#but they all work an can be easily identified as Sonic

[larabar]

Sonic the Hedgehog and why he's impossible to write Perfectly

(including me i could not get him right if my life depended on it)

is this me giving up on trying to find the perfect way to write him? Maybe

i've been making lots and lots of notes on a bunch of his characterizations and the differences between them, including what makes any of them Better than the others and it's been .inconclusive

but i think ive found the problem. i can't accurately describe him as a character in general in one sentence without getting too specific or listing stuff like 'fast'

and i think that's one of the only things that stays consistent between all the different media he's in

one of my favorite examples of all this is sonic's lack of a solid theme. he has themes, yes. but they change with every game and tend to be the main theme Of the game. not just sonic. so he doesn't really have one of his own like most other characters.

just gonna plug this video again. it talks about sonic leitmotifs and character themes and how they're used to define each character and it's really cool check it out :]

all this comes with a blessing and a curse. there's always someone who will like one characterization and someone else who will Absolutely Despise it. and honestly that's just sonic's thing. especially with sonic media as a whole

there are definitely ways to mess up sonic's character. it's been done many times. but that's when the writers completely dismiss sonic's core values (but let's be honest even those are flexible and everyone still does them differently)

so. if someone has the golden formula to writing sonic please please please i am on my hands and knees i need to know how it's done

but until i figure it out. im just gonna stick to this. ->

TLDR: sonic is so complex and so simple at the same time and i cannot find any one way to describe him. there are infinite ways to write him and it's honestly better to just not worry about getting it perfect and have fun with it :]

#this is actually just a cry for help /j #i dont know how people do it there are so many good versions of this character but theyre all so different !! #but they all work an can be easily identified as Sonic #i think thats why he works so well as a main character without being a silent protagonist like link #he's flexible. he works with literally any story you drop him in #like. ok mild sonic frontiers spoilers #the main cast each has their own koco and they're all different and reflect each character #knux having a warrior amy having .a lover idk. and tails with a mechanic #they all can be matched with a character so easily ! #except. sonics just has A Leaf on its head. no fancy stuff. just a standard koco #and!! it works!! somehow skdnfjf #like theres no other koco that would work better #his koco buddy is just kind of A Guy. a guy who loves adventure if you will ajdbd #because thats who sonic is! just a guy who loves adventure! !! theres not much else to it #wxcept hes not just a blank slate he has personality #going back to the twitter takeover question about what sonics memory token would look like and #none if the other characters could come up with a decisive symbol. tails probably had the best idea out of the bunch #a star. because thats what sonic is to him and the others #its; so cut;e man..... .. #um. but anyways. i wrote all this instead of sleeping ahdbfh #if anyone want to add please do i love hearing everyone else's thoughts on this. its the whole point actually #gonna go to bed soon though so. gn #sonic the hedgehog #rambles #gif

[haute-pockette]

The Doctor being disabled part 2.

Eight has a bit of trouble recognizing other people using sarcasm or asking rhetorical questions. He'll take them more literally than the speaker intended, especially when a literal response would require an explanation. He gets excited about explaining things.

Aside from the memory difficulties, the anesthesia during regneration left him prone to seizures. Usually atonic or absence seizures.

Eight has synesthesia. He usually connects sounds with colors and movements and shapes. He loves to sit with a record player and watch the air dance with it. The war made him start to hate it though and the combination of input would bring him closer to his stimulation limit.

Other than the autism baked into his biodata, War doesn't have much going for him. The elixir he drank from Karn allowed him to regenerate into a body that was suited to face the war. Meaning no disabilities.

Alexithymia is giving him trouble again. It hasn't been this bad since about Three, but he struggles to identify all his grief and frustration from the war. So he compartmentalizes all his feelings and ignores them.

PTSD for poor Nine. Just look how he handled seeing a Dalek after the war. He sleeps even less than his other incarnations cause he wants to avoid nightmares.

He stims when thinking, and keeps a fidget cube or two in his pockets to fiddle with. Otherwise he'll fiddle around with his sonic and the last time he did that he accidentally broke something.

Rheumatoid arthritis makes his hands really achy after doing fine motor work. He keeps little pocket warmers to use as heat packs.

Ten does lots of fidgeting and tinkering to stim. And he hates the feeling of being uncovered, hence the full suit and trench coat. Very particular about fabrics.

ADHD, lots of impulsive decisions and doing what's interesting in the moment. He's terrible at keeping to plans, and will absolutely forget what he was doing when he walks through a doorway.

Eleven loves his verbal stims. Echolalia, humming, making popping sounds. It just feels right to fill the space with sound.

ADHD, postural sway and hyperactivity for days. Making a million plans and only gets 12% done with one before he jumps to the next. Someone put this man on a leash.

All of his floppy gesturing and swaying and falling over comes from inner ear problems not muscular problems. Raggedy man gets carsick and seasick so easily, but somehow is fine in the tardis. River thinks it's ironic.

Eleven also has synesthesia. It's a lot more varied than just sound and sight associations. But overall, a lot of things that are considered his favorites are linked to tardis blue.

Twelve is less social than his other incarnations. He likes lecturing because he can talk at people instead of to them. He doesn't have to worry about the conventions of holding eye contact or reacting properly in conversation.

Music is a huge comfort for him, especially when he gets to play the music himself instead of just listening. He can control the sound around him that way and it feels so good.

Hates his sciatica. Will insist he uses a cane only because his nerves are pinched and not because he's old.

Thirteen tries so hard to mask her interests and stims. She wants to be normal for once and feels like she's failing miserably when caught flapping or fidgeting.

Tinnitus. She blames Twelve's guitar habit for it. If it persists long or loud enough she will start humming or singing in an attempt to drown it out.

She has some back pain she also blames from her fall out of the tardis. She wears orthopedic insoles to help.

Also forgot to put in the last one, but Five absolutely has asthma. Man is wheezing after every scene he runs in.

#doctor who #new who #Eighth doctor #War Doctor #Ninth Doctor #Tenth Doctor #Eleventh Doctor #Twelfth Doctor #Thirteenth Doctor #headcanons

[sharpedgedfool]

Hello I was just wondering if we could get some more stuff and ideas about the sonadow future museum au (im just going to call it that cuz thats shorter)

heres a quick sketch cuz I really liked the designs👍

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH YES YOU CAN AND IL OVE UR STYLE WITH IT???? I love how uncle-chuck-esc Sonic looks it's the exact vibe I wanted him to have 10/10

I'm in the process of writing this au as an actual story but I'm barely a chapter in yet, but I'll give some more snippets about Shadow and a page of sketches! (its a long read im so sorry but thank you for the ask!!)

Shadow goes by 'Oliver' as his fake name, he took it from a book he read once and liked the cover. They use He/They pronouns and identifies as something non-binary, he's not in a rush to label himself (they joke they've enough to label around the museum)

He lived as a vagabond until settling in Rainmeadow Town, and being taken in by the museum's solo-curator Beatrice, who's a field mouse with a physical disability and was unable to fully access the museum after she took it over from the previous owners.

Shadow adored museums as it was one of the only places he could visit freely so he has a soft spot, and Beatrice was so nice to him so he stayed to help restore it and got too attached he ended up settling down there. He was anxious at first, but its been five years and he's comfortable living there now

He lived with Beatrice for two years, before managing to earn enough from odd-jobs to buy out the small apartment above the local B&B

He has a stray cat he's taken in who wanders around town when he's at work. The cat is known to be vicious but is a sweetheart around Shadow, somewhat mimicking Shadows own demeaner

He dresses himself as unassuming as possible, and that sometimes makes himself a target for any outsiders of the village He gets tired out easily, due to them restricting their energy so much, but they can still fight viciously (almost feral after so many years outside of civilisation) for a short amount of time though would prefer to run. Shadow also needs rest throughout the day

Due to his tight inhibitor rings, Shadows red stripes and eyes have all dimed to a dull grey, his blood however remains a harsh green so he has to be diligent to ensure he doesn't injure himself in front of anyone. If he loosened his rings they would rapidly shift back to a red and he would regain energy to use his abilities, but he hides them and is extremely paranoid about his true identity

He likes to read and cook, and has a habit of reading while walking around even in the dark. He cooks meals for his cat and refuses to give them cat food from a can

He's a huge coffee fan, and loves brewing it himself with the manual machines at home (but also will still absolutely eat the beans straight if it's been a long day)

They haven't 'aged' but they've 'grown bigger' through mutation, their spines and fur are longer so they appear more mature even if internally he hasn't changed much.

He's always wanted a motorbike, but couldn't travel with one and can't afford the upkeep

Their glasses are generic reading glasses that he doesn't really need, but he finds it grounding to have them in his vision (he feels hidden behind them)

Rainmeadow is a known queer-safe town, despite it's remoteness, and the museum has a hall they regularly hold events in (Shadow is fond of the rollerskate hang-outs they schedule)

He has frequent panic attacks and extreme anxiety, they're selectively mute and uses sign (I use BSL when I'm drawing it out) and can't be around large groups of people for too long. He lets Beatrice work at the front of the museum and he lurks around in the back, people jokingly call him a 'shadow' often (and he's gotten used to the fear that shoots down his spine at the mention of his name)

No one knows of his origins, though Beatrice knows some of his vagabond experiences and topics that makes him uneasy

Shadow has met Rouge a handful of times. When he was saving money, he was contacted by her due to his experience in the museum. Due to his lack of background information, she assumed he had been involved in criminal activity and needed his knowledge on artefacts and assistance in restoring something. Shadow agreed reluctantly, but despite his uncertainty he enjoyed working on the things she brought and Rouge found his genuine interest in history and lack of concern for her intentions to be good company. Shadow became her main contact for these things (though she rarely needs his help) and the two are on good terms despite not being close

Rouge has worked with Team Sonic on occasion, and never worked with GUN. She's infamous but her identity is unknown to the public, except her name on her calling card. A few of Sonic's gang know what she looks like as eventually after knowing them for so long she doesn't wear the spy gear around them all the time, but felt strangely comfortable around Shadow rather quickly so he's seen her face

#I wrote so much nonsense im sorry this is a long read #it'll read better as an actual fanfic i swear i'll get round to it fdhgfd #shadow the hedgehog #museum au

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 06/04/2024

Tactical Three-Time Grammy Award-Winning Action

Season 2 Featured on: A HOT ONE

Ripped by Harmony Friends

It's funny: for a surprising number of posts now, I've been sort of writing "around" the works of the ripper Harmony Friends, without ever - excluding collaborative projects like Balcony Fusion Collab - actually covering one of those works for a post. Which is a damn shame!! Because in their four-year tenure on SiIvaGunner, Harmony Friends had a pretty notable impact on the channel's life, from making Donkey Kong a mainstay of the channel's identity through creating the Coconut Gun Rap as referenced in CG Man HD Remastered Edition, to directing the incredible King for Another Day Tournament and pushing the boundaries of the channel's scope as described in NIGHTMARESCAPE 〜Unrestrained HyperCam 2〜 (Final Boss Phase 2), and many ways more. But, most importantly of all, they led the trend for a series of very silly YTP-esque sentence mixing rips on the channel, of which Tactical Three-Time Grammy Award-Winning Action remains a personal favorite.

So what am I referring to with these "very silly YTP-esque sentence mixing rips"? Well, if you'll recall just earlier this week, the April Fools rip Our Sweet Parsley was made specifically in tribute to Harmon Friends' work of this kind - the ones that edit and twist easily-identifiable song lyrics, primarily from Sonic the Hedgehog games, to pure comedic off-the-wall effect. Sentence-mixing is an age-old skill of the YouTube Poop trade, yet it feels as if Harmony Friends' work with rips like Thunder, Rain and Lightning, A Ghost's Bean Soup, and of course The Coconut Gun Rap were what turned said work into a mainstay on SiIvaGunner in particular, to show the potential sentence mixing had as a method of effective bait-and-switching, messing around with the track *just* enough to feel wrong in a fun way whilst still being easily missable up to a certain point in the song. Yet this bait-and-switch appeal was, as I've mentioned many times before, something that primarily worked within Season 1 itself, within 2016, when the channel's mere existence was still so novel, unknown to so many. Season 2's shift to having more takeovers and events was a brilliant way to keep the channel fresh, whilst also directing several rippers in the team to try their hand at once specific joke within their individual style. And THAT is where Tactical Three-Time Grammy Award-Winning Action comes in: on the day of Smoothness.

It feels as if I've talked enough about the Grammy-Award Winning 1999 Hit Smooth by Santana feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty for a lifetime already back in Haltmanna feat. Rob Thomas of Matchbox 20, but its appeal should be pretty obvious to anyone who's ever heard the song. Put succinctly, is at once incredibly memorable and well-composed, and has lyrics that are as memeable as can be. Pair those traits with the iconic status Snake Eater from Metal Gear Solid 3 already has in gaming circles, and with Hinchy's aforementioned knack for the silliness, and the result was a rip that felt destined to occur at one point or another. The moment the rip starts, the moment you start anticipating the James Bond-esque opening fanfare to Snake Eater, only to be met with the all-too-familiar first riff of Smooth, you KNOW exactly what the rip is going to be, and you KNOW just then and there how perfect of an idea it is. I'm already a huge fan of rips that do completely original vocal covers with new lyrics such as Maskettaman - Dr. Pavel's Fly​-​So​-​Good, but something about how Tactical Three-Time Grammy Award-Winning Action keeps ping-ponging from Snake Eater to Smooth's vocals scratches a very particular part of my brain - as if I'm waiting with every line to see how it could be merged with Smooth's lyrics. And at every turn, I'm rewarded oh so blissfully.

From outright replacing the bridge's bellowing "But you're so supreme!!" with Smooth's "'cause you're so SMOOTH", to the way that the pause in "not for honor but for you" is removed to give way for extra syllables on the part of Smooth's vocals, together forming "not for honor but / to suit your mood", each change feels oh so deliberately done to maximize both sides of the rip. Althewhile, just like My Sweet Parsley and its contemporaries, the original instrumental still plays - Smooth never overtakes the running Snake Eater melody, merely complimenting it with flourishes from its own vocals or guitar riffs. Yet by the time they actually DO overtake the song as the chorus builds, it all feels so natural already, the Snake Eater instrumentals fit Smooth's emotional high so well at this point - its shocking how well the balance is maintained throughout the whole rip. And because of that, Tactical Three-Time Grammy Award-Winning Action is more than just very funny: it's a genuinely great take on Snake Eater, as the contributions from Smooth in a way help punctuate the song's existing high points, althewhile of course still being very funny.

It's really quite hard to go wrong with a Smooth rip in general, of course - but there is a real magic to listening to Tactical Three-Time Grammy Award-Winning Action after knowing already just how good Harmony Friends are at doing this particular flavor of rips from their work in the prior Season. It's the kind of rip that felt, perhaps not destined to happen, but like...with a Smooth rip underway and Harmony Friends on the team, it was such a natural extension of the joke to create, and one that was followed through on in spades of quality. And after having spent so many posts alluding to one particular ripper, I'm happy to have finally gotten to make one on the ripper behind it all.

#todays siivagunner #season 2 #siivagunner #siiva #Hinchy #Harmony Friends #snake eater #metal gear solid #mgs #mgs3 #mgs2 #mgs3 snake eater #solid snake #matchbox 20 #carlos santana #smooth #Youtube #Bandcamp

[sporesgalaxy]

how did you decide on your fursona? i keep on trying to make one but none of the animals i test out feel right

well. It was a long process (seriously, 7 years long) so I'll just recount it for you in summary and hope that helps?

Starts out simple: I consider myself to possess some stereotypical dog traits. 1) I'm easily excitable and a little...look I'm not dumb, but I can be...slow. Or dense. Or something. 2) When they say "following someone around like a lost puppy," I identified with that SO much as a kid that I defnitely literally roleplayed it at some point.

Unfortunately, I have no advice for picking out a unique base animal for this reason.

Jump ahead to me being 14 and this being a pony blog. I found out most of the cool artists I liked had fursonas and decided I wanted one. Dog was the obvious choice! (And I have blond hair, so Golden Retriever was also obvious)

My habit of making self inserts who are EITHER a silly fairy with the power of god OR a super normal guy goes all the way back to the dawn of this blog...and Puppy was originally the latter (see: far left image below)

The most interesting it got was when I'd draw Puppy with colors from real pictures of the sky (center image). I was unsure how to work in my silly pixie identity (far right image).

I recall trying a few times to make a fairy doggy, but it just never quite felt right.

For many years I barely drew my fursona. It was but a distant memory...........until at last I made an effort to revisit it in college!!! I reflected on the sorts of cartoon animal characters I liked: Sanrio and classic American cartoons...

UNTIL AT LAST...WHEN I LEAST EXPECTED IT...AN INCREDIBLE BOLT OF INSPIRATION STRUCK WHILE I WAS TRYING TO DISPEL NERVOUS ENERGY BEFORE A MATH TEST.

MAD RAT PURGATORY!!

In a fit of deranged, meme-addled glee, I combined my Toon Fursona (left) with an ongoing wip design for a Sonic the Hedgehog self-insert fairy creature (right)

AND THE PERFECT BEAST WAS BORN.

Hearing the song in the moment I did helped me realize a certain something-or-other that I've always held close to my heart as someone who grew up with no explanation for the strange and unpredictable mental landscape I lived in as a consequence of undiagnosed OCD and ADHD:

That is, humorous juxtaposition found in the gleefully grotesque, the vivaciously violent, the merrily morbid, and all manner of adorable abominations. Thus: the bug body horror.

So, ummmmmmmm. Final notes: Follow your heart! Draw while listening to music? Think about what you're naturally drawn to and compelled by! And have fun!

#long post #fursona

[pancakeke]

I have been procrastinating finishing the sonic ring garland for my tree because I've had a nagging thought that the rings should be smaller and now I'm finally caving. I'm going to redo it all with smaller rings.

my initial thought when I started was that the rings need to be large enough to see from a distance or they might not be identifiable, but now that I look at them I think the size looks stupid.

my big concern now is how to stick smaller rings onto the string that holds them in a line. The string I got is a .8mm nylon cord so it has a bit of thickness to it. thin string/thread would tangle really easily so I refuse to use anything thinner.

I want the rings attached to the string at 2 points so they can't pivot and face the wrong direction (the back of the gold paper is plain), but the large rings were barely wide enough to accommodate using tiny pieces of tape.

like, the width of the current ring and its bend radius created JUST enough room to stick on a little cut of masking tape. I don't think I can use tape if I go smaller, which leaves glue :/ and hot glue would be the only option because it dries quickly. that stuff is such a mess though.

also despite paying like $8 for fancy glue that claims to adhere to glass, the clear line popped off two chaos emeralds :/

I let the glue cure for 24 hours like the package said to do before hanging them. I'm unsure if the glue sucks or if there was some kind of oil/residue on the glass from its manufacturing process that prevented the glue from adhering. I'm going to wash these pieces and try again and see if it works this time.

[reflections-of-mobius]

Hello, and welcome to the pinned post! My name's Writer, and I'm the mun of this odd little multimuse.

☢ This blog will contain upsetting content from time to time- please make sure you have the proper tags blocked off just to be safe, but I will always try to leave disturbing content under a readmore and tag it appropriately. ☢

☢ This blog is 18+ only. The content here will range, and I don't feel like making an NSFW sideblog. It will, of course, be tagged for those who don't want to see it- but if you're under eighteen, for the love of sanity, stay away. ☢

☢ If you have a problem with self-inserts, selfships, powerful OCs, or incredibly AU Canons, then leave. ☢

[Rules | Muse Roster | Promo Post | Universes | Relationships]

As for me- I'm Writer, a twenty-three year old nonbinary mate (they/them) who's really just here to have fun, hang with friends, and build worlds. I identify as ficto (a subtype of the aro-ace club, yes I know how to separate fiction and reality, you're not original if you try to ask me that), and I'm a Pisces/INFJ/Metal Snake, for those who would want to inquire. I'm mostly a gamer and an anime fan, so I flip between playing games and watching television... A lot.

I've been diagnosed with Depression and Social/General Anxiety, and my friends tend to think I might have undiagnosed ADHD/BPD, but I have yet to be tested. I get overwhelmed pretty easily, and stress can make me totally shut down and go into hiding to recover. So if ever I suddenly vanish for a few days- it's nothing against you, I'm just recovering.

⚠️ I do not claim ownership of Mephiles the Dark, Dark Gaia, or Sonic the Hedgehog. I claim ownership of my personal spin on each character, as well as the headcanons I've made for all the worlds present here- but not for the base idea of 'Mobius', 'Chaos Emeralds', and things generally seen in the Sonic Franchise. ⚠️

⚠️ While I do claim ownership over Arwen Conch, Cinnamon Curl (and their pet cat Milky), Fin Freja, Node Gate, and Tempest Lock, I was not the one to come up with the designs for Cinnamon Curl and Fin Freja. I adopted the designs from kandaarts (here on Tumblr, Fin) , Blayris6 (on DeviantArt, Milky) and dart22345 (also on Deviantart, Cinnamon), respectively. Arwen Conch's design was made on a whim via this picrew. ⚠️

⚠️ This blog is 18+. If you are under eighteen, leave. I will (at times) roleplay sensitive topics, and smut may come up every here and there (mostly on Sunday/Sinday, if at all). I don't want minors to see that stuff. ⚠️

⚠️ This blog does have a selfship, as well as two self-inserts- and at times will delve into selfships. The OCs are all relatively powerful for their given worlds, and the self-inserts are given power on par with the canons. The canons (namely, Mephiles and Dark Gaia ) have been heavily rebuilt on this blog, and will not function as they would if you just pulled them from their given games. If you came here to interact with a sneaky Mephiles who hates your character, or a Dark Gaia that just wants to see the world burn, you will be disappointed. If you came here seeking target practice from OCs, you will be disappointed. If you came here to escape selfshipping, you will be disappointed. ⚠️

⚠️ Note: when I say 'selfshipping', I mean writing a self-insert and then shipping that SI with the characters in a given series. ⚠️

⚠️ DNI if: Nazi, pedophile, MAP, racist, homophobic, under eighteen, proship, don't 'believe' in mental illnesses, intolerant, hater of selfships, hater of OCs, hater of canon divergence. ⚠️

🔘 This blog runs on a queue system. For the most part, I will space out replies to post once a day unless I have several days off from work in a row. If you don't like a blog run on a queue system, that's on you, not me. 🔘

🔘 Event threads will take precedence over regular threads. I will space out events at my leisure. 🔘

🔘 The Sonic Franchise is my secondary interest. My main is MHA/Toshinori Yagi. 🔘

🔘 I work early morning shifts, so I'm usually asleep by a decent hour and awake before the sun's even up, most days. (EST) 🔘

🔘 My energy ain't always the best.- So please don't bug me for replies. Sometimes I forget, so if it's been over a month, you're welcome to ask me if I spaced on answering your thread (please send me the link to the most recent response you made, if you can!). 🔘

And if you made it this far, let me just say- congratulations! How you read all that and didn't keel over is beyond me.

My personal favorite Sonic games are: Sonic Unleashed, Sonic 06, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, and Sonic Riders. I also loved the Sonic X anime, though I was never particularly invested in Chris Thorndyke.

Some credits aside from those I put down for the character designs that I adopted...:

The 'caution' tape dividers that I plan to use on this blog for adult content, dark content, and triggering content were all originally made by cafekitsune (on Tumblr). They're free and public to use, but if you do use them, please do as I did and like, reblog (I threw them all into my queue, but they will reblog bit-by-bit), and credit from the original posts.

Adult Content Tape Source Dark Content Tape Source Triggering Content Tape Source

Hopefully, that's enough rambling. For now.

May your day/night be fun, and may your rest be enjoyable!

And remember- you are amazing, as you are.

#we’re trapped in reality/on our way to insanity/but you are not alone | mun #//pinned\\

[aceofwhump]

A thought just occurred to me. I was looking through the Tumblr trending page today and saw "bisexual" was trending. I scrolled through and saw an interesting infographic on what % of LGBT adults identify as, like 58% bi, 1.3% ace or something, whatever.

I identify as asexual. Way back when, I thought I might be bi because I didn't know what asexual was and, as Jaiden Animations says: zero = zero. I guess I like both, but also neither at the same time?

Anyways, I kept scrolling down on "bisexual" and I start to see like sexy bunny drawings and half naked girls and blah blah. "Sex sells" is completely lost on me. The appeal of boobie pictures or muscular dudes is completely over my head, always has been. I think you, Ace, probably get what I'm talking about here. So, I keep scrolling past thinking "who cares about this shit, literally who would want to look at this? .... Well I guess according to that infographic, like 98.7% of people probably understand this sexy lady crap more than I do". Then I think "whatever, I'm going to go back and look at some whump. There are some LOTR gifs that Ace posted recently that come to mind as well as some super whumpy fanart in my likes. Good shit.

All of this to say: Is how I like to look at, read, watch whump kind of like how people like to look at sexy bunny art? Is "sex sells" kind of like how I watched all of Graceland because you posted a gif of Mike handcuffed on the bed going through withdrawal? I completely understand "whumperflies" I caught the whumperflies from a single gif enough to watch that entire show, which I had never even heard of until seeing that gif. I got completely sucked into the Sonic fandom because of a collection of screenshots of Sonic carrying Tails. It happened to me with Teen Wolf, Outlander, others? (Now that I think about it your blog got me to watch a bunch of shows I don't think I normally would, so thanks!)

Is this somewhat what allo folks experience? Is whumperflies akin to sexual attraction in a way? I do wonder and I never thought about it this way until today.... I'm curious of your thoughts on this, Ace?

I also know that a large chunk of the whump community also identifies under the asexual umbrella so if anyone else has opinion?

Hi nonny!

Lol yeah I too do not understand the sex sells thing in society. I look at commercials like that one Rally's burger one where it's just a half naked woman sitting on a car eating a burger and I'm like "how does this shit work on anyone? Why would this make anyone want to eat a burger??" It genuinely makes no sense to me. But this is actually a theory I've seen once before on here! That our interest in whump/whumperflies is our version of "sexual attraction" which is definitely very interesting. I can see the connection very easily and there definitely are a lot of similarities in the feelings. I do wonder if how we feel whumperflies is how allos feel when they experience sexual attraction but who knows lol. Personally in my brain the two things are separate and I like to keep them separate. I don't like thinking of my whumperflies or my interest in whump as a sort of replacement for sexual attraction. Just feels super weird to me to think of it that way. I don't feel sexual attraction so I don't know what that feels like but I do have a sex drive and feel arousal and it's never happened with anything related to whump and it feels physically different to me than my whumperflies so it's all been kept separate for me. Just my own feelings though!

The sex sells/whump gifs thing is SO INTERESTING! I never thought about that but yeah you're right! For us it's definitely "whump sells" and not "sex sells" lol. Nothing gets me to watch a show faster than a good whumpy gifset lol. Sex? Sexy poses? Absolutely nothing for me. Actually it's much more a turn off than anything. Whump? Hot damn sign me up. I'll watch the whole damn thing for whump. Sidenote I love that you watched all of Graceland because of my mass posting lol.

It's fascinating and a very interesting theory for sure! Totally okay if others feel differently. Like you said there are a lot of aspec whumpers so I think there's definitely something to the theory. I don't know though! Very interesting idea!

#mod replies #ask #asexual whumpers #whump community #asexual #whump and asexuality

[sonicringbond]

Sonic Ring Bond - Episode of Amnesia Island II 07

The following is a work of fan fiction by Joshua D. Tarwater and is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.* *SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS retains full rights over the Sonic the Hedgehog™ intellectual property and can terminate or take control of this work at any time.'

★The Empire lives! May it be forever!

What is it that makes people join under a single banner, idea, leader? Is there a truly unifying cause or is it that people are too numerous for such a concept to be considered.

Safety, direction, friendship, ambition, hope, faith, loyalty, favor, redemption, imitation, ignorance, fear. So many and more are the reasons that one and many will gather under a single banner. But with so many reasons there are equal expectations of what the banner represents. And what if the reasons for those under it clash?

All-encompassing distant labyrinth Thing of pipes, conduit, wires, vents, and grated catwalks Floating platform Great spinning turbines and fans Dancing electrical arcs Cavernous white void Giant sphere of blue light creating it Like a flower bloom above great white stem Structured like vertically stretched stair around a pin Massive metal obelisks spiraling down like floating leaves White walled halls Holographic screens floating where petal met stem White floating chair shaped as though carved from melon rind Clicking steel-toe and heel

“What do you want Hunter?” Pinn Bowlings asked from where he lounged in his midair suspended seat. He barely opened his green eyes or lifted his head from where it rested against his fist. “Can’t you see I’m resting?”

“That is my concern.”

The woman who addressed Bowlings was too small to be a human, though easily stood above a meter height, but her species was indeterminable. Her read chest plate seemed fashioned after a hedgehog, which matched her short tail, but her red helmet which stretched back into massive downward curved spikes revealed nothing of what was within. Only the two demon-like horns that rose from it where several species had ears gave it character. She wore a red, tailed coat under her armor very much like Bowlings’ own, but it had no military identifiers. She spoke levelly in a chilling way which left the General needing to resist the desire to squirm.

“You have had several outings now from which you come back worn and in need of rest. I question if you are still fit to serve.”

“Watch yourself Hunter,” Bowlings sneered as he shifted as though to sit up straight. “I am a Page General of the Empire, and you for all your glory are still only a citizen. You answer to me, and not the other way around.”

There was a long moment of silence as Bowling stared down the woman who confronted him. But he felt more threatened by her than he cared to admit. The perfectly smooth surface of her helmet was incapable of revealing her emotions or if she even still looked at the General, though she faced him as if she did. That her arms still remained folded behind her back unmoving however drew a bead of nervous sweat down the General’s face. Then for a moment he could swear the surface of the helmet revealed itself as a screen as a wide toothy grin flashed for only a moment. A moment so brief Bowlings could not be sure it had occurred at all. And then the woman walked away, her arms still folded behind her back.

“Brilliant.”

“Thorn.”

The voice that identified the woman as Thorn, and had been Bowlings’ companion on Amnesia Island, was identified as Brilliant the Projector. The familiarity with which the two addressed each other elicited a contemptuous smirk from the General, but he did not butt in.

“I know not what matters you and the General are tending to, but our presence at the Spiral Archive is to fulfil the demands of the Emperor. I advise you not forget that.”

Brilliant did not respond and stayed silent as Thorn continued her threateningly casual pace in leaving the room from which Bowlings rested. The clicking of her heeled and steel-toed footwear faded at a gruelingly slow pace, and Bowlings was left growing tenser and tenser until he finally felt it was safe to say anything, even below his breath.

“Thorn the Crimson. Projector, it seems even your authority over her is waning. Should she become a problem…”

“It won’t happen General,” Brilliant assured Bowlings, though the General could not be sure only he heard the voice of the Projector. “Her loyalty lies solely with the Emperor. As long as we continue our mission she will not and cannot act out against our hunt for the Machine God.”

“And our troublesome adversary?”

“Admittedly, his ability to quickly adapt and our current limitations are making this matter much more complicated than it should be.”

“And how many times has he wiped out all of your drones?”

“The number of my failure are of little matter, same as yours General. It is more important to note that as long as his right arm remains even more elusive to understand than the Heart of the Sky Ring and that he is able to rend my fabrications, he is a clear and present danger to the Empire. Unfortunately, we cannot kill him without being able to determine his nature and origin.”

“Pathetic,” Bowling snorted. Rising from his seat, he began his habitual rubbing of his forearm. “That we’re being made fools of by a mere child.”

“Little surprise General. The Empire is full of many such children itself. It is one of many reasons why the control of Knetics is a must. Yourself included.

“Ha,” Bowlings scoffed with a laugh as the cuffs, or shackles of his coat and boots opened revealing their glowing orange interior. As a flame flickered into being above his upturned hand he sneered maliciously. “Yet we have monsters like the Hunter and now this boy. Maybe we Knetics aren’t really so special after all.”

“On the contrary General. Without Knetics the world would end. As such they are of utmost importance to the Empire.”

“The Empire Lives,” Bowlings sighed, but with a pride that was long lost to him.

“May it be forever.” Brilliant finished the mantra, but with no emotion at all.

“A fate this boy will not have,” Bowlings chuckled maliciously as he furrowed his brow. “Once we’ve found the Machine God, I’ll burn the whole island down and shove the cheeky brat into a test tube in as many pieces as it takes.”

“Don’t grow distracted, General,” Thorn softly yet powerfully spoke under her breath far from where the conversation she still eavesdropped on took place. “Your defense of the Empire is admirable, but it is against a single threat I can easily end. We work now to assure the Empire is forever, and that we can always crush any meager fools beneath our heels.”

Inevitably, when one joins under a banner there will be as much conflict within as there is without. However, as ideas come that unify those within, they always grow stronger and conflicts with those outside the banner they raise become more violent. The thoughts of the consequences of unified conflict on the innocent become a distraction quickly thrown out. Only victory matters, and the innocent suffer far more than the enemy.★

EPISODE OF AMNESIA ISLAND II 07 - END

-----

Fair Use Disclaimer

Sonic The Hedgehog and all affiliated characters and logos are the express property and Copyright© of SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS used without permission under Title 17 U.S.C Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 in which allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. “Fair use” is use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be considered copyright infringement.

The Sonic Ring Bond alternate universe (AU) consumer written work of fiction is a non-profit transformative work primarily for personal use and IP research which can and will be taken down without warning or prior notice at the request of the copyright holder(s) should it not be recognized under “fair use”.

The Sonic Ring Bond AU and Sonic Ring Bond story are the creation of Joshua David Tarwater/ynymbus/sonicfanj/@Joshtarwater and is to be, including all contents herein, regardless of creator, context, use/ function, intent, and time of creation, considered for all legal purposes without contest, compensation, employment, or offer of employment, liability, etcetera, the property of the Sonic The Hedgehog intellectual property (IP) and copyright owners, SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS.

All story contributors via prompt, suggestion, written scene, art, and all and every other contribution acknowledge that all contributed material is forfeit for legal purposes to SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS upon official request from SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS regardless of having read or possessing awareness of this disclaimer.

Sonic The Hedgehog Copyright© 1990-2022 SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic au #sonic ring bond #sonic fan fiction #sonic ocs #page general pinn bowlings #thorn the crimson #brilliant the projector

[blissflowsystems]

Flame Arrester & Its Types — Blissflowsystems

Bliss flow systems Group, the leading supplier & distributor of Flame Arrester technology is providing you with this useful guide to deflagration and detonation pipeline explosions.

When the gas is ignited the flame begins to accelerate. This acceleration results in the build-up of a pressure wave ahead of the flame.

Given enough run-up distance, this pressure wave can build into a shock wave as the flame speed reaches sonic velocity. This first phase is known as deflagration.

Once the shock wave reaches a pressure to auto-ignite the gas through which it is traveling the flame front and shock wave couple together forming an unstable detonation.

This deflagration to detonation transition (DDT) is the most severe phase of a pipeline explosion, which can generate flame speeds of >3000m/s and high pressures, over 100bar in some cases.

In short, the deflagration Flame Arrester is designed to stop the initial phase of the explosion and is shorter and lighter than the unstable detonation arrestor, but the Deflagration Flame Arrester has restrictions on its placement within the pipe work regarding distance from the source of ignition.

Explosion characteristics

If you’re unsure about Deflagration and Detonation Flame Arrester, this brief guide to explosion characteristics is designed to help. Of course, for further advice or clarification in any way, please get in touch with one of our experts.

Maintenance and Health & Safety law

HS(G)158 states, “Health and safety law requires that plant and equipment are maintained in a safe condition. It is essential that Flame Arresters are well maintained. They should be covered by a program of regular inspection and maintenance so they continue to be effective.”

It also goes on to say, “Keep records of the specification of each arrester, its location, and its maintenance history.” These records help to identify if the arrester is suitable for the media that it is protecting.

Should the process conditions be changed it can then be easily identified if the Flame Arrester fitted remains suitable for the new conditions.

So how can Bliss flow systems help?

Many issues can be identified easily through simple inspection regimes but all too often Flame Arresters are not serviced regularly.

Bliss flow systems assist with all aspects of flame arrester effectiveness, from initial inspection reports to ongoing maintenance or simply the supply of spare parts.

Standards Compliance

All Bliss flow systems Flame Arresters have been tested and certified in accordance with national or international standards. Actual device performance is verified in the Bliss flow systems state-of-the-art in-house test facility.

HOW A FLAME ARRESTER PROVIDES PROTECTION FROM EXPLOSIONS

Whether you work in oil and gas, petrochemical, bio-fuels, or power generation, having explosion protection equipment, such as a Flame Arrester, is vital to both safety and business continuity.

You only have to look at the news. In recent years catastrophic accidents have occurred at the Stanlow Refinery in Ellesmere Port, at Buncefield in Hemel Hampstead, and in Ingolstadt, southern Germany. However, the good news is that thanks to our range of patent-protected Flame Arresters and advanced flame-arresting technology and expertise,

We have simplified the process of protecting your assets against explosions and their tragic consequences.

Types of flame arrester

Bliss flow systems supply and arranges the installation of the three main types of Flame Arrester: (1) End-of-Line Deflagration Flame Arresters, (2) In-Line Deflagration Flame Arresters, and (3) In-Line Detonation Flame Arresters. Our Flame Arrester are designed to meet current legislation, ATEX regulations, and all relevant ISO standards in order to ensure the safety and protection of process equipment, operators, and the environment.

Flame Arresters are often used in combination with a Pressure Relief Valve. For example, circumstances can arise where, even though a fire is contained near a storage tank, the extreme heat given off can cause the pressure inside these vessels to increase beyond their design limits. The resulting failure, due to the lack of correct equipment installation, has often given rise to disastrous consequences.

A Flame Arrester, and correctly sized and installed Emergency Relief Vent, serve to provide maximum protection in the most arduous circumstances.

Irregular or inadequate inspection and maintenance increase the chance of failure

As is true for all safety equipment, Flame Arresters can cease to function if they’re not correctly specified or installed in the first place, or poorly or inadequately maintained thereafter.

Accordingly, we recommend that Flame Arresters and other safety devices should be inspected at least annually and more frequently where operating conditions dictate increased maintenance.

If you don’t keep to a regular inspection schedule, then the results can be catastrophic. Inadequate maintenance was given as the primary reason when a major explosion killed two municipal employees at the Bethune Point Wastewater Plant in Florida in 2006. In this incident, sparks from a cutting torch ignited a vapor cloud when it was used to remove a steel roof over a storage tank. The tank contained highly flammable methanol. The investigation that followed revealed that the tank’s aluminum Flame Arrester – incidentally not suitable for use with methanol – had not been inspected or cleaned since its installation in 1993.

Act now so you don’t have to pay later

We urge operators not to delay, and instead to contact us directly at [phone] and [email protected] or via our website at www.blissflowsystems.com We’d be delighted to arrange a meeting or Lunch & Learn session between your engineers or plant operatives, and one of our explosion protection specialists. We can explain the nuances of Flame Arresters and other tank protection devices, and their underlying technologies, at absolutely no cost to your selves.

Our Flame Arresters and low-pressure venting equipment prevent explosions. That’s a fact.

more info: https://blissflowsystems.com/product/deflagration-flame-arrester/

#flame arrester #Flame Arrester Supplier in India #Flame Arrester distributor in India #safety equipments #industrial equipment #Rupture Pin Valve Supplier in India

[whymusic]

Album Review - CHARLOTTE ADIGÉRY & BOLIS PUPUL “Topical Dancer”

The Belgian duo debut album “Topical Dancer’ is an absolute free for all. Co-produced and released via Soulwax ‘ iconic label DEEWEE, it blends synth pop, art pop, tech house, droning electronics, and various other experimental genre fusions, and somehow makes them all equally danceable. Its thematic focus lies in its omnipresent scathing political commentary, which is often blatant, but filled with charming wit in its execution. The social commentary and instrumentals are sometimes discrepant , but when it lands right , it really works.

These diatribes are often comedic, such as the hilarious breakdown of “politically correct terms” on “Esperanto.” Charlotte speaks on the identity crisis that results from expectations and appearances going hand in hand on “Blenda,” while “Hey” is about all the ways in which one can identify themselves, and how integrity stands above these labels. “It Hit Me” takes on a more serious tone, telling eerie stories of the life changing experiences both artists had being sexualized at a young age. “Reappropriate” acts as a sort of follow up, encouraging the claiming of one’s womanhood for themselves and not adjusting to societal pressures, while discovering one’s sexuality at their own pace.

“Mantra” encourages living beyond these standards and accepting yourself, and at first “HAHA” seems like a lighthearted moment of relief, but its darker underbelly is revealed by the recurring line “…guess you had to be there.” This insinuates that the laugh is coming from a listener who doesn’t believe their story, and is instead brushing aside their victimhood as a joke. The cynical bite and sharp tongue of the closing track “Thank You” wraps the album up perfectly, clapping back at critics of Charlotte as a person and artist with the ignorance of their own words.

These messages are rarely vague and their purpose is abundantly clear, but what it lacks in nuance is more than made up for by its potency, and their clever delivery allows it to feel more significant than it would in someone else’s hands. ‘Topical Dancer’ is a conceptually fascinating and sonically forward-thinking record, and is easily one of my personal highlights of the year so far.

#Youtube

[sminny-wew]

I finally have faces to put to these voices!!!

(Design process and kinda-rant under the cut)

It took several years and a shit-ton of trial and error but I think I've finally found redesigns for these two that I'm happy with!!! Designs that meet the game canon standard and breathe new life into the characters, while not entirely forgoing what made the original designs so identifiable. Sonia was the most difficult for me. Her fur and outfit colors are so close to each other that they not only can make her look like she's not wearing leggings, but given Sonic Underground's apparently-low budget, that means tons of coloring/animation errors. I also felt like she could easily be confused for Amy (which actually happened at one point!) so I wanted to try and put as much visual distance between them as possible without making Sonia unrecognizable. One way I did that was with her quills; them looking almost like separate "hair" in her original design inspired me to reinterpret it as a bleached undercut. For the longest time I wasn't sure how to represent the "shaved" part on a mobian but my lovely brother was nice enough to help me figure it out. As for Sonia's outfit, I turned her dress/top and skirt into an 80s-esque top with shoulder pads and shortened her gloves; overall I was going less for "fashion vomit princess" and more for "glam rock starlet" and I think I pulled it off. Manic was significantly easier but still took a while to get there. I never knew what I wanted for his quills, sometimes I wanted them short and sometimes I wanted them long. His bangs, gloves, and converse are all taken from the character creator in Sonic Forces. I made him more of a jade green to help him stand out from all the other green Sonic characters, ESPECIALLY Jet and Surge; I actually had to throw together a bit of a Sonic color chart in order to get this right. His outfit's pretty straightforward, I wanted to stay within the realm of skater/punk/ska/grunge. I almost kept his vest but decided the sleeveless hoodie looked better, same with the gloves (I took away the spiked cuffs b/c it felt too much like Surge). I didn't draw their medallions/instruments but they still have them, though Sonia has a keytar instead. I also gave them both silver eyes to show their relation to each other (Aleena has them too), no particular reason, I just felt like silver was a cool-enough and relatively unique eye color to use. In this context, they're still brother and sister but aren't related to Sonic at all due to them not being owned by SEGA (however, they DO get to go on an adventure with him that requires them to work together and they get to be very close during that time, I'll share the details later). At this point the only changes I'd make are giving Sonia darker leggings and Manic eyeliner Maybe in the future I'll post a supercut of all the designs I went through to get here

#sonic the hedgehog #sonia the hedgehog #manic the hedgehog #sonic underground #artsy fartsy

[writingithink]

Improbable Multiversal Transcending Temporal Spacetime Event Pairing: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler Rated: T Word Count: 7,101 Summary: The best way to show someone you care is to blow up their job ... right? Notes: I'm back! And it's not a Tangled Timelines update (sorry!) But it is something? I've had this in my WIPs for awHILE now, and when I was cleaning my studio the other night I found a planning page for it in a random tote bag and was like ... oh yeah. And the ending just came to me and I love it when that happens. Hopefully there will be another chapter up for Tangled Timelines soon, though!

As always, infinite thanks to my wonderful beta, @hey-there-juliet​ who is fine with me randomly sending her fics at all hours and with no warning XP

All mistakes are mine, as always.

<<READ IT ON AO3>>

If the other him in the other universe had taken the time to imagine their human life together in a parallel universe, the Doctor doubted he would have pictured this. His imagination, when it came to Rose Tyler, was always quite whimsical. Happiness had made him impractical, really. Because despite all of the drawbacks, all of the reasons he currently loathed himself, the Doctor knew every single reason why the other truly felt like this was the best possible option.

But maybe it wasn’t.

Sometimes, despite it not occurring too often, he was wrong.

They had spent five and a half hours on the beach at Bad Wolf Bay.

(I create myself.)

She had been so upset; said that after everything they’d went through, everything she did to get back, the other him owed her a proper goodbye. She had stopped speaking to him when he told her that, actually, he would never give her a proper goodbye.

And she didn’t let him explain why. Now that he finally could.

Now it had been 57 days since she’d last spoken to him. Since he’d gotten more than a brief glimpse of her with his own eyes. That he’d spent piecing together a picture of what her life had been like here, without him. Such a short time, really, now that it was over (almost over), but yet also some of the worst moments of his entire existence.

It seemed fair that the multiverse would demand just that extra sequence of pain, considering everything he could potentially get in return. What another version of himself could only hope for, bitterly gambling eternities, following their timeline through all of it’s complicated swirls and turns, names weaving around each other, stamping themselves on the structure of creation.

Forever isn’t something that ends.

(How long are you going to stay with me?)

Quite the opposite, actually. And he knew, eventually, she would remember that. Knew it, but didn’t feel it.

The Doctor finally understood what all of the human writers meant about falling in love. Not just the terrifying sensation of the unstoppable freefall, but also the immense pain of crashing into the immovable object at the end of the journey.

They had sat on opposite ends of a Zeppelin. He had gone back to the Tyler Manor with Jackie, and Rose had gone back to her flat. Hoping to see her, talk to her, he had immediately joined Torchwood (once they agreed to his very detailed, highly specific, entirely ironclad contract). Their paths rarely crossed, and when they did it was just tiny, insubstantial moments.

A flash of her at the far end of a hall. Her name in a report (a lot of reports). Snatches of her voice, there one moment and gone the next.

It all made everything hurt so much more, somehow, having her so close but yet further than he could have possibly imagined.

But yet …

His imagination, when it came to Rose Tyler, was still quite whimsical. So when he tried to think of the bigger picture, waxing poetic, alone on his office couch, the Doctor tried to look at the last few years as the impact, and this as the aftershock. Still, philosophical jaunts weren’t exactly a solution to his problem. A temporary solution was moving his office even further away, so that’s what he did. 

Plus, he found it kind of fitting, commandeering the inside of Big Ben. UNIT may have it in the prime universe, but in this universe he had the fancy landmark office. Well, office-slash-home (without Rose Tyler, a proper house with doors and things was absolutely unthinkable). Not that it was just about having a private laugh. The gears soothed him, the sound of ticking helped the gnawing emptiness that had filled his mind ever since the TARDIS dematerialized without him in it. The Doctor had thought it was kind of fitting - the closest he could possibly be right now to time.

Not that he wasn’t spending every possible spare moment working on the baby TARDIS, just a tiny piece of coral still, currently sitting in the extended electro-percussive environment chamber. He wondered if, in three years (his best-possible projected timetable), when the new TARDIS would be ready for flight, she would still not be speaking to him.

Incidentally, the emergence of that thought and the start of his supposed ‘self-isolation’ coincided to an alarming degree for how coincidental the two really were. The fact of the matter was, he was busy. Tons of experiments to run, alien equipment to identify, classify (and more often than not remove from Torchwood entirely), a baby TARDIS to tend to, and a backlog of Rose’s mission reports to hack into made spending slightly over three weeks in his tower easy.

The problem was the fact that during that time the Doctor avoided sleeping, barely remembered to eat, and existed on overly sugared tea alone. Not sleeping didn’t put the demons at bay, but at least when he was awake he wasn’t forced to confront the man he never wanted to remember being.

It had been 57 days since Rose Tyler had last spoken to him, and the Doctor detonated a bomb in the abandoned annex Torchwood had scheduled to be demolished and rebuilt.

Then the counter reset to zero.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” she yelled, barging into the top floor lab where he had been checking the readings on the EEPEC.

Everything that he wanted to say to her, and the Doctor was struck mute.

“Whatever plans you think you have, however good of an idea it is, for the good of the planet or, or the galaxy or what, you don’t just go blowing up buildings without a word to anyone! Do you know that everyone else was too scared to come up here and have a word with you, because that highly confidential ridiculous contract you drew up made its way through the gossips and isn’t so classified anymore. Now no one wants to go toe to toe with the man who ‘speaks for the planet’,” Rose growled through the air quotes. “So tell me, Doctor, what genius reason you’ve got for blowing up the Records Annex?”

A slow smile spread across his face.

“It worked.”

“What?”

“Remember ‘run’?” he asked, bouncing away from the baby TARDIS and circling her, picking up his new sonic screwdriver as he did and deadlock sealing the only door off the floor.

“Run?” she frowned as he circled back.

“Run,” he whispered in her ear as he passed, running up a small set of stairs to flip a giant switch that activated the clock-lights outside of their automated timer. Likely no one noticed outside with the sun still out, but it lit up the lab. “Henrik’s basement, Nestene Consciousness, shop window dummies, you and me. How did that night end?” he asked, with a manic grin as he skidded to a stop in front of her.

“Oh, that ‘run’,” Rose breathed, trying to fight back a smile. “You blew up my job.”

“I blew up your job.”

She huffed, blowing her bangs out of her eyes, and crossed her arms. His shoulders fell, exhaustion pressing down onto each and every bone of his new, much more fragile body.

“I just want to talk,” he told her, only a moment away from begging.

“Alright then. Talk.”

Everything he wanted to say to her, and all of it felt disjointed in his overtired mind. Yet she was here now, and if she left he didn’t have a new idea for getting her back again. So he talked.

“I’m sorry. That I made this choice for you, even if it was technically a different me who did it. I’m sorry that this is the best option, the safest option. I’m sorry I never got the chance to explain everything to you before. But I am never going to say goodbye to you, Rose. Never. And I know that the power of words doesn’t translate as well for you, the science of psycho-kinetic-telepathic influence on the elements of creation. But there are some things I can never risk saying aloud. There are some beings that exist, at least in our original universe, that could easily- … still, no matter what universe we’re in, I’m never going to say it. Forever, Rose Tyler. It’s longer than you can comprehend. An eternal silence stretching infinitely ahead, timelines swirling in every direction. This one is ours, if you’ll- if you could just- if you could see in twenty-odd dimensions and focused on individual temporal waveforms, the quantum reality of specific-”

“Doctor!” she shouted when his legs gave out, immediately grabbing hold of him, joining him on the floor.

“I’m fine,” he insisted, but when he moved to get back up she easily held him down. Rose gently manipulated his face, giving him a basic medical check. He couldn’t help but smile a little at how much she had learned while they were away, only to then frown at how hard he imagined it all must have been for her. Floundering, he tried to make a joke. “So, I’m still the Doctor?”

Which went ignored.

“You look like a wreck,” she told him, and it wasn’t new information. The Doctor now made much more frequent trips to the restroom and was well aware of how pale he was, of the dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. He had at least been making a disjointed effort to shave, which was another activity that had increased with his meta crisis, and admittedly it had slipped his mind for a couple days.

“It’s not easy, doing this without you,” he admitted. “But if you need more time, I want you to take it. I really am alright. There’s just so much I need to tell you, now that I can.”

“What do you mean, ‘now that you can’?”

“Different universe, firm walls in between. I don’t have to worry about using the wrong words at the wrong time and having cosmic consequences … for a lot of things, not all things. With our timeline in a different dimension and reality back as it should be, at least for the moment, I can tell you all sorts of things. Though the most important one, the one I’m never going to miss an opportunity to say, is that I love you, Rose Tyler. Forever.”

“I love you, too,” she sighed, caressing his cheek for a moment before helping him up. “But I’m still mad at you. Now you need sleep.”

“But I’m not done talking,” the Doctor complained, dragging his feet as she led him over to the sofa in the corner.

“We’ll talk more after you’ve gotten some rest, okay? I promise.”

“Thank you,” he sighed, more horizontal than he remembered being just a moment ago. Something soft and warm ensconced his body. He hadn’t realized how cold he had been until just then.

Another breath and black oblivion overtook him. Peaceful until it suddenly very much wasn’t. 

A shockwave. A rift in time and space. A breached void. A crack in reality. A big red button. No more. Howling, howling, howling.

“Wake up!”

His eyes snapped open.

He didn’t know where he was. Nothing felt right; not the air, not time, not even his own body. The Doctor tried to do a quick systems check, and the results were all wrong. His hand flew to his chest, where only one heart was beating.

A choking scream echoed through the space, which seemed to be tick tick ticking, and he didn’t realize that it was him who shouted until soothing hands were brushing through his hair. Vision focusing, he saw Rose Tyler kneeling next to him, or at least it was something that looked like Rose Tyler. She felt too cool. Or maybe he was too warm.

“Are you real?” he asked, hoping that she wouldn’t lie to him.

Just one heart working, and it was beating too fast, refusing to slow down. The air was too thick, he couldn’t breathe.

“Yeah.” A sad smile. “I’m real.”

The Doctor didn’t know if he believed her, closing his eyes so that he wouldn’t have to see the moment she inevitably vanished. “I’m dying,” he told the being-who-might-be-Rose as he shuddered and collapsed back onto some sort of sofa.

“You’re fine,” she lied, but it was a lie she seemed to believe.

“Only got one heart beating,” he admitted, trying to get his breathing under control as his malfunctioning body began to sweat. The room ticked away, and he wondered if all of this was about to explode, if he should be running, if he even could run. His legs felt like lead. So did his arms. The air was too thick, dragging him down.

“That’s-”

The Doctor shut his eyes tighter, tears escaping that he hadn’t even realized were there. She must have vanished, just like he knew she would. And if she was never real to begin with, why did it have to hurt so much for her to go?

A weight rested on top of him, and he would never forget the feel of her. He vaguely wondered what it meant for him, to be having tactile hallucinations. Olfactory hallucinations. Even the buzz of time that had never left her skin after she took in the vortex was present.

“You’ve still got two beating,” Rose whispered as his arms wrapped around her in a tight hold that didn’t feel nearly strong enough to keep her. He wasn’t strong enough to keep her.

Her heart beat steadily over where his right heart had failed.

“I’m scared,” the Doctor admitted, eyes still closed though it was oddly easier to breathe.

“I’ve got you.”

“Please be real,” he whimpered, even as his mind grew foggier.

She said something, but he didn’t know what. Everything was fading away, darkness becoming darker, becoming void.

Nothing.

The Doctor awoke alone on the couch in his office. According to his time sense, he had slept for eighteen hours and twenty-one minutes. He felt better than he had in weeks, but also so much worse. He grabbed his pillow and screamed into it.

“What’s wrong now?”

The pillow dropped from his hands and his eyes locked with Rose’s as she raced up the slight stair onto the platform that separated his primary workspace from the rest of the top floor.

“What?” His voice cracked.

Rose Tyler sat next to him on the couch, hand immediately resting on his forehead, primitively gauging his temperature. The Doctor cleared his throat before trying again.

“Rose, what are you doing here? Not that I’m not glad, I’m so very, very glad you’ve come.” Her hand dropped away and he was able to get a good look at her, dressed in a pair of his boxers and one of his shirts (Jackie had bought him a ridiculous amount of clothes before he left the manor, all of which he sent out to be cleaned). He swallowed audibly. “W-why are you wearing my clothes?”

“‘M locked in here. Door’s deadlock sealed.”

Flashes of memories began to speed through him. Attaching a re-calibrated Tziklian implosion grenade to a newly-repaired retroreflective Clishtahrr drone. Obsessively trying to circumvent his vision in order to peer at his own timeline, making himself sick. A contained rift event in the lower levels of the tower that made him feel like he had looked into the untempered schism again.

(Run, run, run!)

“I’m sorry. I don’t … I’ll just …”

He pushed himself up onto unsteady legs, found his sonic screwdriver and unsealed the door. And he wished he hadn’t trapped her with him, even if he was starting to remember why (inky black terror crawling up his spine, wrong universe, wrong universe, wrong universe).

“Do you remember what happened yesterday?” she asked, following him as he went to check the TARDIS on autopilot, looking as if she was worried he would collapse (again).

“It’s coming back to me,” the Doctor admitted. Still had a good four hours to go before the shatterfry process would be complete. He straightened his shoulders, trying to stand tall as he turned to face her. “Things got a little, uhm, unpleasant. I’ll do better.”

“Unpleasant,” Rose scoffed. “I’m pretty sure you had a bleedin’ breakdown!”

“It’s been a difficult regeneration,” he deflected, turning away, leaving the platform and making a beeline to the tiny kitchenette tucked off to the side. Tea. He just needed more tea.

“So, this how it’s gonna be, then? All that stuff about wanting to talk, but now you’re just done?”

He nearly spilled the kettle with the speed of his turn, brows furrowed and mouth falling open. “What? Of course I want to talk!” the Doctor exclaimed. “Just, er, what did I say? Before?”

Memory was still a bit of a blur. Successful energy funnel for the TARDIS’ growth tank. Vodka tasting different in a universe without potatoes. Reports saying: Correct universe. Wrong time - past. No contact.

“You don’t remember?”

“I said it was coming back to me, it’s just not coming in the right order.” he sighed, refocusing on the tea.

“Well, what’s the last thing that you vividly remember?” Rose asked, moving around him, easily finding mugs and sugar and milk.

“Thirteen days ago, creating a temporal disruption chrono-field manipulator. Needed to siphon rift energy for our TARDIS. She needs a very specific growth environment.”

“Thirteen days?! Wait, siphoning the-” She leaned against the tiny countertop and covered her face with her hands. The only sound for a few moments was of the electric kettle quickly boiling the water. “Our TARDIS?”

“If you want,” the Doctor muttered, lifting a hand, wanting to touch her, but then thinking better of it. He clenched his fist as it dropped to his side.

Rose groaned as she turned back to him. “Of course I want that, you daft alien git! But you don’t exactly make things easy, do ya? I spent years getting back to you, and then suddenly there’s two of you and one of you abandons me just like I was always afraid of, but one of you stays and I’m expected to be able to process any of it? And then for weeks it’s an effort just to give myself space, knowing that wherever I go you’re so close, part of me wondering why I’m even trying to stay away when all I wanted for ages was to be back with you. Then suddenly you’re gone! I still know where you are, but there isn’t a chance that I’d actually run into you. And I still don’t know what to feel, but coming here yesterday, seeing you … I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look so broken.” There were tears in her eyes. His nails dug into his palms with the effort it took not to wrap his arms around her, to wipe them away. “I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault.”

“It’s not. It’s my own fault. You haven’t done a single thing wrong,” he assured her.

“That’s not true and you know it,” she tried to laugh, but it came out watery. “I’ve been an absolute cow. And I still haven’t answered your question. You’d said some things about words being a type of science, and that you could say things here that you couldn’t in the other universe. Like you were paranoid, under surveillance or something? I think you tried to describe how your time sense stuff works, but you almost fainted.”

“Fifty-seven days without you and that’s what I was talking about?” The Doctor grimaced.

The kettle clicked off.

“If it makes you feel better, it was kinda romantic. The stuff about not saying goodbye and forever and blowing up my job.”

“Blowing up your what?!”

“That’s why I had to come here. You blew up the old Records Annex.”

“Riiiiight. That explains the drone bomb. It’s not like they weren’t going to blow it up anyway. Didn’t I help?”

Rose rolled her eyes before moving to fix both their teas. “We’ll get into that later. Right now I don’t even want to talk about us. I wanna know about you, what you’ve been doing these past two months. Because I didn’t even stop to think what this all must be like for you.”

Cuppa in hand, the Doctor led her back to the couch as he tried to think of how best to explain something that he barely understood himself.

“I was created in a two-way human-Time Lord instant biological meta crisis. Hundreds of years as one being, then suddenly two. Exact same mind, almost the exact same body, but different enough that I can barely comprehend existing in it. If you remember, the first forty-eight hours of the regeneration cycle are complicated and dangerous. Barely a few hours into mine I was dropped outside of the prime universe that all Gallifreyans are meant to exist in, cut off from all telepathic contact as the walls of reality continued to sway, slowly falling back into place. It’s been … an adjustment. Sometimes things don’t feel real, even when they are. Sometimes things feel incredibly real, even when they aren’t.”

“You had a nightmare,” Rose told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, thumb rubbing soothing circles through his layers. “I woke you up, tried to help. You didn’t think I was real. You thought you were dying, because you only had one heart.”

He tried to smile, and the action felt painful. “Sounds about right.”

“I’m sorry. If I hadn’t been so selfish-”

“There’s nothing for you to apologize for. I want you to put yourself first.”

“But I can’t stand seeing you in pain like this. What can I do to help?” she asked, a desperation in her eyes that he couldn’t bear.

“You’re already helping,” the Doctor sighed, finally giving in and leaning into her touch, lying his head on her shoulder. It was the closest he’d felt to time since they’d been left on that bloody beach.

Memories were still racing through his head. Energy coils radiating artron energy into a centrifuge. The smell of burnt flesh against the remains of a Bverni navigational system. Reports saying: Correct universe. Wrong time - future. No contact.

“The other Doctor said that you needed me.”

He laughed, but there was no humor in it.

“Yes, because he needs you. He also said that I was dangerous. I am. He is. We are. But you already knew that. It’s easy, you know, to yell at yourself. Not often that there’s actually a separate you there to yell at. I destroyed the Daleks, but we’d already done that before we met. In fact, so did you. The other me was lashing out, knowing what he would have to do but not wanting to do it.”

“That’s another thing,” Rose said, moving to face him, dislodging his head, “you said that us being here, in this universe, was the best, safest option. What was that about?”

“Something’s coming. Has come. Ended and began. There’s a massive paradox surrounding me in the other universe. Incredibly dangerous, potentially catastrophic. All I know is that it has something to do with a woman named River Song who claims to be my wife.”

“Your wife?!”

“I said claims. And she did seem to be telling the truth, besides the fact that what she was saying was entirely preposterous. My soul is entirely bound to yours.” The Doctor took her hand and squeezed it. “So I think I have an idea of the kind of man I’ll have to become in order to keep the universe intact.”

“What’s that?”

“A liar. If she is going to believe that I could possibly join myself to someone else, someone who isn’t you, I’m going to have to lie. I’m going to have to forget. I’m going to have to lie so well and for so long that even I believe the fiction I’ve created for myself.”

He wondered what the other him in the other universe would think, then, whenever he caught a rare glimpse at their timeline surrounded in gold, bound with Rose’s for all eternity. What kind of explanation he would craft. The Doctor shuddered.

“But that sounds horrible!” she cried.

“It’s the sacrifice he’s making for the sake of the universe. My timeline is dangerous and someone, something is tampering with it. You and I made one tiny little paradox and it almost destroyed everything. This one is circular, might be able to be maintained, but the scale of it, Rose. And who knows if it will even work. River seems great and all, at least I hope so, but I don’t think she has much of a handle on time travel. That, or she’s a manipulative psychopath. Suppose that’s a surprise for the other me to find out.”

Rose sniffled and he pulled her into a hug.

“He’s going to be all alone.” The words were muffled into his shoulder, his shirt growing damp with her tears. He cringed and tried to think rationally, that of course she would feel this way, that it had nothing to do with how she felt about him him. But then again, maybe it did.

“He won’t be alone. He’ll find someone. I always do, eventually.”

“B-but I-”

“We’ll figure it out. How to get you back there, once it’s safe,” he whispered into the top of her head. Maybe that would be it- what she needed this him for. And if so, it would be enough. It would have to be enough.

“Really?”

The Doctor nodded, not trusting himself to speak.

“So it’s not- you really weren’t abandoning me here?” Rose lifted her head, eyes brimming with a hope that had been missing before.

“Never.” The word felt as if it was torn out of his very being.

She cupped his cheek, stubble beginning to smooth out into the beginnings of a beard. He really needed to shave.

“I thought you said to never say never ever?”

“That was before.”

It occurred to him that he had tea, so he took a sip - it had gone cold.

“Oh, right, all the, uhm, psychic-kinetic-telepathy science stuff.”

He opened his mouth to correct her - she was very close, though - but was interrupted by the ringing of the giant clock. It was heavily muffled by the sound proofing adjustments he had made while setting up the office, but still audible enough.

“It’s eight now, yeah?” Rose asked, even as she moved away.

“Yes.”

She walked over to his desk, where the Doctor now noticed a pile of her folded clothes sat. He frowned when she brought them over to him.

“Do you think you could sonic these clean for me? I’m gonna quick hop into your decontamination shower.”

“Th- there’s a proper shower, it’s two floors down. First left, third right, door marked ‘Security Level Alpha’.”

“What, really?”

“Didn’t want random lab techs using it. Has a retina scan. It’ll let you in.”

Rose laughed, ruffled his hair, and gave him a kiss on the cheek before disappearing to get ready for work. The whole thing left him confused. He went through his list again, checking and double checking to make sure that this all was real . It was, just as it had been all morning.

More memories. Recalibrating the tower’s new sub-basement weapon’s vault. Burnt toast and no more jam left. Reports saying: Correct universe. Wrong time - future. Contact made.

It wasn’t fair that she had spent almost an entire day with him yet he had missed most of it. Still, he sonicked her clothes, as well as his tea. Finished his cuppa, and then had a second before Rose came back from her shower.

“Why’s there no one around?”

“Dangerous radiation leak,” the Doctor shrugged. “I fixed it almost as soon as it happened, but apparently there’s ‘procedures’. How’d you get in?”

She bit her lip, fighting a smile. “Mighta shot a few of your doors,” Rose admitted, picking up an electro-pulse blaster off of a nearby cart. Non-lethal on organic matter. Very effective on fancy doors. “Nobody told me anything about a radiation leak, though.”

“Classified radiation leak.”

“And why’s that?” she scowled, hands on her hips.

“Everything to do with time travel is classified to this office. Bethany is not being very cooperative about putting you down as a liaison-whatever. Please believe me, I wasn’t trying to keep anything a secret.”

“Oh.” Rose glanced over at the EEPEC, absently biting her thumbnail.

The Doctor didn’t know what she was thinking, didn’t know if he should ask. After a moment she disappeared into the loo to change, promising to be back in a tick.

It was a funny multiverse, really, that his reunion with Rose Tyler would be such a stilted thing. That it would be about him and her, but not this him. Acknowledged with a few questions after his health, sure, but that was just polite. She’d always been compassionate, caring for others. Rose didn’t see him as the Doctor. Not the proper one. Sure, she used his name, but it would be easier for her to do that this time around.

He looked just like him.

He was him.

But he wasn’t.

Memories were still coming. Adjustments to Torchwood’s alien tech retrieval protocols. Nutrition shots. Reports reading: Correct universe. Wrong time - past. Contact made.

He went through the list again. Still real.

Unless it wasn’t.

Unless he wasn’t.

What would have stopped the other Doctor from knocking him out and uploading him into a matrix? Giving him a half-life with a programmed Rose Tyler?

The air here felt wrong.

(Wrong universe. Wrong universe. Wrong universe.)

“Doctor!”

(Daleks exploding. “What have you done?!”)

Pressure against his hands. Why was it so dark?

The Doctor opened his eyes to see Rose in front of him, pulling his fingers away from his palms. Oh. He was bleeding. Hadn’t even noticed.

“Sorry, sorry.” He spun away from her in order to grab the first aid kit from his desk.

“What happened?” she asked, vibrating with barely contained panic.

“Nothing, nothing. Things just got jumbled for a second,” he assured her, efficiently cleaning his palms and wrapping them in gauze in a practiced motion.

“How often do you-”

“Hard to say. I’ve been graphing them. Seems to be stress contingent, but generally decreasing. My senses are gradually acclimating to this universe, so I have to hope that once they do, I’ll be fine. Perfect. Molto bene. No inconvenient lapses.”

“Stress? What h- oh.”

He didn’t like the sound of that ‘oh’. The Doctor clenched his jaw before facing her.

“We still haven’t talked about us,” Rose pointed out, approaching him slowly. Like he was a wild animal. Like he would hurt her. “And you … you don’t really remember yesterday still, do you?”

“Not really.”

His hands hurt. His body ached. One heart, and it was beating so quickly that he was sure it would give out.

Rose wrapped her arms around him and he automatically returned the embrace.

“Maybe I should just call in,” she suggested as she pulled away. “We can just take the day?”

“Or don’t and stay anyway,” the Doctor couldn’t help pointing out. “Some bits have come back, and didn’t they send you here?”

She burst into laughter. “Oh my god, they did!”

And it was beyond words, how great it was to hear her laughing again. To see her smiling.

But …

That was wrong.

Rose was upset with him.

Time didn’t feel right.

The air tasted off.

Wrong Universe. Wrong Universe. Wrong Universe.

The Doctor staggered backwards.

His respiratory bypass was malfunctioning. It was like it wasn’t even there. He couldn’t get air into his lungs.

Everything went black.

There was a shot of gold, and then a different kind of black.

“Doctor,” said a whisper in the dark. “The timer went off for the TARDIS. ‘M I supposed to take her out of that thing?”

A TARDIS timer?

TARDIS … timer …

The timer for the extended electro-percussive environment chamber!!!

The Doctor shot up from where he had apparently been lying on the couch and ran over to the EEPEC, swiftly shut it off, removed the tank housing their baby TARDIS, and then poured in the pre-prepared aqueous nutrient solution before inserting the tank into the quasi-dimensional artron chamber (currently set to it’s highest opacity setting). 

“Hah!” he exclaimed, punching his fist in the air and itching to switch the chamber’s outside view settings to transparent. He turned to Rose, opened his mouth to ask her, and then paused.

It all came back to him, all of it, not just the jumbled recollections he had been getting earlier. Apparently he had fallen into a healing coma, and it seems to have been just what he needed … but it all truly hadn’t been fair to Rose. Though, to be fair, she was currently smiling like it was Christmas, so-

Christmas. Healing comas. 

Huh.

“Shall we switch it to transparent?” the Doctor asked, unable to reign himself in any longer. “It was clear when Benny - quite the coincidence, right? - helped me set it up. This is a quasi-dimensional artron chamber. It’s funnelling in rift energy and centrifuging artron particles, and the end result in that chamber is the specific environment needed to properly grow a TARDIS. Well, along with the chrono-nutritio aqueous habitat. Benny describes looking into it as being similar to taking DMT, which, by the way, is completely inaccurate. It’s exactly like looking into an Eye of Harmony. If it’s malfunctioning, it’s like looking into the untempered schism, which I don’t recommend. But everything’s stable now, we could-”

“I thought I wasn’t supposed to look into the vortex?” Rose interrupted, and …

“Right … erm, well ,” he hedged, scratching the back of his neck, “I mean, it isn’t actually the vortex, but you’re probably not completely wrong. Best not risk it.”

Excitement abating, the Doctor slumped against the chamber and at that moment realized that he had been changed into jim jams.

Jim jams. Healing comas.

Huh.

At least these were his own pajamas, and not some ‘friend’ of Jackie’s, though how strange was it that he owned his own pajamas in the first place?

“C’mere,” Rose said, beckoning him back toward the couch, which she was sitting next to, but not on. Not your typical decision, but he had likely taken up all of the space earlier. “I made you some tea.”

It really wasn’t worth it, cataloguing the similarities between this and when he had first regenerated into this body … even though the list did seem to be growing.

“Perfect! Just what I need!” the Doctor smiled as he walked over, taking a seat next to Rose on the floor.

Silence fell as he sipped his tea, and he found himself unsure of what to do or say next. There was too much to say, and he’d certainly done a piss poor job of organizing his thoughts earlier. 

“Feeling better?” she asked, after another moment. 

Small talk. He could definitely do small talk.

“Mmm yes, very much so.”

“Better enough to talk?”

The Doctor coughed, having swallowed his tea incorrectly (bloody hybrid body, still acting up), before nodding. Rose moved onto the couch and he scrambled to join her. 

“So,” she began and paused, face scrunching up in concentration (it was nice to know that he wasn’t the only one who found this whole business incredibly awkward), “I guess … what is it that you actually want? Aside from a working TARDIS, that is.”

His brows furrowed.

Sure, there were plenty of ways he could answer that question and have all of them be true, but he had a feeling that she was looking for a specific type of ‘want’. 

Problem was, the Doctor wasn’t quite sure what that was .

“What?” he asked, in lieu of any better things to say (as the runner up response was to ask for some jam, or maybe a banana, or some of the takeaway from the shop down the corner and blimey, he was hungry). 

“This whole time, all of it, since you c- since you were- since you stopped just bein’ a hand- ” the Doctor had a list of complaints and corrections that he barely held in “- nobody’s asked what you wanted. The D- the other Doctor chose for both of us, really, and I hadn’t really looked at it that way before. An’ I wanna know. What do you want?”

Removed from the actual experience itself (and therefore not feeling incredibly, deathly ill), visions of the slight peek he’d gotten four days ago of his own timeline played in his head.

The Doctor grabbed Rose’s hand, weaving their fingers together.

“I want this.”

She smiled and gave his hand a squeeze.

“Care to elaborate?” she asked with a slight laugh.

“Nope,” he replied, popping the ‘p’. “Because as long as you’re happy, everything else is just- just semantics. I mean, obviously it’s going to be a bit dull until the TARDIS has grown enough for proper travel, but I think we can make do?” At least, he really hoped so. It hadn’t been going swimmingly so far, but the Doctor sincerely hoped that he could chalk all that up to the initial side effects of the meta crisis, compounded by all of the, er … technical difficulties he had run into while constructing the TARDIS’ growth tank. Also, his new hybrid body needed much more maintenance than he was used to, including sleep. Really was rubbish without regular sleep. Such a waste of time.

“So, if I were to suggest you moving into the flat?”

He opened his mouth, intending to immediately agree, but then frowned. The TARDIS was here, after all. And he absolutely could not move her. Not at this stage. Not until she could connect to other dimensions on her own. The Doctor looked over at the quasi-dimensional artron chamber, once again wishing that he could switch it to transparent and watch the process unfold.

“How moved in is moved in?” he asked once he forced himself to turn back toward Rose.

“You’d sleep there, shower there, eat some of your meals. Most of your clothes an’ stuff would be there. Y’know. It’d be where you live. With me. If you want.”

“And that’s what you want?” he double checked, trying not to telegraph his surprise - he must have missed a lot while in a coma, as last he knew they were teetering on the edge of a row.

Rose rolled her eyes, and that was much more in line with where he thought they were at, er, relationship-wise.

“Well, I don’t fancy living in a clocktower office. When I’m done working, I’d like to not still be at work, ta.”

She did make some excellent points … but still, it all implied that they would be staying together. And that was what he wanted, of course it was, but the Doctor still couldn’t help but feel he had missed something crucial despite the fact that he could now remember everything clearly.

“You blew up my job. ”

“I love you, too. But I’m still mad at you.”

“You’ve still got two beating.”

Maybe there wasn’t something to have missed. Human emotions were relatively complex, after all, and there was no rule requiring them to happen in isolation.

“Are you still mad at me?” he asked, realizing as he did that to Rose it was coming from seemingly out of nowhere.

This was confirmed as she blinked, brows furrowing.

“I don’t know. Maybe a little, but …”

“But?” the Doctor repeated, unable to stand the suspense.

“It’s hardly the first time we’ve had a fight, yeah?”

He nodded, unsure of where she was planning on going with this and hoping that he wouldn’t need to begin apologizing for every insensitive thing he’d said or done since they first met. It would take ages.

“Well, we always end up workin’ it out. And we did live together, travelin’ on the TARDIS, whether we had a row or not, so …” Rose shrugged, now examining her fingernails.

Speaking of the TARDIS, though …

“First things first,” the Doctor began, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood up and began pacing, “I want it on record that I would absolutely love to live in a flat with you, with carpets and doors and things. Assuming we’d spend much of our time traveling about, that is.” He turned back toward her, having paced his way back over to the TARDIS’ QDA chamber. “The thing is, it’s … I don’t want you to think that- the TARDIS. She needs me here. This is a critical development period. For the next three to six months, the TARDIS will be growing in the chamber, learning how to connect to and create dimensions. Until she can manage it, I can’t move her and she requires near-constant monitoring. Every hour or two.” 

“She’s like a newborn baby,” Rose commented, getting up and joining him at the chamber, where she stroked the side.

“Exactly.”

“Well, I suppose this’ll have to do then,” she reluctantly … agreed? “As long as we’re living in the flat as soon as she’s moveable, mind. The bathroom here is two floors away.”

“It’s a clocktower, Rose! There’s only so much space.” The Doctor scrunched up his face as he said the word. 

“Then why’d you pick this place? I know because of the Rift, but doesn’t it stretch further than just the tower?”

“Nope,” he shrugged.

It’s not as though he hadn’t checked. 

“Really?”

“Small rift.”

“Yeah,” Rose laughed, “a small rift right under Big Ben.”

The Doctor laughed with her, amazed that he finally could.

Then he frowned.

It was all a little too good to be true.

Was this real?

“Hey.”

He refocused. Rose was right in front of him, their eyes locked.

“You were getting that look in your eyes,” she informed him.

“Look? What look?” the Doctor asked, though he was pretty sure he already knew. Some sort of dazed tell, some sort of glaringly obvious indicator that his grasp on reality was failing him.

“This look you get when you start thinkin’ you’re in the wrong universe.”

Wrong universe, wrong universe, wrong universe.

“Well, I am in the wrong universe,” he couldn’t help but point out.

“Yeah, I know. Me too. But y’know what?”

Rose wrapped her arms around him, and it was almost as if she were his tether, grounding him to this new reality they’d found themselves in.

“It’s better with two.”

#TenToo x Rose #doctor x rose #pairing: rose x doctor #timepetals #fic: improbable multiversal transcending spacetime event #fandom: doctor who #my fic

[worldbuildguild]

Hi there!! So, this was a redesign for a swimmer-type character of mine that I finished just a day or two ago, and I’m pretty proud of most of it. I was trying to work hard on picking colors that harmonized well, as well as creating a more unique silhouette than he had before, such as adding the jacket around his waist. That said - looking at it again now, I feel like the design might be a little too simple, so I’m wondering if you have any advice on how to do character design while balancing simplicity/complexity? He’s a pretty bright and outgoing character, though somewhat naive at times, if that helps at all, since I know personality is a big part of character design. That’s the part I’m most concerned with, but I’m also having difficult balancing soft versus hard shading, especially with in the clothing - so basically, it’s all just one big balancing act I’m struggling with. Thank you in advance, and thanks for running such an awesome blog!!

A quick look at the shading, maybe i just have a bias towards harder shading, but i would amp up the opacity on your shading a bit, so that the light is allowed to describe the forms more clearly to your viewer.  As for the overall distribution of the shadows, in this particular piece, i would be a little more generous with the amount. Naturally, if you are having a day-lit scene with no pointed light or shading, the amount of shadows would be much less, but since we are working with a backgroundless piece, we can take liberties and make the light-situation a little more exciting. 

The complexity/simplicity of a design hardly ever determines the quality of the design as long as whatever elements are in the design are used to their full potential and with intent. Depending on the purpose of the character in a meta-media context ( whether it is used for a comic, a cartoon or a single illustration ) also determines the quality of the design in regards to how fitted it is to its intended use. So for what it’s worth, this character is by no means too simple. In fact, there’s some elements i would even remove to strengthen the design in its simplicity. 

You already mentioned the use of sihlouette in the design, and i can totally see where you are coming from with the coat tied around the waist, and i think in fact- that we should use that specific feature to make for the primary shape of his sihlouette. 

^ Above i’ve divided his sihlouette ( + some few key details ) into shapes, and ranked them accordingly to how dominant they appear in the design. Keeping these three rankings refers to the thumbrule of “Large, Medium, Small” which is used sometimes in characterdesigns, but also in composition. And it proposes that if you can strike a visually appealing ratio between the shapes frequency in the design ( Few large shapes, some medium shapes, more small shapes ), your design will come across as balanced. 

For this character, we’ll let his shirt, the coat tied around his waist, and his shoes make for the primary shapes, those who make for the bulk of the sihlouette. These shapes are easily identifiable which will make him instantly familiar to a returning audience, and easy to read by his sihlouette. 

The knot of the coat’s sleeves, and to an extent the shorts ( though not shown here for clarity’s sake ) serve as the secondary shape. Providing the “medium” shapes. And then finally the necklace and the knot itself bringing the tertiary shapes in, and rounding out the design with a bit of detailing.  

When working with shapes, especially those of the Large/Medium kind, i incline you not to be shy in exageratting and stylizing the heck out of the shapes you’re working with, since these are the shapes that will make your character stand out, even if they don’t have wildly intricate pallettes or detail levels (  in fact, in some of the strongest character designs, it is exactly the intentional and precise use of shapes that makes the characters so iconic. For an example like with Sonic the Hedgehog^  )

So as you can see, i’ve taken the liberty to go back to your picture and implemented the shapes we talked about before. In practice, that meant making his shirt baggier, the coat poofier so that it really stood out from his body. And making the shorts and clogs larger as well. This means that all of the iconic shapes won’t melt in with his rather normally proportioned physique. The shapes have now become enhancors of his sihlouette, to such a degree where, if we black the whole thing out - we would be able to tell the individual shapes apart somewhat easily.  - Mod Wackart ( ko-fi ) 

#submission #shading #character design #theredlinestation

[penmankendallinterlude]

Extensive Press Release

from the pen of Mat Smith:

PAUL KENDALL

Boundary Macro

Boundary Macro is the fifth solo album from producer, engineer and electronic musician Paul Kendall.

Beginning with his tenure in anarchic London post-punk unit Dry Rib and on through his respected studio work with Recoil, Wire, Barry Adamson, Nine Inch Nails and many others, Kendall has always maintained an acute focus on the intricate properties of sound. Each of his solo albums has showcased an approach to complex sound design as well as the darker, emotive side of sonic processing. His pre-lockdown live sets with Daniel Dickel as LeCabLe were noisy, highly sculpted improvisations that drew a connective line to his work on the grimy fringes of industrial music.

The impetus for Boundary Macro came through a remix completed for Downwards, the label run by Karl O’Connor (aka Regis). O’Connor was familiar with Kendall’s tenure as an in-house producer, engineer and mixer for Mute Records in the 1980s and 1990s, and sought him out for the remix of Veronica Vasicka’s ‘From Here’ in 2018. “He liked the remix I did for him and I remember him saying to send him some of my stuff if I so wished,” recalls Kendall. “I sent him the ten tracks that make up Boundary Macro. He came flying back to me having fallen in love with a couple of pieces and offered to put the album out on Downwards. It really was a seductive enthusiasm and I readily agreed.”

Boundary Macro was recorded after the COVID-19 pandemic had first emerged and our daily lives were suddenly put on hold. “I experienced a sort of creative paralysis from the start of March until the end of April due to early lockdown and an endless concern about food supplies,” Kendall reflects. “Around May I started to experiment sound processing apps on my iPad – apps like Borderlands Granular, Tardigrain and Enso. I was astonished at the relative affordability of these apps in comparison to studio multi-effects units or computer plug-ins.”

Having identified the tools to unlock his lockdown-inflicted writer's block, Kendall began experimenting with recordings of his own voice and the Leaf Audio Soundbox instrument, capturing hours of improvised performances which were then microscopically edited, superimposed and processed to form eight of the tracks on the album. The album was completed by the addition of two older pieces created using completely different methods (‘Distor ADIO’ and ‘Are You In?’), but which were entirely in keeping with Kendall’s May 2020 experiments.

It’s easy to see why O’Connor fell for these tracks. These pieces each have a latent energy, like industrial techno with all the familiar references points suppressed under heavy distortion, blocks of noise and an oppressive, cloying blanket of impenetrable tension; music devoid of any discernible certainty, made at a time when life’s certainties had become abruptly upended. The name of the thunderous, vaguely orchestral opening track – ‘Restless’ – encapsulates the mood of this album: sounds and ideas arrive, hang around, evolve, mutate and are then immediately replaced.

On ‘The Chattering, Class’, we hear Kendall’s distinctive attention to atomised detail, with an ever-changing array of fluttering, backward sounds and brittle textures, while a subtle hint of an exotica melody feels like lonely wind chimes in an abandoned landscape. On ‘InHarmonic’ we experience a characteristic disquiet, built from a dense and unswerving drone and pulsing signals offset by minimalistic, shamanistic percussion patterns. On ‘ReBurst’ rumbling, ghostly processed voices jab at you viciously, like a pissed-off demon roused from its sleep, its relentless onslaught buffeting you like a wild storm; in its wake comes a distorted, sinewy sequence, as insistent, angular and thrilling as a prowling heavy metal solo.

The concept for Boundary Macro unifies an approach that Kendall takes to both images and sound. “I absolutely love macro photography,” he explains. “Macro photography is where you magnify the minutiae of an object. It's a similar method that I’ve used a lot in sound design, where I take found sounds then exploit and zoom in on them.”

If ‘macro’ is the descriptor for Kendall’s process, then ‘boundary’ is about revealing another personal side of himself – his hearing difficulties, a condition caused by too many loud studio sessions. “A boundary can be thought of as being like binary, with its two states – on and off. With this album, the boundary in question is the one between my ability to hear and not hear. Because of that deafness, I sometimes have to rely on graphical representations of sound to ensure there’s not something happening sound-wise which I am unable to hear. It’s also about the supposed boundary between sound and noise, which, for me, does not exist. It’s also the idea of the boundary as a limit – but a limit to go beyond, not one that stops you. Suffering with loss of hearing could have easily acted as a limit for me. Boundary Macro is the sound of me going beyond that limit.”

Boundary Macro by Paul Kendall is released on vinyl and digital on Downwards Records, 29 July 2021 through Boomkat: https://boomkat.com/products/boundary-macro

Track list:

Restless

The Chattering, Class

Nowhere, A Twisty

Missing The Fierce

Contrail

InHarmonic

Distor ADIO

ReBurst

No Door

Are You In?

Paul Kendall solo discography

The Faulty Caress (as Piquet) (Parallel Series / Mute, 1996)

Angleterror (Cat Werk Imprint, 2011)

Family Value Pack (Ant-Zen, 2014)

Mechanical Generation (Vol. 1) (self-released 2017)

[another-sonic-blog]

By Accident Ch.3

Shadamy

6k

Based on the presumption that Amy found Shadow in stasis instead of Eggman in SA2

A/N: I know its being a long time ... 54 years may be? I can even find the the previous chapters in tumblr ...Anyways I hope you still enjoy!  I dedicate this chapter to @itsdaqueensposts because she is amazing! <3 She will be making a comic based on this fanfic, so I hope you guys will look forwards to it! 

Previous: https://another-sonic-blog.tumblr.com/post/619412011978309632/by-accident-ch2

.....

It was easy for Shadow to teleport to the ARK. Walking through the corridors of the space colony was harder than Shadow thought it would be. He remembers running around with Maria, playing hide and seek, and from time to time they would get scolded from the other scientists. The place used to be so lively and full of life, now it has been reduced to a memory in Shadow's mind.

It was strange for him, that things hadn't changed in the time he was gone. How long was it? 20? 30? 50 years?

And still, everything looked the same.  A space colony had its perks because it wasn't affected by the laws of nature. No dust, no erosion, no human intervention that could destroy the architecture over time. The laboratories, the unused white papers, and pens, the lab coats that were never used again ... Everything was left the same from the day G.U.N. came.

Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to walk around. If Eggman shows up, he could just run to their meeting point.

There was a particular place where he wanted to go since he woke up from stasis.

Maria and his favorite place.

When he entered the room, he couldn't help but notice the blue planet in front of him. Stars surrounding it and even a blue aura that made the planet look like paradise. It was so beautiful that it pained Shadow ... just a little.

He turned around to look at the room. Made up from mostly metal, there were no beakers, no test tubes nor burettes. This room existed for the solemn reason to appreciate the view in front of them. To relax and it was the only room Maria and Shadow could play around freely.

Shadow knew that it was never going to happen but a part of him still had hoped... That Maria would come running through those doors, giggling and smiling like she always does.

Did.

How could this happen? How did he let this happen? For him, just a couple of days had passed since he last saw Maria and now ... She was dead.

And it was all G.U.N.'s fault.

And his fault as well.

He was supposed to be the ultimate life form, he was supposed to be her cure so they could go live together happily on Earth.

"Shadow"

The moment he heard her call his name, the black hedgehog felt his heart stop for a second. He stopped breathing, his body began to shake and for a moment he really thought he was going to die. He let in and out heavy breaths as he tried to get lungs to his air. He felt like throwing up, his chest felt like it had been pierced by a Chaos Spear and his body was drowning in sweat.

It was as if she was there as if Maria had just whispered his name. He just couldn't stop the memory. It played over and over again in his head. Her words, her face ... Her eyes that hoped that someway, somehow they could be saved.

That G.U.N. agent who shot her. The sound, his screaming, the way he saw the lightscape her eyes as she fell dead to the ground.

That was her last memory of her.

Death.

He wanted to forget. Shadow didn't want to remember, it was emotionally and physically painful. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move and most of it all, he couldn't stop the memory.

He had never felt like this, and for a moment he was scared, terrified that he will keep feeling like this for all of eternity.

Maybe this was his punishment.

"Shadow do it for me ..."

Maria.

"For all of those people on that planet,"

Maria.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."

"MARIA!"

"I know you are not bad, I trust you Shadow."

Amy.

Shadow opened his eyes, as the voice of the pink hedgehog resonated on his mind.

Amy.

"He can hurt you, what if you need me to protect you?"

Amy.

"You will come back, right?"

"I promise."

The words came out like a soft whisper and as of art of magic, Shadow was finally able to breathe again. His heartbeat was stabilizing again and the sweating had stopped. He felt chills run down his spine and he was a relief to feel that his body was going back to normal. There was still a mild pain on his chest but he knew he just needed to stand still for a bit for the pain to go away.

He looked at the green Chaos Emerald on his hand, the gem that had taken him to this place. Now, he needed it to go back to her.

He promised her he was going to come back after all.

But before that, there was another promise he needed to fulfill.

"Finish this fast ... So you can go back to her."

.

.

.

"We interrupt this broadcast for an important news flash. There has been a break-in at the federal reserve bank today. Mysteriously, the only thing that was stolen was the Chaos Emerald. According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the suspect was identified as the world-renowned hero, Sonic the Hedgehog. The suspect was seen fleeing the scene destroying the reserve's guard robots in his path. Stay tuned for more details."

There was only one thing that ran through Amy's mind as she finished watching the news.

Shadow.

What had happened that day she left him at the Federal Reserve Bank? Did Shadow steal the Chaos Emerald?

"Of course he did Amy, you just saw the news."

Was he that desperate to get it?

But there was another thing Amy needed to focus her attention on.

Sonic.

The military must be going after Sonic, thinking that he was the one who stole the Chaos Emerald. Did they already capture him? Where was he?

Amy didn't hesitate for a moment. Although she had already asked too many favors out of Rouge, she just needed to know if Sonic was alright.

She was on the edge of her seat on the couch. She extended her hand to reach her cellphone that was placed on top of the small table.

The pink hedgehog was quick to turn on the cellphone and look for Rouge's contact phone number.

And she called.

There was a beep sound coming from the phone, the call entering but no one was picking up. The pink hedgehog felt a little bit bad at the moment because after all Rouge was a government agent and she was busy most of the time. Nonetheless, this was an emergency and Amy needed to eat her embarrassment to find information about her lover.

"Hello?"

Amy sighed in relief as she recognized the bat's voice. She didn't want to take much of her time so she jumped quickly to ask questions.

"Hey, Rouge how are you? Are you busy?"

"Well, just a bit I am about to teleport myself to an abandoned space colony but besides that I am good. What's up?"

The signal wasn't the best and this only happened when Rouge was in a faraway country. She never had luck with cellphones, such a bad signal for a government spy.

"I am sorry to bother you while you are at work, but I was wondering if you knew about ..." Amy made a pause. She didn't want to give away that she knew Shadow nor that he was the one that stole the Chaos Emerald. Because even when Amy trusted Rouge, she still knew that the bat took her job seriously and wouldn't hesitate to ask questions. "About Sonic stealing a Chaos Emerald and the military going after them."

"Of course, and I am guessing you want to ask where he is being held, prisoner ... Correct?"

"Yes."

Amy heard the bat sigh heavily, the pink hedgehog cursed mentally mostly because she was ashamed of herself. She knew it was too much to ask for, and knowing Rouge she won't give up that information to her so easily.

"Amy is dangerous ... I don't want you to go," Rouge made a pause. "But knowing how stupid G.U.N. is and that they will make this information public ... I can say that Sonic is currently in Prison Island."

"That's where I found Shadow."

"Oh? I thought that place had been shut down years ago." Amy responded. To Amy's knowledge, Rouge didn't know that Amy had broken into the base and met Shadow the Hedgehog.

"It was but a few days ago ... Something happened at the base, something got 're-activated' ... That made G.U.N. reopen the base and because it's on an island, that's the safest place to put Sonic."

A few things crossed Amy's mind. The first thing was that she needed to ask Tails for a ride to Prison Island and knowing her two-tailed friend, Tails must be making preparations to go there himself.

"Thank you for the information Rouge, I am sorry. I'll try not to bother you anymore," The pink one let out a soft smile and her heart felt relieved as she heard the white bat giggle back at her.

"Don't worry, you have helped me a lot too. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't because of you." Rouge said. "I know it's futile to ask you to stay home so, please ... Be careful."

"I'll try my best ... You too be careful," Amy was thankful for Rouge. Because although she acted like a big sister to her, Rouge always knew to respect her independence. "I hope to see you soon, goodbye."

"Me too hun, goodbye."

Beep.

The call ended and there was an emptiness in Amy that she couldn't describe. It was quiet, too quiet and although she was used to it, it wasn't something she enjoyed all the time. Especially after Shadow stayed with her a couple of days.

She didn't want to jump to any conclusions, not when she wasn't heard Shadow's version of the story yet.

She trusted Shadow.

And she was going to keep doing so until her questions were answered.

And she was gonna look for them.

.

.

.

Shadow was in the ARK's Central Control Room. Memories again overtaking his mind. Here he was, in front of all of its glory. Although Shadow wasn't let inside of the room must of the time, the scientists instructed him well about the functions of the machine.

The Eclipse Gannon.

One of Gerald's greatest creations. The machine capable of destroying a whole planet.

And the one who will help him full-feel his promise and set him free.

Shadow heard machine steps coming towards, he recognized them perfectly well.

"I have been waiting for you, doctor," Shadow said as he finally faced Dr. Eggman who came down from his machine. "Now I will show the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist, Professor Gerald has created."

Rouge was surprised that they still didn't know about her presence. Not like it matters too much, after all, she was there to get more information about Eggman's doing. What caught her interest the most, however, was the black hedgehog who spoke so eloquently about the ARK.

"To reactivate the machine we need the seven Chaos Emeralds. Once you have that, then you have the ultimate power of destruction to use as you please. And then the world could be yours!"

Rouge was very perceptive of things. Especially words. The black hedgehog spoke of a possibility. "Could be yours." Instead of "Will be yours."

Either this hedgehog knew more information than the things he is telling Eggman or he just didn't trust his fully yet. Although his way of speaking didn't make him seem like the insecure type. The world could be Eggman's ... But was there more? A heavy price to pay for it? A double-edged sword?"

"Hahaha! Sounds like a plan. I like the way you think Shadow!"

Shadow, so that's his name.

"I will get the Chaos Emeralds, use the machine to dominate the world, and build a legacy of my own!"

Well, it was time to get back to work, after all that Master Emerald is not going to build itself back.

"Do you really think it would be that easy?" Rouge came down from the ceiling, making her introduction. She loved it when she caught people red-handed. It seemed like not even 'Shadow' was aware of her presence early on.

"I've got a great idea. How about we make a deal?"

.

.

.

11:13

Prison Island Coastline

They didn't lose any time as the next day Rouge had already informed them of a location of a Chaos Emerald.

Last night was the first night that Shadow didn't see Amy. He had spent the night running around, looking at the city, the natural views, and the people living on the planet. The black hedgehog had to admit that he knew the reason why Maria was so interested in Earth. After all, there were many things to do, so many things to see and explore. The planet was beautiful but the individuals living on it were the thing that made it a horrible place to live. The humans would kill each other, steal, humiliate each other for material things.

Everyone on this planet was rotten, and it should be destroyed just like Maria wanted.

Amy.

He shook his head as he tried to forget the pink hedgehog. Shadow found himself struggling to keep his promise to Maria whenever he remembered Amy. Now it wasn't the moment to think about her, not when he was about to still another Chaos Emerald.

On the back of his mind, Shadow knew that it was necessary to eventually let go of any attachments. Because there was still nothing set on stone whether Amy would want to come with him to the ARK when the doctor decides to destroy the Earth.

They were in front of Prison Island. Ready to start their mission, it was fairly simple for Shadow. Eggman was going to distract the military, Rouge was going to get the Chaos Emeralds and he was going to place dynamite inside the base to make the Island explode.

"Ok, everyone ready? Shadow, Rouge, on with the show!"

There was no time to hesitate now. For the moment, Shadow had to live on with the idea that Amy indeed will come with him to the ARK.

She had to ... Right? What kind of idiot wouldn't want to save their lives.

.

.

.

Amy knew it was wrong to have left Tails so quickly even after he gave her a ride to Prison Island. Nonetheless, her heart was already thriving to look out for her blue love and the answers to the questions she was looking for.

In the port of her Prison Island, she recognized three individuals from afar. Eggman, Rouge, and Shadow.

Wait, Shadow? Just what in Chaos was he doing here? And what was he doing with Rouge and Eggman?

Rouge? She could understand. As far as Amy knew, Rouge had to sometimes side with the bad guys to provide information to G.U.N. But Shadow? Was he in danger?

"Maybe Eggman is forcing him to steal the Chaos Emeralds! That has to be it!"

Amy thought of many things but at the moment her only thought was to take Shadow to a safer place or at least to create a distraction meanwhile Shadow could escape. She had to think of something and quick.

Something that does not expose Rouge's position but that gives Shadow enough time to escape.

"Oh, Sonic! I thought I would never see you again! I am so glad you made it!

The pink hedgehog hugged Shadow from the back, she knew that her fangirl acting skills would come in handy one day.

Shadow was more than astonished, still not believing his eyes. Just a few moments ago, he was thinking about her and now here she was, Amy Rose was hugging him.

"Hey, Shadow I found you!"

It was another day on the Space Colony ARK. Experimentations on Shadow were done for the day and Maria was feeling good without any health complications. It was a pretty good day and because of that Shadow and Maria decided to play hide and seek.

"You are really good at this Maria," Shadow said as he came out of the darkness of the metal room. They were in their favorite section in the entire ARK. The room that allowed them to see the entirety of the planet Earth.

"Of course I am! I am the best-"

Suddenly the blond girl began to cough desperately. She placed a hand to her mouth and the other to her chest as it began to pain her uncontrollably.

The black hedgehog ran towards her as he got worried about her wellbeing.

"Are you alright? Should I call for help-"

"No, I am fine-"

Shadow knew she was lying and it pained him more to know that she dared to do so. She began coughing more and more but Shadow knew it was better to just stand and watch. If he were to call the doctors on the ARK, Maria would get angry with him.

Her coughs began to slow down and finally, Maria felt her heartbeat go back to normal. The coughs ended and with a small smile, Maria focused her attention to Shadow again.

"I am sorry, I am sure you want a friend who doesn't have health complications every 15 minutes."

"Of course not! You are the only friend that I need."

Maria smiled at him and softly caressed the top of his head. The creation of Shadow had to be the greatest blessing she has had. Her grandfather saw him as a cure but she saw him as her only friend and she only wished the best for him.

"Whether you want it or not, eventually you will have friends, and when you do" Maria bent down to look at Shadow at his vermillion eyes. "You must take care of them and protect them just like you do with me."

"Leave it to me! I'll take care of her. You two, go!"

Eggman's voice made Shadow escape from his trance. And the next thing he knew was that Amy was already running away, with Eggman going behind her.

Rouge was about to interfere when all of a sudden Shadow was already running towards the pink hedgehog.

She watched them from afar. Amy had no escape but Shadow had put himself in between Amy and Eggman. Rouge was baffled not only did the dark hedgehog ran as his life depended on it but he was in a fighting stance. Rouge didn't know the reason behind Shadow joining Eggman, but something was definite. Shadow was ready to throw everything away for the pink hedgehog.

Shadow had decided if Eggman took another step closer to Amy, he wouldn't hesitate to attack.

Even Eggman felt a chill ran down his spine as he felt intimidated by vermillion eyes.

"Shadow! What are you doing? Move out of the way so I can-"

"No!" Shadow interrupted Eggman. There had to be a way in which he could fool Eggman and not get Amy dragged into this. "Don't waste time, if you want Rouge and me to enter the facility we need you to take down the guards first. Follow the plan, I'll take care of her while you take care of the military."

It was weird for Shadow to take charge but in times like this Eggman really didn't think too much about it.

"Fine, but hurry up! It won't take long for me to get rid of the guards!" Eggman turned to face Rouge as he noticed that she had barely moved from her previous position. "You batgirl, let's get back to work!"

Rouge nodded and ran towards the entrance of the base, following Eggman. She didn't worry too much about the pink hedgehog at the moment. Besides knowing that she could take care of herself, it seemed like the black hedgehog could take care of Amy if the situation required it.

One of Rouge's talents was to be very perceptive and to her, there was no doubt.

Shadow and Amy knew each other, some way or another.

Either that or Shadow fell in love at first sight with Amy, which Rouge doubted wholeheartedly but it would be a lie if she didn't say that the statement could lead to an interesting story.

Shadow turned to face Amy, he didn't think too much about his current situation and began to ask questions himself.

"What do you think you are doing?" he asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing!"

There were a few seconds of silence between the black and pink hedgehog. Emerald and vermillion eyes stared at each with determination but the only difference between the two was the Shadow was the only one who had to hide something. He felt his stance grow weaker as Amy's eyes felt heavy on him. Even if the pink hedgehog was smaller than him, she had her way of intimating him.

"I know this seems strange, but I have my reasons." Shadow looked away as to try not to give too much information to the pink one. "You have to leave this island, it's dangerous."

"I can't! Sonic is inside!" Amy was almost on her tippy toes, trying to stand her ground against Shadow as much as she could. "And I am going to help him!"

"No, you got to leave now! Trust me!"

"How can I trust you when you won't tell me what is going on? Why are you here? Why are you with Eggman?"

Shadow knew that he was being extremely unfair to Amy. While she had been nothing but kind to him, Shadow was lying to her. And as if the universe wanted it, he was putting her in unnecessary danger.

"I'll go inside and look for Sonic, how does he look like?"

"He is blue and has green eyes and-"

"Got it."

Shadow turned around, as he faced the entrance of Prison Island. Eggman was already in and by the looks of it, Rouge was already inside doing her job. The black hedgehog looked at his right hand and saw the dynamite he was bond to place inside the base. Shadow turned around and took a moment to appreciate the pink hedgehog in front of him.

The breeze of the ocean moved her hair softly and the sunlight made her eyes shine brightly. Due to the heat, her cheeks were tinted pink and her lips were a rosy color. Strangely enough, this was the first time Shadow noticed these small details.

"I'll go for him and when I come back, I'll explain everything."

Shadow watched Amy tilt her head in curiosity but there was more than that. She looked extremely worried and that was eating her from the inside.

"I'll be back, I promise and I'll bring your friend with me."

Amy trusted Shadow but there was still something about him that made her feel anxious. He was definitely hiding something but what could she do? She couldn't force him to tell him the truth ... She had to wait for him to be comfortable to open up to her.

And then, there was Sonic.

"I don't know what is going on ... But please, protect Sonic and bring him safe to me."

The look on Amy's eyes was something that Shadow would never forget. Her eyes were filled with an emotion he couldn't quite describe. But only one thing was certain.

"She must really care about this blue friend of hers."

"I will," Shadow said. "Now please, get off this island."

After watching the soft nod Amy gave him, Shadow felt relieved. Yes, he can do this. He will fulfill this mission and deliver to Amy her friend as fast as possible. Shadow would do anything if that meant Amy can stop worrying about him and her blue friend.

.

.

.

It was easy to place the timer for the dynamite packs on the armory room. Only ten minutes, that should be enough for him to find that blue friend of Amy and get out of the base before the Island explodes.

Besides how hard could it be to find someone who is blue?

As he ran through the corridors of Prison Island, Shadow felt a sense of deja vu, this was the same place that Amy found him by accident some days ago. How many days has it been since? A week? two? More? A part of him felt numb, it felt like such a long time since things started to go this way. He was in a constant dream but at the same time he wasn't.

"I'll stop them as much as I can. There is a small airplane in the jungle, run towards the east and it will be there. If I am not there in within five minutes, leave."

The memory of him and Amy running from the robots flooded his mind. Strange enough, he never took the time to fully appreciate her words. Was the pink hedgehog sacrificing herself to give him a chance to live? Why would she do that? Why throw her life away for someone she didn't know? Why put so much trust ...

On a failure like him?

It was times like this when Shadow thought that destiny must be playing around with his fate, messing with his head. Because there was no doubt in Shadow's heart and mind before. It was true, if it wasn't because Amy had discovered him in stasis, he wouldn't doubt in destroying this miserable planet.

He was now looking up and down on each room of the base until finally, he reached an old door. Oxidated, almost unused. Shadow had to admit that all of this was strange. There were no guards, no robots nor military. He knew that Eggman had distracted most of them but this was such a big facility, it seemed strange to leave unattended a place that held the Chaos Emeralds.

Not only that but ... What was a friend of Amy doing in a place like this?

Shadow stopped thinking, there was no time for that now. He kicked open the oxidated door and walked inside the cold room. A few steps in and the first thing he noticed was the large room cell and metal bars that started from the ground to the top of the ceiling. A jail cell worthy of such a military facility.

And then, he saw him.

Blue and green.

"You! What are you doing here?"

How could he be so stupid? Amy's friend was the blue hedgehog he met two days ago on the streets of the city.

"It really seems like destiny is playing a joke on me," Shadow walked towards the cell, getting closer to the blue hedgehog. "You should be grateful, I am going to save you."

Sonic watched the black hedgehog approach him in silence until he finally made a stop in front of the metal bars. He then kicked two of them, making the bars fall to the ground and made an opening big enough for Sonic to come out. The blue bur watched in silence as Shadow entered the cell, he didn't trust him.

"Come out," Shadow said as he pointed towards the exit.

"No, I don't know what you are planning but I know it's not good."

"Look, I don't have time for this! Amy is-"

Shadow's attention was taken by the writings on the walls. It was everywhere, white writing plastered across the cell's walls. Numbers, charts, writings ... complete and utter madness. Shadow would have cared less if it wasn't because he recognized the hand-writing.

Gerald Robotnik's handwriting.

The man who created him used to be here, lived his lasts moments in this prison cell. Probably even tortured by the people who killed Maria.

Shadow couldn't help it ... He felt furious, his hands trembled in anger and his whole body emitted heat. The more he looked into the writings the more anger it gave him but there was another feeling inside as well.

He could imagine it, Gerald ... Writing away his pain, giving into madness little by little. His sleepless nights, the torture of having his research destroyed, and the life of his granddaughter taken away.

Shadow now knew what it was ... It was sadness.

How could he ever doubt? How can he go against his creator's orders? He just couldn't let Gerald's pain go without revenge.

And now the mere thought of not doing anything, of doubting at the beginning ... It made Shadow sick to his stomach.

He needed to do this. There was no stopping him now.

But first.

"How do you know Amy? Is she here!?"

Things had changed now for Sonic. He feared that the black hedgehog might be planning something but he had to put those thoughts aside as his priority at the moment was to find his pink lady.

"Get out of this cell right this moment or I'll take you out ... by force." Shadow was surprised that Sonic wasn't intimidated by him. Actually, he had a smirk across his face.

"I would like to see you try."

Shadow knew that the clock was ticking. But he would do anything to wipe off that stupid smirk.

.

.

.

Amy knew that Shadow had asked her to leave the island, but there was just something that wouldn't let her do so.

Suddenly, Amy felt something vibrating on her dress pocket. She knew what it was, it was her pink cellphone. The pink hedgehog didn't hesitate to answer as she saw Rouge's name appear on the screen of her cellphone.

"Hello?"

"Amy! Is Shadow with you still?" Rouge's voice sounded worried and accelerated.

"No, he went inside the base a few minutes ago," Amy responded.

"Dammit, he is not answering my radio calls. Amy, listen you have to get off this island right this minute."

"Rouge, what is happening? Shadow told me the same thing! I am confused, scared! I don't know what is going on anymore."

A few seconds passed where it seemed like an eternity for Amy. She heard the white bat sigh in defeat.

"Amy, listen ... Shadow is not who you think he is."

"What are you talking about?"

"He was giving the mission to put a timed dynamite pack inside the base ... and I am sure he has already done so," Rouge said. "We must have around five minutes before this island explodes."

There were so many questions going inside Amy's head. So many things she wanted to ask Shadow but she couldn't. What she needed at the moment was to act.

"Where are you? Are you alright?" asked Amy through her phone, more desperate than anything else.

"I am trapped in a room, I am trying to contact Shadow but he just won't answer me-"

"I am looking for you!" Amy said. "And I don't care what you say, I am going inside!"

"No, Amy wait-"

Beep.

Amy finished the call and as she was about to rush in, the entrance of another friend of hers interrupted her.

"Amy! Sorry, I am late I was having problems with the Tornado."

Tails Miles Prower entered at the perfect moment. Amy smiled at him as she made her way to the machine, ready to go on top of it.

"There's no time! We have five minutes to find Sonic and Rouge before this island explodes!"

"What?" Tails looked at Amy as she finally made her way to the seat behind him on his machine.

"Just trust me!"

There was no much Tails could do but to accept the words of the pink hedgehog. Not like he minds at all, Amy was a special friend and although he wouldn't say she was the most reliable, she was definitely trustworthy.

"Alright, let's go!"

And with that, the yellow fox and the pink hedgehog venture inside the main base of Prison Island.

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"I would like to see you try."

Emerald eyes met vermillion ones, they stared at each other's eyes and for a moment time didn't exist. Shadow nor Sonic were planing on backing away, and if Sonic was being honest he was ready to fight the black hedgehog. However, doubt-filled the blue bur's mind. How did this guy know Amy?

"Shadow? Are you there?"

As to break the tension between the hedgehogs, Rouge's voice began to sound from Shadow's radio. Shadow didn't respond as he felt that he didn't have the luxury to put his guard down in front of the blue one.

"I am trapped inside the security room. Have you placed the dynamite already?"

Shoot.

"Dynamite?!" Sonic said surprised and this is when Shadow knew he needed to take action now.

"I don't have time for this!"

How much time was left? A minute? Dammit.

He dropped the radio and suddenly Shadow went towards Sonic and picked up on his shoulders. Carrying him like a potato bag.

"Hey put me down!" Sonic screamed at him, trying to break free.

But he didn't, Shadow began to run as fast as he could, he needed to get to Rouge. If she had done her job, she must have Chaos Emeralds with her. All he needed to do was to Chaos Control them out of the island. After that, Shadow just needed to find for Amy who must be out of the island by now and give her the blue hedgehog.

He was fast to find her as Shadow kicked the door open and found her sitting down on the cold metal floor. There was no time left. He ran towards her as he noticed that she carrying two Chaos Emeralds, just what he needed to take them out of here.

"Shadow, wait!"

Rouge tried to stop him but Shadow didn't give her time to explain herself. She couldn't do anything but watch the black hedgehog touch the Chaos Emerald she was holding.

"Chaos Control!"

And the bomb timer went off.

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"Amy was inside the base! We need to look for her!"

Rouge was almost on her knees, begging the black hedgehog who had saved her to go back to the island. Shadow still didn't know what was happening, he could hear screaming from both endings. The blue hedgehog was screaming and Rouge was almost crying, something that Shadow was unknown to.

They were on top of a building and for the moment, Shadow felt like time didn't exist. Like the things Rouge said just didn't happen. He couldn't hear anything nor feel anything.

"I am going back! If you know anything from G.U.N let me know!" Sonic said as he was about to run away. "I'll come back and make you pay black hedgehog!"

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Amy and Tails were fine. They had made it out of Prison Island before it completely exploded. After getting scolded by Sonic, the pink hedgehog went back home with her tail between her legs. By what Sonic had told her, Rouge and Shadow were completely fine. She had many questions going inside her head and no answer made sense. She only had to wait and see if Shadow could provide the answers to her questions.

She had finally entered her home after a long day and she was ready to go to sleep. The pink one opens up the wooden door of her small apartment and without thinking too much about it, she closed it behind her. It was dark and the only light that could be seen was the moonlight that came across her window.

And that's when she saw him. His black fur mixed with the darkness of the room, but his blood-red eyes shone through the darkness. Like the small tint of hope had vanished from his eyes, they were cold and with no emotion. But then he noticed her and for a moment he couldn't believe it.

And there he was again. The eyes that Amy had become so fond of. For a moment, they had lost everything but now, small sparkles were created as his eyes twinkle. They stared at each other for a few seconds. The pink hedgehog waited for an explanation, not as to why he was in her apartment but an explanation of why he was looking at her as if life itself depended on it.

"Shadow?" Amy's voice was soft, she moved closer to the black hedgehog who was still sitting down on her sofa. " Are you alright-"

"I thought I had lost you too," Shadow's voice broke a little. He still felt numb, like inside a dream that didn't want to end. "I don't know what to do anymore ... I am lost ... I am lost, I don't know what to do and I have no home to go to."

For the first time in her life ... Amy felt her heart being ripped apart. At the moment, Shadow was the depiction of vulnerability. As he was sitting on the sofa, he was inclined and his elbows placed on his knees served as support as he covered his face with his hands. The pink one didn't want to say anything, but she saw how he was shaking a little, how his hands covered mostly his face and his mouth trembled a little as he didn't want to cry in front of her.

"I don't want to do it ... I don't but ... They took everything away from me ... My family, my home ..." the black hedgehog knew that he wasn't making much sense at the moment. But right now he didn't care. Many things had happened today, seeing how Gerald was pushed into insanity and the thought that he had lost Amy was too much too handle. Two parts of him battle and he didn't know which one was going to win. "But if I do it ... I will be taking everything away from you too ... How ... How can I do that to you?"

"So tell me, Amy ... What should I do?"

Amy took a small gulp and sat down next to the black hedgehog on the sofa. If there was one thing Amy knew about him is that he wasn't a bad hedgehog. There was no malice in his heart, there was just a terrible wound and a scar that hasn't healed. She didn't know the reason behind it but it didn't matter. Nothing matters but the hedgehog next to her.

"I ... I can't tell you what you should do," Amy placed a hand on Shadow's shoulder and with this, the black hedgehog finally realized that this wasn't madness. It was Amy, she was here, next to him. As if he had another chance to do, whatever he had to do. "But I can assure you ... That whatever decision you take, I'll be here."

Shadow didn't say anything but only stared at her beautiful emerald eyes.

"Shadow I promise you that whatever you do, I'll support you," Amy said. Unintentionally, her body began to move close to him. "I could never replace the family and home you had ... But I can be your home, your family ... So, don't hesitate. Do whatever you think is right ... I'll be with you on whatever path you take."

Suddenly, he felt soft arms embrace him. She was filled with the hope, the approval and acceptance he needed. Her body was warm against his, and he holds her back. Not wanting to let go, not wanting for time to pass, he will give everything to just stay like this forever.

There was no more doubt in his heart, he knew what must be done. He needed to trust that whatever he chooses to do, she will be there. And trusting Amy was the only thing he could ever be sure of.

"Thank you," Shadow holds her closer and Amy doesn't mind the contact. How long has it been since he felt at home? How long has it been since he felt like he belongs? Shadow didn't know, the only thing he knew was that he didn't want to let go of the feeling. "Thank you ... for finding me."

They met by accident but fate was the one that brought them together.

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A/N: I hope you all didn't forget this story. It took me so long to finish and it's not even that long of a chapter. Anyways, next time we will see more of Team Sonic lol.

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