#AND SONIC ACTUALLY LEARNING HE CAN RELY ON PEOPLE

[aroaceamyrosearchive]

OKAY I READ THE NEW ISSUE OH MY GOD.... IT'S SO GOODIM SO HAPPY RN

[couch-house]

If you've been following me for a while you already know I'm going to tell you to vote for @themetalvirus's Egghog AU in @sonic-au-collision. You know I love drawing those funny little guys. But I think it might be a good idea to actually get into why I find them so compelling! I think any good AU is in conversation with canon,and egghogs is a certified Yapper.

Let's start with our hero, Amy!

Our canon Amy can be characterized by her deep compassion and optimism. As well as how Sonic has inspired her hero crush and motivated her to go out and put that compassion to work herself!* Egghog Amy has that same compassion, but what if she had no choice in being the hero? She had no one to look up to and inspire her, just the crushing weight of necessity. An Amy put in canon Sonic's position, who relies on unceasing and perhaps inappropriate optimism, but is still worn down by the weight of the world. I like this take on her, an exploration of where "toxic positivity" can get you.

*I think the classic IDW Amy characterization is a good example of this. As well as Fleetway Amys origin story heehee

Despite the stress of it all, she still has the optimism to see the best in people and believe they can change for the better. Like, for example, her crush: Egghog Sonic.

Just like canon Sonic, Eggy is a headstrong hedgehog defined by his own moral compass and his need to have a pretty good time. But while canon Sonic is defined by his love of freedom, independence, and by his "coolness," Egghog Sonic has been raised in Eggman's trap of control. He's just as headstrong, but in the opposite direction. His adoptive family is just as important to him as canon Sonic's friends, but in opposition to the good of the world. Where canon Sonic is personally reckless to protect others, Eggy is careless with the safety of others in service to his and his family's needs. Canon Sonic is capricious and relaxed, even in the face of danger, while Eggy is restrained, emotionally stunted, and stressed at all times.

Personally, I think that Egghog Sonic's fighting style being based in ballet--associated with control, restraint, and exclusivity by wealth--opposed to canon Sonic's fighting evoking breakdancing--a sport associated with creativity, play, and its origins as an urban art--does a great job on its own of juxtaposing the two Sonics.

But as I mentioned, even with his morals and freedom in opposition to canon, Egghog Sonic still has that essential connection to the people he cares about: his close-knit (read: highly controlled) family.

Egghog Sonic's younger brother Silver has all of canon Silver's accidental dickishness and ruthlessness, but without the humbling experience of surviving in a ruined future to keep him in check. Born and raised with a silver (ha) spoon in his mouth, Eggy Silver would be killed instantly by canon Silver's upbringing. All his worst qualities have been encouraged (as opposed to canon silver facing consequences for and learning from his flaws) and Eggy Silver is a huge fucking bitch. You know when Silver mugged Tails in Rivals? Okay now imagine if he was raised to do that as a child soldier. Now imagine he gets anything he wants whenever he asks. Thats Egghog Silver. When Silver defects from the Eggpire, we see that appreciation for the world and its history grow back where it belongs. It gives a better appreciation to what motivates canon Silver's view of the world, and recreates it in a new way.

Also the irony of Mr. I Must Fight For The Future's fucked up AU version of himself being part of the cause of the ruined future.... its delicious.

Finally, the oldest brother (by like a couple months...). We all know canon Shadow's had a rough time of it RE: mind control, manipulation, having a whole game where he is asked to be everyones gofer... This is Egghog Shadow's life for a full 15 years. Gerald doesn't finish cooking Egghog, and Eggman is the one to dump him out of the tube and raise him to be the perfect chaos-weilding soldier. He makes liberal use of his ability to physically manipulate Shadow's artificial mind to keep him in line as an endlessly obedient servant. Of course, any Shadow meaningfully based in canon won't stay that way. Just as his canon counterpart breaks free from the demands of those around him to forge his own path, so does Eggy Shadow. Even in the fucking miseries, even without a Maria, Shadow is still will make the choice to walk his own path.

Well, not just his own path. Because while Shadow (esp post-06 Shadow) can be uncompromisingly independent at times, he is still often defined by his friendships. Specifically, his relationship to Rouge is given focus in this AU, being his one reprieve from the empire and ultimately his way out. Canon Shadow had Rouge and Omega by his side during some of his darkest moments and arguably that made all the difference to his arc. Their presence (yes, Omega is here too) during Eggy Shadow's suffering is all the more essential and highlights their roles in canon.

But of course, with greater miseries comes greater struggle to heal. Canon Shadow's neat freak nature gets reinterpreted as a trauma response--maladaptive perfectionism and OCD. (tbc, in the same way fan works often recognize that canon Shadow likely lives with PTSD as a result of his experiences, Egghog Shadow's OCD is presented as an appropriate consequence of the stressful environment he's been raised in.) I like this as an exploration of how Shadow handles stress and trauma, how it might change in different circumstances.

All that to say, Egghog AU is just done in such a compelling way that really grabs me and facilitates Rambling about The Parallels and such. And that I think makes for a GREAT AU. The exploration of Sonic's strong personal morals and headstrong...ness, the benefits and flaws of Amy's intense optimism and compassion, Silver's ruthlessness and meaner side, and Shadow's tendency to introspection and overcorrection... Again I say, a good AU is one that is in conversation with canon, and Egghogs is constantly talking about the fascinating conflicts created by these characters. And thats why you should vote #Egghogs4Eggver

[atwas-gaming]

People who complain that Sonic's character is "static" must have never played Unleashed or Black Knight. Or they did, but they didn't understand them.

I think one of the reasons why Unleashed and Black Knight are such fan favorites and stick in our memory so well is because the entire theme of both games is about taking Sonic out of his element, taking away things that he has relied on for so long- speed, jumping, spindashing, boosting, homing attacks- taking all those things away from him, and seeing how he does.

And he still shines. Even without all the abilities that he has relied on throughout his entire life, he still manages to beat the Big Bad.

(Please note that I haven't finished either game yet and I'm just drawing from what I've been spoiled on.)

As the werehog, Sonic is not able to curl into a ball at all (we're ignoring the mobile games for this post), and his greater height and weight, probably due to a larger bone structure, as well as heavier, thicker fur, keeps him from being able to run as fast or jump as high as he's used to. He now how to resort to fighting styles he has never used before, including several forms of martial arts (aided by his Dark Gaia-powered stretch abilities). Perhaps the most unusual of all is how he has to get down on all fours to run.

In addition, Sonic describes his werehog form as "pretty ugly." Sonic thinks of himself as good-looking, and this is a part of his personal identity, which is part of why he was upset that Amy didn't recognize him (no matter what feelings he may or may not have for her). The werehog form also seems to be physically uncomfortable and taxing on Sonic's body due to the heavier weight, as the werehog idle animations include Sonic stretching in an exaggerated way and forcibly rotating his shoulders (motions I, myself, have learned to use after years at a desk job that has ruined my neck and upper back). Sonic's idle animations also include him being jumpy and looking around every few seconds- basically, the werehog never fully relaxes.

All in all, Sonic is very uncomfortable as a werehog, and prefers not to be seen in this form. But the reason why is not fully evident until he thanks Chip for protecting him and keeping him from turning evil. To this, Chip replies, "I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're too strong to lose yourself."

On top of this, Amy doesn't have a problem with Sonic's appearance. She still loves him. Tails also doesn't care what Sonic looks like. Neither does Professor Pickle. Neither does ANYONE. Even if they're startled by the werehog's appearance at first, they all seem to go, "Oh, it's just Sonic. This is just what he's like at night."

The entire story of Unleashed was about Sonic coming to realize that he is not who he is because of what he looks like or how he is built.

Black Knight takes this a step further. In Unleashed, Sonic wasn't able to run, but he was still able to use his body as a weapon. In Black Knight, Sonic can run again, but nowhere near as fast as his normal speed. All of Sonic's abilities to fight with his body are stripped from him, and he is forced to use an actual weapon, instead. And Sonic hates this. He even says it: "I wish I didn't have to use this dang sword!"

Sonic has never used a weapon before in the games (as far as I am aware, anyway). His weapon has always been his own body: his feet, his fists, his whole body via spindash and homing attack. Now he's having to train himself to fight with something outside of his own body. This requires not only the creation of new muscle memory, but also a complete shift in the way his brain processes information to fight. He always has the option to just crumble and say, "I can't do this, it's not what I'm used to, I give up." He never does that. He complains a bit at first, but eventually rises to the occasion and excels at swordfighting.

Please bear in mind that I haven't ever gotten past the King Arthur battle. I presume Sonic is forced to kill him, and then I believe there's another half a game after that. But so far, it seems that Sonic's character arc in Black Knight is about him learning that he is not who he is just because of what he can do.

What makes Sonic Sonic is not what he looks like or what he is able to do, but about who he is inside. Sonic is someone who cares, someone who is strong, someone who doesn't give up, someone who sees a difficult situation and, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be, turns it around and finds a way through.

[hyperref-lex-ia]

lots of common reactions i get as a mute person

all the following are peoples reaction when they assume i am deaf, the most common assumption

- flustered and lifts hands to try and sign and then lowers them when they realize they dont know ASL

- flustered and starts to sputter and talk before settling on mouthing things at me

- mouths “can you lip read”

- talks really loud at me (which wouldnt do much if i was deaf so idk)

- goes to find something to write on

- sometimes if i type on my phone in my notes when i need to say something other than yes or no people will go to literally take my phone from me to type back instead of literally anything else

- signs some of the more common sign, i get thank you a lot (especially in customer service situations, which is where most of these happen)

- if it is someone on the street saying something and they assume im deaf when i sign at them they usually just disregard me which is actually really nice

these next ones are when people dont assume im deaf, which is rarer

- talks to me normal

- talks to me like im dumb

heres a few nice incidents

- guy asked me if i was mute in spanish and i nodded and he asked if i knew spanish and i was like not really lol (live in a heavily hispanic area so i picked up on enough to understand) and he switches to english and shares about a talk he had gone to recently about mutism

- girl working at sonic assumed i was deaf and ran inside just to grab her phone to help me which i thought was really sweet so i just didnt correct her

- just today i was using the self checkout at a gas station and the guy behind the register sees me getting frustrated with the card reader and slides over a piece of receipt paper that says “tap works better” and i am like “i dont have tap” and i decide to just cancel the self checkout and move to him cause hes got good vibes and he holds the bag up and raises an eyebrow allowing me to have a choice in it which i dont often get. when i am leaving he signs “have a good day” super slow and obviously practiced a lot, and the fact that he obviously learned that just in case this happened made me really happy

- every time someone has happened to know ASL in public, its always surprising how many hearing/verbal people know ASL, almost always because they are CODA

- the enthusiastic gay man at my eye doctor who got so excited when he saw i signed even though he doesnt know it, because he thought it was so cool

- every person who goes “oh you speak ASL” and then immediately thinks about thay sentence and kind of 404 errors out as they realize you cant speak ASL

- the tiny middle aged mexican woman who has worked the store at my school the entire time ive been going there who knows me because i always go there for caffeine and snacks, and manages to always communicate with me despite a couple language barriers and will often berate me if i dont get water with my caffeine or if i dont get food, and who also wishes me happy holiday for every holiday that comes around, and was also very visibly worried when i had to rely on a cane for a few months

- my painting professor who always takes so much pressure off because hes so blunt, when i came in with a cane everyone danced around asking about it and he walks in and goes “what the hell happened to you??”, the most recent thing that made me laugh is we were talking and i was using TTS and as we are walking into the studios he goes “im gonna go talk with Ronnie, give your thumbs a break” and then we both started laughing

the worst interaction ive had

- had one of my professors numbers which happens sometimes because it makes life easier and she texted me out of the blue saying she “had a dream she was at my wedding and i spoke my vows” with heart emojis and i did not know this woman at all and i was like…what the fuck…not only is that unprofessional but also ableist

lastly shout out to my friends who translate for me purely off lip reading who dont know ASL

[moofuuu]

The Triple S

The Triple Threat~☆

And some headcanons below about these guys!! And I mean all six of them!!

V So a big post if you press past this point!! V

Here's some headcanons and other info I have for my own characters and designs in general to the triple S!! I am very passionate how I represent these guys, and I would like to note that now, before you guys read any further, I AM MYSELF A TRANS MAN!!! I DON'T SPEAK ON MOST PEOPLES BEHALF, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT SOME THINGS MIGHT BE OFFENSIVE TO SOME OF YOU IDFK

Now without further adoo, let's get on with the headcanons and information about the hedgehog's!!!

Sonic Headcanons

He/Him! Bisexual!

24-25 yr old

People say his boobs are growing, and yes I fully agree with that, and yes I do prefer him as a Trans man... but I love the idea of a strong muscle man with Trans scars is so goddamn UGH ♡♡♡

Sonic is getting built, growing some more muscles, and getting stronger with each series and or game!! It's the reason he's getting so big!!

He's also had both surgeries!

Top and bottom scars and also he's way more like the cocky type if you think Archie comics a bit, but of course he cares for his friends!! A whole lot actually and plays around with them too.

Amy gave him those knee and elbow pads to prevent a whole lot more scraping

even though it doesn't help much It still looks nice and it fits him, and the amount of times he slides against the grass and grounds a lot, of course he's gonna rely more on the knee pads a lot.

He wears hiking boots/shoes because they last way more longer than regular running shoes! It's something he prefers and well, the kicks have a lot more "oomf" to them when he does kick with those boots of his.

It takes a lot to take him down!! He's not your average soft man or gentle guy, he's more of your tough brother and he does get emotional!! But it's not usually the way you'd typically think, for he just gets a bit more colder to the shoulder when it's a serious situation with a more cutting edge.

Sonic's a goofball, just like it shows in the Sonic boom series, he loves just fucking around and doing silly things on the side really.

He's still learning a lot and still has that young college boy mentality to be honest.

Also well versed in close combat because of his best friend and rival Knuckles! He learned some moves from him when they met and all!

He has hyperactive ADHD!!

Sonic is a close combat character!! He prefers to fight his enemies as close as he can as he can hit powerful kicks and can throw powerful punches.

Has PTSD

His relationship with Shadow is mostly rivalry, and the two butting heads all the time!!! But never actually hanging out casually as Shadow refuses to hang out with him, and Sonic is fine with that; besides, he gets on his nerves intentionally... Never unintentionally, and the two of them know when to take matters seriously. He also thinks Shadow has a thing for someone, but he ain't no gossip-er... though Rouge brings that out of him, and he hates it.

His relationship with Silver is casual rivalry, but he can't even trash talk with him!!! He takes things to literally and doesn't even understand half the words he's saying!!! It's like he's an old man!! But Silver isn't even the oldest of the three!! In fact, the youngest and yet Sonic can never find himself having fun trash talking to the guy, but he is fun to hug though and a great listener...

Shadow Headcanons!

Any pronouns

• [Usually default to he/him though]

Demiromantic

30-50 yrs old

He doesn't really know nor really cares to know. Also, the oldest out of the triple S but not the tallest despite his alien genes.

He's in the middle... though mostly fighting close as he uses guns when necessary. Shadow is a close combat and ranged combat mobian, his muscles mostly in his arms as you need to keep your guns steady and able to handle the recoil in guns in general.

He has a bunch of old accessories! Like old patches from old bands, stickers and magnets but he hides those in small containers because he doesn't want to stick the stickers on anything.

It also usually works in the night!! He can't really work during the day as his black fur sticks out like a sore thumb and he also can't really sleep anyways sometimes.. as his nightmares sometimes gets to him.

If he doesn't have anything to do, he'll be pacing around in his office, wanting something to do, someone to talk to or listen to... but he's not about to go bother someone as his colleagues might be busy. Definitely won't go talk to Sonic as he's annoying.

He wears shades!! Mostly because the sun hurts his alien like eyes sometimes on some days where he pulled all nighters and hasn't seen the light of day.

He definitely has some routine going on as he has too stick to it, he's always so strict on himself because if he isn't, they would only end up thinking to much about their past and they're not about to deal with that.

They look great for their age, it only makes sense though as part of his life was in a tube, grown and raised in space.

After crashing into earth after escaping the A.R.K and leaving Maria behind [against his own will], it traveled the world for a bit, for Maria, for it... for itself as it was curious about the world... but eventually, G.U.N. caught up to him and, with the lack of fighting skills, eventually caught.

His shoes are bulky!!! Being made in the 1950s, there's no way his shoes look that sleek, and I will continue drawing them bulky.. also, I'm keeping the rings to how they originally looked in the SA2. Instead of straight-up rings on the hands... some rims are on the rings as they show that the ring inhibitors can come off.

Shadow is known to keep to himself most of the time and is close to his friend Omega and Rouge

He has autism, PTSD, and a bit of auditory hallucinations..

The hivemind is a part of the reason it's still there, but he destroyed that long ago! Yea, he did, but he's still needs to get used to the sounds in his head about needing to renew his own species.

Relationship with Sonic •

Its relationship with Sonic is... rocky, he gets that he's the hero and everything, supposed to keep the world safe, but he won't leave it alone!!! Of course he's better at everything than him!! Fighting! Guns!! He can do it all! But racing!! Gah!! He won't shut up about it! And how he won't shut up about how much shorter he is... but seriously, it seems like each time they're in the same room, Sonic's goal is to annoy him or get on his nerves... which works each time not going to lie.

Relationship with Silver •

For Silver, his relationship with him and all that, despite being the one to almost kill Sonic when meeting and killing him, he learned a lot, and he's glad to have shown the bad things and bad intentions Mephiles was planning. The fact that he doesn't even try and do anything suspicious either is refreshing... The fact that he holds no judgment to anyone too is something new and refreshing too, meeting Silver was like... for once someone doesn't judge him and just listens... he also lost a best friend, which was Blaze. He gets it.. doesn't he..? Why does he feel this way..?

Silver Headcanons!!!

Pansexual | He/They

20-23 yrs old!

Wears a jacket for warmth, a binder for comfort, and pants for comfort plus warmth as well! He wears these rings to keep his own magic in check, and so it's much easier for him to not always focus on the target he's holding.

From the future, but a devastating one... no matter what he did, no matter what he said!! The future never changed, and it was always some wasteland. He needs to check up on it every once in a while, though, to make sure the future is still the future and that he should figure out how or what to defeat their enemies with!! They don't know specifically or much details but with their small Itty bitty skills of detective work from reading books, they will be able to help at some point... right???

Shortest of the three and lacking muscle, but there's a reason for that!

They are mostly ranged fighter as they rely on their telekinesis a lot and can not fight close for the life of them.. can't even use a gun without being scared of it!!

They are well versed in the books, and had read a lot of things, when they read instructions, they can get it not instantly but with a few trials and errors they can actually perfect the thing they're learning. Cooking? Yes! Baking? Yes! Sewing?? Few pokes by accident but yes!!!

Though his build is small, he's actually pretty brave, as he grew up in an apocalyptic world, learning to scavenge and fast with food and water... learning about plants and all!

He infact... hates the cold but wants to see winter snow... he got way too used to Crisis City and its extreme heats!!! His body is cold like a fridge, but... luckily, he has friends that can keep him warm!

He lost his best friend and sister, Blaze; her sacrifice to sealing away the evil that was in the future and now wears red earrings to represent her. Though... the Blaze he met that's from another realm... reminds him too much of his old sister... though she seems a lot more strict with herself than anything.

Learned most of his knowledge in books!! No matter how bad the writing may have been, he would read it... and tries his best to keep an open mind to a lot of things... Blaze (from his timeline and world) had even helped him read and learn some things from the books.

They're indeed the fluffiest

Has albinism!

Got their powers from when they're young, telekinesis is actually quiet rare!![I rarely see anyone use this and just IMO!!! Concludes to being it a rare super power..]

Telekinesis/Psycokenesis is actually quiet rare, how he got it was through an attack, an attempt was made at his life by flames and Blaze wasn't there to help, but luckily his powers activated in time, blowing away all the flames that threatened him.. though now he's scared still

Has Audhd!!

Introverted as you can't just shove someone into a group of people even though they haven't even been around anyone but ONE person all their life!!

Though he does have lots of interest and loves listening in on everyone's conversation.

He thinks out loud to himself

PTSD as well...

Trust issues after Mephiles.

Relationship with Sonic •

His relationship with Sonic was rocky at first, and he hates how he was so mean to Sonic! Trying to kill him and all for the right reasons!! He swears it was for the right reasons!! He almost did it, and he was so glad Amy was there to stop him... though it was hard to understand at first, but lucky for his open-mindedness, he was able to get over it. Finding out Sonic was actually the good guy and learning that he was actually the one he read in all the books about the legendary blue hero and not the so-called "iblis trigger." To meet your idol and the hero, and he's so calm and nice and oh— never mind he's fighting with his friends again... well, at least he's so forgiving and forgetting... but Silver sure as hell ain't, he hasn't even forgiven himself yet for being so mean to him at first. But he keeps trying to do this trash talk??? Sometimes Silver gets it...

Most times, not getting it one bit. Though his charm and skills are very admirable, and they want to learn it someday.

Relationship with Shadow •

He's the reason he even got out of killing the blue hero in the first place and sure was cold-hearted and rude at first.. even kicked him in the head, but that was well deserved, honestly. But seeing through the lies and actually the original form that Mephiles had taken!! And to learn he was actually manipulating Silver!? Agh! It's hard to read someone, but... Shadow just looks like he needs a friend and someone there to show him it's okay to open up at least a bit! That's what Sonic showed him, and that's what Blaze did too!

Silver can't help but look up to Shadow sometimes though, admiring him and his work and how well organized he is! Better than Silvers chaotic schedule that they try to keep too!! But learning that Shadow had a friend and lost them ... Silver can't help but feel closer to him in some way after learning such detail.

v The Triple Threat v

Scourge Headcanons!!

24-26! He/Him

Bisexual

He's the shortest of the three cause, well, he's a hedgehog! He's insecure bout that, but not as much as you think. He is also a big-time flirt and puts up a big tough guy front. Has commitment issues and also hates really keeping up with any friends, especially after how many times he been fucked over.

But that didn't really seem to stop him getting to more other buddies, Venice and Terios, who's actually not as bad as the rest and actually have been on the same level as him

Terios is intimidating and strong, sure, but he Scourge can never get that guy to get angry at him and it's fair, guy seems like he's been through a lot.

Venice just so happens to come from some future, but he said he was sent back to save the past... but surprisingly, the guy just didn't want to and joined Scourge's ruling.

So his new friends are really okay to say the least, they can care less about others as much as him but no matter what Scourge is still some type of Sonic, so of course he has some respect for his two buddies...

Pathetic really as he can't get over his ex Fiona, and everytime he complains about it Venice is there to slap that outta him, he's not about to go through another pathetic crying session.

Scourge wears all this outrageous stuff because of how he has very much a identity crisis every other week, trying to separate himself and his own looks from Sonic, trying to remove the title of "evil sonic" off of him, gets mad each time he's even referred to the name as he screams out "IT'S SCOURGE!!!" Hating how he's always compared to Sonic as well as he's not at all like him!!

His quills are much shorter but well kept, despite the punkish look to him, he's a lot more cleaner than Sonic himself, as he also likes to plan ahead of time too, but can't really read people well like Sonic though..

Has a dead dad

Ain't as built like Sonic

Just as chaotic, if not worse, and evil at that, who cares about who gets hurt??

Other than his two pals.. don't hurt his two pals.

Venice the mink

21-24 | He/him

Unlabeled.

Despite the looks of it, he's not at all well put together, screaming and yelling at everyone who gets him pissed off, and even dares to make fun of his interests, very closed off as he's always pushing away everyone from him.

Note; as surprising it is, Scourge and Venice are still buddies, though, as their goals in life are really just the same.

Unlike Silver, he doesn't have that pretty privilege that the white hedgehog has, as he always thinks his scar is awful, tanking his insecurities more and how much he hates his looks.. so to combat this, he built his own body to make up the scar he's so insecure about, wrapping what he could in bandages.

He hates seeing Silver and hates how he acts as he sees too much of his younger self in him. He also hates how open they are.

Very much has inner homophobia of himself and has VERY FRAGILE masculinity

Venice would rather get shot in the head before admitting to himself for liking anyone, as he has his feelings locked away deep inside himself so even the smallest fuzziness he feels he would immediately try and push the person away or just be meaner. Self-destruction if you will.

Despite this Terios and Scourge stick by, it's not like they both heard worse and by this point they're starting to learn that Venice's aggressive behavior is also becoming a bit more like aggressive love..

Says lots of death threats to both Scourge and Terios but he can't actually kill Terios, and Scourge, he's why he's okay with being friends with at least a few people.

He hates the other for teasing him so much but it's not like he makes fun of the hedgehog back..

Keeps Scourge alive because Scourge is his kill, no one else's, despite how gay that might sound they're only just friends with benefits and rarely go at it anyways.

His relationship with Terios, he's also somehow less hostile towards the porcupine, but that's because of the power the guy has, and what he's capable of doing.

Terios the porcupine

40 to 50 yrs old

He/him Unlabled.

He's the tallest of the three and is the strongest, waken up too many times and also been resurrected to many times for his own good.

Doesn't like getting into fights much and rather avoid everyone at all costs, but because of Venice and Scourge freeing the guy from his prison, he's tolerant of those two, and ONLY those two.

Full of anarchy baryl, but is weak to the chaos energy from mobius...

He very much has a dad bod and he also just stays out of trouble for the most part because he rather be left alone in nature where no one's there to bug him and actually hurt him... mostly passive and he's also originally a porcupine that was swept off the streets long ago.

A science expirement gone wrong, and left alive for as long as they can... Lucky them, Terios got out, and the island blew. .. well not lucky for them nevermind.

They all said it was for the greater good.. science...

Terios hates technology... not because of his age and non understanding of it...

It's because of how much it terrifies him and actually what the thing is capable of, he's not about to go back and listen to all the humming and buzzing of machines.

Terios sneezes like a dad would, loud and noisy

He rather avoid everyone and everything, not really liking technology or even the city in general.

Has multiple bullet wound scars, but the fur has overgrown them.. but if you touch the body sure can feel them.

He was originally a normal porcupine actually, from the earth instead of space

Not many things can hurt or kill him like his counterpart... he actually died multiple times before but brought back alive each time.

The Triple Threat has a lot more headcanons, but I realize how big this post is getting lol

[casey-wont-eat-paste]

I’m gonna be talking about the finale of season three so if you don’t want spoilers scroll on

They all cleared out? Good.

Honestly, I felt kind of disappointed with the finale, the battle was great, the buildup and the resolution of the characters that we have grown to know and love throughout the series was great, but.

And this is a really big but.

The actual finale of the show, the last few minutes we got with these characters, not Nine or Thorn or Dread or Rebel but the characters we started out with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy, and Rouge felt bland. it made the entire series feel inconsequential, the way that everything was just better now, Sonic and Shadow were the only ones who learned anything, and we have no resolution to any of the other storylines. What happened in New York now that the egg are taken down? What adventures does captain Rose lead her crew on? How does the boscage maze grown to live in Harmony? Is nine just living in isolation now? And how do each of these universes function without their respective prism shards?

Of course, none of these questions take in the theory that each of the shatter spaces was a part of Greenhill, that each of the characters are a part of the ones that Sonic knows them as, but I feel like that theory would be better illustrated if we got a little more time with the og characters, If they could talk about this weird shared dream, Or contemplate the validity of their memories. Or if the characters themselves didn’t want to address it they could have the visual image of the shatter spaces colliding into each other.

I appreciate the hug that sonic gave Eggman, I think that was cute and funny but the fact that the battle proceeded with basically no consequences felt bland.

Overall the finale felt incomplete for me, but feel free to debate me on this, I’m actually really interested to see other people’s opinions of this finale.

Anyway here’s my interpretation of how I think an extra few minutes in the show could’ve gone.

We open up on New Yolk in shambles, robots are destroyed, the buses and trains that were used for transportation are powered off and the people are celebrating. The oppressive rule of the egg is no more and they are finally free. They establish a democracy or other political system, and their entire worlds technology is set back due to the absence of the prism shard, people are hopeful, there is a future for New Yolk, one that is safe for everyone.

Captain Rose collaboratively, with her pirate crew, decides to hunt for a new treasure, discovering other people, the mainland, and the giant gemstone said to hold immense power.

The scavengers live at peace with the forest, taking what they need and learning to give back as well, protecting its life from the inside.

nine lives in isolation, but slowly realizes that if he looks far enough there are inhabitants in the grim (because I refuse to believe there’s just this incomplete universe) and he’s able to make friends, even if it’s difficult

And Sonic knows, he knows he made a huge mistake and that he was lucky to fix it. Shadow knows to. But sonic has his friends, he has his friends he knows he can rely on and that he needs to listen to. And together, nothing can stop them.

(Or yk nine could be a interdimensional superhero who makes sure that other universes don’t break like his almost did, whatever you want)

[descendant-of-truth]

I tend to get kind of irked whenever I hear people talk at length about how Sonic is a "static character" who "isn't supposed to change" and I think I've finally figured out why that is.

Because the thing is, I actually agree with a lot of what people mean when they say this! Sonic has worked extraordinarily well in games where he doesn't have an arc, and instead inspires other people to be their best selves. He's introduced as someone who's already got himself figured out, so he doesn't need to learn a lot of traditional lessons the way a lot of other characters do.

And I also agree that going out of your way to change his core traits to fit him into a more traditional protagonist box that he wasn't made for is doing him a disservice. I may love Sonic in the movies and Prime, but if I was in charge of writing an official story for the series, I wouldn't have thought to make him this hyperactive blabbermouth who's super open with his feelings. They well-written characters, but they don't tend to capture what makes Sonic unique.

But I think people tend to see all these attempts at giving Sonic an arc where his personality is changed, and come to the conclusion of "he shouldn't have an arc at all because doing so ruins the character." Which is the part that really bothers me.

Yes, Sonic is great when he's the Coolest Guy Ever and is just here to Be Cool and embody the themes of the narrative. Sonic, as a symbol of freedom and self-actualization, has always been inspiring to me.

But symbols are rarely as interesting to me as the people behind them. To say that we shouldn't dedicate time to explore Sonic the Person, and instead only have Sonic the Pedestal, is to say that Sonic is only interesting when we're looking at him from an outsider's perspective, and that there's not much to find if you look any closer.

Because "what you see is what you get," right? He's cool because he doesn't try to make himself cool, there's no image he's trying to maintain.

Except... there kind of is?? Sonic used to be very pointed about not being vulnerable around others. If he truly didn't care about his image or what other people thought of him, then he should have no issue crying in front of them. He should be willing to open up to Amy when she asks him what's wrong after Shadow seemingly died. But he doesn't cry in front of other people. He doesn't confide in Amy.

Even Heroes, the game where Sonic boasts about the Power of Teamwork(TM), shows us that he's not really used to relying on other people. He's starting to let himself be a little more genuine, but it's not really coming naturally to him.

Knuckles: Boy, talk about cutting it close... Sonic: Eeh, not really. Knuckles: Come on, tell me you weren't scared? If it wasn't for us, you wouldn't have had a chance. Sonic: Well, maybe you're right. Thanks, Knuckles!

Sonic briefly looks away when admitting that Knuckles was right, and Knuckles is visibly thrown off when Sonic responds with a real "thank you." This is clearly a new step for him. So new, in fact, that even afterwards he still instinctively tries to take on Neo Metal Sonic by himself. Tails and Knuckles have to tell him that they're going with him instead of it naturally being assumed, and Sonic seems a little taken aback by it.

So, no, Sonic doesn't need to learn to trust his friends, and he isn't resistant to people helping him, but he can still be overly independent and doesn't seem to know when to ask for help. Even during his "static character who doesn't have an arc" era, he was still growing and changing, it just wasn't very noticeable. And that's more or less fine, but... honestly, even this era of games got a little stuck on how to balance him being unflappable with being, y'know. A person. Who reacts negatively when bad things happen to him.

I mean, all the potential character development he could've had as a result of Shadow's death was ripped away the second they decided to not make a big deal about his return. How does Sonic handle not being able to save everyone? If he managed to accept Shadow's death in full, how does Shadow coming "back to life" affect him? We'll never know, because Heroes was stuck between a rock and a hard place when it came to Shadow's character (needing to acknowledge that he died without making the game unapproachable to newcomers) and it affected Sonic's in turn.

Even Sonic X, for all the praise it gets on how it wrote Sonic (much of which I agree with wholeheartedly), still never quite got us into his head long enough to address his flaws or his deeper, less flattering feelings. So of course people are going to equate him "being static" with "being well-written," because some of his best characterization comes from stories that aren't really about him.

But we've had so many opportunities to change that, and we're still not getting it. Generations doesn't use its time travel setup as a means to explore the ways he's grown over the years. Lost World teaches him a lesson that he should've already known, so it falls flat. Forces locks him up for six months, and beyond all rational thought, it barely affects him at all.

Frontiers is certainly... better, but it ends with such an "and then everything was solved and went back to normal!" tone, it's hard to say he really changed by the end. We didn't even get to see Sonic mourn Sage the way he did with Shadow. Or with Emerl. Or Cosmo.

What is with this new era we've reached where we seem to want to put Sonic through intense physical and emotional pain, and then have him walk out of it completely fine? I don't think that's what being a static character even means?? There's supposed to be a limit to how much you can put a character through before something changes them, and Sonic has easily breached it at this point.

The closest thing to what I want here is in the IDW comics, and I won't lie, they've got me pretty invested. But Sonic himself is just different enough in his speech patterns and overall demeanor for it to feel off. It's not enough to ruin the series for me, but it's yet another example for people to point to and say, "look! They got his personality wrong again! Surely this is because they're making him have a character arc and he's supposed to be incapable of those!"

I don't even want him to have that much development per game or anything. It's just... can we not have room for it? If we're already putting him through these harrowing situations, is it really so much to ask that he be affected by them? Must it ALWAYS be about someone else? Shouldn't he get to be a person sometimes, too?

Sonic can be a static character and have it work. But I really think that, as he was originally written, he has a lot more range than he's given credit for. He doesn't need to be changed into someone else in order to be capable of development, and giving him an arc is not a problem in itself. It's just that most of the time, he's rewritten to make a pre-existing arc work, rather than being given one that works with him as he already is.

[superthatguy62]

What Is Up With Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars(' Plot)

Storylines in video games can be hard to appreciate as is based on the genre of the game, much less its actual quality. But then you throw localization into the mix and your chances of consistency drastic go down.

The Sonic The Hedgehog series is a prime example. The Japanese versions of the games had surprisingly in-depth manual stories to set up the games: Stuff like how Sonic met Tails, a written out version of the scene in Mushroom Hill that only plays during S3&K, etc. most of these stories were either cut entirely, given a brief summary, or totally rewritten. And odds are, Sonic isn't the only one to experience this at Sega.

Which brings us to Alex Kidd. Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars' plot as written in the Master System manual never sat well with me. Looking at the Sonic plots made me wonder if there was something else going on here. And what about the arcade version? Does that even have a detailed story? And now, after realizing the power of holding my phone up to the screen while the translation app is loaded, along with some minor sleuthing, I can confidently answer:

Yes, but also no.

Typical disclaimer: I cannot read Japanese. I primarily use online translators (with some checking via Romajidesu) and therefore these translations should be considered rough. If you can actually read Japanese, feel free to correct me. This is moreso to get the info out there in some form and I do not mean to spread misinformation.

Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars is comparable to Sonic Chaos in that each rendition of the plot is different between where it's being rendered; specifically there are three different versions:

The Arcade: The Arcade original. As far as I'm aware, this was only shown in Gamest Magazine issue 6. This iteration is the only iteration to feature Stella as she was cut from the Master System version.

Master System JP: The Japanese Master System manual. Roughly the same, but has a few differences. In particular Stella's removal means the story is now focused squarely on Radaxian and Alex.

Master System ENG: The English Master System manual. Keeps most of the same elements, but rewrites the story completely.

Let's start with the arcade manual to finally figure out who Stella is.

(The story text is page 1, the rest is more for prosperity)

Extracting the text via phone and throwing it into the 2-3 main translators (Google, DeepL, the occasional Romaji) gives us the following:

Once upon a time, there were two small countries called Radakhshan and Rubana. In Radakshan there was a brave prince named Alek. Well, Nirvana has a bright and strong princess named Stella, and the two of them have been on good terms since they were children. One day, Alec, in his ignorance, told the priestess about the night sky that comes just once in a thousand years. When he went to visit the priest Dareda, Dareda told Alec that this was the year of the cataclysm./One day, Alec told me that the night sky only happens once every thousand years. When they went to see the priest Dareda, Dareda told Alec that this year seemed to be the year when something strange happened.A few days later, something strange happened.* An extremely bright star in the night sky became brighter and brighter as it crossed the night sky, and in its wake the beautiful constellations that had been visible until just a moment ago were no longer visible. When people throughout the country learned of this, they mourned. When the kings of the two kingdoms saw what was happening to the people, they asked Dareda what would happen next. Dareda read from an ancient book and told them that those of royal blood should go and search for the constellations. Stella, who happened to overhear this, offered to help. “Father. I and Alec are going to go and restore the constellation. With Alec, there is nothing to be afraid of! And so began their quest for the constellations.

^ The joys of relying largely on machine translations is that when you get situations like this, you don't know which one to go with. Even Romaji didn't make it quite clear.

So, let's establish what this storyline tells us:

Stella is the princess of another kingdom. I am 99% sure the kingdom in question is Nibana, which appeared in Miracle World and is shown to be a neighbor of Radaxian. Interestingly, Alex and Stella are said to be friends since they were kids: Miracle World notes that Alex spent most of his life not knowing he was the prince of Radaxian, which has some interesting implications.

I... do not know what this passage is saying. I assume it's supposed to be "Alex heard of the coming of the night sky and went to visit Daleda to know more". If it's even slightly accurate it could mean that Planet Aeris doesn't see night time very often. Don't think too hard about how that works.

The star that steals the constellations away is unnamed in the arcade version.

"The 2 kings" aspect is interesting: At the end of Alex Kidd in Miracle World, Alex's brother Igul was crowned king in absence of his father, who had gone missing right as Janken invaded. We're not given any indication if Alex's father had been found, as this game predates Alex Kidd and the Enchanted Castle, where that plot point was resolved. So Radaxian's king could very well still be Igul.

A prophecy is given that those with royal blood should go look for the constellations.

Interestingly, Stella is the one who overhears and volunteers herself and Alex. She's actually decent focus for being the player two character. Then again, her name is (technically) in the title...

Now that we have the base storyline, here is the Japanese Master System storyline:

And the machine translation:

In a great galaxy, tens of thousands of light years away from the earth, there was a peaceful planet called WAKUSEN ARIES. On that planet, in the kingdom of Radakshan, there was a bright and brave prince named Alex (Aukan Lech). One day, when White Alec went to visit Dareda, he found her with a bitter book in her hand and a serious look on her face. When Alec asked him what was wrong, he replied, “Well, I found a book from long ago. I haven't read it all yet, but it seems to be about a great cataclysm that happens every six months. And it seems that this year will be the half year before the great cataclysm. Dareda told Alec, looking worried. ``Don't worry, nothing's going on,'' Alec said, paying no attention to it. A few days later. Alec felt a strange trepidation and went outside the castle. Then, a bright, dog-like mass appeared from the western horizon and began to cross the sky. As it passed, the stars that had been visible until a moment ago lost their brightness and became invisible. Then, when the dog star disappeared behind the eastern horizon, the night sky became completely dark. After this incident, people's hearts sank into darkness due to the pitch-black night sky… If this continues, the people's hearts will be broken and strife will break out. Concerned about the future of his country, the king called Dareda for advice. Dareda is described in an ancient text as follows: “Once in a thousand years comes a greedy star, Bloom, which passes through the night sky. The Bloom takes the light of the fiery constellations of the fiery stars and makes it its own light. The night sky is darkened, and people are disturbed, and strife breaks out. Those of royal blood set out in search of the light. The Ziggurat gains power, and the constellations shine again. All this is guided by the astrological chart.” I told him what it said. I told him that the book said that if I could find the Miracle Ball, the light would return to the constellations. But if I go, war may break out at any moment. But who am I to…?” At that moment, Alec, who had been listening to the conversation, offered, “Father, let me go. Let me go, father, for the sake of the country I love. There is nothing to be afraid of. At first he was reluctant, but Alec's enthusiasm won him over and he allowed him to go. And so began Alec's adventurous journey in search of the Miracle Ball.

Overall the same plot, but a number of differences:

As previously mentioned, Stella has been completely removed from the plot. The Master System version of The Lost Stars lacked the multiplayer of the arcade version and therefore, Stella is absent from the game. Stella's portion in the story was given to Alex.

The night sky only appearing once every thousand of years (assuming that wasn't a translation gaff on the machines' part to begin with) is changed. Instead the catastrophe that befalls planet Aeries is apparently a half-yearly occurrence?

The missing stars effect on the populace has been expanded upon: With the stars missing, the people fall into despair and potentially disorder. The king also expresses concern that conflict may break out if he were to go.

Speaking of the king, Alex inheriting Stella's lines means that the king is identified as his father. The port came out in 1988, predating Enchanted Castle, which came out in 1989. It's possible the latter was in development though.

The greedy star is identified as the Bloom. The MS port adds "bosses" to the end of the stages and the Bloom is the "boss" of the Ziggarat stage, making it the "final boss".

The Miracle Balls are given a bit more explanation, as its implied that they power the Ziggarat, explaining why you to take the balls there and how they return the stars to the sky.

Last, but not least, we have the English Master System Version:

(I am not writing down all of that).

Reading the manual, there are clear differences:

The plot is wildly different. The overall gist is the same, but the actual content completely changed.

A bit of an error, but the writer conflated Radaxian with Aries in its entirety, making Alex and his family the royal family of the entire planet.

Again, Alex's father seems to have been found off-screen despite Miracle World making that into a cliffhanger and Enchanted Castle wrapping up that plot point.

Alex meets with Daleda after the stars have vanished rather than before.

The time frame for the incident is now 5,000 years and it does not seem to be a reoccurance.

The manual creates a whole story about an ancestor of Alex, Halifax Kidd who defeated the Bloom, making the Bloom's return partially an act of revenge.

The Bloom is referred to as "Ziggarat", seemingly due to the writer not knowing what the Ziggarat actually is.

It's explained that Alex is traveling to 6 different worlds

The Miracle Balls are explained as being what the Bloom hid the stars in. The other versions seem to suggest that the Bloom stole the stars' light rather than the stars themselves.

The second loop is actually mentioned in the last bit.

Honestly, the primary reason I made this writeup is because this is one of the few things I've seen to actually explain who Stella is. The few times she's more than a cameo, she's just called Alex's friend. So it's neat that there's more to her presence in-universe than just being the Luigi to Alex's Mario.

(Big ups to SegaRetro and the Internet Archive for the scans of the manuals/Gamest respectively).

[blazehedgehog]

I'm not sure the sonic series cannot survive without some sort of story elements or character expression or world building baked into the game design to provide motivation and context. Does the general public care enough about sonic gameplay to get excited over re-hashed zones existing in a nebulous void forever?

I mean people have already complained loudly enough that Morio Kishimoto has openly stated they won't be relying on revisiting levels like Green Hill anymore. From where he stood, that's just what people liked, so they thought they were doing what we wanted.

Once he joined twitter and started talking to Sonic fans directly (instead of whatever focus group metrics Sega was getting) it was pretty clear a lot of people were sick of "like Sonic Generations, again."

Shadow probably predates learning this knowledge so it gets a pass.

And they have a real writer on board now, like a dedicated writer, not just "a game dev we have that can also write better than most." Heck, they don't just have a writer, they have a whole lore team, and a lot of the IDW people, not just Ian Flynn, seem to be getting pulled into different things.

We could very well be entering a golden age where Sonic's story does actually matter and is going to be told about as well as it ever has been.

[biolizardboils]

Hey again.

I was saving this for when I'd wrapped some other stuff up, but it's taking too long. I'm just gonna say it while the words are fresh in my head.

The two-month break I've been on? I think I'm gonna stay on it. As in, stay logged off except on special occasions.

There's still things I want to finish here. I will answer what's left at @ask-the-all-consuming-void and bring it to a proper ending; The Secret Thing it was gonna segue into will go up, even if only as sketches and drafts; And there's another project I'm still helping with behind the scenes. But aside from those… I want to maintain my internet presence a lot less.

I've learned a lot about myself since I left: most importantly the hyper-empathy, compassion fatigue thing, and that being terminally online probably does more harm than help. There's trying to be a good, vigilant person, and then there's overwhelming oneself about things they can't control, with info that isn't always accurate. I've been doing the latter in different ways for years; late April/early May was a big wake-up call. Lesson learned: I've got to find balance, and I won't find it here.

The second-most important thing I learned is that… the reason I "joined" the internet in the first place? It's pretty much been fulfilled. Has been for a few years now, actually.

I made this tumblr in 2015, but I got my real start on deviantART and WordPress in 2011. Don't expect links; what people post in their preteens can stay between them and God lol. But I'll tell you what got me to make accounts: my confusion as a new Sonic fan. The way people talked about them, the way they talked to each other… it hurt to see.

I got it in my preteen head to set a better example. To not let my love for something become disdain for others of its kind. To explain instead of assume. And to assure anyone who'd listen that it's not shameful to like Sonic, that those who do deserve better, and that they could still have it better someday.

And now, 13 years later… we do. The hurtful stuff I saw back then is nearly gone now. When it does pop up, it's easier to counteract than ever. People realize how silly and petty and wrong it was, and can call it out accordingly. People can live a little truer to themselves, now that that shit isn't everywhere anymore.

I think that, specifically, is all I really wanted. Everything else—the reinvigoration of the characters and their world, the downpour in avenues once closed off by "cringe" and "not enough interest"—have been wonderful byproducts. I've been gassing up Sonic Movie 3 as the final step, but it's really more of a victory lap.

After realizing that, I just… don't feel the need to post so much here anymore. My self-worth and sense of morality shouldn't rely on what I do or don't type. I don't need to document every thought or choice I make and why.

The cause I've performed for since middle school no longer needs my time and energy, if it ever even did. I can just enjoy things in relative silence, and spend myself in other ways. Ways I've taken too long to get around.

Sonic Unleashed is what set me down this path. I watched it go from rejected at launch, to just divisive, to respected and beloved. I still wonder if, had it gotten a fairer chance, the current Sonic renaissance could've happened sooner.

But dwelling on that won't change anything. I'd rather dwell on how, this year, I got to scream Endless Possibility with hundreds of other people, loudly and proudly. No fear of who's watching, no need to self-sabotage. It meant the world to me.

There was a con in my area on June 23rd. I wasn't planning on doing anything that day until I heard about it. There was someone in attendance who helped me put a symbolic bow on this part of my life.

I think he did a wonderful job :)

I have one last thing to say before I go. That'll be its own post, so I can put it in the public Sonic tags.

Again, the stuff I've left hanging here will get finished eventually. But for now, this is goodbye.

Moots, followers: thank you so much. I will quite literally remember you all in therapy.

--BiolizardBoils

[cattyanon]

Personality Inversion AU: Shadow and Rouge

Shadow

Peppy and outgoing.

Tries not to linger on the past.

Had a somewhat rocky relationship with Maria but still cared for her and was really sad when she died.

Very talkative. Despite this he tends to watch what he says in fear of hurting somebody's feelings.

Secretly judgemental of people but won't say anything about his thoughts unless important.

Loves hanging out with friends. Especially loves bothering Sonic because he thinks Sonic should learn to live a little and stop hiding away inside all day. Sonic begs to differ but Shadow doesn't care about that.

Master of bluffing in combat, but only because you never know if he's actually bluffing or not. It always keeps his opponents on their toes.

Not very competitive.

Tends to second guess his own actions but pushes forwards regardless when lives are on the line.

Rouge

Still has a fondness for shiny things but is not obsessive.

Doesn't like stealing.

Has trouble putting on a brave face.

Relies heavily on her friends.

Optimistic but can also be blunt at times.

Pretty bad at keeping secrets and has the worst poker face.

Wears her heart on her sleeve.

Hates manipulation.

Doesn't meet Shadow through GUN but rather a chance encounter.

Runs a small jewelery store rather than a club. This is how she met Shadow because she happened to find a Chaos Emerald and decided to keep it since she didn't realize it was a magical gem, but Shadow was able to sniff it out.

Doesn't like getting involved in things but, caring greatly for her friends, will get involved for the sake of those she holds dear.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Don't know if this has come up, but since the new part of Chapter 7 just dropped the other day, I just got hit with an idea on what Sebek's UM is or might be.

It's often a major joke that he is very loud and yells all the time. But what if that's because it's part of his UM that seeps out unconsciously? Like a sonic based attack or ability of sorts that doubles as a literal foghorn alarm clock (which is a nice parallel if you think about it since Silver is always sleeping). And if he's possibly twisted from Maleficent's lightning, what follows lightning? Thunder. And what happens when people are sleeping at night and there is a particularly loud thunder clap overhead? They wake up!

Also, think about it! In the second Halloween event, we find out that Sebek sings opera. And what is a common trope in media involving opera? Being able to break glass with your voice.

If my theory is right, Sebek's UM is meant to shatter the sleep spell around them because HE IS A LITERAL WALKING ALARM CLOCK!!!! 😂

I haven’t thought too much about what Sebek’s unique magic could be, but this is an interesting idea! Since unique magic is tailored to the individual, taking circumstantial evidence (personality, skills, etc) into account to predict the nature of it is fair. It’s similar to the line of thinking that leads many to suspect that Ace’s unique magic will be to copy others’ magic (since Ace himself is known to imitate his peers’ voices and picks up on new skills like dancing quickly; additionally, copying skills can be seen as a parallel to his mirror, Deuce, whose unique magic also relies on ‘borrowing’/using the power of others).

I like that this proposal for Sebek’s UM ties back to sleep and dreams, which seem to be very important for episode 7 given… recent events 😂 (I wonder if his loudness will actually be a plot point??? Imagine Sebek singing like a dejected Disney princess to save the day—)

I forgot where it was exactly, but I do remember reading a fairy tale retelling which featured a princess that was able to use her gift of song to disorient her enemies (literally by singing so high-pitched that it ruptured eardrums) and to summon animals to fight for her (though the latter sounds like a skill Silver would have, not Sebek). It’d be super coincidental if Sebek ended up having similar abilities due to the loudness of his voice.

Something I wonder is?? Not just what Sebek’s UM is but if he already has it or not!! He was apparently a late bloomer when it came to developing his general magical abilities, so I wonder if this also extended to his UM. Sebek seems to be perpetually locked in a state of identity crisis since he’s always holding up one half of his lineage and putting down the other half. Does this inability to accept and to recognize himself as he is preventing him from unlocking his UM…? Or has he already acquired it through sheer force of will and training??? I want to know so badly!! (If Sebek doesn't have his UM yet, it might also be interesting to see him and Ace bond over their feelings of inadequacy?? And then maybe unlock their UMs one after the other like Deuce and Epel did!)

I also think 🤔 Is Ortho able to acquire a UM…? Because it would be cool to see him also bond with Ace and Sebek over that detail! (I feel like those three, or at least Ace and Sebek, are still trying to figure out their identities and learning to be comfortable with who they are, thus perhaps leading to a lack of UM.) And do you know what that means???? 👀 It means we have a red (pink), green, and blue trio without their UMs… PINK, GREEN, AND BLUE LIKE FLORA, FAUNA, AND MERRYWEATHER, THE THREE GOOD FAIRIES…

[brrtchu]

Part 2 - Another Sonic AU

Last time was a demonstration on how I wanted the characters to interact. Now that I have a clearer head, I want to talk about the characters themselves. I don’t got a main character yet, but it might as well be Sonic because who doesn’t represent my AU better than him?

I hand you a piece of paper with text all over it from my classified folders. The letters seem jumbled and insane, but you read ahead anyways. You wonder; this dimension could be interesting…

Pink Sonic; Primarily Sonic The Hedgehog; Goes by Pink star, coral pink, and The Lone Rider.

*Currently 18 years old, first found when he was 12 years old; Some pieces of text can be old or recent based on earlier studies.

*Currently lives in the “Western” Islands

Dynamic/personality:

Pink Sonic is mostly compliant when it comes to working with other team members, but he has a hard time communicating to them and often jumps into action by himself. Due to his speed, he can finish the job quite easily, but it’s strenuous when it comes to bigger battles. So he has to rely on other team members but all the while making sure they’re holding up. He’s concerned for everyone’s safety in the matter, which indicates that he has a bit of trust issues if he can’t focus his own fights. Even if he knows his teammates are able to, it seems he has a hard time understanding that.

For most part, after battles or even on free time, he doesn’t do much. He mostly finds a quiet space to stand there and admire his atmosphere. Really shows that he’s one to be down to earth or likes relaxing. But this constant isolation only makes his friends want to spend more time with him. He also shows a lot of humility.

He wants to always be alone, and is completely honest about it. He is practical, trustworthy, and doesn’t understand humor very well— but if he does, he reciprocates. He can respond well to being friendly with others and doesn’t struggle with making friends. One strange component though, he doesn’t actually consider the people that surround him as “friends”, merely just “acquaintances.” Mostly because he doesn’t want to get attached or feel that they should be attached to him. It’s a weird coping mechanism that may be unhealthy. Meaning that he is self-reliant.

Backstory:

Pink Sonic was found wondering the world in a spiritual realm. Apart from this planet (haven’t figured out the name yet) but he was still present. Like a veil between two worlds. He had met others before him who left to come down to the planet. But there was a twist, he wouldn’t know where he was going, what time period, who he was, what was all before this, and who he’ll become. It was one risk to take. To live. Willingly but fearfully and beautifully made. This was the moment that Pink Sonic was dubbed as the “Pink Star” by a rare chance he had been born on Earth but by unforeseen circumstances of which all of his Royal Family and relatives were killed except for him. And as he grew up, his one and only best friend who he loved— betrayed him for her country. Almost to the point of murder against him, due to his royal bloodline.

Pink Sonic continued to struggle, enduring every cost and chance of living. He still doesn’t know why he wants to live but he managed to escape her clutches barely. Pink Sonic spends most of his life living in the wilderness. He even made a camp for himself, not even knowing that he’s in the Western territory. When he was caught, the Western community welcomed him and ushered him to come stay with them. Wanting to learn who he was and what he did. It took a very long time for Pink Sonic to get used to the people there while being accustomed to their culture and ways. He continued to be homeless but helped the people there for free. Surprisingly, whenever he got his hands onto some dirty work; he looked radiant afterwards and smelled more like cherry blossoms than ever.

Quickly, he was adopted by an extrovert his age named CowBoy Tails. This was when he was introduced to his new “friends”.

Everything was going good for him. That’s what I thought at least…

I’ll add reference sheet at a later date.

[sege-h]

Storm the Hedgecat

OC ramble time for my pinned, in case people see him on @sonic-oc-showdown​ and end up wanting to know more without digging through lots of non context art and shitposts in my Storm tag! (Tho do that if you want anyways)

I’m gonna answer a buncha questions from an ask game now and since it’s kinda long + I might end up rambling anyway, I’m putting the rest under a readmore

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

A long time ago before I was smart enough to know not to name my sonas or give them even a bit of OC backstory or they WILL become their own characters, Storm was meant to be my Sonic-sona. Back then I’d name my sonas Storm, or other words fused with ‘storm’. And since this was Sonic, I just named this one Storm. But it wasn’t long before he wasn’t my sona at all, and developed into his own standalone Sonic OC. But the name stuck.

In universe, his dad named him Storm because his bit of grey fur on blue reminded him of a clear sky with a storm cloud on it

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

In the ‘present’ time, Storm is 35. However due to shenanigans involving experiments, and an accident similar to a small contained super genesis wave, he is stuck forever looking like he did when he was 20, or younger considering he’s always had a baby face.

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

Nope! Storm is acearo, and uninterested in romance! If any poor soul was stuck having a crush on him, he’d be none the wiser as flirting flies right over his head, as do any advances.

He is however a very affectionate person, and likes cuddling and being affectionate with his friends. I’m acearo and uninterested myself, so seeing stories like his where two (or more) people understand each other deeply, and would do anything for each other, and where they get to be affectionate without any of it developing into romance is very important to me

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

Waffles! He has good memories of his dad making them for him, and they have since developed into a comfort food for him

💼 - What do they do for a living?

He doesn’t need to do anything to get by, but he has made a company he kind of semi-runs that he makes very advanced prosthetics with. His patents come with clauses that they can’t go above a certain price, and sometimes he will just give them away to people anyway.

Nobody even knows he’s the owner save for his close circle, and if anyone else does know he’s with the company they think he’s just an engineer and the boss’ personal assistant. He’d prefer it stays that way, since he values his privacy

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

Yes! He participates in underground fights. He gets really frustrated sometimes, and he’d rather blow off steam that way. It also started out as a way for him to earn his own money on the side so he wouldn’t feel like he’s relying entirely on his brother.

He also likes tinkering with machines. It’s a good distraction and something he likes doing. He likes coming up with concepts for weaponized robotic arms (these are never for sale), whether they make it past the blueprints and prototypes depends entirely on if they hold his interest or not. Sometimes he makes ones he actually uses.

He plays guitar whenever the mood strikes also.

🎯 -What do they do best?

In his own opinion? Fighting!

Storm is an individual that isn’t very confident- but the one thing that’s an exception to this are his fighting skills! Even when he loses, he’s not hard on himself over it like with other things, and sees it instead as something that was fun and that he can learn from. He’s also an excellent swordsman

🥊 -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

Loves:

Fighting/sparring, tinkering with machines, eating homecooked food, cuddling with his closest friends, learning new things about other zones/dimensions and how they’re different from his, playing guitar, listening to friends talk about their interests, listening to loved ones sing, going on motorcycle joyrides with V, driving his truck, causing (non-malicious) chaos- especially in the lives of people he finds annoying

Hates:

Doing mathematical calculations, listening to arrogant people talk, eating spicy stuff, fighting people that were given no choice BUT to fight, looking up at tall people (friends are an exception), being surrounded by water/being on boats, going to the hospital

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

Getting to watch/listen to his dad play the guitar just for him. It’s what made him want to learn it himself

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

The day he almost lost his brother. This memory only got worse down the line as he ran into an evil alternate of his- their lives/timelines had been the same up until that point. Storm is all too aware of exactly the moment his alternate chose his path, and that he himself had been seconds away from it, with the only thing saving him and everyone else around him being that his brother took in another breath and came back.

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

It’s pretty close! Artistic growth aside, his quills used to be longer and less messy, his bangs were also less messy, he had no pants, his boots used to be shoes, and he had a triangular bandana. He still had the smaller back quill though, and though you can’t see it here he used to have a huge scar on his chest.

His color scheme has stayed relatively the same, it’s not as pale anymore now that I have a better grasp of colors and coloring digitally

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

The Sonic franchise obv- though he was also made as my first non recolor OC! I’d had plenty of recolor OCs, and I’d had a bit of a pause between making them and Storm. So when I decided to make another OC I decided to finally make one where I wouldn’t be recoloring a Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles base

The current iteration of Storm was inspired by me seeing the GUN truck from Generations in 2011, the one with the saws, and thinking ‘who would drive that truck?’ and then putting my blorbo in the drivers seat

Here’s a character inspiration meme I did some months ago that also puts together some of his inspirations-- not all of these are direct inspirations and are rather characters I found later on that were similar to Storm and that I could point to for people to better understand him like ‘see this thing this character does? That’s what Storm’s like’

(I’ve since watched the original ‘98 Trigun anime, and Vash would DEFINITELY go on there now. I didn’t know anything about him before, but there’s just so many parallels between him and Storm)

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

I don’t really slot my OCs into genres, since I feel like that can get pretty limiting for me. Like I could say shonen, but even that only fits as far as ‘character getting stronger as the story progresses, also seemingly has willpower and friendship powers’

Maybe whatever Trigun ‘98 has going on?? SHDGSH A mix of tragedy and comedy, a story about a seemingly goofy that’s more than he seems, from his life to his skillset

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Storm is cis but doesn’t care much for any gender roles or how he presents himself, and he’s acearo!

🙌 - How many sibling does your OC have?

He has no biological siblings, but has a few that are either adoptive siblings or adoptive sibling adjacent! Exe (who belongs to rMADA on FA) and is his oldest adoptive family (though Storm no longer remembers the early years before he met Exe again)

V (who belongs to riftclaw on here and is also part of the tournament!)- they both consider each other ‘pack’, but there’s enough sibling energy here that Storm can introduce himself like either Vs brother or weird sibling if it’s easier.

Luka (who also belongs to riftclaw) who he tends to have sibling “arguments” with a lot, even though at the end of the day they’ll cuddle together (while still “arguing”). It lets Luka let out a lot of pent up energy, and Storm finds the whole thing hilarious and to be familiar territory so he’s more than happy to play along

He also has a couple alternates that he’s ran into, or will run into along the course of his story, that he considers his brothers.

He has a whole adoptive family, but these are the people that he’d label ‘siblings’ if he has to put any label on them, though that they’re family is enough for him.

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

OUGH. Storm’s relationship with his dad was shaping up to be a great one, before it was cut short in a tragic accident during a training session with Exe. Atos was a great dad. He wanted his son to have everything he couldn’t have as a child- normalcy, love, and no expectations that could never be met.

After he died, things went downhill fast with Storm’s mom. Storm’s terrified of her to this day even though she’s no longer alive either.

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

How long he’s stuck around, and how I can use him as an experiment to try out new art styles because I’m just so used to drawing him.

Story-wise I like that he can zone hop/travel dimensions, because I can fling him at whatever setting feels fitting, along with him meeting new people being no problem

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

TOO MUCH PROBABLY. Even when I don’t do serious art I like doing little doodles of him with stuff that pops into my head.

He’s the character I draw the most, and the character I write about the most

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

NOPE not the main version of him. There Is a verse where he’s ended up dead. But his main verse story hasn’t had him die

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

LORT for someone that flings himself at danger whenever he sees fit, he also fears a lot.

He’s terrified of deep water. He CAN swim, but would prefer not to. He’ll swim in the shallows if he has to cool off badly, but deep water makes him panic.

He’s afraid of clowns and also puppets He’s afraid of needles

Not quite a phobia, but he hates the sound of loud wind, especially when he knows a blizzard is happening outside.

He’ll panic if he wakes up to the sound of a drill

He hates the smell of whiskey

And again not a phobia, but a trigger- it’s activated if he’s sparring someone and they rest their foot on his back while he’s already down. It has to do with the day he lost his arm

🍩 -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

He doesn’t quite have any! If anyone considers him a rival, it’s pretty one sided because he’s oblivious to it

His arch nemesis was the guy that took his arm, but through story progression he became his rival, and now their relationship is more of a friendship that neither will admit to. They’re sparring partners. Storm likes to annoy him

(Art by rMADA/Xx_G.U.N_xX on FA)

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

Since 2011! I THINK I made the first iteration of him in either late 2010 or early 2011. But then Sonic Generations came out with THAT TRUCK, and me and my friends started doing a silly GUN Agent chat rp. So I made an au of Storm called ‘Agent Storm’ that drove the be-buzzsaw’d GUN truck. But then as the story progressed, I began to adore that version of the character so he just became the main verse for him

His story has remained fairly same-ish. Even though at the start you can see a definitive sign of that good ol ‘teenager writing angst’ type of story, I’ve left it fairly intact. I’ve only changed parts that were like ‘yeah this is too much’ or where I just couldn’t fit in some characters or storylines anymore. I like having it as a sort of timeline to how my storytelling has developed

🍥 - What age were you when you created the OC?

17!

SOME EXTRA FUN FACTS:

-Storm was the one that added the buzzsaws and jet boosters to the GUN truck. They didn’t let him do much but transport cargo, so he started reading up on engineering and robotics and tinkering in the abundance of spare time he had. He added those thing to the truck out of boredom, and didn’t think he’d ever really use them- cargo transport is rarely ever that exciting.

But then he was in the middle of a drive when he heard over the comms that Sonic the Hedgehog had escaped captivity near his area and. Well. The rest is history

-He’s since left GUN and stolen took the truck. He and his brother Exe have formed their own team through which they feel they can help the world more. Part of their activities include tracking down facilities (that are often GUN supported) that deal in Mobian experimentation, and shutting them down/destroying them (not with the experiments still in them)

-He’s Terrified of Shadow due to events in his universe. He’s trying to be better about it

-The ‘goofy clueless idiot’ behavior is all an act

-He has a fake southern accent as part of his facade. Yeehaw. A reminant of a childhood ‘dream job’ of being a cowboy that wanders around helping people where it’s needed

-Because he can zone hop, he has a few universes where he’s decided to stick around. One of them is a game/IDW verse. He went through the events of Forces there, and his initial plan was to just help out with the war and then leave forever. But then he became friends with that universe’s Sonic whoops.

He lowkey cursed the friendship when he also went through the zombot arc, but he’s never actually regretted it

-He platonically adores Rough and Tumble just from what he’s heard about them and what little he’s seen. He doesn’t take them seriously and thinks they’re so goofy and hilarious. He’s like “LOOK at them, they’re brothers! They got each other! They think they’re doin’ crimes!

-He often introduces himself as just a cat since it’s easier

-He has an ic/rp blog here in case you have any questions and wanna ask him ‘directly’ @sentientquillbeast​

IF YOU READ ALL THIS, thank you!

This post is already long enough so I don’t regret adding one of my favorite pics of him that I did for a zine

[zippy-reacts]

Sonic the Comic Liveblog: Issue 84

Idk about anyone else, but I think Sonic using swimming aids is cute, like when he wears a lifejacket in the olympic games series

You know, I should actually try to learn about the StC artists myself. I have seen people mention them when talking about StC before.

New story with Sonic and the Chaotix! …man this artwork makes you realise how odd Vector's classic era design was.

Sonic: A god-like, all-powerful, perpectually pissed-off version of me is running amok in your home turf Espio: cool story bro

It does make for an interesting conflict though. I don't believe the Chaotix have ever witnessed Super, so they don't know how destructive he really is, meanwhile Sonic had recently spent the past few weeks concinved he had unwittingly murdered his friends.

Lmao that did make me laugh a bit

What a name for a group of people. "yeah bruv, we're The Bigots"

The cops are literal pigs. Amazing

It's a little funny hearing Knuckles talk about sleeping in the open when off the top of my head the only incarnation of him that lives in a house is Movie!Knuckles

Surprise crossover with Emmerdale /jk

Knuckles gets casually offered beer

Oooohhh… are we going in the 'idyllic village secretly has a cult' direction?

Unformately I cannot look at this panel without thinking of the multiple submitted readers questions from previous issues asking about characters feet

Yay! I was right about the cult thing! (Also that sheep lady is quite pretty)

And here's an article on Sega Channel! Think is actually the first I've actually heard about this specific service, I typically think of the website when I think of the name Sega Channel

Another solo Tails story.

A clever detail about this is that in previous panel's you can see the bear scientist's hands were green- not matching the head at all

Ignoring the apparent sex-appeal of these ugly-ass sneakers, that fella in the middle is wearing a crucifix pendant. That has many implications for the lore of this world that will give me a headache if I think about it for too long.

Thinking about it, StC's concept of Zones really does give the writers freedom with settings in a similar way to the islands in One Piece. From jungles to bustling metropolises, the story can be placed wherever the fuck the writer feels like

Forced makeovers via kidnapping. Probably not legal, but then again it's not really like this world has a super concrete justise system

This is something I actually learned myself the other week. Apparently in the 80s and 90s it was a Thing in Britain to call people who were giant nerd Anoraks, because people who had hobbies like train spotting or bird watching will often wear practical, but unfashionable clothing such as waterproof jackets. Thinking about it, it's a slightly roundabout way to insult autistic people.

Imagine the keystone of your evil plan relying on being able to tie a decent knot and you cant even fucking do that correctly.

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground Episode 16: Bug!

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The plot (for want of a better word): Robotnik’s latest scheme is using robot flies to take control of mobian minds and turn them against their friends! The Sonic Underground plans to stop him, but Manic’s impulsiveness gets him infected. Can Sonic and Sonia save their brother and the day?

Don’t let the summary or the outcome fool you. This is a Manic episode, and a surprisingly not bad one, if you think about it more than the show wants you to.

So. An interesting thing about this series, which this episode highlights: in most contemporary media, Sonic’s problem is that he does everything on his own, and he needs to learn to rely on his friends. In Sonic Underground, he’s actually fine with teamwork, but the unspoken reality is that he’s actually more effective when he goes off on his own. Manic is the one called out as needing to rely on his team more.

Usually the series doesn’t call him out on this. But it’s fairly well done, to give credit where due, because Manic is the squishy wizard of the triplets: he has a lot of power with his drums, but he’s physically weak, emotionally vulnerable, and the slowest mentally. Whenever he goes off on his own, even in spaces he knows like the black market, he always ends up putting either himself or someone else in danger.

I’m just saying. In a better, more developed show, Manic absolutely could have had an amazing character arc of resentment and misused power and redemption. Sonic Prime!Nines says what.

This is another episode that feels like it was set earlier in the series than the ones that came before it, because Manic doesn’t know Sonic can use airgear hover boards (and probably better than him). He just doesn’t because he’s faster on foot. And their bond doesn’t seem as tight. It’s interesting.

Ah, this is Rudy’s episode. I’d forgotten him. I had also forgotten where I got the Resistance secret code phrase “The party’s at Mother’s, and the musicians are down the hall”. I’ve just always liked it for some reason, I don’t know why.

Rudy is a water dragon, talks about bottle flies, and has a quite broad but surprisingly believable north-eastern Australian accent, for… reasons. I therefore assume the triplets are in Downunda, which is a region from the Archie comics. They also refer to Freedom Fighters in this episode, which is another Archie invention. Enjoy it, folks. But again, is Mobius a kingdom or a world? You will never know…

So. Manic is bitter because Sonic doesn’t need help after getting on Manic’s case about the buddy system. And he goes off on his own to show Sonic up. If this had been more than an episode, it would have been a great arc, I AM JUST SAYING.

He of course gets bitten by the robot fly, while Sonic easily catches the one going after him.

Side note, real bottle fly bites are an absolute BITCH. This episode does not do them justice.

Meanwhile, Sonic reports to Rudy that his village and all the people in it are gone, and once again, this is treated (hammily but) seriously. This series didn’t dwell on them, but it never denied the realities of the world it was presenting.

We get some very quick explanation of the flies. They’re injecting a serum, a full dose of which only lasts an hour. Just long enough for people to march up and into the robotocisor. Robotnik modifies one so that Manic will get re-dosed every hour until he can capture the other two.

But it’s less than a day and only one radio in before Manic’s found out, of course, and when the serum wears off he doesn’t remember anything. The climax moves on as if none of this ever happened.

The song: Never Give Up. In contrast to the last few songs, this one isn’t quite so grating on the ears, and absolutely could have been an early 90s-style fight-the-man anthem. Kick-butt guitar solo. Reminding you that the Sonic Underground’s songs are—in canon—supposed to exist to inspire resistance and morale. Even if they come with a strong dose of magic firepower.

The day saved, the group heads back to Rudy’s village, and a few survivors pop out of the rubble. So not quite the downer it would normally be, though there is a low-key implication that they lost a lot of important people.

Meanwhile, the hedgehogs are trying to impart the lesson on Manic that him going off alone could have gone really badly, but he decides to prank them by playing zombie again. Which is supposedly funny but… really shouldn’t be. Honestly. Pick a lane, Trashfire.

Come back tomorrow if you're interested!