The Ultimate Lifeform

Shadow the Hedgehog

Written by: Gems

Welcome Bluesky! This is a page dedicated to a further expansion upon Gems' portrayal of Shadow the Hedgehog.

Character:Sonic Adventure 2 - Sonic X Shadow Generations + Sonic Universe

Everything that happens in the games is to his knowledge up through Sonic X Shadow Generations. After Generations, the Post-Genesis timeline begins. The world is left shattered from the timeline being messed with, and the Sonic cast is left to deal with the fallout of Eggman attempting to stop Sonic from fixing the universe to be the way it is meant to be. Thus, this iteration of Shadow has no prior knowledge to what transpired in the Pre-Genesis timeline (at least what was written before Sonic Universe) nor the crossover event with the Megaman franchise. He is, however, aware of Moebius and that there is at least one universe that exists with evil doppelgangers of most of Sonic's friends.Current events for Shadow involve:- Dealing with a re-released Dark Gaia.- Tried to get Metal Sonic to defect from Eggman after the two fought and teleported away from Moebius to the Sol Dimension. The interaction ends with Metal Sonic making Shadow ponder if he is truly alive, or a machine on the inside carrying out the final orders from its master (Maria).- The Doom Laser, having Shadow nearly sacrifice himself all over again with Sonic catching him before he can fall back into Earth's atmosphere. Sonic finishes the battle with Eggman after Shadow is able to stop the laser. He comments that he "merely respects" Sonic with a smug grin when Rouge points out how Shadow has warmed up to the Blue Blur and trusts him to finish the job.- Fought with Blaze over the Sol Emeralds. Shadow is torn between better protecting the planet and keeping his promise to Maria to the best of his ability at the expense of Blaze and her dimension going non-existent. (Shadow eventually realizes that his promise to Maria extends beyond Mobius and that he is meant to protect everyone from harm- not just the innocent lives on his Mobius).- Black Death, the Dark Arms, and Eclipse. The Black Arms are back and have come into Mobius' orbit to try and use Mobius as a means to jumpstart their regrowth. Eclipse, Shadow's illegitimate brother who was bioengineered with full Black Arms D.N.A., intends to get Shadow to turn against the planet and help them survive. This ends with Shadow once again defeating what little exists of the Black Arms- but not before being mind-controlled by Black Death- an entity similar to Black Doom who takes on the leader role. Rouge and Omega to fight a brainwashed Shadow as a result, but Rouge taunting Shadow with Maria's existence, gives him the strength to overcome the grip Black Death had over Shadow. Shadow then defeats Black Death by once again blowing up the new Black Comet. However, Eclipse and a new larvae survive the explosion.- Eclipse crash-lands on Angel Island. Team Dark immediately went out and explained to Knuckles the situation prior and that Eclipse is likely on Angel Island. Knuckles reluctantly agrees to help them, to which Shadow stayed behind to guard the Master Emerald in Knuckles' stead. Alone, Shadow begins to have strange visions that haunt him. Shadow deduced that the culprit to these hallucinations was Eclipse, and demanded his "brother" come out to face him in battle. Eclipse complied, and after a heated battle Shadow won with the power of the Master Emerald. Shadow then, without Knuckles' express input, planned to take the Master Emerald away and store it at G.U.N. to keep it from falling into Eclipse's hands. Knuckles and Shadow fought over Shadow's actions until Eclipse had run off with the Master Emerald. The altercation ended with Eclipse nearly escaping with the Master Emerald until Knuckles destroyed it to protect it from both Eclipse and Shadow.- After a very long time, Shadow goes to Castle Acorn to ask if Team Dark can be granted permission under G.U.N. to hunt down the Master Emerald shards. There, he finds Knuckles and Amy about to search for the Master Emerald shards as well. The group begrudgingly is dispatched together to search for the shards- to which Shadow and Knuckles are paired off alone. The duo came across Nixus, an echidna who claimed to be searching for the shards himself. Shadow was suspicious of Nixus, but was quickly pulled away from the two echidnas when Rouge and Amy were under attack by a crystallized version of Omega. After, Amy informed Shadow that Nixus was actually Naugus- an evil and powerful troll wizard who seeks to become the ruler of the world. The three set off to find Knuckles and defeat Naugus. Shadow and Co. once again fought a crystalized Omega- which delayed them just long enough for Naugus to fully restore the Master Emerald and trap them within crystals. Naugus fled with Amy and the Master Emerald as Knuckles broke free. Rather than chasing after Naugus, Knuckles takes the time first to free the others from their containment. The group then caught up to Naugus. A battle ensues, and after the heroes win, Knuckles and Amy return the Master Emerald to Shrine Isle. Team Dark, on the other hand, imprisons Naugus.

Headcanons:Inspired from other versions of Shadow the Hedgehog and interpretations of the character.

- Martyr Complex. Always putting others above himself when the time calls for it.- The memories he has of Maria beyond that of her death are mostly the same as those seen within Sonic 3 (the movie). I say mostly, as I cannot see Shadow endangering Maria by rollerblading in the A.R.K. out in space. The scene that takes place in the grass, by extension, happens on the A.R.K. too like in Shadow's flashback to Maria wondering what it was like on Earth.- Shadow's hobbies are reading, historical record keeping, art, music, and earth science / biotech. They are directly influenced by his connection to Gerald and Maria. Shadow has picked up playing the guitar and singing thanks to Maria (seen in Sonic 3, the movie). Shadow has never shown any of these hobbies to anyone (not even members of Team Dark). He also likes to travel when the world, taking in all the sights Maria wanted to see for herself. Unfortunately, he likes to do them all still alone, and likes that others assume that he only broods when he is missing from the group.- Shadow treats girls better than boys. It is because he tends to see bits and pieces of Maria within many of the girls in the Sonic cast. Instances of it can be seen when:> Shadow only turns heel in SA2 when Amy begs him to help. Her request clears his mind to what his real promise to Maria was. Shadow then re-bonds this promise with Amy- running off to include her as a reason to save the planet from what he had done up until that point.> Saving Rouge when the island was set to explode in SA2. Her near-death also reminding him of Maria when she was dying.> Willingly LARPing for Amy's Birthday in M.O.S.T.H. while Rouge had to blackmail him to come to Sonic's Birthday.This said- Shadow does not view women as weak and defenseless. They are not prizes to be won in his mind either- both because Shadow is not doing his heroism as a means of "earning" affection nor is he actively looking to have a romance. Maria in Dark Beginnings is shown attempting to not rely on Shadow, which may explain why Shadow does not actively watch over the girls in the cast whom are clearly capable (Amy, Blaze, Rouge, etc.), leaving them space to do their business and only getting involved with helping them when he is needed to step in.- If the moral choice outweighs "the promise", Shadow will always do whatever needs to be done if the outcome is the morally right one- even if bad things must be done to get to that end-goal. (A.K.A., the end justifies the means). He feels in his heart that is what Maria would have wanted, as Maria accepted him and loved him despite not coming from Mobius.- Shadow is Pansexual. Gerald nor Maria had instilled any concept of sexuality or moral righteousness to choosing a significant other onto him prior to their deaths. It was never intended for Shadow to find romance or- ahem create life of his own with a partner. This means everyone is fair game regardless of gender if the chemistry is present.- Yes, this also means Shadow has no concept to the idea of sexuality or "the birds and the bees". Any remark made to him while roleplaying with others about said subject will entirely fly over his head. He's embarrassingly clueless about it.- Kuudere lover type with hints of Tsundere. This page is long enough so just research it on your own lmao.- Smokes and Drinks. He's immortal and mostly does it as a means to numb out or keep calm. Neither will kill him.- Listens to music anywhere between the 50s, 60s, and 70s. He also likes classical music (despite Y2K edge more fitting to his personality). It is what he grew up on the A.R.K. with.- Hates overly sweet food/drinks. Plays into the joke about him eating coffee beans but extends beyond that too preferring dark chocolate and and matcha to sour candy or caramel.- Lives with Rouge out of convenience. The two of them are often on missions together, so it makes sense even if Shadow is hardly present within her home. That said, he is in a different room than Rouge and it is there he stores things he collects that remind him of what home used to feel like.- Cares a great deal about his appearance and might be caught grooming himself from time to time (fluffing quills, brushing chest fur, etc). Rouge has had to teach him a bit of how to upkeep properly.- Team Dark, and by extension most of the Sonic cast are deemed friends to Shadow. He knows he can trust them if the situation were dire enough he had to turn to someone for help, but he still rather do missions alone.- Dystopian Futurism Goth Aesthetic (Neogoth / Cyberpunk "The Matrix") if humanized.- Vampire mannerisms / tropes.- Hidden alien anatomy. Has access to the Doom abilities still, but he needs external stimuli to activate them (blood, usually). Longer tongue, claws under gloves, tentacles, extra eyes. They're all still there along with the scars to get these new pieces of himself in Shadow Generations.- Energy sensitive. Not just to the Chaos Emeralds, but other resonating energies as well- as they interfere with the chaos energy within his own body.- Leaving this one at the bottom as it might be the most controversial one- but Shadow is Autistic. I could talk about why I've had this headcanon this for ages- but I won't to save on time. This page is long enough and if you are truly interested, you can find deep dives on youtube to support this headcanon with the way Shadow acts in every universe.

Rules:

- Slow Burn Romance Only. I cannot imagine a universe where this traumatized hedgehog actively gets into any relationship quickly despite being a speed demon. If he does fall in love with anyone, it will certainly be organically done- if not an active pursuit of the other person. (Don't push him too hard though). Further, he is the "I would sacrifice myself to save you" lover (obviously).- No Shadria (Shadow x Maria). I don't care if she's a human or a hedgehog or whatever other reincarnation animal people come up with. I personally cannot ship my Shadow with Maria. Shadow no doubt loved/loves her, but it is 100% familial. Something between an older sister and a mom- as it was Maria who nurtured Shadow to be more than a weapon or a theoretical miracle cure.- Ships that transpire will be handled like vampire teen romances. Shadow is immortal after all- and is eternally stuck as he is now until the end of time itself. That said, I will not indulge an age gap too extreme- as Shadow is set to always be physically 15. Do not approach me with any notion that I will allow Shadow to be with a character too young (Tails, Cream, etc.) If you do, I will block you and warn the community about you.

Shipping:

Shadamy / Amy Rose (@cosmic-eternity)
Shadally / Sally Acorn (@sinless-sovereign)