#he wanted a fighting chance. he wanted to save sonic.

[hikingsuper]

*Rubs hands together* OhoHo! I'm So SO GLAD that you asked

Since I don't get to Talk about Fleetonic much, mostly because other people ship different stuff or none is interested on It.

Everthing starts with Issue #85 where Fleetway Super Sonic finally gets his own body, separated from Sonic and made a plan to get to him.

Sidewinder (the ugly Guy) made a deal with super Sonic. Sidewinder would bring Sonic to Super Sonic and in exchange he would help him conquer the world, of course Super Sonic had other plans.

And destroys the mansion.

I was giggling since Super Sonic almost always gives Sonic the reason, because HE knows his own nature; Destroy everthing.

This guys try to fight him but they obviously lose but then I get this line. This line made me Scream in Joy.

Aside of wanting to destroy the world like the sociopath he is he would play with his food and Sonic Will always be his first plate.

He would quickly betray any allies just to get a chance to kill Sonic

They Also throw funny sassy stuff that I laugh at. Sonic in here aside of begin a jerk, he is funny as hell.

Now I Will Skip the rest since I want YOU to read/watch Fleetway on your own and I don't want to spoil much since Fleetway/Sonic the comic is a fun experience when you don't Take much spoilers. But Fleetway Super gets trapped and send to space but he escapes

But then this happens.

Then sends a electromanetic pulse that wipes All electricity (Fleetway did Sonic movie electric thing First<3) making Robotnik (Eggman doesn't use his nickname in Fleetway) lose all of his Badniks, leaving him defenseless and Super Sonic Also loses his powers and memories and becomes nice for a short while!

And he is very cute!

In this issue The Good Fleetway Super Sonic uses his powers to save people on a train from failing to their Deaths, It makes him go evil (since in Fleetway the Chaos emeralds/energy is corrupted)

(More now)

sonic shippers. come here. please. give me ur theses on ur fave ships. especially rarepairs. i want to hear about why youre so invested in them. i want to try what youre cooking.

in exchange i shall spread my rougaze propaganda. my them. rouge sees romance as a challenge and neither she or blaze will willingly back down. they match each others stubbornness. they ALSO match each others wits and people skills. its enrichment for them. but crucially they are doomed. their priorities are too different and they dont Want a long term relationship. theyre a quick supernova. yet their priorities are fundamentally the same bc its abt the people they love. rouge wont leave team dark and blaze wont leave her world. blaze and rouge get together on the train (read my fic) and they have a firestorm of a romance that ends soooo messily <3 they both wish the other changed and knew she wouldnt and knew she COULDNT. and yet they still want it.

[spa-ghett0]

What if... Tails and Dr. Starline met during the war instead?

Set during the IDW Comic Imposter Syndrome, after Dr. Starline tried to break into Tails's house. Tails retaliated by setting a trap at that other house he knew too well. Now that he's back home, he knows it's time to tell Sonic everything.

“Sonic?” Tails calls, kicking the door shut behind him. As he listens for a response, he lifts a hand to run it through his hair. Black residue stains his fingertips. Gunpowder. Wincing, he drops his hand. “Sonic,” he says again, walking toward the lit hallway. Music meets him halfway, an upbeat rock song from that radio station Sonic loves. “Hey, uh, I need to talk—” Glass shatters behind him. An arrow whirls past, its razor-sharp fletching grazing Tails’s fur. It sinks into the wall in front of him, a piece of paper impaled around it.

The arrow is long and silver. Smoke rises from the small thrusters on the back as the embers burn out. Sonic zips around the corner. “What happened?” he demands, big green eyes darting between Tails, the arrow, and the broken window. Without waiting for an answer, he yanks Tails into the kitchen. Once he’s out of range, Sonic peers around the corner again. Tails can only stare at the arrow. “I don’t see anyone,” Sonic reports after a moment. “Weird. I didn’t think that was Eggman’s style.” “It’s not,” Tails agrees. Keeping an eye on the window, Sonic steps into the open. He yanks the arrow from the wall and catches the paper before it hits the ground. “‘Clever boy’,” Sonic reads aloud. Tails’s eyes close, and he sighs. “Uh… Misfire?” his brother jokes. When Tails opens his eyes again, he sees the concerned confusion immediately. His heart sinks. “What?” Sonic asks. He glances over his brother and frowns. One of Tails’s wrists is suddenly in his hand, thumb brushing over his gray fingers. “Tails…?” “I…” Tails’s ears droop. “I really need to talk to you.” He sits at the dining table and watches Sonic prepare their plates. A guitar solo plays from the radio on the counter, filling the tense silence between them. Sonic places a plate in front of him—three pancakes topped with marshmallows and syrup—then takes the chair across from him with his own stack. Tails didn't even have to ask for the marshmallows. A scoff draws his attention upward. Dr. Starline regards him and his breakfast plate with disgust, but after two weeks under his roof, his curiosity is becoming easier and easier to spot. "What kind of monstrosity is that?" Tails can't help it—he laughs.

[son1c]

If Shadow had died instead of Prism, what would have happened?

Sorry for the random question, just insanely interested in how u play character arcs in your AU

an entirely different story, probably! definitely! sonic is hurt by prism's death, but losing him is nothing compared to how it'd feel to lose shadow. and that's because deep down, sonic knows the shatterspace versions of his friends... aren't his real friends.

sure, sonic isn't UNAFFECTED by prism's death, but if it had been shadow in his place? he would be changed.

[candiezmanzion]

metal/neo metal sonic ramble

never not thinking about how robots in idw have text like this

but neo metal sonic has the same text as all the organic characters

he also expresses clear emotion just like an organic person would, if not with a bit more robotic logic behind it [save when hes in a blind rage]

HE EVEN EVILLY LAUGHS AT ONE POINT

neo metal is proof that metal is VERY MUCH CAPABLE OF EMOTIONS LIKE ANY ORGANIC [if it wasnt already obvious when he's just metal] i think its sooo crazy that IDW shows metal is the most 'human' out of all the eggman robots yet he's arguably treated the worst, not even being able to Speak in his standard form.

ik sonic is just being his usual dick self here but he kinda has a point in a way. metal almost definitely WANTS to be able to talk and express himself. but he's reduced to his lesser, albeit still very powerful, form.

oh and don't even get me started...

it's so sad to me how even though he's still very capable of emotion, eggman has literally programmed out any hint of rebelliousness. like sure, it's most likely that even if eggman HADN'T programmed out metal's rebellious streak, he'd still be evil, but this leaves not even a CHANCE for redemption on metal's part.

which makes it even more ironic that sonic says this...

sonic fails to comprehend that metal literally CANNOT become a better person. eggman literally repeats what neo already told sonic, metal is programmed to kill and to be loyal to eggman. he has NO choice. hes been under eggmans control forever and when he rebelled he was beaten and reprogrammed to never be able to rebel again. metal has basically zero autonomy outside of eggman's orders [which is in great contrast to neo, who seems to be working FOR eggman's wishes, but still very much absorbed in his own power and emotions].

i don't really know what this whole ramble is about. i think while the comics seem to push the message that metal is going to be evil Forever, i also think it would be devastatingly tragic if he didn't get a redemption in the comics. y'all cant set up a horrifying depiction of abuse like this and tell me 'oh yeah and he stayed in that state forever'. i think if another fight happened at one point or another maybe they could TRY to figure out how to program OUT his anti rebellion streak? lol? even WITH that he did hesitate when sonic offered for him to be a good person again.

he literally hesitated when SONIC. IS THE ONE WHO OFFERED HIM A TRUCE. like he's literally programmed to believe sonic is his copy and he needs to kill him I don't think i can understate how insane it is that metal, despite all his programming and lack of automomy preventing it, for a split second, considered sonics offer.

thats all for tonight. metal sonic deserves the whole world. please reblog or comment your thoughts id love to talk more abt how hes characterized in the idw comics, might talk abt reflections next. bye !

[thatshadowcomic]

Messing around (very roughly) with the idea of Shadow being taken over by Doom, and ended up making a whole fanfic as I drew it.🗿🗿🗿

Story:

Shadow is copied, only for eggman to steal his corpse as its being transferred to the GUN fortress. As he does, Eggman starts messing with some ancient magic, maybe even related to Doom's temples or the master emerald.

He wants to reawaken the body and create the ultimate machine/henchmen, but Doom finds his way into the body and returns, seeking revenge on his only remaining creation. Who knows, maybe Eggman captured Dooms eye and straight up tried to control it...or maybe there's more than one "eye".

Imagine Shadow's horror at learning GUN can copy him...imagine the world's horror when Doom returns.

Throughout the story we hop to Eggman's POV:

Metal sonic grows suspicious of the new minion. Eggman is betrayed after Black Shadow gets his hands on a chaos emerald or maybe even the master emerald?

Metal fails to trap Doom's Eye/Black shadow, instead saving Eggman. Eggman berates Metal for his failure.

Sonic is out of commission following the fight with black Shadow:

If they're to defeat Doom again, they need the information (or maybe the final emerald?) Eggman has, but he won't help them, so metal fights back and steals the info. Doom intercepts, only for Metal to self destruct in the middle of the battle, giving shadow a chance to escape with the details.

Maybe this is the event that causes Metal to leave the eggman empire. Witnessing shadow break free from his creators control might move metal into fighting back on a deeper level.

Some close-ups:

That's shadow's previous dead body, walking around all fish eyed

[magicwhiskers29]

What's really interesting to me about Prime Shadow is that he reads as actively trying to sympathise with Sonic in s3e1. A lot of people have talked about the constant saves all episode and yes, of course. There's also something to be said about this Shadow's sense of superiority not restricting him to believing he's just physically better (This one is actually willing to run, for one), but I really want to talk about his expressions, in this episode.

He starts the episode angry. Pretty much of course -- this tends to be Prime Shadow's default. His resting face already looks pretty angry, although I'd say his expressions when he's giving Sonic his "I told you so" are angrier than usual. His motivation is still about saving what of his home can be saved, and Sonic has just messed that up again, in trusting Nine when Shadow specifically said not to.

I don't think Sonic was wrong exactly to trust someone who looks and can act so much like someone who would never betray him -- it's naïve, but understandable. But to Shadow, it's naïve and foolish. Last season already established that Shadow doesn't have anyone he's close to, so it's going to be hard for him to understand, especially when he could sense Nine's betrayal a mile away. So he angers, and talks harshly and sternly to Sonic.

But look:

SHADOW: We need to leave this world.

SONIC: You don't have to tell me twice.

When Sonic actually listens to him and runs when he says to, he's surprised. He's used to Sonic having his own agenda and not listening, because that's Sonic's biggest flaw in Prime. Sonic quips that he doesn't need the reminder, but yes, yes he usually does, and will still do in this case.

Shadow understands Sonic for his flaws, for better or worse, so he's surprised when they don't act up. (Yet, anyway)

So he initially attempts to offer compassion, when Sonic sees the Ghost Hill inprints of his friends. He doesn't immediately go back to stern yelling and angry expressions; he offers out a hand and tries to understand more. He's not seeing Sonic's flaws for liabilities against him -- he's attempting to work around them for both of them.

He angers again when Sonic doesn't listen and continues to insist of saving the Ghost Hill imprints, but look at the way he talks:

SHADOW: No! They can't be saved. Think about your real friends, the ones who still have a chance. If you want to help them, we need to get out of here.

He doesn't sound that angry at first. A little desperate, maybe, but he doesn't sound angry until his last sentence. His frustration's building at Sonic not listening, and he's having to reason against his own motivation. Does Shadow want Sonic's friends back? Maybe! We don't know his relationship with any of them in Prime. But we do know Shadow wants to get home more than he wants to save them.

It seems then to irritate him to have to use this line of reasoning, but he's not necessarily angry at Sonic for having to use it -- remember, he expected something like this. And clearly does understand Sonic's flaws and motivations; it's just that this time, he's not seeing them for why Sonic would be a liability to him, or why he's better suited to save Green Hill than Sonic. This time, he uses his knowledge of them to work around Sonic and keep his help.

He could technically leave Sonic behind at this point. He doesn't know that Sonic himself has actual value until Nine implies what he's found out about Sonic's shard energy later in the episode. If he keeps Sonic with him, he only runs the risk of ending up in the same place as the end of last season, Sonic having made the same mistakes. At least, that's how he could look at it.

But he does clearly care for Sonic. We know their dynamic is odd to others, in Prime. What we hear about their fights at the start of s1 implies that they are frequent, and also that both parties enjoy them. For better or worse (again), Shadow seems to now be aware that Sonic is part of home for him, and he doesn't want to lose Sonic. (a similar attitude Sonic had towards him at the start if s2)

When talking about Nine's betrayal, Shadow's anger is not directed at Sonic. The easiest way to see that is simply that he's not looking at Sonic whilst talking about it, but I think you can also see it in the way he talks about their revenge. When he says, "And he will pay for it.", he sounds like he's attempting to reassure Sonic.

It's worth noting, of course, that Shadow has never really understood Sonic and Nine's bond. He couldn't understand why Sonic trusted him, and he won't understand why Sonic wants to reason with him in the future, so he does think that assuring Sonic of their success in what he perceives as a big step towards their goal helps.

We can also see him being not visibly annoyed at Sonic messing around, in both of these scenes. He's not hostile about Sonic's ribbing about saving him, or his silly teasing about the robot version looking like both of them. He's used to it. It seems he maybe even likes it, if not at least tolerates it. He likes, or at least tolerates, being around Sonic. It's just that his default for getting points across, or when faced with something he doesn't fully understand, or when provoked, is anger. He is not without his flaws too.

He angers again when Sonic insists again on something he sees as futile -- reasoning with Nine. But as established, he doesn't understand quite why Sonic cares for Nine. He seems to make the same mistake Nine himself does in believing that Sonic only cares about him because of Tails, which is not true. He's biased towards Nine because of Tails, but we've seen him be excited about teaching Nine new things that Tails wouldn't need! He does like Nine for Nine, even if there is a flaw in there of him seeing Nine as an extension of Tails.

And then the reveal scene of Sonic as the final shard. After Nine implies something else has prism energy, we first see Shadow stare slightly surprised at Sonic. I read this a quieter realisation. He knows the connection between the energy and Sonic instantly, and looks at Sonic in concern as he thinks.

Then he makes eye contact with Nine, who only confirms his suspicions with something of a taunting glare. This is when he realises why this is important, and that he is definitely right. And then, and only then, does he anger. Not at Sonic again, but back at Nine.

There's a sort of protectiveness to it, this time. There's no "Sonic, you didn't realise this before!?", only an urgency to get Sonic out of there. Not both of them, just Sonic. He wanted both of them out when he had a choice about it, but now he sees Sonic as something valuable to both him and Nine. He wants to save Sonic because Sonic is home, but as he understands it, Nine wants Sonic for power and to jeopardise what Shadow himself wants. And so now, he sacrifices himself.

He knows that Sonic will keep trying to save everyone, and for better or worse (again again), he's who they'll all need to rely on. Honestly, Shadow sacrificing himself is a pretty big display of trust, for him. He doesn't have many other options, but... We know he believes in Sonic's way of finding another way. Rather than losing time trying that for both of them, he trusts in Sonic to find it himself, like he always does.

[sticks-stones-sonic-insanity]

Expression practice

Below is some process yapping! And some explanation!

Having this next to a completely normal sketch felt insane but sometimes u hone in on smth so hard you forget what else is on the page lol.

While I was trying to get a feel for how to draw this expression I was thinking about what actually would bring Sonic to this point and make him this upset. I did a whole analysis of his character in my head and came up with this idea of Sonic, someone often capable and relied on in tense situations(such as the 3rd act of xyz Sonic Game), being forced to take the observer role as someone else takes the sacrifice role for him.

That someone in this case, being Tails.

I was looking at some Frontiers stuff today - cinematically edited playthroughs by AltheBoi to be specific-, and seeing their dialogue in Frontiers reminded me again of how badly I want Tails to get his own chance to save the day alone for once, and what would that look like.

But also.. how would Sonic react?

It's a show of Tails' growth as a character in bravery and skill being able to take on something as challenging and dangerous as Sonic usually would, but is also a painful role-reversal in which Sonic has to watch his brother face impossible odds alone and cannot step in to save him, only able to hope that he will make it back to him alive by the end of the fight.

Sonic has faced off against terrifying enemies and impossible odds in the past, but I think that what would break him harder than any Super Sonic boss fight would be having to see his younger brother take that burden on instead.

[dr-spectre]

I need to talk about this moment from Shadow Generations because this broke me beyond comprehension in the best way possible.

(SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

Shadow smiling, like giving an actual genuine smile and not a cocky smirk, got to me. This mother fucker has been through hell, he was so down on himself on the ark because he was made to cure Maria yet he couldn't. G.U.N came in and killed someone he loved and it drove his creator mad, making him alter his memories so that they would wake up angry and bitter… and i bet it didn't even take that much manipulation to piss off Shadow either… just a few tweaks to his memory… Shadow then finally remembered Maria's true wish thanks to the help of a pink hedgehog. He had to face his prototype, a ghost from the past... Shadow briefly died after saving the world with the help of Sonic, he then contemplated if he was an android or not, finds out he is part alien, spends 06 trying to prove that's he's gotten over Maria and stop Satan himself, and then finally... he got to the chance to see his family one more time and....

I think this game fully cemented that Shadow is my favourite character in the entire Sonic series. He always allured me as a kid, with his black and red colour scheme, his demeanour, his voice, the way he skated around and the way his quills looked...

He smiles. He smiles because he gets to see Maria and tell directly to her face, "I'm gonna keep fighting for you. I'm gonna protect the world you love." And he finally got the closure that he needed BADLY!

In Shadow 05, he wanted to say goodbye to his past self because thinking about the past and Maria probably gave him so much grief and pain... But now? He changes his mind, he wants to fight for the good that Maria stood for, instead of saying "naw fuck her." While also acknowledging that he can be more than just Maria's wish and fulfil his endless potential as said by his creator/father Gerald. Plus, growth is not linear, seeing Maria and Gerald must have been seriously shocking to him and revert some of that growth from Shadow 05 and Sonic 06…

Shadow has always interested me and it wasn't until recently where I not only replayed Sonic Adventure 2 with a retranslated mod but also Heroes, 06 and Shadow Generations that I've come to truly love and respect this character.

Shadow is surprisingly so fucking well written and the way his story and arc were explored in Sonic Adventure 2 was insanely well done. Even the music was muffled and confusing, just like his memory and his anger. THE MUSIC REFLECTED WHAT HE WAS FEELING AND THINKING!!! THEY PUT IN THAT EXTRA EFFORT IN HIS FIRST APPEARANCE!!!

Not everything they've done with this character after Sonic Adventure 2 was perfect, but some of the stuff they did felt like they gave the character justice.

I am so proud of Sonic Team and what they've done for Shadow Generations. Good on you guys... you've made a game that has emotionally affected a lot of people. I'm proud of you...

[thatbirdguyy]

I was rewaching Big Hero 6 today, for the hundredth times lol, but I only picked up on a familiar pattern this time. I just realized- I think there's this similarity between Hiro and Tails -besides being genius kids- in terms of how they eventually might end up after being left alone, and under the pressure of very distressful situations, aka where their big brothers are gone/have passed away, in their cases. There was that one moment Hiro suddenly and finally lost his grip and got so blinded by rage he put aside his brother's and his own morals and straight up chose murder and revenge, technically started a darker life path, until a record of his brother himself anchored him back later. In Sonic Forces (and let's ignore the poor storytelling and character writing etc.) Tails was also so grief-striken and still in a denial/shock state, it looked like he was losing himself there. Had it not been for Sonic coming back, we wouldn't know what not-so-very-right life choices Tails would eventually make, whether he regretted making them later or not. Like, you know, “I couldn't handle it. One wrong turn and I fall apart”? (And then of course we also got Nine who never had the chance to have Sonic in his life in the first place). Gosh. 🥺

Yes! I know big hero 6 - a banger movie, loved it! I can totally see the resemblance in terms of Tails character choices in forces. I do have to add that the English script made a translation error by that part. Tails didn't lost it, he simply just couldn't carry the burden of being responsible for Sonic getting captured. Therefore he deliver the news, gave knuckles the wisp translator for empowering the wispons and went solo to figure out a plan for himself. He hid away and wanted to help however he could in his own way. But he was very much struck from the events so no wonder his self doubt got even worse. If forces would've only taken itself more seriously... but it's fine!

I think that Tails growing a lot more selfless through punishing himself for not interfering in the fight and avoiding Sonic being captured, is actually a nice idea. He'd do anything for Sonic just to keep him save how he saved him all the time. So seeing him not make morally correct choices would be such an interesting idea to play with. (Maybe I could put that into my Tails frontiers AU).

[thatsnotmygunflash]

“Panic erupted at Central City Hall after unknown gunmen kidnapped Congressman Leonard Snart in broad daylight during his 'Metas are Human' rally. Eyewitnesses to the attack say three of Snart's security guards were killed in their efforts to protect the Congressman and four more were injured. Authorities say they are putting in every effort to recover the Congressman, working around the clock to bring him home safely. If anyone has any information regarding—”

“Hey man, are you watching the news?” Barry didn't bother with a hello when he heard the call connected, his eyes still glued to the footage of the kidnapping replaying on the TV screen. It was the first time since being back in Central that he'd felt the familiar course of adrenaline start to build in his blood. His feet were already vibrating just thinking about running head-first into a new mission. This was a problem he could solve as easily as making a run to the grocery store. He might not be in the military anymore and his whole team may be suspended from using their powers on US soil until the investigation is over, but there wasn't a chance in hell he was going to let that stop him from saving not only his personal hero but the Congressman leading the fight for metahuman rights. If Leonard Snart died, metahumans wouldn’t stand a chance against the discrimination and dehumanization they were up against in Congress. 

“Yeah, crazy right? Can't believe they got the drop on Captain Cold.” Cisco replied readily, the echoing broadcast accompanying his voice. “I mean, we've all heard the stories from General Lance.” 

Leonard Snart hadn’t always been a Congressman, of course. He was the beloved Mayor of Central City before that, and a decorated police officer briefly after being honorably discharged from the military due to an injury in the field. Leonard Snart was the only human to ever Captain the same covert metahuman team Barry had helped lead for the past five years. The original Rogues were legendary, especially their human leader. He may have only been human, but Snart had a genius-level intellect and was an expert tactician, not to mention an exceptional marksman and a bit of a kleptomaniac at the most convenient of times. Captain Cold was a decorated hero who helped turn the Rouges into the military's best secret weapon. The motivational stories that Sara had told them during training and the old missions she would drill them on had fueled Barry's endless quest to be the best operative he could be. Chasing Captain Cold's legacy like it was critical to his career, right up to the point of obsession. It had helped him rank up quickly, religiously studying Snart's tactical strategies, missions, and reports. Barry learned from his mistakes before he could even make them most of the time thanks to Snart’s detailed mission logs and his additional references to counter scenarios that would have been successful. Barry was the man he is today because of Leonard Snart–his hero, his teacher, and his inspiration. He couldn’t stand back on the sidelines and hope someone else was going to put a plan together and save Snart.

He had to do something. 

“Yeah, they would have just shot him in the street if they wanted him dead,” Barry theorized, finally giving in to the restlessness running through his body and taking off into a sprint, barely being able to enjoy the exhilarating feeling of running again before he was across town and right into the middle of Cisco’s underground workshop. “The kidnappers must want something else, but that doesn't mean they won't kill him when they get it.” 

“Is this you trying to ask me to look into where they’re keeping him?” Cisco questioned with a surprised eyebrow raised as he took the phone away from his ear and set it down near the gutted metal tube spilling over with wires sitting in front of the scientist, along with an array of tools and loose equipment. If Barry wasn’t mistaken it was one of Hartley’s sonic grenades he was tinkering with. The same sonic grenades the Miltary had confiscated. Barry knew he couldn't have been the only one going stir-crazy since being discharged, but Cisco had been smart enough not to inform the government about his ability to breach, allowing him easy access to anything he wanted, from this world or another. Cisco always had to be doing something with his hands, anything to keep him busy and his ideas flowing. It was a trait Barry had always admired about his best friend, especially right now.

“Maybe? I don't know. I feel like I should do something, he could die,” Barry replied warily, running a hand through his hair as he considered what would happen if he didn't get involved. “The guys who grabbed him have to be professionals, there's no way of knowing what they'll do if SWAT gets involved. I'm thinking if you can pin down his location I can be in and out with Snart before you finish telling me the address.” 

“I'll let Frosty and Cait know what's up while I track him down, have them set up the med room for him just in case.” Cisco was already abandoning his workbench and moving towards his computer as he spoke, typing out a message to the girls on his phone while he booted up his PC. “Want me to contact his team and let them in on the plan?”

“After. I don't want to take the chance if this is an inside job. I want Snart safe before we bring outsiders in on this.” Barry responded, knowing in his gut that the only thing they could afford to worry about right now was making sure Snart made it out of this alive. 

“Yeah good call, can't have the man spearheading the ‘Metas are Human' movement dying before he can get the bill passed.” Cisco agreed with an approving nod, fingers dancing over the keyboard as he pulled up the satellite footage of the kidnapping. 

“Exactly. He's our only chance at keeping our civil rights, Cisco, we gotta save him.” He didn't mention he was their only chance of getting the team back together and their dishonorable discharges dropped. Lance still kept in contact with them all even if it was dangerous for her own career to be mixed up with their disgraced team at such an uneasy time like this. She had risked it though to tell them she had talked to Snart about their situation and he had vowed to do what he could to get them all reinstated and the investigation handled by an unbiased party. 

“I know man, I'm tracking them through CCTV cameras right now, shouldn't be much longer. You should suit up.” Cisco suggested, pressing a button on a small remote while nodding towards the now moving back wall where he kept the team’s secret emergency gear stashed. It seemed like Cisco was keeping a lot of secrets from the government down here. 

“Red or black?” Barry asked the scientist, trying not to get caught up in the nostalgia of seeing his team's suits lined up and on display again. It had only been three months since the team was disbanded but it felt like years to him. This felt like coming home, much more than arriving at Central City airport after 12 years away had. 

“Black. Should probably keep this one stealthy.” Cisco replied, turning his head to the side to meet Barry's eye. “Are we playing this like Karmana or Kota Baharu?” 

“Moscow,” Barry said with a soft hum, trembling fingers reaching for the reinforced tripolymer fabric waiting for him. It really had been too long, the anticipation was almost too much for him to handle. He's missed the comfort of his super suit. Of his team. His life. God, everything had gone to such shit so quickly that he never even got to prepare himself for never suiting up and leading a mission again. It had been stripped from him just like his team, his rank, and his reputation had. 

“Oh really?” Cisco curved his surprise quickly, his worry pushing forward instead. “You think he'll remember the call sign?” 

“He'll remember,” Barry replied confidently, not wasting another second and flashing into his suit. It was even better than he remembered, like a missing limb growing back, or maybe he had missed his old life more than he cared to admit. Now, he felt safe and powerful and needed. Three things that had been severely lacking in his life since being discharged.

“Let's hope you're right,” Cisco muttered before glancing down at his phone and smirking in triumph. “I've got the location and Cait is almost ready. It's showtime, Lieutenant Flash.” 

“Don't call me that man. I'm not your lieutenant anymore.” Barry said with a shake of his head, brushing off Cisco's quick reply. 

“The government may have royally fucked us all over and disbanded the team, but that doesn't mean I lost respect for the rank you earned dude.”

“Whatever, can you just give me the address please? We have a Congressman to save.” Barry pulled his cowl up, letting it settle into place and feeling his shoulders drop down, all the tension he was carrying leaving him at once. There was no better feeling than using his powers to save someone, and now after months of moping around his shoebox apartment and his mind-numbing third-shift security gig, having to refrain from using his speed, he was going to get to use it to save Leonard Snart. He knew the ‘Oh shit, I’m going to meet Leonard Snart!’ freak out he would no doubt have later would be embarrassing and long, but it would mean Snart would be alive and that was more than enough for Barry to look forward to making a fool of himself in the future.  

“Uh, yeah, about that,” Cisco winced at the latest text that popped up, shooting Barry a constipated smile. “Hopefully he's like really grateful you’re risking it all right now to save his ass and can keep you from getting arrested for doing it. Frost says they know you're active. APB is about to go out. Waller is pissed.” 

“Better make this good then, I'm too pretty for prison.” Barry couldn't help the grin that stretched across his face as Cisco finally rattled off the address to him, offering him a lazy salute that a year ago would have gotten him kitchen duty for two weeks. Now it just earned him a good-natured laugh.  

“Good luck, Lieutenant,” Cisco said with an encouraging pat on the back, letting out a small laugh to himself when Barry took off just as quickly as he had appeared. “Something tells me you're going to need it.”

[pinky-the-bunny]

Switched lives AU explained

This AU is still in development and I am NOT an artist (sadly) but here is what the AU has so far:

This AU is about sonic and shadow switching lives; shadow being the hero in the story and sonic being created in the ARK.

Shadows design: shadow and sonic don't really change much aside from shoe and glove design. For shadow, I was thinking of the idea that he would still have the air shoes but they are made by tails! The jet boots are still red and black but are a little bit more detailed with the idea that tails made them. As for his gloves, shadows would kind of just hear those high tech grey gloves that are also made by tails that can shock enemies on contact whenever shadow has to.

Sonics design: sonic would wear running shoes since he can still run pretty fast! He would also wear fingerless white gloves because in the ARK him and maria used to play wrestle together and maria gifted him some fighting gloves for them!

Story differences: Despite being the hero that saves people and beats up bad guys, shadow is still a bit of a mean guy because he sees himself as the ultimate hero that likes validation. Of course, he does want to help people in these situations since in his cold heart, he does care about the people he saves. Sonic in the ARK is a lot more tough... Sonic and maria were best of friends that would constantly play together and break the ARKS rules sometimes, until the day Maria got shot and sent him away. After 50 years, sonic became more of a vigilante than a bad guy (I had no idea how to make him a bad guy in the story as much as I LOVE unhinged sonic.) He remembers maria's words and tries to not do awful crimes but still does some bad stuff since he did break the rules back in the ARK and is just kind of a goofy guy like that. Of course though, he got to learn better after the events of SA2. He WILL get a 'bit' emotional if you mention her though...

Shadows relationships: With tails, he treats him nicer since they've known each other for a long time, He sees him as his little brother that he would protect if gotten hurt. with knuckles...they hate eachother. They would constantly fight and get into each others nerves, they see each other as more co-workers than friends. (At least, that's what they both say) Amy does have a crush on shadow and is VERY obvious about it with him. It constantly annoys him and he gets all angry at her everytime. (He does likes her company sometimes though)

Sonics relationships: sonic and rouge are besties! They gossip a lot together and used to steal some jewels together back when sonic was a vigilante. Sonic finds omega as a pretty cool guy to hang around with and he is pretty funny to him. He LOVES to mess with egg man every chance he gets to get on his nerves, he is technically his family after all.

Sonic and shadows relationship: they of course constantly fight but for sonic, he loves the guy! He likes to tease and mess with him while he tries to stop him cause of how funny he acts when pissed off. Shadow used to find the guy annoying and childish...and while he still does see him that way, he finds him more welcoming in the team now that he is not a vigilante anymore.

Aaaaand that is IT so far. I would love to go over what happens in the other games and the other character dynamics with them, but this would be way too long. Hope you like what I have so far though!

[spa-ghett0]

I once read a oneshot about Sonic finding out that the Resistance didn't keep close contact with Tails during the War, and it was really good, but I feel Sonic wasn't as angry as he should've been. So here's my two cents written from the outsider perspective of the Rookie character.

(This might soon become a whole story, but for now, this is it)

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

After six months of the world mourning Sonic the Hedgehog, the Resistance has finally brought him home.

Not to brag, but I was the one to bust him out. Well, kind of. Other members of the team hacked into the Death Egg’s security system and freed Sonic from his chains. Then, Sonic fought the leader of the Deadly Six (not sure who they are, exactly; fingers crossed we don’t run into them) and during his escape, he found me courageously fighting a few badniks all by myself. He gave me a hand, not that I needed it. From there, I called Knuckles the Echidna, mission leader, on my wrist communicator and led Sonic to freedom.

So it was a team effort, but I was the first person in the world to see Sonic the Hedgehog alive. 

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what I’d find inside the Death Egg. Everyone seemed convinced that Sonic was killed in battle. Even the leaders of the Resistance, supposedly his closest friends. The only person who firmly disbelieved this was a kid named Tails, but he left the HQ long before I showed up. I’ve heard bits and pieces about him, but for the most part, he’s an Off-Limits Topic. Though I know to mind my own business, I always wondered how a little kid could be so important to a cause like this.

In the next room, something slams against the table. “Stop stalling, Knuckles!” Sonic the Hedgehog hisses. “Tell me where he is.”

Knuckles sighs. “He’s probably at his workshop—”

“Probably? You don’t know?”

“I’ve been a little busy, if you hadn’t noticed,” Knuckle snaps.

“Busy.” Sonic scoffs. “That’s not an excuse.”

“We tried to make him stay, but he wanted to leave.”

“I don’t care that he isn’t here. I care that you don’t know where he is! He could be hurt, or worse.”

“Don’t think like that.”

“How can I not? I’ve been locked up for six months, the world has gone to shit, and my little brother is in the middle of it—alone!”

A chill jolts through me. Little brother?

“How long has he been gone?”

Silence.

“I’m losing my patience here, Knux,” Sonic growls.

“Four months.”

More silence. It stretches long enough for me to contemplate glancing inside, just to make sure they’re both still breathing.

Then a blue blur races past me. I don’t have a chance to move before he knocks me into the wall. Once I find my footing, I run after him.

The front door hits something hard when I push it open. Metal scrapes under my feet. Confused, I step over the mess and continue into the street. I don’t see Sonic, but he definitely came out here.

The entire street before me is littered with carnage. Badniks torn in half. Blue and red wires strung out like entrails. Smoke billowing from piles of robots who still twitch and spark, as if they’re in pain. At the center of it all, I finally spot him: the great and legendary Sonic the Hedgehog rips the power source out of a badnik’s chest and crushes it in his hand.

I can’t move. In minutes—seconds, maybe—he did what it takes a squad of Resistance soldiers to accomplish in hours.

Tossing the badnik to the ground, Sonic finally spots me. My stomach turns. I know he’s the One Who Saves the World, the Good Guy, the Hero… But right now, I wonder if it’d be safer to retreat and stay out of his way.

I’ve been locked up for six months, the world has gone to shit, and my little brother is in the middle of it—alone!

“Hey, you’re the one who rescued me from the Death Egg,” Sonic says as he approaches. His sudden calm demeanor is startling.

“Uh y-yeah, that’s me,” I stammer.

“I never thanked you for that. Knuckles said you’re new to the Resistance?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Good. With more people fighting back, we’ll take back our planet in no time.”

“With you here, we should be able to take him down tomorrow.” I try to laugh as I glance around at the wreckage, but it comes out shaky and awkward.

Sonic’s smile is sharp and not quite friendly. “Sorry to disappoint, but it’ll be a bit longer than that. I’ve got something to take care of, first.”

I nod. “Right. You wanna find your brother.”

Green eyes cut to me. Immediately, I regret everything. 

“Thought I felt someone listening in there,” he mutters.

“I–I wasn’t eavesdropping. I mean, I didn’t mean to—” I wince. “Sorry. I’ve just heard a lot about Tails in the last month, and I… I didn’t know he’s your brother.” 

“That seems to have slipped everyone’s minds.”

“I can help you find him, if you want.”

Sonic snorts. “Thanks, but I think it’d be better if you stay here.”

“Remember when I saved you from the Death Egg while still being new to the Resistance?”

“Remember how scared you were when you stepped outside a minute ago?”

I bristle. “I wasn’t—”

The knowing look he gives me snaps my mouth shut.

“I was just surprised.”

“Right. Surprised that the Hero could be so violent?” Crossing his arms over his chest, Sonic observes his destruction. “Gotta be honest here, I’m not ready to jump back in and save the day. Don’t get me wrong, Eggman’s reign of terror will be ending very soon. That’s a promise. But the only thing I care about right now is finding Tails. So if you’re expecting the Hero, you'll have to wait.”

I frown. Who is Sonic the Hedgehog if not the Hero?

Against my better judgement, I realize I want to find out.

“Well… I kinda wanna meet this infamous Tails.”

He smirks. “He’s definitely worth the trip.”

“Then, what are we waiting for? Any idea where he might be?”

Sonic eyes me. Then his smirk softs into a smile, and he leads the way to Tails’s workshop. I fall into step beside him, trying to ignore the scrape of metal at our feet.

[dragonsir]

Thinking about how shadow loses the 2 people closest to him and almost gives up his life in adventure 2 to save people he doesn't actually know.

Thinking about how in his next appearance, even though he doesn't remember anything and thinks he could be an android, he finds Rouge and Omega, 2 people with goals similar to his own and immediately helps them. And then he never leaves them again. They're right there in his own game, trying to help him and also get his help. They show up at the end, and then never leaves his side. Even when things look bleak in Sonic 06's future, they stay by his side. Omega waits 200 years to help him fight Mephiles then admits to Shadow that he's the one who captures him when the world crumbles. Rouge tells Shadow that even when the world turns on him, she'll fight on his side no matter what. And they stay by his side to fight mephiles, to try to stop that future.

Thinking about how in every game Shadow is in from then on, Omega and Rouge are there too.

Thinking about how Omega, a robot made by eggman, wanted to overthrow his creator and start a robot uprising and rule over all humans, but abandoned that to stay at Shadow's side instead.

Thinking about how he saves Rouge from prison island even though he doesn't know her because he thinks about how he couldn't save Maria, and decides if he has a chance to save someone, he has to take it. And she stays by Shadow's side while staying a treasure hunter and a GUN agent.

Thinking about how Shadow joins GUN, the people responsible for Maria's death and Gerald's insanity. All they had to do was recognize shadow was not at fault and give him a chance, and he takes it. He joins Rouge as an agent and brings Omega with him.

Thinking about how they banter in game. How Rouge is playful with him, how Omega is straightforward. Maybe when Rouge smiles, maybe when Omega recites facts, Shadow sees the ghosts of Maria and Gerald.

Thinking about how even though Shadow lost everything, he still found new friends. They don't ever leave his side. And he never leaves theirs.

[themuskrater]

I hate how many people assume just because a character is the protagonist, that means they're always right. This rant is going to be spoilers for season 3 of

So in episode 2 of Invincible season 3, Mark confronts Cecil about letting DA Sinclair and Darkwing out of prison. His argument is that they killed people, they should be in jail. Cecil says they deserve a chance at rehabilitation and to use their powers for good. This argument turns into a fight as Mark gets more and more aggressive and forces Cecil to use his safeguards against him.

This scene has apparently divided fans over who's right, but I mean... it's pretty obviously Cecil. Like I'm sorry, Mark is a hypocrite here, and that's okay, he's a flawed character. But too many people are just taking his side because he's the hero.

Ignoring the fight for a minute (a fight Mark started, I'll add), what does Mark actually WANT? He won't kill his enemies, he says that's wrong. But he gets mad at Cecil for offering them a chance at rehabilitation and to use their talents for good. So Mark won't kill them, but he also doesn't want them rehabilitated, so what DOES he want? Because it sounds like he just wants to punish them, he wants them to suffer and rot in prison.

Darkwing is clearly remorseful of his actions and wants a chance to repair his debt to society. He even sacrifices his life later in the season to save the other Guardians. But Mark refused to see that and would have just left him in a cell. We don't see DA Sinclair, but Cecil makes a good point that his talents should be used to help people and the new Reanimen aren't victims. They're the corpses of volunteers who willingly donated their bodies.

I understand why Mark is against it, he's blinded by his own trauma. He's allowed to be wrong, it's in character for him to be wrong about this. But why is there any discourse amongst fans about this when Cecil is so obviously in the right? Even regarding the fight that follows, Cecil TRIES to talk Mark down and only uses the Reanimen and the sonic disruptor when Mark attacks him. Marks the strongest being on the planet, did you expect Cecil to just let Mark kill him? We see that Mark struggles to control his rage, and Cecil believes Mark killed Angstrom in a rage before. Why would he risk it again?

To me it really makes no sense why anyone is supporting Mark in this argument

[randomthefox]

Movie shadow was the real edgelord

He shows no compassion or ability to admit someone is on his level, there's so much focus on him wanting revenge, hell he took a detour in SA2 to save Rouge. The movie failed to grasp that he's an introvert recovering from trauma, and pushes the cool factor too much.

Shadow in SA2 is a villain without agency. It's truly fascinating dissecting his character in any given scene with the knowledge of his motivations and the implied manipulation Gerald did to his memories.

For 95% of SA2 he truly and sincerely believes that Maria wanted revenge against all of mankind, and he is acting to bring about the Colony Drop to fulfill that wish.

If it hadn't been for Gerald tweaking Shadows brain to make him "perfect" and "pure"

then Shadow would have woken up from his captivity and gone about trying to fulfill Maria's wish to defend the earth to give the people on that planet the chance to be happy and to bring hope to humanity. He probably still would have had a low opinion of humanity, but he was fighting with Maria's wish in his heart. He was simply mistaken (due to Gerald's manipulation) about what that wish was until the end.

Shadow in the movie is not even remotely the same character as the Shadow in SA2. He is Shadow In Name Only. Movie Shadow did not undergo any kind of memory manipulation, he remembers everything about Maria perfectly and KNOWS for a FACT she would not have wanted the world to be destroyed. Movie Shadow did not hear any final words from Maria imparting a last wish for him to fulfill. Movie Shadow is motivated entirely by his own pain of losing his friend, Maria's feelings and outlook on life is the furthest thing from his mind. Movie Shadow doesn't even start considering what Maria's wishes might have been until he feels bad about accidentally killing a human that he thought was a human that he wanted to kill but it actually wasn't the human he wanted to kill so he was like oops that was the wrong guy which makes him start going "oH nO wAs ThIs WhAt MaRiA wOuLd HaVe WaNtEd???" which is fucking retarded because your entire plan is to blow up the planet and kill everybody why would killing Tom make you start second guessing that.

Movie Shadow is selfishly lashing out at the world because of his own pain.

Game Shadow was selflessly devoted to Maria's final wish, and was simply manipulated into not correctly remembering what that wish was until the very end.

Movie Shadow is talked out of his desire to destroy the planet because Sonic tells him the pain will never go away but just try and stop focusing on the bad memories and try to focus on the good ones instead, which why does that even convince him when Movie Shadow's entire motivation is "this pain fucking sucks everybody should die including me because this pain sucks so much" and Sonic just fucking told him the pain will never go away so like???

Game Shadow is convinced to help avert the colony drop because Amy reaches out and touches his heart and unlocks his memories of Maria's true wish and makes him realize he was in the wrong all along.

Movie Shadow sacrifices his life but also not really because if he didn't the world would have been destroyed. It wasn't a choice.

Game Shadow sacrifices his life but also not really because he felt guilty for his actions in instigating the world's destruction and wanted to repent and fulfill his promise to Maria. Sonic reached out and grabbed his hand to save him, and Shadow rejected it and let himself fall leaving Sonic only holding his bracelet. Shadow CHOSE to fall.

Movie Shadow fucking sucks. A shallow, substanceless mannequin wearing the skin of the character from the games. He's worse than the Shadow from the Sonic Boom cartoon

[descendant-of-truth]

Rise of Lyric has by far some of the most consistently expressive character animation of any 3D Sonic game ever, and frankly I think Frontiers should be embarrassed that it isn't at minimum on the same level as it, if not better.

Because here's the thing: RoL still looks awkward at times. Mouth shapes can feel a little weird, the eyebrows don't always seem to know what they're supposed to be doing, little things that give off the impression that it wasn't quite as polished as it wanted to be. But it's still LEAGUES above Frontiers, even with the progress it's made over other mainline games.

And look, I really can't claim to know how the models they're using work because I don't have the ability to mess around with them myself, but at this point I'm starting to wonder if they're just... not particularly stretchy by nature?? Because I can't imagine any other reason for them to be so stiff even when the animators are doing their best.

To prove my point, let's compare a very similar expression and pose of Sonic's from Frontiers and RoL respectively.

In both of these scenes, Sonic is expressing determination to fight in order to save his friends. In Frontiers, this is from the Final Horizon update, right after Amy, Tails, and Knuckles sacrificed their corporeal forms in order to bring Sonic back from corruption. Sonic is currently feeling the weight of that sacrifice full-force, lamenting that they gave up their chance at freedom for him, and uses that pain to push himself forward to really save them this time.

In Rise of Lyric, Sonic is staring down a robot army led by Metal Sonic as the door in front of them closes. He's already ushered Amy, Tails, and Knuckles behind him into a suspicious temple of sorts, but he's prepared to fight in case it doesn't close fast enough. He was told twice not to open the door in the first place, but he was concerned for his friends, and decided to prioritize protecting them over their own desires to keep fighting.

With such similar framing, it's hard not to see how Frontiers' expressions fall short. Both Sonics have their eyes narrowed, the bridge of their eyebrows scrunched down to separate them into two distinct shapes, and they're holding their fists up. But in Frontiers, it's not very clear what emotions he's feeling just by looking at him. Sure, he looks kinda determined if you squint, but at a glance, he looks almost more neutral than anything.

And it just gets worse the more you think about it because by all accounts, he should be having a MORE intense expression than the one in Rise of Lyric! I mean come on, the guy practically died five minutes ago and is gearing himself up for another round of Titan fights. He should be looking exhausted and utterly spent but like he's still gonna keep going somehow.

It got to the point where, halfway through writing this, I decided that it wasn't enough to just talk about what his expression should have looked like, and that I was going to put my money where my mouth was and redraw it myself.

I scrunched his eyes and brows down closer to how they are in the Boom screenshot for the determined look, made him look upwards with his irises instead of staring blankly ahead, and pulled up his lower eyelids to add an edge of desperation to him.

I kept his mouth in the same position, but tried to make it look a little more... angry? by curling it up on one side and showcasing his top teeth more. Finally, I changed the position of his body and arms a bit, to make it look like his whole body was tensing up along with his face.

These are all Extremely Doable in 3D animation - the only part I'm uncertain of is the mouth, since I tend to draw mouths with a very 2D mindset. But on principle, it should not be hard to shape his eyes to match his emotions. That is the absolute bare minimum of what you want your character models to be capable of in a professional setting.

And it's driving me nuts that Frontiers, savior of the Sonic games' credibility among the masses, is still being outclassed by what's considered the "second 06" of the franchise. What is happening over there that this keeps being a problem