#Terra's writing

[terracyte]

punk reiner 💥 , emo bert 🖤 , and the girlie pops ⛓️🥀 from

sugar we're goin down :3

[suguruslut]

Still not over how well characterized and balanced every character is portrayed in the Teen Titans 2003 series: every single Titan can be funny, dejected, serious, determined, silly, angry, optimistic, vulnerable and tough without major inconsistencies in their overall portrayals.

Huge props to the writers of that show who knew exactly how to give each Titan a realistic range of emotions without deviating away from their basic personalities--it's an extremely difficult feat to accomplish, depicting characters through many different phases and arcs while keeping them consistent, and they did it flawlessly.

[ghostbsuter]

I'm on the writing grind, you can see that I just finished rewatching the Teen Titans (2003).

Edit: Here is some art I did for Titan!Phantom

.・゜-: ✧ :-

(The end is near.)

Gripping the communicator, the bright yellow case with a cartoonish 'T' on top glared back at him.

(The portal was growing.)

He presses the button, the communicator switches on and he calls out.

"Phantom to Titans, do you hear me? Phantom to Titans."

The crackling sound came as a sign of connection, It didn't take any heavy weight off, however.

"Robin here, Phantom? Everything alright?" The soothing voice of Teen Titans leader answers him, and he suppresses a sigh.

"Robin," he bites his lip, the portal only growing.

The ghost zone is eating Amity and all just because fucking Vlad couldn't, for one ancient time, sit still.

"I—" a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he apologises with a wince. "You're gonna be really angry at me when you... find out."

Concern leaks through the voice as Robin speaks. "Phantom? What's going on?"

Thr screen on the communicator switches on and Robins brow knitted expression stares back at him.

It quickly changes, alarmed. "Phantom." The vigilante says. "Is Amity Park okay? Do you need backup?"

Always on the right track, dear leader. Danny shakes his head fondly.

"It's too late for backup," he admits quietly.

"Phan—"

"Just tell new members of me, okay?"

Danny doesn't let the other finish, giving a bitter smile before throwing the communicator on the ground, breaking it.

The familiar yet threatening green of the ghost zone welcomes him.

—

"Titans! Emergency call, Phantom got a situation!"

The bright red lights is enough for the rest of the team to flood to the common room.

"Rob?" Cyborg asks. "What's the situation?"

"We don't know!" The bird answers, stressed. He's pulling the audio and video recording of the call up to the monitor, replaying it for the team.

They don't figure it out until they are at Amity, landing with the jet and jumping from their seats.

Raven and Starfire fly ahead, and they all reach the border of Amity.

Or what of Amity remains.

Because–

The entire city is gone—!!

Complete annihilation.

(When robin finds out who did this, he will have words with them.)

"Robin," Raven waves them all over to her side. She's crouching, hand in a sphere of black, her magic. "Amity wasn't destroyed. It was relocated."

Her expression is grim. "Someone abducted a whole city."

All he does is nod, looking at the team before him.

"Someone call Herald, Titans, we got work to do. Our mission is to find Amity Park, Phantom, and save both." With sombre nods, they prepared for take off.

"Titans! Go!"

And they separate.

[yuesya]

“You need to eat me.”

The white-haired girl in front of him blinks, “That’s an odd way to start a conversation.”

Eligius briefly chokes at that uncaring, blasé response. “… I’m being serious here.”

“So you are.” Even so, the girl’s voice remains unperturbed, and her expression does not change. “Would your strange request have anything to do with the visitors who passed through recently?”

… That is a remarkably understated way of referring to the most recent Sarkaz travelers who’d visited Arkos. Travelers who’d come specifically in search of Miss Salome, too. From the heavy robes and tight wrappings that consisted their attire, from the necrosis-type Arts that they commanded, it had been obvious that they were Nachzehrers.

Nachzehrers –beings who were the very personification of war; gruesome, relentless warriors known to be devoted to the battlefield, who reveled in the slaughter.

But the standing policy of Arkos is that all visitors are welcome. Save for those who threaten the stability and wellbeing of the settlement itself, or commit crimes within its borders.

And so the Nachzehrers had been allowed to enter Arkos, just as so many others had been allowed before them, and no doubt far more would be allowed after in the future.

Eligius had regarded their Nachzehrer visitors with wariness and curiosity in the beginning. Which swiftly morphed into shock and outright alarm, when they had accosted Salome on one of her routine patrols around the mountains.

“You’re Herleva’s daughter, aren’t you?”

“My name is Naftali, a soldier who once served under Commander Herleva of the Withering Court. I apologize that it took so long for us to find you –I’ve come to bring you home.”

…

Salome had refused to leave with them.

… Much to the relief of many, Eligius included. Though their numbers were steadily increasing, it was undeniable that Salome was the heart of Arkos, and if she left, then in all likelihood they would end up scattering across the land once more. Misfits and travelers and wanderers with no place to belong, and no place to rest.

(No place to call home.)

…

Eligius had known that Salome was Sarkaz for a long time now, but he hadn’t realized that she was Nachzehrer Sarkaz. She certainly didn’t look the part; Nachzehrers were said to possess bodies that easily withered and rotted away like the necrosis Arts that they commanded, and Salome did not display any of those traits. She had a pair of distinctive Sarkaz horns sitting on her head, and that was it. Were it not for those curved horns, she probably could’ve passed as a Pythian girl with her pointed ears and long, snake-like tail covered in glittering white scales–

Or so Eligius had thought.

Because he’d seen it, the other day. Salome usually wore clothing that covered most of her skin, including a veil across her face, but he’d glimpsed her taking off her gloves –only to reveal blackened fingertips, eerily reminiscent of necrotic rot, which caused Eligius’ blood to run cold.

Was it because of her Nachzehrer blood? Was she –was she somehow rotting away? Was her Pythian blood not enough to offset the horrifying effects of her inheritance?

Wracking his brains and ruminating over what he’d overheard from the Nachzehrer visitors, there was only one potential solution that Eligius could think of. Through devouring the dead, Nachzehrers were able to add the strength of the fallen to their own, so–

“You need to eat me,” he repeats. Because if she doesn’t, if her situation worsens, then…

Salome arches an eyebrow. “Do you want to be eaten?”

…

… No. Of course not.

The day that Eligius had left Kazimierz, a broken husk of a knight who had failed his family and could no longer even properly swing a blade anymore… Eligius had thought that there no longer remained anything left for him to protect. Not that he even possessed the strength to protect anything, not as a disgraced, crippled knight driven out of his homeland.

Fate had led him to Arkos, eventually. He’d aimlessly followed a merchant caravan as a cheap hired hand, and somehow ended up staying in Arkos when a Sarkaz girl killed the head of the caravan. The man had a sexual proclivity aimed towards children, and had acted on those urges in Arkos –Salome had sliced the despicable merchant into bloody pieces for it.

Eligius had thought of his days as a knight in Kazimierz, of all the harsh training he’d undergone… only to be helpless in face of injustice and wrongdoing all the same. A knight must be honorable above all else. But what worth was there in honor when it was something that could be traded and bought by the monolithic corporations that ruled Kazimierz?

Arkos… is not perfect. The buildings are shabby and run-down, and the rooftops have a tendency to leak when it rains. There is no particular schedule for when merchants are passing through, and resources are always running tight. Sometimes, brash mercenaries end up causing trouble, even with the threat of Salome hanging over their heads.

But at some point, Arkos had grown to be precious to Eligius. The tenacity of the people that lived here, with all their storied pasts, and the young leader who never allowed the opinions of others to prevent her from doing what must be done.

Eligius is no longer a knight. With a body had been ravaged by vicious poisoning and missing his dominant sword arm, his days as a knight of glorious Kazimierz are long over.

But even so, there must be a way that he could still protect what was important to him. Even if he wasn’t the one holding the sword himself.

Eligius squares his shoulders and looks towards Salome determinedly. He knows that he is not the only one who is willing to become her strength through being devoured by her, but it’s better that a useless cripple like him becomes the first to die, so that the others–

“You don’t look like you want to die,” Salome says. Then, turns around to pick up a… shovel? From behind her? “Here.”

Eligius falters, automatically accepting the dull shovel with his sole remaining hand, “What is this?”

“A shovel,” Salome responds. Fair, but that’s not what Eligius meant– “Seeing as you have enough time on your hands to be thinking about useless things, you can go work with the others on developing the terraced gardens first.”

Eligius gives a small start, “But you–”

“I’m not interested in cannibalism. Let me know once you’ve figured out how to grow potatoes properly here.”

With that said, Salome turns and walks away.

Leaving Eligius standing in the street by himself, holding a shovel.

…

… It’s nothing but a rusty shovel, given to him haphazardly by a girl who doesn’t even bother to toss a second glance back towards him as she departs. But for some reason, the shovel rests in his hand with a greater weight than the sword he’d once held during his knighthood ceremony, and there is a strange emotion welling up within his chest–

Eligius tightens his grip on the shovel, exhaling slowly.

[auriidae]

the amount of em dashes i use when writing ethubs is frankly embarrassing

[awoogayanderes]

KISS KISS OUT OF TROUBLE

➪ request : “HI there! I just thought of this while I was making my new account but like think off this Dazai, Atsushi and Akutagawa are on a mission at a party with their s/o and they get caught so they are running from the guards or something so them and their s/o had to pretend to be a couple making out in a hallway as to not get caught anyways love your writing! have a wonderful day!” - @ghostlyintervention

➪ warnings : slightly suggestive

➪ other notes : hey guys i’m back, it’s finally summer break, I’M SO HAPPY TO BE OUT OF SCHOOL !!! and thank you for the sweet message anon :) and also this was honestly trash but i wanted to write at 2 in the morning

Osamu Dazai :

- you two are often paired up, the agency knows how you two bounce off of each other making most missions successful

- however this one didn’t go as planned, your distraction didn’t woe over the people you wanted to woe over, instead it created chaos of anger with dazai right behind you

- this wasn’t a mission where physical altercation was a good idea, so when there’s no other plan, you and dazai fled

- your escape plan didn’t exactly work, with dazai purposely leading you to the wrong places

- your mind was spinning, trying to think of a plan before both of you got arrested

- that’s when you turn to dazai, a small smirk on his face, already knowing what to do

- you sighed, knowing this fell under his plan the whole time, in matter of seconds he was basically eating your mouth as disgusting as that sounds

- once the coast was clear, you pulled away, wheezing to yourself trying to catch your breathe while side eyeing dazai

- “how about we continue this later,” the bastard smirks at you before taking your hand and leading you to the proper exit

Atsushi Nakajima :

- it’s not too often that you’re paired with atsushi, everyone knowing how flustered he is around you, even months after starting your relationship

- now the dispute at this party wasn’t either of your fault, it was just someone recognizing you as an imposter, and that’s when both you and atsushi fled

- now, both of you didn’t exactly have a plan b, you didn’t think you’d need it

- obviously now it was a regretful mistake as you’ve wandered into the third dining hall, with guards right on your heels

- finally having some to breathe after being tucked into a corner, you quickly thought of a plan that involved both of you

- without a second thought, you lunged at atsushi, kissing him like your life depended on it, the poor boy was caught in shock but he went along with it

- he genuinely didn’t know it was some type of twisted plan of yours until the guards passed you by running not suspecting anything

- once that happens, you pull away, atsushi breathing hard being taken aback

- “please let me know the next time you do that, my heart can’t bare it” the white haired boy said with rosy cheeks

Ryūnosuke Akutagawa :

- it’s extremely rare for you and akutagawa to be together on a mission, mori doesn’t like to mix relationships with work

- his temper is what got both of you in trouble, he snapped at one of the party hosts, and with that, it started a huge fight

- while akutagawa was willing to kill everyone there, you managed to persuade him to not spill any blood on the shiny floors, instead just run

- both of you didn’t know where you were and aku’s grumbles of displeasure didn’t quite help

- that’s when you thought to yourself what the hell were you going to do to keep everyone alive and both of you out of trouble

- then an idea lit up, you slowly turned to akutagawa, “ryū please just go along with what i’m about to do,” you say and right as he was about to question you, you pushed your lips onto his, him almost pulling away

- it took all his might not to freak out on affection overload but it worked as no guards were chasing you now, instead running in the other direction

- as you pull back, akutagawa immediately turns around from you, face beet red

- “let’s just leave” he said, coughing into his hand, not looking back

[writingtraumaforever]

A Courtship Christmas: Chapter 4

Notes: Hello! With the Sonadow tag booming right now after the movie, we have a LOT of new readers! I want to welcome everyone along for the ride, and thank you all for joining! Hope you all enjoy this chapter and check out my blog’s writing masterpost for more of my work! Also a quick reminder that this series was started before the movie came out, so there will be minor inconsistencies with the canon movies but nothing too major.

Summary: Shadow faces the ghost of Christmas past.

Courtship Series Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Sonic can’t find his voice. He can’t find his sanity, actually, because this is insane!! Maria can’t be alive! She died! It’s part of Shadow’s whole angsty backstory that made him into the anti-hero he is today! Sonic is pretty sure he’d know if he got such a big plot point like that wrong. And yet here standing before him is a girl with long, blonde hair, big, blue eyes, and that same wide, bright smile Sonic has seen in all the pictures. She’s wearing a red Christmas sweater and some matching ear muffs instead of her typical headband and rainbow colored sweater— but it’s still her, right???

“Are you okay??” she quirks a brow at him, her face turning to one of slight amusement but also one of concern, “You look a little.. green.”

Her accent is definitely Polish which Sonic doesn’t remember Shadow mentioning at any point. He assumed she just sounded like Gerald when she talked.

It takes Sonic way too long to answer, but he eventually does. And when he does, it maybe overcompensates a bit and is way too energetic.

“That’s funny!” Sonic practically yells with the widest smile he’s ever mustered, “Because I’m usually told I’m blue! Ha!”

She flinches slightly at his suddenly louder voice, but her smile remains as she gives a little giggle, “You’re weird..”

Sonic snorts at this, blushing a bit as he realizes that yeah, he’s being weird. He should stop.

“Well I am alien, in my defense,” Sonic smirks, leaning against the door by pulling it closer to him, so that she can’t see inside.

“That’s true,” she grins, tilting her head at him, “So what’s your name then?”

“I’m Sonic,” he answers quickly, “I came with Shadow.”

Saying he’s his boyfriend still feels so bold, and with his nerves already worked up currently, he may throw up if he adds to that.

“I assumed,” she giggles, rocking back and forth from her toes to her heels with her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes watching him filled with wonder and curiosity, “You two look a lot alike from what I’ve seen in pictures of him.”

“We get that a lot,” Sonic chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck and finding himself sweating a bit. Is it hot in here?? It’s definitely hot in here, right.

“So he’s here then??” she asks, her brows knitting with a hopeful smile, “Sorry if I sound pushy, I’ve just been dying to meet him.”

Very poor choice of words there, kiddo.

“Uhh..,” Sonic clears his throat, thinking on his feet before answering as casually as he can, “He’s kinda napping, right now.. we’re from a different time zone and all, so he’s pretty beat. Didn’t get much sleep last night, and we got up pretty early to get here.”

“Oh,” her smile falters only slightly, but she stays upbeat for the most part, “That’s okay! I can wait then. Wouldn’t want him grumpy from being tired. Though, he’s pretty grumpy in general, right??” She giggles at this, talking like she knows him when she clearly doesn’t.. or does she?

“Right..,” Sonic says with an uneasy and lopsided smile, “..I’m sorry, I’ll tell him you stopped by. What was your name again??..”

”Where are my manners?” she rolls her eyes at herself, holding her hand out to him for him to shake, “I’m Marzia. Marzia Robotnik.”

“Marzia,” Sonic repeats slowly, eyes never leaving her as he reaches a hand out to shake hers.

That’s.. real close to Maria.

None of this is sitting great with him.

“It’s nice to meet you,” he smiles nonetheless.

“You too, Sonic,” she grins, nodding her head as she retracts her hand from his, “You both will be at dinner, right??”

“Uhh- Hope to be!” he grins nervously, not offering any promises.

“Good,” she giggles before backing up, “I’ll let you two settle in and rest. Please tell Shadow I am so glad he’s here when he wakes up!”

“I will!”

And with that, she’s running off down the hall again, Mr. Tanaka waiting for her at the end of the hall with a smile on his face as he places a hand on her head and escorts her back down the stairs.

Sonic waits until they’re out of sight before he’s quickly closing the door and pressing his back to it, eyes wide and staring at Shadow now who is looking right back at him from the bed with fear in his eyes.

“Who was it??” Shadow asks before Sonic even has a chance to think of how to explain what he just saw, let alone tell Shadow, “You look like you’ve seen a ghost..”

“Well,” Sonic chokes out in an unusually high-pitched tone, clearing his throat before trying again, “It-… I-… dude, I’m not sure what I just saw..”

“What do you mean??” Shadow asks with knitted brows, more anxiety seeming to pour into his tone as his fingers curl into the comforter on either side of himself.

“Okay— let’s just breathe a second,” Sonic offers, walking towards Shadow again, but Shadow isn’t having it.

“Sonic..”

“We don’t know anything for certain, and we’ve seen some crazy shit— but not that crazy, right??”

“Sonic, what is it???”

“You’re stressed out as is, Shadow, and I don’t wanna make things worse because I’m misunderstanding something or jumping to conclusions—“

Shadow grabs Sonic by his wrists when Sonic is close enough and clutches them together in front of him, the both of them meeting eyes and Sonic’s heart stops. Shadow looks so scared.. so vulnerable.. and so lost.

“Just tell me.”

Sonic swallows.

“I think I just talked to Maria..”

Shadow blinks, big, brown eyes laced with crimson searching Sonic’s own emerald ones as if looking for some sort of cruel joke or a hint of sarcasm that he’s not catching. Shadow never has been the best at catching onto vocal cues when it comes to making jokes or being witty, but he’s certain he’s missing nothing here. Sonic is serious. Very much so. He looks just as shocked and scared as Shadow imagines he himself looks..

“But… but that’s impossible, right?? I mean, maybe I’m missing something here—“

Sonic can’t even finish the thought before Shadow is gone. The sound of air shoes kicking on and then a gust of wind, and Sonic is left standing at an empty bedside with Shadow having fled out the door.

“Fuck,” Sonic curses in a whisper before speeding off after him.

He should’ve worded that better. He shouldn’t have dropped it on him like that.

Shadow is racing down the stairs already, sliding down the railing with zero care to being a good guest at this point.

How could Maria be here???

How could she be alive???

Perhaps they managed to save her after the GUN invasion, and he was none the wiser??? Or maybe they cloned her??? They’re Robotnik’s, he doesn’t know what sort of mad scientry they’re capable of, but cloning isn’t far off the realm of possibilities with everything Shadow himself has endured. Or maybe time travel?? Or dimension hopping?? With chaos being experimented with, it’s quite possible—

He skids to a stop at the bottom of the stairs, his ear twitching at the sound of voices in the library..

“Shadow, wait—!”

He hears Sonic hiss from the top of the stairs, but he ignores this. His eyes are wide as he quickly steps to the doorway of the library and looks for the hosts of the voices.

There’s a group of children there. Two boys and a girl. Shadow hardly notices the boys, though. His eyes are locked wide and far too full of hope to be hesitant on the girl..

She’s facing away from him. Her hair long, about to her waist. Blonde. She’s about the same height Maria was.. same build. She’s got her hands on her hips and is scolding the two boys currently— all the same spunk and defensiveness as Maria can be seen from that alone.

He approaches her quietly. Slowly. Carefully.

His heart is pounding so hard in his ears, he can barely hear what she’s saying.

“He’s sleeping!” her voice sounds like Maria’s, just a different accent.. maybe she picked it up from living here?? “You two are going to just have to be patient and let him rest! He’s not a toy, he’s a person! He doesn’t have to tend to your beck and call just because you want to see him right now!”

“Uhh, Marzia?” one of the boys says, interrupting her tantrum with wide eyes staring at Shadow approaching from behind her.

“Don’t interrupt me!”

“Look..”

She pauses at this, following the boy’s pointing finger behind her and turning to find Shadow standing there a few feet before her..

Her eyes widen down at him..

Her big… brown eyes..

They’re… brown..

Sonic stands in the doorway watching, his own eyes wide in concern and fear at the sight before him.

This is either going to be really good or really bad..

“You’re awake,” she smiles, her eyes twinkling from the reflection of the fireplace as she grins at him.

Shadow just stares..

She looks just like her. Freckles speckled across her face— Shadow use to count them.. he wonders if this girl has ninety-eight, too. Same button nose. Same blonde hair that was unruly from antics she had been up to, never one to sit still..

Same pale skin..

But there’s differences..

The mole under her lower lip on the right side is missing. Her eyebrows are darker in color, making her face appear less soft than Maria’s had been and more defined..

and her eyes…

The cool, clear blue eyes that reminded him of the night sky right as the stars began to appear in it…

They were replaced by brown pools of mud. Like chocolate, or a deep caramel.

Not familiar.

Not hers.. not his Maria’s..

“I..,” Shadow tries, but his voice fails him. His hand twitches at his side as if to reach but he doesn’t. Instead it clenches there, shaky..

Sonic watches helplessly from the doorway, his eyes folding back and his tail sagging behind him as his frown becomes more prominent..

It’s not her..

Shadow is quiet for too long.

The boys behind the Maria-look-alike grow impatient with him.

“Come on then,” one spats with a huff, “Talk!”

Shadow flinches at the sudden snap from his daze, blinking his glossy eyes over to the red-headed boy who appears a year or two older than the girl.

“Yeah, come on! Show us what makes you so special!” the youngest of the children speaks, strawberry blond and full of freckles. He too seems impatient with Shadow.

“Stop being so rude!” the girl snaps at the two, turning to them again to stomp her foot at them, “You’re going to scare him off!”

Shadow stumbles back a few steps, feeling like the world is spinning and his heart is failing. Sonic takes a few steps forward to meet him halfway, catching Shadow in his arms with his chest pressed to the hybrid’s back and his arms hugged up under his partner’s.

“Shads, easy..,” he whispers, brows knit up tight as he presses his hand in Shadow’s chest fur to rest over his heart, “I’m right here. You’re okay. Just breathe—“

“Don’t touch me—“ Shadow twists in his arms, feeling incredibly overwhelmed and overstimulated as the three children bicker before him. Managing to jerk from Sonic’s hold, he turns to rush out of the room only to be halted in his tracks by a woman now standing in the doorway of the library.

Terra.

He recognizes her from photos on file Rouge had collected.

“I see the children have made their introduction. Rather rudely, if I may add,” her voice comes loud and stern, her eyes glaring at the three bickering kids in front of the fireplace.

They each three stop immediately, wide eyes staring at her before they all apologize in unison, “Sorry, Grandma Terra..”

The two boys look grouchy about their apology, but the girl seems genuine. Disappointed in herself.

“Mm..,” the woman sighs before returning her gaze to Shadow, “I too apologize. I.. didn’t want you to be introduced this way. I had hoped to greet you for myself beforehand..”

Shadow stares up at her, still feeling dazed and dizzy but trying his best to regain his composure and not make a scene by rushing out now that his host was here.

He doesn’t speak. So Terra continues.

“Would you and your friend care to join me in my office?” she tilts her head at him, Shadow staying quiet a moment before nodding a bit reluctantly.

She nods in return before turning to walk down the hall, “Follow me, then.”

Shadow spares a glance back to Sonic who is watching him as if for permission to join them. Shadow merely offers an apologetic knit of his brows for his momentary outburst towards him only moments ago before reaching a hand out for Sonic’s.

Sonic takes it without a thought, following him down the hall behind their host.

She isn’t at all what Sonic had been expecting. Perhaps he had been expecting someone older and more brittle. This woman was nothing like that.

She did in fact look like a grown up Maria. But her hair was more strawberry than blonde, a few gray streaks in it that had come from age. It was pinned up neatly on top of her head, her skin resembling porcelain without freckle or blemish, but having a few wrinkles in the corners of her eyes and around her lips. She wore a nice, red top that had a bow on one shoulder, and a formal black skirt with black boots to match. She looked very professional, very put-together, very classy.

She was intimidating… but not scary.

“I want to apologize again for not being able to greet you,” she sighs once they reach a closed door, opening it and turning on the light to reveal the warm and comfortable office inside, “I was tending to some business with my lawyer with GUN, and—“

She pauses when Shadow’s eyes meet hers, sighing quietly through her nose before offering a small smile, “None of that is why you’re here, though. So let’s not talk about that, hm?”

Shadow merely nods a bit before walking himself and Sonic into the office, Terra closing the door behind them.

“Now for proper introductions,” she says with a softer smile, “I’m Terra Robotnik,” she holds her hand out. Shadow stares at it a bit too long since he’s holding onto Sonic’s hand with his dominant one for comfort, so Sonic quickly shakes it himself with his own free hand.

“I’m Sonic,” Sonic introduces, gaining the attention of the woman, “Shadow RSVP’d a plus one? That’s me.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Sonic,” she nods politely, “I trust your travels here were safe?”

“Oh yeah. Nothing like a good ‘ole warp ring to get ya places quick!”

She blinks at this before offering a breathy little laugh, “Right, um-… And you’re Shadow..”

Her gaze returns to Shadow who still looks pretty out of it. His eyes are foggy and his cheeks look paler than normal.

He doesn’t shake her hand.

Instead, he looks right at this woman after a long moment of staring at nothing and speaks in a rattled and raspy voice, “Who is she??”

Sonic’s brows knit at this, squeezing Shadow’s hand a bit tighter in his own to try and calm his nerves some. But Shadow doesn’t seem too reachable at the moment. He needs answers. Explanations. And he needs them now.

The woman seems to know immediately what he’s talking about, sighing before retracting her extended hand towards him and moving to her desk,

“She would be my daughter.”

She opens the top drawer of her desk to pull out an album, opening it up to pull out one photo from the front and another from the back.

“Her name is Marzia,” she explains softly, sliding the two photos across her desk for Shadow to see for himself. He steps over to investigate the two.. one being of Maria before she passed. Another of the strange girl from the library.. they’re nearly identical.

“It’s.. uncanny, yes?” Terra chuckles breathlessly, her smile bittersweet, “…I never knew my sister. She was gone before I was born,” she explains softly, her eyes lifting to look at Shadow who is now picking the photos up to look at the more closely. Compare the two.

“But I looked at her photos all the time growing up.. watched the old home videos. And as my darling daughter grew older, it was undeniable that she took after her deceased aunt..”

“How old is she?” Shadow asks quietly, eyes never leaving the photos.

“She’ll be twelve next year,” she answers quietly, “I had her late in life—“

“Where is her father??”

“There isn’t one,” and this gains Shadow’s attention, curious eyes looking up at her now, Sonic taking the chance to step closer and look at the photos for himself. It is uncanny..

“I had my eggs frozen when I was thirty..,” she explained, “As you can imagine, family was a difficult thing for me growing up. My parents thought having me would fill the void in their life that Maria had left.. sadly, they never were the same.. divorce was inevitable. I blamed myself for not being good enough. For not being more like my sister.. I idolized her for a long time.. and then I hated her.. now I simply miss her.. which is silly because I never met her,” she admits with a little knit in her brow, Shadow looking at her with a purposely neutral expression. Void of emotion..

“..I never married. I dove myself into my studies, my work. I didn’t have time for trivial things like relationships or love.., but as I got older, I thought that perhaps I’d regret this one day. Life has a way of making you question the present constantly and always look to the future by studying your past, you see. So I had my eggs frozen. It was the best decision I ever made, too. The father was simply an anonymous sperm donor that I selected based on his file, and the egg grew until the embryo was ready to be implanted in surrogate’s uterus— carrying her myself at my age was a risk I didn’t want to take.. nine months later, I had my baby girl. And it was like fate had mocked me with how much she resembled my sister. But never once did I not love that girl.. not for a moment.”

Shadow listens in silence, his eyes staring straight into Terra’s as if to tell if there’s any deception behind them. He sees none. Just a woman who has endured a lot in her lifetime.

“…Once I had her, family became far more important to me,” she explains with a sigh, “I reached out to family I hadn’t in years. My first cousins..”

This gains Sonic’s attention, eyes snapping up to her as he speaks without really meaning to, “Even—“

“Ivo, yes,” she admits with a roll of her eyes, “He was a Robotnik scorned by our grandfather’s sins, too. I thought perhaps he’d understand.. instead, it seems he’s followed in his footsteps.”

Sonic snorts, “That’s an understatement.”

“Indeed,” she shrugs, “It’s a shame. I think if he had been loved properly and seen how he could be happy with a family, things may have been different for him..”

It’s an odd thought. A world without Eggman.

Would Shadow even be here awake now without him?? Or would Knuckles and Tails be part of the Wachowski’s???

Sonic doesn’t know, but he doesn’t wanna think about it either.

So he doesn’t.

“What made you reach out to me??” Shadow asks the inevitable question now, “…Why now??..”

The woman takes a long breath, moving to pull out her office chair and take a seat at her desk with a heavy sigh. She gestures to the two seat in front of the desk for Sonic and Shadow to sit as well, Sonic being the first to do so and Shadow watching him before reluctantly doing the same.

They hold hands.

The woman looks at their joined hands and seems to take note of this but says nothing of it.

“..For a long time, GUN lied about what happened on the ARK,” she explains, her eyes staring blankly at the door now, “Maria was sick.. my parents had done all they could for her, but there was nothing that could be done here on earth.. Gerald Robotnik swore he could cure her if he could only take her to the ARK. My parents weren’t so easily persuaded, having little faith in Gerald’s research.. so he took her by force.”

Shadow takes note she calls him ‘Gerald’. Not Grandfather.

He also takes note that Maria was taken by force.. something he wasn’t aware of.

“GUN showed up at my parents’ doorstep. There was no arrest or guns drawn, but it was made very clear that this wasn’t optional. Maria was part of Gerald’s bargaining with GUN to work for them. So they took her. She was none-the-wiser, my parents not wanting her to be scared. They knew Gerald was insane, but he’d never hurt her. He loved her far too much. So they packed her things and told her they’d write her letters and send her care packages every month that GUN sent supplies to the station.. and she left with Gerald under the guise that this would cure her. That she’d come home..”

Terra takes another deep breath, blinking away some mist from her eyes as they fall on Shadow, “…We both know she never did..”

Shadow doesn’t say anything, brows furrowed a bit as he looks at her. Sonic squeezes his hand a bit tighter..

“…For many years, my family was told that it was Gerald’s experiment that had gone rogue. That Gerald had dealt with forces far beyond his control and paid the price.. we thought—,” her voice cracks, brows furrowed as she stares down at her desk with a mix of loss and anger. She blinks a few tears away, shame in her eyes as she looks at Shadow, “We thought you had killed her…”

Shadow’s brows knit a bit at that, his jaw tight and his fingers clutching around Sonic’s tight.

The very idea he’d ever bring harm to Maria in any way.. it made him sick.

It was moments like these that his faith in GUN dwindled. That it became hard to see the good in them. How they’ve grown, how they’ve changed for the better.. how Shadow is doing good with them now..

“..I was brought into this world believing that Project Shadow had taken my older sister from me,” she whispers quietly, leaning across her desk to pick up the picture of Maria and look at it, “…My hate for you ran deep.. the very thing that was meant to cure my sister… destroyed her..”

Shadow’s ears twitch back at that, Sonic’s brows furrowing at her poor choice of words..

He doesn’t like this.. doesn’t like how little Shadow’s feelings are being taken into consideration with all of this. He was invited here with no explanation. He was bombarded with a Maria look-a-like with no warning. And now he was being put through the emotional ringer and for what??

So the Robotniks could get some closure and feel better about themselves??? Shadow wasn’t their charity case. He wasn’t there to make them look good or feel redeemed in some way.

He went through more than any of them..

Sonic’s quills rise a bit in defense..

“But when the Project Shadow’s files were leaked to the public.. I discovered the truth,” she continues, looking to Shadow then, “…She was taken from both of us.”

Shadow doesn’t speak. Doesn’t feel he had the right to.. he had failed this family in so many ways.. sure, he hadn’t been the one to kill her. But he hadn’t cured her, either..

It was his creation that led to her demise..

“…So here I am, Shadow,” she uses his name, at least, “…trying. I’m trying to understand my sister,” a tear falls from her eyes now, her voice shaking and her hand holding Maria’s picture trembling. “I’m trying to understand why she loved you so much.. why she was willing to—“ her voice cracks, swallowing as she tries again, “to sacrifice her precious life for yours.. the life of a simply little hedgehog that talks.. what makes your life so much more important than hers.. that she’d give hers up instead of come back home to us all—“

“Okay, that’s enough,” Sonic rises from his chair, Shadow flinching at the movement. He was shaking. Quivering. He looks like he’s lived the horrors of the ARK all over again, like he’s reliving it all and left scared and paralyzed by what has happened. Sonic won’t stand for it.

He moves to stand between Shadow and Terra, his brows furrowed and jaw locked, “He’s not here to help you understand. He was here looking for family. If you’re too blind to see what makes Shadow so special— to see what made Maria so special??? That’s on you.”

“Sonic..,” Shadow’s voice comes quiet and weak behind him.

“You obviously know nothing about your sister if you don’t know that it wasn’t Shadow, it was just her being her. You don’t deserve answers if you can’t even see them when they’re right in front of you.”

“Sonic..”

“How dare you??? Invite him here for what— just to make you feel less like your grandfather??”

“Sonic!”

Sonic stops at that, turning to look at Shadow and see him looking up with a pleading expression.

Sonic’s quills lower a bit at this, his eyes softening slightly at the sight of his distressed boyfriend..

Then he looks back to Terra with a glare, her eyes locked wide on his as well.

“…We’re out of here.”

He grabs Shadow’s hand and drags him up out of his chair, pulling him to the door without giving him much of an option.

Shadow looks back at Terra as he’s pulled along, watching her wide and teary eyes as the door is opened. When he turns back around, he sees that little girl sitting there outside the door. She’s knocked back— having been listening with her ear pressed to the door.

Marzia.

Sonic doesn’t pay her much mind, stepping around her with Shadow’s hand still in his and a mumbled “Sorry, kid.”

Shadow’s eyes watch her as they step over her, her own eyes big and round and distressed by their exit.

“Wait!” she calls, trying to scramble to her feet now to catch up to the two, “Wait— Shadow!”

Sonic ignores this, tugging Shadow still. He won’t allow this. He won’t sit by while they all use Shadow like this and leave Shadow with nothing but an even more broken heart and heavier guilt. He won’t.

Shadow’s head turns to Sonic, pulling his hand from Sonic’s but Sonic snatches his wrist instead.

“Sonic, wait—“

“We’re leaving, Shadow.”

Shadow swallows hard, head turning back to the little girl as she manages to get to her feet and chase them a few steps— then she falls back to the ground with a little grunt, her breathing sounding wheezy and ragged..

Her hand reaches out to him weakly.

“Shadow..”

Shadow’s eyes widen at this, his mind flashing back to a similar image where Maria had been lying bloody on the ground reaching for him..

‘Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog..‘

His hand jerks from Sonic’s, Sonic spinning around but not able to stop him before he’s rushing down the hall back to the little girl.

Crouching down beside her in an instant, his hand moves to hold hers and help her sit up a bit, his other hand rubbing her back in slow circles as she looks up at him with teary, brown eyes.

“Breathe..,” he whispers quietly, brows knit up tight as he demonstrates by breathing in slowly through his nose and then out his mouth. Deep and deliberate.

She nods, sniffling a bit before she slowly takes a deep breath in and then blows it out as he demonstrates..

“Do you have an inhaler?” he asks, his voice so soft and gentle and nearly a wisp in the wind with how quiet it is.

She nods, still trying to match his breathing as she points a bit shaky towards the stairs, “I-in my room..”

Shadow’s eyes turn to Sonic then, looking at him in silent desperation.

And as much as Sonic hates the reason they’re here, this kid is innocent. And Shadow… Shadow needs this, right now. To help her..

So he doesn’t hesitate to dash up the stairs and find the girls room, searching and finding her inhaler in a matter of seconds before returning to the hall to hand it to Shadow who then hands it to her..

Sonic has never seen this side of Shadow.. the kind to mend.. heal..

She takes a couple of deep breaths of the inhaler, her breathing evening out now. Sonic’s eyes drift up to see Terra standing in the doorway with wide eyes, watching the entire thing. His brows furrow a bit at her, but then return to Shadow and the little girl..

Shadow’s eyes are on her. Only on her. Like she’s the only thing in the world at that moment..

Yeah..

They’re not going home, are they.

[stelladess]

I find it odd when people frame lore revelations as being some sort of opposite to character development as they often are pretty heavily connected.

There are tons of examples like the mechanics of how the seaborne works being actively thematically important for multiple of the stories with them for example.

Kal´tsit being a synthetic being created by a now gone precursor civilization isn't just random lore fluff, it informs her character. Why she feels isolated and set apart from people and it makes her strong love for the people of Terra more meaningful because it would be easier for her to justify that she does not have to care about them because she is not one of them. But she does care about them! She considers herself part of Terra and responsible for helping people, something which clearly makes her feel very guilty for "failing".

spoilers for Babel event and chapter 14 below:

The doctor´s entire motives for betraying Theresa only make sense from their past and the goals of the precursor civilization. Those reveals do not undermine the character drama but enhance it, the contrast between the doctor wanting to be able to help people like Kal´tsit, Amiya or Theresa clashing with their mission to ensure originium absorbs everything. They know what they are doing is wrong but they feel like all choices are wrong and the one they have a duty to fulfill is the one that required betraying Theresa. I also think a nice detail is after the doctor made up their mind to betray Theresa they start referring to Kal´tsit as AMa-10 in their inner monologues and stop trying to think about Amiya at all. Pressumably sort of trying to dehumanise or ignore the people they know they will hurt because it makes it psychologically easier for them to go through with it, this is especially notable since the doctor gave Kal´tsit her name in the first place.

And when we get a bunch of weird reveals about originium and the past civilization in chapter 14... its mainly used to get some interesting character interactions between Kal´tsit and other characters and to facilitate the situation that allows for the confrontation with Theresa, also the stuff relating to the sarkaz souls stuck there is to explain why Theresa would willingly work with Theresis despite his uhm... evil aspirations, furthermore it is also to finally reveal a bit more about what Priestess was actually like as a character.

Heck back in Lone trail while the stronger character stuff was elsewhere (I especially love the Ifrit and Rosmontis focused stuff) the sarcophagi and Friston stuff is mostly to give some more insight into characters like Ho´oleyhak, Kal´tstit and doctor, introducing us to Mark Max and giving an actually believable reason for Kal´tsit having to burn her bridges with the Tin Man, causing Rhodes to be in pretty hot water with the Columbian government.

I find the idea that the story is deciding to "stop doing character focus to do lore" absurd quite frankly.

World building is important! What makes Arknights unique compared to a lot of other popular gacha games is in large part the world and history. Arknights characters are well written, but in particular they are well written in the sense that Arknights is good at showing how the world they live in shape people into who they are. Learning more about that world to explore it in greater depth is not contradictory to the goal of interesting character writing, it helps it.

[yzafre]

The thing about Ventus as we're introduced to him in BBS is, for me, that he has a lot of right instincts and feelings, but not (yet) the maturity to properly communicate and act on them.

Because if you look at what he says in the game - hey something bad's coming, we should stay together, we should support each other, we should not spy on each other and mess with other's agency at an outsider's behest - I mean... he's right! He is, in fact, right about that!

I very firmly believe that if they'd stuck together a lot of the issues in BBS would have been either avoided or mitigated. Like imagine if you had this unshakeable understanding of what's going wrong and what you need to do to fix it but no one will listen to you. Without experience and maturity guiding you on how to handle it, I can see why he gets very yell-y and snappish and impulsive.

The problem, of course, is that just because it's understandable does not mean it's a good way to handle things. It's still an immature course of action! I know there's been people that find him very whiny, and on top of that, uh, telling Aqua she's awful was not the best look, Ven, what the heck.

I think another aspect of this is he's still filtering these things he instinctively knows through a rather... self-centered? Point of view. He's more focused on how their actions are making him feel, rather than understanding why Terra and Aqua are acting the way they are, why they don't see the truths he does.

We joke a lot about "your experience is not universal" but honestly I think realizing that is a huge stepping stone in a person's path of growth. Looking outside yourself to realize other people are have their own internal worlds guiding them.

That's why the "What you are is Darkness?" scene in KH3 hits so well for him! He's both finally able to communicate why he finds his and Vanitas' situation so awful rather than just yelling a lot, but also he understands and acknowledges Vanitas' point of view, even if he probably still knows/feels its not the best one.

[terracyte]

happy rba for the soul

related fic for ur consideration: please, find me

[nellasbookplanet]

The three tiers of queer sff:

Broke: what is worldbuilding? Made in a lab to be as blandly inoffensive as possible. Time to randomly namedrope terms like 'nonbinary' and 'ace' while doing zero work actually incorporating them into the world or characters and have someone give a speech about how valid they are. Lines like 'I'm too ace for this' while never exploring the concept of asexuality or aromanticism and still having very central romance plotlines is common. I hate it here learn how to write realistic dialogue and fully realized characters I'm begging.

Woke: more ore less typical sci-fi and fantasy but It’s Queer Now. Might include in-universe queerphobia to be struggled against or may have queer identities be fully normalized. Can be done bad or well depending on the skill of the writer. A good way to explore our contemporary ideas of gender and sexuality or to have a bit of a power fantasy with lesbian princesses and trans knights. There will probably be a bisexual love triangle.

Bespoke: what is a gender. What is monogamy. What is polyamory. What is romance. What is platonic. Time to show you the most fucked up uncategorizable relationship you’ve ever seen. There may be weird ass metaphorical sex

[sleepyfan-blog]

Adonis' Care

Author’s Note: This is the next part of the Raised On Terra AU. First. Previous. Next. Thank you to @kit-williams for allowing me to borrow Adonis! First. Previous. Next

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel @sharenadraculea @i-am-a-dragon34 @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan 

Warnings: None? Ask me to tag something if it bothers you

Summary: Adonis soothes his fussy charges during Naptime

Adonis sighed a little as he heard one of his charges crying in his crib, yet again. He had just left the Primarch's room in order to refresh himself and to eat something and had been gone for less than ten minutes. If he did not immediately return, more of the other infant generals would start to cry in sympathy and it really was for the best to simply nip that in the bud. Especially since at this time, it was currently Naptime, and if the other primarchs were awoken from their sleep it would take hours to calm and settle all of them down once again. 

Time was difficult to tell when one spent prolonged periods of time in this part of the imperial palace, as there were no windows that lead to the outside, no chronometers or other time keeping devices on the walls, and the hallways had been deliberately made with very minute changes to confuse any would-be intruders who had somehow managed to get this deep into the Imperial Palace. The primarchs were growing at a steady pace, with most of them having learned how to make small sounds that weren't crying. Sixteen had giggled the other day and Adonis had felt something in his hearts melt at the innocent sound. All four of his charges smiled up at him when he held them, and settled down once they were up in his arms.

Fourteen is the fussiest of the four of them, and had been suffering from colic in the evenings, but even he settled down once picked up and held close. One tiny thumb firmly placed in his mouth, as a tiny ear pressed against his chest, listening to the steady beat of Adonis' hearts. As an Aquilan Shield he interacted with baseline humanity much more frequently than many of the golden host in a positive and/or neutral manner, however that did not mean that he had much interaction with human children, especially infants as young as the primarchs. The week worth of childcare training had felt almost like a punishment at the time, boring and largely a repeating of completely understandable rules and things to watch out for.

Now, as he nearly stumbled into the primarchs' nursery, having spent maybe four hours asleep in the past seven days due to the crying of his charges - primarily Fourteen who did have an Apothecary visit scheduled later today... Which Adonis was not looking forward to. Of the four of them, Fourteen was the most introverted and did not like interacting with new people, becoming withdrawn and weepy whenever he realized that there was a new person near him.

And, given the fact that Fourteen showed signs of being one of the most powerful psykers among the primarchs (save for fifteen who had been purpose built to be a stable and powerful psyker) his budding warp abilities granted him the ability to sense either the minds, souls or emotional cores of the beings around him within a certain radius - a radius at which the Emperor was currently having tested. Of course, who knew how much his nascent psykery was or was not being affected by both the infant blank that lived and slept in the same room he did, but also the adult blank that was quite often in the primarchs' room, tending to his own charges. 

As he had expected, Fourteen was awake and crying, kicking his little feet back and forth, waving his clenched fists around his bassinet, having managed to throw his blanket off of himself in a display of strength that would be remarkable, were he a baseline human. 

Adonis sighed softly as he walked over to Fourteen, calling out to the little one as he picked him up "Easy... Easy now, little one. I've got you. You're safe, and your brothers are safe. There's no reason to cry. We're going to go to the medicae soon, in order to find out why you're crying so much. Hopefully they'll know how to fix it and your tummy will stop hurting or whatever is making you cry so much will stop." 

Fourteen's wails slowly stopped as golden eyes so similar to His peered into him. The infant sniffled a little before sighing, resting his head against Adonis' forearm, eyes closing again. 

Adonis chuckled softly, pulling out a tissue from one of his pockets and gently wiped away the tears from the little one's cheeks and chin. He lightly patted dry the onesie fourteen was wearing. "That's it... Go back to sleep little general. You're safe now." he rocked the infant slowly back and forth as Fourteen slowly settled down.

The Aquilian Shield waited until he was certain that Fourteen was soundly asleep before lowering him back into his bassinet slowly, so as to not wake him up. The infant primarch preferred to sleep in a caretaker's arms, but the Emperor insisted that coddling the primarchs like that was to weaken and soften the edges they would need to be successful generals. 

As the Emperor decreed, so Adonis would obey, even as long buried instincts wanted nothing more than to cuddle the precious infants in his care every moment he was allowed to do so. Fourteen continued to nap peacefully and Adonis turned, about to leave the room when he heard baby babbling from one of his other charges.

"Ahh... Ooooh... Ah! Aah!" Seventeen cooed, having somehow managed to flip himself onto his belly, despite the perfect swaddle that Adonis had put him into on the infant's back - it was safer for infants to sleep on their backs, then on their bellies for a number of reasons. 

"Hmmm? Did you say something, young one?" Adonis called out, smiling softly as he walked over to Seventeen's bassinet. "It's naptime, little one. You must be quiet, so as to not to wake your brothers." He pitched his voice low and soft, in the hopes of not waking up any of the others. Exhaustion sung in his bones, but he was a Custodes. A week with scant sleep was nothing to him. This was a trial he would be able to overcome with ease and grace.

Seventeen waved both of his tiny hands in Adonis' direction "Ah! Ahhh! Ah!" he vocalized.

"Do you want up? Did you see me holding your brother, and want to be held yourself?" The Aquilan Shield asked, the smile on his face widening a little, despite himself. 

"Ah! Ahh! Ah!" Seventeen's vocalizations were getting louder, and it was only a matter of time before he woke up one or more of the others, if he hadn't already.

"Alright, alright. I'm coming, little one. No need to be so demanding." Adonis rumbled, charmed despite himself. He carefully picked up Seventeen, making sure to support his head in the process. They'd recently been able to support their heads on their own, but habit was a tricky thing to break... Besides, he wanted to be careful with the infant generals while they were so vulnerable. While they theoretically could sustain more physical damage than a custodes and healed if given the proper amount of nutrition and their initial wounds properly cleaned... The last thing he wanted was to hurt them. It went against his orders as a caretaker and... The thought of raising a hand to hurt any of them made his skin crawl. 

Seventeen stopped cooing the moment he was resting against Adonis' chest, his breathing evening out into his normal sleep pattern, one tiny hand lightly curled into the cloth of Adonis' tunic.

If Adonis waited a couple of minutes longer than he strictly needed to, after Seventeen fell asleep, no one would know. He was the only caretaker in the Priamrchs' room and he knew for a fact that there were no security cameras in this room - it was too much of a risk for the enemies of mankind if they caught so much as a holopict of the infant primarchs outside of the stasis chambers that most of those in the know about the Primarch Project believed them to be. The forces of The Great Enemy were tirelessly and maliciously working to try and twist and corrupt all that they could - and would soon send an infiltration force in order to try and steal away the Primarchs from their father. From Terra.

Captain-General Valdor had several traps set in place for these would-be thieves and saboteurs. But should they manage to slip the net, or manage to get anywhere near the room where the Primarchs were being held, Adonis would fight until his dying breath to keep his charges safe and free from their tainted clutches. He was absolutely certain he wasn't the only one of the caretakers to feel that way.

Twelve woke abruptly and began to sob, briefly startling Adonis. The Custodian swiftly made his way over to the empathic baby Primarch, murmuring "Easy... Easy little one. You're alright. You're safe. It's okay... No need to cry.... No tears need be shed. I just felt a little too protective for a moment there. I'm sorry for waking you up, little star." He had forced his emotions back into a semblance of calm as he picked up the infant primarch, as if he didn't while he was holding onto Twelve, it would not matter how he rocked or shushed the infant primarch. He would scream and wail, feeling the emotions of the one touching him. 

Twelve snuffled and whimpered for several minutes before settling back into sleep, yawning adorably as he did so.

Adonis did not fight his responding yawn, exhaustion singing deeper into his bones. The chairs were comfortable in this room... And Twelve would be secure enough in his arms, even sleeping...

Another yawn left the Aquilan Shield as he shuffled over to the nearest chair, sitting down in it heavily, eyes closing as he rearranged how he was holding Twelve to make sure that the little one would be safe as they both slept, as sleep took him. 

[bellart]

No one gets her like I do istg dc hire me 🙏🙏

[auriidae]

wrote ethubs fanfiction at a club today. i am COMMITTED to the grind

[writingtraumaforever]

A Courtship Christmas: Chapter 3

Notes: The movie got my Courtship Series heart racing, y'all. And I'm also so pleased that the movie didn't actually differ too far from the minimal assumptions I've written in this series so far. So the series is still readable and makes sense even after the movie! YAY!

Summary: Sonic and Shadow arrive at the Robotnik's for Christmas, and are greeted by a very... very shocking person.

Courtship Masterpost!

Link to my AO3!

Start:

Preparations turn out to be a very serious matter to Shadow, which honestly isn’t much of a shock to Sonic. After hearing his quite extensive preparations that led to the whole ‘courting’ misunderstanding the first time he came to have dinner with his family, it’s not surprising Shadow would do the same for Maria’s family. 

Things were cool between Maddie and Shadow. He had returned back home with Sonic that night and he and Maddie had gone for a walk. Sonic isn’t sure what all was said on this walk, but when they came back, they were both smiling and back to acting as if nothing had happened. Sonic assumes his mother made things right. She rarely doesn’t. She’s a great role model, honestly, and very empathetic and tactful.

After they returned, they all sat down for a talk that went much more swimmingly. Tom and Maddie agree to let Sonic go with the conditions that he calls every night before bed to check in and always answers if they call or text. 

Since then, Sonic and Shadow have been preparing for the trip. Which means lots of Youtube videos on meeting long-lost family (which there are actually a lot of, much to Sonic’s surprise) and practice runs with Knuckles and Tails’ help. Knuckles even wore a blonde wig to try and help “get into character”, insisting on being Terra Robotnik. This didn’t turn out too great since Knuckles himself was.. a terrible host. For example, Sonic seriously doubts the Robotniks will be insisting on Shadow participating in a battle of the arenas.

Rouge had gotten as many files on the family as she could find, which wasn’t much but it was enough. Shadow had been going through and memorizing faces and names and dates and marriages. The surprisingly extensive Robotnik family tree. Turns out they had pretty much outcasted Eggman’s side of the family after everything that happened, which is understandable but also kinda sad since it wasn’t Eggman’s fault his grandfather was a smidge psychotic. Then again, the egg didn’t seem to fall too far from the nest, so..

They were well off, having been compensated by GUN since the tragedy on the ARK. On top of the geniuses in their family having sold many of their creations to the US government in the past as well as exploration escapades and more. They were a pretty impressive bunch of eggs, honestly–

Shadow made Sonic promise no egg jokes while they were visiting, by the way.

Turns out Terra does a lot of philanthropy and charity work, donating most of her time to causes for children with chronic illnesses and such. Which makes her sound like she’d be pretty nice despite her relatively stern tone in the letter to Commander Walters. That was written out of frustration with the deceit she had endured, though, so Sonic had high hopes. Besides, what sister of the saintly Maria could be evil???

When Shadow saw her picture for the first time, Sonic swears he sat perfectly still for a solid ten minutes just staring at it. She looks just like Maria… she just has more ginger colored hair, like a strawberry blonde. And older, obviously. Much older. Her files say she’s 54. Shadow can’t seem to get over that number. Sonic isn’t sure if it’s because it shows how much time has passed since the tragedy or because it shows how old Maria should be now..

Probably a little of both. Or a lot of both.

Sonic makes sure to be there with him through all of it, though. By his side and preparing along with him while constantly reassuring him that Shadow doesn’t really need any preparation since being himself is plenty good enough.

Shadow prepares anyway, to no one’s surprise.

It all comes down to the moment they’re standing in the living room with suitcases packed and warp ring in hand. Maddie hands Shadow his and Sonic’s freshly pressed suits that she had tailored for them, Shadow neatly and very carefully draping them over his forearm and holding them to his torso as if they’re something to be treasured.

“Alright you two,” Maddie sighs, stepping back to get a good look at them, “It’s around 6:30 PM in Poland, right now, and it’s going to be pretty chilly.”

Tom nods, zipping up Sonic’s jacket all the way before stepping back with Maddie as well, watching Sonic immediately roll his eyes and unzip his jacket again.

“Uh- guys? We have fur. We’ll be fine,” Sonic points out with a shrug.

“Some of us have more fur than others,” Shadow mutters under his breath.

“Hey! We talked about this. My lack of chest fur makes me more aerodynamic!” Sonic defends scandalously.

“Right,” Shadow nods before looking to Maddie and Tom, “I’ll make sure he stays warm, Mr. and Mrs. Wachowski.” “I don’t need a babysitter,” Sonic rolls his eyes, but Shadow just rolls his eyes right back.

“They’re your parents and they’re worried. Let me reassure them.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sonic sighs with a little smirk.

“We know you’ll take good care of him, Shadow,” Maddie assures, leaning down to give him a little hug.

Tom moves then to do the same, muttering in Shadow’s ear as he does, “And if you don’t, I’ve heard of some real mean hedgehog recipes from Egypt..” Shadow’s eyes widen slightly at Tom when he pulls back, Tom doing the thing where he points at his eyes and then points at Shadow’s as if to let him know he’s watching him.

Shadow just swallows hard then nods.

“I’ll have him home safe in three days, sir.” “I know you will,” Tom smirks then, winking playfully as if he hadn’t just threatened to cook Shadow dear God–

Maddie moves over to Sonic then, giving him a big hug that has him grunting from being squeezed so tight, “And you, little mister, better behave. I don’t want Shadow calling me saying you’re embarrassing him by being too rowdy.” “Me??? Rowdy!?” Sonic gasps as if absolutely baffled by such an accusation, “I would never!” 

He then hugs Maddie right back, smiling all soft as he leans into his mother’s touch and squeezes her just as tight, “I’ll send lots of pictures.” “You better,” she instructs with a little kiss to his forehead before she pulls away to let Tom hug him goodbye now.

“Seriously though. Behave. And be safe.” “Always do, always am,” Sonic grins, hugging his dad back before he pulls away.

Shadow clears his throat then, glancing down at his watch, “I really hate to rush, but we’re going to be late..” “Right, right,” Maddie nods, knowing Shadow is very serious about being exactly on time, “We’ll let you two go. You have your emergency warp ring??” “Always!” Sonic says with a grin, Shadow already tossing another warp ring into the air so that a portal to Poland appears.

“Phone charger?” “Yup.” “Toothbrush and toothpaste?” “Check.” “Underwear??” That earns a pointed deadpan look from Sonic to Tom.

“Right, you don’t wear that– okay! We’ll see you two when you get back!” Maddie grins then, waving as she leans against Tom and watches the two grab their luggage and begin stepping through the portal, “Have fun!! Keep us updated!” “We will!” Sonic waves back cheerily, stepping through the portal that Shadow is already on the other side of and waving from as well. He hates he couldn’t say bye to Knuckles and Tails before he left. But they said their goodbyes the night before, and waking Knuckles and Tails up early was like pulling teeth– the echidna being lazy and the fox always staying up too late tinkering. It’s best they just sleep in and Sonic call them later. It’s only three days, after all. Then he’ll be back for Christmas!

As they stand waving, the warp ring eventually closes and they’re left standing on a snowy driveway, a large fountain appearing behind where the warp ring had previously been.

“Welp,” Sonic sighs, grabbing his suitcase with a grin, “Stage 2 of OSITRASIHB is a-go. Can’t believe we’re on our first trip together! We have to do some sightseeing while we’re here. What even is there to see in Poland?? They have castles, right??” Sonic looks at Shadow and finds him staring at whatever is behind them, “Shads..?” He turns and looks then and–

“Woooah..” It is a castle! ‘Robotnik Manor,’ the large stone sign above the gate reads. Behind it is possibly one of the coolest homes Sonic has ever seen. Donut Lord seriously needs some upgrades.

“Dude, this place is..,” Sonic starts, but he never quite finishes as he walks up to the fenced gate in awe, leaning against it with his hands gripping the rails–

“Odejdź od bram!”

Sonic jumps back from the fence with wide eyes, both he and Shadow looking to the source of the noise and finding a camera peering down at them from the corner of the stone column.

“Did he just speak Sim??” Sonic snorts with a quirked brow at Shadow, but Shadow just gives him an unimpressed look before turning back to the camera. “Um.. Jesteśmy tutaj, aby zobaczyć Terra Robotnik..?” 

There’s a long pause of silence from the other side of the camera. Sonic is just completely baffled that Shadow seemingly spoke another language! Then again, he’s like– super smart, so it shouldn’t be that surprising. 

After a moment of waiting, the light under the camera beeps green and the gate slowly begins to open itself up, Shadow and Sonic watching with wide eyes as the path to the manor is opened to them..

“...So you speak Sim, too?” “Polish,” Shadow answers, grabbing his suitcase and beginning to roll it behind him as he walks, “And yes. The Professor spoke it often in moments of frustration.. It.. didn’t take long for me to pick up on it..” Sonic frowns a little at that, finding the implication of Gerald often getting frustrated with or in front of Shadow a bit heartbreaking. He catches up to the hybrid, lugging his own suitcase behind him as the gate begins to shut once more.

“That’s pretty cool!” Sonic encourages, focusing on the positive, “You never told me you spoke a different language!” “You never asked..” “Well– do you speak any other languages??” “A few,” Shadow nods, “Not fluently. But Maria and I learned some Spanish during schooling. She was far better than I was at it, but we’d watch tv novellas together and make fun of how dramatic they were a lot. I picked up from that more than anything.” “Seems like you’re more of a hands-on learner than a sit down and reading learner.” “Yeah, I.. have trouble concentrating when it comes to studies,” Shadow admits, though it’s obvious with the tone of his voice that his thoughts aren’t really with the conversation. As they get closer and closer, Shadow gets tenser and tenser. His eyes stare wide at the castle before them, fist clenched tight around the handle of his suitcase, jaw locked and teeth grinding nervously..

Sonic keeps talking, hoping to calm his nerves some with distraction. The driveway up is a good ways, after all.

“Me too, man,” Sonic chuckles with a shrug, “I struggle with sitting still in general, though. Let alone doing it and concentrating. Mom tries real hard to homeschool us, but I’m more interested in learning from experiences than books.” “Books can be very entertaining,” Shadow counters, “..However, books chosen for me are often last appealing than the ones I choose for myself.” “Ditto,” Sonic snorts, “Definitely prefer my comics.” “Those aren’t books.” “Uh– wrong. Comicbooks. Emphasis on the books part.” Sonic is smiling, expecting Shadow to flash that classic tiny smirk of his at Sonic’s shenanigans but finding the hybrid too focused on the stairs they’re now approaching that lead to the door..

“...It’s all gonna be fine, Shadow,” Sonic assures as they begin ascending the steps, “They’re gonna love you..” Shadow takes a deep breath, eyes never leaving the door as he climbs the stairs beside Sonic. He simply nods. Not convinced but trying to stay optimistic and not let his anxiety get the better of him.

Sonic sighs a bit at this and moves closer so he can gently reach out to take Shadow’s free hand. Shadow flinches slightly at this before looking to Sonic finally.

Sonic is looking right back with that same soft smile he gave Shadow on the moon..

Shadow smiles back after a moment before sighing and looking back to the door. 

Sonic was with him. He can do this..

Stopping right in front of the door, the two stare at it a long moment. Sonic doesn’t rush Shadow. Doesn’t knock for him. He just waits.

Eventually, Shadow’s eyes settle on the door knocker a few feet above them.. He can’t quite reach, so he lets his air shoes slowly lift him up until he can. Taking the knocker in hand and rapping at the door three times before slowly letting himself descend back down.

There’s some scuffling from the inside, Shadow’s hand squeezes Sonic’s a bit tighter. Sonic squeezes back, nervousness now rising in him as well.

What if these people were awful to Shadow?? What if they treated him horribly and this whole experience just adds to the list of scars Shadow already has?? Maybe Sonic shouldn’t have encouraged him coming. Maybe they should’ve just stayed away and let things stay normal. Maybe–

The door slowly opens, warm and thick light from the inside pouring out into the dark cold of the evening outside. Shadow and Sonic’s eyes rise to the tall, lanky man dressed in a butler’s attire.

The man’s eyes scan around in a confused manner a moment, looking right over the two before Sonic clears his throat and the man finally lowers his eyes to their level. He flinches in surprise at the sight of them, eyes blinking wide once then twice. Then he offers a wide and breathy smile, “Sir Shadow! And you brought a guest! Wonderful!  My Madam has been expecting your arrival! Please, do come in.” He quickly scoots away from the door and opens it wider for the two, Sonic and Shadow exchanging a glance before entering with a grateful nod and muttered ‘thank you’s.

The door is shut behind them, and inside they’re met with a sight just as awe-inducing as the outside. The inside has a large and grand staircase that leads to the second floor, wooden hand-railing with Christmas florals  and lights decorating all the way down them. There’s a chandelier immediately above their heads, lit with golden lights that make the wooden ceiling seem to glisten. It all feels very noble and traditional and vintage but simultaneously well-kept and warm and classy. It looks like something out of a movie! To their left it opens up into what appears to be a dining room: a long table with white table cloths and bouquets of poinsettias and holly and pinecones. Very festive but elegant. There’s large red candlesticks as centerpieces down the table, tiny globes with lights in them scattered along it as well. The chairs look large and comfy, a wreath placed on the backs of each one. There’s a smaller chandelier than the one in the foyer in there as well. A large, glass window behind the head of the table..

To their right, they can see what appears to be a library of sorts. Shelves and shelves of books, a few comfy couches and floor pillows sound a festively decorated fireplace. The mantle is lined with stockings with initials on them.. ‘A’ ‘J’ ‘M’ ‘S’.  

“I can escort you to your rooms if you’d like to be relieved of your bags,” the butler offers, “Madam is currently in a meeting, but I will inform her of your arrival as soon as it is finished. She will be so pleased you’re here, and want to introduce you to everyone.”

Shadow and Sonic just look at him, staring a moment before Shadow eventually nods. “Thank you, Mr..”

“Tanaka,” the butler replies with a little bow towards Shadow, “Call me, Mr. Tanaka. And I will be happy to assist you anytime during your stay.” “Mr. Tanaka,” Shadow nods, swallowing before glancing back to Sonic who is smiling politely at the man, “thank you.. This is Sonic.” “Of course. We know of Sir Sonic’s heroic reputation. It is an honor to be hosting you sir,” the butler bows to which Sonic very dramatically bows right back with a “Likewise, dude.”

The butler stands then, “Now right this way! Let’s get you settled in.”

They follow the man up the stairs, taking in the sights as they go. The walls are lined with framed art and pieces like vases and sculptures. Shadow notes that he’d like to pause and take them all in at some point if he has the time, pondering their meaning and purpose. The hall at the top is long both to the right and left, shut doors that have shoes on the outsides of some of them or coats hanging from the knobs..

It occurs to Shadow then that they may be having more guests at this party than he anticipated..

Stopping at the room on the end of the left hall, Mr. Tanaka opens the door to show them the inside.

“We do hope this room will be fitting,” the butler says, “We prepared it just for you. And there’s even a second bed if your guest will not be sharing one with you.” Shadow blinks at that, looking at Sonic who looks back to him a bit shyly before blushing and looking away.

They aren’t supposed to be sharing a room..

But Shadow is too nervous right now to request anything else. It feels rude.

He’ll deal with it later.

“This will be perfect,” Shadow assures with a small nod, “Thank you again.” “Of course, sir,” the man smiles, moving then to gesture to a small button on the inside of the door attached to what appears to be an intercom system, “If you ever need anything, please do not hesitate to buzz this button and myself or a maid will quickly come to see what we can do for you. There is also a bell system that will ring when certain things are about to take place such as dinner or breakfast. You are in no way obligated to attend these things if uncomfortable or needing rest. It is simply there to keep the household on a schedule.”

“I like schedules,” Shadow says without giving it a thought, Mr. Tanaka smiling at this. “As do I, Sir Shadow.” Shadow smiles a bit then, and this seems to light up the whole room for a moment in Sonic’s opinion.

“Well I will let you two settle in,” the butler comments, nodding his head at the two as he exits the room, “Again, feel free to buzz if you need anything.” “We sure will,” Sonic smirks, walking into the room to take it in.

Shadow gives a small wave as the man makes his leave before shutting the door and sighing against it.

Sonic is scoping out the room. There is, in fact, two sleeping areas. One being the king-sized bed in the center of the wall and the other being a twin bed pressed up longways against the large window on the right side of the room. Sonic immediately moves there and puts his suitcase on top of it, turning to Shadow with a whistle, “Damn. This place is huge!” “Very,” Shadow mutters as he turns to Sonic, walking to the bed and placing his own suitcase on top before sitting down on the edge beside it.

“And they’ve got butlers and maids?? A dude could get used to living like this,” Sonic grins, looking out the window now at the view. He can’t see too far since it’s dark out, but there’s golden Christmas lights that light up a large garden below. Whoever their landscaper and decorator is, they need a raise.

“Mm,” is all Sonic gets from Shadow.

Sonic turns to look at him then, seeing Shadow staring down at the floor from where he sits on the edge of the bed..

A small, sympathetic smile curls onto Sonic’s lips as he approaches him, plopping himself beside him as Shadow’s seemingly absent gaze lifts to his, “Hey.”

“Hello,” Shadow murmurs back, leaning into Sonic’s palm when the hedgehog cups his cheek. “I know it’s all overwhelming,” Sonic begins, thumb lightly caressing the apple of Shadow’s cheek, “But you’ve done the hardest part, right?? You got here. You showed up. That takes mad balls, Shads.” “That’s a really distasteful expression, Sonic,” Shadow grumbles with a scrunch of his nose and disapproving look in Sonic’s direction. “Oh-ho, look who showed up at a Manor and got too classy for his American boyfriend,” Sonic teases with a Italian accent. “..That’s Italian. This is Poland.”

“Whatever, dude, I don’t know what Polish sounds like.” “You said it sounds like the Sims.” “Good point! Let me try that. Bow deesh you’re super geneva.” Shadow blinks at him, a slightly amused tilt growing on his lips, “What?”

“And now you know how it feels,” Sonic smirks to which Shadow just chuckles and rolls his eyes at him. “You’re idiotic.” “And you’re brave,” Sonic smiles, tilting his head to get Shadow to look back at him again, “..Seriously. I would’ve chickened out the second I saw the camera staring at me at the gate. You’re seriously awesome, Shadow..” Shadow just sighs a bit at this, nuzzling against Sonic’s palm a bit before moving to scoot closer to him with a quirked brow, “Shouldn’t you call your parents and tell them we’ve settled in??” “Oh yeah, you’re right!” Sonic nods, pulling his phone out now and pulling up his contacts to FaceTime his mom.

It only rings once before he gets an answer.

“Hey, baby! You get there safely?? We miss you so much!!” “He just left!” Tom can be heard yelling from a few rooms away.

Sonic chuckles at this, “Yeah, we just got to our room.” Maddie’s brow quirks, “...Room?” Sonic smiles a bit nervously and rubs the back of his neck, “Uh.. yeah. Apparently they only prepared one room for us– but it’s got two beds, see!” Sonic turns the phone to show his bag sitting on the twin-sized bed by the window, “I’ll sleep there! And Shadow will be sleeping here.” He then turns the phone to show Shadow sitting on the bed beside him.

Shadow gives a small wave with a quiet “hello”.

Maddie is about to argue with Sonic some more on these sleeping arrangements.. But then she sees Shadow and her heart instantly melts.

“Aw honey, you look so frazzled. You doing okay?? They treat you well??” “We’ve only met the butler,” Sonic explains, scooting closer to Shadow so the phone can now see both of them in the frame, “But he was super chill.” “Mhm,” Shadow nods, looking a bit sick still.

“So you haven’t met the mystery sis yet??” “Nuh uh,” Sonic answers, Shadow shaking his head in response.

“Why didn’t she greet you two?? Ain’t she the host??” Maddie frowns, seeming a bit off put by the woman who invited them not having the common courtesy to welcome them.

“She was in a meeting apparently,” Sonic shrugs. “She planned this meeting for when you two were suppose to be arriving??” “Well.. most people don’t arrive exactly on time, in her defense,” Sonic smirks, elbowing Shadow a bit playfully to which the hybrid just huffs and shrugs his shoulders.

“Don’t be so defensive, Maddie, you’re gonna freak the guy out,” Tom adds, entering the frame beside Maddie. He waves at the two with a little grin, “Hey guys.” “Hi, Dad!” “Hello, Mr. Wachowski.” “I’m not trying to freak him out, I just–.. It’s weird is all I’m saying. But I don’t know anything about the woman, so what do I know,” Maddie shrugs, putting on a smile for Shadow.

“Maybe it all boils down to a different lifestyle and culture,” Tom shrugs, “Butlers answering doors ain’t so uncommon in some countries.” “Yeah, dude. Don’t look too much into it,” Sonic agrees with a reassuring smile, “And if her butler is being honest, then she’ll be super pumped when she realizes you’re here.”

Giving a small hum at this, Shadow just shrugs his shoulders and looks at the floor again. Sonic sighs at this, looking at Tom and Maddie on the phone screen before offering a sideways smile, “Anyway- we just wanted to call and let you guys know we got settled in. Think we’re suppose to have dinner soon.” “Thank you for calling, sweetie. Please call again before you go to bed! Wanna say goodnight. And your brothers will wanna talk to you.” “Can do,” Sonic winks with a grin, “Love you guys.” “Love you too, kiddo!” “And we love you too, Shadow!” Shadow smiles a bit at that, looking at the screen again and showing his slightly lifted spirits at the sentiment. Love is a hard emotion for Shadow. Sonic doesn’t think he’s ever heard Shadow even say the word ‘love’ when referring to himself. But they all know that he loves them too, even if it’s difficult to voice. 

“Later!” “Bye, boys!!” Sonic hangs up.

Tossing his phone on the bed behind him, Sonic turns his attention back towards Shadow and moves to lean his head on his shoulder and lightly nuzzle against him. Shadow just sighs and returns the gesture, seeking comfort and hoping to ease the pounding in his heart and the nausea in his throat some. 

“We ain’t gotta sit in here,” Sonic offers, “We could go look around? I saw a garden outside, maybe we can go walk it and get your mind off of just sitting here brooding.” “I don’t brood,” Shadow huffs. “Right, right, Hot Topic, you’re definitely don’t brood.” 

Sonic smiles a bit and pulls back to look at Shadow, “Seriously, though. If you just sit here in your head, it’ll just seem worse than it is. Nothing bad has happened. Everything has gone super smoothly so far. There’s no reason to let your head scare you–”

He’s interrupted by the sound of thumping outside, resembling footsteps sprinting down the hall towards their door.

“He’s here!? He’s really here!?”

Sonic and Shadow exchange looks at the voice. It certainly doesn’t belong to a 54 year old. 

“Which door, Mr. Tanaka, which one!?”

The steps stop right outside their door.

“This one???”

They can hear the mumbled voice of the butler further down the hall.

And then there’s knocking on the door.

Shadow’s heart leaps right up into his throat, Sonic’s eyes widening a bit as he looks at the door and then Shadow. “...Are you gonna answer??” Shadow doesn’t move. He doesn’t budge from his spot on the bed, frozen there with wide eyes and his lips parted with slightly panicked breaths.

“Okay, okay, calm down,” Sonic hushes gently, rubbing through Shadow’s quills, “Just breathe.. I’ll tell them you’re resting or something..”

Shadow nods. Nothing more.

Sonic swallows and pushes himself off the bed, walking to the door and reaching for the knob.

There’s a few more knocks just before he opens the door.

Sonic’s eyes go huge at who he finds on the other side..

“Oh! Sorry,” the little girl smiles sheepishly, “I wasn’t sure you heard the first time..” She looks Sonic up and down a bit curiously, only a foot taller than him at most.. Her head tilts, her brow quirking, “...You’re quite bluer than I imagined..”

Sonic can’t answer. He can’t find his voice.

He’s only seen Maria in pictures or old found footage from the ARK..

He stares at the little girl, his brows knitting up tight and distress slowly growing inside him despite it being dampened by the pure shock.

“...I’m..,” Sonic eventually manages, voice coming out weak and quiet, tight from the lump in his throat, “..not Shadow..”

“Oh,” she blinks, her head tilting again with a little giggle, blonde hair falling over her shoulder at the motion, “that makes more sense. Then who exactly are you??” Sonic tries to answer again, but once more, he finds himself not able. His brain isn’t working anymore. All it can do is play the same thought on repeat.

‘You’re dead. You’re supposed to be dead. How are you here???

Maria Robotnik..’

[necrotic-nephilim]

this is an invitation to ramble about slade/batboy ships: sladick, sladejay, sladetim, sladedami, and other batfam member/villain ships, especially jayroman and ra'stim :)

AAAAAA this is so delightful oh my god thank you. adding a read more just because this one is going to get Long to cover all the ships and all my opinions. because my god do i love Slade.

firstly, the original Robin/villain ship, SlaDick. Slade Wilson, literally created to be a Teen Titans villains, with the original Robin he cannot be normal about ever. i'm so sad there's not much interest in Slade aside from making him a generic Evil Guy who canonically likes teenagers because i think to just boil down his complex with Dick to 'weird attraction' robs them of SUCH nuance. Slade *trusts* Dick, he trusts Dick enough to ask Dick to train his own daughter Rose. and initially Slade's complex over Dick isn't sexual, it's seeing Dick as a replacement for his dead son, Grant. that's messy as hell and i love them for it. i don't think there's a single villain that has the respect for Dick that Slade has. i'm always of the opinion Dick's attraction to Slade is rooted in daddy issues and Slade's attraction to Dick is rooted in dead son issues. do i think they could end up as an old married couple? yes but only in a world where Dick is completely broken and feels alone. my favorite SlaDick flavor is post-Jason's death. Dick and Bruce are arguably at their worst during that era to begin with so Dick is pretty isolated and emotionally unstable. and Slade would take such advantage of that, swooping in to offer Dick emotional stability and fucked up sex to get out pent up emotions. (i'm big a big fan of Dick fucking out his feelings tbh) and Slade is just. this sort of bad habit Dick will kick for a year or two then come crawling back to. you can directly track how well Bruce and Dick are getting along based on how many times Dick has slept with Slade recently. and that's the prize, for Slade. knowing Dick will come back to him, eventually. it's all about patience. and if something really extreme happened to Dick (like Bruce's fake death) i think they'd even date briefly. it's not entirely impossible for Dick to date someone he disagrees with morally (see: his flings with Helena) and i think Dick would keep trying to 'save' Slade, using the upper hand he has of filling in this role of Slade's dead son to try to domesticate him. would it work? who knows but if anyone is going to try over and over, it's going to be Dick. it's practically self-harm for Dick yet the only thing keeping him sane. i love them.

SladeJay is... an interesting one for me. because i like the *potential*. but they have no significant interactions pre-Flashpoint. and while usually i can forgive New-52 and Rebirth for their grievances if it has ship fodder i just... can't do that for Jason. Judd Winick's Jason is the only Jason that exists to me so even Slade and Jason's canon interactions matter little to me because it's not the version of Jason i care for. the upside of that though, is it's more of a sandbox to explore what they could be and there are no limitations. i can just run wild. which is fun bc. you're telling me Slade wouldn't be so drawn in by the idea of a dead Robin who's come back and is now the antithesis of Bruce's morality? i think at some point Slade would want to poke the bear, really see what Red Hood is made of. do i see them working long-term? no but i do think Jason would have zero qualms working with Slade if he got something out of it. and if he could fuck with Bruce or Dick by having a short, fucked up relationship with Slade? that's even better. i don't think Slade could ever truly respect Jason, at the end of the day the Dick Grayson standard is too high and Slade would sneer at the idea of a legacy who fucked it up so bad he got blown up. but, he'd see that as Bruce's failure more than Jason's. and for Jason to have someone look him in the eye and say that Bruce *failed* him? i think that'd just *do* something to Jason. and Slade has lost a son, he knows what that loss feels like, how you feel you failed as a father. would he have interest in being fatherly to Jason? no but i think he'd have fun momentarily manipulating Jason and seeing what reactions he gets out of what jeers. Jason's been calling himself a failure this whole time, so to have someone else say it is no real big deal, but to have someone else say it's Bruce's fault and voice Jason's feelings? they'd have the most fucked up sex with the most unhealthy dirty talk that's both gentle and degrading. i don't think Jason would ever let himself get too close, he's far too emotionally guarded. but for a second, i think he'd fantasize about having even *half* the amount of attention that Slade gives Dick. bc what has Jason always been, but in Dick's shadow.

SladeTim. my two blorbos. in one place. somewhere in my drafts i have a half-started longfic about SladeTim that's one half really fucked up porn and one half slowburn feelings. arguably Tim and Slade don't have many canon interactions, but it's fun to me that when they do, Slade always seems sort of startled by how well Tim fights back and Tim's willingness to fight dirty in a way even Dick doesn't. and to me, that's the crux of this ship. as far as Robins go, Tim should sort of slip under the radar for Slade. he's not the dead one turned villain, he's not the grandson of Ra's al Ghul, hell he's not even the child of a second-rate villain like Steph, he's not *the* Dick Grayson, he's just... the other one. grew up pretty rich and normal and fell for all of Bruce's wax poetic nonsense. so when Tim puts himself on the map as a hero, makes himself a worthy opponent against Slade that's interesting. even to Tim, Slade isn't a particularly remarkable villain since Slade cares to stay more on Dick's radar. so when they cross paths there's a lot of unexpected. neither of them have thought about the other too hard. so there's this interest and intrigue about it i love. i'm a big fan of the idea Tim is a massive masochist, both physically and emotionally and Slade is The Sadist Ever so. i like them falling into bed together and having the most fucked up sex. like Tim just being a Weird Little Freak so fucked up even Slade raises an eyebrow. because this isn't what you *expect* of a kid like Tim, who's had a pretty easy life before tangling with vigilantes. he should be like a fish out of water, but instead he's matching Slade's energy in ways even Dick doesn't. and of course, how smart he is, that's an asset. it takes a special kind of kid to have the audacity to poison Lady Shiva with hotel chocolates and pull it *off* no less. it earns a begrudging respect, and it's rare to get Slade to respect someone. i really like the idea of Tim seeking Slade out only for fucked up sex and somehow Slade falls for this weird little freak who's cold and clinical outside of sex and keeps him guessing.

i'll be honest i've only considered SladeDami in the context of seeing antis say 'omg Slade has been predatory toward Damian ewww' and going 'no the fuck he hasn't but if you want that so bad i'll ship it just to spite you all' but their canon interactions do fascinate me. a lot of how they interact is predicated on Slade as a father, even more so than SlaDick. like Slade will fight Damian and then be like 'hey be good to your old man fathers need their sons' and fucking dip. and then with the whole Respawn thing and Shadow War? that was extra crunchy. for a brief moment Slade had a son who was a brother to Damian and then he goes and *dies*? talk about the complex that would give him with Damian, the spitting image of Respawn. Make Slade Weird About Batkids That Remind Him of His Son 2024. Damian holds an utter contempt for Slade that is simply unmatched. so Slade not leaving that kid alone because of his weird issues, making sure that Bruce doesn't screw up with Damian the way he screwed up with Respawn is very fun. and Damian slowly building up a tolerance to Slade's annoying antics could be fun. Damian is, at his core, still just a kid who needs the approval of something father-shaped and he will Take What He Can Get. are they ever healthy or long lasting? no but i do think Damian would cling to Slade during his teen years for something incredibly fucked up and codependent until either Slade dumped him or he forced himself to get over it.

JayRoman. i will not lie love these two but i don't think i've read many Black Mask comics when he's not interacting with Jason. which is funny because my entire conception of Roman is him just getting humiliated by Jason and really what more is there to know about the man. Jason is so unserious in how he handles Roman and the best part is you can tell it's truly because he doesn't see Roman as a threat. Roman's just a pawn in the game of getting Bruce's attention and sure, Jason is aiming to kill Roman by the end of it, but he'll always have bigger fish to fry. and that's so *infuriating* for Roman. this new guy who's *clearly* a fucking teenager shows up, owns you so badly it shatters your empire, and then you only live bc he seems to have gotten bored of you. JayRoman is my particular favorite ship for the flavor of 'the sub in bed is in control of every other aspect of their relationship and their submission is a gift that can be revoked at any time' which we don't get enough. fucked up power dynamics always have the sub being the one lacking control. and whilst i enjoy when Roman is able to absolutely control and manipulate Jason through various means, i think in canon, it makes far more sense he's pathetic and begging Jason for even a *chance*. and Jason very specifically picking who he subs for based on someone who he could kill or destroy at the drop of the hat if he needed to is a very Jason thing to do. there will never be trust between these two. they will fuck nasty and Roman will be in love with Jason. but they are both carrying a gun during sex. the gun is probably involved during the sex.

Ra'sTim. my everything. Red Robin (2009) you will always be famous to me. what *don't* they have. forced proximity. enemies to lovers. forced partnership. one-sided obsession. ridiculously large age gap. deep unforgivable betrayal. i will never evacuate these two from my brain dear god. Ra's is another one of those villains who gets painted with one broad stroke of being cartoonishly evil with no exploration of his interesting nuance. making him nothing but a villain is boring. where is the Ra's who loves so deeply and fully and has to lose his loved ones over and over and will not let that happen to Tim. he wants to consume Tim in a 'cannibalism as a metaphor for love but also probably literal cannibalism' way. the amount of trust put in Ra's in order for Tim to be able to betray him as spectacularly as he did? that's glorious. Tim had full unfiltered access to Ra's' computers even when he was advised against trusting Tim so much. and then Tim wins against Ra's and willingly lets Ra's kill him. (obviously Dick saves him, but I'm of the opinion Tim was just committed to dying in that moment and he was Okay With That) 'i will betray you if it's the last thing i do' as an act of love. Tim is to Ra's what Dick is to Slade. you will never convince me Tim and Ra's didn't hatefuck at least once during RR (2009) with a questionable level of consent. i'm so serious i will never shut up about them. the way Tim talks about working with Ra's as if he's making a deal with the devil and Ra's talks about Tim like he's the precious, once in a life time thing, one of the only people worthy to produce an heir for Ra's. how's that not gay. what other ship involved one of them literally trying to have the other's baby to raise as an heir. Ra's would probably carry the baby himself if he could. memes aside they're just so. they're so it. i love when Tim is forced into a Situation where he has to work with Ra's and confronts the darker aspects of himself that Ra's wants to bring out but Tim wants to squash. it is The corruption kink. whether Ra's succeeds or not in corrupting Tim doesn't even matter because the real crux of this ship is the chase. it's the way the heart pounds when they reach out for each other and you don't know if it's for a kiss or a killing blow. it's very Hannigram to me, in that i don't even need or want them to kiss to know they're in love. love to them is not true love's kiss, it's the thoughtful place they decide to stab the other in. be the sheath to my dagger type ship. hold all this bloody violence i know you're capable of inside of you. let me cut the violence out of you ship. what more can you ask for from a ship. Ra's would tie Tim down and torture him both as foreplay and as a love language and Tim would be too fucked up and self-sacrificial to stop him. always playing the dangerous game of how far will the other let them go until someone tries to die or kill. listen i think i lost the plot here but my point is they're unwell about each other. Tim will make Ra's regret the day he met Tim Drake not just for the betrayal but because Ra's can never go back to a time Before Tim. before knowing what the chase felt like. they're so. them.