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A Deep In-Depth Analysis Of Nine 1/9: Warped Isolation Part One

I'm going to talk about my boi again! This time it's about the harsh effects of isolation, trauma, abuse, emotional neglect, and a desperate emotional attachment that leads to a toxic and harsh cycle. Hahaha...ha...?

Now, I'm going to split all of this up into nine topics split in parts, in separate posts. Just so I don't overwhelm you all with buckets of information, and to make sure I get my point across in each of them.

Sorry guys, I'm full of angsty thoughts that I'm going to drag you in!

Now let us begin with the unhealthy effects of isolation he shows, well part of in this post, that's why it's called part one:

Section One: "I Have no Friends!"

Let's start with what his life started out like in New Yolk. It's already established that Nine has always been alone in this corrupt and overpowering city. Tails' parents are unknown in the canon, and their whereabouts are unknown. So it can be assumed that Nine's parents are the same. I think they didn't include Tails' parents because they aren't important to the game's lore or Tails' character, not as much as Sonic is.

Nine's situation is slightly more different but no less the same. While Tail's parents weren't ever mentioned or seen due to how Sonic influences the character, Nine's parents aren't mentioned to show just why Tails needed Sonic to rely on and confide in. But due to this being a world where Sonic doesn't exist, and a world where Eggman succeeds, Nine's lack of a guardian to take care of him made his world views extremely warped.

While Tails had Sonic to protect him and teach him right from wrong, Nine had nobody and learned to protect himself due to nobody showing any care for him, and as a result, doesn't have a clear idea of what's right and what's wrong. All he knows is pain, misery, and survival in this horrid place.

'Do whatever it takes to survive, doesn't matter what happens to anyone else, caring for anything other than yourself is a guarantee to be hurt, to be in pain.'

That's his mindset from what we've seen him so far. Nine only looks out for himself, he has no friends or companions and lives in isolation. It's not just out of his dislike for people, it's a firm coping mechanism.

Many studies involving isolation state that isolation can be good, however, there are deep signs that isolation is becoming unhealthy. When the isolation starts to lead to cutting yourself off from others or not interacting with anyone, it can lead to a deep toll on your mental health.

Unchecked isolation can lead to more anxiety when suddenly in contact with others, it can also lead to very aggressive behavior and higher risks of depression (which Nine doesn't have...yet.).

Now I know you guys are wondering what I'm talking about when I put that Nine has social anxiety. "He's a sassy, 'emo', mean, confident Tails", but he's actually so much more. Notice how frazzled Nine is when Sonic turns him around after breaking into his lab. I also want you to pay attention to Sonic here as well. He's excited to see what he thinks is Tails, only to be concerned and confused when he sees Nine's bad reaction. I also find it interesting how Nine's left-hand goes near his tail.

Then we get a close-up of Nine, his eyes are wide and he's breathing quickly, for a split second Nine's terrified, most likely scared and startled at another person, he also has the wrench raised as well to defend himself, which really helps with explaining the trauma I'll get to later.

Then it quickly turns into anger, not only enraged at this new intruder but also quite defensive at this new possible threat.

At first, Nine only intimidates Sonic to leave, going on walls and making himself loom over this new intruder, then he kicks him into some barrels, and tries to stab him with his tail. Some of you might be saying that Nine wanted to kill Sonic, but he only stabbed the sides of his head (and even then it would've only grazed Sonic's cheek) and legs, not his chest. They are warning attacks.

Then Sonic fights back and his attacks become more lethal, more deadly because the threat is beginning to fight back and continues to stay. Nine could've just thrown him out on the subway and returned to his lab, but he followed, wanting to make sure the threat was gone. Which makes me even more scared to know what he did to his bullies.

Things eventually lead to Nine being saved by Sonic from an oncoming train. Notice how it was because of his own metal tails he was stuck in that situation, and this stranger saved him. This leads to our next section.

Section Two: "No One Has Friends Here!"

Now we begin our next part, Where Sonic has just saved Nine from an oncoming train. Nine of course is shocked and surprised, confused about why this blue hedgehog would save him. This is another way the city has affected Nine, in a way where he was expected to help himself.

This is a moment that most likely resonates with Nine, as well as the rest of his interactions with Sonic. At this point though, Nine still holds some distrust but doesn't attack anymore. As he stands he firmly rebuts Sonic's attempts to get close to him.

To Sonic, this is a chance to get through to who he thinks is Tails, to Nine this is merely a standstill. As he states that 'fabricated stories won't keep him from fighting back', calling Sonic an intruder. That's when Sonic pleads with him to stop, obviously hurt. I find it interesting that we don't see Nine's face as he does, when I watch that scene, you can clearly tell that Nine is reacting, but you can't see his face for some reason.

Then the backstories come. To Sonic, this is still tails, so he still says 'you', he explains that Nine was 'a happy little fox' doing 'brainy little fox things'. The bullies picked on tails, he came by, and Tails was saved and became Sonic's sidekick.

To Nine, this is a deeply personal experience, so he's shocked and confused about how this guy knows that. The way he says it, he was a 'kid minding his own business but not minding his surroundings', then some 'creeps' picked on him and beat him until he did something about it.

Sonics is light and simple, but it also shows that Sonic saw it, but he doesn't know how it feels, and he doesn't understand how it could've affected Tails and in turn affected Nine. Nine's is deep and harsh, Nine knows how it felt, and it affected him badly, but we'll get to that later.

After revealing that Nine firmly states that 'nobody has friends here', and this quote holds so much meaning. Nine doesn't seem to just be stating it to Sonic or to explain things, he's also stating it to himself. It's clear when he states that that's why he hides down there, to avoid everyone, even Sonic.

He doesn't say it in a sassy way, or an angry way, the tone in his voice is rather melancholy, and his face is sad. He isn't happy in isolation. That tone, that simple line, told so much about Nine.

Sure, he's safe when he's isolated, but that doesn't mean he enjoys it or finds it fun. He sits as he does this, in a fucking fetal position not to mention, which hammers in his deep desire for love and care.

Then, as Sonic thinks, Nine's face changes from cold and hardened to rather meek and scared. Then he asked, with hesitance, "So...what else did we do?"

He states 'we', not because he immediately believes Sonic and his whole "I'm from another world thing", but because not only does this person know he was bullied, but they state they saved him and became friends.

Friends. Something he clearly wants no matter how much he denies it. He lives in isolation to protect himself, to protect his mental state, then comes this person who tells him that he was capable of being happy of being loved.

Notice how Nine treats Sonic from now on after Sonic tells him what they did. He isn't as cold with him as he was before, he's slightly more open with the hedgehog, and it's understandable, Sonic was the first person to treat him with a sliver of kindness. And Nine finds he likes it.

Sonic tells him how he and Tails beat Eggman multiple times, and Nine stands up, clearly amazed and joyful at the thought of beating what was to him, a horrible dictator who brought him nothing but misery.

As Sonic walks towards him continuing, Nine still takes some steps back, cautious. Then Sonic touches his should and:

He's surprised, and after he processes it, a little smile makes its way onto his face! D'aww...

Then Sonic tells him that when they stick together they never lose, which visibly touches Nine.

After that, Sonic's shoes smolder, and as Nine points this out, Sonic whines and pouts, leading Nine to state he hates whiners more than people. He pulls out a gun, and Sonic panics, only for Nine to calmly tell him to stay still, smiling at the hedgehog as it scans him.

The lighting is all wonky so you can't really see it here, but it is there. They head back to Nine's lab, and Nine works on making something to regulate the energy within Sonic. Sonic, after glancing around, compliments Nine's tails, stating that he's amazing.

This surprises Nine, before he simply says 'sure', not knowing how to respond to that. When he's finished he goes on to explain how the doodads work, and puts them on Sonic, being surprisingly mindful of his tails, not actively hurting Sonic, and makes sure they don't poke him.

They're both surprised to see Sonic's shoes and gloves change, Nine pondering how that's possible as Sonic zips around in his usual bubbly excitement. After that, Sonic races out of his lab, wanting to test them out, with Nine for a split second panics and goes after him, explaining it's not safe.

I'm surprised that Nine went after Sonic instead of just going 'welp that was weird now that that weirdo went I can go back to what I was doing', he goes 'oh shit...I gotta protect this guy', and goes after him. Some of you might say that he went because Sonic has all this weird energy and he wants to test it, but I disagree because if it was, Nine wouldn't have cared to make the gadgets that regulate it.

Welp, that was a long post, HOWEVER, this is just part ONE of the isolation exploration effects on this broken fox kid's mind and just a fraction of the overall exploration analysis in all, part two will most likely come tomorrow. See y'all then!

A Deep In-Depth Analysis of Nine 1/9: Warped Isolation Part 2

Hello! Welcome to the second part of this analysis of my favorite character in the Sonic media! Now in the first part, we discussed Nine's home life, and how that home life pushed him into firm isolation. But now I want to talk about the effects that Sonic had on him that not only furthered his bad ideals but made Nine possibly realize something both beautiful and horrifying.

Let us begin, shall we?

Section Three: "Sonic?"

We left off with Sonic running off, Nine surprisingly chasing after him. As Sonic carelessly walks around New Yolk, Nine tells him firmly to stay quiet and out of sight. Only for Sonic to tell that when Nine remembers, not knowing Nine is just a variant yet, being sneaky and silent is not his forte.

What do ya know, they get captured. And as the baby flies off with them, they have a typical sibling argument of 'yes', 'no', and repeating. Then Nine asks in his usual snarky way if Sonic was sure they were friends. But we don't get Sonic's response, instead, it just goes to Rouge and Knucks.

Then Sonic wakes as if having been knocked out, which is interesting to me because we don't see what happened before, or what happened in between those two points. Sonic wakes up, first attempting to escape, only for Nine to solemnly state that he's wasting his breath. Then Sonic meets Rusty and the Council.

Some banter later, and the Council performs some tests. Interestingly Nine's behavior is to take note here. He's more concerned for the hedgehog, calling out his name in worry at first. Which makes me question what did Nine see after they were captured by the Council? What happened to Sonic to make him fall asleep in between.

During the tests, there was something that struck me as odd. Nine never saw Sonic run, not really, which has me question why he suddenly remarked that he has the same energy that powered the city.

His behavior toward the council here is interesting as well. Like he did in the last episode, Nine stays entirely neutral with them, not having a side to choose yet. But then comes the energy extractor scene. Sonic is forced to say his last words, remarking about all his friends. Saving a very special person for last.

As the energy extractor gets closer and closer, we get three separate shots of Nine and get more and more worried. Then Sonic speaks his actual last words:

"See ya, Buddy."

And Nine's face is visibly shaken.

I think this is where his wake-up was, where his cold splash of reality came. The realization that this hedgehog not only cared for him but was also his only hope of having a happy life was now about to be lost forever. That he can't lose this hedgehog or let him get killed. This was where his attachment came in tenfold.

Rebel manages to save Sonic, and Nine while everyone's distracted, moves to the computer, getting the cuffs off and freeing Sonic. Notice how he goes from not doing anything when Sonic is threatened, to being the most protective of the hedgehog.

When Sonic was being attacked by Rusty, there's an urgency that Nine understands, but he doesn't panic he keeps calm and stops the robot from annihilating the hedgehog. He disregards Rusty as a robot because to him it is. That's all she is and nothing more.

They defeat the robots and Sonic pulls them into a group hug, which they all pull away, disgusted and annoyed. They then plan to get the Shard and all go to receive it.

There's a fight scene, and all of them fight, yet Nine notices Sonic is in trouble first and immediately goes to help him, and only helps him other than himself in the battle. This I think shows Nine's emotional attachment becoming a protective instinct.

Then even more fighting later, Nine and Sonic manage to get to the shard. Nine goes ahead but Sonic hesitates, reflecting their ideals and views on others. Nine doesn't care for anything other than things they need, or in this case what Sonic needs, he doesn't stop for others and goes ahead, leaving them behind as long as they got what was needed.

Sonic, however, waits and stops, always willing to stop for others to help, it didn't matter that the thing he wanted, needed, was right there in front of him, others always come first. Only after an urging from Rouge and a gruff call from Nine does Sonic go ahead.

They get to the Shard and Sonic exclaims that it's too small before realizing what happened. Notice how while Sonic's clearly in distress, Nine doesn't try to comfort him, more concerned with more shards. This rather reflects on Nine's just birthing emotional attachment to Sonic is rather weak at the time and his attachment to Sonic is merely what he can have from it, not how it makes Sonic feel for now.

It's only when the Council attempts to break out that Nine still doesn't comfort him, but tells him to snap out of it, showing a rather mature understanding that they needed their heads straight.

That is until Sonic grabs the shard, and he begins to get pulled in. It's then that Nine shows concern, asking 'what's happening, to which Sonic merely responds by saying his name as he's pulled him.

As the hedgehog is Nine reaches out to try and keep the hedgehog from getting sucked in but it is too late. Nine calls his name, asking where he is in desperation ad concern. Then as his expression changes to one of sadness and melancholy, the screen moves away from him, reflecting how Nine is alone once more.

The screen turned black and only one word is said by Nine, a word said with confusion, worry, and sadness.

"...Sonic?"

I am going to continue from Nine's perspective as best I can but I wanted to mention this detail. While we do see what happens when Sonic is sucked into the shard, it's different with Nine. Instead of peaceful natural surroundings, or Dread cheering with joy, it's just darkness and silence the only word of Sonic's name being uttered, nothing more.

Back to Nine, he snaps out of his trance when he realizes that the Council is about to get in. Without skipping a beat he goes and uses something to grab the shard. He does not touch it unlike everyone else.

I have a theory that touching the shard puts that person's desires to the extreme, Thorn's desire to protect the jungle, Dread's obsessiveness for the Shard, and even Sonic's desire to go home, trying to send him there.

But I also have another idea that touching the shard can also be a test of that person's free will. Dread is a variant of Knuckles, the brave but naive echidna that was tricked by Eggman, Amy is the empathetic one, through Thorn is deeply affected by the shard to enhance the protective sense towards nature, snapping out of it when she sees what she did. Because Nine didn't touch the shard, he wasn't affected. Yet. But even if he does, I think it would either take a long time or he'd be able to manage it because he is a variant of Tail's, the brain and logical thinker of the group.

I'll probably elaborate on this theory later in a separate post.

Anyway, Nine grabs the shard and manages to sneak away unseen. It's when he's out of the vault that he sees the Rebels and Rusty, their eyes light up when they see him thinking he can help. There's no hesitance, Nine immediately glares at them, before leaving them behind, choosing isolation once more. But I think this could be an unconscious moment of self-destruction, leaving them behind and ruining his chances of other friendships.

Unhealthy isolation can lead to being self-destructive and pushing others away in a belief of it being 'self-preservation', of it being a warped form of something good, something safe. Nine is caught in two addictions; the addiction of isolation, believing he needs it to be safe, and to feel comfortable, and the growing addiction to his growing affection and love for Sonic.

We don't see what Nine did after he showed the shard yet. But he comes back when Sonic is caught in a fight with the rebels. This is where our next and (for now) last section begins.

Section Four: "It could be home."

Now we come to the last section until the second batch is released. We see Nine again when Sonic is in a battle between the Eggman's and the Rebels, Sonic was in trouble, and Nine came rather conveniently to his aid. When Sonic hops into his ship, Nine immediately leaves, leaving behind the rebels once more. Sonic originally protests, but Nine refuses, telling Sonic to tell him where he was first.

Sonic goes on to tell him his tale of the Boscage Maze, and Nine responds that confirms his theory that the shard is capable of so much more. He shows Sonic the shard, confirming that he did in fact leave the rebels for dead. Then he brings Sonic to the Grim.

This is a HUGE factor in Nine's character. First of all the scenery is one of a wasteland, with orange cracked grounds, grey crystals, and a wide endless blue sky with dozens of stars.

The Grim is just empty.

No people, no plants, no water, just beautiful emptiness. This is a huge factor in Nine's psyche if he made this world himself, but it could still be a huge insight into his mindset. It shows nothing but loneliness, a never-ending world of nothingness.

It's warped loneliness at its finest.

They land and get off the ship. Nine graciously welcome Sonic to 'their bright new future'. Not his, 'THEIR'. He's letting Sonic into his circle of isolation. But he isn't willing to break down his warped isolation.

Look at Nine here.

He's adorably excited for the first time we've seen him. Nine smiles in this scene more than he does in the first batch of the show. It's the first time he's genuinely smiling for more than two seconds. He is happy in this world, he's excited that he's going to have the world he oh, so wanted.

He describes it as possibly being home, the 'one Sonic lost', the 'one he never had'. This wording is very important, Nine is offering a new home for both of them. This indicates that Nine was at this for a while.

He still can't let go of the idea of isolation, offering a home that was isolated from everything else. He's asking Sonic to abandon his old home for this new one, which we all KNOW Sonic would never do. Sonic responds that it's not going anywhere, once again urging Nine to help out the rebels.

Nine's face changes from a mix of surprise and hurt to hardening frustration. He coldly rebuffs his disinterest in helping the city, but he doesn't force Sonic to stay. He allows Sonic to go back.

Then he comes back when Sonic is once again in danger. He states that he's going home after this and never looking back, that whether he goes with Sonic is entirely up to the hedgehog.

Only for Nine to get captured by the Council. But it's heavily implied he planned this. What his plan is exactly, we don't know yet.

Alright! So this is what I've got on Nine's warped sense of isolation so far until season 2 comes out. I hope y'all enjoyed it, see you in another post! <3

How Rusty Rose Could Be Darker: Analysis Of A Rusted Rose

Alright, so I really want to talk about how the very concept of Rusty Rose could be even more messed up. So here's a post on our robotic queen <3

So you guys are wondering, how can the concept of one of the sweetest Sonic characters becoming nothing more than a robot of destruction, used for 5 dictators' purposes be darker than it already is?

Well, what if I presented the ideas of both lobotomy and body removal, not to mention the mental issues that Rusty has? Yep, we're going to explore that!

First let's speak about body removal, the easier one. Let's take a look at Rusty's design, shall we?

She has no real body parts save for her head, and only by a little. Her arms and legs have clearly been removed as well as the rest of her body, including her organs, which is horrifying. Even her hair is nothing more than a helmet.

This makes you think, well not ALL of her organs are removed, I mean she still has a heart right?

Well...

Yeah, It's not pleasant. She has a flicky in place of a heart which is horrifying, both for the implications that the flicky is being used as an energy source, and that Rusty shows no attachment to it. The only thing that has been saved is a side of her face. The rest of her is nothing but Robo limbs. It's seen in the pirate episodes that Rusty is also waterproof. And in the first two episodes, it's shown she's fireproof.

In fact, she doesn't even have her other eye, it's just a red dot now. Not to mention her emerald eye, her real eye, looks robotic as well.

Rusty isn't human anymore. She lost that to the Council, who use her as a tool. Which makes me all the more curious about what the hell happened to make Rusty this way? What made her decide to damage herself to become a killer cyborg?

We probably won't find out until season 2, so I'm just going to go on to my next point.

Lobotomy.

Now I know some of you are saying that what Rusty does is in code, but wouldn't they have to get to her brain in order to do that? Not to mention, Rusty can be programmed to change sides without question. And when that happens her red dot turns to yellow, which is probably just because Nine was the one in control with his signature color of yellow.

Rusty doesn't act like the Amy we know, she's cold, apathetic, and robotic. But Rusty shows emotions, but it's just barely expressed. Most of the time she has a stoic frown on her face.

The effects of lobotomy are a change in the subject's personality, emotions, empathy, and ability to function on their own. However, a long-term side effect is a mental dullness.

Lobotomy is a process where the subjects (I'm never saying patient to such a horrible thing) have neural connections between the frontal lobe, a part of the brain that controls the person's memory, emotions, and problem-solving skills severed by a sharp surgical tool.

I think the process Rusty went through was the Transorbital Lobotomy, which is where the process done through the person's eye sockets. Something must've gone wrong or something because her left eye is no longer there. So they replaced it with the grate and dot, which could be something planted inside Rusty's eyesocket (Yeah I know, I'm getting squirmish too).

The effects of transorbital lobotomy (which is used to eliminate excess emotion and stabilize a personality, which the Council might've used to remove any strong emotions) can cause the subject to be childlike and less prone to worry.

Now I know some of you might be saying that Rusty isn't childish, not really, but Rusty's needs to look to others for orders and random bouts of emotions evoke a childlike feel to her. Like she's a child looking to adults for guidance.

This brings me to my last point in this post; Rusty's complex issue.

When it's looked into more, Rusty doesn't seem to serve on the council because she just wants to, it's probably to feel validated or appreciated. Instead of giving herself validation and accepting herself, she undergoes robotic implants and lobotomy to please a group of dictators.

Rusty doesn't love herself.

And when she probably realized earlier her mistake, she gives up on fighting it, instilling a dull and emotionally suppressed mindset (not that it wasn't already). But then Nine programs her to fight for the Rebels, and we see that Rusty's more expressive, more lively than she was.

She expresses herself more because she's not alone anymore.

Then Nine abandons her and the Rebels, and we see this.

When Nine abandons them, Rusty doesn't show shock or surprise; she shows tired disappointment, not at Nine, in fact, she seems to accept his betrayal. In the first picture, her self-disappointment is on full display, she's saddened at the fact that Nine didn't think of her as good enough and left her.

The second picture has her looking down, still sad, still loathing herself.

Then the last one has her finally break into tears, not just at the betrayal, but at her self-thought failure to be useful. She looks angry at herself.

Knuckles is furious, and Rouge is hurt, but Rusty is the one that truly breaks down at that moment. Knuckles and Rouge escape, and we see Rusty. Her sadness was suddenly gone, a small smile on her face.

It's relieved in a way. It shows what Rusty truly thinks. She doesn't want the city to be a punk-dystopian city, she regrets her choice to join the Council, and she wants freedom like the others. But then this happens.

She gets reprogrammed to the Council, and her thoughts are overridden by code and she serves the Council once more. She doesn't look too happy about it either.

Then we'll skip to episode 6, with Nine getting captured. When Mister Dr. Eggman announces that Nine has been captured we see a brief look of some sort of sadness on Rusty.

Only for it to harden.

Rusty didn't seem happy when the fox she worked under briefly got caught, there's a sense of sadness. Only for it to be squashed down into cold aloofness. She goes back under the Council's plan.

Then in the pirate episode, Rusty sees Black Rose, and both are understandably shocked. Rusty glitches out and refuses to bomb the rest of the ship. Her face as she calls for the robots to stop and her voice both sound panicked.

She doesn't seem to want to hurt Black Rose for some reason. A reason we'll find out in season 2. Hopefully Black Rose'll make her find peace with herself.

Anyway, this was just another messed up theory, and thank you for reading it! I hope you liked it, and I'll see ya when I come up with another crazy theory.

How Prime Has The Potential To Be A Great Psychological/Lovecraft Horror

I know, I know, all of you are probably looking at this thinking I lost my mind.

But let me explain and show you how it could be a horrifying experience.

First, all of you are probably commenting on how Sonic is a family friendly franchise, but that doesn't necessarily mean EVERY media of Sonic SHOULD be this way. There are some family friendly franchises with mature and more serious spin-offs or adaptations.

So Prime can be a good start to deviating from it's other media's. But I'll get to that later, I should probably explain how it can be, and in a way is, a psychological and Lovecraft horror, more than just another cartoon. At least to me.

1. (Psychological) Exploring The Character's Emotional Trauma and Internal Conflicts Is a Different Approach to Most Sonic Medias

While most Sonic media's focus on action and saving the day, Prime takes a different approach. Instead of just being action and "Sonic saving the day", Sonic completely breaks his home, unintentionally shattering everything, including his friends. Shadow is also inadvertently dragged along, using a Chaos Emerald to save himself from the blast, but ending up trapped in the void.

If the variants being shards of the main characters is true, then Prime is working to deconstruct the characters, but some variants caught my eyes. There's Rusty, a robotized Amy, which sure, that's cool, but remember Amy's first known introduction in the Sonic CD? I only remember some parts, but wasn't Amy kidnapped by metal Sonic to be robotized or something? Another obvious variant is Nine, who was basically abused for being different, only this time Sonic wasn't there to help him? And Dread, a greedy Knuckles, kinda reminding me of how Knuckles was tricked by Eggman so the Doc could steal the master emerald?

Something just seems a bit more about these variants.

1. (Lovecraft) The Variants Situation if The Shard Theory Is True

If the Shard theory is true, then the variants existence is a nightmare.

Imagine having flesh and bone, imagine having thoughts of your own, imagine having a backstory of your own; only for it to be revealed that everything, your body, your thoughts, your experiences; your existence, to be a mistake. You weren't supposed to exist, and if the putting it back together = Shattered Space disappears is true, then you're doomed to die.

Doomed be mashed together with other shards, to be pieced together into someone you don't know, and will never meet. Your very existence is a lie, something that needs to be fixed with your death.

Yeah...not a pretty picture, is it?

2. (Psychological) Sonic's Emotional Turmoil

Sonic suffers a lot in this show. No, I don't mean the physical pain, that's a gag, I'm referring to the emotional suffering, which is very much there.

Sonic is horrified by these events; breaking his home, shattering everyone he loved and cared for, having to experience hatred, scorn, and hostility from those who look so much like his friends; from people who don't recognize him, and having to witness or hear about his friends suffering, being unable to really do anything about it without being met with apprehension.

He's clearly not enjoying any of this, or having any fun, at all.

2. (Lovecraft) The Paradox Prism Is Unsettling Itself

What is the Prism?

We know it's powerful as hell, being able to rip apart reality, and possibly time, and is capable of creating new spaces. But what else is it capable of? Where did it come from? Why is it here beneath the Green Hills Bedrock?

Whatever it is, it's the one in control after Sonic breaks it, ripping apart the world, throwing Sonic through dimensions, trapping Shadow in the void, and even responding to certain contacts.

It's glow almost seems like it calling, beckoning for someone to find it, to use it, to break it.

3. (Psychological) Shadow In The Void

How is Shadow doing in this void?

All memes aside, it's clear he isn't taking everything so well. As when he first makes contact with Sonic, he sounds despondent and absolutely devastated, stating: "It's broken! It's all broken!". His voice is slightly shaky when he does so too. But in his final contact with Sonic, is him furious and violent.

From his first contact to his last furious one, Shadow's mental state isn't exactly stable. Being stuck in the void doesn't help anything either. Some development happened to Shadow off screen, one I really hope we'll see.

Yeah, Shadow is not having a great time either. But development can never be fast, it takes time, which brings my next theory in mind below.

3. (Lovecraft) The Void

Ending up in the void is something I'd choose death over. Mainly because, when thinking about it, it's something nobody would wish on their worst enemy. Which makes Shadow being there so much harsher.

The void is an empty space, nothing but shards surrounding you, you're alone, with nobody to talk to. You're alone with your thoughts. But the scariest thing would be how long it must seem.

From what we've seen so far, time runs differently in the Shattered Space, the void can't be any different. It could've been years to Shadow, but time doesn't seem to run in the void, only in the Shattered Spaces. If anything time seems to pause, or just stop working in the void. It doesn't exist there.

Shadow definitely isn't having fun, especially when you consider his alliance with Rouge and Omega, and even worse, his promise to Maria to keep the world safe.

4. (Psychological) Nine Being A Part Of Tails Says Something About All Of Us

One of the things talked about a lot is how Nine, if the shard theory is true, was a part of Tails to begin with. This bitter, jaded, violent, desperate, traumatized, in pain child was a part of the happy, jolly fox we all know and love.

But, if the theory is true, Nine having been a part of Tails all along speaks about how there's a hidden side in all of us. All of that bitterness, cruelty, selfishness, trauma, denial, desperateness, and love/touch starved hope is in all of us. But we try to deny, to hide, to avoid acknowledging it, which only makes it never go away, or makes it worse.

It isn't just Tails that denies it though, which is a whole other thing of itself...

4. (Lovecraft) They Can't Be By Each Other's Side, Both Are Doomed To Be Alone In Some Way

One of the saddest truths about Prime is that Nine and Sonic can't be by each other's side, they can't be there for each other: no matter how much they don't want to be, they have to be alone. Sonic is from a universe that's now destroyed, thrust into the remains of his actions face-first, he can't connect with these variants of his friends, and is emotionally alone.

Nine is just a part of the universe Sonic can't stay in, so there's no chance of them ever staying by each other's side, he's alone in both ways.

The universe, the shards won't allow it, thrusting Sonic from Nine via shard or by Sonic himself. Not to mention the inevitable fate that Nine has to face along with his fellow variants.

Their entire relationship is a world of inevitable pain.

5. (Psychological) The Dark Matter, Symbolism, And Complex Themes Of Prime

There's no denying it, at its core, with the sprinkled moments of unease and signs of deeper depths in the first batch, so far Prime's setting up a dark story, one filled with harsh tragedy. Pretty much every character suffers and is going to suffer even more in the second batch, the aspects of Sonic that save the day, Friendship and Hope is actually deconstructed in this show, showing how friendship can become a means of escapism and can't really save the day, and how hope can instead damage someone to denial.

Sonic is without his friends here and the friends he made out of the variants is going to be shattered once they find out the truth, so friendship can't be used, and his hopes to fix the world are...almost desperate, like he doesn't want to acknowledge that maybe it can't be fixed.

Another thing is that Prime actually has a lot of symbolism hidden in it. The Grim being a literal landscape of escapism, Nine's nine tails, the variants themselves being representations of different traits, the palm tree being a symbol of desperate hope, and more.

The final thing is the early complex themes in the show.

The inevitable fact that the variants has to die to restore the world is a very grim one, but it shows how painfully insignificant and meaningless they are in the grand scheme of things. They’re just shards that need to come together. That’s the universe for ya.

The use of "Man vs. Self" in this show instead of having Sonic just save the day and defeat bad guys

The exploration that there's a dark, sad, traumatized part in all of us

The need for balance in everything

The exploration of desire vs need, and most importantly:

Selfishness vs selflessness.

5. (Lovecraft) The Grim Is A Lovecraftian Horror Of Itself

The Grim is hauntingly beautiful. The sky is every color of blue, filled with stars, the ground is orange and endless, and silver crystals jut out of it, some partly buried.

Look at how small and insignificant Nine and Sonic looks here, how vast the Grim is that you can't see where it ends. It's truly an unsettling wonder. It looks unsettling and it is unsettling, not at all an ideal place to live in.

There are no trees, no water, no signs of any life. Nothing. You're alone, surrounded by absolutely nothing. The only thing there is you and your imagination.

Why isn't there any variants here? Why is it so empty? Why doesn't it end?

There's no answer except your own thoughts, speaking much louder now that there's nothing to distract you from them. You're alone, an insignificant speck in a vast world of beauty and isolation.

Paranoia would kick in, you'd think you heard something, but there's nothing there.

That's what the Grim is, it's nothing but you, there's nobody here, there's nothing here, this place never ends, it's the physical representation of isolation, of perfect escapism.

And that couldn’t be more terrifying…

Sonic Prime theory

So while I had Sonic Prime rotating in my head last night I ended up making a discovery, and with it I think I figured out what the Grim is

Now the discovery I'm talking about is in the screenshot below. But, the gist of it is that every world we've seen, that's some kind of apocalyptic, has a theme that represents a specific character's worst traits amplified to hell in that theme.

In the post, I use the example of how Dread is both Knuckles and a pirate's worst traits in one.

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And this is interesting yes, but how could the Grim be a world?

Well something that I didn't mention is that Sonic's shoes and gloves change when he goes from one world to another.

Now, the Grim's acessories could be how Sonic always looks like when he goes through the void between worlds. And that woundn't make the Grim a world of it's own necessarily.

Except that is disproved in the last episode when Sonic just got out of the pirate world and is in the void with Shadow.

His shoes and gloves are still the same ones from there. They aren't the Grim ones.

And this leads to the question, whose world might the Grim be? I think it's Sonic.

When the PRISM shattered we got lines from all the characters that tie into the world and the version of them that's most prominent with it's theme.

Amy says the forest is a beautiful place - we get Thorn's extreme compassion of nature in the jungle world

Knucles says he doesn't need the details just who to smash - we get Dread who doesn't care for obstacles and other just his goals in the pirate world

Tails says as long as Sonic's with him he knows everything will be all right - we get Nine who, without Sonic, thinks everything is miserable in New Yoke City

We don't get a line from Sonic in this moment, but when the show starts we get a monologue from him that begins with a very interesting line. " Home is where your friends are". Then he continues to explain how even though he lives in Green Hills, which has so many good things, that's just the tip of the iceberg and what truly makes there special is his friends.

So what better world for him then the Grim. In which there is nobody. So even if it had some type of good enviroment in there it wouldn't matter, because his friends aren't there so it could never be home. So the Grim has nothing.