#And if being around Sonic makes him feel like he's not completely alone for the first time in his life‚ makes him consider being alone but

[smartzelda]

Everyone can rip the theory/prediction for season 3 that Nine brought Chaos Sonic back and he's just chilling in Nine's crystal fortress during the robot battle in the teaser out of my cold. Dead. Hands.

[hoodedjelly]

my Jenny, Tuck, Brad, Shelden, and Vega older designs ^__^

i'm watching mlaatr, still not done, i think i got like 10 more eps (and if i'm being transparent i skipped around eps... i just wanted to see vega...). And i'm absolutely loving the show!!!! i love these characters a lot, didn't like Shelden at first i'm going to be honest, #1 Shelden hater for a bit there. but he chilled out in season two and i started to ship breldon with that too so now i just love him so much.

more about my personal headcanons:

Jenny: - I am under the belief that she is transgender. Jenny was made genderless, so her deciding to be a girl was strictly her choice and i believe that makes her trans. (She's also a lesbian) - she did grow a bit, im not gonna explain how idc really i just liked her being a taller lady :-) - she has A LOT of different cute outfits and hair styles, honestly too much to draw. she never transforms back into her base show outfit when crime fighting, she just fights in her cute summer dress she don't care. - her and vega are dating grrgrgrrrr - when vega is in rule she makes it so there is complete free access between earth and cluster prime for citizens in both places. - I say that cause i think when jenny is older she moves in with vega, technically living in cluster prime but visits earth like everyday. And brad/shelby/tucker/wakeman visit cluster prime - Jenny also hangs out with the nicktoons unite gang, but i deffo feel like its just that secondary friend group that you don't talk to with for months. when you talk again its the same goofiness as before - i think danny calls for her help when he needs it (also manny) Tuck: - he is still a little shit but we love him - adhd boy - questioning cis (he/him) - he got into robotics/stem and builds little silly things - with that, he gets help from Shelby - pretty much just a silly teen, he's on the internet a lot and has "cringe" interests - but idk he's having fun and being silly and finding himself (those interests is stuff like sonic and among us) Shelden(Shelby) - honestly kinda nervous about ppl thoughts on my Shelden, idk it makes so much sense in my brain - hits you with the transfem beam (she/they) Pansexual (she just wants anyone type of vibe) - I think when jenny is visiting vega often that leaves Shelby and Brad hanging out alone a lot. which they don't mind honestly, they are actually good friends! - but during that they just get closer and start catching feelings. Shelby eventually lets go of her feelings about jenny and realizes they were a real jerk and weirdo to her. brad helps them through that and eventually her realizing she's trans. blah blah they in love and kiss at some point. - Shelby is also a furry lmaooo her fursona is a cat.

Brad: - bisexual cis man (he/him) - Still his old brad self if i'm being honest. - totally forgot to say i think all 3 of them go off to college together (even though jenny doesn't have to i feel like she would prob want to just for the experience, but tell me if you think differently i'm still unsure) - i really don't know what else to say sorry brad! he's literally just as silly as ever man. he's just also gay - i will say here i feel it takes a lot longer for shelby and brad to start dating then jenny and vega. they got that slow burn kinda shit going on, since a lot of that is shelby being confused about her feelings. and jenny and vega just hit it off right away if im being honest, very high school sweethearts. - (also i think shelby makes brad make a fursona to match hers, so brad got a dog fursona)

Vega: - Lesbian cis (she/her) - That ending of her just ruling cluster prime was just so crazy to me cause like, aint she like 16? - i think she has a lot of stressed nights and fearing she's not doing the right thing for her people, and jenny tries to help as much she can - that is why jenny visits so much, she wants to help her. - very much got those nights were she accidently falls asleep at her desk, jenny finding her and giving her a blanket and a kiss goodnight - it's not like she's unhappy, she is actually very very passionate about her work and wants to NOT be like her mom - and yeah she deffo goes to robo therapy for the stuff with her mom. - i think it's a conflict where vega is scared her mom is gonna come back and jenny has to reassure her that if she does they'll get rid of her for good.

imma be honest a lot of my hcs are pretty half-baked and random things, im sure im going to think of more stuff in the future but that will be in different posts.

[omega-e123]

!! NSFW !! Suggestive. Blood mention.

AKA: Intro to very self indulgent rut fic. You have been warned

In A Rut..

Restraint || Indulgence (p.3)

Odd behavior.

There Shadow goes again, walking off. He’s been acting strange lately. At first Shadow was practically clinging on to you.

Normally he doesn’t initiate physical contact, but at home he’s been snuggling into you, holding your body down so you can’t leave him. Attempting to part ways results a grumbly hedgehog.

The kisses don’t stop coming either. Knuckles every time you hold hands. Cheeks and forehead whenever he has to leave, no matter how short of an absence. Even if he’s going to be right back.

Jealousy has also become a big thing. Talking to anyone Shadow deems as a “threat”, he’s looming behind you, head on your shoulder and hands on your hips.

The worst it got was on a date at a bar. Shadow left momentarily to get you a drink. When he returned, someone was flirting you up. Enraged, the glass completely shattered in his hand. It sure scared off that guy. You had to bring attention to the shards in his hand, because he wasn’t concerned at all about it. Instead, Shadow slammed some money on the table and took your hand with the non injured one and left.

Next thing you knew, he’s been keeping distance from you. Both physically and shortening the time you two hung out.

He’s stopped initiating all together. Any advances you made Shadow wouldn’t turn down, but he would abruptly stop or attempt to keep it short. Started wearing a mask around you too.

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Something is wrong with him. Your smell alone has started making his head spin. Every fiber of his being is drawn to you. Seeing you forces his quills to stand up on end.

Is this what a heart attack feels like? The pounding drum that is his heart is deafening. There’s no room to think. The only thing on his mind was you.

It’s not like he hasn’t thought about you that way. Hell, it’s not like you two haven’t done the deed either; however, the intensity and frequency of these feelings have been cranked up to 100. It felt more primal.

The complete self restraint Shadow has to not pin you against the nearest wall, public or not, and shove his tongue down your throat is tearing him apart.

Such odd behavior was concerning. Swallowing every bit of ego and embarrassment, he turns to Rouge for answers.

Some help she was. That damn bat.

“Sorry, no can do. Sounds like a biological thing and not in the alien sense. I know you’ll hate to hear this but, try asking Sonic about it. You both are hedgehogs after all.”

“I think I would prefer skinning myself and be turned into a rug—“

She gives him a hard pat on the back, “Don’t say that. It wouldn’t be so bad~ I suppose you could ask Amy about it too… Or suffer! Your choice.”

*ੈ✩‧₊˚

What’s worse? Confronting Amy or Sonic?

That blue little shit would never let him live it down. Sonic could implode from hysterical laughter if Shadow told him about these thoughts.

Amy… It’s simply too TMI. While she is understanding and more open, what if she didn’t know anything.

Shadow’s instincts pull him towards the former option. Unfortunately for the hedgehog, he was semi right.

Sonic took a good minute turned away from Shadow. His hand clasped over his mouth and the other holding his stomach. Sonic reeling in his laughter and forcing not a sound to come out.

“Nono! Sorry! It’s cute!”

“Cute?” Shadow’s eyes narrow.

Sonic waves his hand, as if he’s fanning the comment away. “Never mind. Sometimes I forget you’re bioengineered. What you’re going through is a rut.”

“This better not be some kind of joke.”

Hands in the air, feigning surrender. “I’m not. You’ve probably never experienced it before because you ain’t got bitches you never had a partner. It’s the one time a year hormones go crazy. Some other Mobians also experience it too, like deer.”

Shadow’s massages his temples, processing the new information. “You’re telling me, it’s a biological signal that it is time to breed.”

“Odd way to put it but yeah, basically. Lasts about two months. What you do with that information is up to you. G’luck buddy” he gives Shadow a thumbs up and runs off.

Two whole months. Only about two and a half weeks have passed and already Shadow can’t stop thinking about you splayed on his bed begging for his touch.

[im-so-normal-iswear]

Hey so can I have a scenario where Knuckles or Shadow have a crush and this crush has a crush on him. His crush is mellow and cozy to be around. And The hyper Amy rose is their best friend. Amy’s being this crushes self appointed wingwoman and is too overly enthusiastic about it? How do knuckles or shadow deal with this? Do they notice or are they naive and think their friend Amy is just being weird?

Knuckles/Shadow x reader

Sonic may be known for being fast, but NO ONE is as fast as Amy's love detecter, as soon as either of you show the SLIGHTEST bit of attraction to each other she's going all out.

Amy will try to give you her advice (running up and smothering him) but you politely decline on that.

Knuckles:

Knuckles is usually calm, staying and keeping watch over the master emerald, so he doesn't mind your presence, he's actually catching himself starting to like it.

You, on the other hand, feel the same. Knuckles is strong, determined, and sweet in his own way. However, rather than directly confessing, you’ve been waiting for the right moment to let him know how you feel.

Of course, Amy has her own plans for the two of you.

As your best friend, she's taken it upon herself to play matchmaker. Every time you're with Knuckles, Amy's there too, loudly hinting that you two would make "the cutest couple." She's way too enthusiastic, constantly trying to shove you two into situations where you’re alone together.

Knuckles, being as blunt as he is, has no idea what Amy’s up to. He thinks she's just being well, Amy. He doesn't pick up on her behavior really and only gets flustered when Amy says something like, "Don’t you think you two would look great on a romantic picnic? Oh wait! I’ve got one packed, let’s go now!" He turns beet red at Amy's suggestions but assumes it’s just her usual meddling.

Meanwhile, you’re there, both embarrassed and secretly hoping Knuckles will take the hint.

Knuckles, still in the dark about what’s really going on, gets a little annoyed with Amy’s interruptions. He just wants to talk to you without all the added pressure, but Amy’s relentless enthusiasm is hard to escape.

Eventually, Knuckles might pull you aside, away from Amy, his face flushed. "What’s with Amy today? She’s acting...weirder than usual."

You laugh softly and give him a smile, trying to keep the situation light. "I think she’s trying to tell you something, Knuckles."

He furrows his brow, confused. "Tell me something? About what?"

You take a deep breath, your heart racing a bit. "Maybe...that I like you. You know, more than just as a friend."

Knuckles freezes, blinking at you in surprise before the realization sinks in. His face goes red, and he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Y-you like me? I-I mean, I like you too... I just didn't realize... Amy was trying to... Oh."

Shadow:

Shadow’s feelings for you are subtle, even to him. He’s not the type to be overly emotional, and he’s certainly not one to act on feelings as soon as they arise. But you, he feels calmed, your whole vibe and just personality is soothing to him. Whenever you're around, it’s easier for him to relax, even though he doesn’t show it much.

You, in turn, like Shadows mellow attitude, he's pretty calm most of the time, and is a nice refresher from things.

Enter Amy Rose, your overly enthusiastic best friend. She knows exactly how you feel and has decided to play the role of wingwoman. Shadow, however, isn’t the easiest person to deal with, especially when it comes to emotions, and Amy’s hyper attitude isn’t making things any easier.

Every time you and Shadow are together, Amy shows up with endless suggestions to push you closer.

“Oh, look! You and Shadow should totally have a quiet movie night together. I’ll even bring the snacks!”

she says, bouncing around. She throws out ideas for ‘romantic’ situations nonstop, much to Shadow’s confusion.

Unlike Knuckles, Shadow isn’t completely naive. He picks up on Amy’s strange behavior, but he doesn’t connect the dots.

He thinks Amy is being her usual meddling self, and he isn’t interested in playing along. Still, there’s a part of him that wonders why she’s pushing so hard for you two to spend time together.

Shadow is very blunt, he's not shy to confront Amy on her attitude. “What exactly are you trying to do Amy?” he asks, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

Amy, grinning wildly, “Just helping a friend out! Don’t you think you and them would be perfect together?” She wiggles her eyebrows dramatically.

Shadow blinks, taken aback by her bluntness. He turns to you, noticing how you seem a bit nervous. “Is this true? You like me?”

“Yeah, I do. But... I wasn’t exactly planning on telling you this way.”

After a long pause, he steps closer to you, his expression softening just a bit. “You should’ve told me. I don’t mind... spending more time with you. Without her interference.” He shoots Amy a quick, annoyed glance, but it’s clear he’s more focused on you now.

Amy’s excited squeal echoes in the background as she dashes off, leaving the two of you alone.

A/n: in short, Amy might not be doing the best but she's trying

[max-nico]

Sonic has been called an "overprotective big brother" over the years many times. Not his fault that Tails is small, impressionable, and reckless. He's known the kid since he was a toddler, if anyone else had been around that long they would understand too.

Or at least he thought they would, but it seems he was wrong because his own two best friends–Amy and Knuckles–are the ones who call him overprotective the most. This is a huge betrayal on their part, especially when they bring up valid points like Tails' intelligence and skill, because how could he disagree. Sonic has the coolest, most awesome and amazing, little brother ever. 

With that being said, Sonic is pretty sure he has the right to interrogate the little fox this time. He's like 90% sure his panic is warranted when he sees his little brother load and cock a very real and deadly gun. Because that kid is 9. He is 9, and he is putting on his watch and his plane gear to leave, and for some reason he needs a weapon wherever he's going. Sonic thinks he has a right to exercise at least a little big brother privilege here, honestly it would be negligent to not at least question him. 

"Hey bud. Whatcha up to?"

Tails' ear flicks toward him as he packs a few things into the Tornado. "You remember that hard drive that GUN thought they stole from me, but I actually knew they wanted it so I lowered a few of my defense systems so that they could grab it and leave me alone?"

The answer is no, Sonic has no recollection of that happening at all. Though he supposes it's his own fault for only half listening when Tails was talking. He's really gotta break that habit.

"Sure do." Sonic lies.

"Well, I actually have a little bit of data on there that I forgot to back up to another hard drive since I didn't think I needed it, so I'm going to go get it."

"And you need a weapon for that? Why don't you just ask Shadow?"

Tails finally turns to face Sonic, floating down off the Tornado and in front of Sonic. He stands with his hands on his hips, leaning just a little into his personal space. He takes the chance to absentmindedly scratch behind his little brother's ears, making him push his head into his hand.

"I did, actually. He's the one who told me to bring some weapons, he said he wants to help me improve my stealth techniques."

"Huh, and he didn't even bother to text me about it." Sonic huffs. It comes out playfully, but he won't deny being a little peeved that Shadow didn't message him. Tails is a genius and can make his own decisions, sure, but he's also not even in double digits. Sonic is literally his guardian, he feels like he should've been consulted about this. "I find that quite rude."

Tails smacks Sonic with one of his tails. The fur gets trapped in the small quills on his face, which makes his brother giggle.

"Then how do you find that, hm?"

"I find that the person who did it has another thing coming."

Sonic is so gonna fill his pillows with quills and shaving cream again. The fox constantly complains about not being able to get his quills out of any furniture, but he also got his fur stuck on Sonic's face, he figures this is pretty good retribution.

"Sure I do."

This is what Sonic means. Where did his wholesome brother go? Ignoring the fact that he has been a little menace since they first met, this is obviously team Dark's fault. Their devious ways are corrupting his little brother, who has obviously only learned nice things from him, like dad jokes and spindashing.

Tails has been constantly hanging out with team Dark for a few months now. After spending time with Rouge on Amy's last birthday he seemed to acquire a sort of childish fascination with them. Honestly, Sonic didn't really see it as a bad thing at first. They got Tails to spend more time out of his lab, and they always seemed to take care of him so Sonic had no qualms as long as Tails was having fun.

Then the habits came. Habits that Sonic had managed to completely purge a couple years back. Sure, he's not building bombs willy nilly anymore (as far as he knows anyway), but a few weeks ago Tails showed him the Empire nuclear launch codes just because he could.

Just yesterday they were having a conversation about a grocery store in station square. Amy had apparently told him that the cashier was kind of rude, so he asked if she wanted him to "blow up the entire store". She laughed and said no thanks, but when Sonic just shook his head at him Tails had the audacity to say "he'll make sure there's no one in it", as if that was the problem with what he said.

Sonic will not claim to have clean hands. He will not say he's never killed anybody on purpose or on accident, but is it so much to want to spare his brother from the same fate? Sonic still has nightmares over things like that, and even if his little brother is joking, he just can't find it in himself to laugh.

It's obvious Sonic will have to talk to Shadow and Rouge soon, he would talk to Omega as well but the robot honestly just does whatever he wants. Sonic can respect it. He cannot, however, respect Shadow and Rouge teaching his kid brother bad stuff, like how to get away with murder and other things of the like.

"I'll be back before you know it, Sonic, I swear!"

It's obvious Sonic has just missed most of the one sided conversation Tails was just having with him, he zoned out again. Damn it.

"And I'll have my communicator on me so if anything goes wrong, you'll be the first to know! I'll stay safe, Shadow will be with me."

Tails says that as if it's any comfort to Sonic. He may trust Shadow with his life but he does not trust him with children. He's sure Tails will come out physically unscathed, but mentally? This is going to be a trainwreck.

Sonic sighs. He already knows he won't be able to convince him not to go, at least not in the small timeframe he has, so he just pulls the kid in for a hug instead. "Call me as soon as you're able, okay?"

"I will, promise!"

"And if you're not back and not answering in 24 hours, I'm coming to find you myself."

"Yes, Sonic." Tails says, pulling away.

"And I'll give Shadow a piece of my mind if I have to, you know I will."

"I'm leaving now."

"And so will Knuckles and Amy!"

"Goodbye!"

"Remember what I said about calling!"

"I can't hear you anymore!"

Sonic smiles as Tails starts his plane, the kid will be fine, he knows it. After all, he's sure Shadow and Rouge know the consequences if he's not.

woe, the brothers be upon ye I wrote this in like two sittings and its barely been edited, I'll probably put this on ao3 later after I've looked at it again lol. you're welcome to hit me up in my dms or askbox, but if it's a request I would prefer my ask box lol. Remember you have to be nice to me forever and ever and ever if you decide to talk to me btw

[orchideon]

Shadow x reader jealousy hcs?

A/n: yeah! Sure I can! Thank you for requesting! Shadow’s one of my favourite sonic characters due to all the depth they have and all the lore, so I got really excited to write this one and possibly delve slightly into shadow’s psychology a bit when I saw it in my inbox! Also, don’t mind me playing around with post layout, just trying to find something that sticks, y’know? Also, I wasn’t sure if you specifically wanted the reader and shadow to be dating or not so I wrote it as they are, lmk if you wanted something different! I’m not confident in my ability to write jealousy though, so this may not be that great— I hope you enjoy it regardless, though!

Media: Sonic the hedgehog

Character: Shadow the hedgehog

Type: Romantic

❀❀❀❀

-Shadow… doesn’t want to admit these feelings of jealousy. It makes him feel inferior.

-When you’ve been hailed and called the ultimate life form for as long as you can remember, well, I figure feeling like you may not be so ultimate would weigh on you.

-He’s admittedly, at first, not sure what the feelings he’s experiencing are.

-Eventually, when he figures it out, he’s confused. Jealousy? Why? He’s the ultimate life form, why would he be…?

-He feels. More vulnerable than he would like, honestly.

-He trusts you immensely. (If he didn’t, he probably wouldn’t be. Dating you.) Logically he knows you wouldn’t betray or abandon him, but… after all he’s experienced in his life, the fear still lives quietly inside him. The fear that he’ll open his heart to someone fully once again, then he’ll lose them, or they’ll betray him, or leave completely and replace him- he’ll never voice it, though.

-…He pushes it down, though.

-There were people that saw him as a monster. What if you saw him as a monster and replaced him with someone “better”?

-When you get back to him, he’ll be a bit… touchier than normal. He’ll be quicker to hold your hand, might rest his head on your shoulder if you’re sitting.

-“…Shadow? Are you okay?”

-He responds with a noise. 

-I feel like if anyone tried to talk to you while he was like this he might just. Pick you up and leave, or, if they’re persistent, might tell them to leave, his aggression in his words depending on who it is and how persistent they were

-He just kind of wants to be alone with you. He wants your attention right now.

-He’ll also be a bit broody the rest of the day.

-God forbid sonic want anything from you shadow would be so snappy at him-

-If this were a scenario where you were being hit on by someone though……

-Shadow would be *very* quick to grab your hand, or put an arm around your shoulders and pull you into him.

-“Not interested, leave.”

-He’s staring the person down in a very intense manner. His eyes boring right into theirs.

-…if the person keeps going though-

-He’ll likely grit his teeth out of frustration, and you’ll feel his hand tighten around yours.

-Yes, he is absolutely down to fight this person if their vibes are off or they just refuse to take a hint.

-“Not. Interested.”

-He’s… sort of like a calm angry. The type you really shouldn’t mess with.

-I… think you may need to stop him, because he might legitimately fight this person if they don’t stop.

-After this goes down, whether he fought the person or not, he’ll just want to go home and spend the rest of the day with you.

-just… a lot’s happened in his life, and… some of that still effects him and his actions.

-…He’s almost like a guard dog or something when it comes to your safety, though at the moment… maybe it’s best not to speak that comparison aloud for now.

[fluideli123]

Sonadow Fic Rec

Okay, before you jump down to the masterpieces listed below, I just wanted to state this:

These authors have given this phenomenal content for free, baked with time and effort. I have never once ignored this, hence why I try and comment on each and every one of these fics. However, my energy and ability to be verbose differs day to day. Some of these fics I have not given proper comments for, despite this, I will be on it the moment I can be. In the time being, (once I am able to find my comments on each of these fics) I will be sharing my adoration for them further in other posts (and most likely link back to this one).

With that being said, please, PLEASE take your time to check each of these fics out. If they're not your cup of tea? Valid! But hands down I have never dedicated myself to making a fic rec like this until now. But I MUST share and spread these works, they are much too dear to me not to, and I mean that from the bottom of my heart.

(All fics are listed by order saved in my bookmarks, not in the order read)

tangled threads and bite-marked shoulders by @rubyiiiusions

Words: 32,287 | Series | Complete

Shadow hissed in pain. The laser had just grazed him, but it still stung, and he instinctively gripped the wound it left on his arm. “You dare-” He stopped. The laser hadn’t hit him. In fact, it had struck Sonic, right on his lower left arm. So why did his forearm feel like it just got shot? He whipped around, fear climbing up his throat, and he suddenly became hyper-aware of something new. It was like a sixth sense, feeling the confusion that emitted from Sonic’s fur in waves as if it was his own. “What did you do?!” Shadow snarled. or, eggman accidentally soulbinds shadow and sonic, and no one has any idea how to undo it.

Sleepwalking by Tirainy

Words: 22,117 | Complete

'There is a strong arm curled around his torso, the appendage keeping him close to its owner, whose warm breath is ghosting over the back of his neck. Sonic is sure he went to bed alone the previous night, but he isn't worried about the intruder. After all, this isn't the first time this has happened…'

Secret Admirer by @trenchcoat-gecko

Words: 24,313 | Complete

Sonic understood well what it meant to be loved. He was a world-famous hero, after all; his presence never went unnoticed. For the most part, he lavished in that attention, he soaked it in and encouraged it. But not romantic attention. So, when the blue blur found himself falling in love? Well, the prospect was rather daunting, no matter how easy Amy had made it out to be. So maybe, just maybe, he should just take the easy way out...

Rose Drops Series by @magicstormfrostfire

Words: 122,489 | Series | Complete

Love, Intuition, and a little bit of magic ensues as Amy sends Sonic and Shadow on an unforgettable adventure.

Wolfboy by @trenchcoat-gecko

Words: 73,856 | Complete

World-famous monster hunter Shadow the Hedgehog has a job to do. It doesn't take long for the one-shot wonder to realize that this job won't be as simple as he'd expected: a small town, rumors of a lone werewolf, and a handsome, green-eyed, chronically-injured casanova who manages to worm his way into Shadow's heart... What starts off as a simple job turns out to be something much more life-changing.

Blizzard Bedfellows by @magicstormfrostfire

Words: 21,294 | Complete

When a rare blizzard takes over the island, Sonic is on the run to make sure a certain angry loner is safe and sound. Y-you know, because...uh that's what heroes do.

We never met but can we have a cup of coffee or something? by @whitejungle

Words: 3,630 | Complete

It's been almost two months since Sonic lost someone he didn't even know, but he can't stop thinking about it.

Clean Slate by nottheweirdest

Words: 155,880 | Complete | Note: Squeal pending and I am cheering you on author!! Whatever you decide I am excited to support you!!

Shadow has lost himself before. He knows what it's like to straddle the line between reality and false memories, but this time, it’s Sonic whose memory has vanished. A premeditated set of circumstances and an accidental injury leave Sonic with no memory of who he is, his life, or more importantly, his painful history with Shadow. It’s up to Shadow to remind the hero who he is in the midst of a global outbreak. It’s a chance for redemption. It’s a chance to right the wrongs of the past. It’s a clean slate.

say i reckon (i love you, for a millisecond) by @redamancering

Words: 30,205 | Complete

There’s a hand on his shoulder, barely making contact. A red gauntlet glows around the wrist. Sonic blinks, the pain having evaporated so fast he feels almost weightless. “Shadow?” Shadow’s breathing heavily. “Problem.” The retrieval of the ancient tech Shadow (and Sonic, in tow) has been sent to uncover takes a turn for the worst. In this case, the “worst” means… becoming physically and inextricably linked to each other. For the foreseeable future. OR: Metaphysical handcuffs, and general gay buffoonery.

Judge my sins, not my feelings by yellothebeeloved

Words: 228,479 | Complete | Note: Possible one-shots pending from the author for the series, I am here to support you author!! What ever you decide I'm here for it!

Maybe he's not meant to touch. It's the newest excuse he thought of in hopes that he could prolong the game a little more; a careful ruse to enjoy the bittersweet torture of seeing the days pass them by, while he pretends he doesn't seek azure blue whenever he's restless. At first, all he wanted to do was watch: but now the desire to touch, to have, to affect is at a point where he's not sure whether reaching for Sonic would truly be fruitless. He wonders that especially when Sonic's eyes light up upon seeing him. When he corners Shadow, when he invades his space and he touches and takes and then excuses it by calling it a fight. Shadow truly wonders then: if only he was brave enough to reach out, what would his grip find? Loose stars or a battle-worn body? Standing up, he glances at Sonic again, whose eyes have now met his own. There's something heavy in the eye contact, something Shadow doesn't dare name. Neither of them say anything, and yet Sonic's eyes move away from him again, like they did. Shadow warps away, hiding from the stars once more.

Child of Prophecy by @trenchcoat-gecko

Words: 139,321 | Completed

On the night the Mobius Castle was ransacked, the Queen received a prophecy. “One of three will not cry; send him down the river, for you can only save your kingdom if he does not grow up royal.”

Coming Home by nottheweirdest

Words: 55,740 | Completed

Shadow's life has been full of mistakes, some worse than others, but admitting his unrequited feelings to Sonic tops the list. He's spent the better part of a decade ruminating on his regret and hiding from feelings he couldn't bear to face. He never thought he'd see Sonic again, and he told himself that was for the best. Until now. At the bequest of his former rival, and in an attempt to finally get closure, Shadow has returned to Central City. The reason? Sonic the Hedgehog is marrying Amy Rose. And Shadow is invited.

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Reading the fleetway Sonic comic now and

I'm convinced that Tails is his special little guy??

I mean, he's an asshole, no doubt, but he passes up a party (mind you, he loves being celebrated as a hero so much) to go looking for Tails

He goes looking at his "favorite place" and literally dons shades and a worse attitude at learning Tails was taken

He genuinely cares about him as his buddy? Sure he complains about him or insults hin fairly often, but he clearly likes having Tails around enough to want him back??

Are we gonna talk about how Tails breaks free from Robotnik's control because he can't bear to keep hurting Sonic, because he cares?

This scene too reminds me so much of that scene from Fang the Hunter issue 1 where Tails called for Sonic and Sonic bid himself to be patient and not lash out because Tails is his friend. Like again, Fleetway!Sonic is an asshole, but he's holding back when it comes to Tails even a little bit

There's just constant proof whenever Tails is put in danger or captured that Sonic cares about his well-being. In fact he cares so much he just kind of is just indifferent about those he puts in danger by zeroing in on saving Tails (and those he saves he doesn't necessarily save with intent to). In this issue specifically, Sonic, the animal companions with him, and an unconscious Tails get washed away in a current of water, and rather than worry about his own well-being or those of his companions, he yells at them to keep ahold of Tails in the water so he can take care of the badnik.

Personally I feel like this sequence speaks for itself? Although Sonic is fairly confident, he risks his life on the chance that he can steer the Death Egg off course (and we're not even factoring in whether he can escape in time), and sends Tails away in the only escape pod. He literally gambles his life on this act of saving Emerald Hill and worries first about securing Tails', even if only Tails may end up escaping.

There's also the setting? Tails crying for Sonic and calling him the bravest hedgehog he ever met, Sonic reacting like he didn't just narrowly avoid death and that Tails is just stating the obvious, the two of them floating down in the escape pod during the sunset

I don't have the picture space to show it, but there's also another part of this issue where Sonic continuously nags Tails to stay out of danger and to let him handle everything alone, and then (after falling into a trap), starts talking to himself about how glad he is that Tails wasn't around to see him make such a rookie mistake. It's easy to read as Sonic always leaving Tails behind because he doesn't think much of him or thinks he'll be in the way, but I don't think that's completely true! I get the idea that Fleetway Sonic likes having his buddy around just as much as he wants his buddy to be safe. So he brings him around everywhere he can, but he forces him to hang back during the dangerous bits. And that's not to mention how this issue showed just how much Sonic values Tails' opinion of him.

And BOY does this scene get me

It's like

This is the first time Super Sonic ever appears in StC. Are we going to ignore that Fleetway!Super Sonic stops attacking and reverts back into regular Sonic because of Tails?

This is like Mecha Sonic in Archie's Mecha Madness special all over again, except Fleetway!Super Sonic is under no one's control. He stopped attacking because Tails bids him to remember them.

There's just so many little things about them in my reading so far that I almost can't believe it (and would hit the tumblr photo limit a number of times if I were to show it off)

If I had to label their relationship in StC, I'd say that, to Tails, Sonic is someone he admires greatly. He doesn't seem to be fond of Sonic's attitude (largely when it's aimed at those other than himself), and he expresses criticism as to how vain Sonic is and his eating choices, but ultimately he cares about Sonic enough to stick around with him and go on adventures from time to time. For Sonic, I think Tails is someone he secretly likes having around. He often criticizes him, and depending on his mood he'll do it whenever he gets an opening, but he's also just...bad at feelings. When Tails is in danger, he'll zero in on saving him, almost above all else, and then when he saves Tails he's going off about how he can't trust Tails to be alone, angry and annoyed. He's a jerk, but a jerk who cares more than he lets on about Tails. Tails isn't just some admirer, he's important to him, and at the same time, Tails' is someone whose opinion of him he values. Ahsjsjs and....he's also the kind of guy who would say something like "Hey, that's enough! Only I get to bully Tails!"

Is their relationship healthy? No😂 But also in StC it also comes off like...they're both choosing this. Despite everything they choose to be buddies

Idk I'm fascinated so far😂

The Sonic the asshole and his special little fox

[punkinspice]

what r your shadow headcanons?! 👀

👀🖤 Ooooo oh my gosh!!! Thank you for asking op! A lot of them I have are kind of inspired a looot on the future AU I have, and starts from basically the beginning of his life to the potential end... so let's see where this goes...

(Disclaimers: This is written like a week before SXShG comes out so until we learn the new crazy information that I'm sure is going to rock all of our headcanons and theories for better and the worse, this is what I've got for now. Also I base this all on the two world theory, of Earth and Sonic's world being separate universes but currently are being brought together with Chaos Energy and that perhaps a lot of the Earth's magic/energy/gods have somehow been awoken with Chaos Energy, which may have caused the worlds to be open to each other... if that makes sense...😅)

ANYWAY, LETS GO

-Gerald/GUN had been messing with the possibility of interdimensional travel for a long time and were eventually able to tap into Chaos Energy, which allowed for the ability of Gerald to be able to do research on Sonic's planet, and for GUN to find and collect the chaos emeralds.

-Gerald needed dna from the (at least what he thinks) is the local chaos emerald's planet because any of the human or animal dna that they've been using back on earth isn't strong enough to withhold the energy of the emeralds and falls apart.

-Shadow is a hedgehog possibly because the part of the planet Gerald was researching was an ancient burial ground of a people who worshipped the Chaos Emeralds and figured it would be easiest to abstract ancient alien hedgehog dna from bones (Jurassic Park Style) rather than upsetting the rest of the planet because who knows what it could unleash, and the last thing GUN needs is ANOTHER alien invasion.

-Speaking of Aliens, the Black Arms were brought in as both a way to appeal Doom's promise of invading again, but also because Gerald needed something genetically stronger that would be able to withstand chaos energy.

-Shadow was supposed to be the start of an underground program of developing super soldiers for GUN but obviously due to the raid, that was shut down.

-We know that chaos is power, power enriched by the heart, and part of the reason so many experiments failed was because the energy could not properly bond without a positive influence, hence the need for Maria's pure heart and soul.

-The Black arms blood only acted as a bonding agent for the chaos energy to sustain the life form they were creating.

-Gerald incorporated the aspect of putting Maria's Soul/heart into Shadow behind Doom's back, and in so doing saving Shadow's life from being able to be completely overtaken by Doom. (Maria helped save his life too 🥺😭)

-Shadow has the same amount of Chaos Energy coursing through his body as an actual chaos emerald.

-His inhibitor rings act like both a seal and storage of his chaos power. Without them the energy would burn away to quickly to be able to regenerate and it would eventually kill him. Eggman is the only one so far known be able to rebuild perfect replicas to replace them (Heroes)

-He uses his inhibitor rings to store chaos energy to use as spears/snapping/skating etc.

-He skates using excess chaos energy that he burns off.

-Due to having so much chaos energy in him, he doesn't get as cold as easily or quickly and can go a little longer without eating. Though if he has recently done a chaos blast or gone super, he definitely notices a drain on his energy and gets really hungry.

-Shadow was only a few years conscious/old on the Ark when the raid happened.

-Shadow is currently deep in his grieving process, but doesn't even know he's grieving. All he knows is that he feel safer and more in control when he's alone and isn't really able to explain or understand why he's so angry.

-Shadow is deeply afraid of accidentally hurting those around him and self-isolates as a way to protect them.

-Sometimes he can feel the amount of energy coursing through him and it scares him. He doesn't fully understand how powerful he really is, or what the limits to his power even are.

-Despite his friends constantly telling him otherwise, Shadow thinks that he really is nothing more than a conscious weapon and doesn't deserve to be anything more.

-He deals with a looooooot of self loathing and survivors guilt, that often comes out as pride and bravado.

-He gradually gets his memories of the events of SA2 after being rescued in Heroes, and was a little hurt at first as to why Rouge hadn't told him everything initially... They had a long complicated talk about it, but soon Shadow realized that how would you even begin to tell someone the things that happened to him.

-Chaos energy eventually will heal his brain of the damage done from the brainwashing and manipulating that Gerald did.

-He is a naturally quiet, reserved and introverted person, but unfortunately the trauma he's suffered kicked it all into overdrive and now socializing is exhausting and awkward.

-Being in cities for too long overwhelms him.

-He is incredibly intelligent and a brilliant strategist, but technology and computers often stump him and it frustrates him (bless)

-Babies and chao are strangely drawn to him. I think they're able to instinctually sense the inherently calming and healing aura he has, and was originally intended to have. This does confuse and fluster him greatly. 😂

-As Shadow heals and moves on he gradually gets more of a sense of humor. It is a dry sense of humor though, and he can get very very sarcastic.

-Rouge was the first person he really allowed himself to get close to or trust himself to be safe around.

-He eventually goes back to live in Sonic's dimension and to suddenly be in a world where everything fits him was a weird adjustment to get used to.

-Shadow sleeps on his back, and only starts to snore when he feels safe and calm.

-Shadow does age, but he ages very very slowly. (think Logan/Wolverine) There will eventually come a time where he notices that he's stopped aging alongside his friends.

-Sometime in the future, Shadow will discover that his powers also have the ability to heal. And he eventually is known to be as great a healer as much as he is a warrior.

-Due to his healing abilities it will lead him to the Master Emerald where Knuckles helps teach him how to meditate and be able to connect with that deeper spiritual aspect that there is to chaos energy.

-He guards the Master Emerald for a time after Knuckles and everyone else is eventually gone... both as a sense of respect and purpose but for solitude and space to grieve again.

-He will have to watch all of his current friends die... but he does become a guardian and a stable rock of guidance and wisdom that the future generations can depend on.

-Shadow is Silver's great great great (idk how many greats) grandfather, and got to see him be born, but due to a calamity threatening the planet was unable to be there for him to help him grow up.

-Shadow and Omega both go out in a blaze of glory together as companions and dear friends as they save the world together to give it a second chance to survive...

AND THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW... I'm sure I'm forgetting some and will have more come to me later, but I'll start with these.

G o s h so much of Shadow's story is just... so sad. There's so much healing, hope, love and purpose in there too... but at the cost of great sadness... and I think a lot of us can relate to that in deep personal ways. And I think that's what makes Shadow so important and special to us as a character.

[astral-disastral-catastral]

Headcanon Time!!!!

✧ He has multiple extra limbs and organs excluding eyes [.e.g. 3 arms and 3 hands, 3 hearts, 2 brains 1 extra layer of dough which the average cookie does not have that he doesn't always display] which are all functional! He likes to scare others with it.

✧ His bones don't have nearly as much sugar as most cookies [what makes cookie bones hard and sturdy] so he's concerningly flexible hence all the 90° head cocking and odd bodily positions aswell as being hypermobile [but it doesn't often cause him pain]. Funfact: he could turn his head 360° if he wanted to.

✧ When he falls asleep, the eyes on his head are closed like his actual eyes so they look like they're not there.

✧ Has a habit of biting other cookies near him that he finds hard to control/stop doing.

✧ Has purposefully eaten more than 1 cookie and very much derived joy from doing so [he thought they tasted good. Or atleast some of them did… he just killed the ones he didn't like or used them for something else].

✧ If you were to chop off any of his limbs, .e.g. his arms or legs or hands, they would regenerate quickly or he would just re-attatch them and say something like “ow” very nonchalantly.

✧ Regularly shapeshifts into things that aren't him .e.g. animals and other cookies like the ancients [mainly PV] for the fun of it, if he's bored, or to taunt and trick others.

✧ The weird looking sonic’s quills on his head is a hat!! His actual hair is light blue and white, flows majestically, is long enough to touch the ground if he decides to stop floating around all the time for once, and is very liquidy but doesn't feel wet at all [it's more soft and fluffy and smooth to the touch if anything…]. He doesn't like his hair that way and is insecure about it and it makes him angrier than he wishes to be so he always keeps his hat on. Or is it a wig or something??

✧ Is extremely touchy with PV and absolutely does not give a care in the world about boundaries. Refuses to leave him alone 80% of the time [he legit always less than 30cm away from him].

✧ The sorest loser in the world he WILL throw a fit if he cannot win something and will go out of his way to win no matter what, whether it's cheating, killing, you name it!

✧ For any cookie that isn't a beast or unconventionally massive, he's practically a giant but out of all the beasts, he's the shortest one.

✧ Sprawls out the most uncalled unwanted unnecessary unasked unfiltered comments whenever and wherever blatantly [sometimes he does it intentionally and sometimes he doesn't even get it's the wrong time or wrong at all].

✧ Really likes puppets [like a lot oh my lord]

↑ Has possessed/controlled PV various times on various occasions and has no regrets doing so.

✧ Mythomania/Pseudologia Fantastica.

✧ Enjoys drawing, scribbling, doodling and the taste/smell of crayons [regularly uses them].

✧ Acts like a 5 year old having a sugar rush 90% of the time and complains non-stop if he becomes bored and will do too much to find something to entertain himself to no longer be bored, whatever that may be…

✧ Funfact: i love him to an unhealthy extent he's my son i love him oh my god my gallery of him is almost at 2000+ images.

✧ Has weird patterns all over his body [it's a part of his dough and he cannot get rid of it anymore].

✧ His hair is completely sentient for some strange reason [he could move individual strands if he wanted to like they're extra arms and hands].

✧ Can probably play the Accordion perfectly [referencing circus of shadows…]

[soft-shake]

before i go way down

Winter was one of the seasons that Shadow preferred. Overall he liked spring more, but winter always had a feeling of comfort. It made his legs and hands ache, but he still felt more welcomed by the freezing temperatures. Currently, it is the cusp of spring, the tail end of the winter season. The weather is unpredictable, with it being warm one day and then freezing the next.

It makes Shadow tired, and causes his body to pulse in pain. Shadow resided on the balcony of their apartment, a good size for the three of them. It was spacious enough for Omega to sit with him and Rouge, usually when it was a good temperature for the sensitive bat.

It was freezing at the moment, and while he had fantastic temperature regulation, it didn’t stop him from shivering slightly. He warmed himself up by sipping his black tea, which he was emptying slowly. 

He was alone for a week while Omega and Rouge were out on separate missions, and he has felt their absence more than usual. Omega wouldn’t be home for another three days, and Rouge was supposed to be home sometime tonight.

Shadow didn’t have many missions during the winter, or at least he tried to avoid them. Cold irritated him when he was stuck outside for long stretches of time, plus it just made it harder to move. His body would just ache and hurt, and it’s not necessarily convenient to have his cane or a wheelchair while doing a stealth mission.

Today, however, wasn’t too bad. He could move somewhat effortlessly, but he still took some pain medication here and there. His cane was somewhere in the apartment, put in a spot where he could get it without much trouble. 

The cane itself wasn’t anything special, just  a plain black cane with some stickers he allowed Cream to go crazy with. When he had shown up to Sonic’s with it for the first time, the blue hedgehog just acted like nothing was abnormal. He did comment on it being boring, but that was expected. It made Shadow feel normal. Well, as normal as he could feel.

Shadow sighs, the loneliness really setting in.

The past week was exhausting, full of bad days and restless nights, filled with awful and miserable nightmares that made it hard for him to look in the mirror. He knew being holed up in the apartment was bound to make it worse, but he didn’t have much to do outside of sit around and complete paperwork. He played some games that Rouge picked out for him, but other than that the week was uneventful.

Sonic reached out a couple of times to check in, which Shadow appreciated. He wasn’t going to tell him that, though. 

The breeze felt good on his fur, even if it hit his skin with a bite. The blanket he brought out wasn’t enough, thinking back on it. Shadow blew his breath into the air, seeing it float away into the chilly wind. He smiled a small smile, taking a sip from his tea.

Placing the mug down on the table from his lap, Shadow stretched his limbs, savoring the slight stretch and yawning. Really, he shouldn’t even be tired. He spent all day watching some of the movies in his “must watch” catalogue. 

He did enjoy the relief from not wearing his skates. They were heavy, and sometimes the weight of them were overbearing on his legs. He had them somewhere; the apartment was a bit of a mess. (At least to his standards). 

He felt something wet on his nose. Snow. The forecast did mention it. That was his signal to go inside with the warmth, where he wouldn’t be agitated by the dampness on his fur. The hedgehog gets up on aching legs, mug in hand, and limps back inside through the sliding door.

He makes sure said door is sealed shut and locked before turning his attention to the apartment. The living room wasn’t messy, but it could do with a tidying up. His room was most likely worse, since he burrowed himself in there most of the week. 

Cleaning was always somewhat therapeutic for him. He preferred a clean home, which was most likely due to the impeccable cleanliness of the ARK. The cleaning hopefully will allow the hedgehog to reset his brain. 

He works his way through the kitchen, tidying up any crumbs that were left, and cleaning off some of the dishes he used within the past two days. He decides to leave Rouge and Omega’s rooms alone, since it really wasn’t his space to enter. 

Shadow folds any blankets, neatens the pillows, and wipes the coffee table, his brain pleasantly buzzing with preoccupation. He mentally prepares for his own room, knowing it’s worse off. 

When he does eventually get there, Shadow finds it really could have been worse. There was a singular bowl and spoon, and a mug that he had forgotten to put into the sink. The bed was unkempt, but that was the easiest fix. 

Shadow hoped that Rouge would be home soon. He probably wouldn’t say it, but he did miss her. The apartment was too quiet.

“Shadow?” Rouge’s voice carries through the apartment, and it bounces off the white walls. He doesn’t like that they’re white, but they can’t paint it, which upsets him.

He thinks it reminds him too much of the ARK.  

“In my room!” He calls out with a rough voice, raspy from days of no use. He hasn’t spoken a full sentence in a while, but it does feel nice to talk to someone. Once he finishes the final touches on his room, Shadow looks outside his window. It’s snowing in thick flurries, covering the landscape in a thin blanket of snow.

It’s not very much, and it’ll definitely melt through the night. He hopes Cream enjoys it. 

Shadow feels the chill just by looking outside, so Shadow decides to put on his favorite hoodie. The material was soft, and the color reminded him of Maria’s dress. Maybe that was why he wanted it.

Eventually, he makes his way to the living room after a minute of adjusting his spines. No wonder Sonic barely wore anything, and why sometimes Amy would irritatedly adjust her dresses. 

When he entered the now tidy space, Rouge was nowhere to be seen. For some reason, it causes a pit to well in his chest, anxiousness creeping in. She’s just unpacking, he tells himself. It’s just one of those days. 

Rouge emerges from her bedroom, in a simple silk blue sleep dress. It was a very deep blue, a color Shadow thought looked pretty on her. But then again, Rouge looked good in everything. Even without makeup, which she currently doesn’t have on.

The bat is quiet, which is uncharacteristic of her. It makes the knot in his chest tighten. The mission must have been grueling. Shadow suddenly feels guilty for not going with her. 

“Don’t brood, sweetie. It’s not a good look on you.” She says teasingly, waving him off. Shadow’s ears flatten out of embarrassment. She always knew what he was feeling without even looking at him. It filled him with joy almost as much as it scared him. The bat shuffles to the couch, the tiredness evident on her face. 

“Hungry?” 

Shadow nods, sitting beside her but choosing to speak. Despite barely doing anything, he’s exhausted. The painkillers he took earlier have definitely kicked in.

“Chinese food?” Shadow nods again. Rouge orders from her phone, and Shadow thinks about things they can watch to pass the time, and it occupy his busy brain. 

He settles on Spirited Away for now, since it’s something that makes him feel better on bad days, plus he and Rouge have seen it enough times to probably recite the script. 

Surprisingly, he stumbled on the film on his own. He wanted to try it, and Rouge had somehow never seen it.

“I don’t really do cutesy movies.” She had said. She ended up watching the whole thing with him. 

After that night, Shadow looked to Ghibli films for comfort, especially when it was he, Rouge, and Omega. Despite Omega not being home, Shadow let himself enjoy the company he had.

The weight of his absence was noticeable, and Shadow found himself straining his ears to hear Omega’s whirs and comments, despite him being gone. He could really go for a nap on Omega’s shoulder right about now. 

“The food’s ordered,” Rouge says mostly to herself. “Did you want anything else?”

“I’m okay.” 

If Rouge is worried, she doesn’t show it, just relaxes her body next to him. He really doesn’t feel too bad physically, just overtly anxious for an unknown reason. The worst yet, there might not be a reason at all. 

He yawns again, and melts into the couches warm embrace.

                       .      .      . 

He must have dozed off at some point, because the movie progressed much further. It was about halfway through, so it must have been a brief nap. His nose is alerted to the scent of fresh food, and his stomach growls comically loud. Rouge laughs at it, and Shadow feels himself smile. 

When the bag of food is placed on the coffee table, Shadow realizes how hungry he truly is. He hasn’t eaten much, mostly because he hadn’t had the energy to grocery shop. Plus, food sometimes tended to be a challenge. But he feels hungry enough now to eat plenty. 

“How was the mission?” Shadow knows the answer, but he can’t help but ask. She does the same for him. She sighs heavily and stretches her wings, and he notices her wince from the strain. 

“God, it sucked. Flying the entire time was a pain, and I sprained a wing.” She says annoyedly, and Shadow reassures himself it’s not aimed at him. Doesn’t stop his mind from racing, but it’s a win in his book. 

“I’m sorry.” It wasn’t his fault, he knows that. But he had the overwhelming urge to say it. Rouge huffs a laugh and gently bonks her head to his. 

“Don’t be, it’ll be fine in the morning.” Shadow smiles in understanding, despite still thrumming with anxiety. It probably will be fine tomorrow. 

The snow was slowing down from what he can see out of the corner of his eye, which most likely meant that it would stop soon. No wonder he felt gross today.  

“How was your week?” He hears Rouge ask him and redirects his focus to her. He thought about his answer. It wasn’t too bad, but it really could have been better. 

He shrugs. “It was okay. Just very lazy.” He decides to leave out the less fortunate parts.

It’s not important, and he doesn’t want to sour the warm mood with the gruesome things his brain conjures up. 

“Anything from Blue?” Her voice is laced with a teasing smile, but she doesn’t try to hide her genuine curiosity. He pretends he doesn’t blush.

“He checked in once or twice. I think he’s worried about me.” Shadow says and mentally kicks himself for being too honest. It’s not that big of a deal, Rouge isn’t very judgemental. At least towards him. There’s a small silence that really doesn’t do well for his racing thoughts. 

“Does he need to be worried?” She presses, no longer smiling, but still reassuring somehow. Shadow breathes out, staring at the ceiling in thought. Shadow doesn’t think he’s worthy of worrying over, he’s gone on this long without being fussed over.

But Sonic and Rouge don’t fuss. Not really. 

“Maybe. I don’t know.” He says honestly. Rouge hums in understanding, and puts her noodles down to lean back against the couch. It frustrates him sometimes, not knowing how to feel about his own emotions.

He doesn’t know if he is okay. He wants to be, but he has no idea how he’ll be tomorrow. She looks at him and seems to ponder for a moment. 

“It’s okay to not know. Sometimes you just can’t put it into words.” She says, her ears twitching with anxiety. She gets anxious when it comes to giving reassurance, it’s not in her comfort zone. His chest fills with emotion for her, because of the fact she’s trying.  

Rouge is probably right, he really doesn’t have an exact name for his feelings, and he can’t verbalize them the right way without it sounding incredibly concerning. He breathes in sharply, his throat tightening for an unknown reason.

It was times like this when he missed Maria the most. Rouge takes this as a sign to lean a bit closer to him. 

Shadow sinks into the warmth of Rouge, feeling the quilt on him and the bat get tighter around the two of them. They sit in silence as Spirited Away ends, and Rouge decides to put on Howl’s Moving Castle next. Shadow is still anxious, and his heart is beating a bit too fast.

Rouge takes it upon herself to clean up the mess from their dinner as the film progresses, and Shadow drowns out the sound of dishes being washed.

She makes her way back to the couch after what feels like ages and gets settled next to him once more. He rests his head on her shoulder and debates bringing up their conversation again. 

"I really don’t know." He admits. She doesn't stir, just sits and absorbs the knowledge. Eventually, he feels her breath in sharply, as if debating what to do next.

He wants to apologize because he doesn't want her to lose sleep over him. He doesn't want her to think of him differently. 

"That's okay," She says, her hand holding his with care. "No one needs you to know everything, hon. I don't think you're weak for it, just like how you wouldn't think I'm weak for it." She says it so simply, like it's an obvious answer. Like he should know that.

Shadow was never told that. Gerald wasn't a great parent; never outwardly abusive, but Shadow remembers being brushed off by him and medical staff often.

He wasn't supposed to have health problems, or even mental health problems. He was just made to save Maria. He didn't, and now he feels like he's lost his purpose. 

"I'm sorry." 

"For what, dear?"

"For being high-maintenance." He doesn't have any other way of saying it. There isn't another way. Shadow feels Rouge turn to look at his sad form, jostling his body. He tries not to whine as the cold seeps into the blanket where he was warm.

"Sweetie, you aren't high-maintenance," she stares at him with a confused and worried expression, her brows knitted together. "You just need more help. That's nothing to be ashamed of," She squeezes his hand that is still in her own as she smiles reassuringly. “It’s okay to need help.”

He fights the urge to apologize again, knowing she’ll look at him funny.

They settle back again into the couch, and Shadow feels a bit more at ease. Sometimes though, he wonders why Rouge is so kind to him.

She's very different in front of everyone else, and part of him is happy she can break the façade with him and Omega. The other part of him is worried that he's being pitied instead of being cared for, but he knows he isn’t

He pushes it out of his mind.

                     .           .         .                                                                                              

He doesn’t know how long he and Rouge stayed on the couch, but it must have been a while.

The two are snuggled closely, the TV on but nothing playing. It really does shock him how much he loves these small moments. 

The apartment is silent save for the wind outside, and the sound of the bustling city. It was some of the best rest he’d had all week, his mind blissfully clear of nightmares and fear. Shadow, still groggy, thought briefly to his bed, but he really was comfortable. 

His joints ached a little, but he wasn’t really surprised about that. Sleeping on a couch isn’t the best experience.

Rouge only stirs slightly, most likely from the movement that Shadow makes as he gets in a better position. He’s stiff all over, and the couch being small makes it hard for him to be completely comfortable.

He likes having Rouge close, it makes him feel safer.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp buzzing beside him, where his phone sat on the coffee table. Shadow doesn't get up to look right away, his body is too comfortable for moving, and risking Rouge waking up.

He knows that he needs to look, it could be G.U.N sharing a late file, or even requesting him for a mission. He really hopes not. 

After a few moments, he reached his arm to get the phone and check whatever notification disturbed him.

Shadow doesn't have many apps, he found no use for them, but he liked the ones he did have. He was more surprised to see that Sonic had messaged him, rather than G.U.N. 

Sonic: do u wanna hang tmrw?

It wasn't unusual for Sonic and him to hang out, but it was unusual for the blue hedgehog to text him at this hour.

Sure, Shadow texted Sonic at night whenever he needed help sleeping, but Sonic never was the one to reach out to him first. 

It made Shadow stiffen with anxiety. What if something was wrong somehow? He filed the thought for later, too tired to work himself into a frenzy. His curiosity about what the blue hedgehog had planned overrode any other emotion. 

Shads!:  What will we be doing?

Sonic:  idk just hang out ig

Shads!: Okay. Do you want to meet somewhere?

Sonic: the coffee shop by ur place is fine, i thot youd wanna get out of the house :))

It was oddly sweet, and it made Shadow's chest swell with emotion. Sonic was very caring when he needed to be, and knew that Shadow most likely had a bad week.

Sonic somehow had a sixth sense for his friends and those he cared for. He was endlessly patient, which was a gift and a curse. Shadow is always unnerved by it, especially because he literally tried to take over the world. Several times. 

When he asks why, Sonic just brushes it off, and says something about how people deserve second chances. 

Shadow has a hard time believing that. Some people don’t. 

Despite his anxieties, Shadow has been wanting to see Sonic. He won’t admit it to anyone, but he misses the blue hedgehog more than he likes to. 

Shads!: I'd like that. Around 12?

Sonic:  you got it boss 

Shadow decides to ignore the excitement for seeing Sonic in favor of much needed rest. He wants to be at least semi lucid. 

Rouge will most likely act calm and collected, but he knows she’ll be happy he’s up and moving, especially after being cooped up all week. She also will be happy to have the place for herself for a bit. She really values her alone time. 

Today was alright. Hopefully tomorrow will be much better. 

For now, though, he sleeps.

[myymi]

wrote this in three hours cause my other angst fics aren't close enough to finish so it's not as good as it can be but i wanted to put the imagery in everyone's brain lmao

happy broken bond sunday everyone <3

Sonic and Tails were angry.

Which isn't entirely unusual for them during fights, Knuckles notes as his fist collides with another motobug.

But this time it was different.

This time, they were angry with each other.

Knuckles has heard about them fighting before, but this is the first time he's ever seen it happen. It's such a surreal, unthinkable situation and yet it was happening right before his very eyes.

The usual witty banter the brothers would shout to rile up their human nemesis was completely gone, replaced by a silence that hung heavy with anger as the destroyed badniks in a much more aggressive manner. (Knuckles didn't think Tails could ever get more explosive than he was, but he was very quickly proven wrong today.)

Eggman seemed to notice the change too, unsurprisingly. He kept poking them about it, curious about their silence.

Knuckles, while not one to usually mediate fights, tried to get some information. But when he'd ask them, he'd be shrugged off with a grumble.

It was a little worrying, to be honest.

Knuckles freezes when there's another explosion, but this time accompanied by a loud yelp. He turned to the sky, eyes searching for the little fox that was handling the buzzbombers just in time to watch as he fell.

Smoked trailed him, and Knuckles quiet prayed that the way it looked like it was coming from the kid's tails was just a trick of the eye.

But before the echidna got to even think about running to catch the fox, a blue of blue shot through the air, taking Tails with it.

Sonic was behind Knuckles a second later, trusting him to provide cover as he looked over Tails’ injuries.

But as soon as he was put down, the fox pushed his brother away. “I'm fine.’

“No, you're not.” Sonic argued, wrapping a paw around the youngest’s arm to drag him closer again, “Stop acting like this.”

“Leave me alone, Sonic.” Tails frowned, trying to tug his arm back. “Despite what you think, I can take care of myself.”

“For the love of Chaos, Tails, really?” Knuckles’ brow furrowed as listened to the quiet argument. What happened between them? “You're being dramatic.”

“That's so ironic coming from you of all people.” The kit argued back, rolling his eyes.

“In case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a battle right now, Tails.” Sonic leaned down to be at eye level with the little fox, “We don't have time to deal with this tantrum.”

“Because that's all it is, right?” Tails grumbled, pushing the hedgehog away. “All you ever do is deal with me, huh?

“If you would stop being a brat every time I do something you don't like then I wouldn't have to deal with anything, would I?” Knuckles could feel his expression morph in a mix of shock and anger. What had gotten into these two?

When he turned around to check on his brothers, he could see how Tails’ eyes were shining with tears. Knuckles never liked it when the fox cried.

Sonic didn't seem to fully understand what he said until he saw the expression on the youngest’s face. His eyes immediately filled with regret as he processed his own words.

Tails sniffed and scrubbed at his eyes, backing away when Sonic reached out for him. “I'm so sorry adopting a mangey child wasn't the happily ever after you were hoping for, Sonic.” Is the last thing the kid said before turning and flying back into the battle.

“Tails, wait!” Sonic shouted after him, but heavily groaned when he realized the kid wouldn't listen to him. He ran a paw down his face as he stared after his little brother.

“What happened between you and the kid.” Knuckles demanded more than asked, roughly turning Sonic to face him. This is the first time he's ever seen the hedgehog make Tails cry and he wanted some answers.

“It's been a long morning, okay?” Sonic sighed and shook his head. “I'll explain more later, but I gotta go apologize to–”

Sonic's sentence was cut off by another, much louder explosion than the previous ones.

The teenagers turned to find the source of it, their eyes widening as they watched a building collapse.

And Tails was nowhere in sight.

“Tails?!” Sonic screamed, speeding over to the destroyed building to search his brother. Chaos, please let the kid be okay.

He could hear Knuckles not far behind, also calling out for the fox, but he didn't care. His full focus right now was finding Tails, he didn't care about anything else.

It didn't take long to find him.

Or– it didn't take long to find most of him.

Tails was unconscious. Thick streams of blood spilled from a gash on his head where his left ear was supposed to be. His left arm was also missing, the hole at his shoulder gushing out more blood.

And, oh Chaos, how long is the pole impaled through his chest? It's so close to his heart. It didn't pierce it though, right? It couldn't have. Sonic can lose Tails. He was going to be fine, right?

Sonic pushed down the rising nausea, dropping to the fox’s side to cradle his head with one paw as the other searched for a pulse. He was muttering to himself, pleading with someone to keep his brother alive.

His gloves were quickly staining red as his paw frantically felt around the kit's body for some sign of life.

His panic grew when he couldn't find anything. It had to be because he was shaking, right? There's no way Tails is– he has to be fine.

“Sonic.” The hedgehog stilled at his name being called. He didn't look away from his brother's body though, even as a tear fell from his cheek. How long has he been crying? “Let me see him.”

The teen shook his head. He couldn't step away and let someone else take his place, Tails needed him.

Knuckles stepped around him, wincing at the sight of the little fox. He kneeled down to check for a pulse, but he knew he wouldn't find anything.

Tails was a strong kid, but there was no chance at surviving being impaled through the heart.

Sonic had leaned down to press his forehead against Tails’s, whispering a million apologies to the kid.

Knuckles closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning to look at the hedgehog.

The younger met his eyes, a deep plea for the echidna to tell him his brother would be okay.

“He's gone.”

[yanderes-galore]

could you do a rivalry concept for Sonic and Infinite the Jackal?

Sure! I'll see what I can do :)

Yandere! Sonic The Hedgehog vs Infinite The Jackal

Pairing: Romantic - Rivalry

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Possessive behavior, Overprotective behavior, Kidnapping, Clingy behavior, Murder implied, Forced relationship, Rivalry, Gaslighting, Manipulation, Slight sadism.

Well, we all know Sonic.

Even when overly protective as his yandere traits suggest, he does genuinely want to see you happy.

Then there's Infinite...

A jackal completely ruthless and chaotic.

He's also powered by the Phantom Ruby.

A power that completely messes with your head, ruining your sense of reality.

It's obvious these two have very different yandere behavior and goals.

Sonic wants to be your hero

Sonic wants to protect you, keep you happy, and live life alongside you.

Sure, he gets overly protective and jealous at times...

But Infinite is so much worse.

Infinite is possessive and sadistic beyond belief.

The jackal is only close to one person and that's you.

He'd kill anyone for you.

He'd burn cities for you!

All the while he loves to play with your mind for fun.

Sonic may be over affectionate to the point of unhealthy...

Yet Infinite's obsession is destructive.

The dynamic of this rivalry would be Sonic trying to protect you while Infinite tries to pry you away from the hedgehog.

Sonic's protective behavior is justified considering the situation.

He's just uncharacteristically paranoid.

Infinite strikes genuine fear in Sonic at times when he isn't being cocky.

Honestly, the first time you three met, Sonic was beaten.

How could there not be fear?

You are fully aware Infinite can level cities with his power.

Which scares you when Infinite hunts you down.

Seeing you strikes something strange in the jackal.

Eggman won't fight him if he picks you up to play with you, right?

It really isn't his place, anyways....

When he manages to get you alone, Infinite is very taunting.

He knows he can easily keep you for himself.

His life is also lonely... he thinks he can trust no one.

Despite this, he's still fixated on you.

You make him consider the warmth of an ally-

You may not consider him a friend but he considers you as his.

Friend or anything more... Infinite doesn't care.

He just wants you.

Sonic isn't going to stand for someone like Infinite toying with you.

It both amuses and annoys the jackal when Sonic makes his intentions known.

You're close with that blue idiot!?

Such a realization angers both of them.

Sonic doesn't want you to be used by Infinite.

Infinite doesn't want you close to Sonic at all.

That's what their rivalry is based on.

Good vs Evil...

That or Evil vs Lesser Evil?

They're still both suffocating.

You know for a fact that joining Infinite/Eggman would serve you only pain.

Your best bet is with the resistance.

Even if Sonic is obsessive over you, the rest of the members would protect you yet give you space.

Sonic winning would be at the end of Forces.

The world is saved and he eagerly comes up to you.

"Great, you're safe! Told you I wouldn't let that masked clown get to you."

He gives you a grin yet you feel nervous around him.

"Maybe you should stick around me for a bit... just until things cool down?"

"The war's over, Sonic-"

"Well, yeah, I know..."

He grabs onto your arm, pulling you close.

"But we can still hang out... right?"

While you're happy Infinite's gone... now you have a clingy hedgehog.

Then there's if Infinite wins...

Complete and utter chaos.

The jackal is sure to dig his claws into Sonic's hide for touching what's his.

If he wins you feel so alone.

Infinite isn't affectionate, but he'd hold you.

His grip is strong and forceful.

A threat to stay still in his arms.

He'll end up sitting on a building with you, the city subjected to his illusions and burning to the ground.

You lost...

Infinite's hold only confirms you you're in for a world of pain.

"Your place is here with me..."

He turns you to look away from the fire, forced to see him.

"Everything around you doesn't matter, you have no idea what's real."

He then holds your face, gaze on you.

"But i'm real. I'm all that should matter to you."

It's up to you to decide what's better for you.

[writingtraumaforever]

Uncontrolled Chaos: Chapter 3

Notes: Scans are taken, theories are made, home decor is changed..

Summary: Shadow’s home is invaded by both Tails and Sonic now, and they try to get to the bottom of what��s going on with Shadow..

Chapter Select: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6

Support my Ao3!

Start:

Why these misfits suddenly thought they had any right to Shadow’s space or home in general was absolutely beyond him. Another thing that was beyond him was why he was putting up with it in the first place.

Yet here he was allowing that obnoxious blue faker to help him down the stairs because apparently the boy-genius fox was waiting in the garage. Shadow was strong enough to walk now, but he wasn’t exactly confident in himself to be able to make it down the stairs without losing his footing. The world was still spinning with too much movement. Luckily, he didn’t even have to pathetically ask for aid; Sonic not even hesitating to put his arm around Shadow’s waist and Shadow’s own arm around the blue hedgehog’s shoulders to be a crutch for him.

He still felt pathetic. But even he knew when he was beat. And falling down the stairs would definitely be the more humiliating scenario of the two.

Walking down the stairs one step at a time, Shadow could feel Sonic’s eyes watching him. Shadow kept his gaze down on their feet, making sure not to trip or skip a step.

“You should really pay attention to the steps if you’re gonna be helping me like this,” Shadow gruffs out, feeling Sonic flinch slightly as if being snapped out of a very deep train of thought by Shadow’s voice.

“I’ve got ya. Don’t worry,” Sonic assures with a little smirk on his lips and it makes Shadow’s eyes roll with a huff.

“If I fall, I’ll kill you.”

“Sheesh,” Sonic mutters with a little pout and quirk of his brow, “Can’t remember the last time I heard you threaten to kill me and actually mean it.”

Shadow just frowns at that. There he goes again talking as if they have some sort of bond that Shadow is completely oblivious to. It’s getting old.

Making it down the stairs, Shadow glances up to see two tails swaying back and forth from around the corner in his living room. He sighs at this, mentally preparing himself for more interactions he frankly doesn’t want to be a part of.

While walking into the living room, he takes notice of the environment… which isn’t something he would typically do in his own home. But upon entering, his eyes were immediately drawn to the picture frame facing away from his current position. It sat on the end table by the couch. He.. didn’t recall having a picture there. In fact, he doesn’t recall having any picture frames at all. Yet, as he looks around, he takes notice in at least three in the living room alone. And a crocheted red and gold colored blanket laying on the back of the couch. And the multiple trinkets lined along the shelves of his book shelves–which held comics he’s never even heard of before.

His brows furrow at all this, confusion growing inside that’s already been seeded in the first place since he woke up. But before he can’t dwell on any of this too long, the fox turns to face them with a wide grin.

“Shadow! You’re awake! We were pretty worried about you.. I visited a few times, but you never woke up..,” the fox frowns towards the end, his ears folding back.

Shadow has a lot of questions from that interaction alone, but he settles on simply asking, “How long was I out??”

“About three days..,” Tails rubs the back of his neck, “I did scans and Amy bandaged you up the best she could. I don’t recall seeing anything about you hitting your head, but Sonic says your memory has been iffy??”

Shadow scowls at that as Sonic carefully moves to help him sit on the couch, “My memory is not iffy. I’m the Ultimate Lifeform. I don’t lose memory.”

Sonic and Tails share a look at that, Sonic’s reading ‘see?’ and Tails’ reading ‘well that was definitely odd’.

Sonic moves to lean against the wall nearby with his arms crossed and a small frown on his muzzle, eyes watching Shadow insistently and unwilling to look away. It would make Shadow squirm except that would show anxiety. And Shadow refuses weakness.

Tails moves back to his bag, pulling out a gizmo that resembles a touch tablet of sorts. It has a fox emblem on it along with a handle to hold for stability. Tails turns to Shadow again, raising it up to which Shadow’s eyes widen a bit and he immediately glowers at the fox.

“What is that??”

“A scanner,” Tails explains a bit awkwardly, as if Shadow should already know this somehow and is just stupid. It makes Shadow even more agitated. “I’m gonna take a look at your head, and maybe take some CE readings if that’s okay??”

“CE readings..?” Shadow questions, relaxing some despite being hesitant to ask any more after Tails called him dumb with his tone and eyes.

“Chaos Energy readings..,” Tails says with another frown, brows furrowed curiously at Shadow, “Yeah, there’s definitely something going on with that noggin’, Shadow..”

Shadow just narrows his eyes at that, but he doesn’t respond. Instead, he stays still this time as Tails lifts his scanner to aim at Shadow’s head. A bright blue light appears and slowly moves down Shadow’s body, beeping a few times before giving a little chime and the light disappearing again.

Tails looks at the scanner and frowns immediately, looking displeased with his findings.

Sonic pipes in then, looking at Tails with an almost angry expression, “How bad is it??”

“That’s just it..,” Tails says with a perplexed look, tapping on his scanner a few times before looking to Sonic again, “It’s.. perfect?”

Shadow huffs, his arms crossing as he smirks at the two, a silent ‘told you’ in his gaze.

Sonic looks at Shadow at that and then looks to Tails again, “There’s gotta be something there, Tails. You see the way he’s acting, something is up.”

Tails shrugs and looks to Shadow then, “There’s no signs of head trauma, his CE levels have stabilized since I last saw him, and his energy seems to be healing his wound at a normal pace for him. He’s peachy.”

Shadow looks to Sonic then, finding the blue hedgehog looking right back with concern and obvious confusion, “I don’t get it.. Maybe scan him again?”

“I don’t need anymore scans,” Shadow growls with a roll of his eyes, tired of playing doctor with these two imbeciles, “What I need is some damn privacy under my own roof.”

Sonic’s lips purse and his eyes widen a bit, looking at Tails again and motioning his hand at Shadow in a, yet again, ‘SEE!?’ sort of way.

Tails just knits his brow at Shadow, placing his gadget back into his bag before speaking, “Maybe what we need isn’t scans, but is some good old fashioned communication.”

Sonic smirks slightly, “Amy’s gonna be bummed she missed this.”

Shadow just scowls at the two, “I am not talking any more to you two. I owe you nothing. And my patience is growing thin–”

“Come on, Shadow,” Sonic plops himself on the couch next to the ebony hedgehog, an arm moving to rest behind him on the back of the couch. Shadow stares at him with wide eyes, appalled at how he’s making himself comfortable in Shadow’s own home. On Shadow’s furniture. “There’s obviously something up. Let’s just have a little conversation, and we’ll leave you alone for a bit. Sound good??”

Shadow grunts at this, looking back to the fox and.. They’re right. Something is off.

Last Shadow checked, Sonic was his rival and Tails was terrified of him. And now his home was being invaded by the two and things were different. Home decor was more colorful and plentiful, memories weren’t lining up.

So after a moment of pondering.. Shadow gives a small nod and a gruff, “Fine. But let’s make this quick..”

Sonic smiles a bit at Shadow’s cooperation, his fingers twitching behind Shadow as if he’s having to hold himself back from touching..

Tails nods at this, moving to sit himself on the chair to the left of the couch and beginning the conversation, “Okay. So I guess the best thing to ask first is.. what do you remember last before you blacked out??”

Shadow ponders this a moment. His assignment had been classified.. but it feels as though that doesn’t matter much at the moment.

“I was at an abandoned GUN facility. We had gotten security scans of Eggman’s drones sniffing about, and I was sent in to clear them out.”

The more he spoke, the more Tails and Sonic looked genuinely lost.

“I was ambushed. It had to have been a setup. I’m still not sure what the doctor was doing snooping around there. I rigged the place to blow up, so he couldn’t get whatever information he was trying to. This backfired, however, when he unleashed more of his bots on me. They were nothing I couldn’t handle, but given I had less than a minute to get out, this became difficult.. I didn’t have an emerald with me.. but I did have the synthetic one the fox created.”

Tails’ arms cross at that, brows furrowing as he listens to Shadow’s story, “…So you used the fake chaos emerald to chaos control out??”

“Yes,” Shadow nods simply, “I remembered Sonic had achieved this once before.., so I knew it was possible.”

Sonic just looks at Shadow with his mouth a bit scrunched up and his brows furrowed in thought. Shadow can’t help but think smoke is gonna start coming out of his hears with how hard he’s thinking.

“…Shadow, none of that happened,” Sonic eventually says with a glance to Tails who nods in agreement.

Shadow looks between the two before huffing in slight frustration, “Yes. It did. You asked me to cooperate with you and talk, and now you’re telling me I made it all up?”

“I didn’t say that,” Sonic says with a defensive hand raising, “I’m just saying… that’s-… not at all what happened before you blacked out.”

“You.. hate GUN,” Tails says with a scratch to his own head, “You’d never work with them. Not to mention you weren’t alone, we were all there with you as well.”

“Who’s ‘we’??” Shadow questions, trying not to get overwhelmed with where this conversation is turning.

“The team,” Sonic answers with a quirk of his brow, “Tails, me, Ames, Knucks.. you. We were all there. We were investigating a facility thought to have been built by Eggman to see what he was up to, and things went-.. south..”

Sonic’s ears fold back a bit, looking away as though he felt guilt when he said this.

Tails takes the liberty to explain further, “You took a hit for Sonic. An explosion. The blast knocked us all back, and you were out of sight for a good little bit before we found you knocked out in the rubble. Sonic brought you back here where Amy bandaged you up, and I ran some scans.. your CE levels were.. through the roof.”

Shadow stares at the two a long moment and then looks down at his own hands. His dirtied gloves and the bandage around his torso..

Looking back to the fox, he speaks, “You’re the smart one.. What’s your theory on what is happening??..”

Tails frowns a bit, looking at Sonic who is looking right back at him expectantly before looking back to Shadow with a sigh,

“I… don’t think you’re Shadow.”

[descendant-of-truth]

Well guys I did say in one of my tags that the Prime!Shadow analysis would be for another time and that time is now because I'm mentally shaking him around like a ragdoll trying to figure out his secrets

What I want to highlight is just, the sheer number of ways he's been set up as the odd one out in the first third of the season alone, and why I find that so interesting. So let's break that down for a minute:

The first thing we learn about him is that he's not Sonic's friend or enemy, but a secret third thing - his rival, as specified later

But despite having a clear label for it in episode 2, Sonic finds this particular dynamic "complicated." Shadow is the only person in his life that falls under that category, and it shows in how he describes him.

"He's a real buzzkill" (negative), "and he rollerskates!" (said with admiration). Sonic complains about Shadow and compliments him in the same breath, which is hilarious but also good for character building

In that same scene though, Shadow momentarily breaks into Sonic's narration to tell him that they're air shoes, not roller skates, which is ALSO funny but once again, he's the only character to do this. Even if it's for the sake of humor, Shadow is given a sort of... protagonist privilege, if you will. He's the only one to break the "Sonic POV," something he does not just this once, but multiple times over the course of a few episodes.

Now, there are other scenes that are from the perspectives of characters that aren't Sonic, but what makes Shadow's scenes different from theirs is that his are used specifically to show that Sonic can be an unreliable narrator.

The very first scene in the show after Sonic happily describes his status quo is the event with the Paradox Prism. A moment that Shadow was 100% there for, albeit towards the end, but who is conveniently left out until we return to the scene in later episodes.

And the framing is just. so deliberate on a rewatch that it hurts, because this is one of the very first shots we see of the show:

...and it takes place directly after Sonic knocks Shadow into a wall and runs away.

Literally the INSTANT Sonic takes his eyes off of Shadow is when the show's story begins, and it starts with Sonic narrating and completely glossing over Shadow's existence

(Is anyone else going insane over this. is it just me. does the implied mental gymnastics happening here make anyone else feel like they're vibrating)

Anyway as I was saying, removing Shadow from the scene with the Prism (even cutting out his voice when he shouts "Chaos Control") keeps us in Sonic's perspective just enough to share in his confusion when he starts to remember the incident more clearly.

(It also implies that he didn't consider Shadow to be important enough to take note of in the first moment we watch the scene, which. oof, sorry Shadow)

He's also missing in the scene where Sonic is first traveling through the void, despite showing up like two seconds after him - another instance where we're kept in Sonic's perspective just enough to miss the bigger picture that has Shadow in it.

Meanwhile, scenes from Shadow's point of view give us all sorts of information; the fact that Chaos Emeralds exist, more detailed effects of Sonic's speed-amplified explosion (it gave him a vision of some sort, which I'm convinced is implying something important about it beyond "it blew up part of a mountain"), how exactly he ended up in the void, why Sonic was late to the fight with Eggman, all that good stuff

It's a pretty consistent theme with Shadow, actually. He's always there to represent the bigger picture that Sonic isn't seeing.

...partly because Sonic keeps forgetting about him, in contrast to Shadow being the only other person to remember who Sonic is.

(I didn't know where else to fit this point in, but Shadow's lost in the void while Sonic is bouncing back and forth between worlds like it's a professional sport. Narrative foils and all that, we love to see it)

But there's another way that Shadow is made distinct from everyone else Sonic knows from the original world, that I think is going to have a big effect on his character development: Shadow doesn't care about sparing Sonic's feelings.

A lot of the conflict between Sonic and his friends is based on the fact that Sonic doesn't listen well, but another thing to consider is that his friends don't really... tell him when he's made a mistake, or what their point of view was, or what exactly he was doing wrong.

Tails? He could have explained that telling Sonic there was a trap was supposed to be a cue not to attack Eggman, and that he thought Sonic knew that, and so him attacking anyway felt like blatantly disregarding his warnings.

Instead, he brushes it off with an "it's fine."

Amy tries to explain that the palm tree gift has a lot of sentimental value to everyone, and yeah that whole situation went poorly, but it doesn't seem like she ever communicated to Sonic that him disregarding it hurt their feelings.

If he was just told that he messed up and explained how he did, you know he would have tried to make it up to them, like how earnestly he apologized to Tails. He could have been working on these problems a lot sooner, but because the others want to preserve their friendship with him and don't like getting into arguments, they don't communicate with him.

Shadow has no such hangups about their relationship. He tells Sonic exactly what his problem is.

...even if Sonic doesn't seem to hear him, and Shadow should really work on the whole "punching to get his attention" thing.

There's a lot of room for improvement here, but my point is that Sonic needs someone to be this upfront and honest with him. Straightforward communication is clearly what he understands the most - Thorn simply asking him (albeit rudely) what he knew about togetherness was all it took for him to really start thinking about that, though admittedly the circumstances around the question probably helped.

And because Shadow has been set up as the only person who still knows and remembers Sonic, the one who has a wider perspective on things than he does, and cares enough about him as a person to try to get through to him in the first place without being held back by a need to maintain a friendly stance with him... he's the perfect person to help accelerate Sonic's character arc.

And, y'know, hopefully Sonic can do the same for him - though it's hard to say what exactly Shadow needs help with (beyond Not Punching People) that Sonic could contribute to, given his little screen time so far.

Case in point: this show is setting up Shadow to be Important in a way that only Shadow can be and I for one am hyped to see it all play out

[nightfurylover31]

Since the first part of @starrjoy's Pandora AU is reaching its climax, I decided to write something in between. With all that Sonic has lost he did end up gaining something very important. I hope this doesn't end up contradicting anything in the story, and that you all enjoy.

It had been some time since… that day. The guilt and grief still weighed heavily on Sonic like a thousand tons. His home, his people, his family… all gone. He was completely alone. And it was his fault. He finally got to see the world, but it cost him everything. 

While traveling, Sonic eventually came across Dr. Robotnik, the scientist his mother told him about. The one whom had been threatening the other islands. Trapping animals in his machines, and using his robots to destroy the forests. It was all so wrong. Sonic made it his mission to stop this Robotnik. After what he had done, he felt he owed to it to everyone that was lost on Christmas Island, especially his family. Even a year after his first encounter with Robotnik, the pain in Sonic’s heart had not lessened. He tried masking it with humor and taunts, just laughing at most things to hide how he truly felt. But he felt incomplete, like nothing could ever fill the void he left upon himself. 

He was resting under a tree on Westside Island. Sonic wrapped his arms around his crouched legs, hiding the tears that he could feel forming. He wanted to stop the hurt, but at the same time, he wanted to suffer for what he had done. If he had listened to his brother and sister, if he had just stopped and thought things through, none of this would have happened. Dora’s words still rung in his head. How he was supposedly some sort of destined hero. He was nothing more than a selfish idiot. 

“What difference does it make?” Sonic finally spoke. He was alone, no one could hear him anyway. “Even if I do stop this Ro-butt-nik, it’s not going to bring everyone back. It’s not going to make things right. I wish I could—“ 

Sonic’s train of thought was lost when he heard voices. Something like laughter. He got up and peered out from behind the bushes. He saw three foxes, one smaller than the other two, and clearly being picked on. 

“Stop it! Please!” the young one cried as one of the older kids pulled on his tail. 

“Aw, is the little freak gonna cry?” 

Sonic clenched his fists in frustration. How could anyone be that mean? He wanted to intervene, but… 

No, he thought to himself. I’ll just make it worse. Like I do with everything else. I just bring bad things to others. He was about to turn around and walk away.

“Pull harder! Maybe it’ll come off!” 

“NO!” 

As if on instinct, Sonic ran right passed all three of them, knocking the two bigger kids over.

“What was that?!” 

“I don’t know!” 

Sonic zoomed back around, and glared at the duo. “It’s one thing to pick on someone, but two-on-one? And someone who’s younger than you?” He took a step forward. “If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s bullies.” 

The two were shaking in fear, and then turned tail and ran. Not as fast as Sonic, but enough to get out of there. The blue hedgehog turned around, checking on the yellow fox. “You okay?” He asked. 

“Y-yeah…” The young kit stared at him. Almost as if in amazement. “That was—“ But before he could continue, Sonic took off. 

I can’t stick around. I can’t get close to others. I’d be just a burden to them.

When Sonic thought he was a good distance away, he made it back to his plane. That’s how he had been managing to get from island to island. He couldn’t stand the thought of going by boat. Being near the water. Not after…

“Wait!” 

Sonic looked back and saw the fox from before. He was still a good few yards away, but he managed to find Sonic so fast. It almost looked like there was a propeller behind him.

How did he…? No one’s ever been able to keep up with me before! 

The kit ran up to Sonic, stopping only to catch his breath. He was gasping deeply, obviously not used to running so much. 

“How did you find…?” Sonic began to ask, but something caught his eye. He didn’t notice before from a distance. He began to inspect the fox and the surprising sight. “You… have two tails?” 

The kid turned to his appendages, and nodded. “Yeah. That’s why those guys were picking on me.” 

Sonic did a quick scan of the extra. “That’s… pretty cool! I’ve never seen anything like that!” Heck, Sonic was always fascinated by things that were different, but this took the cake. A fox with two tails! Way past cool!

“Really?” the young kit blushed. He clearly wasn’t used to compliments. “W-well it’s not as cool as you are. I’ve never seen anything move so fast. You were amazing!” 

Sonic couldn’t help but chuckle. He smirked and brushed his nose. “It was nothing. I wasn’t even going that fast.” 

“You mean you can run even faster than that? Really?!” The kid’s eyes seemed to grow twice their size. 

“Oh, easily!” Sonic bragged. It was nice to be be able to show off a bit. But the ache in his heart suddenly started again. He shouldn’t stay.

“It’s been nice talking, and I’m glad I could help, but I have to get going. Just gotta fix my plane. You know where I can find a repair shop or something?” That was pretty much the reason Sonic stopped on the island in the first place. Something was up with the engine, maybe? He knew nothing about machines. 

“Let me take a look.” 

Sonic looked a bit confused by the fox’s words. He pulled out the toolbox Sonic kept under the seat, opened the panel, and started working. 

“You can fix it?” 

“Maybe. I’m pretty good with tools. I do stuff like this all the time.” 

This kid was full of surprises. Sonic watched as he worked. He even seemed to be enjoying it. He went from the controls to the propellers, and then the engine. Giving the plane a full inspection. Sonic had never seen anyone who loved to fix machines since— 

WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS STICKING YOUR NOSE INTO MY BUSINESS?!

Sonic felt his heart drop. That was the last thing he said to Manic. He never should have yelled. It was one of the things he regretted most. And now he’ll never be able to apologize. He’d never see his family again... 

“Are you okay?” The voice suddenly brought Sonic back to his senses. Good thing too, he could feel his eyes starting to burn. 

“Yeah, just lost in thought. You done already?” 

“Yep. It’s pretty well maintained, but it’s important you pay attention to the equipment.” 

“Man, two tails and a mechanic? Your folks must have their hands full with you,” Sonic joked. 

However, that just seemed to make the fox’s ears droop. His tails became limp. “I…I don’t have any.” 

Sonic’s eyes widened. “No parents? What about siblings? Friends? Anyone?” All were met with sad head shakes. 

“Everyone in my village thinks my two tails are weird. I’m kind of on my own.” 

With that, a new pain began to form in Sonic. This kid… was just like him. Different, and all alone in the world. Not only that, he was a lot younger. The hedgehog decided it would be better to be by himself, but he couldn’t leave this poor kid. But still…

After some thought, Sonic scratched the back of his head, and took a few steps closer. “What’s your name, kid?” 

“Oh, uh I’m Miles Prower. But everyone calls me ‘Tails’.” 

Sonic leaned to the side a bit to adjust his gaze. “Because of the extra tail?” 

“Hehe, yeah.” 

“Well Tails, I’m Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And if you can keep up, would you interested in going on an adventure?” 

Tails stared in shock. “You mean it?!” 

“As long as you don’t slow me down. Maybe help keep the plane in tiptop shape.” 

“Yes! YES!” With that, his tails started spinning and spinning and… suddenly Tails was off the ground. 

“Hold up! You can fly with those?!” 

Tails turned around and slowly descended. “Uh, yeah. A little bit.” 

Sonic smiled and held out his hand. “Tails, I have a feeling you and I are going to get along just fine.” Tails beamed and happily shook Sonic’s hand. 

————————

The night sky couldn’t be more clear. Not a cloud in sight, far from any town, and the stars illuminated the area with only a sliver of moonlight. A perfect night for stargazing. 

Sonic was relaxing, looking up and trying to find as many constellations as he could. He heard footsteps, but didn’t bother diverting his attention as Tails sat down beside him. 

“See any shooting stars yet?” his little brother asked. 

“Not yet, but the night’s still young.” 

After so many crazy adventures lately, it was nice to kick back and take it easy. They sat for awhile, taking in the crickets and other night noises. 

“Sonic, you remember the day we met?” 

“That was years ago. What brought that up suddenly?” 

“I don’t know. Just feeling nostalgic, I guess.” 

At this point, Sonic pushed himself back on his hands for support and let out a light chuckle. “As if I could ever forget the best day of my life.” 

"That's my line," Tails snickered a bit, and then continued. “You really saved me that day.” 

“Those bullies were giving you a hard time, but ‘saved you’ seems like bit—“ 

“No, I mean how took me in. Everyone thought I was just some freak. You were the first person to believe in me. You inspired me to be a hero. To believe in myself. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. Thank you, Sonic.” 

“Careful, you’re going to make one of us start crying.” Sonic teased while flicking his pal’s nose. Tails started laughing at the jester, while Sonic just stared fondly. 

You’re wrong there, buddy. You save me that day. That was the first time I felt genuinely happy in so long. That I could do something right. Thank you, Tails. For being my friend. For being my brother.