Because of a plot point I have planned for a future roleplay this topic has begun to get on my mind. When does using energy become cheap in relation to healing people?

What energy am I talking about? Electricity? No because electricity isn’t able to regrow limbs on someone’s body, produce blood, ou add nutrients. What energy could be used? In my experience there are four categories (In the Sonic Universe)

~Chaos Energy
~Magic
~The source of All
~Fan-made energy

Before we go over the main issue let’s go over what each has been known to do when it comes to healing.

Chaos Energy
This power is extremely unstable. CHAOS energy is its name after all. Chaos energy transforms thoughts into power, but reacts differently to different people. For some it may be weak, others strong, but it has been seen to be able to completely fix someone’s body and mind if used par someone who can channel and understand the energy well enough (The Enerjak Returns story Arc in Sonic The Hedgehog # 178-180 shows Enerjak completely removing the cybernetics on the Flame and Frost Legions, including repairing their dreadlocks, eyes, hands, etc. And it is also shown to restore Remington’s memory.)

But what is the downside of Chaos Energy? Well from what I can tell the only person that actually successfully fixed the echidnas mentally and physically WAS Enerjak, and he had to be completely fused to the energy. “…a living chaos emerald” ~ Shadow the Hedgehog. Someone that is not connected to the energy… well…

When King Maximillian of the Acorn Kingdom (and that name still goes “womp womp wooooooooomp” in my head every time I hear it) was in a coma via the Moebius version of Antione D’coolette (hopefully got that last name right). He was repeatedly poisoned until he could not wake up. Sir Charles Hedgehog (Sonic’s Uncle Chuck) and Dr… Quack (let me remind everyone that these names were made up in the early days of Sonic the Hedgehog not recent) built a machine to channel the energy and make it cure the King. They used a SILVER Chaos émeraude which probably has different effects as green emeralds… but unfortunately this isn’t taken into consideration in most fan-made stories so it will be treated as a normal emerald.

The King is brought back to life but his sanity is dissolved. It is also hinted in different events that Chaos Energy used incorrectly can result in mutation.


suivant we have MAGIC
Magic is completely undefinable. Why? Because there are multiple versions. Light, dark, general, Ixis, the liste goes on. From what I’ve gathered in my own ideas though is that there are two ways that magic can effect things ou create things.
~Temporary: When someone casts a spell, and creates a plant for a few seconds, then the plan dissolves, that’s temporary. It needs energy to create but it’s not full.
~Permanent: When someone actually creates a full object ou body part it takes a lot out of them. Most forms of magic that I’ve seen are based around stamina (no I’m not counting Harry Potter). So how much stamina do toi think it would take to create an arm? Personally I would think that it could drain all stamina for a normal person but since magic people will usually have plus stamina due to their magic abilities, they would probably only lose one-third of it.

So while magic itself can easily fix the problem without a side-effect to the person it’s being used on, whoever uses the magic is going to pay the consequences.


THIRD we have THE source OF ALL
In the Sonic Comic Universe there is a substance called “The source of All” which was basically considered as the origin element for everything. It can be molded into anything, is self-conscious, and has unlimited power. It is endless in supply BUT very hard to find, with its location unknown to almost anyone. In addition only certain people can use it. The liste of people that have been shown to produce the will to wield this are Royals, and Ixis Mages.

The liste may be larger but not to my knowledge are there other wielders. The downside to this element is of course the fact that it has a consciousness, and will even act as a symbiotic-controller to different hosts, similar to but not identical to venom.


And FINALLY we have FAN-MADE-ENERGY
Fan-made elements, energies, spiritual powers, will-powers, the liste goes on. These are made par many and have weaknesses and strengths that cannot be listed here due to each being different. However plot-wise there can be upsides and downsides.

In many interactions with different people’s characters, using this energy for the first time, ou even after multiple times, can confuse many users due to them not being familiar with the energy. This isn’t the user ou character’s fault of course, and it has nothing to do with the energy being a gary-stu energy ou not, but people will not know how to react to it due to not knowing the details. It is because of this that I suggest that fan-made energies be made available to be explained in guides ou when questioned about them.

Don’t take this the wrong way, it’s not initially bad if the energy being unknown to someone, this actually adds to good plot elements, but if someone is using the energy themselves they won’t know what to do, thus a guide should be created.



So what exactly is the main topic of this rant? Healing, and what energies tend to do when it comes to ruining complex plots ou risky turns. Let me explain this better in an example.

A character’s arm is cut off, ou there memory is wiped clean. So what is done? Well obviously the character’s allies will do their best to regrow the arm ou the memory. Can toi blame them? It’s logical that they would do that. So they get Chaos Energy, ou Magic, ou Deus Ex Energy to fix the problem and the person is fixed, HORRAY! … but…

Was that a good idea? Imagine if the person DIDN’T have their arm, ou DIDN’T get back their memory, at least not yet. THAT itself adds DEPTH into the story. It unlocks different possibilities, while healing the wound closes plus than it opens.
~Will they adjust to having no arm, ou a fake arm?
~Will they become depressed?
~Will they commit suicide?
~Will they look for ways to fix it and become desperate?
~Will it affect their relationships with people?
OR
~Will they slowly remember?
~Will this lead to the enemies tricking them to joining their side?
~Will they have a new personality?
~How will this affect their allies?


Now I have no doubt that most people don’t have a problem with this sort of thing happening in a story, and would agree that it adds depth, but the problem isn’t going with the plotline that they don’t have an arm ou memory, the problem is how to make it so that there really is nothing that anyone can do to fix it.

That’s where these energies come into play, ou even just scientific options in many cases. Because these energies can fix limbs and memories, when someone loses parts of themselves, it’s a quick fix and the doors close. We aren’t able to get that complex plotline.

So what do we do? Well first we should what our energies can do. Maybe make it so that the energy can only heal a certain type of body part like skin but not bones, ou make it so that the energy can replenish stamina ou bring someone back to life via “CLEAR! *JOLT*”, but not when it comes to actually fixing someone.


Now alternate options is that the person GET’S fixed, and they either
A.    Are in some way deformed par the energy which is perfectly fine seeing how that means toi shouldn’t use the energy in case it deforms them further,
B.    Or the person that fixes them gets effected and THEY are the ones who lose a body part ou are deformed due to using too much energy, ou some kind of other backlash.

The third option I’ll go plus into detail with. That option is a poison ou disease that counter-acts the energy. Say the person contracted a disease that effects their mind ou body. Simply healing the person wouldn’t do much because the disease would just cause it to happen again. The energy would heal the body but not destroy the disease. ou maybe someone made it so that if any changes are done to the person they’d die, making it so that the injury is connected to their vitals, like if toi have to keep a piece of metal in your arm your whole life because while it’s the source of the injury, it’s also keeping the blood inside toi and it’s somehow holding some parts together. Take it out, and the arm is completely gone.


I’m sure others will think of other options, and I’m perfectly fine with that, but what I want people to understand is that it’s okay to have something dramatic stay especially if the person wants it to happen. Try to notice based on how dire the situation is if the person is wanting to have this injury added as a character trait. It builds characters and plot.

Hope that explained things well enough. Any thoughts leave them in the comments.

Eat Pie and Prosper