone whose writing you already enjoy. Lots of bouncing ideas off each other and excitement - and of course it's half as hard and twice as fast as doing it all yourself.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I don't think I have one. I'm honestly a single blorbo at a time writer, and I will read and write fics in which that blorbo is paired with just about anyone. I'm not particularly bothered which ship they're in.

I do have a soft spot for Rush/Young though, because they have such in-your- face dysfunctional obsessional chemistry on the show. And in contrast I also love Xiyao (Lan Xichen/Jin Guangyao) because they are so obviously in such a gentle, radiant sort of love, that I choose to believe would have survived the revelation of Jin Guangyao's multiple murders.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

I would have said Do Not Bear Grudges, which was going to be my JGY resurrection fic, but it fought me so hard that I ended up deleting what I'd already written and I'm glad to have it gone.

I still vaguely wish that I had finished The Stolen Ones however, which was about Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi and was jossed by the Jedi Apprentice books. (I still think mine was better.)

16. What are your writing strengths?

I think I'm pretty good at description/settings/worldbuilding, and I often have an unusual take on things due to my non-neurotypicalness.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I'm not great at giving each character their own unique voice, so my dialogue can get a bit samey. Also I forget that characters can lie - all my characters pretty much tell the truth all the time, which makes it difficult writing the kind of sneaky characters I so love, like Loki, JGY later movies!Hux and even Rush.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I could not do it. Massive respect and kudos to anyone who writes in a second language. It is beyond me.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, when it first came out. The internet was on dial-up and fandom was on yahoo groups. It was the first time in my life I'd ever been able to speak to other sci-fi geeks like myself. An amazing experience, and good times!

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I know it's cheating a bit to choose more than one, but these three hang together as a series, telling the story of Celeborn and Galadriel from first meeting, to tragic parting and final reunion Oak and Willow, Battle of the Golden Wood, and Seeds of Old Trees. At about 140,000 words, it's a good size novel. And of all the characters I've stanned over the years I still feel Celeborn needed me the most. (Though Colonel Young comes a close second there.)

tagging @seekingidlewild @darthlenaplant @darthnostra @wyomingnot @gamebird

and anyone else who wants to have a go! :)

#about myself

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k8aclysm · 5 months

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I'm mad about Jynx again (The Pokémon)

Okay so most people who have even been residually exposed to the Pokémon franchise are familiar with Jynx, the Psychic/Ice type Pokémon introduced in the first generation. Either for the controversies early on, or just because it's a good example of a strange looking design. Due to the reasons I just stated, and/or due to the fact that it's an ice type - a type typically seldom seen until very late game in most entries - I'm willing to bet most of you have never bothered to use one, either. To be fair to it, It's no as awful as it looks! It's got paper-thin physical defense, but decent speed and pretty good special attack that pair perfectly with it's typing! It's an interesting pick if you're looking for a run with mons you've never used before... But this isn't a post about convincing you to use Jynx, I'm here to rant about an aspect of it's design that has driven me completely fucking nuts for the past decade or more.

Looking at the sprites for Jynx in the first three generations, everything looks as you'd expect. Exactly how it looks in the anime, as well as in the manga and other spinoff media.

The problem begins to show itself when we reach the sprites from generation 4.

You see that? You see those strange.... tendrils coming off the dress? Just below the arms? If you wanted to argue in good faith, you could say that this is simply a sprite that poorly communicates depth in the skirt... But then we arrive at generation 5 - where the sprites now have animations and more inherent depth. Generation 5 is where many believe gamefreak had mastered the spriting game and are considered the final sendoff for the sprite style in the franchise.

It's those GOD DAMN TENDRILS. This time, it's very clear that they're not just miscommunicated depth on the skirt and are now actual, un-questionably, tendrils of some sort that jut out of the skirt or create some sort of odd "spike". This sprite is what I consider to be the beginning of what I like to call the "Jynx miscommunication", where -someone, somewhere down the production line - completely misunderstood the sprite and somehow managed to canonize one of the most bizarre design choices I've ever seen. Yeah, I said "Canonize", and I'm not joking. Because it actually happened. Every appearance of Jynx in the 3d games have featured this interpretation of Jynx's dress. ALL OF THEM. Here's an example; pictured below is the model rip from generation 6 and 7; the 3DS games.

Somehow it's become even MORE spikey; as if it's body underneath the skirt has MASSIVE spikes jutting out on each side; the dress isn't draped over it like something implied to be cloth-like in behavior should; it almost reminds me of what the barbs on Corsola look like.

Anyway, my point is mostly made now, but just to drive it home once more... To really just illustrate how deeply ingrained this design "choice" is... I need to explain that every Pokemon in existence was given brand new artwork for the Pokemon transfer service - Pokemon Home. In pretty much every medium outside of the games, Jynx was never depicted to have these weird spikes, so surely they'd refer to previous artwork of Jynx when making the illustration for it in pokemon home, right...? RIGHT...?

WRONG. Jynx officially has the spikes in it's most recent artwork, it's models, AND it's Gen 4 remake menu "sprite". The most infuriating part about this for me, though is that the Sword/Shield menu sprite Doesn't include the spikes at all. Like holy shit it's model in sword and shield even HAVE the spikes like all the others do! RAAAAAHGHGHGnfjnv....

This situation is just so uniquely fascinating to me because Pokemon is a franchise that - at least contemporarily - is known for it's extremely particular design guidelines and squeaky clean, on-model consistency when it comes to the Pokémon designs. I refuse to believe this was ever an intended design choice for Jynx and that gamefreak just don't think anyone gives enough of a fuck about Jynx to ever notice this. Hell, maybe they didn't notice it themselves. Why this happened is likely never going to be brought to light, but at the very least, Jynx isn't in gen 9 so I don't have to look at it at all! ... for now...

Anyway, I hope this post has enlightened you and made you privy to something that makes an already unpopular Pokémon even more unpopular. I'm usually never one to make elaborate posts like this but this piece of bizarre trivia pisses me off so much I just HAD to make a post about it. Send all of your complaints to gamefreak, thanks.

#pokemon #jynx #my posts

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pokesmashorpokepass · 3 months

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Gen VI, Complete!

You read that correctly, we've made it through PokeFrance (Official term for Kalos, honest!) and have compiled the data!

With that said, let us begin the usual look at this generations...

Sultans of Smash!

(Which is just my fancy way of saying they got more "Smash" than "Pass" votes)

So come with me on this fabulous journey in smashing! Our Smashables are (under the Read More because, you know, this gonna take a while):

1. So for this generation, we do have three starters on the list! But, sadly, Chesnaught couldn't make it. So for our first starter, we instead have our second middle evolution, Braixen! Suppose it's not hard to see why, everyone loves magical girls and Braixen certainly counts! Counts enough to get a 66.4% Smash rating, which is pretty good says I.

2. But far surpassing Braixen is the greatest of Pokemon fire mages, Delphox! And when I say surpass, I mean really surpasses! Delphox has the honor of being the first Starter Pokemon to make it into the Gods of Smash, with a mighty 80.9% Smash rating! There's no stopping the magic of this witch! ...Side note, I think I will be naming my next Delphox "Browser", because she's a Firefox. (Ba-Dum-Tss)

3. Similar to the samurai, ninja have long been one of the more interesting mainstays of Japanese pop culture (especially abroad), and are almost always popular. So it's understandable that Pokemon's own ninja, Greninja, would have their fair share of friends and admirers! And with a smash rating of 72.5% in Standard Form, god damn what fans they have! The Ash-Greninja form, while not quite as popular Standard Form, also makes it in with a 52% Smash rating! Looks like not even a ninja of this calibur can hide how smashable they are.

4. This next Pokemon has a pretty accurate name. Florges, a combination of "Flower" and Gorgeous", certainly describes them pretty well if you ask me! And judging by that solid 67.8% Smash rating she's earned herself, I'd say many of y'all agree!

5. Everyone knows the "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" character archetype, and the closely related "Bruiser with a Soft Center". And it cannot be understated that these character archetypes are super popular. So of course, combining them into a single Pokemon and making that Pokemon a panda? Instant recipe for success, I'm sure! And said Pokemon exists in the form of Pangoro! Are they loved? I dunno, let's ask that 67.9% Smash rating of theirs. ...Survey says yes.

6. Many of us love cats, but often wish it was easier to understand them (or at the very least make ourselves understood to them). Fortunately for the Pokemon universe, they do have cats that can understand us and be more easily understood in the form of the psychic Meowstic! Coming in at 68.1% Smashable for Female Meowstic and 59.3% Smashable for Male Meowstic, it seems some of y'all really appreciate these cats! ...Now if only Female Meowstic didn't tend to fall into the French/Kalosian stereotype of being kind of a jerk (according to the Pokedex, anyways)

7. If there's two things I've seen a number of tumblr users like, it's tentacles and hypno stuff. So with that in mind, Malamar having both makes it very unsurprising they've gained entry to the Sultans of Smash! That said, at a 51.7% Smash rating, I have to admit I expected larger numbers. But anyways... Wait wha- ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOSQUID.

8. It's a tale as old as time, people look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex as a kid and think "That's them, that's the coolest fucking dinosaur ever!" While some move on or get different favorite dinosaurs, for some that passion never fades. And that passion for the majestic t.Rex, it seems, translates itself onto Tyrantrum! And at 53% Smashability, seems this king will have no reason to go on a tantrum. (Thank god, I don't think we could handle the repair bills to the property if they did...)

9. The Aurora Borealis has fascinated humans since they've first been able to observe that wondrous display of light. Thankfully for those of us who don't live in polar regions, the color-changing sails of Aurorus can help capture the beauty of such a natural phenomenon! Certainly, many of you have expressed a desire to admire this Pokemon up close and personal, if that 65.9% smash rating is any indication! Though really, the ice crystals and geometric patterns on their scales also do a lot for the appeal of this cool customer.

10. Attention everyone, it is once again Real Eeveelution Hours! And for this list's Eeveelution, we have everyone's favorite walking trans flag, Sylveon! With their extendable ribbons, piercing blue eyes, and 69.3% Smash rating, it seems Sylveon continues the time-honored Eeveelution tradition of being absolutely smashable!

11. Hear me out here, what if snails and slugs were also... Dragons? If your answer to learning this was "Oh fuck yeah that sounds awesome!", then I have Good News! This Snail/Slug Dragon I proposed is a thing in the form of Goodra, with Kalosian Goodra being more slug-like and Hisuian Goodra being more snail-like! However people like them though, considering Kalosian Goodra has a 71.4% Smash rating and Hisuian Goodra has a 61.6% rating, it's clear people do like these dragons quite a bit.

12. It may not be Halloween, but for many of us there's always time for Jack-o'-Lanterns! And with Gourgeist, the next Pokemon on our list, you can have a jack-o'-lantern that can also be smashed, something a number of you want if that 50.4% Smash rating is any indication!

13. And next up on the list, we have a noisy one! Ever wondered what would happen if bats could be loud enough to shatter anything by yelling at it? Well, if Noivern and their 68% Smash rating is any indication, the answer is "People would want to smash it!" Though really, looking at them, I can safely say you'd have to be blind as a bat to not see the appeal. Sorry, the pun had to be made.

14. I'm gonna be honest, I tried thinking long and hard on how to be crafty with my statement regarding this next one, but I just can't do it. I'd need more than one lifetime to make something fitting enough for this majestic deer! Fortunately, Xerneas can give one all the time in the world they need to think of stuff! And judging by that 66.5% Smash rating, I think a few of y'all have a few ideas on what to do with all the time Xerneas' immortality will give you...

15. But where there's life, there must, sadly, be death. Fortunately, death is this case is the very cool looking Yveltal, who has achieved an impressive 63.5% Smash rating! Seems that for some of y'all, "Death comes for you" has a different meaning...

16. Balance is an important part of any ecosystem. Too much death and you have no ecosystem, but too much life and you risk one particular part of that ecosystem overwhelming the rest. Fortunately, to prevent this from happening, Zygarde is here! And judging by how 50% Forme has a 52.3% Smash rating and Complete Forme has a 61.2% Smash rating, I'd say a number of you wish to show Zygarde your appreciation.

17. Diamonds are great. They're shiny, they're stupidly hard to damage, and they can come in a variety of colors! And that's just in our universe, the Pokemon universe is lucky and has Diancie, a living diamond Pokemon! And if Standard Form's 56.1% Rating and Mega Diancie's 65.3% rating is any indication, Diancie also adds "Very smashable" to the list of good diamond traits!

18. And for the finale, I present to you... Another Pokemon who only had an alternate form get in? Yep! It's Hoopa, the genie in a bottle Pokemon! Specifically, it's Hoopa Unbound, who makes it in with a 55.6% Smash rating! And with his rings, they'll show you the wo- Eh? What? Copyright law?! Damn it! Ok my lawers just advised me to not finish that joke, so sadly I can't leave y'all on the Aladdin reference. But I can say that considering Hoopa has a history of stealing treasure with their rings, I'm beginning to suspect some of y'all have a thing for Pokemon with criminal tendencies...

And thus is the Gen VI Who's Who of Smashing concluded, bringing us up to 136 Sultans of Smash! Well then let's see what's next... Gen VII? Oh man, we've got some choice Sultans of Smash incoming...!

#pokemon #pokémon #smash or pass #summary #The Pokemon Sultans of Smash

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