Honestly? So much of Sonic Prime happens the way it does because Sonic is unabashedly, wholeheartedly neurodivergent, and I wanna talk about that in detail for several reasons
I think most people assume he has ADHD, and while I agree, I think they tend to leave it at "he's hyperactive and impulsive" when there's actually a lot more going on there.
For example, he lacks a filter. He says exactly what he's thinking, all the time, regardless of who's listening. I wouldn't be surprised if he does it as a type of vocal stim, considering that he talks to himself as much as he does to other people. Maybe he dislikes the way silence feels on his ears, too?
Something I noticed was that when Thorn gets on his case for this, asking if he ever stops talking, the way he says "eh, not really" sounds... almost resigned?
He could have easily said it in a more jokey way, but his tone (and the wide camera shot) gives me the impression that this isn't a trait of his that he feels especially positive about.
It's not cool or funny to him, at least not in this instance; it's just something he does, which further proves to me that it's more of an unconscious stim than anything else.
On the topic of the jungle world though, it also shows us a couple instances of him not being able to read others' intentions very well. Prim lies to him about knowing what the Prism shard is, and Thorn uses him to get to said shard - and despite how hostile they are, he takes both of them at their word.
He only realizes Thorn's intentions after she hits him across the clearing - not for the first time that day, mind you - and Sonic berates himself a little for not seeing this coming.
But it's not like this is the only time he has difficulty understanding intent; just look at his interactions with Shadow.
This is not the behavior of someone who understands why Shadow's picking a fight with him. He doesn't understand the implications of "you literally shook the world" because he doesn't know about the Weirder aspects of the explosion. In his mind, he just messed up a mountain.
Though I think his attitude implies another thing about his dynamic with Shadow that might explain why he was so quick to dismiss what he was talking about, which is. I don't think Sonic usually understands why they fight??
Shadow is a person of few words and Sonic has a hard time picking up on subtleties, that's a recipe for miscommunication already. And if Sonic's already predisposed to thinking that Shadow fights him Just Because, then of course he didn't take this particular instance seriously.
Though going back to "he only registered the physical effect of the explosion," Sonic is actually pretty consistent with understanding things that are tangible a lot better than anything else. Case in point: that One Palm Tree
His first reaction to seeing it presented as a gift is that it must be a trick. because he doesn't see the tangible point of the tree, and isn't enough of a symbolism guy to see the sentimental point of it, either.
Don't get me wrong, he is being insensitive here, but I don't think it's on purpose in any way. Look at his body language and expressions:
Even as he's getting on their case for being too sentimental, he's not unhappy or uncomfortable with them. He's just completely failing to recognize that this was supposed to be a big deal for them, so he's treating it way more casually than is appropriate.
Which is like. a classic social flub for neurodivergent folks
(Quick side note - this specific "huh" that he makes as Tails is flying away before Sonic realizes he's upset is a whole mood. I don't know how to explain it but this is Exactly what it feels like when you can sorta tell something's not clicking but you don't know what yet)
(Look at him. brain static)
I could go on with the detailed explanations but some of that would just be me repeating past posts I've made, so I'll leave it at "he is clearly not handling change well either" and link back to an example.
So anyway, this is what I meant when I said that so much of the show is impacted by Sonic being neurodivergent. It affects how we hear his thoughts as viewers, it affects his ability to understand and connect with his friends, it's why he dismisses Shadow, it's why he impulsively smashes the Paradox Prism, the list goes on.
And he's not stupid because of any of these traits, either. None of what I've described has to do with intelligence, but I've seen "Sonic is too dumb" as a reason to criticize the show, and that's just not what's happening here.
If anything, I'm actually really impressed with how well the writers have managed to portray a more nuanced take on what a character with ADHD would look like. Because he's not just being hyperactive and chatty, you can tell it affects how he perceives things too.
Which is a much bigger part of the overall experience, and it's really cool to see in a cartoon like this - and in the lovable main character, to boot! Who cherishes his friends despite his struggles to understand them! Why is it so good!
In conclusion Sonic is the ADHD king we both needed and deserved, thanks for coming to my TED talk
I DIDNT EVEN KNOW IVE HAD THIS FOR THAT LONG HELP??? Y'all are getting ignored though and I do apologize for that. I'll have something interesting to post eventually 😭
I love that the modern-day tumblr post equivalent of chain emails only requires me to reblog a relatively pleasant image instead of forward an email to a bunch of my friends and family members to quell my raging anxiety.
Do you have any specific lore reasons to why your shadow is Jewish? Or is it mostly just added because it looked neat
I've answered this before, but I'll answer it again because I find it important.
"Robotnik" is a Slavic-Jewish surname meaning "worker." Somewhere between 1790-1825, Jewish folk in Slavic countries adopted or were assigned surnames based on their profession. Robotnik is an uncommon one of those.
Shadow is part of the Robotnik family tree. If we're going off the theory that the Robotniks were/are Jewish (and I am going off this theory ofc), it means Shadow is Jewish as well.
Judaism is an ethnoreligion steeped in tales of escape, mourning, and victory over those that would try to eradicate us. A common expression to summarize most of our holidays is; "They tried to kill us, they didn't, let's eat." It feels fitting to make a character like Shadow, who has suffered loss at the hands of a military, and have fought against said-military, Jewish.
This is a headcanon I jumped on because it means a whole lot to me to make one of my favorite characters in anything ever Jewish. The man's celebrating his Passovers and Hanukkahs and having an easy fast on Yom Kippur and begrudgingly dressing up for Purim and sharing all of this, this shred of connection to Maria and Gerald Robotnik, with his new friends/family, Rouge and Omega. and sonic.
I'd also like to add- as a fun fact and/or reminder (you pick, lol)- that in the Knuckles series, (spoilers oop-) that Wade is Jewish! He is seen partaking in the "Jewish Day of Rest" called Shabbat.
Knuckles- Episode 3: The Shabbat Dinner
Its a good episode too! I'm by no mean Jewish, but it was really interesting to watch.
Everyone: Please please please don't write your books in Google Docs. Frankly don't use Google Drive for personal stuff.
Their terms of service say they take down stuff like content related to terrorism and trafficking, but this Google Sheet was literally a list of movies I'd watched this year and books I'd read.
Holy smokes, guys. It's way worse than I thought. Google actually took away access to every single file of fiction writing I'd made on that account. BUT I backed it all up on Scrivener yesterday by coincidence. So I haven't lost my work, but I could have just lost the 12,000 words I've written this month after a year of really intense writer's block. I honestly don't know what that would have done to my psyche.
That is awful! If you're looking for a gdocs-like replacement, Ellipsus @ellipsus-writes is a queer friendly, anti-AI equivalent with online syncing and sharing - I've been using it for almost a year now as a replacement for gdocs and absolutely love it.
I do still back up all my work to local storage on LibreOffice too though, thank goodness you backed up to Scrivener OP!
I've got a keychain and sticker ready for you to enjoy! Their kinda in a pre-order state, but that's because I barely have any interest in them at the moment. You can find out more on my Instagram page! User is the same as the one in the video!
I don't expect anyone to know what's going on, and why I've been so silent recently.
Basically; I'm graduating this weekend. So I've been focused on making sure this actually happens, and it's not just me being like, "Oh, well... nevermind. Whoops."
So, yeah! That's what's currently happening. I'll be back to making art full time here pretty soon!
tryna figure out a way to simplify my rendering for comics going forward.. i think if i just use less gradients n highlights n shit itll be easier to manage but idk. i'll work on it
I sincerely hate asking for help, especially any financial help, but it's what I need the most of right now.
I was told this morning that I have until I graduate to move out and find a new place to stay. The problem is that it's May and I graduate on June 15th.
I can't do my school work and have a job at the same time. I've already tried that, and I suffered from it.
I won't have enough time to get everything I need, so I'm calling out for help. I'm calling for your help, their help, anybodies help. I wish I didn't have to sound so desperate, but that's just how bad this is.
If you'd like to support me, I'll link my Kofi below. Reblogs are appreciated <3
It has commission options available for those who are interested in supporting me that way. Any support I receive will get a drawing by the way.
you'll get the urge as an artist or a writer to say out loud the things you're worried about "the proportions are off" "kind of out of character" "i'm not good at summaries" "didn't get as much detail as i wanted" "i made a mistake and here's how" and that's the self-conscious part of your brain telling you "it's bad and if you don't tell them you know it's bad then they'll think you're stupid" but you've got to ignore that little voice and pretend you think it's good or else that little voice is going to ruin your life
If you don't want to see me ramble, the "TLDR" is; You can't let that voice win, or else you won't see what you do in the future.
When I was younger, I used to be able to write so many pages in one sitting. I was constantly writing about all my characters; throwing them into scenarios, seeing what worked and didn't, what felt right and/or wrong, etc etc. I was having the time of my life just writing without any care!
Over time, I decided that I wanted to start sharing my works with the world. I'd seen other people do it, and I wanted to try it for myself. None of my works gained attention, or grabbed the eyes of many people. I am both thankful and unthankful for this.
I'm thankful for zero recognition because I now know that I would've been chasing the approval of people. I would've changed the story, characters, details, ANYTHING, just to get more people to like it.
Changing the story does nothing for me. It just makes the story feel different, and not mine. It doesn't give you that sense of accomplishment when you finish it. You'll just be left with the thought of "I don't like where this is going", "Is this really the story?", "They- the character- wouldn't really do this".
I can apply this to writing because I've done this to my own art and characters. I've changed designs, names, bios, and entire stories because "it's not good enough" or "That's already been done" or "Another overused concept? Really?". It hurts even more when I create a character randomly and grow to adore the character as a whole.
No, I still don't like where my art is, but it's different enough to make me like it.
At the end of the day, you have to create for yourself. Collaborating with someone? Great, now you can both hyperfixate on this story. Share your work with others who will actually enjoy your work. Especially if your just starting out.
Ok ok- I'm done rambling. I know that no one's gonna read all this so.... yeah. Lol.
