Been having thoughts about how Sonic and Shadow view physical affection and how it translates into Sonadow....
I feel like Sonic is touchy-feely with people he's close to, but in like a casual way. He's always slinging his arms around his friends, using their shoulders as arm rests, hooking elbows together, things like that. You can kinda tell how close he is with someone based on how far he pushes the limits of personal space with them - friends he doesn't hang out with all that often like Blaze and Silver will receive a quick aforementioned arm sling or clap on the shoulder, closer friends like Amy will usually end up with his legs on their lap if they sit on a couch together, and he'll frequently rest his head on top of Tails' instead of looking over his shoulder to see what he's working on. It's not that he doesn't respect personal boundaries - he'll back off if someone tells him too (unless he's purposefully trying to rile up Shadow) and remember that preference in the future - but his own personal bubble shrinks the more comfortable he feels around someone. It's a very casual, almost subconscious thing.
When it comes to receiving physical affection, it's a bit more cut and dry: friends can reciprocate the same level of affection towards him, but he hates it when strangers touch him without his permission. I can see someone tapping him on the shoulder to get his attention and startling him so badly he almost accidentally pricks them with his quills.
Meanwhile Shadow is much, much more reserved. I like to think that he's an actions speak louder than words sort of guy, but that rarely if ever includes giving physical affection. I think the most he'd do is like... lean on someone LMAO. Like if he's bored he'll lean against Omega's side like he's a wall or subtly nudge into Rouge's side if he's seeking comfort. If he respects you he'll place his hand on your shoulder but that's moreso a professional sign of camaraderie rather than a display of affection. Maria was the only one he was comfortable being blatantly physically affectionate with (until he and Sonic got together) but it was still fairly subdued and only when it was just the two of them.
However, it's a whole other story when it comes to receiving physical affection. He's similar to Sonic where his personal bubble shrinks the more comfortable he is around someone, but much more subtle. He was highly touch averse during the events of sa2, and still was but to a lesser degree during Heroes due to having lost his memories, but being friends with Rouge ended up being like a form of exposure therapy for him. Shadow hated how physical she was with him at first, always brushing her off and sometimes snapping at her when she went too far, but after a while he started to realize something: whenever he told her to stop, she'd stop, and if she accidentally crossed a line, she made sure to steer far away from it. I'm aware this is like the lowest the bar can physically go in terms of respecting boundaries, but for someone like Shadow who had been used to being treated like an insentient thing by 99% of the people in his life, this was a huge revelation for him. It helped him become more comfortable with physical contact, just as long as the person touching him was someone he absolutely trusted. So Rouge is able to manhandle him (within reason), Amy is allowed to give him hugs and pats on the shoulder, and Sonic is...
Okay. So. I think Sonic and Shadow would be weird together.
I don't mean weird as in bad (obviously. I am a sonadow warrior afterall), but I think the fact that they have opposite but complimentary views on affection would lead them to doing things they'd never do to or with anyone else once they start dating. And not in a gross, mushy, PDA sort of way, but in a Hey Normal People Don't Do This way. Like Sonic will find any and all ways to be in physical contact with Shadow (from mindlessly playing with his fingers as if he's testing to see how they work to draping himself over Shadow in ways that do Not look comfortable) and Shadow just accepts it without a second thought.
I have a very vivid image in my head of Shadow being in the middle of conversation (probably with Rouge) when Sonic walks up to him and wordlessly wraps himself around his torso like a koala and Shadow has absolutely no reaction to it. Just keeps talking as if nothing changed. Doesn't even move his arms to help support Sonic, just lets Sonic hang there for the rest of the conversation. Rouge doesn't comment on it but internally she's like What The Hell Is Happening. Later she asks Shadow if Sonic does that often bc it just felt way too casual but he tells her that he's never done that before and he didn't even know Sonic was in the area.
TLDR: you know Stu and Tatum from Scream?
They're like Stu and Tatum from Scream to me. Just a bit toned down.
