#ic. shadow the hedgehog ( ultimate lifeform )

[ultim8lif34rm]

Hey Shadow! You are my absolute favorite Sonic character! I have a question.

Was it hard to get over Maria? I mean, I know it was, but how did you deal with it. It makes my heart hurt to think of losing someone so close to you and who was so young. I have a sister who has been extremely ill for close to ten years. I couldn't imagine losing her. So, how did you do it?

Absolutely. Sonic helped me with his advice, it truly opened my eyes. I was so focused on getting revenge for her that I forgot about all the good times we've had. He helped me remember that, so it was much easier to cope.

[poprock-silvi]

Hehe gays

[orafaa]

/Sonadow fanfic

*Sonic barely holds on after his freestyle routine, falls onto the ice, can't get up*

Shadow: Don't give up,

Don't give up, no no no

Don't give up,

Don't give up, no no no

Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64315390/chapters/165097054

[ultimat3-lif3form]

Shadow, i think my phone is about to explode. It’s really super warm, i thought my hands were just warm but when i put my phone in my pocket it was like REALLY hot…?

??????? Can you put it in ice? ?????

[mewtwonie]

Okay sonic community, it seems like you really liked shadow getting frozen in a block of ice because there’s been like three people that liked the post so I’m keeping my promise, here’s me soaking him in water

The audio is all messed up because I was on a call with someone while recording this, but I think that makes it funnier

[aureumdraconeus]

@rosavulpes liked for a starter !!

It seemed that another year had come and gone...

Where did the time go? Honestly, for someone like Shadow time had become nothing more than just a red string of fate that seemed to tie him to almost anyone and everyone that he met. Would he be so foolish as to try and think of what the future may bring? No, but he was still here, and he was thinking...

Standing upon a moonlit cliffside he stared up at the remnants of the shattered moon - thinking back to the likes of what had happened Black Doom...sure it may had been ages ago at that point but it still lingered.

And like all things that lingered, there was that irksome worry that perhaps he had not finished what he started all that time ago. How long would it be until things turned on him?

Well he didn't have a lot of time to really think as he heard the sudden crunch of footsteps behind him.

"Your sense of stealth is lacking."

[rosavulpes]

Continued from here ( X )

He could feel his cheek bones beginning to ache with how hard he was forcing himself to keep them down . A smile , a grin , just begging to overtake his neutral expression as he looked down at the mess that was in front of him .

It wasn't like this before . The first time that he'd encountered the black arm's ? He hadn't realized just how much of an influence they'd had over him until they'd used it to physically restrain him during the final battle on the black comet . While their hive mind hadn't held enough sway over him to force him to attack innocents throughout their invasion , the same glee , sinful desire for destruction that each of them possessed when they'd attacked cities , set fire to towns , and ravaged civilization ... he'd wielded that same eagerness for chaos against them .

Using any means at his disposal to do so even if the situation didn't call for it , even if ... it was undeserved .

This time around ? He wasn't feeling those sudden bursts of anger , moments of fleeting rage ... no . He'd have picked up on that , and calmed himself down . This felt worse , because it felt so good . So good . It was almost what could be described as a euphoric feeling , beating them down well past the point that they'd even be able to get up to retaliate . His gloves partially stained by their colors , his body tense , still eager to take another swing at a pitiful creature that didn't even have the capacity to feel the pain of his attacks anymore . Unable to attack , unable to defend . Simply laying still .

( if you start doing anything - )

Breathing in deeply as she speaks , he's listening but as the world around him slows , the flickering of still burning flames becoming sluggish , plumes in the sky becoming still , his thoughts begin to race . Her words hang frozen in the air as she speaks them .

Think , think , think .

A little trick that he'd learned whenever someone tried to get into his head , make use of his speed in a manner outside of just the physical . Speed up the moments of his thoughts , until the incessant buzzing of the hive mind slowed ... and finally ceased .

Clarity returning to him , his thoughts moving at such a rapid pace that not even the hive mind could keep up , effectively shutting them out . Allowing him a moment to catch his breath as he looked down at his hands and balled them into fists . Disgusted with how far he'd allowed these feelings to take him , even if they had been forced upon him .

Scarlet eyes looking over to Lanolin , looking her over once to ascertain if she'd been injured before looking over the rest of the town .

With his mind clear for the moment due to this current mental state , he was confident that the hive mind couldn't touch him , but ... better not to risk it . Looking down at his gloves again , he moved to wash them . Dunking them into a nearby fountain as he picked up speed . Avoiding any of the black arms but instead searching for civilians that Lanolin and her team might have missed . His speed allowing him to scour blocks in nano seconds , moving those that he could out of the combat zone , away from danger before at last returning to the same spot where he was before with Lanolin . No time having passed .

Closing his eyes , assuming the same stance as before , with noticeably cleaner gloves , as his level of awareness slowed back down . The rest of her words picking up , as did the buzzing of the hive once more . Making his thoughts murky , but still he remained in full control .

( - I won't hesitate. Sorry, but the safety of the people here is my priority )

" Good . That's how it ought to be . Don't waste time with me . I won't move . Go dispose of what remains of them if you're needed elsewhere before I go do it myself .... but just keep in contact with me if you need to leave . Sorry to ask ... it's easier for me to ignore their voices , if I can focus on someone else's "

Normally this was something he'd ask of Rouge or Omega . To just talk to him , about anything they could think of . Anything at all that he could give his attention to in order to power through Black Doom's persistent irritating white noises and memory flashes in his head .

@aureumdraconeus

[ultfan]

@shaidow sent in: ❝  looks worse than it was.  ❞ ( scar prompt, Also hi! :3 )

                     ‶  still... it's quite the scar. — are you sure you're not just downplaying it?  ″ to say something like that indicates an extreme level of toughness — endurance. what a powerful individual this must be.

[hyuniemyunie]

Interrupted Serenity

shadow the hedgehog x gn!reader

sfw

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

(ФωФ): sonic interrupting yalls cuddling after shadow starts to embrace his instincts🙏 why is this pic different from all my pics? no idea.

IM WORKING ON REQUESTS. i just need to empty my drafts first, theres a lot of finished fics in it😭

⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠄･ ⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠂⋆ ･ ⠄⠄･ ⋆ ･

It started small. Little things.

At first, you thought Shadow was just getting used to affection. The occasional nudge against your hand, the way he leaned into you when you scratched the right spot between his quills. But then—then it got worse. Or better, depending on how you looked at it.

It started with nuzzling. Subtle at first. He’d rub his cheek against your shoulder when he sat next to you, bumping his head against you like some kind of overly dignified cat. Then came the purring. The first time it happened, you thought you were imagining it—until you laid your head against his chest one night and felt it vibrating through you like a low, steady engine.

"Shadow," you whispered, half-laughing, half-in-awe, "are you purring?"

He immediately stopped. Froze. Completely shut down. Like a Windows XP critical error in real-time.

"I don’t purr," he muttered stiffly.

"You literally just did."

"You're hearing things."

"Shadow."

"I'm leaving."

And he did. He straight-up left the room like that would erase what just happened.

But the next day? The nuzzling was back. The nudging. The low, almost subconscious purring whenever you ran your fingers through his quills in just the right way. He started instinctively circling around you when you stood still for too long, and if you weren’t paying attention? He’d just position himself right in front of you until you acknowledged him.

It was adorable.

It was also hilarious.

Because the moment anyone else was around?

Nothing.

Cold, unmovable, untouchable Ultimate Lifeform mode activated.

And the best part? It was instantaneous.

One moment, he was nuzzling into your shoulder, comfortably wrapped around you like you were the only thing that mattered in the world—then—

“Yo, Shadow—”

BAM.

He was on the other side of the couch before Sonic could even finish walking into the room.

Just sitting there.

Arms crossed. Legs crossed. Staring at the wall like he had never even heard of affection before in his life.

Sonic, holding a chili dog in one hand, stopped mid-step. Blinked. Slowly looked from you—still sprawled out from where Shadow had just been snuggled up against you—to him, now acting like a statue.

“…What,” Sonic finally said, eyes narrowing, “is happening here?”

You turned your head, making direct eye contact with Shadow. His expression? Blank. Nothing. Not even a flicker of emotion.

But you?

You grinned.

“Oh, nothing much,” you said, stretching dramatically. “Just hanging out with my very affectionate boyfriend.”

Shadow’s ear twitched. If looks could kill, you’d be vaporized.

Sonic, meanwhile, slowly pointed his chili dog at him. “Ohhhh. No way.” A smug grin spread across his face. “You’re going soft, huh?”

Shadow exhaled through his nose. “Leave.”

“I knew it!” Sonic cackled. “I knew you had a mushy side! This is amazing.”

Shadow, still maintaining his unbothered, ice-cold composure, stood up. “I’m leaving.”

“Okay, okay, wait, hold on—” You grabbed his wrist before he could teleport out of pure embarrassment. “You literally just got done rubbing your face on my shoulder like a needy little—”

His entire face twitched. His quills bristled slightly, his body so tense you thought he might actually combust.

“I don’t do that,” he said stiffly.

Sonic, hands on his knees, was trying so hard not to completely lose it. “Dude. Dude. I gotta tell Knuckles about this.”

Shadow—without hesitation—turned and teleported out of the room.

Sonic and you locked eyes.

“…Do you think he’s embarrassed?”

“Oh, he’s mortified.”

And for the rest of the day, you couldn’t stop giggling because, despite everything, you knew exactly what was going to happen the second you were alone again.

Shadow was going to be right back at your side, nuzzling, nudging, and purring like nothing ever happened.

The next day, it didn’t take long for the inevitable to happen. After Sonic's teasing, you figured Shadow would keep his distance, pretend he was too proud to even acknowledge his soft spots. But as always, you knew better. The moment the coast was clear, the instant Sonic was out of the picture, Shadow was back at your side.

You were sitting on the couch, trying to focus on something—maybe a video game, maybe just zoning out. But you knew, you knew, the second he’d show up. It wasn’t a matter of "if," it was a matter of "when."

And just like clockwork, there he was. Without a word, without a sound, Shadow was suddenly there, sitting beside you, his presence so subtle and yet unmistakable. He didn’t sit too far, but he didn’t crowd you either. His eyes were fixed on the TV, but there was a certain stillness about him—like he was waiting for something.

You couldn’t help it. You turned your head just slightly, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye. His quills were a little more relaxed today, his posture still cool, but there was that familiar nudge against your shoulder again, just barely noticeable, as though he couldn’t quite stop himself.

“Shadow,” you said, voice soft, playful, “are you trying to be sneaky?”

He didn’t respond at first. He simply leaned in a little closer, the smallest of movements, but enough for you to feel the warmth radiating from him.

“I’m not doing anything,” he muttered, eyes still glued to the screen, though you could see the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You’re imagining things.”

You knew he was lying. The air between you had changed. There was something different in the way he hovered around you now. He was still trying to keep up his tough-guy act, but it was slipping. You didn’t need to see his face to know he was enjoying this—enjoying being near you.

Slowly, cautiously, you reached over and brushed your fingers through his quills, a motion so familiar now that it almost felt automatic. And there it was—the hum. That low, steady vibration against your fingertips. The purr.

You smiled to yourself. He hadn’t even realized it was happening.

“Shadow,” you said again, louder this time. “You’re purring.”

His whole body stiffened, his quills slightly bristling, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he gave a deep sigh, still trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal.

“I’m not purring,” he insisted, eyes still trained on the TV, his voice rougher than usual. “It’s just... the sound of my quills.”

“Uh-huh,” you said, smirking, not buying it for a second. “Sure, Shadow. Whatever you say.”

You couldn’t resist. Reaching out again, you gave him another light scratch between the quills. His body reacted instantly, leaning into it like a cat getting the best back scratch of its life. You felt the purring deepen, the vibration stronger this time, and this time, he didn’t try to hide it.

“Stop it,” he muttered, but there was no real anger in his voice. If anything, there was a slight softness that you knew he didn’t want you to catch.

“Oh, I’m not stopping,” you teased, continuing to run your fingers through his quills. “This is too much fun.”

“Quit it,” he said, voice barely above a whisper, his composure completely slipping now.

But the moment you let your hand fall away, Shadow relaxed again. His purring stopped, but there was an almost relieved sigh that left him. He didn’t move away, though. Instead, he leaned his shoulder against yours, just barely touching, as if he couldn’t bring himself to leave but also didn’t want to admit he liked it.

“You’re impossible,” you murmured, resting your head against his. “But I don’t think you really mind, do you?”

He didn’t respond immediately. Instead, you could feel his muscles tense again, like he was debating whether or not to argue. And then, with a sharp exhale, he gave up. “Just... don’t tell anyone.”

You couldn’t help but grin. “Oh, I won’t. Your secret’s safe with me.”

And that was the moment it hit you: Shadow wasn’t just coming around because he had to. No, he was choosing to. The tough exterior, the cold demeanor—it was all still there, but it was slipping away in little ways. Maybe he was embarrassed. Maybe he didn’t want to admit it to himself yet, but it didn’t matter. Every time he stayed close, every time he nuzzled or purred or made some small, almost unnoticeable move to be nearer to you, it was like he was telling you, in his own way, that he cared.

And you, of course, were more than happy to let him have his soft side—embarrassment and all.

“I won’t tell anyone, Shadow,” you said again, reaching over to lightly tug at his quills. “I think you’re kind of cute when you’re all... mushy.”

“Shut up,” he muttered, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward again.

You knew this wasn’t the end of it. It wasn’t going to stop with just a few purrs or nuzzles. Shadow was in too deep now, and though he’d never admit it, you were pretty sure he was just as hooked on it as you were. It might have started small, but now? Now, you could almost feel the change in him—just the tiniest crack in that icy facade.

And you were more than happy to keep him close, to be the one who saw the softer side of him, the one who got to tease him and let him enjoy the affection he never thought he needed.

It was all too easy to know what would happen next.

Shadow, pretending he wasn’t soft? That was so yesterday.

Now, he was yours.

[ultim8lif34rm]

Take this with you, Shadow......

Thank you for this drawing. I will be remembering this.

[curetapwater]

So Shadow was formed from a cauldron, but what does his life look like before his adventure begins? 👀

Glad you asked! Infodump about the ultimate pretty pink prince's backstory under the cut:

Much like in canon, Gerald creates Shadow to help find a cure for Maria. Unlike canon, though, Gerald in Barbie AU is the sorcerer king of the Robotnik kingdom, and as such is able to fund his own research. GUN doesn't exist here.

Aside from his obvious personal stake in saving his beloved granddaughter, Maria is the crown princess, next in line for the throne. If Project Shadow succeeds, it won't just save the princess, it'll save the royal lineage!

Maria's illness is first discovered when she's only an infant (I'm thinking it also killed her parents, which is why she's raised by her grandfather and is his heiress). It takes five years for Project Shadow to finally come to fruition, when all of Gerald's work culminates in a sweet little hoglet with black fur and unique pink stripes being born from his cauldron.

Gerald looks upon the creature that he's created, and soberly realizes he has created a life. Therefore, this creation is his son. And any son of the king is therefore a prince. Hence, he was dubbed Prince Shadow the Hedgehog.

Shadow's birth turned the palace laboratory into a nursery. His early years were spent studying his vitals, marinating in potent magical baths, and being treated as well as you'd expect a young prince to be. When he outgrew his cauldron around the age of five, he was moved into his own bed chamber (beside Maria's, of course) that he still resides in to this day.

Maria and Shadow were as inseparable as you can imagine. They were raised together as siblings. Maria was raised as a future queen, and Shadow was raised as her protector, her savior. But to her, he was simply her beloved baby brother (he's only five years her junior).

Maria's influence greatly rubbed off on Shadow. He didn't smile nearly as much as her, nor giggle, but she imparted on him her belief in making their kingdom happy. She also shared basically all of her hobbies with him - horseback riding, gardening, astronomy - as well as her aesthetic tastes.

He also took on hobbies of his own! Being the Ultimate Lifeform, Shadow was naturally trained in ways that would hone his physical capabilities. Namely, ice skating and ballet.

Shadow took interest in Maria's gorgeous wardrobe early on, and she was more than happy to help him develop his own sense of style. It's began with him trying on her dresses from when she was little, and progressed into his own wardrobe coming to look more like what one would expect of a princess, than a prince. He hasn't worn trousers to a formal event since he was 8 years old. Who is to tell the Ultimate Lifeform how to dress?

Shadow had a strong sense of purpose from an early age. He was raised with the knowledge that he wasn't born naturally, but created for a specific purpose. His birth is hailed as a miracle of magical technology. A modern legend to his subjects, and a curiosity to his (mostly human) peers in the upper class. Gerald and Maria made him feel like an equal, but those outside of his immediate family often made him feel like an outsider in what was meant to be his own community. He particularly never liked the way Lord Ivo looked at him like he was more a lab rat than a cousin...

Everything changed on the night of his fifteenth birthday. As his birth was celebrated, as he was hailed as a living miracle who would save the kingdom, he felt overwhelmed and at a loss. He had all these expectations placed upon him, but feared he couldn't live up to them. Outside of knowing he was immortal and... different... he didn't think anything was especially "ultimate" about him. He felt no great power that supposedly ran through his veins... only fear that he'd fail.

He didn't voice it until Maria sequestered him away to stargaze away from it all. There, she listened to his woes and reminded him that even if you cant see the light, it is a shadow that shows you where to find it. She asked him that they promise something to each other: to give all the people in their kingdom a chance to be happy.

Not even an hour later, did their jealous sorcerer cousin enact his plan to steal Maria's place in line for the throne. Wielding a scepter running on stolen power, Ivo blasted Maria right before Shadow’s eyes. She disappeared in a burst of cyan.

Shadow was traumatized, and Gerald was devastated. Ivo was banished, but Gerald was set on never letting this happen again. With Shadow as his only remaining child, he'd do everything in his power to keep him from harm.

Shadow was technically in line for the throne now, but as the years progressed and Gerald discovered new ways to prolong life, he managed to unnaturally lengthen his own. Rather than being treated as a future king, Shadow was treated like a fragile treasure to be locked away.

Over the course of fifty years, Shadow grew into a young man (and stayed that way; yay immortality) but was never treated as one. He was forbidden from leaving palace grounds, hardly received visitors, and was given no indication that this would ever change. To go from being treated as the Ultimate Lifeform, to a breakable doll to be placed in a room, collecting dust... it was quite the blow to his confidence. The distance between Shadow and his father only grew as years stretched into decades.

Shadow busied himself by becoming quite the renaissance man. In addition to honing the skills he already possessed, he also took up painting, singing, and multiple musical instruments (his favorite being the piano), as well as becoming rather well-read. He also developed quite the rebellious streak, sneaking out so often that an alarm system was set up in the palace just to make catching him easier.

This is where we see Shadow when his story truly begins. Insecure, estranged from his father, and isolated in a gilded cage for fifty years. Surely, his extremely sheltered life won't bring him any problems when he's plunged into an adventure that puts his resolve to the test?

@sonic-au-collision

[orafaa]

Hey all the fish in my coral reef, this is Orafaa, I'd like to welcome you to a new fanfiction that was created in collaboration with the wonderful... HalloweenHachi! This idea has been sitting in my head for a while now, and now it has finally found its way into this wonderful work. I hope you have as much fun reading it as we did writing it 💙

The link is below↓

https://archiveofourown.org/works/64315390/chapters/165097054

[sonic-frozen-au]

Welcome to Sonic-Frozen AU! A story inspired by aspects of Disney's Frozen featuring characters from Sega's Sonic The Hedgehog franchise. Also inspired by @passionartx's @sonic-tangled-au (it's amazing, go check it out!)

AU created, written and drawn by @sorenerlendsson (I’m not that much of an artist so don’t expect masterpieces!)

Plot Summary:

Shadow and Sonic are brothers, both created by Gerald Robotnik at Space Colony ARK, both hedgehogs were gifted with super speed but Shadow had one more power, he could create ice and snow at will, they were best friends of Maria Robotnik, Sonic was created to have a strong connection to Maria, feeling the same things she felt, his personality exactly the same as hers, his blood was stabilizing her illness, while Shadow, being the older and stronger one, was cold and quiet to focus better on his training and powers, even so, he really cared about his brother and friend.

One day, they were playing with Shadow's snow powers, they had been making snowmen and snow animals, one of them was a little fox with two tails because Sonic accidentally made a second one when Maria had already made a tail for him, during the playdate, Shadow accidentally strikes Maria with his powers, rendering her unconscious and turning a streak of her hair white, Sonic, because of his connection to her, had the same effects, falling unconscious as well. Horrified, Shadow calls Gerald for help, he takes the girl and the hedgehog to his lab, Maria's illness was getting worse by the second and Sonic was starting to pay the consequences, there was no way for Maria to get out of this, so, with tears in his eyes, placed Sonic on his pod and ended his bond with Maria, the girl unfortunately died and the hedgehog got better, however, he didn’t remember Maria, nor anything that had happened, all his memories with her changed to being with Shadow, Gerald decided to make him have no memories of Shadow's ice powers to prevent that from happening again.

Traumatized by the event and the lost of Maria, Shadow spends his life distanced from everyone at the ARK, including Sonic, to avoid harming them, Sonic takes Shadow's distance personally, creating a riff between the two. Gerald teaches Shadow to control his abilities by suppressing his emotions, to help even further, he gives Shadow a pair of inhibitor rings, which would limit the reach and intensity exclusively of his ice powers, Gerald taught him to “conceal, don't feel, don’t let it show”. Over the years, Sonic makes repeated attempts to reach out to Shadow, but to no avail. To keep himself occupied in spite of his loneliness, Sonic would spend most of his time running through the ARK's halls with his super speed, talking to the scientists and Abe, another kid who was with them but he didn’t really want to talk to Sonic specifically, during this period of time, the blue hedgehog developed a big interest on planet earth, wondering how different would it be from the ARK.

Time passed and Gerald decides to visit the Earth after a long time in the ARK, but he couldn’t take any of the hedgehogs with him because of G.U.N. Unfortunately for Gerald, the ship he was on had an overload and ended up exploding before it could land, taking his life with it. Shadow didn’t attend to his funeral, as his distraught state of mind causes him to lose control over his ice powers, while Sonic, with no family left besides his brother, makes another attempt to reconnect with Shadow to no response. Both brothers were forced to cope with the loss of their “father”, alone.

3 years after Gerald's death, Shadow had finally became the soldier G.U.N wanted, his chaos energy was at its peak and his ice powers were, as he though, successfully defeated, after spending their lives on space, the brothers would finally get to know the earth, as, to celebrate the occasion, an elegant ball was going to be made in honor of Shadow, the Ultimate Lifeform as they called him, becoming an official agent, as well as to honor the memory of Gerald.

An excited 18-year-old Sonic sees this as an opportunity to see and explore the world as he once wished, roaming about the streets and catching glimpse of all the visitors. Suddenly, he bumps into a horse, owned by the beautiful princess Blaze the Cat, though inicially angered by the hit, he quickly becomes smitten with Blaze's charm and looks, after introducing themselves, they become acquainted, and apparently hit it off, only to be interrupted by the bells.

At the ball, Sonic and Shadow stand side by side, watching over the crowd, Shadow initiates a conversation, allowing the brothers to bond for the first time in years, they were interrupted by one of G.U.N agents, Rouge the Bat, who offers Shadow his first dance. Shadow mischievously volunteers Sonic instead, who is dragged onto the dance floor, where he is subjected to the bat's over-the-top dance skills, much to the black hedgehog’s amusement. Afterwards, Sonic and Shadow laugh about the matter, with Sonic openly wishing their lives could always be carefree. With regret, Shadow declares that it can’t, but refuses to explain why. Feeling rejected, Sonic excuses himself from the ball.

As he walks off, Sonic bumps into Blaze again, who takes the hedgehog out on a romantic date around the city, they both share that they have powers, Sonic his super speed and Blaze fire abilities. Sonic falls in love with Blaze and the night ends with a proposal from her, Sonic inmediately agrees and the newly engaged couple return to the ballroom to let Shadow meet her, Blaze didn’t refuse though. But Shadow, who was cautious of Blaze, tells Sonic that he can’t marry someone he just met and indirectly says that he doesn’t know anything about true love. This remark causes Sonic to answer back and tells Shadow that shutting people out is the only thing he's good at. This leads to a heated argument between the brothers, which climaxes with Sonic questioning why Shadow coldly shuts out his family and the world.

Sonic's prying triggers Shadow's anxieties, causing the hedgehog to inadvertently unleash his ice powers upon Sonic and their guests. Horrified by what he has done and the way everyone reacted, Shadow flees the ballroom with his super speed, Sonic tried to follow the trail of ice that Shadow left but that trail expanded throughout the entire city. As snow flurries fill the sky, and claiming responsibility for Shadow’s departure and the curse, Sonic makes it his mission to find Sonic and save the people, he convinces the commander of G.U.N to let Blaze help them with her fire powers. With all set, he takes a winter outfit and a little bag and he starts searching for Shadow, using his speed to travel around the world to find him.

During the journey he will meet Amy and Knuckles, two siblings that sell ice, and Tails, the same little snowfox that Sonic and Maria had created, now alive thanks to Shadow.

[inamindfarfaraway]

I don’t often share personal stories on here, but listen. I’m in my university’s Hedgehog Society and today they held a casual, friendly hedgehog cake decorating competition. They provided store-bought, iced cakes, confectionery materials and tools. We turned those cakes into hedgehogs. Red velvet cake was among the bases offered.

I knew what I had to do.

I created Shadow the Hedgecake.

Now, three points of context:

I am extremely perfectionistic and self-conscious about what I create, as a rule. This is worse in social situations and I’m especially uncomfortable with visual and physical mediums. I hate drawing. The permanence of marring a blank canvas terrifies me. I can delete words in a document, but if I stain a page with my human imperfection by one wrong line, that page is ruined. The same principle applies to sculpture and so on. I used to cry in art class. A lot. The only reason I don’t anymore is that I no longer do art class.

In a similar vein of irrational anxiety and shame, I’m very secretive about many of my fandom interests in my personal life, particularly those that are likely to be mocked or not taken seriously. Like Sonic the Hedgehog. I know that my stress is disproportionate and I’ve never actually been bullied or anything. But unless I know or suspect that someone either likes the media too or is happy to learn about it, I just don’t broach the subject. My followers have seen sides of me that I’ve never shown my family.

Nobody in the Hedgehog Society had indicated before this meeting that they liked Sonic the Hedgehog. Nobody else did a character cake like me. I committed to this alone and unsupported in public.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have an anxiety disorder, but I am autistic. So my social thinking and confidence aren’t exactly normal.

But I’ve recently started university. I’m pushing my limits and putting myself out there and starting to connect with new people. This is a time for growth. This is 2024: the Year of Shadow. The Fearless Year of Shadow. So I decided to do something I’d always struggled to. I would relax, not take this too seriously and follow my vision.

BEHOLD. THE ULTIMATE LIFEFORM.

Don’t tell me you don’t see the resemblance. He’s partly red! He’s in his super form! He’s got a light fluffy patch on his chest! He’s got two pairs of gold rings/circles/whatever! He’s a messy, angular weirdo!

He’s angry and crying because he watched his best friend get murdered by the government!

Did I win the contest? No. Did I place? No. But I had fun, and I was original and true to myself. Thanks, Shadow.

[aureumdraconeus]

@already-know-this-story liked for Shadow

Signals were certainly not what Shadow was expecting to be following - especially with the fact that it had been leading all around parts of Mobius to areas that even he wasn't aware still existed under the jurisdiction of G.U.N. The hedgehog was tasked with surveying these areas for any threat, mostly as a deterrent in case the United Federation decided that these places would be used for habitation purposes...

But upon arriving at a particularly desolate-looking lab, Shadow didn't exactly know what he was looking at.

It was as if time itself had suddenly stopped as he stared at the figure that seemed to illuminate the very halls of this old lab like a beacon...

It was a human...or at least what he assumed to be one. But only one gave him such a feeling - such a moment of pause...

"...Is it really you?"