#eggman and shadow were also invited...

[peachybunana]

finally, the good ending

VOLUME WARNING!!!!!!

[kingprinceleo]

HI IM TRYING TO LOOK THROGUN ALL THE JIDS AND SILHOUETTE IS SO CUTE IVE BEEN SENDING STUFF OF HER TO MY FRIEND AND WERE SCREAMING ABOUT HER NWUSWNS SHES SO FUN I LOVE HER ??? WHATS GOIN ON IN YOUR AU IT LOOKS RLLY INTERESTING

EEEEE THANK UUUUUUU shes just a baby <33 zinnia is super cute too !!

uh!! cw its a horror au- but as far as ive posted theres really only been body horror and light discussion of major character death off screen, bc its a future au, but heads up anyway ! i just redid the summary for artfight (still need to update it in my pinned)-

500 years into the future, Miles finds himself at the mysterious kingdom of Solar Sanctum, ruled by the long absent King Shadow. Shadow invites Miles to stay as a collaboration of great minds to try and solve the murky state their world has fallen into. It isnt long before Miles starts to realize Shadow is no longer the man he remembers, and starts to get tangled up in his web of madness.

Shadow-A total recluse in his castle, no one has seen him outside in decades. Hes spent countless years lost in work and trying to find a solution to the worlds problems, and its beginning to take their toll. He might be a little obsessed with dead people. Just a bit. He also hasnt showered in like a year...

Miles (no longer goes by Tails)-Your average straightman who gets to be victim number one to everything Shadow gets up to. He was having a nice time with Shadow at first ! But then the horrors. Outside of this, he resides coastally, taking care of Cosmos new form as a mother tree, allowing many new generations of seedrians to rise from their near extinction. He is a major lead in technological development, though a lot of his tech still takes inspiration from the long deceased Eggman.

Silhouette- An unwanted bioengineering experiment of Shadow's. He refuses to acknowledge her existence for years, left to the care of Miles (short term) and Shadow's right hand woman, Valentine (long term). His expectations for her as the child of the ultimate lifeform are suffocating. She gets everything she's ever wanted from him, except love.

Valentine-Valentine is Shadows right hand woman and Head Guard. She takes up a lot of his work when hes buried in his personal studies. She doesnt often see him in person, despite being raised in the castle. She believes in her kings glory and has never considered anything hes done wrong, until the outsider Miles starts to question her judgement. She has a lot of love to give to the world once she starts exploring outside of the castle. She raises Silo like her own daughter.

[renegadeknucks]

Hello I was wondering if you have any sonuxadow (hope I spelt that right) headcannons I love your art style by the way

i do! and thank you so much i really appreciate it!

Sonknuxadow headcanons

The three of them wear matching gold jewelry to keep close to each other, Shadow and Sonic both have their right ears pierced with two earrings, and Knuckles has the gold bands on his spines because he lacks visible ears. They do all have promise rings as well, but they're not typically worn due to none of them wanting to break such a sentimental item.

Sonic flirts with both of them constantly during battles against Eggman, he thinks it's funny. On multiple occasions this has led to Eggman forfeiting because he really doesn't want to hear it.

Their favorite nap spot is on top of the Master Emerald.

They seem to spar far more frequently than before the three of them were dating, often using it as a competition to see who can be the least worn out at the end of each session. It's almost always Knuckles, but Sonic seems to be really proud whenever he actually manages to stun the echidna. Shadow always looks the most well kept after, no matter how long it goes on, and the other two will immediately gang up on him for the sole purpose of messing up his quills. They're all very competitive.

The teasing and bickering also became far more frequent, except now instead of ending up with someone being physically hurt (usually Sonic) it now ends in them laughing due to them starting to truly understand what's off limits when it comes to each of their personal lives. 

Knuckles and Shadow are both trying their hardest to help Sonic get over his fear of water, giving him gentle kisses and holding his hands as soon as they see him getting even slightly nervous. They haven't gotten him to try full on swimming, but he's gotten okay enough in the water to go waist deep while he's with them. He still prefers to stay as far away from it as possible.

Knuckles had found the two, on multiple occasions, sneaking onto Angel Island just to play with the vast population of Chao. He finds it cute.

All three of them are known to ramble for hours about their interests, and they're always purposely asking about specifics so the rambler can go into heavier detail about it. They all love listening to their partner talk about topics that they know nothing about, they just want to hear their voice and like seeing them so passionate.

Knuckles seems to leave his island a little more often since he'd started dating them, along with using his communicator a lot more because he grew attached very quickly than anyone expected him to.

Sonic and Knuckles both help Shadow mourn the date of Maria's death and celebrate her birthday every year, Shadow secretly thinks she really would have liked them.

Shadow and Sonic started dating first, and they were only dating for two weeks before they decided someone was missing and immediately got ready and raced to Angel Island to be the first one to ask him out. Yes they did bring gifts of chocolate and flowers and stuffed animals, they had no idea what they were doing.

Speaking of stuffed animals, that's like their go to gift for all of them. Shadow has a collection of various cat plushies which eventually led to Sonic and Knuckles getting him a real cat for his birthday. Sonic has various sea creatures, and Knuckles has forest creatures. They also all have a plush of the other. None of them are the best at gift giving, Sonic often forgets he needed to.

Shadow and Sonic help Knuckles with his chores around the island, they practically live with him as their relationship goes on. They were never really invited to stay, but Knuckles loves them too much to kick them off unless they're becoming genuinely destructive or too much to handle.

Shadow does both of their makeup, the three of them all like feeling pretty so it usually ends up with all of them dressing up in feminine or masculine clothes depending on how they're feeling that day.

[wereh0gz]

I have a Sonic spinoff game idea

Ok so. It's a turn-based rpg inspired by dnd, bc I have an itch to play rpgs and also I'm still mad abt them not doing anything with the dnd stuff the official social media posted abt months ago

The story is essentially a battles and badniks (dnd in sonic's world) campaign run by Orbot. Sonic and co. hear abt it somehow (possibly through an invitation?) and decide to check it out thinking it might be one of Eggman's schemes, but nah. It's just a straight game Orbot is running for funsies. Not exactly sure what the story of the campaign would be, but I know it involves Sonic being a villain bc he deserves to let loose. Also Eggman and Sage would be minor antagonists, basically like rivals to the party that they meet and fight at certain points. The main party could consist of Amy, Tails, Knuckles, and Shadow, with Amy possibly being the de-facto main character and with more characters joining the party later on

The game is divided into two types of gameplay- in-game segments that look like your typical high fantasy rpg, which take up most of your playtime, and out-of-game segments in a similar style to a visual novel, which are a lot shorter

The rpg segments play like a mixture of your typical turn-based game and ttrpg. The party is on a quest of some sort, exploring the world of their game, meeting people, visiting various villages and doing small side-quests along the way. The party can encounter enemies in areas between villages, which they battle in a similar manner to most games of the genre, by selecting the actions each character takes. BUT they have to roll their dice to determine how well they perform the selected action, which is the main gimmick of the game. They can also perform checks to lessen the effects of certain actions taken against the characters in battle or to determine how well certain actions are performed out of battle, which in some cases could affect how the story progresses so each playthrough is kind of unique. There's also an exp system, in which exp is gained by defeating enemies and performing side-quests

The out-of-game segments serve to give a bit of extra exposition to the player (like setting up the actual campaign and showing why each character is playing the role they are playing in it, stuff like that). There would be some moments in the rpg segments where the campaing is interrupted by these segments, mostly used for gags at first until later into the game where some interpersonal drama happens

Both segments would have different art styles, too. The rpg segments would have a 2.5d pixelart style while the visual novel segments would have a style similar to tmosth. Since this is a hypothetical game, I'd throw in voice acting too, but if it were real I wouldn't expect there to be any

Each characters' class would be the same as seen in this post, and they'd have different names and slightly different appearances to the "real-world" characters playing them. Of course their outfits are different to fit the roles they are playing, but their actual physical appearance and age could be different too, all depending on how they were made by the characters playing them. Amy's character specifically would essentially just be Paladin Amy from Sonic Dash and Speed Battle. Not really sure abt the others tho

The endgame would be to redeem Sonic's character, who as I said earlier is the main villain, and also figure out why Sonic would choose to play the villain in the first place (spoiler alert: he's stressed as fuck and wants to not be seen as a hero for once). They also gotta stop Eggman and Sage from causing trouble. Fun hijinks, dnd-based jokes, (possibly) some high fantasy horror, and plenty of character drama ensues

[red-rose-corner]

Sonic Delta: Origins

Opal the Cat was born to Alex and Pearl in Floral Forest Village. As the Rabbit family resided there, she knew Cream and Cheese. A Chao Garden was in her old home, so she was raised around them. This is where her fondness for Chao came from.

Being homeschooled, she didn't have too many friends growing up. She knew Cream but met Perci and Zooey by chance one day. They became her first friends in the village. Charlie and Belinda were also kind to her. Dave had a one-sided crush on her.

One day, Cream received an invitation to Sonic's birthday party. The invitation went to Opal by accident. She got the invitation to Cream but was persuaded to join her in the festivities. With some persuading, Opal came along and was introduced to many of Sonic's friends. One of the Chao that attended the party took a shine to Opal.

No one knew why she got sucked in by the Time Eater that day. It may have been because he foretold her becoming a friend of Sonic. She ended up in Shadow's White Space instead of where Sonic and his friends were. The Chao that was smitten with her was also there.

Opal becomes a guide of sorts to Shadow during their time together. Eventually, she and Shadow make it to where Sonic is and cheer him on during the final battle. At the end of the party, the Chao accompanies Opal permanently. She names her Flora.

Opal returns home and resumes her quiet days with her new friend. Alex and Pearl realize it's time for her to leave the nest, for she is sixteen. Those days come tumbling down when Eggman launches a full-scale attack on her home.

Opal, Flora, and her Mom were able to get to safety. Alex died protecting civilians from Eggman's robot troops. Opal was slightly closer to her father than her mother. The news nearly broke her psyche. Combined with her friends reported missing, it left her struggling to function. Flora became a Service Chao to help her.

She signs up for the Freedom Fighters, but her self-doubt starts to get to her, and she considers quitting. On her first run, she proved vital in taking down an air fortress Emperor Robotnik had launched. From there, she starts working up the ranks to become second-in-command. This was critical because Knuckles led the Freedom Fighters at the time.

Through a chance encounter with Sonic, she turned the tide of the War to Take Back Mobius along with him. It came at the cost of Sonic overexerting himself during the final battle, and he fell comatose. The Freedom Fighters disbanded, and the younger Sonic returned to his time.

When robot raids occurred during clean-up, the initial Freedom Fighter group was reformed into two teams. Team Freedom defended Sunset City while Team Fighters worked to locate the source of the raids and inspire the people of Mobius to protect themselves. Neo Metal Sonic was ultimately stopped and Eggman was revealed to be alive and up to no good.

Thanks to Opal, Clove and Cassia defected from the Eggman Empire. At the same time, Sonic awoke from his coma and managed to fully recover. The Restoration was formed. Tekno was hired as part of R&D. Opal moved to Spiral Hill Village to live closer to her new friends, Tangle and Whisper.

During Dr. Eggman's rebuilding of his Empire, she met Mina Mongoose, who was going through some turmoil with her boyfriend, Ash. Opal fell for her, but they didn't enter a relationship until Surge and Kitsunami went on the loose.

After Dr. Starline was fired for going off script too many times, the platypus attempted to attack a concert Mina held with the Lemniscate band. Opal was assigned as a bodyguard by Xavier. She was given Nicole to help her out. At the time, Mina and Ash were no longer an item. Opal was able to drive off Surge and Kit but got injured in the process. While recovering, Mina confessed to Opal and they met Honey.

These days, Opal leads the Diamond Cutters. She shares a close friendship with Cosmo and a romantic relationship with Mina. Opal has gained more confidence and a positive outlook. Opal also works with Blaze and Silver as part of Team Crystal.

[nintendouniverse2023]

Scene I have a few ideas of Super Mario Rebirth Show AU, I figured that I would make My own AU Series of Sonic the Hedgehog with also of few ideas, with redesigns of The Sonic Heroes and Villains.

Bio: Marine was born on Southern Island in the middle of nowhere on the sea, where she was kept company by the Coconut Crew from a young age. Growing up, Marine dreamt of going out and see the world as the captain of her own ship and have adventures, eventually becoming discontent over staying on her island like a prisoner. As such, she would spent her days gazing across the ocean, particular at the Plant Kingdom, while wondering about what lied beyond her home. By the time she was seven years old, Marine finally decided to set out, and took up sailing and shipbuilding, making numerous attempts to make her own ship with Materials.

In Sonic Rush Adventure arc, Marine found Sonic the Hedgehog and Miles "Tails" Prower when they washed up on Seagull Beach. Claiming to having "saved" them, introductions were made and Marine promptly invited them to stay with her until they found a way home. The next day, Marine took the SS Marine out on its maiden voyage while Sonic and Tails watched, but she failed to control it and crashed. Her loss left Marine devastated, but Tails offered to build her a new boat. While Marine was unsure about it due to several issues, Sonic and Tails made the Wave Cyclone with a book provided by Marine. Proclaiming herself the captain, Marine "lead" the group out on their journey to different islands, looking for Materials. While Marine got to see new places, often wandering off despite Sonic and Tails' warnings, the group was attacked by several robotic enemies on their journey which Marine suspected was jealous of her adventures. They also met the rogue racer Johnny, who Marine goaded into challenging her, only to pass it over to Sonic. When reaching Coral Cave, Marine unveiled the isle by poking at an altar. There, they met Captain Whisker, whom Marine antagonized, and his crew, who were the ones behind the robot attacks. They also met Sonic's old ally, Blaze the Cat, who helped fight off Whisker, though the pirates got away with the Jeweled Scepter, an artifact in Coral Cave which Blaze tried to protect. Hearing that Sonic and Tails were actually from another world, Marine had them explain it all, and they decided to help Blaze recover the scepter which posed a threat to both their worlds.

Years after this event were Marine counties to join her friends an there quest as well as sailing across the seas. She then learned the truth about Sonic use to be a Freedom Fighter in the past and She was thrilled whe he form the new Freedom Fighters as a leader. She still rushed into actions in the seas if she was needed unless she rushed without thinking.

Appearance: Her fur is White, Black and Orange, Her swimshorts are gray and blue and her tank top and sandals and green

Voice Actor: Andrea Libman

Age: 11

Height: 4.8

Weight: 124 ibs

Personality: talkative, cheerful, carefree and energetic, but also stubborn at times, brash and overconfident and extremely scatterbrained

Favorite Foods: Sea food and Some Meat

Family: Mr and Ms Raccoon back at Southern Island

Allies: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy Rose, Sally Acorn , Antoine, Bunnie Rabbio, Rotor, Shadow *Former Enemy*, Rouge, Cream, Vanilla, Sticks, Blaze, Silver, Team Chaotix, Diamond Cutters, Jewel Beetle and Belle

Enemies: Dr Eggman, Agent Stone, Dr Starline, Emma Robotnic, Team Jet *Sometimes*, Surge the Tenrec, Snively and Lyric the Snake

Likes: Adventures, Excitement, Her friends, Ships, Being the captain, Giving orders and Talking

Dislikes: Ghosts, Pirates, Being ignored, Being interrupted, Showing weakness Being tickled and Not going on adventures

[egg-emperor]

Vampire Egg just straight up becomes obsessed with the necks of big buff men and he cant handle himself and shuxbwisuwhebe 🫣🥴🥴🥴

Also happy halloween king 💀🎃

Agjhhsbkgshg oh my god yes it'd definitely be a taste in men that Vampire AU Eggman would have in common with main universe modern Eggman as the other versions typically do too! It would be cute for him to discover it through his fascination with people that visit in general as a vampire that's so far away from the outside world in his spooky hideaways. He could not even know such men exist like that for a while until the first one ever dares to enter one of the spooky places he resides in.

He'd especially love it if their reason for entering one of them was to impress others by not being scared because they're big and/or strong and cocky, he'd admire the confidence and bravery they have due to it to venture in there without fear. He'd be fascinated with them, not just for being people of the outside world, but also because he's never seen anything like it before, toned bodies and muscles would immediately catch his interest and he'll need to get a closer look. Just out of curiosity, of course.

He starts off by using his brief invisibility ability and his bat form to follow them around, take peeks at them from the shadows, and creep a little closer for a few seconds, cheekily hiding and giggling when he quickly disappears and hides before they can see him too soon when he's not done admiring- I mean checking out- I mean stalking his prey. But he can only deny for so long how this feels different and more intense and special than any other times and visitors as he gets some funny fuzzy feelings.

He realizes his interest is deeper than with the average person and gives him excitement and other feelings he's still new to but has recognized he also feels for modern Eggman, so it definitely means something more here too. He's totally smitten and wants to find a way to talk to them without scaring them off as a vampire with sharp fangs and is often covered in blood from messy feedings. His first attempts include cute and silly stumbling around them as he's inexperienced but he tries his best!

He drools at the sight of them, wonders how they taste, and wants to suck them in more ways than one lol when he's attracted to them but it also makes the urge to drink their blood extra intense. He tries to lure them in with flirtatiousness which he doesn't usually do with prey - giving a similarity to Casino AU Egg but to a far milder degree. His first tries are more funny and adorable than sexy but it can work just the same, if he doesn't scare them away just by being a real vampire, albeit a very silly one.

He'd also love if they were bigger than him because he's used to mostly encountering smaller creatures and ghosts in spooky places he hangs out in and visitors often tend to be smaller too because he's so big. He didn't think they could be bigger, he'd be fascinated and excited to get to look up at someone. The strength and stamina they might have compared to the average visitor would make them more challenging and thrilling to chase and catch as prey too, if he's trying his classic pursuit method.

He'd also be delighted if they're big and/or strong enough for him jump onto them even in his regular form without them tumbling down, wrap his arms and legs around and cling to them there while he sucks their blood. He'd just love to climb a big boy and nuzzle into their big strong inviting neck in regular or bat form before taking a bite. He'd also enjoy landing on them while he's in his bat form too, making them and their muscles look even bigger to him and he wants to bury his face in their abs.

He wants to be held in their arms against their strong body. He wants them to cuddle and provide warmth he doesn't usually get as a vampire of low body heat in cold spooky places. He wants to see them flex and feel up their big muscles with admiration. He wants to wrap his arms around them from the front or behind tightly in a hug while he sucks their blood, enjoying the pleasure of both the taste and intimacy of being pressed up against them and he's extra satisfied once he's had his fill.

They make him so happy that he's extra giggly and gleeful than usual and can't stop beaming while around them, he wants to keep them close to feel their warmth and admire their beauty. He wishes he could keep drinking from them and they have to remind him to wait until he can again so he doesn't drink them dry! But he can't help but get playfully nippy before then in both regular and bat form because it's so tempting, so they can expect a lot of bite marks both smaller and bigger XD

He adores them for being so big, strong, warm, and handsome. As soon as he gets lucky enough to meet his first, he thinks about them a lot and always hopes more of them will come along and visit any spooky place he's currently staying at. He feels he's struck gold whenever they wander in and they're one of the types of men that he always hopes can be more than just prey that he feeds on and then lets go. It's a special case where he wants their delicious necks and the rest of them!

You could say that he has a liiittle bit of an obsession and weakness for them and can hardly control it around them and makes it so obvious hehe. 🥴 I love the idea of it being something all the versions I involve in the Eggman x Eggman polygamy have in common. It's cute for them all to be super passionate about it, whether they're more open or secretive about it but smitten and lovestruck by them all the same. Another thing to bond over, as well as their love for fellow fat guys! 💜💕

Thank you so much! Happy Halloween to you too, hope you had a good one. I definitely did but it was very busy and then I fell asleep after all the excitement so that's why this is late lol 💖

[tenebraevesper]

Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer, Issue #33: Chao Races and Badnik Bases (Part 1)

Welcome to The Chao Races and Badnik Bases Arc, where we finally return back to the main story after we had found out what happened to the main and/or recurring villains: Starline, Zavok, Mimic, Rough and Tumble, and Eggman. So, how about adding one more villain to the roster?

We start off being outside Tails’ workshop. Sonic is lying on a tree, listening to Rouge, Amy, Tails and Omega. Apparently, Rouge had gotten some kind of code from the Faceship and is hoping Tails could make some sense of it. Aside from that, he also needs to fully rebuild Omega. Fortunately, they have most of the parts from when he fell apart at the party.

Tails notes that, if he could get into Eggman’s network, he could find the cipher for the blueprints and fix Omega. Rouge is happy about the news and decides to leave. Cue Sonic jumping inside and telling them about the Egg Base at Windmill Village, inviting Amy to join them. Amy, while certainly wanting to go along with Sonic, is not happy about the idea of going to the dark, cold underground dealing with rusty Badniks. Tails also adds that he needs a part-set from an E-100 series to properly rebuild Omega, so Rouge volunteers to get him one.

She explains how one can find Eggman tech at the White Park, and knows a guy who can help them: Clutch, who is also the park’s reigning champion of the White Park Chao Racing Circuit. Rouge adds how they’ll have to go undercover, and notes how they should participate at the Chao Races. Amy is reasonably suspicious of Rouge’s plan, but they still make the call to Cream.

Vanilla answers the phone, with Amy asking her for permission to let Cream and Cheese tag along for the Chao Races in White Park, explaining the situation. Amy also adds how they would do the same in Gemerl’s situation, so wouldn’t Omega deserve a chance as well? Vanilla agrees with that sentiment, adding how Gemerl is damaged, and Amy assures him that Tails can fix him. Cream then asks her to let them go help, with Vanilla agreeing, as long as Amy and Gemerl are with her. Cream is quite happy about that.

Speaking of which... Treasure Team Tango anyone? We got Rouge, Amy and Cream working together again.

Meanwhile, near Windmill Village, Sonic and Tails are visiting an old Egg Base, which Sonic had spotted during one of his runs. Tails looks a bit nervous, so Sonic teases him about the base being haunted by ghost Badniks.

Well, it certainly seems to be haunted by a Badnik.

They find a room with a computer, with Tails being happy to get it started. Sonic is a little unnerved by the dolls of himself, Tails and Knuckles scattered around the base. Honestly, I would to. We know what the Tails doll is capable of.

Meanwhile, Amy, Rouge, Cream, Cheese and Gemerl are on their way to White Park. Amy figures she could enjoy a bit of a vacation, only to almost run someone over! That being? Shadow!

Okay, buddy, I know Sonic has a thing for dramatic entrances, but I didn’t know you shared the same sentiment.

But, no, seriously, what the hell were you doing in the middle of the road?

Amy voices my question, but Shadow notes that it doesn’t concern her (while trying to climb over a guardrail (dude, just jump over it; it doesn’t look that tall). Amy then asks him whether he wants to help them with fixing Omega, but Shadow refuses, saying he’s not interested.

According to Ian, Sega says that Team Dark is no longer a thing and the name is strictly a marketing term. The three members are not a team and they have never worked for G.U.N. (despite the fact that Rouge has been depicted as working for G.U.N. in several games, such as Sonic Adventure 2 and Shadow the Hedgehog); Shadow also doesn't even consider them friends. (Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW)/Executive Meddling)

I’ll just leave it at that. I’ve been bitching enough about Team Dark’s circumstances and the fact that their dynamic from Sonic ‘06 isn’t canon anymore. Honestly, I just wish Shadow would show at least some concern regarding Omega.

Still, I’m not done with this discussion.

Amy notes how Shadow is a grump, but Rouge tells her that he was just being polite and that they’ll probably see him again. They soon arrive at the chateau, with Rouge telling them to call her Facet, revealing she got Omega in her trunk. We also see a certain figure wearing a heavy coat.

Their attention is drawn by Omochao, a robotic Chao who serves as an announcer, telling them to register for the Chao Races. While Amy goes to find a good spot for them to watch the race, Rouge, Cream and Gemerl go to register Cheese for it. Omochao points out that Cream is underage, but Rouge quickly saves the situation by claiming she was referring to herself. Omochao explains the rules, with Cream wishing Cheese good luck.

Cream questions Rouge about lying, but Rouge assures her that a little lie won’t hurt anyone. Gemerl just registers that Rouge has a disposition towards deception, with Rouge saying how he’s not fun. Rouge then points out Clutch, and I have to say, the villain of this arc looks rather intriguing.

The race starts, with Cheese getting kicked in the back by a Dark Chao who looks like Shadow. Amy and Cream cheer for him and Cheese manages to make it to the finish line, registering for the race tomorrow.

Cream and Rouge celebrate Cheese’s victory, while Cheese suspiciously observes the Dark Chao, who just grins back.

Amy admits that it was pretty fun, only for them to get ambushed by Clutch. Rouge quickly takes over the conversation, with Clutch giving her his card, noting how he wanted to meet up and talk with all new Chao trainers, calling Cheese exceptional. Rouge accepts the invitation.

Amy is suspicious, noting how it was too easy, but Rouge assures her she can handle things and she already knows Clutch is up to something. Rouge tells them to go ahead and book a room, while she and Omega go talk to Clutch. They find the penthouse, which is cluttered with all kinds of stuff.

Clutch is happy she found him, calling Rouge by her real name. Clutch points out that he’s sitting on a fortune, while she’s a world-famous thief, so this was bound to happen eventually. Rouge prefers the term “treasure hunter”, with Clutch offering her a deal.

Being a Chao trainer, he’s interested in Cheese. If Cheese can win the race tomorrow, he’ll give Rouge anything she wants from his collection, but in exchange for Cheese himself. He also adds how he treats his Chao well, as long as they’re winning for him. Rouge doesn’t look to happy about the offer, telling him she’ll think over it. Clutch tries to convince her by offering some of the gemstones and honestly, while we know that Rouge would love to have them, she isn’t that greedy... or stupid.

Omega questions her, with Rouge telling him how she won’t give Cheese away, but Clutch doesn’t know that, deciding to give Omega (or rather, his head) a job to do.

She then exits the room, only to see someone standing at the end of the hallway (why does this scene remind me of The Shining?). The figure takes their hood off, with Rouge being stunned to see them.

We then cut to outside, with Shadow standing on the top of the building, overlooking the amusement park. Apparently, he’s still after Eggman, searching for a bot-trader. He considers joining Amy, Cream and Rouge for a moment, only to decide against, noting how this isn’t his problem.

He suddenly sees a figure running across the rooftop... and it’s Starline. We know it’s Starline as he’s using the Tricore. Shadow is suspicious, figuring the rumors are true after all and lands right in front of Starline.

Starline speeds off, catching Shadow off guard, but Shadow follows him. However, just as he catches up to Starline, questioning the latter whether he works for Eggman, only for Starline to grab a piece of a wooden beam and whacks Shadow right across the chest with it. Man, that has to hurt!

The last we see is Shadow falling off a building, Starline standing over him. It is a neat cliffhanger, but let’s be honest here, we know Shadow will survive this fall.

Oh, and speaking of Shadow, I do have some things to say about him, but I’ll leave that for another time.

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#Sonic the Hedgehog Analyzer (Masterlist)

[vocalcalibration]

With the news that Ian Flynn will be writing Sonic Frontiers and that Amy is apparently going to have a major role I feel the need to bring peoples, or at least the people happen upon this blog, attention to this.

These are snippets from one of the early scenes of the IDW Sonic comics as well as one of my favorite moments in this franchise. Sonic and Amy team up during Sonic's escapades to clean up what's left of Eggmans robots after the events of Sonic Forces. Specifically this is just after a fight. Amy and Sonic are chatting about what comes next, wondering if these coordinated robot attacks are coincidence or intentional, etc. But the thing I really like about this scene is the banter between these two, how confortable they are talking to eachother, the little jabs they take, even Sonic inviting Amy to come with him to invesrigate and her turning him down. This is the first time in this entire franchise I've actually seen Sonic and Amy as friends. Two people who enjoy each others company and want what's best for the other. This is a far cry from Amy's introduction in 1999's Sonic Adventure, where when Amy shows up she immediately asks for a favour almost instantly her greeting and Sonic acts like he just got cornered by a funking puma.

But you see this contrast is a big part of what makes this scene so good! Back in Adventure both Sonic and Amy were younger, their relstionship less developed. She was a fangirl and he was a kid who'd probably never had this much romantic attention from anyone before, so of course they reacted like they did. But now? They're older, they've spent a lot of time together and they've both developed a mutual respect for one another. Hell it even follows up on Amy's SA1 ending where she announces to herself she'll make Sonic respect her, and lo-and-behold... he does.

And yes she still is romantically interested and yes he still clearly doesn't know what to do with that, but it's different now. Before, as I said, Amy was a fangirl and was infatuated with Sonic. Now? She's still very open with those feelings but they've also clearly developed into a real, very deep, love for him. She loves him so much, infact, that she's hugely pulled back on how pushy she is about it but rather, even while expressing her feelings, she's still on task as to the greater issues at play and is more than happy to forego spending more time with him in order to attend to her own responsibilities. If you think back to Sonic X Amy would never. She's grown, a lot.

And then there's Sonic. Back in the day he acted like a wounded wild animal desperately trying to escape a predator whenever he was in the same room as her. But here? He's joking with her, treating her like a friend and equal, even asking her if she wants to join him on his own mission to help with cleanup. He's grown past being a teenager who's freaking out because a girl is showing interest in him for, probably, the first time in his life. A LOT of interest. And sure he's not asking her to marry him on the spot like the shippers want, but it's clear he's happy and comfortable being around her.

I say all of this because one of my favorite aspects of Ian Flynns writing is how he does character interaction and relationships, discount Vegeta Shadow aside, and that's an aspect that I've felt has been missing from Sonic games since Sonic Colours. We've spent a decade of characters throwing their one character trait at each other and so the prospect that the cast will have more complex dynamics and actually feel like friends who care about each other like real people REALLY exciting. And this scene with Sonic and Amy shows why.

Anyway thanks for coming to my Hedge Talk.

[crusherthedoctor]

Sonic’s Diary: The Night Before

Date: 08/15

Mood: Mega Hyped

It's finally happening! After putting it on the backburner for what feels like forever, me and Tails are heading off to Viridonia tomorrow for a brand new vacation, and I'm psyched! Tails is excited too of course, it’s pretty adorable.

We've been holding it off for so long. TOO long, and believe me, it hasn’t been through lack of interest. We'd been meaning to go for ages, but y'know how it is... getting sucked in a book one day, planet gets frozen in time another day... not to mention all the other places I've explored in my free time. World's a big place, after all, and I don't want to miss a single part of it. Least of all this part!

Tails told me that Viridonia is one of the biggest islands in the entire world. Maybe even THE biggest. Sounds like I would have preferred it over my home as a kid, where it was nothing but coconuts. This place though? Way more than coconuts from the sound of it. The buildings are said to glow different colours depending on the time of day, and the waves are supposedly brighter than anywhere else on the planet. And that’s just the start of it... aw man, tomorrow can’t come soon enough!

Although, as much as I’m sure I’ll enjoy this trip... I can’t help but wonder if something might happen while we're there. It's the perfect vacation spot, so it should be a slam dunk, but Tails did mention that it’s been the subject of historical speculation for decades, and it’s apparently a hot spot for scientists. Memory's a little fuzzy on it at the moment - I’ll have to ask him again on the way there - but I think he mentioned something about the makers? I’m not sure what that refers to, but it sounds interesting... and also sounds exactly like the sort of thing that a loony would be interested in for the wrong reasons... and I tend to attract loonies wherever I go. Most of them look and sound like Eggman.

To be honest, I wouldn't exactly complain, since adventure's always been in my blood. But if things do end up taking a turn for the action, the real question is whether the culprit will be Eggman or not. Seriously, that guy never quits. Don't think he knows HOW to quit. Kinda reminds me of... oh geez.

Actually, I say that, but the coot's been quiet for some time now. Longer than usual for him. Everyone's been pretty relieved about that, and yeah, it's great and all... but I'm not sure how to feel about it. Maybe he finally decided to retire. Or maybe he's working hard on something stupid that I’ll have to forcibly dismantle. Experience has taught me which is more likely. Knuckles tries to see the good in everyone, bless his heart, but personally, I know better than to expect Egghead to change his ways, with how long he’s been at it.

Anyway, the plan is that it's just me and Tails. We wanted to include the others, but we were out of luck there. Amy and Cream went off the other day on a vacation of their own. Dunno where to, though. (I forgot to ask...) Knuckles predictably had reservations about spending quality time with yours truly, though he did sound rather curious about our destination... think I might have sensed a teensy bit of jealousy from him. Poor guy. I get the Master Emerald's important, but does he ever have second thoughts about the guardian life? I wouldn't dream of being shackled like that for all time. But Angel Island is a big place in its own right, and if it works for him...

The rest? Big's on a fishing trip world tour. Heard it's going well for him, so that's cool. Blaze is over in her world, and it's safe to assume she's busy with princess duties, whatever those may be. (There's lots of waving involved, right?) I even wanted to invite Shadow in the hopes of getting him to loosen up. I know, crazy, right? But I haven't seen him in a while either, and neither of us could get in touch with him. He must be contemplating somewhere... that sounds like something he’d do. I don't know what his interests are. I think he'd have the same reaction as Knuckles, so maybe it's for the best.

So yep, it's just the two of us. Which is A-OK with me. It's always sweet when we get to hang out together, just like the old days. I think Tails has been needing some R and R anyway, I've caught him beating himself up over the Eggman thing on the Lost Hex. Seems like he's worried that he's let me down... but that's just crazy talk, isn't it? I'm proud of my bro! Always have been, and I don't want him to forget that. He's earned this time off, and I'm gonna make sure he gets the full of it just as much as I do.

Well, I better catch some Z's. Early to bed, early to catch the first day of paradise. You can bet I’ll do my best to get some awesome photos. Maybe we'll meet a new pal as well, who knows? Look out Viridonia, the fastest duo alive is coming to pick you up like no other!

(PS: Pack some chili dogs and mint candy before we head off.)

(PSS: Try not to act like an obvious tourist.)

[beevean]

I somehow found it odd that Amy got vitriol in Sonic Heroes but the other teams get off scot-free

Amy getting into a fight with Sonic to convince him to marry her is stupid... but Rouge immediately assuming that Team Chaotix were after Eggman's treasure, when they were just vibin' there, is never talked about :P

Then there's the utter mess of the Rose vs. Chaotix setup: Vector asks Amy for information, Amy assumes that this grown man is hitting on her (and after playing Adventure and talking with an old man who invited her for sodas I don't even blame her anymore), Espio cuts to the chase and demands Cheese (which ngl is some great gameplay and story integration), Cream assumes that he also kidnapped Chocola, Big gets angry, Charmy is like "FUCK YEAH LET'S SHED BLOOD", cue fight

It's not technically OOC, but it all happens in less than a minute fhsjakfasfjash

(Sonic vs. Dark is the best one because Sonic and Shadow just decide to spout one liners to each other, and that's perfectly IC)

[smashy-headcanons]

The Shadow of Eggman: or conflicting feelings on him getting into Smash

Most of the Fantasy heroes are shocked by how flippantly Sonic speaks of Dr. Eggman in his stories. Cloud considers the strange man in these stories almost as bad as Sephiroth. Many question Sonic’s judgement, but also most consider its not their place to tell someone still a child to aim to kill in their next meeting (even those who were chosen heroes at a young age or around his age, who know the burden of taking a life).

Bowser meanwhile wishes Eggman would get an invite to Smash, seeing him as one of his closest villain friends; showing clear double standards to how he treats him compared to other villains who have committed similar actions he would balk at. Because while Eggman is perfectly willing to hold a gun to a young girls’ head or try to wipe out an entire continent as a warning to the rest, Bowser has only met Eggman when he’s in-between his big schemes and feeling more lighthearted. And its hard for Bowser to reconcile Sonic’s stories with the jolly schemer who got along so well with Bowser Jr.

Sonic is conflicted on a possible invite. He would love a chance to fight Eggman in Smash, but also worries he’d try something really dangerous with his tendency of trying to bring powerful mystical beings under his control. And also while he’s not scared of Eggman, he appreciates Smash offering a break from  dealing with his often grating personality.

— Eggman is, as he states after saving Tails’ life in Sonic’s Lost World, a complicated guy but honestly still one of the most evil bad guys who manages to be a reoccurring villain and not killed off permanently. I get the feeling it would confuse a lot of Smashers since he doesn’t fit easily into “silly versus serious” villain divide. His entire goal is to make the world more fun and satisfy his ego, and if you don’t agree on what he considers fun you have bad taste.

(submitted by virovac)

[foximator-blog]

Random Headcanons about some of my favorite characters and AUs.

This list is a bit long and spans across more than one hyperfixation, so I apologize if I trail on in advance.

Sonic

Sonic travels around a lot, but always takes it upon himself to check up on all of his friends and spend some time with them. He'll help Tails in the workshop, spar with Knuckles, hang out with the Chaotix, or even go fishing with Big in the jungle. All of his friends matter to him.

Sonic doesn't have a family... so his friends are his family, he just hasn't told them that yet.

Cream's mother Vanilla is the closest thing to a mother Sonic has ever had.

Shadow won't admit it, but he likes it when Sonic comes to bug team Dark a little bit.

In my AU Dr. Robotnik is Ivo's name and what he wants his empire named after, and he absolutely loathes the "Eggman" nickname Sonic made. "Eggman" has become so popular as an insult that even the world leaders and news outlets use it, much to the doctor's dismay.

Sonic is nowhere near as good as Tails, but he is a decent enough mechanic to get a car or biplane up and running long enough for it to get a proper repair later.

Sonic loves running casinos owned by Robotnik out of business, and often invites Rouge, Knuckles, or Vector to help him. After all, they all get some money and Eggman loses some of his multibillion ring income, it's a win win.

Flameslinger

Flameslinger runs a lot, but tries not to have too many "usual spots" to avoid leaving dog trails.

Pumpkin spice is a guilty pleasure flavor for him.

He's also a sucker for the autumn season, he loves the colors and the autumn wind.

Summer is a close second though, unlike other fire types he loves to go swimming.

While Spyro is considered the best leader, Eon would secretly want to train Flameslinger in portal mastery due to his ability to see all across Skylands through his psychic connection to fire.

So far only Hex has seen Flameslinger's eyes full on, but Golden Queen and Wolfgang almost caught a glimpse while on their first mission with him.

Wolfgang and Snapshot were still on iffy terms when Wolfgang became a Skylander, so Flameslinger was the one teaching the werewolf archery most of the time.

Tsuyu

She loves dragonflies to the point she doesn't snatch them up to eat like she does other bugs. They're too pretty to her.

While she mostly goes "Kero kero" she's just as capable of making actual frog noises, like croaks and ribbets. When accompanied by gentle rain it's oddly soothing to listen to...

Though at the same time she can do those frog screams, and in a fight it can really take her opponents by surprise and throw them off.

The rest of Tsuyu's family aren't as temperature sensitive as her, as she's the only Frog chameleon hybrid... and thus double cold blooded.

Her biological father was a chameleon man who was killed in a villain attack before she was born... Ganma (her current dad) supported Beru (her mom) throughout the rest of the pregnancy and they fell in love and married a little bit after Tsuyu was born.

Tsuyu is the class mom due to how naturally caring she is, but she's still just as willing to try dumb kid things like Izuku or Ochako.

Despite eating live bugs, the idea of eating raw or even live octopus really makes her squeamish and uncomfortable... she had a cousin almost choke to death as the octopus fought for it's life, and she hates that trend.

[the2ddragonsingerqueen]

Team Amy in Sonic Movie 3

I just can’t stop thinking about Sonic since I saw the sequel. Now that it’s out, it gives us a lot of time to think about what could we expect from Sonic Movie 2. As many of us know Shadow is gonna be a main focus in Sonic Movie 3, I had an idea for Amy’s role in the film. In Paramount’s version of Sonic, it focuses on Sonic having a family and many of the fans have loved the found family that has a superspeed hedgehog, a supergenius fox, a superstrong echidna, a donut dad, a pretzel mom, a badass aunt, a chill niece, an adorable dog, and a secret agent uncle. But if Casey and Miller will be expanding the franchise by adding more characters, It’d be to know if the Wachowskis aren’t the only family with alien children. So I was thinking, if the Wachowski family has adopted Team Sonic( which is Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles), maybe there’s another family on Earth that has adopted Team Amy( which is Cream, Cheese, Big, and Amy). Ok, hear is what I think. In the third movie, it could continue Sonic’s story in being a kid while also learning how to harness the power of the Master Emerald with his family’s help, and while fans speculate that it’s other major focus is Shadow’s story on discovering his past, as you remember in the Sonic games, he develops amnesia in Sonic Heroes, and gets on a path of revenge when Eggman convinces him the humanity is not worth saving. Another focus could is the discovery of more Mobians on Earth. In Sonic X, the government eventually develop an alliance with him and his friends and give him and his friends citizen rights, that’s what should happen in the third film. G.U.N decides to grant Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles citizen rights after seeing their heroic actions in the sequel, and even maybe invite the president(reference to the mayor in Sonic X) but before they can do, they also inform the Wachowskis that there is another human- alien family on Earth. This could lead the Wachowskis to go on another city adventure to meet this other family, and this could lead to the setting for Sonic Movie 3 to take place in a big city(reference to Sonic Adventure 2). Whatever city they end up traveling to, this is where they could meet Team Amy’s family. Here, it could be revealed that these alien kids could have been raised a bit longer than how long Team Sonic has been a family and I say this because I could imagine Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, were not the first aliens to come to Earth as the Owls had been on Earth in order to protect the Master Emerald, and maybe during the time of when Sonic first arrived, or in his lifetime of isolation before the first film, there were other aliens who came to Earth in seeking for escapism from their home planet’s norms or others trying to look for Sonic. Here we meet the parents of the team and were met up by G.U.N with the same conditions as the Wachowskis. And this family could be a parallel for Team Sonic and possibly help their stories grow. For example, Cream could parallel to Tails, both are small and both could relate in feeling left out from other kids their age( Tails with his two tails, and Cream with Cheese as her truly closest companion) and maybe even more hard for Cream cause she still has a mother out there alive, Vanilla(or maybe she is on Earth with them), as Tails, we don’t know about his parents or folks, but some could assume that his parents didn’t approve of him because of his two tails. Since being on Earth in Sonic 2, he has learned that being weird is not a shame or burden and that since he has found a family which includes his hero, he could help Cream in that even though she may feel left for only talking to Cheese, she is not alone because she has people who took her in out of love for her. Next is Big being a parallel to Knuckles. Knuckles is a warrior who spent most of his childhood training to hunt down Sonic and honor the legacy of the Echidna Warriors. But now he is in the Wachowski family, he is learning how to have fun and catch up on the time he missed while spending his life hunting down his future adoptive brother. We currently don’t know what’s to come in the Paramount Knuckles spin-off series, I can assume Knuckles will grow more. Big, a large purple cat with a love of frogs, could relate to Knuckles in both their size and strength. Both are large characters with muscles and it’s due to their size and strength that they are misinterpret as dangerous or brutes. But those judgements are wrong: Big is well bigger than others but he is actually a genuine curious cat who enjoys his time with froggy, and Knuckles is a warrior who is learning more about the fun essence part of childhood. And last but very specially to complete, Sonic and Amy’s parallels. In the past, we have seen Sonic and Amy as a romantic couple, Amy chasing for Sonic, Sonic chasing away from her, and some incarnations they are friends. But maybe in this third film, Sonic is the one chasing Amy. There could be a specific reason why he would fall for her: He has grown with a family which he loves dearly and can’t imagine life without them and wants to enjoy every second on Earth and while he does want to be a hero, he still has growing up to do and loves being a kid. But the reason he becomes so drawn to Amy is because they are both hedgehogs, which causes him to try to find a common ground with someone who is just like him, not just a Mobian, but a hedgehog Mobian. It could work the same for Amy. If she has spent more time than Sonic in living a life, she could find his attention span toward her awkward and slightly annoying at first, but as soon as she discovers his reasons why and his story, Amy could start to question this as well, which she never did before and it could help her explore parts of herself she tend to forgot and it could help her realize how much Sonic is like her in many ways. This could also help Shadow, someone who is more lost than the two of them, as he was created as the Ultimate Lifeform with a dark, horrific past which led him to hate humanity and take on a role as a villain since he would give them the same grief and pain they put him through when the government took Maria away. But the more time Shadow engages with Sonic and Amy and their families, he could start to realize the bonds with these Mobians and their humans is somewhat related to how he was when Maria was still with him. There, Shadow could realize that not all humanity is as bad he remembered it being, and soon could join forces with them and stop whatever evil has come, then Super Sonic and Super Shadow could be introduce. This is all for now but feel free to let me know what you think in the comments below.

[latin-dr-robotnik]

Sonic Friday Night Headcanons

Ever wondered what the Sonic cast would do on a friday night? Well, after years of doing the Yakuza Friday Night ritual, I started wondering how the Sonic cast would spend their friday night:

Sonic: alone on a Friday night? Time to adventure! Friday night is the prime time for getting out there and finding some action, be it running across the neon-lit city or bashing Eggman robots left and right. Although, depending on how it goes, it could also end up with him chilling with the gang.

Tails: unless plans were made beforehand (or Eggman is trying to conquer the world), Friday night is the perfect time for some “me time” for Tails. Sitting down in front of his desk, grabbing a screwdriver, a piece of junk and spending the night trying to create something awesome.

Knuckles: for Knuckles it doesn’t matter, Friday is just like any other day in Angel Island. He might drop by the gang if he feels like chillin’, but don’t expect him to do so frequently, nor exclusively on fridays. He might show up with some pizzas, though.

Amy: Friday night is like an open door to endless possibilities for her. She’ll jump on any plans or, if there are no plans, she’ll be the one to invite everyone and make something work out. She won’t stay still and wait for an invitation, though. You won’t make her beg you to invite her, no sir.

Cream: she might join the gang on whatever plans they have, but Vanilla won’t let her stay up until very late, and sometimes Cream and Vanilla will have plans of their own, cooking some delicious meals and then watching TV together.

Big: there’s a particular fishing competition at Emerald Coast on the 3rd Friday of each month, and you bet he’s there every single time. The other three Fridays of the month? Who knows. Big seems to be travelling at his own pace, going to all sort of different places, always looking for the next great catch with Froggy.

Shadow: although Shadow doesn’t appreciate Friday nights like Amy or Sonic, he might feel the sudden urge to grab his bike and ride around if the weather is particularly nice. But, to be honest, he’ll probably spent every weekend going on secret ops.

Rouge: Friday night is everything for her. The glamorous night makes for an exciting proposition, as Rouge gets ready for a night of action. Bonus points if said action means stealthly breaking into a bank’s vault to steal some heavily protected diamonds after everyone left. She’ll gladly take any invitation whatsoever. Did anyone say Friday night at Angel Island? Knuckles certainly didn’t.

E-123 Omega: executing Friday night protocols is a must for Omega. After a week of dissasembling worthless consumer robots from Eggman, Omega needs to execute said protocols to do a little bit of self-maintenance. What this means is that Omega will pop out a disco ball and dance all night, blasting lasers at dummy targets for practice.

Charmy, Espio and Vector: if everything goes well (which, let’s admit, it doesn’t happen all too often for the Chaotix Detective Agency), then the Chaotix can take the Friday night off, with Charmy in particular going right for a sugar rush, while Espio and Vector make sure he doesn’t have too much of it. Vector might get a special call from time to time to visit Cream and Vanilla, but most of the times he has to decline the invitation in favor of more and more work. The Chaotix life can be a tough one, trying to make ends meet.

Silver: being from the future, Silver could visit each and every single Friday night if he had to. Thing is, if you ask him, he’ll most likely reply with: “what’s a Friday night? What do you do with it?” Tough life for our favorite time-traveller.

So, do you have any more Friday Night headcanons? Maybe a dance showdown between Sonic and Shadow a la Kiryu vs Majima? Let’s share them!

[soft-glitch]

Through Thick And Thin

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog

Type: hurt/comfort, platonic fluff

Word count: about 2700 words

Author’s notes: this year was a mess. But I’m grateful for a few things that happened to me in 2020. One of these things is getting into the Sonic fandom, which helped me find joy in being creative again. Another is a budding friendship with someone really cool, that I can only hope will last for a long time.

This fic is kind of a gift to that person for New Year’s Day. To everyone, but especially to you O, I wish a happy new year and many good things to come.

- - - - -

It was not an easy morning.

Shadow had always been an early bird. He never needed much sleep compared to other mobians, thanks to his bio-engineered origins. This was both a blessing and a curse, depending on the days.

Being able to stay up most of the night during missions proved useful more than once. On the other hand, when ugly thoughts would assail him and sleeping them away was not an option, well… It was suddenly much less interesting.

On this last day of December, the hedgehog could not shake uneasy feelings. Between Eggman’s plotting and his own personal issues Shadow always had rough times, but this year had been… a lot.

Walking silently in the empty corridor, careful not to wake up anyone in the household, the dark mobian reached the kitchen and started preparing hot chocolate. Since most of his friends knew about his sweet tooth he didn’t bother hiding it anymore, and Rouge always made sure they were stocked up on cocoa.

While waiting for the milk to warm, he glanced at the clock on the wall. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

The eerie calm of early hours often made Shadow slightly uncomfortable. Despite his introvert side enjoying the peaceful solitude, it was also a moment where his thoughts would simmer in his mind, either awoken by confuse dreams or simply emerging as the day started. He would often put some music or read a book to avoid thinking too hard about it.

Didn’t always work, though.

Taking a deep breath the hedgehog felt some relief at the sweet scent of chocolate. He took a small sip before moving to roll himself in blankets on the large couch. With a long and noisy yawn he reached for the remote and pointed it at the large TV screen in front of him. Maybe there was something nice to watch while waiting for his roommates to get up.

- - - - -

When Shadow opened his eyes again, sunlight was gently glowing through the translucent curtains of the living room. Which meant it was probably kind of late already. It seemed he fell back asleep at some point.

With a frown, he rubbed his dishevelled quills and took a look at his phone. Almost 11am, and no sign of Rouge or Omega... This was odd, especially since they planned on spending the New Year’s Eve together.

That’s when he noticed an envelope lying on the small coffee table, next to his now empty mug. It was plain kraft, with a small card inside that only offered an address and the words “At noon, don’t be late hun”.

Obviously from Rouge. She loved putting mystery and drama in everything she did. Shadow huffed and shook his head.

Irredeemable.

Did that mean his friends got up without waking him and prepared some kind of surprise? However silly it was, this simple envelope brought some warmth to the hedgehog’s heart. He got up to take a quick shower and prepare for the day, a small smile peeking at the corner of his lips.

- - - - -

The location was one Shadow didn’t particularly recognise, a small intersection in a popular part of the town. Since Team Dark lived in a suburban area and their job at G.U.N was usually all over the world, his knowledge of the city was lacklustre. Right as his phone displayed 12pm a text popped up on the screen.

Rouge Right behind the shoes store, a cafe.

The striped mobian rolled his eyes with a hint of amusement. Even for something as simple as a New Year between friends, the bat couldn’t help making some kind of fun game to play. Shadow would gladly proclaim it futile and childish, but he actually enjoyed these quirky adventures his best friend always peppered in his life.

What he saw next filled him with pure joy. Of course Rouge wouldn’t choose a random cafe to meet. She had to make it extra one way or another, and she just knew how to please him.

The Gentle Garden Chao Café & Flower Shop

Almost giddy at the idea of having some sweets surrounded by chao, the ultimate lifeform stepped into the small establishment. A quick glance around made him happy beyond words: soft muted lights and warm colours complemented vintage furniture, large potted plants adorned all sides of the place, and —most importantly— chao of every kind were all over the place, either walking, being cuddled by clients or sleeping on small pillows.

In the back of the room was a large counter, behind which a massive chalkboard displayed both the cafe menu and prices of various flower arrangements.

Before Shadow could go and talk to the barista, a familiar face caught his attention. Rouge was there, sitting nonchalantly and sipping some drink in the most ostentatious way possible.

The hedgehog smirked and sat in front of her.

“So...?” he started with a raised brow. “So what? Did you think I’d let you stay home for this special day?” Rouge huffed between two exaggerated sips. “It’s just New Year’s Eve, not an anniversary or something...” Shadow said, glancing at the table.

He realised an order of white chocolate cappuccino —his very favourite drink— and forêt noire —one of his favourite sweets— were set in front of him. For a second he felt something rise in his chest. A mix of gratitude and that odd yet pleasing vulnerability he could only feel with his closest friends.

“I know it’s just the new year.” the bat leaned on the table, her eyes both tender and serious. “I also know you haven’t been doing great lately. It’s been a difficult time, and of course it won’t magically be over as midnight comes, but...”

She looked in the distance, her eyes piercing through the windows and their cold winter lighting. Shadow could very clearly feel the bittersweet essence of her expression. This year had also been hard on her.

“We’re in this together, y’know.” she resumed, turning a gentle smile towards him. “And while I can’t resolve every problem we have, I can at least invite my emo bestie to enjoy some chao and indulge in sugary treats!”

The hedgehog chuckled at this, then raised his cappuccino mug. “Let’s have a good time, then. To us bitches.” he said with a knowing grin. “To us bitches!” she exclaimed happily. ”Now drink that ‘ccino, we have chao to cuddle.”

Some laughs and friendly banter later, two chao had found their way on Shadow. One was sleepily nested on his legs while the other was playing on his head, brushing his quills curiously.

“You really have your way with them, just like Omega...” Rouge remarked. She loved the little creatures very much, but she never seemed to attract them as easily as her two partners. No one really knew why and she honestly didn’t mind. It was fun enough to observe them from a distance: no risks of ruined haircut or having one mess with her wings.

“This is the best.” the hedgehog whispered, his voice full of emotion. His friend chuckled. Shadow was endearing in many ways, but his love for plants and creatures was unparalleled in an extremely wholesome way.

“Did you ever consider adopting one?” she asked before biting into her remaining pastry. Shadow’s expression became slightly somber as he looked at her. “I…” he sighed and scratched the sleeping one’s head. “I always wanted to, I guess. Even on the Ark, once we learned about them with Maria, we used to pretend having one. There was a plush, I don’t remember its name. We would play parents, bring it along for walks across the Ark, this kind of things.”

Rouge nodded sympathetically. Maria was less and less a sensitive subject as years went by, but Shadow was still defensive about these memories. Sharing them was one of the most intimate things he would do, and she felt honoured every time it happened.

“Maybe one day.” the hedgehog shrugged with a tired smile. ”Right now our lives are too dangerous. I can’t raise one properly as long as we keep fighting and going on missions Chaos knows where. – Let’s hope we get Eggman and his clique once and for all, then!” Rouge said with a grin. “Can’t wait to have you pester us with photos of your ugly little baby.”

The genuine laugh that followed made the bat beam with happiness.

- - - - -

The very specific atmosphere of New Year’s Eve was not lost to the two mobians as they strolled in the city. Streets were bustling with activity, but in a way that felt distinct from other winter holidays. The ambient anticipation was less frantic, almost… solemn. Instead of rushing for gifts and food, people seemed determined to enjoy the final hours of this year.

Shadow found it interesting, not without its charm. He was more used to strolls in mountains, lonely forests and small paths undulating through fields. The buzzing activity of the city was something else —very nice, though. Plus Rouge knew every neighbourhood surprisingly well, and offered him little fun facts and stories about all sorts of buildings and places.

“It’s a real shame we don’t get more free time between G.U.N and Eggman.” the bat lamented. “There are so many nice spots I’d love to visit with Omega and you. – We do have vacations once in a while.” Shadow replied. “Yeah, but they’re either ruined by some apocalyptic event or by an intense need for rest.” she sighed. “We can’t enjoy the Museum of Arts if we’re falling asleep every two paintings.”

The dark mobian nodded. Technically Omega and him didn’t need a lot of sleep, but being world-saving heroes brought its own kind of mental fatigue. Moments of calm and respite were too few and far between.

“Well. Next time we have some days off we’ll organise a Team Dark afternoon.” Shadow offered. “An exhibit or two, some games at the arcade. Maybe a small concert at a cafe. – Oh my. Hun, I’m impressed to see you take this kind of initiatives.” the bat replied.

The hedgehog gave her a friendly nudge. “Shut up, can’t let you make all the decisions. – I don’t see why not.” Rouge shrugged with a knowing smile.

They suddenly stopped. Without really realising it, the duo had reached the large avenue leading back to their house. As they exchanged a glance, Rouge winked. “Omega must be waiting for us. Let’s move!” she said cheerfully.

- - - - -

An immediate wave of relief filled Shadow as soon as they passed the front door. “Finally some warmth.” he sighed, removing his large coat and thick scarf. “I was expecting your lowered body temperatures.” Omega’s robotic voice answered from the kitchen. “Hot tea and biscuits are ready for immediate consumption. Made with love.”

Rouge snickered and Shadow repressed a chuckle.  Both knew Omega was absolutely unable to cook anything without setting fire to it, so the biscuits were probably store-bought. They still appreciated the gesture greatly.

Everyone gathered around the table, remembering stories about the now-ending year and its numerous developments. Adrenaline-filled fights, obscure investigations and exhausting assignments went alongside hilarious mistakes, glorious teamwork… and even celebratory moments with all the other heroes of Mobius.

“Okay, but the award for the best party of the year still goes to Knuckles’ surprise birthday.” Rouge said confidently while helping Omega put on a colourful crochet beanie. “Ughh please. Let’s not talk about it.” Shadow groaned, knowing exactly where this was going. “It was extremely fun. The fireworks accident made it over 200% better than any other celebration.” the robot insisted. “Oh right, I almost forgot about that!” the bat laughed. “Poor Knuckie, having to deal with a fire hazard on his cherished island…”

Memories of the furious echidna shouting frantically brought a grin to Shadow’s face. “But!” Rouge added, ”I mostly remember someone having a few drinks too much and— – NOPE!” the hedgehog exclaimed as he brandished his hands. “No talk of this specific event shall happen in this house. Ever.”

Omega tapped his fingers on the table as he eyed his smaller friend. “It is a shame I did not record it for ulterior viewing.” Shadow’s glare was so intense the former badnik recoiled slightly.

“Oh well, it’s all in the past now.” Rouge mused teasingly. ”Good times, good times...”

- - - - -

The closet was absurdly full of useless trinkets and Shadow was very, very close to “fix” it with a Chaos blast.

Of course he wouldn’t, knowing how preciously Rouge kept all those odd items from her past. Jewels, foreign souvenirs, postcards, old plushies, photographs… All her memorabilia was kept there, in a mismatched mess mixed up with cleaning supplies, spare beddings and various tools.

“They should be somewhere near the bottom!” the bat shouted from across the flat. The hedgehog growled, his eyes desperately scanning the clutter in front of him. Finally he found what he came for.

Fairy lights. The essential accessory to any LRCS —Living Room Camping Session.

Shadow walked back to the main room, where a drying rack and several chairs formed a structure covered by sheets and blankets. Omega was evaluating whether the improvised tent was big enough for him. “It is perfect, Rouge. We will be able to fit within the designated comfy area.” he said before crawling underneath the colourful construction.

The hedgehog carefully hung the string of lights around and inside the tent before plugging it. Rouge grabbed some snacks and scuttled against the large robot, who fiddled with the remote until a title screen showed on the TV.

“Are we really watching this?” Shadow asked hesitantly. “Shadow. We all know your inclination for romance between organic beings. Please come cuddle so we can start the movie.” Omega said. “Don’t tell me you suddenly decided to hate cheesy fiction, sweetie.” Rouge added. “I would rather perish than lose your snarky remarks and teary-eyed spee— – Alright, I get it, I’m coming.” the hedgehog replied with a frown. “This better be good, though.”

It was everything but good. Outbursts of laughter and incredulous stares followed one another as the movie —a romantic parody of the famous blockbuster Attack On Mobius— kept getting more and more absurd. Omega threatened to turn himself off as he struggled to find any reasoning behind what was happening, and Rouge almost choked on her pop-corn near the end of the second part.

When the credits started rolling, the three buddies snuggled together. The winter night cold was no match for a group hug and thick quilts. Shadow eyed his phone and hummed.

“It’s almost midnight. – Does that mean we have to prepare a wish?” Rouge asked in a sleepy voice. “We don’t have to.” the hedgehog replied, glancing at his two friends.

Has to be an odd sight, he thought. A haphazard team with so many differences, united by pure luck in a challenging world. Chilling together in a makeshift tent in the middle of a flat like nothing else mattered. He closed his eyes and took a moment to appreciate the warm feelings. Being surrounded by such amazing souls for whom he really mattered. Knowing all the affection and dedication hidden behind that seemingly cold name, “Team Dark”.

“I wished for a pony.” Both Omega and Shadow looked at their bat friend with tilted heads. “What? They’re cute, I dunno.” she shrugged with a shit-eating grin. “What would you guys wish for? – Dual plasma swords.” the robot replied. “Maybe I should ask Miles when we cross paths again.”

Rouge rolled her eyes, then shouted curse words as she realised midnight was mere seconds away. Omega startled, making the whole tent fall on the team. The striped hedgehog quickly covered his muzzle with his hands, trying to suppress an irresistible laugh. No matter how hard life was, no matter the obstacles in his way, one thing was certain as the year came to an end.

Friendship was all he could wish for.