#makes sonic feel a bit more real y'know?

[curetapwater]

Japanese Sonic fans who've had the same Sonic voice cast since 1998....... how does it feel to have it so good.

[lowpolyshadow]

i transcribed the sonadow bumblekast episode so you don't have to

hopefully the formatting isn't really weird lol

Kyle: So this time, for Pride Month, we get to address the hypothetical fandom ship that's probably helped more than a few Sonic fans figure out their sexuality: Sonadow! A lot of straight fans probably had Rouge or Sally be their awakening, so don't throw stones. 

Ian: True, true. 

Kyle: Shadow is not quite in a place where it's easy to imagine him having a healthy romantic relationship. But it is honestly a bit problematic to have one character shift until they're suitable for another, unless it's a mutual situation. How would you execute the character growth for Shadow and Sonic that would most help enable Sonadow? 

Ian: There would have to be an understood vulnerability to Shadow, he would have to open up to a degree that makes him more accessible at a personal level, and it doesn't take much? We've seen hints of it throughout his appearances, it would just need to become established, and that I think is all you really need to build that bridge because Sonic is casual and accepting enough as he is, and he's going to allow Shadow to be who he is which is kind of prickly and standoffish as you would have that occasional moment where Shadow lets his guard down and is more empathetic or emotionally available. But otherwise they would both play it fairly cool and aloof I think (lol). 

Kyle: Yeah, they're together. What of it? So? Big deal. I like it.  There are obviously a lot of different popular ships in Sonic. In order to make one really stand out, you'd probably need to really spark intrigue on it before pushing the two characters together. How would you arrange the first key romantic spark that was intended to drive the fans towards wanting them together? 

Ian: I think it stems more from the characters already having good chemistry. I mean you look at the fandom in general and the fleet of ships that are sailing and all of them are based off of the fact that these characters are fun in their interactions regardless of who we're talking about. So if it were an intention of building something from scratch, for most of the Sonic cast, I think the work's already been done and there's already a great deal of trust and mutual respect between most of the characters. It would just be a matter of realizing that there is more than respect, there's more than kinship, there's a romantic affinity, and for one of those characters to make that realization and start to pursue it in their own particular way.  And then it becomes a question of well, is the object of their affection going to reciprocate? And if they don't, which leads to an interesting story of, now that they are on this path, yeah, they know that this is an option, do they come around to it? Or do they not? Are both characters kind of interested but they don't want to take that first step and so you have that carrot on a stick that is ever so effective for however long you want to run it? 

(laughing) 

Kyle: There's nothing that gets, uh, Sonic's motor running more than being called a faker. Apparently. 

(more laughing) 

Ian: Oh, he'll show you how real he is. 

Kyle: Oh, no! This is a family show, sir!

(even more laughing) 

With that idea fresh in our minds, how would you make it official for the two of them? 

Ian: God, if that ever came to pass. (lol) 

Kyle: I feel like it would have to be kind of like, understated? Like it would just kind of happen? 

Ian: Yeah, I've, they're both so cool and aloof in their own way, I don't see them making any kind of dramatic declaration or ... suddenly turning all mushy and lovey-dovey, it's not who they are. Um ... I, you know, the adventure concludes and they're standing side by side on the hillside looking at the sunset and the wreckage ... and they share, you know, a compliment, and instead of like a fist bump or a "see you next time" and, y'know, one of them runs off ... maybe they throw arms around each other or something and just kind of stand there. Again, they're not gonna be all "mweh mehmehmeh" ... tonsil action, it's, I see them being very chill about it all. 

(lol) 

Kyle: Also, keep in mind everyone, this is all just ... 'fan ideas', this is probably never gonna happen, it's very unlikely, we're just having fun here. 

Ian: It's hypothetical situations that I am approaching as reasonably and as authentically as I can. 

Kyle: Yes, yes, just to keep that in mind, just keeping everybody on the same page here. 

Ian: I am not endorsing, I am not unendorsing, 

I am just answering questions. Everybody simmer. 

Kyle: Let's assume that for whatever reason Shadow decided to seek out advice from the following, and whoever he asked has to answer with an honest attempt at the best advice they could offer. How would Professor Gerald, Dr. Eggman, the Commander, and Black Doom advise him? 

Ian: Gerald would be the most wholesome and effective, I think. I think he understands people better than ... certainly a lot of his family. Uh, and would advise Shadow to look inward to ask himself what he really wants, and to ruminate on that and then act with caution, you know, don't be hasty on this particular thing. Like all great research, it takes time to get the results that, you know, you want, or the results that will come to be - don't take anything as a given, but don't be afraid to pursue the truth, whatever that may be.  Eggman would scoff at the notion and, you know, sarcastically offer to set him up on a date, making it quite clear that it would all be a trap and an ambush and whatever. The Commander ... I don't see as being a very romantic individual, but I think he might be direct about that, right. He would say that his partner was someone he managed to find for himself, but that was largely thanks to her, and her efforts, because he was kind of clueless about this, but Shadow is also kind of in the same boat so you know, maybe ... at least be aware of your surroundings? If someone is prepared to make that gesture, be ... ready to receive it and understand it for what it is. How do you do that? He's not quite sure how he figured it out himself but you know, he's not good at this sort of thing.  And Black Doom would again, scoff. Love is a weakness, it is a distraction at best, a malady at worst, it is ... an affliction of the mind. An illusion created by inferior beings to facilitate necessary natural processes. You do not need love, you do not need anyone, you are my Ultimate Weapon now go get me them Chaos Emeralds. 

Kyle: (laughing) Those damn fourth Chaos Emeralds! They're all fourth!

Ian: (mimicking Black Doom) Honestly, Shadow, what's love got to do, got to do with it. What's love but a second hand emotion. 

Kyle: (laughing) Well, we all know Shadow can't resist a dying wish. Let's say in the aftermath of a terrifying evil scheme, Eggman once more had to team up with the heroes to save the world, but he died in the process, leaving Sage and her brothers in the care of his uncle and uncle-in-law. Assuming that if money were real, GUN would pay the kind of money that would keep a classy act like Rouge on staff so the boys don't need to change their heroics too much, how would they do as parents to Sage, Orbot, Cubot, and after a while if she so chose, potentially Belle? 

(THIS IS METAL ERASURE >:( whatever he doesn't wanna be part of this family anyways)

Ian: I'm a little lost in the wording on who is acting as surrogate parents here.

Kyle: I think it might supposed to be Sonic and Shadow ... but Rouge is also there? I think? 

Ian: Well I mean someone would have to look after the kids because it ain't gonna be them. 

Kyle: (laughing) No, I guess not?!

Ian: I mean, Sonic would Sonic would kind of show up for birthdays and events and to check in but he's ... he's not the stay at home dad. He's not the stay in one place dad, he's the dad who gets his steps in, if you catch my meaning.

Kyle: Okay, no, it was more an example of they’re ... willing to pay Rouge ... so they would be willing to also pay them ... so ... but ... I guess Rouge would not be the caretaker. So ... they would have to be the caretakers ... I don't think it would go well! Luckily, I think they're self-sufficient ... for the most part ... (starting to lose it)

Ian: I mean I can't really see GUN letting them off ... interestingly, to anyone. They would be on facility. But it would be Sonic and Shadow weighing heavily saying they're not captives, they're not tech to be assimilated into the greater GUN network, they are wards of your facility, right? Right? Which again, Sonic would be checking in on occasion to make sure that it's going well. And maybe Shadow would kind of become a satellite agent of GUN, just keep tabs on everything, check in on the others to some degree ... but ... we wouldn't have a case of My Two Dads on this one, they're not the parental types.

Kyle: We probably shouldn't trust GUN with child care. Probably not. Even robot children.

Ian: And ... you don't even need them to be a pair to get the kind of ... bickering parental - conflicting parental guidelines in this scenario. Sonic would be very much, ehhh let them stay up, let him eat ice cream, let them do whatever they want, Shadow's like no, they need discipline, you're going to spoil them.

Kyle: Worst fathers ever.

Ian: Belle I ... I, again, I can't really see as a parental role but I could see her as the put upon babysitter. She tries her best to look after them and keep things under control but ... honestly ... they're Egg tech, they're not going to cooperate all that much.

Kyle: ... Yeah ... yeah I guess ... Belle would have to be the older sister and she'd probably end up being the one who does most of the work. Ugh.

Ian: Someone who tried to stop the caper of stealing the Commander's loafer or something. "I'm gonna get in trouble you guys! Stop!"

Kyle: Alright. Shadow is immortal, he will probably outlive Sonic. Unfortunately, given Sonic's lifestyle, that may not be that hard ... although given Shadow's first adventure, it could go either way. Sonic would probably understand that Shadow copes with things like this better when he has a sense of meaningful purpose to focus on. This seems like the type of thing Shadow would project onto his partner if it came to it, so what would each other ... so what if ... so what would each of their dying wishes to each other be?

Ian: Morbid. 

Kyle: (lol) 

Ian: You're going for the beautiful sadness type of thing I think. Uh, Sonic's would be ... what he wishes for everyone, is to be true to yourself and to live free. Perhaps that be true to yourself ringing a little more resoundly in Shadow's case, you know, don't close yourself off ... again. You know, be free to open up to someone else again down the road, and just be honest with yourself and be free to make that choice. 

Kyle: Open your heart, Shadow, it'll be alright.

(laughing)

Dammit! You would do that. 

Ian: Yeah, I absolutely would. 

(more laughing)

As for Shadow ... he would want Sonic to endure, you know, to just continue to carry on ... to not be defeated by anything. To find a way to escape death and just continue being, because, you know who else can replace him? Nobody. He would want that to endure forever.

Kyle: Yep. Good thing Sonic's got extra lives.

So Sonic and Shadow have gotten engaged, and they're trying to figure out how to approach their family name. Would Sonic take Shadow's last name, or Shadow take Sonic's, each keep their own, or each add the other's with a hyphen? Given Shadow's right to certain other last names, there could be a timeline with a Sonic Robotnik or (losing it) Sonic Doom.

Ian: No, they'd go with their current surnames, and as a sign of solidarity, they would just swap them so it would become Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog.

Kyle: Right, okay, okay ... good, good. Yeah, okay, it'll be fine, as long as Shadow doesn't take Maurice or something we'll be good.

(laughing)

Sonic and Shadow the Hedgehog. No relation.

Ian: We could hyphenate it! Sonic the Hedgehog-Hedgehog! (Shadow voice) Don't make me regret my decisions. 

Kyle: Too late, he already does. He already does.  Sonic has a great found family, and presumably in order to get Shadow to a point where he could date Sonic we'd be dealing with a much more Team Dark take on Shadow, who also has that. How would they both adapt to regularly hanging out with each other's found family? 

Ian: Uhhh ... The Sonic side of things is always very opening and it's ... open and accepting. And that's ... hilarious ... to the Team Dark side of things, because you can take such advantage of that. I think there would be attempts made on Team Sonic's side to incorporate everyone into the big happy family and eventually it would come to the understanding that, you know, there's appreciation ... there's respect, but there also needs to be distance. It's okay that they only get together for like, the holidays, and then they all keep to themselves. Nothing against anybody it's just, you know, oil and water don't necessarily mix all the time. And the time Rouge stole the Christmas presents ... Knuckles’s still a little salty about that one. 

Kyle: Aw. Poor Knuckles.  I play a lot of DnD with my boyfriend, he's big into it and happy to have another person for his DnD groups. Meanwhile I always enjoyed the little bit I got to play, but didn't get the opportunity as much in the past. It is unfortunately, for him, very much a ... forever DM for the group he has assembled. With this new little family we've assembled around the Sonadow pairing, who would be their forever DM? Omega is a war forged Barbarian, right? I mean yes. I mean ... you mean in the game? I mean he could be whatever he wants in the game, but in real life, yes.

Ian: I think you could make a case he's war forged Barbarian in every connotation of the word. 

Kyle: Pretty much! 

Ian: Uh ... I can't remember how we ... because I feel like this ties into just general DnD, we've been asked this before ... I would think Tails would be the DM. 

Kyle: Yeah ... yeah, Tails is the one who has the most, uh ... patience, I think, to really learn stuff. Amy maybe. 

Ian: Maybe ... I mean, he would like to construct the campaigns, he would be the better rules lawyer between the two of them. Um, I think he might be a little more of a stickler than Amy, I think Amy would allow for a little more rule of cool, but I don't think Tails would be obnoxious about it, you know. If you roll a one and things have gone very badly, he'd be trying to help you figure out a way around it. It's like, you know, okay, this is a bad situation! What do you see around you that could stop you from being on fire? Or, Amy! Don't you remember you have this particular Scroll of Healing or whatever? I - I haven't played DnD I don't know.

Kyle: I mean, yeah, that exists, it's fine, you got it. 

Ian: He wouldn't be a "rocks fall, everyone dies" DM, but he would be someone who's like, no, you can't fudge the numbers, you miss. "How do you mean I miss, I'm right in his face!" You rolled a two, what can I tell you! 

Kyle: He might think about "rocks fall, everyone dies" for a second, though, once again fed up - 

Ian Every turn, Omega's like "I KILL EVERYONE IN THE ROOM." Even the party? "YES." No, you can't do that! "IT IS IN CHARACTER." I don't care!!!!

(laughing) 

Kyle: Oh man, yeah, I mean, I don't know how long it would take for him to get fed up with Monty Python references but ... (lol) Probably not very long. Uh, and it turns out Monty Python is an actual python comedian in their world, and ... (losing it again) I'm here for it. That'd be cool. Time for the coveted Digimon question! I don't know who's coveting the Digimon questions, but alright, I guess Twilord is. In Digimon, there's a concept of DNA digivolution, where two digimon can fuse together. Sometimes this phenomenon creates a mental link between the Tamers and lets them glimpse each other's thoughts and feelings. This admittedly varies a bit so you have a lot of creative freedom on your solution. Assume the two of them were closeted for lack of it having come up yet, from those whose Digimon starters you might've ... you might choose to have DNA digivolve with Sonic's or Shadow's partners ... which partners figure it out from the basic mental connection, and of them how would they handle knowing without being told? I'm assuming that ... like, they have not confessed their love for each other but they somehow use this to figure it out.

Ian: And really ... Digimon ... it's not asking about the Digimon themselves, it's acting as Sonic and Shadow are the trainers, right. 

Kyle: Right. 

Ian: Uh ... The hardest question of this is who is more obtuse between the two of them ... 

Kyle: (LMAO) Yes. That's the answer. 

Ian: Shadow ... in general ... might be a little quicker on the draw ... so he would make the realization and that might prompt him to ... open up ... whereas Sonic just already kind of took it as a given, it wasn't really a realization to him, so he didn't really think much of it. 

Kyle: I guess ... Yeah, I guess that kind of fits. I guess that fits. 

Ian: (Shadow voice) Once we were linked, I cam to a realization ... and well, now that I know it's reciprocated, I guess I can say I'm really into you.  (Sonic voice) Oh yeah, I already knew. 

Kyle: (laughing) Yeah, everyone's into me. No, no that's not what I mean - 

Ian: (Shadow voice) It means you don't have a romantic bone in your body. 

Kyle: (LOSING IT me too dude) I think the idea ... apparently .. I'm getting word that the idea behind this question was that they haven't told anyone yet, and their friends find out this way.

Ian: Ohhh, okay. 

Kyle: Okay. Well here's the thing ... Most people in Sonic's world are very accepting and everything, so I don't think it would ... be a big deal? (lol) 

Ian: Yeah, I mean, if anything ... the biggest reaction would come out of Amy. There might be shock she found out ... Well, shocked at first, but if she found out, and they haven't really opened up to each other yet about it, she would go hardcore matchmaker. 

Kyle: Oh, no! (laughing) 

Ian: Like, if they both feel that way, and they aren't being honest with their affections, ohhhh no no no, she will not let that stand. Nope. She will move heaven and earth to see love realized. 

Kyle: (laughing) Even if it's not Sonic loving her, I guess, huh? (more laughing)

Ian: Disappointed, sure ... but, y'know, fine. What she wants is for him to be open and true with himself, and true with others. Love is a powerful force in the universe, and she will see its will done. 

Kyle: Yeah (lol), she is a true ally, yes. 

Ian: A real intense ally. 

Kyle: (laughing) Kind of frightening. 

Ian: Again, put down the torches and pitchforks, this is a hypothetical, this is for funsies. Let it be. 

Kyle: Yes, let's have some fun. 

Ian: Moving on, he's got a question for you, Kyle. 

Kyle: Alright. 

Ian: So in terms of romantic progression for fictional characters, you would say that after the romcom where the parents get home together in the sitcom where they all have to live their lives together ... can you please pitch me three episode ideas for the up and never coming sitcom, The Hedge Hogs, for me to rate?

Kyle: Oh, no. Uh, I didn't read this before we started! Uh ... hm ... come up with these on the fly ... um ... I'm like, not great at that. Let me think here ... Let me think here …

Ian: Let me help you out. 

Kyle: Okay, hit me. 

Ian: Fast and the Furious ... they both run out to get takeout quickly and they deal with incorrect orders. 

Kyle: Okay - 

Ian: Becomes a conflict of their personalities where Sonic's like hey, I'll take the pickles off! And Shadow's like he said no pickles. 

Kyle: Okay .. ! (laughing) Yeah, that's good. That's good. Um ... Hm ... hmm ... God, I really am bad at this (lol). I feel like there has to be one where they're trying to drive somewhere and they can't decide ... they'd like get lost, and then one of them is like, you don't need directions - it'd probably be Sonic, Sonic would be driving and he refuses to ask for directions, and Shadow's like trying to get him to pull over and ask for it. 

Ian: (Shadow voice) Please, pull over. 

Kyle: (laughing) Yeah, yeah ... I mean, that's another trope of sitcoms. (lol) 

Ian: Here's one for you ... Surprise Control - Sonic and Shadow are each trying to prepare a birthday surprise party for the other, not realizing that, son of a gun, they share the same birthday! No, they've never actually discussed this or put it together. Hijinx ensue. 

Kyle: (laughing) Do they, actually? - No, nono, Sonic Adventure 2's like a few days before ... but, you know, it's funnier if they do. 

Ian: Rouge is the first one to figure it out and she runs interference to make sure nobody clears it up for them. 

Kyle: (laughing) Yeah, yeah, I like that one ... Alright, let's see - 

Ian: Turns into a big blow up where they're both angry that neither of them knew what each other's actual birthday was, and then the tension is broken when Omega pops out of the cake like Marilyn Monroe. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE TWO OF YOU. 

Kyle: (laughing) And then ... he sets off the fireworks. Which are actually just …

Ian: Omega, not inside the HOUSE- !!!! 

Kyle: (LAUGHING) Which are actually just more DAKKA.

Ian: Has to be inside an apartment complex so Eggman can pull a Newman(?). "Hello, Sonic." 

Kyle: (losing it) Ohhh, nooo ... 

Ian: "I hear you've got the prime time cable package. Mind if I come in to play games on it?" ... Yeah, sure I guess, it's fine - "COME ON KIDS, HE SAID IT'S FINE!" 

Kyle: (still laughing) Oh, no .... 

Ian: Orbot ... Cubot ... Tribot ... a few Egg pawns ... 

Kyle: (laughing) Uh, who's the Kramer in this situation? (laughing) Knuckles?

Ian: Big the Cat. 

Kyle: Okay. 

Ian: Exact same mannerisms. 

Kyle: OKAY. (laughs) Yeah, okay. 

Ian: You know, mid conversation busts down the door, (Big voice) Froggy? Froggy, where are you? 

Kyle: (truly shitting it now) Oh, no ... Oh, no ... Oh nohoho ... The episode where Shadow's parents all come over for the holidays ... All four of them ... 

Ian: (cackles) (Shadow voice) Why do I have so many parents ... 

(laughing) 

(Black Doom voice) Now, we shall air our grievances on this festivus ... Shadow, finish the bowl. 

Kyle: (losing his mind) 

Ian: (Black Doom voice) Festivus ... is for the rest of us ... 

Kyle: Oh, boy. Oh boy. Terrible. I love it. I love it ... Alright, I think that's enough.

Ian: It certainly is. Happy pride month to all of you celebrating. Be good to yourselves, be good to each other, and we will see you next time.

[angelbitezzz]

Don’t feel bad! You’re not obliged to have anon on! :0

Also, idk if it’ll let you answer this ask, but if so… I’ll take one of each, if that’s ok!!

💕👋⚖️⭐️⚫️❓

(If not then just whichever you’d like to share!)

Okay warning, this is way longer than I thought it would be! So I'm putting my answers under the cut here

For the 💕, I think this one [It Takes Two] works (ik in the source material its a song between sisters, but i read it differently for crossbones and starstruck. It's definitely a bit more high-energy and peppy than either of them actually are, but I see it more like the romantic dynamic between their heroic personas. It's all geared up to eleven--both of them have to act differently in costume.

For 👋, I like Hummingbird. The song is mostly just vibes but there's definitely lyrical significance for some aspects of their relationship, y'know? Plus, the whole scene that the song is from in Across the Spiderverse is two superheros taking time away just to spend it with eachother. Kinda perfect?

For ⚖️, Sunlight by Hozier definitely feels right. It's a sweet song, and there's significance in someone who's never known the sun ascribing it to someone in their life. Just saying :3

It is. SO HARD to find a good song for ⭐️. Maybe I should make a playlist...what do you guys think?

Anyways, Tarantula by Gorillaz. It's one of their sweeter songs, and it's about like...well, not settling for someone? More like choosing eachother even with the shit in either of their lives? Thats how i see it

Oof, I already posted a rather angsty one with another ask. For ⚫️, I think This December by Ricky Montgomery is a good one--though I almost considered another song from the same album, Snow. There's conflict, y'know, if internal--how do you separate someone you care for from someone who's sacrifice would mean so much to everyone you know? Morally, Sans is an interesting character (I'm talking largely of his Undertale iteration, but since ts underswap tries to keep things relatively unchanged in regards to personality, he also counts) because while he is someone who I'd consider a good person, he's the same guy who more than likely would've attacked frisk on sight if he wasn't such a loyal character. There's love here. There's also the persistent, nagging knowledge of what needs to be done.

And finally, ❓. For the miscellanious song, we have Stars In the Sky by Kid Cudi for the second Sonic thr Hedgehog movie. I know it's a little silly, but lyrically I consider it a fantastic song for Crossbones and Starstruck! Angel is no stranger to the villain that is being mentally ill, and being separated from everyone she knew and essentially becoming the local semi-homeless human in a place that, while very silly and kind, is still hostile to her sucks. Doing the superhero gig--or rather, participating in the saturday morning cartoon gimmicks as either Starstruck or Koffin K's Spooky Servant is a good distraction. She likes it, and she likes getting to spend time with Sans like that. In a way the Starlight Isles are something of an escape for her, a dream-like forest suspended in eternal twilight where she gets to play the hero or the villain on a whim, with no real consequences. For now.

AAAAND that's it! I actually...did not expect to write so much. For your trouble, here is a drawing of the goobers.

[therummesoccupied]

IDW'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG, ISSUE #72 - THOUGHTS

WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD

We're back with another thrilling installment of "Tay Sits Down to Write the Review Hours Before the Next Issue Releases!"

Lemme start by saying, the cover art for this one, by Natalie Haines, absolutely rules. Jet and the Phantom Rider circling each other while lightning strikes a Surge-shaped storm cloud in the background is so cool out of context, and even cooler in.

This issue, to me, the beginning of what I'm calling the Phantom Riders arc, following up the Extreme Competition arc from the last three issues, and looking to be the climactic story of the Clean Sweepstakes saga.

As is often the case with the first issue of any arc, this one is a bit of a slower one, not quite as thrilling as any issue of the arc before. It goes by quick, but there's still a ton of neat stuff in here to dig into, most of it is just... quieter in nature.

The story opens up with Surge and Kit marching right into Clutch's office and declaring that they will no longer be participating in his operation, desiring to leave behind their lives of villainy and pursue the much more fulfilling roles of heroes. It, uh... doesn't go well for them.

What's interesting here is that Clutch never actually makes any form of direct threat about what he'll do if they leave. He doesn't fly off the handle and smash anything to make an example for them. He doesn't even raise his voice.

And that's one of the things I love about Clutch as a villain. His entire strength is manipulation. He knows exactly which strings to pull, exactly which tone to employ to keep his operatives in mind. As I've said before, he doesn't have an army the size of the Eggman Empire, strength to contend with the Deadly Six, or an intellect on the level of Dr. Starline. But he has one thing none of them do - an unrivaled understanding of his resources, and exactly how to make use of them. There's just something so fascinating to me about a Sonic the Hedgehog villain who's entire strength comes from pulling strings and getting into peoples' heads.

I love this guy! I hope he doesn't... y'know... die at the end of this saga, because frankly, I'd love to see him return again in the future.

We also get Sonic on the run, trying to stay under the radar of the Babylon Rogues, until...

Real world years after their introduction, Sonic finally meets Nite and Don! I'm a huge fan of this scene - partly because I really like Nite and Don, and I'm always happy to see more of them, and partly because I love this kinda thing! Main characters from the games meeting side characters from the comics that they've never run into despite them having been around for a while! These path-crossings between characters who are well-established but don't usually interact is something I love in any story, but especially in Sonic, because it gives me an opportunity to see these characters I've known and loved for such a long time explored in ways I've never seen before! This goes a long way toward making the world feel more lived in, and is the kind of thing I'd been hoping we'd see more of as the comic got to have more and more continuity under its belt.

Also, I know it's a little thing that has already been shared a lot, but I love how visibly angry Sonic is in this panel. I've been gushing over any little hint of Sonic's 90's edge being brought forth in this saga, so any more of it is always gonna get me right where it counts.

Here, Nite clues Sonic in to the fact that, in addition to Amy and Tails, the Chaotix are also looking into Clean Sweep, which means we will more than likely be seeing them at some point in this arc.

(Side note: Nite's mug has a modified version of the Crush 40 logo on it, and the poster behind him has an edit of their eponymous album. This is awesome and Crush 40 is awesome.)

This is cool because I love the Chaotix, Vector specifically being one of my favorite characters, but it does worry me that they might be showing up... a little too much? Maybe it's just me, but if feels like they show up a lot over the course of IDW Sonic, especially lately between the Misadventures arc, A Very Chaotix Halloween, and the Spring Broken special. I've gotten into it a bit in other posts, but aside from Sonic Tails, Amy, and Eggman, I prefer most Sonic characters to be "sometimes food."

The cast is so big that you can constantly keep revolving side characters in and out, occasionally throwing in new ones, and go a good while between repetitions, which, in my opinion, only helps to make the appearances of these characters to feel more impactful and, again, make the world feel more lived in. Sonic has so many friends that he doesn't always see many of them that often. It makes sense to me, but maybe it's only me.

Anyway, it'll seem neat to see how they play into everything that's going on here. What's interesting to me is, back in Misadventures, when Clutch hires the Babylon Rogues to steal Echidna artifacts from Angel Island, he says that he did so to keep certain parties occupied while he conducted his business with the Restoration - setting things up for the Clean Sweepstakes. I'd assumed the parties he spoke of were the Chaotix specifically, whom Knuckles recruited to help retrieve his stolen relics.

However, if this was his intention, it seems the Chaotix have gotten involved anyway. Was this a simple oversight on his part? Were his efforts in vain? Or is something more going on? Was the party he sought to distract actually Knuckles? Does his grand plan involve some kind of play for the Master Emerald? If so, that'd be a very bold move for him. For now, though, the best we can do is speculate until we get a better look at the scope of Clutch's scheme - I will say though (and this is a bit of a spoiler within a spoiler), Evan Stanley has posted some WIP pencils for upcoming issues that appear to be part of this same arc, and one drawing among them does seem to show an Emerald present, so it's pretty safe to assume at least one Emerald, be it Chaos or Master, is definitely in the mix here.

Meanwhile, poor Surge is going through it. She lays out exactly what I have found tragically beautiful about her entire character arc, especially over the course of this saga: She envies the freedom of Sonic, but can never have it. No matter what, someone is always seeking to use her for their own ends, and if they can't, the make sure that she can never have the freedom she seeks by damaging her life beyond any hope of repair. It's a surprisingly deep and sad thing to see played out in the Sonic universe, and at the point she's at, I'm not sure there's any good way out for her.

That being said, Kit seems to have his own course of action in mind, and I'm excited to see exactly what it is, because while Kit was designed to be the reason to Surge's rush, he's always seemed to be the one capable of going even further off the deep end when pushed. He always seems to have some pretty extreme levels of violence in mind when he gets quiet and focused. He's kind of creepy like that, and who knows what he's got in store. Whether it works out in his favor or not, I don't imagine it looks good for Clutch, who, like so many others before him, has likely underestimated the little fox.

The last scene of this issue has Amy, Tails, and Belle trying to make their way to Jewel's office to expose Clutch, only to be intercepted by Clean Sweep Inc.'s mascots, who reveal themselves to be none other than Rough and Tumble. We knew these two were working under Clutch, but they haven't shown up in a bit, and it left me wondering exactly where they fit into Clutch's machinations here. Turns out they were right in the spotlight the entire time. Makes sense, given the way they're usually played for comic relief.

They pretty immediately call for backup - which is funny to me. It's characteristically underhanded of them, sure, but it also shows that they've been gaining some level of understanding of just how outmatched they are when dealing with Sonic and co. I did notice that Tumble says they have more infiltrators on their hands, implying they've already dealt with a few before these three arrived. I'd say it's pretty reasonable to assume they're referring to the Chaotix, so it's likely Amy, Tails, and Belle will be running into them soon.

Story-wise, this issue has a lot of neat stuff to dig into, just not quite as much forward momentum as recent ones. And that's good! You have to have setup to have payoff! Plus, these quieter scenes provide a great opportunity for character exploration, an opportunity this issue takes full advantage of. Just about every character gets plenty to do here, plenty to show us who they are when they're not in the heat of action.

In terms of art, this issue is everything the previous arc would lead you to expect. Aaron Hammerstrom continues to bring us some absolutely gorgeous pencils, with some really solid inks from Matt Froese, an artist I've been following since long before their work on IDW Sonic, and have been delighted to see show up in the comic's credits.

As I mentioned previously, we seem to have some upcoming pencils from Stanley herself, and while I love Stanley's art and am always excited to see more of it, it does make me a little sad that we won't be seeing as much from Hammerstrom or Min Ho Kim. They truly have become my absolute favorite artists working on this series - even over legends like Yardley and Hesse. Guess I couldn't see their pencils exclusively forever, though. Whatever the case, Stanley's upcoming stuff looks good, and I'm excited to see more of it, as well as what happens next, which I'll be seeing in... *checks watch* ... About an hour.

As always, thanks for reading, and I'll catch you next time!

[the-heart-of-a-monster]

Wh-

What the f-

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HELLO EXCUSE ME WHAT-

Yeah. This is fine. This is great, even! I'm just scrolling around on Tumblr, havin a good time, then I see some asks talking about the new page and I get excited. I riot in my head, even! I squeal with joy because I absolutely adore your art!

Then Sonic pushes Shadow away and my heart breaks in half.

wtf /pos and /lh

I wanna psychoanalyze this so fuccin bad so I'm gonna try my best but everything is so clear and easy to see so idk how obvious this will all be. I'll have a TLDR at the end that will hopefully be shorter idfk

Also before I do that I just wanna say that I absolutely love THOAM and I'm so glad I've been along on such a crazy journey for this long. Love seeing your art evolve throughout the 2 years I've been here!

ok let's get on with it already-

---

Okay so the first thing I noticed is Sonic's demeanor in this entire chapter so far. Sonic wasn't necessarily pissed at Shadow before coming here, (I still fail to remember the name of their location) but he was a bit... He seemed angered to some degree. This obviously has to do with the lack of sleep he's been getting due to his incredibly painful transformation, and uh side note here, transforming on its own would be enough to make someone feel out of sorts. I totally understand why Sonic is acting odd, in this case.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that Shadow has slowly been testing Sonic's patience throughout this and the last chapter. In the last one, Shadow said something incredibly rude and impulsive, which lead to Sonic staying behind in the dorm while Shadow and Chip were getting mawled. He only came back because he knew they were in deep trouble. The hug he got from Shadow didn't really help all that much, even if it was a kind gesture and something the Ultimate Lifeform wouldn't typically do. Because, y'know, it's just a hug. People hug others all the time, and it's not even close to a real apology.

Then Chip stayed behind with Tails. And... Suddenly, Sonic took a complete 180!

Without Chip around, without Sonic's emotional support buddy, the blue blur is left with all these pent up emotions that he's been refusing to let out for a long time. The last time he cried was days ago when he accidentally attacked Amy, and for us, that was probably like 3-4 years ago at this point. He's hardly had enough time or room to really feel anything, and that leaves him all constipated and icky. Sure, he had to kind of mellow his real feelings when Chip was around because he's just a kid in Sonic's eyes, and when Sonic lashes out it impacts Chip in a bad way. This doesn't mean Sonic feels any better without Chip, because without him, there's no hype man to make him feel better. There are no comforting words or small chit-chats for the road and no pit stops to get snacks... It's just him and Shadow now, and since they're on a pretty important mission to, you know, fix the entire fucking world, there's like no time for breaks.

Combine all this with the fact that Sonic is stuck as a Werehog for this entire chapter, and for the entirety of this specific mission... Yeah, you've got a pretty cranky hedgehog. And here's the sad part in all of this: Sonic doesn't like feeling this angry and this alone, but no one seems to really understand him anymore. Not even Shadow. They don't know what it's like living two whole lives at once, having to go through all this pain and agony for so long and not able to tell a soul. They couldn't possibly comprehend!

So how should he feel when his closest companion makes an effort to understand, even just by a little bit?

---

TL;DR

Sonic is confused and angry at the world. He doesn't understand what to do or how to act, and without Chip's support and unintentional therapy, he's just kinda... Left to his thoughts. Shadow suddenly trying to help after being not very helpful for a while made things even more confusing, and the fact Shadow never told Sonic about the constant nighttime thing... Yeeeeeaaahhh, Sonic's not doing too hot.

Hope this wasn't too long and I hope Tumblr doesn't eat this up due to its length. Thanks so much for reading to the end and thanks for just being you. Because if you didn't exist the world would explode-

<3

NEVER TOO LONG i think others also appreciate the theories ♥

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

So when I watched Sonic 2 with my brother, I got to thinking about Sonic's speed, and I don't know how hot of a take this might be but I don't think Sonic should be a traditional speedster.

So, by "traditional speedster" I mean like how speed is portrayed in popculture (X-Men, AoU, Flash, Movie Sonic). Y'know, everything goes in slow motion, some random popular song plays, and the character does whatever wacky shenanigans to get the job done.

But I've always thought of game Sonic as more "bullet-train fast". Like how he has the build up every time he runs where he starts out slow and gradually gains speed. I think of it like he has to process it in real time, just like the player.

I don't know, it just feels more right to me. But Frontiers had that bit where you bounce off the boulders in slow motion so -\_(=/)_/-. It's just a cool way to make him unique from other speedsters methinks.

[cosmic-cd]

BODY PART BLAST ! ! ! ! 🧠 + 💀 + ❤️ for the dimension cross crew for the OC ask meme w

ACK!! OUGH!!! AGH!!!! TERRIFYING!!!! (HIIIII MIO)

answering these for all four beasts, so this is gonna be a little long!!!

(Answering questions from this ask meme! if anyone would like, feel free to send in more questions!!)

🧠 - What do you like most about the OC?

RGB - she's my beloved fursona!!!!! a single quality is hard to pick... but i'll say her personality is very fun to write because it lets me flip between RGB Is An 8 Foot Tall Furry Thing who loves enrichment (jumping straight into highly dangerous situations for fun and causing trouble on purpose) and RGB is in REAL danger she can't just escape conveniently from and has a far more nervous, cautious side underneath the very intense confidence.......

Gear - my baby boy angel sweet boy i love him i'm grabbing him with my teeth and shaking him around violently. it's kind of the personality again (even though i adore his design and i'm so proud of him as a whole) my favorite thing about him is 100% the fact i somehow combined four decently different favorite characters into one guy, and that makes him INCREDIBLY fun to write.

the bold and daring recklessness + being wildly overpowered from sonic, the knack for inventing and being the little brother from tails, the jadedness and charisma + voice & some other traits from barney calhoun, and also inventing but unhinged about it a bit from The Engineer TF2... he is the guy of all time to me

Source - oh they are just an absolute goddamn blast to write. i think my favorite part about him though is just the tonal dissonance between his personality and his backstory, and similarly to RGB- the change in behavior when things have flipped from danger for fun to real danger. funny mushroom in a fursuit (tragic, miserable, so soggy and sad)

DC - DC's like my least developed dimension cross member and i feel bad about it!!!!! i LOVE their design to pieces.. but i think if i had to choose a trait about them so far- it's the fact they come across as the most anxious and shy member of the D/C crew, but they may be the most unhinged. (y'know. the whole uh. surgically installing their own cyborg enhancements thing.) they care a lot about the crew and ensure they're healthy in a safe manner- i wouldn't QUITE put them in the bracket of being like the Medic TF2, but. concerning. sometimes.

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

RGB - Insectophobia, arachnophobia, (but this really only applies to small normal bugs and not big or anthropomorphic ones, amusingly) and mild claustrophobia. She doesn't mind cramming herself into small cozy spaces voluntarily (like a cat) but involuntarily is a different story (hates smaller ships and small rooms)

Gear - Way worse claustrophobia- Some small spaces are OK voluntarily (especially if he's making repairs in the walls of the ship), but he gets nervous in very close quarters. also mildly afraid of deep water (though unlike sonic, he can swim, at least)

Source - Doesn't have any phobias per se- But has a healthy fear of fire, and a general fear of rain. (i wonder why)

DC - this worm can fit so much anxiety...... Extreme phobia of deep water (can't swim) and ironically kind of afraid of like. regular worms. like earth worms. they have so many fears otherwise though <3 and a tendency to faint

❤️ - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

RGB - The day she met Gear.

Gear - The day he and RGB finally bought the cargo ship they'd been saving for, changing the course of their lives forever.

Source - When an act of kindness cut through the curtain of heavy rain, offering a hand to a lonely creature. Or, uh- that time he ate a bug that RGB was hiding from. Either one.

DC - The day they finished medical school... What, that's boring? (and RGB's isn't?) Okay, okay. The day they completed their thesis- proving that cybernetic limbs could work, and that the nervous system of their species could absolutely be compatible with artificial limbs and the brain would take to it like a charm with little issue. (of course, they immediately were kicked out and not given a medical license, but that's okay, the achievement was way more important. if their species, a bunch of fuzzy worms off the string with arms, couldn't handle the scientific advancement of legs- then that was their loss!)

[dillweedshole]

I give up. Fuck the Frontiers DLC. I quit.

Final Horizon, the Frontiers DLC, started super nicely, I liked everything about it right up until trial 2. trial 3 was fine, 4 was fine too so my hopes were back up. then the master trial hit, and now i'm at the boss, and now it's just bad to me.

here's the thing: I would love if the mechanics were refined and fixed up, the difficulty would 100% be tolerable. I did Doom Eternal's Ultra Nightmare mode, I did Dead Space 2's Hardcore mode, I GOT 106% IN CRASH FUCKING 4. I am TOTALLY FINE with difficulty (especially when it gives you something for doing it (fuck you crash 4 lmfao))

but the game is about as nutritionally balanced as a fast food meal. It's just not bro.

the perfect parry requires near FRAME PERFECT inputs, but you can spam the stomp until the sun collapses. the titan animations look like they SHOULD be telegraphed correctly but they're off. Sometimes the attack hit is late, sometimes it's early.

Y'know what, I also hate these fucking babymen who can't handle that their precious little blue rat game is getting criticized so they hide behind their meaningless skill in a single player video game for children. I can understand wanting difficulty, the rest of Frontiers is a cakewalk, and at the end of the day it's a totally free content update that doesn't change fuck about the main game, but this is not real difficulty. It's bad jank. I love Sonic to the end of the fucking earth but this is literally just annoying content. the last of any big spectacle at the final boss was completely ruined by the terrible gameplay that lead up to it. I am in absolutely no fucking rush to play it, in fact I'll probably just watch it online and uninstall the game to make space for something else. (steam deck storage issues)

I feel like I need to bring something up, relevant to all this: Doom Eternal also got DLC, The Ancient Gods, and it was ALSO fucking NUTS HARD. (talking more about Pt 1 here lmao)

HOWEVER. Once you learned how to play through TAG 1 at a high enough level, the REST OF THE GAME opened WIDE UP. It's a hurdle, but once you do it you feel like a fucking CHAMPION. You genuinely feel like you become a master of the art of "Fucking Shit Up".

Final Horizon makes me feel like a child who just got beat up by the school bullies. I don't feel any cooler or better at the game, I just feel like walking back home and maybe crying and pissing myself a bit.

How cool a comparison, DOOM's TAG 1 is a martial arts master where Final Horizon is a group of school bullies lmfao

It's not rewarding skill at all, it's just needless skill. Skill that will never apply to anywhere else in the main game. Because the game was never built for this type of difficulty. (the pre-trial tower climbs were all perfect though) Combat in Frontiers was almost entirely spectacle. It was fucking cool spectacle but at the end of the day you could totally get through the entire game mashing X and you could get away scot-free.

Now, I think the Cyberspace stages are about where the difficulty is present AND correct. It makes sense HOW they're hard, and they don't break any rules just to make the game harder. You can still do absolutely everything you could do in the base game's Cyberspace levels with zero changes to your moveset, the goal posts are now basically expecting you to use your skills. THAT is good skill usage. Not "Let's make your parry window fuckin 8 frames long, go fuck yourself" like what???

I had an idea for how the combat could be just a bit tougher (i'm no game designer yet so this could be ass): Make the boost gauge affect what attack moves you can make and how many times you can make them, and while in combat it recovers a little slower but speeds up by attacking normally. Spamming stomp would basically be impossible, now you have to time it out. i don't fuckin know i just want frontiers's difficulty to make sense.

[spinningbuster98]

So...now that the initial hype (and bewilderment?) for the trailer has largely subsided I would like to give my own personal thoughts on Sonic X Shadow Generations

I'm not happy

In fact after the initial feeling of "holy shit they're actually doing this!?" wore off I got pretty goddamn furious if I'm gonna be honest

Putting aside the fact that I am not the biggest fan of Shadow's game, in fact I can quite comfortably say that I hate it, a sentiment that I confirmed for myself after replaying it for a marathon roughly 2 years ago, so much so that, if it weren't for 06 and Secret Rings existing (and maybe Chronicles as well), it would quite easily be the worst Sonic game to me.

Putting aside also the fact that it is very likely to be written by Mr Ian-I can't work with these Shadow mandates man!-Flynn, whose track record on not only the IDW comic but also Frontiers leaves... quite a lot to be desired, especially when referencing past games is concerned

Putting, once again, aside the fact that what little level design we've seen in the trailer seems to be roughly on the same level as Forces', which should make it at least a tiny bit more inspired than Frontiers' though that's not inspiring much confidence in ME

...why?

Really: why?

Why celebrate Shadow The Hedgehog of all games?

Generations is a celebratory game, a game that, very optimistically, looks back on Sonic's story, both the highlights and yes, even the lowlights, which is why Crisis City was included

However it's one thing to include a level from an infamous game that ruined your reputation as part of your historical celebration while also making it far better than how it was in its original iteration

It's another thing to create a whole seperate story campaign dedicated to revisiting one of the most embarassing entries of Sonic's history, one of the titles that is most responsible for Sonic's reputation going down the drain over the years. And no: I'm not claiming that Shadow's game is the biggest culprit, even before its release Heroes was getting a lot of flack, and as early as the mid 90s, after S3K's release, people were starting to dunk on Sonic a bit. But I think we can all agree that it's when Shadow first appeared with a gun in his hand while cursing like an edgy teen that people collectively agreed that Sonic was now washed out and unsalvageable.

And you know I don't wanna act like this thing is doomed before it's out: it is technically possible that they can deliver something decent both gameplay and writing wise and if they do then I'll eat my own hat and praise it like it deserves!

But I am very doubtful about this, given Sega's quite frankly abysmal recent track record with this stuff, especially in light of Frontiers

And I know: it's just an extra mode bundled with a preexisting good game. Why are you bitching so much?

I'm bitching because this is but a symptom of a larger issue that's been going on for over a decade now, which is Sonic as a series being absolutely dependent on revisiting its past in often half assed ways in an attempt to pander to nostalgic fans rather than, y'know, genuinely and fully moving forward! The actual attitude hasn't really changed in 10 years, it's just that now instead of pandering to the classic elitists they're pandering to the Adventure fans, who will gladly eat this up despite whining for years about nostalgia pandering themselves because all their rhetoric during the past decade was mostly bullshit that can be summed up as "Yeah but they're not pandering to the REAL Sonic aka the one I grew up with!"

There's a part of me that would almost like to praise Sega for "taking it on the chin" so to speak, for wanting to take their chances by revisiting an old, hated game and doing something potentially good with it

But let's be perfectly clear here: Sega's not digging up Shadow's game or SA2 for that matter because they want to redeem them or anything, there are only 3 reasons why they're making this

For the aforementioned Adventure-era pandering, Sega have no doubt noticed that the kids who played Shth back in 2005 have now grown up and love it, while the older fans who bashed it have now largely left the fandom so this game is now free to be used as nostalgia bait

It's Shadow and not only is he so popular that everything with his name attatched to it is bound to sell but his playstyle is 90% Sonic's anyway, so they'll mostly just have to make new animations for him

Sonic Movie 3 is coming and they obviously want to capitalize on it. This game is very clearly for newer fans to serve as a "who this guy is and what his deal is" history lesson

The last 2 reasons are especially obvious because honestly, if they're so adamant on pandering to the Adventure Era nostalgia, then why don't they draw from other, better and more deserving sources?

Why not recreate levels from SA1 and 2 or even Heroes? You can even recreate story scenes from them if you truly want, it would still be pandering but at least stuff like Tails and Amy's character arcs in SA1 are far better written and more respectful to their characters than anything from Shadow's game is towards its own protagonist! Hell why not do something TRULY cool, something that is ACTUALLY unthrodden ground and maybe give us for the very first time 3D versions of levels from the Advance series? Cyber Base and Chaos Angel in 3D anyone? Or maybe the Rush games? With a playable Blaze for the first time since forever? I mean Shadow already had his own DLC episode in Forces and it was pretty ok, why not give someone else their own Episode?

Look: if you like Shadow's game and you like what you see? Good for you, I honestly, genuinely hope that you have a good time

But as for me? A (former?) Sonic fan who hasn't enjoyed anything Sonic related to come out of this entire franchise since 2013 (with the semi exception of Mania and maybe Superstars though I still haven't gotten around to playing it), and who's been extremely cynical of Sega and Sonic Team's way of handling this series? This is just the latest in a long list of nails in the coffin

[sonamy-flashfic]

For my request, could do something involving some care taking from amy of a sick sonic (maybe he caught a cold due to being reckless; and perhaps ignoring any’s advice or smth)? Stuff like that always warms my heart lol

This one isn't exactly the prompt requested, but it does involve the initial concept (Amy looking after Sonic while he's sick). It's not super romantic, either, but I had fun writing it!

Fun fact: I recently learned that chili and hot dog chili are two different things. I also, rather unexpectedly, learned that I actually like both of them (though regular chili has to be pretty mild for me).

Home Remedies Universe: Modern Word Count: 626

"You… Do know you don't have to do all this, right?"

Sonic generally slept on the roof, or the floor, or sometimes the couch. But for the last day or so he'd been forced to actually make use of the bed in his room at Tails' house.

The reason being his current illness, which was minor enough to not be a matter of real concern but still a major inconvenience.

In the meantime, Amy had taken it upon herself to look after him.

"I'm doing it because I want to. Besides, it's my fault you got sick in the first place."

They'd been fighting their way through one of Eggman's bases (it felt like those things were never-ending, just where did they keep coming from?). Amy had been sick herself, but brushed it off as nothing- until she was suddenly overcome with dizziness and nearly fell from one of the moving platforms.

Sonic had been fast enough to catch her, but as a result he'd caught whatever she had a couple days later.

Now he pushed himself into a sitting position, tired of staring at the ceiling. Instead he fixed his gaze on her. "Don't worry about it."

Amy snorted, shaking her head. "The only thing I'm worried about is that you're going to disappear if I leave this room, Sonic."

Though normally that might have been a very real risk, just the simple act of sitting up had left him remarkably dizzy. There wasn't going to be much more than a short walk in his near future, and certainly no running.

"I'd say I'm not going anywhere for a while," he muttered. "Jeez. And you were fighting like this?"

She just smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "It wasn't that bad until I got tired, I thought I'd be fine." There was a mischievous sparkle in her eye as she continued: "And I guess I was, since you caught me! It feels like I'm always falling for you, one way or another- but I am really sorry that you got sick because of it…"

Sonic turned to look at the window, or the ceiling, or anywhere but at her face. The ease with which she spoke of her feelings was still kind of startling, even after all the years they'd known each other. "Ha… Yeah. A-anyway! Did you say something about food?"

"Oh, right!"

Amy disappeared, leaving him alone with his thoughts- but not for long, as she returned almost immediately. He turned to see what she'd brought with her, expecting some kind of soup.

That was not what she was holding.

"...Chili?"

"A bit of spice is good for you when you're sick!"

This was the first he'd heard of that, but he wasn't exactly up to date on at-home remedies. He took the offered bowl and spoon, observing it with hesitant interest. It didn't have a strong smell, or at least he didn't think so- but it wasn't like he could actually smell much of anything.

"It won't hurt you, y'know," Amy grinned at him. "I made it extra mild."

Years ago, he'd discovered that chili and hot dog chili were two different things. Which had also been the day he learned just how bad his spice tolerance was.

Despite her reassurance, he was still eyeing it somewhat suspiciously. Amy's cooking was good, that wasn't the problem, but-

"Sonic. It's literally hot dog chili in a bowl."

Right. She was staring at him. Waiting. Slowly, hesitantly, he tried it.

"Well?"

He considered it for a moment. "...It's good," he conceded, setting it on the nightstand for the moment. "It’d be better on a hot dog, though.” Curiously, he looked over at her. “Don’t suppose I could get one of those?"

"When you're not sick, sure."

[wildcatofgreen]

5. Have you read/watched/played anything new thanks to the rpc this year?

12. Tag a blog whose character inspired you this year.

End of year asks: RPC Edition!

5. Have you read/watched/played anything new thanks to the rpc this year?

((iiiiiiii don't think i have, actually! ive absorbed information about a lot of things i dont know about through osmosis, really.

((i will say, RPC made me wanna play frontiers more, because i thought itd have a massive effect on my lore [and also i wanna rp with a sage {frontiers in fact, did NOT have a massive effect on my lore and i have not rp'd with a sage yet so... 0 for 2}] but like

((i'm a sonic fan. i was gonna play frontiers either way.

((though i havent watched prime yet... im trying to pester my bestie into watching it with me because i REAAAAAAAAAALLY wanna watch it--everyone i know says its good and that makes me EXCITED.

((but alas, they havent taken the bite yet. we still have to finish jojo part 6 and higurashi and one piece and spy x family and mob psycho season 3 and double zeta and witch from mercury and--

((im never gonna watch sonic prime am i))

12. Tag a blog whose character inspired you this year.

((@atangledfate @sonorous-strings @aureumdraconeus @hoverboardhoodlums @fexrtherexper

((azure with their cavalcade of characters, but most notably tangle, surge/kit and--not on their sonic multimuse but--lilac and milla. they have driven my passion for all of this SO ffucking hard.

((and ofc like, sonar. like. me and sonarmun have done so many fucking threads its insane and theyre great and THE PASSION STARTED THERE Y'KNOW. ITS SO FUCKING GOOD AND FUN AND ADNIRF4JTGBHJRNE bless them bless them so much.

((AD is sick as shit and i love their threads and like, we havent DONE MUCH, I AM AWARE, BUT IT IS SO COOL THAT YOURE EVEN HIT WITH THAT SAME PASSION BUG I CAN FEEL IT. havent interacted with much but the blaze but man it drives me. your blaze is so cool. youre so cool. i wish to do more and to continue the more i love it i love it i love it

((AND THEN EVERYBODY'S FAVORITE BIRD QUADRIO. QUARTET? WHATEVER ICHIYAMA IS COOL AS SHIT AND LIKE, I LOVE THOSE BIIIIIIRDS MAN. FROM THE FIRST INTERACTION WITH JET TO THE PRED THREADS OH BOY OH MAN ITS LIKE SO GOD DAMN COOL.

((and of course xujints with BAPHO. THE FIRST THREAD HELPED CAROL WITH A HUGE PROBLEM SHE'S HAD FOR YEARS LIKE HOW COULD I NOT. IT WAS SLOW GOING BUT IT FINISHED EVENTUALLY AND IT WAS OS COOL DOING ALL THE THINGS AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAA. I LOVE BAPHOMET SO MUCH AS A CHARACTER and like, to go back to the last question ((if i WERE to pick up a new thing, it'd probably be the comic bapho comes from. because it sounds so interesting and COOL and its already mlp related of which my dumbass is ALREADY interested in.

((these have been the REALLY BIG INSPIRATIONS and ive taken bits and pieces from these threads and these people and thrown it into my work, whether consciously or not. of course there's all sorts of inspirations i get from just looking at my dash or just thinking real hard but id have to say these are like. the main ones.

((wait that says tag a blog

((eh FUCK IT. SHARING THE LOVE BETWEEN MY FRIENDS))

[knowlessman]

the continuing adventures of gamzee homestuck and friends, uh… continue! (bnha s5e6-e11)

"be careful, young deku, your next fight is with shinso -" me, completely ignoring the plot relevance with one for all and whatnot: HELLYEAH -- bakugo: "hurry up and master that quirk so we can fight again! I've no patience for weak pokemon" or something. point being, big gold/silver rival vibes. pointbeingfuckbakugo

(iida's turn next) still kinda wished he'd gone with Emergency Exit. I forget if he went with Recipro, or if that's just what he calls his moves and he went with Ingenium for the hero name -- iida: "I was third place at the sports festival!" 'XDDDD that bit with hatsume's still funny whenever I think about it

I have absolutely no idea who Tetsutetsu's teammates are but this is fascinating

"kaibara's rotation is a technique where -- (granted, that's only funny to me) -- why is he also spinning his feet, tho? he'd just drill into the ground doing that. I guess it gives him an option if he wants to change lateral direction in a hurry

so… iida's mufflers are… teeth? the adult ones push the baby mufflers out? idfk go figure

but yeah, mudman's kinda neat

I thought fire was sposed to, y'know, melt metal. Also I'm pretty sure sudden temperature changes fuck it right up regardless.

beats me what Ojiro's done different that repels all the mud, but I guess I'm glad he got something else going for him. heck, even hagukure unlocked that flashbang move of hers; Tailman seems like he'd have a hard time not falling behind.

kinda surprised the show didn't punish Mudman for running away from a losing battle tbh

'XD poor todoroki suddenly sucked up all the flames and turned em into some kinda Spirit Bomb, then got a clonk on the head for his trouble

iida: "rescue is my first priority!" EMERGENCY. EXIT.

"it was a huge mistake leaving iida for later" god. dammit. show. what was he sposed to do, grab his ankles so goddamn sonic the speed demon could rip his arms off? -- ohhh, mudman is the guy who looks like a Bleach hollow. huh.

pony or whatever horn girl's name is: "I'll go higher than he can reach and see what happens" I mean. shoji's arms have kinda looked a bit like wings to me from the start… I dunno what I wanna bet that he can flap them hard enough to get lift, but I dunno if I'd bet much against it either -- not to tell on myself too much, but this is a real "me" strategy. I always find myself in positions where my only move is to put off losing in the hopes that a better idea shows up. one rarely does. (granted, I'm mostly thinking about MtG, and I guess I've gotten a bit better, but "more time for thinking" is still my first priority in most situations) -- (timer buzzed, is a draw) Shishida: "in a real fight, running away and waiting for rescue is a reasonable option." make up your damn mind show, are you American or a filthy commie

pretty sure iida had plenty of space to veer to the side and avoid the falling thingy, just saying

hmm, we got dark souls helmet and some random dark-haired girl they're hyping up vs bakugo and headphone jack. are they gonna play this one out as well, even tho the only lead in it is bakugo?

bakugo continues to do bakugo things, ie be an abusive liability on purpose and probably not get punished for it -- "I've gotten stronger too! I've figured out that I can use people as stepping stones, and it works better than only seeing them as obstacles! next I'll advance to realizing they have feelings, and can therefore be used as tools!"

"with unexpected teamwork (read, any teamwork at all), bakugo's team wins!" -- the annoying thing is, he still consistently acts like (and says, often explicitly) he's the only person who matters. nothing about bakugo's attitude or actions feels reconcilable with a person who could strategize in ways that allow their teammates to do anything, or even account for their presence. hell, seeing bakugo show capacity to strategize at all still feels weird. we saw him hand out those grenades to his teammates - people he constantly refers to as extras, people whose names he refuses to use - as if he thought they were competent enough, or worthy enough, to use them. bakugo gets the benefits of a mindset he is clearly portrayed as not having. -- bakugo is an rpg character whose player is a powergamer. the player is rp'ing as an abuser who can't see potential or worth in other people, and is also completely ignoring bakugo's personality whenever it would lead to suboptimal choices in combat. (does it count as an AU if it's literally the only possible explanation)

all might: "you have a good childhood friend" fuck off. one of the first things we saw bakugo do in this show was tell someone to kill themself and he hasn't improved in five seasons and two movies.

I would think team B would be talking more about who all they'll have Monoma copy. the character is aggravating to watch, but his ability ought to be affecting how people talk about matchups more. can't he copy enemies' quirks just as easily as allies'?

okay monoma's proving to be a bit of a nonbo with shinso's quirk. gonna be hard to get somebody to "answer" you if you never shut up long enough for them to do so.

hm. them black band thingies, I think they're called. -- ah, I was right about the adding in other peoples' quirks to one for all. …I think. pretty sure. six more though??? 'XD damn

you'd kinda think the teachers would have some way of communicating to the students whether a match was canceled when something unexpected happened. seemed to be like nobody was sure if that would be the case, then one person threw a punch and they're just all back in it again. not a very well-controlled situation, for a training exercise.

also… welp. guess I'm going five episodes in. gotta wrap this match up, eh? least I started earlier this time, and somehow got through the first few a bit faster than usual.

yeah yeah mineta, you're a garbage character with a deceptively-cool quirk, now kindly fuck off and let the likable characters back onscreen

eraserhead, apparently: "well, your quirk, like mine, is one that either ends a fight immediately or does nothing at all, so I guess you qualify for Remedial Spider-Man Training. we can't have you going out there without at least this"

k plotline wrapped, I can give it a rest now 'XD now I know shinso should be sticking around, or at least added to class B. these tournament arcs seem to go on forever sometimes but… new powers. strategies. character development at the same time (fine, fake/"informed" character development in bakugo's case). this is my shit.

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

Steam Holiday Sale?

I wanna talk about some games that I like and, y'know, maybe someone will see it and give them a spin too. I'm not gonna talk about many major games here, mostly the indie stuff that I have and affinity for. Let's go.

Let's start with what I'm ending the year with. A fast, frenetic, one-hit-and-your-run-is-done horde brawler. AKANE is a real treat to spend an hour or so on at a session. It was made before the onslaught of Vampire Survivors and its various iterations and doesn't quite share their sensibilities either. You don't continually build up an arsenal to unload on the hapless many. You can't really make a build, there's only the gear you bring into each run. And it's cool, it can change how you play but you never get that "I'm fucking invincible!" moment of VS or Nova Drift. Instead it treats you to "the zone" where you're so focused on the ballet of blades and bullets that everything else falls away. That's really special. And hey, in this game you can throw your sword away and then shoot it to ricochet bullets everywhere, which is really fucking rad.

Hey do you like Metroidvania randomizers? Maybe give A Robot Named Fight! a try. I always feel like recommending this game just because it has the same little neat idea that I love about Cadence of Hyrule. That is, a randomized world map every time you play. Each playthrough features its own unique little maze, and each obstruction has a few different key items that can spawn to get past it and continue the quest. In one playthrough, your aerial item might be a space jump. In another it's a module that flips gravity, and in another it could be a jetpack.You will certainly gain an ability that lets you "fly" in each run, but it could be any of these and I think that's really neat. I wish more games would randomize an interconnected playing field rather than just throw rooms at you. So yeah. the final boss is hard as hell, even a bit tedious to my liking but I think it's worthwhile enough to get more eyes on it.

Going fast in videogames is a special treat, so you know I gotta plug Super Cloudbuilt in this list. It has so few ratings and- hey. Hey where the hell is it in the store? Hello? So uh, something weird happened with publishing changes and stuff and you can no longer have your Cloudbuilt be Super, I guess. The original is still intact, and I highly recommend it. It's really what I feel a 3D Sonic could stand to take a note or two from, mainly in how some levels have multiple paths that are contingent on your speed. It's just a shame to see something vanish like that without me even knowing. Um, well shit, let me try this again. Hold on lemme just...

Going fast in videogames is a speial treat, so you know I gotta plug Spark the Electric Jester. Especially 3. I know a lot of people compare it to Sonic Adventure and y'know, fair. But I feel like Spark has a lot more self-identity than being "3D Sonic but good again." There's a cool combo system, and a parry. Boss fights like to make you use your speed and control and Spark's sense of momentum really makes you feel the rush of it all. I really like how easy it is to go "pretty dang fast", and what a challenge it is to go "really damn fast" and keep it up through levels. Really good speed balancing there, it's a marvel. Honestly, without exaggeration. But y'know, part of what makes the series special is what a little shit Spark can be, compared to how cool and collected Fark is. I wouldn't call either "polite" but the dynamic in the moments they meet is perfect for them.

I really wanted this list to be for "games on sale during the steam sale", but I really wanna mention Rogue Labyrinth. It's not out yet but there's a little demo you can play all you like and it's just a really refreshing game. You're trying to knock out the corporation that built some game show studio from hell around your sacred tree. Your goal? Get to the tree to commune. Your method? Turning every single room into shrapnel. I cannot get over how fun it is to send scenery, enemies, bullets, and more flying all over an enemy infested room. It's cool to play as an angry nature girl with a giant club instead of the soft, floral druid archetype. Like hell yeah, knock down the establishment, girl! Go give it a spin or two, maybe you'll like it.

Okay. these last two are a bit special to me, and it starts with Lucah: Born of a Dream. I made a post about my first playthrough, I'm probably going to make a post now that I've gotten all the endings and stuff. I'd make a video about it if I could just talking about everything. It's... a depressing game. It deals directly with dark topics. I don't know if I could recommend it broadly, after all, you have to watch out for your mental health first. But if you can then I think it's a worthwhile exploration of those topics, and one that's not entirely without hope. That leads us to the next barrier to entry. You have a health meter, a magic meter, a stamina meter, a parry and a dodge roll. It's a soulslike, and it seems like every third game is now. But I'm here to tell you that if you give Lucah some time, intuition, innovation, and experimentation you'll quickly find that you're actually playing Bayonetta. The weapon switches can be super customized to make long combos, there's a dodge offset, you can execute a move in one tree and then hold down the button as you swap styles so that you can get off a charge attack on the sly. It's so slick for a game ostensibly about depression, guilt, and existential dread. Like I could go back and play it just for the mechanics alone. That's how good combat can feel. Shame there aren't any guides on how to get the most out of the system, or if there are they've been SEO'd right off the internet. So... If you can, give Lucah a try. It's expressive and impressionistic and really a labor of love.

The clock is ticking. On this post and on the final game I wanna share. UNSIGHTED. By now you may have guessed that I have a thing for top-down action games, all of which borrow from Dark Souls but do everything to exceed that baseline inspiration. Unsighted is a really special game, honestly. I don't think anything I've played could ever make me feel so differently between my first ever and now most recent playthroughs. If you pick it up for the cool parry system, Zelda-ish design, and gay robots, then I highly recommend doing a blind first play too. See, when you start, there's a timer on every single NPC that ticks down as you play. These are real timers, too, once they're up the NPC is gone and you may even find and fight their remains. It's distressing, fretful, but so full of real impact. You can go anywhere and your only constraint is how much time it'll cost you. Maybe it's already cost you and you're looking for a way out? There certainly are... Methods. Maybe your own timer has drawn thin? It's awful tempting to go for a method of stealing another's life to prolong yours. Maybe you heard a whisper about a way to control time itself and undo all your mistakes? Can you turn away from the end and face harsh trials to obtain it? Does it even exist? That first play is magic, in this sense. But when you're done, I implore you to look up the speedrun. Just trust me on it. I wanna say why but, it'll change everything for you. Odds are, anyway. It's amazing, a perfect little capsule of diverse experiences in one neat little package. And it has the spinner from Twilight Princess but even cooler.

[lightningblade1994-blog]

Sonic the Hedgehog: Sonic vs Coconuts [For © KatarinaTheCat]

Sonic:[singing] Danger is lurking around every turn Trust your feelings You've got to live and learn I know with some luck that I'll make it through Got no other options Only one thing to... do? [Enter Coconuts] Coconuts:[dangling down with tails; yelps] Not so fast! Hand over all the rings you've got, rodent! Sonic:[acting all smug] Who? ME? Coconuts:[Terrified] AAAAH! A talking Hedgehog! Sonic:[Imitating Coconuts] "AAAAH! A talking Hedgehog!" Like I've never heard THAT before ^^ Coconuts:[shivering] N-now, now. Nice & Easy-- No one need to get-- Sonic: *chuckles* Wait, let me guess-- [Blows out one of Coconuts' bombs; Coconuts freaks out even more] "Hurt"? You're gonna HURT me? Lil' Monkey, I could smash you open like an egg if I wanted to. Coconuts: Oh-- Oh, no! You're not just as they say in the myths & legends-- You're ACTUALLY the REAL deal! You're HUGE! Sonic: True. Coconuts: You're by far the most monstrous, mangey-looking, beastly-like-- Sonic: *Snickers* What can I say? That's me ^^ Coconuts: Your mother-- Sonic:[feeling a bit offended] OK. Don't go there, man. Coconuts: --Must've been the most, vile-- Sonic: Don't do it. Coconuts: --Stomach-churning, Hideou-- [Sonic grabs Coconuts by the throat] Sonic:[calmly] My mother, OK? [Snaps] ...WAS A SAINT!! *Wheeze* [Pulls himself together] Y'know, little fella? You REALLY should've quit at the whole "Nobody needs to get hurt" rabble. Remember that? [Pulls Coconuts by the tail with ease as he proceeds to launch him in thin air] But you couldn't let go. So... Know. When. to... LET. GO. [Sends Coconuts flying as Sonic looks on with much content.] Coconuts: YAAAAAAAAAAH! Sonic: Oooh, boy. [Starts scratching his ear] [Continues to sing as he exits the scene] Sonic: Follow me, set me free Trust me and we will escape from the city I'll make it through, follow me-- [Singing fades]

[skyfcx]

     Still a child... It was a fact easily forgotten, but truer words couldn't possibly exist. In this life that was often larger than, the other's honest size was often lost. And not just physically, but in character as well. He had weapons self-made, he had the knowledge needed to learn an entirely foreign system on the fly, then proceeding to operate it with a level of mastery only expected from years of training. Such a mind that was still continuing to grow, all at the age of twelve.

     But right now, all of that mattered none. His heart was heavy. He desired respite from the grandeur. Where intelligence blossomed, wisdom still wavered. It ebbed and flowed. He was still growing. Shoulders were not so broad, not quite made for holding up the weight of the world. He sat with a small frown, eyes flecked with worry. Hoping that Whisper, the kindred spirit, had some hope he could share or borrow.

     He listens just as she had, a small nod administering itself as Tangle's wisdom was referenced. Take breaks... so simple, yet so hard to do consistently. He was more than certain that Amy had spoken to him multiple times about doing the very same. You fed your body with food and water, you recharged your mind with sleep and mental breaks. It was important to treat your soul with the same kind of care, the pink hedgehog had always reminded.

     He didn't follow that advice very often, either. A small apology was offered in silence to his sister figure...! Well, nonetheless, it was remembered now, as well as synergized with the kit's question to Whisper. And while it took a moment to disconnect from the tools of his trade, his bread and butter... an answer was developed in due time.

     "Heh... without factoring in the obvious? Well, I suppose I don't mind traveling either. I always make sure to take a trip down to Spagonia at least once a year to go see my friend Professor Pickle. —Actually, question for ya. You ever ride a train before? ...But, like, not some freight train or something, I mean one'a the real fancy ones. With dining and sleeper cars! That's, like, my one real treat I give myself throughout the year. Normally, I fly my biplane, the Tornado, to my destinations. But the trip on the train really sets that time of the year apart from the rest."

     ...Just thinking about it places a smile on the kit's face. A fine bit of ease. And with the top popped on those favorite little things in life, more began to flow.

     "Outside of that, heading to the arcade is nice. I don't like goin' by myself, so usually it's me and Sonic heading there for a bit. He whoops me in air hockey, I take him to school in any light-gun games. Don't take you as an arcade type, though. ...But I feel like you'd rock it at skee-ball for some reason." Ah, and there is laughter, too! Light and innocent, a simple chuckle.

     ...      ......

     Much like the wolf, he quiets. Contemplative. About a truth rather obvious in hindsight. Its blatancy brings slight embarrassment. It, too, was slightly vulnerable in nature.

     "I guess... in all actuality, I don't mind what it is I'm doing, so long as I'm doing it with a friend. I can hang on my own, and sometimes it's ultimately preferred for a while. But not forever. Never forever. I don't think there's a person alive who could, or even should, handle eternal solitude. Just getting a bite to eat alongside someone I trust would be enough. It's... it's being in someone's presence, y'know?"

     Though the kit rubbernecked all the same, he couldn't quite figure out why. He was speaking to Whisper the Wolf. There was no one else in existence better slated to understand the sentiment shared than them.

   every word chosen is specific,  intentional  /  easy as it was to forget,  given his intelligence and maturity  /  tails was still a child at the end of the day.  words had to be chosen carefully,  lest the wolf only manage to make him feel any worse  (  the last thing he needed  ) .  offering him their assistance with this was,  quite frankly,  the least whisper could do.

   rather than a verbal acknowledgement or confirmation,  wolf simply gives tails a small nod.  he's right on the mark,  as expected  /  nothing ever seems to slip by him  /  she's grateful for not having to explain herself.  not once did they doubt tails' words,  understanding that he was truthful about words being heard and listened to.  his inquiery prompts wolf's head to tilt ever so slightly to the side,  and they stay quiet for a moment once more,  though this time accompanied by a little hum as they thought.

   he reminds them of former teammate,  the way they both loved to create machinery and held such admirable passion for their craft.  it'd only be a matter of time before a sort of burnout would set in,  as with any passion one might have.

   "  tangle says to  ...  take breaks.  do something you enjoy.  "  though the wolf would be the first to admit she didn't follow that advice very often,  but the few times she did,  she found that lemur would inevitably be right.  one way or another,  it did help.  it takes a moment for her to realize she had been quiet longer than intended,  too caught up contemplating whether to speak more on it.  "  i like to  ...  travel.  sightsee.  "  a pause.  "  helps clear my head.  "  perhaps taking a break could help him,  too.

   "  is there anything  ...  you like to do ?  besides  ...  "  ear flicks towards his inventions.

[squeiky]

Why I love sonadow

(Haven't talked about/posted about my love of sonic on this blog but go figures I'd write about my fav ship first before literally anything else-)

So this is mostly a ramble, but I a few points to make on why exactly why I love this ship and just basically rambling about every little details that make the ship so lovable in the first place.

So for starters, I love this ship, and I'm willing to sail on it till it sinks. I find their dynamic quite entertaining as the two work as a competitive duo, have a really nice dynamic, and the two are pretty similar in terms of ideals and the fact that it's very much hammered in that shadow is one, if not maybe the only one, who is only equal playing field with sonic. I find that it's very refreshing to see someone who isn't always left behind his trail, and can actually keep up and even RIVAL that of sonic.

After the events of SA2 what started my true love for this ship statted to form. It was during the very final ending. (Of course the small seeds of banter and how sonic would influence shadow to slowly becoming his best self as well as shadow slowly gaining respect for the blue blur also made me love it-but this is what got me on board y'know?)

-I remember the fight where sonic and shadow team up to defeat the bio-lizard and I loved the cute little lines the two shared during the battle.

Sonic's little "are you okay?" And "you need rest! Let me handle this!" lines are just so wholesome- it's just a cute detail that I feel gets overlooked. You usually don't see these sides of sonic anymore, and it's so hilarious that he's saying this all while shadow is too busy monolouging- it's so sweet.

I find it very endearing that even though he should be focusing on defeating the bio-lizard like shadow is, he just spends his time worrying about shadows wellbeing. (Shadow does the same for sonic, just less often.)

Also, during the sonic q&a shadow's treasured moments is of sonic attempting to save him which I find also very endearing. (Sonic's reaction was also very cute.) Though the topic of sonadow was brought up and them immediately dismissed made me feel really sad, but I'm okay with that fact anyhow as I can understand why.

Theres also that one poster of shadow and sonic being a "swashbuckling duo" which I know everyone thinks about the "swashbuckling" part but they all skip over the "duo." Like, it's just those 2. There is a reality where these 2 are together, not only as pirates (MY FLAG MEANS DEATH-) but as a DUO??! Meaning not only are they working together on a LITERAL SHIP, but also- they are known to go swashbuckling adventures together. Also shadow is the captain and I can't state it enough how I love the fact that THIS IS A THINGGGG!!!!

(I know this is far fetched, but let's be real- the only pirates that exist in the sonic games are sonic rush. Hey, if there's 2 versions of sonic why not make it 3?)

Also, let's not forget sonic's "looking out the window scenes" and the his talk with Rouge about shadow (he called him a hero, and honestly that is the sweetest most saddest thing I've heard in very in a very long time), as well as his "sayonra shadow the hedgehog"

Rouge spent more time with shadow than sonic so understanbly she'd understand sonics sadness as these 2 have spent more time with shadow than anyone else (I'm not counting eggman, he is an enabler and helped lead shadow down a self-destrutive and literally destructive path. He doesn't count, not ever will he count.)

It's just Sonics tiny gestures of greif, like looking out through that window, the Sayanora when no one was around, the small "are you okay?" ,and sassy banter between the two is just so sweet, fun and entertaining to see.

(This is a bit more on shadow but I feel it's a necessary part into understanding why this works so well-)

Also, shadow's writing has been fluctuating in quality almost as much as sega's own games. It's safe to assume the consensus that shadow is the "angry edgelord who hates sonic for some random reason and always fights him beacuse bla bla bla" isn't very true and I feel like that idea is what really makes this ship weird for some other people. (Or it's just not the type of ship they'd like, which is fine by me.)

Shadow, to put it simple.. is a very compassionate character with a lot of trauma put on him. He didn't know how to handle/process that trauma, and spending like what? 50 years, trapped in an isolated cell, unaging, left alone with no one to help him escape, getting your memories tampered with, having your ego fed with the "ultimate lifeform" stuff, as well as having noway to talk, cope, or even process the fact that your best freind- the only person that has (to my knowledge) treated you like an actuall conscious being, that isn't a weapon or some science project to get some cure- just got murdered by you guessed it! Humans! Not to mention the leader of the "humans" aka the government led this???!!

It puts a pretty sour taste in your mouth if you ask me.

So when I see the edgelord shit really ticks me off. Beacuse at the end of it all, shadow isn't really sonic's rival (even that one Lego sonic spinoff game literally refers to shadow as sonic's "freind" along with amy, knuckles and tails like come ON people!!) He's just another one of his freinds.

Besides, shadows been through about mabye 3 whole identity crisises? Which in my book is more than enough for shadow to either be gay or trans(cis or not) and honestly it's quite fitting.

Not to mention, as a mlp fan, I have to say.. the amount of comparisons I can make to blue gay pony and the blue maybe gay hedgehog is far to many. (I mean for crying out loud- the chaos emeralds are literally the colors of the rainbow, and sonic is about a few furry points away from shoots rainbow lasers at his enemy's yknow?)

(Also the soundrack escape the city has "follow my rainbow" lyrics randomly in that track, and so I cant unhear/unsee the idea of like- running away from you home beacuse your not accepted or whatever- and it's all like "follow me" and "set me free" and what not and it just *chef kiss*! Like, yah foo! "Set me free" from the realityy~~ so we can bee togetherrr foreverrr~~?? Or somethimg??)

Also to drive this thing home, sonic is literally shadow's adventure.

Though it was thanks to his popularity that allowed him to revive from thy dead, I do think it was an understatement to say that in some ways he didn't have fun around sonic while he was alive.

The whole "faker" stuff was quite a fun banter in my opinion, and sonic is one of the most frequent non-team dark character shadow communicates with.

(Going on about the "faker" stuff: though I don't have any recollection or proof of it, but if shadow has infact called sonic "faker" atleast once, it's actually more endearing than as an insult he tries to pose it as. The whole conversation went as "faker? Your not even good enough to be my fake!" (Which is a hilarious way to say, "no u") so saying that would be admitting that sonic of all creatures has met the guy's standards.. Which I find oddly amusing.)

It's conversations where it's just the two of them (like the iconic "what you see is what you get!" Scene) where I see those cracks in his "too Kool 4 skool" and the "dark, mysterious edgy boy" persona fall.

Though the facade doesn't really start to fall apart until later on in the game (and never gets as far as Rouge and omega do) it's safe to say that makes sonic the 4th (well technically the 2nd or 1st) character that shadow might be okay with letting his guard down around.

I guess there's a part of me that really wants this to work. I like the pining aspect it brings, the angst and well as the wholesome. I like to see shadow happy, and I like to see sonic happy as well. What really got me going is the saying that they're equals in a way. They don't "complete" eachother but they complement eachother in a good way.

They're similar yet different, and their different views of the world can show the other another side, a darker and lighter side to the world they live in. Sonic gives shadow that light and shadow give sonic that dark. Yin & yang.

I don't think they HAVE to be romantic with eachother, I like the idea of it, (mostly beacuse I like picturing them watching late night movies together like the night owls I just know they are!) But them being freindly rivals everynow and then, or just freinds is good enough for me as well. ( I enjoy all sides of this sonadow pizza pie.)

I find it nice that they have this unstoppable duo vibe, like nothing can really take em down when they're together. I like the fact that (don't quote me on this as im sure where I heard it from-) at times it's said that even their thoughts catch up with one another (ADHD headcannon for sonic and ADD for shadoww~) and I find that they're just so in sync it's amusing.

Also I love thinking about sonic being this sassy, talkative, distracted mess of a hedgehog whilst shadow is the dresses to impress, not as talkative and probably hyperfocuses on way to much stuff, secretly a softie, also mess of a hedgehog. Add mess + mess = more mess and I love it! It's like a spaghetti and meatballs! Both make a big mess when handled improperly but when cooked by someone who knows what they're doing, it tastes delicious.

And that's my ted-talk on my little hyperfixation of my favorite ship. I needed to get it out and I hope maybe someone finds this and considers this maybe one of their favorites too!