#ehhh post is mainly about tangle to me. so idc about tagging the others.

[lemurballing]

chewing on it here: one day i had a thought on sonic-tails, surge-kit, and tangle-whisper as foils/parallels to each other

they all have a duo dynamic that can be compared - sonic/surge/tangle as the 'impulsive ones', adding energy to the mix and acting as the face of the duo. tails/kit/whisper as the 'follow', coincidentally all canines, tagging behind in the shadow and typically content to.

but sonic and tails synergize. they're clear and open with each other; have a deep understanding and trust; act for the other's benefit in a way they both agree on, without treading over the other.

surge and kit don't. they trust because the trust was already built in - they run on a bridge that only stands because of their own footfalls, stay upright on two wheels because the bike's already moving. if they stop at any time, actually question it, all the moldy weak spots will show themselves. they don't really know each other. surge leads, and kit follows, because that's the dynamic they're meant to have. so kit's recent planning and masterminding behind surge's back is, really, to be expected.

tangle and whisper are in a weird spot... because as much as tangle resembles sonic, and takes a role like his in their dynamic, she's more like the follower; more like tails or kit. when tangle moves towards something, the goal is already in sight and she's pulling herself towards it. whereas someone like sonic drives forwards - like whisper does - chasing a goal that's just out of reach, an ambition they know is out there. whisper's the one with the Plot, and tangle follows behind in her wake as support and morale. as impulsive as she is, tangle is generally not decisive. whisper is. it makes sense that tangle and whisper would be the outlier of these three, since they're the only ones that weren't made for each other; sonic existed first and tails was made molded to him, and surge and kit were made to directly parallel that dynamic, concurrently with each other. but tangle and whisper are entirely separate and grew to come together.

my thoughts? i want tangle to do more of her own stuff and develop her own agency and personality, instead of boiling off individual interest to become a support character. she wasn't always a follower - she had traits that would have driven her well, pushed her forwards, give her a reason to effect change on the world instead of always reacting to the change forced on her. (they were either beaten out of her by the Plot, or she lost faith in herself - a shame, really.) even something as shallow as having a bit of an ego and wanting to show off...