#he still has the ultimate lifeform thing going on

[maareyas]

Not as comprehensive design-wise as Silver was, but here's my take on a merhog Shadow ✨ Still some sort of half-alien experiment, but now his Chaos energy is just plain old nuclear radiation.

An aggressive merhog who haunts the remains of a deep sea research facility after an explosion wiped it out. He's the only one who can survive being in the exclusion zone, so it's been difficult for him to find new friends. (and food, but he's surviving off the radiation well enough)

[heliianth]

i care! indulge in the urge

okay, i'm going to try being as brief as possible

the... disappointing "fast friends forever" bio got me thinking about shadows messy but effective character arc leading up to 06 and how the nature of it is like a recipe to get people bothered about the whole "shadow's motivations have to do with maria's wish and nothing else" thing. and i do have commentary on that and how it plays into how no one agrees on fucking anything except segas characterization being bad. but i guess i want to commentate more on Why everyone agrees on his arc being important to the point of being mad that it gets ignored, despite like a majority of it happening in shth05 which is extremely unpopular among shadow fans for supposedly being like the first omen of impending character degradation, i guess

i see a lot of sentiments by people, especially in context with how shadow is written nowadays, asserting that there's more nuance to shadow's arrogant attitude than it seems, usually with the conclusion that it's born out of some insecurity and that he's trying to compensate for something, which i suppose is a natural conclusion when it comes to why someone would act the way he does

i've personally gone on record saying that this character trait is the fundamental flaw making communicating and connecting with others on any meaningful level extremely difficult for him, because he others himself as wholly unique and unable to be understood: if he's above, then he's alone (i'm using present tense here because it's the appropriate way to talk about this sort of thing, but ill get to that later). i do think this is a character trait he has or had at some point but no one ever seems to identify what this insecurity is with any sort of confidence beyond headcanons, and thats what i want to talk about real quick

yeah yeah, i said i was gonna be brief but theres a readmore. whatever.

shadow is a character who is intimately concerned with his place in the world and how he affects it. it's appropriate for a character who was artificially created in a test tube to worry about his purpose of creation, and that artificiality lent to a sense of non-autonomy. in sa2, shadow is constantly relying on others to tell him what his identity, and thus purpose, is. it's a huge nuance that i don't see brought up enough that he remains totally dedicated to blowing up earth despite it being implied that he begins developing doubts both through the lyrics of rhythm & balance (white jungle):

(it's a popular interpretation that the person talking to shadow here is supposed to be maria, considering he hallucinates her voice multiple times during sa2. i personally think it also ties into his newfound and unwanted care for rouge—that he is dismissing maria who is reminding him of her wish for revenge because it's making him feel too conflicted with the mission of white jungle. which is to save rouge from the bomb)

and because he reflects on an encounter with maria during which he questions his purpose and creation directly afterwards, telling her that he wonders if going down to earth will yield answers. which lets the audience know pretty directly that he's starting to ask these questions again. but it doesnt do anything because shadow doesn't have an identity outside of what others want from him yet.

(i suppose i should mention that this aspect of his character is also conveyed through his japanese dialogue specifically using boku 僕 but i feel like that's been covered to death and i don't know enough about japanese)

obviously, when he finds out that his memories were fucked with and maria's wish was different, he immediately switches sides without a second thought. his "last words" are even a reference to what she wanted from him, and the trailer to the final story mentions wishes as well ("are wishes eternal?" iirc), so it's clearly a huge part of shadow and the themes of sa2 as a whole.

i think this can be extrapolated a little bit into the idea that shadow is someone who is deeply terrified of annihilation. appropriate for an immortal who was artificially created to serve a greater purpose. this is, at least imo, central to his character and the reason why he's so adverse to autonomy—it leaves room to be annihilated. if he's a tool for another person, then he will always exist as an extension of someone else.

this character trait persists in later games after they resurrect him from the dead, often coming up in the form of him trying to recover his memories. it's kind of a no-brainer for an amnesiac character to seek answers about their past but it continually reoccurs with shadow to the point of making him come across as obsessive. though this could be read as both heroes and shth05 retreading the same ground (and that is probably the case LOL) i think it's understandable considering a) he got genuinely no closure in heroes b) apparently he eventually remembers maria's death and it effects him enough to dwell on it, indicating that its still a source of trauma, c) it's pretty expected for a dude who doesn't know how to form his own identity

the reason i mentioned shth05 and its reputation among shadow fans is because its the game where this trait is actually addressed in a way i feel is meaningful and it's where lots of people get the idea that shadow has grown away from relying on maria's wish to make decisions. the game features multiple different factions essentially ordering shadow what to do, all resulting in him making some definitive conclusion about his purpose, creation, and identity. he doesn't really make a single decision for himself beyond trying to recover the past (which is just as much a search for external direction as doing whatever someone says) in this game and it's completely in character because he's never really... done that. before. even his inclusion in team dark was rouge's decision. he talks big shit in this game about nobody telling him what to do but, like, actions speak louder than words do, man. someone should tell him that.

obviously we know the conclusion and its notable that the canonical ending of the game is vague in what route shadow took and any single choice always conflicts with dialogue, indicating that he didn't follow any route and that his decision to move on from his past was made after actually spending time not being a vessel for someone else's desires

i want to note that its really cool that the shadow android and the black arms hivemind stuff can be read as kind of a representation of annihilation—that shadow isn't unique, hes just another face in an identical crowd, not notable in any significant way. it's also worth pointing out that both of these situations land him under direct control of another person (eggman and black doom respectively) and that despite his lack of autonomy he takes issue with the androids and the black arms probably because he feels like he wouldn't be able to differentiate himself among a whole army. i have a suspicion that if he was approached individually and treated like he was special for being chosen to do a task, he would be much more compliant. which actually is kind of what happens in the dark routes when black doom retraumatizes him with images of the ark.

so uh. conclusion? shadow has learned how to be a person and sometimes acts like an arrogant cunt because he still hasn't unlearned his fear of annihilation, which requires making himself unique and unignorable. and we all know how much shadow bulldozes right over shit when he thinks its necessary.

i admit i dont know how to end this succinctly. its just interesting that shth05 is regarded as one of shadow's worst outings when its, like, the only game that really addresses what i would consider The Root Fundamental Flaw™ that is the source of all his other flaws in any meaningful way. it wouldve benefitted pretty heavily from a more cohesive story, yeah, and to say the execution left something to be desired would be an understatement. but it's centrality to shadow and who he is by the end of his arc (06) and how he should be written now is kind of unignorable and thats manifested in all of the (rightful) outrage over sega not allowing him to separate motivation from maria anymore. Despite the flack shth05 gets for mischaracterization

didnt quite intend for this to come across as defending shth05 as vehemently as it does, but. well. its just something i noticed! and i had lots to say!

[nyashykyunnie]

˗ˏˋ Sung Jinwoo x Terminally ill Reader ◛⑅·˚ ༘ ♡

ₓ˚. ୭ ˚○◦˚𝕊𝕦𝕟𝕘 𝕁𝕚𝕟𝕨𝕠𝕠˚◦○˚ ୧ .˚ₓ

‼️[ TW: Terminal Illness, Angst to Fluff, Solo Leveling Spoilers ]

‧₊˚ ☁️⋅ Part 2 || Part 1 ♡𓂃 ࣪ ִֶָ☾.

╰┈➤ ❝ [ We'll Try This Again, Begin Again with Zero. But This Time? I'm Never Letting You Go. ] ¡! ❞

Living felt more like a punishment more than anything. The pain he goes through starts feeling more and more deserving in his eyes. He was pushing himself to the limits when he shouldn't, he's punishing himself over a sin that wasn't really his fault.

But if anyone tells him that, he wouldn't look back at them. He would ignore their concerns.

He has a duty to uphold anyway, a duty that only he can do as a monarch.

Jinwoo has ultimately grown to be a vessel of war thanks to the system.

He didn't really care much, he already placed insurance to his name if anything happens to him.

When he's gone, his remaining family would atleast live off of something.

He has already watched his father die too thanks to the godforsaken monarchs.

What more can he loose?

Over and over again, he puts himself in the battlefield, exhausting himself on purpose, never even sleeping nor eating.

He was just fighting like a dog.

Well, dog's get much more care than what he does to himself, so does it really count?

It doesn't matte,r Jinwoo physically cannot be exhausted.

But mentally? It's a different story.

He wasn't really depressed, at least, that's what he tells himself.

He really felt numb, not exactly sad, not exactly happy either. It's as if his emotions lie in the middle.

Jinwoo felt hollow, completely hollow.

As if he were merely nothing more than a puppet in war.

The only thing that really urges him to move forward is the distant sound of his beloved's voice in the back of his head.

And soon, after he had finally murdered the Monarch of Destruction— He would be granted a wish.

Battered and tired while on the floor, he thought of what he could possibly ask from the rulers.

Thought of?

No, Jinwoo already knew what he wanted.

It was to turn back time.

To meet old friends again, to stop the gates from opening, to have his family whole again

,... To meet you again.

Yes. That's right. All of this was for you anyway.

Jinwoo recalls that memory very clearly, how you were still in the hospital bed and you two were playing a game of cards while he tells you about how he plans to be a hunter soon.

Your words were quite cute really: "I hope Woowoo becomes a really strong man!"

Those silly, innocent words of yours.

Up to this day, he still smiles lovingly whenever he remembers that.

He became this strong not just for himself and his family who needs him, but for you, the brave little soul who endured that illness—

Jinwoo fought for you

And since he is given the opportunity to correct the past, he requiested for time to be rewinded.

Right then and there, a brilliant flash of white would engulf the earth, bathing it in all it's glory. eradicating all traces of the lifeforms and shadows there is to this pathetic universe. For once in a million years, the earth was beautiful again. It looked like a star gleaming along with countless others.

Soon, Jinwoo would wake up to the sound of his baby sister's calling. Jinwoo would sit up, gently smiling at her.

It took a while for everything to sink in, for everything for him to realize that this? All of this was reality.

How badly he wanted to find you in the time he spent, for just a few weeks, he enjoyed being a child again.

Laughing with friends, screaming at others for a vanguard or healer in the pc cafe— He wanted to find you in an instant. But not right now.

He took care of some stuff first.

Your illness wont awaken until then after all.

27 years, he spent time in that goddamn dimensional crack fighting monarchs and all that crap.

When he was done, he finally came home.

Just as he set foot back in earth again, he went straight to the hospital.

April 9th of spring, where the pink petals bloomed and flew around the air— This beautiful but tragic day.

Was the first time you had collapsed and coughed out blood.

It started with your lungs, to your kidneys, to your heart, to everywhere.

You had metastatic cancer.

Coughing up blood was only the start.

And Jinwoo had come home just in time.

He didn't even ask for directions, he just went straight to your hospital room.

He knew this godforsaken place better than the doctors and nurses himself after all.

As he pried open the door, there you were, resting on the bed staring absentmindedly at the pink trees outside your window. When yopu heard the sound of the door, you turned your attention to Jinwoo.

Dazzling and innocent eyes, just as he remembers. Your youthful face, free of any sign of wrinkles. Still chubby and plump that he wanted to just kiss your cheeks all over.

As you called out his name, Jinwoo marched over and embraced you tightly.

"I'm sorry, it took me a while" Jinwoo whispers ever so lovingly as he rubs the b ack of your head affectionately.

You were confused at first, wondering why your best friend is acting all cuddly and sappy when he totally did not disappear off of the face of the earth and come out of nowhere like some sort of boogey man. But regardless, you can't help but notice the traces of tears about to break from lovely grey eyes.

When you reached over to touch his face, his voice broke and he started crying almost instantly.

Panicked and confused, you pulled him to a tight hug.

Jinwoo was crying, and in his tears and broken voice you could hear the amount of anguish he had been bottling up, the brokenness in his heart finally being revealed in the open for you to hear and see. It felt as if Jinwoo was carrying a hundred years worth of burden. And you could do nothing more than to soothe him.

"I'm sorry... Ditching you out of nowhere and acting like a sappy pup wo got kicked" He chokes as he chuckles gently, "I promise, promise, that I won't leave you like that anymore. Just trust me, okay? Here, drink this."

He hands you a weird fantasy-potion thing with red liquid inside. You wanted to deny him of it but Jinwoo stubbornly insisted upon it, as if your life depended on it.

Well, tehnically speaking, it did depended on that potion.

After making sure you gulped down every single drop of the crimson liquid, Jinwoo pressed his forehead against yours.

Mumbling ever so sweetly; "Let's do this again, okay? You and me, goofing around. I'll let you eat as much sweets as you like, I'll show a lot of pretty things. Don't worry about anything else, Woowoo will take care of it."

Somehow, you felt that Jinwoo meant that on a deeper level. You felt like right now, what in front of you wasn't just anyone else, but someone ready to lay down their life for your sake. The person in front of you, you felt as if he was going to follow you to the ends of the earth to the stars above your heads. Somehow, it feels as if his words was a promise that he would follow you wherever you go.

He already lost you once, damned will he be if that happens again.

[melonthesprigatito]

I still think that Kirby and the Forgotten Land had one of thd funniest pre-release periods purely because of how the Kirby Fandom has trust issues about adorable innocent looking creatures.

Everyone was INSTANTLY suspicious of Elfilin, and there was constant memes and predictions about how he was secretly evil and was totally going to betray Kirby and turn into an eldritch demon god abomination nightmare horror that would be the final boss.

I just crack up thinking about how confused the non Kirby fans or people who don't know much about Kirby were, watching the Kirby side of the internet being terrified of a flying green chinchilla.

This was my contribution to the Elfilin Distrust

The funniest thing was, despite the arguing and debating about whether or not Elfilin would betray Kirby and turn into the horrifying scarring final boss, when the game actually came out, everyone was both right and not right at the same time and nobody could have possibly predicted what ended up actually happening.

Elfilin isn't evil, he's just a normal friendly companion but also actually one half of a eldritch ALIEN demon god abomination nightmare horror and he ended up getting absorbed against his will by his other half to complete the Ultimate Lifeform and THAT was the final boss.

[lovelylivewirez]

Figured I should post this on it's own since @au-sonic-smackdown has already begun (but I kept forgetting so... a few days later it is lmao)

I'll take this as a chance to ramble a little about this AU as well- putting under the cut tho bc it's gonna get a bit long and is probably a bit disjointed lol

So Sonic in this AU is immortal, right? He's like a demigod kinda. But so are Shadow and Tails (Shadow being the Ultimate Lifeform and Tails being a kitsune). They live far into the future, long enough to meet Silver as a child and see him grow, and will live far longer still.

Sonic is a nomad and lives anywhere as long as it's off the grid. He doesn't like other people knowing of his immortality out of fear that it will be exploited somehow. Eggman Nega would eventually prove that fear true, and some of his scars are from encounters with him.

(Some scars are from his childhood, but the prominent one running down his torso and the one in his ear, as well as a few other big ones covered by bandages, are relatively recent. They're indicative of some of the ways he has died before, if you're willing to take a guess.)

Shadow has taken over the role as Mobius' current hero, at least in the eyes of the public, but Sonic has remained a hero of legend. Silver also does his fair share of hero-ing, too, and is constantly chasing after Nega and foiling his plans with Shadow's help. Sonic will come in and help often, but leaves just as quickly as he came, often remaining unseen.

Meanwhile, Tails uses his kitsune powers to appear as a regular fox and hide his status as immortal. He poses as a local mechanic in Onyx City (the city from Archie Sonic Universe's Silver Age arc, but like. A good future instead of a dystopia) and helps Shadow and Silver covertly with his advanced tech.

When he's not saving the world from impending doom, Sonic either wanders the world to find places to nap in, hangs out with Tails or Shadow, or is hunted down by Nega.

Sonic's immortality allows him to regenerate and come back whenever he dies. The Chaos Energy inside of him won't let him die, he just heals and comes back, but it often leaves a scar, especially if the injury is severe. It's left him with chronic pain and fatigue. He uses a cane he carved himself out of a stick, unless in werehog form, where he just walks on all fours instead.

As a werehog, he's extremely irritable and pretty feral, but since he can control when he transforms most of the time (except new moons), he avoids transforming unless the boost in strength is absolutely necessary.

He's gotten pretty attached to lots of old things that remind him of his friends. Even if those things have started to decay, he hoards them in secret burrows across the world and refuses to let them go. His memory is not the greatest and has gotten worse as he aged, so he holds onto things that remind him of his late friends to ensure they live on in some way.

Anyways, that's all I have for now. Go vote for your favorite Sonic in the smackdown!

[punkinspice]

Ok I feel like we don't often address the real tragedy of the ARK enough. This was a decades long government funded project where families lived. Where scientists were told that this was a safe place to come and figure out how to better humanity. Shadow himself was ultimately created to be a cure for disease and possibly immortality. To help bring hope to Earth!

There's also a high chance that GUN had secretly assigned certain scientists, Gerald included, to make the Ultimate Lifeform or rather the Ultimate Weapon because yeah sure, fear of the Black Arms for when they invade, but also probably more to control humanity if needed.

The invasion of the ARK is horrible in that everyone on that spaceship was executed, minus the small handful of survivors, but honestly to me, watching Maria die in front of him isn't the most tragic part about Shadow's experience. Who knows how long it was before he was captured by GUN after Maria sent him down to Earth. Maybe a few hours? maybe a day or two tops?

Shadow was captured by those who wanted him made, experimented on him against his will, Gerald snapped and messed with his brain and altered his memories to the point of becoming that Ultimate Weapon and exacting someone else's revenge on humanity. and then GUN called it all off, executed Gerald, and now without having a way to dispose of Shadow, locked him away in cryo-sleep for 50 years. (but they also kept him as a fail safe to be the Ultimate Weapon when needed)

When Shadow is awakened by Eggman, these things are still very fresh on his mind. To him this has all happened to him like it was yesterday. He didn't have the time or space to process all that had actually happened to him and it more than explains the actions he was doing the whole of SA2. And considering everything that he was going through, the fact that he was able to forgive at the end and undo and overcome the wrong he began to instigate in the first place? It really speaks to the true character of Shadow.

And honestly I could go on on how the rest of the series and Shadow's character arcs have been on his grieving process and that yeah, you do have a lot of set backs and there's probably still so much of that old programming and memories that Gerald messed with that I think he's still trying to sort out how much of it was true or not.

There's just.... so much there...

[mama-qwerty]

a curious question I want to ask you, what do you think of a au where Eclipse was raised alongside Shadow and Maria on the Ark and Eclipse's creation was sort of a power balance between the ultimate lifeform in Project Shadow also what do you think of the sibling dynamic with Maria, Shadow and Eclipse be like?

Oh, that's an interesting question.

I could see Eclipse being the weapon Black Doom wanted Gerald to make in the first place. Maybe the Black Arms scientists don't have an adequate 'imagination' to create a bio-weapon, so BD enlisted the help of Gerald to do so. Gerald used full strength Black Arms DNA to create Eclipse, and the darkling is essentially exactly what BD wanted in Shadow.

Shadow, however, was Gerald's pet project. He snuck a teeny bit of Black Arms DNA and merged it with the DNA from a quill he found on one of his off-world expeditions, and ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, Shadow was born. He was meant to be Maria's protector, her savior, her emotional support animal. And he performed exactly as Gerald wanted. The unlimited chaos energy and other powers were secondary and a little unexpected, honestly.

Shadow and Maria are thick and thieves, always together and learning and snuggling and sharing an emotional bond stronger than any Gerald had seen before. He's so pleased with himself for Shadow's success.

Eclipse . . . doesn't understand it. Black Arms are not known for their emotional attachments, or their need for connection past the hive mind link that delivers orders. But Eclipse doesn't have a hive mind link. He's separated enough from the Comet that he hasn't connected to it, and thus, is alone. Gerald makes sure to keep him separated from Shadow and the rest of the Ark, because he's a product created specifically for BD. And maybe Gerald's having a little moral dilemma for creating something that could pose a threat to Earth and everything he holds dear.

So Eclipse spends his days alone in the lab. Enduring test after test. He watches the comings and goings, but ultimately doesn't know how to feel regarding all this.

And maybe Maria and Shadow sneak into the lab one night, after everyone else has gone to bed. And they sit before Eclipse's tank. Maybe Shadow can hear Eclipse's thoughts, and tries to reach out to him, let him know he's not alone.

And Eclipse's eyes snap open at the first feel of Shadow's thoughts in his mind. The two stare at each other, sending messages back and forth, while Maria looks on, keeping watch to make sure they're not caught.

Maybe this becomes a nightly ritual for them, and soon the all become closer. Maria and Shadow reach out to Eclipse, trying to include him in games and fun things. As much as they can, anyway.

And Eclipse starts to understand this connection. This need for companionship. This desire to form bonds with others.

And the three become close.

Then Black Doom arrives to retrieve his weapon.

Gerald tries to buy time. "It's not ready," he claims. "I'm still running tests." BD doesn't buy it and orders his warriors to attack, to take that which he deemed created in his name. The Ark is overrun. Maria and Shadow try to get Eclipse out of there, but they can't. Maria is injured, and Shadow drags her to the escape pod. She shoves him in instead, insisting that he's the only one who can stop the Black Arms, should they get to Earth. She sends him away.

Eclipse finds Maria as she's hidden herself in a dark corner. She's fading, and he sits with her as she draws her last breath.

Eclipse looks toward the chute where Shadow's pod was ejected. The warriors are coming. He gently lays Maria down, and leaps through the ejection tube, heading down to Earth to find his brother.

[hajihiko]

man. thinking abt how some of fuyuhiko’s worst nightmares are probably of hajime dying without him. waking up in the middle of the night shaking and on the verge of falling apart and stumbling to hajimes room to confirm that he really is still there and it was just a dream

Oh you super got me with this thanks anon ❤

warning: like, vague gore??

Fuyuhiko actually mentions that there is "nothing left" of Peko. If he was conscious after his eye loss- which I imagine he was, although in shock, since he has good pain tolerance and has previously lost the same eye- then he actually had to live the person he loved most getting hacked to pieces right on top of him.

And yeah, that'll fuck with a guy. He's never been safe in his life, his sister whom he was close with was murdered and rumoured to be assaulted, his childhood love died on top of him, protecting him.

His new, first, and best friend is the ultimate lifeform who was experimented on to the point of mind breakage, who is still being actively looked for, while they're all the world's no.1 enemies- christ, the stress. He is so loyal to the people he loves and if he loses another one he simply won't deal. He is careless with his life from moment one in the game, if things go wrong, he's out.

[skywriter97]

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic

A ShadowxAurora One Shot

Shadow never meant to keep it. With the limited space in his apartment, a piano wasn't exactly practical. But he'd seen it sitting on the street while on a run, a pathetic little spinet that apparently wasn't worth the effort for repair according to the owner, so it sat in wait for the dump truck.

Omega thought he was nuts when Shadow had used Chaos Control to transport the piano into the apartment, and perhaps he was. The instrument had definitely seen better days, and it would take more than a simple tune up to get it in pristine condition again.

That didn't stop Shadow from shoving the spinet against the wall between his mattress and the front door and then going out to purchase the necessary items for piano repairs.

The spinet became Shadow's passion project over the next several weeks. Any spare moment between his mercenary work with Omega and dates with Aurora, Shadow could be found with the spinet piano, painstakingly doting over the instrument to set it to rights again.

"You never told me you can fix instruments." Aurora had noted once, sitting on the little bench with her legs swinging while half of Shadow's body was inside the back of the spinet.

"Never came up." Shadow had grunted.

"Where'd you learn?" She'd pressed.

Shadow had shrugged. "I did a lot of things while off world, Light. Sometimes I was asked to fix things, and music is universal." Aurora had accepted that answer, and Shadow minutely relaxed.

No way he was EVER going to tell her that some aristocrat across the galaxy had taken fancy to him and tried to get his attention by breaking her piano, just so he'd come and fix it. It was the fastest he'd ever fled a planet. Omega still hadn't let him live it down.

The plan for the spinet once he'd finished repairs was simple enough: take it to the resale shop and get a decent sum of cash for it. He'd contacted the shop, gotten a good offer, and was set to deliver and receive his rings, but when he arrived and saw the buyer...a mother and son duo, the latter whom was whining about how much he HATED piano lessons and was currently and carelessly swinging a baseball bat around in his fit....Shadow took his piano and left.

No way was Shadow going to let all his hard work repairing his baby go to waste on some ungrateful brat that lacked basic appreciation. So, the little spinet piano became a permanent fixture in his apartment.

Shadow had never considered himself a musician of any sort. He was a warrior, a mercenary, the Ultimate Lifeform, a guardian. Music...required a certain softness that Shadow, with all his broken pieces and jagged edges, simply did not possess. But, somehow, that didn't matter. Sitting at his little spinet, gingerly filling his apartment with the soft tones of the classics centered him with a kind of peace he rarely ever achieved...with one exception. When he played, Shadow could pretend that was all there was. Just him and his spinet, creating something beautiful together. It was almost magical, if he believed in such a thing.

Shadow huffed a quiet chuckle, gently resting his hand atop the keys but not pressing down, his thoughts drifting towards the other almost-magical thing in his life. Honestly, if it magic was a thing, Shadow could believe it, because of her. The way she pranced through life, with such light and arms wide open, eager and excited for whatever came her way...could anything else but magical describe his precious Light?

Almost without his command, his fingers gently drifted across the spinet's keys, a delicate melody that swirled and danced through the air. Shadow sighed.

"Though I tried before to tell her

Of the feelings I have for her

In my heart.

Every time that I come near her

I just lose my nerve as I've done

From the start."

How many times has Shadow looked into those emerald eyes, seen that smile, and choked? It was three simple words, why was it so difficult? He's made peace with the past, hasn't he?

"Every little thing she does is magic

Everything she does just turns me on.

Even though my life before was tragic

Now I know my love for her goes on."

A sniffle behind him had Shadow whirling around, Chaos Spear halfway formed in his hand and a snarl on his muzzle, when those same piercing emerald eyes damp with tears stopped him dead. Shadow gulped, his ears flattening against his head. Damn. How long had she- Shadow made get up, averting his eyes as embarrassment colored his cheeks rosy red.

And then she's right there, pushing him back down on the bench with pleas of "Please don't stop, don't mind me-," and she's still looking at him with those eyes, pleading and wet, her body pressed tight against his side, lips protruding in the most pitiful pout...

Chaos, he was screwed, wasn't he?

Shadow sighed and tapped her nose with his finger. "You will say nothing to anyone about this." He commanded, and tried to ignore how distracting that beaming smile was in order to return to the piano. He gulped, frozen with his fingers in position. He knew his voice was not what anyone would call gifted, hers was so much better, and he chanced a glance down to his shoulder where she'd laid her head. She smiled at him again, eager and encouraging, and Shadow gulped and resumed playing.

"Do I have to tell the story

Of a thousand rainy days

SInce we first met?

It's a big enough umbrella

But it's always me

That ends up getting wet.

Every little thing she does is magic

Everything she does just turns me on.

Even though my life before was tragic

Now I know my love for her goes on."

Shadow rested his cheek against the top of her head, mindful of the short grouping of quills that acted as bangs, closing his eyes momentarily and just breathing.

"I resolve to call her up

A thousand times a day

And ask her if she'll marry me

In some old fashioned way.

But my silent fears have gripped me

Long before I reach the phone.

Long before my tongue has tripped me

Must I always be alone?"

Her arms squeezed him gently, reassuringly, around his middle, and he pressed a kiss to her head in response, smiling at the growing damp spot on his shoulder.

"Every little thing she does is magic,

Everything she does just turns me on.

Even though my life before was tragic

Now I know my love for her goes on,"

Shadow dropped one hand from the piano and cupped Aurora's cheek, tilting her chin up to look into her eyes, shining with light and joy, and he knew his words wouldn't fail him this time. He smiled at her and leaned his forehead on hers.

"Every little thing you do is magic

Everything you do just turns me on.

Even though my life before was tragic

Know that my love for you goes on."

Shadow ended the song with a soft kiss to her lips, sealing his declaration of devotion with all the love and passion and dedication he had in his heart in the best way he knew how. Words always failed him, but somehow, in this moment, it didn't matter. Aurora wept through his kiss, and he smiled as they parted, a quirk of his mouth so gentle and loving that only she would ever get to see it.

Aurora pounced on him a single moment later, using her own gift of speed to press kiss after kiss on his lips, face, head, everywhere she could reach, glowing so brightly and joyfully exclaiming "I love you"s between kisses. Shadow briefly wondered how she wasn't suffocating before dismissing the thought and basking in their shared love, trading her kisses and words with ones of his own. It didn't matter anyway.

Every little thing she did was magic, after all.

[princelylove]

Thank you a lot for the ranking yandere of the Jofoe, I agree with you on that although I quite suprised that Kars end up being the most dangerous (I thought Dio would be more much dangerous, the way he charm everyone he meet and manipulate them to serve him)

Btw are you still write nsfw request? I hope you don't mind I request it, I would love to know how the first time of Jotaro, Noriaki, Dio with their darling (you can write about your fav character too :>). Like how they prepare for it, how they feel to be their darling's first time, aftercare ?

~ 🏵️ anon ~

What DIO views as “They’ll come around, they always do,” Kars views as “You are my possession from the beginning and you must submit.” Kars is the ultimate lifeform- without his invention of the mask, there is no DIO. When I think of DIO, no matter his age, I always think of the little boy who wanted nothing but love. When I think of Kars, I think of how he left Santana behind. Kars has no issue treating you as something like a prized possession, but to DIO, you’re his everything. Kars doesn’t want worship or something as silly as love, he wants to be amused. 

You happened to choose three characters that I tend to view as dominant/enjoy topping, so I threw in some submissive ones, for variety. 

Jotaro has no idea what he’s doing. He has no idea what lube is, no idea what aftercare is, no idea what foreplay is- he got all of his sex education from a half assed (Sorry, Holly.) ‘talk’ from his mother, watered down into childish language. He knows he’s supposed to put himself inside you, or something, but he’s… not really sure how it’s going to do that. Jotaro avoids sex for as long as possible- he’s not about to embarrass himself in front of the only person he wants an opinion from. Eventually, when he thinks the time is right (After he watches enough porn to “study”), he’ll work up the nerve to tell you that he expects sex from you. He has a bit of a fetish for you being a virgin. He views it as “pure,” and it plays into his delusion that his darling is the most innocent thing ever and will decay if he stops watching them for a single second. You’re precious, and he’s defiling you… The very thought is enough to rile him up. He treats his darling delicately afterwards, but that's sort of a given considering how fragile he treats you normally.

Noriaki has eased his darling into being ‘comfortable’ with at least foreplay, why not just go all the way? He normally gets his sadistic fantasies out of his system with little sessions- Hierophant Green ties you up and hangs you from the ceiling, and Noriaki tries absolutely everything he’s ever wanted to do, besides from penetration. He hasn’t really thought about it, but one day while toying with you, it occurs to him that he could’ve been doing that this entire time. You’re already bound so nicely for him, it’s such a waste to not at least try it. He supposes he would say he’s only curious- he’s fooled around with people before (If you count flirting and getting disgusted because they don’t meet his standards), but real, ‘proper’ sex has never been something he was very interested in. There’s a first time for everything. Noriaki doesn’t mind your lack of experience, he finds it cute. If you do have experience… it’s generally the smart move to not tell a possessive type that you let someone else see you in that way. 

DIO is surprisingly patient with his darling. Sex isn’t everything in a relationship, and he doesn’t want you to just see him as a sexual partner- having it too early can lead to expectations that, although he’d happily fulfil in the right mood, leave a bad taste in DIO’s mouth. He isn’t just a body or cold hands to keep you happy at night. He waits for you to make the suggestion, and focuses on your pleasure, for the time being. DIO’s fairly happy to service you- he thinks that if he pleases you enough, you’ll start to care about pleasing him. It’s only fair, isn’t it? He normally takes a dominant role in sex, touching him is only to boost his ego or to hold on for dear life. He thinks it’s the natural order of things, and will outright refuse you if you suggest that you want to only focus on getting him off. Don’t be silly, pet. Let him take care of you. His pleasure is brought on by your pleasure, he tells you. But, should you take the lead in kissing, or get as handsy with him as he’s been craving… well. DIO loves special treatment, just don’t make him beg for it, since he is actually opposed to pleading for his own darling’s touch, and he’ll roll onto his back nicely for you. As long as you’re not seeking sexual attention from someone else, DIO is willing to put aside how he feels about you having another in your past. First or not, he’s your eternity. You’re very well taken care of. Any aches or bruises are kissed better, and possibly massaged. If your hips ache too much, he’ll have a devotee carry you where you need to be, should his hands be busy elsewhere. 

Holly considers sex to be part of her marital duties. She’s supposed to let you have her, right? You can do whatever you want, she won’t complain, as long as you keep telling her you love her. Holly wants your first time to be after you’re officially married- which, to Holly, you already are. What’s in the past doesn't matter, she’ll guide you through how to touch her if you need it, and is a little bit too eager to make you forget about anyone that isn’t your wife. Asking for “aftercare” is not at all necessary, did you think she’d leave you all alone after working so hard? Take out your stress on her, get a little rough or go as slowly as you want, as long as you’re happy, Holly will take it. If you’re not in the mood, that’s fine… but she’ll think she did something wrong, and go sulk in another room for a few hours. It’s better to just get a little cardio done for the day and tire her out, maybe you’ll have some privacy if she falls asleep right after. 

Trish will beg you to fuck her. She does absolutely everything she can think of to get you to make a move on her. She’ll put her legs up on your lap when you’re sitting next to her- looook, she just shaved, feel. She said feel. She’ll only wear miniskirts and keep bending forward in front of you because she's “looking for something.” If none of her hints work, she’ll get on top of you, and tell you to do it. She may have matured a lot, but she’s still bossy. Just not during sex. It’s embarrassing- she seriously has to tell you? You should just automatically know when she wants it and how she wants it and to call her pretty and gorgeous and give her soooo many compliments and kiss her everywhere and you get my point. Trish will do absolutely no work, she fully expects her darling to do absolutely everything, and often forgets that you need love after too.

[fernsnailz]

Question for the Team Dark specialist: why are Shadow and Omega friends? Did Omega bond with Shadow while looking after him in Heroes, and Shadow just let Omega stick around?

nah, they honestly didn't bond that much in heroes and it's not a situation where omega was "allowed" to stick around - neither shadow or omega have any desire to control what the other one does, they're both independent spirits with their own goals that seem to keep getting intertwined. i don't even think either of them would describe their relationship as a friendship, at lest not in their current forms.

i think the thing that consistently brings shadow and omega together are their similarities and the respect they have for one another. both always have something to prove - they're both creations of a specific purpose, shadow as the ultimate lifeform and omega as a killing machine, and every action they take has to validate the reason they were created. shadow has to prove that every death in his past and every mistake he made wasn't all for nothing, and omega has to prove that eggman threw away his greatest and most powerful creation.

the thing is though, these are not things they need to prove to each other. they already know and understand the power that the other has, and they treat each other as equals because of it. it's just a simple truth to them - they work together so well because they trust that the other's identity is true, even if they're still trying to prove their own. and neither mind that sometimes they have to go their separate ways, because they both understand they have vastly different goals with their lives.

i think they also just like. enjoy creating absolute carnage with each other. like if no one else is around to stop them then there's just gonna be an endless cycle of destruction with these two because they'll keep enabling the other. and i think thats great for them <3 my beautiful artificial beings who love to kill and are also besties (but dont know how to say it) <333

[sonic-fankid-showdown]

Poll 24, Round 1.

About Ebony: (by @idrptr3) Ebony is a very kind and joyful child, although due to the shape of his eyes, he seems to look angry, which confuses others He's not the fastest creature in the world, but he's pretty strong. He wields large claws with crushing power, fueled by his energy and uses a lot of other sharp things He usually spends his time with his parents and friends or going on adventures with them. He still has a lot to grow up and learn!

About Castor: (by @spiritofrainbursts) Created to be the next Ultimate Lifeform before being rescued by the Chaotix Detective agency, Castor is the mysterious, charming, aroace trans son of the renowned Sonic and Shadow Niclaw, as well as the eventual father of none other than Silver Niclaw, who can use his powers of Oneriokinisis to cast your dreams into reality or help you traverse your worst nightmares not too unlike a certain ram or nightmaren who reside within in the dream realm.

[wubbowrites]

how to get over your feelings for that stupid blue hedgehog

Fandom: Sonic the Hedgehog

Relationship: Sonic/Shadow

Rating: General Audience

Warnings: none!

AO3 Link

A step-by-step guide for ultimate lifeforms.

—

(1) Wake up at exactly 6am.

(2) Go to the kitchen to have breakfast. You won’t want to eat so early, but your roommate’s voice in your head will tell you to. Take the bag of loose coffee beans out from the cupboard to snack on while you make toast, an egg, or some other food.

(3) Don’t think about what you would make if he was here with you.

(1) Wake up at exactly 6am.

(2) Go to the kitchen to have breakfast. You won’t want to eat so early, but your roommate’s voice in your head will tell you to. Take the bag of loose coffee beans out from the cupboard to snack on while you make toast, an egg, or some other food.

(3) Don’t think about what you would make if he was here with you. Pretend you don’t care what he likes for breakfast. Pretend you don’t already know that he likes blueberry pancakes, or cold leftover pizza.

(4) Check the living room. If your roommate left a mess from the night before, tidy it up. You don’t usually clean up her messes, but you can’t stand living in a cluttered home. It’s unnatural to you. So make this exception.

(5) If your roommate is not asleep in her room, check your phone. You don’t like using your phone, because it has too many apps on it that you barely know how to use, but check it anyway. You will likely have a text from her with a selfie, where the background will only vaguely reveal where she’s conducting her latest heist. Send her confirmation that you’ve seen it — a thumbs up emoticon or an “Ok.” will do, even if she teases you about your choice later.

(6) Shower. If you get caught up in your thoughts, put on your classic rock playlist to ease them. If you catch yourself thinking of him, blast your heavy metal playlist at full volume so you can’t think at all.

(7) Put on your clothes. If your shoes have visible dirt, quickly polish them up. Don’t forget your inhibitor rings. You never have, but still make a point to remind yourself not to. Don’t take that risk.

(8) Leave the apartment. Go down the stairs, cross through Club Rouge, and exit the building out the back door. Fill the food and water bowls you keep out for the local stray cats.

(9) Don’t give any stray cats you see a name, because you can’t let yourself get too attached to them. Contemplate taking one in anyway.

(10) Run any errands for the day now so you don’t have to later. Shopping early in empty stores relaxes you, while shopping afternoons and evenings in crowded stores irritates you. If there are no errands to be done, go back into the apartment and find something to read for a few hours.

(11) In the late morning, you will likely be contacted by someone asking for your assistance. It might by someone from the Restoration. It might be the one of the detectives trying to follow up on a lead. It could be any number of things. Whether or not you decide you’re above helping them will depend on your mood that day. Except when the request is to watch a young rabbit while her mother is out of the house. That you cannot deny unless you have a damn good reason.

(12) Don’t hold hope in the back of your brain that he will reach out for your help too. Don’t admit that if he made the smallest request, you would fulfill it, even if you sighed and glared and grit your teeth the whole time.

(13) At midday, get lunch. Keep the apartment’s fridge stocked with easy meals in case you need to decompress there. If you need to keep moving instead, there are plenty of restaurants to go to on the way to your favorite forest spot. Pick something up from one of those and head there.

(14) Eat alone again. Spend some time staring out at the beautiful scenery. Think through anything you need to (it’s not brooding, no matter what anyone says).

(15) Find somewhere to train for the afternoon. Stay in the forest, or go to Club Rouge’s basement, or visit a gym. It doesn’t matter where you go, so long as there is somewhere to run, or something to hit. Somewhere empty is still preferable to somewhere crowded so you don’t get distracted. Theoretically.

(16) Theoretically, because wherever you choose, no matter how quiet or remote, he will somehow turn up. He always seems to know where you’re heading for this — like he can read your mind. Act as if that frustrates you.

(16) He’ll challenge you to a race, or to a fight. Try to deny him. Try to remain alone. Try to ignore the way his emerald eyes stare at you, fond and competitive. Fail.

(17) Have some of the most fun you’ve ever had. Even though you’ve given in to it so many times, letting off steam with him will never stop being the most fun you’ve ever had. It will seem better every time. Pretend it’s an imposition. Pretend that you’re glad to be rid of him when he finally prepares to leave, even though you will want to grab his arm and beg him for another challenge. Pretend that being alone again is a relief. Pretend until you almost believe it yourself.

(18) Reject his invitation to dinner and go right back to the apartment. Your roommate should be home by this time, unless her heist is particularly treacherous. She will likely suggest getting takeout, because she doesn’t care to cook. You can try to suggest where, but she’ll probably decide on her own anyway. She knows what’s good, though, so don’t get too annoyed about it.

(19) Eat with your roommate if she gives you space. Eat alone in your room if she asks too many questions, or pesters you about when you’re going to say something to him. She won’t take “never” as an answer, so it’s not worth the trouble.

(20) Don’t wish that you’d accepted his invitation to eat.

(21) Take time to truly unwind before bed. Finish your book, or rewatch that anime you like, or stare up at the ceiling and let yourself zone out. Go for a walk with your roommate, if she hasn’t been a pain.

(22) Don’t waste your final few hours of the day wondering how he’s spending his.

(23) Once the clock hits 11pm, go straight to bed. Fall asleep in a timely manner.

(24) Don’t notice the silence. Don’t fill the silence with your mind. Don’t think about him. Don’t think about him.

(25) Tell yourself that these feelings are a fluke. Tell yourself they’ll fade over time. Try to forget that they haven’t faded since you discovered them months ago. Try to forget that the feelings probably started way back when, on your second fall to Earth.

(26) Convince yourself that tomorrow will be the day you deal with it, once and for all. Don’t imagine what you might do to “deal with it”, because you really don’t know, but you know it must be done.

(27) Fall asleep.

.

.

.

(1) Wake up at exactly 6am.

(2) Go to the kitchen to have breakfast. Take the bag of loose coffee beans out from the cupboard to snack on while you make blueberry pancakes.

[drplantboss]

On Shadow working for G.U.N. and “Never Turn Back”

I’ve seen a lot of people criticizing the fact that Shadow works for G.U.N. at the time of Sonic ‘06. Most people have the argument that “G.U.N. is the organization that killed Maria!” Their logic is that he shouldn’t be willing to work for the organization that killed his best friend. I have a few problems with that take. 

The first is that it fundamentally isn’t the same organization. It’s been 50+ years since that happened, and the current head honcho of G.U.N. is someone who was also personally traumatized by Maria’s death. While the Commander and Shadow had their differences in Shadow the Hedgehog, that was mostly over a misunderstanding and those events aren’t even solidly canon. I personally perceive the first 10 endings of ShTH05 and the events that lead to them as all hypotheticals; only the final “true” ending actually happened. In that case, they may have never actually confronted each other initially. 

The other reason is because of what the entire arc Shadow underwent in his titular game achieved. Shadow learns not to dwell on the past. He learns that he needs to keep moving forward, and never turn back. This is not a covert theme, either; the ending theme of ShTH05 is literally the track “Never Turn Back” by Crush 40. It happens to be my favorite Sonic vocal track because this song just fits Shadow’s ending so perfectly here (plus it’s a banger). I recommend you listen to it yourself, but I’ll mention the relevant lyrics here. Let’s go through the first verses.

It's been a long, rough road

And I'm finally here

I move an inch forward

Feels like a year

Everything I feel seems so unreal

Is it true?

Is it true?

I take one step forward

And two steps back

Got a hundred thousand pounds

Sitting on my back

Up, down, all around

Don't know quite what to do

To get through

Shadow is burdened not just by the title of “Ultimate Lifeform” but also by his promise to Maria. All of this, combined with the fact that he only just rediscovered who and what he is, and the sledgehammer to the head that would be finding out you are a biological weapon and a tool that has been used to nefarious ends on multiple occasions would certainly feel like a hundred thousand pounds sitting on your back. This section signifies Shadow struggling with that responsibility — but he’s taking it on. He will help people, he will keep his promise to Maria, he will be the Ultimate Lifeform.

I guess I'm moving all right and I'm on my way

Facing every moment day by day

Take a chance, slip on by, got no time to answer why

Head straight, head straight

What will I become if I don't look back

Give myself a reason for this and that

I can learn, no U-turns, I will stay right here where I'm at, where I'm at

Shadow is starting to overcome some of that pressure. There’s still doubts as he makes the decision to keep moving forward without looking back — he asks, “What will I become if I don’t look back; give myself a reason for this and that.” He very quickly reaffirms the commitment in the next line, but it does show some doubt. At the end of the day, his past still defines who he is. His promise to Maria, his responsibility as a forceful individual still drive him forward and compel him to do the right thing. But the other aspects of his past he is choosing to leave behind.

Well I'm on my way

On my way

On my way

On my way

Here I am,

Made it to the end of you

Never had a chance while I'm around

No! No!

No, no, no, no!

Well, now I'll never turn back,

I'll never turn that way

No matter how life tries to face me

I'll turn the other way

Now and then,

My head starts to spin,

But I'll never turn back again

No! No!

From this moment on,

I am moving on,

And I'll never turn back

Again

The chorus is Shadow’s promise: a promise to himself, to Maria, and to the world. He will never turn back to the weaponized hatred that Gerald programmed into him. He will never turn back to the alien domination of a doomed species. He will never return to thinking he could be an android subservient to Dr. Eggman. From this moment on, he’s moving on. 

Shadow’s entire character in Sonic ‘06 is an affirmation of the development he underwent in his own game. Shadow has a static arc in ‘06; he doesn’t really change at all over the course of the game. However, in that iconic scene you’ve probably heard everyone and their mother talk about, he puts forward the exact attitude I’m talking about here.

“If the world chooses to become my enemy, I will fight like I always have.” Keep moving forward, never turn back.

Shadow views G.U.N. as a viable method of carrying out his goals — helping people — at the time of ‘06. 

I think this makes sense. If the organization has been reformed since the days of the raid on the ARK, then it’s probably one of the best resources for Shadow to use. Additionally, from within the organization he is far more aware of what they are doing, giving him advance warning if something nefarious is going on within such a powerful paramilitary establishment. 

By letting go of his hatred, he can work for the organization that killed Maria. After all, he saved the whole world when he was originally intent on wiping out humanity. If he can do that, I think he can probably work with an organization that only recently changed its mind about him. 

[krafterwrites]

Analyzing Every Shadow The Hedgehog (2005) Sequence Name

If you don’t know, there’s 326 possible ways you can play through the story mode of Shadow the Hedgehog, and all of these ways have names. In this post, I’m going to look at the name of every single one of these and see why they’re named that by looking at what happens in that specific sequence. You might be asking, why on Earth would I do this? Well, I don’t really have a reason, I just want to because the idea popped into my head one day. Anyways, let’s get into this post, which is definitely going to be insanely long

001: Punishment, Thy Name Is Ruin

This is the first path on the list, and also the darkest one that Shadow can take. In this route, Shadow works with Black Doom on every stage (Except for Cryptic Castle, where he works with Eggman). After completing the mission for Black Doom on the final level and defeating Sonic along with Diablon, Shadow obtains the final Chaos Emerald and proclaims that he was created to bring order and justice to the humans, then proceeds to say that he is going to destroy the planet. This ending’s name is relatively simple to explain, Shadow’s line about being made in order to bring justice to humans implies that he believes that humans are worthy of punishment. As the name states, that punishment is ruin, as in him bringing the planet to ruin by destroying it with the Chaos Emeralds

002: Prologue To World Conquest

This one is very simple. It goes the same as the last route up until the final level, where Shadow betrays Black Doom at the last moment. He then says that he is the ultimate lifeform, born to rule over all, and that he will use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to conquer the universe. That’s all there is to this one

003: The March To A Darker World

This is another rather simple one. In this route, Shadow works solely for the dark side up until the penultimate level, where he does the neutral mission instead. This leads to him going to the Black Comet as the final level, which he does the dark mission for. This leads to him gathering all of the Chaos Emeralds and proclaiming that he was created to protect and serve Black Doom, and that the world will become a dark empire, so the reason why this ending has its name is pretty obvious

004: The Ultimate Ego

This path is the same as last time, except Shadow chooses the hero mission while aboard the Black Comet instead of the dark one. This leads to him saying that he and only he knows what is best for himself before (Presumably) killing Eggman

005: Purification Via Ruination

Okay I’m going to be completely honest here, I’m not 100% sure of the meaning behind this name. This route involves Shadow doing the dark mission for every single level except for Central City, where he does the hero mission. Before the level begins, Black Doom tells Shadow that his past is filled with hatred for humans. Since the hero mission involves Shadow saving a lot of humans (By disarming bombs the Black Arms have planted all around the city), and since the ending is the same as Punishment, Thy Name Is Ruin, it makes me think that in this path Shadow thinks that there are some good humans instead of hating all of them. By destroying the planet, he thinks he’s purifying it (Via ruining it, just as the name says). His plan, or my theory, might have a few holes in it though since the planet being destroyed would kill literally everyone, maybe it would leave behind one or two GUN Soldiers on the ARK, but that’s it. There is another way to think of it, though. Maybe the thing that’s being purified is the wider universe, and by destroying the planet, he’s cleansing it of humans and their actions

006: Apogee Of Darkness

It’s here that I’m starting to realize that these sequence names mostly seem to be based on which of the 10 possible endings they end in, which makes this whole analysis less interesting. I’m still going to try though, although all of the stuff that I say will probably be huge reaches because I’m looking for meaning that probably does not exist. So in this sequence Shadow does dark missions for the first three stages, does the hero mission in Central City, and then does the dark mission for Air Fleet before finally arriving at the GUN Fortress and doing the hero mission. This sequence ends with Shadow proclaiming that he’s going to conquer the universe, just like Prologue To World Conquest. Apogee means the highest point of something, so this means that this sequence is supposedly the height of darkness for Shadow. This seemingly only refers to him conquering the universe (Which is indeed a very evil thing), since he does actually do a hero mission twice in this route, which would make it not be the darkest possible sequence

007: True Soldier Of Destruction

The pattern I noticed on the last post seemed to be accurate, as this name seems to refer mostly to the ending of this path, where Shadow says that he will become the minion of Black Doom and help him conquer the planet. Nothing else in the sequence, which has Shadow doing the dark missions for the first three levels, doing the hero mission for Central City, and doing the normal mission for Air Fleet before finally doing the dark mission for the Black Comet, seems to tie into this name. I feel like a lot of the explanations are going to be this, and I’m sorry for that since it’s probably kind of a let down, but even if my explanation every time is just “Yeah this name is just because of the ending of the sequence”, that’s still a lot of effort on my end considering I’m tackling over 300 sequences

008: Believe In Yourself

This one is mostly based on the ending, where Shadow proclaims that only he knows what is best for himself, but I think I can find a few crumbs from other levels as well. In this route, Shadow does dark missions for the first three levels, does the hero mission of Central City, and then the neutral mission for Air Fleet before doing the hero mission of the Black Comet which results in the aforementioned ending. This could show that Shadow was at first influenced by Black Doom and Eggman, but then decided to turn back from them and help out Knuckles (Possibly due to regret, or maybe he realized that working with the heroes could be better for him), and then when he arrives at the next stage and he has to decide if he wants to continue being heroic or defect back to the Black Arms, he decides to do neither and trust in only himself. This is most definitely a big reach, but I’m also probably putting more thought into this than whoever made the sequence names (Sorry to whoever made the sequence names, I’m thankful for your work)

009: An Android’s Determination

This is another one that’s entirely based on the ending. In this sequence, the final level is Lava Shelter, which Shadow does the dark mission for. This results in an ending where Shadow, believing that he is an android replica of the original Shadow, says that he will use the Chaos Emeralds to become even stronger than the original. That’s all I really need to say for this one, the reason behind its name is obvious

010: For Machine, By Machine...

This sequence is similar to the last one, as the ending of it still has Shadow believing that he is an android, although this time he does the hero mission, which results in him planning to use the Chaos Emeralds to take over the Eggman Empire and rule the world with machines. This is another obvious one, Shadow believes that he is a machine, and he wants to make a world for machines by conquering it with them (Sidenote: It feels like the neutral hero and neutral dark endings got swapped, it would have made way more since if you got the neutral dark ending by doing the hero mission at the end of a neutral route, and vice versa)

011: Revenge At Last

Like a few of the other sequences, Shadow claims that he will destroy the world with the power of the Chaos Emeralds to get revenge on humans. This one does have a bit more stuff to it, though, since Shadow does the dark mission for the level The Doom. The Doom is a flashback to the massacre on the ARK, and the dark mission involves Shadow killing all of the GUN forces in the level. This obviously shows that in this sequence, Shadow especially hates humans and badly wants revenge on them, which is obviously why this sequence has its name

012: Ego’s Awakening

This sequence is the same as the last one, except it ends with Shadow saying that he will conquer the universe instead of destroying the world. The Doom’s dark mission being present here ties into it a lot less than it does with Revenge At Last. In fact, I can’t really think of a way it ties in at all. The only meaning I can find behind this name is that Shadow’s ego is at its highest during the ending this sequence concludes with

013: Destruction And Scorn

Like a few others that have been mentioned so far, this one ends with Shadow saying that he will serve Black Doom and help him with his conquest. This sequence also has The Doom’s dark mission. The word scorn means belief that something is worthless or despicable, so this name makes a lot of sense, Shadow is helping Black Doom conquer/destroy the planet because of his hatred for humans

014: The Last Remaining Purpose

The name of this sequence is mostly based on the ending like all the others, but there is a bit of extra meaning that I can dig for. In this route, Shadow does the dark mission for the first two stages and works for Black Doom, and then chooses the neutral mission in the third level. The next level is The Doom, which he does the dark mission for, and then aboard the next level, The ARK, he does the neutral mission. Finally, he does the hero mission aboard the Black Comet which leads to the ending where he declares that only he knows what is best for himself. This specific path taken could be interpreted as Shadow starting off working for Black Doom, choosing to go through Cryptic Castle without helping anyone (Because the dark mission is Eggman in that level), and then reliving a version of the ARK massacre before heading to the current day ARK. The reason why Shadow chooses to take the neutral mission even though the dark mission is given by Black Doom could be because he doesn’t want to destroy what’s left of the ARK (Black Doom’s mission involves destroying the ARK’s defenses), and being requested to do this makes him realize that he doesn’t want to work for/Can’t trust Black Doom either. Since Black Doom was the only one he trusted initially, he decides that the last remaining thing for him to do is to simply trust in himself and nobody else. Or I could be looking way too far into this. Either one

015: The Nightmare’s Insulation

This sequence ends with Shadow saying that he is going to destroy the world with the Chaos Emeralds, although it also involves The Doom, specifically its neutral mission where Shadow and Maria simply try to escape as fast as possible. Because in this path, Shadow clearly hasn’t moved on from the incident aboard the ARK because of how willing he is to work with Black Doom, him destroying the planet could be seen as a flawed way of trying to make himself look better, since after that the only places he could live are alone on the ARK, or on the Black Comet with the Black Arms (I interpret him saying he’s going to destroy the planet as he’s going to literally break the entire planet, like it got shot by the Eclipse Cannon, not just destroying all the buildings on it and stuff). So, him destroying the planet is simply an insulation to the nightmare he’s going through, since it isn’t going to make things any better for him, especially in the long run

016: The Nightmare’s Sublimation

This sequence goes the same as the previous one, although it ends with Shadow saying that he’s going to conquer the universe instead of destroying the planet. The definition of sublimation (other than the chemistry meaning) is the act of expressing strong emotions or using energy by doing an activity or creating something. The name implies that Shadow is conquering the universe in an attempt to make himself feel better or occupy his mind, but like destroying the planet in the previous route, this isn’t actually going to help him

017: The Loner’s Choice

In this route, Shadow works with Black Doom for the first two missions, and then does neutral missions until the end where he chooses the dark mission, resulting in the ending where he decides to become Black Doom’s minion. That’s pretty much all there is for this one

018: Subjugation In Black

This route is the same as the previous one, except Shadow chooses to do the hero mission at the end instead, which leads to the ending where Shadow says that only he knows what is best for himself. Subjugation is the action of bringing someone or something under domination or control, so this name reflects that Shadow is bringing his own destiny under control through dark means (Like killing Eggman, which he does in this ending)

019: Replica’s Depression

In this route, Shadow goes through the level The Doom (A flashback to the ARK massacre) and then ends up at Lava Shelter, which he does the dark mission for. This leads to the ending where he believes he is an android and says he will use the emeralds to become even more powerful than the original. I’m going to stop saying “That’s pretty much all there is” whenever I’m done with my analysis for these sequences now, because I’ve already said that a lot and we’re only at 19 sequences out of 325, whenever I’ve said all that I have to say about the sequence I’ll just end the paragraph and move on

020: Machine, Machine

This is the same as the last one, except Shadow does the hero mission for Lava Shelter instead, causing him to declare that he will create an empire of androids. This is definitely one of the sequence names that’s only based on the ending, since I fail to see how it can fit into anything else that happens in the sequence

021: Disciple From The Darkness

This falls into the same category as the previous one, it’s solely based on the ending, where Shadow says that he was created to serve Black Doom

022: Beloved Clone

This is an interesting one, as it seems to not be based on the ending of the sequence at all. The one level and mission that seems to tie into this sequence’s name is the penultimate level of this sequence, Iron Jungle. In Iron Jungle, Shadow believes he is an android copy of the original, and does the dark mission where he works with Eggman. While he is doing this mission, Eggman acts affectionately towards Shadow, even saying “Those are more of my beloved androids, just like you!” when Shadow encounters Shadow Androids

023: Revenge Upon The Doctor

In this route, Shadow does the neutral route of Iron Jungle and then the dark mission of Lava Shelter, which results in an ending where he kills Eggman. Before he starts Lava Shelter, he also remarks “You’re going straight to the place you created me from!” and after starting Lava Shelter “You’re going straight to hell!”. This implies that Shadow believes he was created from hell, which would explain why he resents Eggman and wants to get revenge on him

024: The Ultimate Replica

This is another one with Iron Jungle and Lava Shelter, and you’d think that it would end with the neutral-dark ending (Where Shadow believes that he is an android and proclaims that he will use the power of the Chaos Emeralds to surpass the power of the original Shadow), but it’s actually the neutral-hero ending, where he says that he will create an empire of androids to rule over the planet. I think this name would have been far more fitting for the neutral-dark ending, but oh well. Also I’m going to stop explaining the endings now, it’s definitely already gotten repetitive, I’ll just use shorthand for the endings like the two names I used in this one

025: Sanction’s Demise

I’m like 90% sure that sanction means a safe place or something similar, but when I looked it up that definition did not appear. I’m going to stick with what I’m pretty sure the definition of it is though, since otherwise this name doesn’t really make sense. Also, I know I just said that I would use shorthand for all the endings, but the ending for this sequence is one that hasn’t showed up until this point, so I will explain it just once here. In this ending, where Shadow does the dark mission for Cosmic Fall, he decides to become the protector of the ARK (Which is actively falling apart, hence the name of the level) and spend the rest of his life there. Shadow’s chosen safe haven is dying around him, which is the reason behind the name of this sequence. Also, for future reference, the name of the ending for this sequence is semi-hero dark

026: Along With My Home

This sequence ends with Cosmic Fall like the last one, although Shadow does the hero mission for it instead of the dark mission. This results in a pretty grim ending (the semi-hero hero ending), where Shadow says that he should have never been created, and it’s implied by the names of several sequences that have this ending (including this one) that he takes his own life. Since this ending takes place on Cosmic Fall, which takes place on the collapsing ARK, this name implies that Shadow will die along with his home

027: The Cleansing Of Darkness

This is an ending that ends with Shadow saying that he will destroy the world (Which is the dark-dark ending). In this route, like all dark routes, Shadow expresses disgust and hate for humans. Obviously he would think that humans are a darkness in this route, so him destroying the planet and killing all the humans on it would be a cleansing of darkness

028: Birth Of A God

This sequence ends with the ending where Shadow betrays Black Doom at the last moment at the GUN Fortress, and then proclaims that he will conquer the universe with the power of the Chaos Emeralds (Which will be referred to as the dark-hero ending from this point on). Shadow probably does have something of a god complex in this ending, as it would take one to say you’re going to conquer the whole universe

029: The Last Soldier’s Grim Fate

This is a sequence that ends with Shadow saying that he was created to serve Black Doom (Which is the semi-dark dark ending). I don’t know what events in this ending or the other levels in the sequence would make Shadow the last soldier, or what his grim fate is. Maybe even with Shadow on their side, the Black Arms would fall and Shadow would be the only one who wasn’t killed by the heroes due to their past experiences with him and the belief that he could change. He wouldn’t go back to their side, though, and would spend the rest of his time just wandering the planet with the group he believes he was created to serve extinct. That’s all speculation, though

030: Isolation and Solitude

This sequence ends with the hero mission of the Black Comet, where Shadow says that only he knows what is best for himself (Which is the semi-dark hero ending). Since he does not join any sides in this ending, he will most likely spend all of his time by himself, since he is the sole person he trusts

031: Archimedes And The Tortoise

This is by far the most out there sequence name, but I think I actually have an explanation for it. This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, and there is a paradox called Achilles and the Tortoise (Archimedes is a famous Greek mathematician and engineer, which might tie into things since Shadow believes he is an android in this ending. The paradox of Achilles and the Tortoise states that if two beings (one fast runner and one slow moving tortoise) are each moving at a fixed speed and the tortoise has a 100 meter headstart, the fast runner will never overtake the slow tortoise. This is because in the time it will take for the runner to reach the position the tortoise is at, it will have moved forward in that time and will be ahead of that previous position. This means that the runner will never pass the tortoise. This rather darkly implies that no matter how hard he will try, Shadow will never surpass the original (Even though he is the original, but it would still be possibly for him to feel inferior to “the original” since he fully believes that he is an android)

032: Where Is My Happiness?

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending. Unlike the last one, there’s no ancient paradox for me to make wild assumptions about, instead it’s just a question to make wild assumptions about. I’m guessing that this is a similar situation to sequences 15 and 16, where building an empire of androids and conquering the planet with it will not make Shadow happy, and might even make him feel empty inside since he will have accomplished his ultimate goal yet still not be satisfied from it

033: Seduced By Taste Of Blood

In this sequence, Shadow does the dark mission for the first two levels, does the hero mission for the next level, and then does the neutral mission for Sky Troops (Which is to get to Eggman’s flagship). Next, he does the dark mission for Iron Jungle (Where he kills all of the GUN troops invading Eggman’s base) and then does the dark mission for the Black Comet which results in the semi-dark dark ending. This path and the name could be interpreted as Shadow starting off evil, becoming heroic, but then becoming bloodthirsty and lured back to the dark side after killing for Eggman to try and gain answers about his past. This bloodlust would ultimately lead to him wanting to work with Black Doom and help him take over the planet

034: A Machine Made For War

The penultimate level in this sequence is Iron Jungle (Where Shadow believes he is an android, which I’m going to also stop stating since I’ve said that several times already) and the final level is the Black Comet, which leads to the semi-dark hero ending. This ending doesn’t involve war as much as the semi-dark dark ending, so this name doesn’t make that much sense to me. Shadow is just going his own way and trusting himself, which I really doubt will involve war

035: Original Definition

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, and while I was a bit confused by this name at first, I realized what it actually means. Shadow was originally created to be the ultimate lifeform, AKA the most powerful lifeform. Since Shadow believes he is a copy of the original and will try to surpass the power of said original, he’s fulfilling the purpose he was created for

036: Machine Paradise

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, and that’s all there is to this one

037: Last Will And Testament

This sequence ends in the semi-hero dark ending. What Shadow says to Eggman in this ending is essentially his final will, since he intends to stay on the ARK for the rest of his life. A testament is a part of a will, specifically pertaining to personal property, which also ties into the ending, since he’s now the protector of the station

038: Enveloped in Solitude

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending, but it also has Iron Jungle, so Shadow’s really going through it in this ending (hence the name)

039: Parricidal Savior

This is a very interesting name. Quick bit of context before this analysis starts, parricidal means involved in the murder of one’s immediate family. In this route, Shadow does the dark mission for Space Gadget (Where he destroys the defense systems of the ARK, his old home and birthplace) and then gets the neutral-dark ending where he kills Eggman, who he believes is his creator. I’m not exactly sure what makes him a savior in this sequence though, maybe it’s the fact that he does two hero missions in a row before the aforementioned missions

040: Copy of a Savior

This name has less to it then the last one. It has the neutral-hero ending, so Shadow believes he is a copy, and it has the two hero missions as well near the end like the previous sequence

041: Excess Of Intellect

This is one of the less clear sequence names, but I’m still able to piece something together from it. It ends with the semi-hero dark ending, so I suppose it could be interpreted as Shadow’s knowledge (Which would be a far more fitting word than intellect) being wasted since he’s isolating himself for the rest of his life. That still doesn’t fit super well with the name, but it’s the best I can think of

042: Crystallization Of Intellect

Figuratively, crystallization means the process of something becoming clear. This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending, which means that in this ending it becomes clear to Shadow that his creation caused a lot of death which leads to him believing that he never should have been created. Like in the last one, I think knowledge would be a far more fitting word than intellect, but maybe my interpretation is wrong and the actual meaning fits better with the name

043: The Ultimate Confrontation

This sequence has an ending that hasn’t showed up before, the hero dark ending. This ending happens when Shadow does the dark mission for Final Haunt (The most heroic final level), which takes place aboard the Black Comet. In this ending, Shadow sides with Black Doom at the last moment so he can fight against Sonic and prove that he is stronger than him. Shadow also does the hero mission for Space Gadget prior to Final Haunt, where he races against Sonic aboard the ARK to get to a Chaos Emerald, and actually gets there first

044: Miracle Of Love

This is a cute one! In this route, Shadow does the dark missions for the first two levels, working with Black Doom in both of them. Once he gets to Cryptic Castle, though, he does the hero mission where he helps out Amy, and proceeds to do only hero missions for the rest of the sequence. This even leads to the hero-hero ending, where Shadow defeats Black Doom and says that he will protect the planet like Maria wanted him to. Just like in SA2, in this sequence Amy made Shadow snap out of his villainous tendencies and realize Maria’s wish, and I think that’s really nice. (Just so it’s clear by the way, I don’t ship Sha/damy, I interpret the name as being about Amy’s love for the world and her friends rubbing off on Shadow, which causes him to begin working for the good guys instead of the Black Arms)

045: The World’s Demise

Another sequence that ends with the dark-dark ending

046: The Ultimate Power

Another sequence that ends with the dark-hero ending

047: Dyed In Lovely Darkness

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending. The world will be dyed in darkness once the Black Arms take over it, but since Shadow’s working for them, he’ll find it nice

048: Vainglory Or Abandonment?

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending. Vainglory means excessive pride in oneself, and since Shadow says that he’s the only one who knows what is best for himself in the end of this sequence, this sequence name is asking whether he is making this choice because he thinks he’s better than everyone else or if he’s just abandoning them because he doesn’t trust any of them

049: Messenger Of Ruination

This is yet another sequence that ends with the dark-dark ending, although it does also involve Shadow doing the dark mission for Air Fleet where he attempts to assassinate the president. Despite the fact you blow up his escape pod, he’s completely fine, but if he did actually die then that would be a good message of the imminent doom the planet would face from Shadow

050: Standing At The Summit

This is another sequence that ends with dark-hero ending

051: Controller From The Capsule

This name is a bit frustrating to me, because I know it has to mean something, but I can’t find a satisfactory answer. This sequence involves The Doom and its neutral mission (Which leads into Shadow being shot out of the ARK in a capsule) and the semi-dark dark ending, where Shadow helps Black Doom control the planet. The two pieces for the name are there, but I don’t know how they correlate

052: Beyond One’s Own Power

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending. It doesn’t really fit that well, though, since Shadow isn’t going to try and become more powerful like in several other endings. Maybe what Shadow thinks is best for himself is using the seven Chaos Emeralds to become even more powerful, but that’s never really hinted at, so that’s just my best guess

053: A Clone’s Determination

This is another sequence that ends with the neutral-dark route

054: Machine Utopia

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero route

055: A Toast To The Ruler

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending (Sidenote, the mental image of Shadow and Black Doom giving a toast is actually kind of funny to me)

056: Answer From The Black Comet

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending. I’m not sure what specific event on the Black Comet lead to Shadow coming to the conclusion he does in this ending, maybe him doing the hero mission of The Doom and the dark mission of Iron Jungle made him not want to work for Black Doom anymore. He already didn’t want to work with the heroes since this is one of the darker routes, so he’s probably just working with Knuckles to take down Black Doom since he knows that he’ll be a threat to him. When Eggman shows up and tries to take the Chaos Emeralds he’s been gathering the whole time, it makes him realize that he doesn’t want to be allied with Eggman either, thus leading to him choosing to only trust himself

057: Transcendentalism

Another sequence that ends with the neutral-dark route

058: Imperialism

Another route that ends with the neutral-hero ending

059: The Weight of One’s Crimes

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending. Before Cosmic Fall starts, the GUN Commander tells Shadow that he is the reason that everyone on the ARK was killed, which is most likely why Shadow decides to live on the ARK and be its guardian in this ending. He believes that he’s the reason why its empty and has been left crumbling and unguarded for such a long time, so he’s given himself the job of protecting it. Or, as the sequence’s name says, he’s choosing to live on the ARK because of how much his “crimes” are weighing on him

060: Imprisoned By The Past

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending. Like I mentioned for the previous sequence name, in both semi-hero endings Shadow is dealing with a lot of guilt since he takes responsibility for the ARK massacre. Even if he doesn’t die (Which thankfully isn’t implied by this sequence’s name), he’s still going to feel trapped by his past

061: The Ultimate World Conquest

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending. There is a bit of stuff that adds to this name, though, since Shadow does the dark missions for both Sky Troops and Air Fleet (Which means he destroys the Egg Fleet and tries to kill the president)

062: Black Angel

This seems to be one of the first names that barely has anything to do with the sequence at all, it ends with the dark-hero ending which kind of fits with the name, but it mostly seems like this name was chosen because it sounded cool. And to be fair, it does sound cool, especially with the context of the ending

063: Under Darkness’ Control

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

064: To Love Oneself

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

065: Revenge And Determination

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, and also involves Shadow doing the dark mission for Sky Troops and the hero mission for Iron Jungle, which both involve shooting down Eggman’s aircrafts

066: Birth Of The Robot Emperor

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

067: Shadow, The Black Android

This sequence involves Shadow going through Iron Jungle, and then ending up on the Black Comet and getting the semi-dark dark ending

068: A Solitary Android

This sequence involves Shadow going through Iron Jungle and then getting the semi-dark hero ending

069: Over The Original

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

070: Machine Sunshine

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending. It doesn’t fit the ending quite as well as some of the other names sequences that end in it have, but it is a sick name

071: Life Is Guilty

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, and as its been mentioned before, Shadow feels guilty over his creation in both semi-hero endings since he believes it lead to all of the death that took place aboard the ARK

072: Fallen Angel of Despair

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

073: An Eternal Rival

This sequence involves Space Gadget, although Shadow does the dark mission for it and not the hero mission which involves racing Sonic. It ends with the neutral-dark ending, so it can be assumed that Shadow is trying to surpass Sonic as well as the original. The eternal part is probably because he believes that he’s an android, which means he would live forever as long as he isn’t killed

074: This is Just the Beginning

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, and it also has Space Gadget like the previous sequence, but it doesn’t really tie into the name even if Shadow did the hero mission for it (Which he didn’t). I suppose the name just means Shadow has even bigger plans than conquering the planet with an empire of androids, maybe this specific sequence leads into the dark-hero ending except with an army of androids instead of just Shadow

075: Crystal Of Tragic Knowledge

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending. At first, I thought this name made sense except for the crystal part, but then I realized that the crystal is supposed to be Shadow. Shadow is full of knowledge of the past, like a crystal formed in a cave ages ago that has recorded everything around it

076: Shadow’s Second Death

Some of these sequence names have had ellipses after them, which I’ve been cutting out since they’re not really needed and make the name look more cluttered. This ending has ellipses and a question mark after it, so it is ambiguous whether Shadow actually dies after this sequence. Since this sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending, I really hope he doesn’t end up dying, because the implications of him dying after that ending are quite dark

077: The Legend of Shadow

This sequence involves Shadow beating Sonic in a race to the Chaos Emerald on Space Gadget, and then getting the hero-dark ending where he turns against him at the last moment to defeat him in a fight and become the ultimate hedgehog

078: Power Of Love

This is another nice one! In this sequence, Shadow does the dark mission for Westopolis, but after going into Digital Circuit and meeting with Rouge, he does the hero mission with her and then does hero missions for the rest of the levels (Except for Prison Island, poor Charmy). This leads to the hero-hero ending just like the last sequence that had a love themed name. Also just like the last time I talked about a sequence with a love themed name, here’s a quick disclaimer: I don’t ship Sha/douge, I think it’s gross. I think the love in the name is based on the fact that Rouge is the person who’s closest to Shadow and cares about him the most, since she interacted with him a lot in SA2 and got him out of his pod in Heroes

079: Deep Black

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

080: Walk My Way

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

081: This is Shadow’s Way Of Life

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

082: A Monarch’s Style

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

083: In the Gap Of Sadness

The ending of this sequence is the semi-hero dark ending. While Shadow’s life has had a lot of sadness in it overall, most of it occurred aboard the ARK. Since he’s living the rest of his life on it, he’s living in the one place that holds the most sadness for him

084: To Be Ignorant Of The Past

There’s two different ways that this name can be interpreted, since this sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending. One, Shadow believes he was ignorant of his past before the GUN Commander and Black Doom told him about it. Two, he wishes he was ignorant of his past, because knowing the truth causes him to feel like he should’ve never been created

085: At Vengeance’s End

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, although the only part of the ending that’s important to the name is the fact that he kills Eggman. The cutscene before Lava Shelter and one of his lines at the beginning of the level also tie into the name, but I already mentioned both of those earlier

086: Machine Boys

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

087: Reborn Along With Sorrow

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, and since Shadow is essentially starting a new life of solitude aboard the ARK, it could be described as a rebirth. It’s already been mentioned a lot that Shadow is sad in the semi-hero endings, but something else that might add to it a bit is that he also does the neutral mission for Space Gadget, where he fails in a race against Sonic aboard the ARK

088: With A Fate Of Self-Denial

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending, but the name is a little bit strange to me. Shadow doesn’t really deny anything about himself in this. He’s very sad about his belief that he caused the ARK incident, but he fully accepts it. Maybe this ending means that he’s denying the actual truth, that the events aboard the ARK were not his fault. It could also mean that he’s denying the fact that he was created to be the ultimate life form, since he also loses to Sonic in a race in this sequence, and he refers to himself as “A research experiment gone deadly wrong” in this ending instead

089: I Am Shadow

In this sequence, Shadow completes the hero mission for Space Gadget and then gets the hero-dark ending, so this route involves a lot of competing with Sonic. This is probably in order to prove that he is Shadow, the ultimate lifeform (Or the ultimate hedgehog, as he calls himself in the hero-dark ending)

090: Shining Within Memory

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending where Shadow fulfills his promise he made to Maria 50 years ago, but that’s just one of the two meanings behind this name. In this route, Shadow also races Sonic for a Chaos Emerald aboard the ARK, which is reminiscent of the events of SA2. Sonic even remarks “This is just like old times!” at the start of the level

091: The Rise And Fall Of The ARK

The penultimate level in this sequence is Lost Impact, and the final level is Cosmic Fall, which leads to the semi-hero dark ending. Simply put, the last two levels of this sequence are the rise and the fall of the ARK

092: Requiem For A Fallen Angel

A requiem is a mass held for the souls of the dead, which has some dark implications, since this sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

093: Ultimate Shadow

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending

094: For Love’s Sake

This sequence is the exact same as Power Of Love, except Shadow helps Charmy this time around instead of ignoring him, which is nice

095: A Heart Awoken from Darkness

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending, and involves Shadow doing the dark missions for every single level except for Westopolis, which he does the neutral mission for

096: Destruction From Perfection

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending. It would make more sense if the name of this sequence and the name of the last sequence had their names swapped, they fit each other better than they fit their own sequences

097: Darkness’ Strongest Soldier

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending, and also involves Shadow doing a lot of dark missions

098: Severed Chains

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

099: Retribution Against Humanity

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

100: To Be Known As Ultimate

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

101: Dark Warrior’s Advent

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

102: Arriving At The Ego

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending, although this name would definitely fit better with a few other endings

103: Determination Of A Fake

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

104: Path To The Machine Empire

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

105: Demise Wrought By Tragedy

This sequence has The Doom as part of it, and ends with the dark-dark ending

106: Turning Sorrow Into Strength

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending, and has The Doom as its fourth level

107: The Liberated Soldier

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending, and it does involve The Doom and The ARK as levels, but I can’t think of a good way that they tie into the name. Maybe Shadow destroying the GUN forces during his flashback and then deciding to not destroy the defenses for the ARK brought him some sort of peace about his past

108: Stupefaction’s End

To be stupefied means to be unable to think properly, which definitely happened to Shadow a lot in this game considering how much internal conflict he goes through. This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending, so him deciding to only trust himself is the end of this confusion

109: Humanity’s Folly

This sequence ends with the dark-dark route, and also involves The Doom

110: Surpassing All Else

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

111: Soldier Of Grief

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

112: Reclaimed Heart

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

113: Fighting Spirit Of Steel

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

114: Machine Soldier Uprising

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

115: The Devil Born From Betrayal

The betrayal that’s mentioned here is most likely Eggman’s betrayal of Shadow in this sequence. He does the dark mission for Iron Jungle, which helps out Eggman, but he still attacks him with the Egg Breaker anyways. This betrayal leads to Shadow deciding to work with Black Doom in the semi-dark dark ending

116: Beyond The Truth Of Impact

Going to be honest here, I don’t even have a guess at what this one means. It has The Doom, Iron Jungle, and the semi-dark hero ending, but none of those seem to tie into the name at all. Sorry for not giving a real answer for this one, but at least I managed to give answers for about 100 other so far

117: The Immortal Android

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

118: The New, Coldhearted Empire

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

119: A Singular Atonement

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, and also has Shadow doing The Doom’s hero mission

120: Spawn Of The Devil

In the semi-hero hero ending, which this sequence ends in, Shadow fights Black Doom. Before this fight begins, he tells Shadow that he created him

121: Black Doom's Scheme

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending, and also has Shadow working with Black Doom in every mission where he can except Westopolis

122: Subjugating Heaven And Earth

To subjugate means to conquer and bring under control, which fits perfectly with the dark-hero ending, the ending of this sequence

123: Road Of The Dark Soldier

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

124: Dark Finale

This name is kind of strange for a sequence that ends with the semi-dark hero ending, which this sequence ends with. The only dark thing about it is that he kills Eggman, this name would have fit better with the dark-dark or dark-hero endings

125: Realization While On Board

This name seems to be based on one small moment that happens before the final level of this sequence, where after doing the hero mission for Air Fleet (A level that takes place on a massive GUN aircraft), Shadow realizes that he is an android copy of the original that Eggman built

126: Birth Of A Champion

Strangely, this sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, and not the neutral-dark ending. I guess being the ruler of an empire that rules the planet would kind of make him a champion, but this still isn’t a very good name for this sequence

127: With The Black Arms

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

128: The Road To Self-Assurance

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

129: The Pursuit Of Dr. Eggman

This sequence has Shadow doing the neutral missions for Sky Troops and Iron Jungle, both of which involve Shadow chasing after him to get answers

130: Surpassing His Creator

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending. If Shadow does manage to conquer the planet like he plans to in this ending, then he will have surpassed Eggman just like the name says

131: ARK, Colony Of Pathos

Pathos means a quality that evokes sadness, which is fitting since there are a lot of tragic events that happened on the ARK. This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, meaning Shadow will spend the rest of his life on the colony of pathos that this name describes

132: Perfection Lost To Darkness

Shadow was created to be the ultimate lifeform, so the semi-hero hero ending being the end of this sequence means that the perfection of his existence is being lost, whether he ends up dying as some of the sequence names with this ending involve or if he just spends the rest of his life depressed and isolated

133: A New Challenge

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, giving Shadow a new challenge to take on: Surpassing the original

134: The Machines' Coup d'Etat

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

135: A Vow For The Victims

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, meaning Shadow is making up for causing the death of the ARK massacre’s victims by protecting the station and making sure it doesn’t fully collapse

136: The Truth Of Sadness

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

137: The Destined Sonic Showdown

This sequence has Shadow doing the hero mission of Space Gadget, and then getting the hero-dark ending

138: The Black Hero’s Rebirth

This sequence ends with the hero-hero mission, and has Shadow doing hero missions for most of the levels

139: Truth, Thy Name Is Vengeance

Shadow does the dark mission of The Doom in this sequence, and then ends up getting the dark-dark ending. In The Doom, some of Shadow’s idle dialogue asks if this is really part of his past. My interpretation of this name is that Shadow ends up believing that him killing all of the GUN soldiers aboard the ARK is the true way that things happened, which causes him to realize that his true purpose is to destroy the planet and get revenge like Gerald wanted him to

140: Searching For “Ultimate”

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending. I guess this ending and the name means that Shadow is searching to be the ultimate being in the universe, and by conquering all of it, he’ll prove that he’s the strongest

141: Reborn Hatred For Humanity

In this sequence, Shadow does the dark mission of The Doom, and ends up getting the semi-dark dark ending

142: A Future Taken From The Past

Shadow does the dark mission of The Doom in this sequence, and then gets the semi-dark hero ending. I’m not sure exactly how the events of The Doom ties into the ending in this case, though. Maybe the crumbling ARK in the present day is still a part of this past, and Black Doom asking him to damage it and allow the Black Arms to invade it made him no longer want to work with him

143: The Devils’ Victory Song

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

144: One To Succeed A God

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

145: Disappointed In Humanity

Shadow does the neutral mission for The Doom in this sequence, and then gets the semi-dark dark ending

146: Faith Taken From Solitude

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

147: Planted Memories

In this sequence, Shadow goes through The Doom and then ends up getting the neutral-dark ending. Because he believes he is an android in this ending, this means he must believe that the memories of the ARK massacre that he’s recalling in The Doom were planted inside of him

148: To Unite Humanity

This sequence has The Doom as part of it, and it ends with the neutral-hero ending. The reasoning behind this name is that Shadow probably believes that having an android empire rule the planet will unite humanity, and prevent them from committing atrocities like they did aboard the ARK

149: Isolated Soldier Shadow

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending. My best guess at the reason why he’s isolated is that he rarely works with Black Doom in this route, only doing it once. Right after he does a mission for him, he does the hero mission for The Doom, which shows that he doesn’t completely hate humanity. Because of this, he likely won’t agree with everything Black Doom says and will not have a close relationship with him, leaving him isolated from everyone since he’s working against the heroes and Eggman

150: Answer Derived From Truth

There’s two truths that this name could be talking about. It could be Shadow believing that the hero mission in The Doom is the true way that things happened, or it could be the supposed truth that he is an android. Since this sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending, I’m leaning towards the latter, since Shadow believing that he’s an android would lead to him not wanting to affiliate with anyone. He has no prior association with the heroes, he doesn’t want to work with the Black Arms that much since he doesn’t have an especially strong hatred from humans due to his memories being planted, and he hates Eggman for creating him in the first place

151: A Fake’s Disposition

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending. Since disposition means a person's inherent qualities of mind and character, and Shadow does the hero mission of The Doom in this sequence, this could mean that the qualities he saw from his original grew on him and changed him a little bit

152: A New World Without Betrayal

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, and also involves The Doom’s hero mission. I would explain further, but I basically stated everything that I would have said here a few sequences ago

153: Together With Maria

This sequence has The Doom as part of it, and ends with the semi-hero dark ending

154: The Tragedy’s Conclusion

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

155: The Day That Hope Died

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending, and also has Shadow doing the dark mission Air Fleet

156: Dark Destroyer

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

157: Diabolical Power

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

158: For Freedom

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

159: At Least, Be Like Shadow

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

160: Seeking A Silent Paradise

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

161: The Lion’s Awakening

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

162: Identity

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending, and also involves Iron Jungle as its penultimate level

163: An Android's Rebellion

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

164: A New Empire's Beginning

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero route

165: Bullets From Tears

This is one of the more out there names, but I do have an explanation for it. This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, and Shadow’s goal is to deter everyone else from the ARK, a mission that comes from his grief that he feels for causing the people aboard the ARK to die. He doesn’t kill Eggman, just tells him to leave and never return, but if somebody tries to attack the ARK or refuses to leave then he might end up killing them to protect the station

166: Journey To Nihility

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

167: Shadow Surpassing Shadow

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

168: Dr. Eggman’s Miscalculation

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

169: Along With The ARK

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

170: Requiem For The Heavens

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

171: Sonic Dethroned

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending

172: Justice Reborn In Space

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

173: Steel Ruler

This sequence has Iron Jungle as its penultimate level, and ends with the semi-dark dark ending

174: For The Sake Of The Self

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

175: Farewell To The Past

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, and also has Mad Matrix as a fourth level, where Eggman tells Shadow that he has no past

176: Steel Paradise

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

177: The Guardian With No Past

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending, and has Mad Matrix as its fourth level

178: The Ultimate Atonement

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

179: A Fake's Aspiration

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

180: Machine World

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

181: Twilight Ark

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

182: Compensation For A Miracle

I’m not 100% sure what this name means, but like I usually do, I have a guess at what it could mean. Shadow’s creation was probably considered a miracle by Gerald and Maria, but this same miracle lead to their deaths as well as the deaths of everyone else on the ARK as well (at least in Shadow’s mind). Since this sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending, whatever Shadow does after this ending is him compensating for the “miracle” of his creation

183: The Strongest Hedgehog

This sequence has Shadow completing the hero mission for Space Gadget, and getting the hero-dark ending

184: The Ultimate Punisher

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

185: Voyage Of Reminiscence

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

186: Wandering's End

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

187: The Ultimate Proof

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending

188: Punisher Of Love

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

189: Messenger From The Darkness

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

190: The New Ruler

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

191: Dark Soldier

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

192: The Road Of Light

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

193: The Machine-Laden Kingdom

This sequence surprisingly ends with the neutral-dark ending, not the neutral-hero ending

194: New Determination

Just as weirdly, this sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, not the neutral-dark one. I’m almost 100% certain that this sequence name and the last one were meant to be the other way around, and something got switched at one point or another

195: Birth Of The Dark Soldier

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

196: A New Journey

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

197: The Android’s Opposition

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

198: Founding Of The Robot Nation

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

199: The Eternal Protector

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

200: The Sinner’s Repose

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

201: A Hero’s Resolution

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, so it doesn’t fit super well, the hero part of the name seemingly just comes from the fact that Shadow does a few hero missions in this sequence

202: The Weapons’ Empire

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

203: Perpetual Voyage

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

204: A Hero’s Atonement

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

205: Dark Hegemony

Hegemony can mean dominance, so this name could fit with several endings, but the ending of this specific sequence is the hero-dark ending. In this case, the dominance is Shadow proving that he is stronger than Sonic

206: And The Dream Continues

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending, since Shadow is fulfilling Maria’s dream of the planet being safe

207: Fighter For Darkness

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

208: The Path I Believed In

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

209: Determination’s Daybreak

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

210: Machine Kingdom at Dawn

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

211: Sinful Protector

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

212: At The End Of The Journey

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

213: Surmounting The Nightmare

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, and while it isn’t as fitting as some of the other names, it still goes with the ending pretty well. The prospect of being an inferior copy of who you thought you were would be a nightmare to most people, and by surpassing the original, Shadow is getting rid of that problem

214: Dawn Of The Machines

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

215: Wandering For Eternity

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

216: At Vagrancy’s End

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

217: The Summit of Power

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending, and has Shadow completing the hero mission for Space Gadget

218: Under The Name Of Love

This sequence isn’t really structured like the other sequences that have love themed names, and since it ends with the hero-hero ending, I’d say that it’s probably based on Shadow’s loving the planet just like Maria did (Although in this sequence after doing two neutral missions in a row, Shadow does hero missions with Sonic for the last two levels, so do with that what you will)

219: Eternally Drifting

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

220: The Importance Of Truth

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

221: The Beginning Of Judgment

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending, although it’s not a very fitting name in my opinion, since I can’t find a great meaning for the name with the context of the ending. I guess maybe it’s the judgement of Sonic, and his position as the strongest hedgehog?

222: This World’s Guardian

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

223: Light Born From Darkness

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending. Eggman is a pretty evil guy and created the Shadow Androids (And lied to Shadow about being an android in this path) for his own goals, and I guess wanting to surpass the original in power is a noble enough goal, so this name fits decently

224: The Order Of Steel

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

225: Solitary Journey

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

226: The Fall Home

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

227: Sovereign Of All Creation

This is definitely one of the weirder names, but it still makes sense. Sovereign as an adjective means possessing supreme or ultimate power, so this name is implying that shadow is the most powerful thing to have ever been created, which makes sense because this sequence ends with the hero-dark ending

228: I Shall Be The One To Judge

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

229: Gone With The Darkness

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

230: The Ultimate Choice

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

231: I Am The Strongest!

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending

232: Justice’s Awakening

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

233: Prelude to Ruination

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

234: A World United By Darkness

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

235: The Pulse Of Darkness

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

236: To Just Be Myself

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

237: Punishment In Jet Black

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

238: The Ruler’s First Cry

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

239: Darkness’ Conspiracy

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

240: The Faint Light Of Tomorrow

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending. While I haven’t been providing explanations for a lot of the names, that’s mainly because they’re easy enough to figure out and as such it’s kind of pointless to do it. I will explain this one though, since it’s a little less straightforward than the others. Shadow’s probably not 100% confident in his decision to only trust himself, in his mind he knows it’s the right thing to do, but it’s going to be a rough road ahead since he doesn’t have anyone else to work with. Since he’s sure this is the right way though, he’s also sure that he’ll make it to tomorrow. It could be thought of in a different way, since he doesn’t know what tomorrow holds, so the light of it is faint to him

241: Time Of Departure

I really don’t know what this one means. I guess since Shadow’s only goal is to become the strongest, he’ll likely depart from Eggman’s base soon after the ending and begin just roaming around. This sequence also has the neutral mission for The Doom as one of its levels, meaning its a flashback to when Shadow departed from the ARK and his old life.

242: Rise Of The Machine Kingdom

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

243: Despair’s Quickening

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending, and has The Doom as one of its levels. Once again, I can’t figure out the exact meaning of this name, and I can’t tell if that’s because I’m kind of tired right now or because at this point in the sequences the developers started to run out of names that made a lot of sense

244: The Beginning

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

245: Setting Out In The Morning

Another sequence that has the neutral-dark ending with a leaving related name, am I missing something? It also involves The Doom, but once again, I really don’t know what this name is supposed to mean in relation to the events of the sequence

246: The Weapons’ Dawn

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

247: Pure Ark

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

248: Making Up For It In The End

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

249: The Coming Of The Dark Time

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

250: The Throne Of God

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

251: God Of War

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

252: Howl Of Solitude

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

253: Proof Of Existence

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending. This one is decently clear, but I’ll explain it anyways. It’s already been stated a lot that Shadow was made to be the ultimate life form, so by surpassing the “original” version, then he will prove that the ultimate life form does exist (Since he thinks the original died), and that he is it

254: Ardent Vow

Ardent means passionate, so that means that in this sequence, Shadow is making a passionate vow. This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, so it does kind of fit, since Shadow promises to create an empire of androids that will rule the planet (A goal that he will have to be extremely dedicated to in order to actually achieve)

255: A Deal With The Devil

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

256: A Reason To Live

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

257: Induplicable Thoughts

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, although strangely it doesn’t have The Doom as part of it. Maybe that’s why it has this name, the memories aboard the ARK that the original had couldn’t be duplicated and given to any of the androids. Or perhaps whatever thoughts couldn’t be duplicated are the reason why Shadow wants to become stronger than the original

258: Steel Struck With Flame

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

259: A Heart Bound To The ARK

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

260: Tears Shed By The Stars

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

261: Imitation Complex

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

262: Steel Combat Boots

This is probably the silliest (affectionate) name in this entire list. This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, so it’s actually a pretty clever play on words

263: Protector Of The Ashen Moon

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

264: A Demon Drifting

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

265: The Ultimate Pride

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending, and also has Shadow completing the hero mission of Space Gadget

266: I Know The Will Of Heaven

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending (Sidenote, this is an extremely cool name)

267: Ego Dyed In Black

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

268: Isolation By Choice

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending

269: Faith Without Falsehood

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending. The falsehood could be two opposite things, it could either be Shadow thinking that him being the original was a falsehood, or Eggman telling him that he has no past in Mad Matrix (A level in this sequence) is the falsehood

270: Machine Empire

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

271: The Eternally-Closed Door

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending. Shadow and the ARK are both eternally closed doors, since the ARK itself is sealed off from everyone except him, and he’s never going to leave it

272: The Sealed-Away Ark of Sin

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

273: Silver Emergence

When I first saw this name on the list, for a split second I internally went “:O Silver!”, but this game came out in 2005, so Silver didn’t even exist yet. Anyways, this sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending, so I suppose this name is a cool way of saying that Shadow is emerging as an even stronger being than the original him

274: Pulsating Supercurrent

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending, so I’m guessing this name was chosen because it sounds cool and like something that would be part of a giant computer system, which is what Shadow is like in this ending since he’ll be controlling a whole empire (And possibly the planet)

275: The Reason I Was Born

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

276: The Dark Part Of The Galaxy

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

277: The View From Atop The World

This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending

278: Maria’s Testament

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending

279: A Genius Scientist’s Lineage

This sequence has Lost Impact as a level, and also ends with the semi-hero dark ending. Since Shadow does the normal mission of Lost Impact, which involves him going to Gerald’s laboratory to check on him, the meaning of this name is obviously that he’s carrying on Gerald’s legacy by guarding the place where most of his inventions were created

280: Distorted Truth

This sequence has Lost Impact as a level, and ends with the semi-hero hero ending. Because of this, the meaning might be that Shadow doesn’t believe that the events of Lost Impact happened as he remembers them. Or, the name could only be based on the ending, and that the truth he believes in the ending is distorted

281: A Counterfeit Existence

This sequence has Mad Matrix as a level, and ends with the hero-dark ending. My interpretation of this name and the events of the sequence in the context of it is that Shadow is worried about the implications of him apparently having no past, so he fights Sonic to prove that he is still the ultimate lifeform, and not just a counterfeit

282: Beloved Memories

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending, and has Shadow doing the hero mission of Lost Impact

283: Birth Of A Devil

This sequence ends with the dark-dark ending

284: A Dark Myth’s Beginnings

This sequence ends with the dark-hero ending

285: Black Thunder

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

286: The Torn Away Necklace

I really don’t know what this one is supposed to mean. Since this sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending, I guess the necklace is supposed to represent Shadow’s destiny and his control over it? It was originally torn away from him by everyone trying to get him to work for them, but then he finally takes it back from them at the end. I don’t know, that’s just my best guess

287: A Soul Sheltered By Iron

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

288: Steel Nation’s Decree

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

289: Coronation Of Darkness

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

290: Opened Eyes

This sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending. Since Shadow works with the heroes at first before doing missions for Eggman, and Eggman betrays him by trying to steal the Chaos Emeralds (and attacking him with the Egg Breaker after Iron Jungle, the final boss fight is probably the specific thing that leads to Shadow opening his eyes and deciding to only trust himself

291: The Doctor’s Lie

This sequence has Iron Jungle as a level, and ends with the neutral-dark ending

292: The Uninvited Successor

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

293: The Closed Pandora’s Box

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

294: A Heart Bound By Sin

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

295: Courage From Turning Gears

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

296: Fullmetal Prince

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

297: Time’s Watchman

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

298: Galaxy’s Requiem

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

299: Charm Of The Chaos Emeralds

Since this sequence ends with the hero-dark ending, the meaning behind this name is that Shadow was tempted by the power that the Chaos Emeralds he was collecting could give him, and decided to give into those temptations by using them to become even more powerful than Sonic

300: Promise Of A Far-Off Day

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending, I think that the meaning behind this name is that Maria wished to one day live on the Earth, which is probably part of the reason why she said that she wanted to protect it along with Shadow (She says this in the final story). By protecting the planet from Black Doom, Shadow is being reminded of that far off day that Maria wished for

301: The Grim Reaper’s Horn

This sequence ends with the semi-dark dark ending

302: A Flame Extinguished By Fate

Since this sequence ends with the semi-dark hero ending, I guess this name means that Shadow’s potential to be a great force for good or evil has been extinguished by the events that lead to him deciding to only do what he wants to, since he’s probably not going to do much that affects anyone except himself after making that decision

303: Shouting At The Morning Sun

Another morning related name that goes with a sequence that ends with the neutral-dark ending. I think I might have figured out what this means, although I’m not completely sure of it. I remembered that another one of the neutral-dark endings was called Determination’s Daybreak, so the sun rising is symbolic of Shadow’s past and what his goal is becoming clear to him. As for why he’s shouting at it, well, I don’t really know. It just made me think of characters in DBZ and how they scream when they power up since Shadow is trying to surpass the “original him” in power in this ending, so that’s my answer because I can’t think of anything better

304: Iron Ambition

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

305: Sleeping On Hallowed Ground

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

306: Explanation Of The Truth

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

307: An Android’s Dream

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

308: Metallic Quickening

Quickening means to stimulate (One meaning of which is development of or increased activity in), which is fitting since this sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

309: Funeral Procession In Space

This may seem like the name of a sequence that ends with the semi-hero hero ending, but it actually ends with the semi-hero dark ending, and it is a fitting name for it. This is because Shadow is guarding the ARK because of his grief over the victims of it, so he’s essentially living through a funeral procession for them by spending all of his time on the station and thinking about their deaths

310: Lost To The Universe’s Abyss

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

311: Destiny For Two

This sequence has Shadow doing the hero missions of Westopolis and Lethal Highway (Both of which he works with Sonic in) as well as Space Gadget, and then gets the hero-dark ending

312: The Spun Threads Of Fate

This sequence is the same as the last one, except it has Shadow doing the hero mission of Final Haunt instead, meaning he does the hero mission with Sonic in all 4 missions that he appears in (And also does the neutral missions for the levels that Sonic isn’t the hero mission partner for). This name, as well as the last one, implies that Shadow and Sonic are fated to interact with each other

313: Ark Of The Heavens

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

314: Ghost Of The ARK

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

315: A Pair Of Shooting Stars

This sequence has Shadow working with Sonic twice in Westopolis and Lethal Highway, and ends with the hero-dark ending

316: The One Who Maria Entrusted

This sequence ends with the hero-hero ending, and has Shadow doing the hero mission of Lost Impact with Maria

317: A.I.’s Enlightenment

This sequence ends with the neutral-dark ending

318: A Dying Empire’s Cry

This sequence ends with the neutral-hero ending

319: Moon Of Atonement

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

320: Tear-Soaked Hometown

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending

321: Sparks On The Horizon

Since this sequence ends with the hero-dark ending, I guess the sparks represent Shadow’s true power (Or the Chaos Emeralds that give it to him) being visible on the horizon ahead of him

322: A Use For A Saved Life

Shadow’s life was saved by Eggman after he presumably died, and this sequence ends with the hero-hero ending, so the use for Shadow’s saved life was saving the planet

323: Coffin Of Memories

This sequence ends with the semi-hero dark ending

324: The Self-Imposed Seal

This sequence ends with the semi-hero hero ending. It could just fit with Shadow sealing himself away from everyone else because of his depression, but I figured I would mention an idea that I saw somebody on Youtube mention as well. Their idea of what could possibly happen after this ending is that Shadow would willingly go into GUN custody, which would also fit well with this name

325: Pretense In The Mirror

The word pretense can mean two things. It can be an attempt to make something that is not the case appear true, or it can be a claim, especially a false or ambitious one. This sequence ends with the hero-dark ending, so that means that Shadow is telling himself that he is the ultimate lifeform and stronger than Sonic, but he doesn’t fully believe it. This is why he sided with Black Doom to fight Sonic, to prove that it was true and it wasn’t just a lie he was telling himself

326: A Missive From 50 Years Ago

Here it is, the final sequence in Shadow the Hedgehog, and the most heroic one you can take. A missive is a message, so Shadow’s heroic actions in this sequence are him following the message Maria gave him 50 years ago: To protect the planet and the people on it

And with that, I have officially analyzed the name of every single sequence in Shadow the Hedgehog. If you read this through all the way to the end, thank you so much, I appreciate it! Sorry that I wasn’t able to give a satisfactory answer for every single name, but considering there’s more than 300, I think I did a pretty good job overall. Let me know if you have any solutions to the names I couldn’t figure out, I’ll add them to the post if I think they’re better than the explanations I gave

[cats-mayhem]

Infinite has body image issues. I know that it's a common headcannon, but I'm just gonna go on for a bit.

I think the longer he was with Eggman, the more Infinite stopped seeing his body as his own and more like a vessel, a thing, an object the Ruby can take ahold of and have its power be maximized.

Mostly because Eggman never really gave a shit about Infinite in particular, he only ever cared about the Ruby that he possessed. And anytime Eggman ever talked about Infinite as a person, it was to berate him for his past and how weak he was before the Ruby.

As time went on, Infinite began to think that the Ruby was his own. He gave up his mind and body to the Ruby, and he thought that as an exchange, he had control over the Ruby itself.

Of course that was just a lie, an illusion. The Ruby used infinite and took care of Infinite's body for him due to it being the only thing it's conscious could control.

After the events of Forces, the Ruby is shattered, and it's conscious dying with it, but the power remained in Infinite.

For a while, Infinite didn't eat, drink, sleep, ect. He just used the power he had to satiate himself. However, doing that made him drained all the time, and his power wasn't at its peak because of it.

It didn't take him long to realize the root cause of the problem, but he didn't like it. He gave up his body to become the Ultimate Weapon and inhabit the power of one of the most powerful Jewels on earth, and yet he needs to eat and sleep and do all of that basic shit still? And the reason he's mad about this comes from the fact that he has never seen Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform, do any of that.

Well, he has seen Shadow eat, but never sleep. Infinite has seen Shadow go out to lunch with Rouge or Sonic, but he just assumed that he was eating then because it made sense in the setting.

It's not until one day, Infinite catches Shadow asleep, does he say anything about this. He wakes Shadow up and asks him why he's sleeping when he doesn't need it.

Shadow explains that while he can go for long periods of time without eating, sleeping, ect. It'll make him exhausted. He won't die from it, but it'll definitely affect his performance a bit. He also gets pestered by Rouge and Sonic to take care of his body because they're worried for him, so he does just so that they lay off.

Infinite mocks Shadow, saying that the ultimate lifeform still has basic needs. But Shadow immediately turns the tables by saying Infinite looks like shit. He immediately calls Infinite out on his hypocrisy, and when Infinite admits that he hasn't taken care of himself ever since the Restoration found him, Shadow can relate to him.

When Shadow first joined Sonic & Co, he never took care of himself. It wasn't until Sonic and Rouge practically begged him to start giving a fuck about himself did he actually started doing it, or, attempting to anyways. Rouge and Sonic helped him get into the habit. And he felt a lot better afterwards. He knows what Infinite is going through.

But it's late, and Shadow is still groggy from being woken up, so he doesn't want to have that conversation now. In the morning, he will, but now? He just pulls Infinite in bed with him, and before the Jackal can say anything, he conks out because his body was just THAT exhausted.

Shadow and Infinite cuddle for the night.