Ask the Ultimate Duo (Swap!AU + Maria Lives AU)
What if Shadow was the hero of the story? And Maria is his inventive vixen sidekick?
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@ask-theultimateduo
Ask the Ultimate Duo (Swap!AU + Maria Lives AU)
What if Shadow was the hero of the story? And Maria is his inventive vixen sidekick?

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Have you guys ever been to Spagonia? I heard it's lovely this time of year!
Shadow: Well, we havenāt had a vacation for a while and I would like to take in the sights when Iām not running for my life on rooftops.
Maria/Tails: Yeah! Iāve been wanting to visit their historical landmarks and their food is something to die for. And maybe this time without any FURRY interruptions?
Shadow: Definitely.
talis if you can create your metal tears into a sword try turning them into a gun, maybe a rail gun that you could charge to fire at your enemies
Knuckles: No. Absolutely not.
Maria/Tails: Knuckles, I love you but we must find out! Knuckles: This is a stupid idea and you know it! Shadow: Itās for science! Knuckles: Shadow, i swear!
How did Shadow handle meeting his younger, more angsty classic self during sonic Shadow generations?
Shadow: I wouldnāt say āhandleā is the right word. We got along very well even though he was bit shy. Comforting to know that younger me would be very proud impressed by the hedgehog he grew up to be. (Still kinda rude though)

Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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ā¼ļøAnnouncementā¼ļø
I'm afraid I won't be able to post today. Finals is kicking my ass.
BUT on the bright side, next week my semester is over!! That means more time to work on my asks!
(plus a surprise that i cannot WAIT to show you guys)
Hi, Miles! Can I ask you something? Is there anything Sonic only started to do after the accident and you know itās for your influence?
ā¼ļøAnnouncementā¼ļø
Hey guys!
Sorry i wonāt be able to post today š„² Finals are coming up and I havenāt had the time.
But donāt worry! Weāll be back on our regular schedule next week š„°
Maria... What does the "Q" in your name mean?! š¤
Maria/Tails: Uh it means...cute! Obviously! Hehe... Shadow: No. No it's not. Her middle name is- Maria/Tails: SHUDDUP!!
Does sonic still like chili dogs? And if so when he cane out of stasis did he get to try one for the first time? (I doubt they had chili dogs on the ark)
Sonic: In fact, I ate only chili dogs for a month straight until the professor had to make me stop.
Shadow: Thatās gross.
Maria/Tails: Shadow, your favorite meal is pizza rolls and doritos. You donāt get to speak.

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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.
I do gotta a question for the duo what was there favorite adventure so far together and is there anyone interesting they met
Maria/Tails: Mine would be whenever we raced with the Babylon Rogues! I loved skateboarding again and Jet is a great rival!
Shadow: For me, it would be when I was transported to Camelot. Maria/Tails: Huh? But Amy said you used that as an excuse to skip your night out with her. Shadow: What? No! I swear it actually happened! There was a talking sword and a golden armor. I even met Merlina the wizard and the knights of the round table. Maria/Tails: Knights? Really? Shadow: Yeah, they wereā¦interesting.
Shadow: Well, considering that you framed me, got me in prison, died and came back with no memory so Iād say youāre succeeding, asshole.
Sonic: Hahaha!
Creator QnA - Final Part
Links/Usernames ā¬ļø
TikTok: @forestcloudfc
YouTube: @JustCallMeFC
Twitch: ItsXeroFC
shadow what is your relationship with sonic like and some people have compared you to Batman and Joker, which one Iām leaning towards Lego Batman and Joker
Sonic: Itās the eyeliner isnāt it? I donāt like hurting innocents, let alone gleefully kill them. And Shadow is too emotionally aware and broke as hell.
Shadow: Wait, how do you know so much about Batman?
Sonic: The comics came out in 1940. Iām not THAT old.

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Creator QnA - PART TWO
Kicks the Honorary Echidna (Old Swap!AU Concept)
āRightful Owner of the Chaos Emeraldsā
Rouge takes the role of Knuckles; Shadowās best friend and protector of the Master Emerald.
However, Rouge is a bat who was adopted by the Echidna Tribe, making her an honorary Echidna. When her family went extinct, she made a vow to return her clanās kindness by devoting her life to protecting the Master Emerald and hunting for the seven chaos emeralds.
Personality
She tries to put up a stoic yet feral personality for the sake of being the guardian of the Master Emerald. She has the prowess of a leopard and is extremely cautious and paranoid about everyone. However, when sheās relaxed enough, she has a batty/catty personality, often meanly teasing those she doesnāt see as threats.
Appearance Changes
The hearts on her boots is rose-gold metal and has spikes. Wears spikes on her shoes for her kicks and her white gloves are replaced with bandages
The cuffs of her boots and gloves are rose gold and pleated.
Fun AU Facts
Rouge was adopted by the Echidna and was considered part of the tribe.
Her guilt over her family dying leads to her defending the Master Emerald with her life
Raised her like an echidna: Learned to glide, use brute force (spikes on her shoes)
Rouge never learned how to fly, only glide. When she is betrayed by Eggman and joins Shadowās side, she ends up using her wings to fly for the first timez
Thereās a running joke that Rouge has no idea that sheās a bat (similar to Rocketās raccoon joke in the first and second Guardians of the Galaxy movies). She thinks that sheās just a unique species of echidna.
She was given the name āKicksā because she had weak punches but was able to kick as hard as any echidnaās punch. She gave herself the name āRougeā when she traveled the galaxy to look for the chaos emeralds and needed an alter ago.