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thesurfaceofthelight · 2 years

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The Cost of Compassion: IDW Sonic And His Principles

Sonic is a character who has seen numerous incarnations throughout the franchise’s history. From his impatient and snappy beginnings to his cartoony and non-hydrophobic AOSTH counterpart, as well as his free-spirited and self-defined hero from the storybook games and Sonic X all the way to his more casual and nonchalant ‘meta’ and Boom incarnations. Needless to say, he’s held numerous interpretations and each has had their own reception.

Today we’re going to be talking about bar none the most controversial Sonic interpretation to date; Sonic The Hedgehog in the IDW series. I do not know how far this stretches on given how I joined at the time Issue 42 was still in the works, but what I do know is how much of a splash his characterization in Issue 50 and even Issue 51 have caused.

I’m gonna be starting things off by getting this out of the way. I shouldn’t have to say it, but here we are; this is SEGA’s Sonic. What you’re seeing here has the ‘Official SEGA Seal of Approval’. This does NOT mean SEGA lurks over Ian and Evan’s backs, telling them exactly what to write. If I had to guess, I’d assume it’s more like they’re given a bunch of characters to work with and those characters have notes attached telling them what they can and can’t do with them.

This isn’t X or Black Knight Sonic, this isn’t Adventure Sonic either. This is IDW Sonic. We should not be holding one era of Sonic over the other purely because one is ‘worse’ than the other. What we have here is new and I’m willing to judge him. The question is; “Is the new that we have good? Is it bad? Or is it just average?” With that all out of the way, let’s get it on.

Sonic’s Principals

We’ll start off with Sonic’s morals and beliefs. In the IDW series, Sonic lives in the moment. He wants to explore the world to his heart's desire and enjoy everything he can. He wants everyone else to have the freedom to see what the world has to offer. As a result, he doesn’t kill because they wouldn’t have the chance to do that if he did.

However, people who use that freedom to hurt other people do not get a free pass. If they choose to cause problems, Sonic is gonna come over and give them an ass whooping. He’s become so confident in his abilities that he believes that he can come out on top in the end every time and people who actively attempt evil are wasting their time.

Ultimately, I do think these ideals and principals fit Sonic’s core character. Even in the games, he’s had numerous encounters where he has come out on top every single time in spite of the overwhelming odds. Characters like Gamma, Chaos and Shadow wouldn’t have the same stories if Sonic weren’t as kind-hearted and compassionate as he is.

Sonic vs Eggman / Tinker

The case of Sonic vs Eggman / Tinker is the most common you’ll see regarding Sonic’s characterization. This started way back in the IDW’s lifespan. All the way since Issue 5. Issue 5 tackles Sonic and The Chaotix figuring out how to handle Mr. Tinker. For those who don’t know, Eggman crash landed in Windmill Village and was promptly locked up after the events of Sonic Forces. It turns out he broke out quite easily, only to strengthen the door he was supposed to be locked behind.

It turns out Eggman had amnesia. They had thoroughly tested him and there was not a trace of his original character (aside from being good at fixing things). The village took him in and nurtured him as a result. In exchange, he fixed stuff like watches and even built windmills. Espio thinks that Eggman must pay for his crimes, but Sonic notes that the man before them… isn’t Eggman. Elder Scruffy comes in, and I firmly believe he put it best; “...But I’d rather he remain free to do some good rather than rot in a cell and do nothing.”

At the end of Issue 6, Sonic promises he’ll be coming around plenty to check up on Tinker… unfortunately however, he cannot keep true to this promise. And it’s not his fault, contrary to what other people may believe. This is something I really adore about the comic, actually; how it handles the return of Dr. Eggman. In the middle of Issue 7, it’s revealed that Neo Metal Sonic had been coordinating Badnik attacks and has been trying to find Eggman.

At the end of Issue 8, it’s shown that Neo Metal Sonic has taken over Angel Island. The Neo Metal Sonic event was so big that it required all hands on deck (at the time, Cream nor Gemerl were introduced). Because everyone was at Angel Island and no one could supervise Tinker, this gave Dr. Starline the perfect opportunity to capture Mr. Tinker and return him to form. Essentially, Neo Metal Sonic unknowingly paved the way to Starline’s success and Eggman’s return.

We’re gonna skip over numerous Issues (because none of them assist in the Sonic vs Eggman case) and land right on Issue 23 where it does pick up. Eggman and Starline are in an argument but before it can hit its climax, Sonic intervenes. He asks why Eggman returned to being a bad guy and asks what was wrong with being like Mr. Tinker. Eggman then recounts how peaceful the life he had was… and we can see a shred of regret in his expression with even Sonic and Starline acknowledging this.

This Issue is ultimately why Sonic is still holding out the hope that Eggman can turn his life around. To start, I wanna talk about Tinker and Eggman as characters and their ‘relationship’ with one another. It is very important to note that Eggman is aware of his life as Tinker. Though in Issue 12 he does not know why he is dressed up as him, he states in Issue 16 that he recalled the village’s kindness despite his jumbled memories and he recalls what he did for the village in Issue 23.

Eggman isn’t acting ‘OOC’ here either. I’ve seen some claims that Eggman is evil because he loves himself and is unapologetically evil. Ultimately I believe those are either headcanons that are held as actual canon or just poor reasoning. In the IDW, Eggman has a twisted view on reality. He’s the same type of guy to lump free will with famine and plague. He believes that if he were to rule the world, he would magically fix all of the problems.

At the same time, Eggman acknowledges the fact that his actions are evil and is not immune to indulging in them. Similar to Dr. Weil from the Megaman Zero games. Even with his warped ‘vision’, Eggman dislikes mindless violence and has a human side. As an example; Sonic Adventure 2. At the end of the game, he doesn’t run away telling Sonic he’s gonna get him one day. Instead, he has a genuine conversation with Tails about his grandfather and tells him that Gerald was his motivation to become a scientist.

Even after that, there are no tricks. He leaves with everyone else to fight another day. For a majority of his life, Eggman has spent his time fighting against everyone and has always come up short. For the first time in his life (SA2), Eggman works alongside the heroes to save the world and succeeds.

And that is why the Sonic vs Eggman / Tinker case is valid. From an out of universe perspective we know Eggman’s never gonna turn good again because he’s a part of the status quo, but it is justifiable in the universe these two characters are in because of how Eggman reacted to the request of being like Tinker.

Sonic vs Shadow

While Sonic vs Eggman / Tinker is the most common you’ll see, Sonic vs Shadow is what I consider to be the most volatile. The controversy only surrounds a single Issue, and said Issue is Issue 6. Sonic goads Shadow into running around Windmill Village with him to stall for time. He brings up how Eggman helped save the world from the ARK scenario and how he fought back against the Black Arms, though not necessarily alongside them.

When Sonic trips over a root, Shadow pins him to the wall and asks how Sonic can be so lenient on the good doctor after everything he’s done. Sonic then reminds him how during SA2, he wanted to destroy the world and it wasn’t fair if he made an exception for Shadow and not Eggman. I did my research with this scenario and even now, my opinion is not concrete. If anyone else has any say in the matter I will be happy to hear and take anything into account, but I will not automatically sway my opinion to their belief.

Prior to the events of SA2, Gerald altered Shadow’s memories and implanted his will for revenge into the ultimate lifeform. If he simply stopped at altering his memories, this would be fine. Shadow wakes up, remembers Maria and somehow thinks she wanted revenge. But because of the fact that Gerald somehow managed to implant his will for revenge into Shadow, this makes everything more confusing and controversial than it should be.

Shadow did at one point want to destroy the world, but it was not by his will. This is not my final answer (though the possibility is strong), but the way I register this; Sonic was okay with Shadow the moment he appeared during the Biolizard fight. He did not act petty and distrust Shadow before breaking out into a fight, he put his trust in Shadow and went to help Knuckles with the Emerald Altar.

After the ‘fight’, the two plan on looking into what this Eggman Land nonsense is about before Shadow realizes Sonic was distracting him.

Sonic vs Metal Sonic

Much like Sonic vs Shadow, these are likely not to be my final thoughts but this is the one case I do not like at the time of writing. After defeating Metal Sonic in Issue 11, Sonic decides to simply let him go after deweaponizing him in Issue 12. A seemingly viable idea given how Metal Sonic collapsed when trying to assault Sonic. You’d imagine that if he were to attack anyone, the same would apply. Only it did not.

First, Sonic’s reasoning in Issue 12 is stupid. “We gave him the choice to live how he wants to. We’ve got to honor his decision.” The question to begin with was if Metal Sonic wanted to give peace a chance. Not ‘how do you want to live’. Secondly, Tails points out in Issue 50 that Metal Sonic still had his jet engine and more importantly his metal claws. This meant Metal Sonic could go around impaling people as he pleased.

Issue 24 and 26 do try to clear this up with; “You made sure Metal Sonic was harmless. Eggman weaponized him.” and the; “You just had to be a one-note jerk.” but it doesn’t work. It’s okay for Sonic to see Metal Sonic as his own person and believe that he can make actions for himself, but Issue 50 simply demolishes any of these. Once more, this is my least favorite case at the time of writing.

Sonic vs Zavok

This argument, I straight up don’t understand. I don’t know why this is the case at all, but it’s my job to cover it. Short answer; Sonic ‘sparing’ Zavok is purely exaggerated. Long(ish) answer below.

The moment that Sonic learned the Deadly Six were attacking the Resotration’s HQ in Issue 42, he immediately started boosting towards the place with a look of angry determination. The first thing he does when he gets there is homing attack the group and calls them losers. He does battle with the Deadly Six in Issue 43 and calls them out for the fact that they had an entire world to explore, but they instead chose to cause trouble.

Alongside Tails, he beats the Deadly Six and sends them to the Lost Hex. He doesn’t back away from his principals just because Zavok made a threat. Though they aren’t slain, the six are sent back to the Lost Hex where they can’t hurt anyone. Sonic isn’t ‘sparing’ Zavok so he can become good one day, he’s mocked the Deadly Six for choosing the worst possible path and proceed to ‘banish’ them. That is all.

Sonic vs Surge

The most recent addition to Sonic’s cases. To understand this argument, we need to understand Surge as a character. Spoilers for Imposter Syndrome and Issue 50 ahead.

As revealed in Issue 3 of Imposter Syndrome, Surge the Tenrec was captured by Dr. Starline alongside Kit. He not only implanted cyborgs into their bodies, but hypnotized them and completely overhauled their lives going forwards. The hypnotism he used to change their personality had some unforeseen side effects, causing mental instability. He’s fucked them up so much that he now has to make them forget how much he’s screwed them over.

When Sonic and Surge finally get the chance to meet, Surge sweeps him off of his feet. He immediately asks who she is, to which she keeps herself surprisingly vague. She gets across that she has ties with the doctors and how she hates it. Surge also criticizes Sonic for not having this cycle to begin with. Again, Sonic tries to get a proper introduction only for Surge to make the first attack.

What ensues is a fight between the two before they take a breather after colliding with one another. Sonic says that he’s having fun and hopes that Surge is too. She’s upset over the fact that he is and how she’s labeled with a ‘shtick’. Sonic knocks her down and explains his beliefs and morals to her. He once again gives her a chance to pause, but she makes another attack and picks out the worst of Sonic’s speech.

The two continue to fight until Sonic sends her careening to a pit. She grabs onto a ledge and Sonic hastily rushes over to try and help her out. Unfortunately for him, Surge decides to pick the pettiest route possible and jolts him with a small shock claiming that she ‘got the last hit’ before being sent down the pit further by rubble.

Even with this, I’ve seen numerous exaggerations on how the fight went down. I think that these exaggerations are hilarious, but they are simply incorrect. People believe that Sonic mocked and beat down on a ‘helpless’ Surge while not caring at all for her death when he constantly gave her chances for a better path. At all times, Sonic only fought back when necessary. Just like every other time, he played defense.

Surge’s ‘death’ puts him into a sour mood for the short lived remainder of the Issue. He is visibly upset by her disappearance and decides to check up on Tails and Belle in case anything bad has happened to them. He doesn’t mourn her death, but he feels terrible that it happened nevertheless and I cannot wait to see how he reacts in Issue 54 because of it.

Conclusion

So there we have it. Every case of Sonic, his principles and how it works off of other characters. I wanna give a brief mention to Sonic vs Espio before we end. I love how there’s no definitive ‘right answer’ with that case. If Eggman was dealt with then the Metal Virus event wouldn’t have happened, but Tinker wasn’t Eggman and it wouldn’t have been right to kill someone who didn’t even know what they did wrong.

I feel it intertwines with Sonic vs Shadow, and I wouldn’t have enough to do a full on review of it. Regardless of which, I believe Sonic is not only one of the best characters in the IDW series but I also believe that his principles and morals are well-grounded and in-tune with his core character.

As always, thank you guys so much for reading if you made it this far and I will see you all another time.

#sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic idw

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sonicringbond · 4 years

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Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey - Scene 36

At last we arrive at the end of the 2-parter or 2-weeker if you prefer. Does it have a big dramatic finish? I’ll let you decide that for yourselves in...

The tiny planet hung in the sky. Above the mountain ruins that Sonic ran through. Above the storm clouds that Draw tried to keep the golems that held Rosy from reaching. Above the blue aurora and the god who stood in Rosy’s dreams. And at last Rosy had heard its name. Yoluku. Or as she and Sonic had taken to calling it in so short a time. Yolk.

“Ooh~! Even in my sleep that creepy little planet just won’t go away,” Rosy resumed her fusing before turning her eyes back down onto the entity in her dreams. Or tried to.

“Eh? Huh? What’s going on, I can’t lower my head!”

Trying her best, and even putting her hands on her head she could not turn her head away from the little planet in the sky. Even waving her arms in front of her face did nothing as her arms simply became transparent.

“Cree~py!” Rosy cried out and could not even force her eyes closed. “This bad dream is starting to become a nightmare!”

Rosy was not the only one who could not take her eyes off the little planet in the sky. Sonic found his own eyes affixed to it as he was sure he saw something beyond it which was not the red crack in the sky.

“Is that…?”

“…another Red Star Ring?” Draw finished the question as he stood up on a floating eye-type golem and looked up at the heavens through the crown of storm clouds. He did not realize however that he was already in ear shot of Sonic.

“What are you doing here!” Sonic’s question broke through Draw’s trance and he looked across to where Sonic was glaring at him from a nearby cliff. “And where’s Amy!”

“I’m trying to catch up! You left me to fend against an army of golems with only a bow and arrow! How was I supposed to keep her safe! And I’m betting you did that too!”

Pointing up the mountain at the towering entity at its peak, also transfixed on Yoluku, Draw called Sonic’s actions out. “How did waking that thing up come into collecting Rings! What is wrong with you!”

“Believe it or not, but I was trying to get her some help dealing with that oversized egg in the sky!”

“Now I know where she gets her food obsession from!”

Sonic did not humor Draw with a reply and flicked his nose before taking off back up the mountain. He was going to need a great deal of altitude to spot which golem had taken Rosy. Peaking back and forth between the swarm of golems and the entity on the mountain, Sonic noticed it was clutching at the crystal rose that seemed to be its heart.

“Maybe that will…,” Sonic started before turning to yell back at Draw. “I’m going to do something crazier than ever! Find Amy before I pull it off and get her somewhere safe!”

“And where would that be!” Draw yelled back, but Sonic was already moving up the mountain in a demonstration of skill that showed just having his speed was not enough to match him in its use.

Accelerating as he climbed, Sonic hit the sound barrier the moment he reached the end of an incline he had climbed in the blink of an eye. As he left the ramp, he curled into a ball to perform his signature Spin Attack and was like a fired bullet as a sonic boom erupted around him.

The sound at last drew the entity’s attention away from Yoluku and it turned quick enough for Sonic to pierce its spectral body and land on the gyroscopic mechanism within its heart. And wasting no further time, Sonic devastated the contraption, the ancient stone standing little chance against his fury of attacks.

“Ha~ hahahahaha!” the entity surprised Sonic by laughing aloud even as it crashed back down into the mountains from which it rose.

Sonic was flung from where he attacked back down the mountain and through a cloud of flying golems. Within that collection of golems, he spotted Rosy draped across the arms of one that resembled a smaller headless version of the entity’s stone upper half. With a smirk that things were going well for him at last, Sonic twisted his body to find a foothold on another passing golem. With just a flick of his ankles he kicked off and crashed a Spin Attack right into the core of the one that held Rosy.

In a spectacular display of acrobatics, Sonic recovered from the recoil of his impact and snagged the sleeping Rosy from the air. With her safely in his arms, he allowed himself a smile. “You’re something else, you rascal. Do you always get into this type of trouble when I’m not around?”

“Maybe…,” Rosy whispered weakly as Sonic’s voice bridged the gap between her dreams and the waking world. But as she turned her head to look at his reassuring face in both her dreams and reality, her eyes fell fully on Yoluku. A jolt tore through her body and she cried out in pain.

“Sonic! Sonic! It hurts!”

“Amy!"

“KYAAAA~~~~~~!!!!!”

Trying to understand what it was that made Rosy cry out, Sonic turned to look at her to make sure she wasn’t just half asleep. But the way her eyes snapped open in terror told him otherwise.

It was an expression he never wanted to see on her face, and he felt powerless. In her eyes though he saw Yoluku reflected and a Red Star Ring behind the ominous planet. Turning his head to look back, he saw only a hint of the Red Star Ring’s presence behind Yoluku. In Rosy’s eye however it was clearly reflected. A broken ring at two of the star points, a length of a red gear in the gaps holding the ring together. Reflected so clearly in Rosy’s eyes was it that that very Red Star Ring replaced her left iris and pupil. Sonic could do nothing to hide his surprise and again he heard the entity he came to the mountain to speak with laugh.

“A fair exchange,” its voice bellowed through the storm as it descended once more onto the mountains. You freed me from Yoluku’s power and now Yoluku has claimed the medium in compensation. Now, even freed I am powerless to help you, and you her. Ha~hahahahaha~!”

~I never learned what Sonic wanted to see up in those mountains. When I came too after passing out from my fever, it was in a seaside hotel. Sonic had been resting on the foot of the bed and greeted me casually when I woke up. He was ready and raring to go in search of his next adventure. He talked about finding Tails as he wanted to learn more about the world and was sure he could help us. But he never talked about what happened up in those mountains and neither did Draw.

~Hee-hee! Normally I’d complain about it or comment it wasn’t like Sonic to keep secrets, and I know I didn’t stop asking them for a while. It’s not just that I wanted to know, but that I had to know. My cards wouldn’t tell me anything either. But I know something happened. I didn’t just have a scary dream up on those mountains. I didn’t just get sick. Something happened to me, and I know it had to do with that dreaded little planet, Yolk.

~It had to after all.

~The Red Star Ring that replaced my left eye from time to time in my reflection was identical to the one I saw behind Yolk in my dream. And even when my eye appeared normal, it sometimes wasn’t blue like my right eye, but the same shade of red as a Red Star Ring. I’m sure Sonic and Draw saw it too. Sonic didn’t show that he did and told me any problems that we had we could just figure out later. He was so optimistic, but the way Draw looked when he looked me in the eye, and then back at Sonic… I know they know and just don’t want me worrying. But I’m stronger than that. Even with a Red Star Ring replacing my left eye every so often, I can still be cheerful and my usual self. I feel great and want to help find Tails and the rest of our friends and I won’t let this little bit of weirdness stop me!~

-|-

In Tower Point, Claymore the Purple stood with his arms on his hips watching Yoluku from a bridge between towers. He never saw the Red Ring that appeared behind it, but reports would soon arrive to him of sightings of it. The one that would most hold his interest though was barely arriving.

“Good Knight!” the black robed priest that strode out onto the bridge greeted the three-meter tall autogolem. “You will be pleased to know that we have compiled all of the reports involving those who have seen the Red Star Ring with the gear within.”

“Ho!” Claymore greeted the priest mirthfully as he turned. “And have you determined if any of them are mediums?”

“Not per say Good Knight,” The priest scratched the back of their neck and looked away. “It’s just that one of the sightings...”

“Ho~,” Claymore expressed his curiosity with an exclamation. Squatting down, he leaned in close to the priest. “Pray tell. Did someone hear something at one of these sightings?”

“It’s not what it sounds like Good Knight,” The priest looked away not sure how Claymore would react. Claymore remained patient however and kept his silence so that the priest might report. So prompted, they continued anxiously.

“You see Good Knight, and we’re lucky this report was filed at all as it is so unusual, but one of the sightings was not of the Red Star Ring appearing in the sky behind Yoluku. Rather as the left iris of a traveling pink hedgehog girl.”

“Has the seal grown so weak that Yoluku could act!” Claymore asked as he clenched his fist, the creaking of metal frightening the priest. But Claymore meant the priest no harm and spun to his feet, striding quickly for an entrance to one of the towers the bridge joined. “We must meet with this girl at once. Yoluku acts and we must know why.”

Before the priest could act, Claymore suddenly turned around and held a finger up, perhaps even winked one of his glowing purple eyes. “But you leave the gathering of soldiers to me. Return to the radios in case of more sightings and forget not the banquet. The people still need hope. And perhaps I might restore the seal myself before then and we can feast in celebration.”

Scene 36 · CLEARED Sonic & Rosy, End

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And that wraps up the 2-parter/2-weeker. I hope no one minds that things took a hard shift there at the end, but the idea was to cause an event to get Sonic and Rosy more invested in the lands below Yoluku. Having Rosy get branded in a way is a huge part of that. It also allows me to introduce another bit of interest further down the road. AU or not, this is still a Sonic the Hedgehog story and that means that means he has to face off against machines and protect nature. Or at least if I stick to the usual themes. But we’ll leave that for the future and I hope you enjoyed. Thank you everyone!

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Special Thanks to Cutegirlmayra Story by @JoshTarwater/SonicFanJ Inspiring Song – One Last Kiss – Hikaru Utada – From Neon Genesis Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic the Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement. The Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

*Sonic Ring Bond logo created by DEE Art – twitter.com/daryliscute.

Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond: The Journey are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein considered for all legal purposes the property of the Sonic the Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS. All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic fan fiction #sonic au #sonic au series #sonic ring bond #the journey #classic amy #amy rose #rosy the rascal #au amy #amy redesign #sonic oc #patch #draw the koala

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firebirdtransam68 · 5 years

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What I Want To See More On Tumblr

Tumblr is a sharing/social networking blog site that has a variety of content. However, there is content that also needs more recognition, and I see little to none of that content; probably because it is underrated and not very many users talk about or mention it. Of course, there will be plenty of opportunities to add more content, and I still have more information that must be voiced, but it would be nice if others take action and start expanding the site with extra and unlimited content (whether it be pictures, videos, audio, photographs, artwork, fan media, quotes, chats, weblinks, entertainment and media reviews, recaps of different works, memes, tutorials, self-help, GIFs, messages, etc.) as well.

Here are the following content that needs more recognition (it is a long list, so please pace yourselves):

General:

- Skills and techniques with Microsoft PowerPoint (this may include picture making with the shape tool)

- Fictional landscapes created by users

- Synthwave, Vaporwave, and Retrowave (and other retro forms like these)

- OC and fan character bases and illustrations

- Microsoft Windows (1.0, 3.1, 95, NT, 98, ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, etc.)

* Desktop images (tiled pictures included)

* Screensavers

* Logos

* Screenshots

* Tutorials

* Video clips

- Extraterrestrial content

* Planets

* Star systems

* Phenomenon (including black holes, quasars, pulsars, supernovae, etc.)

* Plants/flora

* Animals/fauna

* Fungi

* Single-celled organisms

* Landscapes

* Skies

* Terrains

* Montane areas

* Oceans

* Habitats

* Climate phenomenon (rain, snow, wind, sandstorms, thunderstorms, blizzards, sleet, hail, auroras, etc.)

* Moons and natural satellites

* Technologies

* Rocks and minerals

* Intelligent life

* Alien languages

* Science fiction

* Fantasy

* Geography

* Field guides

- Alien/space dragons

- Fictional rocks, minerals, and gemstones

- Real-life landscapes

- Firearms

- Psalms

- Vintage material

- Web-developing/web-designing ideas and blueprints

- Mesozoic Era (including dinosaurs, mammals, early birds, and flora)

- Hybrid/crossbreed animals

- Werebeasts

- Alien skunks

- Alien birds

* Owls

* Peafowl

* Hawks

* Falcons

* Birds of paradise

* Parrots and macaws

* Sparrows

* Corvids

* Shrikes

* Archaeopteryx (dinosaurs are included)

* Crossbreeds

- Kitsunes (including alien kitsunes)

- Alien wolves

- Alien hedgehogs

- Exotic birds

- G1 MLP (we have enough G4/FIM already)

- Retro

- Fighter jets

- Cars from 1967-1988

- Quotes and scenes from movies, TV shows, videogames/computer games, anime, books, comics, music videos, radio, podcasts, direct-to-video movies and series, plays, scripts, and websites

- Any LGBTQ+ content that encourages diversity of thought, creativity, and staying true to yourself regardless of sexual orientation

Original Stories:

- Science fantasy

- Alien fantastical creatures

* Dragons

* Unicorns

* Pegasi (flying horses)

* Hippocampus

* Cerberus

* Roc (giant eagle)

* Griffons

* Hippogriff

* Kitsune

* Minotaurs

* Ent

* Basilisk

* Gorgon

* Harpy

* Merfolk

* Fauns

* Orcs, ogres, goblins, and ghouls

- Action/thrillers

- Influences from sci-fi authors and writers (including Robert Heinlein)

- Female villains and complex characters

- Influences from Atlantis

- Mpreg and fempreg (hermaphrodites, transgender, reverse reproduction, magic, alternate dimension, etc.)

- Allegories (Christian, Jewish, Hindi, Buddhist, Sikh, Taoist, Shinto, Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Sumerian, Mayan, Muslim, Scientologist, Judeo-Christian, Norse, Jainist, Gothic, any other ideology you can think of)

- Alternate dimensions

- Historical fiction

- Time travel

- Giant robots

- Original anime and manga styles

- Dystopian futures/dimensions

- Conflicts regarding the LGBTQ+ community (gay conservatives, march vs. morality, discrimination based on political party, heroes and villains regardless of sexual orientation, asexuality, intersex couples, coexisting with the majority, etc.)

- Space operas

- Travel and vacationing

- Crossovers (even with official media)

- Even memoirs

Statements and opinions:

- 1980's

- 1990′s

- Anti-identity politics

- Individuality

- Anti-misandry, anti-misogyny, and double standards

- Knight Rider (1980's)

- Sonic X (Japanese, English, or both)

- Transformers Micron Legend

- Transformers Superlink

- Transformers Galaxy Force

- Transformers Unicron Trilogy (sub vs. dub, pro or anti, characters, pairings, etc.)

- Voltron: Defender Of The Universe

- Bumblebee (2018)

- Mpreg and fempreg (pro or anti)

- "Hate is a strong word"

- "Original is better"

- Synthwave

- Bayformers (pro or anti)

- Sub vs. dub

- Anti-trolling

- Equal opportunity vs. equal outcomes

- "I'm gay and conservative; I make my own choice on who to vote, and to tell me otherwise makes you more homophobic than the ones you claim to be"

- Pro-individuality

- Variations of certain pairings (like Sonadow and Megascream)

- Anti-Shradow

- Anti-Sondash

- Sonic x Transformers crossover

- "Fandom abuse kills interest" or similar statements

- "You can be a patriot of your country and support another country at the same time"

- "'Not My President!' Then move to some other country where he is not your president"

- "This Blog Is A No Threat Zone"

- Supporting underrated characters

- Supporting underrated pairings

- Supporting rarer material that is not mainstream

- Seiyuu and other foreign voice acting

- "Fanboys and fangirls are both annoying" or similar statements

- "Hate a work? That's your problem" or similar statements

- “Not all Christians are hateful towards gays; not all gays are hateful towards Christians”

- Current news unreported by mainstream media

Sonic The Hedgehog:

- Sonic X (styles and retroactive design is welcome)

* Bilingual Sonic

* Fake screenshots

* Sonic and Shadow

* Maria Robotnik

* Adventure 1 and 2

* Original vs. 4Kids

* Metarex

* Molly

* Scourge The Hedgehog

* Black Arms

* AOSTH characters (including Catty Carlisle, Breezie, and Katella The Huntress)

* Sonic Forces characters (including Infinite The Jackal)

* Fan characters

* Transformers in Sonic X style

- Shadow The Hedgehog (2005)

* Firearms

* Vehicles

* Lyrics to theme songs

* Karma meter

* Japanese version

* Screenshots

- Fan character Eggman badniks

- Chaos Emeralds (more colors besides the SEVEN)

- Seiyuu and English-speaking voice actor comparisons

- Sonic OVA

* Sara (Sera)

* Old Man Owl

* Planet Freedom

* Sonic vs. Metal Sonic

* Sonic X characters in OVA style

* Shadow The Hedgehog

- Green Hill Zone in many variations

- Other zones such as Spring Yard Zone and Lava Reef Zone

- Babylon Rogues

* Jet The Hawk

* Wave The Swallow

* Storm The Albatross

* Sonic X style

- Silver as a Sonadow fan child

- Archie vs. Fleetway vs. IDW

- Controversy memes

- Shadow mpreg (usually in regards to Sonadow or even Mephadow (though I don't ship the latter))

- Fan character creators

- Katella The Huntress

- Female villains and badniks

- Classic style of characters

- Planet Mobius

- Shadow, Silver, and Scourge as werehogs

- Cosmo The Seedrian

Transformers:

- The Transformers: The Movie (1986)

- Super Robot Lifeform Transformers Legends Of The Microns (Transformers: Micron Legend)

- Transformers: Superlink

- Transformers: Galaxy Force

- Transformers G1 Japanese canon

* Transformers Scramble City (1986)

* Transformers Headmasters (1987-1988)

* Transformers Super-God Masterforce (1988-1989)

* Transformers Victory (1989)

* Transformers Zone (1990)

- Armada characters with Micron Legend names

- Energon characters with Superlink names

- Cybertron characters with Galaxy Force names

- Armada Demolishor

- Armada Thrust

- Armada Tidal Wave

- Armada Hot Shot (in new coloration)

- Energon Prime Force

- Energon Wing Saber

- Energon Mirage

- Energon Shockblast (should be Shockwave, because he pays homage to G1 Shockwave)

- Cybertron Soundwave

- Cybertron Thunderblast

- Cybertron Landmine

- Cybertron Thundercracker

- Ironhide

* G1

* Micron Legend/Armada (the only incarnation of Ironhide that is a Decepticon)

* Prime

* Bumblebee (2018)

- Springer

* G1

* Superlink/Energon (although he pays homage to his G1 counterpart, he is not a Triple Changer)

* Live-action versions

- Chromia

* G1

* Galaxy Force/Cybertron (the only incarnation of Chromia that is a Decepticon)

- Laserbeak (G1)

- Armada characters in G1 style

- Armada characters in Bumblebee (2018) style, and vice versa

- G1 show fake screenshots

- Armada fake screenshots

- Stunticons and Menosaur

- Aerialbots and Superion

- Omega Supreme

* G1

* Superlink/Galaxy Force

- Controversy memes

- Fan character creators

- Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes

- Alice (ROTF)

- Charlie Watson

- Shatter and Dropkick

- Tina Lark (2018 Bumblebee film)

- Female Decepticons and villains

- Blackout (Transformers 2007 film)

- Barricade (Transformers 2007 film)

- G1 meets Armada

- Blitzwing (G1)

- Predaking (G1)

- Seiyuu and English-speaking voice actor comparisons (especially the Unicron Trilogy)

- More combiner robots

- Crossovers or stand-alone fan media with humongous Mecha piloted by humans

- Talaria (G1 episode: The God Gambit)

- Transformers with Pontiac Firebird Trans Am alt-modes

Mecha Anime:

- Beast King Golion

- Armoured Fleet Dairugger XV

- Lightspeed Electroid Albegas

- Gatchaman

- Raideen

* Yusha Raideen (Raideen The Brave)

* Chouja Raideen (Raideen The Superior)

- Galaxy Express 999

- Space Battleship Yamato

- Star Musketeer Bismarck (Saber Rider And The Star Sheriffs)

- Zoids

- Mighty Orbots

- GaoGaiGar

- Macross/Mospeda

- Space Runaway Ideon

- Queen Millenia (does it count as a Mecha anime?)

- Ergo Proxy (Autoreivs may count as mecha, since they are robots)

- Starship Troopers (OAV)

- Crossovers (including with Transformers)

- Original Mecha artwork as well as stories

Spore:

- Creatures

* Paleozoic Era creatures

* Mesozoic Era creatures

* Cenozoic Era creatures

* Megafauna

* Passenger pigeon

* Echidna

* Skunk

* Peafowl

* Kitsune

* Owl

* Falcon

* Sonic The Hedgehog characters

* Star Trek style characters

* Animal crossbreeds

* Creepy And Cute parts pack

* Underwater creatures

* SporeMaster (extra parts for creatures including extra wings, movable tails, whiskers, and tentacles)

- Flora

* Pine tree

* Plants with black trunks and green or blue leaves

* Berry bush

* Palm tree-like plants

* Cherry blossom

* Eyeball plants

* Succulent plants

* Groundcover

* Fluffy plants

* Water plants

* Fungi

- Planets, moons, and stars

- Cells and microbes

- Early creatures

- Land, Air, and Water vehicles

- UFO's that look like fighter jets

- Realistic-looking wildlife and planets

- Asteroids and meteors

- Robots and Mecha

- Comets

- Galaxies

- Fonts

- Humanoid creatures

- Planetary landscapes

- Screenshots

Ships And Pairings:

- Sonic The Hedgehog

* Sonadow (Sonic seme x Shadow uke)

* Sonourge/Scouronic (Scourge seme x Sonic uke)

* Manamy (Manic x Amy)

* Salamy (Sally Acorn x Amy Rose)

* Wavouge (Wave x Rouge)

* Chriselen (Chris Thorndyke x Helen)

* Metandroid (Metal Sonic x Shadow Android)

* Jetave (Jet x Wave)

* Infiniles/Mephinite (Infinite x Mephiles)

* Geoffershey (Geoffrey x Hershey)

* Scourgiona (Scourge x Fiona)

* Juladette (Jules x Bernadette)

* Soneezie (Sonic x Breezie)

* Eggella (Eggman x Katella)

* Robotara/Eggera (Dr. Robotnik x Sara)

* Knuxikal (Knuckles x Tikal)

- Transformers

* Ironromia (Ironhide x Chromia)

* Infernalert (Inferno x Red Alert)

* Ironratch (Ironhide x Ratchet)

* Optilita-1 (Optimus Prime x Elita-1)

* Hotarcee (Hot Rod x Arcee)

* Springarcee (Springer x Arcee)

* Shocksound (Shockwave x Soundwave)

* Optihide (Optimus Prime x Ironhide)

* Bumblecliff (Bumblebee x Cliffjumper)

* Megabird (Megatron x Nightbird)

* Blitztrain (Blitzwing x Astrotrain)

* Wreckancy (Wreck-Gar x Nancy)

* Cyclonourge (Cyclonus x Scourge)

* Hotolishor (Hot Shot x Demolishor); Ironrod/Hothide (Hot Rod x Ironhide)

* Starclonus (Starscream x Cyclonus); Starsand/Sandscream (Starscream x Sandstorm)

* Starshot (Starscream x Hot Shot); Starrod (Starscream x Hot Rod)

* Hotjack (Hot Shot x Wheeljack); Hotpage (Hot Rod x Rampage)

* Democlonus (Cyclonus x Demolishor); Sandhide (Sandstorm x Ironhide)

* Radexis (Rad x Alexis); Radexa (Rad x Alexa)

* Siderust (Sideways x Thrust); Doublerust (Doubleface x Thrust)

* Blurshot (Blurr x Hot Shot); Silverrod (Silverbolt x Hot Rod)

* Demolihide/Ironmolishor (Demolishor x Ironhide); Ironbuster/Roadhide (Ironhide x Roadbuster)

* Ironwing (Ironhide x Wing Saber); Roadsaber (Roadbuster x Wing Saber)

* Winglock (Wing Dagger x Padlock)

* Galvarage (Galvatron x Mirage); Galvafleet (Galvatron x Shockfleet)

* Tidaldagger/Saberage (Tidal Wave/Mirage x Wing Dagger/Wing Saber); Shockwing (Shockwave/Shockfleet x Wing Dagger/Wing Saber)

* Starwave/Starrage (Starscream x Tidal Wave/Mirage); Starshock (Starscream x Shockwave/Shockfleet)

* Demolisaber (Demolishor x Wing Saber); Ironwing (Ironhide x Wing Saber)

* Bulkclonus (Bulkhead x Cyclonus); Springstorm (Springer x Sandstorm)

* Starblast (Starscream x Thunderblast); Starromia (Starscream x Chromia)

* Charemo/Memarlie (Charlie x Memo)

* Shattopkick (Shatter x Dropkick)

* Wheelarcee (Wheeljack x Arcee)

- Whoever you think need more recognition; there is too many to count.

Crossovers:

- Sonic The Hedgehog x Transformers

* Sonic games x G1

* AOSTH x G1

* SatAM x G1

* Sonic OVA x Headmasters

* Underground x RID (Car Robots)

* Sonic X x G1

* Sonic X x Armada (Micron Legend)

* Sonic X x Energon (Superlink)

* Sonic X x Cybertron (Galaxy Force)

* Sonic games x Unicron Trilogy

* Archie Comics x IDW

* Fleetway x Shattered Glass

* Sonic games x Shattered Glass

* Archie Comics x Animated

* Sonic Boom x Prime

* Sonic Boom x War For Cybertron/Fall Of Cybertron

* Sonic Mania x Bumblebee (2018)

* Sonic Forces x Cyberverse

* Sonic Forces x Bumblebee (2018)

* Team Sonic Racing x RID (2015)

* IDW crossover

* Sonic live-action (2019- ) x Bayformers (2007-2017)

- Transformers x Voltron

* G1 x Voltron: Defender Of The Universe

* Armada x Voltron Force

* Unicron Trilogy x Voltron (1984-1986)

* Headmasters x Voltron (1984-1986)

* Victory x Voltron (1984-1986)

* Cyberverse x Voltron: Legendary Defender

- Alien (1979-2017) x Avatar (2009 film)

- 24 x Transformers (2007)

- Top Gun (1986) x Stealth (2005)

- The Final Countdown (1980) x Top Gun (1986)

- Transformers G1 x Armada

- Transformers G1 x Energon

- Transformers G1 x Bumblebee (2018)

- Transformers IDW x Dreamwave

- Transformers Armada x War For Cybertron

- Sonic OVA x Sonic X

- AOSTH x Sonic X

- AOSTH x SatAM

- AOSTH x Underground

- SatAM x Underground

- SatAM x Sonic X

- Underground x Sonic X

- Sonic Universe crossovers

- Transformers Universe crossovers

Aliens And Extraterrestrial Life:

- Plants

- Fungi

- Bacteria

- Mammals

- Birds

- Reptiles

- Dinosaur-like animals

- Amphibians

- Fish

- Insects

- Arrachnids

- Worms

- Mollusks

- Crustaceans

- Autotrophs (plant animals)

- Humanoids

- Xenomorphs

- Algae

- Hybrids and crossbreeds

- Technology

1980's:

- Advertisements

- Fonts

- Chrome

- Movie posters

- Art

- Stock footage

- Computer graphics (early CGI)

- Music and soundtracks

- Cars

- Aircraft

- MTV

- Merchandises

- J-Pop and J-Rock

- 78 RPM and LP vinyl records

- Walkman

- Hairstyles

- Musical instruments (such as synthesizers and drum machines)

Patterns And Textures:

- Memphis-style

- Terrain

- Ocean and sea

- Flowers

- Space

- Faceted

- Planet texture maps

- Sand

- Snow

- Dirt

- Ice

- Sonic patterns

- Transformers patterns

- Geometric

- Grid

- Feathers

Media Reviews:

- Transformers Unicron Trilogy (both Japanese and English)

- Plane and fighter jet films

- 1980's TV shows

- Bumblebee (2018)

- Sonic X (original Japanese version with English subtitles is preferable)

- Voltron: Defender Of The Universe

- G1 MLP TV specials, movie, and series

- Any anime and manga review

- Software and hardware

- Regarding fan media

- Memes in general

- TV Tropes

- Wikipedia

- Conservapedia and RationalWiki (not just negative reviews for Conservapedia, and not just positive reviews for RationalWiki, either; balance them out, see if they have any good points; what are they both right or wrong on?)

- DeviantArt

- Tumblr (the website you are in)

Movies:

- Top Gun (1986)

- The Final Countdown (1980)

- Avatar (2009)

- Alien vs. Predator media (1979-2017)

- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

- 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984)

- Terminator (1984-2019)

- Stealth (2005)

- Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'hoole (2010)

- Cobra (1986)

- Judge Dredd (1995)

- Total Recall (1990)

- Demolition Man (1993)

- Any Garfield TV specials (1982-1991)

- The Land Before Time films (1988-2016)

- Animal Farm (any film or TV show)

- Dragonheart (1996)

- Dirty Dancing (1987)

- Strictly Ballroom (1992)

- Die Hard films (1988-2013)

- Iron Eagle (1986-1994)

- Young Guns (1988-1990)

- The Lost Boys (1987)

- Flatliners (1990, 2017)

- Any direct-to-video film

TV Shows:

- 24 (2001-2010, 2014)

- La Femme Nikita (1997-2001)

- The X Files (1993-2002)

- The Dukes Of Hazard (1979-1985)

- Mr. Ed (1961-1966)

- Any Lucille Ball show

- Stranger Things (2016- )

- The 100 (2014- )

- Knight Rider franchise (1982-2000)

- G.I Joe (1985-1987)

- Hercules: The Legendary Journeys

- Xena: Warrior Princess

- Star Trek franchise

- Star Blazers (1979-1984)

- Voltron (1984-1986)

- Buck Rogers In The 25th Century (1979-1981)

- Battle Of The Planets (1978-1985)

Videogames And Computer Games:

- Halo (1999-2014)

- Sins Of A Solar Empire (2008)

- E.V.O.: Search For Eden (1992)

- Darkspore (2011)

- Unreal (1998-2014)

- Half-Life (1998-2003)

- Age Of Empires (1997- )

- SimCity (2013- )

- Crazy Taxi (1999-2007)

- Nier series (2010-2017)

- Flow (2006)

- Diablo (1996-2017)

- Flicky (1984)

- Ecco The Dolphin (1992)

- Classic Pac-man games (1980-1984)

- Let’s-plays for videogames lesser known in mainstream

- Any fan game

Books And Novels:

- Dragonriders Of Pern

- The Space Trilogy (1938-1945)

- Dune series

- Red Mars Trilogy (Kim Stanley Robinson)

- The Dark Tower (1977)

- The Maze Runner series

- The Chronicles Of Narnia

- Any book and short story by Robert Heinlein

- Bright Lights, Big City

- Space Odyssey (Arthur C. Clarke)

- Guardians Of Ga'hoole

- Watership Down

- The Plague Dogs

- The Rescuers series (Margery Sharp)

- A Brother's Price (Wen Spencer)

- Diary Of A Wimpy Kid

- Any book by Isaac Asimov

Comics:

- Any webcomic you consider underrated

- Older Garfield comic strips before 2006

- Hyperbole And A Half

- Your own comics

Music And Soundtrack:

- Rush

- Kenny Loggins

- Karen Guys

- Laura Brannigan

- Pat Benetar

- Bon Jovi

- A-Ha

- Rick Astley

- Anime songs

- Off Course

- Brian Eno and Roxy Music

- Collective Soul

- Owl City

- Dead Can Dance

- Cheap Trick

- The Cars

- Cyndi Lauper

- Heart

- Hailee Steinfeld

Fandom:

- Any Sonic shipping fandom

- Transformers Armada (Micron Legend)

- Transformers Energon (Superlink)

- Transformers Cybertron (Galaxy Force)

- AI (artificial intelligence and computers)

- Female villain fandoms

- Seiyuu

- Fighter jets and military helicopters

- Classic cars

- Mecha anime

- Any religious fandom (not that I am religious myself)

(Please note that I may also do some of these, myself, but I encourage others to do so, as well; there are plenty of users who are more skilled and knowledgeable than I am.)

When it comes to content, I leave overrated stuff alone, and yearn to increase underrated stuff, even content that may be overrated in many areas, but underrated in others. I also encourage differing opinions of such content; people can like a certain content that others hate, and vice versa; I have no problem with that; just as long as no one harasses, bullies, trolls, denigrates, or threatens others who do not think the same way they do.

I also encourage alternative sites for content, as well as many more websites solely for entertainment purposes.

For everyone else in Tumblr, as well as many others in other websites, be creative, bring up new ideas and opinions, teach people something interesting, make what you like, encourage other people to do the same, and be cordial and respectful to one another. I wish you the best of luck.

This is FirebirdTransAm68 signing out.

#more content #more underrated content #even overrated content has something underrated #even underrated content has something overrated #content in tumblr #needs more recognition #diversity of thought #we can't have like-minded opinions all the time not even in tumblr #yes even what you call fake news is free speech #hate speech or whatever you like to call it is also free speech #fandoms are welcome in tumblr #fandoms welcome #fandom #statements #all political statements are welcome #be cordial to one another #be respectful to one another #be cordial and respectful #any other content you find underrated?#what may be overrated may also be underrated #what may be underrated may also be overrated #underrated #we need more sites like tumblr that are more inclusive and that has a variety of content #alternative sites to tumblr #if I want more websites with more content then I am against net neutrality #more competition in the internet means more opportunities to search for content you like #do not restrict because of different political opinions #disagreements are welcome #agreeing is fine as long as you don't agree all the time #more opportunities

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crystalnet · 7 years

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Sonic Forces is Good

Sonic doesn't really slot into any of the semi-nebulous interests that this blog has previously covered but I just had to make an exception because I have thoughts on the blue blur's new game, especially in light of everyone going crazy for Mario Odyssey and the fact almost all professional reviewers as well as various critics on youtube have been basically taking a wrecking-ball to this game. Sonic fans themselves are left mostly enjoying the game (if the subreddit is any indication) and kind of sheepishly acknowledging the pretty low metacritic scores with a bit of a shrug--a pose any true Sonic fan has gotten used to taking in the past decade. I want to talk just very briefly about the problem with Sonic in 2017 and anytime past the year 1998 really and why perception of his non-side-scrolling games seem critically flawed and misguided...

First of all, 3D Sonic has basically always been a mess. Now I should mention before getting deep into this, Forces is my first Sonic game since Sonic Heroes and Sonic Advance 2, the former of which wasn't even as fun as the flawed SA2 and the latter of which should be considered Sonic 5 (or 6 if you count Sonic CD) for all I care, in that it is an excellent expansion of OG Sonic style (shit like grinding on rails, updated Sprites and even Amy as a playable character were great additions). Those two games though are indicative of the whole series: the 3D ones are always problematic while the 2D ones don't seem particularly hard to make well.

I think there is a big range of how fans and critics view the series, but it seems as if the 3D games are either held to the standard of Adventure 1 and 2, which were always pretty flawed games, or else held to some non-existent and unattainable standard. But we should be clear: Sonic never had his Super Mario 64. Adventure 1 comes close, and that game does a lot very well, but it introduces a lot of things which would plague the 3D games forever. I'm mostly talking about the fact A1 and A2 are want to have all these additional playable characters besides Sonic and yet, Sonic (or Shadow) levels are always clearly where the best level design and most fun is to be had.

Why force characters like Big the Cat or E-102 Gamma down our throat, when almost all the Sonic levels are amazing compared to levels where you shoot at things or hunt for emeralds. Like extra characters are kind of intrinsically fun when your a kid, but it always felt a bit like padding to me to play the Tails/Eggman and Knuckles/Rogue levels in SA2. So the gold standard for the 3D games becomes about 1/3rd of the content in the first two games?

What I'm trying to say is that Sonic Team never knew exactly what they were trying to achieve with these games it seems. It's like they continued the tradition of Sonic 2 and 3 with Tails and then Knuckles being added by eventually just adding a shit ton of characters to every game, effectively diluting the experience. I'm not even a big fan of Mario 64, but clearly that game is critically lauded, whereas the Blue Blur just couldn't seem to make that same transition. Heroes is literally all about adding characters, along with bright, colorful presentation which barely masked the weakened level-design. Then beyond the critical face-plant that is Sonic ‘06, Sonic Team's goals with these games seem even more unclear than ever and the warm embrace of 90s Sonic seems further away then ever before during the past decade or so.

You have a couple of weird "story book"-style spin offs on the Wii like the Black Knight and Secret Rings which really push the boundaries of what a Sonic game can be (seemingly to mostly bad reviews), Sonic Unleashed, which is literally split between somewhat traditional 3D gameplay and the kind of totally different style of gameplay a la non-Sonic levels in the Adventure titles (werehog Sonic...) and then a few games that seem to be headed in a more stable direction: Sonic, Sonic Colors, Sonic Generations and to a slightly lesser degree, Sonic Lost World .

Like I said, I haven't played any of these since Heroes, but I've been reading up and looking at all of Somecallmejohnny's videos on youtube to get a sense of how people feel about these, and these last 3 seem to be on the up-and-up in terms of critical reaction from both critics and fans. But Generations was in 2011 and since then it's been mostly an onslaught of Sonic Boom games and I'll do us all a favor and gloss over those completely. While Lost World tweaks things a bit with a run-button, Colors and Generations built on the more traditional half of Unleashed and heavily featured the boost mechanic which lends itself to a new kind of level design which is considerably different than that of Adventure 1 and 2.

I guess the long-winded point that I'm trying to make is that Sonic Team has basically been having an identity crisis since 1998. Not a single one of these stands as a true precedent for the series in that the best of their lot--Generations-- is still one of those meta, self-aware entries since it combines modern and classic sonic, quite literally. I do really wanna play those last 3 I mentioned because they seem like they are on the right path, but I'm sure for every fan, there is still a disappointed nay-sayer.

This leads me to my final point though, and that is that Forces, for me personally, is a pretty damn good idea of what 3D Sonic is. I think people were putting a lot of pressure on it since it's been a while since a true 3D entry that wasn't a Boom spin-off, but also because of Manias success. Mania from earlier this year was really great, but it's great in a mostly regressive way. Yes, the four new levels are fantastic and Christian Whitehead did a awesome job of capturing the "magic" of the first 3 games while refining things like the controls and amount of sprite-frames and adding some cool extras as well as those dope Chaos emerald bonus zones, but the success it had is based off of design-principles from nearly 25 years ago.

I can't complain at all, because it's a really fun game and a great way to revisit classic vibes and levels, but I hope it's the beginning of a sea-change for Sonic Team's approach and not just a blip. Mania 2 for instance could revisit/remix the underrated Advance trilogy, or Sega could grow some balls and let Whitehead and other fan-developers like him step up to the plate and either design a full fresh side-scrolling entry OR something like oh I don't know Sonic Adventure 3?

Either way, the game generated a lot of hype which Sega capitalized on by dropping Forces a few months later. And me and like half of hard-core fans are pretty happy with the game and that's about it. Same old story since SA2: new 3D game comes out, gets mediocre reviews, half the fans are on-board while the other seem even more disappointed than professional critics. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of what Sega should be doing with their 3D games, but no one can really agree.

Well I for one think Forces is on the right track. It's not perfect, but it's not really trying to be the next big game (they make that clear every single time they release a 3D title that isn't SA3). It's only 40 USD which I think denotes that it's to played in-tandem with Mania, so you got your classic Sonic on one hand, and your new-fangled and always-problematic-to-somebody 3D Sonic on the other. Also it's worth noting that I play this on the Switch. I think the Switch magically makes any game better for being played on it, and yeah I can't really imagine playing this on PS4. The option of portability makes any game better IMO, and Switch just adds this x-factor to any game right now, I can't totally explain it (will write another post all about it).

The game hold ups though, and beyond the novel trifling that is the character-designer/OC, the level-design is better in my opinion than most are letting on. I'm not sure yet if anything comes close to my personal gold-standard for 3D Sonic levels (Radical Highway and City Escape) but the sense of speed is often phenomenal, but I don't think there is any more of those moments where you are forfeiting control than there has always been since even the Genesis games, which is something I've seen some critics complain about. I admit I was slightly taken back by the locked camera, and often-times narrow corridor-esque levels, but once I got the hang of it, I realized that this is a more faithful translation of classic Sonic into 3D than the more free-roaming styled levels of Adventure games.

People seem to get mad when there's too much precise platforming in Sonic (Marble Ruins..) just as some assail it for feeling like an auto-scroller at other times. It's like fans approach the series with the same confused priorities that Sonic Team themselves have sometimes displayed. I like the generally arcade-y feel of the levels though and re-visiting them for the purposes of refining my runs/time is enticing in the way it was back in the Sonic/Shadow levels in SA2.

Sonic is a weird, platypus of a genre unto himself: Neither pure platforming, racing or trick-based sports game a la Tony Hawk/SSX, he is all of these things and none of them at the same time. And I think these levels capture that excellently. What he isn't are slow and awkward Emerald-hunting levels or shoot-em-ups, but Sonic Teams seems to always shoot for more diversity in game-play than just Sonic levels would allow for, and that's where the Avatar levels come in, retaining the style and speed of the Sonic levels, while also expanding it slightly with Ratchet and Clank-style gun-play that seems to stand-in for awkward shit like the Eggman/Tails levels in SA2. And yeah this does mix it up nicely.

Something else I've been seeing is that it's too easy and the levels are too short, and I just hope people are playing this on Hard mode (the requisite for hard mode is simply if you have played Sonic before according to the game itself). Other criticisms I've seen simply don't resonate, like people complaining about the controls of the Sonic levels, which just did not stand-out to me as being something I noticed. I like the variety of 2D and 3D, and think it strikes a good balance.

So yeah, I basically just wanted to write this big ass post to explain why I think it's good and why other people should STFU, basically. Sonic isn't Mario, and never had been. His games are not explicitly all-ages, timeless crowd-pleasers. His games have always been faux-edgy, psuedo-platforming/racing hybrids that click hard with some and leave others cold. They are also explicitly for kids in a way that Mario games aren't, and it's a kind of complicated point but I think professional critics should take into account this shit was never designed for a 30 year-old to enjoy. That's literally why Mania exists. A 10 year old now-a-days might enjoy Mania, but a lot of that game nearly amounts to being a joke that someone born after 1999 couldn't really get.

So, basically I'm all for trying new things, perfecting a formula that never quite existed and honing in on the good parts of some of the first Sonic games, and I think that's what Forces does. Also the story is sick. Some Sonic fans actually get caught up on the story which is insane to me because its like following the plot of a Tom and Jerry cartoon, but this shit hit some fan-service high-points for me (great cast of characters that mostly glazes newer shit and honors OG Adventure 1 and 2 shit, a slightly "darker" tone, Classic Sonic seeming chill af compared to real Sonic, and cameos from old-school bad guys, for instance). So that shouldn't be a factor in your review if your over the age of 9, is what I'm saying, but I actually dig it despite that.

Yes, it could be improved upon, but I think it’s an excellent starting point for the developers to build on, so hey why not add Whitehead to this team, as well as few of the level-designers from the other Boost games (Colors, Generations, Lost World), refine the controls and level design a bit and BAM, you got yourself a worthy candidate for the true, long-awaited Sonic Adventure 3 that all true fans have been waiting for forever (even though the Adventure games weren't perfect to begin with so this is a wish that contradicts my other points but still). What I think I'm saying, is if this is what they can do in a $40 title with a relatively small dev-team from what I've read, then what can they do when they go all in? Or are they too scared? Well these reviews might scare them off from even trying again and that's what I'm worried about, but Sega needs to grow some balls, and go all-in for the next release and lay-off the Pachinko-onslaught, or at least funnel some of that Pachinko-gold into developing the next game. Like I said, Sonic isn't Mario, and he doesn't need to be, or need to have games like the big cross-generational 3D Mario games that come out every 5-8 years or so. But you know he could if he wanted to, and I think Forces shows a pretty good way forward. Until then, try opening your heart to the Blue Blur if it's been a while-- who knows, you might just be surprised. Smell ya later, dreamerz~

#sonic #sonic forces #forces #sonic mania #mania #sonic the hedgehog #haters #critics #legacy #games #sonic adventure 3 #sonic adventure #adventure

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crusherthedoctor · 7 years

Note

Unpopular Sonic Opinions?

Sonic himself is not one of my favourite characters in the series.

Sonic not knowing when to shut up has been a problem for a long time, not just since 2010.

I prefer Robotnik to be a real threat and a total bastard. Not in the one-dimensional sense, I’m not saying he should be a cardboard cutout like the SatAM version. I just like my Eggmen to be ominous whilst retaining their more comical qualities.

I have fun with 3D Blast.

While I don’t mind Shadow as a character, his backstory was convoluted from the very beginning, and it’s one reason for why I find Adventure 2’s story in general to be overhyped. Subsequently…

Adventure 2’s story was one of the biggest catalysts in this franchise’s serious (heh) problems with keeping a balanced tone.

And with a few exceptions, I think Adventure 2’s soundtrack is mostly samey and underwhelming, especially when compared to Adventure 1’s varied soundtrack.

I like Rush, but I like Rush Adventure more.

I don’t think Shiro Maekawa and Ian Flynn are that amazing as Sonic writers.

I acknowledge the effort and love put into Unleashed, but there are too many issues and grievances for me to consider it one of the best in the series.

With a few exceptions like Misty Lake and Faraway Avalon, Black Knight has some of the dullest settings I’ve ever seen in a Sonic game. It also has one of the most forgettable soundtracks in the series.

I like the Deadly Six, and I’d be all for them getting improved rather than being left in the dust.

I’d like to see Marine again.

Captain Whisker is a better Eggman Nega than Eggman Nega.

One of the reasons for why Rouge is one of my favourite characters is because despite first appearances, she’s NOT a total bitch.

Rise of Lyric is a bad game, but JUST a bad game. Bland and unremarkable. NOT the next Sonic ‘06 like so many fans and non-fans make it out to be.

I prefer AoStH over SatAM. Neither of them are that great, or fitting for the series, but at least it’s easy to have fun taking the piss out of AoStH. SatAM is just a generic 90′s cartoon and nothing but for the most part. (Also, SatAM didn’t give us Long John Baldry.)

I think it’s possible for Metal Sonic to have signs of a personality while remaining fiercely devoted to his creator.

Neo Metal Sonic’s design is goofy and laughable for what’s supposed to be a “cooler” upgrade for him. Elf shoes? Ripped dress? Starfish head?

I don’t mind Elise too much, and I think some of the reasons people use for hating her are silly.

Sonic X’s portrayal of Robotnik is my least favourite of the lot.

Season 3 of Sonic X was the worst one.

I like Erazor Djinn despite otherwise not caring for the game he comes from.

Merlina’s betrayal wasn’t really foreshadowed that well.

Thunderbolt doesn’t do much for me. Harley Quinn-type characters generally annoy me more often than not.

Due to not much happening in the middle of Unleashed’s story, Sonic and Chip’s relationship falls a little flat for me when I’m expected to see them as really close friends by the time they’re in Adabat.

I don’t see the Create Your Own Character system in Forces as something that will ruin the franchise more than ever, let alone kill the franchise. Not when the franchise has made far bigger and arguably crazier risks in the past.

People really need to chill out about Pontac and Graff. Even for this fandom’s standards, many fans take their contempt for them way too far, and far too often. They also express even more double standards than usual when the subject is about them. (”Enough with the Sonic self-deprecating, LEGO Dimensions! Besides, they should have made fun of a Pontaff game instead!”)

Black Doom is one of the best comic relief characters in the franchise.

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isakthedragon · 7 years

Text

A Dragon Sized Adventure Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Everybody's Super Sonic Racing...

*The next terrarium up on the list is the Motorworld Terrarium. Nitros Oxide has decided to exact some revenge on the bandicoots by recreating the dangerous park that is Von Clutch's Motorworld and forcing everyone that was at the park (humans and all) there to endlessly race until they die. Now that our heroes have arrived, hopefully they can stop this nonsensical race.*

Sonic looks at their new surroundings. "Hmm? Racetracks, huh? I didn't know you guys did some racing."

Coco: "Yeah. And it looks like we are at-"

*Coco is interrupted by a loud, fan-girlish shriek. A short (like 4') cyborg-man runs their way, accompanied by an Opossum and 2 chickens.*

Ebenezer Von Clutch, with his thick German accent: "Crash! And all other video game heroes! They'll save us! I have all your games!"

Spyro: "What the heck is he talking about?"

*Crash, Coco, and Crunch look a little uneasy to talk about it.*

Pasadena Opossum attempts to steer the conversation away from what is clearly unknown knowledge. "You'll have to excuse him, he's a little loopy. It's actually nice to see you guys, though. Hopefully you can help us."

Sonic: "What's wrong?"

Chick (To the cameraman, with his Howard Cosell voice): "Good morning, race fans, to what is our 3rd day in this endless race. Morale is running low here as Nitros Oxide runs us ragged."

Stew (Wearing what looks like a blue Mohawk): "That's right, Chick. In fact, he reminds me of my wife chasing me with a frying pan-"

Chick: "I think that's enough, Stew, before your wife actually kills you."

Pasadena: "Any way, we need your help to defeat Oxide in a race against him. But first, you need to collect the 5 crystals he's offering for winning each race."

Sonic: "Doesn't sound so tough if you ask me."

*Oxide flies in in his hovercraft from somewhere in the park to where the heroes are.* "That won't be easy, you blue pincushion! Don't think I haven't been studying you heroes! You guys have to race in these karts I provided!" *He calls the transport beam and forces everyone into karts* "I doubt you guys can win this way!" *He laughs and flies off.*

Sonic feigns being scared. "Oh, no! He's taken away our only chance of beating him! Oh, what will we do?!"

Shadow: "Sarcastic much, Sonic? I agree, he is an idiot. Let's go beat him."

Sonic: "Let me. I want to show him the meaning of speed." *The others don't object and let Sonic take this world. He screeches his kart's tires and speeds off.*

(I should note that the HUB are here is of the Midway.)

—–

Level 61: Mystery Islanding

Crates: 60

Time Trial

Sapphire: 4:00.00

Gold: 3:50.00

Platinum: 3:40.00

(There is no helping partner in this world. Other than you, 7 other characters are chosen at random to be in the race. Everyone does have their own strengths and weakness, so there is no clear easy pick. There are also 4 kart riding lab assistant pawns too, bringing the roster in a race to 12.)

Badniks: Kart-Driving Lab Assistant Pawns: They're mostly here to make the race harder, but they won't be actively after you. Pirate Lab Assistant Pawns: They run down the track dragging anchors to make you spin out, wasting time. (It's all they can do, any way. It does also take away some Wumpa fruit and rings.)

Chick: "Welcome, race fans, to Mystery Island, your first driving challenge. Race your way through this pirating wonder that is a complete remake of Von Clutch's Tiki Turbo, Pirates of the Carburetor and Deep Sea Driving!"

Stew (Wearing yellow fox ears): I've never had such a blended mash since I put chocolate bars with a salad-"

Chick: "Ahem!... Any way, do you think you can plunder victory from the Jaws of defeat or will you end up a casualty of Davy Jones Locker?

Oxide has made 5 courses made out of the race tracks of the original Motorworld. This one is specifically made of the Mystery Island tracks: Pirates of the Carburetor(POTC), Tiki Turbo(TT), and Deep Sea Driving(DSD). The track is somewhat of a mishmash of the 3 since it has the pirate ships of POTC, the underwater parts of DSD and TT's mountain and sea walk. At least it's a short race (It should only take a minute for a lap to suggest how long the track is).

There are plenty of weapons at your disposal, like the missiles and bowling bombs, beakers and TNTs and even warped clocks. They come in nice, floating objects that you simply need to drive through.

There are also rings and Wumpa fruit about the track too. Collecting Wumpa fruit makes the kart go faster, with 10 making the kart its fastest and also making the weapons stronger. Although rings won't make the kart faster by themselves, collecting 50 rings will let you change the kart into it's super form, probably guaranteeing you the win.

Getting first place on these tracks wins you a crystal and getting all the boxes strewn about wins you a gem.

Achievement Unlocked: Animatronic Pirate Island.

-----

Level 62: Stinking Beauty's Fairy Tale

Crates: 62

Time Trial

Sapphire: 3:30.00

Gold: 3:20.00

Platinum: 3:10.00

Badniks: Knight and Horse Lab Assistant Pawns: They run down the track to try to spear you.

Chick: "Magic fills the air here, race fans, in Happily Ever Faster."

Stew (Wearing bat ears): "Almost like it came out of a storybook. I wonder if we will see the beautiful Stinking Beauty."

Chick: "Well, if our racers can survive Once Upon A Tire, Track and the Beanstalk and Evilocity, we might just get that."

This level is made out of the Happily Ever Faster tracks. We have the drive through the castle from Once Upon a Tire, (I shit you not) a drive on a rainbow from Track and the Beanstalk, and the trip through the mirror and the drive by a dragon from Evilocity.

Achievement Unlocked: Took One Too Many Poison Apples

-----

Level 63: Dangerous Curves

Crates: 58

Time Trial

Sapphire: 3:10.00

Gold: 3:05.00

Platinum: 3:00.00

Badniks: Cave Man Lab Assistant Pawns: They stand near the edges of the track, trying to club you.

Stew (wearing Dragon horns like Spyro): "Hey, man! Tyrannosaurus Wrecks is freaking crazy now with all the dinosaurs running about!"

Chick: "Aren't we related to them? Maybe we can blend in..."

Stew (wearing horns more like Ember and Cynder): "Well, if our racers don't go as slow as tar through Fossil Fuel Injection, Labrea Car Pits, and Tire and Ice, we might just make it out alive."

Chick: "I second that."

Oxide decided to add some realistic charm (Read: more dangerous) by letting actual dinosaurs roam in the Tyrannosaurus Wrecks tracks. We have the dinosaur drive by in Fossil Fuel Injection, the trip down a volcano from Labrea Car Pits, and a icy slide through a cave from Tire and Ice.

Achievement Unlocked: Another Blast from the Past

-----

Level 64: Mummy Drivest

Crates: 64

Time Trial

Sapphire: 3:40.00

Gold: 3:35.00

Platinum: 3:30.00

Badniks: Mummy Lab Assistant Pawns: They just waste space on the track with their slow lumbering.

Chick: "Well, race fans, it's a return to ancient-ish Egypt once more in this race in haunted Tomb Town."

Stew(Wearing bandages on his head): "I hope these racers won't by running for their mummies while driving through Dead Heat, Crash Test Mummies, and Pyramid Pass. I got money riding on some of them!"

Chick: "I have the exact same sentiment, Stew, cause I know I'm gonna beat ya!"

Stew (Wearing an Egyptian headdress): "No, you aint, Chicky-poo!"

Mummy Lab Assistants come out in force here in the Tomb Town tracks. We have the S curve area from Dead Heat and the drives through the pyramids from Crash Test Mummies and Pyramid Pass.

Achievement Unlocked: I Want My Mummy!

-----

Level 65: Totally Spaced Out

Crates: 70

Time Trial

Sapphire: 4:00.00

Gold: 3:55.00

Platinum: 3:50.00

Badniks: Astronaut Lab Assistant Pawns: They hide off the track, firing laser shots off at the track.

Chick: "Well, sports fans, here it is, the last racing challenge known as Astro Land."

Stew (Wearing an astronaut helmet): "Hey, Chick? How are we breathing? Cause all I can see is *Bleep*ing SPACE!"

Chick: "Best not to question it, but I assume Oxide had something to do with it. Hopefully, Sonic will emerge as the victor to save us from Oxide's reign, but he'll have to race through Uranus's Mine, the Craters Of Uranus, and the Rings of Uranus."

Stew (Wearing a black and red Mohawk): "That's a lot of Uranus!- Wait, hang on, the script made us go through the same joke as last time? Jeez, the writer must be lazy!"

Chick: "(Aside to Stew) I think he saw it as a repetition joke. Besides, he might just hate it too." *He looks back at the camera.* "Oh! Right. Just win this thing, Sonic. We're counting on you."

Oxide felt that Astro Land was a little lacking... so he decided to make these tracks actually take place in space! We start with the drive on the Rings Of Uranus, then through the mining area in Uranus's Mine, and then a warped trip through the strange gated area in Craters on Uranus.

Achievement Unlocked: A Trip Amongst the Stars

-----

Chick: "That's it! He's done it! Sonic has collected all five 1st place crystals!"

Stew (Wearing his black pompadour): "Now he has to defeat Oxide to set us free from this horrible, horrible nightmare!"

*The camera pans out to show Oxide in the next chair over.*

Oxide: "Horrible nightmare?! It's more like a dream for me!"

*Chick and Stew are surprised to see Oxide and are taken aback. Stew loses his hear, revealing a bald head.*

Oxide: "No matter. I am quite curious about this blue hedgehog..."

*Transport beams send Oxide, Sonic and everyone else to the Midway.*

Oxide: "So, we finally meet on better terms, Sonic the Hedgehog. I see you won all the crystals very easily."

Sonic: "Well, I am pretty fast, and known for it too. I am called the fastest thing alive."

Oxide: "Hmm, you remind me of my younger self on Gasmoxia. In any case, I doubt that adds up much since you live on a small world. I'm known as the fastest in the galaxy!"

Sonic: "I seriously doubt that."

Oxide: "Care to put you money where your mouth is? If I win, you guys are stuck here, racing till the end of time!"

Sonic: "Fine, but if I win, you take us out of these karts, and let all of these humans home."

Oxide: "Fine, but I doubt you can beat me on a racetrack like this!" *Oxide sends him and Sonic to a new area. He took all of the racetracks from Motorworld and rearranged them into one long super track that are even more messed up from before...*

Boss: Oxide

Chick: "Here we are, race fans, the last race. Sonic is challenging Oxide for our freedom."

Stew (Wearing hair like Silver): "You better win this race, Sonic, and it's not because I bet on you. We wanna get out of here!"

Chick: "You're reading our minds, Stew. Sonic just has to beat Oxide through what is his rendition of all the Motorworld tracks combined into one big mess."

Stew: "Sounds like one of my hard drunken nights. I can barely even tell one thing from another."

Chick: "Win this race, Sonic, to help free us all."

Oxide has decided to challenge you on a racecourse of his design. It's a race through all 12 of the Motorworld tracks, but it looks almost unrecognizable, an example being that Mystery Island has Astro Land and the other areas stuff. Even the courses have turns changed so they can all fit together. And, worse, Oxide cheats at the start by leaving a bit early and tends to fire off weaponry behind him more often. But, don't panic, Oxide still has his flaws. Since he tends to be a heavy taunt-er, he rarely is too far ahead of you. He also isn't tending to boost all the time, and his prone to making mistakes (Especially if you hit him with something.) Once you overtake him, it will be a lot easier since his hovercraft has no way to attack in front. Just keep ahead of him to win!

Achievement Unlocked: The Fastest Thing Alive

Oxide: "NO! I can't believe it! Once again, I lost to these small little Earth animals once more! What the hell is wrong in this backwater planet!-"

*A transport beam calls Oxide back and transports all the humans back to Earth. This leaves all the heroes, Von Clutch, Pasadena, and Chick and Stew left on in the Midway. They all get out of their karts.*

Sonic stretches. "Ah... it feels good to spread your legs out."

Chick: "I want to know why we are still here."

Crash: "I doubt Cortex was going to let you guys leave. You're free to follow us if you want."

Pasadena: "I suppose so. We don't have anywhere else to go. And you guys are probably our ticket out of here any way."

Von Clutch: "Ah! I am so happy! I get to see my favorite video games heroes in action! I have so much glee!"

Rouge: "I wonder why they transported the people away. It's not like Eggman." *Since they had nothing else to do here, they left the terrarium.*

Death Head's Bridge

Cortex: "Well, I don't think we could really use those for anything. The heroes are still going to come and kick our butts, so might as well do something good."

Eggman looks displeased, as though he didn't want to do it, but had to. "Cortex, do you even consider yourself a villain? You're not supposed to do something good!"

Cortex sounds defeated. "What's the point? Every plan I try to use on that bandicoot fails miserably."

Eggman: "You give up too easily, Cortex."

Cortex: "Just you see, Eggman. They're going to fight Uka-Uka next and I doubt he can do anything to stop them."

Next Time: Fear the wrath of an angry mask in the Cortex Terrarium.

#Isakthedragon's fanfiction #A Dragon Sized Adventure #ADSA #ADSA: Chapter 38

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phclemenza-blog · 7 years

Text

Track 2: The Shackeltons (2008)

On July 12, 2008, I was attending the annual WXPN XPoNential Music Festival on the beautiful Camden, NJ riverfront (and I do mean that unironically). It was a sweltering day even into the late afternoon, which it so happened to be. I had just finished watching Teddy Thompson, son of Richard and Linda Thompson, on the main stage and sauntered over to the smaller marina stage. I saw about 50 hearty folks arranged in desultory clumps about the semicircle of grass surrounding the stage lined with small open shops where some were avoiding the sunlight and awaiting the next band.

When they arrived, I wasn’t sure if it was the actual band or just their roadies checking the instruments. They were a young, ragged, trippy unit wearing bits and pieces of army fatigues, that seemed to wander in individually. As they started to play, I took in the stage that had a sort of free-standing awning structure made out of pipes that was festooned with flowers—daisies?—for some reason. The stage was littered with flowers as well and they were stuck in the singer’s mic like the straws in the game Kerplunk. But that was quickly forgotten as the singer arrived on stage with an old corded telephone in hand (base and handset), fully clad in black—back cap, long-sleeve black shirt, and black pants—and proceeded to stomp and cavort frenetically about the stage.

The ragtag crew quickly came together and started rocking out with what, I believe, turned out to be the opening track to their album, “Your Movement” and I was rapt for the next half hour. The bands at the festival were only allocated about that amount of time before the act on the other stage had their turn to perform. I remember that the Shackeltons went off to uproarious applause, the concert ending with lead singer Mark Redding first loosing seemingly the entire stage of flowers on the audience on the appropriately named “Get Out”, then smashing the phone that he had used to sing into intermittently and had swung about like a Roger Daltrey microphone continually throughout the concert, and finally joyously wandering through the audience as the song ended.

I knew that I had just seen one of the greatest concerts of my life, and I had to go up to the singer shake his hand and tell him how much I appreciated it. It seemed that I made his day as he embraced me and earnestly told me, “Wow, that really means a lot.” I had one of the warmest feelings I had ever had leaving a concert. I quickly strode over the merchandise table and plucked down ten bucks for their album. I would have bought a T shirt, too, if they had any. (Note that though I did recognize the bulk of the songs on the album after the concert, it was hard to reconstruct in what order they were played, and unfortunately, a playlist is not available online.)

The Shackeltons were formed in Chambersburg, PA June 2004 with founding members Mark Redding (vovals), Eric Fisak (guitar), Dan Schuchman (bass), Josh McDaniel (bass), and Jonathan Slick (drums).1 They took their name from a misspelling of the name of the explorer, Sir Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton was of the “Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration” and was knighted for the then-closest approach to the South Pole but after a number of attempts, including a sea-to-sea attempted crossing, never actually made it to the Pole and died of a heart attack at 47 on his final attempt.2 I imagine this made him all the more romantic a figure to the boys.

Within a few months, the Shackeltons had secured their first live gigs and recorded a five-song eponymous EP in January 2005 at Chambersburg Church of the Brethren with Michael Mateer as engineer. Two months later, they self-released a 6-song live set Live on 103.7 that they recorded as part of a radio broadcast. Their first full-length LP, Red, was again self-released January 1, 2006 after they returned to the Church of the Brethren again with Mateer. The band continued its prolific pace releasing a six-track EP, Madeline, one month later again with Mateer but at a different Chambersburg church, the simply named Clifton Newell's dad's church.

Each of these releases had early version of songs that would end up on The Shackeltons: ”Emergency” on The Shackeltons EP; Live versions of “Soft Heart”, “Bloke”, and “Emergency” on Live on 103.7; “Bloke”, “Your Movement”, “Soft Heart”, and “Yellow Cadillac” on Red; and “Madeline”, “The Ship”, “The Breaks”, and “Tremble” on Madeline, all but one song. The band continued to hone the songs through touring.

2006 witnessed the band’s first lineup change as two members, Josh McDaniel and Jonny Slick, left for college. Justin McDaniel replaced his brother on bass and 15-year-old Sean Hallock took over on drums.1

The band got their first break debuting the lineup at the 2006 CMJ Festival at Sin-é in New York (October 31 – November 4) when John Richards of KEXP and Loveless Records (Seattle) caught their act: “After seeing The Shackeltons live I realized why I started a record label. When you see and hear a band this full of energy and passion you can't help but be moved.”1 Richards signed the band in 2007, and they travelled to Seattle for a reportedly exuberant live set at Neumos that also appeared on KEXP. The next stop was Los Angeles to record their first album for a label with the help of Sam Jones, producer, and Tom Biller, who had won a Grammy working with Kanye West, producer/engineer.

The album was released January 29, 2008 and received some notable reviews. They were named a “Breaking Artist” by Rolling Stone:

The Shackeltons provide a stout combination of clean, straight-lined production and cacophonous bursts of sound on their self-titled debut. Their blasts of angst, which are equal parts danceable bliss and seering [sic] noise, are held together by the jittery, literate lyrical musings of frontman Mark Redding.3

Spin made them their featured artist of the day on January 18, 2008.4 They later published a review praising the Shackeltons: “Palpable desperation is one of rock’n’roll’s most valuable commodities, because it’s impossible to fake... A half-dozen times on their debut, the Shackeltons sound completely convincing, and that’s about six more times than most bands ever manage.”5 Myspace made them a featured band for a week, while they averaged 15,000 plays a day.4 The music blog New Rock News 43 called them “freakin' amazing”6 and Hybrid Magazine said the band is “[i]nfused with a life rarely seen” with a sound “like the bastard product of so many intelligent influences”7:

There is something inherently different and good about The Shackeltons, this indefinable essence, that even if you could quantify it, no other band could replicate the success. Part simplicity, part commitment and purely movement, it just works so well to create this beautiful album that invades you as a listener. This energy pervades the record like a nervous tension that hovers over the quiet sections and swoops in for the kill during the breaks.7

Reviewers compared the band to the Pixies, Joy Division, Interpol, Fugazi, Television, The Cramps, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, and Cage the Elephant, to name a few. However, “while it may be easy to assign sections to certain forerunners, the completed product is nothing but The Shackeltons.”7 On their first album they were said to play post-punk, new-wave/indie-rock, lo-fi garage rock, proto-punk, they were a band with an “unmistakable CBGB's sound about them” 8. Their style defied being pigeonholed, at least successfully.

So let’s return to that amazing summer concert nine years ago. At the time, I did not know about these stellar reviews. I just knew that I loved this band. I kept an eye out for new releases or even any mention of the Shackeltons. I scoured all of my sources to no avail for years.

Their next release was not until 2014—Records, which is also very good. Meanwhile all of the members of the band turned over except for lead singer Mark Redding.

So how does a band with this much promise, that is this good live, that got recognition from major media outlets, how does such a band not make it big? Apparently, such is the music industry today. Twenty years ago, the Shackeltons could have become the next big thing. Now, they may be a cautionary tale but man, they have created some great music.

Speaking of which, here are reviews of the tracks of the album, each with a link to an audio track (or video for the singles) and with any live versions if available:

The Tracks

1 Your Movement (4:12):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gcywqaitwM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLHnKysY8Ng & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9IAaPNM4Cg (live)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-Ek0gD5j28 (live as “Pirate Song”)

You tear my heart in two

But I will always offer you…more

The album opens with a track that lays out the aesthetic of the entire album both lyrically and musically. Musically, the energy of the rhythm section, the tension of the two soaring, crunching, wailing guitars, and the passion and earnestness of Redding’s voice are all there. Lyrically, Redding cries out about love, perhaps unrequited, but with a pure heart and expressed sincerely from said heart. This perfectly introduces the song arc loosely tied to ships and pirates with love and life as an adventure and the Shackeltons in their military garb fighting on love’s side. Or something close to that.

The track itself starts out mid-tempo with sole guitar quietly churning in a repeating riff joined by a nice bouncing bass line and a nice skipping drum beat. Redding then quietly joins in. The whole band including a second wailing guitar jumps to a crisp crescendo as Redding expresses his love. The song even sounds like a ship sailing along in a lapping sea until they run into an emotional squall.

Check out the second live clip to see Redding walking through the festival audience high-fiving exultant fans. It’s just as I remembered it.

2 Tremble (2:47):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yqVku0NcFI

Certain treasures are never sold

Certain stories are never told

“Tremble” starts out with the high energy of “Your Movement” with a crunchy guitar riff opener and takes it up a notch as Redding repeats over and over about trembling “in these trials of love”. Redding wails throughout except for a quiet bridge that does little to dissipate the energy but rather keeps the tension up until a final chorus. No one mentions them as an influence, but I hear Pink Floyd’s more harrowing, entreating tracks from The Wall like “In the Flesh”, “One of My Turns”, or “Don't Leave Me Now” in “Tremble”. (And I love the sock puppet video.)

3 The Blood (2:56):

https://theshackeltons.bandcamp.com/track/the-blood

I found a rose by the riverside

I picked it up by the thorns and watched the blood go down my fingertips

“The Blood” cuts out the middleman, starting with a quiet intro with the lyrics above, a snare, and bass slowly doing a scale. It quickly turns into a crazed wail with bits and pieces of these lyrics over the band yowling with both guitars doubling each other followed by the bass line as well and crashing cymbals aplenty. The song ends with Redding’s distraught voice crying out. (No sock puppets on this one.)

4 Yellow Cadillac (4:42):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KQJaFrSJNo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7XuUHMnl6U (live)

All I ask for is the yellow Cadillac

And all I pray for is for you to come back

“Yellow Cadillac” starts out slowly and quietly with yearning and a sense of loss. Again, I hear echoes of “Hey You” from The Wall. Maybe it’s just me. Then after Redding pours out his heart to a single guitar picking out a response, the energy suddenly builds in the music and the voice slowly builds along with it until the entire band is zooming along. It again falters while Redding ponders whether that other person will come back. Then, as if a switch is flicked, he confidently states, “I will see you coming back,” and the music again soars, now in his revelry. It falters again just slightly, then rushes headlong to the end.

I love the stop-start tempo of the song, making use of the Pixies quiet-loud dynamic, and the great, melodic guitar riff towards the end doesn't hurt either. Brilliant song. 6

I particularly remember this song as one of the standouts live.

5 The Ship (3:08):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_aDcxiVmTo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HopCWUcjIA (live)

In the sea of love

It’s going to be cold

“The Ship” is a slowly building, whirling frenzy after Redding calls seemingly everyone on the planet to join him on the ship before it embarks for its wild journey. The pirate motif is back in spades. The ship seems to run aground amid chants of the mighty ship being lost, but it is only for a moment as the band takes the song to an even wilder faster height before a single fading note trails off at the end.

6 The Breaks (2:35):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhrI9Ff3Jyo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6F4nIL3SEtU (live)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIFdXebALbg (live)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbxtKz07qzI (live)

I can’t sleep at night

My heart breaks all night

Redding chants out a confession from his heart until he shutters to “the breaks” and the band halt and pop along with him. Guitars then slash and stutter and crunch. Then suddenly the band breaks down like the protagonist’s mental state, getting slower and slower until it stops a la The Cure’s “Grinding Halt”. Then a little bass riff revives him. The music builds again while singer breaks down to a wailing ululation.

7 Emergency (5:05):

https://theshackeltons.bandcamp.com/track/emergency-3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twaa6KeD7Yg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpqwx4Q_xKE (live, 2 pts)

Well, my home is more than rented bricks

And my heart is more than repeated beats

And my love is more than just some fleeting cries

“Emergency” again finds the protagonist at a low point a la the fits and starts of The Wall. Redding is singing into that prop phone that I mentioned from his live set as a quiet, defused, plaintive voice over a melodic guitar as the song starts. The rest I will quote from elsewhere since they say it better:

The key to this entire winning style is the ability of this band to tease and release the builds into a worthy end; the best analogy I can come up with is the dawn. You see this beam of light on the horizon that grows and grows, you can feel the potential the inevitable warmth, and finally the sun comes up and it is beautiful and bright and everything you wanted. "Emergency" is such a case that should be studied by other bands in hopes of catching a glimpse of where they should be going.7

[A]n easy-starting song that rides on Fisak's melodic guitar progression as Egolf's lays down a rhythm track. One thing I love though, is the way Redding speaks the vocals at the beginning of the song. I'm reminded of a Johnny Cash/Jim Morrison sound, where Redding here is trying to get something deeper out of the lyrics. Trying to push the poetry through to the audience, and I love it. Among it all is McDaniel's bass, softly keeping time in the background as Hallock's drums are slow, almost lazy, but still managing to find the snare and cymbals at the right times. Definitely a new-wave-inspired track, and I'm almost tempted to label this track at least as shoegaze-alternative. It reminds me a little bit of Smashing Pumpkins through the lazy beat and heart-felt, poetic vocals. And with everything speeding up towards the end, it's definitely one of the must-hear songs on the album.6

The song runs the gamut of human emotion and is like the dawn that the reviewer above mentions. The second review mentions a Smashing Pumpkins feel to the song, and a certain kinship to “Tonight Tonight” is definitely palpable.

8 Soft Heart (3:29):

https://theshackeltons.bandcamp.com/track/soft-heart-3

Think about the pain of now versus the pain of being alone

And I’m not sure if I’d rather be with you or ever alone

“Soft Heart” differs from the rest of the album’s style quite a bit. First, it is mid-tempo which almost seems slow compared to the rest of the album especially the couple of songs preceding it. The guitars sound a bit different, more “Peter Gunn”-ish and the bass is of the walking variety. Redding still has the plaintive, forlorn lover chanting out lines in fits and starts and the guitars still soar. This is where the comparisons to Joy Division come in and they are earned:

But then just when you think you have the Shackelton lads figured out, the Joy Division-ish "Soft Heart" comes peaking around the corner. Like quite a few alt bands of the early 21st century, the Shackeltons are well versed in late-'70s/early-'80s punk history.8

9 Madeline (4:48):

https://theshackeltons.bandcamp.com/track/madeline-2

Madeline, I swore I’d never use your name in a song

Celebrate your last night

“Madeline” starts off with a great fuzz bass line and the band joins in with dual blaring, weaving guitar lines and an almost disco drum beat with shimmering cymbals and danceable beats. It builds to a driving, almost soaring, wall of sound. The song stops midway, and after a solo guitar riff blares out, it must be restarted by Redding’s chants into wailing. As the singer asks, “Can we ever find our way back?” the song soars back to its previous heights and keeps building until an abrupt cymbal crash to end it.

By the way, he broke his promise to Madeline about not using her name in a song, but the way that it takes him 45 seconds in the beginning of the song to tease out that one line makes you feel the weight of it. Other than the breakdown in the middle, the rest of the lyrics are just bits and pieces of these two lines. Redding’s lyrics are never more painful and never more exultant.

What I love most about this track, besides the catchy guitar riffing, is the incredible ambiance it exudes. It just feels like you're falling into the music, and that's something that will take a song right to the top if it can do it right. 6

10 Bloke (3:11):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8A_uYXGvp8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAw0-GvKVpk (live)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELNdObe7Ps (live with Get Out)

I was looking for you and your love so true

You better watch out for a bloke like me

Reverberating wails start this one out followed by blaring, weaving guitars, a walking bass line, and a propulsive drum line. All are standard fare for the Skackeltons to this point, but if there is one song that can be said to be a bit slick this is it. “Bloke” sounds more like a single than anything else on the album, just another great track this late in the album tells you how good this album is.

11 Get Out (3:04):

https://theshackeltons.bandcamp.com/track/get-out-2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i6jg12vnnc (live with flowers)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mELNdObe7Ps (live with Bloke)

Arms are falling to the side

We are slow dancing without touching

“Get Out” sounds like a last track from Elastica’s great 1995 hook-laden classic album. It’s completely the Shackeltons but the hooks are getting heavier as the album goes. It is a great number to end on and fades out with a little organ playing something that sounds like it’s from a carnival. This is just as Redding finishes chant-wailing about love.

Watch the first video to experience Redding’s manic marching and dropping to his knees to wail into his prop phone. Watch the second live video to see him throwing flowers in the audience at the end. It’s great stuff, just as I remembered it.

Fisak's and Egolf's guitars are distorted pleasures to my ears, blending new-wave/indie-rock with blues rhythms and garage-rock beats. Hallock's drums are crazy here, reaching John Bonham-like levels, and as McDaniel's bass just keeps pumping and pumping, I'm reminded of John Entwhistle by his style. Above it all are Redding's frenzied blues-rock/funk vocals. I can't decide whether he's singing or screaming, or a mixture of both, but the bottom line is that I love it, and whatever he's doing, he's doing it right. 6

Credits (from the CD liner notes)

Eric Fisak, guitar

Sean Hallock, drums

Mark Redding, voice

Justin McDaniel, bass

Daniel Schuchman, guitar

References

1 Sonicbids: https://www.sonicbids.com/band/theshackeltons/

2 Ernest Shackleton on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Shackleton

3 Rolling Stone Breaking Artist review by Kyle Anderson, January 30, 2008: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/breaking-artist-the-shackeltons-20080130

4 The Shackeltons Wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shackeltons

5 Spin review by Josh Modell, February 25, 2008: http://www.spin.com/2008/02/shackeltons-shackeltons-loveless/

6 New Rock News 43, “Friday Night with The Shackeltons”, November 20, 200: http://newrocknews43.blogspot.com/search?q=shackeltons

7 The Shackeltons review on Hybrid Magazine: http://www.hybridmagazine.com/reviews/0108/shackeltons.shtml

8 AllMusic.com’s Shackeltons review: http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-shackeltons-mw0000781522

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sweetcerac · 8 years

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Team Urban: Why I Love Urban Fantasy!

Hear from the authors of Entangled Teen Publishing why they love Urban Fantasy!

Brenda Drake - Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers, #2):

I’m such a fan of Urban Fantasy for many reasons, but mostly because writers can take our normal world and, either secret or not, add a dash of the fantastical to it. With mystical creatures hiding from humans or living side by side with them, deliciously nefarious things can happen. There’s just something extraordinary about urban fantasy. It’s the ability of the writer to look at something normal in the human world and mix it up. Changing a simple book into something that can transport someone from library to library or hiding a zoo of magical beasts in a common suitcase.

Book Description:

Being a Sentinel isn’t all fairytales and secret gardens. Sure, jumping through books into the world’s most beautiful libraries to protect humans from mystical creatures is awesome. No one knows that better than Gia Kearns, but she could do without the part where people are always trying to kill her. Oh, and the fact that Pop and her had to move away from her friends and life as she knew it.

And if that isn’t enough, her boyfriend, Arik, is acting strangely. Like, maybe she should be calling him “ex,” since he’s so into another girl. But she doesn’t have time to be mad or even jealous, because someone has to save the world from the upcoming apocalypse, and it looks like that’s going to be Gia.

Buy Guardian of Secrets

Chris Cannon - Fanning the Flames (Going Down in Flames, #4):

There are no maidens that need to be rescued in urban fantasy. More than likely the females are the ones kicking ass.

I love the snarky banter that occurs when you throw modern day characters into strange/magical/supernatural circumstances.

Anything is possible in urban fantasy. There are no rules about what types of paranormal creatures you can have. If you want to create dragons that breathe fire, ice, wind, sonic waves, and lightning, you can, just like I did in Going Down In Flames *cough cough shameless self promotion

Book Description:

She isn't afraid of anything...except losing the knight she loves. Bryn McKenna has it all, including her smoking-hot knight turned live-in boyfriend, Valmont. Even though she’s a hybrid dragon, she’s finally fitting into the new shape-shifting dragon world that’s become her own. But her grandparents want to ruin everything by making Bryn’s nightmare of an arranged marriage to Jaxon Westgate a reality. It doesn’t help that Jaxon’s father is on a witch hunt for Rebel sympathizers and Bryn finds herself in his line of fire.

If she doesn’t say, “I do,” she’ll lose everything. Good-bye flying. Good-bye best friends. Good-bye magic. But if she bends to her grandparents’ will and agrees to marry Jaxon, she’ll lose the love of her life—her knight.

Buy Fanning the Flames

Shonna Slayton - Spindle:

Urban fantasy reminds me that our own world is magical. We are so used to the way our world works that we take for granted how incredible it is that our heart beats, our brain imagines, that our eyes see color.

As a writer, urban fantasy allows me to open up my imagination on multiple planes. I still work with the real world, but I get to add layers onto that. It’s like going from black and white TV to color. Like Dorothy in dusty old Kansas stepping into the colorful land of Oz.

Book Description:

In a world where fairies lurk and curses linger, love can bleed like the prick of a finger…

Briar Rose knows her life will never be a fairy tale. She’s raising her siblings on her own, her wages at the spinning mill have been cut, and the boy she thought she had a future with has eyes for someone else. Most days it feels like her best friend, Henry Prince, is the only one in her corner…though with his endless flirty jokes, how can she ever take him seriously?

When a mysterious peddler offers her a “magic” spindle that could make her more money, sneaking it into the mill seems worth the risk. But then one by one, her fellow spinner girls come down with the mysterious sleeping sickness…and Briar’s not immune.

If Briar wants to save the girls—and herself—she’ll have to start believing in fairy tales…and in the power of a prince’s kiss.

Buy Spindle

Tara Fuller - Inbetween (Kissed by Death, #1):

Book Description:

Death doesn’t fall in love. Usually. Since the car crash that took her father’s life three years ago, Emma’s life has been a freaky—and unending—lesson in caution. Surviving “accidents” has taken priority over being a normal seventeen-year-old, so Emma spends her days taking pictures of life instead of living it. Falling in love with a boy was never part of the plan. Falling for a reaper who makes her chest ache and her head spin? Not an option.

It’s not easy being dead, especially for a reaper in love with a girl fate has put on his list not once, but twice. Finn’s fellow reapers give him hell about spending time with Emma, but Finn couldn’t let her die before, and he’s not about to let her die now. He will protect the girl he loves from the evil he accidentally unleashed, even if it means sacrificing the only thing he has left…his soul.

Buy Inbetween

Danielle Ellison - Salt (Salt, #1):

Whether it's witches, demons, ghosts or other types monsters, there's nothing like escaping the sometimes mundane reality of our world, or giving what we know every day a spice of fantasy. Filled with kick-ass heroines who aren't afraid to fight for what they believe in (and hot, just-as-fierce love interests) Urban Fantasy inspires you look beyond what you see and be more than you think you can be. Plus, life is more with some magic: more dangerous, more unpredictable, more chaotic, more fun.

Book Description:

Penelope is a witch, part of a secret society protecting humans from demon attacks. But when she was a child, a demon killed her parents—and stole her magic. Since then, she’s been pretending to be something she’s not, using her sister’s magic to hide her own loss, to prevent being sent away. When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find “her” demon. To take back what was stolen. Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own. Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

Buy Salt

Rachel Harris - My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, #1):

Book Description:

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits…right into Renaissance Firenze.Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

Buy My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century

Gloria Craw - Atlantis Rising (Atlantis Rising, #1):

I love Urban Fantasy because it infuses normal life with myth and magic. It’s so exciting to have something in common with a character who finds a magic object, special ability or a secret origin. The possible ways her courage and passion might be tested are endless. When she does triumph against fantastic odds, I’m left feeling inspired and reassured that I can overcome great obstacles in my everyday life too. Urban Fantasy reminds me that the ordinary in us can sometimes be…extraordinary.

Book Description:

We’ve stayed hidden too long… I am different. I have always been different, but no one can know or my life will be in danger. So I hide in plain sight, wearing drab clothes and thick glasses and trying to be invisible. I’m so good at hiding, no one has ever noticed me. Until Ian…the mysterious and oh-so-cute boy I know I need to avoid.

Now I have been seen. And more terrifying still, I am wanted—by those who would protect me and those who would destroy everything and everyone I love. But if they’re all terrified about who I am, wait until they see what I can do…

Buy Atlantis Rising

Stay tuned all week for more from Team Urban and Team Epic!

Make sure not to forget to enter this fantastic giveaway!!

Enter The Giveaway!!

#goodreads #books #entangled teen #entangled publishing #teamurban #teamepic

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cornerofthebookstore · 8 years

Text

Day 2 of Entangled Teens Urban vs. Epic Fantasy Week Team Urban: Why the authors love Urban Fantasy!

Brenda Drake - Guardian of Secrets (Library Jumpers, #2):

Book Description:

Buy Guardian of Secrets

Chris Cannon - Fanning the Flames (Going Down in Flames, #4):

1. There are no maidens that need to be rescued in urban fantasy. More than likely the females are the ones kicking ass.

2. I love the snarky banter that occurs when you throw modern day characters into strange/magical/supernatural circumstances.

3. Anything is possible in urban fantasy. There are no rules about what types of paranormal creatures you can have. If you want to create dragons that breathe fire, ice, wind, sonic waves, and lightning, you can, just like I did in Going Down In Flames *cough cough shameless self-promotion

Book Description:

Buy Fanning the Flames

Shonna Slayton - Spindle:

Book Description:

In a world where fairies lurk and curses linger, love can bleed like the prick of a finger…

If Briar wants to save the girls—and herself—she’ll have to start believing in fairy tales…and in the power of a prince’s kiss.

Buy Spindle

Tara Fuller - Inbetween (Kissed by Death, #1):

Book Description:

Buy Inbetween

Danielle Ellison - Salt (Salt, #1):

Book Description:

When she’s finally given the chance to join the elite demon-hunting force, Penelope thinks that will finally change. With her sister’s help, she can squeeze through the tests and get access to the information she needs to find “her” demon. To take back what was stolen.

Then she meets Carter. He’s cute, smart, and she can borrow his magic, too. He knows her secret—but he also has one of his own.

Suddenly, Penelope’s impossible quest becomes far more complicated. Because Carter’s not telling her everything, and it’s starting to seem like the demons have their own agenda…and they’re far too interested in her.

Buy Salt

Rachel Harris - My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century (My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century, #1):

Book Description:

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

Buy My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century

Gloria Craw - Atlantis Rising (Atlantis Rising, #1):

Book Description:

Buy Atlantis Rising

I hope you guys enjoyed this insight from the authors who are #TeamUrban! I’m honestly so excited about all these books! It’s going to be so hard to choose a side.

#book #books #book review #team urban #team epic #entangled teen #team urban vs team epic fantasy

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