Another Day At The Agency

another day at the agency

An Amy, by any other name, would have to be called, 'Rose.'

Okay.

A while ago, I got this ask:

Anon Asks: Hey, so I've returned to the fandom after a very long time (16 years) and something I noticed with ShadAmy works is Shadow referring to Amy as "Rose". I'm curious where this came from cause in canon he just calls her Amy like everyone else. Was there like a particularly influential work that started this trend? I'm super curious.

And you know, that’s an interesting question…When did we all decide that Shadow would call Amy, ‘Rose’? Shadow most certainly has never done it in any canon before. Still, we, as a fandom, latched onto the idea and have made it a keystone in just about every shadamy concept we have. Even non-shadamy shippers occasionally have Shadow call Amy, ‘Rose.’

Why?

Well, I replied to the question basically going, ‘No idea, but it’s a fun concept, right?’ and left it at that.

@sweetlittlebrie however, took it to the next level.

They ended up doing some digging on their own, and what they found was excellent! I then reached out, and we kept picking away at this together. It’s been a joy and a delight working on this with them. So, without further ado, here’s what Brie and I were able to find out about Shadow calling Amy ‘Rose,’ and the history of her being referred to as ‘Rose.’

2005: Crafted Chaos published ‘Red Roses are the Sweetist.’ This fic, published in August of ‘05, is the oldest fic we came across where ‘Rose’ is used. I specify the month because it came out almost 4 months before ShTH05. Out of all 5 chapters, Shadow only calls Amy ‘Rose,’ once. However, it’s right before he admits to her (and himself) that he loves her. It got pretty decent traction, but this is not, we believe, where the concept really took off.

I must take a pause here. Despite what anyone’s personal preferences may be, we, as a society, owe porn a great deal. It presents freedom of expression and thought and living in a way that many other works won’t. It goes where others fear to tread. And so, I’d like to take this moment to thank porn and it’s many artists, writers, and cinematographers.

We’re also pretty sure porn was the venue through which the concept of Shadow calling Amy, ‘Rose’ started to really enter the zeitgeist.

2008: Shade by the Raven published ‘A Flower Wrapped in Darkness’. This is the first example we were able to find where Shadow calls Amy ‘Rose’ through the entire piece, and it was exceptionally popular! A lot of people tuned in to read and engage with this work, and from here, we do see a bloom (pun intended) of instances in which Shadow calls Amy ‘Rose’ or refers to her in a similar manner. (Heads up, if you want to read it, Amy tries to kill herself in the first chapter.)

2012: xShadowxRocksx published ‘Without the Mask.’ This is the second most reviewed story for ShadAmy on Fanfic, and, crucially for our purposes, the most popular fic in which Shadow calls Amy ‘Rose’ throughout the work. It’s absolutely a term of endearment, as well as characteristically establishing the difference between the characters. Shadow calling Amy ‘Rose’ is nothing like Sonic calling her ‘Ames.’ They represent two different types of people and two different types of relationships.

Aaaand here we also have porn.

2012: Lolly Shane published ‘My Pink Roommate.’ This is a very highly reviewed and well-received fic. Once more, Shadow calls Amy ‘Rose’ through the entire piece. Crucially, it starts as a way to maintain distance, a formality, and then ultimately becomes a name of endearment. This will eventually become a linchpin in many fics where Shadow calls Amy ‘Rose!’

I’d like to take this minute to point out an interesting thing I noticed. ‘Without the Mask’ was published May 12th. ‘My Pink Roommate’ was published May 29th. These were literally being written at the same time. They also both were last updated in 2014. It is not out of the realm of possibility that these two writers were aware of each other's work, if not actively participating in the same circle of artists and collaborators. This is probably one of the clearest examples we have of the ripple effect creative ideas can produce when put out into the world for others to enjoy and share with each other.

And that seems to be where it really took off! From there, the concept of Shadow calling Amy, ‘Rose,’ only grew in popularity. Now, it’s so engrained within the fabric of the shadamy shipping zeitgeist, it’s nigh impossible to imagine it ever having been absent. It is as ubiquitous to the ShadowxAmy ship as ‘Ames’ is to the SonicxAmy ship!

That’s not all! There are also variations that have spun up across time that lean on the concept of Amy being referred to as, ‘Rose!’

Rose used to DESCRIBE Amy, rose girl/rose female/rose hedgehog Rose used as a METAPHORICAL DESCRIPTOR, ‘Amy, like a rose’ / ‘rose of a girl’ / ‘rose petal’ Rose used as JOKE, ‘ladies and roses first’ ‘a rose for a rose’ Rose used in OWNERSHIP, ‘My rose,’ or even ‘My Rose’ Rose used as a LAST NAME, ‘Miss. Rose’ / ‘Dr. Rose’ Rose used BY THE VILLIAN to be threatening, including in ShadAmy enemies-to-lovers fics. Rose being the name decided by THE WRITER OR AMY (Amy changes her name to Rose for Reasons and anyone then will call Amy ‘Rose’ in this.)

So this is a summary of everything we found! Hours spent chatting and combing through old works on A03 and FanFic.net have brought us, at last, to here.

I want to take this moment to point out something else that is amazing.

The two oldest fics for the ShadAmy ship that we were able to find are as follows:

2001: Angelwind publishes ‘Shadow of a New Dawn.’ Here, Amy is home, alone, trying to process the events of SA2. She is haunted by the memory of Shadow. Then, out of the dark, he appears. Shadow has come to tell her thank you… and goodbye. Amy convinces him to live, talking him through the night until dawn. In the end, Amy, trying to get Shadow out of his dark thoughts and also get him used to the idea of living, offers to take him on her shopping errands. As they run towards the market, Shadow decides that, now that the Earth is safe, his next mission is to keep Amy Rose safe, and in his own way, he’s happy that he has a choice in making that decision.

2003: Nara- Mia published ‘Cry.’ Amy finds a Shadow who has survived their fall and finds themselves adrift. They should be dead by now, and they aren’t. Where could they possibly go from here? Amy has no answers, but, as always, she has an immense amount of kindness and hope to share. The piece ends with her offering Shadow a place to stay, and the two setting off together.

There’s… a lot that goes on when it comes to the representation of these two characters, both on the official side and the fandom side. Even now, as I write this, people are arguing over the characterization of both these beloved hedgehogs. I find though, in reading both of these, a certain delight. Many of the traits ShadAmy fans give to both Amy and Shadow are found here, in these two works. It’s been over a decade since their publications, but frankly, I cannot tell the difference between these and some of the current works being published on A03.

Funny how some things just keep coming back around.

As a departing thought, please note- this is just off of what we were able to find. Many people, for many different reasons, delete or have had their work expunged from databases. It is entirely possible there were other examples, maybe even older examples than 2005, where we would have found Shadow using ‘Rose,’ or even Amy just choosing to go by the name, ‘Rose.’ If there were, they are lost to time, and now, it is a truth held only between the writer and the quiet hum of the universe.

To you out there who make art- you who write and draw and dance and sing and film and edit and make music with your heart on your sleeve- please know your work has value. It makes an impact, it matters, even if you never see how <3

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kiull90

6 months ago