Today For Disability Pride Month, I’d Like To Discuss Something Not Many Able-bodied People Know About:

I've run into a problem...

06 sucks!

Like we knew that, but writing wise, 06 is such a mess, and I don't- I don't know what to do about it, I have fanfic ideas that take place in 06! And it's such a mess that I feel like it'll tank the quality of my fanfic just from its garbage-ness!

And you might be thinking, oh, but 06 isn't that bad, you said yourself, it's one of your favorite games of all time, and other people deal with it just fine so–

No, you don't get it, it is that bad. And you can tell because almost nothing from that game made it out alive. Like, conceptually, there's some really cool stuff in 06. Crisis City's unique environment, Mephiles as a villain, double chaos control time powers (well...), Iblis, Soleanna. All that stuff is good, but because it was in 06. 06's garbage kinda rubbed off on it, and when everyone realized the game was horrible (including SEGA) all that stuff was never attempted again. No one decided to try and make Mephiles work in new games, no mention of Crisis City, or Solanna, or anything. It all just died with the game. Which makes it all the more impressive that Silver made it out alive.

But that's not the point. We all know it's bad.

The point is that idk where to go from here? Do I keep it the way it is? Do I change it? I'm leaning towards change but what should I change? Would people like those changes?

For example, Blaze is a mess. She's "got amnesia" or whatever, and she's here, but she doesn't talk to anyone but Silver (she almost does when she says "blue hedgehog" but that barely makes any sense and it wouldn't surprise me if it was secretly a pun lost in translation), she always seems to know what Silver was up to even if she wasn't there, she doesn't affect the plot other than making Silver doubt his judgement and then leaving, it's-, it's just a mess.

So, what if we cut Blaze out, altogether? Like, she left before Silver runs into Memphis so Silver's on his own. And since silver can't rely on her to tell him whether or not to trust Mephiles, it makes it so Silver believing him shows it off as a character trait of Silver's desperate naivety instead of it feeling like Blaze sitting there watching him get tricked cuz "it'd be funny". That whole scene really feels like Silver and Blaze get tricked by Mephiles because the plot demanded it of them more than anything else.

Plus, if you don't have Blaze here, Silver's heroes journey can be, in part, trying to figure out what to do when no one's around. Lean on other people less, make his own choices. You wouldn't even really need to cut Blaze's dialogue because Silver would be thinking "what would Blaze do/say?"

And I think it'd add to their friendship, the idea that when he comes back to the future and says he knows how to defeat Iblis, she just goes along with it, and is willing to do anything for Silver because they have such a strong relationship, because she trusts him.

But would people like that retcon? What if people hate it cuz there's less Blaze content?

Idk. It's just something I've been thinking about, there's more things I'd like to change, but luckily, a lot of 06 can be improved by adding extra context, or slightly different introductions that barely change the story.

I'd love to hear what other ppl have to say about dealing with 06's writing, tho

I've always wondered what would happen if you put Shadow the hedgehog in P.T.

Frankly, I'm of the opinion that if Shadow is the only person Silver's around (and Shadow's probably protective but you didn't hear it from me) then it could still produce that naïve-ness that we see in the games, not socializing properly can jack you up in all sorts of ways. It's important to learn how to talk to strangers and new friends and learn how boundaries work, and you can't get that from a parent. And if Silver didn't know Blaze for a good while (like until he was nine) then I think it's plausible.

But tbh, you're not really talking about funny hedgehogs so much as you are talking about child psychology. (Nerd time from someone barely qualified!)

The real question is Nature V.S. Nurture™ and it's like the trolley problem of child psychology. It's the question of what makes a person the way they are. Are they naturally naïve, or is it directly their upbringing. If someone was raised by a murderer does that automatically mean the kid will become one too? It's pretty complicated, but if you want to grasp the concept better then go and watch Megamind again. I'm serious.

The point is, if you're someone who's fond of the idea of souls (as a loose concept not like in a fanfic way) a "that soul is a naïve one and if they weren't then it's not their soul anymore" idea, then you might be more inclined to Nature, whereas if you're more of a science, brain neurology, "our experiences make us who we are" kind of person, then you'd be more camp Nurture.

I'll give you a hint: it's both, but how much of each is debatable.

You're absolutely right in the fact that being raised by Shadow would make him less like how he is in the games, though. Which I commend you for. Though a Shadow raised him thing is more common, I change Dadow flavors once a week, so I'd love to see other scenarios implemented more in fanfiction <3

(I don't mean this to be "um actually" or anything, I just thought it was cool to think about. I hope I didn't come off as aggressive)

Silver would be a very different person if he was raised by Shadow. Silver is naive precisely because he wasn't raised by anybody.

yeh you right!

i think the way i imagine dadow is different from how most other people imagine it; where silver still grew up on his own and it was only after he first went back in time he meets shadow in the future n he becomes his dad, basically to explain why the first time silver came across shadow in the past he wasn’t immediately like “dad?”

so i imagine silver comes across old man shadow at fourteen and is like “shadow??? wtf???” and from there the father-son relationship begins, so silver’s naïveté would still make sense ‘cus he wasn’t raised by shadow from day one

Is literally anyone going to be upset if I heavily base Silver's powers on Project 06 instead of the original?

Like I highly doubt anyone who even cares will end up disliking it (I mean, I have yet to be called out on my descriptions of his magic matching p06 more than the retail), but I figured I'd ask. It's not going to change very much, like at all, but I significantly prefer it.

For anyone who doesn't know what I'm talking about:

It would have all of the specific attacks and the updated glow and stuff.

Fandom: God there’s like NO content anymore. I wish we could get more art and fanfics :(((

Someone: Hey, I can’t draw anything digitally, because I can’t afford a tablet, but here’s a pen on paper drawing that I spent a lot of time and hard work on. Also, I took a shot at my first fanfic and I’d really like some feedback or at least some kudos if you enjoyed it :)

Fandom: Oh... yeah sorry no... not you. We actually meant writers that are already well known and popular to produce MORE content... I mean, if a popular blog shares your work then maybe. And we don’t really like pen to paper art. We just don’t think it’s professional or even looks good :/

Oh yeah... this is why I never got around to beating it...

Sonic 06 is 18 now, and now that we're both legally adults, I think I'm gonna suck it up and actually finish the game

Solaris get ready to hear boss music

Only Iblis ones. Hence the lack of obnoxious purple Lazer Llizards.

Shadamy week - Day 4: Power Swap

Get ready for a cliche chonker of a oneshot! I had a whole list of each tarot card and what they meant but when I was adjusting the length almost all of them got the guillotine.

"Sorry, Amy, but I can't find anything wrong."

"What do you mean? Can't you feel it?"

The universe decided to be loud that morning. There wasn't a better way to describe it. When she had woken up that morning the world was buzzing terribly loudly. Combine that with the feeling of dread hanging in the air and it was a one way ticket to an emergency tarot reading.

Which was interesting to say the least. The first three out of five cards were all bad cards. Cards with implications of destruction and difficult trials. It made her feel like there was something she needed to fix in the world, or a test she needed to pass. 

The last two...

"Umm, no..." She could read tails like a book, he felt bad that he couldn't give her a good answer.

"But it's so loud!"

"I'm sorry, but I just can't hear it. I could run another diagnostic if you want?"

She nodded. The fuzz in the air around her was getting louder. And she couldn't help but curl inwards to protect herself.

So Tails turned his swivel chair back to the large computer screen from before. She watched Tails tinker with dozens of different graphs and measurements. Eggman's recent known activity, the flow of time, chaos energy in the vicinity. There were so many that she wondered how so much data could possibly be useful.

"Huh... That's odd."

She perked up, "What? What is it!?" Maybe this is what she needs to fix!

"Well, according to my readings, there's a bit more chaos energy in this area than there should be."

"Does chaos energy change like that often?"

Tails shook his head. "Almost never. The only time it fluctuates like this is if we have a chaos Emerald," he hesitated. "Or when Shadow is nearby."

Shadow..? "Why does he emit chaos energy?" She asked.

Tails opened his mouth to respond, but someone else beat him to it.

"I work with chaos powers." They both jumped and turned to the open garage door. Shadow, in all his glory, was standing there. Giving his usual 'somewhat unamused' expression. "Not to mention that most of my body is chaos energy transformed into matter."

"Hi shadow!" Amy smiled. Shadow was nicer than people give him credit for. Then she hesitated, looking at him closer as he walked in. He seemed... Pale. Was he okay?

"U-uh, yeah!" Tails said. "You're just in time for... Whatever Amy is dealing with."

 Shadow noticed her looking at him and turned towards Tails in defiance. "I'm not here to investigate Amy's personal issues. I'm here because I have my own."

Amy couldn't decide if Shadow was respecting her privacy or just being self-absorbed. She preferred the first one.

"Well, what is it?" Tails asked.

It took a moment before Shadow was willing to answer. "The world is quiet."

"What?" That- that couldn't be his response, right? 'The world is quiet'. That couldn't be more inaccurate.

"Um," Tails began, "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, that the usual feeling of life around me is quiet. Too quiet to be me overlooking it."

Tails was still confused, and Shadow noticed. He sighed. "There's this... fuzz in the world. The air the plants, people, everything has it. It's not always the same intensity, since it depends on what is nearby, but it's always there. I've felt it my whole life, it feels wrong for it to just disappear overnight."

Tails hummed. A hand on his chin. "The only thing I can think of that matches that description is when I went Super. Perhaps it's chaos energy you're feeling. Or- not feeling."

"Hmm."

"Actually," Amy perked up. "I know what he's talking about!" They both looked at her, making her instantly regret the urge to speak up. It was especially bad when Shadow stared at her with those ruby red eyes. It was intimidating.

"I-I didn't know you went Super, Amy,' Tails said quietly.

'I haven't exactly..." She started messing with frills on her skirt. She had chosen lilac because it's known as a calming color, but it didn't feel like it was working. She shook her head. Don't be cliche, Amy! We've talked about this. "When I woke up this morning, I felt like every inch of my house was buzzing. The world was buzzing. And it... was scary. It didn't help when it came along with the bad... uh, energy today."

"That... doesn't make sense," Shadow said. 

Amy huffed. "You don't believe my story? Wh-"

"No, I believe you. You're too smart for this." Shadow complimenting her was not something she was expecting, and her train of thought came to a grinding stop. He looked surprised by himself too, but it was gone so quicky that she doubted it was ever there.

"I'm saying, that it's strange to take my ability to sense chaos energy, and give it to you. "Who or what would want to do that? Why that power? Why us? Why now?"

"That's a good point." She looked at his face again, trying to be subtle. He still looked pale.

"Why... are you doing that?" The sound in his voice was a mixture of anger, genuine confusion and... Fear? He wasn't nearly as easy to read as Tails, but she was going to try.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

"Huh? What does that have anything to do with it?" She stepped closer to see him better. Now only a foot or two apart. He was acting antsy. Fidgety, even.

"It has everything to do with it!" Tails said.

He sighed and looked away from Amy. Even taking a tiny step back. "Admittedly, I feel very light headed."

Tails perked up. "Oh! That could explain things! This is just an idea, b- well, theory, or hypothesis, or-"

"Spit it out, Fox."

"Right. It wouldn't make sense for someone to take that specific power, so who's to say they only took one?"

Amy and Shadow looked at each other.

"Shadow is largely made of chaos energy, but he uses his own chaos energy all the time, so he shouldn't be feeling this..."

Shadow picked up where Tails left off. "You're implying that they took more of my power than we think. All of my power, and gave it to Amy Rose." Tails nodded. "Why?"

Tails shrugged. "To get you out of your element, I guess. If you're busy trying to figure your powers, then whoever did this has extra time to do whatever they want."

"But, what if I didn't have his powers? That's more likely, right?" Asked Amy.

"Well, Both of you summon an attack outside and we'll see if it works."

Neither Shadow or Amy could argue with that logic. And outside they went.

Tails had a large runway for his plane, so they didn't need to worry about plants and animals being in danger.

Amy grinned. "I'll go first!" With a motion she'd done a thousand times over, she flicked her wrist to pull her hammer out of the ether.

But nothing happened.

She laughed nervously, and tried again.

Nothing happened. She glanced to Shadow who had a concerned look in his eyes.

"Uhh..." No! She couldn't let Shadow see her weak! She tried again.

 "uhh!" Again. At this point, she was getting frantic. She didn't have her only was to protect herself! "UHHH!" No matter how many times she's did it, it was the same results.

"Why isn't this working!" Her eyes were tearing up.

"Rose, relax." It was Shadow. He was a lot closer than before. Putting a hand on her shoulder. It was like he could read her mind. "You'll be okay. You're strong with or without your hammer..." Shadow trailed off. As if he caught himself saying something he shouldn't have.

Was his voice always this deep?

She took a deep breath. Her tense muscles loosened up. She looked over to Shadow.

"Thank you, Shadow." He stiffened at the compliment. And it took a few seconds for him to remember what he was doing.

He cleared his throat. "How do you usually summon your hammer?"

"Oh, um. This might sound dumb... But I imagine this little pocket in front of me, I reach in and grab my hammer, then pull it out with a flick of my wrist, and boom! It starts existing."

Shadow didn't say anything to that. Instead he stepped a few feet back and tried it for himself. She could tell what was happening easily. Trying to figure out where the pocket was supposed to be is somewhat jarring at the begining. It's like you're trying to decide where the pocket should be, without knowing the 'correct' spot.

Once he figured it out, he followed her instructions to a t. With a flick of his wrist, her hammer was summoned out of thin air. His first try. Her eyes went wide. She made eye contact with Shadow who was coming to the same conclusion.

"You- I- my-" Amy stuttered.

"You didn't just take my abilities," he said. "I took yours."

She was at a loss for words. She stared at Shadow. She barely noticed his reaction. But he started avoiding her gaze and nervously spinning the hammer in his hand. Then his ears perked up. He turned away from Amy, pulled the hammer as far back as he could, and smashed it into the ground. A huge bang hit the air and she watched the pink, sparkly, heart-shaped shockwave dissipate as it spread.

And it spread. It must've been a huge slam into the ground.

"Geez, dude!" She found her voice. "Careful! That could kill someone!"

All he did was look back at the hammer. "I see why you use this. It's very strong. And effective."

"I..." She trailed off. "Let's just- go back to Tails.

Unlike Sonic, who would either dismiss her concern or try and race her, Shadow nodded. And he kept with her walking pace. No signs of being bored. In fact, it looked like the exact opposite. Maybe something about the walk was calming. 

Shadow was unique like that.

}{}{}{

She wasn't the only one who was sick of Tails' lab at this point. They both sat together on a bench while tails went back and forth. Looking at the computer, to the two of them, back to the computer.

Shadow was giving a very annoyed expression, and Amy was smoothing out her dress far more than it needed. She was stressed, okay? She hated being without her hammer. She felt exposed.

Finally, Tails turned to them to speak.

"So, good news! You can switch back! Bad news... I don't know how. Yet. You're going to have to get used to your powers for a bit while I try to figure it out."

"Can't we just- not use our powers?" Shadow snorted beside her. She'd find the sound cute if it wasn't pointed to her.

"Good luck with all that." A cocky grin on his face.

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

"Chaos energy comes from the soul. You're pulling it out from the deepest reaches of your person. Because of this... You can accidently trigger chaos energy from raw emotion alone. Accidentally triggering chaos energy whenever I felt strongly about something... Was the first thing I learned to stop after I was created." His cocky demeanor vanished. He was giving her the time of day. It was sweet.

Didn't change what he said, though.

"Pshhh! I think I can handle a little Chaos Control!" She was trying to get the topic back to the casual banter, the safe zone.

"Chaos Control isn't what I'm worried about."

"Huh?"

"I'm worried about Chaos Blast."

"C-Chaos Blast?" She muttered. "That's the big red explosion you can do..." Shadow nodded.

"Chaos blast is a very emotional power, great if you're growing desperate during a fight, but when you've merely had a bad day, by the end of it you end up struggling to keep it locked away. And, no offence, Amy, you're extremely emotional."

"Wh- no! I'm... Okay, fair." She admitted. He gave a little snort at her words.

"But what am I supposed to do all day? I have stuff to do! People to see!"

"What people?" Asked Tails. She smiled sheepishly. Truth be told, she didn't know. But those last two cards in her reading were important. One of the two promised her survival through whatever strange trial that was destined to happen today, and the other... Was the one card she'd been failing to get ever since she gave up on Sonic. The Lovers card.

Unlike her situation with Sonic, she was determined to not ruin things. Make a good impression on whoever was supposed to notice her. Romance was literally in the cards today, and she wasn't going to miss it.

"I just- do, okay?"

"Well, if you're so bent on going out today," Shadow began. "I think the best course of action would be for me to accompany you."

I lot of things filled her head at that moment. First, she couldn't think of a time when she and Shadow had actually spent a day together, and she was kind of excited. But another thing she thought made her ashamed of herself.

What if the person she needs to meet is weirded out by Shadow? What if it ruins her chances forever?

She wasn't afraid of him. She knew he meant well in whatever he did, and she trusted that he was more than capable of doing whatever he set his mind to, but others didn't share the sentiment. Some stupid part of her mind conjured up a scenario where Shadow's accompaniment scared off the one. Him being too threatening or quiet.

Amy Rose! She yelled at herself. You know better than that! Anyone who judges you based on the company you keep isn't worth your time.

"We don't have to if you hate the idea that much," Shadow muttered. For a moment she thought he knew what she was thinking and her stomach filled with ice. But she realized it was because she was quiet for too long.

"NO! Uh, no. I don't mind at all." She glanced at him to gauge his response.

Disbelief. She couldn't tell if he was insulted, but he definitely didn't believe she was telling the truth.

"Honest." Still nothing. "I'm really fine w-"

"Don't lie to me, Rose."

That shut her up. What? Did he really think she hated him? Or was he just used to that treatment?

She glared at him. "Well jokes on you because now you're not gonna be able to get rid of me."

"What?"

She stood up and grabbed his wrist. "We're gonna spend all day together and it's going to be great." She pulled him to his feet and started dragging him out of the lab.

"Uh," Tails stuttered after them. "Well, have fun, you guys! Don't blow anything up!"

}{}{}{

"Y'know," she began. "I kinda expected you to fight more than this." She had dragged him all the way to station square. Not far from Tails' lab by any means, but he just let her drag him the whole way there.

He ripped his wrist out of her grasp. "Better?"

She rolled her eyes. "Not what I meant."

"I suggested this in the first place, remember?"

"Well, yeah but only because you didn't trust me to control my temper." She said it with a bit more animosity than she meant to.

Shadow took a while to respond to that.

"I just... I don't want you getting hurt. Chaos Blast hardly feels pleasant."

She turned to him. "What is it like?"

"Have you ever had a panic attack?"

"Um..."

"A long one?"

She shook her head.

"Good." It looked like he would leave it at that, but luckily he seemed to realize that was hardly comforting.

"Emotions are exhausting. Especially darker ones. There's a point at the end of a panic attack where you're not done being stressed mentally, but physically, you run out of energy to. It leaves you feeling... dead. Vacant. A dull sense of wrong is still there somewhere, but it's buried under wordless, empty exhaustion."

"That sounds awful." She muttered.

"That's the aftermath of a Chaos Blast. Or, it can be if you let it sneak up on you. You become too tired to still be angry. Not to mention all the property damage and potential lives in jeopardy."

"Y'know what? I'm glad you're here."

He laughed. Softly.

"You weren't before?"

"Stop twisting my words!"

The sky darkened slightly, and she looked up to see clouds covering the sun. She grimaced. The sun was farther in its path than she wanted. It felt like the day was slipping between her fingers. She glanced around at the other people walking around town. Mostly humans, as this was a much more human populated area than some other places. But there were plenty of Mobians wandering around as well.

Cats, hummingbirds, squirrels, everyone seemed to have somewhere to be. But as she glanced through the crowds, none of them looked like the one.

She hoped she hadn't missed them. Or that her talking with Shadow had made them think she was busy, and didn't have time for them.

"You seem distracted, Rose."

"Huh?" She turned back to face Shadow.

"Are you people watching for fun or is there someone you're looking for?"

She glanced back at the people. Some had vanished in the crowds, she hoped they hadn't been the one.

"Yes... No... Yes?"

"'To people watching or looking for someone?"

She groaned, covering her face. "I don't know! I guess I'm looking for someone!" The cement looked much more interesting then watching Shadow realize she was making a fool out of herself. She stared at the ground as they slowed to a stop.

"... What's wrong, Rose? Perhaps I can help."

She debated his suggestion. On one hand, he usually had something wise to say, on the other hand, she wasn't sure she wanted him to know why she was so invested in this one Tarot card. She really didn't want to come off as obsessive again.

Making up her mind, she took a deep breath. She didn't want to look at him. "You must've seen some of the many times I embarrassed myself in front of Sonic, right?"

He was quiet for a while. "...Yes."

A part of her died at the confession. If she ever wanted to impress Shadow, she already blew it. Good to know.

"Well, when I first met him it was because of a Tarot card reading." She sighed grumpily. "I pulled the Lovers card and decided I needed to find who it was about."

"You say that like it was the worst decision of your life."

Unlike what her usual instincts often told her, she decided she wouldn't say anything else until she knew how she wanted to say it.

Shadow was remarkably patient.

"I guess it was still the destined encounter the cards said it would be. But not in the way I was hoping. I was stupid about the whole thing. I figured whoever it was about saw romance the same way I did. That was dead wrong. I was stupid about that too."

"Are you... not over him?" He said it so softly. Like mentioning it would bother her. Or him.

"No, no, I am. It's just- the whole thing failed spectacularly because of me, and until today, I have never pulled that card again."

"You pulled it today."

"Yup... I have another shot." She said it almost wistfully. "I finally have another shot. But it had to be the stupid day with the stupid powers and stupid Amy Rose!"

"You're not stupid." He was so fast to correct her, that she stopped staring at the cement and looked at him.

As usual, he was hard to read. But he seemed attentive, and willing to help her out.

She stood up straight and looked around. "I feel like my day is slipping away from me. Any one of the people walking around us right now could be the one! I just don't want to ruin my chances like I did last time. Who knows if I'll ever draw it again." She laughed humorlessly. "I probably sound insane. Obsessing over a stupid piece of cardboard."

"No more insane than usual."

"Hey!" He smiled.

"If you want my opinion, I'd say that the deck was keeping it from you for a reason."

"Well, that much I got."

"So if it was keeping it from you for so long... Why give it to you now?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can't imagine that your deck, if as magical as you say, would just give it to you for no reason. I don't think you drew that card because someone will finally notice you today, I think you drew that card because you were ready."

She thought about it. Ready. Define ready? Ready to not screw this whole thing up? That sounded nice.

"Because I was ready?" She asked again. He nodded. "Oookay... What about the one?"

"What about them?"

"Are you saying that they might have noticed me before today?"

"It's certainly possible. I can't imagine something like this happening all at once." He had a point.

"Then why hasn't anything happened before now."

"Maybe you weren't ready."

"But what does that mean?!" 

He shrugged. "Maybe you're finally going to notice him."

She stopped. Huh. She never thought about it that way. That she wouldn't need to prove she was worth their time when they met. But that flipped the whole thing. Was there someone out there that she was ignoring when she shouldn't have been?

This was all so confusing. Maybe trying to play the whole thing in her favor was her problem. Maybe if she just kept an open mind, she would find the one.

"Geez, I'm making you my therapist!" He shrugged.

"I don't mind."

"Wanna grab a bite to eat? To make it up to you?"

It took a moment to hear a response. "...Okay."

}{}{}{

Shadow hadn't said anything in a while. It wasn't out of character for him to just keep quiet in social situations, but he seemed troubled. Of course, she could be misreading him.

"Since you were my therapist for so long, how about I be yours?" She said. She popped a strawberry from her dessert into her mouth.

"It's nothing."

"Is it though?" She asked.

"...The world is still quiet. That's all."

She blinked. "Oh. Um. I'm sorry. I forgot you're used to the sound."

He sighed but said nothing. She watched him take another bite of the cheesecake he ordered. She supposed she had no real reason to be thinking this, but there was something wrong with him looking so tense. It was wrong. And she needed to fix it.

 "I- am I stressing you out?" She asked. "I feel like I'm stressing you out."

He made eye contact with her and she stiffened. His red eyes were just so intense. 

"...No."

"You promise?" He nodded.

"What else were you planning on doing today. Something besides your tarot card reading and this whole, power swap situation."

"...No, I don't think there- wait, actually, yes! Do you mind helping me buy cupcakes?" 

"You need help doing that?"

"Yup!"

"Well then," he finished off his cheesecake and stood up. "Let's get moving."

}{}{}{

Shadow was incredibly helpful. She should've known. He helped her carry her dozens of cupcake trays. He didn't even ask or judge her when she stared buying cupcakes by the hundred. He was definitely curious about the whole thing, but when him and Amy walked over to libraries and hospitals to give them all out, he definitely figured it out. There was clear contentment in the way he walked around, gently offering cupcakes to the children in the hospital.

It was all fantastic. She didn't expect him to find it so enjoyable. It was almost distracting. There were several times where she got caught up in looking at him, watching him be so gentle and slow with his movements so he didn't scare the children away. She knew he was trying to counterbalance his more intimidating aspects, and it reminded her of the battle she had in her mind that morning. She was dead wrong. Shadow wasn't intimidating. He was amazing. And she would make sure everyone knew that as well as she did.

Eventually they ran out of cupcakes, and were walking back home. She was still conflicted about her card reading, but with Shadow around, she knew she wasn't wasting her time. She still wasn't quite sure about the whole trial, the cards had warned her about. So far the power swap seemed too uneventful to warrant three cards of destruction.

The sun was setting. It bathed the whole town in a dazzling orange. She almost turned to him to ask him what he thought of the whole thing, but someone interrupted her.

He couldn't be older than twenty, but he had the confidence of someone in their eighties. He wore a red baseball shirt, and the word on his tongue was enough to make her set a planet on fire.

"Freak!" That word bothered her much more than it should've. She glanced over to Shadow, who had frozen in place. "Go back to your asteroid! Oh wait! It's Gone! Maybe you should follow suit!"

Shadow growled. But made no move to defend himself. What was he doing!? He can't just stand there and take it! He could shut that guy up in seconds.

But he didn't. And that made her blood boil.

"You almost killed all of us! You're no hero! You're some 2D villain!"

"Excuse me!?" Amy yelled, startling both of them. "Since when was moving an entire space station to protect this planet 'villainous'!? Since when was stopping an asteroid from killing everyone with his bare hands and shoving it back into space 'villainous'!?" She tried to summon her hammer but it only fueled her anger, when her hands came up empty. It felt so unnatural. Like trying to push up your glasses only for them to not be there.

"Rose..." Shadow said. "You're- I need you to relax."

She took a step closer to the jerk insulting him. All words died in his mouth, and the guy stared at her with a scared expression. Good. She never looked this intimidating, but whatever it was, she would take it.

"I'll tell you one thing! Maybe look at the full picture before you go yelling at people on the street!"

"Rose," Shadow sounded more desperate. "Please!"

"Last I checked, no one is perfect! Maybe you should look at your own flaws before you go judging others! Like assuming you know everything, for example!"

The kid didn't wait and booked it in the other direction.

"I'm talking to y-"

"AMY!"

Her anger is cut short all at once and she notices the bright red glow surrounding- no, emanating from her. She flinched and tried to back up, hoping the bomb couldn't follow her. It did. Because she was the bomb. Her heart stopped when she realized what was happening.. 

The chaos blast he warned her about.

It was thick, and awfully startling. The feel of magic in the air was so potent, it felt like the air was thicker than it should be. Her breaths became shaky. When was it too late to stop this? Had she reached it? How big would the blast be? Was she going to kill people? Over losing her temper?

Her fur was going from pink do a deep red. It was awful. The red color was starting to spread to the air around her.

"Rose, stop." His deep voice managed to cut through her own thoughts. She looked at him with tears in her eyes.

"I-I don't want to hurt anyone."

"You won't," he said. "I promise, you won't." He took a step and immediately she could tell that he had crossed some sort of threshold. It was like he was being pushed away from her. It was like wind. But he was resolute and kept going. Slowly getting closer and closer...

No, he's going to get vaporized! He's too close! I'm going to kill him...

"No! Stay back!" She took a step backwards. "I'll hurt you."

"No, you won't." Another step forwards.

"You don't know that! What if you can't help me?"

"I do know that." He said, and he gazed into her eyes with his Ruby Red piercing ones. "Amy Rose, you are the bravest, kindest, most caring person I know. You're stubborn. And I love that about you. I love everything about you! You're stronger than this! I know you are. So please, trust me. Just this once. You can decide to hate me after this, but as I don't care as long as you're safe, for now, please. Let me in."

His words cleared up the air, and made it easier to breathe. She didn't know what to say. Did he really-

Step by step the red glow began to fade away.The wind was still there, she was still glowing, but the whole thing was less severe. And Shadow used the time he had gained from her stunned silence to get close to her. He was right there, right in front of her.

Shadow wasn't one for hugs. And Amy knew that. But he didn't hesitate. He knew, if there was ever a time to give her a hug, this is it. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in tight. She clung to him desperately. Pleading for him to fix the melting pot of emotions.. She put her head on his chest. 

"Breathe, Rose. Slowly. Deeply." She didn't realize she was hyperventilating. She struggled to stop, however. And it didn't take long for Shadow to start taking deep breaths himself. For her to copy. She could feel his breathing in his chest and slowly started to match her breathing with his.

It took a minute or two, of just burying her face in the fluff on Shadow's chest before the air felt normal again. She didn't want to trust that it was fully gone.

"You've stopped glowing."

"Really..? Are you sure?" A hum of agreement vibrated through the two of them. She Thought back to all of the things Shadow had said. It was

"Did- did you really mean all the things you said back there? Or was it just to get me to stop."

"I meant every word. Though. I... I probably wouldn't have the courage to say it without a scenario like this."

Tears filled her eyes, but she laughed a bit anyway. "I-I guess I should consider m-myself lucky, then..."

"I don't know that I'd call this 'luck'."

She laughed again. While burying herself deeper into his chest. Like he would vanish if she didn't hold onto him.

"Are... you alright?"

"Thank you for staying with me, Shadow. You should've run away when I started glowing."

He scoffed. "As if. I'm not going to leave you to such a fate. You deserve the world, Rose. I won't let anything happen to you. Not if I can help it."

"You're so sweet, Shadow."

"I don't know if that's the right way to put it. I'm hardly 'sweet'."

"You are around me."

"Well that's because..." He trailed off.

She sighed. "I'm done with your powers. Wanna go back to Tails and see if he's figured it out yet."

He mumbled it so quietly. If she wasn't so close, she would've assumed she hadn't heard anything at all.

"I don't want to leave... I want to stay here with you."

She glanced up at him. His red eyes were striking. Staring into them took her breath away. They were so full of passion. How had she not noticed before?

"This won't be the last time, I promise."

He sighed begrudgingly. "...Fine. I just. I don't get to do this often. One day with you alone and I spilled everything I felt."

She gave a tiny laugh as she pulled away. He groaned unhappily. Clearly upset about her leaving.

"I think this was a good thing," she said. "I think I know who the cards were talking about."

A/N: I forgor day three via procrastinating. It exists I promise! I just had too many ideas to get it done in time ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Write Your Story

I just showed my 11-year-old son how many coffee shop AUs there are on AO3.

Why?

He sat down the other day to write a Minecraft story about three kids who go through a portal in their back yard and end up in the world of Minecraft where they have to battle all the big bosses (I didn’t even realize there WERE big bosses in Minecraft but that’s beside the point). He wrote three chapters with a little input from me – his first beta – and y'all?

He was fucking excited. To be writing a story.

Today he came home from school and seemed a little down, so I asked him about it only to find out that some little asshole at his school told him, “There is already a Minecraft story.”

Me: Okay? So what?

Lucifer: If there’s already a story, no one will read mine.

Immediately, I dragged him in and pulled up my AO3 account. My boys know I write fanfiction, so I showed him my account and how many subscribers I have. Then I showed him how many Teen Wolf stories there are. And then, because it seemed like the perfect analogy, I said, “What if I wrote a story where two characters meet in a coffee shop and fall in love? No werewolves, nothing at all to do with the actual Teen Wolf universe. Just Stiles and Derek meet in a coffeeshop and fall in love.”

He laughed.

I showed him Mornings Aren’t For Everyone. Showed him how many hits it had, how many kudos, how many lovely comments.

Then I said, “So do you think, if anyone else wrote a story about those exact same characters meeting in a coffee shop and falling in love… would anyone read it?”

He laughed and said, “No because you already did.”

So I clicked on the Sterek tag and refined to coffee shop AU. His mind was blown to see that they ALL had thousands of hits and kudos and comments. Then I clicked on JUST the coffee shop AU tag and showed him all the fics across all the fandoms written by countless different people.

I’m going to tell you all now what I told him because it applies to everyone.

Write your story. It doesn’t matter that someone else has written a story about that subject. They didn’t write YOUR story. Only you can do that.

And I want to read your story.

Happy belated B-day, Sonic 06

You're my favorite travesty, and the fact that this abomination of a video game happened barely six months after I was born is honestly kind of hilarious to me. I always know exactly how old my favorite Sonic game is.

I know I called you an abomination, 06, and that's cuz you are, but you might be one of my favorite games of all time, ironically and unironically. It being a buggy mess is hilarious, Project 06 being awesome is the best, and honestly if you're willing to sift through all the garbage writing execution, you can find some real treasures. Shadow's written so well that I think that's where all the budget went, Silver is a character so charming he survived to reach other, significantly better games, Crisis City is honestly such a cool and distinct concept for a fictional space, I mean, I wouldn't be writing Psychic and Empathetic if I didn't think so.

(I say "writing" as if it isn't just brainstorming I keep forgetting to put in my notes app, and flesh out into chapters that I then never remember to upload cuz my brain would rather write an entire fic and then post it instead of the usual fanfic, post chapter when it's done thing...)

Anyway, ily '06 you freak of video game nature!

Sonic 06 fanfic I was referring to btw, it's still happening, I promise! Dadow will return!