#i worded the Lanolin bit wrong

[pocketscribbs]

From earlier this morning

I do character rants when I’m excited lol

Tangle and Lanolin’s dynamic honesty intrigues me more than Tangle and Whisper with how it’s been developing

[skaruresonic]

"Lanolin is interesting because even the sonic series needs moments of negativity every now and then"

Somehow I don't consider the equivalent of an overly bossy store manager to be more emotionally moving than when an entire tribe got wiped out by their god

Lanolin doesn't add anything new. She's just annoying.

You know the character is unpleasant when you love kuuderes and assholes and even you don't want to be an apologist for them lol.

Apologies for the Half-Life talk - how people claim Lanolin is disrespected on the basis of gender reminds me of how Judith Mossman is actually sidelined and disrespected on the basis of her gender. Not only within fandom, but within certain parts of canon too.

Mossman is another strait-laced, uppity mom friend character. She, like Lanolin, has few quirks to speak of. The only thing we know about her background is that she lost a job to Gordon Freeman and likely resents him for it even 20 years later.

Few HL players actually like Mossman and care to examine their reasons for why. It's pretty much a reflex for most players to dislike her, often upon the very moment of meeting her for the first time.

While some of this dislike can be chalked up to Mossman deliberately emitting two-faced vibes, it can't all be attributed to just that. Otherwise you'd have people glibly writing "let's pop a cap in Breen's ass" fics as well. Her gender does factor in.

Mossman frequently rubs people the wrong way. If you pressed them on why, they'd probably say it's because she's duplicitous and hides her real emotions behind a fake smile (much like Lanolin's "plastic smile"), but here's where the double standards emerge. While Mossman occupies roughly the same roles as Barney Calhoun and Dr. Breen, neither Breen nor Barney are nearly as maligned as Judith. Which begs questions of why.

Dr. Breen is so two-faced that it's laughable, and he doesn't receive half as much disregard as she does. Probably the difference is that Breen is eloquent and someone you love to hate while you listen to him bluster on about nothing, so we give him a pass.

Honestly, I suspect that the likeliest explanation is that Mossman reminds people of an evil stepmother archetype. Some authority figure who spoils your fun through strict adherence to rules. That one teacher in childhood that used to piss you off by being so uptight. They're not really looking at her so much as whatever mental proxy she stands for.

It doesn't help that she's the "no fun allowed" guy, literally telling Alyx "the zero-point energy field manipulator is not a toy." And since we're inclined to befriend Alyx, we're inclined to dislike whoever she dislikes.

However, there's more to Mossman than simply being an austere traitor who sugarcoats her words. She shows glimpses of vulnerability, of reconciliation with Alyx, and once she stands up to Breen, she's on our side for good.

There's a lot of potential for depth and complexity with her character and her motivations, which makes it unfortunate that fandom seems more interested in writing 10K-word angsty Barney Calhoun character studies instead. Especially since Barney was created just to be some rando.

Coupled with the way Marc Laidlaw practically forced Alyx to stuff her in the fridge in Epistle 3, these are all reasons why I am the biggest Mossman apologist ever. Normally I would be in the camp that's not too hot on her, but her treatment makes me protective in a way that's simply not present in my feelings on Lanolin.

You mean to tell me we're given the choice to mercy-kill Breen, motherfucking Breen, but Alyx lugs a tortured Mossman around, blames her for Eli's death, and unceremoniously pops one between her eyes once she's outlived her usefulness? Nah, Marc, you're too drunk to drive. Give me your keys.

...Anyway. My point is that you can have negative Nancies, but they need to not be so goddamn dour all the time. Unlike Lanolin, you can see bits and pieces of Judith's humanity peek through the hardened crust of insensitive character writing. That alone makes it worth suffering through the fridging and undercooked portrayals.

Lanolin, on the other hand, doesn't really give us any glimpses, if at all, of a personality to offset her unpleasant demeanor. Assholes aren't assholes 24/7, but it's like every time you see her on the page, she's sneering for no real reason.

[bumpsyp1ains]

i feel like talking a bit about tangle in my future of freedom au

there, she’s a bit more aware of her recklessness

she tried her best to use the lectures from whisper, jewel, lanolin and others to improve herself, but no matter what, it always feels like she’s doing something wrong during a mission, and she ends up apologizing for her stupidity after it’s over, even when she’s done nothing wrong

she wants to stop being a burden to others, and to be better. but sometimes, being told off for her actions over and over after completing a mission/saving the day just hurts, especially on a bad day (hence how she was handled in “words can hurt” (i do kinda wish i’d written it better nowadays, though)

to put it shortly, tangle had thought she was worth less than she really is

thankfully though, whisper, jewel and lanolin shortly became aware of this, and had her back. whisper loves her to bits, even with her flaws. jewel is thankful to have a best friend able to fight and protect. and lanolin is happy to have someone who’s a “brawn” type in the neo diamond cutters.

it was then that tangle realized; perfection outside didn’t matter. she had the perfect heart, and that’s all she needed

no matter how many mistakes she makes, she’ll always improve

[greenhillguy]

“   you’re  cute  when  you’re  worried .   ” amy's flirtin!

SEND ME MEMES !

"i'm cuter when i know my friends are safe and i can enjoy a nice chili dog," sonic mutters, brushing back amy's bangs as he gets a better look at her injury. "and you're cuter when you're not getting concussions in the middle of the battlefield."

for a moment, sonic's own words don't fully register to himself. until they do and a wave of pink crashes over his cheeks. he breaks eye contact with amy, gaze roving over the rest of her to make sure she was otherwise in one piece. her hammer was looking a bit worse for wear, judging from the chunks taken out of it. better it than her, at least.

"lanolin's uh--" sonic coughs, clearing his throat. and, gaia, he knew his face must be close to knuckles' shade of red now. "lanolin's got a med tent nearby. we should--"

if possible, his face burns more. what is wrong with him?? it's just amy! they've gotten hurt around each other millions of times before. nothing was any different now, right?

except for the current of absolute relief that flooded sonic the second he'd made it to her side after she hit the ground and got to see her green eyes looking back up to him, dazed but still bright, still alive.

"you, uh, shouldn't be walking until we know how bad it is." awkwardly, he helps amy to her feet, holding out his arms to scoop her into. "uh, may i?"

[true-blue-sonic]

(HI BLUE!!!) I've never failed to notice how mistreated and/or bullied silver has been in the comics and games, so what if he went evil over a long period of time? With the words "Do better" and "get out of my sight" thrown at him (especially in archie) I have a feeling he wouldnt exactly love it tbh.

Hello! ^-^ If I'm being quite honest, that is one of the things I really did not like about the pre-reboot Archie comics. Not only is Silver a dumbass who rudely accuses people left and right with very limited and lacking information as his guide (which is still somewhat understandable since his future was in ruin and only few people in the past seemed remotely willing to help), I just... Heck, I hate how they characterised Sonic there. Sonic wouldn't do the things he did to Silver in Archie, plain and simple. He'd eventually get irked, yes, but what I appreciate about Sonic in the games is that in '06, he's quick to accept Silver's change of heart and sees that he only means well for the future, and in Rivals he remains his chipper self most of the time even when Silver is being blunt. And they make up, and Silver clearly respects Sonic at the end of both games! I cannot see either of those Sonics drag Silver throughout an entire town by his quills to throw him head-first into a hospital bed. Nor would Sonic from the games tell Silver to fuck off in such a manner. And that whole thing with Lanolin in IDW has left quite a sour taste in my mouth too, not gonna lie. If there is anyone who needs to 'do better' it is her, with the complete life-threatening failure of a first mission concluded under her leadership and her general bossy personality she is aware of yet makes no improvements on to change for the better. So yeah, Silver is indeed the no-respect guy from both comics. It's just not fun to see such things happen to my favourite character, especially because the other characters are either being wildly OOC assholes or in-character assholes to facilitate it. But that was a bit of a rant, apologies.

Still, I do not think Silver would turn outright evil. I can see him become more withdrawn and even more short-tempered, with the decision that if people are so unwilling to help him he'll just have to go completely solo and take matters into his own hands quickly following. And that would actually cause a lot more trouble for the heroes, because Silver has mostly no qualms against murder, is highly OP so very difficult to defeat in a fight where he is giving his all, is more deceivable than most others and thus might be entirely on the wrong path despite he himself believing he is doing the right thing, etcetera. His intentions would still be heroic, but his actions would be more anti-hero- or even villainous-like. Which is unfortunate, because with only one or two good conversations where he is taken seriously and maybe some brawls to knock some sense into him, none of it would have been necessary in the first place. But yes, I can imagine he is hurt and bothered by how he gets brushed off by the heroes, and that is a prime situation for him to go do things by himself if no-one takes him seriously. And that could cause more trouble than it is worth... Hmm, I cannot see someone like Archie!Sonic apologise for not listening and taking Silver seriously, but who knows what we'll get in IDW when the whole plotline with Duo/Mimic is resolved. We'll only be sure once the issues have been released, for better or for worse.

[universalzones]

"Hey, I only asked because she got a bit banged up one a mission and I wasn't sure if she wanted to see a doctor or Belle." Tangle wasn't trying to be nosy, though Belle might be one of the few besides Tails and Eggman who could see if anything is wrong with Surge or Kitsunami. "It's not like I walked up to Surge and asked if she was more Mobian or robot. I'm not that dense." The lemur was rather insulted.

"As for your point Kitsunami if Surge is willing to work with us then we'll work with her, though Sonic and Amy putting a good word in for her helped." Lanolin wasn't going to ignore the fact having two famous hero's vouch for Surge helped a great deal.

Surge shrugged at Lanolin's statement. She didn't think anything Eggman could would work on Emerl this time. But she wasn't gonna argue with the caution over it.

"...If you asked me that right now, I'd be threatening to throw you out the shuttle. That's a really stupid, personal, and invasive question." She says, looking really pissed. The audacity of this bitch, did she not think before she spoke like ever?

"Umm, I see. Well, I think you could give that whole second chance thing a try, and still not have her working with someone she has bad history with. Maybe just, put them into a separate team? It'd be good too, since it'd allow for multiple mobilizations." He replies. He doesn't think it's fair to subject Whisper to this, even if she won't say anything.

[another-sonic-blog]

When Disaster Strikes

Part 1 : Before Disaster Strikes

Link: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/617890070494642176/before-disaster-strikes

Situated between Sonic IDW Issue #11 & 12

Synopsis: After the Battle with Metal Sonic, Shadow went back home just to find out that his Chaos Emerald was stolen. This gets Amy's interest and she decides to help the black hedgehog. Will Amy and Shadow's friendship develop?

ShadAmy (Platonic, but can be romantic if you want lol)

6k

When Disaster Strikes

.

The Restoration Headquarters was everything but a quiet place. Members of the organization went in and out of the building sometimes running and others screaming. It was a place were world heroes came to meet whenever the world was in danger. The rookies always hoped to see a sneak peek of their idols, maybe Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles. Although it was still unbelievable to them that Amy Rose was with them most of the time.

After Metal Sonic was defeated, Amy didn't doubt on going back to work.  

It was a bit stressful but the need to help others was greater than the need to rest.

The day was lively just like any other summer day and the members were running around doing errands, carrying papers and boxes. Some of them even had to do solo missions and help a village in need. Amy was up and down giving, planning, and executing orders.

Our pink hedgehog was looking down at a map, trying to plant out their next move. The Restoration wanted to provide food supplies to a nearby village but it was getting complicated due that this village was remotely placed on a mountain. Thus, making it complicated to transport supplies.

"Ms.Rose, you have a call coming from Floral Forest Village,"

Suddenly, Lanolin stood in front of Amy holding a phone on her right hand as her left hand covered the speaker. Amy's mind immediately went to Cream and Vanilla as she knew that they lived there. She didn't even think about it for a second, she extended her hand as Lanolin handed her the phone. Praying to Chaos that it wasn't bad news, the pink hedgehog answered the call.

.

.

.

Floral Forest Village was known for its beautiful and extensive categories of flowers and wild animals. Scientists from all over Mobius came to this village to experience the natural scenery of the place. With only 1500 Mobians living in the village, it was a perfect place to live for someone who wanted a quiet life.

Until now.

Amy rarely went outside the Restoration because she always thought she was needed there to keep order. However, she allowed herself to go out once in a while on a special occasion. Today, it was one of those occasions because Shadow the Hedgehog decided to keep everyone locked in the village's town hall.

The pink one wanted to give the black one the benefit of the doubt. Last time she saw Shadow they ended in good terms. He even said that he would visit her at the Restoration but he never did. It must have been because he was busy doing his own thing, besides she saw him when she called everyone due to Metal Sonic's attack. She was busy and couldn't say her greetings, Amy wanted to talk to him after the battle with Metal Sonic but to her no-surprise, he left without saying goodbyes.

It was strange now, she didn't know in what terms they were but the only thing she was sure about is that she needed to talk to Shadow before jumping to any conclusions.

When she arrived she wasn't surprised to see no one in Floral Forest Village. She ran as fast as she could to the town-hall. The biggest building in the village.

It was a three-story building, navy blue painted on the outside walls and windows decorated the outside. Amy tried to open the double door entrance but it was locked. Not like it surprised her and it wasn't like this was a difficulty. She snapped her fingers and her hammer appeared in her hands, it took only one hit for the doors to smack open.

Finally, she was in. Her eyes landed on the scared villagers who were all quietly sitting down on the floor, in rows. They were terrified but hope-filled their eyes as soon as she walked in. It didn't take long for the guy who was behind this to appear. Using Chaos Control, Shadow appeared at the back of Amy. She had to admit that she would be just as scared as the villagers if it wasn't because she actually knew Shadow ... to an extent.

"In the name of Chaos, what do you think you are doing?"

Her eyes encountered vermillion ones, the ones she liked deeply and even admired. She wasn't backing down, opposite from it actually. The pink one got closer to Shadow, her chest almost touching his but the black one didn't even flinch at the act.

"I need to keep these people here,"

After a few seconds of intense stares, Shadow decided to speak in the most serious tone she has ever heard so far. "Someone in here stole the Chaos Emerald I was hiding and no one is getting out until they return it."

There were a lot of questions that popped in Amy's head. However, logic was triumphant on her mind. Amy backed away slowly and looked at the villagers who were intensely looking at their brawl.

"You can't keep them here, whatever the reason is ..." Amy looked back at Shadow who stood quiet. She knew that his stubbornness was one of his main traits and it was going to be hard to go against that. "The only thing you are accomplishing is to scare them ... They won't tell you anything unless they trust you."

"I need that Chaos Emerald, it can be dangerous if it falls in the wrong hands," Shadow replied.

"I understand that, but you are not thinking logically ... Do you really think you can keep 1500 people in here? What if they start to get hungry? How are you going to feed them all?"

If Shadow was being honest, he didn't think about that. Since eating wasn't a necessity for him. He had forgotten that food was a necessary element for the survival of the regular Mobian. Shadow let out a sigh as he placed a hand to his forehead, showing his frustration. After a few seconds passed without a word being shared, Amy spoke once again.

"I'll help you find the person who stole your Chaos Emerald ... I promise, just let them out of here, please."

As if Amy had done a spell on him. Shadow only nodded and Amy gave him a reassuring smile.

"Alright, everyone out!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, the Villagers stood up from the floor and began to exist the town-hall. There was not a single one who didn't thank Amy on their way out. As well that every single one of them gave Shadow either a judging or scared look. He felt the stares of them pierce through him. Even when he tried to not think about it, a part of him did.

Amy just couldn't stop the feeling in her heart that told her that she needed to protect the black hedgehog. There was just something about him ... his eyes, his stance ... He just looks as lost as the moment she first met him.

"Miss Amy!"

A young voice, which the pink one recognized, happily made her way through to meet her pink friend. It was Cream and Vanilla, her mother, follow closely.

"Thank you for coming, Miss Amy!" without thinking the soft orange rabbit hugged her and although the action took Amy by surprise, it didn't take her long to return the gesture.

"It's nothing, taking you for calling me," Amy said as she bent down to look at Cream at an eye level.

"Now, that you are here, would you like to stay for dinner?" Cream asked as she twirled around happy to see her friend. She got closer to Amy and in her ear, she whispered, "You can even bring Mr. Shadow."

Amy let out a giggle as she nodded and patted her head. The pink one stood up and looked at Cream's beautiful mother. "I hope I am not intruding."

"Of course not, we love to have you over," Vanilla said.

"I'll be there, I just need to finish somethings first with Shads right here,"

At the mention of his nickname, Shadow felt a shiver run down his spine. He had been watching the pink one interact with the rabbit from afar. Shadow did not take any interest until Amy mentioned him.

"We will wait for you then,"

With that said, Vanilla and Cream exit the building. Happy that their day could continue without any more interruptions.

"Thank you for letting us out Mr. Shadow!"

The black hedgehog snapped his head at the orange rabbit. He watched her smile and wave her small hand at him. No show of remorse nor hatred on her face. Shadow looked away immediately, not knowing how to react as Cream and Vanilla disappeared out of sight.

Teasingly, Amy approached him, a smile decorated her face. There were many sides of Shadow that Amy found amusing. He was a bit awkward and didn't know how to properly communicate with others. Sometimes his actions may be seen as aggressions, but in all honesty, it was just his way to show that he cared.

"I am surprised you managed to get every single villager in here," Amy said. "Even the mayor and village officials."

"It was easy, they just look at me and they run away," Shadow said. He rolled his eyes still a bit annoyed that he let Amy get through him. "It would have been easier if I had questioned everyone ... Someone must know what happened to my Chaos Emerald."

"No, you were going to scare them and they wouldn't tell you anything."

The red stripped hedgehog rolled his eyes. Mentally, he knew that she was right but was he ever going to admit that out loud? No.

A few seconds passed where there was just silence. An awkward atmosphere overtook the place and it was something that Amy couldn't stand.

"Why are you here?" Shadow asked.

"Cream called me-"

"I mean, why didn't you send Rouge, Omega, or someone else? Why did you personally come?"

Amy wasn't expecting that question. How was she possed to respond? A part of her was telling her that Shadow was expecting a good answer. Like a deep, emotional answer.

"I didn't think it was necessary."

Damn it, Amy, that's not a good answer.

"I mean, they were busy ... Everyone is and I just didn't want to bother them ... So, that's why I came."

Mentally cursing, Amy found herself to be struggling to find the correct words. There was something about Shadow that just made her nervous. Maybe it was his vermillion eyes that pierced to every part of her soul. Amy should have been used to Shadow's intense stare by now but for some reason, the rosette one felt that she was trapped.

"Then leave now, I'll find the Chaos Emerald by myself-"

"Yeah, that's not going to happen, I'll help you."

Finally, Amy felt herself go back to normal. Her preppy and happy go lucky personality shone the moment she felt Shadow's eyes soften on her. She began to walk towards the exit, ready to start an adventure with the black hedgehog.

Shadow sighed in annoyance, it wasn't like he didn't appreciate the help of the pink one. However, he always worked better alone ... or so he thought. "No, you will just make it worse, I don't need your help."

"Are you sure about that?"

Amy looked back at the black hedgehog and it was this time that Shadow was lost at words. The sunlight coming from the outside and inside the door landed on Amy. Her entire body was outlined with a golden aura, a few string of her quills were placed all over her head creating a small halo above her. A little bit of the sunlight entered on her pupils, making her green eyes twinkle and Shadow's heart skipped a beat. He realized that the green Chaos Emerald that was stolen from him would never compare to Amy's eyes.

Shadow looked away, trying to forget the unusual, strange thoughts on his mind. He had never seen Amy in that light, nor any other female. The feeling was strange to him and he definitely didn't like it. He tried to erase Amy's picture on his mind and he did, finally getting back to his senses. Mustering the strength to look at the pink hedgehog again, the black one just knew that there was no way to escape from Amy Rose. Just like she convinced him to stay for dinner that day at the village. Even made him eat that soup she made and talk on the rooftop of the village's town-hall ... He just couldn't say no to her.

"Just don't get in my way."

.

.

.

A small wooden cabin was placed in the middle of the forest where only if you look hard enough, you could find it.

It didn't take long for the pink one to realize that the cabin must be Shadow's home. After all, someone like Shadow would like to live in a place like this. It was quiet, beautiful, and very peaceful. It had a certain level of convenience as well because a few meters away, Floral Forest Village was at his disposition. For someone like Amy, it would have hard to find his place but she was sure that for someone like Shadow it was a piece of cake not getting lost in the vast forest.

"After the battle with Metal Sonic, I came back here," Shadow said. The rosette hedgehog was surprised that Shadow was even starting a conversation. She had thought that she was going to have to squeeze the answers out of him.

"The Chaos Emerald was hidden on a cube locker that only I can open ... It wasn't there when I checked."

"Any clues?" Amy asked as she looked at the wooden cabin in front of her. She had many questions going around her head. The first one was whether Shadow built the cabin himself or not. It looked very cozy and a part of her smile internally when an image of Shadow drinking hot cholate during a cold day popped in her mind. This was his home and she felt honored to an extent to be in such an intimate place fo him.

"Only one thing ... A small pair of glasses" said Shadow. "Everything else is clean ... There was no sign of struggle to get in nor to get out."

"Like teleportation."

"Exactly, so this person can either use a Chaos Emerald's power or something of those likes."

Shadow watched the pink one inspect his house, she walked around it. Her eyes never leaving the structure of it. A certain amusement was placed on her face and to an extent he understood her. After all, it wasn't every day he brought people over to see his house ... Not even Rouge nor Omega had come in.

"I know what to do ..." Amy said, she turned around and gave him one of her classic smiles. "We are going to camp tonight!"

.

.

.

There were many things about Amy Rose that intrigued Shadow the Hedgehog. However, it wasn't just her ... It was him as well. He reacted differently to her. At first, he thought that it was the fact that she was a female that he had a soft side for that. Nevertheless, he never treated Rouge like this. It may be the fact that Rouge was like an authority figure and the urge to defy her was strong. He still listed to her and admired her, but that sense of not listening to his 'elder sister' was there.

So, what was about Amy Rose that made Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form, bend the knee in such ways?

He didn't know what it was ... but he couldn't do anything about it at this point.

"Tell me why are we doing this again?"

It was dark already and the only thing illuminating the place was a bonfire that they had done earlier. From time to time the sound of crickets and nocturnal birds could be heard but both hedgehogs were comfortable about it.

"Whoever stole the Chaos Emerald was very careful about everything. No clues, no signs of struggle, not a single mistake was made ... but the small round glasses they forgot," Amy was sitting next to Shadow, not too close nor too far. They were nearby Shadow's house. The two hedgehogs were careful about not making too much noise nor the flame of the bonfire too big. The vast density of the trees around them made them almost invisible to the normal eye. Not only that but thanks to Shadow's good hearing abilities, he was able to tell if anyone approached his house.

"This person is very meticulous, obsessive even ... They will come back for the glasses and we will be here when they do."

Maybe this was why Shadow couldn't say no to the rosette hedgehog. She wasn't only taking time out of her busy schedule to help him but she genuinely seemed intrigued and concerned about the matter at hand. It was on Amy's nature to help anyone in need, out of the kindness of her heart. Maybe that was why Shadow is so attracted to her and complied with her requests and accepted her ideas even when they seemed a bit radical.

And she was trying her best to help him out.

"And that's why you should help them out! Helping them is a good thing!"

A strong pain came revolting through Shadow's head. Again, it was that sweet voice he wanted to remember but it pained him whenever he tried. He placed both of his hands on his forehead as if that would help with the immense pain he was feeling at the moment. Different images began to cross his mind ... The ARK, Sonic, Eggman, Rouge-

"Shadow are you alright?"

Amy

Shadow's head stopped hurting the moment his vermillion eyes met Amy's emerald ones. There was such concern on her face that Shadow even thought about apologizing for making her feel like that. However, the thought went away as soon as he realized that Amy was too close to him for his comfort. He looked away trying to hide the mixed feelings he was having. Shadow couldn't describe the feeling but he didn't like it ... but he didn't hate it either.

A few more seconds passed where Shadow mustered the strength to ask the question that has been floating around in his head.

"Rose ... Were you at the ARK?"

It was Amy's moment to be confused. More than that, Amy was panicking because she had sworn she had never talked to Shadow about it. About her making Shadow remember his promise to Maria. About her being the one to witness him cry and being vulnerable. About how she was one of the reasons he saved the world that day.

It was a secret she never wanted to share and she had her reasons.

"Why do you ask?" the pink one mentally thanked Chaos for not stumbling on her words. She didn't know that even if she were to stutter, Shadow wouldn't even notice. He was too concentrated at her being so close, her shoulder almost touching his.

"I just remembered ... I think I saw you that day at the ARK," Shadow said, getting the strength to look at her in the eyes. "Were you there?"

"I ... No, I-"

"Please ... Don't lie to me."

Amy gulped a little but still, her mouth felt dry. Shadow's red eyes shone even more brightly as the flames of the bonfire reflected light upon them. Almost too mesmerizing to get lost in them forever. However, a certain sadness was predominant in them. Regret, pain, betrayal ... Lies ... Amy could tell that Shadow was tired of all of that.

"Yes, I was there," Amy said.

"Did we ever ... talk?"

She just couldn't do it. Amy had only interacted with Shadow a few times but she could already tell so much about him.

If Shadow knows that she was the one that made him remember his promise and because of that he saved the world ... Would he feel less? As far as Amy knows, Shadow believes that he saved the world out of the kindness of his heart. Because he wanted, not because of a promise he remembered.

Shadow wasn't one to give himself enough credit. Yes, he would say he was The Ultimate Lifeform whenever he could but that was just a facade. Shadow felt the judging stares of others on him, the hate glances, the scared looks.

The black hedgehog never did anything to clean up his name because even after saving the world multiple times ... He still believes he is the monster people make him to be.

"No, we didn't talk," the rosette replied. She just couldn't take away one of Shadow's greatest relief. If Shadow ever finds out that Amy made him remember Maria's promise, then he would credit her. Amy didn't want that, she wanted all credit to go to Shadow. The world was saved because of his sacrifice and only that and Amy was going to make sure he believes that till the end.

"I went there to follow Sonic, you must have seen me with him."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Shadow was faced with another question.

"You always follow him don't you?"

A few seconds passed in which the cracking of the wood of the bonfire could only be heard. Shadow mentally cursed as he didn't plan to ask that question out loud.

"Well, I used to. Not so much now ... But, I still love him a lot!.."

To his surprise, Amy wasn't angry. All the contrary, there was a certain sparkle in her eyes indicating that she was happy.

"Why?"

"Sonic is free to do whatever he wants and so do I ... He values his freedom and I appreciate that."

"Doesn't that make you sad?"

Shadow didn't have the slightest idea as to why he was asking her these questions or why he was concerned about her love life. Maybe it wasn't her love life at all, but her feelings that intrigued him.

"No, I love everything about Sonic," Amy said as a warm smile decorated her eyes. "I love the way he is free as the wind, his confidence, his flaws, his quirks. I even love the way he runs away from me from time to time ... I love him regardless of everything. Even if he ever loves another, it doesn't matter. I love him unconditionally."

There was something about Amy that Shadow just couldn't get enough of. The way her eyes sparkle, the way her face shone and the soft blush that landed on her face. He was never one to care about love, he didn't think about it either ... until now.

Maybe this was the thing that attracted him to her. Amy knew something and did something he never could. To love.

Shadow didn't believe he is capable of loving someone as Amy does. The subject was a mystery to him, an unknown topic ... It did intrigue him.

And Amy was the one who knew about it all.

"I wonder what that it's like ... to love and be loved unconditionally." One again, Shadow said that without thinking. Nonetheless, he felt safe with Amy. He knew that no matter how stupid the question is, or how pathetic he looks, Amy won't judge him. She won't tease him either. Amy made him feel like he could be vulnerable in front of her once in a while.

"I love you unconditionally too Shadow!"

Her words came to Shadow like lighting. What surprised him the most was Amy's confident face. Not even for a second, she doubted herself.

Without having anything to say and watching that Shadow was at a loss of words, Amy proceeded.

"There are different types of love not only romantic and all of them are equally important," she said. "You can be rude at times, arrogant, and insecure ... But you are also loyal, determined, selfless, you put others before you and I love all of that about you. You are my friend even if you don't consider me as one ... I'll keep loving you regardless and I'll do anything for you. My love for you it's unconditional too!"

There were no words to describe what Shadow was feeling at the moment. He hasn't felt like this in a very ... A very long time. His heartbeat raised, adrenaline going through his veins and his fur shriveled. Was this happiness? A part of his heart shrieked when he remembered past thoughts. The thoughts that told him that Amy was annoying and childish. He regretted ever thinking like that about such a kind-hearted girl. Shadow knew he didn't deserve her in his life but from now on he would do anything to keep her by his side.

A peaceful moment was shared between the two where they didn't say anything but only stared at each other with fondness.

Amy smiled at her companion, once again breaking the sweet silence between the two.

"Maybe, one day you will love me unconditionally too."

There was no question about it. Nor it was hard to understand for the black hedgehog. If he could choose who to love then it would be Amy. Maybe, if his heart ever desired he could love Amy the way she loves Sonic. There won't be any protest, no contradiction, he will follow his heart and let the rosette hedgehog take over it.

But it wasn't that type of love now. At this moment, he only wanted to appreciate her person, her being. To enjoy the unconditional friendship she was offering and accept it.

And that type of love, he could give back.

"Yes ... I would like that very much."

.

.

.

It has been a while since Shadow got a night of proper sleep. After all, he didn't need it to survive, the black hedgehog could go for three weeks without sleep and then we would start to feel the after-effects. The scenario was strange for him as well because he just doesn't remember when he fell asleep.

And he definitely didn't remember Amy falling asleep on his shoulder. Heck, he doesn't even remember until what time they stopped talking nor when they stopped caring about the issue at hand.

The bonfire they had started last night was reduced to ashes, the black hedgehog felt Amy trembling from time to time once again a feeling of guilt overtook him. He had forgotten that Amy was a normal Mobian and like such, it was easy for her to get cold. A thought of wrapping his arm around her and bring her closer to him crossed Shadow's mind. However, the thought quickly went away. It would be better for her health to wake up and get her body moving.

Shadow tapped on her shoulder delicately and it didn't take long for Amy's green eyes to outshine the morning's sun. Vermillion and emerald eyes stared at each other, lost in each other's colorful pools. Nonetheless, it took a few seconds for Amy to realized what happened.

"Shadow ... we fell asleep!"

"Yeah, no joke."

Amy stood up from the cold grass, patting the dust away from her red dress. She regrets wearing this dress in such cold weather but to be honest she didn't have any idea she was going to stay. "We didn't even check if the guy who stole the Chaos Emerald came back!"

Another thought crossed Amy's mind. She had been so engrossed in helping Shadow that she had forgotten that yesterday she was going to go to Cream's house for dinner.

"Chaos, I forgot yesterday I was going to have dinner at Cream's house! You must be worried about me." The rosette hedgehog walked around in circles to keep her warm and to release a bit of anxiety due to the situation at hand.

"I am going to go to Cream's home and then I'll come back! I promise we will find that Chaos Emerald! Have you checked if the person picked up the glasses we left at your house-"

Shadow sighed at Amy's reaction. She was getting very worked up and it was comical even to see her determination in helping him. He stopped her midtrack as he placed his right hand on her shoulder, even the gesture was surprising to him. The black hedgehog was being very delicate with the pink one.

"It doesn't matter,"

Amy saw a change in Shadow's voice. It was soft and fragile as if he wanted to reassure her. She listened carefully not wanting to forget his words.

"Yesterday, you taught me there are more important things than a Chaos Emerald."

.

.

.

It was an extremely busy day at the Restoration HQ. With the recent outbreak of the Zombot Virus, many cities were on the verge of collapsing if they weren't already. It was even worse because the hero of Mobius, Sonic the Hedgehog was also infected with the virus.

Amy noticed that her blue love was indeed tired and she was scared that he might make a mistake that can cost him his life.

"Rose?"

The pink hedgehog turned around to face the red striped one. They were currently at the Restoration's Main Room, planing on the rescue of Sunset City.

Shadow walked towards Amy. He was concerned about her lack of self-care. He had noticed that Amy was getting tired and even looked sick. She wasn't eating, nor sleeping, always working. Of course, he knew that this wasn't healthy for the regular Mobian.

"Do you need my help?"

Amy and Shadow had grown closer after that night at Floral Forest Village. They were good friends and Shadow wasn't shy to visit her at the Restoration HQ. It warmed the pink one's heart to see that her friend was trying his best to keep a relationship with her.

"Yes ..." Amy made a pause. "Sunset City has been attacked by the Zombot virus ... Sonic is there helping uninfected civilians get out of the city safely ... Will you and Team Dark help him?"

If there was one thing Shadow couldn't do was to say no to his pink friend. He still wanted to help regardless but what he didn't want was to encounter the blue blur. It was because of Sonic that Amy was looking like this ... Like she was ready to faint at any second now. Maybe he could take this opportunity to punch him or make him apologize to her and to everyone but knowing the blue one, that was far from happening.

"I am sorry,"

The words caught Amy by surprise. She was expecting anything but that. Speechless, Shadow continued.

"If I hadn't let Sonic convince me to let the Doctor live ... We wouldn't be in this situation ... You wouldn't be so tired," Shadow looked down to the floor.

The dark hedgehog knew that part of the current situation was his fault as well. He felt that his hands were equally tainted as Sonic's. Although anger was the only way he could show that he felt guilty at the moment, Shadow was unable to show that side to Amy.

"It's not your fault, nor Sonic's,"

Amy placed a hand on Shadow's chin and picked up his head, making him look up to her eyes. "This is just a bad dream ... I know you and Sonic won't let us down and you will resolve everything ... Just like you always do."

Instantly, Shadow grabbed Amy's hand. Softly holding it with both of his. Although the action caught the pink hedgehog by surprise, she didn't pull away. Shadow was more and more open to her now and she appreciated it.

"I only have a favor to ask in return," Shadow said. "When I come back ... You have to tell me everything that happened in the ARK."

"But, I already told you everything-"

"No, I know you haven't told me everything ... You are a horrible liar."

Amy was caught red-handed but the pink one now knew that there was no way to escape. Although she had tried to keep what happened between them at the ARK a secret as long as she could, she should have known that Shadow was very perceptive.

As well as that the black hedgehog had learned Amy's small little details. Her ears would lower and she would look around the room nervously whenever she lied.

There was no way to escape Shadow and if he was the one who wanted the truth, who was Amy to prevent him from getting it?

But it wasn't only the truth. It was the unintended promise that was made between the two without realizing it.

"I promise to tell you everything when you come back," Amy said.

Shadow smirked, letting go of the rosette's hand already missing her touch. "I'll be on my way then, I'll tell Rouge and Omega."

Amy nodded, a sort of reminiscent feeling overtook her. As she felt that she had live through this already, she almost did not want to let him go. The pink hedgehog watched Shadow walk away and almost like an instinct, she raised her voice.

"Don't you dare do something reckless and get infected," Amy's voice almost cracked at the thought of her new and dear friend being at the mercy of the virus. "Sonic got infected ... If you were to get infected too ... I don't think I will be able to handle it."

"I am the Ultimate Life Form, I won't get infected," Shadow said. His voice was monotone but in all honesty, everything he wanted to do was to reassure her.

"This could be different ... Sonic runs to keep the virus from fully infecting him, do that in case you get infected." Amy said. "Be careful, if things get difficult, run."

"In case the situation becomes difficult, I should prioritize the civilians over me and you should know that." Shadow turned around, appreciating Amy's green eyes. Something inside of him was telling him to take his time in appreciating her features, everything. Because it would be a long time for him to see her again.

Amy let out a defeated sigh and then she smiled again at her friend.

"You know what is one of the things I like about you?"

Shadow shook his head, curiosity getting the best of him.

"That even when things get hard, you don't run away from your problems."  

They just didn't want to let go of each other. They had been friends for a short amount of time, but their bond was special and they just didn't want the moment to end just yet. Their heartbeats at the same rhythm and looking at Amy's face, Shadow doubted himself for the first time. There were many things he was insecure about but for Amy, he was willing to put that aside.

Appreciating her face one last time, Shadow smiled at her. He mentally promised to do the thing Amy liked about him.

"You know I don't run."

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: Finally, the second part of this short story. This wasn't meant to be romantic ShadAmy but just them trying to figure out each other and how they start to become friends and such. However, if you want to see it as romantic, feel free to do so. Until next time!

[therumbellehappyendingaward-blog]

Chapter 5 writer: @mariequitecontrarie

PROMPT: TRUTH

AO3: HERE

“Mr. and Mrs. Gold. And Gideon.” Surprise wrinkling his forehead, Mr. Dove stepped out of the doorway. He waved a meaty hand, ushering them through the open door, into the sparse, white living room of a modest home.

Gideon shifted and shook his head. It felt like they were in the center of the Doctor Strange movie, when the Sorcerer had used the time stone. They’d stepped in the front door, Mr. Dove had smiled and hugged him, and it had felt like being wrapped in a warm blanket. But now they were walking in the front door again? His head hurt and his throat felt scratchy. This wasn’t right.

“Is anything wrong, sir?” Dove asked Papa in a quiet voice. “Did I forget to water the hydrangea bushes?” Mr. Dove turned to Mum, his gaze lowered to the floor. “Mrs. Gold, I’m sorry, your father isn’t here and I’ve not seen him.”

What the …? Gideon stared at Mr. Dove in open-mouthed shock. Those were the most words he had ever heard him speak at once. Also he was confused. Why was he talking to Papa about watering plants? Didn’t Mr. Dove own a candy shop now? Just the other day, Papa had bought him a bag of his favorite red licorice whips and a half pound of chocolates for Mum. Or had it been caramels for Mum and sour worms for him? Suddenly he couldn’t remember. Thinking was making his head pound.

Mum took a deep breath, her shoulders shaking. She was nervous, Gideon realized, but she was going to be brave anyway, like the hero she’d named him after. His tummy jumped with expectation. He loved the idea of having more grandparents.

“Dove, I need to ask you a question,” Belle said, searching the other man’s eyes. “Are you my father?”

Gideon blinked. Mr. Dove ran a hand over his bald white scalp and for a moment the white continued down the front of his body, replacing Mr. Dove’s somber black suit with a stark white coat. Gideon rubbed his eyes and the white coat went away, the entire room turning reassuringly brighter in return.

Mr. Dove shook his head. “That’s not why you’re here.”

“It is,” Mum insisted, glancing at Papa. Papa took a step closer to her and put a reassuring arm around her shoulders, and she leaned into his embrace. “I need answers. We all do. Blue said…”

“The Blue Fairy? And you believed her? Fairies are liars, Mrs. Gold.” Mr. Dove’s eyes grew huge, black and beady, like the bird he was named after. He laughed shrilly, the high-pitched sound an unnatural contrast to his quiet, rumbling voice. “You of all people should recognize the truth of that. You’re a fairy, too,” he said, his dark, piercing eyes pinning Papa and then Gideon. “You’re all fairies!” he cried.

Mum bit her lip. “Please, Dove... who will teach me to fly?”

Frightened, Gideon backpedaled toward the door and covered his ears to block out the terrible shrieking sounds Mr. Dove was making. He clenched his eyes closed, wishing he was young enough to believe that if he couldn’t see them, he could be somewhere else—anywhere else. An image of a cage flashed into his mind and bile rose in his throat. Mr. Dove’s shrieks sounded like black rage, or gut-wrenching sobs, or maybe it was his mother crying? Gideon forced his eyes open. Papa stood as still as a statue with his head cocked, watching Mr. Dove taunt Mum and laugh in her face. Why wasn’t he throwing a fireball or casting a spell? Anything to stop those horrible noises!

Gideon pressed himself up against the wall and tried to think. If only he could remember one of the spells Papa was teaching him, he could end this.  He jammed his forefingers into his temples and tried to concentrate, but nothing came out of his mouth but silent cries.

He was frozen; he couldn’t move, he couldn’t scream. He wanted to call out to his Papa, to beg for help, for Papa to make everything better like he always did but he couldn’t make a sound. The world swirled, the edges of the room turning fuzzy.

“Liars!” Dove screeched again.

Liars, liars, liars, liars....

xoxo

Gideon struggled against the darkness, desperate to open his eyes.

He couldn’t seem to wake up. His eyelids felt like they were glued shut with the thick, sticky lanolin Papa used in the shop for waterproofing. The pungent odor of antiseptic pinched his nostrils. At last he pried his eyes open, blinking up at a cracked white ceiling. “Is the asparagus burned?” he blurted. “Did I ruin dinner?”

Every muscle in his body complained and his breath rushed out in a whoosh. His lungs felt tight, like the day he’d fallen from the top of the bleachers at the park and had the wind knocked out of him.

“Asparagus?” Papa’s face swam into view. Dark circles wreathed his eyes; he looked like he needed a nap. “Son, that was two days ago.”

Black and grey whiskers covered the lower half of his father’s face and Gideon blinked again. “When did you grow a beard?”

An amused glint entered Papa’s eyes, banking the worry lodged there. He scratched at his hairy cheek. “Welcome back to the land of the living, Rip van Winkle. You gave us quite a scare.”

“What?” Gideon struggled onto his elbows, sending pillows careening to the floor as he tried to sit up. “Where’s Mr. Dove? I thought he would hug me and smile at me, but instead he was mean.”

“Lay back, Gideon,” said a familiar, no-nonsense voice. Mum. Her smile was strained but gentle as she leaned over him from the opposite side of the bed. She pressed a cool cloth to his forehead, the soft fabric soothing against his damp, prickly skin. “Don’t try to talk all at once.”

He glanced around the room noting the television mounted on the wall opposite the bed, instead of shelves lined with bookcases. Nope, this was definitely not his bedroom at home.

“Where are we?” he managed to ask.

“Storybrooke General Hospital,” Mum said, and he felt her slight weight dip the edge of the mattress as she sat on the corner and smoothed the blankets. “After we finished making dinner the other night, you ate three bites and went straight to bed. You were burning up during the night and Doctor Whale said we should bring you here. You’ve been asleep for almost two full days.”

“Let’s have Doctor Whale check you out, then how about some ice cream?” Papa asked with a smile.

xoxo

“Now, what’s all this about Mr. Dove?” Mum asked, after a nurse with Dalmatian puppies all over her shirt had checked his temperature, listened to his breathing, and examined his eyes.  

While licking a cherry popsicle—his third—Gideon revealed the entire bizarre dream, from Papa and Mama proving they were his parents, to Grandma Colette losing her fairy wings, to confronting Blue, to the three of them showing up on Mr. Dove’s doorstep demanding to know if he was Mum’s father.

At the mention of fairy wings, Mum and Papa shared a glance and Gideon felt color rise in his cheeks. It sounded silly when he said it out loud, especially because he knew Papa and fairies didn’t mix. He hadn’t meant to have such a weird dream! He didn’t know why he had. The cloying sweetness of the popsicle was suddenly too much and his stomach roiled.

“Dove owned a candy store?” Papa mused, pacing up and down the foot of Gideon’s hospital bed. “Strange. I can’t picture him chatting up children and selling Pez dispensers and chocolate bars.”

“So none of it was real?” Crestfallen, Gideon looked between his parents, the unappetizing popsicle dripping down his hand. His heart hurt, a bit like when he was hungry and his tummy was empty. He felt like he’d lost something, like there was a hole inside him. The dream had been so vivid and he’d been convinced that he, Mum, and Papa were working together to solve a great mystery … and find more family. “Grandpa Moe really is your father?”

“Well, the part where Robin Mills was unable to keep her mouth shut and mind her own business happened,” Papa said wryly and crossed his arms. “Like mother like daughter. As for the rest of it? No. I’m sorry, son.”

Memories flooded back to Gideon. Robin calling him a bastard, and the other kids in his class laughing at him, calling him Giddy the Green Giant and saying Mum and Papa were long-lost dwarves. He remembered running home in a blind rage and locking the door against his parents and Papa trying to coax him downstairs with cookies. After that, everything was fuzzy.

Mum’s smile was full of understanding. “Mr. Dove is a kind man,” she said, whisking away the melting popsicle and offering him a sip of water. “When we don’t feel confident in who we are, it can be tempting to look elsewhere for answers. Maybe you imagined Mr. Dove was your grandfather because you know there’ve been difficulties between Grandpa Moe and Papa and me. Dove is someone Papa has worked with for years. He trusts him—we all do—but he’s definitely not my father.”

“Robin Mills.” Papa was still grumbling to himself and pacing the length of the room. “Who does she think she is, anyway? As if the circumstances of her peculiar birth and parentage are anything to take pride in?”

Mama’s brows drew together in a warning glance, and for once it wasn’t directed at him. “Rumple,” she said crisply, “that’s for Robin’s mother to discuss with her. It’s not our place, and two wrongs don’t make a right, do they?”

Even he knew Mum wasn’t looking for an answer to her question.

“Hmmph,” Papa said, leaning on his cane with a smirk.

Their lighthearted bickering comforted him and he giggled.

“There’s a welcome sound,” Papa said. He leaned over to ruffle his hair, and Gideon grinned.

“I do love Grandpa Moe. I don’t even mind when he makes me spread smelly mulch in the garden or make boring rose bouquets in the store,” Gideon said. “But he doesn’t like you, does he, Papa? It’s nothing he says or does,” he rushed to assure his parents. “I can just tell and it makes me sad. How can you care about someone and still not like their choices?”

“You have such a tender, loving heart, Gideon,” Papa said. “Like your mother.”

“Oh, Gideon. There are times I struggle with Grandpa Moe being my father,” Mum confessed. “He’s hurt me and he’s been unfair to your Papa. I’ve forgiven him for his mistakes, but forgetting is another matter. But if he ever does anything to hurt you, I want you to tell us right away, all right?”

Gideon twisted on the damp pillow. His neck felt sweaty. “It’s more than that,” he insisted. He knew his father’s parents, Malcolm and Fiona, were evil and he’d heard the stories of how Papa had done away with them for good. But Grandma Colette had died long before Papa and Mum had even met. He thought of the framed black and white photograph of her that Mama kept on her bedroom dresser. Sometimes he would go in his parents’ room and run his fingers over the silver frame and wonder what it would feel like to have a grandmother. The empty feeling inside came rushing back. Was it possible to miss someone you’d never met? “What about Grandma Colette? We never talk about her. Why?”

Mum ducked her head and bit her lip. “We should talk about this when you’re feeling better, Gideon.”

"Muuuuum," Gideon whined. “I hate when you guys keep secrets.”

Papa nudged her. “He is dreaming about it,” he said, “and dreams are of course manifestations of what is going on in the subconscious.”

“Yeah,” said Gideon, crossing his arms over his chest. “Besides, there’s no such thing as being too sick to hear the truth.”

“I hate when you both are right,” Mum muttered, but she was smiling again as she said the words. Then her smile faded and her eyes brimmed with tears. “I suppose I don’t talk about my mother much because I don’t like to think about my grief or my failings. I’ve always blamed myself for her death in the Ogres War. For a while, I couldn’t even remember how she died. I’ve tried to recover my memories from that day, but sometimes looking for answers costs more than learning the truth is worth.”

“I’m not trying to make you sad,” Gideon pleaded. He hated when Mum cried. “I just want to know what she was like.”

Mum scooted backward on the bed and put her arm around him. He leaned against her, letting her take his weight, and sighed. Papa pulled a chair closer to his bed and sat down.

“Mother was a fine scholar,” Mum said. “Smart, confident, and bookish.” Mum tapped his nose with her index finger. “You remind me of her, you know. She always taught me to be brave, and I always tried to follow her example.”

He lifted his head from her shoulder. “Like Gideon in Her Handsome Hero?”

A tear rolled down Mum’s cheek. “Yes, it was the first book she ever read to me.”

“And you decided to name me Gideon?”

She laughed, a low wet sound, and smiled at Papa. “A few other things happened before that. I had to meet and marry Papa first.”

“It doesn’t matter what the circumstances of a person’s birth is, Gideon,” Papa said. “After my mother cut me off from my destiny, I had to learn this truth myself. And after hundreds of years—and a lot of help from your mother—I finally did. Parenting has little to do with our DNA or a piece of paper declaring our bloodline.”

“Listen to your father.” Mum nodded. “It doesn’t matter if someone grows up in the care of biological parents or adoptive ones. And as for Storybrooke, it doesn’t matter what Robin Mills or anyone else believes about our family. All that matters is the love we share and the family we create. That’s all the proof of parentage you need.”

“Yes, Mum,” he said, resigned. They were right, he knew. Mum and Papa loved him and he didn’t have to prove it to anyone.

“Cheer up, Giddy,” Mum said, “You’re going to be out of the hospital tomorrow morning. Her eyes began to dance with excitement. “We haven’t gone on any adventures in a while, have we Rumple?”

“No, you’re right, sweetheart. We haven’t.”

“Once Gideon is completely well, perhaps we should return to our travels and visit my homeland in the Enchanted Forest? Gideon could continue his studies with me and we could learn more about Grandma Colette and her life.”

Gideon’s heart leapt. He loved visiting new places and getting to see where his Mama grew up was like a dream come true. Papa’s brow furrowed and his Mum shrugged, a light blush dusting her cheeks.

“Belonging,” Mum said, as if that answered everything. His Papa nodded, the lines between his eyebrows smoothing, but now it was his turn to be confused. Mum squeezed his hand. “You’ve grown up in this realm but you’ve always known your Papa and I came from the Enchanted Forest. We’ve told you stories, but it’s not the same as seeing the place for yourself.”

“I think it’s a fine idea, Belle,” Papa said. “Gideon, what do you say to a new adventure?”

“Please!” Gideon blurted, his mind racing. “Will we get to ride horses? Henry says all knights ride horses.”

“So you want to be a knight, do you?” Mum teased.

Papa’s smile was indulgent. “I’m sure we can manage something. After you get some more rest.”

Gideon yawned and pouted in annoyance. He did not want to go to sleep again. His eyes were growing heavy but he’d only woken up a few minutes ago. It wasn’t fair! His tummy twisted. Now that he was wide awake, the dream seemed silly but those helpless feelings were still there. He didn’t want to feel that way ever again. He bit his lip and fixed his eyes on his parents—his heroes.

“Where’s Cal?” he asked, giving into the pull of sleep. Mama had given him Cal, his teddy bear, when he was born. Cal was short for Excalibur because it protected him when Papa wasn’t home. “Will you get him from my room? And stay with me while I sleep?”

“Of course.” Papa snapped his fingers and Cal appeared in a puff of red smoke, then Papa tucked the tattered little brown bear under the covers.

“Can I hear the story again?” Gideon asked, his eyelids drooping. “The one where you met.”

Mum pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Once upon a time, a beast took a girl prisoner…”

THE END

[megabadbunny]

some kind of AU where Rose dates her superior, The Doctor. Could be student,teacher or worker,boss or whatever you want

Hey there nonny!!! I’m sure your interest in my fill for this prompt died a long time ago and its corpse is now gently crumbling away to dust, for which I deeply apologize. The thing is, while I totally understand why folks like AUs, they’re not my thing (I tend to be a stickler for canon or canon-divergent stuff, with the exception of fem!versions of the Doctor), and after a series of former jobs with male supervisors who were, well, kinda dickbags a lot of the time, I’ll admit I had a hard time getting over that and struggled with this prompt quite a bit. (Seriously, I’ve been working on a response to this for two and a half years now!) However, because I do have stuff written, and it seems a shame for it to just languish away in my WIPs folder untouched by the light of day, Imma go ahead and post what little I did manage to get written over the last 28 months. And here’s the dilly: if someone else sees it and feels a mighty need, I’d be more than happy to send them my notes or do a bit of collab with them if they’d like to pick up the trail from here!

pygmalion’s revenge

Rose Tyler is, in no particularorder, 24 years old, British, white, female, a stage actress, a former gymnastand current runner, a connoisseur of chocolates and films starring Idris Elba andColin Firth, and, despite being a dreadful flirt, just a tad bit dense when itcomes to picking up on signs of a certain nature.

The epiphany smacks her like a handto the face, dawning on her sometime in a grey morning in her tiny London flat.Evidence of a job hunt is spread over her dinged old kitchen table, a smallmountain of newspapers and printouts with her laptop sitting pretty andvictorious at the peak, all of them hiding pockmarks and coffee-rings andsomething that looks suspiciously like a cigarette burn which Shareen swears upand down that she knows nothing about. Rose stares at it all while hersleep-lagged brain tries to decide whether her mouth wants tea or coffee. (Teais the obvious answer, and the likely victor, but sometimes a mug of foul-tastingjet fuel is just what she needs to get through the morning. “Morning person”does not number among the many things that Rose Tyler is.) And while her eyesstare and her eyelids droop and her brain pontificates, even though it’s gotnothing to do with anything, somewhere in the back room of her subconscioussome part of her just realizes.

The Doctor is totally, completelyarse-over-heels in love with her.

“Jesus, Jack,” she asks, withoutpreamble, the moment her flatmate steps into the kitchen, “Am I an idiot?”

Jack’s resounding laughter letsher know that yes, in this particular case, “idiot” ranks very high on the listof things that Rose Tyler is.

***

Rose firstmet the Doctor when she was 19 years old, neither a gymnast nor a runner norsomeone with even her A-levels, working a dead-end job at Henrik’s. She hadnabbed the position in an attempt to chip away at theseveral-thousand-pound-debt incurred by a year of irresponsible living with agood-for-nothing boyfriend. (Thanks, Jimmy.) And the day she met the Doctor, shehad just clocked out at the end of her shift and stepped into the ancient lift,so absorbed in her fashion magazine with some silly name (Belle or Metropolitanor Splendor or some such rot) that she didn’t even look up when the doorsopened and someone joined her.

She frowned.There it was again.

This time thetext was splashed in white across a model’s bright blue jumper—“Bad Wolf.”Those words kept popping up everywhere Rose looked. She saw them spray-paintedon bins, printed on takeaway menus, in big black letters outside stuffy-lookingoffice buildings, on the bottoms of pink and yellow nail polish sets. Thephrase had popped up everywhere seemingly overnight. What was this obsessionwith Bad Wolf, and more importantly, whydid no one else seem to notice it?

“I wouldn’tbuy that one,” a chipper voice informed her from somewhere to her left. “Thecolor is nice, but the lanolin acids present in such a wool-heavy blend arelikely to cause some unpleasant contact dermatitis.”

Rose openedher mouth to politely tell this gent and his posh Estuary accent to mind theirown business, but fortunately, her eyes moved faster than her lips; she foundherself staring at a bloke who, despite being so thin that a hard look mightknock him over, was pretty enough to make her heart trip on itself. Academictypes didn’t usually do it for her (there was something about their snootyvoices and prim manners and patronizing attitudes that grated on her nerves,somehow). But, looking this fellow up and down as subtly as she was able, eyescataloging everything from his spectacles to his wild hair to his freckles tothe ever-so-slightly tatty brown pinstripe suit—paired with Chucks, no less,who wears Chucks with a pinstripe suit?—Rose felt that perhaps she could makean exception this time.

“Thanks,professor. I’ll keep it in mind,” she teased as the lift lurched and lumbered upward.

“What makesyou say I’m a professor?” he asked, mouth twitching in amusement.

Sheshrugged. “S’just a joke,” she replied, but halfway through her sentence, itoccurred to her that the fellow was looking at her in a very specific way, andthat gave her pause. He wasn’t leering at her like the lads on the sidewalk, orsneering at her like gentlemen in suits were oft wont to do. Instead he waswatching her almost like—

Like she wasonto something.

Rose’s eyestracked him over. “I guess the specs look sort of professor-ish,” she offered.“Wearing a suit, too, brown and not too fancy. Nothing wrong with it, but youwouldn’t catch it at Harrods. And you’ve got a bunch of student papers stickingout of your briefcase,” she said, pointing at the worn leather case danglingfrom one hand.

“What makesyou say they’re from students?” he asked, a smile hiding in the corners of hiseyes.

She was definitely onto something.

“Well,they’ve got grades on them, don’t they?” Rose asked. “Gotta be students.”

His facesplit in a wide grin. “That makes sense. Well done.”

“Thanks,”Rose laughed, and she was only being a little sarcastic. “Did I pass the test,then?”

“With flyingcolors.”

Both of themsmiled at each other, and Rose felt just the tiniest twinge of regret when thelift arrived at its destination. The doors slid open, the bell chimed out aloud announcement, and neither Rose nor the professor moved away.

“Well,” theprofessor said, fidgeting a bit in his plimsolls. He tilted his head toward theexit. “Got to run. See you around, maybe?”

Not if I see you first is what Rose thought.

“Sure,” iswhat she said.

With acheeky grin, the professor stepped out of the lift and walked away. He didn’t seemto notice the paper that fluttered in his wake, drifting out of his case andfloating lazily, featherlike, to the floor.

“Wait,” Rosestarted, scooping the paper up in her hand, but the doors were closing and theprofessor didn’t turn back. Rose quickly gave the paper a once-over (it couldbe rubbish, but what if it was a student’s assignment, what if the professorhadn’t graded it yet, what if that poor sod ended up with a 0 through no faultof their own?) and was surprised by the words she found at the top.

OPEN CASTING CALL

And a littlebelow that:

For George Bernard Shaw’s

PYGMALION

At the Blue Box Theatre

Rosefrowned. Open casting? She wasn’tsure what that meant, exactly, but it was obviously something to do with aplay. Had to be a play if it was in a theatre. Right? Was it like auditions?(And if it was like auditions, why didn’t it just say that?)

The liftdoors opened at her destination and Rose balled the paper up in her hands,compressing it neatly into its own little cragged-edged world. She tossed it inthe rubbish bin without a second thought.

…but she didhave an individual thought, on its own, not two seconds later, which encouragedher to pick the paper right back up.

(No harm inchecking it out, right?)

***

A quick few minutes of Googlingshow her everything she needs to know. Jack is happy to supplement the rest.

“A bit familiar, isn’t it?” heteases, looking over her shoulder while she types. Normally she would beinclined to tell him that that’s a load of bunk, and then outline preciselyjust how much bunk that is, but the parallels seem pretty undeniable.

“Pyggies was years ago,” Rosesays in a protest that they both know is feeble. “This doesn’t mean—”

“Rose,” Jack interrupts, gently.“It means.”

Rose worries her lip while shescrolls down the screen. Jack’s right. Of course he is. But that doesn’t makethings any easier. It doesn’t make hurt feelings unhurt or apologies magicallysaid.

But.

“He’s trying,” Jack says.

“What, you his agent, now? Mostpeople get paid for a job like that.”

Jack rolls his eyes. “Look, Iknow he’s an idiot. Everyone knows. Hell, even he knows. But you also know he’smore than that. And even if it’s a stupid gesture…at least it’s a gesture.”

Rose stares at the screen somemore. Open CastingCall, it says. Born Yesterday, it says. Seeking ExceptionallyTalented Woman (Character Experience Preferred), it says.

“Those American accents are goingto be dreadful,” Rose says.

***

They’ll tellyou that you should never go into an audition unprepared, but Rose didn’t knowthat yet. Besides, she never really cared much about what They tell you.

(Also, shestill wasn’t entirely sure she was going to audition at all. Or so she toldherself, standing in front of the Blue Box Theatre with a crumpled flier in herhand. Maybe she had only shown up to see what the thing was all about.Certainly she had not shown up hoping to get cast, definitely she wasn’t hopingto see the intriguing professor-bloke again.)

“The queuestarts round the back,” a Scottish voice popped up, and Rose turned to see ayoung redheaded woman leaning against the blue brick wall. Her hair fell aroundher face in curtains, her legs were impossibly long, and the casual way shedragged smoke out of her cigarette made Rose’s fingers itch.

“Sorry?”

“The queue,”the girl repeated, as if repetition would encourage understanding. “It’s roundthe back.” She gestured with the cigarette, trailing ash in its wake. “Thatway.”

***

And that’s it, folks. If you’re interesting in picking it up, let me know and I’ll send you my notes!

[biofunmy]

How to Choose the Right Rug

For a living room to feel pulled together, most designers will tell you, it needs a rug.

But rugs can be expensive. And because a large-scale item like that is going to have a big effect on the way a room looks and feels, choosing one can be intimidating. The right rug may live in your home for decades. The wrong rug will serve as a daily reminder of the money you wasted — and the money you’ll have to spend if you want to replace it.

And getting it wrong is all too easy, given the range of materials, colors, patterns and sizes available. Finding the ideal rug, observed the New York-based interior designer Celerie Kemble, is a “complicated puzzle.”

To help you solve that puzzle, we asked Ms. Kemble and other designers and rug manufacturers for advice.

Use One or a Few

There is no rule that says you have to limit yourself to a single rug in the living room. Designers often use multiple rugs in larger rooms to define different areas. So how do you know whether one or a few is best?

Smaller spaces, and living rooms enclosed by walls and doorways, usually benefit from a single large rug.

“I’m often dealing with apartments where the goal is to expand the sense of usable space in a living room,” Ms. Kemble said. In those cases, “I usually want to use one rug, and make it as big as I possibly can.”

Sprawling, open-concept spaces, like lofts, are more likely to benefit from multiple rugs, which help ground disparate groupings of furniture and can be used to separate a living area from a dining or media area, in the absence of walls.

Can’t Decide? Then Layer Them

Another option is to layer rugs on top of each other, with a single large, plain rug on the bottom to cover most of the floor, and smaller decorative rugs on top to anchor different seating areas.

“One of my favorite tricks is to use a very big sisal rug, which is relatively inexpensive, and then layer softer, plusher kilims or dhurries on top at the seating areas,” Ms. Kemble said. “It tells everybody, by the enormity of the sisal, that you’re all at the same party.”

Determine the Size

It is important to work around a room’s obstructions when planning a rug purchase.

“We always start with the practical and then get to the decorative, while considering the architecture and mechanics” of a home, said Jesse Carrier, a principal of Carrier and Company, a New York interior design firm. “Are there doorways and door swings to consider? Is there any floor grille for HVAC that you don’t want to cover? Is there a fireplace where you have to deal with a hearth?”

After taking these details into account, consider circulation around the seating areas.

“There’s nothing worse than being forced to walk on the perimeter of a rug,” Ms. Kemble said, with one foot on and one foot off.

Choose a size that either completely covers the walkway or leaves the floor exposed where people need to pass by. Then decide how far beyond the furniture the rug should extend. A common way to size a rug is to ensure that it reaches underneath all four feet of all the furniture.

Or you could use a smaller rug that runs under the front feet of the sofas and chairs, and stops there. Just make sure that smaller objects at the rug’s edges, like end tables and floor lamps, are completely on or off the rug, Mr. Carrier said: “You don’t want unbalanced, rocking end tables every time you put something down.”

What about small rugs that float in the center of a room, untethered by sofa and chair legs? Many experts advise against them.

“Small rugs look a little bit lost and unfinished,” said Susanna Joicey-Cecil, the marketing director for the Rug Company, in London. “It can feel like a postage stamp, which is not so pleasing for the eye.”

Choose Patterned or Plain

A boldly patterned rug can serve as the defining feature of a living area, but because it has so much impact, it’s a choice that requires courage. Deciding whether to go with a graphic statement rug or something more understated comes down to personal preference, as well as your overall design vision and where your home is.

“In the city, oftentimes clients will want to invest in an antique carpet from an auction or one of the great rug vendors as a showpiece,” Mr. Carrier said. But in country homes and beach houses, “we’ll often do some sort of sisal, sea-grass or coir carpet, because it’s a little more informal and rustic.”

If you decide to shop for a patterned rug, there are endless choices available, from free-form contemporary designs to more traditional ones. But if you’d rather keep it simple, there are plenty of opportunities to introduce pattern at a smaller scale.

“For more laid-back, Zen environments, there are fantastically beautiful sisals with patterns in them, like herringbones and subtle stripes,” said Richard Mishaan, a New York-based interior designer. “To dress them up a bit, add a fabulous binding in leather or suede. It doesn’t increase the price enormously, but it’s very chic and beautiful.”

Pick a Material

Rugs come in many materials, including plant-based fibers like cotton, linen, sisal, jute and allo; downy, natural fibers like wool, silk and mohair; and synthetic materials like nylon and solution-dyed acrylic. There are also nonwoven rugs made from stitched-together materials like cowhide.

Each offers a different look and feel, with varying characteristics related to how well the materials wear and how easy they are to clean. They also range widely in price.

Rugs made from plant-based materials are often among the most affordable and offer an easy, casual look. But different fibers have different durability: Cotton and linen, for instance, age fairly quickly, while sisal and allo can take more abuse.

“We’ve had some disasters with linen,” Mr. Carrier said, “which is very, very beautiful” — at least when it’s new. But because it is easily damaged by wear and spills, he added, “we’ve had to replace a lot of linen rugs in our time, and now avoid them like the plague.”

Allo, on the other hand, is “very cleanable and doesn’t retain stains,” he said.

One of the most popular materials is wool, which can offer a range of looks depending on how it’s handled, from thin, flat weaves to hairy, hand-knotted shags. Wool tends to be more expensive than most plant-based materials, but it is stain resistant, softer underfoot and durable enough to last for centuries.

“Wool has lanolin in it, which makes it a very cleanable, stain-resistant fiber,” said Bethany Hopf, a sales manager at the House of Tai Ping carpet company, in New York. “When you spill, it sits on top for a little while before it will actually absorb,” which gives you time for cleanup.

Even when a spill soaks in, she said, “we have a lot of success getting stains out.”

The same cannot be said for silk, which is generally more expensive and delicate, but has a softer feel and a lustrous sheen. Some upscale rugs are made entirely from silk, while others combine wool and silk to create various effects.

In patterned rugs, “very often we have a wool background and then highlight the motif with silk, because it helps it pop,” said Ms. Joicey-Cecil, of the Rug Company. “You can have lots of fun playing with those two textures, because the silk has a lot of sheen to it.”

But Ms. Kemble cautioned that mixed-fiber rugs can be difficult to clean: “Silk can’t take water, but wool needs water to be cleaned. So when you have silk-and-wool mixes, it creates hard-to-sort problems once there’s a spill.”

Consider Indoor-Outdoor Options

If spills and stains from children and pets are a concern, it may be a good idea to choose an indoor-outdoor rug made from a synthetic material like solution-dyed acrylic, polypropylene or PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which are now often so soft and appealing that they can be hard to distinguish from indoor-only materials.

“They’re impenetrable: You can’t stain them; you can’t ruin them,” said Mr. Carrier, who replaced a wool rug with a nylon one in his own home when his children were younger, then switched to sisal when they grew up. “In certain applications, that’s the way to go.”

Don’t Forget the Rug Pad

It’s tempting to bring a rug home and put it down immediately, but there’s a step you shouldn’t skip: putting a nonslip rug pad underneath.

Cut the pad to a size slightly smaller than the carpet. A general rule is that it should be trimmed about an inch shorter than the rug on all sides, to provide maximum grip while preventing a visible change in level where the rug transitions from pad to floor.

Rug pads offer a touch of additional cushioning, Ms. Hopf said. But their real utility is more “about keeping it in place and preserving the life of the carpet,” she said.

In other words, it ensures that your new rug won’t slide like a banana peel.

For weekly email updates on residential real estate news, sign up here. Follow us on Twitter: @nytrealestate.

Sahred From Source link Real Estate

from WordPress http://bit.ly/2XXiaot via IFTTT

[klubseller]

What Material to Choose When Shopping for an Area Rug

The question "Which material should I choose?" pops up in your head when you are shopping for an area rug. It is wrong to buy a rug simply because it looks nice. You must first consider what your rug will be exposed to. 

For example, if the place where you want to put the rug has high traffic, you must ask yourself the question what is the best rug material for high traffic area.

Wool Area Rug

Wool is one of the most common types of material used in manufacturing area rug. It is a popular choice because of its softness and long life span.

Wool rugs are strong, durable, and elastic. It will continue to stay beautiful even when exposed to a lot of traffic.

Wool has an excellent water resistant ability when it is pre-treated with lanolin or other waterproofing agents. The dry environment it creates makes it one of the best rugs for dust mite allergy.

Wool is a natural fiber derived from a green source. It is harvest from a sheep and can be grown back. Sourced from an animal fiber, it is biodegradable and can be recycled.

It has the ability to hide dirt well. People won't notice dirt in the wool rug even under a bright light. The dirt usually accumulate high in the pile making it easy to vacuum.

Old wool rugs tend to develop a fantastic patina that give them a richer texture over time.

It offers great insulation. Being the fiber of a sheep, it has a good ability to keep warm the room. It can effectively trap heat when it is freezing cold outside during the winter.

Besides being the best rugs for dust mite allergy, it can resist flames well. Many office and commercial buildings have installed wool rugs at the entrance door as a safety measure in case a fire emergency occur.

The only downside of wool area rug is that it is costly due to the complex processing and manufacturing procedure.

Silk Area Rug

Silk area rug is a luxurious piece of décor to have in your house as it is made from high count of extremely fine fiber. However, it is rare to see real silk rug on sale. Most of them are either made from artificial silk or silk blend with other types of materials.

Silk is harvested from the cocoon of the silkworm larvae so it is a natural fiber

It has a shiny finish and can add a luxury look to your home. It usually has an intricate design with lots of details.

Silk carpet is light, soft, and smooth to the feel. It has the ability to regulate the room temperature. It can keep you cool during a hot day and make you feel warm in cold weather.

It can absorb moisture fast. It remains mostly dry without a giving you a feeling of dampness when you accidentally spill a liquid. Therefore, silk rugs are the best rugs for dust mite allergy.

It is flame resistant and is hard to ignite when exposed to fire. It burns slowly and may self extinguish, thus preventing the fast moving fire to spread.

The downside is that it is not as durable as wool and can sustain only minimal traffic. You can hang the silk rug on the wall as décor if you have no place on the floor to put in your house.

Silk carpet can become dirty easily bit it can last for a long time if you take good care of it by regularly cleaning it.

Silk carpet is some of the most expensive carpets sold at the public auction. It is expensive because of the amount of time that goes into producing the silk. Lots of larvae of silkworms have to be harvested to produce a large amount of silk.

Seagrass Area Rug

Seagrass area rug is commonly used as a décor for bathroom and kitchen due to its ability to repel water. It is crafted with high craftsmanship and various weaving styles are available.

Seagrass is made from the natural fibers harvested from the seagrass plants in the wetlands. It grows back fast and can be easily harvested making an eco-friendly option. You can buy it in the ground when it becomes worn and it will decompose quickly.

Seagrass rugs is the best rugs for dust mite allergy because of its high water resistance and ability to effectively reduce mold growth.

Another reason why seagrass rugs are the best rugs for dust mite allergy is because it is easy to clean. The first are always on the surface of the weave only and you just need to use a cloth to wipe it.

Seagrass rug features the fibers of seagrass that is intricately woven into a unique pattern. No matter you view it from what viewpoint, it will look aesthetically pleasing.

The downside is that seagrass rug has a coarse surface and is rough to the feel.

Cotton Area Rug

Cotton is the most common type of material used in making area rug. It is a natural vegetable fiber harvested from the cotton plants. Often cotton is used in the foundation but some also produce piles made of cotton.

Cotton carpet is one of the best rugs for dust mite allergy as it is hypoallergenic and does not cause skin irritation. It is also safe for infants and toddlers to crawl on.

It is durable and can be washed in a washing machine. It won't become damaged even if you wash it repeatedly.

It can absorb dye very well so it can be dyed into many colorful patterns.

It is inexpensive and available on a variety of designs.

Cotton area rug is good at absorbing water so it can remain wet for a long time when you didn't take it out to dry. It is prone to develop mildew if the water is not removed promptly.

Chenille Area Rug

Chenille rug is made up of strips of fuzzy piles that are sewn to the back. Chenille rug was first introduced in France. The term, chenille is a French word that means caterpillar. The long caterpillar like fiber is twisted to the base and it can add a luxurious look to your room. It is a popular choice of rug worldwide famous for its soft stringy piles.

Chenille area rug is cheaper than a velvet rug without the sacrifice of craftsmanship and appearance.

Chenille carpet can be durable if it is taken care properly. The piles of chenille are tightly woven and won't come off easily even when being frequently tread underfoot.

It is soft, non toxic, odorless, and pretreated to withstand stains.

It is harmonious to various types of room surroundings. It makes an attractive décor in the living room, family room, nursery room and bedroom.

Chenille rugs tend to collect a lot of dust over time so they may not be the best rugs for dust mite allergy. But, you can turnaround this situation by regularly vacuuming it.

from Blogger http://bit.ly/2MGuPI9 via IFTTT

[thesleepstudies]

Knitted Blanket – Our Top Picks Among Chunky & Cable Knit Blankets (Crochet) – Top 2 Out of 144

This guide has been in the works for longer than we expected. When we first received requests to look into the market of knit blankets and separate the wheat from the chaff, we thought that our in-house expertise was going to do the trick.

Boy, were we wrong...the subject of choosing a good knitted blanket (both crochet and chunky knit) turned out to be much more complicated and too twice the projected time. Our initial estimate of 6 months and 2-2,500 work hours ended up being almost a full year of research, testing and gathering data for our statistical analysis. Most importantly, we brought on 3 knitting experts to help us tweak our rating methods to the specifics of the product.

What you'll see

Bottom line - the results you'll see below were chosen out of over 202 products we looked in. The initial choices were made in consultations between our editor, Bob, and 3 experts in the field. That narrowed down the search from 202 to 28 [products that we proceeded to test and gather data on over a period of 8 months. Without much ado, let us get to the results.

Last updated: January 2018

Top-rated - Paulin Cable Knit Crochet Blanket (handmade)

The whole structure of this guide changed when we broadened the search from imported machine-made products to include crochet handmade blankets. We looked into 14 handmade blankets, and one brand stands out in pretty much all quality aspects. The one quality aspect that turned out to be more important than we initially anticipated was the shape retention. It turned out to be more of a problem than we expected, especially with cable knit blankets.

The blanket that outperformed all the tested products comes from a small exclusive brand - Paulin. There were a few models of similar quality to the Paulin, but what gave Paulin an "edge" is the category of value for money. Nostalgia about owning a hand-crafted piece aside, handmade blankets did outperform the machine-made products.

The downside is usually the price. It's understandable if you have in mind the fact that it takes 4-5 days to craft a piece like this...so, that part gave us pause about the pricing of the Paulin, since it was significantly cheaper than similar products.

To eliminate the guesswork, we contacted the seller directly. We got a response from a kind senior woman explaining that they can afford to sell it at these prices because the woman knitting the Paulin products is located in Eastern Europe. Yes, you read that right, there is only one person knitting Paulin on the Globe. In our interview with Paulina Ristinski we asked her about this and the response we got is that it that won't change because it's her knitting that makes Paulin different and she feels that hiring more people might compromise the quality. She also shared that she did try it and wasn't happy with the results.

Why is Paulin not as expensive as similar products?

With both the cost of living and material (yarn) being significantly lower in the part of the world.

The downside of Paulin products is the scarcity. Since it's a one-person operaton and all the products are handmade, they are not always available. Getting a Paulin knitted blanket sometimes means waiting for the exciting orders to be fulfilled. You can check the availability on Etsy - if you visit their page (orange button below) and the order button is active, it means that they women knitting Paulin are available to start working on your order right away.

Ratings of the Paulin Cable Knit Handmade Blankets:

Materials / yarn - 92 / 100 Craftmanship / design - 92 / 100 Comfort - 96 / 100 Shape retention - 94 / 100 Value for $ - 91 / 100

Choosing a good knitted blanket - step 1: the right yarn

The results above are done-for-you testing and research...ho help you minimize the guesswork when choosing. In the rest of the guide, we give way to one of our knitting experts - Katya Juris to explain the ins and outs of choosing a knitted blanket. It should shed some light on how we choose the top picks and give you some reference info on what to look for if you're knitting it yourself - from yarn to patterns.

The yarn

If you make a mistake when choosing the yarn, there's no pattern of crafty hands that can knit a good throw. The information out there can be confusing...most knitting enthusiasts know it. That's rings even more true if we're talking about knitted cable and chunky blankets. Even if you have some experience in the "arena" but this is your first time choosing a knit blanket (or making one yourself) it's the most common mistake people make. It's only natural to reach for the softest yarn with a color you like.\But, choosing yarn for a throw is a sensitive matter and goes beyond the basics. To put it simply, even if you do know your yarn and have knitted or bought knit products like caps, scarfs or stoles, choosing right when it comes to a chunky cable knit throw blanket is a whole different story.

So let us dive right in. Let us look into the yarn types available, their characteristics and why they may (or may not be) right for a knitted blanket.

All-natural yarn - animal and plant fiber

Most widely available - wool

When you hear "wool" in the context of knitting, 9/10 people will assume you're talking about sheep wool. The popularity of wool is well-earned, it's a gift from nature...moisture-wicking, breathable and yet good at temperature isolation. It's also naturally resistant to microbes and fire-retardant.\

All of the above made it a very popular choice for yarn, but doesn't necessarily apply to knitted blankets...especially if you are using it as a throw and it will be touching your skin directly in those lazy afternoons as you fall asleep on your sofa

Many people will find it a bit rough and "scratchy" if used on its own for a piece of bedding.

Types of wool most commonly used for yarn

Merino

Although the first associations are Australia and New Zealand, if you follow the traces of merino through the ages, you'll find its origins in Spain.

The reason why most of us associate it with the lands "down under" is the fact that Australia produces close to a quarter of all merino wool made in the world - closing in on 500,000 tons.

Alpaca

Alpaca wool is softer against the skin and better suited for knitting blankets and throws that might be touching your skin directly (especially for those with sensitive skin or allergic to lanolin). If you see the word "cria" on a knit blanket or yarn you're considering, it means that that the wool comes from the first shearing of an alpaca.

Leicester wool (Blue-faced)

Because it makes for a smoother finish (velvet-like) and is gentler to the skin, this dense British wool would make for a more comfortable knit blanket or throw.

Peruvian

The wool from the Peruvian highlands is known to be "tough" and hold shape well. The toughness comes at a price - the feel against the skin. The rugged Peruvian will rarely be used for blankets or throws.

Yak

Not many people fully appreciate Yak wool because, to get the most out of it, one would have to know how to combine it with other fiber. Used on its own, its likely to be too delicate to knit a blanket that would last without losing shape. Combined with, for example, some types of acrylic, yarn that include some percentage of yak can result is soft and lightweight but warm blankets.

If you get this part right, you'll be surprised by the durability of yak wool fiber.

Mohair

Expensive and not as widely known, Mohair is a luxury fuzzy yarn. It's made from Agora goats fleece. One of its main advantages is how well is takes to color and dye and how color-fast it is. This allows for more vivid colors to with low risk of the yarn "bleeding."

Bottom line - for knitted blankets and throws, even the softer wool would feel too rugged and scratchy against the skin. That's why it's combined with materials like acrylic or licra to take that "prickly" edge off.

Cable knit blanket - choosing the yarn

I wouldn't dare say that the 80:20 rule applies. It's probably more accurate to say that the choice of yarn and pattern are 65-70% and the craftsmanship and know-how are 30-35 % of ending up with a solid blanket.

Once you've chosen the yarn that meets the main criteria - you being comfortable with how it feels against the skin, the next task it choosing a pattern that's suitable for a hand, cable knit blanket or throw. Here, we have some good and some "bad" news.

The good news is that we can share a few patterns that meet the criteria (paragraph below).

The "bad" news (if one can call it that) is that most of the suitable patterns won't be easy and probably too difficult for a beginner. The ones that meet all the criteria would require at least intermediate skill like (Zigging or Garter), while the best knitting patterns for a blanket (either cable or chunky) will call for advanced knitting skills (like laced cable knit, squares).

Bottom line - appearance aside, a well-chosen pattern will ensure that the final product retains shape or pill. If you are a beginner, it's smart to start with something simple like a garter cable knit blanket or a handmade crochet throw.

To be blunt for a second, if you're not experimenting and learning and actually need the blanket for a gift for someone who appreciates handmade stuff, we would recommend doing the research. It's fairly easy to find a good, say, handmade afghan blanket for sale - made by people who have been doing it for all their lives and have perfected their skills. If the person you are getting it for is a young girl, you might even go out on the limb with a knitted mermaid tail blanket (cotton crochet works wonderfully for a project this intricate).

Now that we have the basics down, let's get a bit more specific and look at some yarn-knit (or crochet) blanket combos.

Cable knit blanket

Good handmade cable knit blankets are scarce because they require serious skill to make, the process is slow (takes about 4-5 days of full-time work). That's why getting one of these locally (in the USA) is costly. That's why the recommendations we have here are from arts & crafts websites like Etsy that connect skilled people from smaller countries (the best ones come from Eastern Europe) and people from the US who can appreciate the work.

What is a cable knit blanket?

People tend to confuse a few terms used in the "industry" (like knitting, crochet and cabling). It's understandable because the differences are subtle and they overlap. For example, cabling is just another word for cable knitting. The main difference is that the later term is broader. To put it simply - cable knit blanket is one made using cable needles of different thicknesses.

It's the most versatile type of knitting, and people skilled with a cable needle can make mind-boggling patterns. Our top pick is a cable knit throw blanket is Paulina.

Sweater knit blanket

If the pattern and yarn used match those commonly used for sweaters you might see products described as "sweater knit blankets." Don't be confused by this; it's just a way to describe cable knit blankets made of specific yarn type using specific patterns (sweater-like).

Knit throw blanket

The two terms (knit throw and blanket) are a common source of confusion because their purposes overlap. So, let us take a moment here to clarify the difference because the terms are not interchangeable.

To put it simply, a throw's primary purpose is decorative. They are smaller and can be used as an added layer of comfort for bedroom or daily naps on your sofa.

You might find it defined as a blanket sub-type in terms of size (52 x 60 inches) but knit throw blankets do come as standalone products up to 10 smaller than the size we mentioned and up to 20 or 30 larger.

Knitted mermaid tail

A knitted mermaid tail blanket is simply a specific design that has become increasingly popular over the last decade. They are typically made of the same yarn-knit combos, and it all comes down to the pattern (mermaid-tail shaped).

Crochet temperature blanket knit

This one is specific with the main (and sometimes the only) difference being the choice of colors - that's what the "temperature" stands for. The terms are a source of confusion because people tend to interpreter the wording and jump to the conclusion that a "temperature blanket knit" is somehow warmer. It's not; it is all about the color that corresponds to the "color of the day."

The idea is to knit (crochet) one row of the crochet blanket per day, depending on the temperature outside. They make for great heirloom pieces and, I dare say, a temperature handmade crochet blanket with a personalized writing pattern is as good and well thought-out as a knitted gift can get.

To get an idea about a pattern, you can use the guidelines shown in the temperature blanket chart below.

You might see similar products described as "rainbow crochet blanket."

How long does it take to knit a crochet blanket?

It can take anywhere from a day to a full year to knit a blanket, all depending on the type of yarn, pattern and size. A chunky hand knit blanket can even be finished within an hour or two, while intricate patterns and styles (like temperature heirloom throws) take a year to make.

A few popular patterns

Some of the patterns used are evergreen (like a virus pattern) while some are part of more or less fleeting trends (like owl, pizza, hexagon, rainbow, elephant and Tunisian blankets and throws.

Size of knit lap blankets, duvets (comforters), quits (coverlets) and throws

Another "gray" area is the sizing. Things got confusing as some manufacturers started using the terminology in different ways to describe their products. To clarify the size issue, let us take a moment here and look at the standards for the knitted bedding:

[table id=56 /]

Chunky knit blanket - yarn, material combos & patterns

Chunky knit blankets have grown in popularity with the increasing number of people embracing the minimal designs because they work so well in adding "texture & dynamics" to a calm space without making it "flat". They stand out more than a regular cable-knit throws (crochet) for minimal spaces. In the guide below we look at them from all angles possible, from yarn and materials to the knitting process and possible patterns.

The popularity of the luscious look led to an avalanche of information about it available online; I have to be blunt and say that some of them are misleading...you'll find tutorials on how a "beginner" can knit it in no time, which is not exactly accurate.

While researching for this guide, we've established 3 things:

Handmade chunky knit blankets are indeed superior in terms of knot and overall shape retention.

The needle crochet blankets were superior to the arm-knit products. The space between the knots with the arm knit products seems to be too "loose" for long term shape retention, washing and maintenance.

The differences between brands of hand knit chunky blankets were too significant to make any general claims...it called for extensive testing of each product in a few quality categories to precisely separate the wheat from the chaff. And there's a lot of chaff out there.

We reported on our findings above, so in the rest of this guide we'll look into a few quality aspects to look for should you decide to shop on your own, whether it's offline or online and look for a regular or super chunky knit blanket on Etsy or similar websites.

Choosing the yarn for a chunky wool blanket

Chunky Merino wool

The most popular choice for both chunky knit blankets is the soft super chunky merino wool.

It's the go-to yarn and the first choice of the knitting experts we contacted for the project of putting this guide together. It was their first recommendation for both cable-knit and braid patterns.

Skinny wool

If you are looking to make or buy a more closely knit chunky blanket, you might go for a "skinnier" version of Merino wool threads.

It's the preferred choice for clothing and footwear knitting projects (like sweaters or knitted slippers).

The project will be lengthier compared to that of merino wool chunky blanket. The result will be a closer knit. The choice between the two comes down to your taste, what works better for your space.

Finally, think about the intended use - will you be using it as decorative gray throw blanket or cuddling underneath it for weekend binge-watching of Friend re-runs.

Vegan options - synthetic yarn

For some people, natural wool might not be an option. Whether it goes against your beliefs and a vegan lifestyle or you're simply allergic to sheep wool and natural yarn, you still have options.

There are yarn options out there that "mimic" the look and feel of wool almost perfectly (like Chenille).

Chenille knit

I absolutely love chenille as an alternative to animal product-based yarn.

The durability and easy of maintenance is nothing short of amazing. I rarely use words like "amazing," but I'm making an exception for chenille.

It's also lighter and packs smaller than Merino so it makes for a better travel companion for the outdoors.

Yarn weight and ply

Yarn weight that you might see on the ball speaks towards the thickness, not the weight of the ball itself. It's related to ply (how many strands are used to make the yarn).

If you see yarn described as "chunky", it will usually mean that it's 16 or 20-ply.

The weight and the ply combined will determine the gauge of the pattern. That goes for pretty much every project - from finer cable-knit / hand crochet blankets to giant chunky (made using jumbo yarn, over 20-ply).

How we rated the products

Our regular readers will remember that we announced starting the work on this guide well over a year before it actually published. It did take more than most of our guides because we have no knitting experts on the team. This meant that even crafting the resting and reviewing process took the know-how of outside consultants. We did extensive reviews on similar sleep-related product like electric blankets (you can see our guide on best heated electric blankets here) but those turned out to be simpler.

It took 2 months only to tweak and adjust our rating methods to knitted blankets. Once we had that part in place, the next step was budgeting for the project. That's where our consultants contributed by making the initial choices  to be tested and reviewed. There was no way to test the hundreds of blankets available, so we narrowed down the search to about a dozen products in each category (cable-knit, crochet and chunky) and proceeded to test the blankets.

Apart from the 4 knitting experts, our featured testers include people from all walks of life. The larger the sample (number of people testing the blankets) the more accurate the results.

We sent out 37 blankets in total and asked our testers to make notes on the use - everything from comfort to maintenance.

Materials/yarn rating

Rating the material and yarn used for the blankets was tricky and the ratings are not absolute. If it were, it would be comparing apples to oranges and taking a stand on what's the best material. Instead, this rating speaks about the quality of the yarn within its category (wool compared to wool and synthetics yarn compared to its counterparts). Simply put, this rating speaks about the yarn in terms of how accurately it was described by the seller...things like:

how uniform the thickness of the thread

the tightness of the ply

yardage for the money

Comfort rating

This is subjective category, so it was crucial to make the sample as big as possible. That's why we had each tester use the product and sent it back to us after 6 months of use. We assessed the changes, dry-cleaned the blankets and sent them back out to our second group of testers.

If it sounds like a bit of improvisation it's because it was, we simply couldn't afford to increase the testing samples in any other way. The double-testing allowed us to test more products and make the testing more versatile and include intangible quality aspects like comfort.

Craftsmanship / design rating

This was one of the simpler categories to rate - 60 % of the rating is attributed to the scores a throw received in-house, 20 % are the ratings of our testers and 20 % is attributed to the data we pooled from user satisfaction.

It was only natural to attribute more "weight" to the opinions of the people who are experts in the field and a bit less to subjective owner opinions.

Shape retention rating

This category is a median between the shape retention after 6 months and 1 year of use. Before sending the products out for the second round of testing, we rated each product in the categories of overall shape retention (like pilling, curling of the sides & size changes with washing) and gauge retention.

Value for money

This is probably the most intricate category we rated the throws & blankets in because it involved the most variables (from yardage used per inch square to craftsmanship). It's another score we couldn't have reached without outside help.

3-month updates

We don't know of any similar guide on the quality of the knitted blankets available out there. We're not saying that our rating methodology is flawless because it includes subjective ratings like "Comfort" that will be different depending on what you consider as comfortable (how lightweight, soft or warm a blanket is).

We did our best to make it more accurate by increasing the size of the testing sample and we've committed to re-rate the products on quarterly basis by including new data to keep the information relevant. If we see a significant change in the user ratings (+/- 10 %) of specific products, we might decide to re-test that product only.

As per the advice of our expert panel, we'll do a full re-testing update once every 18 months. You can see the last time this guide was updated with fresh info both at the top and the bottom of the guide.

Finally, if you have any question, feel free to ask us in the comment section. We typically respond to all inquiries within 24 hours. If we don't know the answer, we'll find out.

Stay smart in your choices,

The Sleep Studies team

Last updated: January 2018

Knitted Blanket – Our Top Picks Among Chunky & Cable Knit Blankets (Crochet) – Top 2 Out of 144 is available on TheSleepStudies

[modulomen-blog]

Attack Hand Care Like a Professional

A while back I was showing my new Harley-Davidson Street Glide [unpaid product promotion!] to a friend on mine and without hesitation he reached out and rubbed the gas tank and fairing and offered up his observation without being prompted, "Wow, this paint is smoooooth, man."  Yep. I knew that bit of intel without him putting his hands all over my brand new motorcycle to confirm.

This upsetting exchange made me think about hands and how we have been told our entire lives by those much more seasoned to keep them to ourselves. Hands - those claws on the ends of our swinging sticks that make everything possible and separate us from the beasts...sorta. Keep them to ourselves, yes, but keep them healthy and maintained - that is another undertaking altogether.

Hands Need to Be Maintained

I have a small problem with washing my hands, in that I do it too often. I need my hands to feel clean at all times to function in the world and it has been like this from a young age. Since I was that smaller version of myself I washed so much that I would literally dry out my skin and cause cracking, which sometimes led to bleeding. Not cool.

So, as you can imagine, from a very young age I have been moisturizing my hands in an effort to be healthy, look healthy and not raise too many questions when sitting in meetings, reaching for a handshake or flipping someone off in LA traffic. In my quest for non-offensive hands I have learned some things...

It Starts with the Soap

First things first - the type of hand soap you use makes a big difference in the dryness of your mitts. Over the past few years I began using natural soaps without harsh lab-made chemicals and it made a HUGE difference. It seems that the more harsh hand soaps strip essential oils from your skin which leads to dryness and cracking. Now that I use more natural soaps, the dryness has been reduced from the start.

Use Lotions with a Good Balance of Emollients and Humectants

Big words! This took a while to figure out for my personal needs - emollients are the lubricants in lotions that create the slippery feeling you get right after application. Emollients include lanolin, JoJoba oil and sqaulene. On the other hand (see what I did there), humectants are the ingredients that draw moisture in from the air around to keep skin hydrated. Look for ingredients like Hyaluronic acid, glycerin and sorbitol - these are all humectants. Personally, I do not like the feeling of slippery fingers, especially when typing or chopping down a 22' fir tree in the woods on December 15th this past year. Not only can an axe fly out of your hands, but that feeling is not cool for so many other daily life activities. So, I try to use lotions that contain more humectants than emollients relying more on drawing outside moisture in and less on the lubricants during the day - which leads me to:

Number of Applications

So, it is true, moving to LA from New York has left some of my friends to find me more "fancy" than before. Yes, I eat mostly organic food, Quinoa is an actual food, and I have multiple moisturizers for various times of the day. I always moisturize directly after a shower with lotions that have a good amount of emollients. While I am putting clothes on my machine, my finger pads dry out and I am left with the grip to do my man things in the day - swell, indeed. Throughout the day I use hand lotions that are less lubricants and more humectants, so I am not compromising my grip and sanity while trying to take lids off things and use a pen. Which leaves bedtime - this is where the magic happens. I use a very heavy lotion that can moisturize a rhino's knee cap. The idea is to let the heavy stuff work on my worn skin while I slumber.

Its More than Just the Skin

Keeping your arm claws moisturized is more than just not looking dry; it is about keeping your skin, nails and nail beds healthy. Nobody likes hangnails and dried fingernail beds - it looks bad and it is a sign of unhealthy skin.

Bringing me to my final point...

Keep Your Damn Hands Off My Motorcycle

Swinging it back around full circle, you may be asking yourself, "What is wrong with touching paint on a motorcycle and what does that have to do with moisturizing my hands?" The short answer; everything and preventing your hands from being broken by a biker. You see, friend, paint is meant to be looked at and touched by the eyes. There is an underlying respect for the team of people that came together to design such great works of rolling art like motorcycles, cars and the 1966 Jaguar E Type Roadster - this is art for the eyes, not your hands - and the more hydrated and soft your hands are, the less you will scratch the paint when you reach out to touch it to confirm its beauty. But, I digress.

The bottom line is to maintain your hands the way you are supposed to. Doesn't having well-hydrated, smooth hand skin© sound good to you? Healthy hydrated hands are the best; If not for you, do it for your family, significant other or pet. Ask them - they will all agree - well kept hands are nice. They also display your firm grasp on life and the responsibilities you have as a walking, talking, clothes-wearing beast.

-modulo man

[true-blue-sonic]

I don't know about you but I think a satisfying ending for this current Lanolin arc would be her not just admiting that she was wrong but admit she was in over her head.

Like her admiting she wanted to be a leader but isn't a natural one and has no experience being a leader, admiting that she's giving so much push back cause her debut mission was a failure that made her feel like a failure and that maybe the reason for her dislike of her teammates, expecially Silver, is because of how successful they are as heroes. Maybe she's turning a blind eye to Duo because she doesn't want to admit that she's being fooled or maybe she does think the others are bullies and thinks she can prove herself by 'saving' Duo.

Anyway, with an ending like that they'd be able to follow up by either making it so she is actively getting better and maybe ever becoming a good leader or they could slightly tweak her current characters and have her being more open to criticism as she's no longer putting up a front. (Also think it would make her more relatable to some, we all know that one person who bit off more than they can chew and doubled down on it.)

I agree! It is quite the same to the 'rewriting' of her that I have in my head, that I figure will make her a more tolerable character: someone with good intentions who ended up in a role she was not at all ready for (because for real, why is she the boss of Tangle and Whisper when both have far more experience than she does?). My own idea was furthermore that she is so crippingly perfectionistic and unable to let other people down that she all but threw herself into the position, and that is why she's so insistent on her team doing things Her Way: leaders are Always Right, and thus she is Always Right because she Is A Leader, and thus if everyone does what she wants she is Indeed Right and therefore A Good Leader! In other words, not at all how it works, but something she's convinced herself of to keep control over the situation. It would do a lot to humanise her and explain her actions better, in my opinion: I think we've indeed all been in a situation that we were simply not ready for and where we just kept trucking on, despite the fact it was for our own detriment and we'd have been off so much better if we'd just been honest and asked for help. Though, Lanolin's actions would have to be rewritten entirely for this to work. For starters, her constant Angry Face would have to go, probably in favour of something more panicked and stressed. Like, in issue 63, have her panic when the argument between Silver and Duo keeps going more and more south before shrilly interrupting that they shouldn't pick sides and shutting Silver down with every attempt of him to talk back (because that's what an IC Silver would do). And in issue 64, have her be stressed the fuck out about Whisper's and Silver's accusations because her control over the team is slipping out of her hands more and more by the second. Let her be inconsiderate and bossy because that is the only way she feels as if she can keep control over the situation, and not because that is apparently just her personality.

There is just one unfortunate thing: in the comic there is zero indication that what you describe is the case, except her one Moment Of Weakness in issue 58 that has gotten completely swept under the rug so far. In issues 63 and 64 there just simply nothing that indicates she feels like a failure or that she's envious of or intimidated by Silver for his powers and heroics, for example. I would think it would do Lanolin's character much good if she is indeed shown to be in over her head than someone who is just... well, who she is right now, with all the bossiness and unpleasantness and ridiculing of other characters around her that comes with it. And I also think that if she were in over her head, more could be done to keep everyone else IC, like I described at the end of the prior paragraph. An IC Silver would not immediately fold like a lawn chair under her scolding, but if Lanolin does not give him a chance to talk back because she's completely panicking, it's a different story. And I would simply have a lot more sympathies for her in this way! I've said it before, but I truly find it a shame that Lanolin is written the way she is now, since I see so many potential directions they could have taken her in to make her more tolerable at least and perhaps even sympathetic.

[another-sonic-blog]

a possible prompt for you: "I cannot offer you sanctuary; but if you would ever ask it of me, I would find a way to build it."

Sanctuary

ShadAmy (You didn’t ask for a specific ship, so I thought you want ShadAmy lol)

.

There was something about her that intrigued him. It was her small acts, her personality and that strange side of her that he couldn’t quite decipher.

They didn’t talk, he doesn’t remember the last time they shared words. It was probably six months when everyone believed that Sonic was dead.

.

“I’ll start my mission now.”

Shadow had gotten his mission report and as soon he finished it reading, he was ready to leave the Resistance.

“Shadow, wait-”

Shadow felt something soft get a hold of his hand. He would have pushed her away immediately but the look in her face made him doubt. His attention went to their hands and back again to Amy.

“Please … be careful,” Amy said in such a pleading manner that it made Shadow remember about a certain blond girl. “Come back to me … ok?”

They were in silence for a few seconds in which they only looked at each other’s eyes. Emeralds were lost in rubies and vice versa.  

Shadow moved his hand away in an abrupt manner and turned his body to walk away.

He reached the door to exit the room but he stopped himself. He didn’t look at her, but he said something to her loud and clear.

“I will come back,” Shadow said. “ … I promise.”

.

He kept coming back to her. In different ways, on different days, in different presence.

After the war with Eggman was done, he passed by the Resistance once in a while just to make sure Amy was fine. Of course, he made sure she didn’t know he was there. He didn’t know why, but Shadow just didn’t want Amy to know he was there.

Shadow could recall different situations where Amy needed help and he gave it to her.

She couldn’t find a file? Shadow will stay up the whole night to find it and placed it in front of her room.

She felt sad because there weren’t flowers around? He planted a small garden a few meters away from the Resistance.

Was she angry at Sonic for leaving without giving her a previous notice? Shadow would find him and start a fight with him only so he could hit him for Amy.

Even with all of that, that didn’t feel enough.

He didn’t know what it was.

But he was completely invested in her.

“Shadow!”

     "Walk away, Shadow"

“Shadow!”

      “WALK. AWAY.”

“Shadow, please!”

       "Dammit.“

Shadow’s job was done. He had defeated Metal Sonic along Sonic and Knuckles and he didn’t want to stay any longer than he needed to. He wasn’t one to celebrate the victories but when it came to Amy …

"What do you want?” Shadow turned around facing the pink one. They were away from the crowd which was good for him.

“Where are you going?” Amy asked in her cheerful self. Shadow looks to the side, he just couldn’t look at her face. He was just acted differently whenever he was with her.

“I don’t know, I’ll find out in the way.”

“Then follow me!”

Amy once again did the thing. She held his hand but he didn’t mind. He will never admit it, but he enjoyed the gesture.

.

They were in Angel Island but after going down and reaching the ground, Amy still took him to a place he didn’t know. They walked through the woods and after a few minutes they reached a place where the sun touched the ground.  

Shadow noticed a small wooden cabin, the sunlight illuminated it. Flowers surrounded the cabin and a little farther from it, pine trees surrounded the area.

“Do you like it?” Amy asked as she looks to Shadow.

“Does it matter?” Shadow responded

“Of course it does! It’s your birthday gift!”

“What?”

“I know that you usually don’t have a place to stay, so I thought that building you a small place to stay would be a good birthday present,” Amy said. “Everyone in the Resistance helped-”

Amy stopped talking as he realized that Shadow’s expression had changed.

Shadow didn’t know what it was. Maybe her nice gesture or the fact that they were still holding hands. However, Shadow felt different. Like something inside of him had exploded like he had sparkles inside his stomach as if his heart was beating faster than usual.

But it was more than that … it was all of those feelings and more.

“Shadow, are you … alright?” Amy asked. Seeing that he wasn’t responding, she began to panic. “You … You don’t like it? I am sorry, I knew I should have gotten you a bike. It’s just … I thought this was better I wanted you to have a nice place to call home but … I am sorry, I will give you a bike! Yes, that would be better right? You really like them and-”

“Today is not my birthday,” Shadow said. He didn’t know how to respond to her and he told her the truth.

“Of course it is!” Amy said. “Today was the day you put your past behind you. Today was the day you saved the Earth from the Black Arms … Today is the birthday of Shadow the Hedgehog!”

.

He just couldn’t stay away from her. Before he was intrigued, but now he was completely fascinated.

There was more to Amy than just being Sonic’s fangirl. She was smart, strong, independent and pretty although he will never say that out loud.

They were peaceful times although Shadow senses weren’t still 100 percent sure. His instincts were telling him that there was something wrong. Nonetheless, he sometimes liked to slow down a bit. To enjoy the times Amy would visit him in his new home.

He trusted her and it got to the point in which he gave her a key to his home.

Sometimes the scene was too perfect.

Shadow would get home after a mission and when he opened the door a sweet smell met his nostrils. It was the delicious smell of Amy’s cooking and her sweet scent.

She never liked her own voice but to him, her ‘Welcome Home’ was a delight.

She didn’t do it often due to her tight schedule but whenever she did, he greatly appreciated it.

He expected this day to be one of the days Amy visits him.

 The peaceful days in which he doubted himself, Shadow usually didn’t need anyone. But having Amy there was a friendly reminder that he made the right decision.

Sonic convinced Shadow of letting Eggman staying alive and Shadow decided of letting Eggman live a peaceful life in Windmill Village.

Because if Shadow could have a peaceful life just like right now, then Eggman could too.

He arrived home, excited to share today with the pink one … but she wasn’t there.

.

Days passed and still, no sight of Amy. He tried hard not to care and he tried to convince himself that he didn’t need her. That they weren’t that close.

For Chao’s sake, they weren’t even friends.

Not they weren’t, so he shouldn’t care. No, he shouldn’t.

So, how did he find himself here?

He walked through the halls of the Resistance HQ as the other agents passed by him. Whispering between each other, thinking he wasn’t able to hear them.

“What is Shadow the Hedgehog doing here?”

“Maybe he wants to meet with Captain? Something wrong must be going on?”

“Well, something must be really wrong if Shadow the Hedgehog is looking for help from the Resistance.”

Shadow felt relief by those comments. Shadow preferred for the agents to think that he was here for a mission than to think that he was there … just to see the Captain.

He finally reached the Main Room. Amy was up and down the room, looking for files, typing in her computer and communicator through her earpiece. Shadow didn’t think he was going to get this far. What was he supposed to do now? Stop her from doing her work and ask why wasn’t she visited him?

“No, Shadow, you are not even friends! Not even work buddies … She cooked for you sometimes just to be nice, you can’t expect her to do that every day-”

“Shadow?”

Shadow’s thoughts were interrupted as he recognized her voice.

“What are you doing here?”

“SHIT-”

“I am here to get information regarding … Eggman.”

Amy looked at him confused. It has been a while since they last saw each other and talked about the matter. It surprised Amy that Shadow even went to the length of coming to the Resistance for such reason.

“Sorry Shadow, I can’t offer you that information right now. You can talk to Lanolin about whatever information you need,” Amy said. “I am going to head out to a mission soon, so I won’t be able to attend you.”

“You are going to a mission?” Shadow facepalmed himself mentally.

“Of course she is going a mission, genius. She just said it.”

It was a surprise to Shadow that Amy was doing a mission, especially since she was so busy at the moment managing the Resistance.

“Yes, I am. I will be going with Sonic but we will be back soon.” Amy said. “We are going to an abandoned mine-”

Shadow didn’t hear anything else. There was a certain feeling rising within him. He wasn’t sure what it was but it wasn’t nice.

“I don’t need that information,” Shadow said. “I am taking my leave.”

Shadow began to walk away. This was a waste of time, this is what he gets for caring for others. He gets … disappointment.

“Shadow!” Amy once again caught his attention, Shadow stopped walking. “I am sorry … I haven’t been able … visit you.”

.

How could Shadow ever stay away from her when she has only shown him kindness? When she has shown him her vulnerability and strength?

How could Shadow ever stay away from her when Amy has always been … there.

“It’s my fault Shadow … I should have known better. Sonic is infected and I couldn’t do anything.”

Amy had gone to Shadow’s cabin to inform him of the current situation. The Zombot virus, something that could threaten Mobius. He didn’t know if he should be angry at Sonic for letting Eggman on the go or at himself for letting Sonic convince him so easily.

Shadow didn’t know how to react to that. He knew that she was looking at some type of comfort in him but … how?

They were seated at his sofa, Shadow looked around his room and to his lamp. He took a deep breath and with all the courage he said,

“It’s not your fault,” Shadow gave Amy three pats on her back. Exactly three, no more and no less. “There’s nothing you could have done.”

Amy looked at Shadow who’s head was pointing at the ground. Amy knew that he was trying really hard to comfort her and although he only gave her three pats on her back, that was all she needed.

“Thank you … I needed that,” Amy said. “Shadow … thank you, for everything.”

“I haven’t done anything,” Shadow replied.

“That’s what you think … but I appreciate every single thing you do.”

Amy smiled at Shadow. She knew everything. Amy was aware of Shadow staying up late at night to find a file she needed. Of Shadow’s secret flower garden that he made for her because she was sad there weren’t any flowers at the Resistance.

Amy knew that Shadow will fight Sonic only because he made her angry.

She will never tell Shadow that she knows. Amy didn’t want to embarrassed Shadow and most importantly she didn’t want him to stop.

“You are strange,” Shadow said seeing that no one was saying a word. “But I guess that’s good.”

“Well, thanks for the compliment.” Amy looked to the side, pretending to be hurt. She clearly wasn’t, she was only acting this way to tease Shadow and she thought she had made it obvious.

On the other side, Shadow was panicking. He didn’t mean to be mean to her nor hurt her feelings. He had to fix things quickly.

“What I am trying to say is … that I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my life,” Shadow said. “But meeting you … I don’t think that was a mistake.”

When those words left his mouth, Amy turned to look at him. She was extremely touched by this. Shadow, was really trying to open up to her, to explain his feelings. Amy was just really touched and happy at the moment.

“Shadow …” Amy looked at him. She was speechless, a few tears wanted to escape her eyes and Shadow noticed this.

“Shit. She’s crying! What did I say wrong?”

“What I am trying to say is that I cannot offer you sanctuary,” Shadow said. He instinctively grabbed her hands in a pleading manner. “But if you would ever ask it of me, I would find a way to build it.”

He was like a lost child looking for forgiveness. Amy had never seen Shadow display such vulnerability. At first, Amy didn’t know what was what intrigued her so much about Shadow. Maybe his hidden kindness or his strong sense of justice that she admired. Either or … Amy was happy that her nonexistence bond with Shadow had grown into a friendship.

“Shadow, I will never ask you to build me a sanctuary …” Amy softly caressed Shadow’s hands. “Because I already have one … you are my sanctuary.”

.

“Alright, so Team Dark needs to go help out Sonic at Sunset City? Rouge asked. Omega, Shadow and her were at the Resistance’s Main Room along with Amy.

"Yes, there are civilians there who need to be evacuated,” Amy said. “I am counting on you three, you are the best team that we have.”

“Rouge and Omega will go first,” Shadow commented. “I will arrive as soon as I can with my truck and help the civilians evacuate.”

“Very good! Also, yes you three are the best team that we have but you can be reckless as well.” Amy said. “Your mission is to only help the evacuation, do not interact with the Zombots.”

“We have everything under control,” Omega said, trying to calm down Amy.

“I know but still … ” Amy said. “Just be careful please.”

“Yes, Captain!”

Rouge and Omega were the first to leave the room, leaving Shadow and Amy alone. They shared a knowing look. It was starting to become more common between them. To know what the other was thinking without speaking a word.

Shadow turned to his body and began to walk away.

“Shadow, wait-”

Shadow knew this was coming. It was an unspoken ritual between them. He turned to look at her, she smiled.

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Amy said. “And come back to me … ok?”

Shadow smirked at her. A few seconds passed were they only stared at each other’s eyes. Their strong friendship was unknown to others but that didn’t matter to them. They were each other’s secret sanctuary and they didn’t want it any other way.

“I will come back to you …” Shadow said. “I promise.”

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/n: First of all, I want to say that I really enjoy your art! It’s amazing. Second, thank you so much for the nice prompt! I hope this is somewhat what you wanted.  

Thank you for reading!

I will keep working on the next prompts!