#And they're gonna explore shadows canon backstory

[sillyredconverse]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN KEANU REEVES IS GOING TO PLAY SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG IN THE SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 MOVIE BEING RELEASED ON DECEMBER 20TH 2024

WHAT DO YOU MEANNN?!?????

[chaosandthe-deadblog]

at some point im gonna doodle Band AU Shadow and Maria in the sweaters like goddamn i really love how you characterized them the trans chapter still makes me tear up, I like how you rolled with the idea of sexual dimorphism between female and male hedgehog Mobians too tbh, did any of that originate from Amy's old design by chance? How she had once had her quills spiked up but later it was changed to them being slicked down? (Personally I like the echidna-hedgie hybrid theory for her but your take on it is really neat!)

I also just love how you've characterized them all. I'm gonna be ranting a bunch and it's gonna be confusing a lil but like pls stay with me i just have the Big 'Tism so my brain go hugvyfcrytjkn

I enjoy having the whole thing be very plotless tbh, there's not enough of that in fics imo and it's the exact stuff I need a lot and I love that. I don't ever really feel anxious that, say, Maria is gonna suddenly die or some shit like that, or that some cataclysmic event is gonna suddenly happen. I like that, I've needed a lotta that honestly. I just love how you've written it so much,,

I am still curious about Shadow's past, though. Was he still genetically engineered? Is he still part-alien??? Does Chaos Energy even properly exist??? Is Gerald just A Guy who is a scientist and actually succeeded at what he'd wanted to do???? Seeing as it seems his "backstory" never properly happened, and they're in modern times, I presume Gerald would be still alive or something. Is Eggman there too???? /Is there potential that younger-Eggman exists and he's like a weird internet troll to the band or something????/ Perhaps jealous that his cousin gets to meet the "cool guys" and there's a very small and non-dramatic plot of Tails being like "ugh this guy again" and Maria's like "oh yeah thats my cousin!" and everyone's like "WHAT????"

There's just so much to explore with such a domestic take on these characters honestly, and I really love that. It explores parts of their characters that often don't get touched often due to how much they're always fighting or dealing with drama. It allows dynamics to be explored that are never really toyed with in canon. Adapting various pieces of the characters to a more laid-back setting is genuinely REALLY fun and you've done it so well I just,,, wawUUUGH,,,

I'm so interested to see what goes on with Knuckles too, since his whole story is seemingly so fantastical yet so easy to adapt to a more mature and "realistic" setting. Does he simply come from a culture that's often overlooked in this world? Is his inner compass about protecting his family name? Is he actually the last echidna in this world or are echidnas moreso simply a group that are marginalized in some way? I almost feel like him being someone who's struggled through, like, immigrant struggles would almost be a really interesting take on him as a character. He's quiet about who he is, where he's from, often keeping to himself, it's why he doesn't sing on his own and why he often is seemingly just... There. But Amy knows, she's one of the only ones who does know.

And maybe if Shadow still shares that "being made in a lab" past as his canon self, perhaps he and Knuckles could end up being friends if Shadow were to learn about his past. They could relate to one another's feelings of not belonging where they are, yet having strong drives to defend WHO they are.

(I've been reading a lot of immigrant poetry recently for class and because, despite not sharing those experiences, I still always feel like I relate to the general themes of them. I dunno why, but I always imagine Knuckles being the type to write stuff like that himself, since his whole story draws a lot from very real and serious sorts of topics that can be related to some of those real-life issues. I really like that about him, how it always seems that his story is taken VERY seriously and not downplayed. That's why I liked him in Frontiers, and why I know many liked him in Sonic 2. Just mentioning this all because that's my inspiration for even coming up with this idea)

Again I absolutely do not wanna seem like im hijacking your story! I just wanted to rant about characters because hmmmmng,,, you write them so well and give me many idea and I love that,,

damn you put so much more thought into this au than i did LMAO

ummm okay i'll take these one by one

first: the trans chapter, that is ABSOLUTELY what i wanted to do and i'm so glad someone picked up on it. I think male hedgehog mobians have their quills spiked up while female hedgehogs tend to have them drip down. That's why Sonic pre-transition tied up his quills! However, I do think Amy fucks with her presentation a bit in that sense, she still spikes up her quills (though i think, similarly to how there are short haircuts that are deemed femenine by humans, the same thing could apply to hedgehog mobians and their quills)

about it being plotless... aha. haha. im gonna be honest. i love drama. there WILL be some dramatic event, and there’s gonna be drama, but it's not gonna be sudden. i'll be sure to have enough build up so it hurts a little less. a little. but its gonna take a while. so dont worry about it :)

OKAY shadow's past. okay. yeah so. okay. everything is like a lot more normal and domestic than in canon, so the whole magic and powers aspect is... altered. similarly to how it is in pirate au, the characters still have some trait thats similar to their powers/abilities in regular canon (sonic raced in highschool and regularly goes on runs, for example). I think Chaos Energy and the chaos emeralds and all that stuff is the equivalent they'd have of mythology. some people believe it, some people don't. "chaos and the emeralds" is a name that came to sonic based on one of those myths.

so... about shadow. gerald is dead. old age. i'm gonna try to explore shadow's past on later chapters so i'll keep it to: shadow was adopted by and raised by gerald until the doctor died, leaving shadow in charge of finishing raising maria. (and also, i didnt take eggman in consideration for this au because... implications. but it would be funny if he was just maria's annoying cousin that both of them can't stand)

and about knuckles! yeah, it's pretty much the former! it'd be interesting if he was an immigrant or someone from an overlooked culture. and no he is definitely not the last of his kind but i do think where the gang leaves it's not THAT common to see echidnas. i don’t think i'll touch much on that because... well i'm very much white and very much live in my birth country so i am deeply unqualafied to write about immigrant struggles, but that's definitely the direction i'd love to go to for knuckles. also you didnt ask this but he's like a big brother figure to amy, they were childhood friends

i actually hadn't thought about most of the things you asked, and this helped me do some worldbuilding, so thanks a lot for the questions!!!

[mrsmarymorstan]

I'm hoping now that Tim has Bernard we get to see Steph romancing someone new too! Tim has had plenty of love interests over the years, but Steph has only ever really (canonically) had 2? Tim and Useless Dean.

But there are so many DELIGHTFUL options available to her!!!

Cass: The Most obvious, I don't think I need to convince anyone of this. Prime time FemSlash right there. I'd say "most iconic" but Harley and Ivy exist.

Kara: They only had a few issues shared back in her Batgirl days but the chemistry was strong! They're both young, a little reckless, got some trauma in their past and also look GOOD TOGETHER on the covers. Plus we haven't had a Bat/Super since Cass/Kon was a thing for 2 issues. This would be a nice place to actually explore such a relationship

Cassie: Look, okay maybe dating someone who had a crush on your Ex is a bad idea... but Steph has a LOT of bad ideas an maybe this one would actually work long term? The drama would be fun to watch at least! AND as far as I am aware we haven't had ANY Amazon/Bat relationships yet? Since Dick and Donna were pretty much solidly BFFs with no sexual tension unless you wanted it to be there. Plus can you IMAGINE Steph and Zeus meeting? Zeus being her Grandpa-in-law? Sooooooo many opportunities for stories right there!!!

Harper: A more obvious modern choice, but omg AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES!!!! Date Nights would be fun, and they have some shared trauma going on there plus a mutual crush on Catwoman.

Jason: Look, okay. I know what you're gonna say, but in the OG Time Line Jason is the same age as Cass and thus only one year older than Steph. I don't know what age he is now, or what age Steph is, but I think the answer is "however old they need to be". Dead Robin Club is already pretty great, so why not expand on it some more? There's also the fun time drama of Stephanie dating her ex's older brother. It's not my FAVOURITE option, but it's one I think has some potential.

Conner Hawke: So, I know this one is pretty niche, but they HAVE met before and she DID have a little flirty flirt with him! Current Conner has his whole dark league of Shadows backstory going on, and I think having him end up with Steph would bring some much needed light into his life. We might also get to see more Bat + Arrow interaction which I am always a fan of. Also it would annoy Damian SO DAMN MUCH and I live for Steph + Damian interactions. Plus it's still not heteronormative because you gotta remember that Loving Vs Virginia was only 1967!

EDIT: I wrote this before it was revealed that Conner is Asexual! And whilst I am absolutely still down for Ace Rep in Romantic Relationships, I fully appreciate if people would rather Steph stay away from him lol

Kon: It would be funny. That's it. That's the only reason. Tim comes out as Bi but it's Steph who gets with Kon. Hilarious.

IDK Some New Person: Hey! New characters are always welcome in the BatFam! Why can't she have a civilian to date? I think that's what she deserves, most of all. Let Steph lead a normal life for once. I mean, yeah I guess that's what Tim and Bernard have going on but equally it's nice to have some parallels in place, you know?