I like the found family trope as much as the next person but it really irks me to see so many dynamics forced into replicating the nuclear family. That’s not even an original take. Other people have said it. It just bugs me in particular since I really hate it when this dynamics results in uneven emotional labor between characters who should be equals otherwise

So I agree with most of your fanon complaints but tbh I sometimes will still read fics with mildly annoying habits and just like, compartmentalize the parts that annoy me. I do it with the show too but I'm better at compartmentalizing with fanfic lol. Part of it is I follow a few really really good thoughtful fanfic writers so I haven't seen all of the stuff you've talked about. However I have seen the hiding veggies in meals headcanon & tho i didn't find it appealing or cute, it didn't bother me bc I interpreted as like an idiosyncrasy. Everyone's got em yk. my sister's friend is a literal genius, responsible, hard worker but also chaotic and will have these random Things that might make her seem immature. Like she does eat vegetables but if I heard that her boyfriend had to sneak them in her meals I wouldn't bat an eye.

That's completely understandable! There are plenty of things I don't like in fandom (either in this one or other ones) where I'm able to be like "I don't like this but the rest of the fic is good enough to ignore it" or "I normally hate this trope but I really like how this author wrote it". (I live by the rule that for all my complaining that anything can be tolerable/make sense if it's done well enough.) I used to be able to do that in this fandom but my tolerance level has dropped a lot lmao. It's much easier for me to do in say the Star Wars fandom. (Now that's a fandom with a lot of infighting!)

A big part of the issue is that it never is just one person or one thing lol. Someone writing something with a character being a bit childish or idiosyncratic is fine on its own, but when it's paired with a bunch of other questionable tropes or it's just done soooo much is when I start scratching my head.

Like I think I've mentioned before unrelated to this, but I do actually think that Steve probably is someone who likes to clean, a lot of the Stobin gang see him as something of a neat freak. On its own, Steve doing most or all of the cleaning because he's that anal feels really in character. It's when you pile all of these things on top of each other to where Eddie is doing nothing and Steve is doing everything that I'm like hmm. Don't like that.

Wrt to the veggie thing specifically... idk I guess you could take it as a quirky thing, but hiding vegetables in food hoping the person doesn't notice is literally one of the biggest stereotypical parent things I feel like? And I think it's having Steve specifically do it and Eddie not noticing that makes me side eye it.

Like lol, that's always the cliché, a kid moves out (normally a son) and you find out they aren't eating vegetables and only eating junk, so the mom has to do something to get her son to eat better. Which like I get it I have to fight with myself to eat healthy sometimes, most vegetables have a gross texture to them but lol my body feels better when I'm eating them so! It's especially the hiding aspect too like man Steve can even talk to Eddie about eating healthier? Finding healthy foods Eddie does actually like if he's that concerned about his health? He has to hide it like Eddie is a five year old?

And maybe you're right and it is meant to be more idiosyncratic but like I said, when you pair it with all the other shit fandom is doing it ends up feeling like just another way people have been writing tradwife/caretaker Steve lol.

if its not too personal, may i ask what are all the alters names and roles in the system? (including host of course)

so like im not very booksmart about system roles but i consider myself a protector and also the host (me, isaiah, 24 :) <3). im usually the only one interested in drawing or blogging so 99% of anything on here is just lil ol me. i also front by far the most bc none of these assholes want to work so i have to take care of commissions myself lol

my first rl serious i think something's wrong w me alter realization was a Dave fictive when i was like 16-21 who would just black me out and autopilot when shit was really bad. I lost a LOT of time between when my grandma died, when my grandfather died, when i moved in w my aunt, ran away, moved in w my mom, and then left for arizona, and im pretty sure almost all of that was him. he hasn't fronted or had any kind of presence in the headspace in years tho besides like 10-15 minutes at a time once or twice when I got rlly triggered by a conversation. I simply do not remember anything that happens when he fronts which used to scare the shit out of me haha. lo said he thinks it's specifically 13 which. fair lol

bentley is definitely my most active alter these days. he's around 30 and tends to take over whenever i get upset abt some shit. he took the very very most brunt of my grandparental caretaking and medical trauma so like i don't rlly have those nightmares or intrusive flashbacks anymore which is nice. I tend to take on a lot of social obligations and I don't know how to say no but he Can and Will watch a man burn without pissing on him which is rlly refreshing tbh. he's the no obligations I'm hanging out alter. we're rlly close but I don't think he's friendly enough for lo :( he likes old trucks and 70s bops.

shys my youngest alter that i know of, he's like 14 and is like young isaiah (the oc) but nonverbal hence, shysaiah or just shy :) he's a sweet kid who just likes to be around and goofy. if he has to be verbal he does cry tho and his triggers are rlly different than mine which throws me whenever he gets set off. he's definitely got the most palpable and distressing fictitious memories, like he heard a line in a song and had flashbacks that made ME wig out. his is very.. idk bad dad parental abuse csa vibes, as far as the trauma pill he swallowed, but mostly when he's fronting he's in rlly high spirits! he likes neopets and yesterday was his birthday haha.

bulldog is rlly the only other guy of note & he's like? idk 19? i very much experienced the like adults arent taking care of me and so my tiny body is full of RAGE thing as a kid and like all thru my teens I had a FOUL hateful kinda temper. I'm cool as fuck as an adult tho cause that's his problem now. whenever my mom gets on her shit or I start thinking about my aunt he like zaps straight to the cofront to try to start some shit w my family which. fair! but no! he's a lot more mad about my aunt than my grandparents which hes probably the only one but fight the good fight i guess. he's just a real asshole, if uve ever seen me writing long vent posts on here bc im all worked up that's that anger boy cofront babey <3 he's DEFINITELY not nice enough for lo tho.

there's like other guys im aware of knocking around but they don't front or rlly make any effort to interact w me or our peers so shruggg I mostly just let them be. my biggest brain teaser re: all of this is the chicken and egg situation between ocs and alters. which came first, shy or isaiah? bentley definitely came before his oc counterpart but i low-key get a vibe about reggie and barnaby that makes me go ok but?? idk mostly I'm just endlessly fascinated by the intersection of being a lifelong artist with a deep love of characters and having alters who present so... character-y. which came first??

Thoughts on shadamy? Or how you see the potential behind their dynamic? 🥺👉👈

gosh i havent thought that much about shadamy in awhile!! i was REALLLLY into it tho, just as much as i was into sonamy, like i honestly couldnt decide which i liked more.

(under read more cause once again i am Just Talk Talk Talk)

obviously now sonshadamy is the way

but ok well, i think i ship them more platonically firstofall (tho im not against romantically, we just haven't seen them together that many times? i would LOOOVE more interaction with them) and she'd be really good for helping him open up more about his thoughts and feelings, encourage him to be kind and thoughtful. people like to say that Sonic is a lot like Maria, and maybe they are similar!- Maria never got the chance to be adventurous or active though, and in SA2, Amy clearly reminded Shadow of Maria just as he was about to watch Earth be destroyed. She reminded and showed Shadow the actual meaning in Maria's words, what she wanted for Shadow and thats how he was able to save the world.

Amy's a really 'get into her feelings' kind of person and i can see her and Shadow having a few arguements and disagreements and lack of communication and understanding between them. It would def be really rocky at first (while Sonic on the other hand, just *understands* Shadow and leaves him be if needed, or confronts him directly and straight to the point). It would take a long time for Amy to really understand Shadow who's a closed door, and Amy's a open book and maybe that scares Shadow. He doesnt understand someone like her, who is so selfless and kind and lends a helping hand to anyone in need, and maybe he hates being on the other hand of that dynamic- he sees it as being weak, and Amy could teach him that theres bravery in kindness.

On a happier note tho, some activities i can see them enjoying together. Clearly Amy cant keep up with him in combat or speed, but she has a good endurance, and i can see her taking him out shopping or to local game arcades, or maybe help him with gardening. he grumbles and complains at the thought of being around people and doesnt like the center of attention but i think he'd think the experience is worth it

In battle, he'd be pretty annoyingly worried about Amy, she's not as strong or skilled as him and Sonic, or as elusive and cunning as Rouge- and you know, he wouldnt wanna lose someone close to him a second time, so he'd prob jump in front of Amy all the time and Amy would get soooo pissed off at him and theyd just get into a yelling match in the middle of the battlefield and everyone else is just face palming and its sooo awkward for everyone.

Finally, sonic who's known amy like his whole life, assures Shadow that shes more than capable of taking care of herself. Yes she was the damsel in distress in the past, but she's gotten stronger, not only for her friends but for herself and he's seen the improvement. it takes a lot of convincing to calm Shadow and so maybe he tries to work together more as a team with her. He's not used to that, so he'll still mess up and still try to get the most enemies defeated, but thats because he wants all the glory. it's still kinda annoying to Amy but he's trying i suppose!

Or maybe I'm giving Shadow too much credit, maybe he leaves Amy by herself TOO much, leaves her to fend for himself, refuses to work as a coordinated team. He's always worked alone, and when he doesn't its with Rouge, and its more like theyre fighting alone but together- if that makes sense. This irritates Amy cause 'arent we friends? friends look out for each other' and he'd be like, ive always been able to look out for myself' and she'll say 'yes but not all of us are Ultimate Lifeforms like you. What's all your power and strength for if not used to protect those who need you?' and once again she reminds him of Maria's promise. She's really good at humbling him and gently or harshly putting him back in his place depending on whats going on.

Amy of course finds herself stumped from time to time and goes to Rouge a lot for advice, to which Rouge is happy to help but says sometimes its best to leave things alone as she's learned to do when it comes to Shadow. Rouge is kinda relived too, now that Amy's trying to take over as some sort of caretaker for Shadow. Takes some of the stress out of the older girl's hair. Amy can't leave things alone though and just pushes and pushes Shadow until he snaps at her and lets her have it. It sucks but at least he's communicating. Again, Amys not one to back down and tells him that what he does hurts her and his friends. Shadow grumbles that he doesnt care but he doooes when it comes to Rouge and Amy, and eventually learns that to have the girls stop pestering him is to just *tell them* what hes thinking or feeling. He learns its just easier to do that than have them bothering him for days and days.

this is a lot of "amy makes shadow a better guy" so let me think of how Shadow helps Amy for once, okay so obvs i think he'd be up to sparring with her on a lower level to help her advance her skills. She becomes a much stronger fighter. Since she doesnt have the speed he or Sonic does, he teacher her to put all she has into her Piko Hammer, helps her go through rigorous training to better wield the weapon in a more convenient manner rather than just swinging her hammer around and wasting energy when it doesnt hit. He'll even rope Omega in who's more than happy to shoot a moving target. Amy will have to skillfully weave and dodge through it all, or use her hammer to block or deflect the projectiles.

I guess he'd tried to teach her to be more careful of the people she trusted, not to trust so easily and openly. But I think she'd be pretty adamant about it, after all, she trusted him pretty much as soon as she met Shadow, and when she met Omega (E 123 Gamma? sorry cant remember if theyre the same character), along with a bunch of other baddies. She's not afraid of getting hurt or being wrong or trying to be the try hard good guy, she cares more about giving second chances to those who want it. Shadow and Amy agree to disagree but its brought up when its relevant.

hopefully this is good enough?? idk the shadamy fanfics i read back in the day, Shadow was either a really emo guy in highschool or some guy in a gang or mafia, and along came amy this really preppy girl who'd bring him out of his shell and into the sunshine, until one day her life was in danger and he'd have to save her, and sonic was either the villian or some asshole jock kid who get jealous now that amy wasnt always on him, or it was shadow's dad LOL that was THE formula for shadamy fics back then.