#tap plays sxsg

[curetapwater]

The fact that Shadow could've just handed the fake Emerald to Sonic and been on his way. Ohhhhh but the EXCITEMENT with which Sonic looks at him when that portal opens up... how can Shadow say no to that face. How can Shadow say no to an opportunity to blow off steam with the one person who's so consistently able to distract him from his one-track minded goals. There isn't a hint of malice in their whole interaction. They're having FUN. This is their version of having FUN, testing themselves as much as each other. Even Maria, who can read Shadow like a book, sees them from a distance and immediately clocks this battle as a friendly interaction.

"They clearly hate each other, why do they fight whenever they meet" they're a couple of weirdos who found one other person who can match them (who doesn't want to kill them [unlike Metal] and who they can see on a semi-regular basis [unlike Blaze]) and they enjoy not having to worry about hurting each other, not holding back.

And ohhhh if it weren't morning and I didn't have things to do, I could go on about the facial expressions Shadow has as he contemplates using his Doom Powers, but chooses not to. We see later how these powers are affecting his emotional regulation. But he lets the anger subside, realizes using them on Sonic is too far. It's cheap, it's dirty. He respects Sonic too much to do that to him. The way he looks aside for a moment, his shame at the thought crossing his mind throwing him off just long enough for Sonic to get the upper hand on him.

FUUUUUUUCK.

Can you tell I rewatched this at 0.25 speed last night-

[curetapwater]

I cannot look at this frame without sounding like a tea kettle.

[curetapwater]

Spoilers for Gerald's journal and a bit of Shadow Generations!!!!

BABY MARIA WE HAVE A PICTURE OF BABY MARIA OHHH MY GOD. OHHH MY GOD SHE'S SO FUCKING PRECIOUS. Canon Baby Maria picture more than makes up for the fact that Baby Shadow isn't canon. BABY MARIAAAAAAA.

I fucking love her characterization in the journal like oh my god like oh my god. WE GOT TO SEE HER AND EGGMAN'S DADS. SHE DESIGNED THE AIR SHOES???????? OR AT LEAST HELP??????????? SHE WROTE HER ADORABLE SIGNIATURE ON THE BLUEPRINT OHHHHH MY GOD MARIA I LOVE YOU. AND SHE EVEN LOVES THE BABY BIOLIZARD AND GERALD COULDN'T EVEN BEAR TO TELL HER WHEN IT WAS SEALED AWAY BECAUSE SHE MUST'VE GOTTEN ATTACHED TO IT, TOO. MARIAAAAAAAAAAA. In the opening cutscene to the game, Maria is SOOOOO EXCITED SHE'S ADORABLE I LOVE HER.

Also. What the fuck did Gerald mean by (presumably) Abraham being a "happy accident"? Was he a stowaway? Did two researchers fuck and the condom broke? GERALD WHAT DO YOU MEAN.

The insights into the Robotnik family are soooo fucking good. Maria's father was into archeology and Eggman's was into robotics!!! And.. MARIA HAS A SISTER?? IS SHE STILL ALIVE SINCE SHE DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME ILLNESS?????? IT'S ONLY BEEN 50-ISH YEARS SO. DOES SHADOW HAVE A FUCKING NIECE/SISTER/WHATEVER STILL ALIVE OUT THERE????????? And the way Gerald writes about the news bitterly, like. DID MARIA'S PARENTS FUCKING REPLACE HER WHEN THEY LOST FAITH IN HER GETTING BETTER???????? Maybe it's a good thing they're implicitly dead in Barbie AU.

Also also one more thing I prommy. Shadow was born with information downloaded into his head!!!!!!!! I'm not too far into Shadow Generations yet but oughhg I really hope we get some insights into what his early days were like. He looks so confused when he first awakens in the journal!!!! He's like Frankie Stein, born a teen with a bunch of knowledge in his head and a new world to navigate!!!!! No wonder he bonded so strongly with Maria, her Robotnik genius and curiosity plus her kindness was certainly the best guiding light he could've had. Maria Robotnik for best big sister award.

[curetapwater]

Realizing we can probably sus out roughly how long Shadow was conscious between his birth and his cryo-sleep, assuming Gerald wrote in his journal every day. Lemme see.

[curetapwater]

Something about the knowledge that Maria personally designed the Air Shoes is so.. gahghg. Like. Shadow still wears them, all the time. They aid in his mobility, he considers them essential. But they're also just precious to him. Aside from a few scuff marks on the fronts (that I'm pretty sure were added to his design in Shadow 05, aka the game where Shadow doesn't remember Maria and is potentially behaving rather recklessly), they're in excellent condition for shoes he wears all the damn time, especially considering the action-packed life he leads. He takes good care of them. Fuc.

[curetapwater]

I was prepared so hard for him to shed a tear that I left myself completely open to the gut punch of him SMILING. I know he's done it before but it Hits Different here. I'm of the belief that Shadow usually only smiles on purpose. He is specifically smiling to comfort Maria and I. I just. I juuuuuuust.

[curetapwater]

I have finished Shadow Generations and yes I DID squeal and squeak and jump around in my seat. I don't think I've ever beaten a game this quickly. The power of hyperfixation.

[curetapwater]

How come in the character descriptions in Generations they bring up gender for most the female characters as if it's a defining trait. The peak cringe was when Rouge's description felt the need to specify that she's a "female bat" within the first sentence. Can you imagine if they did that for the male characters, too. "Vector is a male crocodile."

[curetapwater]

... I have been trying to beat Shadow for 20 minutes, I think I'm doing something wrong.

[curetapwater]

In a way, Shadow Generations rewarded me for being so bad at using Doom Wing that I immediately fell to the bottom of the hub world and had to make my way back up. Because I got to see some of the sweetest dialogue in the game <3

[curetapwater]

While I generally agree with the idea that Gerald was a decent if flawed person before the ARK massacre, I do wish they had Shadow be a little hesitant around him. Like, he's from a point in the timeline where he's still chill, but Shadow knows what he's capable of. Nothing big, just like a subtle bit of internal conflict would've been interesting to see. Might deepen Shadow’s motivation to save both of them. Like, not only would he be saving both of their lives, he'd be preserving the version of his creator who was warm, fatherly, who respected him as a person and didn't let his desire for revenge cloud his love for the creation he called his son. The version Shadow clings to in his memory, as he tries to forget the version who did all that to him. Or something. I think Gerald's journal does a great job diving into his complexities; I wish we could've seen more of Shadow’s perspective on them. Since he's really the one that Gerald has hurt the most, even if this particular Gerald doesn't know it yet.

[curetapwater]

The White Space theme is definitely incorporating All Hail Shadow, right.

[curetapwater]

I've always said that I can't usually tell when a game is objectively bad because I'm not very good at playing them. But even though I'm not playing sxsg especially well, I can still tell that the gameplay is really good. I'm sure someone more experienced than I would have a blast replaying all of this to increase their scores.

[curetapwater]

Yes one of my favorite Sonic characters is the dead backstory girl who has exactly one optional playable appearance and like maybe 20 minutes of total screentime in flashback cutscenes across the series (save for this new game, which idk how much she'll be in it but ONMY HANDS AND KNEES Shadow Generations had better feed me well, I NEED MORE OF HERRR).

[curetapwater]

Oh god. Black Doom lowkey has the same plan as Palpatine in Rise of Skywalker-

[curetapwater]

The reconfirmation that Gerald and Maria explicitly think of Shadow as family....... thank you, Shadow Generations.

GERALD ONCE AGAIN CALLING SHADOW "SON" MY BELOVED WAUGHHHHHHH. MARIA INSISTING THAT THEY ARE HIS FAMILY, FUCK BLOOD TIES WAUGHHHHHHHHHHHH.