#one of my favorite sonic games and stories for sure

[sophfandoms53]

GUESS WHO FINISHED FRONTIERS ON THE NEW YEAR AND CRIED A LOT

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Out of the grandmansters/egg bosses in the Archie comics, which one was your favorite?? It can be either from pre reboot or post reboot!

Hehehe unfortunately for you, anon, my fav becomes a grandmaster before the super genesis wave and therefore is my immediate first choice without contest

*Bangs fist on table* I love her so much

[egg-emperor]

All the newly shown Eggman concept sketches in SXSG are so cool, especially for how they're for Shadow 2005 💜

This goes so fucking hard my edgy black heart lives for it lol

Wish I knew what all of this said but I love this silly guy 💕

It appeared that his left brow ridge had accidentally been erased as there was some residue, so I copied and pasted the right one to restore it

I always love to see my boys togetherrr

Eggman: I COMMAND you, Shadow!

Shadow: :\

This one is neat for the concepts of inside his base in the game

Especially for this one for Eggman sitting in it in the chair that looks way too small for him in game while Shadow warps in!

I can't say for sure without the translation of what he's saying (really wish I had those for all of these) but it seems he was originally supposed to be sat there while Shadow entered, unlike the final game:

Eggman is already outside in his Egg Mobile, as we also see depicted in this concept, on the same page

It might be hard to tell because it's so small and pretty blurry (because the collection room doesn't even let you zoom in on Shadow Gens damn it) but that is Eggman in his Egg Mobile from the side outside the window lol

Just like this shot in the final game, from the same cutscene where he warps in:

So it seems this was indeed how this cutscene was originally supposed to go. Was Eggman originally going to be sat there while Shadow entered and then he tried to hop in the Egg Mobile and get away, perhaps? XD

Again, hard to tell when I don't know what the dialogue says but this is so awesome! New glimpses into Eggman in Shadow 2005, one of my favorite games and Eggman portrayals ever in 2024 is so cool :'D

And this one is REALLY interesting for how out of left field it is. It's drawn quite like a cover concept

The left side is definitely supposed to be Gerald. Note the lack of goggles and how his stache is shaped like Gerald's Shadow 2005 model that swoops downward more than Eggman's. Also lol he has white sclera just like Eggman does, checkmate :P But he appears to be somehow modified with metal with the scratches, bolts, and seams- or it's some kind of metal version of him perhaps?

Because Metal Sonic is there too, beheaded with Shadow looking badass holding it. Which is something else that's super intriguing, since Metal of course isn't in Shadow 2005 at all!

And also what's supposedly part of the same concept batch, titled "Shadow the Hedgehog stage concept", there's some metallic equivalent of the Biolizard, with Shadow's version of the fight and Finalhazard recreated

Wtf was going on in the early drafts for this game? Some type of possibly metallic Gerald, Metal Sonic, some metallic/robotic Biolizard inspired creation but it's a different creature? I'm so fucking intrigued!

I've always figured that Eggman and the androids were originally going to have a bigger role in Shadow 2005's story with how they set them up in Heroes and this heavily supports that in a completely new and different way like holy shit

Or there's the possibly that this was for a completely different game they considered before but it is listed just as "Shadow the Hedgehog concept" unlike how other concepts in the collection room art gallery have different game titles listed

Either way I'm gonna be thinking about this forever

[edgy-ella]

IDW SONIC READERS, PLEASE READ THIS!!!!

I am begging you. On my hands and knees. Begging. More so than anything else I’ve asked of this fandom.

Please please buy the Fang miniseries when it comes out

Don’t just read it. Buy it. I will admit that I’m very guilty of reading through a lot of IDW Sonic through…less than legal means, and I know I’m not alone in that regard. But I think it’s really important that for this miniseries in particular, you actually go out and buy the damn thing. Show your support with your dollar.

Really think about it for a second—they gave Fang his own miniseries. Fang! An underutilized, underrated fan favorite for sure, but hardly a mainstay of the series. I’m sure that this was at least somewhat prompted by Superstars, where Fang is a major antagonist…but Bean and Bark weren’t in that game, and it already received its own online promo comic prior to the game’s release (notably, with Fang as the star).

Classic Sonic stories have also exclusively been relegated to one-shots in IDW, not a full on miniseries like what Fang is getting. Basically all of the IDW Sonic miniseries we’ve gotten so far have been plot relevant side stories to the main IDW comic that focus on side characters with little to no involvement from Sonic himself. Tangle and Whisper, Bad Guys, Impostor Syndrome…the only odd man out besides this Fang miniseries is Scrapnik Island.

Really think about it for a second. FANG is getting his own focus comic BEFORE KNUCKLES.

And that’s why it’s so important that we buy it.

I think Sega is using this comic to test the waters to see if people like Fang and want to see him in more future projects—be it comics, games, or even cartoons. But there’s more to it than just that.

See, Superstars hasn’t been doing that great. I know I said in an earlier post that people seemed to like it, but I retract that statement. It was damned by faint praise at launch, and now most of the discussion I’ve seen surrounding the game revolves around its flaws (chief among them being the middling OST and that the Steam version stealth installs an Epic Games service along with the game). No sales numbers have been projected as of writing, but it’s definitely been beaten out by Mario Wonder and Spider-Man 2.

So, Classic Sonic games aren’t doing too hot right now (I’m sure that many modern fans are jumping for joy at the prospect). But the classic characters are.

People really like the extended classic Sonic cast, just as much as they love the extended modern cast. From my experience, the two fan favorites are Mighty and Fang. Fang stands out to me in particular for a couple reasons: people were really upset that Sega specifically said no to Fang, Bark and Bean coming back after Ian snuck in a reference to them in IDW Sonic #3 (using their old team name from Archie, the Hooligans), and the fanmade 16-bit remake of Triple Trouble, Fang’s debut game, received private praise from many members of Sega and Sonic Team. People like Fang and the media he’s in, and Sega is starting to take notice. That’s why we’re getting this miniseries.

That’s why it’s so important that the miniseries sells well. If the big boys at Sega and Sonic Team see Superstars’ iffy reception but see Fang’s comic sell above expectations, then Sega will want to continue to use Fang (and potentially other “classic” Sonic characters as well) in more narrative driven projects. That means modern Sonic.

“But Sega won’t let any classic Sonic character into a modern Sonic project!” I hear you thinking. And to that I say, so? Sega changes its mind all the time. Remember that whole two worlds nonsense? That was thrown out with in Tailstube. Characters debuting in Boom and the comics were previously barred from the mainline games, but they’ve broken that “rule” in both Speed Battle and Frontiers. Hell, they’ve even been talked out of some of their sillier comic mandates, like characters not being able to wear different clothing.

For all their flaws, Sega does listen, and money speaks louder than anything. If this miniseries fails, Sega will just assume that people aren’t hot on Fang or the extended classic cast anymore and throw them back in the bar. But if the comic sells well, then Sega might take it as a sign that, hey, people like this character (and his two lackeys), we should put him in projects that fans are more interested in. Mighty and Ray probably wouldn’t be too far behind, especially given Mania’s success. Whether that means comics or games, modern or classic, who knows. What’s important is that it sends the right message to Sega, and they will listen to their consumers. That means us. If we don’t support this miniseries now, we might have to wait another thirty years for another chance.

[thankskenpenders]

And now for something new

So, here's something I was never planning on doing, but I just couldn't shake the idea... Thanks Ken Penders is gaining a sister blog featuring an entirely different comic franchise!

Introducing... Thanks Steve Ditko, a blog where I read the Earth-616 Spider-Man comics, starting all the way back in the '60s! It's gonna be much more casual and less thorough than how I run things here on TKP, though, which I'll explain in a sec.

If seeing me post weird bits from old Spider-Man comics sounds fun and you need no further info, then just head right on over to Thanks Steve Ditko. But for longtime TKP readers, I know you probably have questions...

Number one: Why?

Spider-Man's always been my favorite superhero, and with the Spider-Verse movies kicking ass and my excitement building for the new Insomniac game, I've been in a Spidey mood. Inevitably, a thought occurred to me: Maybe I should actually read the comics that everything else is built off of and see the wildly varying contributions of all the original creators, rather than filtering them through big budget adaptations. If I can power through One Piece and all these other manga with hundreds of chapters, it can't be that hard... right?

And, well, after a few issues I quickly realized that my options were to either clog up my other accounts with random Spider-Man panels for years, or to just make a side blog. And so the side blog was born.

Two: Will this blog replace Thanks Ken Penders?

NO!!!!!!!!!

Okay but prove it

To allow the two to exist side-by-side, Thanks Steve Ditko will have a different format than what Thanks Ken Penders developed. Rather than an in-depth guided tour that critically analyzes every story beat of every issue, TSD will just be a place for amusing panels and brief thoughts as I casually read the comics at my own pace.

If you've seen me make a few tweets about reading Spider-Man recently, I'm basically just moving that to a dedicated Tumblr. It's a place for me to dump these things so that it doesn't fill up my media tab on Twitter for the next decade. (You know, assuming Twitter is still around in a decade.) There will be many issues where I only post two panels that I thought were funny. There will be issues where I don't have anything to say at all. Maybe I'll reach a run that I just cannot get into, and I start skipping around more. Who knows!

This may sound similar to what I thought this blog would be before it blew up. Aside from the simple fact that there's already mountains of Spider-Man commentary out there and therefore less of a void for me to fill, one of the main steps I'll be taking to avoid repeating the past is not enabling an ask box on TSD. I do not need people to ask me to go into ten times more detail on everything. I do not need to write seven essay-length responses to questions about Spider-Man minutiae every day. I do not need a place for people to chide me for not covering certain scenes, issues, or ancillary series.

It also won't have any kind of update schedule. I'm trying to keep it very casual. I'm reading these comics at my own pace, and if I feel like sharing a moment or commenting on something while doing so? It goes there. That's it.

(On the subject of format changes, I'm also listing the issue, writer, and penciller in the body of every post. This is a thing I wish I'd done on TKP so that people didn't misattribute every weird Archie Sonic panel I post to Penders.)

Three: So when will TKP come back from hiatus? You said it'd come back after you finished SLARPG!

I don't know! Sorry. I have a couple things on the backburner right now for TKP, but I'm not sure when I'll get back to proper updates where I read more comics.

I wanted to bring TKP back this year, and that's still possible. The main hurdle is that I want to reread my own archive (again) as a refresher, which is, uh. A lot of posts. I've developed a high standard for myself on here, and I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job right if I forgot half the ongoing subplots and character arcs and didn't bring them up in my analysis. Especially when I'm discussing the work of an author as obsessed with continuity as Ian Flynn. Unfortunately, the nature of this blog means that every time I go on another long hiatus for Life Reasons I have even more comic continuity to catch up on than last time.

(This is a big part of why I'm making Thanks Steve Ditko an extremely casual blog instead of promising to become a Lore Expert on 60+ years of Marvel.)

Mostly I've just been very burnt out this year after having finally finished a video game that took almost eight years to make. I haven't really had the energy for any creative projects, including TKP. But I feel a little bit of a spark here with Spider-Man, so I'm chasing that feeling to try to get back into the swing of blogging about comics - no pun intended.

So, basically, bear with me on this as I start this low-energy side project. But hopefully folks will enjoy Thanks Steve Ditko as its own thing, too.

Look forward to goofy shit like this

[ponett]

I think SLARPG might unironically be the best entry in the "Earthbound-inspired indie RPG about depression" subgenre because it's the only one that legitimately sparked my interest on first sight and then followed through in actual gameplay and story. Personally, what's your favorite game in the "Earthbound-inspired indie RPG about depression" subgenre aside from the one you made?

Excuse you, I'll have you know it's an EarthBound-inspired indie RPG about anxiety, thank you very much

No, but idk. Mother is definitely a big influence for me, and EarthBound and Mother 3 are two of my favorite games ever made, but I think it's easy to overstate how much I was trying to emulate Mother with SLARPG in a reductive way. (I don't necessarily think you're being reductive in this ask, I'm just using this as an excuse to talk about a broader trend.) It broadly influenced the types of games I wanted to make when I was a teenager, but there are very few specific elements in SLARPG where I was trying to directly evoke or mimic EarthBound. The geometric spell animations were inspired by Mother for sure, I'll give you that, but half the reason I did that was just because it was easier than animating realistic effects frame by frame. I'll also admit that Claire building her own dungeon was almost definitely influenced by EarthBound's Brick Road, but I don't think that was a conscious decision on my part. And hell, some things that may come off as nods to Mother are, in fact, things that Mother took directly from Dragon Quest. Silly, cartoonish enemies with pun names? That's a Dragon Quest thing!

While Mother was one of my influences, I would just as readily point to classic Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Chrono Trigger, the Mario RPGs, 2D Zelda, Mega Man Legends, Pokemon, Kirby, Sonic, comedic point and click adventures, and a bunch of other things as similarly big influences. But I wasn't trying to mimic any of these 1:1. It was a blend of different influences along with my own creative goals.

Uh, anyway, to answer your actual question: I can't answer your actual question, because I haven't really played other "EarthBound-inspired" indie games, other than Undertale and Deltarune (which I adore, obviously). I generally avoided playing them while working on SLARPG because I wanted to do my own thing and avoid ripping off other similar games, and then in the time since finishing SLARPG I've just always had other things I wanted to play.

Also I kind of don't believe that the "EarthBound-inspired indie RPG about depression" is a trend that exists on any meaningful scale. People just looked at Omori (and, to a lesser extent, YIIK) and decided that the other popular indie games with some amount of visible EarthBound influence must also be about depression. It's just a meme

[e-vay]

Evay QA Bulk Post 6

Here's another batch of questions.

Again, these do not include Domino or Phlox questions as I plan on addressing those in a separate post. Sorry for the delay on Phloxino questions, I just need to finish the final chapter of their story first.

Thank you all for reaching out ☺️

PERSONAL/MISC ASKS

toonfan91 asked: What is your favorite retro video game system, what would you say is your favorite retro game to play?

A: My favorite consoles would be the Super Nintendo, Gamecube, and the Gameboy Advance SP. Those are all so nostalgic for me and were integral to my childhood. I had the Sega Genesis as well but I didn't end up playing it nearly as much as the other 3. Top three of my favorite retro games would be Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Ms Pacman and Super Mario World.

Anon asked: omg! i wondered if cheese was just something you were super about in your teen years im so glad that cheese is still the #1 fave 🧀

A: Hahaha! Aww, you remembered that about me! Yes, I'm still a cheese fiend, forever and always!!!

Anon asked: Any writing tips and/or subversions on common tropes? - ✍🏻

A: I've said this before but I recommend really focusing on your character building. I personally believe if you can get the audience to care about your characters, the rest will work out. As far as subverting tropes, I'd just say don't default to what's easy. I remember writing a script in high school and it involved a "it was all a dream" ending and my teacher actually rolled his eyes at me and said "Don't do this to your audience. It's an easy out for you and a disservice to them" and that moment has stuck with me forever. So though I don't have exact advice for you, I'd just say keep your audience in mind. You want them to be happy that they read your story, not rolling their eyes. (You're a member of your audience too, so make sure you're happy with your story as well!)

Anon asked: Will your kid be named aroura?

A: Ever since I was a little girl, I always wanted to name my future daughter Aurora. Who knows if I'll ever have a kid and even if I do, I am not sure what their name will be. Aurora is definitely still one of my favorite names and I'd love to name my child that, but it will depend on what best fits that human :)

Anon asked: have you seen the until dawn remaster?? i know you did a drawing of that long ago!! have you ever drawn the actual characters? and also, how would you match the sonic characters to the until dawn characters? 😳?

A: I have seen the remaster but I haven't played it! It looks like such an improvement from what I've seen, and I honestly loved the original. I drew Ashley and Chris once, but for the life of me I can't find that file! It was so long ago, it probably wouldn't look any good now anyway haha. Hmm, it's a little hard matching Sonic characters to the Until Dawn characters without making them OOC. I guess if I had to pick, and with the caveat that this is a weird AU and characters are not 100% canon-accurate, I'd cast Amy as Sam (kind, gets along with everyone, doesn't like violence but can absolutely kick ass), Tails as Chris (because of his intelligence, his love for tech and his overall positive, good-natured spirit), Rouge as a mix of Jessica and Emily (covers the bases of intelligent, seductive, resourceful). I'm torn about casting Sonic as either Josh or Mike. Josh would of course be an unhinged version of Sonic which could be fun to explore but if you ignore the unhinged part, he still really suits Sonic as he is the core of the friend group and he is torn between fun-loving and masking his real emotions. Mike I feel like is a little more of the 'lead character' role that Sonic tends to fall into and his fear of commitment is pretty spot-on to our blue boy hahaha. Knuckles would be Matt because they're athletic and loyal. I'd probably choose Blaze for Ashley because of how polite and serious she can be, but I acknowledge it's not the best fit.

@bigklingy asked: Does your Lego Amy have a Sonic, like Duck Amy does? 

A: I don't own an official Sonic minifig yet. All I have is this cursed knockoff hahaha. One day she'll have a real Sonic for her to love.

-

MISC SONIC ASKS

Anon asked: What elements could the Sonic cast bend based on their unique traits?

A: Sonic would be air because he is the wind. Tails would be lightning due to his affiliation with technology. Knuckles would be earth, obvious reasons (though fire works too, especially if you take into consideration the flames of disaster haha). Amy would be fire, due to her passion and also if you read her fortune cards guide, she says her favorite of the elements in her deck is 'fire.'

Anon asked: Quick question, have you ever read the Archie comics? If so, what’s your opinion on scrouge?

A: I'm not a fan of either.

chrismantike asked: I’ve been seeing this debate a lot everywhere and I want your expert opinion on it. Since you do know about DBZ I was wondering if you think Sonic can actually beat Goku?

A: I'm always going to go with Sonic on this debate. He's defeated monsters, deities, A KILLER MOON?! He can defeat most enemies in his normal state but when he goes super, enemies don't stand a chance. Meanwhile how many times does Goku need to 'level up' his Super Saiyan form just to fight an enemy? (this is all in jest of course) Hedgehog wins.

Anon asked: do you like team chaotix? If so, who’s your favorite character??

A: Team Chaotix is not my favorite group haha. If I had to choose a favorite amongst them, it'd be Espio. I think he's funny even when he's not trying to be.

whiteghos asked: Can you summarize (if you can) what happened in TEIU by Kbspeeding? I wanted to know what happened before lil’ rory and Shadow got all dirty and beat up and what happened during that chapter. I really wanted to read it so if you can that’ll be great!?

A: I sincerely wish I could, but "The Evil In Us" was so long ago that I don't remember the details well, and KB deleted her account and all of the pages of her fic with it, so I haven't been able to reference it in ages. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Anon asked: How would you imagine Amy in her teen years? -✍🏻

A: I already picture Amy as we know her as a teenage Amy. Especially her in Sonic Boom, I think that's a teenage/young adult Amy.

-

MY OCs/AU ASKS

Anon asked: I have this question on my mind for awhile now, how did you make or come up with and Amy’s and Aurora’s clothes designs? They are amazing ☺️☺️

A: Well that's an incredibly kind thing for you to say! I honestly don't feel like I did that great of a job with Amy, I just put her in clothes I'd like to see her in haha. I wish I had put more thought into her outfit but I can always redesign in the future. With Aurora (and any of my OCs, really) I just experiment with things until I figure out what works. I try to first get into the mindset of the character and determine what fashion trend best suits their personality, and then I'll do research on that style and then try to come up with something based on that. Aurora's style is on the spectrum of "Eclectic" and "Fun" and "Funky" fashion trends, so her outfits are based on that. If you're curious, I have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to my AU and there are sections for the different characters' fashion!

Anon asked: Are you going to make more ship/fan children one day, or will you just stick with Tumble, Ruff, & Aurora??

A: Methinks you've forgotten the other 8 fankids I've made! But that's okay 😜 I love creating characters and I have no plans on stopping that any time soon. That could be OCs that aren't related to anyone, OCs that are the parents of characters we know, or fan children. I don't know what I'll be doing next, but there will definitely be more new characters in the future.

charlieangel345 asked: Hey, evay, What do you think Amy and Aurora’s favorite anime? I think Amy’s favorite anime is fruit basket and Aurora favorite anime is sailor moon.

A: I think you're absolutely right! :) I think Amy might also be a fan of Ranma 1/2 as well. I'm not all that current with anime so I can't make many more recommendations that suit them.

supersaiyaman85 asked: How do you think it would go down if CC ever met Cream or Zooey(Tail's crush from Sonic Boom)?

A: I have a script for a comic that involves CC and Cream interacting, I just have to get around to drawing it. As far as Tails' past crushes like Zooey, CC is very jealous so ... she wouldn't handle it well lol

twistedchaos101 asked: Does Aurora know her grandparents? How is the relationship with them?

A: At this time, Sonic does not know Phlox is his dad and Domino is deceased, so to their knowledge Aurora does not have grandparents on her dad's side. Aurora would know her Grandma Lulu and Grandpa Clay, but Amy is sort of estranged from them so they aren't a major part of her life. They're the kind of grandparents that send a ton of gifts on holidays and birthdays but only visit maybe once ever few years. She loves getting to see them though and they absolutely adore her!

abbysulf asked: Has there ever been a moment where Sonic went dark to save Aurora? Like, was she in so much danger that he would risk his mind and body to save her? And not from Shadow lol

A: In my AU's canon, there hasn't been any moments like that. I like to joke about Sonic turning dark any time he's even mildly upset, but I don't mean it seriously. And as Aurora was growing up, he kept Aurora so safe to the point it was almost smothering, so she wouldn't have ever been in any real danger. But if she were to ever have her life threatened, yes he would lose himself in order to protect her, without hesitation.

Anon asked: We all know Sonic and the gang for saving the world in their world and they have alot of fans but what about in your story? Are they famous and their fans are surprised when they heard that Sonic and Amy got together and had a child same with Rouge and Knuckles but they adopted instead?

A: Even in my AU, Team Sonic is famous. Not to the point where they're like celebrities and have paparazzi following them everywhere, but the average citizen knows who the members of Team Sonic are and some people do get kind of starstruck around them. As they all reach older adulthood, Sonic and Amy's lives get a little more calm and domestic so they are less in the spotlight compared to Tails who is the CEO of his own company and Knuckles who is running the Young Heroes program. Maybe the average person might be surprised that some of their heroes ended up getting married and having their own families, but again I don't picture Team Sonic's personal lives in tabloids regularly.

Anon asked: I actually wanna know how well Aurora takes shots (At the doctors)from a baby all the way up to a young adult

A: Aurora sure wouldn't like shots, but she's never necessarily been scared of getting them. If anything, I could see the DOCTOR being more afraid of giving her a shot. Imagine both Sonic and Amy giving the doctor the death glare with the unspoken threat of "You better get this done quick and if you cause any extra unnecessary pain, we will both end you." They've got a good routine down where Sonic distracts baby/toddler Aurora until the shot happens and then both he and Amy quickly smother her in hugs and kisses and praises so she is only upset for a brief moment.

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

Anon asked: Why does Sonic spy on Shadow and Aurora when they go on a date or when Aurora visits Shadow's house?

A: Sonic is an overprotective dad and he doesn't like the idea of Aurora dating anybody (even though she's a grownup). It doesn't matter who she was dating, he doesn't think anybody is good enough for his baby girl. He spies to make sure they're not getting into trouble (it's just for the sake of comedy, don't take it too seriously).

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

djanims asked: maybe weird question but has aurora ever seen shadow in his super form and if not what was her reaction?

A: She has! I've drawn them together in their super forms before :) She thinks he's an angel

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

Anon asked: Has Shadow told Aurora about who Maria was in your continuity?

A: Absolutely. Maria played a very important role in his life, so of course he'd talk about her. The grief will always be there but with time and by becoming more comfortable opening up to Aurora, he finds it easier to reminisce on the good times he had with his sister.

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

Anon asked: How did Sonic and Amy react to Aurora and Shadow having 8 children like I just imagine *first born* "Oh my goodness congratulations!" second born still happy. At the 8th their like "Wow... Rory that's um great... Lots of grandkids.." So yes that's how I imagine it going but how about you, this question has really taken over my mind. 🤣❤️❤️

A: Hehehe, 8 grandchildren is definitely a lot. BUT! I headcanon that Mobians are a bit more like animals than humans are, so the idea of 'litters' isn't totally foreign (though maybe not as common in modern day Mobius). In my AU, Shadow and Aurora have three litters (so far, hehehe) so it went 3 kids, 2 kids, 3 kids, so they weren't exactly expecting to end up with 8 children, but they're happy all the same. I think Amy would be over the moon no matter what. Sonic would love all his grandkids and be excited about all of them, but also I'm sure he'd be secretly laughing it up at how chaotic the Shadora Home must be at all times and he's just glad that he and Amy had it super easy raising their only child. Plus I could see among friends and family there's an ongoing joke of "So... Aurora, Shadow.... How many next time?"

-

SHIPPING ASKS

kkrucy asked: What your opinion on other ships then sonamy?

A: There are plenty of ships that I like and there are plenty that are not for me. I don't like to announce the ships I don't like, there's no good in doing that. Some that I like include (but are not limited to) KnucklesXRouge, Shadamy, Sonadow, SonAmyShad, MetAmy, VectorXEspio, KnucklesXAriem, RougeXTopaz, WhisperXTangle, Dr.RobotnikXAgentStone (from the movies), SilverXBlaze, I even like BlazeXRouge if I'm being honest (You can blame TMOSTH for that!)

scaredforcewielder asked: I know it's a bit early, but would you consider doing Sonic and Amy's first Christmas as a couple?

A: I know I did it off-season, but I already made a several Sonamy comics for Christmas this year. I always want to draw more Sonamy and I would love to draw their first Christmas as a couple, but honestly I don't know that I'll have the time to do that this year. I hope those mistletoe comics helped to tide you over!

dean-alice-rose asked: What is your favorite sonmy moment? And it can be in your comics or official. Also what is your favorite comic that you made?

A: Gosh, it's really difficult to pick a single favorite Sonamy moment! If I had to narrow it down to just a few... One would definitely be episode 52 of Sonic X where Sonic returns to their planet and he and Amy have that heart to heart. I can't tell you how many times I've watched that scene, I found it to be the epitome of romance even as a kid! A small moment that actually meant a huge deal to me was in The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, where Sonic calls Amy "radiant." It's just one line, but wow, what a magnificent compliment! That's way more powerful than simply calling someone 'pretty' or 'great' in my opinion. I have too many favorites, I could go on forever haha! I don't really have a favorite comic that I made, they all mean a lot to me. "My Gal" is maybe what I'm most known for and that's great because it was so personal and I poured SO MUCH of my heart into it. But I have fond memories of every single comic I've made and each one has helped better my writing and drawing, so they're all special to me no matter how silly or serious they are.

Anon asked: In the future, would there be a chance to see CC and Tails again? I always adored CC and loved her design, plus her relationship with Tails. I was just curious as to if you had any future plans for them?

A: Definitely! I have plenty of ideas for them, I just need to dedicate the time to drawing it out. I'm so happy you enjoy that pair so much!

Anon asked: What are your thoughts on Metamy? (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

A: I ship it! It's not at the top of my list but I still think it's super cute and no matter what, I've always had the headcanon that Metal has feelings for Amy (he's meant to be like Sonic, after all, so if I believe Sonic likes Amy then surely Metal would, too!)

Anon asked: Do you ever compare video game couples to each other? - ✍🏻?

A: Of course, it'd be impossible not to. Personally I relate Sonamy to NathanDrakeXElenaFisher (Uncharted) the most out of all video game couples. Both pairs have an undying love for adventure and enjoy traveling the world. Elena/Amy are definitely more cautious and careful than Nathan/Sonic who're a little more gung-ho, but in the end they make a great team and can keep up with one another.

whiteghos asked: What is Sonamy’s love language? >v< <3

A: I always say that Amy is the physical embodiment of love, and because of that I think ALL the love languages suit her! She expresses her love in every way possible and I'm sure she'd be happy to receive it in any way Sonic is willing to give it 🥰 It makes sense to me that Sonic's would be Quality Time and Acts of Service. Sonic always loves to do his own thing, so whenever he's willing to spend his time with Amy (whether it's grabbing dinner with her or even if it's just sitting in a pile of hay with her), I think that says a LOT. I don't think Acts of Service requires explanation.

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

whiteghos asked: What is Shadora’s love language? >v< <3

A: This is hard to narrow down and I feel like love languages fluctuate. For now, I'd say they both share the love language of Physical Touch. Individually, Aurora leans more towards Words of Affirmation and Shadow is Acts of Service.

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

Anon asked: Are you gonna make a full comic on Shadow and Aurora first date like you did with Sonic and Amy?

A: I'm not 100% sure if it will become a comic. I definitely have a fic in mind, and maybe I'll do some supplemental drawings to go along with it. Sonic and Amy's first date was 'easier' because Sonic and Amy already have an established history. Shadow and Aurora have to get to know each other before they start dating, so it'd be easier to accomplish in a fic rather than a comic. If you haven't seen it already, I did write a summary of their first date.

–

Thank you all for the questions!

Evay QA Bulk Post 1

Evay QA Bulk Post 2

Evay QA Bulk Post 3

Evay QA Bulk Post 4

Evay QA Bulk Post 5

[evajellion]

Mean Bean Tsuu Demo Review

Wow, cool. This is a thing that exists as a work in progress. Gonna shoot my shot and give criticism while praising some stuff, as I do.

Biggest praise right away, love the graphic and soundtrack adjustments to to the main gameplay. The remix of Green Hill Zone is great. The main three now also use the final boss theme that Dr. Robotnik had. It's a neat touch.

Actual criticism I have (that isn't the lack of offset rules, they are gonna add that in the full game) so far is that apparently this game is going to follow "a story more in line with that of Japanese Classic Sonic canon"…

I mean not for nothing, but the whole appeal of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine is that it's set in the AoStH universe and has the characters. I would lean more into that aspect than just using generic Badnik designs. I asked what some other peeps thought, and they agreed.

I love the effort put into Coconuts, but… as much flack as DiC gets, I definitely always thought this design was an upgrade from Sonic 2 to the cartoon.

There is room for compromising the designs, which would have been to use the reboot Archie comic one-

But yeah, I mean, I would have reskinned Humpty into DOS Holiday instead of altering Coconuts for the demo. And of course, I think they should just use characters from the cartoon. AoStH does have good designs despite how out there they are.

Also- not criticism, but damn, how do you expect me to pick on poor Humpty when he's so sweet? I could never. 😭

Not sure if the fan favorites are gonna be removed from the final, that doesn't bode well, given how popular Davy Sprocket always was with deviantArt users.

One last thing I would like to go over, is that although the game is based on Puyo Puyo Tsu, it probably isn't going to have the… frankly, insane roster it had for the time. A whooping 33 opponents (37 in the Sega Saturn one), with a score system that determined how quickly you can get through the game. That's a tall order that no one could easily fulfill unless you reskin Puyo Tsu in its entirety.

But I do hope the full game does at least have more than 13 opponents, and includes the "first boss of the first game becomes a penultimate enemy" that was done with Draco. Arms deserves a redemption arc. :)

Besides offsetting, I hope they add the rest of the Puyo Tsu features such as "ALL CLEAR", Rule Henka (Point Puyo and Hard Puyo), and how crazy the nuisance queue can get.

Maybe also make a silly name for the title, since the whole "tsu" thing only works in Japanese. "Robotnik's Eggspertise Machine"? "Mean Bean Part 2: Electric Boogaloo?" I dunno.

So yeah, dunno if anyone from SHC will see this post. I don't have an account there and joining the Discord makes me nervous, so this is just a drop in the ocean I'm making here lol.

Hope my silly yaps are taken into consideration. If not, then that's okay too. We AoStH fans will take anything at this rate.

Demo can be found here if anyone wants to try it out.

[randomthefox]

The guy who made this tweet later said he was joking, but you wouldn't be able to tell since there are a lot of Sonic fans who say this stuff sincerely. They'll turn on a game within days of its release and say they "realized it sucks". So after playing it for a week and loving it, the controls suddenly became terrible? Either way, this "joke" pretty much confirms Sonic "fans" like shitting on Sonic games and making the franchise they claim to love look worse just for the hell of it. I don't know why, as a Sonic fan, you would want to make a game look bad, even though it's not. We all should how people on the internet treat Sonic. If you say a Sonic game is bad and don't clarify that you're joking, most will take your words at face value and just run with it.

There's also the problem of Sonic fans feeling the need to shit on one Sonic game to prop up their favorite. Whenever people compliment a Sonic game, it's never just "This game is awesome, it controls well, I love the story, etc". It's always "This game is awesome and way better than garbage like [insert Sonic game here]! Too bad Sega doesn't make stories and gameplay like this anymore."

I've seen Sonic Unleashed fans on Metacritic give Sonic Colors low scores simply because its story was more comedic and simplistic. Why do Sonic fans feel the need to make Sonic games look bad, especially Sonic Colors, a great game that critics generally liked? Putting down one Sonic game to make your fave look better isn't gonna draw people to the franchise, y'know?

Thank you for sending a screenshot off of anon, instead of sending a url to twitter under anon. Sincerely.

I'm sure the only reason he said he was joking was because he got blowback. He made the mistake of having an actual opinion instead of just following the herd off a cliff.

It's really just the inverse of the way everyone talks about Sonic Forces. People decided before the game even came out that Sonic Forces would be bad. And so after it came out that was the only acceptable opinion to have about it. People decided that Shadow Generations would be the best shit ever and a return to form for Sonic. So now after it's come out that is the only acceptable opinion to have about it.

People make up what their opinion about a Sonic game is before they even fucking play it. If they ever actually play it.

So when someone DOES actually bother playing it themselves, and they realize "hey this isn't like what everyone was saying it is like" they get mobbed and browbeaten into conformity. Which is annoying. I do not agree with unleash_yt's opinion, but it disgusts me that people basically punished him for expressing it and forced him into compliance with the accepted majority consensus.

I think it's perfectly reasonable for someone to get swept up in the hype train for a game, play it themselves, and realize "wait this actually blows ass." It happens all the time. Look at No Mans Sky. Look at Duke Nukem Forever. Look at Daikatana. It is a routine happenstance in the video game industry. And people really should learn by now to NOT get swept up in the hype machine. I was extremely critical of the hype machine around Shadow Generations for this very reason. I was saying at the time that Shadow Gens is just going to be a short little expansion pack for an existing Sonic game that was already short on its own, and while it would sustain ME a hyper Sonic fan, it would NOT sustain people who are more casual.

And. Like. I was right =P but because the majority consensus had already been decided about Shadow Generations before it came out, now nobody is allowed to deviate from it lest they suffer the retribution of Being An Individual. Like, I think his complaints are weird and dumb and wrong. The controls are just exactly the same as Sonic Frontiers. And the level design is no different from the level design of any other Boost era Sonic game. But he's allowed to just not like the game. At least in my book he's allowed. Obviously in the book of the Sonic """""fans""""" he's not allowed to have an independent opinion, he MUST conform to the majority consensus OR ELSE.

>There's also the problem of Sonic fans feeling the need to shit on one Sonic game to prop up their favorite. Whenever people compliment a Sonic game, it's never just "This game is awesome, it controls well, I love the story, etc". It's always "This game is awesome and way better than garbage like [insert Sonic game here]! Too bad Sega doesn't make stories and gameplay like this anymore."

Yeah I can't fucking stand that shit. You can't convince me your wife is beautiful by telling me how ugly every other woman at the bar is. At best it's just going to make me hate YOU, and at worst it's going to make me start thinking your wife is a bloated cow. Sonic fans have an EXTREMELY bad habit of this and it's completely idiotic because it can ONLY possibly appeal to people who already share that opinion. If the basis of your glazing up Sonic Unleashed is "SONIC FORCES SURE DOES SUCK ASS DOESN'T IT LOL" then only people who already like Sonic Unleashed and dislike Sonic Forces are going to agree with it. People who like Sonic Forces and don't like Sonic Unleashed are just going to be alienated. And people who think both games suck are just going to think you're a dumbass for thinking there's a difference when they're both the same garbage.

People need to go to the store and buy some fucking self esteem and figure out how to talk positively about the things they like entirely on their own merits without senselessly bringing up other pieces of media to compare them against for no reason.

[welcome-to-green-hills]

the vibe I’m getting from the movies thus far is that they pick new characters based on how much hype they’ll bring and how much they can raise the stakes from the last film. With that in mind, Amy and Rouge don’t fit either category, so I can’t see them showing up at all :/

Hello my dear!❤️✨

I completely understand the frustration that you’re feeling on your end. Let me assure you that it’s perfectly okay to feel upset not seeing your favorite character(s) on screen. It’s a normal feeling. I promise.

This information is all in my pinned post. I think that it goes back to the “January” tab. (I’m not sure, my brain is fried from course work today). The way that the crew includes characters is based on how the story is projected, as well as audience familiarity with characters. They also follow a standard of introducing one or two characters at a time.

Sonic a very popular game franchise. It’s been that way since the 90’s. This logic would actually fit myself (a 20+ year fan) and my mom, who was a fan of Sonic in the 90’s with her cut-off year being Sonic 3 & Knuckles. They’re going to include Sonic characters that people know. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Robotnik, and Shadow are recognizable characters.

It’s understandable that they’re going this route. I do recall that I’ve said back in 2021 not to expect Amy Rose or Rouge. With what I’m seeing so far, the main story revolves around Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Dr. Robotnik, and Shadow. And that’s okay. Shadow has a lot to unpack and it’s one of the most rememberable stories in the franchise.

Here’s the good news: the SCU crew engages a lot with Sonic fans. That, and most of these crew members have worked on Sonic games. They listen to fans a lot and value feedback (if you’re civil, mind you). I believe that if you’re vocal about it, then you could get them included in a potential fourth.

I hope that this helps, my dear.

[mewkwota]

Sonic the Hedgehog!!!!!!!!!!! (No one is surprised I asked him)

Hmm this one may be tricky, my history with him is a brief one! (As in, I'm not a Sonic fan, I just know him. If that makes sense.)

Send Me a Character

And I will tell you my:

First impression Recognizable. I know a lot of people like him, he's like a "friendly rival".

Impression now From what I've seen, I can tell he has a big heart. But if I have to be honest, I am afraid to talk about him or his series.

I will, however, share a funny story. Once when I was a wee teen, I somehow decided that Sonic was my "game partner", even though we had no huge connection or history. So during my middle school years he would help grant me his speed and I would pick him in games that we happened to play where he was included.

Then it weaned away over time and it's just pleasant to see him from time to time. I'm still not sure how that came about, but I still remember it. Thank you, Sonic. :)

Favorite moment I haven't really checked out enough games to pick one?

Idea for a story Hmm, I can't recall if I had any specific stories where he's involved.

Unpopular opinion This isn't specifically pertaining to Sonic himself, but I have an unironic soft spot for Sonia and Manic. They exist in my heart.

Favorite relationship I don't have any specific one?

Favorite headcanon My grasp on the character or his series is not enough to pick one. ;;

I'm so sorry if this ended up sounding like I had no answers, I am answering very honestly about this. L(///L )

[i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle]

Formal Announcement of ending I Dream of Twilight Sparkle

Hello everyone, I am announcing that today. I am closing I Dream of Twilight Sparkle after 12 years. And unfortunately canceling that final story I alluded to before. Because each time I tried to start it, I just couldn't find the motivation or got too distracted by something else.

I think after 12 years my creative juices when it comes to ponies has come to an end. I think it's fair to say I've done enough. As just about every character I wanted to get a form of closure got it. Both Secrets of the Dragon's Tear and Earnest Empathetic Change I think alone already kinda serve as good finale stories in the closing years.

The story I had in mind to close things off would have simply been a timeskip of more than 1000 years where Twilight and Starlight have kept the peace. And IDOTS' versions of the G5 Mane 6 just being part of one of many, many, generations that got to flourish under Twilight and Starlight's rule. The G5 Mane 6 were going to be invited to Canterlot's castle. And got to personally speak with Twilight, Starlight, and the spirits of the rest of the G4 Mane 6, Sunset Shimmer, and Queen Chrysalis.

Sunny Starscout and the rest would then be sent on her way to Saddle Arabia where she'd get the opportunity to be asked if she'd like to have the honor of being the next Equestrian Genie after Twilight. The story would end on it being open ended on whether Sunny would accept or not. Cause regardless of how it went, I have no intention of moving on to a I Dream of Sunny Starscout blog or anything like that. So it'd be up to someone else if they wanted to pick up the mantle to start their own Genie Sunny story.

Kinda sucks that I'm canceling a G5 related thing as well when Hasbro itself is canceling G5 plans what with Tell Your Tale ending very soon. As while I will not lie, G5 never grabbed me the way G4 did. But I think the characters had potential. And if nothing else, Misty Brightdawn was perhaps the best thing to come out of G5 overall.

But back to I Dream of Twilight Sparkle. I've had a lot of fun with this blog and met many friends thanks to keeping this up for so long. Some I haven't seen or spoke to in years and may never see again but still appreciate the time I had with them, and ones I still maintain friendships with to this day.

I'm not sure I could ever say enough words for everything that's happened in the 12 years I was running the blog. But I think it's the right time to have it all come to an end. I have nothing more in mind for the universe of Genie Twilight that I really want to cover. I also formally canceled Geniequestria not too long ago. It almost feels like I'm leaving the fandom entirely. But I still plan on hanging around. There's just nothing I have in mind that's pony related from a creative sense.

So thank you to every follower, asker, and friend I've ever made through this blog. I will keep the ask button open on IDOTS for a good while in case there's people who feel obligated to say their goodbyes or any other kind of message. I may even answer them here, if they have a form of question or feature them anyway if it's a touching sort of message.

As for what I'm moving on to, my creative efforts are focused entirely on Cosmic Heart Zone. Which is a Sonic-themed blog about my favorite Sonic character Tails and Cosmo the Seedrian (A character that was Sonic X only in official continuities, but in this case an AU where she was involved in many of the main games). So if you're a Sonic fan, there's at least something you can still follow me for, as I have some exciting things in mind for this.

Otherwise I'll still have my mod blog if you want to talk with me about any subject that doesn't relate to I Dream of Twilight Sparkle or any of my other blogs.

It's been a long 12 years, feels so much longer than that almost. Once again thanks for every follower, ask, and interaction I've ever had from going on this long.

It becomes hard to let go of something you've ran even as just a hobby for over a decade. But I think now's a good time to do so now. Thank you all for the memories.

[bltngames]

Mod Spotlight: Sonic Forces Overclocked

So this is an interesting little thing. For those of you not aware, Sonic Forces Overclocked (if I'm remembering right) was originally an attempt to "fix" Sonic Forces by expanding all of the levels and even completely rewriting the story. Obviously that's a big task, and the developers eventually realized that, scaling it down into what could best be described as an "Encore" of sorts -- an epilogue story where the villains make one last desperate final push, spread out across remixed versions of eight of the game's best levels. All told, it's about an hour worth of content.

Which is... actually totally fine. With eight (technically seven, but the final boss still counts) levels, there's plenty to see. Actually, pacing is probably Overclocked's strongest suit.

The original Sonic Forces was a pacing disaster; levels often felt like they were cut off at the knees, usually ending just as they were getting started. That's never true in Overclocked, as each level took me a good 3-5+ minutes to finish. Levels in Overclocked are also massively improved in other ways, too -- all that extra length is put to good use with Sonic's trademark alternate pathways, new enemies, and new interactive elements. Interactivity is up across the board. Sonic Forces loved to lock you into long, obnoxious scripted set pieces but Overclocked keeps you firmly in control most of the time.

Which brings me to something I'm not entirely sure is a complaint: difficulty balance. If you've been reading this blog long enough you know I can be pretty picky about difficulty balancing, and the way its handled in Overclocked is interesting.

Generally speaking, Overclocked treats the boost like "expert mode." It's there for people who know the levels already and want to push themselves to do it faster. At first it's fine -- boosting means you'll miss some alternate paths (shortcuts, most likely) but you can still bumble your way to the end of the level and coast by on C ranks. The further you get into the game, though, the more it starts to punish you for trying to go fast without knowing what you're doing. The safety nets that would catch you in earlier levels go away and Overclocked tells you to either slow down or get serious.

Which... I think I'm fine with? The thing it brings to mind for me is the two Sonic Rush games. My favorite one is Sonic Rush Adventure, because it's more accessible (read: easier to learn) than the first Sonic Rush. At the same time, the first Sonic Rush ends up being the more replayable of the two games, because it's a lot harder to master. The higher skill ceiling has kept me coming back to Sonic Rush long after it felt like I wrung all of the gameplay out of Sonic Rush Adventure.

So the idea of a Sonic game not only facilitating a higher skill ceiling but maybe even encouraging that? Not the worst way to balance things, as long as you keep the less skilled players in mind and communicate things correctly. Which, at least for me, I feel like Overclocked does. It started to kick my butt at certain points, but never in a way that felt too mean or unfair. And that's exactly the way it should be, though it should be noted I haven't exactly put myself through the hell of trying to go for higher ranks.

The one real complaint I have about the levels is something I've been observing for years, and unfortunately my fears came true: the lighting.

I've talked about my monitor in the past. I bought it somewhere between 2011 and 2012, so it's getting up there in years. I believe it was the first thing I ever purchased with my Youtube Earnings. It's starting to get kind of dim in its old age, and it's exacerbated by the fact I like to keep it on its "Theater Mode" setting, which gives me really good black levels (for an LCD) and amazing color. But it's an aging monitor, so those amazing black levels end up feeling a little dark, depending on the game. For those of you who caught my halloween streams this year, you know I ended up switching my monitor to its "Standard Mode" because it flattens the contrast and makes the darkest darks more visible. It could be argued that I should just leave the monitor in "Standard Mode" at this point, but I can't stand how Windows looks with it turned on.

To cut to the chase, I had to turn on "Standard Mode" for Sonic Forces Overclocked. In keeping with the theme of this being an encore, a lot of levels have wildly new lighting applied to them, with many levels set later in the evening or at night.

This blankets a lot of levels in a single color and lots of high-contrast shadows, which makes character, enemy, and hazard visibility incredibly difficult. In some levels with a lot of high-frequency noise (like Chemical Plant) it can be difficult to tell where your character even is on screen sometimes. In other levels, like the revamped Mystic Forest, the blue-on-purple-on-teal color scheme makes for a readability nightmare (as does the Death Egg Core level with Buddy, with a red character navigating a level full of orange fog, lit by pink and yellow lights).

When you're running through these stages at a couple hundred miles per hour, it all blurs together into something that's sometimes either too dark or too muddy to parse. At one point Sonic jokes that Infinite's aesthetic is "monochrome colors" but I'd rather have the levels be readable at a glance than hanging a lampshade on it. Things just need to be a little brighter, with a little more diversity of color to highlight the edges of roads and incoming hazards.

The story is... fine. It's not incredibly deep, and it doesn't need to be, so it works well enough. There's actually a surprising amount here, though, from mid-level chatter, map screen debriefings, and even full on cutscenes. Voice acting duties seem to be handled by Adrenaline Dubs, who I subscribed to last year for their surprisingly good dubs of Archie and IDW Sonic comics. They turn in some pretty high quality work here, often rivaling Sega's official dubbing efforts. My only real complaint is that Sonic's dialog is a little too referential; his call-outs during levels often reference other infamous lines from different Sonic games ("The whole city's on fire!", etc.), and sort of like how the game pokes fun at the monochromatic lighting, there's a line where Sonic even cringes at his own dialog a little bit. "We're admitting it's bad, but still doing it anyway" is not a healthy design ethos.

Earlier I mentioned cutscenes, and rather than the complex, high-budget cutscenes Sega had in the original Forces, Overclocked instead opts for motion comic videos. Artistic duties for these cutscenes are shared between a handful of 4 or 5 different artists, each bringing their own art style to their scenes. Generally, I think this is a good move. A little more consistency between artists would make it feel a bit more polished, but seeing the art style change between scenes has its own charms, too. It really drives home how much of Sonic Forces Overclocked was not only a team effort, but to some degree, a community effort. Many different hands touched this project, and it is better for it.

It's easy to focus on the negative things I said about Sonic Forces Overclocked here and think I came away not really liking it. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think this is a genuinely impressive mod, with significantly better level design than the base game. It has a few problems, sure, but the overall product, when taken as a whole, is absolutely wonderful. This might be a bit incendiary and hyperbolic, but this close to the top of the list as the most fun I've had with a Sonic game this year. If you own Sonic Forces on Steam, it's not to be missed.

Download: https://gamebanana.com/mods/485051

[pixelrushiguess]

this has got to be one of your funniest animations yet! 😂

https://x.com/adampixelrush/status/1829894389646422415

But in all seriousness though, I’m curious… What are your GENUINE thoughts on Sonic X Shadow Generations? (Just curious).

Personally, from what we’ve seen thus far, I’m both kind of excited but also a bit skeptical about it (Shadow the Hedgehog is my least favorite game in the series, so the fact that they’re bringing back Black Doom already was kinda off-putting for me). I mean, in terms of gameplay, it looks FANTASTIC, and I definitely think it’s going to be one of the best games to play. And while I do think that Shadow's Doom Powers are a… questionable decision at best, I can’t deny that it’s a very creative concept and could make for very entertaining levels (my favorite one is probably the Doom Surf).

Now as for the story… considering the same hack writer behind Frontiers and Dream Team is involved, I honestly have zero hope about the story being good. But hey, even if it’s trash, at least I know for a fact the story will be better than the utter nonsensical trainwreck that was Shadow the Hedgehog 😂

But what do you think about it?

It's actually been kind of nice to not be on the hype train for a change. Like I'll play it and I'll probably enjoy it, but I'm not foaming at the mouth for it, you know? I think Frontiers burned me so bad that I'm not letting myself get excited until I'm sure it'll be good. In terms of gameplay it looks pretty neat, the Doom Powers are something different but I also hope the don't stick around after the game.

The only real concern I have is the story and characterisation, so I'm holding off my thoughts until I see what they do. I trust the Japanese side, ESPECIALLY because Shadow is Izuka's baby and I know he's very involved in this one. It's just the English localisations I'm worried about.

But yeah, not super hyped, not dreading it. We'll just have to wait and see.

[sonknuxadow]

okay big wall of some of my shadow generations thoughts . spoiler warning obviously

i will start by just saying that this game is soo good like in general. ive said before that i was initially very skeptical of this whole thing but very quickly changed my mind upon seeing the first trailer and im SO glad that it did turn out to be good. this feels like one of the first times in a really long time that theyve put actual care into shadows involvement in a story instead of just throwing him in something for five seconds because they know hes popular. the game IS a bit short but i was expecting that and its somewhat reasonable considering its technically only half the game. but what we did get was great. we are so back .

i love the gameplay i talked earlier about how i like that they put more effort into making shadow play differently from sonic by incorporating his chaos powers into his gameplay, but the doom powers are really cool also and were such a fun addition. ive always wished they would do more with shadow being part black arms but didnt expect it to ever come up again so everything about this is kinda surreal to me

i love love love the optional dialogue i went out of my way to make sure i didnt miss any of it and theres so many cute ones and i have to stop myself from mentioning specific ones on this post because if i do ill be going on forever

also the music was good Obviously thats a given with sonic games. but special shoutouts to the menu music i thought it was a cute detail that sonics side had a remix of it doesnt matter while shadows was a remix of throw it all away. and that all hail shadow remix for the final boss goes sooo hard i was honestly expecting them to use i am all of me but this is cool too

as far as criticisms and nitpicks go. uhhhhh . this isnt that big a deal but i do find it the tiniest bit disappointing that they didnt really leave anything a surprise in terms of the gameplay, if im remembering right they showed pretty much everything in the trailers except for the final boss but im sure everyone knew who that was going to be it was jut the specific form he took that was the surprise. but like i said its not that big a deal especially considering they didnt show much of the story in the trailers so it balances out in a way . also i didnt know what the best place to put this in would be but i just wanted to say i got so excited when i got to the final stage because radical highway is one of my favorite sonic levels . peace and love on planet earth

i also think chaos island was a weird choice for a stage because all the others are from games shadow is a main character in but he isnt in frontiers at all? maybe they didnt wanna repeat games and were running out of ideas so they just threw a frontiers stage in since it wouldnt have any representation otherwise. i dont know.

there is only one real "this sucks" thing for me and its rouge's voice acting. its soo terrible ive never liked her current voice but she sounded particularly bad here to the point where it was distracting..... when it comes to other voice actors who are one of my less liked voices for their character im at least able to say that theyre doing a good job or have improved a lot over the years even if theyre not my first pick. but i swear to god rouge has gotten worse

anyway . good game . the ending made me tear up a little. thumbs up emoji . will probably play sonics side at some point too but idk if ill do it today

[e-vay]

Evay QA Bulk Post 5

Here we go again! These do not include Domino or Phlox questions as I plan on addressing those in a separate post. I couldn't get through as many questions this time around but I did what I could. I'm sorry, I'm just a little mentally and emotionally overwhelmed right now so I can only respond to so many at a time.

Thank you all for reaching out ☺️ Despite my brain, I am always very appreciative to hear from you!

PERSONAL ASKS

sayain-princess-vegenta asked: What is some original artwork or stories you've been working on lately? I know you probably get a bunch of questions for established fandoms but spoil us with your own thoughts! 😇

A: Well that's very kind of you to ask! To be perfectly honest, I mostly stick to fan art or creating original characters that exist in an already established world. I only have one personal project that is completely original, but so far it's only character designs. I don't have a full story or world built yet. I'm not sure if I'll ever share it on here.

Anon asked: Who or what made you wanted to do art?

A: There wasn't anyone or any particular thing that made me want to draw. I've just been drawing since I was able to grasp a pencil (or crayon) in my hand and I've never stopped! 🥰

Anon asked: Have you ever caught someone stealing or drawing your art?

A: Ohohoho, allllll the time

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MISC SONIC ASKS

Anon asked: Do you still like sonic boom or are you over it?

A: My love is everlasting!

Anon asked: Hello Evay_art I always wonder have you always thought doing Amy Rose game???

A: Hi! Do you mean for me to make an Amy Rose game? I don't have the talent to do that, but gosh do I want there to be an Amy game so badly! ☺️ She deserves it! I would love to play a game devoted to her. I thought The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog was especially great because she was a major character in it!

Anon asked: What is your opinion of Sally Acorn? Do you like the idea of her and Sonic have had a relationship? In fact, something I never got an answer for, is she considered canonical?

A: I'm not a fan. Plenty of people can argue for or against Archie characters, but Archie is not considered part of the game canon like IDW is.

Anon asked: I keep on hearing everyone talk about Hell Hath No Fury, so I finally got curious enough to read it! I have to say that it was coming out really good! Do you plan on working on it again any time soon?

A: Thank you for checking it out! I'm glad you were enjoying it. Yes I do plan on picking it back up eventually.

Anon asked: Does HHNF take place in Sonic Boom(Sorry if this is a stupid question)

A: It's not a stupid question at all. HHNF is a Modern Sonic story, not Sonic Boom. Also, it is not part of my AU. It's a completely separate story 🖤

fungus101 asked: Can you do more Werehog stuff

A: Oh I plan on it! I love drawing werehogs!

Anon asked: I have a question since sonic boom has been over for a while now. Do you still like the designs from it or have you moved on? Cause I know the sonic boom designs are somewhat of a future designs for some of your comics. I was just wondering if it would be Recon at this point

A: I still love the Sonic Boom designs and they're still part of my canon. I try to draw more than just Boom (I've been especially neglectful of the Modern designs and I need to do a better job of that), but the Boom designs are still my most favorite to draw.

sonicx1027 asked: Hey Evay, I’m curious if you are going to make another comic in the future, especially with the new Sonic Characters being added from the IDW series. If you are, have a story in mind?

A: I definitely plan on including IDW characters in future comics! I need to catch up on the IDW comics before I feel comfortable enough to write anything. I want to make sure I keep them as in-character as possible. But in the meantime I do have plans of having them make little appearances.

itsyourboysworld asked: on a scale of one - ten how made are you that we still don’t have a trailer for sonic the hedgehog 3 because for me it’s infinite

A: WHY ARE THEY TORTURING US?! GIVE US A TRAILER!!!! I am sure it will be worth the wait but it's killing me.

Anon asked: How do you feel about Mighty the armadillo?

A: It's funny because I think one of the Tailstube videos (or perhaps it was one of the Twitter takeovers) made the point that Mighty is basically just a more mellow version of Sonic and I do agree, I've always thought that. I actually think he's like a fusion of Sonic and Knuckles, but super chill.

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MY OCs/AU ASKS

emceevoices asked: In Boom Baby, what was the movie Sonic, Amy, and Eggman were watching? In my dub, I had them watch the 93 Super Mario Bros movie, but did you have any specific movie in mind?

A: I believe you're talking about Chapter 5.1 of My Gal. They are watching my own make-believe Overwatch movie lol I just wanted an excuse to draw Mercy as a Mobian

toonfan91 asked: Oh my gosh I thought your tumblr was dead, as a fan of your work it is stellar seeing new Sonic art from you again, or art at all really. I do have one question, if you were to have the time and willingness to, would you draw designs for the Freedom Fighters (Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor and Nyx) that fit in your AU and try to work them subtly into it?

A: I'm still alive! Haha 😄 Thank you so much, I'm really glad you are enjoying my new work! I'm sorry to disappoint but I was never a fan of the Archie comics or characters, so no I do not include them in my AU. Sorry!

milangakokoros asked: Has pensado dibujar a whisper y tangle como si fueran parte del AU donde Aurora existe? Como serian sus vidas? Dime que estarian casadas jajsjj

A: I do plan on adding Tangle and Whisper 🥰 I need to get caught up on the IDW comics to make sure I'm writing them in-character, but they will make an appearance in the near future.

furrylovergril495 asked: Also how old is Aurora? Ps I think she one of the nicest fan kids I ever since

A: Thank you so much, I'm so glad you like her! 💗 I don't like to include exact ages because I don't think Mobians age the same way humans do. Especially since SEGA has redacted the Sonic characters' ages. But for majority of my drawings, Aurora is the human-equivalent of about 20-23 years old.

Anon asked: can you draw super Aurora and tell me what abilities she has

A: 😊 I've drawn Super Aurora (aka "Aurora Borealis") quite a few times! [x] [x] [x]. She has all the standard Super Hedgehog powers (Flight, strength, invincibility, etc.)

thechosenflow asked: How does Metal sonic interact with Aurora? Are they friends or does Metal act as a guardian?

A: I've only drawn the two crossing paths once. I like to think that Metal Sonic is secretly in love with Amy, and so when Amy and Sonic get married he is pretty devastated. Maybe he gets his own Metal Amy and has his own Metal family??? 👀

Anon asked: So we know that Sage is best friends with Aurora but how is she with Rouge and Knuckles son's? I forgot their names😭

A: That's okay, I have a lot of characters. You're asking about Ruff & Tumble! Honestly I don't see her having much of a relationship with them. They are quite a bit younger than Aurora so I don't think Sage would have much reason to be around them often. HOWEVER! I do write Sage to have a friendly-competitive relationship with CC, and since CC does not care much for the hyena boys, that means Sage automatically gets a kick out of them.

antooogamer asked: What happened to Sonic's scarf? Do you keep it or when you retire will you give it to one of your grandchildren?

A: With how much danger that hedgehog gets in to, that scarf would have been ripped to shreds! No way it survived long enough for his grandkids to have it 😆

Anon asked: Have Aurora ever met Blaze, Sliver, and Amy's parents?

A: Blaze and Silver are friends with Sonic and Amy so she definitely would have met them at some point. I originally wrote Amy's parents as having passed away before she and Sonic got married, but I recently decided to change that! The Rose 'rents will be alive in my canon! So yes she'd have met them, too!

cyberdiesel asked: What is Aurora's relationship with the Gogobas and Froglodytes (including Og) like?

A: Aurora does not have any relationship with them (I did not care for them so I don't plan on ever drawing them haha)

Anon asked: What did Sonic and Aurora do for Amy on Mother's Day?

A: They spoiled her rotten by making her the most delicious, sweet, unhealthy breakfast imaginable with pancakes and ice cream and all the flavor syrups! Sonic even cleaned up after!

Anon asked: Does Aurora loves Chillidogs like his father?

A: Nobody loves chilidogs as much as Sonic haha But she does enjoy them. She kinda has to, chili dogs are a staple in the Rose household!

medi0creartz asked: There’s something I’ve been thinking for a long time. I don’t know if someone asked you this but has Cream and her Mom Vanilla ever meet Aurora?

A: Of course! Cream is Amy's best friend. Aurora absolutely would have met her!

echidnapower asked: So, difficult philosophical lore math question for you. 👀 Aurora and Sage are besties. Aurora is the daughter of Sonic the Hedgehog. Sage is Dr. Eggman’s daughter. Dr. Eggman wants to destroy Sonic and take over the world. Sage never wants to hurt Aurora. Eggman hurting Sonic would hurt Aurora. Sage is "presumably" loyal to Eggman. Solve for X, if you know what I mean. >:)

A: echidnapower you always ask the tough questions! It might not be very exciting, but Eggman mellows out in my AU as he gets older and he even adores Aurora, so he has no intention of hurting her. Sage does want to rule the world and make the Eggman Empire reign supreme, but she wants to do it passively and by intelligent means, not through destruction ;) Sorry that's a boring answer for you!

km0901 asked: Hi again! A question that's been on my mind lately comes from your "Time travel" comic. In it, we know that Aroura goes back in time to save Shadow, but from what? I first thought it might be DR. Eggman, but he has seemingly moved on with his life along with everyone else. This leads to the big question, who or what is this new menace?

A: I know this is a disappointing answer, but I can't reveal what the threat behind that storyline is yet! You'll have to wait when I can finally write that story out as a fic. All I can confirm is that the threat is invented by me. It is not an antagonist from the game canon. I'm so sorry I can't share more!

Anon asked: will you ever draw your human AUs for sonic again sense you have a newer art style ( btw speaking of art style i Love it and absolutely adore everything you post)

A: You are such a sweetheart, thank you! I'm really happy to hear that. I'll draw human Sonic characters again, just not sure when :) Some people really hate the way I draw the gijinka Sonic characters so that's why I don't do it much. But whatever, it is what it is. It's not going to stop me forever lol I'm happy you like it!

Anon asked: I love the design for Movie Aurora!! Since Tom and Maddie are like Sonic's adopted parents (if Aurora lives on earth), would you see Tom and Maddie show her tons of affection like grandparents?

A: Thank you so much! Yes I'm sure Tom and Maddie would be over the moon to have a grandbaby! I have the cutest vision in my head of them having to buy doll clothes for her since she's so little.

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

Anon asked: Now that i thought, have the Shadora Offspring ever met Black Doom? If they did what's their relationship with him?

A: The Shadora Horde are aware of their lineage [x] [x], but no they don't have a relationship with Black Doom at all. If Black Doom were alive, Shadow definitely wouldn't let him anywhere near his kids.

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SHIPPING ASKS

aeroranger100 asked: What inspired you to make My Gal? Or maybe I should ask, what got you on board the SonAmy ship in the first place? 💙🩷

A: My Gal came about simply because I thought, if Sonic were to ask Amy out, how would it go? Although I love sappy romance and angst, I actually prefer writing comedies so I put it in the Sonic Boom universe because I could go super silly with it! Though, I still think their date might go sort of like the events of My Gal no matter what universe it takes place in 😉 As far as why I first started shipping Sonamy, it was simply by learning who Amy was in the first place! The moment I saw her and got to know her character I thought, oh, this girl is the one. I wrote a very detailed post about it a long time ago if you'd like to read it! It wasn't meant to persuade anyone, it was just meant to illustrate why I'm so passionate about those two!

Anon asked: Your Sonamy art always gives me life and I love whenever you draw them smooching😘😘 Question: Do you have any art of Sonamy making out? Or if you know of another artists could you point me to them? I'm having cravings!!

A: Thank you so much! Honestly I feel like I draw them making out all the time 🤣 The entire ending and Epilogue of My Gal is just them kissing constantly haha! I'm working on some birthday drawings that should satisfy that craving of yours 👀

Anon asked: Hope I’m not annoying but what are Shadow’s, Sonic’s and Amy’s orientations(sexualities)? I know you answered What are shadora children sexualities but I really am curious about this. Also,love your art💜🙌

A: You're not annoying and thank you for the compliment! Honestly I can only answer for my own characters because they are 100% made by me. Unless SEGA officially confirms what Sonic, Shadow, and Amy's preferences are then I can't say for certain. We can all just imagine what we want.

Anon asked: Are Sonic and Amy still an active couple when their grandparents? And what do you mean by active e-vay? 😏Plz explain if you want😊…. I’m very curious 😂

A: Anon, you are too funny. You can't ask me a question and then follow it up by "what do you mean" when it was your question! 🤣 Yes they're still very active, however you mean it to mean! 😜

Anon asked: Do you think boom sonic has feelings for amy as well?

A: Absolutely I do! He was so sweet on her in that show!

Anon asked: What if sonamy was a same gender couple?

A: I've said it before but I'll say it again: As long as they're together and they're happy, I'm happy!

Anon asked: hi e-vay what's ur fav sonamy universe?? (boom, prime, etc.)

A: Hi! Wow, that's really difficult for me to pick. Boom was definitely the most fun for me. That show made me laugh so hard and Sonic and Amy were both so handsome and pretty, and they were so funny the way they interacted. I am still 100% of the belief that they were secretly dating during that show!!! But Modern has the most potential. It can be fun and it can be serious, so if they ever wanted to take Sonic down a romantic path I think it would be more meaningful in the Modern context.

Anon asked: desearía tener más contenido tails x cc realmente los amo!!

and makarov asked: More cc x tails comics pleeeaseeee🥺? And will you do an cc x tails animation?

A: I'm so happy you like the LoveBytes (TailsXCC) ship! I promise I'll draw more in the future 💛 I'm sorry for the wait. I don't know about an animation but definitely more drawings to come.

nightfurylover31 asked: I’ve been listening to Backstreet Boys again to relive my childhood, and the songs “Shape of My Heart” and “I Don’t Wanna Lose You Know” feel like perfect Sonamy songs! 🥰💙🥰🩷

A: Backstreet Boys! Talk about ROMANCE! I love those and of course now I will associate them with Sonamy 🥰 Thank you for sharing!

blueberryydraw asked: hey e-vay! I love your works and I'm a big fan of Sonic. Would it be possible for you to make a Sonamy movie? :)

A: Thank you so very much! Are you asking if I could make a sonamy animation some time? If so, I can't say much about it but there is a very special project I'm working on! It won't be ready for a very long time, but when I can talk about it, I will!

ultimate-guardian asked: What do you say about Knuckles x Mighty?

A: I don't personally ship the two of them together

*The next question is a Shadora Ask. Skip if you don’t like Shadora

Anon asked: Sonic does not want Shadow to date Aurora cause he thinks he might hurt her or is it because they don't like each other?

A: It wouldn't matter if it was Shadow or not, Sonic doesn't want Aurora dating anyone. He doesn't think anyone is 'good enough' for his daughter.

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Thank you all for the questions!

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