Saffron- Julie Su's Girly Counterpart

[jazzflower92]

I know how many people had issues with Julie Su's character being tied to as Knuckle's girlfriend. However, I also see some of the those critiques can be found in Charmy's fiance/girlfriend, Saffron. As a character Saffron tended to be very bland and acted as a satellite love interest for Charmy. All in all there is nothing really about her that makes her stand out. All her history and motivation seems to surround Charmy. She seems to rarely interact with the other characters and is mostly background fodder.

[Penguin God]

Saffron mostly didn't get flack because she has no screentime outside of support for Charmy, who was barely in the comic anyway. She was the most bit character a character could be while still having a name, just like most of the "obligatory girlfriend/wife" characters.

[TurboTailz]

All I got from her was she was there to look pretty, supporting Charmy personally and the Chaotix. She didn't have much development and that died with her when the kingdom was demolished.

[jazzflower92]

Wasn't she at some point was planned to be killed off until they decided not to?

[The Shadow Emperor]

We'll find out what Ian had planned for her character once Lost Hedgehog Tales comes out. Apparently she was going to have a large role in Endangered Species.

Wasn't she at some point was planned to be killed off until they decided not to?

During Return to Angel Island.

[Kellox]

I always found it pretty sad that she had little no no character consider she had an cute design.
( I have a weakness for pink and bobcat hair styles.)

[DabigRG]

How relevant considering recent discussions of the Pre-Worlds Collide timeline. Saffron was one of those characters who I personally didn't focus on but appreciated their presence. She was an example of the "good old days" personified in that she is the tether that both wrote Charmy out of the story for a while and stuck around so he wouldn't be lonely/depressed. I really would have liked for her to get some screentime, either in a Charmy focused story or in a limelight story where she interacts with one of the other Chaotix. There are a number of interesting facts regarding her history in the comic that I will include here:

Spoiler: show

The Chaotix Caper- When Mr. Penders decided to add Julie-Su to the team, he got rid of Charmy who was by far the most useless of the Chaotix. And what better way to do so then by killing off a stoned childhood friend and introduce his own important responsibility to provide a contrast to Knuckles.* She was depicted with long flowing hair that changed colors, within the same story no less. :?

Best Laid Plains- The couple encounter Chaos Knux just before he is approached by the Weasel Twins to be drained by Dr. Finitevus(which is apparently his real name) under Gala-Na. In an admittedly well-intentioned move, she and Charmy interrupt the already failing process, which not only provided the origins to the mentally unstable Anti-Guardian under Mr. Flynn's pen, but also increased Chaos Knuckles's already unreliable powers. Oops! :twisted:

Return to Angel Island- 44 issues later, Eggman unintentionally brings the two back into the story by overrunning the Golden Hive Colony, forcing the two to struggle back to Knothole and join the Chaotix's mission to go along for the ride. As revealed by our very own Dub in a brutally honest, but heartwarming-in-hindsight random post, Saffron was one of the many characters intended to be Chaos Speared by Hunter due to being utterly useless to the plot, but was spared at the last minute. I believe there's even a picture on the wiki that seemed to foreshadow this development as a potential heroic sacrifice. This is also the issue to solidify her current appearance after so many random changes, also thanks to Dub.

Eggman Empire- After so many instances of being arm candy and backup fists, Saffron's true purpose as a character was realized when her fiancé, Charmy Bee, was made the first Knothole victim of the Egg Grapes for standing up to Eggman. Despite this being traumatic experience for everyone, Saffron was able to keep her cool (minus a brief panic and a few tears, of course) as Charmy was reduced to a much more ...'innocent' state and was more than happy to watch over him for as long as it takes.

The Roads we take- Saffron was amongst the campfire grilling of Espio when he received permission to divulge the dirt he has on them, though she is one of the few he doesn't comment on.... Anyway, she attempts to comfort him when Charmy refuses to believe the truth about him past by saying he need more time, establishing a slight connection to the ninja as well.

Endangered Species 2.0- I don't think this is much of a secret or surprise anymore but, had the lawsuit not taken affect after Part 1 was completed, Saffron would have assisted Knuckles and Julie-Su in their attempt to rescue the victims of the Day of Transit from Lien-Da's Dark Egg Legion and Thrash's Devil Dog Pack, as evidence by Knuckles reference to rounding up the girls at the end. What is news is that, according to a recent post by Bumblekween Kureeji Lea, several characters were designed for the storyarc and several other stories, including Saffron. I will include my best( read: cheap :(hearty laughter): ) attempt at portraying this redesign, one of the highlights of which was getting a lime theme color to both distinguish her from the other Chaotix and getting away from female characters with so much pink. And for that, I am exceptionally grateful.
*I would like to point out that I actually think this was an interesting idea.

Sorry about the overwhelming width of the pic.

Spoiler: show

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