#but it's in the past when Tikal was alive

[kiriekonamistan]

Y'wanna know what I want to see in Sonic fandom? I wanna to see more characters interact with the Master Emerald; and by extension Tikal.

yeah, I know both she and Chaos ascended at the end of SA1 but I need more wholesome Sonic content and I like Tikal.

I WANT TO SEE

•Rouge stealing the M.E not just because she's a jewel thief but because she wants Tikal to experience what a 'Club' is, so she installs the M.E. as a sort of light-fixture in Club Rouge for a night or two until Knuckles can get it back

•Silver winds up accidentally traveling TOO FAR into the past and meets Tikal

•Silver and Tikal bonding over a mutual interest in plants (Tikal would need to know about medicine as a priestess and Silver just loves plants)

•Sonic taking trips up to Angel Island to describe the latest adventure to his ghost buddy

•(This one's based on a few of my headcanons) Shadow's body generates Chaos Energy similar to how the M.E. does, so Tikal realizes she can sneak away from Angel Island as long as she has her spirit connected to Shadow. He doesn't feel any different or even realize she's a ghost/or following him until he starts seeing the same Echidna girl everywhere

•Shadow and her having a conversation about ancient weapons and how modern technology has improved the simple arrow™ into the Gun™. Basically he teaches her how to shoot a gun and the mechanics of firearms while she teaches him how to fight like a traditional Echidna Warrior. (Does Knuckles know? Is he jealous? I dunno, I'm not gonna write a fic about any of this. You do it. If you like the material you use it, I'd love to read about ALL of this!)

•Silver (while in the past) tells Tikal stories about his friends' adventures which lead to the murals seen in the games. He doesn't know he was the cause for those prophecies until WAY later.

•Amy struggling to make recipes Tikal taught her. She's trying to make traditional Knuckles Clan food for Knuckles to enjoy.

•Knuckles and Tikal just vibing together on Angel Island. Maybe taking care of the chao together.

And of course,

•Tikal has gossip on EVERYONE because she's such a reliable person and so easy to talk/open up to. She doesn't use this information for evil though, she's a good person after all. Sometimes after a bad fight between two people she'll use what she knows about them to encourage them to fix whatever went wrong.

Sonic and Shadow not agreeing on how to deal with Eggman? Tikal's got a fix for that. Amy and Knuckles having a sibling argument? Tikal can help. Cream and Vanilla are (politely) disagreeing with each other on whether or not Cream should be allowed to go on the next Big Adventure? Tikal has calm advise and wisdom to share.

Give me some slice-of-life Tikal the Echidna content and my life is yours!!!

[nights-nonsensical-ramblings]

okay so I watched the knuckles series (by following the example of the pirates of course ) and I have to say while it was a very enjoyable watch, I have no clue what I watched and I’m mostly confused and have come away feeling mostly neutral. I don’t hate it, but it hasn’t dug its hooks in like other sonic things have for me.

Like some bits I very much enjoyed watching and would happily see again and others I couldn’t stand and dread the idea of watching again.

there were plenty of moments where Knuckles went against what I adore about him, and others that perfectly capture what I adore about him. Boy was so adorable though. Loved lots of the expressions he made.

okay I’m gonna get a bit more specific from here and cuz I got no clue what’s going on with the tagging and it gets long I’ll put it under a cut.

So it’s kinda hard for me to remember what happened, but I will say I love wades mother, she was amazing, loved her and Knuckles’ dynamic and would welcome it if she appeared again. (Also, new headcanon unlocked that knuckles is such a mamas boy he’s a magnet for motherly figures)

I really am not a fan of his sister Wanda tho. The childish sibling banter did entertain me at first (and made me think that knuckles was going to reflect on his relationship with his brothers) but it went on too long and just made Wanda feel like she never matured past being a bratty teenager. (And judging by what I’ve seen I think she’s gonna be on ‘top _ worst sonic characters’ lists for a while)

my opinion on Wade himself hasn’t really changed. I have no strong feelings towards the guy

We didn’t get as much as I wanted, but I loved the Wachowski family stuff. I needed so much more of knuckles being the trouble kid and the family trying to help.

It’s pretty annoying that the start of the show set up Knuckles learning to chill, be a kid on earth and settle in with his new family. Only to drop it basically immediately and the closest thing it has to a resolution is Knuckles finding his jam.

and yeah, I could see plenty of moments where they had the perfect opportunity to explore knuckles on a deeper level but chose not to. But I am glad they at least hinted at it with those expressions I keep raving about

On that. Cuz Pachacamacs appearance was what springboreded what was going on in a different direction. What is going on here? Is this a Knuckles thing? But Wade speaks to him to, but that was under knuckles’ guidance? I think? So can anyone in this world talk to spirits? Can only certain people be spirits? I mean. One Knuckles got over the initial shock he accepted the fact he was talking to a dead tribe member (I’m also sad that nothing was done with the idea that in this universe Knuckles and Pachacamac were alive at the same time) I got so many more questions on how spirits work in here, but I’m just gonna move on. (Although, maybe this sets up knuckles speaking to Tikal 👀. Or maybe his dad or even his mum.)

But considering what Pachacamac’s role is in the games making him so comedicly focused felt weird. Yeah this universe has different events. But still feels weird cuz of how we know Pachacamac.

I don’t even know what to say about the whole fire powers fire demon (who’s heavily implied to be iblis) I need way more time to think what is going on. Like does any of the pre existing lore apply? If so those are some WILD implications. If not, did that mean they just made this guy like iblis cuz it’s a fire creature that fans will recognize??

A minor thing but I can’t hear our house without thinking of the chemist warehouse add. And a few of the other songs are strongly associated with other things and I couldn’t help but think of them when they played. I don’t see this as a good or bad thing. It is just a thing.

hmm. I had more thoughts but after that ghost tangent I can’t really remember them. I guess I’ll have to come back later with another post if I get them back.

So, for now my closing thoughts are: it’s not a terrible show. Lots of writing choices I disagree with, but I don’t nessicaily think they’re bad. And there’s definitely enjoyment to be found (more if you watch it with some friends) but it’s not really to my taste. Especially with how much irs advertise as about knuckles and then not. Some moments made me very happy some made me want to nope out some I don’t even know.

congratulations to Wade fans, I’m gonna find what bits I wanna cherry pick and I’ll be on my merry way.

[boombrothersasks]

Shadow! Eclipse needs you! You need to get back to normal and help your baby brother! Tikal, help him

"Oh! Did something go wrong?!" Tikal asked worriedly, and Shadow looked just as worried.

"Wa?" The hoglet then pointed back towards where everyone else was, signaling that was where he wanted to go. "That way!"

"Good idea!"

She quickly ran past, still holding baby Shadow, and rushed into the home where Eclipse and Tails were. She gained a few stares as this happened.

"What was that all about?" Rouge asked.

"I dunno...maybe he just wanted to see Clip?" Sonic replied.

"Or maybe they found the monster."

Sticks was now the center of attention.

"...What. Monster...?"

"You don't know...the legend of the gooslesnoop?"

"What is she talking about." The bat could only wonder.

"Don't worry, this is normal." Sonic answered simply. Rouge was left in silence.

"STOP SAYING SCARY STUFF!" Knuckles shouted. "It's not even spooky season!"

"I'LL CATCH IT ONE DAY!!"

"...Right. Anyway, how are you boy's doing with the...thing."

Rouge was left silent again.

"IT IS NOW ON FIRE."

"Yeah, I can see that, Omega...that's not good! WHAT IF THAT WAS THE REGULAR SIZE-INATOR THINGY?!"

"...It served its purpose, and now it's a cozy campfire."

"SONIC."

Screaming was heard from inside Sonic's shack.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Tails screamed, seeing a strange orange person holding baby Shadow, who looked somewhat afraid.

"HEY! YOU'D BETTER LET GO OF MY BROTHER!" Eclipse lifted his head to shout. "I MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DO MUCH RIGHT NOW, BUT YOU CAN BET I'LL FIND A WAY TO IF THAT'S WHAT I NEED TO DO!"

"No no no! You misunderstand, I promise I don't mean any harm!" The girl said. "My name is Tikal! I was a ghost, but then I ate a cookie, and now I'm alive again, so I was playing with the little one here, but then we heard that his brother was in trouble and came back as fast as we could to make sure you were alright! And then-"

"A GHOST COME BACK TO LIFE?!" Tails interrupted. "FASCINATING!! I'D LOVE TO KNOW MORE!"

The echidna beamed. "Of course! Lemme tell you EVERYTHING!"

She set the hoglet down beside his Darkling brother, and Shadow looked at him with much sadness in his expression.

"Hey, Shadow. Sorry I haven't been paying a lot of attention to you...didn't mean it. Nothing's been going right! I wanted to be the best big brother to you, and I really thought I could be!"

Baby Shadow continued to frown, but curled up next to his brother in an attempt to make him feel better.

"This is gonna pain me to admit...but I'm already in pain, so who cares," he hesitated before grumbling. "Yeah, you were strict as the older brother, real strict, and you were annoying, and angry all the time, and obnoxious, and...I shouldn't be saying this to a BABY! Where am I even going with it?! I suck at this, don't I? I suck at everything. Just a big ol' suckish LOSER. Father would be just as ashamed...if he saw me now as the failure I am, it'd probably make sense, why he decided I wasn't good enough to keep..."

That?

That hurt the both of them.

For some reason, that was enough to make Shadow...angry.

Enough for him to rage.

Enough for him to...

"Don't you DARE SAY THAT NONSENSE!!"

Eclipse felt himself being swiftly lifted up and off the ground, only to meet face-to-face with someone else.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST SAY THAT AND LET IT PASS?! UTTER SUCH WORDS AND BELIEVE THEY WOULDN'T BE HEARD?! NO! I'M DONE! YOU ARE NOT USELESS, YOU DO NOT 'SUCK,' YOU ARE NOT A LOSER! GET THAT IN YOUR THICK SKULL OR ELSE WHEN WE GET BACK TO THE CAVE, I'M MAKING YOU TAKE A NAP!"

Shadow looked up, and found many eyes staring at him, Tails and some orange person next to him from inside this house he was for some reason in, and when he looked around, he saw team Sonic, watching from the door way.

"What are you idiots looking at?"

"I mean, besides the fact you're somehow not a baby anymore, did you...hear what you just said?" Sonic held in a laugh.

"What? What do you mean? What did I say?!"

"Aw, do you care about me, Shadow?"

It was then that Shadow became fully aware that he had grabbed his younger nuisance of a brother, only to drop him seconds after.

"OW! You know what actually sucks? You not being a bitty baby anymore! Now I can't teach you the ways of the Black Arms! You were a lot nicer, too...MY ANKLE IS BROKEN!!"

Shadow's usual look of rage only grew, immediately looking over at Sonic.

"...DUDE!" Sonic exclaimed, offended at the thing Shadow must've been trying to accuse him of.

"Don't you 'dude' me, you blue fake. I know what happened. You and Eclipse must've been out doing something stupid, as usual-"

"HEY!"

"When you dragged him into something that got him injured! Just as usual, getting him into even more danger than he already puts himself in. A bad influence..."

"I mean...we did race, Soni-"

"THAT WAS YOUR IDEA!!"

"NUH-UH!"

"I'm...intrigued." Tails said.

"As am I." Tikal nodded.

[randomthefox]

It is kind of funny that each deity and godlike entity that sonic fought each represent a concept and a figure

I mean perfect chaos was the god of Destruction but in the form of the Sea and people like to call him the leviathan

What would the other be viewed as

Yeah Chaos is a Water based entity and is an entity of destruction. This makes me at least think of Noah's ark and the flood that destroyed the world leaving only a small number of people and two of every animal to survive (much like how Tikal lifted Angel Island and whoever was left alive on it up into the sky to escape Chaos's destruction). It is very interesting that while water is viewed as a source of life for many civilizations such as ancient Egyptians with the Nile River, with Chaos the monstrosity of the water is portrayed as a source of death. His final form even resembles classical depictions of the biblical concept of "the leviathan" which you can also find in the likes of Final Fantasy.

Solaris is the god of time, which thematically is appropriate because the playable characters of Sonic 06 are Shadow who is from the past, Silver who is from the future, and Sonic who lives in the moment. Solaris is also worshiped as a Sun deity by Soleanna, which makes sense considering the Sun is an omnipresent force that has always and will always exist and provides a central point of stability for our solar system. Mephiles is also obviously named for the demon Mephistopheles of the Faustian bargain, and he does spend the entire game lying to everyone and even tries to trick Silver into selling his soul and tries to put Shadow through a figurative hell. Iblis is also the islamic name for the devil, and of course Iblis turns Silver's future into a fire and brimstone hell on earth.

Dark Gaia and Light Gaia are very ying and yang-y being representative of a cycle of death and rebirth for the planet, when in its undisturbed state is considered natural and balanced. Gaia is also obviously the name of a greek deity, the mother of Zeus and his siblings and god of the earth. The Gaia Colossus that Chip pilots in the final boss is inspired by the colossus of Rhodes which is a statue of Helios. Helios is interesting because he is a Titan who pre-dates the Olympians and metatextually over time he got kind of combined into Apollo by Greek culture, which is dripping with thematic implications (also another Sun God). Dark Gaia meanwhile seems to be following from the concept of Chaos who is a primordial greek god that is the void state from which all creation originates from, just as how Dark Gaia wipes the slate of the planet clean leaving a void for Light Gaia to nurture new life from. So we have Chaos/The Void/Dark Gaia destroying all life on the planet, and then Helios/The Sun/Light Gaia plants and grows it all back, in an infinite renewing cycle of destruction and genesis.

Even Illumina from Sonic Shuffle is called the goddess of dreams, which brings one to think of the greek god Morpheus.

The well definitely runs deep.

[aphantimes]

knuckles why is ur backstory so weird 😭

rrrrrrrrr so many things drive me insane fjhhhgggg

stated to be born alone in multiple sources, has said himself that he's been alone for "as long as he can remember", has no idea how he got there or how he's the guardian or why he's alone

said in the prologue that "any other kind of civilization has long-since disappeared from the island" ok what settlement did you spawn from then?? is there not evidence of recent habitation within the past few decades?? the hell happened to your parents? where did they live? what???

how r u alive........ how did you not instantly starve to death if you were born alone.. why do you know how to speak and read who taught you why would you have this knowledge why would you be able to speak the language spoken on the surface when your entire race has been removed from the outside world for 3000 years

AND. AND. hhhhhhhh. ok. im not a japanese speaker. but. according to translations of the original japanese script of sonic adventure. knuckles. recognised the knuckles clan settlement in tikal's flashback.

"what is this place? ive never seen any of this before... wait! i know..? i know this place...? where am i, anyway?"

like?!??!!!? hes confused af but that isn't just like seeing familiar architecture, that's recognition of this specific location. and at this point in his story, he hasn't gained access to where this temple is in the present. am i going insane why don't I hear anyone else talk about this what does it MMMEEAAAN

[glapplebloom]

Is he dead or...

So there’s a video out there that complains about Sonic having a No Kill Policy and points out supposedly numerous examples of him killing. I made a reply about how a lot of these are out of context. A person replied saying that a Guide Book did say Chaos went to Heaven. While I’m still waiting for the scans, I figured why not talk about what happened...

Sonic Adventure 1

Chaos was imprisoned in the Master Emerald. When Eggman freed him, he went on a rampage that ended with Sonic going Super to defeat him. After the fight, Tikal showed Chaos the Chao are alright. In the english script: “These are the chao you were protecting. They stayed alive for generations and now live peacefully with humans. The fighting's over. Harmony's restored, and life goes on.” In the Japanese Script: “Their lives have connected to this world, thus they're coexisting with the humans... It's fine... It's fine now...” Either way, they go up in a flash of light never to be seen again... Except...

Chaos’ Other Appearances...

In Sonic Adventure 2 (specifically the two player mode) Chaos is a selectable character. In Sonic Battle, Chaos appears not only as a playable character but an optional opponent to build up Emerl. Generations and Forces have a past and fake version of Chaos. And in Archie Comics, specifically written by current IDW and Sonic Frontiers Writer Ian Flynn, Chaos did show up in a story to help. In that story, he’s the reason the planet didn’t split apart further by keeping the planets together during the Sonic Unleashed story. I think it's fair to say he did that in the game, but that is assuming (for now). Either way, this doesn’t sound like a guy who is dead. So where is he?

Heaven

While the guy has yet to provide a Scan of the Sonic Forces Japanese guide, the Wiki explains that Chaos is indeed in Heaven. They even have a source as Takashi Iizuka, who has been working on Sonic since Sonic 3 and is the Producer of Sonic Forces, states straight up that Chaos is in heaven. You can see for yourself in Game Informer’s 123 Rapid-Fire Questions With Takashi Iizuka. But if he’s dead, how is he able to come back? That’s the neat part, he isn’t dead. 

Ame/Takamagahara

According to Wikipedia, Heaven is a lofty, sacred world, the home of the Kotoamatsukami. The Kotoamatsukami are Shinto Deities. In short, Chaos and Tikal are basically deities in Sonic’s Universe. So Heaven to those who believe the Shinto Religion is different from American interpretations of Heaven. Ancient and Modern Shinto does state that Heaven is only reserved for the Kami. 

Thing is, Modern Shinto believes that while spirits can continue to exist to help others or be restless spirits seeking revenge, they can be promoted to Kami if they are revered enough. While Kami can mean spirit or god depending on the translator, there are basically an infinite number of Kami around a range of various abilities and powers. Not necessarily all of them are omnipotent, omniscient, or even immortal.

In short, using even just two definitions, Chaos was a deity going back to his home world or a spirit already long dead. In short, Sonic didn’t kill him. I wonder if this would be brought up if Chaos entered Death Battle.

[bonebreakjack]

New art for my AU!(I really have to name it)

So from my previous post we already know about Chaos and the reason he changed his form.

Now onto Knuckles and Tikal!

Knuckles is the last Echidna spared from the last affect of Chaos curse that inflicted the last of his people. His father Yunuen the previous Gaurdian begged Chaos to save his son.

Chaos grabted him his wish and took Knuckles into the Emerald while the Echidnas where wiped out keeping him asleep for many centuries. He woke up in the new world, a toddler with only a couple of words of where he was and why was there.

"Emerlad servant, protect and gaurd this Gem of Chaos till your last breath"

Knuckles didn't know how to read or write until Sonic and Tails showed up. Since Chaos dumped him there and went back to sleep in the emerald he had to raise himself.

He taught himself to hunt, keep clean, and to forage via the ancient art on the walls and in the abandoned homes. He's very much a homebody at the beginning before adventuring. He will pick up after his friends like a fretting hen if they leave a mess.

When he starts adventuring officially he started to hide the emerlad in creative ways around the island to make it hard to find. He wanted to be a the protector but he also wanted to see and experience the world he's been disconnected from.

This changes after Chaos and Tikal stuck around after SA1. They would gaurd in his stead giving him room to do what he wants and ends up developing a habit of picking up supernatural stray after a while. (The three Ghosts from the werehog short, Shahra from the Seven rings, some of the boom boo who took a liking to him. Ect)

Knuckles and Chaos have a tense relationship after its revealed he was the reason Knuckles is the only Echidna left. Chaos after realizing his wrongs of his past and stuck in a cycle of rage after SA1 and the Nicky Parlouzer arc does his best to repair his relationship with him with mixed success.

Tikal the Echidna Ghost

Tikal was very adventurous when she was alive often leaving the Empire to wander far. Her father preferred this as it kept her from interfering for his plans of expansion to the empire. Tikal hated war, and fighting for the sake of power.

When she was still alive she came across the temple of the Master Emerald where Chaos had been banished to. They had become friends and Tikal was helping Chaos come to terms with devouring his brother hoping that with time he can spit the other god out so that Gaia may accept him back.

This clearly did not happen that way after her father discovered the Emerald. He destroyed the land of the Chao and Chaos feeling betrayed by Tikal and enraged by the senseless deaths demanded Tikal as tribute and placed a curse upon the Echidnas.

They had tried to trick Chaos to save Tikal and take the Emerald causing Chaos tobecome perfect Chaos and destroying the empire along with a majority of its people. Gaia along with the Emerald gave Tikal the power to entrap Chaos in its gem prison at the price of her life and freedom.

She actually is an excellent fighter and would later mentor Knuckles when he wanted to expand his skills sets to protect his friends and the emerald better. Tikal had become very disillusioned after SA1 realizing her way of thinking merely perpetuated the cycle of pain by being so passive and is trying to change with some.....difficulties.

Tikal was actually semi aware the entire time as a warden to Chaos. Thus had watched her people die out via the curse as well as Knuckles being taken by Chaos and put to sleep until he deemed it safe enough to put him out. She would fall in and out of sleep and when she slept Chaos would awaken but both eternally chained.

Tikal is still a ghost and while she may not look like one she clearly is suffering the affects of being one. It wasn't as bad as when in the Emerald as the power of Chaos and the Master Emerald kept the it at bay for thousands of years. But now that she's spending more time outside she realizes how....monstrous she's becoming. It started as small things like her eyes dulling or turning red and yellow, her teeth becoming black. It changed to strange contortions, her thoughts become distorted or forgetting things about herself. She had become more violent too often emulating Chaos past rage when people don't wish to listen to her.

Tikal is most of afraid to loose her sense of self and takes to staying inside the emerald to prolong it as much as possible.

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

Filmverse!Knuckles is gonna be Tikal’s Little Brother and if he’s not I’m suing Sega

[ID: Two images; one of clipart of Knuckles the Echidna beside a poster for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), and another from Sonic X of Knuckles and Tikal together while Tikal is injured. End ID.] 

Thankfully, this might be shorter than my last couple theory posts but unfortunately I am possibly more passionate about it because this could conceivably happen and if it doesn’t I don’t know what I’m gonna do. 

So in this theory, I will endeavor to prove these points:

Knuckles will very soon be present in the filmverse. 

In the Filmverse, Pachacamac (and by extention, Tikal) are no longer four-thousand years gone, but exist at the same time as Sonic.

Knuckles is going to be in this clan not just as any member, but as Tikal’s brother. 

We’re going off the rails and I’m going to tie this all in to the Chaos Emerald Filmverse theory. 

Who’s ready to go? Everything under the cut. 

1. Knuckles is Coming #2k22

[ID: Another edited photo, placing clipart of Knuckles beside a promotional photo for Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). End ID.] 

This will probably be a short section but... there’s no way Knuckles won’t be in the filmverse very soon. Likely, in the second fucking movie. 

Let’s start with the basics: Knuckles was originally going to be in the first movie, but was cut in order to better establish the Sonic vs Robotnik rivalry. Director Jeff Fowler made the following statement: 

“For this first film, we really were just looking at the 1991 game and just see where it all started and keep it simple…Just really try to nail Sonic and Robotnik and just set up their rivalry because you don’t…I mean, I love…There’s a lot of great characters in Sonic universe, but it’s the most important thing is just to get Sonic set up and just tell a little bit of an origin story with him, and just do it in a way that really makes everyone fall in love with him as a character and just be rooting for more.

And then, if all that goes well, then we can kind of open it up and bring in some of these other characters that fans know and love. And yeah, I mean, no one’s more excited than me to have that opportunity.”

[x]

As well as this, co-writer for the film, Josh Miller, has stated he really wants to bring in Knux. 

“I will only hint that we wanna bring in some of the other characters from the games. But, really, it’s all about Knuckles’ love.” [x]

Second, voice actors have, reportedly, already been considered for Knuckles’s voice, including Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. [x, x]

And third, Mushroom Hill. 

[ID: Two photos; one of the Mushroom Planet from Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). The second is a screenshot from Sonic & Knuckles, where Knuckles is running through Mushroom Hill. Both photos feature gigantic mushrooms resembling trees and an orange tint. End iD.]

The “Mushroom Planet” is a direct reference to the first level of Sonic & Knuckles. The first level of.... the game with Knuckles’s name in it. 

So, you wanna hear something funny? What’s the first thing Knuckles does in the game timeline? 

[ID: Screenshot from Sonic & Knuckles. Sonic is standing on the left side of the screen, beneath a mural of something holding an emerald towards something that looks like SuperSonic. On the right side of the screen is Knuckles, ready to fight Sonic. End ID.]

Well... Robotnik shows up, convinces him that Sonic and Tails are gonna try to steal his emerald, and sends him off to fight them. 

And where’s Robotnik at the end of the 2020 film?

[ID: Robotnik on the Mushroom Planet in Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). End ID.]

While the Mushroom Planet may not be where Angel Island is in filmverse, the direct reference would definitely generate fan attention. And it implies that Robotnik, wherever he is or is going, is headed towards Knuckles. And with the game inciting incident of Robotnik having Knuckles fight Sonic for him... well, wouldn’t that be a wild introduction? Especially for casual fans who don’t have Sonic Lore memorized and may not know that Knuckles was originally an antagonist/rival to Sonic. 

Oh, and there’s one more piece of evidence that Knuckles is gonna show up... the fact that his tribe already has. 

And among them, by the way, are Pachacamac and Tikal. 

2. Pachacamac and Tikal are no longer 4000 years old

So. Let’s talk about the opening scene of Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). As many of you have probably noticed, Sonic and Longclaw are attacked not just by any masked intruders, but by... the Knuckles Clan of Echidnas. 

And we’re sure they’re not any other clan, because they have the trademark Knuckled Gloves. 

[ID: Multiple gifs of the echidnas attempt to attack Longclaw and Baby Sonic. They are dressed in vaguely tribal wear, and have gloves featuring pointed knuckles, signifying them as the Knuckles Clan. End ID.] 

Now, that’s not evidence of Pachacamac/Tikal itself; we know the Knuckles Clan lasted at least long enough to spawn our Knuckles. What is evidence, however, is in the specific Echidna who shot Longclaw. 

[ID: Gif of the Echidna who shot Longclaw, isolated in the frame. End ID.] 

Look familiar?

[ID: The echdina who shot Longclaw in the 2020 film next to a render of Pachacamac. The mystery echidna’s helmet has the same forehead markings as Pachacamac, along with a design that looks like his mustache. End ID.]

And fun fact: this isn’t me reaching for once. This was confirmed by Tyson Hesse, film character designer and savior of Sonic, on his twitter. 

[ID: Tweet from Tyson Hesse, showing the pictures of the Echidna and Pachacamac. He says, “Late to the #sonicwatchparty but this is an easter egg I haven’t seen many people catch.” End iD.]

Pachacamac is canonically in Sonic 2020. As director Jeff Fowler has said he believes Sonic as ~13 during the events of the film, we could say he’s about three years old in that intro. And we know this because it is specified specifically that the main timeline takes place ten years after the prologue. 

[ID: Screenshot from Sonic the Hedgehog (2020), the first shot following the logo. It is a landscape shot of a street in the middle of a green field, and the caption reads, Green Hills Montana: Ten Years Later. End ID.]

Meaning... Pachacamac was alive ten years before the film takes place. Quite the departure from the four-thousand year time jump in the gameverse. Seeing as Pachacamac is alive so close to this timeline, we can reasonably assume that Tikal is, too- she’s his teenaged daughter, canonically ~14 when she is turned into a spirit, which would put her as solidly alive during this timeline. 

...wanna know who else would be alive in this timeline? 

Knuckles, who is only a year older than Sonic. 

And, um, obviously a member of the Knuckles Clan. 

3. Where is Knuckles in this Filmverse Canon?

Okay “Knuckles” is going to stop sounding like a word so can we just call the Knuckles Clan the KC rn? okay? Okay. 

Knuckles is canonically a year older than Sonic- listed as 16 while Sonic is 15. So if Sonic’s alive, Knuckles is alive. Basic logic there. 

In the gameverse, Knuckles’s backstory is as thus, paraphrased from Sonic Wiki:

Knuckles was born and raised alone on Angel Island as the last surviving member of the Knuckles Clan, a long-lost race of echidnas devoted to protecting the Master Emerald from being abused. However, Knuckles’s own past was a mystery to him; he knew nothing how he came to be and believed himself to be the last of his kind entirely. The one thing he did know was that he had always been living on his island, protecting the Master Emerald. Knuckles knew from an innate knowledge that his duty was his fate, and he was content with that.

While we can’t expect his backstory to stay exactly the same, seeing as Sonic now has a dead owl mom and knows how to Fortnite dance, but Knuckles’s backstory does fuel a lot of his character and decisions in the games. Here are what I believe to be the two main points of this backstory:

Knuckles is, or at least believes himself to be, the last member of his race 

Knuckles considers it his sacred duty to guard the Master Emerald 

[ID: Screencap from Sonic X of Knuckles the Echidna holding the Master Emerald above his head. End ID.]

Now... if Sonic was three during that backstory, the KC was around at least when Knuckles was about four. Most children don’t develop long-term memories til then, but if 3yo Sonic could remember his backstory in Green Hills near-perfectly, then clearly mobians are a bit different. We can reasonably assume that Knuckles would then remember at least part of his tribe or family, so that’s a definite change. 

Thing is, what would be the reason for this change? Even ignoring Pachacamac, it was definitely intentional for the clan attacking Longclaw and Sonic to be the KC, which does change quite a bit of Knuckles’s backstory. Which isn’t a problem, you see- it’s a drastic change, but character changes aren’t bad if there’s a reason behind them. 

So what would be the reason for Knuckles having memories of his tribe? 

Well... how easy would it be, then, to get that Sonic Adventure flashback via Knuckles instead of a glowing ball of Tikal/Navi? 

[ID: Screencap from Sonic Adventure, showing Knuckles the Echidna staring down Chaos and the glowing ball of light that symbolizes Tikal. They are standing in front of the emerald shards. End ID.]

Would be an easy way to get any chaos emerald/Master Emerald exposition out of the way, as well as establish some basic and early Sonic Lore- Chaos, echidnas, chao. And if Knuckles, um, remembers his entire race being massacred by an elder god?? That would definitely affect him in a way that he’d consider protecting the Master Emerald, the controller of the power Chaos used to do such a thing, a duty for himself. 

And... what would be the best way to get that backstory out? 

4. Knuckles is Tikal’s Baby Brother

Here’s the thing- the KC citizens don’t seem to know much about what’s going on outside of Pachacamac’s orders. From talking to them in Sonic Adventure flashbacks, we can see they’re quite a bit... confused, I think is the best way to put it. 

[ID: Dialogue screenshots from Sonic Adventure that I had to nab from a Game Grumps video because nobody else had these online. The echidnas say, “The daughter? I saw her in front of the shrine.”, “Well... I.... I just can’t sit still!” and “I think, therefore I am.” End ID.]

So if Knuckles was just an ordinary tribe member, it’d be unlikely for him to know enough to provide the necessary flashback details. And if Knuckles’s past was changed in order to provide an easier connection to the SA lore, he’d need to be very near to the action. Of course, he could just be a curious child, but even then, he’d likely be left out of several conversations surrounding Tikal. 

Most of Tikal’s flashbacks are spent alone- she only has a few arguing with her father, but most of her scenes are spent with the Chao and Chaos themself in the Chao Garden. Considering Tikal seems to be the only echidna frequenting the Chao Garden- the chao are afraid of her when she first approaches, Pachacamac arriving is basically seen as a declaration of war- there’d be no reason for an echidna to be there unless she brought them herself. 

Who would she bring with her? Perhaps... her little brother. 

[ID: Screencap from Sonic X of Tikal, surrounded by flying Chao while at the Master Emerald Shrine. End ID.]

First off, let’s get over the age thing-- I know you’re gonna say “Knuckles is 16 when Tikal is 14,” HOWEVER, TIkal did not age while inside the Master Emerald. She could go in at any point in Knuckles’s life, which means she could be anywhere from ten years older than him to a twin sister to two years younger. 

There’s no real concrete evidence of how old Knuckles would be in filmverse when the SA events happen, seeing as we have only seen Pachacamac existing and have no idea where this is in his timeline. However, from a writing standpoint, if you want to keep a bit of Knuckles’s backstory of living alone for a good chunk of his life, I’d say the massacre happening when he was ~8 seems likely. Old enough to have clear memories of the SA events but young enough to have his life completely sidetracked and feel like he raised himself. 

It’d be very easy for the flashbacks to feature Tikal taking a baby Knuckles to the Chao Garden, just telling him “don’t tell Dad, he won’t understand,” to talk to him about the grandmother he doesn’t remember who used to teach peace, to explain Chaos and the Master Emerald to him. 

And it’d be very easy angst for Knuckles being dragged along with the rest of the clan to take the emerald(s), watch his father basically doom his sister and his tribe murder innocent chao, and then see everyone he’s ever known murdered by Chaos, with his older sister stopping the rampage only by sealing herself and the destructive god in that emerald, leaving Knuckles completely alone. That’s all severe angst that pretty much no writer would pass up. 

Especially because it means Knuckles guarding the Master Emerald has now turned into Knuckles guarding his sister. 

[ID: Sonic X screenshot of Knuckles and Tikal looking up, surrounded by fire. End ID.]

So that’s the general theory. But let’s talk about something more fun: how it all ties into the Chaos Emerald Filmverse Theory. 

5. It all ties into our Chaos Emerald theory shh 

If you haven’t read Cori’s manifesto on the Chaos Emerald Filmverse Theory, allow me to summarize: 

Sonic is definitely a living Chaos Emerald, meaning that there are six other living Chaos Emeralds running around that we’re gonna need to track down. At least one of them’s Tails. 

First thing’s first... Robotnik going after Knuckles then makes perfect sense. If Robotnik somehow figured out exactly what Sonic was, he’d want a way to dilute his power. And the Master Emerald literally nullifies the power of the chaos emeralds. So whoever has the Master Emerald can severely nerf Sonic. Imagine Sonic getting within the boundaries of the ME and then immediately losing speed and falling flat on his face. Big oof. 

Second, it’s possible that Knuckles will also know what Sonic is. Because, well... what was Pachacamac after in Sonic Adventure?

[ID: Pachacamac attempting to talk down Tikal, who is t-posing in front of the Chao Garden in attempt to keep them out. Behind him is an echidna army, ready to attack. Pachacamac is saying, “We need those seven emeralds to give us total power!” End ID.]

The Chaos Emeralds. In order to use their power as weapons. 

And what was he after in Sonic 2020? 

Sonic. 

Interesting, huh.

Conclusion

Knuckles is gonna be the last member of the Knuckles Clan, guarding his older sister’s spirit inside an insanely powerful emerald, and will definitely be manipulated by Robotnik into using his Master Emerald to fuck up Sonic. 

And it’ll be really awesome. 

[ID: Sonic X screencap of Knuckles giving a thumbs up. End ID.]

[terrific-togekiss]

Sonic The Hedgehog Headcanons of mine

Amy Rose knew of Sonic before the events of Sonic The Hedgehog 1. Her fortune telling skills would tell her of meeting an adventurous Hedgehog, that she would eventually marry. Hence why she asked for Sonic's hand in marriage a lot in the past. Due to wanting a quiet life and never seeing herself as living anything other than that, she was against this. At first. After hearing of Sonic save South Island from Dr. Robotnik, she was immediately drawn to the blue hero. Going as far to travel to the legendary Little Planet. And her feelings have been strong ever since, only growing stronger.

Dr. Eggman Nega claimed to be an alternate version of Dr. Eggman in Sonic Rush, then it was revealed that he was Eggman's descendant from the future in Sonic Rivals. What's the true story? He was actually sent to the Sol Dimension by complete accident. Who sent him? Silver The Hedgehog. Eggman Nega originally built a time machine to conquer the world, but Silver intervened. The two of them fought and then the time machine malfunctioned, taking Eggman Nega along with it. Silver assumed he was dead, upon noticing he was no where in the past. When he was really in the Sol Dimension. Silver would get confirmation of Nega being alive during the events of Sonic Rivals.

Sonic has relatives (parents, siblings, Uncle Chuck, etc.) and childhood friends on Christmas Island. He rarely visits, because he prefers to travel the world and staying too along tends to slow him down. He doesn't do this to be heartless, he just knows where he's meant to be. His parents don't mind that much and understand. Silently cheering him on from the sidelines.

The Great Flood caused by Chaos, along with Angel Island being raised into the skies would lead to many land formations of what was once the echidnas homeland. They would eventually go on to be the the main locales of the Classic Sonic games: South Island, Westside Island, Cocoa Island, Christmas Island and Flicky Island.

The Babylonians come from the Sol Dimension. Hence Sky Babylon in Sonic Rush Adventure. They are the reason for all the robots running around the Sol Dimension, much like in Sonic Riders Zero Gravity with the same Ark of the Cosmos. When combining the Ark of the Cosmos with the Key to Babylon Garden and the Sol Emeralds, it allows the Garden travel between dimensions.

Professor Gerald Robotnik has been to Angel Island in the past, many years before the ARK incident. He met an ancestor of Knuckles, whom allowed him to explore the Island upon recognizing he was there for knowledge over power. Gerald would come across the hieroglyphics depicting a Super Sonic and that would serve as the inspiration for Shadow The Hedgehog's overall appearance. Whose the real faker now?

We all know Black Doom is the father of Shadow, but who was the mobian Hedgehog donor? A distant ancestor of Sonic, whom had an untapped connection to Chaos energy that was perfect for Project Shadow. He's relatively unknown to Sonic's family.

Sonic has visited Gaia temples in the past, talking with his old friend Chip. He may not respond, but Sonic knows how he would based on his memories of their friendship.

Maria's parents are still around in the present day, both in old age. Both with changed last names due to Eggman's presence as a villain. Shadow has yet to visit them, feeling hesitant and afraid at seeing them.

While Silver does live in a much better future than the one in Sonic 06, there's still work to be done. Silver goes on adventures as a sort of Time Travel archeologist, bringing back knowledge of the past to be celebrated and researched in the future. For example, he was in Sonic Riders Zero Gravity, to get more knowledge of Extreme Gears so the sport can comeback 200 years later.

Silver knows he can read history books on how Sonic and Co.'s futures and deaths (I doubt all of them die of old age) will play out, but chooses not too since that would make all his visits uneasy and he would definitely cry at reading them.

Sonic has owned multiple homes all over the planet, due to traveling all the time. The amount either increases or decreases. The rings he collects makes for a great source of income to pay them off.

G.U.N. actually formally apologized to Sonic the Hedgehog for kidnapping him and sending him to a high security prison. He now has his own official holiday in the United Federation.

Cream's father died in a fire when she was only a baby. Her flying ears come from his side of the family.

Sonic actually sends a birthday invitation to Eggman every time it's his birthday. Much to the confusion and disgust of his friends. Yeah he's evil, but they wouldn't be where they are and go on most of their adventures without him.

Professor Pickle and the Duke of Soleanna knew Gerald Robotnik and was close friends with him before the ARK incident. His death was very heartbreaking to the two.

Gerald is the inventor of the Chaos drives, much like Tails being the inventor of fake Chaos Emeralds.

Eggman once tried selling his brand of products, once Sonic's adventures reached public ears. He got jealous of the popularity the blue nuisance was getting. They didn't sell that well and he keeps all the products for himself.

Rouge the Bat and Fang the Sniper knew each other during Rouge's jewel theif days.

Knuckles may seem all alone on Angel Island, but Tikal and Chaos manage to keep him company. They often guard the Master Emerald when Knuckles is off with Sonic and Co.

Vanilla was an adventurer in her youth, hence why she's not that bothered by Cream going on adventures. Though she still worries as a mother.

Sonic and Eggman were friends before the events of Sonic The Hedgehog 1, but they went their separate ways. Similar to the Sonic Bible (but less crazy), the presence of only 6 emeralds instead of 7 caused a malfunction in a machine corrupting Eggman. Hence why Sonic knows what buttons to push and Eggman bases a lot of his machines off of the Blue Blur.

[speedy-1236]

Just found your tumblr! Now I have to tell you how much I love your fanfictions! They've been my go-to reading for years! Centuries! With the movie and all, I also couldn't help notice how much more mature your Sonic is than Movie Sonic. More mature than regular Sonic, too. I love him like that. I'm so tired of the lol Sonic is so immature crowd, you won't even believe it. Thanks for taking him seriously.

Thanks! Glad you enjoy the stories! Hasn't been centuries yet, though. Not quite: ;)

But I didn't actually make Sonic more mature. I don’t think I can take credit for that. Clues for him being more mature than he lets on are in plain sight in canon; you just have to look.

You're right about Movie!Sonic, I think! Most of that might actually be because I write Gameverse!Sonic mostly, and Gameverse!Sonic is 15 during the Adventures and Heroes, then has a birthday in Generations, so is presumably 16 from then on (at least, maybe they didn't show all his birthdays, we can't know). Movie!Sonic meanwhile was put by Jeff Fowler as being 13 in the movie, so he's two to three years younger - and that means a lot when you're a teenager.

Also Gameverse!Sonic is actually a lot more emotionally mature than a lot of people give him credit for.

Sure, he's a playful character. He's cocky and reckless and sometimes too full of himself. He likes to have fun and tries to have as much fun as possible, even during a crisis (I take it some of that is how he copes, because this kid has seen and been through some insane stuff and if cracking jokes helps him cope, go for it, buddy).

But what the "ah, Sonic is so immature lol" crowd tends to overlook:

This is the guy who recognised Chaos's pent up anger would not be resolved if they trapped him in the Master Emerald again, that Chaos needed to "open his heart" (deal with his emotions, even or especially the negative ones), because just sealing him away (bottling up those bad feelings, you might say) would only make everything worse. It wasn't empathic, kind Tikal to realise that. It was Sonic.

This is the guy who frequently forgives people who start out as his enemies/trying to kill him. It's a long list, prominent entries are Knuckles, Shadow and Silver, some of whom have wronged him multiple times, and Sonic is like, huh, forgive and forget, everyone makes mistakes. Forgiving someone requires a good deal of maturity. You need to be able to push past your own hurt, see the situation through the other person's eyes, and then be willing to give up your "right" to look down on them and give them a hard time because obviously you're in the right. A lot of people, grown people, not just kids, find this very hard to do.

This is the guy who after being an utter badass towards Erasor and defeating him with his own weapons turns right around to comforting Sharah, who apparently came out of a toxic relationship with Erasor and probably in some way still loved him, in spite what he'd done to her and the entirety of the Arabian Nights. Who had just died protecting Sonic and been brought back to life by Sonic's wish on Erasor's lamp. People have picked on this final scene where he wishes for that "mountain of handkerchiefs so she can let herself cry as much as she needs to", but I think it does a great job of showing Sonic's gentle, caring side. He loves his friends and wants to be there for them. Also, in terms of emotional maturity, again, he recognises the need to address sadness and grief, and crying as a helpful, healing thing.

The same sort of emotional maturity is shown in the other games from this time period. Black Knight Sonic, again, forgives Merlina for almost killing him, instead sees her grief over the world ending around her, and goes on to explain to her that death is inevitable, that change is what keeps the world alive, and that you have to live life to the fullest, enjoy every moment you have. This 15 year old kid explained to an age old wizard how to cope with mortality in a healthy way.

I could go on over Sonic 06 Sonic's treatment of Elise and having to end the timeline, to Unleashed Sonic's taking care of Chip and so forth, but I think I made my point. Sonic might appear immature and act immature sometimes, but he really isn't. If need be, he can be a very emotionally mature character. He just prefers to be playful and fun if he doesn't need to be serious.

[thankskenpenders]

I think I can pinpoint the problem with Knuckles pretty easily: Sonic Team got lazy and for SA1, Sonic X and such the only continuation of Knuckles story they could imagine past S3&K is just to repeat that game's plot of "Eggman tricks Knuckles". But he already tricked him once so why does he keep falling for it? ... well only logical explanation at that point is just he's an idiot so...

I don’t think it’s even remotely fair to call this “lazy”

Sonic Adventure and Sonic X were both designed for new audiences who may not have even played the Genesis games. It’s very obvious that Adventure was designed as an introduction to the characters. Why does Knuckles need to be tricked by Eggman again if we already did that in Sonic 3 & Knuckles? Why does Tails need to have a big moment where he gets to be the hero if he already saved Sonic in the ending of Sonic 2? Because Adventure appealed to people who might not have played the original games, including, you know, children who either weren’t old enough or weren’t even ALIVE when the originals came out. So the game is written assuming you know nothing about the characters. And even then, Knuckles getting tricked by Eggman is a minor plot point that’s vastly overshadowed by the stuff with the Master Emerald and Tikal and Knuckles’ duty to protect Angel Island

Similarly, Sonic X is a show designed to introduce the characters to cartoon-watching kids so they’d go out and buy the games. They go through the motions again with Knuckles being tricked into fighting Sonic because that’s literally the role the character was originally created to fill. He’s the rival turned reluctant ally. That’s obviously going to be his starting point in a new adaptation. (Also you can’t blame Sonic Team for stuff that happens in cartoons like Sonic X because they don’t write the cartoons)

No, I think the real reason Knuckles fell out of the spotlight is that they just stopped making him relevant to the stories after Adventure. He was a huge part of Adventure, and then they just kinda had him hunt for the shards of the Master Emerald again in Adventure 2. They gave him a rivalry with Rouge, but he had very little to do with the actual plot. Everyone else is dealing with Shadow and GUN and the Ark and Knuckles is just off in Pumpkin Hill. And after that he just kinda… started tagging along with Sonic with no real narrative reason to? Without that sense of responsibility he just kinda turned into Sonic’s meathead buddy who punches things

If anything, it’s not that Sonic Team’s painted Knuckles as gullible in a ton of games, but rather that he’s been such a minor character outside of those earlier appearances that people barely have anything else to judge him by. (And obviously Boom Knuckles, bless his heart, didn’t help at all)

[greenyvertekins]

U- knuckles- one thing that they experienced that they still have a hard time believing was real

Those times when he got warped into the past by Tikal and how he got to see his ancestors.

As the last Echidna, that was a huge shocker seeing his people alive.

[pineaberry]

Hollow

PART 1 || PART 2 || PART 3 || PART 4

The Fleet had been obliterated.

The Gravestone was destroyed.

Her lover had betrayed and abandoned her.

Once again, Tikal stood alone staring into the abyss with no one to aid her.

That was fine. It was just perfect. She didn’t need help. She didn’t need anybody’s help. She didn’t need anybody!

Tikal clenched her lightsabers in her hands and bowed her head. A fringe of dusty blue bangs hid her gaze, but the force fluctuated wildly around her form in chaotic patterns visible to the naked eye. Tikal had never been good at playing the emotionless Jedi Knight, not that anyone on the Jedi Council seemed to have a problem with it. 

She was the one the Jedi summoned when diplomacy failed. She was the one the Republic requested when all other lackeys had been decimated. Nobody cared about the means as long as the results were favorable. Perhaps that was why Lana was so comfortable around her. The Hero of Tython had no qualms about force-choking anyone that got in the way of her goal.

Tikal stood over Vinn Atrius; her gold eyes flashed with a burning rage. Deep down, she knew he was only a symptom of a larger sickness, but this particular virus had inconvenienced her for the last time.

“Play the hero once again!” Vinn snarled.

“I suppose this is the part where I list your crimes and hand you over to Zakuul for a proper trial. That would be the Jedi thing to do, yes?” she drawled as she approached him like a predator ready to pounce, “It seems like you’re just another in a long line of corpses who got in my way and hedged their bets on my mercy. You think I need a worthy cause to be called a hero? I destroyed the immortal Emperor out of annoyance. I made Zakuul burn out of spite. I dragged Arcann down from from his throne onto his knees, and kept him alive on a whim. I tore out Vaylin’s throat and wrested away the throne from her just because I could! And yet you still believe there’s anything you can do change the galaxy’s perception of me? I could skin you alive and make a coat to their boisterous applause.”

“You’re a monster,” he snapped holding his side but there was fear in his eyes. She paced like a nexu about to snap her chain.

“A monster? Really? And I suppose you believe yourself to be the noble martyr, yes? My it must be nice inhabiting a delusion. That’s what’s wrong with you Zakuulians; the whole damn planet has trouble grasping reality. Allow me to enlighten you.” 

Tikal stopped abruptly and leveled her lightsaber at his head.

“This what will happen: I will kill you, go home, and have a nice long bubble bath while the rest of the galaxy hails me as their hero. By tomorrow I will have forgotten your face and the animals will have picked your bones and metal bits clean. By the end of the week, all that will remain of your pathetic little rebellion will be the bloated corpses still languishing in the tanks, and letters from half a dozen planets apologizing for your existence,” she smiled at him cruelly, “your death, your sacrifice, all of it useless in the end. You think taking my fleet accomplished anything? I destroyed  your capital city with a shuttle and a lunatic. I would say your death was for nothing, but that’s not entirely true. You have sealed Zakuul’s fate. I no longer have any use for the planet, and I destroy what I can’t use. As for you... you dying for my amusement will be the last bit of fleeting significance your life will ever have.”

Vinn shook with ill contained rage but before he could retort, his head was detached from his body in the clean hum of a black cored lightsaber. She had listened to enough of his monologues he would not get another. The insufferable man’s death was not as satisfying as she would have liked but it did take the edge off her murderous rage. She turned away from the scene and saw Lana tending to their spy.

Theron’s usually focused gaze was muddled and laced with pain. His head lolled back and his eyes closed. He was weak, vulnerable, like she had been on Umbara. He had taken his shot without hesitation even as he claimed to love her and now the tables had turned.

“And you mean a lot to me. I'd do anything to protect you.”

A lie…

“The longer we search, the more I think someone planted the "traitor" idea to turn you against your own people. ”

Another lie…

“This time, I'll have your back.”

And another…

“When you show your true colors, it makes all this easier.”

The truth at last. In her last frantic, desperate moments Tikal had lost all semblance of dignity and begged.

Stop the train, Theron. We can still find peace, but we have to work together! We can talk about this, we can make this work. Just stop. Just for a moment please stop...

“We’re long past that...”

She stared at Theron listlessly. The emptiness inside her swallowing her whole as his parting message to her still haunted her waking hours.

“Feels like I've fought for peace all my life, but everyone has let me down…”

A cold sort of calm settled over her. Was this Jedi detachment or petty apathy? Was this what Master Orgus Din wanted from her? To ultimately stop caring? What happened when nothing mattered anymore? What happened when you lost all sight of the light?

Theron’s life in her hands...

“We don’t have much time. Unless we take Theron to Odessen, he won’t make it,” Lana’s words interrupted Tikal’s dark thoughts.

Theron’s eyes fluttered open and he gasped for breath as Lana momentarily boosted his consciousness. She stared at him and saw Theron's eyes widen. Tikal could practically smell the fear on him. His terror was a scarlet streak in the force along and something else… guilt. Her lightsabers powered off and she looked everywhere except the dying man. She didn’t have to do anything save refuse to act. 

It was simple, neat, final.

She walked away before voicing her order to Lana.

“Call a shuttle. We’re taking Theron home.”

[speeps-highway]

So Super Sonic’s story has some interesting oversights

Super Sonic’s story doesn’t save after cutscenes and is built on top of Sonic’s story, which allows some oversights to pop up here and there.

Crystal Ring Glitch

Super Sonic’s story has a major bug in that it doesn’t correctly define where Sonic should spawn when transitioning from a menu to gameplay after getting an upgrade.

Getting an upgrade saves the game, but screws up your spawn point. When you try to resume the story again the game’ll crash. This happens with any upgrade, but you can’t start Super Sonic’s story without the Light Shoes and Ancient Light.

When the game tries to find out where to put Sonic in this situation, it’ll just think it needs to send him to Hedgehog Hammer (which is bad and very crashy in the DC version if you’re not Amy). You can also trigger the bug by getting a game over after upgrading.

There IS a way to prevent this! Just simply go beat any Action stage. Now you’ll be able to spawn fine.

In DX (PC?), Super Sonic’s starting point is set to the top of the Mystic Ruins Jungle (Just like it is initially, but this time after the intro), preventing this glitch from occuring.

Inaccessible Recap Screens

Like every other story, Super Sonic has a set of recap screens that summarise plot points up to where you are in the story. Super Sonic has them as well, but due to aforementioned lack of saving as well as the fact that recaps don’t appear if the story is 100% clear, you’re not likely to come across them in a normal playthrough.

The recaps for Super Sonic look quite different to the other ones, with Chaos 0′s theme playing and Perfect Chaos in the background.

Here’s the recaps!

Before checking Knuckles

I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! Well, yaaaaaaawn.... Eggman seemed to have learned his lesson. I suppose it's time for my next journey. Suddenly, Tails came to me in a huge panic. What?  Angel Island has fallen again?  What's happened this time? Anyway, let's go and find out!

In the Past - before approaching the Knuckles Clan

I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! When I arrived at Angel Island, to my surprise I found both Eggman and Knuckles lying unconscious on the ground. What did you say? Chaos is still alive?? ...And then all of the sudden I found myself in another world. Just like before...! What is this place!?

In the Past - after the Knuckles Clan is attacked by Chaos

I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! In that mysterious world... I saw a girl... and many Chao. And an army of warriors marching towards the Emerald, Then... It was standing in front of them. But... who? Who is that girl?

After returning from the Past

I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog! When I awoke, only Tails was there. The last Chaos Emerald is still inside the Tornado 2! I cannot allow Chaos to absorb the last Emerald! Tails and I ran back to Mystic Ruins to search for the Emerald. If the vision I saw is true... That must mean Chaos is...!

If you enter an action stage or obtain an upgrade on your first playthrough of Super Sonic’s story and then quit, you’ll be able to see one of the recap screens when you select the story again.

But... this only accounts for two of them!! This is because the second and third recaps happen only when Sonic goes to the past, and there’s no action stages or upgrades there to save with.

The only way to get out of the past without going up to Tikal is clipping out of bounds to get a game over.

...But the problem is, doing that sends you back to before you met Knuckles.

The only way to see the second and third recaps is to hack the game to force yourself out of the past and then clearing an action stage or getting an upgrade. Otherwise, they’re impossible to see!

Broken Cutscene Cameras

When Sonic first appears in the Past, the camera appears behind him in the same manner it does when playing normally:

Thing is though, it’s... not supposed to do that.

For some reason, the previous scene interferes with this one and prevents the camera from working like it should. This is what the scene should look like:

This persisted into the GameCube version, but starting with the 2004 PC version, the scene uses the correct cameras.

Entering the Jungle

You can still enter the Jungle before meeting Knuckles at Angel Island, but I don’t think you were actually supposed to be able to go here at this point.

If you pay attention to the NPCs, their lines in the Jungle are the same ones from the end of Sonic’s story. Outside the Jungle, the NPCs are all talking about how they cancelled the trip and went home.

One NPC is also in both the Jungle and the Train area at the same time. Before the second party enters, you can find him outside Windy Cave. When he enters the Jungle, he’s near the temple.

I’m sure this is the same NPC because the time periods the two show up are consistent (Train guy disappears/Jungle guy appears when the second party goes in) and never overlap otherwise.

This is the second weird thing involving Jungle NPCs, with the other one being a guy who still talks about it being night time after beating Gamma’s story in DX.

[freeasthewind-sonicau]

Prologue: Ancient Stories

Legends tell of a mythic gem of an enormous size, sitting atop a floating island hidden among the clouds. It was said this jewel, the Master Emerald, was an infinite source of power which held the mighty Chaos, a god of raw energy and drive. With the Emerald’s power, the isle stayed afloat and alive, housing many inhabitants.

A tribe of warriors and healers, the Masters Tribe, were told to have lived on the island for generations with their leader held as guardian to their powerful treasure. The people did keep relations to the world below, often trading the islands bounties with other tribes. Despite it all, very few people were lucky to have stepped foot on the isle itself and it was considered a blessing to be allowed in the mystical land.

However, The Masters Tribe was one of war and thus had many enemies on the surface world below. Many of those down below sought out the Master Emerald for their own devices. Some to bring life to their lands. Others to bring devastation. Their greatest enemy, the Nocturnus Clan, had lost war after war in pursuit of the Emerald. Still, they could never prevail against the mighty tribe.

That is not to say the Master Tribe never thought to abuse their power. It was said in the late reign of Chief Pachacamac, he sought to use the Master Emerald as a means to destroy the Nocturnus Clan for good. Many of his people rallied behind him, urging for war. His daughter and heiress, Tikal, begged for her people to reconsider. Alas, she watched as the flames of hatred consumed them. Their overwhelming energy surged into the Master Emerald and awakened their god.

Only Chaos would not comply with them.

Instead, the deity wrecked havoc in their home, causing massive storms and utter destruction in its wake. His once gentle form had grown monstrous. It was an indescribable beast. Nothing could stop him. Not even Pachacamac, who had lost his rights as Chaos’ guardian. Tikal knew the only way to save her people was to quell the god’s anger.

She had little help, but they stood by her loyally. The first was Sian, a traveller from the land of Green Hills on the surface who had come for adventure and exploration. His swift feet and quick thinking, as well as his heart of gold, saved many from Chaos storms and helped fight back against the monster. The second was Sian’s ward, Teri, who had travelled with his guardian for as long as he could remember.  Despite his youth, he had vast intelligence and was able to find ways to let the people escape. The third was Emi, a girl from the village with a wealth of healing practice and skill with weapons. She used this knowledge to aid in the fight against the beast as well as heal those who needed her. The fourth was Nako, the younger brother of Tikal and a warrior of the tribe. His immense strength protected his people and his sister from the danger as it was his sworn duty.

With their strength combined, they battled the insanity of Chaos for days on end. The five took seven fragments of the Master Emerald and created a way to seal the enraged God. It was only when Tikal got close and used her own gifts were they able to calm the deity enough to seal him for good. Alas, this act was a sacrifice; in order to calm him, Tikal had to give up her life energy and her spirit was tied to the Master Emerald. To counteract Chaos, she became a goddess of order and tranquility. Her soul remained in the Master Emerald while Chaos resided in the fragments, now known as the Chaos Emeralds or the Seven Chaos.

As thanks for their assistance, the four who stood alongside Tikal were given immense gifts to summon at will. Sian was gifted speed unrivaled to that of the strongest winds, free as his spirit and taking him wherever he pleased. Teri was granted flight to travel alongside his guardian, granting him the skies and all its bounty. Emi was granted magic, the ability to enhance her skills when her passion be like fire and summon her hammer whenever she called for it. Nako was granted strength which could move the earth itself, letting him stand strong against any adversity. These gifts were granted as for the four to guard these treasures against the threat of evil.

Many stories are told of their adventures. Some of great valour. Some of great skill. Some of great courage. All of them spoke of how close they were, resembling that of a family. Although some are up for speculation, the most notable legend was of Sian’s death at the hands of a snake-like beast who nearly used the Seven Chaos against him and his friends. Even though the tale ended in victory for the heroes, it was at the cost of the Seven Chaos being scattered across the world and Sian’s life being forfeit.

The tale ends with a prophecy: When One of Seven Chaos be found by the spirit of the Wind, Seven be found once more by Wind. Sky, Earth and Fire shall rejoin as family and powers be returned. Four shall protect and serve Master and Chaos as they had in times before.

“That makes no sense, Uncle Chuck,” A small child said, wriggling in his thick blankets.

The old man chuckled, closing his book and ruffling the child’s hair.

“It’s the story of my research, sonny boy.” Chuck set the book aside as he stood up and headed for the door. “Maybe one day, I’ll tell you one of Sian’s legends.”

The little boy nodded with a smile.

“He’s got adventures, right?” he asked. “That already makes him way past cool!”

Chuck smiled, turning off the bedroom lights.

“Nikki, my boy, I knew you would say that. Believe you me, he is.”

[mynameisdreartblog]

Vacation Resorts 2

Leo: Tikal Futura. Alright, we’re at the spot now. <The news van stops abruptly along the dirt path leading up to the rustic chapel.> Now, a report from a local named [Clara] said that there’s one man still left inside this abandoned building on the outskirts of Chisec. [She] says that the man recounts experiences of supernatural phenomenon, particularly miraculous visions in ordinary objects and a divine narrative being revealed to him. «You know this guy’s just another looney preacher, right? They’d profess absolutely anything to believe what they already preconceived: It’s the whole damn point of their work.» Yeah, but I think we’re losing interest in the middle-aged demographic that eats up these kinds of stories. Fabricated or not, we need something that explores the paranormal and appeals to religious sensibilities. «True, and we aren’t a scientific magazine or anything; I’m just a scientist.» Yeah, yeah, I know you received a degree in biology from some fancy university in the West and you wanna bring enlightenment to the stupid masses here, but can it for now, alright? <Oro and [Viz] step out and approach the chapel: The only thing that accompanies them is the setting sun, gawking children past their curfew, and familiar barking.> [,] <A service-worker steps out of the building and shocks both of them because they thought there was only one.> Hey, who are you‽ <The service-worker remain silent, communicating only in hand-signals.> «They’re not speaking, Oro; they must be mute.» <The service-worker takes out a sheet of paper that has blank requirements, yet to be filled out. Confusingly, they took a pen out of their pocket and gestured it towards Oro.> D-do you want me to do something with this paper? Do you want me to sign it? <They nod.> «What the hell’s going on? Forget about this! <[Viz] takes the pen out of Oro’s hand and directs them back towards the chapel.> Focus on what we’re here for.» <The service-worker walks back the same path they went, folding the paper secretly.> […] You know, they were probably a service-worker and those were their documentation forms: Probably a student needing hours to pass. «What the hell are you talking about, [Oro]?» I don’t know, [Viz].

Taurus: The LaLiT Chandigarh. <We cut to a scene of a quiet night after the business day has finished. All that fills the air is the satisfaction of all the energy in the room releasing after what can only be described as genuine accomplishment.>  It’s done and dead: There’s nothing left to say of it but that it did its purpose and let it rest. «You’re always ready to end the day to just terminate it. I don’t get it; it frustrates me actually.» I do that all the time; have you not gotten used to it? I hang up before you can even begin the first syllable of ‘love you’ so it ends up being a dissonant L sound. There’s no need to say such things: The purpose of the conversation came and went, so why add on something we know already? «<Breathes in> I might just say how I feel…» Whenever you want to do that, let me know. As for now, the post mortem of the day begins! <Gresham turns on the old TV and adjusts the dials to the combination he isn’t secure in knowing works but still trusts it because of recent precedent. The contents remain typical until twelve minutes in where a particularly obnoxious yet catching commercial plays. The commercial depicts a woman in her mid-forties wearing a wrinkled suit, and she begins speaking in an almost tired voice.>  [,] «Imagine this: You’re a giant amongst the crowd of normally sized people.» <Gresham reflects to himself constant comments> I don’t have to; I’m already above 200cm tall. «Next, imagine that TVs haven’t been invented yet, and you’re through the paper to find what you’re looking for.» Huh, what is it exactly that I’m looking for? Also, they’re asking me to go pretty far back; TVs have been around here since, oh, the ’70s? «There you are, in your local library.» Highly unrelatable already, heh. «You pull a particular book from the shelf that piques your interest, and upon turning its pages, you find this particular line: ’My blood will drip onto the floor until the dead say, “Thank you, no more!”’» Ah, err, what? «Now, tell me, what does this quote mean to you? Next, whatever it is you thought of, it can help you lead to massive success!» That was a bit too… poetic for get-rich schemes. I’m gonna turn the TV off. <A blip is heard, and the TV shuts off: A look of desperation appears on the woman on TV appears terrifyingly desperate.>

Aquarius: Aulani. Only the worlds that matter will remain... <Aukai rips off the current page of her captain’s log and tosses it aside.> «You update it so rarely, and for the few times you do so, you tear out take out more pages than a frequent writer.» Well, I don’t like writing: The only time I do it is to label something momentarily important in a greater project. Understand that I only see it as a method of placing footnotes whenever I’d find them useful. «I do know that about you, and I can see the emphasized importance they have out here: It’s kinda difficult to get the right paints in the middle of the ocean. So economically, I can see why they’re important: You need to arrive back at port and gods know if your memory is still intact by then.» It’s difficult, but not impossible if you can muster a couple of targeted catches! A little bit of red from the blood, a little bit of yellow from the blubber, and a little bit of green from algae. It’d stink to high hell, but that’s appealing to some customers. «You’re talking about galleries, right? I hope you are.» Galleries? You know me better than that: I leave some in the storage forever or leave them in the environment for random people to stumble upon. Galleries are for aimless people. «A murderer hasn’t discovered them yet and hunted you down, right?» Uh, no? Last time that happened was… I don’t think it’s happened yet, actually. «Hah, seriously though, you seem to take a self-destructive attitude to your art as of lately.» I think about my involvement in that process a lot: Like, I feel that I have rather minimal involvement to the point where I don’t think about it at all — It’s subconscious. I don’t know if there’d be something catastrophic if I wasn’t there for the process, like a vegetative, bioterrorist attack occurs if I’m not there. I’ve done plenty unique so far, but it’s nothing other people have done also, so it’s only unique if you isolate me, but at that point, I don’t wanna be isolated. Recognize me for what’s there, you know? A niche doesn’t need to be consistent, nor do I need to be: Nothing of my philosophy entails that I know anything other than the stars in the sky or the conscience in my brain… «I’m sure there was a footnote in that spiel.» You’re probably right.

Pisces: Royal Horizon Baobab. We all know space is big, like, really big. If you want a perspective of how big it is, let me tell you about the biggest star, which is currently believed to be UY Scuti, which has an estimated volume of 21-billion times that of our Sun that would extend to the orbit of Saturn if it were placed into our solar system. While that’s terrifyingly huge, it’s rather miniscule in comparison to other objects which are even more impossibly massive. One such object is supermassive blackholes: They are millions, if not billions, of times the mass of our Sun. This is just a slice of the sheer scale of the universe now at our understanding, so that makes you reconsider exactly what your position is in the universe. [,] «Maghazi, you do this all the time: You arrive at our table, and then you blabber on and on about info that means nothing to our everyday lives despite how much awe you put into your speech. I mean, it’s impressive that you know all of these facts about space and time and whatever, but who the hell cares?» <Maghazi’s drink is about to spill over until he catches it at the last minute, giving him a brief amount of time to form a response in its excuse.> Well, they’re interesting to me, and the way I tell other people about them is by injecting them into conversations to see if I can bring about that moment in time where everyone is contemplative of their roles. <One of his company stares at him confusingly while the others idly continue to their own thing, implying that none of them heard Maghazi to begin with.> I’m referring to the moments where everyone contemplates what exactly it all means that they’re alive and talking among each other: While I think these moments are futile deep down, there’s a part of me that wants to see the value in them. «When has the largeness of something ever deprived value from it? If that were the case, you’d be the least valuable member of the wrestling team since you’re the stoutest of us all, but you and I hope that isn’t the case, right?» You seriously think there’s an intrinsic value to our lives that formulated entirely through chance? «A chance is what brought you here, hasn’t it? Look around you: Observe the poverty, despair, and societal misery around you. Why have you become so desensitized to this to focus on questions relating to the observations you’ll never live to see?» <The table is now emptied, leaving only Maghazi and The Other.> I remain unconvinced.