Would Sonic and Shadow have kids?
I actually feel very strongly about this, and have written a lot regarding a fanchild (will draw a few ideas eventually and repost this probably)
Sorry for the long post. In my HC Shadow is sterile, as he's a hybrid creature, unable to breed with Mobian or Blackarms. His immortality would play a huge role on how he ponders the world.
I think they would raise a chao garden in place of children, maybe not even realizing the similarity. But over time, as Shadow is again faced with the realization that Sonic will die, and will consider what remains.
After Sonic is gone, there would be nothing left of him that Shadow could hold and look at. The Chao and Sonics influence is a kind of legacy, but to Shadow, he couldn't truly look at either and feel that it was Sonic, which might cause some tension between them. Something they could never agree on, y'know?
Idk why, but sonic always felt like someone who'd be great with kids and a great uncle, but someone who wouldn't want children of his own. Maybe it's an insecurity? He doesn't think he'd make a good father? There's lot of people like that irl. For Sonic, he doesn't consider children to be your only source of legacy. By just existing, Shadow is in essence Sonic's legacy. Even if he forgets again, Shadow's very way of interacting with the world is the continuation of Sonic's influence, something very profound and meaningful to Sonic, even if he doesn't say it.
"People exist in everything they do, Shadow, not just in their kid. When you vanished after the ARK, I was a different person, I approached the world with your story in my mind, even when I wasn't thinking of you. In that way, your existence changed my world, not just the Moon... Just by existing, you continue my legacy for the same reason." -sonic
While moved, in the end I think Shadow would still want a child, as his brain just can't rationalize this, even if he respects it. I've considered if they'd get a surrogate or... If Shadow would use the ARK and his connections to illegally recreate his own creation, using Sonic's blood as a stabilizer, ensuring Doom's blood is scrubbed from the child. I'm still considering what this act would mean to Sonic and how he'd feel about it. It's very extreme, but I live for the drama.
He might become obsessed with either offering Sonic immortality or immortality by way of a child, fearing he'd never make such a deep connection with anyone like he has with Sonic. Or maybe in reality, he'd be creating something he feels he should have been, finding a sense of cartharsis in raising something that is, in a sense, him. But better. A lot of people see their child as their second chance.
"I will be for you, what I desperately wanted. What I needed, what I longed for. It took me years to find it, but you will never need to search for it, because I will always be here to offer it to you..."- Shadow
