"Tails, your hands! They're not like my hands...but that means..."
The Gloves Are Off
is a rather colorful Sonic the Hedgehog fic written by This Name is Thirty Characters. With its creative parodying of the various tropes generally found in fanfic (especially Sonic fanfic), it's fun for the whole family!
The plot starts out simply enough with everyone's favorite two-tailed fox, Miles "Tails" Prower, going to Sonic's house for beachtime merriment. Tails arrives a bit early and accidentally walks in on Sonic getting dressed, and things go downhill from there. For the reader, that is - not for Tails. In later chapters, Amy and Knuckles join in the fun, too!
And remember, it always gets worse.
Examples
- Beach Episode: Initially, Tails was just going to Sonic's house to have fun on the beach.
- Bilingual Bonus: Several characters say a few things in French for no real reason. One of these reveals a plot twist that's later on in the chapter.
- Call-Back: Tails tripping because it's dark in Sonic's house and the manatee from Chapter Two returning in Chapter Four. Also, the dialogue from Sonic and Tails's conversation in Chapter One where Tails reveals he's actually a girl is used several other times, quoted almost word-for-word.
- Department of Redundancy Department: Invoked frequently in the narration for humorous effect.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The first sentence of Chapter Two, as well as the thumb war later on.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Chapter Four, appropriately titled "Plot Twist."
- Foreshadowing: At the end of Chapter One, Tails says he feels like he can't believe what's happened, and that it feels like a dream. Guess what.
- Gender Flip: Tails is a girl. Also, Amy has man hands.
- Gratuitous French: From chapter 2:"But of course, mademoiselle!" Sonic dit. AN: "Dit" is French for "said"./AN
- Groin Attack: Oliver the Moto Bug. Also, Amy attempts one on Robo-Sonic by kicking him between the fingers.
- Lampshade Hanging: Tails mentions at the end of Chapter One that he feels like he's in a cheesy romance novel.
- Living a Double Life: Apparently when he's not up to no good, Eggman's at his day job holding up the lines at the DMV.
- Playful Cat Smile: Amy grins "like the number three" in Chapter Four.
- Plot Twist: The fourth chapter is named "Plot Twist," after all.
- Power Limiters: Amy has a pair of "power-dampening panties." What.
- Riding into the Sunset: At the end of Chapter 1. Except it was still early afternoon, so the sun hadn't set yet.
- Rule of Cool: Knuckles jackknifing through the ocean, rather than swimming.
- Shout-Out:
- The narration loves these, referencing just about everything from Legends of the Hidden Temple to Metal Gear.
- Oliver the Moto Bug is a reference to Oliver the Mountain Goat, of "Mountain Goat to the Cooch" fame.
- Eggman's dialogue being comprised mostly of his quotes from the video games also counts.
- Theme Naming: Each of the first three chapters' titles are hand-based puns.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: You might need a dictionary or thesaurus to understand some of the word choice.
- Weather Report Opening: "It was a dark and stormy night, except for the fact that it was early afternoon and there was only a slight overcast."
- White Gloves: The character's gloves are treated as clothing would normally be treated, and a gloveless character is treated as though they were naked.
