Before I begin, this is the follow-up to: https://inkbunny.net/s/2729667 My post about how I actually really liked Sonic Frontiers (so far, as it did look unfinished, but I am expecting them to polish everything for the final product) so far. But I'm still cautiously optimistic about this game, but with how it feels... It's real different alright. I know the animations of Sonic, and how much there is in the world, aren't at their absolute best, but I am predicting when the final product comes out, I am hoping that the game is actually good. As in, better than Forces good. WAY better. But I already expressed a small bit in the previous post. This time...... I wish to tackle a specific topic regarding the fandom itself. But I am gonna make a disclaimer first that I am not actively chasing certain individuals per say, but I am just overall going to address the small minority in the sonic fanbase not just in calling out some bullcrud, but I wanna try and send a message to any newcomers of Sonic fans themselves. Ya'll will see when I talk about it. And after I express this subject, I do NOT want any and all flame wars or any toxic and negative crud thrown at me. I want everyone to be respectful and mature about my opinions and facts. Any and all hateful and toxic comments toward me will be blocked and hidden and all that. With that said... Here goes nothing.
Subject 1: Being extremely judgmental and bashing on any new Sonic game content getting real old and stupid The first thing I wish to tackle is the issue that's been happening the past couple of Sonic games, including Sonic Colors: Ultimate. Let me ask you guys this: Have you ever been so hyped up for a game you've been looking forward to? Do you sometimes get excited for a game of a specific franchise that you love so much, but have some understandable problems you notice, sometimes with some people agreeing with you on? And do you ever get hopes high for a particular game... Only to end up having to hear from someone that thinks they know what they're talking about talk about some negative things about it, and just keeps on talking a lot of crud about the game you wanted to play so much you feel like it must be true? :( Well... I will be fair. While I try to be cautiously optimistic myself, I have a couple of times felt let down by the Sonic games of late, like Rise of Lyric and even Sonic Forces of all things. But at those times I wasn't seeing alot of this. However, it has come to my attention that lately even as of Sonic Colors: Ultimate that there's some kind of 'agenda' going on with some of the Sonictubers, where some of them think they know what they're talking about, but in all fairness, they just wanna be negative about the newer Sonic games for the sake of being negative, for clicks and views, when most times they just spout out what's most likely their "opinions" rather than the stuff as is. I know Tails' Channel ain't one of the fakers because they're most likely a news youtube channel about Sonic. THAT stuff is legit according to my friend Toad900 on Discord. What I'm getting at, I really think it's quite shady and ridiculous that some of these people that spout rumors and theories about how the game will turn out, but really they just wanna hate on Sonic for the sake of hate. And to quote the words of Sonic: "That's no good!". They don't have any right to influence people into thinking how those youtubers think, especially if it kills their hype. What's worse is that at this time we are getting a lot of new fans, possibly including children. If anyone wants to grow up and learn more about Sonic and play more games, they have their own opinion and RIGHT to do so! :) They shouldn't have to be influenced by even the most pessimistic of people that claims to be a fan in order to be a Sonic fan. They just have to have a real passion and love for Sonic to be a true Sonic fan. But in all fairness, as my Subject 1 title says, this issue is getting really old and stupid. The things that get showcased before released, all of them are in zero ways the FINAL PRODUCT! I can say though we can have our criticisms, as long as they make sense and we know what we're talking about which issue. But if it becomes an agenda to spread as much negativity and hate for a game for absolutely zero reason whatsoever, especially if it's to get easy clicks and views, then that's when it becomes toxic. Plus it would really not be a good look for the fanbase here. :( We all have a right to our opinions to mold ourselves. And it just isn't fair that the newer Sonic games get this judgmental hate before release. It's like these people WANT Sonic to fail, which is not cool at all! I ain't saying they should be witch hunted and taken down. I'm only saying we shouldn't give these people all that attention, especially if it's all about tearing down a beloved franchise like Sonic. So bottom line: This has to end. If we want Sega and Sonic Team to get better, we need to make our true voices be louder than those fakers. Especially to preserve the goodwill of newer fans.
Subject 2: The REAL toxicity in the Sonic Fanbase and the narrative about it Whooo boy... This honestly is gonna be the biggest thing to tackle, and I may feel like a lot of people are gonna try to spout nonsense about the Sonic fanbase... But I don't care! Because this is a stupid narrative that's going on for too long even right now! I'm of course talking about how people talk about how the Sonic community is 'toxic', or that they have 'dead brain cells', or are full of crappy people and whatever. I will outright say that Sonic's community is not the ONLY one that has toxic people. Because I bet a whole lot of other fandoms have their rotten apples too. Including Star Wars. But Star Wars is another story because there is a whole lot more going on for Star Wars I can talk all day about, but this is about Sonic for now. To get to the point, to those that continue to try and shove the narrative of the Sonic fanbase being 'toxic' down people's throats, if those people continue to say that in the era where the Sonic community is actually THRIVING, with all of the pasisonate people on here, Deviantart, that has made hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of pictures, fanfictions, or whatever, and on the video making side have created an endless sea of amazing Sonic content, ranging from funny and emotional comic dubs, to original projects, to having a series based around a section of a Sonic community that is awesome (HUGE shoutout to SonicSong182, you guys are the BEST! :heart: And I am glad to be on your community!), to as of late a fantastic trailer for the community project Team Sea3on on YouTube that's aiming to make their own continuation of Sonic SatAM that would feel like it's an official thing, which is a HUGE thing of its own............ Then those people really aren't true fans. They are just jealous and salty towards the Sonic community for the sake of it, and just wants to spread their hate and misery to other people. Who the heck are they to dictate how a good fanbase should be? I'm not saying this community is perfect though. Even it has rotten apples in it. But what fanbase doesn't. It all depends on how much toxicity a fanbase willingly allows. I will admit big time, I have allowed this narrative to eat away at my soul for years, as with my sad post about Sonic in 2018, and with how I ranted about the downhill of the series and this fanbase. But.... I am NOT giving up! I refuse to believe all of the Sonic fanbase is toxic! I have been on here for years, and I have sene thousands of passionate fans that just loves to make artwork or fanfictions, or take commissions and whatnot. I even met a lot of the nice people on here. I have friends that are proud to be part of this community. They helped me believe again when I felt like hope was lost for Sonic. I don't ever wanna give up. And it pains me to see many others give up too. I can't save the whole world, but I at least want my wisdom to cut through the darkness of especially these trying times. Sonic has been there for us even when the coronavirus pandemic hit. We got Sonic 1 that got Movie of the Year, and it premiered before the pandemic, and 2021's 30th Anniversary carried us through, and this year has been real amazing for Sonic so far! And it's only gonna get better from here. ^^ The point of this is, we should not allow ourselves to get consumed by the fake Sonic fans that say they know Sonic and whatnot, but just wants to secretly abuse people mentally to make them into another part of their 'mob'. I know of the 'loud minority' shtick, but as a song from Fairy Tail would say, 'the smallest voice can make the loudest noise'! Even a hardcore fan's voice of passion can cut through the bullcrap. I wanna try to be one of those strong voices. Hence why I'm writing this. I already mentioned this, but now more than ever with the new fans coming with how 2021 and 2022 are bringing, I think the Sonic fanbase should start trying to beat down the TRUE toxicity down several pegs, because if we'll be running with Sonic for more years, then we should make them the best years of our lives! If anyone tries to tell you otherwise about the goodwill about the community, then prove them wrong or just ignore them. Get support from your real friends, and don't ever give up even when you feel like you want to. I learned this the hard way, and I do NOT want to lose my friends over that nonsense. And neither should any of you guys. A true fan of Sonic is the one that loves Sonic to the core. :heart:
Subject 3: BE YOURSELF Finally, and this will be shorter. To go with what I said in Subject 2, the most important takeaway from all of this... Is to be yourself! Be the Sonic fan that YOU, YOURSELF, want to be! :) However you wish to celebrate Sonic, be passionate about Sonic, or just like Sonic in general, it's all within your power. And only you have the power to represent how a good, real Sonic fan should be. If any of you are Sonic fans and have families, don't be afraid to share your love of Sonic with them. If you or anyone close to you, or just anyone really, have doubts about Sonic and want to give up, give them a friendly hand. Share what your favorite moments, characters, etc. of Sonic with people! Be greater! BE YOURSELF! And never let anyone tell you otherwise. And anyone that does... Is a STINKER! :rofl: And never, ever end up causing chaotic arguments about Sonic. I know I have a few times, and don't want to continue it. I've been getting better at it, but I am lucky to have friends that don't give up on Sonic and me. What can define a true fan in us... Is that we put our souls on display. The spirit of Sonic comes from the heart, and only we have the power to help steer Sonic in the right direction we need with some healthy criticism and optimism. Or if any one of you ever wishes to do a project involving Sonic, go for it! Take the risk! As the song Sonic Youth says, LET IT OUT! ^^ Never be afraid to express Sonic! Especially during these dark times we're in right now. Sonic had been there for us pretty much the entire pandemic since February 2020 to now. So let Sonic carry every one of us to the light at the end of the tunnel! Everything will be ok in the end. I believe it! Together, we ARE Sonic the Hedgehog! We are all like he is: UNSTOPPABLE!!!
SPECIAL - Defending Sonic Frontiers from hatemongering! Combining all 3 subjects for one big example! This post is being made in the advent of Sonic Frontiers' world premiere by IGN, and it is ALREADY getting what I truly belive is UNNECESSARY HATE being made by youtubers that just wants clicks and views and whatever. It's a big part of why I'm doing this post in the first place. I am NOT gonna be part of that 'mob' that is actively trying to destroy Sonic Frontiers' chances especially for new fans. This subject is techincally Part 2 of Subject 2, but honestly this is just so sickening that people actively spread misinformation and hatemongering on something like Sonic Frontiers that isn't even finished yet because they are only showcasing demo builds, NOT the finished product! I know I never made a career before on here or YouTube (I might consider one here because I do have a sonic fanfic project I wish to aim to do, and I hope to fulfil that dream), but if I did have one on YouTube, I would be much wiser. But I do know there's such a thing as 'toxic positivity', so I ain't going to that level either. And btw, by misinformation, I mean some people like premyderemy are calling Frontiers "Sonic Forces: Open World Edition". Like WHAT?! H-How is it even remotely Sonic Forces? Is it because of the boost formula controls pulled into this? Sure Frontiers has all the Boost formula controls, but it isn't the ONLY controls. Sonic has climbing, slow walking even by inches, and did anyone even remotely even see Sonic naturally run towards a wall and then end up running along said wall? But anyways, this is becoming a very toxic problem in of its own lately. This happened with Sonic Colors: Ultimate, and now it's happening here. It's like these people have a personal agenda against Sonic or something. I mean I won't deny there will be flaws even in Frontiers, but it is becoming way too flippin cliche that they spread negativity about this, especially and potentially to new fans of the franchise. LOTS of new fans generated by the incredibly amazing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie that became #1 in the world even for general audiences. Like what right to these kinds of negative nancies on the internet have to dictate how these new fans should get into Sonic? I am in ways glad Sonic Origins is coming out in the advent of Sonic 2 so that new fans can experience the roots of Sonic's classic days. But basically, and it's gonna sound really harsh, but I am in no ways going to be part of the toxic mob. SCREW THE MOB!!! =w=; They need to back the freak off of trying to bash on Sonic just because they can, and go look in a mirror and tell that trash to their own faces, and rethink how they perceive Sonic. Or they can just NOT involve themselves with Sonic. All of this ridiculous nonsense is pretty much why I want to try and be a strong enough and loud enough voice to help some people. I ain't gonna be quiet about this bullcrap. Because if I don't say something, anything, about all of this... Who will?
Pheeeeeeeeeeew!!!! That was longer and tougher than I thought it would be. But that's it. I have said everything I needed to say, no matter how long it ended up taking. I made this because I want to try and make some kind of difference in these times with Sonic. Sonic deserves much better than this right now. He and his friends do NOT deserve the hate it's been getting. But I am willing to bet that all of that hate comes from the small, vocal minority, while us TRUE fans can shout even louder than them if it means defending what makes Sonic great! United as real Sonic fans, we can protect what makes Sonic great from the fakers, and help nudge Sega (including Sega of Japan of all things, but Sega of America is much better) into taking Sonic in a better direction and return what matters to the quality of the story, characters, and everything. Right now, more than ever, Sonic needs help. Sonic as a franchise needs OUR help! We can make the franchise better if we show it. Anyways, to end this whole thing off, I am wishing for this particular post to be shared with some people, even if it's just a small amount of people, as possible, because I want the best of the Sonic fans to be a beacon of light that cuts through this powerful darkness hurting the franchise right now. For the sake of saving Sonic and making him great again, we, the Sonic fans, ARE NEVER ALONE!!! #StandWithSonic
Sonic characters (c) SEGA
Sprite characters and background (c) ALL original owners
