#emerald--antssss

[skimmingmilk]

I have a theory that tails' injury comes from your sonic forces fix 😏

That's a solid theory :3 I like it

[skimmingmilk]

Hi skimming! Is it possible I could see some super sonic racing :)

Absolutely! Everybody's super sonic racing~ was my placeholder name for Not by a Long Shot, so we've already seen chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 3 is where we finally get some Crossworlds into the mix!

“And here I thought there would be an actual challenge at this so-called grand prix,” Jet sneered as he watched the red racecar pull up to the starting line. “You really think this hunk of junk can handle the speed and finesse of extreme gear?” Tails had been fully prepared to ignore him—it wasn’t the first time the Rogues had made snide comments about his tech, and he knew as long as Sonic dabbled in racing, it was far from the last—and he’d expected Sonic to do the same, as he tended to whenever his capabilities as a racer were put into question. However, it wasn’t his racing that was being criticized. Out of the corner of his eye, Tails saw the way blue quills sharpened just the tiniest bit even as Sonic’s muzzle curved in a sly smirk. “I do,” Sonic replied smoothly, leaning against the hood, “but why waste my breath telling you when I can just show you?” “I’d like to see you try.” “Well, grab some popcorn. Take a seat.” Sonic waved him towards the empty stands, then hopped over the side of the car into the drivers’ seat. “All good, Tails?” Tails gave the hood a fond pat. “Give her all you’ve got, Sonic.” “That’s what I like to hear.” Sonic braced both hands on the wheel, revving up the Lightning’s engine while Tails signaled to the stadium staff to start the time trial. Jet shut up real quick when Sonic had the wheels of his racecar squealing against the track on each curve, the glossy red paint reflecting the neon lights of the stadium as it streaked past in a flash. The type of vehicle didn’t matter. As long as Sonic was in control, anything could become the fastest. It maybe didn’t have the same boost power as extreme gear, but as far as racecars went, the Speedster Lightning was as fast as they came. “Hmph.” Jet snorted, turning up his beak as Sonic started his second lap. “He’s just looking for any excuse not to face me on equal footing.” Tails rolled his eyes, but kept his attention on the M.E. Too’s screen as it tracked Sonic’s stats. “Sure, Jet. Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

[skimmingmilk]

do you have any tips of writing fluff? (Specifically the unbreakable bond :) )

Yeah, of course! Happy to offer to some tips on writing fluff :)

I feel like fluff and angst are two sides of the same coin; a little often goes a long way for both. Emotional gut punches can hit a lot harder when the rest of the fluff/angst isn't too heavy-handed. But it also depends on the tone of the story, the pacing. Is it a chapter fic where we're going to see character arcs or is it a single scene, a snapshot of a moment?

Buckle up for a quick crash course in fluff!

Structure and Pacing

For multi-chapters, I like to sprinkle the fluff throughout so I'm not overloading the reader with a sugar rush. I try to have some kind of sweet, light moment every four or five scenes to stay invested and hooked on why the relationships between characters are so important.

Character is the driving force behind a lot of my writing, they inform the plot and it adapts around them. Giving the characters these spaced out fluffy scenes also gives the readers a chance to breathe and soak everything in. Like a pit stop while running a marathon to grab some water or a snack to recharge!

For a one shot, I can get away with the fluff being more concentrated; go all in on the specific feeling I want to evoke (comfort, contentment, laughter, security, unconditional love, etc.) If it feels like too much to the point that it's sickly sweet, I can always shave off some of the fluff and make it more palatable, but going big in a one shot at least gives me a goal to aim for and lets me know what I personally want out of a fic.

Author's Intent

And what you want out of a fluff fic is also an important piece to consider. Fluff is self-indulgent by nature. It's something you wish you could see if time limits, budgets, and marketability played no part in the show/game/media that you love. When the writer is genuinely invested in what they're writing, that feeling also reaches the reader and makes it matter to them, too!

Characterization and Emotional Layers

If you're concerned about your fluff feeling believable or in character, establish a baseline for character interactions in their downtime, with low stakes. In the case for Sonic and Tails, I can see this as traveling for fun or trashing an Eggman base. Figure out how comfortable and familiar they are with each other normally, then build on that.

So let's take an example of Sonic and Tails sharing a victory together after taking down a surprise boss in an Eggman base.

Baseline: Sonic and Tails fist bump each other. It comes naturally, second nature, easy and they don't think too hard on it.

1st fluff layer: Sonic musses up the fur on Tails's head or slings an arm around his shoulder. Also comes naturally, but it's highlighting how comfortable they are with each other. There's usually a secondary emotion involved with these gestures (Sonic might be feeling proud, playful, or trying to subtly de-escalate any stress or worries Tails might be feeling. Tails's reaction to this also makes a difference - does he bat him away playfully to keep the air between them light and fun? Or does he lean into the touch because he needs the reassurance or because Sonic needs the reassurance?)

2nd fluff layer: Tails flies at Sonic and is scooped up/tossed in the air/swung around for a victory pose. Excitement at its peak for them both, they can't contain it. They instinctively reach for each other because they want to share their joy with each other. Tails riding the high of his success or accomplishment and immediately seeking out Sonic, while Sonic is just as eager to support and cheer his little buddy on. He always believes in him, but seeing Tails believe in himself is such a treat.

Building on existing canon dynamics like this can keep characters still feeling like themselves even if they're behaving in a way we haven't actually seen much evidence for. Like, Sonic is frequently pictured with guitars so we can assume he knows how to play. We don't know whether or not he would play the guitar to comfort Tails in a storm or after a nightmare, but it's not necessarily a stretch to imagine that.

Now, this is just if getting characters to feel like canon depictions matters to you as a writer. I personally straddle the line: I look to canon for guidance, but ultimately I've spent 30 years with my own ideas for these characters marinating in my head, so at the end of the day I'm probably just going to do what feels right to me. Don't let canon become restrictive to the point that it chokes all the creativity out of you. Use it to fuel your inspiration!

All this being said, when it comes to fluff, the most important piece of all is "does it make you, the writer, happy?" If it makes your heart flutter and you have to stop writing mid-sentence to press your hands over your face and groan, "I just can't with these two!" then you're on the right track!

Hope this was helpful! <3

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

💡🎮

💡 Spinoff you’d like to see?

Ooh, hmm. I'd love to see another Team Chaotix game. Maybe in the sense of how TMOSTH played out where they have to solve a mystery of sorts, or just get into some random seen that they have to fix by the end of the day or the world ends or something random like that XD.

🎮 First Game?

The first game I remember playing would be Sonic Riders. I used to play it at a daycare I stayed in during elementary school.

But the first Sonic game I've ever seen was Sonic Adventure 2. My cousins had a GameCube, and I remember watching them play it, and they let me play in the chao garden sometimes whenever they would collect the chaos drives to give to them.

Sonic asks

[skimmingmilk]

I genuinely wish I could weave together stories as intricately as you can. I just finished relative dissonance and I’ve been sitting here for 10 minutes because I have no idea what to do with myself now that the story is over. I felt like I knew the each of the main characters personally even though I’ve never watched aosth or sonic underground and the whole space warp thing is written as if you completely understand the entirety of the topic yourself. Please don’t ever stop writing, you’re absolutely fantastic

First of all, thank you so much! Character-focused writing is what I like to do the most, so I'm glad they all resonated with you and felt real while you were reading <3

I'm not the most science-minded person, but I did so much research to give the dimensional travel aspect enough of a foundation to stand on so that the suspension of disbelief could kick in where I needed it, haha. The research was probably the most time-consuming part of this fic xD

But thank you for the encouragement, and no need to worry. I won't ever stop writing. Even if I stop posting fanfiction (which I don't really see happening), I'll still be writing. It's my favorite thing to do and it's my career. Not my day job, unfortunately, but still the field I truly want to grow in.

I also just wanted to say, if you want to tell these kinds of stories, then you absolutely will ❤️ I've had over 20 years of near-constant practice at this point. I started writing regularly when I was around 11 or 12 and I'm in my mid-30s now. I've taken so many writing classes, been part of writing clubs and workshops, and written a ton of fanfics. Through all the successes I've had, I've also had plenty of failures. But the passion and perseverance have been what helped me to grow as a writer and tighten my storytelling skills, which still need a lot of work. I'm still learning so much about pacing and planting ideas and paying them off in a satisfying way. I'm always going to be getting better, and so will you! As long as you keep working at it and care about having a story come as close to what you envisioned it to be, you'll keep improving.

The thing is, as you keep getting better, your standards for yourself will keep getting higher, too. So sometimes it might not feel like you're improving or meeting your own expectations, but you are. Everything you write brings you closer to the kind of writer you want to be. I can guarantee you that you're already a better writer than you were six months ago! The progress can be hard to measure, but it's there.

Sorry, didn't mean to get preachy or anything, but I just wanted to give a little encouragement back to you, and to any other younger writers following me. The things I wrote in high school and college honestly look and feel like they were written by a completely different person, but they still helped me get to where I am today and where I'm still going in the future.

The fact that you're writing at all matters so much. Keep going ❤️

[skimmingmilk]

the fact that I search for your blog so much that it comes up in my autocorrect is really saying something

Oh my gosh, that's super sweet! Thank you for being so interested in whatever random things I decide to post about xD Really wild to think I'm in someone's autocorrect, lol