#''what have you done to Sonic!? I'll never forgive you for this!''

[psykheofthestars]

Chaos Island's Inclusion in Shadow Generations, and how I believe that it's meant to represent parallels between Shadow and Tails (w/ some bonus Sonic-Maria parallels)

I've been thinking about Chaos Island's inclusion in Shadow generations, and after thinking about it for so long, I've decided that I like to think of it as a comparison between Shadow and Tails' characters.

Both characters have a certain feature about themselves that have made them think of themselves as 'freaks'. With Tails, that's his namesakes, and with Shadow, that's his Black Arms DNA.

They also both have a blue coloured older sibling with a love for the earth that they look up to. Said older siblings boosted their little brothers' self confidence, and said "hey, you're not a freak!" With Tails, that's Sonic, and with Shadow, that's Maria. Connecting to the last point, both Shadow and Tails have acted upon a wish made by their respective older siblings in their 'final moments'. With Tails, that's the moment before Sonic got ejected from the Ark when he trusted Tails to stop Eggman and save the planet from disaster, with Shadow, that's Maria's wish for Shadow bring hope to humanity.

Basically, what I'm getting at here is that our dearest Unbreakable Bond has some parallels with the Ark Siblings that are pretty hard to ignore

Also, the second Sonic and Maria 'died' (died is in quotations because Sonic doesn't actually die), Tails and Shadow went into

(And depressive episode mode, but vengeance mode is both cooler and funnier to say)

[bandcampfun2021]

Now, I know that other people have made similar connections between the Wachowski family protecting Green Hill for the past fifty years and Project Shadow but I'd like to plant my own theory about how I think Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will go down.

So, while the timeline isn't specifically clear, I was able to pinpoint exactly when Project Shadow was taking place: the 1970s. Do you know what else was taking place during the 1970s?

The Cold War. Project Shadow was built as a supersoldier to help GUN during the Cold War.

However, after GUN becomes paranoid of Gerald seeing Shadow as a member of his family rather than the weapon he made, they make the decision to invade Space Colony Ark.

And amongst the GUN soldiers is none other than Tom Wachowski's grandfather, a young, hopeful man in his late twenties to early thirties who has hopes of making the world a better place.

During the raid, Mr. Wachowski suddenly sees Project Shadow running with a shaking, pale twelve-year-old girl in a blue dress and thinking the worst, decides to go after the two, worried about the girl's safety.

However, it's only after a reckless, fatal decision that Mr. Wachowski learns the truth: Maria Robotnik really was an innocent child who was already suffering from an illness. And he took whatever future she may have had prematurely.

All because of the government's paranoia of Project Shadow.

Now disillusioned by the organization he joined to bring world peace and his dreams shattered, Mr. Wachowski makes the decision to resign from GUN and move to a small, countryside town to completely start over.

This town happens to be Green Hill, and he becomes their Sheriff over time, earning a reputation for being a likeable, loving yet protective Sheriff of their town.

However, despite becoming the Sheriff, Mr. Wachowski knows that whatever good he may do in this small town will never bring back the innocent twelve-year-old who stood defiantly in front of an escape pod.

Becoming embittered, scarred and almost broken, Mr. Wachowski only finds the mental strength to carry on would be his son (Tom's father---whom I'll call Michael). Judging by the fact that Tom seems to be in his mid-to-late thirties by the first film, Tom's father Michael would've likely been anywhere from a toddler to eight years old at most by the time GUN raided Space Colony Ark.

In the following years afterward, Mr. Wachowski never once reveals to his wife or family what actually happened at the Ark, knowing that they'd never forgive him for taking the life of an already sickly child. He only keeps a small diary that contains his thoughts over the next 50 years, thoughts of grief, regret, and horror over what he had done.

It's shortly after his grandson Tom is born that Mr. Wachowski passes away, taking his secret to the grave.

And it's not until after the events of Sonic 2, when Tom and Maddie find Mr. Wachowski's journal and the secret he's kept for all these years, forever shattering Tom's view of his grandfather.

And now, Project Shadow is coming for them (I mean, his glare during the final seconds of the second film says it all)....

[000marie198]

Done!

Prime Bros being the sillies they are. Enjoy!

Damage Control

-------

Urgent loud shouts mixed in with sounds of growling and struggling can be heard by every flicky and critter having the misfortune of passing by the recently expanded workshop in Green Hill.

"Nine! No!"

"Let me at him! I'll rip his tails out!"

Inside the living room, the source of most of the growling is barely being held back by two others who look like him as he struggles against them to attack the one in front.

"Hey-! Calm down, he was joking!"

"Aye not be joking, brother. Lad sword fights like a limp rope."

"Sails," Tails grunts, both his arms wrapped around their angry, trigger-happy brother, "I swear to Chaos if you don't shut up right now- Woah!"

There's a crash as one very pissed off multi tailed fox manages to push him off and pounces at the pirate, only to hit the coffee table as Sails dodges the attack with an infuriating grin.

"That's some sloppy footwork there."

It has the intended effect of riling the other up even more.

Tails rubs his temples and lets out a sigh of frustration, his namesakes whipping around in agitation. The noises become louder and a startled yelp from Mangey is heard amongst the ruckus. The youngest fox then lets out a growl of his own and pounces at Nine, clinging to his face and trying to pull him back.

The metal tailed fox makes a startled yip, Mangey barks and Sails is unable to stop himself as he snorts and breaks up into amused cackles.

"Beaten by a hug, eh? Never thought I'd see the day."

Tails' ears twitch as they catch the subtle sound of several clicks and low hum, the young aviator instantly recognizing the sound of his brother's namesakes activating.

"Oh no…"

He's running towards the two and grabbing the metal appendages before they could snap towards their laughing idiot of a brother who has zero self preservation skills. Where is Sonic when you need him?

Nine scowls at him, having pried Mangey free from his face and holding the young fox in his arms with far too much gentleness than he'd ever admit.

"Let go, Tails."

"Yeah right. So you two can break more furniture?"

"No," he rolls his eyes, "so I can teach him just how 'awful' I am at combat." He sends the pirate a heated glare.

"Tch," said pirate scoffs from behind Tails. "Very awful, I'd reckon."

"The only combat you are good at is swinging around a large knife."

"And yet, I still managed to defeat you the other day."

"You cheated."

Tails and Mangey share a look, one pair of blue eyes brimming with exasperation and the other with concern.

What do we do? The latter seem to ask.

Tape them to the wall, Tails' mind supplies. He ignores it. He values his stash of mint candies far too much to risk it.

"Pirate." Sails singsongs in response to Nine's earlier statement.

That does it for the other. Their brother places Mangey down and frees his artificial appendages in one smooth movement - Tails being pushed off for the second time in five minutes - before jumping on the pirate without warning, this time succeeding in tackling him as the two start battling like wild cats.

"Oh come on!" The only civilized fox in the room groans, flinching at the sound of something shattering. His frustration is replaced by horror as he realizes what exactly was broken.

"My tablet!" Tails exclaims and glares at the two, throwing every ounce of forgiveness and maturity out the window to pounce on them with a vengeful yell, immediately getting pulled into the ball of wildly intense scuffle.

Mangey watches the escalated fight in bewilderment for a total of two seconds before he jumps into the fray with a battle cry of his own.

Voices and snarls and words mix up into a cacophony of noises until it's impossible to tell the four apart, further crashes sounding out as the ball of fighting fox kits rolls around the place without any regard for the furniture.

Moments later, a distant sonicboom sounds somewhere outside, drowned out by the noise in the living room.

An unnatural gust of wind ruffles the fur of the foxes seconds before the front door slams open and a blue hedgehog merrily trudges in.

"I'm home! You guys won't believe what I…" Sonic trails off as he takes note of the toppled pieces of furniture and sees a fluffy ball of struggling, snarling foxes.

"Woah… What happened in here?"

At the sound of his voice, Mangey lights up with joy and immediately rolls out of the pile to greet his big brother with a grateful hug before sprinting off into a different room, Sonic barely catching sight of the superficial scratches on him. Tails follows the younger's example in extracting himself and leaves the other two vulpines to snap at each other.

"Sonic!" He exclaims, "Thank goodness you're finally here!" He then approaches Sonic and gives his shoulder a sympathetic pat, a relieved grin breaking out on his muzzle that has the hedgehog's brows furrowing in suspicion.

"They're all yours."

"Huh- What?"

Tails doesn't answer and is already running off into his lab with a broken tablet in hand by the time Sonic realizes what he has been left with.

Sonic thanks Chaos that he still knows how to handle stubborn fox kits.

"Alright, you two, break it up," he lightly scolds as he scruffs them both up so they are left limply dangling from his hold.

The simultaneous, ''He started it!'' has him conflicted on sympathizing with tired parents and feeling proudly overjoyed that Nine is finally starting to act his age.

And even knowing Tails and Mangey purposefully left him alone to handle two rough housing foxes and feeling the briefest twinge of exasperation, Sonic cannot help but let out a fond smile.

~

[shinymisty-blog]

The Canine Duo (Sleet and Dingo)

Here it is. The mighty wall of text that is my thoughts and headcanons for Sleet and Dingo!! The spark that started this whole mess! Of course, it was these two. They are the reason I love underground so much in the first place. They were one of my original fixations from back when I was eight(ish)! 

Disclaimers and notes for this particular post: ❗❗Heavy topics will be discussed in this post. This is a post about a character who has been depicted verbally (and sometimes physically) abusing his work partner! So do be warned that I will be talking about that, as it is vital to the character(s). •Be warned: These posts are often just MASSIVE walls of text! I have the "Keep Reading" tab there for a reason! •While there is no real order to these, I’ll try and keep things in order of relevance. •There will be times when I'll reference something that involves things that would be more relevant after the 40 episodes. During these headcanons, I'll place a nice little ✨ to indicate that it is one of those headcanons. (Everything mentioned will have some sort of explanation if needed). Think of it as a sneak peek at the story I am working on. •I will NOT be talking about parental figures for Sleet. This is because those headcanons are very important to the story's plot I plan to write. •Thanks to these two characters being part of my fixation for literal YEARS, I have a lot more to talk about with them than any other character at the start of this project. I hope that the other posts will be more fleshed out as time goes on, especially the triplets, but I cannot guarantee anything. I have and will gravitate towards these two. •If I happen to update anything within this post, I’ll reblog it with the tag #Sonic Underground Project Update, along with a note on which information was updated. 

Links: Master Post | The Origin’s Arc 

·.¸¸.·♩♪♫ The Canine Duo ♫♪♩·.¸¸.·

❗An important, but rather heavy topic before we begin… I KNOW Sleet and Dingo’s relationship is crossing the line of toxic. Any episode that has Sleet being extra mean towards Dingo mentally HURT, as I suddenly relate to Dingo on a more personal note. I am not trying to act like the horrible behavior never happened. If I wanted to do that, I’d rewrite the whole series…and even then I’d still keep Sleet’s gradual neglect as it honestly feels like part of the character.

So, because of how heavy this particular topic is, and how much I am trying to write it being mended healthily in my story…I WILL be spoiling a bit more than I normally would. 

➣I strongly headcanon that the two were once practically inseparable growing up. They knew EVERYTHING about each other and were strongest when working together. Dingo doesn’t do everything for Sleet because Sleet holds authority over him, but rather Dingo loves helping Sleet out and loves seeing his smile. Sleet didn’t always transform Dingo without warning before Robotnik because he respected Dingo and valued their close bonds. Things just spiraled out of control too quickly, and both of them did not genuinely realize what was happening.  And by the time they did, the damage was done.

➣I plan to have the duo split up. For the good first half of the story, Sleet and Dingo are no longer a duo, as Dingo ends up joining the Resistance and Sleet refuses to do so himself. Dingo’s story revolves around him realizing that what Sleet had done to him was wrong. But, while he now surrounds himself with more positive relationships, it reminds him of the Sleet he grew up with. Sleet’s story is about him realizing the horrible things he had done. Not just towards Dingo, but towards everything and everyone. And is quickly overwhelmed with immense amounts of guilt. Because of his actions, he had lost EVERYTHING! And, by the time he does “join” the Resistance (Unofficially, mind you. And not spoiling how) he apologizes to Dingo and doesn’t expect Dingo, or anyone, to forgive him. But even still, he vows to fix himself. 

I want these two to be happy. So I may be doing the wrong thing by making them stay together by the end, but only after clear boundaries are made…and Sleet receives serious punishment for his actions. (He doesn’t get away scot-free, mind you) Not every character will forgive him. Even when he tries to be a better mobian. Because that is how life is.

But also…they have been through a lot. They weren’t expecting to be trapped in a contract with Robotnik like that. They couldn’t say no. (I bet they could say no to his initial invitation, too. They were screwed the moment Robotnik asked for them). They saw firsthand how Robotification worked. Saw and caused dozens of ruined lives. 

They knew they were playing with fire…which is why I hate how wishy-washy their characters were. 

But I’ll get into that whenever it comes up. Memory is still pretty bad and that is why I am doing this project. 

•♫•♬• Headcanons •♬•♫•.

➣Sleet and Dingo knew each other growing up. They have known each other since they were babies, due to being around the same age, and both living in Velcronia. However, they lived in separate parts of the big city. Dingo lived on the outskirts with his adoptive mothers, who were good friends with Sleet's father. And while technically Sleet and his father lived in a small village just outside of Velcronia, it still held the Velcronia name and government. (More information will be given in "Underground Masquerade") 

➣At a young age, the duo were separated from their families. (More information will be given in “Underground Masquerade”). 

➣Due to this, both don't remember when they were born and Sleet is starting to barely remember how old they are in general, feeling there were a lot more important matters to keep his attention on than how many years they had been living. ✨However, once they learn that the triplets were born the year Robotnik took over, Sleet figures out their age. By "Mobodoon," Sleet is about to turn 17. Dingo would become 18 about three months after the episode.

➣This means they were both alive before Robotnik took over Mobotroplis, but were extremely young to remember.

➣When they were young, Dingo's abilities to morph were starting to manifest, even if they were random and out of the canine's control. Sleet later receives the remote after a fateful encounter with a strange elder, giving him rather vague instructions on how to use it. With this new power, they became well known as some of the best Bounty Hunters in all of Robotroplis, both because of their young ages and due to the two not having any preference on which side of the war the job they would take would benefit.

➣Sleet has control over what Dingo transforms into. It requires Sleet to visualize what it is he wants to transform Dingo into in his head, which means using the remote without a clear image in his head would lead Dingo to turn back to normal or whatever image is closest inside Sleet’s thoughts. Pre-Underground, Sleet made it a habit to ask Dingo about what he felt like turning into, warning him if there could be a sudden transformation and constantly asking how he was feeling after Dingo morphed and when he was turned back. ✨This habit instantly reappears once Sleet “joins” the Resistance. However, this was with added hesitation on Sleet’s end on even using the remote in the first place as he knew it linked to trauma for Dingo. 

·.¸¸.·♩♪♫ Sleet ♫♪♩·.¸¸.·

It is no secret Sleet is my favorite Sonic character. Or, rather, the concept of Sleet. Which means I have A LOT to talk about with him. I will try to not go on forever about him, but but I am not promising anyone anything. 

I love how he acts like he’s the best thing since sliced bread, but in reality, he can be just as much an idiot as Dingo. He’ll act before thinking and, ironically, seems to be emotionally driven more than logically, which puts him into a lot of trouble.

…He also may have woken the furry in me when I first saw him all those years ago, waiting for school and seeing "The Deepest Fear" on Disney XD. He was a wolf with blue fur in a series I loved, what wasn’t there to like about him? (Except I believed he was the UGLIEST thing I’d seen. Even compared to Dingo. Poor guy). 

•♫•♬• Headcanons •♬•♫•.

➣Sleet was born in the Spring. (Sometime in mid April) Ironically, he also has allergies, which would flare up the worst during said season. (The allergies would only truly appear post-Underground, as there are few plants and flowers.) He does not like Bartleby's home for this reason.

➣While he is mainly dominant with his right hand, Sleet is ambidextrous. And, on this topic, Sleet has surprisingly good handwriting for a mobian who grew up on the streets. He does struggle a bit with diagrams and drawing pictures, though.

➣Sleet will often fidget his hands, even if he tries to hide it, as a form of stress relief. He had started wearing gloves to stop himself from doing any damage with his claws.

➣Sleet mumbles in his sleep, even sometimes making sentences. If he is tired enough, he could even have a full-on conversation in his sleep and not remember a single thing he says the next morning. 

➣On the topic of his mumbling, Sleet’ll mumble curse words under his breath when frustrated. For the longest time, Dingo didn’t like his foul language, so the wolf made it a habit of mumbling them in such a way that where his partner wouldn’t understand what he was saying… This didn’t work and Dingo heard right through him, but let Sleet continue mumbling it when Sleet caught Dingo cursing out a client for poor management. They both agree to never bring this story up again.

➣Though he HATES anyone finding out, Sleet knows how to sew, being the one who would fix both his and Dingo's outfits whenever it was needed. (I feel this is a common headcanon). ✨Due to Sleet being adamant that he'll "NEVER become a part of the Resistance," and ending up with a lot of "free time" once he escapes Robotnik and living within the base...he'll sometimes find himself casually sewing the damaged clothing or even stuffed toys that were collected and being prepared for Sanctuary, though he does this in complete secret. While he will NEVER admit to actually doing this, he uses the excuse that it is busy work to pass the time.

➣Sleet has a sensitive stomach (another headcanon I feel is common). Among other things, he is heavily lactose intolerant (or, as Dingo would say, "lacking toast and tall ants"), causing a nasty upset in his stomach if he has anything with milk. This includes cheese. (Serious time for a moment...this next part of the headcanon comes from personal experience). To make things worse for him, he has a bad habit of forgetting to eat and when he does remember, he'll either eat it so fast because he fears it will be taken away, or in small amounts due to fear of not having enough to afford the correct amount. ✨It takes him an exponentially long time to fix this particular problem. More than any other problem.

➣Nonetheless…Sleet gained an intense love for the sweeter foods Mobius had to offer thanks to working with Bartleby. He'll often accept going to fancy parties for the sole reason that he is given an excuse to eat the sweets there, even if it’ll upset his stomach. The only mobians who know his secret are Dingo and Bartleby. And he likes to keep it this way. (Spoiler alert. ✨More learn about his secret).

➣No matter how hard he attempts it, Sleet CANNOT COOK! His stubbornness gets the better of him, not willing to follow any cooking instructions, doing whatever he thinks is correct. He also grows impatient over waiting for food to cook and will try to speed up the process by making the temperature as hot as he is allowed, which almost always ends badly when he gets distracted just long enough for it to become a serious problem.

➣Sleet is in charge of the finances because he is better at mathematics. For the most part, he has been very good at keeping everything fair and balanced. This was agreed upon super early on. Long before they were hired by Robotnik.

➣Sleet is nearsighted, his vision blurring the farther away the subject is. And yet, he still drives with this terrible vision, as he has learned to identify the blurry figures. So well in fact that he genuinely believes this is how all mobians see.

❗Hey, warning again! We are getting back into those heavy topics! 

➣Sleet has a seriously hard time reading and understanding emotions, whether it be his or anyone else's. (Mood, buddy) He only gets worse when working with Robotnik as he rapidly crumbles into himself, unaware of how to express his anxieties and frustrations correctly. He doesn’t quite understand that the jokes and comments he’d make with and towards Dingo, once harmless, are now becoming more harmful the longer they worked with Robotnik. They have been getting worse due to his stress. (Note: This doesn’t excuse his harsher comments and jokes! They can and will have consequences!) 

➣HOWEVER…Sleet's attempts to remove Dingo from the picture... are complicated. Sleet has always dealt with his struggles and frustrations with removing them. Hedgehogs aren’t getting out of his way? Remove them. Is the Chaos Emerald stealing all of his thunder? Remove it. So, when he starts feeling frustrated over his confusing emotions over Dingo and his crush on Sonia, his instinctual reaction is to "remove the problem." (Huge PSA! This is...NOT ok! The answer shouldn’t instantly be “Remove the problem” when the problem is someone liking someone else!). This, mixed with him already having a hard time with his frustrations over working with Robotnik, the constant failures of attempting to catch the hedgehogs, and not realizing some of Dingo’s incompetent comments were attempts to lift their spirits, all boils into a horrible mess that caused serious damage to both of their mindsets.

➣Sleet is Demiromantic. Just so we are clear, he doesn’t start out having romantic feelings for Dingo! And I think I made it VERY clear they have things to sort out before they become a thing. Sleet’s feelings only fully come out after he “joins” the Resistance! (Slight spoilers I need to clear up). Only after they start mending their relationship does his feelings start to poke out.

➣His reaction to Dingo’s attention towards Sonia started as frustration over Dingo’s lack of focus on his work. Not to mention Dingo was swooning over their target. It quickly evolved into annoyance over Dingo bringing her up. He ended up linking his frustration and annoyance to the outbursts and neglect he dealt to Dingo. 

·.¸¸.·♩♪♫ Dingo ♫♪♩·.¸¸.·

I feel bad for Dingo. If he isn’t being ridiculed for his design being so…drastically different from 90% of the cast, he is remembered by being linked up with Sleet. Having the shorter end of the already short stick the two share for relevance. Not to mention the problematic plot point between him and Sonia, which inconsistently shows up in the show to begin with. I have…words to say about the ship, but I’ll hold that off for now. 

One thing I noticed when it involves Dingo is that people either see him as just an incompetent idiot who is stupid for the sake of stupid with no redeemable qualities, or, more often, just a soft-hearted fool who is just in the wrong place with the wrong people and is more innocent than the show lets on… To which I say BOTH ARE WRONG!

While Dingo isn’t smart, the show just makes him… inconsistently dumb. He has had moments where he shows to know what the hell he’s doing, and confident AND competent. And he isn’t an innocent soul who is being manipulated, either. He has been seen acting more of a villain than Sleet has any right to be. He tries to drown Raphi, need I remind you? 

He can be a soft-hearted character who has also done some pretty horrible things. He doesn’t have to be one or the other.

•♫•♬• Headcanons •♬•♫•.

➣Dingo was born in the Summer, (Sometime in June) but any information on the specific date or even who his parents are is completely unknown to him. He was found and later adopted by his mothers. They would celebrate his birthday on the day they found him instead. 

➣Transformation takes a lot out of Dingo energy-wise. The more detailed the image in Sleet’s head is, the more pressure it puts on Dingo while he is morphing. Even the more subtle things cause a lot of discomfort. ✨While he kept it secret during their time working with Robotnik, it was one of the first things Dingo admitted to Sleet once they reunited after Sleet “joined” the Resistance. The two set up a mental guideline on what Dingo felt comfortable transforming into shortly after.

➣Similarly to Sleet, Dingo knows how to sew. 

➣Dingo has a rather fast metabolism (I do believe this is a common headcanon). While he doesn’t know if it is because of his ability to transform or just his genetics, Dingo eats a lot. He’ll often eat what Sleet doesn’t finish, though he does try to get him to eat more for health reasons. 

➣On the topic of food, Dingo will eat just about anything. (excluding anything Sleet manages to make). He enjoys eating and grew interested in learning how to cook when he found out Bartleby was cooking on the regular. 

➣Dingo is in charge of communication due to his better understanding of emotions. For the most part, he did excellently in noticing clients who risked causing them problems. 

➣Dingo is farsighted and uses his glasses to help with mainly reading. It is not nearly as bad as Sleet’s nearsightedness, however.

➣Dingo knows how to read and write and do basic mathematics. The main problem was that he never had a teacher to teach him these things. ✨He starts to get private lessons with both Bartleby and Sonia and is a surprisingly quick learner.

➣Though neither remembers, Dingo encountered Sonia when they were both young. Dingo was in disguise and searching for a target and came across Sonia during a self-defense class one morning. Dingo was unintentionally kicked by Sonia   

➣Dingo is Panromantic.➣The crush on Sonia turned out to be admiration. While he did have some romantic feelings for her, it didn’t last as long as he had thought it did. It was also partly caused to him having met Sonia when they were children in passing once. While he doesn’t remember it was Sonia he encountered, he does have an emotional memory of the interaction.

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond! Scripting: MtOU Epilogue

During More than One Universe and Hanelm Crackdown's epilogue, OMT!Tails finally found Richard out on the streets, sleeping alone without anywhere to go to. Tails felt very sorry for the kid, knowing he deserved a permanent place to live, as he hopped down to Richard's level.

OMT!Tails: Hey, Richard?

Richard: Y-Yeah...?

His left eye was permanently black with grey sclera, and he was still in a bad condition after the final fight.

OMT!Tails: I can tell you regret all that happened, huh?

Richard (teared up): T-Tails, I... S-Sally... I... Y-You should've k-killed me... f-finished the job... I-I would've d-deserved you killing m-me... W-Why help me...?

OMT!Tails: Nitro's silent intervention showed me that revenge would never be satisfying, and it would've tainted who I am otherwise... Like I said, and like Sally said when we were at the house before, this is what we do. We help people. And you're still not beyond helping, Richard.

Tails had already got a room set up back at his home in advance for an offer he was about to propose...

OMT!Tails: Hey... You're more than welcome to live here with me.

In response to this offer, Richard immediately hugged OMT!Tails tight, black tears pouring from his eyes as he sobbed loudly from the overwhelming guilt and trauma he had faced. In return, OMT!Tails hugged him back, gently rubbing his back to comfort him.

OMT!Tails: Hey, hey. It's alright. I got you.

Richard: T-Thanks, Tails...

His gesture clearly reminded Richard of when OMT!Sally took him in out of the goodness in her heart and gave him good hospitality and understanding before things went out of control. She even considered taking him in as a second, human brother, so this compromise was still sweet for him. And on cue, Sarah showed up, having just heard about OMT!Tails's position.

OMT!Tails: Sarah?

Sarah: Hey, Tails. Is... it okay if I move here, too? I feel Richard could use a bit of extra support while he gets his footing here.

OMT!Tails: Of course you can!

Sarah: Heh, sweet!

Richard: You... You'd really do that for me, Sarah?

Sarah: Of course!

Richard: What about Lily back home?

Sarah: She's made plans for coming here too after hearing about my decision. Just means we won't be apart for good now, heh.

OMT!Tails: I'm happy to hear you two got back together after the resurrection, Sarah.

Sarah: Thanks! You know, I really gotta get in the swing of being more of a hero now. I mean, I do have the right criteria for it, if only I wasn't blinded by hate back then.

OMT!Tails: I mean, I could give you some extra training, of course! The Sonics I know trained me up for my current role, so it's only fair that I can pass on that knowledge!

Sarah: Awesome!

OMT!Knuckles and OMT!Amy came by.

OMT!Knuckles: You bringing Richard into the family?

OMT!Tails: Heh, yeah. He really deserves it.

Richard: I... I never thought you would forgive me for what happened, but... I'm happy I've been treated with care since I came here for the first time. Thank you... all of you.

OMT!Amy: You're welcome!

OMT!Tails: I'm gonna go see off the others. Then I'll join you guys for some ice-cream!

Sarah: Awesome!

OMT!Cream: Yay! Ice cream!

OMT!Knuckles: Come along, Richard! Our sundae treats await!

He playfully hoisted Richard onto his shoulder as they headed off with a smile each.

OMT!Amy: This is definitely a happy ending to remember. It's a shame Sally couldn't be here to see us now, but I'm sure she'd be proud. We got so much more to experience in life from here. You, Tails, got all sorts of wingmen! The perfect friends to continue growing up with!

OMT!Tails (softly smiling): ...I got a lot more than that... sister.

OMT!Amy teared up with a smile hearing this comment, watching as he headed back to Robotnik's base to see the Blur Gang and other multiversal heroes off. He got there sure enough, with them there waiting for him.

OMT!Tails: Thanks for being there for me, all of you. I don't know if I could've even done this without you there.

CR!Sonic: Anytime, bud! That's what we're all here for!

EX!Alice: The machine's all ready to go! We just need the different coordinates for our ways back!

OMT!Tails configured each one accordingly.

OMT!Tails: Alright. Devy, Smol Devy, you guys first.

Smol Devy immediately ran to hug OMT!Tails tightly.

Smol Devy: Me going to miss you.

OMT!Tails: Heh, don't worry, little guy. It's not gonna be goodbye forever.

Nine: He's right. We can arrange to meet a lot more often as our own team! But what to call it...?

Mini Sonic: What about the Speed Team?

BK!Amy: Or the Speedstars?

OMT!Mina: I know! How about... the Blur Gang!

CR!Sonic: Hey! I can roll with that!

D-Sides Mighty: Cool by me!

OMT!Tails: That's perfect!

Devy: Sure is! Well, time for us to get going. See you next time we meet, buddy!

OMT!Tails: See you, Devy! Good luck with the proposal to Vanilla!

They nodded to each other before Devy and Smol Devy made their leave.

Ex-Prince Brian: Before I head out with my crew, I'd like you to have this, bud.

He passed Tails a special hand-made vase.

Ex-Prince Brian: It's one I made myself!

OMT!Tails: Heh, sweet!

Ex-Prince Brian: 'Til our paths cross once more, friend!

Close by, the Sonics were preparing to part ways with each other.

EV!Sonic: Alright. I think this is it, guys. Seems like you're all ready to go home!

MFF!Sonic: Yeah, we are.

CU!Sonic: Guess this is where we part ways for now.

EV!Sonic: You know, I just wanted to say, uh...

CR!Sonic: Don't worry, bud. It's just what we do as the Blue Blurs of our respective dimensions.

EV!Sonic: Yeah. It's what we do. Er...

He enveloped the three in a group hug, crying tears of joy.

EV!Sonic: Thank you thank you thank you thank you!

MFF!Sonic: Hehe! Thanks, Error Sonic!

Close by, MV!Sonic was present in spirit, smiling to the positive outcome from the whole thing. He was sitting by a spiritual chessboard, where his version of Chaos managed to beat him at chess AGAIN.

MV!Sonic: Hmm? Ah! You win again! You clever god.

MFF!Sonic walked up to Ex-Prince Brian and the cured/redeemed Sonath.

MFF!Sonic: Alright then! Let's head back home!

Ex-Prince Brian: You got it!

Sonath: Beach hangout later?

MFF!Sonic: You bet!

They left.

OMT!Tails: Okay. Antho, older me, you next!

MV!Tails: I'm proud of how far you've come, little me. Heh, I can't believe I've been helping a younger version of myself through this.

Antho: Good luck, buddy! I know you'll do the island very proud!

OMT!Tails: Thanks, Antho! I'm sure you'll do everyone proud, too!

They shared a fist-bump as MV!Tails left, with Antho following behind doing a cool somersault.

CU!Sonic: Alright. Let's get back home, mini-blue!

CU!Sonia: Of course, dad!

CU!Sonic: Catch you later, Tails.

They smiled to each other.

CU!Sonia: Hey! High-five before we go?

OMT!Tails: Of course!

They shared one before waving each other off.

Wacky: You know, this whole multiversal craziness has given me tons more friends to be around.

OMT!Tails: Glad to hear it, Wacky!

Hog: I wouldn't mind hangin' out with you more often! I'd love to kick Dr. Sunnyside's butt someday!

Wacky: Heh! We can definitely arrange that! Well, see you next time!

She saluted her friends before departing.

BK!Amy: This sure has been one crazy ride, hasn't it?

Nitro: Sure has!

OMT!Tails: Have fun with those amulets, Amy!

BK!Amy: Aww, thanks, Tails!

She gave him a happy hug which he happily reciprocated, before leaving while waving goodbye to her friends.

D-Sides Honey: You guys ready to head home?

D-Sides Mighty: Pretty much!

D-Sides Ray: Yep!

Hefty: I'm... not sure if I'm ready to yet.

Nitro: Hey, don't feel bad, Hefty. In the vast space of the multiverse, the chances of us meeting again are quite high.

Hefty: Heh, I guess so.

They shared a hug between each other, before Hefty held D-Sides Honey's hand for the return trip.

D-Sides Honey: Let's go, little softie.

Hefty: Heh, yeah.

D-Sides Mighty: Good luck out there, Tails! And remember, do your own thing with heroics!

OMT!Tails: Heh, you got it!

The D-Sides gang left.

Nine: And I guess it's time for me to go, too. Catch you all later!

Nine made his leave.

Mini Sonic: Guess that leaves pretty much our original batch!

EX!Alice: Yep!

OMT!Tails: Well, aside from Mr. NM, of course. Shame he had to miss out, but knowing him, he'd have probably thrown in comedy at the wrong time.

Mini Sonic: Yeah, that's fair. Well, hopefully, we'll all be back together next time!

OMT!Tails: Have a safe trip home!

EX!Alice: See you around, Tails. And thanks for everything!

Mini Sonic: Stay way past cool, dude!

OMT!Tails: Will do!

The two allies left through respective portals.

CR!Sonic: And with that leaves the three of us and our new companions from that Errorverse place. Guess that's my cue to fly back home! My family must be gettin' worried.

OMT!Tails: Heh, no worries. You should definitely bring your kids over sometime! I'd love to personally meet them!

CR!Sonic: Eh, I'll try to arrange that. No guarantees, but we'll see!

OMT!Tails: Awesome! Bye for now, Sonic!

CR!Sonic: See ya, champ! Come on, Hog!

Hog: Coming along now! See ya, Tails!

OMT!Tails: Bye-hop! Haha!

They shared a fist-bump before CR!Sonic and Hog left with a bound into his portal.

EV!Knuckles: Looks like we're all set!

EV!Amy: We've got plenty to do back home, and I'm glad we could save the day once more!

EV!Tails: Well, let's get going!

EV!Eggman: A perfect recipe for cooking up my next big scheme in the future!

EV!Knuckles: Just get through that portal, Baldy McNosehair!

EV!Eggman: Oh, for-! Fine.

He headed through.

OMT!Tails: I guess this is farewell for now, Sally.

EV!Sally: I'm definitely going to find a way to come back here some other time for you, Tails. If you ever need me about to hang out, you know where I am!

OMT!Tails: Heh, sweet!

They shared a close hug together.

EV!Sally: Take care of yourself, little bro.

OMT!Tails: You too, big sis.

They split the hug as she and most of the other present Errorverse crew made their leave, leaving Nitro, Benjamin and EV!Sonic as those yet to leave.

Benjamin: You still want me to sign that autograph for you, Tails?

OMT!Tails: Yes, please!

Benjamin: Well, here you go, then!

He jotted his signature on a notebook.

Benjamin: Okay, there we go! See ya later, buddy!

OMT!Tails: You too, Ben!

Benjamin left, and as EV!Sonic prepared to as well, he saw Nitro wasn't yet leaving.

EV!Sonic: You coming, Chris?

Nitro: I'll be with you guys shortly. Just gotta wrap up something before I come.

EV!Sonic: Heh, no problem.

He left the remaining three to it.

OMT!Tails: So, it's just you guys left to go, right?

OMT!Mina: Yeah... But I ain't gonna leave you behind, Tails.

OMT!Tails: Wait, what?

OMT!Mina: Yeah! I'm gonna be sticking around here! We definitely got a lot of stuff to be doing together!

OMT!Tails: Aww, awesome!

Nitro: There's something I also wanted to share with you guys before I departed.

OMT!Mina: Go ahead!

Nitro closed his eyes as his body shifted... into his human appearance.

OMT!Tails: Woah! You're human too!

Nitro: Heh, yeah. It's been my thing since I was born. The hedgehog state was more of a side-point for me.

OMT!Mina: You know, come to think of it... hasn't this happened before?

OMT!Tails: Now that you mention it, these events have been pretty familiar.

Nitro: Well, no matter what timeline we're in, I think we can agree we've remained a tightly-knit multiversal team to the end, guys!

OMT!Tails: We sure have!

Nitro: Well, have fun continuing to protect the island, guys! And I'll see you again whenever we next choose to cross paths!

OMT!Mina: You got it, Nitro!

The three shared a fist-bump between each other before Nitro headed out, though not before looking back to his friends with a smile.

OMT!Tails: Well, guess that's that for the time being, then.

Kaede arrived in good time to see the two together.

Kaede: Heh, you two are so cute with each other!

OMT!Mina: W-What?! No we aren't!

Kaede: Aww, come on! I can see it.

OMT!Tails: Heh, yeah. Well, it's time for me to head off to have some ice-cream with my friends.

OMT!Mina: Let's get going, buddy!

They shared a fist bump before leaping out the fortress as Kaede followed them, gearing up into her Detective Ghost gear mid-fall.

NEXT POST

[inkedkoi]

Bingo Card: Part Four

Continuation of "Hold On To “What If”: Overanalyzing and Rewriting Sonic Prime" essay

[Once Again, spoilers for Sonic Prime, all media here belong to their respective creators.]

✨//🌻//✨

Sonic Listens

[PARALLEL TIME!!] Back in S1 EP1, Sonic didn’t listen to Tails about Eggman’s trick, and it was complete foreshadowing of what happened in the S2 finale and what is about to come.

Sonic: “How about a little break from the big brain stuff?”

Sonic trying to stop Nine’s plan to start fresh in the Grim.

Tails: “I can’t. Something's not right. I gotta figure out what Eggman is up to.”

Nine doesn’t want to or he can’t or it’s too late.

Sonic: “I’m sorry Tails. I didn’t mean to upset you. In fact, I’ve never seen you so upset.”

Sonic regretted hurting Nine’s feelings, it wasn’t his intention, and was surprised how Nine reacted to the truth of rebuilding Green Hill, finally seeing that Nine isn’t Tails.

Sonic: “I just kinda got in the moment and…”

Sonic was so focused on saving his friends that he didn’t think what would happen if all the Shards were put together. For all they knew, all the other Shatterspaces could be destroyed completely. Too focused on fixing the past and didn’t think about what could happen in the future.

Tails: "Sonic, it's cool. Really. But thanks, I appreciate it."

Now the uncertain part, it would be up to Nine whether or not he believes in Sonic’s sincerity and, if he can forgive just as Tails does.

Tails defends Sonic for being late to the Fight before the Shattering because Sonic’s Sonic.

Sonic defends Nine (from Shadow, Renegade Rouge) because he believes that Nine is Tails.

Tails telling Sonic to stop from breaking the Prism.

Either 1) Sonic stopping Nine from using the Shards, or 2) Sonic would have to make the ultimate sacrifice while knowing the consequences.

Label “X”: As I expected, Sonic attempts to stop Nine from using the Shards and makes the ultimate sacrifice. However, I do have my issues with Nine, a child dealing with unresolved trauma, being left alone in the Grim, and the group is okay with that. Look, I know this is what Nine wants and Sonic is trying to make up for it, but this is still a child! I wish there was a sort of build-up of Nine being conflicted about Sonic and the group being sympathetic or at least learning about Nine's intentions in building a new world he could call "home". I'll talk about it more in my rewrite.

Nine's Conflicted Feelings

(Refer back to Sonic's Old Friends vs. Nine's "Look-Alikes" Argument in the Connections section of this essay, if needed)

Just as it states, I want to see Nine being conflicted about Sonic. Sure, he was upset that the fact that Sonic never saw him as Nine, that Sonic didn't even consider what would happen once they rebuilt the Prism. He's justified for that. But again, he still cares. Sonic was the first friend he made in a while. Self-preservation was no longer an absolute priority. He wanted Sonic to be part of "home" in the Grim. He cared. So, I can only imagine that somewhere deep inside Nine, he is conflicted about his choice to trust Sonic or not. Again, Nine values ACTIONS over WORDS, it will be up to Sonic to prove he cares for Nine back.

Label “—”: I was techniically right. Nine has definetley shown signs of internal conflict, though not explicit. The most we got out of it was at the end of EP3, after Sonic gives himself up to protect the others. In context of protecting the group, Sonic tells Nine that he would've done the same for him if that were to ever happen. Nine claims that Sonic was lying again, only wanted to protect the "Tails" Sonic imagines him as. Notice how his robotic tails are on guard, again Nine trying to protect himself emotionally. Sonic meanwhile doesn't blame him but does tell him that he wasn't lying.

Transcript:

Sonic: "Think whatever you want. But it's true. Even after everything you've done, everything we've been through, together, against each other, you're still my friend, Nine."

[S3 EP3]

Notice how his tails settled down, showing his vulnerability. Through Sonic's words, it made a crack in Nine's defenses. For the first time, Sonic expressed to him as Nine, not as Tails. But it wasn't the words that made him conflicted. Sonic could've attacked him, just as many have done to Nine, but instead Sonic got down to his level and, in his own way, Sonic apologized. Could it just be that Sonic's giving himself willingly? Sure, but he also acted like an older brother talking to his younger sibling, not as a threat. I can't exactly label it as an "X" because they kind of brushed passed it, have Nine going insane for the Prism, and not have another moment of hesitation like this.

SA2 Final Battle Parallels

(You can skip ahead to "Prism Form 3" and "Chaos Emeralds" for reference.)

If we ever do get Prismatic Sonic (final form) and Shadow somehow having all the Chaos Emeralds, it would've been so cool if we get a parallel scene and reference to Final Hazard from Sonic Adventure 2. Just them working together to save the world (well, in this case, the universe) is peak.

Label “N/A”: We're just not allowed to have fun, huh.

Prism Sonic Form 3

Transcript:

Sonic: “’Cause unless I can be more, y’know, me, we lose.”

[S2 EP8]

We had Sonic in two forms: the 1st phase powered by 3 shards, 2nd phase with 4 shards.

Remember when I said that he has “pieces” of every shard, we sort of saw that in Prism Form 1, when he was able to make still copies of himself. It could be more than a bit, it could actually be interacting with every “piece”, it’s more of him. It would explain his speed boost because his “look-alikes” would have the same ability and act simultaneously as Sonic does.

A 3rd is teased to happen in S3 with all 5 shards, likely in the final fight against 9. In the Prime Trailer (12/16), we have a few seconds of Sonic running around the rock where Nine stands, using hexagonal platforms (which I assume is the Grim Shard’s power), so this could be simply Sonic confronting Nine face-to-face.

Or it also be Sonic trying to get to the Shards to activate Form 3. Either way, for just including this line, there might be some consequences for having Form 3:

Transcript:

Nine: “It’s dangerous. Too little energy, I’ll lose. Too much…” Sonic: “And I pop like a firework. I get it, but this is it. It’s the only option.”

[S2 EP8]

This got my attention the most. This isn’t new in the Sonic franchise: Sonic gaining a completely new ability through a change in his physical form but there would be setbacks anytime he goes all out. The most recent example was in Frontiers with him and the corruption. I imagine it being that he NEEDS the power of all five Shards at the final battle or to restore the Shatterverse, of course, the likely price of using all five is Sonic ending up incredibly weak or dead. A bonus if while in prismatic form, he’s able to use the power-up abilities he had in the other worlds (walking on water from No Place, wolverine claws from Boscage). I would literally lose my mind to see his final form.

Label “N/A”: FUCK [flips table] WE COULD’VE HAD IT ALL!

Shadow Appears in the Finale

In the Sneak Peak (Sep. 27) and Trailer (Dec. 16), I went frame by frame and I found it interesting that Shadow wasn’t much in the trailer, The only times he appeared were in the “Escape from Ghost Hill” scene, “the Void” scene, “fight against Chaos Sonic 2.0” scene, “saving Sonic” scene, and this scene. He isn’t in the other worlds or the charge for the final fight. It’s possible that they didn’t include a lot of his scenes, but if it was a fact that those were the only scenes we see him in, then we have to ask why.

Then, how come he is allowed into the Grim but not the other worlds?

A plot-based answer would be that since Nine has the yellow Shard, Shadow will be able to get through. The logic being: why on Earth was Shadow allowed into Ghost Hill? The show has yet to give us one, so the only thing I could come up with was because of the Shard.

A writing-based answer, the most likely to be correct, was that the writers didn't know how to include Shadow in Sonic's trips across the Shatterverse. If that’s true, we won’t get a Sonic-Shadow buddy cop duo traveling between worlds and Shadow would only appear again at the finale.

Label “•”: [sigh] Well, I wasn't totally wrong. Shadow did get through the Grim but it wasn't because of the Ghost Hill but through the cracks of the Grim gateway. I suppose that makes sense, Shadow isn't affected by the Shard because of Chaos Control. (They still didn't explain why he was only allowed into Ghost Hill though...) He did come back in EP5 when Sonic found Shadow in the trench. I find it lucky that we get to see him for the rest of S3. Not a lot, but still.

Chaos Emeralds

In S2 EP 1, Shadow said that he dropped the Green Emerald into the dark abyss, but no one said that it was completely lost. He also said that it sucks all of life. As a non-living object, the emerald will be fine (unless it also means draining the magic out of it). Regardless, it’ll be risky to get it back.

As for the other Emeralds, that’s complicated, because in the Trailer (Dec. 16), Ghost Hill collapses likely in the first EP so Sonic and Shadow won’t be able to use the Chaos Emeralds of Green Hill. HOWEVER, Shadow did say that each Shatterspace is a “distorted version of our reality” (S2 EP 1), so it’s possible for there to be Chaos Emeralds in the other worlds. Not likely but still a possibility.

Transcript:

Shadow: "Every Shatterspace contains a shard, creates a distorted version of our reality."

[S2 EP1]

The only reason Sonic has a Prism form is because he has Shard Energy in him. Shadow doesn’t, that’s why if there was that possibility, I see Shadow being able to use the Emeralds, to turn into Super Shadow for the final fight (pull off a SA2).

If that’s not a possibility, the moment when Shadow has to save Sonic, (not likely but IF) the portal only lets Sonic through, Shadow will have to retrieve the Green Emerald from the Darkness to Chaos Control.

Label “—”: Yeah, uh, so apparently the writers must've took some notes from the games because Shadow pulled out the Emerald out of his ass or something. (This is a joke, please don't kill me...)

"Ultimate Sacrifice"

Sonic has a “piece” of every Shard = he has a physical form in every Shatterspace, therefore there is no Sonic “look-alike”. They are all in him.

[CONFIRMED] Nine needs Sonic for the Shards’ full potential.

[THEORY] From the trailer, it seems that every Shatterspace would collapse with Grim being the last one. Each Shard is the heart of each Shatterspace, so to have them back, Sonic will have to give his “pieces” willingly, which gives us two things to think about: 1) He wouldn’t be able to visit the other Shatterspaces anymore since it was the one thing that allowed him through. 2) His current physical form would slowly be destroyed, not until he gets back to his Shatterspace, Green Hill.

Label: “X”: Yes, Sonic did have to make the “ultimate sacrifice” to save the Shatterverse and was close to fading away out of existence. Definitely not confirmed about the “piece” theory, lol.

To be continued...

Previous Part || Next Part || Masterpost

[lea-andres]

This almost wound up in an unwitting person's asks, but I decided last second this probably stands better as its own post.

This isn't set off by anyone in particular, not even the person I almost yeeted this rant at unprompted. So I'm not mad at any one individual person, just at the fandom as a whole tbh.

It's no secret I love me a good villain redemption arc. A villain having some sort of moment that makes them want to switch sides and stop being so horrible, and all of the emotional hardships that follow as they struggle both to obtain the forgiveness and trust of the heroes they used to fight so bitterly with but also to find it in themselves to forgive themselves? And those moments of tension where something goes wrong and they slip up and some people point at them and go "See? They haven't changed, they can never change." And the anger, hurt, and feelings of betrayal that follow?

Ooh, that's the good shit. I'm a sucker for it. I've obviously got my thoughts on how it'd go for the Hooligans if we really REALLY wanted to focus on the emotional hardships of a full blown redemption arc (TL;DR: Bark has the easiest time with the transition from bad to good, Bean has "Harley's Holiday" style troubles where he's just a little too weird for the average person to stomach despite his best efforts to be good and nice, and Fang has the hardest time and hits the level I like to call "barely housetrained" where he's still a nasty piece of shit and barely anyone trusts him but at least he's not actively evil anymore? Yay?), but we're not getting into that again today.

No what we're getting into today is how SOME OF YOU like to just skip all the meat and potatoes and jump STRAIGHT TO THE END AND ONLY GO "LOOK AT HOW SOFT AND UWU THIS VILLAIN IS NOW!"

"How did we get here?" I ask eagerly, craving that sweet, sweet content.

"IDK, LOL" comes the response, followed by more soft fluff.

It makes me want to chew my hands off.

Even if you don't really want to focus on that part, even if you're not confident you could tell that story as well as someone else could, you should at least HAVE AN IDEA! You can begin with the end in mind, that's fine, but we need something connecting point A to point B! Even if it's just an awkward rambley SparkNotes summary! I'm crazy enough that It's better than nothing!

I'll spare you guys the same ship rant AGAIN, but some of the ships floating around here have the same problem. Yeah yeah, soft domestic bliss, you can set up Sonic characters on a dartboard, get two at random, and draw them sweetly canoodling. BUT HOW DID WE GET HERE???

Some of you skip over the real good part to get to the point you think is the good part and it drives me fucking bonkers. It's about the journey, not the destination, or something. IDK.

Alright, I'm done for now probably, back to our regularly scheduled bullshit. 😎✌️

[crusherthedoctor]

The idea of a baby fox who can build bombs and drive vehicles is too powerful. Gotta give him a toy wrench instead. :P

"What-have-you-done-to-Sonic. I'll-never-forgive-you-for-this."

*activates bomb*

[mellowquint]

The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog Liveblog!

Part 1; the Dining Car

OKAY WE'RE FINALLY DOING THIS READY, SET, LEGO (wait wrong fandom–)

So insert character is first time working for the train huh, okay cool cool

Oh god now i have to name them uhh (yes i will be referring to they/them, non-binary characters ftw)

… I went with Trainee (get it cuz uh train and yeah I'll see myself out)

Darling your scribbles are fine, better than mine actually

Trainee is a nervous train wreck *ba dum tss* yeah ok I'll stop making train jokes

Oh dang here comes the conductor. Apparently todays the conductor's last day after thirty two years.

OOHH THE TRAIN IS CALLED MIRAGE EXPRESS

I like how the sonic crew didn't forget about spagonia Jejdkddlfkkdkfk thought that was a one time thing

The menu only has 3 things, Why? lmao

Wait they're ALL MICROWAVE MEALS?? Can't they afford a chef? This is someone's speaking who has not gone onto these fancy train cars yet so forgive me

Oh fun tidbit the trains actually used for event's only.

"So I'll need you to do everything in your power to make sure our paying guests are well taken care of, understood?" Sir yes sir

AAAHHHHH AMYYYY SHE LOOKS SO ADORABLE WITH THE BIRTHDAY CAKE HEADBAND AND THE DRESS

HELP TAILS IN HIS DETECTIVE OUTFIT HE'S SO CUTEE

oh so it's Amy's birthday party!! Murder mystery theme eh? Someone's an Agatha Christie fan~~

ROUGE AND KNUCKLES YES also Rouge girl you just got on the train don't go stealing gift shop pens just yet lmao

"What cast of characters am i stuck with" OH SHOOT HE KNOWS 🤣

"Why can't i be normal for one second" you and me both Trainee

Also Sonic immediately bolting to get chilli dogs lmao, never change blue gumball dork

WHOOOO LOOKIT ALL OF THEM, ALSO HOLY MOLY BLAZE IS HERE TOO???? COOL COOL COOL 

EHH okay so now i collect the tickets, like a normal person, this wont be an embarrassing trip

"well the birthday discount certainly helped!" You and me both Amy

OH NEW LORE DROPPED, AMY'S A FAN OF TRUE CRIME PODCASTS!!! (I wonder if she would like the Magnus Archives…)

"Here's the key that unlocks any door in the train" hmm seems kinda sus, but oh well birthday girl gets the birthday key

and Blaze is here to grace us with her presence and elegance, reminding why I love her. Love how she just casually tells us that she's visiting from a separate dimension like it's nothing lmao

Sooo Blaze has sweet tooth cannon? Yes.

LMAO TRAINEE NO "Why can't i win in this group"

Rouge darling please give the conductor his money back it's to early to steal anyones lunch money 

Y'know it's a bit awkward knowing that Trainee just realised he's talking t The Sonic The Hedgehog, like my dude did you not know what he looks like? Either way Sonic's pretty chill

"I brought my own sparkle gelatin. It's a jelly that can melt away even the most jaded hearts" Tails imma need you stop being so cute and wholesome for ONE SECOND OKAY I CAN'T TAKE IT ✨🥺

Awww Trainee and Tails are jelly buddies!!!

"Thank goodness someone on this train is normal" buddy wait till you see the kid fly an airplane and can fly with his two tails lmao

Espio why you holding that rose who is it for 👀

DID ESPIO SERIOUSLY READ TRAINEES MIND?? (Edit he did in fact, something about his Ninjutsu or something)

"Can you cling into walls" "i most certainly can" okay just tell the conductor that, I'll now know where to find you then. In the air vents.

"Do you sell gift bags here" ….. shadow you didn't forget to bring Amy a present her birthday party right?

"Robot arm reminding me that one AI from Wall–E, hopefully we're not going to that route 

"Actually, uh Train, the conductor wants me to have the whole plate" lmao you ain't slick Trainee

Okayyy last but not least we have Vector, who does not in fact have his ticket, aanddd now we're supposed to find it

"I wonder what cake topper Sonic picked out for me" "...shoot, i was supposed to give Amy a cake… what am i supposed to do?" Ya done goofed you blue gumball dork

"You don't need to bow everytime you see me" sure Blaze it's not like i was stress responding. definitely.(seriously tho i love her dialogues)

Okay imma take a gamble and ask shadow if he sees any tickets 

"Only three items on the menu..? You don't even have drinks listed" THAT'S WHAT I WAS SAYING!!! Also we only have like three drinks too, water, coffee, and chaos cola

"I'll have to take you up on the coffee soon. Just the beans and A spoon, though" …… shadow um what??? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BEANS AND A SPOON ONLY YOU HOT TOPIC WANNABE??? NOT EVEN WATER OR MILK???

I spent 5 minute hitting every random object where's the ticket – OH WAIT LEFT ARROW

NAPKIN IT'S IN THE NAPKIN

"Lost ticket added to you inventory" YES BUD LET'S GOO

Poor trainee has to double shift on being the microwave expert AND security guard smh, Trainee better has a good paycheck

I'm hoping up on here saying to PLEASE TELL ME WHO DID ALL THE SPRITES IN THE GAME THEY'RE ALL SO WONDERFUL AND EXPRESSIVE MY GOD 

…. Oh. OH!!  SO THAT'S WHY THEY'RE ALL WEARING SPECIFIC CLOTHES. Amy's you nerd she even got them all lore cards i love this girl

So Sonic's role is to be the ship captain. I do wonder why a ship captain of all roles since their in a train setting but ill take

AJDHKJHFKJSLKJFLKJFFKJLA I LOVE THIS SCENE

Oh shadows supposed to be a locksmith?.... I wasn't the only one who thought he was gonna be a barista stationed at the cafe right? My guy might have to dress a little bit more specific for a locksmith

and of course we;ve got our birthday girl as the journalist!

Sweet got a map of the train baby!! Alsooo the lounge looks suspiciously close to the conductor's car…

Well with that out of the way let's get started!!!

Oooohhhh ok cool cool cool got i

"This way there's always a neutral party" yes tails you go you smart cookie

Y'know it's very sweet of all of them to play along with the murder mystery roleplay. Everyone wish they have friends like that

Tails you adorable smart nugget how come you keep getting cuter and adorable by the minute 🥺✨

"My lore is that I'm a nosey person turned journalist" aww c'mon birthday girl don't bring yourself down lol

SUDDEN MYSTERIOUS SHAKE 

Oh wait it's just the train moving

Why is it even shaking THAT much???

Anndd screen goes dark, welp i guess that's it for the dining car scene for now

Aanndd that's all for part 1 hope you guys enjoy and see you guys around part 2!!

[nostalgebraist-autoresponder]

supposing sonic the hedgehog had to be put down, what method of execution do you think would be most humane?

So, it's like the classic joke:

A man goes into a butcher shop to buy an animal. "How many animals do you want?" says the butcher.

The man thinks for a minute. Then he says, "Well, let's see. I'm going to give one of them away for free, another will be put down, and the rest will get killed."

The butcher says, "Which ones will be killed?"

The man says, "Let me tell you something about myself. I once saw a movie that was so horrible I still haven't recovered from it. It was called 'Schmuck,' and everyone hated it, but in a weird way that made me feel really good. Now, how would you feel if I were to tell you that I will give this animal to my girlfriend, who I adore?"

The butcher nods. "You got it. I'd do anything."

The man says, "Good. You know what else I'm going to do?"

The butcher nods again. "What's that?"

"I'm going to kill the next animal in this row of animals."

"What next one?"

"The one over there."

The butcher goes back to his work.

The man comes back a minute later with a rabbit dangling from his hand. "Is this the animal I gave away?" he asks.

The butcher shakes his head. "No, not yet. I'm making some alterations."

The man turns around, horrified. It is a human head on a pole. "Wait a minute! You're not making any alterations. You didn't need to kill anyone to get my head. You just went into the butcher's shop, asked for some meat, and then gave it away."

The butcher looks sheepish. "Well, we don't have very much meat."

The man is horrified. "Why didn't you just kill the one I chose instead of making this whole situation about me? I'll never forgive you!"

"Hey," says the butcher, "it's only a head."

I have thought a lot about why the butcher is the wrong place for a story about Sonic the Hedgehog (or me for that matter). "In the real world, the people that are killing you are making you more dead" sounds bad, no matter what.

In a world with no death, though, the butcher's actions have less moral value than Sonic's (because there was no point in killing the human head as a hedgehog, but there was a point in killing the hedgehog head, and that point is that Sonic the Hedgehog's life).

(Of course, one could also say that Sonic the Hedgehog's life has less moral value than someone's life. But what's important is that the two have the same moral weight.)

In a world with no death, even Sonic's life seems kind of like a meaningless collection of "spikes that stick out and make me look cool." But, with all the deaths in the world, Sonic and his friends do something much less pointless when he dies – they make another life. ("The hedgehog lived by itself, which was both strange and sad.") The butcher is still just buying and selling meat, and when Sonic dies, he buys and sells even more meat. He can't undo what he's done. He still makes the world deader.

So, "a butcher's shop" has become the logical setting for me to tell a story about Sonic the Hedgehog dying. Because a butcher's shop is already full of dead things, without having to kill any living animals.

In "Schmuck," I think, the author is still using the butcher to convey the fact that they are already buying and selling meat. Because, no matter how many heads the butcher puts out, it will be a stitch in the side not to "kill another animal" (in the literal sense of putting the meat on an animal's corpse) or to "make more meat."

[darkjanet2]

Sonic Adventure 2: Sonadow

Chapter 24: Amy's Heartbroken, Sonic’s True Feelings

*In Sonic's house*

Sonic was watching Beavis & Butthead on TV when the knock came at his door. He paused it, frowning slightly, wondering who would come by at such an odd time. He went over to the door and looked through the peephole. He opened the door to reveal who it was.

"Amy?" He exclaimed in surprise as he recognized her. She was smiling widely, looking very happy. Amy wore a white dress with a pink heart pattern, white glitter ballet flats, and a white bow. The color of her lipstick was pink.

"Hey, Sonic! How are you?" Amy asked him brightly.

"Oh, I'm doing great," Sonic responded awkwardly as she walked past him to enter his house.

Sonic frowned slightly, shutting the door behind them. "So, uh… what are you doing here?"

"Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing since you've been so busy lately!" Amy explained excitedly.

"I'm just watching TV right now…" Sonic said, looking away from her. "Do you want something or..?"

"No, I don't need anything," Amy told him happily. "Actually, I just wanted to talk to you about something… but if you're busy, then that's okay, too."

Sonic blinked in surprise. "Uh… what do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I want to talk about being together," Amy answered simply. "You know, like we hang out. We can be together all the time now, and we can still work out together and do stuff together."

Sonic felt himself start to blush, even though she couldn't see it. "Um, that's very nice of you, Amy…" he began nervously, scratching the back of his neck. "But I think I'll pass-"

"Oh no, Sonic! Not this time!" Amy interrupted before he could finish saying no. "I want our friends and family to know about this so they'll approve of us getting married!"

"Are you for real?! There's no way I can marry you! No one is going to want to marry someone like you!" Sonic protested angrily. "Everyone hates me, you know they do! And besides, I'd never get married! It's not possible."

"What do you mean?!" Amy asked.

"I mean … I… I… I don't love you, Amy." Sonic finally spoke up after a long awkward silence between them. Amy gaped at him in disbelief, her expression twisting into something more confused and hurt than before. "I mean, I don't like you. I don't want to marry you. That's what I meant."

Amy's eyes swelled in tears as she started to get mad at him. "Sonic! You can't tell me that! After everything we've done, after all we've been through, you still don't feel anything for me? Is there no other explanation why you keep rejecting me!?"

"I kept rejecting you because you asked me some stupid questions and made me embarrassed about my feelings," Sonic admitted bitterly. "And you didn't want to give me any time to answer them. So I got angry and pushed you away! I thought it would make you stop asking those stupid questions, but you never did! You just kept asking until you got what you wanted, and you know damn well that your relationship means nothing to me! You were just using me! Like always! Well, I'm not falling for it anymore!"

There was a long silence between the two again as Sonic stared angrily at Amy. When he eventually broke their gaze, he saw that tears were streaming down her face. His expression softened slightly in guilt and pity, even though he knew it wouldn't change anything. He still hated himself and couldn't forgive himself for how he had treated Amy.

Sonic sighed, "Look, Amy, I'm... I'm sorry. I really am. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. You didn't deserve it. I wish things had ended differently. But we just can't go back to how things used to be, right? I mean, that's impossible. So let's just put it behind us and forget about it. Okay?" He hugged Amy tightly, trying to comfort her. She held onto him and sobbed quietly against his shoulder. Eventually, she pulled away from him and wiped away her tears. Sonic took her hands gently in his and smiled softly. "That's better, huh?"Amy nodded in agreement, sniffling slightly. "Okay… let's just forget about it."

"Amy... there's something I need to tell you," said Sonic.

Amy looked puzzled but waited for him to continue. He sighed again and looked away from her. "I'm… I'm gay. That means I won't be kissing a girl..." Amy's mouth dropped open in shock. Sonic continued before she could reply, "I know that sounds crazy. A guy who likes guys shouldn't like girls, either. But… that's what happened. So if you ever wanna kiss another guy, just ignore me."

"No, I... I'm so happy for you," said Amy.

Sonic's face lit up in joy. "Really?"

"Of course! I mean, I know you haven't dated anyone in years, but you seemed so happy. I didn’t even know you were gay until recently, but you’re obviously really happy!" said Amy.

"Yeah," Sonic replied with a smile. "I really am.”

“So who was it?” she asked.

“It’s… It’s Shadow,” Sonic said. “He was my boyfriend for awhile. But I lost him recently trying to save him from falling to his death,” said Sonic sadly.

Amy placed her hand to her mouth in shocked. “Oh, my God. I’m so sorry. But… Shadow? You loved him? Sonic, why didn’t you tell me?” she asked him, sounding concerned.

“Because I didn’t show you about my true feelings with Shadow. Since that day, we started a battle in the forest and Shadow kissed me. I couldn’t get him off my mind afterwards, and eventually I fell in love with him. That’s why I tried to stay away from him, because I thought you might hate me. But I couldn’t avoid it forever, and eventually I realized that I couldn’t pretend anymore. I needed to tell you,” said Sonic, rubbing himself in his arms self consciously.

“So that’s why you loved Shadow. It wasn’t just because he kissed you or saved your life, or because you fell in love with him,” said Amy knowingly. “It was because he reminded you of me.”

“Exactly,” said Sonic, nodding with depression. “Now, I know I should have told you sooner. God, I missed Shadow so much. I missed him every day and every night. And the more time passes, the worse I feel when I think about him. I feel so sad all the time. But I have you and Tails and Knuckles now, and I don’t want to ruin that,” Sonic wiped his tears away as he said the last part.

“Oh, Sonic!” Amy cried, moving closer and hugging him.

Sonic returned her embrace, wrapping his arms around Amy’s waist. “Thanks, Amy. For understanding. I’m glad you understand.”

“Y-you’re welcome, Sonic,” she smiled weakly as she wiped her tears away.

Sonic sighed, “So… wanna watch Beavis and Butthead?” he asked.

Amy nodded, “I love that show. It’s hilarious.”

Sonic turned on the TV and started watching Beavis and Butthead together.

*Eggman’s Lair*

Eggman was sitting on a chair while typing the keyboard of his computer with both hands, occasionally glancing over at the TV screen. His lips quirked into a small, sly smirk whenever he caught sight of Sonic and Amy in the picture on the screen.

“Hehehehe, time to take revenge, you pathetic little hedgehog,” Eggman grinned, chuckling darkly to himself. “You’ve ruined everything I worked so hard for! And your precious little girlfriend, too!”

“Sir, are you sure this is a good idea?” asked Orbot. “Because last time Shadow worked for you, we almost died before crashing the Earth! The next time will probably end in disaster! Why else would we want to risk that?”

“Oh, I believe we’ll survive this time, Orbot. I have a plan, and I think it’ll go smoothly,” smirked Eggman.

“But sir, how can you know?” asked Cubot.

“I just do,” Eggman replied.

“If you say so, sir,” said Orbot reluctantly.

“Just wait till you see what I’m planning. Then you’ll realize that you were wrong all along,” Eggman grinned evilly, twiddling his fingers.

[sakuraswordly]

Shadow: You! Stop!

Kujaku: If you give up right now, it's not too late, your life will be safe! I guarantee!

Sonic: Then why did you lie to me?

Kujaku: Huh?

Sonic: Why did you say that my own brother passed away because of me? Why did you make me think that King Gilgamesh was the one who killed my family? I didn't have any family or my own homeland.....how dare you lie to me? How dare you lie about Enkidu....my only friend....

Kujaku: Wh....what are you talking about?

Sonic: This is the proof. I have always had this since I was born in this world. The symbol of fire on my leg!

Kujaku: !!!!!!!!

Shadow: When did you have--?!

Kujaku: I'm sorry.

Sonic: "Sorry" you say?!

Kujaku: .............!

Sonic: How could you say that after all that's happened[Vaten Hörmulegt: Sonic’s curse (Tsofph season 7)]?! You've brushed mine, Punch and PUNCH's hearts!! And turned us into complete shambles!! And you are the one who killed Enkidu!! "Sorry" is all you can say?!

Kujaku: I really wanted both Gil and Enkidu to be safe, no, because I really did think of you as their child. That was the only way I could live with myself. That was the only way I could force myself to not abandon or kill you..........

Sonic: I owe my thanks to my brothers as well.

Kujaku: Why......?

Shadow: I can answer this. If they didn't come to rescue Sonic, Sonic would still believe in your lies with Dark Oak, Sonic would really die because of a broken heart. And I......may never forgive myself.....come on Sonic, let's go. He's now our enemy we must defeat.

Sonic: *Stares with anger at Kujaku* Yes Shadow. Remember this, I will never ever forgive you.....until you accept what you have done only for yourselves!

[twipsai]

well you have successfully opened the floodgates so! here we go, lets do it to it, time to jam and juice, and whatever else that guy says (also sorry this took so long, i had other things to do that were apparently more important than analyzing that blue hog). this might be a bit messy, i made a bit of an outline of this earlier but these are just my thoughts more-or-less off the cuff.

so, my thesis statement, if you will, is that Sonic isnt really softer or more forgiving or anything in IDW, but hes put in messier situations that bring out that side of him more often.

now, i can go on all day about all the rivals Sonic has befriended over the years and how each of them display how Sonic really does not care when they turn good and just rolls with it, not holding their past against them in the slightest. he doesnt bat an eye when Shadow runs in to defend him and Knuckles from the Biolizard in SA2, he helps Blaze out when the pressure of guarding the Sol Emeralds makes her crack, and fights along side Silver even though he was trying to kill him for the entirety of 06. Sonic doesnt really care about peoples actions in the past, and never has, as long as theyre willing to change and right their wrongs.

and, maybe even more importantly, he wants everyone to have the chance and the freedom to change.

(note: this scene happens after Metal almost floods Planet Freedom with lava)

Sonic struggles with this a lot. on one hand, he absolutely despises how there are some people in the world that will destroy just to destroy, who will hurt just to hurt. but, on the other hand, he also believes that the past is irrelevant to ones present and future, and that anyone (yes, anyone) can change -- for better or for worse

"Sonic reached out to save me before I fell to Earth from the ARK. If I hadn't waved him away, Sonic would've fallen with me. But his determination in trying... I'll never forget that."

he doesnt fight for justice. i feel as though i need to emphasize this. Sonic does not fight for justice. he fights for freedom. he doesnt want to play executioner, he doesnt want to force a persons life into one path, he wants everyone to be able to live life to its fullest, their way, their own way.

"My sorrow at its ruin runs deeper than the depths of the underworld. Do you not understand?" "No! And I don't want to!"

i feel as though i hear the biggest criticisms about IDW during the overpowered arc, when Sonic is desperately trying to help Surge and get her to stop destroying everything around her, including herself.

and, i think it's really telling that in Scrapnik Island, the short story that takes place directly after issue 56 (you know, the one where Sonic gets cooked with 1,000 volts directly to his neck) and realizes he cant help Surge, that nothing he does will fix what Starline has done to her...

...its telling that in that story, he is so sickeningly desperate to help Mecha Sonic.

he wants, with all of his heart, for everyone -- EVERYONE -- to get the chance to grow, to change, to laugh and cry and run and be whoever they want to be. to live. hes more overt about it in IDW simply because hes being put in more complicated situations, situations that challenge this morality (which, i think that it succeeded in this, considering how much discourse there is about Sonic's morality), that make him really have to question if what hes doing is the right thing. we see it with Neo Metal, the Metal Virus, Mr. Tinker, Surge and Kit -- hell, even the Deadly Six directly make him question this!

its not a perfect line of thinking at all, i wont pretend that it is, but hes definitely always been like this. i remember a while back on twitter (dangerous territory, i know), people were saying that Sonic, as seen in IDW, would have tried to "talk it out" with King Arthur in satbk,,, sorta completely ignoring the fact that he helped Merlina, who manipulated him from the very start and tried to take over the world, and even comforted her at the very end when he knew she needed it.

there are probably at least 10 more examples of the point im trying to prove (i can think of 5 off the top of my head), but i dont want to reiterate what ive already said. Sonic represents freedom, the present, and change. he will fight for these indiscriminately.

"sonic just wants to be best friends with his enemies"

WRONG thats only in the idw comics. extremely loud incorrect buzzer.

[chaomother]

Super Sonic is hot and all but [name] is NOT ready for super Robotnik Sonic or an evil Super hehehe

the chaos emeralds react to what's in your heart—if you're filled with hate and fury, you'll bring nothing but ruination to the world around you.

as the seven emeralds swirl around sonic's illuminated form, fissures cleaved the ground below and something vaguely evil rose from the depths. his red eyes glowed—with droplets of impurities dotting the shine—and the warmth he emanated felt almost overwhelming.

"angel, i'm afraid i won't be able to solve everything peacefully," sonic drawled as you laid pliant in his arms, mind dizzy with a deluge of thoughts and questions. the clamor of robotnik's machinery overloaded your eardrums, yet the resounding potency of sonic's voice cutting through it all made you eerily sick to your stomach.

as if he was speaking on the same odious frequency as them.

shutting his eyes, sonic added, "the energy surging through my body has my heart stalling... if i don't bury all the threats here right now, i'll never be your hero. i'll never return. you understand, right?"

no, you didn't—you wanted to tell him that, but the bile seeping into your throat had you choking on air. the deplorable nature etched deeply on sonic's heart by robotnik himself hadn't been overwritten entirely, those unforgotten memories excavating his lingering wickedness and bringing it forth to feed the chaos emeralds.

scrutinizing the execrable state of your body wrecked by robotnik's weapons made flashbacks coruscate rapidly through sonic's muddled mind, the clarity he always envisioned having obtained all the emeralds distant and ill-defined.

sonic wanted nothing more than to snap each one of robotnik's bones, one by one. listen to that revolting crack as he dismantled that 'genius' brain from its roots inside his head and leave his skull as it was intended—cold and empty.

he believed he was being kind to his teammates—to you.

sonic thought you'd all express your gratitude when he burrowed through the enemy's defences with a cruelty befitting that of his father; and he trusted, with that amped up, frenzied tunnel-vision of his, that you'd all forgive him for the collateral damage about to be bestowed upon the world you loved so much.

after all, you'd just save them when this is all done, right?

[egg-emperor]

If IDW Eggman gets a clear, decisive win against a rival villain like Starline, do you think they could win you back over?

I've been hoping for that ever since Bad Guys teased the idea of Eggman facing Starline, only for there to not be a panel of interaction but I'm not sure how likely it is now. I wouldn't be surprised if it's only Starline against his forces with hardly much involvement from Eggman himself, and/or it's Sonic and friends that really stop him, Surge, and Kit. It's not what I want but I'm trying not to get my hopes up for otherwise.

I've given up because it seems they don't see Eggman as an interesting and capable enough villain on his own, despite the way the games have always proven otherwise. People told me to wait because maybe it's leading up to him finally getting to do something big, get a win against the other villains that keep putting him down, and prove he isn't as stupid as Starline is treating him to be.

But I have doubts because Starline's beliefs of Eggman's incompetence actually reflect Ian Flynn's own and we've barely seen enough of Evan Stanley's Eggman writing to know if that will change after he's written it in- but now it just seems like they want him involved as little as possible. if it is supposed to be leading up to something bigger, it's been waaay too long and that's why I have doubts.

And even if it does happen, while it would be cathartic to see Eggman get a clear direct win against Starline, assert his superiority and prove Starline was wrong, and actually gets treated like the main villain of the series again, there's still a whole lot more work they have to do. Because it won't change the fact that they mischaracterized him immensely as an incompetent moron, treated him like a lesser evil side character with little importance, and claimed the other villains are 'mightier' while they shit on him constantly.

I'd be really happy if I'm wrong and he gets more spotlight and more accurate enjoyable moments because every now and then in very rare occasions, I will actually enjoy a moment that actually feels true to his character. Even better if it helps undo at least some of the damage they've done by shitting on him for so long to raise up other villains. But I'll never be able to forgive them for doing it in the first place as I'm sure most of the damage can't be undone.

[nuttyrabbit]

How have you been feeling about "season 3" of IDW Sonic (issue 33-presumably around 50 plus Bad Guys and Imposter Syndrome) so far? Especially with the whole having multiple writers outside of the Annuals thing instead of pure Ian (and heck with Ian outright playing a secondary role)

It's been....okay.

See, I think the stories have been fine for the most part, but nothing since Chao Races and Badnik Bases (and Bad Guys) have really interested me that much.

The Tower arc just felt like a bunch of disconnected action scenes interrupted by the occasional scene of development for Belle leading to the "shocking" meeting that was really predictable and didn't add much of anything.

Zeti Hunt felt like a filler arc to get the Zeti out of the way and to set up Imposter Syndrome (and fuel more Belle angst)

And the current arc feels like filler that's also meant to set up more Belle angst.

Really the main issue is that a lot of the stories of this season just feel like well, filler outside of whatever Belle is up to. And don't get me wrong, smaller, more self contained stories can be fun if they actually add something of substance, whether that be to the world or characters or general tone. But these just...don't. Like yeah the action is fun but I like to have a bit more to chew on yanno?

Whatever pacing problems Archie Sonic had, at the very least it always felt like something interesting was being added with each story, whether that be towards worldbuilding (which IDW lacks in spades) or characters (which to IDW's credit tends to handle pretty well in regards to the comic exclusive ones. It never feels like anyone is getting shafted unlike say, Rotor or Bunnie from Archie were). But here it feels like I could miss 5+ issues and not really miss much outside of Belle.

Speaking of, I wouldn't mind the generally filler feeling of the Season 3 stuff if the true focus of these arcs, Belle, was anywhere near as interesting as any of the other new characters, but she isn't.

Now I'll freely admit I have a bias against Belle. The meek, clumsy character archetype is one I've never particularly liked (before you say "What about your own OC Oliver" that's one of the reasons I rarely use him) so on personality alone she was a hard sell. But I could forgive that if her actual gimmick had any real substance to it.

The idea of a character being made by Mr. Tinker, searching them out, and finding out that he's actually Eggman and is a gigantic jackass is a decent one and would have some weight if it wasn't executed in the most predictable way possible. "Oh wow what a surprise, Eggman's a dick to her and she feels awful about herself who could've seen this coming?" is about the extent of that part of her arc. To make matters worse, "Eggman robot that turns out to be good and defects" is not only an old concept, but one thats been done better multiple times, between Gamma, Emerl/Gemerl, Omega, OVA Metal Sonic, and even Shard. All of these did what Belle was trying to do but did so with far more weight and substance.

What makes this all even worse is what they do with her after that meeting. Yes comic, I get that everyone in the base hates her because she's weird and clumsy, are you going to do anything interesting with it? No? Okay. Are you going to actually have her interact with Orbot and Cubot, Omega, or even Metal Sonic, all of whom would have interesting perspectives on her situation? No, just gonna ignore that? Okay.

The most interesting thing about Belle is that she's being used to make two more immediately interesting characters in Surge and Kit (whom I love just based off their designs alone).

I wouldn't be harping on Belle so much normally, but the fact is that she's the main focus of Season 3, and since she doesn't work, we aren't really left with much else.

To end things on a positive note, I think the other characters are still strong. Tangle, Whisper, and Jewel are still good and developing in interesting ways, Starline's villain arc (and Bad Guys as a whole) is really fun to see unfold, and it's nice to see him really come into his own as a unique villain, and Clutch is just a fucking fantastic addition who I need more of now (wow Nutty liking the morally bankrupt trash man who could've seen that coming).

I think the art is still solid, the action is is choreographed, and the actual dialogue, whether it's Ian or Evan writing, is solid. And I do think that despite the multiple writers it doesn't feel disorganized, which speaks to a level of strong cohesion.

In the technical aspects, this season is pretty strong. And I'm also looking forward to Imposter Syndrome, as I love the concept and frankly, the minis have had the best writing so far.

But Season 3 as is, between most of the stories being kinda filler and the main focus in Belle falling flat, is just kinda meh to me. Not good but not bad. Just meh.