So the entire consensus behind what I'd like to do for this verse is... what if it were set up like one of the storybook games? Sonic in this verse is the same Sonic as we know him— he's been isekai'd from his universe into the realm of Eorzea, called forth by the great Louisoix in times transcending calamity. The spin is this: the reason he takes the place of the traditional Warrior of Light is that... in this universe, they were oddly lacking one when they needed them most.

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is not the first version of the game. It had an original iteration that is colloquially referred to as 1.0, and in this is the real back-half of the story we resume in ARR. Think of it as... the original Dragon Ball to the continuation of Dragon Ball Z. You can watch Dragon Ball Z by itself, but you gain greater context if you know where certain plot elements came from in Dragon Ball.

The skinny on 1.0 is this: there was a second, smaller red moon called Dalamud, and our bad guys, the Garleans, were bringing it down to use it like a meteor to wipe us out. The thing is, 1.0 was actually a really bad game, and instead of having a game where we beat the bad guys, they used this as a catalyst to have the good guys lose so that they can sort of soft-reboot the series with A Realm Reborn! The red moon comes down, a big dragon called Bahamut emerges from it, as it turns out the red moon was serving as a prison for it, and then all hell breaks loose.

Louisoix is the savior of the day. He reseals Bahamut, but not without dying in the process. He is, fortunately, able to teleport your player character five years in the future, so that they can continue the adventure in ARR. ...This is where things split a little. Instead of Louisoix teleporting the player character, it was actually him summoning Sonic in the missing hero's place. Imagine 1.0 as a sort of... wrong end. It wasn't supposed to be like this, there's something wrong with this timeline. So Louisoix sought a fill-in that could heal the universe and set this world back on the right path.

Sonic the Hedgehog is the substitute teacher of this adventure. And with his appearance comes differences in this reflection. It's a pocket dimension where characters are a little different, and some events differ from the usual circumstances that happen in-game. The largest change is the Scions of the Seventh Dawn. The crew you run with for the grand majority of the game. Keeping with the tone of Sonic's Storybook adventures, these major characters have been changed to appear as some of Sonic's friends! Here are the casting changes I thought up.

Tails the Fox fills the role of Alphinaud Leveilleur, a rather no-brainer concept to anyone familiar with the original characters. He's a rather intelligent character who is well-spoken and has the best intentions for all of those around him. Even if a lack of field experience and general naivety can lead to those aspirations putting people in hot water.

Throughout the course of the story, he learns to grow and shape his desires into something more actionable, and becomes a dependable healer besides. He's probably the Scion we spend the most time with throughout all of the expansions, so it makes sense that Sonic's right hand would be Tails.

Amy Rose fills the role of Alisaie Leveilleur, the hot-blooded twin sister of Alpinaud. Amy seems a touch more even-keeled than Alisaie in some regards, but I still think that a version of Amy can fit the bill well enough. She's a magical practitioner, a Red Mage specifically, and becomes a hefty boon when it comes to ridding NPCs of illnesses and diseases.

Though she's prickly at times, and isn't afraid to let her mind be very much known, she has a heart that rivals any and all. She cares unendingly for those she comes across, and never lets the Warrior of Light go too far without her. She'll find enough of her own strength to rival even the likes of you! And I think that personally goes hand-in-hand with Amy's unstoppable nature. After all, a rose must have its thorns!

Blaze the Cat fills the role of Y'shtola Rhul, the well-poised, well-spoken, and full-well formidable Black Mage of the group. Her intellect and drive know no bounds, a stoic and no-nonsense demeanor setting her up as one of the more reliable teammates at your back. She's set to get things done, full stop.

She also oftentimes serves as the team mom... yet not in the jovial, lighthearted way. More of a stern "Eat your greens, lest you go to bed without your dessert." type of mom. Catty, if you'll pardon the pun. I think the personality fits well, and pair that with the fact that both Blaze and Y'shtola are fire-wielding cat women, and I think you get some rather amazing overlap.

Silver the Hedgehog fills the role of G'raha Tia, the late addition to the team after sizeable assistance elsewhere in the story. One word: protector. G'raha is eventually revealed to be the Crystal Exarch, the defender of the Crystal Tower and all of his people within the First.

Silver fits so oddly well in G'raha's spot... Funnily enough, G'raha Tia's storyline actually involves time travel! To make a long story short, he's a descendant of ancient blood who holed himself in the ancient Crystal Tower, only to be awakened two-hundred years later to the eighth worldwide calamity. He and some descendants of characters we, the player are familiar with, seek to send the mighty Crystal Tower back to the past to prevent this eighth calamity from ever happening.

He's literally going back to the past to prevent a doomed future! If that doesn't line up with Silver's character, I don't know what does.

So, too, does G'raha's personality fit with Silver's! He composes himself as this mysterious individual that holds duty above all else. But in the end, when we find out the Crystal Exarch's true identity and see that it was G'raha Tia the entire time, we come to find that, due to his time existing in a timeline where the Scions no longer existed, he's a huge buff to our crew and us. He's a history buff who is living for finally meeting his heroes! He simply wants to go on adventures with us, to exist alongside and finally aid the heroes he sought for time beyond. It's incredibly in line with Silver, and I believe this is one of the best fits.

Now, this is where my picks for the characters wane a bit. Those who still remain are Thancred Waters, Urianger Augurelt, Minfilia Warde/Ryne Waters, Estinien Varlineau, Papalymo Totolymo, Lyse Hext, and Krile Maya Baldesion. I wondered if Thancred could be Espio, since they're both espionage personnel, but Espio's personality doesn't align well with Thancred's.

In the same vein, Knuckles and Estinien... Close, but not quite in my eyes. Then there's Lyse, whom I bet Tangle could fit; I just haven't done much thinking on. And for Minfilia, I was thinking Sally, since they both serve as leaders for the group. But beyond that, there isn't much else to go on.

Then there are those whom I have very little idea for. Ryne? Papalymo? Krile? Urianger? Brother... I haven't the foggiest idea who could fit the bill for Urianger. That, and... wow this post is long. And I've just been rambling! So here's a tl;dr on the verse just to get my idea across.

Sonic Storybook game that takes place in Final Fantasy XIV. Sonic is called forth in the place of a missing Warrior of Light post-1.0/forefront of ARR. He serves as the substitute WoL, tasked with finding out what has gone wrong with this version of the Shard in order to put it back on track. It's probably Ascian tomfoolery, like always.

In this pocket-reflection, some of the characters have been subbed in by Sonic's friends, ala Black Knight and Secret Rings. Though, some events happen differently, and some are brand new. It goes up until Endwalker! Sonic doesn't experience Dawntrail and beyond, as the story wraps up by Endwalker. By now, some of the characters are actually aware of the nature of this Shard!