#Shardarry

[hadesknockedupintheunderworld]

Idk what do you think about poly ships but could you give your thoughts on Silver x Shard x Larry?

I actually do love polyships! You wouldn't know this anon, but while I do have occasional monoships there is more than one fandom I'm a part of where I just have insanely big and complicated polyships😂

Anyhow, I actually kind of adore the thought of this ship? While out of all of the possible pairings here, Shardilver has always captivated me most, I loved their little trio and can't help but be sad that we won't see more of Joker, Jack, and Ace in action

As for canon stuff, I have to admit that I didn't really pay as much attention to Larry in my original read of the trio's first mission. This is largely because of how much of a sort of in your face rivalry Silver and Shard play with during the "follow Geoffrey" mission. I honestly have to give kudos to Larry for trying to focus on the mission while Shard and Silver take up time competing or arguing, especially since he's just kind of in the middle of it?

I feel like the trio really could have gone somewhere as a team and those couple issues of Sonic Universe (42 and 44) were just the beginning. Why? Well, they are a new team. These three are working together for the first time, learning about each other, and dealing with each other. I find it unfortunate that Shard and Silver's taking charge and Larry's trying not to rock the boat or making a wrong move leads to Larry being a bit out of the spotlight (after all, we only get to learn how Larry joined the secret freedom fighters because Silver asks about his "power"). This is all to say that...we could have seen them evolve and grow as a team and as characters a bit.

I think I'm going to go off for a second on some thoughts I have from them under the cut. In case you don't want to read all that though, the simple answer to anon's question is that I definitely can get behind Shard/Larry/Silver as a ship (though I am partial to Shard/Silver)

Okay, so I want to think about them as a team. All in all they're dysfunctional in that way where things just *barely* turn out. Shard and Silver are constantly competing/arguing, Larry really has no reason not to feel like a burden with his jinxes (especially with them coming into play in ways that present as obstacles when he tries to take charge of the situation), and all 3 of them are trying to prove themselves in some way while the mission goes...not as desired.

But in a way I feel like this trio pairing does or could have had a purpose. Silver has been trying to save his future by traveling to the past, but he's had a bad track record in prevention and actually pinpointing the issue that causes his bleak future (and his doubling down on his accusations to administer justice hasn't allowed him to make friends too well). Shard is the original Metal Sonic. He spent a lot of his existence following orders and obsessively messing with Sonic, uncaring of who he hurt or killed in the process. And although he eventually grew a soul and gave his life for Sonic and Tails, he can’t so easily leave his past behind. He can’t expect people to accept him or to forgive him. His attitude at this point is less about genuine maliciousness (as with his previous altercation with Sonic and Tails) or him actually hating Silver, but is more of a form of self protection. Larry has had a hard life. With his chronic unluckiness, he learned long ago that it was better if he stay away from others and just...try not to burden them, even if he can't help it. It gave him hope way back then, when Sonic helped him learn that he and his jinxes could have a use, and when he became part of the substitute legion of freedom fighters. However, it's clear from the story he tells Shard and Silver that he feels like he had a good thing going, only for his jinxes to ruin everything again. He just wants to be helpful, especially now that he's been given another chance to prove himself, but he's still afraid to be a burden.

All three of them have a past or track record that it's hard to move past, but they want to try. All three of them are looking to get something out of being a member of the secret freedom fighters (and though Silver is mostly doing so to get his information so he can find the traitor and go back to his own time, he, like the other two, is also being given another chance to do good via his membership of this freedom fighting group). For lack of a better term, this is a group of "failures" who are trying to do some good.

So I think if we could have seen more of them, we could have seen Silver and Shard come to care about Larry as a partner, appreciate him as one. Larry's background arc could have been about him starting to speak up and assert himself as a member of the group (instead of acting on his own to the group's detriment, sort of following along, or supplying commentary or advice occasionally). I think we could have seen Shard come to care about Silver and Larry (and their well-beings) beyond the mission at hand or his own goals. Just like Sonic often has to learn, we could have seen him grow more used to working in a team rather than trying to show off or prove superiority by handling most obstacles or decision making. I think this team could start as practice for him possibly trying to make up with others outside the secret freedom fighters in the future, and as a method of creating the "family" he wishes he had. I think we could have seen Silver becoming more closely involved with this time through them (further than he already is with his membership to the secret freedom fighters). His detachment to the people here and the lack of thought he's given beyond completing his goals and enacting justice are part of why he's so reckless, so coming to care closely about a couple of people who are hiding just like them and their well-being/home would do him some good. Like Shard, I think we could have seen him getting used to working better in a team rather than trying to handle things on his own.

They're all outsiders, so perhaps they could have created a kinship together so they don't feel so lonely? They're more similar than they believe, and I feel that they could have all grown together as people with their similar problems and situations

Okay okay, if you've read this far I feel perhaps I should give a slight change of topic. So, for fanon purposes, I bid you to imagine Silver and Larry napping, curling up in their sleep, and Shard...bidding himself to watch. He'll probably tease Silver about it later or make some statement about how not needing sleep makes him superior, but for now he just enjoys the moment of peacefulness. He enjoys watching the two at their most vulnerable, sweetly curled up around each other, sleeping like nothing in the world is wrong.