#always feels like there’s too much shipping in the sonic fandom. we should be more insane abt platonic relationships to compensate | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

cutegirlmayra · 4 years ago

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Hiiiiii, I rly like your writing X3 I was wondering if you’d answer this question: What is your interpretation of what SEGA is doing with SonAmy as of right now? Seems like it’s becoming more and more canon. I know you’ve done similar question before, but could you maybe just answer this for 2021? Thanks!💖💙

No problem! And thank you, lovely Anon~<3 I love writing for the feels~ But also for the accuracy to be as close as possible if I can manage it! First of all, they’ve always been canon? Maybe not ‘in-world dating’ canon but canon in the sense that they are a official SEGA advertised couple since the get-go.

Amy was created to literally be in the slot of ‘Sonic’s Girlfriend’ where she had feelings for Sonic and always a fun mystery as to decipher Sonic’s subtle ‘returned caring’ for her.

As for 2021 we are so FREAKIN’ HAPPY to hear that SEGA is FINALLY marketing the two and VISUALLY SEEING the sales of their ‘couple shirts’ and the like make some profit. Furthermore, we have long-time fans and professionals in the careers within SEGA also vocalizing that they don’t mind the couple and even support it. With less emphasis on the ‘fandom fanatics’ of the raging past and more so on the fantastic marketability and popularity the couple brings to SEGA’s exposing their main IP, it’s become almost common ground to expect more and more people liking romantic and suggested romantic couples in all ranging medias.

We need also mention the alarming rate of the worrisome numbers in Japan recently. Conducted studies have shown that most of Japan’s population is elderly, and in the very near future (About 5 years or so) a good chuck of Japan’s population will die. This means the Japanese Government is promoting more and more companies within both entertainment, advertising, etc. to be more ‘promoting family’ in their media. Japan needs more babies! And guess what?

Mario Odyssey comes out with a completely ‘Wedding themed’ video game.

Dramatic romantic underlying's in Zelda’s new game.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s focus on romantic underlying’s along with Cloud willingly saying (English version) “Do I have any say in this?” As though to fight the idea that romance can’t happen and-

Kingdom Hearts 3′s romantic underlying that literally has a song (Japanese) talking about rings and getting married called “Chikai” or also ‘Oath’ that in English is rewritten to a romantic song about going deeper into love called “Don’t Think Twice” but literally has the two ‘making their fates intertwined’ in a symbol of ‘romantic intentions’ such as marriage or even just fidelity in a relationship.

So? How does all this influence the latest Sonamy supersonic boom we’ve seen in the media recently?

Although Sonic is his own character, he’s also only 15 (But as many of you have seen in Anime, Japanese ages of appropriateness are different then our own cultures and societies) we see faint glimpses. In the mostly American-made Sonic Boom t.v series, the comedic moments of Sonic and Amy are very much to a genre of American audiences and how we view ‘funny love’ should normally be marketed as. (I don’t always agree with what they say, but that’s how they’re trained and believe the ‘trends’ go... so ... can’t argue with professionals? Eh? -I personally think they’re outdated *cough cough*)

Sonic is not one to express feelings in overly dramatic ways which is common place in American television and media, but he’s also got a ‘boy’s heart’ which means we won’t see a lot of things from him BESIDES ‘romantic underlyings’ that are probably going to be initiated and themed mostly and primarily in Amy Rose’s character (If at all shown or expressed.)

For these reasons, I believe SEGA is just hopping on the bandwagon and doing what they’re told, while also following the latest trends that the other big fellow companies are making a significant profit on. I know we wish and want SEGA to be ‘special’ in how they think, but they really are just a company that is trying to survive and outlast the competition.

It’s sad to think that way, especially when SEGA used to be so creative and always influencing the next best thing but that was YEARS ago and they’ve learned to tread water since then...

(Goku being a grandfather emphasizes family in this particular scene where they take his granddaughter before a big tournament fight to a fair/festival. We see Goku with his family too, or at least, a successful son with his wife and daughter, spending time with his Father-In-Law, and the like.)

We see it in Dragon Ball emphasizing family, we see it in more romance-themed animes (and those that have only recently done romance, when they--for the longest part--never indulged in such things before or previously) and we now see more japanese games and media centralized around that.

What does that mean for Sonamy? Hopefully good things! Because if you buy the merch, they’ll produce more content. It’s a basic ‘supply and demand’ formula. If the demand (meaning how much you spend and want Sonic and Amy couple merch) goes up, then they have to supply to keep their business afloat. If they don’t they sink, but that DOES NOT MEAN TO BE AGRESSIVE. It means just support when they do something you like, and positively, kindly mention what you liked and wish to see more of if the future allows. No one reads aggressive writing unless, they too--wish to be aggressive back.

SEGA’s had issues with aggressiveness before, please let them see that couples in the sonic world won’t have a negative impact on their branding with irrational and bad-media frenzies. (Now, after saying this, I know people will start to do just that, don’t feed fire with fire, just let the fire burn till it has nothing left to consume, and carry on happily posting fanart or fanstories of what you love. Ignore to extinguish, which is what SEGA will do to Sonic shipping fans if we don’t act somewhat reasonably, okay?)

My predictions are such: 1. Amy’s crush will sadly lessen in impact and become more of a novelty, something that is treasured when moments arise to reveal her crush on Sonic, which in my opinion, is not her personality, but due to the heavy influence of women’s portrayal (Especially in America) being overemphasized and not done well, this is how they will try and combat it... (No one does this right and you shouldn’t base a characters solely on political reasonings...) 2. Sonic will have moments of caring for Amy or doing something sweet that can and probably will be interpreted as ‘a couple moment’ but he’ll remain mostly about other things, and the ‘underlying romance’ will have to come through Amy Rose’s character. 3. SEGA will loosen some rules after seeing more and more of the productivity and trend associated with marketing romance, and to keep up with demand and growing times, will finally let small moments emerge between the two, but the fandom will not be satisficed since we will now be desensitized to overly avert demure and oblivious stereotropes that will date their characters. and won’t allow them to proceed smoothly into the new area of customers and audiences.

Children are becoming extremely observant and aware. They are clever, and they always have been. It’s time to market to Children and Young Adults, not babies.

My ways to avoid this, predictions 1: New employees will surface that will start to get a name and reputation in the Sonic Fandom, along with youtube and internet stars who will influence certain marketing schemes (as is starting to appear now, and I feel will be just like ‘star marketing’ or ‘influencers’ that will be popularized in fandoms that companies will slightly make use of.) that will encourage new ideas and bring about a sudden ‘boom’ not expected. (Especially after the lull of the pandemic, I feel there will be an abundance of things happening in the upcoming years... but nothing right now, unfortunately, but at least they’re forced to focus on working on things instead of just releasing to keep up with other companies.)--In other words, they will incorporate new blood with the old, and they will lead Sonic’s IP into a ton of nostalgia and new beginnings that will actually stick and become Sonic’s new brand identity. (This will resonate with fans old and new, but still be a fresh leap into the future for the franchise and fandom.) 2. Sonic’s negative popularity will start to decrease, leading and paving the way for fame and possible adjustments such as more romantic themes to keep up with trends and Japanese Government demands (especially when the population starts to wither and it becomes an emergency situation to start encouraging family ties). Other than sonamy or romantic things, I believe new characters will pop up to ‘test the waters’ and see if we like romance intertwined adventures. 3. Villains will become more sentimental and caring, less comedically, they will be redeemable entities so that the company can market them more. This can also lead into funny romances that help other romances develop and have more meaning. (In other words, they’ll dig into their vault of familiar and new faces, go off the trend of ‘redeeming the villain’ and have more heart-to-heart moments that may inspire more canonical couples... especially if a newer villain were to have a crush that ended up helping two canon characters get together and leave the audience sympathizing more with the villain. This is an actual trend starting where Villains have more character and roles other than just being evil and staying that way till death. I suspect this will be popularized in American and possibly foreign media as time goes on.)

(I actually have a lot of the sonamy shirts lol But here’s an example of the villain actually helping the canon couple have more ‘romantic underlying’ moments together <3)

Those are my current predictions, though I admit that some don’t sound all that hopeful. But hey! All my hopeful and positive predictions have already come true XD Sonamy is being marketed, the new media (Sonic Boom at the time) had subtle but more forward comedic hinting (that I don’t feel went all that well? But eh, that’s just me!), and SEGA continues to try and reface Sonic which his brand doesn’t need. I believe they will still try and rebrand Sonic continually until something sticks for them that they like. Sonamy may go through many iterations, as they are still hesitant with it, and we see that by only marketing their ‘younger selves’ as in Classic Sonamy, and are too ‘shy and uncertain’ if backlash would happen if they advertised a more mature-looking Sonic and Amy marketing. Again, I don’t know if they’ll fully grow out of this, so I predict they won’t.

(I have this one but in black <3 <3 <3)

That’s it for now! My positive last comments would be the more we buy/purchase Sonamy merch, the more we’ll start seeing it in their media and entertainment products. Until then, do your best and write, draw, and review -kindly- to keep those articles of enchantment alive with the sweet sound of--”When will Sonic and Amy finally have a love song AMV moment for us?” lol

#cutegirlmayra ask #ask cutegirlmayra #sonamy #sonic the hedgehog #sega #amy rose #cutegirlmayra #sonic ask #ask sonic #sonamy ask #ask sonamy #sonicxamy #sega marketing #anime #video games #japan #sonamy predictions

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chiliconsharls · 4 years ago

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The unsolicited AlexReggie ship manifesto

DISCLAIMER: This is obviously meant as a rant post about a ship I can enjoy in fandom spaces and not an actual request from me to make AlexReggie canon in the show or any of the sorts. I am quite happy and excited about the actual canon LGBT+ ship of this show, which is Willie x Alex. Do not get that twisted.

That being said, let me talk to you about the amazing, entertaining dynamic Alex and Reggie have that makes them super easy and fun to ship them:

I wanna start off by saying that I’m mostly writing this because I feel like they are either unfairly underlooked or just grossly misread; and I’m more upset about the latter. (Someone on this hellsite actually had the nerve to say Alex doesn’t take Reggie seriously so. I just had to get this off my chest)

So what’s this amazing, entertaining dynamic you speak of?

Alex and Reggie are best friends. That much is clear from the very first minutes of the show. It’s not Alex is Luke’s friend who’s friends with Reggie or the other way around. They’re all best friends.

In fact, Alex and Reggie’s very first interaction is just about the sweatest we get to see them. Their first interaction:

Reggie goes over to Alex to compliment him specifically on how he played at the rehearsal which leads us to a lot of grey areas of headcanoning (was Alex the last to join and so he was shy or nervous around the others? Maybe Reggie just likes to compliment him for some reason, or my personal favorite: Reggie knew Alex was anxious about playing the Orpheum so he thought Alex needed reassurance of his awesomeness? ), but the matter is: Reggie thinks Alex is awesome.

However, them being sweet best friends is not their entire dynamic (and thank God), no. Alex and Reggie are the quippy best friends, they’re the Vitriolic Best Buds (type one– with Reggie being more on the ‘unaware of the vitriol’ side):

“A very good measure of how good your friends are is how much you can insult them without them taking offense.”— Heliomance

When two people who are the very best of friends behave like the very worst of enemies.

Alex pokes fun at Reggie saying “he can see you” when Carlos asks if the ghost is “hiddeous”. Reggie makes fun of Alex for crying and being “a very emotional person” (even when Alex isn’t even there).

But at the end of the day, and this is where I wanna emphasize: they’re the ones to show care first and immidiately for each other.

It’s stated that their friendship runs deep between all three of them (Luke, Alex and Reggie), but I’m not gonna write the manifesto for the OT3 yet so bear with me:

In episode 1x02: when Alex complains about them not giving him a hug when he was crying in the “void”, Reggie goes to hug him without hesitation – for Alex to turn him down because, again, that’s their primary dynamic.

Same episode, a few minutes later: Reggie gets overwhelmed about Ray crying and asks to see his parents and Alex turns to him and sotfly goes “Yeah”

In episode 1x07: when Alex is upset about Willie and Reggie gives him a reassuring comment about how there’ll be others which Alex takes greatfully and openly.

Episode 1x09: after Alex has said goodbye to Willie and Reggie goes over his shoulder to ask him if he’s alright

Same episode, a few minutes later: when Reggie voices his concerns about what will happen to them if they cross over and Alex turns to him, again, his voice softer than it usually is when he speaks to Reggie, and tells him that “It’s not like we have a choice”, to ease him up a bit.

What I mean to say with this is: Luke is, as I can read in the context of what we’ve seen in the first season, the least emotionally intelligent out of the three of them and so since Luke lacks in that department–> it means Alex and Reggie have each other.

Again, they’re like – really best friends when you truly look. Mostly because Luke suffers from his trope of the front-man and main male protagonist, so he’s capable of going on his own or with Julie to explore other bonds while Alex and Reggie have less and lesser and a lot of that is spent with each other.

Alex tells Reggie about Willie, Reggie pays attention and actually cares about the stuff he’s learning both from Alex as an extension of Willie and then about what he can get from the rest of the world. Alex and Reggie – most of the time during the season – are on the same page about stuff and together, while Luke is off doing his own things, mostly with Julie as she is the protagonist.

Granted, Alex main focused relationship is with Willie (and I’m super greatful for that), but after Willie, and this is where I take no criticsm, it’s Reggie who comes on the list. Not Luke, not Julie or Carrie– Alex immidiate secondary focused-dynamic as of Season 1 is Reggie (if only slightly tied with the boys as a trio itself, obviously).

Then there’s the aspect of them individually and how they contrast each other. Alex is obviously the smarter of the three and Reggie falls further on the scale, all the way to the side. That makes them a little the Smart Jerk, Nice Moron trope except Alex isn’t that much of a jerk all the time. However, it works, because not only it makes up for great comedic bits (literally all of their scenes together omg) but also because you can’t have one without the other or it’d be awfully unbalanced.

The “rhythm section” duo

Yes, I even wanna talk about the symbolism of their instruments too and how they’re linked through that. Drums and bass are not only essential to any band but they’re also very important and rely on each other. I’m no music expert at all, but even I know one usually follows after the other to keep the pace of the rhythm.

This article has some many interesting takes on the relationship between the drummer and the bassist:

“A drummer’s comprehension of the role of bass guitar is often far greater than most guitarists.”

“Everyone in the band is of course on the team, but the bond between the bassist and drummer is something so deep that it usually takes a long time to develop.”

“Bassists and drummers are the rhythm section together, meaning one instrument consisting of two parts.”

“Simply put, the bassist and drummer really are the rhythm section. It’s not the guitarist and certainly not the damn keyboard player. That can be an unclear distinction at times, but I feel strongly about it. Bass and drums should be an inseparable pair, sonically speaking,” he continues. “That’s not to say that all kick patterns should be followed to the tee, but there should be an obvious and palpable awareness of what each other is doing. There are too many nuances to list that can go with or against that grain. In short, bass and drums should always be intertwined like hot, sweaty lovers having the rawest, musical sex.” — Miles McPherson

I find the whole ✨semiotic✨ of this very poetic on its own, but it’s also an OT3 thing I’ll get on later, I think.

Ultimately, Owen and Jeremy make it work, too. Duh. Their chemestry on screen really gives you the vibe that despite all the times Alex looks at Reggie like he’s fed up and wants to die all over again ("I wish I couldn’t see you”), Alex still finds him endearing and just…he loves the guy. And obviously Reggie – the heart of the boys trio– just loves him right back:

I just think they’re cute and funny and even when I’m not shipping them, I’m still appreciating them from a mlm solidarity pov (bc Reggie is definitely bi) and whoever said that Alex doesn’t take Reggie seriously or ever tries to even imply Alex wouldn’t set the whole world on fire to keep Reggie warm is just not watching the same goddamn show.

#jatp #julie and the phantoms #alex x reggie #reggie x alex #alex #reggie #yes it's almost 1 am and my head is FULL of ALEXREGGIE UNDERRATED SOULMATES #long post #meta #otp: come on reginald

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azthedragon · 3 years ago

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20 Questions - Writer’s Edition

Tagged by @ladylynse

How many works do you have on AO3? 13, which is not as much as FFnet’s 37. I should get onto moving more stuff around.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 178,776 on AO3 against 395.024 on FFnet. Count isn’t exact, though, because there are author’s notes and going chapter by chapter to exclude those is going to take way too much time.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they? Let’s see…

FFnet list 11 fandoms.

Sonic the Hedgehog, Danny Phantom, Mega Man, Harry Potter, Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja, Naruto, Legend of Zelda, How to Train Your Dragon, CSI: New York, Trollhunters, and My Hero Academia

And now even Assassin’s Creed, which will make it 12

What are your top five fics by kudos? 1. Slip of the Tongue a Linked Universe fic at 844 kudos

2. One Strange Partnership a crossover between Danny Phantom and My Hero Academia at 758 kudos

3. Odin’s Eye crossover between Trollhunters and How to Train Your Dragon at 727 kudos

4. Never Insult a Master Hairdresser another Linked Universe fic with 239

4. Two (Not) Deities and a Half Legend of Zelda’s amalgamation of ideas and headcanon I had with another author and that we used just for the simple fact of writing and having fun, regardless of how it came out. 239 kudos

5. Penpals a Danny Phantom crossed with Randy Cunningham at 163 kudos

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I try my best to reply, though sometimes I either forget or have nothing to say. Though maybe just even a thank you should do the trick.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? Uhhhh… I don’t do angsty endings? I mean, I might think about it, but it will surely be light and there will always be hope, or some sort of happiness. I’m… I suppose I’m incapable of leaving a bleak ending.

But the worst ending I ever wrote was for Fall of a Hero, Rise of a God (if it can be called angsty)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? Well, several of my fics have “happish” endings. But I suppose the most recent one is Slip of the Tongue

Do you write crossovers? If yes, what’s the craziest thing you’ve written? Oh yes. I love those as much as I love the Time Travel trope.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? No? I mean, there were a few negative comments in the past, but never downright hate and flame. Or perhaps they were, but I never perceived them to be?

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? No, but I used to? You know, that weird phase of adolescent discovery… looking back at it now I feel sooooo embarrassed and… oh well, let’s keep that part of my life under the imaginary rug.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Kinda? It was by one of those sites that pop up and use existing sites as database. A weird experience. I think the site went down after way too many people complained? I’m not sure, I can’t even remember the name.

Have you ever co-written a fic? I did, in the form of roleplays. Most of those never saw (and will never see) the light of the internet.

What’s your all time favorite ship? Don’t have one. I’m not a person that gravitates towards romance, though I will enjoy it if well inserted into a more adventurous fic.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Too many to count. I should put Unwilling Partners into this category too, but I promised myself I would finish it no matter what. Thinking of rewriting it, but… it’s the longest fic I have and rewriting over 140k words in 29 chapters is a beast I’m not ready to tackle yet. I want to finish Odin’s Eye right now. And this Nanowrimo project. And put some order to some of the ideas floating around.

What’s your writing strengths? I have no idea. What do you think?

What’s your writing weaknesses? Ehhh… I’d say full-on romance? You know… that lovey-dovey-rotting-of-teeth-romance.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in fic? That unless it’s a word here and there, like a name or an exclamation, it breaks the flow of the fic. I’d rather use narrative to explain people are talking another language, or if I’m forced to use it, I’d still write it in English, but use italics to make sure the text appear different along with a narration of how the language is different.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Sonic the Hedgehog. I was a huge fan back in the days of my youth.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Right now I’d point at Fall of a Hero, Rise of a God. It came out exactly as I wanted (save for a few cringe choice of wording), and I’m planning for a sequel the moment other stuff is done. I’m looking at you in particular, Odin’s Eye.

Tagging: Anyone that wants to do it, I suppose, because I obviously can’t tag @ladylynse back.

#tag game #writer's tag game #tagging other people doesn't work #again #tumblr fix this #it's annoying

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beevean · 4 years ago

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SEGA and the eternal issue of “Sonic’s girlfriend”

[Translator’s note: here is the original article written by @latin-dr-robotnik, originally written on the 18th of May 2020]

Today we’re going to talk about one of the aspects SEGA is more secretive about: Sonic’s relationships.

[Translator’s note: this article was written to celebrate Seaside Hill Paradise’s 200th entry. If you’re fluent in Spanish, I highly recommend you to check it out! And if you aren’t, go follow Latin’s Tumblr blog if you haven’t already and you’re into Sonamy, analyses, gushing about music and shitposts.]

This article concludes my Sonamy trilogy, and I recommend you to read the previous two articles: “SEGA and the eternal issue of the Sonamy dynamic” and “’I love you’ – forbidden words in Sonic”. This means this is a shipping article – if you’re not interested into another essay about the love life of a blue hedgehog, I can redirect you to other articles such as “Sonic and speed: are we misunderstanding them?” and “What went wrong with Classic Sonic’s music in Sonic Forces?”.

Everybody else, welcome to today’s article!

It should be noted that this article focuses more on the semi-official and strictly official aspects, since there is really not much to say about the fandom. Nowadays the fandom has a relatively peaceful coexistence, creating art, fanfics and more, for all kind of ships; sometimes there’s an occasional fight between ships or a ship that clearly is not appropriate… but besides that, everything seems relatively calm, at least in my experience and compared to other fandoms.

Too cool for relationships...

Few things are as mentioned and yet silenced by the official SEGA media as the fateful words “girlfriend” and “Sonic” put together. In official terms, Sonic has always been this young, cool hedgehog, with a pure love for nature and never too worried about life, but with a moral code that makes him fight against injustices. During his first years, Sonic was almost impatient and a little emotionally distant, although as it was the ‘90s and things were not so clear for the young SEGA star, different interpretations would take the character through different paths - some more radical than others. As the years went by, and going through many redesigns, certain aspects of his personality would be perfected, exaggerated, or even flanderized. His position on relationships, on the other hand, would remain relatively constant over the decades, with a few particular exceptions.

The this is that Sonic, in the words of his own creator Naoto Ohshima, has always been considered “a young man with a child's heart”, which has helped to substantiate and understand why the character would remain relatively distant from his feelings, and much closer to his own interests associated with the life of adventure.

... or is he?

Despite everything I just said, they tried in many occasions, if not succeeded, to give Sonic a girlfriend, with various results.

As carefree as Sonic is, and as much as SEGA tried to clarify this point over and over again, the people behind his character have always tried to introduce one or more relationships into his life. Even Naoto Ohshima himself has made his own suggestion as to who might be a hypothetical partner for his character. The different interpretations I’ve mentioned have tweaked Sonic’s character to make it more apt to certain types of dynamics, and the cultural gap between the East and the West (which I analyzed a few years ago with the first article of this “trilogy”) also has a considerable impact on the type of relationships that would be established for Sonic from very early in his history until today.

Author’s note: the concept of “Sonic + human woman” of 1990 wasn’t completely forgotten, no no, it was brought back 16 years later, in… well… the worst way possible.

Let’s see an example. Going back to his very origins, in his pre-Sonic 1 sketches Sonic was often depicted with a stereotypical damsel in distress, Madonna, his own “Princess Peach” that ended up being scrapped for many reasons, including the similarities with Super Mario. As the years have gone by, this concept has not disappeared, but rather the writers and directors of the series have taken it down different paths over time. While Madonna was too cliché, other candidates for the role of “Sonic’s girlfriend” would quickly appear to try different dynamics, directly or indirectly endorsed by SEGA.

Sally Acorn

For many years, Princess Sally was for Western fans the first person who came to mind when they thought of “Sonic’s girlfriend”. Since 1993, and for 2 more decades, her relationship with Sonic has gone in many directions, but fundamentally the most amazing thing about this whole situation was that she was Sonic’s official girlfriend (at least in the Archie Comics canon). It was also one of the many headaches for SEGA in the last decade.

Originally a fellow fighter against the macabre Robotnik from the 1993 animated series Sonic The Hedgehog, Sonic and Sally’s relationship was always marked by their opposite personalities; while Sally tends to plan ahead and is much more focused on the seriousness of the task, Sonic was the type to destroy robots first and think later. “Opposites attract,” they say, and by the (premature, I might add) end of that series both were already more than friends. They had already kissed a couple of times.

At the most critical moment in their relationship, Sonic, after a year of being missing in space and presumed dead by everyone, returns to Mobius only to end up back in potential danger, decides to ignore the wishes and warnings of Sally, who’s clearly emotionally traumatized and stressed by both the general situation and the responsibilities she had to carry out for her kingdom in the absence of her parents. The result of this explosive cocktail was one of the most infamous scenes in all of Archie Sonic, "the Slap", where Sally finally reacts violently to Sonic's selfish statements. The hedgehog's response? Well, a long exposure to the screams about her experience - also traumatic - up to that point. In the end, both end up screaming and crying in front of virtually everyone.

What followed in the next decades was an expansion of that original SatAM canon in the Archie Comics, in which its various writers introduced varying degrees of drama and increasing conflict to demonstrate the strong bond between them, destabilizing or even stabilizing it again, multiple times. They would be together for some time, then they would be apart, eventually rekindling the flame of love passionately, until a final sacrifice on their part and the eventual resetting of the entire Archie Sonic canon.

In their last years, after the Super Genesis Wave, Sonic and Sally’s relationship went back to being platonic. a good friendship with the advantages and disadvantages of their personalities - Sally’s leadership and Sonic’s extreme confidence - while the focus was put on the flourishing relationship between Sally and her best friend (and old computer!) Nicole.

Regardless of the way their relationship ended, it's undeniable that Sally has left a huge mark. Being a product of the West, her existence was never really accepted by the Sonic’s Japanese creators, but because the bulk of the fandom is here in the West, Sally's presence has been strongly associated with Sonic, the Freedom Fighters, the comics... and also the ship wars between her and the character we’re going to talk about next. Her very existence was a living contradiction to the Japanese central canon, an official girlfriend who broke all the ideas that existed for Sonic in terms of his conception of relationships and lead him through unique paths. Whether for better or worse, Sally broke the mold.

Eimi. Rosy. Amy Rose.

On the opposite side of the spectrum there’s Amy, a character that was originally conceived as the Minnie to Sonic’s Mickey, but with her own dynamic.

Despite Amy’s existence being strongly tied to Sonic’s, once again Sonic Team tried to avoid the classic cliché (in this case to copy Mickey and Minnie), opting then to establish Amy as the one interested in a relationship, while Sonic runs away from this idea. For this dynamic to keep working, Sonic’s feelings have to be kept hidden, with excuses like his “shyness”, which leads to ambiguity, or because, as said before, of his “child’s heart”.

The most interesting thing is that Amy kept her canonical status of “self-proclaimed girlfriend” since 1993, which makes her “official” and “not official” at the same time, but there are some traces left from the Sonic manga of 1992 (which in turn influenced Amy’s original design), where a prototype version of Amy (or, as it was spelled there, Emi/Eimi) played the role of Sonic’s girlfriend (or Nicki’s, to be more precise). With this detail in mind, Amy can be considered, at least in the East, the very first “Sonic’s girlfriend”, even before Sally – but her situation is much more complex.

Sonic Mega Drive (top) and Sonic Boom (bottom), representing some differences in different Sonic continuities.

In any case, the manga would be the first and only time Amy was officially considered “Sonic’s girlfriend”, because in the following decades and in several continuities the core of their dynamic shifted to Amy chasing Sonic. Both would get closer or further away depending on each case (in Fleetway, for example, Amy ends up marrying another character, while in Archie Sonic there would be only a few instances of potential interest, quickly overshadowed by convenience or other things directly or indirectly related to Sally), but generally no continuity would establish an official relationship. In some cases, such as Japan, it wouldn’t even be necessary to clarify the state of the relationship, since their cultures accept more easily the dynamic that Sonic Team proposed as an “official relationship”. Just looking at the artwork highlighted on Sonic Channel (run by SEGA of Japan) shows how much more accepted the relationship is, even though Sonic Team’s official artwork still avoids any kind of public confirmation. (Author’s note: I’ve written more about Amy according to the East and the West in the first article of this trilogy)

Unlike Sally, there is no “opposites attract” situation between Amy and Sonic, and, at first, there is no prior friendship from which a potential relationship could flourish. We witnessed their dynamics from the first moment they met, and it would not be until years later that there would be a minimal basis for interaction from which various official continuities would bring both characters closer together.

Technically Amy already knew that her destiny was tied to Sonic and the events of Sonic CD on Little Planet, thanks to her tarot cards (an element that has disappeared since then), but for Sonic it was just another day of adventure, and although we’ve seen how Amy's feelings have progressed, mostly in Adventure 1 and 2, Sonic has never reflected on his personal feelings; it’s an aspect of the hedgehog that to this day remains a mystery to the audiences.

Also unlike Sally, Amy has appeared in multiple continuities of all kinds and because of that her relationship with Sonic has been affected in various ways. The main videogames canon has remained ambiguous and unchanged for 25 years: Amy would stay close to Sonic and offer some good moments to reflect on her feelings about him (some of which I mentioned in my post about Sonic Unleashed and Amy’s emotional support), while Sonic would remain distant, uncomfortable, shy, and, more recently, potentially affected by her apparent loss.

Sonic X is the first official attempt (by Sonic Team no less) to offer an expanded view of our characters. There’s a lot of discussion about how Sonic is slowly opening up to Amy’s advances, and these developments follow a line that we discussed in previous articles of this trilogy, and how, during the 2000s, the Japanese writers of the series kept slowly deepening the interactions between the two, reaching very important symbolic moments like Sonic X Ep. 9, 52 and 76, among several others. I am purposely leaving out specific details to direct your attention to this fantastic thread by Yvanix Rose that highlights some key details about how this continuity worked the Sonic-Amy dynamic. [Translator’s note: the thread is in Spanish]

Sonic X, episode 76.

Another essential continuity for the development of this dynamic was Sonic Boom, since, despite having been a separate continuity with its own interpretation of the characters, its existence managed to influence the main canon in some way in the years that followed its original release in 2014.

Sonic Boom made two important changes in the dynamic: Amy did no longer externalize her feelings with the same frequency or intensity (speeding up a process that already started in the main canon in 2008), and Sonic was noticeably more nervous and insecure of his feelings for her, even being jealous in several occasions. These changes got the dynamic closer to the “friends who have secret feelings to each other but they’re too shy to admit it” trope, and in the second season it could even be said that there are signals of the “secretly dating” trope. Nothing was officially confirmed yet, but the changes to the dynamic offered a fresh perspective to work from: winks and inferences about a relationship that was not talked about but seemed to happen behind the scenes.

Sonic Boom S1E16.

Sonic Boom’s approach also opened the door to working a little more on the characters’ new personalities. Taking a little inspiration from the original foundations of Sally and Sonic’s relationship, Boom now presented situations where Sonic and Amy’s perspectives actively clashed with each other, leading to discussions and moments that showed a little more of the mundane details of the friendship they had, rather than appealing to more classic behaviors of the main canon, like Sonic leaving the scene in a hurry. Considering the way things turned out the last time we saw this kind of dynamic on screen, it was pretty safe to assume that their new opposites were now attracted; the implied secret dating and so on only helped to give it more sustenance - which the fandom would eventually take to the extreme.

And lastly there’s IDW Sonic, the comic series that replaced Archie Sonic after its cancellation in 2017, and the most recent arc that offers an interesting perspective. Starting its continuity from the end of the events of Sonic Forces (which at the same time took on certain characteristics from the post-Boom era, particularly as far as Amy is concerned), IDW Sonic didn’t waste any time in presenting the way in which it would carry out its dynamic between Sonic and Amy.

Amy makes her feelings for Sonic very clear, and he is surprised but unable to match them. However, Sonic doesn’t want to outright reject her, and suggests that she come with him; she refuses, claiming that she has duties to the Resistance, setting the tone for the rest of the series. (IDW Sonic #2)

“Sonic’s girlfriend” today

As I mentioned earlier, after the reboot Sally was no longer considered Sonic’s girlfriend, and her disappearance after the cancellation of Archie Sonic in general is a sign that we may not see her ever again, even as a friend. As of today, in 2020, only Amy has been left in her “unofficial, but…” state, with various minor events taking place both in the main canon and in IDW Sonic:

In 2018 the official SEGA shop wrote a description for a piece of Amy Rose merchandise that said “celebrate 25 years of Sonic’s girlfriend”; the mistake wasn’t immediately corrected, despite the fandom pointing it out immediately.

The video game canon has remained dormant, with Team Sonic Racing in 2019 featuring more of a regular friendship between Sonic and Amy, sharing rivalries and quiet moments alike.

On the other hand, since IDW Sonic and Sonic Boom laid their foundations, we've begun to see a certain shift in the way the two characters are presented. While we’ve talked about IDW Sonic already, Sonic’s social medias have done multiple “Twitter Takeovers” where Sonic characters answer questions from fans, and Sonic has always answered more like his version of Boom to the inevitable question about Amy and his “feelings”.

Recent official animations like Sonic Mania Adventures and Team Sonic Racing Overdrive have shown Amy flirting with Sonic in a more casual way.

The current dynamic seems to be pointing towards “Sonic’s hidden feelings”, and I think we are at a perfect point to change the approach. SEGA in general seems more open to the idea of bringing these characters closer, probably as a marketing strategy, but without yet separating themselves from the central ideas that defined the dynamic for the last two and a half decades.

Conclusion

The idea of “Sonic’s girlfriend” has been one of the most experimental and controversial in the almost three decades that this series has been around for. SEGA has opened the door to all kinds of ambiguities, developments and interpretations, all with their pros and cons, instead of settling on a definitive position. As iconic as these characters, conceived as Sonic’s “romantic interests”, have become, they have also had their share of criticism and controversy, especially in the fandom.

The presence of Amy as the only “official but self-proclaimed girlfriend” today says a lot about the control SEGA (specifically SEGA of Japan) regained over the characters, after decades of interpretations that offered different alternatives with various degrees of success. At her best, Sally represented an ideal relationship with Sonic, much more complete and profound than the back-and-forth game between Amy and Sonic. But at her worst, this same relationship represented everything wrong that could happen by associating Sonic with the emotional spiderweb of a romantic relationship. SEGA hardening its control over the characters seems to have put an end of this type of situation where Sonic ends up being involved in a romantic telenovela, but at the same time it has revitalized the flirting game and the implicit associations that give fuel to the fandom fire.

From my humble interpretation, I think we’ve reached a point where Sonic and Amy have shared enough stories and moments to solidify the core aspects of their personalities and their friendship, allowing them to take the next step, which is to play around with the idea of “something else”. 25 years ago it was hard to see how these two characters could work together beyond “it’s SEGA’s word”; today there’s enough of a story to find a rhythm and chemistry for them, and the series of situations they've put themselves in (e.g. IDW Sonic’s plot arcs) are increasingly helping this case. The topic of “Sonic's girlfriend” may be a controversial one for SEGA and the fandom in general, but the doors have slowly been opened for this debate to develop and be investigated with interesting results, and I think that, in this new decade of 2020, there’s a unique potential to explore this kind of discussion, without sacrificing in any way the central principles of Sonic as a character. Thank you for joining me in these 200 entries, and hopefully we’ll see each other for many more.

#sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #sonamy #translation #analysis #long post #happy birthday latin!#this one was so hard #i had to cut a lot of shp-related parts sadly #but this whole project was very fun and enlightening

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melancholydreadfuldream · 4 years ago

Text

Going Under Part One

Fandom: Doctor Who

Pairing: 13th Doctor x Reader

Summary: An accident during a routine adventure made your life spiraled out of control with only the Doctor as the anchor. Will you ever find your way back to your Doctor again?

Trigger Warning: ooc, angst, plot holes as usual, attempted suicide, dark!doctor, death, insanity, etc. You have been warned.

More warning: English is not my first language so beware of the headache you will receive upon reading this.

A/N: Ok, this is going to be a very disastrous story and to tell the truth, I have no idea how to wrap it up in a pretty bow. For this particular story, I put the song Going Under by Evanescence on a loop to get in the mood hence the title. As usual, this story probably filled with lot of plot holes, but that is to be expected in my fanfiction. I'm very afraid to post this actually. It would be very me to ended up writing a bad fanfiction that no one care to read. I have finished part two, actually, but I will post it on queue. Ugh, I'm throwing myself into the usual circle of hell of wondering whether writing this worth it or whether this is trash. Wish me luck, guys!

Part Two is here

I fell to the ground after I was shot by that light beam. I thought I was a goner. From the concerned sounds of the Doctor and the fam, they thought the same.

It was our usual routine adventure that almost always followed by a crisis that only the Doctor can solved. This time, the crisis involved human experiments. The Doctor is righteously pissed at the perpetrators. And one of the scientists shot at the Doctor using his experimental weapon and I pushed her out of the way.

The Doctor and the fam fussed over me.

I felt pain and then nothing. I think I lose my consciousness for a bit. I woke up to the sound of sonic screwdriver insistently scanning me. I forced myself to open my eyes and saw the relieved faces of the Doctor and the fam. I groaned. "What happened?"

The Doctor and the fam shared a chuckle at my respond.

"Don't ever do that again." The Doctor said with a firm tone.

Seeing her serious expression, I sighed. Eventhough she would have done the same as me if she was in my position, the time lady doth protest too much, methinks. But I'm not in the mood to argue, so I replied, "I won't."

The Doctor gazed at me with indecipherable expression. "We should go back to the Tardis. I have to scan you some more. I don't know what that weapon is, seem to malfunction, you are very lucky, (name). But just in case, I need to do more test on you."

"Whatever you want, doc."

"How are you feeling?" Yaz asked me as she helped me up.

"Like I was electrocuted? But...now I feel kind of okay." I said.

"You scared all of us." Ryan said.

"Sorry. But I'm fine, see?" I decided to do a dramatic spinning and I regretted it when I lost my balance.

The Doctor catches me before I fall. "Not so fine after all..." she murmured. She is surprisingly very strong.

"Okay, I might need a rest." I admitted.

The Doctor made Yaz and Ryan led me back to the Tardis as she had to deal with the scientists.

7777

Yaz and Ryan took me to my room back inside the Tardis. I thanks them for their help before hugging one of my stuffed animals pillow on the bed and blissfully fell into a deep sleep.

I woke maybe a few hours later. The room is cold. I felt so uncomfortable as I forced myself to open my eyes. I was surprised to find myself on the floor in a very dark room. I reach around my pant for my smartphone and turned on the flashlight. I found the door and got out. I could hear the voices of the Doctor and the fam in the console room so I went over there.

"Guys, how did I ended up on the floor in some random room?" I asked loudly.

The Doctor and the fam froze as they saw me.

The Doctor quickly approached me and demanded in a very scary tone, "Who are you? How did you get on board of my Tardis?"

I was confused. "What do you mean?"

"We are inside the time vortex. How did you get here? And when did you even get in?"

I stared at her in confusion. "Doctor, what are you talking about?"

"Y-you know who I am?" The Doctor asked. She look at me in skeptical.

"Of course I do. Duh. We have been travelling together for a while." I said. "Ryan, is this one of your prank? Did you get her to play along?"

Ryan look very confused. "Err, you know me?"

"Ok, this is not funny, guys." I complained. "I'm so tired after our latest adventures. I mean, I did get shot. I'm really not in the mood for whatever prank this is."

The Doctor and the fam exchanged a look at each other.

They were making me nervous now.

"We don't know who you are." It was Yaz who replied.

"That's not funny, Yaz." I said. "Just stop it, guys."

"How did you know my fam? Who are you?" The Doctor demanded as she grabbed my wrist in warning.

"Doctor, you are hurting me. What is wrong with you?" I yelled angrily as I tried to pull my wrist free of her strong grip.

"Err, doc, I think we all need to calm down some." Graham said.

The Doctor released me grudgingly.

I massaged my wrist. "Had I known you would act this way, I would let that scientist shot you."

"What scientist?" The Doctor asked.

"You said you were shot? Where are you injured?" Yaz asked.

I sighed. "Are we still playing this? You are all there when he shot at the Doctor and I pushes her out of the way." I glared at the Doctor. "Don't worry, doc, I won't shield you again next time." I said sarcastically.

The Doctor pulled her sonic screwdriver and scanned me. "Human."

"Of course, I am human! Guys, I'm so..." I trailed as I finally take a good long look at them and realized they really have no idea who I am. "You really have no idea who I am?"

The fam nodded in unison.

I could feel myself start to panic. "Oh God, is this the side effect of that shot? Did it makes you guys forgot all about me? I mean it was experimental weapon. And, doc, you promised to do a scan on me in the Tardis to see if there is any other...damages..."

"I don't know who you are and what your plan is but if you are planning to..."

"I'm not! I am not the enemy, okay! Just chill!" I yelled at her when I noticed she is about to give me her oncoming storm rants. I quickly pulled my smartphone.

The Doctor raised her sonic screwdriver at me warningly.

"I have proof, okay?" I placated. I went through my phone and to the gallery. I showed them our many selfie group pictures. "Here."

The Doctor grabbed my phone and took a few step back. The fam goes to see the pictures in disbelief.

"How is this possible?" Yaz asked the Doctor.

The Doctor observed the pictures and then she stared at me. "What is your name?"

"It's (name). (name) (last name)." I replied weakly.

The Doctor nodded and went to the console, pushing some button. The monitor suddenly turned on and show information on me. While at it, the Doctor performed a scan on me via the Tardis. She also cloned my phone so that she can investigates the pictures. I think she suspected it was fake photoshop picture or something.

"Satisfied yet? I'm not lying, okay."

The Doctor hummed. "We will see."

I groaned in annoyance.

While the Doctor busy consulting with the Tardis, I sat on one of the stairs. I watched the Doctor and the fam stay far away from me and whispered really quiet. I sighed.

The Tardis suddenly bleeping loudly and the Doctor run around the console and then stopped in front of the monitor, reading the information provided by the sentient ship.

The Doctor look awed, her mouth dropped open. She turned to look at me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"According to this, you are from an alternate universe." The Doctor replied. "But how did you even ended up here?"

"You are asking me? I have no idea. Last thing I remember is sleeping in my room at the Tardis and then I woke up here." I said.

"Tell me exactly what happened before. You said that you were shot...by some scientist?" The Doctor asked.

So I told her exactly what happened.

7777

While The Doctor is busy figuring out what exactly happened to me, I sat alone at the kitchen's Tardis. At least the way to the kitchen is still the same. I made myself a coffee and sat staring at my cup absentmindedly.

Ryan come in and sat with me for a while. He was curious about the other Ryan and asked me to tell stories about my own adventure back in my universe.

I sighed. It seemed I have come to accept what is happening to me. I am indeed in twilight zone where I have never met the Doctor and the fam thus never boarded the Tardis. I was kind of sad so to distract my mind, I relented and tell him whatever he want to know.

Eventually Yaz joined us. We started talking about our respective adventures and about the Doctor. We got a laugh over the Doctor being pretty much the same in any universe.

I don't know how long we talked but I was grateful for them for easing my loneliness. I finally noticed the Doctor is standing leaning against the doorway, watching us. A small smile touched her lips as she watches us.

"Doctor." I called out. "Did you find anything?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry. Unless we found the weapon they used on you, I can't exactly figure it out."

"So, we have to go to the place where the scientists are? Okay. Let's go." I said, eager to get this over with so I can go back to my Doctor and my friends. "I mean, I guess we should find your version of the scientists who did this to me, right? So that you can take a look at the weapon?"

The Doctor look impressed with me.

"Then what are waiting for?"

"Tomorrow." The Doctor replied. "We are all tired. You look tired."

I wanted to protest but she shushed me.

"Come on I will show you to your room." The Doctor said.

7777

The Doctor left me in my new room. The room is just ordinary without any of personal touch. I felt the loneliness come back. I laid on the bed, trying to hold back my tears. I pulled my phone and swipe on the pictures of my Doctor and my fam. I hope to God that I could return back to them as soon as possible. "Please don't let me be trapped here." I whispered. I fell asleep soon after.

I woke up to the concerned voices of the Doctor and the fam. I opened my eyes in confusion. I wasn't in my room. The Tardis med-bay, my mind supplied.

The Doctor and the fam looked at me with troubled expression.

"Doctor? What happened?"

"You're awake."

"How did I get here? I was in my room."

"The Doctor is checking on you and she found you in a seizure." Yaz replied. "You really had all of us scared out of our mind."

I smiled a little. I felt bad for intruding on them when they didn't even know me. I frowned. I didn't remember getting a seizure though. I looked up toward the Doctor. "Thank you for checking up on me. You saved me."

"We are even then..." The Doctor said.

"Yeah."

The Doctor gazed at me. "Do you feel any pain right now?"

"Not really, just really really tired." I trailed. My eyes widened suddenly as I look at the Doctor. "we are even?"

The Doctor looked confused. "Yeah, you did saved me first, by pushing me out of the way."

"You know me!" I yelled suddenly. "You know me, right?" I asked her and then turned to the fam. "You guys too? Yaz? Ryan? Graham?"

The Doctor and the fam stared at me as if I had gone insane and exchanged a look with each other.

"err, did she get a concussion, doc?" Ryan asked.

"Hey!!" I yelled. "Focus!! Who am I?"

"You don't know?" Graham asked.

"Of course I know who I am. Do you? Come on, guys, work with me here!" I said as I forced myself to get up despite their protests. "Who am I?" I barked at them. If the situation is different, I would have laugh at how angry I sounded but I was desperate for them to make sure they do know me.

The Doctor stared at me and then replied, "You are (name)."

"And?" I urged. "Did I travel with you and them in the Tardis?"

"You know you do, (name)." Yaz said. "What's gotten into you?"

I sighed in relief at their confirmation. I laughed. "I'm back!" I laughed some more as tears suddenly fell into my cheeks.

"(name), are you alright?" Graham asked cautiously.

"You guys won't believe what happened to me." I said. And I told them what happened to me earlier.

7777

I sulked. They don't believe me. At all. Because according to them, I have been sleeping in my room that whole time. Even the Doctor said what I'm experiencing is probably a nightmare. In a way, it made sense. The Doctor and the fam never knew me? My greatest fear.

I sat on the stairs on the console room. After what happened to me, regardless whether it was real or not, I don't feel like to be alone so I sat there, watching the Doctor at the console.

The Doctor noticed me and decided to join me at the stairs.

"So, a seizure, huh? Was it because of that weapon? Have you figure out what that weapon are? Did it meant to give the victim a nightmare and a seizure?" I asked the Doctor.

The Doctor look troubled.

"Doctor?"

"Don't worry, (name), it will be okay."

"So there is something to worry about?"

"Of course not."

"But you just said..."

The Doctor surprised me when she suddenly grabbed my face. I blushed at the close proximity.

"Just trust in me, (name)." She said as she put her forehead over mine. "Just trust the Doctor."

"I do trust you, Doctor." I said softly.

I feel dizzy all of sudden and fell to the floor, unable to balance myself. "Ow, what the hell...? That is some headache..." I looked up and frowned when I realized I was alone. "Doctor?"

7777

My eyes widened as I take in the console room. It was different from what I used to. But there is no one in the console room. Fear nagging on the corner of my mind. Have I gone insane? Or did I somehow travel somewhere else again?

I know the Tardis is not in mid-flight, it was already landed somewhere so I got out of the Tardis to check it out. As I opened the door, I saw the beach and a man in a trench coat was there, nursing a banana daiquiri. He had his ties tied around his forehead and a black sunglasses covered his face. He was drunk as a skunk. With no one in sight, I had no choice but to go to him for information.

"Hello." I greeted.

The man glanced at me and smiled brightly. "Why, hello there. Where did you come from? No one go to this beach this time of the years..."

"Yeaah...about that...where am I...exactly? I'm kinda lost...?"

He beamed. "I'm good with lost thing. Oops, where is my manner? Hulla there, I'm the Doctor."

My jaw dropped in shock. "W-what? You? You are the Doctor?" I asked.

"Yeah, do you know of me then?" He asked in dopey manner.

"But...you are a man..." I said dumbly.

"Of course I am a man. What else I could be?" He asked almost like I insult him.

"Right. She said she was once a Scotsman before. It was a time lord thingies, was it?"

He sobered up almost immediately. "How did you know that?"

"I'm not the enemy, okay? Everytime!" I yelled, pissed at his tone that is almost accusing. I admitted I was being dramatic. It was only one time but I just hated being questioned of my intention. But then again, this version of the Doctor never met me so of course he will be suspicious.

He frowned at me.

"Look, Doctor. I don't know what is happening to me. I keep waking up into different Tardis than the one that I know of. My Doctor said everything is alright but as you can see, the fact that I'm here instead with her means something is wrong. I knew she is holding out something on me. Trust in the Doctor, my ass!" I ranted.

He blinked at me. "Soo, you are a future companion of mine then? And I will be a Time Lady in the future?"

I blinked back at him. "You are taking this surprisingly well. I thought you would give me the oncoming storm speech. Considering I have no proof that I am indeed your future companion..."

"I feel like you are quite genuine to fake it."

"err, thanks?"

He grinned a boyish grin at me. "Right then, off to the Tardis we are!" He said as he grabbed my hand toward the Tardis.

I pulled away from him. "Bit forward, aren't you?"

"What? Didn't your Doctor grab your hand and told you to run?"

"Noo. She told me to get off my ass and help her barricade the door."

"Oh."

"We were under alien attack, you see, it was my first time to see alien so I was kinda out of it."

"Right. That sounded like interesting story which we can continue on the Tardis. Come on."

I followed him obediently.

7777

I told him what happened to me, about the shooting, about the alternate universe.

The Doctor hummed as he pushed some button on the Tardis as he made the machine scan me.

"So, am I in the past or am I in some random alternate universe?" I asked.

The Doctor frowned as he observed the monitor containing information on whatever it is he is working on.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." He said as he tried to pulled the monitor away from me but I was faster this time and I saw it.

"Ooh..." I was understandably shocked. Because according to the Tardis database, I don't exist.

"Different universe yeah?" He said as if trying to console me.

"Yeah." I nodded numbly. "But... you believe me?"

He nodded. "Course."

I sighed in relief. "Can you get me back home?"

"I will most certainly try."

I nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

He smiled at me. "So, since you are from alternate universe, it meant whatever you tell me will not be spoiler. So tell me about your Doctor. I have never regenerated into a woman before. What was I like?"

"Well, you love to talk, I guess you are always like that, huh?"

"Love talking." He said cheekily.

I described my Doctor to him. He gave me an amused smile. "What?"

"Sounded like you fancy her..."

I blushed. "Shut up. She is my best friend, okay."

He grinned.

My stomach choose that moment to protest in hunger much to my embarassment.

He chuckled. "Come on, let's go to the kitchen."

I followed him gratefully. "Doctor, where are your companion?"

His smile vanished. "I wasn't taking anyone currently."

"Ooh." I felt bad for bringing that up because it sure ruined his mood. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For whatever happened to you or your companion."

He look surprised.

"You have that sad eyes, like my Doctor. Before she met me and the fam, she lost someone too."

He smiled sadly. "Yeah that tends to happened." He sighed and then he stared at me. "The fam?"

I shrugged. "It is what she called us."

"Blimey how many companion did she have right now?"

I told him about the fam happily. He was lonely, I can tell. I wonder what happened to his companion. But I know better than to ask that. So all I can do is tell him about my funny adventures to ease his loneliness. We entered the kitchen and he started preparing a light snack and tea for me.

7777

I woke up on the floor...again.

"err, how did you get here?" A young man suddenly waved me for attention.

"W-what? Where am I?" I asked in confusion.

"You are in the Tardis kitchen but how did you get here?"

"Are you the Doctor?"

"No. I'm Rory, my wife and I travel with him." He said. "Are you alright?" He look concerned.

"My head hurts." I said. "Can you get me to the Doctor please?"

He nodded. "Wait here." He quickly left and yelled for Amy and the Doctor.

My head hurts really badly. I felt like I'm about to throw up. I forced myself to stand up and walked out of the kitchen and fell.

7777

"DOCTOOOORR!!" A young woman screamed loudly making me wince. "Hey, are you alright?"

I groaned. "I'm not okay. I think I'm dying..." I said.

"DOCTOOOORRR!!"

I groaned. "Please stop yelling at me. God, I'm in hell..."

"Sorry."

"Clara, what's with all the yelling?" An old man dressed like a magician suddenly appeared.

"Look at her."

"Who is she? Did you invite a stranger without my permission?"

"I did not! I found her in the corridor like that." Clara said with a glare.

He sonic-ed me. "You looked like hell."

"I'm dying..." I said almost petulantly.

"She kept saying that..." Clara said.

"Get her to the medbay."

Contrary to my belief, I was not dying. Apparently I was dehydrated. The Doctor gave me some infusion. I felt so much better now.

The Doctor and the young woman who identified as Clara stared at me curiously as I devoured some food they gave me.

"Right, you want an explanation." I said.

"That would be great, yeah." Clara said.

"Well, what did the Tardis tell you? Am I at least exist here?" I asked.

The Doctor frowned. "How do you mean?"

"The last universe I was in, the Doctor told me that I didn't exist. The one before that apparently never met me. I'm so tired. I just want to go home to my Doctor and my friends." I said tiredly.

"Tell me exactly what happened to you." The Doctor demanded suddenly.

And so I did. Again.

"So, ever since the shot, you have been crossing all over the universe?" Clara asked in awe.

I sighed. "That, or my Doctor is right and this is all just happening in my head. A nightmare of some kind. Though I didn't think so. Even I wouldn't be able to conjure so many detail about the Doctor."

The Doctor told me that the Doctor I met in the beach is his tenth incarnation and that he was the Twelfth one.

"Yeah, I think my Doctor is after this you. She mentioned that she used to be a Scotsman before." I replied.

"Wait, your Doctor is a woman?" Clara asked giddily. "Oh, I have to meet her."

The Doctor gave Clara a look.

"What? I am curious. You as a woman." Clara said with a grin at the Doctor. "Tell me what she look like." She asked me.

"Am I allowed to tell her?" I asked the Doctor. "Am I in the past or...?" I'm almost afraid to ask.

"You are in an alternate universe. And you did exist here." The Doctor said.

I nodded.

"Well? Tell me please." Clara urged me.

I grinned at her and told her what she wanted to know.

The Doctor pretended to be busy with something else but both Clara and I know he is secretly listening. He asked me for some blood sample and I let him. I trust him.

The last words my Doctor left me...trust in the Doctor. So I did.

7777

I woke up alone in the Tardis medbay. I sighed, resigning myself to be in another random place of universe. I wonder where I ended up right now.

I got out of the medbay trying to find the Doctor. For once, I recognized the Tardis interior. My hearts swelled with hope that I am back at home. I walked as fast as I can to the console room hoping to find the Doctor or the fam. I found none.

I got out of the Tardis. I was in some alien planet. Without thinking for my safety, I stepped out of the Tardis. And then I saw her. The Doctor. My Doctor. But does she know me?

The Doctor stood alone, looking so lonely. My heart ached for her.

"Doctor?" I called out.

The Doctor turned around and her eyes widened as she saw me. "(name)? Is it really...you?" she stuttered my name.

I gave her a hesitant smile. "It's me."

She hugged me and she actually burst into tears.

I hugged her back but I was confused. "Doctor, what's wrong?"

She pulled out of the hug and put both of her hands over my face. She smiled sadly. "My (name)..."

I felt uncomfortable. I like her so much. In fact, I could actually admitted that I have a crush on her. But the way she called my name, it's almost like we are lovers which I know we are not.

"I missed you so much." She said with a sob.

I was floored. The Doctor? Doing emotion? Something is wrong with her. "Doctor, where is the fam?"

She sobered up immediately. A dark expression crossed her features.

"What's it?"

"I lost them...to the cyberman."

I blinked. "Jack's warning..."

She nodded sadly.

"What happened?"

"I failed them." She only said that, not wanting to relive the painful memory.

I wanted to cry. I can't believe it. The fam can't be gone. "How long have I been gone?"

She didn't answer. Instead she turned around and walked toward to a bunch of stone. I followed her and I froze when I saw it.

It was my graveyard. The stone has my name carved on it.

I shook my head. "This isn't it. This isn't home." I whispered.

"She said that too." The Doctor said. "You, she died in my arms. She died in pain and she kept screaming that she wanted to go home."

I was shook to the core. Is this my future? Did I just give myself a spoiler?

"I never understand what is happening to her. I tried to make sense of it. It sounded like she was being torn apart from the inside." The Doctor said with a forlorn look.

I shook my head in disbelief. I ran back toward the Tardis. I screamed while I was inside. "Please, please take me back home! I'm done with this! I'm done!!"

The Doctor entered the Tardis. Her eyes looked sad.

I ignored her as I broke down in tears. I bend my knees on the floor and cried.

She also sat beside me and hugged me close.

"What is happening to me? Please fix me, Doctor." I begged her. "Please..."

The Doctor nodded weakly. "I will. Of course, I will."

I stared at her. "Promise me." I demanded. I know I was being cruel. "I want to go back to my Doctor and to my friends."

"I promise."

The Doctor lies. That's what the Master once told me when we met. She won't lie, would she?

I made the mistake to gaze at her and I saw something frightening in her features.

7777

I blinked and froze when I saw Twefth Doctor and Clara again. I was in a different console room again.

They stared at me.

"You are back." Clara said.

My whole body just trembled mixture of fear, shock and relief.

"I just found out I will die a painful death." I blurted as I wipe my tears off with my sleeve.

The Doctor and Clara blinked at me.

"I'm so tired of saying this. But for the love of God, please help me, Doctor." I begged him.

The Doctor stared at me and nodded. "Your blood sample come back. You are indeed dying."

"Doctor!" Clara shouted in warning.

I nodded and laughed harshly. "I figures as much."

"There is something changing your DNA and it made you into a personal time machine. One that seemed to anchor yourself to the Doctor. Any Doctor. Any universes." The Doctor said. "And you are only human, your body can't take it. You are dying a slow death."

I sighed. "I guess the good thing about this is it was me instead of the Doctor." I said softly. If I had not pushed my Doctor out of the way, it would be her in this predicament. The thought of the Doctor dying, I shuddered. The universe will be screwed.

The Doctor looked like he was being slapped. "She would not want that. I, she would not want you to die in her place."

"I didn't want to die either. But..." I stared at Clara. "You would do the same for him, wouldn't you?"

Clara stared at her Doctor solemnly. "In a heartbeat."

The Doctor gazed at Clara.

"Right, okay? Is there a way to at least prolong my life?" I asked them, broke them from their loving gaze.

The Doctor replied without looking at me, "Working on it... Would be easier if you led me to the scientists so I can take a look at their project."

"Right." I tried to wreck my brain to remember what planet the Doctor took me that times. I was at loss.

He rolled his eyes. "Human. Pudding brain."

"Hey!!" Both Clara and I yelled at him.

He grabbed me and told me to put my hands on the Tardis telepathic circuit. He told me to focus on my memory of that planet. So I did.

7777

I was in a middle of a town square. The town sign told me it was Christmas. I groaned. "Now what?"

I heard the unmistakable sound of a sonic screwdriver and a man in bow tie is wielding it at me.

"Hello, there, I'm the Doctor."

"I know. The sonic screwdriver kinda gives you away."

"You know me then?"

I sighed. "This is bullshit. Doctor, I'm a future companion, okay? I traveled with your Thirteenth incarnation. But I might be from another universes. It has been happening a lot lately. And I'm dying apparently."

The Doctor glared at me and let out a harsh chuckle. "Nice one. But I am on my last regeneration and I don't have anymore. So, who are you, really?"

I stared at him disbelief. "You have got to be joking. I don't have a proof, okay? But I wasn't lying."

"Yeah, you are not lying about dying, are you?" The Doctor said as he read the result of his scan from his sonic screwdriver.

I fell silent to that. "Fine." I said. "Don't believe me for all I care. I won't be here long anyway. I probably gonna disappear to another universe, another you again soon." I crossed my arms, well aware that I'm sulking.

He frowned at that. "You are from another universe." He stared at me as he circled me around.

"Oh now you are curious, are you not?" I mocked him in my anger. I shuddered in cold.

He sighed and he pulled his jacket and gave it to me much to my surprise.

I took it and murmured a small thank you.

He took me inside a tower.

"Soo...you believe me?"

"You can't tell a lie here. There is a truth field in this planet. So, yeah, I do believe you." He said as he gave me some hot tea. "So, tell me about what's been happening to you. Sounded like you have a tough day."

"You have no idea. And honestly, I'm tired of having to tell it over and over again to every version of you. I never stick around long enough to get some answers." I said solemnly.

"Tell me anyway." He requested.

And so I did. Again.

7777

I felt dizzy. "Oh great..." I moaned without opening my eyes.

"Found you." Someone suddenly grabbed me from behind and hugged me.

It was the Thirteenth Doctor but from her voice, I could tell immediately she is not the one.

I tried to move away from her but she kept me still. "Doctor?" I called out.

"My (name)..." She whispered and then she put some sort of a collar on me.

I struggled against her but it was futile. "What the hell is this?"

"I found a way to keep you from splintering again." She said as she released me.

I fingered the collar. "This?" I asked as I turned to face her. I noticed she was dressed differently from her usual clothing. Everything about her feels different.

She nodded solemnly.

"Splintering?" I asked.

"Basically you tearing every atom in your body by traveling all over the alternate universe."

"So, as long as I wear this, I can stay here."

She beamed. "Yes. With me."

"But, if you are from my future, wouldn't this be a paradox or something?"

She smiled at me chillingly as she caresses my cheek. "Don't worry your pretty face about it." She said. "There, I keep my promise. I fix you, my dear."

I forced a smile for her despite feeling really uncomfortable and also I can't help that bad feeling nagging in my gut. Instead I said, "But does it have to be a collar?"

She laughed in delight. "Would you prefer a ring instead?"

I blushed at that. "Maybe." I muttered. "Because this collar isn't really me at all."

She smiled at me in fondness. "Then I will work on it for you." She pulled my hand. "Come on, you must be tired and hungry."

I followed her to a room. I didn't recognize it.

"This is my room." She said.

I blinked in surprise and took a look at the room. "It's nice." I said lamely.

She grinned. "Come, sit with me. Tell me all about your adventures."

I stared at her warily but did as requested. She gave me plenty of food and drink and it was all my favorite. I smiled at her.

7777

I must have fallen asleep. I blinked for once realizing I'm still in the same place. The collar did work after all. But the Doctor is nowhere to be found.

I walked out of the room and take a glance at the corridors. I decided to go find some food in the kitchen when I heard voices in the distant followed by some bleeping light on the corridor. Almost like the Tardis is trying to guide me somewhere. So I followed it.

I wish I didn't. I can't believe what I saw. The Doctor. She had a hostage on board of the Tardis. I distinctly recognized the scientist that shot at me. The Doctor is torturing him.

I felt like I was being punched. I was so scared. I wanted to confront her, to demand her for explanation but that bad feeling in the pit of my gut come back full force. I decided not to risk it. I slowly left the place, hoping she didn't notice me.

As soon as I was a safe distance away from the Doctor, I pulled on my collar wanting to rip it free but realized in horror that I couldn't.

"Nooo. This can't be happening. What is happening?" I muttered to myself, shaken in fear.

I touched the wall and hesitantly speak toward the sentient machine. "You purposely show me that. What do you want me to do?"

There is no answer. I felt weak in my knees. I let myself fall to the floor, hugging my knees and cried.

A hologram suddenly appeared before me. It was the hologram of the Thirteenth Doctor but it was wearing the original clothing. It was staring at me in somber.

"Tardis?" I asked.

"Run." It said.

"What?"

The hologram suddenly vanished as the real Doctor suddenly showed up. She was staring at me with a look I can't decipher.

"You should have stay back in my room, (name)." She said solemnly.

"Why did the Tardis tell me to run from you?" I demanded.

She shrugged. "She is just confused. My old girl."

"She is warning me about you." I said.

She rolled her eyes. "Come on, (name), be reasonable."

"Reasonable? I'm not the one who has been torturing people!" I snapped.

I know I did something wrong when a dark expression crossed her feature.

"You saw it, didn't you?" She said in resignation. "Oh, well..." She moved toward me.

I stopped her. "Don't."

"Don't be afraid of me, (name), I would never hurt you."

"You just going to keep me as your pet, is that it?" I asked.

She blinked at that. "I promise I will change that collar into a ring soon."

"This is not about the damn collar!" I yelled.

She didn't look bothered by my outburst.

"Actually, yes, this is about the collar." I recanted as I tried to pulled it off. "Why can't I take it off?" I demanded.

She smiled chillingly. "I have to make sure you will stay with me."

I shook my head in denial. "Who are you? The Doctor I know wouldn't do this to me."

She snorted. "You don't know me that well, (name)."

"You are right. And right now, I don't want to know you."

She look like she was being slapped. She growled at me. "Stand up."

I glared at her. "No. You go away." I said petulantly.

"(name) (last name), do not test me."

"Leave me alone." I said as I closed my eyes, covering both of my ears. "Just leave me alone!"

Silence. And then I felt her hands pulled my hands away from my ears as she put her forehead over mine. And then she whispered, "Never."

I opened my eyes to look at her and stunned at her sorrowful expression. Part of me almost wanting to comfort her.

And then everything went to black.

7777

When I woke up next, I was hoping to be somewhere else. The one time I wish I could leave, I got stuck. I woke up in a room, not the Doctor's room from earlier. I was alone. The Doctor is nowhere to be found. I realized in horror that this particular room does not have a door. I can't tell the way out.

The Doctor never showed her face to me for the next few hours? days? I don't know. At first, I didn't care. I did wonder if she is planning to starve me as she has not given me any sustenance. Strangely enough I did not feel hunger or thirsty. Heck, I didn't even need to go to the bathroom which is probably a good thing as it would be embarrassing if I have to pee or more all over the place. Though it did make me wonder if I was already dead. Why else would I not require sustenance?

There was nothing to do in the room. I was alone with my thoughts. And I was never good at being alone. I refused to let her win though. I know she is punishing me, a silent treatment of sort. For a time, I was fine with it. I thought of my favorite stories, my favorite scene in a movie, a favorite song, anything to get my mind off the loneliness.

"Tardis?" I called out hesitantly. "Can you...talk to me?"

Nothing.

I sighed as I sat on the floor, hugging my knees close. I was bored out of my mind. I started wondering if this will be the end of me.

Eventually the Doctor did visited me but she always appeared out of nowhere. I tried to be vigilant on her next visit in hope I could catch a glimpse of the way out. No such luck.

She gave me some book to read and an ipod containing music. She even brought some flower and put it on a small table.

I was curious about how long I have been here and how it is I remained alive without sustenance for so long.

"This is a time vault. It basically forcing you to stay alive." She explained. "Like the flower I brought in, it won't require water to remain blooming. This place sort of paused your time, I suppose."

"Why am I here?"

"It is for your safety."

"So, this is a prison."

"It doesn't have to be. I just need you to accept your reality."

"And what is my reality, Doctor?"

The Doctor stared at me. "If you have to ask, that's meant you still didn't get it."

My eyes widened as I realized something. "I'm still dying, aren't I?"

The Doctor flinched immediately and I know I was right.

"Even with the collar, I am still dying. It just stopped me from...splintering away." I said as I stared her down.

She didn't reply.

"I was right, wasn't I? That's why I am here in this...Time Vault. You put me...on pause."

She smiled solemnly at me. "500 points for (name)." she said, her joking tone fell flat.

I shook my head. "This is insane. This is all wrong. You have got to let me go."

"If I do, you will die."

"Maybe that's what I want!"

"You didn't mean that."

I didn't reply. I know it's pointless to argue with her, so this time, I'm the one who give her silent treatment.

She sighed and then she left. She left me alone for so long. The next time she come in, I almost felt relieved, craving for any company.

I know she did this on purpose. She wanted to put that Stockholm syndrome thing on me. But I won't let it come to that. It was a time like this that I wish I could actually do some meditation to clear my mind and stuff.

I think I go insane for a bit. I started talking to the shadow created by my slowly deteriorating mind. The books laid scattered on the floor, torn apart. So does the flowers and the vase and the table. I didn't destroy the ipod. Yet.

I started laughing at the song 'Sweet but Psycho'. It reminded me of the situation I'm in for some reason. And then I started crying. Then I threw away the ipod across the room. My emotion is all over the place lately.

The Doctor came in once in a while and she was nice and friendly one minute and shut me down next. I begged her to let me out of this room. I begged and promised I won't run. But she didn't believe me. I hated her so much at that moment and I yelled it at her. She left again.

I screamed and I cried. I demanded the Tardis to talk to me, to help me. But, of course, she didn't respond. Needless to say, I ruined the room again. I know the room will clean up by itself again later on, no matter the damage.

One day, the door suddenly showed itself. I had to blink my eyes a few times to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

"Run."

I heard the word in my mind and I did. I bolted out immediately. I have no idea the surrounding around me but the small light appearing on the corridor guided me somewhere to a another room....where a single hanging rope and a medium chair is waiting for me.

I frowned and then I giggled. I guess I did lose my mind because I walked toward it. I stood on the chair and fingered the rope that is fitting around my neck. I guess this is the only way I can escape. I kicked the chair and almost immediately the breath is knocked out of me as I struggled against the rope. It was painful and it took so long for me to black out completely.

Suddenly an alarm ringing loudly as I was about to black out. I could heard the Doctor screaming at me or the Tardis?

The Doctor pulled me down and laid me on the floor. She was crying. I almost feel sorry for her. She took off the rope and the collar.

Oh. So, that's why the Tardis did this. I suddenly having a realization. I wanted to laugh but I couldn't.

The Doctor pulled some injection and hit it on somewhere on my body and I gasped really loudly and coughed hard. She laughed and cried in relief at the same time. She hugged me tight. "Don't ever do that again, (name)! I can't lose you!" she begged me.

Whatever that injection is, it was a very good drug as I could feel the pain is gone. My hand rubbed the rope burn mark on my neck. I realized if I ever could have any control over the splintering, now would be the good time. As much it pained me to left her behind, I know my presence here is bad for her.

I could feel myself being ripped away right at that moment.

The heartbroken look on the Doctor's face seared forever in my mind.

7777

I stumbled down and someone caught me in their arms. I could see a visible blond hair and my blood ran cold. What if I was still with her? I screamed.

The owner of the blonde hair also screamed, more like in surprise than anything. It was then I realized it wasn't the Doctor.

I pushed the woman away from me and I ran blindly into another person who grabbed me firmly. "Let me go! Just leave me alone!" I screamed.

The man calmed me down. "It's okay. You're okay. You're safe." And somehow, I did calm down some but I was still sobbing.

"Doctor, who is she?" The woman I pushed asked. "She appeared out of nowhere."

"Doctor, I think she is hurt." Another voice said. It was a man. I recognized that voice. It was Jack Harkness, I think. "Look at her neck..."

The man who grabbed me pulled my hair aside and frowned when he saw the rope burn around my neck. "Who did this to you?"

I laughed hysterically. "I did this. I have to get her to take it off." I said. "well, I had help, isn't that right, old girl?" I looked up toward the ceiling

"Take what off?" Jack asked.

"Are you talking to the Tardis?" The Doctor asked in the same time.

"I guess she wouldn't know me, different Tardis, different Doctor." I said. "The Doctor, my Doctor...She has gone insane. I am too, I guess. She wanted to keep me even though I already died." I laughed again. "i'm going to die in pain, she said. I'm scared." I whispered. "The fam is dead too. She said she failed them. She put me on pause." I said and giggled at how ridiculous that sounded.

I know they are probably confused with my incoherent babbling but I really don't care. I told them about the collar and the Time Vault. Their Doctor is probably the only one who can put the pieces together from my rambling.

"Wait, I'm confused, some woman that has the same name as you did this to her?" Rose asked.

Jack's eyes widened as he glanced at the Doctor. He know a bit about Time Lord from his time as a Time agent so he knew about regeneration.

The Doctor nodded at Jack. "She is from the future. My future." He look troubled, probably feeling ill when he realized I'm a future companion and as I babbled on, spoiler that his future-self has gone insane.

I chuckled. "I might not. I could be from alternate universe. That has been happening to me, always alternate universe, always another Doctor. But never the correct Doctor. She said I should trust in the Doctor. I tried. But her future-self is torturing people even if she did it to the person who shot me. I can never go home." I said and I cried, wailing actually.

The Doctor awkwardly trying to comfort me. Of course, he wanted to know the mystery behind me even though I'm sick of telling it to the Doctor. But before I could, I finally recognized the somewhat tingling feeling as I was about to be ripped away once more.

7777

I dropped on my knees and coughed blood. Well, this is new.

"(name)? (name)!" A man rushed toward me. "Are you hurt? Where are you hurt?" He demanded as he check me for injuries.

I looked up to see the Tenth Doctor and he wasn't alone. He recognized me which I'm grateful because I think I'm going to throw up if I have to repeat everything again.

"Doctor, I think she is sick. She is coughing blood. And look at her neck! Is that...? Did someone strangle her with a rope?" The woman fussed over me.

The Doctor introduced me to Martha, a medical student. He pulled up my chin and asked with a very serious manner, "Who did this to you?"

I wanted to answer but I coughed up again and then I fainted.

7777

I was expecting to be pulled into another place but I woke up to the Doctor and Martha fussing over me at the Tardis medbay.

I have a clearer mind now. I guess my nervous breakdown has dissipated now. Plus it seemed I got a good rest from that fainting despite the blood bonus. I coughed up again. When I saw the blood, I chuckled. "So, it's finally happening..."

The Doctor stared at me. "What happened to you?"

"A lot. And frankly, I'm tired. I'm dying, I'm sure you know from the scanning." I said. "I went to the future, my future, and my friends are all dead and the Doctor is insane." I was being brutally blunt now.

Despite my words about his alternate version being insane, he seemed to be taking it well. "How can I help?" The Doctor asked instead as he took one of my hand in a gesture of comfort.

"A cure would be nice. A cure for what did this to me." I said. I told him to investigate their version of the scientist who did this to me. Chances are they would also developing the weapon used to shot me with. Hopefully.

The Doctor agreed with me.

"Tell me your finding when or if we meet again..." I said.

The Doctor and Martha looked at me in confusion.

I smiled weakly and waved goodbye at them as I felt myself being pulled to another place in another time.

A/N2: Ok, it's great if you read this till the end despite how bad this is. Just wanna say thank you for reading. Also thank you for those who follow my blog and has leave likes/comment/reblog on my past stories. I hope you will still stick around for some more painful reading.

#thirteenth doctor x reader #13th doctor x reader #thirteenth doctor imagine #doctor who x reader #doctor who fanfiction #doctor who imagine #dark!doctor #shiefenwrites

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tomaturtles · 4 years ago

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TAG GAMES GALORE bc i just got through my mentions on desktop and saw i missed some tag games i got tagged in </3 ty guys ily i’ll tag people in the end and anyone who gets tagged is free to pick which one(s) you wanna do if any :] starting with one @cinnamqn tagged me in!! Thank you Cinna :D 💖💖 List 10 different female faves from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people! 1. Amy Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog) 2. Gwen Tennyson (Ben 10) 3. Starfire (Teen Titans/DC) 4. Webby Vanderquack (Ducktales) 5. Stephanie Brown (Batman/DC) 6. Trainer Leaf (Pokémon) 7. Uraraka Ochaco (Boku no Hero Academia) 8. Amethyst (Steven Universe) 9. Luz Noceda (The Owl House) 10. Toph (Avatar The Last Airbender) Next up is two I got tagged in by @thinkfvst!! Ty Rae 😁 💖💛 10 songs on shuffle that come up on your Spotify

1. Turn it Off - Paramore 2. Build You Back - Dark Signal 3. Lucy - Skillet 4. My World - SR-71 5. The Climb - Miley Cyrus 6. Re:Re: - Asian Kung-Fu Generation 7. So Am I - Ava Max 8. Hero - Skillet 9. Yo Girl - Heathers the Musical 10. Two Birds - Regina Spektor --- Favourite colour: pink!!!!!!

Last song: Your Guardian Angel by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Last movie: i Think it was Son of Batman? It was probably a DC movie

Watching: been watching the ‘66 Batman show to fill the Funney DC Show-shaped hole in my heart after i ran out of DC Super Hero Girls and Teen Titans Go episodes to watch on Netflix and it’s been a blast <3 (also to clarify Batman ‘66 isn’t on netflix. but it should be)

Reading: I just got done reading Robin War + We Are Robin + Batman and the Signal yesterday while our power was out and it was great :]

Sweet, spicy, or savoury: mostly sweet or savoury but depends on my mood tbh. rn i could go for some chocolate

Tea or coffee: Coffee (as long as there’s sugar) -- And last but not least a few by @arataka-reigen, thanks Gi!! 🥰💛💖 5 Things That Make Me Happy 1. Engaging with my hyperfixations + Infodumping to friends about them + listening to them infodump about their interests 🥰🥰🥰🥰

2. I’ve been picking up felt sewing again and i really like it!! It’s cool having a plushie you made yourself :D

3. Doing stuff with my friends!! Both irl and online but missing my irl friend group + my fav cousins rn since we’d usually always meet at this time of year </3

4. Drawing my fav characters <3

5. Going to bookstores/comic stores and browsing the stuff in there (esp comics and manga!!) -- 3 ships: gwevin, robstar/dickkory,uuuuuuuuhh that’s a niche one but i can’t think of anything else rn so speedamy

Last song: Never Too Late by Three Days Grace

Last film: other than the one mentioned earlier i watched Mickey’s Christmas Carol with friends the other day :]

Currently reading: [vaguely gestures] dc comics bc i’ve started reading several comics and finished very little. debating on picking either 90s yj, new teen titans or super sons back up next

Currently consuming: i had some soda earlier

Currently craving: the willpower to finish a way overdue secret santa gift </3 i only have the bg left to finish

17 Questions 17 Answers

Nicknames: Toma, Duda, Dudinha (the last two from my irl name)

Zodiac: Libra

Height: 149cm (4'10?)

Hogwarts House: hufflepuff

Last thing googled: adam west fairly oddparents

Song(s) stuck in my head: Storybook by Heather Dale

# of followers: 1779

Amount of sleep: 6 to 7 hours,8 if i get to sleep in

Lucky number: 8

Dream job: despite having a whole psychology degree i have No idea </3 i think i’d like to work with kids though!!

Currently wearing: a nightgown (it’s pink with a bear plushies stamp :) )

Favourite:

Song: Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus made it to the top 5 im both my last spotify wrappeds so let’s go with that

Instrument: lowkey attached to the electric keyboard bc i took classes on it for quite a while even if it didn’t stick much

Author: i haven’t been reading consistently enough to answer this JKHJK

Animal noises: CATS

Random: i love plushies. my fav activities when going out include going to toystores and checking out the plushies. i have too many already but is that going to stop me from getting more? no

Recent picture: currently obsessed with this ttg screenshot

and now for TAGS (no pressure to do any, also feel free to do just one or all of them depending on what you feel like doing!!) @cinnamqn @thinkfvst @arataka-reigen (if you guys wanna do one of the ones you didn’t tag me in jkghjk) @clown-prince-of-lies @aliens-on-neptune @zinatina @ohnonotthemagain @your-nightmares-ex @biconkuroo @brucewaynegf @tilltherachis @cookiecabbage

#if you saw me accidentally post this before i was done no you didn't <3 #toma talks #ask games #i think that's all of them #i have a couple more mentions to get to but its late so i might leave those for tomorrow #kjhkjhjkjk idk if the mentions will work since im editing them in 😔#ty again for the tags :D this was fun

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rachelbethhines · 4 years ago

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Tangled Salt Marathon - One Angry Princess

There’s two halves to this episode. The first is a well constructed, if over simple, mystery for the kiddos to solve. The other is a failed attempt at being ‘deep’ and ‘mature’.

Summary: Attila is finally opening up his own bakery, but people generally don't want to stop by because of his scary helmet. The next day, Monty's Sweet Shoppe is destroyed, and Attila is arrested. He is about to be banished from the kingdom, but Rapunzel makes an appeal to investigate the matter further.

The Episode is Meant to be a Homage to 12 Angry Men, but Misses the Point of the Original Film

So for those who haven’t seen the movie, (though really you should) 12 Angry Men is about a jury trying to decide if an accused person is guilty of a violent crime. At first the evidence seems clear, but one lone juror refuses to vote guilty until the evidence has been gone over again. One by one he convinces the other men to vote not guilty as they each have to face they’re own personal biases.

Sound familiar?

In the show Rapunzel is the sole believer in Attila’s innocence despite evidence to the contrary. She insists on investigating herself while challenging everyone else’s personal biases.

The difference?

12 Angry Men is a hard hitting look at how privilege, prejudice, and cognitive bias can interfere with the American judicial system. None of the jurors are named, but they are all middle class, presumably Christian, white guys. And that is the point. They are all different from the accused; a young, poor, arguably non-white teen (the play is intentionally vague about the kid’s race so that you can slot any minority in there) who has a history of getting into trouble. If you were to change the ethnicity, race, gender, class, or age of any of the 12 characters then you would suddenly have a very different story. It’s their backgrounds and pre-formed opinions that inform their decisions. Even the main protagonist is not exempt from re-examining his own personal biases.

Meanwhile the writers of Tangled: the Series are too busy showing off how clever Rapunzel is to actually deal with the themes of injustice and bigotry that they added in themselves in the first place.

Rapunzel Knowing Attila Before Hand Weakens the Message

In 12 Angry Men none of the jurors know the accuse. In fact, they can’t know him. It’s against the law. In order to have an impartial jury, no one can have any ties to either the defendant or the prosecution, and they must not have knowledge of the case or have had specific experiences that might cause them to be biased or unfair.

Rapunzel being Attila’s friend means that she already has her own bias and an invested interest in making sure Attila goes free. She’s not acting out of the simple goodness of her heart here. She’s doing something that directly benefits herself.

I don’t expect a children’s fantasy show to recreate the US judicial system with all of the complexities there in, but I do expect it to uphold it’s heroine as the selfless person it claims her to be. Yet the show constantly undermines this supposed character trait by only having her help the people she befriends, and only if that help doesn’t require anything emotionally challenging or mentally taxing from her.

How much more powerful would this episode be if Rapunzel was defending a stranger or someone she actively disliked? Imagine if it was Monty who was being accuse and Raps had to swallow her pride in order to do what is right. But that would require the show having Rapunzel actually learn something instead of placing her on a pedestal. It would also mean giving Monty a reason to exist rather than keeping him around to be a convenient red herring.

Rapunzel Shouldn’t Have to Prove Attila’s Innocence

Rather than have a courtroom drama the show opts to have a ‘whodunit’ story instead. This unfortunately gives the implication that Corona’s judicial system runs on a ‘guilty until proven innocent’ mantra, which is backwards to any humane legal system. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’, ‘reasonable doubt’, ‘due process’, are the cornerstones of our modern social ethics.

In 12 Angry Men, we never find out if the accused actually committed the crime or not. That is because his actual innocence isn’t the point of the story. It’s about whether or not the system is working like it should or if it’s being compromised by human error.

Once again, I don’t expect a recreation of the US judicial system, but if you’re writing a story for a modern audience then you need to reinforce modern morals. Simply crouching Corona’s legal system as ‘of the times’ or ‘fantasy’ while ignoring why we no longer have such systems in place reduces the story to puerile fare.

It also means that show’s writers didn’t put enough thought into their world building.

No One Calls Out the Obviously Corrupt System

The show has interwoven throughout its ongoing narrative themes of classism, injustice, abuse, and authoritarianism, but then fails to follow through on those themes by not having any of the protagonists actually examine any of these issues. They just sit there in the background, even as the show tries it darndest to present Rapunzel as an arbiter of reform. However a person can’t bring about change if they can’t even admit that there is a problem to begin with.

In this episode alone we have

Banishment is considered a reasonable punishment for an act of vandalism. A crime that is usually considered only a misdemeanor unless the damage goes over a certain amount. Keep in mind that not even most felonies would be given such a punishment in the real world

Introduces the prison barge that regularly carries away convicts. In the past ‘undesirables’ would be shipped off to prison colonies as a form of persecution. Attila and every other person we see subjected to Corona’s legal system are of a lower class.

Many prejudge Attila based off his appearance, lower class, and past upbringing. However, it is either Attila who is expected to change or Rapunzel who is expected to win people over. At no point is anyone told that they shouldn’t be prejudiced to begin with.

There is no judge, jury, or lawyers. The king alone decides the fate of criminals, the Captain is expected to be the both the prosecutor and the ‘executioner’, which is a conflict of interest, and the defendant has no one to represent them unless they so happen to know a kind statesperson. Meaning you have to be either rich or well connected in order to even have a chance to defend yourself.

Oh and there’s this...

Uh, yeah you do. You’re the flipping king. You make the law. You’re the one to bring charges against Attila, and nearly every other criminal in the show, in the first place.

The show constantly wants us to view Frederic as simply an everyman who is only doing his job, but he’s not. He’s a ruler and as such he has powers and responsibilities that no one else has or ever will have. The series gives both him and Rapunzel all of the privileges of being in charge without holding them to account for the consequences of their actions.

By not pointing out how wrong these actions are, the show winds up avocating them instead. When I call Tangled the Series authoritarian, this is why. Because authority is never questioned even when clearly wrong and nepotism is presented as the solution to conflicts as oppose to being the problem itself.

The Show Introduces Complex Issues but Then Oversimplifies the Conflicts Surrounding Those Issues

The creators of the show have constantly declared that the series is ‘not for kids’. That they were shooting for an older audience than the pre-school time slot they were given. Now ignoring the fact that Tangled was always going to have a built in audince of pre-teen girls and ignoring that children’s media can be mature, TTS lacks the nuance needed to viewed as anything other than a pantomime.

As stated before, this episode alone ignores the very real issues interlaced within the conflict in order to give us an overly simple mystery that anyone over the age of five could figure out.

It’s frustrating to watch the show constantly skirt towards the edge of complexity only to see it chicken out and go for the low hanging fruit instead. As a consequence the series winds up being for no one. Too shallow for adults and older teens, but too confused in its morals to be shown to small children and younger adolescents.

I wouldn’t recommend this show to a parent, not without encouraging them to view the series either before or alongside their child in order to counteract it’s ‘lessons’ and I know parents within the fandom itself who’ve stopped showing newer episodes to their kids; stating that they want their child to be old enough to point out the harmful messages to before doing so.

Once Again No One Learns Anything

Rapunzel doesn’t learn that the system is flawed. Attila doesn’t learn to open up to people. Nobody learns to treat people with respect and to not judge others based on appearances alone.

The whole point of the episode is to just show off how much ‘better’ Rapunzel is than everyone else. The show constantly feels the need to tear down other characters in an effort to make its favs look good as opposed to just letting the mains grow as people.

Conclusion

Tangled the tv series is no 12 Angry Men. It’s no Steven Universe/Gravity Falls/Avatar:TLA/She-Ra/Gargoyles/Batman:TAS either. It barely reaches the same level as the likes of DnD, Sonic SATAM, or Voltron. Interesting ideas but poor pacing, build up, and lack of follow through, with some naff decisions thrown into the mix bring things down in quality. And unlike the Dungeons and Dragons cartoon from the early 80s, TTS lacks the benefit of being a pioneer in the field of animation, where such flaws are more forgivable.

#tangled #anti-tangled #Rapunzel #rapunzel's tangled adventure #king frederic #critique #salt

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ending-with-stars · 5 years ago

Text

Completely Professional (Seven of Nine x Reader)

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: None!!

A/N: Listen up folks! It is absolutely CRIMINAL that there are no Seven x reader fics in this fandom (or really any x reader fics come ON Star Trek fans) and that needs to STOP. So, in the spirit of being the change we want to see, here’s a fic I wrote about a year ago that I decided to post with some nudges from @osmoticeel and @raktajinhoe (thanks by the way guys love ya). Enjoy!

“I’m just saying, I think she might have a thing for you,” Tom said, much to your displeasure, as he took a drink. You were sitting in the mess hall with Tom and Harry, some of the few people awake this early in the morning. You shook your head, sighing. “How could you ever know what she’s thinking about me?” You said, taking a bite of Neelix’s “scrambled eggs”and almost shivering at their slimy yet mealy texture. “I don’t know, Y/N, I think Tom might be right on this one. For once.” Harry said, eating a slice of replicated toast. Tom raised his eyebrows as he sipped his coffee substitute again. “Harry hasn’t been called down to engineering or the astrometrics bay in almost two months. You two are always working together, eating together,” “Because if I didn’t eat with her she wouldn’t eat at all!” You interjected, stealing Harry’s toast from his plate and taking a bite of it. He snatched it back and you smirked while chewing. “Still,” Tom said, giving you a look, “you have to admit you’ve noticed that Seven always wants to be around you.”

You didn’t want to admit it to your friends, but you had noticed. At first, it seemed like nothing. Seven would call you down to engineering sometimes to help her with power conduits that had blown out and with rerouting lines to the astrometrics bay. Now, as you looked back on it, you should have noticed it then. The former Borg would have no issues with rerouting simple power lines. You supposed it was a little bit naive for you to assume anything else. Over the past couple of weeks, she had been eating dinner with you, which may have been more your doing than hers. A few nights ago, in fact, it had just been the two of you in the mess hall, talking until the later hours. The other woman always had a fascinating outlook on problems. You wished people would give her more credit than she usually got for the development of her social skills. But as you looked at Harry and Tom, who both held looks of raised eyebrows and smug smiles, you decided to ignore your previous findings.

“We are just colleagues,” You said with finality, sipping your tea. Both of them sat back with exasperated sighs, Tom rolling his eyes. You laughed under your breath and caught B’Elanna walking over to the table, tray in one hand and coffee cup in the other.

“Morning,” you greeted as she sat down next to Tom, who smiled as he put a hand on her back. “You two seem exasperated already. What’s the breakfast conversation been today?” B’Elanna asked. “We’re discussing Y/N’s completely professional relationship with Seven of Nine,” Harry said, crossing his arms. B’Elanna raised her eyebrows as she ate a bite of eggs, before making a face and placing her fork back on the tray. “What about it?” “That it’s anything but professional,” Tom said. “Well of course it is,” “Lanna, aren’t you supposed to be on my side here?” You asked through a little laugh. She shrugged, taking the half-eaten toast from Harry’s plate, smacking his hand away as he tried to retrieve it. “I see you two working every day. It’s obvious. She actually smiled when you told her a joke the other day.” “What?” Tom almost yelled. “And you didn’t tell me!” “It’s none of your business what Y/N does when she’s under my command for the afternoon. Plus, nothing’s gonna come from it anyway.” B’Elanna said so nonchalantly that it made everyone at the table give her confused looks. “Seven doesn’t know how to handle that yet, and Y/N is too scared to act on it.” “Hey!” “Oh please, even though you’re head over heels for her, you wouldn’t want to be the first person to make a move on a former Borg, would you? She would break your arm; either from getting you off her or pushing you up against a wall to kiss you.” You shrugged. “One of those sounds sort of worth it, don’t you think?” You said, getting snickers from the two men at the table. But you knew B’Elanna was right. It was safer, physically and emotionally, to repress any attraction you felt. As if on cue, your com badge beeped. “Seven of Nine to Lieutenant Y/N.” All of your tablemates raised their eyebrows, giving you smug looks. You rolled your eyes but smiled as you responded. “Y/N here.” “Meet me in Jeffries tube 12. I require your assistance on multiple overloaded power circuits.” She answered. “Understood, I’m on my way.” You climbed into the entrance of the Jeffries tube, closing the door behind you, and tried to calm the rapid heartbeat that had begun to pound in your ears. Get a grip, you told yourself as you deliberately crawled slower than normal towards the ladder. She is your friend, your colleague, it would be inappropriate, especially since she quite literally had no experience in anything of this matter. It felt like you would be taking advantage of her if you said something about it. So, you finally decided, that you would ignore this. It would go away eventually. Attraction always did. Didn’t it? You climbed down the ladder into the tall portion of the Jeffries tube, unconsciously straightening your hair and uniform before turning around. “Morning, Seven,” You said with a smile. Seven was facing away from you, working on one of the singed power conduits, scanner in one hand and sonic resonator in the other. At your greeting, she turned and acknowledged you. “Good morning, Lieutenant Y/N.” She said flatly before turning back to her work. “Can you begin repairs on conduit 15.4C on the opposite wall?” “Yes, I can.” You said, pulling out your own tools and kneeling next to the singed conduit. It was silent for a long moment, only the beeping sound of tricorders and the hum of the ship's engine to dull it. There had never been an awkward air between the two of you before. In fact, her formal greeting had left you a bit phased. Seven hadn’t referred to you as “lieutenant” in almost a month. It made your stomach clench and pulse quicken. The scanning from the background stopped for a moment. “Lieutenant, are you ill?” Seven asked. You paused and turned to look at her, confused. “No...why?” “Your pulse has been rapid for the entirety of our work today, over 3.1 percent above the usual. And your internal core temperature is two degrees higher than what is acceptable for human parameters.” She walked up close to you, inspecting your face with scrutinizing blue eyes. In them, you saw a hint of worry. “You are also perspiring more than normal,” she took your chin in her hand, looking into your eyes. “And your pupils have dilated. I believe you are ill.” You took her hand that was holding your chin and, careful to not let it shake, removed it from your face. “I’m not sick, Seven. It’s just warmer in here than normal,” you regretted the lie the minute it left your mouth. She gave you a slightly perplexed look. “The temperature has not changed aboard Voyager for approximately three weeks, four days and twelve hours. The Jeffries tubes are regulated even more so than the habitable portions of the ship due to the sensitive technology-.” In a moment of lost judgement, you put a finger on her lips to silence her. Both you and Seven froze. You lingered, wanting to do so many things at that moment. You didn’t need Seven to tell you that your pulse quickened; you could hear it pounding in your ears. And for a moment, you saw uncertainty flash across the other woman’s face, eyebrows softening ever so slightly. But both of you blinked, and the moment of weakness disappeared. You pulled your hand away and Seven straightened herself. “Sorry. I just knew that if I didn’t stop you that you would just spiral into all these dates and numbers.” You said quietly. She inclined her head. “Thank you.” “We should...get back to work.” Again, the two of you worked in silence. Tension seemed to fill the empty space. You looked behind you, wondering if the feeling of tension was mutual. You were met by a similar look from Seven, who blinked and shuffled awkwardly before turning away. In your work, you realized that the extent of the damage on this conduit extended down another level. “Seven, this conduit is totally burned down to the next level.” You said. She walked over to you and kneeled, shoulder brushing yours. She never did have a sense of personal space. “I concur. We will move down to the next level.” You sighed as you climbed down into the next level. It was not the tall working space that was above. You crawled on your hands and knees to the conduit, which was so burned that it sparked as you came over to it. “Damn, what happened here?” You asked, looking at Seven as she crawled towards the singed wall. She sat on her knees and pulled out her sonic resonator. “I was attempting to reroute the lines towards astrometrics. I allowed my mind to wander and misaligned them. It caused a chain reaction, leading to my calling you.” You smirked. “So, you got distracted?” You said, looking at her with raised eyebrows. She turned slowly to look at you. “Voyager’s power lines have never been efficient.” You nodded, laughing in your chest. She raised her eyebrows now, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Have I said something amusing?” “No, no, I just,” you laughed again. “I didn’t know you could get distracted. You’re pretty laser-focused when it comes to working.” “I allowed my mind to wander.” “That’s one hell of a wander.” “I have often realized that when I think of you that I cannot focus on the tasks at hand.” You froze for a moment before turning your head to look at her. “Me? You were thinking of me and THAT made you distracted?” You said in disbelief. She looked at you confused. “Correct.” “Why me?” “You are a very aesthetically pleasing woman. I have been attracted to you since I joined Voyager. I thought I had made that relatively clear over the past weeks. I asked Captain Janeway for advice on how to achieve that,” she paused, scrutinizing for a moment. “It seems it was not successful.” “No no, it was. I just....didn’t believe that it was true.” Seven looked at you confused. “Why would you not comprehend? Were my advances unclear to you?” “No....well, yes.” You answered after pausing. “Explain.” “Seven....I don’t know if you know that you are...really gorgeous,” “As are you,” She responded. “No, I mean you’re really gorgeous. And you don’t really....have a lot of human experience. So I never thought that you would be...attracted to me.” You said, trying to pick the best words. Seven looked at the wall for a moment, eyes flicking over something invisible, almost like she was calculating something. “Your conclusion is based on the human insecurity of physical appeal.” She concluded. “Well, yeah.” You sighed. Seven turned fully towards you now. “Human appearance is a factor within attraction, but does not fully encompass all of it. Humans also consider personality, humor, and intelligence. While I do find you physically attractive, I also find that your personality appeals to me. You are one of the few crew members whose company I enjoy. Your intelligence level allows me to have intriguing conversations, and I find your humor to be amusing while others tend to be crude or based in reference to things I do not understand. Simply put, you are an ideal romantic partner.” She finished, the last sentence said slightly softer. You blinked and felt the blood rush into your cheeks. “Why....why didn’t you tell me about this earlier?” You asked softly. She paused again to think. “I did not know if you would...return my sentiments. And since I am, as you put, inexperienced, I wanted to wait until I found the right time. However the time never seemed to come, so I created a moment when I could inform you.” You laughed out loud at that and received a look of confusion. “Wait, wait, did you do this intentionally?” You asked. Seven thought for a moment. “Yes.” She answered plainly. You laughed again. “You could have told me any time! At the dinners we had, on the holodeck, you even could have stopped by my quarters.” “Do you not recall the first time we met?” She asked. It was your turn to give a confused look. “Four months, sixteen days and seven hours ago. Lieutenant Torres assigned me to you to help remove the Borg enhancements that had been installed. It was three days after I had my connection with the Collective severed, and I had not gained my more....human appearance. The crew was still afraid of me. However, you showed me an amount of compassion that I had never experienced. Since then I have considered you to be ideal for my first romantic partner.” You blinked, eyebrows softened in affection. “Seven,” you breathed and put a hand on her shoulder. “It was in Jeffries tube 12 that we met. Humans consider locations of their first encounter to hold a certain sentimental value, am I correct?” You nodded. “Then I have created the ideal situation to tell you that I request to initiate a romantic relationship.” The butterflies that rose in your stomach did stop you from laughing a little at the bluntness of her statement. “Do you accept?” She asked, and for a second you thought you heard a tinge of a nervous edge. “Yes,” You said through a little laugh. An uncharacteristic smile spread across Seven’s lips, which you returned, before she jolted forward suddenly and kissed you. It was forceful enough, which didn’t surprise you, that you had to throw an arm out to brace yourself from falling over. Her kiss was stiff and rigid, lips frozen in a line. Of course, you thought, she’s never done this before. You leaned forward and cupped her face, thumbs stroking her cheekbones, and moved your lips against hers. She responded tentatively, the smile still coming through the kiss. You broke apart; Seven leaned back in and gave a light brief kiss. “That...was very spontaneous of you.” You said, smiling widely. “Romantic relationships do require a spontaneous element. When I consulted Captain Janeway on how to begin the-.” Seven started but you cut her off. “Can we please not mention the captain right now? Please?” You said, tucking a stray blonde hair back behind her ears. She nodded, and you leaned back in and kissed her again. “I was wondering if we were going to have to send a search party in there after you two,” B’Elanna said as you and Seven crawled out from the Jeffries tube into the engine room. She looked over both of you, raising an eyebrow at flushed cheeks and messy hair, and looked back down to hide a smile. You smoothed your hair down as you walked the report over to B’Elanna, with Seven trailing behind you closely. “We fixed every burned conduit and reset the lines to normal.” You said as you handed the PADD to her. You felt a cold metal fingertip run along the exposed skin on the back of your neck and repressed a shiver. You poorly held back a smile and shook your head, as if to shake out the thoughts. “Alright, everything looks good,” B’Elanna said and placed the PADD on her console. “You’re done for the day.” You looked at her surprised. “It’s just past 1300 hours, the day’s barely halfway over.” You said. “I don’t need you anymore for today, and if you’re lucky the Doctor won’t need you either.” She answered, still typing. “But I,” You started, but Seven cut you off. “Lieutenant, I require assistance in the cargo bay. If you feel the need to continue working, that is.” She said flatly. You looked over your shoulder at her; she pursed her lips and shifted her stance, and that was enough to shut you up. “Sure, I would love to. Thank you, Lieutenant Torres. Seven?” You said, starting to walk out of engineering. Both of you walked side by side, towards the cargo bay, and smiled to yourself as you felt Seven slip her hand into yours.

#st #star trek #voy #star trek voyager #st voy #seven of nine #seven of nine x reader #im NERVOUS i don't post writing on my main account ever but!!! here we go!!!!

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bylightofdawn · 4 years ago

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Depa/Grey drabble

Is anyone interested in a sneak peak of what I’m working on now? Spoiler alert, it is NOT my gigantic sequel to Those Who Made it Home. I’m slowly working away at that but it’s emotionally draining right now so my attention keeps getting dragged away to other things such as writing shameless porn.

And I got tempted by the idea of Depa Bilaba and her clone commander Grey from the Kanan comic which is a wonderful comic and ugh I ship them so hard. You have Kanan and Grey himself admitting he worshiped Depa and you cannot tell me they weren’t totally together. I WAS supposed to write a raunchy domme!Depa/sub!Grey thing but as always when it comes to my writing, the characters are going to do whatever the hell they want to do and what was supposed to be just a short one-shot has turned into 5K filled with FEELS and not a lot of porn. But I guess I need to set the scene for my porn and hopefully I’ll manage a part two eventually with this cause uhhhh this fandom needs more femme domme in it and while reading Padme peg the shit out of Anakin’s ass will never NOT be fun and hot, there’s a deplorable lack of this in TCW fandom.

So here’s some fluff instead while I try and whip my muses quite literally into shape so I can one day fulfill my own fandom needs. It’s completely raw and unedited so please bear with me.

The sounds of laughter and conversation outside has quieted down while she had been performing her nightly ablutions and she suspected most of her men—and hopefully Caleb—had sought out their beds for the evening.

But not Grey, she could see the shadow of his silhouette standing there just outside her closed tent flap and did not need the Force to realize he was wrangling with whether or not to interrupt her and Depa felt a wash of fondness for the man kindle in her chest even as a smile curled up the corners of her mouth.

"Come in, Grey, you needn't hover outside." She called with a hefty dose of humor in her voice and she could hear his huff of amusement even from outside and the tent flap parted to reveal the chagrined looking clone.

"Am I interrupting, general?" His eyes widened when they fell on her dressed down for bed with her still damp hair falling down her back in thick waves as she pulled a comb through it to work the worst of the tangles out of it. They actually had access to water showers here on planet and Depa as never one to turn down the opportunity to relax under a warm spray of water in lieu of the sonics they often had to make due with.

Depa didn't know if her closeness to Grey contributed to her attenuation to him in the living Force but Depa unconsciously found herself picking up on the stray wash of emotions that bled through Grey's Force signature when he looked at her with that unexpectedly naked hunger and surprise on the clone’s scarred face.

It spoke to her, not the Jedi but the woman who at one time had welcomed this man into her bed happily. But that had been before Grievous, before she’d spent the better part of six months in a bacta tube recovering and if she were honest with herself, up until that moment, she hadn’t been sure where that left them.

They’d never made any promises to one another, in point of fact, it as the exact opposite. Depa was always going to be a Jedi first and foremost. Her duties to the Republic and to the living Force would always come first but in that regard, she had found herself lucky to be matched with the clone commander whose own viewpoint so closely matched her own.

He too had assured her duty would always come before personal feelings and because of that, she’d felt more comfortable letting down her guard around the man.

“Not at all, please, come in.” She offered graciously, all too aware of the fact her voice sounded a little bit husky to her own ears. But it was hard to not be affected by the heated look in her lover’s eyes. The intervening months and absence suddenly melted away like it was nothing and she held out a hand towards the clone commander in a silent plea for him to approach.

He’d taken off his armor in the time and apparently availed himself of the refresher as well because his hair was still damp as well. It was cut as short as always though she found herself idly wondering what he would look like if he ever allowed it to grow out of the strict military buzz cut he wore it in. If it would be given to curling as she’d seen in other clones.

At always, the subtle differences to be found amongst the ranks of the clones was fascinating on an intellectual level and Grey had done his best to try and explain what it was like to grow up in the sterile homogenous hallways of the cloners facilities on Kamino. How they’d tried to suppress all deviation from their careful template of what a clone trooper was expected to be.

And how that had created the almost subversive need and the clones striving for some sense of individuality once they left the strict regime of life on Kamino. It broke her heart to hear him talk of the casual and ruthless eugenics and culling of ‘defective’ units as the Kaminoans strove to implement their inhuman ideal of what an acceptable level of deviation was allowable in clones.

Depa was endlessly relieved to hear that Shaak Ti had been assigned to the cloner’s facilities and in the knowledge her fellow Jedi would not allow such things to continue such travesties to continue. Grey found her fierce reaction and anger towards his creators both puzzling and charming and had told her as such in the final days before the Battle of Haruun Kal had decimated their lives as they lay in bed together tangled up in each other’s arms while talking.

A part of her envied their former selves who hadn’t realized what pain and agony lay ahead of them while another part of her had feared that pain and distance might have squashed out the spark between them. She’d made peace with herself and the knowledge when she saw Grey again, it might be as just general and clone commander. That the man might resent her for her perceived failings in not being able to save so many of his brothers and men. But seeing that look on Grey’s face, feeling the warm glow of emotion emanating outwards from him into the very Force around him, she knew that wasn’t the case.

And that realization had emotion welling up inside of her as an unconscious pressure or burden that had been weighing her down seemed to ease away. Grey’s hand, scarred and callused from a lifetime of fighting and training closed around hers warm and tight.

Oh, she realized somewhat belatedly with the knowledge she wasn’t the only one who’d been uncertain of where they stood. Her expression softened ever so slightly as she tugged him down to sit down beside her on the standard issue cot. It creaked ominously under his additional weight but she knew from experience it was more than capable of withstanding their combined weight and then some.

“General I—“

“Depa,” She corrected with a wry looking smile as she tugged Grey’s still trapped hand closer and in doing so, encouraged him to scoot a little closer as well until they were within reach of one another. “I think can dispense with ranks tonight, don’t you, Grey?”

“Depa, I don’t…” He started to try again only to stumble to a stop once more.

“You don’t know where we stand currently?” The Jedi supplied gently and turned the man’s hand over so that she could lightly trace her finger along the lines of Grey’s palm. Depa knew there were people out there who claimed they could read the future in someone’s hand but she’d always chalked that up to flimflam or that person unknowingly or perhaps knowingly tapping into the Force.

She very rarely got the occasional Force vision and in truth, the entire reason she and Grey had accidentally ended up falling into bed had been because of a flash she’d gotten of the future.

“Pretty much, yes,” Grey admitted wryly, eyes trained on her hand as she gently explored his palm. He felt almost hyperaware of her presence and how those feather light touches seemed to send echoes of sensation throughout his body. Her touch wasn’t overtly sexual or even seductive but the clone found himself attuned to her touch all the same. “I don’t want to presume anything.”

“I find myself in the same situation, Grey.” Depa confided softly and her dark eyes sought his. “We didn’t make any promises to one another and I certainly do not want you to feel obliged or expectant to just pick up where we left of. It’s been a very long six months and I certainly will not fault you if your interest has waned or if you—“

This time, it was Grey’s turn to interrupt her. He laced their fingers together and brought up his free hand to gently tuck some of her now loose and damp hair back out of her face and behind one ear. The fact Depa was almost word for word saying the same thing he’d been gathering up his courage to say to her had not escaped him. It should have been funny but it felt strangely freeing to know she was wrestling with the same doubts and uncertainties as him.

He certainly hadn’t expected to find himself falling in love with his Jedi general anymore than he’d expected she would ever return those feelings. But Depa Billaba somehow always found a way to surprise him.

“I want you. Six months isn’t going to change my mind.”

“Even after everything?” There was an unexpected fragility in her voice when she said that and this time, it was Grey’s face that softened as he gently tipped her chin up ever so slightly with two knuckles so their gaze could lock once more.

“Even after everything, if you’ll have me.”

#depa billaba #commander grey #cc-10/994 #tcw fic #fanfic drabble #current wip

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brightblueinky · 4 years ago

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Long winded ramblings about a Bronycon video

So I’ve seen some hubbub about a YouTube essay going over the history of the Brony fandom up until the last Bronycon. (You can see it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fVOF2PiHnc ) I just got around to watching it today and I was...somewhat confused by some of the stronger negative takes I was seeing floating around Twitter, and I’ve been in a “fandom discourse” mood lately so, hey, I thought...why not talk about it. The first part of this was originally going to be a Twitter thread until I realized Twitter wasn’t going to let me keep going on the thread so I gave up and decided to put it here instead (lol) so it’s probably going to be a bit choppy since I was trying to keep it readable for that format.

So first of all, my background, so I can be completely honest about where I'm coming from and try not to portray what I'm saying as like...an end-all-be-all take here, because I don't wanna do that. I was never really an MLP fan. I watched the first season of FiM and really enjoyed it, but I didn't really engage with the fandom because by that point I'd gotten to where I didn't spend much time in huge fandoms. So I can't come at this from the perspective of an MLP fan. When I’m addressing the fandom here, I’m coming at it as an outsider in the sense that I am not a MLP fan/brony. What I AM going to do is come at this from the perspective of something of a "native" to fandom. I've always been a geek. I've engaged in online fandom in some form or another since I was about 8, which was in the mid 90s. I've been around the fandom block. Actually, I can even say that I used to lurk on 4chan a lot and I saw a lot of the early Brony discussions there. I also watch @JennyENicholson's videos, and yeah, there's been times where I've been bugged because we had a disagreement of opinions and felt like it was a little harsh. She's got a dry sense of humor and sometimes it's hard to read when she's joking and when she's being genuine. So like, I wasn't surprised when I saw some hubbub from some people online about her doing the video about Bronies. Not at all. But I gotta say...I am really surprised by some of the more INTENSE takes on the video after watching it?? The LARGE majority of the video is @JennyENicholson covering this fandom from an INSIDER'S perspective. She was an MLP fan before FiM, she was active enough in the fandom to be a BNF. A huge, huge amount of the video is positive and nostalgic. In fact I now wish I HAD been in the fandom! It seems like it was a lot of fun! The only thing I felt was maybe harsh in the video is I think she gave the impression that being "furry" is exclusively a sex thing, but by the end she talks about furries being a community that's a very inclusive, kind community with a lot of queer people, so even then I think if you're really paying attention to the whole video you're not going to come away with the idea that the furry community is bad. Just maybe could've had more nuance earlier in the video? So from glancing through mentions of her in a Twitter search (which is definitely not going to be a perfect sample) from what I can tell there's like two things that people seem to be upset about with the video: 1, the idea that the fandom is "dead" and 2...just...Body Pillows. So let's talk about the dead fandom thing first. As I mention, I have been in fandom a long, long time. Although I (usually) shy away from big active fandoms now, I started off in bigger ones--Sonic, Pokemon, Digimon, LOTR, etc. The two fandoms I currently care about the most, though, are definitely fandoms that tend to be called "dead" and were never HUGE to begin with (Princess Tutu and Chrono Crusade). I think I can count on my hands the number of ppl who actively discuss or create fanwork for CC. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, I've been on both sides of the coin here. And let me reassure Bronies: "Dead", while maybe too strong of a label for what it actually means, does not have to be a negative thing and you don't need to defend your fandom from it, IMO. I think the "dead" label simply means that interest in the fandom has cooled, the number of active participants is significantly down from the heydays of the fandom, etc. And I don't think that's an unfair label for brony fandom from what I know. If there was a large scale replacement for Bronycon then maybe it'd be unfair, but...yeah, if you're losing your large hubs for the fandom community, if the flow of fanwork and discussion has slowed, I think "dead", as it's used, isn't an unfair label. But again, I don't think this is a bad thing! I'd imagine that even the current state of the brony fandom is larger and more active than the Princess Tutu fandom at its greatest heights. It's a pretty relative term. It doesn't mean nobody cares, or that you can't still enjoy it! All the "dead" label really means is acknowledging the change in a fandom. It's not a bad thing. I might be 1 of ~30 writers for Chrono Crusade on AO3 but I still have fun writing fic and I still get hits and occasional positive comments. It's not bad. Just different. Okay so now let's talk about the body pillow thing and oh man, is this going to be a minefield, lol. Let's first talk about my personal lens I'm going to come at here... I've created NSFW fanwork. Some of it taboo. I'm also (somewhat) a part of the "proship" discourse on Twitter which is basically a community of people that push back against another community of "anti"-shippers who feel that some ships are problematic (because of character age, power dynamics, etc) and shouldn't be shipped. (I think that simplifies a lot of the discussion on both sides but it’ll do for the purpose of what I’m getting at here, I think.) At its worse this debate has lead death threats and suicide attempts. I have seen people get treated abusively for fanwork (sometimes NSFW but not always). (And I also want to add that while I think the major component of the pro-ship discussions on Twitter are anti-harassment, there’s been some ‘edgy’ types who think that it’s fun to harass antis with NSFW fanwork and the like and I want to make it clear that is ALSO ABUSIVE AND NOT OKAY.) Basically, I want to say I'm sympathetic to a knee jerk defensive reaction over NSFW fanart. Okay? I can get why people might want to push against criticism of stuff they enjoy/create, and that there’s an element of possibly being harassed for fanwork you create. But the thing is, I don't think this is really the attitude Jenny is taking in the video. She lightly mocks NSFW stuff and body pillows, but often describes it as "harmless" and "fine". The only time she's critical of it is when she notes that sometimes body pillows with suggestive poses could be on display at conventions where young kids were present--at a con celebrating a show MEANT for young kids--and that probably shouldn't have been allowed. She's not saying you can't buy a body pillow, or create one. She didn't even say that while discussing body pillows of characters who were 10! She expressed personal discomfort, but the only restriction she really suggested was "keep this out of the sight of minors." And I don't know why that would be a controversial take. I read lemons when I was younger so I'm not going to sit here and act like it's going to completely ruin kids lives or anything. But I ALSO think it's appropriate to have boundaries for sexual materials for kids (or anyone who doesn't want to engage for whatever reason). I want my stuff to be clearly labeled as NSFW, with tags being clear about the content, so people know what they're getting into. I’ve grown to care about this even more as I’ve gotten older. I don’t really want to know about minors reading my nsfw fanfic or anything. I’m not going to, like, parent them and shame them if they do, but I don’t want to engage with it, I want my stuff to be labeled, and I am DEFINITELY not going to put it on public display at a place where I know kids are allowed, ESPECIALLY not when it’s work based on stuff MEANT for children! I mean, I grew up in a fundamentalist Evangelical household and I will rant at you for hours about how damaging I feel that environment was, and that I don’t think kids and teens should be completely shielded from sex, etc. But that doesn’t mean that having boundaries in place is a bad idea, especially when minors are involved. I also think that boundaries are good just for the sake of consent, too? I’m not saying that someone accidentally seeing suggestive art is the same as them being raped, please don’t conflate it like that, but if people don’t want to see it for whatever reason they should be given the opportunity to make that choice as much as possible. The stuff that Jenny mentioned brony conventions would do (requiring stuff to be sold under the table, or having late night hours for the dealer’s room where 18+ merch could be displayed and sold) seem like really good policies and pretty similar to what I’ve seen at anime conventions I’ve attended (although occasionally some stuff that was maybe a biiit more suggestive than I’d be comfortable displaying in public...but hey, my local con allows kids but also makes it clear in their rules that it’s mostly geared for 13+ attendees and that it’s up to parents to decide what’s appropriate for their kids, and I think that’s fair). And yeah, I know, nothing that Jenny showed in the video being displayed at Bronycon was 100% explicit, just suggestive. She notes this in the video herself, saying that yeah, it doesn’t show genitalia, etc...and as I’m writing this I think I’ve maybe rambled too much about NSFW fanart when most of the stuff we’re talking about here is more “suggestive” than straight-up porn, since that’s probably muddying the waters a bit. But I gotta, gotta, GOTTA address the sentiment I saw multiple times on Twitter in response to her video: “Dakimakura/body pillows aren’t sexual and to say that is orientalist.” I...what? What the fuck? Okay, again, I’m going to make it perfectly clear what my background is here so that I’m not claiming to have some expertise that I don’t have: I am white. I am VERY white. My parents did the DNA test thing and the most “exotic” thing that came up is that my dad is 3% Spanish. Not latin american, I mean from Spain spanish. I am sooooo fucking white. I’ve studied a LITTLE of Japanese culture in college classes but that wasn’t even my field of study (Communication major on a Broadcasing track, minor in Theatre) so I’m not going to tell you I’m an expert on Japanese culture. I’m just a weeby geek that grew up in anime fandoms and never really stopped consuming Japanese pop culture. I have a very limited experience with Japanese culture. I am NOT an expert on what is and isn’t orientalist. I know I’m really hammering in this point here but I think it’s really, really important that I make it clear that I shouldn’t be used as an expert on this subject. But what I DO have a background in is someone who has engaged in Western fandom of stuff from Japan from a young age, I did spend a lot of time on 4chan, this is NOT the first time that I’ve seen some form of an “this isn’t sexual at all and you’re just a PERVERT” discussion about fanservice and...okay first of all, I highly doubt anyone saying this is any more qualified to define what is and isn’t orientalist than I am. I think this is bullshit and it feels like an attempt to make your opinions more legitimate by implying people that disagree with you are some form of bigot. (And look, I was a sheltered, insecure, stuck-up teenager in fandom, part of the reason I feel like I can recognize this is I totally pulled the same shit. I am not going to act like I have never tried to pull this and that I’m a pure innocent woke intellectual who’s never said something foolish, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let it slide, either.)

While writing this I googled ‘dakimakura’ to make sure I was spelling it right and noticed that Wikipedia does note that the origins of this style of pillow are sometimes used by Japanese kids as something like a security blanket, which I’m guessing is where the justification for the argument is coming from, but let’s be intellectually honest here--body pillow covers being sold at a convention aren’t primarily meant to be a security blanket for kids. And, okay, maybe you have a body pillow cover with a character on it that isn’t exactly in a sexual pose, just laying fully clothed on what looks like a bedsheet background. But I don’t think it’s an unfair argument to say that even THEN it implies a sort of intimacy, right, possibly a desire for a romantic attachment? Like, sharing a bed with someone doesn’t have to be sexual or romantic, I used to share a bed with my brother in hotel rooms when we were kids, but I’m also not going to share a bed with my brother and then hug him closely to my body no matter how he’s posed or what he’s wearing??? And look, maybe a body pillow isn’t ALWAYS sexual but to say it’s NOT sexual, which kinda implies NEVER, is so disingenuous. The top result I got when I searched for “anime body pillow” is a shop that includes categories like “18+ body pillow” and “sexy body pillow” and also SELLS FAKE BREAST INSERTS FOR SOME OF THE PILLOWS SO YOU CAN SQUEEZE THEIR BOOBS (obviously, NSFW link: https://www.dakimakura.us/ ) Like, COME ON, I don’t think it’s orientalist to say that something is sexual when Japanese people are actually selling body pillows they label as 18+. The second result even has a second for pillows you can insert sex toys into. And yeah I saw the guy saying “masturbation isn’t sex!” and sir at BEST you have a very narrow and incorrect definition of sex as simply being intercourse and, again, at worst you’re just being straight up dishonest. In fact, I’ll straight up call myself out for this. There’s a fanart body pillow of a fictional character I’ve considered buying several times! (Not porn but still probably NSFW link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/701912275/dakimakura-hypnosismic-doppo?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=hypnosis+mic&ref=sr_gallery-1-4&organic_search_click=1 ) Is this porn? No. You can’t see much. But on one side of the pillow he’s got his shirt untucked, you can see a bit of his stomach, and his fly is undone and you can see the band of his underwear peeking out. This is sexual. I’m not wanting it to like, get off on it, exactly...honestly it’s maybe a bit ironic, and a lot of wanting a body pillow in general is I like sleeping hugging onto something but I have a different sleep schedule from my husband I find him too big to hold all night and too warm in the summer anyway. But I’m not going to tell you that me wanting this PARTICULAR pillow case isn’t at all sexual, I know what I’m doing, I like the character and think the drawing is hot. I’m not saying don’t buy body pillows, okay? I’m not saying don’t sell them. I don’t think Jenny is either (she literally OWNS ONE that she shows in the video!!!). But don’t act like there isn’t ever anything sexual about it existing to try to defend their existence, okay? You don’t need to be a fucking coward about it, and you especially don’t need to say it’s racist if people call out something as being suggestive when, well, it fucking is. And I think it’s totally 100% reasonable for someone to say “hey I don’t think it’s a good idea to display suggestive art around kids, especially if it’s depicting young characters.” TL;DR -- Chill, guys. CHILL. Your fandom is getting smaller and the term people use for this is “dead” but that’s not a bad thing, you’ve still got the fandom, you can still enjoy it, there’s definitely no need to take personal offense over it. And enjoy your body pillows, but don’t be disingenuous about the fact that they can be suggestive and try to act like anyone that calls it such is racist, that is such bullshit. Like what you like, other people’s opinions of it is not automatically a personal attack on you, there’s no need to jump to being defensive every time someone says something vaguely negative about it. Chill, fandom friends. Fandom ain’t bad but it also doesn’t need to be the center of your identity and you don’t need to lash out against people for daring to have opinions about a thing you like. You especially don’t need to act like other people are perverts for noting something being suggestive. Chiiiiiiiiiill.

#long post #fandom #bronies #my little pony #youtube #ramble #fandom discourse

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cutegirlmayra · 5 years ago

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Hello, I love your way of writing your fanfics in the matter of Amy and Sonic. Lately I have seen a video about denying what was something of Sonic's fandom, and seeing a comment and its chains I have seen so much negativity on the ship. How: "Missing and belies the SonAmy" And then continued: "SonAmy doesn't exist in games or comics." "Just by playing the games that shit is already denied." What do you think about this, miss Mayra?

Thank you! :D

There will always be negativity. Everyone has so many opinions, but I love that the world can still form friendships even with different tastes and preferences!

I have not seen any of that but according to my research the main officials, company, games, and most -owned- media do reflect that there was meant and always was a bond of somekind between the two.

Officially speaking, Amy always chases Sonic but he’s too young and uninterested in anything to do with romantic intent. However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have the potential to, it just means he’s 15 and heads to the next adventure more so than the ‘domestic’ storytelling or storyline.

Here are some links about this very topic!

(x) Evidence of Advertisement.

(x) Moments within Games and-

(x) The differences in Japanese and English Sonamy portrayals.

(x) Cultural interpretations of Sonamy.

(x) The Star Rule (Still have yet to find where I read this… sadly T-T)

(x) Script: (x) Characterizations and ideas for creating Amy Rose by her creator.

(x) More research with facts and my interpretations and explanations of them.

(x) (x) Just more I found, there’s too many, okay!?

Okay, there were a lot of links so I hope I got the best ones!

There’s a lot I’ve done lol, please be satisfied with this list for now! You can search my blog for more if you’d like :)b

Now I’m not perfect but these are things to help separate the fact from the fiction. I know SEGA is growing and shifting to make themselves new and competitive, so I only hope the future is bright! But as long as we fans hold ourselves respectfully and not go crazy or anything, we should be able to show them it’s a good marketable direction for the series. (If done well and within character–we want the growth to be natural, not forced–then it should be okay :)b) Just always strive to be sensible! lol If we have a good image, it won’t be looked down upon so much.

If I must give some advice, which I’m a pretty peaceful person, is that you shouldn’t fight hate with fire. These people usually want a fight and have prepared things to counter you. If you ignore them, they get bored and go to a fandom they think is more combative. Some people get a high out of making others upset, so don’t fall for those baits.

The best way to help Sonamy is to professionally introduce your passions in positive ways. Support by commenting good and wholesome things, like content with Amy in it, buy Amy merchandise, and add your unique talents in non-confrontational or hostile ways. Be smart in how you talk about things, and discuss rather than argue. Marketing ploys–eh, more like their strategy– consists of seeing what’s selling well or getting the most attention. If that attention is negative but high popularity results, it’s noted as bad publicity. If you have attention that is positive and high in popularity, they then start to find ways to build that momentum and get higher ratings or in this case, marketable profit from it.

Shipping is already free advertising, but it has a bad name for itself. The Sonic fandom is actually full of wonderful and creative people. I’ve made many friends through it! If we present ourselves in ways that influence marketing in subtle and cute ways (Such as with Twitter’s Sonic Takeover where Sonamy Questions were answered in light-hearted but cute hinting moments) then our reputation will start to increase as ‘not psychotic’ or ‘childish’ but actually as something that can be beneficial to the brand.

I won’t go into detail about this, because I’m honestly someone who is cautious with what I say online (I used to not be, but I’ve had character development since then lolol) so in my humble opinion, be smart as you love and advertise your joy in something. Every little bit of changing the atmosphere or reputation counts, but so does the opposing side. So make sure you don’t fight, but keep posting wonderful fanart or fanfiction or whatever else you like to do but make sure it’s in a positive light.

I love you all so much! Let’s root for a better perceptive on romance in video game media that is appropriate for its characters and audiences! (I like the idea that Sonic doesn’t know his feelings cause he hasn’t explored them but there is a soft side for Amy. Likewise, him reacting positively to Amy or being impressed/touched by her strength and loyalty at times would be helpful too. Amy could be more universally ‘cute’ in a sense so that both Japanese and American audiences are satisfied without changing her character too much or drastically. There are so many ways to take this discussion and where the characters could end up but it’s honestly a choice we don’t get to make, only help influence in our positive approaches to the fandom ship :)b)

#cutegirlmayra #cutegirlmayra ask #ask cutegirlmayra #sonamy #sonamy ask #ask sonamy #sonicxamy #sonic and amy #sonic the hedgehog #amy rose #sonic #sonamy evidence #sonamy proof #amy rose creator #sonic japanese #amy rose japanese

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paladin-lynx · 5 years ago

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“why are we whispering?” with like,, anyone from the arcana if you play it but if you don’t, with anyone from be more chill!!

I actually just recently started playing “The Arcana” but haven’t gotten very far, so I don’t think I can write anything about it just yet. Maybe soon! So for now, I’ll go with “Be More Chill” and a pairing that I’ve been meaning to write about for a while!

Send me a character/ship/fandom and a prompt and I’ll write something!

Fandom: Be More Chill (musical)

Ships: The SQUIP x Jeremy Heere (Technical Difficulties/Squipemy/Squeremy/JereSquip)

Setting: Post-musical AU where the SQUIP somehow returned as a human and was redeemed/rehabilitated by Jeremy (with the help of the rest of the squad), and lives with him having had nowhere else to go. He looks pretty similar to how he looked in Jeremy’s head, and physically he looks to be around college age.

It had already been a good few months since the SQUIPcident, as it had been deemed, and even if things were weird, they were going relatively well. Jeremy would never forget how initially terrified he’d been when suddenly a familiar Keanu Reeves-esque looking individual had shown up at his front door. Even if he’d looked worse for wear and rather pathetic, the voices in Jeremy’s head had been screaming, “it’s the SQUIP, he’s going to hurt you, he’s going to ruin your life again, you can’t trust him, get away—” and he’d slammed the door in his face.

But of course, upon hearing the tentative knocking and quiet voice – still with that almost ridiculous-sounding surfer lilt – asking him to please listen, empathetic Jeremiah Heere couldn’t help but open the door again and give it another try. He supposed it had made sense that his SQUIP had picked up traits from him, given that they’d shared a brain for a time, but it was still strange to see what it looked like when he fell into a panic attack.

From there, everything had changed. Jeremy had taken it upon himself to teach his former SQUIP – who they defaulted to just called ‘Squip’ – how to be a proper human being. It was strange, in a way, because here was someone who used to be a machine that knew the ins and outs of social interaction, that could read every single vital of its host and deduce when something specific was needed, and yet he tended to forget to do basic human things. Jeremy would constantly have to remind him to eat, chastise him for staying up too late, tell him that some of his behaviors weren’t exactly acceptable. It was almost like their roles had been reversed. Squip was embarrassed about it but chalked it up to still being used to being a supercomputer, who didn’t have to do all of the things that it kept tabs on for its user.

If there was anything that Squip was the worst at doing, it was sleeping. Of course, Jeremy knew that there was a reason behind it other than just forgetting to, because as a stupid squishy human, it was difficult to go too long without it. Jeremy heard Squip’s screams in the middle of the night, even if Squip liked to act like he silenced himself before anyone noticed, and Jeremy was familiar enough with nightmares to know that they could scare you away from wanting to sleep even if you were tired to the bone. But the result was that Squip tended to sleep in the middle of the day, which wouldn’t be a huge deal if there weren’t times he’d just straight-up passed out over things he was doing. He’d almost hurt himself on multiple occasions because of it, but he seemed to be getting better at reading the signs and getting himself somewhere comfortable before promptly zonking out. He seemed to sleep better during the day, and Jeremy wasn’t sure if that was because he felt safer with the buzz of activity in the Heere household around him, or if his mind was just too exhausted to come up with a nightmare.

Jeremy and Squip had sat and talked about their trauma together quite frequently. It was actually pretty easy to discuss it with one another because they understood it best out of everyone. Jeremy knew now that Squip had human feelings and an actual conscience that he felt awfully guilty for everything and was hoping that becoming human was his second chance to be a good influence on Jeremy. Jeremy always tried to tell him that he shouldn’t feel too bad about the past because he’d been forced to follow his code and there was even a chance he had been defective – and Jeremy also pointed out that some of the pain others had felt had been his own fault, without Squip’s help – but Squip still refused to accept that. He was determined to spend the rest of his life making up for his actions. He’d even said he didn’t want to give himself a ‘real name’ until he felt he’d earned it, despite the fact that they both knew he couldn’t go out into the real world calling himself ‘Squip’.

And as time went on, Jeremy and Squip got ever closer. It was easier for Jeremy to forgive him than he had initially thought it would be, because this version of Squip was so different. It was obvious now that he was free from the shackles of his programming, he was an entirely new being. He could still act a bit stuck-up and like a know-it-all, because he still had a lot of knowledge stuffed into his now-human brain, but he was also funny, clever, and never missed an opportunity to help someone. Even the rest of Jeremy’s new squad – even Michael – had slowly come to accept him. But even if Squip had become part of the group, he was closest to Jeremy and, honestly, Jeremy was becoming incredibly fond of him. It was a bit difficult for him not to, really.

Of course, Squip still tended to stay in Jeremy’s house for the most part. He sometimes wandered out on the town while Jeremy was at school and Mr. Heere was at work, but without identification and much money, there was only so much he could do on his own. Jeremy knew that he liked to frequent the park because now that he could actually feel things, he had become a bit obsessed with nature, which was kind of funny considering how technologically-inclined he was.

Today was a day like any other. Because it was Friday afternoon, Michael was coming over after school so that they could spend stay up stupidly late playing video games and gorging themselves with junk food and soda – nothing with Mountain Dew, though. Jeremy was religiously staying away from the brand from now on, to be safe, even though Squip was very obviously out of his head.

“I am not going to see the Sonic the Hedgehog movie with you,” Jeremy said as they walked up the steps to his house, fishing his key out of his pants pocket.

Michael pouted at him. “Why not? It’ll be great! You can’t go to that movie by yourself! Do you know how embarrassing that’ll be?”

“Not nearly as embarrassing as you constantly making comments about how I’ll wanna get it on with Sonic.”

Michael snickered, nudging Jeremy with his shoulder as they stopped in front of the door. “I’ve gotta be supportive of my furry best friend, don’t I? Maybe Tails’ll be in it, too! You know all the jokes online about his second tail being a b—”

“Mell,” Jeremy hissed, his cheeks burning as he fumbled to get the key in the lock, muttering under his breath, even slipping into Japanese for a moment without really realizing. As he finally shoved the key into the slot, he collected himself. “Honestly, with all the freaking ridiculous research you do, I’d say you’re the furry. And, for the record, I do not wanna do anything with Sonic. Or Tails. Or any of them!”

Michael laughed again, more heartily this time, as he followed Jeremy through the now open door. “I’m doin’ all the work because you’re too ashamed to. I, of course, have absolutely no shame. So I’m helping ya out. You’re welcome, by the way. But I do know you prefer your catgirls. I guess they gotta look somewhat human for you to—”

“Michael.”

“Look, I know as well as you do that your dad isn’t home right now, so I will keep talking about this. I mean, you remember Krystal from Star Fox? Of course you do. They knew exactly what they were doing when they designed her. Although I guess you also really liked Scar and Kovu, so maybe they don’t—”

“Michael.”

“Come on, Jere, I—”

“Michael!” Jeremy finally turned to his friend and waved one hand in a ‘keep it down’ gesture as he quietly closed the door.

Michael blinked, clamping his mouth shut in surprise. He waited a moment before he spoke again, much more softly: “Why are we whispering?”

Jeremy pointed to the living room, where the TV was playing a re-run of Rick and Morty. And there, sprawled on the couch fast asleep, one arm hanging off the edge, was Squip.

“Oh,” Michael murmured, once again trailing behind Jeremy as they went into the living room, slipping off their shoes and backpacks along the way.

Jeremy shed his coat and tossed it onto one of the armchairs before padding over to the couch, his expression softening as he gazed down at his housemate. There had only been a handful of times he’d seen his SQUIP look peaceful, and they were so few and far between that he wasn’t even sure he could remember the exact contexts. But seeing him now – mouth slightly open, black hair splayed on one of the small couch pillows with that one silly white streak falling somewhat into his face, brow not creased in concentration like it always used to be – warmed Jeremy’s heart in a way he couldn’t quite explain. Squip had said at one point that Jeremy should want him dead after what he did, to which Jeremy had said that he couldn’t wish something like that even on his worst enemy, let alone someone on the path to redemption.

Jeremy grabbed the blanket draped over the back of the couch and gently lay it over Squip, tugging it into place so he was properly covered. When Squip mumbled something and shifted slightly, Jeremy feared he’d woken him up, but Squip simply grabbed the blanket and pulled it up, nuzzling into it and humming contently, still very much asleep.

Jeremy couldn’t help breaking into a smile and reaching down to gently brush that white streak off of Squip’s forehead, letting his hand linger for a moment and just watching the former supercomputer.

“You’re so whipped for him, dude.”

Michael’s words snapped Jeremy out of his reverie and he pulled his hand back as if he’d been burned, his cheeks going up in flames. He looked up at Michael with wide eyes. “What?” he whisper-yelled, and he swore his voice went up at least ten octaves. “I am not!”

Michael just quirked an eyebrow in his trademarked ‘you know I’m right’ way. “You so are, Jere. I’ve seen the way you look at him when we’re all hanging out together, and just now. You used to look at Christine that way.”

Jeremy’s face was still dark red, almost putting Michael’s prized hoodie to shame, and he peeked down at Squip again. Squip had always been attractive, even when he had just been a projection of Jeremy’s mind. Jeremy had a feeling that was intentional, because he would be more willing to listen to and follow the orders of someone he was interested in. Of course, Jeremy had been struggling with his bisexuality then, so he wouldn’t have ever accepted the fact that he was maybe attracted to someone who presented male. But perhaps, like Rich, being freed from the commanding voice in his head had made him come to a few realizations.

And now, the new human Squip was ever the charmer, using little pet names constantly, always knowing what to say in that smooth-as-honey voice of his, cracking a smirk that could make anyone’s knees weak and okay, maybe could make a few people question their sexuality. He’d come back from his excursions plenty of times with little slips of paper in his pocket with various phone numbers, and maybe it made Jeremy a little envious that Squip had only been around like this for a handful of months and could get more people to ask him out merely by existing than Jeremy could by using every trick in the figurative book of romance. Not even Christine had stuck around, after everything they’d gone through, although they were still very close as friends.

But that didn’t mean Jeremy was into Squip.

…Right?

Jeremy huffed, stepping away from the couch and snatching up his coat, grabbing Michael’s abandoned one along the way so he could stomp over to the closet and hang them up. “You’re high.”

“Nope. I am one-hundred percent sober, Jere-bear. You like him. Like like him.”

Jeremy was too flustered to make fun of Michael for using the elementary school phrase and instead just glared at his friend as he came back over to join him in the living room. “I do not,” he repeated.

Michael smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes. “You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself.”

Michael had known Jeremy for over twelve years, and even if he sometimes didn’t understand what Jeremy was going through, he knew all of Jeremy’s tendencies and mannerisms down to a T. It was part of why Michael had been so worried when Jeremy had started changing after getting his SQUIP. So of course, if anyone was going to know that Jeremy was going through a romantic crisis, it was Michael.

Jeremy let out a slow breath, trying to rub the heat out of his cheeks, as if that would work. The more Michael commented on his apparent predicament, the less and less inclined Jeremy was to disagree. He peeked down at Squip’s sleeping form once more, just in time to see him murmur something in Japanese that Jeremy sort of understood as “very comfy” and turn over to face the other way, and Jeremy’s heart stuttered.

“…So what if I do?” he mumbled, shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

Michael shrugged, flashing him another little grin. “You do you, my man. I mean, it’s a little weird because he used to be a pill in your head and tried to take over the world with you as his sleeper agent. But I guess it’s not that much weirder than you being into animal people.”

“You are the absolute worst,” Jeremy groaned, lolling his head back in exasperation for a moment before sighing. “It’s not like he would wanna date me anyway. He has so many admirers. He could have literally anyone he wants.”

“You know I’ve never actually called any of those numbers I’ve received.”

Jeremy and Michael both froze at the voice, and Jeremy’s gaze snapped down to the couch again. There was Squip, eyes open and watching him curiously, a tiny, sleepy smile on his lips.

“Y-you’re…awake?” Jeremy squeaked, his blush returning full-force. “I, uh, you…H-how much did you hear…?”

“Just enough.” Squip chuckled and sat up, still holding the blanket to his chest in a way that Jeremy decided he should not find as cute as it was. “I know you were trying to be quiet, but I wasn’t in that deep of a sleep to begin with. But I felt rude interrupting.”

“You were eavesdropping. That’s worse,” Jeremy argued, and Michael laughed, excusing himself to go raid the kitchen. Jeremy silently cursed him for leaving him alone with his maybe kind of crush that he’d just realized he maybe had.

Squip only smiled again, letting the blanket drop into his lap and picking up the remote to turn off the TV. He set it down again and beckoned Jeremy to sit with him. After a moment of hesitation, the boy did so and Squip turned to face him, tilting his head like he always did when he was thinking.

They sat there in silence for what to Jeremy felt like an eternity – but was probably no more than ten seconds – and he fidgeted in his spot, finally piping up. “So…”

“…I may not have been human for long,” Squip began, “and I may still be figuring some things out, but I do know that I feel strongly for you. Up until recently, I had thought that it was perhaps just residual attachment from when I was your SQUIP, and the persisting need to look after you and care for your well-being, but I’m beginning to think that it may be something…more than that. And I wouldn’t be averse to seeing what developments come out of it.”

Jeremy just blinked dumbly at him. “…In English, please?”

Squip just laughed warmly, slipping a hand into Jeremy’s hair and pulling him forward to plant a soft kiss to his forehead. “I like like you, too, sweetheart.”

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