recently i've been thinking abt 10verse and just how far i've managed to push shadow out of his comfort zone irt boscage maze. like, when it comes time for sonic to return to the boscage, shadow isn't just scared. he's terrified. he knows the stakes--their world hangs in the balance--but going back there... with the plants who swallowed him up and made him their puppet... he can't bear the thought of willingly walking back into their grasp. but then, he has to admit that he's useless. that he wouldn't just not be helpful--he'd actively be a hindrance. a liability. it hurts him. the ultimate lifeform, useless? because he can't fend off the combined might of a planet's ecosystem? he feels pathetic. but not even his ego is enough to make his legs unfreeze. like a deer in the headlights, when he stares ahead at the green gate to the boscage, he can't move. he doesn't want to lose himself again. and the thing is, of course sonic wouldn't ask that of him. he just assumes that since they're working together, sonic expects him to go. but sonic is just as aware as shadow that that's a bad idea. plus, sonic already lost shadow once. he doesn't want to lose him again. he tells him that for this part of the story, they're going to split up. taking the initiative, not mentioning shadow's very obvious fear, and telling him that he needs him to go to new yoke. smoothly taking the weight off of shadow and showing that this hellish experience has made him more thoughtful. it makes me crazy
