#Having my own circle of friends that are into sonic helps as well. because the greater sonic fanbase makes me soooo anxious

[carnation-damnation]

I have been really enjoying making sonic art lately. I finally feel like I have a grasp on how I want them to look and I don't feel as shameful about how I want to portray them either

[elizabethrobertajones]

so after taking like half a year to watch the second doctor, I burned through Pertwee Doctor in what felt like a week. I was fully ready to formally induct him to the hall of favourites somewhere around the top, pending the wikipedia search to check he such wasn't a terrible guy IRL it made it into the personal life section as per the last 2, and -

[refuses to be in a film when a producer won't hire a gay friend]

good start, good start (already liked everything else I read but this is an incredible character merit mark for a guy in the 50s)

[the doctor is literally just him being himself on camera]

Oh, so I just want him to be my friend, I see

[he said the catalyst for leaving was the death of Roger Delgado among other changes in the last year]

Wait WHAT - is that why there was no more Master later on -

[Delgado died on location filming in Turkey, his own wiki page repeats that this was why Pertwee wanted out]

NO NO NO NO NNOOOO

HOW IS THIS HUGE BIT OF DOCTOR WHO HISTORY SOMETHING I NEVER HEARD ABOUT? I GREW UP IN SCI FI CONVENTION SPACES BUT EVERYONE JUST TALKS ABOUT TOM BAKER LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED BEFORE?

WHAT THE FUCK.

I am DISTRAUGHT, the Doctor/Master stuff from the first few seasons of the 3rd Doctor was absolutely INCREDIBLE television. I'd been assuming Delgado maybe had somewhere else to be. Heartily recommend watching that entire run of the show if you don't want to start any earlier.

Well, anyway. :(

I know people don't like the weird James Bond swing it all took with him but the show had been getting more action-y anyway under the 2nd doctor and then a guy who had literally been in the inner circle with all the WWII creatives like Ian Fleming and probably helped INSPIRE James Bond gets the role, I'm feeling like we're blessed and privileged from this perspective of getting to watch it as a historical artefact. I'm assuming based on the vague things I know about the 4th Doctor, the first I'm meeting with any preconceptions, that he's obviously not capable of bringing THAT to the table because that was no ordinary skillset, Pertwee was clearly a top 0.00001% of actors and Guys Who Had Lived A Life, who happened to be doing a silly BBC sci fi show. I'm expecting it to tone back on all these things.

And then in hindsight from the Doctor Who revival era, all the nonsense he brought, aside from the Venusian Karate and flying car and a few other extreme eccentricities, end up being stuff that feels much more modern and like the kind of antics the Doctor gets involved in. Like, he took the sonic screwdriver from being a couple of times joke into a multi-tool with the first joke about it not working on wood after he uses it through many episodes to escape or explode things, all of which is so common nature to the Doctor nowadays.

He also had far more of the casual behaviours we think of as The Doctor now, especially way less circumspect name dropping of historical people and a sense of having lived all around time and space, sometimes for extensive periods of time (he clearly like. LIVED on Venus to pick up all the various throwaway jokes about Venusian culture to explain things he does lmao). Weirdly, despite knowing he was a timetraveller from the jump, the previous two doctors were quite close-lipped about who they knew and had met, and rarely namedropped.

In any case, carrying on into 4th doctor era cautiously because I am 1: sad and 2: deeply let down by my perception of Whovian culture as I've been exposed to it, which sets a ridiculously high bar for Baker as the high watermark of Who and meanwhile I have just bid farewell to watching one of the most electric actors I've ever seen in anything ever while feeling wildly upset on his behalf that there isn't a bonkers appreciative fan culture for everything he did and he's written off as one of the quirky weird early doctors you don't need to bother with.

(AND THERE WAS WRITTEN QUEER DOCTOR MOMENTS. AT LEAST 2-3 OF THEM, GENDER AND SEXUALITY-WISE. HE GOT TALKED TO IN POLARI. ON TV IN 1972. THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN BY ACCIDENT.)

[armybratz123]

An Understanding

Doctor Who x Danny Phantom

"All and time and space he said. Let's go to a planet full of 'magic' he says. Shouldn't be much trouble. WELL HOW'S THIS FOR TROUBLE!?!?", Donna Noble shrieks at her friend, the Doctor, as they ran down the metal corridor of some facility on the planet called Amitesh.

A planet that has nothing but stuff of magic, spirits, and other wonders that is a sacred part of their daily life and religion. Unfortunately, the Doctor had to ruin it for Donna, telling her it's not really magic, but the planet's own physiology mixed with these people's own version of science creates an result in which it's like it actually was magic.

The Doctor did admit that his particular planet got it closest to what magic could possibly be. But the Time Lord remained adamant that magic does not exist.

Fortunately, Donna basically ignored the Doctor and just wandered off, staring at anything and everything. For the two were lucky enough to land in the middle of a festival. Amitesh's magic being showcased for all to see and appreciate.

Which leads back to the two's current actions.

"How was I supposed to know that the world ended because of a cult that believes in such a thing like a 'Ghost King'!?", the Doctor shouts back incredulously as they ran to stop said cultists.

"If you say it in such a way that suggests there is no Ghost King, why are we running to stop them?", Donna asks just as the duo practically screech to a halt to a thick door, the last remaining obstacle between them and the summoning.

"Don't you remember what I told you earlier?", the Doctor explains in a rush as he works on the door with his sonic screwdriver, "The planet's own location and physiology is what makes magic for these people possible. Now multiply that by the centuries of said locals using the magic more and more, both them and the planet becoming accustomed to the energies that can only increase over time and evolve so as to become apart of the people and the planet's core. There may be no Ghost King, but something big, and something dangerous is going to come out of this summoning and we need to stop it."

"Oh my God.", Donna gasped, as she then waves the Doctor to hurry, "Well get on with it and open the door already!"

"What do you think I've been doing!?", the Doctor shouts back, "Now if I can just get- Ah HAH!!"

The door opened, the Doctor and Donna took no time rushing in, only to come to a screeching halt at the sight before them. They entered the room just as the lead cultists, who's also the planet's lead researcher, Taariq Novak, and one of the first few to have greeted the Doctor and Donna upon their arrival to Amitesh. slit the throat of one of his own, Donna couldn't help scream and jump from the sudden action.

With life quickly leaving his eyes, his life flowing from his neck like a river, and the now dead cultist's body fell to the ground. Landing within the intricately made circle, and the moment the blood touched the lines carved into the metal floor, the circle glowed a bright toxic green.

"We're too late.", the Doctor breather as he and his companion could only stare as the summoners celebrated their success.

The wind began to pick up, whipping the cultist robes, the Doctor's coat, and Donna's flaming red hair.

"We have to get out!", the Doctor shouts over the wind, "Out! Everyone out! Now!"

But no one listened.

Donna and the Doctor couldn't drag them out, so they ran. But the door slammed shut just before they could get out. Donna slammed her fists and body against the door while the Doctor tried to work on it again with his screw driver, only to growl as he grips his hair in near desperation.

"It's a deadlock! I can't get us out!", the Doctor shouts.

"What do we do then!?", Donna cries out, "There's got to be something!"

The Doctor turns back to the circle just as unidentifiable green liquid bursts from the summoning circle, swirling around over it as if it was it's own mini hurricane or tropical storm.

"Hope and try to talk our way out of this.", the Doctor whispers as he grips Donna's hand tightly.

For his comfort, or hers. He's not quite sure, nor does have the time or willing to try and figure that out.

A bright light shined beneath the goopy liquid something seemed to be rising from the circle, a form or figure. When, suddenly, a giant, spindly, dark clawed hand slammed on to the floor, the claws digging into the floor, causing deep marks to appear from them. The hand is about the same size as the cultists', Donna, and the Doctor themselves.

The hand pushed down, creating a large dent in floor, added with the scratch marks from the claws, and something climbed up and out of the portal.

Loud moaning echoed in their ears, everyone clutched their hands to their heads in hopes of keeping the horrid noise out. But it did little to help. The liquid that was the first to burst through the portal suddenly fell to the ground, as if like a puppet with its strings cut off. But the thing didn't seem bothered by the goop as it just slid off it like water.

There is no more bright light coming from within the circle, but the circle itself is still glowing a soft toxic green, not as bright as it was before the summoning first started, but, aside from the thing that was just summoned, it served as the now dark room's only source of light.

With the wind and blinding light gone, everyone was now able to get a good look at what was something. It can only be described as an eldrich horror. It towered over them, it's arms to be somehow longer than it's body, it's clawed hands larger than it's own head, and larger than the people standing in the room as well. Their whole body seemed to be made between a mix of pure darkness and the many constellations of the universe, glowing green 'veins' can be seen at the creatures forearms, chest, calves, and neck. It's eyes are large circular, and just glowing toxic green, like the circle at the beginning of the summoning, and it's mouth similar, no lips or anything, the jagged black teeth matched it's body and attached with no covering of any sort unlike other humanoid shaped formed.

Donna clutched tightly to the Doctor, whom as seen Satan, genocide, army of Daleks, and many more horrors. And yet, this has been the most scared he has ever felt since his youth.

This, is something else that the Doctor has never before seen. But within the fear, the Doctor also feels excitement. He's ecstatic, this, nothing ever seen before. A creature beyond time and knowledge, something he doubted any of the Time Lords have ever seen or known before either.

"All hail Pariah Dark!", Taariq suddenly shouts, looking the picture perfect description of euphoric while the rest of his followers knelt and bowed to the creature they have successfully summoned.

"Hail!", the rest of the cultists shout back.

The creature, Pariah Dark these people had called it, seemed to be looking over its surroundings and studying the people slowly. As if taking in where it is and what it's going to do next.

Long moan, almost as if the creature were a whale, reverberated throughout the room. The only difference between a whale and this, is the whale's sound enchanting, while this thing made everyone shiver, hairs raising up, and everyone, even the excited cultists, felt nothing but fear for a moment.

"Pariah Dark! King of the Infinite Realms!", Taariq shouts, "We have summoned you here for your judgement and leadership! We have freed you from your imprisonment inside of the tomb others who have feared you and your power trapped you inside. Now we ask of you to take your rightful place as this world's rightful ruler, with us at your side!"

"They summoned this... this thing just so they can rule and gain power!?", Donna whispers to the Doctor in a quiet shriek, "What the hell's the matter with them?"

The Doctor almost rolled his eyes in agreement. Some things never change, no matter the world or time you travel to. And people call him mad... although they aren't wrong.

But before the Doctor could whisper anything back in reply, the creature suddenly turned towards them. It's glowing swirling lights for eyes seemed to freeze two in place, for no matter how much the Doctor wished to run, even if there was a escape route available to them, the Doctor doubt either he or Donna could run with the way this creature's stare seemed to pin them in place.

Taariq quickly noticed the creature's inquisitive stare upon the travelers, and answered its silent question almost proudly.

"These two were against you mi'lord.", Taariq informed the creature, pointing at the Doctor and Donna theatrically, "They dared to try and stop us! Stop you from rising! But we were lucky enough, clever enough to keep them away just in time to free you."

The creature hummed, still staring at the Doctor and Donna appraisingly.

"What shall be done with them my lord?", another cultist asked, looking more curious than disturbed by the creature's appearance.

The creature turned back to it's followers, its grim jagged mouth forming what looked to be a sinister smile.

"Lucky...", the creature said, the word coming out garbled and echoed in the near silent room.

"M-my lord?", Taariq asked, confused by the pool of dread that began to fill his entire being as he silently cursed himself for the stutter.

"It was lucky... that you summoned Me."

And before anyone could react or say a thing, like a snake, the creature struck. Sending men flying as they screamed their terror with just simple back hand. No, backhand isn't exactly the right word for what he did. For the creature barely flicked his wrist, and more than half of the cultists were airborne, crashing to the walls and floors. None getting up after quickly falling into the grip of unconsciousness.

Another swipe, more cultists flew through the air, leaving only the Doctor, Donna, and the lead cultist standing with the terrifying being.

"But, but why!?", Taariq cried, now looking terrified as he looked up to the creature for answers.

As he should be. Despite Taariq Novak's accomplishments and prowess as a researcher and inventor, the Amiteshian has no idea what he had unleashed.

Or who he could have unleashed if things have been any different.

"We did everything right! The ritual! The Sacrifice!", the lead cultist shouted in fear and desperation, "What did we do to offend you my lord Pariah Dark! What Did We Do!?"

The creature took pause, looking down at the humanoid with a blank expression, no one, not even the Doctor, knew what was going on through the creature's mind.

"You... summoned me...", the creature hissed.

"W-w-what of it?", the cultist stuttered, "Did we perform the ritual wrong? If so, please! Allow me to correct my mistake."

But the creature spoke as if the cultist didn't say anything.

"You summoned me to DESTROY.", it growled menacingly, orbs narrowing in anger and distaste at the sight of Taariq quivering.

"Isn't, isn't, i-isn't.", Taariq gulped, trying to collect himself in order to speak properly through his fear, "Isn't that what you do? Isn't that what Pariah Dark does."

The temperature in the room lowered rapidly, turning to freezing. Donna huddled closer to the Doctor, her body shivering from the freezing temperature, but the two travelers could not look away.

The creature leaned down, almost crouching, so that he and Taariq were barely inches apart. Taariq could only shiver and shake in anticipation as waited for the thing's answer.

It's next words caused terror to strike Taariq's very core.

"Who ever said that I was Pariah Dark?"

"Wh-w-who are you then?", Taariq managed to wheeze, fear filling ever bone of his much smaller body.

"P H A N T O M.", the creature hissed.

Donna quickly squeezed her eyes tightly shut and shoved her face in to the Doctor's arms as Taariq's screams loudly echoed in her ears, her head. She wouldn't be surprised if they echoed in her nightmares later that night.

If she and the Doctor manages to get out of this alive, that is.

For the next couple of minutes, there was silence. Donna's body remained tense as she expected some sort of blow or for the Doctor to start running his gob in order to try and talk them out of this terrifying mess.

But nothing.

Slowly, the human opened her eyes and looked up to see that the creature 'stood' a couple of feet in front of them, Taariq's body out of view behind it. It's glowing orbs for eyes seemed to be dimmer now, it's horrifying maw closed, looking sealed shut, as if the creature never had a mouth in the first place.

And that's when Donna felt it, an aura, or feeling, encasing the room. Comfort, warmth, and protection surrounded the two travelers. The Doctor could only stand there, looking up at the creature with wide eyes, filled with fascination and awe, for he could obviously feel the same thing. Donna just let herself sink into the comfort provided, her eyes contently sliding shut again as she sighed.

Then her eyes suddenly furrowed as her picked up something else within the room.

"Is it... purring?", Donna couldn't help but ask incredulously.

"Oh yes.", the Doctor grinned at his answer and Donna's question.

The two looked back up the creature, now both no longer fearful, but still cautious about what it's next move would be. Obviously, it's not Pariah Dark, the King of Ghosts, just like the Doctor said from the beginning. But it was still summoned here to destroy and rule, so what will it do next after taking down it's summoners.

What id did next surprised them.

Which seems to be a reoccurring pattern lately.

The creatures form suddenly lifted up and wrapped around it almost like a live cloak or blanket and folded in on itself. The creature's form shrunk more and more, ending up smaller than Donna, until a new, humanoid, form took shape, and the darkness and constellations receded to reveal a floating boy, a teenager no older than fifteen, the door behind the Doctor and Donna shedding light on the boys features.

He has white hair, and black and white hazmat suit, glowing toxic green eyes, a white cloak, black ring with a brilliant red gem as it's main focus, and a black crown, floating above his head, encased in flickering green flames that seemed to match the boy's eyes.

"Hi there.", the boy greeted easily.

"Who-? What-?", Donna could only gape while the Doctor's grin got wider and wider by the second.

"Oh that's brilliant.", the Doctor could only say, his eyes alight with his shining grin.

"What the bloody hell are you!?", Donna shouts, feeling exhausted and so very very confused over all that has happened in the last... five minutes?

It felt like this whole confrontation has lasted for days.

The Doctor winced a little, but didn't scold Donna, knowing exactly how she's feeling, it's kinda similar to how he assumed she felt on their first adventure together with the Racnoss.

"Sorry about her, rough day.", the Doctor explains, "Anyways, I'm the Doctor and this is Donna. What's your name and, well yeah, what are you? For curiosities sake."

"I'm Danny Phantom. King of the Infinite Realms and the summonee of these fruit loops.", Danny introduced himself as if this was the most normal thing in the universe.

"The Infinite Realms are real?", the Doctor gaped, "But-but that's impossible. It's supposed to be a myth!"

Danny just shrugged, "You'd think so with all the stories circling it. A lot of it just exaggerations, they're too crazy to be true, or they are just plain wrong."

"How much of it is true?", the Doctor asked eagerly.

Danny opened his mouth, then shut it with a confused look on his face.

"I actually don't know.", Danny responds as held his chin with a thoughtful look on his face.

"How can you not know?", Donna asked, "Aren't you the king?"

Danny rubs the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah, I just became King a little less than a year ago after defeating Pariah Dark in single combat. And the name is pretty literal the Infinite Realms are, well, Infinite, I have a lot to catch up on and I haven't even made a dent, much less a scratch so far."

"This is amazing.", the Doctor breathes before he began to mutter to himself on theories on which stories that he has heard or been told could be true and what it could mean.

"Wait, hold on, Pariah Dark?", Donna repeated, "You mean the supposed Ghost King that these bozos were trying to summon."

"Oh he was the Ghost King just, again, defeated him in single combat now I'm King.", Danny raised a confused brow, "I literally just said that."

"But-but there's no such thing as ghosts.", the Doctor almost shouts.

Danny just stared at them with an almost dead panned look.

"Who or what did you think lives in the Infinite Realms then?"

Silence followed his question. The Doctor looked like he was struggling to understand something for once.

"But, then, do you not age?", Donna asks, "Are all of you dead?"

Danny just smiles patiently, "A lot of them died, yes, but there are just as many that were born or created there too. You'd be surprised."

Donna let out a sound that was between a scoff, snort, and a laugh, "Trust me, we are."

"But what about you?", the Doctor asked gently, "Were you born or did you died."

Danny looks down at the Doctor, his expression neutral as he answered, "I died. At the age fourteen, I died in an accident at my parents lab in our basement. They haven't even realized it yet."

For a moment, the Doctor said nothing, for what could he truly say to some one who has died at such a young age. A child.

There's not much you really can say except, "I'm sorry."

"What are you apologizing for?", Danny asked, the Doctor didn't answer, nor did Donna, "I know I died young. Took me a while to actually get that I died in the first place."

Danny looked down at his shoes before looking up at the Doctor, his eyes glistening. Barely there, barely noticeable, but there. And the Doctor couldn't help by empathize, for isn't what this boy has gone through similar to what the Doctor has when he regenerates?

"Do you know how that feels?", Danny asked, his voice wobbly with emotion and he desperately tried to hold back his tears.

Donna couldn't say a thing, because no. She didn't understand, probably never will, and... Donna thinks she never wants to either.

But the Doctor... he understood. The Time Lord is pretty sure this boy-warrior, boy king, this child, doesn't realize how much the Doctor truly understands.

For just like the Doctor had ten times before, this boy has died, and then woke up and walked away as someone else. The Doctor has died and walked away as many people. But at the core, he always was the Doctor, yet he was still someone new. Danny Phantom is no different.

"I understand.", the Doctor croaks.

~

The past year and a half has been... rough for Danny. For the halfa didn't lie, it took him a bit to understand that he had actually died to become who he is today. And, with Jazz's, Clockworks, and the rest of his friends, allies, and enemies' (most of them anyways) help, Danny managed to work through that fact and accept it.

But recently, a week ago, it was his Death Day. No one caused trouble in Amity, Danny got a break from all the studying and paperwork at the Ghost Zone. In fact, almost everyone visited, but to either check on him, give him a gift, have a short chat, or all of the above.

Death Day is important to the Ghosts in the Ghost Zone, especially for those who had to actually die in order to get there. But unlike Birthdays, no matter peoples feelings towards it, Death Day is like a strange, yet comforting, mix between a funeral and a birthday. Many ghosts like to visits their grave during their Death Day, many others like to visit said ghost's grave to leave a gift or offering for the ghost.

Danny has been told that ghosts usually feel more at peace by their grave on Death Day. Doesn't mean everyone goes, but it's just something that feels safe and/or calming. Like going to your bedroom and lying on your bed after a stressful day.

Nothing went wrong for Danny on his Death Day, in fact, he quite enjoyed it surprisingly. It was somber on some points, eye opening for others, and even fun for the rest. Almost every ghost that Danny has ever met visited him or left him some sort of gift. Most visited, many worried over Danny because of the fact that he had no grave to visit.

So, with the help of Jazz, Tucker, and Sam, they made Danny a grave, hidden deep in the woods, and almost immediately gifts, offerings, blobs, and other ghosts appeared.

Jazz, Tucker, and Sam left after they had their moment of silence and some quiet to themselves over Danny's 'grave'. They didn't quite understand the importance and impact of Death Day aside from the fact that Danny died on that day.

Aside from Jazz, Danny doesn't think Sam or Tucker fully realized that Danny actually died that day he became a halfa. They've both kept to themselves ever since, both sharing similar haunted look in their eyes and bruised patches of skin that served as eye bags.

Jazz left because she believed that Danny deserved to spent his Death Day with the rest of the ghosts. Her exact words being, 'As long as I get your Birthdays, they get your Death Days.' Danny can not describe how right that feels.

But, yeah, aside from the small bit of hurt that he felt when Sam and Tucker started avoiding him now, Danny's first Death Day was great.

It wasn't until Danny was safely under his covers in bed that the realization hit him.

Just like Sam and Tucker, Danny's parents never knew that Danny, their own son, died right under their noses. In their lab, in their invention, which has quickly become their pride and joy and Danny can't help but feel his core twist.

No one, except for Jazz, realized that Danny had died.

No one living anyway.

Danny has always been the same to them in their eyes, but, that can't be any further from the truth. Danny has been through things, has done things, is capable of things that no one living will ever be. Jazz tries to understand, she's the only one living that truly does, but enough.

And none of the ghosts realize that despite having died, Danny is still, somehow, alive.

But this man, this living man, somehow understood? Understood the feeling of misplacement Danny almost constantly feels everyday of his half life?

Excuse him for not believing this stranger, but Danny doubts it.

But... it's a nice thought. That there is someone (that's not a fruitloop in denial like Vlad) who could understand.

"Thanks.", Danny smiled sincerely, genuinely thankful to the Doctor for trying.

Yet, somehow, the Doctor could tell that Danny didn't truly think that he understood.

"Donna, do you mind leaving Danny and I alone for a couple minutes?", the Doctor asks his friend, never once breaking eye contact with Danny as he does so.

Danny can't exactly read the look Donna sends the Doctor before sending Danny a small reassuring smile that reminded him a lot like the one's Jazz would send him.

"Take care sweetheart.", Donna waves before looking at the unconscious forms of the cultist with an unsure look, "I'll just... go find whatever this planet has for police to pick up this rif-raf."

"You do that.", the Doctor nods at Donna with a small smile and a wave of his fingers.

Donna just rolled her eyes, but returned the wave before leaving. The two males were both quiet at first. Danny wasn't sure how he felt being left alone with this man, but he knew he could easily escape if needed.

But Danny was knocked out of his musings when the Doctor finally spoke, breaking the silence.

"It's different, and it's always gonna be, that's the hard part. At first, you don't realize the difference, just filled with the euphoric feeling of being alive. Of surviving what should have been fatal.", the Doctor spoke plainly, but his eyes looked wet and haunted, as if he's done this more than once, "Only to realize later, that no, you didn't survive. You died. You're dead, but not. Who you were is dead and now, you're someone new. Yet you can never truly shake off how it felt to die, what it means and is like to be dead. And those close to you, can't see the difference, they either think you're someone totally different, or who you were before. But you're not, you're somehow right in the middle and sometimes, it gets so much, just goes back and forth and back and forth. You sometimes can't help but get confused and wonder, who are you now?"

Danny could only stare, his core twisting, but... in a good way. It was something different, something new. It threw Danny off guard, it was hard for him to wrap his head around it. Is this really happening? When is the Fenton luck going to kick in and let the other shoe drop?

Without even realizing it, Danny's cape, crown, and ring disappeared in a flash of green flames, leaving Danny as himself. Danny Phantom, not King, savior, or any other titles he got in the Ghost Zone after defeating Pariah Dark, just Danny.

"You understand?", Danny couldn't help but ask timidly.

The Doctor nods with a small bittersweet smile on his face.

"I understand."

[2309analysis]

A small character analysis over Wave the Swallow.

Something I heavily relate with Wave. I feel like she desperately latches onto the unconditional attention she gets. Making it kinda difficult to notice if she’s truly feeling like she’s being seen, or is it just the competition. I feel like once Wave starts to info dump, it’ll be only Tails’ (and Espio in some cases) listening. I think she’s mentally just a little purple ball curling in her own warmth because she really doesn’t have anyone. Her ties personally with the Babylon Rogues aren’t that great; they find too many flaws within themselves to really make much of a relationship with the others. We got two perfectionists and an idiot, retrospectively. They’re friends, yes, but they’d rather protect their gears with their lives, symbolizing the relationship they do have, but not personally with each other. I think the EX-gears are like an addition to themselves; making it clear they really trust themselves more than anyone else. Making it even sadder for Wave. She made them, adjusted my them, modified them, replaced bad parts with good parts, without her, they’re not really with anything. Well, does she ever get that credit the way Sonic gives Tails’ the credit? No. I think Wave is jealous of Tails’ and Sonic’s friendship because of that. She really just wants to be appreciated, and well, seen for more than a mechanic for once.

(I know that this panel isn’t about her, but I find it cute she’s basically doing the same thing Jet did to her for this little guy. Making it seem like the circle forms; and she’s just returning the favor from a metaphorical standpoint.)

Making her attitude actually really justified; she’s scared, and really paranoid. She’s exactly like Knuckles in this sense, she doesn’t want to open up to anyone because they might manipulate her, and use her vulnerability to their advantage. Which is why it’s easy for her to cut ties so quickly, trying to become friends with her will be extremely difficult. She’s truly a slow burn relationship in any sense. Her harsh trust issues stem from people being jealous of her skills, making her easily judgmental on if or what if people want to steal from her. So she simply steals from them first. I’m talking about the fact in the comics, it starts by clarifying that she was actually against the Babylon Rogues. Now, once she was thrown into ‘jail’ by her former boss, helping them out, she states it’s almost ‘ironic.’ From a double-sense, too. She’s rogue-like, and she’ll do most things on her own terms, but hates the people who live by her ideologies. Funny, right? Plus, she now has formed this relationship that she knows they need her; and they won’t simply give her away for almost no reason. She’s way too invaluable; and they do, in-fact, care about her. Just don’t show her in many ways, but like us, she overlooks their subtle ways. Knowing that Wave will and does have an extremely difficult time to form a relationship or bond with somebody, doing it so quickly with Jet and Storm makes their relationship and meeting even more ironic. Making it almost funny, because even then, Wave isn’t seen for who she is, but for what she can do. Making her ego over how she can tune EX-gears really delicate, it’s just an inflated ego. Nothing more. So, meeting Tails’ really hinders her ability to feel confident about herself, or have any pride about her actions and decisions after the events of Riders to Zero Gravity.

I think she finally accepts Tails’ as an equal at the end of Riders, but it still makes her deeply insecure that someone of that age is just as good as her. If not, better, which, in a way, terrifies her, because she knows her worth on this occasion, but at the same time, if somebody is better, it makes her feel inferior. This is her only way to actually feel superior or somehow worth something. In anything else, I wholly believe she doesn’t feel anywhere near that the way she does when she tunes EX-gears. So, in a way, I think she thought Tails’ was taking that pride or superiority over her. (I love characters who canonically suffer from imposter syndrome! 😘 They make me so sick. /pos) In Free Riders, I feel she finally accepts the rivalry as friendly and Tails’ isn’t trying to show her up. I think they’d misunderstood their feelings towards each other. Making it seem as if the rivalry was toxic, and it tried to make the other feel inferior to the other. They probably both figured it out pretty much at the same time, but Tails’ took the first initiative to be friends regardless. Making it implied, he really didn’t care about her skills, but her as a person. They’re literally two sides of the same coin. I definitely would believe that once Tails’ starts to share research with her, depending on their relationship, she’d either take it two ways. He’s trying to give her more tips, and she doesn’t like it when others’ see things differently, and make better judgments over it. Making her really defensive over her own math and observations. Or they’re collaborating and they need to share each other’s worries with each other to complete the task.

Also, I do think she’s envious of Tails’s kindness, because she can’t. I don’t think she completely trusted herself to be kind, and it’s not because people might take advantage of it, but I think she’s so used to being a manipulator. So she’ll automatically set up ways to manipulate you on something, and she’ll hate herself for it. Making it easy to really manipulate Tails’, and she’s almost scared about doing it. Hence how trustworthy he is. I don’t think she’ll be able to forgive herself for manipulating somebody so pure and honest. Almost making her want to yearn for an actual friendship with Tails’, but she has too much pride. She’s so tragic…

I really don’t think she’ll be comfortable enough to actively go and seek help. Which makes her really emotionally attached to her own abilities, hindering her development. Which isn’t so bad, because she really is great, but she could benefit from Tails’ help. She doesn’t like admitting it; but she does like the kid, and furthermore making him an even better rival for her. They understand each other’s skills far better than any else’s’, but it’s because they’re on the same wavelength. I think Wave is subconsciously aware of this; but really sour about it. Probably because she felt that way, and it’s new, and I headcanon she hates new feelings. It’s weird, and she doesn’t know what to do about it, and it leaves her confused and in the dark. She hates that the most, being unable to understand. Especially over failure. I don’t think she handles failure well, her anger is so destructive it makes Jet quake in his shoes. So, seeing Tails’ just taking it as trial and error and never thinking too much over it makes her extremely angry. Like how? How can he just walk away? It was his creation, and it wasn’t good enough! How is he fine with that? How could anybody be fine with that? Wave is so distraught by it, that her feelings towards Tails’ is so unreasonable and unfair, that she just can’t stand to look at him. Especially in Riders, so him actively trying to become friends with her almost mentally breaks her. Another headcanon, she’s very good at masking her mental state. So we never actually see if she cares or not, but oh my goodness, she does. She does a lot.

Now back to the first part; Also, I can agree she hates how dominant males are in her field. Making her pretty competitive already, but it only amplifies when she knows she’s better than you. It’s almost humorous for her, because then she’ll mock you over how dumb or idiotic you think because of her inflated ego. Although, when it comes to people she doesn’t have a good judgment or understanding on, she gets defensive and even more aggressive over her mocking. Depending on their reactions, she’d get a better sense of their abilities. I honestly don’t think her mocking is empty; it holds something. Not only is it her defense, but it’s basically her getting what she wants by your reactions. It’s more beneficial because you can tell how people can take things, and that’s your ticket to a better chance to win.

I honestly think the reason Wave dismisses Tails’ EX-gear is because it wasn’t made from original parts. Making it honestly easier to pick on him simply because all he did was really scrap parts. In her book, it’s not good enough to be even remotely comparable to EX-gear. Making her a little frustrated on seemingly how unserious Tails’ was about it. Which was just her misinterpretation that had no time to be corrected. Especially since she was already in a hurry to just set up the bomb to sabotage Sonic. Honestly, I don’t think she was entirely lying, but trying to cover up her lack of actions with her inflated egoistic behavior. Trying to keep it clear that the Babylon Rogues are still clearly superior over Sonic’s team. In a way, she was defending Jet and Storm.

Another thing, I don’t think she really cares about winning. She doesn’t find pride in that like Jet does, but how well and modified their EX-gears are. Hence her being the only canon character who knows her way around the full spectrum of EX-gears. She practically creates the characters for EX-gears. Making her way out of Tails’ and Eggman’s league when it comes to managing and inventing these. They know nothing about the EX-gears other than the air-tanks. While, Wave knows where’s what and what is going on. Without her knowledge; Jet’s and Storm’s gears would be basic and average because everyone else has the same problem. An inventor who can’t properly understand or malfunction the EX-gears. Making Wave one of the most valuable characters in this sense.

I honestly think I’m not done with this. Although, I mostly covered everything; and I just honestly want to write about her. I could make a part two, but it’ll be mostly covering her status as mechanic. I also would like to state now, I don’t like gender-bent Wave. I fully believe you take away from her character if you turn her into a boy. Her character no longer has purpose or meaning.

[projectnewmoon]

Sonic - Project: New Moon

Chapter 8 - Dance at the End of the World

Summary: The world's end rears its head. Sonic and friends race to stop it before it's too late.

Warnings: Mentions of blood, violence.

Word Count: 2,502 words

-

It was late into the night in Permafrost Plains. The group was back inside the base, hiding from the cold of the tundra outside. Sonic held his still bleeding arm as Tails gathered bandages out of the first aid kit he’d gotten from the Tornado. He was starting to feel lightheaded, having lost a substantial amount of blood in the time it took to get everyone back inside.

Good Gaia, he was exhausted. His eyelids were heavy. He could barely keep himself from drifting off.

Maybe… Just a few minutes…

“Sonic, no!” Tails snapped, “Stay with us here!”

“Huh…? Oh, right, sorry…” he mumbled as Tails wrapped the wound in bandages as best he could.

Sonic looked towards Rue and the twins who were all sitting a few ways away, hoping the distraction would be enough to keep him awake. Specter rubbed her back while Phantom hugged her arm and purred. Maybe that was his way of comforting her?

Rue’s face was almost completely hidden by the hood of their cloak. All he could really see was their red eyes glowing in the shadows, staring at nothing. It was that same look he saw after the ordeal back at Sand Ocean Zone.

He doesn’t feel like talking. Nobody feels like talking, he thinks. But someone has to. The silence is heavy, and the droning sound of electricity running through the walls is driving him insane. So, once Tails was done patching up his wound, he got up and staggered to Rue’s side. She doesn’t even spare a glance at him, too focused on… the floor, he guessed.

“Hey–”

“I’m sorry,” they blurt out, yet their voice was barely above a whisper.

“... About my arm? Eh, it’s fine. It doesn’t even hurt that much anymore.”

“I’m a monster…”

“No, no you aren’t. You’re just angry. And hurt. You need help.” He shot that down immediately. He wasn’t going to let her talk about herself like that and cement that thought in her head even more than it clearly already is. “And there’s people right here who’ve been willing to help you out for a while,” he says as he looks at Specter and Phantom.

“If you’d only let us.” Specter looks up at Rue, looking into her eyes with a slight, gentle smile.

“Why would I burden you all with my problems…?”

Phantom stopped purring, looking straight into Rue’s eyes with a serious expression. “Because you’re just hurting yourself trying to handle things on your own.”

“And besides, it’s not just your problem. I got dragged into this mess by Nox, too, and so did everyone else here,” Sonic said, “So let’s help each other deal with it. Us beasts should stick together, don’t’cha think?”

For the first time in a while, Rue looked at Sonic directly. Ruby red eyes gaze into emerald green, and Sonic realizes just how tired she looks. Under the shadows of her cloak were tired eyes surrounded by deep, dark circles. Was that from all the stress from these past few days? Or were they there before, from who knows how many sleepless nights plagued by visions of what they had to endure years ago?

“... You’re right,” she admitted with a sigh, “I should’ve listened. I shouldn’t have pushed you away. I’m sorry.”

“Aww, Rue…” Specter hugged her tight. “It’s okay! We’re here for ya, ya big furball!”

“F-furball…?”

Phantom hugged her too. “What’re friends for, right?”

“Friends?!”

Sonic couldn’t help but chuckle. Rue’s demeanor changed, just like that, from depressed and distant to all flustered. He couldn’t help but notice their tail wagging ever so slightly, betraying their incredulous face. Maybe they’d been waiting for the chance to call the twins friends for a while now.

Sonic smiled. “Well, now that we’ve got that covered… Do you, uh, wanna talk about your whole deal with Nox? Just… how long has this been going on for?”

Rue stares at him for a moment with a blank face. And there goes their happier demeanor. Way to go, Sonic.

“I mean, y-you don’t have to talk about that right now if you don’t–”

“No. It’s fine.” Rue took a sharp breath. “I’ve been hunting him down for… about nine or ten years now, I think. Since he turned me into… this.”

Ten years… They were just a kid when it happened. Sonic can’t imagine how that must feel, to lose it all, to be lost in the world, othered, irreversibly changed. And at such a young age, too.

“Um… We saw the record he kept of you,” Specter explained.

“We saw records of your parents, too,” Phantom continued.

Rue visibly bristled. “Of course he kept records…” they muttered under their breath.

“So… this is about revenge, isn’t it?” Sonic asked, “For what he did to you and your parents?”

Rue nods solemnly. “It’s… all I could think about. Making him pay. Hurting him… Killing him. I… hunger to feel his blood on my hands. To… tear him apart…” She growls almost in a trance, purple smoke slipping through her lips with each word.

That can’t be good.

“... But… that just makes me a monster, doesn’t it?” they continued, the smoke dissipating, “To… crave violence like this… It just proves he’s right about me.”

“Nah, I don’t think that’s true.” He placed a hand on their shoulder. “It just means you're angry and hurt, like I said. And he’s using that pain to get under your skin, make you really believe you’re a monster.”

Specter stared at Rue for a moment. Or perhaps she was staring at their soul. She could do that, right? “You don’t have the soul of a monster, Rue. Not like someone truly evil, like Nox.”

Phantom nodded. “His soul is rotten by his evil deeds. Yours is still bright. You’d never get to be even close to as bad as him, no matter what you did.”

Rue seems to relax upon hearing that. In fact, was that… a smile?

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Um…” Tails suddenly speaks up, having somehow walked up to Sonic from behind without being noticed by the others. He held his Miles Electric tightly. “I don’t mean to interrupt anything, but I’m getting some very strange energy readings all of a sudden. They seem to be coming from Eggmanland, and–”

Out of the blue, the earth begins to shake, and the whole building trembles, threatening collapse.

“Take cover!” Sonic yelled out, quickly pulling Tails down and shielding him with his own body. Rue does much the same, pulling the twins under her arms and holding them tight until the earthquake subsides.

Sonic feels a shift in the atmosphere. A sweet smell fills the air.

Once it’s safe, the group heads outside to see a still dark sky over a now cracked and broken landscape. From the new crevasses, purple smoke rises. In the far, far distance, beyond the horizon, was a large, floating landmass. The ruins of Eggmanland, lifted into the sky by some unknown force, thick clouds of purple smoke coming out from under it.

Tails bristled. “We need to go, now.”

Sonic nodded and led the rest of the group back to the plane, helping them board before taking off towards Eggmanland.

-

Tensions were high as the Tornado made a landing on the abandoned death trap of a theme park that was Eggmanland. The group made their way into the ruined, rusting park, past attractions that have gone unused since the world split apart and metal maze-like pathways and facilities leading down into the very planet’s core.

The halls of the ruins were overrun with Badniks, but they were just another obstacle in the way of them getting to Nox. Sonic beat them into scrap with his paws, Rue ripped them apart with sharp teeth and claws, the twins fought in sync and sliced them to pieces with their scythes, and Tails spin-dashed into them to take them down with ease. With all of them working together, the group made quick work of any enemies that came their way.

The real problem was the terrain. The ground still shook, and walkways and bridges crumbled under their step, rusted pieces of their path falling apart into the abyss below them.

Adrenaline rose as they narrowly avoided rollercoaster rails collapsing in their way and fought through the Badniks trying to stop them, but, eventually, they reached the lower floors of the facility.

The air is thick with Dark Gaia Energy, heat from the core of the planet rising from the depths. Sonic felt as if he’d be broiled alive, but he had to keep going, they all had too. They were so close to finding Nox, now.

He felt his lungs fill with smoke. His legs give out, and he falls onto the floor in a coughing fit, purple smoke pouring out of his mouth. He couldn’t breathe.

“Sonic?!” he heard the others cry before Tails, Specter, and Phantom hurried to his side.

He gasped, letting out another cough before he could speak. “I’m… I’m fine,” he said between labored breaths. His voice sounded off, rougher than it had been before, but he couldn’t tell if that had just been from the coughing fit he just had.

Tails watched him with a horrified expression. “Sonic, you’re changing!”

He looked down at his own arms. The long navy fur that covered his entire body was slowly turning darker, nearly pitch black. The blue fur on his hands was beginning to darken, too.

“There’s… too much Dark Gaia Energy,” Rue spoke breathlessly, purple smoke coming out of their mouth as well, “It’s not good for you all… You should turn back.”

“We already went over this, Rue!” Specter said, “We’re not letting you deal with this on your own!”

“But it’s not safe–” Rue began to cough, even more smoke pouring out of them.

The two hurried to her side, held her paws as she caught her breath.

“We’re not going,” Phantom said sternly.

Sonic took deep breaths, collected himself and stood back up. “We need to keep moving. We’re almost there, I know it.”

Sonic took the lead once more, and the group continued further. The Badniks thin out, until the path forward is empty. Quiet, save for the group's footsteps and the now near constant rumbling of the earth.

The hallway opens up into a giant pit, waves of magma glowing and swirling in the chasm. Within the giant pool, a towering being takes form, thick clouds of purple smoke creating the shape of the old god- Dark Gaia.

It is nothing more than a ghost at the moment, wispy, faltering, wrong. Its claws reach for the opening in the earth, supporting itself, trying to reach out in a desperate attempt to escape to the surface.

Right in front of the pit, there floated a giant mech, a serpent of metal, glimmering bronze. Sonic recognized the design almost immediately. It was that of the Egg Dragoon.

In its cockpit, sat Nox with a mad grin, looking down at the group from his spot high above. The last two Emeralds were slotted neatly on the mech’s chest, shining brightly.

“Ah, you’ve finally made it!” Nox greeted them cheerfully, “Welcome to the beginning of the end!”

“What have you done?!” Sonic growled.

“Bring about the end of Mobius, of course! The project I've worked towards for years, Project: New Moon, is finally coming to fruition in spite of all of its setbacks!” His voice boomed, amplified by the mech’s speakers. The tail and arms of the mech rise, aiming laser cannons at the group. “And now… I ask that you sit back and watch the show, because if you interfere, I will make sure to end you all right here and now. You wouldn’t want to miss the end of the world, would you?”

“Like we’d just sit back and let you destroy everything!” Sonic snarled before charging at the mech, Rue following after, teeth bared, quills spiked up, and hackles raised.

So a fierce battle begins. The mech shoots lasers at the group, keeping Tails and the twins at a distance as they dodge out of the way. Sonic grabs onto the machine’s tail and climbs, while Rue grabs onto its arm, inadvertently redirecting lasers away from the others. The two tear into its metal shell with their claws as it attempts to shake them off, but they hold on tight.

Sonic reaches for the Emeralds. He needs to get them out. He feels the energy on his paw, and it burns.

The mech snatches him away from the gems with an iron grip and pulls him off, lifting him close to the cockpit.

“Ah-ah-ah! What do you think you’re doing, beast?” Nox says as he pilots the Egg Dragoon to slam Rue down on the ground, getting them off.

“Rrgh…” Sonic struggled against the metal hand’s grip.

“Goodness, this form is hardly the appearance of a hero. You look horrendous.”

“And whose fault is that, huh?”

“Yours. None but yours,” Nox sneered, “This is what is within your heart, Sonic. A snarling monster with a thirst for violence. Just like that dog.”

“Liar!” Sonic hears Phantom scream as he and Specter run towards the mech. They leap towards it, scythes drawn, and with a swift slash cut through the arm’s joint. The arm comes off, dropping Sonic back onto the rocky ground. It falls next to him with a loud clang.

“You know nothing about people’s hearts, Nox,” Specter said, holding her scythe in front of her defensively, “And you have no right to speak on the hearts of others when your soul is as rotten as they get!”

“Tch- as if children like you would understand. Dark Gaia's judgment has already been cast, and this world is set to burn and crumble into nothing but ash.” Nox raises the mech’s remaining arm, charging another attack. “Or do you dare go against a god?”

Tails swoops in and knocks the arm downward with his namesakes, directing the shot away from the others and onto the edge of the cliff overlooking the magma-filled chasm. Rue takes the opportunity to grab the arm and swing the Egg Dragoon over themself with as much strength as they could muster, slamming it down. The ground shakes upon impact.

Now's his chance. Sonic rushes towards the fallen mech. He leaps, fist raised, before slamming down at its chest, leaving a large crater on the metal. He hears Nox curse as alarms start blaring inside the cockpit, the glass cracking and breaking.

He ignores the Chaos Energy burning his paws, grabs the gems, and forcefully rips them out.

As he hurries back towards the rest of the group, the earth begins to tremble once more, and the dark god in the distance lets out a deafening roar. The area begins to cave in.

Dark Gaia took shape. Though unstable, its form was now clear, and it was slowly coming closer.

The real final battle is upon them.

[scribblestatic]

Ogh, my brain is super deadspace right now. I have an assignment from the job that's not paying me enough, but I don't even feel like doing it. Like, I am, but I don't wanna do it right now. I want to write stuff I enjoy, but I'm not sure where to start.

So I'll just start by talking more about the Marnie AU I have for the Sonic franchise, cause I realized that I didn't actually post a lot about her around here despite thinking I did.

It must've been something on a Twitter I've already deleted.

Anyway, about Marnie.

---

Marnie is the result of the stuff that happened after the purple Chaos Emerald was temporarily destroyed by Dr. Eggman. As mentioned in the first post I made about her a while back, Sonic (intersex) and Shadow did The Letter H, not expecting anything to come of it like all the other times, but well, Chaos energy doesn't follow logic all the time, especially when something as important as a Chaos Emerald needs to be reformed.

So, no, Marnie isn't actually the Chaos Emerald, but she is a biproduct of pure Chaos energy, so her connection with the Chaos Emeralds is pretty strong.

She's 3 years old, but she looks to be about 6-ish because she grows faster than normal. Her powerful blood means she only ever gets sick with something once, and after a day or two, she becomes immune to it. Marnie can digest just about anything, from chili dogs to heavy metal gaskets and oil. Though, she generally prefers human and mobian food when she feels like eating.

She's an alien-hedgehog hybrid with low empathy but an inquisitive mind. Sometimes she can come off as rude or selfish, but she doesn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. She also doesn't quite understand jokes or sarcasm all the time, but she's getting better at it with Sonic's and Shadow's help. Though, really, Sonic does a lot for her socialization, because Sonic's also surprisingly low on his own empathy.

(After all, he keeps Eggman around because "he can do good," but if he's honest, he just finds Eggman incredibly entertaining... What? Others are the ones who started calling him a hero. He's just a guy who loves adventure. He's not happy that people die or get hurt sometimes, but it's not like he can or wants to control the world, y'know? Whoever said great power comes with great responsibility is a hack. He just goes along with the hero shtick cause saving people is fun and that's how he's made his friends, and he's happy if they're happy.)

It's because of their similarity in this regard that he's able to teach her how to find things important to her and do what she enjoys in ways that isolate her less. After all, although he initially didn't really get why Tails was following him, the fox grew on him, and now Tails is his brother! She may not feel the same things others do, but there's a lot of positive feelings in not being lonely.

Given, Shadow is also lower on empathy than others, typically just doing what he wants to do and what he feels is right. Sonic and Shadow very much aren't that different in that regard. But Shadow has experienced tragic loss in ways Sonic hasn't (not to anyone's knowledge, but honestly, Sonic's history is nebulous), so he is also quite in touch with his emotions, especially after Sonic's birthday a few years back.

(He values the planet, but the beings on it could die and he would not care. He has fewer close to him than Sonic, but he does fiercely protect those he has allowed in his inner circle. At the end of the day, if the world turns on him, he'll turn on the world, but he won't let the planet die out. As much as he misses Maria, he doesn't care to give humanity more chances. But the blue planet, a relic and important memory of his first family—and now, the home of his second and third ones—will always be something he wants to care for as long as his ultimate power remains.)

Anyway, with both her parents understanding her fairly unempathetic nature, she has not once felt a lack of love from them. And, while she may not always understand how others feel and can't quite put herself in their shoes all the time, she's compassionate, generous, and hardworking. She also tends to go with the flow of things, even if she's uncomfortable with the situation. But she tries to get her questions answered by evaluating whatever is happening around her, only asking when she feels she doesn't understand.

I'll write some more about her a bit later.

[alterchaos]

QUEEN OF THE PIRATES

Eve recounts how she became captain of the skeleton crew...

(CW: blood)

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: A PIRATE'S LIFE

NEXT CHAPTER: ALWAYS WILL BE

“Say, Eve?”

“Hm?”

The two friends walked side by side beyond the stormy shoreline.

“How exactly did you become their captain?”

The girl leapt down some rocks leading to a chasm trail. The hedgehog followed slowly behind, sliding down with care in his fatigue.

“Well…it’s a bit of a long story. You said you only got here a few days ago, right?”

Sonic rolled his shoulder on the side of the flame, “Mmn…Y-Yeah…” He quickly shook off his discomfort, “Why? Wasn’t it the same for you?”

His discomfort wasn’t lost on her, “No. I’ve been here for two weeks.”

“T-Two weeks!?” He winced slightly as his heart jumped a bit in his chest.

“...”

“...What? W-What is it?”

Her gaze flicked downward towards the flame in his chest before just as quickly pulling away.

“N-Nothing…” She took a deep breath, taking in the salty air that reminded her of home, “Was it May 23rd when you left home?”

Sonic’s eyes widened, “Yeah, it was. You?”

“Same.”

“Wait but didn’t you leave after me? How could that happen?”

His ring glowed, its light pulsating in rhythm with the young half-genie’s words, “Time works differently here. Remember, Master Sonic?”

“I told you, Sharah. I’m nobody’s master. Got that?”

The girl huffed, “Ooooh! Would you please help me explain to him how being a genie works, Master Eve?”

The human released a small chuckle, “Sorry, Sharah. Genie or not, I don’t work like that either.” She turned her face away, mumbling under her breath as she folded her arms, “Though it would be nice if we could use a wish to get to these rings faster…”

Sonic glared at his friend, “Not happening.”

“...”

“Change of subject: can we go back to how you became ‘Queen of the Pirates’?”

Eve paused before releasing a small sigh and unfurling her arms. Like it or not, she wasn’t the ring’s wearer and not even a mountain-sized Knuckles could make someone as stubborn as him move from where he stood.

“It all started when I came to visit you at home. I brought some soup to help with your cold and Amy was supposed to meet me not long after. I guess she still is, given that time seems to almost freeze inside this book…Anyway, when I picked up the book from the table, it began glowing. The words of the pages circled me and, next thing I knew, I was falling into the middle of the stormy sea.”

“Sharah, you didn’t summon her did you?”

“No, Master.”

“...”

“Sorry…I mean ‘Sonic’...”

Sonic sighed, turning back towards Eve, “Any idea what could have caused the book to react like that?”

She shook her head, “Not a clue. It just…happened…Like someone pushed me in against my will…”

“Odd…”

“Well it doesn’t matter now does it? I’m grateful either way because now I can help you on your journey.” She slid down some more rocks, traveling deeper into the chasm. Sonic slid down behind her, taking an extra moment on the ground as he caught his breath. Eve reached out a hand.

“You okay?”

Sonic ignored her hand, pushing himself up onto his feet before walking past her.

“Y-Yeah…Never better.”

Eve watched worriedly, though she couldn’t help but feel a ping of hurt at his denial towards her help. She brushed it aside though, continuing on with her story as she followed behind.

“So…there I was…cold…wet…sinking fast…I lost consciousness at some point and when I woke up, I was on that pirate ship, locked away beneath deck. There was no food or water and I was scared, but thankfully the skeletons standing guard were sympathetic towards me. They, too, were being held captive by their own captain, a sea creature that bullied them relentlessly into submission using the power of the water blue ring.” Eve clenched her fists, “You know how much I HATE bullies…I had to do something.”

“Eve…”

“When the captain brought me up on deck to try and recruit me, I spat in their face. Told them to get lost or they’d be sorry. That was when the skeleton crew decided to help me. They each risked their lives, er, bones I should say, to sneak me things I needed: fresh food, water, clean clothes…” She gestured to her green and white outfit, “One of them even taught me the basics in swordfighting whenever they’d stand guard. No words were spoken between us, but we understood each other. We were able to bond through movement. Our actions communicated everything we could ever need to say. I may have been a prisoner, but I felt free because of them.

After a couple weeks like that, the captain caught on to what we were doing and pulled me on deck to execute me. They wanted me to be an example to anyone in the skeleton crew who dared to fight back. I thought I was a goner, until a couple of them struck the captain and pulled me free. The swordmaster gave me a blade of my own and I helped lead the charge to take down the old captain.” Her eyes sparkled in glee, “I even got to swing on a rope across deck like some adventurer you’d see in the movies back on Earth! It was awesome, Sonic! I wish you could have seen it! Then I took them down from above with a piercing blow, snatched the ring for myself, and freed the crew from the captain’s reign of terror for good!” She unsheathed her sword, making a couple jabbing motions excitedly into the air to mimic the movements in her story, “After that, the crew threw some robes on me and declared me their new captain! Can you believe that? As soon as they did, we all heard a noise and readied battle positions. That was when you showed up and, well, you know the rest.”

Sonic’s eyes were wide in shock, “That’s some story…”

“I know, right!” She closed her eyes with a confident smile, twirling and spinning her sword around in her hand with pride as she continued onward, “Hehehe…Guess you could say I got to be the hero for onc-”

“EVE LOOK OUT!!!”

“-!!!!”

The girl with the golden hair jolted, the sword flying from her hand as she slipped and tumbled down a series of wet rocks she didn’t see before her. She landed on her back, eyes widening as the sword spun through the air, barreling straight towards her from the momentum of her accidental throw. Before she had a chance to dodge, Sonic was already there, snatching the sword swiftly from the air in a single swipe.

“GNNH!!!”

“SONIC!!!”

Eve leapt onto her feet as the half-genie emerged from her ring in concern. She froze in horror as she saw blood dripping from the narrow end of the blade where sonic had caught it and was now gripping with his right hand. He stood there, trembling and gritting his fangs as his eyes remained scrunched shut. Eve reached out to take the blade.

“H-Here! L-L-Let me-”

“WATCH WHERE YOU’RE GOING!!!”

She jolted once more as Sonic stared her down in fury, pulling his hand away before she could take the sword from it.

“S-Sonic-”

“YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED!!! YOU NEED TO BE MORE CAREFUL!!!”

Eve froze, a scowl now lining her features as her eye twitched slightly.

“Did you even hear my story!? I can handle myself! I was about to roll out of the way!”

“YOU CALL STARVING IN A CELL FOR TWO WEEKS AND THEN ALMOST GETTING EXECUTED ‘HANDLING YOURSELF’!!?”

Her face grew red.

“WELL IT’S BETTER THAN GETTING MYSELF SHOT WITH A DEADLY FLAME!!!”

“THAT’S DIFFERENT!!!”

“HOW IS THAT DIFFERENT!!?”

“M-Masters…?”

They turned, shouting in perfect unison.

“WHAT!!?”

Sharah jolted, “M-Maybe…we should focus on the issue, you know…” She pointed to the blade, “...at hand?”

Eve released a heavy sigh, turning towards her friend once more, “Here. I’ll take the hilt and you let go. Then Sharah can patch you u-”

Sonic gripped the hilt with his left hand, letting go with his right as more blood spilled from the wound.

“Already got it.”

“Master-”

Sonic took his torn glove and wrapped it tightly around his hand using his mouth to pull the knot through.

“There. Good as new.”

“...”

“Now…” He held out the sword to his friend with a huff, “I’m only going to give this back if you promise to be careful with it.”

Eve stood there, watching her best friend as he struggled. While she was worried, a deep rage stirred from within at his comment. She felt like she was being treated like some small child, incapable of doing anything on her own.

It was humiliating.

But there were more pressing matters at hand.

Eve took the hilt, gripping her hand over his and leaning in close. She spoke in a low tone.

“Only if you promise to stop being so reckless and let me lead.”

The two friends glared at each other.

“Fine.”

“Fine.”

She took the sword and swiped it down to get rid of the lingering droplets of blood before walking past Sonic and taking the lead once more.

“It looks like there’s a small pool of water ahead and a cave away from the storm. We’ll stop here and clean up before we continue.”

“Lead the way…captain.” He added that last part with a bit of bite.

Eve paused, looking back at him once more as he released a couple of heavy breaths. Her gaze softened into worry before she shook it off and turned back onward.

“Then let’s get moving.”

CHAPTER END

[rubywolf0201]

Mythbusters on why Amy Rose isn’t a horrible b*tch that her fandumb likes to portray her

‘Amy only cares about Sonic and Sonic only’

I mean technically true but she has her own life as well. It’s not like the Birdie that she befriended back in SA1 is there, it’s not like she convinced Shadow to stop the Ark way back in SA2, it’s not like she helped Cream and Big find Chocola and Froggy in Sonic Heroes, it’s not like she befriended Elise in 06 and bonded with her over their relationship with Sonic without both parties going at each other throats, it’s not like she knew Tails is Sonic’s surrogate lil bro and even collab with him in light of the recent Tailstube. Yep, definetely only cared about Sonic/sarcasm 🙄

‘Amy’s only real superpower is horny’

Ok I don’t know if this is a new level of stupidity or not because goodness, this is too ridiculous.

I’m not to sure if these people are aware or not, but Amy’s REAL superpower is her hammer, divination powers (which is not really mentioned much but I shall mention it) and her ability to help people for is she The Heart within Sonic’s friend group.

‘Amy regularly stalks Sonic and only wants him for his dick’

I swear to goddess if these people throws that word around again, hands would be thrown.

I’m going to put this out on what the definition of stalker is:

(These are from my phone app’s dictionary btw)

So now that we know the definition of stalker is? Does this apply to Amy? Absolutely not!!!

Amy is a part of Sonic’s friend circle and to apply such terms to a close friend is pretty disgusting in and out of itself. Does some of her advances annoy Sonic sometimes? Well that’s what friends kind of do from time to time, especially if they’re kids.

Also another thing to note is that stalker’s are known to hide behind the bushes and are also known to track the person they’re stalking. Did Amy do any of those things? NO!

The reason why Amy chases Sonic is because Sonic is someone who never stays in one place and all Amy wants is to go on an adventure with Sonic because she wanted to experience the same things Sonic has in his adventures. And recent games has Sonic being a lot more open and inviting Amy out to adventures so to apply the term stalker just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. (Also if we’re calling Amy a stalker, wouldn’t that term apply to Tails and the others as well because all they wanted to do is follow Sonic on his adventures?)

‘Amy threatened to harm/kill a girl just for talking to Sonic’

The worst Amy has have ever done is….being jealous and clingy. Yes other games and media have exaggerated it to an obnoxious degree but even at her worst, she never harmed any girls for talking to Sonic. If she did, wouldn’t Elise be attacked for the kiss? Wouldn’t Blaze, Cosmo, Helen and other girls that Sonic just talked to get murdered or something along the lines? What’s next? Amy beating up the girls Sonic could potentially talk to for breathing?

I swear… this part of the fanbase like to make Amy out to be some yandere.

‘Amy said that if she had to choose the world and Sonic, she said she would choose Sonic (derogatory)’

While I do think that maybe it should’ve been worded a little better in 06, when Amy said that, it means that she trusted Sonic. That phrase meant that she knew Sonic would find another way to save the world. Sonic has always been the hedgehog to save the world countless times, be it from Eggman or whatever bad guys threaten to take over the world, and Amy knew that Sonic would always save the day.

So with all that debunk (for now), I just want to say Amy’s the best girl and I won’t tolerate any malicious slander.

With that, peace out.

[aquillis-main]

Do you think the sonic franchise is changing, now that Flynn’s involved? I don’t want to be a doomer, and come off across as some person that thinks it’s joever. but every time I check up on your friends blogs all I see is negativity and bad things about where he franchise is headed, and you and your friends did nothing wrong, it’s your opinion and blogs, it’s ultimately my fault if I can’t handle it. but I just can’t help but feel like sonic is going downhill, and nobody has an issue with it.

I mean, as you mentioned - there are people having issues with the direction Sonic is going in. Not just myself, but also Crusher, Darklight, and many others within my circle.

As much as I want to sooth and make the claim that, eventually, everything will be righted again, I don't honestly know if that'll be the case. Pontaff only stayed as long as they did because people were fine with them (up until they weren't with Lost World for whatever reason), people are catching a lot more with how Flynn writes... isn't up to snuff like most claim, and are actively fighting those that don't want even the lightest of nudges towards that kind of critique.

Who knows? Maybe SEGA would find keeping Flynn on with the toxic fandom more of a setback than a boon faster, maybe they won't.

In the meantime, I'll be doing some of my own things away from SEGA's branding, as well as making that sequel to Misery Tastes I've been hyping up lately. Just need to sit down and work on it first.

[my-name-is-jefferooni]

Reflection

I AM ON A GODDAMN ROLL TODAY HOLY SHIT OKAY UHMMM

This is a short little Drabble I just came up with in this moment, inspired by my latest character analysis reblog. You don’t have to read that honestly, because it is VERY VERY LONG, but if you want then you can! idk I mean I kinda like it so…

Anywhizzle, this drabble is basically just Sonic angst. Takes place in the IDW universe some time after the Metal Virus, maybe in my own au, it fits in both so it doesn’t matter. Sorry for stalling, and here it is:

———

Sonic doesn’t look in mirrors very often. Usually when he wants to fix up his appearance or if he just wants to know what he looks like, he’ll just head on down to the nearest pond and watch as his face wobbles along with the waves. It’s not much, and he does have to admit that more stable surfaces are better than water, but it’s just how he does things. Like the saying suggests, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

This was the first time in a while he actually saw his reflection at all, actually. He was hanging out with Cream and Vanilla, helping the younger rabbit with her writing. Honestly, his writing looked way worse than hers, but nobody ever said anything so he never mentioned it. And when Vanilla came outside with a metal tray full of cookies, obviously the two of them cleaned off the whole dang thing! All that was left were a few measly crumbs and that was it!

Or… No, wait, there was something else, too. Something… Odd. Something blue in color and with splotches of peach as well, something spiky sticking out from the back of the head…

Oh. That was him. Sonic the Hedgehog.

… Right…?

The strange image confused the young hedgehog. The odd reflection in the tray didn’t look anything at all like him! It was more like a blue blob, or an imposter of some kind, taunting him. It grinned wide and maliciously, staring at Sonic with empty eyes. The sight almost made the hedgehog jump out of his seat in surprise! He kept himself from doing so, then politely excused himself from the table, in search of an actual mirror. Because, yeah, that totally wasn’t Sonic! That blue ball of nothing wasn’t him at all! It was just a trick of the light, a fantasy in his head, the texture of the tray! That was it, surely! No scary blobs in sight!

He entered the small bathroom down the hall and looked into the mirror.

Something else looked right back.

A dark blue hedgehog, probably about three feet tall, with pointed ears and scruffy quills that stuck out every which way. The eyes looked dull, nothing indicating any sense of life, with only a dark green iris and a pure black pupil in each one. The fur on the forehead was matted and ugly, stains of all kinds replacing the original blue coloring. The muzzle was far too long for it to be natural, the nose on its end practically touching the mirror! Speaking of which, the nose was completely black, no wet shimmering in sight, indicating a clear lack of proper health. Dark circles lay dormant underneath the eyes, showing how utterly exhausted and gone this strange creature truly was.

But that… That wasn’t Sonic, was it? He wasn’t halfway to death’s door, was he? Sonic the Hedgehog was a world-renowned hero! A figurehead in practically every community! Everyone on Mobius knows of him, everyone looks up to him, everyone loves him! He’s got everything he could’ve ever wanted and more! Friends, a mismatched family, a life, freedom, peace and quiet…

Did he? Yeah, of course he had all that! He’s literally Sonic the Hedgehog! No one has a better life than him! Who else has the ability to go out into the world and be as free as the wind? Who else gets the chance to kick some angry fatso in the head with his own machinery? Who else gets to keep running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and running and ru

Sonic stands there, staring at his reflection. It IS his reflection, isn’t it? He is tired, still trying to properly recover from the Metal Virus. (Even the thought of that dreadful time made his stomach squirm) Sonic still hasn’t showered in a while, so of course he’d be a bit on the uglier side. He is a bit on edge, still learning to not trust as easily as he did before. He is slightly malnourished, not wanting to be greedy and waste more food than necessary.

But… But is that really him? Does Sonic really looks so… Unwell? So overhelmed? So unkempt? So scared, so sad, so dead inside?

He stares back at the image in the mirror, glaring daggers at the darker version of himself. No, this could not be the same hedgehog. The real Sonic is cheerful, happy to be alive, happy to have such great friends, happy that he has such great opportunities! He’s thankful, he’s kind, and he would never ask for anything more.

The hedgehog in the mirror begs to differ. Its head tilts to the side, mocking Sonic’s thoughts, grinning from ear to ear as it analyzes its counterpart. Not a word is spoken from either being, for there are none that need saying. They just continue staring into each other's eyes, trying to one-up the other without even lifting a finger.

Sonic gets tired of it after only a minute, a pathetic little yawn escaping his lips and his eyes drooping in exhaustion. He rubs his eyes angrily, knowing the version of himself in the mirror has already won. But when he looks back, the being is no longer grinning.

It still looks the same, but… But it’s also still Sonic.

…

He exits the bathroom, turning the light off behind him, not wanting to look in the mirror any longer.

[thatninjacat27]

DAY 1: TOUCHSTARVED

-A part of my Au where the future is terrible, almost everyone is dead and Sonic lives in an underground bunker alone for years. -(I wrote this very late into the day, close to midnight so there might be some holes.)

(link above and same text below)

“Hey Sonic? Where are all pillows and blankets around here? I can’t seem to fi-“, Tails trailed off.

Before him was Sonic placing his sock puppets in a large circle on a sea of blankets and pillows on the mattress lying on the floor. It looked like a nest.

“Oh.”, Sonic paused. He took a good look at the fox and then looked away. “You’re still here.”, the blue hedgehog said definitely. He turn back to keep adjusting the placement of his Knuckles and Amy puppets. “Thought you would have disappeared by now.”

“Why won’t you just believe that I’m real?”, Tails asked. “That I’m actually here right now? I’m not imaginary or one of your hallucinations.”

“Well, that’s a bit of a long story. To make it short, you’re a trick that my mind constantly plays on me when it wants me to keep staying alive.”, Sonic explained. He finished ordering the representations of his dead friends the way he wanted and fell back on his little nest that he made.

The blue hedgehog stared back at Tails as if wondering the conversation was really happening. After a pause the fox knew his brother was not going to say anything else in regards to his questions.

“Scoot over.”, Tails commanded. 

“Why?”, Sonic asked while moving to give Tails some space.

”Because ít’s late, I’m tired, I need some sleep in order to properly fix that time vest, and you took all the blankets and pillows.

”You never-“, Sonic started to questioned but got interrupted.

”That��s because I’m not a figment of your goddamn imagination, Sonic. Stop telling me that.”, the fox said in a loud angrily frustrated voice. He felt so tired of trying to prove and explain to his brother that he wasn’t insane for seeing a past version of his little brother alive and that he was real and not an imaginary person his mind came up with to help cope with the loneliness of the underground bunker. 

The silence was deafening after that. Sonic stared more blankly at Tails as if he was steeling himself from feeling anything. 

“I’m sorry.” the fox apologized to the blue hedgehog. “It’s just that I don’t know what to do or say that will get you to understand that I’m here now.”

Sonic continued to be silent. Knowing that the blue hedgehog was not in the mood to conversate anymore, Tails jumped on the sea of pillows and blankets, and curled up next to him.

“I love you, you know that right?”, Tails said trying to get close enough to touch Sonic. “I am going to figure out a way to fix what happened so that you never end up in this situation again in the future.”

The feeling of another person physically being this closer felt so foreign to Sonic now. It wasn’t a bad feeling but such a good one if not a bit overwhelming. Typically he’d use one of his puppets to simulate a group hug or put on several blankets to make it feel like someone was there. It was the only thing to help him sleep at night.

The blue hedgehog felt something wet run across his cheek. And then his vision blurred and a hiccup almost escape his throat. Sonic felt tears come out of his eyes. It felt so embarrassing. At least Tails had his eyes closed already and was waiting on Sonic’s response out of habit.

Using one hand and carefully wiping away the tears as to not alert Tails, Sonic decided to say something for his sake and himself.

“Yeah, love you too, little buddy.”, Sonic did his best not to seem choked up about it.

Tails smiled. ”Night, bro.”, he yawned happily. The fox snuggled closer to the blue hedgehog.

Maybe this was a last ditch effort of his brain to keep the last remaining bits of his self preservation or it could be real. Well, whatever the case was, Sonic cuddled closer to the warm body to hold on to this feeling.

“Night.”, the blue hedgehog said as he fell into a deep sleep. 

His puppets and weighed blankets were all he needed and had for the past few years. But this was good alternative too.

[theautisticgamer]

The Problem with Writing Female Characters According to a Woman

I’ve been thinking about this a lot since the second trailer for the Super Mario Bros movie dropped, but a lot of other things kept jogging this line of thought as well. The current era of writing female characters was meant to empower a female audience, and for a while I believe the goal was accomplished. (After all my puberty was during this era and I firmly believe a woman can do anything she sets her mind to.) However, the pendulum has swung into the other direction, and I believe that the woman, who we wish to empower, is now being burdened instead.

Our culture has been at war against both masculinity and femininity. First-world countries want to redefine gender roles for the purpose of gender equality because they get some benefits from it (though they aren’t important to the video). The benefits for the public are that men are getting more access to mental health while women are pursuing more ambitious career paths (such as but not limited to STEM). However, the culture is seeming to forget where both masculinity and femininity have their place. I can’t speak for men because I’m not one, but I can speak for femininity here: it has its place.

Action movies of today include women who are “badass,” tough women who never cry and cannot be shaken. And if you look closely, you’ll see that the very ‘stony resolve’ of masculinity, which we’ve been to get men to let go of…is now being forced upon the shoulders of the women. And it’s not that some women can’t be like this. But most of us aren’t.

Women are born with a desire to love and nurture. Maybe not all of us have strong bodies or genius minds, but we all have hearts of gold. We get emotionally attached to people, not just “our loved ones” kind of people but also to causes that affect a lot of people. A female teacher can be moved to action by her care for her students’ needs. A mother can fight for her childrens’ needs, give them the love and validation they can’t get from anywhere else, and inspire those children to chase their dreams. A female volunteer can emotionally connect with the individuals a charity helps. A female diplomat (or person of power) can take the needs of her citizens personally, not only that but the needs of other countries’ citizens personally.

A female diplomat such as Princess Peach, perhaps. It’s easy to chalk up the Mario games as a simple damsel-in-distress story. But for someone who gets kidnapped a lot, she sure has a beautiful and fine-running country, filled with happy citizens and a healthy economy. Richest country in the game? Probably not. But she’s highly respected and admired by other royals in the games, other people on the world stage wishing they could be like her. You know why? Because she has heart and puts heart into everything she does. The games even state that her heart is “pure” and a lot of her super-powers tend to be symbolized with a heart motif. She’s filled with love and she uses it to nurture the world. There’s nothing weak about that, it’s her own kind of strength, a feminine kind of strength.

Now take a look at Peach in the trailer for the upcoming movie. Abandoning her country recklessly to chaperone the hero Mario on his quest, at one point seen in a battle-suit wielding a halberd. Cool stuff, sure. Looks cool in a movie. But this Peach doesn’t teach the next generation the kind of strength the Princess Peach of the Mario games taught me. If we keep teaching women that they need to fight through everything, they’re not going to win all of their battles, because we’re condemning their greatest strengths and deeming them weak.

Let’s continue with another example of a strong woman, Amy Rose from the Sonic series. She has a hammer as a weapon, and man can she use it! But her heart is what places her in Sonic’s inner circle. She has protected those in harm’s way, fought for the friends she cares for, was a key leader in the Resistance during Eggman’s takeover, taught her friends how to be confident in their abilities…and the best part is that we’ve seen her grow into this kind of person. A lot of young girls, even a younger me, were a lot like Amy at the series’ beginning, a childish rascal chasing after a boy (or boys) we crushed on. She wanted to pour all of her loving heart into him, but it wasn’t reciprocated, and she felt stuck…until she started pouring that loving heart into others, and in this she finds her fulfillment.

Take a look at Sonic Frontiers. Sonic and Amy get into a tiff as she wants to help the Koco on the island. Sonic doesn’t see the importance in helping little creatures find their lost children or lost loved ones. He wants to stop doing this because he wants to rescue Tails, fight more robots, and defeat Eggman. It’s not that he can’t help the Koco, it’s not that he doesn’t help the Koco, it’s that he hasn’t seen the value in doing so. He simply isn’t wired for this kind of heroism… but Amy is. She insists on helping them because their needs, though not some sort of imminent crisis, were just as important in their own way and worth helping. She, in her own way, had a strength that Sonic did not.

I’d like to discuss one more example of a strong woman, a real-life example, and while I won’t say her real name here for the sake of her privacy, on a daily basis I call her Mom. Mom didn’t pity herself because she had a child born with autism. Mom took the local school district to court, twice, to make sure her child could get the accommodations she needed in school to succeed as well as the other children. Mom took up advocacy for Autism awareness and raised tons of money for autism research. Mom kicked a physically-abusive boyfriend out of her house. Mom overcame a drug addiction that took her joy and health. Mom may not be a flawless person, but if you ask me who I think a strong woman is, the first person I will point to is Mom. Our battles aren’t won by weapon-wielding princesses, they are won by women with a strong heart. They are won by women who aren’t afraid of being feminine. Femininity isn’t always damsel-in-distress stuff, and I’m tired of movies condoning it as such. I am not saying “female empowerment” doesn’t have its place. We live in an ugly world where, in the week I am writing this, the Taliban has banned womens’ careers and education. However, parts of the world where women have freedom, like here in the United States, need to evolve the female empowerment message beyond “badass woman.” We can still inspire women into STEM, military, and other male-dominated careers, but we need to make sure women aren’t burdened to hide their amazing hearts in the process so that the women we are portraying in the media can truly inspire us to be strong.

[sapphiresterreart]

Tried to scribble a Sonic idea with a throwaway joke-reference only to get completely sidetracked by that very same joke. Got in too deep. Hope it's coherent enough!

Note: Usually picture them as young adults. Prolly early 20s or so. Not super important but might help with context. It's fun for me to mix youthful energy with slightly older characters. Whatever canon experiences they've had took time to happen kinda thing.

Rouge shares her struggle with her roommate’s terrible, no-good very bad coffee bean addiction eating habits. Starring Sonic, Tails, and a startling amount of memes and modern(?) slang as her prisoners. 

Sonic's desperate cries for help go ignored. Maybe if he was a better communicator he wouldn't have these issues.

Under the Read More it goes!

Off-screen, Shadow is blissfully unaware of such plights as he savors a cereal bowl of coffee beans for breakfast. Only faintly wondering why the bag of new beans had been stashed in the wrong kitchen cabinet. Didn’t Rouge know they were supposed to go in the pantry? Mentally shrugs. Everyone makes mistakes. She must've been tired last night or something. She did have eye-bags before putting on makeup this morning. Ah, well. Not his problem.

No. Instead it's Sonic's problem.

"Shadow thinks he's so smart but that guy eats coffee beans for breakfast. It was one thing when he had a gardening phase and cluttered the counters with potted plants; at least that was nice. Got fresh lavender for free and his chao could take care of 'em while he was away, ya know? But coffee beans? Raw? How am I supposed to have my morning coffee when Shadow keeps eating all my chaos-damned coffee beans, boys?" 

"Ah." Sonic blinks and shares a glance with Tails. They’d been trapped on their own living room couch ever since Rouge showed up a solid hour ago with eye bags so heavy not even the secrets of modern makeup could hide them.

Still. He's her friend and he's tried to give her his attention. He tentatively ventures, “I get the feeling you haven't had coffee this morning?"

"I haven't had coffee in days, Sonic, days!"

"Yikes." He grimaces, playing at an attempt for sympathy because there's only so long he can keep trying. An hour is a long time and he still doesn't see what the big deal is, or even care honestly, but he'll at least pretend. "Big oof. That's no good."

Tails slaps his forehead and slumps from where he sits on the couch beside him. Rouge stares at them both. Or maybe just him. Apparently he didn't pretend hard enough. Huh. Oh well. Guess he'll have to try again. 

"I try not to judge people by their dietary needs." Sonic beams, making sure to look as innocent as can be. Adds blinking for good measure

It's a strategic trick he learned while babysitting Cream long ago. She had been, and unfortunately still is, a master of them-big-ole-eyes paired with rapid-fire-eyelashes. 

Whenever Amy did it she looked like she had a bad case of allergies and sometimes caused her mascara to run which only ever made him think of the horror movies he'd seen late at night. It was a problem. She was not good to learn from for that. He's glad she started wearing waterproof stuff or whatever it is at some point. Turns out, black streaks for tear-tracks are terrifying. Not cute.

Guh. Moving on. Maybe his powers of persuasion will sway Rouge away from the dark side of more long-winded rants and dangerously boring tangents. Alas. They fail. She seems unmoved.

"Your diet is nothing but chili dogs." She points at him, needlessly affronted. 

Oh hey now. An age old argument apparently no one is willing to let go of. Not even Rouge. Hmph. He stands by his statement: there's nothing wrong with chili dogs and there never will be! Why fix what ain't broke?

"Like I said," Sonic continues undeterred by non-believers even after all these years. "Dietary needs."

Rouge huffs and whirls on a needle-thin heel. They click click click as she paces a circle in front of the TV.  Dang. Those boots look like they could kill someone. Sonic idly wonders if they have then decides he doesn't wanna know. He might be the next victim otherwise. At least not if this endless talkin’ doesn't do him in first.

"As I was saying; it'd be one thing if he ate them after I brewed them," she flicks a wrist already back on topic as she cocks a hip to the side. Her wings twitch from where they're folded along her spine. "But does he do that? Does he have the decency to do that, boys?"

She pauses a beat. Oh no. Is she expecting proper responses now after all that? Or maybe it’s is a rhetorical question and does not require an answer. Should he risk death by boot or death by boredom?

Tails, brave soul that he is, offers himself as tribute. "He... doesn't?"

"No!" Rouge whips around and her wings snap out on cue. The brothers jolt. "He does not!"

Tails makes some sort of noise. "That sounds rough." 

"Major bummer." Sonic agrees and hopes it'll get her tirade to stop.

"It is! And that's not all-"

Ah. It does not. Was she even listening to him? Or hearing him at all? His attention can only last so long. He's reaching his limit here! Maybe if he throws enough nonsense at her, she'll stop? Or talk about something else?

"What an L, Rouge."

"--maybe had some decency he'd-"

"L plus ratio?"

"What am I supposed to do without the beans, Sonic?"

She's not stopping. Luckily, Sonic ain't no quitter. "Cool story, bro. No cap?"

"The beans, Sonic! Focus on the beans!"

"The beans. So not gucci."

"Exactly! What am I supposed to do about the-" 

Tails leans over to him, bumping shoulders, and mutters. "You've been messing with my tech again, haven't you?"

“I just think it’s neat,” he chirps readily. Grins as he takes the lifeline his benevolent brother has provided him like a drowning soul. Ugh, drowning. "The internet’s a pretty cool place to be. So many ways to get your groovy on."

Tails sighs, sounding faintly irritable but his muzzle's twitching. He ain't foolin' nobody. "You are abusing slang on purpose." 

Sonic’s grin only widens. Score! "I would never do such a thing. Especially not in front of a friend. That's way past uncool, totally un-hippoed."

His brother may or may not have choked. An elbow knocks into Sonic’s side and he jumps with a snickering wheeze.

Tails mutters out the side of his mouth, face impossibly composed while pretending to pay attention to their mutual friend. "What even-? That's not- What are you up to?"

"Nuthin'," he lies like the liar they both know he is. Rouge is still goin' on strong in front of them. "Maintaining my sanity in the only way I can, maybe."

"How's that working out?"

"I may or may not lose my mind."

"It was nice knowing you, bruh."

It's Sonic's turn to choke on a snort.

Rouge continues her tirade apparently oblivious to the lapse in her audience's attention. So Sonic seizes the opportunity to set up a new game plan. He whips out and fiddles with his shiny new phone. The sound file had to be in here somewhere. It was unlikely to have been lost in the recent data transfer. His brother was too smart to let that happen.

Tails had done great work on the device; making it so it could keep up with the speed in which he tapped at the screen. The previous one had been durable but admittedly too slow. Yet his kid brother had fixed it up like the champ he's always been. 

He smiles to himself, unbearably soft, gloved thumbs stalling atop the glass. What couldn’t his baby bro do? Well, not much of a baby now, sure, but who gave him permission to grow up? Not Sonic! As his right as the older brother, he made the rules and the rules say Tails is not allowed to get older. 

What was he doing? Oh yeah! That funny audio. Where was it again? Tails had probably kept it in the same place. Or at least with the same name if he used the fancy search bar, right? He adjusted his grip to tap the screen. 

Bingo! Now let’s see here… A clicking of some buttons, a tapping of a few things, and a finger at the ready to press play. He was all set. Now to time it just right...

Rouge, unintentionally or not, plays her part well. She continues on as background noise with his brother watching her indulgently, politely smiling and nodding along to all the right bits because at some point in all these years he had learned manners. Sonic will never know from where. Certainly not from him.

Sonic waits, politely nodding along himself because misusing slang had proven futile. Tactics had to change and as Rouge works herself into a righteous tizzy he sits up and leans forward. Tails doesn't say a word though he can no doubt sense when his big bro’s ‘boutta cause some trouble. 

Wings flare as Rouge hoists herself off the floor and hovers in the middle of the living room. A fist shakes dramatically at the ceiling and her voice get louder with the momentum. She bemoans the tragedy of mortal kind and the emotionally constipated disasters that will be the downfall of them all. 

It's almost moving. Sonic finds himself engaged despite earlier grievances. She shoulda led with that instead of the bean nonsense. Apparently whatever it is she's talking about now is an infectious disease that only plagues the majority of the male population of everyone found everywhere. Unfortunately, Sonic’s not entirely convinced. It’s a good argument, though, he’ll give her that.

Then it happens. Finally happens. He feared he’d lose his mind before he could execute the most ultimate of masterplans (heh heh, Ultimate. No he'll never let it go, Shadow) but his time to shine has finally come. She makes a statement. Perfectly punctuated on a bold note and everything. She pauses for breath and Sonic takes the chance. 

He clicks the screen and the sound plays. A perfect accompaniment to Rouge’s declaration.

“Oh no.”

Tails. Slowly. Very slowly turns to him. 

Sonic. Very very slowly turns in turn. He makes sure to wear the biggest, most trouble-causing-eatingist grin as possible. Barely cuts off a giggle before it can escape. 

Tails does a remarkable job of maintaining a straight face while also stifling the faint wheezes Sonic can see his stomach make only because he's sitting right next to him. Yellow and white fur almost vibrates from the strain. Wow! What an impressive display of control. He's so proud of him. 

Sonic doesn’t even try to hide his delight anymore. A joke well-received is always a good thing. Even the dumb ones.

Neither notice Rouge coming’ in hot to snatch the phone outta his hands. 

"Was that Knuxie.” She says, honing in on the device in her hands like a starving vulture in desperate need of a feast. 

Sonic will never admit he startled as, between blinks, the bat was there and then she wasn’t. He recovers pretty darn well if he does say so himself. Blinks lashes innocently up at her even if it didn't work earlier.

This time he demurs very charmingly. "Who?”

“Don’t play games with me, big blue.” 

Aw. Foiled again. 

She taps at the screen, face nearly smushed against the glass as she clearly finds the recording and plays it again. A grin of her own spreads. Oops. He almost feels sorry for what he's probably unleashed onto Knuckles. Almost. 

“Where is this from?” Her grin’s looking a lil more evil by the second.

Sure she’s been thoroughly distracted from her war on coffee beans (Or was it a war on Shadow? Dang it! Maybe coulda used that somehow). But at what cost?

Eh. It’s probably fine. Knuckles can handle it.

So he leans back into the couch with an evil grin of his own and threads his arms through the quills on the back of his head. Relaxes in place as he firmly decides to delight in the shared goal of causing trouble.

Heh heh. Sux to be Knux. The guy needed to lighten up anyway.

[a-random-guy-on-the-street]

Keep your head up, kid.

Before I listened to a lot of hip-hop and rap, I only knew Mac Miller as another one of those frat boy rappers that dated Ariana Grande once. I absolutely have no idea what I was missing. I got into his music years after his unfortunate passing.

I missed it by a couple days, but this year is this album’s 5 year anniversary. This is an album I had quite the emotional connection with. I listened to it while in a dark phase of my life and this album is one of the things that kept my head up.

Here’s a review.

The first thing that’s very much apparent in this is how organic the instrumentals are. From the opening track, you already know this album isn’t like any other rap albums. 

Come Back To Earth opens the album in a sweet way with clean guitar chords and strings. The album has a rich instrumental while keeping it lowkey. Some beats from the album, like Perfecto, Small Worlds, and Hurt Feelings, has a laid back feeling. While some songs can get you dancing like Ladders and What’s The Use, certain instrumentals are kept really simple so you can hear the song’s message clearly. Those kind of songs are Wings, Conversation Pt.1, and 2009.

Lyrically, the album has a level of vulnerability I have never seen anywhere when I first heard it. While staying vulnerable, Mac kept a hopeful tone throughout the album. Which hits even harder when you’re listening after his untimely death. He also kept a lot of his attitude and humour in. The lyrics feels like an older friend, that has more experience of the world, telling you stories and saying “Well, at least I made it here. I think that’s all that matters”. It adds an intimate feeling which will be later expanded on his posthumous album, Circles. 

Here are a few of my personal stand out tracks that highlights some apparent elements of the album:

What’s The Use

This track is incredibly groovy, with a sick bassline courtesy of Thundercat himself. The first track that caught my ear when I watched Mac’s performance in NPR’s Tiny Desk. It shed’s a light on Mac’s personality that he conveyed through his music. It’s vulnerable while still has swagger and playfulness. This track also highlights the collaborators on the album. While they’re not written in the title, it gives a better picture of how this album is supposed to be viewed. This is Mac putting his heart on his sleeve with the help of his friends to convey his feelings sonically.

Conversation Pt. 1

The track that speaks to me. This track highlights one of my favourite quirk of this album, that is how Mac communicates with the listener. While talking about his ups and downs, he also calls out the listeners for actions. Because of his attitude and delivery, he’ll often sound like a friend. For me, lines like “Hey kid, you can use a little bit of your imagination. It can do you right and prove a life you busy wasting” gives me a little wake up call to do my own stuff and to get creative.

So It Goes

A track that hit me exceptionally hard, lyrically and sonically. The plucked strings and little synth lines feels airy and blissful. It highlights Mac’s musical instincts at work. As the song continues, Mac talks about where he was at the time. He drops some hard hitting lines like “You can have the world in the palm of your hand, you still might drop it”, while still being playful with lines like “Cause her pussy getting wetter when the weather dry”. You can’t help but chuckle at his humour even in the context of a song like this. At the last hook, the song lifts higher with a crescendo of synths as the album comes to a close.

It’s an incredible album with an attitude and vibe that you won’t find anywhere else. Filled with great musical awareness and messages that kept a lot of people afloat on their toughest times, including me.

10/10

R.I.P Mac. Thanks for keeping my head up.

[raevenlywrites]

Gonna give the finale eps another listen in the peace of my own living room this morning. Maybe I'll be able to hear the whispers better :P But also I really enjoyed gathering my thoughts on the whole season when I did this with s1 so yeah here we go again

Actually gonna go back and start with archivist book ends at the start and end of Kind Mother and Distant Cousin. Jon's emotional journey has been really great and I want to appreciate it in the quiet of my own home. ...with a kitten trying to chew on my phone, but still.

-

End of ep 77: Kind Mother

Gertrude: Im gonna do all I can to avoid this thing.

Jon: I'm gonna kill it.

-

"I don't know what this- ... I know exactly what this means."

"I need more information on this thing. How it works, how it k- ...I need to know how to stop it."

"If its here, if Sasha... I'm going to find out how to kill it."

I love seeing when Jon gets emotional. We still don't know enough about what really motivates him, but the emotions that seem to break through his facade the strongest are actually kind of based in...compassion? caring? Like fear, obviously. But fear tends to make him buckle down, buck up. What makes his voice crack, his reason fail him, is caring. I love that.

-

opening of ep 78: Distant Cousin

"I, uh. We, we didn't..." Didn't what jon???

closing

I can't believe the thing didn't destroy sasha's tapes

"If i'd been more thorough, was there anything I could hhave done?" See? Caring.

"I see you." "And now I see you." John Wick mode activated

-

Jon: Stay home I'm sick

Tim: ...that's no how that works

Martin: *instant nursemaid mode*

-

"If either of you hear this, i'm sorry. I'm nott losing anyone else" CARING

-

Hm... not sure if the sound that plays while he breaks the table is unique for the web or a version of the stranger. They're all very similar. Michael's particular fuzzy distortion is different, but the high pitched buzzing of the stranger is easy to think you hear all the time (or maybe the stragner is my very special fear and it's already stalking me lol)

-

Still HATE that laugh. it's perfectly awful

-

Opening of ep 79

Still love the poetry

-

The high pitched squealing musical sting of the Stranger is a lot more tolerable not over headphones XD

-

"this isn't about you."

"It never is."

"Well what do you want - and don't be a disney princess about it"

*is a disney princess about it*

-

"Stay back!"

"No."

King shit

-

"Martin look at his hands!"

I KNEW it was about the hands!!!!!

-

still so fascinated by how often jon says "whoever hears this". Like he KNOWS someone is listening, but is it a meta nod to us, or an in world sense of the...Eye?

-

ack! the distortion distortion is so sonically unpleasant

-

"Til the monster got its friends to carry it around" oh shit! Is THAT who breacon and hope work for?

-

"You’ll miss the Unknowing, of course, but you wouldn’t understand it anyway." yeah okay that's what I *thought* it said but ya know, the distortions. Also "rob the eye of its pupil" is a hilarious pun I approve.

-

ep 80

Not a lot to say about what Leitner reveals. It's all very good "here's what we learned this season", but it's been more like... conformation for me, rather than revelation.

-

I do like the bit about "we should have helped her" to confirm that the boys were in Michael's maze (and that Michael reclaimed her after her statement). I hate thinking of Martin thinking of Jon as a murderer though. That makes me sad.

So that's season 2! We now *know* about the Fears as entities, have names for quite a few of them, and know at least The Strangers are planning something called "The Unknowing." No idea if the worm circle portal from season 1 was connected or not.

I gotta say, the Stranger seems more... malevolent than the worms did. More active. Maybe that's because, as they said, the worms weren't actually ready to move. But like, i dunno, they just seemed a little more mindless? Maybe that's me misattributing certain traits as being uniquely Prentis's and not the worms themselves, but even then, it seems more Cat and Mouse with s1, and s2 felt very targeted, and even a little personally hateful at the end. Like Jon had somehow hurt or offended not!Sasha - or at least that it was taking that hurt out on him. I dunno. Just something to keep in mind as we go.

I've been working a little bit of a Rock, Paper, Scissors theory, and I'm beginning to think it might not actually be right. We've seen Spiders beat worms (the big spiders eating the worms in the tunnels) and Lightless Flame beats spiders (agnes vs hilltop road, and casually killing spiders in the corner). But spiders also beats stranger, so I think it's more a case of which individual manifestation's power is at work, rather than any fundamental R/P/S situation. Still, gonna keep half a mental eye on that.

Very excited for Season 3! I'm curious how things are gonna go now that Jon is (in theory) on the run! On the one hand, waaaaaay less access to statements - at least, the Magnus Institute's statements. On the other hand, waaaaay more opportunity to see new horrors, and maybe team up with new people - maybe we'll see more Melanie King. Idk. It's hard to predict at this point. Jon has not really been the best at "plays well with others", but we'll see.

Thank you everyone who's engaged with me, from commiserating to correcting, and helping me fill in gaps I've missed. Deeply appreciated! See yall next time for Season 3!

Season 2 finale!

Oh my fucking GOD! We are not starting with the poetry XD

Also im 90% certain I havent heard these eps before. Ill let you know if i hear otherwise bu-

JUMPSCARE!!!! JESUS CHRIST this is A LOT on headphones ><

Aww Martin youre so brave! Stupid, but brave. Sweet

-

I am not surprised the door opens into the tunnels. The tunnels have been reminding me of that one real estate lady who came to give a statement and got got (god, can you fucking imagine never being able to go through a door safely for the rest of your life? Staying so vigilant and then slipping up on a trip to the bathroom or something- ick. theres that creepy call of "Joooooooooohn" again)

-

Go off Martin!!!!!! love him- ack! Michael!

-

Mm, this is gonna need a transcripts i think. cool sound fx are not great for understanding

-

New Voice! Who dis?! The Web? The Eye?

[tk-writer]

Peace and Quiet. [platonic Sonic x Shadow]

Peace and quiet. All he wanted was a little peace and quiet.

What Shadow got instead were flashes of cobalt blue always appearing somewhere in his vision, along with constant chatter in his ear about this and that and stupid shit he only half-listened to when he had the patience for it. Conversations he prayed would end as quickly as possible but seemed to drag out every time. Or worse, when his attention was demanded for an absolutely ridiculous reason. Like it was at that very moment.

“Shadooooow! Look, I finally figured out how to do that one trick I told you about!”

The black hedgehog watched from his chair on the front porch as Sonic make his 47th fucking attempt at an upside down kick flip on the oak tree in front of the house and fail, quite miserably. He hit his head on a sharp rock and cradled it in his hands as a giant lump appeared on his forehead.

“Owwwowwowwoww...! Ugh, I thought I had it this time!”

“Hmph.”

He should’ve known that peace & quiet was too much to ask for, being around that blue menace and the rest of his friends. All of those big personalities shoved together in one house. That immature fox who cried every time someone made fun of him. That knuckleheaded echidna whose fists were bigger than his brain. That pink wannabe soothsayer who always tried to “pull cards” for him and analyze his natal chart or whatever new age shit she was into at the time. 

And worst of all, that loudmouth hedgehog who never stopped shoving chili dogs into his big stupid mouth and didn’t know the meaning of silence.

Under normal circumstances he would have hightailed it out of that tiny shack on the edge of the forest, but times had changed since they all first met. There was always a new crisis manifesting, a threat to the world they were all expected to handle by themselves. Living together made it easier to assemble their little “hero” team instead of having to chase down everyone on all corners of the earth. It wasted precious time and energy, both inconvenient and annoying.

But despite the fact that they had been together for months already, the lifestyle change was still difficult for Shadow. He was used to being on his own, fending for himself, not having to speak at length for long periods of time. Having roommates who practically begged for his companionship and attention was a huge adjustment. Being expected to make idle small talk everyday was a pain in the ass. Hell, having anybody in his personal space for too long was too much.

But he did it anyway, because no one had ever wanted to be friends with him until now. And as much as he hated to admit it, he didn’t feel as lonely now as he used to.

While Sonic recovered from his clumsy little stunt, Shadow’s ears perked up as he heard a panicked cry for help coming from inside the house. Before he could turn his head to see what it was, flashes of orange and red appeared in his peripheral vision.

“Leave me alone! I didn’t do anything!!”

“Get BACK here you lying brat!”

Tails was, well, hightailing it as far as his two tails could carry him, followed in close pursuit by an angry and vengeful Knuckles. The two passed by Sonic, who watched them run circles around him before finally stepping in.

“Soniiiiic! Help meeee!”

“Lemme at him! He ate my last grape!”

“I didn’t do it!! Amy was the last one with the grapes!”

“You’re LYING! I caught you red handed you little twerp!”

Shadow shook his head as he returned to reading his book. Such foolishness over something so silly as food. He prayed it would be over soon so he wouldn’t have to hear all the fucking whining.

“Wait, I wanna play too!” Sonic finally piped up, ready to play. “I’ll grab him for ya, Knucks

“SONIC! NOOOOO!”

Shadow watched them attack one another with eyebrows furrowed. Such childish behavior over something so trivial. He wouldn’t bother getting involved. He gave up on reading and crossed his arms, closing his eyes as he listened to the commotion.

“You grab him and I’ll pin him down!”

“NO! Pleeeease! I didn’t do anything!!”

“You’re gonna get it now, foxboy. I’ll teach you to mess with my stuff.”

“Wait, no, no! NOOO - ahahaha! PLEEHEHEHESE DON’T!”

Confused by the sudden laughter, Shadow opened one eye to see why the fox was suddenly squealing and begging as if being tortured by hot skewers. What he saw made his fur stand on edge.

Sonic had pinned Tails’s arms to the ground, holding them down tightly as Knuckles tickled his pits mercilessly. The fox was squeezing his eyes shut, wiggling from left to right as he struggled with all his might to break free and laughed loud enough to scare the birds away from the trees. Sonic was grinning deviously as he watched Knuckles dig into what must have been the poor fox’s most ticklish spot until he cried. It was enough to give him the chills.

Shadow decided that he did not want to get involved under any circumstances. He uncrossed his legs and stood up, walking towards the back of the house where he would be out of sight and out of mind.

“Hey, Shadow! Wanna give us a hand?” Sonic called out, making Tails plead even harder.

“Nope.”

“Aww, come on! Stop being a grump for once and come play!”

“I refuse.”

“If you don’t help, we’ll get you too!”

Nope, nope, nope. There was no fucking way.

Shadow scurried off, hoping that if he was not seen and not heard that he would be forgotten. That’s always how things had been, anyway. He was really good at blending in with the background and avoiding all interactions. Maybe Sonic would leave it be and move on with his life.

“Tch,” he scoffed. Wishful thinking. Before he took his next step, Sonic was in his face grinning at him like an idiot.

“... AGH! How the hell…?”

“You ran away pretty quickly there, Shadow. Why’s that?”

“Mind your business.”

“Are you nervous or somethin’? You look like you saw a ghost.”

“No. Now leave me alone.”

“Whyd’ya gotta be so grumpy all the time? Have some fun for once in your life!”

“Fun to me is peace and quiet, two things I can’t seem to get living with the lot of you.”

He turned his back on Sonic. A grave mistake, in hindsight. If he had only paid attention to that glint in his eye, that mischievous expression of his… he would’ve seen it coming.

Instead, he felt two hands grab his waist, which made him fall to his knees, and yelp like a dog that had been hit with a rock.

He froze. Every quill on his body stood on end. He swung around to face Sonic, who looked just as surprised as he was.

“What was that?!”

“Shut your mouth. Not another word.”

A cheeky grin spread across Sonic’s face, and Shadow knew it was all over.

“No way… Shadow, you’re-”

Shadow took off before he heard the end of the sentence. He didn’t know what to say. And even if he did, he wouldn’t have been able to say it. So instead of speaking, he ran.

He bolted into the woods in attempt to get as far away as possible. He knew it was futile; Sonic had always been faster and nimbler than he. But it was all he could think of. It was his last hope for escape.

It only took a few seconds for Sonic to catch him. The blue hedgehog slammed into him, pushing his darker rival to the ground and pinning him on his stomach by sitting on his lower back. He couldn’t move. He could barely struggle. He started to panic, realizing what a compromising position he found himself in and began squirming like a snake speared through.

“Urrgh, get off me!”

“Why? You worried I’ll do something to ya?”

“If you touch me, I swear to God…”

“What, you’ll kill me? Dontcha think it'll be kinda hard to do that when you’re trapped like this?”

Sonic poked one of his sides, right under his rib, and Shadow jolted as if struck by lightning. He let out a gruntled yelp, trying his damned hardest to stifle a laugh. Sonic poked him again, and again, in again, alternating between the left and right to throw him off guard. Each touch caused him to jerk around as he choked back his laughter.

“Something wrong, Shadow?”

“Nghhh! N-No! ACK!”

“You seem a little tense. It couldn’t be because of these little pokes, right?”

“Mmpph! GAHHH!”

“The big, bad ultimate life form... taken down by tickles. Who woulda thought you had such an adorable weakness!”

At this point Shadow couldn’t muster a single word without potentially letting his facade crack. He bit his lip, pounded his fists on the ground, attempting all forms of physical release if it meant that his laughs wouldn’t escape. He couldn’t laugh, he wouldn’t laugh, not when he knew what would come next if he did…

Unfortunately for him, it didn’t take long for him to finally crack.

He felt Sonic’s hands at both sides of his waist again, fingers pressed against sides and ribs waiting for the right moment to attack. Shadow was breathing heavily, bracing himself for the next tickle attack. The anticipation was making it worse. If he was gonna do it, then he should just d-

“AAAAAH! Nghhh, mmhmhmmhm, FAHAHAHACK!”

Ten fingers dug into his body, wiggling and pinching and stroking every sensitive inch. It was way worse than he had expected. He had no idea that his seldom-touch body could be so sensitive or that light touches could make him thrash about so wildly. He understood why Tails was screaming and begging so loudly before. It was absolutely unbearable.

“Tickle tickle tiiiickle! Wow, this must be really bad for you, huh?”

“Ahahahahahaha! Fffff-FAHAHACK!”

Shadow couldn’t even muster a proper word. It was all too much. And it seemed to go on forever. Sonic somehow managed to find every horrible spot on his upper body. His underarms, his waist, the horrid spaces between his ribs. All of them tickled terribly as he screamed and tried to buck him off. The worst part was Sonic’s incessant teasing. It was humiliating enough being taken down with tickles, but to be teased about it? Certain death.

“Say uncle or I’m not gonna stop!”

“Fahahhackahahaff!!”

“Saaaay it! Or else I’ll keep going!”

“NAHAHAHAHA!”

Only a couple minutes had passed and he was already out of breath, red in the face, and willing to do whatever it took to make it stop. He had no idea how sadistic Sonic could be. If he hadn’t been so proud, he would’ve begged for mercy long ago. 

Finally, after what felt like forever, it stopped, Shadow felt the pressure lift off his back, but instead of running he found himself stuck in the same spot on the ground, struggling to catch his breath. He was completely tuckered out from the tickling. Embarrassed of his display of weakness, he kept his eyes on the ground despite feeling Sonic’s gaze.

“You alright bud? That took a lot out of you, huh?” The blue hedgehog extended a hand, which he pushed aside while he pulled himself off the ground.

“...Ha… haaaa… leave me alone…”

“Aww I’m sorry Shadow! I guess I got a little carried away. You just sounded so… happy, for once. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you actually laugh hard like that.”

“You… don’t you dare tell anyone about this…”

Sonic smiled sheepishly. “Hey, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about! Lots of people are super ticklish. But I promise I won’t tell a soul. Scout’s honor!”

He crossed his heart and looked at Shadow with such a genuine expression that he couldn’t help but feel relieved. He couldn’t fully trust him, at least not yet, but at least his honor could stay intact for the time being.

He would never admit it out loud... but messing around like that was more fun than he had expected.