I REALLY hate having to do this.

I REALLY, REALLY HATE that I have to make a fandom critical post of one of my favorite Sonic ships and characters. I HATE having to sound so delusional about this, but it must be done.

Today, I am going to talk about Shadouge as a unit, each character, Shadow and Rouge, as characters, and in contrast with Knuxouge and Knuxadow. Please leave NOW if you are weak or can’t handle criticisms (very weak).

Lord, where do I start?

Let me preface this by saying: I do not dislike Shadow and Rouge together. In fact, I actively ship those two characters together and write fanfic based on them. When I get better at drawing, I plan to draw them more, along with other characters, and craft my stories around them and the other characters. You can view and read the types of works that I plan to write here!

Now to the nitty-gritty. After returning to the fandom after being away since 2005, I seem to have found myself in a state of uncertainty again. Characters being misrepresented and thrown into disarray. Most of this seems to come from Twitter, as I have not seen any particularly egregious instances of neglect on Tumblr. I started following some really cool, level-headed people on Twitter who are now my mutuals and talk about a lot of the issues to them. Let’s start with Rouge.

I have always enjoyed Rouge’s character. She is chill but conniving, determined, and unnerving. She is what we call a femme fatale, a character who gets what they want by any means necessary while looking sharp doing so. She is a sex symbol in the series and rightfully so. She uses her looks and wit to obtain information and material things. She is refreshing from the personalities of Amy, Blaze, Sally Acorn, Cream, Tangle, and Whisper, and many other female characters. She is the Catwoman, the Black Cat, the Shego, the Sedusa of the series, and that’s perfectly fine.
Do I believe the writers should lean more into her act and personality in the bit? Absolutely! Should Sega and the writers do more for her character besides always having her around Shadow and Omega, and annoying Knuckles? Yes. Will they do it? Absolutely not. I wish to see more of her being free, having her own adventures and missions, and just relaxing away amongst her jewels and other treasured possessions.
Unfortunately, for me, Rouge has become a bit dry and surface-level. She is not allowed to have depth, and the same goes for every female character in the Sonic series. They should allow her to act out more, be afraid, be happy, and excited, but within the comforts of her specific characterization. Instead, she is reduced to a very basic level of femme fatale, sex appeal, and porn. Let’s expand on that a little.
What is up with fandom, especially my fellow Shadougers, being so obsessed with seeing Rouge naked and filling herself with Shadow? Like, are y’all that sex deprived? Do y’all not have partners to facilitate consensual sexual acts with you, or do you masturbate to something? Like, what are we doing here? Almost every piece of fan art seems to cater to Rouge basically being a pornstar. Whether it’s risque takes or full-on porn, it’s boring and tiring to me.
Let’s also talk about the tiddy-gate. Whether Rouge has big breasts or not, it should not diminish her character. She’s still herself. I think fandom forgets that Sega is trying to do its own thing while competing with Nintendo (let’s be honest with ourselves here), and that they are a family- and child-friendly series first and foremost. If you think this is not intentional, you’re a fool! A plum fool! By the way, Lanolin and Whisper will be next. Trust! Anyways, can we please give Rouge Titgate a rest please? Her character will be fine. You all will have fan art to jack off to anyway, so relax!
This is not me being a prude in any form or fashion. I enjoy sex and intimate moments just as the next freak does, but I don’t like when it’s plastered all over like I’m scrolling pornhub. It’s annoying and frankly demoralizing after a while. I mainly only see this with Shadouge, though I have seen some Knuxouge porn here and there, but that ship is no longer canon or popular, so it doesn’t hold as much weight here as Shadouge does.

Let’s move on to Shadow. Shadow, oh Shadow. Where do I start? He is a very interesting character whom most edgelord-esque people treasure. A recluse who has had harrowing trauma that fandom loves to bring back up to torture his character. An eternal being who isn’t allowed to be happy for once in his life. He’s not allowed to have friends or true confidants who can be honest but caring towards him. A certified outcast and freakshow. That’s at least how fandom treats him. And then came along Rouge. A secret agent just following orders and getting something out of it, who sees Shadow as a pity party more than anything. However, over time, they become what some fans consider coworkers. From there, they become confidants, and then the love starts. Perfectly fine, but I have an issue.
The depiction of Shadow and Rouge has always been one-sided to me. They have always seemed like the “close coworkers” that many non-Shadougers see them as. It always seemed that Rouge is more into Shadow than he is into her, and what happens is that fandom, especially Shadougers, are forced to fill in the gaps, as they should. I personally want to see more from Shadow regarding Rouge, rather than this nonchalant edgelord attitude he has. We have moved on from that. Maria is dead, and we need to move on from him never being able to be close to someone again. Can we please move on? I want to see him being openly grateful for accepting Rouge’s emotions. That’s what I wanna see in Sonic media, outside of fan art.

Now, again, I must reiterate: I am a Shadouger. I have been shipping them since middle school with my best friend, when we used to do phone roleplay of the Sonic characters. I literally have a whole Sonic AU planned and fleshed out where Shadouge is canon. So do not give me bullshit saying I am a fake fan. Fake fans don’t write dissertations about their favorite ships.

Now back to what I was saying. I just want more sustenance for Shadow and Rouge. I want to see Shadow openly in love, in his own way, with Rouge, and she can reciprocate in her own way, both openly. I want to see more art depicting this without all of the porn and sex. As a fanfic writer, I would love to see more Shadouge fanfic circulated and cherished in both Shadouge and Sonic fandoms. I see how you all ignore things you actually have to read and understand. Start reading more fics! I want to see Shadouge fans happy, but being critical and wanting better. You all just accept slop most of the time, and it’s unbecoming of a fan. I’m rooting for you, I’m rooting for us to have better, not more, but better.
Now it is time for the real deal conversations: Shadouge vs Knuxouge. You thought I forgot, didn’t you?

Let’s start off by saying that without Knuxouge, there would be no Shadouge. Knuxouge brought out the dynamic of Rouge even being with someone. It was first put onto Knuckles, and I wish Shadougers would respect that bit of history. You all do not.
Second, I will be frankly honest. This is the internet. There are bad-faith actors everywhere. Stop allowing hateful Knuxouge fans to make you stop enjoying Shadouge. Also, stop assuming all Knuxouge fans are hateful and spiteful against Shadouge fans. They are two sides of the same coin, brought together by one character, Rouge. Let’s also not act like there aren’t Shadouge fans harassing Knuxouge fans and bullying them, especially those of us who enjoy both ships, respectfully.
Third, what I have noticed, and yes, I’m going to be very political here, is that a lot of Shadouge fans hate Knuckles with a passion. It has nothing to do with Knuxouge, it has everything to do with Knuckles. Why is that? Why is it that a lot of Shadouge fans seemingly hate a Black-coded character when essentially Rouge was considered Black-coded before you all made her a white Latina? Why is it that in fiction, the Black or Black-coded characters are not allowed to have a romance, and that it always has to be taken away from them? It definitely shows the anti-Blackness of the Sonic and Shadouge fandom. Would you all ship Rouge with Shadow if she were depicted as a Black woman? Let’s ponder that for a bit. No, no, you wouldn’t. You would call her all kinds of jezebels and whores and sluts and Black bitches and such. You would only ship her with Knuckles because he is Black-coded. Unlearn your anti-Blackness and soon before you get slapped upside the head.

Fourth, the whole thing of Shadow loves Latinas is sad, and here is why. Depicting Rouge as a Latina woman who is all of these negative stereotypes is a big red flag. Yes, I am aware that it started as a joke amongst Latino people, where it should have stayed! Instead, you all, especially white people, ran the joke into the ground to the point you harmed Latina women, especially Brown and Black Latina women. No woman wants to be objectified. And that brings me to this point. It’s actually very sad that when I did bring this up, I had a Latina woman in my mentions on Tumblr state that I was reaching and that it was a joke. Not when real-life women are harmed by the stereotype every day. It’s a terrible joke and should die. Do something funny instead of being racist. I had to call her out on her inner racism. She needs to figure that out herself, or she’s doomed to be in a lustful and harmful relationship where a man or woman only sees her as such.

Fifth, that’s what bothers me about Shadouge: it’s all gimmicky and stereotypical. Knuxouge is nothing like that. Knuxouge is funny, it’s loving, and it’s even Amy Rose silly, and it shows two people from different backgrounds coming together as one and learning from each other. Knuckles, being the shy lover who puts his duty over everything, even his own health, and Rouge, being free as a bird but always left wanting to rest and have some semblance of peace and order. That’s what I want to see with Shadouge. I want to see Shadow and Rouge being ridiculous, silly, even crazy, but still acting like themselves. Let them break character sometimes. It can’t always be the stereotypical broody man and slutty woman. That’s boring and overdone.

Ok, I’m tired of numbering. Let’s talk about harassment. Under no circumstances should Knuxouge fans attack and troll Shadouge fans. I think it’s distasteful and crude; however, I understand where it comes from. Shadouge has gotten everything Knuxouge never received from Sega. Knuxouge should have had merchandise, official artwork, and brand deals. We Knuxouge fans feel slighted, jealous, and envious of Shadouge fans. They receive everything that they want from Sega. Knuxouge gets nothing, not even crumbs. We don’t have the fan art, the fanfiction, the fan anything. It’s hard to enjoy one of my favorite ships when my other favorite ship gets everything. So I truly understand why they act out. Do I wish that they would voice their opinions in a more suitable manner? Yes! Will most of them do that? No, never.
What Shadouge fans must understand is that you all are the anti-Sonamy. Your ship is the big dog. With popularity comes gnats and flies that get in your way. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to deal with it and keep your head up, or drop the ship and leave fandom. Those are your two choices, but what I would highly suggest is stop hating Knuckles as a character for no reason. Knuckles is a great character that is misrepresented by Sega, writers, and fans alike. The more y’all hate him, the less we see of him, outside of Sonic, Tails, and Amy. We see Shadow all the time. He’s always in something that has nothing to do with him. Rouge, sadly, is popular only when she’s with Shadow because he’s the money-winning ticket next to Sonic. Amy can hold her own. Why can’t Rouge? Think about that.

This randomly brings me to my third ship, Knuxadow. This is a missed opportunity in the making with Sega. Knuckles and Shadow are more alike than different, yet they do not interact much unless the Master Emerald is involved. I can truly picture Shadow and Knuckles on an adventure together, in media where they have to rely on each other and even talk it out, like men, about Rouge and where each person stands. I might have to write that into a fic, actually, so hold this thought. I would love to see them together and bonding. This will never happen because Sega and fandom are cowards, but it would be different and fun. Plus, I know Sonadow and Sonknux fans would be seething, and I would kinda like to see it. Taking somebody away from Sonic is a crime punishable by death, didn’t you know?

And finally, my rareship, Knuxougdow. There is an untapped power lying in this ship. As someone who loves Knuxouge, Shadouge, and Knuxadow, these three would be a powerhouse together.
Knuckles, the bold and brash, silently yearning to be a part of something, of someone, upholding a duty he still doesn’t understand well. Shadow, a recluse who trusts no one, only his skill and intellect, only focused on his promise to Maria to make things better and right, but on his terms, to be a part of something that has meaning. And lastly, Rouge, a free-flying bird (I know she’s a bat, work with me here), doing whatever she wants when she wants, not tied down to anyone or anything, who also craves to be a part of something more, something better.
It’s the perfect storm of characters to write and to make merchandise of. Like it’s a team of bisexuals being awesome for once in media. Plus, add Omega crazy ass, and it’s perfect.

You can choose to be team Shadouge, team Knuxouge, or team Knuxadow. I’m team all three, and with that, you can fully understand why I wrote this, why I am so stressed out with fandom being stupid. There should be no reason why Shadouge and Knuxouge fans can’t get along. Stop supporting bad-faith actors in fandom. Support people who are spreading joy and love of the ships. Support each other. There should be no reason for us to be fighting.
Shadouge, stop acting like you don’t know why Knuxouge shippers are upset with you all. Stop feigning ignorance. It’s disgusting. Learn how to ignore and spray the flies, but remember, flies are attracted to shit and sweet smells. Think about that. You all have some shit with you, but you also have something really sweet and awesome. Stop hating Knuckles as a character, as a bad man who is coming to take Rouge from Shadow. Remember who Rouge is as a character. She does what she wants. If she wants to be with Shadow today, and Knuckles tomorrow, she very well can! Doesn’t mean she hates Shadow. Stop clipping her wings.
Knuxouge, stop going under posts and videos, commenting on how Rouge should be with Knuckles. That’s rude and stupid. Start making art of Knuxouge. Write stories and make fan art of Knuxouge. Put us back on the map! Make Sega see us again. Don’t be jealous and envious of Shadouge; make friends and be awesome. Make Sega and the writers make Knuxouge come true again. Buy into my plan and join my Patreon so we can make this happen. (ok, that’s a joke, but I’m still trying to make shit shake, ok?)
Knuxougdow, you will happen one day. I have delusional faith in you. People will see how awesome this rare crackship is and thank me for it. We ride at dawn!

Other than that, that’s all I have. I just want Shadouge and Knuxouge fans to chill out, enjoy your ships, and respect one another. That’s all. I also want Shadouge and Knuxouge fans to keep it a buck about their favorite characters in the ships. Want better for Knuckles. Want better for Shadow. Always want more for Rouge. Sonic ain’t sweating for shit. Why should they?

That’s all I got. Thank you for reading. I truly appreciate it so much. If you feel compelled to argue with me, don’t. If you want to have a respectful discussion and reach common ground, do so! I would love to have a fun conversation about this that is free of all negativity. And if you enjoyed what I wrote and even read my Shadouge one-shot fic at the top of this page on my AO3 account, please feel free to donate! Any bit helps.

Thank you again, see you on the flipside!

-Laiari Blackadder