hammerhearted

[hammerhearted]

Amy Rose wallpaper, released on the Sonic Channel website in April, 2016. Support us on Patreon

[hammerhearted]

beyond the horizon i'll follow where love has gone.

[hammerhearted]

"Shadow!" Amy heard 'trap' and 'guard', but not well enough to make it the immediate priority. Her hammer stowed away, she hopped through the torn doorway, bounded across the splintering steel debris, and threw her arms gleefully around Shadow's shoulders even as he'd turned away. "That was AMAZING! I mean, it was different and weird and of course that one's still for Sonic and me but—oooh!"

Despite its best efforts, the gust of victory hadn't swept Amy's head too far out. She released him with a breath, smoothing out her dress. Synergy, Rose. This was a mission in discretion with a subtle sort of hedgehog. And Shadow didn't like hugs. Or he seemed indifferent to hugs. Or it was something about her hugs in particular.

You know what? Hard to read.

"Right." Amy gave the hallways her own look around, took one of his hands in hers, and picked one to start tugging him down. Left felt like a good choice. "This way!"

All the momentum Shadow gathered into his spindash set him off like a loose firecracker, all the Chaos he was channeling into his body making him a bright dash of emerald green instead of his red and black. Amy's aim was true--Shadow careened directly into the weak, smoking part of the door. The door didn't give away immediately, holding some high-pitched whining resistance as Shadow's Chaos-infused quills burned into the metal, making the room smell faintly of burning circuitry. But Shadow hung on. After a bit longer of the door seeming to hold up to the impossible, all at once it practically crumpled over, falling outwards with insane amount of force and making an extremely loud crashing noise.

Shadow landed effortlessly on his feet on top of the giant sheet of metal. He wiped at his mouth with the back of a hand and gave Amy a large smirk. Sure he wasn't happy about having to use a Sonic-Amy special to get out of the place, but it worked, so did it really matter? "And now you have Chaos Croquette Bomber in your arsenal. Not a bad idea." His tone was light, a small joke--a clear Shadow spin on the name of the move. "As if a place like that could hold me! Hmph!" The smile was gone in an instant as he assessed the room and adjoining hallways leading up to the safe. There weren't any telltale alarm signs going off in the building which was odd considering this had largely been a stealth mission with the goal of retrieving the Emerald. No small fry to beat up, no huge red flashing lights, nothing.

Which led to an easy conclusion: "This was probably a trap all along. Stay on your guard." He hopped off of the slab of metal, apparently unconcerned, although the squint of his red eyes indicated his suspicion. It was strange to not have to fight a bunch of foot soldiers after an attempt like that, which made Shadow think that maybe there was going to be some literal giant pain in the ass to deal with later. Well, maybe it would be fun.

[hammerhearted]

"Don't!"

Amy lunged to catch that hand in hers. She couldn't justify the reflex with numbers or knowledge. Just the dreadful feeling that even this was too close for comfort. If anything happened to him, right before her eyes—!

"If something goes wrong—" she pushed closer to clutch both his hands between hers, squeezing, imploring, insisting. "If it's too much, if you overload—!"

Frustration bubbled hot in her chest. She was strong; she could fight or smash or carry whatever Shadow—whatever anyone—needed her to. She'd done that right up to now, in front of an obstacle that was too volatile to safely break with a hammer's head and too dangerous for her to touch. But this pulsing nexus of chaos, strong enough that it made the quills on the back of even her head fray and prickle with excess energy, that Sonic and Shadow responded to and used so easily—she couldn't do anything with it. She couldn't do anything about it.

Except make sure Shadow waited long enough to survive it. It didn't make her feel better. But it's what she could do. Sonic was never too late. Close, but never too late.

It didn't make her feel better.

"—I can't stop it! It'll destroy everything! You'll die!"

Hands balled into tight fists at Shadow's side; he rarely had a reason to express or feel such anger with Amy, he often felt too obligated to her and what she had done for him to do that--and yet here it was, a thunderstorm stampeding across his face as bright and furious as the Chaos energy raging in the room at the end of the hallway behind her. A flicker of green danced across his fists as well. "Yes. I can." He spat, "I am the Ultimate Lifeform. There is nothing I cannot do."

Shadow raised his chin to meet Amy's. He drew in a breath to center himself, eyes slipping closed for a second. When he opened them the thunderstorm withdrew just a bit from his expression; the fury was not quite as transcendental--Shadow would not hurt Amy, and so he had to talk her down from her position even though he knew her stubborn streak was just as ferocious as his own. "If I remove my inhibitor rings, I should be able to handle the energy of the core long enough to destroy it." I think. I hope. I have to. He didn't say any of that aloud. He needed to convince her of his own powers ( needed to prove to himself he could do this, without anyone -- without even Sonic ). Shadow had never come into contact with such volatile, disruptive energy before. It made him feel sick to his stomach even this far away from the core, the Chaos swimming in the air like miasma, searing at his temples and threatening to make his eyes water. And yet. He had to bear it. He was the Ultimate. Even a battery merely has to break its limits. The inhibitor rings were the easiest way for him to do this, so he had to make it work, there was no other option. "We can't afford time to waste on the idle hope that Sonic will show up at the eleventh hour. Move!" A hand moved to start unclipping one of his wristbands, the thing catching gold in the light.

[hammerhearted]

.˚○ • ° Dr. Starline is evil Amy (if she had a PHD)

[hammerhearted]

Finish the sentence in my inbox.

“I want you to…” ��Why didn’t you tell me…” “I wanted to tell you…” “Have you ever…” “What do you think of…”

[hammerhearted]

@fortruechaos said: look me in the eye and say that again .

Demand Things!

In front of her, Shadow. Behind her, the long, cold hall to the power core—another volatile machination of G.U.N's that shouldn't exist. She stood between them, her arms spread wide to grip across each side of the passage mouth. In the way.

Very few things stop him, once he's made up his mind. But she'll try.

She raised her chin.

It was like staring down a blade. Shadow's gaze lanced into hers, intense, resolute. Amy could feel her eyes threaten to water, urging her to break contact before they pierced right through.

She wouldn't.

Her shoulders went back, her ears, sternly forward. "You can't, Shadow. This place is radioactive with chaos energy. Someone's going to get hurt if you go!"

'You are going to get hurt.' Would he even hear that?

She did as he asked. She said it again.

"You can't do this. Wait for Sonic."

[hammerhearted]

.˚○ • ° If I had the fortitude, I would write a series about Amy and it would say "maybe the real love was the friends we made along the way" with its entire chest. I like the concept being brought up in Frontiers—"I want to share that love with the world". I like Amy being a champion of love! I like that being the core of her driving philosophy as a hero! But that's why it deserved to be a big thing we've watched her work toward the whole time, man!

I have this bug in my head around telling the story of Amy developing and wrestling with her beliefs about love as she grows — the fantasy version of love she chased as a kid vs what it really is. I would go broke for so many stories about her encountering all colors of love, how vast and real and complicated and difficult it is, how it's worth it anyway, how in breaking out of her Sonic-themed tunnel vision she not only improves all of her relationships and becomes a stronger hero, but improves her relationship with Sonic himself as she stops trying to cram them both into the picket-fence-patterned box she thought they should fit in. She both figures out who she is—that she doesn't really fit into a lot of those boxes herself—AND realizes she actually loves him in doing so. Not just what fairytales taught her he should be, but him.

So, she comes to believe true love is being able to embrace everything about something or someone—the good and bad, the magnificent and the messy—and loving them because of and despite it all. She has the strength and desire to protect the world because she understands from experience that it's not at all perfect, not always pretty, won't always do what she thinks it should do or be what she thinks it should be right when she wants it to—and loves fiercely. Amy is a hero because of how she loves.

And then she goes Super and we all go insane—

I think the idea in recent canon is that she's close to this in a good few ways, if she's not already there. I just wanna expand on this—I wanna tell the story of her owning this as a clear arc and theme for her character. That would be REALLY. COOL.

[hammerhearted]

.˚○ • ° The way he moves always caught my eye / Couldn't take no more, just had to try—

.˚○ • ° You know what? I propose Amy's musical motif should be electro swing.

[hammerhearted]

✱˚｡⋆ ↪ 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐒 . ( a collection of dialogue prompts based on varying types of demands &. requests . adjust phrasing as necessary . this prompt WILL likely be updated in the future . )

don't say a word .

don't leave me here .

meet me at our spot tonight .

follow me and stay close .

don't beg , it's pathetic .

can you ( tie / zip ) this for me ?

stop lying to me . tell me what you did .

put that down , you don't know what it ( is / does ) .

get out of my sight .

stop pretending you know what's going on .

find a first-aid kit . quickly !

don't get yourself killed .

leave them to me , just go .

just admit that you love me .

just admit that you hate me .

come here , let me look at you .

( name ) , don't make me do this .

drop your ( weapon ) .

stay here and wait for my signal .

don't just sit there , move .

take this and run , don't let anyone have it .

pretend you're my ( partner / girlfriend / boyfriend ) .

don't look , you'll give us away .

don't say another word .

stop pretending like you care .

go make sure the coast is clear .

take this with you . it's a good luck charm .

don't tell anyone about this .

if anybody asks about today , lie .

stop looking at me like that .

tell me you love me .

just kiss me , already .

keep your eyes on the road .

stop crying and calm down .

come with me . there's so much we could do .

wear the ( dress / tie / item ) i gave you tonight .

show me how you like to be touched .

hold my hand .

kiss me , make it look real .

look at me . how many fingers am i holding up ?

will you marry me ?

just slow down for a minute . what's going on ?

take a deep breath , you need to calm down .

get out of here , ( name ) !

draw your weapon .

go rest . i'm not asking .

take a step back .

give me a straight answer .

be polite to our guests .

look me in the eye and say that again .

put your feelings aside for a moment .

keep close to me .

here , let me see that .

look up at the sky .

get out of here , i don't want to see you right now .

stand up , this isn't over yet .

close your eyes and count to ten .

smile for the camera !

keep your head down .

( name ) , let me past .

listen carefully to what i'm about to say .

don't just stare , come in .

stop laughing , this isn't funny .

take this and hide it .

don't make a sound .

put your hands up .

quit causing problems everywhere you go .

just admit that you don't know what you're doing .

stop right there , i mean it .

don't say that name aloud .

just trust me , okay ?

stop acting so childish .

call the police . now .

tell me you love me , even if it's not real .

take a good hard look .

stop the car , ( name ) .

don't make eye contact .

stay out of trouble .

just do it already , we've waited long enough .

hold me tight , and never let me go .

finish what you started .

tell me what you know .

just stay away from me .

turn around . slowly .

don't be scared .

put it down before somebody gets hurt .

stop pretending , i'm tired of the pretending .

grab me my ( item ) , will you ?

don't make assumptions .

put this over it to stop the bleeding .

get to safety !

wipe that look off your face .

secure the area .

keep an eye on them .

look at yourself in the mirror .

run . run and don't stop .

eat . you haven't touched your food in days .

[hammerhearted]

.˚○ • ° You know what? I propose Amy's musical motif should be electro swing.

[hammerhearted]

"So, um... I need help—"

"—But! But! You're not allowed to see until you promise not to laugh!"

[hammerhearted]

"'Commander Rose'. I'm so tired."

[hammerhearted]

"Got it!"

All right, so Amy was sentimental; it was weird to pull this one with anyone other than Sonic. So weird, in fact, that the splendid black and red whirl of Shadow's colors in lieu of Sonic's dazzling blue was almost jarring. But the mass looked the same, so the set-up was the same, too. Amy teed up beside him. She widened her stance.

"Ready...!"

She wound her hammer back.

"GO!"

A wind-slicing swing—

♡ PIKO— ♡

The impact of gold on spines spat sparks as the friction and the force of the strike shot down her hammer and up her arms like a shockwave. Shadow bulleted off to the door, a missile of quills and chaos and her own raw force. In the blink before collision, she didn't know what she'd see—whether the door would give way or if he'd scuff against it at best and she'd be out of ideas—!

Crazy. Yeah. Shadow was beginning to smolder, the frustration at his usually very-powerful Chaos abilities being reduced to nothing cutting through artificial veins like hot fire and showing on his face, which was growing darker by the second. It didn't help that Amy was pacing around a bunch muttering to herself, thinking out loud, and generally just making a lot of noise. He was about to interrupt her to get to the point when she did just that--'Croquette Bomber!' bouncing off her lips accompanied by a pointing finger.

Like that means anything to me rose as a deadpan quip before Amy jumped into the point of the point. His angry expression melted away, quickly realizing exactly what she was suggesting. "Yes. It's easy." Honestly, he didn't really like doing it; his skates provided enough force to do the things Sonic did when he was spindashing, or he just used a Chaos Control if the place he wanted to get to was just out of reach. And frankly he thought spindashing looked un-cool. A jet-blast kick to the head was way cooler than a homing attack was in Shadow's opinion. But Amy was powerful, and so was Shadow, and he wanted to get out of here just as badly as she did. His pride wasn't that terrible. A good idea was a good idea. It was just annoying that there hadn't been the Emerald they had been promised for all the effort they had put in to get here. So it was safe to assume Shadow was thoroughly in a bad mood--although not Amy's fault and he held no blame against her even if she thought he did.

Shadow looked at the back of the safe room they were locked in and walked that way. Once he was in what he thought was a suitable position to bust open the door, he dropped into a spindash, gathering up all the momentum he could. "Ready when you are, let's get this over with--!!"

[hammerhearted]

.˚○ • °  If y'all wanna know something kinda funny: the last time I was active, I'd worked out descriptions and meanings for (some of) Amy's fortune cards in case I needed them for writing. The post I drafted for personal reference is still sitting there today!

But now the full deck actually exists! And I own it! And it's really cool! And I'm pretty sure I'm gonna use that version of them! Still — very funny.

[hammerhearted]

"Stardew Valley ruined my sleep schedule and you have to suffer with me!"

[hammerhearted]

The Rose is upon you.