#anyway i really enjoyed *most* of sonic prime

[truebluemenace]

Probably not so hot take: Sonic Prime actually sucked ass but the characterizations were some of the best the franchise has ever had which is the only reason why it wasn't torn to shreds by fans

[wc-m0ch4]

Shadow the Hedgehog x gn! Reader Headcanons

I watched all the Sonic Prime episodes in one day LMAO I LOVE IT SO MUCH

Anyways,

PROLOGUE HCS

As most hcs with this mf starts, it took forever for him to finally trust you, let alone get into a relationship with you

I mean, can you blame him really? He's lost a lot, he's gone through a ton of shit, it's kinda to be expected

He talked to Rouge one day about how he felt more comfortable around you than others and she teased him relentlessly

"Shadoooow, you like them?"

"I prefer them over others, if that answers your question. Why are you making that face?"

Lowkey funny thing, when it finally hits him that he liked you he tries to figure out why he likes you.

At first he thinks maybe it's your looks so he stares at you a lot trying to pinpoint what part of you he likes, but he's got a rbf so it concerns you gravely

"Shadow are you angry at Y/n?"

"No, of course not. Why?"

"You're kinda... glaring... at them..."

"Oh."

Then he theorizes that it must be something from your personality. So he starts asking you a ton of questions randomly, but like, theoretical questions

'What would you do if two of your best friends were drowning and you only had enough strength to save one?' Type questions y'know

Then he tries to see if it's something you do, like if you're 'useful'. So he keeps a mental tally of how many times you do something for him or others. When you pay for yours and Amy's lunch, when you give Sonic the rest of your bag of chips, when you hold the door open for Rogue, etc.

Finally he realizes that it's not something in particular, he just likes you

He reveals this revelation to Rouge and she snorts lmao

She sets up a whole date-confession-thing without either of your knowledge to get Shadow to confess

REAL TIME HCS

He's very quiet with his affection

He'll pat you on the head or back, give you a small smile, make you lunch, help you with some work, small things y'know

If you're a human and a lot taller than him he uses this to his advantage and climbs you so he can see more

^Some of the few times he will allow you to carry him

He'll text you updates about what he's doing and when he'll be home and expects you do the same

If you forget he'll scold you like a toddler lmao

Don't forget the skin-care routine and ironing the sheets every night according to the Twitter takeover LMAO (it should have been me)

He's not one for going out on dates but he does enjoy going to the library or the park with you, somewhere quiet with not a lot of people

Shadow would enjoy theatre all the way (I don't say this cuz I'm a theatre kid nope def not)

Also not a fan of PDA but he'll hold your hand or have a hand on your shoulder

He gets jealous easily lol

Like if someone starts talking or, God forbid, flirting with you he'll be standing right behind you glaring at them

His pet names are demeaning LMAO

Like how he calls Sonic 'hedgehog' it's the same for you

He'll call you more typical terms of endearment if it's laced with sarcasm

"Well, dear, if you had done like I said earlier this wouldn't have happened."

"I'm sorry, I should've known making toast was too difficult for you, darling."

Shadow has a phone and social media and the only reason is so you can send him memes you find funny to him

I like to imagine showing him a funny video and he just sits there staring at it for a bit before turning to you and going "This is hilarious."

If you're in college or work from home he'll help you with some of your work

Okay but imagine he's standing behind you helping you with homework and he leans over to grab a pencil or something and then you're pressed between him and the desk JAGFHEBAUWVDHJ– ANYWAYS

He likes keeping his space clean so if you're mentally ill like me (LMAOOO) or just messy in general he's willing to help you clean up

Just enough to keep him satisfied :)

Okay but imagine stay-at-home dates with him like:

Cooking dinner together

Laying your head on his lap while you two watch a movie

Playing games or doing puzzles

Speaking of games, game nights are a regular thing with the group and Rogue drags Shadow along so in turn he drags you along

I ask you to imagine a huge game of Uno between Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Amy, Cream, Big, Team Chaotix, Rogue, Shadow, and you.

Yeah, fucking insanity.

If there's any game where you have to pair up Shadow immediately grabs you

Absolutely NO chance he's pairing with Sonic lol

Moving on, he likes playing with your hair

If you need help doing a complex or a protective hairstyle he's got you fr

If you wear makeup, whether it's natural or more bold, he will compliment it

He'd probably help you with your makeup too if you asked lol

On a more sad note, he has times where he gets upset about his past so just give him space or comfort, whatever he needs at the time

If he gets upset about Maria ask him about her. It helps talking about her in a positive light when she was alive than replaying her death on repeat

So if you have your own bouts of depression (*cough cough* me *cough*) he'll understand and try to help in any way he can

On a more happier note, he likes getting you gifts

Homie is a very gift giving/ acts of service type of lover fr fr

Btw dating Shadow means being friends with Rogue and Omega, no exceptions

Ugh sorry this took forever to make I'm really lazy lmao

Did you guys notice that Jacksepticeye voices a character in one of the later Sonic Prime episodes cuz I did and I almost SCREAMED–

Anyways, send in requests if you want :)

[myymi]

i want to talk about the paradox prism for a minute because it's really interesting to me

[everything below is purely speculation / headcanon - please don't mistake it for canon. beware of spoilers for sonic prime part 3]

similar to the master/chaos emeralds, the paradox prism has a level a sentience. not anywhere close to the same level as the emeralds, but there's still something there

the chaos emeralds tend to set up a line of dominos to cause a future event (ex; sonic taking tails under his wing and learning to become more responsible from it)

the paradox prism doesn't do anything close to that, but it does share something with the master emerald; it holds memories

the prism was able to create more versions of the people it saw based on the emotions it saw them project (tails, knuckles, amy, rouge, and eggman)

the different shards / shatterspaces are made up from other major events. whether from this timeline or another is different for each shatterspace

new yoke was created from the group's frustration with sonic + an ending where eggman's almost won (i believe this could be pulled from the events of forces, considering the enforcers)

i think the reason new yoke is the only shatterspace to have a version of eggman is because it's the only one that makes sense to have one

it's pretty well known by now that eggman will need a helping hand if he wants any chance at taking over the world

the only thing better than an evil genius is five evil geniuses, right?

the new yoke group are, as i said, everyone's frustration

nine is frustrated with his past. reminiscing about his tormentors brings him more anger than pain, and living in solitude definitely does not help

rebel and knux are frustrated by the loss of their home (and the egg council in general). having watched their home be destroyed was more heartbreaking than anything at first, it eventually grew to an anger that spurred them on to fix it

rusty is frustrated with those who disobey/fight against the council, but her anger eventually ends up directed towards the council for the way they used her.

i could go more in depth about the new yoke group, but this post is gonna be long enough as is wefoefwof

the shard being red could simply be because that's the color that represents anger, but i'd like to think that-going back to forces-it was a bit influenced by the phantom ruby/infinite as well

no place is formed by the underlying sadness + a devastating event that permanently changed the world (chaos' rampage)

im not connecting no place to chaos because of the fact it's flooded, im connecting it because of the way the stories parallelled

chaos' rampage begun when pachacamac attempted to steal and harness the power of the chaos emeralds for his own gain

dread seeks out the 'devil's ligthouse' solely to prove he is a legend, nearly killing his original crew trying to do so

both protagonists of these stories are selfish and caused destruction for their own gain

dread's, well, dread comes from his failure of proving himself to be the most feared pirate to ever live.

him failing to collect the shard caused him to believe that he truly wasn't a good pirate, leaving him to spiral into a life of cowardice.

the rest of the pirates' dread comes from their longing to be actual pirates.

because of his failure and cowardice, dread now leads a peaceful crew. they don't do any 'pirating', which leaves much to be desired

they enjoy the parties and all, but their true fun comes from being pirates, which dread deprives them of

boscage maze comes from the protectiveness surging between everyone + a world where harmony between enemies is possible to achieve (possibly comes from a timeline where eggman simply doesnt exist, leaving mobius to grow peacefully)

boscage is the shatterspace with the most life. it's full of all kinds of plants because nobody there is destroying it (intentionally, anyways)

thorn rose is protective over birdie and the green. she does what she can to protect both, even if it means hurting people she once called friends

keeping the jungle and birdie safe is her #1 priority, and nothing will ever change that (that's not to say something else can't join them in being her priority)

the scavengers are protective over their belongings and, no matter how strangely they show it, each other

gnarly was nervous when sonic touched his house, immediately turning aggressive to make sure he wouldn't damage it

instead of hiding the berry, prim showed it to the others for a chance they could all share it

instead of running off on his own, mangey let the scavengers follow him as he sniffed out the berry (+ him fetching the one that fell off the treetops, showing it off to the group)

hangry allows mangey to crawl around him, which we can assume means it happens a lot off screen as well

they stick together and cover each other's backs, no matter how hard the fight gets

while we don't know what this shatterspace was before it turned into the grim, it's pretty safe to assume that it was apocalyptic

who or whatever used to live here is long gone. the only thing standing are the purple crystal things.

my guess is it's a timeline where eggman won. he won, and the world died out because he ruined the ecosystem from building so many machines.

while purple is usually associated with royalty or mystery, it's also associated with power, ambition, peace, and independence

whatever happened to the world before the grim, it's very probable that it was out of high ambition with a need for more power. eventually, the world found its peace and is now independent

ghost hill is the blueprint. the time before sonic & co. make their mark on the world. a blank canvas.

maybe a timeline where they don't get a chance to make their mark on the world

yellow is a very light, energetic color. the feeling of happiness at the chance to create something new and fun.

ghost hill and the grim don't have much in terms of characters and design, but i think the colors of their respective shards give us plenty of information about them

the paradox prism is nothing like the chaos emeralds, but is also just like them at the same time. it's powered by pure chaos with no sort of indication on how it was created or why it has the powers it does

i wonder if eggman knew what the prism was exactly or if he only knew that it was powerful

did he know breaking it would cause the world to shatter? did he know how may memories it holds? how many lifetimes it's lived?

i also wonder if the prism knew sonic would shatter it, and that it was already preparing the shatterspaces; hence why it glows brighter

maybe it understood that sonic is a hands-on learner. maybe it knew he needed to experience the lessons first hand, needed them to-quite literally-slap him in the face

maybe it knew they all had their own flaws that they needed to be aware of. maybe it lived through the timeline where sonic never shattered the prism.

maybe the prism planned to be shattered by someone so it could share its memories. maybe there was some sort of pull that told sonic it needed to be shattered.

[sheriffknuckles]

hi sorry just posting my awesome google slides on why i think captain dread should die in season three of sonic prime thanks. this was made for a friend presentation night so i apologize for the extra information that yall are probably already going to know. that being said some things might look missing just because of this fact alone. ALSO SORRY FOR TEXT BEING HARD TO READ I NEVER INTENDED FOR PEOPLE TO REALLY READ THIS. sorry if theres oversimplification of things this is for ppl who dont know sonic v well

"Disclaimer: This is literally one of my absolute favorite characters of all time. He literally got me into Sonic. That being said, Captain Dread is a piece of shit. He needs to rot in hell and pay for his crimes against humanity. But also, it would make sense narratively. I’m here to explain why."

"Shatterspace counterparts are the versions of Sonic’s friends from each of the worlds. Despite having the same route person, each of the different versions of one character are vastly different. Out of Tails, Amy, and Knuckles, each of these characters get a “featured spot” in each of the shatterspaces. For example, we can conclude that Tails’ counterpart from the New Yoke City world, “Nine,” is the featured counterpart. In Boscage Maze, Amy’s counterpart “Thorn Rose” has the most important role. Leaving Knuckles’ counterpart, “Captain Dread” as the most important role in the No Place world. That being said, each counterpart is still different in their own ways."

"Each shatterspace counterpart is representative of a trait that the original character has. Ex; “Thorn Rose” is Amy’s personification of her love of nature and all things living, and how much she is willing to fight for it. (That being said, they may stray as well, seeing as they are still their own fleshed out characters.)"

"Knuckles The Echidna 101 - To understand Knuckles' counterparts, first we need to understand Knuckles. -The Guardian of Angel Island, a hidden island in the sky and the hiding place of the all-powerful “Master Emerald.” Knuckles’ duty is to guard this emerald and the island. He takes this duty very seriously, often refusing to leave the emerald unguarded.

-Knuckles grew up isolated from others like him, only having company of the fawn and flora.

-Quiet and adamant on independence. Claims to prefer to do things alone, relying on his own power.

-Very protective of the Master Emerald, generally quite wary and cautious.

-Met Sonic and Tails when he was 16, initially in the assumption that they were there to steal the Master Emerald, but was only being tricked by Eggman who’d crash-landed there after the events of Sonic 2. He eventually makes peace with them and sees them on their way.

-Knuckles eventually grows envious of Sonic’s care-free lifestyle, his ability to go “where [he] wants, when [he] wants.” Due to his duties, Knuckles feels he does not have these opportunities. He enjoys spending time with his friends, though does enjoy being alone as well."

"There are three different counterparts to Knuckles in Sonic Prime! Each are important to Knuckles as a character, so let’s go over the ones we’re not majorly focusing on briefly to get a better understanding of how these counterparts make up the characters they represent. “Knucks” is the New Yoke counterpart. He resembles the part of Knuckles that is part of the team, loyal to his friends and determined to protect them. He fights for his world, but puts his friends first. He’s the most similar personality wise to Knuckles - he’s usually very serious. “Gnarly” is the Boscage Maze counterpart. He’s Knuckles’ paranoia, his nativity, and his general distrust. “Act first, questions later.” He’s honestly just incredibly impulsive and stupid."

(sidenote - my opinions on what gnarly represents have shifted a wee since i made this, but he wasn't super relevant to my argument anyways. my b gang)

"CAPTAIN DREAD."

"What's his deal?

To put it in the basics of basics, Dread is the captain of Angel’s Voyage. When we first see him he appears to be a laid-back and quite frankly way-too-joyful captain. We learn he only likes to party, take it easy, etc - much to the disliking of his crew, who are neglected to the life of a real pirate. This is because he ship-wrecked trying to obtain a fragment of the paradox prism in this shatterspace, which he deems as the “Devil’s Lighthouse,” a mysterious treasure. After getting attacked by his old crew, he’s shown to be a coward, backing down and hiding in the fight and encouraging the same for his crew. He later straight up abandons them, needing HEAVY motivation from Sonic to come back. Only once he speaks of Dread going down in history and being known as legendary does he come back - though, he outright says, it’s not for his crew."

"He creates a plan to go back to the Devil’s Lighthouse, a bit of obsession shining though. Through the whole thing, he shows little regard to the wellbeing of his crew, even saying they’re expendable [after eventually receiving the shard]. Once he gets his hands on this shard, he goes full golem mode. He’s obsessed. He does anything to keep it in his possession. He gets violent and angry whenever it’s taken from him. There’s no stopping this mfer lemme tell ya"

"Breaking It Down

So what’s this mean for Knuckles, if Dread is supposed to represent a part of him? He seems like an asshole! Well, Dread represents the following: - Knuckles’ obsession with the Master Emerald. Guarding it. Protecting it. It’s not his, but he’ll use possessive pronouns on occasion for it. He will do anything to get the Emerald back if stolen. - His independent side. He doesn’t need anyone. He’s a loner - all he needs is himself. That’s all who he can fully trust. It’s him and the Emerald against everyone else."

"The Conflict Scene

'I get why you guys don't like me, but YOU guys should be friends!' - Sonic, speaking to Dread & Knucks

In this scene, Dread and Knucks face off. But not before respectively stating these following lines in response to Sonic.

Knucks: "Not gonna happen. I already have enough friends." Dread: "The only friend I need is me beauty."

This is a representation of Knuckles’ sides of companionship and isolation literally fighting head-to-head. To be with his friends, or to stick to his duties in guarding the master emerald - both of equal strength. This follows Knuckles’ ACTUAL inner conflicts. We know he would like to do other things that aren’t bound by duty, but he has such obligation to it. It’s hard to do anything else."

"The Importance of Death

After all of that being said and done, we know that Dread represents a part of Knuckles that struggles. It’s his sense of duty to the Master Emerald. He can’t let go of it or let himself free from it - it’s such a strong sense of self for him, but one that keeps him bound. He’s, again, said it himself. He envies the free lifestyle, and his part of himself is really only holding him back. Dread dying would represent that part of himself - the obsessive, protective emerald guardian - faded. That gives him so much more freedom, which is all that he longs for."

"But, but!! (Counterarguments)

“There’s no proof these counterparts are parallels of the cast!” There’s not any outright statement of this, but if you look at it in a more analytical perspective, it works itself out quite nicely. It’s called having an IMAGINATION. Besides, not all media spells things out for you. This is a KIDS show, of course they’re going to make it easy for the kids to digest. These kids dont know the sonic characters like I do

“Knuckles isn’t even guarding the emerald before the prism shattered” Its a kids show they don’t have time to establish all that. It’s not the focus they’re not going to DWELL on it it ain’t that deep (i say as i make it that deep)

“Sonic Prime isn’t about Knuckles!! Why would they focus on him!” Who cares hes in the series. also if you like squint there’s development for all of the main counterparts in representative of Amy and Tails, too. Nine and Thorn Rose both have their fair share of issues that can connect to their original characters!! But this aint about them"

thats all thanks

[shadouge01]

I’m back.

My discombobulated thoughts now that I have finished Sonic Prime SPOLIERS!!!!!!!

********

Okay so I watched season 1 in parts and season 2 when it came out and just watched season 3 today. I binged everything, so if I don’t remember something 100% correctly, that’s why.

Sonic prime is good.

I know, shocker.

Okay, I haven’t watched any of the other shows so I can’t compare it to X or Boom or whatever. But this seemed to have a darker tone than most other sonic media and I enjoyed that a lot. (I know I need to watch SATAM, don’t yell at me.)I’ve dipped in and out of this fandom a lot. And my participation is all over the place (I won’t be posting about Ken spenders anymore, I took my Kenspiracies too far when I had that stupid twitter account yeah, that was me) but ANYWAY

This show was great. Not perfect, the main flaw I found was the pacing is very fact paced and action heavy which is good for a Sonic show and good for a person with ADHD like me. However I found the first season took awhile to get going and was more episodic. I know it was to introduce the characters but I got bored a bit. I’ll say again I liked the episode in Season 1 with Thorn Rose but the Boscage Maze and especially No Place never felt that fleshed out to me. I still wanted them to be saved because I cared about Sonic and his friends, but the worlds weren’t very interesting.

I. Love. New. Yoke. The aesthetic of this place is perfect and VERY Sonic CD bad future-seque which is PERFECT. I only wish we spent more time there. Especially in season 3 which takes place entirely in the Grim after the first two episodes, which I get, I do, but the pacing again, I felt was too fast and too much action and not enough character moments. The he ending felt rushed, because I really wanted to see the rebels rebuild New Yoke after the Egg Council was gone (assuming the other shatterspaces didn’t freeze in time like Green Hill did, but I got the implication that was a unique case.) and I wanted to see the others return home as well. I guess this leaves it open to a sequel or expansion of some kind, comics, some kind of spin off media, I’d even love an animated movie if they fixed the pacing issues, but yeah, that was my only gripe. I guess I wanted more time with Sonic and Nine reconciled too before everything happened but that’s the painful thing in life, sometimes you don’t get that. We know the prism still exists so then interacting again some way in the future might be possible, if they know how to control portals and such, hell with the chaos emerald they might be able to go to other worlds anyway. I wonder where Shadow is keeping the prism. I wonder if Nine stays on the Grim by himself or if he goes back to New Yoke. He deserves friends, and I’m sure some of the others would come around to him given time. renegade Knucks was up there fighting with Sonic after all. It could work. I just want him to be happy :((

I guess those are small nitpicks in the grand scheme of things because I want to say that the tone and storytelling was GREAT, the music was epic and cinematic and fit the tone of the show very well, the contrasting color palettes of different worlds really helped make it pop. The 3D animation was fantastic and felt perfect for a show like this. Characters were VERY expressive. (Hey Sega, can you update your in game models please thanks, you know it’s bad when the SA2 models have more dynamic facial expressions). Anyway, I thought the voice acting was great. Shadow’s voice felt a little wrong but I’m probably just used to Humphrey and Griffith, I don’t like his voice in forces either but I digress. It worked for this. Sonic’s VA was amazing and really able to convey a wide range of emotions and I thought the other characters had good VAs. Nine was great. I do wish maybe he’d had a redemption earlier against a greater threat a la Zuko style but one can dream. Nine is still easily the best version of Tails, ever. I was lukewarm on Tails as a character before and Nine made me appreciate everything about all versions of Tails. Incredible. What I love about Nine is he takes things too far because he has serious trust issues and him and Sonic fail to communicate which as a neurodivergent person is very relatable. I think Tails in general and especially Nine, is very autistic coded, and I love that. I just wish season 3 Nine had more development before the end because his arc was perfect until the end of season 2 but I’m at least glad he did realize and did the right thing. He’s really just a scared kid who wants a safe place, don’t we all? Again I REALLY want to see more material with him in the future and what becomes of him with Sonic gone.

My other favorite side characters were Thorn Rose, Rusty Rose, and Dread, but I thought they were all great. I loved that the roses had a great character moment, as did Dread when he finally realized that saving his friends was more important than treasure. The Egg council was awesome, taking different traits of Eggman and turning them into a squabbling family was PERFECT. The fact that they met their demise because they were arguing over the prism was so real. Great stuff.

I want to talk about Sonic himself because this is one of the best Sonics I’ve seen. I haven’t decided if this is better than Movie Sonic, but I love both a ton along with Adventure. This Sonic is one of the most expressive Sonics with the most emotional range. Yeah, he’s still overly cocky and hilarious, and mostly always optimistic, but I love that he actually learns from his mistakes and comes up with new ideas. The fact he even took inspiration from the Egg Council to never give up was great. I loved the robots of all the main characters as well. Sonic was well written, VERY in character but still serious when he needs to be (unlike Archie Sonic (sometimes) and 06, which is bad).

Speaking of 06, this is the best written Shadow we have gotten since 06. I mentioned very early on in this blog how I love his arc through Shadow 05 and Sonic 06. Sonic is way out of character and the Elise thing is stupid, BUT, Team Dark was perfect in 06. It’s sad we don’t have Team Dark anymore, but Rouge on team sonic was cool, I just like Rouge in general and if they’re gonna make her part of the main cast, good. Okay, back to Shadow. His development in game is that he goes from being angry at the world and wanting revenge, to being emotionally numb and trying to figure out the truth, to finally realizing his purpose and knowing not to give up and kicking the bad guys when it hurts. He’s hard to crack, but he DOES care about his friends, as you can see through subtle actions, rather it be Team Dark, Sonic, whatever. He’d never ADMIT to Sonic that they’re friends, but I do genuinely think he cares for Sonic.

Anyway, Shadow has been stagnant as a character since then, the best writing was in Forces with him vs. Infinite but it didn’t do much to further his character. He hasn’t been in a lot of media lately like Frontiers (although maybe they knew they couldn’t write him well for games and wanted to see how he went over in prime and the upcoming movie). Prime Shadow made me more excited for Movie Shadow, because if we got one of, if not THE best Sonics ever in Prime as well as the movie, I’m expecting good things from Shadow in the movie, considering they really nailed Tails and Knuckles in Sonic 2, imo, and now knowing that Shadow is allowed to have feelings again is so good. He’s very in character, overly serious, and cold, but he is incredibly dedicated to the cause and unquestionably a hero, like 06 Shadow. Prime Shadow reminds me a LOT of 06 Shadow and that’s GOOD. He’s also just great with his subtle nod to Sonic when Sonic talks about his friends, their excellent back and forthing with Sonic cracking jokes “I didn’t know you were a hugger” and Shadow responding with his straight man persona “do you want me to save you or not?” It was great stuff all the way through. I thought he was decent in Season 2, but Season 3 was AWESOME. I guess I had to trade Nine for Shadow, sigh. Nine did come back around in the end which GOOD, if they kept him as a villain the whole time I would’ve been pissed, but I digress. This might be the best Shadow since SA2, he’s SO GOOD YALL and I could keep raving about Prime Shadow all day. I loved when Dr. Deep called him an edge lord, it’s great meta humor, and in character for Deep who actually is an edge lord. Really hope SEGA takes the positive feedback from this and makes Shadow better in upcoming games/comics. LET FLYNN WRITE A GOOD SHADOW FOR GOD’S SAKE!

Ahem.

Anyway, I’m glad I watched Prime, it gave us the best Sonic Shadow and Tails maybe ever and it took the darker tone that Forces tried and really fleshed it out. Good job guys.

[bluebunnyears-08]

The Bittersweetness of Sonic Prime

You know when I go back and rewatch the episodes of this show because of how it ended, and because of its interesting story, I realize how horribly bittersweet it is.

Usually, Sonic stories have epic adventure stories or happy positive feelings but Prime is just...bittersweet. It gets even worse when you remember the ending of the first batch, which leaves SOO many interpretations.

Sure, there's some action here and there, but the main focus is the characters and their feelings. It's not about the fights or good vs evil, it's just about getting home, and trying to find light in a pitch-black room.

Hope.

Which makes the ending of the first batch worse. Home doesn't exist anymore, Sonic broke it. The way they handle Sonic's character is actually well done in my opinion. He's bubbly, positive, and cocky, but ultimately well-meaning, and unconditionally kind. There are some things he says that are annoying, but nothing too bad. Nothing too unwatchable.

I absolutely enjoy it when they put flaws instead of making Sonic a perfect hero like they usually do. He's more real, and easier to get attached to. He's immature, but he is still a teen, still growing and learning about the world.

The other characters are really good too. And one thing Prime does is show deep empathy for its characters. Each character has more depth to them, and when they express distressed feelings, you can understand and feel it. At times, you can even relate to their pain.

(The way he poses XD, he knows he's a bad bitch)

And I couldn't use this pic without this one.

(Period. End of discussion)

Shadow is another really well-done character, not an overly edgy asshole, but a cold person with a hidden heart of gold. He's standoffish to Sonic, and most likely his friends, but his and Sonic's fighting probably is nothing but competitive sport. Not to mention their fighting ACTUALLY MADE SENSE. Shadow saw Sonic was going to do some stupid shit again, except this time he would break the WORLD, so naturally, he tried to stop it.

Of course, he was going to fight Sonic, the blue bitch doesn't even listen to his friends. Of course, he's going to literally knock some sense into him the first chance he sees him, he broke THEIR HOME.

I agree Shadow could've tried to talk to Sonic, but again would Sonic have listened? Not to mention, Shadow is...a complicated person when it comes to communication.

The variants of the main characters are really good as well. Each of them has goals, ideals, and sides. Of course, there's one that stands out to me, and if you've seen my posts you know who it is.

I can't NOT talk about Nine! He's just so interesting and well-written. The show emphasizes a LOT of mystery around him. Like we KNOW this is another version of Tails, but what happened after he took the shard? How did he see Sonic? What did he discover about Prism's power and how to harness that power? What is going on in his head?!

We'll have to wait for these questions to be answered in the second batch, but he's still very fun to watch. In my opinion, he's not only the best character in Prime, but he's also the most bittersweet in the Sonic Franchise. when Sega tries to write a bittersweet character, it's either too sad or too happy, too edgy or too go-lucky, but Nine is a perfect in-between.

Nine is edgy done right, I am so sorry Shadow SEGA ruined you, and has moments where he's happy too. He's just a very complex and interesting character.

It's hilarious that "emo Tails" written by Netflix is better than any other edgy character SEGA made up. When he blows up or becomes cold, it's understandable.

Attacking Sonic the first moment he meets him? Sonic called him something he was abused for YEARS for, so naturally, he thought Sonic was another "bully". Taking the shard over helping the rebels? He watched the only person he ever bonded with get sucked into this shard, he never bonded with any of the rebels anyway. Doing it again when there was a battle? It wasn't his problem, it was the rebels' he was only working with them because he was helping Sonic anyway.

However, back to the topic, all of the variants Sonic bonds with reminds him of his friends back home, so yeah, he helped and bonded with them, but he doesn't belong in that world. Except his world is destroyed, his home where his REAL friends are, his friends that he mentioned are what make his home, home.

If he does manage to get all of the Paradox Prism together, those worlds and those variants will likely disappear. The variants would go through the equivalent of dying. They'll become one again, but they'll cease to be nothing more than mere traits, they won't be alive anymore, and they won't be their own person anymore. They'll cease to be, nothing more than the shards they are.

No matter what, how happy they are, or how satisfying the conclusion is, they will still have to "die", all just to become a shard of someone who will never know they existed. No matter how optimistic you look at it, it will have a pang of heartbreak.

And I think the chance of them remembering is highly unlikely because it would take away from the main theme of Prime. This isn't about them learning something, it's SONIC, and probably Shadow. If they remember it would kinda ruin the main tone of this show.

If anything, they'll just think it was a simple dream and think nothing of it. Because that's all it was to them, not a deep journey, not a meaningful bonding, just a weird dream that they don't need to think about ever again.

What will the varients think of that? What will NINE think of his worth? Nine and every other variant are just copies, things that aren't as important as the real thing. They aren't worth much, they're just variants, just "shards". With how Nine suffered, with how much Nine WANTS, I don't think he's just going to overlook it and help.

I also think that with his villain arc will come another solution. Another way the world can be restored is without simply converting him, mashing him up with the other meaningless shards, and becoming the real Tails. Another way where he won't be just some shard.

And to be honest, if there's another way that involves Nine going crazy but getting his way, getting to be HAPPY, while restoring the world and bringing everyone back without having to "die", I'm DOWN.

Some people hope there will be a redemption arc, and so do I, I'm hoping that the thing I mentioned just now will be it. Redemption is not always happy, it can be sad or bittersweet. When he does get that, it'll most likely be the harshest bittersweet ending of all.

I keep reading posts that Nine is a good boi or going to be a villain, but I want to say something that needs to be clarified, Nine isn't a good person, but he's not a bad one either, he's simply a kid, and we CANNOT forget that.

He's just a kid with NOTHING to lose, and when he finally finds something to be worth living for, he's never going to have it (unless he does things his own way).

There are some quotes from other Sonic games that I think fit well with what I'm trying to say that sum up ALL these characters, especially Sonic and Nine. All of these were said by Sonic btw.

"Don't be afraid to accomplish your dreams."

"When you want to do something, do it right away. Do it when you can. It's the only way to live life without regrets."

“Every world has its end. I know that’s kinda sad, but that’s why we gotta live life to the fullest in the time we have.”

“If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have!” -(Actually stated by Shadow, my b)

“I’ll never look back, I’ve got no regrets. Cause time doesn’t wait for me. I choose to go my own way.”

[inkedkoi]

Remaining Questions & Final Thoughts

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

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

✨//🌻//✨

Remaining Questions

Here are all the remaining questions I have about the show! These are more up to debate, since it's most likely it wasn't fully fleshed out in the writer's room, but I did want to add them here anyway:

Can the Shards break into smaller pieces? Is it possible to drain all the energy from the Shards? And, if so, what would happen to the Shatterspaces?

Why was there 5 Eggman “look-alikes” in a single Shatterspace?

Transcript:

Mr. Doctor Eggman: “Five makes one. One makes five.”

[S1 EP1]

Did Eggman make clones of himself but at different ages? Did they exist just because it gave more motivation for the Rebellion and Nine to stand up for themselves when Boscage and No Place didn’t need it? Is this the ray of light allegory, when light shines through a prism and it scatters? Or could the Prism has been broken before cycle theory be true? Or, just like Sonic, Eggman being close to the Prism affect his "look-alikes"?

What did this frame even mean???

no, like seriously, was it for aesthetic reasons or what? That he's gay? (the answer is yes, yes he is. GET GAY BEAMED YOU HOT TOPIC WANNABE)

Final Thoughts

I've been watching Sonic Prime being created ever since Day 1. Of course, I haven't been able to see any leaks of it, they kinda ruin the fun of it all. But I've been hyped ever since the first trailers came out. The multiverse thing has been all the craze for movies and shows, this was no different.

As I said at the beginning of this essay, Sonic got a bit of my interest years ago but I never went further into it. That was until Prime and Frontiers caught it again. I've heard about how the Sonic fandom was toxic and such, but I know it doesn't apply to all of the fans, so I decided to give Sonic a chance. Besides, I've learned to not take things too seriously, after all it's just a speedy blue hedgehog going on adventures. You should've seen me a year ago, I binged through:

Snapcube fandubs

Fadel's (GamesCage) playthrough of Frontiers

IDW comics

sonadow (the OG red and blue couple)

every playthrough I was able to find, in 2x speed, in the background while I was doing college assignments

both Sonic movies

Sonic X

Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (I even made some art of it with Ace Attorney characters, Link)

Sonic Central and live streams

and I bought my first ever piece of Sonic merch (yes, it counts)

Hey, I was (and still am) a Ace Attorney girlie. So, entering into the Sonic fandom, it was kind of familiar in some ways. The two starve for some content, at times being years of waiting. Just as in any fandom, people may have arguments here and there but when it counts, people come together and enjoy the moment.

When it comes to Prime, I had a fun time. It’s the type of show that you just want to sit down and just be silly. There were times that got me hyped (like the references, Prismatic Sonic 2nd form, Shadow every single time he comes up on screen), and times that I really got me audibly going "aww" (like the Rose sisters, Sonic being silly lil' goof). Then there are all the times I was SCREAMING like a fangirl (...because of the sonadow moments).

listen, i can't help it if i see my boys on screen, okay? just look at them

You know, when I made this, I didn't expect it to be this long. After all, I planned to post my silly little theories before I went abroad for a few months. Instead, I went into maximum overdrive, explaining why Prime had so much potential and how most of it happened was because of the fans, both the viewers and the ones working within the show. There definitely unsung heroes that deserve so much recognition. I would like to personally thank Erik Wiese, one of the people who truly cared for the show. It's not just him though, so many workers on the show also happened to be Sonic fans.

💬 "The fans know how to do it better than the creators themselves..."

I think this applies to Prime. Again, I don't have anything against SEGA or anyone working in the Sonic franchise. But I think a great show in general is one where the crew is willing to give it their all for the fans. That it isn't just another show or cash-grab, but a passion project for the franchise. Something by fans, for the fans. As the song "Live & Learn" goes:

"(Live and learn!) Hanging on the edge of tomorrow; (Live and learn!) From the works of yesterday; (Live and learn!) If you beg or if you borrow; (Live and learn!) You may never find your way!"

So, TL;DR: I didn't think I would be more invested in writing a whole essay about Sonic Prime than in my college thesis but here we are! (holy shit-)

Thank you so much for bearing with me rambling about a silly blue hedgehog and his friends! Likes, Reblogs, and Comments are always appreciated. Again, let me know if you want me to rewrite all of Prime. As always, remember to:

drink water

get some food

stretch

take your meds

get some rest/a break

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to stare at my bedroom ceiling and think about how Shadow is giving me gender envy—

Take care, my dear fellows, and I'll see you all next time!

Previous Part || Masterpost

[crusherthedoctor]

Maybe it’s because I’m the one with said opinions, but whether you agree with them or no, I don’t think they’re all that complicated in terms of logic.

“Why don’t you like Popular Game, Popular Story, Popular Gameplay Style, etc?” Because I don’t think it’s fun or don’t think it works that well. Not hard to understand.

“Why don’t you wait and see what they do in the comic?” Because I’ve been doing that for over five years now. I think it’s safe to notice a pattern by that point. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you criticise the perfect stories of the older games?” Because they’re not perfect, and pointing out their glaring issues is part of my hope to see them learn from those issues and make their future stories even better. I like my character moments, I like my deep themes, but what I really like is when they’re actually executed well. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you dislike Eggman’s relationship with Sage?” Because no matter how they choose to interpret it, Eggman is still getting compromised to an extent for the relationship’s sake, and the fandom have pounced on it and made it very hard to find Eggman content that doesn’t involve Sage. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you criticise Eggman’s badass role in SA2?” Because he was reduced to being Shadow and Gerald’s tool throughout the whole game and was doomed to fail even if he won, and is subsequently forced to team up with Sonic, which would become a trend afterwards. Not hard to understand.

“Why did you not cheer for Eggman getting revenge on Starline?” Because one brief moment does not make up for all the shit that came at his expense beforehand, and I knew he’d go right back to getting dunked on afterwards anyway, which is exactly what happened. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you dislike Metal Sonic’s role in Heroes?” Because it’s just as much a disservice to him as it is to Eggman, and they do nothing interesting with Metal’s identity crisis beyond using it as an excuse to turn him into another usurper and then another giant monster. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you think they did not fix Tails in Frontiers?” Because using reviewer terminology, and vowing to do something he’s already done before, only serves to appease people who want you to think Baldy McNosehair has become Sonic’s catchphrase. Not hard to understand.

“Why have you not exiled yourself for liking the Pontaff games?” Because they’re video games, and because I have enough of a healthy mindset to acknowledge their faults yet still enjoy them despite that. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you consider SatAM a Sonic cartoon in name only?” Because you could change Sonic, Tails, and Robotnik into original characters, and very little would need to be changed. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you like the movies if you care about being faithful to the source material?” Because unlike IDW and Prime, they never claimed to be canon, and I’m still capable of appreciating a not-entirely-accurate adaptation if I feel the elements still work for the most part. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you think Ian Flynn is overrated?” Because someone who is commonly regarded as the Best Sonic Writer of All Time should not be making the same rookie mistakes over and over again after a decade. Or getting so many basic facts wrong in the Encyclospeedia. Or acting unprofessional along with other Archie leftovers. Not hard to understand.

“How is Sonic/Shadow showing emotion a bad thing?” Because that’s an exaggeration of what I’m actually saying; they can be sad, angry, whatever else, but not every character works the same, and it needs to be done in a way that makes sense for them specifically. Resorting to ocular gushers is not in-character for either of them. Not hard to understand.

“Why do you dislike IDW Sonic?” Because he’s a preachy and hypocritical cunt. Not hard to understand.

[d0d0-b0i]

(SPOILER FILLED) alrighty, time for some more cohesive thoughts on prime for me (since my last one was written directly after finishing it and now its had time to sit in my brain) (long post btw, i ramble @w@)

overall, i very much enjoyed it! the animation had me positively salivating over the fact that its /actually/ using animation techniques and not just. moving characters from A to B without the time for proper stylization. the overall plot was enjoyable and i am excited to see what the rest of the season will offer.

the fact that it is only one-third of the whole season also makes me a lot more forgiving about certain flaws i found at first, like only showing three worlds and not giving the characters a lot of time to breathe. theres the very high likelihood that such a thing actually will happen, and we might even see more places and worlds, which is an exciting thought! nonetheless, going in i did not know this as i was sleep deprived and had forgotten how many episodes the season has, so i felt a little bit salty, ngl.

Devon Mack does a very good job as sonic, and it makes me feel warm inside hearing his portrayal! every actor does a great job honestly, and it truly feels like they all understand the respective character they voice act(especially considering they have to acclimate the character /and/ voice for each new world. very talented!). the eggman voice actor could use some rerecords at times honestly;; but he does a good enough job that i only notice it sometimes; and he is fun to listen to regardless, and is just a subjective thought of mine.

the different universes also intrigue me! :D i really enjoyed the first one the jungle one was interesting and had beautiful flora models, but it is with this one that a problem of mine arises (but ill get to that later). the waterworld was also interesting, but kind of boring worldwise, since its just. water. (i get that its a pirate world and thats fine! i just cant give a good description of my feelings besides just. water. yknow?)

ive seen that a lot of people think rouge shouldve been the captain in the third world and. honestly. yeah. i think we might get to see why later on? but idk. i hope they have a reason that makes sense as to why she isnt, like if the worlds stick around and dont fuse back, shed be the next captain? weh! (i do love knuckles in a captains outfit though, so bonus points for that!)

now. i only have a few “criticisms”, and although some can be attributed to not being intended for me(and i will therefore not include cus. duh), there is one thing i just cannot let slip by.

(CRITIQUE START) the issue i have is that it feels so empty. new yolk (i refuse the yoke) is populated, but later episodes only really reuse the same five models roughly multiple times and i think had at most like 30? of them at the same time, and obviously could not have had more due to budget and such (which is understandable, but that still doesnt mean i cant point it out).

the jungle episodes! THE JUNGLE EPISODES?? ONLY HAD 5?? CHARACTERS MINUS SONIC (froggy counts) AT ALL TIMES?? and even the flashbacks only show those, probably so as not to imply death but like. come on. not even a few background characters at all? am i meant to believe they will all die out anyway simply by being the last people on this earth? im sorry i just cant get over this. you can make sean mcloughlin, mr jacksepticeye, get a cameo and his own personal character model, BUT CANNOT EVEN FILL A JUNGLE WITH PEOPLE?? did i miss something? if theyd shown even /one/ bg character once in a single frame in the flashbacks, id forgive it but i. cannot. im sorry. im nitpicking but come on! this is like the only issue i have. you only have 11 of the original characters in the first place (sonic. tails. knuckles. amy. rouge. big. froggy. shadow. eggman. orbot. cubot.), and then half of them are pretty much gone most of the time.

i just. its so empty? DO NOT GET ME WRONG I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS. I DEEPLY ENJOY THIS SHOW! I LOVE THE CHARACTERS WEVE GOTTEN TO SEE !!! THAT DOES NOT MEAN I CANNOT COMPLAIN ABOUT SOMETHING I HAD TROUBLE PROCESSING. if its gonna be a show about sonic and his friendships. where the fuck are the rest of them? is all we’re gonna get homages to their characters? (jungle knuckles was just sticks. come on now. just put her in shes already canon to the mainline games now) sega, if youre going to make a show about his friendships, why wont you let his friends be there? why can you only license 11 of your characters to the show? please make me eat my words.

and yeah you could say that the reasons others arent there (in-canon, not because of legal issues) is because they werent hit close-up with the prism shatter, but neither was big? he was shown to be down by the hills when it exploded, and i dont know if that counts considering that orbot and cubot arent even in any episode besides the first one, and they werent visible in the blast, i do not know what the blast radius would be to affect anything else. eugh. idk man. this is like the ONE issue i have, and its so small it feels meaningless. yeah yeah the budget the tight grip on characters yadda yadda i get the reasons behind it but it still affects the endgoal and i should be allowed to point it out.                                                                                                                     (CRITIQUE OVER)

that being said. i am in love with the character designs! especially a big fan of sonics gloves and shoes in the pirate world. i fuck w/ that very much <3

anyway, thats it. show good. binge it if possible! we need netflix to know that we like this. and maybe theyll realize that one episode per week for this show would be perfect (im looking at you episode recaps)

[joshhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

I did literally just say I love Sonic now more than ever so gonna offset my last post about Prime being negative by mentioning a few things I really like about Prime.

One of the biggest ones is just how dope it looks! Really fun stylised 3D animation that looks smooth and has a good focus on like, keyframing and strong poses - combined with the really expressive mdoels it’s a style that really works for Sonic and I can’t wait for more even just to see how it looks.

And on visuals, I really like the character designs! Part of the reason I grind Sonic Dash so hard or why I bought the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is because getting any official opportunity to see the characters in alternate outfits is usually just super fun, especially because of how strict SEGA usually is with that stuff. Prime meanwhile comes around and has given us like 3 extra outfits for several of the core cast with still more to come! That’s just blanket really fun!

I also like that Sonic’s new looks tend to give him neat little abilities. Narratively it doesn’t amount to much but I don’t even feel like it has to - it’s a neat surprise factor/rule of cool thing that adds character to whichever universe we’re in and enhances Sonic’s reactions to those places as well. If anything it’d honestly be cool to have something like that in the games lol.

I like the voice acting a lot! I actually can’t meaningfully expand on that one lol, it just sounds really good, everyone feels well cast to me, it doesn’t feel like many awkward line reads made it through to the final thing. They are just nice. The only person I don’t adore is Eggman but even then, A) I so can’t imagine non-Mike Pollock Eggmen and B) actual Eggman is mostly absent in favour of Mister Doctor Eggman so I’m pretty much solid with it anyway.

I really enjoy New Yoke as a setting a lot. “What if the villain won?” is a classic setting for a reason, even being one that multiple pieces of Sonic media have explored, but I think New Yoke manages to feel particularly fresh even just on execution and aesthetic alone. It helps that it still feels very lived in - there’s a living, breathing population and a band of rebels that operate in secret and there’s Nine’s hideout and just like, cool shit going on lol.

For that matter I like Nine a lot. I literally put Tails as my 5th favourite Sonic character in that list I did a while back and he’s been in virtually every single Sonic game even during some of its most intense Solo Sonica eras - but he can feel very relegated to the background because of the nature of his character sometimes? So it’s really awesome to see Prime use Nine as an excuse to really let Tails play a major role with lots of actual development and stuff. This is helped doubly by the fact that, awkward pixel art aside, the flashback of his actual backstory (as canonised by Origins wow) alone helps him just feel like the real Tails we’re dealing with, just in a different setting. And yeah, the mechanical Tails are just really cool lol. Particularly a fan of the fact that it allows Tails to be up close and personal in combat again - he’s supposed to use his Tails to attack as well but lots of Sonic media has him holding back for support roles in combat, it’s nice that Prime is willing to acknowledge that, yo, Tails can throw hands. And also tails lmaoooooo

I’m not sure how best to word this part specifically also, but I personally was worried that Prime would sorta like, I guess just follow a rigid structure of x episodes in x shatterverse, grab the crystals, and then move onto the next one? The formula not really changing? But it does not do that and we kinda go back and forth between them and there’s things happening between the shatterverses and like, just in general there’s an actually good attempt to keep the structure fresh and interesting.

And the biggest thing of all is that. Prime is actually just really fun lol. There’s a lot of other good things I haven’t mentioned, but it all comes together with what I have to make a show that’s actually just plain old entertaining to watch. I didn’t feel like I was watching the new Sonic show out of obligation, I was just watching it because I genuinely liked watching it. Even my problems with it don’t feel like a huge deal because it’s so good at the moment-to-moment that I wasn’t really thinking about them while watching. Like it’s literally just a good show, and that slaps.

So fuck yeah, Prime is dope.

[frostythefrostedfox]

#ReadAnotherBook and stop crying about the idw comics

Please fill in the annexed form so your feedback can be properly ignored and laughed at when the owner of the blog has nothing better to do, which is most of the day anyways. Thank you!

And worry not fellow "too-scared-to-use-my-user", brother of "i-need-anon-to-talk-shit", cousin of "i-couldnt-just-read-another-post-instead", there are other posts underway such as why Techno-Karen is a nothing character; how midtiers manages to please everyone by pleasing nobody, how sonic prime is actually really bad, more metal gear fangirling and much more reviews of games that only I like, like Drakengard.

Also, on an unrelated note

I know who you are, so I am glad to see that despite our differences in opinions, you still come back to read the things I say and bitch about all day long, I really cannot wait for your next comment, as these are the only way I have of measuring the quality of the content I provide, but to show you that I care about the feedback and would love to see more of it, I can complain about another "book", just for you, that's right, all you had to do is ask, so simple! That way you can see that I dislike many things, not just one in particular.

One of the parts that I dislike the most about the Archie Sonic comics is how much they stray away from everything Sonic related, yes, they are a part of a different continuity like Sonic X and Sonic Boom, yet those two still maintain the characters for what they are, while here they become basically the opposite, Sonic being an insufferable annoying cunt with an ego as big as the sun, being obstuse and never listening to anything was quite the shocker, considering that Sonic has never and will probably never act like that in any game, why is Sonic being portrayed as this almighty hero that feeds off social clout and only lives to be praised by the masses as if he was Homelander from The Boys; Archie strayed away in more ways than just the characters tho, one of them was also the topic and the messages of their stories, Sonic was never intended to have a conglomerated storyline, full of political drama and serious real life parallels that would make you rethink the way society acts, yet Archie is full of those, Archie believes that it can make itself "mature" just because everyone is mean and walter white is canon to their universe and there are tyranical leaders, but being mature is more than that, and games like sonic 06 really showed that you can still have a "kid friendly" game while having a mature storyline despite its own flaws, big flaws, in the execution of said game.

A personal gripe of mine is also the artstyle, at times it can look good and fitting, but most the time it looks out of place, wonky and amateurish, most sonic meme reaction images come from Archie for a reason, yet even when it looks good in my opinion, it still has this cartoonish look to it that makes it look very fake to me, but again, this point is entirely a subjective thing as I prefer more realistic artstyles in the media I consume, like the one used in Sonic X and Sonic 06.

I really hope you enjoyed this mini commentary on Archie, I really put a lot of effort into it, I really want people to see that I am able to complain about everything! Mayhaps I'll even make this into a full post about Archie, who knows, but if it does, I want you to know that this was only possible thanks to YOU, if it wasn't for your comment, I would have never realized these things, thanks!

[ninjaboyjoel]

A Far Too Long Sonic Prime Post

Not my usual content I know but I thought it would be worth talking about.

I watched all of Sonic Prime season 1!

I didn't really enjoy it... I wanted to... So badly... but it was quite dull.

The new voice cast do a good job though not having Mike Pollock as Eggman just felt so wrong. The animation is nice and bouncy and lively for the most part, though it definitely has its ups and downs in terms of quality, some shots look quite bad and the reused animation is not subtle at all. They recap past episodes so frequently to pad out the runtime, it's terrible (I audibly groaned every time that palm tree flashback played, did they really think we wouldn't notice?).

I appreciate that it's a kids show, obviously, but I really can't tell who the target demographic is, the dialogue is too wordy and exposition-heavy for younger kids, and the story is way too simplistic and unsubtle for older kids. That's just how I feel at least.

The plot went absolutely nowhere. I hate this Netflix model of having a season solely exist to hype up the next one. Shadow did nothing in the plot at all and existed just to tease stuff at the end. The story was incredibly thin, repetitive and uninteresting. Sonic is constantly confused by the alternate universe versions of his friends not being exactly the same as his prime universe friends. It grates pretty hard.

Every time, he'll find one of his friends is acting out in an alternate universe and decide he has to change the way they're acting because it's not cool, (Tails in Literally 1984, Amy in the Jungle and Knuckles in the Pirates) and they'll do some fighting and arguing and he'll preach to them about being more cool and then things will resolve after some kerfuffle.

It sounds like a good formula on paper but barely anything is layered on top of that, it's just a little barebones and it stops it from being fun. I think part of that problem is the fact that it is episodic but the plotlines span 2-3 episodes each, which is way way longer than needed, especially with 23 minute episodes. I think if each plotline and location was condensed down into a single episode it'd be way more fun, fast-paced and fresh. When we spend 3 episodes in a jungle with a villain that basically only says "stop hurting the green" it gets tiresome, it didn't need to be a mini-arc it could have been a single epsiode. That's just my take anyway.

Many of the outfits are really overdesigned, especially Sonic's shoes they do not look good at all in my opinion. And what was the obsession with giving Tails robotic tails?? Even in the pirate universe?? For what reason? And why was Amy a villain in two out of three of the alternate universes, what did the writers have against her 😭.

Going into this show I expected it to be way more episodic, going to a new universe every episode or something, I didn't think the only universes would be the ones we saw in the marketing material, maybe that's just my expectations being out of wack but I was a little disappointed about that. Same with the Eggman variants, only the Literally 1984 universe had Eggmen? No pirate Eggman? That was a real shame (also they did say "literally" way too much, I don't know how the writers got away with that, same with the word "shard").

Ultimately the show just went nowhere. The pacing was not great and the overarching story just felt like it had no stakes. The "Prime" versions of every character were completely sidelined in favour of characters that shared their appearance and names but had none of their appeal. They honestly could be anyone and it wouldn't really make a difference other than stopping Sonic from preaching about the values of friendship to them in the false assumption that they already know each other.

I understand it's for kids and the messaging needs to be understandable, and I really appreciated the more environmental slant that's been missing from the series for a long time, but I think there is better ways to get your message across through more naturalistic dialogue. The IDW comics do it so so well.

That might be part of my problem, I find it hard not to compare it with the high standard of quality set by the IDW team's writing.

When the next season drops I really hope the pace can be tightened up and the dialogue can get a little better. I also hope that it doesn't have such a nothing ending, I want plotlines to have a proper structure and a satisfying payoff. Watching Sonic Prime felt like a bit of a waste of time, and I just find that a bit sad. Though it has prompted me to wonder how much Sonic X holds up under scrutiny so I may well rewatch that in the near future to see what I was watching as a kid.

If you want an arbitrary number score I'd probably give it like a 5/10, it's pure average. Ultimately inoffensive but has nothing to properly engage you. As a longtime Sonic fan I was hoping for better.

Anyway, read IDW's Sonic the Hedgehog.

[fluideli123]

[Original Ask Post]

🦈Tell us the name of your/one of your WIP(s)

While my inspiration has been low these past few years (2021 doesn't feel like 2-3 years ago) and I've been bouncing through different fandoms, there are SO many WIPs that have sprouted up, half formed. Some are short stories such as Alberto (Luca) learning the violin and working through his trauma through the art of music, fics about Macaque and MK (Lego Monkie Kid) and how their relationship is the most profound. To long fics of diving into Sonic Prime's world-building through deeper lore and shit gets explained across multiverses as to why the franchise's multiverses are as they are. Not to mention the original stories such as The Fox and Eagle.

But one I'd like to share is my one and only (started) fic idea for the video-game series God Of War that is placed between GOW 2018 and GOW: Ragnarök. It would follow the side quest of the Ring Of Andvari that would follow how Sindri and Atreus lost the ring between games, as mentioned during a battle with a Soul Eater in Vanaheim within GOW: Ragnarök.

The title is "All That is Gold Does not Glitter" which is not only a connection to my other obsession's poem (Lord of the Rings) but also to a saying that means in one way or another that "something may not be as good or as valuable as it first appears." Which ties into why Sindri and Atreus lose the ring, what causes these events to unfold in the first place and how they connect to how Atreus had found the ring in GOW 2018.

I obviously am not a complex writer who researches lore and connects things a lot, what do you mean./s

Anyway, just because I can, I'll share what I wrote last October. Enjoy!

When Atreus had planned all of this from a small, fresh idea that bloomed in the back of his mind. He had never once planned on battling a soul eater in the middle of the night while a dwarf shouts weak encouragement from somewhere hidden between realms. Because no matter how much he adores Sindri to death-- and he really, really does --now was not the time to have the dwarf nauseous from nerves while Atreus concentrates on trying not to get incarcerated.

In fact, Sindri was not the best person to be at his side when swiftly dodging a cascade of fire shards with only enough time to leap behind a pillar to protect him from the following searing heat of a beam of pure, concentrated flame.

Even though he'd get a glare and a lecture of a lifetime from his father, he was definitely missing his combat support.

The ring shouts heatedly at him from its place in Atreus' small pack, and it's enough for the kid to growl and shoot a few arrows into the soul eater's opened chest to release the frustration into something useful. "I know, I know, now shut up! You got me into this!"

"Well, technically-"

"Not now, Sindri!"

"Yup, got it!"

Atreus rolls away from the pillar and past the crumbling walls, fire licking at his heels before pressing his back firmly against the chilled, chiseled wall. The Soul Eater's thundering footsteps shake the world around him as it stalks closer, trying to set eyes on the boy's soul once more.

"Why did I ever trust you?" The boy bites into the frosty night air, the heat of battle keeping him from shivering his furs right off as a particularly nasty bellow of air hits him, sending snowflakes clashing onto his bare face and hands like needles.

The ring doesn't answer, its aura darkening in anger and guilt. Atreus can't bring himself to care all too much as he sucks in grounding breaths. Allowing the sharp shards of freezing Fimbulwinter air to soothe his racing heart.

It was supposed to be simple.

This was all supposed to be for his father. A father who would now be sorely disappointed in him.

Atreus hits the back of his head against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut.

⁀➷ 

It wasn't entirely unusual for Atreus to spend his early morning slowly digging through old gear and equipment from his and his father's journey to Jotunheim. But it wasn't entirely something he did often, either. In fact, it was something he hadn't done at all in the way he was now until now. 

Was it unusual for Atreus to be doing it in general? No, not really, if you think about all the times he has looked through their things for the usual training session and favor from Brok and Sindri. But was it weird he was looking through it for nostalgia's sake after months and months of never having it cross his mind? Yeah, probably. 

But, while his father worked outside and Mimir sat at his designated table reading through tales, Atreus went on to indulge himself anyway. 

It still felt so weird that it had been so long since he and his father sat atop that mountain, raised Mother's ashes into the sky, watched her settle against the peaks of her land, and danced across the remains of her people and the place she once called home. And from that day onward, they found new people to take place in their lives, new voices, new stories, new everything. 

He didn't know how Father felt about it, but it was like Mother brought them all together. She wanted more people for Atreus to learn from and grow from. It felt like their family had grown, and his mother had planned all of it, planned it all for them, so they wouldn't be lonely. Because really, Atreus definitely didn't feel lonely anymore. Not in the way he once was.

The bag that once held his mother's ashes was still rough against his fingers, the fibers well taken care of, the rope barely frayed as the young archer ran the pads of his fingers across it.

It feels as though the first memory he should recall would be his father collecting her ashes in it, even the sight of it hanging off his hip as they made their way across familiar grounds to enter ones he could have never dreamed of. 

But, no, the first memory to appear leaves him smiling, fondness, pride, and determination warming him from the inside out as he remembers the moment his father held her out to him, entrusting her with him, charging him with so much more without a single word despite everything he'd done to leave his father angry and disappointed. It was a step in the right direction, one Atreus takes strength from. 

His father trusts him, and he will make sure that he continues to make him proud, just as much as Atreus tries to make his mother proud with everything he is.

Atreus brings the tattered bag to his forehead, closing his eyes and muttering quiet phrases, a greeting, and a promise before settling it carefully out of the way as he dips his arm deep into the fits of armor and ruins. 

He looks through each thing carefully, soaking in the reminders and memories, careful not to lose the ruins under his bed and between cracks of wood where some of the smallest could disappear when the tips of his fingers find something peculiar. 

Atreus stretches to reach for it between his father's beautifully crafted furs and metal, tongue sticking out as he fiddles with the thing, exclaiming in victory once he's finally grabbed it. 

"What'd you find laddy?" 

Atreus beams down at the little ring in the palm of his hand, shifting it around with a finger as he leans back to answer Mimir, "Nothing! Just looking through father's things!"

"Your father's things, eh? Sure he wants you to go snoopin'?" 

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mimir. I'm just looking!"

"Sure sounds like it."

Atreus can't help but roll his eyes at Mimir's sarcasm, grinning at the sound of the head's quiet chuckle. 

Before the boy can continue, the door opens, and the young tween quickly tosses the ruins back into the chest, closing it shut as he stuffs the ring into his pack, whirling around to meet his father's amber eyes.

"Let me guess, training?"

A grunt is Atreus' only response, and it's the only one he needs as he plucks his bow and quiver from off the wall and rushes toward the direction of deer. 

As Atreus leads the way through the freezing woods, Kratos' gaze is a sturdy reminder. 

He will make him proud.

⁀➷

“Mimir, can you tell me Andveri's story again?” Atreus settles against the wall facing the head, crossing his arms and lightly kicking at the ground.

”Of course laddy,“ The head looks towards the young boy. “But why the sudden interest?”

(Atreus tries to get the ring to talk to him again, gets Sindri in on it, they go on an adventure that the ring takes them, one Atreus wants to go through to get something for his father, it goes unexpectedly and with the ring getting lost)

Kratos quickens his pace down the forest's worn down trail to the obstacle in their path, skillfully lifting the boulder up and around them without dropping their hunt as Atreus continues to jog forward, scanning the frosty forest area, glancing back over to Mimir when the coast is clear.

The former-counciler let's out a curious hum and a amused snort, “Well, I'd be glad to laddy, but I must wonder, why the sudden ask? You know your father wants you focused and I'm sure I can scrounge up a better story you haven't heard yet, little brother.”

Atreus pointedly looks at the visiable runics worn upon his father's armor and weaponry. ”Well, ever since we helped Brok find his hammer and Father's kept him for when he's useful, I've been wondering about him?“ Atreus falls back at his father's side as they crawl under a freshly fallen collection of trees and rock.

”You've been thinkin' about 'im for that long?“

”Well, no, not really,“ Kratos glances Atreus' way, and the boy doesn't miss the warning in his eyes as they leave the tunnel and lightly dash for the snowy banks. ”I was just looking through my things and found my old armor from when we went on that adventure for mom, and than I remembered him.“

”Discuss this later,” Kratos grunts, sending another look his son's way. Atreus nods, sighing.

”Yes, father.“

[my-name-is-jefferooni]

Just me talkin bout Sonic Prime, nothing to see here

I literally JUST saw Sonic Prime about an hour before writing this, and... IT WAS AMAZING!! I will be honest, I skipped most of season one so I'm kind of a fraud, but I SWEAR I will get back to season 1 in a moment! For now I have all the context I need.

(plz don't chew me out I promise I'm gonna watch it...)

I wasnt gonna watch sonic prime anyway, i just got fed up with all the out of context spoilers so i wanted to see what all the hype was about

ANYWHIZZLE

I'm just gonna talk about Sonic and Shadow for a sec, don't mind me- Okay so we're all aware of Sonadow. It's been a thorn in my side for years, actually. I never liked Sonadow surprisingly, and that's mostly due to how Deviantart portrayed the ship. When I started out as a mediocre writer, (I'm not working as a writer or anything, I just do this for fun) I posted my work on DA while simultaneously enjoying a bunch of STH fanart. I got into the fandom thanks to Gigi's "The Murder of Me," which is pretty popular. ANYHOW, I constantly stumbled upon Sonadow ship art and every single time I did, it was always overly sexualized to some degree. And back then I was very very not okay with sexualizing characters who are clearly within their teens. I still am averse to this today! So naturally, I developed an evergrowing hatred for Sonadow, only seeing it for the shitshow that DA made it seem like. And that's how it was for years to come. For about 3-4 years, I despised Sonadow with a passion, only leaving room for one or two exceptions. (Read "The Heart of a Monster," which is actually here on Tumblr. I've reblogged the comic a few times on this blog.) Then Sonic Prime came along and chucked all that disdain out the window with the help of some Tumblr peeps that I follow. If you saw the first episode then you know exactly what I mean. I saw the first episode of season 1B, enjoyed Sonic and Shadow's dynamic, started to really think about it... Then I too fell down the Sonadow rabbit hole. So far I only have 2 exceptions for Sonadow but I'm not willing for that to change. Sonadow's probably not all bad, it's probably just the horrors of Deviantart that I witnessed. Sure, the cover of a book is meant to be judged, but I don't read books so I can't judge something that I can't even see. Tl:DR, I used to hate Sonadow but now Sonic Prime is making me love them.

CHAOS SONIC!!!!!!!! I love him so much. I already loved them just based on their design alone and from what little I'd seen of them, but then I actually watched the episode, and... Wow. He is a riot. Like. Literally the first thing this guy says to Sonic is calling him out on his insecurities. RIGHT OFF THE BAT THE TWO ARE NECK-AND-NECK AND FIGHTING TO THE DEATH! Here we have a perfectly great Metal Sonic that can fight Sonic and then get back up again after a defeat without needing any at-home repairs! They're the perfect anti for Sonic, since they also just. Get back up again. They don't ever give up, and that's what I love about him! Chaos also just runs his mouth all the time, never stopping to take a breath because he can't even breathe, and that's great! THIS ROBOT IS LITERALLY JUST ADHD BUT ENCASED IN METAL. As opposed to Sonic, who is ADD encased in flesh and quills. Oh, and don't even get me started on Sonic and Chaos's dynamic! The two bounce off each other in a literal and metaphorical sense! Chaos says something, and then Sonic retorts by either saying something in response or does something in response. They can also read each other like open books, as if they've known each other their whole lives, and it's great seeing them play off each other so well! You don't get to see this kind of rivalry/dynamic between Metal and Sonic anymore these days, since Metal has been sidelined to a silent assassin that just wants to get the job done. Him and Sonic don't have a very intriguing dynamic, but Chaos and Sonic do! And I love that! (I'm not trying to imply that Metal staying mute is inherently a bad thing all around, but it's just really refreshing to see a talking Metal Sonic that has a really great dynamic with the original.)

Nine's betrayal makes sense! That's all I really wanna say tbh-

Aight so I'm sorta losing my "Touch" right now and I've been typing for a while. Look at all this! This is an essay! I do have a ton more thoughts on a lot of the other characters like Mangy and the Amy's, and also Sonic's new form! But this is really long already and my fingers are getting tired, so maybe there will be a part two. Who knows!

Thanks for reading my very first post ever, and sorry about how long it is. Hopefully my next one will be shorter.

Anywhizzle, ima go look at Sonic Prime spoilers. Can't wait for the actual season 2!

[smokeybrandreviews]

Die Another Day

I don’t like Respawn. I think the newest Wilson sibling is f*cking ridiculous as a concept and poorly executed as a character. I liked the idea of, say, a Slade clone, and there was potential for that in the first arc of the current Robin book, but then it’s revealed that kid is the long lost half-brother to Damian through his mother? What? Why? Like, Ra’s made Respawn by combining Talia’s egg with Slade's sperm. That ties Damian to Deathstroke tighter than anything Dick ever had with The Terminator but why, though? I like Ravager. She’s dope. Ma has earned her place in the pantheon of DC heroes and villains. Respawn has not. He’s a try-hard edgelord with misdirected anger toward Damian for reasons that are not clear. That’s dumb. Sure, the torture is a thing but that was Ra’s not Damian. This is the same sh*t with Broly and Goku. Interestingly enough, i don’t like Z Broly either, for a lot of the same reasons i don’t like Respawn. Beyond that, why does he look IDENTICAL to the Wayne heir? Damian looks like his dad. That’s canon. Bruce is not Respawn’s father, Slade Wilson is. Shouldn’t this nothing of a character look like Deathstroke or, at the very least, Jericho? This the sh*t that frustrates the f*ck out of me about the modern US comic industry.

The Respawn problem isn’t an isolated event. In the past few years, i had to deal with The Batman Who Laughs, all of those stupid Dark Night events, and f*cking Punchline. Holy sh*t, i forgot about Punchline! She was Respawn before Respawn. Imagine a fifteen year old’s wet dream given life and you have Punchline.I’ve written at length about how cheap the busty Asian goth chick is and don’t want to rehash that entire essay but, suffice it to say, Punchline is trash. DC has a very rough go of it as of late but it’s not like Marvel is free from this bullsh*t. They killed Hickman’s X-Men run and that sh*t was actually decent. It was positioned to be a new status quo, for a time anyway, and i was looking forward to the future of that brand. The X-Men haven’t been interesting in a decade and Hickman made them relevant again... Until Marvel f*cked that up and they didn’t stop there. Spencer came through, fixed the damage Queseda and OMD did to Spider-Man, only for for Zeb Wells to f*ck it up in one issue. And don’t get me started on whatever the f*ck they’re doing to Ben Reilly now. Chasm? Really? Like, being Pete Parker, and his clones, is torment. That Parker Luck is mad strong but Chasm? I’m not a fan of Ben, not even way back in the Nineties during this dude’s prime, but come on? The Beyond arc was mediocre at best and absolutely unnecessary, especially as an origin story for whatever the next depressing ass phase is in the Punished Ben’s life. Spider-Man doesn’t need another edgelord clone. Kaine is a thing already.

It’s nuts to me that comics are so pedestrian nowadays considering how much creative potential lies on the page. Like, not all of these things suck ass, you know? I really enjoyed The Wicked + The Divine. Most of the White Knight stuff is really good. I mentioned Spencer’s run on Spider-Man and Hickman’s initial start on X-Men already. Something is Killing the Children continues to keep me enthralled. The IDW Transformer stuff is actually excellent and so is The Last Ronin. There is a lot of good out there to be had but the market is absolutely saturated by straight trash, man. For every IDW Sonic comic, there’s fifty or so Jon Kent Superman variants and i hate it. The US comic industry is f*cking dying and I don't think it's coming back. Everything is so f*cking bad nowadays. No one knows what the f*ck to do with Tim Draker. Respawn is a bad character. Chasm is even worse. US comics are full of mediocre characters and even worse writing. Like, have you actually read Crossed? Or The Boys? Occasionally, I'm surprised by something but that is getting more and more rare as time goes on. Thank god for manga, man. At least those things are still allowed to be as unique and creative as they want. I do like Flatline, though. She’s adorable!

[darkqueenofshadows85]

My Sonic TV Show Ranking From Worst to Best

Greetings, mortals! Today, I'll be ranking the five Sonic TV shows from worst to best.

Note: I'll eventually need to make an updated version of this list that includes Sonic Prime when it comes out later this year, as well as giving my updated stance on Sonic SatAM when I get around to rewatching it in its entirety, but for now, this is my current ranking.

Please keep in mind, this is MY OPINION! You don't need to agree with it, but please don't complain in the comments section if you disagree with this list.

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

5. Sonic Boom (2014-2017)

I hate this show. I've only watched a few episodes, and from what I've seen, they're all dumpster fires. The jokes are annoying, the action sequences are dull, and the less said about the characterization, the better. Granted, I haven't watched every episode, but I don't think I need to because they're all unfunny and annoying in my opinion.

4. Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (1993)

This show is just pure insanity from beginning to end. It's basically a wacky, nonsensical, Looney Tunes-inspired show for little kids. Like Sonic Boom, I only watched a few sporadic episodes of it, including its Christmas special, Sonic Christmas Blast, but I think I've seen enough of it to know exactly what kind of show it is. I don't outright hate it, but I don't particularly care for it either. If you like it, that's fine. More power to you. I'm just not the right audience for it.

3. Sonic SatAM (1993-1994)

I haven't actually watched this show in a long time, so my opinion might change on it when I eventually get around to rewatching the series in its entirety, but from what I remember, I thought it was okay. It certainly executed its premise of Eggman taking over the world with Sonic leading a resistance better than Sonic Forces ever did. Plus, it gave us the Archie comics, which from what I've read are really good for the most part (excluding the early Ken Penders-written comics), and it has an awesome theme song.

2. Sonic Underground (1999)

Easily the best of the three DiC cartoons in my opinion. Sonic Underground is it's own thing and I love it. Sonic, Sonia and Manic share a sibling bond that is very wholesome to watch, and Manic in particular gets a lot of great character development. I'm aware that Sonic Underground has a very dedicated fanbase, and I am proud to be part of that dedicated fanbase for Underground. In fact, I would dare even say that I enjoyed Underground more than SatAM.

1. Sonic X (2003-2006)

This is my favorite Sonic TV series, and my favorite Sonic media outside of the games, along with the comics and the Paramount Sonic movie. The storylines are amazing, with some of my favorites being the scene-for-scene adaptations of SA1&2 and the Metarex Saga. This is 2000's Sonic through and through. Sure, it does have some issues, like 4Kids making unnecessary changes and Chris Thorndyke being in every single episode even though he isn't needed most of the time, but overall, I really enjoy this series.

Let's hope that the upcoming Sonic Prime series will be just as good as Sonic X. From what I've seen of it so far, it definitely looks promising :)

Thanks for reading! I hope you guys enjoyed this list and I'll see you next time!! ^^