#JUST TALK TO EACH OTHER IT'S THAT SIMPLE

[alterchaos]

REGROUP

Hiding away on a planet of fortune tellers, Eve and Cream decide to make small talk to pass the time. Soon, the others return, sharing what they learned in their battle against Zelkova. Can that which is broken be mended before it's too late...

PREVIOUS CHAPTER: A POINTLESS WAR

NEXT CHAPTER: UNSPOKEN TRUTHS

“...”

tap tap taptaptaptap

“Um…Miss Eve?”

“...”

taptaptaptaptap

“Chao chaoo?”

The teenager ruffled her hair in frustration.

“Rrrrrrgh! I give up!” She flopped the right side of her head down on the card table before her, groaning loudly as the heel of her foot finally ceased its endless tapping against the stony road, “You win again, Cream…”

The rabbit smiled menacingly as she took a few rings in some fake exchange of payment, “Hehehe! Thank you, Miss Eve!” 

“Chao chaooo!”

“Uuuuugh…”

The girl with the golden, disheveled hair stared out into the busy street from the café at which she sat with the small rabbit. Beings of varying sizes and colors loosely resembling the chaos on Sonic’s world milled about, conducting business from stall to stall throughout the market, mostly that of fortune telling. The hero in question had brought them all to a planet far removed from any territory the Metarex now occupied, one his younger brother had discovered by mistake through an advertisement he’d received while the rest of them had been sleeping. A couple of calls later and the fox had secured both lodging and supplies in case of emergency, something no one was to know about unless that time came. 

Well…Eve certainly knew how that turned out…

She was worried about them. Heck, they all were, Sonic especially. He’d been silent the entire ship ride, refusing to acknowledge his obvious fears despite everyone’s best efforts to offer support. Once they’d landed and got settled in, he’d simply disappeared into his room, only emerging occasionally to check on the rest of them, which anyone could tell by the swift gusts of wind every so often. Cosmo made it her mission to check in with him too despite his protests. Given how deeply she cared for Tails, looking after his brother was the least she could do in such a crazy and uncertain time. 

As for Eve, she’d found herself before his doorway more than a few times in the past week since they landed, but not once could she bring herself to knock. How could she? After the way she’d hurt him…

Just why did she have to flinch like that?

Eve frowned, releasing a small sigh.

“Miss Eve?” Cream leaned sideways into her friend’s view, “Are you okay?”

“...” The bandaged girl glanced to the side. She inhaled, raising her head with a frustrated, but ultimately defeated, glance, “Yeah…”

The small rabbit frowned, “I’m sure Mr. Chris and the others are alright. Mr. Tails knows what he’s doing.”

“...Yeah.” Eve looked back out towards the bustling marketplace, “Say, Cream?”

“Hm?”

“Your world…it’s called Mobius, right?”

Cream’s eyes widened in surprise, “Yes, though the part of Mobius we’re all from is called South Island. Why do you ask?”

“It’s just…I’ve been wondering lately…What’s it like? I know we spent peaceful times together back on Earth but…what do all of you usually do when there aren’t any bad guys to fight?”

Cream closed her eyes in deep thought, “Hmm…well…” She followed her friend’s gaze towards the marketplace, “It’s actually a lot like this. That’s probably why Mr. Tails sent us here to keep us safe.”

Eve’s eye sparkled slightly, “Woah…really?”

The rabbit smiled cheerfully at her friend’s more enthusiastic demeanor, “Yes. We even have a marketplace of our own where everyone shops for fresh food and materials, and where the occasional festival is held. Miss Amy always does the shopping before visiting Mama and I, and together we bake super delicious food like cake and pie and-oh!! I can’t forget the healthy foods like vegetable soup or baked fish! Mama would be disappointed if I only thought about sweets! Hehehe!”

“Chaooo!”

“...” The teen stared at her friend in awe. Nothing quite like that existed back on Earth, at least not in her life. She leaned in slightly, “What else is Mobius like? Do you have any large cities? What about South Island?”

“Well, our world lives in peace with the nature around us, all except the mean Dr. Eggman. He wants to hurt that in any way he can, which is why he and Mr. Sonic are always fighting. Even our cities are built to honor nature, but South Island doesn’t have any major ones. We just have lots of green hills and oceans and flower fields! Hehehe! That’s where I like to go to make flower crowns like Mama taught me!”

“Chao chao chao!”

“Really?” Though she tried to hide it somewhat, the human’s interests were piqued, “You mean kids aren’t expected to stay inside all day?”

“Not at all. As long as I’m home by supper, Mama lets me go outside to explore and play with the other kids!”

“And what about the adults? Don’t they have to work all day?”

Cream shook her head, “Mm mn…I mean, everyone gives a little something to help everyone. My Mama gives away her baked goods for rings and other things she needs while someone like Mr. Tails gives the town bridges and houses and other neat inventions.”

Eve stared at the smiling rabbit with wide eyes.

A life where her parents lived off of goodwill and favors only…

A life where they didn’t have to travel all the time for work…

Where she…didn’t have to be alone…

Where she…could be happy…

Could someone as flawed as her…

In a world like that…

“...belong?”

“Hm?”

Eve jolted, not realizing she’d muttered that last part out loud, “N-Nothing!!” She blinked a few times while looking back out towards the street in a panic. After a moment, she softened, thinking back to the moment all those years ago that this idea of life had opened up to her, “...What about Sonic? What does he do when he’s not saving the world?”

Cream’s eyes softened, happy to see that the teen was still thinking of the distressed hedgehog, “Well, he’s so much of a hero that everyone just gives him what he needs.”

Eve frowned slightly, having wanted to learn more about her friend outside of his heroic acts, “Really? Just like that?”

“Yes. Although, you can often find him giving what he gets to those less fortunate on his daily runs around the island. Mr. Tails already gets enough from his services to support the two of them and Mr. Knuckles up on Angel Island.”

Eve smiled, looking back towards the direction of their shelter, “Always the hero, huh?” 

“Yes, he is.”

“It’s just that maybe you shouldn’t rely on me to be the hero all the time!!!”

The human’s eyes turned regretful as she remembered his words. Her gaze fell on one of her bandaged hands, her heart aching as it did.

Why?

Why did she have to flinch?

All she wanted was to talk to him, to clear things up between them, but what if she just made things worse than she already had? 

She didn’t deserve him.

He deserved better.

So, so much bette-

“-!!!”

The girl with the golden hair jolted as she felt the rabbit’s gentle touch against her hand, “Cream…”

She smiled, “Miss Eve…Why don’t you just go and talk to him?”

“Huh?” She jolted once more before pulling her gaze away shamefully, “N-No…I can’t…”

“Why not?”

“You saw how he was that day on the ship! Cream…” A few tears sprung into her eyes, “He may blame himself for what happened but the truth is…i-it’s…it’s all my fault!” She couldn’t hold them back anymore, “I’m the one who made him feel that way! H-He…He wouldn’t be hurting so much right now if I hadn’t-”

“Miss Eve…” The teen froze, falling silent as she watched the kind rabbit, “Mama says that when we don’t talk to each other, we don’t really understand each other. Yes, our actions matter, but so do our words. If you told Mr. Sonic how you feel, I’m sure he’d listen just as much as you would. You two are friends after all!” She smiled sweetly.

Eve looked back at the shelter, “I’m scared, Cream…What if I just make things worse?”

“Well…” She winked, “How can you ever know if you never try?”

“...”

In that moment, the human’s world grew just a little bit brighter, the memory of the two of them sitting atop that hill near Station Square playing in her mind. They’d been through so much since then. Even if it was too late, for her to give up so easily now…

She smiled, courage filling her heart, “You know what? You’re right, Cream!” She pushed back her chair, standing up confidently, “I’ll go talk to him right now and set things right!”

Cheese pumped a triumphant fist in the air, “Chao chaooo!”

Cream joined in, “That’s the spirit, Miss Eve!”

Even if it didn’t do much…

Even if she’d have to leave him for Earth soon after…

To say goodbye to the idea of Mobius…

Of…everyone…

Forever…

…

No.

She couldn’t think about that right now.

She had a mission to fulfill.

She had to make sure he was okay before that time came to pas-

“Yo.”

Eve jolted at the familiar, deep voice. She, Cream, and Cheese turned in surprise, joy and relief flooding their hearts as their eyes fell upon the voice’s owner.

“KNUCKLES!!!”

The echidna raised his hand in a small wave, stumbling a bit though as the bandaged human rushed him for a hug, not caring about the sensitive state her arms were in, “Whoa! E-Easy there! You’re going to knock me over!”

“YOU’RE ALIVE!!!”

Cream jumped up, flapping her ears and floating cheerfully, “I knew Mr. Tails would keep everyone safe!”

“CHAO CHAO CHAOCHAOCHAOCHAO!!!!” Cheese raced in for a hug as well.

“Oof!” Knuckles squirmed a bit in his struggle against the human’s grip, “Okay okay!” He chuckled slightly, “I missed you guys too…”

“We all did.”

Eve’s unbandaged eye widened, tears flying as she raced towards the new voice.

“CHRIS!!!”

She hugged him.

Her older brother hugged back, “We’re all safe. Tails did great leading us through the battle.”

“I’m so happy…”

“Where is Mr. Tails now?”

A new voice entered the scene, “He’s with Sonic.”

Cosmo approached alongside the pink hedgehog, “They’ll join us once they’ve had the chance to catch up.”

Eve frowned as she recalled her mission, “You mean…we can’t see them right now?”

Amy frowned slightly as she recalled her fellow hedgehog’s frantic, distressed demeanor just before seeing his brother, “After everything that happened…” The image of the Blue Blur tackling the fox in a swift, tearful hug replayed as well, “Let’s just give them a moment to breathe.”

“Oh…” 

The disappointment in the girl’s voice was palpable, causing everyone to go silent for a moment as they figured out what to talk about next. 

Chris started, “I guess we should get the most important thing out of the way first.”

“Right.” Knuckles nodded before closing his eyes in remembrance, “Zelkova is dead.”

Everyone jolted in shock.

Eve began to sweat slightly as she recalled the horrors she witnessed aboard Narcissus’s base, “H-How…H-He’s a Metarex lord…or…was…H-How did you-?”

“He sacrificed himself in order to save me.”

“What?”

“That isn’t all.” Chris pulled up a map on his wrist communicator, “He gave us these coordinates. There, we should hopefully find the answers we’ve been looking for, including a way to stop them once and for all.”

Cosmo folded her arms, “And how do we know we can trust him?”

Knuckles’s head remained low in respect, “Believe me…We can trust him…” He opened his eyes, “When we were battling, we came to a deeper understanding of one another. I didn’t want to believe it at first either, but then the two of us fell into a fiery chasm. I tried to save him but…”

Everyone fell silent.

Knuckles continued, “That was when he decided to give me the coordinates and help me to safety. He…asked me to ensure personally that we stop the other Metarex…to help put an end to this war once and for all…I know I haven’t always been the greatest judge of character, but I know without a doubt he was being sincere. That I can promise each and every one of you.”

Cosmo continued to fold her arms, “...”

Eve closed her eyes, “I believe you, Knuckles.”

Cream pumped her fists, “So do I!”

“Chao chaooo!”

“Knuckles is right…” The fox approached the group with his older brother in tow, “We can’t let Zelkova’s sacrifice go to waste.”

“Mr. Tails!” 

“Chao chaochaochao!”

“...” Eve stared at the pair of brothers with wide eyes, her heart breaking at the sight of the blue hedgehog in particular. His messy quills were sticking out in multiple places, his disheveled and sweat-soaked bangs only adding to the chaos of his thinner-than-average figure. Dark shadows lined the pale, peachy fuzz underneath his tired emerald eyes, and his lips had settled comfortably into a small, despondent frown. He stared ahead, not focusing on anything in particular.

That is…until his gaze happened to lock with hers.

They stared at one another for a moment, speechless as their minds attempted to find the words. This was it. This was her chance to set things right. It was now or never. 

She began to reach out.

However…

BA-BUMP!

Seeing him like this now…

BA-BUMP!

What if…

BA-BUMP!

What if she said the wrong thing?

BA-BUMP!

Could she ever come back from such a mistake?

BA-BUMP!

Could he?

BA-BUMP!

BA-BUMP!

She…

She needed to plan her words carefully before addressing him…

That was why…despite how badly she wanted to say something in that fleeting moment…

Anything…

BA-BUMP!

Eve…was afraid…

Too afraid to ever hurt him like that again…

To destroy him…

BA-Bump…

The girl with the bandages lowered her hand, pulling her gaze sharply from his as her prior confidence slipped away. As she did, Sonic’s heart sank. 

Why?

Why did he ever dare to hope she’d say something?

She could never forgive him…

How could she?

After what he did to her…

The disheveled hedgehog’s ears pinned back against his head as he looked away in shame.

He could never forgive himself either…

“...”

“...”

Tails sighed. The rift between the two friends was still more than evident despite what he’d hoped would come of their trip away from the Blue Typhoon together. He debated whether he should call it out and do something more, but then he remembered Sonic’s panic when Knuckles had tried the same.

They all did.

That was why, even if it didn’t help, he had to give them the space until they were ready. More than that, he had to keep them all moving forward together as a team. It was his duty as their captain…

And as Sonic’s brother…

“We should prepare to head to the coordinates Zelkova gave us. I have a feeling there will be information there that will help give us an edge in the coming battle. Everyone good with that?”

Everyone nodded.

They could all feel it…

This was the final battle…

Either they succeeded in taking down the Metarex once and for all…

Or they died trying…

There was no turning back.

“Good. Then let’s do this.”

CHAPTER END

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Council of lovefools.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[knife-filled-plushies]

i love these two so i decided to doodle them hsjfhskfj

tiny bit of style experimentation

[redrobin-detective]

Something I wonder about Simon and Betty's relationship is how long they were together before the whole crown ordeal. But they were engaged, you say. My aunt (in)famously met my uncle and had a ring on her finger in 8 weeks. We've seen that both Betty and Simon were both weird outcasts, crazy determined and a pinch insane. I would not be surprised if they decided they'd met their one true love and got engaged super quick.

My point being, Betty's shifting to revolve around Simon and Simon's rose colored glasses of their relationship feels very much like New Love. They're people who love each other and love being a couple but still haven't quite figured out how to coexist together, as two people in a partnership. I feel like if they'd known each other longer, lived together longer, some of the issues we're seeing would have probably self resolved.

I don't think their relationship is toxic nor is it totally perfect. It's two lonely, most likely neurodivergent people in a relatively early relationship still figuring out how it works. Everything that happened afterwards: the crown, the seperation, the time travel, the magic/madness/sadness just exemplified issues they had both as individuals and as a couple.

[hercarisntyours]

If I dont get even the slightest wheeljack and ratchet interaction in the next piece of transformers media I will be put in history books and NOT for anything good I'm a hobby engineer you should be getting the gist of what I mean.

[tiredsurvivoronmain]

Whatever Chris and Wesker have going on needs resolving whether it's romantic or not; either Wesker dies permanently or both of them die, they apologise to one another or at least Chris apologises, TALK to each other for once, beat and rip each other bloody and to pieces or just kiss/hug/fight/fuck it out.

[yujeong]

I still can't believe people are saying Korn or Tonkla don't love the other. How? 😔 What?

Anon, I'm so done with this discourse it's not even funny. I'm tired of seeing the exact same talking points and I'm tired of explaining the same thing every week. However, since this is the last episode and all the annoying people will hopefully move on, let me do it one last time:

Korn is an asshole. Korn prioritized saving himself and started looking for Tonkla once Fasai dropped his ass. Korn also shot his brains out when Tonkla died in front of him.

Tonkla is an asshole. Tonkla used Win to fill the gaps Korn left in him. Tonkla also pushed Korn aside when he stupidly raised his gun at Win in order to save him from becoming a murderer like him.

It's this simple guys. It's all right there. You're allowed to not like a couple - we got the screentime discourse as well, which was so much fun :) - and I'm not taking that away from you. But denying the feelings the characters clearly have for each other because you prefer the main couple is NOT it.

Let this die like our couple did. Thank you.

[bottombaron]

there really does need to be a queer person in the writers' room on every show with queer characters, if only to explain how to better describe 'profound' relationships.

bc this happens all the time with showrunners fumbling for ways to describe a not-necessarily-sexually-prioritized relationship between same-sex characters

it's like somewhere in our evolution 'straight' men forgot that you can express your Profound Emotions with sex or other physical ways just to experience closeness and love.

like sexual attraction can evolve from profound emotions. they aren't inherently mutually exclusive. you can have two people who aren't initially attracted to each other and then over the course of knowing each other attraction blooms from simply caring for that person.

it's wild that ppl don't get that. is it a straight person thing? Do you have to be horny for a person from the go or it doesn't count?

like i'm absolutely serious, there needs to be studies on this phenomenon. there's something here in the miscommunication of what love can look like that is fucking fascinating.

[darksides-dutchess]

The things I'd give for the any sides to be placed in a room with two chairs and a table and just talk. I don't care what the topic is about I just want them to talk.

Having a heart to heart, random rambles about something, bickering and arguing on a topic, I don't care, let them have a conversation.

[marc--chilton]

(mgv) even when they're helping each other with their cycles they're still..... open? i guess? they're not exclusive, or dating, or even bondmates, which is.... fine. wilson sometimes tries to encourage house to look for a serious partner, which house tends to flake on most of the time. hookups are one thing but a serious thing, ehhh.... house does not return this sentiment for wilson when he has someone new on his arm. the fact house keeps himself from growling at her is as far as his good deed goes on that front.

[fappellmoan]

so i just wanna say i think i fumbled with a bad bitch a little bit the other night but not just in a shy loser wuhluhwuh way i just have so many other problems. but going forward i am going to be brave 🙏

[bearsgrove]

yeah nah im not coming back here any time soon lol

[pinazee]

Look, at this point i dont even need any canonical romantic spirk. But i DO need them to acknowledge their long, long, LONG history of being shipped. They practically invented slash fiction!

[theperrylleluniverse]

Boys <33

[martyrbat]

detective comics #509

[ID: Bruce Wayne sleeping in his penthouse, his eyes squeezed shut as the narration reads, ‘Gordon's strained laugh sounds hollow, but it echos in the Batman's mind... and haunts his dreams...” Bruce awakens to a hand on his shoulder and before he can think, he's twisting it and holding it down. The panel expands, revealing the hand belongs to Alfred as he's almost toppling over! He cries out, “M-master Bruce—my arm!” as Bruce groggily realizes who it is. He lets go at once as Alfred moves to the end of the bed and holds his arm while stammering an apology, “S-sorry, s-sir... Sorry if I startled you.” Bruce looks at him with aghast as he cries out, “My god, Alfred—I almost broke your arm!” Alfred reasons, “You must have been having a nightmare, sir.” as Bruce sits up and puts his face in his hands. He weepily dismisses, “A nightmare—what kind of an excuse is that? Old friend... forgive me...” Alfred reassures, “Nothing to forgive, sir. Just bad nerves, sir.” END ID]

[thewhizzyhead]

but like really the very fact that pma's new "never better" musical seems to be like a lot more mature and emotionally heavy given its subject matter is what intrigues me the most about it because like I do genuinely believe that out of all the indie mt writers out there, pma has built the most solid foundation in making emotionally evocative songs. like, I genuinely believe that is his superpower-