#i have standards hahahahaha

[thingswhatareawesome]

just sr pathetic whining.

do just like i'm supposed to when trying swarm diff III. path of abundance, pres mc, qq, dhil, luocha. get great run of blessings. boss stage 1 pastes qq near instantly (even had the destr blessing to divide dmg), then couple rounds later gets dhil, despite healing. draws out to boss enrage (goddamn grizzlies anyway). constant enemies with lightning dmg, when i didn't have jy, ofc. and boss buff was gonna do shit anyway, bc it was going to create phys or ice weakess, which ofc i had neither of.

next run, take jy. still use path abundance. blessing choices are constant shit, don't even have the basic resonance yet. partway through stage 1, get a swarm i literally can't do enough dmg to to get ahead of the new spawns, sit and spin until enrage. and ofc jy dies. does that matter? no, bc this time they want *quantum* so i should've had qq.

so tired of the random bullshit in this event. you NEVER have the damage type they're going to want, every time you guess you're wrong. the blessing rng is all over the place. and ofc my shields just aren't good enough bc i'm sure i just should have gepard's super shields which i don't, bc i'm both f2p and standard only ever gave me one 5* and that's himeko.

i just HATE this event. i wasted so much gd time, to get nothing. yet yesterday i did so well on difficulty II and it was damned near easy. it's ALL RANDOM RNG and god i just want to destroy shit and i'm just again, so frustrated bc all i can see is i'm too pathetic and shitty at this game and my characters are too shitty to function, and all i see are people with amazing characters with amazing stats and i just WISH i could fucking have their relics and planar shit bc all mine are bad and it's not my fault??? it's what the game's given me? i'm doing my fucking best??? and it's just not enough.

just tired of this event making it seem like hoyo's gating me, that i'm not allowed to play with the big kids anymore. all bc just rng on top of rng on top of rng with a f2p cherry on top.

idk. not sure whether to retry it tomorrow with path preservation, or just give up and go back to diff ii and accept i'm too crappy to do any better (meanwhile everyone considers III ez or normal and only get challenged higher).

and yet again i'm going to be up too late. bc sim u shit takes SO MUCH TIME and ofc so does the swarm version. and i'm tired of not realizing i'm playing til 1am which means i'll be lucky to be goign to bed by 3. again.

and i think i'm the only one who hates this event, who's frustrated and upset by it, everyone else thinks it's fun and great, like it's only ME that's struggling. because i suck. i guess.

i hate that i hit the point in this game where i feel too shitty of a player to be daring to play. i remember when i got to that point in xiv when i changed from hey i'm having fun at this and i'm doing my best and doing good to wow i suck and no matter hard i try i'm always avg at best. and now i've hit that here, where i felt like hey i'm having fun i'm doing good if i do my best and keep trying i eventually get it to now just i already know to not bother with FH and now this just says nah i'm shitty and everyone else are meta gods and i'm stupid and take forever to learn, but no matter how much i do or how much time i spend learning, the game's still going to fuck me over by just constant CONSTANT bad rng in every damned aspect of the game.

why can't the game just give me a fucking break and give me the good rng it give other people. please, why push me down when i'm already down as it is.

and seriously HOW COULD I DO SO WELL YESTERDAY AND SO COMPLETELY AWFUL TODAY. ALL THROUGH ALL 3 PARTS OF DIFF II WITHOUT EVEN ONE DEATH AND THIS I CAN'T EVEN DO STAGE 1. i just...what the fuck even. tired of feeling like i only get to do well if i'm lucky and all the stars align just so. why even try if the biggest gamble is if the game is/isn't going to outright fuck you over and prevent you from succeeding.

i just...want some event rewards too :/ i knew i wasn't going to get them all, had that happen before on one with difficulty levels. didn't realize i was barely going to get anything from doing my literal goddamned best.

#ignore my sr bs #game sucks event sucks i suck even harder #just man yesterday on elation vs today on abundance so fucking different ends of the spectrum #seriously is it worth it to retry on preservation? or fuck if it did so great in II elation maybe?? #or is the rng just not worth fighting against and instead i should just grind out the event in II idek #hahahahaha had 9 standard passes so figured why not i'll pay the jades to do a 10 pull #and LITERALLY all it gave me was ONE 4 star light cone thats it that's fucking it that's all #seriously the my rng in this game is literal sludge it's toilet water bad my luck in this game is the WORST #esp standard warp hoyo makes standard warp hate me to a level i do not even understand #just one freaking 4 star light cone what a way to cap off a shitty sr gaming night #WOW NO IT GOT EVEN BETTER BC WHY NOT #figured okay i'll spend some jades and do a pull on dhIL's event bc don't have any eidolons for him #figured maybe i'd luck into one or at least one of the 4star characetrs and it'd make me feel better? #NAHHHHHHH lolol why did i even bother #guess what i got #one single 4 star light cone #AGAIN #i SERIOUSLY stfg there is someone at hoyo doing this intentionally #(i know there's not it just feels really shitty right now so it feels like that god why is my luck nothing but bad why #why can't i catch just one little break in this game #i swear i'd just skip it tomorrow if it didnt' rely on daily shit #like what even's the point you know? but nope i'll be signing in to have the game crap on me even more yeah boi

[thebibliosphere]

ID: A cropped screenshot from Ingram Spark showing various distribution regions. The highlighted ones are the US and the UK. The price shows 17.99 with a red exclamation mark next to it.

The next drop-down box prompts the author to set the wholesale discount to 55% trade, noting that this is the "retailer preference."

The author compensation, aka the amount the author will get paid for their work after wholesale discount and printing costs have been taken out of the $17.99 price tag, is shown as 0.61 cents in the US and 0.04 pence in the UK.

----

So this is a thing that I saw today when I logged into Ingram to confirm some metadata.

They used to list "retailer preference" at 40%, which is what they have made into their new wholesale distribution standard. You will not be able to distribute your books for global wholesale anymore after October 30th if you don't have your rates sent to 40%.

I don't doubt retailers would prefer if we sold to them at 55%. But considering myself and several others already have doubts over whether or not Ingram is actually showing our discounts to retailers (they've been caught showing mine as 5% even though they've been listed at 35% for three years), I'm just sort of sitting here, well, I can't accuse them of fraud, but let's just say I am not not thinking it.

Also, just a fun little tidbit, I tried to use my old ISBNs with d2d which legally I am allowed to do. They are mine. I own them. Anyway, d2d sent me a warning about how it would require me to work with them and Ingram Spark over several weeks to transfer the ISBN, and ahaha. Hahahahaha.

I'd say, "How do we think this is going to turn out?" But I think we all know.

We know.

#ingram spark #I fucking hate it here (late stage capitalism)

[sgiandubh]

Hola, Sgiandubh.

Mordor no debe estar muy contento con esas fotos que publicaste. Nos acusan de publicar recibos antiguos cuando hay un avistamiento Tait y, ahora, BIF y sus seguidores se dedican a rebloguear antiguas entrevistas donde ella hablaba del prometido "sin nombre". Ya se encargaba el magazine de turno de editar el texto añadiéndolo para que no quedara duda de su identidad. Como ese bloguer de IG que ha cambiado la secuencia de fotos y no ha publicado las que han causado tanto revuelo pero si se ha dedicado a seguir insultando a las #shipperscrazies. Manipulando la información real que hay disponible. Si eso no es reunir a las tropas para tranquilizar los ánimos no sé qué es 😆

Dear Rallying the Troops Anon,

Me alegra mucho que Mordor no esté contento con estas fotos, por supuesto. La idiotez colectiva del Otro Lado es contundente y menospreciar al adversario - la peor estrategia que pueda imaginarse.

But without further ado, let's translate your comment:

'Hi, Sgian-dubh,

Mordor must not be very happy with the pictures you posted. They accuse us of posting old receipts every time there's a Tait sighting, but now BIF and her followers are busy reblogging old interviews where she talked about the 'unnamed fiancé'. The magazine had already dutifully edited the text, adding to it so there would be no doubt about his identity. Just like that Instagram blogger who changed the order of the pics and did not post those that caused so much commotion, but who did continue to insult the #shipperscrazies. Manipulating the real information that is available.

If that is not rallying the troops to calm things down, I don't know what is 😆.'

Well, then - LOL. As I just said: I am very glad that these pics irritated the shit out of Mordor, of course. The collective idiocy of the Other Side is blatant and of course, belittling the adversary - the worst possible strategy.

But remember (hahahahaha), darling: double standard is a paramount policy of the Best Fans and the Only Ones, FWIW. They feel they have a license to do just about everything: repost things when reality bites and people begin to realize maybe things are not just as black and white (but rather more than fifty shades of grey, LOL). Insult people who dared question their honesty and/or intentions, with a ferocity that says a lot about their unsavory mob. And also play the ostrich, when people come to them with info like this very recent one:

The reactions are just priceless:

Sure, Jan, wherever you'd live (a 500 people village, somewhere, I suppose). Because social and business dinners happen on Saturday nights, since the dawn of humanity (where is McIdiot, on that Saturday night, since it's all so social/business? rehearsing Smooth Operator with Blonde Bambino?). And yes, of course, 'pictures or it did not happen' (it did happen before, btw, albeit with chaperones, but never with the multi-millionaire, successful music producer!), on that we agree, and it's rare - this round's on me. That being said, it's priceless to read (and almost hear) those banshee shrieks: 'They are not romantically involved!!!!!!!!!!!!' I spat my Coke, again and remembered this wonderful Terry Pratchett quote:

 'Multiple exclamation marks,' he went on, shaking his head, 'are a sure sign of a diseased mind.'

So, as you can see, that rally cry was also very, very far away from being efficient. As Cambronne famously said at Waterloo: merde!

One last thing and please try and not hate me for it, since I might have misunderstood what you really meant: there was no editing, as far as I know, of that interview BIF reposted. That name was always there, but once more, never uttered by C and just added for context by the journalist, when she wrote her paper. See for yourself:

Reading that last phrase tells the whole story: 'finding time that suits both their schedules is also proving challenging'. ROFLMAO. For Christ's sake, the 'intensely private' one ain't no Quincy Jones! And this is how you just know Tatler sugarcoated a very bland, unenthusiastic interview. A very common practice.

Salud! Don't be a stranger, Anon. You inspire me. 😘

PS: that banshee shriek was completely unnecessary. Anon just said they were 'catching up', nothing more (which immediately makes me think there was something more about it). Nobody suggested anything romantic. Pavlov's dog will always react to the stimulus, though. And thank you, querida, for the heads-up. 😘🙌

#anon #fandom #shitshow

[matrixbearer2024]

Hello!

I bursted in laughter when the reason why Reader ended in Hell came up! I know you said it would be stupid, but it was really a stupid reason lmao

I can imagine Reader and the rest looking at Lucifer and him just nodding sagely, like "yeah this is normal Heaven standards."

And *le gasp* did they h-hold hands!? How scandalous!

Vox and Reader meeting in Hell and just being together is so cute! I want what they have. I love their relationship.

Also, Reader and Alastor beefing was also funny! It was kinda like seeing Vox and Alastor beefing. Although Alastor doesn't seem to dislike Reader, since he said she has a horrible taste in friends?

All in all, it was a good read! Thank you for the wonderful story!

Have a good day/night!

Lmfao that bit with Lucifer is so accurate HAHAHAHAHA

Charlie just ends up agreeing with her dad because even the angels themselves didn't know what got someone into heaven the last she checked in with them so like it's kinda expected lolol

And yeeeeeah Alastor doesn't actually mind Reader much aside from finding them kind of like another Vox but less threatening and more entertaining to screw with. Which makes sense since most of Reader's beef with Alastor is the fact he keeps bullying her techno buddy boi. Mr radio demon isn't really wrong when he says she has a horrible taste in friends(he was making a jab at the TV man but considering everything that's happened and the fact her living friend group HAD unironically been the reason why reader met Vox of all people only further cements his point HAHAHAHA)

And funnily enough- Vox and Reader are all close like that but they have absolutely no idea what they're doing. Literally just: "Oh we're just really close friends-" but even a blind person could look at them and notice that there's something else that isn't friendship between them LMFAO

#vox x reader #hazbin hotel #vox #hazbin hotel vox #get off my screen series #reader doesn't know how to choose friends #they just go for anyone who'll put up with their chaos #literally just as long as you don't treat Reader mean they'll be nice to you too #also yes candy bar #heaven's fine print is hella sketchy LMFAO

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

I thought you might find the "watching" count as funnybas I do

Oh! Also, how well does Wales care for its lgbtq+ community, and how's the public healthcare? The USA is getting kinda iffy and I don't know if a boarder will protect us from those extremists. Always good to have a back up plan

HAHAHAHAHA fucking hell. The Daily Mail!!! Only 200 people!!! I saw the results of one poll said only a third of the country reported that they gave a shit about the coronation.

Regarding the rest:

Well, public healthcare is possibly fantastic compared with what you're used to (I know it is compared with the USA; not so sure about Canada, which I'm guessing is where you are? Judging by your mention of the border?), but the NHS has of course been increasingly hamstrung by the Tories for a decade. Better here than England, though, because it's partially devolved. So we don't pay for prescriptions, for example, which they do. My sister lives in England these days and has to buy her inhalers, whereas mine are free. (That said, she pays about £16-£17 per inhaler. No idea what that would be where you are)

LGBTQ shit - well, mixed bag. For the most part, it's great; plenty of homophobia about, of course, but only really in small and more insular communities. For the most part, especially in the big cities ("big" cities, lol) queer folks are pretty normalised. Last weekend was Swansea Pride, and the city is still drenched in rainbows like a unicorn threw up everywhere. On my way to the parade, my NB friend and I went into one of the Middle Eastern shops on High Street to buy water, and the lovely man behind the counter looked us up and down and said "Is it your day? Yes?"

"Yes!" I said. "That's right."

"Happy your day!" he said delightedly, and gave us a free cheap lollipop each.

And, like the rest of Britain, surveys show that most people on the streets are actually pretty accepting of GNC/trans folks. At worst, they just don't care. BUT, like the rest of Britain, there's an extremely vocal extreme minority who say otherwise.

But, none of my trans or NB friends have really had a problem, tbh. Standard micro-aggressions, like people not understanding pronouns, but very little of those are out of malice. The overwhelming majority are confused but well-meaning farmers. If you spend a lot of your time online, you could get the impression the place is riddled with transphobes, but in practice, that's not the case.

But, you know. Learn Welsh and the transphobes will come around anyway, lol.

Hope that helps!

#asks #wales! #closed for cleaning on mondays

[its-chelisey-stuff]

romcom hasn't been romcoming this hard since... GOSH I don't know?!! when was the last time I saw a romcom in kdramaland that hooked me this much? that made me think everything was perfect??? 2019?? wth?

sdfghjkl!!!! the way this scene was so random at first and now it has so much depth and heartbreak! ugh!!

The thing about romcoms in kdramas, that I LOVE, is that a really good one is able to give you equal measures of romance, heart, comedy and good drama/angst. That, paired up with good acting, AMAZING chemistry and just the right touch of fantasy is pretty much a *chef's kiss*. Is just everything you could ask for but were afraid to hope for, does that make sense??

HAHAHAHAHA I love that she is basically a liar and a terrible one. None of what she says makes sense (tbh telling the truth also wouldn't lol) but I love that he tries to believe her or wants to, very much.

Also, it's hilarious that her superpower is freezing time to avoid revealing spoilers from the future and she makes use of it in the most unhinged way:

GOLD! lmao

And with Hyeyoon on board, I knew this project was on good hands, that girl is seriously underrated in Korea (hopefully not anymore after this) but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about WooSeok. Like, don't get me wrong, that man is GORGEOUS but the only good thing of him that I actually loved was a movie. BUT after this, wow, is like all that experience he has, finally leveled up because he is actually meeting Hyeyoon's standards of acting here, and I'm so proud and relieved. I didn't know he had it in him.

Like, excuse me? Why do you have me tearing up at the start of the episode? And omg, to think he stayed away because she was angry and he felt so guilty, even though he saved her.

I'm genuinely optimistic about the outcome of this. We all know they will get their happy ending, but I'm actually hopeful that the acting, writing and pacing will remain this good till the end. What a joy to watch a wonderful romcom with the vibes of the good old classic romcoms from the early 2010's. We're so back, baby!

I am very curious as to why she went back to the present the first time. What is the trigger? We know, because Sol figured it out, that the watch only works at midnight and she probably only has 2 chances left to change SunJae's future as long as that creepy CEO walks around his school i don't think so But what ends a trip back into the past? Is it shock from Sol? Sunjae? Something happening that's definitely off-track like TaeSun asking her to be his gf? Aarrrghh so many questions.

#lovely runner #kdrama #kim hyeyoon #byeon woo seok #please god take all their suffering and pain and give it to eunseong from queen of tears lol

[folklorebau]

your instagram while dating eddie

ofc stranger things is set in the 80s so consider this an au! a modern!eddie munson fic feat. others … i honestly loved making this and i am SO down to make others if u guys want me too!!!! enjoy <333

PART TWO

♡ ˚୨୧���｡˚ ⋆ 🕊 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ 🏹 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ☕️ ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆ ♡

Liked by eddiemunson, robinbuckley & 70 others

@y/n: eds has influenced me too much.

View all 20 comments

eddiemunson: what can i say… i’ve always been quite the fashion icon ;)

↳ dustinhendo: you wear the same shirt to school everyday.

↳ eddiemunson: why do you follow my girlfriend on instagram?

robinbuckley I LOVE IT AHHHH.

↳ y/n: THANK U BABY <33

Liked by eddiemunson, elhopp & 38 others

y/n: i am crying. went to lovers lake and saw SWANS!!! and look at them :( they’re in love.

View all 13 comments

steveharrington: lovers lake huh…

↳ y/n: shut up and look at the swans.

↳ eddiemunson: head out of the gutter steve jeez…

elhopp: swans!

elhopp: cute :)

↳ y/n: right!!!! :’)

Liked by eddiemunson, mikewheeler & 80 others

y/n: living my rockstar gf dreams with the best 🏹 eddiemunson

View all 30 comments

eddiemunson: most important job of them all. love u love u love u my sweet.

robinbuckley: this is offensive stop it.

↳ y/n: IM SORRY.

↳ robinbuckley: ur both too cute i hate you both.

↳ y/n: we love u too robs <3

comment liked by eddiemunson

dustinhendo: my parents?

↳ y/n: PLSSS :’)

↳ eddiemunson: no.

Liked by eddiemunson, madmax & 60 others

y/n: guess how long it took for me to fall. closest answer wins.

View all 40 comments

eddiemunson: can i participate?

↳ y/n: NO. you were there… :|

robinbuckley: 5 mins

↳ eddiemunson: you have very high standards robin

steveharrington: i’m gonna guess that you didn’t even have both feet on the board before it happened.

↳ y/n: eddiemunson DID U TELL HIM????

↳ eddiemunson: HAHAHAHAHA

↳ steveharrington: AM I RIGHT?

madmax: i can teach you!!!

comment liked by y/n

↳ eddiemunson: she has a teacher already, max.

↳ y/n: stop terrorising everyone in my comment section. PLEASE.

#eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x you #instagram pov #social media au #stranger things au #modern!eddie #modern!stranger things #stranger things #st4 #stranger things 4 #stranger things 4 vol 2 #steve harrington #eleven #max mayfield #robin buckley

[razorblade180]

Stage reveal

[Teapot]

Paimon:Three hundred wishes! An indomitable will! One golden hair boy’s determination and not to mention 75 pity! It all happens here!!!

Aether:Nice intro.

Paimon:Felt appropriate. Though it might be anticlimactic if Furina shows up in one go.

Aether:That’s the point! *throws ten wishes*

Golden Meteor!

Keqing:You really think it’s going to be her?

???:HAHAHAHAHA~

Nilou:Judging by that sound…yes.

Aether carefully runs with his arms out until the gold light finally fades and Furina lands squarely in his arms.

Furina:Splendid! Simply splendid! Bravo in participating for my wonderful entrance!

Aether:*mutters* You had no land strategy, did you?

The whimsical girl completely ignores the absolutely true accusations, favoring to stand on her own two feet and greet the gaggle of people who attended this glorious occasion.

Furina:Greetings! I’m-

Everyone:We know.

Ayato:He’s mentioned you.

Nahida:More than that. He’s asked us all to help build you for awhile now.

Aether:She didn’t need to know that.

Lynette:My brother is gathering your flowers as we speak, upon Aether’s request.

Aether:I thought I invited friends, not enemies here.

Furina:Well, well, *turns around* well! It would appear despite your blatant shenanigans towards me, you actually wanted me around? Isn’t that adorable?

Paimon:Big talk coming from someone dedicated to letting people wait. You fell faster than anyone Paimon has seen. Didn’t even entertain the idea of making him “work for it”

Furina:I- I just happened to weigh the options is all! It was impossible for me not to arrive, so why not start off with a bang and allow more time for the real drama to begin!

She dramatically points to the weapon banner vendor. Suddenly, nobody but Nilou and Furina were having a good time. The only thing guaranteed was pain but yet they held join in the idea of things working out. Aether decided not to waste time and started lighting the sky with colors from his wishes.

Yaoyao:…Huh? *holds constellation* That was unexpected.

Keqing:That tends to happen from time to time. Congratulations. That’s your second one.

Kaveh:*holds constellation* What the?

Nilou:(Wow. I really do win today.)

Mika:*holds constellation* Oh wow. I got one too!

Eula:Now get five more.

Aether:(Why is my luck for characters better on here than the standard?)

Golden Meteor!

Kokomi:Heads up. It could be anything.

Furina:Ha! Anything!? The answer is as clear as water. *holds hand out*

The light falls straight down into her hand brilliantly. As it fades, Furina’s own gaze lights up as she brandishes her blade.

Furina:See!? Clear as water! (Oh my gods, that could’ve been sooo embarrassing!)

Everyone:(She’s trembling…)

Aether wastes no time in dumping more wishes until another gold light. Unfortunately …

Jade fall splendor

Baizhu, in the distance:Pull for me now!

Aether:Let’s all pretend that was the wind. *spends more primos*

Jade fall splendor

Bahizhu:Puuullllll

Aether:Not gonna lie, this hurts.

Nilou:I don’t even feel good about this outcome.

Ayato:So you’re giving me the sword?

Nilou:Mmm, no. I’ll just cherish it more.

After several painful wishful, the dancer gained her new blade.

Paimon:Okay then. Cheer up Aether! Now let’s use the remainder to get Charlotte! You still around 130.

Aether:*toses 20* I know it just sucks a little to-

Golden Meteor!

Everyone:…..*looks at Furina*

Furina:…..*reveals constellation* Praise my generosity! Let the good times return!

80 wishes later….

Aether:I just want Charlotte around!!! Is she at work or something!?

Tighnari:Look at the bright side. *holds constellation*

Aether:…Look, I love ya man, but you should probably be helping Collei. She’s drowning in coins.

Collei: *buried* I kinda like pressure if I’m honest.

Furina:Let me try. Clearly your luck ran out.

Aether:And your any better?

Furina:I don’t need luck. What I need… *toses wishes* Is an interview!

Charlotte: *falling from the sky* An interview!? Say no more! I even brought a gift for the occasion! *shows constellation*

Furina:Hahahaha!

Aether:*covers face* Unbelievable.

Paimon:Look at it this way. We can invite Navia to join us soon enough!

Keqing:Who’s that?

Paimon:This cool and sweet lady who holds…a Geo vision….

Everyone:Those still exist!? That’s so brave of her!

Navia, in the distance: Hey! Have optimism! It’s fine!

As fanfare died down and everyone went back to doing their personal tasks, Aether took Furina aside just around a hill.

Aether:Alright. Curtain is closed. I won’t mind if there’s something you wanted to get off your chest before I tell you the r-

Furina:*hugs him* …..Happy to be here.

Aether:…*hugs her back* Me too.

#genshin impact #gi aether #gi paimon #gi furina #keqing #gi charlotte #gi nilou #kamisato ayato #gi navia #gi baizhu #gi nahida #gi tighnari #gi yaoyao #mika schmidt #eula lawrence #gi lynette

[accioprocrastination]

Estranged (part 2/?)

Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x Reader

A/n: fluff, angst, grief

Summary: Rooster and his ex best friend go to dinner

The two of you drive in convoy to the small diner that you spent 90% of your childhood in.

Every time you look in your rearview mirror and see is the broncho he's had since you were 18, you feel a mixture of giddiness and fear.

"Why did I fucking agree to this?" You mutter pulling into the parking lot.

Without giving yourself more time to worry about the uncomfortable reality of this reunion, you walk over to his car and wait for him to clamber out.

You follow him as he walks to your booth - the third one in from the back on the right. As a kid you would always insist on sitting in this exact booth because this is the best location to people watch. Scooting in across from him you wonder if he remembered that or if this is a weird coincidence.

"What's that look for?" he asks eyebrows scrunched together.

"Huh?" You respond, trying to ignore him as you pick up the menu from the table.

"Why bother looking?" He asks eyebrows raising, knowing that you both already know what you're ordering.

"What if something else looks better?" you ask.

"Better than the world's best pancakes, what planet are you on over there Kazansky?" He teases.

You roll your eyes as a waitress starts approaching your table.

She takes your orders all the while giving Bradshaw heart eyes. You watch her walk away and glance between the two of you in your peripheral. She's debating whether he's single. Or whether she can take you.

"So?" He asks expectantly.

"So what?" You respond.

"Tell me everything that has happened since we last spoke." He clarifies.

"I drove here and - " You say and he kicks you playfully under the table to stop you talking.

"You know that's not what I meant!" he interrupts.

"Yeah I know..." You respond unsure of what he actually wants you to say. You haven't spoken to Bradley in years it would feel weird to keep things surface level and weird to be as intimate as you used to be.

"Things haven't been great since the last time we spoke." You admit.

"I'm sorry about your dad. I heard through the grapevine that he's sick again." He says reaching for your hand across the table.

You change the conversation topic back to him, asking "What about you, how have you been?"

"A bit all over the place. Work is great now but it's taken forever to get to that stage. I got married since the last time we spoke - " he starts summarising his life over the last few years.

You don't interrupt him but the thoughts in your head come to a grinding halt and then suddenly torrent your mind to the point that whatever he says next is lost on you.

He got married and didn't invite you to his wedding.

Mr Perfect married someone you've never met.

"How did you meet her?" You ask automatically presuming their gender.

"At a joint birthday party of two pilots I was stationed with a few years back." He responds.

"Cool." You say not bothering to sound less disinterested.

You know you fell out of touch but it hurts that he wouldn't invite you to his wedding.

How could he marry someone you don't even know the name of?

"What about you, are you seeing anyone, married, divorced etc?" He asks.

"You know me Brads, my standards are too high to date people." You respond not telling him that your life is in the exact same place it was last time you spoke, except this time your dad is dying.

"Hahahahaha yeah do you remember when Ryder tried to get you to go out with him?" He questions, bringing an uncontrollable smirk out on your face.

"Stop." You say to him with a giggle. "That was the most embarrassing day of my life it genuinely gives me nightmares thinking about that still! We were literally eleven - surely people have enough common sense not to do that at that age?" You ask giving Bradley a dramatic look that makes him start cackling.

You snigger thinking that no one at that age should have a total lack of self awareness to the point that they think asking someone out via a break dance routine is a good idea.

"He broke his fucking leg doing that and you still said no." Bradley is red from laughing at the memory of you trying to shield behind him while being serenaded.

You both stop laughing as the waitress approaches the table and you order your usuals.

"Shocking choice." Bradley murmurs as you went for the same thing you always go for. You roll your eyes at him, annoyed that he would have to comment on that.

Your phone buzzes on the table between the two of you with a text from Coyote, then seconds later it buzzes with a second text "Hangman". Bradshaw mouths from across the table.

You don't have previews on so all you can see is his name on your screen.

It is quickly followed by an onslaught of other texts.

"Do you want to get that?" Bradley asks.

You shake your head not one of those people who will sit glued to their phone when out with someone else.

"You seem close with Hangman." he probes.

"Yeah." You respond seeing the distain on his face as clear as day. "I take it you're not?"

He huffs.

"He's an idiot in the air and on the ground." Bradley shakes his head.

You open your mouth to call him the idiot when the waitress appears.

"Oh you're a pilot?" the waitress asks placing his food in front of him.

He nods totally oblivious to her advances or completely uninterested.

She's literally put lipstick on since she took our orders.

You're annoyed.

This feels awkward and forced and all you really want to do is pick up your phone and read whatever Jake and Javy are saying.

The waitress comes back to ask if everything is okay with the food.

You've gotta be joking, you think when you see that she's taken off layers to show some skin and has undone a few buttons on her shirt.

"Do you think if we stick around long enough she'll get naked?" you remark.

He raises his eyebrows at you looking completely clueless.

"Who?" he says confused.

"The waitress you dipshit." you say without thinking. "She's been flirting with you all night, you cannot be that oblivious." You add shaking your head.

"You jealous?" he teases.

"In your dreams Bradshaw." you roll your eyes, not admitting that there might be some truth behind that.

Part 1 in case you missed it

Masterlist

#bradley bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #top gun rooster #rooster x reader #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw imagine #tgm #top gun au #top gun maverick #tgm fic #tgm x reader #rooster fanfic #bradley rooster x reader #top gun hangman

[eldritch-spouse]

I had a horrible idea.

Fasma, somehow, becomes a trophy partner to some 50+ person who owns a small winery in the countryside. He's no longer in contact with Breg or the others, living a life of peace. They ask him to meet their adult child.

He does.

They're dating one of the Triplets, or Santi, maybe Gallon, God forbid Breg.

The shit they would have on him, he looks like he's about to have a mental breakdown

(Ludwig probably cracks a joke about how he's not calling him dad, and Breg would just be happy to see his friend again)

[HAHAHAHAHA SSBAJDBABS That's so good though.]

Ludwig would absolutely start laughing almost hysterically, he needs a moment actually. The two have worked together before, so this is as funny as it is ridiculous. They're constantly going to jab at each other, but never antagonistically so.

Obie is likewise going to snort and snicker about it, but he does have a neutral to mildly good image of Fasma for having helped his brother out in times past. He's okay with it.

Mervin will look you dead in the eyes and tell you there's no need to humiliate yourself by lowering your standards to Fasma's level.

Santi does an "Oh." of genuine surprise. He's actually quite happy to see Fasma getting some action in his life, sexual and romantic. He's friendly and nothing but a good sport to the ectoplasm monster, though does push for Fasma to humor kinkier things. He's concerned his old mannered tastes might get in the way of your relationship's intimacy.

Gallon's eye widens almost imperceptibly and he introduces himself to Fasma as if they'd never met before. Meanwhile, Fasma's sweating bullets, because this very bartender has seen and heard some of his most pathetic moments.

Breg is super excited about it! This couldn't have gone better!! He can only think of how advantageous it'll be to have Fasma closer, it'll be that much easier to keep in contact and seek him out to understand different things about the human world.

#Ludwig oc #Mervin oc #Obie oc #Santi oc #Gallon oc #Bregory #Fasma oc #pyro-raccoon

[local-void-creature-izzy]

ReWrite AU: SA2 Basis; Dark Story

>>> 21:02 Prison Island: Within the Base.

It was deep within Prison Island, when several metal doors began closing shut, alarms loudly blaring throughout the base, it was the protocol procedure for an intruder.

There was an intruder within the base of Prison Island, as the loud speakers came alive with a soldier frantically sending out warnings. "Intruder Alert! Intruder Alert! Security breach at Gate 3! Intruder has been located in the north quadrant, and is moving in the direction of the underground base. All units prepare to engage: basic emergency battle formations. Standard battle formations initiated. Locate and stop intruder from reaching the security area."

The intruder was reaching deeper and deeper in the base, soldiers and robotic mechanics not standing a chance against the intruder.

"This is not a drill! Repeat; this is not a drill!" Came from the loud speaker again before it was cut off entirely.

More metal doors slammed shut, but the intruder simply fired his weapons at the doors, blasting them wide open, making his way through the base.

It was no other than Dr.Eggman. "Hahahahaha!! That was all too easy. Now, let's take a look at what my grandfather was working on; a top-secret military weapon. The military shut down the research because they feared it!" Eggman boasted, jumping down an elevator shaft, continuing to head deeper and deeper within the base.

From time and time again, he had been bested by Amy Rose and her companions, ruining his plans of a great and glorious empire, and world domination, but not this time. With this secret military weapon left behind by his grandfather, he cannot fail this time.

His plan of world domination will succeed this time, no matter what.

The military base kept its attempts at keeping the doctor at bay, soldiers, robotics, every security measure possible, but it was nothing compared to what Eggman had up his sleeve. It didn't take long until he reached Level 7 of the military base.

Approaching the security panel, he accessed it with ease, the panel lighting up and opening the doors to the final level. Eggman stepped through the doors once they opened up enough, approaching another terminal in the center of the room.

It showed a hologram of sorts, it had to be the secret military project! "Oh-ho! So this is the military's top-secret weapon. It's a lot smaller than I expected. Hmm, "enter user data"... ah, enter password. Password is: "MA-RI-A." Maria! Now all I have to do is to place the Chaos Emerald into this console."

Eggman pulled out the Chaos Emerald from his Egg-mobile, placing it within the console. Once it was inserted, the floor opened up to reveal another hidden level, the doctor jumped down and as he did so, a large mechanical pillar rose up from the hidden room sealed by the console.

Eggman could not help but let out a victorious laugh. "Oh-ho!"

One top of the pillar, stood a hedgehog. His fur was black with dark red highlights, blood orange eyes gazing down at the doctor beneath the pillar. "Who are you?" Questioned Eggman. "Are you a friend of Amy's here to spoil my plans?! But wait, that's impossible why would you be sealed here then-"

The mysterious hedgehog spoke. "My name is Shadow. Since you were so kind to release me, my master... I will grant you one wish in exchange for something I want."

Before Eggman could respond, another alarm began to blare through the base. "Now what?!" Exclaimed Eggman.

Shadow jumped down from the pillar, the shoes he wore were in fact air shoes, judging by how he glided with ease on the ground. "Behold the true power I possess." Shadow spoke, taking matters into his own hands as a soldier powered mechanism appeared in the room.

On its own, it would have proven a challenge for Eggman, but Shadow handled the military enemy with such ease. It took only a few simple attacks from Shadow before it exploded into bits, the doctor was thoroughly impressed.

This bought the two some time to talk. "Destroying that guard robot with such ease was spectacular! So Shadow, YOU are military's top secret weapon, but what did you mean you would grant me a wish in exchange for something you want?" Eggman asked.

The Hedgehog simply told the doctor to bring him more Chaos Emeralds, as he walked away, he told Eggman he would be waiting on the space colony ARK, within the central control room.

This surprised the doctor, judging by how he slammed both his hands down on his machine while Shadow walked away.

>>> 11:08 "Desert Area"

Within the desert, there were two arguing over the Master Emerald; Knuckles "Chaos" Echidna. The last Echidna who had a direct connection to Chaos, like his predecessor Tikal, and guardian of the Master Emerald.

And a bat named Rouge, she was a secret agent for G.U.N. who was currently working undercover. She had an infinity for all jewels and gemstones alike, the Master Emerald was no different. "Just... let it go! You just don't know when to give up, do you?" Rouge exclaimed, determined to get her hands on the Master Emerald.

The Echidna looked at her with confusion and wariness. "What're you talkin' about, that Emerald's mine! You got that? The Master Emerald contains special powers that neutralize the energy of the Chaos Emeralds; that makes it very powerful -- What the?!" Knuckles explanation of the Master Emerald was cut off by a giant mechanical claw coming down and snatching up the Master Emerald. It was Eggman.

"Wha- Thief" Rouge yelled towards the doctor.

"Look who's calling who a thief." Knuckles sarcastically said.

"I came here following the signal from the Emerald. If I'm not mistaken, this is the Master Emerald, is it not?" The doctor muttered to himself.

Now having a closer look at the emerald thief, it came to a nasty surprise for Knuckles. "It's you…Doctor Eggman…" The Echidna was at a loss for words, it had been some time since him and the others had to see or deal with Eggman. Amy even commenting the other day how quiet it had been without Eggman around, clearly she spoke too soon.

"So that's Doctor Eggman." Rouge pondered, watching the scene unfold in front of her.

"Well, I guess I can use it for something. I'll just take it with me. Farewell, Knucklehead." Eggman waved at the two below, fully prepared to take off with the Master Emerald.

"Not if I can help it!" Yelled Knuckles, as he proceeded to jump up and smash the Master Emerald into pieces. Rouge screaming in shock and disbelief at how easily Knuckles shattered the emerald.

When Knuckles touched the ground, Rouge did not hesitate to start strangling the other. "What the hell was that all about?! And look what you did to my emerald!"

Knuckles pushed her off of him before she could fully strangle him unconscious. "I did that to prevent it from being stolen, you idiot! If it's in pieces, I can restore it. And by the way, that's not YOUR Emerald" Knuckles reminded her, annoyed she was still trying to claim the Master Emerald for her own.

Eggman scratched his head, for one baffled how quickly the two forgot he was even there. And two, what was he going to do about the now shattered Master Emerald. "Hmm... doesn't matter. I'll look into it once I get back to the base."

With that said, Eggman flew away, heading back to his base, leaving the other two to continue their bickering and fighting.

"I despise anyone who takes jewels from me. All the world's gems are mine to keep!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Yeah, well we'll see about that, bat girl!" Knuckles responded, as now began a race between the two, of who could gather the pieces of the Master Emerald completely before the other could.

>>> 20:22 "Desert Area"

There were multiple military vehicles and soldiers in the area, as Eggman had to destroy quite a handful of them to proceed to his secret base without worry of being followed.

It was night time now, as the doctor entered his base hidden within the desert pyramid. Boasting to himself how they were idiots and would never think to check the pyramid itself for his secret base.

Once he was inside his base, he made his way to room that contained a warp device to the ARK, along with a huge high tech computer monitor and terminal. Pushing a few buttons on the terminal, the computer screen came alive with the current news broadcasting.

The news reporter on screen was struggling to not show panic as they spoke. "We interrupt this broadcast for an important newsflash. There has been a break-in at the federal-reserve bank today. Mysteriously, the only thing that was stolen was--"

"--The Chaos Emerald?!--" Eggman finished the sentence in shock and awe, that someone actually managed to steal a Chaos Emerald from such a heavily guarded place.

"--the Chaos Emerald." Continued the news reporter. "According to eyewitnesses at the scene, the suspect has yet to be identified beyond the fact it is a hedgehog. With no signs of the world renowned hero, Amy "Rascal" Rose on the scene, fear and worry grasps at the citizens hearts and minds. The suspect was seen fleeing the scene, destroying the reserve's guard robots in his path. Stay tuned for more details."

The rest of the news report cut away to show something else in the news. "Sounds like the work of Shadow!" Eggman exclaimed, as the another news report managed to record the face of Shadow in its report.

>>> Meanwhile in the City

Shadow stood high on top of a suspension bridge, overlooking the swarm of police units below. Did they really think they could stop him? "Hmph, how pathetic." He commented.

Suddenly he got a sharp pain in his head, as he looked at the flashing red lights of the police cars. A memory from fifty years ago was surfacing, as it replayed in Shadow's mind. He clutched his head, in pain.

He remembered running from G.U.N. Soldiers. How they shouted for the others to find them before they could escape.

They? Yes, that's right. Him, Maria, and…Sonic…

He didn't know what happened to the other, where Sonic went. He just grabbed Maria's hand and ran, ran through the halls of ARK as its alarms blared throughout. Both were panting from exhaustion, and panic, but they couldn't stop now, or a worse fate would await them if they were caught.

His mind went white before another memory came up. Maria was dying, she had been shot by a soldier that was chasing them, as she pushed Shadow into a capsule, shutting the glass over the Hedgehog.

She was bleeding out as she leaned against the control panel of the capsule. Shadow desperately trying to break through it, but the glass was made especially for him. "MARIA!!" He had yelled out, panic, fear, despair in his voice as tears were unknowingly falling down his face.

"Shadow…I beg you….please…." Maria spoke, putting all her remaining strength into staying conscious.

"MARIA DON'T!" Shadow begged her to not do this.

"Do it for me…For all the people…on that planet…Goodbye, Shadow the Hedgehog."

Maria pulled the lever, ejecting the capsule from the colony. The memory then faded back into a white void.

Shadow pulled himself out of his mind, looking back down at the people below. His fists clenched tight. "Maria... I still remember what I promised you... For all the people of this planet... I promise you... REVENGE!"

He jumped down from the suspension bridge and laid waste to his enemies below, no matter how many they sent his direction they stood no chance against him. He promised, he swore, he will have revenge against them all, not just for Maria, but for Sonic as well.

He cleared his own pathway through the city, standing on top of a 6ft robot labeled Big-Foot. He was about to demolish it to pieces with the soldier within, when the comms within spoke a familiar name.

Sonic.

Shadow smashed the front glass of the robot, grabbing the soldier by the neck, slowly choking him to death. "Repeat that, Sonic what?"

Scared for his life, the soldier did as he was told, in hopes Shadow would spare his life. "P-Project Sonic! H-He has awakened too-- s-same as you! H-He's in t-the city outskirts! That's all I know I swear!"

Project Sonic.

Shadow remembered, Project Sonic was created by a friend of Gerald Robotnik, the one who created him, as a counter measure to himself. A fail safe that would balance or destroy Shadow if need be.

Sonic was a hedgehog as well, but he was a bright cobalt blue with emerald green eyes in contrast to Shadow. He was given his name due to his sonic-esc capabilities. He could run at sonic speeds, nothing other than Shadow could come close to his levels in speed. He had a sonic frequency scream, it was always a hazard risk getting him to test it because of just how high and powerful the screech could get. And he could harness his energy to create attacks he labeled 'Sonic Boom' and 'Phantom Rush', needless to say the attacks could do some serious damage at his level of speeds.

When they had introduced Sonic to Shadow, they feared they would be enemies, that there would be hostility between the two, yet it was the opposite in fact.

With Maria around, the two became close, very close in fact. The word that was muttered between the scientists was 'lovers' to describe the relationship Shadow had with Sonic.

When G.U.N. had attacked all those years ago, Shadow thought he lost Sonic the same way, but it seems he wasn't the only one sent down to the planet in a capsule, just waiting to be awakened.

Shadow mentally thanked Maria for her last act of kindness. He returned his attention to the soldier, who was trying to claw out of his grasp but failing miserably. "Do not lie to me, when I ask where in the outskirts? North, South, East, or West?"

"S-South! Honest I-I swear!" The soldier answered in a panic.

"Thank you." Shadow responded, the soldier having hope in his eyes as the grip around lessened, genuinely thinking Shadow was about to spare him. The soldier barely had time to process what happened next. "Now die." Shadow crushed the soldiers neck like a twig, throwing the lifeless body aside.

Shadow pulled out the Chaos Emerald. "South…I'm coming Sonic. Chaos Control!" A green light envelopes Shadow; he is pulled across the area at an incredible speed, flying directly through the city, heading south.

Buildings blurred by as he continued heading south, the closer he got to the city's outskirts, the more he saw destroyed G.U.N. and police units. Shadow knew this wasn't his work, and judging just by how half of the destruction was cleanly cut in bits, and the other half was completely smashed flat, he knew it was the work of Sonic and his screech and energy attacks.

He sped up faster through the destruction, reaching a building that was barely standing, he stood on top of its remaining stand, over looking the destruction in it's entirety. He could feel rage, confusion, fear behind them.

Sonic must have woken up alone.

Shadow jumped down to the destroyed streets, surveilling the area for any signs of life, from the looks of it though, it seems Sonic did a number on everything as the southern outskirts were dead silent, activating his air shoes, he ran forward through the streets. If the other was in the southern outskirts, then he just had to keep going south and eventually he would run into him.

Shadow ran through the outskirts for about five minutes when he saw G.U.N. surrounding someone up ahead. He snarled at the surrounding soldiers and their robotics.

When he got closer, his heart skipped a beat.

"We have you surrounded! Don't resist!" Yelled a soldier holding a gun. He had his weapon pointed at the suspect.

The suspect in question was a cobalt blue hedgehog, who had streaks of white around his eyes and a long streak across the center of his eyes going all the way back down his center quill. He had white marks around his mouth, almost mimicking the icon used for volume sound. In contrast to Shadow who wore gold around his wrists and ankles, Sonic wore silver around his wrists, ankles, and neck. His right arm and leg were almost like water yet still completely solid, while his left arm and leg had a white streak wrapping around them in a downward spiral wrap around.

Shadow could tell Sonic had overdid it with his screech, his eyes were hazy and unfocused, a sign of using his screech one too many times in a row.

Something in the other snapped, seeing the soldiers take another step closer to Sonic. How his blood boiled with pure rage, how it consumed him, as his own appearance went from looking like a normal mobian hedgehog, to the center red streak in his quills became scales, the other red streaks hardening and spikes standing on the ends, his pupils became slits, his fangs grew, and his tail grew longer, spikes growing down it as scales became the ending point.

"YOU GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!" Yelled Shadow, as he disappeared into thin air, the soldiers frantically looking around for which direction that yell came from. Shadow then reappeared in front of Sonic, keeping him away from the G.U.N. soldiers.

The soldiers panicked for a second as their leader immediately yelled to open fire, but that couldn't happen, they barely had any reaction time when--"CHAOS CONTROL!!" --a powerful surge of chaos energy shook through the ground, causing an earthquake…no it shattered the ground beneath the soldiers and they all fell into the depths, a painful descent as the Chaos Energy sent pure electrocutions throughout them and their machinery.

A terrifying display of power, as it was all consumed by a cloud of debris. When the debris cloud vanished, Shadow was catching his breath. He had used quite a bit of chaos energy in his fit of rage.

Suddenly, Shadow felt himself being hugged from behind. "This isn't a dream right…? I'm not hallucinating, right…?" Sonic asked, hesitance lacing his voice. Scared that if he let Shadow go, he would vanish into thin air.

Shadow allowed himself this moment of relief, with no soldiers in sight or no indication any more were on the way, he dropped his guard. He turned around and pulled Sonic into his arms, holding him close and tight, as Sonic practically melted into his arms, burying his face into Shadow's chest.

"I thought I lost you…" Shadow muttered into Sonic's quills.

"I thought the same, when I woke up all alone in those green fields…what happened?" Sonic asked, still not fully awake from the fifty year long nap he had been in.

Shadow pulled away from the hug, but held Sonic's hand tight within his own. "I'll explain later on the ARK. Right now we need to leave before more G.U.N. soldiers show up."

>>> 22:18 "In the Pyramid" : Desert Area

Meanwhile, back at Eggman's hidden base, Agent Rouge has snuck inside. Once she saw the coast was clear, she reached up to her ear and turned on her communicator. "This is Agent Rouge, I've located Eggman's base and will proceed to enter it now." She said, receiving a 'Roger that, keep us updated, over' in response from the G.U.N. Agent on the other line.

Taking a look at the inner entrance of the base, she noticed it was heavily locked down, the door that led to where she needed to go needed at least three keys to open. She sighed. "Hah...I hate to say it. I guess I'm going to have to find that key first."

Luckily she wasn't an expert treasure hunter for nothing, she found all three keys with ease, placing them in the doorway once she was back at the inner entrance. Once each key was in place, they automatically turned to unlock. Giving Rouge access to the innermost workings for Eggman's base.

Eventually she reached the room with the terminal that Eggman saw the news report from along with the transporter to the ARK. She approached the computer and began typing away at it, hoping to find some answers within its data base to what was going on.

"This device-- gasp -- it’s a transporter with its destination set to the ARK?! Wasn't that space colony shut down, over fifty years ago? What's he doing up there, anyway? Doesn't matter. It's my mission to find out what he's up to!" She said with determination. She typed in a few commands and then stepped inside the transporter, once she was on it, the transporter activated, sending her to its destination.

>>> 22:41 Inside the Space Colony: ARK

Rouge was not far off Eggman's trail, as the Doctor had only been on board a few minutes. He was making his way through the twists and turns of the colony. "So this is the space colony ARK. I have to locate the central control room that Shadow mentioned before he left." Eggman said to himself, he needed answers on what Shadow meant when he left that military base.

He began to make his way through the ARK, unlike before where almost every security measure at the military base attacked him, it was quite a simple walk through in the ARK. Shadow must have been responsible for that.

Soon the doctor was at the center control room, where Shadow stood in front of a terminal with a weird device hooked up to it, and…he wasn't alone. "Shadow! What's the meaning of this?!" Eggman questioned.

The two hedgehogs turned around. Shadow taking the first initiative. "I've been waiting for you Doctor." He spoke, turning around and offering his hand to the mysterious blue hedgehog, who was clearly on the defensive towards Eggman, but clearly trusted Shadow. The doctor couldn't help but wonder who he was and what he had to do with Shadow. "Allow me to introduce you to my other half, Sonic. I'm not surprised he was not in the database of your research, they corrupted all his files in the system." Shadow explained.

"Your, other half? What does that mean exactly Shadow, that doesn't explain what you meant when you left the military base." Eggman further questioned.

"It means that he's my equal. You don't need to know anymore than that. Now, I will show the glorious achievement of what the world's leading scientist - Professor Gerald has created." Shadow exclaimed.

On cue, the device behind the two hedgehogs came alive. The doctor stared in awe as the device came online. This time, the blue hedgehog known as Sonic spoke, Eggman was surprised, for a second he considered the other couldn't talk. "The ARK was the first space colony created by mankind. Not many people know that the ARK contained a top-secret research facility, where weapons of mass destruction were being created. This is one of them; a weapon capable of destroying an entire planet. Codenamed: "The Eclipse Cannon." Sonic explained.

The doctor couldn't believe his ears or eyes. "Destroying an entire planet...? Was this my grandfather's legacy?"

"But, it's been deactivated for some time now…" Shadow stated.

Shadow pulled out the chaos emerald he had stolen from the federal-reserve bank, tossing it into one of the seven slots on the device. It fit perfectly in and the device loudly hummed as the chaos energy pulsed through it, giving it more power.

"To reactivate it... large amounts of energy are necessary." Shadow explained.

Suddenly it all made sense to the doctor. "Oh, so that's why we needed the Chaos Emerald. But what about that one thing in exchange?"

"Exactly. 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. As for your follow up question, I have no more need for that exchange, what I needed is here with me now." Shadow vaguely explained, but Eggman could tell he was referring to Sonic, with how his body language kept ensuring Sonic stayed behind him, the other seemed fine with that, not wanting to be involved in the whole ordeal, clearly he has seen some things to warrant the trust issues.

Eggman burst into a joyful laughter. "Hahahahahaha!! Sounds like a plan! I like the way you think, Shadow! I will get the Chaos Emeralds, use the machine to dominate the world and build a legacy of my own!" With this cannon, his empire can finally come into being, and no one can stop him, not even that pesky Amy Rose!

"Do you really think it will be that easy?" A new voice from above spoke, having all three look up to the ceiling. It was Rouge, who was gracefully gliding down from where she was hidden.

Once she was within listening distance, she started talking. "I've got a great idea! How about making a deal?" She suggested.

"A…deal?" Eggman questioned.

"When you grabbed that huge Emerald, you said something about a reaction; a reaction that it may have with the Master Emerald. Now, if you could just let me borrow that radar, I may be able to help you. What do you think?" Rouge elaborated, a cunning smile on her face.

But Eggman was still suspicious. "If I do... what's in it for me?"

Success, she had him right where she wanted him. "I have an idea where the other Chaos Emeralds may be. I may not look like it, but do you know that I am a treasure hunter that specializes in all kinds of jewels?"

With that said, Rouge pulled out a chaos emerald from within her coat, leaving Eggman stunned. How in the world did she snatch a chaos emerald, not knowing what to say, Eggman looked towards Shadow.

Shadow simply nodded in agreement to Rouge's terms. So with everyone in agreement, Eggman turned his attention back to Rouge. "Very well."

"Okay then, it's a deal. I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Rouge the Bat. But, you can call me Rouge." She introduced herself as her and Eggman left the central control room to discuss further details and to give Rouge access to the radar, leaving the two hedgehogs alone.

"You sure were vague with the Doctor." Sonic said to the other.

"If at any point he becomes a traitor, I don't want him having an advantage over us." Shadow responded.

Sonic was touched, leaning his head on Shadow's shoulder. "Nothing my screech can't handle -- sigh-- you're really going through with this?" Sonic asked, needing to know for certain if this is what Shadow wanted.

"I promised, that day this is what I promised. Now, I can go through knowing her last act of kindness was not in vain." Shadow said, turning to face the other, with his free hand he rested it against Sonic's cheek, watching how Sonic melted into his touch. He leaned his forehead against Sonic's, just taking in the moment, letting himself forget the outside world, only focusing on Sonic.

"Those chaos emeralds aren't going to collect themselves now, where do we begin?" Sonic asked, no matter what happens, he'll have Shadow's back.

Shadow was grateful that through it all, he still had Sonic. "Prison Island, we'll set off before noon."

>>> 11:13 "Prison Island: Coastline"

The four were now within a forest of Prison Island, Eggman was not exactly pleased about being back here after the last time.

"Having to come back isn't my idea of a vacation! How can you be sure your intelligence reports are correct? Why would the Chaos Emeralds be here on the island? Are you absolutely sure?!" Eggman heavily questioned Rouge, who had been the one to lead them back here for the chaos emeralds.

"Well, believe what you wanna believe." Was all Rouge said, shrugging her shoulders. But her confidence is what made the doctor calm down enough to think.

"Hmm, very well. Let's discuss how we are going to do this. I will go in first and distract the military troupes, allowing you to sneak in the base without being detected." The doctor began to explain, he then pointed at Shadow. "Then, Shadow will... enter the armory, where he will set the timer on these dynamite packs. Once that is in place, we will blow up the whole island before anyone has a chance to know what hit them!" He then pointed to Rouge. "Meanwhile, you will sneak into the cargo area and grab the Chaos Emeralds. That's a challenge for such a worthy treasure hunter as yourself, isn't it bat-girl?"

Rouge simply saluted with a wink towards Eggman.

"Don't think I forgot about you, Sonic." Eggman then pointed his attention to the cobalt blue hedgehog. "I have a sneaky suspicion a thorn in my side will show up and try to stop us. I want you to be on the look out for them." Eggman explained.

Sonic looked at the other with a arched eyebrow. "And this thorn in your side is??" He dragged out, emphasizing for Eggman to further elaborate who he was talking about.

"Her name is Amy "Rascal" Rose, she's a hedgehog like you, a pink one, and you could say she's the hero of this world. She's been nothing but a thorn in my side with her companions, an echidna named Knuckles, and a twin tailed fox named Tails. Your job will be to keep them from disrupting our plans before the island blows up, got it?" Eggman concluded.

Sonic just nodded.

"We only have thirteen minutes to pull this mission off, and we only get one try; so don't fail me!" With that final statement from Eggman, everyone left in separate directions.

The first step of the plan was going accordingly, the military troupes put all their attention on Eggman and his path of destruction, that the other three went completely unnoticed. Eventually Eggman had cleared out the entire port of the base.

This allowed him to regroup with Sonic, who was at the other end of take off zone of a G.U.N. battleship, Shadow and Rouge had already snuck inside, so he was left to stay watch.

>>> On the G.U.N. Battleship

"Okay, everyone ready? Shadow, Rouge, on with the show!" Eggman spoke into the comms. Just as the doctor finished his sentence, a hauntingly familiar hammer came flying towards him from behind, the only reason it didn't hit him was because Sonic reacted much quicker and kicked it away mid air.

"I knew you were behind this, Eggman!" It was her, Eggman couldn't mistake that voice anywhere, as he turned around in his Egg-Mobile. Sure enough, there was Amy, in her iconic red headband and her playing card styled dress.

"What are you doing here on a military base?!" She demanded, clearly he was up to no good as usual, but never to this extent.

"I'm the one who should be asking that question! Never mind that, I have more important matters to attend to, she's all yours Sonic, don't let me down." Eggman said, taking off in the opposite direction of the two.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" Amy yelled, as she tried to give chase after Eggman, but was stopped by Sonic cutting in front of her. "What the- he's so fast…" Amy whispered in awe at the blue hedgehog's speed.

"That hammer of yours in no joke, I hope you can put up a good fight." Sonic said, before taking off at his high speeds, attacking Amy from every side.

Amy was quick with her reactions, while she had trouble keeping her eyes on the blue blur, she could sense when he stopped to attack and she could then block him with her hammer. But currently that's all she could do, was block. The other was purposely trying to keep her from being able to properly dodge or attack.

It was sooner than later that he kicked her hammer out of her hands, and had his hand at her throat, prepared to stab through if she tried anything funny. "You're very impressive, only one other can block my speed attacks." He praised.

"Why?" Amy asked, panting from the constant attacks. "Why are you working with Eggman of all people? Don't you know he's the bad guy? And why don't you kill me?"

The question made Sonic hesitate, a barely visible startle came out of him. "My orders were to keep you at bay, not kill you." Sonic answered.

But that didn't answer Amy's other question. "You don't look like a bad guy, so why are you helping one?" She asked again.

"I'm not helping HIM. Don't compare me to the likes of him." Sonic spat, clearly she hit a nerve there. But if he isn't helping Eggman like he claims then who?

In his eyes, Amy could see confusion, hurt, scared even. But most of all, she could see doubt in those emerald green eyes. " --deep breath-- Why don't you help me stop him? You really look like you have a kind heart, so why not team up and defeat Eggman together?" She asked, slowly offering her hand to the other, a gentle smile on her face.

Sonic clearly didn't expect this supposed "thorn" in Eggman's side to offer him kindness and compassion. He dropped his hand from where he had it pointed at her neck, her kindness reminded him of someone familiar…her smile, it was like Maria's.

"I see why you're the hero of this world, your compassion is boundless." He said, Amy taken aback by the statement.

"I just believe everyone deserves a second chance if they are willing to try." She responded.

For a moment, Sonic considered the offer, taking her hand, but he smacked it away. Surprising the other. "Unfortunately, you may not show my equal the same compassion. I will not fall victim to your tricks and deceptions."

Sonic jumped back, and was prepared to attack, when a vehicle suddenly landed between them. It was the twin tailed fox Eggman had mentioned, Tails.

"Boy, am I glad to see you! You're timing couldn't be more perfect Tails!" Amy boistered, relief that Tails showed up in the knick of time.

The fox wore a technical visor on his left eye, along with a dark blue jacket. "You're the one that was impatient and couldn't wait for my map to load in." Tails said sarcastically. Amy letting out a nervous laugh, as she shrugged in response to Tails. "Leave him to me Amy, you go after Eggman!"

"Roger that Tails." Amy took off after that, grabbing her hammer and leaving the mysterious hedgehog to Tails.

>>> In the Security Hall

"I'm in position, doctor. Tell me when." Shadow spoke from his comms, waiting for the signal to set the timer on the explosive.

"There's been an unexpected delay on my end. There's no more time to waste. Set the timer for 15 minutes! Let's go, Rouge!" Eggman yelled from his comms, you could clearly hear him being chased by more military troupes in the background.

"Five minutes should be plenty! Here I go!" Rouge exclaimed, having entered the secured storage room with ease. With a leap, she landed on the walkway of the storage room from where she had hidden, and began her search immediately.

Sure enough, five minutes was more than plenty, as in two minutes she had found all three chaos emeralds that had been hidden and stored away on the base. Honestly it felt too easy, and she would be correct.

As when you was just about to leave the storage room, a large military robot appeared and blocked her escape. Flying dog could be read on its side. "Looks like I'll have to get my hands dirty for this one." She said, hiding away the chaos emeralds, and prepared to fight the robot.

It was big, but it was no match for Rouge and her cunning skills, it didn't stand a chance against her

Air-born attacks and soon collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Unfortunately, sometime during the fight, the room got locked down, it was sealed tight with no way out. She couldn't die here, not when she was so close. "This is Rouge. I've got a small problem... I can't believe that I'm trapped inside this locked safe with the Chaos Emeralds! I guess I won't be able to call myself a treasure hunter anymore…" She spoke into her comm, unwillingly admitting defeat.

>>> In the White Jungle

The one that caught this first, was Shadow who had been walking back through the jungle.One of the dynamite packs that Shadow set is at "00:09:54" until its detonation. Shadow pauses, thinking of Rouge, and then he recalls how Maria was in the same situation; laying helpless against a wall, waiting for her own inevitable death to come.

"Ah... shoot. Troublemaker!" He said, turning around and heading back to the base for Rouge and the chaos emeralds.

He flew through the jungle at record speed, he was nearly back at the base when he got met with an obstacle. That pink hedgehog Eggman warned them about.

She looked up at where Shadow stood on a tree branch. "Are you that guy's friend? The one he called his equal?" She asked, but was on the defensive, prepared to attack. Just like Sonic, this guy looked like no joke but unlike Sonic, this one looked fully ready to kill without hesitation.

"You dare speak of him? Hah! You think you're worthy enough to speak of him?" Shadow spoke.

"Wow you're very egotistical for a fake hedgehog!" Amy retorted.

"Faker? I think you're the fake hedgehog around here." Shadow said, a smirk on his face.

"Well then, why don't you come down here and say it to my face!" Amy yelled.

Shadow jumped down to the ground. "If you insist." With that said, the two began to duke it out.

Shadow had to give it to Amy, she was a very skilled fighter. That hammer of hers was extremely heavy to the average person, but she wielded it like it was nothing, as she swung it with skill and grace at Shadow.

But Shadow was quicker, dodging each swing like nothing. He didn't have time for this, so with a swift kick, he knocked the hammer out of Amy's hands, before spin dashing towards her when she was distracted.

The dynamite now read 00:01:25, as Amy was caught between a rock and hard place, the two hedgehogs panting from their fight. Suddenly, Shadow's radio starts to beep. It was the doctor again. "Shadow?! What are you doing?! Get back here right now before the island blows up with you on it!"

"I'm sorry- Blows up?!" Amy exclaimed in shock. Shadow looked at her, but then jumps back and runs off. With the dynamite at 00:00:56, he makes it into the security vault where Rouge is. She looks surprised that he came, and he runs to her. He reaches his hand out to the Emeralds at he gets closer.

"Chaos Control!" He yelled.They both warp out of the vault, barely making it out before the dynamite packs - which reads 00:00:03 - blow up. The dynamite that Shadow set blow up the island, and a blast obscures all sight of the isle, covering it from end to end.

>>> ARK

Shadow stood alone in one of the many rooms of the ARK, staring at the planet below. He was reminiscing, as another memory came back to him after saving Rouge back on the island.

He remembers standing in front of this very window back then, with Maria by his side. How curious she was about the planet below. "Shadow, what do you think it's like on earth?" The conversation he had with her back then still so clear.

"The professor said his life's work was dedicated to all of those who live down there. He once told that the reason for his existence was, making people happy through the power of science." He had responded to her.

"Shadow…"

"Maria... I just don't know anything anymore... I often wonder why I was created; what my purpose if for being here. Maybe if I go down there, I... I will find the answers... maybe... ...Maria…" Was what he had said back then.

The memory faded from his mind, when he heard the metal door way open. It was Rouge and Sonic.

"Why so melancholy?" She asked Shadow. Shadow paused, he didn't say anything as the two got closer, Sonic more closer as he entwined his arms around Shadow's. Shadow returning the gesture and holding the other's hand.

Rouge chuckled. "It's cute what you two have. That was so unexpected. So unlike you, Shadow, to come and rescue me. But your ability to use the Chaos Control, certainly comes in handy." She offered in compliment to the other.

"Hmm, you know... I didn't come to save you. I came back for the Chaos Emeralds." Shadow deflected.

"Yeah, yeah. But then again, that's not the whole story, now, is it?" She questioned, trying to get one of the two to open up. But in that moment, Eggman walked into the room, stretching his arms, entering the room with a sigh.

"Everything is ready to go!" Eggman proclaimed.

Rouge was skeptical. "Are you sure? We only have six of the seven Chaos Emeralds, you know." She tried to reason with the doctor, contemplating the what if's the could occur without its full power source activated and in place.

"That's more than enough for the demonstration. So let's get this show on the road!" Sonic said, with a unreadable smile on his face, leading Shadow out of the room with him. The two walking to Eggman, and he steps out of his way, looking a tad surprised.

The two walked the hallway towards the control center room alone, giving them a moment to speak their minds. "I don't like how impatient he is. How power hungry he is, he's nothing like the Professor." Sonic said with a tch in his tone.

"Just a little more, and then we won't have to worry about it." Shadow reassured his other half, gently kissing Sonic's hand that was entwined with his.

"I really hope you know and understand what you're doing Shadow." Sonic sighed, the two entering the control center room, now they just had to wait.

>>> The Eggman Empire. "Day X 18:00"

It was nighttime in the city, when the giant television above the city came alive. Eggman has projected himself onto every television across the world.

"Bwahahahaha!! Citizens of earth, lend me your ears and listen to me very carefully... My name is Doctor Eggman, the world's greatest scientist and soon to be the world's greatest ruler. Now witness the beginning of the greatest empire of all time! Hahaha!" He proudly exclaimed.

In outer space, an asteroid cracks its lower half off, revealing a design reminiscent of Eggman's face. The 'nose' area splits apart into four stems, at the center of which is the Eclipse Cannon. The four stems begin radiating an energy net, which the Cannon launches straight through the sky at the Moon. Its side is completely torn off, and fire can be seen inside.

It sent fear into the hearts of everyone in the planet, as the last thing they heard from the projection that was being televised- "Bwahahahahaha! Bwahahahaha!!" Was Eggman's maniacal laugh, as a timer counting down from 24:00:00:00 appears on the televisions; when it times out, the Cannon will fire again, this time at earth.

>>> Back on the ARK

For such a grand display and speech,Eggman is currently hitting the terminal for the Cannon in frustration. This baffled Rouge. "Why are you so upset? Well that was really impressive. You managed to create complete havoc on the whole planet! Does this now mean we control the planet and can do as we choose?" She asked.

Shadow walked into the terminal room at that moment. "At this rate, the cannon will take too much time to charge up. If you want to unleash its full potential, you'll need all seven Chaos Emeralds." He explained.

"Where in the world have you been?!" Eggman demanded, getting a silent glare from the other.

Rouge looked around, not seeing Sonic who was normally glued to Shadow's side. She looked at Shadow. "Something happened?" She asked. Shadow caught what she was really asking, but he wasn't letting the doctor in on that conversation. "Our threats fell on deaf ears." He bluntly stated.

Rouge turned her attention back to Eggman, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with Shadow. "Look at you, throwing a tantrum like a little kid. How totally embarrassing."

The doctor was not having this. "Don't forget your end of the bargain, Bat-girl! What about that last Chaos Emerald?! We had a deal, right?! So where is my Emerald?" He egged on, pun not intended.

With her signature smile, she held out a newspaper in front of Eggman. "Here you go. I found this!" She said with a smug grin on her face.

Eggman was in shock. "Why didn't you show me this before?!" He grabbed the newspaper. "What's this...? "Station Square saved from a life-threatening missile attack. The city has awarded its famed prize to the boy who saved Station Square... Miles 'Tails' Prower was given the Chaos Emerald as a testament of his heroic deed at a ceremony held at city Hall." He cleared his throat. "This makes things a whole lot easier. Hurry, go back to earth and find them fast! I want that Chaos Emerald!!" The doctor leaving the room, ranting on about his big empire plans.

Rouge looked towards Shadow. "Did you get that?"

Shadow was muttering to himself though. "Soon enough... Maria…"

Rouge was a little surprised, as Shadow walked away towards the exit. She waited to be sure the other two were gone, once the coast was clear, she pulled out her radio and began talking. "This is Rouge reporting. Currently, I have not been able to confirm if Shadow is the Ultimate Life Form or not. I will continue my research on Project Shadow, and have a follow-up report very shortly. Just a reminder... don't forget about my jewels." She could have mentioned Sonic, but he wasn't on file nor part of the job description. Her mission was Project Shadow.

"A double agent? Can't say I'm surprised." A voice spoke once she shut off her radio. Rouge could have sworn the coast was clear, but then again, Sonic was the textbook definition of speed.

She looked up and saw him sitting on top of the terminal's monitor. "How much did you hear?" She asked, on the defensive if he tried anything funny.

Sonic simply tilted his head at her, those emerald green eyes staring right through her. "Enough, that I could easily tell Shadow. But frankly speaking--" He jumped down from the monitor and was now directly in front of Rouge. "-- I don't care that you're an agent. What you do isn't my business." He said nonchalantly, shrugging at the end of his sentence.

"But?" Rouge prodded on. There was a catch, there had to be a catch. There's no way Sonic was just going to leave it at that.

"But word of advice, report back anything that will have those agents chasing after him or me, you'll be the first one I target." Sonic's tone left no room for disagreement. Those eyes felt so soulless as they looked directly at Rouge's.

"Keep that in mind, and I'll play along. I'm just here for Shadow after all, what the rest of you do is not my problem." Sonic ended, and then proceeded to leave the room.

Rouge couldn't help but wonder just what was Sonic's deal.

>>> Sky Rail's vicinity

Shadow stood on top of a small pillar, walkie talkie in hand as he looked up towards the sky. He raised the comm to his head, it came alive with Rouge reporting from her side. "Shadow! They're in that blue plane, spotted at 11 o'clock!"

"Copy that, I'm in pursuit." Shadow responded, ending the communication and giving chase after the blue plane.

Shadow gave chase, until he saw the blue plane going over Eggman's base, he made a full stop and contacted Eggman on the comms. "Doctor, they're heading directly toward us. What should we do?"

"Just sit tight, I've got them on radar. There's no way they can get away! I don't know what they are planning, but I'll be sure to give them a warm welcome." The doctor was confident in his plan as he ended the communication. He just had to wait his time patiently, let those little pests think they got the upper hand.

>>> 14:58 "In the pyramid"

Eggman was honestly enjoying them find all the keys needed to access the inside of his pyramid base. None of them even questioning why the keys were so easy to find and in such interesting places. He could hear them conversing in the distance.

"Huh… That was pretty rough." That was clearly Knuckles, Eggman watched as he hunted down all three access keys.

"We did it! Let's go Amy!" Tails was cheering.

"Yeah! Let's finish this!" Amy had agreed with just as much enthusiasm.

Oh but Eggman wasn't just about to let them have their perfect victory, their surprise looks on their faces when he appeared before them was proof enough that they thought they were being sneaky. "You little thieves! Did you really think you could get out of here alive?"

He had them right where he wanted them. But of course they wouldn't go down without a fight. As Amy was quick to draw her hammer. "Come and get some, Eggman!"

"Amy wait!" Tails tried to reason with her. But she offered the other one of her reassuring smiles. "Just leave it to me! You and Knuckles get out of here!"

"This time, I'll take your lives as well as the Chaos Emerald. I call on you to destroy these pests. Come out, my servant!" Eggman called out, the ground began to shake, as from the sands in the center of the room ahead, a giant Egg Golem ascended.

"Impressive Eggman, but that's just a giant piece of rock ready for my hammer!" Amy yelled, as it looks down at her. The Egg Golem easily towers over the room.

"Now go… and squash that thorn of a hedgehog, Amy!" Eggman commanded his golem. Watching as the battle commenced. This was it, this is where he gets his final victory against Amy and her pesky friends.

Or so he thought, but Amy was smart, as she jumps at the Egg Golem's Head, and smashes her hammer on top of its head, destroying the device that was on top of it. "Ha! Home run!" She proclaimed victoriously.

It was like slow motion as the device on the Golem's head exploded once Amy had smashed it to pieces, and the Egg Golem swivels its head around several times. Amy taking her leave to catch up with her friends, leaving Eggman to deal with the fallout of his failed attempt.

"When Amy struck his head, she must have broken the restraining mechanism! Arrgh! What a piece of junk!" The doctor loudly complained as the Egg Golem's head stopped spinning in circles.

Once it stopped, the Egg Golem looks down at Eggman, and starts to reach for him. Oh this is not good. "No!" Eggman yelled.

While Eggman was dealing with the now freed Golem. The pyramid's top opens up, revealing a large rocket. An automatic voice could heard once the rocket was in place. "Green light for launch! Primary engine ignition on! Beginning lift-off countdown!" In the distance, Amy could be seen running onto the rocket. " 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Shuttle lift-off!"

And just like that, the rocket took off for its destination. The ARK.

>>> ARK: Central control room / Cannon countdown: 2 hours 7 seconds

Back on the ARK, Rouge was once again in the control room containing the eclipse cannon. She was currently talking to Eggman on the communication lines. "Hi doctor. How's it going? What! What do you mean they escaped? That's OK. I will go after them myself. Can you tell me the password for the space colony control?"

Ever the fool Eggman was, as he easily gave her the password without a thought. She quickly ended the communication once she got the information she needed. Rouge couldn't help but giggle on how predictable Eggman was. "Hmm… tricking that old doctor is just too easy! Alright, it's time to get to work. The password is "MA-RI-A". Maria… hmmm? I've heard that name somewhere before. Oh well…"

She wasn't here to debate on what names were familiar. She was her for her mission, as she began search through large groupings of data on the monitor, but being the keen treasure hunter and agent she was, she quickly found what she was sent here for. "This is it! Research Project Shadow, the Ultimate Life Form. Let's see now… What in the world is this?" She gasped, she couldn't believe here eyes, what she was reading.

"I warned you, bite off more than you can chew and you'll choke." Sonic spoke from behind Rouge, startling her in the process.

"This can't be right! Just what is Shadow, anyway?" She asked the other, needing confirmation on what she was seeing was false. It had to be false, it just didn't make any sense.

Sonic merely shrugged. "That's not any of your business now is it. You got what you came here for, don't push your luck, Agent Rouge." Sonic said, an unreadable expression on his face.

Suddenly, a warning message comes on, showing Amy, Tails, and Knuckles in a hallway in the ARK. Guess her questioning will have to wait for another time. She faced Sonic, giving him a salute with a wink, her cunning smile across her face.

"Hmmm, I guess I'll just have to take the last pieces of the Master Emerald!" She then flew off, leaving Sonic alone with the still open data files.

He approached the monitor, looking up at it and its data contents. "Ultimate Life Form huh?" He said, with an almost sad tone in his voice, as he cleared the data search and tried typing in "Project Sonic" to see if anything would come up.

All Sonic got was an error screen, saying the files he was trying to access were all corrupted, erased long ago by some unknown force. "I don't mind being hidden. This just makes things less complicated for me. The world does not need to know of Project Sonic." He said, clearing the monitor entirely, leaving it blank.

Despite what he thought he feel if he searched it, Sonic was just filled with determination. This way, he could forge his own path once this was all over. All he needed was Shadow by his side, no data books telling him what he is, and what he's supposed to be. Just him and Shadow, that's all he wanted.

>>> ARK: Central Tower- Meteor Herd

"Long time no see treasure hunter. Did you find MY Emeralds?" Rouge said, being face to face with Knuckles once again. She was honestly impressed he got this far.

"That's a good one! YOUR Emerald. Talking to you is a waste of time!" Knuckles retorted. At this point, he was done trying to talk his way with Rouge, now it's time to let their fists do the talking.

They were pretty evenly matched, their fight kept them moving throughout the area, until eventually the two were standing on crosswalks above the lava at the tower's base.

They both breathe heavily from exhaustion, then speak in unison. "Whew-! Stop fooling around, and give me back MY Emeralds!" Both were taken aback at their in sync yelling.

"What are you babbling about? You call yourself a hunter? Attacking a lady… Shame on you!" Rouge lectured, turning her head to her side at the end of it.

"What kind of lady goes around stealing gems, anyway?" Knuckles questioned.

"Those belong to me--" Rouge sentence went unfinished, as when she took a step back mid sentence, she misplaced her footing and tripped, falling off the crosswalk towards the lava. "Aahhh! Aaaaaaahhh!" She screamed.

As Rouge falls down from the platform, Knuckles grabs on to her arm. She was baffled by this. "What in the world?"

Knuckles pulls her back up, and they both look at each other for a second. But then Rouge backs up. "Keep your hands to yourself! Don't touch me!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Is that how you say thanks to someone who just saved your life?" Said Knuckles.

"Saving my life, don't think I owe you one! You just wanted to hold my hand, didn't you? That's why you saved me! You're such a creep!" Rouge retorted.

Knuckles stared at her, completely baffled. "This isn't a joke, you know! Think what you want bat girl. I was saving the Master Emerald."

Again with this, Rouge was getting annoyed with this whole thing. She sighed. "No matter what you say, it sounds crazy!" Yet despite what she said, she tossed the Emerald Shards to Knuckles.

Knuckles looked down at the Emerald Shards before looking back at Rouge. "Wha…?" The Echidna was confused.

"Fine, then just take them. They stink like echidnas do." She said.

"If that's what you thought, you should have given me them in the first place!" Knuckles said, scooping them up off the platform, and puts the Master Emerald back together.

Seeing the Master Emerald filled Knuckles with relief. "Finally!" He said, looking back up at Rouge to see her turned away when he looked at her.

"What?" She confronted.

"I'm sorry… if I hurt you." Knuckles apologized, before running off to help Amy.

Rouge looks up into the air. "We should get going." She said softly. She turned to leave, then looks back where Knuckles was, faintly smiling, before running off.

>>> In the Pyramid/Cannon Countdown: 58 minutes.

In the pyramid base's transporter room, Eggman is looking at a surveillance footage of Amy, and Tails before switching to viewing a diagram of the ARK.

"What is Rouge up to, anyway?" Eggman asked himself.

"Does it matter?" A voice came from above Eggman, it was Sonic sitting on top of the monitor.

"How did you- never mind it doesn't matter. That's not a seat you know." Eggman said.

Sonic didn't offer a response, simply pointed at the screen. Pulling Eggman's attention back to it.

The map shows two Chaos Emeralds; both the fake and the real one. "This is strange. It's showing energy readings from two separate Chaos Emeralds!" Eggman exclaimed.

"Sounds like they planned to trick you with a fake. I heard them say it mimics the actual emerald almost to a T, but it's nearly not as powerful." Sonic said, a smug tone in his voice.

Eggman was not pleased with this. "Did they really think they could trick me with that fake emerald?!"

Shadow who had silently walked into the room, was about to turn around and deal with their intruders, but was stopped by Eggman. "Wait, Shadow! I'm the one who should be telling them the end is near, not you!" With that said, Eggman left the room, leaving the two hedgehogs alone.

"When did you notice the emerald was a fake?" Shadow asked Sonic, the other jumping down from the monitor and making his way towards Shadow.

"The walls have ears, by which I mean I eavesdropped on their conversations. Didn't think they were serious about the fake emerald though." Sonic said, a nonchalant smile on his face, shrugging at the end of his sentence.

Shadow grabbed Sonic by the waist, pulling the other in and kissing him. Sonic was taken aback for a few seconds, before happily returning the kiss. "You're incredible you know that?" Shadow said first, a smirk on his face when the two separated.

"I know, but I wouldn't mind you telling me again." Sonic replied, a smile on his face. With the alone time the two had, it was enough to give each other affection without being caught by the others, so they quickly took advantage of it.

>>> Meanwhile

"Now is the time to end this long drawn-out battle, and mark myself a place in history as the ultimate genius!" Eggman exclaimed, knowing if something happened to him, he could leave it to Shadow and Sonic. He started up his Egg mobile, and began making his way to the transporter. "Hurry! The moment for attack has come! It's now, or never!" With that said, Eggman steps onto the transporter, and is sent to the ARK.

>>> ARK

At some point during their exploration, Amy and Tails got separated. "Darn it, I told him to not split up from me!" Amy said frustrated, trying to navigate the confusing layout of the ARK.

She didn't notice Eggman walking up behind her, and pointing a gun at her. "Well, well, young lady? Is there something I can help you with?" He asked.

"EGGMAN-?!" Amy exclaimed, jumping back and away from Eggman, summoning her hammer and was prepared to fight with the doctor.

"If you value your life, you will tell me where Tails and the chaos emerald are!" Eggman threatened. At that moment,Tails enters the room in the Cyclone, Eggman still having the gun pointed at Amy.

"Let's take care of business first, shall we, Tails? Hand over the Chaos Emerald, slowly, and then we'll talk about your friend go. That is to say, if you really care about her." Eggman said smugly.

"Don't listen to him Tails, it's just another one of his schemes!" Amy said, trying to plan out a strategy.

Tails didn't say anything, as he took out the emerald, Eggman gesturing to Amy with the gun to walk forward. A small circle appeared on the floor, Eggman pointed to it. "Put the Emerald down right there and back off!" He said.

"You've turned into a big-time villain, doctor!" Amy said, and when she walked over the small circle, Eggman laughs and a capsule forms and traps her inside.

"What the-?!" She gasped.

"You thought you could trick me with that fake Emerald, didn't you?" Eggman called them out of their plan.

This confused Tails, how did Eggman find out? "So… how did you know it wasn't the real one?"

"Tails!" Amy yelled, sometimes forgetting that despite Tails being a genius, he's still naive at times.

"Heh, because you just told me, fox boy!" Eggman smugly laughed, he wasn't going to be a fool and them that Sonic caught them in the act. Tails gasped.

"Now, for a little space ride! Once the capsule clears the colony, BAM!" Eggman boasted.

"I'm counting on you Tails!" Amy yelled, as the capsule began to slowly descend.

"Farewell! Amy Rose!" Eggman said, and with a push of a remote control, the capsule ejects into space.

"Amy!" Tails yelled.

The capsule then exploded in space once it was far enough away from the ARK.

"Farewell Amy… My admirable adversary!" Eggman said.

"Amy!!!" Tails yelled, tears of anger falling down his cheeks, as Eggman turned around and pointed the gun at Tails.

"Now we have some unfinished business to take care of! If you give me the real Emerald, I will release you. You have my promise!" Eggman explained.

"Amy.." Tails whispered.

"Huh?" Eggman was confused.

With a new fire of determination, Tails was prepared to fight. "Amy has asked me for the first time to do something for her, I won't let her down. I won't give up!" Tails exclaimed.

>>> ARK: Central area/Cannon countdown: 21 minutes 7 seconds

A few minutes ago. From a room on the ARK, Shadow and Sonic see the capsule that Amy was launched out in explode.

"Guess she was a regular hedgehog after all." Shadow said, running his hand through Sonic's quills, as Sonic was looking out the window.

Sonic was silent, he had a bad feeling about all this. Something wasn't exactly right. "Shadow." Sonic spoke.

"Yes?" Shadow asked.

"The emeralds are unattended. Rouge is M.I.A." Was all Sonic said, but it was enough for Shadow to understand and go check the cannon, but before leaving Sonic alone in the room. "Shadow, she's a government agent." Sonic admitted, noticing the way Shadow froze for a second before walking to the control room.

Sonic simply returned to staring out the window. "I wonder, what running through out that planet would feel like..?"

>>> Central Control Room

True to Sonic's gut instinct, Rouge was walking up to the Emeralds.

"Legend has it, whenever the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected, the power creates a miracle. I have six of them. They're mine, all mine!" She proudly exclaimed.

"I don't think so." Shadow said, walking in the control room. Rouge turns to Shadow.

"Shadow?" Rouge questioned, caught off guard by Shadow's sudden appearance.

"So that was your plan from the very beginning, huh? Or was it a direct order from the President?Now I know who you are. You're that government spy, Rouge the Bat, aren't you?" Shadow caught her hook, line, and sinker.

"So you did your homework, is that it? Or did your little boyfriend rat me out? I would say that's an invasion of privacy." Rouge retorted.

"I could say the same thing about you." Shadow was quick with his replies.

But Rouge kept her cunning and calm exterior. "Hmmm! It looks like things aren't quite going your way, but since my job was done… I thought it was time to take what's mine and get out of this place." She said.

Shadow couldn't believe his ears. "You are one pathetic creature!"

"Hmmm, look who's talking? What about you?" Rouge asked, jumping down from the emeralds with a paper in hand. "Here are the results from the research project called the "Ultimate Life Form"." But on the paper in question, was not a picture of Shadow, but a different creature entirely.

"But, if this picture is of the real Ultimate Life Form named, Shadow… then exactly who or what is standing in front of me?" She begged the question.

At that moment, Eggman contacted Shadow from the walkie talkie. "This is Doctor Eggman! I have found all seven Chaos Emeralds! Shadow! Someone is trying to get to the Eclipse Cannon. There's not much time left before the cannon fires again. Can you get over there?" The doctor yelled from his end of the walkie talkie.

Shadow cut the communication, returning his attention to Rouge. "If you want to live, leave the Chaos Emeralds where they are. The fake Emerald is good enough for you!"

"Do you actually believe that you're the real Shadow?" Rouge asked, in awe shock at Shadow.

"No doubt!" Shadow knew who he was.

"Even your memories might not be real, you know?" She further questioned.

"Even if my memories are not real, it's still me, Shadow. And I will fulfill my promise to Maria, to Sonic, that's the only thing that matters to me now." Shadow then left to go deal with the intruder.

>>> Outside Space Colony ARK / Cannon countdown: 5 minutes 44 seconds

Amy was currently standing in a corridor that leads out of the ARK; Shadow walks up to her. "You never cease to surprise me pink hedgehog. I thought that the capsule you were in exploded in space." He said.

Amy chuckled. "What can I say, I'm a stubborn one." Picking up her running speed, and Shadow did the same.

"So, there's more to you than meets the eye. What are you anyway?" He asked her.

"Just a girl that loves adventuring with her friends, Amy Rose! And don't you forget it!" She happily proclaimed.

"I see. But you know, I can't let you live. Your adventuring days are coming to an end." And with that, the two began to fight once more.

>>> ARK: Central control room / Cannon countdown: 40 seconds

At the terminal for the Eclipse Cannon, Eggman walks in with the seventh Chaos Emerald. "Hahahahahaha! This completes my plan to take over the world! Now begins the glorious era of the Empire of Eggman!"

-End Dark Chapter-

#izzygilofficial #sonic the hedgehog #fandom blog #sonic fandom #sonic series #idw sonic #sth #shadow the hedgehog #sonic au #sth au #rouge the bat #eggman #tails the fox #miles tails prower #knuckles the echidna #amy rose #shadow the ultimate lifeform #sonadow #sth tails #sth shadow #sth knuckles

[waterfire1848]

🌹

Thanks for the ask @wangsfires !!

Here's a little snippet from my Azula and Zuko raised in the South Pole AU

Sokka slammed his back against the rocks, careful to not make too much noise or get spotted. He clenched the weapon in his hands, making sure to have a firm grip in case of a surprise attack. Slowly, he positioned his head to try and see what was around the rock.

And was instantly hit in the face with a snowball.

“Hahahahaha!” 

“That doesn’t count!” Sokka called.

“Why?” Azula called back, “I saw you and I got you. Standard snowball fight rules.”

“Yeah. We got you.” Katara said, coming out of her hiding place: inside a snow pile.

“Fine. How do you have such good aim anyway?” Sokka whined, getting the snow off his face.

“I’m just perfect. What can I say?” Azula smirked.

“This coming from the girl who snorted milk out of her nose.” Katara mumbled.

A small blush covered the nine year old’s face, “That was one time!”

“Still my favorite memory.” Katara laughed, “Right up there with the time Zuko fainted when the polar dog gave birth.”

#ask #fic #fanfic #azula #sokka #zuko #katara #fire siblings #fire hazards #the fire siblings #water siblings

[jmdbjk]

Gosh, thirsty...need a drink.

Jimin wore my fave sweatpants of his...

And I spotted this cuteness overload:

Jimin's hip flexor strength and overall flexibility...and JK and Tae's lack of...hahahahaha!!

AND WE'VE MISSED THESE TWO!!!

Not surprised to see these three still at it:

[god bless Jimin's sweatpants...]

The diverse reactions and comments they each had over the course of these several days was revealing to me. Emotions were obviously running high on the day of the concert.

After the concert was over, Jungkook remarked that he felt they stopped in the middle. His 25 year old self feeling unfinished as if he was just getting started. My confused bunny. I want to console you. I FEEL YOU! We are waiting to see what you are preparing for us!

Totally the opposite of Namjoon who was relieved. We know how challenging its been for him. The release of his album Indigo was coming up and I'm sure he had a lot on his plate. And maybe the way the whole Busan concert came to be wasn't on his calendar at first for 2022...but he still hinted they would be back in the future.

Hobi the consummate artist always with the mindset that they can do better. Such high, high standards and I never expect anything less from him. He is amazing.

Jin's voice...damn...we had no idea how bad it was until I heard him speak while they were getting ready for the concert. He sounded rough. It was a miracle he was able to sing so well. When he was talking about a concert the following week, it took me a moment to realize he was speaking about his appearance at the Coldplay concert in Argentina. The translation had him saying "we" instead of "I" so it confused me for a minute.

Yoongi is a man of few words sometimes: "It ended well. I have no regrets." Close that chapter. On to the next. Another one who is looking forward instead of back.

Tae was being the openly emotional and sentimental one out of the bunch. I hope he does everything he desires in his time away from the group. If he really didn't want that feeling he was having during the concert to end, he will strive to be back sooner than later. Good motivation to get through whatever the immediate future requires.

And our sweetie, Jimin. Did I already mention those are my favorite sweatpants?

Jimin is doing well. He is working his ass off like he is accustomed to doing. He seems happy. He says he is happy. He just wants to be on stage. He will be fine during his solo era and I know he will be ready when it's time for them to "reconvene."

#run bulletproof #jimin #sorry was that too thirsty? #ow a cramp #jikook #kookmin #jeon jungkook #jungkook #my favorite jimin sweatpants #3j

[iveneverdoneanythingwrong]

Liveblogging Man Suang

First things first - outrage at Not-Mile who dares put his hands on Apo. Who the fuck do you think you- oh good, he's dead. Though, this is obviously something Khem expects and is used to. The touching, not the murder.

Wan, leave that knife in. Wan, don't take that knife out. Okaaaay, he took the knife out. Khem, at least don't be holding the murder weapon when- *sigh* never mind. Jesus fuck, Khem and Wan are not the sharpest crayons in the box, are they?

"You were caught red handed next to my nephew's body!" Only literally! I mean, technically correct. And in this instance, not the best kind of correct. :(

I love the costuming

Ohh hellooooo. Also, girrrl what are YOU doing at the devil's sacrament?

You met him thirty seconds ago and you're already showing him your pussy? Chatra, you slut.

Hey. HEY! Lord Not-Chatra. Stop looking at him like that. I swear, Khem is to higher-social-standing men like Will Graham is to serial killers. Where's the Chesapeake Chatra when you need him?

Montage time!

Khem. Sweetie. Honey. You need to be more subtle if you're going to be a spy....

Apo is so pretty when he cries. 😭

YEAH YOU TELL HIM KHEM! Calling out the double standards! Also, that dude is totes jealous he didn't catch Lord Not-Chatra's attention...

Chatra gives you one warning and then it's a FIST TO THE FACE.

Are they on a date? They're totally on a date.

This is a very important secret. So I'm telling you, a guy I've spoken to four times, on our first date, at a table at the corner of an intersection with open doors and people all around. Very important. Top Secret.

I love the sheer disappointment and disbelief in Khem's voice. Khem: A treasure trove? Really? That's what you're going with? Chatra: Why are you laughing?

Khem, you're such a hothead. You got into a KITE FIGHT. But it is a great excuse for Chatra to grope your waist. Well done.

At least Khem tells his secret up a tree and not on a LITERAL STREET CORNER.

Can't rid yourself of being a lowborn? *looks at the camera like it's The Office*

Me: I'm laughing with Khem cause a treasure map is stupid. Me five minutes later: wait, you bought that??? Chatra: Wait, he bought that? Oh man, this pretty idiot desperately needs my help...

Me (And Chatra definitely): My god, look at his face transform into a smile... do it again! again!

Khem: I have something to tell you... .... ... I've invited Chatra to join our missionWAN:ARE YOUFUCKING CRAZY???

I love the reconstruction sequence. That's some good storytelling.

HAHAHAHAHA "If you don't believe me, feel free to search my rooms!" Wan: Oh...I don't think that's nec- Chatra: DON'T MIND IF I DO. "Maybe you need to search me. I'll undress" Khem: NO THANK YOU WE'RE GOOD.

Ok... do you think that's enough food for three people? I think we might need to get another table of food in here...

What.... what are you doing Chatra. Like... my man has to have a good reason to point a gun at Khem... but there are no good reasons to point a gun at Khem.... but my man has to have a good reason to....KHEM LET HIM EXPLAIN

Ahhh Hong, I knew he wasn't dead. I knew it! I did! Oooh an assassin's teapot. Nice.

Yeah, old man! I agree!

Goddamned Apo is so goddamned pretty.

Oh damn. Risking your life to save your friend... and ending up having to kill him yourself. What a gut punch.

Aww Chatra. I'm not crying, you're crying!

Where's the series? I need the series now! Where is ittttttt???? 😭😭😭😭😭 You can't leave my boys like this!! 😭😭😭

#man suang #man suang spoilers #apo nattawin #apo nattawin wattanagitiphat #mile phakphum #mile phakphum romsaithong #also my first attempt at writing image descriptions #i don't have any idea how to do that #i'm a visual thinker #so you're getting descriptions of my thoughts about the images #chatra better be doing a dread pirate roberts and be going to seek his fortune before coming back for khem #khem is sugar daddy catnip and chatra is running on a clock here

[tobiasdrake]

Here we go. The grand finale of the infamous arc.

Episode 19: Endless Eight, Part 8

This loop's a little different. Kyon flirts with Mikuru when he arrives at the group.

Haruhi does... this.

But it's hard to say if these deviations mean anything or if they're just standard probabilistic variances.

We almost got to see what happens if Kyon kills himself with a firework mid-loop.

Do you think we'd have to continue with the rest of the cycle? Or would Haruhi be like, "No." and break time? Uh. Break time even further, I suppose.

I definitely feel like if anything actually happened to Kyon at any point, Haruhi would happen to reality like Madokami/Devil Homs. You thought the world-cramping was bad? She's about to unleash a full-scale world-seizure.

There have been no further trips without goldfish scooping since we started following the loops. Good. I'm still mad about those.

Also I realize now that I was misunderstanding the 437 number. I thought it was 2 trips with no Bon Festival and 437 trips with no goldfish scooping. And since the goldfish scooping happens at the Bon Festival, that means 435 trips where we go to the festival but no scooping happens.

But no. The statistic is 437 trips where we go to the festival but no scooping happens. So that's two extra "OKAY BUT WHY THO" loops. I hope everyone in those loops died horribly because Mikuru puts up with a lot of bullshit and she deserves to have nice things.

HAHAHAHAHA I was right.

She wants him to ask for her help with his summer homework, since his lazy ass waited for the last possible second.

Pulling everyone together into a study group to get it all done on the last day. That is what Haruhi keeps resetting time to get done. That's... uncharacteristically selfless of her, actually.

Just. Uh.

Make sure you run it by our supreme deity first, rather than speaking insubordinately about it. XD What a fantastic anticlimax for Kyon's revelation. I love the idea that the thing Haruhi was missing, the one thing that kept making her reset time because she felt unfulfilled, was that she's never had a last-minute cram session with friends on the final day of a vacation. On account of being too goddamn smart.

I feel like this is actually Kyon's fault. Like that talk he and Haruhi had about the summer homework is actually what put the idea in her head to begin with that this was a thing she wanted to experience. But then she forgot, because despite being God, she is also a fallible human being.

Eight episodes of looping was too many episodes of looping. But this is the perfect way to finally tie it off.

#the melancholy of haruhi suzumiya #haruhi suzumiya #drake watches haruhi suzumiya

[ladysomething]

My reactions to your answers have been like this:

Charles as a male fatale and fucking someone else 🫢😌😏.

Max fucking other people 🤬🤬🤬🔪🔪🔪🔪.

Your insinuations definitely bring out my hypocrisy hahahahaha. I'm totally living for a Charles as a fuck boy (although I think he wouldn't be completely comfortable and wouldn't enjoy it, but it's all for revenge 😈😈😈), but the thought of Max fucking anyone other than Your beautiful omega, has me mortified, devastated 😭, that is, WHERE IS THE DEVOTION, THE FIDELITY, IS NOT SOMETHING SO DIFFICULT? Hahahah.

All your answers keep me alive and make the wait much sweeter, I adore you! 💖

Charles can do what he wants, but Max has STANDARDS he must be held to!!!!!!

#anon ask #lestappen fic #where you go i go #wygig: the great war #wygig: charles #wygig: max