#Janelle-Li the Echidna

[echidna-enquiries]

@tired-old-men Seth: ALRIGHT FUCKERS. PREPARE YOUR ASSES TO GET RATED OR MORE LIKE ROASTED. I must break you all down if you are to be built up again. I will start bottom to top.

"Okay. First of all, I must ask...is it normal for the people in your universe to be just NAKED?! Don't you ever get cold? or uncomfortable? or even get scuffed up at all?! And those gloves... Knuckles, honey, how can you pick up anything with those? Those don't seem at all practical. The shoes are...fine. I don't understand them but MY Knuckles wears the same so I suppose I can't complain too much... 4 out of 10... I can't bring myself to go any lower for some version of my grandson, even if he's not mine "

"Well, you're still without pants, but at least you have something covering your top half. Albeit something UTTERLY plain. Everything about your ensemble is PLAIN! I can feel myself YAWNING the more I look at you! Without the boots and those dysfunctional gloves, I would've thought you stepped out of a shower! Spruce it up a little! 5 out 10"

"...(sigh) Okay, I see that pantlessness is going to be a norm. Lets see what else here. Yet again, a plain and and questionable fit. A tunic? just cause your an older man doesn't mean you need to look ancient! And those IMPRACTICAL GLOVES! Are those ALSO A NORM IN THIS FAMILY!?! Not sure how you can type on that keypad there without your FINGERS! (huffs)... I'm not sure if the monocle is simply for aesthetic or has a function specifically but it at least draws people to your face. That's something... 5 and a half out of 10"

"...Hon... it's giving roadkill. HOW can that be comfortable? That looks so bug infested and scratchy that it makes ME feel like ltching! And those beads... Those shoes, I'd recommend sandals over those if you REALLY want your toes out. Those are gonna slip off SO easily! Eugh, those beads, it looks like you got a bunch of candy on your spines! A kids gonna come and chew on 'em at any second. AND WHAT'S WITH THE MARACAS AROUND YOUR NECK?! 2 outta 10 this fit is a mess. I get wanting to be eccentric but this AIN'T IT"

"Girlie... why the bathrobe and slippers? It's giving GRANDMA not GUARDIAN. Surely as a Guardian, that CANNOT be practical on the job. I can't imagine even ME being able to do my work in a bathrobe. And I can do it in heels! Unless you're working from home, you need a change, sweetie... but other then that. It's fine. 6 out of 10".

"Boy, you better be grateful I don't have any scissors right now BECAUSE I'D BE ON YOUR ASS TRIMMING THAT BIRDS NEST. WHAT IS THAT? IT LITERALLY LOOKS A BUNCH OF WEEDS IN A GARDEN. THIS ENTIRE LOOK JUST... GAG. These colours do NOT go together at ALL! And it hurts my eyes more cause your purple fur could be SO GOOD! And don't even get me started on those SHOULDER PADS- 2 AND HALF OUT OF 10!!"

"Oh CHAOS-talk about leaving NOTHING to the imagination! Somehow this upsets me more than Knuckles! Adding a boring vest doesn't make this an entire outfit, but I think what makes me more mad is. THAT. WHAT IS THAT ON YOUR HEAD. IS THAT YOUR HARDDRIVE? A SCANNER FOR YOUR HEAD? WILL IT BEEP IF I TRY AND SCAN SOMETHING ON IT- (lowkey wanna try that now-) AND HOW IS THAT EVEN STAYING UP THERE?! This whole outfit boggles me and leaves me upset. 2 out of 10"

"Hm... While I'm not sure WHAT you're going for, at least you're sticking to your aesthetic. I dig it. AND your fully clothed. Good. I'm unsure about that helmet but if your not uncomfortable then go for it. Not the most practical but you seem to make it work. 8 outta 10"

"Oh the hat's a nice touch! I always like a nice hat. The green isn't a bad choice colour wise. But the rest of the outfit I feel could be improved... especially the giant T on the top. I can't quite take that seriously, just makes me think of kids in an old sitcom or cartoon. BUT it's not bad. 6 out of 10".

"Ah. I see where the hat came from now... but hat can't save you from that bizarre piece, what even is that? a vest strap on? A harness?? and AGAIN WITH THE INITIAL ON THE CLOTHES?? If you at least wore assless-chaps it wouldn't be such a shocker with your cowboy looking ass. Dear lord. 3 out of 10"

"(Deeeeeeeeep siiiiigh)...I really wanna like this. I really do. I can see you have a specific vibe. I can SEE WHAT YOU WERE GOING FOR but... IT FUMBLED!! HARD!! No wonder you need that stick you fell off hard. You could get such better robes, hon. 5 out of 10"

"Is... is this a joke? You look like you got a piece of cheese SLAPPED onto your forehead. SMACK- looking like a farmer with those denim looking overalls... well almost cause what a surprise. NOTHING ON THOSE LEGS. Bland. Boring. Just a bad fit buddy. 1 out of 10. "

"Annnnd barely any improvement on the next one. Minus the random slice of cheese on the head, just traded that and the denim looking top for a useless belt, boring vest and random little accessory on the spine. I don't even have anything to say about this. There's just NOTHING. 1 out of 10"

(the sound of a facepalm) "Oh Chaos-...I KNOW I SAID BORING WAS BAD BUT THIS ISN'T ANY BETTER!! WHAT-WHAT ARE YOU WEARING? ARE THOSE THE RIGHT PRESCRIPTION!? CAN YOU EVEN SEE HOW YOU LOOK RIGHT NOW?! Theres high fashion and then theres fashion you pull off when your HIGH- YOU SIR ARE THE LATTER! 0 OUT OF 10. I would say i'm sorry... but I'M NOT AT ALL SORRY! GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"

"And back to boring... you are literally just wearing a long V neck and some boots... so many basic bitches in this household my GOD- 1 out of 10".

"...Now. While I'm not entirely sure about the idea of dressing like a tv show character in my day to day... you're at least sticking to it. You're committed to the fit and have the passion behind it, that I can get behind. While I'd rather an INSPIRED fit than just the exact replica as an outfit, this is at least a more interesting yet still not an eyesore to look at compared to the other outfits I've seen so far. 7 out of 10".

"...my sanity at this point is hanging by the thread...THE SAME THREAD I'M ABOUT TO USE ON THOSE DAMN BROWS OF YOURS. You are LITERALLY WEARING NOTHING BUT A BELT, BOOTS AND THOSE GODDAMN GLOVES. AT LEAST KNUCKLES DOESN'T WASTE TIM WITH A USELESS BELT. IT'S NOT EVEN A FASHION STATEMENT. THAT WOULD REQUIRE IT BEING FASHIONABLE. 1 out of 10. The only reason your not a zero is because of the rings... I like some good spine rings but that IS ONLY SAVING YOU BY A ZERO BY AN INCH. PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON".

"Now I was about to say this is basically a repeat of another outfit, version 0.1... but I then noticed YOUR NOT WEARING THOSE GODDAMN GLOVES. Immediately an improvement. Far from perfect but this is still much better than many others... but WHAT is that on your head... that looks like something people use to look at gemstones. Thought you were supposed to be a scientist...".

Seth: Phew... Right? That everyone in that picture? Well. Those are my starter notes. Now, how about I give some suggestions on what you could all wear to-

Fae: SETH! GIVE ME MY PHONE BACK!! IT'S BEEN HOURS!!

Seth: Hold on Fae, I'm not finished!-HEY! DON'T YANK ON THIS JACKET THIS WAS NOT CHEAP! THIS COST MORE THAN YOUR PHONE- STOP IT!!

Fae: GIVE ME MY PHONE! YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH!

Seth: Oh please I've barely scratched the-HEY HEY DON'T SCRATCH THE JACKET- OKAY- OKAY! HERE! I'M SORRY!

Fae: thank you...

Seth: (clears throat)...Well. I best be off now. Tata... Get yourselves some pants though, seriously. Fae: Seth, please... Seth: I'm going- byeeeeeeee~

Fae: (sighs in embarrassment) Sorry, guys...

[tired-old-men]

Hello! I started following this blog recently and couldn't believe it when I found it... I always loved The Brotherhood, but always felt so lonely on that. It's a dream to see all the love you give them on this blog! Thank you so much for this, really! This makes this fellow echidna lover really happy!

(I was also really shy to send an ask, btw haha)

Anyways, I wanted to ask something! How was Janelle-Li like? And how did you guys feel about her loss?

Comments like these really make my life to be honest! A part of me thought when creating this blog that a majority of this blog’s life would be me screaming into the void about these echidnas. After the end of the Archie comics they very much became quite the obscure characters, and granted they were already pretty niche in the comics to begin with. So it really warms my heart when people approach this blog with that “holy shit I remember these dudes!” feeling, because that was quite literally me a year or so ago when I slowly creeped back into this fandom, rediscovering this deep love for these characters. I’m glad that these characters still get a lot of love! I’m happy that my love for these characters can be felt in my art or in my writing and be shared with all of you. Thank you so much for your kind words PsychoAna, they mean the world to me and inspire me to continue on sharing the echidna love! ^^ 

Also never hesitate to drop something off at my inbox, trust I feel you on the shyness, I’m that friend that will be more likely to respond than to initiate an interaction lol but I can talk your ear off if you let me! No mater how serious, goofy, or chaotic your inquiry or interaction may be is totally fine by me! I’m just delighted by the fact you took your time to engage in my silly little blog. I swear I’m not a scary old man I’m just another silly lil guy on the internets lol ♥

⍟─────── ⋆ 。.・゜・✧・✦・✧・゜・。⋆ ────────⍟

Thunderhawk’s eyes soften “What was she like? She was… everything.. everything you could ask for in a Guardian in a child even. Headstrong, smart, resourceful, bright, incredibly athletic, she always found her own success in anything she did even in the most uphill of battles. She NEVER backed down from a challenge no matter how rough it got, she never got discouraged she just.. kept on going. 

She carried such an incredible sense of strength within her, she made a fine Guardian, better than I could ever be to be honest, like it was her destiny to do so.” Thunderhawk gives a soft chuckle reminiscing on a memory, then lets out a deep sigh as his face saddens. “She did a lot of good for a lot of people… And as a father I couldn’t be more proud of her… her absence is more than felt within us…”

Sabre places a reassuring hand on his grandfather’s shoulder, giving him a gentle squeeze to remind him he was there for him. “She… she was like a second mother to me… when I moved to Angel Island as a young boy she welcomed me with such an open heart. She um always seems to know what to do or say to brighten someone’s day. I appreciated her words of wisdom, she had a different way of viewing things that really made me think during rough times in my Guardian journey…She truly was the best of us and I… I miss her too…” Thunderhawk reaches to hold Saber’s hand resting on his shoulder, he looks back at him giving him a soft smile behind glossy eyes, appreciative of his words. “Janelle-Li was more than an outstanding Guardian in her own right, she was a valued member of our family. Her unfortunate early departure from this world is one that can be felt in our hearts and throughout Angel Island, by the multitude of people who’s lives were enriched by her, she inspired the best in all of us, and she is dearly missed by all who came to know her. She was a shining beacon of light, she took pride in her role of Guardian, and I could not have any more love and appreciation for my dear granddaughter.” Spectre speaks, even in his monotone expression his words are genuine. He gently pats Sabre and Thunderhawk comfortingly as he stands by them. 

[julie-su]

"Ooh, burn."

[btm-txt]

I keep thinking back to this first piece I did of Janelle-Li, It was actually one of my first pieces I did coming back to the Archie Sonic fandom a whole year ago. It's crazy to see how much I have improved and developed my style even my artistic skill. I din't realize how much I missed these characters and how much fun I had as teen drawing them and daydreaming about them. I haven't drawn much beyond echidna content from that original piece and I can say with confidence that I haven't been happier with my art from it. I had planned to redraw this piece a year later and a certain ask on my RP Blog just made the perfect opportunity to do so ♥

Been obsessing over the old Archie Sonic comics I used to read as a kid. I was always really interested in the Knuckles family saga especially the Brotherhood of Guardians. Soo here’s a little drawing I did of Janelle-Li to practice drawing them silly echidnas to fuel the trip to the d i s s o c i a t i o n s t a t i o n ✌️😎

[fyeahsonicthehedgehog]

[greenyvertekins]

Ok i need to ask wtf is penders family comic, racist echidna grandpa and jesus echidna?

"Penders' Family THE COMIC!!" is what I call the infamous Sonic Live. Linkara even reviewed it. "Racist Echidna Grandpa's" pertains to Knuckles' line of grandfathers and great grandfathers (And in a single instance, a grandmother, Janelle-Li) that constitute the Brotherhood of Guardians - A group of hypocritical douchebags who harbor racist views towards other Mobians (Dingoes especially) and see themselves as a master race of sorts. "Red Echidna Jesus" pertains to that period when Knuckles died trying to save racist ancestral uncle Dimitri, was brought back to life miraculously during issue #125 and was believed to possess amazing powers. To the point he was considered a messiah and other Echidna's would ask him to heal them.

[charleecat-bat]

I’m so close to coming up with a redesign of Janelle, but theres only one problem

I can’t think of a torso design for her. I literally can’t decide what kind of shirt, jacket, cardigan, whatever she could wear, for her.  I think it’s because I’m not only stuck because of me struggling to describe her style, but also me trying not to make designs too similar to another design I’ve done or me repeating something I’ve done. ^^;  Got any tips or anything to help me out?  I’d appreciate it a lot. ;v; 

[julie-su]

What doth my sensitive ears pick up on... People in the tags, asking for an explaination? Very well...

So; this is ultimately the climax of the 'Green Knuckles' shenanigans. What's a Green Knuckles, you may ask? Well, a green Knuckles (or Chaos Knuckles, some may call him, when we're not being facetious) is what you get when you 'microwave a baby' - you've heard of this joke, yes? THAT whole joke is based on Knuckles' father subjecting Knuckles' egg to the chaos siphon - which culminates here.

(Sonic the Hedgehog Issue 90)

Knuckles transforms into this form after having a building cave in on him, Antoine's father, and Yanar. I won't dwell on it for too long, (The years of Green Knuckles deserves a post in of itself, really) - I mostly just wanted to let it be known that the 'Green Knuckles' stuff happens before his death and foray into the afterlife.

"That's all very well, then, but how does he die!?"

Oh, that's easy to answer!

He explodes. To death. (Issue 118)

... You know what, you can have the final page of 118.

... I love this comic so much. I really, really, really love this Aurora-damned comic.

Aurora?! We'll get there! Skip along to issue 121... Which is where this post begins. Julie-Su, Simon, Floren-Ca, Mighty, Vector (wearing those damn headphones), Espio, Komi-Ko, Remington, Lara-Le, Locke, and Wynmahcer show up to listen to Kali-Ca call our dearly departed Knuckles a Man Child.

Mm.

Proud Man-Child.

And folks, he was the Echidna Legal Age! ... Look, these comics have a ... Habit... Of spamming you with random worldbuilding through every corner. It's charming most of the time, but other times, it just leaves your brain screaming as you try to cram it all in. You're probably at the head-spinning part right now, if this is your first time.

And OH MY GOD, HE'S A GHOST! ... AND HE'S STILL GREEN!

AND-- Okay, I can't riff on this one. This is so COOL. LOOK, IT'S ALL OF THE PAST GUARDIANS! We've got Moonwatcher, Rembrandt, Steppenwolf himself, Jordan, Harlan, Tobor's wearing Hawking's hat -- SQUEE -- Janelle-Li, Hawking as mentioned, and Aaron.. ... I'm sorry, I have to squee once more about the hat. Just.. Let me have this... LET ME HAVE THIS!!!!!

In issue 100, we see Tobor die, and move on into this 'evolution', they call it. Lookit his lil 'T' on his shirt. N'aww.

We also get to see Hawking beckoned into this Evolution on his deathbed in Super Sonic Special 14. ERMAGERD IT'S STEPPENWOLF!

OkayOKAYOKAY, I'm .. Almost done squee'ing... -Sigh- look, I wouldn't be here explaining this stupid green monotreme arc to you if I didn't genuinely and unabashedly love this series, eh?!

BACK TO 121!

I'll be honest - this one's just in here because I love Jans so much. LOOK, IT'S JANELLE-LI!

The Brotherhood of Guardians (That's the Guardian family) are highly connected to the Chaos Force, and when they pass on, they live on in a higher plane of existence, until Aurora calls them onwards.

-Ahem- Right.. Aurora!

N'aww, lookit Moonwatcher's happy little face. Hey, pa, you've been serving time the longest, the heralds have come to collect you! .. Waaait, no, they've come for the new guy.... Ooooh. Better luck next time, it'll only be a few more hundreds of years. .. I think Aurora is playing the worst prank on these poor suckers. Imagine living with your family and nobody else, for centuries. Mm! Fun! A friend of mine calls this 'Overtime', which makes me giggle.

ISSUE 122! AURORA!

WHAT A NERD!

Also, baby microwavin'. Thanks, Locke, for your contribution.

I told you this is the culmination of the Green Knuckles stuff! Aurora runs down the how's and why's, but we're not here for that. I just know you little suckers like that joke.

Yadda yadda, two more issues to explain how, why, what, when - ONTO 124!

You can have this picture for free, if the concept of 'Knuckles is dead' still tickles you. I know it does me.

"You exploded violently, Knuckles! Like a nuke!"

And thank goodness, we've sorted this out. ZOOP! No longer green! IT's only been ... A few years in Real-World time... Woof.

Er ma gerd, it's Athair! YOLT!

Blablah.. Next issue, 125...

Knuckles chats with Athair and Aurora.. He's back to life, baby!

Aaand...

HE'S BACK, FOLKS! And he's red!

And..

Well.. That's all!

-Quack-

daily reminder that vector wore headphones to knuckles's funeral

[archiesoniconline]

To Moritori Rex: What gave you the idea to poison Guardian Janelle-li? Out of all the Guardians in Haven you JUST had to choose Janelle-li? Like why?

Moritori Rex: She had begun to have some suspicions about my identity as Tobor. Not enough that I needed to act swiftly, but I had to be rid of her to avoid many awkward questions. And the chaos her death brought about drew everyone’s attention elsewhere. My supposed son, Spectre, also began sticking his nose where it didn’t belong, but he never allowed himself to be in a position where I could attempt anything. I knew his paranoia couldn’t protect him forever though, and he would also have been put out of the way eventually. Or he would have been, had that prodigious brat not exposed me.

[gamerzylo]

I’ve once more fallen down the Archie Sonic rabbit hole; specifically the Knuckles lore. So that means AU time.

Pachacamac’s tribe and everything with Chaos goes down as in Adventure (the game, not the comic adaptation).

What’s left of the tribe take to guarding the Master Emerald and the now Floating Island as repentance.

Fast forward to Edmund and Dimitri’s era; the Floating Island is once more hovering over the Mystic Ruins and Dimitri wants to go through with trying to return the island to its former place.

The tribe council rejects the plan but, as seen in the comics, Dimitri tries to go through with it anyway and achieves super form (in place of Enerjak).

This manages to awake Tikal’s spirit long enough for her to seal Dimitri into the Master Emerald alongside herself and Chaos. During all the commotion the tribe thinks that Edmund was the one who did it despite his protests to the contrary.

Edmund is then charged with being the sole guardian of the Master Emerald; the tribe has plans to expand throughout the entire island and seek out any possible fellow echidnas outside of the tribe.

Time passes and Dimitri’s son, Menniker, makes an attempt for the emerald. It fails but he manages to kill Edmund and flee before anyone can find out he did it.

Edmund’s son, Steppenwolf, is then named the new guardian and begins his training with chaos energy.

During this, Menniker had begun assembling followers under the guise of “Edmund failed because he was weak and now we’re just expected to let his son guard the very thing that keeps our home afloat?!”.

Eventually Menniker and his followers stage an attack against Steppenwolf, who opens a portal and sends them away; unknowingly he sent them to the Twilight Cage, where fellow echidnas, the Nocturnus, reside.

Things go relatively the same; Menniker’s followers, now calling themselves the Dark Legion, escape from time to time thanks to technology they stole from the Nocturnus. This comes to a head when Steppenwolf’s great-great grandson, Aaron, is killed in an explosion along with Menniker.

Menniker’s son, Moritori Rex, takes over the Dark Legion while Aaron’s brother Jordan undergoes guardian training.

More time passes with Moritori spying on the guardians whenever he can, waiting for the time to strike. The day Hawking passes on the role of guardian to his son Tobor is when the Dark Legion strike. The point of the fight where Tobor and Moritori get buried under rubble happens as it did in canon, with Hawking mistaking Moritori for his son due to all the injuries he sustained - plus the extra detail of Moritori also having the guardian neck ring. (Edmund and Dimitri were twins, it stands to reason that even if Dimitri or Menniker didn’t have it, the genetic chances were still in their bloodline. Case in point, Jor-dann, one of their ancestors also had the ring.)

While Tobor exiles himself to the planet’s surface in shame over everything, Voni-Ca (his wife) and Sonja-Ra (his mom) suspect that “Tobor” isn’t who Hawking thinks he is. Once Moritori is back on his feet, he decides to “take care” of them via poisoned food over a long time. He would eventually do this once more when Janelle-Li, Tobor’s great-great granddaughter, began to snoop around after being told “Tobor’s” story.

After Janelle-Li’s passing her son, Athair, becomes the new guardian. (In this AU the lost echidna tribe never existed). Following in his footsteps comes Sabre and then Locke.

Once Knuckles is born, things take a turn for the worse. Getting any and all information he possibly could over the years, Moritori has had enough of playing pretend. Once the signal is given the Dark Legion invades and just as the tribe turns to “Tobor” for help, he reveals his true identity.

In the resulting chaos, Lara-Le hands Knuckles to Athair and begs him to get her son to safety; Locke and Sabre have already been caught up in the fight alongside elder guardians, Spectre, Sojourner, and Thunderhawk.

Although reluctant, Athair has faith that the other guardians will prevail and that everything will be safe again soon so he agrees.

Weeks pass and with no word or signal from the tribe, Athair takes Knuckles with him back home. Upon arriving, he is met with the sight of...nothing. No echidnas, no houses, just the vast emptiness and the Master Emerald, still sitting at its shrine.

With only Knuckles left, Athair raises him and for a time things are peaceful, until a certain mustachioed scientist shows up for the first of many times to come...

[mobius-prime]

95. Knuckles the Echidna #11

The Forgotten Tribe (Part Two of Three) - Covenant

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Manny Galan Colors: Barry Grossman

Despite the dire circumstances, and Knuckles' anxiety, Athair proclaims that nobody is going to die today, only shouting it louder as one echidna lets go of his wife's feet to give her and his child a better chance at hanging on. To everyone's surprise, instead of falling, he floats, saved by some mystical power Athair exerts to keep him aloft. With that, the rescue effort begins, with Knuckles and Athair working together to make sure no one falls into the lava below. Knuckles dives for one echidna who's about to hit the lava, and while he catches him safely, Knuckles ends up splashing directly through the molten rock in doing so.

Yanar watches in awe from the sidelines as Athair raises everyone out of harm's way all at once, floating in the air to safety, and is amazed that Knuckles appears to have some sort of power too given how instantly his injuries healed. Once everyone is away from the lava, they make camp for the night. Meanwhile, back in Echidnaopolis, the Chaotix have run through a rainstorm (probably still the effects of the Day of Fury) to Remington's office.

Oh boy, this will go well!

That night in the echidna camp, Knuckles finally questions Athair about why he abandoned his own role as Guardian years and years ago. He begins to recount his childhood, starting with following his mother around the Floating Island learning from her all the duties of a Guardian. Once he was old enough, she did something that should look very familiar to us…

I guess this is something all Guardians go through once they came of age to take over their parent's duties. Unlike Knuckles, who was (and is) consumed with a burning need for answers, Athair was content to carry on his duties and wait for answers to come to him instead - and come they did, in the form of the Ancient Walkers whisking him away to see the group of wandering, homeless echidnas, just as Athair did to Knuckles last issue. The echidnas began to call him "Mitre," which was their title for the guide who would lead them to journey's end, at the fabled city called Albion. The Walkers then took Athair to Haven, where he met up with his mother once again, who explained that she had been "called away for a greater purpose."

Those few panels already make Janelle-Li sound like the best Guardian and parent we've seen so far, totally the opposite of Locke. She happily stepped in to take her son's place so he could go fulfill his destiny elsewhere, trusting him and helping him actively. Athair took up his place as Mitre of the tribe down on the surface, and eventually met his future wife, Crystal-La.

That's an interesting term for falling in love, "succumb to the Soultouch." Wonder if we'll hear any more on exactly what that entails…

Anyway, with Athair's mother dying, he still refused to go back to being Guardian, believing his duty as Mitre was more important, and sent his son Sabre, Knuckles' grandfather and Locke's father whom we saw before, to take up her duties instead. Sabre left angrily, believing his father was shirking his duties and his rightful place, and became the next Guardian, leaving Athair as the only one in the long line of Guardians to step down and pursue a different path. However, Athair and the tribe's troubles on the surface were not yet over…

That's pretty tragic - but keep in mind we are talking about something that could only have happened within the last ten years at most. Athair is ancient at this point. Let's assume that Mobians age at the same rate as humans, that Guardians tend to have children at the age of twenty-five, and that Crystal-La was barely eighteen when they married - with Knuckles being sixteen now, that would mean that Athair is about ninety-one years old currently, with Crystal-La being a spry young woman of seventy-three. In all possibility Athair and the others are even older, I'm not sure if there's an exact timeline of births and deaths I can check somewhere, but Athair, I get losing your wife was sad and all, but she's not a Guardian. She would have died soon anyway due to old age, and while the manner of her "death" is certainly very tragic, you spent a long, happy life of married bliss together (albeit with many hardships for the tribe along the way) and even if she's gotten her mind back now, which is certainly a possibility, if she ever gets turned back she's just going to grow a bit older and then die in a few years anyway. Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on him about this, but I do know that she was never mentioned again in the comic, meaning she's likely lost for good. Sad for Athair, but again, this is kind of like thinking Ellie's death in Up is the most tragic thing in the movie when we just saw a montage five minutes ago of her and Carl living an entire full life together up till very old age.

Anyway, back to the story - ever since then, Athair has continued to watch over his tribe and act as an agent on the Ancient Walkers' behalf, as though they were a patron deity (or deities) of sorts. Knuckles, exhausted from all that hard work of listening to Athair's stories, decides to go to bed, and in the morning awakens to find Athair gone, "following the Ancient Walkers" once again, with Yanar insisting that he's left Knuckles in charge of the tribe. Knuckles reluctantly begins to lead them, and encounters a sign indicating they're entering the Kingdom of Mercia, which if you remember was mentioned on that map of Mobius in Sonic Super Special #2, in an area vaguely analogous to Europe. He's quickly interrupted by a request from a young lady from the tribe.

So this is Mari-An, and she's a badass. Knuckles, appropriately, is impressed and even asks her somewhat jokingly if she's related to Julie-Su by any chance. Knuckles and Mari-An split up within the woods to find her two brothers, while Yanar holds the tribe in place - something which doesn't last long, as some robots appear out of nowhere and begin grabbing people, Yanar being the first. He's thrown into a dungeon with two familiar faces…

Hey Sonic and Tails! Looks like you've gotten yourself into a bit of trouble since last time we saw ya, eh? Moreover, there's a Sonic clone aiming a bow and arrow at Knuckles! We'll find out who he is and what his deal is next issue, but seriously, another Sonic clone? How many plotlines in all of Sonic media have relied on someone being mistaken for him? I'd like to think, based on this, that despite Sonic's vivid and unique appearance to us, he's actually extremely average-looking for a Mobian hedgehog, the equivalent of your typical brown-haired light-skinned medium-height male in America blending in with a sea of other similar-looking white guys. It doesn't necessarily make any sense how people mistake someone like, say, Shadow for him from a distance, given the wildly different color scheme, but I like the idea nonetheless.

[nuttyrabbit]

Janelle-Li probably is one of my favorite guardians because again for all his talk about being feminist he made only one guardian female and she was killed off by Motori Rex. Also I embrace the headcannon about her husband, Nemo, actually secretly being an Overlander and she had to lie to her child about who him being dead because of their controversial mixed marriage.

Honestly, if you want a take on her character that does her more justice than Penders ever could, I implore you to check out @sally-mun 's series The Brotherhood where she rewrites the entire story of the Brotherhood of Guardians to not only make the Brotherhood actual characters, but have the Echidna lore make actual sense, all the while giving characters like Janelle-Li and Lara-Le the agency they so desperately needed.

Also I've never heard that HC before but that sounds like a very interesting, if weird take on things

[sally-mun]

Honestly my biggest fear is that what happens to Janelle will be used to Prove that only men can cut it and roll back their improvements and the things she accomplished, possibly on top of what becomes of her son

Granted, it’s hard to say TOO certainly since there hasn’t been another female Guardian so far, but my hunch is that Janelle-Li’s changes will remain in place. She didn’t die because she was incompetent or unprepared for the responsibility, she died because someone she trusted acted maliciously against her. It could’ve happened to any one of them, so I don’t think anyone connects it to the fact that she was a female Guardian. Plus, it’s been quite a while since these events happened, and there are newer, more progressive Guardians in the family, along with more progressive attitudes in echidna society and the world in general. I think whenever another female Guardian turns up, she won’t face any hurdles simply on the basis of her gender.

[julie-su]

terrible grandson, 0/10, can't you reroll?

[btm-txt]

I was really happy with how my portrait of Janelle-Li turned out so I figured I draw my personal fave out of the brotherhood, Spectre!

I thought this piece was gonna be super easy and take me less time to draw in comparison (due to the lack of echidna pineapple hair lol) but I was wrong.

It was all fun and games until I reached the helmet…🥲

Still! I feel like my childhood self would be happy to see this piece so yee. 👉👈🥺

[fyeahsonicthehedgehog]