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randomthefox · 8 days

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Hey there. I’ve been reading through your blog and you seem to have some pretty good opinions on the Sonic franchise. Compare that to me. You see, I’ve consumed so much Sonic media outside of the games and read so many headcanons online that my perspective is probably pretty warped. So I’ve got a request, if you don’t mind. First, I’m going to list off my interpretation of Sonic the character.

I’ve always seen Sonic as arrogant. An extrovert who knows he’s the hero. Who loves the attention and embraces his own hype. Not that Sonic only does things for the fame. He does things because he knows in his head what he’s doing is right. He just enjoys the fame he sometimes receives for it. This lines up with how he’s consistently interpreted verbally destroying his enemies and how he loves travelling the world and meeting new people (because you have to love meeting new people if you love travelling the world). He loves talking to people and loves talking down to people who are being jerks because Sonic loves being in the spot light. And I don’t mean arrogant in the derogatory sense. It’s always a joy to get swept up by his sheer force of charisma. To watch as he walks all over his enemies because they tend to be narcissistic murderers. I find his arrogance gives him layers. It makes him flawed while also giving a good reason for why he refuses to change. Sonic only does things his way, and we’re all just lucky that involves doing good. He radiates confidence, so it’s no wonder so many people follow and respect him. But he’s also simple. He doesn’t have any kind of complex moral philosophy. If you asked him why he did something he probably wouldn’t be able to give anything more complicated than a shrug and maybe a one to three sentence answer. Something about doing what he thought was right in the moment. Because Sonic is also impulsive. So, while he doesn’t always do things in the most effective way possible, he always does what he thinks is right, and that tends to be the right thing, at least in spirit. Thats my take on Sonic’s character. Now, I want you to tell me what’s wrong with it. Feel free to rip it to shreds. I want to know what’s true (if anything), and what was born from fandumb or the comics and isn’t an accurate interpretation of the game canon. Only if you want to that is. I understand that this is a pretty long read.

>Hey there. I’ve been reading through your blog

I'm so sorry

>I’ve consumed so much Sonic media outside of the games and read so many headcanons online that my perspective is probably pretty warped.

Like that person who got all their info about Avatar The Last Airbender from fandom memes and didn't know who Aang was? No shade, I'm just poking fun. We all gotta start somewhere.

>I’ve always seen Sonic as arrogant. An extrovert who knows he’s the hero. Who loves the attention and embraces his own hype.

What you are describing is Archie Sonic, aka Steven Maurice Urkle the Hedgehog. That is how Archie Sonic was written. The Archie comics are not in continuity with the video games, as the comics themselves state plainly at the beginning of every single issue.

Archie Sonic is a completely different character compared to the Real Sonic, and what you are describing is precisely what makes them different. Because the Sonic from the video games is quite the opposite.

Sonic being arrogant isn't quite true. It's more that he's CONFIDENT. He's well aware of what he's capable of, both in regards to what he can accomplish AND what his limitations are. If something is beyond his ability, he has no bones about admitting it and working to overcome those limitations so that he'll be able to handle it. Ego doesn't factor in whatsoever, if he's stronger than a threat he's happy to admit it bluntly and with maybe a small degree of bravado, but if he CAN'T handle something he won't pretend otherwise.

I would argue that Sonic is actually an introvert. Fukurou-Hoseki used to have some really good videos about this subject, but unfortunately they've vanished off the face of the internet and their videos are no longer available. This is a shame because whilst I didn't agree with ALL of their opinions, and we had some personality clashes from time to time, overall I think they had very good insight into Sonic's character and explained their interpretations well with evidence from the video games to support their conclusions. Anyway, yeah put me in team Sonic Is An Introvert.

This doesn't mean that he's shy or has a problem with social interaction. Sonic definitely is happy to engage with people. But being an introvert means that he "recharges his batteries" by BEING ALONE, in solitude by himself away from other people, and it is irrefutably true that Sonic enjoys spending time alone. His dang catch phrase for a while was "long time no see" BECAUSE he would go long periods of time without interacting with even his close companions, because he's off gallivanting on his own doing stuff by himself. He doesn't even have a house, he just goes wherever the wind blows him and sleeps wherever he stops - he isn't Tails' roommate, he doesn't hang out in a tree outside of anyones house. The most we ever see is in Sonic Adventure it's heavily implied that he's staying at the Emerald Coast hotel as a guest since he was sleeping by the pool in the morning when Tails crashed, and the front desk clerk gives Sonic a unique introduction compared to every other character. He is NOT uncomfortable being around other people, but when left to his own devices Sonic is more often seen BY HIMSELF.

And he definitely does not soak in the praise and adulation from an adoring public. Again, that's Archie Sonic. Archie Sonic definitely is centrally motivated by his reputation as "the hero of mobius" and getting recognized for being as such and grapples with all the expectations that come with that title. But Game Sonic does not seek the limelight. He does not REJECT praise, he accepts compliments and appreciation for his actions, but he'll often brush them off with the sentiment of "I just did it because I felt like it."

And he never sticks around to soak in the cheers of an adoring public grateful for his heroic deeds. The only scene anywhere even close to that was in Sonic Adventure when he went Super Sonic, and that was clearly a "lend me your energy" moment where the hopes and wishes of a desperate populace allowed the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds to let him transform. AFTER he got finished stopping Chaos and saving the day, Sonic fucking DIPPED. He just left, when no one else was even really looking, and just ran off. TAILS is the one who ended up getting a heroes celebration by Station Square which gifted him with a Chaos Emerald for his efforts to save the city - Sonic has never been stated to take part in any kind of ceremony in his honor like that. And even at the end of Sonic Forces, Sonic doesn't even bother to hang out with the Resistance which are his own friends after the day is saved, he just ran off like he always does.

Sonic does NOT "love the attention." He does not "enjoy the fame." He won't REJECT attention, he doesn't seem to resent or have a problem with being famous, but he doesn't think he even did anything special to warrant receiving attention or being famous. And he does NOT see himself as a hero. He was just doing what he felt like doing.

>He loves talking to people and loves talking down to people who are being jerks

Eh, Sonic is kind of a man of few words. He tends to only say as much as is needed, he definitely isn't a conversationalist. I don't think we've ever seen him engage in small talk, and when he is in a conversation with someone he tends to be more of an active listener who only pipes in when he has something of merit to contribute. And he definitely doesn't "talk down" to anyone? I mean, Sonic likes to trash talk sure, but it always seems more good natured and playful than anything else. When Sonic is REALLY pissed off at someone, he tends to clam up and becomes incredibly blunt and straight forward about how he feels. This isn't really him talking down to them, it's more like a dressing down.

>He does things because he knows in his head what he’s doing is right.

See above. Sonic doesn't do what he does "because" it's "the right thing to do" or anything like that. He does what he does because he likes doing it. He felt like it. He enjoys it. He LIKES helping people. That really is all it comes down to.

>I find his arrogance gives him layers. It makes him flawed while also giving a good reason for why he refuses to change.

Sonic has flaws, and "arrogance" isn't one of them. Sonic is a creature of instinct, he does what comes naturally to him without really thinking twice about it. He's not really a look before he leaps kinda guy, if it seems proper to jump he's just gonna jump. USUALLY this works out for him, because he really is just that good.

But it's definitely not a positive trait. Sonic Lost World was a game dedicated to confronting that element of his character by having things NOT turn out positively when he did something on a whim, and he didn't even learn a lesson because he just kept doing it and getting his friends in trouble in the process lol. You don't need to make up a flaw to give him dimensions, he already has them.

And Sonic doesn't "refuse" to change, he just doesn't need to. He's already a complete self actualized person. There's nothing for him to need to change into. He already lives by the truth that he believes. This is in contrast to the type of character who undergoes a positive character arc, who lives by "a lie that the character believes" such as Tails who believes the lie that he isn't good enough on his own and needs to emulate Sonic to become cool - his character arc is about overcoming that lie and realizing the truth that he can be capable effective and cool just by being himself. But Sonic is a character who already knows what the truth is, and he uses that truth to overcome the challenges of the narrative and to inspire change in a lie burdened world. Sonic doesn't NEED to change, because he's already perfect. Instead, Sonic is a vehicle to inspire change in others.

>Sonic only does things his way, and we’re all just lucky that involves doing good.

I've seen other people express this sentiment as well, and while I understand where it's coming from... it doesn't jive with me personally. Like, I get it, it's the "what's so funny about truth justice and the american way?" Superman story thing, where everyone realizes that if Superman wasn't bound by his ideals the world would be fucked.

But frankly that just doesn't feel right when we're talking about Sonic. I don't disagree with the sentiment, but to me it feels like saying "we're lucky the sky is blue and that grass is green" you know what I mean? We aren't "lucky" that Sonic is a good person, because he literally would NEVER be a bad person. I dunno, it's hard for me to articulate this one. I don't disagree, it just doesn't have a good mouth feel for me personally.

>He radiates confidence, so it’s no wonder so many people follow and respect him. But he’s also simple. He doesn’t have any kind of complex moral philosophy. If you asked him why he did something he probably wouldn’t be able to give anything more complicated than a shrug and maybe a one to three sentence answer.

Yes. Correct. And it would definitely be a one sentence answer, and that sentence would be "I did it because I felt like doing it." lol

>Because Sonic is also impulsive. So, while he doesn’t always do things in the most effective way possible, he always does what he thinks is right, and that tends to be the right thing, at least in spirit.

Also yes. The only chaffe is this idea of "what he thinks is right." I know it feels like I'm nitpicking or being pedantic, but I do think this is an important distinction. Sonic does NOT do things "because" "it's the right thing to do." He does things because he WANTS to do them. He SINCERELY enjoys and has fun HELPING PEOPLE and STOPPING BAD GUYS. And that is the only reason he does it! Because he likes it. Because he wants to. Because it genuinely doesn't occur to him to NOT do so. Saying he does it "because it's the right thing to do" implies that he has or needs a REASON to do it, and he doesn't. "Don't Ask Me Why, I Don't Need A Reason/I've Got My Way, My Own Way" are literally the words in his theme song.

>Thats my take on Sonic’s character.

It seems like you mostly saw people talking about Archie Sonic if I'm being honest lol. People can like what they like, but Archie Sonic is his own distinct character. Not even a "version" of Sonic, he's just a COMPLETELY different character who happens to also be named Sonic. Which, frankly, is why I hate him. Because he dilutes the discussion. He'd be a perfectly fine character on his own, but he doesn't exist on his own. He wouldn't exist without the Real Sonic, and I'm definitely long past the point of even pretending to tolerate Archie Sonic in any capacity. You would not have these conceptions about Sonic's character if it wasn't for Archie Sonic, because everything and I mean basically every single thing you are describing is just Archie Sonic. Including the stuff that is actually accurate to Game Sonic.

You can like Steve the Hedgehog all you want. I would like him too, if he was allowed to exist as his own character. But he's NOT Sonic. Never was. And I enthusiastically recommend experiencing the Video Games first hand so you can truly meet Sonic yourself.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #character analysis

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inevitably-johnlocked · 1 year

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Ahoy Steph 🙌, I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about yourself and what kind of tropes and stories you enjoy? Wanna get to know a little more about who is behind the blog if you don't mind🤸

Hey Nonny!

Sorry for the delay in a reply... just haven't "felt it" the past couple months, and after a nice 2 week break (and now a slow day at work), I feel more up to answering a long-form ask today, LOL.

So, I won't reveal too much about myself that isn't already public, since I try to keep my online and personal lives separate (and I come from an age where people usually DID do this because no one needs to know every little bit about you). The basics are that I'm a 41-year-old Canadian dork who loves video games, animation, movies, drawing, writing, and making music. I'm a graphic designer by trade, and have been for nearly 20 years, and I love it (if you need something designed or laid out, hit me up, I freelance on the side for extra spending money). I love dragons and puppies and kitties. I've been in fandom spaces for as long as I can remember, even before the internet. First major fandom I was a part of was Sonic the Hedgehog in my teen years, used to be a pretty popular writer back then. I moved on to Darkwing Duck in my 20s, then TMNT and then Sherlock (I'm a fan of a TONNE more things, but these were the active fanbases I had a presence in). These days I'm more of a lurker than actively participating, though Sherlock has been the longest one I haven't really moved on from. I like the casualness of what I've built here, and I think that's been a huge benefit for my mental health.

Hmm... my fave food is mac and cheese, but had to cut back on it a lot, so these days it's mostly chicken, lol. Fave dessert is cheesecake. Again, not supposed to eat it because of the dairy and sugar, so if I make it, I use lactose-free cheese. I treat myself once-a-year on my birthday, usually.

My current dream is to own a home. I've been trying to make it happen for almost 10 years now, and every time I get close, the goal-post gets shifted as housing prices skyrocket. It makes me very sad.

My dream holiday is a Disney cruise OR somewhere tropical; wanted to do these since I was 20. Secondary dream WAS going back to Disney World for my 40th, but now it's for my 45th or 50th, hopefully with SOMEONE (no one wants to go with me, hence the back-burner on this one). Listen, I know how awful Disney is. I just... really loved being there. It's easy to forget a lot of things when you're there. Third dream is a cross-country LITERAL nostalgia road trip with my sister. We used to go on 2-week-long, cross-Canada road trips when we were kids, and I just... want to kind of relive those, y'know? Lots of fond memories. Again, something that's just a dream because while my sister wants to do it, she doesn't want to be an alternate driver, so. Yeah, I can't do the driving alone.

Uh... Hmm. Not sure what else I should talk about here, if there's something specific y'all want to know, just ask :)

As for fave tropes, I love fake relationship fics the most, I think, followed by pining and movie rewrites with characters... I'm actually pretty easy-going when it comes to tropes, really. Willing to read any trope at least once to see if I like it.

Oddly, though, I prefer stories that are SUPER in-character (to how I read them, anyway) AND focus a lot on character studies and relationships with other characters. Novel-length stories are usually the best for it, but shorter ones can be too. I prefer fanfics more these days because I don't have to think about how these characters SHOULD be and focus more on the world that the author created. When I do read published novels, though, they're usually fantasy books. One of my fave series ever is the Inkheart Trilogy. Just an easy read from book one.

Yeah, so that's a little bit about me, to start off 2023 AND for any newbies that have just recently found me.

Thanks again for your curiosity :) Again, if you have anything you want more elaboration on, I can at my discretion.

#steph replies #about me #chatting with nonnies #ask me anything

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soma-bellevogue · 1 year

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This is gonna be long and riddled with emotion, so skip if you aren't in the mood to read my bullshit.

So idk if anyone cares but I had a lil bit of a crisis on the eve of the christ man womb emergence day. And I made a sideblog. Hoping to hide the fact that I started actually writing fanfiction.

I was (and still am) terrified of the idea of writing things like fanfiction. Or just stories in general. I have done so for a long time. Mostly in the forms of roleplaying and such with friends. But this is a whole different animal.

But after posting my very first, decent, postable fanfiction. Suffice to say I am *shocked* by how well received it was on Ao3.

By no means am I famous or anything. But I gotta say. I was nearly brought to tears by how supportive the community is. The reception the little Sonadow fiction I wrote was insane. Nowhere near what I expected.

I grew up in a time on the internet where Sonic was cringe. Anything related to Sonic was cringe. And I was always so terrified to join the Fandom.

It wasn't until just around this time last year that I got really heavy into Sonic. Like. Whole hog, you could say. And it's made me just so fucking happy. The community is great. The art is wonderful. The writers are amazing. It's just so heartwarming. I'm so glad I finally threw off the fear of being cringe.

Or at least I thought it did

See the idea of writing an actual fiction that I would have to share with the internet? Absolutely fucking terrified me. But I love writing. It's one of my passions. But because of the hatred and cringe culture I grew up in when I was first getting on the internet. I still feel so much shame and distress.

So I hid myself. As best I could. Until I started getting support. Then I admitted it in the tags of a reblof of the sideblog. And now I'm stating it outright. I am side_of_trash on Ao3. I've been writing for years. But I've just been too scared to share it with anyone. Secrety and silently honing my writing skill.

It got lonely very fast. So finally I did it. I posted under a different name.

And I nearly cried by the warm reception it got.

So from here on. I'm gonna start writing more. I'm gonna embrace who I am. Cringe culture is dead. And I fucking love Sonic the hedgehog. Sonic has given me the confidence my younger self could scarcely dream of. And I'm gonna start linking any fictions going forward here on my main blog.

I understand if my writing isn't your thing. Or if this kinda stuff doesn't interest you. So anything relating to my writing is gonna be tagged under #sideoftrashao3 on my blog. So you can choose to block it out if you don't want to see it on your dash.

But I really appreciate any support I can get. Any comments, feedback, hell I'll settle for likes.

I'm just here. Trying to explore one of the passions I've always had. And I don't expect to get famous. Nor do I really want to. I just want to feel like I'm worth something. And writing gives me that feeling. I'm proud of my writing. I work very hard on it

Thank you for reading this, if you decided to. Sorry to clog up the dashes of the few followers I have with this emotional rant. I appreciate you. I really do. Thank you.

#sideoftrashao3

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gourde · 1 year

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1, 4 and 7!!!!! 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

Oooo I like these! Okay there's a lot so here's some funny blue words

1. The character everyone gets wrong: SONIC!!!! I know things can be read differently by different people but I really feel like Sonic's aroaceness is a HUGE part of his character. Like it's so fucking obvious but he's the mAiN ChaRAcTer so we gotta pair him up with fucking someone. The only Sonics that don't fit this is Boom Sonic who is obviously divorced and Archie Sonic who gets WAY too many bitches. And I chose to ignore that one fucking line in Frontiers. It just... is there. It came out of no where. Sonic since when did you... anyways. OKAY SO. Sonic has really never been interested in anyone, ever. He is clearly uncomfortable/disinterested in Amy's advancements and their relationship really shines when he's FRIENDS with her. BECAUSE HE'S AROACE. HE DOESN'T HAVE ROMANTIC FEELINGS. I MEAN. LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT HOW HE ACTS. THAT MAN IS AROACE. He's a guy who loves adventure and doesn't stick around. Guy's ALWAYS on the move. He is NOT the "Settle down" with someone type. He has so many friends because not only does he manage to help all those around him but. It's what he wants! He has friends everywhere and that's all he needs! Like come on people I will EXPLODE someone who GIVES A SHIT about who he's gonna be with. And then the people who DO ship him with someone tear down his character to "Soft cuddly guy!" WHICH IS NOT HOW HE IS. THESE PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY SONIC GAME. Like I know I'm aroace and a lot of Sonic I see in myself, but I really don't think I'm projecting here. I feel like I'm at least SOMEWHAT good enough at reading characters. 4. What was the last straw that finally made you block that annoying person?: I actually can't think of any instance. Generally once someone starts bothering me I just block them right away. And most of the time someone I've been following for a while shows their true colours. Like this one blog I followed for YEARS, reblogged something saying fictional incest is okay because it's fictional! Lol! Lmao! Blocked right away. Piss off with that. Explode. Or those "Fiction doesn't effect reality" types. It does... no matter how little you think it doesn't it still does man. But this is more general instead of one instance. 7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?: I'm so sorry but Sally. I can't fucking stand Sally's name because I hate how it sounds (The autism) so I already was just okay with her. I watched Satam and like... she's fine I guess. Generic girl character who keeps the wild boy in check and makes all the plans. I also didn't like her design and that's a huge part of a character to me. So I had a slightly negative opinion about her. I kept on seeing posts about how Sally should come back in IDW or the games and first off, how would they do that in a natural way and second off WHAT DOES SHE BRING TO THE TABLE. NOTHING!!! SHE HAS NO UNIQUE CHARACTER TRAITS. Amy is a very good leader and people person, Whisper is patient and has that mysterious past (Not royalty but still), and Tangle has that energy and incredible fighting skill. Oh and Tails has the tech savvy. Like you could change her character but then it's not Sally coming back anymore, so what's the point there. She's just boring. I'm sorry Sally enjoyers but I really can't see her appeal. Even in Archie she was overshadowed (First comes to mind is Charmy was the hidden royalty, Rotor is good with electronics), which isn't her fault but she's a character supposed to be entertaining, nothing about her was. I guess the appeal is what can you can add to her character? But I'm not a big fan of those types. So yeah I saw her too much when I already didn't like her and most of it was wanting her back. Which wouldn't make any fucking sense. And like let them rest, they've had like 20 years to shine. Let the IDW characters shine. (TANGLE I LOVE YOU TANGLE!!!!!)

#answered asks #tea time #cw incest mention #cant believe i have to put that tag in #anyways yeah hot takes #this isnt directed at anyone who follows me or any mutuals #just my own hot off the oven opinion #like god. each time i see sally in a post or just her image #its like 'wow. i really dont like this character'#archie sonic is so much fun when it ISNT the freedom fighters

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