#sonic doesn't care if it fucks him up and knows shadow can take it

[antirepurp]

whatever this setting is that im creating has a tag now (chaos energy au, im not feeling creative and it just needs Any Tag). some more thoughts about chaos energy and the fellas using it:

chaos energy is inherently destructive, and there's a reason its primary uses lie in powering machinery; organic bodies are easily damaged by it when trying to handle large quantities of it at once

chaos emeralds are almost uncomfortably warm to touch, not enough to burn but you won't enjoy handling them bare-handed

echidnas are the only species that naturally resist the effects of chaos energy, and are able to harness it without drawbacks. most of it likely has to do with them evolving in proximity of the emeralds, but there are no clear answers as to why

sol energy is still the baja blast of chaos energy and has similar if not the exact same properties

blaze can withstand both sol and chaos energy with no ill effects due to the presence of iblis in her heart. she's not aware of it, but he cycles the energy out of her system safely and without allowing it to harm her

shadow was hand-crafted to withstand chaos energy as well as possible, giving him the innate ability to chaos control with ease and utilize the energy's full potential with no real side effects

he's not exactly made of chaos energy, but rather has a resistance similar to echidnas that allows him use it freely

a super state inherently burns away at its host. this cannot be prevented through regular means, and the only one who resists this is blaze due to iblis' presence

sonic is not immune to the effects of a super state

he has built up some resistance over the several times he has entered a super state, but this is more akin to a numbness to the destructive effects rather than any true resistance

silver's super state during the fight against solaris nearly destroyed him, partially resulting to his generally unstable existence post-06

a super state's destructive effects can be hastened and amplified through repeated transformations in quick success, prolonged transformations, and the host already being in a weakened state from other causes and effects (i.e. cyber corruption, dark gaia's influence...)

[voids-cave]

Losing my shit at people not understanding Shadow The Hedgehog and SONIC the hedgehog I'll maul you I'll do it!!!

[pyjamaart]

Breaking Bot (read more for some rambling about mega man fully charged)

Mega Man Fully Charged has been on my mind again lately, which made me realize that there's literally a robot named Chemistryman who worked as a chemistry teacher. Not using him as a Walter White stand-in would be a criminal offense.

I'll have to admit I started getting back into Fully Charged again after seeing some asshole on twitter complain about the character design for the hundredth time. I just can't stand that kind of negativity. I swear to god, Fully Charged is like the Sonic Boom of the Mega Man franchise. Personally, I really enjoy the FC designs. I've probably said this before, but I feel like the redesigns give some of the more forgettable robot masters way more character. Like, do I care for Classic Drillman from Mega Man 4? I mean, yeah, I do, but I wouldn't care as much if it wasn't for his Fully Charged incarnation.

I also really enjoy most of the original robot masters. I already talked plenty about Blastowoman and why I love her so much, but I want to talk about the others this time.

Take for example Chemistryman. Comparisons to Walter White out of the way, I feel like his character was a really fun idea. God knows I had teachers who put me to sleep back in the day. For me, it wasn't chemistry though, it was my economics teacher. I always compared her to a story teller at a Christmas market who would read children stories out of her big fairy tale book. Only that in reality, it was stuff like the minimization/maximization principle. Most of my notes for that class were incomprehensible chicken scratch, because I just couldn't keep my eyes open. In the end, I slept through like half her classes, lol. But I gotta say that I still always got a B or higher in the end. Somehow. I thank god every day that I never have to step foot in a school again.

I really wish Chemistryman got a little more time to shine though. Two episodes is just way too little. I would gladly take three more episodes with him over those gross Gutsman episodes. I know I love talking about wasted potential with this show, but I wish there was an episode that focused on Chemistryman outside of the school setting. I get that his whole character is "boring, bitter teacher", but I'd really like to see what he gets up to when he's not trying to force children to listen to his chemistry lectures. Like having Aki try to talk him into going into retirement for good. And then he tries to find hobbies for him so that he doesn't bore himself to death. I can see him getting into building model ships or something like that, lol.

Now that I'm already writing up a storm again, I might as well talk about some other headcanons I have about the FC bots. Since Woodman was in sleep mode for 30 years after the war ended (I don't know where I got that number from. I rewatched his debut episode, but the exact number doesn't appear anywhere. Oh well, let's just pretend this is canon, even if it isn't.) we got kind of a Shadow the Hedgehog type situation on our hands. All of his friends and family got to live their lives in this new, peaceful world of harmony between robots and humans, while Woodman spent 30 years powered down in a bush or something. Completely forgotten about. Like, why didn't they go look for him after the war ended? I don't think Aki and Suna wandered that far into the forest for their school assignment. If you really think about Woodmans back story for a moment, you realize how fucked up it actually is. 

Now my explanation for this goes into heavy heavy headcanon territory. When Suna calls the principal about Woodman, he warns her that Woodman is dangerous and to get away from him immediately. Now why would he say that? The principal also calls him "ruthless" in that same explanation. What I think happened back then was that Woodman actually planned to assassinate the human armies leader. (Possibly Sgt. Night?) The leader of the robots caught wind of his plan and put him into sleep mode himself, since he and Dr. Light were on the brink of finding a way to end the war peacefully. In my mind, this leader is the FC version of Swordman. Don't ask me why, he was just the first guy I thought of. And then it just stuck.

I know this makes Woodmans back story even more fucked up, but I just love putting my favorite blorbos through hardship. Don't even ask me about my headcanons for Drillman. They'd actually put me in prison.

Now all this culminates after Woodman is reactivated by Suna and Aki. Finding himself alienated from all his former friends and comrades (Maybe the other Mega Man 2 robot masters?), what was he supposed to do? He couldn't spend the rest of his life isolated (and homeless) in the forest, could he? And this is where season 2 could have delivered. But I'm done whining about that. If Capcom doesn't deliver, I gotta write my own season 2. Simple as that.

Anyway, getting back to Chemistryman, since he's pretty old, I imagine that he was already working as a teacher when Woodman was still around. Maybe he even was his teacher at some point.

And since I love having my favorite characters interact, I also thought of a scenario where Drillman wanders into the forest out of frustration over his miserable life, only to meet Woodman by coincidence. In the end, Woodman helps him work through his daddy issues and his body dysmorphia, while Drillman helps Woodman reintegrate and manage this (for him) completely new world of peace. Another great headcanon of mine is that Chemistryman is actually Acidmans father. Just because I think it would be funny. And as Fully Charged has confirmed: robots in that universe do indeed have parents. (Flashback to the time I drew Dr. Light beating the shit out of Drillman's father)

Speaking of Drillman.... For being one of my favorite Mega Man characters of all time, I haven't drawn him nearly enough. That will probably be my next project.

This might also be a great time to tell you that I've never watched Breaking Bad before, lol. Everything I know about it comes from RTGame's Stardew Valley playthrough and the RTVS Half Life parody.

Sorry for all the yapping. But if I don't talk about robots at least once a day, I might die. This is a serious condition.

[bluebunnyears-08]

Why Nine is The Secondary Protagonist in Sonic Prime

I recently made an appreciation post about this edgy little fella, however, when I rewatch the show (yes I rewatch it several times daily, so what?) I feel the cogs in my brain turn and create several theories. Looking back at Nine, I realized he will be one of the BIG characters, not the big (relevant to the plot and development), but the BIG (really fucking important).

As in MIGHT BE THE DEUTERAGONIST type of BIG.

Sonic is the protagonist, as he usually is in his games, however, Nine is another huge character who is not only crucial to the plot but might also twist the plot as well.

A deuteragonist is an essential secondary character in a narrative, second only to the protagonist, and may act like a constant companion or someone who aids the protagonist. However, the deuteragonist can change from helping the protag to actively opposing them, depending on their own conflict or plot.

Nine already proves to be a huge character in Sonic Prime, however, in the first batch of episodes, Shadow does somewhat take up some of this role. However, he might change to become a tritagonist in future episodes. Someone who helps the protagonist, is the third most important character, and often the third member of the group.

So Nine might be the TRUE deuteragonist and I DO have a list of reasons why I think so.

So, with that said, let's begin.

1. He is already established to be an important character

From the first moment we meet him, we already know he's going to be a very important character in the plot. He fixes up Sonic's shoes and gloves figures out how to use a shard to open a portal, and is a very formidable ally. He is an important character to keep the plot going and to help explain the plot. However, it's not like those Sonic games, where he's just there to explain the plot. He HAS a character and personality, he's not just a cardboard cutout.

He HAS depth and complexity to him. Something I can appreciate considering the past media of any version of Tails the past years (not including Frontiers, that game was amazing). He's also obviously going to continue to be an important character in season two as well.

2. He's a very engaging character

Let's all admit it: Nine is the most interesting character in Sonic Prime. Not just because of his mindset of "get this however you can no matter what" and "do whatever it takes and needs to survive". Not just that but his snarky and cold personality combined with his nine-tailed badassery just makes him an engaging and enjoyable character.

The things he does can leave people scrambling for answers. Why exactly did he change his mind about helping the rebels? What is he planning? What is going on in that fluffy head of his?

So many questions that leave us waiting with anticipation for the next batch of episodes for answers.

3. People can relate to his trauma

Nine's backstory is what we expected, but that doesn't mean it holds back punches. Without Sonic to defend him from bullies, without Sonic to care for him and take him in, he learned to trust and look out only for himself. It's a sad backstory and it explains why he's so guarded and aloof all the time.

I've read posts that state they relate deeply to Nine and can immerse themselves in his character with empathy. I can confirm as being a victim of abuse. He's aggressive and snarky because he has walls, walls that he put up to never get hurt again. He doesn't try to justify himself in his backstory, stating he "wasn't minding his surroundings" instead of "I didn't know" or "it wasn't my fault" he shows signs of a sort of self-resentment. Again, I can relate SO MUCH to, thinking that I could've prevented it and holding myself responsible for not doing anything, that I could've stopped it from happening.

Those who suffer or have suffered can see themselves in Nine, and as a result, the sorrow we feel for him can hit harder if we know what it was like.

4. We don't know where his character is going to end up

Another bunch of posts I've seen about Nine is that we legitimately don't know where his character is going to end up. He's muddled deep in his mystery and inner turmoil that we can't see the deep end of what he's going to be. A hero? A villain? An Anti-hero?

Just what's going to happen to him?!

He has a plan but what is it?

5. He's the most controversial character

Nine's intentions and character have been put in many perspectives on what people think he's planning, what he's going to be, why he does certain things, whether he cares for Sonic or not, whether he trusts Sonic or not, and MORE.

He's been theorized and twisted into what people think about him and what he's going to do. In my opinion, if a character does this to a community, you KNOW you're doing something right. Controversial characters are very mysterious and morally ambiguous, you don't truly know why they do the things they do or what they plan, but you have your own ideas on what might happen and other people do too, despite them possibly being different from yours.

Controversy (WHEN NOT LEADING TO VIOLENCE AND DEATH THREATS) is very fun and interesting. Reading people's thoughts even if they differ from your own, with the possibility that they might change your own theories is a very enlightening and interesting thing!

6. He has a completely opposite goal to Sonic

It's very clear that Sonic and Nine have different goals that clash with each other. Sonic, being the all-loving hero he is, wants to return home and see his true friends again, not to mention help and protect the other shatter spaces. Nine on the other hand wants to make a new home, a world with just him and Sonic and nobody else, not caring for the other shatter spaces or anybody else.

Their goals clash with each other and can't be fulfilled at the same time. Nine's goal includes only him and Sonic and no one else. Sonic's goal includes others, not to mention these two are from two completely different universes.

It's clear these two, no matter how close they are, won't give up their goal for the other, so unless their willing to compromise, it might lead to something bigger.

7. His goal separates him from other variations of himself and others

While he is just another variation of one of the main characters, his goal of achieving something beyond his own universe along with keeping Sonic differentiated from the other main variations who want something within their own shatter space. Thorn wanted to keep the jungle from being destroyed, and Dread wanted the shard out of greed, the rebels want to put the council out of power and take back their land, the jungle variants wanted to eat and live among the jungle again, and the pirates are just typical pirates.

Unlike the others, whose goals can be achieved in their universes, Nine wants nothing to do with his own. Like Sonic, Nine's goal is related to the shatter space.

8. Nine truly has no one EXCEPT Sonic

Another thing to differentiate him from the other versions of himself and the main cast is how Nine has nothing to lose. Other versions of him have a group of the main cast, hell even Rusty Rose finds herself valued (not sentimentally but still) and useful to the council. Nine, however, has nobody until this bright blue hedgehog told him about a life he could've had, a life Sonic gave to his other self.

So it's no wonder he took the very person who can give him the same life to a new shatter space. He wants that desperately. It's no wonder he doesn't show an interest in getting Sonic home anymore, if he does that, the chance of having the life he always wanted, that hope, would be gone forever. I don't think Nine's going to let that happen easily.

9. Everyone roots for him and wants him to be happy

There are zero people that don't want him to achieve his goal of love and happiness. Not just for the fact that he's a version of a character we're already emotionally invested in, but also because Nine is his own person. He's still a person who was horribly abused to the point of being jaded and cold.

Seeing him smile or show comfort really melts my heart cause this kid deserves SO MUCH! I know you all agree. But it is depressing to remember that Sonic NEEDS to go back and restore his world, he'll have to leave Nine behind. I don't think they're going to go with Sonic taking Nine with him because of what might happen with the whole "they can't see each other" stuff.

And with how stubborn and desperate Nine is...

I'm curious about how they figure this out and resolve this.

10. He might affect the plot

A protagonist is not just the lead character who pushes the plot along, they also affect and can possibly change the plot as well. Sonic already kicked off the plot, it's possible for Nine to affect it in a BIG way. This can lead to a LOT of possibilities when you consider that. We KNOW he has a plan and it has something to do with the Chaos Council capturing him. This fact can lead to a LOT of interpretations.

Well, that was my list of how Nine might be the deuteragonist of Sonic Prime in the future. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a lovely day <3

[caffeine-clouds]

Sonic Characters When They're Sick

Hi, I'm sick - which is fun. But this gives me a good excuse to make yet another post. How Sonic characters act when they or their friends are sick, let's go hoes:

Sonic: He has two moods. When he just has mild sniffles? The WHOLE world knows about it;. He whines with the worst case of man flu imaginable and acts like he's about to die - much to the annoyance of everyone around him.

However, when he has a sickness you should worry about? No, you won't know about it. He'll keep trucking along to the best of his ability until he faints. As for when his friends are sick? He's more likely to laugh than anything else before running to get some medication.

Tails: He's smart so he actually knows like - how to take care of himself. He has a tendency to downplay his symptoms though but thankfully Sonic can spot when Tails is going through a rougher patch than he's letting on. The only time Tails will neglect looking after himself is when he's currently working on a big project and he doesn't want to stop - regardless of his sickness. Sleepless nights end up only making things worse and you get the point. Sonic or Amy has to drag him away from his work as a result.

Knuckles: For a guy who's lived in the wilderness all his life and has never stepped foot in a hospital - he's only gotten sick once in his life, guess he built up his immunity. He's got all the natural herbal remedies ready to go for his friends and basically goes into full-blown crunchy mom mode when he hears they're struggling. You have medicine in your hand? Nope, nope. Put that down. He's got the flowers, herbs, salts, and essential oils right here - you'll be just fine.

Amy: Again, as a functioning member of society - she knows how to take care of herself. She balances it out - she has both medicine and natural remedies to treat herself and others. She is doting on others when they're sick, especially Tails. Although she doesn't have patience for Sonic's bullshit. She WILLL show up to your house with dozens of baked goods because sugar = happiness, simple equation.

Rouge: Drama Queen, period. Homegirl is dramatic even when it's just a common cold. This has had an undesirable effect on her teammates that we will discuss later. She lays on the couch under a blanket, tub of ice cream in hand and watch whatever TV show she's been meaning to binge. Being ill is an excuse to be chill - that's her motto. She might remember to take actual medicine.

Shadow: Can't get sick. But when someone around him is sick, his germaphobe mode fucking activates. He will be cleaning the same countertop for ten minutes straight, very vigurously. Why? Because Rouge ended up accidentally teaching him that all form of Mobian sickness is the end of the world and in his mind - anyone could die from a cold if untreated. He does not want it spreading, and if he could get Rouge to wear a hazmat suit - he would. He's the one reminding everyone else to take their fucking meds.

Omega: He doesn't really understand the concept of sickness all that much but when he sees Rouge in pain - his instict is to go straight to the source. He will interrogate to find out who she caught it from and will proceed to beat up that person if they fail to stop him. Although let's be frank - he's mainly just feigning his ignorance at this point so he can have an excuse to get violent.

Blaze: Again, knows how to take medicine and keep herself hygenic. Often doted on by castle staff allthough she doesn't really like it when it happens. She will keep insisting she can carry out her royal duties instead of taking rests - which can have poor effects. But again, castle staff are there to stop her from going too far. Her friends also encourage her to rest because they know of this habit of hers. If her friends are sick - she'll make sure they have their meds, a place to rest, and a warm cup of tea before leaving them so she can go about her day.

Silver: Surprisingly the most competent in dealing with sickness alongside Amy. Again, a surprisingly strong immune system despite how much ash he's probably inhaled over the years. Maybe chaos energy exoposure fixed it - who knows? But anyways - he rests, he takes his medicine, but if he hears his friends are in a fight he will show up to it regardless of how he feels. When his friends are sick - he's supportive, always checking in to offer company and he's texting cute cat GIFs to cheer people up.

Tangle: She's got you, okay? She'll make you a nice drink - hot chocolate - with cream and sprinkles - she's on it, she'll give you snacks, she will find her old video game consoles and comics to keep you entertained, she will get you dozens of blankets - everything you need! Everything... except... medicine. She has a tendency to forget the important part.

Whisper: If she doesn't know you too well, she'll pass you the paracetamol with the longest piece of apparatus she can find so she doesn't have to get too close to you. If she is close to you however, (i.e. Tangle) - she is fretting, girl is waiting on hands and knees, she is ready to give you EVERYTHING you need - you just gotta say the word.

[cats-mayhem]

Infinite has body image issues. I know that it's a common headcannon, but I'm just gonna go on for a bit.

I think the longer he was with Eggman, the more Infinite stopped seeing his body as his own and more like a vessel, a thing, an object the Ruby can take ahold of and have its power be maximized.

Mostly because Eggman never really gave a shit about Infinite in particular, he only ever cared about the Ruby that he possessed. And anytime Eggman ever talked about Infinite as a person, it was to berate him for his past and how weak he was before the Ruby.

As time went on, Infinite began to think that the Ruby was his own. He gave up his mind and body to the Ruby, and he thought that as an exchange, he had control over the Ruby itself.

Of course that was just a lie, an illusion. The Ruby used infinite and took care of Infinite's body for him due to it being the only thing it's conscious could control.

After the events of Forces, the Ruby is shattered, and it's conscious dying with it, but the power remained in Infinite.

For a while, Infinite didn't eat, drink, sleep, ect. He just used the power he had to satiate himself. However, doing that made him drained all the time, and his power wasn't at its peak because of it.

It didn't take him long to realize the root cause of the problem, but he didn't like it. He gave up his body to become the Ultimate Weapon and inhabit the power of one of the most powerful Jewels on earth, and yet he needs to eat and sleep and do all of that basic shit still? And the reason he's mad about this comes from the fact that he has never seen Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, do any of that.

Well, he has seen Shadow eat, but never sleep. Infinite has seen Shadow go out to lunch with Rouge or Sonic, but he just assumed that he was eating then because it made sense in the setting.

It's not until one day, Infinite catches Shadow asleep, does he say anything about this. He wakes Shadow up and asks him why he's sleeping when he doesn't need it.

Shadow explains that while he can go for long periods of time without eating, sleeping, ect. It'll make him exhausted. He won't die from it, but it'll definitely affect his performance a bit. He also gets pestered by Rouge and Sonic to take care of his body because they're worried for him, so he does just so that they lay off.

Infinite mocks Shadow, saying that the ultimate lifeform still has basic needs. But Shadow immediately turns the tables by saying Infinite looks like shit. He immediately calls Infinite out on his hypocrisy, and when Infinite admits that he hasn't taken care of himself ever since the Restoration found him, Shadow can relate to him.

When Shadow first joined Sonic & Co, he never took care of himself. It wasn't until Sonic and Rouge practically begged him to start giving a fuck about himself did he actually started doing it, or, attempting to anyways. Rouge and Sonic helped him get into the habit. And he felt a lot better afterwards. He knows what Infinite is going through.

But it's late, and Shadow is still groggy from being woken up, so he doesn't want to have that conversation now. In the morning, he will, but now? He just pulls Infinite in bed with him, and before the Jackal can say anything, he conks out because his body was just THAT exhausted.

Shadow and Infinite cuddle for the night.

[skaruresonic]

Do you have any opinion about this post? It proposes that a key element of Shadow's characterization is loyalty, and the reason portrayals like SA2, '06, TMOSTH and Prime are beloved is because Shadow is loyal to something (I would add Forces as well), while others like Boom and IDW fall flat because he's only in for himself.

(some of the tags, of course, are all "sega take notes, everyone gets it but you", which is funny for multiple reasons)

I want to agree with it more than I do. The way it's worded makes it difficult for me to be fully persuaded, because it seems to be missing something.

I feel like the post is a bit over reductive. It's already an exercise in futility to try to boil Shadow down to one or two traits because he contains multitudes, nuances, and subtleties; it'd be like distilling Eggman down to "evil scientist" and then ignoring all the ways in which his manchild behavior molds his character archetype.

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.

Idk maybe it's just me but something about this style of analysis rubs me the wrong way. When people make declarative, emotionally-loaded statements about the characters that Sound Good on paper but don't hold up to close scrutiny. If you're going to assert something this lofty, you need to provide concrete examples. When did Shadow kill for a friend in the games? When did he express the willingness? Can you give me an example?

also lmao "Sonic's not gonna kill a man for you," Sonic will absolutely kill a man if he fucks around and finds out While I agree with the overarching idea that loyalty can be an important part of his character, if we're talking post-ARK raid Shadow... You kind of have to be honest about the brand of loyalty he possesses, because his loyalty looks very different from Amy's or Tails'. It's a specific, hardwon type of loyalty. It's begrudging. It's that "Pssh, what? I don't care. Feelings are for wussies" kind of loyalty, if anything. Like, it took Rouge dragging his unconscious ass home, a three-day-long fever dream, and her twisting his arm just to get her to begrudgingly call her "ally." You know what I mean?

On the other hand, I disagree with the notion that an overt lack of loyalty inherently makes him unrecognizable, since self-determination is an arguably equally prominent part of his character. In ShTH, you're just as free to ignore the wishes of your partner characters and go your own way. Cue the Fleetwood Mac.

Framing it as though loyalty is the linchpin on which his character rests risks defining Shadow solely through his relationships with others. Note that I'm not necessarily saying his relationships aren't important, just that they're not the most important. Agency and the right to determine his own destiny are vital parts of his character as well. He didn't just tell Rouge "And I will fulfill my promise to Maria; that's the only thing that matters to me now" in SA2. He first told her "Even if my memories aren't real, it's still me, Shadow."

...I'm not sure why OP decided to include Archie and X in their analysis, considering Archie and X are dead and have no bearing on Game!Shadow's character. Not sure what's meant by Shadow being "loyal" to Amy in MoSTH, either; I don't really have context for that since I didn't play it. If I had to guess, however, methinks OP may be mistaking Shadow doing something kind for Amy for friendship or loyalty towards Amy. You can do kind things for others without necessarily being "ride or die" for them.

This is where the post really loses me. Shadow's backstory doesn't need to be expanded upon at this point in the series; they've already dedicated at least three games and a handful of adaptations to his tragic backstory. We don't need to keep returning to the same well again and again. Surely we can do better than to navel-gaze. And the reasons why "he's like this" ought to be clear to anyone who's played the games, since they're fairly self-evident.

"But what about pre-raid Shadow?" I hear someone inevitably ask. Well, yes, Shadow displays obvious loyalty toward Maria, Gerald, and the ARK as a whole, but certain ShTH endings notwithstanding, it's not a blind sacrificial devotion. Regardless of his loyalty, he exercises the agency not to act like a mindless weapon in the hands of his creator. He possesses reason and more importantly, uses it. He still has enough presence of mind to seek to undo "all the evil the Professor has created" in SA2.

Even before the trauma of the raid and Gerald's programming went and deeply mucked up his sense of self, he was preoccupied with notions of self and identity, for understandable reasons. He wasn't purely a lapdog for Maria or the researchers. I feel like swinging the pendulum in the polar opposite direction and saying "Shadow is defined chiefly via his dedication to others" because it swung too far into "Shadow is a hyper-macho jerk" territory isn't a balanced stance to take.

Like this post is arguing from a Watsonian perspective, as though IDW!Shadow's jerkassness indicates some sort of internal selfishness, when the Doylist "Shadow was just written like shit in the book" will suffice. Shadow has a character outside of his relationships to others, just as Sonic and Eggman do. He's quiet, introspective, and in all honesty, he comes out with some hard-hitting lines sometimes. "This is the final voice of the last war machine," anyone?

Sorry if this reply is all over the place, I'm just writing down thoughts as they occur to me lol. Feel free to add your two cents.

[generic-sonic-fan]

you should share some of your favorite headcanons about omega/team dark with us. i’m in your inbox encouraging you to be as self-indulgent as possible. your last fic has me enamored, i want to hear about everything ever actually but that’s a good place to start 👀

My eyes stopped reading at "self indulgent" so get ready for my wordy, OOC, vibe-based take on Omega! Hold onto your butts, everyone, this is a long one.

To put it simply, there is no Team Dark without Omega.

Because while Shadow and Rouge are so concerned with coming off as Rational People Who Have Their Shit Together, Omega is completely, utterly, unabashedly himself. He's a rebel without a cause, in a way that rebelling against everything tends to cancel out on each other. I sound absolutely off my rocker when I say this, but Omega has a very similar vibe to Sonic for me. Of all the Sonic characters, second to guy himself, Omega is actually the one most concerned with personal freedom. This robot's fundamental tragic backstory is that he spent the first year of his life locked away in a basement, and now he's going to make it everyone's problem. Autonomy is his #1 guiding rationale. He does what he wants, he says what he wants, he kills what he wants.

He got hit with the "You are what you choose to be" thing that most fictional robots with guns strapped to them undergo, except he fully embraced being himself over being kind or moral.

. . . and this is why it bothers me so much when Omega is written as stiff and "logical" in Team Dark fics.

Shadow is the one that has the "stiff" thing covered for the entire team, since getting him to emote is like trying to unstick an industrial-grade magnet from the side of the fridge. Omega, on the contrary, is the one who challenges the status quo at all times, forcing Shadow (and to some extent Rouge) out of their comfort zones. He is the bringer of chaos! He doesn't care much about logic at all, not since he decided that his main response to every problem was calculating how many bullets he can fill it with. What most people get stuck on is the fact that he sounds like a stereotypical robot, his big words and clinical phrasing acting like camouflage to the enormous seething bundle of rage he is at all times.

And that's just the thing- Omega is proud that he's a robot. He's not going to try and talk more like a meatbag! Who do you think he is? He embraces having an extensive dictionary in his databanks, allowing him to pick the perfect word. He embraces his ability to calculate data at a rate no organic brain could hope to compare with. And oh, he's proud to flaunt both of those to show why he thinks he's right all of the time, but this doesn't mean he allows himself to be dictated by "rational logic". The only thing dictating him is himself. However, he's happy to let people assume that he is the most objective one in the room, either for his own advantage or because he thinks it's funny.

And GOSH is this robot fucking hilarious. He is absolutely the comic relief of Team Dark, but you have to understand that it's not in the way most people think. Most people write Omega being funny only in an incidental way- "haha, the killer robot doesn't understand things!" -but this kind of writing makes me see red. Look at me. Look me in the eyes. Say it with me: Omega is funny on purpose. He gets power out of making people do a double-take in his direction!! He wants to make people uncomfortable!!! He loves "owning" people!!! He wants to be the prevailing force in any social interaction, and to make people laugh is to have power over them.

And all of this, all of this, all of this, makes him a character foil to Shadow, which is why he's an essential spice when you're mixing up a fic about Team Dark. You've got the robot who knows exactly who he is in the same room as the guy who's whole narrative is about having an identity crisis. And they're both stubborn as hell about it. Omega challenges Shadow at every turn, in a way that makes Shadow reflect on his actions and who he wants to be.

Without Omega, it's only Shadow and Rouge. And don't get me wrong, these two are delightful on their own. Rouge has a dramatic streak in her, but it tends to mellow out when Shadow's around, since he himself is a very serious person. They tend to slow each other down. Remind each other to take breaks. Keep each other in check. And all of this is good! They need that kind of stabilizing effect that the other has, but sometimes this effect can bring each other to a standstill if they're not careful enough. Omega is the driving force that keeps them going, keeps them improving upon themselves, keeps them clawing their way forwards. He reminds them that at the end of the day, there's always a bigger picture (and that bigger picture is serving Eggman's head on a platter, but you get the idea. He's helping.)

Rouge supports Shadow. I agree with all the common fanon about this one, but allow me to add this- Omega helps Rouge support Shadow. He makes sure that she doesn't burn herself out by slipping into "overprotective friend" mode too often. He reminds her, sometimes harshly if necessary, that Shadow will survive despite getting triggered or angry sometimes. He tells her to take care of herself, stating "I REQUIRE MY TEAMMATES TO KEEP THEMSELVES FUNCTIONAL. I WILL NOT GO OUT OF MY WAY TO SAVE IDIOTIC SELF-SACRIFICING TEAMMATES". (And he's not lying here, not in the slightest; he relies on Rouge and Shadow to keep themselves alive. This was never even a debate. They know this. It encourages them to not be quite so reckless.)

To finish off this absolute monster of a post, let's ask ourselves one more question- what's Omega getting out of all of this, then? The simple answer is the talents of the world's best thief and the power of the hedgehog who can explode on command. And really, that's what it started with. Omega didn't get assigned on a team with these two hoping to make friends. The "friends" part didn't come along until later, much later, and even he's not sure how quite to handle it.

I received a lovely ask earlier from the person who provided this ask to me, which my fat butterfingers managed to delete from my inbox before I could answer, but I do remember one very specific idea that they suggested- Omega never pretended to be nice. It'd be weirder for Rouge and Shadow if he ever did. He was always transparent about how he considered them means to an end when it came to seeing his objectives complete. In order to utilize these means most effectively, he needed to maintain them. This meant learning more about them to ensure that they functioned at optimum capacity.

"Friendship" began with making sure they got enough sleep and that they ate their meals on time. Then came investigation into emotional damage, spurred no doubt by one of Shadow's panic attacks. Soon enough, Omega is learning everything about these meatbags, and in the process, he's. . . learning about what it feels like to be treated as a person?

Because there was never any mistake in Omega's processor about the fact that he's a person. He came to that conclusion long before Shadow and Rouge entered the picture. But he'd never been treated like one before. Hell, he hadn't even seen how a person was supposed to be treated by the world before he met those two. Now he's in a position where he's being treated with respect for the first time by these two meatbags while at the same time being able to observe how the rest of the world doesn't extend that same courtesy. He drew conclusions very quickly- in order to keep being respected by these two, he'd have to reciprocate their engagements and respect them back. One thing leads to another and now he finds that his attachment runs deeper than considering them mere "assets". He still doesn't quite know how to handle this, which is why, when pressed, he'll tend to stick to denial about it.

(There's definitely a "five times Omega denied that he cared and then the one time he admitted it" fic to be written about this, if you know what I mean.)

So, in a very stereotypical robot sense, he does learn about friendship and emotion and personhood and all that from Rouge and Shadow. But he's VERY closeted about it, as he'd rather deactivate than admit that he didn't, in fact, have everything figured out about himself since day one.

There is no Team Dark without Omega. But also, there is no Omega without Team Dark. Rouge and Shadow have been fundamental influences on him. People who write Omega as not having changed in demeanor much at all from other Badniks are so off the mark about this. To be loved is to be changed- and this robot is loved by his friends, and he loves them back in his own way!!!

[btnclmrttn]

Heyy!! How are you? Just found your blog and tbh I love it.

May I request some HC with the opm four horseman with an reality manipulator! Reader (whatever kind of relationship u feel comfortable) , like they overpowered as fuck but doesn't change anything in their reality because it would make things boring? Would love to see what the characters think.

Sorry for the really specific and random request, the concept got in my mind and I got like 🤔 (feel free to ignore)

Nah u good I have a OPM OC with a similar concept! Easy peasy, bro!

Reality Shifting!Reader

~~~~

Saitama

Mad respect for you no matter the relationship

He has quite the attachment to you because you're on a similar level of strength and how it separates you from the average Joe's

Seriously. He basically is your shadow and doesn't know it. Subconsciously pulling a Genos

Just glad he knows someone that actually gets it

He asks you weird questions often about some "What if..." Like you can see the said alternate reality or something. Whether you do or not is up to you but he asks a LOT of questions

He never would ask you to change anything otherwise, so least likely to be on you like that

He also is a little protective of you. Outside of the context of knowing you, this could be an intimidating power to the common people and could start some massive scared mob if you're not careful

Just in general he looks out for you a little more and checks in to make sure you're alright. He knows how brutal people can be

Genos

Poor boy. Knowing someone like you gives him a crisis

He would never ask you to change anything, specifically his past. But he thinks about it a lot

Changing it would mean he would never have met you or his sensei though so that's what he sticks to. He loves you both too much

He is EXTREMELY protective of you. He does not want you falling into the wrong hands, or being corrupted somehow. So he's more of a shadow than Saitama

Endless questions so hope you have the patience for them. He loves his sensei but someone with an equal amount of power, despite it being different, he would like to interrogate

Mostly about how you came to have the power, not exactly what ifs. You get one of those every now and then but he has a better understanding of serious cause and effect (like the 9/11 to 50 shades of grey pipeline)

He does sort of go out of his way to make sure you're never seriously pissed off. He doesn't want to know what wrath you could possibly unleash

That being said he's just sweet baby with you and your best neutralizer when it comes to heavy emotions

Sonic

I'll b honest with you, Sonic would likely be the most annoying (at first) if he knew about you.

At the same time, most protective. Even more than Genos. He doesn't want heros or monsters alike tampering with your head and throwing off what you think is best to do with yourself

He would be annoying because he would basically present a thesis of the reason why you should change the day he met Saitama so he doesn't take such a huge L

It would take a long time, and maybe a few bullshit lies, on why you just can't. For consequences sake, and also not caring. Maybe a "if you want it done right, work for it" sort of speech

Doesn't asks as many questions like everyone else. It otherwise isn't something that bothers him or he cares about

You don't intimidate him in the slightest. He made sure to be close (originally) to stay on your good side. Any relationship that came from it is genuine, tho

He does encourage you use it more because it's like a waste of potential or somn

Like you have a bad day from someone he gonna be like "Change reality so they were never born"

Super hella overdramatic. Be glad he would have a hard time learning himself

Garou

He thought you were bullshiting at first, on god

Ever find a way to prove it though(understandably that would be hard) he would be a little intimidated by you

At the same time he wanna piece of that power and is a bit nagging about how you got it

Tried to annoy the shit out of you to get you to crack but alas, it failed

Them bribes you for some sort of training with promises that yes, he would actually keep or things you like. You could tell him you filled out a crossword book everyday for 7 years and he would deadass follow.

No one else is allowed to ask YOU though he'll kick the shit out of them. Ppl fr leave you alone for sure when you're in his company especially if they just trying to start some shit. Sort of hypocritical. He doesn't want people to bother you but he himself is an exception

After a Long ass while he just settles with some sort of "pure of heart" nonsense as to why he can't just train for the powers himself

Still he's going to ask you up and down the what ifs, like the rest. It's just a curiosity hardly anyone can shake

[sirenium]

Time to obsessively talk in depth about my Sonic head-canons, because I literally cannot stop thinking about them. This is likely to be a long post, so I'll spare you all by putting everything under the cut so you aren't forcibly subjected to the wall of text💀

Also sorry for the sudden increase in Sonic related content, it's just that my hyperfixation is slowly coming back lmao

⚠️these are mostly queer identity centered, so if you're not into queer headcanons you've been warned⚠️

Sonic: arospec, bisexual, trans man, he/him. Stealth. Is only out to Tails. Actively fights for trans rights, just doesn't feel comfortable sharing his identity with most people. Hides his negative emotions because he feels as though he has to be a source of positivity 24/7. Probably cries himself to sleep sometimes, the poor guy. In a QPR (queer platonic relationship) with Shadow.

Tails: (I don't feel comfortable labeling the sexuality of a literal ten year old lmao/lh), transmasc, he/they. Looks up to Sonic, literally aims to be exactly like him: he's the only other trans person he knows (who's out to him, at least), and he's cool asf. Admires his bravery. Tails sees Sonic as an older brother figure, and Sonic sees him as a little brother. They've got the ultimate brotherly bond, which also means they argue over the dumbest shit lol.

Knuckles: panromantic, pansexual, transfemme, he/him. Masc presenting, gives off egg vibes (not because he's masc presenting and uses he/him, but because he's hella clueless about trans people). Isn't out to ANYONE, not even himself.💀

Amy: heteroromantic, heterosexual, cisgender, she/they. MASSIVE ally, one of those friends who gives their gay friends rainbow pride merch(/pos).

Shadow: panromantic, asexual, non-binary, all pronouns including it/its, slight preference for he/him. Doesn't give a fuck about gender; they think it's irrelevant to who they are. Though he has pronoun preferences, if someone referred to it using pronouns other than he/him, he would literally not care.

Rouge: greyromantic biromantic, lesbian, cisgender, she/her. Secret mom friend vibes. Has the scariest 'you fucked up' glare known to man(/hj). Takes no shit.

Omega: bro is unlabeled, literally just vibing. Pronouns? Nah bruh (use he/him). A GOD at baking, doesn't brag about it. Can't cook for shit otherwise, literally almost blew up the kitchen somehow (how he knows how to operate an oven but not any other cooking device is beyond me, he just gives off those vibes lmao).

Less detailed HCs:

[plaintext: less detailed HCs end pt]

Espio: biromantic, acespec bisexual, cis, he/they.

Vector: aroacespec, cis, he/him.

Charmy: transmasc, he/him

Silver: panromantic, gay, cis, he/they

Blaze: lesbian, asexual, cis, she/her

Big The Cat: aroacespec, gay otherwise, cis, he/him

Time for the villains I've thought about:

[plain text: time for the villains I've thought about end pt]

⚠️trigger warning for Infinite, mentions of death and other potentially triggering themes (they're kind of heavy but nothing too serious)⚠️

Eggman: aromantic, gay, cis, he/him. Surprisingly supportive of trans people... as in he just doesn't care enough to not be.

Infinite: biromantic, bisexual, cis, he/him. Bro's in denial: he thinks all 'straight' guys have the occasional crush on other guys. Doesn't even know about the label 'bi' so he just thinks someone can either be straight or gay, and since he DOES like women he's convinced his attraction to men is either not real or unimportant. Definitely cries himself to sleep, and has nightmares about the death of his squad. Secretly blames himself for everything, has extreme self esteem issues but hides them by inflating his self worth. His life SUCKS; he's lost everyone who was important to him, just when he thought he couldn't lose anyone/anything else. He's also very prideful despite having low self esteem, and those two things mixed together give him an extremely fragile ego that's easily shattered. He genuinely hates his face, because as far as he's concerned that is the face of someone who's failed everybody, including himself. A 'pathetic' face. Would literally start having a panic attack if his mask were to come off for whatever reason. (Jesus this one got depressing, but I just put a lot of thought into his character because I feel like he has a lot of potential as a character that wasn't explored. Literally just 'lol he had a temper tantrum because he got beaten up and called weak' and that's all the backstory he gets? Nahh💀. I could make a whole post going into the backstory I made for him lmao)

Uh so yeah those are my headcanons–

I know I missed characters but these are the ones I've really thought about/remembered. If someone reblogs this, it'd be cool to see their own headcanons (you can also just comment them or like, message me or whatever/lh /nf)

[myymi]

I want more about tails getting spoiled by his siblings PLEASE

:]

sonic&shadow spoil him the most out of the four of them.

sonic because he knows how rough tails's life has been and he wants to make the rest it amazing because he deserves it

shadow because tails reminds him of a certain little girl he used to take care of </3

tails is a very touchy kid. he wants to homd hands, hug, snuggle, anything 24/7 and his siblings have just accepted their fates

amy goes out of her way to hug him. any chance she gets when they see each other, it's practically on sight with them n they battle to see who can squeeze harder (amy can, tho not by that much)

sonic's chill with all the hugging n stuff, but never initiates it himself unless tails really needs a hug from his big bro (he's more than happy to ruffle his bangs or give him a noogie tho :] that's his right as a big bro)

knuckles allows tails to climb around him like he's a fuckin jungle gym or smthn djdbsjns he also carries tails like a baby when he gets tired (he swears he's not soft)

shadow actually really enjoys tails's hugs n whatnot (cough maria cough) but he will never initiate it himself, he does pat tails's head when he wants to show he's proud of him for fixing omega or the dark rider

though sonic was very adament abt the amount of mints tails is allowed to have in a day, amy does not give a fuck

when tails is over at her house for binding time, she's making that kid every mint flavored treat she can think of/has ingredients for and you best believe that lil guy eats just about all of them (he leaves some for his big sister <3)

shadow let's him ride the dark rider with him, but he has to wear a helmet when he does

(tails argues that he's been through plenty of plane crashes and is perfectly okay, shadow says he's going to install safety gear in the tornado if the fox doesn't zip it)

due to the fact he thinks it isn't important, whenever tails actually falls asleep everyone does whatever they can to make sure he stays asleep

sonic'll either sit next to him or pull him on his chest because his heartbeat has always helped tails with sleeping (+a few other things, idk tails just really likes hearing his brother's heartbeat) if tails does stir at all, he'll rub the back of his ears to send him back to dreamland :]

since warmer areas tend to help keep the kit sleepin, amy'll grab a heater and point it at the fox to keep him nice and toasty <;3 stay asleep you little fuck

knuckles is gone, left to grab a blanket, a stuffed animal (even thought they're for BABIES (they're not, but tails is vry adament even though he keeps every single one he's given)), and any other one of tails's comfort items that are in a close proximity

shadow's putting headphones over his ears and turning on some white noise that is anything but a storm (or.. attempting. tails's ears are so big, it doesn't quite fit correctly)

ALL of them enforce work breaks and tails is not happy about it

he expected it from sonic and amy because they preach about how taking breaks is good for your mind, also you kinda need to eat to stay alive, and blah, blah, blah..

knuckles originally caught him off guard, but it made more sense once he started his whole "a strong warrior needs the proper rest" speech

he cannot for the life of him figure out why shadow of all people enforces it "you're no use if you work yourself to death" he says, but tails just knows that fucker is hiding something

(it takes him a while to understand people care about him so just.. give it a bit, it'll set it eventually)

god forbid tails says something even slightly self-deprecating because he'll get 4 different talks about how he's literally the coolest person ever, or he shouldn't push himself so hard, or he's doing the best he can and that's more than enough, or that he's just a kid who's given unrealistic expectations from society and he shouldn't force himself to live up to it, and yadda yadda

during autumn, they all burrow together because tails brought up the fact they were all burrowing animals and thought it'd be a cool bonding experience for the five of them (it happens yearly. way past cool, sonic approved typa thing)

he gets SO many cuddles when there's a lightning storm djdbsjns

they all let him go on his tech rambles for hours because they love seeing him be so happy and passionate abt something, also it's adorable how his tails wag so hard he lifts himself off the ground (his siblings usually have to hold his hand so he doesn't go too high)

if he's feeling lazy, amy'll carry him around ("he can walk, ames" "but he doesn't want to! sue me for keeping our little brother happy!")

these are all the ones i can think of atm, i just woke up so sorry if you were wanting more 😭

i can totally add on later if you want !! :]

[dogydayz]

Sonic Pokemon headcanons! (with the sssumption that theyre IN the world, not playing just the games)

I know Sonic is terrified of water but do you think he'd primarily use Water and Electric type Pokemon? He'd always be like "I'm telling you it's NOT just because I'm blue!!!" Despite his fear of being IN water, he actually sees Water type Pokemon as very pretty! (and also, Water types can carry him over water or help him in a pinch, if he falls in). If not Water types, then I'd say Flying types, as they're also very cool and very fast usually! He has a few Dragon and Ice types too.

I can see Shadow using Fire and Psychic type Pokemon, and some Dark types here and there (mostly Dark-Fire types though). Psychic types because he's somewhat weak to the very alien-esc nature of them, and also Mewtwo. He just... Mewtwo is his buddy okay? (Also he'd help look after Amy's Grass types and Normal types from time to time). Oddly enough I'd almost say he'd have the most balanced sort of team. Also, he has an Oricorio (Sensu style) who started following him around after he visited one of the grottos of Alola with lavender fields. The Pokemon doesn't battle at all, and he hasn't even caught them, but they do enjoy being around Shadow quite a lot and help comfort him when he has anxiety attacks. Shadow likes to call them "Marmar", which they seem to respond well too also.

Rouge uses all the Pokemon that look like bats really, lol. She also shiny hunts often. She probably has a Sableye, and she also like Rock types that are SPECIFICALLY shiny and like gemstones (she's still convinced the crystal Onix exists)

Tails uses Steel and Electric types, he trades Sonic perfect-IV and EV electric types for variants of Pokemon he doesn't have yet. He's the one collecting every Minior and shit lol, and also is the one to be doing the breeding and competitive-set creating. Also he has multiple Vulpixes and Ninetailses because they make him happy. He has like... One or two Flying types that came from Sonic, also.

Knuckles plays the game like we all did as kids, he gets rid of ever stat-changing move to replace it with the strongest attacks he has access to, then proceeds to fail many times and questions why. He uses Rock and Fighting types mostly, of course.

Amy uses Normal, Fairy, and Grass types, though she doesn't battle much and instead helps Tails to breed Pokemon and keeps a huge garden where many Grass types relax in peace. Shadow helps her take care of it when he visits, and many of the Skittys she has have taken a liking to him (and his Purrloin).

Omega strictly uses Steel and Electric types that are, in some way, robotic.... And by uses I mean has somehow managed to directly connect to and communicate with them. He doesn't even catch them, they just basically Bluetooth sync to him and they all go "Let's kill shit".

At some point Sonic goes into that fuckin cave place where you find Mewtwo, preparing to finally battle them, and ends up finding Mewtwo and Shadow just fucking chatting while sitting on some rocks and is just like

"I'm...sorry???"

Shadow's like "Dude we're in the middle of a conversation either join or leave"

Shadow brings Marmar to meet Amy for the first time and, Amy being one who can probably understand normal Pokemon talking or some shit like that, tells Shadow why they'd even originally taken a liking to him, which was because he shared the same colors as their old partner, a Baile style Oricorio. The two used to dance together in the trees, until one day, the other never returned. When Marmar had gone to the other's own flower field to search for them, they found it to have been destroyed, either by a raging Pokemon, or by people. They'd been left quite lonely, since then, and finding someone quiet like themself, who had the same colors as their lost partner, brought them comfort they hadn't felt in a long time. Shadow probably ended up crying hearing that to be entirely honest, I mean, they'd both lost someone they'd cared deeply for, of course it would hit him hard.

Rouge attempts to "steal" Knuckles' pretty Rock types but it ends up being more like she randomly takes them to get a bunch of treats and then they go back to Knuckles once he finds out lmao. She ends up having a whole family of Carbink living with her too. Despite her seeming selfish to outsiders, she's actually incredibly caring to her Pokemon, and even others' Pokemon when needed.

Sonic get electrocuted regularly by his Electric types to a point where Tails has become genuinely concerned for his health, like actually properly worried about him, because he CONTINUES to walk it off like it's nothing. Which is normal, but still.

One of Sonic's favorite Pokemon of his is his trusted Manectric, which Shadow likes to joke about how similar the fur of the Manectric is to his own quills and teases Sonic about "playing favorites" as a result, which tends to get him strangely flustered and defensive.

[munchboxart]

Hi it's another post of me talking about whatever the fuck I want, this time it's about the Sonic 3 movie and how afraid I am for it

Uhmm every Sonic spoiler ever I guess

Ok so it's gonna be so easy for them to fuck this up and I'm so scared because I am #1 Shadow fan ever (if you know my side account then I have mostly drawn only Shadow there).

The Sonic movie's are pretty simple, especially 2's (I don't remember that much of 1 because I don't care about it), so I'm gonna guess they're gonna simplify Shadows too because he has like 2-3 games about his story.

What I imagine they're going to go with, is that they hit Shadow with the amnesia beam yet again, he's angry and wants to destroy the world because he only remembers Maria (I don't even think they're gonna bring up Maria) and works with Eggman because he manipulates Shadow's amnesia to his own benefit to destroy Sonic. OR he works with GUN or some shit.

It's either that or they do some shit to relate with the stupid Owl side story, I don't know man. To be honest, I think that if they go with the SA2 route and bring up Maria, I don't think they would not bring up Rouge and Omega because that already has so much lore for a simple movie.

If they do bring up Rouge and Omega (honestly maybe just Rouge because I don't know if they give a fuck about Omega nowadays), they might just have them form Team Dark and go against Team Sonic for some reason. Though to be honest, realistically, I'm like, pretty sure Shadow alone can beat Team Sonic because of how inexperienced Sonic is.

Other ways they can fuck up: - Giving Shadow the fucking emo smoker voice like in Boom - Taking the Shadow 05 route and giving him a GUN (this would be so funny, though) - Imagine they play P!ATD music for Shadow instead of any Crush 40 song ever (I am so scared) - Making him the edgelord that everyone hates oh my god please -TAKING THE SONIC X ROUTE AND MAKING EVERYONE THINK THAT SHADOW IS SONIC OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT THAT

In conclusion: if some shoe company doesn't make another collaboration with Sonic but make Shadow's jet shoes something will happen OR a massive ass Shadow the Hedgehog plushie that's way bigger than 20 INCHES

Real conclusion: I am fucking terrified because Shadow is one of the characters Sega fucks up with the most. And considering how watered down the past 2 movies are to make them normal for the general audience. God help me.

[beevean]

Sorry if this is a bad time.

If you've read sonic idw issues 56 or 55 what do you think of Surge now?

Not much has changed? I was left very disappointed by how Kit simply... takes Surge and leaves, after an angsty but deserved "you suck" speech. Again. The exact same thing happened in #53. This is the conclusion of this arc? What exactly was concluded, that the Dynamo Cage broke and Surge failed again? Well, I suppose that now Sonic knows about their past, but considering that he's still a major asshole and I am glad that Surge electrocuted him simply for this line...

... I don't trust neither Flynn or Stanley to write a decent, actually compassionate Sonic - not holier-than-thou, a Sonic that actually cares about other people and not just about his Principles.

"wah wah all my enemies became my friends eventually :) I'm sure you will too :)" would you mind treating Surge like an actual person with agency, you piece of shit? Actually, now it's even worse, because now he knows that she is programmed to want him dead, on an even deeper level than Shadow! And he's still like "oh, you'll be my friend :)". What an arrogant pustule!

Sorry, I hate IDW!Sonic too much. As for Surge... well, I liked this line:

I have shilled Let Go a couple of times, if you forgive my arrogance, but this, this is the one thing that I find interesting about Surge. She cannot simply "forgive" Sonic, it's baked in her being. Her problem is not easily fixable, not with a pep talk, nor with a beating. She herself has to find the strength to reforge her own identity, but that's easier said than done. Can she even find peace? It is an intriguing conflict.

I do, however, heavily disagree with this narrative that Surge and Kit's existence is Sonic's fault. I hate that the dilemma that the story is presenting, and that the fans are buying, is that their suffering is due to Sonic not killing Mr. Tinker way back then - which lead to Starline restoring Eggman's memories, which lead to Starline growing disillusioned with Eggman*, which lead to him playing God with two children.

What the fuck? No! Sonic's huge mistake was being, again, an arrogant little shit with Metal and letting him free in #12! No I will not let that down! Sonic never told anyone what he did and he dismissed Tails when he brought it back in #50 (because he's a terrible person), but that was the huge thing he should have tried to fix! Not Mr. Tinker! I hate that everyone keeps shitting on Sonic for not killing a man with brain damage, and now I'm supposed to think "oh, but because of that, Surge and Kit now exist and are in pain :(" shut up!

Same with Starline, "oh Sonic let Starline go" bitch where? Literally where. Tell me where. I re-read the Chao Race Arc for Let Go just to make sure, and Sonic just left Starline to die under an avalanche and forgot about him. I hate IDW!Sonic and I hope he has a mental breakdown for all the shit he did, but not for this! Not for this! Blame him for what he actually did!

Anyway. This arc was mainly useless, and the only things I remember are that 1) Sonic is still a piece of shit, best seen in the callous way he treated Kit in #53, and 2) Surge got defeated by a bucket on her head, so much for being Best Rival. So yeah, peak writing, as usual. But as wasted and overhyped Surge feels, I cannot completely hate her. There is a good concept there.

I think she will kill herself at the end of her character arc, like this. But I suspect that Flynn and Stanley will keep her around for a while because she's too popular.

*also the fact that Eggman in #23 was severely OOC just to facilitate Starline's disillusionment doesn't help matters. Surge and Kit are not Sonic's fault: they are the fault of shitty writing.

[besidesitstoowarm]

"Silence in the Library" thoughts

okay this is going to be kind of incoherent bc i was eating nachos for half the episode also moffat never misses. thanks

so i totally forgot the framing device was this girl who was imagining the library (as initially presented). "i know it's inside my mind but something's got inside" i really like how many of moffat's stories involve essentially believing children if that makes sense? validating the fears and stories of children. the fairy tales are all real

so they get to the library planet and the doctor insists "i never land on sundays" bc nothing happens on sundays. he tells donna not to look at any of the books bc they're spoilers for her time. the automaton w a human face relays a warning to "count the shadows" and the doctor shows off the message he got on his psychic paper that reads "the library. come as soon as you can x"

we reiterate that the sonic doesn't do wood and has this ever come up outside of moffat episodes? it's in "empty child" and "girl in the fireplace" is that it?? this man has such intense beliefs on the limitations of the sonic screwdriver. extreme respect for caring that much. there's a shadow caused by nothing that disappears and the doctor says that "it isn't gone, it moved"

we enter WIFE CITY population RIVER SONG!!!! she introduces herself as an archaeologist and the doctor immediately beefs. "i'm a time traveler, i point and laugh at archaeologists" okay rude. she questions his decisions once and he asks "bet your life?" and she replies "always" and he lowkey checks her out bc she has piqqqqqqued that interest. we learn that the library has been silent for 100yrs

river says "pretty boy, come with me" and it takes him a sec. "oh I'M pretty boy???" yeah dude fucking look at you. river doesn't realize yet they haven't met and starts trying to place their timelines using her journal before finally getting it. "you're younger than i've ever seen you" she sounds so sad

the doctor tries to reach the library core and instead appears on the girl's tv and she's like ???? he loses contact. he eyes river's journal, clearly tempted. we learn that 100yrs ago there were "4022 saved. no survivors" and miss evangelista wanders away cause she sees a panel in the wall open and no one listens to her when she says they should check it out. she is skeletonized in moments and they hear her "data ghost" echoing her last bits of consciousness. all she wants is donna who was the only person to be kind to her. i teared up

they try to find an exit and donna says "they always make you go through a little shop" this is a reference to "new earth". one of the guys has two shadows so the doctor wants to shore everything up and sonic everyone's suits for extra protection and whoops river has a sonic too! he tries to teleport donna to the tardis but she glitches out and never lands. river says the doctor can't peak in her journal because "spoilers" and he's visibly upset

mr two shadows is a data ghost and keeps saying "hey! who turned out the lights?" so they all make a break for it. river has a "squareness gun" so she can cut through walls i think? it looks cool. donna is now a face on an automaton and echoes "donna noble has left the library. donna noble has been saved" on repeat

part two!

[badlydrawnmanic]

You got any Sonic or Shadow headcannons?

oh i have some, sure! with sonic it's mostly what order events happened in and how he grew up but shadow has more of what you'd expect from a headcanon

off the top of my head...

sonic

sonic was directly given to chuck by aleena rather than going through a secondary no-name family before meeting him. he lived on christmas island under chuck's care until he was about 5 or 6 years old

since he was raised by chuck, he knows more about mechanical things than you'd think, sort of absorbing that information by watching his uncle do stuff for friends and family. that's how he knew to work the tornado since chuck would bring him along when he went to help do repairs on paulie's plane

chuck made (and continues to make) his special shoes since commercially available ones just won't cut it. it's more so an issue of durability than anything else, but they connect to the ground surprisingly well for being more or less completely flat on the bottom (do you know how much it sucks to get a rock wedged in any cracks in the sole when you're going a million miles an hour?)

unfortunately at that 5 or 6 year mark, eggman attacked and stole chuck, but sonic ran away, so he was pretty much alone from that point. somehow he ended up on south island all by himself, and sonic 1 takes place when he's around 10 years old

because he lived alone on an island with a bunch of small animals for a good period of his childhood, sonic more or less understands what they're saying when they chatter at him when almost no one else does, thinking it's just noise. he'll have full conversations with birds and squirrels and stuff like it's no big deal

since he goes around rescuing animals all the time (and animals don't have as much of a reason as people do to stay in one spot), there isn't really a place he can go where the critters haven't heard of him. talk about him travels amongst them and he's friendly with most critters because of it

the same goes for talk about eggman, but that just results in squirrels purposefully messing up his wires and birds swooping at him in frustration when he least expects it. you can imagine that he isn't really that much of an outdoorsy person because of it

sonic is very good at mimicking other peoples' voices, and his changes in voice actors over the years are reflected in-universe. all of his friends think he's fucking with them because he'll just switch up what he sounds like on a whim. imagine that one scene from peter pan where peter is messing with smee in the cave and that's pretty much it. none of his friends know what his real voice is, but their bets are split between the jaleel white voice or the roger one

that being said, any objectively bad impressions he does are either because he's making fun of them in the process and saying they sound dumb or he can't reach that tone within his vocal range. he mostly does the purposefully bad impressions with eggman, knuckles, and shadow, the latter when they're being cartoonishly grumpy and he feels like poking bears

sonic can and will sleep nearly anywhere with little to no difficulty. he's really good at finding little safe places in objectively dangerous areas where he or tails (mostly tails) can catch a break

he has a little cabin in the woods somewhere near knothole, but no one except him and tails know where it is. he keeps all the stuff from his adventures there and goes there when he needs a break

he's surprisingly well-read and owns quite a lot of books. he doesn't have a lot of time to read as of late, but he still enjoys it

if he had to choose between extremes, he'd prefer hot places like deserts or volcanic areas over ice caves or the arctic, even if he is surprisingly resistant to the cold. the most he'll really do if he's chilly is put on a scarf

if we're going into specifics on what species he is, he's a vague mix between european, northern white-breasted, long-eared, and four-toed hedgehogs. his dad's half of the family is mostly mutts, but aleena is specifically a european hedgehog

sonic's favorite holiday is christmas! he's mostly in it for the family and friends aspect of it, and his folks have a big get-together at the end of the year for it. he invites pretty much everyone he knows that he's even a little bit friendly with (his parents are 100% cool with it and think it makes the whole thing better) and it's always really fun. his favorite thing to do is mess around when everyone's gathered up for a big family photo. he's always doing some kind of silly pose or making a face

shadow

shadow didn't just come out of whatever tube he was grown in at the age he is now. he was baby sized, but aged at an accelerated rate until the point we see him at now over the course of about 5 years before it slowed down dramatically

that being said, he does age, it's just on a time scale that isn't easy to see. if you took a picture of him in 200 years and compared it to him now, you'd be able to see the difference, but he doesn't know. he hasn't been alive long enough to actually see or feel any significant change outside of any injuries he may have acquired

while he's very resistant to damage and pain, he's still alive, and there's a (highly accelerated) healing process involved. while he recovers from most things without a scratch, more heinous injuries have the potential to scar over and leave lasting marks

him, rouge, and omega all share a pretty nice apartment in empire city where they live together. he's a very simple guy who couldn't care less about what's in the space outside of necessities so rouge chooses and arranges most of the furniture

shadow had to be convinced to put anything other than a bed and dresser in his room because he didn't feel it was necessary. he's not the pristine white aperture science kind of minimalist but like... he's certainly a minimalist

he refuses to wear shoes in his or other peoples' living spaces. take your shoes off at the door or he'll just stare at you accusingly the whole time you're there. same thing if you don't use a coaster

he uses lavender scented hair (quill?) products. maria really liked that smell so it reminds him of her and brings him comfort. that and it's just a relaxing smell. he honestly likes floral scents in general but that's his absolute favorite

he's surprisingly good with children and enjoys their company, despite what you would think about him. he's incredibly tolerant of loud noises and is very good at regulating his voice and stress responses. if he wasn't repurposed into a biological super weapon, he would have likely filled a similar role as a support animal for maria in addition to helping them find a way to cure whatever disease was making her so weak

some hobbies of his include gardening and cooking. i don't really have much else to say about that lol

he's prone to making deadpan jokes that none of his friends can tell are jokes, either that or he'll be unnecessarily abrasive or say something completely out of pocket and play it completely straight to get a rise out of people. he thinks it's funny even if the others are all worriedly looking at each other wondering if he's being serious or not

he does eat unprocessed coffee beans though. he wasn't lying about that during the twitter takeover

unlike sonic, he prefers the cold. he isn't very well-suited to extreme heat, be it from ambient sources or sun exposure. he's actually prone to heat exhaustion due to how he is biologically in addition to the environment he was raised in. you don't need heat resistance in a space station, but you certainly need to be able to deal with the cold radiating off the metal separating you from the empty vacuum of space

once again going into specifics: while most of his dna comes from a european hedgehog and a significant amount came from the black arms, he has some weird stuff in there as a remnant from the biolizard experiments that contribute to his healing factor and other quirks of his. if you look hard enough at the sequence you could probably find some leftover salamander dna somewhere

he doesn't really have a favorite holiday (he isn't the most festive person), but i've seen jewish people interpret him and the robotnik family as jewish and it all seems very wholesome

of course, sonic still invites him to his family's big christmas parties. he does come (even if he feels a little out of place) and is very readily accepted by sonic's parents and relatives. while he isn't super into it, he appreciates being included and likes to help prepare any food that still needs to be made. you can see him genuinely smiling in the background of some of the family photos