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welcome-to-green-hills · 7 months

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Hey mystery! Time to flex the big brain of yours with a science question. I’m sure that you’re familiar with the recent change in ages for Sonic and co. All of their ages were removed. So my question to you is how old would Sonic and his friends be since he’s now meant to be seen as TEENAGER?

Hello, my dear!❤️✨

This is a very interesting question. And I say that because it's a very... controversial (?) topic in the fandom at the moment. For those of you who are not familiar with the matter, the ages for many characters on their Sonic Channel bios were removed back in October (Bevan, 2022). Even characters like Vector and Rouge, who have notoriously been viewed as adults in canon, do not have a defined age anymore. This was a decision made by SEGA of Japan (SoJ) to keep the characters ambiguous with ages. For some characters, we can still infer that they’re strictly teenagers, like Sonic (Game Informer, 2022. 05:00 to 05:08). Maybe a little bit older, but not by much. It could range between 13-years-old to 19-years-old. It’s really up for interpretation with some fans, especially since the actors for the Sonic series are focusing on deeper voices.

Disclaimer:

I am more than happy to answer this question, but I’m afraid that I’m very limited on how I can answer this. Ages displayed throughout the series has always been a fickle thing. And that’s okay! I’m assuming that this ask is geared towards Game!Sonic rather than Sonic Wachowski, since his canonical age is 13-going-on-14 (Fowler, 2020). If this ask is geared towards me debunking the "age argument," then you might get a different answer. That, and I'm not gonna buy into the B.S. that comes from it.

The problem here is that I'm being asked to apply scientific logic to a fictional character. That's all well and good, but I'm limited in resources. That, and I'm making assumptions on how physiological traits work with an anthropomorphic animal. I'm basing my conclusions on human physiology. While this may seem logical for the ask, I don’t necessarily know how “fair." This would be considered more of a headcanon rather than a scientific explanation to your question. If there was more of an understanding of the Sonic characters’ anatomy, then I would be comfortable with giving a strong answer. They best that I can supply is a hypothetical scenario that might supply a content answer. “Content” meaning that’s it’s fine, but gives me enough wriggle room to debunk/empathize in the future.

I must also stress that an average does not mean the "perfect model." No singular person is the same. There is no such thing as normal. When I say that something is of average comparison, I'm translating it to a general starting point. I need a base to go on in order to build on top of my reasoning and data.

References:

For this ask, I will be looking at cranial structures and comparing them to both human, anthropomorphic animals (Sonic). Data that is generated to answer this ask comes from existing games, interviews with game developers, and anthropological research.

The methodology and techniques that I’ll be referencing comes from “Bare Bones: A Survey of Forensic Anthropology” by, Michael Warren et al. (2012). This is an excellent book that provides techniques and disciplines to criminologists, anthropologists, and physicians. The Smithsonian: National Museum of Natural History provides a sample of "Forensic Anthropology 101" in their free educational service HERE. I’ll also be referencing different case studies found in cultural anthropology journals. Hyperlinks will be attached in the in-text citations for view.

Methods:

I can answer this question using basic forensic techniques. There are a few different ways to determine an individual’s age when examining skeletal anatomy:

Cranial anatomy

The pelvic girdle (pelvis)

Femur

Mandible

Most archaeologists and forensic anthropologists will answer that the pelvic girdle is the best indicator for identifying an individual's age. The pelvis girdle consists of three main bones: hip bone (ilium, ischium, pubis), sacrum and the coccyx. With this, we look at the level of maturity of bone growth to make an educated guess. This can be identified by the bone's state of fusion. Depending on the identification of the individual, the pubis may fuse or grow robust. If the femur is present with the pelvis girdle, then the collected data becomes stronger. The femur is measured in height from the neck to the head, then the shaft alone to provide an idea of one's stature. All of these together create a plausible stature for one's growth and maturity.

The mandible is touch-and-go. I’ve shared in the past that teeth can provide an idea of an individual’s weight, social/economic status, stature, left/right dominance, and types of bite when chewing food. The state in which teeth grow in can give us an indication of age. This is just as good as observing one's age with a pelvis girdle. If not, maybe a bit better! However, this only works if there's a certain amount of teeth present and a record of growth is present. We look at an individual’s molars and premolars in order to determine a rough estimate in age. On average, wisdom teeth come in between the ages of 17 to 25 (Renton et al., 2016). Some are late bloomers, others are early birds. X-Rays can help us identify where the teeth are currently and provide a projection of when they'll appear. As long as there is recorded data on how teeth grow and when they come in, it's easy to determine how old someone is.

Finally, we have the calvaria. For the sake of sanity, I will be referring to this as the “cranial cap." This is the top crown of the head with four major bones that shapes the skull. These bones feature the frontal bone, two parietal bones, and one occipital bone. Along the top of the cranial cap we see these squiggles that separate the bones. These are called “sutures.” Sutures can be defined or barely visible due to the state of mend. Through maturity, these bones mend together to create one bone rather than four. These are not signs of damage done to the head, these are signs that show the state in which a child is growing (Warren et Al., 2012). Sutures are a result of an infant's cranial cap fusing together after being birthed. To put simply; the less defined they are, the older that one supposedly is.

OBSERVATION:

As explained in the “Methods,” section, the cranial cap and mandible appear to be a more logical choice when determining Sonic’s age. I am fortunate for the small crumbs given to me from Sonic CD (1994) and Sonic Unleashed (2008). Both of these provide a good picture of Sonic’s biological estimation on age range. I will not be referring to Evan Stanley’s interpretation of his skull. I do not feel that this is necessary, nor canon. This is Ms. Stanley’s interpretation of Sonic anatomy and fan art.

Mandible

Right before it's initial release, Sonic Unleashed's opening cinematic was meant to have a darker tone. Initially, the beta version of the scene depicted Sonic being electrocuted in his super form as he's infused with Dark Gaia energy. This scene was also meant to show his skeleton during the painful transformation. Screenshots of the scene are available online. One particular shot shows enough of Sonic's mandible to identify canine, incisor, premolars, and molars. The image above shows that at least ONE wisdom tooth (third molar) is present. Other signs of third molars is not visible due to angle of shot.

In the animated short titled "Night of the Werehog," we're given a good shot of Sonic opening his mouth and showing his fangs. Way in back are three molars (Image has been brightened and highlighted for view). Since one confirmed wisdom tooth is present in the shot, we could infer that Sonic is at least 17-years-old. Not fifteen. Seventeen is the average age for when we see wisdom teeth begin to grow in.

Cranial anatomy/Cranial Cap

In Sonic CD (1993), there is a particular scene where Sonic is electrocuted once again. [Fun Fact: one would not be able to see Sonic's skeleton if electrocuted, you'd see his nervous system instead.] Once again, players are able to see Sonic's entire skeletal system. The problem with this example is that it's pixelated art. Pixel art can range from being detailed works of art, or simplified icons that have symbolic meaning. The skeletal anatomy that we see of Sonic in the CD title is not enough for me to draw a conclusion on how old he is. It's merely a representation of a shock taking place.

For a better representation of a cranial cap, we should refer to the beta version of Sonic Unleashed once more. Sutures on Sonic's skull are a tad harder to make out in the image due to how saturated the scene is. A wonderful example of seeing Sonic's cranial suture can be seen at a side profile. The one closes to the sphenoid bone (eye socket) is a cranial suture. Again, this one is up for debate since the quality of the photo is poor. For the sake of sanity, we'll claim that this is a suture.

Examining the suture, we see that it's less defined. This does not mean that the sutures disappear completely. As we grow older, the bone fuses. If Sonic were younger, then the sutures would be more defined. Here, they've fused quite finely. This leads me to believe that he is out of the child phase (1yr to 12yrs) and into Adolescence (13yrs to 17yrs).

Femur & Pelvic Girdle/Pelvis

Generally, there's a model that can be used to display what a mature individual looks like compared to an adolescent when observing a pelvis girdle. Here, it's a bit harder for me to make an assumption because there's a lacking model of what adults and adolescents look like for anthropomorphic animals. This is a query that I've faced when trying to examine Sonic's skeletal anatomy. Of course, measuring a femur and weighing the density of bone could provide some insight on Sonic's estimated age (Shipman, 2018).

In a real world, that would require lots of money and an actual subject that is the equivalent to Sonic's height and weight (canonically, Sonic is 100cm tall and weighs 35kg). You'd then have to figure how much the bone density changes when someone stands up, sits down, lies down, and so forth. Plus, I don't know Sonic's level of body fat to even begin doing a simple calculation. It's a bit of a headache the more that this is tackled upon. That is a lot of data to collect for a talking blue hedgehog.

Measurements of the femur to the pelvis are fine and dandy, but the data is inconclusive. A simple measurement could be off by a single year or three. Once more, it's kind of hard to capture a crisp picture of the pelvis girdle and femur. I feel that gathering data from this perspective is inconclusive.

Discussion:

I must stress that this isn’t meant to be as in-depth or taken seriously. I must also stress that many social groups around the world have different approaches and cultural definitions to what it means to be a teenager. This is a common topic that I try to educate people about when it comes to cultural norms and social practices. Most western cultures consider that teenagers starting at 13yrs of age and ending at 17yrs of age before becoming a legal adult at 18yrs. Some western cultures even extend the age gap to 13yrs to 19yrs. Cultural and social teachings of how we define what is and isn’t a teenager could easily be defined as “adolescence.” We refer to this as adolescence, it allows us to have an extended age gap of 13yrs to 19yrs (Ember et Al., 2017). It all narrows down to how these practices and beliefs are taught within one’s community.

Some fans headcanon Sonic and his friends are growing older, others younger… or even stick with the Western interpretation of him being 15-years-old. Sonic's age has always been ambiguous, meaning that it's not narrowed down to a specific number. The query that I've faced is that there is a lack of official material that displays this easily. The information that I have shared in this post works on a plausible theory that he's older than 15. However, gaming manuals have almost always made it a point hat hes 15/16 (Sonic Heroes Game Manual, 2003). The point now is that he's a teenager. He will always be viewed as a teenager in this canon. To me, Game!Sonic is definitely older. He clearly shows characteristics of being an older version of himself (the strongest supporting evidence here being his teeth), but still within the range of being classified as a "teenager."

My goal here is to not enforce one way of thinking. The most that I can do is supply the data and leave you, the reader, to make your own conclusions. I hope that this answers your question, my dear.

#I’ve been… so scared to answer this. I am very conscious of this being a hot/controversial topic as of late. Please don’t cancel me👉🥺👈#mystery anon #off topic #I am an anthropologist #I am an archaeologist #sonic #sonic the hedgehog #sonic movie #sonic unleashed #trigger warning: skull #tw: skull #tw skull

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ltwilliammowett · 1 year

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The Mummy Wreck

This is what you might call the wreck of the Gottfried when it sank on 12 March 1822 with ancient Egyptian artefacts between Cuxhaven and the west of the island of Trischen near the mouth of the river Eider.

The Gottfried was a Danish-flagged galleass launched in 1815. She was about 20m long and had two masts. Her captain was Heinrich Jacob Riesbeck and with him sailed a crew of 8. At the time of her sinking, she was carrying 97 boxes of Egyptian art treasures, which the Prussian nobleman Baron Heinrich Menu von Minutoli had acquired in Egypt for King Frederick William III in order to lay the foundations for Prussia's own Egyptian collection. Minutoli had spared nothing in his purchases. He had acquired mummies, animal mummies, altars, vessels, figures of gods, a door frame and papyri. Mehmed Ali Pasha, governor of the Ottoman province of Egypt, had even added an Arabian marquee as a gift to the baron. In addition, there was the top of a pyramid and a sarcophagus of red granite weighing several tons.

The loss of the Gottfried, by unknown (x)

But now the Gottfried was caught in a hurricane and the heavy cargo seemed to have been her undoing, for it smashed through the hull and sank the ship. All those present had no chance to save themselves and went down with the valuables. At first no one knew that the Gottfried had sunk, but when the first mummies were gradually washed up on the beach, they knew that something had happened. And immediately, dike count Georg Wilhelm Schmeelke, mayor in the service of the Duke of Bremen and Verden, began to note down what the sea washed up on the left bank of the Elbe between Cuxhaven and Balje in the coming days: an ostrich egg, rams' horns, mummified fish, corals and two boxes with various books, letters, maps and diaries. The ceremonial tent also made it to the Elbe beach completely torn to pieces - as did seven sarcophagi with their mummies. The discovery caused great horror, as the plague was raging in Egypt at the time. The dead were hastily buried in the sand on the shore.

The gilded head of a male mummy (x)

But the ship had been insured and now owed Minutoli 27,000 marks, and in order to compensate for this high loss to some extent, everything that had been washed up on the beach was gathered together and even the dead had to be dug up again. These finds were then auctioned off. Much to the delight of Hamburg's merchants, because now they too could hold their own mummy parties and not have to look enviously to London. In the course of time, a few pieces came to various museums, including the gilded head of a male mummy. In 2003, a small box with a linen bandage and a mummy's curl was added, which had been in a magazine in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe in Hamburg.

The rest is still missing, as is the wreck of the Gottfried. It has probably long since disappeared, but the sarcophagus and the pyramid top are probably still there.

#naval history #shipwreck #mummies #tw: skull #wreck of the gottfried #1822 #germany #age of sail

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roseate-felidae · 9 months

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Did you know Rabbits (and other lagomorphs) have an extra set of teeth!

Rabbits have a pair of tiny incisors behind their top incisors.

These are called peg teeth or secondary maxillary teeth.

When the mouth is closed, the lower incisors slot between the upper incisors and the peg teeth. The teeth rub against each other, keeping both upper and lower incisors chisel-sharp.

Pictures below.

From having peg teeth to being the only mammals to have cranial kinesis. Bunny noses and having no paw pads (have hard hair on bottom of feet).

Rabbits (and lagomorpha) are just super weird.

Link to my post on bunny cranial kinesis below.

@lepurcinus

@synapsid-taxonomy

#rabbit #bunny #bunblr #peg teeth #rabbit peg teeth #rabbit teeth #teeth #animal skull #rabbit skull #skull #tw: skull #tw: bones #science #mammal biology #rabbit biology

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numbur1goobah · 2 months

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Just made this bitch face 👀

#transformers #transformers oc #transformer oc #tf oc #maximal #maximal oc #bird oc #avian oc #tw: skull #tw: bones #Cork #Corkscrew #robots #shitpost #macadam

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yuboslavia · 2 years

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nothing lasts forever

#touhou #yuyuko saigyouji #tw: skull #thats probably about it for this year

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jessdosestuff · 1 month

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"I had left my book in Raffles's berth," - The Amateur Cracksman, The Gift of the Emperor.

Why is your book in his bed?

#a j raffles #bunny manders #Gift of the Emperor #tw: skull

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hermesserpent-stuff · 8 months

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Young tombstone from @kzele 's au Of Tombstones and Timetravel

#of tombstones and timetravel au #mood board #tw: skull #hermes art #tssm #tssm au #tssm l. thompson lincoln #tssm tombstone

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sfelix42 · 1 year

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Another big thing..

This one was inspired by Mew’s album +- which I highly recommend (Spotify link)

#mew #my art #original art #painting #digital painting #tw: blood #tw: skull

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whispers-soundtrack-project · 2 months

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TMNT: Something Wicked

Playlist Part Two

Part One

Note: This is a "soundtrack" to my in-progress TMNT horror fic "Something Wicked"

Link to the Spotify Playlist is at the bottom of the post

Anger (Sleeping At Last)

Like wildfire * It starts in my chest * The silence grows louder * Ringing out in my head

Stay Alive (Hidden Citizens, ft. REMMI)

I do what I need to * What I have to * Well, you can try * To be civilized * But I'm gonna stay alive

Eye Of The Storm (X Ambassadors)

When the world's caving in * And the world stops * Hear the voices * Beckoning * Me towards the rocks

Running For Your Life (UNSECRET & Butterfly Boucher)

In the heart there's a hunger * In the dark there is life * Hear it coming * Heed the warning * From the shadows

Furies (Nine One One)

Sticks and stones will wait for you * But it's not bones they break in two * Saints and sinners rest in the same home

Thousand Eyes (Of Monsters And Men)

I'll be the calm * I will be quiet * Stripped to the bone, I wait * No, I'll be a stone, I'll be the hunter * A tower that casts a shade

My Domain (Tommee Profitt & SVRCINA)

Built on every scar that you gave me * Tore my body into what made me * The hell you put me through is what raised me * Now I, I'm indestructible

Casualty (Hidden Citizens, ft. Tash)

I lie awake cuz it haunts me * I thought I’d take my prize * But I’m caught in the ashes * Oh weathered the storm * Leaves are changing * And I fall apart * No I’ve been here before

The Devil Within (Digital Daggers)

I will keep quiet * You won't even know I'm here * You won't suspect a thing * You won't see me in the mirror * But I crept into your heart * You can't make me disappear * 'Til I make you

Dead Of Night (Ruelle)

Come take a breath * Don't close your eyes * Don't say another word * Don't let the darkness find you * Holding still, don't break inside * Don't say another word * Don't let the darkness find you

#tmnt #tmnt fanfic #ninja turtles #fanmix #playlist #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tw: bones #tw: skeleton #tw: skull #bones #skull #skeleton #tw: death #death

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tomboyjessie13 · 2 months

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This was for a RP session between me and @tomgonzo34

Guest room closet, DIO's Mansion

Late Summer, 1988

Boingo: *Sweating profusely while bouncing fearfully* O_O''''

Medea: *Very scared as she's dousing every corner of the room in salt while saying the lord's prayer in Irish Gaelic* Ár nAthair, atá ar neamh, Go naofar d’ainm, Go dtaga do ríocht, Go ndéantar do thoil ar an talamh, Mar a dhéantar ar neamh. Ár n-arán laeth-

Momo: Hey whatcha doing? :-)

Medea and Boingo: *Nearly gets a heart attack* ACK!

Medea: *Panting* For the love of God don't scare us like that!

Momo: Sorry, just wanna see what you're doing.

Medea: What does it look like? I'm blessing the closet and praying to God that he doesn't find me.

Momo: Who?

DIO: *From the other part of the mansion, very loud and angry* WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!

Boingo: Oh no, it's happening!

Medea: OK! INTO THE CLOSET! *Turns off the lights and takes Boingo into the closet with her, sitting in a corner that's near the porch*

Momo: *Goes with them, whispering* What's going on? Why is DIO pissed?

Boingo: *Whispering* It happened 7 minutes ago, but DIO was holding a meeting for the Glory gods when my [Thoth] had a prophesy-

*Sounds of N'Doul being tossed out the window*

Boingo: -Which told him that one of the servants in the mansion threw away a skull and goes on a rampage.-

*Sounds of furniture being thrown*

Boingo: [Flogging Molly] dragged me and Big sis out of the room.

Medea: *Whispering* It's true, my Stand suddenly started feeling something off, so I looked around and saw [Thoth], they warned me to start hiding.

*Sounds of Mariah screaming*

Momo: ...Seriously? Over a skull? -_-*

Medea: It's not some ordinary skull, Lord DIO seems to cherish that particular skull very dearly, I don't know why, but he doesn't want anyone touching it, not even Eris is allowed to touch it.

*Sounds of [The World] going "Mudamudamudamuda"*

Boingo: *Hugs Medea tightly, scared*

Momo: ...Ohhh, now I get it....

Meanwhile where Nukesaku is, the prayer room (0:13 - End)

youtube

Nukesaku: *Scared, holding a trash can with a Skull in it* ...Why is Lord DIO like this? It's just decayed leftovers, right?.... *Hears heavy breathing*.......*Slowly looks up and to his horror, DIO was on the ceiling*

DIO: *Hanging on the ceiling in very demonic position, angry, fangs bared, and eyes glowing red* ............

Nukesaku: .................................. *Shows him the skull*

DIO: ............ Give me back Jojo....

Nukesaku: ........... Whose Jojo-*Sees DIO drop on him*-aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

- DIO throws a horrific temper tantrum over Jonathan's skull going missing because Nukesaku thought it was the decayed remains of DIO's food.

* Momo - tomgonzo34's OC

#jojo's bizarre adventure #dio brando #nukesaku #boingo #jonathan joestar #but only briefly #jojo oc #oc #ocs #incorrect quotes #roleplay #tw: skull

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