#sonic optimism

[molinaskies]

Sonic Broke. What's Next? (IDW)

For those who might know, quite some time ago I wrote about Sonic’s next emotional arc in the IDW comics, where he won’t be so immediately trusting of new faces after what happened to Mr. Tinker. I analyzed how this new dynamic is characterized through his interactions with Belle and was justified by the events of the metal virus arc and, more specifically, the way in which everyone piles onto Sonic for his decision to keep Mr. Tinker alive.

Espio’s done it. Shadow’s done it. Zavok’s done it. Metal Sonic’s done it. Starline’s done it. Eggman’s done it. Sonic’s done it. So many people have put Sonic down for this one decision; this one decision has backfired in so many ways, but Sonic, ultimately, never lost faith, never lost hope, never lost his optimism for a better world where everyone has even a little bit of good in them. This optimism is one of Sonic’s key defining characteristics that shines through every single continuity of this franchise and every single iteration of this character.

But this is it. This. Is. It. Chekhov’s gun has fired, and Sonic has fucking broke.

This collapse hits Sonic in two waves, the first one being his first confrontation with Surge.

Surge says everything the others have said regarding Sonic’s “moral code,” but her specific language illustrates the key difference between her and everyone else—and why it hits Sonic so hard. Everyone else in Sonic’s life is adjacent to Eggman’s terrorism, but Surge is a victim of it. And what makes matters worse is that she’s only brought in this mess through a chain of command.

If Sonic ended Eggman, Starline wouldn’t have been able to bring Eggman back, nor experience the apprenticeship that turned him against Eggman and sent him on the path of creating enforcer cyborgs—which means that Kit and Surge would not exist in the state they do now, and they would be able to live happy lives. Even if after ending Eggman, Starline would have still surfaced on a track of “Eggman Avengement,” the same argument could be made, because Sonic would have directly spared Starline, too, and he knows it. If only for a second, something clicks.

The collapse finishes in one fell swoop in his third confrontation with Surge, where she spells it out for him further, and where a technical fault on Eggman’s Device, of all things, saves his life by almost surging hers.

Sonic has now, for the first clear and objective time, seen the true consequences of his decision, and for the first clear and objective time, he cannot fix it.

This isn’t the same as Metal Sonic, who, as a (sentient) robot, serves a purpose outside of replicating Sonic (he’s a protector, an attack robot, and a companion to Dr. Eggman). Surge once had a life of her own, one she no longer remembers because, through a sick and twisted train of events, Sonic has deprived her of those memories, that freedom. Surge isn’t a robot. Surge isn’t an android. Surge is a real, tangible person that Sonic’s decision has thoroughly fucked up, and Surge has just framed him—not his choices, HIM—as the key reason she’ll never be free. She will either kill him or die trying, and either way, Sonic cannot win.

In the first second he can breathe, let alone process everything that just happened, Sonic… can’t. He has nothing to say—not in front of Tails, at least, but maybe nothing, at all. Until this point, Sonic has wondered if he, specifically, was to blame for Eggman’s actions because he was the one to let Mr. Tinker go. However, this is the first time where Sonic seems to question whether he should have let Mr. Tinker go, at all.

When Eggman emerges from the rubble, Sonic isn’t smug. He’s not amused. He’s not even bemused. Sonic is gutted and disgusted by the fact that Eggman’s still alive. He might even feel guilty that he’s still alive.

Eggman doesn’t know sympathy, doesn’t know remorse—not in Sonic’s eyes, not anymore, and it shows, because when Eggman has the audacity to ask for another truce—

—Sonic could fucking kill him for it.

Sonic’s always hated Eggman, but he’s also always had faith in his ability to be good. However, what Sonic has learned from all this—what Sonic finally believes down to his core—is that Dr. Eggman is lower than the scum of the earth. Sonic finally understands why Eggman helped stop the arc, why Eggman worked with him to fight the Deadly Six, and why Eggman helped eradicate the metal virus. Sonic finally understands that he mistook Eggman’s ever-cunning, manipulative mind for a shred of benevolence.

Now, what does this mean?

Now that we’ve witnessed the breaking point, I think it will take a fair bit of effort to pull Sonic back from the brink of rage. He’s not going to give up on Surge—not at all—because if he did, he might truly fucking lose it, but there is no way that Sonic will be entirely unchanged by this. In the future, when he’s placed in another complicated situation and given a difficult choice to make—especially if it has to do with Eggman—we might not see even a shred of lenience.

I thoroughly believe that the primary narrative purpose of the IDW comics, as they currently stand, is to investigate Sonic’s tenant optimism and push it far beyond its limits. This story’s purpose is to interrogate and observe Sonic’s declining psychological state until it shatters. This story’s purpose is to stand by one of this franchise’s biggest arguments: Sonic’s big, big emotions cause problems, and his inability to cope with those emotions makes problems worse.

When Sonic’s happy, he’s ecstatic, when he’s confident, he’s cocky, when he’s sad, he’s depressed, and when he’s angry, he’s livid. And all of these emotions, without balance, can come crashing down around him.

We’re seeing this fact so prevalent in the movies, Sonic Frontiers and especially Sonic Prime (which takes the direction that the movies do and turns it up to eleven). However, in the same ways they weaken him, Sonic’s emotions give him strength. Without his optimism, Sonic would have fallen, long ago. Without his optimism, Surge will never have a chance to see a better future for herself. It’s all counterbalanced by how big his heart is and how much he evidently wants to be better and do right by others.

And if there’s anything he’d die trying to do, it’s that.

[redwylde]

I have to say I love the consensus by the fandom that Sonic and Silver interactions are just softer than anything.

The unbridled joy of freedom-and-fun-loving Sonic the Hedgehog paired with the unextinguishable hope of a dreamer from a devastated future sharing the wonder they both feel for the world around them is just so pure.

There's just something about Silver seeing the clear, blue sky in Sonic and Sonic being reminded why he loves life and the world through Silver finding joy in mundane and yet new and wonderful things.

[doggirlpaws]

that's my girl!

[son1c]

If Shadow had died instead of Prism, what would have happened?

Sorry for the random question, just insanely interested in how u play character arcs in your AU

an entirely different story, probably! definitely! sonic is hurt by prism's death, but losing him is nothing compared to how it'd feel to lose shadow. and that's because deep down, sonic knows the shatterspace versions of his friends... aren't his real friends.

sure, sonic isn't UNAFFECTED by prism's death, but if it had been shadow in his place? he would be changed.

[shannonallaround]

They deserve to be soft

[antirepurp]

me when someone mildly suggests the video games i enjoy might have some flaws

[a-little-monotonous]

he's going to kick out that guy's knees (chip doesnt wanna get involved)

[sonic-adventure-3]

sonic r ♡ i love you sonic r

[hal1aetus]

i love my friends :]

[totaleclipse573]

I nearly went into pointless thought before I remembered I’m a multishipper and I can just make Terios figure it out by himself. They can all bridal carry him it’ll be one big poly

[tekatonic]

exciting news i think i've finished doing all the IDs for my 7 posts of the numerous ( 21 images ) 2022 concept designs for my AU !!

it took sooo long and i pretty much hated it but it's done. i won't say it's done well... but by my standards it's better than nothing and i'm ready to call it good enough ! now the question is how do i spread out those posts ??

please pretty please share your recommendations

there's 7 posts each containing 1 to 4 characters' design sheets, plus an 8th post that's just a little intro text post

should i post them all in one day ? will that be too much ? should i schedule one per day ? 2 per week ? help ;;

[galaxofmuses]

“Beyond the Grave” For Skyler mayhaps?

“Beyond the Grave” and I will choose a deceased person from my muse’s backstory to have a conversation with yours. // Accepting!

"Hey! You're lookin for a autograph? Wha? No? Ya haven't heard about my former band? Ah man! Ya almost got me excited." With a pout and folds her arms. "You know....You have the exact same color of my quills....Hah! That's awesome! It's like we're twins or somethin'!"

She cracks out a laugh and grins. "Ya know I have a kid....a son. I'm sure next time when I see ya, maybe I can ask if ya babysit him. My hubby's brother is always darn busy all the time. But ya know I can tell you can be a very good big brother to my little Skyler." She wasn't joking this time and smiles back at the other hedgehog.

"But if ya wanna listen to my band music, I got plenty of tracks. My favorite is a song cover I sang."

She's gonna infodump about her band for awhile.

[lesbiansonamy]

yknow what’s better than having good omens hyperfixation? mixing sonic to the mix bc im OBSESSED to analyzing how characters of various franchises reacting to the little guy (a multifaceted little hedgehog who’s faced god(s), alternate dimensions of his own self, and an enjoyer of ancient literature in his free time)

and since no one else is making that content, i’ll be doing it myself. so without further ado, i hope u enjoy !!!

sonic and good omens crossover

i feel when they meet, despite being immortal beings that have experienced more than the human mind could ever comprehend, aziraphale and crowley react to an anthropomorphic talking blue hedgehog that’s suddenly falling into their world like any other human beings: they are TERRIFIED

well. terrified as one can be at 15 year old pubescent teenage hedgehog. because after their initial fear, they’re just. Fucking confused at him and his existence; how does a creature come to be in this world? they’d ask their respective sides if they didn’t want to deal with the mess that comes with it

sonic claims that he's “used to being isekaied” (“whatever that means,”crowley mumbles) and he’ll be “fine on his own” (“fine my arse!”) but aziraphale INSISTS that the lad has a roof under his bed because anthropomorphic hedgehog or not, he is NOT letting a teenager be homeless

sonic initially thinks aziraphale is kinda overbearing and crowley is way too overprotective bc like. He’s fine! hes dealt with situations more extreme than being transported to another world (my man (gender neutral) literally DIED & was tortured for 6 months straight in a war) yet hes getting help here; it almost feels like hes being looked down on and he does NOT appreciate it

he doesn’t reject their help but he’s not the most receptive either. whenever aziraphale tries to have tea breaks, he’s “away” (out on a run) or asleep (coincidentally the same time it’s tea time)

it’s only when aziraphale catches him browsing his books and jovially gives him a few book recommendations of his own (because bookworms never have just One Rec) that he lets the two in. it’s when he starts to genuinely like the two

one fact that goes untalked about is that sonic is an AVID reader. like. my hedgehog canonically has read WAR AND PEACE in the wreck it ralph 2 movie. so getting his own personal recommendation from aziraphale means a lot. he can not only have new literature but better understand aziraphale as a being—not angel or demon, but just being. book recs can say a lot about a person after all

eventually accumulates to aziraphale bonds and sonic bonding over books. aziraphale loves giving him recommendations—but ironically, has to slow down for him bc my speedy boy (gender neutral) is what i hc as a slow reader (opposite of a bookworm).

in essence, aziraphale adjusts his reading speed accordingly so sonic can keep up with him, much like sonic does for his friends (tails). something something parallels <3 they have tea and biscuits when they’re done with a book and discuss it together. aziraphale loooves talking about the deep meanings of things, while sonic enjoys listening to him. he also listens to aziraphale talk about book bindings and smile, simply bc it reminds him of his home (wherever his friends are: tails)

crowley sees all this bonding and is secretly like 🥺🥺 bc it’s not often u see aziraphale so. Doting in regards to his special interest (books, especially book collections) so he gets sonic more books for him to read. or in aziraphale’s case, keep in his bookstore. sonic isn’t much of a hoarder so he’s like. “you can sell them when i’m done” but both are too attached to the symbolism

[true-blue-sonic]

Silver says that he can't lie in his Sonic Channel intro story, I don't know if I agree that he's supposed to be gullible since he's been shown to be both paranoid and perceptive at times and even the specifics of Mephiles deceiving him and Blaze have been debated. Outside of comics no one has tried to deceive him since the Rivals games so I can't say for certain.

In '06, while I think a large part of Silver's actions can be explained by his desperation about the world being destroyed and his frustration about Iblis being undefeatable, I do feel that he simply is gullible there. A complete stranger shows up and rattles about chickens and eggs and origins, and what he says checks out and provides Silver the exact solution he's been looking for! And Mephiles furthermore never tells Silver any actual lies or direct misinformation! But Silver is not shown to question anything about Mephiles' motives, why he only shows up now, why he is interested in saving the world, and why he suddenly disappears when Silver and Blaze are sent to the past to strangely reappear later and not even offer them more help. And to me, that does indicate a sense of naivete and gullibility. It's what I described in this post as well: the way I interpret is is that Silver is so honest and straight-laced and direct, he expects everyone else to be the same, for no other reason than that he is and he wants the world to be just and fair. Because he wants to save the world and undo Iblis, he expects Mephiles to share those exact same desires, just simply... because. Because it's the right thing, for him, and his line of reasoning at that point in '06 seems to be that if he thinks it is right, it is right. And that comes off as naive and not at all grounded in reality to me.

As for whether Silver is gullible in Rivals 1 and 2, I'd say a little bit yes and a lot more no than in '06. I've remarked before that Silver in the Rivals games can definitely be shrewd: he deduced correctly that "Eggman" was actually Eggman Nega based on context clues, paying good attention to what got actually said, and "Eggman's" own strange behaviours that were too familiar to the Nega he knows. He does let "Eggman" goad him into unnecessary fights with the promise that he'll be given answers if he defeats his opponents, which is then not fulfilled when he wins. But, well, the entirety of both Rivals games is built around that premise, so it wouldn't be fair to blame solely Silver for it if the manner of excuses used to start fights is nothing much deeper than "Rouge tripped Shadow", lol. So for Rivals, Silver seems to be less gullible, but his straighforward honesty mindset is definitely still present. He enters agreements with people (heroes and villains alike) who promise him information if he can fulfil their requirements multiple times despite nothing ever coming from it, and a simple "I believe you" from Espio with no further clarification for this change of heart is enough for Silver to immediately suggest a team-up despite the earlier antagonising between them. So not outright gullible and definitely more on top of the facts than in '06, but still not giving some of the situations he's in the thinking-over they require, I see it as.

The only two attempts of someone trying to 'deceive' Silver in the more recent 2010s that I can think of are Sonic in Generations where Silver states he thinks Sonic might be an imposter trying to get the Chaos Emerald, and Infinite in Forces waxing about crushing heroes and hopelessness. The former is solved easily enough with a battle ending in Sonic's favour, the latter is shot down by Silver accusing Infinite of lying and going on to the attack. But I quite like how Sonic Channel says that Silver cannot lie in his story (I believe he even specifically says it himself, right?); it aligns very well with his honest mindset, in my opinion! But overall, I figure Silver has actually become less gullible over the course of the games; he's a lot less trusting of whatever Eggman tells him in TSR and goes to his friends for help immediately after gathering information. So I do think he's come a long way from that specific bit of characterisation in '06!

[antirepurp]

welcome to my "eurobeat belongs in sonic" propaganda

[puyopuyo]

finished frontiers, iizuka was right when he said haters just didn’t understand