Here’s the result from tonight’s stream! Thanks to everyone who came by!
In my AU, Aurora eventually becomes a pop star. I like to envision that she's not only able to utilize her talents in dancing and singing, but uses her photokinesis to make her own light shows and illusions so she's her own backup dancers! 🤩
With no one else to turn to, he resigned himself to the very last option. His feet felt heavy as he trudged to the outskirts of the village and up a flight of stairs. It took overwhelming effort to raise his hand to knock on the door. But before his hand could meet the wood, the door opened with a rush.
“What are you doing here?” asked Shadow with a scowl.
“Not sneaking up on you, apparently,” Sonic quipped.
“You’ve never been able to do anything quietly,” came the scornful reply. “What do you want?”
Sonic heaved a great sigh. “Can I come in?”
The dark hedgehog was obviously surprised by this question, and moved to allow Sonic to enter his apartment. The inside of the abode was sparingly furnished. There was only one chair near a desk, which was soon occupied by Shadow himself. That was okay - Sonic didn’t want to stay any longer than necessary.
“I need your help,” Sonic said, picking up a pen from the desk and fidgeting with it.
“How could I possibly help you?” Shadow replied, snatching the pen from Sonic’s hand and laying it back on the desk.
Sonic began to pace. “It’s Amy. She’s asked me to plan something romantic and memorable for her birthday, but I’m at a complete loss. I just can’t think of anything to fit the bill!”
“Why the hell would you come to me about that?” Shadow seethed.
Sonic gave a sheepish grin. “Rouge suggested it.”
The look on Shadow’s face darkened. “So what do you want me to do?”
“I dunno,” Sonic shrugged. “Rouge said you’ve been all over the universe and studied all kinds of people, so you might have some good ideas.”
Shadow eyed him skeptically. “I know I wasn’t the first person you asked. What ideas did your friends offer?”
Sonic shrugged. “Just run-of-the-mill things like flowers, jewelry, and gift certificates. I even asked Eggman, who suggested a poem!” He snorted, then continued to give more details about the ideas he’d been given.
“And Aurora?” asked Shadow with a strange glint in his eye.
Sonic smacked himself in the forehead. “I didn’t even think to ask Aurora! I guess I figured she might give away whatever I had planned.”
“Hmph…” the dark hedgehog sniffed.
“Is there anything you can think of that would be special enough?” Sonic pleaded.
Shadow sat in silence, staring off into space. Then he turned and began writing in a notebook on his desk. Sonic knew not to derail his train of thought; this was the closest he’d been to a breakthrough all day. Shadow wrote silently for so long that Sonic jumped when he spoke again in his usual deep tone.
“Maybe you can use their suggestions in a new way. With a twist.” He jotted down a couple more lines, then got up from the desk.
“I’ll see what I can do,” Shadow said finally, crossing his arms. “I have a few ideas, but you’ll have to travel. A lot. Expect some information from me at six o’clock this evening.”
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Shadow all but kicked Sonic out the door of his apartment. Bewildered, Sonic walked down the stairs and back toward the village.
On his way to the nearest cafe for a chili dog, he remembered all the thoughtful things Amy had done for other people. Parties, gifts, special recognition… there was no end to the wonderful ways she had encouraged her friends and helped them feel special. So why was it so hard to give back? Every thought that traversed his mind didn’t seem good enough for his Ames. And the thought of stooping so low as to ask for help from Shadow made him feel about three inches tall.
He sat at the cafe table for the next two hours, munching on chili dogs and fries, licking the sauce from his fingers, and wondering why the Hero of Mobius couldn’t come up with a satisfactory plan.
All of a sudden, Sonic’s communicator went off and jolted him out of his reverie.
“Sonic?” came Amy’s concerned voice from his wrist. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, huh, I’m fine Ames,” he replied, steadying the drink he’d knocked over. “What’s up?”
“Where are you?” she asked. “I thought you’d be home by now - it’s almost six o’clock!”
Six o’clock?! That was when Shadow said he’d be sending information. But he didn’t say how. “Knowing that old man,” Sonic thought to himself, “he’ll snail mail it, and put a one-thousand dollar stamp on it to be delivered at six p.m.”
He couldn’t let Amy intercept that envelope!Sonic took off, speaking into his communicator.
“Ames, I’ll be there before I can even…
…finish this sentence,” he said, dashing through the door.
Amy turned around surprised. “Well, that was fast!”
“Fastest thing alive,” Sonic replied, winking. He hastened over to her and took her in his arms.
Amy returned his hug, and brought her lips to his. “I hope you’re hungry. I made chili dogs!”
Sonic’s stomach did a slight churn as he remembered the plate full he’d just eaten. “Oh…um… great!” he said with a strained smile. “Ames, you haven’t noticed a package or envelope come in the mail, have you?”
“No,” she said, looking at him quizzically. “Are you expecting something?”
“No,” he responded too quickly. “I mean, I was just curious, that’s all.”
“You’re up to something,” said Amy with an arch of her brow. “I can read you like a book.”
Just then, Sonic’s communicator went off again. “Uhhh, I gotta take this,” he said, scooting into the bathroom.
“Sonic?” came the brusque voice of Shadow through his communicator.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Sonic whispered, hoping Amy hadn’t followed him. “So where is it?”
“Where is what?” Shadow demanded. “And why are you whispering?”
“I’m hiding from Amy. Where is the package, or envelope, or whatever?”
There was a pause on the other end of his communicator. “Sonic, what the hell are you talking about?”
With some impatience, Sonic responded, “You said you’d have information for me at six o’clock! I’ve checked the mail, but nothing has arrived!”
Shadow exhaled roughly. “You buffoon! Why would I send information to your house when you said you were trying to surprise Amy?”
“Oh yeah…” Sonic mumbled.
“Meet me at the Tasty Tidbit in five minutes, and I’ll brief you on everything.”
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Sonic left the house giving Amy a lame excuse, and arrived a few minutes later at the Tasty Tidbit, a local smoothie shop. A flash of green light indicated Shadow’s arrival, and he handed Sonic a neatly stacked packet of typed papers in a Manila folder.
Leafing through it, Sonic felt panic begin to rise up within his chest. “What is all this?! How do you possibly think I could pull this off in one week?!”
“I told you you’d be traveling a lot. Maybe you’re not fast enough…” Shadow retorted mockingly.
Anger flashed across Sonic’s face. “Oh, I’m fast enough-“
“Then you’ll get the job done,” Shadow interrupted. With a tone of finality in his voice, he palmed the Chaos Emerald to make an exit.
Sonic continued to read. “Wait, so I have to have a location AND a gift? For every clue?” he asked, bewildered.
“Of course,” said Shadow with a smirk. “This is Amy we’re talking about. She’ll know if you cut corners.”
And with another flash of green light, Shadow disappeared.
Sonic finished the packet, but one question lingered in his mind: How had Shadow sculpted an idea so quickly that included Amy-related items and places he should know nothing about?
Oh my gosh wait I have to ask. Did Eggman invite Sonic to his wedding with Stone and did he or did he not made Sonic or Metal Sonic his best man?
(You bring this side out of me and I am giddy XD)
Okay, here's how the Stobotnik wedding would go down in my AU!
Firstly, I think Stone and Amy would get along pretty well, all things considered. They each would do anything for their man so I picture it starts as a "game-recognizes-game" sort of thing, until they eventually develop a proper friendship. Stone asks Amy to be his Groomswoman and she's over the moon to have that role until she learns that it's under the condition that Sonic isn't allowed to come (that's Eggman's demand, he assumes Sonic will want revenge after Eggman ruined their wedding (He's not worried about Amy doing that because he knows she loves love and would never intentionally sabotage a wedding)). Amy doesn't like that stipulation, but Sonic finds it all hilarious and assures her he would have way more fun playing with Aurora instead of going to some stuffy ex-villain wedding, though he makes Amy promise to share any embarrassing information she finds in the process. She agrees to be Stone's Groomswoman and has a ton of fun helping with wedding duties.
Eggman on the other hand… Since he has such a massive ego, he believes the only person worthy of the title of "Best Man" would be himself, so he builds a robot clone of himself! This starts out (relatively) fine at first, but things quickly go awry as RobotEggman thinks he's the superior Eggman and more deserving of Stone's hand in marriage.
Everything escalates into a battle of the Eggmen, and the True Eggman ends up asking for Sonic's help to defeat RobotEggman and will allow him to come to the wedding if he promises to get rid of that nuisance. Sonic is all too eager to kick Eggman's butt again, even if it's just a robo-copy. Aurora is super excited because not only will she get to see her bff Sage, but she actually gets to take part in some action (even if only in tandem)
Once RobotEggman is defeated, the rest of the wedding goes off without a hitch. Apart from the Hedgehog/Rose family, all of the wedding guests are robots. Sage is the flower girl. Orbot and Cubot are the ring bearers. Metal Sonic agrees to be an usher, but his less-than-cheery disposition puts a lot of the guests on edge haha.
Sonic and Amy reminisce about the old days of the two of them being surrounded by this many Badniks and they get a little sappy & romantic over it hehehe. Despite it being a wedding for a former villain, it ends up being a really fun event!
Finally got around to designing Cream as she would appear in my AU.
My thinking is that although Cream will always be polite and well-mannered, she definitely becomes more assertive and bold later in life. I like to think that Cream actually likes rock and other “edgy/dark” stuff, but because she was raised to be so polite and quiet and respectful, she kind of represses that side of her for fear of upsetting her mom (though I do believe Vanilla would love her all the same, of course!) I see Cream as the type who always assumes she’s in trouble if she does something even remotely taboo and gets super riddled with guilt ((I wouldn’t know what that’s like hahahaaa)))
When she leaves home and pursues her humanitarian work, that’s when she starts to be a bit more rebellious and do some of the things she’s been wanting to do, like get her ears pierced or get a tattoo. She hides those things at first but later in life she stops masking that side of herself and realizes she had nothing to worry about in the first place.
I always found it interesting how Cream is this super polite, sweet little kid yet she’s drawn to adventure and danger and even befriends people who might usually be considered “baddies,” so I wanted to expand on that. She’s still one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet, but she’s got a little edge to her, too 😉 Her world travels, her charity work and her dark academia aesthetic are just some of the many reasons Aurora looks up to her!
It's an ankle sleeve/brace. I headcanon that as Sonic gets older, all that running causes some aches and pains. He'd usually keep these kinds of things hidden under larger cuffed socks but if he's just at home he doesn't really care if Amy and Aurora see.
Hello! I make art for anything and everything I love, but if you follow me you'll find that a large amount of my content is centered around my own Sonic AU. I thought I'd make a handy little guide for those of you who are new and just learning about my AU or for those of you who have been following me but might want a refresher.
★This guide is a living document that will be continuously amended as I make changes and additions to my stories. ★
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OVERALL PREMISE
My AU centers around Sonic & Friends through adulthood as they navigate relationships, careers, marriage and family. The primary genres are "slice of life" and "romantic comedy" with some action/drama interspersed throughout. My AU mostly follows the video game canon and the IDW canon with some elements from Sonic Boom and Sonic X tossed in and then I created my own characters and stories to fill in the gaps. My AU DOES NOT include the Sonic Cinematic Universe, Archie comics/characters, Fleetway comics/characters, Sonic Prime, SatAM, the OVA, Sonic Underground, the 1992 Manga, etc.
SPECIAL NOTES
In my AU, I depict "Classic" versions of the Sonic cast as their younger selves with their "Modern/Boom" versions being older.
Although my canon does not include Archie/SatAM, I do refer to Sonic characters' classification as "Mobians" and the planet they are on is referred to as Earth/Mobius interchangeably. I credit this as simply "cultural variation" between humans and Sonic characters but they all originate from the same planet.
MOST IMPORTANTLY please remember this is a fanmade AU. Nothing I say, write or draw influences the Sonic franchise or canon in any way. I'm just here to have fun and I hope you enjoy the ride!
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For the timeline below, Canon Sonic characters will have the superscript "ˢ" on their name, and my original characters will be have the superscript "ᵒ".
If there is a comic or written fic that corresponds with an element of the timeline, I will include it as a hyperlink.
ABRIDGED TIMELINE
Project Shadowˢ is created and suspended.
Dominoᵒ and Phloxᵒ meet. Sonicˢ is conceived.
Dominoᵒ raises Sonicˢ to approx. toddler age until she loses her life in a flash flood. Sonicˢ is left alone to fend for himself and eventually represses his memories of Dominoᵒ to cope with the trauma.
Clay Roseᵒ and Lulu Petulaᵒ meet. Together, they have Amyˢ and she lives with her parents until her fortune cards lead her to meeting Sonicˢ.
Majority of the game/IDW canon takes place.
CCᵒ (originally labeled as "Code Compiler") is a spherical/ovoid robot created (August 26) by an independent inventorᵒ (no relation to the Robotniks) to assist with production. CC's intelligence rapidly evolves and she gains sentience much to her creator's dismay. After a struggle, the inventor powers her off and the workshop falls into disrepair. The building is marked condemned and CC's chassis remains hidden within the rubble.
Sonicˢ and Phloxᵒ run into each other on several occasions. Neither realize they are related.
Amyˢ begins her pursuit of archaeological studies.
A mystery womanᵒ going by the name "Light"ᵒ (who is secretly Auroraᵒ from the future) appears and warns Sonic & Teamˢ of an oncoming threatᵒ that is hellbent on killing Shadowˢ before wreaking havoc on the planet. Light claims she was sent here with the task of protecting Shadow but is not forthcoming with any other information about herself or her 'previous team'. Light & the Teamˢ work together to fight off 'the threat' and along the way Shadow develops a romantic interest in Light who also has strong feelings and an allegiance to him for reasons he does not know. Upon defeating the villain, Light must return to where she came from. Shadow tries to discourage her and even asks to accompany her, but she insists that if she stays any longer, she risks causing catastrophic damage. She departs and Shadow vows to find her again.
Rougeˢ and Omegaˢ join Shadowˢ in his search to find Lightᵒ. After combing the globe with no luck, their quest takes them off-world and they go on an interplanetary journey. The three become mercenaries to fund their space expedition.
Knucklesˢ bulks up! His goal of spending time away from Angel Island did him some good!
Sonicˢ and Amyˢ begin a romantic relationship.
Sonicˢ moves in with Amyˢ.
Tailsˢ establishes Yellow Sky Industries, a company where he can begin sharing his gadgetry with the world as well as partner up with other innovators to put their genius to good use.
Stone establishes The Mean Bean coffee shop. Much to his delight, Eggmanˢ frequents this cafe but is unaware of Stone's affection.
Sonicˢ and Amyˢ get engaged. Upon hearing the news and growing homesick, Rougeˢ and Omegaˢ return home, leaving Shadowˢ to continue his journey on his own. While attending the wedding festivities, Knucklesˢ and Rougeˢ rekindle their budding romance.
During one of Eggman'sˢ many failed attempts at world domination, he falls victim to a near-fatal accident of his own making. Sonicˢ rescues him, but Eggman loses his right hand in the process. Eggman is forced to reconsider his health and kickstarts some moral dilemmas for him. His attempts at world domination begin to dwindle.
Creamˢ departs home to pursue humanitarian/Mobianitarian(?) efforts
Rougeˢ uses her mercenary wealth to develop her own mining and jewelry business (she does not give up thievery). Knucklesˢ is initially hired on as head excavator, but this job is only temporary until he secures enough money to fund a dream project of his.
With his own money and with the support of Yellow Sky Industries and his friends' investments, Knucklesˢ develops the Young Heroes Program - a nonprofit youth organization. He works full time as a trainer at the program to help empower kids and strengthen the community. Sonicˢ assists YH as needed, but is not a full-time volunteer.
Sonicˢ and Amyˢ decide to start a family. Auroraᵒ is conceived.
Rougeˢ and Knucklesˢ get married.
In one last ditch effort to regain Sonic'sˢ attention and to encourage Sageˢ to follow in her father's footsteps**(See note), Eggmanˢ kidnaps Amyˢ. This triggers her to go into labor early and Auroraᵒ is born (March 13). This is the nail in the coffin as far as Eggman's villainous efforts go and he makes an unspoken agreement with Sonic to 'retire' from villainy. He still plans to regularly annoy them by inserting himself into their lives. (**Note: This comic was made before Sageˢ was introduced to the game canon. In retrospect, Sage would have been a part of this story and part of the reason Eggman decided to kidnap Amy, no matter how much Sage discouraged him. Sage instantly bonds with Aurora and vows to be her lifelong friend.)
Amyˢ takes on a second job as an interior designer to support her family while Sonicˢ becomes a stay-at-home dad and focuses most of his time and attention on raising Auroraᵒ.
Eggmanˢ and Stone begin dating.
Once Auroraᵒ is old enough, she begins attending the YH program. This is the closest Sonicˢ will allow her to participating in any adventures.
Ruff Hyenaᵒ is born (January 29).
As a defense mechanism against constant bullying from her peers, Aurora’sᵒ light powers begin to manifest.
In addition to attending the Young Heroes Program, Auroraᵒ begins a mentorship with her Uncle Tailsˢ for optics/physics lessons in order to better understand her powers.
Eggmanˢ and Stone get married.
Auroraᵒ begins to experience premonitions in the form of dreams. Amyˢ does her best to help Aurora hone this skill, but without much success.
Tumble Hyenaᵒ is born (January 30). Ruffᵒ and Tumbleᵒ are abandoned and left to fend on their own before ending up in the foster care system. They remain there for many years.
Auroraᵒ develops a crush on a boy named Kyleᵒ and they go on a few “playdates”. Auroraᵒ invites Kyleᵒ over to the house to meet her parents and Sonicˢ does not handle it well. After an argument, Aurora and Kyle agree to not hang out together anymore.
Knucklesˢ and Rougeˢ adopt Ruffᵒ and Tumbleᵒ.
Auroraᵒ ages out of the Young Heroes Program. Sonicˢ discourages her from venturing out on her own and convinces her to work for YH instead.
After receiving a heartfelt message from Rougeˢ, Shadowˢ resigns from his quest and returns to Earth. He decides his new mission will be to get to better know the world Maria had always spoken so highly about.
Feeling “stuck” in her life, Auroraᵒ broaches the topic of moving out to be on her own. Sonicˢ talks her out of it.
While reconnecting with The Teamˢ, Shadowˢ is introduced to Auroraᵒ. He instantly recognizes her as the woman he’s spent the last several decades looking for, but doesn’t understand how that’s possible and she is adamant they have never met before. While telling Sonicˢ and Amyˢ of his world travel plans, Auroraᵒ offers to be his guide around town as she knows every inch of it. Shadowˢ takes her up on her offer and the two quickly develop a friendship.
Shadowˢ decides it doesn’t matter if Auroraᵒ is the Lightᵒ he formerly met or not. He asks her on a date. Remembering how badly things went the last time one of Aurora’s “boyfriends” and Sonicˢ interacted, she accepts Shadow’s courtship but only if they can keep it a secret for now. Shadow is wary of this, but agrees to her terms.
Keeping secrets from her parents begins to take a toll on Auroraᵒ, to the point she is getting sick. She tells Shadowˢ she can’t keep lying to her family, so she tells him they shouldn’t see each other anymore. In hopes to “fix” the situation, Shadow meets with Sonicˢ and Amyˢ to ask their permission to date Aurora. This immediately escalates into a battle between Sonic and Shadow. Aurora intercepts the fight and, heartbroken, she tells Sonic that as much as she wants his blessing, she doesn’t need it, and is going to continue to date Shadow. Sonic, Amy and Aurora have a heart-to-heart to try and reconcile things, but Sonic makes it clear that though Aurora is a grown up and can technically date whoever she wants, she has to follow certain rules while she’s still living in their house.
Tailsˢ purchases an abandoned factory to expand Yellow Sky Industries. There, he finds the deactivated CCᵒ. He powers her on but she is severely traumatized and significantly damaged. He repairs her and after understanding how advanced her intelligence is, he offers her a job as his lab assistant.
CCᵒ quickly develops romantic feelings for Tailsˢ.
Knucklesˢ, Rougeˢ, Ruffᵒ and Tumbleᵒ legally change their last names to “Motley”
In her pursuit to become “Mobian,” CCᵒ fabricates herself a Mobian-like body.
As Shadowˢ and Auroraᵒ’s relationship progresses, they begin to explore more of the world together.
Tailsˢ and CCᵒ host a charity banquet. Things go awry.
Auroraᵒ gets her first apartment. She also begins a singing career.
Tailsˢ and CCᵒ officially begin a romantic relationship.
Auroraᵒ begins to have recurring premonitions about Shadow being in danger. She puts her musical tour on pause to stay vigilant.
A dangerous, mysterious entityᵒ appears and attacks The Teamˢ, severely wounding several members and nearly killing Shadowˢ. Before the threatᵒ can be defeated, it retreats by escaping via time travel where it plans to successfully kill Shadow. With most of The Team out of commission or fearful of altering the timeline, Auroraᵒ travels back in time to save Past Shadow and the rest of her family. To protect her identity, she goes by the name “Lightᵒ.”
Sonicˢ and Shadowˢ reconcile their differences. Sonic becomes noticeably more accepting of Shadow and Auroraᵒ’s relationship.
Shadowˢ and Auroraᵒ get engaged and move in together.
Auroraᵒ continues her musical career.
Shadowˢ and Auroraᵒ get married.
Ruffᵒ ages out of the Young Heroes Program and in the hopes to follow in Knuckles’ footsteps, he becomes a crime fighter. When Tumbleᵒ isn’t helping his brother fight crime, he’s working on his own mechs.
Eggmanˢ and Stone digitally upload their consciousness to Cyberspace so they can live indefinitely.
Shadowˢ and Auroraᵒ decide to start a family. They have their first litter of triplets: Piperᵒ, Zaneᵒ and Novaᵒ (November 12).
Shadowˢ and Auroraᵒ have a second litter of twins: Asterᵒ and Blitzᵒ (April 8). At this time, Shadow uses the wealth he’s amassed to construct a large house that can accommodate their growing family.
Shadowˢ and Auroraᵒ have a third litter of triplets: Cinderᵒ, Diamondᵒ and Boonᵒ (February 18).
Sonicˢ and Amyˢ return to a life of world traveling.
In addition to attending the Young Heroes Program, Shadowˢ trains all of his childrenᵒ in how to best use their powers for the greater good of the planet.
During a fight, Cinderᵒ critically wounds Diamondᵒ with his “Stellar Tantrum” power. Boonᵒ uses his powers of healing to restore Diamond to full health without any scarring, but Cinder never forgives himself. He becomes withdrawn and distances himself from his family members from this point on.
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You can learn more about my AU by looking through My Art tag, referencing "My (Major) Comics" Directory, or by looking through My AU tag.