#Secret GUN agent Sonic

[st4rnikka]

I loved your fanfic ideas! They are really good. I preferred the Agent GUN AU, I can only imagine people's reactions (especially Rouge) when they find out the truth

YOU LIKED MY IDEAS????!!QKXIK1QOXOOQLZ OMG you people liking my ideas like I'm not some crazy person makes me really happy, THANKS💙!

I'm not writing this fic (just giving the idea to whoever wants to write it) and didn't think much about how the others would react when finding out about Sonic being the GUN agent they were investigating and trying to catch a glimpse of. But I DID thought about them finding it in a very dramatic and super cool way!

Here's how I thought it would be like (forgive me for the way I'm writing I have yet to learn how to write fighting in Sonic style lmao) :

The smell of blood and smoke was everywhere, which was reasonably shocking to everyone present except to a certain cobalt hedgehog, who to both Rouge and Tails confusion and fear, that apparently were the only ones to notice, wasn't wearing his cocky smile when in such dire situations like now, instead Sonic was serious and looked very, very mad.

But looking at Sonic's point of view he wasn't mad at all, he was relaxed and waiting, for what you ask? Well for the GUN agents to appear.

Sonic realized that working as an GUN agent had it's perks, he got to eat as many chilli dogs he wanted, could do super cool stuff like being an spy, could use guns and did he mention the chilli dogs? People in GUN were actually quite nice and respectful, Sonic was not an total idiot and knew the reason was because he had just easily surpassed their best agents in rank in just 2 days, but couldn't care less about it to be honest, the thing was that they would obey his every command -if job related of course - and he made sure to keep that in mind if necessary.

Which was 2 weeks ago before their current situation, with even Shadow having trouble defeating a single badnik.

2 weeks ago during one of his daily missions, he was given the task to invade one of Eggman's many bases and retrieve data from there. But he didn't just retrieve data, deciding to play around a little bit Sonic found something quite concerning that Egghead was planning, something that made Sonic go straight to GUN headquarters to talk to the commander personally about his finding. Both of them had come to an agreement on how to resolve the situation, with Sonic hesitantly agreeing on taking care of this in a quiet manner.

That being said, what did Sonic find? He found an certain experiment that Eggman was working on, a creature with enough power and energy to be used as an battery to strengthen his all his robots to an absurd level. Both Sonic and the commander worked - surprisinly - together to find a way of resolving the problem and 2 weeks after they found a way.

That being said here we are again, all of Sonic's friends tired and hurt from the brutal fight that still continues, until helicopters sounds are heard and the badniks are destroyed one by one easily. Now capable of actually stopping for a moment Rouge, Tails, Shadow, Amy, Knuckles and Omega all look up to find GUN agents helping them with the problem at hand, they were in fact very shocked.

Especially Rouge and Shadow for both of them, weren't aware of GUN knowing about said problem before it even happened. The helicopters land and the agents keep shooting at the badniks, one of them goes to the group, Shadow and Rouge expecting said agent to go talk to them but instead she looks AT SONIC and proceeds to talk to HIM.

"Aeolus, agent Raven reporting to you, the mission was a success, the commander congratulates you for your patience. Also he needs you to take care of the creature that the doctor created." Raven said tensely looking at Sonic mad expression. That is until he smiled happily nodded and responded "Damn he's already giving me more work to do? This old man, thanks for the report Raven, you can go now." His responde was welcomed by a relieved agent Raven that leaved to do her job and a very loud "HUUUUHHH??!!!!!!" from his friends.

Sonic looked at their confused expressions, and Shadow and Rouge very fiery glares and smiled sheepily "YOU'RE AGENT AEOLUS?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME???!!!!" Screamed Rouge, she was not having this, months of investigation just to the damn agent she was searching for to be right under her nose. By her side Shadow was staring at him, Sonic swears that if looks could kill he would be dead cause Shadow was looking really mad right now, and Tails too, and Amy and Knuckles....

He was so dead.

That's how I think it would go, also Shadow being mad at Sonic for an entire different reason cause I can a 100% think that Sonic was in fact a suspect of being Aeolus in Rouge list but she had him removed because according to Shadow "Sonic is too dumb to be agent Aeolus, also he would never work with GUN. And Aeolus is skilled, unlike him." with SONIC there hearing everything, my guy admited Sonic had skill without knowing🤣

That's it, hope it was accordinly to your imagination? Sorry for my shitty writing, still have to get better at writing Sonic characters and grow accustomed to some words that are important to Sonic fics💙.

[crowlls]

Omoshiroi

[damnfeelings09]

The way I loved you - Shadow's version

*A.N: sorry, I got lost reading some ff

"He is sensible and so incredible And all my single friends are jealous."

"Look at these beautiful flowers!" said Amy. "You have to tell me your secret, Sonic isn't the most romantic guy, ya' know" You were sitting in the living room of your apartment; it was small but cozy. There were plants in every corner, and despite the little time you had to settle in, you felt comfortable in this new house.

"And it's like, I couldn't ask for anything better," you said with a shy smile.

"That's fabulous! I'm so happy you gave yourself this chance... you know, since..."

"I know, I feel good, but I want to take it slow."

"And I feel perfectly fine."

When Amy left, you let yourself fall back onto your bed, in fact you didn't really feel fine. You missed him, you missed every moment. You couldn't blame Amy, you were too good at hiding your feelings. Only someone who knew you perfectly would notice you weren’t... happy. Actually, you didn't feel anything at all.

"... And it's 2 a.m., and I'm cursing your name. So in love that you act insane, and that's the way I loved you."

Every night, just before closing your eyes to sleep, you could feel his breath, his presence hadn't left you for a second in the last three months. Even though you didn't see him anymore, it was as if his memory was buried in your mind, like his image was tattooed on your heart, a mark you couldn't erase, one you didn’t want to erase. It hadn't been long since you met Dylan. He was actually nice, you'd bumped into him at the cafeteria, and he accidentally spilled your latte. After a thousand apologies, he offered to buy you a new one. You’d been hanging out three times, counting today, but when you told your friends about it, they were more than happy to see you back in the game.

"He respects my space, and never makes me wait, and he calls exactly when he says he will."

You checked your latest messages. Dylan had written "Goodnight and have fun, beautiful," after you mentioned you wouldn’t see him and would instead spend time with the girls.

"He's charming and endearing, and I'm comfortable."

"I'm comfortable," you said aloud, but when you were alone, hundreds of memories haunted you. Memories of when you had been so happy, loved like you never thought possible, cried, and suffered, but you did it all by his side. There he was again, always occupying your thoughts. At 2 p.m., when you had lunch, and again at 2 a.m., when you woke up startled by nightmares where you lost him over and over. You turned your phone back on, scrolling down to the bottom of your messages, and found his conversation. You read again the last message he had sent you: "I'll be late," with the date on the day you decided to move on with your life without him.

"He caused all of this. So… why do I feel like this?" you thought. You couldn't stop looking at the screen, hoping, wishing there was something more, that he had done something more. Suddenly, his status changed, he was online, and dots began to appear on the screen. He was typing. After three months of silence, he had finally reached out to you… your heart raced so fast you felt like it would burst out of your chest. The excitement, anxiety, fear, and anger were trying to take control of your body all at once. But when the dots disappeared, and his status went offline again, everything collapsed.

"Breaking down and coming undone, it's a rollercoaster kind of rush. And I never knew I could feel that much, and that's the way I loved you."

The next morning, you bumped into Dylan on your way to work. You talked about the weather, your outing with the girls, and his job. Dylan loved his job as an IT agent for GUN and loved to talk endlessly, something you weren’t used to. You limited yourself to nodding and smiling while he told you about the latest update he'd made to the criminal profiles platform at GUN.

"He can´t see the smile I'm faking and my heart's not breaking 'cause I'm not feeling anything at all."

As you walked through the GUN facilities and passed by the training center, memories flooded your mind. This time, you both had fought, but you didn't quite remember why...

You walked out of the training center, both fists clenched until your claws dug into your palms. You were upset, he hadn't respected the agreement to let you work, and his only defense had been, "You're not strong enough for this task, sorry." Once again, underestimating your abilities, even though, thanks to your effort, the last two missions you'd worked on together had gone wonderfully, and your colleagues praised your persistence. Of course, he was the team captain, and you didn’t expect different treatment just because you were his girlfriend; you simply expected him to start noticing your potential.

"And you were wild and crazy. Just so frustrating, intoxicating, complicated. Got away by some mistake and now..."

"Stupid hedgehog," you muttered under your breath as the raindrops began to soak your body. The wind soon picked up, and what started as a small breeze had turned into a storm. You had to turn back, or you'd end up sick, and they'd send you home. Just as you were about to go back, you heard someone calling your name. It was him, standing a few meters away, his dark fur soaked, and every quill dripping. His chest fur, once fluffy, now seemed flat due to the water.

"If you're here to scold me again, keep it to yourself. I was about to go back." In a second, the hedgehog was right in front of you.

"I'm sorry," you heard him murmur. "Don’t disappear like that again." Something in his voice made your wall of anger break. There, in the rain, with his face drenched and his red eyes, now dimmed, just inches from yours, made him look so... vulnerable. "No… I didn’t mean that you can’t do it, it’s just that… thinking of you, alone, out there… no, no..." he stammered, looking away. You had never seen him like this. You were so used to his strong, disciplined personality. Worry was not a word you associated with him, but now you realized he was worried about you.

"Hey," you said, gently caressing his face. "It's okay, I’m here, and I’ll be fine because I’ll have the best captain to guide me" you smiled at him.

"The best captain?" he asked, his crimson eyes regaining their sparkle as he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course! Sonic doesn’t do things as badly as you think, and... we have you too," you joked, earning a snort from him. You smiled as he closed the distance between you, pulling you into an embrace. The surprise was evident in your eyes. You knew he hated public displays of affection, especially at work. He didn't want people thinking there was favoritism towards you. He tightened his embrace as he felt your body shivering because of the cold, moving his face close to yours placing a soft kiss that contained everything he couldn't express.

"I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain and It's 2 a.m., and I'm cursing your name. I'm so in love that I acted insane, and that's the way I loved you."

"Hey! Moon!" someone called, snapping you out of your thoughts. As you returned to the present, you found yourself staring at the training center. Dylan had his hand in front of your face, trying to get your attention. "Where did you go?"

"Ah... it's nothing," you said, scratching the back of your head, your cheeks still flushed from the memory. "See you later, Dylan." You walked towards the main offices, trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone else and trying to avoid running into him. When you reached the elevator, you heard a ring—a new notification. You quickly pulled out your phone and found a message. It was a simple interaction, just 3 words put together, but it was enoght to make your heart begin to beat again, as if waking up from a deep sleep.

Shadow: Hey

"Never knew I could feel that much and that's the way I loved you."

[itz-pandora]

Helloooo!👋👋I see that you have a Sonic swap au, mind sharing more about it? 👀

Part of me wants to keep intrigue alive while another part wants to blabber on about it, lol

Shadow is the protagonist, and he fights against Maria, who is trying to capture animals, Chaos Emeralds, and sometimes Mobians for her seemingly nefarious reasons. Shadow doesn't like having to do this, but he does what he thinks is right. Shadow just wants everyone to stay safe.

Rouge is more up for antagonizing Maria though! Rouge is supposed to take the role of Tails, but she acts more like the Sonic in the dynamic. She encourages Shadow to stand up for what he believes in, and is his older sister figure.

Sonic takes Shadow's role, and is dubbed The Fastest Thing Alive™ instead of The Ultimate Lifeform™. He is more confident, snarky, and appears more egotistical than canon Sonic and Shadow. He's part Chao instead of part Black Arms, and he was still raised on the ARK.

Tails works with GUN, but ends up tagging along with Sonic and Maria instead. He's more similar to Nine than Tails though, lol. I haven't sorted out his motivation cleanly yet though.

Emerl and Metal are swapped, at least for now :)

Maria is Eggman! I'll keep her motivation a secret for now ♡

And since I didn't exactly feel like making Ivo (Eggman) Maria, he's instead got the role more like the GUN commander! He's the head engineer of GUN. Him and Maria had a falling out a long time ago. He grew up with Maria on the ARK.

I've thought about 3 different candidates for Maria's role, (The GUN Commander, Agent Stone (even tho I don't want movie characters), and Elise) but I've also thought about having no kids died that day. Ivo or Maria could've gotten shot, but they're not dead.

I haven't actually sorted out anything for characters like Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Tikal. I'm not even sure about Chaos or the Chao, since I could use Doom, but also.... Idk.... I'm willing to hear ideas!!

[randomthefox]

People don't understand Rouge the bat, they treat her like she's a villain turned hero. When Rouge was never a villain, at any point, literally ever. Let's look at the story of Sonic Adventure 2 from Rouge's POV.

Rouge is a secret service agent working for the president who moonlights as a jewel thief (or perhaps it's the other way around lol). At some point before the game began she got a mission from the President, which probably went something like this: "hey Rouge, Eggman just fucking busted ass through GUN's top secret military base and stole something called 'Project Shadow' and nobody is telling me what the hell that even is. Go do some sleuthing and figure out what this project Shadow shit is and what Eggman's doing with it." She either got this mission assignment while stealing the Master Emerald from Angel Island, or shortly before deciding to go steal the Master Emerald as a day trip or something.

Either way, she's confronted by Knuckles over the Master Emerald and that is when she sees Eggman for the first time.

After snagging some pieces of the master emerald along the way, she follows Eggman back to his secret pyramid base. It is notable that GUN themselves are already aware of the general location of this base and are trying to raid it, but are unable to actually get inside. Rouge manages to successfully infiltrate it.

This is the first time the audience is clued into Rouge's true motivations. It is her mission to find out what Eggman is up to. Thus she takes the transporter to the ARK to get to the bottom of his schemes.

This is when she meets Eggman and Shadow and ingratiates herself in with them. At this point Team Dark is formed, but Rouge is operating as a double agent. Everything she does under Eggman's orders and interests is to get in his good graces so she can fulfill her true mission. She is NOT acting as a villain, she's being an undercover cop. After the demonstration with the Eclipse Canon blowing up the moon and Eggmans threats falling on deaf ears due to Sonic's interruption, Rouge gives Eggman the info about Tails having the final Chaos Emerald. Then she gives a status report to the President.

This is why I said Rouge's initial mission assignment was "find out what the fuck Project Shadow is, because apparently that's what Eggman yoinked from GUN's military island and nobody will tell me what it is."

Rouge's mission during this game is to find out what Project Shadow is, if Shadow the Hedgehog being the ultimate life form is related to whatever Project Shadow is, and what Eggman's intentions involving Project Shadow are. And if Shadow is a threat. The evolving situation and her expanded understanding of Shadow means she's playing speed chess with how she handles things, since she IS operating as a double agent following Eggman's orders. She also can't quite sus out what Shadow's deal is. He certainly CLAIMS to be the ultimate life form. Is that what Project Shadow is? Is HE project Shadow?

Her efforts of playing the part as Eggman's lackey pay off and he gives her the password to access the ARK's database and find the information she's been looking for.

And the information she finds it about the prototype, the research project that Gerald documented in the ARK, and not the true scope of his final results with Shadow the Hedgehog's creation which were relegated entirely to his secret personal diary.

Rouge is shooketh, and confronts Shadow with her findings. Shadow claims to the be ultimate life form. But she just found out about what Project Shadow "truly" is, the Biolizard. If Project Shadow was meant to create the ultimate life form, and Project Shadow was this Biolizard, then who or what is Shadow? After all it is her mission to get to the bottom of this project Shadow business. And she wants to find out the truth about the nature of Shadow's character as well, since he did save her life and all. So she knows there's more to him than meets the eye. Her mission and motivation is to uncover the truth.

But Shadow takes her questions as existential, and just reaffirms his sense of identity. Rouge is left with nothing but the documents about the Biolizard she got from the ARK computer, and cannot make a definitive declaration about what Shadow the Hedgehog has to do with the Ultimate Lifeform.

In the end, the Colony Drop program is initiated. And Rouge receives a call from the President which probably went something like "ROUGE HOLY FUCK THE ARK IS ON A COLLISION COURSE FOR EARTH AND WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON UP THERE!?!?!?!?!?"

Due to the situation being pretty FUBAR, Eggman shares Gerald's diary with Rouge and the others. Revealing the truth about Shadow the Hedgehog as the true Ultimate Lifeform, the result of Project Shadow, all along. And the instrument of Gerald's final revenge.

Rouge's mission is a success. She has finally learned why Eggman blew his way through GUN's base and sprung Project Shadow, and learned definitively what Project Shadow is. She knows the truth about what Project Shadow is, and who Shadow the Hedgehog the ultimate life form is. Once this whole ARK collision business is resolved, she can make a full report to the President.

Although. Personally. I think Rouge's final scene talking to Sonic about Shadow changed her priorities.

"Do you really think that the professor created him, Shadow, to carry out the revenge on all those who live here on earth?"

"He was what he was. A brave and heroic hedgehog. Who gave his life to save this planet. Shadow the Hedgehog."

".... I guess you're right."

That's Sonic's "what you see is what you get" view of the world. And I believe it rang true for Rouge. I believe Rouge was inspired by Sonic in this short interaction. I like to think, perhaps, that when Rouge gave her report to the President, that is what she said. "Shadow was a brave and heroic hedgehog who gave his life to save this planet." But that's just me. The President DOES seem to hold a pretty favorable opinion of Shadow though, despite never meeting him. So that's what I like to think.

Anyway Rouge was a good guy the whole time play the games they are very good.

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

Thank you women 🫡 May we have their names? I don’t know all of them. -☀️

(anon is referencing my recent gifset of sonic women!)

Sure! I put them in order of debut/release date. I realized while making this that I messed up the order of Shade and Merlina so I swapped em.

Amy Rose - first debuted in 1992 Shogakukan manga

Sally Acorn - SatAM and Archie canon. Was first created for SatAM but debuted in the comics first as a promo.

Bunnie Rabbott - SatAM and Archie canon. Same as Sally.

Breezie - Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog; she also appeared in Archie but with a diff personality. She was one of the few recurring female characters (along with Ms Possum and Mama Robotik) but since her appearances had actual arcs for her I picked her for the set.

Dulcy the Dragon - SatAM, wasn't as major in Archie iirc. Debuted in SatAM second season.

Seira - Sonic OVA, 1996.

Sonia the Hedgehog - Sonic Underground, 1998. I considered including Aleena as well but it's hard to find decent shots of her and she's barely onscreen. Also was hard to find a good shot of Sonia but that's just bc I hate the animation in this show.

Tikal the Echidna - first debuted in 1998's Sonic Adventure. Appeared later in Sonic X (where the gif is from) and I want her to come back pls

Lumina Flowlight - only appearance so far is Sonic Shuffle in 2000, but she's a major presence throughout the entire game.

Rouge the Bat - first debuted in 2001's Sonic Adventure 2. Gif is from Shadow Dark Beginnings.

Maria Robotnik - same as Rouge

Cream the Rabbit - first debuted in Sonic Advance 2 (2002)

Vanilla the Rabbit - first debuted in Sonic Advance 2 (2002). She appears more in supplementary materials (comics, Sonic Channel) than the games proper (hence why her gif is from Sonic X), but she does so enough that I felt safe counting her as a major character.

Ella - Sonic X. Secondary character who appears through almost every episode of seasons 1-2.

Topaz - Sonic X. Secondary character but major due to her partnership with Rouge as a GUN agent. Also her and Rouge are kinda fruity. Appears in seasons 1-2.

Cosmo - Sonic X season 3. Pretty much the main character of that arc.

Blaze the Cat - debuted in Sonic Rush (2005).

Wave the Swallow - debuted in Sonic Riders (2006).

Princess Elise III - major character in Sonic the Hedgehog (2006).

Shahra the Genie - major character in Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007).

Marine the Raccoon - major character in Sonic Rush Adventure (2007).

Shade the Echidna - my darling light of my life. Major character in Sonic Chronicles: the Dark Brotherhood (2008).

Merlina - major character in Sonic and the Black Knight (2009).

Zeena the Zeti - debuted in Sonic Lost World (2013), hasn't appeared in the games since but has reappeared in the canon IDW comics.

Sticks the Badger - major character in the Sonic Boom franchise starting in 2014

Longclaw - Sonic's original guardian in the Sonic film franchise. So far her only living appearance has been in 2020, but her hologram appears in the 2022 sequel and she's directly referenced in the 2024 film.

Maddie Wachowski - Sonic's adoptive mother in the Sonic film franchise, debuting in 2020.

Sage Robotnik - major character in Sonic Frontiers (2022), is likely to appear in later games

Trip the Sungazer - major character in Sonic Superstars (2023).

Ariem the Ram - major character in Sonic Dream Team (2024).

There were plenty of comic women I wanted to include but this was a gifset and comics don't, well. Move. So some comic girlie shoutouts:

Shogakukan: Tania

Sonic the Comic: Tekno, Ebony and Pyjamas

Archie: there's a ton and I still haven't read it in full so I probably missed a couple, but I know Julie Su, Fiona, Mina and Hope are pretty major

IDW: Tangle, Whisper, Jewel, Belle, Lanolin, Surge

And bc the image limit on tumblr is 30, I had to narrow down my initial list. Special shoutout to Aleena, Helen SonicX, and Rachel and Jojo SCU.

[bambiraptor9blog]

'It's Complicated'-Sonadow Fan Fic-Chapter 1

Posting this chapter here in its entirety from my AO3 page. If you like what you read, please feel free to add notes, blaze, comment and read the rest on my AO3 account-thanks! :)

Chapter 1-The Mean Bean Coffee Co

The black quilled Hedgehog with crimson tips looked up at the entrance to the corner coffee shop, raising an eyebrow curiously while folding his arms against his chest. His white patch of chest fur puffed up with the brisk icy wind—Montana was not known for gentle climate, especially not in the dead of Winter—and he stowed the thought that he was freezing cold deep down inside his mind, letting his child-self seize in pain whilst he took on a dour expression.

“The Mean Bean,” he grunted softly to himself, his hot breath instantly becoming a miniature cloud on the cold breeze. He blinked his bright red eyes, shook his head, and let out a bemused, “Tch!”

“Hello, other Hedgehog,” the more heavy-set Dr. Ivo Robotnik—Sonic often called him Eggman—had somehow snuck up behind the black and crimson quilled creature in question. He dramatically pivoted to block the creature from entering his beloved slice of Americana—as well as his secret lab. “I see you’ve found my quaint establishment in the heart of Green Hills! I trust you—hoofed it—all this way okay?” He swept his white gloves through his comical moustache, getting icicles off its wiry mass, and grinned maniacally, his red snow goggles obscuring his eyes from the Hedgehog before him. “You know—all you Hedgehogs look awfully alike. What’s your name again?” He paused grooming his moustache to fold his arms across his chest, doing his best to mimic the Hedgehog’s pose. “Don’t tell me—wait—it’s something contrived and simplistic, isn’t it? I mean, the red one with those big, meaty paws is called Knuckles, the fox with two tails is called Tails, so you must be—”

“Shadow,” the Hedgehog grunted, rolling his eyes. “And I know who you are. Move aside, Doctor. I’m here to investigate this little…coffee shop…of yours.”

“GUN didn’t make you part of the Health and Wellness Advisory board, did they?” Robotnik spread his arms out wide, lightly tapping his fingers to sections of his palms as he did so in a rapid-fire text. Agent Stone, within the shop, shuttered the blinds and switched out the F- grade placard to an A placard, catching a glimpse of Shadow with fear in his large brown eyes.

“Doctor—who is that?!” Stone typed frantically while shutting down his Robotnik Cosplay Device 2.0, now with an added Sims 4 component.

“I have no idea, Stone,” Robotnik typed back while facing Shadow. “Let’s play nice for now and see where it gets us. You know my order by now, baby.” He smiled even wider at the scowling creature.

“Latte—with steamed Austrian goat milk!” Robotnik heard Stone say, and the lab was now a storefront once again, with warm lighting, a fireplace in one corner, and coffee grinders revving up, crunching down the beans that sat within them loudly.

Shadow sniffed the air. A memory hit him—one where he found a container of Professor Gerald’s prized Arabica coffee beans while he and Maria were playing hide and seek aboard the ARK. He let the memory stay, the cold mountainous town drifting away into a sea of starlight below his air shoe clad feet. Robotnik marveled as he levitated, watching the fire from the boosters instantly melt the snow on the ground.

“Oh ho! Where did you get those? I haven’t seen air shoes since…since…!” Robotnik was about to sink into his own reverie when he broke Shadow’s.

“I must get inside,” Shadow gruffed, and pushed past Robotnik toward the doors. Robotnik’s jaw dropped and he whirled about with a sound mimicking one of his badniks turning on its chassis.

“Eager to try our Mean Beans, I see!” beamed Agent Stone, in his barista outfit. The slender, olive-skinned man with short black hair and a well-groomed beard-and-goatee rushed around the counter to meet Shadow, and to ensure Robotnik’s rage was quelled long enough to develop a customer service façade.

“Coffee,” was all Shadow could mumble, overwhelmed now by the sight of the grinders and state-of-the-art dispensers, in polished stainless steel. The smell of coffee is what made his head spin more than when he performed a homing attack—the rich, heavy, earthy smell that reminded him of home, of the love of his beloved Maria and her comfort. His air shoes hit the tile floor and singed the grout slightly, making Stone inwardly sigh, Oh great. Another space porcupine to clean up after…I hope Ivo knows what’s he’s dealing with this time…I’d…I’d really like for just us to… “Barista…Stone. I’d like to try some of your coffee, please.” Shadow read his crooked nametag, which Robotnik narrowed his eyes at, and then Stone straightened it nervously.

“Absolutely—uh--?” Stone replied as he scuttled back behind the counter, holding the creature’s cold, soul-piercing gaze, waiting for the name. He swallowed hard. This space porcupine…why does he remind me of Ivo in our younger years? Focus, Stone! Focus!

“Shadow,” the softest hint of a smile started to thaw the iciness in his gaze. “Shadow the Hedgehog.”

Stone scribbled on a cup while Robotnik ambled over and took a seat in a booth by the front counter, staring at both of them curiously. Why my fate continues to be tied to these…Hedgehogs…is beyond me. Still, the gems they keep bringing to this world will make for an incredible source of power…and this one. This one will be the one to beat! I wonder…what makes this creature tick? He seemed to be lost in thought with the smell of the coffee—perhaps a loved one? A lover? Maybe both? Who cares? I have to get into his head before he gets into mine! Robotnik thought, all while Stone served him a lovingly etched cup of hot Austrian goat milk latte.

“Would you like a latte? An espresso? If you’re feeling cheeky, maybe a flat white’ll do ya right, mate!” Stone tried to impress Shadow and failed miserably as he returned to the counter of the shop. Shadow just stared at Stone, blinking. Robotnik rolled his eyes and sipped his latte slowly, loudly.

“Stone,” Robotnik’s tone made the other man freeze. Stone looked down at the floor, his eyes wide, his smile fading. He was expecting a rebuke, a sharp retort, a cruel jab at his big heart. Robotnik lifted his chin, and winked. “You did excellent, adding just the right amount of mushroom. Keep it up, and you might get a raise!”

“Yes, Doctor!” Stone felt the spring in his step as he continued to address Shadow. Shadow raised an eyebrow again, staring at them both even more curiously than he stared at the false storefront moments ago. What an odd mating ritual. Humph. Pathetic humans, groveling for attention.

“Mmh,” Shadow thought for a moment. Then, “Can you do me a favor, Barista Stone?”

“Yes, whatever you’d like!” Stone felt his voice crack. Robotnik furrowed his brows at that, and Stone cleared his throat, waiting expectantly while leaning over the counter slightly.

“Put only your finest roast beans in the cup. No water, no espresso, no grinding. Just whole beans.”

“You don’t drink coffee?” Robotnik mumbled aloud. “Fascinating.” What a little weirdo, he thought, finishing his cup.

“Of—of course?” Stone asked Shadow, looking over at Robotnik for clarification. The doctor shrugged and started adding notes into his watch. “Any specific flavor?”

“Hm…” Shadow stood there, thinking, letting the recesses of his memory rise to the surface, like the twisted tendrils of Black Arms aliens, turning his gaze distant. He recalled popping open Gerald’s glass coffee container and eating the beans with his hands, soiling his gloves, struggling to chew them. He read the small white label on the container’s glass surface as he ate. “Ah-ra-bick-uh,” he grunted aloud, phonetically sounding out the word as he did when he was young.

“Dark or light roast?”

“Dark, of course,” Shadow returned from his reverie. Just the way Gerald and Maria liked them…as did I… “Oh, and please include a serving spoon. I don’t want to get my hands dirty.”

“Not yet you don’t!” Robotnik chortled, a glint in his eyes that only Stone could catch.

“What’s that supposed to mean, Doctor?” Shadow asked, genuinely unsure of his double entendre.

“Nothing at all, my fine black and red quilled fellow!” Robotnik grinned, wandering over to Stone and Shadow. He set his goggles on one end of the counter and balanced his weight with his elbows against it. “So. What brings you here tonight? Your…usual den too cold?”

Stone prepped the coffee and listened in on the conversation attentively.

“I’m no mere Hedgehog, Doctor. I thought your grandfather clued you in on that ages ago,” Shadow gruffed in response, avoiding the man’s eye contact.

“Well an alien Hedgehog, at least to us here on Earth, yes,” Robotnik nodded, fidgeting with his moustache. He steepled his fingers beneath his chin, raising an eyebrow at Shadow.

“You know why I am here. I was sent by Gerald and GUN to investigate your establishment,” Shadow gruffed.

“Are you familiar with the other Hedgehog that lives here on Earth?” Robotnik wanted to know, ignoring his statement.

“There’s…there’s another?” Shadow wondered. I thought they were all extinct, wiped out with the Siege of Longclaw! I thought I was the last…!

“Yes, and he’s been…antagonizing…” Robotnik gritted his teeth, “the residents of this town for years, including yours truly. His name…is Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!” and with Hedgehog! Robotnik shouted angrily, making Stone wince and Shadow’s eyes widen in alarm.

When the echo of his voice died down, Robotnik caught his breath, and he cleared his throat.

“I take it you know of him? I know GUN does…”

Shadow was quiet for a long time. Stone peered at him from behind the counter, blinking slowly.

A blush had risen to Shadow’s cheeks. He tried to force down his feelings, tried to hide the years of longing that welled up in his chest and in the tears he felt moving to the corners of his eyes. He closed them, taking in a few deep breaths, his chest hairs quivering with the attempt to calm down.

Another Hedgehog? A…a chance to have a mate at last? A chance to…be happy?

Then, aloud, softly, “The story goes all Hedgehogs, as you know of us, died out along with the owls years ago. I…I didn’t know…another had…escaped that fate!”

“You see,” Robotnik continued, chewing on a cookie Stone presented to him. He wiped away the crumbs with taps of his fingers, infinitesimally tiny bots cleaning them away from his suit, and started to pace the floor between Stone and Shadow. “I’ve been trying to track the origins of that blue quilled menace for a while now. Alas, I can only pinpoint a comet that orbits close to our solar system once every 50 years.”

“A…a comet?” Shadow felt an internal shudder. An unbidden memory arrived, a roving slimy yellow and red eye, moving listlessly in a black and red skinned alien being, hissing his name after he emerged from his incubator tank…

“It turns out that my grandpapa, as brilliant as he was, had to make a deal with an extraterrestrial devil to keep his business alive. And this devil was involved with these…Hedgehogs…and this comet, too.”

“I am more than a mere Hedgehog, and more than Gerald’s business, Doctor,” Shadow growled, his quills and fur hackles rising with the implication. He pointed a finger at the mustachioed man and continued, “I am the Ultimate Lifeform on this planet! The only hope we have against such…intruders! How dare you insinuate that I am allied with them!”

“Ah, but Sonic is allied with this comet and this devil, it seems!” Robotnik nodded, pausing in his pacing to face Shadow.

“What!” Shadow was taken aback. At that moment, Stone gave him a cup full of the roasted beans.

Shadow chewed on the new information and the dark roasted Arabica beans. He grunted in pleasure, which Stone and Robotnik found oddly arousing, and they stared at him as he ate, enraptured.

“It’s never good,” Shadow continued while swallowing, “to dilute the flavor.” He cleared his throat, noting the shocked expressions of both men.

“Stone,” Robotnik whispered. Stone started to blush and sweat, adjusting his collar.

“Yes Doctor?” Stone wanted to know, unable to take his eyes off Shadow as he dug in another spoonful and ate, rolling his red eyes in bliss.

Robotnik hissed to Stone: “This Hedgehog is not the same as Sonic. Clearly not. He’s got to be some kind of mutant hybrid. I mean, who eats raw coffee beans?”

“I…I honestly don’t know, Doctor. I can’t help but watch him…! I mean, how does he--?!” and Stone let out a gurk! as Robotnik grabbed the man’s necktie below his barista smock and yanked him close.

“The way he looked when I mentioned our blue rat…do you think there’s a possibility, an inkling that he could be…attracted to Sonic?”

“I thought they were related!”

“No, you buffoon! I was using that information as a decoy, to set him up into thinking that somehow, someway, they might be distantly related. Obviously not direct, Shadow was supposedly a project my grandpapa kept secret from the government for decades! But is this Shadow…my Shadow? Catch my drift?” Robotnik set Stone down, who gasped for air gratefully.

“I…I think so, Doctor…” Stone swallowed, recovering and adjusting his tie, straightening his barista smock.

“This coffee…is…most…excellent,” Shadow proclaimed, nearly finished with his cup. His quills began to stand on end and he started to rev up his air shoes instinctively. “I will need to go on a run soon to burn it all off. So tell me, Doctor and Barista Stone…is this Sonic…am I…somehow involved with this…comet? Is Sonic allied with the ones known to me as the Black Arms? Did he betray us, betray…me?”

The Black Arms? Could that be the devil alien race my grandpapa knows?! Robotnik leaned in even closer to Stone, his voice an imperceptible whisper that made the latter’s neck hair stand on end: “He’s into him, Stone. Hook, line and sinker.”

Then, pulling away and ambling toward Shadow: “This Sonic…ever since he came here, he’s been nothing but trouble toward me and Stone here. He’s nearly destroyed this town with his buddy cop daddy, and last I checked, he has the Chaos Emeralds.”

“The Chaos Emeralds?” Shadow wanted to know. He coughed slightly, the coarse beans sticking to his throat. Then, Robotnik continued:

“We both know the kind of power he has with those—he could be some kind of terrorist, out to conquer the world for Hedgehog kind! So we’ve been trying to get the Emeralds back—”

“Why?” Shadow wondered, tossing his cup in the trash and giving the spoon back to Stone, who grimaced in disgust—it was covered in his saliva, and teeth marks made divots into it. “Doctor, there’s no need to safeguard the Emeralds for GUN. That’s my job, last I checked.”

Robotnik sneered and then put on a wide fake smile. “I’m the smartest man on this planet. Well, aside from Stone. And I know what’s at stake here, Shadow. I know what that power means, in the wrong hands. Shouldn’t I—I mean, shouldn’t we, as humans that are the stewards of this blue planet—do the responsible thing, and prevent chaos from reigning supreme over this world? Isn’t that what Maria wanted?”

 Maria! Shadow’s heart nearly stopped on hearing her name. His angel, the blonde human girl with blue eyes deeper than the ocean floor; the one who, despite being sickly, loved him unconditionally. The one who sent him to Earth 50 years ago…the one whose name once again brought him back to life.

Shadow’s rage began to rise on thinking of his loss, and he scrunched up his nose in a deep scowl.

“A Hedgehog like Sonic cannot be captured. Only bested, Doctor,” Shadow tsked. His eyes glowed red like coals on an open flame, and energy started to surge through his quills, turning them neon orange. The lights in the Mean Bean began to dim and flicker as Shadow’s energy started to build. Shadow’s limiter rings tightened on his wrists and ankles, making him wince for a split second.

Robotnik noted the rings and tapped on his watch, taking photos of them silently. Then, “Race that blue rat to the ends of the Earth if you have to, Shadow. I want you to fulfill my grandpapa’s—no, Maria’s!—promise. You say you’re here to protect mankind? Prove it, and bring that Hedgehog back to me, so I can…deal with him…accordingly.”

Then, he snarled, “Sonic will be mine, Doctor. I will make sure of it, because I am the Ultimate Life!”

Before Robotnik could give a single quip in response, Shadow was gone, blasting out the doors of the Mean Bean Coffee Shop in the dead of night, his quills and air shoes the only brief light before total darkness surrounded the streets of the mountain town.

[shadamyheadcanons]

I'm not sure if they ever gave an official explanation as to why Shadow joined GUN, but I've seen plenty of people say that it's strange he joined the organization that basically ruined his life, and yeah it is weird.

I have come up with a headcanon that explains it though. He joined them to make sure they never do something like they did on the ARK ever again. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer as they say. Not to mention the whole reason that all happened was because GUN wanted him as a weapon. I think he'd be concerned that they might go after his new friends if he doesn't give them the impression that he's under their command.

So he joined, hoping to gain their trust and keep an eye on their activities. Rouge is also in on it, and definitely has hacked into their database to view top secret documents. If they ever find out that GUN is planning another senseless massacre, then Team Dark plans to sabotage it from the inside out.

Not a ShadAmy headcanon specifically, but you could imagine that Shadow would be reluctant to share this information out of fear of being jeopardized. Perhaps it could be used for drama. Have fun writers~!

I really, really like this. It’s my new favorite explanation for something that’s always bothered me about this franchise. Thank you!

It doesn’t just make sense objectively, it matches Shadow’s experiences perfectly. I often say Shadow would cling to Amy because he knows how easy it is to lose someone, but I love the idea of him taking it in a darker direction, too, picking up on the possibility of another tragedy happening and preemptively taking steps to stop it. I think people see Shadow as rash because he’s so extreme in his actions, but that is careful for him. Those aren’t mutually exclusive:

[IDW issues 5 & 6]

Team Dark standing with him is always great, too.

Another thing I like is that it gives Shadow agency. Based on Commander Tower’s behavior at the end of ShTH and his actions in Shadow: Dark Beginnings, Sega seems to want us to believe the Commander is a nice guy who’s good buddies with Shadow:

“Shadow, do you read me? First, I...I want to...apologize, for the other day...actually, I just became a grandfather last week, and I was thinking of maybe having you over.”

Commander Tower, probably: “Sowwy I twied to shoot you, uwu. It’ll never happen again! 🥺”

And, uh...I don’t buy that, frankly...but it doesn’t seem to me that G.U.N.’s keeping him under their thumb, either. As interesting as that concept would have been, I don’t think it’s what Sega’s going for. It lines up better with canon if Shadow’s choosing to stick around for his own ulterior motives. I think having him actively decide to keep G.U.N. close for that reason strengthens his character.

Your headcanon is even stronger now in the wake of Takashi Iizuka’s pre-Shadow Generations interview (which happened after this ask was sent, btw), specifically the question at 3:20:

(Side note: I have so, so many issues with what he says here–no other motivation? None at all?! You’ve got to be kidding me! But that’s a rant for another day.)

This all but confirms that working with them is a choice for Shadow.

It also perfectly demonstrates something that really irks me about Sega: their lack of communication about basic aspects of the characters’ lives. Most fans speculated for what, almost two decades, about whether a main character is employed or not, and Sega just drops it in a random interview? Not even in a game? It’s such basic information, yet they didn’t tell us for 19 years. And gee, why would we get that impression?

[Archie Sonic Universe issue 1]

It’s like even the official writers at Archie thought he was a G.U.N. agent. Sega couldn’t be bothered to tell them, let alone us. We don’t even know where some of these characters live. It’s kind of silly once you think about it.

Yeah. “Silly.” Let’s call it that. 🤨

Thanks for the ask!

[edgy-ella]

SONIC 3 WAS SO GOOD!!!

Extended thoughts below:

The action scenes are by far the best they’ve ever been in the whole series. They’ve really improved how they visually represent Sonic’s speed. The only exception is the gravity scene at GUN HQ, which I think dragged on a little too long and overall wasn’t as impactful as, say, fighting a GUN mech with those same gravity abilities would’ve been.

Keanu is ok as Shadow. If you’ve seen the trailers, that’s about the level he keeps it at for the whole movie. I think I would’ve been more sold on him if he gave a bigger “MARIA!!” when she died.

In the first act, I felt like the movie was kind of on autopilot. Things just kind of happened without a ton of buildup, and the script kind of lacked flavor for the expository scenes. For example: when Sonic asks Olive Garden Guy™ about Shadow, he just starts expositing Shadow’s lore without anything like “this information is top secret, tell no one else about this” or “it’s painful to think about…I wish I could just act like it never happened” or even Sonic questioning how/why Shadow came from a meteorite. Just lore exposition without flavor from the rest of the cast. Throughout the movie, the dialogue felt very on the nose. I wish it was a little more subtle, but it’s a kids movie I get it.

On that note, the movie feels like it just has a checklist of SA2 iconography they had to tick off rather than more naturally integrating that kind of stuff into the plot. For the larger story it works well, like with Shadow and Maria, but stuff like the Chao Garden and “talk about a low budget flight!” just kind of felt…tacked on. In the moment it’s fine because I’m too busy aggressively pointing at the screen, but for someone not as invested in the series as I am, it feels a little random and clunky.

The movie really kicks up when Shadow starts having Maria flashbacks. The little montage they have with them together was so good. The cold cut to the record player stopping was so well done.

In retrospect, when just looking at this movie and not the rest of the franchise, I think Maria and Gerald’s relationship could’ve had some more focus. They never mention anything about Maria being sick in the movie, so it’s not clear why she’s there at the research station to begin with. That being said, Gerald telling Ivo “you’re no Maria” towards the end was gut wrenching. My theater audibly ooh’d.

@allshaftsfall and I were betting that the reason Gerald is still alive would’ve been through time travel shenanigans (which would set up the next movie), but, bizarrely enough, it just seems like Gerald is genuinely that old. He mentions he’s 110. But…how? Did he just survive that long? Did he use Shadow’s quill to expand his lifespan? It’s never explained.

I’m glad they had Knuckles and Tails continue to be proactive and do things instead of just being relegated to cheerleaders and/or comic relief. Knuckles in particular wound up hard carrying Sonic and Tails through most of the action setpieces.

There’s a scene where Tails talks to Agent Stone about being Sonic’s friend and not his assistant like Stone thinks he is, and Tails asks Stone “aren’t you and Eggman best friends too?” Stone replies verily sorrowfully “yeah…friends. Totally friends.” I know it’s meant to read as Stone wishing Eggman treated him better but I could not see it as anything other than Stone thinking “he’s my lover!” but thinking he can’t say that to Tails bc he thinks Tails is homophobic.

YET ANOTHER GOD DAMN CASPER REFERENCE. I cannot believe that both this and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, my two most hyped movies of the year, both had Casper references in them. I’m losing my mind.

I am so mad they didn’t actually kill off Tom. The setup was right there. They even parallel Sonic grieving him to Shadow grieving over Maria! But noooo he survives. When will we be free of human cop dad.

DUDE. The Super Sonic/Super Shadow fight was SO FUCKING GOOD. Worth the price of admission alone.

I kinda figured Live and Learn was gonna be in the movie going in from how much everyone’s been #KnowingSmile posting about it, but honestly? I was more hyped hearing Eggman’s theme from Unleashed start playing. It was way more of a “oh my god, it’s the thing!” moment. That being said HOLY SHIT LIVE AND LEARN PEAK!!!!!! The movie’s OST had a lot more of a rock influence and I couldn’t be happier.

I have some miscellaneous “I liked this better in SA2” stuff (pissing on the moon, Shadow’s heel-face turn, etc.), but all of them I understand why the filmmakers did what they did so they’re just nitpicks.

The end credits scene is kind of insane because it’s super long. It just feels like a scene from the next movie. Metal looks a little rough, but I’m sure they’ll polish him up for the next movie. They’re probably going to lean into Amy being a magic fortune teller girl given how she shows up in a dark cloak and floats in the air. I hope she’s gonna keep the fangirl energy, but I doubt it. Very interesting choice to do multiple Metal Sonics, though, especially since Sega only likes using the one Metal Sonic rather than having different copies running around. My prediction for the next movie is that Neo Metal Sonic will be the main villain and he’s controlling all the other Metal Sonics from afar.

[st4rnikka]

I just had an idea for a Sonic fanfic!

IMAGINE SONIC BEING A GUN AGENT, BUT HE'S ACTUALLY PERFECT IN HIS JOB.

And it all started when Sonic's friends went out on their own to find themselves and explore. Sonic gets bored, and goes out to see if eggman up to something just to discover that he is doing nothing(really doing nothing, Sonic verified and discovered that he was in vacation LMAO)

And muses thinking "I'm so bored I might just join GUN secretly and do missions for them alone for the fun of it." And then just stops and goes like "Wait a minute..."

And that's how Sonic joined GUN secretly, the commander would use this little secret as blackmail against Sonic BUT, he's simply too good at his job. Non-ironically Sonic uses his mind when doing his missions and just like him his mind is VERY fast, so imagine how long it would take him to make up things or decisions? Very little time lol :D

Also GUN did question why Sonic didn't want to team up with team Dark and do his missions completely alone, just to hear Sonic laugh and be like "Need my own time alone sometimes"

And they do keep it a secret to the point of giving Sonic a codename and a fake name, and also to the point of not even Rouge being capable of knowing. Everyone just mutually agreed after Sonic came back from numerous missions that would take months to finish after just 2 days, that they must keep this perfect agent a secret and maintain him entertained to not leave GUN after getting bored again.

They call him Blue Devil or Aeolus (The wind god from the greek myth)

He keeps this a secret for actually a very long time, except he's not even trying to keep it a secret he just doesn't mention it and act natural. If you see GUN start to act more politely with Sonic or obey orders from him, no you didn't.

Okay that's it for the secret agent Sonic fanfic idea. I really would love to read a fanfic with this is there one out there that I am unaware of???? If not, WHY DID NOBODY THINK OF THIS😭???!!!!

[xx-disco-inferno-xx]

thats right yall its time for another shadow-centric sonic au

its also a long one so ill put the lore underneath the cut (my writing isnt the greatest right now bcuz im tired and ive been writing for almost 12 hours straight lmao i can no longer create proper sentences)

debating calling it Sonic 4D Blast because hey reference

Everything is pretty much the same (wow how original, right) but on the ARK, when Black Doom gave Gerald his DNA, Gerald accidentally created a 4th dimensional entity. No one knows how or what to do about it. Gerald just did his stuff with Black Doom's DNA, turned around, and there was Shadow (named by Maria for his lack of a shadow). Shadow was able to successfully cure Maria, and when Gerald's reports indicated so, GUN became suspicious of the almost miraculous turnaround and started investigating.

Once they found out about Project Shadow and what Gerald had somehow done, they regarded Shadow as a top priority threat and began developing experimental technology to counter Gerald's "weapon" in secret.

It took a few years of observation to make sure Maria really was cured, and during that time, she and Shadow became extremely close. Most of the scientists on the ARK either feared him or were cautious around him, though, not quite sure if he could be fully trusted due to all the uncertainty around how he worked.

Eventually, GUN decided to launch a raid on the ARK. Everyone onboard was given sufficient warning that the shuttle was approaching thanks to Shadow, but no one knew why. Once onboard, they immediately began interrogating the scientists and searching for Project Shadow. A soldier shot at Maria in an attempt to get them to cooperate, but Shadow revealed himself and stopped the bullet from hitting her. (im tired pretend theres a conflict escalation here) One thing led to another, and Shadow ended up getting a gold ring forced into his wrist - the experimental technology GUN had been developing the whole time.

It was a set of four golden rings meant to confine Shadow to the 3rd dimension, and while one didn't do it immediately, it slowed him down enough for the soldiers to get the others on him, trapping him in a 3d form and shooting Maria anyway to punish him for acting out.

yap yap yap the rest of the scientists are massacred and Gerald is arrested as per canon event. Shadow is also taken into GUN custody and tortured in a variety of ways, under the guise of scientific research (green line down torso on ref is a scar from vivisection), all while being in indescribable pain from being confined to the 3rd dimension. For 50 years, this is an on and off thing, and he is kept top secret, only known about by some of the highest clearance agents.

Eggman, looking through GUN's databases for anything that could be of use to him, finds one of Gerald's old reports that slipped through the cracks, and begins the search for Project Shadow. The events of SA2 happen, and after Heroes, Shadow is able to break free from the confinement of the Inhibitors, finally freeing himself from the 3rd dimension.

i think theres more id usually add at this point but my brain has literally clocked out so ill just add more like tomorrow or whenever. but basically now shadow just kinda chills like that one homie you see every once in a while

[guardian-of-fandoms]

Sonic 3 Theory: G.U.N.'s true plans.

so i can safely say we're all weirded out by Team Sonic working with Gun in the trailer,

and i know i'm not the only one who freaked out over that Shot of Tom wearing a Gun uniforn.

I've seen some people speculating that Tom is working for gun, but that just doesn't feel right to me, that's not in his character.

The Watchowski's KNOW not to trust Gun, especially after the events of Knuckles.

but there's one other detail from that shot from the trailer, Tom is being pinned down, he's being ATTACKED.

i fully think that at some point, Gun is going to turn on everyone.

Gun and Commander Walter/Olive Garden Guy have been clearly and painstakingly set up as Antagonistic forces, it just feels weird to backtrack on that now.

if i had to guess, i'd say Tom might've tried to do what Agent Stone did at the end of 2, sneak around Gun for information. And because he's being pinned down, he probably got busted.

So that raises the question, why would Gun go to them for help in the first place?

i have a theory.

In the trailer, Sonic calls Shadow an Alien.

in this universe, Sonic and the other characters are classified as Aliens. By calling him an Alien, that tells me that Sonic is under the impression that Shadow is like them. That also might explain why Sonic wanted to just talk things out, he thinks Shadow is just a little confused.

That makes me think that Gun deliberately LIED to Sonic about Shadow's history.

Commander Walter clearly wants Project Shadow to stay Secret, under any means necessary.

So that leads to my theory:

Gun plans on FRAMING Sonic for Shadow's rampage!

Think about it, what better way to hide a super speed hedgehog than by pinning it on ANOTHER Super Speed Hedgehog?

We know Walter wants sonic out of the picture, so this could be two birds with one stone, hiding the truth of project shadow AND "justifying" getting Sonic out of the way.

It could also be a cool twist on the plot from SA-2, instead of Mistaken Hedgehog Identity, it's a Deliberate Misdirection!

[semi-sketchy]

tbh I haven't exactly been hyped for the third Sonic movie, like interested, sure, but not hyped.

This trailer kinda solidified that feeling for me.

Firstly, I am glad that they're not trying to do a 1:1 adaptation of SA2. Everyone kept talking about how "we NEED Amy for movie 3" or "Rouge HAS to show up" but just because it happened that way in the game doesn't mean it'd work in this universe. I talked about this briefly when rewatching X, but the gist is you're much more likely to bastardize the original in an attempt to compete with it rather than create something enjoyable. Adaptations SHOULD be different enough to stand on their own instead of living in the original's shadow.

Heck, if I wanted to see SA2 again, I'd just play SA2. Not like the game's going anywhere.

The SCU already plays fast and loose with the game canon, really just taking names and putting their own spin on it, so I don't really understand why anyone expected a faithful adaptation.

Another risk with trying to make something mostly faithful is any changes are bound to be jarring. I'm already seeing this in the fandom and yes, some parts bother me, too.

We already went through the "why is Shadow working for GUN in '06" and now we have the sequel. Sonic is working for GUN. Top it off, Tom is no longer just a small town cop, but also a GUN agent.

"This movie better have some anti-military message" guys. It's no secret that the US military funds films for media rep. The whole movie industry is filled with pro-military messaging. The Sonic movies have been copaganda since the first, I don't understand why people keep expecting Sonic to hate cops when his dad is a cop.

Do I like Sonic working with GUN? No. I think it's stupid. They've been after his ass for two films and now they're calling him up like "Hi! Please don't hold a grudge for the time we tased and caged you and even catfished your aunt, we want you to beat up our problem!" I can't believe this also apparently worked on Tom like buddy. You were locked up by them too and your wife had to fight through them to save you

I suppose the justification is after two movies, it'd be tiresome to do it a third time, but I think there's better ways to avoid that than simply having Sonic work with the very people who imprisoned him.

Although, I'm intrigued with what they're going to do with Gerald alive. He's now there to further push and manipulate Shadow into revenge instead of just hard-wiring him. It's not just a memory of pain, there's someone there that is still angry and it's someone Shadow cares about. It'll be interesting to see what they do with this!

Also I don't think the Chao Garden being a type of Chuck E. Cheese was on anyone's bingo card

LOOK AT THE HUGE CHAO PLUSH

If anything comes out of this movie, I want it to be a good quality big Chao plush.

[fictional-orphan-smackdown]

Look man I'm tired, I can't keep coming up with these catchy similarity based showdown titles

All propaganda and what each competitor is from under the cut

Anthony Lockwood (Lockwood and Co)

Lockwood (he's known by his surname mostly) is the mysterious, daredevil and charming founder of Lockwood and Co., a detective agency specialised in protecting people from angry -and sometimes sort of hungry- ghosts in a world where they're rampant. His agency is starting small despite Lockwood bragging it's the best in London but get more and more recognition as the series progress and the agents composing them meet success (when they're not on the verge of dying). Lockwood has open manners but hid his painful past from his coworkers to protect himself. He and George, the first teenager he recruited, are quite stunned by Lucy, a country girl who fled to London after disaster striked in her hometown. Thanks to her talent, she quickly becomes known as one of the best ghost fighter in London and finds her place in the small team despite having the same determination to hide her past than Lockwood, which draws him close to her, making George jealous, but Lockwood's manifest good skills in leadership and the three of them become fast friends while unravelling secret truths and risking their lives repeatedly

He has a lot of trauma and a lot of pain but he always smiles and always has a warm and polite attitude; he’s so protective of the ones he loves that it overrides his suicidal tendencies; at the end of the series he starts to heal from his past; he’s hot but has only two braincells.

Shadow the Hedgehog (Sonic the Hedgehog franchise)

Shadow was created to help cure Robotnik's daughter, Maria, who suffers from the in-universe equivalent of AIDS. However, the us military catches wind of this and wants to use Shadow as a weapon. They storm the facility, kill Robotnik, KILL MARIA, but not before she ejects Shadow in a stasis pod that freezes him for 50 years. He has a black and red palette and owns a gun

I've come to make an announcement: Shadow the Hedgehog's a bitch-ass motherfucker. He pissed on my fucking wife. That's right. He took his hedgehog fuckin' quilly dick out and he pissed on my FUCKING wife, and he said his dick was THIS BIG, and I said that's disgusting. So I'm making a callout post on my Twitter.com. Shadow the Hedgehog, you got a small dick. It's the size of this walnut except WAY smaller. And guess what? Here's what my dong looks like. That's right, baby. Tall points, no quills, no pillows, look at that, it looks like two balls and a bong. He fucked my wife, so guess what, I'm gonna fuck the earth. That's right, this is what you get! My SUPER LASER PISS! Except I'm not gonna piss on the earth. I'm gonna go higher. I'm pissing on the MOOOON! How do you like that, OBAMA? I PISSED ON THE MOON, YOU IDIOT! You have twenty-three hours before the piss DROPLETS hit the fucking earth, now get out of my fucking sight before I piss on you too!

[thefakehedgehogaroundhere]

i had a thought and i don't know where the fuck it came from, but it's that sonic adventure 2 happening at the same time as unleashed would be INSANE

dark gaia wakes up and the force of the planet splitting apart wakes shadow. rouge being a GUN agent has to go on multiple missions, including find out what the fuck happened to the planet, and what eggman is planning. she and shadow team up as usual but now trying to help fix the planet- rouge doing it because GUN is gonna pay her, and shadow doing it because maybe along the way, like chip, he'll find out what went down in the gaps of his memory.

sonic is still the werehog, and because he's without sunlight in space, the whole time he's in space, he is transformed for all of his time on the ark. when eggman blows up the moon he like winces in pain a little bit like he's about to transform back to normal but obviously he can't do that because there's no sun. so there's like dark gaia energy leaking everywhere and hes trying not to fucking die

eggman woke up dark gaia and blew up the moon so the world is distracted while he builds eggmanland, but he discovers some government secrets about his grandfather and his cousin maria ooooooooo.

tails has the same role from both games- make gadgets to stop eggman, try not to get attacked by any of the creatures, yk. nothing has really changed. they can't restore the planet fully because of the last chaos emerald but eggman is booking it to space already so tails makes the fake emerald to stop him and then they can restore the emerald when they get back.

same thing with knuckles- he teams up with tails and sonic, has some run ins with rouge, argues with her over the master emerald. the only thing is that now rouge wants the emerald not for her own selfish desire (okay maybe a little for her own selfish desire), but because maybe it can help restore the planet. very minor change here but still important!

chip is trying to patch his memory just like shadow, and to restore the emeralds with sonic. however this is a cool parallel because shadows only trying to remember one thing- maria's promise- and chip is trying to remember his whole life.

and this whole time amy has no idea who sonic even is, until she has to be explicitly told "the other 3 foot tall hedgehog isn't sonic, but the massive in comparison 4'1" dog is"

gameplay is pretty much the same as unleashed with some adventure 2 elements. run around, collect shit, fight the creatures. the worldbuilding just includes adventure 2 maps now too. and instead of fighting the biolizard, shadow and sonic fight dark gaia. shadow falls to earth, and chip saves sonic because shadows immortal he's fiiiiiiine this won't lead to any poorly received 2005 games at all. sonic wakes up and is like "what the fuck where's shadow" chip goes "lmao he's dead but not really"

basically this is a concept i hate but love

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

i think they should have rouge in sonic 3 but she still works for gun. with the whole “people work for gun and research aliens” thing have them reveal that actually they just liked one and were like yeah we can hire her as a spy. this is revealed towards the end of the movie like in sa2, and half the characters (mostly other gun agents) had no idea she even worked for them and are like “what the fuck is this organisations hierarchy how many top secret furries does this org have”. every subsequent character introduced to the scu has some sort of gun connection, mostly either working for them or trying to be recruited for various purposes. they see amy wielding her big ass hammer and assume she has some sort of innate power that can be harnessed like knuckles and they use her polite and slightly naive disposition to lure her in. once it becomes clear they wanna do experiments on her she kicks their asses and during the ensuing fight someone manages to pluck one of her quills and discovers it has no energy and is just a regular ass quill. amy is deeply offended and confused by them ruining her hair. the last remaining conscious gun agent pleads with horror: “how are you this strong?” and she says “you ever heard of the gym???” and knocks him out cold. later down the line team chaotix get hired as a top secret investigative task force. the plot hinges on gun assuming they’re special in some way that makes their work more effective than human agents, mostly because vector oversold them in an effort to land a gig because rent was due, however the audience is clearly shown all of their successes over regular gun agents have been pure coincidences. once it becomes clear they’re not all that special or more effective, gun is like “do you guys not have any superpowers ?? special abilities ?? exceptional skills ??”. “i’m literally a ninja?” espio says, not knowing what more they could want. “one in five cases comes with a discount..?” vector tries. “i know how to tax evade” charmy helpfully provides.

anon you're hired