#amy and knuckles were good also but not in a ''if given the choice i would replace the game vas with them in a heartbeat'' sort of way

[sonknuxadow]

im gonna miss deven mack sonic and ian hanlin shadow and kazumi evans rouge so bad i will not lie

[skaruresonic]

My earliest memories of the VN are a little hazy because a lot has happened since then, but I'll try to share the bits and pieces that I do recall. ---

One of the first things I did was compile voice clips in order to have a comprehensive credits list. This included sifting through dialogue compilations. The characters' quotes then shaped ideas for plot beats and informed the kind of narrative it would become. In the earliest draft which... hadn't really been written at the time, but was 90% locked away in my head, the plan was to have Sonic help settle a dispute between Shadow and Rouge following a failed apprehension of some bank robbers. Their chapter would have paralleled Tails and Knuckles' in that two characters approach Sonic instead of just one. Not sure where their chapter would have fit into the overall narrative, but I'd guess around mid-afternoon, just before early evening, when Cream's chapter begins. I couldn't find anything viable in David Humphrey's voice clips, and Jason Griffith's sounded... for lack of a better word, a little too mean-spirited to use. It would have made Shadow seem as though he were raking Rouge over the coals instead of being a little annoyed and aloof. So then I was like, "Maybe I should set this aside for now." Eventually, as Knuckles', Cream's, and Amy's chapters grew in size, I decided it would have dragged the plot out for too long to include Shadow and Rouge's story, and hence cut it. --- The first draft was supposed to have the player take Sonic's place instead of Eggman. The implication being that Eggman somehow separated Sonic's sprite from his dialogue variable and is attempting to control Sonic's "shell" through manipulating the player. As time went on, I realized this was a difficult concept to convey properly. It would have also probably broken immersion to dictate the player's reaction after rendering them a silent entity for most of the game. That's why the switch was then changed to a more direct one between Sonic and Eggman. The player is instead given silent involvement where ultimately their say matters more than Sonic's or even Eggman's. The act of choice demonstrates the sheer power imbalance that exists between the characters and the player who directs them. ---

Eggman's "bad ending" speech was the first thing I worked on, which took about 15 minutes to speedread (so... maybe 30 minutes of regular reading?). It's not "truly" present in the current version of the game, though part of it is there in some form; it just requires a little digging to find. About half of the original speech is preserved in base64 when Sonic's dialogue gets deleted and replaced with barcode. You can see the base64 in the script. During the Good ending where everyone shows up to the surprise party, Sonic calls back to this speech. Eggman is confused because this implies Sonic can read his narration despite several layers of encryption, mirroring Eggman's ability to read Sonic's narration. --- The rave cave was originally supposed to take place at Amy's house, when Eggman would have flooded the place with raving Egg Pawns. All that hawt robot mosh pit action would have carried Sonic out the door and tossed him onto the lawn.

--- The final game has just two routes and many looping choices. A third route where the graphics driver fails, causing Sonic and co.'s sprite textures to fail to load, and an angry overworked Eggman assigning you the task of retrieving the lost textures before the end of the workday got scrapped as well.

[ebachan]

SCU - What could be in Sonic Movie 3

Hi,

So, here is another post centering on Sonic Movie 3. In my previous post, I analyzed the post-credit scene, giving a few ideas of how it could tie back to the first movie and what it could mean. Here, I want to present a list of what could be in the next movie, separating the ideas based on characters or places.

Again, I’m tagging this for spoilers, and so, please, you too. 😉😉

For the general idea, I would love to see them combining SA2 and Shadow the Hedgehog games. Both are heavily connected to Shadow, and while both games have their plot holes, they give Shadow depth and a new direction. I enjoyed Shadow’s game, since it’s the only one with multiple endings. It also explores the possibilities of how Shadow can change and decide based on the circumstances.  

Shadow

He is a Black Arms alien, but still a hybrid. Could be as an experiment to see how well a hybrid can do the “job” and infiltrate the planets to prepare them or harvesting.

He is an “ordinary” alien, like Sonic, searching for Master Emerald. Can be for Black Doom or for himself to be more powerful. Or possibly to bring back somebody or something he had lost.

He definitely isn’t created on Earth. The technology isn’t advanced enough to allow it. The Ark also doesn’t exist in space, but it could be a name of the Black Site.

He could come to Earth after crashing or by choice, but still captured by the military while being surprised. Given he should be combat skilled like Knuckles, it seems like the “only option”.

Since Rings seem to be the most common way to travel between planets, we can expect him to use them. Would be cool to get more insight into them as well. Like how they are produced and with some luck, we may get Red Star Rings 😍

Before being put into stasis, he would swore he would take a revenge upon humanity.

I know this would be too much for a kid’s movie, but I can imagine Shadow was “given electric shocks” to keep him in check or high doses or paralyzing gas during his stay in the lab.

He likes to “comb” his quills as seen in his game. It can be possible for him to be “proud” of his features, but not narcistic. He may just dislike being messy.

Maria

She lived on Earth, and I would love to see her having a similar role as in the games.

She can be a child, but her being an adult working in Black Site and meeting Shadow there would be really cool.

She would be cheerful and kind, befriending Shadow, who would be used by others like an object.

May or may not be related to Robotnik.

She would still be terminally ill, but using her remaining time to make a better future.

Amy Rose

I can see her working in this movie.

Her personality could be changed a bit to be tom-boyish, but still liking girls-tuff like clothes or makeup.

She would show “romantic interest” in Sonic like a crush, but not to the point of saying “you will marry me” when she is 14 😅😅🤔

Act like a big sister to the boys, and being the most level-headed and a good leader. I can see her trying to “control” Sonic’s reckless behavior, so he wouldn’t get hurt.

Just like Sonic, she would have a high level of empathy, being able to see good in others.

Would be nice for her to have slight psychic abilities, like a stronger intuition. That could help with “searching” for people she bonded with.

Her Piko Piko Hammer is must 😁 A manifestation of her Chaos abilities.

She could be the one to show Shadow the “wrongs” of his plan for revenge, like in the games. But I’ve seen an idea here that this could be done by Sonic too. If there is no Amy, I’m all for it. Or Maddie could be the one as well. It could have an impact, since she is human and still connects with Shadow, who hates humanity.

G.U.N.

More prominent and competent role. Because honestly, in SA2, they sucked and did little to nothing to help. In Shadow’s game, they were more active and part of the story and made an impact.

The Commander Walter was involved with Project Shadow, but not directly. I can see him losing somebody close to him, and thus hating Shadow. It could be Maria if both were children. Or somebody from his unit, like the commander he respected.

He would learn about Project Shadow after becoming a commander. But I can imagine him still missing the key features and details.

They would still go after Sonic and Co, perhaps sending another secret agent to monitor them. This time a woman who would settle down in Green Hills.

Black Site/Ark/Prison Island

Could be modeled after Ark or Prison Island or both.

A place where Shadow would be kept, experimented on, and imprisoned in the pod.

Definitely in Antarctica since that place is ice-covered. And we already had Siberia, so, a new place?

Underwater doesn’t sound right or possible.

Ark can’t be a space colony since in SA2 it was powered by Chaos Drive (if I remember that right), and ChE or ME are unknown to humanity. Solar energy could be possible, but it seems like a stretch. Also, the post-credit scene talks about coordinates, and I don’t think that would apply to space 😅 

Prison Island is more possible to exist in the movie. It’s a simple location.

BlackDoom

Very similar to his game counterpart - cruel, manipulative, and calculating.

Could be the final boss, but I can see him work more in a theoretical Shadow’s spinoff. The movie can have hints towards him and/or BA race.

Exploring the Black Arms lore would be so cool. We got basically nothing about them. Why is BD determinate to harvest planets? Why are BAs connected by hive-mind? How did the race come to be?

Black Comet can work since that’s 100% alien stuff :-D

I would scream with joy if they would hint BA like Eclipse from Archie Sonic comics. That would put Shadow in front of a new arc of him going against a non-mindless living-weapon, but basically himself.

Rouge the Bat

She needs to be introduced sooner than in this movie. Shadow is too complex to “share the spotlight”. It worked for Knuckles and Tails since they are “quite simple” past-wise. Knuckles’ Spinoff is the perfect place for it.

Her original role was bounded to the fact Sonic and Co weren’t “aliens” among humans. So, that’s a big pass here.

However, she is Jewel Hunter/Thief, and thus, following leads to Master Emerald, she would find her way to Earth and to Knuckles.

There she can get involved, perhaps teaming up with Shadow/Agent Stone, but she would ultimately “betray” them in favor of her goal or greater good.

Later, she could become part of G.U.N., but it seems unlikely as it stands now.

Agent Stone

Takes after Dr. Robotnik, inheriting his mentality and awakening his genius. He is the most capable assistant, after all.

I doubt Dr. Robotnik had the Mean Bean hide out planned beforehand. Agent Stone gained that place in the pre-quill comic and “redecorated” it.

He also showed he had two Control Gloves and could use them with ease.

Based on the post-credit scene, he overheard them. His next step will be to get the data and check and use Project Shadow in his revenge against humanity and especially that blue pincushion 😆

Would be cool to tease Metal Sonic, as Agent Stone sees non-robotic partners as unreliable.

He would introduce Shadow to coffee and coffee beans.

Dr. Robotnik

Hmm, if he returns, he would probably take Agent Stone’s role in waking up Shadow and plotting to destroy the Earth.

But with Stone showing how capable he is, the movie can work without him as well.

Event

Collecting Chaos Emeralds - They were “scattered“ by the end, and if Shadow somehow knows about them, he would collect them.

Or the Emeralds can be collected during Knuckles’ spin-off with the last one or two being in the movie. 

Super Shadow and Super Sonic fight - Like, it’s no brainier XD

G.U.N. hunting Shadow, Sonic and the rest - They are still determinate to contain them somehow. But they can also form a “partnership” by the end of the movie.

I wonder if there would be “Shadow’s death” by the end. 

Commander Walter and Shadow would have a confrontation. Shadow would want to kill him (for obvious reasons), and Sonic would save the human, earning more disdain from Shadow. Something similar was in his game, but Shadow and Commander Tower reconciled and formed partnership.

Maddie having a scene with Shadow - I believe she deserves more action and fulfilling moments. The 2nd movie showed what she is capable, and what she will do to protect her family.

Post-Credit scene - Metal Sonic or Chaos. It’s too soon for Silver and/or Blaze and given how complex their stories are, they are more TV-series material for the length. Sonic Unleashed is also a story needing more time and characters to introduce.

I guess this sums up my thoughts and ideas :-) Nothing really shocking, and I’m sure I’m like 95% off XD 

[shingia]

hey babe!! i saw ur “dating suna hcs” and was wondering if you could write an oikawa version?? u dh to if u dw to btw :)) love ur writing!!

✗ DATING OIKAWA ✗

OMG THIS IS LONG OVERDUE IM SO SORRY <\33 tysmmm and another thank u for you patience hahaha

-> cw : one mention of food

-> reblogs help a lot <3

— EARLY RELATIONSHIP

• it was a gut feeling. being « just friends » with you was never an option for oikawa, and he let you know very quickly

• he never hid the fact that he was absolutely smitten, which is why you knew right from the start that his advances came from a place of pure honesty

• and he definitely lived up to your expectations once you started officially dating : his many promises about making you the happiest person on earth weren’t just empty words

• obviously his friends teased him for constantly bending over backwards for you, but he was never ashamed of it

• in other words, there wasn’t an « awkward » stage at the beginning of your relationship, because loving you was nothing new to him

• some people like to consider themselves someone’s soulmates, but oikawa would rather work hard to obtain someone’s love, which is why he’s glad that your relationship started with him pining for you

• and even though you were never left indifferent by his flirty behavior, it’s nice to have him think that you slowly fell for him because of his fierce game of seduction

— LOVE LANGUAGE

->| words of affirmation

• and i’m not just talking about his daily “i love you”s, whether it’s right after he wakes up or at the end of a phone call

• i’m talking about the way he is constantly rooting for you, even for the smallest things. sometimes you don’t even feel like you need to be encouraged for something, but he still does it

• your self esteem has never been so high because he celebrates each and every one of your achievements for several days (literally)

• but it never feels forced, because he’s not sugarcoating it at all : he’s genuinely super proud of you, and in fact he fears that you might not know how much

• however, his daily « i love you »s that i talked about before are also a big part of his love language

• of course it’s not always those three words. sometimes it’s a quick « i’m so lucky to have you » sent right before his practice starts, or a cheesy « i missed you » when you meet him in the kitchen after getting out of bed, where he’s already started making breakfast

— DATES

• you guys did everything on the cliché dates bucket list because he wanted to get these “out of the way” before surprising you with more unique ones

• candelit dinner in a fancy restaurant, flower field picnic, even the classic move of pretending to stretch at the movies in order to “subtly” wrap his arm around your shoulders : he’s done it all

• then, after a few months, he started to put a lot more reflexion into the preparation of his dates to make them as personalized as he could

• most of the time, he brings you a gift that he remember you briefly mentioning in a conversation a while ago

• during his morning runs, he likes to scout out future places to take you to. and he writes them down on his phone to make sure he won’t forget it by the time he gets home

• sometimes, if he’s not sure whether or not you’ll like it, he’ll send you a picture and wait for your approval

• but don’t worry, he keeps it a surprise 95% of the time. and yes he covers your eyes with his hands on your way there (like i said, he’s all about kinda cliché moves)

— CUDDLES

• some people are more fond of either hugs or kisses. oikawa loves both equally

• he thinks there’s something very intimate about kissing someone while hugging them - bonus point if you’re laying down on top of him, because he knows you don’t mind spending hours in this position

• and don’t even get me started on the amount of kisses he peppers on top of your head, always while holding you close with his arms around your shoulders

• he’s also a huge fan of eyelids and cheekbones kisses because he loves how it makes you giggle every time

• but, to him, cuddles are more than just displays of his love and affection for you : it’s the fastest and most effective way to calm his nerves after a stressful day

• and you can physically feel him relax under your touch because he progressively stops being all fidgety until he’s completely still in your embrace (and that’s usually when he falls asleep, for either a nap or the whole night)

• his spooning position really depends on the day, it’s about 50/50... but he enjoys being the little spoon a liiiittle bit more

— PDA

• he’ll adapt to your needs of course...

• ...but let’s just say that he wouldn’t mind walking down the streets while literally bear-hugging you

• also, he’s got hand kisses mastered to perfection

• because since he’s holding your hand 99% of the time, he needs something different for when he gets extra affectionate

• so that’s why he often brings your hand to his lips to kiss it’s back, or sometimes even your knuckles

• although he’s never really admitted it, he always does it when he thinks someone is getting a little too.. comfortable with you... (yes, he tends to forget that constantly holding your hand might give people a clue on the status of your relationship)

• he loves it when you mindlessly play with his hair on public, because you do it very naturally and it always warms his heart

• oh and- the kisses he gives you in public? OVER THE TOP. EVERY TIME. but he does it so well...

• yes, he will put an arm around your waist and kiss you with so much passion that you’ll have no choice but to lean back

• and then, just like he hasn’t given you a kiss worthy of the greatest romantic movies, he places a quick peck on your nose with a satisfied grin

— RANDOM HCS THAT GIVE ME LIFE

• you’re his custom navigation voice on his gps <3

• he sends you a lot of personality tests and he loves to compare your results with his

• when you’re at the grocery store, you push the cart together and try to lead the other to the aisles of your favorite snacks

• you both give takeru advice on love and relationships in general, and even though he doesn’t seem very convinced, he has to admit that you two are a pretty darn good example of what love must look like

• he put a picture of you inside his locker’s door, and he takes a few seconds to look at it before practice for a little energy and motivation boost

• he bought you a super fluffy blanket and, on days when he’s home without you, he carries it everywhere with him to make sure it’ll smell like him when you come back

• he bought you a puppy that he decided to call tooru; that way it’s like he’s still by your side when he has to travel for his games

TAGLIST : @toworuu @catwithangerissues @ughgojo @livy384 @k0u-minamo2 @fullsundear @hsjvwq @cubbluv @hiraeth-z @velvetvirgos @kirishimas-manly-eyeliner @47meow @japanesevenom @geektastic84 @noir-blanches-blog @idontlikeyourjob @seiri-ami @admiringlove @nachotrash @kellesvt @aintyourholy @Moonlaeli @catchmewiddershins @duhsies @devilgirlcrybabiey @crystal-lilac @ijustwantfreenetflix @miw0 @maitenight @xomiya @shoyotime @borealis-tristesse @succulentmom @akkeyomi @koifish69

[zippityzap]

Sonic Tarot Card Project: explanations for character picks

Recently I completed a summer-long project where I created Sonic themed versions of the tarot major acana. I put a lot of research and thought into what characters to assign to which cards, and I wanted to explain my rationale behind each one! (Everything’s under the read more cut because this is a very long post!)

To start off, let me explain why I did this project in the first place. This summer I watched Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure for the first time, and in Part 3, Stardust Crusaders, the majority of the stand abilities are named after the tarot major arcana. Thanks to cultural osmosis I vaguely knew the meanings of a few of the cards and I realised that one of the characters suited his assigned card pretty well. I was curious if this matched anyone else and so once I finished watching that part, I did research on tarot and found that yeah, a lot of them do match! That got me interested in tarot and since I like combining things I’m interested in, I decided to make Sonic versions of the cards.

I do want to note that while Jojo did inspire this project in a lot of ways, I tried not to let my character picks be influenced by Stardust Crusader characters, although there did end up being some picks that did coincidentally happen to match nicely anyway. Also, I’m not gonna lie, ever since picking these card choices I’ve been highly tempted to draw Sonic as Polnareff.

Anyway, on to my explanations for character choices!

0: The Fool (Charmy Bee)

The Fool represents innocence, spontaneity and recklessness. I believe Charmy’s happy and carefree nature, along with the simple fact that he’s essentially just a little kid who likes to have fun makes him a great fit for this card

1: The Magician (Infinite)

The Magician represents creation and strength, but also manipulation and narcissism, a good match for Infinite and the powers of the phantom ruby. (I was also very pleased to notice that the traditional art for the card has an infinity symbol- everything lined up very well!)

The Rider Waite version of the card also depicts a sword, a wand, a cup and a pentacle; the suits of the minor arcana. I have attempted to depict these with various objects from the Sonic series, namely Infinite’s sword from the IDW Forces prequel comic, the sceptre of darkness from '06, a chaos emerald, and a ring respectively.

2: The High Priestess (Princess Elise)

The High Priestess represents secrets, repression, and the unknown, which I believe fits with Elise’s initial desire to control her emotions and her sadness. (Admittedly this is one of the looser character/card connections for this project, but my two other picks for this card I felt were better suited to different cards)

3: The Empress (Vanilla the Rabbit)

The Empress represents nurturing, fertility and childbirth, all traits that I believe make this card a good pick for a kind, caring mother like Vanilla

4: The Emperor (Dr Eggman)

A card fitting for the leader of the Eggman Empire! The Emperor represents authority, power, and tyranny, all traits Dr Robotnik desires, if not possesses in many continuities.

5: The Hierophant (Espio the Chameleon)

The Hierophant represents wisdom and tradition, and in both upright and reversed forms it has large connections to the concept of social conformity. Perhaps I’m drawing more from the various comic versions of Espio, but he comes across to me as someone who is hyper-aware about how he presents himself.

Fun fact: a hierophant is essentially another word for a religious leader, although I’ve never seen it used outside the context of tarot. I assume the religious connection is the reason why in the OST of the Jojo part 3 anime, Kakyoin’s theme is called Noble Pope.

6: The Lovers (Amy Rose)

The Lovers represents love, communication, and passion; and Amy is certainly a character who wears her heart on her sleeve! She’s a good example of a character who I feel fits a number of different cards, however there are no other characters who suited The Lovers quite as much as her.

7: The Chariot (Sonic the Hedgehog)

The Chariot represents journeys, wanderlust as well as the ambition and willpower to achieve your goals, which I believe is the perfect match for Sonic’s adventurous and heroic spirit. This was one of the first cards I decided on and it’s probably the one I’d defend my interpretation of the most.

If you’re wondering why there’s dark and hero chao in the artwork too, it’s because the original card art depicts the titular chariot being pulled by black and white sphinxes, and this is my way of calling back to that.

8: Strength (Maria Robotnik)

This card pick might seem unusual at first if you take the word ‘strength’ at face value, however considering the original card art depicts a maiden peacefully taming a lion, perhaps the Strength card represents inner strength, courage and determination rather than physical strength. These are traits that I believe Maria possesses.

9: The Hermit (Knuckles the Echidna)

The Hermit signifies awareness and independence but when reversed can mean isolation and resignation, traits that parallel well with Knuckles and his duty to be the protector of the Master Emerald

10: The Wheel of Fortune (Big the Cat)

The Wheel of Fortune represents fate, karma and luck! This is admittedly a bit of a cheeky dig at myself since I’m awful at the Big fishing levels in SA1 and mostly got through them through luck. But that’s not to say the card doesn’t apply to Big himself! His frequent cameos do have a bit of a fate/destiny vibe to them and in IDW Big is lucky enough to manage to avoid the metal virus for quite a long time.

11: Justice (Vector the Crocodile)

The meaning of the Justice cards is… pretty much what it says on the tin: fairness and clarity. Of course the Team Chaotix detective agency represents this as a whole, but that trait especially shines through with Vector himself. He may be a little money oriented, but doing what is morally right always takes priority.

12: The Hanged Man (Shadow the Hedgehog)

The thing about Shadow is that he’s a fairly complex character which means there are a number of cards in the Major Arcana that match him well, but I knew early on when tackling this project that I wanted to assign Shadow to The Hanged Man. This card represents change, release and sacrifice, which all align well with the character arc that Shadow goes through during the course of SA2 and beyond.

13: Death (Tikal the Echidna and Chaos)

Despite the morbid name of the card, (and the admittedly macabre scene I’ve depicted) the Death card is not an inherently negative card to draw. Yes, it can mean endings and grief, but it can also mean letting go and new beginnings. The story that Tikal and Chaos go through in SA1, their anguish and how they later find peace, is something that I think pairs well with this particular card.

Fun fact: this is the only card in this project that has two significant characters on it rather than just one. I felt I needed both of them to be on the card in order to fully represent its meaning

14: Temperance (Blaze the Cat)

The Temperance card signifies balance, harmony and patience, which matches Blaze’s very poised and graceful demeanour. Admittedly I had a little bit of trouble deciding on a card for Blaze since the High Priestess and the Hierophant are also good matches for her.

15: The Devil (Rouge the Bat)

The Devil card represents temptation, seduction, and materialism and well… look, Rouge is one of my favourite Sonic characters, I’d be one of the first people to tell you that there’s a lot more to her than what initially appears, she is so much more complex than just sex appeal and a gemstone obsession. However, I felt there was no other character that matched the traits of this specific card better than Rouge, and so my choice was decided by that.

16: The Tower (E-123 Omega)

The Tower card represents a number of things; disruption, disasters, sudden changes etc, however the trait that made me believe that Omega would be the best selection for the card was violence.

17: The Star (Miles ‘Tails’ Prower)

Tails’ character arcs normally centre around him gaining independence and self-confidence and learning to believe in himself. He is also largely characterised by his unyielding faith and trust in Sonic. These traits are the reason why I believe The Star card represents him well, as it symbolises hope and faith.

18: The Moon (Shade the Echidna)

The Moon card symbolises mysteries and the unknown, and when Shade is first introduced in Chronicles, she and the rest of the Nocturnus Clan are certainly presented as mysterious. The Moon can also represent misconception, which fits well with how Shade was initially unaware of the true nature of Ix’s plans.

19: The Sun (Cream the Rabbit)

The Sun, when drawn in an upright position, has a lot of positive meanings! Freedom, fun, happiness, good luck etc. Cream’s cheerful and optimistic disposition makes her a good match for this card

20: Judgement (E-102 Gamma)

The Judgement card symbolises liberation, awakening, redemption and second chances, all of which I believe represent Gamma and his character arc in SA1 well

21: The World (Metal Sonic)

In the upright position, The World card symbolises triumph, completion, strength and happiness while in reversed position can mean failure, anxiety, lack of self-confidence etc. I had both positioning of the card in mind when connecting it to Metal Sonic; he is devoted to the tasks given to him and is self-assured in his belief that he is the true/superior ‘sonic’ yet he repeatedly finds himself at the hands of failure. But he doesn’t let previous failures hold him back, thus starting the cycle anew. (Another connection to the World card as it also symbolises cycles)

[theflashdriver]

A Measure of Trust

Knuckles' birthday is on the horizon, Rouge had schemed up a surprise costume party for him. Unfortunately, a certain blue blur has taken much too long in picking out what he's going to wear, and a pink hedgehog has taken notice. Written for Sonamy/Silvaze Week 2021, but for the pirates or the knights prompt? You'll have to read to find out!

---

Despite his usual arrogant antics, Sonic wasn’t without his share of weaknesses, that much he could freely admit. His cool demeanour tended to slip when it came to open bodies of water and he did like to the centre of attention more than he was willing to admit, but neither of those issues were plaguing him today. No, today’s grievances were derived from a two related yet contrasting sources; the need to plan and being forced to wait.

His issue with the latter was more obvious, his pseudonym was the blue blur for a reason after all. Sticking around in one place just wasn’t his style, he had to feel the beat of ever-changing terrain beneath his sole and watch his surrounding rush by so fast that he could scarcely make them out. No matter how much people watching he did, tapping his right foot all the while, hanging around outside the third costume shop they’d visited today wasn’t achieving the same purpose.

A sigh slipped through his lips as he readjusted his grip on the overlarge boxes stacked up to his chin, each of them a different colour and sealed with a bow. He couldn’t blame anyone but himself for his present position… but if he was asked, he’d absolutely point fingers at Rouge, Knuckles and the girl he was presently waiting on. His claim for the echidna was admittedly the lousiest, as this was all happening without his knowledge, but he was the central cause. Having heard that the master emerald’s guardian had never had a birthday party, the bat had seen fit to organise one. The bat’s chosen party type of fancy dress was the hedgehog’s reason to blame the girl currently rummaging through boxes and coat-hangers somewhere behind him, trying to pick out matching costumes.

In truth, Sonic knew that his current circumstance was entirely his own fault. Rouge had passed out the invitations months ago and Tails had literally read the letter to him, just to be sure it wasn’t forgotten. The fox had also reminded him of all this last week but there being seven days till he had to act meant seven more days to put it off. It’d taken Amy’s intervention, a mere half day before the party was set to start, to get him on the right path.

To his credit, while running through station square, Sonic had made a mental note of a hat that seemed to be Knuckles’ style and would make for a good enough gift… but the hedgehog hadn’t given a single thought to his own costume. Apparently being fashionably late and undressed for a surprise costume party was too much of a faux pas. Well, he knew it was but that didn’t mean it hadn’t been destined to happen.

Amy had dragged him out to buy the hat on the spot before insisting that she would help him pick out an outfit. The serious yet excited look on her face had left him unable to come up with a quip or excuse. He supposed he could just have run, just as he could now, but he’d told himself if he showed up late after her offer she’d have a genuine excuse to be mad at him. That was what he’d told himself, but the truth was that his inability to refuse the pink hedgehog was third weakness of his, especially when she’d so plainly planned this out. She’d probably known this was how it’d all play out upon first reading her own invitation.

Her aid had come with a few catches, the first being his status as her luggage caddy for the day; that wasn’t so bad, though he couldn’t help feeling the boxes were meant to weigh him down. It was the other two that were filling his stomach with butterflies; he wasn’t allowed to pick out what he’d be wearing, and he had to stand outside while she picked out all the pieces. He’d stepped into the first costume shop and been overly thoroughly measured before being promptly kicked out. Every garb and accessory she’d brought out since was so thoroughly packaged that he had no chance of guessing what was in store.

He’d tried not to think too about it too much, but boredom had made him laps a handful of times. They were here for his costume, not hers, which implied Amy had already picked out what she was wearing. The moment she’d insisted on her plan he’d known they’d end up matching or contrasting in some way, and that’d only fed his potential embarrassment. The most savoury hypothetical that he’d managed to imagine was that he’d be the knight to her princess, at least the visor of his helmet would hide his embarrassment. With Amy at the reigns though, and all the time she’d had to plan, he really doubted it’d be so simple.

Sonic shut his eyes and leaned harder against the side of the building; just how much longer would she take? They’d been to three different costume shops, three! Whatever she had planned had to be elaborate; he would have picked up whatever was nearest the door and called it a day or wrapped himself in toilet roll and claim to be a mummy.

Amy plainly had a vision for what he was going to wear. Maybe she’d pull something specific from one of those corny romantic movies she liked to watch? Perhaps he’d end up more princely than knightly, dressed in some overly restrictive ensemble? That was what bugged him the most, not something he didn’t like but that it’d keep him from movi-

“I should have known I’d find you here, Big Blue,” He didn’t have to open his eyes to know who’d said that; he fought to make his grimace a grin.

“Long time no see, Rouge,” Sonic said, keeping his eyes shut so as to avoid the smirk that was surely on her face, “I figured you’d have already picked out your outfit, given that you planned this whole shindig.”

“Oh I have, you don’t have to worry about that sugar,” The hedgehog couldn’t help but hear another set of footsteps come to a halt just in front of him, “Why don’t you go stand next to him, Shadow. You two are matching after all.”

At that, Sonic’s eyes snapped open. Rouge nigh perpetual flirtatious gaze was present, as expected, but just left of her was a figure more obscured by boxes than he was. If it wasn’t for the dark quills poking out from both sides of the tower, and the presence of some metal boots, identification would have been impossible. Without warning, the figure stepped directly toward him, clearly unable to tell where it was going. Sonic took a step to the left only for Shadow to fill where he’d been standing.

“I’m glad I left sorting Red’s outfit to Tails, Amy must have predicted I’d have my hands full,” That was a half-truth, Amy and Tails had talked the bat into handing over that job after hearing what she’d schemed for the guardian, “I’ll see you tonight then, assumedly on Amy’s arm?”

The bat slinked off laughing through the automatic doors, only half covering her mouth with her hand. As soon as she was out of view, the blue blur returned to his prior head raised and eyes closed position. That was just a taste of what was to come tonight… at least the birthday boy would get a laugh out of it.

He opened one eye, glancing to his partner in embarrassment. Though the black hedgehog was a natural scowler, but the look on his face was truly tremendous. He was staring into the box in front of his head as though he was willing it to explode. It looked like, at any second, he might just faint beneath his own exhaustion and frustration at this whole situation.

Seeing a silver lining to this dower situation, and an opportunity to distract himself, Sonic opened his mouth, “So, Shad-

“Not a word,” Shadow cut him off, “I’ll be dealing with your nonsense enough later, I’m sure.”

“Aww, come on, I want to guess what you’re going as. Rouge has a sense of humour; it’ll be something like a vampire, right? That way it won’t be hard for you to stay in character,” Sonic teased.

For a moment, icy silence hung in the air. The dark hedgehog’s eyes closed, “I don’t care what she’s picking out.”

“W-Wait, you trusted Rouge to pick your outfit?” After he asked that though, realisation struck him. Trust had nothing to do with it.

“I don’t care,” Shadow flatly insisted.

“That’s what your mouth says, but your face says you didn’t have a choice,” The blue blur smirked, “Amy stopped her from picking Knuckles’ costume for a reason you-

The sound of the automatic doors sliding open, and the footfalls derived from a familiar set of boots cut Sonic off. His blood ran cold as a long box was added as a new peak for the mountain he was carrying. He scarcely managed to see a set of pink ears line up in front of him.

“Alright my darling, that’ll do,” Amy Rose had returned, Amy Rose had finished her creation, “Let’s get you home and try it all on!”

“Alright, let’s do it,” He managed to grin as he poked his head around, locking eyes with the girl in red.

Immediately he was of two halves, the look on her face had split him in twain. She was beaming with excitement; the red on her cheeks, the smile on her muzzle and brightness in her eyes was overbearing. The hedgehog was so plainly happy with what she’d made, so overjoyed that all she’d planned had come together. That happiness struck him to his core and made the waiting worth it, but it also brought him certainty that this outfit would be his undoing.

She only managed to walk a couple of paces, her happiness unyieldingly blunt in her step, when she came to a sudden halt and looked to her left, “Shadow? Is that you?”

The set of legs beneath a mound of boxes gave no response, so Sonic spoke for it, “Rouge is picking his outfit for tonight.”

“Oh, Shadow…” The sympathy in Amy’s voice only lasted for a moment, being quickly replaced by a lecturing tone as she puffed up her cheeks, “Well, after tonight I’m sure you’ll have learned your lesson, just as I’m sure my darling Sonic will.”

Up until her last claim, seeing Amy talk down to the once named ultimate life form had been the highlight of the speedster’s day. Instead, it was just another source of conflicting joy and fear. Like two ships crossing in the night, without another word, Sonic walked past Shadow to catch up with Amy.

He wasn’t used to moving like this, walking slow to keep everything balanced. Usually, the only thing he could see was what was directly in front of him, now he was reliant on Amy to carve him a path through the people walking Station Square. Just looking at her from behind all these boxes, the sight of her red dress and boots, was conjuring more theories. He’d ended up a werehog due to one of Eggman’s schemes, would she make herself red riding hood? Maybe they’d visited so many places because she’d been looking to perfectly recreate that style?

Haphazardly poking his head out from behind the pile, seeing an opening, he rushed forward to walk next to her, “So…”

“So?” She cocked her head, plainly already aware of what he was going to ask but enjoying dragging it out.

“Now that you’ve picked everything out, I get to know what I’ll be dressed as. That was the deal,” He reminded her.

“The deal was that I get to pick out your outfit and you don’t get to know what it is,” She responded, rubbing her chin and pretending to be in deep thought, “I don’t remember saying I had to tell you what it was.”

“So, I can just open the boxes now?” He asked, already knowing the answer.

“Well, I didn’t say that,” A sing song tone had entered her voice, “Besides, do you want to reveal my decision with all these eyes around?” That was a fair point, if he was set to be the nutcracker for an evening, he didn’t much want to pull the outfit out now, “My flat’s just a couple blocks away, after all this, I’m sure you can wait five more minutes.”

“Just five minutes till the embarrassment really starts,” He hummed, being forced in behind her by the passing of a group.

“Don’t you trust me, my darling?” She sounded from ahead.

“Ames, I trust you with my life,” Sonic honestly responded, but he wanted to match her teasing, “But I know not to trust you with the little things, you know you can take advantage of those.”

“Well, if my choice really embarrasses you, we can always swap. I’m sure I’ll look quite dashing in what I’ve picked you out, almost as handsome as you would,” She grinned back at him again and he had to duck behind the boxes, for whatever reason his face felt hot.

“Y-Yeah, well,” He muttered, biting his tongue. The only comebacks the came to mind played similarly to the half compliment she’d just given; he didn’t have the will for that sort of teasing right now.

As a result of his heavy tongue, the remaining walk back to her place was relatively quiet and left him with far too much time for speculation. The elevator trip up to her apartment was even more difficult, being side by side with her meant perpetually catching her excited grin and the dual mirrors in the metal box didn’t much help him avoid it. Amy Rose would never truly hurt him, physically or emotionally, he knew that for sure, but teasing was more than fair game. After all the times he’d jokingly run off and talked about dates, this did rather feel like karma.

He didn’t drag his feet though as they alighted the elevator and took the small walk to her door. The instant it was unlocked however, the scent of flowers just about knocked him from his feet. He’d been in Amy’s flat a handful of times, mostly just to escape the rain or crash for a night, and it never failed to perfectly reflect its inhabitant.

It was as if he’d stepped into valentine’s day as he made his way through the door and into her combined kitchen-dining room; pink, red and white were absolutely everywhere, from the tablecloth to the walls to the painted wooden fixtures. Even in the middle of the table, perfectly pristine and unwilted, sat a large bouquet that contained half a dozen red roses and various pink flowers he couldn’t identify. Admittedly only this room was that overpowering, her living room was far more regular looking, but the space’s first impression was certainly strong.

Finally, Sonic managed to set down the ludicrous pile of boxes on the kitchen table. Quickly, he managed to separate out the round ribboned hatbox that contained his gift for Knuckles and set it aside. A cold sweat swept down his back as he looked upon the four other boxes, he’d been made to carry for so long. While only one of them truly had any heft, Amy had made sure to have them sealed as though they were presents. The serious of difficult to carry shapes this had resulted in were not only difficult to carry but truly gave zero clarity regarding their contents. If he had to guess, he’d say the heaviest box contained shoes, but he didn’t have to wait any longer!

As Sonic reached to undo the first bow however, a single finger came down to hold the knot in place, “Not yet, my darling.”

“Eh?” He looked up only to be met with the pink hedgehog’s bright green eyes, “What’s holding up the show?”

“What you said before hurt me so badly,” Amy pouted, “I need to prove that you can trust me with the silly little things.”

“What’re you getting at Ames?” His bit back a stutter, totally lost about what was on its way.

Bounce still in her step despite the theatrics, the pink hedgehog slipped around the table and into her kitchen. She quickly returned with a pink dishtowel in her hands and a cunning look in her eyes. Immediately Sonic understood her plan and an embarrassed, wiry, smile crept onto his lips.

“I said you don’t get to know what your costume is,” When it became apparent that he didn’t understand her plan, she smiled oh so sweetly, “If your blindfolded, you’ll have to trust me to put your costume on.”

“Really, Ames? I can’t even dress myself?” He snorted, trying to play off her suggestion as a joke.

“Well, considering your usual attire, I’m not sure you know how to,” She only half fought back her laugh, “Have you ever even worn a shirt?”

“I’ve…” His mind went blank as he thought back, “Worn jackets?”

“You never even button them up though. You just sling them over your shoulders and decide that’s good enough, regardless of the weather,” She correctly established, but, rather than cockiness or excitement, a certain sincerity crossed her face, “I want your first view of it to be the full picture, everything put together,” She seemed to be aware of just how foolish this was, but it seemed like she’d planned it too, “There’s not that much to it, just some accessories, it’ll barely take me five minutes.”

Sonic hesitated, feeling his face grow warmer. He’d said no to Amy in embarrassing situations like this countless times, she’d ask for a date and he’d run off and she’d follow, that was the way things worked. Sure, he’d let her catch up in the end and they’d hang out for a while, usually doing something close to what she had planned, but by that time he’d have cooled off and come up with quips. With how late he’d left all this, there was no time or space to run. Unless he truly said no to her, he’d just had to face whatever she’d schemed up. Though he said no to her a lot, it’d never been wholeheartedly.

“At this point, what’s five more minutes,” He sighed, running his hand through his quills, “If it’s really what you want, then fine,” It was just so embarrassing, he had to do something, “No pictures or anything until after I’ve seen it though, alright?”

By the time he’d dared look down her eyes were sparkling like emeralds, enthusiasm had claimed her, “Deal!” She pushed the tablecloth into his gut, practically bouncing, “Put it on and don’t peek, I’ll try to be quick.”

Swallowing his embarrassment, the hedgehog tied the cloth behind his head. For a moment there was silence between them, by the wind on his nose he could tell she was doing something to check he was truly blinded.

Suddenly, a set of hands were on his shoulders, “You’ll need to bend down just a little,” He acquiesced immediately, and her fingers left him, “Now, where to start…”

“The beginning probably,” His nerves had forced a quip loose, he really hoped his muzzle wasn’t as red as it felt.

Her snort, followed by the shifting of boxes, only made that heat worse. Something about her contact, so gentle when she knew she could be so strong, struck a chord deep in his gut. Amy rivalled Knuckles in terms of strength, Sonic had seen her swing her hammer hard enough to behead metallic titans. Having her take control away from him and then so gently ask him for something she could take was just so heart wrenching yet surreal.

Her next contact sent the same static up his spine; she took hold of his right hand, raising it to be more accessible. Her fingers went from loosely locked around his wrist to fiddling with the hem of his glove and soon that garment was fully removed. Soon after, equally gently, a glove made from a thicker material with a wider cuff made its way onto his hand.

Reflexively, Sonic raised his left for easy access only to hear, “Thank you,” Uttered in response.

Trying to guess an outfit from the internal feeling of a single glove was foolish at best but when he closed his fist, he didn’t feel pointed nails. Well, that probably ruled out him going as the werehog. Puzzlement crept into his mind again as she finished with the left hand; the gloves were matching, that was clear.

Before he could think any further, her voice caught his ears, “Turn around.”

He spun on his heel, trying to make the action look cooler than it had any right to be. The hedgehog felt anything but cool however when she stretched over his back, pressing a loose shirt to his back before pulling the sleeves along his arms. It took her a little bit of shifting to fit the holes in its back, likely custom cut in the shop to fit his spines. He managed to keep cool until she moved at his neck, plainly fiddling with the shirt’s collar, before reaching around to do up his buttons. Did there have to be so many of them? This was why he never closed his jackets, it felt so restrictive! He was getting hotter and hotter in the face.

Well, it was a fun excuse to think about. She seemed to hang on the top two sets of buttons for a moment, as if debating closing them, before opting not to. Now with two distinct articles of clothing on, Sonic had no idea what he was set to be, but he felt reasonably confident ruling out that they were going as a knight and a princess. The next garb served to confirm that theory, it was some sort of loose waistcoat that she’d slung over his shoulders like he would a regular jacket.

Things got more confusing with the addition of what felt to be a large belt that was tied around his waist. That wasn’t too bad but then he felt another’s buckle on his shoulder, soon followed by her hand slipping beneath the supposed waistcoat and around his back; for whatever reason, she’d opted to bring that second belt out through one of the spine holes in his back. It was so bizarre, was there something on the belt? He was getting the feeling that he was being dressed as some sort of handsome prince when she reached for his midriff again, looping something new across the belt on his gut.

“A-Are we about done?” His stutter caught him off guard and shut him up.

“Very almost,” She sounded so pleased with herself, but that sound was followed by the dragging of a chair across carpet followed by her hands again arriving on his shoulders, “Sit down, the chair’s just behind you.”

He followed her lead only to then feel her, left hand grazing across her shoulders, walk around to face his front. After a little bit more shuffling he felt her hands in his quills and was relatively confident a crown of some sort was coming. The end result was strange though, he felt something pass between his quills and then heard the familiar sound of fabric knotting. As if that wasn’t a strange enough addition, the touch of her hand on his ear was followed by something cool and metallic being left behind. If he was set to be a prince, it wasn’t like any he could visualise.

“Wait right there, don’t peek, I need to get one last thing!” The excitement had put a tremble into her voice, matched only by the sound of the skip in her step as she rushed past him and through a door.

They hadn’t been exceptionally talkative, but something about the still silence her absence brought perturbed him. Once again, he had been forced into a position of patience. There was a reason he was known as the blue blur and not the azure anchor, stillness like this, unless he was snoozing or distracting himself some other way, just wasn’t his style. Though his face felt cooler, his thoughts were lingering on the various sites she’d made contact across his body. Words like intimate weren’t commonly thought of, let alone used, by the hedgehog, but feeling her fasten button after button couldn’t have been described any other day.

She was just so bouncy and jubilant most of the time, capable of throwing herself at him without a care. Amy Rose wasn’t afraid to use her strength, in moments of need and casual excitement, but her potential for softness always hung beneath those efforts. He’d seen her gently look after Cream and handle flowers with such softness. She was an adventure in and of herself, capable of being so surprising. Maybe that was why, no longer how far or for how long he ran, he’d always let her catch him again, eventually.

Sonic heard the door reopen, but Amy’s pace was bizarrely slow. He could hear the rubbing of fabric and the pad of very slow footsteps. Was she wearing some sort of long dress? That would validate his prince and princess theory, but he really didn’t feel like what he understood of his outfit matched it. The fabric rubbing sounded like some sort of strange flapping, it was as if she was waddling in her rapid approach.

“Here’s the final part of your ensemble, just a little something for you to carry!” She shouted bringing his head to snap, eyes still blind.

“Ames, wha-

He was cut off by a sudden form jumping into his lap, a form that weighted the exact same as Amy Rose but was weirdly textured. Whatever she was wearing, it was covered the entirety of her lower half. Anticipation and contemplation built toward climax as he felt her hands on her shoulders again. The feeling of her wrists sliding beyond the sides of his head absolutely renewed the warmth on his muzzle.

While his vision had been very red, the blindfold had been thin enough that his eyes barely had to adjust. He was greeted by Amy’s green eyes and wide grin first, but his eyes were quickly drawn to her forehead and a seashell headdress. From there his gaze was brought down and came to collide with a loose-fitting red shirt. Its sleeves were long rippling, almost like there were waves in fabric. Just beneath her midriff, he identified the source of her slow movement; made of what looked to be a red plastic material, dotted with sequins, was a fish tail.

As he looked down at himself too, it all clicked. Brown mariners gloves for handling ropes, a loose white shirt, a blue overcoat, buckles and belts and sashes. Sonic reached up, feeling what she’d attached to his ear and put through his quills, he was wearing an earring and an orange bandana. She’d made him pirate and herself a mermaid.

“Do you trust me now?” Mermaid spoke with mocking befitting of his stupidity.

“With my life,” The pirate cheekily grinned back.

“What about with everything else?” She asked, putting on a joking pout.

“Well,” He stuck his tongue out, “I trust you with my outfit at least.”

“I suppose that’s a start,” Amy hummed, “I’ll be trusting you to carry me to Tails’ airship and back here tonight, I’m afraid that walking’s not my strong suit.”

“Well, swimming up to a flying island does sound difficult,” He mock rubbed his chin, in thought.

“And I’ve got just the thing to help you,” She reached across and knocked the top off the last, and heaviest, of the boxes. Hitched on two of her fingers, up came a set of brown, “I figured, unlike everything else, you could handle the shoes,” A grin, more teasing than any prior, claimed her muzzle, “You’re used to those after all.”

He took them from her, matching her expression, “Didn’t want to leave the gloves up to chance though, good call.”

“Well, it’s not every day you let me hold your hand,” She repositioned herself, sliding to rest her shoulder on his, “So, seems like I planned this all pretty well then.”

“I can’t deny it,” He shrugged, more than content. Sure it was all a little tight around the chest, but it could be worse and at least his legs were free.

“I’d love to bask in this more, but we should probably get going, the actual party still needs set up and it seems like Rouge could use the extra hands,” The pink hedgehog leaned up and reached for the table, gathering up the boxes that contained their respective gifts for Knuckles and the keys to her flat.

“Only one set of feet though, apparently,” Sonic joked, shifting to hold her before rising, only to be struck with a realisation, “With us decked out like this, Shadow’s gotta have drawn the short straw.”

“Try not to tease him too much, he’ll be embarrassed enough as it is,” Amy half insisted as she was walked toward the door.

Between her as the arms and him as the legs, they managed to make it out and close the door, “Yeah well, if he’s hit rock bottom then I can’t push him down any lower.”

Their back and forth over how much to tease Shadow didn’t get very far by the time they’d reached the bottom floor. The moment they arrived there though, the talk didn’t stand a chance of surviving; with Amy in his arms, Sonic shot off like a rocket. He tore across pavement, skidding and weaving around people and over roads as if they were nothing.

In a matter of moments they’d reached the city’s edge and then, a further three moments later, they’d ran across enough green grass to sight Tail’s workshop. Above, just visible from this distance, Angel Island was hanging. He couldn’t help thinking that Knucklehead would probably be surprised he’d shown up on time, let alone with a halfway decent gift and a good outfit. It’d be a surprise within the greater surprise.

The hedgehog duo slid into the open door of the massive workshop, finding the scent of oil quickly caught up with them. At the heart of the space stood the overlarge plane that Tails had modified to transport not only the party people but the party goods. The mechanic himself was to the back of the room and looked to have just finished putting on his own costume. It was jokingly low tech compared to his usual work, plainly made from carboard boxes with slap on buttons made from loose junk, but the youngster had made himself into a carboard robot. He’d scarcely be identifiable if it wasn’t for the outfit’s cut face and tail holes.

“Hey Tails,” Sonic called across, getting his attention, “Cool costume!”

“You look so cute!” Amy shouted from his arms.

“Thanks guys,” The youngster beamed before throwing a knowing look, “I see Amy caught up with you.”

“Well, I mean, it looks more like I caught her,” Once the words fell from his mouth, he realised he hadn’t played this whole situation off as well as he’d planned. Instead, he tried to change the subject, “What did you end up picking out for Knuckles?”

“Oh, I just put the finishing touches on it,” He picked up what looked to be a heavy-duty briefcase, flipping it open, “I figured he’d want something cool and practical, something that could double as a proper gift.”

Inside was a set of ornate hand axes, a metal breastplate, a pair of metal shoes and a traditional knight’s helm. The whole get up was admittedly giving Sonic some very strange flashbacks to events he was only half certain were dreamed, but he couldn’t deny that the metalwork looked superb. It was all exactly to Knuckles’ style and, if that perhaps dream was to be believed, it’d look great on-

The sound of fast moment coming to a sudden stop, punctuated by three quick footsteps, pulled the blue blur from his thoughts. That was a sound Sonic knew well and could only associate with one prickly fella. It was finally time to see what the bat had made of him.

“Hey Big Blue, fancy seeing you here on ti-

In an instant, the prior gloating confidence seemed to hitch in Rouge throat as Sonic turned and the two pairs came eye to eye. The blue blur found his counterpart dressed in red and brown, with knotted ropes punctuating leather shoes and gloves. A belt with a golden buckle, a red overcoat with shoulder flares, a tricorn hat and an eyepatch made for a dissimilar yet still much too familiar view. The familiarity was again shoved to the forefront with Rouge, the tail that’d come to replace her legs was black and she’d opted for a pale crop top with a matching shark tooth necklace, but the intent so blatantly matched Amy.

Somehow, just as they’d ended up at the same costume shop, both girls had settled on the same concept to share with their partners who’d waited far too long to pick out an outfit.

“Well,” Rouge blinked, for once entirely deadpan and serious, “Two of us need to change.”

[mellow-elbow]

Remember this post?

Hey. I’m back and this time I’m ready to talk about the Plot™. Let’s talk about everything Sonic Adventure 3 was supposed to be.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me first introduce this concept with the fact that Sonic Unleashed (2008) was meant to be Sonic Adventure 3, but after heavy criticisms toward the franchise after the flop of Sonic 06 it was scrapped and changed. Sonic Adventure 3 was also confirmed to originally have Shadow and Knuckles, meaning that the plot I’m about to explore has to have important ties to those two characters specifically.

Now then, that doesn’t mean that ideas from the original Sonic Adventure 3 concept weren’t repurposed for Unleashed. As a writer and an avid Sonic lore fan for ~18 years, I’ve taken a good look at Unleashed’s plot and singled out certain elements of the story that seemed like they got washed down to fit the new narrative of Unleashed. It goes as follows:

the corruption of a character important to the main plot (later became the Werehog)

an amnesiac Guardian with forgotten knowledge of the Chaos Emeralds (later became Chip)

geographical locations of importance relating to the lore of the Master and Chaos Emeralds (later became the Gaia Temples)

a dark, ancient power that happened well before the events of Perfect Chaos ~4,000 years ago in SA1 (later became Dark Gaia)

some sort of importance pertaining to the sun and moon

Let’s start with how the plot probably would have involved Knuckles and Shadow. Knuckles is the well-known Guardian of the Master Emerald- but also just as clueless as how he came into the position in the first place, as originally stated in a now-archived character profile on Knuckles. The plot of Unleashed was already heavily centered around the Chaos Emeralds, so it’s safe to say the original SA3 plot had similar ties with the Master Emerald.

Shadow’s is... a little trickier. Shadow was originally meant to die at the end of SA2 but was brought back with various contradicting backstories due to becoming an instant fan favorite. Chances are, SA3 was going to go more in depth on Shadow’s creation and life aboard the ARK- along with how he survived the fall from space at the end of SA2. I’ll go into more detail about how else he would have been important to a possible plot later.

Now then, let’s start analyzing the parts that actually made it into Unleashed. Corruption, Amnesiac Guardian of the Emeralds, temples across the world, an ancient and powerful force that threatens modern day, and the symbolism of the sun and moon.

Sonic, the main character of Unleashed and the franchise itself, is corrupted to where he’s unable to use his normal powers half the time. It takes a toll on his character as he’s, in a way, lost his sense of self and is desperate to restore his original self and powers- eventually he comes to terms with the new abilities of the Werehog, which is an important plot point as well.

Chances are, Sonic wasn’t originally supposed to be corrupted. With several important, reoccuring characters to choose from it’s understandable that Sonic got the short end of the stick when the cast got severely downgraded to Sonic, Tails, and Amy. So, who else with significant importance to the plot was supposed to get corrupted?

Chip. Or, for lack of SA3 plot, whoever was originally designed to be the amnesiac Guardian introduced in the game. A lot of context clues can be pulled from Chip’s character and story as a whole from being happy-go-lucky and interested in the wonders of the world they can’t remember to the importance of Adabat with how it was that specific temple that helped him recall his origins. Seeing that Adabat is also infested with ruins, it’s safe to say that something pretty terrible must have happened there at some point in the past. The originally scripted Guardian must have come from Adabat and, lilke Chip, was supposed to recall their past at it’s temple.

Speaking of Temples

Unleashed introduces Gaia Temples- large monuments meant to reignite Chaos Emeralds should they ever be damaged. These temples must have had greater significance in SA3, as in Unleashed they’re chopped down to all have the same interior and cutscene. My theory is that each Chaos Emerald belongs to a specific continent, but not neccessarily in the order that they’re restored in in Unleashed. Chances are, these temples were originally meant to be Master Shrines that were once a part of an ancient cycle the Master Emerald followed- I know this might seem like a stretch but hear me out:

In this screenshot of a flashback from SA1, we see the Chaos Emeralds aligned in a rainbow pattern- White, Purple, Violet, Cyan, Green, Yellow, and Red. While this can easily be shrugged off as a design choice, it would be more interesting and plot enriching if a cycle of sorts were introduced- such as the Master Emerald relocating whenever it’s damaged (which would explain why it’s suddenly in... Africa (?) in SA2- it would be following the pattern of Angel Island being the White Shrine and the Purple Emerald being the Sandopolis/Mazuri/Egyptian shrine. The Master Emerald isn’t necessarily at a Shrine when it’s introduced in SA2, but try and keep your mind open about this- in Unleashed the main narrative is restoring the Chaos Emeralds... what if it was originally about restoring shrines?

In SA1, Tikal explicitly mentions the fact that during the Echidna conquer the Knuckles Clan had been attacking the holy places of other countries- could she have been hinting at the destruction of Master Shrines to break the cycle and keep the Master Emerald and all of the Chaos Emeralds in their territory to give their clan unlimited power? It would explain why the Chaos Emeralds seem to ‘randomly’ scatter after being used as well- their resting places have been destroyed and they’re lost without a home. A fully functioning shrine with all the Emeralds would give unfathomable power, as seen in S3&K with Hyper Sonic- a form that Sonic can tap into when balance is restored among the emeralds.

Now, we all know that classifications do really well when introduced in Young Adult fiction (See H*gwarts Houses, Greek/Roman Demigods, Owl House Covens, etc.) and it can be easily implemented in the Sonic franchise as well. Not only with the Master cycle, but with the Chaos Emeralds themselves. There’s been a few confirmed powers linked to the emeralds such as Chaos Control and Chaos Blast- Chaos Control allows users to warp between space and time as seen in SA2 and 06 while Chaos Blast- introduced in Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)- allows users to release a large burst of power as a defense/attack mechanism. Chaos Blast is linked with a fiery red which could link it to the red Chaos Emerald. Red symbolizes passion and strength; it’s color is usually meant to warn us of danger, meaning it’s linked to both our primal fears and the instincts we’ve developed to survive over years of evolution. I’d like to introduce the concept of these powers being blocked if their emerald is damaged in any way- meaning Chaos Blast wouldn’t be accessible via other emeralds if the red one was damaged. I’d also like to link these emeralds to their specific Guardian, meaning that if their Guardian is damaged in a way that would prevent the cycle to continue, the emerald could die out as well. If you’re wondering if these Guardians would exist in the game then have no fear becuase they WOULD and 85% of them are characters we already know and love (I will NOT introduce all of them because I Do Not Wish To Spoil It, but this is definitely where Shadow would play a bigger part like I mentioned before). There is, one, however that we don’t know and that’s because they were reimagined as Chip for Unleashed- the Guardian for the green Chaos Emerald from Adabat. (I ended up making a fan character for this role as you can see in the last installment, but it would be lame of me to force an OC into the game if given the opportunity).

Let’s move on before I go any further into crazy fan-theories. A main villain would need to be introduced- something that Dr. Robotnik/Eggman would want to get his hands on in hopes of conquering the world (a trope we’ve seen before with Chaos in SA1, the Ultimate Lifeform in SA2, and Dark Gaia in Sonic Unleashed). Chaos was, essentially, the first domino to fall over in the pattern introduced in the Adventure games. They were only a small speck in the bigger picture though, as we see that Gerald Robotnik must have taken some inspiration from the stories and depictions of Chaos and created the BioLizard in hopes of harnessing the energy in the Chaos Emeralds. He would later get the idea from an unknown source to instead create a synthetic Hedgehog user, possibly from studying the well-known mural in S3&K’s Hidden Palace Zone:

But there’s something else in this mural we all seem to be forgetting- what is the big figure holding (possibly) the Master Emerald? Well :)) I’m glad you asked. I believe this was originally meant to be the main antagonist of SA3 who eventually became Dark Gaia in Sonic Unleashed. Some sort of powerful being that had some sort of forgotten knowledge pertaining to the Master Emerald.

But there’s more. The Hedgehog-like creature is surrounded by a golden aura, but it isn’t the only one. Behind the creature are 6 smaller aura’s seeming to try and attack the antagonist while it’s preoccupied with the hedgehog. This could depict seven Chaos Guardians using the energy of the restored shrines, all seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald to become Hyper Versions of themselves in order to defeat this powerful being. So, who could it be? If Chaos introduced the BioLizard and they were both defeated, what could possibly be hinted at in SA2 that would introduce the main villain for SA3?

Well.

OKAY OKAY HEAR ME OUT

We know very little about King Boom Boo and he seems to be a pretty unforgettable character for a reason. There’s something about him that must have been important for a future game. Granted, a lot of this levels design is taken from Sandopolis-

(See the light/dark triggered ghosts from Sandopolis in S3&K vs. King Boom Boo being weakened by light in SA2; see also Egg Golem from S3&K and SA2)

-which also leads us to the Lava Reef zone which then leads to the Hidden Palace Zone- the location where the Master Emerald is first introduced (assuming that these are all the same place) . Could it be possible that the Hidden Palace Zone was once the original and only location of the Chaos Emeralds? What could have possibly happened to that kingdom for it to be buried and haunted for an unknown amount of time? Personally, I believe King Boom Boo committed the ultimate taboo of the Sonic universe and tried to harness the power of all the emeralds to power his kingdom- much like the Echidna’s tried to do and were ultimately punished for as well. History has a funny way of repeating itself like that. Only this time, in modern day, the power hungry monster is Eggman who’s been trying harness the various ultimate powers the Chaos Emeralds can grant. In SA2, we’re also introduced to the concept of a synthetic Chaos Emerald- a fake that can grant a user the link to use other Chaos Powers mentioned previously, but not an infinite power source like a genuine Chaos Emerald. It wouldn’t surprise me if this concept was meant to be further explored in SA3 and present multiple dilemmas for it’s plot. Nevertheless, there’s something about King Boom Boo and the concept of making a deal with the devil that is rather captivating.

Finally, let’s talk about the sun/moon aspects in Unleashed. Obviously these symbolize dark and light, good and evil, yin and yang. There will always be something to fight for and something to fight against. SA3 was meant to have the battle to end all battles. Sonic and six other powerful beings were supposed to work together to fight the greater evil and restore peace and balance until the next Eggman scheme. There was supposed to be something important that would happen once peace was restored. Things were supposed to go back to the way they were before the Echidna’s began conquering and pillaging the world ~4,000 years ago.

Now, obviously I’m ignoring the lore of a LOT of games (modern Sonic games made after SA2, most notably) and this is because there is a hidden plot among these few games. Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) is nine sonic games in a trenchcoat and was only made because of the fandom loving Shadow. Sonic 06 has always been a standalone game from the original series, The Chronicles series aren’t even made by the same people from the Adventure series, etc. Although, I would still like see characters from these games make an appearance.

Anyways... did I do it? Is Mr. SEGA gonna bust into my house and kill me for knowing too much or will he kiss me on the lips soft and smooth and let me turn this concept into a reality? The choice is yours.

[oh-theres-a-woman]

Flowers in a Peaked Cap; Part Two

A/N: Surprise another update this week! I’ve been surprised at the amount I’ve been publishing recently, it’s been a nice change. Something to take my mind off things. Hope everyone enjoys this part. Basically setting up for some conflict within the Shelby family because Tillie wants to go off and live her dream. Also, throwing in the potential of a love interest being there or a platonic friendship.  You’ll have to let me know what you want to see!! 

Taglist: @zodiyack @hesagod-notyet @itsfrancisneptun @amys-small-world @fandom-fucking-shit @hinagiku0 @dylanlover24​ @amirahiddleston​ @smallheathgangsters​ @a-dorky-book-keeper​ @writeroutoftime​ @midnightstarlight02​

Parts: [ Prologue ], [ 1 ], [ 3 ]

Word Count: 1495

There was something completely thrilling hearing about stories from the areas outside of Birmingham. Life in the big city of London. It wasn’t something Tillie had ever been really interested in. Yet, the chance of learning about the different atmospheres, from the working class and posh boys that read stories about them. Walter read article like stories about the London gangs and flitted about with the potential of a romance within the smoky haze of the opium dens. His stories were struggle euphoric and erotic to the ear. Some of the utterly vulgar choice of words had Tillie sitting there blushing. The daringness was something that she could most definitely praise once she got passed the first shock of it.  His words and the use of them were almost taboo or pornographic as some of the older gents and women would say about. Apparently, Walt, as he liked to be called, was apart of the generation that had more balls and less shame in topics of propriety—as people of his station would say; likely scoffing into their expensive bone china tea cup. Norman fancied the more historical ventures; text that was written and felt like it was centuries old. A thriller in genre, it had everyone leaning in. Without their knowledge. Cigarettes burning down to the filters throughout his telling. Tillie had wondered if Norm had even investigated a publisher for his works. Certainly, there was plenty of people that would love the thriller element in some sort of historical drama. She could picture his rather handsome face printed in the back of a book. Dressed up all smart like he was then and there. Mister Augustine’s tale were something that seemed speak to her in completion. They left her wanting more or lost in that world. Closing her eyes. Tillie could picture the build world and the characters within the realms that were coming to life. His was boarder than the others were a nice mix of baritone.  Clapping among the others at the end of Robert’s reading. For the blossoming moment Shelby blue eyes met the perfectly handsome gaze of lush green. It made Tillie think of the fields where she would ride her horse through on the down days. On days where she wanted and would like to escape from it all. Stilled there for a moment like a moth caught by a flame, Robert’s smile that passed on his lips was truly enchanting. He seemed so perfectly in his element; surrounded books. Much like Tillie. However, she liked a large pile of books on a rug under the nicest tree in a valley filled with flowers. It would be her Romani book dream. Joe Gilbert and the other boys then began their stories. Tales that she knew were relative recounts of what they had done in primary school. Made stories about this cruel Peaky Blinder boy bullying them when it was the other way around. It made Tillie Shelby’s knuckles go a bone white as she gripped the spine of her book so tightly. When stories about her came up, she was the scandalously behaving twin that didn’t fit in nowhere, not even with the crowd of her family. It was true; Tillie did not fit in. But Joe Gilbert did not need to say that. Nor did he have to ruin the narrative and slander her very character—right in front of her. Maybe she was against him all along and that’s why even with the character damaging lies in his tale. Tillie could tell he was better off working in the newspaper with stories like that. For all she knew; he was actively working for the Birmingham press. Robert had the sense enough to stop the stories before they became too much. A Shelby like temper brew up behind her icy blue eyes. The awkwardness continued when she stormed out of the shop shortly after the story ended. Cheek reddened and eyes watering at the utterly nasty things they said. Discarded among the ruin of the writer’s club meeting was the lovely book. That she prided herself in slipping every story worth the pages, her brothers saved over to get the leather bound book. Made the old way. So, it was an expensive piece and incredibly sentimental but a single photograph that fell out begin the pages. “Was that really necessary—I watched you this whole time make an effort to make Miss Shelby uncomfortable. You made an utter arse of yourself.” Robert was the one to break the lingering silence. He’d been the observer the whole time. Norm followed with a small nod of his head. Walt—wasn’t quite sure what the issue was. It was all in good writing to make someone feel someone. He didn’t seem to connect neither of the three men had books in their hands or paper to read off that entire time. Scoffing in disgust, Rob collected the book. Careful of other things falling out all over the place. Before stepping out into the streets in the hopes to find the bright upstart—Tillie Shelby. A woman that has a voice that ladies of that time needed. As timid as she maybe in person. Everything written on the pages of that before him; from what she read aloud. Was clean and polished. She was fast, even when dressed in her best clothes. Tillie was light on her feet, as if she were a horse in gallop or cantor. Lush blonde hair flowed over her shoulders. In the heat of the moment—everything had pretty much been forgotten when fleeing the bookstore. Clearly, she would never be worth in or good enough in eyes of the men now more than certainly knew a thing or two about bringing out the worst in her. “Miss Shelby! Wait you forgot your book!” Robert called out down the lane, catching Tillie’s attention when she was about a quarter of the way home. Turning on her heel. Reddened eyes were puffy, and her cheeks flushed. He caught his step rather quickly after, halting a few paces before her. Huffing a little. “Christ you’re fast for how small you are, never seen a lady run so fast before. I think you’d put most men to shame.” Rob chuckled looking down at Tillie before awkwardly stopping his bantering. Noticing the presence of tears in her eyes. Gently a hand outstretched touching the smoothness of cheek, thumb careful to wipe the collecting tears away. “Did their stories really bother you that much?” He whispered looking at her with the truest concern. Before slipping the book back into her hand. “It is hard to hear people speak badly of my brothers; Finn didn’t do half the shit they said. And I am no whore—I have no interest in that sort of thing, most definitely not them.” Tillie’s face contorted with a sign of disgust at the mere mention of her being with any of those boys in such a way. Lowering her head, hands fidgeting awkwardly. She had given her secret away in the end it seemed. In the buy streets of Small Heath—Robert looked around the crowd and glanced back with alarm. He was the perfectly dressed gentleman. Tillie very clearly a girl from the lower working class. A taboo scene, as he lowered his hand from her face. So aware of the eyes held on them. Unknowing that some of them were her brothers that had gone out for business deals and sorting out a few problems throughout Birmingham. “You’re not a whore. You are a slave to your pen, as any writer is.” Robert gestured to the ink cover on her hands, that were only faint stains now. But clearly still apparent to the watchful eye. “Like most of us are. Something those boys are not—because they lack the knowledge on what is considered rumours and gossip, from a gripping and exciting story. Our ideals are not to hurt anyone with what we write, those lot on the other hand—every much have that intention.” He admitted his discoveries through observations of the trio in the bookstore prior. Tucking his own slightly stained hands into his pocket, rather embarrassed that Tillie’s eyes wandering to them. The gentleman stood up a little straighten. Yet, before he could say anymore, an audible cough left someone’s lips. Tillie turned to see her brother Thomas and Arthur looking very plainly at the pair. “What’s this about someone calling you a whore, Tillie?” Thomas said in a cool murderous rumble collecting at the back of his throat. He was focking pissed at that news, glancing to the posh looking lad that clearly was out of sorts in Birmingham for a moment. Holding a cigarette to his lips, running the paper along his lip for a moment so it wouldn’t stick—he glared at Robert Augustine. A questioning look that made the youngest Shelby glower at her second eldest brother.

[cutegirlmayra]

Feelin the Shadamy feels lately, so would you care to write a story where Shadow survives the end of SA2 and goes back to Amy on the ark? Thanks for what you do!

Ugh, me too. Me too.

And thank you ;u;

Gentle reminder that Prompts are on Shutdown! Don’t send me a prompt request till they reopen! :Db

Prompt:

Tails approaches Sonic, wearily watching him gaze out the window. “Sonic?”

Sonic shakes his head down, “It was a close call.” He turns and smiles as Shadow approaches the two from behind.

“Ah! Shadow!” Tails exclaims, spinning around and not sure if he should attack him or not.

“Easy, buddy. He’s cool.” Sonic explains, somewhat, and walks over to Shadow. He playfully whacks his shoulder, “Tough job, you may have the workings of a hero in you yet, Shadow!”

“Hmph, I wasn’t created for sporting a hero’s smile.” He steps away from Sonic, dusting off the place where he touched. “All this has done for me is left me with more unresolved questions. I don’t need your gratitude, just your compliance.” he folded his arms.

“Oh? Is that so? I see.” Sonic, without skipping a beat, cheerily leaned his body a bit and folded his own arms, as though to mirror Shadow but in a more relaxed way. “Well, you’re still getting one. Thanks, Shadow!” He charmingly gave him a thumbs-up, and Tails jumped with his fist held high.

“Yeah!”

“What’s the compliance?” Knuckles and Rouge entered then, angling their bodies towards each other, but looking squarely at Shadow.

“You aren’t sayin’ you’re gonna ask for our quiet demise some other time are ya?!” Knuckles swung an arm out, but Rouge placed a hand on her hip and sharply turned her head to him.

“Enough. He’s clearly not being hostile. You are!”

“What!? You-!” Knuckles stepped toward her but she broke eye-contact and turned her cheek to him, addressing Shadow again and ignoring Knuckles’s outburst toward her.

“You were saying?”

“Wha?! Hmph!” Knuckles saw the blatant turnaround and kicked the ground as he turned away from her, walking off by Sonic.

“Only to stay out of my way…” Shadow unfolded his arms, then looked to Tails and Sonic.

Sonic nodded, closing his eyes and opening them in the process.

Shadow lowered his head, acknowledging that Sonic had heard his request and accepted it.

“I simply want answers. Nothing more.” Shadow began to walk off, moving passed Rouge as she followed him with her eyes.

“Kinda moody for an ultimate lifeform, don’t you think?” she teased, tilting her head as Tails rushed over to the center of the bunch.

“B-but! What if he tries to hurt people again! We’re just gonna forgive him like that? Q-quick! Someone put a tracker on him!” he pointed to Shadow’s direction, but Knuckles and Sonic looked to each other, then away as Sonic gave a smirk to Tails.

“Come on, Tails. He kinda did help me save the planet.” He stood beside him, comforting his worried friend.

“Y… yeah, I guess that’s true.” Tails looked to where Shadow had left, then Sonic, and then to the ground, letting the topic go.

“Besides, he’ll have to face me again if that happens! And everyone knows I’m the fastest hedgehog alive!” Sonic struck a pose, and Tails happily laughed with him.

As Shadow continued down the hallway, he looked at the battered metal with old bullet holes in it… contemplating exactly what had happened, to the best of his memory.

“If this is what you wanted, Maria,… then I’ll stop this path, and find another way to achieve the purposes you asked for.” He continued to study the area, but nothing was triggering his mind. “Whatever those may be… and however much I may not agree with it.” he shook his head, not sure if saving the earth was right, but knowing that if Maria wanted it, then he had no choice but to follow it.

“Soooniiicc!!!!” 

“Huh?” He stopped to turn around but was ambushed by the girl’s doting arms in yet another accident. “You never cease to forget to look first before jumping.”

Amy continued to smother him before realizing this texture felt a little off. “O-oh..?” Her arm felt fluff… that wasn’t right.

She also squinted her eyes to the black and red contrast on Sonic’s features… wait…

“Oh no!” she pulled away, “It’s Shadow!” she reached her arms back and quickly pattered her feet away from him. “Wait, if you survived, then Sonic must have come back too, right!?” she put her hands gratefully to her chest. “Oh, thank goodness. I was really worried about you two!”

“…You were… worried… about me?” Shadow looked a bit in shock, unable to understand that.

“Huh? Silly, of course I was! You both had me scared! When you dashed off to help Sonic save the world, I just knew you weren’t a bad guy!” she swayed a bit in her words, then pointed very sternly to Shadow. “Bad guy’s don’t say they’ll keep their promises! What was that promise you were referring to, anyway? I don’t remember asking you for anything.”

As she continued to speak, Shadow grew more… was it embarrassed?

He looked to the ground, his eyes darting around before turning away from her, gesturing to the world. “I remembered making a promise long ago to someone… your words… they brought those memories back to me.” he tightened his fist, bringing it in before his shoulders fell a bit from their rising tension, and then he nodded to Amy. “Before, I asked for no thanks… simply because I realized this was what I should have done all along. You… The thanks I received should be given back to you.”

He walked towards Amy, making her a little nervous as she looked up into his serious eyes, “Shadow…”

He placed a Chaos Emerald in her hand. Its glow and radiance looked much like the earth’s surface in hue and light…

The two stared at the emerald… before back up at each other.

“Thank you…”

“For what? Reminding you of a long lost promise? You really are kinda weird, but for that person’s sake, I’ll gladly accept your thanks.” Amy nodded, but something tugged at her heartstrings then. It didn’t really feel appropriate to have him thanking her, she didn’t feel like what she did was really the cause of his sudden change of heart.

“You’ve had that promise buried in you all this time. If anyone should give thanks, you should give it to that person you made a promise with, right?” she tilted her head cutely, and he seemed to be processing her words.

“Perhaps you’re right.” He started to think about it, before turning around and walking off.

“Oh, that reminds me.” He turned his head to look over his shoulder somewhat back at Amy, “I never did fully learn your name…”

“It’s Amy! Amy Rose!” She let out her signature vocal pattern and then waved to him. “I’ll always remember your name, Shadow! Shadow the Hero!”

“Amy…Rose… And a Hero..? You sound just like him.” He walked forward, repeating her name as he departed. “Farewell, Amy Rose. Sonic The Hedgehog… and Space Coloney Ark…” He then closed his eyes.

“Forever.”

“Huh?” Amy watched him round the corner, not sure what he meant by that…

She placed her hands over the Chaos Emerald and close to her chest as Sonic and the others came by.

“Hey, Amy. Long time no see!”

“Oh, Sonic!” She spun around, rushing into his arms. “How could you! I thought you were-! Ohhh, Sonic!” she dug herself into him, remembering that for a moment, he had almost died from a trap that exploded in space!

“W-woah! Hang on, Amy! It’s all good! Yikes! Don’t pull me so hard! Amy..!” she kept on laughing as Sonic protested little by little, but something still plagued her thoughts.

“Hey…” She pulled away, revealing the Chaos Emerald as she brought her hands forward from her chest. “Shadow gave this to me… And for saving my life back there… I’ll give it to you.”

Sonic looked down at the Chaos Emerald. He took it a moment and nodded to her. “Thank you.” then stuck it away.

“Hehe! That’s the second time someone’s thanked me today!” she chimed, as Tails walked over to her.

“What do you mean, Amy?”

“Well… Ah! That’s right! Shadow! I forgot!” She suddenly grew panicked and took off. Waving behind her, she encouraged them to not follow, “I’ve gotta make sure he gets back to earth, alright! What if he tries to use that fake Chaos Emerald!”

Knuckles suddenly jolted back in spot, “Oh no! That’s too far a distance! He’ll not make it!”

“You mean… if that’s what he was planning.” Rouge argued, “I don’t think the bloke’s stupid enough to consider that…”

“We needed the Chaos Emeralds… but maybe he thinks he can get by with Sonic’s fake Emerald?” Tails looked to Sonic.

“Either way, I’m not leaving a new friend behind!” Sonic struck a cool pose, showing his resolve as he took off. “Come on! We’ll find him! Leave no asteroid unturned!”

“Got it!” the others agreed, taking off.

As Amy searched, she gasped.

Seeing Shadow prepare an old containment pod to put him back into sleep, possibly killing him this time since he probably didn’t know exactly how to do it…

And there was a location… he was going to blast himself into space…

“No!” Amy shook her head, her face full of horror as she read the screens he had momentarily programmed to start up on its own. “Shadow, stop!”

She dashed to the pod as he approached it, grabbing his arm.

“L-…Let me go.” Shadow struggled a bit.

“Don’t do this! You belong on earth! Like the rest of us!” she wouldn’t cease, and he was somewhat confused by her odd strength.

“This must be… I’m not like anything on earth. I don’t belong there. I don’t belong here, either… You don’t understand what I am.” He tried to fight against her, but it was clear he was lenient in actually repelling her away. He didn’t want to hurt her.

“I don’t care what you are!” she shouted out, stopping him a moment from tolerating her moxie against him.

Her words shook him to his core.

“You… What?” his eyes quaked, widened by her sudden outburst.

“If what you are scares you from living a full life… then reinvent yourself!” she ducked her head down, making sure her arms were like iron bars he couldn’t escape from.

It was an awkward hold, her still gripping him from behind and him trying not to hurt her while attempting to move away and get in the pod that would make him sleep while he drifted aimlessly into space for eons and endless years.

“You… You don’t know what you’re saying. Let me go!” he tried to be a bit more forceful in his voice now, but she continued to struggle against him.

“No! This isn’t right, Shadow! What about your promise to me? Do you remember!? I have a new promise, promise you’ll stay! Promise me you’ll try and understand what you just saved! See the world for what it really is, a beautiful new home for yourself! You can be whoever you want to be on earth! No one will despise you!”

He couldn’t believe her words this time.

“That’s enough. Release me!” he was threw listening to the ramblings of a child.

“No!” She felt him using more of his strength now, his large hands finally placing themselves on her head and shoulder.

“Amy… You don’t realize what you’re saying.” She knew nothing of him. Nothing of his origin. He was a monster, that’s all he needed to know. Earth didn’t hold the answers he so desperately desired. Nothing did. It was all dead and gone… like he should be.

“I do! I know far more than you because I’ve seen earth! I know the precious lives that you’ve saved and you don’t, Shadow! You don’t know!”

“I’ve never saved any lives!” growing more frustrated, he bent his knees and began to push back against her, realizing he doubted her initial strength. His memories swarmed with Maria, the ones he could recall, anyway. “All I do is end lives… even if I don’t want too, and even if it costs me a promise!”

“Make a new one! I dare ya!” she pushed back against him, and for a moment, his feet scooted back and almost gave way at the sudden velocity of her shove.

“Ah…” He was actually kinda impressed, but quickly withdrew the thought. “I’m growing tired of this..!” he threw an arm up, whacking her back as she fell and landed on her back. “You may have swayed me before, Amy. But this isn’t something you can interfere with again!” he spoke with much more firmness in his voice now, a dark essence dripping from his tone. “If you only knew… the destruction I could cause to your precious earth… you’d let me turn into a forgotten curse.” He held his hand up, picturing the earth before lowering his hand into a shaking fist. “Leave me…” he swiped his hand back and began to load himself into the pod.

He put his arms in a similar position as when he had awoken from Eggman triggering his activation. He intertwined his fingers and let his head rest back, breathing in the fumes that would place him back into a warm, comatose state.

“Maria… Forgive me.” He closed his eyes, “I should have never been created… or you’d still be with us.”

“Preparing launch sequence.”

“Grr… ughh… GRAAAHH!!” Amy swung her Piko Piko Hammer into the pod.

It cracked the pod.

“What?” He opened his eyes and looked around, seeing the electricity spark and red lights flash on with yellow sirens spinning around.

“Containment breach. Launch in jeopardy.”

“HAAA!” Amy continued to swing into the pod.

Shadow’s eyes studied the girl, the powerful swings, the tears in her eyes..?

“Why… tears?” Then something happened, he felt an emotion pour from a heart he didn’t know he had.

With each swing, Amy’s arms would lift and he would see her. When it crashed down, he would see Maria, crying and desperately placing her hand on the containment pod.

His heart melted again, and he tightened his jaw, leaning back and kicking the pod to escape.

“Launch still imminent. No emergency code registered. 10…9…8-”

“SHADOW!” Amy cried out.

He strained against the militarized, seemingly glass surface.

“7…6….5…4…3…2-”

“You promised!” Amy cried out, her eyes like shattered pieces of a prism, shining with an endearing love for the stranger she had only just met. “Promise you will stay!”

“1.”

“…GrraAAAHHH!!! I PROMISE!” Shadow shouted out, the two’s force finally breaking the pod as it blasted out into space.

“Shadow!” Sonic and the others finally arrived, as Sonic threw the Fake Chaos Emerald, having found it slammed dunked like he remembered.

Shadow, being tossed around by the speed of which the pod was launched, finally was able to maneuver himself to grabbing the Fake Emerald.

He looked to Amy, “I’ll keep my promises… I’ll see you on earth… I’m not a bad guy, then… right, Amy?” he looked at the Fake Emerald in his hand, her image on the other side of it.

“Hmph, very well. I’m no hero, but I’ll keep my new promise to you.” He held up the Fake Emerald, “Chaos..! Control!”

It shook him to his core, but because he had far more chaos power than Sonic, the Fake Emerald was enough to send him to earth’s surface.

He fell unconscious, landing after the shining light had brought him to a beautiful forest.

The Fake Emerald rolled out of his hands, shattering from its final use, and Shadow blinked his eyes open.

The first thing he noticed was the rays from above, the sun hitting his fingers and causing light to part into shadows on the ground around him.

He tried to focus his exhausted eyes, then looked to see trees… felt grass… heard nature for the first time.

“Ma… Maria…” He barely could mouth it out, feeling his consciousness slipping away again, his eyes getting blurry as they faded in and out… he spoke one other sound…

“I see it… A-… Amy… I see what we’ve saved…”

And then, darkness… as was his fate.

[dizzydennis]

A long, in-depth review of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

I remember playing the first Mario & Sonic game back on the Nintendo Wii. It was simple and a bit unbelievable that this was the first time these two gaming icons would be in a video game together. While the Olympics were literally nobody’s choice to have these heroes meet, it made for a fun albeit simplistic party game. I enjoyed my time with it, but it wasn’t until the second game, Mario & Sonic at the Winter Olympic Games that I fell in love with the series. The amount of variety and fan service was staggering and it was very clear that a lot of passion had gone into this game, but as the games moved to the Wii U, it was apparent that the creative was drying up as the game focused more on the typical Olympic events.

That takes us to 2019 where the series has returned on the Nintendo Switch. Considering the fact that this game was made to coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, I was very excited. Not only is this the home country of both Mario and Sonic, but it’s where I’ve been living for the past 4 and a half years. I was worried when the series skipped the Pyeongchang Olympics that we would never see them in Japan. However, fate would be kind to me. The only question was: does this new edition reach the previous highs that the best Mario & Sonic outings have reached or is it another missed opportunity.

This game has a very interesting premise too. Since Tokyo was the host of the Olympics back in 1964, there is a time travel plot where Sonic, Eggman, Mario, Bowser, and Toad get sucked into a video game world based on those events. It allows for a fresh idea presented with classic sprites of these beloved characters. With the 2020 Olympic events combined with the 1964 events, there are plenty of events to try out.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t describe how nice the game looks. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is a very good looking game. In single player, the game constantly runs at 60FPS with highly detailed character models and lush environments. The crowds consisting of Toads, Shy Guys, Flickies, and more are still 2D textures that are animated well, but when inspected, they do not hold up. In Olympic events where the game is handled in splitscreen, the framerate can often take a hit. It’s nothing unplayable, but it is very noticeable. The menus are also very slick though a bit simplistic from past entries. Even so, you’ll be treated with wonderful character renders over the backdrop of various Tokyo locales. The only problem with the visuals come from the retro 1964 mode. While the sprites look fine, there is a huge clash between the Super Mario characters being 8-bit sprites while the Sonic characters are 16-bit sprites. It seems as this was done for broad appeal since Mario’s NES outings and Sonic’s Genesis outings are arguably their most well-known appearances. Even so, it doesn’t mesh together perfectly.

So the game looks good for the most part, but how does it sound? Honestly, it’s a mixed bag and a particularly odd one too. During story mode, characters do not speak in full sentences. Sonic may say “Hey” while the text box fills in an entire sentence of dialogue. This isn’t a problem, but what is a bit distracting are the voice samples chosen; specifically, the Super Mario characters. Mario and Luigi have no text boxes with their dialogue, but instead will only make small noises or words. It becomes increasingly annoying as their responses are so limited. You cannot skip or fast forward any dialogue boxes or animations either. There was no reason to keep them from talking as Bowser, Princess Peach, and Toad all talk just as the Sonic characters do. However, characters like Luigi, Daisy, and the Koopalings have the most peculiar voice samples. Daisy sounds like she’s about to cough up her lunch and the Koopalings have this odd reverb effect that sounds like a rendering error. Many of these samples just sound unpleasant and you’ll be hearing them enough that it becomes grating.

Now, the Mario & Sonic series has been praised by fans for their amazing remixes of classic songs. These remixes allowed some unique flair to be given to countless songs from Mario and Sonic’s catalogue. So, one may wonder how many remixes there are in Mario & Sonic Tokyo. Two. There are only two remixes from the respective series. Sonic’s side received a rather standard and unimpressive remix of Metropolitan Highway from Sonic Forces. It doesn’t improve the original song at all and feels a bit half baked. On the other side, Mario received a remix of Peach’s Castle theme and it’s frankly awful. Just sped up with synth-like instruments. When this has been a repeated highlight for these games, (even in the less-than-stellar Wii U games), it’s baffling that SEGA and Nintendo didn’t try harder here. It feels lazy and extremely disappointing. In past games, you could go back to any event and change the standard background music to whatever songs you have unlocked. It’s just not possible here. That means that during the events, you’ll be listening to original music. Thankfully, it’s mostly very good! I am a big fan of the tunes set to Rugby Sevens, a battle with Metal Sonic, Surfing, and Dream Shooting. A lot of the music has a Japanese flair to it and it’s very well composed. Some songs are extremely catchy and I’ve found myself remembering and humming them outside of my time with the game. However, during the lengthy story cutscenes, you may be cycling through the same 5 or 6 songs and it can become old very quickly. They are good songs, but even the retro music wears thin when it’s been playing for most of your downtime.

Sonic fans have always been passionate about the voice work of the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Thankfully, the new voice clips (during events) are pretty good. Characters have interesting remarks when winning and some of them speak perfectly to their established characters. I believe that for the Sonic characters, most if not all of the voice clips are new. There are some baffling ones like Sonic saying “Ole!” and “Right through that wall!” at the most random times. Characters like Tails and Vector are very endearing in this game. Even so, it works well and as a fan, it was fun to hear. The Mario characters definitely have some new voice clips, but it’s hard to tell when their characters don’t vocally emote as often outside of this game. I’m sure there are some repeated clips, but there not all reused.

As this is a minigame collection, it’s important to question how the game actually plays. Overall, I think the Olympic events have been reworked in a significant enough way that it feels rewarding… though not perfect. For example, the 100M race, skateboarding, and badminton are a few events that are just too simplistic for their own good. They are just not as fulfilling to play through as other events. Rugby sevens, soccer (which is strangely called Football despite the fact that Japan calls the sport soccer), Karate, Archery, Sport Climbing, and Equestrian are a few of the events that are just exhilarating. Most of the events have done an admirable job allowing for motion controls with two joy cons, one joy con, or buttons. Since I have been gaming since the early 1990s, I almost always prefer button controls. Even so, I have to admit that the motion controls are fun… for some of the events. Archery is a blast with motion controls, as are the track & field events. The game seems to make a conscious effort to balance the less accurate use of motion controls to button controls. That’s great, but it can make some events feel unfairly difficult due to the handicap. For example, when using button controls, the Boxing event feels almost impossible to win without a huge amount of luck. If you’re knocked down while using buttons, you have to jam the A button to get up and it feels nearly impossible to recover within the allotted time. It’s something that was so aggravating that I found myself praying that SEGA would release a quality of life patch for this game to iron out some of the problems.

The 1964 events are pretty different from the 2020 events. Since they’re based on retro video games, they only allow for button controls. But with this aesthetic comes simplified gameplay. I found these events to be fun, but not too engaging. Shooting, 10M Platform, Marathon were pretty fun, but I wasn’t wowed by these. It’s 2019 and I think I can speak for many when I say that using retro sprites in your game doesn’t excite people as much as it used to. It sometimes comes across as desperate fan service. While these events are fun, I have to question: Has the game really benefited from going with this throwback? It has certainly increased the amount of events and didn’t hurt the overall package, but I also wasn’t blown away by their inclusion. Speaking of these retro events, it’s very saddening that it’s only limited to 8 characters. Classic characters like Donkey Kong, Metal Sonic, and especially Amy Rose are left out for seemingly no reason. This kind of exclusivity from the “classic” side of Sonic has been limited to Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Dr. Eggman for a long while now and it seems to ignore that Amy was part of that original crew too. Moreover, I’m sure fans would have loved to see more characters in this retro style. If SEGA/Nintendo had made more of an effort, we could have possibly seen more modern characters like Shadow the Hedgehog or Waluigi.

Throughout story mode there are also a number of mini games. In 2020, Luigi and Tails partake in many events. Whether it’s climbing up the side of Tokyo Tower, battling Shy Guys, or kicking a rugby ball to attack Metal Sonic; these events share their DNA with the normal Olympic events. Some of the ideas are creative, but they are over before they really begin. Again, they’re simplistic and through that simplicity is their downfall. I love the ideas on display, but I want them to be more engaging. One particular mini game that I was fond of has you searching for a particular Toad at the famous Shibuya Scramble. It’s basically a virtual version of a Where’s Waldo game, but it’s very fun and unique. The only problem is that it ends after finding three targets. If there was an option for this to be expanded into an endurance mode, then I think it would really have some legs.

The mini games for the 1964 world are a bit more unique, but are still overly simple. You might be sneaking into a museum, using Sonic’s speed to chase down a bullet train (shinkansen), or even using the biplane known as the Tornado to attack Eggman’s mechs above Tokyo. Interestingly, that sky battle is the most complex of all the mini games, but even it ends after three stages. What works so well with this mode is that the stage consists of numerous Sonic enemies with decent fan service throughout. You’ll battle Eggman’s first boss from Sonic the Hedgehog 1 as well as Mecha Sonic and the Metropolis Zone boss from Sonic 2. It’s so bizarre that this great amount of fan service is so hidden. You must re-enter this game a second time from a completely different menu to see this.

There are three Dream Events in this game. The first being Dream Racing which is honestly fantastic. It’s based on a stage from Sonic Forces and features a downhill race on hoverboards with Mario Kart-like items. It’s a bit clunky on certain parts, but it’s a lot of fun. The kinetic energy of the whole thing makes me want more than just one stage based on this. It’s definitely a highlight and if there was entire game based on a more refined version of this... I wouldn’t be opposed. Following that is Dream Karate based on the Mushroom Kingdom from Super Mario Odyssey. It’s a mess. There doesn’t seem to be any clear strategy and it favors chaos over defined goals. Also, it hardly uses the Mario universe. It’s just a square arena set in a Mario world with a bad remix in the background. Very disappointing. Lastly is Dream Shooting which takes place in a Japanese temple with each corner of the temple representing a different season. It uses the gyro controls of the Nintendo Switch and it’s very fun. A little clunky here and there, but enjoyable nonetheless. It has one crucial flaw in the fact that your character will laugh every single time they hit a target. It gets annoying quick when you’re constantly firing away and hearing them cackle nonstop. I don’t know how that sort of thing still gets by developers.

The story mode was heavily pushed with a lot of the promotion for this game. I can honestly say that this is not the type of game that needs a story, but it’s the kind of dopey thing that I am absolutely on board for. I was hoping for an over-the-top plot that had these characters doing ridiculous things based on idea from the Olympics. My expectations weren’t completely baseless either. Past games on the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS have had story campaigns and they got wild with shadow clones of the characters to Dr. Eggman releasing giant robots. The games even featured some surprisingly well animated cutscenes too. You wouldn’t be wrong in thinking that I was hyped for this mode. What we got, however, was bare bones. I like the corny idea of the heroes and villains getting sucked into the retro game world. That’s wonderful, but unfortunately it doesn’t really get zanier than that. In 2020, Tails and Luigi work to save their friends by participating in regular Olympic events. In 1964, Mario and Sonic save themselves by participating in regular Olympic events. Yes, there are occasional mini games, but as I mentioned earlier, they are so simple and feel like they’ve finished before they’ve begun. Where’s the fun, the stupidly epic nature you can achieve when featuring franchises like Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog? Why can’t Eggman use the Gold Medals to make this fire monster that will compete against Mario and Sonic? Why can’t Metal Sonic cause chaos in Tokyo while Tails and Luigi stop him with a small platforming challenge? I know that there was an attempt with the mini games that are available, but it still comes up short and leaves me wanting a lot more.

This problem is completely related to the story as well. Meaning that while it has some genuinely great moments, it is a slog to get through at times. It has one formula and it follows that formula for the entire campaign. Every time, it’s a chore of: “go to this venue, talk to the character, face that character in an event, have them give you an item.” It never breaks off from this formula. Even the mini games follow the same structure. Again, where’s the heart? This is just running through the motions of a story. I’d love for it to really go wild with the Olympics and the characters at their disposal. One thing I couldn’t wrap my head around was the use of Luigi. This game really, really, really likes Luigi. He has the most mini games out of anybody, he’s featured in the story more than any other character, and once the game is finished, you are stuck using Luigi for any of the events within the epilogue. This includes the Dream Events too. Considering the fact that this game came out just one day after Luigi’s Mansion 3, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was intentional. It’s very odd that a game with Mario & Sonic in the title gives so much of the spotlight to Luigi. Along with his annoying vocal grunts that I mentioned earlier, I found Luigi got on my nerves throughout the story. The game also never lets you control any Sonic characters outside of a few events. Despite the fact that they are in pairs for the entire story, on the map screens, you can only control Mario in 1964 and Luigi in 2020. Not for nothing, but I’d like to control Sonic and Tails if I had the choice. This isn’t a huge complaint, but it’s something I noticed.

There are some positives to the story mode though. Certain character interactions are fantastic. I really loved bumping into Jet the Hawk, Wario & Waluigi, and Ludwig von Koopa during the campaign. Jet still refers to Sonic by his full name which was a bit of character consistency that made me smile. Sonic is also written pretty well. Since Mario doesn’t talk, Sonic does all of the talking for the heroes. He’s got a great mix of cockiness, heroism, and that cheesy factor that makes him so likeable. I was happy seeing how Sonic acted even if it wasn’t anything too mind blowing. Bowser and Eggman are written a bit more incompetent than usual, but it works well for comedic effect. There is also a moment in the climax that taps into that greatness I was hoping for. It’s a fantastic moment that I won’t spoil, but I enjoyed it and cared about what was happening to all of the character in the retro game world.

Throughout the map screens, you can find trivia pods. This seems like cheap filler, but I have to be honest… I actually found them very fun. There are 4 types of trivia cards: Olympic trivia, Japan trivia, Mario character trivia, and Sonic character trivia. I found myself learning a lot about the Olympics and Japan through this game. Often I became aware of things I never knew of. As a fan too, seeing Amy’s love for fortune reading or the game teasing that Wario and Waluigi are just two dudes who hang out together was a nice treat. However, being a big fan also means you know when they make mistakes. So when they say that Eggman Nega is Eggman’s descendant, I can’t help, but roll my eye. Yes, I know the Sonic Rivals games messed up the continuity, but the Sonic Rush games clearly established he’s from another dimension. His name is Eggman NEGA for crying out loud! In fact, his whole character is stated time and time again that he hates Eggman and yet he spends a vast majority of the campaign actively trying to save Eggman from the video game world. How many wires got crossed when they were making this game? Also, some pods say that Shadow being born on the Space Colony ARK is just a rumor... when we’ve had TWO games dedicated to that backstory. It just left me flabbergasted. Other trivia pods are just a waste of time though. “What color are Wendy’s shoes,” read one question that had a full body picture of Wendy attached to it. (Yes, you could clearly see her shoes). Were they that lazy with some of these?

One particular thing about the story mode that had me laughing while also sighing was how much this game praises Japan. It’s honestly hilarious. Talking to Toads or animals around the map screens almost always has them saying how amazing Japan is, how the Olympics are this perfect accumulation of everybody’s efforts, or how nice and incredible Japanese achievements and citizens are. I’m not saying that Japan is a bad country, but when you’re constantly being told this stuff, after a while it just seems like excessive. I’m not blind to the fact that this game was made to be a commercial of sorts for the 2020 Olympic games and for Japan too, but the game clearly has more love and more of a desire to promote Japan than it does the two lead stars of the game. Let’s be honest here, Olympic fans aren’t coming out in droves to play this game, Mario and Sonic fans are.

Online play has been included too. Honestly, there isn’t too much to say about it. If you’ve played Super Smash Bros. Ultimate or Super Mario Maker 2 online before then you know what to expect. Nintendo’s shoddy online service doesn’t do Mario & Sonic any favors. It’s functional, but button delay and occasional lag are very apparent and do hamper the experience. I enjoyed a few games of Rugby Sevens online, but I never felt like I had as much control as I did when I was playing solo. For games like the Javelin Throw or Triple Jump that require pinpoint accuracy, I don’t see how this is going to be viable. Nintendo can make some great games, but they are constantly behind in all other aspects.

Plenty can be said about Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. Mechanically, all of the changes to the many events have benefited how they played. There’s a lot to experience here, but the game shies away from using the potential of having such iconic heroes in their line-up. I don’t know if it’s incompetence or laziness, but this doesn’t not reach the heights that it should. It has less Dream Events, less music remixes, less fan service, and a less ambitious story than previous Mario & Sonic games. Many people come into these games knowing they’ll be simple, but also feeling that the fan service and winks to the source material will elevate it into something great. Nevertheless, it feels like SEGA and Nintendo believed that putting Sonic and company in cute outfits would be enough to excuse other lackluster elements. I worry that this review may have come across as overly negative. There are many things I love about this game and I find that the game can be a real blast to play! The variety of the events and the pure fun factor of some cannot be denied. There are many good qualities to be found in this product, but when it lacks that special shine and polish that is to be expected by now, it inevitably feels disappointing. I don’t hate this game in the slightest, but I’d be lying if I said it I wasn’t left wanting more as a fan. SEGA and Nintendo are big companies and they can do better than this; we should expect more from them. At the end of the day, I will definitely be popping this game in from time to time. The mechanics are fun and there are lovable characters in here. I just wish they were celebrated more than the Olympics themselves.

[mobius-prime]

133. Sonic the Hedgehog #74

Don't Call It a Come Back!

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Steven Butler Colors: Frank Gagliardo

So before we jump into the actual plot, I just want to point out that in addition to the recent eye color changes, Sonic and a few other characters such as Knuckles and Amy have also undergone a coloring change in the past few issues, this time related to their eyelids. Before, every character's eyelids simply depended on their fur color, but now it's been changed so their eyelids are skin-colored instead. This was to slowly bring the comics further in line with the Sonic Adventure game coming out at the time, but to me it always seemed a strange choice, both in the games and in the comic. It just looks odd, and in the end they did end up changing it back to fur-colored in both instances after a while. But anyway, onto the story!

Sonic has returned to Mobotropolis, and reports in to the king that every Robian inhabitant of Knothole has disappeared. He begins to get worked up, blaming the satellites that Sally informed him of last issue and shouting that he intends to figure out what happened. The king tries to forbid him from taking any rash action, but Sonic refuses to listen and stalks off.

Sonic heads out of the palace, and to what appears to be a leftover garbage dump at the edge of the city, silently reprimanding himself for not realizing sooner that the disasters taking place these past few months weren't natural. To be fair, Sonic, most of those didn't even register for me the first time I read the comic, and I got to see the satellite sequences in action from the beginning. Before Sonic can take any action, however, some friends show up to head him off.

First of all, I like how self-aware he is about pulling a "bonehead move." Second of all, is that a freaking space shuttle just sitting casually at the edge of town? How the hell did no one notice something like that before now? Nate leads them over to it, explaining that he and Rotor stumbled across it before Rotor left, as though it was a big feat for the two of them to somehow notice this gigantic thing. He laments that they'll probably have to use some fossil fuels to ensure they have enough energy to make it into space, but Sonic has another idea, whistling through his fingers, which calls Dulcy to their location. Sonic tells Amy to stay behind to look after things on the planet's surface, and tries to get Sally to do the same, but she cheekily issues a "royal decree" that she must come along and reminds him that he'll be in big trouble if he breaks another one in the same day. And so, leaving Nate and Amy behind, Dulcy straight up carries the shuttle into the upper atmosphere before releasing it.

I have to say, dragon-power has to be the coolest method of space shuttle launch I've ever seen. The shuttle immediately and inexplicably breaks apart upon exiting the planet's atmosphere, releasing everyone in their conveniently-fitting spacesuits into the empty void, and as they drift Sonic expresses surprise that Nate helped them, considering King Max will be pissed if he finds out. Sally informs him that even in the short amount of time they've known each other, Nate has told her he considers Sonic a true hero who he believes can really make a difference, but before Sonic's ego can become too inflated from this comment the group floats straight into a cloud of junk and debris. They've approached the platform formed by the linked satellites, which Nicole informs them is venting waste from within, but if they move quickly they can enter the platform through one of the waste vents. They do so, relieved to find that the platform has artificial gravity and oxygen within, but are soon accosted by a group of blue-black swatbots. Sonic easily defeats them all, but…

Wow, aren't we all just so shocked! There was no foreshadowing of this moment up to this point, none at all! I guess somehow he survived the Ultimate Annihilator's blast after all. Sonic immediately and viciously attacks Robotnik, with Bunnie throwing in a punch of her own for good measure, and they end up on the catwalks above the adjacent room, which reveals the station to be a factory in which all the missing Robians have been re-enslaved and once again forced to work on Robotnik's assembly lines. Sonic, infuriated, attacks Robotnik once again. Sally is shocked at how furious he is, and Bunnie and Antoine tell her they've seen this kind of fighting vigor in him only once before - when he'd thought she was dead, during Endgame. Sonic and Robotnik end up fighting on a conveyor belt heading straight for a pipe spraying corrosive acid, and while Sonic spins free in time, Robotnik's cape becomes snagged, proving once and for all that Edna Mode should always be listened to. The acid douses him, melting away his flesh, and…

Wait, it's not Robotnik? Then… who…?

Tales of the Great War (Part III): Enter… Robotnik

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Art Mawhinney and Jim Amash Colors: Barry Grossman

Well, we'll have to wait for the answer to that! We jump back to the moment Dulcy is carrying the shuttle away - Nate and Amy watch the others depart, and Amy says she still can't believe Uncle Chuck has disappeared, remembering how she and Tails were talking with him in the library just yesterday, giving us a nice segue back into our history lessons. Uncle Chuck had spoken to them about how even despite knowing now what would happen if he saved Robotnik again just like he and Jules did all those years ago, he'd do it again if given the chance. Both Tails and Amy are understandably shocked and skeptical, and honestly I am too - Chuck says something about all life having value and whatnot, but come on man, if you really believe all life has value wouldn't you be willing to sacrifice one twisted, evil person for the lives of literally everyone else on the planet? How many people on Mobius have died, become traumatized, lost family members, had their lives forever changed by Robotnik's takeover? Eh, whatever I guess - we have some more history to cover. Chuck goes on about how when he and Jules brought Julian back to King Max, Antoine's father the general was originally skeptical, but the king was motivated to try to accept Julian after what had happened with Nate previously. For a while Julian seemed to fit in and be sincere about his loyalties, but soon, Kodos of all people took an interest in him, despite his usual hatred of Overlanders.

Kodos invited him into Naugus' former laboratory to show him some of the wizard's left behind gadgets, including an "atomic mace" to be used for easily knocking someone out. Kodos then turned around to reveal the portal to the Zone of Silence, and Julian immediately beamed him in the back of the head with the mace, tossing his unconscious body into the zone and calling him a fool for thinking he would serve the warlord.

This backstory is a bit strange, considering previous issues that mentioned the relationship between Julian and Kodos made it seem like Kodos mentored Julian for some time before Julian did away with him, whereas in this issue he gets rid of him pretty much the instant Kodos offers an olive branch. With Kodos gone, King Max asked Julian's own opinion of the ongoing war against the Overlanders, and Julian encouraged him to continue to fight aggressively, hoping that the war would be intense enough that both sides would weaken each other enough for him to eventually stage his planned takeover of the world. We're still not done with history - this Tales of the Great War segment goes on for many more issues - but not the next issue! We've got a major one in store, so let's do it to it!

[sonicrevival]

Ultimatum- Chapter 4 of 5: Raid

Oops, I’ve been slacking on the upload schedule here. Life’s been weird.

Still, here’s the next chapter:

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18500557/chapters/44004604#workskin

Sonic: Revival- Ultimatum Chapter 4 of 5: Raid Emerl and Silver stood back as Sonic, Tails, and Amy hugged Sally tightly, as Nicole floated over to join the two of them. “Not joining the group hug?” Emerl asked. “Oh, I had my turn already. Besides, no body,” Nicole replied, her avatar growing to normal size. “Is she safe now?” Silver didn’t avert his eyes from the quartet. “Yes, she is. Eggman’s programming has been purged from her systems, and the bomb has been completely disarmed. I think it’s safe to say this crisis is at an end. Or at least, it’s not a crisis anymore,” Nicole explained. “There’s still the matter of restoring her to normal, but I think I have a solution for that.” “You do? Those mods seemed pretty extensive. I’m not sure we can reverse them…” Emerl mused. “Yeah, I can’t imagine Eggman would keep her original parts after he removed them. I mean, I haven’t seen much of the guy, but he seems like that kind of monster,” Silver added. “True, but if we super-charge her repair systems, then we can just dismantle the ‘upgrades’ and let her fix herself!” Nicole beamed. “Will that work?” Silver tilted his head. “In theory, yeah,” Emerl nodded. “My repair unit does the same sort of thing for me, I was basically a skeleton when Nicole woke me up.” “Okay, next question, how do we do that? I mean, I’m gonna guess it’s not as easy as plugging her into the wall.” The grey hedgehog shrugged. “No… It will need to be a much more powerful charge… this needs to be completed quickly, and for injuries this extensive, I’m not sure if even Emerl’s core will be enough…” Nicole shook her head. “Fortunately, I think I might have a solution,” Sally walked over, followed by the others. “I couldn’t keep from overhearing, but I know that Eggman has another Chaos Emerald within the Death Egg. If we can recover that and combine its power with the one inside Emerl, that should do the trick.” “The Death Egg’s that big stupid-looking space station that’s landed in the distance, right?” Emerl asked, jabbing her thumb in its general direction. “That’s correct,” Tails nodded. “Are you guys in any condition to attack that thing?” “We don’t have a lot of choice, do we?” Sonic asked. “If we don’t go for it now, we might miss our chance, and that’s not an option.” “Alright then,” Emerl shrugged. “Group up, I’ll warp us in.” “Actually, you’ll have to settle for getting us close,” Sally shook her head. “Eggman has the whole thing shielded against teleportation.” “Well, alright then.” *** Having closed the distance within seconds, Sally led the impromptu party into the Death Egg. With Eggman several miles from the station and with no functioning technology to hand, the Robian squirrel still had full security clearance, and was able to simply lead them through the door. Of course, once they were inside, the security systems detected the presence of the rest of the group, deploying an array of sleek, white-armoured guard robots emerging from concealed doors within the walls, aiming automatic arm guns at them. “These are new,” Sonic commented, crushing the cranium of the nearest robot, bouncing to another, then another after that, leaving a trail of non-functioning droids in his wake. “Wow, more terrible robots,” Emerl’s fist tore through another, ripping out the core of the machine, slamming the shell into the squad behind it. “Isn’t this guy meant to be smart?” “He’s also insane,” Tails replied, cutting the legs and weapon arms away from the robots, as Amy batted them away with her hammer. “According to records, he has actually stopped his minions from claiming victory over Sonic because he wants to do it himself. These likely aren’t meant to be that dangerous, and were probably made to just slow Sonic and tire him out before Eggman would confront him personally,” Sally explained. “Of course, he isn’t here now, so that’s only going to work in our favour.” “Well, can’t complain about that,” Silver waved his hand, scattering the remainder. “I can,” Emerl growled, jogging over to the door. “I want a good fight, and so far, I haven’t had one.” “Maybe wait for that until we’re not on a time limit. We have to get this done before Sally’s charge runs out,” Nicole smiled slightly at her new friend’s grumpiness, then glanced at the control panel. “Hold on, I can get this open.” Before the lynx could make her move, however, Emerl slammed her fist into the sliding door, punching it clean off of its tracks and propelling it into the room on the other side. The hologram paused for a moment, shooting Emerl a look as she huffed and stomped through the doorway. “That door was tougher than the robots.” “They’ve known each other for a matter of hours and they already bicker like Sonic and Sally do,” Tails sighed. “Hey!” Sonic yelled. “I mean, he’s somewhat right…” Sally mumbled, scratching the back of her head slightly. *** Progress through the station wasn’t much different after that. The robots posed little threat to the group, even with four of them tired and a fifth barely able to fight in her current body. Sally continued to lead them toward the core of the station, where their quarry lay. As Emerl tore another set of doors away from their mountings, they stepped into the core chamber, the Emerald casting a blue light from pillar in the centre of the room, wires and cables extending out from it and disappearing into the walls, floor and ceiling. “There it is!” Amy beamed. “This looks too easy…” Silver mused, eyes flicking around the room. “You’re right, there’s something in here…” “Welcome, Sonic! I hope you’re enjoying your tour of my wonderful Death Egg!” “Eggman!?” “Unfortunately, this is a recording, and I’m not around to share some scintillating conversation with you. Poor timing on your part, of course. Still, I knew you would seek out the core of the Death Egg once you found it, and the Chaos Emerald therein, and I couldn’t leave it unguarded, so I hope you’re ready for a fight! Allow me to introduce the greatest of the Metal Series and Mecha Sally’s partner in crime… Mecha Sonic, kill him.” The base of the pillar opened, steam pouring out as the shape of a tall, broad-shouldered robot, vaguely in the shape of a hedgehog, appeared through the fog. An orange-red visor lit up, a bar of identical colour crossing its chest. It took a step forward, clanking heavily on the metal floor, as the cloud parted, exposing its blue armour. “Hedgehog: Priority One.” Its engine roaring into life. “Oh, that’s not good.” If Sally could’ve gulped, she would have. “That is actually not an awful design… Alright…” Emerl cracked her knuckles, dropping into a low stance, her arms wide, fingers spread. Her third optic opened, and her eyes narrowed, as if smiling with anticipation. “Let’s go!” Both robots launched forward, boosters carrying them over the ground. Emerl drew her fist back, winding up for a heavy punch… only for the newcomer to juke around her strike, accelerating past her and toward the rest of the group. “Hey!” “Scatter!” Sally commanded. She and Amy jumped to the sides, as Tails and Silver took off. Sonic lowered himself, and returned the charge in kind, curling up as he launched forward. His spinning form hit the robot’s forearm, only to bounce off, slamming into the back wall. Grunting in pain, he looked up to see a metal fist aiming straight for his face. His head ducked to the side as Mecha Sonic’s punch crumpled the wall where it had been just a moment before. “Hey, excuse me!” Mecha Sonic’s head glanced over its shoulder, just in time to see Emerl’s backhand crash against its temple, denting the armour slightly. The machine staggered and was seized in a cyan aura, suddenly disappearing across the room and crashing into the pillar. “You okay?” Emerl asked, as Sonic peeled himself off the wall. “Yeah. Seems like it’s fixated more on me than on the nearest threat, and I don’t think I can take another fight like this, so I’ll keep its attention, and you guys beat it down!” He straightened himself up. “Guys, hurry! I can’t hold it back much longer!” Silver shouted, visibly straining against Mecha Sonic’s strength. Nodding, Sonic launched himself forward, boosting into the paralysed robot, driving it through the generator. Mecha Sonic’s back scraped against the ground, kicking up sparks, as Sonic sprang off of it and began to run away. “Catch me if you can, tin-grin!” He jeered. It rolled onto its front, preparing to stand up, just as Amy brought her hammer down on its back. Its arm swung out, knocking her legs from under her. Rolling up into a spiked shell, it launched itself off the ground, homing in on Sonic. He just managed to evade it, leaving it to crash into the floor, cratering it. Uncurling, it reached out for him, as he turned on his heel and kicked the robot in the face. With a dull clang, Sonic stumbled back, clutching his foot, and received Mecha Sonic’s fist in his gut for his troubles. Hurled across the room, he thudded against the wall for a second time, wheezing for air. “Okay, bad idea,” He groaned, as Mecha Sonic stood up, stomping toward him. Its hand retracted, the barrel of a gun extending in its place, pointing it at him. It opened fire, but the bullet never found its mark, squashing against the forearm of Mecha Sally, the Robian glaring daggers at it. “Unit: Mecha Sally. Stand aside.” It spoke flatly. “Never.” She carefully moved herself forward, stance low. “Unit acting in violation of protocol and given orders. Unit has turned traitor. Unit will be destroyed. Priority system disabled.” It thrust its arm forward, fist reforming as the royal moved to dodge. The new weight threw her balance off, however, and she stumbled awkwardly, the attack just scraping against her armour. Unsteadily, she caught her balance for a moment, leaping forward to kick it. Her attack falling short, she felt the robot’s foot crash into her stomach, throwing her back against the wall. “Sal, are you okay!?” Sonic helped her stand. Even with the beating he’d already taken, he had elected to focus on her. “Agh… this body’s all wrong… the strength, the weight, none of it works.” She groaned. “I’m not sure how I’ll be able to fight like this…” “Well, you can’t be doing as badly as us,” Sonic smiled weakly, trying to steady himself. As if to illustrate his point, Tails’ attempt to slam his namesakes into the droid’s armour was halted when it grabbed hold of the attack and swung him into the floor. This time, it didn’t stop there, however, and brought up its foot to stomp on him. “Hey, get away from him!” Sonic yelled, boosting into his newest mechanical counterpart. Unsuspecting and balanced on one leg, Mecha Sonic was unable to prevent itself from being lifted off the ground and slammed into the column once again. Jolted for a moment, it raised its arms over its head, then swung them down onto Sonic, knocking him to the floor. It kicked him away, straightening up. As he scraped to a halt near Sally and Tails, Sonic spotted Amy charging toward the robot. Leaping up, she swung her hammer straight down toward its head, but it sidestepped, hand coming up to grasp the head of the weapon, stopping it dead with a loud clang. It twisted, swinging her into the remains of the column, then reached out with its free hand, grasping her neck. It roughly drove her into the floor, tearing the hammer from her grip in the same motion. Sally sprinted as best she could toward the Mecha Sonic. Despite her lack of agility with the awkward, heavy body, she was still in better shape than most of the others, and even if fighting was almost impossible like this, she could at least take hits that they couldn’t. Mecha Sonic’s head snapped toward her, and it threw Amy straight at her, forcing her to halt her charge and catch the hedgehog. The robot turned, hurling the stolen hammer into Silver, breaking his aura. Rolling into its shell again, it revved up and launched into the falling hedgehog, rebounding away and striking Sally’s back. Landing, Mecha Sonic turned to face the fallen group as its chestplate slid open, a squat barrel emerging from within. Sally gently set Amy down, forcing herself upright in time to see a harsh red light building within the newly exposed cannon. At this range, all of them would be hit by the blast, and most of them were unable to dodge. Raiding the Death Egg had been a bad idea, Sally decided. They could’ve gotten another Emerald, rather than just running in when most of her friends were running on empty. Just as Mecha Sonic braced to fire, Emerl landed behind it, wrapped her arms around its waist, and flipped it backwards, suplexing it headfirst into the floor. The cannon fired, a storm of plasma erupting from its open torso, completely destroying the central pillar and tearing through the wall of the chamber. Righting herself, she kicked it away, metallic spines scraping against the ground before it flipped over and came to a halt, lying on its front. “Nicole, jump into Sally. She needs you more than I do right now,” Emerl stated, squaring off with the Mecha Sonic as it stood up once again. “Are you sure?” “Yeah, she can barely fight, maybe you can help her. I’ll be just fine,” She nodded, punching her fists together. “This is just what I’ve been waiting for.” Both robots charged at each other, as Nicole nodded, retreating from Emerl’s systems and returning to Sally’s, settling in. “Is this a good idea? My processor is already rather taxed,” Sally asked, feeling the AI uploading herself. “I have an idea, actually. Your body isn’t suited for the way you normally fight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do something with what we have to work with. I will just need to do some power re-routing, though…” Nicole replied. “Like Emerl said, you’d function a lot better with just the one pair of cannons and swords, though I suppose you only have one of those now. The others are relatively useless and just taking up energy. Once that’s done, I’ll just be aiding your muscle memory.” “Right, right…” Sally flexed her right arm, the blue blade extending from it. “Let’s try it...” Emerl ducked under Mecha Sonic’s first punch, driving an uppercut of her own into its midsection. It staggered, torso spinning at the waist as it stepped back, arm clubbing against the side of her head. Reeling away, she grunted slightly. “Huh, felt that. Nice,” Emerl charged, her engines firing, drawing her fist back. Mecha Sonic responded in kind, palming the Gizoid’s punch aside and slugging her in the chestplate, launching her back. Bouncing off the floor, she tumbled over, slamming her hands into the ground to bring herself to a halt. Mecha Sonic rolled up, spinning toward her. Emerl revved herself up, surging forward to meet its charge. Both robots rebounded off of each other, homing in again. The bladed shell dug into Emerl’s curled form, flicking her back and forcing her to unroll. Mecha Sonic opened again in the same moment, engines roaring to life as it barged into the smaller robot, driving her into the wall. Pressing its forearm against her chest, it flipped out the gun in its free arm once more, the barrel widening and pulling back to expose a small missile, which it aimed right for her face. Before it could fire, the larger machine jolted, rearing back as something sliced into its back armour. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Emerl activated the laser beneath her crest, blasting it back, drawing her feet up and kicking both of them into its torso, sending it crashing to the floor. Sally flew up beside her, balancing carefully on her own engines. “Thanks for the save,” Emerl nodded to her, peeling away from the wall. “It’s tougher than it looks. I’m surprised that it’s one of Eggman’s.” “You’re welcome.” She smiled. “Nicole’s rerouting power from the useless weapons to the sword and arm guns, so I should be able to help.” “Alright, let’s finish this thing and get that Emerald!” She grinned, folding out her chainblades, and launching herself at Mecha Sonic. Sally followed, activating her left arm’s cannon. She curved around, opening fire from an angle where she wouldn’t shoot Emerl. Standing upright, Mecha Sonic raised its arm to shield itself from Sally’s gunfire, dodging Emerl’s diving thrust at the same time. It brought its elbow down sharply onto the Gizoid’s head, stopping her flight short as her face met the metallic floor. It turned, firing the missile at Sally, but a precise shot, aim guided by her AI comrade, destroyed the rocket. It exploded before it had even gained a lock, cutting off Mecha Sonic’s vision of her. Taking her chance, Emerl jumped back to her feet, slashing across its shoulder. It rounded on her, throwing a punch at her face, meeting the flat of her second blade with a tooth-grinding shriek. She chopped her free blade down, but it grasped her wrist, forcing her weapon away Seizing her chance, Sally lunged through the smoke, aiming her sword for the robot’s arm, slashing at its elbow. The arm buckled backwards, and Emerl wrenched her blade free, cutting across its midsection. The sword ground against its armour, but didn’t penetrate it, and Mecha Sonic rose up again, backhanding both of them aside. It leapt after them, grabbing Emerl’s ankle and slamming her into the floor, before hurling her away, into the wreckage of the central pillar. She stumbled to her feet, blades folding away as she shook her head, trying to clear her vision. As she steadied herself, a bright blue glow caught her eyes, filling her sight. As the light grew more intense, she raised her arms to shield her optics, but even with that, she felt the light pulling her in. Emerl stepped carefully closer to the light, spotting the source. Lying amongst the rest of the rubble sat a glowing blue gemstone, radiating boundless power. It must’ve been the Chaos Emerald they were looking for, freed from the generator. She wasn’t sure why, but she swore the glow shouldn’t be this intense… even though she didn’t recall ever seeing a Chaos Emerald in the past… More than that, it called to her. She stepped closer, slowly edging forward. Mesmerised by the Emerald, she carefully reached out for it, fingers closing around the stone, lifting it from the floor. Outside, Sally dodged away from Mecha Sonic’s fist. Considering how much of a fight this robot was putting up, she was starting to wonder why she had been sent out, and Mecha Sonic kept within the Death Egg. She supposed there was a certain logic to keeping a powerful sentinel within the base, but it was more likely that Eggman just wanted to taunt Sonic by using her. It pressed its assault, as she sidestepped it, slashing the sword across its back. As it turned toward her, she spied a gap in its plating, and buried the sword inside. Mecha Sonic let out a mechanical growl, as it folded its missile launcher into place once more, aiming it at Sally’s feet. The missile speared into the ground, exploding and hurling both robots apart from each other. Mecha Sonic landed on its feet, but Sally landed hard, forcing herself to stand as her opponent stalked toward her. Bringing her cannon arm up, she opened fire, shooting the larger robot in the chest. It paused, the beam holding it back for a moment, before it forced itself forward. The delay was enough for Sally to stand upright, however, and she moved to strike at the damaged area of its shoulder once again. Mecha Sonic’s hand caught the blade, and even with the boosted power, the armour on its palm held firm. Sally tried to wrench the sword free, but it wouldn’t budge. Its grip tightening, the cobalt droid shattered the weapon, leaving her with nothing but her guns and her fists. The cannon in her right arm locked into place, and she lifted off from the ground, firing a sustained beam from both arms into Mecha Sonic. Its arms crossed in front of it, planting one leg behind it to brace, shielding itself from the brunt of the blast. In an instant, it dodged to the side, leaping into the air and curling into its shell once more, diving toward her. Sally aimed the cannons at it, opening fire once again, but her beams deflected harmlessly off of the armoured ball, not even slowing its flight as it crashed into her, grinding against her plating as it bulled her across the room and rammed her into the wall, rebounding away to let her collapse to the ground. Sally groaned, straining to rise from her position, warning lights flashing across her HUD, Nicole pleading with her to get up and flee, but her body refused to obey her. Something had been jarred loose, and her systems were no longer responding. Mecha Sonic loomed over her, staring down at her, no emotion readable in its visor. It aimed the missile launcher at her head once more, when a shockwave rippled out from the wreckage in the centre of the chamber. It turned, just as a blue light flooded out from the ruined core. For a moment after touching the Emerald, the wrecked generator was quiet. Then, power exploded from the Emerald, energy streaming out from between Emerl’s fingers, enveloping her in a cyan aura. Automatically, her chestplate opened, exposing her core, as the Emerald almost flowed into the depths of her chest cavity, before the armour slammed shut again, the aura flaring up more violently. Her eyes widened, but all she could see was the Emerald itself, floating in front of her, before it was washed away by fire. She blinked- That was odd, she didn’t have eyelids, how was she blinking? But as her eyes opened again, she found herself above a burning city. Black towers and pyramids stretched as far as her eyes could see, flames consuming them, people fleeing, a flash of red metal streaking toward her. Her hand reached out, for a moment it looked wrong, too thin, without the joints visible, but she blinked again and it looked normal. “Wh-what..? What the hell…?” She gripped her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut, and shook her head. The screams stopped, the heat of the flames faded, and she felt her feet touching the floor once again. She was back in the Death Egg, wreathed in a warming blue glow. The Emerald was no longer in her hand, but she felt its power within her, flooding her, filling her… making her stronger. Stepping out of the rubble, all three of her optics fixed on Mecha Sonic. She slammed her fist against her open palm once more, popping her neck as it turned away from Sally, squaring off against her. “Alright, let’s try this again.”

[beatskylar]

Happier

"Beca just let me explain! I made a mistake that I regret with every fiber of my being!"

"No because you know how I feel about cheaters, because people who cheat destroy everything!"

Chloe knows she fucked up, big time, and she won't blame Beca for asking for space. Hell, if the tables where turned, and Beca was the one to fuck up, she'll ask for space too. Space, Chloe hates that word because after three strong years, years of Chloe being able to cuddle into Beca whenever she wanted became a habit. A habit that everyday she struggles with herself to ignore.

"Hey Chloe, do you know if Beca's in her room?" Emily asked when she stepped into the Bella's house. Taking off her bag and leaving it at the door.

"Yeah, she is," Chloe can even tell Emily what Beca's wearing. Black sweatpants and a grey long sleeve, Beca's Saturday choice of clothes because she's not going to leave the house, something won't even leave her room. "But she's in a mood, I don't think she wants to be distrubed." Beca even yelled at Ashley or Jessica (Chloe still couldn't tell the difference between the two) when they went to see if she was hungry.

"Yeah I know," Emily replied as if wasn't a big deal that Beca was pissed. Walking around Chloe went to the fridge grabbing two water bottles and the box of strawberries along with Beca's chocolate bar. "She sent me a text asking if I could come and spend some time with her."

With that, Emily smiled before rushing up and heading to Beca's room. Chloe listened to see if Beca would yell at her or do something, but she didn't hear nothing besides Beca's door closing.

"Okay, it's fine... Beca just needed another ray of sunshine, which is Emily," Chloe stated to herself as she fiddled with her fingers "It makes sense, if it was anyone else they'll just make her feel worse... That's all, and besides Beca will kick her out soon. Everything is going to be okay."

£

An hour turned to three and Emily was still with Beca. Alone in a close room. Doing God knows what, but it can't be that bad... Beca's laughing. Chloe should feel happy that Beca's no longer angry, but she can't help the unsettling feeling in her stomach that it took her seven months, and ten days to make Beca laugh, while Emily was able to do it in a week.

"Chloe, we're going out, you want to come?"

"Who's going?"

"Pretty much all the Bellas except Beca and Emily. When I asked her, Emily said she rather hang out with mopping, depressed Beca than me. I'm going to have to remind her who her favorite Bella is," waiting for a reply from Chloe on if she's going to go or stay, but she made no move to talk "You coming?"

"No, I'm good."

Nodding Stacie went to the door, opening it. With one last look at Chloe, she said "See you later Chloe... Let's get waste you aca-pitches!"

When the door closed and Chloe heard the lock turn, she made her way up the stairs and to Beca's room. She wanted to hear what they were doing, even if she knows it's wrong to listen in on people.

"Emily, I swear to God you are the best." Beca moaned and Emily giggled, and Chloe closed her hands so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"If I would have known the way to your heart was chocolate, I would have given them to you sooner."

"Please do! Also coffee, extremely black, and I promise I will love you forever."

"Oh now I seriously have to give you buckets full of chocolate and gallons of black coffee everyday."

Another moan escaped Beca's mouth, and Chloe swears to God she's going to murder Emily. No one should be showering or promising to shower Beca with gifts besides her. Especially if that someone, has a crush on Beca. "You aren't taking her away, Beca is mine."

Turning on her heels, Chloe marched to her room to start planning a way to get Emily far away from Beca. As far away as possible, like the Moon or Jupiter far.

£

"Hey, have you guys seen Beca? She's not in her room." Chloe said as she walked down the stairs to see Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose watching a YouTube video. Flo, Ashley and Jessica cooking, and lastly Stacie on her phone while Lilly looks over a knife. Beca nowhere in sight.

For three hours last night, Chloe prepared a plan for Beca to forgive her. First she got a bag and filled it with all of Beca's favorite foods, including chips, cookies, and drinks. Attached to every treat, was a small sorry, written in Beca's favorite color Post-It note. Then she would take Beca to her favorite place in the world, a little old record store that has thousands to thousands off records and plenty of instruments along with a mixing booth. If that didn't work, Chloe would take Beca to the park they official became a couple, and try to recreate that day.

"She's out with giraffe legs getting us breakfast, ginger." Fat Amy replied before turning her attention back to the TV.

"Then why are Flo, Ashely and Jessica cooking?"

"They left two hours ago, with no call or text message." Stacie didn't even bother to look up from her phone as she replied.

"I am telling you, they were kidnapped and any minute we'll get a ransom note... I'm surprise it wasn't me this time."

Two hours? Beca is with Emily again, for two hours and counting. Once again that ache in her heart returns, because no one can make Beca wake up at eight in the morning, not even Chloe has been able to get Beca up. Tears make their way to her eyes, blurring her vision but not falling.

"You okay, Chloe?" Stacie asked, slowly getting up and making her way to her. By now everyone has stopped what they were doing, all focusing on Chloe.

"Yeah, I'm fine," taking a shaky breath in, Chloe turned back to the stairs "I'm just gonna leave this in Beca's room, then I'll come and hang with you guys."

When Beca and Emily did return, half an hour later, Emily was giving Beca a Piggy back ride. Bag of food in Beca's hands.

"Oh now you guys decide to show up." Cynthia Rose exclamed looking through the bags.

"Sorry, but this one wouldn't tell me what fast food place was your favorite." Emily replied, jumping up making Beca go up as well.

"I did tell you... Eventually."

Beca and Emily have been gone for two hours and a half, and still Beca is on Emily.

£

Chloe is not the jealous type, she isn't. She has never been jealous of anyone, not the Bellas when they hang out with her Beca. Or when Stacie becomes a little to touchy. So since she's not the jealous type, she doesn't understand the feeling she feels in her heart. It's like a stabbing pain, constantly happen when Emily even gets close to Beca.

Like right now, all the Bellas are in the living room for the weekly Bella bonding activity (Emily being the one to convince Beca to join them.) The pair are currently sitting next to each other in front of the coffee stand. Quietly whispering to one another.

"Yo ginger, well you stop staring at short stack and giraffe legs so much?" Fat Amy complained while she paused the movie. Thanks to Amy, everyone's attention is one her, including Emily and Beca.

"I'm not staring."

"No, what you were doing is a death glare at legacy and lustful eyes to Beca." Cynthia replied, rubbing Emily's back as she deflated a little.

"No I wasn't."

"Are you jealous?" Stacie asked as she leaned closer to Chloe, a smirk playing on her lips as she said "Are you jealous of Beca and Emily?"

"Jealous? What is that? Something I can eat or what?"

Chloe hates how Stacie and Cynthia Rose smirk in the 'You pitch, you are soo jealous of Emily Junk being with Beca'

"Can we just watch the damn movie? Because I am not jealous of Emily! Why would I be jealous? Because she's spending so much time with my Beca. My, as in she is mine not yours! Or that she was able to make her laugh way faster than I could!" Chloe ranted, pointing her finger at Emily, Beca and herself. "Can't you guys see I have no reason to be jealous? Just because she's pretty and can write songs, that Beca can then produce like they did with flashlight, doesn't mean I'm jealous! Yes they spend so much time together but I don't care! No I'm not jealous of her smile that brightens everyone's day!"

Huffing, Chloe wiped her eyes getting ready to continue but Beca was able to stop her.

"Can you guys give us a moment?" Beca asked, grabbing a hold of one of Chloe's hands. A collective sigh was heard but no one dared to stay behind as they made their way to their rooms.

"Chloe I'm-" Emily tried but Beca hushed her quietly "okay, I'm going to my dorm."

"Wait outside. I'll walk you." Chloe knew what was going to come, she can hear it in Beca's voice the way she cares for Emily. The way she loves Emily.

When the door closed Chloe spoke. "I think you should date legacy."

"What?" Groaning, Chloe pulled her hand out of Beca's grasp and stood up, Beca followed her lead quickly.

"You should date legacy! Just break up with me because you love her! You love her way more than you love me! Just admit it, you don't love me anymore!"

"Calm down! I do love you-"

"Not as much as you love Emily! Or tell me, tell me you love me more than you love her!" Chloe waited a full five seconds before she shook her head "I know I hurt you, but I never thought you would stop loving me."

"I didn't stop loving you, I just stopped trusting you."

"I told you it was a mistake! I was drunk and I wasn't thinking!"

"Oh so you weren't thinking when you pulled Tom in for a kiss, right in front of me! The guy you were screwing with before dating me! Or how about when I pulled you two apart and you told me 'You love him'." They we're both left speech less after that because it's true. Chloe did kiss Tom and say that to Beca, she can't deny it. "A drunk man's words, are his truest words."

A moment of silence was followed, neither speaking or even looking at each other. Five minutes turned to ten before Chloe asked. "What made you love her? What was it?"

"Chloe I don't-"

"Just tell me! Because I see the way she looks at you and how you look at her. That's the way we use to look at each other."

£

"How's Chloe doing?" Emily asked as Beca and her walked to her dorm "I heard you guys yelling but I couldn't make any of it out."

"She's okay, or going to be," sighing, Beca ran a hand down her face. "I was her first real relationship, others were just random hook-ups... And I guess I was her first break up."

"I feel bad for her, she's an amazing girl."

"She is, and I still love her, just not the same way as when we first got together."

They two walked in silence, hearing all the noice as students got ready to sleep. Emily silently hummed to herself as Beca thought of what Chloe told her 'You should tell Emily you love her'

"Does Chloe hate me?" When Emily asked that, Beca stopped in her tracks to stare at her. Emily was currently busy fiddling with her fingers and looking down at the street. "For being the reason you two are no longer together."

"No, she doesn't. No one can hate you Emily, you're too pure for this word. She's upset and angry, but that doesn't mean she hates you."

Nodding, Emily continued walking with Beca behind her. It didn't take long to get too Baker Hall, it's about a five minute walk. Once inside they made their way to Emily's dorm without saying anything.

"Thanks Beca, I appreciate it," unlocking her door, Emily pushed it open a little before turning to look at Beca. "I'll see you at Bella practice tomorrow."

"Okay." When the door closes separating Beca from Emily, she signs and says quietly.

"By the way. I love you Emily, more than just a friend. I'm in love with you."

[johnbizzell]

December 2018 - Of Anxiety and Anchors

On a good day I think: at least I got another 24 hours closer to death with as few things going wrong as possible. I’ll come to the bad days shortly.

When I was a little boy I remember people describing me as a worrier. Later, because it was a grammar school, they used the word pessimist. Eventually I graduated to plain old negative. Even my friend Calamity Lou calls me a ‘negative ninny,’ and she can turn a cup of tea into a catastrophe. I prefer the term Considered Anxiety – not considerable, though sometimes it’s so overwhelming I can’t leave the house, but considered in the sense that a lot of thought has gone into it. Everything I dislike or fear is in the sin bin after extensive research, believe me.

To function, I’ve developed an advanced containment system for all of this, controlled by emotional anchors. If you’ve never created an emotional anchor for yourself, here’s what you do: relate a positive feeling to a touch sensation and in times of trouble recreate that sensation to recreate the positive feeling. My touch sensation started as pressing my thumbs against the front of my forefingers. Over the years this evolved to pressing down on them until my knuckles crack, it’s unpleasant for other people but not as unpleasant as me having a conniption fit. However, much like the Indominus Rex in Jurassic World, my anxieties will keep hurling themselves at different parts of their enclosure until they find a weak spot and no amount of knuckle cracking can stop it. That’s when they suddenly smash through a T-Rex skeleton and try to claw a hole in my stomach whilst I’m buckled inside a stranded vehicle and there’s no Chris Pratt to save me.

Those are the bad days and nobody, least of all Chris Pratt, wants to be anywhere near me. 2018 has had so many more bad days than good, which seems inevitable given the state of the world and the constant stream of updates social media now gives us access to. What’s the answer?

Three things happened:

1. I went to visit friends with two small children and finished my box of Phantom River Sauvignon Blanc as the credits rolled on our third viewing of CBeebies Thumbelina (Andy Day positively thrums with menace as Mr Marvellous Mole). I managed to wait until the kids were asleep before asking how terrifying it was to bring them up in a climate of rising hysterical nationalism and, literally, temperatures that have caused entire herds of Russian moose to die. They told me that being a parent actually makes you more hopeful - not that you necessarily believe your own offspring will change the world directly, but that amongst a new generation of little humans the power for that generation to somehow survive must also be born. They also told me their local pub was full of ‘coked-up scaffolders’ and that was absolutely not a way of dissuading me to pack up my negativity and go there ASAP.

2. I was reading Tumble Home by Amy Hempel and draining a box of Pheasant Gulley Chardonnay. The protagonist walks dogs for an animal shelter but the panic of not being able to walk every abandoned dog in need overwhelms her. The magnitude of the situation makes her actions feel pointless. Her therapist says: “The goal is not to erase the problem. You do it to make the choice, to give and get joy in this life.”

3. I had bagpiped the last of my box of Espanol Blanco! Spanish White Wine (only £13 for 2.25 litres at Asda, exclamation mark included) over a glass of ice, because I’m very much about What Would Joan Collins Do, when I saw my tiny cat chase a massive fox out of the garden. That fox is brazen - when the back door was open in the summer it bowled into the living room, which Mother B later told me was very worrying as it could’ve been a vampire. Daisy Mae is frightened of almost everything and, frankly, a lazy bitch unless food is involved. We’re so similar, I thought: if she can see off her fox, maybe I can see off some of mine.

John’s New Year’s Resolutions include stepping away from social media, trying to give joy and find hope (not by having a baby) and putting a stop to drinking wine by the box. If the world doesn’t implode in the meantime, he’ll be back in 2020 to let you know how all that panned out.

[asawilhelmina]

Ford became involved, and had to sell him.

Ford became involved, and had to sell him. Looney said Choice Aire is not depending on public subsidies to help underwrite its flights. AFTER the memorable evening I had spent with Prince Valkovsky at the restaurant, I was for some days in continual apprehension on Natasha’s account. Not long since the writer called upon a benevolent lady, and during the course of the call the conversation turned upon the incidents of a fire which had occurred the night before in the neighborhood. This year on Christmas Day there will be a real full moon in the sky, the first time this has happened since 1977 and it won't happen for another 19 years. Besides, my father insisted on taking me to catalog cercei aur turciasee my betrothed today. "I can't thank God enough for all he has done for me.". I began by feeding Mimi with sweetmeats, and in about ten minutes I had taught her to shake hands, which they had never been able to teach her before. The masked woman had foretold the coming of the pale mare, was she right about the noble Reznak too? “I may be a young girl innocent of war, but I am not a lamb to walk bleating into the harpy’s den. His knuckles were as dark as cherries and near as big. Nymeria had landed ten thousand ships upon Dorne’s sandy shores, but when she wed her Dornish prince she had burned them all and turned her back upon the sea forever. “Half of these Brazen Beasts are untried freedmen.” And the other half are Meereenese of doubtful loyalty, he left unsaid. But when after saying good-night to the old people I went up to my attic, to my surprise I found him there. Consider the surface where you might fall. Without trying, I frequently stepped on his footprints and tripped over his whimsies.likes a sense of discovery, said Maria Phelan, former director of public relations for the Downtown Project. And a family who was inside the church at the time it began said they heard popping noises and ran upstairs to see flames coming from a bathroom ceiling.The Sloan family has been visiting the church for about eight years, spreading their ministry."They were actually singers staying the night," said witness Amy Holland.But

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the family had just wrapped up a long night at a Praise Fest Revival when they heard popping noises, saw fire and managed to get out the church just in the nick of time."They said if they hadn been awake, they would have been stuck in there," Holland said.Holland lives across the street from the church and was there as disco duro externo pita the fast moving fire spread."It was just ablaze. She wanted to know why I supported permanent normal trade relations with China, given its oppressive government and history moustiquaire lit 1 personne ikea of human rights violations. And the whisperer in darkness.. "We're just playing another football game," he says. Their farm system, rated 29th or 30th among major league teams, has been further thinned by the recent trades of pitcher Chris Paddack, first baseman Josh Naylor and now Seymour. He sat there with his hard eyes fixed on her, watching her weep, as stony as the statues of the Seven in the sept above. The deal was put on hold, according to polo raflorene Abigail Klem, who now runs Ivanka Trump's brand.. He remembered a time when he had thought that Lord Eddard Stark might marry him to Sansa and claim him for a son, but that had only been a child’s fancy. But beyond the Wall, the enemy grows stronger, and should he win the dawn will never come again. But no ships came, except these two Lyseni pirates, Goodheart and Elephant, that had been driven north by a storm. He explained that the eight huge turbines provide electricity to a range of over 200 square miles, and Glen Canyon can make electricity cheaper than any other hydroelectric source in the area. This award is selected by the field hockey and girl's track coaches and the athletic director.. “She will help me to improve,” he went on. Money doesn grow on trees (literally, it made of 25% linen and 75% cotton), and I can be blowing it all on a pair of shoes or a purse.. COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) Boeing announced Tuesday a number of leadership changes to the 737 and 767 commercial airplane programs, as well as the Renton, Wash. This day marks the end of the summer holidays and returning to work or school. Already your car has a lot of presence thanks to its size and luxurious image and when it is done up with the latest Denali body kits you can expect to be pushing the envelope geci de fas dama scurte of SUV styling going forward.. Others only know cooking sherry, a low grade bastardization of the real deal with salt added to improve its shelf life.. On June 3, however, Intel made all of the juicy details public and a soon thereafter we got our hands on the company current flagship Devil Canyon based processor, the Core i7 4790K. Six out of twenty-seven. This fundraising project for organizations would be from Feb. Therefore, Hareo Inc., presenting you assets equip with functional phenomenon that merits "Beyond ultimate global industrial standard cizme vara cu toc and efficacy". Chessboard, basketball, football, paper and color crayons were all over the place.. Until the war. 230The primitive church, as organized by them, was a brotherhood of strict equality. Any appreciation of the countryside will be extinct with the displacement of the old peasants.. Every cricketer including Cook( "Virat Kholi" in this case as some people compare with ODI's) has to through a " Lean patch" in his career called "form"and "injury". Airbus sales chief John Leahy, also geci de fas dama scurte presenting at ISTAT, tried to knock the concept down by reminding the audience that smaller, lighter twin aisles jets have failed before. Matthews violated the law, he should have been tried by the law; and he would have been, had he committed an illegal act. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has urged Gulf nations not to escalate the crisis, President Donald Trump repeatedly has criticized Qatar over its alleged support of militants. “Just pray we do not get another storm.”. Where are the pirates?” When Davos did not answer, he rapped his spoon against the table. Sunday, Dec. It also adjusts if the driver puts in too much steering to keep the car stable.. San Antonio Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard (2) tries to strip the ball from Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) during bikes btt usadas the second half of the NBA Western Conference semifinals playoff Game 3 at Toyota Center Friday, May 5, 2017, in Houston. Just eight miles from the center of Paris, the normally sleepy aerodrome in Le Bourget will undergo its biennial transformation into the center of the world's $700 billion aerospace and defense industry when it hosts the 51st International Paris Air Show from June 15 to June 21. The Melbourne walk was staged at the Albert Park Lake, starting at 5am, with the same purpose of bringing people together to raise funds and awareness for the Pieta House, which aims to prevent suicide and self harm.. I papuci de casa din pasla followed the contrails of his cocktail over a llama posing for photos, a treehouse themed playground and shipping containers aglow with shops, eateries and bars.Jason Ogulnik, Special to The Washington PostThe Fremont East District in downtown Las Vegas.all just happened, he said before ducking inside for a ceviche taco.

[light-and-heartful]

Sonic Shuffle Dreamcast Playthrough - My Precious... Precioustone

You know I personally don't think Sonic Shuffle is that horrible of a game, it just needs some improvements 

hell I had this idea for a Gamecube port of Sonic Shuffle called "Sonic Shuffle PLUS", but since it's past that generation I had the idea to make it for PS4, Xbox ONE, & Steam to make it compatible with the ports of Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 (I'll explain as it goes on) and what would happen it would basically have these improvements: 

 Gamma & Big would be unlocked from the start and would be available to play in Story Mode

each of the six characters has different endings of the story mode with chosen character getting their deepest dreams as a reward for saving the day (with each opening with them on a Rainy Day wishing for something, but then magic happens to take them to maginaryworld, and the ending would have them back where they were with the weather clearing up with a rainbow and their wish coming true), they include: 

Sonic wishing for a fun beach vacation 

Tails wishing for an easier way to get his work done 

Knuckles wishing for a better security system for the Master Emerald

Amy wishing for the perfect gift to give to Sonic (which ends up being a box of tasty chili dogs)

Big wishing for more Frogs that are like Froggy to come and visit them

& Gamma (in his original bird form cause his dreams allowed him to get his robot body back when he entered maginaryworld) wishing for a better nest after the old one breaks down from the rain (which ends up being his old robot body) 

Each character has 4 different color palates so multiple players can play as the same character

You can hold one of the shoulder buttons to see your cards (in the original Gamecube version it would've given you the choice to use the Gameboy Advance to see your hand with the Gamecube-Gameboy Advance Link Cable)

you can bring your Chao from Sonic Adventure 1 & 2 to the game, and depending on which one of the six characters raised it in that game, it gets that character's abilities in this game (with in Adventure 2 having Rouge represent Amy, Eggman represent Big, & Shadow representing Gamma), like Emerl from "Sonic Battle", and you can mix and match different characters' Board Specials & Battle Specials into the chao depending on how much they care for it (like a trainer teaching an animal new tricks), for example, you can have Knuckles' Wall Climbing Board Special with Amy's Spin Hammer Battle Special or Gamma's Hover Mode Board Special with Sonic's Light Speed Battle Special and not only that but also the cosmetics you decorate your chao with from Sonic Adventure carries over to this game to, so you'll see your cute chao walk around the board in their cute outfits

it'll have an ONLINE mode with your choice 3, 4, or 5 precioustones to be in play and if a player logs out, he/she's character will be taken over by the CPU for the rest of the game 

there would be two new boards in both the versus, online, & story mode, "Toy Kingdom", a place representing the dreams for fun and enjoyment where it’s a big playroom with a big castle created by Void in the center that you’ll have to enter by landing on a !? space and it won’t stay down you’d have to land on the space over and over to get from inside the castle grounds to outside the castle grounds, & "Robot-Tropolis", a place created by Eggman’s and the other peoples dreams of Greed and Manipulation to lure Sonic & co into during the story mode as the second to last board before Fourth-Demension Space (which they are both unlockable boards you’d have to get by beating them in the story mode) where it’s basically like the Robot-Tropolis from the cartoons (even to having SWAT Bots from both Satam & Underground as Battle Enemies) just with a rustic factory-esc feeling to it 

there would also be more emblems to give for scoring in the final results of the game, so not only you’d have:

an emblem for each Precioustone collected 

the player with the highest amount of rings in the game

the winner of the Stage Clear mini-game at the end of the board

the player who fulfilled the board's quest

and the player who’s won the most duels

but also

the player who used the most Forcejewels 

the player who won the most battles

the player who moved the most spaces

and an extra emblem for every 30 rings they had at the end of the game

(also the results screen for the Versus mode would be the same as the results sprint when a stage is done in Story Mode, having the emblem count be shown as the players are running) 

Super Sonic would be only unlocked by beating the expert mode with all 6 six characters and cannot be played in ONLINE (since he's over-powered in the original game) 

lastly, there would be a 2D animated opening to the game with a song that's similar to the ending theme to the original Dragon Ball, "I'll Give You Romance", as the opening has the song playing as the 6 characters explore maginaryworld and play some mini-games

what do you think, are those good ideas?