Still not over the fact a silly April Fools game said "you can't force people to stay in your life forever, you might get lonely, but you've got to accept it and move on"
Something I've been thinking about since The Murder of Sonic...
Where did that cake come from?
I know he went and got it at the end but they stopped in a location they weren't scheduled to stop at, found a cake shop, and then bought it in a few seconds?
Now, that's not the part that surprises me actually...
It's the fact that the cake is customized.
The kicker here is that the cake is flawless, doesn't even look rushed, AND its got a (presumably edible) image of Amy on it.
So there's a couple options here:
While on the train before getting murdered he gets on that computer that was in the back and rapid fire orders a cake from a bakery that maybe might be somewhere in the middle of their two destinations. (As this train is meant for fun events I assume it runs in a circle for this story**) He sends over an image of Amy too for edible printing. Then immediately after the train crashes he races to the bakery, wherever it may be, picks it up, and comes back with it. Definitely plausible, makes sense, though I'd have to check whether or not Shadow went for the computer room before Sonic could even get a chance to.
**I don't remember if there was a specific destination
This dude gets himself murdered and immediately after the train crashes and everyone gets off, he races to the nearest bakery to pick up a premade cake. Along the way or once he gets there he sends them an image of Amy to print, using his hero clout to get it printed immediately skipping the queue. (Those things take like only a minute to print so it could work.) As he's waiting for it to print he decorates the cake. Roses could already be there but I'm assuming he wrote the words on the cake. He's the only one who could manage a rush job that well and we already know his muscle control is top-notch. Judging by his canonical signature below:
That's cursive baby, probably written quickly, but also perfectly. He could totally handle writing on a cake carefully.
Photo prints, put on cake, race back.
One of these is more fun than the other and I'm too sleep addled to think it through any further.
Reminder of a Starline themed BumbleKast Q&A where Ian Flynn as Starline talks about what he would have done with Sonic and Tails bodies after the events of Issue 50: [ Tw! Child Death + Taxidermy ]
Starline is such a genuinely terrifying character (who I miss everyday ahh) and his disregard for children and his willingness to mentally and physically manipulate them for his own evil purposes (especially in the context of this answer) is genuinely chilling. It’s something I think even Eggman would be semi disturbed by which is saying a lot.
The idea of him using Sonic and Tails preserved bodies as trophies and as an example to others is so insanely horrifying, and the “well then I’ll just have to start a gallery won’t I!” in response to the idea of other hero’s trying to rise up against him somehow finds a way to make it extra disturbing. The mental image of Amy, Knuckles and all their other friends seeing what Starline has done to the brothers… to their family 💔
The thought of Surge and Kit having a constant physical reminder of what they’ve done… that while Sonic and Tails may be out the way, the two unwilling doppelgangers will forever be in their shadow, unable to truly fill the roles they were forced into and the bond the brothers had. Them getting everything they thought they wanted, yet still feeling empty inside.
Long story short: Ian Flynn did not need to go this crazy with this answer but gosh am I glad he did.