Well, I started reading “The M Word” because of you, so congrats on that. Do you have any other fic recommendations that you feel are under rated or flew under everyone’s radar?

Hmm, sure, I can bust out a few real quick!

I would 100% recommend everything from @wonderinc-sonic. Literally their fics are so underrated it HURTS. My particular favorites are Serial Number, which writes Omega so well that I use it as a reference point for how I write him, and then their Post- Cyber Virus series. The latter is a very unique and hard-hitting series about the Sonic robots being forced to take organic forms, and let me tell you that as a mentally ill person who's always related to robots more than humans, reading how their struggles are written in this series quite literally knocked the wind out of me. Every time this author comes out with a new fic I am continually impressed with what they can do with their prose!!!

Other underrated fics I like from different authors are:

"Do Badniks Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Sinnamon, for some fantastic and very in-character Team Dark hurt/comfort.

"For the Best" by Imaginaria for an absolutely perfect hurt no comfort regarding Metal Sonic's voice (or lack thereof). I also like this author's other SFW fics, but if you check out their profile, make sure to sort by that!

"you made me, and i love you" by sketchjii, for some wonderful angsting about Maria (because that's the trend I'm on apparently)

"Beauty is in the Beholder" by Fumiku. Some of Fumiku's other Metamy works got the attention they deserve, but I feel like this one, featuring the rare take of Metal and Amy already being together when the story starts, is criminally underrated for its wonderfully realistic romantic themes.

"Chrysanthemum" by pastelspindash for an absolutely wonderful take on a more rebellious Maria and how Shadow remembers her as a whole person.

For my last suggestion, I'll recommend an absurdly good crossover that sounds insane but PLEASE trust me: "Hell on Mobius" by DoomFox. It's a Sonic and Doom crossover. Even if you hardly know anything about Doom, you have to read it. It's so fascinating with some genuine emotion in there. I love this fic to pieces and for how good it is it's criminally underrated.

maria robotnik i truly believe in my heart that you should be allowed to get so mad and angry

Shadow characterization question…

Imagen if you will, Shadow discovers that Maria is alive, saved by a GUN field medic moments after Shadow was ejected from the Arc, and has been kept in cryogenic storage under a GUN base this whole time.

Does this revelation hurt or improve Shadow’s character? (And I mean in terms of him as a fictional character, not in terms of how well Shadow is going to be emotionally after this.)

My short answer is that you'd have to be really careful with how you write it.

My long answer is that there's a lot of "Maria Lives" AUs out there. The ones that speak to me the least are the ones where nothing has changed between Shadow and Maria.

The thing with bringing a character back from the dead is that it can't be cheap. It can't be a cop-out to bring back the status quo. There's a really good post out there that I can't find now that states that resurrection from death is sometimes a metaphor for the near-death; that moment of uncertainty at the end of a traumatic event that even resolution can't quell. Between this breath and the next, the certainty that you've depended on for so long can no longer be. Everything has changed.

Shadow has changed. Permanently. He is not the same after he thinks he's seen Maria die. Bringing Maria back in any shape or form cannot ignore this fact. And I think, for her credit, that Maria will have changed as well. This event is just as traumatic for her as it is for Shadow, and I feel like a lot of "Maria Lives" AUs don't give her that sort of justice.

But if you do give her that sort of justice, if you treat this frightening experience of loss with the weight and respect it deserves, this "Maria Lives" AU can be some of the most moving characterization for both of them.

I'll take a moment now to recommend one of my favorite underrated fics, called "The M Word" over on AO3. It handles this exact topic with such grace and respect, with the gravitas it deserves. Shadow has changed. Maria has changed. Things cannot be the same, but maybe, maybe they can move on despite it. And that is extremely interesting characterization for the both of them.

"Let Maria be openly rebellious" actually I think she smiled nicely and behaved so wonderfully and bottled up everything until she exploded. but not in front of her wonderful baby brother Shadow. she'd never burden him with that.

I'm very sorry that this is not a very goodly written compliment it may or may not be midnight here, and i may or may not have jumped on the latest chapter while still half asleep from a nap hfdhkhf

But i really needed to say how much i am in love with complex inquiries. I don't really have the words except to say that it makes me vibrate with excitement. I kept randomly thinking back about it between chapter releases. Multiple times while reading i had to take breaks in the middle of chapters just to mentally gush about what was happening, thinking about the metaphorical meaning, or just from excitement or stress from what was about to happen. I haven't been this invested in a fanfic in more than a year now

I can't say just how much you've made my love grow for Omega, and now you've made me look at Metal in a different light and made me realise the true depth of its character potential

Seeing Neo's journey was just- amazing. I can't even explain how insanely good the writing for his line of thinking and internal processing is. The back and forth, pushing and pulling of everything is so good, and its regressions hit so hard in a real and relatable way

Reading this latest chapter made me punch the air from excitement, i love this story so much. The ending wasn't exactly what i was expecting, and i'm saying this in a /pos way. I was so ready to cry from how proud i was of its growth and freedom; freedom so powerful that i could almost feel it and the euphoria that comes with it

To sum up, I'm gonna keep spinning this story in my head like a microwave

Thank you so much for writing this amazing work

Thank you so much for your wonderful words!! Do not apologize- these words are very goodly written!!!

I'm so glad that Neo's journey and growth felt tangible and valuable. I worked so hard on this fic for almost a year and a half now- it makes me deliriously happy to know that my efforts paid off!!!

I myself have been grabbed by fics like how you're describing. I never thought that I could achieve something like that. I never thought I'd be able to invoke those emotions, and now I have. That means so much to me. You're going to make me cry with your kind words.

Have an excellent rest of your day and look forward to the epilogue!!

Unit MS-1, colloquially known as “Metal Sonic”, has three truths that govern its existence-

Core directive: destroy Sonic the Hedgehog using superior speed and power. Core directive: Obey Dr. Ivo Robotnik above any and all else. Core directive: maintain superiority over Sonic the Hedgehog.

-until a catastrophic malfunction rips through its processor, and it is forced to confront questions it was never designed to answer.

The world beyond awaits.

The final chapter, or in other words, where Neo is left to pick up the pieces.

@xx-disco-inferno-xx

People sometimes ask me how to write Omega properly and the answer is pretty simple. If you break my interpretation of Omega down to his bare essentials, he:

Hates Eggman

will do ANYTHING to avoid being ignored and overlooked again

uses the first point to cover up the second point and would sooner deactivate than admit it

And boom badda bang, you've got yourself a proper character instead of treating him like Team Dark's funny mascot.

yippee!!

im still figuring out tumblr but i wanted to share fanart for the fic thats literally consumed my life lol

fic is Complex Inquiries by @generic-sonic-fan

literally like one of my favorite sonic authors ever up there with evan stanley 😭😭😭

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!! !!! !!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh my gosh this fanart is so amazing???? I'm literally shook right now I can barely stay in my deskchair-

This is so stunningly gorgeous. The amount of detail is insane!!!! I absolutely fucking adore the perspective of this piece. This is such a perfect representation of the fic omg you've done Neo such justice!!!

It's too late for an "i'm gonna cry" comment because I'm already crying. This is so lovely! Thank you so much!!!

yippee!!

im still figuring out tumblr but i wanted to share fanart for the fic thats literally consumed my life lol

fic is Complex Inquiries by @generic-sonic-fan

literally like one of my favorite sonic authors ever up there with evan stanley 😭😭😭

weapon design is based on @blingusdlingus concept

Unit MS-1, colloquially known as “Metal Sonic”, has three truths that govern its existence-

Core directive: destroy Sonic the Hedgehog using superior speed and power. Core directive: Obey Dr. Ivo Robotnik above any and all else. Core directive: maintain superiority over Sonic the Hedgehog.

-until a catastrophic malfunction rips through its processor, and it is forced to confront questions it was never designed to answer.

The world beyond awaits.

Welcome to chapter 17! A shorter chapter, but also the biggest. . .

If Sega even breathes about Omega I expect you all to spam ping me like no tomorrow. Promise?

"Surely this year being the year of Shadow also means we'll get to see more from Rouge and Omega. Surely this being the year of Shadow also means that Sega will relax the mandates. Surely this means-"

->  🤡 🤡 🤡 🤡 Me 🤡 🤡 🤡 🤡

The year of Shadow trailer proves that Sega finally realizes that Shadow's biggest fans are not little boys and are, in fact, emo teenage girls.

Words cannot express how happy I am with this development.

quick comm for @measlyfurball13 of omega and metal staring each other down

Unit MS-1, colloquially known as “Metal Sonic”, has three truths that govern its existence-

Core directive: Destroy Sonic the Hedgehog using superior speed and power. 

Core directive: Obey Dr. Ivo Robotnik above any and all else.

Core directive: Maintain superiority over Sonic the Hedgehog.

 -until a catastrophic malfunction rips through its processor, and it is forced to confront questions it was never designed to answer. 

Chapter 16, or where Neo seeks advice of a fellow unit.

Things do not go as planned.