#koco can speak?

[koco-bean]

izu-tsumi

[larabar]

Please give more info for your Frontiers au, it makes me very happy

HI YES ALWAYS

this is late because i wanted to have a little more to show you than i had before but Anyway

ok .ok so

each character in the game had their own Main Issue/Thing. amy's was .idk love and wanting to share it with others. knux's was his ancestors and his own past, learning to get off angel island once in a while. and tails' was all about his independence

but for sonic it was really hard to find something sjdnfj since he doesn't really have anything to go off of (flat character and all that) but. i got thinking about how cyberspace affected each character and just how it Works

from what i understand, being stuck between cyberspace and reality has no feeling to it, no sense of being 'grounded', and all that other fun stuff .

and that sounds like a living hell for sonic

he can't do anything. he can run but it doesn't give him the same feeling because there is no feeling. the most he can do is just sit back and wait till everything's fixed.

y'know what just take this

not finished but it gets my point across and also im so normal about these two

[heartburstings]

sonic frontiers 1-2 s rank you are my enemy and i will kill you

[notfebruary]

sonic frontiers dlc has been conquered !

and as is tradition for most(if not all) fully 3D sonic games, the most difficult enemy to conquer on any playable character is the camera angle lmao

[natimiles]

Lazy morning with Jean

Words: 338

Tags: scenario; morning cuddles; fluffy; no pronouns specified for reader; established relationship.

Notes: I apologize in advance for any translation errors

You’re awake for a while, but it’s too early to get up and start your day. So the two of you are quietly cuddling, enjoying the view the skylight in his bedroom ceiling provides, as the sky slowly turns brighter with the rising sun.

At some point, you gently grab his hand and begin tracing letters on his palm with your fingertips, asking if Jean can guess what you’re spelling.

“Alright, what about now?” you whisper, as if speaking louder might disrupt the peaceful moment.

He hums, his eyebrows furrowing. “I think it’s an A.”

“Yes,” you nod, kissing the palm of his hand. “Now, we have J-E-T-A. Do you know where I’m going with this?”

He shifts his gaze from your lips kissing his hand to your eyes. The way he looks at you tells you he is trying to piece the letters together and decipher what they form. Jean’s eyes soften, and he lets out a soft laugh through his nose, indicating that he got it.

“I do,” he smiles tenderly.

You return the smile, kissing his cheek and lightly caressing the scar his eyepatch usually covers. He doesn’t mind anymore when you touch the scar; he simply closes his eyes to enjoy the affectionate gesture.

A yawn escapes you, and you try to stifle it, but Jean notices and opens his eyes again. It’s still so early, even for the two of you.

“Go back to sleep, mon amour,” he murmurs, bringing your hand to his lips and being the one to kiss you this time.

“Will you stay here with me until I have to wake up?” you shimmy your body closer to his.

“Of course.”

“Alright then,” you yawn again, and close your eyes.

“Je t’aime aussi, mon amour,” he whispers, kissing your eyelids.

He stays awake until he knows you’re quietly sleeping again, observing your every steady breath and how you unconsciously snuggle closer to him. Jean can’t help but smile. Only then he closes his eyes and follows you into sleep.

Taglist: @bicayaya @silverbladexyz @koco-coko @yamarireads @judejazza @echoes-in-the-forest @chevcore

Masterlists

[hishighnesstheprincess]

Okay massive ramble about Sonic code-switching with all of his friends in Frontiers because. It makes me big emotional. Under cut because it's a decently sized one

With each of his friends in Frontiers (Amy, Knuckles, and Tails in that order) Sonic presents a different version of himself, specifically the version that he thinks they need to see at that moment. Code-switching, at least with how it's used in psychology, is defined as when someone, subconsciously or consciously, adjusts their language, behavior, appearance, or any combination of those for whatever reason when talking with different people/groups of people. This can be as obvious as changing languages if you have different friend groups that speak different languages, or as subtle as changing one word when trying to relay the exact same idea to someone. In Frontiers I think Sonic demonstrates this behavior specifically with how he presents different sides of himself to his friends.

With Amy, before she gets out he is very openly worried about her and the situation they're all in, but as soon as she's out he starts presenting himself in a slightly calmer, more compassionate, more heroic way. He's trying to live up to the ideal of him Amy needs to see in that moment: the hero who will never stop trying to save everyone and can't be defeated.

With Knuckles, he's obviously much snarkier and more "free spirited" or so, but he still doesn't show how much he's worried or what his actual emotions are. Any emotional talk they have is instead focused on Knuckles and his emotions and what he wants to do in his future. I think he's presenting himself in a very snarky way because of Knuckles sees him caring a decent amount but not too much, and not showing a whole ton of worry, he's going to think the situation is serious but not as dire as it actually is. He's also trying to stop Knuckles from worrying.

With Tails there's the clearest example of it imo. He's the cool older brother who's always going to save the day. He deliberately hides the worst symptoms of cyber corruption from Tails and again, all their talks are focused on Tails and his future and emotions and all that. Sonic never focuses on himself in this game, it's all about other people. He's always encouraging Tails and trying to help him even in moments where, let's face it, Sonic could probably use some emotional support as well.

He's fucking code switching between his friends to both comfort them, stop them from worrying about a situation which they have very very little power over, and also to stop them from worrying about him.

Also, interestingly, he slowly gets less genuine as the game goes on. With Amy he openly shows worry about the situation to some extent even while deflecting from his own problems, with Knuckles he's fairly obviously putting on a snarky face but still isn't actively hiding anything from him, but with Tails he deliberately hides his own weakness both in conversation and when it comes to the very obvious cyber corruption.

This is all pretty upsetting but imo the worst part about it (emotionally speaking, writing wise this is all the good shit™) is that none of them ever see him at his worst and as such don't realize that he's been putting on a facade for them essentially. Only Sage sees him trying to struggle through the worst of cyber corruption, at that point basically knowing that freeing his friends will lead to himself being trapped in cyberspace. Personally I'd love to see a game in the future (Frontiers 2 please please please Sega) where this gets expanded upon more.

Additionally, there is at least one moment with each of his friends where he slips up in how he present himself: with Amy he shows frustration with the koco leading to her getting angry with him, with Knuckles he shows worry for Tails leading to Knuckles giving him a confused look, and with Tails he is unable to hide the effects of cyber corruption, leading to Tails getting extremely worried about him. But in each case he brushes their emotions off, slaps whatever face he has at the time back on, and just keeps going.

Anyway, that's the post. I would have slapped pictures in here but I am lazy and just relying on the fact that I have a borderline encyclopedic knowledge of basically every Sonic thing that I have consumed in full at this point. The autism is strong with this one

[sparkles-rule-4eva]

Hello there, love your blog, it's one of my favourite ones, I had a question... I read a comment that said Amy is no longer interested on Sonic anymore and that this is shown on frontiers, that they will make their own paths and lives, is this true?

Hey, anon! I'm glad you enjoy my blog! 🥰💙

No, no, Amy is definitely still madly in love with Sonic 🤭😁 The main reason she's been acting more tame and not so open about it is really just due to character development/maturity. According to Sega, "she's not [physically] chasing after Sonic anymore, but he's still #1 in her heart!" 💙🩷

Sonic Frontiers actually has a decent amount of Sonamy content, but moreso if you squint. 😁 First of all, it tends to address the situation more from Sonic's end, in his moments of saying romance-coded things like "Wish we were sharing an umbrella, Amy," and "Amy, I should've made up my mind sooner." 🥹

Sonic has always been shy about his feelings and therefore never said anything about said feelings to her, and he's more of an "actions speak louder than words" type of guy, but as she shared her desires to share her love with the world, he worried a little that he may have lost his chance. However, Frontiers also makes clear that his friends' plans to go on their own paths were not permanent. Especially seen in Amy's case when she told Sonic her plans, and Sonic replied, "I'm sure you'll do great. I wanna hear all about it when you get back!" 💙

As a bonus, the Final Horizons update treated us to a bit more Sonamy content as well. 🤩 In a conversation between Amy and Sage, Sage identified Amy as "the one who admires Sonic." Amy, with a bit of her younger behavior slipping out, replied with no shortage of sass, "Oh. And are you a fellow admirer? Hm?" 😂

There were a few conversations between Sonic and Amy, during one of which Sonic tried to tell Amy to take care of herself as well as the Koco. Amy ruefully retorted that she could say the exact same thing back to him. Sonic admitted that she got him there, and confidently stated that they would get through this together.

And of course, after all this, my favorite Sonamy moment of the whole game. After everything was over, his friends were restored, and he reunited with them.

The way Amy laughed and practically launched herself into his arms, Sonic's surprised little "oh!" but the way he welcomed the hug, and kept one arm around her as he high fived Tails and fist bumped Knuckles. 🥰 First of all, it's so obvious Amy had been dying to do that the whole game, and we can imagine it was tough on Sonic to be touch-deprived for an extended period of time once again (after the Metal Virus).

I think the main reason Amy didn't run to hug him when he freed her was because she immediately saw he was somehow struggling and likely didn't want to hurt him. (But then realized she wouldn't have been able to touch him, anyway. 🥲) Although it would've been kinda funny if she HAD tried to hug him and just fell straight through. 😂

I think it's worth noticing that Sonic has had this response to Amy's hugs several times lately. Instead of avoiding them, he lets her hug him and actually puts an arm around her in return. I've got a couple more examples from IDW.

Anyhoo haha, I think I got a little carried away. 😂 I hope this answers your question! Thank you for the ask! 💙

[gayemeralds]

if you’re a new follower, or if you’re looking for something specific, here’s a master post over how i tag things and what all of my theories/timelines are! i try to stay up to date!

last edit: 4/3/24

general tagging system:

sega official speaks: any original posts

fic posting: usually just memes about fics im writing, or a link to a fic i posted on my ao3

master emerald brothel: asks (context for why it’s tagged as this here)

i try to tag characters, games, original posts, and spoilers but im not always consistent. probably don’t bother trying to ask me to tag triggers/whatever because again, im not good at tagging things consistently.

note: i hate the sonic movies. i will post about how much i hate them. im not looking for a debate. if you don’t like that i don’t like them, just block me.

note: i hate shadow the hedgehog (character). i will post about how much i hate him. im not looking for a debate. if you don’t like that i don’t like him, just block me. addendum: it’s a more nuanced opinion of him than this but like… i have a lot of conflicting opinions about sega’s usage of him and him as a character so im partial to just being negative

note: im very much a “game purist” sort of sonic enjoyer. so canontivity to me is dependent entirely on the games and i mostly post about the games. i do have knowledge and even tend to like other pieces of sonic media but the games are my one true love.

anyway if you happen to like what you see… i also happen to have a cash app… $justchillinghereman

timelines & theories

sonic is the original project shadow:

a theory that the original project shadow, who lived aboard the ark with maria and gerald, was actually sonic. shadow was created later on earth by gerald specifically to end the world after the raid occurred and maria was killed.

things i’ve written for the theory:

why do i get this feeling of deja vu: a series that focuses on the robotnik perspective of project shadow (shadow, eggman, and gerald) [status: incomplete, 1/4]

i won’t look back (i don’t need to): collection of stories centering around people unraveling the project shadow conspiracy (characters like vector, rouge, tails, and others exploring Sonic’s past and how it intertwined with shadow) [status: incomplete, 6/9 (hehe)]

more resources regarding the theory:

this master post (warning, it’s super long)

this chao island forum (note: there’s three parts to the theory. if you scroll down you should be able to find all three parts)

this youtube video (note: ties into the later theory of sonic being an alien, but discussion in the latter portion of it talks about sonic being aboard the ark)

this reddit forum

this tumblr post (note: mostly explored sonic x)

another reddit forum

sonic is a chao theory:

a concept that sonic actually evolved from a regular chao into the hero we know today. a strange stretch, but i promise, there’s some meat to this.

things i’ve written for the theory:

truth can run but not hide: tails finds something very weird in sonic’s dna…

more resources regarding the theory:

this youtube video (warning, kind of long!)

this tumblr post (discussion of sonic frontiers lore)

this tumblr post (smaller version of the youtube video)

sonic and the chaos force:

specifically, this theory is about the idea that sonic is the chaos force’s “chosen one”; it’s champion, if you will. sonic’s power regarding the emeralds actually has purpose beyond being a deus ex machina.

things i’ve written for this theory:

i see the chaos for everyone: a series about various characters meeting the chaos force, otherwise known as an embodiment of chaos energy. [status: complete, 7/7]

more resources regarding this theory:

this youtube video

this tumblr post

sonic is an alien:

for me, this theory ties into the concept that sonic is related to the ancients, as a descendant or a creation, take your pick. it mainly ties into the sonic is a chao theory, since it seems the koco and chao are genetically related.

more resources regarding this theory

this youtube video

sonic is metal sonic roboticised:

the theory that in the bad future of sonic cd, eggman managed to roboticize sonic into metal sonic. eggman then sends metal sonic back to aid his past self in the fight, but the butterfly effect now causes sonic to win, which leaves metal sonic stranded in the past.

things i’ve written about this theory:

beware your mind as it proves you wrong: a series of stories where characters investigate metal sonic’s connection to sonic [status: incomplete, 3/5]

more resources regarding this theory

this youtube video

another youtube video

and another youtube video

other things of note

chaos champion timeline:

taking a page from the sonic and the chaos force theory, this timeline acts as a franchise ending final game for the sonic series- where it’s revealed that the chaos force has been wanting to break free from their entrapment in the emeralds by searching for a proper host… who happens to be a hedgehog we all know and love. acting as sonic’s final adventure, this “au” explores the mythos and lore of the emeralds and connected deities and historical mobian figures while the race to stop the final apocalypse is on.

death swap au:

in which shadow survives the finalhazard battle, but sonic doesn’t. shadow grapples with overcoming his tragic history while trying to keep his promise to maria, and the new one he made to sonic. eggman, however, isn’t willing to take a break from his dreams of conquering the world, and continues to keep the new team sonic on their toes. adapts four games: end of sa2, sonic heroes, sonic advance two, shadow the hedgehog, sonic unleashed (and, as a spin off, sonic 06)

impact series:

in this series, various characters from the sonic media meet sonic the first time not in their respective first game appearance, but in a different, eye opening event: the flooding of station square in sa1. It’s a day that connects millions of people to Sonic, but it’s a day that causes a handful to eventually continue to cross paths with him (characters include: rouge, vector, vanilla, jet, silver, and more).

walk into my mystery:

this series explores the perception of sonic’s strange abilities and connection to large lore events (the echidnas, project shadow, etc) through the eyes of his friends. follows the sega way of telling a story… alluding but never outright confirming anything.

[badlydrawnmanic]

dude i would play this game for the characterization alone. it almost feels like the thing they focused most on was getting their personalities right. it’s perfect

spoilers under the cut

sonic is reckless and sassy, but knows when to tone it down for others and cares very deeply about his friends, taking the time to understand their issues if he doesn’t get it immediately. he isn’t rude 24/7 and is doing everything he can to help the people he cares about, physically and emotionally

amy is kind and compassionate, showing empathy for every living thing around her. she’s gentle and sweet, but has this determination you can’t find anywhere else. her sort of sixth sense gets brought up multiple times, and sonic mentions her tarot reading. she clearly cares for sonic, but isn’t pushy or weird about it. it’s a sort of quiet fondness that shows she’s matured and grown into her own person, and sonic reflects that in their conversations with each other. they care about each other very much and sonic wants her to be sure that he’s doing what he can to keep her safe and make her feel protected

knuckles is simpleminded, sure, but he isn’t stupid. he may not know a whole lot due to how he lives his life, but his knowledge of the things he is aware of goes deep. yeah, he doesn’t really get what a satellite dish is, but he can tell you about the history and architecture and battle strategies of his people and numerous other ancient civilizations associated with them. he and sonic jokingly butt heads and poke fun at each other, but after they’re done play-fighting they just laugh and continue on their way. sonic understands just how important knowing about the history of his people is to knuckles, and matches his energy when he becomes scared of losing something important to him, or when he reflects on the mistakes of his ancestors

eggman hates sonic. he says so himself, very adamantly. we all know this, but deep down, he respects sonic, and i’m sure sonic respects eggman in a way. they make fantastic rivals for each other and wouldn’t be the people they are today without each other, even if they hate each others’ guts. i don’t think either of them would feel satisfied for very long if the other disappeared. like it or not, they sort of depend on each other to feel complete. there’s also some interesting dialogue from eggman about his feelings towards his cousin maria, and his observations about many things he’s seen throughout the years. yes, he’s silly and cartoonish at times, but he is a very intelligent man and is able to put things together very easily, making great observations about the world around him

sage is a very interesting character. she refers to eggman as her father, and eggman seems to be warming up to her as something more than just another computer program. he’s growing fond of her. wondering what she thinks. considers her feelings he’s proud of her and speaks of / to her in ways we’ve never seen him address his own creations before

there’s several hard to define themes to this so far. things like love, loss, loneliness, dissociation, family ties, friendships, connections to the past, what home means, and so much more

there’s also a ton of connections to sonic adventure, with the koco’s weird spirit forms resembling chaos 0, sonic and knuckles having a discussion about tikal (mentioning her by name and talking about the visions every character had in that game), and probably a few others i’m missing. knuckles reminisces about the opening of sonic 3 where he laughs after stealing the chaos emeralds from sonic. eggman mentions the black arms and babylonians. i’d have to go back and look at the cutscenes again for all the references, but i’m very excited for where this is going

all this, and i haven’t even beaten the second area’s boss yet!

i love this game. even if the gameplay was bad, i’d still think it was worth it purely for the characterization of everyone. they’re trying so hard and i appreciate it more than words can describe. the characters feel more real than usual. more relatable. more human

dude i am thriving

[atwas-gaming]

Thoughts on the Final Horizon

I've been trying to put my thoughts on Final Horizon into a cohesive analysis, and... it hasn't happened yet. So just have some terribly disjointed thoughts.

Gameplay

First off, I want to say that I only filled in about a third of the map, so I probably didn't get the full story on anything. But I did beat The End, so I have seen how the story actually ends. And personally, I'm calling this the true ending. For one thing, the boss feels like a proper boss- it's very difficult to figure out on your own, it's easy to mess up, it's not just an out-of-place mini-game that felt like it was shoved in at the last second, and we're not left scratching our heads and wondering why literal Death wasn't so much harder.

Easy and medium modes in the base game left me with the same reaction as Sonic: "Is that it???" Hard mode left me feeling like nothing made sense. Seriously, a destroyer of worlds can't do better than a few dark and light particles and an occasional death laser? I spend most of hard mode in the base game going, "Ugh, I suck at bullet hells, what does this have to do with Sonic, anyway?!?"

The required mini-games were annoying enough, but to make it into a boss fight? Never made sense, and it never felt like a real Sonic boss.

But The End in Final Horizon does. First we fight Supreme. Same old Supreme fight as ever. And he whips out his gun and you're going, "gee, I wish they'd done more with that." But then you get into the final boss, and they did. The gun is how The End is filling Supreme with its power, connecting its siphon to it to fill Supreme with its power. We have to remove the siphon, and then the gun, to be able to destroy Supreme, and that gives us the opportunity to go after the moon.

I am not convinced that the hands that sprout from Supreme's back weren't inspired by TOTK's gloom spawn XP. Especially in the second phase of the fight, when they start glowing and spitting at us.

The perfect parry we learned to use in Master King Koco's trial (along with the punch-stomp technique, amirite?) suddenly becomes important instead of just a nuisance.

If you're like me and you were a little disappointed that Sonic automatically cylooped Knight's sword instead of us getting the chance to cyloop it, we now get the chance to cyloop Supreme's gun.

I have a few nitpicks on the design, largely the fact that those dang trees were in the way most of the time, and also that it was so hard to figure out how to manage the fight (I totally forgot that dodge changes the target, so I spent an hour or two trying to figure out why I couldn't just kill Supreme and then go after the moon). Otherwise, I think it was fairly well-designed, considering that it was a DLC addition.

Story

As for the story aspect, I loved it. It was honestly about time Sonic got a new form, and Cyber Sonic fits him so well. It's clearly more than he can handle, but he "goes all out," because if he doesn't, it's over. He's not just saving his friends, anymore- he has to destroy literal Death, or the universe itself will be destroyed. (Just the universe? From the way this thing is capable of destroying the walls between dimensions, I think Sonic just saved the whole freaking space-time continuum.)

And it becomes a team effort. First Sage steps up to throw up a shield similar to the dimensional shield that kept The End trapped for milleni- albeit a much smaller one that begins breaking almost immediately; however, the fact that she could do it at all speaks volumes about not only her strength, but her ability to tap into Cyberspace. Then Team Sonic joins in, each of them equal in strength to Sage because of not only their connections to Cyberspace, but also the cyber corruption they've suffered as a result of retrieving the Emeralds.

Sonic develops new attacks and abilities, apparently having gained even greater speed and agility than ever before because of the Cyber Corruption. I don't know if this happens all the time or if I just screwed up somewhere, but it seemed like The End shot out some kind of huge energy ball that ripped both the Emeralds and the rings right out of Sonic- but then he just pulled them all back in, somehow?

I was sitting there through the whole fight going, "Come on, come on, we gotta take out that moon!" And the way they did it was, I think, even better than the normal ending (base game). In the normal ending, Sage throws Sonic into The End, and while it's enough to do some damage, Sonic is just too small. Sage, in Supreme, is large enough and has enough power to completely obliterate The End- something Sonic couldn't have done even if he'd released all the Emeralds' power while he was passing through the moon's center. He would have died for nothing. But Sage dies, instead. And we get a post-credits cutscene of Eggman rebooting Sage from backup copies. This is the normal ending.

That's why I think of Final Horizon as the True Ending- it's the one where no one dies except the bad guy. And its so perfect. Eggman and Sonic just... they just work together like they each know what the other one's going to do (one of the benefits of having been enemies for so long, I guess). There's almost no conversation between them, Eggman's already got the gun attached to the Eggmobile, he doesn't have to tell Sonic that Sonic is going to be the bullet, he just knows to do it.

Once Sonic is safely enclosed deep within the barrel of the gun, he releases the barriers that he himself put up to protect himself from the corruption, becoming a little ball of pure cyber energy. The last time the corruption took him over, he turned into a statue, like stone. This time, he holds onto his mind long enough to remain conscious while he does what he has to do. Nothing is said about his mental condition, he just roars like an animal as he rushes at the shell of Supreme's casing and the moon. I imagine he let his amnesia take over, let his mind be taken over by pure rage and one thought: DESTROY THAT THING.

(Also, I recommend watching Sonic strike the final blow in Japanese. Junichi's screams are just so perfect. Roger's voice acting in Frontiers is amazing, but I'm sorry, Roger is still the worst screamer. Junichi is amazing here.)

And then... maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think I've ever seen Super Sonic look beat up, or unconscious. Perhaps it was the Emeralds that gave Sonic the ability to hold onto himself long enough to fight? At any rate, he unleashed his Cyber power while inside The End, destroying it, and neutralizing the corruption so it didn't affect him anymore.

And then Sage finally gets to hear Eggman call her his daughter. And... the final boss music from the base game finally makes sense. I never understood why it was so tender and lovely, or why it was called "I'm With You." I figured it had something to do with Sage, but I couldn't figure out what. Now that we have lyrics, it makes sense. All she was ever thinking about was her father. Even in the base game, before she realized that she would have to die, she was just looking forward to the day that she would have a family.

BTW, I'm still not a fan of the whole "daddy Eggman" thing, I see his fondness for Sage as purely narcissistic- he built her, and she protects him, and he's proud of her for exceeding his expectations. I don't think he cares about her, he just cares about what she does for him. But even so... it's still touching. And Sonic does have a monologue on Ouranos where he says something like, "Eggman, maybe you'll finally get your act together this time." Perhaps they are leaning in that direction. Hmm... tbh, I wouldn't mind seeing him get a redemption arc, eventually. Doubt it will ever really happen, but I'm a sucker for a redemption story, so I can hope.

Final Thoughts (and some hopes for Frontiers 2)

Anyway, despite some of the shortcomings and a lack of properly setting us up and preparing us for it, I think Final Horizon was good. I can't say that it leaves me feeling like they gave us the ending they had originally intended. For instance, I've heard that Ouranos was originally intended to be set in space or something (just a rumor I heard in one video- apparently there's a lost voice clip of Sage saying something about a mothership). So, I don't feel like we got the full story as it was originally intended.

But, like... this was the biggest and most well-received Sonic game to come out in generations (see what I did there?). And I believe Sega has already said they plan on using a similar format for the next game.

Now, I'm not trying to make a prediction or get anyone's hopes up, but... well...

I mean, Team Sonic's gonna go do their own things, right? Amy and Tails are going off to explore on their own, Knuckles says he wants to go somewhere and not be tied down to Angel Island so much anymore. So, who's gonna go with Sonic on his next adventure?

May I suggest making Team Dark relevant again?

And then, since we've already involved aliens and Ancient alien technology and the Emeralds apparently came from space... and Shadow is part alien... You see where I'm going with this?

It's just my own idea, but hey, I can dream, can't I? They could make a whole 'nother huge game if they went such a route.

Anyway, whatever they decide to do, I'm looking forward to it. Frontiers was a heck of a ride- lol, I've been on this ride almost non-stop for a year now. If Sega does as good with the next game, I definitely want to see it!

[koco-bean]

reminder that if you like p/a/l/w/o/r/l/d every single character from pokemon hates you

[niageri22]

SONIC FRONTIERS REVIEWS AKA I FINALLY PLAYED (I FINISHED) THIS DAMN GAME:

SPOILER WARNING:

-THE SOOOOONNNNNGGS!!!!!! THESE ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO ME IN MY 2023 WRAPPED

-Is Sonic voice (And Amy's too kinda) really deep or am I crazy-

-Speaking of Amy, HER WRITING IS GOOD LIKE FINALLY-

-Sage :')

-Ok but like there is no heterosexual explanation for when sonic freed Knuckles 👀

-TAILS BABY I LOVE HIM AND I WANNA HUG HIM

-Sonic. YOU NEED TO REST.

-In the Chaos Island and so forward he starts limping :(

-I don't exactly remember but did anyone else notice after Rhea Island it said 'Captured' instead of 'Completed'. Holy shit

-Kocos are babies (and when they first lost their souls(?) I LITERALLY JUST STOOD THERE LIKE- "Did they just fucking die?")

-SUPER SOOOOONIC

-STICKS?!?!?!?!? IN CANON!?!?!??!? GIRL-

-The credits song broke me...

-This game is so fucking good (even though I suck at the stages)

-I CAN FINALLY LOOK INTO TUMBLR WITHOUT BEING SPOILED YAY

[beevean]

While we're on the topic of Amy's optimism, I dislike when people excuse how Amy is written as less energetic and bubbly and optimistic in Frontiers with "Well she was in a scary situation so of course she wouldn't be like that."

lmao

I'm sure being halfway trapped in Cyberspace is not a pleasant experience, but if you look back to everything Amy has experienced ever since meeting Sonic (she started out as being kidnapped by a dangerous robot that can match Sonic's speed and strength!), I doubt that that is what would break her mood. Like, by the time Sonic freed her from her cage, all she had to do was wait for him to find a more permanent solution and be supportive to the Kocos.

(speaking of which, another serious flaw in Frontiers' writing is that the characters talk about how awful it was to be trapped in Cyberspace, like apparently it's almost as bad as being petrified by the Time Eater, but we never see it and it never gets referenced again, except for Tails who got a hit to his self esteem. Guys, if you rightfully criticize Forces for relegating Eggman conquering the world to a text, you should do the same with Frontiers.)

[randomthefox]

That a cool im kind of confuse about erazor djinn,merlina, time eater and the end representation

Erazor Djinn is obviously based on Djinn or Jinns from arabian mythology, aka genies. Djinn's can be good or evil just like humans, and Shahra herself is also a djinn. Of course Erazor being NAMED Djinn while Shahra is more presented as a classical wish granting Genie is deliberately being done to present the idea of a "djinn" as being inherently malevolent, while a genie is more benevolent. Considering both words are just anglicisations anyway and the original arabic word is جِنّ this is obviously a fine way to interpret it into english. Pre-islam, djinn's were essentially personal spirits that were worshiped in private as opposed to gods which were worshiped in public, although we don't have all that many historical documentation on the specifics of this. After the rise of Islam, djinns were rolled into the Abrahamic hierarchy and are on a lower rank compared to angels, and in modern mythology Djinn are essentially always portrayed as demons or evil trickster spirits (very similar to how pagan holdovers are portrayed in a negative light by christian storytellers).

Merlina is based on Merlin and also probably Morgan le Fay, as befitting of her role in the story as initially presenting herself as a mentor and guide for Sonic (who is King Arthur) only to reveal herself as the true villain and final boss as Morgan was a reoccurring antagonist of King Arthur. Given the name, Morgan was probably a fae entity of some kind and in some texts is even referred to as a nymph. Faeries in celtic and britanic tradition are a whooooole fucking thing I don't have time to get into lol. But again given christianizations tendency to take pagan traditional beliefs and incorporate it into biblical mythology for the sake of portraying it as a falsehood or evil in some way, it makes sense to take the Morgan le Fay character and portray her as this malevolent fairy creature that wants to trap the world of Camelot in a timeless limbo. That's pretty classical fae shenanigans. Once Sonic sets her straight, she recalls her Father who was Merlin with fondness while holding a flower, and Merlin is a pretty straight forward Druid (again, discounting christianization and Robert de Boron which turns him into a prophet of the holy grail). So she's definitely got a food in both circles, I'd say.

The Time Eater is pretty Lovecraftian I'd say. It reminds me of the Color Out Of Space, especially in the state we see it in before Eggman hijacks it. It is your typical eldritch entity and a being that exists outside of linear time, though I don't know if it can be said to have any specific inspirations beyond that.

The End is a God of Death and looks like the moon because various cultures viewed the moon as a symbol of death. This also puts it in stark contrast to Solaris which was a Sun God. Specifically the cycle of death and rebirth is symbolized by the moon in the way that is has difference phases of visibility throughout the year and the way those phases effect the tides. And death and rebirth is a big theme of Sonic Frontiers, particularly with the Koco and Sage's entire storyline which appropriate ends with her sacrificing herself to defeat The End before being reborn in the post credits scene. It is very similar to Dark Gaia in that it wipes the slate clean, and Tails even directly compares the power of The End to Dark Gaia in the game. Of note that in most mythologies the moon is often (but not always) presented as female, and the sun is usually (but not always) male. The End speaks with both male and female voices at the same time. It is also of course very eldritchian as well, as it only APPEARS as a moon to our mortal comprehension and we are incapable of perceiving it as it actually is, and the form that Sonic and Sage destroy is only an aspect of its true self. It is PROBABLY not inherently malevolent, just inherently destructive, and the way it is in the game is likely just because it was pissy over being imprisoned for countless eons and not perceiving mortality as having any inherent value which again speaks very much to Lovecrafian influence.

[natimiles]

Lazy morning with Shakespeare

Words: 381

Tags: scenario; morning cuddles; fluffy; no pronouns specified; established relationship.

Notes: thanks @koco-coko for being the sweetest sweetie and for 1. making me love Will now, and 2. helping me with how this stupid writer speaks.

When you wake up, you feel around the mattress to find your lover, but he has already left. With a new play about to premiere, Will had rehearsals starting early and going until late night.

Sighing, you pout to yourself. Was it too selfish to want him to stay with you? To spend a few minutes basking in love, enjoying each other’s warmth?

“Thy lips wear the most enchanting pout, my love,” you hear his voice, and you look toward the door, seeing him enter the room.

“Will!” You smile.

“Did thou miss me that greatly?” He smiles teasingly as he makes his way back to the bed to lie down with you.

“I always do,” you answer. 

He settles down beside you, not wasting time in embracing you and bringing you close to him.

“Mm, me too,” he whispers and kisses you softly.

“Wait, what about your rehearsal?” you ask, suddenly remembering the reason he wasn’t with you until seconds ago.

“T’was postponed on account of the rain,” he says, as if it’s an obvious answer. And it is; now that you pay attention, you actually listen to the soft tap of rain outside.

“Then we can enjoy a little more time here?” you half ask, half demand.

“Aye. The sun has yet to rise, we may grant ourselves a moment’s indulgence,” he chuckles. Your whole face brightens up with his reply, and he wishes to keep it engraved in his mind forever. “Come near, my love.”

One of his hands finds your hair, twirling it around his fingers in a lazy play. The other hand slides down your back, pulling you even closer and keeping you in place. You can’t hold back the little giggle that escapes you, your wish from earlier coming true and making you the happiest.

Your hand also goes to his soft hair, and in no time, you’re sleeping again. Will stays up a little longer, lovingly staring at every little detail of your face until he feels his eyelids grow heavy.

Later, when you wake up to start your day, you find yourself locked in a tight embrace, incapable of leaving Will’s warmth. And your lazy morning turns into a lazy day, the soothing sound of rain serving as a background to your relaxation.

Taglist: @bicayaya @silverbladexyz @koco-coko @yamarireads @judejazza @echoes-in-the-forest @chandeliermichel @fang-and-feather @sh0jun

Masterlists

[sonic-wildfire]

HOW TO UNLOCK SHADOW IN SONIC FRONTIERS

Yes, the 100% very real guide on how to unlock Shadow the Hedgehog, second-most popular character in the entire canon, in the newest hit game, Sonic Frontiers!

STEPS:

Start a new save file on Hard difficulty. Do not change this for the duration of the game.

S-Rank the tutorial Cyberspace level on your first try. (Don't worry if you mess this up, you can always just clear the save file and try again.)

Now, play through the rest of the game normally up until just before the final boss, UNDER THESE CAVEATS:

Max out your Speed, Ring Energy, Attack, and Defense stats.

S-Rank all Cyberspace stages AND complete all of their side missions (listed on the results screen at the end of each stage).

Unlock the whole skill tree (does not need to include story-dependent moves that Sonic learns naturally throughout).

Map out the entirety of all five islands.

Collect enough Memory Tokens for every character to speak with them in all the locations which they appear.

While fighting Knight, during phase two, perform a Double Quick Cyloop on them so you trigger a cutscene where Knight is lifted up and then speared to the ground.

Catch all the unique fish & items in Big's fishing minigame AND unlock all Egg Memos.

Collect 999 rings in the overworld.

After you have completed the above, defeat the final boss as usual. Make sure you are still on Hard difficulty.

When the game brings you back to the title screen, go back into the save file. Now go to the final Chaos Emerald shrine you just visited inside the ruins and perform a Cyloop around it. You will hear a jingle, at which point bring up your map and go to Kronos Island.

Once on Kronos Island, go to the shrine which houses Cyberspace level 1-2. Complete the level in under 50 seconds, after which you must open up the map and go to Chaos Island.

Once you arrive at Chaos Island, head to the location where you had previously gathered parts for the Kocos’ cannon. Perform a Cyloop and draw a rough outline of Shadow’s head with it.

If everything has been done correctly, a cutscene will play where Shadow appears in front of Sonic. After the cutscene ends, you will be given a message stating that Shadow is now playable! Congratulations!

To select Shadow as your character, choose a save file, then hold the jump button and the boost button simultaneously while on the loading screen.

NOTE: I am not responsible for any amount of time lost attempting this strategy.