User blog:BrutaLity/Shadouge

Author's Note:
This is under construction; will involve earlier games after an edit tomorrow. '''I was actually asked to separate this into an independent 'rant' since that horrid Ship Manifesto collides too many off-topics (such as Shadouge), but I'm not going to post all the huge 'justifying analytical points' about their canons in here. You can just go find it yourself. OR, I'll add that into it VERY soon - so for now, anyone who does have different views, do NOT come here talking about any video game not concerning Sonic: Next Generation. It's the only one I'm talking about. The others, I'll add into this later.'''

I also think I need to kind of elaborate on my exact feelings towards teh' fan pair in like, a CALMER demeanor. Note, this isn't a hate article! So don't come here saying, "SHADOUGE SUCKS!"

Suck it up. It's just a fandom for peep's sake. Oh well.

It's just an opinions article, but it's definitely not a supporting article, either. So I don't really recommend this to fans. I recommend this to NEUTRAL fans, fans who neither like it or dislike it.

I've always liked writing useless stuff about everything, really. But since my major 'watcher-base' is Sonic dependent, I'm only going to share articles that I know would appeal to them. The real part you should pay attention to is the, Sonic the Hedgehog: Next Generation section.

Warning: I'm being a wittle bit of a goof here, so don't take my harshness seriously...and I just drank three cups of coffee for the first time. I, am UP. Up, up in the air!

...Is drinking coffee with a cold bad?

Team Dark in SonicTeam
...is awesome. What? It is! Although the English Dub alienates Omega a bit.

But yes, Team Dark is awesome. They're not like Sonic and his squad of rainbow-colored buddies. Team Dark has managed to build friendships and support upon one another, and appreciate each other equally, even if their interactional ways of showing it isn't equal. I'd say Shadow's alliance with Team Dark has helped him spread his generosity to others, since he offers up the same amount of appreciation to Omega and Rouge as equals (although he's more open, 'friendlier', and seemingly more concerned about affairs with Omega and seems to tolerate him a little more than Rouge). I really think his interaction with all the characters has helped him 'bloom.' The more people he interacts with, the more he builds. He's the type of character who grows off his own independence, but when he runs into speed bumps, he has a tendency to stop moving forward and stay stuck. In the most dire of situations, he's proven to need guidance, which lapses him into mood swings and conflictive opinions about himself and his actions. If he doesn't have a hand to pull him through or a spark of light to point North, he starts to drown. But when he finally surfaces after being given that hand, he comes back ten times more strong-minded than before. It's obvious that a lot of the characters would be Shadow's hand, and so far that mutual bond is honestly shown in Sonic the Hedgehog (SA2, Sonic Next Gen', Sonic X) more than anyone else.

Dark Pairing
Here's what I think of Shadouge:

I think they make a great team as two agents. It just works.

You know, like one of those films starring two opposite-sex partners, one being a snooty female spy and the other being a rock-hard agent, in which the snooty female gets on his nerves back and forth when she tries to distract him from the situation at hand? That kind of relationship actually builds a charming, bi-polar friendship, even if the male is more emotionally detached from the female, but connected by intellect. Something about that back and forth relationship is actually what wraps into a brother-sister relationship, since the female's playful immaturity often causes the male agent's eyes to roll, and sometimes earns getting her reprimanded by him like an adult disciplining a child. It can either be a brother-sister rivalry, or quite literally a I-don't-want-to-deal-with-you-rivalry. That's how it's usually portrayed, anyway.

...So, I like Shadow and Rouge as teammates.

Now, as a romantic couple? Woah. @_@; No. This is where I feel like the 'awesomeness' of Team Dark is cheapened, and wouldn't work out well for any of them in the end. Pairing these two, to me, taints their image as a Team and as characters.

(At the same time I don't know why their Sonic News Network profiles used to say, "Rouge is one of Shadow's closet friends, probably the closet since Maria." Jaba-WHABA? When has Shadow ever been close to her? He's not close to her in the sense that he was close to Maria at all. I don't see him showing reciprocation towards Rouge. I just see him accepting, not giving, or being close to. There's a distinct distance between them. Though after all, Sonic News Network is also a fan site that viewers can edit.)

Before I continue, I practically have to shout this: Silver the Hedgehog is not the son of Shadow the Hedgehog and Rouge the Bat.

Who came up with that? D: Who came up with that Silver was even Shadow's son? ''Silver is a hedgehog, not a hedge-bat. Yes, he looks like an adorable freak of nature, but it looks like the genes belonged to a cockatoo, not a bat. Silver is also 200 years into the future, and he's fourteen years old at the time. The only rumor started was by Archie writer Ian Flynn's guess that Silver was the descendant of Shadow the Hedgehog and Amy Rose, due to Dragon Ball Z references and the surprise-surprise that Amy is psychic on an intuitive/mental level. So, I guess combining Shadow's Chaos energy and her mental energy...*shrug* Silver. I don't know, it's cute for a fandom, but like heck Shadow needs to have any kids. How many of you want to even cross the idea of Shadow having a child in canon universe? Raise your hands. Don't be shy, now.''

Back on topic with the teammates vs. relationship

Team establishments and romantic establishments are two different horizons and two different chemistry connections. Usually, when two people work together under alliances such as Shadow and Rouge's, it's the reason why they don't come together in a romantic relationship. When they do, they end up finding out they just ruined what they originally had. And...I just can not see Shadow madly in love with Rouge, or even being in love to begin with. Already being so emotionally disinterested and her not having the appeal he'd emotionally cave into, it wouldn't make sense for me. I can't see having strong feelings for her as a person (perhaps for what shedoes for him only, but without that portion, all other reasons seem weak).

We know how Shadow was with Maria. Platonic, romantic, whatever, this guy here was gushingover her. There's something about how Shadow reacts to her and acted with her that dares me to assume he had actual feelings of love for her. SEGA has never justified it either, so...but whatever the case, because Shadow is capable of showing overwhelming feelings for someone, the only candidate I can see him doing that toward is...just not Rouge. The 80% of her behavior towards him is like a deflection of him even being interested in opening up to her. He's so blunt with Rouge that I doubt it's anything less than literal apathy.

The bat and the hedgehog are a good team (they are good at working on business affairs whereas Shadow keeps their alliance formal), but not a good love relationship (when it comes to anything that's not business, as in getting personal, they don't have a click; Shadow is more, standoffish, apathetic, and annoyed by Rouge when she's not on his business-mentality. Doesn't seem like getting personal with her is on his, "To care bout," list). Shadow's emotional detachment from Rouge looks like it's by subconscious, because she hasn't triggered it within him, and most likely wouldn't be the female to do so. A few Shadouge fans acknowledge that them being in an outright romance is a fairytale disaster, or just not an ideal reality, and that the way they canonically are does not build them for one either. Outright relationship doesn't work perfectly for ANY of these characters. However, his mindset in G.U.N. is not meant for relationship seeking or relationship quality, and he should not involve romantic relations and mercenary teamwork duty in the same picture. It doesn't work, and starts to lack emotion. It becomes more intellect-dependent and sexuality-dependent, producing little of any real emotional strength that would keep the bond from eventually tiring. That is the point where he would mentally stay stuck, which is only damaging from the inside. For a possible relationship and for an ideal lover, he needs to get away from that, with someone who is not involved in that, and the person that would offer him a nourishing place/warmth entirely opposite of what he goes through on a daily basis. It's a relief factor. He should not have to associate mercenary duties or burdening thoughts in a relationship, to keep the two mindsets and environments separate - and to give him sanctuary and sanity.

I believe that it's much more sacred for these two to be friends, because even that bond between these two needs more work. There's something about friendship that's just, "Simple and Clean" in comparison to love, which always deals with messy feelings, confusing thoughts, overwhelm, and distractive infatuation. Shadow/Rouge to me would have the ancedotes of friendship, even if like I said, that's going to take more development, too. It's getting there, though.

The canons (which I'll talk about in a minute, though only the Sonic Next Gen scenes) couldn't give more wind of justification that it'll take a while for Shadow and Rouge to have a romantic mutualism, if any at all. Impurity x Impurity has a weak connectivity force, like the phrase, "two wrongs don't make a right," and for the type that Shadow is, dark males such as him are automatically drawn to purity in the blink of an eye. It envelops them more, has a continuous growth effect, and fascinating results. I don't really know what kind of growth effect Rouge would have on Shadow other than the friendship boat of loyal team support. I think that's why people ship Rouge with Knuckles, because he doesn't have the, "lost soul" instability and "still searching for who I am" upon being so mentally, emotionally, and physically unsure of himself, while also being restrained by these troubles and walls. I think some of them prefer Knuckles' wisdom and old-fashioned warrior-code for Rouge's own mental development over Shadow's intelligence (something she already has), but childlike heart, inexperienced self, and reserved attitude that may bore her. At some point, I can't deny, she does seem to get discouraged/tired of Shadow's distance; she doesn't like to be kept guessing, after all. (Shadow the Hedgehog (the video game) didn't prove anything other than excessive shouting: "THIS IS WHO I AM!" We already know your name dude, now who ARE you exactly?).

And I'll admit, seeing Knuckles and Rouge interact is far more interesting and entertaining than Shadow and Rouge.

The logics behind the canons and the characters, don't point the Shadouge direction, and if it did, I can see that direction falling into a dark hole, and being threatened by both an inside force and an outside force. There's something about the pair that doesn't have the sufficient amount of glue, or romance to tally up into, "love," or being a powerhouse. Not only do I not see it working/lasting, but it's frank that Rouge's character doesn't appeal to what 'makes Shadow tick,' or her being something that would really raise the bars in his life. Love for Shadow would be very intense, but unfortunately, Rouge isn't the female that would bring out that sheer intensity, or give it (funny; I'm quoting what others before me have been saying). I don't think it makes sense for his character to see her character as a romantic interest. It actually contradicts what we know of him. Shadow doesn't have a type (because he doesn't give two cents), but he has an attraction to certain things. Shadow is a cliche character; we know what rock-hard types such as him are like, and what types of females influence their lives to the rare point of, "soul mate/two halves of one soul/true love/one true happiness/the person just for me," that everyday people don't get a chance at. I'm not saying he needs butterflies in his life (bleh), but if a stronger force was introduced to him, I think he'd be drawn into it so much so, that it would be a threat to Shadow and Rouge. I kind of think that if they got into an outright relationship, their development, as characters and as a couple, would literally stop(Rouge's would either be improved or deflected, but Shadow's? You can't deny that there are others who offer greater improvement of self). I also can't see Shadow being romantic toward Rouge the way a lot of fans would portray it, let alone sexual, which is even more off the ball. Despite anything that's happened, Shadow is an unfulfilled character, and he's still trying to find his footing. Still shut, still stuck, still locked. Someone who naturally guides others and is experienced in the "being in tune with one's self and emotions" seems like a more sensible trigger.

The only compatible women I can see that he would not clash with or quickly lose interest in, and further more always keep him interested, would be Shade, Blaze, and Amy. He pretty much has everything in common with Shade and Blaze when it comes to intellect and behavior, making them more tolerable to him (though he might get bored of having someone who copies his every move; people with behavioral and mental similarities get tired of each other after awhile, because no one's producing anything new to the table. I don't think either girl would take the first step in the emotion-openness with him, because Shadow surely isn't, unless the person is the embodiment of emotions; he needs a trigger), but he only has heart, love-values, emotionality, and that existing flicker of purity, in common with Amy, who does offer more to the "happiness and love realm." Internal chemistry, basically. Their relationship would probably be one of the most touching; I said that back when I hated the thought of them. So I'd say he'd connect with Shade and Blaze on a mental level, and connect with Amy on an emotional level - the love level.

Even so, I don't want to see him turn into a ball of gush! Shadow must stay Shadow! He can still be himself while exploring that connection, but fans of this couple kill it by thinking they'd be all in each other's faces since the day the rise out of bed. And quit that Maria replacement crap or, "She reminds me of MAAARIAAA! ...'Tis why I love her." They don't need to be in the same sentence. He doesn't need to think of someone as Maria to make him feel better! (Quite frankly I think Shadow/Cream is the brother-sister friendship and the Maria replacement fan pair.) I mean, Inuyasha is still himself in spite of Kagome making a drastic change in him, you not only don't see them macking 24/7, but Kagome does NOT remind him of Kikyo. Shadow/Amy is more of an 'equal guidance', subtle couple that would exchange personal solace and open-consideration for a 'relationship', not an overly sentimental one of hugs and kisses 24/7, which is why they work well as a love-interest relationship, preferably on Shadow's end. I think Shadow/Amy has this, "My~ preeeeciooous~" appeal to people. Shadow's Smeagol and Amy's "The Ring."

Creepy.

But...''interesting. ''Amy's literally the only female we can logically see him interested in - or just not being interested in ANYONE at all. Not to the point of Shadow and Amy hooking up in canon (Shadow x Shadow is THE BEST PAIRING; we all know this -_-; ), but I'd say one-sided feelings makes sense on their part. He's shown far more fascination in two simple, tiny movements in reference to Amy than he has in Rouge so far (and the tone of speech used with her, and his out of character response to her, is different than his offhanded, 'could-care-less' reactions towards Rouge's behavior/presence), and sensibly, it can be seen to him having an observant level of fascination/romantic interest in her, without this coming between Sonic and Amy at all. Keeps everyone single, yes? '''Rouge > Shadow > Amy > Sonic > Chili Dog. We're all happy! No couples!'''

Don't know how many times I've talked about why Shadouge would have a perfectly strong team relationship but a weak real relationship in other massive articles, so I'm too bored with myself to repeat myself. I'll post it in full later.

But come on now. We all know Shadow looks better BY HIMSELF in canon. Coupling Shadow with anyone deeply hurts his franchise and his fanbase. SEGA would be burned in a cornfield on a stake by, "Fans of the Corn," if they even proclaimed Shadow to carry feelings for a character. Also taking into the fact that Shadow doesn't care about relationships and women. None of the SonicTeam boys do! They've got more important goals on their mind!

You've seen this before:

"Regarding the Shadouge pairing, while I can see it becoming a mutual bond in the end, it would take some good time and development to make it believable to me, and it probably wouldn't go the same way as lot of the fanfics suggest it would. I certainly don't think there was anything romantic going on in SA2, and I interpreted their closeness in Heroes to be because of Shadow's amnesia, since his personality was vastly different in that game than in any other. In all the other games, including SA2, he's always come off as far less interested in her than vice versa. Sorta like he tolerates her presence and appreciates the team work, but has no actual desire to let her in any further yet. That's why I can't really read any fics that portray them as romantic from the get-go." --- darkhyliangirl.

I have to agree with her. That song, "This Machine," in Sonic Heroes didn't imply anything romantic between the two to me, but instead like a sacred friendship. If SEGA wanted something romantic between the two back then, they would've stated that they had feelings for each other right then and there on their Game Guides and Official Profiles, but instead they kept saying, "Rouge only works for Shadow because of G.U.N. and to get what she wants out of him/Rouge is loyal to Shadow only as a friend." Okay. We get it. It's always Rouge and never Shadow, I swear. We do know he doesn't have a love interest, however.

After all, Shadow had amnesia. To him, Omega and Rouge were the very first people he ever met, and naturally, he'd have some kind of attachment to the one who brought them together. There have been no romantic implications since, and ever since Shadow has gotten his memories back, he's been acting exactly how my friend here pointed out. If SEGA was trying to hint anything romantic, then someone must've threatened them to drop it, because now it's looked like reverse-effect ever since Sonic Heroes. Seeing that his appreciation for her was triggered by her care for him, their teamwork, and nothing else beyond that, it actually makes sense as to why he wouldn't be romantically interested in her - since there's really nothing for him to be romantically interested about. He's been proving that more and more as the games go on. When fans make it so, his character, once again, goes out the window, and it doesn't really make sense. Don't forget that gratefulness does not mean love (but it's often mistaken as such; if you can't pinpoint any other reason to love your partner except for what they physically do for you, and only listing the fickle things underneath it, the expiration will either be soon, or countered by something else walking into your life). A little too emo-typical; Shadow needs to escape emo stereotypes D: Neh!

Sonic the Hedgehog: Next Generation
''*Probably way better to watch the clips while I'm explaining the scenes. ''

Though even as teammates, there is a bit of anti-affection (friendship affection) going on here. Keep in mind that I like them as team mates, and am really starting to like Team Dark more than the other goofy teams, so I think I also don't want my Team here to be sacrificed.

At many points, when compassion-time isn't happening, Shadow does act cold, snappish, or flat out ignores Rouge when she's not focusing on the task that needs to be done. There's a heavy level of disinterest here, so much so that it's annoying, especially when it comes to any personal affairs between them, which the two don't have (No, they don't spend any time together outside mission business; Shadow makes a point of that). This is probably where gamers get the impression that their only real connection is working under G.U.N., or that Rouge is only an acquaintance to Shadow. To me however, it's as though he likes the cooperation of teamwork and Rouge's loyalty, but doesn't actually like her as to what she portrays herself as when she's not being Miss Right-Hand Spy. Her flirtatiousness and jokey teasing is one thing his formality is intolerant of with her, as if both tire and annoy him, while when she's not acting like that, he's simply just not interested. Their partnership is indeed formal rather than 'buddy-buddy' or 'lovey-dovey.' It's neither.

Though fans believe Sonic the Hedgehog: Next Generation highlights Shadouge moments, it highlights a lot of one-sidedness more than usual in Shadow. He's about as monotone, goal-attentive, and impatient as he was in Sonic X and Sonic Adventure 2 to keep back on track with his lone-wolf ways. I sense no denial on his part when it comes to Rouge, I sense disinterest to the ultimate level, which is how a lot of us see it. Can't remember the last time a regular gamer didn't say, "...Huh?" when I said some believe in Shadouge. It's true; I don't see any romantic or physical attraction between them either.

Actually, I'm watching the cutscenes over as I type. I thought there would be some kind of Shadow/Rouge highlight due to how the fans have been over this game, but now that I'm finally paying attention and trying to really look for those small clues, there's literally nothing special in this entire game going on between them except for Rouge's one line of dialogue. O_o; I thought it would be more than this! It's empty chemistry so much so that it's obvious there's nothing romantic going on with these two; Watching this is actually making me think badly of the rabid fans who go around forcing people to believe it's a canom couple; now I see why people define the rabid fans under the category of, "crazy, deluded fangirls." (Though aren't we all? I'm pretty sure it's part of our species.) Their teamwork here is nothing like Sonic Heroes. I'm trying to put myself into a Shadouge mindset here, but the logics keep jumping in front of me. I actually get the appeal of this pair through a fan's eyes, but through canonical eyes...? That's where it stops.

Let's start with the first cutscene:
They're walking across the field of snow after Shadow's bailed her out for G.U.N.

Watching Shadow, you can tell his mind is as straight ahead as his glare, and that he's prepared to finish executing the mission. He's not adamant to get away from Rouge and he's not willing to get close to her either. The robots descend from the sky, and he suits up to fight them on his own account. People kept saying Rouge seemed disappointed in how he snapped at her when he told her, "My assignment was to rescue you. Nothing more," (Shadow's seriously acting like a little punk in this, man) because of her, "Fine. With you it's always just business." She didn't sound disappointed; she sounded like she could've rolled her eyes with that line.

The second cutscene,
They're transported to a base and have a walk around. La-de-da-de-do.

He's paying more attention to what's around him and his curiosity in Rouge's description of the place as she recites it like an automated brochure. She asks him to escort her to the rendezvous point; obviously this has something to do with the item. At first, he has no interest in the artifact Rouge has. After Rouge's explanations are over and Shadow says, "Why does Eggman's base lead to an odd place like this?" it was obvious that Shadow now has interest in what's going on. Anything that involves the Doctor is always something to pay attention to. Going off this, him agreeing to escort Rouge to where she's going with the artifact (and in a way that wasn't in a direct, "Yes!") wasn't out of the norm or special, and would possibly cure his own interests. Even if he was doing it just to comply and not argue with her, this scene shouldn't come off as a surprise. It sure isn't reaching out to me. Besides, the creators have to make Shadow get involved with the storyline some way. As the scenes continue through, Shadow's attentiveness to more and more of what Rouge is revealing to him is peaking a bit. He seems to echo her words back to her with a surprise, like when he repeats, "Accident?" in the middle of what she's saying.

So now it appears he's escorting her to his benefit.

Then there's the third cutscene:
Eggman intervenes. Darn egghead.

Rouge is punched out of the sky, pretty much unconscious at this point, and if she hits the ground, there's going to be some bloody injuries, or at least one major headache in the morning. Now, Shadow isn't cold enough to just stand there and watch her hit the brick floor if he wasn't occupied during this scene in the first place. It's actually more in character if he rescues her. Now that he and WE know Shadow was created for the Protection of Earth, he's shown us glimpses of his protective instinct with a great deal of characters from SA2 all the way to the recent games; he's beginning to act on moral right and the common consideration heroes have. He's slowing seeping into him. But Rouge is, once again, his mission and of course, his comrade. Every member of Dark Team has one another's backs (which is why I like them so much; they're not, "FRIENDSHIP IS THE BEST THING EVER!" or "We HATE each other!" ) But he didn't save her with an ear-screeching, "ROOOUGE!" either (which he'd be known for doing when people he's emotionally attached to are in danger, especially at the velocity she was falling. Yikes), and he didn't have a jolt of emotions hit him when he acted out to save her. He had a determined face, not an angsty-concerned one. Then when he saves her, he doesn't continue holding her to linger on it, he literally rolls her over onto the floor, gets up without her, eyes on the scepter the whole time, not even looking at her once or gracing her with an,"Are you alright?" question, while Rouge is dazed out nursing her head. Eyes still on the scepter, he walks past her and heads over to retrieve it.

...That's the part people are freaking out over? "...." Remember, I'm watching this daggone thing while I'm writing it out. What's REALLY goin' on with fans today?

Watching this part actually annoyed me! He could've at least set her on her feet or asked her if she was alright, or even at least glanced at her. I felt like he just dumped her on the floor. -_-; Oy, Shadow! Okay, "dumped" is too harsh a word, but he definitely wasn't hesitating to put her down somewhere, anywhere really, and then head over to that scepter. He's unresponsive and unaffected the whole time. His attention span on Rouge is very short-lived during this game, I have to admit. Whichever way it goes, it's blatant that Shadow isn't focused on Rouge for any special reasons that would mean, "Oh! He does it because he likes her!" He's showing all his interest in the thing he was never interested in from the start - that daggone scepter.

...Rouge should be jealous. I would be.

Then there's the fourth scene:

Mephiles aka The Joker with Yu-Gi-Oh's voice. Fans said Shadow 'jumped in front of Rouge' as the black energy swarmed out of scepter when she says,"Shadow!" in fascination mixed with alarm from what's happening.

...Shadow was already standing in front of the scepter when he went to pick it up. He didn't move, at all. Where do we see jumping? He doesn't even set up for battle posture! He just stares up at the sky as the black energy deactivates the robots before it suddenly hits the spot Shadow was previously standing in. Shadow jumped out of the way and stood a distance away from Rouge on the sidelines, and finally got into battle stance.

These scenes make it clear that most of Shadow's actions are towards himself and the bigger picture of what's going on around them. Rouge can hold her own, and he knows that. Whatever the case, he's not putting his concern into her. Mwaha, but I love how he flinches away from Mephiles like a cat being sprayed with water when the recolor opens his palm. I seriously thought he was going to accidentally bump into Rouge and knock her back because his startled reaction was so melodramatic.

The fifth scene:
Future transportation. By now, Shadow's talking to himself again. As usual. But that's what he love about him; he talks to thin air. However, he only does this when he's deeply troubled by something, and in this case, it's Mephiles. This is the famous scene of, "Look where Shadow's looking!"

Fans. Stop. Making. Me LOL.

Retain your dignity and your common sense. I beg of you. Do it for the other Shadouge fans. You can use something else other than a technical dysfunction!

Realize that during this entire scene, he's pretty much brooding and trailing off in his sentences as he tries to identify the character who stole his face. They've also been transported to the future. There's no way this is good. Understanding the matters of the situation before them, do you truly believe Shadow would be taking concentrated glances at her chest at a time like this, with this being the ONLY time "he's done this" and this being the only time he's interested in what's going on?

Look directly at him and pay attention to this scene, because I sure as heck am.

Also remember that Shadow is a character who constantly has his chin lowered and just downright cross-sided with that huge forehead, which usually makes his eyesight's alignment seem off when he looks directly at pretty much anything. Shadow is not the type of dolt to stare at Rouge's chest while she's directly staring at him, and then slowly turning his head away when she finally speaks.

Due to what we know from the scene before with him being bothered about Mephiles, trailing off when mentioning him, comparing their Chaos Control similarities with apprehension in his tone, taking in what Rouge is telling him, and where they are, while fans think he's 'staring directly at Rouge's chest,' he's calculating the situation. That would be a pretty inappropriate time for him to have sudden-cleavage interest out of the blue, when almost all of the time they are in the same frame, Shadow hardly holds direct eye contact with her unless the situation their discussing is dire, severe, important, exchanging, or serious. I'm sorry, but it's way too obvious on what Shadow is thinking about in this scene. His pupils aren't even aiming "down," they're unmoving, and it almost looks as if he's not looking at any part of Rouge at all, but lost in his own head.

This is why Rouge tries to comfort him with, "Well, at least we know we've arrived in the future...that means this Mephiles character has the power to control time," since he's acting both unresponsive and unconvinced about everything, as if she's not answering all of his questions.

Wouldn't Rouge tease, "What are you looking at, you creeep~? <3" Or at least give him a funny look, since he's 'apparently looking at her chest' while she's physically aware? SEGA made it a point more than ever to highlight Shadow's listless impassibility with Rouge in Sonic Next Gen/ Sonic X/Archies.

Is the above not logic? SEGA is a kid's game with graphics that are never on point, Shadow is a stoic character who has never shown sexual interest in anyone and just doesn't give a damn (people even think he doesn't like the opposite sex due to his peeved attitude around Rouge). Put two and two together, and Shadow =/= ogling Rouge's boobs on purpose.

If he had to look at anything, I think he'd be a bit more subtle and smart about it to not make him, the male character who so obviously holds the flag of being unswayable by women such as Rouge herself to where many think he has low-tolerance and dislike for the opposite sex, look like an idiot. t's not intentional; it's something people THINK they see and turn into something else. That something else being a big deal for no reason and of no importance or worth. It's something little to cling to.

If he was...

Then boobs. They're there. They're everywhere. Why not. And if you're bored and forgetting your 'danger zone' trigger, you can't help but sit there and guess what their cup size is. Doesn't mean you're interested. Doesn't mean a thing, or have anything to do with the girl.

If Shadow's never shown interest in Rouge from the beginning, and if that's the only 'interested detail' fans can come up with...I doubt her sexuality would appeal to him altogether, with the guarantee that he blocks her out when she begins flirting; I'm pretty sure he'd prefer being a hunter instead of being hunted. Aggressive females, like with Sonic, turn him off. I'm sure Shadow knows Rouge is attractive; he's no fool. But attracted TO, is a different story. I can easily say someone is attractive without having an inkling of desire for them. My eyes aren't blind, my loins just aren't stimulated yet, and neither is my mind. Shadow being that master of restraint and the need to be stimulated through an emotional approach, well...the above suits him. It's quite obvious she is not his type in terms of sexual interest, and it does defeat his character as we have it. It's even more obvious that he's asexual. Actually, they're ALL ASEXUAL. You know why? Because this is a KID'S VIDEO GAME. D:

Then the sixth scene:
Omega. This is the first time I've seen Shadow show so this much concentration in his concern for someone during the video game. When Rouge tells him they can't do anything about Omega, he stands there anyway for a long amount of time, before saying in a disappointed, low voice, "...Yeah," and then walking away with his head down.

LunaMiakoda was right; Shadow was more upset about Omega's position than he has been about Rouge throughout the game (not saying that he doesn't care, but the body language proves that Shadow does blatantly show concern that's visible to the audience when heisconcerned at the time in the first place).

The seventh cutscene:
Sonic Heroes and Team Dark. Together. Without fighting---WAIT! Nope, nope, here comes Knuckles acting out and Rouge showing off.

This is the "KnuxRougShad' scene people believe in. Finally paying attention once again, now I can see exactly how fanon it is. So fanon, it's scary, because I used to believe in it too, now I'm just appalled I did. If it was truly meant to be, something tells me that the KnuxRougShad triangle would have been in all three of their profiles on the game guide, and that SEGA would've spent more time into making it obvious. They don't see to have a problem with confirmations.

Here we go:

Rouge is tooting her own horn about her treasure hunting skills, the boys are awing at the Chaos Emerald she's showing off like they're at an auctioning. Knuckles is facing the other way in a, "Yeah right!" disapproval with his nose in the air. Rouge directly calls him out (too funny; he deserves it), and I'm pretty sure that just about everyone is looking at Knuckles right now. Is he going to let her get away with that? Knuckles moves up on Rouge, but by how he's stomping up to her, it's clear that Knuckles is neither threatening her OR going to do anything. He's all bark. As he stands before Rouge, he pauses, and they pretty much have a staring contest. Usually, Knuckles isn't just going to say, "HEH!" and then walk away from an argument just like that. Since SEGA hasn't been having the two interact often, I saw that scene as them trying to relive a Knuxouge moment (yes, which is a canon romance) through that small gaze Knuckles forfeited. If SEGA was trying to imply a KnuxRougeShad moment, don't you think we would've had more camera time on Shadow? The camera is focused on Rouge's satisfied smile as he walks away.

Shadow watches Knuckles leave, yes, but notice how relaxed he is about it; he doesn't look tense in the least bit- it actually looked like Shadow was picking up on the chemistry between them to play more into the observant character he is. The chemistry was confirmed by how Knuckles reacted in the end, and I think Shadow was putting together the pieces more than anything, like he too had been confused as to why Knuckles gave up the argument with his pride held high, or why Knuckles got so touche in the first place. I think he was actuallyintrigued by what just happened.

Rouge and Shadow both knew Knuckles wasn't going to bite her; Rouge's smirk the whole time verifies that, so there's absolutely no reason for this to trigger something in Shadow. After Knuckles goes off into his space, Shadow asks the Heroes VERY calmly, lightly and softly at that, "Have you guys discovered anything?" He doesn't ask with disdain as if the earlier event pissed him off, or even had his attention. So, all in all, I'm pretty sure Shadow didn't care about what just happened, or even care about their bickers; I think he was mentally clarifying it for that short moment since he's never seen Rouge and Knuckles interact.

He was probably just thinking to himself, "...Interesting.---SO ANYWAY. Back on topic; EMERALDS."

I'm also sure that Tails and Sonic were watching Knuckle's every move too in the background.

Now, Knuckles gets in her face a SECOND time (bad Knuckles), even yelling at her and staying in front of her, and Shadow isn't watching him at all when he steps away from her. He doesn't turn his head to Knuckles and Rouge when Knuckles does step up to her, either. He's still lax and still calm. Wouldn't he have shown an even greater reaction this time since Knuckles is acting out for the second time, him being even more confrontational than before, instead of seeming even more lax and unresponsive? When the scene turns to Sonic telling Shadow not to be late, his head position hasn't changed. Judging by those clips, it's obvious that Shadow was either looking off into the distance somewhere while Knuckles was telling off Rouge, or staring at Sonic the whole time. Shadow acts more irritated when Sonic opens his mouth. His voice suddenly hardens and he suddenly straightens up.

So, it's obvious what got to him in this scene, and it wasn't Knuckles.

Shadow isn't willingly close enough to Rouge to feel threatened by another male if he's the one hardly paying attention to her during the game in the first place. If their bickering (Knuckles and Rouge) wasn't violent from the start, there's no point in suiting up for intervention. Once again, Rouge can hold her own - Shadow wouldn't be concerned about the scene even if he did care. If he was really bothered - since Knuckles ran up so abruptly - he probably would've made some kind of movement or expression; maybe the uncrossing of his arms, the change in his eyes, a, "Hmph," or a stepping forward. He was actually pretty far away from the both of them, too.

Also, there was no 'death glare' on his face like fans keep saying. You know why? Because he always looks like that. When's the last time you saw his face make a new expression? His expression only changes when he's feeling something intense - and it neither hardened or became alert when Knuckles got frisky.

I think the reasons SEGA wouldn't launch the love triangle is this:

A viewer wouldn't truthfully care about ShadougeKnux. The center of attention is SonAmy, because Sonic is the main character, and his love life matters.

Two, gamers don't care about Rouge the Bat as a whole the way they do Sonic the Hedgehog as a whole, let alone her love life.

Three, neutral gamers see Shadouge being rather one-sided, and the majority of the fandom is screaming for Shadow to have no romantic feelings for anyone or to be paired with anyone. Shadow's side of Shadouge is solidly opinionated and has never been proven or officially stated by SEGA (and it should stay that way due to the divided fandom, rabid Shadow fangirls, blatantness of what kind of female is the best effective match, and the fact that Shadow is better left to have romantic feelings for no one. We already got hit by the emo-matic Maria deal).

Four, both boys are resistant of Rouge at some point, so why would they start a fight with each other over her if A) Knuckles argues with her/is annoyed by her and B) Shadow generally ignores her/shows a high lack of interest and low tolerance with her. They pull away from her in two different ways while Rouge is the one leaning towards them both, so they're not going to directly, physically, or verbally butt heads over her when they're the ones turning the other cheek from her. Neither one of them is going to make a, "move," so they wouldn't be a threat to each other. Neither are interested in relationships, either. The feelings are more intensified in Rouge than it is for them, so that triangle takes place in Rouge's head, not theirs.

Watch the scenes without involving your fandom feelings and you'll see exactly what I mean. Watch it with neutralism. I often do this as well so that I can put myself into a different viewer's shoes. It helps a lot.

Now there's the eighth scene:
Fans believed Shadow 'jumped in front of Rouge' here as the Shadouge article on here explains. Shadow is not playing leap frog in this game for peep's sake! XD;

First off, ''Shadow didn't jump anywhere. Again. He stepped forward. Rouge was off on the side ''of him, not behind him.

He was more concerned about what was coming out of that emerald, which might've been Mephiles (the one thing that his entire focus through gameplay is fervently focused on), hence why he reacted how he did. He was more shaken up by the emerald's reaction to Rouge's touch than what just happened a second ago to Rouge the Bat. There is no reason for Shadow to be 'over-protective' of Rouge with a passion if she wasn't sent flying back with a bloody head injury, and instead, landed gracefully on her feet like a cat. Yet, when she's falling out of the sky, a scene where she WAS hurt, he doesn't show this same enthusiasm? If he was indeed doing it over Rouge, I think she'd be more responsive to his actions before dramatically asking,"What is that?" Since that would probably come off as a big deal to watchers, I think SEGA would've made it a little more obvious through the characters if it was a big deal. So, if there was any passionate reason or romantic implication indeed over Rouge (where it looked more apparent that he was trying to face the foe for himself), I can once again only convert to friendship, while also converting to the fact that she was his mission AND his partner. He's been showing far too little interest in her so far, and more interest in everyone and everything else. At first glance I just really thought he was trying to be a glory-hog by stepping up to the plate whereas Sonic and everyone else looked lost and confused.

As for any Shadouge over-protection going on, even if I see there isn't any, keep in mind that Shadow's mission was to rescue Rouge and the scepter to bring them both back to G.U.N. Each time Shadow rescues Rouge, it's always under mission duty. I'm not saying he wouldn't rescue her under normal circumstances, but not only does he seem to have a protective instinct around girls, but a protective instinct period due to his new set of heightened moral rights and honor code. He's a dark hero, not an anti-hero. He has a kind of gentlemanly manner with his actions around females, even if he's a little more disrespectful to Rouge on occasion, including his hard indifference towards her (like Blaze the Cat in Archie who he caught from passing out and sorrowfully apologized to, Molly, whose hand he held, and then Amy Rose, whom he didn't snap at or shake off after that five-minute hug, but seemed to be lingering on an actual thought, and only turned to see her when she let go - going so far as to taking a step after her when she left. To me, he had every right to be a little harsh on Amy jumping on him. Not because of her, but because of it being such a surprise ambush out of nowhere; Shadow's an on-the-edge-person (Sonic X just made him look pathetically robotic), and under normal circumstances, he would've had a physical reaction for letting his guard down. That launch looked like it knocked the wind out of him, too!).

Please keep in mind that Shadow is very loyal to Omega and Rouge. Not verbally all the time, but he is. He's not heartless, and does show gratitude, care, and even respect for others. Examples would be his interactions with Metal Sonic, Omega (especially Omega), Amy Rose, Molly, Hope (Archie), Maria, Elise's father (he tries to shake him awake and even hesitates on leaving him there), Elise (child), Silver the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat (Archie), Dr. Eggman and Sonic himself (which is why it upsets me when people portray Sonic as someone Shadow hates with a fiery red passion).

Rouge the Bat, Omega, and Maria Robotnik are not Shadow's only exceptions.

(I have to admit though, I've only see him show and express mutual gratitude for Amy by daring to dedicate Maria's promise to her. A simple, "Thank you," would've been fine, Shadow. Your tear was enough) Shadow has been acting less and less "denial-based and ungrateful' since SA2. He seems to respect anyone who respects him, first. He has not been acting cold either, he simply acts uninterested in certain things. It's not coldness. If it was coldness, he wouldn't have taken the time to help Silver see that Mephiles was trying to fool him, and then later ally with him (I would've left that little kid behind. See? I'M cold).

Throughout the game, Shadow's not showing an inkling of interest in Rouge herself between all of this; his attention spans are soiled on Mephiles. He's so centered on finding all this out about the Dark Overlord that he's removed from everything else around him, because once again, it has to do with him, and - instead of his past - his future. His self-priorities are on the high bar. The only time he's not really dealing with something that directly has to do with him, is when he actually 'rescues' Sonic from Silver. SEGA took the chance of showing their mutual bond again. Props for that. Another time is when he accompanies Silver and tries to tend to Elise's father.

...Watching this is actually proving to me that Shadouge fans may be reading into something that's being imagined. I'm sure not all of them think like this, but the ones that confront me...now I'm just shaking my head. The point is, Shadouge is not romantic from the get-go, and needs far more time and development to make it into something. It's not 'right off the bat' or 'a real couple.' They have a long way's to go, just like any of the Sonic characters, and this game feels more like a set-back.

But now here's the ninth scene of them:
The world's against you.

This scene is sad, I tell you. Shadow was so affected to hear that one of his friends was going to be his doom. He's not blaming Omega however, you can tell that he's thinking about everything that he's done for the world (as Rouge verbally expresses for us), and yet it betrays him anyway. The interesting thing is, he's showing sadness, not animosity. This kind of makes me realize exactly how quiet and uneasily angered he is, whereas Archie and Sonic X over-exaggerate his aggression or his lack of emotional expression. He has a good balance between both, leveling him out to be a lot calmer, but also more expressive than what people keep making him out to be. It's actually a little disturbing that he's going soft. Fan portrayals are harsher than how he canonically is, so it looks like we're lying to ourselves XD;

Anyway, this scene is nice to watch. But..because I'm neutral about Shadouge, it looks obvious to me that her words were friendship/teammate based, because it basically sounded like she's saying she'll always fight beside him. I'm not getting anything romantic out of this, and this is how a lot of gamers see it too - ones who don't ship pairings. I could see WHY fans would ship this over that line, of course, but putting all love aside...I'm not getting where it is, and usually I would, because I thought I did before.

Shadow's response is fair. He nods and tells her, "I will," before walking away. Again, I can't see any romance behind this, because it didn't produce romance, it implies acceptance. I never believed Shadow distrusted Rouge, anyway. I think he's known since Sonic Heroes that she doesn't have any bad intentions (whereas Sonic X gave him every reason to distrust her. Probably the most anti-affection verse of them I've seen, so it didn't make sense when Rouge was staring at his empty pod during the last episode if their moments were way too anti).So I don't think he distrusts her, I just can pinpoint that he's still so disinterested. People said his, "I will," response meant Shadow cared for her as expressively deep as Rouge did for him. I didn't hear, "I'll be by your side, too," or "...I'll always remember that," or something that matched up to how she expressed herself (Shadow has been capable of offering more to others before) It just sounds like he understands and knows Rouge will have his back. He doesn't linger on it afterwards, and nothing changes between their interaction in the scenes that follow after this. While I do think it had some effect on him at that time, I don't think the effect lasted the instant he started to walk away. It's just, you know when Shadow has intense feelings for someone, or when he's intensely affected. When Shadow has those feelings, he breaks out of his monotone character quite obviously and even dramatically, going as far as to saying something he reservedly wouldn't, or expressing it physically. He's shown those reactions to other characters.

So that's all the scenes, yeah?

Well, I have to admit...

I didn't think it was THAT one-sided until now. O_o; I can really see that Shadow does not have a love interest. Also note that '''everyone's memories were erased, so anything that happened in Sonic: Next Generation didn't happen in their memory. This is probably why The Dark Brotherhood has Rouge ask Shadow to look into the future, which would open us back up to Mephiles, or how his future looks now.'''

Even if one day SEGA said it was mutual (if it was, they're bad at showing it) Shadouge lacks romantic implication (if it didn't, the majority wouldn't be seeing them as just 'teammates'), whereas Knuxouge had it in SA2 and Sonic X (know that I don't ship this because I don't care about it, I just take what's given to me through the screen). The one thing Shadouge really lacks is the puppy-love pattern that SonAmy and Knuxouge have, which leads people to not see anything romancey about them thanks to it not matching what SEGA normally insinuates for romance. So, if SEGA is trying to say Rouge has a crush on Shadow, they need to do a better job of it to break out of the 'friendship and ally' glass. I always thought Rouge had a crush on him, but watching this, it's not looking so much like that. All I'm getting out of them is supportive loyalty.

Back in Sonic Battle, when Rouge said something along the lines of that going through carrying Shadow wasn't worth for all the jewels in the world, she pauses on, "Well..." She's referring to the JEWELS, not Shadow. She'd do it for all the jewels in the world, because THAT was her main love interest; jewels. There was nothing romantic going on during Sonic Battle. Rouge acknowledging that he "wasn't bad looking" is pretty much something she acknowledges in every male character in the game, and her calling him a, "Prince" was more like a sarcastic joke in reference to him being asleep for so long. Also understand that her first act of selflessness did not start with Shadow, it began with Knuckles (giving back the M.E.). Shadow's impassivity and indifference in Sonic Next Gen is just uncanny.

The severity of 'nothing special going on' save for that last scene is making me think fans are on some mushrooms for screaming, "CANON!" Not even close by a long-shot.

For instance, in the Japanese version of Sonic the Hedgehog: Next Generation, Rouge says,"You have friends whom you can rely on," to Shadow the Hedgehog instead of, "Even if you believe the world turns against you, know that I will always remain by your side."

Can you really see Rouge the Bat saying this so openly? It defeats her character a bit, and the fact that we know it would take much more time for Rouge to be this verbal about such situations on spot. I understand that Shadow and Knuckles are inspiration idols to her (well, it's only been confirmed in official quotes for her relationship with Knuckles instead of Shadow, but...), however, she's good at showing that while keeping the weight of her words small instead of heavy. The original version did a good job of including Omega and herself, while proving her caring loyalty without having her step out of her character box. It kept her ambiguous, while being clear. It also explains why Shadow doesn't respond as emotionally as she does. Despite what SEGA or fans could say, both versions, to me, sound like teamwork/friendship reference, and that's how a lot of the gamer-fandom felt as well.

A lot of contradiction here, one being that one half of the fandom believes there was a one-sided romantic click going on, while the other presentedly sees it as a friendship-click. That's actually what it looks like more than romance, too. Shadow and Rouge have a hard time accepting friendship as two characters who don't have a whole football team of friends behind them (Unlike Sonic who pretty much has an army of rainbow-colored friends following him), so I can hardly see them jumping the friendship-development bar and clicking on a romantic level. Knuckles and Rouge were the only two who 'almost kissed' or whatever the heck it is they were doing for those five minutes of gazing. SEGA seems to make their couples almost outright blatant, Knuckles and Rouge being that case.

If you think I'm trippin' or if I'm trying to defy against something just because of my fandom preference, actually sit there and watch the evidence instead of listening to the whims being shared around the fandoms. There's no way in this lifetime or another that I'll purposely debate about something without finding the "yes," before the, "no." As of now, I'm finding a lot of,"no's". Seriously, watch these cliiips. @.@; My perception has chaaaanged, boy.