#despite wanting to relate more to shadow- i end up being more similar to sonic than him >:/

[beevean]

My biggest gripe with Prime so far is it's narrative insisting that Sonic is somehow a person who took his friends for granted and that he needs to go on some kind of self-discovering journey because of it, despite nothing Sonic has really done so far actually reflecting it. The catalyst for the show happening in the first place is Sonic getting pissed at Eggman shit talking Tails; doesn't seem like someone who took his friends for granted. Hell, if anything, Sonic won't shut the hell about the Powar of Friendship. The show's synopsis made it sound like he's his Fleetway counterpart, when at worst he's just kinda dumb because there wouldn't be a conflict otherwise, and the so-called bad selfish things he's done are honest to God mistakes and things no one could have predicted.

This in turn has the unintended effect of not only making Sonic's friends from his primary universe look like ones who hold him to standards that are impossible to meet, but the alternate dimension versions of them too. Especially Nine Tails, who in my personal opinion, has been kind of insufferable so far. Even with taking his differing background into consideration, at best he comes off as someone with the biggest stick jammed up his ass, and at worst he just seems like one of those try-hard whiny Punk-Emo kids who think they're being edgy and non-conformist. He just seems like someone using the two people in the past who made fun of his birth defect as an excuse to be as abrasive and stand-offish as possible to everyone, even when someone hasn't given him an actual reason to. I also don't like the implication that without Sonic in their lives, they either end up like Nine Tails, you just never get anything done, or you're just too dumb to function.

Wouldn't have a problem with all of this if they weren't insisting that this is totally canon to the main game one, instead of just being it's own thing like every other Sonic adaptation in the past has been, despite there already being several things that contradict the game canon beyond just matters concerning characterization.

Didn't a similar thing happen with Rise of Lyric? I remember that most of the descriptions of the game pre-release mentioned that Boom Sonic was a loner who'd have to learn about the Super Power of Teamwork. Game comes out, and uhhh he's actually pretty chill with his friends, a few cutscenes notwithstanding.

I don't know which is worse: thinking that Sonic needs to learn how to accept his friends, or not even delivering on your premise. Both are bad writing :V except that everyone and their mother gleefully shat on Boom and everything related to it, but Prime has a Sonic that Is Just Like Me Fr Fr (And Is Also Gay For Shadow), so it's all A-okay :^)

Prime to me honestly feels like a Boom that takes itself seriously. Boom (the show, I mean) had no pretenses: like it or not, it knew that it was nothing more than a funny sitcom featuring AU versions of Sonic & co. So I don't mind that Sonic was grumpier, or that Knuckles was basically a furry Kronk, or that Eggman had a crush on Sonic was little more than a manchild with mommy issues. But if you show not only want to have a more serious storyline with dimension hopping and protagonists screwing up and having to live with the consequences, but you even want to be considered canon... well, I expect more.

[birdsareblooming]

Over Fifty Years

[Spoilers for Sonic 2]

speculation post

[Maddie: I mean, there's been a Wachowski protecting this town for more than 50 years.]

[Agent: A file buried deep in our system and dating back over 50 years.]

Other people have seen this connection [X] [X], soon after me and my sister (@autisticshadowthehedgehog) did. Similar timelines and wording piqued our intrest.

Along was revising the chaos emerald theory we've been talking about this as well, this was something we even talked about the night after seeing it.

laying it out: the files related to Project Shadow date back to "over 50 years" and Tom's dad, who he mentions multiple times, was also protecting Green Hills for that same amount of time "more than 50 years."

Tom's dad has been an interesting conundrum. They were clearly very close and yet we haven't seen him, we've only seen Maddie's side of the family. He's mentioned but never there. His fate remains unknown, either moving out of town and not being the type to visit, or Sonic HAS met him just offscreen, or he's dead.

Instead of focusing on what we don't know for now, let's focus on the little things we DO know

Crazy Carl knew Tom's dad "You're a good man, like your father. He always put the people of this town first. Never judged anyone. I don't know where this town would be without a Wachowski lookn' out for us." [X]

He started as the sheriff of the town over 50 years ago, passing that on to Tom in unknown amount of time ago.

He always tried to steer Tom in the right direction, giving him lessons about what being a hero's about.

Him and Tom used to fish, according to the novelization it was a family tradition for family talks

According to the novelization, Tom found Sonic to be a lot like himself as a kid, and his dad would be the one to tell him to slow down.

Alright, that's what we know. Tom's invisible dad is mentioned a good amount but has yet to be seen, despite us getting a very good view of Maddie's.

So this is where I get to the speculation. This was something I brought up to my sister as a fun possibility, but an unlikely one, however with the connection it may be more possible now.

This would be a risky move, as well as an unexpected one, so I don't fully expect them to go in this direction, however it's a fair possibility and I will treat it as such.

During the Shadow arc in Sonic X, there was a subplot with A reoccurring reporter character and Chris' government employed spy teacher. It seems unimportant, but it was incredibly interesting.

In this subplot they research the ARK and Project Shadow, digging up what they can find about the incident. Eventually their search leads them to an older man who used to work for GUN. He doesn't want to talk to them about anything until they convince him to do so.

[Mr. Schmitz: Our mission seemed pretty straightforward at the time. I ordered us to close the facility because of some sort of accident. Scarlet: Go on. Mr. Schmitz: A couple of us knew they weren't telling the whole story... Mr. Schmitz: ...but none of us had the guts to speak up. We just did our jobs and went up to space like we were told.]

It's then we find out he was one of the soldiers that raided the ARK. They were told very little, but they were promised heroism by GUN. During this he figured something was going on, and we find out he was the one who fired on Maria in a panic.

He is severely traumatized by this, and never forgave himself for what he and his fellow soldiers did.

[Mr. Schmitz: She was so young... I'll never forget her face... Mr. Schmitz: We sealed off the area, and they took her away. The mission ended, and we all went home. Scarlet: But wasn't there any kind of investigation? Mr. Schmitz: The official report called it "an unfortunate accident", and we were all sworn to secrecy. But I know that it wasn't an accident and nobody can tell me otherwise! [Mr. Schmitz buries his head in his hands.]]

This is a pretty obscure Sonic plot and a very obscure character, but the idea of this character still exists.

While watching Sonic 2 I noticed a lot of X references, which I enjoyed, there were a lot of shot recreations.

What i'm implying is it's a possibility that this or a variation could be the story behind Tom's dad.

[Mr. Schmitz: I Volunteered for gun because I wanted to be a hero that protects the peace.]

[Mr. Schmitz: but in reality...]

[Sonic: You’re supposed to be my friend. Stop trying to be my Dad. I can take care of myself. Tom: Sonic, taking care of yourself is not what being a hero is all about. It’s about taking responsibility for other people. And right now, whether you wanna hear this or not, you are still just a kid. You got some more growing up to do before you’re ready to be the big hero. And trust me when I tell you there will come a time when your powers will be needed. But you don’t choose that moment, that moment chooses you. Sonic: Whoa, look at you! I just got- I just got goosebumps! Wait a second, did you steal that from Oprah? Tom: No, sir, that is a Wachowski Family Special. Came from my dad, in this very boat, on this very lake. He would always try to steer me in the right direction. That’s what Maddie and I always try to do with you. So, until your moment arrives… I want you to work on being a little more responsible.]

Tom's dad would teach him lessons about being a true hero, not rushing into it, and taking responsibility for other people. In the first movie, Tom learns that being a hero is about protecting the people you love.

His dad focused on steering him in the right direction, enough so that not only did Tom steal his tactics but remember his exact quote.

Now, a traumatized ex-soldier who became town sheriff right after the traumatizing incident, and making sure that not only he protects the people he loves, but that his son doesn't follow the same path? That'd be interesting as hell i think

[tomeofsealing]

There's something Puyo related that’s been bothering me for awhile and I just want to put it into words. It’s all about Aya’s age and the constant toxic environment around the topic. Fandoms should be about sharing and having fun with headcanons together, not trying to claim who’s right and wrong.

Aya’s age is nonexistent in canon. It’s simply a personal headcanon if one views it as an adult, teen or elder. Yet so many people seem to think it’s canon that Aya is an adult or older, which is simply not true in canon. It’s left vague and up to interpretation on purpose. Nobody is right or wrong. Headcanons are personal interpretations, in all media people can view concepts and themes differently. Like how no one is wrong for headcanons about a character's gender or sexuality. Hounding people who have a different headcanon as you is just cruel and wrong. 

A lot of this seems to stem from Aya being sealed in the Record of Sealing. When in reality, all that’s really known in canon about how the book works is vague. It was taken by some kids who wanted to use it as a prank to seal the demon’s soul. There’s nothing in canon about what happens in the book to the sealed soul and when it comes to how long it’s been we only have one offhand comment by Akuma to guess around a thousand years or more. Because the conditions of how being sealed is entirely up to the viewer, one can headcanon Aya in those thousand years being aware the whole time or in a stasis, in the end neither are canon and perfectly valid to headcanon. 

All we also know about the Original Demon is they kept to themselves, lived in a castle alone and the only physical being described as a shōnen / young boy when the split happened. Some could say that because of living alone in a castle the demon was an adult, or much like Arle; just owns a home as a teenager because it’s a fantasy world. Another thing many need to remember is that Aya’s not the original demon either, only half of the original, much like Sig. They are mutually part of the demon but the original is long gone. Many know I headcanon Aya as an adult, but in my case I see it as Aya was aware the whole time but only in recent centuries was able to interact with the living, putting him in his early 20’s once given a body of his own. Yet I can also see how one would headcanon Aya as a teen, considering the only life perspective we’re aware of for Aya has ever seen is from a teenage boy and when the split happened the remaining half was a teenager; one can easily interpret that into meaning Aya wouldn’t be any different once put in stasis. I can also see how one would headcanon Aya as an elder, watching the world move for centuries while trapped in place. That’s the fun of headcanons, we all can have our different stories and ideas. 

There’s a lot of characters in the media who have a similar trope to Aya I can use as examples for any interpretation. Princess Luna from MLP:FiM was banished to the moon for a thousand years and implied to be aware the whole time, but once free is confirmed to not be fully grown and the same age as she was before being sealed away. She is still a young adult, much like the mane 6, and headcanons shipping her are perfectly fine. Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic Series was sealed in stasis for 50 years and that doesn’t make him literally 50, he’s still a teenager. Roxas from Kingdom Hearts isn’t literally a toddler despite his creation time, is a teenage boy like his other halfs. Dark Heart from Care Bears is an ageless demonic entity who can shapeshift, taking the form of a teenage boy originally for evil purposes but in the end becomes a real human boy once learning the concepts of friendship and compassion because truly he was a lonely child. 

In the end there is no right or wrong answer with Aya’s age. You can have a different view than someone else, and that’s okay! If you don’t agree with someone else's interpretation, there’s nothing wrong with that, just don’t think your own view is the only truth. Everyone has their own personal reasons for headcanons like these, some very personal and some just for fun. You wouldn’t get mad at someone who headcanons Aya as Transgender or Asexual, right? Age headcanons with Aya are no different. The truth is with canon; the writers of Puyo do not take this seriously, as new writers will add their own stories in future games, things can get inconsistent or entirely retconned for new ideas. So just, please be nice and let's be happy this is a series where so much creativity and ideas can be shared.

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic Heroes: Sweet or Shite? - Part 1: SILVER

There are some heroes I like. And there are some heroes I don’t like. But why do I feel about them the way I do? That’s where this comes in.

This is a series in which I go into slightly more detail about my thoughts on the heroes in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, and why I think they either work well, or fall flat (or somewhere in-between). I’ll be giving my stance on their designs, their personalities, and what they had to show for themselves over the course of time. Two things to keep in mind:

1. These reviews will be focusing mainly on game portrayals. Though alternate media will occasionally be mentioned, it'll be for the sake of adding onto a point if a portrayal is similar enough, or to compare and contrast if a portrayal is different enough.

2. These are just my own personal thoughts. Whether you agree or disagree, feel free to share your own thoughts and opinions! I don’t bite. :>

Anyhow, for today’s installment, I decided to challenge myself by starting off with a complicated one. Born from the future, and never content to stay put in said future, it's the saviour whose debut came from the most unfortunate game... Silver the Hedgehog.

The Gist: Once upon a time, in the distant future, there was an idealistic young hedgehog named Silver, gifted with the power of telekinesis for reasons unknown. With his amazing potential, he was truly destined for a wonderful, prosperous li-just kidding, it was shit.

“All two of us.”

For as long as he knew, the world was forever plagued by Iblis, the terrible Flames of Disaster. Cities stood in ruin, flames stood high, the floor was lava... it was a bitter life to be certain, all thanks to Iblis. Not even defeating the titular creature did much good, since it would simply come back to be a shitty boss fight another day. What was he - and his friend, Blaze, a character we definitely never saw before and definitely didn't have a completely different backstory before - to do?

Trust the first person he sees, of course. Even if they look like they might be related to the same Flames of Disaster that he fights so constantly.

If he had eyelids, he'd be winking at the camera.

This mysterious fellow, Mephiles the Dark, informed Silver that if he were to wipe out Iblis for real, he would need to take a trip into the past, and eliminate the root of the problem... Sonic the Hedgehog? That was what Mephiles claimed, yes. What was his proof? There was no proof.

That was good enough for Silver.

Oh look, it's Fleetway Sonic.

After an elaborate series of events, which should sound exciting but really isn't because it was just Silver going “Iblis Trigger grrr” in varying tones of voice, he was finally able to corner the blue hedgehog... twice! And despite having less fighting know-how than the hero who saved the world plenty of times, he effortlessly came close to killing the blue hedgehog... twice!

This looks like a jobbing for...

Why twice? The first time was halted by Sonic's friend Amy Rose, who Silver had met beforehand after she mistook him for Sonic, an understandable mistake that even the keenest of eyes would be forgiven for making.

The second time was also interrupted, this time by Shadow the Hedgehog. There's only room for one controversial non-blue male hedgehog in this franchise, sonny boy. Actually, his reasons were more benevolent than that: he wanted to show Silver the truth about what was going on, by time travelling to the incident that gave birth to Iblis. Why was one able to to this, so long as more than one Chaos Emerald was present? No one knew.

That was good enough for Silver.

“I challenge you to a dumb-off.”

As it turned out, Iblis was one half of a sun god called Solaris, the other half being the aforementioned Mephiles. The Duke of Soleanna wanted to reunite with his late wife by harnessing Solaris' power, which succeeded from a certain point of view since he's dead now too. The resulting blunder split Solaris into two halves. One half was all brawn, with little capacity for intelligence. The other half was Iblis.

Understanding the error of his ways, and after making peace with Sonic, Silver went back to the future to try something different, which consisted of doing the same thing he always did. Luckily for him, the script decided it would work this time, albeit at the cost of Blaze sacrificing herself... Maybe? Sort of? It’s not entirely clear what happened to her, and it’s not like this was the last we ever saw of her.

~La laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, la laaaaaa, heading to a better game, la laaaaaa~

But ohhhhh nooooo, turns out THAT didn't solve anything either! In the present, Sonic was killed by Mephiles, after the latter realised he should probably do that already if he wanted to make any progress at all with his plan. This incident led to Iblis being brought into the present, and they fused to become the omnipotent Solaris once more. Such power... such divinity... such devastation...

Actually, he was really easy. The antlion from Underground Zone was harder.

Manchild robots - 1, god of time - 0.

With their super forms in tow, Silver, Shadow, and the revived Sonic joined forces to defeat Solaris, with Sonic in particular going the extra step in retconning Solaris out of existence entirely. Since time itself reset, meaning Iblis was no longer a memory, Silver's timeline was given a second chance. What was he to look forward to in this new, promising future?

Shit.

The Design: Let's take a closer look at Silver's appearance, shall we?

Or rather, a certain thing that's wrong with it.

He's holding up fifteen fingers.

Yes, you all know what I'm pointing to: the hairstyle. Let it be known that I'm very aware of the intention behind this design choice. It's supposed to be based on the Japanese Red Maple Leaf, which holds a lot of relevant symbolism for Silver's character. This is a fine idea in theory, and I can respect the intent and the creativity.

But here's the thing: If it looks like a ganja leaf, people are going to say it looks like a ganja leaf. I know some fans will gnash their teeth at me saying this, but the fact of the matter is that intentions and ideas, no matter how good they may be on paper, don't always translate well into the final product. Unleashed Secret Rings Black Knight Sonic '06 in general is certainly no stranger to showcasing examples of that, and Silver's hairstyle is no exception. There are ways to incorporate symbolism in a character’s design without making them look like meme bait in the process, and no amount of “umm ackshually” will change that, I'm afraid.

That said, there's another reason why I'm staying clean of Silver marijuana: it doesn't work for a hedgehog character. With the other hedgehogs, their hairstyles are simple and get the point across: Sonic's goes without saying, Shadow's is more angular to befit a slightly rougher hero, and Amy's is a cute bob cut of sorts. But Silver? Even without the ganja, you've still got the two tentacles making up the back of his head.

I'd rather not be reminded of hentai quills, thanks.

“I thought Crusher-san would like it :’(”

I do find it hilarious that they went through numerous designs for Silver, and this was what they chose to go with. Some of his prototype designs may have fared better had any of them been used instead... but we didn't end up with any of those ones. We ended up with this one, therefore I'm judging this one.

But don’t worry, it’s not all bad with Silver...

The Personality: As far as actual character goes, Silver's personality is as straightfoward as most characters in the series, yet it's no less interesting, because it took a while for it to fully evolve to what it currently is. The seeds of his character - a good-natured yet awkward and rather insecure kind of guy, who doesn't fully understand how the present time works - have always been there, but it was often downplayed in earlier titles due to him being hungry for Iblis Trigger blood... or being an arsehole for no reason.

Although to be fair, everyone in Rivals is an arsehole for no reason.

Eventually though, after the writers gave him a Snickers, these traits got more opportunity to shine. Mostly in side media admittedly, but it's been noted in the games as well. With no Iblis to angst over, he's proven to be a surprisingly bubbly chap, who just wants to know how you're all doing, fellow anthro kids. And whereas his naivety was previously used for intended tragedy to benefit the evil plan of a guy who thought taking the -istoph- out of Mephistopheles would make him inconspicuous, now it's been used for a bunch of low-key contexts that do a much better job at endearing him to the player.

Finally, something I can relate to.

Hell, he even seems to have learned from the Mephiles incident, as he was quick to make it clear to the next shadowy deep-voiced anthro with demonic eyes he met that he wasn't gonna fall for any of them fibs no more, ya hear?

“YouTube and Twitter don’t count.”

All in all, it works well enough, in my opinion. His personality does pave the way for some funny and wholesome moments, and since they’re no longer trying to build him up like he’s Shadow 2.0, he's nowhere near as much of a tool as he was before. So I guess you could say... I like it?

Does this mean I can say that I like the character as a whole then, design and '06-induced idiocy aside?

Well, not quite...

The Execution: This is where the complication part comes into play. We know now that I like his personality, not so much his design, but that's only the half of it. It would be more accurate to say that I like his personality... and dislike everything else.

Aside from that, obviously.

For starters, the creation process for his character and story was summed up with, in their own words, “Think Trunks from Dragon Ball Z”. So he comes off as rather lazy and uninspired. Now I'm not expecting my Sonic characters to be 100% unique, there's always going to be similarities to other franchises no matter what you do, even if subconsciously or by complete coincidence. Taking inspiration in itself is no big deal at all.

But... was that it? Copying a DBZ character to such a blatant extent? Was there no other thought put into it?

Naturally, this ties into an overarching problem: the franchise's mid-00's habit of trying way too hard to be the anthro Dragon Ball Z. Sonic has had DBZ influences since the early days, with the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic, but it didn't assimilate itself into every waking aspect of his universe. It was merely an additional flavor that added to the complete package, in the same way that a Death Star with a moustache didn't mean the franchise was suddenly Star Wars the Hedgehog.

But come the turn of the millenium, nearly every main title in the series ended with Super Sonic and/or Super Shadow saving the day, while everyone else either stood around being useless, or only helping in ways that no one actually cares about. Including the in-universe President apparently, since only Sonic and Shadow were featured in the photo on his desk.

Amy smiled. “I guess the rest of us can go fuck ourselves, huh?”

This reached its peak with - of course - Sonic '06, with Silver in particular being an obvious result of this then-ongoing trend. And yes, it would be unfair to use him as a scapegoat, considering it was already a problem long before he turned up. But moreso than even Shadow, it's an era that Silver is forever a relic of, for better or for worse.

But it doesn't stop there. Since Silver is considered a mainstay character, his gimmick of being from the future also creates problems of its own, because in order for him to make further appearances, he keeps turning up for little explained reason, and thus he suffers the Deadly Six problem of being shoved into places where he doesn't belong, for fanservice's own sake. Take Sonic Colours DS for example, where he went back in time JUST to check out Eggman's theme park... Okay...?

On one hand, I’d visit it too, since it's made by Eggman. On the other hand, I’d stay clear of it, since it's made by Eggman.

And when there IS a justification with more weight to it? It's just recycling the '06 routine of trying to avert his ruined future, which isn't much better. The cause may differ depending on the story, but if his future is a permanent shitehole for one reason or another, he might as well cut out the middle man and stay in the present altogether, since that's where his friends are anyway. But they seem intent on not doing that, despite the future schtick being a noose around his neck at this point.

In hindsight, maybe this was a hint to how the rest of the arc would turn out.

And then there's his dynamic with a certain purple cat... No, not Big. The other one.

“I’m here, by the way.”

Simply put: I don't like this dynamic. At all. Or rather, I don't like how they keep milking it. Blaze's backstory was radically changed to justify her presence in Silver's future, and it really shows, since she barely even shows up half the time, as if the developers themselves forgot she was in the game. But her backstory has since been restored to her original alternate dimension interpretation, so hanging around with the grey hedgehog is all good now, right?

To be brutally honest, I probably wouldn't care for this dynamic regardless. But I would be more willing to tolerate it, and I'd refrain from groaning every time they're seen together... if they weren't intent on playing it up so much in spite of '06 being wiped out, sometimes with a bit of commentary involving their thoughts and memories, which only succeeds at making things more confusing. If Blaze is around, Silver will be nearby, and if he's not at first, he will be soon enough. This franchise does have a problem in general with restricting who's allowed to interact with who (I personally believe Sonic Heroes may have led to this, or at least it accelerated it), but I'd argue it's at its most insufferable here, with Blaze's potential and her entire world taking a backseat to being the sidekick of Ganja Man.

And you might say “Well, it's part of the franchise now, so you'll just have to accept it”. To which I ask: Have you accepted Two Worlds? Have you accepted Solo Sonica? Have you accepted Sonic's friends not doing much as of late?

Yeah. That's what I thought. “It’s just how it is” doesn’t mean you can’t criticise it.

Meanwhile, Marine is lucky enough to get so much as a shout out.

So yeah, I have quite an extensive list of grievances involving poor Silver. But... very little of it has to do with him, right? They're all indirect problems that he just so happens to be linked to, as opposed to someone like Chris Thorndyke, who is genuinely a shit character through and through. This is more comparable to Tails being bitchy in Lost World, or Amy being manipulative in Chronicles, or Sonic being a smug dumbass in IDW, or Shadow not wearing a Hawaiian shirt in Boom. Frustrating, regrettable, but not really the character's own fault.

Yet even after all that, there's one last kick in the teeth... How do you fix all this? And how do you fix it when he's since gained a sizable fandom, many of whom like him for these very attributes? If you leave it as it is, you're stuck with this big, awkward mess that everyone pretends to ignore. If you try to do something about it, you'll get complaints about disrespecting the True Silver Spirit, and you’ll get questions about why you didn't create a new character instead... And if you did use a new character for the sake of a clean slate, THEN you'd get complaints about not using Silver.

It's a tough call to be sure, and it's such a shame because like I said, I do appreciate his personality, so I can't say he's bad outright. But with all this... clutter, I can only put him in the average category. So, in he goes.

Crusher Gives Silver a: Thumbs Sideways!

Well, I'm glad this one's out of the way. Putting my thoughts into words with Silver was harder than it should have been. I do slightly regret starting this series off on a rather downer note, but rest assured, it's a lot more positive from this point onwards, since while I have higher praise for some heroes more than others, the hero characters as a whole fare a lot better than the majority of villains not named Eggman.

I guess you could say that I hope to show why Sonic's friends aren't as shitty as the haters would suggest. ;)

[ask-the-barkerverse]

MLP Headcanon Dump

Just realized that I never bothered to post this on here. Heads up, this is a VERY long post.

Svengallop's parents are Charity Kindheart and Bracer Britches. The two had a brief affair, but never officially dated and Sven was an accident. Charity loved her son, but passed away due to illness when he was a teenager, so Sven was sent to live with his father who never wanted him. This has a lot to do with Svengallop's attitude as an adult.

All pure blooded draconequui are able to become pregnant or impregnate a partner, regardless of gender.

Wind Rider is a womanizer and serial adulterer with several illegitimate children, including Helia, Lighting Dust and Cloudy Daze among others.

There are some ponies who eat meat, such as fish, pork and chicken (eating beef and venison would be considered immoral since bovines and deer in Equestria are sentient). It's not particularly common and is actually considered gross by the majority, not unlike humans who eat insects. Equestria also has plenty of vegan alternatives that exist in our world, such as tofu and artificial meat.

The comic arc "Siege of the Crystal Empire" was actually just a fanfic written by Mina the dragon.

Tree Hugger is a member of the Hooffield Family. She ran away from home as a teen because she was sick of the constant fighting with the McColts. After running away she ended up joining a hippie commune, which is how she became the mare she is today.

Ocellus is the daughter of Queen Chrysalis. She will be queen of Thorax's hive after he is gone.

It is a tradition in Equestria for nurses to add 'heart' to the end of their names once they graduate nursing school. For example, Nurse Redheart's birth name is Redlove and Nurse Sweetheart is Sweetcream. This is in honor of Nurse Cureheart, the nurse credited for curing Celestia's broken heart after Luna's banishment.

The baby brother Hoops mentions in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" is actually Spiral Notepad, who is now a trans filly.

Yaks speak Equestrian (aka English) so badly only because they have their own language and Equestrian is foreign to them.

The Kirin are thought to be the result of Asian unicorns interbreeding with dragons, but this has never been proven.

Derpy Hooves and Dinky Doo are mother and daughter, with Dinky having been born to Derpy when she was still in her teens. (I know it's an old headcanon, but I'll always have a soft spot for it.)

Quibble Pants is a natural blonde.

Derpy Hooves' real name is Ditzy Doo. "Derpy" was a childhood nickname that just kinda stuck.

Derpy has an eye condition called strabismus, hence the crooked eyes.

Crackle is a pseudodragon, a species of lizard that disguise themselves as dragons. Despite having twice as many limbs and gems growing out of them, they are accepted by dragons as one of their own.

Flash Sentry and Spearhead are brothers and are both descended from a pony that escaped the Crystal Empire during King Sombra's reign.

Sunset Shimmer and Sunburst are cousins.

Discord created Poison Joke.

Toe Tapper and Torch Song are the parents of Coco Pommel.

Hoity Toity is part mule, hence the long ears.

Celestia was born with an all-pink mane and tail and would have gained more shades of orange and yellow as she grew, but she instead gained hues of green and blue when she took over Luna's duty of raising the moon after Nightmare Moon's banishment.

Wind Sprint's original father died in a sports-related accident, which is why Clear Sky found comfort and common ground with Quibble Pants who was able to distract her from sports for a while. Unfortunately, as we all know from the episode, this had no effect on Wind Sprint's persistent love for sports.

Celestia was technically the first pony who managed to pull off a sonic rainboom, but it wasn't the same as Rainbow Dash's since she lacked the colors of a proper rainbow. Over time it was forgotten, but Celestia's "rainboom" was the basis of the sonic rainboom being a myth in the first place.

Pinkie Pie and Applejack's respective families are both descended from the children of Chancellor Puddinghead and Smart Cookie.

Orchard Blossom is an actual Apple family member that Big Mac was impersonating in "Brotherhooves Social".

Rainbow Blaze (the rainbow-maned stallion from "Games Ponies Play" who was confirmed is not Rainbow Dash's father) is Rainbow Dash's older brother.

The final alternate future seen in "The Cutie Remark-Part 2" where Equestria is nothing but an apocalyptic wasteland is a result of Daybreaker coming to life and burning everything to the ground into pure ash. It got so bad that it ultimately left Daybreaker with no kingdom to rule anymore. (As horrifying as it sounds, the dirt that Twilight and Starlight were standing on in that scene included the ashes of hundreds of dead ponies.)

Pear Butter and Bright Mac were killed by Timberwolves on a day trip. Sadly, Granny Smith considers herself responsible for this as she forgot to warn them about the Timberwolves that day. As a result, this is also why Applejack is so good at fighting them off.

Due to their godlike status, Celestia and Luna are the only immortal alicorns. Ordinary royalty like Twilight Sparkle, Cadance, and Flurry Heart have longer lifespans than normal ponies but can still die of old age.

Screwball is the daughter of Nurse Sweetheart and her eyes only become swirly when she's exposed to Poison Joke. The effect it has on her is that it makes her see weird stuff and she used to be addicted to it, but ended up quitting altogether as the last time she used it (around the time Discord returned) caused her to see some pretty nightmarish imagery.

The episode "Yakety Sax" was just a bad fever dream Pinkie Pie had after eating too much Yak cuisine one day.

All the changelings in Thorax's hive are siblings born from the same queen. Changelings do not interbreed with members of their own hive, though they may form family units with their siblings and adopt grubs to raise, hence the family of changelings Ocellus was seen with in "Hearths Warming Club".

Whoa Nelly's real name is Jelly Nelly Bean. Her large size is the result of a very rare pituitary disorder.

Fluttershy's human world counterpart is a vegan.

Aunt and Uncle Orange are both parental figures to Babs Seed. Whether they're her biological or adoptive parents in still unknown.

The hippocampus (aka the seaponies from the 2017 movie) once existed as a separate race, but are believed to have been driven to extinction because of the Sirens, who destroyed their homes, depleted their food sources, and even directly preyed on them. This was of course before Queen Novo fled into the sea and formed the seaponies we know from the 2017 movie.

Snap Shutter and Mane Allgood had Scootaloo later in life as they didn't really plan to have a foal, hence why they're such thoughtless parents.

Mane Allgood is actually a cousin of Daring Do.

Bulk Biceps is Featherweight's biological father. He was formerly married to an abusive, neglectful, and alcoholic wife, resulting in a divorce and Bulk and Featherweight moving to Ponyville and leaving her for good.

Cheese Sandwich is the younger brother of Marine Sandwich. The real reason he ran away from home and stumbled into Ponyville by chance is because he wanted to get away from his psychotic older sister. (Based off of this.)

Cheese Sandwich and Mudbriar are cousins.

Limestone Pie's talent is mixing drinks.

Burnt Oak is the father of the pony versions of Timber Spruce and Gloriosa Daisy.

Rumble is a trans colt.

Granny Smith's real name is Maria Ann Smith, or "Annie Smith" for short.

Fluttershy is the oldest of the Man Six, while Pinkie Pie is the youngest.

Trixie's full name is actually Bellatrix Lulamoon. She prefers to go by Trixie as it's easier to remember.

Tempest Shadow didn't receive her cutie mark until she was an adult, AFTER the events of the MLP movie where she started using her horn to make fireworks.

The draconequus were once a race of creatures that went to war against ponykind after their prince (aka Discord) was turned to stone. The war resulted in many of them being wiped out and it's currently unknown if any besides Discord still exist today.

Kirin shed and regrow their horns once a year, similar to deer antlers. Shed kirin horns make a powerful ingredient in potions.

[mobius-prime]

235. Sonic the Hedgehog #167

Mobius 25 Years Later (Part Two): Tempus Aeternus

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley Colors: Jason Jensen

Lien-Da is incredibly happy with herself on this fine evening, sipping a glass of wine and bragging about how she and King Shadow orchestrated the arrests of Tails, Lara-Su and Sonic, and how as a result she's had a hand in "bringing down the line of Edmund." Rutan watches silently from the nearby stairs, looking conflicted and upset, while Dimitri (still confined to being a head in a bubble) coldly remarks at how ashamed he is to be related to her due to her behavior, even more ashamed than when he in the past worked with Dr. Finitevus. Wait, what?! That hasn't happened yet! A hint of what is to come in the main comic, perhaps…? After all, though Lien-Da implied that Dimitri was dead during the Return to Angel Island arc, we know he can't actually be if he appears in this future. In the dungeons beneath the castle, Sonic, Tails, and Lara-Su have been chained up next to a despondent Rotor. He is frustrated that the three of them don't seem to be taking their position seriously, as the first two mostly joke around about this "bringing back memories" while Lara-Su complains that Rutan will make fun of her for all this. At that moment, Knuckles walks in, looking very stern.

What, did you think Knuckles was gonna be the villain of this piece? Nah, he has way too heroic of a spirit to end up like that! (I mean, so does Shadow, but we already saw how that's being ignored in this arc, so.) Apparently, he was even counting on Lara-Su to overhear his conversation with Tails, precisely so that she would rebel and allow him to set up a coup like this without Shadow realizing that his head enforcer wasn't loyal. Tails says that he'll hack the castle's security systems to allow the others to get a clear path to the throne room, and Knuckles says he'll keep Queen Sally safe while Sonic battles Shadow. Lara-Su wants to come along, but Knuckles convinces her that now the best way for her to help is to get the injured Rotor to a hospital, which she reluctantly agrees to. Sonic and Knuckles race along the hallways to the throne room, where Sally quickly follows Knuckles to safety. Apparently, she too seems to know about the other timeline, surprised that her husband does as well. With Sally safe, Sonic tries to attack Shadow, but his punch has barely any force behind it.

Ouch. I mean, yeah, saw it coming, but ouch. Things are looking bad, until suddenly Lara-Su bursts in, ready to continue the fight on her own terms. Shadow becomes irritated at her smack-talk, and reminds her that he wields Chaos powers, only for her fist to glow as she smugly invites him to "join the club." Shadow tries to fire off some Chaos Spears in her direction, but she merely dodges them while reciting Tikal's prayer (you know, the "Chaos is power enriched by the heart" one) and performs a Chaos Control, freezing Shadow in place.

Bit of an ignoble ending to Shadow's story, don't you think? I said it last issue, but again, I'm really not okay with how this AU just wants to turn Shadow into this brutal villain. I mean, especially considering his whole character arc in the games - the only times he ever acts truly violent and uncaring of others' wellbeing is when he's being manipulated by an actual villain or otherwise brainwashed, and once he discovers who he truly is he's never anything less than a goddamn hero. I just think that turning Shadow the Hedgehog into Shadow the Evil Dictator is doing a huge disservice to him as a character, and not even bothering to try to work in an ending where he realizes the error of his ways is at this point just spitting in his face.

Meh, whatever. Knuckles comes running back in, concerned, but Lara-Su just excitedly informs him of how she defeated Shadow. She then says a seemingly nonsensical line about how she "already took care of him" that only makes sense if you assume that Knuckles asked her something along the lines of "But I thought you were taking Rotor to the hospital," so I can only guess that they forgot to include that dialogue bubble. Sally and Sonic walk into the next room, and she tells Sonic how Knuckles explained all the timeline shenaningans to her, and how she always felt that something wasn't right all these years. She then awkwardly explains that she never married Shadow for love, but only to try to bring stability to her kingdom. Frankly, I find that to be a pile of crap. Sally Acorn, the lifelong ringleader of the rebellion against not one but two different Robotniks, passively married an evil autocrat who likes to use torture on his enemies? Not fricking likely. Sally would have been at the head of the resistance against Shadow from the very start. It seems that even under a different writer, Mobius 25 Years Later is doomed to have every member of its cast acting completely out of character.

Wow, it's that easy to get back together after twenty-five years apart? *sigh* Look, I think the reason this two-part arc fails is because it's ultimately working off an already-flawed base. I understand that some closure needed to be brought to the tangled mess that Kenders set up at the beginning of this era, but hell, I think it could have been done a lot better. Some people do like the whole King Shadow and dystopian future thing, but personally, I think it's just as inexplicable and out of character as everything in Kenders' version of events. I'm just glad to be done with it, as next issue we actually get to go back to the normal, interesting stuff.

Hedgehog Day

Writer: R. Chacon Pencils: Dave Manak Colors: Josh Ray

Well, we do have this little story before that happens. Apparently everyone in Knothole has decided to put together a second birthday celebration for Sonic several days after the previous one, the one Scourge crashed. Sonic wakes up at 10am on the morning of the make-up party, and begins his morning routine as his alarm clock informs him that Mina's latest hit "Soldier Boy" has just finished playing (note that this issue came out one year before "Soulja Boy" was released, so it's not a reference), that it's going to be in the mid-70s (Fahrenheit) today, and that many important people will be at the celebration such as the king and queen and Mina herself. However, the announcer on the radio then says that everyone is wondering where Sonic is as the party has already started, which wakes Sonic up out of his sleepy daze. He realizes that he accidentally set his alarm for the time the party was to start rather than when he actually wanted to wake up, and rushes to get ready, racing out the door and nearly barreling into a bunch of reporters looking for him.

Ouch! Well, at least there's always tomorrow, right? The next morning, Sonic wakes up at 10am on the morning of the make-up party, and begins his morning routine as his alarm clock informs him that Mina's latest hit "Soldier Boy" has just finished playing, that it's going to be in the mid-70s today, and that many important people will be at the celebration such as the king and queen and Mina herself. However, the announcer on the radio then says that everyone is wondering where Sonic is as the party has already started, which wakes Sonic up out of his sleepy daze. He realizes that he accidentally set his alarm for the time the party was to start rather than when he actually wanted to wake up, and rushes to get ready. However, he hesitates before he races out the front door, struck by a strange suspicion that there's reporters outside waiting for him.

Hmm, something's a bit fishy here… The next next morning, Sonic wakes up and shuts off his alarm, a bit disappointed that he didn't wake up in time to listen to "Soldier Boy." He asks the alarm clock if it's going to be in the 70s for his party today, and the announcer dutifully reports that it will be, repeating the same spiel from the past two mornings.

I mean, maybe if you walked instead of ran, you might make it there in one piece, bro. But then again, this is Sonic we're talking about. He buries himself back under the covers to avoid the prying eyes of reporters looking in through his windows, but that doesn't stop them. They start looking for another entrance, ultimately climbing on top of his roof, which buckles and collapses under their weight. This time, Sonic isn't the only one stuck in the hospital, as all the reporters are injured from their fall as well. Finally, the next next next morning, Sonic has had enough and wakes up three hours before his celebration, making his way there and sitting in one of the folding chairs as everyone sets up around him, confident that now, there's no way he can miss the party!

Though the title of the story is a parody on the movie Groundhog Day, I do find it kind of funny that despite this clearly seeming like another fantastical and silly plot device, stuff like this actually does happen to people. They're called false awakenings, and consist of dreaming that you wake up and perform your morning routine, only to then "wake up" into another similar dream, and this repeats until you finally do regain consciousness for real. They can also be paired with stress dreams, meaning that you might wake up in a panic that you're late for school or work, only to wake up into the same situation again and again in a bizarre loop. So, in a way, this story is actually one of the most realistic in the entire comic! I'm sure that wasn't the intention, but the point still stands!

[speeps-highway]

what are your thoughts on shadow the hedgehog (the game)?

I think it’s fun to pick up and play a but very poorly executed idea. The promotional material for the game looks amazing but the gameplay is just Sonic Heroes with Guns and even more repeated stages.

They missed out on a lot of opportunities to fix the open ends of SA2′s plot, such as the infamous Gerald ARK plan hole, as well as other weirdness from that game, like Shadow calling Sonic the real ultimate life form.

The game actually made Gerald’s situation worse, because if the guy already knew aliens were going to enslave everyone in 50 years anyway what was the point of his whole SA2 plan in the first place?

And the black arms despite supposedly being related to Shadow look absolutely nothing like him. I couldn’t help but laugh when Black Doom wanted Shadow to look at how similar the aliens looked to him when they’re hardly even black in the first place.

The game’s localisation is pretty bad as well. The voice actors being swapped for pretty terrible imitations is bad enough, but they added a ridiculous amount of pointless edge to the game as well. All you have to do is look at those two scenes.

Not to mention they managed to screw up the ending so bad that they thank Gerald instead of Shadow, which confused people for years.

So yeah, I think the idea of “Shadow morality game” is good but god did they drop the ball on actually making it.

[geeky90-blog]

Celeste: A Review

 Surprise! I forgot to review Mirror’s Edge. Work’s been really hard on me lately, and so I’ve been struggling to find time for my hobbies except for some quick bursts of gaming. 

I’ve spent the last week and a half/two weeks playing through Celeste, an Indie Platformer by MattMakesGames on my Switch. Last night after many tries and roughly 27 hours poured into the game, I’m happy to say I completed all 24 of its levels and am floored by this game. Hit the jump below to see my thoughts.

Title: Celeste Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Xbox One, PC, Mac, Linux MSRP: $19.99 Total Playtime: 28 Hours (Roughly) Status: Main Story Completed, All Levels Completed, ~100 strawberries collected.

Read on below my friends. 

For those that aren’t aware, Celeste is a game that was developed out of a small scale project that turned into a full game. (The original game is actually playable online for free, here: https://mattmakesgames.itch.io/celesteclassic) Players play as Madeline, a young woman with the drive and desire to climb Celeste Mountain, a mysterious mountain that features multiple breath-taking sights, including an abandoned city, a ghastly hotel, and spikes.... tons and tons of spikes. 

The premise is simple enough to hook you in, but the actual story, while not as expansive or in-depth as many of our AAA games today, does... well, it does really well with its subtlety, symbolism, and of course letting fans interpret Madeline’s journey. (More on that in a bit)

Graphics-wise, the game bases itself somewhat on old retro titles, more towards the SNES/16-bit era, while the music keeps a nice synth-retro style to go along with it as well. Fitting, considering how the game originally got its start as a retro game made on a retro (imaginary) console. Aesthetically it fits, and the game’s beautiful backgrounds, details, and more truly shine on any screen.

Gameplay is one of the true highlights of this game. Similar to Super Meat Boy, I Wanna Be the Guy, and other titles in that nature, this game is designed to be hard, precise, and brutally unforgiving at times. While there are some instances of RNG, for the most part success or failure is based upon the player’s skill and reflexes. This is pretty refreshing for the most part, as sometimes RNG can become a bit too common place or critical in the world of gaming. (I’m looking at you, Pokemon!)  You can run, wall-jump, dash, and that’s about it. But where the game starts to shine is the difficulty and precision moves you must make in order to be successful. Each jump, dash, and wall-jump truly matters. One wrong move can find you falling to your doom, getting impaled on a bed of spikes, or getting crushed by a laughing block.  Each step and failure you make along the way allows you to learn the game and master its mechanics. One of the most satisfying moments for this game for me was finally mastering the more advanced abilities that are essential in succeeding in the later levels, and I felt truly accomplished by completing the climb and reaching the Summit of Celeste Mountain. 

The difficulty is something that I truly thought would bother me, if I’m being honest. I’m well-known by my partner for my temper when playing video games. (I once rage quit fighting a Pelipper in Pokemon Alpha Sapphire because it kept spamming recovery moves on me if that says anything) However, when I first saw the trailer for this game in a Nintendo Direct last year, something about it stood out. Maybe it was the aesthetic, the story, or the challenge... but like Madeline, I knew I wanted to climb that mountain. I had no reason why, I just knew I wanted to. I think that’s the appeal of the game... some large challenge that players want to overcome.  Celeste presents itself in a way that encourages the player to keep up their efforts. Each failure becomes an opportunity for success, and I can’t think of any moment I truly rage-quit at the game. Yes, I may have been annoyed, but I still felt empowered to finish the game. Even when I faced the final two levels last night, dying almost 500+ times, I was encouraged by the game as I kept learning the correct actions to take. This ultimately led to my final victory when I finished the game ... at 2:30AM. I felt accomplished. I felt proud. I felt...tired. But overall, I felt satisfied at completing what I set out to do in this game: climb the mountain and complete each level in the game. (Collecting all the Strawberries scattered about the mountain, that’s... a whole other story) This game has perfect gameplay, and I believe it’s one of the strongest examples of refined and easy-to-master mechanics in a video game since Super Mario Bros. It is that good and the gameplay makes it worth the price of admission.

Here there be spoilers after this point, 

But the true heart of the story, that keeps you going, is the Madeline and her internal conflict. The overall narrative focuses on her drive to climb Celeste Mountain while also opening up to the faces she meets along the way. Madeline is relatable: she is determined, insecure, and stubborn. This was why I was able to invest myself in the story and for many players, I think this creates immersion in the game. One of the few faces on the mountain she meets is, of course, her other self brought to life by the mountain. Her fears, her insecurities, and more manifest themselves in her alter-ego, and the journey she has confronting herself and overcoming this makes up the true heart of the narrative. And this is one of the highlights of the game that comes together in a wrenching climax and finale. Many games have done the “evil” rival of a character story before (Sonic & Shadow, Mario & Wario, Samus & Dark Samus, etc.) but this game adds some real emotional depth to their conflict and their reconciliation. 

This is in fact, something, I think that allows the player to make up their own connection to Madline. The game is never outright saying what exactly Dark Madline represents at times. It does allude to her insecurities, her fears, her anger, and other negative emotions.... but there’s no set defined name for what she represents. The general consensus (that I agree with) is that she represents depression, anxiety, or mental illness. However, it’s extremely easy for the player to project onto Madeline their personal feelings. (For example, I read the story almost coding Madeline with queer theory, with her Dark Half representing her repressed, true self, and their reconciliation being Madeline accepting of herself) It’s subtle story telling like this that lets the players fill in the gaps, so to speak, which makes for a lot of fun overall.

That being said, there’s truly nothing I’ve seen like Celeste before. The game takes some basic tropes and ideas from its genre, but presents it in a way that’s like a breath of fresh air. Encouraging notes are given to the player throughout the game, the music is somewhat calming and grand, and the environments are all beautiful despite being 16-bit pixel graphics. I’ve been rambling at this point, but I think you now get the picture: this is one of those rare games that will be defining for a generation of gamers, and I am happy I stuck out to the end and completing the game by what I wanted to do. I put 27 hours into a game with 24 levels for my first play-through alone without even realizing it. I got sucked into the world of Celeste, and that doesn’t happen to me in a video game as much as it used to. I could have kept the fun going by collecting all of the game’s 200 strawberries (I ended up with about 100, getting me the second best ending) but I knew my limits and goals: I wanted to finish every level in the game... and I reached that summit, proud of what I wanted to do.

There honestly is nothing much I can say about this game in a negative light. The only thing I can think of is more tutorials for the advanced movements, but otherwise... there isn’t much I can say about this game negatively. It is that good: believe the hype. I will say the best platform (in my opinion) is to get it on the Switch. I played this game in short & long bursts, putting my Switch to sleep when I needed to go back to work or when something would take me away from the mountain. The game is fabulous on any platform, but I think the portability of the Switch makes it easily the best choice to play on. 

In sum: if you are a fan of the genre, you owe it to yourself to play this game. Celeste is unique, fun, and frustrating but satisfying at the same time. The music is catchy and fun, the graphics charming and beautiful, and the gameplay is near flawless. The story is emotionally driven, and I honestly think this is one of my Top Games of 2018 easily. Be brave, approach the mountain, and get climbing.   Final Score: 10/10 

[geek-gem]

A Serious Version Of Sonic Movie Sequel Ideas Explained

So had to click here again and I hope well I want the title to be truthful. Basically it's my thing about what I feel sequels would be. Just okay the movie isn't even out yet but I keep thinking ahead and this is in case.

But I wanted to talk about this and it relates to my post that silly one explaining events by the characters themselves. Along with relating to that Sonic movie Reddit leak whether true or not. Mainly I want to take advantage of this now and just have these ideas.

Including with the story taking liberties I'm want to build upon some stuff. Basically here's the trilogy. Along with a extra movie.

Spoilers for the Reddit leak because it references characters just in case or other things.

The first sequel. Stories taken from Sonic The Hedgehog 3, Sonic Adventure 2, and Sonic Heroes.

The first film and okay changed that last part text the first big text whatever. Wanted to change things up a bit and that change was a mistake I back spaced.

Yet the first film like the leak said the writers looked at Sonic stories mainly the Classic games and Sonic Adventure. The ones with the most are Sonic 1, Sonic 2, and Sonic Adventure.

The film takes place two years later. In 2021 almost left 201 but also the 30th anniversary of the Sonic franchise, 28th anniversary of Sonic CD Metal Sonic's first appearance, 20th anniversary of Sonic Adventure 2 Shadow's first appearance. Wanna say others but let's yet this over with.

Also seriously I keep thinking of that year as a sequel and in this timeline the 50 years not 6 but the many years after the Ark was raided not raised. Let me talk about this.

So it takes place after the first film where Sonic and his friends Tails, Amy, also new character Grant, along with Rouge and Madonna beat Dr. Eggman or Robotnik whatever name they use. Along with Perfect Chaos. With Sonic becoming Super Sonic.

The post credits scene is of Eggman building a big machine, looking at more manuscripts had to look on Google well YouTube at the top search had to use sonic unleashed gaia manuscripts almost forgot gaia. Including the end shows Metal Sonic being created.

Now here while he's building Metal Sonic, he also discovers about the government whether GUN or whatever are hiding something from the public relating to his grand father Gerald Robotnik. He then discovers Shadow.

Honestly knowing some Eggman fans I feel it's best to not have Eggman being tricked or whatever honestly this is different from Sonic Adventure 2.

Yet having Shadow and Metal Sonic. Also while I go with the theory GUN went after Sonic because they wanted to keep Shadow a secret. But just it's good to have both of these guys to help. Yet my silly post said people knew the difference or whatever with Metal Sonic and stuff.

Including Eggman tricks Knuckles into thinking Sonic is a bad person along with Tails and anyone else. Also Knuckles questioning why does Metal Sonic look more evil then Sonic. I've thought of this before but I guess Eggman saying to at least make him look different enough.

Including during the course of the movie while Eggman knows who Rouge is and she can't help them. Also theirs people who noticed some plotholes with her teaming up with Eggman and Shadow.

Yet during the course of the movie Shadow and Metal Sonic attack, and people thinking Metal could be Sonic until they find out it's a robot who looks like him. The people now start to think despite all of the good things Sonic has done. They were now thinking this is happening because of him. Theirs destruction that happens after battles, and people blaming Sonic that Metal Sonic was even born. They honestly want Sonic to be accounted for his actions.

Which actually at first Sonic does hear this stuff yet he understands and at times still helping. Also I don't wanna sound stupid at times doesn't listen some of them I don't wanna do that. Yet it's so much that he is actually thinking too deep into it.

Then connecting more into the first film. Mainly Sonic is met by Tikal's orb whenever he goes to some places even the old Echidna temple to go out and ease his mind. He's met by her and even Chaos in his normal form basically Chaos Zero. But after Sonic basically kicked his ass. Chaos then realized along with Tikal that the world changed. With the film introducing Chao but they aren't a big thing yet to Chaos they are. He's not angry anymore or not as much.

Was gonna write the thing about Sonic yet I wanna explain first this to connect and respect that in the games Chaos was angry for a reason. That he wasn't some random God Of Destruction and just this to be have audiences be aware of that lore.

Now the Sonic thing he talks to Tikal about the stuff of what's been going on. Also the themes and talks about scarifice. With Tikal despite everything she tried to stop. Chaos was angry and destroyed the world. So she had to make the choice of trapping herself in the Master Emerald wait....just....or just Tikal trapping herself with Chaos for thousands of years to make sure nobody was hurt.

I don't know well it seems to count. Yet basically sometimes scarifice comes in certain ways. Whether it be like that or other ways.

Shadow is basically still the same, being the Ultimate Lifeform and hating on humans and basically the world. With seeing his family and basically sister in a way Maria shot while trying to make sure he escaped. While still the same Shadow and trying to set up his supposed father's plans Gerald Robotnik's yet okay people say their some weird stuff with it such as why Chaos Emeralds always connected.

But basically the plan changes.

Metal Sonic is still the same thing. But basically as the film goes on he thinks a bit more for himself. Including of how his father Eggman treats him, and how this is basically getting him nowhere. Along with the obsession that he is the real Sonic.

Yet it's get more personal and he slowly losing it.

While it doesn't go the way of Sonic Heroes some people don't like how Eggman was trapped for most of the game.

Also theirs this theme with Shadow and Metal how they are similar. Both weapons in a way. Including with different relationships with certain families. With different goals.

Including Knuckles okay he figures out what's going with the Master Emerald being stolen. So he teams up with Sonic and friends. Including let's have half of the moon blown up still in a way.

Yet instead of some stuff. Okay just thought of this Gerald's video is released early and everyone figures out what's going on with Shadow.

Including Metal Sonic in secret studying Sonic, studying Shadow, and maybe some Chaos but basically for the Biolizard he decides to absorb it's energy or something and the others see this or just he kills it.

This is a different route instead of what Metal Sonic did in Sonic Heroes.

I'm seriously thinking wow Metal Sonic botched Shadow's and Gerald's plan to destroy the Earth yet Eggman... honestly he wants the Earth for himself.

So Sonic with Amy a bit but Sonic tries to change Shadow's mind. Including this is on Earth but Shadow basically kicks his ass in a fight. Including Shadow is not accepting that Maria died and what her final wishes were. He's choosing to ignore them because he is so enraged and just can't let go of her.

But it's until Sonic even admits that Shadow is becoming the thing he hates and even others learning of Maria never wanted this. Along with Amy protecting Sonic reminding Shadow of what Maria did for her and fully remembering his final moments of seeing her and her final wishes of giving them a chance.

While still I guess feeling angry. Shadow decides to help. But Metal Sonic is almost ready just he's Neo Metal Sonic now and he's so bent on killing Sonic and furious of how his own father has treated him and the world. He tries to kill Eggman but Sonic stops him. Including going Super Sonic. With Shadow becoming Super later.

Along with Neo Metal Sonic becoming Metal Madness and Metal Overlord. With Metal Overlord still being so powerful. The only way to defeat him is to get to his core. Since having the energy of the Biolizard in him and other things.

Sonic realizes that they need to get closer. Yet with how Metal is their is a high possibility of death. But also to Chaos Control Metal Sonic or his core basically his heart out of the area.

Realizing that this might be the only way and the world is going to be destroyed soon. With the whole reason Metal Sonic is doing this is that he wants Sonic dead. Knowing he could die, he wants to save everyone even Eggman and everyone who basically hates him. Showing who he really is. He doesn't care of what people think of him. But he's going to do what he thinks is right.

So he does that almost left dies. Even with Shadow using all four of his rings but Sonic going in first and Shadow supposedly keeping Metal Sonic at bay. With Shadow not approving of what Sonic is doing and even everyone else but Eggman just being shocked by this.

He gets close enough to Metal, gets to his core and some spear or something not Chaos Spear but something maybe of something fallen off of Metal then thought something Tails built.

Including Metal supposedly stabs Sonic in a way and Metal saying he is the real Sonic. Including as he Metal develops more he learns to talk. But Sonic replies their are no Sonic's with everyone hearing them. Yet also meaning both him and Metal are dying. With Sonic finally saying Chaos Control.

It happens and the explosion and Sonic's death screams are so loud along with Metal Sonic's too go across the world and even break some glass with everyone hearing them and watching them. Also yeah have it in the sky since Metal Overlord flies. As the explosion goes off Shadow basically falls down a visual reference to his death from Sonic Adventure 2 but just now witnessing Sonic's scarifice yet he manages to fly a bit yet is weak a bit after using all four of his rings.

Metal Overlord comes crashing down dead basically. Yet okay just put Sonic saying Chaos Control now but Sonic is nowhere is sight. No body and nothing. Just okay the spear there. The world just witnessed Sonic just had scarificed himself.

They saw him scarificing himself dying, Metal Sonic and even Eggman finally got what they want Sonic supposedly dead but gone. Yet Metal Sonic but died doing so. Along with Shadow seeing this made him realized now. Maria scarificed her life to save him. Now Sonic just had scarificed himself but it wasn't one person it was the whole world. Along with Shadow himself. With that symbolism of Maria and Sonic while different did similar things. They both died doing what they thought was the right thing and saved a life in Maria's case and in Sonic's case everyone on the planet including Shadow. Who was basically going against Sonic and hated him.

Basically in a way that ending people think of for Sonic Adventure if Sonic had died but differently in a way.

The world is in sorrow. Even cameos for the fun of it like Princess Elise and no Sonic 06 did not happen in this universe. He met her during those two years and is friends with her. Along with Chris Thorndyke who he met too and was friends with him and his family. Basically those are cameos I personally put in there showing those two while some or a lot of people don't like them. Wanted to show them how they would feel at something like this and not stereotypes of them because I'm okay with them and I guess like them. Not the biggest fan okay basically oh head be nice it's a nice little cameo for people who like them and I wanted to treat them with respect.

Along with a cameo building Buddy/Gadget/Rookie from Sonic Forces before the events of that game happened and him reacting to these events too.

They built a memorial for Sonic and even a statue, the world mourns for Sonic's death, while Eggman would of wanting to kill Sonic himself. For the first time in his life. He is basically shocked by an action like this and confused. Because he wants to retain his douchey self and not care.

Including after witnessing that. Shadow now wants to now help the world. But not just by Maria's promise yet seeing first hand what someone like Sonic would do.

Basically now remembered thinking he failed Sonic is life but he won't fail him in death. Including even talking to his friends with Amy there too thinking he was the one who killed Sonic and telling them he's not asking them to forgive him. With Amy and the others being confused by this emotion. That Shadow actually blames himself for Sonic's death.

But the post credits scene or whatever is of showing Blaze seeing a dimenison portal being opened and her being concerned.

Just thought of this and almost forgot or just I remember and realized this is going to be long.

Sonic Mania Movie

Basically a movie adaptation of Sonic Mania I guess the next year 2022 with the third movie coming out later. Still thinking at times a Team Chaotix movie and Shadow movie. Maybe a Team Chaotix movie before the first sequel and oh Knuckles but no it's Team Chaotix still just new ideas.

2nd sequels stories taken from Sonic Rush and Sonic Forces and a bit of Sonic Rush Adventure

Had to look at the first big text thing. Basically the world is depressed after Sonic was okay just put the Sonic Rush Adventure thing. But okay the world is depressed after Sonic supposedly died. While in Sonic Mania from what I know the Phantom Ruby dropped in this dimenison where the main movies take place. So Eggman finds it and the comic where Infinite before he becomes of what he is. Him leasing Jackal Squad to raid Eggman until Infinite discovers what the Phantom Ruby can do like Eggman. With now Jackal Squad joining Eggman and his forces now.

Shadow I guess this takes place a year after Sonic's supposed death also hey 30th anniversary of Sonic 2. But Shadow still trying to do what he can after Sonic scarificed himself. Inspiring Shadow and going by Maria's promise to protect this world.

So he finds Eggman at his hidden base and had to look so last paragraph put Shadow at front. Basically Shadow kicks the Jackal Squad's ass and him telling them stuff like this isn't worth it. Basically Jackal Squad just leaves Infinite and then Infinite tries to fight Shadow but as the story goes gets his ass kicked.

With Shadow calling him pathetic and let's put weak in there. But also him easily kicking his ass and his squad just flat out leaving it. This basically triggers even more of what happens with him. To go with Eggman's plan and become one with the Phantom Ruby.

Along with Infinite this version. The aftermath of what happened. After being left and considered weak by Shadow. Because of this Infinite's mindset grows even more negative. Disgusted by the concept of family and hating it along with despising the concept of weakness so much. He's basically losing himself at this point.

So since Sonic is supposedly dead. Eggman attacks and Shadow is the one who fights backs. With this time Infinite well they meet first or whatever or sometime. But also Infinite bringing clones of Shadow, Chaos, and Metal not a clone is rebuilt but made sure he's not gonna betray Eggman. Also the fact Sonic is considered to be dead at this point. They kick Shadow's ass and he's the one who vanishes.

Okay girl cleaned up some popcorn of mine on the ground. But basically Shadow is one of the world biggest defenses and while Shadow hates working with Shadow clones. This was Eggman's idea. Infinite decides he can torture Shadow since he's the one who increased this threat even more. I know torture wasn't the word used in the Japanese version and the English version for some reason used it.

Honestly Infinite seriously hates Shadow. I can see him doing this stuff. Also realizing Shadow can't not die or age. Yet you can mentally hurt him in some way.

For Sonic while confirmed dead. As a visual reference to Sonic Rush Adventure he washes ashore on the island where Marine resides at and she okay I had to watch the first part on YouTube I'm on my phone at Target I had the audio off.

But she starts poking him with a stick. So yeah Sonic is injured but he heals up on the island including some time meeting Blaze who wants to check on this. Basically Sonic using Chaos Control with all that power now teleported him here.

While wearing a bandage around his chest he tries to get back. Yet doesn't know how yet these Sol Emeralds could be the key. But because of what's going on in the other dimenison. With Infinite and Eggman using the Phantom Ruby and starts opening portals to other dimenisons. With Classic Sonic's world being one of them.

Also theirs no Tails vanishing and no he's not losing hope. Yet over time even with some of Sonic's last words he starting to lose hope but he doesn't wanna show it but people see it. Along with others like Amy having dreams of Sonic being alive and seeing her. Also this relates to old ideas. Even Shadow himself having dreams of Sonic being alive. Also the reversal of a racing scene between them. Instead of Shadow it's Sonic who says hey don't you remember I died which wakes Shadow up whether before he gets captured or while he is.

Also I know Shadow doesn't need sleep. Including let Grant and others be affected by this.

Including Tikal was shocked by Sonic's scarifice and even shows up I guess to help but basically pissed off at a fake Chaos and maybe Chaos helps.

Along with Buddy/Gadget/Rookie decides to help and overcoming his fear.

So instead of saving Sonic it's Shadow and he escapes and Sonic and Blaze and guess yeah put Marine there too teleport oh the Death Egg what about a random prison but using s teleporter that opened they go into that dimension and even Sonic saving Buddy/Gadget/Rookie.

Also their are changes like they have all the Chaos Emeralds but they won't work. Even for Sonic, Shadow, Tikal, Chaos, or even Classic Sonic. Including Sonic getting angry at one point.

Just okay the Sol Emeralds also theirs this critical thing the Chaos Emeralds being used so much and the idea they can think for themselves. Basically they aren't helping Sonic and the others.

Also the last Sonic movie post the silly one I forgot about Silver and I don't know I guess Blaze replaces him but still I don't know. This phone has 24 percent and I want this to be the end of this or some shit.

Looked over tags a bit got them done phone has 23 percent wanna post this

Edit got tags done and forgot Marine and Silver tags sorry for this being long now 22 percent sorry of this being long again wanted to share these

Edit well it said I reached 30 tags hope I could put Cheese. Now I'm waiting for Uber. I seriously felt like I was being unfair if Cream wasn't mentioned. Basically she cries when Sonic supposedly dies too

Edit I'm sorry even the last save I felt weird still have my large Dr. Pepper I'm very sorry waiting for Uber still I ramble

[the-cryptographer]

Sonic X!Rogue/Knuckles for the meme

B-But I haven’t watched more than five episodes ofSonic X  :’)  I actually hadn’t seen any of it prior to about a month ago? I’d like to watch more but it’s a work in progress, anon.

So the only real KnuxRouge content I’m familiar with is the second SonicAdventure. That’s where most of this is coming from. Under the cut~

when I started shipping it if I did:

When Knuckles saved her from falling after theirbattle at Meteor Herd. They had the hand hold moment. And then Rouge called hima creep that only saved her so that he could hold her hand. A+ dialogue. It wasgood. Very good.

my thoughts:

idk, KnuxRouge is very tropey, but I am weak. Therewas a femme fatale character. There was a sweet and strong and smart but inexperienceand dense af guy who probably wouldn’t know what flirting was if it kissed himon the nose. There was a conflict based in different ideological values. I’msorry, it was inevitable.

I suspect I would’ve started shipping it earlier ifI had played this game later in my life. At that time I was a little moretentative and relying on canon evidence before shipping. Now I’m all aboutmixing strong personalities and romance in hypothetical combinations and fuckcanon.

What makes me happy about them:

They’re both strong characters who seem to carrymore or less equal weight in the collision of their relationship. I’m actuallykind of surprised that the writers managed to not make it so that Rouge wasn’tovershadowed by Knuckles, despite the fact that he already had an established placein the series.

Also, I like that there’s a certain amount of…unseriousness to their struggle. A playfulness. Unlike Sonic and Eggman andTails legit murder attempts… For all the heatedness of Knuckles and Rouge clashingin their different ideas about duty and responsibility, when things ultimately startedtaking a more serious and fatal turn, they both came through for each otherinstead of for themselves. (I kind of joked about this before, but I do kind ofwonder if Rouge and shattering the Master Emerald do become part of a flimsyexcuse for Knuckles to justify leaving the tedium of sitting around on AngelIsland playing bodyguard to a rock.)

And, aw, the banter is fun.

What makes me sad about them:

That SA2’s plot is so, soooo bad. In terms of thisship in specific, it makes me sad that their big moment is the second time Rougewas damseled over the course of this game. And neither time she’s damseledmakes even the slightest bit of sense. What?!She’s going to fall from a great height into a pit of space lava?! She’s afucking bat!!! She can fly!!! And arguably she won that fightagainst Knuckles and, aaaaargh!!! Andthen the first time she’s damseled, she’s trapped in the military base by thepeople she’s working for as a double agent. It just makes zero sense. The plotof this game was so filled with holes and contrived BS. And I’m not evengetting into the gameplay mechanics. Ship deserved better.

In a less meta and more in-universe sense… I dothink in a romantic or otherwise emotionally intimate context, Rouge is aboutfive thousand times more adept than Knuckles. She could run circles around him,and I’m not sure you could trust her not to be manipulative about it, even ifshe had the best intentions. And she doesn’t always have the best intentions…

things done in fanfic that annoy me & things I look for in fanfic:

I haven’t really read any in detail. I pulled upsome Sonic stuff recently and was reminded uncomfortably of fanfiction relatedtropes specific to fandoms dominated by male fans. A lot of power fantasystuff, and dark morality themes that liked to think themselves complex but werereally simplistic and unsubtle, and female characters being victimised orotherwise uncritically robbed of their agency. None of this was about Knouge,but it kinda put me off the fandom. I’m sure there’s good fic hiding somewhere,but it put me off on looking for it for the time being.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

um, idk? I have a fondness for Julie-Su/Knuckles inthe comics, even though I do think the characterisation work wasn’t always veryclever. I like the other lady Echidnas with Knux too – so Knuckles/Tikal andKnuckles/Shade are both okay, imo. I think the Knuckles/Sally friendship in thecomics was really well constructed – the way it was set up around them havingthese similar but conflicting obligations was really clever – it couldtheoretically make a great romance. And for some reason I feel utterly charmedby the idea of Knuckles/Shadow after seeing those couple of comics about them.

For Rouge… I really don’t know… I know Rouge/Shadowis popular, and I think it could be good in the hypothetical – certainlythey’ve made a more stable team than Rouge&Knux – but… idk, in terms ofcanon it feels like there’s been quite a bit of Rouge taking interest in andcare towards Shadow as an individual, and not a lot of reciprocation whereShadow really considers Rouge beyond her capacity as an ally. It just seemslike a relationship very centred around /his/ needs and /his/ existential angst.Even when Shadow goes out of his way to save Rouge’s life, it feels like it’sset up as Shadow wanting to come to terms with his own morality and define forhimself what he’s spiritually capable of rather than ‘wow, I care about Rougenot dying’. All of which kind of turns me away from the idea that Shadow would everbe romantically interested in her in a way that could possibly respect that shehas her own needs and goals and values. I mean, I think this is up forinterpretation, and I think their relationship is interesting and could developin all sorts of ways… so I’m not really against the ship, but I remain kind ofunconvinced as of now.

Ugh, I feel like Rouge femslash should be where it’sat, but… who would I pair her with other than Amy? (no.) jfc, why are importantsonic female characters in such short supply?!? and why isn’t Rouge close toany of them?!?

My happily ever after for them:

Rouge decides to stash her hoard of gems on AngelIsland. She reasons that, because they’re stored with the Master Emerald, theMaster Emerald is also part of her collection. Knuckles humours her.

I think they’re often occupied with their ownobsessions and work. They probably spend long months away from each other whenKnuckles is doing Guardian work of one type or another, and Rouge is offtreasure hunting or working as a spy. They kind of reconvene and do battlecouple things together. They probably like travelling and treasure huntingtogether too, or otherwise visiting friends on the mainland.

I’m not sure how interspecies furry babies work, butthey may have a kid. ‘One. Only one,’Rouge says. The kid spends more time with Knuckles, training to be the nextGuardian. But they’re a little more enamoured with Rouge’s lifestyle – has a tastefor grand adventure and glamour. Knuckles’s life is struggle. Much compromise andreworking the system happens in the process of trying to reconcile expectations.

who is the big spoon/little spoon:

Rouge is little spoon.A little more like their animal counterparts, I imagine Knuckles is about twiceRouge’s size. So it’s very big big spoon, and very little little spoon.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity:

I think it’s included in that happy ending up there.Treasure hunting? Visiting friends? Digging through archaeological sitestogether, maybe. Does that overlap too much with treasure hunting? It’s aboutthe journey rather than the destination, though~

They both like swimming too right? They visit hiddenhot springs and oases and relax.

Thanks anon!!

[crusherthedoctor]

When taking Lutrudis as a concept into account, it could be argued that the decision to have her live in a big, fairytale-like castle would be an unwise idea, maybe even counterintuitive, since a place so extravagant might undermine her intended loneliness and yearning for a more fulfilling life, adventure, and all that jazz before Sonic and company entered the picture. The last thing I’d want with Trudy would be to remind people of Chris “woe is me” Thorndyke and his rich kid mansion lifestyle. Not to mention that since some of the townspeople in Lime Shores can act rather ignorant (and in some cases, antagonistic) towards her, a lavish castle might also undermine the underdog nature of that particular setup.

Despite these concerns however, I felt confident with my plan, and I figured that as long as I knew what I was doing, readers would understand what I had in mind. I’ve explained in the past that a castle would better accommodate someone with her EDS, so right off the bat, you already have a practical justification for it. It also helps that whereas the accursed Thorndyke had his parents, friends, grandad, butler, etc etc etc etc... Trudy genuinely had no one to turn to before the heroes arrived for their intended vacation. So with that said, let’s examine this particular building for a bit, complete with pics for comparison’s sake, as well as a certain cavern full of Ethereal goodness that happens to be nearby...

Creating the Residence: Trudy’s Castle

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: The outside environment is not too subtly inspired by Autumn Plains from Spyro 2, better known to non-Spyro fans as my blog background.

A serene yet lonely autumnal forest backdrop, with a big stone castle smack dab in the center. It’s not one-to-one the same of course - instead of a pool, the front area boasts a lovely garden full of different flowers, and there’s also a lake nearby - but the mood is more or less what you see here.

However, this partly serves to contrast with what’s behind closed doors. As acknowledged in Beyond the Stars proper, the interior of the castle instead goes for a different and grander, yet equally inviting atmosphere when you take that first step inside. Instead of stone, you see marble and wood, and instead of grey and green, you have reds, creams, maroons, and golds (with a few complimentary blues and purples thanks to the flags hovering above).

As the lady herself mentions, Trudy discovered that the interior was in a state of disarray when she obtained it, and she was of the belief that a castle as beautiful and rich in history as this one deserved better than to be forgotten and wither away in the coming generations. The least she felt she could do was give it a modern, yet respectful redecoration, and give the old building a second, loving life in the process.

Yes, that means every spot of detail inside this castle was done single-handedly. Entirely on her lonesome. It took ages to complete, especially when taking her EDS into account, but she was determined to give the place its due, and lo and behold, the effort more than paid off. (You know, such levels of determination bring a blue hedgehog to mind...)

And that’s just the intended vision for the main hallway! We haven’t touched the other rooms yet! (Since a castle would have quite a lot of rooms, it goes without saying that for the sake of keeping this post from going even longer, we won’t be covering literally every single room... just the most important and/or most noteworthy ones. :o)

The bathroom can be described as a mix between the two examples below, combining the semi-medieval build of the former with the sky blue palette and general relaxing style of the latter.

Though that said, while the bath remains there for any guests to use, Trudy personally uses a shower since it’s more convenient for someone with her condition.

The kitchen (or as Sonic likes to call it, “the palace of chili dog magic”) mostly comes in cool browns and blacks, and its intended appearance is probably one of the more obvious combinations of old-timey and modern. It also has a slightly country aesthetic compared to the other rooms, because ha ha, horses, geddit.

The greenhouse at the back brings back the heavy amounts of green (well duh, the clue’s in the name, isn’t it?), while also providing contrast with the whiteness of the structure and architecture. Complete with giant arched windows, because of course.

And the segue point between the greenhouse and the rest of the castle looks something along these lines, at least with the way the building itself connects.

Even the chambers underneath the castle manage to look classy and clean. And just as well, since it’s where Tails parks the Tornado for the remainder of his time in Viridonia, once he FINALLY remembers to get it off the Lime Shore beach...

You know another benefit of such a spacious area? You get to turn it into a makeshift workshop for all your gadget needs, Tornado-related or otherwise. I’m sure that won’t come in handy at some point...

The guest bedroom is one of the most curious rooms of the lot, because even though it’s as nice and tidy as you’d expect, it’s also rather... muted compared to everywhere else. Perhaps Trudy felt no need to modify it further in any specific way, since no one had ever bothered to stop by anyway... until you-know-who and the gang.

And we can’t forget to mention our fair equine’s OWN bedroom now, can we? Her bedroom opts for darker colours, yet no less therapeutic, which includes the canopy bed that she rests in. You can actually see the general idea with the bedroom (and the outside of the castle for that matter) for yourself, in the Dame of the Daisy mini-comic, courtesy of my awesome friend @benignmilitancy​.

Likewise, although this shot is currently incomplete (don’t worry, Benign is fine with me using it :P), meaning some details haven’t been added yet, you can also get a basic idea of how the balcony is supposed to look here, along with the complimentary view of Viridonia’s oceans.

So what kind of music would befit Trudy’s castle, you may ask? Well, taking every detail into account, we would need something that goes for that perfect mix of adventure, wonder, warmth... and a faint hint of sadness lurking beneath. Something that gets all four across, but not in a generic, run-of-the-mill orchestra sort of way. Something a little more ambient and down-to-earth, with a more unique and specific kind of intimacy. Something like...

This would apply for when you’re inside, mind you. Outside the castle, the surrounding forest would have a theme of its own, though it would share that similar combination of melancholic friendliness. So for the outside, we would go with something more like...

Overall, the idea behind Trudy’s castle - aside from being her residence and looking enviously pretty - is to add to Trudy’s own character. It’s said that one’s home can say a lot about a person, and I made sure that every room shared a consistent narrative when reading between the lines. They may differ in shape, and they may even differ in colour, but the story is kept consistent at all times. We know that our girl is elegant, we know that our girl has slightly antiquated tastes... and we know that until the arrival of Sonic and Co, our girl was extremely lonely, and isolated by her peers, to the point of staving off said loneliness and isolation by making the place as lavishly detailed as it is in the first place. And just as the stony exterior hides the more fanciful interior, so too is there more to Trudy herself than at first glance.

Besides, not counting Eggman’s endless list of tributes to himself, we don’t often see the characters’ homes in the games, do we? We’ve seen Angel Island for Knuckles, the Space Colony A.R.K. for Shadow, that shack belonging to the Chaotix in Heroes, a few pads of varying consistency depending on the game (Tails’ workship in SA1 VS his house in Battle)... but not much more than that. And what better contrast to Sonic being something of a nomad, than by Trudy living a place like this?

But we’re not done just yet. Last but not least, we can’t forget that mysterious cave hiding down below, where countless amounts of Ethereal Crystals can be found undisturbed... You can bet that such a place would be suitably attention grabbing.

Since the crystals themselves come in practically every shade of the rainbow and then some, the resulting combination - specifically their reflecting shine - ends up painting the cavern walls with just as much colour.

It may feel a tad surreal and almost alien, to the point of being a little intimidating for some, arguably. But you know in your heart of hearts that as long as Eggman isn’t in the equation, there is no need to be fearful. After all, Trudy knows it better than anyone else, and although the crystals and their properties may hail from unknown, possibly uncomfortable origins, the horse herself continues to use them for wholly benevolent purposes.

Such a cavern would deserve a theme of its own, no? We’ll need something that drives home the point that the power within has no inherent morality, and can only be as good or as evil as the person using them. So although Trudy’s own intentions are firmly on the side of good, we’ll also need an added touch of minor eeriness lingering in the background, to represent the overarching threat and subsequent implications of Eggman dipping his own hands into the metaphorical Ethereal well, on top of its already unexplained otherworldliness...

So yes, it’s quite a pleasant castle that Trudy has, eh?

But this isn’t the only castle that can be found in Viridonia...

Well, it used to be the only one of its kind on the island... until a certain doctor stopped by, decided to beat the horse at her own game, and create his own, darker counterpart in response... But we’ll get to that when we get to that, ho ho ho.