#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

[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

[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.

[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)

[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…

[nagichi-boop]

Welcome to Nagichi gushes about Team Dark :>

This post doesn’t really have any rhyme or reason. I just wanted to share my thoughts and observations for the group.

Although I think Shadow is the most “leader-like” member of the group, I don’t really think that Team Dark operates as a “I lead, you follow” type of situation. I think the three of them just support each other’s endeavours and are all in agreement of a goal, not because they feel like one is more authoritative than the other, but because they support each other without question.

While I think Shadow is less impulsive than Sonic, I feel like his drive for independence and doing things on his own can sometimes cloud his judgement and cause him to be a little reckless, especially considering he isn’t always the best at communicating. But it also hits him really hard when he lets his friends down. When all is said and done though, Shadow would do anything for his friends. And over time, Shadow learns to trust Rouge and Omega instead of just relying on himself all the time. (Well…moreso maybe in the earlier games, Sonic X and the comics - they kinda screwed up his character post Sonic 06, but I’m hoping Sonic Prime is a positive sign for Shadow’s future appearances in games.)

I view Rouge as the most responsible of the three. She’s the one who stopped Omega and Shadow killing each other at the start of Sonic Heroes after all. And she’s probably the one who tends to think more rationally and doesn’t let her emotions rule her as much as Shadow’s can.

She’s the one that Shadow and Omega listen to, the pillar of stability for the team. When Shadow and Omega don’t see eye to eye (e.g. start of Sonic Heroes, on the beach in Sonic 06 when Omega reveals he is the one who sealed Shadow, etc), Rouge is the one who ensures the three of them stick together. She’s not the “leader” per se, but the team wouldn’t function without her.

Because of his past, Shadow often needs comfort (even if he doesn’t realise it) and Rouge is very good at providing it. Even without going into my own thoughts about Shadow having autism, ptsd, etc - throughout the series, Shadow has his moments of vulnerability. In Sonic Heroes, he spends the game questioning who he is and whether he is the real him. Rouge throughout the game shows concern for Shadow, and although she also has her doubts about whether Shadow is the original version of himself, that doesn’t stop her from sticking by him and supporting him. And in Sonic 06, she assured Shadow that even if everyone were to turn against him, she wouldn’t leave him and Shadow acknowledges this.

Omega is also another point of stability in the group. He actually comforts both characters at different points. In the above picture (from the Archie comics), Omega is able to recognise that Shadow’s aggression towards him is due to Shadow’s frustration towards himself. But instead of fighting back fully or criticising Shadow, he allows him to vent his anger out, responding more defensively. And while this is happening, he comforts Shadow.

He also comforts Rouge. When she expresses her doubts as to whether or not the Shadow they have been spending time with is one of the androids or not, Omega comforts her and reminds her that for all the androids to exist, the original also has to exist. While he doesn’t directly say it, it seems that he is expressing confidence that the Shadow they are with is the real one, and this is enough to perk Rouge up again.

The three of them have each other’s back and compensate for when the other falls short. And I think this final pic says a lot. These are three individuals who are used to working alone, but they have found comfort in being with each other. Rouge trusts Shadow and believes in him. Omega admires Rouge and Shadow, despite his general distain for other living beings. And Shadow is grateful to find a support system, two people who he can rely on and that he knows won’t leave him, despite his sometimes difficult nature.

They all know that if push comes to shove and they need support, the other two aren’t far behind and will be there to provide that support, no matter what it is, because they support each other’s goals. And they know each other well enough to know what each person needs when they are going through something.

Anyways, I could talk about these three for hours. I love these three so much and I’m so glad they have each other. And I’m especially happy for Shadow cuz the guy needs a good support system, which Rouge and Omega provide. I just really wish that they got more positive appearances in the games, but it seems Shadow has mostly been relegated to the edgy, antisocial anti-hero. Which is annoying as hell because he isn’t like that, but that’s a post for another day.

(For more of Team Dark in the Archie comics, I recommend this post. I borrowed some pics from there for this post.)

[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

[bluebunnyears-08]

A Deep In-Depth Analysis Of Nine 1/9: Warped Isolation Part One

I'm going to talk about my boi again! This time it's about the harsh effects of isolation, trauma, abuse, emotional neglect, and a desperate emotional attachment that leads to a toxic and harsh cycle. Hahaha...ha...?

Now, I'm going to split all of this up into nine topics split in parts, in separate posts. Just so I don't overwhelm you all with buckets of information, and to make sure I get my point across in each of them.

Sorry guys, I'm full of angsty thoughts that I'm going to drag you in!

Now let us begin with the unhealthy effects of isolation he shows, well part of in this post, that's why it's called part one:

Section One: "I Have no Friends!"

Let's start with what his life started out like in New Yolk. It's already established that Nine has always been alone in this corrupt and overpowering city. Tails' parents are unknown in the canon, and their whereabouts are unknown. So it can be assumed that Nine's parents are the same. I think they didn't include Tails' parents because they aren't important to the game's lore or Tails' character, not as much as Sonic is.

Nine's situation is slightly more different but no less the same. While Tail's parents weren't ever mentioned or seen due to how Sonic influences the character, Nine's parents aren't mentioned to show just why Tails needed Sonic to rely on and confide in. But due to this being a world where Sonic doesn't exist, and a world where Eggman succeeds, Nine's lack of a guardian to take care of him made his world views extremely warped.

While Tails had Sonic to protect him and teach him right from wrong, Nine had nobody and learned to protect himself due to nobody showing any care for him, and as a result, doesn't have a clear idea of what's right and what's wrong. All he knows is pain, misery, and survival in this horrid place.

'Do whatever it takes to survive, doesn't matter what happens to anyone else, caring for anything other than yourself is a guarantee to be hurt, to be in pain.'

That's his mindset from what we've seen him so far. Nine only looks out for himself, he has no friends or companions and lives in isolation. It's not just out of his dislike for people, it's a firm coping mechanism.

Many studies involving isolation state that isolation can be good, however, there are deep signs that isolation is becoming unhealthy. When the isolation starts to lead to cutting yourself off from others or not interacting with anyone, it can lead to a deep toll on your mental health.

Unchecked isolation can lead to more anxiety when suddenly in contact with others, it can also lead to very aggressive behavior and higher risks of depression (which Nine doesn't have...yet.).

Now I know you guys are wondering what I'm talking about when I put that Nine has social anxiety. "He's a sassy, 'emo', mean, confident Tails", but he's actually so much more. Notice how frazzled Nine is when Sonic turns him around after breaking into his lab. I also want you to pay attention to Sonic here as well. He's excited to see what he thinks is Tails, only to be concerned and confused when he sees Nine's bad reaction. I also find it interesting how Nine's left-hand goes near his tail.

Then we get a close-up of Nine, his eyes are wide and he's breathing quickly, for a split second Nine's terrified, most likely scared and startled at another person, he also has the wrench raised as well to defend himself, which really helps with explaining the trauma I'll get to later.

Then it quickly turns into anger, not only enraged at this new intruder but also quite defensive at this new possible threat.

At first, Nine only intimidates Sonic to leave, going on walls and making himself loom over this new intruder, then he kicks him into some barrels, and tries to stab him with his tail. Some of you might be saying that Nine wanted to kill Sonic, but he only stabbed the sides of his head (and even then it would've only grazed Sonic's cheek) and legs, not his chest. They are warning attacks.

Then Sonic fights back and his attacks become more lethal, more deadly because the threat is beginning to fight back and continues to stay. Nine could've just thrown him out on the subway and returned to his lab, but he followed, wanting to make sure the threat was gone. Which makes me even more scared to know what he did to his bullies.

Things eventually lead to Nine being saved by Sonic from an oncoming train. Notice how it was because of his own metal tails he was stuck in that situation, and this stranger saved him. This leads to our next section.

Section Two: "No One Has Friends Here!"

Now we begin our next part, Where Sonic has just saved Nine from an oncoming train. Nine of course is shocked and surprised, confused about why this blue hedgehog would save him. This is another way the city has affected Nine, in a way where he was expected to help himself.

This is a moment that most likely resonates with Nine, as well as the rest of his interactions with Sonic. At this point though, Nine still holds some distrust but doesn't attack anymore. As he stands he firmly rebuts Sonic's attempts to get close to him.

To Sonic, this is a chance to get through to who he thinks is Tails, to Nine this is merely a standstill. As he states that 'fabricated stories won't keep him from fighting back', calling Sonic an intruder. That's when Sonic pleads with him to stop, obviously hurt. I find it interesting that we don't see Nine's face as he does, when I watch that scene, you can clearly tell that Nine is reacting, but you can't see his face for some reason.

Then the backstories come. To Sonic, this is still tails, so he still says 'you', he explains that Nine was 'a happy little fox' doing 'brainy little fox things'. The bullies picked on tails, he came by, and Tails was saved and became Sonic's sidekick.

To Nine, this is a deeply personal experience, so he's shocked and confused about how this guy knows that. The way he says it, he was a 'kid minding his own business but not minding his surroundings', then some 'creeps' picked on him and beat him until he did something about it.

Sonics is light and simple, but it also shows that Sonic saw it, but he doesn't know how it feels, and he doesn't understand how it could've affected Tails and in turn affected Nine. Nine's is deep and harsh, Nine knows how it felt, and it affected him badly, but we'll get to that later.

After revealing that Nine firmly states that 'nobody has friends here', and this quote holds so much meaning. Nine doesn't seem to just be stating it to Sonic or to explain things, he's also stating it to himself. It's clear when he states that that's why he hides down there, to avoid everyone, even Sonic.

He doesn't say it in a sassy way, or an angry way, the tone in his voice is rather melancholy, and his face is sad. He isn't happy in isolation. That tone, that simple line, told so much about Nine.

Sure, he's safe when he's isolated, but that doesn't mean he enjoys it or finds it fun. He sits as he does this, in a fucking fetal position not to mention, which hammers in his deep desire for love and care.

Then, as Sonic thinks, Nine's face changes from cold and hardened to rather meek and scared. Then he asked, with hesitance, "So...what else did we do?"

He states 'we', not because he immediately believes Sonic and his whole "I'm from another world thing", but because not only does this person know he was bullied, but they state they saved him and became friends.

Friends. Something he clearly wants no matter how much he denies it. He lives in isolation to protect himself, to protect his mental state, then comes this person who tells him that he was capable of being happy of being loved.

Notice how Nine treats Sonic from now on after Sonic tells him what they did. He isn't as cold with him as he was before, he's slightly more open with the hedgehog, and it's understandable, Sonic was the first person to treat him with a sliver of kindness. And Nine finds he likes it.

Sonic tells him how he and Tails beat Eggman multiple times, and Nine stands up, clearly amazed and joyful at the thought of beating what was to him, a horrible dictator who brought him nothing but misery.

As Sonic walks towards him continuing, Nine still takes some steps back, cautious. Then Sonic touches his should and:

He's surprised, and after he processes it, a little smile makes its way onto his face! D'aww...

Then Sonic tells him that when they stick together they never lose, which visibly touches Nine.

After that, Sonic's shoes smolder, and as Nine points this out, Sonic whines and pouts, leading Nine to state he hates whiners more than people. He pulls out a gun, and Sonic panics, only for Nine to calmly tell him to stay still, smiling at the hedgehog as it scans him.

The lighting is all wonky so you can't really see it here, but it is there. They head back to Nine's lab, and Nine works on making something to regulate the energy within Sonic. Sonic, after glancing around, compliments Nine's tails, stating that he's amazing.

This surprises Nine, before he simply says 'sure', not knowing how to respond to that. When he's finished he goes on to explain how the doodads work, and puts them on Sonic, being surprisingly mindful of his tails, not actively hurting Sonic, and makes sure they don't poke him.

They're both surprised to see Sonic's shoes and gloves change, Nine pondering how that's possible as Sonic zips around in his usual bubbly excitement. After that, Sonic races out of his lab, wanting to test them out, with Nine for a split second panics and goes after him, explaining it's not safe.

I'm surprised that Nine went after Sonic instead of just going 'welp that was weird now that that weirdo went I can go back to what I was doing', he goes 'oh shit...I gotta protect this guy', and goes after him. Some of you might say that he went because Sonic has all this weird energy and he wants to test it, but I disagree because if it was, Nine wouldn't have cared to make the gadgets that regulate it.

Welp, that was a long post, HOWEVER, this is just part ONE of the isolation exploration effects on this broken fox kid's mind and just a fraction of the overall exploration analysis in all, part two will most likely come tomorrow. See y'all then!

[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!

[true-blue-sonic]

Blaze and Gold for the bingo thingyyyyy

Thank youuuuu ^-^

Blaze:

Blaze! My first favourite character of the whole franchise! Even if Silver took over there, I still really appreciate Blaze. I think she's got a lovely design: I love her specific shade of lavender purple, and I think they nicely captured her graceful and royal nature with e.g. her heels, noticeable golden necklace, deep purple clothes and fluffy cuffs. Plus, I like psychic powers and such things, so pyrokinesis is right up my alley as well. And I think she's just got a great character arc! In Rush, you can tell she absolutely means well. Her concerns about the dimensions being in grave danger are not at all misplaced, and she's actively working to protect them. But her worrying is simultaneously conveyed through incessant snarking at how carefree Sonic's dimension appears at first glance, how Cream is "not very bright", that she couldn't care less about Sonic, Knuckles and Amy if she tried, and how she sees herself as the only one actually doing anything about the crisis. Even through Blaze's own subjective and tinted POV, you get to see how she singles herself out to solve the issue and doesn't trust others to do so alongside her. That is why I really like the resolution of Rush, with her learning that things are just not like this. She does have people she can rely on, and, most notably, who trust her in turn! To me, Rush's story is incredibly sweet and uplifting because of the growth Blaze undergoes. And I also appreciate how even after that growth, she is still relatively standoffish and refined: she isn't as outgoing as the rest of the cast, and they accept that about her. I find it quite realistic: of course someone who has lived most of her life self-isolating, not trusting others, and putting the whole world on her own shoulders won't suddenly become a hyperactive sunshine incarnate who's always on the front rows.

Right now Blaze is not on my mind that much, which is why I didn't mark so many boxes. Canon Blaze is entirely fine by me, and I am not involved enough with her fandom to have an opinion on that. So overall, great aesthetics, an engaging and intriguing personality, and a solid development that she underwent.

Gold:

I had quite recently become a Sonic fan when it got announced that The Silver Age would be released. I was quite delighted! Archie at that time was a massive clusterfuck for me (and still is; I became a fan right around the time of the reboot, if I am not mistaken. Definitely didn't help matters), so having a standalone Silver story with none of the bazillion OG characters and idiot plotlines of especially the pre-reboot was very nice for me to delve into. I've always had an appreciation for Gold since then: also she is one of those characters that I think look lovely, with both her quills and her outfit especially being very remarkable to me. That being said, I do find it unfortunate that we never really got anything else from her, with the comics cancelled and such. The Silver Age is the one thing I like about Archie, so knowing that a continuation was in the works but got cancelled does sting a bit. At least Evan has lots of info on her Tumblr that I used as inspiration for Genesis.

As for Gold's personality, I think Evan's Tumblr notes gave more of a description of who she is as a whole than The Silver Age did: in the comics themselves, she's unfortunately hoisted from one crisis to another at neckbreaking speeds and reacting to those with lots of panic and crying, without having much time to let her positive qualities shine too. That definitely made it a challenge to write Genesis, alas. But it also gave me a lot of freedom to work out both her backstory, that of Onyx City, and that of the Council, which has been tons of fun! Furthermore, I do like the idea of Silver having friends in the future, and I think he and Gold can have a nice dynamic going between them, especially when Gold develops a bit and grows somewhat bolder and more comfortable with herself. So overall, I also like Gold!