#i fucking hate being a metal sonic fan

[m0mazosmissy]

#metal sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic prime #i fucking hate being a metal sonic fan #it's over #isn't it #why can't i move on #IT'S METOVER

[beevean]

Surge's character confuses me, one time she has finally awareness of the fact that she's been mind controlled which is the reason why she's a bad person in the first.

But on one hand she'd rather fight Sonic than, y'know, fucking Starline.

Which got me to hate her in all honesty, cause if she actually is that aware then she should be tackling the problem, but instead, we have to sit and read of her being a complete moron for maiming the wrong person ( while yes, Sonic is somewhat at fault for what happened to her, but again, it all happened just to make Sonic a stupid walking pacifist when in canon he's actually far more good of a judge than that ).

Flynn could've just made her a villain with a different alterior motives, instead of having to shoehorn a problem that should never have existed just so it could flanderize Sonic even more.

Cause fuck this 'It's Sonic's fault for being a pacifist' bullshit.

Perhaps I'm looking too deeply into this, but I think the idea behind Surge is precisely this: she is aware that she is programmed to hate Sonic, she has genuinely no reason to hate Sonic, but she does so anyway because it's the only thing she has in her life.

Blaming Sonic for her woes doesn't make a lick of sense. I'm going to link to the FAQ, and redirect you to “Sonic's forgiveness allowed Starline to get away scot-free, and Surge and Kit are the consequences of that”. But this can still work if you imagine that Surge is desperate to find a proper reason to hate Sonic like her program dictates! She is literally not in her right mind.

That's not how the story frames it, though. Sonic's response to Surge vomiting all of her trauma to him is basically "yall hear summ", and then in the middle of the fight he insists that he did nothing wrong and that's where his memetic speech about freedom comes from. This is a serious debate they're having! Over nothing! Sonic's influence over Surge and Kit's existence is so indirect you might as well blame Eggman's parents!

IDW keeps doing this. Characters berate Sonic for things that he shouldn't be berated for, such as being "responsible" for S&K or not killing Mr. Tinker, but the story conveniently glosses over his actual mistakes, such as letting Metal go for no good reason or insisting that Eggman will eventually "come around" based on the behavior of his brain damaged self :) this is what makes this "conflict" so irritating. The writing pretends to call Sonic out to be "deep" and "nuanced", but always in a way so that Sonic will always be shown to be in the right even when he's not. Just. Gah. Commit already!

I always thought that Surge had a weird underreaction over seeing that Starline died, though. She's basically like "huh, he died. Am I free then?". You'd think she'd be more bitter over the fact that she didn't kill him herself, that once again she was deprived of agency.

Oh, and now she's playing goody-goody to infiltrate the Restoration at the request of someone who casually admitted to be an actual direct responsible for her existence and pain. Which is literally wrong on so many levels and such an insipid way to bring a very popular character back. If I were a fan I'd be mad.

She was so wasted. I don't like Surge, but her concept is intriguing and it's so disappointing that she was reduced to a glorified jobber.

#fans don't look #not to be an arrogant hack but #i tried to convey my interpretation in 'let go' #surge really really wants to cling over her conviction that sonic is a stupid sanctimonious asshole #but sonic is such a nice guy that it confuses her #and she looks pathetic when she doubles down

[fruitsofhell]

It's time for me to unleash the inner crazy Metal Sonic lover within myself and talk so so much about this mother fucking fucker Chaos Sonic!!! (image taken off a post by @/littleaipom)

Ok so what I love so much about Sonic Prime is how much mileage it's getting out of the multiverse concept. It's a good multiverse cause it's surprisingly simple compared to the sort of MCU clusterfuck we associate the term with now. It's just Sonic AUS! And I really love that cause to me if anything screams Sonic media, it's AUs and canon divergence and wacky takes. I think this series is great at that, internally and with inspiring that in fans. What also makes it so great in Sonic Prime is that it has so much confidence in that. In the entire show the only normal characters are Sonic and Shadow, everyone else Sonic makes a connection with is a whole new spin on the old cast and its GREAT. I love Nine to death especially, he's definitely one of the best shatterverse characters.

But I think I have a definitive new favorite character now in Chaos Sonic, because he is that fresh new confident take on an old character but with such an underutilized one in Metal Sonic. I adore Metal Sonic, he's my favorite Sonic character and in my opinion the absolute most slept on. Sonic's robot doppelganger should absolutely have as much love as Shadow - his more serious and hardened antihero rival - and Knuckles - the stubborn immovable object to Sonic's steadfast unstoppable force. But he doesn't!! And it's tragic!! There is so much to do with Metal, with the Sonic created by the man who hates him more than anything, one of his first true rivals who was made to be his perfect antithesis, yet we get so little. But atleast in Chaos Sonic we get an awesome fucking take on him!! It's not Metal, but like I said about Sonic Prime as a whole, I LOVE how this show plays with the characters.

I see a lot of people pitting Chaos and Metal Sonic against each other or putting down one when talking about the other, but they're really just amazingly complimentary takes on the same character. The way it would be weird as hell to say either Nine or Tails is the better version of the character or something. Chaos Sonic's personality is of course what stands out the most between him and Metal Sonic, and while for some people it makes him unbearable or insulting to the OG Metal, it's one of the things I love most about him too. It's the complete opposite of what Metal and most robo-doppelgangers in the series, and especially Metal, are known for. Metal Sonic is all of Sonic's deadliness but none of his heart - he is a Sonic stripped of everything that makes him that energetic blue hero and reduced only to his power, speed, and obedience. He's a very cold a serious take on the robo-doppelganger that encapsulates the theme of classic Eggman, which was to do what nature did but better and deadlier. He's a very dehumanizing take on what Sonic is to his enemy, a potential tool like the rest of the animals and natural resources he abuses. Chaos Sonic is less like the (classic) Sonic Eggman wishes he had, but what (modern) Sonic is to him - this annoying, vain chatterbox who still manages to trounce you no matter how little he takes the situation seriously. Metal Sonic feel like a cold and calculated project driven by nothing but Eggman's frustration that something free and alive that he should have control over him still eludes him, and Chaos Sonic like just a project of pure spiteful mockery. Which I think very well represents how the relationship between Sonic and Eggman has changed to pit them more often as equals with their back and forths. And I really love how well both of them use this assignment to bring out these different aspects of Eggman and Sonic's relationship.

I think Chaos Sonic also specifically speaks to the New Yoke universe very well more than just being Sonic but more annoying. He is absolutely annoying and talkative just to mock Sonic, but stuff like his comments about Sonic being "smelly" and how he wants to be a brand star bring to mind really fun ideas about how he's like a commercialized version of Sonic too. I would love if he was integrated into New Yoke and you could see the Egg Council using him as a brand and he just loves it because he's an equally capitalistic jerk. It's a fun twist on Sonic's ego next to the more obvious one, that if Sonic didn't have his convictions he would very easily fall in line with the vanity of Eggman's worldview. Those are the moments that kind of make me wish that normal Metal Sonic had more speaking roles where him being an anti-Sonic in ideology could show. We atleast have the funny projection of him torturing animals from Sonic CD. I do still think that through Metal's sole commitment to beating Sonic and proving himself superior he does an equally good job at being that ideological opponent though, just in a quieter way befitting his era. Chaos Sonic represents Sonic's vanity in a personality sense with his want to be in the spotlight, and Metal Sonic in purely mechanical sense - just wanting to prove nothing but the fact he is better. And that single-mindedness makes him a great foil to Sonic who is a very wild and free-spirited person and never lets his ego and need to be the best define him more than his loyalty to those ideals. Meanwhile Metal Sonic entirely defines himself by his abilities and need to be a specific identity created by others. Something that makes him really damn tragic in a way I wish for the life of me was explore more.

Chaos Sonic doesn't HAVE to be an existential tragic mess... but I mean if they're gonna bring him back, he should have moments of that on top of just being awesome to watch fight and emote. OH MAN I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN INTO HOW EXPRESSIVE HE IS. Once again, something totally different from Metal Sonic that only improves both characters in my eyes. I can't get enough of either of them! Whether it's Metal Sonic's intimidating silence or Chaos Sonic's "teehee giggle ^_^" attitude towards violence, I think both have some great chilling moments to them. Chaos Sonic's voice too is so good, it's probably my favorite voice performance in the show. It just has so much energy, and makes every line sound so genuine no matter how stupid. But at the same time he has good range too! When his voice gets low and serious or angry it's effective (atleast to me)! I mean that guy managed to make "You're too slow!" sound playfully venomous, I love it. With Metal Sonic it's maybe a bit harder to pin down what makes his stoicism work so well. Every character in the classic era was silent to a degree, so it's hard to say his silence stands out. But that's actually I think where I'd say his lack of expressiveness is genius. He manages to mimic the look of Sonic in body and face so much more naturally than any of the other doppelgangers but still in this sleek and blank way that is just amazing. Like I stare in awe at the design of this beast. Classic Sonic is very good at providing character through expressive animation and sprites, and Metal Sonic's lack of any yet ability to still feel like he has the face of a character and not just some robot makes him intimidating.

Which brings me to their overall designs. Metal Sonic is such an enduring Sonic character despite the long list of robo-Sonics because as I was saying before, the design is just too good. It is beyond aesthetically pleasing, straight up gorgeous - which makes him so effective. He truly does feel like Sonic's equal and possibly even superior in mechanics and LOOK, he makes his mechanical and flesh peers look clunky and outdated by comparison. Sonic but polished to an unnaturally perfect finish, with those dead glowing red eyes that house none of his soul. Genius fucking design. I woefully cannot say that I think Chaos Sonic is an equal in that, but it might be physically impossible to make a better Metal Sonic, and he does come damn close! Specifically because he does take the cue of the more natural eyes (every other sonic-robo has some sort of distinctly robotic visor), but still does something new and catching with it in the bike helmet-like screen. It takes everything perfect about that aspect of Metal and builds on it for this version of him, the dark void of blank pixels is replaced with a very beautiful yet icy blue that contrasts the red eyes very well. I've seen many fan designs that use those red eyes for expression, but it is best a choice here than on the original Metal for the reasons I said above. It's so clear how much fun the animators are having with using them to emote without making it feel too natural by giving him a mouth or something. I also really like his chest rocket, it feels a lot more streamlined than Metal's, which helps with how energetic and mobile he is. Metal screams sleekness and speed, but in a very artificial way with how much his rocket takes up his design. Like I said, there's no beating Metal due to the sheer simple brilliance of his design that is totally a product of such a complex concept being perfected in the classic era. In general Sonic Prime tends to make designs a bit more complicated than what would pass as the peak of series design, but they still own in their own right. Chaos Sonic is a great example of this where he is noticeably more busy of a design than Metal but with very clear shapes and colors that make him fit in with the overall series style.

All this praising and blabbering to say. Metal Sonic is the most important thing to me, and Chaos Sonic is also the most important thing to me cause he and Metal just complement each other so fucking good. That's really what a good alternate take on a character should do! Feel fresh but still very flattering to the blueprint, explore different directions the original character could've taken to make you appreciate the execution of those aspects even more. Chaos Sonic is the best example of the show next to Nine. When I think deeper about it some of the other shatterverse versions don't go AS HARD with this, but they all feel like fun takes that do feel like they came from aspects of the original characters. Plus, that's why Nine is the hook, he is a very well developed "what if" for Tails that explores how much of a difference a friendship can make in someone's life. I also just in general really enjoy it when a story says, "Yeah, sometimes people react to issues by being antisocial as easily as they react by being docile when they don't have the space to be sensitive". It's not like... handled explicitly with that much nuance, but the nuance is there in my heart. Also damn, speaking of Nine I didn't even bring up how cool "Eggman (kinda) tricks Tails into making a Metal Sonic using his knowledge of the real Sonic" is. It's epic, and I actually really hope it's more explored, as well as Chaos Sonic in general. I feel like the writers, animators, and VA had way too much fun with him not to bring him back. I would love nothing more as a poor starving Metal Sonic stan-peasant...

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #chaos sonic #sonic prime #sonic prime spoilers #shut the heck up #i love him a normal amount i say foaming at the mouth #this is all over the mf place and i could totally shorten it into a better more focused essay but just aaaa #i need to get this out rn i love him sosososososoosososos much #you all need to understand how underrated metal is and how chaos sonic speaks so much to what we're MISSING #even if he is the opposite of metal in so many ways ge is just such a good fresh take ON him #and i lvoe that sosososo much i want more of both of them #and i want there different functions to be clear too cause id be heartbroken if one replaced the other #tag talking #also i wrote thsi while bouncing on my new exercise ball chair :3

[telekinetic-electronica]

let’s talk about neo metal sonic.

Metal Sonic has definitely been a fan favorite over the years. He’s one of Sonic’s first rivals, next to Knuckles. He has been in many games. And Heroes, was to be honest, his big role overall in terms of story. I want to look at what his Neo form means, canonically and how people taken his Neo form within the fandom.

First, let’s start off with something, I’m gonna call Metal Neo from here on out. Neo, at his core, is honestly an insanely tragic character. He struggles with an identity crisis, the moment he has free will. He wants to be his own person so bad, but he’s still VERY much tied to Sonic. The purpose he’s meant to destroy and overcome.

And I also wanna say, a lot of Neo’s issues come from Eggman. I also wanna say, Eggman is nothing like his portrayal, fanon wise. This man is very selfish. He berates his creations, threatens to hurt them, and sees them as something he can use. Neo isn’t exempt from this. And before any brings up Sage,

I do like Eggman having a human moment with Sage, but just because an abusive parent is nice to one kid, it doesn’t mean he didn’t abuse his other kids. I don’t know where this whole “doting father” thing came from, but it’s fanon and something heavily Ian Flynn leans into, and it isn’t canon. (Like he literally blew that conch thing and just like. Messed up with the Zeti’s heads because they “disappointed him, and listed off things he’s “done for them”, Ik he’s a villian, point still stands.) 

And because of this, it drives Neo, but at the cost... of a lot. It’s often hinted at that Neo actually really doesn’t fucking like Eggman and hates of the shit he says to him. Him failing to finally end Sonic. Him always being left to the side lines to just... die.

Sonic just leaving him, after the day ends. Or Eggman just leaving him there. Until he’s ready for the next mission, and whenever Eggman feels like it. Neo has no support system, and he’s just driven by this overall need to prove himself. To prove he’s not some unlovable failure to Sonic and to his creator.

“I WAS CREATED FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF DESTROYING YOU. BUT I COULD NEVER SEEM TO DEFEAT YOU. THAT IS WHY I TRANSFORMED MY OWN BODY WITH MY OWN HANDS. BUT THAT WAS THE PAST. NOW YOU’RE NOTHING BUT A SPEC OF DUST TO ME.” “SEE ME AS I AM, NO LONGER AFRAID OF ANYTHING.” Like, it’s quite clear that Neo DOES have feelings. If he weren’t alive, in some way, he wouldn’t be able to use chaos control during his fight with Sonic and co. And I think we all know what he’s afraid of. Afraid of, what they implying and saying about him is right. The only REAL person to try and reach out to Neo is, Shadow. And guess who was also used as a living weapon? 

(I know Sonic has done so as well, but let’s be honest, those moments are kind of rare?)

They both were. Neo, really doesn’t have, anyone. He was viewed as a heartless, monster, who is obedient to Eggman, no matter what. He had nobody, and let’s be honest, Neo definitely ran away from Eggman to develop his Neo form and Metal Overlord. He was alone and gone, for God knows how long, and I’m gonna be honest, I think this form was him having a mental break down.

This stage is literally called “Metal Madness.” And God, let’s talk about his Neo form, for a bit.

Neo broke away from Eggman’s control and is FINALLY taking action for his own life. Sure, evil purposes, but still to him, he’s freed from Eggman shackles, and can you really blame Neo for doing so? He was basically raised to be nothing but to do evil shit, and with no warm or kindness extended to him. Or it was really fucking rare. He had nothing but just bitter and anger to drive him, revenge to drive him forward, and it tore him apart. No emotional system, he was just left. Alone.

Neo is taking control of his own life and forming his own destiny. Neo means new. New Metal Sonic. Neo Metal Sonic. Which is why I think a lot of fellow trans people, (I’m a trans male myself), have been flocking to Neo’s, well, Neo form. Because he’s no longer conforming to whatever Eggman wants him to be. He created his Neo form on his own, it’s HIS identity, and Eggman can’t take that away from him. He’s Neo and he’s here to stay. Now, God, getting to this part, it’s always just... so sad to me, from Neo’s POV.

Sonic and co. finally defeat Neo, and we here him cry out. Now, they’re all happy and cheery, while Sonic taunts of him a rematch. He had put his all into these new forms of himself, he was so certain for ONCE, he was gonna win. He was gonna be able to prove he’s not some fake Sonic or a mistake. And when he did his best, he failed. Miserably so. “AUUGH! NO! WHY?! I HAD IT ALL!” when he says this line, you can just hear how... miserable he sounds. Because to him, he was finally doing something RIGHT for once.

“IT’S NO USE... BUT WHY CAN’T I DEFEAT YOU?”

I think, after everything I said, speaks for itself. And has he says this, he reverts into his base form and turns off. Omega holds him in his arms and Shadow looks somberly at him. The two people who were used as nothing but seen as living machines, also holding a fellow seen as nothing but a living machine.

It’s a very somber feeling, looking back on it all. The big question for Neo is: will he be free or just... stuck in a cyclical cycle of being defeated and just loosing?

I think his theme song: What I’m Made Of also just highlights his character perfectly, too.

#abuse tw #sonic the hedgehog #neo metal sonic #metal sonic #metal overlord #metal madness #sth #sth neo metal sonic #sth metal sonic #sonic the hedgehog analysis #sth analysis

[sage-nebula]

Tails ~

What I like about them

Tails fits the definition of a classical antihero. While nowadays we think of antiheroes as brooding types who are willing to do less-than-heroic things to get the job done, in classical literature an antihero was a character who, while heroic, displayed personality traits that weren't often associated with heroes. For instance, a classical antihero might be wrangle with self-doubt where a classical hero is confident. A classical antihero may be physically weak where a classical hero is physically strong, so on and so forth. Frodo Baggins is an example of a classical antihero, and so, too, is Tails. And I like this because it gives us interesting avenues to explore his character from. Sonic is great, but as a traditional hero he doesn't wrangle with things like self-doubt or anxiety. What you see is what you get with him: just a guy who loves adventure. But perhaps in part due to being a literal genius, Tails is a lot more cerebral and there's a lot more introspection with him, particularly given his shortcomings and weaknesses. Exploring the ways he grows and learns to work with his anxieties and traumas, rather than against them, makes his character really interesting.

Also, he is so fucking cute oh my god.

What I dislike about them

His character writing has been, to put it politely, inconsistent over the years. He went through all that growth in the Adventure games just to have it completely ripped the fuck away from him in later ones (particularly Forces). It's not great and most days I pretend I do not see it.

Favourite moment

In the games: Either the moment he threw hands with Eggman when he thought Eggman had killed Sonic in Adventure 2, or the acknowledgement of his issues and his whole arc in Frontiers rolled up into one.

In animation: Either saying that Sonic was his "mom, dad, and picket fence" in AoStH, or the episode in AoStH where Sonic was turned to stone and so Tails spent the whole episode trolling Scratch and Grounder Home Alone style. Again, he is so fucking cute oh my god.

In the IDW comics: Either catching Sonic with the Tornado in the middle of the Angel Island arc, or crashing the airship into Neo Metal at the end of that arc, or when he said goodbye to the Cyclone because he had to sacrifice her during the Metal Virus arc, or when he figured out how to take down Surge in their fight against her in the city, or defending Sonic from Kit, or immediately building guns to go save Sonic in the Scrapnik Island mini series, or . . .

Least favourite moment

Forces 🙃All of Forces. I hate it so fucking much.

Also not a fan of how they made him fight Sonic in the Archie comics. Really, any situation which pits those two against each other is an automatic Nope.gif in my books. I will smack that back button so fast, don't test me.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more

How he's developing his technology to utilize clean energy! We see that he's using hydro power to fuel the Mystic Ruins workshop in the IDW comics; I want more exploration on how Tails' development of technology is not only not detrimental to the planet, but actually works to reverse the damage that Eggman does. Technology doesn't have to destroy the planet; it can be a clean force for good, too!

An interesting AU for this character

Can I promote my own fic Beyond Oblivion? Because that's an interesting AU to me!

A crossover

I'm still very much in love with my Night in the Woods crossover, where Tails spends an autumn in Possum Springs during his solo journeys. All anthro stories take place in the same universe and this one happens in my head and in my heart even if Sega thinks it could never work in canon. Sega doesn't pay me, they can't dictate what I do.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship)

None. In fact, adaptations that have tried to give Tails romances (Archie, Sonic X, Boom) are off-putting to me because they try to give Tails romances. He doesn't need a romance for his story to be interesting! In fact, I think a romance arc for him is far more boring than the alternatives like exploring how he overcomes his inner demons or focusing on the clean energy alternatives he creates to improve the world. And even if you want to explore him with other characters, platonic relationships and platonic love stories are a thing! Tails' brotherly relationship with Sonic, his friendships with Amy and Knuckles—these are interesting stories and romance isn't a part of them. Destroy the heterosexual notion that every character must be paired off for a story to be good.

Other ships?

Nope.

BROTP

His big bro Sonic, of course! Like I said above, platonic love stories are a thing, and the platonic love story in Sonic and Tails finding a family in each other when they were both orphaned has been one of my favorites since I was four years old. I don't think that's going to change any time soon.

NOTP

I wish people who ship Sonic with Tails romantically a very do not ever interact with me, ever, in any capacity. Thank you.

An assortment of headcanons!

I have a lot! You can read some here, and here, and here :)

#tofukitten #character meme #miles tails prower #thanks for the ask!

[skaruresonic]

I like how people act like only SA2 and 06 are good portrayal

Y'all are sleeping on him and Metal in Rivals 2

But seriously, it's clear they don't think much of Shadow other than "SA2 nostalgia" and "Team Dark". His individual aspect is ignored, same for aggression and stoicness

Shadow's char arc also can't be understated

Heroes he wakes up, amnesiac. Only midway he starts questioning the doctor given the Shadow Androids seen at Bullet Station, but the priority for Omega and Neo Metal were huge. He's super quiet most of the game in terms of cutscenes

Shadow 05 his disassociation with the world was so big, he legit wasn't gonna save the people from Black Arms initially. Only cuz Black Doom told him he knew him and memories flashing back he shifts course to discover himself. Canon course he's mostly just getting Ems amongst the war effort. Fans hate it cuz the concept of noncanon endings being individually determined + gameplay fucking up how you can't restart mid path immediately, but Shadow's individualism is very strong. In the end he learns enough to realize he needs to move on, become a new person of himself

With that experience Battle GBA he sees himself but potentially worse in Emerl, and that scares him. He brashedly tries to stop it, but learns from Sonic, Rouge, and Emerl to accept himself, and other aspects of humanity. In the end he grows, to accept himself, and the betterment of humanity regardless how stupid they can be

With all that by 06 he's complete. He's no longer self doubting, and despite aggression and some ego, generally doesn't fuck around. His begruding comradery is own that is earned, but he'll still be civil at minimum. He calls out Meph for trying to trick him, he grew wise from when Black Doom tried that shit.

06, Rivals, and R2 shows that he's still closed off if it's distracting, but he's self invested in saving the world. Not for Maria (incidentally it and 06 show he has minimal personal qualms with Eggman, unlike Sonic if the priority is elsewhere, which given 05's gaslighting is interesting)

His interactions with Metal are great, a notable level of respect rising over the course of the game. He can respect Rouge, but isn't afraid to fight her if she's harming a mission. Interactions with Sonic and Knuckles are civil, though similarly if they distract, they'll be pushed out with fisticuffs

Colors DS he even accredits Sonic's abilities, of which Omega has trouble comprehending

Forces he says 1 thing to Infinite attempting to assasinate him that fans randomly act like he's an asshole cuz???, then spends the game helping in the war effort, trying to find Omega, and being civil to Sonic, 6 month oddity plot hole aside

Really the only bad canon to lore game rep of him is Free Riders, and that's mostly due to him having no real reason being there. If it's to show him actually enjoying his life something Knux tries after SA2 that fans don't like it kinda failed with how he very much doesn't want to be there

But overall fans can't accept him not being woobie, not slapped in a trio, not Maria angsty, or being individualistic. Or realize the entire arc he went through

I see people acting like he needs a mediator every appearance, and that's super insulting to his char dev and intelligence

06, Rivals, and R2 shows that he's still closed off if it's distracting, but he's self invested in saving the world. Not for Maria (incidentally it and 06 show he has minimal personal qualms with Eggman, unlike Sonic if the priority is elsewhere, which given 05's gaslighting is interesting)

Yeah. Which you'd think would suggest that Shadow is a naturally reticent person, but I guess that's not good enough for a certain number of folks.

---

Forces he says 1 thing to Infinite attempting to assasinate him that fans randomly act like he's an asshole cuz???, then spends the game helping in the war effort, trying to find Omega, and being civil to Sonic, 6 month oddity plot hole aside Because Shadow bullied poor tormented Infinite uwu. Never mind that Finny-boy didn't give a single shit that his squad got killed, and in fact seemed annoyed by it. You can tell no one in this Chili's finished Forces because nobody really talks about how he stuck around HQ at the end of Forces, an unusual departure from his typical habit of peacing out at the end of the game.

--- His interactions with Metal are great, a notable level of respect rising over the course of the game. He can respect Rouge, but isn't afraid to fight her if she's harming a mission. Interactions with Sonic and Knuckles are civil, though similarly if they distract, they'll be pushed out with fisticuffs Yeah, didn't Metal rip the Emerald out of his chest and Shadow was like "Don't do that, you'll destroy yourself?" Very interesting interaction. I also remember Shadow noting that Metal didn't receive a radio signal in the jungle. The fact that that tidbit takes place at the beginning of the game implies he began the game thinking of Metal as just a device and slowly came to view him as a partner through working with him.

Conversely, Shadow once threatened to knock Sonic out in Rivals 2 for nothing more than simply being in his way; it's not automatically OOC for him to be aggressive on occasion. It's actually pretty funny when people are like "Sonic and Shadow are besties" because Shadow threatens to beat Sonic's ass almost every time he claps eyes on the guy. xP

--- While I can't precisely vouch for or against '06!Shadow, it's more than a little illogical to clamor for more SA2!Shadow-esque characterization when A.) the guy is all about moving on and B.) he was essentially brainwashed for most of that game.

---

But overall fans can't accept him not being woobie, not slapped in a trio, not Maria angsty, or being individualistic. Or realize the entire arc he went through

Which is ironic, because most of the games practically smack you upside the head with the idea that Shadow acts of his own accord. You'd almost have to ignore the games in order to claim he has friends and is besties with Team Dark, because despite his bonds with them, he's not attached to them at the hip.

---

Personally speaking, Battle!Shadow is my favorite portrayal for a number of reasons. Shadow is still grappling with existential issues from past games, sure, but the game doesn't confine his personality to just that. The other characters treat him with respect even when he's being something of a dick. He's allowed to move on from his past in a much more organic and coherent way than in ShTH. He's given closure, and instead of simply discarding the past entirely as if it didn't matter, he manages to process and integrate it. He finally understands Gerald's wishes for him and his place in the world. He's able to give Emerl the last Chaos Emerald without the need to hang onto it in memory of Maria. And yet - I say this with nothing but the utmost affection - despite this character progression, he's still something of a petty little bitch. He barges in on Sonic and demands he hand over Emerl - no words bandied, as he's not a conversationalist. Rouge has to twist his arm for a thank you for dragging him home so he, you know, didn't die from being all "I can take them" (gets knocked out). He's every bit of "macho" that folks complain about in 2010-era Shadow, and all of this is presented in a largely neutral manner by the narrative. Shadow challenges you to fight everyone else before you throw down with him, because of course he does, he's the ultimate life form. When Emerl activates the Final Egg Blaster, his attitude is so gloom and doom that Rouge yells at him to brighten up. xP Even at the end of his story, when Emerl is waxing poetic about his Real Boy Emotions(tm), Shadow manages to remain prickly. His last words before bouncing? "This is ridiculous! I am leaving!"

I love how Shadow is allowed to have flaws that make him legitimately dislikable and off-putting on some level. And the sense I get from the "'06 and SA2 are Peak Shadow" crowd is that these flaws wouldn't be present if we received the kind of characterization folks wanted. We'd have Shadow, but a sanitized version. (To be clear, it's not that I think '06!Shadow is bad, per se; he just seems to lack those rough edges that make Battle!Shadow so endearing to me.) We can't have Shadow flexing on his strength, otherwise he'd be too macho and arrogant. We can't have him boast about his superior abilities without it actually being overcompensation stemming from some sort of personal insecurity. We can't have him be misanthropic because that's mean and what about Maria, huh. (Yeah: what about Maria?) We can't have him be aggressive towards Sonic for even understandable reasons; we can't have him being a party pooper. Let him hug his friends, Sega. Let him crack jokes. At some point, you're just like "So do you even like Shadow, or...?"

#asks

[kinopioa]

You know how I made dumb Family Guy IDW edits?

Guess what

These scenes are the same for pretentiousness

See when that Family Guy ep came out, Brian was already hated for years by the fandom (though oddly still care enough to be shocked when he died). Everything Quagmire states this ep appealed to that bias, with him talking about all of Brian's flaws. The irony lost on fans due to being very anti Brian at the time, along with ignoring continuity of Quagmire actually having decent chemistry with Brian earlier seasons

IDW Sonic is similar. We have bias in assuming Sonic, the hero, has to be right. We also have bias to headcannon "Sonic the smarmy ass" as seen in parodies over the decades, and more importantly, bias in being cynical of cliche/pattern. A very misused example of correlation and no causation with the argument of "Sonic reformed his friends" as well as awkwardly making Sonic binary in percieving good/bad

For Family Guy, people ignore that Quagmire is severely underplaying his own flaws, ignoring Brian's qualities, and in general is a bad choice for this type of "you suck" speech. But it took the fandom over 10 years to realize the fallacy, and even then most casual viewers just accepted it with how Brian devolved further

Despite Quagmire, you know, being a pedo and rapist

Much like how IDW Sonic, you know, keeps fucking up with "giving chances"

Both these scenes unfortunately frame the wrong character in the right, with making up later contradictions after to reinforce it (ooh, Metal stopped for Belle totally for good reasons even though it's literally cuz Eggman told him not to wreck her, ooh, Brain's actually a bad dad despite that not being what happened for Dyllon in the OG S6 ep). It's biased writing, and I don't like it

#opinion

[omegafan101]

Okay I need to give some thoughts on Sonic IDW 50 cause I was finally able to read it so MAJOR spoilers below.

I feel like the best way for me to talk about this would be in sections so--

Belle

I love Belle, definetly one of my favorite new inclusions from the comics (which honestly isn’t saying too much because I love ALL of the new inclusions so let’s put her in top 5).

In all honesty I was a little dissapointed with her finally confronting Eggman. It wasn’t bad by any means just not as much as I wanted. But I do like how, without outright saying he remembers her, the writing makes it clear he remembers creating her but that he still isn’t Mr. Tinker. Doesn’t treat her with any fondness but knows her name. I do love that he asked her to join him after seeing how useful she was, and when she refused, he actually let her go just fine. Could’ve had Metal destroy her then and there but he’s perfectly fine letting her walk away. Good little moment there.

Also, Badnik siblings fans finally got their interaction and I am very happy for them. Now when does she meet Omega and/or Gemerl???

Tails vs Kit

I don’t know what I was expecting from this fight but I LOVED it. Tails is a fighter, obviously, but he’s never been nearly as actiony as Sonic, so it was great to see him mostly just dodge and try to talk Kit down.

Kit’s reliance on Surge’s needs have finally kicked Starline in the ass because without her around he just doesn’t know what to do aside from keeping Tails away from helping Sonic or stopping Surge. The way he was genuinly taken aback by Tails’ kindness towards him was kinda fucking heartbreaking, this poor little guy deserves the world. The fact that Tails can calm him down by simply complimenting his tech and relating to him on being different is so nice and a very good moment for Tails and of course he beats him by outsmarting him, Finally Tails has good moments again!

Also just constantly in love with any panel. that gives Kit the evil anime eyes I love this guy’s design it’s so good.

Sonic vs Surge

This is the big one. Most of the issue is dedicated to it after all, and rightfully so. I get where people are coming from when they think Sonic wasn’t written well but, guys, come on, he doesn’t know who the fuck Surge is. She showed up, threw him against a wall, and started going on about how much she hated him, a typical Tuesday for Sonic. He started to catch on that Surge has gone through a LOT more than he knows but didn’t get a chance to truly sympathize with her before the fight ended.

I think the problem here, and this is a good problem for writing, is that Sonic is treating Surge like he treats all his enemies. He’s cocky, he’s quippy, he’s forgiving and tries to give them a second chance. He’s like that with everyone.

The issue is Surge HATES that. She was designed to hate and destroy him and he doesn’t share nearly the same animosity towards her and, in her eyes, doesn’t even treat her like a real threat. It’s a pretty good clashing of characters.

And as for the actual fight my word it was amazing. Felt like something ripped straight out of Dragon Ball, fitting with how many parallels Surge and Kit have to Androids 17 and 18, even if it was apparently unintentional. I gotta say I’m a sucker for villains refusing help from heroes even if it costs them their life and Surge doing this while also getting the satisfaction of “getting the last hit” was superb. Can’t wait to see more of her in the future cause you’d be a fool to think she’s actually dead.

Eggman vs Starline

For a comic about Sonic the Hedgehog coming off of a mini series about Surge and Kit, this fight, by all accounts, should NOT be the highlight of the comic but holy fuck it IS.

This was amazing start to finish. Sonic Heroes is what got me into Sonic in the first place so I am HERE for the Egg Emperor being pulled out! It’s honestly just such a cool design for an Eggman robot, and of course Starline pulls out the Death Egg Robot because that things becoming as necessary to Sonic as Green Hill and Chemical Plant (I still love it though good robot design). An Eggman mech battle was NOT on my bingo card.

Egg Emperor was made even better with Starline pulling out the team blast (on his own) and I love how Eggman used that AGAINST him! After such a blunder with having no backup plan for the Metal Virus, the way he absolutely demolishes Starline and uses his own ego, fanboy nature, and tech against him is fucking amazing. New triple power glove? Used the Egg Emperor to bait him to use all its power. Hypnotizing glove? He told him about that, he remembered, and planned for it. Barbed ankle? YA YA YEET!!!

This issue finally made Eggman scary again. Yeah he’s a goofy, egg shaped scientist but what sets him apart from someone like Bowser is that he is CAPABLE and when he’s at his absolute A-game he is fucking powerful and terrifying.

As for Starline. MAN what a send off for the character. He’s easily had some of the strongest presence out of any of the new characters and I’m glad we’re finally done with him. I loved him but I was kinda worried he would escape, be upset his plan failed again, and try something else. But no! He fails and is just fucking TORN by the fact that no matter how much he plans, he can’t beat Sonic, and he CERTAINLY isn’t better than Dr. Eggman.

I can’t find the source for this but I read that Ian Flynn confirmed that he dies here so I suppose this really is a send off for this wonderful homage to Dr. Finitevus. It was great while it lasted but hopefully this means Eggman and more new or old villains get chances to shine. Plus, supposedly Ian also said that if demand is high enough he could feesibly be brought back in the far future, which is standard comics affair, so I suppose it’s not goodbye, just, until next time you rat bastard.

Conclusion

It’s no Metal Virus arc but man I’ve loved Imposter Syndrome so far. It’s not quite over yet but issue 50 was a very neat wrap up of several plot threads and it was just such a good time.

Can’t wait to see Adrenaline Dubs do it, even if they are way way behind lmao

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic idw #sonic idw spoilers #miles tails prower #belle the tinkerer #metal sonic #surge the tenrec #kit the fennec #Dr. Eggman #dr. starline

[scrunkore]

Scrunkore Media "Thread" 2023: Part 5

I got burnout and never got back into it so I'm hella simplifying it lol shit happens

the scrunko core has burned out, rebooting

50) Wendell & Wild (Movie, 2022)

A lovingly crafted stop-motion animated movie with some good old kid-friendly horror vibes and a punky attitude, even starring a pretty nice transmasc character that I'm super happy to see. It's a nice story with a good visual style and a lot of heart, and I think Key and Peele being involved is pretty funny honestly. [4★]

51) Murder by Numbers (Switch, 2020)

Decent enough Picross game with a basic detective narrative stringing it together that I'm not really a huge fan of, but it does its job and I appreciate the adorable robot as well as some of its representation. And no idea how they got the composer from Ace Attorney and Ghost Trick, lmao [3★]

52) Pokémon Picross (GBC, Unreleased)

Yeah, this was better than the 3DS one, it's just basic Picross that doesn't do much (only real mechanic it adds is being able to change the music) but that's still better than the shitty mobile game model. They really should have just released this, it was straight-up finished and I even got a cart that works on original hardware because I think that's neat. [3.5★]

53) Paper Mario: The Origami King (Switch, 2020)

Going to be killed for playing this as my first Paper Mario but who cares, this game is cool in spite of its awkward battle system (which DOES kinda suck). Just a fun adventure with typical quirky writing and some surprisingly powerful moments, plus an excellent soundtrack, I'm sure some of the earlier games are better but I did play this one and did enjoy it. [4★]

54/55) Knives Out/Glass Onion (Movies, 2019/2022)

Incredible pair of detective movies, both full of really engaging writing and directing work that keeps you invested and never stops being entertaining to watch, surely still really good on a rewatch too. They also really fuckin' hate rich people, especially the second one which is woke as hell and has one of my favourite endings in anything, so that's what some might call "based". I can't wait to see what Rian Johnson does for the third Benoit Blanc movie, which is apparently meant to be a 2024 release. [5★]

56) Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics, 2018-Present)

These are some damn enjoyable comics, telling some fun and generally quite well-written stories set after the events of Sonic Forces with a cast of really cool characters. Honestly kind of ride or die for Tangle and Whisper, but original villains like Dr Starline are great to read too. Early highlight is definitely the Metal Virus arc, but the more recent stuff with Surge was excellent too. Safe to say the team behind these stories know their shit. [4.5★]

57) Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (Movie, 2023)

They really did it, they went out of their way to make a bigger and better sequel to one of the greatest animated movies I've seen, and it's very possible that they succeeded... but we won't know until the second part comes out, which looks unfortunately unlikely to be any time soon because production sucked. Still, what we did get is yet another gorgeously animated spectacle with a cool storyline, everyone knows that. [4.5★]

58) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Movie, 2023)

One of the only parts of the MCU that I cared about more or less concluded with this movie, and fuck it might be the best one in the trilogy. Rocket's harrowing backstory really hits out with that theme of some jerkass playing god, and the core adventure of the film is pretty engaging too, just as cool as ever. Plus it's now confirmed Vocaloid exists in the MCU lol [4.5★]

59) The Suicide Squad (Movie, 2021)

Another instance of James Gunn making an actual good superhero movie, this time making a good adaptation of something that previously had a bit of a shit one. I appreciate the kinda edgy nature of the titular squad that was handled solidly here, and their antics are honestly pretty funny. Fun action sequences too, and it's honestly really cool how much the movie thinks rats are awesome (they kind of are tbh). Peter Capaldi, the best version of Doctor Who, playing a mad scientist role is also just... really good. [4★]

60) Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (Movie, 2022)

Man fuck Disney, this is obviously the best version of the Pinocchio story and their attempt to overshadow it was lame as hell. I quite like the darker take on the story with themes of death and war around Italy's rise of fascism (Tom Kenny Mussolini is crazy btw), and of course the stop-motion animation is really quite excellent. Always love to see movies made in such a way. [4★]

61/62) Sonic and the Secret Rings/Black Knight (Games, 2007/2009)

Yeah, I get why the storybook duo of games have a bad reputation, because the motion control gimmicks kinda suck, but Secret Rings suffers from it far more than Black Knight, and that still has the cool ideas and solid writing combined with a great soundtrack (both games have this). Maybe the mission-based level structure isn't great, but there's some fun stuff to be found in these. Wish they were better though. [2.5★/3.5★]

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#scrunkore media 2023 #sth #picross #pokemon #knives out #wendell and wild #pinocchio 2022 #marvel #dc #paper mario

[egg-emperor]

I miss the days when the Sonic fandom was FAMOUS for creating Extremely dark content. Everything was fair game in the fandom: angst, gore, abuse, torture, slavery, experimentation, roboticization and death (or worse). I'd take those days over today's neo-puritanism any day

Lol me too, some of my biggest inspirations for my most passionate work comes from the unapologetic confidently grimdark edgy stuff things I'd see in that glorious era. I love when people weren't ashamed to take it so seriously without calling it cringe but also having fun with it. My creations now would've fit right in back then and I'm sad that I started actually contributing myself far too late because now people who just got into the fandom are trying to erase it and bar it from happening.

People having problems with me writing Eggman as the villain he is and doing stuff along the lines of what he already does in the games clearly have no idea that it's far from one of the most fucked up things in the series or fandom. They clearly forget about all the dark themes already existing in canon and didn't see all the edgy bloody gory art and fanfic of death and dismemberment and horror and violence and how fucking metal it was. That was a time to be alive. XD I'm just trying to keep it going!

My mind and imagination are still in the early 2000s-early 2010s era of grim dark edgy dark fun. Playing Shadow 2005, listening to Linkin Park, Nine Inch Nails, Three Days Grace etc, looking at dark evil bloody gory art on DA and fics, watching YouTube fan music videos with all the famous edgy songs. RIP to everyone who cringe at their past selves and changed who they were and hate me for not following but I never grew out of it because it never stopped being a fascination and inspiration of creativity for me!

People can call me a cringe edgelord and make all the horrible assumptions and accusations all they want, I'm having fun and that's what matters, I'll wear it proudly if that's what enjoying and being myself makes me! It all comes from actual passion and fascination for what I create and it's not something I'd waste time doing just to upset people like some try to say. I'm not going to let purity culture ruin the fun and creativity, I'm gonna be one of those who helps keep it alive 🖤

#asks

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic villain tier list?

From top to bottom:

Eggman: Duh.

Hard-Boiled Heavies: All five of them had more personality in a game without dialogue than Sage did with it.

Chaos: The original monster, and still the best, with clever designs for each of his forms, and an interesting backstory. My only regret is that he started The Trend.

Erazor: The best villain that's not Eggman, made by Eggman, or associated with Eggman. He's everything Mephiles wasn't, and he brought out a lot in Sonic through his antagonism and his cruel relationship with Shahra.

Metal Sonic: His robot status and identity crisis give him an edge over other dark rival characters. His design is iconic, and he works not only as Sonic's equal, but also as an extension of Eggman's evil. (OVA Metal is the best, of course.)

Captain Whisker: He's a more compelling Eggman Nega than the actual Eggman Nega. And his boss music is peak 60's Spider-Man.

Infinite: Not sure why everyone likes to single this guy out as one-note when this franchise is utterly stacked with one-note villains, some of whom are praised for it. Infinite may be simple, but at least he's fun.

Gerald: His recorded video was certainly ominous, and he does work as a tragic character, but there's a lot of questions surrounding his story that take me out a bit, and while Chaos may have started The Trend, Gerald - by using Shadow as his posthumous proxy - was the one who established it as a trend.

Black Doom: Not actually a good villain (very controversial, I know), but everything about him is hilarious, and he never gained a disproportionate fandom like certain other villains, so I can't help but enjoy him ironically.

Merlina: She could have been great in practice, but she suffers from Disney Twist VIllain Syndrome, in that once you get past the fanfare involving the twist, there's actually not a lot to her beyond that, and we don't get enough of a feel for her as her true villainous self. There may have been some mild foreshadowing, and we may have gotten a look into her sympathetic motives, but all in all, it was very undercooked, and a major reason why I don't think Black Knight's story is that amazing.

Deadly Six: I defended them for so long, and I'll still defend their original outing (at least Zavok, Zor and Zazz), but ever since IDW turned them into yet another Better Villains Than Eggman... I'm not as dedicated in doing so as I used to.

Void: He exists.

Ix: He also exists.

Eggman Nega: Either he's a redundant presence since there's nothing he does with Eggman that the doctor couldn't do on his own (Rush duology), or he's another usurper and exists only to pose as a so-called better version of the main villain of the franchise (Rivals duology). Take your pick.

Mephiles: Complete dumbass that does not live up to the suave mastermind archetype that the writers intended him to be, and what fans pretend he is. "Eggman makes mistakes too!" Yeah, but never to this level.

The End: He brought back The Trend in the games. And he boasted about being better than all the other threats Sonic has faced, like a textbook bad fancharacter. And he never shuts the fuck up. And he failed to live up to his big talk. And his fight was Perfect Dark Gaia-tier. And he's a purple bollock. I really can't think of anything redeeming about this guy (as much as I hate Mephiles, at least he had Dan Green going for him). As far as personifications of death go, I'll stick with the Dreamworks Wolf.

I didn't bother adding non-game villains since most of them would have fallen into the same "shite, lol" category. Same for the post-Chaos giant monsters.

#Crusher's Asks #Opinion #Dr. Eggman #Metal Sonic #Chaos #Void #Professor Gerald Robotnik #Black Doom #Eggman Nega #Mephiles the Dark #Erazor Djinn #Captain Whisker #Imperator Ix #Merlina #Deadly Six #Hard-Boiled Heavies #Infinite #The End

[m0mazosmissy]

I'm entirely sure Eggman hates Metal Sonic there's no way bro made an entire Triple Trouble Callback just to left him pickled on the base or something

#sonic the hedgehog #dr eggman #eggman #dr robotnik #fang the sniper #fang the hunter #sonic superstars #trip #trip sonic #metal sonic #i fucking hate being a metal sonic fan #sonic triple trouble

[beevean]

Sorry if this is a bad time.

If you've read sonic idw issues 56 or 55 what do you think of Surge now?

Not much has changed? I was left very disappointed by how Kit simply... takes Surge and leaves, after an angsty but deserved "you suck" speech. Again. The exact same thing happened in #53. This is the conclusion of this arc? What exactly was concluded, that the Dynamo Cage broke and Surge failed again? Well, I suppose that now Sonic knows about their past, but considering that he's still a major asshole and I am glad that Surge electrocuted him simply for this line...

... I don't trust neither Flynn or Stanley to write a decent, actually compassionate Sonic - not holier-than-thou, a Sonic that actually cares about other people and not just about his Principles.

"wah wah all my enemies became my friends eventually :) I'm sure you will too :)" would you mind treating Surge like an actual person with agency, you piece of shit? Actually, now it's even worse, because now he knows that she is programmed to want him dead, on an even deeper level than Shadow! And he's still like "oh, you'll be my friend :)". What an arrogant pustule!

Sorry, I hate IDW!Sonic too much. As for Surge... well, I liked this line:

I have shilled Let Go a couple of times, if you forgive my arrogance, but this, this is the one thing that I find interesting about Surge. She cannot simply "forgive" Sonic, it's baked in her being. Her problem is not easily fixable, not with a pep talk, nor with a beating. She herself has to find the strength to reforge her own identity, but that's easier said than done. Can she even find peace? It is an intriguing conflict.

I do, however, heavily disagree with this narrative that Surge and Kit's existence is Sonic's fault. I hate that the dilemma that the story is presenting, and that the fans are buying, is that their suffering is due to Sonic not killing Mr. Tinker way back then - which lead to Starline restoring Eggman's memories, which lead to Starline growing disillusioned with Eggman*, which lead to him playing God with two children.

What the fuck? No! Sonic's huge mistake was being, again, an arrogant little shit with Metal and letting him free in #12! No I will not let that down! Sonic never told anyone what he did and he dismissed Tails when he brought it back in #50 (because he's a terrible person), but that was the huge thing he should have tried to fix! Not Mr. Tinker! I hate that everyone keeps shitting on Sonic for not killing a man with brain damage, and now I'm supposed to think "oh, but because of that, Surge and Kit now exist and are in pain :(" shut up!

Same with Starline, "oh Sonic let Starline go" bitch where? Literally where. Tell me where. I re-read the Chao Race Arc for Let Go just to make sure, and Sonic just left Starline to die under an avalanche and forgot about him. I hate IDW!Sonic and I hope he has a mental breakdown for all the shit he did, but not for this! Not for this! Blame him for what he actually did!

Anyway. This arc was mainly useless, and the only things I remember are that 1) Sonic is still a piece of shit, best seen in the callous way he treated Kit in #53, and 2) Surge got defeated by a bucket on her head, so much for being Best Rival. So yeah, peak writing, as usual. But as wasted and overhyped Surge feels, I cannot completely hate her. There is a good concept there.

I think she will kill herself at the end of her character arc, like this. But I suspect that Flynn and Stanley will keep her around for a while because she's too popular.

*also the fact that Eggman in #23 was severely OOC just to facilitate Starline's disillusionment doesn't help matters. Surge and Kit are not Sonic's fault: they are the fault of shitty writing.

#sonic the hedgehog #fans don't look #also what was the point of the creepy starline hallucinations? #are they now a permanent feature everytime surge appears? #not judging because they'll come back so it's not fair to criticize it yet #but i sure hope they weren't just a random angsty thing

[obsidiancreates]

Battle for New York Part 2 Liveblog

Starting with the blimp, alright.

Oh Donnie, I don't like the "Theoretically, hopefully, maybe" trio.

PFFFTTT "AW KRAANG"

YESSSSSS LEATHERHEADDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

Oh not more of Rockwell for fuck's sake

DAMN PIGEON PETE IS TO BE RECKONED WITH

Unbelievable- Leo why do you sound mad

AWWWWWW RAPH WANTS TO BE A PIRATE I LOVE IT AWWWWWWWWWWW

How does the blimp even work in Dimension X physics?

Let Mikey dress up Raph, you just pretended to be a pirate

LEATHERHEAD ROLLED OVER THEM YESSSSSSSSSSS

That's a lot of Irmas

TAKE THAT ROCKWELL I HATE YOU AND I'M GLAD YOU GOT BEAT UP

I don't think the trash canon would be effective in Dimension X- yeah I was right annnnnddddd the blimp is toast.

Raph, why are you being so mean right no- PFFFFFFFFT THAT SCREAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM one more time PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

YESSSSSS MIKEYYYYYYYYYYYY

I think Leatherhead could do this all on his own- NOOOOO I WAS WRONG LET GO OF MY BOYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

God this was such an intense moment and then. Butt Canons.

STEAL THAT TECHNODROME BABYYYYY

I'm with Donnie, not this guy again EVEN KRAANG SUB PRIME CALLS THEM MUTANT FREAKS?!?!?!?!?!

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS MIKEYYYYYYYYYYYYY YESSSSSSSSSSS

Mikey and Donnie are MVPs here. HOLY SHIT NEVERMIND I GUESS DONNIE AIN'T SHIT COMPARED TO MIKEY WHILE IN DIMENSION X

Oh look it's Predaking I mean King Gidorah I mean Draco-Droid

MIKEY IS HAN SOLOING IT

Leo DO NOT TELL MIKEY WHAT TO DO IN DIMENSION X LET HIM DO ANYTHING HE WANTS

Kraang Metal ain't shit but Kraang Glass is strong as hell I guess

YESSS LEATHERHEAD COMFORT SLASH AND DISPEL LEO'S BULLSHIT WORDS YESSSSSSSSS LEATHERHEAD AND SLASH

FUCK I hate Rockwell

YEAH LEO MIKEY IS LEADER IN DIMENSION X

LOVING this blade-fan setpiece

MIKEYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY RULESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

LEO YOU APPRICIATE MIKEY RIGHT NOW

Lol Scotty reference

SHIT MIKEY YOU'RE A FUCKING GENIUS RAPHS HUT UP AND PRAISE HIM HE'S THE ONLY ONE MAKING THIS HAPPEN

Oh okay Jack Nicholson reference- THE SHINING THAT'S THE MOVIE

Slash I respect you so much

OH IT'S A LASER BEAM- wait guys they can't. They can't breathe DImension X air. GUYS THEY CAN'T BREATHE-

Okay they're good

OH DONNIE IS SO EXCITED YAY

Dude when did Raph become a coward? What is this?

God Kraang Metal is truly bullshit

You know it really bothers me that mutagen-made creatures like The Turtles can't breathe Dimension X air. They should be able to and they should all have crises about it and how distanced that makes them from being Earthly Creatures.

Oh okay. Power is back now? Why? SONIC-ASS MUSIC IS HAPPENING RN

YAYYYYYYYYY ANOTHER GO NINJA GO NINJA GO

FUCKING FINALLY KIRBY YOU BETTER STAY PUT AND STAY HUMAN THIS TIME

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY MIKEY AND LEATHERHEAD REUNION

SLASH SHUT UP YOU DID NOT TAKE INSPO FROM LEO

Aw man. I was hoping to see them celebrate, at least a lil. Well, that was a nice mid-season event story. I wish the farm arc had been longer, but oh well.

#tmnt 2k12 #tmnt 2012 #sid blogs live

[fawkesthefox]

What makes each of your iterations unique? Why are they named the way they are?

I'm going to go in the order of which they were created (including the two that aren't in the bracket)

Also I'm gonna pin this post for the duration of the bracket so I'm also gonna mention that if you send something for the iterations please specify which one(s) you want to respond/talk about, that just makes it a little easier on our side <3 (Also we/our is referring to me and my headmates)

Cverse was the first I made, we wanted to make an iteration and had some fun character ideas. Its named after our system, Cambrian (which is also kinda fitting cause we've added a ton of different characters and things) Leo seems stoic but actually just struggles in showing emotion, Mikey's pretty mature but hides that and some other stuff behind a silly exterior, Raph is actually the medic and is constantly interacting with stray animals, Donnie's your classic early/preteen obsessed with(the in universe version of) Sonic the hedgehog. We focused a lot on character but never really got around to writing an actual plot for it so its in a bit of a weird limbo which is why we didn't submit it to the bracket

Dverse was originally based on the Don vs Raph short, but at this point we've changed A Lot and consider it its own thing, DVR is just one of the main inspirations. Its also kinda based on the "Abusive" interpretation of 2012 (though I think its also decently far from what I originally intended) D stands for Dysfunctional as the family has very few functional and healthy relationships Splinter's reason for raising the boys is to use them as a weapon to defeat The Shredder and his foot soldiers. Leo is the leader/favorite sibling, he's responsible, focused, and the best at fighting. Raph is the second favorite, he tries very hard but he can't catch up to Leo and he always seems to fuck up, he's extremely frustrated and takes it out on his brothers sometimes. Donnie tries very hard but for a long time no mater what he does he cannot catch up to his brothers, Splinter doesn't want him to rely on his tech until he's injured and Splinter allows him to use his tech, (which is why he has a metal shell) which is what finally lets him catch up to Raph so they're evenly matched. Mikey has learned that he'll never be the best and that its easier to stay out of the spotlight, he's decent at fighting but because he doesn't try he quickly falls behind, Splinter doesn't like how "disloyal" he is so he's the least favorite, especially after Donnie is able to surpass him.

Bverse is based on the idea of Mikey being the oldest sibling/default leader and Leo being the youngest brother and how the dynamics have to slowly flip. We also made them have more distinct ages, the experiments that made them took place over several years so Mikey is 16, Raph is 15, Donnie is 14 and Leo is 12. (The name is based on the fact that I had C and Dverse so I knew Mikey is the nervous older brother, he's very worried for his brothers survival and safety but he still likes to act silly, hes not the biggest fan of Splinter because he's taken a vow of peace so when the others are in danger Mikey is Always the main line of defense keeping his brothers safe. Raph hates that Mikey doesn't seem to take things seriously and constantly argues with Mikey about how to lead the team, they do work together quite a bit as Mikey does struggle with leading. Donnie is constantly hearing Mikey and Raph arguing as Leo is held back from missions/outings for a while, he ends up distancing himself from the rest of the family a bit due to the conflict. Leo is, as mentioned, left out of missions for a while due to being younger than his brothers, he's very annoyed at being treated differently because of his age and is eager to get out there and prove himself, since he's spent the most time at home, Splinter has taught him the most in depth medical skills, he's also of course a natural in strategizing.

Averse is based off the idea of the boys being humans that were mutated into turtles, the Krang (who mutated them) had a grudge against Hamato Yoshi and, by proxy, his family, so they kidnapped the boys and mutated them, in the process of getting his sons back Yoshi was attacked by an opossum and ended up getting mutated. (the name is also just a continuation of the Alphabet thing but since averse is a word I've been thinking about incorporating themes of Fear and Avoidance so it makes sense? Don't have too many ideas for it unfortunately) Donnie and Leo are twins, they're the oldest of the siblings. They split the task of Leading between themselves, Donnie keeping the others in line and Leo coming up with plans. Mikey is pretty much entirely nonverbal, he has a metal shell to cover his softshell and communicates with a pad of buttons on the strap of the shell and occasionally ASL. Raph is the youngest, he's particularly aggressive and chaotic

RTverse (broke the naming convention, L) Is based on our own Religious Trauma. Mutants are much more commonplace, after Mutagen started randomly popping up everywhere quite a few people got mutated and its been long enough that tensions between humans and Mutants have settled. Before that though, some mutants founded a church, saying that mutation happened for a purpose to lead you to a better life. Over time certain views of the church became controversial, but they managed to remain strong. Splinter was raised in Mutantism and when he became an adult he really wanted to be a father so he got a couple of turtles and had them mutated to be his children (which is not uncommon among mutants as there are many fertility/compatibility issues caused by the mutagen) And he raises them all in Mutantism. Rachel Raphael is the oldest, he becomes disillusioned with the church fairly early and only hangs out with his friends who aren't in the church. Leo (Later Lavinia) is the second oldest, He's almost always dissociating and maladaptive daydreaming, He's actually a system but he has not figured it out yet. Donnie (They're trans too it just didn't change zir name) is the first to argue with Splinter about being forced to go to church, She's very involved online and has a very close friend online named Tim. Artemisia Mikey is the youngest, They're the most social out of all of the brothers and he has friends in and outside of the church, Mikey's one of the the last of the boys to fully realize that the church is messed up and try to leave.

#the fox answers #the fox speaks #cverse #dverse #bverse #averse #rtverse #iteration bracket #pinned

[sage-nebula]

Longer thoughts on Sonic Prime, now that I've had a few days to sit on it. Under a cut because of length / those who don't care / spoilers / whatever else.

Like I said before, I thought it was fine. It's definitely not a bad show by any stretch and I think that younger kids who are perhaps new to Sonic / only know Sonic from the movies / don't know Sonic at all but want to watch a new cartoon will enjoy it. I can't fully explain why it didn't pull me in. It could be the fact that I binged all of it partly out of obligation because I felt like I had to watch it as soon as possible to avoid spoilers, so I didn't give myself time to just pace through the show normally. But I mean, I've binged other things and loved them (see: season four of The Dragon Prince), so I don't think that's exactly it. I think it's more to do with the writing, but before I talk about that I want to talk about some things I did like about it, first.

The vocal performances were, for the most part, excellent. Knuckles' VA was kind of . . . eh . . . at times, and it's very hard to separate Tails / Nine / etc from Rainbow Dash, but Devon Mack absolutely KILLED IT as Sonic, which is a big deal since Sonic is the main character of the show. I wouldn't mind Devon taking the lead on voicing Sonic in other projects, because he did a very good job. So happy for him, especially since he was a fan of Sonic before landing the gig.

The animation was very good too. I like the little animal quirks the characters were given, such as ear twitches and whatnot, and it was fun to see Sonic so expressive when he's supposed to be an expressive / emotive guy. The action sequences were easy to follow and nicely done too; it's a very fun show to look at, you can tell the animators had a good time with what they were doing.

I noticed some musical callbacks to the games at times that made me, a nerd, pretty happy. There weren't too many of them, but there were enough that it was a "oh hi there" moment when I caught them.

I like how Rouge has been handled for the most part, from her having outfits that are more legitimate outfits to her having little quirks like sleeping like the bat she is. I will say I think she should've been the captain in the pirate saga, but like, whatever, I like that even though she's clearly there so they could have more than one girl in the cast, she's still being treated with respect overall.

Miles "Nine" Prower and Rusty Rose are my beloveds. The rest of the cast I could take or leave, but those two are my morally grey, ruthless babies and I love them so much.

Now for the writing . . . I think my main issue is that, outside of Nine and Rusty, I feel like I haven't been given much reason to care. Like, yeah, Sonic is having a hard time—but Sonic is always having a hard time and he always pulls through so it's like, whatever, he'll be fine. He's been infected with a metal virus, he's been cyber corrupted, he's going to get vivisected in Scrapnik 3 next week, he's always having some kind of issue, and he always ends up fine, so I'm not too invested in that. Insert a variant of the time knife meme like "yeah yeah Sonic having a bad time we've all seen it." Like that just doesn't capture my interest much anymore. Sonic emotionally going through it, mayhaps, but physically? Nah.

But like, where Nine and Rusty have interesting stories and characterization and circumstances to me (Nine being ruthless and morally grey, Rusty potentially gaining her own agency and personhood and hopefully still killing people along the way because she deserves it and I'm here for women's wrongs), I just can't say the same about the others. The Eggman council is just—if I can be unabashedly negative here, I hate the entire concept. It's so cartoonish and stupid. Which, I know this is a cartoon, but for a dystopian universe it feels over the top ridiculous to have a fucking baby and moody teenager and whatever else, not to mention OoC for any version of Eggman to want to share power with anyone, even other versions of himself. And "Mr" and "Dr" are both prefixes (with "Dr" denoting more respect than "Mr") so to have them layered as "Mr Dr Eggman" is just so stupid and irritating—

But I digress.

So I don't care about the Eggman council, and despite spending more time with them I don't see enough depth or potential for rebel Rouge and rebel Knuckles to really care too much about them either. Putting aside my irritation at jungle Tails being called "mangey" even though he doesn't have mange (mange is an actual skin disorder in animals and he clearly doesn't have it, just call him FERAL, that's what he ACTUALLY IS), I felt the jungle episodes were just kind of a slog to get through even though watching Amy yeet the others out of the forest with her hammer was pretty funny. (although, missed opportunity calling her Thorn instead of Briar, you know, like Briar Rose.) It's not helped by the fact that we only spent two episodes there, so there's not time to give more depth to the characters—but with two episodes already feeling like a slog, more might've been worse? It's hard to say. And with the pirate episodes, again, they didn't really get my attention until Rusty showed up. That's when things got more interesting, for me. Otherwise, I just didn't feel much of a reason to care about these variants. It seems to be much less "here's how these characters naturally would have developed in these circumstances" and more "hehe hoho fun costumes yay :)" with Nine and Rusty being the exceptions to that rule.

A lot of this has to do with the fact that, I'm not the target audience for this show. Yes, I'm a Sonic fan—but this is a show that's clearly intended for a younger audience, one that's perhaps not that interested in Sonic lore, and that's fine! Not everything is going to be for me. I am not a fan of the Archie comics, for example, from what little I know of them. I'm not interested in Sonic X. I think SatAM is overrated, so on and so forth. I do enjoy the movies for what they are, but mostly because a.) I'm glad they weren't a trash fire, and b.) I am ALWAYS going to be drawn in by found family of any type for reasons relating to being raised on AoStH and also my own messed up childhood / adolescence. But I don't have to love every single piece of Sonic media just because I'm a Sonic fan. As I've said, the great thing about Sonic is that there's something for everyone. Prime isn't really for me (outside of Nine and Rusty), and that's OK. I'm cool with that.

But that said, I do think that there are places where the writing could be improved. There are places where the dialogue feels clunky (as in, "people don't talk like this"). There are names of variants I take issue with. And I think that if a bit more thought was put into WHY the characters are the way they are other than "jungle people" or "pirates" it would be better. But little kids aren't going to care about that, and little kids are the ones this show is for, so again. It's not a big deal. And at the end of the day it's not something I'm going to lose sleep over.

I will probably still watch season two, just so I can see how Nine and Rusty develop. If they weren't in the show, I probably wouldn't bother lol. But since they are, I will Do It For Them. Nine and Rusty, my beloveds.

But yeah, those are my thoughts. It's OK. Not really my thing, but I don't hate it either. Would take a whole spinoff about Nine and Rusty, though. Let Nine say fuck. Let Rusty murder. It's what they deserve.

#sonic prime #sonic prime spoilers #unrebloggable bc idgaf about the discourse lol #and don't want to see it in my notes