Shadowās Light and Sonicās Freedom (let me explain)
I saw a post of someone explaining why Canon!Maria named Shadow and I realized this fits perfectly with something I struggled in my au
Sonic in Canon is a hero because he fights for peopleās freedom. He is literally considered as the personification of wind and speed as he goes anywhere he pleases and does everything in the name of giving people the same freedom that he believes in.
I thought I could just convert that idea of Sonicās character into Swap!Shadow but it didnāt seem to fit.
Swap!Shadow as a character started off as an opportunist. He only used his powers when it comes to his friends and fought to save them. Only when Maria started to implement the idea of being heroes, he started to become a hero himself and recognized his own strong sense of justice.
I also struggled the same with Swap!Sonic and Canon!Shadow.
Canon!Shadow is told he can do good things (i.e heal Mariaās disease) but the anger and guilt of Mariaās death makes himself feel like a bad person. Thus, he does bad things often through his powers. Only when he starts to accept Mariaās death and accept the people around him, he starts to realize the good inside him and the light he can spread to others.
Iād hoped that I can do the same for swap!Sonic but for freedom. However, Swap!Sonic has skills and abilities that is honed/trained to the point of being godlike. His weakness is the trauma he went through which makes him not use his powers to the best of its potential. Regardless, he wants to be a hero but practically forces himself to use his powers because he wants to be the hero Miles sees him as.
Because trauma is what keeps Sonic from running as fast as he shouldāve and Shadowās personality and power set isnāt best correlated with the usual idea of heroism, the āfreedomā thing isnāt working very well for me UNTIL I saw this:
Canon!Shadow was Mariaās light.
In a life where Maria is rendered as nothing but patient zero for a disease with no cure, Shadow was there to be her first friend, his protector. The post even argues that Maria was probably harnessing the same anger Shadow had when she was sick. Thatās why she named him Shadow: He gave her the light when her life was full of darkness.
Then he continued to do the same in the Swap universe when Maria/Tails left home to live out her last days finding adventure. He protected her in their mission against the Death Egg THEN revived her in his most brightest light-filled form.
BEFORE THEY EVEN MET, in a world where Eggman took over, Shadow was there for his animal friends as a companion and a protector. He used his powers to keep them safe and when he had the ability to, he gave them a better world to live in.
Shadow is the personification of light.
A hero who provides light to those in darkness.
Then this got me thinking about Swap!Sonic.
He lived his whole life as a test subject. He was designed and made to protect a young boy. Unlike Canon!Shadow, he wasnāt just a Lifeform used to cure disease. Sonic was abused and trained tirelessly to be the best weapon and shield he could be. He ran and ran and ran against his will. Maybe even at some point, Sonic didnāt want to run anymore but they still made him anyways.
Even though Sonic loved to run, the ARK made him hate it.
So in this universe, his form of freedom isnāt his speed but his choice to not use it.
Just sleeping under a tree or taking the time to smell the flowers and read a book is his form of rebellion. He doesnāt want to run and he doesnāt have to.
And as he starts to heal and forgive himself, he gets to use his powers whenever and however he wants, including becoming the hero he promised heāll be for Miles.
Heās the Fastest Thing Alive because he has the choice to slow down.
If youāre always fast, youāre never faster.
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