Council of Acorn

Hamlin the Pig! Everyone's favorite Archie Sonic character! You're welcome, Hamlin fandom.

Hmm, this is usually where I include some kind of fun headcanon story, right? What do I got for Hamlin...? Admittedly, not much! But I can come up with something.

I imagine most of the people on the council are full grown adults. This is how old I think the council characters are, not that it means a lot in the Sonic-verse, where the dates are made up and the ages don't matter:

Dylan - 27 - Lost a parent during the Great War, lost the second parent only a few years later during the First Robotnik War, but by that time he wasn't a kid anymore and had to make it on his own. For awhile he only cared about himself and lived quietly inside his own thoughts. In Knothole, he was very handy, if quiet, and others frequently came to him for help planning, building, and repairing structures. He never asked to be constantly involved in community projects, but it was this that got him picked by Sally to join the Substitute Freedom Fighters. He didn't really want to, but not having much of a backbone, he ended up just going along with it. Working together with a team helped bring him out of his shell and into reality again, and he found new meaning in working as a community organizer. He still tends to be very passive, though.

Hamlin - 32 - Joined the army straight out of college to fight in the Great War. Was sent on one mission, saw no action whatsoever, and returned home. Immediately after, Max dueled the Overland leader and the war was ended. Disappointed and embarrassed that he didn't get a chance to contribute anything while surrounded by friends and people his age that had died or earned medals, his lack of involvement became a major sore spot for him that would set off his temper. When Sally began forming the Substitute Freedom Fighters, it was him who practically begged to be trained. Despite being eager, he's not that skilled as a soldier in the field, especially not compared to the superheroics of Sonic and his friends. Now he's resigned to getting involved through politics, and while he's done a lot of good that way and found his niche, he's still a little jealous he's not out there being a hero. Despite his bad attitude and temper, Hamlin's good people. Probably one of the most genuine people on the Council, who really cares about others' well-being. He just has a jerky way of going about it.

Chuck - 58 - Believes the idea of a Council is progressive and necessary after Max's failed rule, but also thinks the job is 100% boring. He goes where he feels the most useful, and for now that's here as a politician, but frequently his mind wanders to what kinds of inventions he could be making if he wasn't wasting his time in debates and going over paperwork. As someone who's always ignored the system and just gotten things done in whatever way he could, the legalese and processes of government frustrates him to no end. He wants to retire from the position, but with a crazy wizard taking over, NICOLE being kicked out, and half the Freedom Fighters missing or out of commision, now just isn't a good time.

Bernie (fan Bernie v. Rosemary story) - 45 - Bernie has spent a large part of her life feeling helpless. She continued through school despite constant family emergencies at home. Shortly after getting married and having a kid, her husband was shot and turned into a mindless robot. A few years later, she was turned into one too. It wasn't until 12 years later that she reunited with her son, now 15, not really knowing anything about who he was. Still a year after that, he was killed by angry space squids trying to destroy the world. (But he got better a year later.)

During that year that Sonic was gone, she felt the worst. Jules was now the only robian, and he began to resent his condition. Chuck was missing most of the time, working on some secret project for the king. Not knowing how to reach out to either of them, she turned instead to the community, and started getting more involved. In college, she had huge goals for her future career, but after losing her family and then getting them back, her priorities had shifted to rebuilding her home. Now home was out of her control, and so she returned to her previous ambitions. She worked hard to help incoming families and build Knothole into a thriving city. While still grieving, she found new strength to keep going, and refused to feel helpless anymore.

Tails was the only person in her family who didn't become distant towards her while Sonic was gone, and so they grew very close that year.

When Sonic returned, she did go back to spending some more time at home again, but continued to dedicate herself to working with others. Her involvement also ends up helping Jules, who learns to be more comfortable with his unique body by working at the local hospital (he relates to them, he's good with people, he can't get sick, and he can work all night, so it's good!). When Chuck gets kicked off the council, she sees it as an opportunity to step up to a more prominent role. With her family happy and together again, she's finally comfortable going back to her old ambitions from when she was younger.

Geoff (possessed by Naugus) - 27 - Geoff spent a lot of time in the castle as a child with his father, and spent a lot of time near the royal family. When he was 10, Elias was 6, and so he's always thought of Elias as a baby compared to him. Their ages aren't that far apart now, but Geoff can't shake off the feeling that Elias is just a child. He can vaguely remember meeting Elias when he was first born. ...Geoff never particularly cared for Max, even as a child. Alicia, however, was very kind to him, and a lot less scary, so he holds her in a much higher regard. 

Elias (ousted) - 23 - By the time Elias faces Naugus and Geoffrey again, he has come to terms with the idea that the city may not accept his return. He has grappled with his motivations, and even he isn't sure what they are. Originally, he felt it was his duty as an Acorn to reclaim the throne. Then he wondered if that was really what was best for the people. He knows that he's supposed to be fighting to save everyone from Naugus, but in his heart, he knows he's been doing it for more selfish reasons. Guilt over Antoine's injuries? Shame that in his sister's absence, he crumbles and becomes unsure? Being with the SFF has really inspired him to be selfless- he sees what motivates the others, and how they have no issues with going unrecognized for their actions, and realizes that whether or not he's king doesn't matter, so long as Naugus isn't. He will not save the day to make his father proud, or to regain power. He will do this to save his people, and that's the true duty of an Acorn royal.

Rosemary - 42 - Still a witch. (IDK I'm out of headcanons for her...)

Isabella - 43 - Isabella has been inspired by her daughter to speak up. After her husband died and she was roboticized, it took her a long time to feel like her voice mattered, or that anyone was listening. Mina's successful music career has caused Isabella to reflect on herself and find her words. Especially after Mina's new, more politically-charged tour, Isabella has decided to step up too. She still feels a little uncomfortable debating with others, but reassures herself that voicing her opinion is important, not only for herself, but for the sake of the city's democracy.

Rotor (retired) - 18 - The year that Sonic was gone, the Freedom Fighter team really fell apart. Sally became cold and distant, Tails was crushed and focused on his personal projects, Antoine became broody and aggressive, Bunnie spent more time trying to figure out what was wrong with Antoine. Rotor was called to work on Max's Metal Sonic project with Chuck, but was actually happy to do it- while he felt grief like everyone else, he felt like he was the only one who wanted to keep the team going in Sonic's absence. He still had a lot of fight left in him, and still burned to take Robotnik down. The others seemed to have lost their fire, and without them, Rotor struggled to find a new place. He tried creating better weapons, but when that ended up injuring Larry, he pulled back. Uncomfortable with creating better killing machines, he turned to communications and infrastructure, developing the Technolotree. Sonic eventually returned, and Rotor had hoped that things would go back to normal. In some ways, they did, but with an injury to his back taking him out of the field, Rotor could not be a part of the team he had so desperately missed. He was being retired from the Freedom Fighters without a choice. But he still had a fire in him. He hoped that he could get his fix for progress in the Council like Hamlin did, but, like Chuck, the constant talking and lack of decisiveness drove him up a wall. He's glad to be out now, and is much happier directing a new Freedom Fighting team with just as much passion as he has.

Penelope - 30 - Penelope's more of a wildcard than her calm demeanor lets on. You would think, being a former Substitute FF member, she would be in constant agreement with her former teammates. But in truth, she disagrees with them more often than Chuck or Rosemary do. Penelope sees things from all angles, sometimes even a bit too clinically. Outside relationships or personal experiences will not bias her opinions. She seems to be one of the only ones who enjoys the paperwork and rigid structure the Council offers. She has a deep respect for Sally as a personal friend, but if she can be convinced that Sally is in the wrong, she will not hesitate to speak out against her. Once the robe is off and the work day is done, Penelope is like a completely different person. She is amiable and friendly, and likes to go out for lunch with the others. She has many friends, and is dating one of her former teammates. But in the Council hall, there's no way of knowing whether Penelope is going to be your best ally or your worst opponent.

Larry (you tried) - 21 - Being a super jinx, Larry has had a very difficult time making friends. He worries constantly that his jinxes will hurt them, and usually, his friends worry about whether it will hurt them too. So he's become very reserved and thoughtful, even though it goes against the core of his personality, which is to be social and a go-getter. He's tried everything to prevent his jinxes from activating, but eventually they always end up leaking out. After getting hit with Rotor's ultimate weapon and sustaining a serious injury, the jinxes seemed to stop for awhile. Once he recovered, he got a taste of "normal" life, without his bad luck following him. When the Council had just formed and potential candidates were campaigning, Larry thought, why not give it a go? This was his chance to finally be the important people person he longed to be! ...Of course, it would be his luck that the jinxes came back now that he was healthy again, starting with his ballot box spontaneously combusting. Frustrated and feeling like a burden, Larry kept to himself. It was by pure chance that he stumbled upon the SFF and was recruited- and even luckier that his new best friend on the team was made out of metal and could resist most of Larry's worst jinxes. Larry is thrilled to have a friend like Shard, and thinks he's the coolest. And Shard is thrilled to have a friend like Larry, and thinks HE'S the coolest. Now Larry considers it good luck that the box went up in flames. Being a super secret spy with your best buddies the Metal Sonic and the psychic time traveler is WAY cooler than being a stuffy politician.

How's that? We good for headcanons? Cool.

Hamlin (and everyone else mentioned) (c) Archie, SEGA

EDIT: As I'm doing the rest of these characters, I think I'm just going to add them onto this same image. No one curr enough to keep them separate. So yay! Penelope! :V

EDIT 2: A tiny indifferent porcupine for all your tiny indifferent porcupine needs.

EDIT 3: Mongoose mom. I never liked the straight hair, but I’m wondering now if I should go back to it and make her look like a hippie.