Keep seeing that post where OP starts like 'Thinking about...grieving the undead' and then adds on about like. Real life situations where people have not died but have left your life and you would have reason to grieve them.
All respect, that's an important concept, but that is not what I am thinking about when I read 'grieving the undead'.
ok i originally just wanted to think of something w obagiyuu but then it went to obamitsugiyuu but then sabiuzui happened and now its a full on everyone lives au with everyone hugging the last 3 ubuyashiki kids just after kiriya announces the demon slayer corps disbanded and im Crying
Hi, everyone and welcome back to Sonine Prime! The part of the show when I come out and talk about Sonine (and a bit of Sontails) in Sonic Prime!
I unfortunately had to end part 1 a bit prematurely due to tumblr's video limit, so we didn't get very far into it. Right now we're about halfway into Sonic Prime Season 1 Episode 1, and (as promised) we're going to start part 2 tackling the scene that begins with Sonic and Nine's first meeting, and ends with them recounting Tails' and Nine's backstories.
So, without further ado, let's begin
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<< Part 1 | Part 3 >>
(Essay/thoughts/analysis under the cut)
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As I said in part 1, there is a lot going on here, and a lot to tackle.
We'll start with Sonic's side.
Now, it's important to mention that at this time, Sonic just believes Nine to be Tails who lost his memories/doesn't remember him. So most of this scene is Sonic calling Nine "Tails" and trying to appeal to him by talking about old times. While this will initially tell us more about how he feels about Tails than it does Nine (once again interesting that Tails specifically gets this focus as the best bud, a focus on "making things okay again" that is only later matched by Sonic's treatment of Thorn when he also believes that Amy is deep down inside her, because he initially believes them both to be a friend who has just forgot Sonic and themselves. Tails and Amy parallels in relation to Sonic: IIII), this is the basis upon which Sonic will build his relationship with Nine on, even though he will later consider Nine as a separate different person in relation to Tails.
Now, this scene is meant to call back to the flashback scene from earlier. Sonic punches in the code to Tails' lab and hopes it still works ("Tails you crafty fox"???🧐), and just as with Tails in the flashback, Sonic turns Nine's chair to make him face him.
"Tails, it's me!"
From Sonic's pov here, he can’t understand why Nine is fighting him or really what's happening. "Tails" was the nickname that Tails' bullies used when they were picking on him, but after meeting Sonic he was able to reclaim that nickname for himself. So to Sonic, he can’t understand why saying this name continues to make Nine angry and insist that his name is something else, just as he's put off that "Tails" would attack him and act like he doesn't know him.
He also spends a good chuck of the fight looking very hurt
"Tails, stop! We're buds, amigos...best friends!"
...
"Snap out of it, we go way back!"
...
"All my best memories of Green Hill have you in 'em. And you're not punching me!"
...
"Don't you wanna go home? Blue skies? Sunny beaches? Palm trees?"
And after spending most of the fight defending himself and dodging in favor of trying to appeal to who he thinks is Tails, trying to summon up memories of them being best friends, Sonic throws himself into the path of the other train to save Nine from getting hit.
"I've been trying to tell you that we are friends."
"Fabricated stories won't keep me from beating you back, intruder."
"Stop, just. Stop... We're friends—best friends. This has to ring a bell?"
Sonic just can't wrap his head around it—a world in which his best friend doesn't remember him, calls their times together "fabricated stories", fights him no matter how he tries to explain that they’re friends. None of this makes sense to him, and so he tries to explain how they met, because surely then "Tails" will remember him, right?
"From the moment we first met..." (interesting choice of words, considering what often follows this is the impression the character saying it got from the other or how they have always felt about the other)
But "Tails" only expresses surprise in how much Sonic knows, despite the fact that Nine has never met him before now, and explains a different, much darker version of Tails' backstory
One that doesn't include Sonic.
And again Sonic is having his hard time wrapping his head around this. That "Tails" is here, and yet doesn't "remember" him. That this "Tails" seems to have a similar backstory, but never met him. "Tails...but not. Here, but...gone?"
But he doesn't get too long to examine this before Nine asks "So, what else did we do?"
And this pretty much immediately perks Sonic up after he gets a look at Nine's face, like he really is curious what he could be missing.
And then of course that face comes back
And...it makes Sonic so visually happy and excited to talk about the Tornado, mention how they've gone on so many adventures and busted Eggman so many times...
"Look. We've had our share of ups and downs, but when we stick together? We never lose. And when all's said and done, there's no better reward than sharing a chili dog with your best pal. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! We've got a lifetime of adventures and memories together."
Even though Sonic doesn't yet consider Nine his own person, this entire scene is incredibly telling as to who Tails is to him (best friend, partner, amigo, forever companion), and sets up a basis for his relationship to Nine.
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Now for Nine's side. For him, the bulk of the fight is him being aggressive and reacting due to his trauma. "Tails" was the name he was called as he was bullied and assaulted for years, and a name he came to associate with said traumatic experiences. The name he claimed for himself, symbolic of how he saved himself with his own power, is "Nine". Thus, when this strange hedgehog intrudes in his lab, interrupts his work, and calls him "Tails", boy does that set him off.
"Who sent you?!"
He's afraid and angry. Who else could this stranger be but one of those bullies or someone else to just call him a freak, intruding in his space.
And then the strange hedgehog calls them best friends? Continues to call him "Tails" despite Nine's clear aversion, and yet is trying to appeal to him emotionally?
But then the hedgehog puts himself in danger to save him. And that's really strange.
Because no one has friends here, right? Why would anyone save him? No one cares about anyone else, no one would just save someone at the expense of their own life, this hedgehog acts like he knows him and yet doesn't seem to know anything about him.
"Fabricated stories won't keep me from beating you back, intruder."
That's what it has to be, right? Maybe it's connected to why the hedgehog broke into his base. He saved him only because he needed him, right?
But the hedgehog makes it clear he never wanted a fight, the two rest on safe ground in the scareport. And then he tells another story to appeal to him.
The story of a two tailed fox who was picked on for being different, who was saved by Sonic, the very hedgehog before him.
And although that story is not quite right, the resemblance surprises Nine, catching his interest. Even if his past didn't happen that way, how could Sonic get those details (him being himself, getting picked on by jerks for having an extra Tail) right without Nine having never met him before? The way Nine reacts even implies his story is highly personal, and one he'd never told anyone.
And perhaps he feels a bit jealous, then.
Because this "Tails" that Sonic keeps talking about? He had someone there for him, someone who protected him when he was being bullied and picked on. But Nine? He took a beating for years. No one showed up to protect him, much less save him. He learned that he was alone, learned that these selfless people who would protect the weak don't exist, and so he finally saved himself.
Is that the kind of person Sonic is—the kind of person who would save a victim who's hurting, someone he'd never met, even if it doesn't benefit him? Just like how Sonic had saved him from being hit by that train?
"You weren't there"
And so what if Nine lets himself pretend for a moment that what Sonic is saying is true? What does it feel like to be Sonic's best friend, that person he'd stuck his neck out for and saved back then, someone who goes on adventures and kicks butt with him, who shares a meal with him, someone with whom they're both happy?
The way he begins to smile as Sonic talks about his times with Tails.
"But when we stick together, we never lose"
The way he frowns (touch adverse as he is) when Sonic puts a hand on his shoulder, but relaxes into it and gives this stranger a smile, and the way he perks up with the cutest, even bigger smile when Sonic pokes his heart.
"And when all's said and done? There's no better reward than sharing a chili dog with your best pal"
And then...Nine frowns again when Sonic says "best pal".
Because no matter how great that idea of home sounds, to Nine, none of that happened. None of this is really about him, no matter what Sonic says.
But, this is the beginning of the end for Nine. In just five in show minutes, he goes from trying to get answers out of Sonic, killing him, beating him back, to becoming interested in his "fabricated stories" and willing to help him with his little problem. He invites him into his lab this time and helps distribute the energy coming from him evenly on his body, even though he complains: "The only thing I hate more than people in my space is whiners."
Or the entire next scene. Sonic calls him amazing for his creation of the extra metal tails (which doesn't end up hitting Nine as intented), corrects himself after calling Nine "Tails" on accident, and then Sonic just speeds off, only for Nine to say "No– Wait, you dope! It's not safe!" and run after him.
While this is during an early period of the show where you can easily argue that Nine only cares about what he could use Sonic for and his current interest in the energy he exhibits, it still says a lot that he actually begins to show care in another person's wellbeing. And it also tells us a lot about Sonic that he'd transitioned from calling him "Tails" to "Nine" so quickly, even if he has to correct himself.
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Now, as we move on to Nine and Sonic's capture by the Chaos Council, this brief scene of them outside before their capture also shows us once more just how quickly Sonic is jumping to "normalcy", starting with getting "Tails" back as his adventuring buddy. Although he wasn't incredibly concerned before, he brushes off Nine's concerns about the Chaos Council, instead acting like everything will be fine ("Wanna run up the walls?"). And we can see that Sonic still believes Nine is just Tails, absent his memories of Sonic and their friends.
"When you get your memory back, you'll remember that 'low profile' isn't my thing"
Nine: I told you to keep a low profile!
Sonic: No you didn't.
Nine: Yes I did.
Sonic: You didn't.
Nine: Yes I did.
Sonic: Nooo, you didn't.
Nine: Are you sure we were "best friends".
Ahjsjsj well. Nine says that, but he'll come to realize that he likes Sonic even when he finds him frustrating or annoying (just like Tails and, frankly, his other friends do😂). He already has been helping Sonic out and allowing him to be in his space, even if he doesn't understand Sonic.
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And as I have hit the tumblr post picture limit, that's it for part 2! For part 3, we'll be beginning with Sonic and Nine's confinement in The Chaos Council's base, and perhaps I'll finally get to move on to Episode 2😂
For clarity, I discovered that a few of the lost media mp3s I have are actually not mp3s at all. They're mp4s, but all you can see in the videos of Ves are his hands (sans black paint, obvs) playing a piano keyboard. I could always rip the sound off the mp4s and post them that way, but I feel like they would lose their charm if I did.
haha don't you ever think about naomi rejecting a leadership position because she knew it would cost her too much and then making that decision because it was the only right choice to make at the time and ending the series with her Very much paying that cost and just sob
I either need to accept that I am just a way stronger person than this friend and can handle way more while still being able to engage with the world as a person, or recognize excuses as excuses, accept that I am not valued and be done or. Maybe both. Idk. It might be somewhere between the two. I am just sick of regular life stuff rendering him unable to spend any time with me, and of him being unable to bear any of the details of my life, when I would move mountains to rekindle our friendship. Though I'm starting to wonder if I still would.
also sorry i might be late to the party but bluesummers has vash's arm right? it's the same arm that vash lost, and it was presumably sucked into the gate, which we can understand that Knives has learned how to control in the time since. and it would be a way for Conrad to, say, give powers to a Normal Human.
it's so fucked up and i'll truly never forgive them for killing carter
as much as i like the character, a really bold move would have been to kill fusco in that ep instead - the setup was all there, they could've even left his escape from the cuffs and had him get shot in the fight. it would've been a gutwrenching tragedy, especially with shaw and lee on the other end of the phone call, and it would've been a good way to close out his character arc which was all about the decisions you make and trying to choose the right thing even when it feels like you have no choice
also: why tf wouldn't carter have been wearing a vest? i know it was an evasive tactic but she specifically told fusco to get his vest before she ditched him, she knew how dangerous it was gonna be! and how come simmons shot her in the chest -- even if he knew for certain that she wasn't wearing a vest, he clearly wanted her dead and the fastest shot from where he was previously aiming (reese's shoulder) would be her head. they're both cops, he knows she's a damn good shot so he only has until she's got her finger on the trigger, why risk wasting that shot anywhere she even *might* be protected?????
Kiku I will avenge you. There will be not a stone unturned. Not a man unharmed. I do not care if kanjuro is dead this is something else. What the fuck.
I'm watching a video essay about a game ive been interested in playing. The creator of the video, who has crossdressed multiple times, makes a "women arent funny" joke, and i suddenly realize ive never witnessed him acknowledge a woman in an uplifting way before.
I'm on a dating app for lgbt+ people. I've stated multiple times on my profile that i would rather lose an arm than recieve nudes without consent. I will be sent five dick pics for every 2 people i talk to that night.
I'm talking with my dad, who informs me he's been trying his best to learn about trans issues. He says the same things steven crowder brings up when trying to ridicule trans people. I gently but firmly correct my father and get told that ive been fed propaganda.
I'm on instagram, under the comments of a post ridiculing someone for being a misogynyst. Someone's left a comment saying "it must be hard being a woman on the internet" and i respond "it is." I will have every aspect of my appearance scrutinized as a reminder that no matter how well i pass, it will never be enough for someone with bad intentions.
I'm back on that dating app for lgbt+ people. I'm messaged by an attractive looking person, but i can see their partner prominently displayed in all but their main photo, oftentimes striking what im sure they thought was a very intimidating pose. Their bio says "looking for a third for our anniversary." I know that even if I did feel up to it, the gruff partner wouldnt approve of me because i don't pass.
I'm at a job interview for a clothing store. I tell the gracefully-dressed woman interviewing me that ever since i began my transition, i've discovered an interest in fashion, and that this job would allow me to dip my toes into the industry in a safe way. I'm told that i've reduced womanhood to a stereotype, and i can tell by her tone that i lost any chance at the job the minute she realized i was trans.
I'm at the same hospital i got facial feminization surgery in, trying to figure out what's wrong with my bowels. When the person behind the desk gives me a wristband with my patient info on it, i notice a single, lonely, letter M. I ask a nurse in private why it would say that despite me having changed it nearly a year prior. They say they have no clue, and bring in paperwork for me to fill out and have it re-changed again.
I'm living with my mom at the time. I'm new to transitioning, and decide to try my hand at voice training. It feels a bit off, but otherwise im feeling neutral toward the whole thing. I try speaking in this new voice to my mom and she laughs. Now, when people ask if i intend to voice train, i find speaking at all difficult for minutes after.
I didnt have some sort of grand message to convey by this. I just had a thought and then that thought spiralled into whatever the hell this became. Some, okay most, might call it complaining; they are right to do so.