#sorry I didn't go into the sonic side of things I just don't know anything about it

[thankskenpenders]

And now for something new

So, here's something I was never planning on doing, but I just couldn't shake the idea... Thanks Ken Penders is gaining a sister blog featuring an entirely different comic franchise!

Introducing... Thanks Steve Ditko, a blog where I read the Earth-616 Spider-Man comics, starting all the way back in the '60s! It's gonna be much more casual and less thorough than how I run things here on TKP, though, which I'll explain in a sec.

If seeing me post weird bits from old Spider-Man comics sounds fun and you need no further info, then just head right on over to Thanks Steve Ditko. But for longtime TKP readers, I know you probably have questions...

Number one: Why?

Spider-Man's always been my favorite superhero, and with the Spider-Verse movies kicking ass and my excitement building for the new Insomniac game, I've been in a Spidey mood. Inevitably, a thought occurred to me: Maybe I should actually read the comics that everything else is built off of and see the wildly varying contributions of all the original creators, rather than filtering them through big budget adaptations. If I can power through One Piece and all these other manga with hundreds of chapters, it can't be that hard... right?

And, well, after a few issues I quickly realized that my options were to either clog up my other accounts with random Spider-Man panels for years, or to just make a side blog. And so the side blog was born.

Two: Will this blog replace Thanks Ken Penders?

NO!!!!!!!!!

Okay but prove it

To allow the two to exist side-by-side, Thanks Steve Ditko will have a different format than what Thanks Ken Penders developed. Rather than an in-depth guided tour that critically analyzes every story beat of every issue, TSD will just be a place for amusing panels and brief thoughts as I casually read the comics at my own pace.

If you've seen me make a few tweets about reading Spider-Man recently, I'm basically just moving that to a dedicated Tumblr. It's a place for me to dump these things so that it doesn't fill up my media tab on Twitter for the next decade. (You know, assuming Twitter is still around in a decade.) There will be many issues where I only post two panels that I thought were funny. There will be issues where I don't have anything to say at all. Maybe I'll reach a run that I just cannot get into, and I start skipping around more. Who knows!

This may sound similar to what I thought this blog would be before it blew up. Aside from the simple fact that there's already mountains of Spider-Man commentary out there and therefore less of a void for me to fill, one of the main steps I'll be taking to avoid repeating the past is not enabling an ask box on TSD. I do not need people to ask me to go into ten times more detail on everything. I do not need to write seven essay-length responses to questions about Spider-Man minutiae every day. I do not need a place for people to chide me for not covering certain scenes, issues, or ancillary series.

It also won't have any kind of update schedule. I'm trying to keep it very casual. I'm reading these comics at my own pace, and if I feel like sharing a moment or commenting on something while doing so? It goes there. That's it.

(On the subject of format changes, I'm also listing the issue, writer, and penciller in the body of every post. This is a thing I wish I'd done on TKP so that people didn't misattribute every weird Archie Sonic panel I post to Penders.)

Three: So when will TKP come back from hiatus? You said it'd come back after you finished SLARPG!

I don't know! Sorry. I have a couple things on the backburner right now for TKP, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to proper updates where I read more comics.

I wanted to bring TKP back this year, and that's still possible. The main hurdle is that I want to reread my own archive (again) as a refresher, which is, uh. A lot of posts. I've developed a high standard for myself on here, and I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job right if I forgot half the ongoing subplots and character arcs and didn't bring them up in my analysis. Especially when I'm discussing the work of an author as obsessed with continuity as Ian Flynn. Unfortunately, the nature of this blog means that every time I go on another long hiatus for Life Reasons I have even more comic continuity to catch up on than last time.

(This is a big part of why I'm making Thanks Steve Ditko an extremely casual blog instead of promising to become a Lore Expert on 60+ years of Marvel.)

Mostly I've just been very burnt out this year after having finally finished a video game that took almost eight years to make. I haven't really had the energy for any creative projects, including TKP. But I feel a little bit of a spark here with Spider-Man, so I'm chasing that feeling to try to get back into the swing of blogging about comics - no pun intended.

So, basically, bear with me on this as I start this low-energy side project. But hopefully folks will enjoy Thanks Steve Ditko as its own thing, too.

Look forward to goofy shit like this

#tkp post

[star-writr]

Promise

Yay!! Another 10th Doc fic!! This one is a little longer than the last one luckily. Also school starts in four days for me and I'm terrified. Reader is gn. This will be up on my Ao3 in a sec. Enjoy!!

After yet another draining adventure, the TARDIS welcomed you and the Doctor with its warm lighting and buzzing noises. Closing the door behind him, the Time Lord huffed. "Well, that was a hell of a jog", he spoke, "even for me. Are you alright?"

You smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I think I'm going to take a nap. Do you mind?"

"Not at all," said the Doctor, making his way over to the console. "I'll be here if you need anything." You walked away, grateful to get a break.

The Doctor ran his fingers through his hair, already spiky and messy enough as it was, sighing. He fiddled with a couple buttons, trying to keep his hands – and thoughts – focused on the TARDIS rather than anything else. The spaceship seemed to find his troubled look quite funny, and her engines snickered.

"Laugh a little more, would you?", grunted the Time Lord. The machine didn't hesitate to do so.

The Doctor had been pining after his companion for a while, but had admitted these feelings to himself quite reluctantly. After all, he knew that you wouldn't be any different to his prior companions. He knew one day he wouldn't see you again; everyone left the TARDIS sooner or later, whether they wanted to or not. Even if you somehow reciprocated what he felt, the situation would've been just the same, and it would've been even worse when it ended. The Doctor was a time traveller, he couldn't focus only on the present; and thinking of the uncertainty of the future – which could've put you in danger in a hundred million different ways without him able to do anything – sent him off the rails like very few things could. He couldn't have you hurt because of his carelessness, feelings or no feelings. However, he still didn't know what to do. Maybe he should've told you the truth. But why bother? Again, it would've meant nothing. Destiny had the tendency to laugh in the Doctor's face, making his every move have the worst consequences possible; if you got involved by staying by his side, who knows what could've happened. There was also the possibility of you being uncomfortable once the Doctor confessed his feelings and leaving the TARDIS even sooner. So the Time Lord kept his mouth shut.

This went on for quite some time. Nevertheless, the Doctor couldn't keep carrying such a burden forever. And, against every last one of his intentions, he didn't.

It was rare to see the Doctor truly scared. It had been a long night, and an even longer adventure. Going deeper and deeper into the darkest of tunnels, holding onto his sleeve, the both of you running for your lives, you saw an expression that the Time Lord had never worn in front of you before then.

The enemy had taken his sonic, leaving the Doctor without his second most powerful weapon, and the first most powerful – his wits – didn't seem eager to respond at the moment. It was true that most times he worked well under pressure, but fear was a beast he didn't quite know how to make abide by his rules.

"Doctor, what do we do? We can't keep running forever," you reminded him, pulling onto his shirt. He stopped in his tracks and took one good look at you.

"Are you hurt?" he asked. You didn't answer. "We have to think of something else," you insisted, "or we'll be stuck here forever."

He said your name with his voice breaking. It was the first time you saw him that worried. "We can't do anything. We can't fight. We can only run", he stated.

You lowered your eyes. The truth was that you couldn't run anymore. As much as you didn't want to admit it, your feet were killing you and you had sprained your ankle.

"You're hurt", realized the Doctor. The sound of metal clanging coming from the tunnels behind you stripped you of all the hope you had left. The Doctor looked at you with wet eyes. "I don't have a plan", he said, "I'm sorry."

He couldn't give up so easily, you thought. The noise was getting closer. The pressure you felt crushed your lungs, leaving you almost breathless.

Even so, the Doctor wasn't the only one who worked well under pressure. You had a sudden idea, and all at once you felt like you could breathe again. A smile crept its way onto your lips. "Well, I do," you said.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. "Really? What are you going to do?" he asked. His question remained unanswered, at least for the moment, as your lips crashed together with his. "Stay put", you ordered him, then going straight towards the noise of metal. The Doctor – quickly pulling himself together after the sudden kiss – tried to stop you, but it was futile. As soon as you disappeared from his sight the noises suddenly stopped. A few moments later, you came back with his sonic screwdriver in hand and a smirk plastered onto your face.

"Holograms," you explained, "holograms and recorded sound effects. They took your sonic because it would've messed with their systems."

The Doctor's mouth was agape as he grabbed the screwdriver, inspecting it and occasionally shifting his eyes onto your figure. "How can a hologram grab anything?", he asked.

"They were projected onto an endoskeleton", you replied. "Fool proof disguise."

The Time Lord smiled. "You're a genius."

"Save it for when we're out of here, pretty boy," you teased, grabbing him by the tie and leading the way. Needless to say, the Doctor didn't protest. He was too impressed to complain.

You made it to the TARDIS only hours later, exhausted as per usual. The Doctor was still lingering on the kiss. He couldn't tell whether your sudden realization had made you so excited as to kiss him, or if it had been anything else. He was still unwilling to talk about his own feelings, but now that you had made what seemed like a first move, he decided to confront you about it.

He plopped next to you on the seat near the console. His palms were sweaty against the white leather and his eyes darted between the ceiling, you, and the pavement.

"What is it?" you asked, preceding him. The Time Lord suddenly found his shoelaces to be very interesting, and didn't bear to look at you.

"Just thinking", he whispered.

"About?"

"About the kiss."

You tilted your head. The Doctor was still looking down. A sigh escaped your lips. "Okay, listen."

"I am listening."

"Look at me, Doctor."

He didn't turn his head, and just peeked at you from the corner of his eyes. You later found his flusteredness to be quite adorable. For the moment, however, you wondered if the kiss had made him uncomfortable. In any case, it was best to tell him your reasons. All of them. No holding back. You wouldn't have hid anymore.

"I meant that kiss," you admitted. "I'm sorry if you weren't okay with it."

The Doctor went back to staring at his shoes. "I was okay with it." Your eyes lit up. "Frankly," he added, "it would be simpler if I wasn't. But I'm actually glad you did it first."

"Are you?" you questioned him. "You don't look so... happy."

"I know." The Time Lord bit his lip mindlessly.

"Then what's wrong?"

He was finally able to look at you. You deserved the whole truth, he thought.

"I've told you. My companions always end up leaving. Most of the time it's not planned. They end up endangered and the only solution, if there is one, is leaving me behind. If I get too attached I can never get over it."

You took his hand in yours. "Have you considered, even for a second, that it doesn't always have to end that way?"

"But it does."

"I'm still here, though."

The Doctor's eyes darted across the room. As much as he wanted to believe everything would've ended up being okay, he couldn't bring himself to. Each time he did, everything slipped away from his grasp leaving him alone once again.

"Doctor," you pleaded, "if you won't believe it can end differently, then at least let me promise you it will. At least believe in me."

The Time Lord pondered over your words for a couple moments. Then, he cupped your cheek with his free hand and kissed you. It was a desperate kiss, and it made the both of you scoot closer to the other, wrapping your arms around each other for support and clutching at the cloth on your backs. It didn't last for more than thirty seconds, and left you lingering for more.

"Promise me", he begged, "promise me."

"I promise", you whispered.

"Again. Say it again."

"I promise", you repeated.

His lips brushed onto yours. "Again." You smiled reassuringly, your voice a whisper.

"I promise." You kissed him again.

The night had just started.

#doctor who #10th doctor x reader #david tennant #10th doctor imagine #10th doctor #doctor who x reader #x reader #gn reader #drabble

[mars-wuz-herez]

What of Sonic died in Sonic Prime?

Part two

Rouge’s view (2)

I feel the sun creeping on my face. I turn to face the other side but now something is tickling my face. I open my eyes and see that I'm surrounded by grass. My body aches as I rise from laying down. Then the flood of memories comes pouring in. Oh Chaos, where is Tails? 

I get up from my spot and start running around the area screaming Tails name. Chaos… Shadow why do you have to be like this? I returned back to the spot I was laying in. Shit. Shit. Shit. What the heck am I going to do? First Sonic now Tails. It just keeps getting better and better. I look at the ground and see a fresh track that can only be made by one hedgehog. I raise my head a little higher to see another mess. Broken rocks, bent trees and scattered rings all over the place. What the heck happened here? 

Then I hear an explosion coming from the distance. I turn my head to where the noise came from. I see smoke coming from….

Rouge: “Eggman's lair?”

Great. That can't mean anything good. I get out my communication device and message Knuckles and Amy. 

Please tell me you guys didn't go to Eggman's lair

No response. I’m about to call when I notice a glowing blue thing. I walk over and pick it up only to see that it is one of Sonic's blue quill's. Tails must've dropped it. I take a good look at it and see that it isn't…normal. The color looks to be…fading. Then out of nowhere the quill fades to gray and disappears. Whoa what the heck-

The ground starts shaking. An earthquake? We never get those- 

Rouge: “Whoa”

I feel dizzy and fall down on all fours. I look at my hands on the grass and see that I'm turning…gray? I feel…tired…I close my eyes and when I open them again I see myself on the beach. 

For a split second I see Sonic sitting on a rock and Shadow standing next to him. What? When did this happen? I feel the ground shaking again and I open my eyes. I'm back on the grass. Whoa that was weird. I look at my hands. Back to normal. I'm about to reach for my communication device when, again, a flood of memories comes to me. Except I don't remember any of these. The memories are of me flying and repeating the same thing. They are also of Sonic and Shadow fighting over…I don't even know.  I get my communication device from my pocket. No messages. Something is wrong. (I mean besides what just happened) Knuckles always messages me back no matter the situation he's in. I look back at the Eggman base which has smoke coming out of it. Knuckles and that brat Amy must be there. Then I look at the track. I have two choices. Go after Shadow or help the other two.

I think about these options before making my decision.

To be continued….

Mentions:

@mrfrobbert @hawk-has-alot-of-gay-ships @callme-aprilroseisha04

@rainestorm05 @upodubo-reblog @seaslugdisco @bun-bie @annoyingcat413 @bee-birb @idiotayo @theavo-guac

I hope ya'll enjoy it! Sorry it took me almost a month to write. School is kicking my butt. Also it's the anniversary of a few bad things that happened at my school last year. I'm over it now...kinda. Anyways I will try to update more and not leave you guys hanging!

#sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonic prime #sonadow #sonic prime season 3 #tails the fox #sonic prime spoilers #Rouge the bat #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #eggman #sonadow prime #What if Sonic died in sonic prime au #writes-from-mars

[semi-sketchy]

#i do hope this arc doesn't go with whisper apologizing and tangle being justified if she really was trying to “honor the old team” #i'd rather it went into a “i don't hate you i'm just upset with you” angle #let whisper be angry and upset #let tangle know why #please don't push whisper to say she was wrong for being upset #i say that because i don't actually trust it not to go that way

Welp.

Aight issue 58 leaked and I'm actually gonna take a swing at this comic now because I genuinely did not think it could get to this level of bad. Like not even just the senseless Tangle and Whisper drama, the whole arc so far is just flat out bad and I wanna unpack it.

1. Tangle and Whisper drama

Let's get the elephant out of the way first.

This was dumb and had absolutely no point whatsoever.

All this leads to is Whisper apologizing for...not helping everyone and being a bad teammate?

Because yes, throughout this arc she has totally been uncooperative and not helping the team at all!

Oops.

Even in the context of the previous issues, she went off on her own to hunt Mimic again, fearful he'd hurt her friends to get to her even though she already went through that whole shtick and then she fought Surge to try and protect a town.

Please, tell me more about how she was being selfish and "not helping anyone."

This is not an empowering moment. This is an embarrassment, both to Whisper and Tangle. This has fully turned me off from Tangle.

Her side of the apology basically boils down to "I'm upset that you're upset at me, I did what I did to help us" complete with waterworks, leading to Whisper being like "no, no, you were right, I'm sorry for being triggered, I need to get over my trauma" and that is just manipulative. Top it off with Tangle NEEDING to be told what was wrong when she had a VISUAL REACTION upon seeing how affected Whisper was, and that just makes Tangle a bad friend.

You can have messy apologies in writing, it's more realistic and interesting for characters to have faults, but this whole thing was written around Whisper being in the wrong when she really didn't do anything. Seriously she gets about three pages dedicated to her apologetic speech while Tangle gets two panels.

And again, that's all that comes of this. It only serves as a do-over on Whisper's growth from their mini series. It has no effect on anything else. This was pointless to include and just wastes time.

2. The city expanding is solved way too quickly, for the convenience of the reader and not for the plot

This is actually the exact same problem I had in Frontiers. All concepts of mystery and suspense are thrown out the window just to feed exposition to the reader/player.

This is it. They come to a conclusion as out there as "the city is alive" with clues as shaky as it's bigger and the damage from weeks ago has been fixed. No build up. No evidence. They don't have to work for the information. That wild idea is just accepted.

I take pot shots at Xenoblade 3 for lacking build up, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but I have to give that game a bit of credit because at least there everyone needed some form of confirmation before accepting a concept as weird as there being two Noahs.

This type of writing does not serve the plot or characters. It's just a quick and frankly lazy way to give the reader context. If you can't make the reveal/realization of the information your plotline revolves around even feel earned, you've failed your job as a writer.

3. Sonic has to be taught the power of friendship and teamwork.

Sonic T. Hedgehog actually learns it's good to work with others. Something he's literally been doing this entire comic. Like please name a single time he hasn't been working with at least some part of his ensemble to complete a goal.

I suppose it's trying to be a response to this line from the previous issue, however Sonic never suggested going at it alone. He literally said they should work as a team and get the job done together.

This isn't even a case of "play the games" because it doesn't bother being consistent with itself.

4. Why is Sonic deferring to Lanolin

Does everyone forget this is a part of Sonic's character?

But it's because she's the next Sally stand-in. That's why he's tolerating her scolding and following her orders. Forget the fact that she's the least experienced one on this team and knows it herself, this mission was her idea so clearly she's in charge!

I don't dislike Lanolin and frankly I don't really care that Flynn is trying to find someone to make the new de facto Sally, better Lanolin than Amy in my books. However, this bossy bitch attitude is pretty far removed from when we last saw her. She was more easily startled, a bit submissive yet still kind and courteous.

Really not the type of person I'd expect to be saying things like this.

And therein lies the problem. By trying to make different characters into Sally, it erases what personality they had before that was arguably more interesting. If they want to say Lanolin just changed and grew into this, then they should've given us some indication.

I said before what makes a new character compelling is seeing how Sonic inspires them, but we don't get to see that journey with Lanolin because it's glossed over in a small summary.

Well, maybe her character arc is just kicking off, she is still jumpy and breaks down after they fell in the portal, after all. Maybe the whole boss-man routine is just a facade and Sonic will offer her encouragement and teach her it's better to be true to yourself, giving her the confidence to lead her own way– oh, nope. That's Tangle.

Where the hell does Sonic fit into this universe if none of these OCs really need him for anything?

5. The great OC debate

I've already said my peace about why I'm not fond of the huge focus on OCs in IDW, so I won't repeat myself here.

Part of me gets it, there's less restrictions on entirely new characters than there are on the pre-established game cast. Of course, those restrictions –or "mandates" as they've been coined– exist for a reason and should really only be a constant hurdle if you refuse to learn, both from your own mistakes and other official media.

If you are frequently getting notes about your portrayal of a character that is not yours, the fault lies with you and not the person giving you the notes.

Creating a bunch of characters as a way to get around that process does nothing to address the actual issue.

Of course, I've seen it said with this arc, "stop complaining about all the OCs, a bunch of the game cast is coming in soon, so just wait!" Oddly enough, that's another issue I'm having with this arc and the comic in general.

I am frankly fatigued by the amount of times they mash tons of characters together for a big ol' Avengers-style gig. Is it too much to ask that some of the extended cast that aren't named Tails get used in smaller, more personal ways rather than giant team ups?

We've gotten some of those, don't get me wrong. It's been a bit since the last huge cast clash, but it's just not something I'm itching to see again, especially after the story has revolved around OCs like Belle and Surge for awhile. I want more small-group adventures with the game cast so they can truly be utilized in a meaningful way.

6. There's too many big subjects fighting for space on the page

The Diamond Cutters fiasco played no role in anything, partly because there just didn't appear to be time to show it actually causing any tension. Lanolin's introduction and self-doubt as a leader comes and goes very quickly without any build up or foreshadowing. The expanding city, while being the main focus, is figured out way too fast on loose clues. They try to teach Sonic a "lesson" but it never actually bothers to show him having issues with that subject.

Everything is rushed and not getting enough time to fully cook, causing pacing problems. There's already this many things competing for focus and they're just gonna throw more characters at it. That's not gonna solve the issue. All of these points should be significant to the story, yet they are condensed to hell and no part of this plot is actively being played up in the slightest.

I'll be honest, I don't know if I even want to bother with this comic anymore. I liked Scrapnik Island, but I am just growing tired of the mainline stuff. I didn't even bother reading #57 until the leaks happened, my dash blew up and I went "SURELY there's some context in #57" only to find there was none. We're only two issues in and this arc is already suffering with pacing problems and has shown no redeeming qualities.

If this is the quality they've settled for so far, then I'm scared what they're gonna do with Team Dark.

#anti idw sonic #idw sonic spoilers #idw sonic #long post

[itzsleepintime]

"Hey.... Don't let go, okay?"

Hello, everybodyyy!!! This is my side blog (I'll consider putting my main blog here in the future), which is going to be for roleplaying, and a bit of art then and there!

Here's something about me :]

You can call me Jayden/Jay/Sleepy!

(INFP | Pisces | Atheist | Maladaptive Daydreamer | hypersomniac | selective mutism | stimmy | energetic | sensitive)

I'm an [age regressed!] adult with ADHD/who is Neurodivergent! I consider myself a hikikomori, asocial fella who suffers from social anxiety T0T also a bit touch starved hehe 👉👈

My regressed age is about 7-10! But my true age is 19 ^^

I'm genderfluid, and use any prns (She/He/They)! I'm also Greyromantic, Demisexual, Polyromantic and Bicurious!

I'm in a constant state of sleepiness, and a bit of a softie, who likes plushies, fresh/flowery/soapy/baby scents, soft blankets, feeling clean and warm, and comforting pampering ^^

I love to draw, read and listen to music in my free time! Oh, and play with my favorite plushie lol XD

My favorite animal is raven! My favorite color is red, white and black! My favorite food/drink is pasta, chocolate and coffee! My favroite music genres are classical/dubstep/breakcore/vocaloid/electronic (im srs yall i like everything💀)

Some of my icks/dislikes: feeling cold, being in public, talking when I'm sad/angry, bugs, feeling tired, (which is always😒), little children, people touching my plushie, feeling lonely, loud noises/yelling, people being inconsiderate/non-understanding/judgemental, feeling dirty

It will mainly be self insert/OC roleplays with other characters! Slowly but surely, I will be introducing some of my characters as time goes, who I ship with and which fandom they belong to! It will be either platonic or romantic themed!!

Fandoms I'm interested in for roleplaying: Transformers, Cookie Run, JJBA, OMORI, FNAF, Call of Duty, Sonic The Hedgehog, LOTR, Skyrim, Dragon Ball, Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan, Friday Night Funkin', Madness Combat, Deltarune, Naruto, Chainsaw Man, Monsterverse, ENA, Marvel, The Stanley Parable, HALO, One Punch Man, TADC, Fran Bow, Little Misfortune, Honkai SR, Pizza Tower, Ace Attorney (yes, a long list i know💩)

WARNINGS!!!

⚠PROSHIPPERS /COMSHIPPERS /RACISTS /LGBTPHOBICS /HATERS /ZOOPHILES /PEDOPHILES /FURRIES (SORRY) /TOXIC PPL /SEXISTS /NAZIS /TERFS /ZIONISTS /AI ART USERS DO NOT INTERACT!!!

⚠ I have age regress, so I may act brash and not so 'adultey' as I'm expected! the tone I use may be a bit too energetic, so, if you find it annoying or uncomfortable, feel free to block me!

⚠ I cuss a lot!

⚠ I can be quite forgettable! If I happen to ghost you/forget to answer/don't remember some of the things you said, I'm really sorry, it was never my intention🙏

⚠ My OC and S/I lore is very... Unrealistic, which means, they are usually non-human and/or immortal beings with a bit of overemphasized powers and such. If that bothers you, feel free to block me!

⚠ If you are easily triggered by dark themes such as d3ath/overal depression things, do not interact, it's for your own safety. Out of coping mechanism, I might reblog some jokes about those themes, so, again, feel free to block me if that is triggering for you!

⚠ Because of that, this blog is 15+!!!

⚠ It is a safe space for any LGBTQ+/Neurodivergent person, and any Race/Ethnicity/Age!

⚠ Sometimes, I will post my OC/Canon art here! If OC x Canon/Canon x Canon art bothers you, no hate, just block please!

RULES!!!

⚠ This blog is SFW!!! However, since I am an adult, I might be following blogs who can be BOTH SFW AND NSFW!!! I WON'T be posting anything NSFW here, but, if you are a minor, please do not interact with them, be warned.

⚠ I won't do SA, incest, minor/adult, zoophilia, etc.

⚠ If I didn't answer your ask, that only means two things: I deleted it because I felt uncomfortable answering it, or I'm too busy to answer it.

⚠ If you approach with pure hate/toxicity and act like a creep, you will be blocked and/or reported.

⚠ No drama, please. I don't want to be part of anything related/unrelated to me. Trying to start any drama results to an instant block.

⚠ Do not spam in asks/messages. Have in mind that I, and any other roleplayers, have life outside these blogs, and can be busy quite a lot if it happens.

TAGS!!!

(Nothing here yet!!! It will be updated in the future!!!)

[Thank you for reading <3]

#intro post #introduction #pinned intro #introductory post #oc rp #rp blog #roleplay #roleplay blog #original character rp #comfort rp #roleplaying #looking for moots #looking for mutuals #oc x canon #oc x character #pinned post #pinned info #about myself #about my blog #safe space #age regression #age regressor #safe place #sfw agere #sfw blog #safe blog #ask blog #roleplay account #multifandom rp #multifandom roleplay

[elionwriter]

SONIC IDW N.50:

BEWARE SPOILERS BELOW FOR THE ISSUE

Wow, oh wow! I just finished reading the comic and man, all I can say is that n.50 is as solid a milestone as they come! In my humble opinion this issue was nearly perfect and closed splendidly the overarching plot brought forward till this point. And the art! The art was gorgeous!

But one thing at a time.

First, I must say that this issue is a smack in the face to anyone who says Flynn can't write Eggman! Because honestly, I've hardly ever seen the character in better shape. Not only does the art make him look chillingly scary and dreadful, but his battle with Starline drives home one point perfectly: EGGMAN ALWAYS WAS AND ALWAYS WILL BE SELF SUFFICIENT. He doesn't need nor want the heroes' "friendship is magic" argument.

Also, he can, by all means, plan in detail ahead, I guess at times he just doesn't care to because, much like Sonic with his speed, he knows his intelligence will get him out of any situation regardless.

The possibility of Starline actually meeting his demise like this in this number would be absolutely perfect. The reality that Eggman would never be on his side and he would never be his equal hit him with absolute certainty! I think only the Archie battle between Eggman and Snively was as satisfying as this! If this is the end of you, R.I.P doctor, you were one heck of a character with an immaculate character design!

But that leaves us with the other confrontations.

I think one of the things I loved best of this issue was how all the showdowns displayed such blatant 'difference in register and tone' between the characters. Tails responds to Kit's despair and confusion with clarity and friendliness, Sonic meets Surge's anger and aggression with playfulness and by lowering the stakes at play. For all three groups this was not a battle on even ground. Sonic, as he says so himself, has heard Surge's discourse a million times, just like Tails, and Eggman has smacked down countless wannabes, off course this wasn't going to be for them the big, epic, emotionally charged fight it was for the other three!

Muahahah, Sonic's answer to Surge's introducing monologue is hysterical and honestly one of the best bits of the issue. But Surge does have a point!

IDW's Sonic philosophy (which is very different from some of his other incarnations) can be at the same time very maddening and selfish but also the greatest display of integrity. He will do everything in his power to stop ill intended beings from directly harming others but he will not prevent them from acting in the future or when his back is turned. His absolute firmness on not compromising on this point means that yes, he is very selfish because the harm Surge and Kit had to suffer at the hands of Starline could have been prevented and that others might suffer in the same way moving forward. However it's also extremely heroic because, the thing about comprising on one's morality is that once you do it once, there's no saying what kind of compromise you might end up making and justifying to yourself!

Again, is this actually the end of this character? For some reason I doubt it more than with Starline, but it would be fitting in its tragedy. It's great that not all three original characters came out of this story the same way, but it does make me wonder what would that mean for Kit in this event.

That leaves me with the one sour note of the issue. *Sigh* Belle.....

Sorry, I just don't see the charm in the character and her confrontation with both Metal and Eggman was, well, underwhelming....I mean, the comparison between her and Metal was interesting but it didn't really mean anything and everything she does just isn't interesting enough!

I can only hope that Eggman letting her go now, will mean a whole lot more later. But for now this was the most forgettable part of the issue.

One might argue that Kit and Surge's story isn't over because we still don't know who they were originally and Starline never realised they had turned on him, but honestly: does it matter? Not really....none of it when it boils down to it. Starline was still spectacularly shown how imperfect his planning was and the other two would be no less dramatic, whatever it was that brought them to Starline!

And so, the story comes to an end on a wonderful cliff hanger! I enjoyed this issue so much and it honestly makes me wonder what direction the comic will go next! Despite its lows (because there have been, and big ones too) I am liking this series so much better than I ever enjoyed Archie and numbers like this prove that while it might have a lot of 'misses', when it hits it hits hard!

#sonic idw #sonic #sonic the headgehog #sth #tails #eggman #dr eggman #dr starline #starline #sonic issue 50 #kit the fennec #kitsunami the fennec #surge the tenrec #belle the puppet

[multicolour-ink]

Gifts (Oneshot)

- - -

Another oneshot. This time featuring Wade. Plus we learn a bit more about how Mobians perceive their animal side.

- - -

"Can I ask you something Tails?", asked Wade

Tails was hanging out in the police station, having been asked to try and fix the computer after it had gone on the blink for the umpteenth time that week. Tails had happily obliged, and hadn't taken long in his task (while also adding his own extra features he hoped would be appreciated). Now the two were sitting in Wade's office, a plate of biscuits, sweets, and tea in front of them. Tom was due to return soon with Knuckles from the library, and Sonic was shopping with Maddie.

"Uhh...Yeah go ahead", said Tails, picking out a mint sweet.

"You know how you guys are well...animals?", Wade continued. He gestured to Tails, indicating that by 'you guys' he meant the fox as well as his brothers.

"Yeah?", Tails raised an eyebrow.

"Well", Wade sat back in his chair. "What do you do about your...instincts. I know you guys have them. Aren't they like an inconvenience?"

Tails' eyes widened, more taken aback by the question than offended.

"Sorry", Wade stuttered, falling back into his chair, his face red. "Forget I said anything"

"No no, it's ok!", said Tails. "I just want to know what you mean by what kind of instincts. You're going to have to be more specific"

"Well you know...”, Wade gestured again. “Like how you guys do certain things that our animals do. Sonic curls into a ball when he gets startled. Knuckles feels the need to dig in the back garden. And you also have those claws”

Wade then made a very enthusiastic clawing motion against his face, mimicking a wild animal tearing into it.

“How do you cope with that?”

Tails could only stare. He wasn’t sure what to say. On the one hand, Wade was making a point. But on the other, he was clearly demonstrating how little he understood. And Tails was happy to make him.

“I think you’re looking too much into it”, Tails laughed. “Our instincts are no different than you humans”

“Don’t think so”, said Wade. "I don't dig up my garden on random intervals, or crash into my door if I hear a noise"

Tails gulped. Yesterday he had been startled by the postman dropping mail through the letterbox, although he didn't know it was that at first. Instincts kicking in prompted him to go racing down the stairs on all fours, tripping on the last step, and smacking right into the front door. Sonic had nearly passed out from laughing, and Tails had silently vowed revenge.

"Well there can be setbacks", said Tails, shaking himself out of the memory. "But you humans have instincts, even if you don't always know it"

Tails took a sip of tea, as Wade sat back and watched curiously.

"Human instincts trigger under emotions. Like when you get mad, sad, or even like when you know what to do when someone is in trouble"

The fox continued.

"Sonic curls into a ball because his instincts tell him that his quills will protect him. Knuckles digs because he has the urge to find treasures to gift, aannnd he says that it creates good fertilisation for the soil! Our instincts protect us and each other. Whether human or animal. It's a part of us. The same applies with our claws"

Tails pulled one of his gloves off and lifted his hand to inspect it. His tone now musing, thoughtful.

"Without these, we wouldn't have another way to defend ourselves, or even be able to play, or groom our fur. Our instincts are never an inconvenience. They are gifts from our ancestors"

He looked up at Wade and smiled. Wade just sat in silence, mulling over the kit's words.

"Well", he eventually said. "That's one way of looking at it"

Suddenly a voice cut through the subdued moment, and Tom appeared in the door with Knuckles in tow.

"Hey ya!", Tom waved cheerfully. "How you doing, buddy? Did you have fun with Wade today?"

"Sure did!", Tails cheerfully replied.

He flew off the chair to join Tom and Knuckles.

"Wade, you ok to hold the fort for a bit longer?", asked Tom. "I'll be back in a moment. Just gotta drop these two home. Maddie just texted. She and Sonic will be back soon"

"Leave it to me!", Wade saluted. "That little fox has interesting words of wisdom"

"I also need to show you the sacred tomes I got from the lie-bary, Fox", said Knuckles, as he excitedly held up a pile of books.

The three of them said goodbye to Wade, but just as they exited the room, Tails popped his head back in.

"Oh Wade! I hope you don't mind, but I also added an extra upgrade to the coffee machine. Hope you like it!"

Wade's face fell as Tails disappeared again.

Luckily the three of them were already outside, so they didn't hear the loud bang, followed by the geyser of water.

- - -

That bit about Knuckles fertilising the soil is actually true for echidnas! (source)

#hope you all like :) #there are some things i have issues with #but i do love this one #sonic the hedgehog #sonic fanfiction #fanfic #miles tails prower #wade whipple #caz writes #oneshot #sonic movie #sonic cinematic universe #scu #sonic movie verse #sonic movie 2

[simpalert]

Bugg-a-bo

It's an off day for sonic, since Eggman's on vacation. now sonic is bored and decides to be a bugg-a-bo and annoy tails. for fun :D. fandom: sth au: main ship: none

it's a calm summer's day, soft music is playing in the background, tails tinkering away at his newest invention. suddenly a breeze goes by behind him, knowing who it is he says with a sigh. "sonic I know that's you.", sonic appears behind him and says "heh how'd ya guess?" "just instinct." tails replied. "now let me work, I wanna get this done." "ohh cmon I'm so bored" sonic says in a whiney tone. which tails replies to with "well play video games, read a book, watch tv, go chat with knuckles. there's so much stuff you can do.". "aww please, I wanna hang out with yoou" he says with puppy dog eyes.

tails sighs then says "fine, you can stay. just don't touch anything", sonic nods and pulls over a chair, then sits down in said chair. it's back to being peaceful, the soft music fills and enchants the atmosphere of the room, and the only other sound is tails tinkering with his new invention. suddenly sonic starts booping the side of tail's face with a pen, just soft, gentle, boops. one of tails ears flicks as he tries to ignore it, but after a bit, he sighs and says "sonic can you not?". sonic stops and says "oki doki lil broski." to which tails replies with a soft smile and another sigh as he gets back to work.

the pen poking happens a few more times, and tails responds with the same thing, and once it got dark sonic says "hey tails it's late, let's to bed.". tails replies saying "I gotta get this done, but I'll be done in a bit.".sonic was skeptical, and asked "are you sure?" which tails replies with a nod. a bit later tails still isn't done. sonic sighs and picks tails up.

"wha-?! HEY?!?" tails said in a flabbergasted tone, he then says "SONIC PUT ME DOWN YA JERK!". sonic didn't reply, he just brings tails over to the couch and puts on a show tails likes. "it's bedtime buddie, I ain't having ya fall asleep atcha desk again". tails sighs and says "fiiinnnee" as he rests his head on sonics shoulder. and soon after both sonic and tails were fast asleep.

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

heres another sonic and tails, wholesome Wednesday. sorry that i missed last Wednesday ':D [at least i think i did idk]

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic idw #sth #sth fic #sonic fic #sonic the hedgehog fic #miles tails prower #tails the fox #unbreakable bond #sonic and tails #wholesome sonic and tails wednesday #kira fics #kira rambles #no one cares kira #kiras drabbles #shut the f*ck up kira #fic #fluff fic #wholesome #soft fluffy fluff

[dlaprobably]

Servantember, Day 5: Franz Liszt (Foreigner)

Franz Liszt, Hungarian composer and pianist, is Day 5's pick! Famed for his vast and varied number of works, his skill at the keys, and his influence on countless other musicians of note, Liszt has gone down in history as one of the greats of the Romantic era, and his work remains incredibly popular to the present day.

...However, there was a curious period in his younger years where he was observed to have a bizarre effect on audiences. Crowds at his concerts would experience extreme joy, scramble to get near him, and fight over whatever belongings of his they could get their hands on, up to remnants of cigars. Physicians at the time were baffled by why there would be such a reaction to an attractive fellow like him, and eventually declared the phenomenon a medical condition termed "Lisztomania".

Lore Notes:

-A polite but anxious gentleman, happy to play his music and teach others, but fearful of the potential side effects. While he seems much himself as he was in life and doesn't much understand why he's been brought back in this way, the spectral piano tells a different story. He insists that he doesn't know anything about magecraft or whatever this is that's been summoned along with him, that he'd really rather it went away, and that he'd like to go back home now, please.

-All readings show an outpouring of otherworldly energy from him, indicating the presence of some great and terrible eldritch being mixed in with his Spirit Origin. He behaves much as any musician Caster might, his playing and conducting rendering sonic attacks possible through the power of his keyboard, despite his best efforts. His music, much like the keyboard, takes on a glowing, staticky aura as it surrounds friend and foe alike, but attempts at studying it in more specific detail have proven ineffective. Whatever it is that's fueling this, it's powerful and not of this Earth, but the compositions and their notes are exact matches for those of Liszt's, no matter how unusual they may seem on observation.

-Liszt's Noble Phantasm, Lisztomania, puts his audience into a state of high emotion, compelling them to dance, sing, swear their undying loyalty to the musician, fight one another, and generally go wild. He swears he's not doing anything differently from normal, and even when he refuses to play, his music flows through the keys as if of its own volition. Absolutely nothing seems to happen to those who are wearing ear plugs or sufficiently covering their ears when the Noble Phantasm is used. For that matter, it doesn't seem to affect those who don't care for his music one way or another, or even audiences who moderately like or dislike his work. How odd.

-An easy enough Servant to work with despite his reluctance and the otherworldly force's mercurial nature. Caution is advised should whatever it is manage to fully emerge, if it is at all possible. Direct combat is not recommended, but if you point him at a foe, the music will generally do the rest.

Design Notes:

A bit of a shorter one this time around! Foreigner Liszt was entirely inspired by my reading about the phenomenon of "Lisztomania", and my knowledge of Liszt's music is limited to listening to a few of his compositions in preparation for this. Sorry to any Lisztheads out there who feel I didn't do him justice! I'll leave the proper Caster Liszts to people more familiar with his work. Design-wise I just drew the man himself as he looked to the best of my ability, with the real weirdness coming forth in the spectral keyboard and glowing aura. As for the nature of the beast, who can say? One thing can be said for sure, though:

#fate grand order #fgo #fanservant #dla arts #servantember

[shadowzmod]

Chili's Date

I'm blaming other people for this. I just wrote it because it's been stuck in my head for days. Also not canon (yet?) so not going on the blog.

Shadow staggered into Fleetway's side: he had exactly zero energy left and was more or less being held up by the blue hedgehog at this point. To be fair, Fleetway Sonic himself didn't look too much better: both of them had deep bags under their eyes, slow, pained steps, and the aura of people who'd Seen Some Shit.

But they'd made it. They were alive (it was a surprise to Shadow too).

And they'd landed in the Chili's parking lot; it made Shadow laugh slightly before he coughed. His lungs hurt from, you know, not actually breathing for a good long while, “I...am eating...like 10 molten lava cakes,” he laughed, leaning slightly more on Fleetway's shoulder as his knee decided to stop working for a second.

They stumbled in the door, and Shadow was still so out of it that he didn't even register Sonic asking for a booth, until he found himself sliding onto a padded seat. He worried for a second that Sonic would sit on the other side: he honestly didn't think he could actually hold himself up right now, but fortunately the blue hedgehog stayed sitting next to him, and Shadow let his head thunk onto Fleetway's shoulder.

"Sorry..." he mumbled, but there really wasn't anything he could do about it given the current situation.

"You'll feel better when you've had something to eat..."

"Yeah." And some sleep too, probably. He hadn't done either of those things in...he didn't want to count how many days. A lot.

At least ordering was easy. He didn't care about the greasy hamburgers and cheesy sticks and just went straight for dessert because he wanted a molten lava chocolate cake and at this point he deserved it: he'd just saved the entire planet from certain destruction.

He didn't pay any attention to what Sonic ordered, and kind of just zoned out for awhile, not registering anything until his name, when his ear flicked, just enough to show that he heard, "C'mon, Shads, eat something before your cake comes. I don't know how long it will be."

Shadow peeled his eyes open, and somehow managed to drag his head off of Sonic--he really needed a new nickname. Fleetway wasn't technically accurate. Rift had been Death Star...maybe he could be Blue Star. Or just Star. He wasn't sure yet.

With slightly numb fingers, he took the proffered mozeralla stick (at least that's what he assumed it was), and nibbled on it: it wasn't his preferred food, but even just that made him aware of the fact that he was starving, and he was actually rather surprised to find himself inhaling two more of Sonic's appetizers, before he dropped his head back on a blue shoulder.

“Thanks.”

“No problem, Shads.”

Rift had been the first one to call him that. He'd minded then. He didn't mind now.

It felt like an eternity before the rest of their food showed up, but it was probably only five or six minutes—and the instant the miniature volcano cake, topped with a ball of ice cream and hot fudge was set in front of him, Shadow's head was up, red gaze intent up on the treat.

The first spoonful made him wonder if this was what dying and going to heaven was like. The perfectly light cake, the warm gooey chocolate center, the sharp chill of the ice cream—all combined into the most delectable palate he thought he'd ever tasted.

He couldn't help the little noise he made, as he proceeded to force himself to take slow bites, savoring each and every mouthful with eyes closed.

“Looks real good, Shads.”

“It is...” Shadow opened his eyes, vaguely looking at whatever brightly orange food Sonic had gotten, before he offered, “Do you want a taste?”

“Sure.”

Shadow slid the plate a couple inches over so that Sonic could reach easier, and the blue hedgehog took a spoonful of cake and ice cream, “Mmm...you're right, that is good.”

Shadow blamed his sluggish state of mind for the sleepy smile he found himself giving the Blue Star, “Told you.”

“I might have to steal some more...”

“Only if you buy me another one.”

“Deal.”

Shadow couldn't argue with that, and the two of them finished off the first cake and did indeed order and finish another one.

By that point, Shadow was feeling a lot better. Still exhausted, but at least not dying exhausted, just really looking forward to going home and sleeping for a week exhausted, as somehow they managed to pay the bill (he was actually pretty sure it got put on somebody's tab, but that sounded fair since they'd just saved the world), and he could actually hold himself up as they walked out.

But that was about as far as he made it; stepping down of the curb he rather suddenly found himself sitting down and not able to get back up again, “Oh.”

Fleetway looked back at him, the blue hedgehog already a few feet ahead, “You all right, Shads?”

Shadow hated to admit it, but there was no way he was walking any further right now, “Yeah. I just...need a minute.”

Sonic nodded: he understood, of course. He'd seen what Rift had put the black hedgehog through, seen what Shadow had done to win—he glanced down, glad to see that Shadow's hands and feet were no longer slightly see-through, “Sure...hey, just give me on minute and I'll be right back.”

“I'll be here,” Shadow said; not that he could be anywhere else.

Sonic wasn't kidding though; he was back in less than a minute waving a brown paper bag, “I got worms!”

Shadow raised a brow, “Worms?”

“Okay, well, they're technically snakes,” Sonic reached into the back and pulled out a multicolored gummy snake, “But I know they had them at the store across the road and I have wanted some for days.”

Shadow shook his head with amusement, “Of course you have.”

“Want some?”

“Sure.”

Sonic sat down right next to him, the bag of gummy snakes squished between them, and they just sat, enjoying each other's quiet company for a rare moment. Shadow ate his snakes slowly, sticking them in the corner of his mouth and letting the tails hang out because he couldn't fit the whole thing into his mouth in any reasonable way.

He must have absolutely been more out of it than he thought because he didn't notice when the snake he was sucking on started wiggling, and he only noticed what was happening about a quarter of a heartbeat before he was suddenly nose-to-nose with Sonic, who must have accidentally grabbed the other end of the snake Shadow had.

Shadow's eyes widened, and then he pulled away quickly, green blush rising to his cheeks—the funny thing was, he'd actually kissed Rift already, to distract him while Shadow ripped the Phantom Ruby out of his chest—but that hadn't been...that hadn't meant anything.

“Hey, Shads?” Shadow glanced up at Sonic, a little shyly, to see the blue hedgehog studying him intently, bringing another soft green blush to his cheeks.

“What?”

“Can I...can I actually kiss you? For real?”

“I...suppose so.”

So Sonic did.

#yeah fight me Shadow hasn't come up with a good nickname yet #so I keep switching what I call Fleetway Sonic #he'll figure it out eventually #heritageblogverse #Shadow's gay for everyone #it's the truth #as much as he denies it

[scorpiolight-madd]

Scars

Starburst doesn't want anyone to know about her scar, but someone always finds out.

"Come on, you look adorable in that!" Amy pulls Starburst towards the door, closer to the sounds of people on the other side. Star just stares past her warily, her arms wrapped tight around her midriff.

"I- I don't know, Amy..." She glances down, squeezing herself tighter. "I just don't know about this..."

"You said you loved swimming, though?" Amy cocks her head to the side, and a pit forms in Star's stomach. It was true, she adored swimming, and she had been so excited to go to a pool party with Amy. It was only once she put on the adorable two-piece Amy had picked out for her, and realized it didn't cover the one thing she needed it to, that her mood had suddenly shifted.

Amy sighs, tugging on her arm. "Come on, everyone's waiting. If you want, I can find you a different-"

Starburst yanks her arm away in a panic before Amy can see what she had been hiding beneath it, stumbling away. Amy blinks, startled at the sudden action.

"S-Star? Are you-"

"Nh! No, I'm- I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to- Chaos, I'm sorry-"

Amy is quick to settle down by her side as she sinks to the floor, burying her face in her knees. At this angle, she can see just a fraction of something, a scar marring her fur. It seems to be an odd shape, but Amy can only see a piece of it.

"Is that what this is about?" She asks gently, and Star gasps, clapping a hand over her ribs. "Starburst, you don't have to be ashamed of your scars! Just look at me!" Amy spreads her hands wide, showing off her scars like her body was a trophy case. Starburst glances over to her with watery eyes, frowning.

"... This is different." She murmurs into her knees.

"How so?"

Star pauses, furrowing her brows. For a long moment, Amy thinks she's not going to respond, until finally, she takes a shaky breath. "Do you... Do you remember the bit during the war where I went missing?"

"Of course. I was worried sick, you were gone for weeks! When Sonic and Shadow came back with you, the three of you were all absolute wrecks!"

"Did they... Tell you what happened during those weeks?"

Amy frowns, tilting her head to the side and staring off at the wall, lost in thought. "Hmm. I didn't get much from them. I kinda got the impression that they didn't know, either. All they said was they found you being held prisoner by Infinite."

"Held prisoner? Is that what they said?"

"Nnnnot exactly? But that was the impression I got from them. Why, is that not what happened?"

"I guess it's not... wrong, per se. But that's not..." Starburst sighs, lowering her knees and leaning closer to Amy, finally moving her hand away from the scar. Amy's brows furrow as she sees its shape, a distinct infinity symbol, with a large spike protruding from the right side. Amy winces at the sight. "I don't remember getting it. I don't remember anything from those few weeks. I didn't even know I had it until we got back." She grimaces, fiddling with her ear. "I don't know what I did."

"What you did?"

Starburst looks up at Amy, her voice cracking as she speaks. "I wasn't in control. That's all I know. Because when they finally snapped me out of it... When I finally came back to my senses, I had a blade to Sonic's neck." Amy's eyes widen, but Starburst just keeps talking, even as tears begin to well up in her eyes. "Infinite didn't lay a finger on them during that fight. It was all me. And before that... Who knows what he made me... What I did. How many people I hurt. How many people I-"

She's cut off by Amy's arms, throwing themselves around her in a tight hug.

"Wh- Amy?"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." She says, and when she pulls away her eyes are determined. "All that stuff you're talking about? That's on him."

"But-"

"Ah! I'm not done. You said you weren't in control, yeah? That means that whatever he made you do during that time, that's him doing that, not you."

"But I was the one-"

"If I break something with my hammer, is the hammer the one responsible for breaking it?"

"No, but-"

"Then what makes you think that him using you makes you responsible for what he did?"

Star is quiet for a moment, staring down at the tile floor of the changing room. Finally, she sighs, glancing back up at her friend. Amy smiles, nudging her as she stands.

"Come on. I'll get you a new swimsuit, and then let's head to the party, okay?"

"... Okay." Star smiles, reaching up as Amy helps her back up to her feet.

"Think I can find you one Shadow likes?"

"Wh- wh- huh?" Star sputters, flushing a bright red. Amy just sticks out her tongue, a bounce in her step as she heads back to her bag.

"Come on. I've seen the way you look at him. You liiiike him." She teases in a singsong voice, only making Starburst's blush grow brighter.

"Th-that's- I'm not- Amy!"

It would be a while for them to finally get to that party.

#type: writing #sf:r writing #sf:r ch: amy rose #currently daydreaming ; queue #sf:r ch: blossom the rabbit

[hasquetzorkukudoneanythingwrong]

Birthday 538-539

Short Quetz story!

Rex, Nota and the others were in the city of Uruk when an attack is heard from within the city! They run out to see the source of the attack. When Rex saw the perpetrator he was in a shock.

The enemy was attacking even killing many Uruk soldiers like it was nothing. Mash intercepted her right before she could attack another enemy and was launched into a building nearby. The group runs towards the building and within the hole came the enemy, Quetzalcoatl.

"So it is true! One of our enemies really is Quetzalcoatl!" Nota exclaimed when she looked on at the enemy. Rex remained silent, still somewhat in disbelief in what he was seeing.

"Si! I am the serpent goddess of mesoamerica!" The blonde goddess excitedly exclaimed, while even doing a small dance. "You two actually look quite familiar! If you are who I think you could be, I am not surprised you'd recognize me!" She said looking on to the two masters.

Then suddenly Rex, who had finally snapped out of his shock, yelled out "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS! QUETZALCOATL LOVES HUMANS TOO MUCH TO DO SUCH A THING!" The rage and passion in his voice was clear as day. He knew Quetzalcoatl and she wouldn't do something like this!

The goddess was very surprised to hear that, but continued on cheerfully. "My my! Young Master, the passion in your voice and the look you give me, it really pushed all of my buttons!" She said, while trying to hide the blush on her face. "You know, maybe if you'd marry me, I'd switch to your side!"

Rex was surprised for a bit when he heard that, but not long after she asked he responded "sorry, but I already have a serpent I'd like to Marry" Rex said in response.

That was not the response Quetzalcoatl was expecting from the young Master, but before she could say anything she's immediately attacked by another being. Launched through multiple building until finally stopping and before her stood her assailant. "STAY AWAY FROM MI NOVIO!" said The Quetzalcoatl from Chaldea!

The Quetzalcoatl Rex summoned at the very start of his journey stood over her Babylonia counterpart. She responded with only Pure Rage at her counterpart's "proposal" to her master and boyfriend.

The Babylonia Quetz was shocked to see not only did Chaldea already summon another her, but that she called her master "Novio" something she herself hadn't considered. "No-novio? You two are dat-" but mid-sentence Chaldea's Quetz grabbed her counterpart by the arm and launed her through more buildings.

Rex's girlfriend was showing far more brutality then she normally would, clearly enraged by the other's words. The Quetz of Babylonia jumped back to her feet to prepare for her counterparts next attack, since she was clearly not in a talking mood.

Chaldea's Quetz zoomed towards her enemy at sonic speeds but she was still able to dodge and avoid the potentially devastating attack. It was clear as day she can't fight her now and needed to retreat. She whistled out to her pterosaur to come and provide a hasty escape!

"GET BACK HERE! FACE MY WRATH PU-" Quetz was yelling out to her other self before Rex embraced her to calm her down.

"Mi corazon! Relax! Calma, calma..." He said to his beloved servant to get her to calm down. It worked and she finally calmed down. "You don't have to be angry anymore" Nota raised an eyebrow at that, since he was pretty angry earlier himself.

Back in the current day, Quetz was remembering that time in the Babylonia singularity. "You ok, Mi Vida?" Rex had asked her, noticing that she seemed to space out.

That had shocked her back out of it. "O-oh! Nada mi amor! I was just remembering some things" She said back to her husband.

"Ok then! Well the Piñata's ready for you and your sister's birthday! So we should get going!" Rex had told his wife.

"Oh! Si, let's go then!" Quetz said in response. While they left the room, Quetz had one last thought about that past experience. "I really didn't need to be that angry at the time...." As she blushed a but in embarrassment.

A/N: so! Here's another short story, now focused on Quetz! Less birthday stuff but still very important! Hope you guys like it!

Tags

@hasbbdoneanythingwrong @haskamadoneanythingwrong @haskiaradoneanythingwrong @hasnightingaledoneanythingwrong @hasspartacusdoneanythingwrong @exmeowstic @chaldeamage-neo @lesaltywarlock @voidsh1k1 @madillhethen

#fate grand order #quetzalcoatl #wife #mastersona #rex #rexcoatl #daily update

[dark9896]

Where'd you learn that? [Leo x Reader]

Leo might be use to this, but you getting captured simply for being with him was worse....so much worse. The rest of Libra would have no problem rescuing both of you sure, but Leo was deeply concerned about landing you in the hospital due to his friends seeming inability to hold back.

While Leo had a small panic attack, you had already managed to wiggle your feet from the rope binding them. You didn't worry about your shoes, buying new wasn't a problem. But you knew you had to get out of here. You didn't know what the "All Seeing Eyes of the Gods" were, and you didn't need to. Escape from certain death was all the motivation you needed, getting both of you out alive was the only thing that mattered.

"Leo, are your feet tied to anything?"

"Huh? They're tied to each other [Name]."

"Yeah, but are they tied to something else?"

"No, why?"

Leo was suddenly leaning forward just before you lunged forward, just enough propulsion to get you up on your feet.

"What the hell!?"

"Shh. They'll make sure we can't move if they catch us doing this."

"Right, sorry. What way are we shuffling?"

"Forward for me, your....uh.....god eyes or whatever they are.....they can see stuff I can't right?"

"Kinda. I can keep a look out if that's what you're asking."

"Well, I don't know what way to go. I thought maybe you would be able to figure that out."

Leo just didn't understand how you could be so calm right now, he was a little jealous, "I'll give it a shot. But I didn't see any kind of map, and I can't tell which of these doors leads where."

"Looks like we kick them in one by one."

"That is a terrible idea [Name]. At least try to listen to what's on the other side first."

You were just able to turn and look at Leo from the corner of your eye, "I don't think that'll work either. Hey, Sonic was with us right? He still here?"

Leo watched Sonic pop out from his jacket, the little monkey had a but of a soft spot for you since you always seemed to have something tasty for him to nibble one during dates, "Yeah, Sonic was hiding in my jacket."

"Can he work a pocket knife?"

"Uh....." Leo watched as Sonic nodded, "I think so."

"I've got a small one in my front pocket."

You felt Sonic digging into your pocket, pulling the tiny sharpened folding knife out. Sonic was suddenly by your face holding it up with a small noise.

"Yeah, that's it Sonic. Open it and try cutting around our shoulders."

The tiny monkey nodded and moved so he was between you and Leo's backs, able to hide and cut at the ropes at the same time. Leo couldn't help but wonder how you could be so calm, shuffling forward into unknown dangers. He admired you for it, but also thought you were a little crazy at the same time.

By the time you were at the first door, Sonic had broken through a rope, freeing both of you. Leo rubbed his arms and held onto your shoulders while you undid the rope around his ankles. Sonic had dashed off and back, dragging your discarded shoe behind himself.

"Thanks Sonic." You scratched the top of his head gently before standing, "That's better, we'll be able to defend ourselves this time."

"[Name], do you hear yourself right now?" Leo stood by, offering you balance as you retyed your shoe, "Us? Fighting?"

"We don't have any choice Leo. Who knows if there's anyone coming for us." That struck Leo deep, the tone of your voice worried him, "If we don't fight, or at least prepare to fight, then we won't have a chance of escape."

"Your right." Leo sighed, was this city just full of stubborn survivalist types? How hadn't he known about this sooner? "But we should try to avoid fighting, even if you can hold your own, we should be able to get out of here without it."

You nodded, then turned to the door, pressing your ear against the smooth surface.

"Esmerelda Blood Freeze!"

You didn't recognize the voice and jumped away from the door. Leo had heard it as well, Mr. Starphase had yelled after all. Leo immediately made an attempt to shield you with his own body, but that didn't really keep out the biting cold.

Where the door had been stood two rather tall men, both of whom looked ready to fight....no.....ready to kill.

"Leonardo, are you okay?" The taller of the two, a man with fiery red hair and a gruff yet somehow gentle voice, "Who is this?"

You had a sudden urge to hide behind Leo. You doubted anyone he knew would actually hurt you, but these two were quite intimidating.

"Oh, this is [Name]." You waved a little shyly, both seemed to ease their demeanors considerably. Did they already know about you? "We were just trying to find a way out when you showed up."

"Ah, so you're the famous [Name]." Famous? You? "I'm Klaus von Reinherz. Leonardo has told us quite a bit about you. Its a pleasure to meet you."

"Its....uh....nice to meet you as well, Mr. Reinherz." You were a bit nervous, but met the now friendly hand in greeting, "I didn't know Leo talked about me that much."

"Eh he he." Leo was blushing a bit, he didn't think he said that much about you at work.

"Though, it is rather interesting that you two weren't restrained at all?" The other male, one with dark hair spoke up.

"Oh, [Name] had a pocket knife, and Sonic cut through the ropes."

Both men looked at each other with raised eyebrows. You stood there somewhat blushing before....

"Wait, what about getting out of here?"

"We took care of that on the way in [Name]. No need to worry."

You looked out a room full of ice. What kind of job does Leo have?

#bbb #kekkai sensen #kkss #leonardo watch

[sakuraswordly]

Mulder: Hah...ha! So you and Punch used to date, right?

Peter: Pssssss!???!?!? Ephemer?! What with you all sudden???!!!!

Mulder: Punch's a scary person you know. How could you fall in love with "Punch" anyway? I mean Punch's non-human. On top of that, Punch is neither a boy nor a girl. I can tell you're a boy.

Peter: Very long time we were just friends or partners but...I don't know...after I met her once again in Neverland....we started to have feelings for each other.

Mulder: "Friends" huh? Then, there was nothing to you guys sharing an umbrella in the rain.

Peter: Then what about you and Scully sharing an umbrella in the rain huh? So you and Scally's Connection are just partners too?!

Mulder: H.....hey!! That's because she's only my partner that can be trusted!!

Peter: Hah...ha! "my partner"!!

Mulder: Ahem.....just because Punch's a loner but everyone is in interested in her.

Peter: Punch is not a scary person. She had a kind heart.

Mulder: But the fact that you didn't see Punch's scary in the past. That means you're crazy about her.

Peter: I already know that.

Mulder: What do you like about Punch then?

Peter: Punch does have a cute side. She's both cute and cool at the same time and her eyes are so beautiful. If I have to find someone to compare with her, Sonic is compared to her the most.

Mulder: Come to think about it! Sonic's also both cute and cool at the same time and his eyes are so beautiful and scary at the same time too!

Peter: That's why I'm falling in love with her. Non-human like Punch's cold and empty heart but inside their heart are so warm.

Mulder: So you said Sonic's cold heart too?

Peter: Yes. Sonic's just a container once in the past. Enkidu told me about it. When Sonic awoke for the first time, he had lived as a doll until he began to create his personality by himself and desired to live. No more than emptiness, the nothingness. Just like Punch and Gil used to be.

Mulder: ...............................!!

Peter: I couldn't take my eyes off from them. Their emptiness. I never thought that they're like dolls but......their hearts are gold inside behind their eyes. That makes them different from others.

Mulder: So because of you make them feel that they're alive. Feel had a place to return. That's why that King Gilgamesh can't let go of his love for you.

Rather, he is the kind of person who pours his love into empty things, seeing life where there is none and hoping it truly will come alive someday. This makes him an appealing target for certain supernatural beings, such as the entity lurking in the Fujou building. Shiki then walks over to look at his lifeless body, noting that between the two of them, he’s now the empty one. After Shiki’s walk home, we finally arrive at the completely quiet scene. Despite the lack of any dialogue or music, the scene is anything but empty. That whole time, Mikiya was the pillar she leaned on while she worked through her trauma. They had been high school sweethearts before the accident. He visited her every week for two years during her coma, and when she woke up in grief, he stayed right by her so she wouldn’t feel alone.

The love That Peter feels(Including Syaoran and Danny too) for Punch and Gilgamesh is the same love as Mikiya Kokutou for Shiki Ryougi. And this is why Peter never left Punch and Gilgamesh alone, he stayed right by her so "she "Punch" wouldn’t feel alone.

As I said Peter did love Punch anyway 😅

#hint #tsubasa of phantasia #Tsofph Ephemer #Tsofph Peter Pan #punch whalen #kara no kyoukai #Relationship between Peter and Punch #emptiness’ heart

[heroichedgehammer]

Mod: If I may ask... What do you think of Frontier? Not sure if you played it or watched a walktrough or you decided to wait

WOO! Okay! I did play Sonic Frontiers, played it every time I had a moment for the past three/four days, and knocked it out last night. I have thoughts, and there are spoilers in them, so there's the read more below! Read on at your own peril!

TL;DR: Good change in direction, enjoyable game. Story has potential, but it's rushed. Sanded-down character interactions and lack of polish hold it back from being a homerun. Open world is extremely rewarding, but they don't always trust the player to pay attention to their surroundings or figure things out, so prepare to get repeated interruptions while exploring. Combat is easy, but feels satisfying to learn and play. If you're a Sonic fan and like open world games, pick it up. If you're not, wait for a sale.

(This is gonna be long. I used your ask as an excuse to ramble. Sorry!)

STORY

I mentioned in a previous post that this feels the most sincere that Sonic has been in a while—no memes, no forced quips, no ribbing the audience about how much they know how silly the concept of Sonic is. This, to me, feels like the beginning of a new direction for the games' tone (and if Evan Stanley's updates are anything to go by, I'm pretty sure I'm on point). Sincerity goes a long way for me even if the story is rough--I never thought that SA and SA2's stories were particularly good, but I love them because at the time, the affection and passion the creators had for their series was palpable. They thought Sonic was cool, and they wanted us to think Sonic was cool. Frontiers brought that back. It treats itself like it matters and I really like that. I felt emotional at more than one point during the game. I like how this felt like an epic; Sonic, to me, is a superhero story, and like classic superhero stories, its hopeful, confident, and big. This is the direction they took, and I like it.

But moment to moment, the word I would use is "rushed". For one, I feel like the characters don't get enough room to play off each other and show their wonderful personalities. We start a scene, they talk mostly about the plot for a bit, maybe make one small character-relevant joke, character beat or lore reference, and then shove along before the player gets bored. This is a shame; I wanted this to be the game I would point people to if I wanted to sell newcomers on these characters, but the lack of chemistry mixed with the more subtle portrayals leaves them all feeling kinda... watered down. Not terrible, definitely functional, but faint. Seriously; I wanted Knuckles and Sonic to rib each other a little more! I wanted Sonic to try to uplift Tails (I saw what you were trying to do, writers; do more of it! We can learn about the ruins later!)! I miss the more openly upbeat Amy! The bones are there. What happened?

Now, as for Sage; this is pretty on-brand for a Sonic story. The writers introduce a new character, a "heart" that, through their interactions with Sonic and co., start to change for the better throughout the story. In SA1, it was a spread around the cast for almost everyone who wasn't Sonic. In SA2, it was Shadow. In the story series, it was Shahra and Merlina. In this one, it's Sage. And I like the idea so much; I like not only the thread of this character, but her dynamic with Eggman. It's a side of him we don't see in the games. Which is why it was such a huge mistake to relegate most of it to optional memos acquired through an optional mini-game of all things. We absolutely needed to see these onscreen. Again, what happened, guys?

Saved the most... okay for last, I guess! I like the plot. Ancients are cool and interesting. Giving them a connection to Chaos was a good idea. I'd like more opportunities to care about them on a personal level. Again, they tried, but it's really rushed, so it didn't really happen for me. It's not that I was apathetic; it was functional! Just not punchy.

GAMEPLAY It's a video game, so even if the story was Shakespearian, the gameplay needs to be good. It was! I enjoyed it! The biggest problem is their lack of trust in the player's learning curve and their unwillingness to abandon the mechanics they picked up after 06.

It's a little over-tutorialized; instead of easing you into the mechanics in a natural and pleasing way, they slap you with a dozen dialogue boxes and pop-ups instead. I imagine a game where they tell the story and teach you the game at the same time a la BoTW, and I wish that was what we got.

The 2D sections in the open world should not have been there at all. Chaos Island was so painful in particular for me because every couple feet I'm enjoying running full-pelt through the wilderness only to get clotheslined by the 2.5 bat. Every time you make a classic Sonic fan play a 3D section, they're annoyed. Every time a 3D fan like me has to play a 2D section, I'm annoyed. Separate the gameplay styles! Free us all. We can play 2D Sonic later!

Speaking of that, why, oh why do they stop you to introduce the monsters literally every single time you run by them?! Can you imagine playing Breath of the Wild and getting interrupted while galloping around so they could play a cutscene with a big ugly title card reading 'LEGLESS GUARDIAN' every single time you find one?! Stop! Stop it! Let me be Sonic!

The action stages, which were the strength of the SA duo, Unleashed, Generations, etc. are unfortunately the weakest part; every time I had to go into one, I wanted it to be over. This Sonic is not mechanically built for these; he feels stiff here, when he feels great in the open world. I would've liked them to put the time they put into the former into refining the latter.

BUT--the open world. Oh, the open world is such a joy to move around in that I can still say this was a win. Being able to sprint full speed up and down hills wherever I wanted is the Sonic experience I've been dreaming of since I was five. I'm blasting alongside walls and ripping through the desert! Openly laughing as I blaze by enemies I know can't catch me! I felt like Sonic, and that was huge.

The combat does a great job with this, too; Sonic fights by overwhelming his opponents with lightning fast strikes. One of his attacks is literally running circles around them! That's incredibly cool and a really good design choice.

Boss fights are fun! I liked the open world bosses more than the end-stage bosses, but both were fun. A good cap on the new game style they're going for.

Aaand... that's it! That's all I got off the top of my head, good and bad, after my first playthrough. Overall, this feels like a game with the means, but not the time. If this does well enough, I'm hoping the next game will lean harder into this game's strengths. I'm happy to have this as the latest installment; I don't regret buying this, and if you're a Sonic fan, chances are good that you won't either.

#itsnotamy #sonic frontiers spoilers #this feels a lot like a 'first impressions' review for me so I often come back to edit it to better reflect my feelings at the time #not gonna edit out whole chunks but some parts just feel like me trying to be funny and falling on my face instead lol-

[worrywirt]

The music video for There There by Radiohead is a masterpiece and here is why

So, as many of you might know already, There There and Nude are my two favourite songs by my favourite band, Radiohead. They are two very unique songs that move me in different but equally intense ways. But what makes There There extra special to me is the video, which managed to combine basically all the things that I love: spooky forests, little animals in clothes, hollow trees with winding roots, references to fairy tales and literature and a dream-like, voyeuristic atmosphere. I am first going to analyse the song itself, then how combined with the video, it is one of my favourite pieces of media I have ever seen.

Lyrics here. As the song starts off, it already feels like the listener is dropped inside a weird, intense primal world. I love percussion-heavy music and when I first heard it, the use of tom-toms and alienating, hardly recognisable sounds already reminded me of one of my other favourite artist’s best-know song: Björk’s Human Behaviour. I can’t really explain it if you don’t hear it, but both have this hypnotic, primal quality that beckons you in right off the bat. Then Thom’s mournful voice sings: “In pitch dark/ I go walking in your landscape/ Broken branches/ Trip me as I speak”. Not to go all A-Level English on his ass because let’s be honest, Thom’s lyrics are often nonsensical and vague, but I love this verse so much. It goes perfectly with the instrumental, starting off in a way that is like the start of a story; the words painting you a picture that is both dreamlike and frightening. To me, it describes falling in love in a way: “I am walking in your world, and I don’t know the way, and it’s all new and confusing and dark and sometimes I say the wrong things but I am still exploring, and it’s beautiful”

After this start that frankly hits you in the chest like a basketball in year 9 PE, we are treated to a combo attack with the lines “Just 'cause you feel it/ Doesn't mean it's there”. In classic Radiohead fashion, all the perceived optimism from the first verse is denied from us, basically saying “just because you feel a connection, it doesn’t mean it’s real”. Trust issues central. But it can also be interpreted to mean emotions in general, which is usually how I (a very emotional person) interpret it: feelings technically aren’t real. And the way you perceive the world while you are Going Through It™ is not always correct. No, everyone doesn’t hate you because their world isn’t centred around you: stop obsessing. It’s okay. There, there. (This is also reinforced later on with “someone on your shoulder”, basically saying it’s just your brain playing tricks.) Additionally, some think it’s referring to a dream, which would fit thematically with the music video.

The next verse to me is about the temptation of a bad decision while Going Through It™. Yes, it would be very easy to do the wrong thing, to go off this path that is making it really hard to get up in the morning: but it would also ruin you. I also interpret “don’t reach out” as coming from the siren (i.e. surprise, surprise: depression) – it wants you to self-destruct, to be a “walking disaster” but that, however tempting, is the wrong thing to do. The use of “we” also works with the “someone on your shoulder” line, and to me (however cringy that sounds) it means that music will always be there for me and help me work things out. It can also be applied to the relationship angle: the couple are in the same boat (/ship), and if one of them does something self-destructive, it will affect both. Both of these options work with the “Why so green and lonely? (…) Heaven sent you to me” lines. It’s interesting because the religious interpretation on Genius always annoyed me – Radiohead are the least religious band ever! This is the only religious reference I can think of from the top of my head, minus “angel” in Creep – but because it’s so rare, maybe it has a reason to be here? Maybe it IS about God after all, but I don’t really think so. Also, to me the imagery of “green and lonely” and the nautical “siren” and “shipwreck” have a much bigger weight visually than “heaven”, so they negate the religiousness in my eyes. I think it’s about two broken people finding each other, but also finding it hard to figure out how to fit together. They’re thinking that it might be a lost cause and destruction is right around the corner, but the best they can do (is good enough) is try and be there for each other while they head towards their ultimate end. Very comforting in a twisted way, which is Radiohead’s specialty.

So, let’s talk about the VIDEO!!! I’m writing this after an HQ version was FINALLY released on their website, so I’m going to use screenshots of that because oh my god, it’s beautiful. 

We start off with the “pitch-dark landscape”, more-or-less just as I imagined it while listening to the song. Although it is kind of drab and boring at the start, this only emphasises the magical quality of what it becomes later, as our protagonist Thom (I’m going to call him by name but I’m obviously referring to the character, not the real person) heads deeper and deeper inside. Oh, how I love forests in the dark. Nothing else has the same perfect ambiance.

Thom is walking in a way that matches the rhythm and the dreamlike atmosphere of the song, i.e. somewhere between an alien who just learned the way the Earthlings walk and the exaggerated, slightly sped-up movements of a silent movie star. We already know he has an affinity towards both bowler hats (Lotus Flower video) and pantomime-like acting (ANIMA) so this is truly on brand. He then sees dark clouds pass at a breakneck pace (again, the dreaminess of it all... chef’s kiss), then confused and lost, heads back into the forest which this time looks a lot less boring and “real” then at the start. The dark clouds can be interpreted as a warning of things to come (“stay out, not safe”), which he ignores or just a sign that something is off and we’re not in Kansas anymore.

So as he turns back, we’re treated to my first Favourite Moment: Thom finding the beckoning yellow light and deciding to follow it. The way he is acting suggests both curiosity and sneakiness, like he suspects the thing emitting the light is much better than his original destination (if he had a destination at all). 

I love the way the light is illuminating his eyes here, it again reminds me very much of old movies (and Morticia Addams in the 90s movies, but probably because the filmmakers also took inspiration from the same well)

Oh my god, just look at this shot. Beautiful. Lothlórien who?? I only know magical glowy Radiohead forest. Because yes, we’ve obviously crossed the path between realms the minute Thom decided to pursue the yellow light (which can also be connected to the “siren singing you to shipwreck” in the lyrics). This is now the land of magic and fairy tales, and strange things are afoot. 

Again, I gotta stop analysing for a moment and just note that the amount of serotonin this gives me would fuel 10 people for a year. For anyone who doesn’t know me well enough, animals in little clothes living in little well-arranged dwellings inside a tree are in the top 5 things that make me happy, and combined with Thom Yorke Radiohead peeking in the window like an innocuous tourist… and the warm light illuminating the miniatures… perfection. Okay, moving on.

Thom is exploring this strange world of anthropomorphic animals like an awkward giant, without seemingly anyone noticing him. This adds to the alienation seeping from the music: this is a weird and wonderful place but you don’t belong here (sorry for the Creep reference, swear it was not intentional). He first saw a pair of squirrels, chilling in their house; then a big banquet; then a cat wedding (power of 3, the fairy-tale number). If we are going with the dream metaphor here, these might be alluding to things happening in real life, especially the wedding as he actively walks away from it, but this is just a speculation. Mostly it just shows that these animals are living in a happy little community and we love that for them! But it also make me feel like this is a coping mechanism for our protagonist here. Apparently Thom (the real one) got the idea for this video from a children’s TV show called Bagpuss: I had a look and it’s the tear-jerkingly comforting and nostalgic stop-motion series that everyone needs one of in their lives (I have several, both English and Hungarian). The subtitle “The Boney King of Nowhere” refers to a song in episode 2 about a king who wasn’t comfortable on his throne: according to this link, this resonated with Thom, who found himself on a pedestal he never wanted. (It’s kind of funny that a little kid’s song about a king’s bony ass has such a sick name though). He also wanted the original creator of the show (Oliver Postgate) to animate the video but he declined. Anyway, the "fifties East European genre animation, overlaboured and naïve” aesthetic, to me, symbolises comfort and warmth that our protagonist doesn’t feel at home in.

So off he goes, into the dark heart of the forest. Also, important to note the patch of fog that keeps showing him the way: is this the siren’s song physically manifested, pulling him away from the warmth of community? (”don’t reach out, don’t reach out”)

He then climbs up and sees a golden coat on a tree inside some kind of ancient ruin. This to me immediately brought to mind the Golden Fleece from Ancient Greek myth, which was the fleece of a magical ram that hung on an oak tree. It signified kingship, linking back to the subtitle. Thom sneaks to the tree, looks up at the ravens (7 of them: another fairy-tale number) and when he sees they are sleeping, tries on the coat. I found it interesting how at this point the coat looks quite ordinary, drab and brown – possibly a metaphor for a decision that you know is bad but you do it anyway; and by the time you realise it actually didn’t feel as good as you thought, it is too late - he listened to temptation (the sirens). He even takes the boots from inside the tree, which reminded me of SO many of the folktales that I grew up on: it’s not enough that the bad sibling did this one bad thing, they even did ANOTHER bad thing, which cements the listener in believing them to be irredeemable and worthy of the awful fate the tale has in store for them. The ravens (birds of death and in this case agents of justice) wake up – Thom has a little “oh shit” close-up and then start running for his life in his new attire.

Addition: another theory I found interesting among the comments is that this place is Limbo -  “

The gothic look of the ravens chasing Thom with the rising full moon is such a huge contrast to the warm, comforting glow of the stop-motion animal town, but it makes sense with the crescendo of the music and it’s dark and menacing cacophony: “we are accidents waiting to happen”. This was Thom’s mistake: and now there is no turning back. (Quick note: his running here reminds me once again of the Human Behaviour video – I am working on another similar essay that concentrates on how Radiohead and Björk are mirrors of each other so look out for that). 

He thinks he is saved for a moment by the magical seven-league boots (another folktale reference) but it is only a false hope. He gets his punishment and turns into a tree by what we can assume to be a painful and terrifying process (I love his facial expression so much). The ravens arrive and we realise that this is most likely how the previous tree met his or her fate. The cycle continues. He is now the Boney King of Nowhere.

One of my favourite mental images is people taken over by nature: not in a decomposing way but more like a Hanahaki disease way. Thom turning into a tree reminded me of a couple of things: one, my other favourite piece of entertainment Over the Garden Wall, which is very similar in tone to this video (if I ever meet Thom, I genuinely only want to ask him if he’s ever seen it and if yes what his thoughts are on it). SPOILERS for OTGW: the Beast turns lost children into trees and uses oil from the trees to keep his lantern alive, which is basically his life source – in this case the tree-person seems to be the living beating heart of the forest. The way the tree-curse is transmitted also reminded me of how the lantern was (nearly) passed down to Wirt. Basically, it is an inheritable burden. Two, and this isn’t my interpretation but I thought I’d mention it: Daphne & Apollo, wherein Daphne hides from Apollo’s sexual advances by turning into a tree. This doesn’t really fit the tone of the scene in my opinion, because Thom’s transformation is an involuntary punishment; but it kind of connects to the other reference to Greek myth, Odysseus and the sirens (both chasing after women, or the impossible dream). Three: Dante’s Inferno, in which the second ring of the seventh circle is the Wood of Suicides where “the souls of the people who attempted or committed suicide are transformed into gnarled, thorny trees and then fed upon by Harpies, hideous clawed birds with the faces of women; the trees are only permitted to speak when broken and bleeding”. Whomp whomp, it was a suicide metaphor :/ And it wasn’t a dream, it was Limbo - a thematic preoccupation of the band, so not impossible.

A comment I found relating to this: “After death you have to cross over. He got distracted by the nice and shiny shoes and jacket (don't reach out), hence the siren that leads you to shipwreck (Odysseus). When you want to enter the spiritual realm you have to be able to leave the material world behind or you shall not pass. He was distracted, got caught and changed into a worldly tree (he was still to attached to the material realm). The so-called reality we live now is the dream. (Just 'cause you feel it doesn't mean it's there). He remembered that he died and came back to this illusion. We are stuck in a lift....” I really like this interpretation of Thom’s downfall being too attached to materialism/ fame & fortune. I wonder what he meant by “came back to this illusion”? Also, who are the animals in this scenario: aspects of Thom’s life or other people, stuck in Limbo/ every-day oblivion?

This wouldn’t be the first or last time Radiohead explores the concept of death, so I don’t think it’s far-fetched. And it fits with the lyrics too, as I’ve discussed briefly above: this is what happens when you listen to the siren (the fog, the light) and stray away from the cute animal town, Thomas! I’m joking because it is kind of a bummer to end it on this, but I just love how dense and layered this video is. Most of their videos are top-notch but this one just hits a really sweet spot for me, so yeah! 2500 words! I’m glad you came along, pardner! Goodbye till next time!

#radiohead #thom yorke #there there #the boney king of nowhere #bagpuss #otgw #sorry I didn't go into the sonic side of things I just don't know anything about it #music theory is a scam