[this post is about something pretty significant in the story of shadow generations, for anyone who's still avoiding spoilers]
ok so something that fucking Gets Me is that shadow does smile every now and then. not often, sure, but with a little digging you can find at least a couple smiles from basically every iteration of shadow! observe
so like we have a template for what shadow looks like when he smiles. it's almost always some variation of this smug little smirk with his eyebrows/eyelids down, somewhere on a scale from 'cocky little bastard' to 'trying his best to copy what he thinks a smile might look like based on a description he heard once'. and most of the time it is steeped in some smug anime rival moment, but even when shadow is just genuinely responding emotionally to something nice happening, it looks something like this.
so all in all there's the impression that this is just how shadow smiles. that he's not super good at it, that maybe he doesn't quite know or remember how, but this really is him at his most genuine. right on, that's cute i s'pose, no problem, me too king i'm autistic. AND THEN THIS FUCKING HAPPENS
oh my god!!!!! fuck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! this looks NOTHING like his 'normal' smile - his eyes are so open, his mouth is so relaxed, there isn't a speck of that smugness that shapes even his sincerest expressions! did he even know he could do this???? maybe everything we've seen so far has been an awkward attempt at it, and this is the first time we've REALLY seen shadow's smile. maybe we've seen him smile, but we're only now seeing him happy. maybe we'll never see it again.
after a lifetime of defaulting to a flat scowl and all these perhaps unintentionally self-assured looking smirks, shadow looks at his sister and smiles for her like it's the easiest thing he's ever done in his life.
this game is gonna make me THROW UP!!!!!!!!!!!!