#emthim rambles

For my sonadow fankids, they were all intended to have some kind of cosmic/space theme as a nod to Shadow's extraterrestrial origins—and the fact that they are all an attempt to improve upon Project Shadow.

Stellar was the first fankid I made, period! I wanted her to be unique and stand-out, considering I had 20 years of sonadow fankids to contend with. I scoured the internet during her creation, making sure that there were no other sonadow kids that shared her name or were rockin' with a star/figure skater theme. On top of that, I wanted her name to fit with the "S" naming convention that all our main hedgies (Sonic, Shadow, Silver, etc.) have! "Stellar" was a pretty obvious choice for me.

For her failed lab siblings, I wanted to keep with the cosmic theme, but lose the names beginning with "S", a hint that from their very conception they would never be good enough, and would never be the "finished product".

Void was always intended to be a bigger, badder version of Shadow, and being the first attempt at perfecting Gerald Robotnik's work, he's basically all of Shadow's physical traits cranked up to a 10. More stripes, more fur, more muscle, more alien. He takes after grandpa Black Doom than Shadow himself does, and his name was chosen to reflect pretty much everything about him. Endlessly powerful, but deeply empty.

Andromeda was named not only for the obvious cosmic connotation, but because of her beauty! The princess Andromeda from Greek Mythology was known not only for her good looks, but also the seemingly endless tragedy that followed her. Andromeda is intended to be sort of a foil to Stellar, being that the Andromeda Galaxy is the closest to our own Milky Way, and the two are destined to eventually collide. Andromeda resents Stellar intensely in the universe in which the fail sibs survived infancy, and the two of them have a very volatile relationship—that is, until she and Polarity get an eventual redemption arc. 😉

Speaking of, Polarity had the most name candidates before I eventually landed on his current one! He was almost named Velocity, but I decided that "Polarity" was more apt in capturing his character. He is supposed to be a good guy who is on the wrong side, constantly fighting with what he believes is right and wrong, being pulled in two very different directions. The heart of a hero beats in his chest, and he is the most like Sonic out of all of his siblings, but has been essentially brainwashed and abused into justifying the actions of the lab that made him.

Moving on from sonadow, my blazamy kids are next!

Both Camellia and Thistle are named after flowers to match with their mama, Amy Rose, but of course it's not just as simple as that! 😛 Their names were chosen to match with their species and appearances, seeing as Camellia is a cat and Thistle is a hedgehog.

Camellia and Thistle actually share very similar markings on their hair/quills, but if you look closely, you can see that they are actually reversed! Where Camellia's markings are more petal-like, Thistle's are spiky, like thorns!

Camellias also represent love, adoration, and longing—hinting at her romantic nature and affection for her best friend (and crush), Stellar! Thistles, on the other hand, are representative of determination, bravery, and strength, all things that Thistle will grow into as he finds his footing in the role of a prince.

As for my knuxouge kids, like you said, it's pretty self-explanatory. 😂 Rouge named both Jasper and Jade after the jewels she loves so much, as her babies are the most beautiful gems she's ever seen!

Of course, I did put a bit more thought in than just "Rouge names her kids after gems", seeing as both stones have spiritual meaning in various cultures.

Red jaspers (what Jasper is named after) are notable for having a nurturing quality and being a symbol of life, hinting at the fact that Jasper himself is more than just the playboy facade he presents to the world. He's a total mama's boy and loves his family more than anything, valuing his connection to echidna culture despite being born a bat. He uses his charisma and wit to get his way, and spends his days scoping out stolen echidna artifacts in museums and auctions so he can return them to where they rightfully belong—in the hands of his father, Knuckles.

Jade, too, is very true to what the stone she was named after represents. Jade represents wisdom, inner peace, harmony, balance, stability—all things Jade herself embodies to a T. Where Jasper is a smooth-talking charmer, Jade is calm, steady, and warm. Her very presence can defuse a tense situation, and it's very hard to find a single person who dislikes her. She is very responsible and dependable, taking her duty to guard the Master Emerald like her father before her very seriously.

As for Calico (whispangle fankid), they are named for their unique coloration, being born a wolf with lemur-like fur patterns! I wanted them to have a name that was a bit of a strange choice, perhaps a bit unconventional, seeing as they are a bit of an odd duck amongst my fankid cast. Calico is one of those characters who is often on the outskirts of the action, kind of floating between friend groups and never fully anchored amongst their peers, but happy regardless. They are a treasure that is well-worth uncovering for those willing to do the work!

Next up is Mirage (espilver fankid). Mirage's name says a lot about who he is as a character, being an introverted, anti-social spy for hire who despises the spotlight. Mirage is a master of illusions and a professional at remaining unseen, specializing in digging up the dirty secrets of those around him and selling their information to the highest bidder. His name has a double meaning, however, as Mirage himself has a lot to hide and a lot he's secretly insecure about. Everything he does is one big smokescreen to keep people as far away from him as possible, even if it means he might end up entirely alone.

Directly opposing Mirage's desire for solitude is my vectilla fankid, Pumpkin, who is everything Mirage isn't. Pumpkin is loud, bombastic, and social, acting almost like a big sister to Mirage seeing as they have known each other since they were small. Pumpkin's name was chosen to follow the naming convention of Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla (she also has a chao named Spice to reflect Cream's own chao, Cheese), while also having the kind of name that Vector would 100% name his daughter.

As for Rocket, Jet's adopted son, his name is unique from the others seeing as he's a trans man. His name is one he chose for himself, and is representative of his admiration for Jet and the Babylon Rogues and his desire to fit in amongst them. On top of his status as an extreme gear racer, Rocket is also a rock star, having a deep passion for music, adding another layer to his (and my own) reasoning behind his choice of a name. Rocky the rockin' rooster!

Snap (surgolin fankid) closes out my fankid roster for SonDADow AU as of now, and she probably had the most back and forth surrounding her name out of all my kiddos thus far. Static, Blitz, Tempest and Shock were all contenders, but Snap inevitably ended up being my final choice. I felt that the other options are all names that have seen a lot of use in the Sonic Fankid community, and Snap was deserving of something a bit more unique. It's zippy, packed with personality, and says a lot without being too obvious. You ain't ready for this snap, crackle, pop!! 💥💥💥

As for my kids from other AUs/universes, they all have equally as much thought put into their names as my main cast. Luster and Oleander both have names that say a lot about them as characters, with "luster" meaning to glow, shine, or reflect, and "oleander" being a beautiful, but incredibly poisonous flower.