#at the end of the game aswell she has a moment where she realizes killing this man is not the answer too. etc. it’s really sweet actually

[internetskiff]

hoo boy. SOMA. I definitely do not think of that game often ahaha that game certainly has not affected me in any way

Anyways!! Catherine Chun is honestly my favorite deuteragonist in gaming because of how well she's written (sorry Wheatley (he's a close second though)). On my first playthrough I (and I assume a lot of other people) just immediately decide "OK, she's the only other sane 'person' on this station, so she's automatically a friend", and hell, it seems that's how Simon himself views her from the moment they first speak at Upsilon's comms center. But reading into her dialogue, she really doesn't seem to view Simon as a buddy at all up until like.. Their heart-to-heart at the Climber methinks. Just look at how she speaks with him whenever he starts getting existential.

She speaks to him as more of an annoying coworker at times. Considering her attitude towards other sentient machines, I think it's extending even to Simon. She sees him as a means to an end, or at least tries to, up until she has to copy and paste his mind into a new diving suit. And then, when she fails to hide the original Simon from the newly created duplicate and he is rightfully distraught and furious - I think that's when the actual weight of it all hits her.

This interaction still fucks me up a little. The distress in that "Please, stop" as Simon (very righftully) lashes out at her. It's even worse when you consider this is how most of the people she scanned treated her. They're all desperate. They hope that when they sit down in that Pilot Seat and close their eyes, they'll open them in paradise. But when they end up exactly where they were. and realize a copy of them is going to be living it large on a spaceship while they continue rotting down at Pathos II, it's no wonder they'd suddenly view the whole thing as cruel and disgusting. It's still wrong and selfish, of course - especially directing that anger at the one person responsible for preserving humanity simply because you refuse to understand how brain scans work. It's worse when you realize she never got to defend herself from all of it, and in the end she was killed by her own desperate coworkers. And now she's experiencing it again. Unknowingly, Simon's putting her through the exact same thing her human template went through over and over and over again. She viewed him as a means to an end, but I think that stopped after she had to go through that. She shares her memories of home with Simon. I'd say they only REALLY start getting along at like, Phi, which makes the exchange immediately after the ARK is launched that much more gut wrenching. The thing is, while I think Catherine stopped viewing Simon as a means to an end, Simon didn't stop viewing her as one. From the moment she tells him about the ARK, he was probably itching to get on it. Sure, saving humanity is great, but you'd probably also want to be saved aswell, no?

The fact that this is her last exchange and these are the last words she manages to say is absolutely fucked up. You can just imagine what was going through Catherine's mind as she was saying this - Simon telling her she's "Fucking disgusting!", a sentiment echoed by people she considered acquaintances (people she was saving), seeing her own corpse with it's head bashed in by a wrench.. This wasn't just aimed at Simon, I think. This is basically her finally standing up for herself. Her standing up to everyone who despised her simply because THEY didn't understand how brain scans work. She did everything right, she saved humanity - and she was still treated like garbage in the end. And she doesn't even get to finish her sentence before her chip fries and she dies for the second and final time. And if Simon saw things from her perspective for once, he would have the time to pull her Omnitool out and save her from that.

[starcloaked]

i really really like z’an al’urin’s character arc (mostly because her voice actor is absolutely killing it oh my god.) but it makes absolutely no sense to me that she won’t join up w/a character of good alignment & will leave if it rises above zero. it seems so much to me like a communication error when they were writing her because she absolutely does not talk like someone who’s totally bent on doing unimaginable harm to people. like yeah a persuasion check to convince her to come with you at the start would be reasonable since she’s against betraying her village and feels as if siding with someone like that is against who she’s been led to believe she is. but like… her defining character motive is that she feels as if something is deeply wrong with the philosophy she has been raised on, and seeks to right the wrongs her people have done by killing the person who initially led them to believe such a thing. she is out for herself in her journey, and she makes this clear to you when you join up with her, but she’s not like. evil. more morally gray if anything.

[slowgo123]

Persona 5 Familiar AU

@ren-amamiyaa (hope you don’t mind me tagging you since you were interrested in the AU)

This will be just a more in detail post from the AU I brought up.

This AU was created and developed by me and my friend @oracle-nila. 

More under the “read more” because this is long because I don’t know when to stop

The basic idea behind it is that each of the PT’s persona have an animal form they use in the real world to follow around their user, look after them, give them advice or be a be a nuisance if they want to be.

Each of the persona’s can only be understood by persona users, normal people will only hear animal sounds. Each persona has the general needs of the animal they are and not taking proper care of them can affect fighting inside the Metaverse, meaning that each Phantom Thief has to properly research of how to take care of their respective animal. Depending on animal and personality they are varying degrees of hard to keep alive, they can get sick and even “die”.

Death is not that permanent for Persona. A Persona dying in the real world means that they will be unable to be used for a short while and be weaker than normal until growing back to full strenght. During this time the user of the respective Persona will also be affected, they suffer from a lack of energy and will be pretty tired, their Persona dying will also cause an emotional imbalance. (Using persona uses SP more often then not which is pretty much “mental energy” or at least it’s referred to such in pq  so I think it makes sense for their death to affect their user mentally)

Now I’ll just go into detail about each persona for a bit:                                           Also hope no one is bothered my unrealistic desings and hhhh art abwfk also tumblr sucks and likes to resize images so rip me

Arsene:

Arsene is a Raven (not a crow as some heathens from shujin would like to make you believe) I mostly made him one because of Arsene’s majestic wings (also fun fact: a group of ravens is called an unkindness or a conspiracy)

Arsene stays around Ren 24/7 having a habit if sitting on him (I mean Ren’s hair is basically a nest awnflfw) which confuses some students at Shujin and does bother some of the teachers (though I can’t recommend trying to throw a piece of chalk at him)

He is smaller than the average raven making it easy to mistake him for a crow

He also has the habit of stealing things from students at Shujin (he steals a lot of different things, mostly food, but he has stolen a wallet before)

He’s also a pretty good spy if need be

It isn’t suprising to see Mona or Loki get annoyed with him (he does get along with Carmen tho so not the entire cat squat wants him dead awfbkbw)

Zorro:

[ He’s a small bug and I didn’t have the energy to make a desing for him so there’s nothing here]

Zorro is a mosquito. Why you ask? because he reminded me of a mosquito when I first saw him and was 100% convinced he looked like one. (and because it’s funny)

He is the most fragile of all of the Persona (even if he says otherwise) this is used to tease him most of the time

Zorro is a male mosquito so he doesn’t drink any blood, though that doesn’t mean that that everyone isn’t going to be worried if he were to complain about hunger

Stays in Mona’s fur most of the time for safety reasons

Kidd:

Kidd is dog, more specifically a border collie. The border collie is a dog breed originating from the scottish border, we thought it’d fit more than some other dog breeds because: scottish breed - scottish pirate

Both eyes work fine, but he has the eye patch because pirate aesthetic

also has a scar on his right hind leg but my idiot butt didn’t reallly make any kind of ref for how the scar looks and didn’t really draw it in the only drawing I have of him

Carmen:

Carmen is a calico cat and also extremely fluffy

She’s a little taller than Mona

She often comes to school with Ann and charms people into giving her food (she’s quite talented at it)

She uses her close connection to Ann to her advantage when she can by manipulating Morgana or making small deals with him (that almost always end up with her not actually holding up her end of the deal)

Goemon:

Goemon is a ferret and possibly the least realistic and most colorful desing of all of them

[haha he hasn’t actuallly gotten that much development]

Johanna:

[also hasn’t gotten a proper desing/drawing made yet]

Johanna is a swan

HONK HONK

one of the least convinient persona to care for since Makoto not only has to explain to Sae why a swan keeps following her around at some point, but also is way too big or heavy to be carried via bag (though the latter thing could also be said about all of the other bigger/heavier persona)

Makoto can usually be found around the park because of her persona

Makoto is team mom and I’m 100% convinced Johanna is team mom for all of the persona

Necronomicon:

Neccie is a bat (the desing was based of a brown bat specifically)

They’re nobinary and I’d give my life for them

Futaba and Neccie have both terrible sleep schedules due to both staying up when they should be sleeping (being the only nocturnal one of the group is hard)

They try to make Futaba go to bed at more resonable times, but often get too invested in whatever Futaba is doing at the time

They also like cuddling (which is good with Futaba’s tendency to manhandle animals)

has a tendecy to swear when angry

Milady:

Milady is a fox, looks cute but can be still quite dangerous (her desing is mostly based of a red fox)

[she also hasn’t gotten much development, sadly]

Robin Hood:

[doesn’t have a desing yet]

Robin is a golden retriever (golden retriever RH ftw)

He is trying his best to help Akechi (he has gotten both gotten the nickname of “Akechi’s self control” and “what’s left of Akechi’s moral compass” by me)

He actually likes to cuddle

Robin is also larger than the average golden retriever

Robin and Loki can bud heads from time to time, but they can still get along

Robin urges and tries to get Loki to interact with the other Persona whenever he can

has a habit of picking up Loki by the neck when needed

He also follows Akechi during bike rides (being a dog means that he needs proper daily exercise)

Loki:

Loki is cat, he’s a lot bigger than the average cat and is a short hair. (and also gets second place in least realistic desing) 

I like describe the relationship between Loki, Robin and Akechi as: Loki gets Akechi in trouble and Robin tries to get him out if it

He has the habit of pushing stuff of tables, annoy Akechi and in general be the asshole cat he was meant to be.

He likes to play the tsundere game strong

He avoids social interaction most of the time

He can be a bit chaotic and mischievous, you know, trickster god and all

He has the highest death count of all of the persona (suprising seeing how one of them is a mosquito)

Welp, now with the basic info about the persona and how the entire familiar thing works I might aswell go a little more into detail about scenarios and story and other shenanigans.

Akechi in this AU is found out way more quickly, at least the multiple persona and that he has a persona part, making him join the party earlier than in canon.

He is pretty much the first person they got to when they have questions on the whole persona thing since he had to deal with Loki and Robin for quite a while now. For example, if a persona were to get sick and they don’t know if it’d be better they can ask Akechi about or maybe even ask questions about how the whole “death” thing works. (how helpful he actually is can depend on the question and situation awnfljf)

Further on the topic of Akechi, he doesn’t get as strong of an effect if one of his persona then rest of the PT (because he only has one dead and the other is still alive), but if somehow both die he will barely be alive, because the effect is way stronger than the any of the PT would have. His brain would be short circuiting while the extreme exhaustion would make him almost pass out the entire time. (and let’s not forget that Robin and Loki are pretty much his only proper emotional support that he can genuinly talk to)

Btw, the first time Loki died was a shitshow, because that was during Akechi being really lonely and still young having no idea they could just “come back”. 

The general story wouldn’t actually change that much give or take a few death and persona related shenanigans, even with Akechi getting to be part of the PT earlier and getting to know all of them better than in canon.

The interrigation room pretty much plays out exactly like canon with Robin being a good amount of disappointed that it had to end like this.

Later on while Loki is off on his own when Akechi, Robin and him where somewhere near the Diet building he notices the PT being a lot more active than they should be and aproaches then, realizing that Ren is actually alive, he makes sure to try and dissuade them from continueing doing what they’re doing, which ends up with Loki killing Arsene and then just legging it, trying to weaken their leader before getting the news what’s going on to Akechi asap.

Akechi is super worried at how bloody Loki is and it takes a moment to click what Loki is telling him. Akechi enters Shido’s palace and the traitor fight happens a bit earlier in the palace than in canon, meaning that they aren’t in that cursed boiler room. Cognitive Akechi shows and instead of any kind of sacrifices being made the PT just beats the shit out of it. (also I like to think that Ren can still use persona even with Arsene having freshly died, just that attacks take a lot more energy and he has to struggle with the effects)

From then on Akechi join the PT again and the awkward, tense road to redemption is now opened to him (with Loki having to apologize for killing Arsene)

Also might I also say that through my endless need to insert Shuake into everything I make, just imagine their persona trying to be their respective wingman/men, Robin would have good intentions, but I’m mostly conviced that if anything Loki would just use knowing about the crush to be a little shit.

PS: thing that that nila noticed was that Arsene was a raven and that’s really similiar to a crow and I’m sure there’s something you connect with crow and Loki a cat and there’s a certain character people often compare to a cat.

Alright, I don’t know what to add currently so I think this is it for now until I decide to maybe edit it incase I make some more proper desings and/or this AU gets more developed [edit 1] fixed problem 

[superemeralds]

Lost and Found: Lyrical Character Analysis for Shadow the Hedgehog

it’s all under the cut; it’s also really long...... 

can’t really make a TLDR for it since it’s kinda chaotic and you need the context sajfhsakj just know that shadow is a super deep character and fuck anyone that makes him The Token Edgy Boy,,

if you have anything to add, feel free to do so. If you think I missed a song, tell me! (i spent over 10 hours on this, i fell asleep at one point too sjafhaskj)

song index (each song has a link to a youtube video up here, and also in the analysis of the specified song):

throw it all away

supporting me

waking up

almost dead

broken

chosen one

all hail shadow

i am all of me

never turn back

who i am

1) Throw it all away

Shadow’s theme in SA2, the first theme he ever had.

This show’s Shadow in his state immediately after the ARK raid where he still has *all* of his memories. He is blinded by rage over the events and emotionally confused. His sorrow manifested in a tunnel vision that could only see the revenge that Gerald had planned for him to carry out.

Everybody tries to be straight But things are still unchanged It's useless to resist Their effort will be wasted

obviously this means shadow is gay thanks for reading my analysis.

By “straight” the singer probably means upright, proper and just.

This makes a lot of sense considering Shadow’s world view in that moment. Humans are all the same: They pretend to mean well and fight for the right thing/justice; but in the end their true selfish nature will arise, they just can’t resist being evil. No matter how many people speak of change, he’s seen what they really are. Every effort of people to be good is wasted because they just do bad things anyways. Mostly seen as that even after those 50 years that Shadow was asleep, humans have not changed at all. They are still fighting and at war with themselves (in different ways/forms than back then) and discriminative. And most of all are they trashing the planet that Maria wanted to protect so dearly. (the efforts are also wasted because Shadow wants to kill them all with a big laser)

The trauma of the in a later game implied abuse, aswell as the brutal loss of Maria shaped Shadow to have a very black and white view of the world that led him to believe that people couldn’t redeem themselves. (the same actually goes for the GUN Commander, but that’s for another post.)

Head straight for your goal by any means There is a door that you've never opened There is a window with the view you have never seen Get there, no matter how long it takes

This verse is interesting as it suddenly changes the perspective. This is not how Shadow sees himself, but how an observer would describe him.

Shadow is a person that does whatever he needs to achieve his goal and in this game it is even more prominent because of his tunnel vision and the fact he acts a lot on emotion. (rage, sadness, confusion, guilt)

The door and the window are symbolic to the opportunities that Shadow has to make a difference and be the change he wants to see so badly, aswell as a reference to his tunnel vision and an urge for him to open his eyes to what he is doing and that there is more to the world than what he believe it to be at that time, mostly considering that Shadow never got a chance to actually see much of the real world, since he was born and raised in an artificial and military environment in space; and after that he was immediately put to sleep and imprisoned. And after THAT he was too fixated on destroying the world to actually pay attention to his surroundings.

It almost sounds like this is Shadow’s voice of reason speaking to him. It is gentle and patient (Either literally Maria or Shadow’s suppressed memories of her)

Oh dark the darkness that dozes in the dusk Throw it all away! No-one can break you, nobody can tear you You live an endless life forever

Dusk is the colors at sunset. (I googled it to be sure.) so that might be symbolic for the light fading from his sight, darkness and negativity creeping up on his bright and colorful old self.

Shadow realizes his mistake late in the game and he is reminded of Maria’s wish. he throws the darkness away. (he also “throws his rings away” in the final phase of the fight against the finalhazard…)

He has put this mask on himself, created this persona of himself that is unfazeable, unbreakable. This is him speaking to himself, telling himself he should not let anything stop him in his plans, that he is the strongest and true ultimate life form.

He knows that he is doomed/cursed with his immortality. Exactly this is why he’s ready to “throw it all away” and ultimately sacrifice himself in the end.

Oh dark the darkness that dozes in the dusk Throw it all away! You see a light wherever you go You have to face it again and again (and again and again)

The memories of Maria haunt him, but even if they do make him suffer, at the same time they are only his last and only reason to live and to move forward. She is his light, and he has to face the truth about her fate over and over and over again every time he has those flashbacks.

The way he has to face them is not a haunt though, it is a reminder. His subconcious wants him to remember his true purpose, but his stubbornness makes it really really hard to see the truth.

Alternatively he also encounters Sonic who is trying to stop him from destroying the planet at numerous places. Sonic is also a light in shadow’s world, a very harsh one that literally tries to beat sense into him.

Now, wake up, up, up, up…

He has to wake up and snap out of it and save the world.

This song is easily a dialogue between Shadows true self and the version of him that is blinded by rage. He argues with himself about if he is doing the right thing and urges himself to snap out of his anger induced trance.

2) Supporting Me

Arguably not directly one of his theme songs but there are important hint to Shadow’s character development within SA2.

Remember how Shadow was very selfish in his wish to destroy the planet? Well get a load of this then:

I'm gonna be desperate

He’s outright desperate to right his wrongdoings. He did not believe in redemption before, but now he’s not so sure himself. He doesn’t know or care if he will be redeemed, but he’s desperate to do what he was to do to make it right again. (By fighting his brother and winning Sonic and Knuckles some time to stop the ARK from crashing to the earth)

Never lose, hurry Never lose, hurry

Shadow can’t lose, not ever, and most of all not now. He has to beat the Biolizard at all costs and he has to do it fast as time is running out.

I believe in my future, farewell to the shadow It was my place to live, but now I need your hand Lead me out with your light I have breathed in the disgusting air of darkness But I never lose out to the pressure

Shadow stopped looking back to the past, all that matters is the present and the future of this planet. He bids farewell to

1) the shadow that was clouding his view

2) the Shadow (himself) of the past.

He insisted that he was the real and Sonic was a Fake, he told him to die and that he didn’t have the right to be alive since it would be a mockery to his existence. He regrets his words and acknowledges that implying that he was the only one who had the right to live was wrong. He needs Sonic’s help now. Sonic is his light (as mentioned in the song before) that can lead him out of his darkness. The disgusting air of darkness he’s been breathing for too long. (This verse also refers to how the Biolizard is Shadow’s prototype and how Shadow was the one who was allowed to “live a life” while the Biolizard was artificially programmed (however they did that) and made a consciousless slave to Gerald’s plan.)

But no matter what happens, Shadow is able to stay cool and not give in to his emotions in the sense of his mission. He has to keep fighting without any disturbances or distractions. He can’t afford failure. Pressure (mainly the pressure of time in this context) is nothing.

(The instrumental in this part has a distorted part of live and learn in it!) Everything's just like an illusion I'll be losing you before long

I never lose my confidence

Everything being an illusion is a reference to how fast everything is going for Shadow, how confused and unsure he is of his actions and the future of the planet. It’s too much to take in, but at the same time he (as mentioned before) can’t afford the confusion. He’s quick to adapt and accept this fate, but he can’t help feeling like the last few hours have been too wild of a ride.

He’s ready to sacrifice his life to save the world though, and the You he’s referring to… well.

I know you were supporting me Supporting me Supporting me I'll be losing you before long

Who’s supporting him? Sonic. Sonic is supporting him. Shadow already know’s he’s going to sacrifice himself to save the planet. He’s known from the very moment he was reminded of his purpose.

He doesn’t believe in redemption. He knows that he did something villainous, and he doesn’t deserve to be saved and supported by Sonic (the Hero). He’s okay with it. It’s okay. He lived and learned. He doesn’t want to live out his curse of immortality anyways.

3) Waking Up

Covering the ShTH songs is a challenge, but I’ll do my best to make sense.

This is the true neutral theme of Shadow. well… “true”. I’d call it more of a… this is the theme for a Shadow that was not told any new information throughout his quest and the only thing he was told by Eggman was a lie. (him being an android that is. it’s a lie. Eggman confirms it later in the game.)

Jet sounds a distant roar behind you As you try to clear your head You start to look and answers find you Your inner purpose lies ahead

This isn’t about Jet The Hawk btw.

Due to the Alien Invasion that’s going on right now, the military (GUN) is out and about having war with them. It’s loud and irritating and it’s distracting Shadow from his true mission: Remembering his past, his identity. Finding out who he is. Finding answers. He finds them, but many are not what he actually wanted to know. He gets more answers than he asked for and he has to sort them out and find the truth behind them. The true ending: his inner purpose that’s always been there right from the start.

One step to calm the storm inside you Unlock the secrets in your head Not another day, no more confusion No more living like you're dead

His mind is in turmult, he’s confused and scared, but determined to find the truth. One step forward towards that truth can clear his head and help him focus. He’s tired of being manipulated and confused, he wants to know who he is and why he exists! He feels fake and unreal and its suffocating. He will remember at all costs.

It seems it's just out of sight The ones with answers always get their way And I think they should know That I'm coming for them Now

He’s so close to the truth it seems, because everyone keeps telling him they know who he is, and they are willing to tell him if he does them a favour. He plays along for a while but ultimately he sees through the manipulation and opposes them. Eggman, GUN, Black doom…. He will combat their manipulation by using it to his advantage. He just wants to know who he is…

Waking up, breaking out *This is what it's like to be free Rip it up, tear it down *This is what it means to be free Waking up, breaking out *This is what it's like to be free Rip it up, tear it down *This is what it means to be free

(lyrics with * are in omegas voice as this is the ending song for shadow being told he is an android and he and omega join forces to kill eggman)

waking up and breaking out is meant symbolic aswell as literal… being aware of the abuse you’re going through and breaking out of it…. it’s freeing. You feel free.

And, technically, you *are* free, too. But Shadow and Omega… they feel like this isn’t enough.

In order to be really free, they have to destroy the source of their suffering. This is their meaning of being free. Once whatever is emotionally holding them back is destroyed, it can’t bother you anymore.

This is the path they had been manipulated into. ( I’ll explain how everything goes together when I get to I am All Of Me)

4) Almost dead

This is the pure dark (and normal dark) ending theme for Shadow.

No more gods No more graves Are you friend or fiend? No more life No more death Somewhere in between

This is the path there he got too many answers, too much information, things out of context left and right that got to his head.

he says, I quote, “I was created to bring order and justice to the humans… With the power of these emeralds I’m going to destroy this danm planet!”

He’s tired of being told what to do, tired of being “meant” to save and protect creatures that are not worth it, sick of catering to black dooms plans. He’s sick of *everyone* what better way to end it than to just kill everyone?

It doesn’t even matter anymore that innocent people will go down with him. Existence is cursed and there’s nothing anyone can do about it anymore.

Heaven can't save us Hell is a joke No place left to go What you see You cannot believe But when we rise, you'll know

This is  a reference to the other ending. The ending where shadow is convinced by black doom to be evil. Where he works for black doom. He will help the black arms rise. Humans are worthless and deserve to be ruled over by the dark arms.

Well we're almost dead Almost dead Almost dead to the world Almost dead Almost dead Almost dead to the world

The world is almost dead, since it’s doomed now, but he and the aliens are both not seen as living being either.

5) Broken

This is an unused track that was not included in the final game, I’ll talk more about this later and what ending this would probably be for. (edit: i’ll explain why it’s unused and everything in the next song that replaces this one)

Don't wanna feel like Don't wanna think like Don't wanna live like Like someone else Wanna feel like Just wanna think like Just wanna be like Everyone else

Shadow just wants to be normal like everyone else, he hates his destiny as chosen one (pun intended)

The below verse is a cont of that thought.

Don't wanna sing like Don't wanna dream like Don't wanna act like Like someone else Wanna feel life Just wanna live life Just wanna live life As someone else

Here its like. He isnt even sure if he can relate to pleople in the most TRIVIAL THINGS ... He feels alien to other ppl bc... He literally is an alien.

And he really wished he wasnt. That his past wast so tragic. That all this hadn't happened. That he wasnt made in the first place.

Couldn't walk away from something broken Tried to find a way to make it good again Only you can make a difference, darling But always...

And he refers to himself as broken, bc thats what he is. Just. A scrap heap of memories and misery And he tries so hard to be good but he feels like he cant do it And hes trying hard for Maria, trying hard for Sonic, trying hard for Rouge. Their love is his reason to live, they give him the power to keep going. But always..... Everyone dies and leaves him behind alone again. As is his fate as immortal life form.

6) Chosen one

The Neutral Hero ending.

He mainly learns about the things on ARK and his origin, how he was made.

I can't remember Anything at all I've been turning it all around I'm sorry So sorry Is this what I have become

Shadow says “I’m a research experiment gone deadly wrong, I should’ve never been created.”

He feels guilty that he can’t remember all the horrible things that happened, the horrible thing he did in SA2. All the people he hurt when he was looking for answers. And also guilty for the alien invasion.

He’s guilty for his existence.

Wish I may Wish I might be someone else tonight Sometimes I wish I was never born at all And I'll try to save the world Cause in the end I know I'm the chosen one I'm the chosen one

He can wish all he wants to reverse his past, no be someone else, to wish he was never born. He will do his best to save the world, to right his wrongdoings. To somehow redeem himself and take the weight of his guilt off his shoulders. It all depends on him, because that’s what he was made for. It’s his purpose, his fate.

I can't remember What I used to be Something's turning me upside down You made me I love you But I can't change things I've done (I'm the chosen one)

He can’t remember his past self anymore, he has no idea how and what his childhood was like.

All he knows is that he was close to Maria, that he loved her and that her death was horrible and in vain. All he can remember is her death and her smile.

He doesn’t remember how Sonic had helped him in SA2, but he has new recent memories of Sonic’s support. I assume strongly that Sonic did tell Shadow about their team-up on ARK. He’s literally turning his world upside down.

Sonic helped Shadow realize the truth, he supported him a LOT throughout the game. Emotionally and physically.

After all they’ve been through....

He loves him.

Shadow loves Sonic.

And after all this, even when he appreciates him and is grateful for his continuous support….

Just like on ARK in SA2, he feels like he doesn’t deserve redemption. He doesn’t deserve Sonic’s love.

(disclaimer: love doesn’t have to be romantic. see it however you want lmao)

Broken and Chosen One are connected, you can easily see the parallels.

I think that Broken was meant to be the neutral hero theme, but when that was canceled they put Chosen One in its place.

EDIT: the description of the video i linked does confirm this actually. broken was not written FOR the game, rather Jun thought it was so good and fitting that he’d like to have included it in the game, but was unable to get permission,,,, this is why chosen one sounds so much like broken, because it’s MEANT to kinda mimic it in mood and style.

And I think those two songs are VERY underrated. They show Shadow’s more emotional side that people tend to ignore completely.

7) All Hail Shadow

Okay I’ll be upfront. This is Shadow’s theme since 2006.

And I hate it. It is a very “biased” theme for Shadow that only shows one side of him. I’ll explain.

Suffer long and it will set you free! Only through trial do we find the strength we need It's never over, just another day Of hope and tragedies, and everything that comes our way

This song is all about how edgy Shadow is. It tells of how suffering builds character (bad trope)

What i like about this verse is that it addresses that hope and tragedy go hand in hand, that there's good and bad in a balance in life.

Determination of the strong, Found the meaning that you've searched for so long!

Shadow found the seeming meaning of his life. His promise to Maria, and Sonic.

Somewhere in chaos we all find ourselves This destruction is the only tale we tell White is black and black is white, Right is wrong, wrong is right!

Nothing ever fills this hole inside your heart

more edgy stuff………. i really cant tell you what the fuck this is supposed to mean  other than “shadow is an edgy anti hero” and im like. we get it. but where’s the lore? the context? the character?

the black and white thing kinda symbolizes the manipulation he went through to find out the truth. How he can’t trust what anyone says and how he has to rely on his own judgement.

the hole in his heart obviously being his missing memories that can’t magically return, even if he tried hard and was fed tonns of information.

All Hail Shadow! Heroes rise again! Obliterating everything that's not your friend! Nothing can stop you now, No ghost to bring you down! There's nothing left to lose, You win!

In this ending Shadow learned just the right facts about his past to boost his confidence.

And like im glad about that its good for him

And in this context it’s valid to call shadow a hero, because in this ending he IS a pure hero. (he and sonic kill all the dark arms together)

and this is a good song i love it

But not as his main theme. This is not Canon Shadow. This is Pure Hero Shadow.

Hear me out guys. ShTH is all about manipulation. You as player get to manipulate Shadow into taking a certain path. It’s about exploring how a person’s personality can change depending on what information they learn and what people they meet and  what things happen to them.

Which is why Shadow is an entirely different person in all of those endings.

Yes, all of those are still Shadow, but they are alternative versions of him that do not belong in the canon timeline. The canon timeline is the True Ending that I will explain below.

( also i hate people using this player manipulation as excuse to say “but shadow used guns in his game! its canon! he’s edgy! he uses guns!” like no thats not how it works thats ONE PATH he could go. You chose it but it’s not the one HE chose. in the true ending he uses his chaos powers exclusively.)

8) I am… All of Me

This is the theme of the fight against Devil Doom. This is not the conclusion yet, but it is the immediate reaction to learning the final and absolute truth about himself and his past.

I see no, hear no evil, Black writing on the wall, Unleashed a million faces, And one by one they fall,

I learned that the first line is a saying but I can’t really say much to it and ive been analyzing all those songs for 7 hours in a row now please help with that part.

Black-hearted evil, Brave-hearted hero, I am all, I am all I am, I... I... I am

Against popular belief this doesn’t mean that he is both evil and a hero, it means that he is neither. This emphasises that he is himself and nothing else.

Here we go buddy, Here we go buddy, Here we go, Here we go buddy, Here we go

here we go buddy, you will die now.

Go ahead and try to see through me, Do it if you dare, One step forward, two steps back, I'm here (One step forward, two steps back) Do it... Do it... Do it... DO IT…

Shadow is his own person and he’s determined, more than ever. He feel confident in himself and his power, confident in his destiny and his purpose.

If anyone dares to oppose him…. He will take one step towards them, they back two steps backwards in fear of him.

Can you see all of me? Walk into my mystery, Step inside and hold on for dear life, Do you remember me? Capture you and set you free I am all, I am all of me (I am all, I am of me) I am... I am, I'm all of me, I am... I am, I'm all of me, I am... I am, I'm all of me,

Shadow wonders of other people’s perception of him, of pepole that remember him from before he lost his memory; and he wants them to know that they don’t know this new shadow yet. That they have to get to know him again

The capture part references more like… captivating… Because of his mystery and the urge to find out who he is.

Again. He is all the things that make him himself, but ultimately he’s just Shadow the hedgehog. He is who he is.

I see and feel the evil, My hands will crush them all, You think you have the answer, I laugh and watch you fall,

Reference to the first verse; he used to not see those things, but now he does and he’s confident to be in the right. Confident in what he does and what he believes in. People can pretend to know who he is, but that is merely laughable.

I am... I am everyone, everywhere, anyhow, any way, any will, any day... I am... I am everyone, everywhere, anyhow, any way, any will, any day... I am! I am! I am! I am! I am! I am!

Shadow is himself and nothing in the world can change that. Nothing will bend his will, change his mind… Nothing will manipulate him ever again. He is the one and only ultimate life form and no one can take this away from him.

9) Never Turn Back

This is the real and true Theme of Shadow that plays in the real and final credits after the true ending/final story when you complete the game 100%.

It begins with a piano of the refrain from i am all of me!!!!!!!

It's been a long, rough road And I'm finally here I move an inch forword, Feels like a year

The path he walked to get where he is now, after the black arms, after finally uncovering the secrets to his past…. every time he got new information he was even more confused than before. To him, and the player, it felt like years to get to this point. It was tideous, and who knows if it was worth it?

Everything you feel, It's so unreal Is it true? Is it true?

He doesn’t remember *anything* so are his emotions towards his past justified? Is his grief over Maria, his anger towards the humans and himself… Is it all real? Is it just lies? Is he just pretending to feel to make himself feel real, because if he didn’t react so emotional towards learning those things…. what else would he have? This is a direct reference to SA2 and his quote “Even if my memories are not real, it’s still me, Shadow, and I will fulfill my promise to Maria. That is all that matters to me now.”

Back then the memories were all he had. Everyone he knew and loved (arguably only two people) were dead and long gone. So if he didn’t act on them….. what else would there be to his life and him? He didn’t have any other choice if he wanted to stay sane/stable. Even now that he doesn’t remember, he has this information about his past. And no matter if it rurns out to be true or not, doesn’t matter, because it’s all he has to go by to shape himself and if he doesn’t react emotional to those lies, he mgiht aswell be a lie himself. (His identity crisis was an enourmus mental strain on him that developed into a physical pain aswell, as he very clearly showed to suffer from frequent non contextual flashbacks and accompaning headaches.)

I take one step forward Two steps back I have a hundred-thousand pounds Sitting on my back

A reference to I am all of me! He is fearsome and powerful. Very fearsome and powerful.

He’s done many things using this power that made him guilty. Alone his existence guilts him, as people are scared of him just for *him*. He never asked to be made, to be the only hope to save the world, to live up to all those very unread expectations laid on him as The Ultimate Life Form.

The burden of his destiny is heavy, oh so heavy.

Up, down All around Don't know quite what to do To get through

(time speed highway reference) 

He’s confused and his mind is all over the place, he doesn’t know what to do now. He doesn’t yet quite know how to cope with his new found emotions, with his fate, with his existence alone.

Well I'm on my way On my way On my way On my way

Oh boi here he comes!

Here I am (Here I am) Made it to The end of you

Never had a chance when I'm around (No, No) No No No No

Here he is!!!!!!! jokes aside this symbolizes his coming out

double jokes aside

it symbolizes that he’s taken his time to collect himself, his long path of finding himself and building his personality with the scrap pieces of memories he collected. He’s now at the end of the road. He’s at the end of “you”. who is you?

Considering he never had a chance to “get to the end of them” before (and also im biased) I suspect it to be Sonic. He has gotten to a place to be equals with Sonic again, to see eye to eye. To have a close bond with him. The many “no”s emphasis how long it took for him to be able to face him. While he was still unsure of himself he wouldn’t dare to actively build a bond with him, to try and be equals. (he did try to ignore/shove him aside throughout the whole game, but sonic kept coming back/tagging along)

Well now I'll never turn back (Never turn back) I'll never turn that way No matter how life tries to face me, I turn the other way

Shadow, as quoted, “Left his past behind him”. This means he moved on from his memories, from all the things that happened over 50 years ago. Moved on from his destiny. (Hint/foreshadowing to 06 where he emphasises very strongly that “he determines his own destiny.”)

No matter what happens, he swears to himself to never look back at the past anymore. That he will concentrate on the present, aswell as the future.

This is a very very important step to stabilize his mental health and get over his PTSD

Now and then (Now and then) My head starts to spin (Starts to spin) I'll never turn back....again!

Direct reference to how clinging to the past had made him to fatal mistakes (almost destroying the entire fucking planet, and also actually go through with blowing up the moon)

And he will still get flashbacks sometimes, he will have breakdowns and he will have episodes…. But he decides that they can’t and won’t define him. He will stand above them and be himself with his own power.

From this moment on (Moment on) I am moving on (Moving on) And I'll never turn back!

Literally everything I mentioned above. He’s moving on from his past and all the expectatoins others laid on him and he’s becoming his own person, that lives for his own sake. (well he still lives for Maria and sonic but like. It’s less extreme than before)

I guess I'm doing alright And I'm on my way Facing every moment Day by day

I’m so glad shadow the hedgehog is doing fine guys. He’s living in the present and he’s got his eyes on the prize.

Take a chance, slip on by Got no time to answer why Head straight Head straight

head gay

No time to waste it’s time to be of use to the world. All he got left to him is doing what’s right. He often doesn’t fully know why he does certain things or why he has a certain opinion on things, because he doesn’t remember where that thought camefrom, but he doesn’t want to spiral into a breakdown. He accepts it and moves on. Forward. Gotta look ahead and not backwards.

What will I become if I don't look back? Give myself a reason, for this and that

Exactly what I mentioned above. He isn’t entirely sure, and he’s tempted by the past. But right now he thinks it’s best to not dwell on it, to not know more than he does right now, because it could easily make himself slip up and have another identity crisis, which is counter productive to his mental health since he worked hard to establish his current personality. He’s still a little unstable so he best wait until he has settled and established emotional comfort (in team dark and sonic).

I can learn No U-turn I will stay right here Where I'm at Where I'm at

He knows he can still learn from the past, but he also knows that he has to stay in the present and not go too much in depth about it.

That’s who he is now, and it’s who he’ll stay.

And I think this theme, even if less catchy and less edgy, is perfect for him. It describes him perfectly (which was like. intentional. bc it IS his final theme lmao.)

I’m forever salty…………

okay but here comes the final blow!!!!!

10) Who I am

An unused song that got taken out of the game because Magna-fi liked the song too much to give away copyrights…..

it is an alternative to “I am… all of me” and was originally planned to be the fucking MAIN THEME OF THE ENTIRE GAME!!!!!!!!!! (i am all of me is a nice theme for the game, more catchy i guess? works better with the cgi? lemme actually try playing the cgi cutscene with who i am playing over it.. I’ll be real it was not made for this Clip but at some places it fit incredibly well? also the timing was often actually pmuch on point with the scene change? hm. also the video ended on “this is what you made me and you’re not ever gonna change me”)

I mainly think because Magna-fi also performed all hail shadow, but later there was a crush 40 version (which was also used instead of the magna-fi version in later games, that it’s plausible it was meant to be the main theme. Like even the instrumental from the magna-fi version was entirely ignored after shth)

I don’t know the reasons for *that* (maybe because they disbanded in 2007???)

Anyways here’s song….. it’s so fucking important to me and hooooly shit….

You never really understood me You always put me down Like a dog that's beaten over and over One day I'm gonna take you down

This is Shadow’s lanment at GUN. It implies he’s gone through abuse on the ARK, aswell as down on earth. It emphasizes that GUN sees him as nothing more but an animal, not a sentient person.

This is also a cry for war at Black Doom because he obviously doesn’t understand Shadow and only demands from him to work for his goal, calling him a traitor and failure whenever he doesn’t do exactly what he should or when he questoins his orders.

This is who I am Not a shadow of who I want to be Try to understand That this is what you made me And you're not ever gonna change me

Shadow found himself and he now has established his own sense of self (and self-worth!)

He’s addressing everyone that had shaped his personality throughout the game here, they made him who he is now, and if they don’t like if then to hell with them because this is him and he ain’t gonna change. He’s done being a shadow of his past self, he is *him*.

You underestimate my sorrow How the wreckage of my life I tried so many times to tell you The silence down in both of us (No excuses)

This one is specifically addressing Eggman (and the other people that knew him from before his memory loss to a certain degree). Eggman underestimated his immense emotions, his sorrow, the misery he was in, the extreme guilt he felt about *everything* when he told him that he was just a “copy” of the Real Shadow.

But no matter who, Shadow tells everyone he just wants to know who he *really* is. He needs support to uncover the truth, not people who don’t listen to what he has to say and then remain silent in order to not say the wrong thing.

The no excuses goes for exactly those people who are “heroes”. They don’t get a pass for being heroes, they have to respect his emotional needs.

You have made me You can't change me You don't know me This is who I am

Everyone shaped him in different ways, everyone’s independent input made him who he is.

And no one can take that influence back, he can’t be changed.

And no one knows what goes on inside his head. How he processed the information is HIS OWN BUSINESS. What info he recieved… That’s his business. Only he knows. Other people aren’t able to understand him and even if they knew all the things he was told, this still doesn’t mean they know who he is.

Even the people that knew him before his memory loss…. They might think they know him, but they really don’t. How would they. He doesn’t even know himself.

Alright! That’s it!

Again, if I forgot a song please tell me I’ll add it to the post and analyze it (give me like a day or two tho im super exhausted now)

I hope you can understand where I’m coming from with my thoughts and if you have anything to add go right ahead! If you have contradicting interpretations, please tell me! (if you just want to complain that shadow is not gay then fuck off tho its clearly there. this gaylien hedgehog aint got no eyes for women.)

also again:  Disclaimer: Shadow’s love for Sonic doesn't have to be romantic, but it is indisputable that he has a very special and close relationship with him.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

EDIT: continue here

additions! more SA2 songs and the team dark theme from heroes

funny how I talk most about the songs with the least lyrics

Rhythm and Balance

The Supernatural

For True Story

This Machine

[mamabear9915]

Jonsa fanfiction

Hey there everyone, so this is my first ever fanfiction. I personally didnt love the ending to game of thrones so I wrote this one for all the jonsa fans out there. Including myself.

Notes before you read:

•political jon

•jon already plans to kill dany

•defends dany cause the unsullied listening in

•jon asking Tyrion to trust him

•jon kills dany but his last words are "you were never my queen

•battle between the unsullied and dothraki,the north wins

•at the meeting bran suggests we go back to how it was before the targaryens and have there be 7 kings for each kingdom

•bran in kings landing but only rulling over the people in kings landing not Westeros

•brianne and pod are in Sansa queens gard

•arya is happy to see gendry waiting for her on her boat and gendry gave up his title to serve Davos

•Jon goes beyond the yall to "find himself"

•Sansa is queen of the north so let the fan fiction begin!!

*Knock! Knock!*

Sansa: "Come in"

Brianne walks in with a scroll from a raven. Sansa takes the scroll and begins reading it, a smile draws upon her face.

Brianne:"Good news?"

Sansa:"Arya is having quite the adventure.."

Her smile fades..

Brianne:"something wrong your grace?"

Sansa stays silent until she takes a heavy breath..

Sansa:"I miss her..I miss Bran..."

Sansa stops herself for a moment but continues to speak

Sansa:"and jon.."

*Knock knock*

Sansa:"come in"

Pod walks in

Brianne:"what is it ser podrick?"

Pod: "The king beyond the wall is here"

Brianne scoffs

Sansa and pod both begin to chuckle

They all walk down to the courtyard, sansa begins searching every face, everyone until her finds the one shes looking for, sadly he wasn't there..a slightly dim look swept across her face.

Tormad:"YE GRACE!!HAHHA"

runs to give sansa a hug.she is taken back a bit but the suprise hug from King Tormod. She hugs him back when he pulls her in close to whisper in her ear.

Tormad: "hes in the godswood"

Sansa springs to life, her eyes brightening with joy and hope. She gives him a small smile.

Sansa:" if you all will excuse me"

Everyone "of course your grace"

Tormad:"hello again ser brianne"

Of course she just rolls her eyes. As they all continue conversing among one another sansa makes her way to the godswood, slow at first but then begins to run. Right before she gets to the entrance she stops. Petrified with fear. What if he isnt here? What if he doesn't want to see me..she being fidgeting with her dress and crown. She starts walking closer to the gods tree. Still searching for where he could possibly be. He isnt there she thinks, hes not here he..hes gone..

Jon:"sansa?"

She turns quickly, the tears she was trying to hold back begin to fall down her face.

Sansa:"jon.."

They pause for a moment before reaching for one another. They embrace, jon pressed his chin into her neck, pulling her closer to him. Both in tesrd they break from each other, jon cups her head and looks deel into her eyes..

Jon:"your grace "

Sansa smiles and looks down embarrassed ,jon kisses her forehead. They both slowly pull away, they begin to walk back to the castle chatting about everything they have been doing these last couple of years.

Everyone is now in the grate hall celebrating the arrival of king tormad. Sansa sitting by herself at the front of the hall eating, drinking like everyone else , while jon sat alone at the back of the hall. Sansa was watching him, wondering if he was alright, seeing him drinking but not eating definitely showed something was on his mind. She was even more concerned about how much this reminded her of how it used to be between them, when they were kids. Only now shes concerned and cant look away from him, all she wants now is to go over there and comfort him. See him smiling and laughing again..as the night grew darker and cold everyone made their way to bed. As sansa was about to start changing she hers a slight know on her door.

Sansa: "come in"

......

Sansa:"Come in!"

She says with a sharper tone.

.....

After a long silence she goes to her door and opens it slowly, as she opens it jon falls into her room, hes drunk and has sat down outside her door but fell asleep. Now the sudden fall has woken him up in a panic. Sansa goes to grab him to calm him down, she cups his face roughly. Once their eyes meet he stops, lost in her Tully blue eyes.

Sansa:"are you calm now?"

She said with a painfully worried look on her face.

Jon:"yes.."

He can see he is troubling her but her expression, he breaks away from her taking a few steps back. Creating a hard distance between them. Sansa confused trys to step closer but jon steps away making her stop.

Sansa:"..whats-"

Jon cuts her off

Jon:" i missed you "

Sansa:"I missed you aswell but why are you moving away from me..?"

He can see shes getting saddend by him moving away from her but he knows he cant say this too close to her or he might..he might..

Jon:"Sansa..I've had been waiting to tell you this..so please just listen..you tend to argue with me so I beg you. For now just listen..?"

Sansa only nods

Jon:"you and your mother were the only ones who didn't treat me as part of the family. Both of you were cold and harsh..I never blamed either of you for doing so, and finding out I wasn't even your half brother made me realize i never wanted to be your brother, to be accepted but your mother..back at castle black i began having these feelings..feelings of love, feeling wanting nothing but to protect you. You gave me a reason to live again. A reason to even be alive. Then feelings of rage began to overcome me..first with Ramsey..Littlefinger..Tyrion...having to leave you..was painful..and stupid..I'm so sorry I left you. I never wanted to...and Daenerys..."

He could she the tears in her eyes, the pain and anger on her face..he steps closer.

Jon:"she was never my queen, when I left the north to you I said itll alway be apart of me. You were always ment to rule the north. It's what your good at..and I've always belonged in the north.."

He takes a deep breath in..

Jon:" sansa i... I love you.."

He neels to the ground to afraid to see her response, to see her disgust.

Sansa:"stand up"

She said it to fiercely her knew he was about to get either slapped or told to leave.

Sansa:"look at me"

He does as hes told, looks up and sees the tears in her eyes. Her eyes looked like the ocean so blue and vast..he can feel himself getting lost in them again.

Sansa:"jon..."

She pauses, seeing him with his scared but loving look..

Sansa:"kisa..me.."

Jon is in shock. But that doesn't keep his still for long. He wastes no time obeying to her request. He pulls her in as close as he possibly can and kisses her. Kisses her fully and deeply, she wraps her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Both tangling in each others arms. Jon begins to untie her dress and..

*Knock Knock*

Both pull away sharply, calming themselves down and fumble to casual positions.

Sansa:" Come in"

Brianne walks in with scroll in hand.

Brianne:"a raven from kings landing your grace"

Brianne takes her leave, closing the door (having a large smile on her face)

Sansa:"from Bran"

She says excitedly, jon leans over her shoulder so they can read it together.

Brans writing: A Targaryen Man and a Stark Queen. A Baratheon boy and a she wolf Stark girl. It is promised.

Both are embarrassed but once they look upon each other they laugh. Jon leans in and kisses her on the cheek, still having a smile on his lips.

Sansa whispers

Sansa:" I love you"

He pulls her in close, both embracing in each others arms. Both pulling closer and closer in on another

.

.

Jon & Sansa: "I'll love you from this day , to the end of my days."

They shared a kiss like no other. One full of nothing but love.

.

The king and queen of the north. Both brave, and gentle and strong. Ruling just as honorably as just as Ned Stark once did..the maidens of Winterfell would sing of their king and queen..they would sing of a song...a Song of Ice and Fire.

#jonsa #jonandsansa #jonsafanfic