The edge of shadow, where reality and dream meet

Toby Fox · The Third Sanctuary

Hello Charlie !

Have you ever laid down in your bed and stared at a shadow in the corner of your bedroom ? Stared at it, tried to decipher, tried to see something in the darkness, tried to let your mind fill in the blanks ?

What if you could take the absence of light out of a shadow ? Remove the concept of there not being light out of the darkness. In other words : What if it could get darker than dark ?

Chances are, if you’ve been anywhere near me for the last 3 years you should have heard me talk about Deltarune. There is, unfortunately, not a single moment where I do not bring this game up, I’ve pretty much made it my entire personality and it’s honestly a miracle I’m only writing about it on this blog right now.

THE PLOT

Strikingly contrasting it’s spiritual predecessor Undertale (which i've written a blog article about last year), there is no magic or talking flowers to follow you. In this game you play as Hometown’s only human Kris, and there is pretty much nothing to do besides sleep in class and watch your divorced parents run into each other at the convenience store. That is until you and your classmate Susie get sent to get some chalk from the closet.

You don’t find any chalk, but what you do find is a fantasy world reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland. There’s magic, a conspiracy, and a Legend to fufill.

This is the legend of DELTA RUNE

For millenia, LIGHT and DARK have lived in balance,

Bringing peace to the WORLD.

But if this harmony were to shatter

a terrible calamity would occur

In a place where even the concept of the absence of light doesn’t exist, you could start to see things, could start to hear them, feel them.

That is what makes the “Wonderland” in Deltarune (called Dark Worlds) : A place where your brain makes up for the absence of light by seeing things : Magic is a thing and objects, now called Darkners, are alive.

In other worlds : The Dark Worlds are an alternate view of reality through the lense of shadow.

However, the knight’s excessive creation of dark fountains (portals to the dark worlds) brings harm to the Prophecy and the balance of the Light and Dark worlds.

Sealing the fountains away and closing the dark worlds is a priority to avoid the destruction of the world and to banish the Angel’s Heaven.

But if the Dark Worlds are such a fun escape from Hometown’s gloomy and boring life, are they really as bad as the legend makes them out to be ?

WHY SHOULD I PLAY IT ?

First and foremost : the first two chapters are free and are available pretty much everywhere.

Deltarune’s story is not over, As i'm posting this article, only 4 out of the story’s 7 chapters are out, with the 5th chapter set to release this afternoon!!! At 5pm!!! deltarune today!!! I'm so not ready #delaydeltarune. I believe what makes deltarune so special to me is the story : It’s, to be honest, pretty cliché and corny but it’s made with such dedication and passion you just can’t help but like it.

But I also think that you might enjoy it because I believe deltarune has one of the best storytellings i've ever seen. In a very similar fashion to Undertale, pretty much everything about the game whether it is the soundtrack, save points down to even the player’s ability to “play” (pun very intended) with the world of deltarune is diegetic to the story : Literally EVERYTHING matters ! The curtains are NOT just blue and yeah the snake growing a beard is a sign that the rapture is coming

As an example, my favorite ways deltarune tells its story outside of the game are through the Soundtrack and ARGs.

The developer and writer of the game’s story is also a composer, and the use of leitmotifs is a major way of showcasing deltarune’s story. I will make another blog post about leitmotifs in general because I think they’re such a cool storytelling technique.

I’m not gonna use very adequate words for this, but if you don't know what they are, leitmotivs are specific musical phrases who within a story will be associated with a theme, character or concept in general. (My first example that comes to mind is Alexander’s leitmotif in the Hamilton musical, but I believe leitmotifs are very very widely used today)

Deltarune also showcases its story outside of the game through Alternative Reality Games (ARGs)

An ARG is an interactive story game, typically found in websites or blogs where you have to find clues and decipher a lot of cryptic stuff to “advance” in the story, a bit like an internet puzzle. Deltarune, so far, has had about 4 of these (with more probably coming along the way)

Spamton Sweepstakes ARG, 2022-2025

"How long did it take her to smile/When will it happen" ARG, 2025-2026, who just got its final answers yesterday!!!

I could go so much more in depth regarding literally everything deltarune ever but I believe this blog post Is already getting long enough

CONCLUSION ?

You don't have to be one of those insane theorists on twitter analyzing the smallest details ever to enjoy deltarune. Every person I know who has played deltarune has no idea who Friend or Eram or god forbid The Mike Frauds even are, and they surely don’t spend half of their time debating with people on the internet over the main antagonist’s identity (its Dess guys its literally dess Loaded gun to my head I swear on my soul theres literally no possible way it’s not Dess)

Deltarune is i’ll admit!! a pretty boring game gameplay wise. But I believe its story GREATLY makes up for it (although I really wish they'd warn you about the levels of psychosis that comes with enjoying this game) It has an amazing soundtracks and once again the story is so mesmerizing I remember reading about it before I even applied for the BFI

It’s cheesy, it’s fun and it’s completely took over my life. Deltarune Today!! So excited for chapter 5!!!!!!!!!!

What to do when you dont know what to wear and you're already running super late

(The title is an actual google search from my search history when I was panicking over what to wear)

Charlie im going to be so honest with you, i feel like the biggest poser while im talking about styling and fashion advice because I dress as if i've rolled out of bed and put whatever the first thing in front of me was.

Even though I would  prioritize comfort when I dress for school, i still think it wouldve been nice if I dressed up a bit more to maybe make a good first impression or just to show hints of my personality when I dress. But as busy BFI students (im using that as an excuse) who even has the time??!!

That's why, next time, whenever you're running late and dont know what to wear, remember the advice I'm going to give you!

1) focus on one piece of clothing

Sometimes when searching for a good outfit to wear in your closet, you tend to put your attention on multiple pieces at a time. Maybe because you've recently bought them, wanted to wear a specific color or tried layering with other things, STOP! You cant focus on what you want to wear if you're overstimulating your brain with a ton of choices.

Decide of a 'center piece', what you want to focalize on. It could be based on the weather, the setting of the place you're going to (school, party, etc) or simply because you like that top/those bottoms. 

After that, you can easily match the clothing with something else in your wardrobe! But in any case, do NOT change your mind all of a sudden, you dont have the time for that!!!

2) consider sweaters over dresses

In my opinion, wearing a dress like a skirt is easier than wearing a skirt itself, and it feels much safer (and warmer for winter). Its not really usual and quite practical if you want to be comfortable and classy/cute. Having a dress with a plaid pattern (or any other patterns) or one with a singular color. The sweater could be either tight fitting or loose, its your choice! (But hurry up)

Imagine a very cute sweater on top, it'll look just like a skirt 

3) balancing your outfits to make them make sense!

Outfit proportions and balancing them are really important to have a cohesive outfit, which is something you cant really think about if you're running 15 minutes late... To simplify things; every piece of clothing should BELONG in your outfit, it shouldn't look odd or out of place. 

To ensure that, your article of clothing should be either matching by color with another article (same color or complementary color) or it should be cohesive proportionally. e.g )  baggy pants--->fitted top OR bell bottom pants (because skinny jeans are NOT it right now)--->loose/baggy top.

Make sure to make a visible separation between the top and bottom with a belt or a layer that sticks out visibly of your top if possible, it always adds more depth to your outfits!

Notice how every piece of clothing matches the color of another one? (Brown with brown, pink and pink pattern, gold and gold, denim being the only exception of clothing that CAN be used singularly)

HM: wear a jumpsuit

I am NOT brave enough to wear a jumpsuit but it is one of the most practical clothing to wear if you are late, IF it is styled well! 

HM 2: just sleep in pajamas that can be outside clothing

Its a pretty lazy hack if you know you're going to be insanely late, just wear pajamas that you consider acceptable to wear outside or dress up and go to bed at this point idk what to tell you.

Remember to be true to yourself and to your own style, you do not need to follow every fashion trend that passes by (especially if they're tiktok micro trends that barely last a week, YOU DO NOT NEED NEW CLOTHING EVERY WEEK! Do your best to thrift clothing or up cycle them!)

basic need if u want to crochet 🧶𓍯𓂃𓏧୨ৎ

Hey Charlie!

    I love crocheting, and at the beginning, it was quite difficult to find good videos to understand and improve. 

And so here are some tips and links that, in my opinion, can be useful to start. 

    First of all, if it's your first time crocheting, I advise you to use a hook between 4 and 5mm. To choose the right yarn, just follow the instructions given on it. 

    Here we start

In crochet u can start with two types of knots

• slip knot

This one is the basic level you will need to use it in almost every project.

The goal is to make a chain ( a line to start ur crochet).

• The magic ring 

it's a little more complicated

You will use it to start with a circle ( for exemple when making a plushie)

Please 🙏 don't be discouraged if you struggle with this one; it's totally normal. 

(It took me a whole day to finally do it using the second method )

a less typical method ( it's basically how to make a bow)

    With this second method, after doing it, you have to pull the yarn a little to see which one is connected to the whole ball. This one is the one you need to insert the hook in.

    Now, this is the most common stitches  and their abbreviation you will need to follow a crochet tutorial 

    After that, I wish you will be able to start. Time to crochet !!

Just follow the tutorial for the project of your choice (๑'ᵕ'๑)⸝*

                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                   Good luck!!

Sully or the story of a miracle that will send you flying ( literally)

Heyyyyy Charlie !

How ya doin', buddy?

Today, I will be talking about a story that shook America, and even the whole world.  A story of planes.

So you may be wondering, " Roman, what are you talking about ?" Or " Roman, you are very funny"

which I indeed am. 

And if you asked the first question, I will be answering now(  it's not that I don't like people who asked the second one but I have an article to make).

Let's get into it.

Do you know this man ? I didn't know him either until very recently, yesterday, to be exact. 

He is called Chelsey Sullenberger, or " Sully".

I'm sure most of the people in the BFI, among the students, would not recognize him. It's normal. He became famous in January 2009. I wasn't even born. I know him only because I saw the movie about him , made in 2016 by Clint Eastwood, starring Tom Hanks, "Sully"which you should check out because it's very good ( even critics said it was excellent).

I will in any case tell the story like I saw it in the movie  ( in the right chronological order) and with data that I found on Wikipedia The movie was inspired by the book "Sully" wrote : Highest Duty : my search for what really matters.

Don't hesitate to check on Wikipedia for all of the data if you are interested, I didn't bother including it here because it would slow down the narration.

They also have an audio of what happened ( but if you watch the film, that will be unnecessary)

So what has this man done ?

Chelsey Sullenberger, born in 1951 in Texas, is a airline pilot, a great one. He,apparently, at the moment the story starts, has piloted planes for 42 years, and more than 20 000 hours of flight of experience. He even says in the film that more than 1 million people arrived at their destination thanks to him.

On January 15, 2009, he is in charge of the flight US Airways 1549, an Airbus A320, departing from the Airport of LaGuardia in New York to Seattle.  At 15:27:11In the middle of the city,at 859m of altitude, the plane got hit by Canada Geese, resulting in both engine failure, which ,put simply, means they have no motors anymore, or in gen Z terms, they are cooked 🥀.

Sullenberger takes control of the plane while his copilot, Jeffrey Skiles, verifies the checklist for engine restart. The aircraft continues to rise, reaching 930m above the ground then begins its descent. At 15:27:33, Sully calls in urgence the TRACON, the Terminal Radar Approach Control of New York. An air traffic controller tells to LaGuardia to hold all departures and directs Sully to Runway 13, to which he responds " Unable".

He asks for landing options at Teterboro Airport, to which he is given permission to land. He first says "Yes" but then replies with " We can't do it... We're gonna be in the Hudson (river)". They pass 270m above the George Washington Bridge.

Suddenly, Sully talks to everyone in the aircraft via the microphone : " Brace for Impact."

Meanwhile, air traffic controllers ask the Coast Guard to caution vessels in the Hudson and ask them to prepare to help with the rescue.

The air traffic controller that first talked with Sully in the call thinks they are dead. He lost their signal on the radar. Nobody ever survived a water landing, not with that kind of aircraft.

At  approximately 15:30,the plane made an unpowered ditching, descending  at about 230 km/h into the middle of the North River section of the Hudson river.

Flight attendants compared the ditching to a "hard landing" with "one impact, no bounce, then a gradual deceleration". The ebb tide then began to take the plane southward.

Quickly, Sully gives the order to evacuate. The passengers do so  through the four overwing window exits and into an inflatable slide raft deployed from the front right passenger door (the front left slide failed to operate, so the manual inflation handle was pulled). 

The evacuation was made more difficult by the fact that someone opened the rear left door, allowing more water to enter the plane.

Keep in mind that's it's mid January,the air and water temperatures are about 19 °F (−7 °C) and 41 °F (5 °C), respectively.

Some passengers are old, one is in a wheelchair.

Sully walks the cabin twice to confirm it is empty.

Some evacuees wait for rescue knee-deep in water on the partially submerged slides, with some wearing life vests. Others stand  on the wings or, fearing an explosion, swim away from the plane.

Help then arrived, on boats and helicopters, with sea divers rescuing those who swam away.

Passengers and crew sustained 95 minor and 5 serious injuries, including a deep laceration on a  flight attendant's leg. 78 people received medical treatment, mostly for minor injuries and hypothermia;24 passengers and two rescuers were treated at hospitals, with two passengers kept overnight. Eye damage from jet fuel caused one passenger to need glasses.But no one died. A miracle.

That is due to the rescuers, the crew, and the passengers themselves, of course. But Sully landed perfectly, with the best angle possible, with a plane that wasn't supposed to land there.

It didn't break in half. Sully was the first in history to pull off something like that. Sully, even before the investigation to know what exactly happened was finished, had already been considered as a hero.

Each passenger later received a letter of apology, $5,000 in compensation for lost baggage (and $5,000 more if they could demonstrate larger losses), and a refund of their ticket price. In May 2009, they received any belongings that had been recovered. Passengers also reported offers of $10,000 each in return for agreeing not to sue US Airways.

In an effort to prevent similar accidents, officials captured and exterminated 1,235 Canada geese at 17 locations across New York City in mid-2009 and coated 1,739 goose eggs with oil. As of 2017, 70,000 birds had been intentionally killed in New York City.

In the movie, the investigation around the incident to determine  if Sully and Jeff were responsible was dramatised to add tension, but in reality the people who investigated  just wanted to prevent further incidents and ensure the safety of passengers. They later found, which you can see better in the movie, that Skiles and Sullenberger did the perfect thing to do, without calculations, just based on experience.

U.S. President George W. Bush said he was "inspired by the skill and heroism of the flight crew", and praised the emergency responders and volunteers. President-elect Barack Obama said that everyone was proud of Sullenberger's "heroic and graceful job in landing the damaged aircraft". He thanked the crew, whom he invited to his inauguration five days later.

(This is just a sample of how recognised they were for their acts)

So ,indeed, the crew , Skiles, and Sullenberger pulled off a miracle, rewrote the history of planes, did something thought of as impossible.

Thanks for reading my article!!!

By the way, Clint Eastwood composed the music, not Hans Zimmer.

Why on earth don’t men ever whisper?

 Sorry about the clickbait. Some men do whisper. Probably. I just haven’t met them yet, have I. 

So hi Charlie, this article is about people who never whisper. I don’t add any swear words because I dont want to be cancelled and all, but do read them between the lines because I get very upset when I hear people act like they’re whispering while they’re really talking aloud. 

Since I struggle to be really focused in class, I’m always learning other stuff, even when I’m really interested in what the teacher is saying. I just can’t sit and listen. 

Here is for instance a picture of my most successful project : 

Well I sometimes chat, too. And I guess everyone has to do something else during lessons, because it’s really difficult to only focus on one thing isn’t it. But the thing is, I WHISPER because some people might want to work, or listen to the lesson. And apparently some people think that there is an alternative to whispering : that is talking in a very low, deep voice. Like that makes it impossible for anybody to hear them. 

Fun fact even if you have a deep voice we can still hear you! If anything we can hear you even louder. 

But the thing is, they never speak loud enough for us to hear what they’re saying, so what the hell is the point. Either shut it or let us hear the gossip, thank you. 

I don’t mind people chatting, since I often chat myself. I really don’t. And it’s always awkward when the class is really silent anyways . But it drives me crazy whenever someone is pretending like they’re whispering, when they’re clearly not. Like it’s not that hard, just whisper.

 But then, in my ever growing kindness, I figured that maybe they just can’t, physically?

SO I CHECKED on Google, and guess what : the results were unexpected. Quite sexy. A bit scary, too.

THEY CAN WHISPER. They simply choose not to. 

So here is a little tutorial to help you be a normal person and learn this very basic skill that anyone above 2 years old should master : 

1) Breathe out. 

2) Speak. 

3) Do both at the same time (you can do this!) 

. 

WAY TO GO, you are now able to whisper.

That is the end of my article. Don’t thank me, I’m only working for the greater good. Of course that wasn’t aimed at all men. Don’t hate me for this thank you

Elaï

The missing sister

Hi this is Camille and today I wanted to talk about a subject that really sadden me : "The missing sister".

Introduction

The missing sister relates to one of the six statues from ancient Greece called Caryatids they used to be on the Parthenon, the temple honoring Athena the godess of war and science. The Parthenon is in the center of Athens and is the beating heart of the city. Symbol of the greatness of the greek history and ancient civilisation, but also a touristic place for the city and Greece.

But what happened ?

In 1811, a man named Lord Elgin took one of the Caryatids to send it to London, he claimed that the Ottomans (who occupied Greece at that time) agreed to let him take the statue and some parts of the temple and especially the frieze which was decorating the front of the Parthenon. But the Ottomans had no rights to make this deal it wasn't their history or legacy. This was later recognized as an act of colonial exploitation.

And now what ?

Thanks to those extraordinary pieces The British Museum is now a must seen and an internationaly known museum. The cruelest part is that the most part of the museum 's collections belong to other countries. Indeed the Rosetta stone or even the statue of Ramesses II were actually found in Egypt, the statues of the Mausoleum tomb were found in actual Turkey close to Bodrum. The egyptian and greek governement have been demanding the retourn of those historical pieces to their home country. The greeks have been negociating hardly for a while now and expressly request the retourn of the parts of the Parthenon, especially since the opening of the Acropolis Museum in Athens in 2009. The bristish answer is that the pieces are in better condition and well preserved here in England than in their home country. But we all know that it's mainly because if they would retourn this pieces they would have to do the same for every foreign pieces they have in the museum, and they would lost their influence, and prestige. Indeed 60 000 items belongs to Greece on 200 000 that own the museum. It's really a shame that England don't want to let go of their colonial past and legacy and move on. But of course The British Museum isn't the only one in this position at all, The Louvre faces similar problems.

Why this subject ?

When I was 10 I went to Greece since I was a huge fan of greek mythology. And when I visited the Acropolis Museum and I saw the hole between the statues it broke my heart, it was like someone separated them and now they are incompletes. It was really frustrating seeing inscriptions like " this is a reproduction, the real one is in The British museum, London". Last summer I went to London and I finally saw the last parts of the greek collection and it reminded me how sad this all story is. I did felt bad for the poor sister standing in the room alone far from home. It's unfair that the greek can't embrace and show proudly their history just because some people thought that creating a personnal collection was more important. It upsets me that England refuses to give back the pieces as they should and as should all the other museums. Every counrty sould be proud and showing their own history and not the colonialist parts.

That's it for today ! of course I recommend you to see them but now you'll know that you'll have to go either to Greece or England to see them entirely.

Bye bye Charlie.

Dead by Daylight

 So, I might be taking some time to write the blogs about movies that are so bad that they're good, but I wanted to take a detour to present a masterpiece of a game. Dead by Daylight. 

    Every new year I have the tradition of buying two new games (they have a Christmas discount) that I will be playing all year long. It's great because it avoids me to buy too many games throughout the year and I end up having a super cool library in my Steam account in the long term. I also share them with my brother so this is literally me at the beginning of 2026: 

This year I bought Resident Evil 2 remake and Dead by Daylight. 

I've honestly been waiting to play another RE game because the 4th one is just so nostalgic to me. It was 100% worth it since I love horror games. 

And while I was searching for other games and crying at the prices that ranged from "no way this is this cheap" to "how is this not cheaper?!" I stumbled upon Dead by Daylight. Of this game little did I knew, but I was yet to unfold a hidden gem. Only heard of them due to the Stranger Things collab they did back in 2021 and the new one. After some fine and thorough research I decided I needed to play this amazing game. 

                What is Dead by Daylight? 

This is a multiplayer horror game, where team work makes the dream work. 4 survivors will have to help each other escape from an island while being chased by a killer. To do so, they have to fix five generators, that will power an exit door, scattered all over the map. Meanwhile, the killer has to chase and kill them. One hit will make them get in the "hurt state" which makes them move slower, the next hit knocks them to the ground. So the killer can pick them up and hang them in one of the many hangers that are in the map so that they can be sacrificed to the Entity. A mysterious creature that will kill the survivors. Each survivor can get hooked and saved only twice, the third time they will be directly murdered. 

What makes this game fun and worthy of your time? 

First of all, each play is different. Depending on whether you are the killer or a survivor and of the level of the gamers around you. Even depending on the map, and they sure have some crazy maps. The Silent Hill one is insane, I always get lost!

(this map)

Next, there is a vast catalogue of survivors and killers with different perks and actions. Depending on what they do, you have to adapt a deferent strategy. For instance, the killer I hate, despise more than anyone else, is the one from the Tokyo Ghoul collab. He has tentacles that can hold you and catch you from far distances. Even though he is considered one of the worst killers, I really struggle with him. 

(here is me getting murdered by Kaneki from the Tokyo Ghoul collab)

Which is another peculiar thing about this game, they have pretty cool collabs that keep the game alive. I was afraid the server would be dead when I bought it, but with all the activities they do, there is a lot a players actively playing it (me included now!!). 

Going back to strategies, this is another thing that might appeal your attention. Killers play in first-person and thus have a restrained perspective whereas the survivors play in third-person and are more aware of their surroundings. This make a huge change in the game, as the beginning of the game is as pro-survivor as possible but this will change as the game goes on. 

Another important gaming strategy is team work, because some people are nasty enough to never help and go on with their life!! Which is very enraging but well that's it. You also have the classic "tea-bagging" gamers that won't doubt to humiliate the killers if possible. So, all things considered, you still rely on the people you're playing with or against to enjoy the game. 

Also, I forgot, but there is a score at the end, so if you're competitive and want to smash people this can also attract you in the game!! 

Here you can see a pretty mediocre play by me! (Lara Croft!!) 

This is very biased, but I bought it with the Tomb Raider 2013 extension, the 2013 Lara Croft has to be one of the most legendary characters for me growing up, and even though the critics about her were mixed (might even do an article on the decline of the trilogy), I got her only for the skin. I wouldn't recommend it, since her perks are not the best in the game, but what can I say? She looks so so cute!!!

I could go on and on about all the perks but honestly I wouldn't be doing them justice as I'm still a big amateur in this game and don't know how to properly play! But seriously, you should check out one of the many gameplays out there, this game is really difficult!

In conclusion, horror games are my comfort zone and whenever I can find myself shaking and screaming every five seconds with my lungs filled of anxiety, I recommend them (even if I'm aware they are way scarier games than RE).  

I'm planning on buying Dead Space and the classic Silent Hill next year, but drop any recommendations, I'm all ears!! 

Hope you enjoyed this article! See ya at the bingo!! >:b 

Sonic The Hedgehog Is So Back

 I absolutely adore Sonic the hedgehog, which will come as no surprise to anyone in my class. I've made it abundantly clear. The blue blur and his colorful pals have been with me pretty much as far as I can remember, so today I want to talk about what Sonic is, why I love him so much, and also the bright future ahead for the franchise (I'm so excited for what's next)

I dare you to try and find every snealy references I place in this article (might even make an article on these, since there's so many XD) 

First of all, what is Sonic the hedgehog? 

1-SONIC:ORIGINS 

the fastest thing alive was created in 1991 by Hirokazu Yasuhara, Naoto Ohshima, and the most famous, Yuji Naka (sometimes refered to as Yu2 by fans, I'll explain why later). These three were tasked to create for SEGA (SErvice GAmes) a mascot who would rival with Nintendo's very popular Mario. The main goal of SEGA was to showcase the speed of their consol, the Mega Drive (aka SEGA Genesis) compared to Nintendo's hardware, so they quickly knew they wanted a fast character. The original concept was a Rabbit, which remains unnamed to this day, but they decided at the last minute a hedgehog would look more dynamic with it's sharp quills. "But why is Sonic blue?" I hear literally none of you asking! Well, simply, because SEGA's logo is blue! And now I don't hear you asking "But then, why isn't it the same shade of blue as the logo?". The answer is simple once more: Sonic was simply not visible enough against the blue sky of the game, so they made him darker. Fun fact, Sonic's name was originally Harinezumi, or Mr. Needlemouse in english.

↓ the unnamed rabbit who would become Sonic and other concept art by Yuji Naka

A screenshot of Sonic The Hedgehog (1991) ↓

 

 

In the next decades, Sonic went through major changes, like switching to 3D, and a change in design. He also gained more allies and foes with each game, each more lively and colorful as the next. His first 3D game (if we ignore Sonic 3D blast, which we will) was Sonic Adventure in 1998. This game brought more to Sonic that just 3D:it brought Yuji Uekawa (the second Yuji which gave Yu2), and with him a new artstyle which would change the franchise forever:the well named Uekawa Sonic. This design has so much personality and swagger, it stayed until modern days (even though it's been slightly updated), and the name is still deeply respected in the community

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Part two, why I love Sonic

2-Vivid sounds and hybrid colors
Sonic has a lot of reasons to be likeable. So many I don't even know where to begin.
Let's begin with the general esthetic and atmosphere of the games (wow I'm more organised on this than on Ms Choffrut's essays, I should get my priorities straight if I wanna stay in this section)

Sonic in general is quite a 'feel good' franchise. It's all about freedom and friends, facing whatever comes with a smile and maybe a couple pals. This is a part that's always appealed to me, along with the bright colors of the cast and evironments. Some places are colorful, pretty, or dazzling, while others are straight up gorgeous 

 
Studiopolis Zone Act One, Sonic Mania (2017)  ↑ Sunset Heights, Sonic Forces (2017) ↓

Ouranos Island, Sonic Frontiers (2022) ↓

 

 

 


fffffff

   

 











































Another part that pushes further into this 'feel good' vibe is the music. One thing that's always been consistent throught the ups and downs are the soundtracks accompanying the games. I always love listening to these upbeat and fast paced songs, and they are so varied, you're guaranted to like at least one
Here is a quick top ten instrumental tracks for those curious enough to give it a listen
 

10-Arsenal Pyramid (Sonic Forces)

honorable mention:Arsenal Pyramid - interior
9-Sunset Heights (Sonic Forces)

honorable mention(last one I promise):Gate:Sunset Heights (Shadow Generations)

8-Aquatic Base -Level 2- (Sonic The Hedgehog 2006)
7-Second Wind - Sonic Mvt. (Sonic Frontiers:Final Horizon)
6-Last Judgement (Sonic Forces)
5-That's The Way I Like It... for Metal Harbor (Sonic Adventure 2)
4-Flame Core -Volcano- (Sonic The Hedgehog 2006)
3-End of The World (Sonic The Hedgehog 2006)
2-Mortar Canyon (Sonic Forces)
1 -Palmtree Panic "B" mix (Sonic CD)

But Sonic doesn't resonate with me only with the sheer joy of its speed, heartfelt moments of kinship, and blissful endings
What all we Sonic fans adore above all
Is
The

AURA FARMING

the 'cool' factor has always been present in Sonic games, at least ever since Sonic went super against Perfect Chaos in Sonic Adventure and the absolute banger Open Your Heart started playing. But it's never been more present than it is now, and especially since Sonic Frontiers, where each Island had a boss worthy of being any game's final foe, each one more gigantic than the last, but each destroyed the same in an epic clash against Super Sonic accompanied by the glaring vocals of Kellin Quinn roaring in the background... Absolute cinema. These bosses were playable AMVs.

 

Super Sonic throwing with his (gloved) bare hands a literal titan wyvern robot into a mountain, if that's not aura 
farming what is  

 

 

Sonic really has a way with looking cool.

 

  To wrap this up, I'd like to talk about Sonic in a more personal way: I know Sonic isn't exactly popular (although that is changing in the recent years, yahoo), but it's always been something I've loved. And to be honest, that's gotten me a lot of mockeries... But I found in Sonic a second family, among the mass of fans. This is probably the warmest community of fans I've ever seen, and some of the most talented people, thousands of artists, VAs, gamedesigners, modders... And before you start listing other communities that are more of a family than Sonic, note this: the main reason everyone gets along so well and are so nice to one another is because we basically all went through the same thing growing up as Sonic nerds, and we all know what it feels like being left out for being quirky (also, a little fact: a great portion of Sonic fans are autistic, which must've also been hard to live growing up.. These people say the main reason why they love Sonic is the heartwarming community, and the message of freedom and "be who you are" from the entire franchise. some of you may find this corny but I entirely agree with it) 

The future of Sonic is looking bright, with Sonic the movie 4 in 2027, other Sonic Cinematic Universe projects rumored for the next years, support planned on Sonic Racing Crossworlds for the next couple of years, and probably new games on the horizon for the 35th anniversary of the franchise

Sonic has been getting much more love in the recent years, and nothing could make me happier than sharing that love with you 

Overall, Sonic is amazing in so many ways, most that you didn't even think of, and I hope that those who read this article to this point will understand Sonic and me better than before, and perhaps even want to play some! Say so in the comments if that's the case please so I can stalk you and loan you my Sonics (whatever consoles you have, it'll work, I have games for PS2, PS3, Switch (1/2), Wii...)

Thank you so much for reading this! I'd like to close it off with some of my favorite Sonic quotes (because I can't possibly choose just one)

“What you see is what you get! Just a guy who loves adventure! I’m Sonic the Hedgehog!” – Sonic Adventure 2

“I’m not fast because I run. I run because I’m fast!” – Sonic Frontiers

“I don’t need anyone to tell me who I am.” – Sonic Prime

 “A hero never runs from danger. He runs toward it.” – Sonic the Hedgehog

 “The journey matters more than the destination.” – Sonic Frontiers

 "I’m wet, I’m cold, there’s a fish on my head, and I realize that I can’t do this on my own." - Sonic Movie 

 "I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, and I have no master, except for the wind that blows free" - Sonic And The Black Knight 

ps I have no idea why the text went berserk at the end