#sonic is unhappy about this development

[0vergrowngraveyard]

before the war started, tails was finally starting to open a bit more and began to let himself to act like the child he was

when the war ended, he vowed to never let himself to act like that again

[xdraonarts]

SaTBK PROMPT WEEK || DESTINY || DAY 1

[Prompt List | [Day 2] | [Day 3] | [Day 4] | [Day 5] | [Day 6] | [Day 7]

@sonicstorybook​ @satbkpromptweek​

I’m not late to the prompt week I was excited about earlier this month whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat This also didnt take a span of around two days noooo

Anyways! I’m here! Decided to start with the Destiny prompt instead of the Champion prompt because I figured it could be a real cool opener for a SaTBK centered lore illustration event (as if my body doesn’t hate me enough over this piece alone)!

During this week (or perhaps more) you can embark on a daring adventure with many new and familiar faces! You can also always feel free to send asks and such about this particular little universe of mine, It may not be as developed as my main Sonic Forces-based AU currently is, but I hope you’ll have fun with it anyways!

Plot Synopsis should probably do one of these for my main sonic universe huh below the cut since I’m already rambly enough.

After the majority of his group is slaughtered by a knight, the infamous bandit Infinite the Jackal finds himself using a mysterious red gem to fend his final bandmates, Eterna the Jackal and the recently joined Exxie the Fox against an old foe who’s been chasing him for as far as he can remember, Slash the Doberman. While the stolen gem’s power proved itself quite useful as a surprise, Infinite draws the attention of Sir Tristan and Sir Galahad, who quickly subdue the Jackal with a combination of holy and psychic magic and send the bandits running.

Now with a target on his back for not only Slash to see, but the knights of Camelot as well, Infinite makes the difficult decision to separate from his partner and their new recruit to keep them safe and begins a quest of his own to find out more about his new tool and to slaughter any knight he comes across. Unhappy (understatement) with how quickly the Jackal Squad has been... forced to separate, Exxie and Eterna devise their own mission to reunite with the Jackal once more.

After months on their separate paths, Exxie and Eterna start tricking whatever knight they can find into becoming sacrifices to their old bandmate, who has been struggling with the Ruby he once used as a weapon attempting to consume him. Due to this, Infinite enlists the help of Emperor Ivo Robotnik... under the condition that Infinite battles on the side of the Robotnik Empire and allows himself to be studied by the empire’s astute scientists, One of Which is Francesca the Daschund, who proceeds to aid her ruler in the task of finding a way to harness the gem Infinite brought with him, which they have dubbed as ‘The Phantom Ruby’.

What new threat will the Robotnik Empire pose to it’s rival kingdom, Camelot? Will the final three Jackal Squad members be forever separate? When the Phantom Ruby’s power finally rears it’s ugly head, will the world as everyone knows it come to an end?

...Well. You’ll just have to find out over the course of this journey, wouldn’t you say? ;)

[egg-emperor]

do you consider sage a child mentally or just a fully developed ai with the appearance of a child?

Definitely not a child mentally and that's canon too. I get confused by the popular take of fanon Sage acting like an actual toddler because she wasn't like that at any point in the game. I see her being infantilized a lot with people saying she's just a poor little baby that needs protecting despite her being very smart and mature and literally being created to be Eggman's protector instead lol

Because Eggman obviously didn't create or code Sage to be a child because he wasn't looking to create a daughter, she was an AI program built to protect him, an "it". He didn't see her as such for a while after creating her. It would just be weird and random if Eggman decided to make his AI a child when she wasn't even going to be like a daughter to him in her creation, it doesn't make sense.

Plus I'm in the belief that Eggman didn't design her appearance at all and that was a way Sage just took form by her own choice or something like I talked about here. Because in the prequel comic, intro, and post credits, she's just a disembodied voice like an AI program would be. Plus she doesn't look like his typical style of design for his creations.

And with this Sonic Channel art caption of him not liking how Sage looked without shoes so he gave her some in it, that also gives the impression that he didn't design her because he could've just created her to have those in the first place and made her to his preference otherwise. So yeah there's quite a lot of basis for him not having a hand in it.

Because making Sage his child wasn't the intention behind her, the most childish she could be is if he unintentionally coded his childishness into her as the manchild he is. XD But it seems she only reflects his genius and intelligence in the way he really wants for with her smartness, loyalty, and efficiency and was actually more mature than him in some moments.

He wouldn't purposely program her with "negative" traits and if she did show childishness instead of smartness, loyalty, and efficiency then she would lose her appeal to him, as that's specifically what made him like her so much. She's supposed to be reflecting how much of a genius he is and her acting like a child would only do the opposite and he'd be unhappy with that.

Her being superior to organic kids conceived through traditional procreation and birth by being made with code and electrons instead like a true genius would as Eggman put it in the memos, and also smarter than the average child with her intelligence, are things for Eggman to brag about for how it reflects his own genius as her creator, just like he bragged in the memo.

So it just wouldn't make sense for Eggman not only to design her to be a child, which I don't believe he did as there's stuff than can be used to support that theory, it also especially wouldn't make sense for her to be coded to be a child mentally either and if she did turn out that way somehow, I think Eggman would alter and fix that as her maturity and intelligence are the things he values.

So yeah I see her as an ageless artifical intelligence program that happened to take the appearance of a child but that's the only sense she is one, she's designed to be ageless and with the intelligence of the adult middle aged man who coded her lol. I see people making her act like a toddler on Charmy and Cream levels (not to say they're dumb but I mean in terms of behavior) but really a closer match is Tails for her behavior and intelligence

[blazehedgehog]

Are you aware of the reason that Yuji Naka insisted that Sonic 3 be developed in Japan?

Did he? I'll admit, I used to be a little confused about this topic, and what happened to Sonic Team following development of Sonic 2 in America. Generally I now consider Sonic Retro's "Development History" sections to be the gospel here, and that's never mentioned anywhere on the Sonic 3 page.

Sonic 3 was still developed in America, still developed at the Sega Technical Institute, but they worked exclusively with other Japanese developers, and even brought over some fresh faces from Sega of Japan.

Wanting to keep the ball rolling, Sega once again looked towards the Sega Technical Institute and the now-veteran game creators Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara to create a third entry in the main numbered series. Fresh from the intense creation of the second game, Yuji Naka at first hit the same hesitation that he had when approached with Sonic 2, not wanting to simply work on the same game over and over again. He finally agreed to be a part of the project if he was allowed to work primarily with the Japanese-half of STI, hoping to avoid much of the drama that resulted during the last game because of the differences between the Japanese and American work culture. […] Many new members were sent over to STI from Japan, including young game designer Takashi Iizuka. Iizuka had enjoyed Sonic 2, but one of his ideas to improve on its concept had to with multiple playable characters. Sonic 2 had introduced Tails, but playing as the character didn't offer any substantial differences from playing as Sonic. The solution was to give each playable character in the game different unique abilities and have their progressions through zones be slightly different from each other.

(emphasis mine)

Generally speaking it sounds like he was unhappy with the uneven quality of work he got from the American artists on Sonic 2 and wanted Sonic 3's development team to be much closer to people he was comfortable around.

Even though the entire reason they formed STI was to educate American game developers on how to do things the "right way." (Remember: there was a time where Japanese game development felt lightyears ahead of everyone else!)

[beevean]

I read your tags about Silver, and I hadn't considered that yet... so maybe you are right, haha. I just find it a shame; I love the idea of external Sonic media broadening the world and diving into stories the games can't tell simply because those are restricted to a game format the story must be tailored to. I really find it unfortunate that current external media like Prime kind of seem to fumble the ball for me with trying to have Sonic go through developments he does not need in the first place. And then if the premise also does not catch my attention on top, and the other characters allegedly got mangled as well... It does not make me unhappy, it's just a kids' show in the grand scheme of things, but again, it's just a shame. I want to love it and enjoy it, I really do, but so far it seems that things that would help make me love it, like IC characters and nice interactions between them, might not be in there.

I'm very salty that in 32 years, the only adaptation that tried to stick close to the game universe and tried to expand it has been IDW.

Yeah.

Even good adaptations are not very faithful - I like the OVA as many do here, but there was no need for the Land of Sky/Darkness and the odd catpeople populating it. Sonic X was basically a reverse isekai lmao. AoSTH was Looney Tunes Lite, SatAM was a huge exaggeration of the Classics' environmental message turned into a dystopic world, Boom was its own odd AU, the movies are very loose retellings of the games so far and set in the human world like X, and Underground was Underground.

And Prime keeps the tradition by being about the multiverse, and too bad that no universe can be as fleshed out as the canon one for obvious reasons. And it pretends to have depth by adding unnecessary "character development", which results in characters that are actually not the characters I've grown fond of.

I think the ideal Sonic adaptation should simply be slice of life stories, something cute like Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog (this sounds so weird out of context jfdskfhk). Or like the last IDW issue - I liked seeing Knuckles and Amy travel through Angel Island to put an ancient artifact to its place, all while bantering. It was cute! It was about characters I care about! It was about characters that in the game barely speak to each other! It was about a location from the games, a game that I played and I can recognize and I want to see more of! That! I want that! Why does everyone insist on creating AUs that have nothing to do with the canon series? D:

[stratumgermanitivum]

WormmonABC

I've honestly wanted to tell this story for years, and for some reason I never did, but today seemed as good a day as any. It's very likely no one will care, and this post will sink into the abyss of tumblr. There's even less chance the one who should see it ever will. But it lives inside of me, waiting to be spoken.

About twenty years ago, when I was too young to legally (or emotionally) be on roleplaying message boards, I was on roleplaying message boards. I started out lying about my age on Neopets, and soon moved on to lying about my age on Proboards and the like, infesting fandoms like Sonic and Teen Titans with my particular neurodivergent brand of elementary school social skills.

This particular story took place in the Danny Phantom fandom. I logged on every single day after school to plop my not-even-tweenage butt into as many channels as I could, throwing my super special Mary-Sue into every thread, solving plot points in a single sentence like the awesome story-telling fifth/sixth grader I was. Everyone loved me.

(Narrator: They did not, in fact, love them).

One day I logged on to a message from another user. It's been decades and I no longer remember her name. It may have involved Phoenixes, but that could also have been any number of members I harassed befriended in my youth. For convenience, we will call her P.

P was the leader for one of the threads I had invaded. The other members had reached out to her in desperation. They were sick of my magic Mary-Sue, of my godmoding (I had not yet grasped the concept that roleplaying was not like writing stories, and not all the characters were mine to play with), of my inability to allow a plot to develop because I solved all problems immediately, and especially of my tendency to message them that the online users list had held their name for fifteen minutes now, why had they not yet replied to the RP thread?

P was, as gently and kindly as she could, informing me that I was no longer allowed to participate in the RP thread. The other users had had enough. I made everyone uncomfortable and unhappy, and I was no longer welcome.

I handled this with all the maturity an elementary school child could, by which I of course mean I argued with her furiously.

P said, "I want to tell you a story."

She told me the story of WormmonABC, a younger fan just like me, who had been so excited to find message boards, and who had shared all of my fun habits. For some reason, P's username escapes me, but I have never, ever forgotten WormmonABC.

WormmonABC, P said, had also one day been told she was no longer welcome. WormmonABC had also been devastated, had also fought and begged, and had also been denied. And then WormmonABC had grown up and become P, and she was so grateful to have had her nonsense stopped so she could learn from her mistakes, and one day I would be so grateful too, and she knew I'd be better and find a place in fandom where I was happy and so were the people who knew me.

I handled this exactly as well. I was a friendless neurodivergent child stuck in a horrible homelife, and these message boards were the only place I felt good, and I was terrified of losing them. I told her I would NOT be grateful. I told her she was a bully. I outed my age for the first time ever and told her she had made a child cry, and didn't she feel bad about that? I begged again to be allowed back.

P remained, patient, kind, and unyielding. I was not allowed back. I was wished luck. And then she stopped responding to me.

It's been twenty years, and I still think about P. It's been twenty years, and I wish I could tell her:

Thank you. And you were right. I started improving soon after that (although I did have a brief stint of 'making my own roleplaying board, with blackjack and hookers' first). I no longer made those same mistakes. I grew up. And I am so, so grateful, and I wish I could tell you face to face.

P will never see this. I get a fair bit of interaction on other sites, but tumblr is not my domain. This post will get one or two likes, and then fade into obscurity. But I had to say it. I had to get it out.

So if you were once a little girl called WormmonABC, if twenty years ago you were a member of a Danny Phantom roleplaying message board, and if you had to kindly but firmly tell a young, ungrateful child to fuck off (My username is lost to the depths of trauma-gapped childhood memory, but I may have been going by Kitkat at the time): That child grew up. They remember you. And they are sorry, and grateful, and you changed their life for the better.

[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

[ayearwithoutwater]

Six.

“Love Again” was one of my immediate favorites upon the release of Dua Lipa’s 2020 album Future Nostalgia. I remember thinking that that album was a solid pop record: its sledgehammer hooks are underpinned by immaculate grooves, and its sonic palette yearns for the disco ‘70s. It’s no surprise, therefore, that 2020 was also the year that I finally educated myself about the music of the inimitable Donna Summer.

I was raised on the piano. My mother had a great love for the instrument but never had the time to learn, so she would live her dreams through me. Beginning as early as age five, I was expected to practice daily on the household piano, originally an old upright piano that was later swapped out for a baby grand Kawai. During car trips, the radio was only ever attuned to classical stations.

Naturally, as I grew up, I developed my own likes and dislikes. Through my bedroom radio, I discovered the likes of Michelle Branch, Avril Lavigne, and Hilary Duff via Radio Disney. Classmates introduced me to LimeWire, which came into my life just before MySpace did, too. Although it was more widely known for being the proto-Facebook, MySpace was also the premier venue for music discovery, in which I would get lost for hours as I scoured for new music. I wanted the coolest song to display on my profile by musicians who were obscure-but-not-too-obscure, and it’s how I came to be a fan of Taking Back Sunday, Something Corporate, and Senses Fail. Music became my first love because I, like so many others, sought to escape an unhappy home; a catchy melody could take up residence in my head, and obsessing over lyrics occupied my mind. My school journals from this period of my life are still covered in my scrawled doodling as I incorporated into my imagination the lyrics of Hot Fuss, my favorite album by The Killers.

One June day after my big breakup, I wandered SoHo with my sister. In the downstairs section of the MoMA Design Store, she played the opening chords of “Clair de Lune”—one of my favorite melodies of all time—on a standing keyboard, evoking a deep sense of nostalgia from within me. As she played, I told myself that, if I managed to patch things up with Henry, I would play the piano with him.

I can pinpoint the exact moment I realized Henry was falling for me. We had been dating for a couple of months, and I was randomly scrolling through his Instagram feed. (Habitually, on social media, I mute or suppress notifications from the men I date unless I think it’s become serious enough to unmute.) I came across a recent video he’d uploaded of himself sitting at an upright piano in his parents’ home, playing his way through and singing “Love Again.” Partway through watching the video, it struck me that he was singing about me.

I have to admit, I was charmed.

We were still in the early stages of our relationship at that point, but all the signs were there of something more taking root. We were spending all of our time together and I had begun to meet his close friends. He was constantly in my apartment to the point that we were starting to discuss eventually moving in together. I knew he was special, I knew I needed to protect him, yet still I feel like I ultimately screwed it up.

When it all ended, I tried to find refuge in music. (I was basically catatonic, anyways, so all I could do was lay in bed and listen to the same sad songs on repeat.) Each year, I create a playlist of songs that I’ve come to enjoy during that year; 2022’s playlist, however, is still a field of landmines for me all this time later—listening, even now, only transports me back to the darkest chapter of my life, where all I could think about was him, him, and him.

Some of those songs include: Tina Turner, “Private Dancer” Harry Styles, “As It Was” Percy Sledge, “Love Me Tender” Kehlani, “altar”

In my time of need, music also had a funny way of finding me.

Before this, I’d never spoken to my parents about my love life. It’s a subject for another time, but suffice it to say that credit should be given where it is due: my mother tried. When she learned what had happened, she suggested that I go back to California for a brief reprieve. So, with my tail tucked between my legs, I went home. That year, I returned to California more times than I did in the past half-decade combined.

In my (American) hometown, I tried to recuperate. Being away from the hustle of New York and being away from Henry, I hate to admit, did bring me some measure of relief. I spent time with my loving, dopey, three-legged dog as well as my friends from high school. I even tried to shoehorn myself into (ill-advised) hookups, rationalizing that I needed to learn how to mingle once more.

I agreed to meet one man, someone I'd met only once before, but neither of us was able to host this time. He came up with a solution, claiming that he had a friend who'd offered us their house for our use. The address he gave me looked suspiciously familiar, but still I drove to it, bad idea notwithstanding, because I was a shell of myself and I no longer cared about propriety.

I showed up. I knocked on the front door, he let me in, and we did the deed. Post-coitus an hour later, after I had put myself back together, I left, and—instead of going straight to my parked car—I went next door and rang the doorbell.

The door opened, and I was greeted by my childhood piano teacher.

Because I don’t often revisit my hometown, I’m sometimes asked to look in on her. As I took a seat in her living room, I looked around—two grand pianos side by side, a couple of dogs, a few cats—and recalled all the years I spent in that very same room, oftentimes a welcome reprieve from my quarrelsome parents. She was a fierce, blunt instructor who hailed from Beijing and possessed a strong streak of kindness. She taught me more than just music theory: her home was where I learned how to regularly interact with pet dogs and cats, and it was where I had my first taste of (my now-beloved) oxtail. After one instance of my childhood self breaking down in tears as a result of her tough reprimands, she softened her approach with me and we developed a good rapport.

I hadn’t seen her since I graduated college, so we had a lot to talk about. I told her about my life in New York and that I was in town to attend a wedding, which prompted the evergreen question of when I myself would be getting married. I wasn’t quite in the mood to come out to her at that moment, so I explained to her my ongoing breakup with my “girlfriend.”

She admonished me, telling me not to give up. She told me to go back to “her” apartment every day, with flowers and gifts, until “she” either shooed me away or, God willing, took me back, because that’s what a man does when he’s truly devoted to his partner.

I merely nodded along. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that I’d spent months sending “her” red roses and apologies between New York and Singapore, that I’d bawled my eyes out every night, every week, that I grieved the disappearance of the one person out of all my past lovers I ever wanted to marry, that I was functionally a zombie because I’d lost my better half forever. Thus, I listened to my piano teacher and pretended to agree that I would go back to New York and make all my amends. By then, I already knew that “she” wasn’t ever coming back.

My teacher switched topics to idle gossip. I updated her on the activities of my immediate family; she talked about her neighbors. Interestingly, there was one neighbor in particular who she’d known since he was six years old. Now in his thirties, he was openly gay and still lived in the same house. She’d installed security cameras all over her property and even once called the police to investigate the strange men coming and going from his home…because he lived right next door.

After our visit ended, I drove to a random plaza, where I sat on a nondescript bench and mulled my thoughts over a blended taro slush drink and pan-fried soup dumplings, alone. She’d told me not to give up, but I knew I had to; I was certain that I needed to move on.

As I ate, I pulled out my phone—with its battery at less than five percent—and began another listen of my 2022 playlist.

[true-blue-sonic]

About Lanolin, I recall a while back there was a semi-popular? fan theory that she would turn out to be a villain of some sort, apparently just because of there being a couple panels where she was drawn looking kind of sinister.

I mostly dismissed it after Eggperial City since it was hard to see where a motive for her to be outright evil would come from in her backstory, but I wonder if things like her being harsh with Silver but lenient with Duo and screaming furiously at Tangle as she pulls them out of the ravine are deliberately playing into that thought a bit?

It seems to me that yeah, she's supposed to be at least sometimes a bossy no-nonsense hardass and not particularly easy to like, but I also wonder with the way things could be going with Mimic not being exposed as of issue 67 (maybe with Lanolin's help, unwittingly or not?) if Lanolin will develop into somewhat of a hero-aligned antagonist moving foward.

I have heard of the theory; I even dabbled in it myself for a bit! But especially in issues 37 and 41 she just looks... off?

Just... unhappy, unengaged, uninterested, exhausted, stressed, dour, down, whatever you want to call it. And as far as I know, no explanation is provided for this! Is she overworked? Overwhelmed? Is she unhappy in the Restoration? Is she feeling out of place? If so, then why is she suddenly out in the field doing actual battles against Eggman despite the fact she is clearly not prepared for that and doesn't know how to lead a team? She does look sinister, or just extremely tired, but nothing comes of it except that she's suddenly a main hero, basically. But that leaves me wondering why they drew her so uninterested and down in the issues she was in before #57.

I definitely agree there seems to be no reason for her to be evil: she herself also states that she wants to protect the world against Eggman and ensure no-one needs to go through the helplessness and terror that she has. And I really do see no reason for her to lie about that! But the way she is trying to achieve that, indeed by bossing around the actual heroes like Sonic and Silver while simply not being on top of things with her own team, plus her insanely short temper with especially Tangle (and Silver :<), and the fact everyone listens to her as if she's been the boss for years, is very strange in that regard. While I do think it would be interesting to have Lanolin develop into someone who realises that the way Sonic and friends work is fundamentally different from what she is willing to deal with, it strikes me that the comic seems to paint her and her line of thought to be in the right instead. She hardly gets scolded for her temper and bossiness, nobody speaks up for the people at the receiving end of that, and the one time Tangle did say something eventually ended in Lanolin kind of being right after all. So I am definitely interested in how her personality is going to develop, also in relation to Mimic's upcoming betrayal of the New Diamond Cutters and the fact she fell for Duo's disguise hook, line and sinker... but like, not curious in a positive way. I would be highly surprised if the comic did a full 180 and suddenly presented her as being villainous for her ideas and methods/developed that further, let's put it like that.

[angelofdiamond]

@semi-sketchy 1/? ( Sorry is long this reblog)The thing that I appreciated about season 2 is that even Eggman is aware that Chris is not a selfish person and that he is not that kind of person with that kind of attitude that the government has towards Sonic however he was acting like that but he is not that kind of person even admitting that Sonic and Chris are so close that they have always been getting in his way. Did he overreact? Yes, but not unjustified and Sonic understood from the beginning that Chris is not a selfish person, that he restricted his freedom and that: "betrayed their friendship," and in episode 51 he practically makes it clear to them: theirs has always been a true friendship and everything Sonic did was by his own free choice even becoming his best friend, staying and following him however, there is to say Sonic also realized that his second best friend and little brother kept it all inside because he takes too much into consideration what people think and in doing so however, Chris was not actually "free" because people kept demanding that he had to be forcibly okay with that particular situation literally Sonic with that speech told him: " Chris don't give a damn about them it's not fair that their thoughts or way of life or choices have to make you unhappy." Chris effectively was "selfish " towards himself not towards Sonic because he kept everything inside his heart then creating unnecessary conflict for himself because not only Sonic in the next episode literally shows him chr he could leave whenever he wanted, further proving that he never forced him, but also that he was not the cause of the time suspension phenomenon and that he did not want to leave either but the government actually forced him indirectly because once again, they were blaming him for something he didn't have and without even concrete evidence, which Chuck also stated in episode 49 and the previous episodes make us understand that Sonic was not blocking the time motion of the world but only, inadvertently, the time of economy and development since half of the global population was behaving like him and "progress" was not advancing however the world was still running with the day-night cycle etc...

And that's season 2 done.

Yeah, definitely prefer season 1 still. Adventure arcs are bad, Battle is good, although I had zero memory of every other episode. There wasn't anything wrong about them, actually they can be quite enjoyable, just there's nothing really memorable. That is, until the last few.

I didn't think I'd like them as much as I did on this rewatch. It's a joke that everyone hates Chris, but it's just kinda...validating to see the show literally call him out?

Even how he reacts, it's wrong, he knows it's wrong, and yet, Sonic isn't mad. He doesn't fight Chris for taking away his freedom. He knows Chris is being selfish, but also knows this isn't malice. It's something important to him. He waits for Chris to finally ask what he wants.

It's just so...Sonic. I don't know how else to put it.

He doesn't lecture Chris, doesn't even express his own feelings on the situation, just keeps going "whatever you want" until Chris admits to himself what he's doing. He just lets his friend breathe and grow because he isn't the scolding type.

Also it's incredibly cute that the first place he goes after coming back home is Amy's house.

It was a good ending to season 2 and the show in general, but of course, they got commissioned to make one last season and I am so excited to get into season 3.

[dustedmagazine]

Toxic Waste — Belfast (Sealed Records)

Photo by John Campbell

Belfast by Toxic Waste

The mid-1980s were crushingly unhappy times in far too many places: El Salvador, Afghanistan, Soweto, Southwest Philly. And so on. But we shouldn’t neglect Belfast. The dominant narrative of the Troubles features a number of signal events from the period: the Bobby Sands-led hunger strike; the bombings at Hyde Park, Regent’s Park and the Grand Brighton Hotel; the Maze Prison escape. For the population of Belfast, everyday life was an ongoing experience of being under the cosh — of the S.A.S., of the U.D.A., of the I.R.A. (and the Provisional I.R.A., and the numerous smaller paramilitary groups espousing loyalty to Ulster, to the Republican cause or to generalized mayhem). Walled-off neighborhoods, guard posts commanded by men with heavy guns, regular patrols of armored vehicles—the city was a de facto warzone. Hence the name of the Warzone Collective, an organization run by a bunch of Belfast anarcho-punks during the mid-1980s and intermittently through to the present. Toxic Waste was a punk band active in the Warzone Collective, and Sealed Records has done us all a very serious solid by reissuing Belfast, an anthology originally released in 1987 that collects a number of Toxic Waste’s songs. It’s a terrific record, documenting some oft-overlooked music from a vital punk scene and its vigorously politicized response to the lifeworld’s chaos and violence.

The songs on Belfast are taken from two moments in Toxic Waste’s development: Side A has been selected from records produced in 1985 and 1986: From Belfast with Blood — The Truth Will Be Heard, a split EP with Stalag 17 released by Mortarhate (run by Londoner punks Conflict); and We Will Be Free, an LP compiling songs by Toxic Waste, Stalag 17 and Asylum, first released by the Warzone Collective. Side B includes tracks from a later session, featuring Toxic Waste’s Roy Wallace alongside members of DIRT, a London-based anarcho-punk band. There are sonic consistencies that render the sounds on both sides comparable, most notably the dual male and female vocals, though on Side A, founding member Patsy sings, and on Side B, you hear Deno from DIRT. For both line-ups, the influence of Crass is palpable, in the interplay of the voices and the relative simplicity of the songs’ constructions — and legend has it that Toxic Waste was created in the aftermath of a 1982 Crass gig in Belfast. 

You can draw a fairly direct line from Stations of the Crass (1979) to We Will Be Free to Nausea’s Extinction, from “You’ve Got Big Hands” to “As More Die” to “Godless.” That sort of genealogy building is informative and interesting, but the importance of the immediate social context of Toxic Waste’s music should not be reduced. The situation of anarcho-punks in a politically fraught conjuncture like mid-1980s Belfast lends the music a particular power. Songs like “Tug of War,” “Burn Your Flags” and “Religious Leaders” demonstrate the band’s continual symbolic and ideological displacements, to a marginal in-betweenness, then to a radically placeless outside. As anarchists, the punks in Toxic Waste weren’t Catholics or Protestants, Fenians or Loyalists, natives of Sydenham or of New Lodge. Their relations to Northern Irish identity were infernally complex. There’s this, from “Song for Britain”: “You take a look at Northern Ireland / And think it’s too far away to worry about / But it’s not that far / And you may have to experience what we’ve put up with for years.” That seems like a collective “we,” cutting across the country’s sectarian lines. But in a city so divided, where could that “we” live with any sort of stability? And from whence does the treat in that final clause originate? Then on “We Will Be Free,” you hear, “I am not Irish / I am not British / I am me / I am an individual / Fuck your politics! / Fuck your religion! / I will be free! / We will be free!” Shorn of national, religious and political markers, who is that “We”? Is it the same “we” that speaks in “Song for Britain”?

It’s impossible to say for certain, and all of those contingencies and fluidities make the music on Belfast volatile, always on the move, always riven with restless desire. Perhaps the most coherent statement of the intent driving Toxic Waste can be encountered in “Traditionally Yours” (present on the record in two versions, from the two iterations of the band — a double voicing that further complicates all the other double voicings): “The struggle became a movement / Human rights was its concern / ‘How dare they!’ cried the rich / We’ll see those fuckers burn!” The anarchist language embedded in the passage is as powerful as it is ambiguous. What do we make of the past tense? Does that indicate that the movement is moribund, undone by Northern Ireland’s violence? And what about that “we”? Is it spoken by the song’s lyric speakers, representing the anarcho-punks that sing? Or is that “we” the “rich,” expressing their outrage at and malign plans for the anarchist cause? The syntax remains unresolved, and while Northern Ireland’s worst armed struggles have receded, these songs remain explosive, messages from displaced people that systems of oppression would like to exploit, exhaust and cast aside. But even the most institutionally entrenched powers find that Toxic Waste isn’t so easy to dispose of. 

Jonathan Shaw

[sujiescraps]

Sonic and Amy marrying then having a family would be cute IMO. However, I feel there’s another route that I feel would be more interesting, if not better. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if SEGA were to make that decision for them to stay as a lasting couple. If they were to do some future/adult spin-off thing.

For Sonic things mainly stays the same except he has a real place to undoubtedly always call home where Amy waits for him. He comes home after every adventure (I don’t think Tails’s workshop atm is the same thing). For Amy, she is a homemaker and a part-time boxing instructor. Already, she seemed to have a life that has adventure added to it whereas Sonic’s is adventure pretty much all the time. So for her, things mainly stay the same too. This would be during their adulthood. By then there’d be touches of maturity with both of them; Sonic is more ok to compromise and Amy is less forward with her affections. With some thoughtful development, I believe this can work without sacrificing what makes them… them.

Amy is one of the few characters that most people can see having a family, but I strongly doubt SEGA would choose anyone that isn’t Sonic to do it with her.

Though if she’s still a “hopeless romantic” by the time everyone is at that age, it may give an impression to the general audience, especially to the non shippers or those neutral with SonAmy, to be like “Amy, just move on and find someone else to make you happy. Sonic will never be interested!” and understandably so. Even I would think that’s not a decent way to present her. As I said before, SEGA is/will most likely not have Amy ever be with anyone except Sonic, and vice versa.

From my POV when it’s said Sonic and Amy most likely won’t get together or as Naka said that Sonic will never have kids or Oshima said Sonic will always have the heart of a boy, makes sense because they eternally stay ageless, hence the dynamic doesn’t change much either. Yes, there’s been a few tweaks but not to the obvious boyfriend/girlfriend status we’re more familiar with.

I head canon that many of their friends are married and/or have kids while they’re not, but still do the same things if they were. The reason why the two don’t take the next step isn’t because they don’t feel ready, it’s because they see that their current state as a couple is good enough for them and being the best choice in the long run. This version of SonAmy would tell us that a couple that’s not the traditional way is no less inferior than ones that are. Let’s admit it, too often couples are mainly seen as only “canon” if married and/or have kids. Having those things in life can lead to strong lasting happiness but it doesn’t always have to.

Bonus, with them we’d be spared family drama like resentful kids or unhappy parents, and instead probably get to fully focus on their dynamic. I think that’s what most of us would like to see anyway. Not that it would be completely drama-free but you know.

A few more head canons of mine: (This applies when they’re adults, NOT as minors like we always see. A little mild NSFW)

The residence is a quaint cottage perfect for two on the outskirts of town.

Sonic and Amy are the super cool Aunt and Uncle to their friends’ kids.

They do domestic things together while at home. Yep, Sonic does the household chores too.

Ooh yes, they also train together to hone their abilities.

If Amy doesn’t have all the ingredients for a meal or missing something else by the time Sonic returns, Sonic never hesitates to go and come back with whatever is needed.

Sonic excitedly tells about his latest adventure after the day/night he returns. It never gets old to Amy; in fact it’s one of her favorite things.

Sonic never forgets asking Amy about whatever happened for her while he wasn’t home.

Sometimes Amy joins Sonic on adventures.

During moments of peace they’ll travel together.

Neither of them do pet names like honey or darling (especially Sonic) but the love is vibrant as always.

At first, Sonic had to learn to be more gentle during sex; Amy never felt any pain but it could be less rough.

Amy has been on top during sexual activity but for the most part(like 99%) it’s Sonic. Don’t worry, that never bothers Amy.

P.S. In the married AU

Their wedding didn’t last longer than 15 minutes and 12 seconds.

SEGA gives them twins; a boy and a girl.

Their son has dark pink fur with Sonic’s green eyes and their daughter has light blue fur with Amy’s green eyes.

[skyedancer2006]

HELP MY SONIC INTEREST IS COMING BACK—

TBH, I’m not unhappy about this development. Sonic has been one of my favorite game/show franchises since I watched the show based on the Archie comics (I think the “official” name for it is SATAM?) when I was in… 1st or 2nd grade I think? I really need to go rewatch that show; it was so good!

Undertale and the AUs are still my hyperfixation though, so don’t worry about the skeletons going away any time soon! There will probably just be a few Sonic characters sprinkled in every now and then.

Anyways, have a Metal Sonic since I am currently obsessing over him. He turned out surprisingly well considering the fact that I’ve never drawn a robot before. I am very proud of his hands.

[emeraldhazeart]

I kind of want to ask about Robotnik for the bingo, but you'll probably have to choose a version of him since there are so many. For a second one, how about ... Marlin, from AWL and DS?

Thank you for the ask ❤️

Robotnik:

I'll go with the ingame version of the character, since that's the one I'm most familiar with.

Dr Robotnik a.k.a Dr Eggman is a very interesting character.

He would be terrifying if he was real: the guy's got a (physically impossible) IQ of 300, after all! It's amazing he's not a bigger threat to Sonic & Co.

I don't think he'd work as a character without Sonic, tho. He works best as villain, and no villain is complete without their arch nemesis.

I will say this: Robotnik is a much deeper character than he first appears. Canonically, he's a romantic and a gentleman! And I love the Final Story in Sonic Adventure 2 where he willingly teams up with Sonic (who he just tried to kill!) in order to stop the plans of the man he looked up to his whole life.

Robotnik has a lot of potential as a villain, and I think he's best when he's allowed to just go loose and chew the scenery, a little bit. But I don't like it when he's just treated as comedic fodder. He is still meant to be a powerful evil genius, after all.

Marlin:

Marlin's... Interesting.

Normally I'm all about brooding guys, but Marlin feels a little...flat, to me. Maybe it's because I never played Another Wonderful Life, so I never got to really experience what he's like as a love interest.

Like most Bokumono characters, he's rather underdeveloped. I wish he opened up to the player the more you get to know him, like Gray. I think he's got a lot of potential to be a very interesting character, it's just a shame it wasn't really explored in game.

I will say, I kinda hate his relationship with Celia in DS. They both seem utterly miserable the moment they're married. I suppose the developers wanted to go the whole "X love interest really belongs with the player - they'd only find true happiness with you uwu", but it breaks my heart to see them both so unhappy the day after their wedding!

[blazehedgehog]

Are you happy where Sonic fangaming is now?

Well, I'm not unhappy. It's about the same place it's been for about ten years, maybe longer, and that's lots of demos with the rare finished project.

Making games is hard. It takes dedication. When you start making a game for the first time, it's fun! You watch all the pieces slide together and your vision comes to life. You're probably doing something dramatically different every 20 minutes. Every day, the game has changed by leaps and bounds.

But eventually you plateau. All the systems are in place. So you make an area to test things out, maybe you build your first level...

And that's it. Your vision is complete. The 30-90 seconds of fun you could see in your head is finished.

Except... games aren't 30 seconds long. Heck, most games aren't even 30 minutes long. All you've made is "the hook" -- the core of the game that's the most fun. Now you need to come up with the rest of the game. You need ten times as much content. Minimum.

And unlike that first 1/10th of a game you just made, the next 9/10ths are going to be a sluggish, brain busting grind, as you sit down and have to make up what will probably be hundreds of new ideas to hang from that hook.

A lot of people can't handle it. It's hard work. It's real work. You have to be really, genuinely dedicated to game development to actually finish making a game.

That's the way it's always been. Sure, more games came out in the early days (late 90's/early 2000's) but those games were also worse and more simplistic in their quality. More personalized, too, sure, I guess.

I've definitely seen complaints from some that the Sonic Fangame community lost that "personalized" touch when they started chasing accuracy. But when we're dealing with the Sonic franchise, people want their fangames to play like Sonic games. Which isn't easy or accessible. So people use templates, and it's good enough, and so a lot of Sonic fangames use the same four templates for everything.

Which, again, ties in to the idea that making a game isn't easy. A lot of people who make fangames, I would argue, don't actually want to make games. They just want to make something.

And once they make something, that obligation to finish the rest of the game just doesn't matter.

Which was true in 2001, it was true in 2004, it was true in 2010, and it's true now.

That's just the way it is.

[cruciatusforeplay]

Do you know of a comprehensive list of Hawkeye appearances in the comics, with summaries?

So when I first saw this ask I thought "a comprehensive list of Hawkeye? With summaries? That is absolutely madness, who would have done that?"

I had a quick glance at Marvel Unlimited and found there was over 500 issues listed under Hawkeye (and that's not considering his time spent under other names, or alternative universes, or Kate Bishop doing her thing) and confirmed to myself that a comprehensive list would indeed be completely unmanageable. So obviously I decided to give it a go.

I absolutely cannot give you an entire rundown, because ya boy's been busy, but I can try to give you a little bit of an overview. (Head's up, I said "little" but that was a lie. This is a BIG post and I'm hoping it might give you some key points for Clint's comic career and his background which will hopefully be useful for figuring out which comics to read or anyone writing canon-based fanfic)

A not-so-brief history of Hawkeye in Comics (spoilers below the cut)

First appearance: Tales of Suspense #57 (1964)

We run into Clint working at Carson's Carnival, where he is being underappreciated by the audience and very unhappy about it. He's a proactive lad, so he makes himself a new costume and arrows to be utterly unforgettable. He accidentally gets himself implicated in a crime and meets the Black Widow. They become allies and he uses trick arrows and nearly manages to take out Iron Man, but must abandon his plans to save Black Widow from a blast of his own arrow. He kicks off as an enemy to Stark basically. There is also a bunch of Iron Man shenanigans happening here and it's a fun read.

He sticks around as a villain for two more issues in Tales of Suspense #60 and #64 (1964 and 1965).

First appearance as an Avenger: Avengers #16 (1965)

Clint shows up about halfway through and has determined that he'd like to be an Avenger instead now, thanks. He tells them a little about his doomed love with Nat and how she paid the price and they decide they're on board. He is introduced to the press. There's a bunch of other Avenger member swapping around in this issue (and if you want the most of it, you should start with issue 15 because it's a direct follow up story wise)

He's a key member of the Avengers from hereon in and features in most issues. He spends his time shooting arrows and having problems with authority (particularly Cap)

Key background: Avengers #19 (1965)

This issue gives us a bunch of background on Clint. The Swordsman shows up wanting to be an Avenger (because he wants an Avengers ID - yes really). Clint objects and we find out Clint's an orphan and that the Swordsman took him in and trained him at Carson's Carnival. Clint then caught him stealing from the circus and they fight where he leaves Clint for dead. It's a big old betrayal. The Swordsman then spends the rest of comic kidnapping and trying to kill Cap, so all round that's a no on the Avengers ID.

Hawkeye quits the Avengers: Avengers #109 (1973)

Hawkeye doesn't like that Scarlet Witch and Vision are in a relationship, and essentially he plays the jealous jilted lover who throws a tantrum (door slamming included). He quits the Avengers, immediately realises he didn't actually love Wanda after all. He spends his fresh downtime teaching The Champion archery, who then promptly betrays him. The Avengers come to the rescue.

His involvement in the Avengers is spotty over the next decade.

Hawkeye gets Hitched: Hawkeye #1-4 (1983)

This is Clint's first solo run. It's important for two reasons. He meets Mockingbird who he marries by the end of the run, in what can be described as an enemies to lovers speed-run. This is also the series where Clint is originally deafened; he has to make a sacrifice play with one of his own sonic arrows which is how he ends up deafened. There are some other classic Clint moments: he starts the run by getting dumped, he rides on the skycycle/sky-sled and he ends up with his outfit getting mostly ripped off more than once. We also get some background about him and his brother Barney running from the orphanage to join circus, how Barney got him to hospital after the incident with the Swordsman, and we find out that Clint didn't speak to his brother for years and that he's dead now. Honestly this run is great fun and I have a big soft spot for it.

The West Coast Avengers: West Coast Avengers #1-4 (1984)

Clint helps found and then leads the West Coast Avengers with his wife Mockingbird. This is another mini series, but it led to a much longer run starting the following year that ended in 1994. Real talk: I've only skimmed this iteration of WCA but what I've seen is campy fun, the skycycle is back, Clint really settles into being a leader and the sun is always shining. Special shout out to Tigra who is a bad-ass in this mini series. During the longer run, Clint and Bobbi's marriage is put through the ringer amongst other things, and they eventually separate. Truthfully there is a lot of other stuff going on regarding their relationship in that run and onwards. If their marriage is something you want to know more about I recommend checking out the full summary listed at the back of Hawkeye and Mockingbird #1 (2010) - it starts on page 22 of that issue - be aware it contains major spoilers for later stories.

Key background: Solo Avengers #1-5 (1987)

We get to meet Clint's other circus mentor here: Trickshot aka Buck Chisholm. You'll be shocked to hear that Clint gets betrayed. We kick things off with some circus shenanigans where his charity performance/showing off opportunity is interrupted by mercs sent to kill him, by Trickshot wanting to settle a debt. The second issue presents us with a lengthy flashback where we find out Hawkeye's dirty secret: it wasn't actually the Swordsman who taught him archery, but instead an actual archer called Trickshot. We see Clint get trained up only to be immediately pushed into a life of crime where he ends up shooting his own brother. Buck then shoots Clint when Clint wants to take his brother Barney to hospital. Trickshot is shown to have an unsavoury taste for killing for pleasure and promises to kill Clint when he's got something to lose. In addition we also get some flashbacks to Clint's abusive home situation and his time in care before joining the circus. The next two issues cover a side story that honestly doesn't lead anywhere or get resolved by the end of the run. Issue #5 (which is the first of this run available on Marvel Unlimited if that's how you're reading) then brings you into the real action. For reasons that aren't entirely clear, Clint spends this entire issue in only his undershorts. There's some fun archer Vs archer antics, before an emotional reveal where Trickshot begs Hawkeye to end his life because he has cancer and doesn't want a slow death. Trick has a cry, Clint refuses to kill him and instead they have a comforting cuddle on a beach under a sunset. It's an unusual run, but Trickshot will show up again later in Clint's arc, and it's got a lot of fun quips and action sequences.

Quick note on the 90s

In my opinion, the 90s weren't real good to Clint. He had a couple of solo runs, but imo nothing with major substance, or character development so I'm skipping them. If you want to know what you're missing check out Hawkeye #1-4 (1994) aka Clint broods in Canada and there are wolves, and Hawkeye: World's Mightiest Marksman #1 (1998) aka Clint is stubborn and goes head to head with Taskmaster.

Key background: Hawkeye #1-6 (2003)

This series, which has Clint travelling on a motorcycle in order to find the best chilli and sporting some 90s boyband hair, also gives us some really great insight into his and Barney's relationship. We get snapshots in amongst the rest of the story of Barney being the moral compass for Clint. We see Barney getting his GED while Clint works on archery, and later we see Buck encouraging Clint into crime and Barney telling him it's wrong. We get another retelling of the Swordsman story, this time with both Buck and Barney coming to rescue Clint. While Clint's broken leg is healing, Barney tells him he's joining the army and Clint should come with. Clint says no, then changes his mind, but ends up missing the bus. We again see Clint on a job with Buck where he shoots a guard only to realise it's Barney, and is subsequently shot by Trickshot for wanting to help Barney. They both make it to hospital. Clint asks what happened and Barney tells him "guess you are what you are." Years later we see Clint at Barney's grave and are informed that he was involved with the mob. Clint is upset, only to then be informed Barney was actually working undercover for the FBI. These snapshots are my favourite part of the entire series. The rest of the series focuses on Clint doing some detective style work and shooting arrows. If this is the first run you've checked out since the WCA or Solo Avengers runs, you'll note this is very different in both art and story style. There was a definite shift in the 90s that brought us closer to the style we have today.

Clint doesn't have any solo runs for a while, but he is involved in a bunch of bigger stories which we'll take look at in part two of this post.

The MCU push and key background

In the lead up to the movie premiere of Avengers Assemble (2012), Marvel produced a lot of content for the Big Six as promo to their preexisting market. Hawkeye and Mockingbird #1-6 (2010), Widow maker #1-4 (2010) and Hawkeye Blindspot #1-4 (2011) follow on directly from one another, though you could read any of them independently and the first two are less about Clint. Avengers Solo #1-5 (2011) also featured during this time. All but Blindspot are simple action comics without any lasting impact for Hawkeye. Blindspot has a pretty comprehensive rundown on Clint's history including his abusive dad, the circus, the Swordsman, Trickshot, his relationship with Cap and the Avengers, him becoming Goliath and some very important information regarding his brother and their relationship, all woven into a well paced plot. Additionally, he's going blind. There is a lot of story in these four issues. It also provides the foundation on which Fraction set his run, so it's a good story for anyone who had any unanswered questions regarding the start point for Hawkeye (2012).

The Fraction/Aja Run: Hawkeye #1-21 (2012)

This is the big one. Either you're here because you've read it and now you love this idiot, or you want to start reading Hawkeye. This is where you start. I'm not gonna summarise this one because everyone deserves to read it without spoilers. But I'll say this: this is Clint when he's not being an Avenger. He's messy and relatable and he loves dogs. This is a character defining run and it is one of my all time favourite comics. There is so much good stuff in here and I could talk for hours about it. Go forth and feast your eyes.

If I've missed anything major, or listed something incorrectly or you just have some Clint related opinions that I need to know about, do hit me up.

I've run out of images, so this post will continue in part 2 which you can read here.