Oh my god.
so i came across a sonic mod/exe/thing called "sink" and it got me thinking
when people try to make sonic "scary", they never really do it for me because they try to ground it too much in reality:
"oh, sonic's in the real world and is trying to kill me!"
"oh, my game is corrupted"
imo, they're not coming at it from a game angle - they're too focused on outside looking in, rather than inside looking out.
for example, a popular fandom question - why is sonic afraid of water?
if you were on the outside looking it, you could probably shrug and say "well, they needed some kind of weakness gameplay-wise and the creators didn't think hedgehogs could swim. that's that."
inside looking out, however? consider!
MAJOR WARNING FOR DROWNING BELOW THE BREAK
you're sonic the hedgehog.
at the time of the classic games, which to you are your entire life, you're 12 with miles prower (your newly acquired and handy buddy) sitting at a clean 4 years old. sometimes it crosses your mind that he might be too young for this, but time and time again, he's put your worries to rest.
you're proud of him. he's smart and you're quick - you're the perfect duo.
you must've run hours before you enter into chemical plant zone and make your way through the lower path. its been a fairly standard journey up until this point and you're not about to be intimidated by some overgrown factory. (do factories even grow? you decide to ask miles later)
at this point, you're more than aware of how your life works. it's okay if you get hurt, because you have rings. it's okay if you "pass out", because you always wake up at the start of the area you were just in, with everything just as it was.
not to brag, but you happened to think you were pretty indestructible.
falling and rolling down unimaginable stretches of pipes, you and miles finally reach a new area: a hydraulic door opens in front of you, revealing a long chute upwards. cut and dry - you turn towards miles to grab his hand.
the door shuts behind you and, as quick as you can hold your breath, you're plunged under purple water.
miles - you've grown to calling him tails, because it's easier to say; you're still twelve, after all - begins paddling upwards with ease, but you find yourself horrifyingly heavy in the water. it grabs you, pulls you downwards, thousands of arms pinning your every movement.
you jump, and hit the first platform.
you kind of regret not learning how to swim.
tails has paddled so far upwards that you can't see him anymore - not through the sludge of this water, anyway. it seems to be getting heavier too, dragging your movements as you scramble to reach the second platform.
your hands miss.
your feet fail.
you fall back down.
you become consciously aware of how tight your chest is.
you keep trying, to the same result; jump, fall. jump, fall. you aren't sure how much longer you can hold your breath, either, and the hydraulic doors are shut fast - you can't even budge them.
you've tried.
you can just about imagine tails in your mind's eye as you try the platform again, scrambling around in a panic. he's four, in a mechanised factory with no way out, suddenly all on his own. the thought alone propels you forward, and you land a grip on the platform above you.
a foothold. something - there's gotta be some way out of this.
you glance up.
the clearance of the ceiling above you is still high, but for a brief second, you can see the lights of the level above you. you can see the wavering figure of tails, looking in from above, his two tails flickering around.
he looks nervous.
you can't help but laugh in relief - he's okay.
your mistake hits you all at once.
there is no air. the crushing weight of the water bears downwards, and you drop like a stone. there are no chaos emeralds, there is no life-saving device here. just water, yourself, and your own stupid reflection.
the "passing out" feeling begins sweeping over you, and just before you shut your eyes, you recount every last feeling you've ever felt - that time you dropped from spring yard zone and hit the ground a bit too hard, or the time the walls of marble zone came in faster than anticipated.
the time robotnik (eggman, you teased, once upon a time) hit you a bit too hard.
you're dying.
you're dying over and over again, and this time the only exception is that you're made to feel it.
you want to cry.
you can't.
the water cries for you.
you blink, and you're right back at the beginning of chemical plant zone. the sky is clear, the sun is warm; the wind blows through you.
tails looks up at you, waving his hand in front of your eyes to get your attention. he looks just as expectantly nervous as he did before you entered.
he asks if you're ready.
you can't make yourself move. all you can do is drop to your knees and cry.
you heave a breath of air, but all you can taste is water.
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