#wachowski wants to be like his big bro

[tornado1992]

Cuddly brubers

Taking shifts❤️💙🧡

[piko-rose]

"Heroes Don't Fail" - Sonic Movie 3 Angst Prediction Fanfic (OUTDATED PLEASE IGNORE LOL)

After Tom fell ill due to protecting him from a bullet, Sonic was left to wonder if his own friends had any faith in him to begin with during their most dangerous adventure yet. He was left to wonder if him and Shadow had more of a similarity than he thought.

Trigger Warnings: Usage of handheld weaponry, child endangerment, light blood, light swearing, implied PTSD

(THIS FIC CONTAINS POSSIBLE SPOILERS FOR SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 AND THE FINAL TRAILER. IT IS ONLY A FIC BASED ON MY PREDICTIONS OF A MOMENT IN THE TRAILERS WHERE THE WACHOWSKI BROS ARE OUTSIDE OF A HOSPITAL BUILDING. BUT JUST IN CASE, PROCEED WITH CAUTION. EVERYTHING IS UNDER THE CUT.)

(just a little something before I return to my break thingy lol be back soon <3)

"What the hell is wrong with you, you jerk?!"

What a terrible, terrible time to get caught by G.U.N. officials, and even Commander Walters out of all people. The man responsible for that little girl's death.

Sonic and his friends were SO close to breaking in, and shut down the Eclipse Canon before it accelerated back into space, with the Robotniks, and Shadow the Hedgehog, boarding it.

Controlling it.

And now, because of Walters and his men trapping him and his family in the Robotnik base, surrounding them with their weapons, the moon has a gaping hole for the whole planet to see.

The Eclipse Canon did that.

And G.U.N. just let it happen, all because they refuse to let him and his team get to the weapon of mass destruction in time. They didn't want some randos become the heroes.

Noooo, it had to be the "Guardian Unites of Nations," the big, strong, tough guys who don't give two craps about the people around them. Only their reputation.

Which will surely go down now that Sonic's angry tone finally shown it's furious face.

Sonic never meant to swear in front of the young fox, whose ears were covered by Knuckles' mittens, even though the question was already out by the time Knuckles realized what was spoken.

But just by seeing the commander, who demands answers to why they have random people they don't even remember recruiting, and in an empty base when they should be after that hedgehog and those crazed doctors, he was fueled with rage.

Just not too long ago, Sonic made a truce with Robotnik, big mistake, and along the way found a diary of sorts. A diary that contained everything he needed to know about this Project Shadow, and this Eclipse Canon...

Before he could explain to his brothers what's going on with Shadow, he took them out. ...Again. Definitely Sonic's strongest opponent yet.

With Doctor Robotnik betraying Sonic and his friends, with Shadow himself and Robotnik's grandfather joining him, apparently, they needed extra help from their parents, and even Rachel, whose husband was an agent himself.

They posed as agents, to try and gather all the information about the Eclipse Canon, and take it down, and hopefully find Shadow and the doctors.

But... Walters just had to evade their plans. He just had to ruin everything.

Like how he ruined Shadow's life.

"...Excuse me?" Walters muttered out, taken aback by Sonic's outburst.

"Don't pretend like I don't know! I know what you did all those years ago," Sonic barked, not afraid to step forward in front of armed troops, just to get up close and personal with the commander.

"I have no idea what you're blabbering on about, Sonic," Walters shook his head in disbelief, confused yet seemingly upset at the pissed off hedgehog.

"Forgotten about Maria already, huh?"

The mere mention of her name made the old man's eye brows rose lightly, but no body in the room could tell. But Sonic knew that he wasn't expecting the name to be mentioned again.

He demands an explanation. He demands answers.

"Wh- what about Maria?" Walters asked, nearly fumbling over his question.

"You ever wonder why Shadow turned out the way he is? Looks like you didn't tell us the full story!" Sonic says, his fists clenched into gloved balls, with fingernails nearly poking through the fabric, "You knew all along! You kept all of this from us!"

Tails and Knuckles looked at each other, then back at Sonic who was walking closer to Walters. They don't know who Maria is or why she's involved with Shadow, but it probably might have something to do with that diary Sonic tried to talk about earlier.

"What does any of this have to do with you being in Robotnik's base?"

"Why are YOU in his base? Trying to get rid of more Robotnik related evidences?"

"Sonic," Tom, seeing that Sonic is just a few more steps away from being up to his face, reached his hand out to try and get him away from the old commander, worry showing in his eyes, "step back. He probably has a weap-"

Tom's sentence was cut off when a armed man motioned him back where he was with his gun. The warning only earned the man a death glare from the Donut Lord.

No one tells the Donut Lord to back away from his kid.

"Sonic... I... believe I owe you an explanation." Walters sigh in defeat. His sentence made his nearby men turn to face him. Despite their faces masked, they all seemed perplexed as most of Sonic's friends and family.

"An overdue one," Sonic added in retort, his brow furrowing, appearing threatening to some of the soldiers.

"I was... involved, in the incident from 50 years ago," Walters began, "I never meant to injure Maria, but I never wanted anyone to know about it... I had to cover it up."

Sonic's top muzzle scrunched. Had to cover it up?

"So you just put the blame on an innocent hedgehog?" Sonic asked loud enough to accidentally scare more of the armed men around him.

"Who said he was innocent?" Walters asked, his tone sounding annoyed, "everyone knew that Shadow had incredible power strong enough to possibly wipe out a nation! Innocent or not, he was too dangerous to be around anyone!"

"He was only 'dangerous' because you took away his closest FRIEND!" Sonic's voice cracked on the last word as he screamed it at the commander, scaring him. "You seriously think covering it up is gonna make everyone feel better?!"

Tails and Knuckles grew concerned and thought about intervening, Tom, Maddie and Rachel all exchanged shocked looks at each other, and Randell closed his eyes and looked away, feeling hurt to know about this information his own ex-commander kept from him.

"So G.U.N. has always been a thing, huh?" Sonic asked, hands on his hips, "There's just not a lot of extra-terrestrials around here to keep an eye on, so you have to retire until I came in??"

"...Precisely." Walters, once more, sigh in defeat, facing away from the enraged hedgehog.

So from Sonic's understanding, G.U.N.'s job was to destroy all friendly, alien life who dares to step foot onto beautiful planet Earth? People of this world actually rely on these guys??

"Wow. Some heroes you all are."

"We didn't want Shadow to cause more havoc!"

"YOU caused havoc," Sonic stomps his foot, "YOU guys were responsible for making Shadow feel pain and loss!" He repeated the two words at him. The ones the commander gave to him back at the Chao Garden.

All this time he thought Walters barely had any info on Project Shadow, but he was wrong. Shadow was the victim all along.

"Who says you guys can be heroes after what you've done?! He's not the villain, YOU ARE!!" His eyes glow a sharp, angry blue as he points his finger, not realizing that his hand he used was spitting out electricity at the commander, making him back up.

Because of his powers being exposed, the soldiers threatened their weapons at the blue hedgehog, who was startled by them at first, but remained angry, who glued his focus on Commander Walters.

"Sonic!" Nearly everyone exclaimed, with Tom shouting his name louder than everyone else in the room. He threw his weapon and tried to run towards him, not wanting him to get shot, but one to two men stopped him by pushing him to the ground violently.

"Thomas!" Maddie cried. She would've been by his side by now if it weren't for more soldiers guarding Tom from both her and Rachel. Randell, Tails and Knuckles all saw this too and gasped.

"Tom?" The moment Tom was planted to the ground, he turned around to see his own father figure face down on the glowing red ground.

All of that anger immediately washed away when the possibility of Tom getting hurt entered his mind, and made him vulnerable long enough for Walters to snatch him by the wrist.

"You talk too much, hedgehog," Walters says calmly yet coldly, getting ready to grab his cuffs and take the hedgehog away, along with the others, already having the idea to give orders to his men.

"Sonic!!" Tom shouted, watching this old man putting his dirty hands on his son.

"Dad!!" Sonic cried out, reaching his free hand to his father, who couldn't get up as long as a weapon was aimed right to his head.

Suddenly, a loud BANG goes off, as a bullet nearly went flying to Walters' face, but hit against the wall to his right. He snapped his head to the dent in the wall, then back at the culprit who almost shot him.

Rachel. Eyes huge, out of breath and holding one of the men's guns in her hand.

Everyone's eyes grew huge and their mouths drop agape seeing this woman do something unbelievable, especially her sister Maddie, who is almost terrified of her, if not, proud of her.

"Holy crap," Knuckles unintentionally muttered out for everyone to hear, sounding rather impressed.

"Get. Your hands. Off my nephew!" She warned the commander. Her hands trembled intensely, not wanting to pull the trigger again, but will do whatever it takes to keep her family alive and safe.

There was no response for a couple of seconds, but Sonic, shaking off the speechlessness, turned his head back at the bewildered commander, who was having flashbacks of the last time this woman fought with him.

"You heard the lady," He says, his traditional smirk still having a hint of anger written on it.

He spun into a ball and lunged at him to the stomach, making him hit against the wall.

"RUN!" Sonic ordered his family as he ran off to the nearest exit, and so everyone, fighting off the soldiers, do just that. Maddie stayed behind for a minute to help Tom up, and hugged him, before Walters gets back up.

Sonic didn't really remember all the pathways to this stinky base well enough to know where the heck he was going, or even know where the way out was.

Some nerve that old man has, though. Trying to cover up an accident just to make himself look good? Sheesh.

As long as G.U.N. is out of his way, he can finally deal with the Robotniks and Shadow.

He came to a halt however when he noticed that no body was following him.

"Guys?" Sonic turned around to see no body behind him, and was growing worried.

He runs off to the opposite direction, risking to put himself in Walters' sight again just to rescue him. He just prays that Tom is okay.

But as he makes a quick left turn, Walters was in his sight. With a weapon in hand.

"Hoo boy," Sonic whimpered.

"Trust me. I don't want to do this," Walters says, despite the look of his eyes saying otherwise.

Sonic is the fastest creature in the universe, why does he feel nervous to be held at gunpoint? He should be able to outrun it. He never deemed Walters to be threatening, he's just a jerk.

That's all there is to him.

Why should he be scared? He's not scared. He's not scared of Walters.

He's not scared of his little toy.

"Out of my way, my family's in there!" Sonic barked, ready to put up another fight with this old bully.

"You've learn too much about G.U.N.'s history. No body should know about what happened on the ARK. You have no right to have this information with you." He says, still aiming at the hedgehog.

"I believe I do," Sonic protests, looking at the commander square in the eyes as if the gun was never there to begin with. "If you would've told me what had happened up there all those years ago, I wouldn't have NEVER join your little cult!"

"You didn't really have a choice."

"I feel like I did."

Loud thuds could be heard in the other room. Sonic suspects that his family is either kicking butt, in danger, or both. Probably both since Knuckles is going all out. He could hear his cries every couple of seconds.

They better be okay.

"You lied to me, Walters," Sonic says, his voice quiet yet threatening. "Do you have any idea what Shadow has been through because of your actions? You even made Gerald gone mad because of what you did to Maria!"

"You seriously shouldn't have never learned this information." Walters tries to dodge the question, but he knew it was fruitless.

"You refuse to listen, do you? You refuse to accept that you ain't no hero. Well... you're not." Sonic hissed. "You're a monster! A heartless jerk who only cared about his troops and no body else!"

"We are only doing what we think is right!"

"Nothing you ever did in your life was right."

"We are protectors who face anomalies such as you and Shadow! We don't know how strong your powers are and we worry it could affect the world in ways that damage it!" Walters continued, "I don't believe this world asked for heroes such as yourself."

"Damage it?!" Sonic shrieked with fury, "I saved this world a handful of times from that doctor, and you don't even care?! I saved the world! TWICE! Soon THRICE!"

"Didn't you see the state San Francisco was in?" Walters asked, growing more irritated with this creature. "We had no choice but to unite G.U.N. back because of your actions! And don't even get me started on Green Hills from last year."

"From MY actions-? Pfffft, okay, okay," Sonic "chuckled," "You seriously think that was my fault? Robotnik was the guy who endangered many lives out there, and, as usual, you put the blame on the alien hedgehog."

"Every other life endangering event occurred because of anomalies like you that kept running all around the planet instead of going back to the dirty caves where you belong!"

Dirty. Cave?

Oh, hell no, he did NOT just go there.

"Listen hear," Sonic began, gritting his teeth, "I lost my owl guardian when I was a child and had to live on Earth all by myself for ten years, seven in a cave. Throughout those years I was isolated! I had no body! Then, a twist of fate lead me to my father and mother, who took care of me for years, alongside my brothers, Tails and Knuckles, who went through a troubling childhood as much as I had!"

Sonic never noticed that he called Tails and Knuckles his own brothers, but he was too fumed at the commander to care.

"Even though I have people to care for me," he continued, "Robotnik has the guts to cause chaos in my life, and threatened the world at the same time, but I pulled together with my family and saved the world! More than once!"

Walters was listening, but never shown any signs that he cared. This only made Sonic more angry.

"Sure, there were some property damage, and some people were hurt, but sometimes even heroes make mistakes!" Sonic says, his fists clenched, "But I'm not gonna let that get to me!"

Walters' nose lets out an unimpressed exhale.

"I did my best to keep the world safe- my home safe, and all you do is treat me and my family like dirt!" Sonic raised his voice at him as he took another harsh step forward at him.

"I did more saving than you and your men ever will! You think you have the right to determine whose the hero and who isn't?! No!! You don't! You ruined Shadow's life, I won't let you ruin mine!"

Walters believes he sounded too brave.

"All I wanted to do is to live my life with my family, and I'm tired of people like you making a decision on rather people like me deserve it or not! I HAVE DONE NOTHING WRONG!!"

Sonic panted after finally letting his emotions out. His eyes were shut, he was no longer paying attention to the commander, only his breathing.

He never felt so glad to let it all out like that. But the relief didn't last too long...

"And it's going to stay that way."

Click...

The hedgehog snapped his emerald eyes open after hearing a small creaking sound, to see Walters aiming the gun directing to his face.

"No hero should ever make a single mistake," It was Walters' turn to speak, "after all, heroes don't destroy things. They don't endanger civilians. You're responsible for most of the destruction in San Francisco, and because of Robotnik's obsession with you, your own townspeople have gotten injured, despite the so-called victory."

Sonic backed up two steps.

"Are you certain heroes do these things? Most specifically, you?"

He backed up two more steps.

"Shut up," he muttered.

"I'm not letting a bunch of alien troublemakers take my place as protector. You didn't even have the courage to rescue your owl. With a reputation like that, why should you not let it get to you?"

He does have a point. He tried to go back to save her from the Echidna, but... he was too late.

"You're no hero. You're just some kid, a dangerous one. A hazard. A weapon!" Walters barked the word right at him, making him jump.

"You seriously believe the world is yours? Sorry, but after what happened on the ARK, I'm not taking any chances. This world doesn't need another disaster. It doesn't need another failure."

His finger prepared to pull.

His own words took over Sonic's brain.

How could he let them take over so easily?

Sonic isn't a failure! He's-

BANG!!

Sonic shuts his eyes tight, not fully prepared for the bullet, but nothing had happened. He opened his eyes again to see a person standing right in front of him, shielding him from Walters' gun.

As he got a good look at him, he gasped. His ears pinned to his head. His worst nightmare came true.

Tom Wachowski, groaning quietly as some blood leaked through his shirt, while he was still guarding him from the commander.

He took the bullet for Sonic.

Tom is hurt. And it was because Sonic didn't run away.

Despite the pain shocking his body, Tom weakly opened his right eye and barely smiled at his little Blue Devil. "Make me proud, son," he whispered before collapsing to the ground.

Everything around him went dead silent. All he could do was stare at the seemingly lifeless body of the person who saved his life.

How could he make him proud when he was one who killed him?

How could he make anyone proud now?

Maybe Walters was right.

With a loud cry, before Walters could react, Knuckles delivered his most brutal punch to the commander, slamming him to the wall, knocking him unconscious.

The sound of a harsh slam to the metal wall knocked Sonic back to his senses.

"Hedgehog! They took Maddie and Ra- ...Thomas?" Knuckles just now noticed the body of Tom laying in front of a panicked Sonic. The echidna's purple eyes rose with concern, praying that what he's looking at isn't what he's looking at right now.

Sonic's eyes began to swell with tears as he looked back at his brother. "Where's Mom...?"

His question broke his heart. Despite remaining quiet, Sonic knew the answer, and was more devastated.

"Is everything okay in here?" The young fox called out, slightly afraid to come around the corner.

"Everything's..." Knuckles stopped himself. No. Everything is not fine. G.U.N. captured Maddie, her sister, and Tom appeared to be severely injured.

Not to mention that the mad doctors and that monster are still on the loose.

Everything is not fine.

"We're getting out of here." Knuckles says, picking up Tom bridal style, and ran off in a rush.

Tails came in just to time for a hurt Donut Lord to not come into his view. A defeated, glossy eyed Sonic didn't make it any better though.

"Sonic? Where's Tom?"

All the hedgehog could do is blink.

It was enough to give Tails the upsetting conformation.

-

Gloomy, dark clouds loom over the city of London. Roads were beginning to form puddles from the light rains that have been pouring down for a good hour or so.

An hour seemed like a trillions years to find out if one person is gonna survive a bullet or not.

Sonic, Tails and Knuckles were outside, barely dried off from the rain speaking with one of the G.U.N. agents, that was informing them about their father's well being.

"The good news is, however," she was speaking with the boys for a good while now, each of them showing concern in their own ways. Knuckles tries not to show it, and was listening closely, Tails was holding one of his tails, and Sonic, still recovering from the earlier incident, twiddled his fingers, wanting to hear the good news already.

"he wasn't hit near the heart, but the bullet was pretty close to the lungs. He will need to undergo surgery, so he has to remain in the hospital until then. Other than that, no other injuries have occurred as far as I'm concerned."

The trio didn't say a word, but they understood. They're just glad, at least mentally, that Tom is gonna be okay, but it'll be a while until he's able to wake up.

"Thanks for telling us," Tails says quietly, not really looking at the agent in the eye.

"As for your mission, I... really wish I could help," she says. She was concerned for the boys' well being, and thought about helping them, but after hearing word about the commander getting injured, she needed to be in a hurry.

"No you don't," Sonic mumbled, doubting her sincerity.

She sighed through her nose. She should've expect the boys treating this way to her. But it's understandable why they're acting like this.

"Could you at least tell us if Maddie and Rachel are okay?" Tails looked up at her with hope in his eyes. He doesn't want anyone to get hurt like Tom.

"They are confined until further notice. There's nothing I can do."

Sonic refuses to look at her.

"I hope you boys make things right and take care of those freaks up there," she says, "because if you fail on your mission, no one will forget this. Keep that in mind."

It was the last thing she said before making her leave. The trio watched as she goes, as they were left with the sentence floating in their heads.

Knuckles seemed calm, he has certainly been through worse, but he hasn't gotten a look at Sonic or Tails yet. They both seem distraught. This is their biggest adventure yet, and possibly their deadliest.

She's right. They cannot fail. No matter what.

Sonic closes his eyes and turned away from his friends, thinking. Tails and Knuckles looked over with concern.

"Sonic, y-you're not thinking about giving up, are you?" Tails asked nervously. A lot has happened, but there still all the time in the world to turn everything back to normal. Hopefully.

"Never," Sonic responded. He turned back around to face them. He never looked so serious. "It's not over until I say it's over."

Hearing that definitely lift Tails' spirits. "Oh! That's great! I'm so relieved!"

"What about the Eclipse Canon? How do we stop it now?" Knuckles asks, turning to face Tails. "It's already activated with the use of the Emeralds, which we cannot reach to unless we're in the ARK."

"Aw, shoot, you're right," Tails' smile faded away in an instant after hearing the mention of the Chaos Emeralds. "Ugh, if only I knew G.U.N. were to show up then we would've-"

"Do not blame yourself, fox. You did all you could," Knuckles reassures.

"I guess you're right, but what about Shadow? We can't get to him here, he's probably up in space by now! Maybe if I can somehow find a way to steal a space shut-"

"'We?'"

Sonic's voice caught Tails and Knuckles' attention.

"Nah," he says, "I'M going after him."

"What??" They both cried in confusion.

...Is he serious? Why is Sonic thinking about facing that guy on his own? Why without their help?? There's no way he's serious. When was the last time he was ever serious?

"Sonic, are you- are you hearing yourself? That is suicide!" Knuckles cried, "You don't even know the full power he's capable of!"

"Hes right, Sonic," Tails added for Knuckles' sake. They got the taste of Shadow's power firsthand. He knew that fighting Shadow alone would be a nightmare. "This is a bad idea."

"When does that ever stop me?" Sonic says, furrowed brows and fists clenched again to show the dead seriousness in his face.

Oh, dear lord, he is serious.

"I faced Eggman twice," The blue hedgehog continued, "once in a flying pod, and in a giant death mech, with the Emeralds! I can take on a super hedgehog."

"He obliterated us!" Tails says, "He's way too powerful! What if he hurts you and we can't save you in time?"

"I'll be fine," Sonic answered, his eyes lowered and away from Tails, "besides, I don't want you guys to get hurt."

Walters' words were still fresh in his brain. He couldn't help but think that maybe he did cause some destruction while saving the world, but he won't let it happen again this time. He won't let his brothers- his friends, get hurt.

He didn't notice that Knuckles looked slightly offended from being pushed aside from a fight. "But Sonic," he says, "we are strong enough to protect ourselves and you."

"I know, but I especially don't want you, Knuckles, to go overboard on Shadow. I think he's been through enough."

Knuckles blinked. "What do you mean?"

"He lost a friend on the ARK, remember?" Sonic says. "He's probably mad at the world because of that..." His expression seemed hurt from the thought of losing someone that close. He's been there...

But after thinking for a moment, his eyes began to twinkle with hope, and a small smile rose on his muzzle. "...but maybe if I can try and reason with him and change his mind, then our problems will be solved!" He exclaimed, beaming at his friends.

Tails and Knuckles earned him very lost looks.

"'Reason' with him? Oh, sweet mother of Tikal..." Knuckles messaged the bridge of his muzzle, not believing what was spoken just now.

"Sonic, there is no point in trying such thing," he says, "He is blinded by rage. How could he listen to you?"

"There... there is a way. I know there is!" Sonic spoke, sounding unsure if he knows a way at all. He just hopes that Shadow would listen to him somehow...

"Sonic," his tone rose for a moment to get Sonic to listen, "he tried to destroy us, and now he's trying to destroy the planet! Do you honestly believe this monster will, just, stop from your useless plea?"

Sonic stared at him like he killed a man.

"He's not a monster," he says, "he was just blamed for something he didn't do."

"That was in the past," Knuckles argued, "this is the present! We are dealing with Shadow's action NOW! His actions now is what makes him a-"

"I'll find a way to stop him, Knuckles," Sonic explained, "Besides, he'll probably listen to me because of how similar we are! We both lost someone really important a long time ago... ...Wait, is Shadow, like, an old dude now or-?"

"He was frozen, Sonic." Tails corrected, his eyes stabbing him with disapproval.

"...So, does that make him, like, Captain America, or somethin- BUT ANYWAYS, anyways," Sonic stops himself from going off topic.

"H-he used to have a human friend and those G.U.N. jerks took her away, and I used to have Longclaw before I came to Earth..." He looked down at his shoes and scratched the back of his head, not wanting to bring himself back to a difficult time of his life, nor wanting to think about what he had read in that diary.

"But Shadow is nothing like you," Knuckles mentioned, "Just because you both have 'similar' pasts, that does not mean it will stop Shadow from being destructive."

Sonic couldn't help but feel scolded in some way. Maybe it was because he read the diary and never got the chance to show Tails and Knuckles before Shadow came in.

They never knew what Shadow been through. It's understandable that they were cautious over this plan, but... it seemed like Knuckles doesn't believe everything Sonic is saying.

...is he?

"Well, I mean... I guess me and Shadow do have a lot in common," Sonic says, "We're both hedgehogs. We both run pretty fast. We both have really cool kicks. And... we were doubted."

Tails blinked. "Wh-what? Sonic, we didn't doubt you."

"You guys don't even believe what I said, didn't you?" he stressed, "I read those diary pages. I know what happened! I'm not lying just to make friends with an emo hedgehog!"

"No, no! I believe you!" Tails cried, waving his hands at Sonic. He had no clue that Sonic was feeling this way the whole time.

"Yeah, right!" Sonic says, hand on hip. "You guys don't even believe that I can handle Shadow on my own! You guys... really don't think I can do this?" his ears flopped to his head, looking at his friends, begging them to be on his side.

"Not on your own." Knuckles stated.

"At least wish me luck or something! Gosh, why are you... why are you guys loosing faith in me?" Sonic asked, sounding defeated.

Tails' two tails dropped to the ground. He wasn't loosing faith in him! He was just worried for his well being. Tom is already in the hospital and Maddie and the rest of her family are being held somewhere. He doesn't want to loose anyone else.

He believed him, one hundred percent. He never meant to make Sonic believe otherwise. He felt awful making his own hero feel this way.

Knuckles, however, thought Sonic is just saying all this just to battle on his own. Does this hedgehog know that they are in a middle of a crisis?!

"We didn't say that we're loosing faith..." Tails spoke sadly.

"You didn't, but I know you are," Sonic looked away, his eyes set on the hospital building. The one Tom is staying at for God knows how long.

The one Sonic himself put him in.

It makes sense that his own friends think that he couldn't do this right, but it doesn't make it hurt any less. Aren't they suppose to support him?

Like a good team he thought they were?

"I'm not gonna lie," Sonic began, his voice breaking but barely hid it, "I'm kind of disappointed of you both."

Knuckles' face grew disgusted and Tails tugged at his own hand.

...disappointed?

"I am doing all I can to make everything go back to normal," he continued, "and nothing is working so far because stupid Ro-butt-nik ruined everything, and stupid G.U.N. caused more problems and...! Ugh, and you guys aren't making it any better!"

Knuckles scowled down at the blue hedgehog. He had no right to be disappointed at the Echidna Warrior.

"None of this wouldn't have happened if we didn't put our trust into that mustached mad man!" he roared at his face, "So, technically speaking, YOU ruined everything!"

Sonic froze.

He, ruined everything...?

They recruited Tom and Maddie and family to help them on their mission, went to London to find the ARK before the Robotniks do, G.U.N. stormed them first, and the Robotniks got away with not only the ARK, but the Chaos Emeralds included, which helped powering on the Eclipse Canon, which cut the moon in half just now...

...and it was all Sonic's fault?

"Didn't you see the state San Francisco was in? We had no choice but to unite G.U.N. back because of your actions!"

Sonic blinked twice. Walters' words haunted him once more.

"You know what Robotnik has done to us in the past, and you seriously think he was our last chance at victory?!" Knuckles cried.

"You didn't even have the courage to rescue your owl. With a reputation like that, why should you not let it get to you?"

The longer he stared at Knuckles, the more his emerald eyes loose their spark.

"You think it's so easy to have all of our sworn enemies magically become friends?! is that your plan? Because it sure is a ridiculously stupid one." Knuckles stated.

"Knuckles, quit it!" Tails protested.

"No hero should ever make a single mistake. After all, heroes don't destroy things. They don't endanger civilians."

He breathed heavily. Walters just won't shut up.

"No hero should ever make a single mistake."

He won't shut up!

"No hero should ever make a single mistake."

"No hero should ever make a single mistake."

"You think I'm stupid?!" Sonic yelled. The fox backed up, startled by Sonic's scream.

"You think I didn't see any of this coming, no matter how much I hoped it wouldn't happen?! You think I believed that Robotnik was our only hope?!"

"Yes." Knuckles answered with a straight face, unaffected by his anger.

Sonic's left eye twitched. This damn Echidna. He didn't believe him from the start. He didn't think this plan was the best he could come up with!

When they were chained up after getting knocked out it was punishment enough. He didn't need Knuckles the Echidna to remind him how much he failed.

He could've at least pretend to have faith in him instead of being brutally honest. Then again, Knuckles is a terrible liar.

Knuckles lying would be more worse than just being honest anyway. Who in the right mind would lie about how amazing and clever and heroic Sonic is?

Tails and Knuckles, apparently.

Sonic hated Walters' guts, but he hated how much he was right more. Out of all the mistakes he could ever make in his life, as a sorry excuse for a hero, is to put his faith on two "friends" who have never supported him from the beginning of the mission.

Or even the beginning of their adventures in general.

He tried, so hard, to make everything according to plan, but it all came crashing down, because he had to make a truce with Eggman. He even put Tom in the hospital because he didn't get the chance to run away from a stupid bullet.

And what did his friends do after all that? They criticize him.

He is fully aware of how imperfect he is, but Knuckles made him open his eyes. But especially Walters. No one had faith in him. He was never a hero, and he was too blind to realize that. Until now.

But he will fix everything. On his own. He will reclaim his title, without the help of his friends.

In a blink of a second, Sonic's eyes glow a sharp blue. If this is how his friends treat him after everything, then so be it.

Sonic scoffed a snarky chuckle.

"Well then," he says, raising his voice at first, "if we're playing the blame game, then THIS, is all Tails' fault!" He points at the young fox.

His ears folded downward. "What...?"

What did he do??

"That's right. Blame me for being a failure and see what happens!" Sonic barked him, stomping his foot.

Knuckles' violet eyes rose. Why the hell is he yelling at this poor child??

"Maybe YOU wouldn't have failed if you try to figure out what to do when G.U.N. showed up! I thought you were smarter than that, Miles!" he cursed his real name.

Tails gasped and back away, hugging on of his fluffy tails. His eyes fluttering as tears began to form.

Knuckles is having none of it.

"How dare you scold the young fox like that!" Knuckles walked up close and personal with Sonic, shielding Tails from him. He snarled at the hedgehog, but it didn't scare him off.

"Sonic, what is wrong with you," Tails croaked, his voice breaking. "I did my best!"

"I'm doing my best too, but no body seems to care!"

"ENOUGH!" Knuckles ordered Sonic loud enough for the whole area to hear. It was enough to make him back away a bit.

"We are supposed to be a team," he reminded calmly yet angrily, "why are you acting this way, hedgehog?"

"Because you don't think Shadow is capable of change." Sonic answered, forcing himself to not cry in front of Knuckles, "you don't believe in him. You don't believe in ME. And you know what? Even if I needed help, I wouldn't rely on people who don't believe in me!"

"I do believe in you!" Tails cried, a tear streaming down his muzzle. He never felt so heartbroken in his life. He did rely on Sonic. He looked out for him. He couldn't believe what was happening.

Why is his own hero acting so harsh to him? ...he probably deserved it.

Knuckles made sure Tails was still behind him in case the hedgehog does anything rash.

Sonic didn't hear a thing Tails said, and he refused to.

"I'm tired of losing other people," Sonic continued, now yelling, "I nearly lost Tom, I am NOT gonna lose the entire world, and I won't let you stop me!"

Tails held onto Knuckles' huge hand. The gesture only made Knuckles grow more angry. Sonic is scaring the small fox. He should not have done that.

"I am not gonna argue with you guys in a middle of a crisis that could only worsen if I'm not doing something about it!" He pointed at the duo. Then he walked up to Knuckles, his eyes glaring right at him like daggers.

"Besides, KNUCKLES, you are way too simpleminded to even listen to a word I say because all YOU care about is kicking someone's butt," Sonic hissed, not afraid of what the Echidna is about to do next.

"Simpleminded?"

He closed his eyes, and breathed through his nose.

He should be.

Knuckles carefully pushed Tails to his side, and then backed up a few steps. "Take it back," he ordered quietly, brow bridges furrowing as he glared back at the hedgehog.

"Make me," he opened up his arms. He could clearly see that this warrior is about to duke it out. If that's the case, he's ready to throw hands whenever.

Knuckles growled. Loudly.

"Take. It. BACK!" He roared as he smacked both of his own fists, causing fire to burst out ablaze out of his gloves, complete with his power surge spiraling all over his body.

Sonic formed his fists tight, his own power surge sparkling as well. His eyes zapped the same blue as before as his quills began to glow.

"Make me!"

It's go time.

Sonic and Knuckles charge at each other, delivering powerful punches to one another, some they dodged, most they certainly came in contact.

Knuckles tried to kick Sonic in the stomach, but as he tried to do so, Sonic zipped behind him and dragged him by his quills and threw him to the nearest police car.

The echidna made a dent on the door and the sirens began to blare off, but no body cared, except for Tails, who was stressed out enough already. He covered his ears, the sound of the police siren bothering his eardrums.

Sonic punched Knuckles in the face twice, but it had no effect. He's just too strong. Knuckles snorted, finding the attack rather unimpressive.

It was his turn to punch back.

POW!!

Sonic goes flying off a few feet away from Knuckles, as he stretches briefly before going back to his fighting stance.

The blue hedgehog gets up, rubs his bruised nose and growled at the Echidna Warrior.

"Stop fighting!" Tails plead.

As if this day couldn't get any worse, two of his favorite people in the galaxy are beating themselves up because of an unsuccessful mission that was probably his own fault.

His family is falling apart. He didn't ask for this.

"See? I told ya, didn't I?!" Sonic barked, his fist shaking, ready to punch that dumb red cherry straight to the concrete. "Fighting is all you focus on! You wanna remain victorious! Undefeatable!"

Sonic came running full speed and landed his fist straight to Knuckles' face. He tumbled on the ground before quickly getting back up, sprinting behind him.

"And all you care about is your reputation!" He spit back, before delivering back his own punch.

"Bull-crap!!"

"You are such a child!"

Sonic spun into a ball before lunging himself right into Knuckles' gut, barely weakening him. Still in his ball form, and rolled laps around him, trying to confuse him, before kicking him hard in the chin.

"I know what I'm doing! You both stay out of this! I don't need your help!" Sonic roared, his power surge growing stronger and unstable. He may be unable to keep his powers at bay, but he couldn't care less.

He just wants Knuckles to back off.

"You haven't a single clue what you are doing, you blue buffoon," The Echidna stated, raising his flaming fists of disaster, ready to set that hedgehog's pathetic face of fire.

"You call yourself a hero after the way you treat your teammates?! You are no such thing until you get your act together!"

"Shut up! Shut up!" A whirring sound grows louder and louder, unable to hold his power together anymore. He was too angry. He was too blinded by rage.

He is sick and tired of being criticized as an imperfect hero. He tried his best. He tried so hard. Why won't it be easy? Why can't everything just go his way?

Why does his family hate him so much?

"Just shut up, you Knucklehead!!!" Sonic screamed at the top of his lungs before shooting himself right into Knuckles at scary speed, preparing to pound the living daylights out of him.

"STOP!"

WHAM!!

Thud...

Sonic's heart nearly stopped.

The light in his once enraged emerald eyes faded away in a second the instant he's seen what he had done.

His powers died down. Now his fur is a dull blue.

It didn't stop his hands from trembling, however.

His ears bent back. He step back a few steps, not letting his eyes off the small, fox, that was once in his way, now many feet away from the duo, not moving a muscle.

His tails were limp for an uncomfortable amount of time. No sound was made from the fox. He remained still on the ground.

For seconds. Too many seconds.

Sonic's mouth quivered. He refuse to believe it.

He punched him. He punched his own little buddy. He hurt him.

"What have I done?"

"Tails!" Knuckles cried out his dear brother's name as he ran towards him, leaving a shocked Sonic by himself.

The Echidna rolled onto the ground as he grabbed Tails by his arms and cradled him close, checking for any injures, and making sure he's alive.

"Tails, are you alright? Speak to me!" He begged the young motionless fox, putting his hand up to his face, checking for blood and cuts.

Sonic watched from afar. The strongest fighter in the galaxy, holding onto a small child for dear life, begging for him to wake up. He caused this.

"Is he...?" he never finished his question. Somehow he knew the answer, but he just prayed it's not really true.

"He's... unconscious." Knuckles said to himself at loud.

Sonic placed both of his hands over his mouth slowly. He was in disbelief.

He knocked his little brother out.

Knuckles and Tails may be a few feet away from him, but to him it felt like millions and millions of miles away. He never felt so divided from his own friends.

How could he do this? To his own little brother?

...his little brother.

Dear God, he hurt his little brother.

How could he?

This small fox, who he bonded with for months, under the same roof, and spend good and bad times with alongside Knuckles, is knocked out because of him.

This tiny, precious baby, who admired him, protected him, fought by his side with, and even looked up to him, is not responding to anything Knuckles is doing.

He hurt him. He yelled at him.

What the hell was he thinking??

What kind of a hero is he hurting his own little brother like that?

His heart completely shattered into pieces the second Knuckles turned his head at him.

This strong Echidna, who has fought the toughest battles and the meanest bad guys before his arrival on Earth, has never looked so lost and distraught.

There were tears swelling in those violet eyes of his.

Knuckles just witnessed a small child got the soul knocked out of him by a speeding hedgehog, and didn't even save him in time.

It terrified him.

It made Knuckles cry. Knuckles never cries.

Sonic made Knuckles cry.

Throw anything at the Echidna, and he'll brush it off, but an injured fox would break him down in seconds.

Sonic may have hurt Knuckles physically, but he was destroyed on the inside just the sight of this small unconscious fox with a huge, purple bruise on his cheek.

Knuckles and Tails had such a bond so close, it would only make sense for Knuckles to break down like this.

The whole scene was just so horrifying for Sonic to watch.

He caused this scene. He hurt his own brothers.

His own brothers who he took in after they dealt with such a troubling childhood. Having either loosing a family, or never having one to begin with.

He gave them everything they ever truly wanted. He gave them a family. A happy life on Earth.

And now, he gave them something they'll both never, ever forget.

Betrayal.

"No hero should ever make a single mistake."

He let Walters' words get the better of him. His own words were his own weapons against his brothers.

Walters managed to break Sonic to the point where he endangered his own brothers.

Because of his fear of failure, it lead him to hurting his own brothers.

Whom he was supposed to protect.

His own fears took over him, making him appear as the bad guy to Knuckles. All over again.

Because of his failure as a hero, Knuckles may never look at Sonic the same way again...

Perhaps it could be true, as Knuckles shuts his eyes tight, and turned away from the speechless hedgehog, trying to calm himself down.

Him and Shadow really do have a lot in common after all.

Knuckles took a few deep breaths. "Keep calm... Don't let it out... Seal it in..."

Seal what in? What was he talking about?

Knuckles exhaled deeply, feeling more relaxed, but still in slight distraught when he opened his eyes back up, seeing the unconscious fox back in his view.

He couldn't bare to look at the poor thing any longer. he shuts his eyes tight again. He will find a way to nurse him back to health.

The hospital is right there. Hopefully the doctors know how to take care of an alien fox.

"Kn-Knuckles...?" Sonic mumbled his elder brother's name, reached his hand out slowly to him, praying he's not too mad at him now that he calmed himself down.

"Leave."

...Or maybe not.

Sonic pulled his hand back, stabbed in the heart by that one word. He doesn't really want to leave his friends behind. Not after what he had done.

He never meant for any of this to happen. He never meant to go so hard on them. He just doesn't want them to get hurt.

He just doesn't them to go too far on Shadow.

Another fight with Shadow is long overdue, but he knows what he has been through. He knew deep down he wouldn't listen, but talking things out won't work forever.

He just didn't want his brothers to make things harder for him than it already has, but he never meant to hurt them either.

Shadow is just a rival, but Tails and Knuckles are his brothers. Hurting them is a different story entirely.

They mean so much to him as much as Tom and Maddie. His parents.

He has injured his family. He had failed them.

...but hopefully not the world.

There is still time to stop the Eclipse Canon from powering up, and stop the Robotniks for good, and taking care of Shadow. It's just Sonic doing all the work now.

His family needed rest to heal anyways. He has put them through enough trouble. No more mistakes. No more hurting.

He's doing this alone. For them.

"I'll leave," Sonic croaked quietly, but loud enough for Knuckles to hear, "but I'll fix everything. I promise. Once I'm done with Shadow, I'll go and you won't need me anymore, and that's fine."

He sniffled, turning away from his brothers. He doesn't want to see them in that state anymore.

"I'll be okay on my own. I've done it before... I promise I won't bother you guys again..." Sonic says. Despite his small smile, he was screaming and sobbing on the inside.

"You have every right to be upset at me, but it won't change how I love you. And because I love you is why I'm going alone. I hope you understand. ...Goodbye, big bro."

With a burst of speed, Sonic ran off in seconds, leaving a blue blur behind him. Now it's just Knuckles, and a small motionless pup in his arms.

Deep down, Knuckles didn't want Sonic to leave, but he was just so angry at him...

He doesn't deserve to be alone. No body does.

Shadow doesn't deserve it either.

But he was still angry at him, especially. But he'll deal with him later. Sonic can't handle Shadow on his own, even though the blue hedgehog is full of surprises.

He'll deal with everything later. His baby brother's well being is his number one priority.

He pulled Tails in closer where his head meet his chest, and pressed his muzzle against his bangs, giving him the most comfortable hug he could ever receive.

"I won't leave you until you are all better, my dear brother," he whispered to him, still holding onto him as if he was just a small baby.

He sat there on the wet concrete, ignoring the cold shivers, and remained there until the fox is okay.

He is not loosing another member of his tribe. Not again.

-

Randell watched from afar. He wasn't there to witness everything, but he's gotten enough context to understand what had happened.

He stood there, his arms crossed, watching Knuckles holding onto Tails for dear life.

He still can't believe these are the dangerous aliens Walters was freaking out over for so long. They're just children. Children longing for a home.

And because of Walters' actions, these poor kids have been separated.

He turned away, crossed with his ex-commander. He could've just let them get to the ARK first. He could've just left them alone. But he didn't. He just had to be the villain.

"When I see him, he will not ignore me again," he said, before walking off.

He gave a promise to himself that if Walters won't leave this family alone, he's gonna have to take drastic measures.

He doesn't care about the consequences. The only thing he cares about is his family. And the planet they belong in.

-

[autumnbrambleagain]

like wow I can't believe they let Lana Wachowski make the matrix 4

the first 30 minutes of the movie is literally just her standing in front of a blank screen saying "Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you." for like 30 solid minutes

just looking at every redpillcel chud proudboy who appropriated her metaphors and going "fuck you" looking at everyone who took away nothing but bullet time going "fuck you" looking at the world for getting so fucking bad and going "fuck you" talking directly to warner bros and saying "fuck you" for making her make a new one, i can't list everything because my woman went on for 30 solid minutes and did not even repeat a single fuck you it was 30 minutes of solid fuck yous

and then the rest of the movie is a matrix movie in the barest fucking sense at all it is medieval allegory level of a matrix movie okay i'm talking we got characters named Do-Goode and Righte-Living and they're on a quest to find the fabled city Submission-To-My-Lord-In-Adversity medieval allegory level of a movie ok

every FUCKING line every character says is on 3 levels of medieval allegory level no one has a throwaway line that isn't metareferential to the movie itself, the act of watching and judging the movie, the effects the movie had on society vs the effects they had hoped it would have,

characters appearing just to talk to the wachowskis and keanu and the original staff literally saying shit like "i grew up on stories about you, neo, even if you think you didn't change the world how you wanted, it still meant something to us, look at the life we built because of what you made"

like there's literally a new city where machines and humans live together and neo's like "i wanted to end the war entirely :c" and the characters are like "yes, but look at what our side has become at least c: " and like the metalayer is so fucking paper thin this isn't a movie about "what happens 60 years after the last matrix movie" this is "what happens 20 years after we released the last matrix movie in real life no for real"

the villain is LITERALLY and METAFICTIONALLY using neo and trinity to his own perverted ends twisting what their story was meant to be about and forcing them to be together even when they were supposed to be dead and the sequel is them going "well if you're forcing our story to not be over we're going to rebel and make it about what we want it to be about"

the movie literally ends with lana wachowski walking onto screen and dragging david zaslav out of his chair in the WB headquarters and going "hey fuck you for making me make a new matrix movie, fuck you, but thanks for giving me a chance to try to make another big impact again, but still fuck you"

i don't think i've seen a single criticism of the movie that the movie didn't already predict and have an answer for in the movie itself

like there are people who are like "eehh but where was the humanity it was so meta" it's like my dude this is Piers Fucking Ploughman, you aren't watching this to see the continuing adventures of the story, we are well past where the story ended and now we're in full blown allegory town and if the first 30 minutes didn't prepare you for that then honestly buddy you need to go back to 9th grade english

"oooh but neo just uses force push every fight scene" yes it's making fun of you for wanting to be distracted by 20 minute long fight scenes and having neo be so fed up with this shit he just turns on wallhacks and cheats his way through every combat encounter

"uuooo it was so boring" my dude you walked into Synechode, New York and expected a popcorn thriller fuck you

"it felt very unnecessary" i'm sorry did you miss the central thesis of the movie which was "this is unnecessary, why are we being forced to make this, fuck you" ??

look at this revieww

"The Matrix Resurrections" carries on as if it has something important to impart to folks looking to see cats in mirrors and bullets in slow-motion. There is action, but it seems remarkably old-fashioned.

i went to the car wash, and it was just a bunch of nozzles spraying water on my car, what the fuck?

The film also stuffs itself with footage from the earlier films just to remind us – because the public is stupid, right? – that this is the same series but only serving to remind us that this is just the same old, same old but nothing like as good.

imagine going into a movie and missing the point of something so perfectly, it's like

honestly, i don't have a metaphor for how completely fucking DIRELY this idiot missed the entire point of the movie this is incredible, media literacy is fucking dead my dudes, which is also something the matrix 4 spends like 10 minutes of lana wachowski standing on screen on a white background just making eye contact with you going "fuck you. fuck you."

The plot is absurd and largely impenetrable, the visuals just a rehash of a visual style we’ve seen before and any superficial pleasure we might get from seeing Reeves as Neo and Carrie-Anne Moss return as Trinity (and a slightly larger-than-life turn from Neil Patrick Harris as The Analyst, creator of the new iteration of the Matrix) are quickly snuffed out as the film smothers us in a tidal wave of its own smug self-satisfaction and the mistaken belief that we’ll welcome this stuff back into our lives like some long-lost old friend. The Matrix Resurrections doesn’t even try to be metaphysical or pseudo-intellectual, it’s just content to regurgitate a concept quite happily and adequately explored 22 years ago but with absolutely nothing new to offer either narratively or visually. Frustrating, futile, and foolish, The Matrix Resurrections is largely utter guff.

imagine walking into a movie called "I am going to insult you if you fuck this up" and fucking it up and the movie spending 2 and a half hours going "Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you." and going "yeah i dunno it didn't feel very welcoming or friendly for some reason, i don't know if it had anything to say"

the movie literally has executives bring neo and trinity back from the dead and they spend the entire movie justifying their reunion because they weren't supposed to survive or be together again and people out here really be like "but you just gave us neo and trinity again, why did you think it would just work like that?" and meanwhile they're hallucinating because all that's on the screen is keanu and carrie-anne going "fuck you. fuck you. fuck you."

The rehashed story is convoluted, existing under the guise that if you can't follow along, it's because you aren't smart enough to understand.

so you weren't smart enough to follow along, huh? that's okay, art movies aren't for everyone. let's see the rest of your review let's see,

Some of the scenes (and even lines of dialogue) are almost identical to the movie’s predecessors. It’s the same movie with slight changes, much like “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” or “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” and it relies too much on nostalgia and the goodwill of sci-fi fans.

yeah buddy it's maybe not that the movie is too convoluted, it's that maybe you have 0 media literacy and you shouldn't be a film critic. holy fuck is this all it takes to be a film critic? you don't have to be media literate at all?

you guys walked into an art movie that was just keanu reeves, carrie-anne moss, and lana wachowksi standing on a blank screen saying "Fuck you" for two and a half hours, and you half-hallucinated an action movie and somehow came away disatissfied the action movie you were hallucinating wasn't as cool and hip as you had hoped it would be

fuck you

matrix 4 unironically one of my favorite movies absolute fucking masterclass of 300 cuil metalayer infiniteoroborous commentary 1000 years artistic triumph

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

You know that Steven Universe episode where he and Connie want to reenact a new ending to a book they read? I figure something similar has happened in the Wachowski household where Tails has a different opinion from Sonic regarding a piece of media they've both experienced, but knowing how passionate his big brother is about pop culture, he initially hides it because he doesn't want his bro to think less of him. Of course Sonic finds out and comforts Tails, saying he cares about him way more than fictional story. As for Knuckles, he couldn't care less about this sort of thing, but he nevertheless enjoys hearing his little bros' interpretations once they've sorted things out.

Ah yeah, I really like that episode.

I can picture the two of them either binging or watching a certain show/cartoon they've both really come to adore, only for it to end in a manner that Sonic loves, but Tails actually dislikes.

Tails believes it to be unrealistic or not make any sense in the long run, but Sonic is thinking more on the terms of character development rather than the overarching narrative and where they all ended up.

He doesn't want to ruin the fun for him. He just goes along with it for as long as he can until Sonic notices how he acts differently when they talk about it now than before.

=======

Tails: "Do you think I'm a bad person for not liking the ending?"

Sonic: "No, course not. I....Tails, it's just a TV show."

Tails: "I know, but you really care about it."

Sonic: "I care about you more, bud."

Tails: "Even though I didn't like the way they resolved the 20-year long war between Phastos and EverDeel?"

Sonic: "Oh....I know you already don't like that stuff. You're Tails, you like things to be realistic and make sense."

Tails: "I know, and it's pretty annoying sometimes...."

Sonic: "That's just your brain trying to think about boring stuff when it should be thinking about the more fun stuff. Like how beautiful that wedding between Alex and Darios was, I would have totally caught that bouquet."

Tails: "Pfft sure, you just say that cause you found Darios attractive."

Sonic: "He is, and I deserve to have a man like that. I will fight for his heart one day."

Tails: "You're such romantic dork."

Sonic: "And you're a geek, so welcome to the club."

=====

Knuckles, meanwhile, is just highly disappointed cause he found the fighting scenes to be underwhelming, especially the final battle. He called it a waste of his Saturday.

[heckinconfusedparade]

TAILS SQUAD TAILSTUBE #1

Introductions

-The shutters to Tails’ desktop opens. Tails appears on the screen-

Modern: Hello everyone, and welcome to a VERY special episode of Tails Tube! I’d like for everyone to give a warm welcome toooo

-The Tails Squad logo pops up on the centre of the desktop screen-

Modern: THE TAILS SQUAD!!

-The instrumental for Believe In Myself plays in the background-

-Multiple more Tails’ pop up on the screen with varying appearances. They all give various greetings at once.-

Modern: I’m so happy you guys could join me today!

Movie: I’ve been looking forward to this!! It’s on my calendar!

Modern: brilliant enthusiasm as always, Mr. Wachowski. Everyone meet Movie! He’s from what we call the Sonic Cinematic Universe, or in short, the SCU. Tell us a bit about yourself, Movie!

-An image of the sonic movie logo appears on screen-

Movie: uh… uhm…

-Movie nervously looks around.-

Movie: hi.. I’m Movie- oh wait you said that already-

Modern: it’s ok, take your time!

Movie: o-ok! So uhm.. I’m from a universe where I was adopted by human parents..

-a family photo is shown-

Movie: and Sonic and Knuckles are my brothers!

Modern: good job, Movie.

-Movie beams-

-the images are clicked away.-

Modern: aaaand we also have Boom here, from Sonic Boom! Boom say hi!

-The Sonic Boom logo appears on screen.-

Boom: hi everyone! I’m so excited to be here! In my universe I live on an island…

-an aerial image of the island is on screen.-

Boom: …and defend the village from Dr. Eggman with Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, and Sticks!

Modern: welcome!

-the images are clicked away-

Modern: And now, you all know him, you all love him, everyone give it up fooor CLASSIC!

-The starting screen for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 appears on screen.-

Classic: hi!

Modern: tell us about yourself! For those who don’t know you.

-An image of Classic and Classic Sonic together are shown.-

Classic: oh-! I’m Classic! I’m called that because I’m from the past.. that’s it, really!

Modern: thanks for sharing!

-The images are clicked away-

Modern: X, you’re up!

X: h-hey everyone! I’m X.. I’m from the Sonic X universe.

-The Sonic X logo appears on screen-

X: In my universe we were trapped on Earth for a while. We made so many new friends there!

-An image of X and his human friends pop up-

X: It was sad to say goodbye to them, but then we soon went on another adventure! Watch the anime if you’re curious~

-the images are clicked away-

Modern: Thanks, X!

Adventure: OOH!! OH! OH CAN I GO NEXT???

-Adventure starts hopping up and down-

-Modern laughs-

Modern: of course! Go ahead, Adventure.

Adventure: Hey everyone!! I’m from the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog universe!!!

-A gif pops up of the opening sequence for the show-

Adventure: in my universe, my big bro Sonic and me protect Mobius from Dr. RoBUTTnik. He’s a sore loser!

-An image of Sonic and Adventure pop up. They’re posing together.-

-there’s giggles amongst the squad-

Movie: heh- RoBUTTnik!

-the images are clicked away-

Modern: ah, a classic! Anyway, we are moving on the Tailses from the Sonic Prime Universe!

-The Sonic Prime logo appears on screen-

There’s currently 4 that we know of! Only 3 could make it today, unfortunately.

-Classic frowns-

Classic: I wish Nine could join us!

-A picture of Nine pops up-

Modern: me too.. but Im not gonna push him if he doesn’t want to.

-the image is clicked away.-

Modern: who wants to go first? Prime?

Prime: hey, I’m Prime!

-an image of Prime pops up. He is in his workshop.-

Prime: Im the original of our universe. When my Sonic shattered the Paradox Prism, new dimensions appeared! Oddly, without a Sonic to be seen.

- Images of the different dimensions pop up.-

Sails: Ahoy, me hearties! I be Sails, and I am apart of Capt’n Dreads crew!

-an image of Sails and his crew replace the image of his dimension.-

Sails: we be pirates! Sword fightin’, stealin’, and makin ye landlubbers feel welcome is what we do! We sail the whole ol briney deep in search of a good time.

Boom: you make pirating sound like a good thing!

Sails: Why, rapscallion! Of course pirating isn’t good! Unless ye run a rig from time to time whilst squiffy in the sweet trade! Blimey, you act like it’s a sin!

-Sails looks offended, and Boom stands there looking surprised, then a look of acceptance.-

Boom: yknow what, if that’s what you think pirates do, then good for you.

Sails: Ye be careful with runnin yer mouth-

Modern: ok, ok, chill! Mangey?

-Mangey stares directly into the camera.-

Adventures: hellloooooo??

-Mangey sniffs the camera, and starts trying to eat it.-

Modern: Mangey, no, bad! Cameras are not for eating.

-Mangey whines and sits back down.-

-An image of Mangey and his friends pop up to replace the image of his dimension.-

Modern: Mangey here lives in the trees away from the “monster.” Foraging for food is difficult, but Mangey doesn’t let that kill his spirits! Ain’t that right, Mangey?!!

-Mangey pants loudly and nods enthusiastically-

-All the images on screen are clicked away-

Modern: and now, lastly, but not least, IDW!

IDW: hello!

-A cover for one of the Sonic IDW comics pop up-

IDW: I’m from the IDW universe! It’s been a rough going, but I’m happy to finally kick back and relax with the squad!

-An image of IDW fighting alongside Sonic pops up-

Modern: I was worried you weren’t gonna make it!

IDW: I found a way!

-the images are clicked away-

Modern: Now that you’ve met everyone, I have a couple questions here from our audience that we’re going to answer!

X: WHOO!

Movie: YEAH! QUESTIONS!

-Adventure starts cheering!-

-Modern laughs-

Modern: Ok, everyone settle down! You ready?

ALL: YEAH!!

Modern: let’s do this!

TO BE CONTINUED…

[whysoqrius]

THE MATRIX

was released 25 years ago today. Acclaimed as both one of the great science fiction movies and a groundbreaking action film, the behind-the-scenes story will have you questioning reality…

In 1995, Lana and Lily Wachowski had written Assassins. The producer of that film was Joel Silver, and the Wachowskis showed him their new screenplay called The Matrix. Silver loved the script, but not the Wachowskis’ insistence that they direct it themselves.

The Wachowskis had another script, called Bound, which they managed to get financed. The film wasn’t a commercial success but was critically acclaimed. Warner Bros were impressed too, and agreed to fund The Matrix.

The Wachowskis told WB they needed $180m to make the film, but the studio wouldn’t go over $60m. As such, the location was changed from US to Australia. Cityscape shots are of Sydney, with street names taken from Chicago, where the Wachowskis grew up.

In casting the lead of Thomas Anderson/Neo, the studio wanted a big name. Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Brad Pitt all said ‘no’. Lou Diamond Phillips was sent the script and turned it down when his agent said, “it’s a guaranteed flop”.

Most famously, the Wachowskis offered the part of Neo to Will Smith. They met, but Smith wasn’t too impressed and decided to do Willd Wild west instead. He’s since said of his decision “I’m not proud of it.”

With so many rejections, the studio went to Sandra Bullock and said “we’ll change Neo to a girl if you’ll do it.” She also said no.

Johnny Depp was in contention, but the studio pushed for Keanu Reeves and the Wachowskis agreed.

Just before filming, Reeves had back surgery because a fusion of his spine started to cause paralysis in his legs. He found kicking difficult so that’s why in most of Neo’s fights he punches but doesn’t kick much, and he trained in a neck brace.

For starring as Neo, Reeves made a reported $35m. He donated 70% of this to leukaemia research (his sister had the illness). By the end of The Matrix Trilogy, he’d given away $75m.

There were lots of actresses up for the part of Trinity. Janet Jackson, Salma Hayek, and Angelina Jolie turned the role down. Jada Pinkett Smith auditioned for the part, and screen-tested with Keanu Reeves, and was later cast as Niobe in The Matrix Reloaded.

Carrie-Anne Moss won the part after a 3-hour physical audition. She wanted to perform as many of the stunts as she could but twisted her ankle. She was worried the Wachowskis would recast her so didn’t tell anyone she was hurt until after filming.

Neo’s mentor figure is Morpheus. Russell Crowe, Chow Yun Fat and Sean Connery turned the role down. Crowe said he didn’t get past page 42 of the script and Connery said he didn’t understand it. Laurence Fishburne had no such problems and was cast.

The Wachowskis named Morpheus after a character in The Sandman comic books, by Neil Gaiman. And they asked Fishburne to base his performance on that character. In terms of looks, he’s very much like King Mob – the mentor-figure in comic book, The Invisibles.

Finally… in 2003, the Wachowskis were sued by writer Sophia Stewart. She said she answered an ad from the Wachowskis in 1986 asking for ideas and sent her story The Third Eye. It became The Matrix. She also sued James Cameron for The Terminator. Both cases were dismissed.

To play antagonist Agent Smith, the Wachowskis were keen on Jean Reno, but he turned them down to appear in Godzilla. Luckily, they had just seen Hugo Weaving in Australian romantic-comedy-drama Proof and thought he was a perfect fit for Smith.

On the first day of filming, Weaving injured his leg, and it turned out to be a polyp that had to be surgically removed. For a while, the Wachowskis thought they might have to recast the role but managed to move the schedule around to accommodate Weaving.

When he was developing the character of Agent Smith, Weaving didn’t want him to sound either human or robotic and he was influenced by the Wachowskis themselves, as, he said, they had deep voices.

On a budget of $63m, The Matrix grossed $466.6m at the box office – a huge return. James Cameron called “one of the most profoundly fresh science fiction films ever made”. And Quentin Tarantino called seeing it “a mindblowing experience.”

[solar-socks]

Scarfz and Wachowski are the Blue Arm Bros

[smallpwbbles]

THOUGHTS ON THE SONIC MOVIE

AIGHT had these notes for a bit about the movie cuz it’s a cinematic master piece and gave me everything we wanted

Where do I even start, bro I love how they just embrace the fact sonics a silly little kid who kinda revels in the fact he’s got a family to be silly with now

That bit where he’s pretending to be airport security didn’t have to be so fucking cute but now it lives rent free in my head

NOT EVEN 10 MINS IN I THINK AND THIS BOY WENT HOLY CRAP FJDHDJDJFFJA

Thark pointed out how smart it was for sonic to be calling peeps via FaceTime since he’s got a big ass head and his ears are on top of them (I’m so glad they don’t do the phone to the side of the head even when the characters ears aren’t there, just a lil thing I don’t like)

I bet that bit where sonic was like “your meant to be my friend, stop trying to be my dad” Tom has to repress every fatherly urge to not cry at hearing that

They just embrace the fact sonic is a Wachowski y’all we fucking WON

HE DID THE 🎵 THE WOOOOOORRRSSSSSSSST 🎵 THING

Sonic called Tom dad (the way I almost became a feral animal in the cinema)

The way lost it when Maddie was like “lets go get our kid”

Super sonic was fucking amazing, I got really worried when Knuckles said he isn’t the sonic they knew anymore then sonic basically went SIKE and did a Thor to manifest a chilidog. I can’t believe they straight up made super fucking GOD, like movie sonic is ACTUALLY the strongest version of sonic there is.

The way I might make a fleetway au again with the super thing going the way knuckles said

SPEAKING OF FUCKING KNUCKLES, favourite incarnation of knuckles so far, they did him SERVICE, Idris did amazing and I love this boy

He’s not dumb mans was just raised as a damn warrior his entire life so I fucking love it when he doesn’t get earth culture

Young knuckles also almost made me a feral animal

The way him and sonic survive a collapsing structure and sonic just starts pelting him with sand balls for no reason

The running gag of his grip breaking fingers was hilarious

I love the way he goes 🤨 when Eggmans being blatantly obvious with his lack of loyalty

They way he picked up tails at the end to carry him I’m biting my arms

TAILS MY SWEET BABY ANGEL, they gave him lethal weapons that HE MADE and address he’s doing crazy shit

God I wish during the scene when he gave his backstory we got to see him as a young kit in his village

THE WAY THEY PARALLEL TOM TUCKING IN SONIC WITH SONIC DOING IT TO TAILS THEN TAILS COVERING HIM WITH HIS TAILS MAN THEY ARE FUCKING BROTHERS

The way they let Rachel go off this movie and honestly good for her

I honestly wasn’t expecting the Wedding being a set up bit actually that was pretty cool

Man I wish they would explain why sonic and knuckles have the powers they do, seems it’s not necessarily connected with the emeralds unless they explain it in the knuckles series

I’m still reveling in the fact sonic has homies/brothers now, it was so sweet when all Tom was thinking about during volleyball was for his kid to have wingmen cuz Tom and Maddie are providing more parental roles than siblings/friend roles

Jeff really said this is my movie franchise and if I want shadow in the third movie I’m putting shadow in the third movie, and to that I say LETS FUCKING GOOOOO

Eggman and Stone are just fucking perfect this movie, I really love what they do with Stone like he looks like a straight man but he’s just really good at hiding how unhinged he is

Eggman is just a rabid animal this movie, Jim just transcends this role

I really wonder what they’re gonna do with shadows character, it’s clear he’s gonna have some of the same backstory since he’s been in stasis for 50 years, I just hope they don’t make his personality close to knuckles cuz he’s defo gonna be an antagonist for the third movie

It would be so funny if they just made him batshit and unhinged, mans just HATES people

[help-i-need-a-cool-username]

Its the end of the year! Which means its time to post the

Tags That Made Me Smile 2022

The following are a collective list of tags, author notes, and fic names that i saw on ao3 and tumblr that made me either laugh or smile. Ive separated them by fandom but a good amount arent actually fandom specific. Ive added the character names or fandom at the end like {name} to clarify who the tag is talking about

[2021's list]

Author Specific / Non-Specific

i saw canon; acknowledged it; And promply burned it in a dirty trash can thanks; Have this instead

Give me pain I need to feel something

this is self projection thank you coming to my ted talk

Whats that?? Overused tropes that everyone has seen before????? Pfffffffft. This fic is literally just a big mess of "how can I cater to myself and myself only"

you ever just look at your life and wonder how you got here; bc that's what this fic is for me

Don't underestimate me I DO NOT know how long this fan-fic will be

can you tell my target audience is myself

this is content specifically catered to me and no one else

these characters are my landlords and i pay them rent

P O L Y A M O R Y   I S   M Y   P O L Y J A M O R Y

cheek kiss warning

kidnapping isn’t sexy don’t do it

i've never read the archie comics but that's not gonna stop me {archie sonic}

not me writing a whole fic for a ship only i care about; that like maybe two other people ship; rowing this boat is hard but someone has to do it {scourge x fleetway sonic}

ankles don't heal this fast but fuck it i do what i want

no beta we die like men; or rather we drown like the sad shipper with a pool noodle we are

I'm afraid of the Danimals mascot and you should be too

if you're getting flood warnings, don't worry. It's just MY TEARS!

me at every character: anxiety be upon ye

Me (Grabs canon and runs a marathon with it)

Quote: Do you think God stays in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he's created (Spy Kids) {tmnt crossover}

Alternate Universe - Monty Python and the Holy Grail

contains dangerous amount of bed based snuggling

(kind of its a very short very homosexual fight scene); and then they kiss.

Hostage situation takes a romantic turn???? Not clickbait????

enemies to frenemies

Improper Use of Pool Noodles

stone cold stoicism meeting determined stupidity

Star Wars

Kanan Jarrus: The Daddening

platonic love is what healed his lonely existence {din djarin}

when in doubt: road trip with the besties {din, boba, fennec}

Soul Eater

found family at its finest {kid, liz, patty}

The Witcher

wife (platonic) {yennskier}

at first I was like haha geralt and Istredd should kiss as a joke…. but bro I don’t think it’s a joke anymore….

Sonic the Hedgehog

Movie!Super Sonic is made out of LOVE no one touch me

Sonics gay awakening I guess

sonic movie 2 made me make an ao3 account lol

Sonic was made to love people

Two Bros Chillin’ in an ER Five Feet Apart ‘cause they’re not gay {sonic x shadow}

the most dangerous thing is to love {shadow}

Trapped in a small box with just enough room to face some feelings {sonic x shadow}

the R in rivalry stand for romance {sonic x shadow}

The L in Rivalry Stands For 'Love' {sonic x shadow}

A Largely Platonic Cave

i love boom!shadow so naturally i made him even more insufferable

Sad-ow

Wachowskis holdin it down in the bg; Absolute champs

I love how Shadow is just so mindbogglingly utterly done with reality

Knuckles is a guardian of all things great and small

“Would you kiss a worm?" “If he was cute as fuck? Yeah.” {wade x stone}

"What is this made of, bendable titanium?!" "INCORRECT. IT IS MADE OF THE FRUSTRATIONS OF MOTHERS EVERYWHERE." {team dark}

featuring a scourge that trips far too much because it's my fic and I said so {scourge x fleetway sonic}

no thoughts just soft hedgehog moments

listen if im going to die at the hands of injured lancelot shit i might as well take advantage of it

Everyone has a crush on Lancelot and I'll die on this hill

fairy Lancelot Fairy Lancelot FAIRY LANCELOT!!!

TMNT

Slow Burn; mostly on april's end of things; casey and donnie are basically on fire right off the bat {tmnt 2012}

Rise!Donnie and 2012!Casey be out there committing arson together for their first date >.>

Please enjoy Casey, the fool, realizing his feelings for Donnie, another fool {tmnt 2012}

Draxum and Splinter are the turtles' dads (it's a reluctant partnership)

just two absolute powerhouses holding each other gently {raph x mona}

“There’s nothing wrong with the way you love, Dee. Goodnight.” {rottmnt}

Wondering what to do when the apocalypse happens? Easy: fly across the country and get Vegas-married. That's definetley an appropriate reaction that won't involve your complicated feelings towards your roommate at all {hypno x warren}

Look rise are weapons of war 12 were accidents and I play with that HARD in this fic

"GET IN THE TURTLE TANK BITCHES WE GOING TO FAMILY THERAPY" {rottmnt}

Donatello is now Dad-Atello {rottmnt}

The other [Casey] is out on a beach in Tahiti; It's what he deserves after surviving the Krang {rottmnt}

Leo is now actively being hunted for sport; (the only sport Donnie is good at) {rottmnt}

These turtles can fit so much trauma

2018 Karai lives because fuck Nick; Casey x Donnie x April are a healthy ship and also fuck nick again

I cant be the only one pissed by Leo's and Karais 'love interest plot'; Leonardo's weird feelings were simply gender envy...Yes that is canon now {tmnt 2012}

What happens when two "dudes" call each other 'girlfriend'; Transgender activities, that's what! {tmnt 2012}

splinter is twice divorced and never married {rottmnt}

Papatello / Dadatello {rottmnt}

draxum's gone from dadxum to grand-dadxum good for him

HOLY FUCKING SHIT YES YES YES YES; GRANDPA BARRY COMING IN CLUTCH

draxum just be like gramps still got it; and by 'it' i mean a complete lack of forethought for care when creating random children

Puts the Bi in Bitchless {rottmnt leo}

its because ninja turtles

feral mamatello {rottmnt}

Marvel

it's the anguish, the self flagellation, the audacity to love the man who annihilate ur nation and killed ur mother; your m o t h e r {black panther}

[olderthannetfic]

THANK YOU! The Speed Racer movie was a fucking masterpiece precisely *because* the Sisters Wachowski had the grapefruit-sized brass monkey gonads to embrace the over-the-top cartooniness of that world—Day-Glo color schemes; groanworthy character names; automotive Wuxia; corny accents; ninja battles for the whole family; the pet chimp—and then *play it dead straight*, treating the infamously stilted English dubbing as if it were a highly stylized acting convention like Kabuki.

--

They actually knew what to do with 90% greenscreen too. It looks fake, but it looks cool instead of like the boring hot mess most films make of that.

One of the reviews at the time was like "the plot makes no sense", and I was enraged because this film has one of the best and most concise explanations of manipulating stock prices and why you'd do it. Sure, it's cheesy to pause the film for an epic villain speech and montage, but if there's one thing it isn't, it's unclear. THE BAD GUY LITERALLY TOLD YOU THE PLOT, REVIEWER! Were you in the bathroom or something?

Yeah, he's the largest of large hams, but who cares? It's great! (And also a pretty spot-on satire of the real versions of this dude who populate corporate America, albeit in much more boring suits.)

For me, THE UNASSAILABLE MIGHT OF MONEY ranks up there with that montage everybody loves from The Big Short.

The plot of Speed Racer is simple: big corporations have been fixing races for years to manipulate their stock prices to block or aid specific mergers and to boost the profile of their tech. Speed is an independent who wins because he loves his family and they work together.

People hated it because it absolutely is a sickening load of schmaltz straight out of Weekly Shounen Jump and not some darker and edgier bro film about how emotional attachments make you week.

I would personally have liked more of Rain and Hiroyuki Sanada and way less of Spritle--or at least less of his atrocious dialogue. A pity we never got that sequel where presumably Taejo and Horuko Togokahn would have shown back up. I want to know about their sketchy Korean-Japanese automotive empire! I want the family to find out the truth about Racer X. I want to watch Racer X beat up Taejo while wearing leather again. This movie was art, yo.

[teddy-stonehill]

hey any gay movie recommendations for a bunch of idiot queer babies in need of gay shit to entertain us

Absolutely! I'll even break them down by streaming service so you can figure out which are available to you.

Netflix

Cloudburst (2011): Road trip romcom about a couple of older lesbians running away to Canada to get married and picking up a hot young hitchhiker on the way. Bittersweet ending but absolutely worth the ride. One of my all time favorite movies.

Dear Ex (2018): A Taiwanese movie about grief and family. After his father's death, a young boy gets to know his dead father's male lover and learns about what their relationship had been like. Incredibly moving. Please watch it.

Alice Junior (2019): A Brazillian movie about a trans girl moving to a new high school. Trigger warning for some intense scenes of transphobia, but overall it's a really fun and heartwarming coming of age film.

Hulu

Breaking Fast (2020): A Ramadan holiday romcom. Very fun and feel-good, and I really appreciate how it explores the different ways that gay people come to terms with the religions they were raised with.

Bound (1996): Extremely sexy and stylish lesbian mob thriller. One of the Wachowskis' early films. Just incredible on every level. This movie deserves to be way more well-known than it is.

Wild Nights with Emily (2018): Extremely fun and funny biopic about Emily Dickinson. It has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments but also makes a really moving point about how people's lives are erased and flattened through the retelling of history. I'm not sure a lot of people liked this movie as much as I did, so your mileage may very, but I really loved it.

Amazon Prime

The Donald Strachey Mysteries: This is actually a series of four movies that all follow various episodes in the life of Donald Strachey, a gay private eye. Based on a series of books which began being published in the late 70s. These movies have the feel of a fun low-budget made-for-tv mystery, so if you enjoy that kind of thing, you'll love these movies. In order they're: Third Man Out; Shock to the System; On the Other Hand, Death; Ice Blues

Uncle Frank (2020): A moving family drama set in the 70s about a gay man returning home for his father's funeral. Has a lot of dark moments, but a happy ending, and a really sweet gay couple at the center.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (2020): Extremely fun gay Bollywood romcom about a man and his boyfriend going to his parents house for his cousin's wedding. I really can't recommend this one enough.

HBO Max

Unpregnant (2020): I've watched a lot of gay bro comedies and this one is by far my favorite. It's like Booksmart if Booksmart was good. It's about two teenage girls going on a cross-country road trip so that one of them can get an abortion. They get in a lot of zany hijinks along the way. Please watch it.

Desert Hearts (1985): Essentially a classic lesbian pulp novel but with a happy ending. One of the earliest mainstream movies to be both openly gay and have a happy (if a bit ambiguous) ending. Plus it's just a genuinely compelling story with some good characters.

Tubi TV

Keep in mind Tubi is 100% free even without a subscription and it has a huge LGBT section so it's a great resource for gay films! It's movies aren't really sorted in any sort of order, though, so it can be a bit daunting to try to find anything on there if you don't already have something in mind.

That said, here's some diamonds in the rough I've already dug out for you:

Ideal Home (2018): This movie stars Paul Rudd and Steve Coogan as a rich asshole gay couple who unexpectedly have to adopt a child. It's very sort of mean-spirited humor for a lot of it but also it's got a surprising amount of heart at it's center and... it's one of my main comfort movies at this point lmao.

An Almost Ordinary Summer (2019): A movie about two older Italian men getting married. Their families are opposed at first and most of the film is focused on winning them over. Also one of my main comfort movies lol

Big Eden (2000): A really sweet gay romcom about a New York artist going back to his hometown in Montana and finding love and community there.

If you're willing to pay for stuff

Unfortunately not all of my favorite movies are currently streaming anywhere, but if you're willing/able to pay to rent or buy good movies, I recommend these ones:

Nina's Heavenly Delights (2006): A delightful lesbian romcom about a woman who returns to her home in Scotland for her father's funeral and ends up trying to win a curry cooking contest to keep her family's restaurant alive. I watched this movie on my first virtual date with my now girlfriend, and she said it was her best first date ever, so... <3

Shelter (2007): Gay surfer film. Also a lot about family and self-acceptance and learning to find a healthy balance between taking care of yourself and being there for others. Great soundtrack. Beautiful cinematography. Once when I was having a hard time I watched this movie every night for like a week straight.

Four More Years (2010): An absolutely hilarious Swedish gay romcom about two politicians from opposing parties falling in love. Another one about older gays (which I always appreciate) and it's one of the most genuinely funny gay romcoms out there.

Okay, I'll put a stop to it there. But if you want to send me any follow-up recommendation requests with more specifics about what kind of movies you want to watch I'm always happy to try to give more personalized recommendations as well. Also feel free to let me know if you have any follow-up questions about any of the movies featured here.

[t4tails]

Do you have any post-sequel Wachowski family headcanons?

yes! im 90% sure all of my hcs for them are what most people already think so its not toooo original but heres some under the cut ^_^

- tails and knuckles room with sonic in the attic, despite a basement being open, due to tails wanting to be close to sonic and knux having a big protective streak and knowing the attic has a height advantage in the theoretical disaster scenarios he runs through his head lmao

- i was actually planning on drawing something like this but i lost motivation but tails has a plane bed hanging on the ceiling :) and knuckles has one of those sleep pods in the corner of the room so hes practically sleeping in a nest

- im a big sucker for maddie bonding with tails and knux due to their quieter nature in comparison to tom and sonic <3 maddie and sonic are the two who really encourage tails to be more open and confident about his interests and abilities!

- literally within a month of living together if maddie mentions having any kind of mild problem tails will immediately start brainstorming how to make something to help her. shell say she hates doing the dishes and by the next day they have little robot arms in the sink that rinse everything all off and puts it in the dishwasher for them.

- maddie and knux do yoga and meditation together! sonic has tried but gets too restless and tails has trouble calming his mind enough for it to not feel like hes just sitting there doing nothing, but for knuckles it really helps him calm down after the stress of watching over his emerald + the ones he cares about

- tom and sonic still do big day long hangouts with just the two of them every so often! sonic will follow him around while he works and just in general make sure hes not bored out of his mind lmao

- a dam breaks after that first dad in the movie, sonic will break out anything when asking for something. itll be 8pm and hes asking for one last run around the town and obviously tom says no but then sonic comes out swinging with a please dad 🥺 and well. who is he to refuse.

- MOVIE NIGHTS obviously sonics a speed and action fan in general, and i think tails is a sci fi fan. he also surprisingly likes horror! thats not to say he isnt scared out of his mind and that he doesnt immediately curl into the person next to him when jumpscares happen, but he loves practical effects and trying to figure out the tricks during the film. i think hed like alien cause of stuff like this (if they let him watch it lmao). knuckles likes slow-paced things without too much dialogue, i think i saw something about him liking wall-e once? i agree. that ones a family favorite

- just in general i dont think it takes very long for them to all get close :). the first time sonic calls tails little bro tails almost cries. knuckles is a bit less open with affection but sonic says something about being the cool brother and hes like 🤨 i think not. i am the superior brother to the fox, hedgehog. cue sonic smacking him with a pillow.

they make me soffft idk i bet you could pull some more out of me but youll have to get more specific 🧸🤧

[keanuquotes]

The Matrix Resurrections brings an intense dive bomb finale that introduces the most violent sequence in the sci-fi movie. However, writer/director Lana Wachowski’s big finale took inspiration from another iconic moment in cinema history. The Matrix Resurrections VFX supervisor Dan Glass talked about the Paul Thomas Anderson film that visually inspired that climax.

‘The Matrix Resurrections’ finds Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss riding on a motorcycle in the climax.

Wachowski returns to The Matrix for the first time since 2003’s third installment. The Matrix Resurrections finds Neo (Keanu Reeves) living under the name Thomas A. Anderson. He works as a game designer in the same city as Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), who now is called Tiffany. They don’t know each other, but Morpheus (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) returned to open Neo’s mind.

The Matrix Resurrections finds Neo risking it all to save Trinity. This journey takes them to the motorcycle-riding climax, which is the movie’s biggest scene. The Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris) is willing to do anything to stop them from succeeding at their mission. As a result, The Matrix Resurrections finds him making humans dive out of the surrounding buildings to dive-bomb into Neo and Trinity.

VFX supervisor Dan Glass said that Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘Magnolia’ inspired the ‘nasty’ dive bomb finale

The Gamer interviewed Glass to talk about his experience working as the VFX supervisor on The Matrix Resurrections. He explained how it took some time to get the feeling of the scene right. As a result, The Matrix Resurrections took inspiration from Anderson’s movie Magnolia for how he wanted to approach this big, climactic sequence involving human dive-bombs.

“The first animation test that came to us, I felt the animators were rather restrained,” Glass said. “They had them falling a bit slowly. And then instead of doing dive bombs, it had a fun tone, but I was like, ‘No, this needs to feel nasty.’ So we started to give them that ‘head down’ focus. But even then, what our initial tests were doing is they would hit and bounce.”

Glass continued: “I actually pointed the team to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia, with the frog rain, which is almost more humorous because it’s frogs there, but if you apply that to human beings, it becomes very horrific quickly.”

However, Glass knew that he needed to keep The Matrix Resurrections dive bomb from being excessive. “Then to try to keep it from being too dark, the splats of blood were visible code evidence, which helps to sell it as something that is clearly not real,” Glass said. “We went pretty dark on it knowing that we had to escalate threat against him.”

‘The Matrix Resurrections’ is the last franchise installment for now

The Matrix Resurrections takes a meta approach to its existence. However, it concludes in a way that could lead the way to more sequels. As a result, The Matrix fans continue to wonder: will there be another movie? Wachowski and co. don’t have an interest in returning to make another installment at this time, but that doesn’t mean that it will never happen.

Additionally, Warner Bros. wanted to return to The Matrix for years. It wouldn’t be very surprising to see the studio wanting to tap back into the franchise. However, audiences shouldn’t hold their breath for that to happen anytime in the immediate future with the current team. Nevertheless, The Matrix Resurrections dive-bomb sequence will live on.

[365days365movies]

January 24, 2021: Speed Racer (2008) (Part 1)

Car Action Weekend Concludes!

Anime! As I’m sure Tumblr is aware, Japan’s most famous television format has spread far and wide, especially in the United States. It started on American TV with Astro Boy in 1963. A few series premiered after that, but one of the series that made the biggest splash was a little show about a boy, his girlfriend, his friend, his father, his little brother, and his little brother’s chimpanzee.

Oh, also cars or something.

Mach GoGoGo, AKA Speed Racer in the USA, was a classic series about car racing, with wacky enemies, crazy cars, and about a year’s worth of runtime. Still, it lasted for YEARS, to the extent that I remember watching it at some point in the early 2000s! But I didn’t grow up with it. The Wachowskis, however, might have.

Oh yeah, it’s THESE gals. Directors and creators of the Matrix, the Wachowskis were looking to direct a more family-friendly movie, and hopped onto a Speed Racer adaptation that’d been in development for years. Since 1992, Warner Bros had been trying to bring the enigmatic racecar driver to life, with Johnny Depp as the lead...in 1995. 

He left, though, and actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shia LaBeouf, and Zac Efron would be considered over the years. For the director, Julien Temple, Gus Van Sant, Alfonso Cuaron, and Hype Williams were recommended. Eventually, though, the Wachowskis would accept the job, and Emile Hirsch was brought into the project, alongside a surprising cast. But, we’ll get there. 

So why Speed Racer for this month? Why not save this for Sports November? Or, better yet, why watch this at all? Honestly...I wanted to do this one. Mostly because in recent years, it’s become controversial with reviewers and critics. Why? Well, lets get into it, rather than explain here! SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

Speed Racer - yes, Speed Racer (Emile Hersch), that is his ACTUAL NAME - is awaiting an upcoming race, when we get a glimpse into his past. A distracted kid at school, much to the dismay of his mother, Mom (Susan Sarandon), he’s not doing great at school, thinking only about races and his brother, Rex (Scott Porter).

In a legitimately neat touch, he daydreams being in a race, with the original Speed Racer theme song playing in the background. His daydream is bright and colorful, and looks like it’s drawn by a little kid. Which is funny, because the entire movie has a cartoon aesthetic, it turns out.

We’ll see if I get used to THAT. He gets in the car with Rex, and they go to the RIDICULOUS racetrack, holy shit. It’s like Mario Kart in here. From the track, we transition to the modern day. The world is watching, as Speed Racer tears up the track, and also as I GET A SEIZURE GAAAAAAAAH. This is an insanely colorful world with some very confusing and complicated visuals. This movie is...something, that’s for sure.

During the race, we find out that something happened to Rex 8 years ago, during which Rex set the track record. We also meet his girlfriend, Trixie (Christina Ricci), father, Pops (John Goodman), brother Spritle (Pauline Litt), and...chimpanzee, Chim Chim (Willy and Kenzie, interchangeably, YES I CREDITED THE CHIMPS). Speed Racer. I keep forgetting that this is Speed Racer.

More flashbacks to the past show us how Trixie and Speed met, as well as a STRAIGHT UP MURDER ATTEMPT WHAT

Whoof; cutthroat business, that racing stuff. Rex leaves Racer Motors as a result, and leaves Speed his car, apparently turning to the dark side by taking out other racers with increasingly dirty tactics. This lasted until a brutal crash that apparently killed him. But, if you know your Speed Racer mythos even a little...

Back to the race, where Speed is about to beat his brother’s record, but purposely slows down just enough. In any case, he wins the race, as a shadowy figure that totally isn’t his alive brother watches on.

The next morning, the family, Trixie, and road manager Sparky (Kick Gurry) are having breakfast. They’re interrupted by E.P. Arnold Royalton, esq. (Roger Allam), an executive who’s come to recruit Speed, proposing to act as a sponsor for not just Speed, but for Racer Motors. While Pops isn’t inclined to sign up with a big company, Royalton’s offer is intriguing enough for them to go to MY EYES!!!!

OH CHRIST MY EYES WHAT THE HELL

OK, look, this film is gorgeous, and also looks like Robert Rodriguez’s imagination vomited all over the screen. Seriously, I appreciate the artistry here, but...OW. And this ENTIRE SEQUENCE is an exercise in my visual tolerance for 2008-era graphics and ridiculously bright colors.

The Racers are taken for a dizzying journey through Royalton Industries, and my entire brain is melting, God. After the tour, Pops tells Royalton that, while his money intimidates him, he’s open to an alliance between RI and Racer Motors. And then, we transition from the bright and poppy world of Royalton Industries, to - 

YO WHAT??? Talk about a complete opposite tone! This crime boss, Cruncher Block (John Benfield), is beating and torturing a driver, Taejo (Rain), and he’s pretty obviously bloodied. Before feeding Taejo’s hands to his pet CGI piranhas (yes, really), they’re interrupted. Also, did I mention that this office is INSIDE OF A MOVING TRUCK WHAT.

The intruder is the mysterious Racer X (Matthew Fox), who takes down their battle truck with his car’s weaponry. And I gotta say, this is a neat, if extremely wacky, battle sequence. Cruncher throws Taejo out of the truck, only for Racer X to save him and try to recruit him to stop Cruncher. He might be a bit of a vigilante, it would seem.

While Speed and Trixie have a romantic getaway - which is spoiled by an intruding Spritle and Chim Chim - a shady deal between Royalton and a competitor is taking place, revealing that he isn’t entirely on the up-and-up. The next day, Speed meets with Royalton, thinking on signing the contracts. He decides not to, citing an interaction with his father from shortly after Rex’s death, and stating that he couldn’t abandon his family like that.

Royalton’s not very happy about that, though, and taps into his inner Tim Curry something FIERCE. He monologues on the invention of the modern racing league, as well as the financial implications of races through history. In other words, racing’s about power and money, and he reveals that races like the Grand Prix are rigged from the get-go. And SMACK-DAB in the middle of that villain monologue:

A sugar high. The editing of this film is hyperactive, I swear. Forgot to mention that Spritle and Chim Chim snuck into RI with Speed to steal candy - yes, really - and discover that the cars being built by RI have dirty tricks literally built in. Speed turns Royalton down, and Royalton tells him that Speed won’t win or even place in the next race, which we cut to immediately.

Taejo from earlier is racing, and gets in a crash that he somehow survives? Speed also crashes and loses, as predicted by Royalton, which destroys the Mach 6. This leads to Racer Motors being sued for copyright infringement, disgracing them in the media. He also speaks to Ben Burns (Richard Roundtree), one of his racing heroes, and finds out that his classic race was indeed rigged in his failure. This, of course, breaks Speed’s racing spirit.

After a pep talk from Mom, Racer Motors gets a visit from Racer X and Inspector Detector (Benny Furmann), who ask Speed for help. Taejo’s asked them for help, but only if Racer X and Speed help. Unfortunately, the race is on the same dangerous track that Rex died on. However, if they win, it will cause trouble for the crime boss Crusher and his secret ally, Royalton. While Pops fiercely objects, Speed goes in secret, with Trixie as support.

Speed finally wears the classic Speed Race outfit while in the classic car, they go to the race track, and I STROKE OUT AGAIN GODDAMIVWHBROVQJQ

And somehow THIS IS ONLY HALF OF THE GODDAMN MOVIE. See you in Part 2!

[revchainsaw]

Sonic: The Hedgehog (2020)

Sonic: The Hedgehog (2020)

Greeting my flock of film freaks and welcome again to the Cult of Cult. Todays offering is a bit more of the mainstream blockbuster variety, but as films based on Video Games are still actually quite niche and vastly underestimated I think we should open our hearts to Sonic: The Hedgehog and hope that we find it a pleasing tithe to the cult. I am your beloved minster, The Reverend Chainsaw, and welcome to today’s service.

The Message

I must confess to the congregation that I was drinking mighty heavily of the lord’s Tennessee sour mash when I was taking in this movie. That said, I think that this is a great movie to have a drink with and I mean that in the best possible way. 

Sonic: The Hedgehog is of course based on the Sega video game franchise and stars Ben Schwartz as the titular blue rat. Schwartz brings his brand of high energy enthusiastic comedy to the voice role. While Schwartz is particularly on brand for Schwartz, is he on brand for Sonic? I’m not entirely sure, but I’m also not entirely sure I was ever in love with the old ways. I am not an avid fan or consumer of Sonic media and perhaps that means I am in a poor position to say. I am most familiar with the Sega games and Sonic cartoons from the 90s, and from what I have grasped the more recent entries with their more anime centric and high lore plots still owe quite a bit to the attitude era of the 90s. Sonic was a hero but he was also a bit of a cross between Mickey Mouse, the Flash, and Bart Simpson. As an angsty 90s boy I wanted to eat chili dogs and go very fast that was very appealing to me, but I’m not so sure it would be appealing to a vast audience of older millennials, or even todays kids. And though I think it would be a fair criticism to say that Ben Schwartz is playing sonic as basically the superhero version of his Dewey Duck from the VERY VERY good DuckTales reboot, I don’t think that it’s necessarily a bad thing. 

Dewey Duck the Hedgehog is a small mammal (also not a rodent, I wanted to say rodent and apparently hedgehogs are not rodents, just googled it) from an alien planet where his adoptive mother, an owl named Long Claw, fears that he will be hunted for his special powers, which I think is just super speed but it might be other things. In line with these concerns after an attack by pursuers Longclaw gives Sonic the Moses treatment and floats the special blue boy down the metaphorical river. Unlike Moses, however, Sonic is not found by ultra rich ultra powerful extra special people but is instead alone. Sonic lives alone in exile outside a small American town as a sort of local cryptid.

Thus begins a charming adventure. Through a poor decision to use his powers while working out some personal issues, Sonic inadvertantly draws the attention of the U.S Government and their nasty big brain baddy Dr. Robotnik. Sonic recruits a small town police officer with big city dreams to assist him in finding his magic rings so that he might flee from earth to an uninhabited mushroom kingdom. 

Now about these two human characters. Officer Everyman is played by cyclops from the X-men franchise. The actors name escapes me and so does the characters, and while, yes, I just looked up if hedgehogs were rodents, I will not be looking up this information. I like the review better this way. It makes me laugh. And while I don’t remember his name, I do remember that he used to live In Mt. Juliet, TN.  Anyway, what you should know about Officer Goodguy is that he drives a Toyota Tacoma!

That Toyota Tacoma is also continuously abused by the mad machinations of our films biggest draw: Jim Carey as Dr. Robotnik. If we were to pitch a Sonic movie, I don’t think anyone would jump to Jim Carey as the must have for the role, but after seeing this film, boy was it the best choice. The way he chews the scenery and plays off the rest of the cast and situations is just so much fun to watch. It’s fantastic to see Jim Carey back in a larger than life role. The Decision to play Jim Carey as the kind of condescending nerd who has taken their lack of social skills and leaned in as opposed to working on themselves was a brilliant choice. We’ve all known that kind of guy who tries to play the misanthrope just because they are too egotistical to recognize their flaws. Here Dr. Robotnik has given up on human connection in favor of subordination. His intellect is his only value, and thus he demands everyone around him acknowledge intellect as the only quality that matters as he has. It was a great choice.

From the point the chase begins the film becomes a road trip flick, and despite the fact that Sonic could supposedly cover the distance required in the blink of an eye we watch the ins and outs of our heroes relationship as they learn what home, and being a hero mean to them. By the climax it is pretty by the numbers, Sonic has come to feel at home on Earth and now that he has friends who care for him they can begin to make a world from which neither will have to flee; and of course, they beat the bad guy. FOR NOW. we are treated to an even crazier Dr. Robotnik stranded in the Fungus Dimension bent on revenge.

The Benediction

Now for all things Holy and Profane in this film, please rise for the Benediction.

Best Scandal: Sonic the Cosmic Horror

The original look of this film was mired in dread when the early footage and trailers dropped revealing a hideously uncanny hedgehog monster in the form of sonic. The memes are amazing, the toys are unsettling, there’s still plenty of Quasimodo Sonic stuff out there floating on the web and I suggest that you search it out, the laughter is good for your heart. Also if anyone wants to send me any creepy sonic merch I’ll take it. 

Thanks to the work of online fans and internet harassments, the studio felt it was going to lose money on the project and reeled back the release allowing for the design department to give us a more cartoony but less frightening alien monster. I mean he’s a cartoon, it’s okay for him to look like a cartoon. 

Best Scene: Noodle Dance

It’s hard to choose, and it feels a bit biased, but there are a few scenes with Dr. Robotnik that are just what make the movie more than a forgettable IP adaptation. Not that Ben Schwartz wasn’t doing great as the character but I feel Sonic as a whole would be lost in the milieu of CG spectacles and Super Hero Origin stories that we are bombarded with every year if not for Jim Carey’s performances; and even with them Sonic: The Hedgehog is not completely out of those woods. That said, I think Dr. Robotnik’s Alone Time Dance Party has to be the stand out sequence in my memory. I can’t really speak to what makes it so enjoyable, but damn if it isn’t just the best scene in the movie.

Best Character: Silicon Valley Dr. Robotnik

Do I even need to say it? It’s Dr. Robotnik. I’m not a fan of this villain from any other media. I always found Dr. Robotniks look unappealing, I’m not a huge fan of his powers, or using robot henchman. it always struck me as pretty boring how Sonic didn’t have a cool rogues gallery (i’m talking about 90s sonic) the way Mario did. However, they did something with the design, characterization, and performance that just made him such a fun villain. Also, my friend Jacksons mom said I looked like him and it didn’t hurt my feelings so.

Best Actor: Jim Carey

Jim Carey. It really seems like he’s all I’m talking about in this movie. Once again, I think Ben Schwartz did great and Sonic IS basically Dewey Duck in this movie. Dewey Duck is my favorite part of the rebooted DuckTales series, BUT he is just outmaneuvered by Jim Carey in this role. I think it’s a compliment enough to say that Ben Schwartz was even able to keep up with his energy, let alone play his quicker perkier foil. 

Worst Scene: Toyota Tacoma Commercial

Sonic: the Hedgehog’s worst scene would probably have to be the forced friend fight between Sonic and Officer Wachowski  during the car chase. It’s an overproduced weightless car chase scene with a contrived buddy cop controversy meant to force apart our heroes so that they can ultimately grow a little and come back together later in the movie. Not that I mind a movie like this to be so by the numbers, but it just felt like two of the blandest things on this movies plate being forced into one scene. I do like the idea of giving me the crap part of the dish in one flavorless generic bite, but that still doesn’t save it from being the worst scene in the movie. 

That Toyota Tacoma took a beating though.

Worst Feature: Nothing Ventured/ Nothing Earned

I’m sure many fans would feel that the worst feature of the film is that it isn’t loyal to any previous lore laden version of the character, (probably the one they like the most). In the portrayals of both Sonic and Dr. Robotnik there were decisions made that drastically differed from the ways they have been portrayed before. Sonic is naïve and idealistic, a bit childish, Dr. Robotnik is driven by a lot of insecurity. Where are the Chaos Crystals and my original character Grindy the Wolf Cub?

But I think that these are over all positive choices in a film that otherwise chose to play it incredibly safe. In their cautious approach to appeal to the widest possible audience the film makers gave us a pleasant and appealing cartoon romp but we are left with little to hold on to. The worst feature of Sonic: The Hedgehog is it’s safety.

Summary:

Sonic: The Hedgehog is often touted as “the first good video game movie”. A label that I disagree with wholeheartedly. It is certainly a good video game movie, but it’s not the first, and it is not by leaps and bounds better than other video game movies as a whole. It’s a sub genre that gets a ton of disrespect, and in a world where the biggest criticism levied against the Super Mario Bros is that it’s not a faithful adaptation, I don’t understand how Sonic the Buddy Cop/ Road Trip comedy is escaping that attitude.

All that said, I had a good time with this movie. But it felt like playing on the playground as a toddler. You have fun and then you leave and you don’t really remember what you played or who with. I’ll think about Jim Carey and Dewey Duck, but I had a hard time hating or loving anything this movie did in any strong way. I usually feel that a movie that is “bad” or “corny” or “shlocky” is always better than a movie that is generic, or pointless, or boring. Sonics pleasantness and cheerful energy just barely save it from being another Transformers franchise. I get that origin stories are hard, so I’m eagerly awaiting the next installment, and hopefully it’s going to do something that sets it apart. Probably not. 

Overall Grade: C

James Marsden! I just remembered!

[heckinconfusedparade]

Hullooo!! Tis the season for meeriment, could you do the Wachowski family decorating their Christmas tree (w/ extra fluff?) along with Sonic explaining the holiday traditions to Tails & Knux (w/ a side of humor) pretty plz?

I gotchu!

TIS THE MUHFUKIN SEASON AND ALL THRU DA HOUSE Sonic is makin a ruckus, much louder than any mouse.

This boy is blasting Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You while yelling that “SHE HAS DEFROSTED!”

Tails knows Christmas. He didn’t really get to celebrate it officially in the orphanage. But this.. puzzles him. Earth Christmas is a much bigger deal than he thought.

Knuckles is proper confused. He doesn’t know who Mariah Carey is, why someone wants him for Christmas, and what the season of holly jolly brings.

Sonic pulls up in the hallway with a Santa hat, sunglasses, and a small Santa jacket. He cheers “MY BROTHERS!! REJOICE!! FOR IT IS CHRISTMAS.” Maddie laughs “Sonic, what is all this?”

“It’s our first Christmas together! It’s a huge deal!” Sonic raises his arms up to emphasize. Knuckles approaches his brother “I would like you to explain Christmas to me.” Sonic stands proudly “of course, my dear older brother.”

“Why are you talking like that?” Knuckles asks, and Sonic ignores him, going to hunt down the youngest. Tails is heading up to the attic when Sonic stops him “excuse me young man, where do you think you’re going?” Tails gives Sonic a look “upstairs.” “Why?”

Tails turns and sits on the step “well.. Christmas wasn’t a big deal where I’m from. At the orphanage, we just got a slightly better quality meal, and maybe a gift or two.. some kids got gifts from donations. I got nothing.. I stopped asking for anything. I figured I didn’t deserve the luxury of gifts.” You hear that? That’s the sound of Sonics heart breaking.

Sonic sits next to his little brother “Tails.. I’m. Im sorry to hear.. you do deserve gifts! You deserve all the gifts! Besides a couple felonies, you haven’t done anything bad this year!” Tails snickers. Sonic puts his hat on Tails and picks him up onto his shoulder “cmon little bro! Let’s go help mom, dad, and Knux decorate!”

They go downstairs into the livingroom, where the tree itself is almost up.

Knuckles brings a couple large boxes that Tom had told him to bring up. When theyre opened, they find that the boxes are stuffed with decorations and Christmas ornaments. Tom and Maddie laughs as their boys dig in and start hanging up the ornaments.

The boys discover that their parents had bought 3 special ornaments: a hedgehog, a fox, and an echidna! Tails is jumping for joy. Knuckles is happy global shipping is a thing so Australia could bless him with this ornament. They hang up the ornaments together, putting them right next to each other.

Sonic is so happy to be involved this Christmas, and not be decorating a stick in his cave with random trash.

The tree is topped off with a star, one that the brothers again put up themselves by stacking on each other’s shoulders.

It is complete. Now for the rest of the house!

During decorating the livingroom, Tom asks “you boys ready for Santa Claus to come to town?” The boys look at each other confused. They knew of a Santa Claus, but they were not aware that he would be coming to town.

Knuckles raises a finger “uhm. Father? Explain this Santa Claus to us.”

Maddie and Tom are shocked! Then they realize that Santa must be an Earth thing.

Maddie sits her boys down “Santa is a big jolly man who comes around every Christmas Eve to bring presents to all the good boys and girls! We bake cookies for him and leave out some milk so he won’t be hungry or thirsty travelling the globe.” Tails’ eyes widen “he travels the world in ONE NIGHT??” Tom nods “yea buddy! He flies around in his sleigh pulled by his 9 reindeer!”

The brothers gasp. This guy sounds awesome! Sonic does wonder why he didn’t get anything.. but then he chalks it up to him being so great at hiding.

They spend the evening talking about Santa and what they want for Christmas.

Sonic wants to get everyone a gift this year.. but he isn’t sure what.