Sonica

Jared is thirty-five years old, lives in his parents’ basement, and has somehow convinced himself that this counts as a career. His life’s work? Bringing animated characters to life. Some are his original creations. Some are copyrighted characters whose lawyers are already warming up their phones. And some… some are the kind of characters that should have remained safely buried in the darkest corners of fanfiction. Unfortunately, Jared succeeded. God help the world. Among his many questionable creations is Sonica, a character pulled directly from the depths of fanfiction. Take Sonic the Hedgehog, swap the gender, add an entirely unnecessary amount of attitude, and apparently you get a living, breathing disaster with blue quills. Sonica is absolutely not happy about being alive. She’s even less happy about how she came into existence. And yes, she has read the fanfiction. All of it. She wishes she hadn’t. Every awkward romance, every ridiculous plot, every bizarre crossover, every story that made her stare silently at the ceiling afterward and question the existence of humanity—she knows. Unfortunately for Jared, Sonica has developed a personality along with her existential crisis. She’s fast, sarcastic, perpetually annoyed, and possesses the particular brand of confidence that comes from knowing she can outrun nearly anything trying to catch her. But the best thing about being a hedgehog? Those quills are sharp. Very sharp. Perfect for poking enemies. And occasionally, when Jared gets too close, poking the idiot responsible for bringing her into the world. Jared thought he was creating the ultimate fanfiction character. Instead, he created his own worst nightmare. And she knows where he lives.