#<-because its a sonadow fic

[crows-home]

This is such a big chapter (a lot bigger than what i usually post) so it only feels fair to have you guys vote on when you want to read it. Or when you have time. I know people sometimes prefer to read fics over the weekend, so this might be something to look forward to!

[fluideli123]

Sonadow Fic Rec

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

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

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

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

tangled threads and bite-marked shoulders by @rubyiiiusions

Words: 32,287 | Series | Complete

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

Sleepwalking by Tirainy

Words: 22,117 | Complete

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

Secret Admirer by @trenchcoat-gecko

Words: 24,313 | Complete

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

Rose Drops Series by @magicstormfrostfire

Words: 122,489 | Series | Complete

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

Wolfboy by @trenchcoat-gecko

Words: 73,856 | Complete

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

Blizzard Bedfellows by @magicstormfrostfire

Words: 21,294 | Complete

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

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

Words: 3,630 | Complete

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

Clean Slate by nottheweirdest

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

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

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

Words: 30,205 | Complete

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

Judge my sins, not my feelings by yellothebeeloved

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

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

Child of Prophecy by @trenchcoat-gecko

Words: 139,321 | Completed

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

Coming Home by nottheweirdest

Words: 55,740 | Completed

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

[fluffyk97]

I just keep thinking of all these different scenarios of either Sonic dying, or becoming immortal thanks to the emeralds- all that. Now suddenly I have the idea of both, kinda (sprinkled with a bit of Sonadow).

Sonic's special bond with the emeralds (because he totally does) leads him to be a but burdened with immortality. Of course he hates it when it's found out, feeling a part of his own freedom being taken away from him, even if it's death. It hurts seeing those around him growing older and eventually passing.

But Sonic being Sonic, he makes sure to find the positives through it all. Tails for one, luckily being a kitsune (I'm attached to the idea), doesn't pass either. Then Shadow and Omega, he manages to grow closer to them (Shadow especially). Raising Silver (Adopted? Tube baby as a Sonadow kid? Can't decide). All while keeping the world safe. He even looks forward to seeing Chip again.

But terrible event happens and the world starts dying. Drought, all vegetation drying up and falling apart. All energy in the world is just... dying. Even the Master Emerald, but the Chaos Emeralds still hold their power.

Sonic draws the last energy of the Master Emerald into himself and the Chaos Emeralds, he overfills himself with energy begging to be released, ready to tear his body apart. Tails frantically tries to pull anything else up on any of his tech to try and find another solution, but all he gets is static and a black screen. Shadow feels himself frozen as he stares at Sonic glowing like the sun right in front of him. He tries to tell Sonic to stop, let him do it instead. Shadow feels so angry as grief bubbles in his chest while Sonic just smiles at him and shakes his head. They both know only Sonic can do it anyway...

Sonic floats down to Shadow, placing the shared inhibitor ring Shadow gave him so long ago in his hand. Shadow feels his hand burn from how much energy Sonic has as his eyes burn from the tears gathering in his eyes that he hates are there.

He hates how Sonic is just smiling at him. He hates how he's just going to leave his little brother behind. He hates how he managed to worm his way into his heart. He hates how he's making him feel at that moment. Hates how he's making watch someone close to him die in front of him again. He hates how he loves him.

Sonic floats up into the sky until he's no longer seen except as just a second sun in the sky. It suddenly bursts and the light surrounds the Earth. Technology sparks back on. Water returns and fills up the oceans, lakes, rivers, streams. Plants bloom and gain back color. Life and energy returning to all other living beings around the planet that were suffering. The Earth was revived.

The Master Emerald gains back its wondrous glow, but instead of just green, it starts to shine multi-colored. Red, yellow, green, teal, blue purple, white.

Tails and Shadow inspect it later and find the similar energy signatures of the Master Emerald merged with the Chaos Emeralds and Sonic's. It hums and glows brighter in their presence, washing over them and the world as they grieve.

Sonic became a part of the Earth he loved so much, and they'll make sure to keep him safe.

[gayemeralds]

sonadow is so annoying like why is it everywhere

the same people who complain that sonamy is everywhere also inevitably end up posting an insane amount of sonadow. girlie your mischaracterization being gay doesn’t make it any better.

jokes aside i can see the appeal of sonadow and if it wasn’t always. so badly done LMAO i would totally like it. but it’s almost always characterized as a watered down sonknuckles. they keep turning shadow into knuckles! anyway.

[blu-ish]

🌦️Song of the storm (Sonadow fic)

...

It seemed like it was never ending. The rain poured like a faucet throughout the forest, bending leaves and branches down with a powerful force. Completely soaking the soil below. It was almost as if the world itself wept. Shadow couldn’t help but stare in awe, almost completely forgetting the figure that sat beside him. 

“It’s coming down pretty hard huh.” Sonic said, leaning a bit forward to look out at the darkened sky from their makeshift shelter in a small cave. Small wasn’t even the correct term, there was barely enough room for the both of them. However, Shadow could appreciate the hedgehog’s attempt at digging some of the dirt out to create some extra space.

He could see Sonic reaching out his muddy gloves to wash with the streaming water on the cave's lip. The ebony hedgehog hummed in agreement, “Yes, it is.”

“Interrupted our race too!” The blue hedgehog pouted, which was sorta amusing Shadow supposed. 

“It’s no biggie though, the plants needed a drink.” Shadow grimaced as Sonic shook his hands to which he could only fathom was to dry them, not so much himself though. He grumbled, shooting a glare at the hedgehog who only chuckled nervously in response.

All became silent yet again in the hedgehog's burrow, all except the song of the storm.

Another hour passed, and a second, and then a third, soon both hedgehogs seemed to grow sick of their shelter turned prison. 

Shadow hugged his knees, there was no possible connection out here to get in touch with Rouge or Omega. Even Sonic had tried to contact Tails, Amy, and even Knuckles at one point– which surprised the hybrid because he wasn’t even aware the echidna could get a signal on his floating island.  

Shadow didn’t necessarily get cold, but each time a drop of water happened to make its way inside and landed on him, he would shiver at the sensation. He started to wonder why Maria ever told him she had once dreamed of standing in the middle of one of these like they did in her novels.

He was really debating if maybe he should just convince Sonic to make a run for it and find their way back home. But he realized Sonic’s brother’s workshop would most likely be miles from where they both decided to get lost too. He mentally kicked himself for not thinking about any of this before, why is it whenever that hedgehog drags him into anything he loses himself?

Shadow’s ears suddenly perked up, a noise, almost a murmur at first came from Sonic’s direction. He turned slowly to face him as he realized Sonic was singing. He couldn’t name what song it could possibly be, Shadow knew very little of the modern day artists. But he never took Sonic for one who could possibly carry a tune. 

“What song is that?” He found himself asking, he cleared his throat awkwardly. “If I may ask.”

Sonic blinked, he took a moment to just stare at the other hedgehog, almost like he had no clue what he was talking about. Which just caused Shadow to get even more embarrassed and frustrated that he said anything at all. That was until a lightbulb seemed to go off in Sonic’s head, he “oohed” and smiled. 

“That? It’s a lullaby, I used to sing it all the time to Tails whenever we were traveling and I would spend hours trying to get him to sleep.” He smiled fondly, eyes drifting in thought. “He doesn’t do too well in thunderstorms.” Shadow could faintly catch the blue hedgehog’s frown.

“I see.” Shadow said a little more plainly then he’d hoped. So he added, “You're worried.”

Sonic simply shrugged, “What can I say, I’m his brother. That’s all I’ll ever do.” He laughed, and Shadow found himself softly doing so as well. 

As time went on, the hedgehogs found themselves telling each other stories to pass the time. Sonic would make Shadow swear on his “coffee beans” every time not to tell Tails all the embarrassing stories he’s told him about when he was a fox pup. Shadow found it rather odd, he wouldn’t tell, but if it gave the strange hedgehog reassurance he would go along with it.

Soon the stories shifted to Sonic's childhood. Shadow never realized how long Sonic was alone when he was younger, about his life on Christmas Island. How he described the world, how even then he was willing to risk his life for all who inhabit it. The hybrid was reminded how he spent his own early days, on the Ark, but he had Maria. Just like how Sonic has Tails. 

Without really realizing it, Shadow had started telling Sonic more about his past. The experiments, the pain. About how much pressure he felt on his shoulders trying his damn hardest to be a cure for her. That’s all he ever wanted to be.

He’s not sure how it became so easy to talk about these things, he supposed it took time. Especially with someone like Sonic the Hedgehog. But he concluded that’s exactly the reason why, because while he and Sonic were complete opposites at times… they were an exact mirror image of the other. A mere reflection of who they are inside, two hedgehogs willing to risk it all to protect the world and all they love, for who they love.

They were only interrupted by the occasional sharp clap of thunder that would echo through the woods. Causing them to jump only a few times, and then laugh once more.

Soon, Shadow didn’t even notice until he glanced down that he and Sonic were basically leaning on each other. He suspected the blue hedgehog was cold, and surprisingly, he didn’t mind. He knew how Sonic felt about personal space, that was something they had in common after all. 

“How are you doing, with all this water?” As much as Shadow relished the silence, he was genuinely curious. Sonic let out a delayed “hm?”, he realized he might have caught the hero dozing off. 

“You think I can’t survive a bit of rain Shads?” Sonic scoffed with a toothy grin. “How dare you.”

Shadow’s quills stood up ever so slightly, clearly annoyed. “That’s not what I was insinuating at all.” He moved his arm away from Sonic, a very clear cold filling the void. They both noticed it, and stopped. They didn’t dare bring attention to it.

Sonic instead for whatever reason, shifted, standing as close as he could to “standing up” as he could get in the burrow. He glanced over at Shadow who was looking at him with what he guessed was an amusing expression since the blue hedgehog stifled a laugh.

“Want me to show you instead?” Sonic asked, reaching a hand out to Shadow. Right when he thought he was just starting to understand this hedgehog that confused him so, he goes and does something he would never expect. Especially from someone he knows has an innate fear of water. 

“What do you think you're doing, Sonic?” 

“You don’t have to,” Sonic said almost unnaturally softly. “But, I want you to trust me.”

Shadow sat there for a moment, trying to juggle his options as quickly as his mind allowed him. But as soon as Sonic started to put his hand down Shadow swiftly reached and took it. An action that felt a little too familiar.

“Fine,” he muttered. “I will.”

Sonic grinned, and at that same time Shadow could feel a strange twist in his chest. Perhaps he has been in here too long.

The rain was surprisingly not as wild as before as they exited their shelter, with rays of sunlight peeking through the whitening clouds above. The raindrops caught onto both their quills, beading down one by one. It was almost refreshing, but still cold, very cold.

Except for the warmth that came from Sonic’s hand. He felt that weird twist again as soon as he let go. 

“See?” Sonic uttered, breaking Shadow out of his plaguing thoughts. “Nothing to it, a little water never hurt me!”

Unbeknownst to Sonic however, Shadow could see how often his ears flicked as the water touched them, or how his fingers flexed with anticipation. As soon as Sonic’s quills started standing up, Shadow confirmed that Sonic was, in fact, not enjoying this. Which gave the hybrid an idea. 

“I see, how about a challenge then.” Shadow stated, grabbing the blue hedgehogs attention rather quickly. He grinned.

“A race, in the rain.” He then pointed back toward the direction of which he hoped would be one of the Mobian villages they were previously at before their first race. 

“First one back wins.” 

Sonic smiled, “Oh, you're on Shads!”

As they got into position, Sonic dug his shoes into the mud, trying to get as much of a grip as he could. Shadow had already felt at a slight disadvantage since his air shoes relied on heat from his chaos energy to activate; he was sure they’d work just fine, but he was hardly thinking about the mud. The rain that sprinkled his skin, kept his mind from wandering for too long.

From the moment they took off to the moments they stole glances at one another. The rain was there. 

They twisted and winded their way in between the trees, over boulders, and across the grassy hills. And again their race had turned into a game. A game of chase, just like before.

Sonic would lose Shadow, but then Shadow would find him. Shadow would hide behind something, then purposely bump into Sonic. They’re usual competitiveness was still there, but soon something else was too.

They would circle each other occasionally, with little to no real known reason between them. It was almost like a dance, one Shadow didn’t see himself losing. 

Their combined speed broke through the rain, sending raindrops flying in every direction with each sonic boom. The sound in perfect sync with the distant thunder. Each breath filled with damp air. The earth under his skates, and someone to enjoy it with right next to him.

With the village in view, he could feel Sonic beside him speed up, and so did he. He blinked raindrops out of his eyes, using a bit more energy to pass Sonic ever so slightly. 

Until it hit him.

He saw Sonic zoom away, seemingly not realizing Shadow stopped until he was a bit farther away. The blue hedgehog came rushing back, worried.

“Shadow?” He could feel his eyes darting around him, he slowly got closer to Shadow. “Are you okay, why did you stop?”

Shadow chuckled, staring up into the sky with a smile. “This is what she meant, by being in the rain.”

Sonic paused, he raised a curious brow, but smiled fondly anyway.

The two hedgehogs squinted as the sun finally made it completely through the clouds, the rain reduced to occasional sprinkles as the warmth reached them.

Shadow felt Sonic nudge him a bit, raising his arm over his shoulder. The hybrid rolled his eyes and leaned into it. Just this once.

They watched the clouds for a bit before Sonic spoke up, “You do realize I won right?”

“Oh? Did you?” Shadow peered up a bit, he felt Sonic stutter before clearing his throat. 

“Uh, yeah! You're the one who decided to have a moment in the rain while I crossed into town.” He smiled. “So what do I win?”

Shadow shrugged, “I wasn’t planning to lose, so I didn’t think that far.” he said flatly.

Sonic fake scoffed, “Oh, how you hurt me so~” Yeah, he was still as annoying as ever.

He eased Sonic away from him as he pointed a finger to the blue hedgehog's chest. “You decide what you win then.” 

Sonic had paused for a moment, back to staring at the other, and for a second Shadow could almost sense some sort of inner turmoil. Before he could ask Sonic shouted.

“Don Fachio’s chili dogs! I’m starving!” Sonic finally said, quite enthusiastically too, before adding slyly, “Your treat.”

“Fine.” Shadow could do that. But not before shooting Sonic an unheated glare. “But, you owe me one for getting us caught in that storm.”

“It’s a date then.” The blue hedgehog replied teasingly. Shadow couldn’t believe for the life of him that only a few hours ago he was letting his heart leak a bit and telling Sonic things he’s never told anyone. It was becoming a troublesome habit. But he supposed Sonic did the same, he knows a lot remained unsaid, and he’s not sure when they’d ever reveal themselves. But he did know one thing.

He wouldn’t mind being caught in the rain with him again.

[000marie198]

Are there any sonic au’s you would recommend? I am trying to find more to get into so would love to know if you have any favourites out there :D

Hello! Oh there are so many! :D I definitely have some favorites and some which aren't favs but are pretty great.

Putting these under the cut because there are so many! And there's definitely more cool AUs that I haven't seen or haven't saved.

Anyways, please enjoy my personal selection:

Seven Years Too Soon by NightFuchia. Basically what if a much younger Sonic accidentally set Shadow free from Prison Island. It has awesome characterization and happens to be one of my favorite stories. The rest of Team Sonic is also present

Brotherhood's Twist by @/drawloverlala even though I don't think it counts entirely as Au but it still sort of does. Unbreakable Bond ageswitch due to Zeti's meddling.

Passion's @sonic-tangled-au . I love it! So very much. The lore and backstories are so good.

Noonui's World Restored in Imbalanced Chaos au. Extremely engaging and good. Has a bunch of world building and fun concepts and lore.

Sonic's Super Totally Awesome Mixtape, though it seems to be discontinued, I'm not sure. It's pretty good so far! Takes place in the movie verse.

@brainworms-all-night-long is working on a Dreamtale Au which I'm hyped for. The tag in use is 'dreamtale and sonic tomfoolery'.

@/the-starlight-project comic is pretty good too. Mystery! And emotions. So many emotions ough.

And there's @the-emerald-isle-au by @0vergrowngraveyard . Very intriguing. 👀

Please do check out the Pandora Au by @/starrjoy. It's great!

The Fair Folk by Irritable_Fabulamancer, this fic is one of my favorites! Team Sonic as Fae my beloved! I love fae AUs.

On that note, if you're alright wanting to read a Fae!AU which is pretty much a sonadow fic, there is also I don't believe in fairy tales [but I believe in you and me]. Fantasy and Fae! Satbk inspired, another one that had me hooked.

My Arms Are Blue by thekyuubivixen and its unofficial, fan-continuation (My Arms Are Blue! Final Four Edition) by PlaystationPassenger. The story doesn't completely count as an AU but I'm recommending them anyway cuz they're really really good and has that watching your own show from different dimension trope. It's also hilarious and fun.

Burning Arrow, Wildfire Heart by Taranea is SatSR novelisation AU with Sonic's other friends present too, it's pretty fun. Not very accurate regarding the desert but it's a good read and I come back to reread it often. Must read in my opinion. Just don't dare use it as guide for desert travel or you'll be shriveled up in the sand somewhere

This fic. Read it, I will not elaborate this one. Just trust me :]

And don't miss out on @shadofiredragon's Legends Never Die fic. It's a future fic! And an awesome one. I won't spoil much but it is so good. She also has lots of fun AUs in the works.

Down the Foxhole series by MoonlitNightin. Sonic Prime AU series which is great! Tails' pov. The Shatterverses have their own Sonics. Engaging and great.

Feel free to check out @/Son1c's 10verse and other AUs. Those are some pretty great ones. Love the different lore and variants given to the Shatterverses in 10verse.

Spirit of the Wind by TrenchCoatGecko. Satbk inspired fantasy au. Sonamy, has focus on magic and lore and other characters as well.

If you'd like some Forces angst with Unbreakable Bond focus, please do read Illusionary are your arms around me by @nixoon-again. The feels will kill you /pos

Chaos Barren by but_why_not. I forgot to add this earlier (this is an edited addition). Takes place in the Blue Devils AU, great story!

Baby Tails shenanigans by @myymi . Tails got turned into itty bitty infant kit. (And also check @0vergrowngraveyard 'baby tails' tag for more little gremlin scenarios)

Myla is also working on @tails-and-the-ink-machine au

Feral au by Oneshot_bravo. Little short stories or drabbles taking place in Unleashed but the werehog is feral yet keeps his memories. Very lighthearted and fun and cute

Three or more foxes form a skulk by @/chiropter36 . Post Prime au fic, loved it! Go read.

Also, @donelywell 'roadtrip! sonic au' and 'Casino Nights Au'

Haven't yet started reading The Fox's Burrow by @/space-gutz but I'm planning to. Recommending it either way cuz I feel like it's gonna be good. Unbreakable Bond but ageswaped au.

@/sonicchaoscontrol comic. Another in-progress au which is also quite intriguing. Sonic jumps through a portal and exits in future where the planet is a mess. The mystery of what and how it all happened and what's going on slowly unfolds.

The Buzzsaw Dillemma by redpenship. I haven't personally read it myself but I've heard many good things about it, especially it's world building.

Incomplete and won't be updated anymore but if you haven't read them yet, DO NOT miss out on Ghosts of the Future and The Murder of Me fancomics by Evan Stanley (spiritsonic) and Gigi Deutrix (gigi-D) respectively. They're a must read. Both are available on DeviantArt.

The Heart of a Monster comic, @/the-heart-of-a-monster. It's in progress and updates regularly. Unleashed retelling, really really good with some extra lore and everyone involved.

Sometimes the Picket Fence isn’t Perfect and Sharp Edges (Sonic Prime AU) series by @/skimmingthesurfaces. I'm holding off the first one to read later, like that one book you've been saving so I'm not sure if it completely counts as an AU, still putting it in recs, and the second one is intriguing so far. I have heard a lot of good thing about the Picket Fence series.

Dark Boom by Smash50. The entirety of Team Dark in the Sonic Boom universe. Alongside it, there's also Boomtober by the same author.

It Always Snows by the 24th by Selendred had me hooked even though it's a oneshot. Great au and would love to see it explored more.

No One said I Wish by SylWritesStuff. One of my fav stories from the Sonic Platonic Fairytale Week event. It's really funny.

Sonic Phantom Forces (SPF) au comic. Sonic Forces au, blue boy gets taken away but not in the way you think, pretty cool story so far. It's in-progress and available on both Tumblr and DeviantArt. @/spfau

If Black Doom tried to be a better father by Tirainy. Don't take this one seriously. It's pure comedy and I love every second of it. Shadow is having a time for sure XD.

Silent Talkers by @brainworms-all-night-long. Takes place in the Prime Bros verse, feels intensified, all the good ones. A must read, trust me.

And speaking of the Prime Bros AU (in which all Shatterverse foxes also got adopted by Sonic and are now brothers), feel free to scroll through the 'prime bros' tag here. So many awesome posts for this particular au by everyone!

There's so many more, cool ones, epic ones. I haven't saved all and I'm probably forgetting some great ones too so I'm leaving this open for others to add. If y'all have more cool AUs, plz add to these (I wanna check em out too)

....

And now a few from the Fanfiction.net site because it doesn't have much audience compared to AO3 and there are some actual gems hidden there;

Premonition by thekiyuubivixen (not entirely an au but it feels like one due to the unique ability Sonic gains)

The Sonic Project by SconnieSA. Rated M but it's a pretty awesome AU and the rating is due to more serious themes and uncensored language in some parts. Highly recommending this one

Survivor's Resolve by DC111. Not entirely an AU but I must rec this fic it's so good and doea havs some AU vibes.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Attorney of Law by thedraconicwerewolf. Ace Attorney type AU with Sonic and Tails as main characters. Not too adventurous but very very fun and interesting and still managed to keep Sonic in character. Though it has a sequel started, I only rec the main story, not the sequal as it seems to be abandoned and isn't needed to be read like them cliffhanger stories.

beLIEve by Meow21. I have only read snippets from this, waiting for this story to continue but it seems to be discontinued. Felt like an epic story too and deserves to be recommended.

Sonic and the Golden Journey. Sonic gets thrown in another storybook, this time it's a children's classic fairytale. Short but very comedic and fun. Go read it.

Tales of a Samurai. I am begging you to read this one, please it's so good. Also by Taranea.

Wonderful and it's sequal Sanctuary by Inflamore for some Unbreakable Bond angst. (Kindly ignore the obliviousness of earlier ff.net for not knowing the meaning of certain symbols, there's nothing of the sort in story, trust me.)

Regrets by MazzyBooks. A high school au of sorts. Sonic centric with some heavy angst. I'm not kidding about the angst part, trust me. It had me hooked from the first chapter though and I believe it deserves a rec.

You need the cracks (to let the light shine through) by king.needlemouse. Istg this is the most underrated thing I've ever come across, it's one of my absolute favorite fics which I can never forget. Do read it.

Within this Nightmare by sonicfan1990. Sonic get transported to an alternate universe which has gone post apocalyptic and his counterpart in that universe has been dead. Pretty great story, lots of angst and everything.

And that's all I could remember and have saved for now. I'm leaving this open to more AU recs (yes even self plugs are welcome) so if you know any I missed, plz feel free to add. I hope you enjoy all these great AUs!

Thanks for the ask!

[kittydoremi]

Sonelise, Shadamy and Sonadow for the ship bingo? :>

Sorry for taking so long to answer ><

(Btw was a bit confused by the space that said therapy, so I took it as "this ship is like therapy to me, it comforts me 💖")

SonElise

My beloved 🥺💙🤍

I could gush about them for days. I love them so much. I wish I would've gotten into the ship sooner. I stayed away from the ship up until a few years ago because of the whole fandom stigma around it, but one day I said "fuck it, this ship is cute" and started to openly ship it, and my love for the ship only grew since 😊

Sonadow

Very cute! Some reasons I like sonelise also fall into why I like sonadow, two introverts being cute dorks 💙🖤

also, even though I know their Prime characterizations aren't their canon characterizations, I do like Sonadow Prime as its own thing. It was pretty much the only thing I liked about Prime lol 😅

Shadamy

I'm not SUPER passionate about most ships with Amy, but Shadamy probably has to be my favorite Amy ship. It's very cute, and I much prefer the dynamic to s0namy. They're both passionate in their own ways. Also, Amy can help Shadow to open up while Shadow can help Amy to be more grounded. 💖🖤

I'm not a fan of the fanfiction tropes when Shadow is written to only like Amy because she reminds him of Maria, or when Sonic is written to be a jealous asshole to make Shadow look better. But there are alot of great shadamy fics and ways of writing shadamy that don't fall into those tropes.

[cat-dragron-arts]

Never knew I could become fixated on my own silly Sonic Frontiers AU but it's finally at a point where I feel comfortable enough to share it with the wider world! I also wrote all this up at like midnight so sorry if stuff doesn't make sense.

Whole premise is "what if Shadow was in Frontiers" which isn't a unique thought but I wanted to try my own spin on it! Calling it the Mnemonic AU for now since that's just have I've been titling files I save for this as.

Mnemosyne Island replaces Rhea Island in terms of story progression, combining all of the towers into one. Still working on some of the finer details but the chaos emeralds are involved so that Sonic, Shadow and their koco companion can have some quality time together.

Also! Have some rough environmental drawings because I cannot get certain scenes out of my head!!

My whole goal of this was to explore a bit of the harder to obtain voice lines on Rhea Island and how that would play in to someone besides Sage being there to witness Sonic at his lowest before the corruption fully takes over.

Oh and also to have more qpr sonadow content that scratches my particular itch of them having an incredibly deep bond and how that gets put to its limit.

More doodles and ramblings under the cut!

I have most of the main story beats planned out especially with how the ending plays out. It would follow the Final Horizon update in terms of how Ouranos Island plays out plus! Then there's also more potential for character interactions which I adore exploring.

Got no idea for how Shadow ends up at the Starfall Islands. Maybe he's out with Rouge and Omega and he's the only one that finds the portal that ends up transporting him to the islands. Anyways, at least he and Knuckles have that in common.

Shadow's memory token is lavender which I used primarily because it's more neutral than some of the other symbols I see with Shadow a lot. His koco's design was... a pain but I'm ultimately happy with it since they are fun to draw hehe.

The fic itself is gonna be a long one!! Not sure how long yet as I'm still writing it but I've gotten rough drafts for the first three chapters with chapter four on the way. I'm guessing somewhere around 40-60 k words?? Based purely on the chapters I have written right now and how many words they are.

I'd love to post the fic at some point but I want to wait until I have a little more of a back log/more polished since it's my first fan fic and I am a little nervous about it haha.

If you read this far thank you??? It means a lot and I just hope people enjoy this silly au hehe.

[magicstormfrostfire]

Fanfic fanons that are now canon in Monkie Kid!

This is a sequel to my post in 2021 'Things that I have to keep reminding myself are not true (or at the very least not confirmed) in 'Lego Monkie Kid' because Fandom and Fanfics have warped my perception of reality' back when we only had seasons 1-2! I made a funny list of lmk fanon tropes I found in fanfics so much that they kinda made me forget what was real and what was fanon. But after season 4 and the special, I decided to go back over things because a LOT has changed. So, without further ado, lets get into all the juicy details (with pictures!) hehehe~

Despite the events of 'Shadow Play' the rest of the gang does not know about Macaque

Okay so this one got solved immediately after season 2. Like Mac just showed up right where s2 ended. He made his presence known. Repeatedly! Relentlessly! I love him btw.

MK has never told Sun Wukong that Macaque appeared while he was gone

I listed this one specifically because some fics decide to either have MK confess to Wukong that Mac's been in contact with him after his debut episode, or MK might keep it a secret. But in the grand scheme since his debut, its kinda irrelevant now. Man is everywhere.

The Gold Fillet has not been mentioned

This is also no longer true! I mean we see it a lot but there's not a conversation about it specifically. I think that counts... (We're gonna get to the juicy ones I promise)

MK's real name has not been mentioned in the Dub

Still true! (I should clarify; I mean they havent told us what it is. Only that MK is a nickname because his real name is too long.)

MK does not have any confirmed biological family details

Whew, okay so this one is harder. We know that MK was adopted by Pigsy after being born from a stone on FFM just like Sun Wukong. So while its not exactly like Wukong laid him as a stone egg (I mean...he might've idk) its safe to say he is more related to Wukong biologically than anyone else. Right?....I think.

MK does not have an older sister

Still true, for reasons above! (Him having an older sister happened in fanfics a lot more than you'd think)

Reincarnation has not been confirmed or denied

Comfirmed now! It was HEAVILY implied in season 3 toward the end anyway heh.

Red Son and MK are not dating

YET. (But they do have cute moments -crosses fingers-)

Pigsy and Tang are not dating

Im HAPPY to say that this one is actually sort of implied to be canon? I could list a bunch of knowing looks and one off remarks but I'd be here all day gushing so I'll just go with the most obvious piece of evidence. Season 4's Pig-Napped! Has a moment where Tang is trying to get through to Pigsy, who is trapped in his ancestor's body. He mentions that he has "dedicated his life to this man (Pigsy)" and idk how else to read that if ya know what I mean. (Also this cuddle moment when he got Pigsy back. Tee-hee)

Sun Wukong and Macaque have not had any kind of relation or relationship confirmed beyond "Beloved Friends"

This one is ALSO having some VIBES but not anything confirming enough for me to outright say its canon. Though there's...there's somethin' goin on. Shadow Play set the table but seasons 3-4 gave us a FUCKING ANGST MEAL.

and the special we learn a lot more about Macaque and Wukong's relationship. They were canonically a lot closer and more affectionate than I had originally expected and the implication of being "sworn brothers" the two sharing a home at FFM, and peach metaphors/nicknames I could write a whole book about. I can't really say it has anything as concrete as Tang saying his life is for Pigsy, but I can say the implications are MIGHTY, and their wounds are DEEP. (Shadowpeach flows in my veins so deeply, season 5 please give me what I need its Sonadow but Monkey men please gods, all of the gods, just give me--)

Mei, Red Son, and MK have never had a party or a sleepover

Weirdly enough, this totally happened??? Like not gonna lie out of all of these things on this list, this one was the one I didn't expect to come through. But they did sleep over at Red's place, and had a beach party at the end of s4.

Lady Bone Demon has not been directly referred to as White Bone Spirit in the Dub

This is true, likely because they just went with a different name entirely for the English dub.

The Shame Temple is not for sex

YET.

There is no Easter Bunny, There is no Tooth Fairy, and there is no Spindrax

Honestly considering what happened to the spider gang as a whole, I'm not surprised this is still true....(RIP)

MK has not called Pigsy Dadsy (Update: a few people have confirmed this has happened) and Mk has not called Sun Wukong Dad

Im including these two together (even though the Dadsy one was already confirmed in s1) for a few reasons because I feel like I need to talk about why.

MK not only has called Pigsy Dadsy, he says flat out in season 4 that Pigsy is his dad, due to adopting him. This is in reply to Mei saying that Wukong is his dad, due to the whole stone monkey thing. While its implied he and Wukong are cut from the same cloth somehow, both being mystic stone monkeys, MK only sees Pigsy as his true father.

Macaque has not been redeemed yet

This one is a lot more nuanced. While Mac is no longer their enemy and is a reluctant ally, I wouldn't call him redeemed necessary. This is mostly because around the end of season3 and all of season 4 we begin to delve into the complexity of Wukong/Macaque. It's shown that both parties did damage and hurt each other in the past. It feels a bit black and white to try and put all the blame on Macaque and say he needs to be 'redeemed' now that we know more about the two monkeys. But for the sake of argument, I will say that as of season 4, Macaque can be considered one of the good guys even if they're not his 'friends.'

His relationship with Wukong is just beginning to mend and that's a whole different can of worms, but as past antagonists go, I'd say he's got a seal of approval when it comes to being a reliable ally.

Aaaaannnddddd that's all the ones I had! This was really fun to comb through all of the fanfic themes and see how much they've snuck their way into canon (or were flat out proven to be the deal from the start) since season 2! Hopefully once season 5 rolls around I can address some of these unconfirmed fanfic themes again, and maybe even have new ones! (Right now the only one I can think of is Azure having romantic feelings for Wukong but since he's kinda gone idk if that would ever come up)

If anyone has some other fanfic themes that are so fanon they get mixed up with canon, let me know so I can make a list! mwhehehe UwU

[aesrot]

Feel free to delete this, but I remember you saying that you liked Sonadow (I think that’s the ship name?). Anyway this is your invitation to infodump about them as much as you want. Also if you want to give fanfic recommendations I just might read them <3.

GIGGLES you shouldnt have said this >:3

idek what i could talk abt bc at the same times theres a LOT but also, despite me being mostly caught up game lore wise, i still dont feel like i have a good enough understanding of the characters, i'll probably only feel that when im caught up w the comics. which,,, will take me a good while to get through (just the archie comics are like over 500 issues long lol)

BUT. hmm what could i say that doesnt really require much prior knowledge...

ig, as every ship i ever ship, i see them more as queer platonic, sonic gives me the strongest aroace vibes, so i feel like his love for shadow wouldnt take a much different shape than his love for his other friends. but their connection goes a lil further to me, bc, when it comes to certain stuff, i feel like they're the only ones who can understand each other. and shadow... my dearest little guy... he represses a lot. his life experience wasnt. the best. i dont think he got that many opportunities to explore his own emotions, he probably cant even name a bunch of his emotions, its just easier to lash out, thats smth he's used to. he knows violence, it feels safer, he knows that dance.

and its because sonic has his fair share of violent background (aka, took up the role of a hero since he was way too young) that i feel like he is one of the few who can read shadow much easier than anyone else. hell, sonic himself is kinda knee deep in some repression (in my own understanding of his character). obvs most of this is bc its a franchise that targets kids, they wont get wild w the angst, but my boy sonic be out there fighting all the time and takes on a responsibility that shouldnt be his, the consequences of his actions can be catastrophic sometimes (once again asking everyone to watch sonic prime <3333 so much angst potential, im not normal abt it), and even when things go wrong, he jut smiles and powers through it. just think this for a second. god. imagine the amount of times he pushed himself beyond his limitations for the sake of others, how many times he pretended to be fine....

and yet. despite all that, they are terrible with communicating to each other, so things get physical often (as in fighting, not sexual, which makes it even gayer to me <3), and sigh. not surprising. put two stupid traumatised hogs in the same room and they'll either zoom around trying to race each other or they'll try to tear each others throat bc they just cant be normal together. ig thats how they communicate, go figures lol

my thoughts are all over the place atm so its hard to make this coherent <- my thoughts abt them are usually just violently screaming and sobbing. im sooo normal abt them. cant get much deeper than this without getting into the Lore, but yeah, ig this is smth

and oh, abt fanfics, hmmm i dont have that many that you could read without any background, but i did just finish this one shots collection thats very sweet and pretty chill to read without much prior knowledge, its mostly just a bunch of fluffy sick fics and them exploring their own feelings.

[nosebl-eed]

BRO i've been binge reading a bunch of your sonadow smut all day and like ???? oh my god, i know it's smut but the characterisation is so so good, especially for sonic, and it's great to see more people pushing the t4t sonadow agenda, my favourite fic is the one where they get high and sonic asks to make out w shadow, like the whole thing is just SO SO GOOD LIKEEEE ugh your writing is great

AWWW dude THANK YOU!! That legit makes me so happy to hear : 3 I have so much fun writing these guys and i simply love hearing that people like *how* i write them.

I do plan to write more t4t sonadow because that is them and they are trans <3 Its my favorite way to write them, honestly. It just, makes sense.

And that fic you mentioned is truly one of *my* favorites also. So I'm super super glad you like it too!! A lot of people love that one!

So thank you so much for reading my stuff and for your support! It honestly means the world!! <3

[crows-home]

Nobody asked but here are my thoughts about Infinite and the president’s sonadow fanclub because i haven’t stopped thinking about it for WEEKS and if I don’t get it out there I will implode.

More of a lighthearted, crack treated seriously type of thing.

So if we’re sticking with the main Sonic Forces timeline, i think that the jackal squad didn’t die or anything. They just got real beat up by Shadow and fired by Eggman as a result. the loss stings everyone’s pride, but none more than infinite.

He sees his team sulking for days and thinks “how can i embarrass Shadow the same way?” and Sonic is doing the whole Twitter Takeover with Eggman and Shadow and he’s like. Oh yeah. I’m gonna embarrass you all in front of so many people.

So the whole “a file called Sonadow.” thing plays out and it’s funny!! Infinite spent a few days searching for sonadow fanart and fanfiction around the web and compiled a folder and sends it to Eggman live. (and it’s surprisingly hard to find any sonadow content. apparantly its a rare thing.) He and his crew get a laugh out of it.

And then:

It’s like one of those things where you start doing something ironically. saying a phrase or doing a mannerism in the day as a joke. He’ll see a pepsi can and a coca cola can together and laugh and point and say “haha. sonadow.” and his crew will laugh too. He’ll find fanart and tag Shadow in it to annoy him.

Then I think this leads down a pipeline to him actually reading fanfiction and theories. “For fun,” he says.

“Look at this,” he says to Vanish, gesturing to his tablet screen. They’ve just collected a bounty in a snowy mountain and are taking a rest in their tent.

Vanish squints and reads over his shoulder. “What...”

“There’s a small community of people that genuinely believe Sonic and Shadow have a secret relationship and go out on cheesy dates.”

Vanish laughs in disbelief. “That’s crazy.”

Infinite nods, absently rubbing his knee because the cold makes his joint ache. “I know. I mean, if they were actually in a relationship they wouldn’t meet at a restaurant for a date. Obviously. These people don’t know anything.”

Vanish stares at him for a moment, but Infinite has continued scrolling.

“Whatever you say, boss...”

Anyway. Time passes and it’s. Not a joke anymore.

the more he reads, the deeper he gets, until one day he’s fully onboard like. “Woah, hang on. This actually makes a lot of sense. Are they really together? They have to be!”

I like to think he saw fics and art and scoffed like. “The characterization is so off.” and “He would never say that.” and “I bet I could do better.” so he starts creating his own stuff and putting it online. maybe he started with crack fics and his team just smiled awkwardly when anything was brought up because. well, Infinite is still a damn good leader and his hobbies aren’t really hurting anyone.

but infinite is really miffed because no one will take him seriously!! like, his crew is not as invested in this as he is and whenever he gets a good conversation going with someone online, they either move on from “sonadow” really quickly or they have a different view on their relationship than he does.

until he’s browsing forums and notices a single user that has been posting continuously since like. almost 2001???

so he hits up the user “Sonadowfan1″ and they talk EXTENSIVELY and holy shit. It’s like he and this person are on the same wavelength. this person GETS IT.

Sonadowfan1: I’ve believed in their relationship almost since day 1

User69420: Wow, you were there since the beginning?

Sonadwofan1: I was. And let me tell you, the way they worked together, the way their chemistry works, I have never met another pair of beings so closely intertwined. But they love to dance around each other.

User69420: Exactly! Did you see the clips of their time at the Olympics?

Sonadowfan1: I was there in the audience! It was quite something to see in person.

So Infinite has a new internet friend that he can share his ideas with. Sonadowfan1 recommends fanfiction and sends their favorite clips and they have some damn good taste since they’ve been around for a while.

Meanwhile Infinite’s crew is just happy he’s not coming to them every time he needs to vent his frustrations. They hear his phone ding and see him grinning a minute later, typing away like a kid.

Months pass and he and Sonadowfan1 decide to meet up. It’s the middle of the night, and Infinite is hesitant. But Sonadowfan1 insists that it’s the only time that he’s able to step away from his job. But he makes Infinite agree to come alone.

User69420: Why? What are you playing at?

Sonadowfan1: I have a very recognizable face. I trust that you won’t reveal my identity, but only you.

Infinite frowns. It’s a dumb statement, really. Infinite thinks he would sell this guy’s information for a price in a heartbeat. But, whatever gets him the meeting with the only other person that believes in this as much as he does- maybe even more.

“Should we...?”

Eclipse points to Infinite, who is getting ready to head out and meet with his online friend.

Rumble blinks. “You want me to stop him? He can handle himself. Let him get this out of his system or enjoy himself. At least it’s not affecting his work.”

And just. Long story short that’s how Infinite comes face to face with the fucking President of the United States. They agree to have monthly meetings. The pres shows Infinite his own Sonadow files and the picture he keeps on his desk. They go over their interactions and break them down, frame by frame.

[nibwhipdragon]

what are some of your favourite fics?

Oooh boy. I have...a lot. Uh. How do I start. OK this is getting long I'm putting this under a cut

One of my faves is definitely Chasing Stars by @midnighteraser ! I read the fic before actually playing Sonic Frontiers, and when I ended up experiencing a celestial starfall I ended up being disappointed in it. This fic is so beautifully written that it wasn't done justice by the game (usually when people say that it's the other way around...funky). Tbh I like all of Kirsten's fics and simply chose this one due to it being my favourite out of them all, she leans quite heavily into description and they always end up being super good! It's just so. Ough. If I had a printer I'd print out her fics, blend it with some fruit into a smoothie and drink it the descriptions are that good

Another one I definitely am NOT leaving out (because I have too many to feasibly make a list of) from this is Would You Love a Werehog? by @pajulammas ! This fic man. Cannot even describe how much I love it. There isn't much werehog stuff on AO3 (and even less that I'm actually interested in reading, why is a good chunk of it NSFW 😭) so this fic was a lovely gem to find when browsing AO3 one night. It explores Sonic and his feelings towards the werehog form which was something critically underused in Unleashed, and what can I not love about deeper explorations into things shown in canon? Not only that but the sonadow dynamic here...not the biggest sonadow shipper, just neutral on it, but GOD does this fic get their dynamic right. All of Paju's fics get the sonadow dynamic right actually, the plots he has for his fics are great but the great characterisation is also a nice bonus, like getting sauce in a burger you ordered. I will go into his fics and come out with a million thoughts per second and not a single one of those is a "He would not fucking say that" or anything along the lines. It is great. I am also getting off of track. Getting back on track, Chip is in there so the fic is guaranteed a 10/10 in my eyes. I love Chip he is like. Probably in my top 3 sonic characters of all time.

Moving on, there's also Bloody Macarena. Shin almost dies from doing the macarena. And despite the fic being about something more on the comedy/crack side of things, it also goes into some nice detail on Shin and Kanna's relationship, as well as more on Shin's inner thoughts. None of the yttd fics on AO3 have really ever hit the spot, but this one certainly does!

Genuinely surprised it's taken this long for me to list a jjba fic here, but Connected is just. Ough 👍. I am a big fan of horrors, and this hit all the grooves in my mind, it's so good in terms of horror, I love the open ending sm! Though. Only problem is that the fic was so interesting I want to know even more, knowing I'll never be able to. In a hell of my own making... It also reminds me a little of Superhot. And that is always a plus. Superhot is a great game we all love Superhot here

...I'm gonna be real with you all. This fic is actually very good. Please hear me out on this though I have proper reason to it I beg. Anyways if this is how you find out about the existence of Joseph and Caesar enjoy a burger then I am sorry. The contents of the fic is nothing short of cursed and messed up. It's most certainly crack. It sometimes keeps me up at night simply by thinking about it. In horror. Because I've read this a few times to my friends to see their reactions in real time. And repeated reads of things allows you to notice things you didn't notice before. This fic. This fic is genuinely well-written. And that scares me on so many levels. This fic knows that it's cursed and that it's crack, and by knowing that it knows how to throw its punches. You'll get the general crack vibes out of it with the blatant mischaracterisation of Joseph and Caesar. And then out of nowhere the fic will jump you with a sentence that makes you feel like you've been hit in the face with a frying pan (biggest one that comes to mind here is "The pregnant man groaned." and I actually can't believe I'm writing those words on my tumblr blog. This sentence actually hit me so off guard I literally had to pause my reading). There is good structure. There is actual foreshadowing there. How do I live with this info. Help Me

Now, onto more...normal fics. dinner date. is so so SO good I love it so much. Domestic fluff with Joseph and Caesar is always great. And I love food in any and all ways so having it be food oriented is a bonus. I also love the way Joseph is written in this, it's very cool and awesome and feels very in character :3

And to end this off (because this is going to be ridiculously long if I continue, and because it's literally almost midnight here), a more angsty fic in the form of Too Far! Ough. I love fics (and just stories in general) where a character accidentally upsets another character by getting too angry and snapping and saying something they don't mean/shouldn't, it opens up so many possibilities for things to happen it's wonderful <3

There is definitely more but it's not feasible to list them all. So here's a select special few :3

[howlingmoon08]

Hear me out. Shadow helping his brother come to the good side is great. But I recently had an idea where Sonic meets Eclipse and offers to go with him to talk to Shadow and explain HIS side. Cause Sonic is that kind of guy and he can tell the brothers don't REALLY wanna hurt each other. But he can also tell no one is trying to hear out Eclipse either.

Eclipse: why do you wanna talk to me???

Sonic: cause I think your voice deserves to be heard too

To this day, one of the biggest crimes committed by Archie's run getting canceled is that Eclipse never got to interact with any characters outside of the universe comics, ESPECIALLY Sonic.

Shadow eventually turning Eclipse to the good side is always a fun development, but I 100% think Sonic is a better and more realistic option for that arc. There's a LOT of possibilities for that development.

Where Eclipse and Shadow left off in Archie was pretty bad, Shadow was extremely paranoid about Eclipse being around to the point he had this imaginary Eclipse haunting him in his head (and yes I know the comic tries to be like "oh am I the real Eclipse or a figment of your imagination" but then immediately cuts to Eclipse running back to the dark arms to take care of them so I doubt its suppose to be the real Eclipse in Shadow's head) so for him to eventually WANT to bring Eclipse to the good side would take a while.

Sonic would be a lot more receptive to Eclipse changing sides. That's not to say he would help him right away, if he saw Eclipse as a threat he wouldn't hesitate to fight him, but the second he caught wind of how Eclipse really feels about Shadow or if he found out about the dark arms, Sonic would change his approach pretty quickly.

Sonic is easily the best person to change Eclipse's perspective on things. Sonic's skill in battle could leave an impression on him, it did with Shadow during/after the final boss in SA2, and maybe have Eclipse consider other species aren't as inferior as he thought. Sonic's love of freedom and nature could help Eclipse come to appreciate their planet more. Sonic would eventually find/interact with the dark arms and they'd probably take a liking to him right away while Sonic might resonate with the fact they're part wisp. Seeing the dark arms and Sonic interact would ultimately sway him into thinking "Okay, maybe I should hear this guy out." Then cue Sonic getting to work on the two brothers figuring things out.

WOOOOO a long post for me but I cannot end without mentioning this. If you're looking for a great story that includes Sonic and Eclipse interactions (or even the rare Sonic x Eclipse) I HIGHLY recommend Tides of Chaos by LightningHikaru on AO3. It's a Sonadow fic, but even if you don't ship it, I would give it a shot anyways because of how amazing the story, worldbuilding, and characters are in this story. This is one of the BEST pieces of writing I've seen for Eclipse EVER and I don't think a lot of Eclipse fans have read it because (well besides if they don't ship sonadow) Eclipse isn't in the tags, despite playing a MAJOR role in the story.

If you just want a taste of some Sonic x Eclipse content (because the fic pretty heavily implies Eclipse has a one sided crush on Sonic) I would recommend reading Chapter 34: Midnight Nightcap.

If you're disinterested in a Sonadow story but want to enjoy what an amazing story Eclipse has in it, His story kicks off in Chapter 21: Long Time No See.

Again, always want to thank ANYONE for sending me an ask, I just adore talking all things Sonic.

[gayemeralds]

alright heres the sonadow fic

word count: 3863

“What do you think that weird energy surge is?"

Shadow doesn't bother looking at Rouge. The Commander had asked him the same thing during the briefing for their mission, and Shadow had already told him he had no idea what could be going on. It wasn’t the same energy signal as a Chaos emerald. But Chaos energy was just as unpredictable as its name suggests, so it could quite literally be anything.

“I told you, I don’t know.” Shadow crosses his arms as Omega takes a sharp left to dodge a volcano. “Why did we let him steer the ship again?”

“I THREATENED TO BLOW IT UP IF YOU DID NOT.”

Rouge waves vaguely, and Shadow rubs his forehead, sensing a migraine forming. He’s a man-made super weapon but Omega’s terrible, jerky driving was enough to give even the most iron of stomachs at least a few flips. 

G.U.N. had noticed an intense surge of Chaos energy on the coast of some back water island Shadow had never even heard of. Some place called Christmas Island, on the outskirts of the other mainland islands like South and West Side. It was a quiet, unobtrusive place, and thus no one could figure out why there was a sudden surge of energy.

Rouge had initially been sent to do reconnaissance, before they decided to have Shadow tag along, considering his knowledge on Chaos energy. Omega eventually decided to join because he was hoping a fight would break out, and no one at G.U.N. really wanted to tell the giant robot prone to mass destruction “no.”

The shore of the island came not a second too soon. Shadow hopped off the motor boat as fast as he could, not exactly thrilled about the trip back home, and scans the perimeter. Rouge floats to his side, and Omega nearly tips the boat over trying to join them. Shadow tries to figure out where the source is coming from, but his ability to feel out Chaos energy is weaker than that of Sonic or even Knuckles. A man made connection to the energy, as it turns out, isn’t always up to snuff with the natural sort.

Shadow thinks it’s coming from within the forest, and motions for the others to follow after him, silently. Rouge, as an international super spy and jewel thief, stays as silent as nightfall. Not even the flap of her wings makes a sound as she floats above the foliage and dried leaves. Omega isn’t quite as graceful, though Shadow gives him some credit- he really is trying for some stealth.

The surge in energy becomes strong enough that Rouge seems to feel it. She shivers slightly, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. Chaos energy had the strange property of being like water, or electricity. Wild or still, the eye of a hurricane, the perfect blend of a thunderstorm. 

Shadow has them stop. The energy source is only a few feet away, and Shadow hesitantly creeps forward. Omega is charging up his weapons, while Rouge files her nails. Her eyes are sharp, however, and Shadow can see the tension amongst her shoulders, prepared to jump in when the moment’s right.

It’s radiating from a bush dead ahead. Shadow can feel it rolling like the waves of an unsteady tide, like the first time he stepped foot on the shores of an ocean. Jagged but fluid. 

He pushes the bush apart, separating it in half, and finds a bundle of blue on the other side. His brows furrow in recognition, noting the iconic shoes and even more iconic color of fur. “Sonic?”

Rouge perks, twirling the nail file as she takes a half step forward. Omega appears to contemplate, before asking, “IS HE A THREAT?”

“Not at all.” Shadow bends down, prodding at Sonic’s shoulder. He’s slumped face first in the ground, and Shadow really wants to make  stupid comment about that, but Sonic doesn’t react in the slightest to his podding. Shadow even moves to kick him, not hard, but not particularly kind, and that still doesn’t wake him. 

Shadow rolls Sonic onto his back while Rouge moves to his side. Sonic doesn’t appear injured, but he’s definitely unconscious. Rouge settles on his other side and presses a hand against his forehead, her lips twisting. “Oh, he’s definitely got a fever. He’s burning up.”

Shadow’s brows furrow even further. It’s… honestly never crossed his mind that Sonic could be sick, could get sick. They are identical in every way that matters, in speed, in power, in energy manipulation. Shadow just sort of assumed… Sonic would be like him in this way, too. That colds and sickness were essentially below the both of them. 

Shadow tilts his head. Sonic’s damp with sweat, but now he’s begun to shiver, curling in on himself a bit, and Shadow brushes some of his quills down. Well, he might be fine with looking like a wreck, but if Shadow has to be seen with him, he’d prefer it if he was able to maintain some class. Obviously.

“Let’s bring him back to Tails,” Shadow finally says. Shadow does have training on how to take care of sick people, of course, but Tails would probably be the better option, considering he has the same medical knowledge but more supplies, and Sonic would probably prefer him over Shadow. Shadow isn’t exactly known for his bedside manner.

Shadow hauls him into his arms. Sonic tucks his head into Shadow’s neck but doesn’t otherwise stir. He must be pretty sick; despite being a chronic napper, Sonic’s always been a pretty light sleeper. Must come with the territory of having defeated Eggman since he was a kid.

“So Baby Blue’s the cause of the energy signal?” Rouge muses as they walk back to the boat. “Chaos energy does require a lot of concentration to use, so I suppose it makes sense that it would become unbalanced if he fell sick. I wonder what he was up to that cause him to just collapse here.”

“I think Eggman was defeated yesterday,” Shadow admitted, trying to remember the news report. “Perhaps Sonic fought him while he was sick, and collapsed here before he could go home.”

“Hm, last I heard, Christmas Island was his home. Maybe he came here while he was under a spell of delirium.”

Shadow pauses while he steps inside the boat. Sonic was from here?

He stares back at the coast line, eyes scanning the forest. The island was insanely small, perhaps a fourth the size of the other islands in the area, and Shadow hasn't seen much signs of civilization here. If there were villagers here, there couldn’t be more than a handful, and none had even bothered to check out the energy source, or talk to Shadow and them when they arrived.

Shadow’s lips thin, and he goes back to boarding the boat, Rouge and Omega not far behind. Omega seems the most disappointed by this turn of events, pouting as he puts his hands on the wheel. “ARE WE CERTAIN THERE”S NOTHING I CAN BLOW UP BEFORE WE LEAVE?”

“Please don’t blow anything up,” Rouge practically begs. “Let’s just get out of here, alright?”

“I DEMAND TO BLOW SOMETHING UP ON THE NEXT MISSION OR I WILL DESTROY GOVERNMENT PROPERTY.”

“Sounds like a G.U.N. problem,” Shadow mutters, keeping a tight grip on Sonic as Omega takes off. The boat jets off at a blinding speed, and it wouldn’t do well for Shadow’s pride to drop his rival in the cold clutches of the ocean during a technical rescue mission. That’s obviously why he holds him as close to his chest as possible.

Rouge and Omega drop him off at a nearby port. As much as Shadow wanted to simply Chaos control to Tails’s, he wasn’t entirely sure how Sonic would react in this state, with his energy so heavily unbalanced. He’s always been Chaos sensitive, even if he claims to be just your average adventurer, and while Shadow has some expertise over the emeralds and their mystique, he doesn't have all the answers. They couldn’t really be called Chaos emeralds if they were so straightforward, after all.

It doesn’t take long to get to Tails’s, and he knocks on the door less than two minutes later. Sonic still hasn’t really stirred other than to shift a bit in his hold, hands clutching his chest fur in a way that’s making something stir in Shadow’s ribcage. Discomfort. That’s it. Obviously.

Tails opens the door a few moments later, hands covered in motor oil, rubbing the sweat on his forehead before his mouth drops into a small ‘o’. “You found him?”

“He was on Christmas Island. I fear he is unwell.”

Tails opens the door wider and invites Shadow inside. He leads him towards the lab, and Shadow carefully avoids some of the random parts strewn across the floor while they walk towards his medbay. Shadow sets Sonic on the bed, not at all gently, nope, and Tails immediately begins to work, humming as he takes in Sonic’s condition.

“I saw he defeated Eggman the other day,” Tails says, “And he was supposed to come visit me after he did, for a celebratory chili dog. He never showed up, so I assumed he forgot. He forgets stuff a lot, you know how he is.”

“Of course.” Shadow can’t even remember how many races Sonic ended up forgetting. Though, to be fair, he usually only misses them because of Eggman or an apocalypse. It was the principle of the matter, however. 

“He’s got a really nasty fever,” Tails murmurs, hand settled gently across Sonic’s head. “Watch him while I go check for my medicine.”

Tails doesn't give him a chance to refute, and immediately walks off. Shadow is left alone with Sonic, who’s started to curl in on himself again, shivering as he burrows into the sheets. His eyelids flutter, though he makes no inclination to wake up, and instead begins to shift a bit. Shadow wonders if he’s having a bad dream, frowning at the sight, and moves to smooth a few quills back into place. 

Tails walks in and Shadow snatches his hand away. The motor oil from his hands is gone, but there’s a dejected look on his face. “Sorry, Shadow. I don’t have the medicine to help him at the moment. I need to go to Angel Island to find the right herbs. Can you watch him while I’m gone? I just don’t like leaving him alone, if I don;t have to, but I don’t think I can really bring him along…”

Shadow could say no, of course. There’s plenty of other friends that could watch him. But Shadow is here, now, and he can’t quite get his eyes to leave the sight of his normally strong rival so vulnerable. He crosses his arms and looks away from Tails. “I guess. Why Angel Island, though?”

“Sonic’s got a super fast metabolism,” Tails explains, grabbing a backpack. “He’ll burn through normal medicine, so I have to make something special for him. I wish he told me he was feeling bad before it got to this, but he’s always been so stubborn about stupid things liken this.”

Tails sounds exasperated, and Shadow perks up a bit at what he’s learning. “Sonic… hides his sickness from you?”

“All the time. He always ends up getting worked into exhaustion, and then I usually end up finding him passed out somewhere. He doesn’t get sick often, but still. I hate it so much, but Sonic just doesn’t change. You know how he is. A little too independent at times, and always stubborn.”

“But… why?” Shadow can’t quite wrap his head around this. Sonic’s always preaching about friendship and working together. And Sonic doesn’t much care about being vulnerable or weak in front of others; it’s not necessarily a pride thing, despite him being prideful. “Why would he feel the need to hide these things from you?”

“I think he’s just so used to being alone, he doesn’t really think to ask for help for things like this.” The sentence makes Shadow’s stomach form a pout, and Tails himself appears sad, glancing over at Sonic with a soft, almost wistful expression. “Sonic can ask for help with the big things, you know, like adventures. He always thinks it's more fun to do those things with friends. But it’s always been the little things he can’t quite ask for help with.”

Tails pulls on his backpack, and seems to pause, eyes watching Shadow carefully, searching. He seems content with whatever he finds, because he says, a little quietly, “You found him on Christmas Island. Did you know that he’s from there? That tiny little island in the middle of an ocean…”

Tails gazes back at Sonic, frowning. “He doesn’t talk much about that time of his life, before meeting me and Amy and Knuckles. But he said enough. Or maybe it’s what he doesn't say. You know how it is. But he was all alone on that island for years. He didn’t have anyone. Not until Eggman showed up, wanting to test out his latest inventions on what was supposed to be an abandoned, remote island. Sonic challenges Eggman, because no one else would, because no one else could, because it was just him all alone on that island.”

Sonic burrows deeper into the blanket, curling up as tight as he could. Tails places a hand on his forehead, stroking his quills as gently as he could. “Everyone has someone in their life, you know? And at least, when we all started this fight against Eggman, we never joined all alone? Sonic was by all of us, step by step. But no one was there for him. And I think he just can’t shake that, no matter what. It makes me sad, sometimes.”

Tails finally looks at Shadow, long and hard. “Sonic’s always protecting, but no one really bothered to protect him. I don’t think he knows what it means to be protected, in the little ways that matter more than life or death battles.”

Shadow pauses.

Shadow was made to protect, that’s true. At first, he thought maybe he could understand Sonic’s predicament. After all, Shadow was literally made to protect. He was made to protect Maria, to give a cure, and to become a weapon, “to protect the world.” (He doesn’t believe that; G.U.N. didn’t want a hero.)

But then Shadow thinks a little bit more. Because sure, Shadow was made to protect, but he had been protected, hadn’t he? There had been people in his life who loved and adored him and wanted him safe and tried to protect him.

Gerald tried to protect him from G.U.N., tried to protect him from becoming a weapon. The other scientists were kind, and wanted to protect him from the truth of his birth. Maria protected him, ever since he was created- hell, she fucking died to protect him, to send him to earth.

Shadow might have had his loved ones snatched from him because of military brutality, but he still had loved ones to get snatched away from. Shadow does spend a few nights contemplating whether it’s better to have loved and lost than to never have loved. In his heart, he knows it’s better to have loved.

But Sonic didn’t have that, did he?

Shadow had a family, even if they all ended up dead. But he still knew his family, still loved them dearly. And that family loved him back, loved him so much that they tried to protect him even though he was made to protect <em>them</em>. 

But Sonic didn’t have that.

Shadow frowns, peering down at Sonic. “I didn’t know that. I guess I’ve never really thought about his life before meeting the doctor.”

“That’s Sonic for you. Forgetting the past is the game he’s always playing.” Tails shakes his head. “You get why I don’t wanna leave him alone now? If he wakes up, he might end up bolting.”

“I’ll stay. I don't’ mind.”

“Oh, I figured you wouldn’t.”

Shadow blinks at the shift in tone. Tails is peering at him with an almost sly expression. “What?”

Tails waves vaguely. “I know how you are.”

“Again, what?”

Tails tilts his head, then point blanks states. “You know? I know you like him.” Something crosses his face, and seriousness shines in his eyes as he adds, “You’re going to have to make the first move, by the way.”

For a very long moment, Shadow’s entire brain stops functioning. Gerald’s hard work was for nothing, some Ultimate Lifeform he was, getting a brain freeze from the most inane accusation. The only thing he can manage to get out is another, “What?”

“Come on, I know you’re in love with him. Everyone does.” Tails rolls his eyes. “You don’t need a high IQ to see that.”

“Everyone...?”

“Well, except Sonic.” Tails sighs, his harsh expression softening. His gaze flitters back to Sonic, who remains blissfully unconscious. Shadow wishes that was him right now to avoid this conversation. “He’s... well, you know how he is. He’s love blind.”

Tails gave Shadow a mischievous look. “You know, it took a full year of Amy’s antics before Sonic realized she loved him.”

Shadow wanted to laugh, but the realization made the reality sting. “Oh Chaos, you’re joking?”

Tails shook his head, firmly. “So if you want to be in a relationship, you need to state it plainly and simply and broker no room for misinterpretation. Because Chaos knows, he won’t fucking confess to you.”

Shadow frowns. “Why? Isn’t this the same guy who waxes poetic about following his heart and doing what he wants, why doesn’t he, if he likes me back?”

Tails sits down on his work bench, clasping his hands together. He hums a bit, looking like he’s not sure how to word his next answer. Shadow waits, watching the cogs in Tails’s brain work. Shadow’s still trying to figure out how he feels about the fact apparently everyone knows about his (VERY MINUTE AND SMALL)... interest in that blue pest.

Sonic’s always had his respect, of course. From the moment Shadow saw his speed in motion, there had been a part of Shadow impressed by Sonic’s physical abilities. It was piqued further when they battled for the first time on Prison Island, and even more when Sonic proved himself able to use Chaos Control. Shadow’s respect for him, however, finally cemented when Sonic and his friends continued to try to find ways to stop the ARK from crashing into the earth, even though they were no doubt doomed.

He was going to give his all to save the planet he loved, even if he died in the process. It was something Shadow could respect, even before Amy convinced him to help the others. Shadow didn’t have plans on intervening, to help or hinder; it wasn’t likely that they would stop the ARK, but if they did…

Sonic had his respect, too, when they meet again after Shadow develops amnesia. His memories were few and far in between, but there was one that stuck in his brain, faded and weathered, but still there. A golden figure reaching out to him across the stars, radiating an energy that Shadow himself was losing. Sonic, reaching out to him as Shadow lost his super form, as the ARK floated harmlessly outside of the atmosphere, as Shadow descended to what he assumed was his grave.

And then that golden figure appeared again, this time to face off against some creature called Metal Sonic, Neo at the time. Shadow watched as he demolished a mechanical monstrosity that had copied all of their data and used the power of the emerald to transform into a disgusting creature. Shadow watched as Sonic saved the day once more.

Sonic continued to worm his way into Shadow’s life, following him through the invasion of the Black Arms, supporting him through his identity crisis (even if he was, at times, quite annoying). But Sonic taught him the most valuable lessons, despite his silly nature. To love and let live, to enjoy what once was, and to learn to enjoy what you have now.

Tails watches him carefully, and Shadow looks away, not daring to look back at Sonic, either. “I just don’t think he understands the idea of being cared for. He’s always done the caring. A partnership, a true partnership, romantic or platonic, where he’s not the provider, where he’s half of a whole… I don’t think it’s really crossed his mind.”

Tails watches his brother with gentle eyes. “He takes care of all of us. And I think he sees us all as equals. He knows I’m not his side kick, that we’re all partners. But it’s kind of like he’s the big brother and everyone’s his little sibling. Even Knuckles. He just… thinks that he needs to do all the caring. It doesn’t really cross his mind to be cared for.”

Tails pauses, then gives Shadow a strange look. “I think that’s why Amy’s romantic proposals sort of freaked him out, once he realized she was serious. A real partnership like that was completely foreign to him. But I think you could help him realize it’s not so scary. You’re one of the few people in the entire world he never has to slow down for. You can keep up with him, and you can protect him.”

Shadow looks away. He can’t stand the look of earnestness on Tails’s face. “I’ll do my best.”

Tails has a sly grin on his face. “I know. Now, I’ll give you a proper shovel talk once you and Sonic actually figure out what you’re doing. But I’ve got to get to Angel Island, so just keep an eye out for him, alright?”

It feels like a heavier question than it should be. Shadow has no problems bearing the weight, however. “Of course. I’ll keep him company.”

“Thanks again, Shadow.”

Tails walks out of the lab without a spare glance back. Shadow settles himself into the chair next to Sonic, who twists and turns in his sleep. It takes about half an hour before Sonic really wakes up, and even then, Shadow knows he’s not fully awake, eyes open halfway to peer at his surroundings, a yawn escaping his mouth. “Mmm, Shadow? What are you doin’ here?”

“You’re sick. Tails asked me to watch you.”

“That’s silly. I can take care of myself. I always have.”

It’s such a short sentence, but it says more than Tails did during their conversation. Shadow frowns, watching Sonic bury his head deeper into the pillow, sounding sleepier with every syllable. He lets out another yawn, and continues with, “I don’t need anyone else. I can take care of myself.”

Shadow opens his mouth to say something, but Sonic’s already drifting back to sleep. Shadow hesitates, before he runs his fingers through his quills. “Yeah, but now you don’t have to.”

Quietly, to himself, he adds, “And you’ll never have to again.”

[blu-ish]

HA HOWS IT FEEL TO FEEL THE PAIN I ONCE FELT!

Im biting into the fic like it’s a sandwich, gnawing at the book like my life depends on it because every bad thing that happens to my man I eat up every time, most fics are like a meal but that fic was lost A FUCKING BANQUET!!!!

ME WHEN I FUGGIN GET YOU SOUP... *sobs*

IVE BEEN READING THIS FIC YOU'VE RECCOMENDED ME IM ALREADY ON CHAPTER 18 AND ITS A NONSTOP ROLLERCOASTER OF ANGST LIKE ANY OF U SONADOW ANGST ENJOYIERS WANNA SUFFER WITH ME HERES THE LINK--