#something along the lines of sonic rebuild

[mischeva]

Bounty Boyfriends yippie! They’re the first redesigns/reimaginings of characters I’m cooking up for a personal au that I will share…. eventually. Anyways they’re partners in every sense of the word cuz I said so tehe

#sleet and dingo #sleet the wolf #dingo the…..dingo #I somewhat have a name for the au #something along the lines of sonic rebuild #or sonic archie rebuild because it takes place in my personal interp of the archie comics continuity #basically I just took underground fleetway and archie #dumped them in my cauldron mixing them together #then called it a day #if anyone is interested in knowing more by all means feel free to ask questions! #sonic redesign #sonic underground #sleet x dingo #my art

[tenebraevesper]

Shatter Me, Entry 5: Shatter Me - Sonic X Shadow Generations

''Somebody make me feel alive and shatter me!''

– Shatter Me by Lindsey Stirling

xXxXxXx

Shadow's crimson eyes widened, their colour reflecting that of the sky, which was covered in dark clouds, thunder rumbling and lightning glowing in an eerie blood red light. Black and red alien-like creatures appeared from the clouds, dropping all over the city that Shadow had been observing earlier, causing carnage and destruction in their wake. Shadow could only stare in shock in disbelief as the realization of not only where he was, but also what was going on, hit him.

''Impossible! The Black Arms were supposed to be extinct!''

Somehow, he found himself back at Westopolis during the siege the Black Arms aliens laid upon it, but he didn't understand how this was possible. He knew that the Black Arms were gone, having not only personally defeated Black Doom as Super Shadow, but also annihilated the Black Comet via the Eclipse Cannon. Despite not acknowledging himself as such, he was the sole survivor of the Black Arms race, being a hybrid who had Black Arms DNA imbued in his person.

Nevertheless, having his memories fully restored and having resolved to protect the world in his own way, Shadow decided to put a stop to this invasion. It didn't matter to him whether this was some kind of illusion or if he had traveled to the past, he was not going to let Black Doom, or anyone for that matter, manipulate him again. Having made his decision, he skated off towards the city, fighting off any of the aliens that got into his way.

If the Black Arms are here, then Black Doom should also be close.

Shadow blasted a Black Warrior with a well-aimed Chaos Spear, continuing his chase through Westopolis, looking around for Black Doom, as he suspected that his supposed ''father'' might appear eventually and demand that he finds the Chaos Emeralds. However, something that he took note of was the fact that the streets seemed to be almost empty. There were no civilians running away nor G.U.N. soldiers fighting back against the invasion, keeping Shadow wondering. He was suddenly blinded by a flash of light, placing his arm over his eyes to shield them, and to his shock, he found himself skating through the Space Colony ARK, devoid of all life aside from one entity that emerged from a red portal.

''You!''

Before Shadow was a black and dark purple starfish-like creature with six black-tipped squamous probes and a brutally large red-orange eye in its center. Emerging from its eye and moving along its limbs, it had six blood-red lines. The dark hedgehog furrowed a brow, gritting his teeth as he glared daggers at what he came to knew as Doom's Eye.

''You are late, Shadow… We have returned to take over this pathetic planet you call home! Its annihilation is near! It is time to embrace the dawn of your demise and despair!''

To Shadow's shock, the space station around him started to break apart, with reality warping in itself, turning into a spiral-like landscape. Shadow turned his attention back to Doom's Eye, who was now escaping through the tunnel and sped up, determined not to let it get away. However, the ground below him gave away, and a kaleidoscope of buildings emerged instead. It was as if the world was falling apart and trying to rebuild itself again. He saw Doom's Eye flying past him, stopping for a moment as if to taunt him, before disappearing once again as Shadow fell back into a reality that was either the past or his own memories; he didn't know.

''Shadow!''

Shadow felt someone grabbing him by the wrist, turning his attention upwards and seeing Sonic holding his arm. The azure hedgehog was just as stunned to see the environment around them becoming more and more twisted, but nevertheless happy to see his rival.

''Brace yourself!'' Sonic exclaimed, suddenly throwing Shadow towards a nearby skyscraper, with the dark hedgehog landing on top of it. Sonic then used his homing attack to zero in on the skyscraper, skidding to a halt once he landed safely. Both hedgehogs exchanged glances, before looking back at their surroundings, which were a twisted reflection of the reality they knew.

''Sonic, what is going on? The Black Arms…'' Shadow trailed off when he suddenly spotted another newcomer to their little reunion – a light blue hedgehog wearing red shoes and carrying himself with a swagger Shadow had already seen in one other person. His eyes darted from Sonic's younger self towards the older one, who just gave him a confident smirk.

''It's a bit of a long story involving saving the world again… But, do you think you can handle yourself here?'' Sonic asked. Shadow gazed back at the warped image of Westopolis that was once again invaded by the Black Arms, before turning his attention back to Sonic, responding in an equally confident manner.

''Of course I can. I'll take care of this.''

Links:

#Previous Chapter

#Current Chapter

#Sonic Cyber Revolution (Masterlist)

#Shatter Me #Sonic Cyber Revolution Analyzer #sonic the hedgehog #shadow the hedgehog #sonadow #sonadow prime #sonadow generations #sonic prime #sonic x shadow generations #sonic generations #shadow the hedgehog (2005) #classic sonic #black arms #black doom #doom's eye #Teaser For a Future Project

[thenextchapterbegins]

Dark earths zodiac

The Bat

Creature of the halflight, you fly along the line of the brink, the almost-- the bat zodiac embodies the inbetween. They are often considered strange by their peers, but in the right setting their feeling of discomfort fades and they become a unique voice. Those under the sign of the bat tend towards anxiety, longing to live unwitnessed-- the bat is most comfortable in the dark, but not alone; this sign craves to exist without judgement. They tend to become lost in their thoughts, their own worlds, to the extent that they can forget to engage with the world around them. But those who love the bat know that they will always return. For all their shadows, the bat actively seeks to be compassionate. Having themselves felt both the harsh sear of the sun and the lonely chill of the moon, they find themselves able to sympathize with almost anyone.

And so you push through the hanging vines and into the sun. It is strange and open without the undergrowth, quiet without the birds. Will you say something to the forest before you go? Will you leave it one last secret? One last love? Or has it taken enough? The trees are silent.

one last secret

"When giaia was defeated. When the earth was put whole, it took weeks to discover all the damage caused. cities and nations erased...millions upon millions dead...all the while i quipped, i joked. it was just another adventure. Another puzzle...fight the bad guys win the day. Their is still rebuilding, when i walked the streets, when i saw parents cry in graves, when i saw children mourn their parents all who were taken too soon. “

“I saw the memorials..everyday is just another day of putting back the pieces....but you can still see it when i look at them, they look at me. Their is a horror in our eyes and a profound sadness....we survived something so terrible...i knew. After that, i had to change. I couldnt just let things happen, i couldnt just joke..sometimes people need to be stopped, they need to be laid to the ground and made sure something like that never happens again. That the fear and weight of their consequences is put to them, if they cant be made to see reason..then you must strike so hard they can never stand again. Some would say i've grown jaded...turned my back on the princples i have laid out always. “

“ I say that they would let something like this happen again just to hold onto fragile morals..morals mean nothing if millions have to die for them to be held...i was wrong, and strangely..my rival  who i had seen as brutal, cruel..maybe sometimes a villain. That they were right...sometimes force, sometimes...revenge is the right path...and honestly now they might be able to guide me on who to...strike hard when needed but still restrain yourself from falling darker down a hole...because its hard now.”

“ Hard to just give up. To make sure nothing like this could ever happen again. To let the darkness fuel to put the fear of god in anyone that could claim to want to destroy or hold the earth in their grip. But i also know, i know now that if i did that. I would become like them...the only thing i truly fear though.”

 “Is losing my friends, i still smile, i still quip to them..but im not like that really anymore, it feels like lying in a way...or maybe im just using it to act normal, to feel like i used to feel. I dont know...its so complicated now."

{ mun note, using sonic unleashed as a backdrop to my lore has been very fun because whilst the game is VERY SILLY if u take it with a serious lens it honestly becomes a horror game in a way and i think taking seriously could fundemtnally change sonic and thats what i’ve done.}

#Sonic: Letting the beast out #not only is the result pretty damn close to my portrayel of sonic #this quiz in particualr really gets me to go all out on making musing posts #so #semi-actually really important lore post #musings #long post #just in case

[ninjakasuga]

Sonally Celebration Week, Year 3, Day Three!

Day three is here, and as usual, I tend to go for my flair with thematic tones over the literal idea of the prompt. Everyone else enjoying what @gojira007 and their blog @boundforfreedomsonsal brings will find this to their pleasure.

Sonally Celebration Week, Year Three: Day Three

Foreward: This episode takes place mere months after Mystery. I know last year sometimes I hoped about the time-line a bit, while with at least episode one-through-three I’m keeping it rather linear in the story-telling. Last time we saw Sonic and Sally as babysitters to Sonic’s younger siblings; now their own time has parents twas’ nigh.

Day three: Crossroads

“Sonic Maurice Hedgehog, I love you, I love you with all my heart and soul, but-nrghh!” Grimacing, Sally Acorn-Hedgehog panted heavily as another contraction wracked her body. Her grip on the hand of her husband tightened. “But I swear, I SWEAR if you do this to me again, I-will-EAT-YOUR-SHINS!!”

Making a soft, but audible sound of physical distress, Sonic swore he felt the bones in his hand crunch. Yet he did not dare wretch it free, not that he felt he could if he wanted too. Sally’s grip was intense, and furthermore, any attempt to save his own skin would be met with death. As sweat trickled down his brow, making the mask attached to his face, and the scrubs he wore a bit uncomfortable. Yet his own discomfort was his least priority at the moment. “Y-you got it Sal, j-just hang in there a bit more…”

Sally’s eyebrow raised incredulously. “Hang in th-nrgh, t-there?! Oh my dear husband, you just did-urghhh! N-not tell me to hang in there? Just what the f**k do you think I’m doing?! I’ve been ‘hanging in there’ since my water broke and the contractions kicked in, and those two little darlings ‘you’ put in my belly can’t decide if they want to come out now, or kick Mommy’s bladder some more!”

“H-hey I’m just trying to help!�� He pleaded as she clutched his hand tighter than before. “I know this isn’t easy on you Sal, but it’s not like I can whip out a Power Ring or Chaos Emerald and make it better. If I could-ghhh, take your place I would!” Sonic knew this was in no-way easy, but in the span of a few hours he’d seen Sally run the gauntlet of her emotional range. Mostly all centered at being upset with him. Now he understood what his Dad meant by ‘Nothing will prepare either of you for this; but remember, Sally’s going to be put through a wringer, so be patient, and be understanding’. “Sal, please you need to calm down some, it’s not good for you, or the babies right Doc?”

The ‘Doc’ in question lifted her head from her position between the Queen’s legs. After almost twenty-plus years of service, Doctor Quack had retired from medicine but remained a consultant for the Acorn Kingdom Ministry of Medicine. So the new Royal Doctor, one Jolene Fredrick, and one of Quack’s protoge’s was tending to the birth of Sally and Sonic’s children. The spotted-Hyena doctor managed a bemused smile behind her surgical mask. “Your husband is quite right, your majesty, I know it hurts, but the more you let the pain stress you out, the more it will complicate things.” She spoke evenly, softly, and kindly but with a firm authority a doctor should carry. “I know giving birth to twins is not easy, especially for a first-time pregnancy, but despite the pain, it looks like the babies are finally about ready to come out.”

A part of Sally wanted to scream and kindly (or not so kindly) tell Jolene to jump out the window, or anyone else asking her to ‘bear with it more’. After all the hours she already had dealt with the discomfort, and false alarms, up until the pains really started to kick in over the last hour and a half. Yet Sally held back that urge, both from her brain managing to get through the pain and reminding her, Jolene was trying to help. Plus as a Mother herself, she’d had first-hand experience with what she was going through. The other reason she pushed her anger down was the soft touch of Sonic’s hand that wasn’t currently in the vice grip she was placing on the other. A quick glance into those emerald-pools, seeing concern and love, did much to soften her. 

A small whimper left Sally as she eased her grip and held Sonic’s hand to her face. “I’m sorry, it just huuuurts.” She whined softly, feeling utterly pathetic she was reduced to such a state. Her composure was thrown out the window, cursing freely, and just, the sheer roller coaster of hormones and emotions over the last several hours had taken a toll. “I want my babies, but-rugh, I want them out, nooooow!”

“I know Sal, I know.” Sonic murmured, wincing at the defeated, pained sounds coming from the love of his life. Bringing her hand to his face, he did his best to kiss the top of her hand through his surgical mask. “I’m with you, however long this takes you got me at your side.”

A small, strangled laugh left Sally as she managed a warm smile as she gazed at her husband. “How’d I get so lucky? Some people take forever to find their soulmate and I met mine at two years old.” Letting out a dreamy sigh, Sally pulled his hand to her and planted a kiss there, with both her hands (gently) cocooning both of her hands over his. Just as quick as the quiet moment came, it was taken away as Sally let out another sharp gasp. “Oooooooff!! I felt that one!”

Eyeing some equipment next to her, Jolene made a ‘hmm’ and then turned to look over at the couple. “Good news, it looks like the babies are finally making up their minds, one is starting to make way. Take deep breaths, your majesty, just like you practiced, we’re almost at the end goal.” She smiled through her mask, her own mild fatigue visible in her eyes. Yet like her predecessor there was a fire to see things through. “You can do this your Maj-.” “J-just Sally please!” Insisted the mother-to-be as she gripped the edge of her bed rails with one of her hands, as the other still clutched onto Sonic. “T-this is too personal to keep using formal titles. Nrgh, j-just for now, please, no titles.” 

A part of the doctor felt awkward at putting the habit of being so informal, but if it would help. “Alright Sally, we’re in the final stretch, deep breathes. We’ll see the crowning any moment now.”

Nodding, Sally looked to Sonic, wincing and breathing deeply as she was taught. “I love you.” “Back at’cha Sal, you got this.” Sonic fought back a wince from his extremely sore hand. Focusing more on giving Sally his support. “Back at’cha, now let’s welcome our kids and you get some rest.”

Some Time Later:

Exhausted deeply in body and soul, Sally could feel all this in the back of her mind; yet her focus was on anything but the fatigue. A warm, happy, glowing feeling replaced the fatigue as she stared at the two swaddled bundles in her arms. “They’re beautiful…” She cried, happily as she stared at the mewling infants. Who seemed to instinctively lean against her body through their swaddling. It had been worth it, the long labor, the pain, all-worth-it. The girl of the twin-set was a chipmunk-ish hybrid like Sally but clearly sported her Father’s blue hues in her fur. The boy, clearly of the hedgehog variety had the more soft browns of his Mother. Time would tell if Sally’s red hair, or the blonde or brown hair from Sonic’s side of the family would pop up.

As she glanced over at Sonic, she was nearly bowled over by the sheer awe in his eyes and face (his surgical mask was off). His eyes were misty, making her wonder if she was looking at a mirror of her own expression. “You just love in love don’t you?”

“Totally.” Sonic nodded, a strangled laugh leaving him as she leaned in, getting eyefuls of the two joys the two had both patiently and impatiently waited for all this time. It had been a long road to parenthood, both held off having kids right away due to many reasons after the war. The rebuilding efforts, just enjoying themselves free of fighting, and other small, miscellaneous reasons. Last year they finally felt ready and well, started working on getting Sally pregnant, which didn’t take long with how they were.

Sonic wondered if this surge of pride and absolute happiness was something both his parents felt when either his siblings and he had been born? The sheer high of it almost-no, no it absolutely did dwarf the high of running free in the wind. Gently he reached a hand down, running a finger along one child’s cheek, then the other. “Hey you two, glad to finally meet’cha. I’m Daddy, this is Mommy, and we’re going to love and look after you until the end of time.”

Nodding her head eagerly in agreement, Sally sniffed back more tears of joy. “Forever and ever, all ours.” She giggled, kissing the soft, furry cheeks of her newborns. “Welcome to the world Kathleen and Jaleel-Craig.

“I still think Justin-McCooiagel sounded pretty good.” Quipped Sonic with a smug, joking smirk.

“I will not let our son be mercilessly teased because his Father wanted to give him a ‘cool nickname like ‘Just Cool’ or whatever string of odd nicknames.” She firmly stated, giving Sonic a dull stare. “Seriously, one of your names was Radical. Just Radical.”

“Hey it’s a good gender-neutral name, and we knew we were having twins.” His wide grin, showcased he enjoyed pulling her chain. He mostly had been joking about the aforementioned names, well mostly. The ones they settled on were perfect. Kathleen Nicole Acorn-Hedgehog was named after Sally’s Grandmother that she sadly never got to know, and her middle name was in honor of a certain BFF of the Queen’s. Jaleel-Craig Acorn-Hedgehog, or J.C. for short, got his name from Sonic learning Jaleel had been one of ‘his’ potential birth names. Seems his Father knew a Jaleel from school who had been his best friend until he died in the war, and had considered giving him his name in remembrance, only to decide Bernie’s idea of Sonic seemed fitting. Both Sonic and Sally thought it would be a nice name, and as for the Craig addition, Sonic just liked the name, and felt a two-word name would be great for one of the kids. His desire won out after he won three out of five rock-paper-scissors matches with Sally for the final say-so.

“Sure it is…” Rolling her eyes Sally reached over and ran her hand, playfully over Sonic’s face. “You’re just lucky you are adorable.”

“Ha! Adorable wished it were me.” Murred Sonic as he nuzzled against her hand. “Although my wife and lovely children are top-tier competition.”

Snorting, Sally then yawned loudly. “Oh my, I-I *yawn*, damn it, I don’t wanna sleep…”

The door to the suite opened and Doctor Jolene stuck her head in. Having overhard the yawn, she gave the couple a knowing smile. “You should get your rest while you can. The kiddos will be tuckered out themselves, and the nurses will watch them overnight. Trust me you will want as much sleep as you can before they want to feed.” Given it was between two and three o’clock, the Royal Family didn’t have any visitors waiting on them until much later in the day to worry about.

As another yawn tore from her throat, Sally nodded in acceptance. She then poked at her own chest, semi-covered by her hospital gown. “Finally these udders will get some use. The swelling of the milk is getting annoying.”

A dirty joke formed in Sonic’s head, but he wisely (this time) fought off voicing it. A low, tired, yawn left him as well. “Snooze n’ Zzz’s sound about right Doc. Plus there’s that saying, we should get as much as we can?”

“As one parent to another, ooooh yes!” Laughed Jolene as she walked over to give the Mother and children a once over as a nurse came over with a rolling cart with two portable baby-carrier cribs for the infants to sleep in. “That should be your priority as much as looking after J.C. and Kathleen now, making sure you’re rested so you can look after them.” She then gives her Queen a playful-if-stern look. “Which means our dear Queen needs to knock off the all-nighter paper-work and project binges.”

Unable to not but wince at the accusation, Sally sighed in defeat. She knew her bad habit was one not to be ignored at this juncture in life. “I’ve already delegated my tasks to Nicole and the Council, and all necessary parties…”

“After taking weeks to painstakingly do so…” Her husband quipped with a mirroring playful-but-stern with a dash of accusatory as Doctor Jolene.

Sally sent Sonic a glare, but fatigue and looking upon the faces of her children made the frown go away. “I know what my priorities are… I know that I'm going to need to get back to running the kingdom but I’m not going to ever put these two what I meant through. I will find the balance.”

Rubbing her shoulder, Sonic leaned in, planting a kiss to her cheek. “N’ you got me to help, we’re doing this as a team forever, and always.”

“Always.” She agreed, craning her head to kiss him back. Another yawn left her as the nurse gently took the snoozing children. Her gaze followed them as they were carefully put in the sleeping cribs. “See you soon my loves’.” She murmured, eyes beginning to feel heavier as she watched them be wheeled out. “Love you Sonic…” She murmured feeling him tuck her in as her eyes closed.

“Love you too Sal, I’ll be right here.” He murmured, waiting until he was sure she was dozed off. Leaning back from her bed, he popped his back and shook his hands. One was extremely sore but thankfully not damaged. “I’m gonna get some water, and then I’m gonna crash myself Doc.”

“I have a rollaway being brought in for you.” She nodded, giving one last check over of Sally’s vitals, and pleased with what she saw, intended to conclude her rounds and get some shuteye herself. “Sleep well Prince-er Sonic.” She corrected as the Prince-Regent gave her a tired but mild glare. “Sorry, force of habit.” “S’okay Doc… Just titles n’ crap ain’t me, but I married a Princess who’s now Queen so… eh if you gotta for decorum n’ crude sure. Like this… Sonic is fine.” He grinned, giving a two finger salute before padding out of the suite. Water was his priority, his throat was dry, and then, bed. Sweet, sweet bedtime. If the way twins seemed to behave in the family held up, Sally and he would need to be on their toes sooner than later.

A new crossroad of life at been reached, and they were committed to what the future may hold for them and their family. 

#boundforfreedom #Sonic the Hedgehog #Sally Acorn #Archie-Sonic #Birth #OC's #childbirth

[mobius-prime]

255. Sonic the Hedgehog #186

Mogul Rising (Part Two: Devil's Due)

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! and Matt Herms Colors: Josh Ray

Sonic struggles to fight against Mina, Mighty, and Tails at once, as Mogul speaks to him through them. He angrily tells Mogul to let them go, and when Mogul mocks him for not listening earlier that day Sonic rightfully points out that Mogul didn't even begin to explain his own position in any amount of detail, instead just basically saying "haha, surrender." Ash, alerted by the noise and the empty bed, appears in the doorway of Freedom HQ and seeing the chaos, leaps in to grab Mina, not realizing she's being controlled.

Abruptly, all three mind-controlled friends break off the fight and run away in opposite directions. Ash is upset and confused as to why Mina would act so strange, so Sonic explains what's going on and then offers to bring him along to interrogate Mogul, something which Ash immediately accepts if it will let him save Mina. Once they get back to New Mobotropolis Sonic furiously orders Mogul to tell him where his friends are, and Mogul happily obliges.

Both Ash and Sonic are horrified, especially with the knowledge that Sonic wouldn't be fast enough to save all of them in time, something Mogul gloats over before offering them a deal - he'll bring them all back unharmed, if Sonic brings him the Chaos Emerald currently being kept within the city. Sonic, seeing no other choice, grimly agrees, before rushing away with Ash to sneak into the castle, into the chamber where the emerald is. Nicole, realizing they're trying to steal the emerald but not knowing why, starts putting up barriers trying to stop them, but they dodge without breaking stride and nab the emerald, rushing it back to Mogul as a montage shows the three puppets coming closer and closer to their deaths…

Nicole hysterically asks Sonic why he would do such a thing, and Sonic and Ash explain why they didn't really have much choice. Mogul, tiring of their conversation, uses his magic to force Nicole's hologram to dissipate before knocking Ash aside and telekinetically grabbing Sonic. To Sonic's shock, Mogul immediately announces that he has no further need of his new Fearsome Foursome and "releases" him from his service. Why? Well, apparently, he's realized one key rule of this universe - Sonic always wins.

With that, Mogul teleports himself and the other prisoners away, and Sonic and Ash return to Freedom HQ, which the three formerly-enslaved individuals have returned to. Ash comforts Mina while Sonic talks to Tails and Mighty. They're both embarrassed at what happened, Mighty even admitting he now knows how Knuckles must feel, but Sonic reassures them both, saying that while the villain may have won this time, they're going to get their chance to strike back sooner or later.

Honor-Bound

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Josh Ray 

Hey, speaking of Knuckles! He's having a pretty bad time of it as he flies over Albion in secret, watching the last of his people work to rebuild the city while blaming himself for everything. He's glad that at the very least Remington has been returned to normal, but can't bear to face his own family or anyone else, believing that for now they'll be better off without a Guardian looking after them. He uses a warp ring to leave, but Kneecaps notices him and babbles, and Lara-Le barely manages to catch a glimpse of him before the warp ring disappears. Man, poor Lara-Le. I miss when she was a much more major character, to be honest. She's so sweet, and doesn't deserve any of the terrible things that have happened to her. Knuckles warps himself to the oasis in the Sandopolis desert, where the entire dingo army has set up camp. With General Kage gone, General Helmut von Stryker, who has apparently been hanging out here all this time, has once again taken control of his people, and upon seeing Knuckles curtly informs him that his people are thriving here, and expect to make their way back into the heart of Angel Island before long.

Knuckles, I'm sorry, but what the hell are you thinking?! Look, I agree that the dingoes have been wronged by the echidnas over time, but have you forgotten that not long ago these guys turned into literal Nazis as soon as Eggman gave them a chance to? Did you completely miss the fact that they are the ones that ran the concentration camps that killed off ninety percent of your people?! I would think that that alone has completely robbed them of any chance at redemption. Like, Knuckles seriously seems to think here that Kage is the sole mastermind behind the echidna concentration camps, but meanwhile here in the real world we kind of all agreed that "I was just following orders" wasn't a good enough excuse for all of the grunts who served in the Nazi regime, and I would think the same should hold here. Do you really want to welcome an entire army of people back into the heart of the island who not two months ago were gleefully torturing and slaughtering your people? Again, we are talking about a literal Nazi allegory here, this isn't me projecting, these guys were literally modeled after the Nazis. I think forgiveness and "live and let live" is not the right choice here, especially if Knuckles is already feeling so guilty about hurting his people, because the dingo regime hurt his people far more than he ever did during his single day as Enerjak.

Jesus Christ. Anyway, Knuckles returns to the main part of Angel Island, hiding in the bushes near "Shrine Isle," which is apparently what we're calling the tiny floating island that houses the Master Emerald shrine. I guess everyone just decided that keeping it blatantly out in the open is the best plan now, so the Chaotix have worked together to build a bridge over to it for easy access. Ray had spotted Knuckles using a warp ring earlier but was unable to follow him, and Julie-Su says sadly that if he doesn't want to be found, he won't be. Knuckles, watching from within the bushes, hopes they'll go away now that the bridge is finished, but Rouge's voice from behind him interrupts his brooding, asking if he plans to just go back to being a hermit once again. He's irritated, not wanting to talk to her right now and insisting that everything bad that's happened on the island only happened because he left, but she presses on, reminding him that with Eggman's sheer power and Finitevus' unpredictability, the island likely would have been attacked and decimated anyway and it's not solely his fault. Knuckles gets angry at this, yelling that the Brotherhood's methods protected the island successfully for hundreds of years and he's the only one (besides Athair) who's really broken tradition.

Well, good on you, Rouge! Knuckles thinks on it for a moment, watching his friends play around next to the shrine, and then concedes the point, deciding that he should protect everyone he can after all. He walks out to greet everyone, who are overjoyed to see him… and then Rouge smirks from her hiding place, murmuring to herself about how gullible Knuckles is and how she can't wait to "wrap him around her little finger." Oh come on, Ian, really? Look, if there's one character I think Ian has not at all figured out yet, it's Rouge. He seems to see her as this scheming, callous, manipulative bitch who's only interested in treasure and breaking up relationships for fun. Hell, Penders wrote her better than Ian currently does, and that's saying something. In the games, yes, Rouge is manipulative and a bit shady, but she's not at all a bad person. After her experiences with Shadow in Sonic Adventure 2, she explicitly mentions how she's been influenced to become less materialistic and to search for "something better" in life, and by the time of '06, she's nothing but a positive influence on those around her. Sure, she's still not above using shady or illegal means to get her way - she is part of Team Dark, after all - but in general her morals always end up lining up with those of the heroes, and she's intensely loyal to those she considers her friends. There's hints here and there within the games that she may have a thing for Knuckles, but to be fair, there're just as many if not more hints that she's not into anybody and only flirts at all to get an edge over others. Adding in this little bit at the end where she's acting all scheme-y while watching Knuckles just makes her seem like this terrible and insincere person when that's not what her character is supposed to be like at all. To be fair, Ian does get better at writing her later on, particularly when she finally starts being paired up with Shadow as a team, but for now, I'm definitely pretty salty at how she's being treated here, considering she's one of my all-time favorite Sonic characters across all canons.

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 186 #writer: ian flynn #pencils: tracy yardley #pencils: matt herms #colors: joshua d ray

[holdyourfire]

taylir gar Tracyn

hold your Fire (Mando’a)

Fic Rating: General with a couple Mature chapters later.

Fic Tags: Poe x OFC, hurt/comfort, angst, massive slow burn, pining, eventual fluff, Mandalorians, enemies to friends to...,

Fic Warnings: mild sexual content, panic attacks, minor character death.

Chapter 1

No warnings for this chapter.

Chapter 2 - Contact

2.2k Words

      ***

      He was heading to his quarters, struggling against the stream of people flowing in the direction of the mess, when he spotted two familiar faces in the crowd. Snap and Karé Kun, another pilot in his squadron. He wriggled through the mass of people to reach them. 

      “Hey, I’m heading to my refresher, would y-” 

      “Yeah good,” Karé cut in, “You need to. No one wants you stinking up the mess hall while everyone is trying to eat.” Snap wrinkled his nose for further effect and Poe rolled his eyes. 

      “Yeah, yeah, shut up. I was trying to ask if you’d save me a plate of food.”

      “Of course, what else are friends for, right?” complained Snap. 

      Poe just grinned. “Thanks, buddy.” 

      He was about to squirm away through the crowd when another thought crept into his head. 

      “Hey, I need you to do something. There’s a new face on base today, one of the intimidating types. She’s got hair like mine and she, uh, she wears this shoulder pauldron thing. If you can find her, try to sit with her.”

      “Oooh,” crooned Snap, “has Poe got a new crush?”

      Poe shoved him, ignoring an unexpected twist of his stomach. “No, kriff off. I was called to the General’s station today because I’ll be on a mission with the newbie. I’ll explain that later.  Just…” he faltered, searching for the right words. “Just scout her out.” He shrugged noncommittally. “Y'know, see what she’s like. You're not the best reconnaissance flier for nothing, right?” he said, thumping Snap’s shoulder and moving away.

      “Just get me some intel!” Poe yelled over his shoulder. “That is what you’re most useful for after all.” 

      Smirking to himself at the victory against Snap, he slithered through the horde of people, the sound of Karé's laughter blending into the background.

      ***

        When Poe reached the mess hall after his (much-needed) shower, he automatically glanced towards the Black Squadron’s usual corner table to find it empty. Yells, accompanied by some arm waving from Snap and two other pilots, Jessika and Iolo, alerted him to his group sitting at the far side of the hall. Uncharacteristically he found himself hoping he looked good, as he sauntered over.  

       I’m not nervous, he thought running his fingers through his hair. As he approached the table he scanned it. Iolo, Jess, Snap, Karé… and Commander Deccol. So they did manage to find her. Neat.  

       Nodding at the group, he settled down on the empty stool left for him, with his plate in front. Funnily enough, it was directly opposite Deccol. Jess’ doing for sure. He uncovered the plate and dug in, and the conversation that his arrival had interrupted, restarted.

      “So what made you join the Resistance?” Jess asked, leaning over the table.

      “I haven’t really joined long term, this is more of a one-off job for me. I sympathise with the cause, I’ve seen what the Empire did, and the First Order is that all over again. So when I heard the Resistance needed someone like me, I came. Plus, it pays well.”

      “So you’re just here for the money?”

      It slipped out of Poe’s mouth before he could stop it. The air around the table thickened and Jess and Snap groaned softly while Karé pinched the bridge of her nose. Iolo bit his lip to hide a nervous smile.

      Deccol looked up slowly to meet his gaze with her own.

      “My family, my people, need as much help as they can get." She spoke softly, but the anger in her voice was evident. “I left them, to look for work. To earn for them.”

      Jess dug her elbow into Poe’s side as he leaned forward, before he could sneer a reply.

      “Your people?” asked Karé, her voice gentle, trying to clear the hostile atmosphere. “Where are you from?”

      The burning in Deccol’s eyes diminished as she shifted from Poe to Karé.

      “I think Nevarro. That’s where I spent my early years. I was adopted by a Mandalorian and now I’m one too.” 

      Suddenly all their eyes were on her. Even Poe who'd been sullenly staring at his plate.

      “A Mandalorian? I’d heard stories, I thought they were all dead,” Snap said, awed.

      Poe hated the fact he was suddenly interested in Deccol’s story. Just because she’s a part of a fabled warrior culture, supposedly as skilled as the Jedi...

      “Nope, there’s still a few. Just scattered around the galaxy. Imperial rule was not kind to the culture and the First Order is the same. We were and are a threat to them. We’re rebuilding, but it's hard with a junta like the Order in the galaxy.”

      “And that,” said Iolo, pointing at the pauldron on Deccol’s shoulder. “That’s Mandalorian, right? Mandalorian steel? I’ve heard of it before, but it’s so rare.”

      “Yeah, it’s Beskar."

      Snap shot Poe an impressed look, flicking his eyebrows suggestively.

      Great. I’m the only one here, who doesn’t like her.

      Poe forced himself to tune out for the rest of the conversation, focusing on his food instead, feigning disinterest. When he finished his meal a few minutes later, he scooped up his plate and stomped over to the row of sonics against the back wall, still fuming. 

      He wasn’t surprised when Jess appeared next to him, silently washing her plate as if he wasn’t there. He lasted about five seconds before he burst.

      “Oh for kriff’s sake!” he snapped. “Say it already! Tell me I’m being an idiot and that I’m being unnecessarily rude.”

      She turned to him, her half-washed plate lying discarded in the basin.

      “You’re being an idiot and you’re being unnecessarily rude.”

      He scoffed. “Very funny.”

      “Poe, this is serious. Snap and Karé said you’re going on a mission with her. You won't survive with this destructive friction between you. You’ll get yourself killed.”

      “That’s what the General said,” he mumbled, his anger fading.

      “And, as we know, the General is always right. If you can’t get along with Avara, you need to back out of this mission.”

      “I can’t do that! The General needs me to-”

      “Organa would rather you drop out than receive the news that you're dead, all because she took a risk.”

      Poe fell silent, staring at the floor, clenching and unclenching his fists. She’s right. I just have to suck it up and try to keep my mouth shut. I can do that. For Leia.

      “I’m not going to drop out of the mission,” he declared softly, looking his best friend in the eye.

      “I was never expecting you too,” Jess said, amused. “You’re too stubborn. If you do end up getting killed, it’s going to be because you’re saving the Mando’s ass, trying to prove you’re better than her.”

      The corner of his mouth twitched up. “Thanks.”

      “It wasn’t a compliment, wise-ass,” she retorted, swatting the back of his head. 

       ***

       He stayed mostly silent throughout the rest of dinner, but this time, in a much better mood. His friends had watched him carefully as he’d sat back down, relieved he was no longer smouldering. Deccol was still civil with the other pilots, but also quiet, just watching. When it had been time to leave, Poe stretched as he stood, straining his arms over his head with a huge yawn that was instantly caught by Snap and Jess. The latter punched him for it.

      “Every time, Dameron,” grumbled Jess, mid-yawn. “Every damn time.”

       ***

       As the group of pilots, plus the one Mando, strolled towards their barracks, Poe found himself trailing behind, lost in thought over his to-be partner.

      Why did Leia have to get this hot shot assassin for the mission? he found himself grumbling. Couldn’t it have been someone I would instantly get along with? Just my luck.

      He jumped when someone bumped his shoulder. Karé.

      “Hey, Poe. So… you wanna tell me what this is about?”

      “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

      “Don’t be difficult, Poe. This is why some people don’t like you.”

      He turned to her pretending to be shocked. “What? Who doesn’t like me?”

      She laughed and he smiled down at her, his laugh lines deepening as he properly relaxed in her company.

      “No but seriously. What’s so bad about her? Did she do something?”

      He pursed his lips. “No. She didn’t do anything.”

      Karé was quiet for a second before turning to him. 

      “I’m gonna ask you something, a serious question and you’re gonna answer seriously. No laughing.”

      “Go on.”

      “Do you like her? As in, do you have a crush on her?”

      Poe laughed. Hard. Are you kidding me right now?

      “You said you wouldn’t laugh!” she groaned, shoving him.

      “I never said that. And no! I don’t! What am I? A kriffing teenager ?” he snorted, lowering his voice. “I don’t get crushes.”

      “Urgh, whatever. Just apologise to her. I’m gonna tell Snap to brief you tomorrow.”

      “Brief me? What?”

      “You asked him to gather intel right,” she said grinning. “Well, he did.”

      Poe rolled his eyes. “That idiot either does too little or too much. No in-between for him.”

      “Hey! Don’t talk dirty about my boyfriend.”

      He turned on her with a yelp. She was trying to keep a straight face.

      “Boyfriend?!” 

      The group in front turned at the sound of his shriek, and Karé almost collapsed in a sudden burst of laughter.

      “SNAP!” Poe screamed at the group in front. “Get your ass over here!” 

      Jess and Iolo cracked up, grabbing each other for support as Snap jogged towards Poe grinning widely. Deccol looked a bit puzzled but Poe wasn’t paying attention to her.

      “You idiot! We’ve been together a week and you didn’t notice!”

      “Why didn’t you tell me?” he whined pathetically, slapping Snap’s shoulder.

      They all just continued to laugh, not bothering to answer. He doubled over with a moan, his palms pressed to his eyes for a second.

      “You’re all asses!”

      They laughed harder. He straightened, pursing his lips and shaking his head in mock anger, stalking towards their barracks. Iolo pounced on him as he tried to walk past, dragging him to a halt.

      “No, no wait! We-” Iolo’s words were lost in more cackling.

      “What Iolo’s trying to say,” Jess said, somehow controlling herself, “is that we were betting on whether or not you’d find out by the time a week had gone by.”

      Deccol had started to smile, catching on to what was happening.

      They- they what?       “You were betting? On me?” He paused, blinking. “Who won?”

      “Honestly, all of us. Your reaction is the prize we all just received,” Jess managed to say before snorting back into laughter.

      “You,” Poe growled, pointing at Jess threateningly, “you shut up. Who won?”

      “Me and Jess obviously,” called Karé. “The boys are oblivious to your obliviousness.”

      “Do I get a cut? How many credits did you earn? I deserve some .”

      “They just got a hundred and fifty credits. Each,” said Iolo, suddenly forlorn.

      Poe couldn’t help himself. Starting to smile, he pointed at Karé. 

      “I better be getting some of those kriffing credits!”

       ***

       The group somehow made it to the pilot’s block of sleeping quarters, still breathless with giggles. 

      As a Commander, Poe had a bottom floor room, with his friends on the floor above, as they were lieutenants. They peeled away from Poe to head upstairs, leaving him standing there, grinning and shaking his head up at them as they trooped off with the usual raucous hoots. Leaving him with Deccol. 

      Kriff. Now isn’t this awkward?

      “What room are you?” she said, scuffing her boots against the gravel.

      Was she… nervous? 

      “I, uh, I’m in eight. You?”

      “Three.”

      Poe nodded and jerked his head. “This way.”

      She fell in step with him as they strolled to the far side of the block.

      Could time really not go faster? he found himself thinking desperately, running fingers through his hair. Twelve more rooms to walk past. Eleven more. Ten. Ni- Urgh, just talk to her! 

       “I was-”

      “Did I-”

      Both of us starting to speak at the exact same time? More likely than you’d think, he thought sarcastically.

      Caught off guard, Deccol spoke first. 

      “Uh, please, you first.”

      “I was, uh, I was out of line at dinner today,” he began slowly, forcing himself to look her in the eye.

      Her gaze was piercing as she turned to him when they stopped walking to face each other.

      “I’m sorry. I guess I was in a bad mood or something.”

      She nodded. “I- I understand. We just... need to be able to work together.”

      He snorted. “Y’know you’re the third person to tell me that today?”

      She chuckled. “It’s because I’m right.”

      “Y’know no one likes a know-it-all?”

      “Why do I feel like people also say that to you?” she teased back, lifting her chin to meet his eyes.

      He narrowed his eyes at her and she didn't smile, but her eyes seemed to spark at him playfully.

      They turned to continue walking, Poe feeling much lighter.

      “I’ll see you at breakfast then? Is it in the same hall as dinner?”

      “Yep. There’s a base-wide alarm that sounds to wake everyone up, and then the second alarm signals first-meal.”

      “Convenient. See you there,” she said with a nod.

      He returned it with a slight smile and watched her walk the last few steps to her room as he unlocked his door.

      Maybe this would work after all.

      The instant he stepped into his room, his little white and orange droid began zooming circles around his legs in greeting.

      “Hey, Beebs. Boy have I got some stuff to tell you.”

      ***

#poe dameron #poe dameron x original character #poe dameron x ofc #poe dameron fic #star wars #oscar isaac #the mandalorian

[mezzopurrloin]

Mezzo Plays Final Fantasy X: Part 3

Surprisingly, Tidus isn't dead.

He's just washed up on the coast of some island. He's hit in the back of the head with a blitzball, and spies some people on the beach waving to him.

He decides to do a midair flip kick to send it back, impressing their leader.

Then he swims to shore and introduces himself, first saying he's from Zanarkand, then after that confuses everyone, telling people he was infected by Sin's toxin.

His name is (probably) not a Pac-Man reference. Tidus asks if it's true Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago, and Wakka dispenses some exposition.

"It was just as Rikku had said. Wakka and Rikku couldn't both be lying. Why would they? I appreciated the fact that Wakka was trying to cheer me up. But at that time, all I could think about was... everything that happened to me -- all of this -- started with Sin. Maybe if I could find Sin one more time, I could go home! For now, I'd just live life until that time came. No more worrying about where, or when, I was. Sure it was hard not to think of home. But I started to feel better already. A little better...maybe."

Wakka decides to escort Tidus back to his village.

Of course, they end up meeting some fiends along the way. Wakka fights using his blitzball as a weapon, which seems a bit odd, but it makes for a good throwing weapon apparently.

He also tells Tidus about a big blitzball tournament coming up. Wakka says that maybe someone there will recognize Tidus if he plays, and Tidus agrees to help out.

Here we get a nice view of Besaid Village. Wakka joined the Aurochs 10 years ago, but the team hasn't won a single game since then. He's about to give up on the blitz, but wants this last tournament to be his best yet. Tidus agrees and hopes to steer the Aurochs toward victory.

Just before entering the village proper, Wakka asks Tidus about the prayer, which of course just makes Tidus more confused.

You just put your hands in this position while saying "Praise be to Yevon."

"Any blitzball player would know that prayer. It was the blitzball sign for victory."

Time to loot some stuff! This house was wrecked by Sin and the owner never bothered rebuilding it, so it's not like they have any use for these things anyway.

There's also a little lodge here belonging to a group called the Crusaders. They're sworn to battle Sin, but no one's ever been able to truly defeat it, so their duties mainly involve keeping it away from populated areas.

One thing I forgot to mention about save points is that they also provide a full HP/MP recharge. This makes them a convenient replacement for the inns of other RPGs, though you're free to rest at the Crusaders' lodge if you want.

Once that's done, Tidus heads into the temple. It's the biggest building in the village, and faces away from the ocean, as that's where Sin comes from.

Inside the temple plays the Hymn of the Fayth, another plot-important song. No, 'fayth' is not a typo.

"It was then, standing in that place. I began to realize how different this world was from my own."

Tidus talks to one of the temple attendants, and after using the toxin excuse again, gets some more exposition.

"It was funny hearing myself make the same excuse over and over. Funny, and a little sad."

"So what he meant...was that we should respect some kinda great men or something like that...I figured."

Tidus goes back to Wakka's place for a quick nap.

Which leads us to another flashback sequence. Young Tidus is happy to see Jecht gone from his life.

His mom isn't quite that sympathetic to him.

After he wakes up, Wakka is gone. Tidus heads back to the temple to find out what's going on.

It seems that the summoner is in trouble, and Tidus immediately runs into the temple depths to help.

Monk: "The precepts must be obeyed!"

Tidus: "Like I care!"

This takes him to the Cloister of Trials, a puzzle that must be overcome before reaching the chamber of the fayth. This one's pretty simple and teaches you the basics of these rooms.

The puzzles are based around spheres. Glyph Spheres open the way to the chamber, Destruction Spheres destroy things to uncover hidden treasures, and each temple also has its own type of sphere. Only one sphere can be held at a time and you can stick them into sphere-shaped slots to activate things.

In this case, there's a Besaid Sphere powering this lovely Tron lines complex.

If we replace it with a Destruction Sphere...

It blows up a wall to reveal a hidden chest. Inside is a Rod of Wisdom, which we can't use yet. It's important to get every Destruction Sphere treasure we can, as there's a late-game reward for obtaining them all. And generally, it's important to grab everything we can the first time, since backtracking isn't really a thing for 90% of the game.

Anyway, after completing the Cloister of Trials, Wakka meets up with Tidus again, and he explains that only summoners, apprentice summoners, and their guardians can enter. Wakka is free to enter because he's a guardian. Summoners go on a pilgrimage to every temple in Spira, and the guardians protect them.

We meet some more guardians outside the chamber. And then the door opens, revealing...

"Man, was I surprised. And here I was, thinking summoners were all old geezers."

The group heads out to the town square, and the summoner decides to show her prowess.

"I had never seen anything like it in my life. Sure, it was a little scary, but still... I could feel a strange kind of gentleness from it."

You get to pick a name for the aeon too. Her canon name is Valefor, but I went with Yvonne on a suggestion from Umbra.

The celebration continues into the night, and Tidus and the summoner finally get to meet face-to-face.

Yuna forgives Tidus for barging in, as she feels it was her fault for taking so long.

"I remember... That night, we talked for the first time. I didn't know it then, but after that night, everything changed. For everyone... For me..."

If you haven't already figured it out, yes, Yuna is the main love interest. After talking to her, Tidus heads to the Crusaders' lodge to sleep.

It's only been one day and you're already having dreams about her?

Yeah, yeah, Rikku's cute too.

Jecht, stop being such an asshole. This is why your son hates you.

Tidus awakens and sees Wakka and the girl in black, Lulu, talking.

You know how they say Final Fantasy characters are obsessed with belts? Yeah, here's a prime example. Apparently they made Lulu's dress entirely out of belts as a challenge to the animators.

The camera moves up so we can get a nice head shot of her too.

Wakka gives some context on the conversation after coming inside. His brother Chappu joined the Crusaders, and was killed by Sin. Wakka learned the news on the day of the last blitzball tournament, which understandably threw his game off.

In the morning, Wakka presents a gift to Tidus.

This sword is called Brotherhood, and is quite fancy. It was originally meant to be a gift for Chappu, but he never used it. Tidus leaves the village with Yuna's group, as they're going on the same ship.

Well, not quite yet. There's one more thing to grab first. See my comment above about how it's really important to pick stuff up the first time around.

No, I don't get it either.

Once that's done, the group stops to pray at the monument above town. Chappu didn't pray at it the day he left. While making their way back to the coast, we get some more random encounters.

Flying fiends are Wakka's speciaility. They have a big evasion bonus vs. melee, but Wakka's ball can hit them with no problems.

This slime monster looks dangerous, though. Its amorphous body gives it strong resistance to physical attacks.

Time to call in our black mage. Lulu uses these adorable little plushies as weapons and as focuses for her magic. Many are references to other Final Fantasy creatures, like the moogle up there. She also takes the time to explain this game's element system. Fire and ice oppose each other, as do lightning and water. This blob is water based, so...

Zap! Problem solved.

Tidus runs a bit ahead of everyone else when we reach the next area...

And runs into this furry guy, who we saw at the temple earlier. He doesn't take kindly to Tidus and attacks. The two trade blows for a bit, until everyone else comes in and puts a stop to it.

He's another one of Yuna's guardians. He doesn't talk much, and can't be used as a party member yet, but he will be later.

I know this post is already overloaded with screenshots but really, check out the view here.

Anyway, upon encountering a large flying fiend, Wakka decides that rather than handling it himself, he lets Yuna try out her summoning. You can swap party members in and out at any time during a battle.

Time to see what our aeon can do. By using the Summon command, Yuna calls Yvonne to the field. All other party members disappear while the aeon is summoned.

Yvonne can use standard attacks, cast black magic much like Lulu, and has the Sonic Wings special which deals damage and delays the opponent's turn.

Much like players, aeons have their own Overdrive bar too. That's what picking up the thing from the dog was all about. In this case though, I decided that her first Overdrive, Energy Ray, was enough for this fight.

She charges up a laser in her mouth, then fires it at the ground.

Then, explosions. Perfect for taking out any irritating fiends.

One last encounter to show here. In this case each character is up against the type of fiend they're specialized against. You want to have Tidus hit the wolf thing, Wakka go for the flyer, and Lulu cast Thunder on the blob, and they're finished off easily.

All of our other party members have their own places on the Sphere Grid, and they gain S.Lvls and spheres the same way Tidus does. Tidus learned a new ability too: Flee, which guarantees escape from any non-boss fight. Some say that fleeing from battles is cowardly, but it's still handy to use in a pinch.

Oh, by the way, that Rod of Wisdom we found? It's a weapon for Yuna. It gives a good magic boost and the Sensor ability, allowing her to show enemy HP and traits. When not using aeons, Yuna acts as our white mage, giving out heals and buffs when needed.

One last thing to grab as we hit the beach. This is a component for a postgame weapon for Yuna. I don't know if I'll get into the postgame for this LP, but it's good to have anyway.

Yuna and her crew board the ship. Yuna waves goodbye to the villagers as they set off.

#mezzo's screenshot lps #final fantasy x

[jouska-the-deer]

Denial

(Alright, I’m gonna actually put the warnings up front this time instead of just in the tags like I do for most of my fics. 

This fic contains mentions of torture, but nothing is stated explicitly. It also contains descriptions of destroyed populated areas and violence near the beginning. If you know these kinds of subject matter make you uncomfortable, please do not read this fic. I really don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings...

Also, spoilers for Sonic Forces.

Anyway, I hope the people who do read this enjoy.)

The wind howled as Shadow skated up the large hill, dodging charred trees and destroyed robots along the way.

This area had been terribly affected by Eggman’s presence. Had Sonic not stopped him a couple days ago, the burnt landscape would have become a construction site for whatever Eggman desired. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Less thankfully, the area still reeked of smoldering plants and stagnant water from a nearby collapsed town. At least the fires were dead now.

As Shadow reached the top of the hill, the town now coming into view, he finally saw the person he was sent all this way for. It was sheer luck that he was even here, considering how long ago he was sighted and how quickly he usually travels.

Angered screams and loud thuds rang all throughout the area, the source emanating from Sonic. He charged from tree to tree, spin dashing into their trunks and bouncing off, leaping to the next in a blue flash. Occasionally, he would stop to land a few punches and kicks to the charred wood, blackening his already dirty gloves and shoes even further.

It did not appear that he noticed Shadow’s arrival, which Shadow didn’t particularly care about. He was fine with allowing him to have his outburst since there was nothing else he had to do at the moment. Plus, he figured Sonic would find a reason to fight him if he was still in this state, which would be a huge waste of time. So, Shadow stood with crossed arms as Sonic continued with his little rampage.

Charging up a dash, Sonic launched himself at a tree, taking it down with a loud crack. He rebounded off and watched it fall, a black cloud of dust rising from its impact. Then, in a flash, he was at the side of the summit overlooking the destroyed town.

Everything was in shambles. Buildings crumbled to their foundations, roads cracked and covered with toppled power lines and trees, pools and ponds filled with disgusting murky water that would never be safe to touch. This wasn’t the only town like this. This was all the cities, towns, and villages that Eggman had got to. That Sonic couldn’t stop him from destroying.

Another scream erupted from his lungs as Sonic pulled his quills and fell to his knees. With a long whine, Sonic planted his hands on the ground in front of him, allowing some of his weight to shift to his arms. His limbs trembled as he gave into his worsening exhaustion, ready to lay there on the singed grass for as long as it took for his body and mind to stop screaming at him.

“Ahem.”

Sonic jolted upward, turning on his heel and facing Shadow with a cheery smile, or at least an attempt at one. Within a half second, he was standing a few feet from him.

“Hey, Shadow! You need something?”

Soot covered most of Sonic’s fur, his gloves and socks an ashy grey. And not only were his quills covered in dust like the rest of his body, but they were also splayed and covered in debris. The fact that Sonic could possibly think that he could get away with acting fine in this state annoyed Shadow, but he ignored it.

“I’ve been sent here by GUN to inform you that they have a number of available therapists to see should you decide you need to talk to one. All of the expenses would be covered by GUN. I suggest that you go.”

Sonic took a step back, his face contorted in discomfort.

“Yeah uh, no thanks. I’m alright.”

“Sure you are,” Shadow scoffed.

“You think I’m lying?!”

As his body tensed for a hypothetical fight, Sonic attempted an intimidating look. Shadow was not phased whatsoever.

“Would you consider what you were just doing as, ‘alright’?”

Letting out a huff, Sonic took a few steps away and crossed his arms.

“I was was a little mad about being stuck on that stupid Death Egg for a while, but I’m all good now.”

Shadow kept his voice soft and controlled.

“You spent six months alone in a cell, with records saying were tortured.”

Sonic jumped, his quills raising a small amount. However, he soon turned around, speaking in an annoyed manner with his arms gesturing wildly.

“You got that right! The food was so bland that burnt toast would have tasted better! And the whole place was a snore fest. Every day was a fight against relentless boredom. They didn’t even have TV!”

“And, there was nothing else that could have bothered you?”

Blue ears flicked as Sonic crossed his arms again.

“What? No. Nothing else happened. It was just really boring.”

A hint of concern was seen in Shadow’s expression.

“Are you sure?”

Sonic’s tone became noticeably stern.”

“Yes. Nothing happened.”

“Hmm…”

Shadow’s gaze shifted away, going silent for a moment.

“What?!” Sonic impatiently questioned.

Looking back at him, Shadow let a bit more of his concern make itself visible.

“Rouge recently found security footage of your time on the Death E-”

“-It wasn’t as bad as it looked! Okay?!”

His rushed words were filled with fear, rather than anger. While Shadow hated the fact that Sonic interrupted him, he let it slide, for now.

“I didn’t see the footage,” he calmly informed.

“Oh.”

Sonic cleared his throat, smoothing his quills back and trying to look composed.

“Well uh, yeah. Nothing really happened.”

Shadow let out a tired sigh.

“Rouge requested that I give you a hug for her.”

Sonic snerked.

“What?” he chuckled.

“She was very distraught from the footage and wanted to give you a hug, but she’s too busy to do it herself.”

“Sorry, but I’m not all that into hugs.”

“And you think I am?”

“You can just tell her you gave me one if you need to.”

“She’ll know that I didn’t.”

This was beginning to feel annoying.

“How?”

“She just can.”

That’s a dumb explanation. Sonic huffed.

“Well, then tell her I just didn’t want one.”

“She won’t be satisfied with that answer.”

Sonic was feeling thoroughly angered. Shadow had to go. Now.

“Why don’t you think for yourself instead of having her tell you what to do!? I know you don’t want to give me a hug, so just leave already!”

Shadow sharply inhaled, rightfully angered by that insult. But, he slowly let his breath out, trying to keep himself relaxed.

“I agreed with her that a hug may be helpful to you.”

Sonic groaned, his ears going back and his teeth flaring.

“I don’t need any help! I’m fine! Nothing happened to me!”

The air went silent, Sonic standing his ground and Shadow pausing in thought. Then, Shadow turned around, his air shoes lighting up.

“You know how to get ahold of GUN if you need anything.”

He was about to go when Sonic stopped him.

“Wait.”

Shadow looked over his shoulder.

“If you’re actually worried Rouge will know you didn’t give me a hug, you can give me a quick one just so you can say you did without lying.”

His air shoes dimmed and Shadow turned around, stepping forward and pulling Sonic into a hug.

A second passed.

“Alright, Shadow. I’m sure that’s good.”

Sonic tried stepping away, out of Shadow’s arms, but he maintained his grip. Blue ears went back, Sonic’s tone slightly annoyed.

“Shadow?”

He tried again, but he was locked in.

“Shadow? What are you doing?”

Not a word. He just stood there, his arms locked in place. Even statues weren’t this still and ungiving.

At that point, Sonic just huffed, accepting his fate until Shadow finally let go. Normally, being trapped like this would make him extremely uncomfortable, but he was just too tired to care anymore. The last couple days were tiring, well, more accurately, the last six months- ‘Don’t think about that.'

Besides, if he was being honest, Sonic would admit that it was kind of comfy. Shadow wasn’t constricting him, just holding tight enough to make it so he couldn’t slip away. It wasn’t like the rib-crushing hugs Amy used to give, and it wasn’t as awkward either. Of course, it was still awkward. Sonic wasn’t lying when he said he wasn’t into hugs. But still, it was nice to finally have contact with another person after- ‘Don’t think about that.’

Well, he did get a hug from Tails shortly after getting back. It was a little shorter than he would have liked, though. Maybe after he’s done checking in on the damage and pitching in on the effort to rebuild everything, he’ll go see him. That is if Shadow would let him go eventually! Seriously, what’s he doing?!

“How long are you gonna hold me hostage?! You’ve been hugging me forever now!”

No response, as expected.

Sonic sighed. He was too tired to fight his way out, the hug actually didn’t feel too terrible, and he was done helping out for the day. Other than getting back his personal space, there wasn’t really a reason to try and get away. But it was getting harder to think of things to occupy his mind while the time passed. Things other than-

Okay, maybe looking around would help. Except, there wasn’t really much to look at. Just burnt trees, singed hills, and what was left of the sunset. The sky was pretty much just a dull reddish purple, and he wasn’t going to see any stars anytime soon. There was so much smoke in the sky that stargazing was nearly impossible in some places. At least there was more to look at now than when he was-

Maybe thinking about friends would help. They always cheer him up! Well, except when they’re Shadow and STILL WON’T LET GO! Anyway, it was nice to see them all again. Tails apparently wasn’t feeling too great for a while, but he was definitely doing better now. Amy was distraught when he was first gone, but used her feelings as motivation to keep fighting. A little cheesy, but also pretty cool of her. What Sonic found most surprising was Knuckles leading the whole resistance, with a lot of help from Amy of course. Apparently, Silver showed up to warn Knuckles of all the bad stuff that was going to happen, and Knuckles just assumed the role as commander of the resistance. Speaking of Silver, it was nice to see him again.

See, that isn’t too hard. What was Sonic worried about? This would be easy! Just think about his awesome friends until Shadow gets bored and lets go. He had a million friends to think about too! Like Vector and Espio and Charmy and Cream and Vanilla and Big and Rouge- uh, maybe not think about her. She was sort of the person who got him into this mess. Though, it was doubtful that she wanted Shadow to give him this ridiculously long of a hug. Unless she really did feel that awful about- ‘Don’t think about that.’

About what she saw on the security footage. ‘Stop thinking about it.’ Everything that happened. ‘Nothing Happened.’ For an entire six months. ‘It was just really boring.’ While Eggman took over. ‘Stop.’ Leaving him in a cell. ‘It didn’t happen.’ Alone with nobody to talk to. ‘I wasn’t too lonely.’ Except when his robots would show up. ‘It wasn’t that bad.’ Show up to- ‘It’s over! I’m fine now!’ To- ‘Why am I still thinking about this...’ To- ‘...To make my life a nightmare…’

The sky was almost completely dark now. It was getting cold, but the wind had died down a lot. Silence took over until it was broken by a short sniff.

Sonic’s eyes burned, tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. His breath was shaky and harsh, his body trembling. A tear slid down his cheek, alerting Sonic of his current situation. He was crying. He was crying and Shadow was right there. This is embarrassing. Have to get away now.

He pushed back against Shadow’s grip. It didn’t do anything. Shadow was too strong, and Sonic too tired.

Sonic gave up, falling forward and wrapping his arms around Shadow for support. More tears rolled down his cheeks as he began to cry openly, his sobs louder and breaths heavier. Even if he could back away, there wasn’t a point anymore. He let himself cry since he couldn’t stop it anyway.

After a while, his sobs softened and tears stopped falling. Sonic wiped his eyes and nose with his dirty glove, probably leaving gross black marks on his face, but he didn’t care. He was too tired to care.

Once again, he tried backing away, this time without much effort put into it. Finally, Shadow let him free, and Sonic took a few sluggish steps away. Without much thought, he let himself fall to the ground, his quills absorbing most of the shock. Most, not all, as the sudden stop did make him grunt with mild pain. He laid there, staring up at the greyish purple sky until he heard something. Wait, did Shadow just sit down?

He pushed himself up and into a sitting position, noticing that yes, Shadow did sit down a few feet from him. Sonic huffed in annoyance.

“Seriously. What are you doing?”

“The same thing Rouge did for me.”

Oh, so now he can talk? Took him long enough. Well, while he was finally speaking, might as well try and figure out what was going on.

“And what did she do?”

“Help me feel better.”

Sonic rolled his eyes.

“You aren’t exactly Mr. Sunshine and Rainbows you know.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“Okay, sure. What are you gonna do, hug me again?”

“I’m going to sit here until you decide to do what you need to feel better.”

He rolled his eyes again, huffing with annoyance. Shadow retained his neutral expression.

“You could get up and leave at any moment,” Shadow stated. “I’m not stopping you.”

Silence, then a groan followed by Sonic turning away from him.

It was completely dark now. While the stars and moon did add a small amount of light, it was heavily diluted by the smoke in the sky. At least Sonic was able to see fairly well in the dark, and Shadow had near perfect night vision. Not that it mattered all too much in the moment, as they were currently sitting on the hill with nothing to look at.

Sonic thought about leaving. If Shadow wasn’t lying, he really could just get up and leave… Though, for some reason, he did really want to. Maybe it was the fatigue. Maybe he just felt lazy. Or maybe he knew that he needed help. ‘I don’t need any help. I’m fine.’

He glanced over at Shadow.

Neutral expression. Arms crossed. Doing nothing. Of course.

By now, Sonic’s anger had mostly cooled down. But boredom was starting to set in, and Sonic definitely didn’t want to deal with feeling bored. Okay, time to say something, anything, just to push the boredom away. He did have a question about the whole situation, and Shadow did seem more open to answering stuff now.

“So, is this really what Rouge did? Just sit there and wait for you to do something?”

“Yes.”

“And it worked.”

“Mmm hmm.”

Sonic let out an annoyed sigh.

“Well, I’m not you. What makes you think that what you’re trying will work the same on me?”

“I know you want to feel better, but you’re too stubborn to admit that you need help. I just have to wait until you stop denying it.”

“I don’t need any help!” Sonic growled. “Nothing’s wrong! I’m fine!”

“Hmm…”

Shadow simply continued to sit there in silence, with Sonic doing the same.

Boredom started to set in again. While Sonic definitely didn’t want to talk to Shadow more, there wasn’t much else for him to do. That is unless he decided to leave, but he knew he needed help- ‘I don’t need any help.’

“So uh, what did you do?”

“Hmm?”

He briefly considered not repeating himself. But, might as well clarify and continue talking, otherwise, he’d just be left with his thoughts again.

“If this is what Rouge did with you, what did you end up doing?”

“I went to a therapist like she asked.”

“Oh.”

Sonic briefly looked away, thinking for a moment, then looked back.

“You don’t exactly seem like someone that’d just go to therapy.”

“I wasn’t. But I needed to go, and it helped ease some of my stress.”

It was so odd. Seeing Shadow talking about anything that could make him look like less than the perfect being. Talking about how he needed to see a therapist, and how it actually helped. It was sort of comforting. Knowing that even Shadow could admit that he couldn’t deal with his feelings on his own. But…

“Can’t I just try to get over what happened? I’m sure I will eventually.”

“You don’t ‘just get over’ things like that.” He sighed, looking off into the distance. “You can choose to let your experiences affect your actions, but you have no control over how they affect your thoughts. No matter how much you try to stop thinking about what you’ve been through, it’ll stick with you forever.”

Shadow stood up, looking down at Sonic, who had his eyes locked on him.

“So you keep pretending everything is fine, or you can accept the help that’s being offered to you.”

Slowly, Sonic’s gaze lowered to the ground.

Shadow did have a point. ‘No he doesn’t.’ Sonic could already tell that he wasn’t going to stop thinking about what happened anytime soon. ‘I will eventually.’ And maybe talking to a professional about everything might help. ‘It might not.’

He looked back up at Shadow.

“What if the therapist I see doesn’t help?”

“Then you can find a new one. GUN has multiple, and it’s doubtful that all of them would fail to do their job.”

“I…”

“I could also see if the therapist I had is available to you.”

“...”

His eyes were on the ground again.

This could finally help. ‘I don’t need help.’ Not only with what happened on the Death Egg, but with all the other things he’s gone through as well. ‘I’ll get over all that eventually.’ It could help with the stress. ‘I’m not that stressed.’ It could help with the constant fear. ‘I have every right to worry about my friends!’ It could help with the nightmares. ‘They aren’t that bad.’ It could help make dealing with everything a little easier. ‘I don’t need help…” It could help with all the guilt. ‘I…’ It could help. ‘I… I need help.’

Sonic let out a long, shaky breath, pushing himself off the ground and standing up. He paused for a moment, then looked up at Shadow.

“Alright… I’ll go.”

The corner of Shadow’s mouth lifted into a soft smile.

“I’ll make some calls to see when everyone is available.”

As Shadow lifted his communicator, Sonic released a short relieved sigh. He too softly smiled, feeling a small amount of relief.

“Thanks.”

#Sonic Fanfiction #Sonic Fan Fiction #Sonic the Hedgehog #Shadow the Hedgehog #Sonic Forces #Sonic Forces Spoilers #Torture Mention #Destruction Mention #Violence #Sad #Holy smokes for once I didn't write a ship fic I am proud of myself! #I hope people will enjoy this despite the darker tone #Actually compared to Pink Asters 2 and First Christmas Together this isn't much darker. #I'm just worried about making people upset which is why I put the warning at the beginning

[isakthedragon]

Super Sonic Thieves Chapter 19

Chapter 19 - That Dark Sinking Feeling

The Set-Up:

Sonic, narrating: “Huh… the last time I was in a swamp, that was when we fought Metal Sonic…”

Sly, narrating: “Hoo-boy. Mz. Ruby… a dangerous crocodile made even more threatening with her powers of dark magic and voodoo. She grew up being feared from others because she was a crocodile and she’s threatening now because of her mystical powers. She’s no stranger to using them to steal money, and even more worrisome when she raises the dead. We were able to lock her away in our world by taking advantage of her magic, but I wonder if we could do it again.”

Sonic, narrating: “It seems she has found herself a home in Lost Jungle and put her magic touch on it. I hope we can stop her before the swamp overcomes us…”

-----

Zone Layout: Mz. Ruby has transformed Lost Jungle into her own personal home. Other than just a heavy presence of ghosts and other haunted things, AND the crocodile, which has been voodoo-ized to an even scarier beast, she’s also placed voodoo dolls around that if encountered, will bring bad luck to you (AKA activate more traps on a path.). Don’t wait around in the swamp water too long, or you’ll be sucked in. Oh, yeah, and watch for the black and green frogs to grow and rot the vegetation as well.

Enemies:

Robotic Demon Turtles: Robotic rebuilds of the original Demonic Turtles. Now the detachable fire head boomerangs around more, and a bit faster, and doesn’t cower when you get close. (Yet they are still pretty weak.) Carries 21-23 coins and has a 10% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Swamp Monster Robots: Robot copies of Mz. Ruby’s swamp creatures. They can come in a few number of heads and/or fists, but like the originals, just keep whacking at them until they split, and then break away. Carries/drops 25-27 coins and has a 25% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Mojo Ratbots: Eggman’s robotic recreations of Mz. Ruby’s water rats. Their light now extends a little farther, and they can also throw balls of energy to zap you with along with their regular voodoo attack. Carries/drops 25-30 coins and has a 50% chance of treasure to pickpocket.

Voodoo Practitioner Pawn: A dangerous pawn in dark purple robes that carry around voodoo dolls. They can send out a ball of energy that if touched, will turn you into the animal you are for 10 seconds, which can let other badniks attack you. Otherwise, they’ll just throw pins at you as a last, close combat resort. Drops 25 rings when smashed.

Crazy Egg Hammers: These Egg Hammers just keep spinning around their hammers and spin around like a top, going faster and slower off and on. Perhaps they angered Mz. Ruby, so now they must stay like this? In any case, they have a bit more defense, so it’s going to take a bit longer to take them down, while still avoiding the hammer. Drops 27 rings when smashed.

De-bot: Scary looking demon badniks that are as strong as they look. They use their muscular arms to deflect attack. Only strong character can break through them, and even then, it’s going to be tough. Drops 29 rings when smashed.

Treasures:

From Guards:

Small Ball of Magic: Worth 120 coins and 60 rings.

Medium Ball of Magic: Worth 140 coins and 70 rings.

Large Ball of Magic: Worth 160 coins and 80 rings.

From Pedestals:

Golden Fiddle: Placed on one of the islands in Act 1, and guards will have to be fought if you grab it. Worth 2450 coins and 1225 rings.

Diamond Crystal Ball: Hiding in the brush in Act 2. Worth 2550 coins and 1275 rings.

Mz. Ruby Voodoo Doll: Found among one of the ledges in Act 3. Worth 2650 coins and 1325 rings.

The coins have a voodoo doll of Sly design on them.

-----

Haunted Jungle Zone Act 1: Murray and Vector take to the swampy floor, braving the water and large islands floating to find Mz. Ruby. Unfortunately, there’s plenty of guards and badniks in your way, so you’ll have to fight through them first.The act ends when they find a way to the upper levels, which look quite familiar…

*At the start*

Bentley, over the binocucom: “I hate swamps… so dirty!”

Murray: “Eh, I don’t mind it.”

Vector: “It’s probably our nature to be in swamps like this.”

Sly, over the binocucom: “Just watch out, guys. I’m sure Mz. Ruby has sent out forces of the undead to come after us.”

Vector: “Yeah, we’ll keep an eye out.”

Murray: “These monsters are no match for the strength of ‘The Murray!’ Hell cannot even hope to contain me!”

---

Haunted Jungle Zone Act 2: Tails and Dimitri make their way through the second section, which looks quite a lot like Lost Jungle from Sonic Heroes. It is, so just make your way through the familiar sections as best as you can to make it that much closer to the elusive Mz. Ruby. (At least Dimitri can swim in the water if you happen to fall in it, so you just need to find a spring to get back up.) The act ends before reaching a familiar annoying section…

*At the start.*

Tails: “Hmm… the jungle sure has overgrown itself once Eggman left it so many years ago.”

Dimitri: “Looks like nature has taken over it, bro! Mother nature has kicked butt of technology!”

Tails: “I hope we can still make it through to find Mz. Ruby…”

---

Haunted Jungle Zone Act 3: Sly and Amy find themselves entering the crocodile’s lair, which has changed with having overgrowth to climb on everywhere. Unfortunately, Mz. Ruby knows you are here and is siccing the croc-beast on you. All you can do is keep moving and dodging the beast. The act ends when they end up in a large skull mouth which closes behind them.

*At the start.*

Sly: “Sheesh, it’s getting real tight and overgrown here.”

Amy: “At least our trip will be a bit easier than just jumping across vines.”

*A bit later.*

Amy: “That large skull wasn’t there the last time.”

Sly: “It must be where Mz. Ruby is.”

Mz. Ruby’s voice: “You’d be right there, Sly Cooper! But I’m not going to let you just walk all willy-nilly in here. Croc-beast! Lunch time!”

*The beast attacks and misses them.*

Sly: “Whoa!”

Amy: “The croc! It looks even scarier now!”

Sly: “Thanks to Mz. Ruby’s magic. If it’s as dangerous as her past beast, we better move!”

*Later, after another near miss.*

Sly: “Ah! Jeez, this croc is just as persistent as her ‘Beast’ pet back in Haiti.”

Amy: “It sounds quite scary from what your friends tell me.”

Sly: “Looking like a giant voodoo eel… thing? Yeah. Barely got away from it to get a key to Mz. Ruby’s lair. Least that one didn’t seem to take sides since Mz. Ruby feared that one.”

*Taunts of Mz. Ruby*

Mz. Ruby: “Run, run, as fast as you can, Cooper! Unless you really want to become lunch!”

Mz. Ruby: “You shouldn’t anger a voodoo priestess, Sly and Amy! Don’t you know that’s bad luck?!”

Mz. Ruby: “Maybe I’ll turn you into zombies to do all my bidding… nah, then you’re still around… Hmmm… I know! I’ll just burn you to ashes!”

---

Haunted Jungle Zone Act 4 (BOSS): Mz. Ruby greets Sly and Amy, and taunts them as usual. After a small chase, she forces us to play her deadly game of ‘Dodge Voodoo’.

Mz. Ruby: “You’re stuck with me now, you fools! You guys are doomed!”

Sly: “More like you’re stuck with us.”

Amy: “Yeah! I’m also a magic user, and you pissed off the wrong lady.”

Mz. Ruby: “Like I’m so scared… see if you can even keep up with me first.”

Boss: Mz. Ruby

Similar to when she was fought in Sly 1, the player must dodge her voodoo magic to the beat of her music. Then, once close to her, attack her as she tries to bite back with her mouth. This repeats until she is defeated.

*At the start.*

Mz. Ruby: “Well, I see both are you are still as agile as ever.”

Amy: “Stop running and fight like you should.”

Mz. Ruby: “Sorry… I just like to play with my food!”

Sly: “Perhaps we shall dance again?”

Mz. Ruby: “Yes… another voodoo dance sounds perfect, Sly Cooper. But this time, I ain't letting you win!”

*The Dance begins*

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “Cause you’re in my world now, not yours… cause I got friends on the other side.” ♫

Voodoo Head 1: ♪ “She’s got friends on the other side.” ♫

Mz. Ruby, jokingly: “Hey! Who told you heads to speak! This is my song! You’re gonna ‘throw’ them out of rhythm, heh he…”

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “ *Ahem* See if you can dodge my voodoo, be careful putting your minds at ease. Cause if you relax it will allow me to enable you to anything I please. I can read your future, and even change it round some, too. I’ll look deep into your heart and soul- ♫ You do have a soul don’t you Sly? HAH! ♪ -Make your wildest dreams come true. I got voodoo, I got hoodoo, I got things I aint even tried! And I got friends on the other side.” ♫

Multiple Voodoo Heads: “She’s got friends on the other side.”

*Break to attack Mz. Ruby, then the next part. (You can choose how difficult the path to her will be, with whatever card path you choose.)*

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “The cards, the cards, the cards will tell... the past the present and the future as well. The cards, the cards, just take three… take a little trip into your future with me.”

Mz. Ruby: “Now you, Sly, are from across the sea… you’ve come from lines of thieving royalty.- ♫ Of course, I got my voodoo from my mother’s side myself. ♪ -Now I won’t lie, you’re present is doing swell… but beware Sly, not everything’s well.- ♫ You think I’m lying, but heed me Sly. Eggman is planning something behind the scenes, and even my spirits have prevented from looking. Our world is doomed, Sly, along with many more. Even I don’t know how far Eggman will go. ♪ -Despair, despair! Despair is all I can see! The future’s looking bleak… I think there’s a hero we need…” ♫

*Another attack on Mz. Ruby, then the last phase of dodging.*

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “On you, Ms. Amy, I’ll give you what you already know. You chase Sonic, even though he’s given you many ‘no’s. You’re at least a feisty, fiery little lady, who won’t give on your goal; you want to get married to him, but you’re worried he’ll say ‘no way’... But in the future, the you I see, is exactly how you want to be.- ♫

I can’t spoil it all now, can I? Heh he. Now that I told you the future... ♪ -Are you ready?!”

Voodoo Heads: “Are you ready?!”

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “Are you ready?! … Can you dig that Voodoo?!” ♫

Voodoo Heads: “Can you dig that Voodoo?!”

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “Can you dig that Hoodoo?!” ♫

Voodoo Heads: “Can you dig that Hoodoo?!”

Mz. Ruby: ♪ “Can you dig that Voodoo Hoodoo that I do?! Can you feel it?! The end, the end, the end is coming! I hope you’re satisfied defeating me, but things are only going to go downhill later, and not because of me! So say the spirits from the other side!”

Voodoo Heads: “You got your future told! But how much will you be owed?!”

*Once defeated.*

Mz. Ruby: “NO! Don’t send me back to INTERPOL! I’m going to die!!! NOOOO!!!”

-----

The Getaway:

Sonic, narrating: “We had to work hard to subdue her enough to send Mz. Ruby back to INTERPOL, thankfully, Carmelita’s shock pistol helped with that. But something worried us.”

Sly: “Mz. Ruby… she didn’t really want to go back to our world there, did she?”

Amy: “Being a fellow tarot card user… I’m not willing to throw away what she was saying. I can’t confirm what she was saying, I’m not strong enough, but my gut says we should take her warning seriously.”

Sly: “But how do we stop the ‘end of the world’ as she says?”

Amy: “I don’t know… we’ll just have to extremely careful about watching what happens in the future.”

Sly: “Yeah…”

Next Time: Ugh… an asshole to finish off the group. At least we get the familiar landscape of Dragon Road, Chun-nan.

#Isakthedragon's fanfiction #Super Sonic Thieves #Super Sonic Thieves Chapter 19 #SST #SST: Chapter 19 #Oh boy! #It's Mz. Ruby! #I had so much fun with this Chapter #I loved the 'Friends on the Other Side' Parody I did. :D #Also... rebuilding of Frog Forest/Lost Jungle #Wonder if it's good.

[hillbillyhippiemusicreview]

Post #54–Arlo McKinley, Die Midwestern

Reviewed by Lyssa Culbertson

Here at the Hillbilly Hippie Headquarters in Kentucky and the substation by way of Alabama, we have one mantra: the sadder the song, the better. With each release he puts out into the universe, Arlo McKinley seems to accomplish just that, which gives him a permanent fixture on our playlists. If you haven’t heard the first three singles off of his upcoming record, Die Midwestern, I suggest you put on your figurative “Walking Shoes” and head on over to whatever platform you procure your music on and drift away on the seas of melancholy with Captain Arlo. Perhaps as you ride the waves, you’ll find the kind of “Paradise” his mentor, the late John Prine, wrote about within the melodies he sings…

Coming in hot off of his recent signing with Oh Boy Records, the brainchild of Prine himself, McKinley is set to debut quite the fantastic solo release next month. His self-titled debut record with The Lonesome Sound continues to receive high accolades among the indie community and is steadily broadening his horizons in music circles across the country, such as with a recent livestream performance for The Boot, a music blog focusing largely on Nashville markets. It is quite the feat to be signed to a label by Prine, and highly evident of his musical prowess, as Prine was notably difficult to impress. Previously, it felt as if McKinley was one of the hidden crown jewels of the indie underground/Appalachian scene, but now the world is taking note—and for good reason. While his upcoming record possesses a track listing including songs many longtime fans are already familiar with, such as “Bag of Pills” and “We Were Alright,” along with a few others—which I am personally excited to finally hear the studio versions of—there is also a wealth of new material to fall in love with. Not surprisingly, the first three tracks off Die Midwestern have not disappointed and received high praise from critics. With McKinley’s sweet, soulful voice infused with notes of the gospel of heartache, listeners need to prepare to have a musical revival of sorts when diving into this album. His trademark sound of country heavy laden with notes of soul and twinges of punk can be heard woven throughout all the songs, and it works so well.

Beginning with an almost eerie acapella performance, McKinley laces up his “Walking Shoes” in the first single released off the record in preparation to make you pause and ruminate over the stark honesty in his lyrics. In this tune, the character is walking away from a person he cares for, albeit in a bad relationship, in order to rebuild bridges he’s burned due to his shortcomings and seek forgiveness. He’s musing over a life hard lived and the consequences he must live with due to a series of poor choices. It’s truly an introspective tune, and one most can relate to in some way. Whether its drugs, alcohol, love, or other addictions we battle, everyone has something they’re not proud of and at some point in life has had to leave people, places, and things behind along the journey of healing and settling scores with those we’ve wronged—including ourselves. The promise of home “where there’s still plenty of room to make it better without ever hurting anyone” is one of the shining moments in the song, as there’s hope to be found in redemption, and it’s always available if only we wise up and seek it. The dichotomy present in all of McKinley’s songs with almost mournful, yet beautiful tunes paired with difficult topics is his signature—and he does it so well. “Walking Shoes” is no exception, and it is quite possibly my favorite Arlo McKinley song to date.

Along the same lyrical lines of “Walking Shoes,” the title track, “Die Midwestern,” possesses that notable sound that fans are familiar with. Per usual, it’s a sad song, yet is one juxtaposed with a bit of an upbeat melody as if it’s aim is to get you in the groove to go. The quintessential tale of love gone wrong with one left behind, this tune could be an ode to moving on, even if the heartache is packed in the suitcase amongst other possessions taken as you leave. As he croons “I’ve been thinking that I should go, But if I don’t leave now, Then I’m never gonna leave Ohio, Lord, and that’s a chance that I just can’t take,” I feel as if he’s been in my head hearing my thoughts and transposing them into heartfelt melodies. The fear of being stagnant and dying where he is radiates through the lyrics, and the words expose one of my biggest reasons for staying on the go and constantly leaving Alabama in my rearview. McKinley has a knack for seeing through the false facades that I, and many others, put up with his songwriting and it hurts so good. Despite the disruption in the character’s relationship, by the end of the song it takes a turn, as he moves from singing “I” statements to “We” statements. Perhaps if the lovers move on together, there’s a chance after all? Or, perhaps if you avoid taking the song at face value and dig deeper to attempt another interpretation, you’ll see that it could be a nod to a place, rather than a person, about the love/hate relationship with Ohio and the addiction issues that run rampant in a particular geographical area, and the desire to leave it behind before he finds more loved ones, or even himself, succumb to the troubles grown in Midwestern soil. Home will always be home, but sometimes, even if it hurts to leave, it does more damage than good. In true Arlo fashion, the song can take on whatever life you need it to in order to help you through.

“Gone for Good” is the most recent single to be released off the record and it’s certainly a star in its own right. Sonically, this track is a bit different than the previous two singles, though it is lyrically one of his finest songs ever written. The title is telling, and it’s not a difficult task to surmise what the song is about; however, McKinley paints such a heartbreaking picture with his words that you’ll surely be in your feelings by songs’ end. Instantly, the lyric that stuck out to me less than thirty seconds into the song was “Your name is on my finger, where a wedding band could be.” Total punch to the gut and attack to the heart, and I was in love with the tune already. What a poetic, forlorn way to summarize a failed relationship! As he croons in the chorus “I know I’m gonna wake up in a puddle of my tears, Forced to realize you’re gone for good, I’m sorry that I stole from you so many of those years, I swear I’d give them back, girl, if I could, I’m forced to realize you’re gone for good,” you can feel the intense heartache caused by the character’s toxicity and the honest pain in his realizations. One of the most difficult, yet most fulfilling things we can learn to do as humans is to sit with ourselves in the darkness and become self-aware, and that is a concept that McKinley has mastered in his music time and time again.

Whether he is writing his own stories or simply bemusing those of human nature, McKinley has a keen talent for expressing the hard topics that need to be heard, felt, and ultimately internalized and processed. “Gone for Good,” as well as “Walking Shoes” and “Die Midwestern,” are prime examples of that notion. Take a ride on those seas of melancholy with Captain Arlo and truly listen to the songs, take them in, and dig deep inside yourself to heal or do whatever you need to. Just let the music lead the way and touch you how it needs to. The late John Prine was one of music’s finest writers and storytellers whose influence spanned generations, and Arlo McKinley is certainly making a name for himself to follow in Prine’s footsteps. It’s easy to see why Prine would want McKinley on his record label, and after you listen to everything he has to offer, you’ll see it, too.

Currently, the record can be pre-ordered at https://www.ohboy.com/arlo-mckinley-store and according to a recent Facebook post, they will all be signed by McKinley himself. Speaking of social medias, you can find him online at Arlo McKinley on Facebook and @arlomckinley on Instagram and Twitter to keep up with all news concerning the record release. Y’all be sure to go give it a listen—meanwhile, I’ll be drowning my sorrows in his music until “The Hurtin’s Done.”

Peace, love, & music,

Lyssa

—————————

*This is an independent review. The Hillbilly Hippie Music Review was not compensated for this review.

*The opinions expressed are solely that of the author(s).

*These images are not ours, nor do we claim them in any way. They are copyrighted Arlo McKinley and Oh Boy Records.

[blazehedgehog]

With the recent EGX demo and the reception it's got from fans and critics, do you think there's reason to worry, at least for the Switch version and, since I can't think of a way to put it nicely, has the overly defensive tone some fans taken towards critics who've played the game, or even criticized it, been just or unjust? I know Sonic has this maligned reputation with game journos, but it's not like every person who's been critical are haters looking to take Sonic down.

I think a lot of Sonic fans wear some very deep scars. Many have stuck it out through some pretty dark times, myself included. You learn to put up some pretty strong defenses. You make it easy for yourself to dismiss opinions that don’t line up with what you want of expect. “IGN never knew what they were talking about, so why trust what they have to say about Sonic?”

Plus, there’s a very weird growing distrust of games media right now. It started with Gamergate, I guess. It goes without saying, but GG was an awful hate group actively centered around misogyny (or worse), and it’s a shame how many people did not realize that immediately. But that’s the thing: GG tapped into something that was also real. It did so purely by accident; under the surface, Gamergate was nothing more than an ex-boyfriend getting revenge for being slighted by his lover, and it snowballed out of control into something some are calling the new culture wars, and we’re still feeling its effects today.

But part of the reason GG originally gained momentum in the first place is because there’s an underlying distrust of any and every major games media outlet. Kotaku sucks, Polygon sucks, Destructoid sucks, Giantbomb sucks, GameSpot sucks, IGN sucks, Game Informer sucks, CVG sucks, Famitsu sucks, EGM sucked, 1UP sucked, GamePro sucked, Gamefan sucked, PLAY Magazine sucked, GameSpy sucked. Trust no one. The truth is out there. GG connected to those people who were basically waiting for any kind of “game press injustice” to rally behind, because they essentially hated all of the industry’s biggest, most important names.

Where does that come from? I mean, I guess, at least for me, is that once these places lose my trust, it’s basically impossible for it to be regained. And every outlet, at least once in their careers, has a moment that betrays that trust. Where personal interests or even financial interests outstrip the reader’s interests. Trust is so valuable and so fragile that even a single bad editor can spoil a site forever. Even if that person gets fired, the damage they caused can haunt the site’s brand basically forever. Why would I trust IGN? Hilary Goldstein worked there. I think I disagreed with everything that man ever wrote. Why would I trust Polygon? Ben Kuchera writes for them. He said Mario Kart 8 would be the worst selling Mario Kart of all time, when it was probably the single biggest sales driver for the Wii U until Zelda came along. And so on.

This isn’t even touching stuff like Kotaku’s advertising, where they dedicate whole weeks of coverage to a single game because they are paid to do so, which always ends on a glittering review. Even if the review is written honestly, the frame around it places doubt on and hurts that honesty, which above all else should be protected first and foremost.

And I think the thing that really crystallizes all of this is that once an outlet has this happen to them, where they betray someone’s trust, they never, ever, EVER make even a single iota of effort to rebuild that trust. They move on, they bury it, and it’s just assumed that the person yelling in the comments about bias is just “another crazy fanboy.” It turns into this kind of war – the scorned fan in the comments section who obviously still likes the site enough to hang around versus the person employed by the site parroting a “never read the comments” mantra while also repeatedly insulting the very same people they’ve scorned (actually some of their most dedicated fans) just for cheap laughs.

And so the fanboy’s bitterness grows. Salt in an open wound that never really heals.

It’s turning into a serious problem. Maybe there’s no turning back now. It’s that moment in the opening scene of Pixar’s The Incredibles where (spoilers until the end of this paragraph) Mr. Incredible stops the bank robber but the kid, Buddy, gets in the way. Mr. Incredible scolds him for it, and we as the audience think, “That’s right, the kid shouldn’t be there.” Rejected by his hero, Buddy then grows up to become a super villain, channeling that bitterness into a force to kill Mr. Incredible and permanently destroy his entire culture.

“Little guys” like Videogamedunkey, with nearly 4 million Youtube subscribers, are being treated as the new voice of the people. Dunkey has actively attacked what he called “limp dick game journalists” for not doing what he thinks is their job. Dunkey makes some good points against these journalists, even if he does cross some lines, but overall, the message he’s sending is that sympathy for traditional game press has run out. And Dunkey will probably not be the last big name to launch a direct attack against these establishments. They grew up reading these outlets, got burned by some type of distrust, and were constantly told their feelings of betrayal didn’t matter. And now, as these big establishments begin to show signs of weakness in the face of individuals on Youtube, guys like Dunkey are throwing all of that stored up bitterness right back in their faces. As it turns out, not every betrayed fan in the comments section will remain a faceless raging nobody forever. You might not be reading the comments section, but the comments section reads you.

Anyway, getting back to your original message, do I think some people are going overboard with their Sonic Forces hatred? Maybe. Also tying back into what I was just talking about, there is a tendency on the internet to go overboard. With so many voices speaking in unison, in order to be heard, you have to speak REALLY loudly. It’s not enough to simply communicate with friends, some people are competing for reblogs, retweets, likes, thumbs and favs. The loudest, rudest fan is just trying to be heard above the background noise. That’s why you’ve seen this trend, time and time again, where a person will meet their biggest internet heckler in person and they turn out to be nothing. Some of them just want to be acknowledged. So yeah, there are definitely people out there trying to be as loud as possible, hoping somebody will listen to them.

But here’s the deal: I’m not one of those people, and I think there’s a lot about Sonic Forces that’s worrying. As worrying if not more than Sonic Lost World was. It definitely doesn’t look like the successor to Sonic Generations people were hoping for. From what they’ve shown us, I think this looks pretty blatantly like another game where Sonic Team is flying blind and hoping they can stick the landing. I don’t blame anyone who thinks they won’t.

#questions #sonic the hedgehog #sega #sonic team #game journalism #gamergate #dunkey #videogamedunkey #youtube #kotaku #polygon #Anonymous

[therighteousdingo]

Game Review: Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories (PS1)

So, as of the last few weeks, I’ve been going back and buying all the old PlayStation games that I grew up with and rebuilding the collection I used to have as a child, while I build a new collection of vintage games in the process. One of the bigger games that stands out on this list, is Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories. My best friend Kaire and I were huge fans of Yu-Gi-Oh growing up and this game was kind of the proving grounds for us. We burned hours grinding through duels to get the strongest cards, plowing through the campaign in certain ways so we can unlock certain sequences and even messing around with different monsters just so we can see them in action during the animated fighting scenario that you can activate when attacking during a duel. No matter what, in the end, it was all about the cards. Starting off with little to nothing and moving up to get our hands on the likes of Blue Eyes White Dragon, Meteor Black Dragon and even the Gate Guardian. But lets get this thing on the road.

The basic facts:

There’s really not too many to place here besides the super basic stuff like the release dates and some small trivial facts.

Released in 2002 in North America but released in 1999 in Japan, a relatively large gap.

The game was released in a dual-CD packaging yet only came with the one game disc. A reason for this is unknown, but I always used it to store a page with fusions written on it to remember them when I first purchased the game and was getting used to the fuse mechanics that I’ll go over later on in this review.

This one isn’t 100% fact, but I have realized over the years that the game is only vaguely based on the anime and manga of the show.

The gameplay:

Now here’s where things get interesting, so I’m gonna be covering the controls, mechanics and the other miscellaneous stuff that’s attributed to the game. To start off with a big one, the Fusion Mechanic. Now as I stated earlier, the game is only loosely based on the anime and whatnot so the basic stuff about Yu-Gi-Oh that we all may remember, is just tossed in the air, for instance, sacrifices; there aren’t any. If you have a 3000/2500 Blue Eyes White Dragon in your hand, you can just throw that monstrous sucker straight from your hand to the field much to your opponent’s avail. Now, to balance this system, they added this mechanic where you can fuse the creatures in your hand, rather half-assed, and create an even stronger monster. For example, a weak dragon, mixed with a thunder creature creates Thunder Dragon but if you add another thunder creature or another dragon, you wind up with Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon which is 2800ATK (I don’t really remember the defense, 2300 maybe?) and is pretty much your key advantage right off the bat once you start the game. Now the thing with fusing is, although some stuff is incredibly easy to fuse and come up with, some stuff just completely throws you for a loop for no reason, wasting the cards you were attempting in the fusion (oh yeah that’s a thing, if you’re unsuccessful with a fusion, the cards are just tossed away), which can be frustrating but isn’t that bad of a complaint since there’s a Free Duel option that allows you to freely duel, win or lose, against whoever you’ve played in the campaign allowing for trial and error which is definitely whats needed in order to master the fusion system. With this being in place, they start you off staggeringly weak but chock full of cards that give simple, quick fusions, so at least the game comfortably sets you into the system to quickly allow for you to learn it. 

The campaign is utterly straightforward. There’s the option to choose alternate dialogues sometimes, but these are rendered essentially useless considering the story unfolds in the same manner regardless of what option you chose. There’s even a moment very early on in the game where you’re set against Heishin, the primary antagonist of the game, but the game literally cannot progress unless he beats you. Granted, his deck is freakishly strong, to the point where his base cards are the fusion of fusions, if that makes sense, but if you luck out and manage to beat him (Kaire did this once but it was kind of on a fluke, nonetheless we freaked out considering we were about 10) the game doesn’t progress and Heishin gives a stock dialogue along the lines of “Agh! This can’t be! Again!” and you’re shoved right back into a duel with him and the game won’t move unless he beats you. I’d quickly like to point out that yes, every instance that’s life and death or will decide the fate of the world, is decided over a duel, but I digress. Eventually you get to play as the “modern” Yugi, playing against the antagonists from the show in a random tournament. Facing Rex Raptor, Bandit Keith, Mai Valentine, and even Pegasus, you wind up back in the past as the Pharaoh’s son facing Heishin and his cronies. You have to wander around and face mages in separate temples, each one correlating with a different type and deck (Meadow, Forest, Desert, Mountain, etc.) forcing you to be versatile in your deck building skills. Each mage has different, powerful cards that they can give up when dueled in the free duel option. All of this boils down to a duel against Heishin and then eventually his higherup, Nitemare, the game’s final boss. Its dueling, dueling, dueling. Not much more.

The Looks / Music:

The normal sequences of the game, in which you pick dialogue and such, are incredibly basic, to get the job done, The bottom half of the screen gives dialogue while the top half gives you a torso shot of the character speaking. This does have the potential to kill intense moments that they attempt to get across such as Simon Muran, your caretaker in the game, telling you that the High Mage Heishin has just killed your parents and that hes taking over the entire region and oh yeah, we’re about to have to hide in this millennium puzzle for about a thousand years, yay. It just doesn’t give tension whatsoever. The music continues as ever with the scene, which is normally just regular, tribal style music that bops, and they don’t have any staunch facial movements, leaving you reading it with a slight, boorish take back. So, the story is incredibly difficult to get into on a personal or emotional level like so many other games have done just before, but that doesn’t necessarily kill the vibe of the game; its a boat load of dueling, man. There’s an option for battle sequences while you’re in the middle of the duel, which is useless in the long run, but is a cool addition to both present the power of the PlayStation and see the different monsters in the game use their different attacks. It feels good to see your Red Eyes Black Dragon blast your friend’s Baby Dragon into oblivion, now that I think about it. That’s really the only instance in which the looks are truly presented and beyond that, its basic dueling (is that getting too old to keep saying?).

Now the music, oh man, the music. Its pretty fantastic. There’s a few instances where the only mood enhancer for the entire scene is the music, its almost overpoweringly “soundtrack”. To listen to them by themselves isn’t as enjoyable as the Sonic soundtrack, for example, but its fitting for the game. The dueling music is moving and bouncy and goes with the fluidity of the dueling nicely. There’s even a cool sound that goes with the fusions of cards while they fuse and swirl. A good portion of the soundtrack for the game is entirely electronic sounding, and some even bearing a resemblance to European house music, which blows my mind; its freakin’ Yu-Gi-Oh.

The Cons:

What in the hell is up with the Guardian Stars system? Anyone whose played the game will most likely side with me when I say that this system is a wonderful idea and addition to the game but is confusingly laid out and sometimes mind numbing to decipher. The system is pretty much a temporary powerup system that plays out while dueling, giving the monster in the appropriate standing a +500 boost to AT and DF. So, for instance, fire is weak against water, right? Well is Mars weak against Neptune? Because that’s how the types and guardian stars are presented. Monsters have a choice of 2 guardian stars, which are all named after Roman gods, and some are easy to decipher; Flame Swordsman is Mars and I can’t remember the other, but that means that Mars is obviously resembling fire. This takes a whiiiiiiiiiiiile to get the hang of. Nothing is more frustrating than randomly losing an entire duel when a one-on-one goes against you because the computer knew the Guardian Star advantage and you didn’t. They could’ve simply put the type names in the system and named is something else to ease the confusion of system buts that’s retrospective. 

The other big one that I can point out is the grinding. When defeating somebody, the game gives you a card depending on a load of variables from the person you defeated, to the way you defeated them, and sometimes, how many times you’ve defeated them consecutively. When you defeat them using a lot of stronger monsters, or simply over power them, you get a POW win, which is essentially a “power” win. There’s other ways to win like TEC which is “technical”, and is difficult to do, but sometimes necessary in order to get certain cards from duelists, you have to win in other instances like, winning by your opponent drawing their entire deck. This can wind up in you dueling a certain duelist for hours just to get one card. I’ve dueled “Jono 2nd” over 60 times (W51-L9) and still haven’t received his ONE power card: Red Eyes Black Dragon. However, I’ve dueled the Meadow Mage just under 40 times and have received 3 out of his 5 stronger cards. That’s 2 duelists and roughly 4 hours later and have only progressed around 20% of the game, so you better hunker down.

This game was a pretty damn good choice when I was deciding to get the games of my past and rebuild my collection. I’ve burned more than 10 hours and will easily burn through more. But to look at is as a game altogether in comparison to other games and not with my childhood bias, 

6.5 / 10

#Video Game Review #Games #Game Review #Reviews #Yu Gi Oh #Forbidden Memories #Konami #Childhood #Nostalgia #Dark Magician #Blue Eyes White Dragon #Red Eyes Black Dragon #Yu-Gi-Oh #PlayStation #Sony #SCEA #Japan #Yugi

[cuddlesnowy]

Sonic and Tails in Castle Eggman Zone - Act 5

In the final installment of this adventure, our heroes are trapped in a confrontation with Dr. Robotnik himself! Can they escape the castle in time, or must every good Zone end with a boss fight? Read the gripping finale after...you guessed it....the jump.

Act 5

 Sure enough, moments after these words had left Sonic’s mouth; Dr. Robotnik strode into the room, looking incredibly pleased with himself.

“That was just too easy! Everything’s gone egg-sactly to plan!”

Sonic began squirming uncomfortably within the guard’s grip.

“Alright, you can do what you want to us, but please don’t start with the egg puns!”

Robotnik winced a little, not wanting his moment in the spotlight interrupted.

“Puns or no puns, Sonic, you and your little fox friend are trapped and your fun ends here!” Sonic stopped struggling, instead going with the flow. He was very used to the doctor’s dramatic speeches.

“Yeah, yeah, you caught me. But what’s with the whole castle thing? Even for one of your traps, this is weird!”

A big grin appeared below Robotnik’s moustache, “So, it’s exposition you want? Well that’s just what you’re about to get!”

“Hang tight, Tails,” said Sonic under his breath “this next paragraph is gonna be a long one…”

Robotnik cleared his throat and begun,

“You see, I’m sick and tired of always having my plans thwarted and my bases destroyed, it starts to get a little costly having to re-scheme and rebuild all the time, you know. It was high time to up my defences, and what better defence than a castle? If it’s disguised and out of the way, no-one can bother me while I get on with my work, and on the offhand chance someone does stumble in, well, my dastardly decoys and traps will soon take care of that! And just like that, my plans are safe from any meddlesome freedom fighters like you two! Perhaps I should have kept that last part under wraps, but there’s nothing you can do to stop me now, for your little castle tour is over! GUARDS! TAKE THEM AWAY! ….Heh, I’ve always wanted to say that!”

           “So much for trying to stall for time,” said an irritated Sonic, trying to break loose the bars of the cell he was now trapped inside. “At least it’s a better view than the dungeon, but still not my idea of comfort!” The cell door was guarded by another robot that didn’t seem to be keeping too close an eye on them, but still made any attempts to escape seem rather futile. Sonic and Tails had spent the last few minutes pulling at, spinning at and poking limbs through the jail bars and no new ideas had come to light. That was until Tails tapped Sonic on the shoulder. When the blue hedgehog turned, he saw his friend with a big smile on his face and brandishing a familiar sword.

“Tails, you’re on fire today!” cheered Sonic, once again impressed by the small fox’s resourcefulness. The blade slipped through the bars with ease, and within a few moments, Tails was able to slash at the lock, sending it clattering to the ground.

“Wuh-oh!” said Tails. The noise had alerted the guard who had turned to face them wielding a large lance.

“Leave this one to me!” Sonic called out, swinging the prison door aside. He speedily dodged all of the robot’s jabbing motions, and although its large shield made spinning into it a problem, a quick spin jump on the head soon put the knight out of commission.

“Just one more thing…” he added, taking Tails’ sword and lobbing it at a “hidden” camera in the corner, “Now Eggman can’t watch us break outta this joint!”

           The two had made their way back into the main hall and without Robotnik anywhere in sight they felt free to take their time. Tails watched on as Sonic paced up and down, a puzzled expression on his face.

“There’s just one thing I don’t get. If Robotnik really does keep his evil plans here, then how come we haven’t found them yet? We saw every nook and cranny of those dungeons, and nadda!”

“Do you think we have time for one more look?” asked Tails, ascending above the ground and circling the room. But it didn’t take very long for Tails’ tails to stop spinning, and quicker than usual, Tails descended back down, exhausted. Considering they had originally entered for shelter, it was no surprise really that this night was beginning to take its toll. Tails recalled their introduction to the castle and how they weren’t able to get anything from the banquet, let alone have a moment’s rest. It wasn’t just him. When Tails looked at Sonic, he could see it in his friend’s eyes. For once, Sonic was tired out too.

“On second thought,” he decided “Maybe we should take it easy for a few minutes…”

Sonic agreed, and after checking the coast was clear, he lead the way to the sleeping quarters. It was why they came here after all, and even if the situation wasn’t safe enough to sneak in some shut eye, the least they could do was put their feet up for a minute while Robotnik’s guard was down. Tails pointed to a small, yet welcoming room. A lit torch filled it with a warm glow, revealing a large double bed. Sonic, who hadn’t had the pleasure of trying out one of the castle bedrooms yet, took first dibs and dived onto the mattress. It seemed cosy enough, bar a strange crinkling noise from under the pillow. Feeling this was off; he jumped back onto his feet and fished something out from underneath. He emerged holding a roll of blueprint paper, which he immediately unfurled and presented to Tails.

“Talk about an anticlimax! He builds an entire castle fortress, and then goes and hides his secret plans under his pillow! Ha!” While Sonic couldn’t help but be amused at this turn of events, it was clear what had to be done next. There was no more time for lounging about, just to keep hold of the plan and get out of there! If they could slip away and decipher the blueprints, they could beat Robotnik at his game and put a stop to his next evil scheme before it was even in motion.

           With a single nod as their signal, Sonic and Tails sprinted out of the room and towards the entrance. Just before they reached their goal, the front doors slammed shut loudly.

“It’s no good, they’re locked!” cried Tails, pushing against them with all his might. It was clear that Robotnik wasn’t going to let them go that easily. Sonic grinned, all traces of tiredness now wiped from his face. The adrenaline of finding the plans was just the sort of energy he needed, and just the sort he liked.

“If Robotnik wants us to fight to the finish, it’s a fight he’s gonna get!” So far, Sonic had admittedly not been taking the adventure that seriously, but things had just got interesting. He turned to Tails and winked,

“Whaddya say? You up for an exciting quest?”

“Aye, Sir Hedgehog! Tis a most splendid adventure!”

“Okay, Tails, no more of that fancy talk!” insisted Sonic. Tails nodded, and the two set off again in the opposite direction.

           If the front exit was blocked off, the next step was to head to the back. Sonic bolted down corridors, tearing through any badnik which would get in his way, and Tails followed closely behind, helping out where he could. It wasn’t long before they reached the back door and the two skidded to a halt in the courtyard. They stood and inspected their surroundings. It was good to be back on grass again, but there didn’t seem to be any way out of the castle grounds from here. Castle walls lined with colourful flags formed a circle around the large patch of land and the few archways leading out were barred off. Raised above them were long rows of seating which on closer inspection were filled with onlooking robots. It was as though they had walked in on some sort of arena. But before they could turn back, their view darkened as an enormous shadow lingered over their heads, followed by an almighty roar. Looking above, Sonic and Tails saw an enormous dragon shaped figure descending. Of course, like everything else they had encountered, it was a fake, the engineering work of Dr. Eggman, but it was still an impressive and powerful looking beast, and no doubt the castle’s final trap. But what was an adventure without a battle to finish it off?

“We’re going on a dragon hunt!” called Sonic.

“We’re not scared!” replied Tails, as the two faced towards the now landed dragon, ready for action.

           No sooner than they had poised for attack, a stream of fire emitted from the dragon’s mouth, and Sonic and Tails were forced to dive in opposite directions to avoid getting hit. Sticking together during the fight was going to be tough work. As soon as the two could see each other again past the fire, they signalled each other with a serious nod and prepared for attack once more. Their synchronised spin jump was poorly timed however, as before they could make contact, the dragon took off again, leaving them to abruptly land, skidding to a halt along the ground to stop themselves overbalancing. Sonic frowned for a moment, before realising that he had flight on his side too.  

“Hey Tails,” he called out to his buddy, “Use your tails to take out the wings! I’ll deal with the flames!” Tails whirled up his two tails like a helicopter rotor and flew upwards after the dragon. His tails were moving at such a speed that whenever they made contact with the wings there was a loud scraping noise as sparks flew.

“I think it’s working!” Tails squeaked, barely making his voice heard over the noise. If he kept at it, the wings would soon be weakened enough to keep the dragon earthbound. Sonic meanwhile, was concentrating on his own safety, dodging and weaving past flames, which he soon noticed were being fired from a flamethrower within the “creature’s” mouth. As he jumped and ran, he could see the ground around him getting scorched, singeing the once green grass. He did not want to get caught up in those flames! While he was trying to figure out the best way of taking the weapon out, there was an almighty crash as the dragon came hurtling down to the ground, its wings now tattered and smoking and its means of flight now gone. Sonic jolted out of the way just in time and spotted Tails making a safe descent by the back legs.

“I did it-WAAAAH!” Before Tails could finish his sentence, a large green tail had attempted to hit him from behind. Jumping over it like a skipping rope, he managed to avoid the hit, only he was now the one behind. The tail swung back for a frontal hit, and Tails, barely able to register the first attack yet, wasn’t so lucky this time. He clutched hold of the robotic tail as it made contact so as not to be knocked down by its force, only this made the situation worse. The tail kept on moving with Tails attached, and the fox was left clinging on to it helplessly, trying not to fall. This feat was made harder by the fact that the dragon’s tail was swinging about viciously, attempting to fling him off into the castle’s walls. It was like a particularly intense game of bucking bronco.

“Sooniic! Heelp!” he cried out, already feeling dizzy.

“Hang on, Tails!” replied Sonic.

“I am!”

Sonic knew he had to get to the other side to get to Tails, but there was still the problem of the flames. Now, if there was one thing Sonic was good at judging, it was speed, and he could tell this dragon was not built for speed. He jumped up on the steps for maximum manoeuvrability and began to head towards Tails. Unfortunately, he was spotted, and the dragon began turning too, spewing out flames as it moved, forcing Sonic to run laps around the colosseum.

“Sorry about this, Tails!” he called out, imagining how hard the addition of circular movements must be on his friend. Sonic was right, however, the dragon was no match for his speed, and no matter how much it moved, the fire breath never caught up with the speedy hedgehog. Instead, when Sonic looked back, he saw that the flames had instead been accidentally taking out the robot bystanders, several of which were now in ruin.

“Aaugh! My beautiful bots, battered and broken!” called out a familiar voice. Sonic stopped and looked down at the dragon. Dr. Robotnik had just revealed his location! Sonic threw himself off the raised stairs, curling himself into a ball as he did so, and aimed for a crash collision course with the dragon’s chest. As he rammed into his target, Sonic kept spinning until a plate of green, scaly metal came off, revealing a window underneath. Inside, a rather frantic looking Robotnik was at a control panel, its various buttons, switches and leavers controlling the beast’s functions. He was surrounded by monitors displaying a feed of the surroundings.

The sudden damage to his vehicle had taken him by surprise, and he momentarily lost track of the tail’s control, leaving it to fall limp and drop Tails. It didn’t take long for Robotnik to recover however, and soon he was in full control again, grinning menacingly at Sonic.

“I’ll get you yet, hedgehog!”

The flamethrower started back up again at full force. Only now the arena had seen a lot of damage, leaving there less room to manoeuvre. Sonic had an idea. This could be used to his advantage.

“How’s your football skills, Tails?”

This wasn’t exactly the sort of question Tails, who was still recovering from the dragon ride, wanted to hear. He held his head and shut his eyes tight for a moment in hopes of getting his bearings back quicker. Sonic was going to need his co-ordination skills to be top notch.

“You see that rock in front of you? Pass it to me!” Sonic was pointing to a piece of rubble that has crumbled off the stairs earlier. Tails gave the thumbs up, and kicked the rock towards Sonic. He wasn’t sure if he was just strong enough to take it or if Robotnik had simply cheaped out on the stone, but thankfully doing so didn’t injure Tails’ foot. It was Sonic’s turn now, and going in for a running kick, he sent the rock flying.

“GOOOAL!” Sonic cheered, throwing his hands up in the air. The rock, as intended, had jammed up the flamethrower, which was now unusable. Robotnik slammed his fists down on the console in frustration. Not only had he been made vulnerable, but now his primary means of attack had gone.

            With Sonic and Tails back together and Robotnik almost powerless, it was time to finish this mecha dragon once and for all!

“Let’s do it, Sonic!” suggested Tails, confidentially. Now that the inner mechanisms were exposed, their synchronised spin jump wasn’t going to fail. The two leapt up for the final hits.

SMACK!

It worked. The mech began glowing red and smoking, vibrating heavily as it did so. There was no way it was in action anymore. Even above the sound of failing mechanics, Robotnik’s tantrum could be heard.

“I don’t believe it! I-I won’t! All of my traps! My castle! All for nothing! Why can’t I ever have nice things?!”

The source of the glowing became clear as the dragon went up in flames. Destroying a mech with fire attacks was going to have an explosive result. A moment later something burst out from inside. It was Robotnik in his egg-mobile, the dragon control panel still present.

“Too bad you’re too slow to prevent my impending escape! Mua ha ha ha!” The Egg-mobile rose upwards and began to leave the castle grounds. No matter how heated up their battles got, Robotnik always seemed to get away at the last minute. Tails began to run in hope of somehow catching up, but Sonic stopped him. Not only was their foe too far ahead, but the dragon fire was spreading rapidly. Soon the whole arena would be up in flames. It was simply too hazardous to stick around.

“We’ll just have to let Eggman one up us…as usual!” said Sonic, turning back indoors.

“Besides, we still have his plans!” piped in Tails in a sing song-y voice. As long as they could successfully escape the castle, all was not lost.

           It wasn’t long before the two had made it back across the castle to the front entrance. Unfortunately, nothing had changed from before, and the front door was still sealed shut.

“What now?” asked Tails. Even without Robotnik’s presence, he’d still managed to make things difficult. Sonic shrugged. There had to be some other way out. The question was where? It was then Tails spotted something he’d missed before. Along the far side of the floor, a single, open drain exposing water ran across the floor.

“Follow me!” Tails took the lead as he followed the water from room to room until he finally got results - the castle drainage room, where the drain became wider and deeper. It lead to a small gap which when Tails looked closely; he could see the outdoors through.

“It’s the way out!” he decided, before turning to Sonic. Sonic wasn’t smiling. Some of that bravado which he had before was now lost. If there had to be just one exit left, why did it have to be via the castle moat?

           It had been quite the underwater trek, and Tails airlifted Sonic out of the moat and towards land. The two were both soaking and dripping. Tails was feeling good. For such a strange adventure, he thought he had been particularly brave. As he stood on the grass and watched the sun rise, his excitement for all they had been through and achieved didn’t wane.

“What should we do now Sonic? Should we run back to my workshop and try to decode the blueprints? Maybe we could have a race back!”

Sonic gave a weak smile back, appreciative of Tails’ enthusiasm, but unable to give much in reply.

“Whoa there, lil’ buddy! It’s been a busy night. Whatever happened to hitting the hay?” Tails looked closer at this friend, wet and shivering from the cold. As the two made their way back into the woodlands, he couldn’t help but wonder; had Sonic actually been scared back there? Surely not! After all, he was the most noble (and the coolest) hero of the land!

 Zone Clear

#art post #fanfic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sonic and tails #tails #Miles Tails Prower #srb2 #sonic robo blast 2 #storybook #castle #dragon #Eggman #Robotnik #gecky #Thank you for reading! #Especially if you put up with all the cheesy serial stuff at the beginning of each post ;)

[geekade]

The Descent Into Madness

Have you ever been in a rocky relationship? Embroiled in a mess break up? Caught in a vicious love triangle and think, “How did we get here?” More often than not, the answer to that question is a sticky one that probably goes back much further than recent memory can offer. I find myself in a very similar predicament when I look at the New York Knicks. While I have no great love for the Knicks, it’s not hard to recognize New York as a great basketball city or identify its fans as some of the most passionate and loyal in the league. For New York, it’s almost unthinkable that their marquee franchise can be mired in a second decade of terrible management and leadership that ultimately led to former Knick great Charles Oakley being ejected from Madison Square Garden in handcuffs last week. (More on that event to come). So how did we get here? It was a strange event for sure, but when you add it to the end of an equally bizarre timeline, sometimes all you can think is “Thank the Lord that’s not my team.”

Let’s start after hall of famer Patrick Ewing was traded to Seattle in 2000 (Why are we now deprived of a pro sports team named the Super Sonics? *sigh*). Shortly thereafter in 2001, we have our first unusual event featuring Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy. Van Gundy led the Knicks to the NBA Finals in ’99, but in 2001 he unexpectedly resigned indicating that he was “losing focus,” and stepped down. Perhaps Van Gundy had some premonitions about the future of the organization. However, I’d be remiss to not bring up an incident from a game that season versus the Spurs. In this game, Knick Marcus Camby took a cheap shot from Spur Danny Ferry. While pleading his case to the ref, Camby absolutely lost it and went after Ferry with a savage overhead haymaker that completely whiffed. Camby did however, successfully head butt Van Gundy. Enjoy. 

Boom. 2001 season, first year the Knicks missed the playoffs since 1986. When you make the post season for 15 years, and suddenly, you might be bad, organizations respond differently. Some go into rebuild mode, call it Plan A, take their lumps, and come back later with solid team ready to make a run. The other option is Plan B, try and sign injury risk veterans to bad contracts (Antonio McDyess), resign underperforming players to contracts that would hobble an organization for years, ruin your chances at the draft lottery and frustrate your fan base, all for a shot to scrap into the playoffs. Now, what do you suppose the Knicks do?

In 2003 the party really gets started when the Knicks name Isiah Thomas Team President. Thomas brings on the legendary Lenny Wilkens to coach the team, and orchestrates a trade that brings in Stephon Marbury. Plan B works like a charm. The Knicks make the playoffs and are promptly swept in the first round by the Nets.

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. After a rocky start in 2004, Coach Lenny Wilkens resigns. Sound familiar? At least it didn’t take a blow to the head to prompt it. Predictably the Knicks miss the playoffs. Thomas, still trying to keep the obviously dying Knicks on life support, brings in universally respected coach Larry Brown, and makes of ton of plan B type moves trading for marginal centers with unprotected, what turn out to be, lottery picks. CBS ranks this as the second worst Knick trade of all time: the Knicks complete a trade for Eddy Curry, sending the Bulls the Knicks 2006 first round draft pick, the 2007 and 2009 second round picks, and the right to swap first round picks in 2007. Curry posted one good year for the Knicks in 2006-07, averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds per, and none of those picks were protected in anyway. This is the type of move that can cripple a team for years. The only reason this is the second worst Knick trade, is because the shipment of Ewing out of town needs to be sentimentally atop that totem pole of awful. The Knicks ended the 2005 season with a league worst 23-59, (you’d love to have that lottery pick right? The Bulls use what turned out to be the 2nd pick in the draft to take 5 time all-star LaMarcus Aldridge) they fired Coach Larry Brown, and were forced to eat $18.5 million of his salary in the process.

Now, with a coaching vacancy facing the 2006 season, who would be one of the wackiest candidates to fill the void? That’s right, team President Isiah Thomas! In 2007, after another abysmal season, we took it up a notch when Thomas was slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit. Both Thomas and Madison Square Garden were found to be liable and MSG had to cough up $11 million in damages. Are we crazy yet? Knick fans were getting there, and with “Fire Isiah” chants cascading from the rafters, on 11/29/07 the Knicks ate an epic punishment at the hands of the rival Celtics, losing 104-59.

In April of 2008, Thomas was relieved of his role as President, and by the end of May he was relieved of the rest of his responsibilities. It may seem at this point that the ship is righting. Knicks management is about to start getting draft picks back, they are moving bad contracts off of their ledger, they are priming for a big 2010 free agent season, one that features names like LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh (who obviously went another way). Tortured Knick fans weren’t let off that easily though. January 24th 2010 showed ticket holders the worst home loss anyone in New York had ever seen. The Knicks losing 128-78, a fifty point drumming at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks was enough to make any fan start questioning reality.

In 2010 the Knicks finally returned to the playoffs led by new acquisitions Carmello Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, along with their first winning season since 2001 only to be swept by the Celtics, butsometimes going mad isn’t all tragedy. There are highs as well as lows, and you can’t do any damage while the league is on strike. After the 2011 NBA lockout, something magical, weird, and irrational happed: LINSANITY. Jeremy Lin, a third string point guard who was picked up about a month earlier found his way onto the Garden’s floor. What followed was wins in streaks, Sports Illustrated covers, global attention inspired by Lin’s Asian heritage, and must see TV every time the Knicks played. The fact this took place in NYC gave it extra juice and this little known player who was playing under the most auspicious of contracts was headlining SportsCenter nightly. But, yeah, it was predictably unsustainable.

While the Knicks made the playoffs in the 2011-2012 season, every silver lining has a dark cloud. Since they lost the first three games of this series to the Heat, coupled with the previous year’s first round sweep at the hands of the Celtics, 2003’s first round sweep to the Nets, and dropping the last two games of the 2000 first round series against the Raptors, the Knicks were the proud owner of the NBA’s longest postseason losing streak, congratulations.

The following year, the Knicks came out like wildfire, had a great season and actually set a then-NBA record for three pointers in a season. They won the Atlantic Division, and got first round revenge on the Boston Celtics. After falling to the Pacers in round two, we haven’t seen New York in the playoffs since.

In the years that followed, we saw the Knicks hire Zen guru Phil Jackson as team president, experiment with head coaches like Derek Fisher, set a team record losing streak ending at 16 games, and forced to eat large contracts. Suffice it to say, if you are around 30 and Knick fan, you’ve seen your fair share of turbulent times for your team. If you’re any amount younger than 30, that’s all you’ve seen. You’ve experienced a few highs, but mostly you’ve been subject to just awful leadership, sightless “win now” moves, and poor judgement on and off the court. Which brings us to the night of Wednesday February 8th…

Anyone who ever gave a damn about the Knicks has a right to be critical of their moves over the last decade plus. Anyone who ever gave them a dime, bought a ticket, a hot dog or a program has a right to express their frustration with this organization. What about former players, who bled for them, who dripped sweat on the Garden’s hardwood, who Spike Lee high fived after playoff wins? I’m sure they’d have a lot of opinions on the matter. Charles Oakley, a stalwart of Pat Reilly’s 90’s teams, did just that. Sitting just a few rows behind team owner James Dolan, expressing some harsh criticism landed Oakley, before the night was out, with three counts of assault, one count of criminal trespass, a pair of silver bracelets and a police escort out of MSG. Evidently being critical in earshot of Dolan has its price. Dolan may have “won” that battle but what do the optics of this do for the war he’s in with his fan base and their frustration. The Knicks PR team released a statement in a matter of hours following the incident:

“Charles Oakley came to the game tonight and behaved in a highly inappropriate and completely abusive manner. He has been ejected and is currently being arrested by the New York City Police Department.”

“He was a great Knick and we hope he gets some help soon,” 

Um, ok? What’s the insinuation here? Are the Knicks accusing Oakley of having a drinking problem? A drug problem? An anger management problem? A mental problem? To make matters worse, last Friday the Knicks issued Oakley a lifetime ban. Regardless, the Knick faithful are behind Oakley, and Dolan, recognizing what a horrible look this gives him has to course correct. Dolan’s next move is to invite Latrell Sprewell, who he also formerly feuded with, as well as a cavalcade of former Knicks to join him for a game. This pathetic, obvious, cover to show he’s in good with other former players isn’t fooling anyone.

Dolan, left without options, four days after banning Oakley, informs him that he’s now welcome back to a game soon. Oakley, however, isn’t having it, telling the Dan Lebatard show:

“Right now, no. I told him [Monday],” Oakley said. “I want to have a press conference and I want him to apologize to me and the fans. They’ve had my back and they’ve felt the pain. I really appreciate the people all around who’ve had my back.”

So that’s where we are. It’s Valentine’s season and love for your favorite sports team is strong, but just like any relationship there are good times and bad. Love can make you do crazy things. Love can get you into trouble, it makes you passionate, irrational, and emotional. So just like you’d do for your buddy who got dumped, cheated on and done dirty, buy a Knick fan a beer. They’ve earned it.

#Sports #articles

[jessicakmatt]

Song Structure: How to Organize a Song

Song Structure: How to Organize a Song: via LANDR Blog

Have you ever wondered how to structure a song?

There’s so many ways to assemble chord progressions, melodies and rhythms into parts that form a cohesive structure.

And while there isn’t any specific set of rules for structuring a song, it sometimes helps to use a formula when writing a song.

In this guide, we’ll look at every popular song structure and how each part of a song fits within a form.

By the end, you’ll know every kind of song structure and how the intro, verses, chorus, pre-chorus, bridge, and outro fit within a song’s structure.

5 types of song structure

Songs can be structured in a variety of ways.

With a few exceptions, you’ll find that most song structures are defined by the letters A and B denoting different sections.

Or you’ll see the letters V, C, and B used to signify verse, chorus and bridge.

For our purposes we’ll look at the 5 main song structures you’ll find throughout all music:

AABA

VCVC

VCVCBC

Head-Solo-Head

Linear or Through Composed

Let’s dive in!

1. AABA

If you’ve ever listened to a classic jazz standard you’ve likely heard this format.

Many legendary composers like Duke Ellington would have used this early song structure in their songwriting.

In AABA, each section lasts exactly eight bars.

Each A section follows a similar chord progression.

The B section will then follow a distinctly different chord progression, up a major or minor third for example.

Often the B section will use a 2-5-1 chord progression to go back to the final A section.

Of course, you don’t have to rigidly follow the eight bar pattern.

It might be nice to extend the B section by an extra eight bars to surprise the listener, for example.

It might be nice to extend the B section by an extra eight bars to surprise the listener, for example.

AABA is a great format to consider if you are writing non-lyrical music, especially jazz.

For an example check out Take the A Train by Duke Ellington,



2. VCVC

Whenever verse and chorus are used in song structure notation the song will contain lyrics.

VCVC is a very simple songwriting structure that features two chorus sections and two verse section.

VCVC is a very simple songwriting structure that features two chorus sections and two verse section.

We’ll dive into the mechanics of verses and choruses later on.

For now, just understand that in a VCVC song structure the chorus sections are the same, while the verse one and verse two will be different from each other lyrically.

Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit follows a pretty clear VCVC structure, except that the song goes into a final third repetition of the verse and chorus.

The song also features that famous pre-chorus section where Cobain repeats the word Hello.



3. VCVCBC

The only difference between VCVC and VCVCBC is the bridge that comes between the second and third chorus.

In this song structure, an added section is used to bring the song back to the third chorus and remove a possibly repetitive third verse.

You may also see the very similar VCVCBV structure used in many tracks where instead of ending on the chorus, the song ends on an added verse section.

In Weezer’s track Say it Aint So you can clearly hear the bridge before the third and final chorus.



4. Head-Solo-Head

This a very common form found in genres of music that make use of improvisation, especially jazz music.

Head-Solo-Head is a very common form found in genres of music that make use of improvisation, especially jazz music.

Usually, the head section features a recognizable melody from a jazz standard that the band will play together.

This melody in the head section follows a chord progression that is used later on during the solo section.

The solo section can repeat for a very long time– usually long enough for each musician to play a solo.

Solo sections in jazz often culminate with a bombastic drum solo or a period of “trading fours” between each musician and the drummer.

In this case “trading fours” refers to trading solos over four bar sections.

Giant Steps by John Coltrane very much follows this song structure.



5. Linear (through-composed)

Music doesn’t have to follow a repeating structure.

In fact, there’s plenty of great music that follows no structure at all!

Music doesn’t have to follow a repeating structure. In fact, there’s plenty of great music that follows no structure at all!

We can call this kind of song structure linear or through-composed.

You’ll find this structure in lots of classical, ambient, electronic, and experimental music.

Zodiac Shit from Flying Lotus is one example of a song that doesn’t really follow any structure at all.



Introducing… your song!

Now that we’ve looked at the five main song structures, let’s dive into the individual parts of a song.

Most songs start off with some kind of introduction that features an instrument instead of a vocal part.

If you’re writing a pop song, keep in mind that you’ll want to get to the point very quickly. Don’t lose the listener with an overextended intro.

However, if your song doesn’t have to stick to a pop formula, the intro is a good place to set the tone for what the rest your track is going to bring.

Writing the verse

Your verse is where the narrative or story behind your lyrics gets developed.

Your verse is where the narrative or story behind your lyrics gets developed.

A song has to be about something, so your first verse is a great place to introduce the topic.

It’s up to you whether your verses should rhyme or not, but it should at least have a rhythmic meter that pushes the song along.

Typically a verse will last through about eight bars of music.

Warm up the audience with a pre-chorus

Your audience is waiting in anticipation for your chorus.

It’s the most important and memorable part of your track after all.

You can play with that anticipation with a short pre-chorus.

Play with the audience’s anticipation of the chorus with a short pre-chorus.

A pre-chorus might be as short as two bars, but it could be as long as your verse section– it’s up to you.

A recognizable build-up or break down in the pre-chorus can be enough to excite your listeners that the chorus is coming next.

The chorus is the crux of your song

The chorus the part of your song that you want people to remember.

Because it is repeated after every verse, it should be the focal point of your song.

Lyrically you’ll want to deliver your song’s core message in a simple and memorable way.

Traditionally the chorus was intended to be sung along to. Choir and chorus are similar words for a reason.

To make your chorus memorable you need a good vocal hook.

The chorus the part of your song that you want people to remember.

A memorable line of relatable words with a simple melody that anyone can sing along to is a great place to start when writing your vocal hook.

The bridge to somewhere

Knowing when to use a bridge section and what to do with one can be a little bit confusing.

But, in general, you’ll use one towards the end of a song between the last two choruses.

Or sometimes before the last verse if there are three verses.

Knowing what to put in a bridge is another question, there are a lot of things you can do with yours.

Some artists use them to build up towards a final triumphant chorus.

While others will completely deconstruct and rebuild the song.

It’s up to you how you use your bridge, just remember that goal of the bridge is to take the song back to the chorus.

It’s up to you how you use your bridge, just remember that goal of the bridge is to take the song back to the chorus.

Essentially, your bridge must take the listener somewhere musically.

Closing with the outro

Ending a song well can be a little bit tricky.

You could fade out on a studio jam, end on a big chord, abruptly cut the song off, or change the beat completely.

It’s up to you how you end your track, but ending a song memorably is pretty important since it’s the last thing anyone listening will hear.

Don’t forget to put some thought into how the outro wraps up any lyrical or musical aspects of your track too.

Lyrically you may want to end the story your song is telling if the final verse and chorus doesn’t already to that.

Sonically you’ll need to give the impression of finality or depending on the tracklisting within your album, you’ll want the ending to transition nicely into the next song.

Song structure is meant to be broken

As much as they are useful for organizing your songwriting, don’t feel as though anything you write has to follow a rigid formula.

Take the creative license to break from traditional song structures whenever you want.

Your songwriting formula is only good if your track is something that you are proud of.

        The post Song Structure: How to Organize a Song appeared first on LANDR Blog.

from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/song-structure/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/190127383069

[neostarstudios]

7/7/17

While the last few years of Warped Tour have, to varying degrees, seemed to course-correct the festival’s reputation for chasing the latest trends, 2017 may have hit a high water mark. While different regions had some bands jump on and off (West = Goldfinger, Midwest = The Suicide Machines, for examples), Camden’s lineup was certainly packed with a load of heavy-hitters. There was some of the expected fare for the younger crowd (Attila, New Years Day, Beartooth and personal favorite Dance Gavin Dance, among many others) but veteran acts may have outnumbered the newer ones, which is a shocking change.

Having different experiences at the show, we decided to share both JJ and Henry’s experiences here. Sometimes they’ve crossed streams, and sometimes they were at different parts of the venue.

JJ: On a side note, this was my first time seeing the event at this location as Scranton is my usual location of choice. While that location has its advantages (my familiarity with the layout, easy and free parking, short lines to get in, and just a generally laid-back experience) this location had its own appeal. After getting the layout figured out (which did take a little while), the navigation here was easier than Scranton as stages were less spaced apart.

Henry: I’ve been to Camden a number of times. In fact, the first few Warped Tours were held at the parking lot of what was Wachovia Spectrum. I think they moved it to Camden back in ’97-’98 and have been setting up here ever since.

JJ: Anyway, after figuring out where the Hard Rock Stage was, I knew it was where I was going to largely camp out. I made it into the venue in time to see Bad Cop/Bad Cop, one of the bands I was most excited to see, take the stage. They plowed through their set which had a ton of new material from their just-released album Warriors. The new material really blended nicely with their older songs and, if anything, upped the intensity. If you didn’t pick up the CD at their merch tent for only $5, it’s time to start kicking yourself. As good as they are musically, they are even better as people.

Henry: Bad Cop/ Bad Cop was a band I definitely wanted to see. I’ve become a fan ever since seeing them play with Masked Intruder on the 25th Anniversary Fat Wreck Tour. I’ve even forced a few of my friends to watch their set and they loved every second of it!

    Henry: I headed out towards the Mutant North Stage to check out Silent Planet. They’ve been a band that has played a bunch of shows here locally for years but for every chance they were in town, I’d end up missing their sets. I was happy to see that they’ve blown up over the last few years.

JJ:  I wandered inside to the Skullcandy stage to see War On Women as they shouted their message of equality and making concerts safe spaces for everyone. This was followed by Save Ferris next door at the Journey’s Right Foot Stage (the stage placement is one bone I have to pick with this venue). Anyway, SF put on a tight, energetic performance that made everyone in the crowd move even if a lot of them weren’t even alive during the band’s initial run. Now THAT is how you come back bigger than ever. This seemed to an even peppier show than when I saw them in a club earlier in the year. After they finished, I had enough time to get my bearings and plan my next move which was right back to the Hard Rock Stage for….

Municipal Waste! I had never seen them before but it was everything I hoped for with maybe 15 songs being played in 25 minutes. You really get your money’s worth with them. It was nice to see drum-deity Dave Witte in person. A recent addition on second guitar, Nick Poulos really bolstered their attack and maybe it was because I was closer to his side of the stage, but his leads really were highlights of the set. It didn’t hurt that I was able give him a thumbs up and a fist bump later.

Henry: Inside, to tried to cover Memphis May Fire. Literally ever since they’ve been appearing at Warped Tour, for some reason, they always end up playing inside. I hate shooting inside. It’s dark. Very dark.

After a few feeble attempts, I gave up and decided to try and catch The Ataris on the Hard Rock Stage.

Henry: It’s been ages since I’ve seen The Ataris live let alone listen to any releases beyond ‘So Long Astoria’ (sorry, ‘Welcome the Night’ just never did it for me.) The band had just released a new record and is selling it at Bad Cop/ Bad Cop’s tent. No doubt was I curious. One of the highlights of their set was when they finished with the Don Henley cover of “Boys of Summer” and they replaced the line “Out on the road today I saw a Black Flag sticker on a Cadillac” with “…Dickeys sticker on a Cadillac” in reference to the band that stirred up controversy earlier on the tour.

  Henry: The entire point of Warped Tour is to check out the bands that you’ve never heard of. Going with that notion in mind, I decided to run back inside to check out a Manchester, UK band that was pitched to me called Sonic Boom Six. They had an upbeat ska sound that you can totally skank to (do people even know what “skank” even means anymore!?)

JJ: After walking around some more, I came back to the Hard Rock Stage to see Sick of It All and….wow. Being familiar with their recorded material forever but never seeing them, these guys may have won the MVP award for the day. Despite being in the game over thirty years, their energy is beyond compare. They have a tight, loud, massive sound live that the early records, for all of the quality of many songs, don’t really capture. It’s hard to imaging them being able to keep that intensity up for an hour, but maybe they can or maybe they just go all out and make the most of their 25 minutes. No matter what, it was impressive and I got to shake frontman Lou Koller’s hand afterward and express my gratitude.

Henry: I’ve been a huge Sick of it All fan ever since I picked up a copy of ‘Scratch the surface.’ It’s weird to think that I was 13yrs old when I bought that. But music has been a rather huge part of my life. The last time I saw them live was literally 20yrs ago at Warped Tour 1997.

Henry: While walking around, I noticed my friend Sean up on the Full Sail University Stage with Courage My Love. I’m not gonna lie, I’ve been clueless to the fact that I’ve been conversing with Mercedes Arn-Horn off and on in FB comment threads for a while now. I’ve always just figured she was a friend-of-a-friend amongst my other music industry friends. It was actually rather cathartic to see her on stage performing with her band since I only knew her from chat threads.

JJ: I ventured over to the Journey’s Left Foot Stage (see what I mean about the layout?!) to see CKY. They are local favorites and the entire Margera family came out to introduce the band. After watching them on TV for years, it was a little bit of a thrill. Bam even came out late in the set to sing a G.G. Allen song. The real story is how the band has recalibrated with the departure of frontman Deron Miller. It’s Chad Ginsberg’s voice at the forefront and…the approach is different. Instead of Deron’s smooth croon, Chad has the vocal approach of a stoner-rock dude who just rode into town and is looking for a fight. After a few spins, the new album The Phoenix is a short and sweet tour of a lot of what the band does just with a slightly different approach. They only played one track off of that “Replaceable” but mostly stuck to tracks from Vol. 1 and Infiltrate. Destroy. Rebuild. Everything was enjoyable and the crowd was into it but the performance seemed a little listless. The band and their layers of sounds are probably best-suited to an intimate club.

Henry: I killed a little bit of time right after CYK. I needed to reorganize myself after all the running around I’ve done. I managed to catch up with a few tour friends along the way. Most were complaining about their lack of sleep (something I knew too well after my short stint a few years back). I caught New Years Day‘s performance over at the Journey’s Left Foot Stage. It’s funny. I can recall a time before they became a household name, when the band would hang out in the press area simply out of boredom and would sit-in during interviews.

JJ: More wandering ensued before circling back to the Hard Rock Stage for the Adolescents. Even though they’ve been at it longer than I have been alive and influenced even the mighty Bad Religion, they were still sharp live. Sure, it’s basically Tony and Steve bolstered by some younger musicians, but those two were always the engine of the band anyway. They had a great new album last year (Manifest Density) and showed that they can keep going as long as they want.

Henry: The Adolescents were one of those bands I didn’t bother photographing. I just wanted to be able to stand back and enjoy their set. I think the only song any of the younger crowds recognized was “Amoeba” made famous by Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 game that we all obsessed over.

Henry: Back inside, one of the acts I was looking very forward to was William Control. I’ve seen him perform a number of times and in different configurations. Starting off with “Monster” and “Kiss the Girl”, he addressed the crowd “I know a band with synths is probably the last thing you’d expect to see here today at Warped Tour. But think of us as a bit of repreive. First we’re going to romance you, and then when Beartooth comes out after us, they’re going to fuck you all in the ass!” According to a few old-school Warped attendees, William Control was one of the new acts that they saw and fell in love with. Also worth mentioning was that ‘Revelations: The Red EP’ just came out today and is available at their merch tent for only $5 and is worth every penny!

Unfortunately, I had to run as the band was starting to launch into “Beautiful Monster” as blessthefall was about to start at the other end of the venue.

Henry: After fighting my way through hordes of Warped attendees, I finally made my way to the Mutant North Stage. The sun was starting to set and “golden hour” was upon us. As the band took the stage, frontman Beau Bokan sprayed the crowd with a bottle of Monster’s Mutant soda. I managed to dodge most of the spray but my camera wasn’t so lucky.

JJ: After this, I made my way over to the Mutant South stage to catch a little of Silverstein’s set. They had gotten a shipment of their new album Dead Reflection in a week early (it was officially released on July 14th) and were selling it at their merch tent. Don’t tell anyone. A few songs in, Beefcake The Mighty “killed” Billy Hamilton and took over on bass for a few songs. I wasn’t able to stick around long because….

Strung Out took the stage at the Hard Rock Stage! I’ve been crossing paths with them a lot over the last few years and as always, good stuff. Vocalist Jason Cruz���s voice sounded stronger than it had the last few times I had seen them and they can really do no wrong in my book.

Henry: By the time Silverstein came on, I was beat. I knew JJ had to run to catch Strung Out but he totally miss the greatest part of the set when GWAR’s Beefcake The Mighty “killed” Billy Hamilton and took over bass for “Retrograde” and “Still Dreaming.”

JJ: It was at this point in the day with clouds threatening and giving way to sun for so many hours before, that the rain finally delivered on its threat. A drizzle became a full downpour with gusty winds creating havoc as I tried in vain to put on my poncho. If it was just me, I wouldn’t have minded, but I had signed merch with me and was already down a backpack and pair of earplugs that evening. It was with a heavy heart that I had to miss the band’s last song as I ran inside for shelter to dry myself and assess the damage. Once solving this and realizing my poncho was torn and therefore mostly useless, I looked out to see the rain even heavier than before. It must have been an experience for those at the Mutant Stages who saw Hatebreed and GWAR through that.

Henry: I was caught in the rain during Hatebreed and GWAR. I tried to photograph Hatebreed’s set but by the time they took the stage, the clouds were overhead and it looked like it was night to my left, and still daylight to my right. I watched as production staff tried to keep the stage together as strong gusts of wind kept knocking over banners and they hastily tried to cover up speakers before the onslaught that we were about to receive.

JJ: I waited it out inside at the Skullcandy Stage again and was happy to realize this detour brought me right to the Street Dogs, one of the bands I wanted to see anyway. They burned through some familiar numbers including a cover of Joe Strummer’s “Coma Girl”. The crowd in front of their stage which included me, was modest but frontman Mike McColgan worked hard to win everyone over. In fact, he worked so hard, he spent just as much time if not more so in front of the crowd waiting in front of the Journey’s Right Foot Stage next door. They may have been there for Never Shout Never but they got a healthy dose of Street Dogs and I could see a lot of people in that crowd also really into it.

After the Street Dogs closed up shop, I headed back outside one last time to happily see the rain had ended. I took the walk back to the Hard Rock Stage one final time and was able to see all of Anti Flag.

There was something appropriate about them closing things out, especially given the state of the world.

Henry: I had to make a choice. Go see Anti-Flag, or stay and see GWAR. I decided to stay and watch GWAR. Words just aren’t enough to describe their clash of comedy theater/ rock show. It’s one that everyone has to experience first-hand to comprehend it. Like if I were to say to someone that I had a great time getting blasted in the face by Blothar’s four penis’s, I’m pretty sure I’d be met with confusion and disgust. Still worth it!

JJ: All in all, it was an odd experience for me not being consumed by press and only able to get a sampling of performances. This is the exact experience a normal Warped Concert-goer would have and while different, was nearly equally enjoyable. I had already interviewed most of the bands I was there to see (in some cases multiple times) anyway, so with a few elusive exceptions, I was fairly up to date with a lot of them, anyway.

Henry: It was a marathon for me to try and cover as many acts as possible. But overall I was happy to see fans young and old showing up and actually having a good time together. I watched as men in their late-40’s/ early-50’s throwdown in a circle pit with kids half their age during Sick of it All. I saw concert goers in their mid-30’s develop a new love for new acts. Acts that they’d never be exposed to on their own accord if it weren’t for what this tour was built on: comradery and unity. I saw numerous collaborations on stage that made me scratch my head (Big D and the Kids Table with American Authors, GWAR and Silverstein were the two big ones that came to mind) but they’ve made it all work.

JJ: Let’s also applaud the tour itself as it managed to strike an impressive balance of old and new which should make it a viable, relevant festival for even more years to come.

Written by: JJ Ellis and Henry Chung Photos by: the unstoppable Henry Chung

    Warped Tour 7/7/17 While the last few years of Warped Tour have, to varying degrees, seemed to course-correct the festival's reputation for chasing the latest trends, 2017 may have hit a high water mark.

#BB&T Pavillion #Camden NJ #Henry Chung #JJ Ellis #Vans Warped Tour #VWT2017 #Warped Tour 2017