#sab2

Okay, I absolutely love all of the "Black Doom just really likes Radical Highway" jokes, because same, bud.

But, like, I'm actually obsessed with the symbolism of it and its inclusion.

It makes sense for the game to keep coming back to this level for a number of reasons. It was Shadow the Hedgehog's first level in his first game. Of course it would be a central callback in the game, just like Green Hill Zone appears again and again for Sonic, and a celebration of his first appearance. This is the nostalgia and callback game after all (and it does it so well). But the way Radical Highway is included and used in SXSG is actually so brilliant.

Okay, bear with me while I talk about Radical Highway as a level and its symbolism originally in Sonic Adventure 2 (My favorite game ever of all time) to set the scene.

Radical Highway is the second Dark level in the game, and the first Shadow level, and the way this level perfectly sets up Shadow as a character and how he compares to Sonic is *chef's kiss*.

Sonic's first level is the famous City Escape. City Escape takes place on the San Francisco-inspired streets of Central City. Sonic is on the streets, running past houses and cars, through parks and neighborhoods. It feels grounded (literally and figuratively). Sonic is among the people. There's a small G.U.N. presence, as they are trying to capture Sonic, but it's a pretty peaceful, sunny day otherwise. Perfect introduction for our boy, Sonic.

In stark contrast, Radical Highway is the complete opposite of City Escape in every way. While City Escape was on the streets of Central City, Radical Highway is above it. There's no cute townhouses, no cars going about their day. It's on high, Golden Gate Bridge-inspired streets, in the dead of night. While City Escape had a small G.U.N. presence, Radical Highway has fighter jets dropping bombs on you as you sprint through the streets and there are G.U.N. robots EVERYWHERE. Even the music is the opposite of City Escape, which is upbeat and campy, with famous lyrics we all know and love. Radical Highway’s music is purely instrumental and has a darker tone, and a more serious hint of urgency (while still being a banger of course). 

While City Escape serves to set up our beloved blue leading man as the carefree speedster who goes where the impulse takes him, Radical Highway sets up everything for Shadow. Assuming you play the Hero Story first, you really don’t know much about Shadow, other than he serves as a rival for Sonic. He only has a few scenes where he crosses paths with Sonic, and in all put the last one, he is always positioned above Sonic, until their final confrontation where they are on even ground, literally and figuratively, because Shadow sees Sonic as an equal in the end, whereas before, he saw Sonic, and everyone else in the world, as beneath him. Hence, the brilliant symbolism of Radical Highway being above everything. He literally starts the level at the highest point on the bridge while looking down at the G.U.N. forces and calls them “pathetic.” (This is where that all began.)

He’s above it all, he’s disconnected, he believes himself superior, and in the cutscene before this level we learn about Maria, and her death, for the first time. We see a flashback to that canon event and when we come back to the present, Shadow promises her revenge, and we learn Shadow’s goals aren’t what they initially seemed when Eggman released him.

It is not until the Final Story that we learn what is going on: Shadow was not originally made as a weapon, but Professor Gerald modified him after the ARK incident and Maria’s death, including modifying his memories. The Shadow we see in Radical Highway is not really Shadow. It’s Gerald, in his insanity and grief, in his righteousness and fury. The promise for revenge is Gerald’s, not Shadow’s.

Later games have Shadow rebuild his memories and sense of self in the wake of all of the meddling from certain Robotniks. Shadow the Hedgehog ‘05 and Sonic ‘06 leave us with a Shadow who is still devastated by his losses, but his mind and convictions are his own, and a Shadow who remembers Maria’s true, unadulterated wish (2010s Sonic games go on to forget all of this, but we’re not talking about that right now). He might not know exactly where his place in the world is, but he knows who he is and what he fights for.

Okay, now where am I going with all of this with SXSG? Why does Black Doom keep bringing Shadow back to Radical Highway, from a storytelling perspective?

Black Doom is manipulative. It’s his whole schtick. Shadow ‘05 constantly has Black Doom trying to use the ARK incident to bring Shadow over to his side and serve him. He is trying to use Shadow’s traumatic memories to get Shadow to remember his hatred for humanity, but good/True Story playthrough Shadow recovers his true memories and remains true to his convictions (God, that game would be so good if it was good). Black Doom’s manipulation doesn’t work and Shadow defeats him. 

Now, in SXSG, Black Doom is back. He knows he can’t use the same tactics as last time. Shadow has his memories. There is nothing that could convince Shadow to willingly join Black Doom. Shadow never flinched when Mephiles was trying to manipulate him in Sonic ‘06. So what does Black Doom do? Memory manipulation is still his thing, so he decides to drag Shadow to Radical Highway, to this moment in time instead, because this moment represents everything that went wrong.

In this moment in time, Maria is dead, Gerald is dead, Shadow’s mind is not his own, he has initiated Gerald’s plan to destroy the world, and the promise he made to Maria is corrupted. And now Black Doom is here too, further warping this memory.

Black Doom is trying to psych Shadow out, because he knows he can’t claim him through pure force. There’s definitely a theme of autonomy in many of Shadow’s stories: He was made as a cure for Maria, Gerald modified his mind, Eggman did too, and Black Doom tries to enforce a claim on him. And he’s using this memory of Radical Highway to push this, to drag him back to his past he’s trying to move on from, to say “you are just a weapon. You are just a tool, to be used and modified. You were never anything more.”

But then, Maria and Gerald are there, saying “you are so much more.” Gerald is there calling him “son,” saying he’s proud of him, and asking him to live for himself. Maria is there saying “you are more than your anger, more than your past, more than what you’re made of.”

And all of this is represented by Radical Highway.

Maria's bond to Shadow and relevance to his character, is intrinsically tied into the anti-military message of the OG SaB2 storyline. Ageing her up would have been tragic, of course, but it wouldn't carry the same weight. Maria didn't choose to live on the ARK, she wasn't an adult who was in charge of how she wanted to live or where she wanted to go. Gerald Robotnik made those decisions for her with her best interests at heart as any good parent (or in this case, grandfather) would do. She was terminally ill. She was on the ARK so that she could receive immediate treatment for her terminal illness once Robotnik found a cure via Project Shadow. And you know, the ARK would've been an incredibly sterile place-- another safeguard to keep her alive. It's even said the lighter gravity on-board helped ease her progressing disease.

And due to decisions made by the U.S Military based on arbitrary reasoning, they shot her. Point blank. She had no weapon, she was running away, and she was twelve years old.

She was only on the ARK because the same people that authorised her murder, had authorised Project Shadow ergo, the ARK, to begin with.

Robotnik wanted to heal. To help. He took the offer from the U.S Military to lead the Project, because an 'Utimate Life-Form' would theoretically be medically Perfect. No genetic mishaps, no illnesses, viruses, or anything to threaten its life outside of physical attacks. Something like that, could become a blueprint for cures. He could cure Maria, and ontop of that, start to heal others like her.

The caveat of course, was to create a lifeform with immortality and he decided if there was a chance to give his granddaughter an opportunity to grow up and see adulthood, the price was worth paying.

However his experiments whilst chaotic in nature did too well and the whole thing was shut down. All personnel related to Project Shadow with the exception of Robotnik himself, were to be killed. Age, race, relation, rank, if you worked on Project Shadow or knew what it was, you were to be shot on sight.

And that's why sonic/shadow fans go so rabid for ANY Sab2 content as this backstory ties into the whole plot of the game whose main links run straight to Maria Robotnik's fate.

Granted, it has become somewhat of a meme regarding how many times we get to see her die and in how many formats of that horrific sequence of events but the root message behind it carries more weight than many post Sab2 games. In fact, we rarely get to see such narrative driven themes from SEGA due to its constant mis-handling of the sonic franchise.

Jealousy | A Six of Crows Animatic

Criminal Kaz Brekker asks his righthand woman Inej to join him on a heist to pose as a mistress of an ambassador they are trying to expel. But under the surface, Inej struggles to understand why Kaz has asked her to join on the mission, while Kaz refuses to admit his true feelings for her.

I made animatic based off the kanej fan fiction “Serves You Right” Chapter 5 By LinearA @linearao3. Even though we can’t get soc spinoff, I’ll make fan stuff still!

Also, I got into animation grad school and this was for a storyboarding class :)

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So this is what I’ve been working for the past month. Was really hard to keep this a secret after Shadow and Bone cancelled. An ode to one of my all time favorite chapters of a fanfic. The visuals still stick with me now and it begs to be turned cinematic. 

For this storyboard, I edited some lines to make it more accessible to wider audience than soc and. Did lots of research on opera and tried to choose songs roughly in 17th century. So fun to make a soundtrack with whatever I wanted tho :)

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You can see a broadview on my website

Or in slidedeck form.

You can also view on youtube.

Alina, enthusiastically: we need to make Zoyalai become a couple.

David: Zoyalai?

Genya: he was in love with you, dear. and he proposed to you.

Alina: he was. but now he has heart-eyes every time, when Zoya is next to him. Nikolai is so bad in being unobvious.

Tolya: she's gonna tear his heart apart.

[Shadow and Bone TV. Grishaverse. Mal/Nikolai/Alina. 11k. post-season 2 epistolary get together fic]

No kissing, he’d told her, despite the way her eyes darted down to his mouth. Not unless you’re thinking of me, instead of trying to forget him. What Nikolai hadn’t said, that morning before the world started crashing down around them all over again, was that he thought of Mal, too. Of the twisted-together web the three of them made. His engagement to Alina, how tremulous the thing was, how wary Nikolai felt of hoping too badly for it to happen. Alina and Mal’s history, warped and tightly knotted and strained at the edges. The uncertain shape pulled between himself and Mal, an understanding he can’t put words to and a faith held in the unwavering needle of his lucky compass, warm against the skin of Mal’s chest. Nikolai wonders if he’s the only one who can see it- the three of them, Ravka spread out beneath their hands, back-to-back-to-back. He wonders if he’s the only one who wants it, fearsome and vicious and hungry.

He doesn’t think so; but he’s been wrong on occasion.

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or, Mal and Nikolai write each other letters, and all three of them find their way home.

hugs and kisses to jack @kingfisherkink for beta reading this LITERALLY MONTHS ago and to everyone who’s been so enthusiastic and encouraging about me talking abt this and then not posting it for literally ages <3 xoxoxoxo