#to get a new Sonic & Shadow Plush

[blurd-blue]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope, everyone did something fun today.

Just want to say how thankful I am for this community that I can share my lack of sanity with. I'd never met anyone crazier about a certain blue hedgehog, before I'd entered this site.

[sillyredconverse]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN KEANU REEVES IS GOING TO PLAY SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IN THE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 MOVIE BEING RELEASED ON DECEMBER 20TH 2024

WHAT DO YOU MEANNN?!?????

[virune]

If you still want prompt ideas, I’ve got one:

Shadow comes home from a really long G.U.N. Mission and expects Sonic to be right at the door, really excited to see him, but goes into the house to find the blue blur cuddling a lavender-scented pillow on the couch, fast asleep

Based on a post of yours I saw a while back

The apartment was dark and quiet when Shadow stepped inside.

A year ago, this would not have struck him as odd. He used to live alone, after all. But even as exhaustion seeped into his bones, worn and weary from his long, arduous mission, Shadow found himself waiting in the hall for Sonic to greet him like he always did.

The absence of his… well, Shadow supposed they were boyfriends now, as Sonic had insisted on it just before Shadow left a few months ago. The thought made his chest flutter, even now. He still wasn't used to it.

Shadow realised then that he'd forgotten to tell Sonic when he'd be back. Of course, then, it could only be expected that his apartment was empty. Sonic must be sleeping at Miles' workshop. With a yawn, Shadow ambled forward tiredly, wanting nothing more than to sleep. He'd get some rest and contact Sonic in the morning.

If it weren't for his night vision, Shadow would have missed the fuzzy blue head of relaxed quills visible from behind the couch. Shadow rounded into the living room with muted surprise. Green eyes shut, a tan muzzle was squashed against the pillow that Sonic was cuddling with both his arms and legs, much in the same way he would cuddle Shadow whenever they slept.

Shadow allowed himself a moment to appreciate his boyfriend's sleeping form. Rarely was Sonic so calm and still. He looked peaceful, as though comforted greatly by the pillow's plushness against him. He did not stir, not even as Shadow knelt down on the carpet beside him and carded fingers through his short fur.

A familiar scent caught Shadow's nose. The pillow was coated in his favourite lavender cologne to an almost nauseating degree. But he'd been away long enough for his scent to fade. Did that mean that Sonic had sprayed the pillow in his absence?

And did that mean… Sonic had missed him? Enough to stay, to sleep in his apartment, even while he'd been gone for so long?

A strange, new sort of fondness soared up from Shadow's chest and he leaned in to place a kiss on Sonic's forehead. Carefully as he could, he gently snaked his hands beneath Sonic's body to pick him up, leaving the cologne-scented pillow behind. Sonic still did not wake, but he seemed to lean into Shadow's warmth as he was carried to bed.

Forget the pillow, Shadow thought, I'm here now, and I missed you terribly.

[son1c]

you seem like a fair and knowledgeable source when it comes to merchandise so i hope you dont mind me asking for your opinion on something.

do you think the $250 collector's edition of sxsg is worth it?

i have the money for it rn, but ive never bought anything like that for one of my interests; so I'm not sure if I'm being blinded by my little interest brain worms and fomo from knowing something like this (by 'this' i mean the concept of the game and all the stuff they're bringing back for it.and shadow unfortunately bounces in my brain like the dvd screen saver rent free) might never happen again with sonic media.

thanks and have a nice rest your day!

technically speaking the collector's edition is $200 USD, because the game itself is $50 USD and it comes with the collector's edition.

that being said, it really depends. worth is entirely personal. what i think is a really cool statue, could be ugly as fuck to someone else. i think the collector's edition comes with a lot of really cool stuff... but if you don't like ALL of it, or if you only like one part of it in particular, like the statue, then no, i don't think it's worth it to get the whole thing.

inevitably, it will be sold for parts on secondhand sites. it always happens. the statue, the shoe key chain, etc, if there's one thing you want in particular, then you will be able to find it for cheaper eventually if you wait.

granted, it'll still probably be upsold, but it won't be $250 USD.

a lot of people don't like limited run games just on principle. sometimes i'm one of those people, but i also think the sxsg collector's edition is one of their nicer sets. if it was $100 USD or even $150 USD, then i'd have no problem just telling you "go for it lol". but with shipping + tax, it comes out to be $300 USD.

do you want to spend $300 USD on a collector's edition? or would you rather spend $50 dollars on the game, then have $250 dollars to maybe get your favorite part of the collector's edition secondhand down the line? or even spend that money on something completely different. buy a commission. pay a proxy service to ship the sonic and friends sonic and shadow plushies to your front door. sanei also recently unveiled their new sonic plush line, and it includes both sonic and shadow and i think they're really cute.

ultimately, i can't tell you definitively if the collector's edition is "worth it," because i don't know what that means to you. when it comes to this much money though, i can tell you that if you think you'll end up regretting it, then i'd advise against spending it on this. there's plenty of other things you can get for that much money.

[estellardreams]

New Rehabilitation Patients - Five Month Aftermath

Current changes:

Niko/Sonic

Working on physical therapy to conquer his Tachophobia and get back to running.

Got eye surgery to fix his damaged eyesight.

Didn't want to lose the bangs early on, but they were too big so they were cut much shorter as a compromise.

Sonic never got back to eating chili dogs as his favorite food. And that's fine by him (cinammon rolls are so much better).

Sonic is personally in Occupational Therapy in an effort to fix all of that anxiety that was forced upon him.

Kyle/Tails

Ever since Tails began to eat more healthy, his fur began to appear a lot more softer and plush than way before.

Tails does a little flight training using his tails. He thankfully still knows how to fly previously, it's just that he wasn't able to.

Tails tried to return to engineering, but found that his new passion was becoming writing, so he stuck with that. He does still enjoy engineering, but it's no longer the only thing he does.

Rose/Cami/Amy

Amy's discuise had never come off, mainly due to all of the enchantments, but she honestly doesn't mind. It's a good look for her.

Amy sometimes does physical therapy with Sonic, but most of the time she doesn't.

Amy is the only member of the trauma siblings to not be severely traumatized I some capacity... Except for one case.

Amy is in grief counseling for obvious reasons.

Damien/Shadow

Probably put under the more extensive treatment out of everyone. Shadow still had his old and new past clashing to the point that they had to deal with both traumas.

It took a good two months to begin to erase Starline's programmed in fake memories, but they do have the tendency to show up under very high stress.

Shadow was instructed to keep his body relaxed and try smiling when he genuinely means it. Since then, his ears and mouth position have remained mainly looking on-edge despite not actually being so.

Shadow also got surgery for his eyes, with the accidental side effect of them lighting up green when he uses chaos energy.

Shadow is undergoing magic therapy despite usually claiming he doesn't need it.

Collective Group

Whether they want to believe it or not, their attachment to Starline lingers, despite him being dead.

There have been a few cases of auditory or visual hallucinations of Starline in the facility, but never both at the same time. Usually it's his voice or the platypus staring at them from the open door or over them when they're trying to sleep... It leads to a lot of panic attacks.

All of them are in therapy.

[kendrixtermina]

Giving Doctor Who a New Chance, Part 1: The Star Beast

I like how in the opener the Doctor ends up running into Donna due to plain old Chronic Hero syndrome, rushing towards someone who looks like they needed help

I appreciate that we got a realtime example of Donna just missing a spaceship

her concern with stacking properly is a good establishing moment for viewers who maybe don't know her yet

It's interesting how Donna ended up giving away the money - not doing what he thought she would do

Making Donna's kid trans was a great move now that the UK is known as a rather trans-hostile place

sylvia is interesting - she seems like someone who feels guilty but is sort of going overboard with overcompensating for it rather than truly helping

badass protective - which is probably how Donna would be as a mom, some of the character development stuck despite the memory wipe, small-minded

Another Unit Scientific Advisor!

You can tell the Doctor is having a tough time with how he spills his problems to the Unit lady. Though you can also see 14 isn't quite like 10, not quite as emotionally constipated. 12 had this whole arc about spitting out the words though then chibnall didn't do anything with cause he couldn't write characters to save his life. I guess 13 was supposed to look like his (franky offensive, carricaturish) idea of a private person? At least this keeps the tendency of each incarnation being a contrast to their predecessor. Insofar as 13 had enough personality to be contrasted. Chibnalls characters are all emotionless planks of wood - and I'll better stop ranting now

i like the unit lady

It's a charming detail how Rose sells things on etsy. I betcha anything she has a tumblr

// war flashback to Ryan's increbliy generic youtube channel that was never used to characterize him in any way & then forgotten about //, & the detail is added in a kind of loving, relatable way whereas Chibnall kinda mocked the guy for listening to affirmations, for example

Ah it's so nice to have actual CHARACTERIZATION again

Like this just told us that Rose Noble is creative, but also feels responsibility to help her parents.

And her making little plush aliens is immediately lied to her feeling lonely & alienated because of how she's bullied

CONSISTENCY beyond just what is currently needed for the plot yes please. This should be the bare minimum but Chibnall went 8 episodes without giving Yasmin ANY defining traits or moments

So nice to have CHARACTERS with EMOTIONs and TRAITS

I just KNEW the Doctor was getting another Mom slap the moment the moment he showed up

the definite article XD I got that reference, esp in what looks like an Unit episode

oh noes theyre shooting up Donnas house

i love how he just naturally hands the sonic to Donna without thinking

It's extremly Donna-like to worry about her house during the alien attack

I like the resonating the wall trick coming on again - if you saw this straight after EoT, you'd still get the sense that the Doctor got more experienced.

Donna's neighbor missing everything cause he's listening to music is a mood

I love the impromptu judge wig XD

Been a while since I heard "shadow proclamtion". That was common the first time RTD was running the show

I LOVE how the twist & how the Doctor deduced it from the Unit soldier not being dead. The idea that you can know someone by their method

Also love the doctor trying to outfox the Meep but getting a tad too confident there

Also like how Donna absolutely picks up that Sylvia knows the Doctor & demands the truth, but also having a moment of vulnerability

the story's a bit over the top & cliche, though. I mean I can partially forgive it because the ep is really much more about Donna, but not a fan of the over the top cliched villain. though, this RTD is the guy who made the fart episode. he was good at concepts a lot of the time, but yeah...

The wheelchair stun darts are cliche, too, but I DO like the general twist of the unit lady realizing the guards have been mind-controlled & saving the team. She seemed competent earlier. Makes me miss Osgood a bit. One hopes wheelchair lady will keep showing up in UNIT episodes.

I love Donna taking the initiative here to run off. (characters NOT being planks of wood & making self-motivated decisions! Oh im so glad we're rid of Chibnal's trash writing)

Do like the moment. Donna still having her unimportance complex, the Doctor's response that she isn't not just because he doesn't think anyone's unimportant but because she is so important to him, "why does it have to be you" Yeah David Tennant is still good at pulling ppl's heartstrings, his resigned tone when he begins reciting the 'password'

The password being similar to that time Amy had to unlock it!

Donna's first concern upon "waking up" being that she gave away the money is soo her.

Catherine Tate really shines here how she instantly retrieves the... the fast talking thing from Journey's end??

She gets so excited at getting to blow up the alien tech XD

Again praise be to Catherine cause you can tell how the hole of self-doubt that was there (though not as much pre series 4) is just FILLED with confidence.

He just doesn't give a fuck if they shoot him when he thought Donna was dead

The thing where it's less lethal now because some of the energy passed down to her kid is neat, but I don't like the idea that the personality traits of Donna's kid are attributed to the metacrisis thing. Although I suppose it could be seen as more of a nudge or inspiration

I really like the touch that the Doctor remembered the names of the alien soldiers & spoke of them to their superiors, and that he neutralized the meep non-lethally. He's an actual pacifist again with lika a worldview, not just regurgitating lines about "not liking guns" out of context

I HATE the women's intuition thing. I get that they were trying to like affirm Rose's gender as real here but I hate it. It's essentialist and I hate it. I'm gonna treat it as just a joke Donna & Rose did cause they would.

Though I DO like, & find it very appropriate that Donna & Rose themselves are the ones to think up the solution & having it sort of come from Donna's grounded, down to earthsy nature. As a counterpoint to how the Doctor kind of over-ruled Donna's will to sort of unilaterally save her against her will & taking the burden onto himself. (Not that one can blame him too much for what he did while panicking, trying to save his besties' life. )

I love the Doctor fanboying over the new "desktop theme" & praising the TARDIS for the design choices

Such a nice touch that both the Doctor & the TARDIS remember Donna's coffee preferences. It's all about the little things.

David still got it with the "it killed me" line

I do notice that his delivery, while similar, in some aspects, is still markedly different. 14 is more emotionally honest than 10, but also less hyper, he carries himself a bit 'heavier'.

Like I feel some of that subtle distinction in nuance comes down to that when the Dr. turned into 10 it was "for" Rose (so the charme & energy etc were dialed to max), but 14 is "for" Donna, in a way, though he didn't know it at the start.

AAAAnd Donna immediately returns to being a supplier of grounding common-sense advice. Cause she is right about the big goodbye thing

that's a lot of pyrotechnics for just one coffee. Donna must've spilled it into the worst possible spot. That would be the sort of luck they'd have.

Soo. it was an episode without Chibnal's terrible, flavorless writing. I liked some of the story beats though not over the top wowed but I feel like this is the first act of a longer play & the emotional penny is probably still to drop.

[sku11s-pot1ons]

I. Need. To. Rant.

I need to word vomit about how much the sonic fan base means to me. Specifically Shadow.

I don’t want to go to my Instagram because I lowkey feel like nobody really..understands..how much this means to me.

Let’s start with the sonic fanbase first. I’ve liked Sonic ever since I was a kid. I’ve drawn them, collected plushies, watched that one Skillet sonic unleashed edit (iykyk) and so much more. I was an unsupervised internet user tbh and all the silly videos on YouTube made me a sonic fan.

But when things in my home life got extremely scary or stressful, this silly blue guy was there when nobody else was. Growing up, I’ve had a lot of family problems and my only escape was Sonic.

And that brings me to our lovely fellow, Shadow.

Now, lots of my friends believe I find him ‘attractive’ but that’s so unbelievably far from how I think of him.

My first sonic plush was Shadow, one time, his arm tore off and I bawled my eyes out until he was fixed and good as new because in my little kid brain, he was in pain.

Now that I’m grown, I probably have a lot unresolved problems and there are times where my brain tells me things that aren’t true which makes me extremely depressed. I have a big Shadow plush that I hold onto that that happens.

When my mom gets upset with me for things I can’t control, or my dad isn’t there for me, Shadow is there.

This fictional hedgehog has been there for me when no one else was.

He’s a big comfort character for me and I love to share my love for him and tell others how much he genuinely means to me but when I do, it feels like I’m looked at weird.

I love Shadow.

I needed somewhere to rant that wasn’t Instagram.

[sonadowwiki]

Officials Promoting Hate Towards Sonadow/Sonic/Shadow or have Spread Misinformation/Disinformation

On Threads and on X, Katie Chrzanowski, a corrupt employee who is the manager of the Sonic America social media accounts, posted a picture where she had the Shadow statue with a gun that's in SEGA of America's office, point his gun at a Sonic plush. (X version) The text on the post reads "shadow no." This is to fuel the idea and propaganda that Shadow hates Sonic, that he wants to kill him and that Shadow is a violent/mean person, which aren't true at all, especially since Shadow never pointed a gun at Sonic in any official medias. Shadow pointing a gun at Sonic is an action that is purely a fan fiction idea done between the two. Her doing this is a purposeful action meant to spread disinformation for the relationship between Sonic and Shadow. Shadow would never try to kill Sonic because he is his friend and because he knows the world needs Sonic.

If you look at the comments in this threads post, you can see some well-known Sonic fans promoting with Katie to have Shadow kill Sonic. They also thought that Sonic Prime's second season would have Shadow want to kill Sonic and joked about Shadow killing Sonic in Sonic Prime as a prediction of how the animation will go.

Katie also was the main corrupted employee who created ''The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog'' game. This game jokes about Sonic's death and had Amy prominent and important. Her showing Shadow pointing a gun at Sonic further shows that she wishes that he was dead. Commenters also support her and her idea of wanting Sonic dead.

(Sam Procrastinates is a fan that is hired by the company to work on medias like the Sonic Speed Strats videos made by Sonic America and other videos used by Sonic America, like the videos used for the Sonic Symphony

SSF1991 is a news reporter that works for/helps with Sonic Stadium)

On her Threads, she also mentions that she makes whatever she can get away with within the company. This shows that she tries to do whatever she wants within the company, such as making "The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog" game that promotes Amy and Sonamy while wishing Sonic dead.

When this game was created, she was also one of the staff that partook in celebrating his death with parties and murderous games at those parties. One such way they celebrated this game was making cupcakes to mimic Sonic's death by adding jam to look like blood in it. They also put up balloons that said "Sonic Died!" and had Sonic on a dart board with his vitals having targets to kill him.

They claim to respect Sonic and that they made this game out of "love," yet they treated him this poorly and wished for Sonic dead while calling this "a new direction in the series."

It is also important to remember that this game is made based off of headcanons, as stated on the Steam page for the game. It was made by Katie, other employees including third parties and a team of fans. So this game is not official at all and is a fan made game with fan interpretations that Katie forced to seem official under SEGA's logo like other projects where she didn't get SEGA higher-up's permission. This was said in an interview with Game Informer when asked about how the Sonic Symphony came to be.

[btm-txt]

Love the Sonic movies or hate them I think the most important part about them regardless is that they bring Sonic as a whole into the popular mainstream. Ultimately creating more content and merchandise for the franchise.

As a kid/teen that was OBSESSED with Sonic even though the games and comics were popular enough it still was a rather niche fandom. 

Merchandise was hard to find which always made me incredibly heartbroken, and the few pieces of merch that I could get my hands on were plain T-shirts or shitty quality plushies that I treasured. 

Not only that, the fandom itself wasn’t as accepted either, I can’t tell you how many times I got mocked for liking Sonic or gotten the odd looks and disappointed eye rolls from my family, which ultimately made me distance myself from the fandom all together as I got older. 

And that’s not even getting into the online space surrounding the fandom as a whole, the mocking, the harassment, and bullying of young artists for committing the atrocious sin of making -gasp- mary-su ocs and -double gasp- shipping them with their favorite canon characters  ‘Shadow the Hedgehog would never!!’ -clutches pearls-

All joking aside it was a shit time to be a kid that liked Sonic, everyone thought you were either cringe or the goddamn fandom antichrist. 

I bring this up because in a way the second Sonic movie sparked my interest back into the fandom. The first movie came and went and I couldn’t care less about it, I had moved on from the fandom for years now. 

It wasn’t until my sister really wanted me to watch the second movie with her in theaters because she remembered how much I loved sonic that I caved and watched it with low expectations. I know it’s silly, but watching it reminded me of the little things that I loved about Sonic and the fandom behind it, seeing Super Sonic on the big screen really resonated with me and really made me rethink about these characters in a way I haven’t thought of in years. 

Now as an adult I can really see the shift in the pop culture surrounding Sonic and it’s mostly because of the popularity of the movies. Now I can find sonic merch essentially anywhere, from the mall, to the grocery store, shit even Amazon has same-day delivery Sonic merch. It’s incredible! I now have the ability to collect all the sonic action figures my teen self would cry over, on top of so much cool stuff out there from stickers, to clothing, to plushes, lamps, stationary supplies, literally anything both fandom made AND official merchandise. My inner child is thriving!

But beyond that, the effect of these movies resonating with kids just creates a whole new love for these characters. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve overheard kids in the mall talk about sonic and sonic characters with genuine excitement and have somebody else join in the excitement from their peers to their parents, its really heartwarming to see honestly. 

I hesitantly wore one of my Sonic shirts to work expecting some snarky comments from my coworkers about me liking Sonic, only to have them respond in excitement from ‘omg Shadow? I love him he’s so cool!’ To ‘omg my kids LOVE Sonic and are so obsessed with him!’ which genuinely took me aback at the sheer positivity of it all and the great conversations I’ve had with people over it rather than being joked on. 

All this to say is that I understand the autistic hyper fixation on certain pieces of media and characters in general (trust me I love the Archie comics but looking at KP’s new work literally gives me psychic damage and I avoid it like the plague) but you have to realize that Sonic at the end of the day is a franchise its not just one thing, and in regards to the movies they aren’t made for the old school fans they are made FOR CHILDREN, specifically children who don’t know who or what Sonic is. I know it can be hard to forget especially with all the easter eggs and inside jokes for the fandom but these movies are for kiddos to get introduced to Sonic as a whole. 

Is there better Sonic media out there? YES. But realistically not everyone has access to the video games, or the comics, or have Netflix to watch a show. While going to the movies is a dying breed its still one of the most accessible ways of getting family entertainment and introducing kids to new stories and new pieces of media. I don’t usually post my thoughts out there but seeing the fandom discourse over the movies just makes my eyes roll. Don’t like the live action stuff? cool totally valid, move on, there’s no need to shit on other people’s fun or ruminate on things you hate. 

This fandom already has a sea of creators doing their own projects and storylines with these characters that in my opinion are leagues better than anything canon can come up with. 

I like Sonic, I like Sonic merch, I like seeing the excitement of new people coming into the fandom and making their own fun. While I personally hate Sonic interacting in the human world and having human companions (hated it since Sonic X baby) If the movies is what’s keeping the Sonic train alive and thriving fuck it we ball. At the end of the day the movies aren’t made for me they are made to make money  for kids to be entertained. 

I personally can’t wait to see Shadow on the big screen regardless, I’m interested to see how they end up adapting his story for the movie. I know in my heart of hearts that’s not the same Shadow I grew up with but honestly Shadow hasn’t been the same since they took away his guns. 

Actually none of the characters are the same for each interpretation of their stories from the comics, to the video games, to the big screen they are not the same and I’m at peace with that, its like everything has its own AU and I love multi universe stuff in general.

Ramble over,  just wanted to put some thoughts out there that were rattling on my mind. I get that this is the complaining website but seeing post after post of this discourse feels like there’s a point that is missing, I understand emotional attachment to a franchise but keeping a franchise alive is also a huge plus for the fandom as a whole. More movies fans = more people in the fandom, more people in the fandom means more interest in the content, more interest in the content means more content wether it be in more movies, shows, comics, video games, merch, ect.

I like Sonic content and I want to see more of it. 💙

TLDR: Whether or not you like the sonic movies it keeps Sonic as a franchise alive in the pop culture and ends up creating more content and merchandise in general. The movies themselves aren’t made for diehard fans they are made for this generation of children who are new to the franchise as a whole who probably didn’t have access to the video games or other forms of media to discover Sonic.  I understand the emotional attachment to this franchise and its characters but making post after post complaining about a piece of media you don’t like is generally unproductive and shits on people’s fun unnecessarily. You’ll have a better time cherishing and celebrating the pieces of media or headcanons you love most as opposed to ruminating on things you hate or upset you. 

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Best of 2022

This current year I say was a better current year than the one before, I mean the Queen died and that was funnier than Elon Musk's whole existence beyond the fact he sucks at Twitter. Never mind the chaotic reality we have, I'm celebrating the 10 best animations to come out this year. The only rule being they had to debut this year so while these two were banger entries, Amphibia and Owl House have to be exempt because I want to be fair. Otherwise, ANYTHING GOES so let's go...

Number 10: Batwheels

This reached the list for the sheer fact that it feels like a joke but has a better punchline than it has any right to. It looks colorful with great animation, and even if it's a preschool series it's thankfully one that's just about the adventures of both the titular bat vehicles and the actual Batman characters. This isn't like Cars where there aren't any humans around and they're cleverly able to make everyone coexist in a way that never feels out of place. It works as a good morning cartoon and a kiddo's introduction to the Batman universe besides the comics or the 90s animated series.

Number 9: We Baby Bears

I feel like we all need that one shows that's just for cute vibes to curb the stress and mental instability that intrudes on you when you get home from work or school. Being the spin-off prequel to We Bare Bears, while it can be pretty plain in terms of premises it's cute and whimsical on its own merits. It reminds me of Klonoa where we're hopping from world to world, sometimes there are familiar faces but otherwise, it's just about having fun with the different environments with characters I bet most gen ziggas will be familiar with. I say it was a good series to start off the year and while Cartoon Network's future feels too uncertain, I don't think a show like this is such a front on their MO. Plus, bears are awesome.

Number 8: Sonic Prime

The fact that Sonic the Hedgehog basically gave us its take on Robot Pirate Island was enough for me to like this, but Sonic Prime works well as a new series. Low on the list because for eight episodes, it wasn't as fulfilling especially when it felt like the SatAM show but not as tight since it's a multiverse story. Not that it isn't fun, this has more jovial energy to this that feels like a mesh between SatAM and The Adventures of Sonic. The animation I say is peak for a Sonic cartoon, imperfect but it looks like they're let loose with movement and expression. Plus again, we got the battle of Robot Pirate Island ending with a funny abrupt bodying from Shadow. Overall, hopeful part 2 ups the momentum because this and the Mario Movie really look like we might be eating well next year.

Number 7: The Cuphead Show!

Cuphead changed the way we game. With the DLC released this year as well, we seriously got a franchise that earned its keep. It felt natural that we'd get a cartoon, running alongside the recent Looney Tunes and Mickey Mouse short series as a great resurgence of the rubber-hose animation style. I'll say though that the episodes are great for this show, gets really going when Ms. Chalice joins for real, but it's scattershot in terms of actual banger episodes especially when the Devil makes for the best episodes with or without the porcelain trio. They at least end the 3rd season on a high note so whether we get more or not, this was overall satisfying and worth the wait.

Number 6: ONI, Thunder God's Tale

Really sucks this was talked about by nobody beyond the Goomba Got Back dude, whose video on it was cool. This was an incredibly made miniseries created by the same studios behind DOMO, Rilakkuma and Kaoru, and the cutscenes of most modern Sonic games. I love the plush and clay look of the characters and the environments are insanely beautiful. Storywise it's one where it starts strong and gets stronger with every part like episode two's ending was a gut punch and the blows kept coming after that. I loved this world of yokai and kami and it was an emotionally warm tale of family and self-actualization. Seriously recommend watching this at least once, subbed or dubbed since both are pretty good. So yeah, everybody that proclaims "animation is cinema", where the fuck were you?

Number 5: Scrat Tales

Would've been wrong to not put this on the list since it was the last thing Blue Sky made before Bob Chapek took the studio out back. Even if Blue Sky never closed, these shorts were great, taking me back to when Scrat was at his best in the earlier Ice Age films. The animation is especially great and it just makes me wish Blue Sky got to do more because this really showed they were good with slapstick comedy and improved after two decades. Needless to say, this miniseries and their final short was them going out on a high note, giving the best middle finger to Disney after they tried to revive the Ice Age franchise with the Buck Wild movie. If there was anything to credit about this year, it was taking the bad with the good.

Number 4: The Bob's Burgers Movie

This was surprisingly the year when I watched a lot of movies. Thankfully I'm not a filmbro (yet...) but I've really appreciated the time I made in actually going to the theaters more than once, so yeah Bobby's Bunger. I say it works on its own but it's definitely more for fans of the TV series and even then you probably have to see the season that came before this to have better context. Besides that, you're just enjoying the good vibes that come from the characters, the humor, the animation, and the pinch of musical numbers we get; Sunny Side Up Summer was legit an earworm banger. It overall works when you know the Belcher family because they carry this film.

Number 4 (2): Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Mate, when it reached a certain scene involving a poem, I was practically choking back my tears. You'll know there's a later stop-motion higher ranked, but this was the 2022 film that personally cut deep. I didn't think a film about talking shells would resonate with me this well, but this existed as more than just Youtube short films extended into a movie. There is a story here about grief, comfort, being internet famous, and community that I feel wouldn't have worked without it being like this. It had that cold but good reminder of how small you can feel with a world you can only wish to grasp in increments; that change is inescapable but that doesn't mean you should take that negatively. It's hard being fearless, risque as you can be with your opinions and ideas, especially with uncertainty. This I say is a great Autumn movie, wonderful in making the seasonal vibe feel more comforting.

Number 3: Smiling Friends

Yeah, it's high on the list. If it wasn't, that means Egoraptor probably made it. To me, Smiling Friends has the enjoyable chaos of Superjail and Aqua Teen with the thematic sincerity of Venture Bros or King of the Hill. It's the most easy-going adult cartoon that yeah, is funny as shit and is funnier the more you know behind the scenes. I gotta appreciate that this is the one time when people from the internet hit the big time and it doesn't feel like forgettable compromised trash. I'll say the Brazil episode was not good, but this was the consistently best show Adult Swim provided in a long while.

Number 2: Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio

Del Toro never gave up on this and what we got was better than expected. There are a couple story problems but it's more than made up by being an amazing retelling of the Pinocchio tale. I never grew up with Pinocchio mind you, I only got familiar with the story this year since it was everywhere, but I wanna say this was as strong an interpretation as one could make. Better than Disney's take I say where it's purposefully not squeaky clean in appearance or atmosphere making its poignant emotional moments hit a little harder. Being Del Toro's first fully animated movie, it's up there with Fantastic Mr. Fox as a film I'd consider a masterpiece on the dedication craft alone.

Honorable Mentions: Entergalactic, Hamster & Gretel, Minions 2, The Amazing Maurice, Chickenhare, League of Super Pets, Super Giant Robot Brothers, Cars on the Road, Little Demon, Pantheon, Baymax!, Turning Red, and Zootopia+

Number 1: The Bad Guys/Puss in Boots, Last Wish

I'll say it, Dreamworks truly owned the W this year. The fact that two-for-two Dreamworks gave us the best vibes in terms of films like it was nothing has to be appreciated. I was already a fan of Puss in Boots, the film and cartoon series worked as the Zorro franchise we could've got. The Last Wish enhances that with not only literal stellar and dynamic action, no bad characters, but an actual reflective story for Puss, like if the 1st film and series were about him being responsible this sequel was about him being humble, especially in regard to his own mortality and pride. This isn't just a regular adventure like before, there is genuine emotional weight behind what happens to the characters. Just saying, we didn't just get a fierce red-eyed wolf for furry-lusting sake, but an actually intimidating force that owns every scene he's in. Feels like this film truly marks the twilight of where the studio wants to go with its projects and I'm worried but faithful. Oh yeah, and The Bad Guys?

I didn't grow up with the OG books like I did with Captain Underpants, but this film both blew my mind and made me go back to see that the books were good too. Objectively, Puss in Boots was the better film but this was my personal year-round favorite. The VIBES this had with basically every other scene had me just as happy as when I saw the Captain Underpants movie. The animation, the banter, Diane who is everything, and the banging tunes like Good Tonight and the opening with Kitchen Clean were the cleanest scenes I loved all year. If Puss in Boots 2 was the modern Zorro movie I always wanted, this was the American Lupin the 3rd movie I never knew I would get.

All in all, Dreamworks put its best foot forward, far more than expected especially compared to last year or Disney this year. If anything, I'm definitely noticing a slow shift where more animated projects are... footloose and yards away from trying to look realistic or copy-pasted. Not saying it'll all work (remember when theOdd1sOut made a cartoon?) but it has me as faithful as before in seeing worthwhile stuff come to fruition. Then again nothing this year truly stacked up to the

ACTUAL NUMBER 1: SLIPPIN' JIMMY

I'm talking about the Breaking Bad masterpiece that earned a Slipjimmillion dollars in ratings and views, baby! The streaming service superstar of 2022 nothing could top it. Not Bluey, not Better Call Saul, not The Simpsons, not your dad, nothing came close! Slippin' Jimmy is the future!

WITH ALL THAT SAID, HAVE A GOOD NEW YEAR!

[addysfandomdump]

You're looking a little tangled up there, Bolt!

Decided to fill out the questionare that’s been going around the @sonic-oc-showdown​​!

Name: Bolt the Cyber Cheetah

Species: Asiatic Cheetah (and also cyborg)

Type: Speed

Alignment: Neutral Good

Home: Sol Empire

The rest under the cut! 👇

✨ - How did you come up with the OC’s name? 

I didn’t! Bolt originally belonged to my partner Zed! He was a recolor/edit of one of those Sonic character bases you find on DeviantArt lol. He originally had, and still has, electricity powers-- he’s also related to Blaze, and 5th grade Zed wanted a B name, hence Bolt! He also tends to “bolt” off a lot, haha.

I’m the one who made him a cheetah, though. Bolt used to be just a regular old cat. But then I thought “hm, y’know for a series about a fast hedgehog, there is the striking lack of the cheetah rival” so I made him a cheetah! An Asiatic cheetah specifically, since Blaze is Indian-coded! The Asiatic cheetah is dying out :( There are only 12 Asiatic cheetahs left in the whole world as of writing this :(( It’s so sad :(((

(A cheetah in Iran. Source: Wikipedia)

🌼 - How old are they? (Or approximate age range) 

Bolt is 18 years old!

🌺 - Do they have any love interest(s)?

Yes! Bolt has a girlfriend named Chilli, who’s a Chocolate Labrador! They met in junior year high school and are T4T ❤ Don’t ask him how he scored, he doesn’t know either.

🍕 - What is their favorite food?

I don’t know! Since he’s so anxious all the time, probably warm and filling foods, like soup! Since he’s 90% robot, though, he doesn’t really need to eat. He’s powered by his own electricity!

💼 - What do they do for a living?

Bolt does a variety of odd jobs to pay rent. He usually works as a living battery for a lot of people, though, restarting grids and charging people’s phones for a dollar.

🎹 - Do they have any hobbies?

Bolt has a lot of hobbies, usually ones that keep him calm. Visiting museums, going on long walks in nature, anything that handles weaving like crocheting or knitting or plush making... he made his jacket himself!

🎯 - What do they do best?

Worry. And cry.

🥊 - What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

Bolt loves engaging in his hobbies and hanging out with his girlfriend, Chilli :)

Oh boy does he hate a lot of things. Many things stress him out. Watching a scary movie, trying something new, talking to people who aren’t his usual friend group, loud concerts, big crowds, whatever new adventure Blaze inadvertently drags him into this time, etc etc.

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

Going to see the stars with his girlfriend for the first time.

✂️ - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

Getting kidnapped and roboticized, easy. And [SPOILERS FOR THE UNDEVELOPED AND UNRELEASED FANGAME SONIC RUSH: LIGHTNING SPEED].

🧊 - Is their current design the first one?

Nope! Bolt went through sooo many designs. I’m still figuring him out. Every new drawing of him looks different. I feel like I’m getting close, though!

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

Zed wanted to make a cool elemental Sonic kitty ala Blaze. Then I basically took him and transformed him completely. At first he was gonna be another cocky Sonic rival, since I’ve always imagined a cheetah rival for Sonic, but then I was like “hmm, he has a lot of those already... not very unique...” and then I remembered @/thehydroxian-art-blog’s Jeff the Imperfect Shadow Android and though “Ah! I shall make him pathetic. And also a robot.” And thus the current version of Bolt was born!

🌂 - What genre do they belong in?

A sci-fi action comedy film, for sure!

💚 - What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Bolt is a trans man, he/him pronouns, bisexual. That yellow chestplate you see was originally a binder before it got welded into his body by the roboticization machine!

🙌 - How many siblings does your OC have?

None so far! He’s an only child! He does have his cousin, Blaze, though. Which technically makes him royalty. He doesn’t really live like royalty, though... or know that he’s royalty in the first place.

🍎 - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

They kinda just peaced out after Bolt graduated from high school. They weren’t particularly close with Bolt, and vice versa. They lowkey wanted nothing to do with him...

✏️ - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

A decent amount! A member in a Sonic server I’m in asks all sorts of prompt questions about other people’s OCs and I love answering them! It’s really helped me develop not just Bolt, but my other OCs such as Faye Moreau, Seafoam the Sailfish, Charlotte Webb, Chaos Clown, Ms. Host, Cabinet Man, and even Kryztal!

💎 - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

Nah, not really.

💀 - Does your OC have any phobias?

Yes. Too many to list, though. He’s practically afraid of everything.

🍩 - Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

Blaze is kiiinda his rival, but saying that is kind of a stretch. He’s an alright rival to Sonic when the hog visits, though.

🎓 - How long have you had the OC?

I don’t quite remember. A few months at least. Maybe even a year.

This one is something I came up with myself:

💥 - What are your OC’s powers, if they have any?

Bolt can channel and manipulate electricity! He can also shapeshift his mechanical body into various weapons like energy cannons, guns, and blades! His tail stretch out really far, and manifest temporary platforms!

Aaand that should do it! Hoo, that was a lot of questions! It was fun!!!

[place-o-ponderance]

Most people first got introduced to Mario with perhaps his hottest new game. Mario blasted his way into my life in a really strange way. I don't think i knew about Mario at all until i was in first grade. Other kids i went to school worshiped Mario, and i didn't exactly join in, because how could i? this was so new and foreign to me. The first Mario game i ever played was New Super Mario Bros. Wii. one of my parents must've bought it around the time it came out. again, the memory is fuzzy. But anyways, this game was unbelievably hard for me. in fact? I still think it is. I'm bad at 2D platformers. (still have never beaten it) That wasn't what mattered to me, though. A factor of this game had me hooked: Yoshi. Discovering Yoshi was nothing short of enchanting. I needed Yoshi in my life. Young Rudy was enthralled by animals (still am, obviously) and these creatures were what truly opened my eyes. I'd panic if he got hit and ran around. The game was infinitely more fun with him. After the first early levels where you have Yoshi, i no longer felt motivated to move on. it only got more difficult for my young mind. "How could i do it without him?" Anyways, i got figures of Mario and Yoshi around this time as well. I considered Luigi, but i could only get two. there's no way i couldn't have Yoshi, or Luigi without Mario, so he was axed. (A similar core memory involved me choosing between a Sonic and Shadow plush at Toys R Us. I didn't have any Sonic games, but i knew something was a bit sinister about Shadow. I strongly considered him, but in the end, Sonic was chosen. Sometimes i wonder if it was a butterfly effect. Perhaps i'd be a different person if i'd picked Shadow instead.) To young Rudy, the history of Mario was really vague and mysterious. "How does my uncle know him?" I'd wonder. Before getting other games like Super Mario Galaxy, and Super Paper Mario (AGAIN, were too hard to beat. SPM is lost to the winds of time, and SMG is too scratched to play) i was introduced to the Super Mario Bros. Super Show !!!!!!!! yeah. I had DVDs of that. Did it have an impact on how i perceived Mario? hell, probably. I thought of Bowser as 'King Koopa' because of it, and found myself primarily using the title, much to the dismay of my peers. I think in my eyes, i believed it to be a larger part of the Mario mythos that it actually was. I didn't even know how old the show was, but I could tell it wasn't recent. Before i had access to the internet, i'd still wonder about Mario's past. How did he become so popular? Is he really old? i had no knowledge of older Mario games. I had a real shithead friend in first/second grade, who would tell me all kinds of tall tales. (this kid was a riot, his influence may appear in future posts) But the point is, young Rudy was very gullible. Perhaps too gullible for his own good. And as such, many adults and kids alike would take advantage of this fact for their amusement. I've had a very vivid, and sometimes gruesome imagination ever since i was young. Upon asking a Mario themed question, the kid (we'll call him C.W.) had a story to tell me. what i remember of it, is: "Mario and Luigi were real life plumbers in the 1930s. They fought real minions of Bowser and ate fire flowers and mushrooms for power ups. and eventually they lost. They died in a horrific, bloody accident. Even though Mario is dead, the games are based on his adventures." I wish i remembered more, because i really did believe it. I found it to be bone-chilling, even. There was probably a more specific detail about him being mauled by Bowser or impaled with spikes that made it extra unsettling to me. I think the real kicker was the fact that Mario was "a real person" who "is actually DEAD" that made it so impactful. I don't even remember if Luigi was in it.

Super Mario Odyssey is a good game. I managed to beat that one.

-Rudy

[darkqueenofshadows85]

I posted 341 times in 2022

That's 301 more posts than 2021!

102 posts created (30%)

239 posts reblogged (70%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sweetpeauserboxes

@inthetags

@adventures-of-team-dystopia

@hater-of-bad-sonic-stories

@kuroiyuki96-new

I tagged 295 of my posts in 2022

Only 13% of my posts had no tags

#sonic the hedgehog - 71 posts

#other people's art - 36 posts

#darkqueen's thoughts - 28 posts

#opinion post - 21 posts

#darkqueen says things - 19 posts

#the brave little toaster - 17 posts

#vent - 17 posts

#blog post - 16 posts

#shadow the hedgehog - 15 posts

#hive don't look - 15 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#losing both my best friend and my comfort au is the absolute worst trauma i've experienced yet and that's against some stiff competition...

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

So I just watched the new Sonic Drone Home short on YouTube, and, well, two thoughts popped into my head while I was watching it...

One of them was, "aww, this is so cute and wholesome", and the other one was "oh fuck, that reminds me... I still haven't finished writing my Sonic Movie 2 review yet..."

18 notes - Posted May 24, 2022

#4

Say hello to the newest additions to my Sonic plush collection! >w<

Tangle the Lemur

See the full post

19 notes - Posted April 19, 2022

#3

Now I'm genuinely curious as to where Shadow was during the events of Sonic Frontiers

Perhaps this year's Sonic Twitter Takeover event could elaborate further on that...? 👀

40 notes - Posted November 12, 2022

#2

What Ruined Shadow: The Downfall of an Amazing Character

Introduction

Greetings, mortals! Today, I will be analyzing Shadow's peak characterization in the Adventure/Dark Era and the steady decline in the Meta Era.

During this analysis, I will explain how Shadow went from being a likeable, well written and relatable character in the 2000's, to a truly detestable character in the 2010's.

I will focus mainly on Shadow's characterization in the games, since I haven't watched the animated Sonic shows in a long time (I will make it a point to rewatch them all eventually though), and my knowledge of the comics is limited at best, but from what I've read of the comics, Pre-Reboot Archie Shadow's characterization is really good, Reboot Archie Shadow is just as much of a piece of shit as the Boom/Pontaff version of the character is, and IDW Shadow, while he's not exactly as bad as he is in Reboot-Archie/Meta Era/Boom, I still hate how stupid he can be sometimes, and that really showed in the Zombot arc.

I haven't watched Sonic X in a long time, but from what I remember, Shadow's portrayal in the show was similar to that of his game counterpart. As for Boom Shadow... I'll explain my stance on him later.

Anyway, let us begin! ^^

Shadow's Four Game Arc

Shadow is the only character in the Sonic series I know of whose character arc happened over the course of four games, starting with SA2 and ending in 06.

In SA2, Shadow believes he is destined to exact revenge on humanity for killing his best friend, Maria, but then the memory of Maria's true wish (to protect humanity) made him realize the error of his ways, so he sacrifices himself to save humanity from the ARK falling towards Earth.

See the full post

113 notes - Posted January 2, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Here's some interesting things I found out about Sonic Prime's voice cast:

• Tails is voiced by Ashleigh Ball, who you may recognize as the voice of Rainbow Dash and Applejack from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

• Amy is voiced by Shannon Chan Kent, who made a brief cameo as the Roadhouse Waitress in the first Sonic movie

• Dr. Eggman is voiced by Brian Drummond, who voiced Knuckles in Sonic Underground back in 1999

• Shadow and Big share the same voice actor (Ian Hanlin)

225 notes - Posted October 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[awkwardsonicphotos]

Day 55, He found the Sonic head on a stick and just laughed and said we need to keep it there. Later he went down and finally saw the giant back drop in the basement. He was so confused where I got it and how I got it up. But he thinks it’s great all the same. Now I have placed this on his Star Trek blu ray cover.

Day 56, Placed this yelling Sonic near the stairs. My husband meanwhile saw the Great Gatspeed and was horrified exclaiming “Ew! What is this?!”

Day 57, I used the last of the Sonic wrapping paper to cover this old tv we have. My husband also found the chandelier Sonic. He loves each and every one of these Sonic’s. He told me multiple times now he wants to leave them up when his brother and his wife comes to stay with us for a week. I’m not sure if I can hold out that long haha! This has completely back fired on me and it’s hilarious. He told me he won’t concede to taking down the Sonic’s. I didn’t even ask him to or told him why I’m doing all this. But…. I. Must. Keep. Going….

Day 58, A new love.

Day 59, this Sonic stares on in one of the showers. Also my husband noticed the locket I was wearing and asked about it. I opened it up and he almost spat out the water he was drinking. And today he recklessly drove with the windows down and the picture of sonic on the dashboard was tragically lost. He finally got off of the hood of the car. So I replaced him.

Day 60, placed this in honor of how my printer probably feels.

Day 61, Placed this Sonic on the bathroom scale.

Day 62, he found the scale sonic and shower sonic and said, "Oh no, fat Sonic." Now I have placed this Sonic colored hedgehog with my hedgehog plush collection.

Day 63, A new Sanic for Zorro’s bed.

Day 64, dying Sonic with skeleton showing on this needle bin to represent my unenthusiastic feelings to my new medication.

Day 65, He saw the skeleton Sonic and couldn't figure out what he was looking at. He just kept repeating, "What is that?" And I have now placed this Sonic on the tv.

Day 66, He laughed at Sonic Live on the tv and thought Zorro's new picture was funny as well. So now a DJ Sonic plays jams on his computer speaker.

Day 67, He found the Sonic picture with all the hedgehog plushies as he was working on his xbox again. He though it was cute. I thought it was time for an informational image about Sonic.

Day 68, What the? A faker has appeared.

Day 69, The becoming of Sonic. My husband also finally found the Sonic wrapping paper covering the tv. He wanted to know why I wrapped it up.

Day 70, A new picture to add to the fridge. Alex found the mirror last night and I heard him choking from laughter from the other room.

Day 71, Sonic's friends are here now! My husband hasn't noticed the last few images yet. They may be blending together now.

Day 72, New plant decor. Also my husband finally found the Sonic on the printer and all of Sonic's friends in the window. He has finally considered this may be getting out of hand.

Day 73, A picture added to my Kirby/Sonic collection. He found Tails in the plant and helped me put back up the giant sonic poster in the basement because it fell down.

Day 74, Shadow is here to make sure the linens are washed right.

Day 75, Knuckles guards the basement storage. Also while helping me do laundry today my husband found the hidden Shadow and said we had a rat problem. Rude.

Day 76, Not a photo today but I did buy this Sonic vs eggman set and placed it in my studio.

Day 77, Eggman with the eggs. My husband found the playset and thought it was cool and started to play with it. He said he thinks Eggman knows Sonic and everyone is a cartoon and that's why he tries to destroy them with cartoon contraptions instead of using normal means.

Day 78, an Amy arrangement for the kitchen. He found the kirby truck chasing Sonic and finally saw the sonics on the printer and his speakers. I asked him how many sonic's we had in the house again and he said 25. We are having family come stay with us in a few days and he wants to keep all the Sonic stuff up.

Day 79, A motivational Sonic for my computer desk.

Day 80, we're so close to 100.... so this is a message that I won't stop until at least then.

Day 81, our smoke alarms make the loudest noise in the known universe so I placed this screaming Sonic on one of them.

Day 82, I edited this picture of my siblings so they are holding up Sonic instead of me and hid it in the coat closet. Meanwhile my husband told me his co workers noticed the Sonk photo on his car and asked if anyone honked at him.

Day 84, Money Sonic on the money jar. I told my husband about our soon to be sister in law being freaked out and confused by all the sonic photos around the house on her surprise visit the other day. He found it hilarious. He said it's Sonic's house now, we just live here.

Day 85, How to care for your Sonic. Very important.

Decided to try something.

Day one of adding photos of Sonic in my house until my husband tells me to stop.

[battris]

Wow thank you for all the likes on the shadow plush pic I posted! I wasn’t expecting my first pic to get any attention :’)

My partner and I took a nature walk today and we took even more pics of our plushies so those will be posted next! And ofc all mine are featuring Shadow hehe

I was inspired by other sonic and shadow plush pics and accs so I hope it’s okay that I do it too. I’m not new to taking pics of my plush, I usually do it with more realistic animal plushies that I collect. But using plush I’m currently fixated on makes me really happy :)