#I watched ONE compilation video on YouTube and then decided I’d watch Prime again after like six years lol

[chrometheraptor]

Wait who's YOUR war criminal blorbo

Starscream from Transformers! You?

[betterpathoflyfe]

Who is May the Author? - 3/22/21

You may have noticed that whenever I write a blogpost, I sign with this pseudo name, “May the Author.” Those who know my personally know that “May” isn’t my real name, but I never really talked about the significance behind that name (I use it as a few of my social media handles too). I mentioned an aspect of it briefly (like...super brief lol) in the previous post, but I want to shed a bit more light!

Sooooooo....

For the longest time...when I was around like...10-13 years old?

I...was the biggest Sonic Hedgehog fan.

Like...#1 biggest fan. I really got into it with the shows and movies first (surprisingly), and then the video games and computer games. I loved watching the gameplays, especially for Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 (wow...the nostalgia I just got LOL), as well as the fan-made videos on Youtube like Ask the Sonic Heroes & Sonic Shorts (if you only knew how many times I’m saying “oh my gosh” as I type this...like it’s nostalgic, a taaaaad bit embarrassing if you know me in real life, just....oh my gosh!!!)

But yeah! What really solidified my love for his character was actually through this sprite comic that I followed called, “Sonic and Pals,” by Trevor Fayas (his site crashed years ago sadly). Essentially, it was sort of like a college project for him at the time, and he utilized Sonic characters to portray things like “Romeo and Juliet,” “Caesar,” etc. Yet, he still maintained the characters’ personalities and had running jokes throughout it. It was really good, and was pretty popular at the time! 

His comic then allowed me to get into this world of sprite comics, with the website, https://www.theduckwebcomics.com/ getting me familiar with different styles, characters, etc. I soon learned about sprite sheets that include different characters, and then accessory, background, and other sheets that people compile to create their stories! I really started to become invested in these so I eventually decided I wanted to do my own comic (I can’t pinpoint the exact reason, but I guess I was just inspired?)! And what better characters to use than Sonic characters? 

Once those sprite sheets were compiled, however, I had no idea what the comic should be about. But after talking to my dad about it, I figured I’d have my “debut” comics talking about Jesus! Therefore, I made this website: https://christskidscorner.wordpress.com/ and tried my hand at a few comics. My goal was to incorporate lessons about God, but still maintain the characters’ personalities through it. Here’s an example of one (if the picture is blurry, here is the link to it and then click on the image: https://christskidscorner.wordpress.com/2011/10/01/comic-4/ ):

Now mind you...I was 12...so chill 😭

BUT, I really enjoyed doing these, and also incorporated other things on the site, including how one could become saved through Christ, prompts featuring “What Would Jesus Do,” and other Christian resources that people could check out (like Adventures in Odyssey)! It was really my way to begin getting familiar with sprites in general.

I always say, though, that my “breakout” comic was my comic called “Sonic and Chums” (as you see, I really loved Trevor’s comic haha). But I always say that that comic is really my baby! Here is the link: https://sonicandchums.wordpress.com/. With this comic, I really took a page out of Trevor’s comic from the very beginning, but by season 2, really began to create my own ideas! Each season sort of took it’s own story, but still kept it interesting, you know? On the site, near the right, you’ll see that I said that the funniest comic was Comic 19. I loved it because it really embodied the personalities of Sonic and Knuckles (to me, at least). This was it (https://sonicandchums.wordpress.com/2011/10/22/comic-19-dealing-with-villains-rouge-runs-into-eggman-again/ ) :

It may be hard to see on here, but in my early comics, I was still learning editing aspects as well! This one, for instance, wasn’t even cropped. But through practice, I got pretty familiar with it! I began using other characters in the comic and creating my own, as well! For example, I sort of created a new storyline with an alternative universe that is parallel to Sonic’s. That season was my favorite (and when I revisit the site, it definitely still is), as I really got to learn how to recolor characters and backgrounds (me and Paint became best friends throughout all of this), give sprites transparency, etc. I was able to mesh different games together and still make it work, you know? This, for instance, was my first real, mini fight scene that I was able to create (from the Alternative Universe comic https://sonicandchums.wordpress.com/2012/02/16/comic-74-121/):

I was invested in all of this to say the least, and allowed me to learn some cool editing skills at the same time!

THAT BEING SAID, one thing that I thought Trevor did that was really smart was the usage of a “sprite author,” which would kind of break that fourth wall between them and the audience. Essentially, it was him as a sprite. Therefore, I knew that I wanted to incorporate myself as the “sprite author,” as well. But I wanted to create a name for it, too, but still have related to me.

Now, Amy Rose was my favorite character only because I, too, am sort of a hopeless romantic myself. So I figured I’d do a play on her name and switch around the letters to May, which also happened to be my birth month as well. I also loved the name, “Mai,” because of Avatar the Last Airbender, so yeah! 

 May the Author was born (https://sonicandchums.wordpress.com/2011/10/20/comic-1-new-beginnings-a-stick-of-power-2/ ):

Even though it’s sometimes a little embarrassing to talk about it, I truly am proud of those comics because I know the work I really put into make each one, and it was a lot. My website in itself was hard work as well, as I created interactive links for each season, as well as Sonic related stuff like videos and games. It makes me a little sad, though, how some of the comic links and, because Adobe Flash expired, game links have become inactive over time. But, in it’s prime, it was really a great site! My friends and even teachers checked it out during that time, and I even got hits from different parts of the world. It was truly something I enjoyed doing when I was younger.

That is why I wanted to keep the handle. It’s sort of like a remembrance but also a credit aspect! I know that some of my peers today would not believe I created something like this, so I’ve just always kept the name to show like...yeah...I did lol.

So yeah! That, my friend, is the background story behind that name (it’s also my Twitter handle, so follow me on Twitter!).

“Work hard, that way no matter what happens you know you did your absolute best.” 

~ May the Author