May I Have Some Blackwatch Genji Angst With A Fem! Reader?? Like She Always Feels So Sorry For Him (HAVE

Thoughts on Shadow the Hedgehog (2005)

Shadow has been my favorite Sonic character for years. My earliest exposure to Shadow was at my local Boys & Girls Club. We had a GameCube where kids would take turns playing games. I distinctly remember watching several kids try to beat the final boss of Sonic Adventure 2, though I didn’t fully click with it at the time. My first real exposure to him was through cutscenes posted to YouTube in the early 2000s because I didn’t have a gaming console growing up. I would watch Sonic X when I was able, specifically seeking out the episodes with Shadow. When I finally got a PS2, I got Shadow the Hedgehog because, well, Shadow.

I was not great at it. I struggled a lot because of the slippery controls, flying off stages, and bombardment of bullets. I maybe got through one ending if that.

And for the longest time, that’s all I really had. I got a PS2 towards the end of its lifecycle, the PS3 was already out and I struggled to find other titles.

I had other Sonic games like Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Colors, Sonic and the Black Knight, but outside of party games like Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games and Sonic & SEGA All Stars Racing, Shadow the Hedgehog is still the only story driven game I own where Shadow is playable*.

So, when the recent news about Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Sonic x Shadow Generations dropped, I decided to finally beat Shadow the Hedgehog after all these years.

Over the course of 4 days, I worked my way through the 8 remaining endings I had left (having completed the true hero path and the semi hero path a few years prior). And after a decade of owning the game, I beat it.

So what are my thoughts?

While I can acknowledge the game’s flaws…I still don’t hate it.

I’ve watched several videos that explain why this game is terrible, from the mechanics to the butchering of Shadow’s character. And I agree.

Chaos Controls

The game is hard to control, I recognized this even growing up, but I mainly chalked that up to “I’m bad at Sonic games”, which is also true.

Until I beat Shadow, I’d never beaten a Sonic game because I lacked the reaction time. We’ve come close, we’re at Eggmanland on Sonic Unleashed, but I had never beaten a Sonic game.

I even tried to play Radical Highway on my friend’s copy of Sonic Adventure 2, and I struggled hard with the controls.

Shadow’s controls are indeed wonky. Multiple times my homing attack would send me flying off the stage, Shadow wouldn’t aim at the enemy right in front of him, and I’d miss jumps because Shadow would stagger on the edge of a platform.

After I learned how to better manage these flaws, the game became much easier. I began to slow down my homing attacks so I wouldn’t fly away, and started jumping before the edge of the platform. This didn’t erase these problems, I still fell off the stage from time to time, but they didn’t happen as frequently. I got so good that I got A Ranks on the neutral paths for Westopolis and Prison Island.

Shadow’s air shoes make him slippery to control, but I feel like all Sonic games are slippery? Maybe that’s just me, but even with Adventure 2 and Unleashed, I felt like I was slipping and sliding all over the place. So, with Shadow, I’d slow down a bit if I felt like I was going out of control. Granted, this is still a Sonic title where speed is key, so the advice to “slow down” is not really the best if you’re going for all A Ranks.

I Think You’re the Fake Hedgehog Around Here

This is the game where Shadow gains his “Edgy Hedgie” status.

He has guns!

He says “damn”!

He hates humans for killing Maria! (Even though…that’s not what Maria wanted)

He wants to learn the truth about his past cause amnesia’s a bitch! (Even though…he already learned hakuna matata in Sonic Heroes, apparently)

Yea, I admit this game is a huge step backwards for Shadow’s development. Post-SA2 Shadow cares deeply for his closest friends, mainly Rouge and Omega, but is reserved around others. He’s a hedgehog of few words. He has respect for Sonic, a little bit of a rivalry, but it’s not to the extreme where Shadow hates him. He doesn’t hate humans, but if push comes to shove, he will defend himself if they attack him first. This side of him is well illustrated in the cutscenes for Sonic Heroes and, yes, even Sonic ‘06.

However, this is not the Shadow we see in his titular game. Shadow’s cold towards Sonic, he sounds annoyed anytime he shows up. Depending on the path you take, he becomes downright cruel. He never really talks to many of the other characters outside of the ones in cutscenes. And when he does speak to them, it just feels out of character most of the time. Shadow has a distain for humanity, commenting how they’re pathetic and he doesn’t have time to for them when the Black Arms begin destroying Westopolis.

However, there are a handful of parts where the Shadow of Sonic Adventure 2 and Sonic Heroes can be seen.

Any level where Maria is your companion is a good example. Especially the cutscene before Lost Impact.

Cryptic Castle Hero, you help save Cream and Cheese, afterwards he heeds them to stay away from Doctor Eggman, showing he does care about them.

The Pure Hero path is probably the closest you get to Shadow’s true character, even though there’s still a few moments that feel off. “This is like taking candy from a baby, which is fine by me” is probably the most out of character line, and you’ll only hear it by doing Hero missions.

Apparently this line still relevant to Shadow, as he steals popcorn from a Chao in an official Sonic Team Racing animation.

This might be a hot take, but the Dark Path on Final Haunt didn’t feel like a sudden betrayal to me? The way Sonic talks during and after the fight makes me feel like he saw it more like a friendly competition. Especially when you compare his dialogue to the other endings where you fight Sonic.

Final Haunt Dark Path

(Before the Boss)

Sonic: “Shadow! Why are you siding with those black creatures?”

Shadow: “Siding with them? You’re joking, right? I’m just siding with whoever goes against you! This time you’re going down, Sonic!”

Sonic: “hehehe, if that’s how it’s gonna be, Shadow, then bring it on!”

(Start Boss Fight)

Sonic: “Alright. Ready to do this? Come on!”

(After the Boss)

Sonic: “…Man…I didn’t think ya had it in ya…”

Sonic’s delivery makes it feel like he’s not angry with Shadow, but that he’s impressed. At least that’s how I read it anyway. He doesn’t sound distraught or scared like he does in the Pure Dark Path, he just sounds exhausted cause Shadow put up a good fight.

Sonic even offers Shadow a “friendly competition” if you do the Hero Path in Westopolis, but Shadow declines because he’s got other priorities at the time. He still doesn’t agree with Black Doom’s mission, he just wants to take Sonic up on his earlier offer.

Regardless, this game has had a lasting effect on Shadow’s character that he’s still trying to shake off. He went from a solemn hero who cared deeply for his closest friends, to an angsty anti-hero who only cares about himself.

Thankfully, it seems like he’s starting to get back to his old self in Sonic Prime (I’ve only seen season 1 and a handful of clips from the recent seasons, haven’t been able to get caught up, so correct me if I’m wrong).

Let’s hope Sonic 3 and Sonic x Shadow Generations continue to repair the damage.

In His World, Your Choices Don’t Matter

Shadow’s gameplay has three paths you can take; Hero, Dark or Neutral, with 10 possible endings. You can mix and match these paths however you please. You can start Dark then redeem yourself, turn on your friends in an act of betrayal, or just say “nah, imma do my own thing”. This freedom of choice was a massive selling point for the game. Do you want Shadow to be a “black-hearted evil” or “brave-hearted hero”?

This freedom of choice is present in a handful of my favorite games, like Epic Mickey and Undertale.

But, Shadow fails at this “choose your own adventure” format. Yes, your choices impact which of the 10 endings you get, but none of these 10 endings are the true ending.

This is apparently left over from the Sonic Adventure-style games where you had to play everyone’s storyline to unlock the last story, where all the characters join together and fight the Final Boss.

However, this format does not work when we follow one character for the entire game.

In order to unlock the true ending, you have to complete all 10 endings. And if you’re someone like me who always goes for the good endings because being mean makes you feel bad, then this will be a hard pill to swallow.

The Last Way begins with Shadow already in possession of all 7 Chaos Emeralds, we have no idea how he got them, so basically every path you spent hours playing mean nothing. They’re not canon. Only a few parts here and there are still relevant past this point.

No matter what you did, Shadow will always turn on Black Doom, destroy the Black Comet with the Eclipse Cannon, and save the world. Which kinda negates the whole “choose your own adventure” gameplay.

Epic Mickey’s ending is also the same no matter what you do, Mickey still defeats the Blot and frees Wasteland. However, you’re still shown how your actions impacted the residents of Wasteland. For example, if you choose to paint the Clocktower boss, you see it happily playing with some Gremlins. But if you destroy it by thinning its arms, you see it lying in ruin.

Shadow’s endings are more like the ending from Clue.

The only parts that remain canon are the Chaotix story, and conversations Eggman had with Shadow on the Neutral path.

Throughout the game, the Chaotix are digging into old files. Charmy is looking for secret disks on Prison Island, Vector is looking for the notorious computer room on the ARK, and all three were hacking into Eggman’s computer before Digital Circut. The data they found contained a video message from Professor Gerald addressed to Shadow. Gerald explains the purpose of the Eclipse Cannon, and we’re shown it was recorded before Maria’s death, as she pops in at the end.

That is one revelation that enhances Sonic Adventure 2’s story, in my opinion. Professor Gerald created the Eclipse Cannon to destroy the Black Comet when it returns in 50 years, only using it against humanity after Maria was killed.

If you battle Devil Doom past the 9 minute mark (which I did a handful of times because I’m a terrible shot), Eggman will tell Shadow he lied about him being an android and that he rescued Shadow at the end of Sonic Adventure 2, and he is, in fact, the real Shadow. Which…I feel like was obvious because our Shadow had more polygons than the androids.

Also the Sonic Heroes manual straight up says that he is the real Shadow and he survived the events of Sonic Adventure 2, so…

Where There is Shadow, There Must Also Be Light

I’m the type of person who always tries to find the good, even in the worst things. So here’s some things about Shadow that I did love.

The pre-rendered cutscenes look amazing. Almost 20 years later, and they still hold up.

By the way, guess who worked on these amazing cutscenes? After watching the credits 11 times, I noticed a couple names in the credits, Jeff Fowler and Tim Miller. Not ringing any bells? Well, Fowler went on to direct the live-action Sonic movies, and Miller was a producer on them. This is their only Sonic credit outside of those movies, so I think it’s safe to say we wouldn’t have these awesome movies if it weren’t for Shadow.

The soundtrack is also great. “I Am…All of Me” is still one of my favorite Sonic and Crush 40 songs, “Never Turn Back” struck a cord with me, and the rest of the lyrical songs had me vibing while I took a breather during the credits.

It might just be because I had to replay the levels multiple times, but I’ve had a handful of those tracks stuck in my head for years. Circus Park, Sky Troops, Lava Shelter and Cosmic Fall are a few that stick out. “Vengeance is Mine” from Sonic Adventure 2 returns as the soundtrack for the 2P Battle Mode. Yes, it took me a long time to realize it was the same song. Even when Sonic games are “bad”, they never slack on the soundtrack.

Goodbye Forever, Shadow the Hedgehog

I consider Shadow the Hedgehog to be one of my guilty pleasures. I recognize there’s a lot of things that don’t work. Shadow’s character took a drastic turn that he’s still trying to recover from, the controls feel like roller skating on ice, the “choose your own adventure” gameplay forgot about the “choose your own” part, and it’s so edgy you can slice your hand open just by touching it.

But despite all of this…I still enjoy it? Even though I was annoyed and exhausted by the game, I still had fun. The good parts are still good enough that I unironically enjoy them. And the bad parts at least can get a laugh out of me with how dumb they are. “Where’s that damn FOURTH Chaos Emerald?” and “Find the Computer Room!” are classic Sonic memes.

Do I recommend beating Shadow? Oh hell no. Not unless you’re a serious Shadow stan or a masochist. I’d say play as much as you can tolerate.

*in the time since I wrote this, I got a copy of Sonic Heroes. Currently stuck on the Power Plant level with Team Dark. HOW DO I GET PAST THE LAVA??? 😭

Learning to draw Cayde 💙🐔

So while watching the movie in the theater, I thought I saw Venom as taking a snake or eel like appearance while showing up physically when talking to Eddie in the movie. But now that I look more closely

actually looks like Venom shapes a face like a mask held up by tendrils.

You can even see through the fangs in Venom’s mouth in the last picture, it’s neat.

"Don't want people poking through the lives of Cayde 1-5..."

"...so just, put it all behind you, okay?"

{2/2} may i ask for some thoughts over cayde being interested in a warlock who he often catches staring at him (in an shy way, not in a creepy way ? lol) and every time he catches them they panic and try to look busy by reading/looking somewhere else instead ? thank you so very much, and i hope you're having a wonderful day/evening/night !! 💕 -timid warlock anon (i hope it's okay to name my anon self for you, aha,,,❤️)

Sure thing, Guardian and no problem. You too, have a great day/evening/night! Or in time and space

Cayde caught someone, who was staring at him? This is not his first time because he have seen it after becoming an EXO. Or was it that people can’t handle him? He will never know. There is a but when he saw them, often staring at him. He notice how they panic when he look at them and went back to whatever they were doing. 

He found this amusing because he has notice them a lot more than them. Their quirks and habits. He had taken a few notes and remind you, he is a Hunter who has seen things more than any of his Hunters. He is an experience one. 

Still, he’ll ask Ikora about that certain Warlock and she knows why. She won’t tell him, not even her Warlocks so Cayde has to figure it out which bums him out. 

It goes on for a long time and he decide to go up front because they are torturing him, both physical and mentally. 

The Warlock got a small jumpscare when he took his seat next to them or stood next to them, engaging in a small conversation. It becomes a long than a small and short one. They become friends but the Warlock wanted more than that but they need their friend, time to be on their side. 

Ikora listened what the Warlock said and she was happy for them. Warlock Mom is proud of her kids. 

Time made them to be best friends and will they stay as that or something more? Are they gonna be stuck in the friendzone? Time will tell.

HC #4: 13 Primes

♦ It is headcanon and has nothing to do with the well-known Canon. ♦ 

Prima: The Light.

Vector Prime: The Time.

Alpha Trion: The History.

Onyx Prime: The Nature, the fauna and flora.

Nexus Prime: The Giant.

Micronus Prime: The Minicon.

Alchemist Prime: The Elements.

Amalgamous Prime: The Transformation.

Quintus Prime: The Dreamer.

Solus Prime: The Forger.

Megatronus Prime: The Warrior.

Liege Maximo: The Manipulator.

Optimus Prime: The Visionary.

Prima:

He embodies the light, the order and the good. Similar to Primus. However, over the millennia, he will always weaken and almost fall into darkness. It goes so far that he soon becomes paranoid of everything that looks evil and exacerbates the laws of Cybertron. Alone through the paranoia, he went so far as to let the Predacons die out, at the time when Cybertron was deadly to every living being through massive sunbeams.

He became the leader of civilization, but what became of him is hardly known. Many say he was killed when his paranoia became too strong. Others say he left Cybertron and never returned. The truth, however, is that he currently lives between the dimensions in a palace of crystals and light that his brother, the timekeeper, once had him build.

Vector Prime:

He is the time and one of the most powerful among the Primes. He is known as the keeper of space and time. He also has a rich arsenal of weapons, which he will also use in combat. However, you can only see him with 2 weapons, the Time Sword and the Dimensional Sword. In addition, he has the capability of phase shifting. He can also move his portals (similar to Dr. Strange Scene in Thor 3, Ragnarok). He himself lives outside the time stream in absolute isolation. In the beginning, however, he lived among his siblings until the Prime War broke out. After that, his life changed and he experienced for the first time suffering and sorrow. His secret love was taken by force, which he still secretly mourns today. Due to an accident he was banished by his eldest brother, which forced him to leave Cybertron. On one of Cybertron’s moons, he set up a dimension pocket that was out of the time stream and lived in it from then on. Through this extreme isolation, he lost more and more compassion for others and he became emotionally dull and aloof. Later, Primus revealed to him that he himself was the universe, by his abilities he possessed a power that could destroy the universe itself, whereby they were sealed by Primus for safety’s sake.

Alpha Trion:

He is the Timekeeper’s Twin Spark and represents the History. Not only from Cybertron, but also from the universe. In his Quill, a device in which all the historical data is collected, there are data that nobody knows; Except for himself. Through the timekeeper, he learns much, even from other universes and this data he collects all. In Iacon, where he lived, he set up several data centers to record and store all historical events, including those that are yet to take place. So it may be that even the history of the emergence of many universes are stored in Iacon. There is also other data, data about languages, culture, other species and much more.

The hidden ability of Alpha Trion is a very powerful one, which he can only use with the help of Micronus Prime and Vector Prime, because they can fundamentally change everything. He has the power to rewrite the history of the universe so that certain things never happened. This ability is used only in the most extreme emergencies and fortunately only happened once.

Onyx Prime:

He represents the nature of Cybertron. The flora and fauna. He speaks all animal languages, takes care of fauna and flora and can make exact predictions through his mask, whether past, present or future. Through his animal body, he has the opportunity to move wild and unrestrained. He is also good at flying. After the fight against his siblings, he was so badly damaged that he had to return to the Allspark.

Nexus Prime:

He is the giant of the Primes and later became a combiner. He was once cut into 5 parts by Vector Prime, which made him a combiner. The 5 pieces were formed in 5 Transformers, who had the task to protect access to the dimension pocket of Vector Prime. Over time, however, they forgot their task and returned to Cybertron, where they lived there as normal Transformers. [more information will be added later.]

Micronus Prime:

He is the first Minicon and thus their leader. He was also the best friend of Nexus Prime. They often traveled with Amalgamous and Onyx Prime, where Micronus liked to sit on his shoulders. His ability is to expand and strengthen the skills of his siblings. For example, at Optimus he may increase the ability to reactivate Primus or at Alpha Trion, the ability to transcribe history. [more information will be added later.]

Alchemist Prime:

He is the scientist and manipulator of the elements. He controls them all. Earth, water, fire, wind and also ether. Mainly he prefers to work with fire and ice. Its two wide arms allow you to influence the elements and shape the materials as you need them. Alchemist is the patron of many ancient ancient buildings on Cybertron. He also has his hands on Vector Sigma and has been the main sponsor of Amalgamous, Vector and Alpha. The disadvantage with Alchemist is that he consumes tons of energon by manipulating the elements, so you see him mostly in the area with a Energon drink in his hand. Now he is dependent on the Rarified Energon, the strongest form of the energon. Due to this addiction, he often seems clumsy, confused or oh drunk. It often happened that with his favorite elements he involuntarily harassed other bots by accidentally setting them on fire or freezing them up. Depending on which arm touched the Transformer. What has become of him is unknown to anyone.

Amalgamous Prime:

He is the transformation and the first carrier of a T-Cog, the organ what the Transformers need for their transformations. Amalgamous can transform into whatever he wants and try new things every day. Alone through this ability, he often tends to play his siblings some pranks. Only rarely do these pranks go down well. He is also the inventor of the following generations of T-Cogs, which he invented, but never really built. [more information will be added later.]

Quintus Prime:

He is the dreamer and creator of the Quintessons. This Prime tends to live out his fantasy often and to invent new things again and again. The greatest achievement was the said Quintessons, which later started and lost a war with the people of Cybertron. Quintus himself was later destroyed by the Quintessons himself. [more information will be added later.]

Solus Prime:

She is the Forger and the creator of all the weapons the Primes use. Her works are, for example, the Star Saber of Prima, the Requiem Blaster by Megatronus or the two swords of Vector Prime. In addition, she also worked on the quill, although little, but her hammer was very useful for the rest of the construction. She fell in love with her own brother Megatronus Prime, which kept her for several millennia. Unfortunately, Prima came behind her secret and disapproved of this connection. She was unclean and had to quit. Based on Prima’s testimony, she argued with her eldest brother over and over again and often retires to her smithy. There she was often visited by her other siblings. Later, she was murdered by her own lover, causing the Primes War to break out. She is also the founder of civilization on Caminus and is worshiped there as a goddess.

Megatronus Prime:

He is the one who is also known as the fallen. He stands for the fight and for the war. He was the warrior. However, he can easily be misled for evil and darkness. He hates Prima, but he coveted Vector and Optimus for their powers. Although physically united with Solus, he was also inclined to associate with others of his siblings. So far, he has had little success. During the fight against Unicron, he was briefly obsessed by this and shot Vector Prime, so that his spark could only be saved by a quick intervention of Amalgamous, Alpha and Optimus. From this day on, the quarrel between him and Prima deepened, as his older brother hardly ever trusted him anymore. The connection between him and Solus did not make it any better, but made it worse. Over time, As time passed, he often succumbed to Optimus, trying to seduce him again and again, after the fight against Unicron his desire grew even bigger. But this difference of Megatronus brought him completely down, although here Liege Maximo had more of his fingers in the game, but he was known as the favor in the story. Especially after the murder of Solus Prime.

Liege Maximo:

Liege Maximo, the manipulator or rather the speaker. He is known for his gift of words and language. Much is not known about him, only that he was responsible for the fact that Megatronus was completely known as the Fallen and made him into a rage. He was also later murdered by him. [more information will be added later.]

Optimus Prime:

He is the visionary. The one who was more like Primus than any other Prime. He understood the way of life and where it should lead. He is the one who always reminded the Primes of what they were created for. Due to his great resemblance to Primus and the ability to connect with him, he was desirous and often tempted by Megatronus, whom he always vehemently resisted. He was later used as a lure for Unicron and learned even the art of healing to Amalgamous to assist if one of the Primes be injured dangerous. After fighting Unicron and the Primes War, he voluntarily joined forces with the Allspark and was later reborn as Orion Pax. Alpha Trion knew this and took care of him. By electing the High Council for the new Prime Orion Pax became Optimus Prime. However, he gained his memories of his previous live, only at the second merger with the Allspark.

Finally ready! One day for this post! I can’t more. I need a break. Dx

So we all know how weirdly antagonistic Haz is to Mercy. Ever think it's because he saw her as a saviour when he was younger, but got dissolutioned so hard by his accident that he began to grow a specific dislike for her? Like he was waiting in the hospital hoping that an angel would appear and make the pain go away, only for him to be abandoned by the system to suffer alone? I think about it.

Honestly, that's such a raw and compelling interpretation of Hazard's character. I could totally see it—he was probably at his lowest point, clinging to the hope that someone like her would swoop in and save him, like the angel of mercy that she is supposed to represent. Instead, he was left to rot in a broken system, and that betrayal might've cut deeper than any physical wound. It's not just a dislike for Mercy as a person; it's the shattering of an ideal she represented to not just him but possibly everyone.

Every time he sees her, it could be a reminder of the hope he once had—and the pain of realizing that hope was misplaced. It’s not just personal, it’s existential. Maybe that bitterness fuels his drive to rely on himself, even to a fault. That’s why the second voice line with him and her—

For reference:

Mercy: Given the injuries you've sustained... you must be in an immense amount of pain.

Hazard: Let me guess: you want to poke and prod, make it all go away?

Mercy: Well, an examination certainly couldn't hurt.

Hazard: Examine all you like. It won't mend the harm you've done.

This exchange is brimming with tension and layered with resentment, it perfectly illustrates the fractured dynamic between them. His bitterness is palpable, but it’s not just anger—it’s deeply rooted disappointment.

When Mercy acknowledges his pain, her concern comes across as genuine, but to Hazard, it likely feels like empty words.

the pale heart ; cayde's stashes

'and I'm not big on goodbye scenes. so you do… what you gotta do. make it out alive, ok? i need someone who gets my jokes.'

Age of Triumph…

“Cayde!? CAYDE!”

“Woah, hey, kiddo. You alright there?”

“Cayde, you’ve got to listen! Someone’s going to kill you, and I-”

“Easy, Tal. From the top, take it slow.”

“I…” Talyn takes a deep breath. “I was, um…practicing.”

“We talkin’…” Cayde pantomimes shooting himself.

“Yes. You and I were fighting together, in the Prison of Elders. We almost had everything under control, but…”

“Buuut? C'mon, this sounds like a good story.”

“Cayde, I’m being serious! We got seperated, and I couldn’t make it before some…thing shot Sundance. You died in my arms, and I…”

She wraps Cayde in a possessive hug. He pats her on the back.

“Listen, it’s just a dream, alright? I’m fine. See? Got all my arms, got all my fingers.”

“Cayde, these are glimpses of the future. I can’t just write it off.”

“Look at it this way- I’m stuck in this Tower. Not a lot can shoot at me up here, y'know?”

“Yeah…heh, maybe I’m just being silly.”

“Maybe. But hey, who doesn’t get silly every once in a while?”

“Cayde?”

“Uh-huh?”

“…promise you’ll keep safe?”

“‘Course. I promise. Now you go get 'em, Tal.”

Of all the pieces I’ve seen in the Cayde pics vol. 2 lineup by @plastic-bridge, this one is definitely my favorite!  ❤️♠️ 🐓

https://plastic-bridge.tumblr.com/post/616710319487811584/destiny-fanart-vol2-ghost-cayde-and-a-sad-story