#i always loved sonic x's characterization of sonic

[sonicunleash]

sonic literally has so much love and whimsy for the planet. i like to imagine like 50% of his free time is just spent going Places and seeing all he can see. he can go pretty much anywhere he wants just with his two feet so why not?

[etaleah]

I’ve been thinking a lot about Shadow’s characterizations in the Project: Shadow fan film, SA2, Archie, Heroes, ‘06, Prime, and Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog and why they’re all considered among the best. And I’ve been thinking about his characterizations in IDW and Boom, how they’re considered among the worst, and how much they clash with the other portrayals. I think I’ve hit upon the number one quality that Shadow needs to have to be written well.

Loyalty.

I’ll explain below the cut.

The best Shadow is one who is loyal to someone or something. Maybe he’s not always loyal to the right someone or something, but he is loyal nonetheless. It’s a core part of his character. He is ride or die to the very end for whatever friend or cause he cares about. Shadow is always ready to kill or be killed for whatever or whoever matters to him most; it’s what sets him apart from the others. The others have limits on their loyalty. Sonic will help you out, but he’s not gonna kill a man for you. Shadow will. He doesn’t have that limit. If you are Shadow’s friend and you need him to kill for you, he will do it. Period.

Here’s a recap of Shadow’s loyalty:

In SA2 and the fan film, it’s to Maria, and to a lesser extent, Gerald.

In Heroes and ‘06, it’s to Team Dark.

In Archie, it’s to Team Dark, Hope Kintobor, and Commander Tower. Sometimes it’s even to his own values like when he goes against Rouge to help Blaze in Treasure Team Tango.

In Sonic X, it’s to Maria and later Molly. Maybe even to the universe, given that he’s ready to kill Cosmo to save it.

In Prime, it’s to Green Hill. And later on, Shadow is also loyal to Sonic despite the latter driving him crazy.

In Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, it’s to Amy.

And in his own game, Shadow can be loyal to Maria, Sonic and friends, Eggman (up to a point), Black Doom, or even Earth itself. Not all of those folks are worth his loyalty, but the fact is that Shadow still cares about fighting by their side. That key element of his personality remains.

And that’s what’s missing in Boom and IDW. Because in those, he isn’t loyal to anything. He isn’t ride or die for anyone. At least, not that we can tell. When you remove Shadow’s faithfulness to those he loves, you remove a lot of what makes him who he is and all that’s left is an edgy aesthetic that soon wears out its welcome because there isn’t anything to supplement it. And this is made worse by the fact that they’re never allowed to bring up or expand his backstory, so they can’t ever talk about why he’s like this.

I guess you could make the argument that Shadow is loyal to the world in IDW since he helps save it a few times, but he’s so mean and heartless to everyone in the world that it feels less like he’s fighting to protect other people and more like he’s just trying to save his own house so he still has a place to live. I mean, if he won’t help Rouge when she’s been kidnapped by Starline and he won’t help Omega when the latter has been smashed to bits and he won’t help the Chao get out of their cage and he actually has to be talked into saving a village from an avalanche and he seems to really dislike/be annoyed by everyone he comes into contact with…what exactly is he saving the Earth for?? It can’t be for the people living in it. He hates them. He doesn’t care if they need his help. So the only conclusion I can draw is that he’s just doing it to save his own skin. The only person Shadow shows even the slightest bit of loyalty to is himself.

And that makes him unrecognizable from the Shadow we know and love.

His loyalty is his greatest virtue, even when it’s misguided. Let him keep it.

[fernsnailz]

Hello !! I’m getting really into Shadow The Hedgehog lately & would love to know what you think are the most important non-game pieces of media (comics, shows, etc) that should be checked out by new shadow fans ? :0

(Also, I’d love to know ur opinions on best piece of shadow merchandise but that’s secondary and just for fun-)

hmmm i'd say check out Sonic X seasons 2 and 3! part of season 2 adapts Sonic Adventure 2's story (with its own variations), and i genuinely think season 3 is a great watch with a fantastic iteration of Shadow.

you could also check out a few select issues/arcs from the Archie Sonic Comics (<- guy who Literally Always Suggests Archie Sonic). Archie Shadow is a bit different from how Game Shadow is characterized, but still a welcome version of the character imo. most of my favorite Shadow stories are in the Sonic Universe companion series, here are some issues you can check out:

Archie Sonic #171: Archie Shadow's introduction and backstory is quite different from the games, this issue follows Shadow as he finally finds the piece that helps him recover his lost memory.

Sonic Universe #1-4: explores some of Shadows origins/placement in the Archie Sonic universe. diverges a lot from game canon, don't worry about it tho

Sonic Universe #21-24 (Treasure Team Tango): i literally cannot keep myself from recommending this arc every time i talk about these comics, very fun story (with a very large cast)

Sonic Universe #59-62, #67-70, #87-90 (The Eclipse Saga): follows Team Dark as they deal with a second Black Comet and the fallout from it. also heavily features Knuckles. unfortunately doesn't have a proper conclusion, Archie Sonic was cancelled before it could be finished.

and the best piece of merch will forever and always be the shadow the hedgehog cheeseburger

[blu-ish]

In your words describe Shadow

What is he like? Do you think he’ll be different in the movie than prime or sonic x or the games?

Oghh man, when you’re asking about my favorite character of all times.. prepare for an essay hshsjsjsh

Shadow is someone who really imprinted on me as a kid, (besides Sonic ofc lmao) I first saw him in Generations and knew next to nothing about him other than he was single-handedly the coolest character in the game.

In the Sonic and Shadow race that happens in gens, I could tell he was pretty powerful— and when he comes to support Sonic fighting off the time eater, I could also tell he was a good friend. (7 year old me omg if only you knew lmao)

But as I grew older, I started learning more about Shadow as a character— I think that’s when I started to understand just how important Shadow is to the Sonic series as a whole, and to us, his fans.

Shadow is someone who’s been through hell and back, literally. He’s someone that, through all the odds, became someone he wanted to be (and even more)— not something he was made for.

He’s compassionate, curious, headstrong and likes to keep to himself most of the time. He’s not one for “pleasing the big crowds” he just does what he knows is right.

He has a small circle of friends that are like his family, he gets to be a kid again with them. He gets to be competitive and have people to care about again. Even if he has trouble showing it.

Shadow is a heavily traumatized character, one whose past doesn’t just make him some asshole villain character (because that’s NOT who he is.) He’s someone who never got to mourn, who’s been manipulated, who has memory issues and teaches us that it’s not as simple as just “getting over our negative experiences” but acknowledging they happened and growing stronger because of it.

He doesn’t try to be a whole other person, he is unapologetically himself. Someone who’s gonna stand up and protect others, someone who’s not gonna be seen as a hero by everyone or be as loved as some blue heros. But that doesn’t stop him so why should that stop any of us?

He inspires us to choose our own path, to not dwell on our past but rather grow because they happened. To be who we’re meant to be truly, and if the whole world turns its back on us we can fight like we’ve always have.

He’s a nerd, he likes flowers and coffee beans, he loves animals and the Earth he protects. He cherishes it all for him and Maria cuz that’s what she would’ve wanted for him and he believes it. He’s willing to protect the humanity that wronged him, even give it a second chance.

He’s Shadow the fucking Hedgehog.

But to answer your question (hsjsjsj SORRY) I’m not too sure how they’ll portray him in the movie or the games moving forward (love how he was in prime hands down best Shadow characterization) but from what I’ve seen so far, all the shadow love? I know my boy’s back, and he’s gonna be my fav no matter what 💖

[essycogany]

Rare But Not So Rare Sonic Moments Being Both Extroverted And Introverted

Game!Sonic is more of an Ambivert then you’d think.

Disclaimer: My opinions on Sonic as a character tends to be mixed since I didn’t grow up with this franchise. Forgive me if I have conflicting points of views on this blue brat with his inconsistent characterizations.

I’m not expecting everyone to agree with me. Sonic being an introvert is such an agreed upon head-canon in this community. But I would like to fairly appreciate both introverted and extroverted sides to Sonic. I couldn’t pick between the two regardless because Sonic’s character has always been everywhere, but I like the blue hedgie in general. So, I’m going to gush about both of them.

Traits

This is my personal take, but I’ll do my best to describe them. I’m not speaking for everyone who caries these. To not make things complicated, I’ll use two characters who fit each personality trait the most. In my subjective views anyways.

Introvert: Someone who isn’t outgoing. Who prefers to be alone in their thoughts then be surrounded by people. Introverts spend time with one or two people instead of large groups and gets exhausted by social interactions very quickly. They also don’t like getting too much attention from others either.

Shadow and Whisper

Extrovert: An outgoing person who prefers to be with others and thrives in hanging out with large groups of people. Extroverts enjoy social interactions and can start a conversation with most people. Their energy is gained by spending time with different people and getting attention from them.

Tangled and Amy

Ambivert: A mixture of an introvert and extrovert. They enjoy both stimulating and none-stimulating environments. Can start a conversation with strangers, but enjoy doing their own thing. They gain energy by being in small or large groups simultaneously.

Sonic and Tails

Where Does Sonic Fall Into These Categories?

Let me start with Sonic X’s Sonic. For this analysis, it’s important to discuss different mediums of him to get my point across clearly. I might get off course and discuss how certain characteristics are due to the personality more then what normally falls into personality traits. Hold onto something!

Sonic X: He doesn’t enjoy people praising him and mostly talks to people who speaks to him first. He tends to not be much of a chatter box and is not in the show as much as you’d expect. This Sonic prefers to go off on his own then spend time with his friends at the beach in one episode. In another Sonic bails on his invitation to meet the President in order to spend time with his new friend, Helen.

Showing how he prefers to be with a few amount of people then with a group. He even leaves the group in a bunch of episodes to have his alone time. Sonic also doesn’t like hugs all that much unless he’s protecting someone, (mostly Amy) but I’d say that falls more into personal choice more than having to do with him being an introvert. Especially since he hugged Chris in one episode.

Even in Sonic’s more extroverted depictions he can be awkward with hugs. That being said, my hot take is this Sonic is one of two variants who fully commits to being introverted. Which is not a surprise because of reasons I’ll get into later.

Here’s where I’ll talk about his extroverted variants. I’ll start with Movie and Prime Sonic, since they fall into this personality trait the most.

Movie!Sonic: He lived alone for most of his life after his caretaker “Long Claw’s” sacrifice. Sonic had to raise himself by watching action movies on his soon to be families television. Due to his lack of interactions, love, or anything outside of being alone, he has a mental breakdown and his powers takes over his emotions. Causing the entire world’s lights to shut down.

Once he starts meeting different people he gets ecstatic and has fun with the situation. Getting into different shenanigans with his soon to be father, Tom. Again, Sonic Wachowski has been alone for years. Which makes his reasons of being extroverted make sense.

Prime!Sonic: (I deem this version of the character as not canon, so I’ll treat him as such.) Prime!Sonic is naturally affectionate and open towards anyone and everyone. Even Eggman by the end of the show. Like Movie!Sonic, he hates being alone and is very optimistic when it comes to interacting with people. The First Episode of the show: Sonic: “Are you ignoring me? You’re ignoring me. Why are you ignoring me?! WHY IS EVERYONE IGNORING ME?!”

He inspires others to become their better selves because he reaches out to them and often talks about trust and expressing yourself. Almost every Sonic does, but this energetic ball of stubbornness is the least subtle about it. His naivety seems to be both the worst and best aspect of his character. Worst because it gets really repetitive and best because you can understand how much compassion he has for people.

It getting out of hand at times is more of a flaw in the writing then the character, but I digress. I’d say Prime!Sonic is very emotionally honest with himself, but even in the show he internalizes his emotions at times. It’s not often, but still happens. Proving you don’t have to be introverted in order to want to keep your emotions to yourself.

Ep 3 Of Season One: Nine: “Are you okay?” Sonic: “Yeah, I’m fine.” Obviously wasn’t true. You can tell when this guy is holding back his emotions. All be it not perfectly.

Every Other TV Show Or Comic Depiction Of Sonic: Even if these adaptations are different in some regard, they all carry the core extroverted side to Sonic. Just not as much as the first two.

They are way more egotistical and wants to be the center of attention. (Archie!Sonic is literally a celebrity in his universe.) Likes their alone time, but mostly hangs out and fights with friends. Talks to a bunch of people, and so on.

Let’s finally get into the main canon Sonic.

Game!Sonic: Sonic is 100% an introvert in his Japanese depictions. It’s the same story as Sonic X. In terms of how Sonic’s written in the country he was created in, he is a complete introvert. Like being shy when it comes to being complimented (especially when people view him as an authority figure) In the American dubs before Pontiac and Graff wrote for the games, Sonic’s almost the same way. But as time went on especially during IDW’s run, Sonic tends to be pretty extroverted. It’s mostly how he’s depicted in the west if the examples before means anything.

Even beforehand he’s been more extroverted then one would think. He talks to strangers and in almost every game meets someone new. He doesn’t get exhausted or needs solitude afterwards either.

Sonic always could be around more than a few people at once. Sure, he doesn’t mind being alone, but again you don’t have to be an introvert in order to enjoy being alone. And there are plenty of introverts who talk a BUNCH with the people they’re most comfortable with. Then extroverts who can take the time to listen to others when needed. It all depends on the person.

That goes for Sonic keeping his emotions to himself. No matter where people fall, some may feel the need to keep their emotions to themselves. Extroverted or not. Especially since Sonic from X has expressed himself before. It’s just not as common for him.

I also feel the blue hedgehog does it so everyone else can keep their heads up. His own included. I understand if anyone doesn’t agree with that take though. The classic era is a good example his ambivert traits as well. He starts out as a none talking loner, but soon starts talking and meeting different people. These are reasons I believe Game!Sonic’s an Ambivert.

I believe Sonic’s a leap before he thinks kind of guy and is bad at expressing himself. He can sometimes be talkative. Especially when it comes to going back and forth with other characters. Villains and rivals to be specific. Sonic’s stubborn about his morals and will stop at nothing to keep those morals. He’s introverted enough to take some time to himself and do things his way without anyone to stop him, but extroverted enough to inspire strangers to become great hero’s themselves.

Let me simplify it even further. The situation is Sonic getting praised by a crowd of people.

X: Gets overwhelmed and runs away.

Every Other Variation: Appreciates the praise and maybe even start flexing to boost his ego.

Game: Would humbly appreciate the cheers and probably leave or stay. It depends on his mood.

I don’t know if I got my point across very well, but I did my best. I honestly believe I might be alone with this take. Hope my rambling didn’t get too out of line.

Stay Creative! 💜

[flight-of-the-sacred-eagle]

So, I’m still yelling about Sonic Prime season 2. It’s. So fucking good?

And not just because someone on the writing team 100% ships Sonadow because, holy crap, so much of that episode feels shippy.

So, full disclosure. Shadow is my favorite Sonic character. Ever since I saw him in Heroes I loved him. As a kid I didn’t notice the real “constantly shifting character” thing. Now, having played almost every major 3d Sonic game (I didn’t play Forces and refused to play Boom), having watched shows like Sonic X and Sonic Prime (again, I stayed away from Boom but I’ve heard it’s amazing), I think it’s obvious that he gets wildly mischaracterized.

He’s angsty, yes. I mean, he watched his child best friend/sister get shot to death in front of him when he was… five (Look, he’s simultaneously Sonic’s age, over 50, and like five- his age is an enigma), that would make anyone angsty. But he’s also genuinely caring, even if he rarely shows it.

Look no further than 06 when he accidentally releases Mephelis because he picks up Rogue to move her away, or when he intercepts Silver so Sonic can go save Elise. He’s actively saved the world three times- SA2, Shadow the Hedgehog, and 06, with him sacrificing his life in his first appearance. And let’s not forget how he genuinely seemed upset in 06 when Sonic died.

Actually, 06 is the best characterization of Shadow since his introduction. And it can basically all be summed up in his own words. “If the whole world chooses to turn against me, then I’ll fight like I always have.”

He’s brooding. He’s harsh. He’s proud and independent. But by god will he fight to the death for what is right. He cares about people, but he uses actions not words.

Now, what does this have to do with Sonic Prime? Well, this is probably the best characterization of Shadow they’ve ever done. He’s still broody and much more reserved, but everything he’s doing is selfless. He’s not beating up Sonic just because.

He’s beating up Sonic because he, rightfully in my mind, sees Sonic as a threat to his world. He isn’t trying to prevent Sonic from saving the world, he’s basically trying to put him in time out for ruining the world.

This is more than proven when he not only realizes that he can’t do something, but he also realizes that the only way to fix everything is to work together. And he actively admit that. Reluctantly, yes, but he says they need to work together.

He’s still angry and is currently furious at Sonic, but… he kind of has the right to be. Interestingly, he actually spoke to Sonic before fighting him (which, side note, was animated amazingly).

And let’s not forget his cockiness. It’s done perfectly. He’s not taking it too far like Sonic tends to do, but him being a smug little shit is great. And I think it really helps to show the dynamic he and Sonic have because he’s just. Not like that around other characters.

Without using words, they managed to show that, despite the fighting that’s happening, there’s a bond between Sonic and Shadow. One that can only be forged by fighting to save the world side by side.

I think it’s also important to mention that Shadow clearly was enjoying his fight with Sonic. Probably because it’s the most normal thing he’s experienced in forever. His friends are gone. Green Hill is gone. The chaos emerald is gone (though I have a suspicion that it’s going to come back at some point. It fell into the void for a reason and that void was shown for a reason. My bet is that they’re going to need to enter the void at some point). He’s trapped in limbo.

Fighting Sonic is a constant. One he desperately needs.

I know I’ve been rambling but for the first time in over a decade, they’ve gotten Shadow’s personality perfectly. Makes me wonder if the writers, or at least some of them, played SA2 growing up. After all… it’s been long enough since he was introduced that the target audience for SA2 when it was released would be old enough to work for the SEGA team.

It also makes me crazy excited for the third Sonic movie. I know they’re different writers, but they have hit the nail on the head with each character, and if a different show can characterize Shadow that well… maybe Sega is relaxing their iron grip on him and allowing him to actively shine.

Also that scene with Shadow falling to the void and Sonic sounding genuinely panicked was amazing. You can tell he was getting SA2 flashbacks. Someone likened the scene to Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man watching MJ fall in No Way Home and catching her when he couldn’t catch Gwen, and yeah. The emotional impact seems to be the same.

Sonic couldn’t save Shadow then, but he can save him now.

Just… go watch Prime if you haven’t. Sonic fans have been treated well these past few years and I can’t wait to see what comes next.

[0rb0t]

Don't mind me, just talking about Shadow as being on the autistic spectrum, and how his portrayal in the games and anime (before 2010s era) reflected this even if it was never outright stated.

(TIME FOR A CHARACTER ANALYSIS ABOUT SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG)

    When I was in high school, I struggled a lot in social situations, I'd go completely stiff and just watch people. I had a "resting bitch face", I never really could have conversations and seemed to just fixate on things. I'd make observations that irritated people. I'd ask "why" a lot. (Asking why or even asking 'obvious' questions seemed to make people think I was questioning their judgment, or that I was challenging them. But no, I just didn't understand and wanted clarification. I still run into this a lot and I wish people would stop assuming I have ulterior motives. I just wanna understand stuff better cause it doesn't connect for me. Even if it seems obvious. I'm the genius that asked my mom why she was crying at her dad's funeral when I was 11. It's not that I didn't understand why Grandpa was gone, I knew he passed away, but it hadn't really landed for me, and my brain registered my mom's sadness before it registered the why.)

    I didn't like small talk (still don't) and would rather every interaction have a specific purpose. You'd never catch me at a party and I didn't think drinking or drugs looked fun or interesting. The act of rebelling didn't interest me either. The few interests I did have were something I'd always go back to, and I couldn't function without them. (For me, drawing has always been a huge part of my life and if I didn't have a pencil or pen and paper, then I couldn't hear. I know, very weird. If I were doodling or just even had my sketchbook open, I could study a lot easier. In High school, my teachers started telling me to put the sketchbook away, and my grades plummeted because my attention did, too. Trying to tell them just kind of led to the same old "well everyone else can't doodle so you can't either". I wasn't in any of the special ed stuff because I guess I masked too well.)

    Sonic 06 and Sonic X have the same characterization for Shadow, especially in Japanese, and I think that's honestly the best he'd ever been-- he's quiet, he's reserved, he observes and he doesn't like to "waste time". Not because he's edgy, not because he's a jerk or too serious, but because he struggles in social situations and he's more introverted. He doesn't want to be the centre of attention, he doesn't enjoy any of that. Shadow also behaves like an adult, and I'm sure a ton of us on the spectrum have heard that before, that we're very mature for our age. In reality, we can't relate with our peers and have very fixated interests that don't really expand to other things. Limited interests and we just wanna do stuff tied to that. We know so much about that one thing or those things, but those things won't get you ahead in school. Unless you're LUCKY and your fixation is math, oy vey! (My fixation was etymology. I loved learning and knowing where words came from. Useful for 2 seconds in English class, quickly loses its usefulness in a skill-oriented world.)

    I don't even think he's naturally boastful, at least he wasn't since SA2 (when he was an antagonist), but Sonic brings out a competitive side in him. Sonic brings out the childhood-self that he lost to trauma and being sealed away. Shadow never got to be a normal kid/adult. He has always had expectations placed on him. I think Sonic really brings out a side of him that even surprises himself. It's why he will even say very often "What am I doing?" or "This is such a waste of time!" but he won't STOP… Because he's having fun and doesn't know how to describe his own feelings. Shadow's the type who'll say "I'm fine" no matter what state he's in when you ask if he's okay. My spouse is like this actually-- I can often tell when he's feeling down, but he doesn't know how to describe emotions beyond functional things like "i'm healthy" or "i'm unhealthy", so he'll say he's fine even if he's having a melancholy day. I struggle with understanding my emotional responses, but not necessarily identifying them. A lot of people on the spectrum do struggle with identifying their emotions beyond empirical things. "Do I feel sick? No? then I'm fine" Shadow is exactly like this. And because his expression is so neutral, sometimes intense, he gets mistaken as being angry or too serious. In reality, he's just standing there. He's not gonna expend energy smiling when he's got nothing to smile about. Why force yourself to emote for people? Especially if it feels unnatural.

    Another thing about Shadow being autistic is if he's got nothing to say, then he won't say it. If he wants to leave, he'll leave. Good luck stopping him! But for many actual people it's not an option to leave. We can't just teleport out or skate at lightning speeds like he can, so we have to just sit there and do little coping or self soothing methods to keep ourselves in the moment and calm. We don't often see Shadow stimming in traditionally understood ways, like lip biting or rubbing his arms or fidgeting with his fingers-- but he often stands with his arms crossed. This CAN BE a stim. Feeling the weight of your arms on top of each other, it allows for you to be aware of your own body. I fold my arms a lot in public, because I'm usually playing with the hem of my sleeves, or I'm rubbing my arms or squeezing them. Shadow doesn't seem to do any of that but he's rarely seen without his arms folded.

    When his arms aren't folded, he stands so still and just stares at people. He looks completely out of his element. He doesn't seem to have a relaxed stance--until the anime, where he's shown standing with his hand on his hip. Rouge also does this, leading to the popular headcanons that Shadow is unintentionally imitating Rouge-- his masking leads him to identify the most 'normal' person in the room and copy their behavior in order to blend in better. Unfortunately it rarely, in my experience, leads to people NOT thinking I'm weird. Sometimes I'll even start imitating speech patterns or accents and BOY. I don't even realize I'm doing it until it HAPPENS. So embarrassing. But Shadow absolutely imitates everyone around him. We can see him do this even as far back as Sonic Heroes--that scene where he's nodding or shaking his head to whatever Rouge is saying. The scene where Sonic starts getting competitive and Shadow starts kind of imitating his posture and his way of speaking to become competitive with them-- I don't even think he realizes he's doing it. But it also makes sense with his NAME.

    His name is Shadow. I think of Peter Pan, where Peter's Shadow can sometimes get away from him. Usually it does everything he does, but sometimes it gets away and does its own things, and Peter has to catch it. Wendy sews the shadow back on in Hook. I think Shadow's name is referencing that as well, that just like a shadow, he mimics those around him. He's watching over them, but also copying them. Learning to blend in.

    Another moment I adore is in SA2 (and Sonic X) when Amy Rose hugs him from behind. According to the 2010s era and early IDW, you'd have expected Shadow to push her away or yell DONT TOUCH ME or whatever. But no, he actually just goes REALLY RIGID and doesn't even say anything. It isn't until Amy realizes her mistake that Shadow turns around to look at her, smiling like 'What are you doing???' But in Sonic X, they changed this scene further into autistic territory--

    Shadow doesn't even TURN to her. He goes rigid, yes, and his eyes widen and he just stands there looking towards the audience like 8| He's completely OUT OF HIS ELEMENT. He prepared for the mission, NOT to deal with random people HUGGING HIM. He's probably not been hugged since Maria over 50 years ago. We don't even know if Maria hugged him much because Shadow has always seemed pretty touch-averse. I love GIVING hugs and I love receiving hugs but only from people I'm REALLY close to. I don't even like getting hugs from extended family. My spouse? VERY touch averse. He'll get hugs from me but hugging and touch are just not his thing. Shadow is not a huggy person, but he does tend to hold hands.

    We know he grabbed and held Maria's hand, running with her-- but we never actually saw that until Sonic X (2003) he can be seen running with her away from the military, and he's holding her hand as he leads her. In Shadow the Hedgehog, Maria often grabs Shadow's hand when telling him things. This is also a grounding method to bring the person into the moment. For me, I feel like I can focus better on what my spouse is saying to me when he holds my hand and it's crowded or busy. Even in our home, if he wants to tell me something, I recommend that he hold my hand or touch my arm so I can focus on him better. This happens with Shadow.

    Sonic doesn't tend to hold peoples' hands. In Sonic X he usually just picks people up, but we do see him grab Elise's arm in 06 and run with her. But holding hands? Not really his thing! Shadow does do it more often though. In Sonic X S3, in the episode, Molly's Dream, Shadow's immediate way of leading Molly away from danger is to grab and hold her hand. He even keeps holding her hand until she lets go. It speaks to me the sort of childlike behavior he may still be exhibiting, but not that I'm trying to say that autistic people are more like children. From my experience on the spectrum, I am more childish than my peers. I still react like a kid might to things, and I don't really think like an adult is expected to. I am mentally behind my peers as well, I think my emotional maturity is lower? But it's hard to measure that without a doctor. It's not just about laughing at fart jokes or knowing to pay bills, it's like, how I problem solve is more creatively aligned with kids than it is adults. This is both great and terrible, depending on the situation. A situation that requires math and stuff cannot be solved my way. A situation that involves encouraging kids to try again or be nice to each other, well it's very useful because I can communicate with them on their level (I was a teacher in South Korea for over half a decade, my brain was great for being a teacher but not great for other things).

    I think Shadow really gets misread as a mean guy a lot, but he really isn't. I also don't really enjoy the headcanons that imagine him as very outgoing and whimsical when he was on the ARK, and I especially don't like headcanons that infantilize him-- I really don't like headcanons where people infantilize autistic people. We've seen Shadow when he loses his memories a few times. In Heroes, but also in S3 of Sonic X-- his personality is still the same. He's still reserved, he's still quiet, he still struggles in social situations and prefers getting to the point rather than dilly-dallying. I'd argue that he was exactly like that before the incident on the ARK, too. It's just that the incident caused his inner peace to be destroyed. His precious person, Maria, was no longer around and he lost everything all at once. He doubled down on the one thing that made sense: Revenge. But even after all of that was sorted out, he's not gonna just magically be a different person. He's still reserved, he's still serious, he's still "get to the point". If he played FFXIV, he'd only focus on main quests, and never do side quests. He'd never spend money on cosmetics, probably. He's likely a person who values gameplay over story. If the game is broken or the mechanics aren't utilized well, that's probably more what he'd be fixated on than whether the story was good or not. He'd skip through dialogue because he reads fast, even if the dialogue is voiced (my spouse does this and it drives me nuts. SHADOW I BEG OF YOU PLEASE DO IT FOR ME, DISABLE THE VOICE ACTING IN OPTIONS SO I STOP HEARING THE FIRST UTTERANCE OF A WORD EVERY TIME U MASH THROUGH THE DIALOGUE)

    Trauma affects people in all kinds of ways. I don't think all autistic people are like Shadow, because autism is a spectrum and no two people present exactly the same, although there will be similarities. Shadow's trauma happened at a time where he barely knew himself already, so that's why it was so easy for him to fixate on revenge, and then he'd be content with dying afterwards because he figured he had nothing left to live for. Finding out he was wrong was the best thing that could have happened to him.

    I was really saddened when SEGA decided he was an edgelord who hated everything and had no friends because that's such a horrible read of this nuanced character. In my personal headcanons for Shadow, he's actually very into plants and flowers, because Maria loved the planet so much. And eventually he learns to love the planet because of nature. Shadow's never going to be a people person, in fact he probably still doesn't care much for people as a whole, but that doesn't mean he won't step up when they need his help. Which is why his line in Sonic 06 is still so poignant. "If the world chooses to become my enemy, then I'll fight like I always have." Basically, it really doesn't matter, I've made my choice, I know who I am now and I get to make those decisions. No one else will shake the foundations of who I am.

    And because he knows who he is, he doesn't feel the need to repeat it and boast about himself. He's confident, not arrogant. He can be smug and competitive, but that's playfulness, not cruelty. He's quiet and may just straight up walk away while someone is mid-sentence, but that's not because he's evil or intentionally being a jerk-- it's just how he is. He needs to work on it if he wants to have friends, but his friends already understand him very well. They know that he's like that, and from what we saw in The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog, occasionally they forget it's not personal. I'm happy to see them admitting "oh no, I completely misjudged you, I'm so sorry!" because it's been way too long since we've heard the main cast apologize to Shadow for assuming he was a big jerk on purpose.

    Knowing the restrictions on how Shadow is written have been lifted, I'm really hoping we can get more of how he's meant to be, the reserved, socially awkward but well-meaning hedgehog we love. Autistic Shadow FTW!

    

(our experiences and headcanons

may differ, that's okay.)

[000marie198]

I know that some people say Sonic in Sonic Prime is “too much of a pushover for not fighting back as much as we want him to”, but the thing is, most of Sonic’s opponents were variants of his friends. (Dread, Thorn, Rusty, Nine, Black, Sails and so on.)

Since the 2000s, Sonic would always go easy on his friends when they are fighting him, especially if they aren’t acting on their own free will.

Sonic X? When Amy got possessed, he went behind her after being freed and he quickly asked if She was alright. Then later, He allowed Tails to punch him and blame him for being unable to save Cosmo.

Sonic Colors and Sonic Lost World? When Tails was brainwashed, or in the latter’s case, pretending to be brainwashed, Sonic mentally broke down and since Tails was too fast to dodge, while Sonic didn’t want to be hurt, he mostly allowed Tails to do whatever.

Black Knight and Riders? When Amy was targeting him, while he does try dodging and attempts to calm her down, he didn’t fight back much.

Wait, people actually think that? Huh. To each their own opinions I guess. Personally, I adore Prime Sonic's characterization. He's so expressive and kind and caring! I love him!

Perish the thoughts of complainers and haters, they sometimes seek out things to hate on and complain about and blow out of proportion and turn it into something completely different.

And just because Sonic holds himself back from hurting them doesn't mean he never tries to stop them or doesn't fight back. He's the reason the Boscage Gang reconciled, the Resistance got back their morale and hope, the Angel's Voyage crew learned to fight back

Sonic cares about his friends, always had, always will. He loves them. He can't possibly bring any of them harm. That doesn't make him a pushover, this adjective is just plain wrong, it makes him compassionate and kind and caring and considerate and hopeful.

[eggluttony]

What about the sonic X version of Eggman that guy was massive

Yeah with how much of a giant he was in X he must've been much heavier than game Eggman and had a way bigger absolutely enormous gut. I always like to imagine that when he goes to his birth world of the two which he has no memory of as it took him until he uncovered Gerald's diary to realize it was the world he was born in, he was delighted to experience all of the food that likely wasn't in the other world and he took all the opportunities to indulge in it all

Like when he first got there and got super hungry I can imagine he was overwhelmed with all the choices of food when he got to the city. And he knows he can just intimidate or threaten people into giving him anything and as much as he wants so he went around getting so much food for free. Maybe taking huge bags full of stuff to keep and visiting a restaurant for a big meal, then going to another down the street just restaurant hopping and eating a meal in each

The combination of all the new food there was to try on top of him already needing tons of food to fill up his gigantic fat belly as the huge man he is lead to him eating and eating and absolutely heavily engorging his stomach with excessive amounts of food. His belly swelling up even bigger and heavier and nearly bursting against his buttons but he'd still waddle around to get even more because he just spotted a bakery with some delicious looking goods in the window

He's not satisfied until his huge belly is bulging full on average but pairing that with all the food he gets to try that's new to him makes him get really carried away and he can't stop as he keeps spotting more things he wants to eat. He ends up with a painfully aching but arousing stuffed belly and waddles to his Egg Mobile and has to really squeeze his huge fat body in and can't fly it with such a stuffed heavy gut so he just passes out in a food coma inside it

I'm not a fan of the X comics characterization so I'm actually talking about the very different show version + this was actually Bokkun in disguise but this page was hot

and I like to imagine he'd take ridiculous amounts of food like this back to his base and find he can't put it away as he binges on as much as he can, surrounded by so much heavenly food as his massive fat stuffed belly spills out in front of him and he's forcing even more down his greedy throat, grabbing more from every angle, feeling like he's about to burst and shoves more down until he passes out with an enormous swollen belly stuffed to the brim and gurgling up a storm to digest it

And this was also Bokkun again

But I also like to imagine he'd steal a ridiculous amount of cakes, pastries, and candy from bakeries and candy stores and has a ridiculous endless supply where he's eating a ton of it after every meal, forcing his full gut to hold multiple thick filling fattening desserts and packing it all in tight after his big meals. He's only happy and content when he's stuffed to the gills but even then he'll slowly force even more down out of a love for the food as he lets his greedy gut rule him

It feels so good to overstuff himself with so much glorious food and feel his enormous fat belly straining hard against his clothes and threatening to burst out of them. When they finally do he just sighs from the pleasure and keeps going when he's lost in the bliss of it all. Having a huge soft plump pile of fat in his lap that becomes even heavier and more sensitive after gorging on so much food feels really good when he rubs and pats it and it's another reason he's addicted to feeding it

He becomes very in love with the feeling of keeping himself stuffed to the gills, it only feels right when his belly is overexpanded and sagging with the sheer weight of food packed inside. When he isn't plotting and scheming or fighting Sonic, he's almost constantly greedily filling his gut. His belly looks bigger by the hour, his walk turns into a waddle, he becomes breathless, and his clothes strain harder and creak louder as they stretch and he still can't stop

This become a bad habit the whole time he's in this world, always stuffing his face until he's so bloated and full that he's waddling and burping with his enormous belly stuffed firmly and tightly to the limit day after day. His already gigantic belly gets bigger by the weeks and he significantly gains weight. Decoe and Bocoe make a bunch of comments about his weight and fatness and mention him gaining throughout the show and I like to imagine that's why

What doesn't help is also is this paired with very hot mindset in the show that's probably part of him initially getting so big and fat at his starting weight, where he says his genius brain burns up millions of calories. He feels like he needs to eat tons of food to the point he'll even demand more prison slop just so he can feel like his huge fat gut is as full as it needs to be, even if the food isn't that great he wants the satisfaction of a heavy gut and the pressure and firmness feels right

Just the way he demands more and eats it so fast and drinks from the bowl when the food isn't even great, how voraciously he must feast when he actually likes the food. 😍 No wonder he's such a fatty, it's much more than just his gigantism. Everyone knows he isn't sticking to whatever his BMI should be, even though with huge he is, it would allow it to be higher than average! He's taken it far beyond what even his giant body can allow thanks to his gluttonous mindset and appetite

I can imagine when he was broken out of prison, he couldn't hold back on food again after days of feeling like he wasn't getting enough with the prison slop he felt barely touched the sides. It makes him heavily engorge himself with tons of snacks and a huge feast of meal. He eats everything in sight in his fridge and pantry and his robots have to obey and keep serving as he's very angry and stressed after his hungry prison time and demands the comfort and relief

He doesn't stop until hes surrounded by empty packaging and stacks of plates and cans, his massive overstuffed gut absolutely bulging out in front of him and exposed after ripping out of his clothes, busting the zipper and buttons of his jacket and ripping his bodysuit. And his stomach is groaning and gurgling so loudly as he struggles to burp and feels like he might puke with how much food is packed in there but still can't resist squeezing in just a few more bites...

After that day it makes him even more grrateful and obsessed with all the great good of the human world outside prison and he makes the most of it every day by eating until he feels like he's about to burst and can't breathe being stuffed to the gills. Being so heavy and sluggish engorged with so much food that his belly is firm and rounded out tight with barely any give it jiggle becomes his normal and feels comforting and right so more food keeps going down the hatch

Of course his waistline pays for this hard as it keeps expanding and he's gaining a ton of weight. His robots notice he's really plumping up bigger and thicker in every area. He starts getting stuck in doorways and chairs and breaking furniture in his base and ships. It's even more embarrassing when he goes out and all the stuff he didn't create gives him constant trouble of getting stuck and breaking things and really showing himself up for the big fat slob he's becoming

He's blushing and demanding Decoe and Bocoe help him through the door when he gets trapped and either his belly or ass is completely lodged between the door frame because they're so huge and wide, they have to try to push him through even though he's so heavy and all the fat of his squishing up the door frame exposes how much of a thick flabby lard ass he's becoming. He's so humiliated when it's in a public place and blames the door instead of his massive body

Everything in this world is made for people much slimmer and lighter than him, smaller too as he stands out with his gigantism. He has nowhere to sit when out because not a single seat fits the span of his wide plump ass and belly and it would immediately collapse under his weight. So he has to stay sat in his Egg Mobile but even that's becoming a squeeze as his belly and butt are squished against the seat and the dashboard and it almost seems to affect how it floats

He stops getting out of his Egg Mobile and walking as much in public places because he too quickly becomes red faced and short of breath, wheezing and panting. He has very thick layers of soft fat and the widest fattened frame and his tits, belly, and ass jiggle a ton with the slightest movements he makes so it'd be sure to be noticed and teased relentlessly if he got up and showed his whole body so he keeps the view of his huge fat belly hidden in the Egg Mobile

He starts really struggling to squeeze into his clothes, they look constantly on the verge of popping buttons and splitting open. It strains so hard you can see and hear the materials stretching tight. Whenever they do give up the fight the buttons go flying and when his bodysuit splits the immense size of his massive fat belly or butt exploding out of them with a big rippling wobble is alarming! He's so embarrassed in public when he accidentally exposes his massive body

Decoe and Bocoe are appalled when he outgrows his giant clothes and they have to tailor his massive body to fit more and the circumference of his huge round belly keeps increasing, widening, and softening. The tons of weight he gains and the way he's just a gigantic man anyway being much taller than game canon Eggman probably results in him having like a 100 inch belly measurement and his huge gut proceeds him so far. They have to get him the longest measuring tape

He can also easily much heavier than game canon Eggman for how giant he is and how much he gains, he may be well over 600 lbs and get closer to 1000 lbs by the weeks. He's already heavy for being so massive without the fat so with pounds of lard hanging on his body, he's probably weighted like a fucking boulder and becomes completely solid and unmovable to others, good luck pushing him in the slightest, he struggles to lift himself and walk around with it all weighing down!

In the show he seems very sensitive towards Decoe and Bocoe's comments on his weight and gaining with how he immediately snaps at and insults them. I imagine X Eggman unintentionally gains due to too big of a love for food and how huge his appetite is and the desire to feel his huge spacious stomach is filled up and well supplied. But even with his size he still goes overboard due to his belief that his genius brain burns thousands of calories and his ridiculous amount of greed

His belly rules him and he succumbs to being a big heavy fatty and keeping his gut swollen and overexpanded and engorged with excessive amount of food. It's really hard for him to get motivation to lose weight, he hates the suggestion that he even needs to and feels insulted but in the rare times he becomes inspired, he can't even begin when he just wants to keep eating and sleeping and resting like this episode that's so hot it just fucking dhsjgnsbgksbfksfh 🥵

And later on he is actually seen jogging along the beach in his hoodie and sweatpants much later as a time that he finally gets into a kick and manages to actually take action to begin. But even then he says it was to "main" it instead of actually losing any, like he's only trying to preventing himself from gaining even more, not really losing much. And I really doubt that will be able to last long anyway with his greed and gluttonous mindset sabotaging him hehe 👀

[kursed-arcana]

Reddit Talk: Amy Rose Compared to Shounen stereotype? Lol no (a part of my Future Character Assassination of Amy Rose post)

First of comparing amy to shounen heroines is like comparing water to sand. The majority of shounen heroines have very littler personality or fleffort put into them. 1998 is when adventure cwme out. What shounen heroines around then have anything in common with Amy Rose? They have to strive for independence, be bubbly, girly, dedicated to one boy who they love and obsess over while also being selfless and compassionate to others in need. Willing to stand up to the one they love for what they believe in amd willing to see the good even in villains who have antagonized them. This caries over into adventure 2 and heroes at least.

If anything she has more in common (but no enough to hit the stereotype markers) with well known shoujo protagonists such a Sailor Moon, Kotoko Aihara, and Tohru Honda. The first 2 being credited with starting the immature, stupid and lovesick heroine craze of the time. All 3 are significantly different then ewchother and Amy but are well known characters from this time that she can be compared to easily. Love, selflessness, dedication to what they believe is right are common traits in at at least 2 of those 3 and Amy.

Sonic era amy did have a few more shounen strokes thrown in due to the anime. With a little sass and temper thrown into the mix for slapstickk humor. But it is also around this time sega started letting sonic be shown to reciprocate her feelings, as shown by sonic x series 1 finale, sonic unleashed, sonic and the black night.

I'll give you two shounen heroines examples from this time. One done wrong and one done right. Amy can easily be compared to Sakura Haruno. Sakura started out around the same time as adventure luckily wnd you can easily see some similarities. Pink hair, green eyes red dress in love with a cool blue boy (seriously sakura was a major amy rip off which is why i loved her). Here's where they differ though. Sakura femininity was portrayed as a weakness, she was characterized as shallow, and her intelligence and talents were often ignored. Amy wasn't depicted as fairly intelligent back then. She mainly intuition, nor was she semi violent like Sakura, then came in with the sonic x influence. While Sakura was a weak cry baby who couldn't establish independence Amy immediately did. Now around the time of sonic x and part 2 of naruto they have more in common. Like I said the slaptick humor and violence trope. Being more aggressive overall but Ironically the thing these two have the most in common is toxicity and sexism in the fandom derailing their character growth. Sakura only had one fight of substance in part 2 and kishimoto kept flailing to make Sakura appear to his fans until he derailed his plans for her repeatedly ruining her character. Ironically a fate similar to what Amy is now going through.

Now let's loon at soul eater. A shounen series with well written female characters fulfilling a variety a tropes. But I'll compare Amy to the primary lead Maka Albarn. Absolutely only one thing in common besides slapstick humor moments. That would be a willingness to reachout with empathy to an inititally villainous character. Maka is not a girly girl in anyway. She's a headstrong woman on a mission with daddy issues. Nor is romance a primary focus of her character.

Also lol modern amy is way more sterilized then a modern day shounen protagonist and has way too little personality to be compared to a shoujo one. She's solely made for the sterilized girl boss age American audience where female characters have no personality or faults or character trwights beyond beingg a voice of reason for the boys and being there just to be a girl character. I.e. what Gwen tensyson was reduced to and many more female characters in the u.s.

I can keep going but this discussion is always the same trite nonsense at the end of the day. Oh well, more work has at least been completed for my eventual post on the character assassination of Amy Rose post I'll eventually put on my Tumblr. Thanks for the shounen anime spin. That was at least a new and incredibly faulty take

[minkparched]

Pretty sure this is going to be my last text post in a while, but I wanna let this out because something's been bugging me about the Sonic canon for a bit.

I was browsing X today (I know) and I came across this post

As someone who used to be a borderline JP Sonic Purist, one thing that drew me away from that position was realizing how much more interesting the Western characterization of Sonic and his friends were. In the Japanese canon, Sonic and his friends are treated as fairy-like creatures who serve as an infinite source of inspiration and empowerment for the human cast around them (06, X, Unleashed, SA1, SA2). Sonic, being the main character, inspires both his fellow anthromorphic animals and humans alike.

This is especially true for Sonic, who is definitely not a character defined by personhood as he has no known family, background, or ties, which is characteristic of the human experience, rather he's portrayed as something more like an essence, like being described of the wind, and an inspirational figure for everyone around him. He has a boy's heart but the experience of an adult.

He is simultaneously pure because he prefers to focus on adventure and making friends while neglecting love and refuses to ever do things out of a selfish interest, but he is also wise because he is shown as apparently knowing the deeper truths about reality (X, 06, Sonic and the Black Knight, Unleashed). Aside from a few characters, like Eggman, Jet the Hawk and the Babylon Rogues, and Shadow the Hedgehog, Sonic is rarely contradicted or opposed by anyone except Eggman and his cronies.

Sometimes, his friends can even be reduced to a generic cheerleader role. Tails is a geek who adores and looks up to Sonic, in a big brother type of relationship. Amy is a fangirl (yes, I'm sure someone wants to tell me her love for him is actually deep and profound yaddayadda) who is Sonic's friend and loves him in spite of his constant rejections towards her. Knuckles was Sonic's former rival turned friend who acts as an occasional sparing buddy but that role was mostly consummated by Shadow.

Now, them being cheerleaders isn't always true. Sometimes Sonic will have an argument with Tails, or Amy will get annoyed at Sonic, or Knuckles will threaten to fight with him, but by and large, interactions in Sonic's world revolve around Sonic.

Yet... while revisiting Sonic media (both Western and Japanese) and researching the intents of the original creators to reignite my life-long interest in the franchise, I'm left with the feeling that this is so unsatisfying on a mundane level. I don't think characters created without personhood and instead exist as essences of the elements or emotions can be truly compelling on a psychological level. At worst, they serve as after-thoughts of characters where the main selling point is a video game that has to prove it has good gameplay and prioritizes above all else. At best, they're good for fans drawn to characters with a semi-blank template with enough interesting information to sink their teeth into but empty to the point where they can easily project themselves or their ideas onto the character. Maybe that was done on purpose?

I didn't understand it before, but I truly believe that this is why characters like Shadow, Rouge, and hell, the Western characters like Sally, Scourge, Mammoth Mogul, Dr. Robotnik, were so beloved in the fandom. Those characters feel like persons, they have a developed backstory, they are interactive with the environment around them, they're noticeably passively/actively reactive to each character they come across, they have strong emotions, face adversary, personal agendas, that make them feel... human. In my opinion, Sonic is too single-mindedly fixated on adventure and thus feels too detached from the world around him, boring me to death instead of making me excited. His wins are also easily given and his rivalry with Eggman is just standard good guy vs bad guy dynamic. There's nothing wrong with a larger-than-life character! After all, those kinds of people exist in real life. But, there's nothing inspiring or exciting about a personality that doesn't feel "hungry" for something.. for lack of a better word.

I mean, Sonic was always a superficial character, but at least in the Classic Era to SA2, they played it well with his swagger and demeanor that was just so damn cool. Since Heroes though? Eh.

In the Western canon, I just like how he (and the cast members) have both noticeable flaws and pros. Seeing someone pick themselves back up after so much adversary and struggling with their vices makes me wanna root for them even harder. It makes their wins much more satisfying and impactful in my opinion, rather than someone who is given the position of the hero by virtue of being supernaturally strong only.

But yeah, in my opinion it's this: Worldbuilding

Western > Japanese

Characterization

Western > Japanese

Setting

Japanese > Western (but Mobius is better than an undefined, unnamed world)

Aesthetics

Japanese > Western

Sound

Japanese > Western

[emistations]

If we do them by tiers...

S - Eitaro Toyoda, Shiro Maekawa, and Kiyoko Yoshimura (writer of X & Unleashed): Wrote my favorite era of the franchise! Best stories & characterizations imo.

A - Tyson Hesse: just based off his Tailstube writing sometimes, he understands the characters & i'd love to see his take on everything!

As well as Daniel Barnes, writer of Scrapnik Land (really good story), and Iasmin Omar Ata (writer of Winter Jam)

B - Ian Flynn: He's decent Imo, I loved his archie run and he's the reason I GOT to like archie, but his idw/game run is just ok. He has ideas, but the execution is hit or miss.

C - Evan Stanley: Same as Ian but to a lesser degree, but also the fact that in her writing runs, characters seem to have flaws that contradict their actual personalities (ex: Sonic straining an ankle when he's known to fall from space multiple times unharmed). Sometimes it feels like her & Ian's writing is a little limited creatively as told in this post I liked.

D - Pontac & Graff - Who would've thought? I actually don't hate them as much as I thought! I'll admit, when writing light-hearted stories they excel, but when it comes to serious situation that lightheartedness BLEEDS into the serious stuff and it all falls flat. Their jokes are 90% miss and 10% hit. I admit to having laughed at some point. But, they caused a lot of character misconceptions & plotholes that the creative team has to fix now (when really they could've just made a soft reboot.)

And finally... Ken penders. Should be obvious why.

2. Yes! It would be, and that could make for an interesting plot! I'm not against the idea of Sonic representing freedom, but he also represents being selfishly free. He would always be there to stop Surge & she'd think he's a hypocrite for it, it'd make it hard for her to see things from Sonic's perspective, and Sonic wouldn't be able to just get through to her with just fists. It could make for an interesting plot to explore Surge's background BEYOND her & Kit's past with Starline. It could be the turning wheel to help Sonic adjust his approach, too.

@fazar234 I dunno why Tumblr doesn't let me normally answer your questions

[jadeyarts]

Would you like to share any personal thoughts towards the Sonic Human characters besides than Eggman? (Ex; Elise, Chris, and Maria)

uhhh... ok

elise should have been modeled a little more cartoony from the get-go but the fact she wasn't is in no way a knock against her as a character, and her design was adorable otherwise. she's a perfectly fine character and i'm not about to blame a character who is conceptually interesting and complex in ways that are contextually coherent and relevant for the other faults found in a work.

at several points i did feel like aspects of chris's character and place in the narrative felt at odds, in the sense that he is an extraordinarily normal boy despite how absurdly rich he is meant to be and i felt like he should either just be a totally normal middle class child or have an exaggerated well-intentioned-but-spoiled rich boy personality. but he was otherwise fine. got a lil weird in season 2 but in a way that made sense so it really didn't bother me especially since he grew out of it. i always liked how he was characterized in season 3, and found his arc in that season to be really interesting.

shadow the hedgehog should have met and directly interacted with helen at some point during sonic x. like any point. i like the relationship he formed with chris, i thought it made contextual and narrative sense, and actually prefer it to the original game's sequence of events ... but at the same time the similarities between helen and maria both in terms of appearance as well as their arcs - both being optimistic, kind-hearted, blue-eyed, blonde-haired white girls who live/d with chronic illnesses that disabled them in some way and are acutely aware of the ways this inconveniences their families who love them very much, that perhaps underestimate/d how much they are loved and treasured, who want to help others and do more than maybe they are capable of at the moment, ect ... i liked helen a lot. i also thought it was cute she and chris ended up together lol. shadow should get to go to the wedding

HOPE KINTOBOR SHOULD BE CANON I DON'T GIVE A FUCK

additionally, hope's grandma is hot as hell

[gogocrazycocoa]

Rating popular Sonic ships!

Rating system:

0/10 - I can’t stand it

4/10 - I’m mostly neutral to it

10/10 or higher - I love this ship and it’s one of my favorites

Sonamy - 4.5/10

What I like: They look really good together. It’s confirmed that Sonic reciprocates but doesn’t date her because he doesn’t want to be in a relationship, so it could really easily become canon.

What I dislike: The age gap is a bit weird. They would also be fairly unhealthy in canon. If you want me to go into detail, I will.

Sonadow - 5.5/10

What I like: I’m a sucker for an rivals to lovers. Also they look pretty decent together, but not as good as Sonic and Amy. We also know that without Sonic Shadow’s character development from SA2 is reversed. Also it’s nice it has so much content.

What I dislike: Oh god the people who ship this are actual garbage at times. The shippers are some of the horniest bastards I’ve ever seen if I’m being honest. Also there are so many debates about Shadow’s age. Also with the Colors era characterization (which i despise), he seems to not like Sonic that much and seems to act like he’s always right. An example would be during the Zombot arc where he tries to run into a horde of zombots.

Sonknux - 7/10

What I like: Sonic and Knuckles are very close and worked together on several occasions. Also we see Sonic help Knuckles realize Robotnik has duped him. Also it has a good amount of angst potential. Also another rivals to lovers.

What I dislike: Oh god this would not work out in canon due to Knuckles protecting the M.E and Sonic having to fight Robotnik. Also some people see them having a fraternal bond.

Sonally - 8.5/10

What I like: We see them literally be a happy couple at points. And I don’t just like them because they’re canon, but we see them have good chemistry.

What I dislike: OH GOOD LORD THE ARCHIE COMICS GET WEIRD AND FUCK WITH THEIR RELATIONSHIP.

Sonilver - 7/10

What I like: OH GOOD LORD THEY’RE ADORABLE AT TIMES

What I dislike: OH GOOD LORD THEY WOULD NOT WORK OUT DUE TO SILVER BEING FROM THE FUTURE

Sonaze - 2/10

What I like: Sonic teaches Blaze about friendship and stuff.

What I dislike: I’ve never really had a reason for disliking them together, I just never really liked it. I don’t know why.

Sonjet - 6/10

What i like: As previously stated, I love a good rivals to lovers. Also this ship has some of the best fanart I’ve seen compared to most ships.

What I dislike: Jet is fairly underused in my opinion and I feel they would like each other but refuse to get together.

Soneggman - 0.5/10

What I like: I like enemies to lovers. Also this ship is fun when done ironically.

What I dislike: WHY!? JUST WHY!? Also Robotnik is Sonic’s dad in some continuities.

Metonic/Sonetal - 3.5/10

What I like: Again with the rivals to lovers. Also it’s just kind of a funny ship in my opinion. Also i don’t see self x self as problematic and Metal has been confirmed to have feelings so please don’t come after me for this.

What I dislike: They have no chemistry and I just think it’s a bit of an odd ship.

Sonighty - 7/10

What I like: I forgot Sonic has 50,000,000,000 rivals and I will ship him with almost every single one. Also they just seem like good friends.

What I dislike: Mighty is fairly underused and they just don’t interact enough in my opinion. Also I could see them also having a brotherly bond.

Sonourge - 5/10

What I like: I like the idea of either Sonic making Scourge a better person or Scourge making Sonic a worse person. Also I love a good enemies to lovers. As well as the fact that Sonic is a bit narcissistic at times I feel this is kind of funny.

What I dislike: This would almost definitely not work out due to them being from other universes. Also from what I know about the Archie comics Scourge is a rapist so that’s not great.

Sonic.exe x Sonic (IDK the ship name) - 0.5/10

What I like: It could be funny when done ironically. Also the whole thing about Sonic’s narcissism.

What I dislike: Oh god where do I begin. From what I know exe is a demon possessing to kill his friends in an infinite loop, why would Sonic want to date that!?

Sonangle - 0/10

What I like: I mean they’re friends in canon I guess.

What I dislike: I headcanon Tangle as a lesbian so yeah.

Sonelise: 4/10

What I like: Again, I usually like the canon ships. Also I don’t consider it problematic.

What I dislike: Elise isn’t a good character and they don’t have that much chemistry.

Sonespio - 5/10

What I like: They seem like they would make great friends.

What I dislike: This ship is rarer than hens teeth and they never interact in canon.

Sontoine - 3.5/10

What I like: I mean, they’re friends and fought for a long time together against Robotnik’s empire.

What I dislike: I just really like Bunnie and Antoine plus I just don’t see it.

Soninite - 2/10

What I like: I love an enemies to lovers and I like Infinite a lot.

What I dislike: I just personally don’t see it.

Shadamy - 3.5/10

What I like: Amy helps Shadow remember his promise to Maria and has always been kind to him.

What I dislike: Due to the whole Amy reminding Shadow of his promise to Maria thing, it makes me feel like they’re siblings for some reason and I can’t explain why. I think it’s because of Shadow and Maria basically being siblings. Also this also has a bit of a large age gap.

Silvamy - 6.5/10

What I like: I can see potential for both fluff and angst with this ship. With the right AU, they could honestly be adorable. Also Amy was able to convince Silver not to kill Sonic.

What I dislike: Silver tried to kill Sonic as previously stated. And like most ships with Silver, him being from the future could become a problem without an AU or something.

Metamy - 6.5/10

What I like: The Sonic Mania Adventures Christmas special, that’s all I have to say. Also I guess this could technically count as an enemies to lovers. Also the idea of Amy settling for somebody who looks almost identically to Sonic is kinda funny to me.

What I dislike: This would probably not work out due to Robotnik.

Blazamy - 9/10

What I like: The fan content is adorable. They also just seem to be good friends.

What I dislike: They barely interact in canon.

Teknamy - 9.5/10

What I like: I think I just like most of the canon ships. Also they are extremely close from what I know and went on many adventures together.

What I dislike: WHY WON’T SEGA ACKNOWLEDGE THEM!?

Knuxamy - 2/10

What I like: I like the idea of them training together or something.

What I dislike: I see them as siblings and that age gap is a bit too big.

Mephamy - 0/10

What I dislike: Pretty much any ship with Mephiles would be REALLY unhealthy if not abusive. This includes Mephamy.

Honamy - 5.5/10

What I like: Amy looks up to Honey and they seem to get a long rather well.

What I dislike: Again with a bit of a large age gap.

Sticksamy - 6/10

What I like: They are incredibly close and their dynamic is fun.

What I dislike: Sonic Boom as a whole wasn’t great and Sticks is fairly similar to Marine.

Surgeamy - 6/10

What I like: IDK why I like this ship. I think the idea of Surge “stealing Sonic’s girl” is funny. I also like the idea of Surge envying Amy’s ability to fight.

What I dislike: They have literally never interacted in canon. Plus from what I know Surge isn’t really ready for a relationship at this point.

Tikamy - 6.5

What I like: I feel they would get along really well and agree on a lot of things.

What I dislike: They literally cannot meet for several reasons.

Silvaze - 6.5/10

What I like: They have known each other for who knows how long and this is the only ship with Silver that could feasibly work out.

What I dislike: A lot of people see them as siblings and/or headcanon them both as gay. Also Blaze dies in 06.

Silvikal - 6.5/10

What I like: It’s technically possible for them to meet due to Silver time traveling. Plus they would probably agree on a lot of things.

What I dislike: They have never met.

Knuxilver - 8/10

What I like: OH GOD THE YEARNING AND SEPARATION

What I dislike: OH GOD THE YEARNING AND SEPARATION

Mephilver - 0/10

What I dislike: Mephiles literally tricks Silver into nearly killing Sonic, need I say more?

Shadouge - 2/10

What I like: We know they are close and even live together.

What I dislike: I see them as siblings personally.

Shadpio - 6.5/10

What I like: We have seen Espio calm Shadow down and I would love to see them train together.

What I dislike: They barely interact and the ship is super rare.

Knuxadow - 7.5/10

What I like: Again, I would love to see them train together. Plus them and Sonic is my OT3.

What I dislike: From what I know they fight a lot in canon.

Infinadow - 0/10

What I dislike: Shadow literally killed Infinite’s whole team. This wouldn’t be healthy in the slightest.

Shadikal - 4/10

What I like: The content is decent and I feel like they would get a long a lot.

What I dislike: Why? Just why? Why does this exist?

Shadourge - 4.5/10

What I like: The content is decent and they seem to have been on good terms at some point in the comics.

What I dislike: I don’t know their dynamic since I haven’t gotten too far into the comics yet.

Shadaze - 4/10

What I like: AI used to hate this ship but it’s honestly grown on me a lot. Also the fan content is pretty decent.

What I dislike: I don’t know their dynamic due to me not being that far into the comics plus they don’t interact much anyway.

Shadally - 0/10

What I dislike: We see them be put into an arranged marriage and it is completely loveless and I’m pretty sure Shadow ends doing some pretty crazy shit, why would you like them as a couple after seeing that?

Tikaze/Blazikal - 6/10

What I like: IDK I just think they’re neat.

What I dislike: They’ve never interacted and Tikal is pretty much dead.

Knuxaze - 4.5/10

What I like: IDK I just think they’re neat.

What I dislike: I don’t really know their dynamic and they don’t interact much.

[galsgeneration]

Same asker as the previous query about ships here. I wanna know how you feel about Shadow/Espio. It’s one of my fave ships, but there’s so little content for it even compared to other rarepairs. I feel that it’s OOC to some extent, as most ships with Shadow are (including Sonadow imo, even though I love that ship too) but I’m curious if/how you think Shadpio could work. And what you think about their dynamic in general. I’m always researching them but I assume you’d be more knowledgeable.

That's an awesome question! There's a particular charm in Shadow and Espio's dynamic when we get to analyze the characters' individual traits being displayed in the short interactions they've had thus far.

Considering the definition of "ship" in fandom usually leans toward romance, I personally can't see Shadow involved in some form with any of the characters, judging by how he thinks, acts and what we can conclude from his dangerously pure nature in the canon material (including Sonic X, as his characterization in the japanese script is faithful to his game counterpart). Espio, on the other hand, appears to be slightly more open to a conventional approach on the matter, but that would require further development and exploration on his relationships with other characters beyond the Chaotix, like Sonic, Rouge, Silver, etc.

As for creative content taking from the canon, it's only "out of character" if the intention within how they think of the other is somewhat changed, along with the characters' core traits, main relationships and their influence (or not) in the context of the specific moments they share with one another. With that being said, I can only say my personal thoughts on them based on what SEGA has already explored/showed, without going into "shipping" and "TV tropes" territory or "non-canon" media (i.e. Archie comics and The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog).

Shadow and Espio share a few similarities here and there, when it comes to their methods and decisions upon facing the emergence of a threat and the opportunity to strike at the right moment (i.e. their stance on Mr. Tinker/Dr. Eggman before and after the Metal Virus incident in the IDW comics, except that Shadow was hellbent on taking him down straight away while Espio only verbalized the idea to Sonic after having to deal with the outcome himself). They are not opposed to killing, either.

Although Shadow is cold-natured (bearing in mind he's also a man-made weapon), Espio has a rather calm, stealthy and deadly approach in battle that's almost a parallel to Shadow's more feisty, ruthless combat style. Their fighting tactics are precise and deceptive, whether in an ambush or general warfare - each in their own specialty, since Shadow is a master in Chaos Control and Espio a nin-jutsu specialist ninja - and they're equally confident in their skills. Striking from behind and when the foe least expects it can be quite their thing, too.

I enjoy the first look we got into their dynamic during the Semi-Hero route of Shadow the Hedgehog (2005), after the events of Sonic Heroes. Understanding that Shadow was seeking for the truth about himself and his past, it's easier to picture how Espio could affect and assist Shadow in the future (if SEGA ever considers the idea) after they situationally teamed up when infiltrating Dr. Eggman's database. Espio had asked Shadow if he felt like giving him a hand in looking for some information the Chaotix needed at the time, and Shadow hoped to find something useful about himself. Therefore, the mutual aid would only be beneficial. In one of the japanese summaries of the game for the boss battle following this specific mission, Shadow acknowledges Espio's role in defeating the Doctor and escaping the electronic world with him.

Something I also find curious is the way Espio managed (or at least tried) to bring Shadow back to the present throughout the mission, upon noticing how much the doubts and misleading offers kept getting at Shadow. There's a lot of cool and high-spirited lines coming from Espio to ground and help Shadow zero in back on his main goal (i.e. "Stop thinking about it, let's just keep going"; "It's all nonsense talk to trick you at the end of the day"; "Right now, let's focus on defeating [Dr. Eggman] to get out of here."). Hence, I can see Shadow being neutral towards Espio as he never stood on his way, nor manipulated him for his own gain (Espio doesn't like dishonesty, after all!).

Despite the whole ordeal Shadow went through in his self-titled game, it's a fact that Shadow can be impulsive when dabbling with danger, meaning he can be distracted once caught up in his own thoughts/emotions or the thrill of a challenge sometimes. It's a nice detail in opposition to Espio's cautious behavior, since he isn't distracted easily; even when his team is at risk, he attempts to keep himself level-headed and not lose his focus.

Still, something they absolutely have in common is an interest for dangerous missions and (the semblance of) perfectionism. Espio enjoys the "aesthetic" of staying in the shadows, though he sometimes makes the mistake of sneezing and compromising his invisibility; Shadow is a perfectionist by his own standards and doesn't tolerate anything but the ultimate performance from himself and others (even if he miscalculates at times due to a myriad of reasons). The manner that Shadow and Espio see the topic of perfectionism and balance can be an intriguing point for conflict, too.

On another note, during the only verbal interaction between the two in Sonic X, Espio asks Shadow if he's going to rescue Dr. Eggman after the Chaotix gave him a ride, in which Shadow responds that his only target is Dark Oak. This also shows how Espio doesn't know exactly/can predict Shadow's motivations or actions, but his optimism remains present nonetheless. Regardless of the events in the anime not being canon, we can see how direct and brief their conversations are, especially after Shadow's clarification (and subtle correction). This aspect is not different in the mainline games, as they only address the other when it's extremely necessary, or if the situation calls for a change.

All in all, I believe Shadow and Espio, as a dynamic and hypotetical "pairing," can be very interesting if we put these moments into perspective instead of latching onto popular tropes we find oftenly in the fandom (it's also the case for many other fictional ones).

My thoughts and considerations on them got longer than I intended, but I hope this is what you expected to read (and understand) from how I view them! They do have the potential to work as an intriguing, fleeting duo in the absence of the Chaotix and/or Shadow's usual allies, but that's all up to SEGA. 😜

[unclefredandjohnnierutter]

#2: Stay Tuned for Danger

“I feel like I’m being watched at every moment and always at same time - weekdays from 2 to 3 on channel 13.”

A Nancy Drew inspired playlist // listen here

↓ tracklist and more below ↓

Featuring:

New York - Cat Power

Headshots - Suzanne Vega

Talk to Strangers - TV Girl

That Don’t Impress Me Much - Shania Twain

Stalker - Sonic Youth

Another Day - Dragonette

Everybody’s a Star (Starmaker) - The Kinks

Watch My Back - Aretha Franklin

Teleprompt - Dulce Base

Grinding Halt - The Cure

Actor Out of Work - St. Vincent

Memorize Your Lines - Sleater-Kinney

Tears In The Typing Pool - Broadcast

Casanova - Allie X and VÉRITÉ

The Light of Our Love - Lovers Intwined

Genres include late 90s pop, leading role rock, soap opera melodrama, and more

Perhaps a more true beginning to the series than sck in some ways, the early character animations are honestly iconic at this point. I love how the story in this one unfolds and the little touches that were put in like the switch from day to night and the producer we never see but have a lengthy mid game phone call with and the interview we watch getting more context on rick, the characterizations are also so fun, idk i just think its neat