#making it the first Sonic game! Isn't that scary?

[woosh-floosh]

"Which is worse? This mediocre pop song or that mediocre pop song?" BOTH WRONG its the versus theme from Sonic Eraser

[ouroborosorder]

Can you tell me more about the negators mapping to fighting game character archetypes? I don’t know much about fgc archetypes but I love UU and this sounds super interesting.

alright so groundwork. Totsuka is a massive fighting game fan. UU is fucking full of references to street fighter already, and he's said before that he wanted to make a manga about fighting games. Dude loves them, so I'm not saying this baselessly. It's to the point where my conspiracy theory is that this started as a hypothetical fighting game roster.

I'll just go through the first few in order and then some notables:

Andy - Shoto. A mixed fighter who specializes at having good tools for any distance. Usually featuring a long-range projectile (parts bullet), a wide reaching mid-screen poke (Crescent series), and an approach option (Fucking flying.) Also, many Shotos have an "install" form, where they unleash a dormant power and transform into a more dangerous, aggressive version of themselves. Come on, dude has a Victor install. Also, "cocky immortal" is a very common fighting game archetype narratively, and one of my personal favorites tbh.

Fuuko - Setplay debuff character. Usually relies on defensive play, mixups, and pokes. When you come to understand the target well enough, you can push your luck, find their pressure point, and land a single glancing hit that applies a debuff that allows you to steamroll the opponent. And like. Falling in love with the opponent and then using that love to understand them is exactly how Fuuko fights. Characters like Londrekia from Under Night are a good touchstone here.

Shen - Chinese stereotype martial artist. This is a common thing in fighting games. Also, they tend to focus really heavily on mixups, forcing the opponent into making bad calls by faking one move and going for another - finding the truth through untruth, as it were.

Void - Bigbody close-range brawler. The dude literally walks into the boxing ring dressed like Balrog from Street Fighter. I mean, come on.

Gina - This is where my theory gets Weird but bear with me. Gina is the bigbody grappler. Grapplers in fighters are slow-moving, highly defensive, and focus primarily on forcing pressure by existing. Grapplers are scary because they don't have to change their position at all to force you to have to play differently. Plus, Gina is associated with her big barrier around her at all times that limits her movement and would make her hitbox larger. Also, her giant Unchange hands are a phenomenal grappler tool. Also, when fighters try to be subversive and make a grappler that isn't a massive guy, they almost always do it by making it a small girl who plays identical to a big guy.

Top - Obligatory rushdown fighter. His new 101 interpretation feels basically tailor-made for rushdown play tbh. Give him a rekka series and we're fucking good.

Rip - Motherfucking CHARGE CHARACTER BABY. This one is entirely because Rip literally has Guile's flash kick and a sonic boom, he does them on screen.

Phil - Full screen zoner. Also the amount of fighting games that have just one extremely weird robot character is absurd, he's basically tailor made to be the obligatory One Robot.

Billy - Copycat fighter. These aren't common anymore, but used to be more common back when sprites were frequent and tracing over another character's sprites was way faster than making a new animation. A character whose entire premise is using other fighters' moves, copying their abilities into an entirely new kit. Mechanically, these characters tend to have weird, disparate kits with a lot of unique options that otherwise would never be on a kit together, allowing them to adapt their playstyle to be the exact perfect enemy to whoever they're facing. Also "bouncing gunslinger" is a very very common fighting game trope, since fighters tend to balance out guns' innate power with weird firing angles.

Juiz - Midrange bait and punish swordfighter. Prioritizes pokes from every angle, allowing you to react and punish everything your opponent can do. Usually calm-collected fencers personality-wise. Maps perfectly to Unjustice's idea - wait until you know what your opponent's intent is, then negate their Justice.

Julia - Protege character who takes after two other members of the cast - being Fuuko and Juiz. Their fighting style usually is a mix of the two, combining their best aspects, copying their moves exactly sometimes, with their own unique aspects in there to show her own persona growing alongside their influence.

Latla - Actively a reference to Rose from Street Fighter. So. Rose from Street Fighter.

Backs - Joke character. You lose to this in bracket, you're going to be posting some real scrubquotes shit.

I can do this for almost every single Negator in the entire manga. The only characters I can't find easy maps to are Chikara, Sean, Tella, Ichico, Lucy, and whatever Unchaste's name was. (this may change if Unchaste actually ever appears again.) But they're all not fighters anyway, they're all support characters or literal children dying of an incurable disease.

[egg-emperor]

You say you love "dark evil" Eggman but I do want to know, do you prefer Eggman as a goofy man with very evil tendencies, or a sadistic villain whose "goofiness" comes from how he can chew the scenery?

Both! Eggman has that perfect balance of humor and seriousness in his evil and his personality in general. He's a funny goofy guy with fun interests that are commonly considered childish interests and he can also act like a stubborn rude bratty attention seeking manchild. Which isn't separate from his evil, it's a part of it, considering he specifically takes it to dangerous and evil degrees.

But he can also be very serious, threatening, dark and more mature in his evil too when he's in more angry and violent mode. It really adds to the impact when the switch can suddenly flip from the one to the other which is why I think it's important for him to have both. Both are just as prominent, valuable and entertaining and make Eggman who he is and such a threat.

Or he can be both at once which is a big favorite of mine. He's the kind of guy who can do the darkest most serious dark and disturbing evil acts with a wide smile on his face and have a silly cheery demeanor and laugh, joke and tease while he subjects others to horror and pain. It makes him very creepy and scary with his unpredictability as his positive demeanor doesn't equal safety.

He's been shown to have dark humor and a sadistic side with the joy, passion and amusement he can express during his evil, the ways he's acted with amusement towards attempted/expected murder of Sonic and Tails, the way he acknowledges, jokes, and details all the gruesome deaths that visitors can meet in Eggmanland/Interstellar Park, etc. I love the balance of evil and funny.

Like the way he acts all jolly, silly, playful, and cheeky can seem like a huge contrast of demeanor against his actions at first. But it becomes clear he's fully acknowledging and embracing his evil and having a great time. So then it's like oh god wait it's in a deranged depraved way! And you realize just how scary and dangerous he is like this with a big eerie grin on his face and laughter.

It also pairs great with the way he has fun silly childish interests of theme parks, circuses, carnivals, toys, etc but with a deeply disturbing deadly twist. The happy, fun, colorful aesthetic in stark contrast to the evil of the intended danger and death. Where they can meet a gruesome demise in such a happy looking place, what's destined as happy dreamland is really a brutal nightmare.

This page actually summed it up really well for the games too.

Very similar to what's intended to go down in Eggmanland and the Interstellar Park in the games, by his own emphasis, boasting, and taunting over PAs. Meeting the most painful, disturbing, brutal demise in exciting, colorful, fun areas of play and amusement. You'll be lured in only to find that it's really for your horror, fear and death and his fun and amusement in the most twisted ways.

The same works for the sudden change in demeanor he can have between jolly and silly to deeply serious and threatening. Being the former mostly by default, you don't expect the latter and it adds fear and impact. But the combination is really even scarier when it's obvious he's enjoying this in a sadistic way, so you know there's no stopping him or changing his mind!

It also makes for many disturbing creative scenarios of combining these fun happy colorful "childish" places or activities with the most horrifying death, pain, and suffering. People would never expect such things to happen in a setting typically associated with innocence and joy, or through actions of playfulness as he treats it like a game and like playing with toys that he's going to break.

Things that are supposed to be safe and fun for everyone become extremely dangerous and deadly. It doesn't just have to be rides, it can be other gruesome but creative forms of death while he acts like an excited park owner, enthusiastic announcer on a TV show, a jolly ringmaster of a circus, etc, making a show and mockery of them and their demise and having a blast performing.

Evil doesn't have to consist of acting like a constant stereotypical hyper serious grimdark villain. I think Eggman is most terrifying and entertaining when his worst and darkest evil comes from the combination of silliness and goofiness he usually has by default in general, with the evil twisted humor and sadism that he can show while committing his most terrible evil at the same time.

If they perish they have to experience their last moments in fear, pain, and mockery as he turns their demise into a twisted spectacle of his twisted selfish entertainment. But if they were to survive, they'd live with the trauma of having a typically innocent setting tainted. And the sadistic smile, laughter and jolly demeanor that he displayed most throughout would haunt them.

He's capable of both and that's so fun with so much potential, I looove it 💜

[yanderes-galore]

could you make the yandere alphabet for Sonic?

Sure! I'll see what I got. Aged up as usual.

Alphabet Found Here

Yandere Alphabet - Sonic The Hedgehog

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Manipulation, Obsession, Kidnapping, Isolation, Jealousy, Clingy behavior, Overprotective behavior, Delusional behavior, Paranoia, PTSD.

Affection: How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get?

Sonic seems like the type to be affectionate towards his darling. There may be times he's chill towards them, small bursts of affection to show he loves you. Examples would include patting your back, compliments, hand holding....

Then there's times where he's more affectionate. That's when he shows more hugs, kisses, flirting etc....

Sonic bounces between intense and calm when it comes to affection.

Blood: How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling?

Sonic doesn't seem the type to murder so he tries to keep it clean for you. He prefers manipulation.

Cruelty: How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them?

He'd never mock you. If Sonic did abduct he'd treat you like he normally did. Just with more... isolation from other people.

Darling: Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will?

He tries not to. Sonic is someone who enjoys freedom and wants the same for you. Just with some boundaries for your safety....

Exposed: How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling?

A lot, no surprises there. Sonic is very loyal and dedicated to you. He loves you and can be vulnerable if you're threatened. That's actually his excuse if he does abduct you. He wants you safe.

Fight: How would they feel if their darling fought back?

Very sad. He loves that you have the kind of personality, but it hurts him that you hate him that much.

Game: Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape?

Not a game. He finds it funny yet sad when you try to escape but he easily catches up to you without breaking a sweat.

Hell: What would be their darling’s worst experience with them?

The first time he genuinely snaps. You're used to the Sonic everyone knows. The one that's happy, easygoing, no sign of stress!

The moment you see him angry, eyes frantic, and the obsessive attention on you? That's the scary part. Even more so if he decides to proclaim his feelings and abduct you then and there.

Ideals: What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling?

He wants it to be you and him in a world without Eggman. Sonic isn't one to be tied down but he does value your protection above all else. Sonic wants you to live in a safe world... with him.

Jealousy: Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope?

Sonic does get jealous. He doesn't lash out and feels a nice run will help him. If not then he'll manipulate you away from the reason of jealousy.

Kisses: How do they act around or with their darling?

Sonic acts very easygoing and laid-back. He greets you with a smile and a hug. He's your typical Sonic, if not a little more affectionate, towards his darling!

Love letters: How would they go about courting or approaching their darling?

Sonic is persistent in getting you to date him to say the least.

He tries to keep it as classic as he can. He flirts with you and openly expresses the love he has for you. If you reject him then he'll give you time alone before trying again.

Mask: Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else?

Barely. He still is himself unless he's pushed to kidnap then his colors would be different. He'd be way more delusional then.

Naughty: How would they punish their darling?

He tries not to and Sonic doesn't want to hurt his darling. He'd probably emotionally manipulate you/scold you or isolate you.

Oppression: How many rights would they take away from their darling?

Hopefully he wants to take none. Maybe some restrictions but unless you're threatened, none.

Patience: How patient are they with their darling?

A bit impatient at times. He likes to do things fast.

Quit: If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on?

Probably not. If he did it would take a long time. He'd probably start blaming others, completely unable to cope. That's if you died.

If you left then he's begging you back.

Regret: Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go?

At times he'd feel guilty, yeah. He'd probably let you go after awhile.

Stigma: What brought about this side of them (childhood, curiosity, etc)?

Probably paranoia/PTSD from dealing with Eggman all the time?

Tears: How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves?

Sad and upset. He never wants to make you cry or cause you pain. He'll try to comfort you, however, even if you hate it.

Unique: Would they do anything different from the classic yandere?

Ehhh, he gives you more freedoms and does not kill?

Vice: What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape?

Pretending to be in love with him and manipulating him to get his guard down. It only lasts a little, unfortunately.

Wit’s end: Would they ever hurt their darling?

Tries not to.

Xoanon: How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over?

He'd go over great lengths to win you over. He doesn't really worship you.

Yearn: How long do they pine after their darling before they snap?

He could pine for awhile, but certain factors may make it happen faster.

Zenith: Would they ever break their darling?

By accident.

[realareturns]

A translation of Sega Saturn Magazine's June 1996 issue. More Nightmaren lore and interviews with Sonic Team! Another long page so it's under the read more :)

Approaching NiGHTS!! Numerous Nightmares Nightmares that turn their fangs against the traitorous NiGHTS. They are the Nightmarens. Six of the most powerful bosses have finally revealed themselves!

1st Level: Wizeman’s right hand man, mighty ruler of his Nightmarens

Reala is one of the few first-level Nightmarens created along with NiGHTS as Wizeman’s right hand men.

In contrast to the free-spirited NiGHTS, Reala swears loyalty to Wizeman. He is also the one who enclosed NiGHTS in the Ideya Palace.

Photo: He has the ability to fly like NiGHTS and also uses a looping attack. He is truly the greatest villain of all.

First Level Nightmaren

Reala: Reala, who has the image of a “dark noble knight (Miyake clan)”. His stage will resemble a medieval castle, with red and black as the base colors.

From Sonic Team: Naoto Ohshima, design director, talks about Reala

By the time the character of NiGHTS was complete, many different types of NiGHTS had been created, but the one that brought together the “cool and cute” parts was what became the current NiGHTS. And then, Reala was created by collecting the “scary and frightening” parts. They are two beings of light and darkness, with equal abilities but contrasting personalities.

Blue text: A new villain is born! “It makes a lot of sense that Reala is quite popular overseas,” said Mr. Ohshima.

2nd Level: Boss-like figures that wait for NiGHTS in their own worlds.

Two of the second-level nightmares, which are like mid-bosses, had been revealed in the previous issue, and now the remaining three have finally been revealed as well!

What kind of stages they will have and what kind of attacks they will launch are still a mystery, but every boss is more unique than it looks.

Photo: Time decreases when NiGHTS takes damage.

2nd Level Nightmaren:

Gillwing: A second-level Nightmaren with the appearance of a gigantic dragon.

Photo: These aspects are consolidated in the Nightmaren’s world concept.

Puffy: Nightmaren with the image of a plump woman. As flexible as rubber.

Photo: Is there a key to defeating you? A huge body and a spacious world, like a mansion where an aristocrat lives.

Clawz: “A winged monster common in the west, with a basic structure, but smarter than a cat," is Clawz’s image. The highlight of the scene is said to be the myriad of small characters that look like mouse fireworks. [I'm not sure what "winged monster" is referencing, maybe mythical winged cats, which were sometimes portrayed as evil. It might just be a way of saying Clawz isn't really a cat, but a monster/Nightmaren that looks like one.]

Jackle: Jackle’s cape gives him the very image of a magician. Is the cloak a trick to throw all kinds of things out of thin air?

Gulpo: Gulpo is said to be “the king of all fishes.” It seems that attention is being paid to the expression of water, which is completely different from Nightopia. [Another part I'm unsure of. It might be referencing that you can't actually swim in the water in his boss room but you can in Nightopia/Splash Garden?]

From Sonic Team: A worldview liked by game enthusiasts (Sonic Team designer Shigeru Okada)

While Nightopia is a world that everyone likes and can easily get into, the world of "Nightmare" is a world where the bosses live and breathe, so it is really dark, but after clearing it, people think it’s cool.

I tried to create a concept that would make people think it was cool after clearing the game. The world of "Gillwing," which was the first world I worked on, took two or three different turns, and I had a hard time with it (laughs).

[erebosblue]

✨Time to Ramble About Dark Sonic Because I'm an Edgy Bitch✨

ummm so I have many feelings about what Dark Sonic could be so here's me rambling for however long this ends up being.

alright, so, first things first. Darkspine Sonic, the only equivalent to Dark Sonic we have in the games, is very similar and also just as rarely seen. (one boss battle vs one episode. we're really so attached to an idea that has barely been covered.) so pretty much anything I say about Dark also sorta applies to Darkspine since I think they're basically the same just Darkspine isn't achieved with the Chaos Emeralds.

now, I personally do not think Dark should be any sort of evil. let me explain hold on- while the one time we saw Dark Sonic he was definitely more,,, murdery, he was not all that different from normal or Super Sonic. he was still trying to protect his friends, just more violently than he normally would.

essentially: I think Dark should be more overprotective while definitely still having anger issues. the important thing is that he should still be recognizable as Sonic. while Dark encompasses things Sonic tries to suppress in himself, you should still be able to tell that Dark is Sonic.

I know that Evil Sonic™️ is a pretty common trope not only in fandom but in certain canons too, but I just don't think it's as narratively compelling as a Sonic that is still good at heart, but is more unhinged. more dangerous.

Dark could be such a good way to get Sonic to have to face the shit he doesn't want to. all the emotional issues and trauma that keeps stuffing down. Dark should be a version of Sonic that is truly all the things he hides from others. not evil. not power hungry. simply flawed.

because Sonic has a very clear brand and while some characters flaws are a part of that brand, the ones that could be considered scary are definitely not. Sonic's an optimist, he doesn't kill, he's always smiling, he's always brave, he is always the hero.

make Dark the pessimist. make him violent. make him afraid. because while Sonic is absolutely an optimist and absolutely brave, no one is 100% that. everyone has moments of doubt. everyone gets scared. Dark isn't "the true Sonic" but he is another part of him.

what I'm trying to say is I want Sonic and Dark to kinda be like two sides of the same coin. who the "true" Sonic is, is kinda in the middle. because he's not lying about who he is, only hiding other aspects he doesn't want others to see.

(needless to say I will definitely (probably) write a fic about this.)

[winterandwords]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

Thanks to @k--havok for the tag!

Are you named after anyone? Nope. My parents just liked the name and my mum, who was a teacher, had a never taught a kid with it before so it didn't come with any preconceptions.

When was the last time you cried? A couple of nights ago. My dog freaked out because her foot went to sleep and she tried to get up and the noise she made fucking broke me. Terrible things happening to humans in my presence? Totally calm, stop the bleeding, whatever. An animals being mildly distressed over a extremely minor non-problem? TEARS.

Do you have kids? No. Never. Completely by choice. Team happily child-free here.

Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not as much as people think I do. Unless I'm in hardcore masking mode, I can come off as kind of cold and unemotional, so when I say genuinely supportive or appreciative things, people don't realise I'm being serious and assume I'm being an asshole.

What’s the first thing you notice about people? Their…vibe?? I don't know how to explain it. Their innate them-ness, the way it feels to be around them. I usually pick up pretty much immediately if someone is going to be very significant in my life. When I first met the person I've now been married to for twenty years it was like "Holy shit, you are going to matter so much" even though I didn't know how or why.

What’s your eye color? Blue, but not like all one colour. They're very pale around the pupil with a much darker ring around the outside.

Scary movies or happy endings? Yes. Violent revenge fantasies, please.

Any special talents? I'm hypermobile, so I can do all sorts of ill-advised party tricks with my stupid joints. Also I have a knack for picking up on people's fears and insecurities very quickly and easily via completely unrelated conversation and often hardly any conversation at all. I've never tried to do that. It just sort of happens. I'm not entirely comfortably with it tbh.

Where were you born? Ireland.

What are your hobbies? Writing, but that goes beyond being a hobby. Also learning French, reading, yoga, absorbing information about special interests (usually various aspects of religion and cultural mythology), baking, playing computer games, and BDSM.

Have you any pets? Yep! A black greyhound lurcher called Shadow. She's a rescue and we adopted her from her foster human last October. Before that she'd been raised in a racing kennel but couldn't race because she has a wonky foot, so she'd mostly been tied up in a concrete yard for all ten months of her little life. Also, Silver the cat. He's five, adopted in a "my cat had kittens and they need homes" situation, and he's had the most charmed life ever. It's a total coincidence that they're both named after characters from Sonic the Hedgehog.

What sports do you play/have played? I used to play hockey (field hockey, for those of you who live in places where ice hockey is the default) and did competitive gymnastics in high school. I played tennis and badminton casually, had a weight lifting gym bunny phase in my early twenties and went running late at night a lot for reasons of sanity. After that it was mostly mountain biking, because what's even the point if you can't hurl yourself down ridiculous hills on two wheels and hope all your body parts get to the bottom at the same time?

How tall are you? 5ft 2in

Favorite subject in school? I loved art, but hated art classes because I always had really shitty teachers who were very "I will only dedicate time and energy to people who make exactly the kind of art I personally like".

Dream job? I was a professional photographer (it's what I went to college for) and ran a studio before my body crapped out on me, so that was pretty cool and I'm glad I got to do it while I could. Writing isn't my job as such, but it's The Thing I Do now and I love it too.

Tagging some newer mutuals here. No pressure at all to take part! @felixwriting, @frankiesaysrelaxx, @superfangirl2789, @mawcegoblinwrites, @marthawrites, @danijameswriter and @make-them-scream. Fifteen people seems like a lot to tag, so I'm going to leave it at that and include an open tag, so if you'd like to take part feel free to @ me so I can see your answers.

[tobiasdrake]

Having completed Sonic Frontiers, I now feel confident saying that this is the best Sonic game I've played in years and it leaves me very hopeful about the future of the franchise.

I've heard it said that Sonic games typically aim for a 7 and consistently manage to hit their mark, while Frontiers aimed for a 10 and landed at an 8. That sounds about right to me.

Spoilers to follow.

First of all, the PLOT is back. Do you remember when Sonic used to have, like, characters? And continuity? After the failure of '06, Sonic Team basically had a panic attack and fired the ENTIRE CAST. Even Tails barely managed to hang on as a minor character.

That always felt like an overreaction. Yeah, the cast was getting really bloated. Like, we didn't need Shadow and Rouge shoehorned into every game. But you don't fire Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. Those characters are the mainstays.

And we picked up Orbot and Cubot. But. Like. Does anyone really care about Orbot and Cubot? They're really more of a recurring joke than characters. I was honestly surprised by their staying power, especially during a time when all the interesting characters were banned from ever appearing again.

Frontiers welcomes back Tails, Knuckles, and Amy with open arms. And that feels right. Other characters should be able to come and go, but Sonic needs some regulars to have his back.

But it wasn't just a return to form. It honestly feels like moving forward. The characters feel like they're maturing. Sonic and Amy are able to have honest, open conversations about their respective needs, wants, and goals. Knuckles is ready to leave his solitude behind and experience the world. Tails wants to take some time to find himself and his identity outside of being Sonic's pal.

It feels like everyone's growing up. And that's. Amazing.

(Yes, I know Tails already did the "I can be more than Sonic's sidekick" thing back in Sonic Adventure. But that's kinda the point. Whether he's Sonic's sidekick or Sonic's equal partner, he's still defining himself by Sonic. He wants to find out who he is without Sonic.)

Despite his age, even Eggman isn't immune to the "Everyone's growing up" thing, coming out of this with a child that he dearly loves and a new sense of responsibility. And can I just say, Sage is awesome and I hope we keep her.

I mean. Shadow got to die tragically at the end of his game and then abruptly resurrect himself and become a series staple, so there's a precedent for it. And the seed's already been planted in the post-credits scene for Sage to do the same. I look forward to seeing her again.

Speaking of things coming back, I'm pleased to see Super Sonic boss fights set to empowering fight music for maximum catharsis finally make their return. And we got four of them to make up for lost time.

That said, there are places where the gameplay needs improvement. The Portal Levels could use more aesthetic variety rather than reusing the same 3 or 4 zones, and I'm pretty sure I caught them just reusing entire pieces of levels from Sonic Generations a few times. The story tries to cover for this by explaining that the levels are pulled from Sonic's memory, but I dunno. Seems lazy.

But the Portal Levels are short and fast-paced enough that I rarely stopped to notice. Aesthetically samey and occasionally copy/pasted as they were, I had fun with them nonetheless.

What I really didn't like was the Starfall mechanic. After a while, I stopped bothering to fight the big scary boss monsters that spawned on the map because what's the point? If they're just going to respawn in a few minutes then there's not really any point in fighting them.

Would have been better to let you permanently kill them, but have the option to respawn them if you wanted to fight them again. That way the sense of progression is preserved while still making them available for rematches.

In Breath of the Wild, the game they shamelessly stole this mechanic from, the entire game was built from the ground up around a theme of entropy. That's why this mechanic was there: Because even your accomplishments are destined to decay with the passage of time. Nothing is eternal. Nothing truly lasts. All things inevitably decay.

Sonic Frontiers feels like they're just doing it because BOTW did. But Frontiers isn't about entropy. It's about... Well, Frontiers. Exploring and discovering your way through this new place, building shortcuts and paving new paths as you go. Resetting your progress with the minibosses every now and then feels antithetical to the flow of the game.

All in all, it feels like there's a lot to build or improve upon. But it nonetheless feels like the Sonic franchise has finally recovered from the trauma of '06 and is moving in the right direction. I'm excited to see where they go from here.

[mrdrhenwardhykle]

This totally off topic to mostly everything else that I talk about, but can I just say that I generally don't know how I feel about the 'Sonic.exe/X' character mostly because of obvious boring repetition, lack of actual moral or reason to the plots, and sooort of maybe because of the twisted junk some of its multiple handed-down owners have done; but I am absououtly in love with EXIT CAVE ZONE/Hill.gym so much I literally need to describe how this song and its variations affect the narrative so well

(So you know what I'm talking about pre-ramble, here's the song/s. Feel free to make a choice. The original is somewhat lacking because it's the first and generally before this character got close to being interesting to me; but OTM is my personal favorite. There's also a remix that I like, but it gets a little getting used to compared to the other chorus')

(the original. Not as emotion-evoking as the OMT, but I still like it)

It begins to unnerving; still sounding like a Sonic game but as if some kind of deranged monster was pounding on a piano again and again to the point of breaking bones or skin. It first gives off the feeling of something approaching; slow but guaranteed to eventually catch up no matter what pace you choose. It's not completely antagonizing, however, as a synthesized violin and the chorus come in almost as a display of pity to the victim. There's really nothing that can be done at this point, the voice of the chorus doesn't seem to make that it's goal. It's sympathetic, as if this morally grey onlooker to this tragedy is giving a prayer to the damned. In a way, it's sort of the last relief the player can find (at least compared to the constantly negative 'sonic is god and will eat everybody-ooga-booga' narrative given so far).

But the beat starting off so slow is nothing but wrong. Out of place with everything so far- It's based around a franchise constantly themed with speed. The fastest thing alive has literally turned against you in the worst way imaginable- But your approach to this terrible given fate is a slow and sympathetic pace, as if there was some kind of game to it. As if it was waiting behind; watching as its prey fleas and struggles to its last ability to pick up as much hope as possible- just waiting to see how desperate for hope a person can get. It's just a slow lead and reveal to an inevitable death.

And with each different rendition- is it really enough to call it a death? It's a loop-an unintentional cycle of misery and pain. Death itself doesn't promise the end of the misery-soon enough or later the same slow pace and feeling will come up once more; proving once again to be useless.

Yeah. Sort of silly observation ig. I just think it's kinda weird that it's pretty much the only original song from the first version of this game (That I'm aware of-remember that I'm just babbling but I'm pretty sure). And also gives crumbs of another expectation or feeling towards the story other than 'OOOOOOOOooo Sonic the Hedgehog is gonna getcha OOOOOOOOOOOO!!!'

OMT is doing okay though. It still is making itself a hopeless story, but there's at least a little bit of a plotline and twist to it.

Like I said; I like some of this creepypasta's concepts, I just don't vibe with the whole thing. The idea of making a game character's strongest quality their friend's worst nightmare is generally genius and I think that's what some non-sonic copies miss out on (ex: say if you just did the same thing but with Crash Bandicoot it wouldn't make much sense-because speed isn't something he's known for or can be seen as a scary twist to his character).

I personally like to associate the song with the overall thought of an old game playing the player in general, as it literally kills that theme. And I love seeing accurate and interesting twists to older games.

[9w1ft]

Thanks for answering, 9wing! I am on the same page as you, you just helped me to articulate my feelings better.

Some of the songs don't really necessarily feel like they'd be tied to the nighttime on their own (Bejeweled, LH except for the first lyric, Karma, Sweet Nothing, etc) but in my head, when I connect them to a certain narrative, they work better. That narrative is that the night starts out fun, she's staying out “too late” and separating away from the "Good Girl" image the media thrusts upon her (she's experimenting sonically, she's cussing freely even when she doesn't need to perse, she's saying things she normally doesn't do), but then as we get deeper into the night, the thrilling tipsiness transforms into alcoholically-influenced insecurities, paranoia, and guilt. The album order of the songs don't match my narrative, but it's something I like to imagine to further enhance my midnights streaming experience.

I also thought the same! Was definitely expecting her to dive into the 60s/70s/80s era based on those photoshoot, but I'm not unhappy with the results. Midnights definitely surpassed all expectations in a really different and unexpected way, I appreciate that Taylor isn't afraid to experiment and venture into new areas with her music and genres.

i love these thoughts! as with many of her albums i don’t get the sense these are in a specific chronological or thematic order from top do bottom (more the mosaic of love that lover is) but what you bring up is really interesting and i totally feel it with the openers vs closers and i’ll definitely think about it when listening.

you unearthed a tangent!

i think that for me in some cases, the “midnights” of it all helped me contextualize or picture some songs in very specific ways. like if you look at some of the songs from the perspective of them being set at midnight, certain interpretations make even more sense. and i kinda love the fun puzzly nature of that.

for example, what kind of midnight happens when you are singing kids songs and playing kids games in one room and your lover is in the kitchen humming? why would this be at an odd hour instead of during the day?

what kind of midnight do you find yourself telling your partner to breathe and comforting them about pain getting better and cracking small talk jokes with them and while you worry if you made the right life altering choice you are simultaneously realizing that, uh oh, you keep falling in love again and again. why would this be at an odd hour instead of during the day? what about that could be scary?

what kind of midnight is it, that you walk yourself to a house not a home all alone because nobody is there, when the ambient noises of the song doesn’t make it feel that way exactly. what is a kind of moment where you can be not necessarily alone but also feel alone and wanting to spill out truths and advice to anyone who would listen.

what kind of person would not ever say to much or read into emotions but stare at the ceiling with you in the middle of the night? what kind of person wouldn’t even be listening to taylor’s history, how could taylor be under scrutiny and have all this shit be somehow new to her? what about her situation could be new? of course this could just be a quiet lover or people could fit it to joe or say it’s about the start of kaylor or say that taylor talking about something new means it can’t be kaylor but come now, hasnt anything about kaylor in the past few years newly developed? something you’d do anything at all hours to protect? i can think of fun and fitting ideas.

i always have weird song interpretations so i’m not here to press all of them on anyone but, i really think this album can be listened to in a certain way that gives it all a certain ingeniousness ☺️ and i love it so much

[blazehedgehog]

And Now: Thoughts on Sonic Prime (1-8)

I am hot and fresh off watching episode 8 of Sonic Prime -- it's the end of the current batch of episodes we have, with the promise of more to come.

And to some degree, I guess I went in with low expectations. For starters, this show has been kind of shrouded in mystery. I guess to some degree I'm used to more lead in time on these things, where there's a steady drip feed of teasers, and trailers, and previews for 9-12 months leading up to its release. Sonic Prime had nothing, for the most part -- just some concept art leaks, until about three months before it premiered. It didn't help that the streaming landscape as it stands today is sort of on fire; not just Warner Discovery slash-and-burning HBO Max, but a swathe of Netflix Animation layoffs cut through the industry during Sonic Prime's production. It was, and is still a scary time for the industry.

The pervasive theme from some I follow on social media also was kind of lukewarm. I get the feeling a lot of people had the same experience with Sonic Prime as I did with Samurai Jack back when that premiered. For me, Samurai Jack came at the peak of the anime boom, when Americans were getting their first taste of truly serialized animation. Jack set itself up as a serialized adventure, but very, very quickly devolved in to a typical American cartoon format, with episodes made to be syndicated and aired out of order. Or, to put it in terms that make my comparison more clear: I expected something more and instead got a show that was comfortable resting in an existing format.

And the prevailing complaint I've heard against Sonic Prime is that it's "just a kids show." The complaints aren't very loud and most people are fine with this, but the disappointment is still there, because, again: they expected something more and received a show that was comfortable where it was. That's fair.

Sonic Prime is definitely a cartoon show for children. The original pitch was that it is "Into the Spider-verse for Sonic", and that's definitely true, but it makes sure to go as slowly as possible and explain the concept of a multiverse over, and over, and over again just to be positive that the six and seven year olds in the audience understand the concept of alternate dimensions, and the fact that Sonic is crossing between them. A lot of early episodes are taken up by Sonic being confused by what's going on, despite the fact that DC's Crisis on Infinite Earths popularized the idea of the multiverse back in 1985. But hey, kids today weren't alive in 1985 (heck, I was barely alive in 1985).

Even though, y'know, Spider-verse itself was a comic book in 2014, and a movie in 2018, with a sequel due next year, which is to say nothing of the Marvel Cinematic Universe dabbling in the multiverse with Spider-man: No Way Home and Dr. Strange in The Multiverse of Madness. And then there's Fortnite, perpetually one of the biggest games in the world for the last half-decade, which has positioned itself as the center of all multiverses ever created, in its quest to transcend and graduate to a metaverse.

Heck, even Sonic himself: between Sonic Generations, Sonic Forces, and the 24 year run of the Archie Sonic comics, this isn't Sonic's first multiversal rodeo.

But I can swallow that. Like it's been said, it's a show for kids, and they're just trying to make absolutely, totally sure even the youngest are able to digest what's happening. Eventually you get past the show feigning a sense of "I don't know what's going on!!" and it starts to hit a stride.

Sort of, anyway. By the end of episode four, when Sonic Prime has fully and finally committed to admitting this is a multiverse, you're halfway through this first batch of episodes, and the pace suddenly goes from zero to sixty as Sonic starts more rapidly popping around dimensions.

I'd really like to see the original, unedited pitch for this show. Because there are clear vibes in Sonic Prime that suggest something much closer to what a "Spider-verse" really is: namely, different sub-franchises coming together. More specifically, the Spider-verse movie goes out of its way to suggest that its Peter Parker is, in fact, the same Peter Parker from Sam Raimi's movie trilogy, as during his origin story, you see shot-for-shot recreations of famous Raimi-Spider scenes. Now, with its sequel, Across the Spider-verse, fans are going wild pointing out cameos in recent trailers.

All of this is me saying I think Sonic Prime was probably pitched to be a show where Sonic visits known dimensions -- alternate universe versions we know from other pieces of Sonic media. In the Sonic Prime show we have now, Sonic visits three dimensions:

The Red Sky Dimension: A grim, dark universe where Eggman ("The Chaos Council") has already won. A rebel band of freedom fighters works underground to fight back against the dictatorship. One of the characters is a half-robot woman with telescoping arms and legs.

The Jungle Dimension: A tribe of natives are suffering from a small civil war after temperament changes over how they are maintaining their balance with nature.

The Pirate Dimension: The entire surface of the planet is covered in nearly endless water, leaving most people to sail the high seas in galleons.

Parts of each dimension map pretty well to existing things we already have (or had) in the Sonic franchise. Some more than others, and maybe it's just a sign that Sonic's been interpreted so many ways over the years, but I can't help but wonder if there was a version where this was pitched as:

The SatAM Dimension: Named for the fact this was the Saturday Morning Cartoon Sonic (Saturday, in the AM), this was part of the second wave of dark kids shows following in the footsteps of pioneers like X-Men: The Animated Series and Batman: The Animated Series in 1992. Dark kids shows truly kicked off in 1993, with Sonic joining the ranks with Swat Kats, Exosquad, and Cadillacs and Dinosaurs. SatAM put Sonic in a team of freedom fighters lead by Princess Sally Acorn as they fought back against Robotnik's dictatorship. One of the characters is a half-robot woman with telescoping arms and legs. The show became the basis for the Archie Sonic comics, which went on to become the longest continuous licensed comic book in history. The "red sky" in Sonic Prime isn't necessarily a reference to SatAM itself (which often use colder blue hues), but the "red sky" is often a general term for the grim dark period of cartoons in general, used in particular when the 80's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon rebooted to become darker and more serious, entering what fans call the "Red Sky Era." That, or, y'know, Eggmanland from the actual Sonic games.

The Boom Dimension: This one's admittedly a big stretch, but what really grabbed my attention was the way Knuckles acts in this world. Here, he exists in a nearly identical role to Sticks the Badger from Sonic Boom. Basically, all he does is interrupt when the dialog gets too serious to spout off over-the-top conspiracy theories as a way to lighten the mood. Plus, um, wood huts...? Like I said, it's a stretch.

The Sol Dimension: This is the home of Blaze the Cat, introduced in the Sonic Rush games. These games are, in themselves, also suggestive of a multiverse: in the first Sonic Rush, we meet Blaze, who is kind of the Sonic of her own dimension. In the sequel, Sonic is temporarily stranded in Blaze's world, which is mostly covered in water and dominated by pirate factions. A great deal of the gameplay is Sonic gathering materials so Tails can build watercraft able to reach many of the game's most scattered islands. Blaze isn't in Sonic Prime, obviously, but there's nameless background rebels in The Red Sky Dimension that are almost a dead ringer for her in a way that feels like a deliberate wink. (Re-scanning the episode, there's also Raccoon-styled background characters clearly using visual cues from Marine, too)

I could definitely see this show being pitched where these references were maybe a little more overt. Especially the first one, considering production is being handled by WildBrain, aka Cookie Jar, aka DiC, the original production company behind SatAM in 1993. The first thought I had when I heard the legacy was that if they were going to pull a "Spider-verse" as they originally announced, they needed to do an episode where Sonic visits SatAM, and given the Red Sky Dimension is the first (and seemingly most important) of the three so far, it seems they were at least thinking in the same direction, to some degree. I just assume Sega wouldn't let them commit, so they had to pick and choose what they liked about those worlds and adapt them to fit a mainline-centric cast.

As for what they did with it... yeah, it's fine. It's not the greatest Sonic show ever created, but it's a step above things like Sonic Underground, Sonic X, and even Sonic Boom, I'd say. Sonic Boom was also very "fine" from everything I've seen (I never saw most of Season 2), but it's really hard to look back on nowadays when you see Sonic Prime's vibrant colors and fluid animation.

I'm hesitant to judge too much of the story yet, given we know Netflix apparently ordered 24 episodes and we're only 8 episodes deep in to that run. Assuming they keep to 8 episode batches, we still have two more "drops" left to go -- the series is still clearly getting warmed up.

I will say I echo what some others have said, namely the fact that they treat Green Hill Zone with such a comical amount of reverence as if it has all these iconic locations, when it turns out to be... like, one tree. Out of many. Or a single loop-de-loop. Every time Sonic goes to a new dimension, he has to be like "aw man, there's the loop" like we're supposed to feel something with him, when Sonic games show us loops everywhere, in every level.

As I said in another blog, though, I really appreciate Sonic's characterization here. He has the personality I always thought he should have: carefree to a fault, very hyperactive, and obnoxiously cocky. Sonic is used to going where he wants, when he wants, and doing what he wants, and we're lucky he's one of the good guys because he's basically unstoppable when he really puts his mind to something. He just, uh, doesn't put his mind to very much, because he just kind of casually wanders into and out of trouble at his leisure. His friends love him just as much as they put up with his ADHD impulses. Sonic Prime just shows us a moment where that devil-may-care attitude bites him particularly hard. But I've definitely been of the mind that more Sonic games should be about Sonic stumbling in to something dangerous by accident, and that's definitely what happens here.

So, in general, I feel like I am living my best life when I watch this Sonic bumble his way around, lost in worlds he doesn't understand. This is my guy. This is how I'd write him. There has not been a single moment in the entire show so far where I have wavered in this thought. This is, 100%, my Sonic. He is perfect.

Everyone else I'm not so sure of. Shadow shows up here generally to repeat the same things that got him pushed out of the IDW comics, where he's treated more as a hyper-aggressive one-dimensional rival to Sonic who can't stand being seen as a second-banana. It's a flimsy reason to make a character punch Sonic (something that happens a lot in Sonic Prime). I know I've complained about Shadow being too serious before, but there used to be more nuance to his characterization than "I am always going to be mad at Sonic for petty reasons."

Rouge is also a weird addition to the main cast; namely making her part of the core team along side Tails, Amy, and Knuckles. I get that they probably wanted more gender diversity and probably didn't want to (or couldn't) introduce a new female character, but she always struck me as someone who was always off doing her own things and didn't necessarily care about what Sonic was doing unless their paths accidentally intersected.

I'm already getting tired of The Chaos Council. This is probably the thing that feels the most like a kids show -- instead of having one character with depth and nuance, you break them down into a group of easy-to-digest stereotypes. Here's the trendy one! Here's the dumb one! Here's the apathetic one! Here's the old one! Here's the leader! It's the same line of thinking behind The Deadly Six from Sonic Lost World, and being so basic and toyetic is one of the reasons people rejected those things. The council seems like they're going to be the central villains for the rest of Sonic Prime, but I'd like them to combine back in to the real Eggman at some point.

Though speaking of Chaos, I'm pleasantly surprised how little Chaos Emeralds have factored in to this story. Sure, they have a different type of jewel to worry about, but it's nice that the emeralds aren't so important just yet. I assume they will be, since Shadow finds an emerald in one episode and his ability to use Chaos Control seems to tie in to the dimensional shenanigans, but it's still good to have Sonic media where the answer isn't instantly just "we gotta find the Chaos Emeralds because Super Sonic will stop this." We get to have some fun, first.

Definitely interested in seeing where the rest of this series goes, but at the very least, these first eight episodes have dashed any hopes of legitimate alternate-universe crossovers. Perhaps SatAM, Sonic Boom, and the Sol Dimension were never in the cards, and they chose these as the first three dimensions to showcase as a way to tell people like me that they can't and won't be crossing over with any existing Sonic media. Because, I mean, they can't do SatAM and the Red Sky dimension, right? It's an easy way to set expectations.

Fingers crossed it finishes strong.

[merrilark]

Welp, that's it for S2. I have mixed feelings about it. Overall, it's solid enough, but oh man is it repetitive with some serious pacing and characterization issues. The first episode and last two-threeish episodes make the season better, and I loved the finale, it's just a shame that you have to wade through so much unnecessary padding.

Overall Pros:

The animation is smooth.

The concept is interesting.

Sonic's new voice actor is fantastic! He reminds me a lot of a really pleasant blend between Jason Griffith and Jaleel White.

Love the game references (and very subtle SatAM references?)

Chaos Sonic was a breath of fresh air; he should have been a threat sooner and lasted longer

Dark!Sonic??? 👀 I suppose he'd be Prism!Sonic, but I loved that reference and the shard sound effects every time he flickered were cool.

The Prism Titan was actually terrifying to me.

Shadow finally gets more accurate characterization.

SEGA also remembered that Shadow can use his Air Shoes to hover and propel himself around space. Whoever was responsible for supervising Shadow's writing knew their stuff and really did a good job.

Knux was cool and it was nice to see Knuckles finally being portrayed as competent again.

Sonic's characterization grew on me, and I think he's really charming now.

Everything about Nine was pretty good. I enjoyed the build up with him.

Shadow and Sonic are at their peak whenever they're on screen together.

The Predator references (?) in space with Shadow were VERY good.

It was fun seeing Knux and Dread fight together.

Speaking of Knux, I loooove that Knux/Rebel is basically canon. 7 yo me shipping Knouge would be so happy.

Also I am now pretty sure I ship Sonadow. Romantically or as just platonic soulmates? Somewhere in between? I have no idea yet but I'm feeling things.

The finale almost made everything in the middle worth it.

Really good bones for a show. It has so much potential.

Overall Cons:

Spoonfeeds some things to viewers that feels unnecessary at best and a little patronizing at worst. I know this is a kids' show, but... c'mon, give the viewers a little more credit lol we don't need so many flashbacks, do we?

The pacing is terrible. There were so many moments where I kept thinking "okay, we get it" or "not this again" or "did we really need that scene?" There's a lot of good scenes but unfortunately they're all sandwiched between a lot of pointless stuff.

Too many robot fights that felt exactly the same.

Too few worlds. The concept of traveling to other universes could have been so fascinating to explore but all we got were four new ones in two whole seasons, one world of which is empty and still unexplored.

I'm not a fan of most of the characterizations. Knuckles being stupid is tired and inaccurate, Rouge has been watered down into what feels like the designated Mom Friend™ and just doesn't feel like herself at all, and I can't pinpoint exactly what it is, but Amy has lost a lot of her charm. Big is fine, but he feels like he's just there and doesn't really serve much purpose.

The Chaos Council. I can't stand any of them. I think it would have been better if New Yolk's big bad had been a retro Robotnik. These guys? I just don't care about them and I don't find them menacing in the slightest. The baby makes me homicidal.

It wasn't as glaring this season, but the number of duplicate background characters with little to nothing to distinguish them from the others was extremely distracting and took me out of the story almost every time.

I don't think I liked or cared about any of the alternates except the ones in NY. I liked Dread at first but he got annoying pretty quickly. Feels like a lot of wasted potential.

Rusty Rose exists but you mean to tell me that the Chaos Council DOESN'T robotize it's citizens??? Isn't that what she's alluding to since she's clearly not 100% a robot? I know Robotnik/Eggman roboticizing animals has already been done a lot, but that's because it's good! It's scary! It's body horror! It could totally be freshened up if they wanted.

Kind of annoying that the S2E1 emphasized the need for Sonic and Shadow to work together, actually had them say that out loud, and then... just? Kinda didn't give Shadow anything to do for another whole season? All he did was nag Sonic a bit, kick some space rocks around, and then help fight a little at the very end. Maybe I'm biased because he's my favorite, but it's a little tiring to see Shadow constantly being used in newer stuff as just a vehicle to draw a crowd because SEGA knows fans love him, yet not actually giving him anything substantial to do.

This is such a minor thing in comparison to Prime's actual issues, but I didn't like anyone's new voices except Sonic and Shadow. Although, if I'm honest, Shadow's voice sounds almost more fitting for Knuckles. It's better imo than Thornton's Shadow (also a great VA just not my taste for that particular character), but it's def more a Knuckles voice than a Shadow voice. Tails is also fine but I can't stop hearing Rainbow Dash pfff. I don't like Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles' voices at all (Knux aside; the Brooklyn accent somehow makes it better and really suits him LOL).

Anyway, I really don't know how to feel about Prime. The idea is so so good but the execution could use a lot of work. Somehow I'm still excited for S3 and looking forward to it, assuming it gets a third, so I guess that means it isn't all too bad. It's just a pity that it still hasn't seemed to find it's footing. S1 and S2 could have been trimmed and condensed down into one season easily, I think, and been a much tighter show.

[egg-emperor]

Just thinking about Prime Eggman x Boom Eggman now. If Prime Eggman doesn't get to be a part of the council, he deserves his own little Egg to keep for himself. And he could meet my whole group of alternate versions later on, so he has his own council like he deserves!

Always headcanoned Boom Eggman to be shorter than game Egg because big difference in leg length. But Prime Egg's legs look especially long somehow and I love it, I'm gonna choose to believe he's a bit taller than game Egg, not on X levels but he's a extra tall big boy 💗

No idea how it's possible, maybe effects of the prism. But Boom Egg ends up in Prime Egg's world and while he's trying to figure out where he is, he bumps into Prime Egg in the wilderness without looking where he's going and bounces off his belly and falls. lol boing

When Boom Egg hits something quite soft and falls back and is stunned when he hits the ground, he fears he's ran into a big bear in the wild and he did but it's a different kind that he's lucky to encounter! He looks up to see Prime Egg towering over him and he looks so taaall

He helps him up and for a second Boom Egg thinks it's his boyfriend game Egg and is about to act familiar but realizes he doesn't know who he is and is instead confused about why he looks like him. Prime Egg is only bothered with how he winded him for a second but becomes curious.

When looking up to this big scary taller man, he feels shy and intimidated like when he first met game Egg but has to look up even higher. Prime Egg leans in really close like he needs to so he can believe what he's seeing which also gets his heart rate up.

Prime is the first alternate version Boom meets that has never seen a single alternate version and finds him especially fascinating. Boom Egg blushes as he pretty much just feels him up to inspect him and his similarities and the way he looms over him makes him feel small.

He decides he wants to keep him so he takes him back with him. Boom Egg says he's worried about being in this strange new place he doesn't recognize and doesn't know how to get back. Prime Egg says if he stays with him he'll help but he's not sure if he wants to let him go!

Boom Egg is still worried to be in a scary new world but he feels safe now to find some familiarity, a big handsome Egg to cuddle up to. And it's like he gets to fall for game Eggman all over again and vice versa as Prime Egg eventually develops and recognizes feelings for him too.

Boom Egg feels weird being the more experienced for once, as all the other alternate Eggs all met other versions before he ever did. It's usually game Eggman that charms other Eggs into being with him, aside from their egos and self love inevitably making them attracted.

Boom Egg is surprised by how easy it is as Prime Egg is quickly infatuated with him and wants to study him and learn about him. He makes him feel very special and important by the way he gives him so much careful attention and wants to know all about him for that.

It's like immediate attraction on Prime Egg's side too but he doesn't realize or even consider it first and then he's confused. Boom Egg has to open him up to accepting feelings he has for an alternate version and exploring it with him but when he does he becomes so passionate.

Prime Egg likes to tuck Boom under his arm and carry him around. He holds his smaller hands in his own and kisses them. He's in perfect reach to pat his head. He sits him in his lap and chuckles and playfully teases him for being a cute little Egg and gets him all flustered!

And the reason why they have pronounced lips unlike most media and versions so they can kiss! Boom Egg isn't used to how a modern Egg's lips feel extra soft and it tickles when he rests his chin on his shoulder and presses little kisses to his cheek and neck hehe 💘

Anyway they were made for each other. Sonic Boom is all said and done and we moved onto the next show where they decided to bring modern Egg back and it brought Boom Egg a new bf in the process lol 💜💕

[bigbroemen]

1, 2, 13, 16 for the gaming asks :3c

HI MALEX :D

ask 1 ive got answered for brostateexam on some that he sent me, this is what I wrote

1. Last game you finished

i am like pretty sure it was dark souls. ive been playing a Bunch of stuff on and off for the past 3 or 4 months but dark souls was one that i stuck to and i beat it with my caster character naomi in like early march

2. Game(s) you’re currently playing

ok oh god. okay i SAID i was playing a bunch of games on and off but truthfully i have Started a bunch of games and have not finished them and my heart isn't too set on touching back on them. some im ok with that and others i feel like i should get back to them

Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time (JP) [dead/i should get back to it]

i stopped playing this in like late february and i definitely want to start playing it again. it has been more constructive for me for practicing japanese because it is just a bit less dense than other games like path of radiance. i think i like only finished the first little arc though LOL in the forest w the caterpillar boss

Super Mario Galaxy (JP) [dead/i should get back to it]

i got pretty far here! i think ive 100%ed everything up to the bedroom. there's not much i can say about what ive practiced with this game besides it was a nice refresher/maintainer; there's furigana for the kanji and all the characters speak in unique ways that are still digestible

Dark Souls (again. as a cleric) [dead/its ok i got like more than halfway through so it'll be fun to pick up again whenever i do]

after i beat the game with naomi i like immediately started another file as my cleric madeline. its been really fun with her and ive been enjoying using ultra great swords/lightning magic with her. iiiii got the lordvessel and i saved the cleric in the tomb of the giants, and i made it to the ash lake and the painted world for the first time this playthrough

Sonic Riders (JP) [dead/its ok i unlocked aiai&nights&ulala]

it is very very interesting playing japanese sonic because some of the characters have like very different personalities. sonic is more like, Cool Dependable Upstanding guy who like shouts stuff in english sometimes (ALL RIIGHT/Hey !), where I feel like english sonic is a little bit more of an rascal

amy is like a LOT more "cute". like english amy is like scary and Her Own Girl but jp amy is just like more sweet (for the record i feel like english amy is a lot more engaging and fun (I love lisa ortiz amy))

WAVE is like SO interesting, i feel like english wave is so bitchy and mean (love and respect to her all the same) and jp wave is still Mean but she's so much more cordial and polite, she's kind of like a gentleman about it and still offers respect to the people she speaks to

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic [dead/IM SAD ABOUT IT BUT I CANT DO ANYTHING]

i had been playing it for joey and he was Loving it and i was loving it too because i just love that game, but after i saved bastila the game started like crashing non stop. i did some troubleshooting/research and it turns out discord streaming and kotor just Do Not mix well. we had to give it up and im so sad. i had a demolitions/security dual wielding blade girl named DYNA BLASTER and she failed every single speech skill check

Stardew Valley [alive]

me and joey have been touching on this with our collective farm the past few weeks. its hard because his work and where he lives tires him out so bad, so he just needs to sit back and rest more than he can play games with me, but were in the beginning of the summer right now and things are going well. i am like being a spreadsheet farmer making max profits while he's got his strong variety of crops at his place so we can actually complete the bundles. we didn't realize we had access to the mines until the end of spring though LOL

Valkyria Chronicles [alive]

I will have joey fall asleep to me playing games and after kotor stopped working this is what i picked up. i like this game a lot, a lot of the uh.. the voice acting can annoy me (SOMETIMES i really like it) and how lightheartedly the game depicts war and racism irks me, but i love love love love how the game plays. its fire emblem but you're down On The Field doing the work and its very engaging

13. Quick, name the first song from a game that comes to mind

oh fuck ok well the first thing that came to mind was the metroid prime theme LOL

16. A game you’d like to replay that you haven’t

oh oh oh omg??????? I wanna replay crash bandicoot 2??!!!! i played it all the time as a kid when we still had our playstation like 1999-2001 and i remember the girl with her tiger and there was like a level with hot air balloons. i have slowly been building more and more motivation to get to it and this is like doin smth. time to add another game to the currently playing list

THANK YOU BRO bitch im gonna send u some........

[klonoafan5]

while i was looking into some grimdark/dark mlp stuff (apple sleep experiment & silent ponyville 2, to name a few), i've realized that i actually had some dark au ideas for sonic of all things.

which would've sound strange to me if not for the fact that my favorite au is the murder of me

one of these ideas i've already rambled about ((sonic) the music box), but the others not so much.

which is why i'm taking this opportunity to talk about them :D

explanations down below!

dark rider

dark rider is a sonic x ghost rider crossover au. it started out as me taking scenes from the movie but putting sonic characters in it but over time i added lore that leaned more towards the comics

to summarize, sonic makes a deal with mephiles to save his dad's life only to end up accelerating his death and later on turn into the titular dark rider (aka shadow) to defeat eclipse and give him the contract.

now the young mechanic has to fight demons while facing his own and deal with the typical problems that come with having an super-powered alter ego.

like running from the police, ending up in a accidental love triangle with your childhood friend and crush because she thinks that your identities are different people, and finding out that you're actually a reincarnated soul!

wait. what was that last part?

2. something's up with sonic + untitled idea

okay so you know sonic.exe, right? the spooky scary 'I AM GOD' hyperrealistic stuff?

yeah so i'm not a big fan of creepypastas, but they do have some neat concepts so naturally i came up with not one but TWO ideas based on them because i'm so normal~

the first is called something's up with sonic and it's set in a universe where instead of sonic dying in the first encounter and becoming a vessel for spooky eldritch being #420, he actually survives by the skin of his teeth and beats the crap of it

HOWEVER this comes with the cost of its powers passing down to him and he has to grapple with these abilities because actions have consequences

he's still himself, but now he's capable of changing the very fabric of his reality! fun times!

the second is more or less a traditional creepypasta except the main protag is not the person who finds the spoopy haunted sonic game, but the soul haunting it after he dies by accident only to wake up as the titular hedgehog.

while processing the new reality he's trapped in, his friend and family are trying to look for him on the other side of the screen. it's not a bone chilling horror story, it's a mystery with supernatural elements

3. venom

another crossover au but with venom. like with the dark rider au, sonic isn't the hero of mobius, but a humble reporter living in the city of grand metropolis where the company of hexaeco (credit goes to TheLavaGolem88 for giving me the idea!) is conducting 'research' on a alien species that they have discovered

and by research, i mean taking people unnoticed by the world and conducting experiments on them.

sonic finds this out when a friend of his goes missing. with the help of a scientist who chose to rebel against the company, he goes into their secret labs and unknowingly becomes a host of one of the black arms.

one chaotic meeting with his friend amy and jump into a lobster tank later, he finally meets the symbiote shadow and the two work together to stop hexaeco and save the world.

[soupum]

Parasocial Relationship? Sign me up!

I got tagged by @risu5waffles to participate in some ask game thing? I don't know, I'm too old for this. Seems fun, though, so I'll give it a go anyway.

Who were you named after?

Not gonna get into my actual name, because I don't feel like doxxing myself right now, but I will tell the story of my online name:

So, when I was a wee bab, My online username was basically just "Super[IRL First Name]". When I was about 14 and decided to abandon that name, I went with "Soup" because it's "Super" without the R, and because everyone like soup. I added the "'um" at the end because it sounded vaguely fantasy-esque to me.

Last time you cried?

Oof. That's a rough question. Think it was about a month ago, now? Had been having some serious issues with my body image for the past few weeks, and some hobby stuff went awry big time earlier in the day, and that just tipped me over the edge, and I broke down sobbing. I'm fine now, though. I got over it.

Do you have kids?

Nope! Not interested in having biological kids for personal reasons, but I have had idle thoughts about adoption before. Things would have to change big time for me before that's in the cards, though.

What sports do you play/did you play?

Speedrunning, I guess? I don't do it that much, because it hurts my hands, but I have contributed decently to speedrun communities before, and I do enjoy grinding a game once it has my attention.

I'd love to get into roller-skating or ice-skating one of these days, though. If you know my affinity for Sonic games, you can probably guess why, lol.

Do you use Sarcasm?

I think I use it the normal amount? Unless I seriously dislike you, I never mean to use it to hurt someone I know. Typically I use it to dunk on someone else who is already a tool, or for friendly ribbing with someone I already know.

First thing you notice about people?

Faces, I guess? I'm pretty bad with those, so I try to memorize them whenever I meet someone. After that, I guess clothes? I tend to notice tattoos, but I don't really process what they are most of the time.

Do you have any talents?

Self-deprecation is for losers, so I'm gonna go as egotistical as possible on this one. My talents are graphic design, Italian cooking, troubleshooting tech issues, and lookin' damn sexy after a shower.

Scary Movies or Happy Endings?

Happy endings, I guess? I don't really watch scary movies (although I have been meaning to), but I don't typically enjoy outright downer endings. Bittersweet endings, sure, but every downer ending I've seen goes along the lines of "life is meaningless and everyone dies". If I wanted to smoke down some of that rhetoric, I could just look at Twitter.

Where were you born?

That's for me to know and you to find out, buddy.

What are your hobbies?

The line between "hobby" and "thing I like to consume" always gets real blurry for me, so apologies if this isn't quite the answer you're looking for. With that said:

Photography

Reverse-Engineering

Phone shopping (Give it a go sometime! Pick a price range and find the best performance to cost ratio you can!)

Blender renders

Digging through the Wayback Machine

Do you have any pets?

I used to. Not anymore.

How tall are you?

167 cm, or 5'5, for all you feet fans out there. I am tiny. Bite-sized. Fit me in your pocket and lemme rummage around a bit small.

What was your favourite subject in school?

This would imply I enjoyed any part of school, lol. Off the top of my head, probably physics?

Dream Job?

Vague phrasing! Big fan.

If we're talking "what would you like to do for the rest of your life", I'm torn. Probably just making fangames and little software toys?

If we're talking "what would you least detest doing to pay the bills?", then whatever you call what John Carpenter has going on is a strong contender. Just make a bunch of genre-defining art when I'm young and then kick back and play Xbox while the royalty checks roll in.

I don't really have enough of a "network" on here to immediately tag anyone. @hirunda-maxpw, maybe? Hirunda, if you're reading this, you don't have to participate if you don't wanna. Totally chill.

Well, bye.