Wednesday… I Know What You Are…

Thinking about the design decisions that led to Amy Rose being a bruiser character.

The first appearance of Amy's hammer was in Sonic the Fighters, a fighting game. This was her first playable appearance, and her first time fighting. And there you can see the first decision. She was likely given the hammer because the designers thought it would be unfair to make the girl character fight barehanded against the largely male cast. So she was given a weapon: an appropriately cartoony hammer. This remained her main method of self defense in Sonic Adventure.

Note how in these earlier depictions, the hammer looks more like a toy than an actual weapon. It's not meant to actually be threatening, it's just something to put her on equal grounds with the other characters, since the perception at the time was that a girl character wouldn't be able to fight as well as the male characters.

As we move into more modern and less cartoony depictions of the Sonic universe however, the piko hammer got redesigned. They didn't change its size at all, but maybe someone on staff thought the toy look was too silly, because they made it look more metallic and heavy as the years went on.

But this does change things. Because taken with its new look and realistic weight... that is a freakishly big hammer, and utilizing it the way Amy does would require incredible strength. So, in the modern day, her mastery of the hammer is treated more as a sign of her inherent power, rather than a bandaid for a power differential like a smaller weapon would be. While often still referred to as a "speed" type character, she's regularly depicted as a character whose physical strength rivals Knuckles or even Shadow. As we move later in the franchise, character descriptions regularly call her "powerful."

It's interesting how this shift happened, when really nothing about Amy's depicted abilities has changed. What changed is how realistically the Sonic universe is depicted, as it moved away from slapstick comedy. In that new context, the girl with the big hammer suddenly becomes a lot more intimidating.

Will being sincerely supportive of Elizabeth's unconventional passions, desires, choices, roles etc. is actually, probably my absolute most favorite thing about their relationship, I'm not gonna lie.

When she throws out "daft" battle plans, he just shrugs and throws his weight behind trying them.

He saw her show up in menswear to save his ass on Isla de Muerte and was just thrilled about it--nothing other, nothing less.

He gave her swords and personally taught her how to use them to her best advantage, helped her make herself more formidable and independent. Literally, the way that swordplay is a genuinely central part of their love language is so--!!

When she cut her hair in the old DMC drafts, he immediately complimented her over it.

When she was distraught over Jack's death, he offered to help her make it right.

When he found out she was Pirate King, he just said, "Based."

And when she ordered them into a battle that was likely a lost cause, he was the first "fool" to stand behind her.

And she almost never has to ask it of him, he just does it.

He's not without flaws or missteps, don't get me wrong. But when Elizabeth is in the thick of anything she's put her mind to, there's virtually never self-consciousness or doubt or competition or anything like that on Will's part--the closest he comes to that is questioning whether she's fallen out of love with him and why, and even then he doesn't let it stand between her and what he believes she wants. Instead, there's this beautiful, consistent almost-entirely-nonverbal expression that she deserves to have and be everything she wants.

I bet Tim thanks the forces of the universe everyday that Bernard was annoying in high school, because a smart guy with cooking skills, who can fight and dresses well was not going to be single if that wasn’t the case

I’m gonna be thinking about them for the rest of my life.

On a moshang kick but there's just something extremely compelling about the idea of Mobei Jun spending years expecting Shang Qinghua to betray him, getting impatient waiting for the axe to drop, deliberately creating opportunities for Shang Qinghua to betray him, still no betrayal happens, until eventually it gets to the point where Shang Qinghua has like, the fantastical demon king equivalent of Mobei Jun's credit card numbers and a joint account and free access to his bedroom and food and a great big cabinet full of poison and his detailed schedule and the exact time when he'll be bathing naked with no weapons under the moonlight at the one time every five years when all ice demons temporarily lose their powers for a full night and etc etc. Mobei Jun is doing trust falls (even though he doesn't know it) but Shang Qinghua just keeps catching him.

Until the whole lack of explicit communication and cultural differences thing explodes, and even then the big betrayal that finally happens is that Shang Qinghua saves Mobei Jun's life but then LEAVES HIM, he GOES AWAY, he doesn't even push Mobei into his own metaphorical abyss he just goes "this isn't worth putting up with anymore" and forces Mobei Jun to confront the fact that in his determination to be reassured he actually failed to prove himself to Shang Qinghua in return, which reduces Mobei Jun to a shattered wreck struggling to figure out how to fix it.

"i love you" is old, it's tired.

"i love my motorcycle. it's the purest form of freedom i have ever experienced. it's easily the best purchase of my life and i've never regretted it, not for one second because i love my motorcycle; but ever since i met you, i've been thinking about buying a car" is fun, it's fresh.

I wonder how many wives joined Bingges harem because they were secretly lesbians and living in a mansion filled with beautiful women is literally heaven.

Our husband is out fucking some other wife? Dw girl I'll go get the strap.

Listen I've always said that pidw must have had several threesome scenes to appeal to gooners, and of course Shang Qinghua went "dudes love girl on girl action, I'll write these women making out for fanservice before they have sex with Binghe"

But then Bingmei ends up being gay and monogamous and suddenly there are all these women single who have an instinctive desire to kiss and fuck each other and no husband to act as their comp het middle man

Shen Yuan: how are the Palace Mistress and Sha Hualing dating!?

Shang Qinghua: I mean they did straight up have sex in pidw

Shen Yuan: yeah, for Binghe's attention! It was straight sex with another woman!

Shang Qinghua: I think I'm starting to understand how your mind works

Astrid: Do you think your dad likes me?

Hiccup: My dad literally begged you to marry me

Jazz had known the dangers of living alone in Gotham. A lone woman in this crime filled city. Were a person could get mugged or kidnapped as soon as they stepped out the door

She had taken precautions when she moved into her apartment. A pocket knife that was currently in a pair jeans on the top of the hamper. An aint-creep stick by the door. A gun in her bedroom safe. Weekly self-defense classes and visits to the gun range.

None of that had prevented her from freezing when an intruder slid open her window.

Part of her mind protested at the ridiculous of her freezing interror. She'd gone ghost hunting many times with her family taking down eldrich horrors that would give even the bravest soul nightmares. But that was with her family.

She didn't have her Mom here, instilling confidence. Nor her Dad giving her ease. No Danny to fill her with protectiveness either.

This time, she was alone, quietly staring down the dark figure trespassing into her home. The book in her hand slowly lowered onto the blanket, covering her lap. Her other hand clutched tight to the back of the worn couch she was curled up on.

She needed to move. Arm herself. The kitchen knives were the closest. She could get to them.

She just need to move!

MOVE!

But she didn't. Limbs locked as the figure straightened and closed the window.

Soft light glinted off the red helmet covering the figure's face as he turned around before freezing - his sight finally making contact with Jazz's stricken stare. He looked away, head turning in a way that suggested he was taking stock of his surroundings before tilting his head back and letting out a curse.

"This is not my apartment." He murmured before turning back to the window. He jiggle the frame in an attempt to open it. And jiggled it again. The third attempt was even more frantic.

The window was stuck.

Jazz slowly blinked. Her mind came to the conclusion that she wasn't in danger and that it was more than likely Red Hood, who had broken into her apartment and was trying to leave.

Should she go over and help? Jazz shifted, the blanket sliding off her lap enough to show the Red Hood theme pajamas bottoms she was wearing. Jazz quickly grabbed the blanket, repositioning it to cover her pants. That would be so embarrassing if he saw.

A snort came at the thought. With it, laughter bubbled in her throat, and she couldn't help but cackle at the absurdity of the situation. Red Hood was trying to run away after mistakenly entering her apartment, yet she was embarrassed over her clothes.

Red Hood let out a frustrated noise. The window hadn't moved even an inch.

"Just," Jazz said between giggles, pointing, "use the front door."

Lemon and Lime 💛💚