#it looks like sonic jumping into a ball animation

[jnstudios2]

This screen cap is giving sonic jumping vibes

Incoming projectile

Season 1, Episode 1 - Mystery Meat

[thebirdart]

Some features of the earth urchins compared to the four hedgehogs of the world of Sonic!

One day I asked myself the question of how would be the anatomy of Sonic and I began to investigate the anatomy of the ground urchins but I liked so many details of them that I put together some characteristics of these animals to compare them with the four hedgehogs of the world of Sonic.

us start!

Starting with obvious facts:

In the world of Sonic only showed to have four hedgehogs; Sonic, Amy, Shadow and Silver, (the green does not count because it is still Sonic)

They all appear to be of a "same species of hedgehog".

For we know 16 types of earth urchins on our planet.

On the other hand I thought Silver was of a different species like Shadow. (By the shape of its spikes) But I don��t see the point, so they must be the same species. Although Shadow might be a little authentic in his design, I’ll explain later.

(Data: the hedgehog Atelerix algirus and the hedgehog Hemiechinus auritus are the ones who take care more to be pets at home)

FOOD

-Ground urchins eat insects, worms, molluscs, snakes, some fruits, small vertebrates, acorns, young birds and eggs.

(the hedgehog thought about it a little before attacking)

-Sonic and the others eat things that could be considered human; chili dogs, coffee beans (this is done by Shadow), strawberry cake (eaten by Amy and Sonic hates it), hamburgers (by SonicBoom), apples (by a drawing of Silver), and so on.

ANATOMY

The ground urchins have very good flexibility, an arched spine and strong and flexible muscles, that allows them to become ball. Comparing it with the deformed hedgehogs (Sonic) there is not much difference since all present good strength and flexibility, except Silver that can not be made ball.

The spikes of hedgehogs are made of keratin, which is a protein substance. I guess the same applies to Sonic and so on. Although in Sonic Unleashed when he is electrocuted we can see that it does not have "bones" in its large spikes, it is a little obvious to know but data that goes without saying.

The skeleton of ground urchins is similar to other mammals, only that its spine is a little more curved, as well as other details; as that its clavicle is well developed so that it can dig hard. This is very different from Sonic’s body and so on as it would resemble more a human structure.

Although also to keep in mind Sonic’s feet are… a closed thing…

By the way the snout and mouth are very different too. Sonic has a snout but the nose and mouth are different from the ground urchin. And another fact: the hedgehogs take incredibly long walks if it is for food; something like 7.2 km/h and if we combine it with the particularity of Sonic being very fast this powerful detail does not overlook.

Time when I jumped out of my spot when I was reading this.

I love this, I have no idea if the creator of Shadow has taken this as a reference but did you know that hedgehogs have a blue border that surrounds their dark eyes? This can only be seen when hedgehogs look to the side. So the great "eyeliner" of Shadow could be a real detail of the animal but taken as a reference to leave it beside your eyes on the outside.

The tail of the common hedgehogs is bare, but the tail of the deformed ones appears to be of the same color as all their other spikes.

I think, canonically, the characters of the Sonic world can mate. But I didn’t see anything that highlighted this, I mean, we can witness Cream’s mother.

Male hedgehogs have a small penis, (bulge), located in what would be their navel and have intra-abdominal testicles (they remain in the abdomen instead of leaving through the scrotum) and the female vulva is a small button that is located in front of the anus.

I guess since they’re characters from the '90s, it’s obvious that this wasn’t thought of at the time of their creation. There’s not much to think about since they’re characters who may or may not wear clothes (Tails-Nine and Sally-Amy) and yet we wouldn’t see anything, not even the nipples! Because hedgehogs have five nipples, both female and male, and you’ll notice that Sonic has nothing.

But I found a picture of Sally where she has more clothes. I suppose it must be a hallmark that female characters wear clothes. (Although Sally is not a canonical character, of course.)

THE 5 SENSES:

Sight: they do not have good view, it is said that hedgehogs have no sense of space, but they can distinguish shapes. Although the hedgehogs are blind and may have collisions with objects, they continue to travel great distances and this does not cause them to slow down, they continue with the same speed as if they had good eyesight.

Smell: very developed, so I guess the four hedgehogs can smell very well from several meters, maybe Sonic can smell Eggman without making noise, will smell of egg?

If you hid a chili dog under the ground in a box, Sonic could find it.

Hearing: the ear of hedgehogs can detect high frequency sounds, their developed sense allows them to locate their prey underground.

Tip: If you saw the Sonic Prime series you will notice that Sonic’s ears move often before a sound. I think a good detail added for the blue hedgehog, this is also added in the IDW comics, I did not find the panel but it is when Amy stays listening to the ground and knows that two hedgehogs are close, those hedgehogs were Shadow and Sonic.

But although hedgehogs have a very sensitive ear I do not consider it the same for the four hedgehogs as they would go crazy at the sounds of Eggman machines, explosions or a simple click of the computer mouse. (Ground urchins get stressed too fast with a simple computer click)

Taste: These animals have a peculiar… sense of taste. They like the taste of a hundred feet. So it’s not uncommon for Shadow to like bitter, for Sonic to like spicy, and for Amy to like sweet, what would Silver like? Healthy or the first thing he finds in his world to eat?

Types of sounds hedgehogs make

Sounds of joy: these little things purr like a cat, and they can even mix it with whistles. Could it be that Shadow purred when he was with Maria?

Bullying sounds: they emit a sound through the nose from a strong breathing, they do it when they feel attacked or are upset. (I don’t know if they thought of it this way when they made Shadow growl annoyingly in Sonic Prime. The same with Amy and Sonic when they got jealous or bothered with each other at Sonic Boom)

Whining sound: when they feel pain they emit a sound like a scream, I could notice this in a video of a hedgehog that was in the water of a bathtub. (although there are always exceptions)

Sleeping sounds: Hedgehogs snore, I guess they all snore too?Hedgehogs fall asleep anywhere. In the Sonic game where Amy’s birthday is celebrated, Tails mentions that Sonic can sleep anywhere, even in the most unusual.

Data: the hedgehogs have nails/claws that they use to dig the earth and since the of Sonic characters are put gloves to not show their hands I think they should not have pads like normal animals but rather human hands. Well, Sticks is the only one I’ve seen without gloves and she’s a badger and badgers have pads. So all Sonic characters should have hands without the characteristics of their species.

BEHAVIOR

The behavior of one ground urchin and the other four is very different, except Shadow, he should stay on the side of the ground urchins.

Since hedgehogs are solitary, they only come together when it’s mating season. (Although Sonic likes to spend time alone…but he’s not a lone wolf like Shadow)

UNGIMIENTO (I couldn’t find the word in English)

When tasting a taste or perceive a new smell, or rare, the animal bites the source of this flavor or smell (Animals, objects, people, whatever) to then make a frothy, thick and white drool that with the tongue are smeared on the side peaks and those near his face. (Scientists don’t know why they do this) If I imagine it for the four deformed hedgehogs maybe this does not exist for them, as they smell new things all the time.

EXTRA DATA: Hedgehogs can swim but they don’t like to stay in the water too long because they can drown, I saw a documentary that mentioned this. I like that touch they gave Sonic that in the water he is scary, I don’t know if it’s something canonical or fandom but it was nice to see him be the only one with a life jacket in the Olympics.

Remember when they did that twitter and tiktok special where they asked Sonic what would happen if he was a worm? Well, hedgehogs eat worms. And did you know that the Egyptian hedgehog is prey to foxes? While it’s another kind of hedgehog this is funny. In Sonic the movie the character Longclaw is the "mother" of Sonic… the funny thing about this is that she is an owl and owls eat hedgehogs.

Who had the idea to give a friend and mother predators to Sonic?

That’s all. I hope you liked these characteristics that I came up with. See you later!

[silkkorchid]

What went down in TWST rp in a week-

Covers 3/30 - 4/5

This week was ok ish…

NRC therapist and Gardening club seems to be planning something against Mrs. Rosehearts…

NRC Newspaper club has a new member called, Atlas, seeming to be an unofficial prophet for NRC, thanks to his Unique Magic.

There is a Dance Club at NRC now-

One of the hosts and the host club seem to have a questionable draft that was soon posted by another host. I’m looking at you 🪞⚜️.

NRC Host Club has now a menu of food, with the one of them being uhm a very clever name for it!

NRC cooking club made a disgusting salad that I cannot describe…

NRC allows students to have tazer if worn correctly…

Another race is happening between Royal Sword Academy and Night Raven College. And there is a poll which school is going to win, some students at NRC are rigging the poll.

Both of RSA and NRC Cleaning club have log entries.

Che’nya is at it with the invisible boop towards the boys.

Some of the boys’ future children are throwing powder ball at them, for no apparent reasons???

The Diasomnia gossip account seems to be telling all the juicy stuff that happens in Diasomnia- wait does Malleus even know this exists?

Someone said Sebek is just… I can’t say it as I’m gonna puke…

A boop war has commenced between us who will get the most boops.

A boop battle between Ruggie and Silver. Silver surrender with Ruggie being the winner .

A student of Diasomnia ate a whole pathway since they were hungry. The person that did this, u know.

Malleus and Althea is having a boop match across campus. Then lasers were incorporated into this match of theirs.? After all that happens, Althea and Malleus end their boop match with ice cream.

Althea trying kidnap Gidel, NO TOUCHING THE CHILD ALTHEA!

General Lilia came back from the dead.

Lilia destroyed the microwave again, wait is that smoke coming from Diasomnia?

Lilia got into Ramshackle’s kitchen and yeeeee….

Riddle realized his mother now got a Tumblr account-

Ace got food poisoning, and Riddle ban him from the kitchen till he gets his credit for the mandatory cooking class.

Mrs. Rosehearts has came back after 4 days. Someone gotta hold onto me before I jump her.

Seems like fans of Riddle are pushing their buttons with Mrs. Rosehearts, and I’m proud seeing them being straight forward on causing chaos.

Ace destroyed a microwave. No questions ask.

Ace got collared for the millionth time.

Ruggie’s future child SOMEHOW broke through a wall!? H-how does that logic work!?

Someone cast a spell onto ruggie in which made him wear bunny ears and a tail.

Leona is trying to pass his responsibility onto Ruggie.

Azul has now met his future child after idk how long.

@quartztwst made Azul bald.

Jamil trying to prevent Alcestris dating Najima, his sister. Meanwhile Althea cheering Alce on…

Epel came back after a beauty break to see the last update before shortly going offline.

Idia arguing which anime he and his future children will watch.

Idia allowing his future children to commit arson…. Ortho please stop him being a bad influence to his own future children…

Idia loosing his shit when the topic of Sonic came up.

Idia lost something very important for his magic pen.

Someone reminded Idia that he accidentally left Ortho’s filter off and you know the story.

The boys’ future children somehow got gender-bend due to a potion.?

The children tried monopoly and it turn into a full on war.

One of Sam’s friends can speak that wired language that I can’t understand-

Cheka came back after a long nap.

Someone taught Cheka to swear-

Fellow and Gidel is at it again trying to find new puppets…

[atwas-gaming]

People who complain that Sonic's character is "static" must have never played Unleashed or Black Knight. Or they did, but they didn't understand them.

I think one of the reasons why Unleashed and Black Knight are such fan favorites and stick in our memory so well is because the entire theme of both games is about taking Sonic out of his element, taking away things that he has relied on for so long- speed, jumping, spindashing, boosting, homing attacks- taking all those things away from him, and seeing how he does.

And he still shines. Even without all the abilities that he has relied on throughout his entire life, he still manages to beat the Big Bad.

(Please note that I haven't finished either game yet and I'm just drawing from what I've been spoiled on.)

As the werehog, Sonic is not able to curl into a ball at all (we're ignoring the mobile games for this post), and his greater height and weight, probably due to a larger bone structure, as well as heavier, thicker fur, keeps him from being able to run as fast or jump as high as he's used to. He now how to resort to fighting styles he has never used before, including several forms of martial arts (aided by his Dark Gaia-powered stretch abilities). Perhaps the most unusual of all is how he has to get down on all fours to run.

In addition, Sonic describes his werehog form as "pretty ugly." Sonic thinks of himself as good-looking, and this is a part of his personal identity, which is part of why he was upset that Amy didn't recognize him (no matter what feelings he may or may not have for her). The werehog form also seems to be physically uncomfortable and taxing on Sonic's body due to the heavier weight, as the werehog idle animations include Sonic stretching in an exaggerated way and forcibly rotating his shoulders (motions I, myself, have learned to use after years at a desk job that has ruined my neck and upper back). Sonic's idle animations also include him being jumpy and looking around every few seconds- basically, the werehog never fully relaxes.

All in all, Sonic is very uncomfortable as a werehog, and prefers not to be seen in this form. But the reason why is not fully evident until he thanks Chip for protecting him and keeping him from turning evil. To this, Chip replies, "I haven't done anything, Sonic. You're too strong to lose yourself."

On top of this, Amy doesn't have a problem with Sonic's appearance. She still loves him. Tails also doesn't care what Sonic looks like. Neither does Professor Pickle. Neither does ANYONE. Even if they're startled by the werehog's appearance at first, they all seem to go, "Oh, it's just Sonic. This is just what he's like at night."

The entire story of Unleashed was about Sonic coming to realize that he is not who he is because of what he looks like or how he is built.

Black Knight takes this a step further. In Unleashed, Sonic wasn't able to run, but he was still able to use his body as a weapon. In Black Knight, Sonic can run again, but nowhere near as fast as his normal speed. All of Sonic's abilities to fight with his body are stripped from him, and he is forced to use an actual weapon, instead. And Sonic hates this. He even says it: "I wish I didn't have to use this dang sword!"

Sonic has never used a weapon before in the games (as far as I am aware, anyway). His weapon has always been his own body: his feet, his fists, his whole body via spindash and homing attack. Now he's having to train himself to fight with something outside of his own body. This requires not only the creation of new muscle memory, but also a complete shift in the way his brain processes information to fight. He always has the option to just crumble and say, "I can't do this, it's not what I'm used to, I give up." He never does that. He complains a bit at first, but eventually rises to the occasion and excels at swordfighting.

Please bear in mind that I haven't ever gotten past the King Arthur battle. I presume Sonic is forced to kill him, and then I believe there's another half a game after that. But so far, it seems that Sonic's character arc in Black Knight is about him learning that he is not who he is just because of what he can do.

What makes Sonic Sonic is not what he looks like or what he is able to do, but about who he is inside. Sonic is someone who cares, someone who is strong, someone who doesn't give up, someone who sees a difficult situation and, no matter how much of an inconvenience it may be, turns it around and finds a way through.

[cyanferret21]

Hinata Shoyo and Kageyama Tobio

I really enjoy drawing all this poses and scenes from Haikyuu in the style of Sonic franchise’s Mobians. In this, as you can see, I decided to make Kageyama a dalmatian. It just feels like his vibe. I was also thinking doberman maybe, but it’s too fancy for his dork ass, as I see it. Also, it would fit in with his former teammates from the middle school that are in Seijo now. It is because, simultaneously with plants and blue castle, I associate their school team with the pack of wolves, as it was also in the show itself a few times. So most of them would be dog/wolf Mobians, I decided. (I already have Oikawa and Iwa drawn so you’ll see their designs almost right away)

For Hinata though, I was making decision mostly off of his speed and hair color. I wanted some warm looking and energetic animal. So the cheetah was a good choice in my opinion. Also, their are known for being quite nervous and anxious animals, and, with Hinata always having stomach problems because of his nerves, it’d fit too) Also, no one would be that much surprised by his speed in quick attacks anymore, judging by his origin, but the hight of his jumps would still count for something hehe

But, imagine if Shoyo gets mistaken as an orange tabby quite regularly(because of his health or something) and so when he speeds past the blockers and spikes the ball faster than you could notice where it went, his speed could still be a shocker to some))) Just a fun image in my head

(It was the first piece I did for them, so the designs are still rough looking here heh. I still like Tobio’s pose in this thou)

Reference:

MSBY Black Jackals Oikawa and Iwaizumi Sugawara

[imsparky2002]

Miraculous Animal AU - Science Class

Zoe the Wasp - Though her and Chloe are not technically related, they've been together since birth and see eachother as sisters. Even though they're sweeter than Chloe, Zoe has a sharp pincer that she uses for hunting her food. She also loves movies and punk rock songs that play on the record player. They adore their hedgehog mate, Cosette, and often fly on its nose.

Aurore the Swan - Aurore's a big, beautiful and elegant bird, who also happens to be a nervous wreck 90% of the time. Due to society's expectations of swans to always be radiant and magestic creatures, Aurore can be a perfectionist, scared of failing in the eyes of her elders. It's only thanks to being with her friends and her penguin mate Mireille that she's learned how to relax and simply live life for herself. One of her favorite things to do is to honk about the weather with her girlfriend to the other animals on each farm.

Mireille the Penguin - Mireille is as quiet and chill as the temperature they prefer to live in. She's often waddling around to see what the weather is like, and their favorite pasttime is going for a nice swim in the pond. She often finds it hard to open her beak and speak up, but is working on it with the more extroverted animals. They also like visiting their older brother, Theo, who is the pet of a famous artist.

Jean the Macaw - If you want to see an animal with flair, vigor and theatricality, look no further than Jean. A particuarly passionate parrot, Jean loves to strut his stuff wherever he goes, showing that they can squawk the squawk and walk the walk. They adore the theatre, listening to all sorts of musicals from the record player and copying certain words that he learns from the scripts. They also put on little shows for their friends, with the help of some of the more theatre-loving animals. He cherishes his mate, a nerdy deer named Austin T.

Lacey the Cheetah - Lacey always has a need for speed, so don't coop her up. As the fastest not just of Farmer Olga, but of all the farms, it's Lacey's job to catch any troublemakers trying to sneak in. She also loves parkour, racing for glory against Kim, Alix and Aggie. Because of her low stamina, she can often be found napping in various parts of the farm. Be thoughtful and don't wake her up.

Denise the Bison - Denise is one bulky bison. They grazing, rolling around in the dirt, and prefers to be in a herd rather than alone. A very social bison, they want to make sure everyone feels included in daily activities. They may be huge, but they're one of the friendliest and calmest animals on the farm, always willing to be pet. There's only one animal that can make them blush, that being their serval mate Simon.

Simon the Serval - A snarky and slender serval, Simon's a cat who is always trying to nab pieces of technology to use for himself. Some of his friends call them "Keyboard Cat" since he constantly paws at the computer as if it were a majestic artifact of God. They also can be rather grumpy in the morning, needing to climb a tree or mark territory to cool off. Sometimes, he likes jumping onto the back of his bison mate and going for a ride.

Cosette the Hedgehog - A spunky and spiky critter, Cosette's always in the mood for exploring, digging and foraging. You can often find it sniffing its' friends, rolling around in a ball, or digging with its claws for treasures. They love makeup, and have made some out of various substances found on the farm to put on its' animal allies. One time, Cosette and their foxy friend Alya tried to recreate something they saw from a Sonic movie. They were sad to find out foxes couldn't actually fly.

Ismael the Raccoon - A witty little gremlin, Ismael proudly identifies as a "trash baby". He likes digging through garbage, collecting various items from the bins to put on display at his room for the other animals to see. He's a night owl for sure, usually hanging out with the other nocturnal animals around the various farms. You can often hear him chittering with a meowing Simon, as they snark about various things.

Reshma the Elephant - A polite and elegant elephant, Reshma never forgets to cherish her friends. She often trumpets about new ideas for fashion, and her best friend Ismael is as protective of her as she is with him. Her fashionista friend is Marinette, the little ladybug. They are always working together on new animal attire, despite being vastly different in size. She loves wrapping her trunk around her cheetah mate, Lacey, and her polar bear mate, Margo.

And that's the Science Kids! Thanks to Coco and Weebs for the animal species ideas. Make sure to watch out for the Recess Class who will be the next farm to show. Give a thumbs up and show your support in the reblogs and replies. @artzychic27 @msweebyness @nerd-chocolate

[vertebrae-entertainment]

4/5/2024 - Fangst animation rework!

Hi again y'all, Hauk here! If you've been peeking at our discord channel lately, you might have noticed I've been posting a lot of animation WIP's. Thats because I'm in the process of reworking some of the oldest sprites in the project- walking and jumping!

It can take me up to a year to nail how I draw and animate a character. For our protagonist the thing that has taken the most time is definitely line stylization, proportions and leg silhouette. He's gotten bigger and bigger during development, not to mention spikier! Honestly its not that smart to design a tall character for a platformer, and there's a reason most platforming type characters have a very square hitbox. Its just easier to design challenges that way!

But i'm not changing gears now!! I wanted Fangst to have a tall handsome man as a player character, and i'm gonna stick to it!!

Here's a peek at the new walk animation. The arm holding his fishing rod is a static, separate sprite that is basically glued to the player with code for gameplay reasons.

We needed a smart way to change and add bounce to the rod without having a million variants of every sprite. Here are two iterations on how a static arm could be anchored to the player. I want him to carry himself with a confident sway, as though the whole world is his catwalk- so perhaps the full bounce of the second one is too much!

Speaking of bounce, the double jump animation! Right now he has the very placeholder double jump solution of turning into a small rotating orb sonic style, and its been a frustrating disconnect seeing as the hitbox ordinarily is quite big.

My goal for this animation is that i want him to do a sexy, elegant backflip. I started with a version with an upside down split, but after some iterations we agreed that the simpler one would be more readable and use-friendly. But an upside down split is kinda iconic... maybe we can use it elsewhere?

A platformer player will spend most of their time jumping around, so nailing a satisfying, easily readable jump is important in both animation and feel. Characterization is also important here- i want it to be obvious that our player character is athletic and elegant, and that these acrobatics cost him little effort.

However, i'm expecting a bit of a pickle implementation-wise. See, him turning into a sonic-style orb made the walljumps feel practically seamless. Will a fully animated backflip be equally friendly? The sprite will be a lot bigger. Truth is, a character turning into a ball is just really easy to design around.

Here's the current in-game sprites, featuring his old jumps, idle pose and miiildly disconnected placeholder arm with a smaller fishing rod. As you might have noticed, he's also a bit softer looking, and his boots are way smaller!

I think the newer sprites will make him have a more stylish, cool and recognizeable silhouette. It will be worth it to update these old things- after all, inbetween all this technical game design stuff, its just also really important to me that the player feels like a cool and professional monster hunting fisherman!

Thanks for keeping up with our project, we're doing our best to make Fangst a proper quality "You: A Hot Man, Kill Monster!" experience!!

-Hauk

[dracarialove]

📄 F it, I'm posting my finished fics here, too 📄

Heartfelt Holidays

*Check the 'heartfelt holidays' tag if you haven't read chapter 1

[Chapter 7: A Grand New Year]

Sonic convinces Knuckles to throw a New Year's party on Angel Island, promising to make sure the event goes safely and smoothly so they can enter a new year with all their friends.

"We should make trips out here more often!" Sonic rhapsodized as he nudged Tails and gave Knuckles an elated grin.

The three of them were sitting together on the steps of the Emerald Altar, chatting and reminiscing under a dull sky while the Master Emerald glittered atop the stone platform. The clouds beneath the floating island were dropping flakes of snow into the ocean, making Knuckles' post a pleasant hangout spot compared to the icy earth.

"You really enjoy disturbing my peace, don't you?" asked the guardian with a smirk.

Sonic winked mischievously and lightly smacked his friend's arm with a closed fist. "You bet! This is the dream team right here!"

He threw both arms around Tails' and Knuckles' shoulders and continued, "And what better way to keep our friendship strong than by keeping each other company on the prettiest place in the world?"

The young fox spoke up as they looked out past the ancient ruins, "Even on a dull day, this island thrives with natural beauty. Partly thanks to you, Knuckles, guarding everything to ensure its safety."

"Heh, yeah..." One large mitt removed Sonic's casual grip, awkwardly brushing off their compliments.

As his expunged hand instead pulled back to cup his chin, the blue hero looked back to Knuckles, his eyes brightening. "Taking it all in makes me think how awesome a party thrown here could be! Maybe better than anywhere else."

Catching on to Sonic's implication, the echidna's smile dropped and his brows raised. "Now, hold on, don't start thinking that! You can have your celebrations wherever else you like, but I don't want to turn Angel Island into some party destination... especially when other people might not respect the land."

"I get the concern, Knux," Sonic started, "but we're coming up on a brand-new year. You know what that means? New experiences, fresh adventures to come, chances to make more friends – a clean slate for future endeavors!"

"I'm not understanding why that means I should be inviting people to celebrate on my homeland."

Tails jumped in, "Like we said, Angel Island is beautiful! It's the best place to cleanse your soul of all the bad experiences you had over the year and be excited for the good memories you'll make."

"Plus," Sonic added, "already being outdoors means it's perfect for a fireworks show!"

"Fireworks going off over my island?" One of Knuckles' brows pulled down in agitation. "No way! That's guaranteed to be disastrous!"

"Okay, okay, how about this..." The Blue Blur scooted closer to his stubborn companion and pressed his palms together in a pleading gesture. "We can make sure no one disrespects the island while they're here – if they do, they get kicked out, no second chances, no party for them. And we'll only set the fireworks to go off over the ocean so none of the sparks fall down on us. Eh?"

"Hmph..." Not completely sold on the idea, Knuckles crossed his arms and looked away from Sonic.

Tails also scooted closer and balled his fists with determination. "You can trust us; we would never let anyone harm your home! Please, Knuckles? It would be a night to remember, for sure!"

The redhead trailed his gaze back over to his begging teammates, studying their hopeful smiles and excited eyes. The pure optimism of their speeches, coupled with the animated swish of the pilot's twin tails, ultimately cracked the shell of his staunch resolve. He sighed deeply and allowed a tiny smile to play at the corner of his mouth.

"Alright... I'm putting a lot of faith in you two-"

"Yes!" Sonic interrupted, pumping his fists into the air. "You won't regret it! I'll even do most of the legwork for ya, so leave the preparations to me. But I do have a suggestion about the invites..."

Knuckles mentally braced himself for the idea his speedy friend would undoubtedly pressure him into, steeling his expression for the worst.

***

Shielded from the falling snow by the tall walls and slate-colored ceiling of her downtown nightclub, Rouge and her stoic companion, Shadow, had comfortably hidden themselves away in the bat's private lounge.

Unseen by her patrons – as he preferred it – the black hedgehog rested in the singular cushioned chair that he'd unofficially claimed as his own, sitting casually with one foot propped up on the opposite knee and holding a heavy glass filled halfway with a mix of whiskey and soda.

Rouge was standing in front of the maroon loveseat, adjacent to his chair, holding a dress in each hand. She hovered one in front of her body, looking down at the long navy gown while Shadow took a swig of his drink and eyed it, as well.

"I can't believe it's the end of the year already!" she exclaimed, posing her form behind the dress before looking up at him. "This is the best time for parties, you know. People go nuts for the idea of a fresh start, so they really let loose."

"Does that mean you'll be hosting another event?"

"Hell no!" She tossed the navy dress onto the loveseat, then held the black knee-length piece against her figure. "There are so many other clubs for me to patronize! This week, we're going out!"

Shadow nearly choked on his next sip, but succeeded in holding it back; swallowing the stinging drink before clearing his throat and challenging her claim. "We?"

"Yes, we!" she snapped, furrowing her brows at him. "If I don't have to go alone, I won't, and I'd much rather you be around."

He was almost impressed by her confidence, and actually impressed by her candidness. She was bold about wanting to spend time with him and showed more candor than he could muster.

The woman's stern expression turned into one of haughtiness as she faced away from him and brattily primped her curls – a recurring action when she was feeling dramatic, he noticed.

Her voice rang out in a sassy tone, "At least be gentlemanly and pretend any party is worth it as long as you're with me."

The command made Shadow chuckle, surprising himself when it came out almost strongly enough to be considered a laugh. "So, you wish I was the romantic type, do you?"

Rouge tossed the dress to join the other and turned back to him, shoving one fist against her hip. "That wasn't my point. Although, I am convinced you're capable of much more compassion than you let on. And I think you like me more than you'll ever admit – which is clearly a lot. Can't blame you, of course!"

She smirked and gave him a wink, making the hedgehog shake his head at her and reply, "You're really arrogant, you know that?"

"Pft!" Turquoise eyes rolled in dissent. "Whatever!"

Then, from the other side of the curtain, they heard the gruff voice of the lobby bouncer shouting over the club music. "Rouge! I need to speak with you!"

The ivory bat pulled back the purple curtain enough to be seen and inquisitively asked the tall wolf, "What is it? Something urgent?"

"There's someone here to see you, waiting at the door. He won't come inside, just asked for you to meet 'im."

Puzzled and curious of her visitor, Rouge looked over her shoulder at Shadow, who shared a mutual expression of perplexion. The bouncer accompanied her to the front entrance, standing guard beside her while she opened one of the double doors.

Surprise washed over the bat's face as she stood across from her long-time rival; Knuckles held two colored sheets of paper, seemingly unfazed by the thin layer of snow collecting atop his crimson locks.

"Knuckles...!" she said with fascination, visibly taken aback by his presence. Then the corner of her lips curled upwards, and her tone gained a tinge of slyness. "How unexpected."

The echidna let out a swift, shallow sigh, then held out the plain white paper. "I'm inviting you to my end-of-year party. Don't ask why-"

"Why?" Rouge interrupted, grabbing the paper and smiling mischievously at him. "A sudden change of heart? Or are you finally warming up to me?"

His expression tightened, irritated at having been interrupted and being asked the very question he didn't want to answer.

She knew how to frustrate him, easily and severely, but he refused to give the thief the satisfaction of watching him get annoyed and flustered at her teasing.

Instead of lashing out – as his impulses desired – Knuckles sighed a little more deeply, holding eye contact with Rouge so she wouldn't feel a sense of superiority over him.

"If you must know, Sonic insisted I invite you. 'Give you a chance,' as he put it. Now, where is Shadow? Sonic told me he's been here a lot lately."

Ignoring the black sheet of paper in his other hand, Rouge upped her devilish cadence and replied, "Hm, of course Sonic would run his mouth about that... don't tell me you're jealous!"

Knuckles' unoccupied mitt balled as he attempted to hold his composure, involuntarily blushing at the accusation that he would care about how or with whom she spent her time. "I'm not, you vain bat! Just tell me, is he here or not?"

She looked over and opened the door more, revealing that Shadow was standing next to her. His proud posture and neutral expression the same as they always were, he stood quietly and waited to hear what Knuckles wanted with him. And as the guardian slipped back into his normal demeanor, the second invitation was handed forth.

Awkwardly, Knuckles repeated his earlier line – even though Shadow had certainly already heard it being said to Rouge. "I'm inviting you to my end-of-year party. Let's consider it somewhat of a fresh start, shall we? We'll enter the new year with a clean slate, and hopefully a better acquaintanceship going forward."

The words sounded scripted, and Shadow assumed if he'd planned this celebration with Sonic, that the blue hedgehog had no doubt given him a line to say.

Though, the more stolid being respected the redhead for not using the word 'friendship' – a title which their relationship hadn't ever worn, and a term he was tired of hearing from every overly-friendly person he met. Therefore, Shadow nodded silently at his offer, lowering the paper after briefly scanning its contents.

Not a moment after getting the Ultimate Lifeform's answer, Knuckles turned to Rouge again and said quickly, "There is a condition I won't be budging on: since this party is happening on my island, I won't be accepting misbehavior from any of the guests." He pointed at her. "That includes you. So, if you plan on screwing with me or causing a scene, you'll be promptly uninvited."

Slightly offended at his confrontation, the ivory bat opened her mouth, but had her words instantly cut off by Shadow's voice. "We understand the guidelines and won't be starting any trouble." He then looked at her and tacked on, "You want the parties you attend to go well, don't you, Rouge?"

The pretty jewel hunter shot him a glance of indignation, not loving his coaxing tone but being forced to accept the terms if she wanted to celebrate a new year on the beautiful Angel Island as an invited guest.

So, she held up her right hand and plastered an innocent smile on her muzzle, saying, "Of course. I promise to be a good girl."

Knuckles sensed a bit of sarcasm in her voice, but not enough to tell him that she was outright lying; rather poking more fun at his insistence that she not be her sneaky, dramatic, or thieving self.

He didn't think it was much to ask and felt she was being far too flippant towards a reasonable request, but refrained from stating his thoughts out loud.

Instead of saying goodbye, he gave each of them a nod and turned to leave, reaching for his Master Emerald stress ball to squeeze on the way home. Rouge closed the door as he left and immediately turned to her partner, the innocent smile replaced with a cheeky grin.

"We should bring Omega along," she suggested. "Even if he's not invited, what's one extra guest on such a huge island?"

Shadow smirked and crossed his arms, then nodded in agreement. "Good idea."

***

On the last day of December, after the sun had set and darkness fell over Angel Island, Sonic and Tails met up with Knuckles to start preparing the area just outside the ancient shrine.

The young genius began setting up transportable lighting fixtures around the grass while their team leader got to work tying up bundles of colorful balloons and placing them at the bottom of the altar's steps.

Knuckles himself tapped his foot anxiously on the stone slab as he watched them, trying to push away the doubts and show faith in his friends to keep their promise.

Soon enough, after a section of the ground had been sufficiently lit, guests started to arrive – those who were able to fly or catch a ride to the floating landmass. Among the first cluster of attendees was a group holding various instruments, who approached Sonic near the foot of the altar.

A light brown mink asked, "Hey, Sonic, do you want us to set up now?"

His green eyes lit up and he gestured to the grassy spot by the steps. "Yeah! Right here would be great. Thanks for doing this, guys – I owe ya!"

Surprised by the appearance of a band he hadn't personally invited, Knuckles walked down the stairway to where his cheerful friend stood, looking curiously between him and the musicians. "Sonic, what is this?"

"Oh, I invited some friends who know how to play music, just to liven things up." The hedgehog was grinning, clearly enthused, as he casually pointed one index finger at the sky. "I wanted to put in a little extra effort for this party; I mean, we already don't have any food, so why not make up for it with music? I told ya, 'leave the preparations to me.' I'm pretty much the host here, so you can just relax and enjoy the show."

Knuckles' guarded resolve softened, and his tense shoulders lowered at Sonic's offer to take the burden off of him. A violet gaze stared appreciatively at the speedster before his mouth curved into a smile. "Thanks."

The band started playing upbeat music at Sonic's request, incorporating instruments that would also be used for low-energy tunes later in the night.

More guests showed up, steadily occupying the celebration's designated area and being greeted by the Blue Blur while Knuckles watched from his seat on the stairway.

He looked over at Tails resting boxes of fireworks in a pile near his plane, then trailed his eyes over to the open sky past the edge of the island. Through the dimly lit darkness, he spotted a long figure coming into view, approaching and seeming to sway as it moved.

Squinting and leaning forward, the echidna soon recognized the figure as the members of Team Dark – all three of them, being brought to the party destination by their flying co-leader. Upon seeing Rouge, he felt some of his unease return, and stood up, deciding to retire to his post by the Master Emerald.

'Just in case...' he thought to himself.

The attendees chatted and danced in groups, filling the grassy area and making the nighttime party livelier while the dark indigo sky glittered with thousands of stars.

Elated guests Amy Rose and her young friend Cream started handing out sparklers from a collection they'd brought, which prompted Sonic to offer up glowsticks and wearable glow-accessories; meanwhile, Tails unloaded the fireworks and got to work setting them up near the island's edge. Team Dark landed and Rouge's eyes immediately stuck to the box of bright party favors in the blue hedgehog's hand.

Shadow and Omega stood assessing the scene as she smoothed out her dress – a sparkly silver skin-tight gown with shiny gold trim – and they both silently judged the people waving around bright crackly sticks. Rouge left their side to approach the host, who was wearing three necklaces glowing white, yellow, and green.

"Hey, Blue, give me some of those!" she said, a certain shine lingering in her eyes when she neared the box.

"Rouge! Sure, there's more than enough to go around!" replied the enthusiastic hero, holding the collection out towards the bat and letting her take what she wished.

Gloved fingers quickly snapped up a few of the necklaces and bracelets, then she turned back to her team while Sonic continued to make the rounds. Shadow's attention was back on the treasure hunter when she said, "Look, guys – accessories!"

He hardly had the chance to raise an eyebrow or snidely insult the glowing rings before Rouge invaded his space to snap a red one around his neck. It dangled in her grip for a moment before settling into rest on his chest fur, adding a bloody hue to the white hair.

"It's so you," the lady commented, giving him a devilishly sly glance. "Looks amazing!"

He rolled his eyes while her teal gaze was still on him, but the Ultimate Lifeform couldn't fight the little smile that formed at her compliment. She stepped towards Omega and held up a green necklace, then asked, "Want one, Omega? It'll add more color to our night."

"NEGATIVE. TINY TUBES ARE UNNECESSARY." Mechanical sounds whirred as his torso turned and tilted to face Rouge. "I CAN PROVIDE COLOR."

With a sharp click, followed by a monotonous hum, Omega's wrist cuffs started to gleam, rotating steadily above his hands to create a shining swirl of gold and silver. Rouge grinned and put the green necklace on herself.

"Wow, I didn't know you could do that!" She added the aqua necklace on top of the other before putting on the purple bracelets, staring at the robot's wrists. "I'm still learning so much about you boys."

"I HAVE MANY ABILITIES YOU ARE UNAWARE OF." The factual statement was as close to playful as Omega could get, and still Rouge understood the banter through his even tone.

She chuckled and responded, "Then we should hang out more!" before Shadow casually urged them to find a decent sitting spot in a more comfortable and less-crowded area.

Once Sonic had finished handing out the glowsticks, he rushed over to Tails, who was grabbing lighters from his plane. "Hey buddy, what time is it?"

The young fox picked up one of his gizmos and tapped on the screen; it lit up a bluish-green color with boxy black lines that showed numbers down to the second. "Almost midnight. About one minute to go!"

"Perfect!" Sonic chimed, then zipped near the center of their grassy venue to address the guests. "Hey, everyone! It's almost time for fireworks, so get cozy and look out at the sky!"

He pointed towards where the sparks would be going off, giving a quick glance over the crowd before looking over at the musicians. He signaled them with a nod and a thumbs-up, prompting them to switch the tone of their instrumental from energetic party music to softer, cheerful tunes. Then, the Blue Blur joined Tails by the setup of fireworks and grabbed a lighter, the two of them watching the seconds tick down.

He held one flat palm to the side of his mouth so everyone in the audience could hear him clearly. "30 more seconds and we'll be in a new year!"

There was a spattering of hoots and claps while clusters of attendees waved their sparklers and glowsticks, eager to see the display. And soon Sonic was addressing them again, this time getting everyone more involved. "Count down with me, guys! 10!"

Dozens of voices shouted in unison, "9!"

Atop the altar, Knuckles stood with both mitts cupped beside his mouth, putting power into his voice to make it carry with theirs. "8!"

The members of Team Dark all exclaimed at different volumes. "7!"

Amy and Cream shook their sparklers and bounced excitedly. "6!"

Sonic and Tails unanimously lit some of the fireworks. "5!"

They then jumped back a bit in preparation. "4!"

Tails smiled at his best friend with a white-yellow gleam dancing in his blue eyes. "3!"

Sonic grinned back. "2!"

"1!" the entire crowd shouted, just as the fireworks shot out from their tubes.

Different-colored beams of smoky light streaked into the sky and away from the island, exploding into orb-shaped specklings of white, red, turquoise, and orange.

The colors mixed into each other briefly before more pops rang out with the release of fresh fireworks, bursting new hues and patterns against the dark backdrop before the previous sparks dissipated.

"Oooooh!" the audience cooed in wonder, awestruck at the bright lights and sharp crackles rippling through the sky.

Some people started to cheer and holler praise at the show while the host and his right-hand man lit more. Pleasantly surprised by how beautiful it was, Knuckles calmly smiled and conceded – silently – that Sonic was right about Angel Island being the best destination for this tradition.

Though, he didn't know if he'd want to do it again the following year. For now, he simply enjoyed what was in front of him. On the ground, Amy let Cream have her sparkler, and the girl exuberantly traced patterns in the air while Cheese flew around them and sung in their baby-like voice.

And Team Dark sat comfortably on a small hill at the edge of the crowd, Rouge between her teammates and cupping her bent knees with both hands.

Omega commented, "WE HAVE ACHIEVED, AS YOU WOULD SAY, A BRAND-NEW YEAR. CELEBRATION SUCCESSFUL."

"Agreed, Omega," replied Rouge, delighted as she leaned against Shadow's shoulder. Teal eyes shimmered beneath sparkly gold makeup. "What an incredible view!"

Even the Ultimate Lifeform was content enough to smile.

The End

[magmahearts]

TIMING: sometime before kaden got snacked on PARTIES: @chasseurdeloup & @magmahearts LOCATION: a latte to love SUMMARY: kaden is just trying to get his job and remove a pin ball from a coffee shop. cass thinks this situation needs a superhero. CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

Before arriving, Kaden wondered if the call about a “weird hedgehog rolling around like sonic” (whatever that last part meant) at A Latte to Love was a prank or not. He didn’t have the best reputation at the cafe and he wouldn’t put it past someone to make shit up for animal control to come running. Still, he did his due diligence, grabbed a cage, a net, his snare, and a few knives just for good measure, and headed downtown. 

When he saw patrons charging out of the shop, some protecting their coffee instead of themselves, he was pretty sure it wasn’t a prank call. Putain. He swung the door open and ushered as many people as he could through the threshold before stepping in himself.

Something told him this probably wasn’t going to be a normal hedgehog or even a porcupine. More than likely it was some supernatural bullshit. He heard the clanging of metal before he saw what looked like a metal baseball covered in spikes rolling across the floor. 

A fucking pin bill. Putain. 

“Everyone out!” he shouted to the few stragglers. The employees behind the counter who were too afraid to abandon their shift for whatever reason looked confused. “Back room. Now!’ he told them, pointing to what looked like the door to the back of the shop. “Keep the door shut.” 

Once the place was clear, it was time to get to work. First thing first, he had to get the thing to calm down. Kaden slipped over into a corner and hid behind one of the larger, plush chairs. He opened the cage and shoved it out towards the open, the back against the wall. He had no delusions that the little guy would just roll right in it, but on the off chance it might, it would be stupid not to be ready. He looked down at his arsenal. He wasn’t sure his net was going to cut it,  not against those spikes. He’d have to get creative. 

Kaden glanced around the cafe, past the up-turned chairs and tables, the dishes on the floor, and the coffee and other beverages spilled everywhere, trying to find anything that could be useful. Maybe there was something behind the counter that would be useful. He just had to get there. 

–

When you saw people running away from something, instinct was supposed to tell you to run with them. After all, no one took off in a full sprint to get away from something fun. More often than not, they were looking to save themselves from some awful, terrifying ordeal, and the human mind tended to want to do the same for whatever body it was sitting in. But there were exceptions to every rule. People ran away from danger. Superheroes ran towards it.

Cass was much more interested in being the latter.

So, when she saw a group of people running and screaming from a coffee shop, there was no real hesitation. She managed to stop one of the patrons who seemed calm enough to speak, asking them what was going on. Sonic’s lost his mind, the boy had sighed, looking distressed. The hedgehog is going to kill someone. And… Well, Cass had no idea what that meant. But she thought it probably sounded like a job for Magma.

It was moments like this when she wished phone booths were still a thing. It would be so cool to jump into a phone booth, drop her glamour, and jump out. But cell phones had killed that particular superhero cliche long before Cass got into the game, so she was stuck ducking into an alley instead. It was fine. It wasn’t like there was any real pizzazz to dropping her glamour, anyway. It just would have been cooler in a phone booth, was all.

Sufficiently ‘disguised,’ she made her way back to the cafe. All the customers were gone by now, having already retreated to the safety of the streets. Cass pulled the door open, the bell above it letting out a pleasant ding as she stepped inside. There was still a man in here. She blinked at him. “I think everyone else already left,” she told him. About as soon as she’d gotten the words out, a metal ball rolled by her, shooting out spikes. Cass narrowly avoided catching one with another owlish blink. “Whoa. Is that Sonic?”

—

Before Kaden could dart behind the cafe counter, he heard the little ring of the bell above the door. “Hey, we’re clo…” His voice trailed off when he got a look at who walked through the door – possibly more like what, not that he knew what that was, either. Whoever they were, their skin was covered in dark rocks, accentuated by orange, glowing cracks sunk in, winding like veins. If he had to describe it, she looked like some sort of molten core or at least what he imagined that would look like. He’d only ever seen volcanoes on video and he planned on keeping it that way. 

He was so slack jawed and whoever it was that walked in that he nearly missed the flying ball of spikes headed right towards him. “Putain!” he shouted as he ducked, throwing himself to the ground as the pin ball flew past and rolled up the wall like it was a goddamn ramp before launching itself back across the room. “Why do people keep saying that?” he asked, looking back up at her. 

Wait, damnit, the bar. This was his chance. Kaden pulled himself off the floor and remained crouching, watching the small, frightened, deadly creature. It was on the other side of the room, uncurled for the moment, breathing so heavily that Kaden could see it from where he was. Alright, so not calm, but calm enough. The hunter sprinted to the bar and leapt over the counter, ducking behind the espresso machines right as the beast tucked itself into a sphere again and launched itself across the cafe. He started to look for anything helpful, preferably metal. He wondered if the little pots or whatever they were for steaming the milk would be big enough to contain the little guy. 

Merde, he almost forgot that he wasn't alone. That other… whatever-she-was was still there. He tried to run through what he’d learned throughout his hunter training but nothing that looked like that came to mind. The hell was she? She wasn’t a shifter, he’d have felt that, and no undead would look like that, he was positive. Fae? Maybe? What the fuck kind of fae would that be, anyway? Did that make her… a demon? “Uh, like I was trying to say, we’re closed. Come back some other time. But, leave… Please.” He really didn’t want to deal with a fucking demon today, a pin ball was more than enough.

—

The man was staring at her. That was okay; Cass was kind of used to that. People always stared at her when she was like this. Part of her had thought, when she’d first started to uncover the weirdness of Wicked’s Rest, that things might be a little different in this town. In a place where metal balls that looked like cyberpunk Sonic the Hedgehogs rolled through coffee shops shooting spikes at people, someone with rocky skin and glowing veins wasn’t the weirdest thing around, right? But people still ran from the cafe. People still stared at Cass. And that was fine. They could stare if they wanted to. She was still going to save the day.

“What’s a putain?” She asked, making no move to duck behind anything. She tended to lean towards recklessness more often than not; it was difficult to break through her rocky skin, and she didn’t think the hedgehog thing was capable of it. There was no need to hide from it, right? “Saying what? Sonic? It’s a video game. Have you never heard of Sonic the Hedgehog? They made it into a movie. The guy who played Cyclops is in it. They had to redo all the CGI because he had ugly human teeth. Do you, like, not go on the internet?”

The man was sprinting across the room before Cass was even finished speaking, and she thought he was going for the hedgehog for a moment. “Hey, I don’t think that’s a great —- idea?” Rather than do something stupid, like leap on top of the little hedgehog, the man jumped behind the counter and started… rummaging through the coffee stuff? “Are you making hot chocolate? They have a really good caramel hot chocolate here, but it’s kind of hot for that. It’s June.” 

Carefully, Cass crept across the room to stand by the counter, looking around for where the hedgehog had run to. It was… ah! There! Looking around the empty cafe with an expression so like a frightened animal that it made her chest ache. Cass moved towards it slowly, pausing when the man spoke again. “What? No way, dude. I’m here to help. I’m a superhero. And this little guy needs to be rescued. Right, Sonic?” 

—

Kaden started to rummage through the items behind the bar. The metal cups were interesting, he wondered if they were big enough to contain the pin ball long enough to get it into a crate. Before he could assess one way or the other, he realized that he still wasn’t alone. “Huh?” he said, looking up at her just standing there, no fear. “Putain is just a curse word and– could you duck or hide ro something? That thing runs into you, those spikes aren’t going to be like video game damage or whatever it is.” Alright, sure, she was covered in rocks all over her skin (maybe?) but that didn’t seem like a solid reason to stand there like a fucking target. “Or you can leave. That might be safer.”

He had no idea what she was talking about or what any of it meant but what he did know is that she was clearly not leaving. “Bordel de merde,” he grumbled to himself, looking for a bowl or pan or something bigger than the cups, maybe a dust pan, even. “Hot chocolate latte, huh? I’m not making anyth– Look, if you’re going to stay here, look for something that can contain the thing, alright?” The least she could do was attempt to be useful, but somehow he had a feeling this whole thing was just going to be more difficult than needed.

Metal cups, a plastic bowl, and his net in hand, Kaden looked up where he assumed the lava kid was. Only she wasn’t there by the counter anymore. She was approaching the pin ball. Goddamnit. “Hey,” he hissed, trying to keep his voice low, “don’t scare it. If you get too close it’s gonna–” And then it took off, whirling and whizzing around the room at top speed again, sending more furniture and broken dishware scattering around the place. “That. It’s gonna do that,” he said, gesturing to the spinning creature. He ducked when it reeled to roll along the side of the counter, just in case it went careening towards him. 

Who the fuck was this kid, anyway? “A superhero?” he repeated once he popped up from behind the counter again. “What do you fucking mean a superhero? This isn’t a damn comic book, in case you didn’t notice.” 

—

“Really? I’ve never heard it before. And I’ve heard a lot of curse words.” Growing up on the streets had taught her all kinds. But not putain. She wondered if he was just making it up. Humans lied about the strangest things, sometimes. “I don’t think it’s going to run at me,” she shrugged. “Anyway, I’m hard to damage.” Oreads certainly weren’t invincible — Cass had learned that the hard way more than once — but she was pretty sure she could handle a hedgehog. Even if the hedgehog was a little… hedgier than the usual fare. “I’m not going to leave, though. I’m here to help.” 

He looked like he probably needed help. What was he grabbing bowls and stuff for? The question was answered before she could ask it aloud — something to contain the hedgehog. She furrowed her brow, looking at the guy’s uniform. “Aren’t you supposed to be animal control? Why are you containing Sonic with bowls and stuff? Don’t you have equipment? Did the state cut your budget? That happens in Parks and Rec, you know. That’s when Ben Wyatt comes in, and the show gets really good. So maybe it’s not such a bad thing.” 

She approached the hedgehog as she spoke, uninterested in finding a bowl to put it in. Why would she want to stick it in a bowl? It wasn’t, like, soup or anything. It was a hedgehog. And it was kind of cute, if you could get past the whole ‘rolling ball of death’ angle that had sent the rest of the cafe’s patrons running. Cass felt a faint sense of kinship with it. Nobody really liked staying around her, either. They were scared of her, too. But… maybe Sonic was included in the list of people who were frightened by her.

Her face fell as the animal skirted past her. “You’re the one who scared it,” she accused sullenly, though she had no idea if that was true. She just wanted to think that Sonic would be more interested in being her friend if the situation were a little different. “I know this isn’t a comic book. But in case you haven’t noticed, there’s a lot of weird stuff here. A superhero isn’t the weirdest. And I think this town could use one. A lot more than Metropolis, actually.”

—

Kaden rolled his eyes. He really didn’t need anyone criticizing him when he worked. Especially not when they were also in the way. “Animal control equipment isn’t made with monsters in mind.” She kept talking and he wasn’t sure if it was relevant or not, but it was distracting. “And there’s no Ben Wyatt in my department. I don’t know who that is.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose as the creature skittered around, startled all over again. When she had the gall to blame him, the hunter could only narrow his eyes and glare at the kid. Even being a… whatever she was, he knew that he was dealing with a kid somehow. He also knew she was making this five times more difficult than it had to be. “Well, have you tried being a superhero there instead?” He asked. 

With a sigh, Kaden accepted that he was going to have to work with her instead of kick her out. Putain de merde. “Alright, you can help. But I need you to at least work with me.” And stop getting in the way. He put a finger to his lips, asking her to be quiet. He wasn’t sure if she was capable of that. He crouched down and motioned for her to do the same. “If you go behind it quietly, we might be able to lure it into the crate over there,” he said in a low voice, pointing to the open cage. “Then we can bring it somewhere out to the woods far away from people where it’s going to be a lot happier. Yes?”

—

“It’s a little mean to call him a monster.” Her voice was tighter than she meant for it to be. Was a thing a monster just because you didn’t see it every day? Just because it looked a little scary, just because it had the capability to hurt? That wasn’t fair. People had the capability to hurt, too. Humans, nymphs, vampires, any of them could hurt someone. It didn’t make any of them monsters, and it didn’t make Sonic one, either. “No it’s — It’s from Parks and Rec. The show. Have you not seen Parks and Rec? Dude.”

Did this guy not know what Metropolis was? Or Parks and Rec? Cass found herself feeling a little bad for him, honestly. He seemed grumpy, but if she’d never seen or read any Superman material and never seen one of the best sitcoms of all time, she’d probably be a little grumpy, too. She gave him a sympathetic look. “I’m going to lend you some comic books later. Okay?” Superheroism wasn’t always stopping poor little hedgehogs from tearing up coffee shops. Sometimes, it was also making grumpy French Animal Control officers less grumpy. Cass would gladly accept her key to the city, like, any day now.

Grinning, she clapped her hands together. Without her glamour, it made less of a slapping sound and more of a thud, but the excitement was clear on her face anyway. “Okay! I can do that. Teamup issues are, like, some of my favorites.” She quieted down as he motioned for her to do so, crouching beside him with an expression of deep concentration. “And we’re letting it go, right? Somewhere where it can be safe? You promise?” She wanted to help, but only if she was sure that Sonic would be okay. 

—

Kaden wasn’t sure why her comment made him feel guilty. He sighed as he looked at the little pin ball, snuffling under one of the overturned tables, its breathing heavy and eyes wide, clearly still panicked. “Fine. You have a point,” he conceded. “Old habits die hard.” He hoped she didn’t ask too many questions about that. Too much to explain there  

“I’ve seen the parks and recs department here, yeah. If you mean some other thing then absolutely not.” He was at least pretty sure that neither of his cousins had made him watch that yet. And if they had, it didn’t matter, he hadn’t paid attention. “Comic books?” he asked, looking up from the collection of bowls and other accouterments he’d laid out. “I’m good, promise. You can keep them”

Alright, it was a little cute that she was excited about teaming up for this superhero thing or whatever she thought this was. Not that he was going to admit that or show it. At all. This was still dangerous and not something she should be handling. “This is just a temporary team up, got it? This one time. Limited edition or whatever you call it.” 

“We’re letting it go, yeah. Promise. It’s dangerous as shit but it’s only because it’s scared and ended up where it shouldn’t be.” He tried not to make a pointed glance towards the kid because, speaking of being where they shouldn’t be…  “Okay, I’m going to be on that side of the shop. I’m going to try and funnel it into that,” he said, pointing towards the crate he’d set up earlier. “Try and direct it this way. Take a bowl.” He handed her one of the metal bowls. “Use it as a shield if you need to. Don’t get hurt.” He gave her a look before nodding and heading to his corner. 

He really hoped she wasn’t going to fuck this up. “Ready?” he asked.

—

He seemed to relent, and Cass felt a strange sense of relief at that. As if this little hedgehog not being considered a monster meant that she wasn’t, either, as if running around a cafe in a panic was the same thing as leaving a girl’s body at the bottom of a ditch. Fear could make a person — or a hedgehog — do all kinds of things, couldn’t it? If Sonic’s fear didn’t make him a monster, could Cass insist that hers didn’t, either?  “Why is it an old habit?” Curiosity drove the question, and she wondered how long this man had been chasing hedgehogs.

“No, not…” Cass trailed off, wondering if this whole endeavor was a useless one. Had this guy ever done anything but chase hedgehogs? Had he sprout from the ground fully formed with a hedgehog-chasing goal as the only thing in his mind? And a French accent, apparently? “No, you’re definitely borrowing some. This is sad. You’re making me sad.” She just felt bad for him, at this point. 

But the team up was still exciting. “A one-shot. Got it.” As if every one-shot didn’t sprout into something bigger so long as it was popular enough. She and French Guy were totally going to get the real-life equivalent of their own team-up ongoing title after this, she could feel it. They just had to take care of Sonic first.

She smiled as he promised they’d be letting the little creature go, binding him to it just in case. He didn’t strike her as the kind of person who’d lie about that, but Cass knew that it was better to be safe than sorry, sometimes. Humans lied about all sorts of silly things. You could never be too careful, especially not when there was a spikey little life on the line. 

Taking the bowl, she nodded. “You got it, boss. Don’t worry about me. I’m tough.” Walking over to stand off to the side between the door and the crate, she shifted her grip on the bowl to flash her partner a quick thumbs up. “Ready!”

—

“Uh…” Kaden reached back to rub the back of his neck. Didn’t know how to explain that one. Well, beyond the truth, at least. “You know, just how some colleagues refer to some of the stranger animals around here.” Not a complete lie but certainly not the truth of the matter. He wasn’t sure what she was but he knew well enough that introducing himself as a hunter then and there was probably not the best idea. At least not until after the pin ball was contained.

“Good,” he said after she told him that he made her sad. As much as he tried to keep it off his face, a small smile peaked through. He’d never quite bantered with his sister like this, Keira was always far too serious for that, but it felt almost like something that could have been. It certainly reminded him of talking to Alex. He wondered if they were the same age. Not that he’d know by looking at her all covered in rocks and lava. “Alright, let’s get this one-shot over with.”

Kaden crept around the side of the counter, searching for where the little guy had run off to. He was still under a table, snuffling around for crumbs, but still alert and ready to dart off at any moment. Which was fine, it could dart away, it just had to do it at the right moment and in the right direction. Kaden took quiet, crouched steps forward, inching closer to the beast, a bowl in hand in case he could manage to trap it himself. Just a little closer now. His arm stretched out, he was about to drop the bowl on top of it and then–

“Putain,” he grumbled as he knocked his head onto the side of a table. And with that, the creature was off and spinning. Kaden ducked and tried to cover his face with the bowl in case it spun in his direction. It was up to his “sidekick” now, he supposed. 

—-

“Well, they shouldn’t do that,” Cass replied, crossing her arms over her chest. It wasn’t fair. Not to the hedgehog, not to any of them. Calling something a monster just because you didn’t understand it was exactly the kind of behavior that made the fae who raised her so afraid of humans. When they convinced themselves that you were a monster, they said, it made them feel as though they had a right to do whatever they wanted to you. 

Good? Good? Cass shot him a glare, though she had to try to hide her own smile as she did so. This was kind of fun, wasn’t it? None of the other young fae in her aos si had ever had much interest in interacting with her, though there hadn’t been any close to her age, anyway. But she liked to imagine this was the kind of interaction she’d missed out on with them — gentle ribbing, fond teasing. Like she’d seen on TV, or read in comics. Friendly banter. She knew all about that. “I’m going to put slime in your socks,” she told him seriously. That was a thing people said, she was sure of it. “Okay, but I’m Spider-Man. You can be… the Hulk or something. There aren’t a lot of French heroes, sorry. Oh! Northstar is French-Canadian. Do you want to be Northstar?” 

French Animal Control Guy was doing his thing, so Cass did hers. She crouched down, bowl in hand, and watched Northstar dart towards Sonic and… fail miserably. At least he’d tried, she guessed, even if he was ducking like a guy in an old war movie now. With him out of commission, Cass knew it was up to her. No big deal, whatever. That was how one-shot comics usually went, anyway. 

Moving forward, Cass took a… slightly different approach. She pounded a rocky hand against the metal bowl, spooking the hedgehog. It jumped up, scampering away from her… and into the trap her ‘partner’ had laid out. Quickly, Cass slammed the door shut and latched it with a cheer. “Hell yeah! Spider-Man and Northstar save the day! US-Canada relations have never been better!”

—-

“Slime in my socks?” Kaden asked, raising a brow. Was that a thing with kids or something? He hadn’t heard Alex tell him that but she was usually teasing him about his hair so maybe she just didn’t get around to it. “As long as you don’t put it on that video clock app thing.” She was odd, that was for sure, but somehow endearing. It was almost annoying. It made trying to tell her to go away a lot harder. That was, until she suggested that he be some French-Canadian guy. The ranger shot her a look. “I would rather die than be québécois.”

Despite the insult, she still managed to steer the pin ball right into the cage. He was almost impressed. Not that he couldn’t have managed this whole mess by himself. Probably would have been faster, too. Still, he sighed and stood up, brushing any debris off his pants before setting the bowl back on the counter. “Alright, now it’s time to get this little guy off where he actually belongs.” Kaden started gathering his supplies, getting the rest of his gear together before he took the handle of the crate. “You did alright, kid. Or, uh, what’d you say, Spider-man?” His head tilted as he looked back over at her. “You look more like a, uh, I don’t know, Lava Girl? Something like that. Not sure where the spider thing came from but sure.” He shrugged. It was all a foreign concept to him, the super hero stuff. “Guess I should thank you or something.” It then occurred to him that she might take that as an invitation to “help” him some other time. “Next time, you can just leave it to me, alright?” 

—

“You heard me,” she warned, pointing at him with an expression she fought to keep serious. When he spoke of a clock app, her brow furrowed. “I’m pretty sure no one is putting anything in their clock app except for alarms.” What was a video clock app? Was that some new alarm system? She didn’t use alarms much herself — not having a job meant she woke up when she woke up. Maybe this ‘video clock app’ was something people used now. She couldn’t imagine anyone her age putting much stock in it, though. Thoughts of this mysterious clock app faded when the guy shot her a look, apparently unhappy with being compared to Northstar. “I don’t know what that means,” she said, brow furrowing. “Is this because Northstar is gay? I don’t know any straight French superheroes. You’re asking for too much here. Anyway, Northstar is cool.” 

In any case, the one-shot ended just as successfully as one-shots tended to in the comics. No Kingpin showing up to kick off some wider plot and announce a new title, no major character death to be undone by the next issue. Just a little spikey hedgehog safely tucked away in a cage. “You have to keep him safe,” she reminded the man. “You promised.” But she wasn’t particularly worried about him keeping it, bind or no. Praise, even from a stranger, made her sit up a little straighter, and she smiled. “Actually, it’s Magma. I go by Magma.” And he didn’t even know comics well enough to know she’d ‘borrowed’ the name from X-Men. “You don’t have to thank me. I’m just doing my job.” Her self-assigned job that no one paid her for. Whatever. “And, just so you know? I’m definitely going to keep doing it.” There was no apology in her tone; it wasn’t a request for him to try to stop her. It was just… a friendly warning.

—

“Alarms? No this is the one with the dancing and the pranks that my cousin is on all the time. Something about ticks? I don’t fucking know.” Kaden was sure she knew what it was. If she could rattle off all this shit about superheroes and media and what not, she knew about the clock app. “What? What does this have to do with anyone being gay?” Kaden couldn’t follow any of this, there was too much jargon to keep up with. Then he realized. He ran his palm down his face. “Not queer, québécois. As in French-Canadian. Meaning he’s Canadian, not French. I’m French. And I’m not fucking straight, either. Thanks for asking.”

“I’ll do my best. I’m going to find the safest spot I can in the woods for him to spin around. Somewhere far away from town.” And somewhere far away from the cabin. Just in case the spinning death ball decided to spin right into the wooden walls. Seemed like a bad idea. “Right,” he said when he called this her job. “This is actually my job, I get paid for this. But guess there are worse sidekicks to have. Take care of yourself, Magma.”

—

“Do you mean TikTok? Dude.” Somebody needed to get this guy on Urban Dictionary. Or… maybe not. Cass wasn’t entirely sure he wouldn’t lose his mind. He’d probably start using slang from 2012 if he tried, and that just sounded painful. “What’s wrong with being French-Canadian?” Now she understood him even less. But, hey, at least he had one thing going for him: “Oh, hell yeah, you gay little Frenchman! Be gay, do crime!” She raised a hand excitedly, cheering him on.

Now that she knew Sonic would be safe, it was easier to relax. The animal control guy would keep his promise, the hedgehog would be okay, and Cass had a new sidekick to call on. She just… needed to educate him a little bit first. She’d find an easy comic series to introduce him to. It’d be fine. “You take care of yourself, too, Notstar. I’ll see you around.” With a sloppy salute, she ducked out of the cafe. Not bad for a day’s work.

[goldlightwriting]

Thoughts and Feelings on Hyper Sonic

Power-ups are a fairly common trope these days. They’re often treated as a sort of deus-ex-machina that allow heroes to overcome otherwise impossible odds, be it a transformation or a completely new ability. Power-ups are usually a pretty hype affair the first time they’re introduced, though some series tend to go a bit overboard with them. Today, I want to look at one of the most iconic power-ups in gaming, even though it hasn’t actually been used in over a decade. I want to look at Hyper Sonic.

Hyper Sonic’s first and only (questionably) canon appearance happened all the way back in 1994 in Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and existed primarily as a bonus reward for players who went out of their way to get the seven Super Emeralds. Like Super Sonic, this form was faster and nearly invincible, but brought extra perks such as increased jumping and the ability to breath underwater. Honestly, the Game Apologist has a pretty good breakdown of Hyper Sonic’s history that I’d highly recommend if you’re curious. That’s not quite what I’m here to talk about today, though.

Since the days of the Megadrive, fans have been clamoring to see Hyper Sonic return in some capacity, and I understand why. Simply put: it’s a cool form. It’s Super Sonic but flashier and even stronger, and I can’t deny that I’d be curious to see how this form might look in a modern 3D entry… Provided they could do it in a way that doesn’t induce seizures. Of course, that’s not the reason why Hyper Sonic has been absent for so many years.

Takashi Iizuka, one of the head designers and writers for the Sonic franchise, has stated that the primary reason they don’t bring Hyper Sonic back is because they don’t want to risk hitting the same level of power creep as Dragon Ball. It’s common knowledge that Goku’s Super Saiyan transformation was a heavy inspiration for Super Sonic, but as I’m sure anyone with even passing familiarity with the DB franchise can tell you… Super Saiyans are EXTREMELY overplayed.

Every new threat that appears in every new arc sees Goku (or sometimes one of the other Saiyans) unlocking a new Super Form that’s basically just “Super Saiyan again but better.” Look, this isn’t me dunking on Dragon Ball, but even fans of the series generally agree that that Toriyama’s method of artificially raising the stakes and then introducing a new gimmick form to match gets rather repetitive. It especially doesn’t help that the power scaling is kind of impossibly to really show. Like, a city-wide blast from Super Saiyan 3 might not be enough to take out a big bad, but a city-wide blast from Super Saiyan God that looks almost identical is TOTALLY strong enough to do the job.

Moving back to Sonic, it’s easy to see why Sega is iffy on bringing back the Hyper Form. If handled incorrectly, it would be VERY easy to fall into the same trap as Super Saiyans. I mean, what’s stopping them from going up another tier and introducing Ultra Sonic after that? It doesn’t help that Hyper Sonic is achieved by using the Super Emeralds, which are another plot point that can be iffy to touch on given Sonic’s infamously convoluted continuity.

Now, there have been arguments made for Hyper Sonic’s inclusion that I’d like to address. The first of these is that many fans want the form brought back purely for the hype or nostalgia factors. Putting everything else aside, most argue that it’s just a really cool form and would be epic to see. Honestly, I can’t deny that. From a purely Rule of Cool standpoint, yeah, it would be rad to see again.

Another argument I often hear is that Sonic has dabbled in other forms and transformations in the past. There’s Dark Sonic from the anime, though that’s an entirely separate canon. More relevant to the games are Darkspine Sonic and Excalibur Sonic from the storybook entries. I… Have my own thoughts and feelings on those transformations, but the thing that needs to be acknowledged is that those aren’t necessarily “stronger” forms of Super Sonic. They’re circumstantial powers that Sonic acquired while he was in the worlds of the Arabian Knights and Arthurian Legend. These forms are meant to be more thematically appropriate end-game transformations that fit the themes of the story, even though I think Excalibur Sonic handled that a lot more gracefully.

The big point that a lot of people come back to, though, is that Hyper Sonic doesn’t have to be a mainstay. It’s something that could be reserved for threats that are simply too powerful for Super Sonic to handle; a rare power brought out in absolute worst-case scenarios against exceptionally powerful antagonists. My counter question to that is: what would such a threat even look like?

Super Sonic regularly fights beings that are on-par with gods; forces of nature made manifest or entities that can bend the flow of time and space to their whim. Many of these foes are capable of undoing the entire world or even the universe itself. I mean, Sonic Frontiers has the living embody of entropy as the final boss! At this point, I’m not sure anything short of a multiversal threat would be enough to warrant Hyper Sonic, and that is a VERY complicated can of worms to open up.

Even beyond that though, there’s something else that I think a lot of fans tend to overlook. They say that Hyper Sonic would be warranted by a threat that “Super Sonic can’t handle alone.” The thing is, many of those god-like entities that I mentioned earlier already fall under that category. Super Sonic has already fought threats that he can’t handle by himself… So he doesn’t.

Against Final Hazard, he had the aid of Super Shadow. Solaris? Super Shadow AND Super Silver. Eggman and Eggman Nega? Burning Blaze showed up. Dark Gaia? He had Light Gaia giving him a hand. And of course, we all know that he overcame Metal Overlord through “The Real Super Power of Teamwork.” As cheesy as that line is, though, I kind of love that the Sonic franchise embraces it. I mean, even The End fight has Sage piloting the Supreme Titan to lend a hand.

Guys, you wanna know what happens when Sonic faces a threat that his Super Form isn’t strong enough to handle? He calls on his friends for help. That’s kind of been a running theme with Sonic for the last few decades, even if it sometimes get buried under camp and cliches… And frankly, I much prefer that. If anything, I wish the series leaned into it more. People demand the 3D debut of Hyper Sonic, but honestly, I’d be way more hyped to see the return of Super Tails, Super Knuckles, or even a proper iteration of Super Amy that got introduced in Sonic Origins.

Imagine swapping between different Super characters, all with their own unique power sets. That, to me at least, would be way more epic than just giving Sonic literally all the power and letting him solo the problem. A lot of modern Sonic games have the unfortunate tendency to sideline most of the supporting cast for the majority of the runtime, seldom allowing them to be much more than glorified cheerleaders despite being extremely capable in their own right. It’s only recently that Sega has allowed the rest of Sonic’s mainstay allies to start being more proactive again, but we can do better.

My sincere hope is that Frontiers will set a precedent going forward for Sonic’s friends to be more active in the story and not just relegated to background characters for most of the runtime. Maybe, in time, we can even let them stand on the same pedestal as Super Sonic again, rather than raise Sonic even higher. I’m not saying that Hyper should NEVER come back or that it’s impossible to make it work, but I’d personally rather see the whole cast get to shine again before introducing literal God-Mode.

But that’s just my take on the matter. What do you guys think? Do you still want Hyper Sonic back, or would you prefer to see the return of other Super forms first? Leave your thoughts and comments down below, and I’ll see you all next time.

[ramicorn]

Okay I have been playing SA2 for while and here is a documentation (scentence colection) of my experience: First of all I would like to state I have not finished the game (I'm not stuck know the same boss for both the hero and dark story, shut up), i like the animation and i plan to make meme but later because I'm on my phone at the moment. I personally wish my computer could be friends with my ps4 controller cause every pc port of a old games controls are *screams internally.* why does eggman look so fucking funny? Me: *enters Chao garden as shadow.* The chao that just hatched: "?" Me: I want you to be a lighter one. *uses the baby chao as a basket ball for ten minutes straight.* You know that one cutscene where sonic jumps into the presidents limo with tails and messes around, it lives in my head. The first sonic game i ever played: frontiers, the first sonic game i played with Shadow: forces, THE CHARACTERISATION DIFFERENCE FOR SHADOW WHY SEGA? WHY? I like how eggman says: "yush" or something like that at the end of his levels, it's funny. In the chao place when you take one of them to the kindergarten place as Shadow and he walks out he looks so menacing like: "don't touch my fucking child I will kill you. This game is why i like classic amy over modern, although she is entertaining. Alright I will be honest i did move forward by one level for dark story and all i have to say is "mad space = motion sickness"

[theancienthybrid]

Karma is a bitch (Part 1)

(warning, bad grammar cause opera doesn't have auto correct rn, kms)

It was a day like any other, the vast green vegetation flurished as far as the eye could se, the clear blue sky hovered ablove everyone and the sun shined all throught the land.

Off in the distance the blue blurr could be seen running at the speed of sound, a trail of dust behind him where ever he went, a small cocky grin planted of his face as he picked up speed going throught enemies and rescueing the trapped animals.

With a final bot destroied he landed on his feet after doing a front flip, arms outstreached as to not lose balance, and did a bow before suddenly his ears flickered as he picked up someone is distresse, he frowned and with a determaned look he performed a super peel out and moved towards the soud.

After pushing away a few plants, and ignoring the times he times he got slapped in the face while moving them, he saw a small Fox being bullied by two bigger foxes, the smaller one seemed to have twin tails, something the bigger two seemed to find great amusement, they pulled and twisted them while he semmed to try his hardest to push them away.

Sonic frowned again, much more intensely, before shaking his head and rolling in a ball after a small jump, he spin dashed towards the one that was pulling on the taill before bouncing off his face towards the other one.

After he landed on his feet and fists clenched on his hips, he looked down at both of them, tilting his head slightly to the side with one eye slightly open, one seemed scared, the other angry.

The angry one sloppily got up and charged at him with his hand raised, he threw a punch but Sonic ducked and spun around with his leg streached out, hiting him in the leg and falling again, on his face this time

The scared one looked at him in terror after seeing his bro get effortless beaten by someone half his size, he got up and ran away, he chukeled as he looked to the angry one and saw the shocked face he had, as he too got scared and ran away.

Sonic - "Tsk Tsk, people don't know manners these days, then again pretty sure anyone as better manners then Robuttnick " - he said as he shocked his head, and ended it by scratching the top with his index, he stopped and turned his face to the small fox, they flintched and crawled backwards away from him when he did so.

Sonic - "Jumpy one ay?" - he muterred to himself as he saw the Fox's behavior, he then fully turned to face him, he papped his hands against one another and swated his shoulder and bottom half as he walked towards him, the fox crawling away faster and faster, until he bumped into a tree and Sonic was right in front of him when he slowly turned back around with a horrified face.

He flitched and closed his eyes as Sonic raised his hand up and then moved it towards his face, he expected a punch but nothing came, he opened his eyes and saw him extending an open hand towards him, confident smile aimed directly at him.

Sonic - "Hey there kid, names Sonic, boy i can tell you sure are popular around these parts, bet your the life od the party no?" - he said with a few light hearted comments, the fox looked down in shame as he rubbed his arm, Sonic's smile slowly faded away until it seemed forced, he cleared his troat before continuing.

Sonic - "Ahem anyway come on let's get you up, unless you plan on taking your taking a nap i don't recomend siting on the ground, it's a pain to clean it off, even then grass is better for that, the ones that don't have insects i mean" - he rienforced his open hand to him and he sheepishly obliged, weakly getting up from the ground.

He was much shorter than Sonic, about chin level no couting the ears nor the slowly spining tails behind him, Sonic looked at them for a bit, finding them pretty cool making him smile wider and letting out a small "heh", although this cause the Fox to hide both of them behind his back and look away, Sonic raised a brow althought still kept the smile.

Sonic - "Self consious kid?" - he shyly nooded after a bit - "Hmm, well don't lesten to those jerks, they wished they were as half as cool as you" - he said as he nuged his arm with his elbow and a slight smug look as he saw the Fox's face light up a bit his tails popping up from above his head again.

Tails - "R-Really?" - he asked hesitantly.

Sonic - "Uhh, DUUUUH, yeah dude you look pretty rad not gonna lie" - he said while widening his eyes and getting closer to him for the duration of the duuuuh before returning "Wanna like, hang out and stuff?" he followed right after without skipping a beat, the Fox seemed surprised by his proposal, he twitched his finger and scartched his face cheeks a bit.

Tails - "Are you su-

Sonic - "Yes".

Tails - "But have you con-

Sonic - "Too much brain work for my liking".

Tails - "What about-

Sonic - "I don't mind it i think it's cool".

Tails - "Are you gonna-

Sonic - "God no i would never do such a thing that would be cruel".

Tails - "But you don't even kn-

Sonic - "By the way's whats you name kid?"

Tails - "...Tails...Tails Miles Prowler..."

Sonic - "..."

Tails - "..."

Sonic - "...is that a-

Tails - "Yes it's a pun"

Sonic - "..."

Tails - "..."

Sonic - "That's so god damn cool what the hell"

Tails - "Wait huh-

Sonic - "Anyway Tails pleasure meeting ya, names sonic, wanna swing by my place by the south of green hill? I make a mean chili dog trust me

He proposed once again as he extended his hand to him, Tails looked back and forth at it, with a concerned look on his face, his eyes looked away for a second before he looked up at sonic and saw his confident smile and slowly grabbed his hand

Before emmidiatly wobbling up and down cause he weight around a sack of potato's stop sonic, when he was done he almost fell on his ass, although sonic managed to catch him on time, scratching the back of his head out of slight embarrassment.

Sonic - "Anyway see you at 3 yeah Tails? Hope ya show up, bye! - he said as he backfilled into some bushes before he super jumped away

Tails stood there for a few seconds, head slightly wobbling due to dizzieness but it stopped as he placed both hands on the sides.

He saw has the blue trail Sonic left slowly faded away and then he let out a long sigh

...and grinned...

Grahhhhj this took way too fucking long fuuuuuck

Anyway making this maybe 3 part story

Maybe 4 idk

K bye

[glapplebloom]

An interesting look, strictly from a gameplay style.

(SOURCE of Image from Sonic Beyond)

Today’s subject comes from a Twitter Post asking who would win if they did switch places. This is a very popular subject where I’ve seen Animations about it as well as people who swap gameplays. I’m going to go with the second option, but taking it in a different approach: I am going to make them go through the other’s game and see if they can get through the other’s story. So here are the ground rules...

This is putting Sonic in Super Mario Odyssey while Mario is going through Sonic Frontiers. 

This is not going to use stats, but gameplay abilities. And since both are platforming games, only the moves they are capable of in Platforming games will be used.

They only have access to the Items in the games they’re in. So no bringing power ups or the like from their games like Mario’s FLUDD or Sonic’s Wisps. 

They will get access to NPCs, so Sonic will get Cappy and Mario will get Sonic’s Friends.

Mario will be getting 8 hit points using the individual sunrays of Super Mario Sunshine with the individual hit points of SMB2 (US). Sonic will get 999 Rings since that is his Max Capacity while losing only 10 rings per hit. They can only recover if they can find a way to recover hit points like they could in any of their original platforming games.

No need to 100%. Just beat the game.

The Sonic Side...

Starting off with Sonic in Mario Odyssey, after Mario gets kicked off Bowser’s ship and magically Sonic is where Mario is when Cappy finds him, Sonic chases Cappy when he scares him off. Cappy tells Sonic the story and gives him Mario’s hat that he possesses. So now Sonic can do the Possession Part of the game. I’ll allow him the ability to throw Cappy like Mario because I can see Cappy assist with that. Sonic can homing attack Cappy, allowing him some of that Mario maneuverability. But he can’t do all the fancy jumping Mario could do, only his own. I can see Sonic able to jump or run up the walls during the Frog Part of it like he could in Sonic Lost World, though I would suspect Cappy would make him do it to show off another ability of his. 

While the Life-Up Hearts can increase Mario’s hit Points from 3 to 6 or 9, I will say this does not increase Sonic’s hit points since his are ring base. Any Coin Rings I will count as one ring each, so there’s that. But no 3 coins = 1 ring thing. Sonic gotta collect rings and rings only for health. Sonic would then encounter Topper, who I think Sonic could easily handle especially if you consider how he fights in Sonic Frontiers. Though when that Powerline shows up, I think Sonic would try to grind on it instead of relying on Cappy to carry him across from it. Either way, the two should cross and we enter the full game proper. While Sonic can break through stones, he can’t break through all of them. But if they look like a bunch of rocks put together yet not packed together I can see Sonic breaking it on his own. Something that requires a T-Rex I would say he needs Cappy.

Madam Broode is next and she should be easy for Sonic regardless of how he plays it. After all, she won’t be the first Ball and Chain he had to deal with in his lifetime. They Restore the Odyssey and travel to the other Kingdoms. I’ll be skipping a lot since I’m pretty sure Sonic can handle the platforming as well as Mario between his own skills and Cappy’s. So I’ll be highlighting boss fights and specific moments. His next Boss fight is against Hariet and it sort of fights similarly to a Sonic 3D Blast Boss: Sonic definitely can handle this no matter how he fights. The next boss is Knucklotec and while it is similar to a Sonic 3 enemy, I think this is something Sonic has to rely on Cappy’s abilities to handle. He’ll avoid the attacks fine until Cappy can take a hand and smash Knucklotec’s face in.

The Lake Kingdom is where Sonic’s troubles begin. Though Sonic could sort of Swim a la Sonic Colors for the Wii. And there are air bubbles in the game. But are there enough? Mario can hold his breath for 40 seconds in Odyssey, so what is the max length of time Sonic could hold his breath? From what I’ve seen, Sonic’s Max breath holding is 30 seconds. And Mario is a better swimmer, though looking at some of the bubble placements they seem to be in pretty close locations to each other. Plus possessing a Fish would allow Sonic to breathe underwater. So the safest bet for Sonic is any underwater challenges that are quick or require a fish he could do, but anything that requires 30 seconds from one bubble to another will be unbeatable for him.

Rango is the next boss and he looks super easy, barely an inconvenience. Spewart is the next boss and he may be more of a challenge. Poisoning the ground would reduce the amount of ground Sonic could run across. But Cappy’s spin can clean it up. And with Cappy smacking the hat while Spewart is in it will help ensure less of the ground would be covered in it. Torkdrift is the next boss and like Knucklotec, is something Cappy will need to carry the fight on. While Sonic fought something similar, it doesn’t lower down periodically like those other bosses. And I doubt he can Bounce Jump to it without getting hit by the lasers. 

Now it's time for the first Bowser confrontation and while Death Battle gave him everything he has ever done, the games decided to give him a new hat. And while he has shown enough magic, nothing really seems out of Sonic’s wheelhouse so another easy fight for him. But since the game doesn’t end there, Sonic’s Odyssey continues. Cappy gets kidnapped in Lost Kingdom but Sonic’s Stomp move is similar to Mario’s Ground Pound, so he can get him back. The next boss is the Mechawiggler, which honestly looks the most like a Sonic Boss out of any Mario Boss. And so far the only Non-Broodals/Bowser fight I can see Sonic win without Cappy.

Rango is next again for some reason, but the only thing that changed is he throws two hats and the floor is icy. No issue. The next boss is Mollusque-Lanceur, and he’s another one that requires Cappy since it's a water fight. You would need speed to be on top of the water and a Gushen to clear the lava hair he has. Spewart comes for a Round 2 as well and honestly it looks easier. Bigger arena means more places to move. Not to mention he doesn’t do the spit around after getting hit (or get the chance to). Cookatiel is next and considering you need to be in a hot bowl of liquid for the fight, Cappy is required.

The next boss fight is the Ruined Dragon: the most realistic looking dragon in the entire Mario series. Surprisingly not the only Dragon Sonic has fought. Doesn’t seem too hard for Sonic to fight without Cappy though. Dodge his electricity until he tires, take out the golden spikes and hit his exposed weak point with a stomp. Topper gets his rematch and besides more hats, seems to be the same boss. But right after is a Hariet rematch. She upgraded her ponytail into pigtails. But again, mostly the same as last time. And before confronting Bowser one last time, you fight all the Broodals again, only in a giant mech.

The RoboBrood requires you to take out the legs first using the bombs it throws, then climb its side to hit a Broodal. And honestly, looking at it I can see Sonic beating it without using Cappy. It does seem pretty close to the type of boss fights Sonic fights: including hitting cockpits to do damage. For some reason, Madame Broode is the next fight after RoboBrood. And the only difference is she put on more hats on her dog than last time. We finally interrupt the wedding and a Bowser Rematch. It is a lot more impressive as he’s faster, breathes fire and has a fire shield around him at times. He even tries for a sweep to counter attack. But it’s still the same so I can see Sonic win this.

And after taking over Bowser’s mind to clear the way during the collapse, and Sonic completed the game. But this is using Cappy, could Sonic beat Mario Odyssey without him? Well according to this video it is possible to get 137 Moons without Cappy using skills, exploits and glitches. According to this post, 124 is the minimum required to beat the game. But this video about minimum captures does highlight Cappy is a requirement. Even if I said Sonic could grind the first capture and do the first few shows without Cappy, to get to the Dragon he would still need Cappy to travel him across the cavern. And Sonic can not rightfully do the Nut Jump to skip the Bowser Zip lines. And heck, some of the skips still require Cappy to get some of those moons.

So Sonic could beat Odyssey but not without Cappy. Which means it's Mario’s turn. Can he beat Sonic Frontiers? Can he do better and beat it without any help? Let’s find out next week.

[tl2dplatformer]

Researching Animations

I have some research on animations that I hadn't uploaded to the blog, so I am going to put my previous thoughts on each video, and what I took from each one.

Crash Bandicoot has a huge variety of death animations that are unique and are very cool overall. The thing that I like the most is how environment orientated they are, which is what you expect, but its cool to see that it makes sure to be fairly accurate and makes it a realistic death for the area the character is in. Such as in water the character would obviously only drown, but there would be different animation before drowning, and they are all unique and not commonly used. There are many animations in this video that inspired me for my death animation. I wanted to include a range of death animations in my game, but as its the first project and I'll be making more games with more freedom, I will include more in another game of mine I make.

This video shows lots of idle animations from a variety of games, and it reveals how different idle animations are depending on the character. Like if they are unrealistic and more cartoony, they will have a more unrealistic animation, but some will just be a random animation out of boredom. A lot of these idle animation are cool, but I didn't want to make anything too complicated straight away, so I didn't take too many ideas from these animations. But as well as the death animations, I also want to make something similar when I make another game in the future.

Sonic has evolved a lot when it comes to jumping. The majority of this change being from 2D to 3D and the angles of the jump, but also powerups while jumping and how the environment affects his jump. For example, in different sonic games there are many different aspects that could affect the jump, like dashing mid-jump or being carried in the air by tails and then jumping off. There are lots of different jump animations with Sonic, and is a simple animation, with just him spinning around in a ball, but it would be complicated for me to make in my 2D platformer. I've made a very simple jump animation and it isn't as good as a Sonic jump, but I could always look at his jump animations, as well as others for another game.

[maguro13-2]

War of Shadow Realm ~ Origins of the Ink Demon Chapter 4 Epilogue [3/6]

[Mystic Mansion - Naofumi Hataya, Jun Senoue]

Seto : Alright, let's follow our door steps and get to Grim's throne.

Moirai Albarn : It's our pleasure.

Mamimi : Let's do this, right away!

[The montage begins with the girls venturing in the castle while Mamimi takes pictures in every room and hall, then the three rides on the trolleys like roller coaster rides and avoids obstacles and lasers. And then montage stops to where the girls are looking a giant skeleton statue while standing next to the switches]

[Cricket chirping]

Moirai Albarn : So, ummm, who does have a reference for other Sega titles like this one over here?

Mamimi : [takes picture of the Skeleton] Totally a neat Halloween decoration. Does this place contains any balloons or stuff like that?

Seto : No, there wasn't. And I think you might be right, there was candy and balloons for the reaper's birthday or halloween at his castle with his robot buds. He gives candy to men, women, and children during all of halloween.

Mamimi : Oh that figures much to me, but hey, at least they gave me a lolipop to suck on my nerves. [Gary pops up]

Gary : Meow! [pops out]

Mamimi : (realizing) Huh? Ah, darn! Friggin' 4kids edit! They always drop the balls to edit my smoking habits and they always do that to violence on TV!

Moirai Albarn : Let's reconsider on 4kids thinking that Shounen animation are for kids and there for the big kids, teen stuff. It's really commondation for boys at ages like this. That's how the demographic system works.

Mamimi : Good idea! But we should get going to look around the reaper's castle or were just not going to look down on the dark abyss falling pit thingy. Right? [no one is asking question] I thought so.

[the montage continues and the music resumes, then ends where the three girls are at three altars]

Mamimi : So why are we here again?

Seto : It's probably where they do things to clear this test.

Moirai Albarn : I agree, it's like this place for a video game level has some serious challenges for those who wanted to pass the test.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Indeed!

(the girls jump in fear, screaming)

Moirai Albarn : How did you get here?!

Grim (Metal Sonic) : You have finally manage to pass your final tests. Welcome to the end of the mystic Mansion level,call it, the void area. these three altars in the void are trials of those who are different types that are strong enough to pass the tests and earned your freed I'll give you a demonstration. These are the trials that I've set up in four different voids : The Blue Void is for those who are speed types than can get across by having no fear of falling off, the Yellow Void are those who are fly types that can get across by facing the fear of heights, and the red void is for those who can show their strength and by taking up courage.

Seto : And let me guess, the Cyan Void is for those that forgot of how to put out the torches.

Mamimi : Yeah, that only works. So why are these voids are always the challenge of nearing the void room that is the end of the level.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : It's very intriguing that I found that I had many people that came to this room. Before the Neo Metal Sonic uprising incident, my servants were manipulated by that criminal Mastermind and had my men working for him as slaves, using my castle as a base of his own, and I, the great God of Death, had terms of giving this perfect body that I possessed and would apprehend as the great Death God of Mobius as thyself, so I chose the body of a blue doppelganger and became this castle's owner. I know you girls wanted to pass the trials of each type they possess in one's hearts, the superpowers that resides in three different powers cores of the tricolors.

Seto : Very good, my Lord.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Very well, then. You three girls have made it to the end of the Mystic Mansion level and to get to the throne of my palace, or the exit to one's freedom, you must complete the final test of this challenge and I may let you proceed to enter the reaper's throne room.

Seto : Okay, we accept that challenge. We'll pass the three trials and to show you how worthy we are.

Moirai Albarn : So am I.

Mamimi : Don't get me started on this one, I'm just warming up to live up my powers! And there's no way that I'm gonna back down a challenge. Besides, how hard can these final tests be?

"One passing the final test later..."

Moirai Albarn : We just barely made it to past our final tests and anyone thinks it's hard to pass!

Seto : I took the Blue Void which I had to homing attack the ghosts by jumping across, without falling off.

Moirai Albarn : I took the Yellow void by getting across by facing my fear of heights, and it was nuts on those platflorms! But I feel like that I don't have acrophobia.

Mamimi : Oh for me? I took the Red Void and showed my strength.

Seto : Really? But how?

Mamimi : I knocked the crap out of that Egg Hammer throwing him off, causing him a Smash KO by doing this! (The smoke from cigarette to create a psychedelic effect, creating the negative zone) Totally wicked and gets you a little high with this smoke that has the psychedelic effect don't it?

Moirai Albarn : Yeah...That would like that you are definitely tripping balls there. That psychedelic effect is some kind of special effects don't it?

Mamimi : Nope. It's pure magic, totally not on drugs or anything. So come on, get your self a little high and do a little trip with me. (Seto takes cigarette from her and crushes to put it out)

Seto : Oi! Can't you read the sign over there!? Some other areas can be a place for smokers, but this castle is a smoke-free place, so no smoking in the reaper's throne room!

Mamimi : Oh, my bad. But I could go for another on my free time from work. (Puts another cigarette in her mouth) When it comes girls who thought Sanji was a sucker pops, but turns out he was a fine smoker that have the ability for his flaming kicks. Hey, reaper. Could you get me a lighter from your torches?...Oh right, I'm not allowed to smoke at the reaper's throne room nor the castle. But on the other hand, 4kids has edited out on Sanji's smoking habits that will make him to give the fan girls some lolipops.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : *angry vain* YEAH, PAPER GIRL!? WELL THOSE THINGS WILL KILL YOUR LUNGS, YOU KNOW THAT!?

Seto : I wouldn't recall anyone of being myself a smoker at a young age like this nowadays.

Moirai Albarn : I agree in my smoking-free days, I heard that from Superman when he says that I "Never say yes to a cigarette" on that campaign. It's the nicotine thing campaign from the department of health in the 20th century.

Mamimi : Thanks for understanding me that. Anyway, here are your news of the spreading truth, it will show the truth hidden from the public eyes and witches, secretly kept hidden by the men of Shinra's influence. This will make yourself useful.

Grim (Metal sonic) : Good, I'll read them in the libray.

[Gaia Manuscripts - Takahito Eguchi]

Seto : A library? This castle has a library? Nobody told me that the castle itself has a libray. How did you know that stuff?

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Because I have the acquaintance of seeking yourselves with knowledge from the world of Sonic itself and the real world, I've known history, I've many famous people, and I've know everything that I share lots of info to have the biggest IQ to read. Reading is fundamental when it comes to study for the biggest bookworm in the world.

Moirai Albarn : Heh. Luckily, I've been the library before. Me and my sister comes to the library every day on earth in our days of studying about planet earth. But do you know something about a "diary" that was locked within the library? I mean looking for a book about Ashley's kind and her family.

Grim (Metal Sonic) : Ah, yes. The beings that she like to call it Witchkind, that was the definition of her people's race. Their pride for magic, sorcery, and craftsmanship tied together with both humans and demons working alongside in Real World AU. They were the only Kind that Ashley knew they would grow stronger every day and every night by worshiping the only demon that is powerful and is not only a god, but a king or queen that is almighty to the demons. If you want know more than that, then come with me to the Mystic Mansion's Library. Follow me, friends. Seek yourselves with the knowledge there is. [walks off]

Seto : This should be a piece of cake. [hears Grim clearing throat] Umm, Yes, my lord. I'll be heading to the library with you and along with these friends of mine. [walks after Grim]

Mamimi : Wait, does this reaper have a Library in the castle or he's some kind of book worm or something? I'm not much of a nerdy girl who does stuff in the library and I only have a lot of IQ in my system, millions of IQ to spread as a Genius of influece. How does that sound for a brainiac genius like me in the first place?

Moirai Albarn : [growls like a lion]

Mamimi : Oh, right! You know with the brains and the Brawns, I get it, I get it!

Moirai Albarn : Hope you find yourself lucky. [walks off]

Mamimi : [hears something growling] Woah! What was that noise? Probably my stomace or something. I wonder if I'm gonna eat something for my appetite? Oh well, to the library it is. [walks after the group]

~ Seventy-Fifth Scene : Castle of the Death God ~

[soraleix]

Death, Idle and jump animations.

Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Triology is a retro game that serves as a time capsule. The graphics are so much better than the original as you can see through the showcase of the death animation difference. In the beginning the death is started with a black screening background where the death animation is also a lot more worse than the N. Sane Triology. In the N. Sane Triology the death animation is a lot more detailed as well as the graphics of the map itself. The detail is better and everything is more cleaner. The animation of the crab is also a lot more detailed than the original. The original was more choppy like and The characters didnt have a lot going on.

The details in this screensihot of the original is that the detail in the sculptures arent as clear as they could be, detailed yes but the graphics look very bad in comparison to the N. Sane Triology.

You can tell by lighting that the scenery looks better. The ground doesnt look like particles but actual rocks and dirt. The graphic quality is a lot stronger and the pillars are more clearly detailed. The explosion itself too is a lot more better. Its a lot less choppy.

4 different types of idle animations on one character. This character shows different actions being done whilst the player is in idle mode when not playing the game. The first is laughing, second is puffing up their muscles, third is frying their head and the fourth, using their head as a skipping rope. All are idle animations but instead of being repetitive and it being the same, they have a variety.

Another idle animation is where sonic is tapping is foot on the ground and then shakes his finger saying 'im out of here!' when being in idle for too long not doing anything.

Sonics jumps evolving where sonic is jumping in 2D curled up in a fast rate and is exhilerating in a smooth way and then,

There is also sonic where a sprite around him is a continuous ball around him that pops up when he jumps, making it look like he is going very fast.

The next version of sonic is where the sprite has the material of him, himself on the sprite in a sphere instead of just a blue lining around him, where this one looks more like he is actually spinning in the air when he jumps.

In this version sonic curls up in a ball and theres a blue aura trail that follows him when hes exhilerating in his jump. There are many more versions too.