>>536698020
>"Hote headed" and "stoic, introspective" are largely at odds with each other,
No they aren't.
Again, SONC is cool-headed. Knuckles, his opposite, is hot-headed.
SONIC is CHAOS. He's like a punk-rock rebel with an attitude and a short temper, he's known to be impulsive and impatient, he hates waiting. He leaps face first into danger without a second thought and with full confidence and thrill-seeking insanity. He is a wild, unstoppable force of nature, the embodiment of chaos itself!
And, beneath all of that, Sonic the Hedgehog is COOL. Sonic is cool and aloof. Chill and laidback. He's easygoing, and often likes to just kick back on the beach and enjoy the beauty of nature. He'll stop and smell the roses, and bask in freedom to live however he pleases. He's as detached and carefree as a Tibetan monk that has reached enlightenment, so it's rare for anything to actually phase him.
Knuckles is the opposite of all of this. So is Blaze. And thus, both Knuckles and Blaze are hot-headed. Knuckles may be introverted, stoic, duty-bound and very responsible. He will sit there at the Altar for as long as it takes, dedicate every waking moment to ensuring that his entire island is secure. He's a treasure hunter, exploring all the ancient ruins and deciphering their languages to uncover as much as he can about the distant past and where he came from. If Sonic is the wind, then Knuckles is the mountain...
A RED Mountain. Because when you set him off, Knuckles ERUPTS. Just as Sonic is always cool and calm in the face of danger, Knuckles is always boiling with ferocious aggression. He's always hyper-vigilant and on-edge, suspicious of anything or anyone even daring to breath in the same region as the Master Emerald. Where Sonic rarely takes anything seriously, Knuckles is rarely ever fooling around. He's not playing any games here. This is his sworn duty, and if you're gonna get in his way, you're getting a KNUCKLES SANDWICH straight to your SKULL.