Hello I’ve been reading you and another persons notes about shadow being silvers dad and him having black arms blood and I’m really invested in your ideas! I was just wondering and I don’t mean to sound like I’m asking you to or pressuring you but are you or do you plan on writing a fic/story about it?
Oh! I'm glad you enjoyed our ideas! ^-^/
And yes, I am planning to write a fic about it eventually. But with me being a slow writer + college kicking my butt rn, it's probably gonna take a while.
But when it's done I'll make sure to reblog the post with the link to it, so that people can find it easily.
I hope you don't mind me adding my own take on some designs! :)
(Extra design notes/lore ideas for those interested under the cut.)
General design notes:
- his eyes are still yellow, but turn blue when using the Black Arms powers
- the brightest blue parts are actually luminescent
- still show some darker colors, since I though pure white would be boring
- I imagine the forms are fire/lava proof, since he grew up in a literal hellhole
Doom Wing:
- the wings are longer and thinner than Shadow's, good for long flights and passive soaring, but not as good at making quick turns
- the bottom part is thin and ribbon like and trails behing him when he flies, doesn't have much practical purpose, I just thought it looked nice
- using them a lot sometimes discolors his quills
Doom Morph:
- long and eel-like, the individual tentacles "twist" together, turning into two long tentacles at the end (something like a squid's)
Doom Surf:
- based on an orca, I think they are neat
Lore Ideas?:
Honestly him being a different color from the other Black Arms should have some lore-significance, since they are literally named after a color and he's the exact opposite. Though I don't know how or how significant, could be anywhere from "he just looks weird" to "this thing has been prophesied to wipe out our entire race, and therefore must be eliminated at any cost". So yeah, I feel like there's some fun to be had with the idea.
I also keep thinking about his possible connection to the Hivemind. It could be possible he just can't due to not having enough Black Arms blood, but that's just boring. So I was thinking, since he already has psychic powers, maybe his could be a bit different.
So he's connected to it since the beginning, but it's not like he really knows it, considering there are no Black Arms left in his original timeline. But due to his powers he tends to project rather loudly into it, and strong emotions tend to amplify it. Even when he's calm, there always a sort of "white noise" surrounding him, but this quickly fades with physical distance. But if he were let's say... fighting for his life? There wouldn't be a place on the planet you couldn't hear him from.
Maybe it could be bit of a left-over habit from childhood, where he would have needed a lot of help from others to survive. Instinctually calling for help in any way he could, even if he never got any response back...
So yeah, that's about what I've got for now. But I'd love to hear what everyone else has come up with!
This one in particular gave me ideas, im sleep deprived and my wisdom teeth hurts so much i feel it in my eyes, so its perfect for writing lez go.
Him looking different could be an accident depending on wich take you wanna go for his origins, if he was lab created for, idk, GUN getting quirk and wanting something that could counter shadow but obey them, just for this little silver thing that looks useless and physically weaker to appear, they discard the project cause they made it in the molds of the ultimate lifeform and not only it seems weaker it also do not look like him at all so it do look like a failure.
If you go with the biodadow, albinism is a thing and its just cute in general cause i think its funny if silver being this really strong character (he can FLY USING HIS MIND and we dont talk about it enough) just getting sunburned cause he forgot sunscream.
Not trapped into any specific thing (lab, bio, just spawned) it also could just be like a mutation in general that its not commonly found between the blackarms that make them physically weaker but mentally stronger (yeah like rpg stats my boy but them in wisdom and called a day). This ine can tap into the prophecy territory like, these mutated blackarms were attack and distroyed cause their mind wouldn't bend to the hive call and they were so strong they were challenging their leader ignoring the call and even assuming control of others, that's why they were exterminated and every B.A. with the mutation were quickly terminated, but as they don't exist in silver's time, and anyway he got this alien DNA, his chaos signature and his DNA just worked together for him to get this mutation.
Now, im going to get this last bit and tie it along with him constantly having the white noise AND why shadow just don't interact much with him in cannon, lets dive into it and i really need painkillers now.
So, as i said before, he has an unique mind and control over the call, the concept for some reason remembered me of the force in star wars, whatever, so, as his mind is stronger he can just always be in tune, but as most of his futures are apocalyptic and idk from wich he came, he just don't know what he's doing, he feels like he should hear something, sometimes he even gets this feeling someone is reaching out (in the hypotesis of shadow being trapped like in 06 or something like that). The white noise is there cause he can't turn it out, he can turn it down, but its always in the back of his mind.
When he travels back in time, shadow is not a fan of being too close to him and always seems annoyed when he tries to be polite (i like my silver with edge so i like when he's salty like the 14 year old teenager boy that he is). Shadow's actually feeling some connection, he doesn't like it one bit cause it feels like its gnawling in his brain and he can't point out why, silver came from the future and all but he doesn't seem to know him so why does he feels that way? It clicks when, someday, the gang is called and everyone is there to help, even the future boy, shadow's there fighting when he feels something is wrong, a sharp feeling in the back of his head, soom followed by a familiar voice ecoing inside his head, the words clear...
Oooooooh, I didn't expect anyone would add onto my ramblings, but this really made my day! AND gave me some more ideas! >:)
So I have to admit I initially imagined this being somewhat inline with the 06's future timeline, but time travel being time travel, it gets so confusing at one point it might as well mot matter. Either way, for this AU to work, Silver does need to be biologically related to Shadow. Whether that's due to him being artificially created, or made the traditional way, is not as important right now, that's future-Shadow's problem. (Though I'm leaning more towards the lab-baby thing. I dunno. I just feel like it makes sense for someone who was made in a lab, to have a "child" be born the same way.)
But most importantly, this gave me an idea for how a hypothetical subspecies of Black Arms could work. It goes something like this:
So basically, I'm running with the "psysically weak but mentally strong" idea. They would have strong connection and effect on the hivemind. As a result, they weren't really meant to fight on the front lines. Instead they had more of a "commander" role. Essentially their role was to gather information on the battlefield, from the footsoldiers, scouts and their own observations, analyze and interpret this information, and organize and lead the forces based on this. They would also interpret and carry out orders from higher in the command chain, while having enough authority to give out orders of their own. This basically streamlined they command chain and made it easier to sift through and pass on important information.
I also imagine that some of the older members would retire from the battlefield. And instead focus on preserving the history of the Black Arms and all knowledge they have collected over the eons. Making sure it doesn't get lost, diluted or misinterpreted over time, and is readily available when needed.
So by default, they could exert higher and stronger control over the other Black Arms, allowing them to be effective leaders on the battlefield, while being resistant to such control themselves. Only their superiors were strong enough to control them. Of course, as fate would have it, gradually more and more of these members would rebel, try to take complete control of sections of the hive, all while being practiaclly uncontrolable themselves. Eventually they were deemed too dangerous to be left alive, and were hunted down and eliminated at no small cost.
Since there was a lot of knowledge that couldn't be absorbed by the rest of the hive. Over time, most of the information about them became corrupted. They went from competent data analyzers to something that once almost destroyed their whole species from inside out.
Now, I don't know much about Black Arms reproduction, or even how much info there is on it, if any. So I'm just basing this on my headcanon. But basically, I imagine new members are born depending on which roles the hive needs to fill. And their genomes can be adjusted to fill that role better. Plus they are provided all the information they will need by the hive. So for example, all warriors are already born knowing how to fight. But since this subspecies was intended to be elimitaned completely, none of the genes necessary survived in the population. That is, with the exception of Black Doom, who passed them onto Shadow, and then eventually Silver. (Where they became dominant due to genes being passed on more randomly)
So I think Silver would have naturally equally strong connection to the hivemind, but none of the knowledge on how to use it. So anything he does with it is purely instinctual, more based on his emotions and immediate needs. He would need to train and learn it to properly utilize it just like any other skill. ((Ironically, I imagine this could initially make him more susceptible to getting controlled himself, unless he learns how to resist it.))
Also I imagine this whole thing would affect his social skills a bit, partially because he grew up in an apocalyptic future. Sometimes he would have problems expressing himself properly, because part of him would subconciously assume his intent would be carried without words or gestures. And since he wouldn't get to meet that many people growing up, he never realized it's not normal. For him it's like constantly having a word on the tip of your tongue you can't even begin to explain.
Naturally, his relationship with Shadow would be affected by all this too. Subconciously they would be aware of each other in a way they just aren't with anyone else. In a fight they would be able to predict each others moves a synchonize their attacks just a bit too easily. Shadow would always somehow be the first one to know when Silver returns to the past. And whenever Silver gets too excited or angry his ears would fill with tinnitus. He's also the only one to be able to parse the extra meaning in Silver's words. It would kinda creep Shadow out, to the point he'd start avoiding the kid. Even if he knows Silver did nothing wrong.
At first he'd just assume it had to be some weird mix of Silver's psychokinesis, chaos powers and Shadow's own odd biology. But after (very reluctantly) mentioning it to Sonic, to which the blue hedgehog has no idea what he's talking about. He does start getting a bit more concerned.
It's not until one fateful day, during another world ending catastrophe that needs to be dealt with, one so bad even their resident time traveler had to show up, it happens. One moment he's lost in the heat of the battle, and the next his mind is pierced with an achingly familiar cry for help. In a split second he's painfully aware that Silver is in danger. That he's injured and can't defend himself. He's aware of all of this, even though he can't see Silver from where he's standing, and that no one else has reacted to the call. But more than any of this, the one most damning thing is the sickening compulsion that urges him to help. His feet move before he even registers what's happening.
It's in that exact moment he knows. Maybe not how or why. But be knows.
Silver is one of the Black Arms.
But more importantly: he's a kid that needs his help.
I hope you don't mind me adding my own take on some designs! :)
(Extra design notes/lore ideas for those interested under the cut.)
General design notes:
- his eyes are still yellow, but turn blue when using the Black Arms powers
- the brightest blue parts are actually luminescent
- still show some darker colors, since I though pure white would be boring
- I imagine the forms are fire/lava proof, since he grew up in a literal hellhole
Doom Wing:
- the wings are longer and thinner than Shadow's, good for long flights and passive soaring, but not as good at making quick turns
- the bottom part is thin and ribbon like and trails behing him when he flies, doesn't have much practical purpose, I just thought it looked nice
- using them a lot sometimes discolors his quills
Doom Morph:
- long and eel-like, the individual tentacles "twist" together, turning into two long tentacles at the end (something like a squid's)
Doom Surf:
- based on an orca, I think they are neat
Lore Ideas?:
Honestly him being a different color from the other Black Arms should have some lore-significance, since they are literally named after a color and he's the exact opposite. Though I don't know how or how significant, could be anywhere from "he just looks weird" to "this thing has been prophesied to wipe out our entire race, and therefore must be eliminated at any cost". So yeah, I feel like there's some fun to be had with the idea.
I also keep thinking about his possible connection to the Hivemind. It could be possible he just can't due to not having enough Black Arms blood, but that's just boring. So I was thinking, since he already has psychic powers, maybe his could be a bit different.
So he's connected to it since the beginning, but it's not like he really knows it, considering there are no Black Arms left in his original timeline. But due to his powers he tends to project rather loudly into it, and strong emotions tend to amplify it. Even when he's calm, there always a sort of "white noise" surrounding him, but this quickly fades with physical distance. But if he were let's say... fighting for his life? There wouldn't be a place on the planet you couldn't hear him from.
Maybe it could be bit of a left-over habit from childhood, where he would have needed a lot of help from others to survive. Instinctually calling for help in any way he could, even if he never got any response back...
So yeah, that's about what I've got for now. But I'd love to hear what everyone else has come up with!
This one in particular gave me ideas, im sleep deprived and my wisdom teeth hurts so much i feel it in my eyes, so its perfect for writing lez go.
Him looking different could be an accident depending on wich take you wanna go for his origins, if he was lab created for, idk, GUN getting quirk and wanting something that could counter shadow but obey them, just for this little silver thing that looks useless and physically weaker to appear, they discard the project cause they made it in the molds of the ultimate lifeform and not only it seems weaker it also do not look like him at all so it do look like a failure.
If you go with the biodadow, albinism is a thing and its just cute in general cause i think its funny if silver being this really strong character (he can FLY USING HIS MIND and we dont talk about it enough) just getting sunburned cause he forgot sunscream.
Not trapped into any specific thing (lab, bio, just spawned) it also could just be like a mutation in general that its not commonly found between the blackarms that make them physically weaker but mentally stronger (yeah like rpg stats my boy but them in wisdom and called a day). This ine can tap into the prophecy territory like, these mutated blackarms were attack and distroyed cause their mind wouldn't bend to the hive call and they were so strong they were challenging their leader ignoring the call and even assuming control of others, that's why they were exterminated and every B.A. with the mutation were quickly terminated, but as they don't exist in silver's time, and anyway he got this alien DNA, his chaos signature and his DNA just worked together for him to get this mutation.
Now, im going to get this last bit and tie it along with him constantly having the white noise AND why shadow just don't interact much with him in cannon, lets dive into it and i really need painkillers now.
So, as i said before, he has an unique mind and control over the call, the concept for some reason remembered me of the force in star wars, whatever, so, as his mind is stronger he can just always be in tune, but as most of his futures are apocalyptic and idk from wich he came, he just don't know what he's doing, he feels like he should hear something, sometimes he even gets this feeling someone is reaching out (in the hypotesis of shadow being trapped like in 06 or something like that). The white noise is there cause he can't turn it out, he can turn it down, but its always in the back of his mind.
When he travels back in time, shadow is not a fan of being too close to him and always seems annoyed when he tries to be polite (i like my silver with edge so i like when he's salty like the 14 year old teenager boy that he is). Shadow's actually feeling some connection, he doesn't like it one bit cause it feels like its gnawling in his brain and he can't point out why, silver came from the future and all but he doesn't seem to know him so why does he feels that way? It clicks when, someday, the gang is called and everyone is there to help, even the future boy, shadow's there fighting when he feels something is wrong, a sharp feeling in the back of his head, soom followed by a familiar voice ecoing inside his head, the words clear...
Oooooooh, I didn't expect anyone would add onto my ramblings, but this really made my day! AND gave me some more ideas! >:)
So I have to admit I initially imagined this being somewhat inline with the 06's future timeline, but time travel being time travel, it gets so confusing at one point it might as well mot matter. Either way, for this AU to work, Silver does need to be biologically related to Shadow. Whether that's due to him being artificially created, or made the traditional way, is not as important right now, that's future-Shadow's problem. (Though I'm leaning more towards the lab-baby thing. I dunno. I just feel like it makes sense for someone who was made in a lab, to have a "child" be born the same way.)
But most importantly, this gave me an idea for how a hypothetical subspecies of Black Arms could work. It goes something like this:
So basically, I'm running with the "psysically weak but mentally strong" idea. They would have strong connection and effect on the hivemind. As a result, they weren't really meant to fight on the front lines. Instead they had more of a "commander" role. Essentially their role was to gather information on the battlefield, from the footsoldiers, scouts and their own observations, analyze and interpret this information, and organize and lead the forces based on this. They would also interpret and carry out orders from higher in the command chain, while having enough authority to give out orders of their own. This basically streamlined they command chain and made it easier to sift through and pass on important information.
I also imagine that some of the older members would retire from the battlefield. And instead focus on preserving the history of the Black Arms and all knowledge they have collected over the eons. Making sure it doesn't get lost, diluted or misinterpreted over time, and is readily available when needed.
So by default, they could exert higher and stronger control over the other Black Arms, allowing them to be effective leaders on the battlefield, while being resistant to such control themselves. Only their superiors were strong enough to control them. Of course, as fate would have it, gradually more and more of these members would rebel, try to take complete control of sections of the hive, all while being practiaclly uncontrolable themselves. Eventually they were deemed too dangerous to be left alive, and were hunted down and eliminated at no small cost.
Since there was a lot of knowledge that couldn't be absorbed by the rest of the hive. Over time, most of the information about them became corrupted. They went from competent data analyzers to something that once almost destroyed their whole species from inside out.
Now, I don't know much about Black Arms reproduction, or even how much info there is on it, if any. So I'm just basing this on my headcanon. But basically, I imagine new members are born depending on which roles the hive needs to fill. And their genomes can be adjusted to fill that role better. Plus they are provided all the information they will need by the hive. So for example, all warriors are already born knowing how to fight. But since this subspecies was intended to be elimitaned completely, none of the genes necessary survived in the population. That is, with the exception of Black Doom, who passed them onto Shadow, and then eventually Silver. (Where they became dominant due to genes being passed on more randomly)
So I think Silver would have naturally equally strong connection to the hivemind, but none of the knowledge on how to use it. So anything he does with it is purely instinctual, more based on his emotions and immediate needs. He would need to train and learn it to properly utilize it just like any other skill. ((Ironically, I imagine this could initially make him more susceptible to getting controlled himself, unless he learns how to resist it.))
Also I imagine this whole thing would affect his social skills a bit, partially because he grew up in an apocalyptic future. Sometimes he would have problems expressing himself properly, because part of him would subconciously assume his intent would be carried without words or gestures. And since he wouldn't get to meet that many people growing up, he never realized it's not normal. For him it's like constantly having a word on the tip of your tongue you can't even begin to explain.
Naturally, his relationship with Shadow would be affected by all this too. Subconciously they would be aware of each other in a way they just aren't with anyone else. In a fight they would be able to predict each others moves a synchonize their attacks just a bit too easily. Shadow would always somehow be the first one to know when Silver returns to the past. And whenever Silver gets too excited or angry his ears would fill with tinnitus. He's also the only one to be able to parse the extra meaning in Silver's words. It would kinda creep Shadow out, to the point he'd start avoiding the kid. Even if he knows Silver did nothing wrong.
At first he'd just assume it had to be some weird mix of Silver's psychokinesis, chaos powers and Shadow's own odd biology. But after (very reluctantly) mentioning it to Sonic, to which the blue hedgehog has no idea what he's talking about. He does start getting a bit more concerned.
It's not until one fateful day, during another world ending catastrophe that needs to be dealt with, one so bad even their resident time traveler had to show up, it happens. One moment he's lost in the heat of the battle, and the next his mind is pierced with an achingly familiar cry for help. In a split second he's painfully aware that Silver is in danger. That he's injured and can't defend himself. He's aware of all of this, even though he can't see Silver from where he's standing, and that no one else has reacted to the call. But more than any of this, the one most damning thing is the sickening compulsion that urges him to help. His feet move before he even registers what's happening.
It's in that exact moment he knows. Maybe not how or why. But be knows.
Silver is one of the Black Arms.
But more importantly: he's a kid that needs his help.
I had to open my notes so now sh¡t got serious! First of all i want to apologize for my broken english, i can read it really well but when it comes to forming sentences my mind just slips off sometimes.
Second: i LOVE rambling and reading others rambling, make me feel part of something and i really like adding to others ideas and all, glad you liked it ^^
Im feeling better and i don't know how to add more but i really enjoy this concept so lets dive into it again!
The lab thing also makes more sense in a way that i don't see shadow being a deadbeat parent, not in the present, less so in the future with a more mature shadow and even if they trapped him or whatever, he would fight till his last breath if he knew there was someone depending on him. Knowing that its following the 2006 line ill still say that silver is a second attempt at recreating project Shadow, by GUN it adds the sour taste, by some illegal company it adds some mistery about how they got the information and why they want it, also adds to why they never went after him, maybe GUN discovered this stole data and whiped out the illegal lab just like they did in the ark or it just got destroyed with everything in the future.
Just cause i think its cool, for some reason when reading about the subspecies my brain went "Ah Yes, the concil" and i can't stop calling them that. Going by the logic here, it could also explain the more "eel-like" appearence in the drawing, there's no need to be bulkier, they're slender so it's easier to scape danger situations without making a fuss. The orca in the doom surf could come out of necessity, they're kinda agressive, as this subspecies being weaker, it could be a mean of protection, as, at least silver, is a target while doom surfing (i also wanna add that while shadow surfs, silver could dive, he doesn't needs to surf but dive is a good abilitie for him not only lore but gameplay wise cause it differenciates, it also creates the situation of him not being afraid to swin cause he knows he can do that, he simply thinks its linked to some power he still can't truly reach when he wants, just when he needs).
The control part actually adds to my first reblog of this when he can be an enemy cause of the control, it also can be used for some good angst in a way that he wouldn't know why he can't resist, and after all, he has a good heart so why is his head full of this bloodlust?
Socially its just funny to think about him staring at people subconsciently thinking his words made trough (he just weirded someone out, they called the Police once)
I think past shadow would want to keep his distance not only because he's weirded out, but depending on what shadow we're talking about, i assume he would be afraid of caring this deeply, specially cause he don't even know silver well, he doesn't want to grow attached and even not wanting to be friends or have anything with silver, he still cares and it scares him, he's still (living and) learning how to properly care about his friends, Rouge and Omega, and with them it was more natural, he is taking his time and all, with silver is all too confusing.
The sonic bit i imagine Shadow seeing a chance and taking it or maybe it was sonic making a joke that made it click, like a "how did you know he meant that? Do the "ultimate lifeform" (imagine the fingers quoting and he imitating shadow) have telepathy now or you're just hanging a lot with ames and got addicted to that card stuff or whatever?" If shadow took a chance i imagine him just brushing something off and going "the kid had a plan, he explained it"
"...He didn't explain sh-"
As silver is more related to shadow then just being B.A. and all, maybe the link is different, more personal, maybe in a normal situation with just other B.A. He would hear the call, simple and clean, but with silver he has the urge to act, he doesn't know yet but some part of him already sees silver as family and has a different bond.
It does not help Shadow that Silver is in fact younger and naturally people tend to give more attention to the younger people close in danger situations and they work well together, the chance is they would be paired up to fight anyway, but got separated while fighting.
I also don't know about B.A. biology but alongside my headcanon that they are produced, not conceived, hence the unique nature of the bond of the hedgehogs, i also headcanon that their blood is a darker Red, almost black even when fresh, so if silver got hurt shadow just got a nod to what he already felt...
The blood trail is dark as night but with a unmistakable Red tint to it.
Not that far, Silver just laying with a pained expression, but in his eyes its like he knew he would come, even so when he appeared the younger one looked surprised.
"S-shadow? How did you..."
"I heard it"
And now Silver is the one who got questions
If we keep this well have a full A fic just needing edition lol
Glad to hear you're feeling better! But you should really get some good sleep in tho.
Other than that, I'm glad you're having fun with this! I'm usually pretty nervous to interact with people like this, but I'm really enjoying myself. Plus everyone's been super nice!
And don't worry about your English, everything has been perfectly understandable so far. I'm not a native speaker myself, so I understand how hard it can be.
With that said, let's see what I can come up with this time...
I think I'll start with some ideas for Silver's origins. I totally agree with you that Shadow wouldn't be a deadbeat. Like, he might not always be the best at showing it, but he does genuinely care about others. And if he found out he has a kid? Well, he would probably be pretty conflicted at first, maybe even a little scared, but he definitely wouldn't leave said kid to fend for themselves. So something pretty big must have happened for him to be out of the picture. Though if Mephiles is to be believed in 06, then he has been sealed away.
After that... well, I guess G.U.N. is the easiest to point a finger to when it comes to Silver's creation. I wouldn't be surprised, if once someone a bit more, let's say ambitious, gets to lead G.U.N. That they might try to revisit Project Shadow and try to create their own Ultimate Lifeform to use as a weapon. Aside from maybe Eggman, they are the only ones that could get to, and make use of what's left of Gerald's research. ((Maybe in some twisted way this is the real reason why Shadow gets captured in the future.))
But thinking about this does remind me something: Silver's gloves. Some people do theorize they could be like Shadow's inhibitor rings. Which is a pretty interesting thing to think about. (Or at least to a lesser extent, they are meant to help him direct and control his psychokinesis better.) But either way, they do look like some pretty fancy tech, something that would be pretty hard to come by in a fiery hellscape of a world. So this could further help explain where and why he got them.
Either way, once Iblis starts weaking havoc. Silver would still probably be too young and inexperienced to fight against it. And so G.U.N. is destroyed, Shadow left forgotten, and Silver has no choice other than to set out into a world with only a handful of a survivors left to guide him. I don't think he would really remember much of his early life, and that is even if he got to have some semblance of a childhood. So he has no idea about his true origins.
Fast foward to the point he's actively traveling to the past. His relationship with the other characters would be a little awkward in the beginning, with all the time travel and all. He genuinely wants to be around other people, but can't shake the feeling that his time in the past only temporary. That once he's able to ensure an actually good future, but one that he has detached himself from by his constant travels, he won't really belong anywhere.
This would make his relationship with Shadow even harder. On one hand you have Silver who wants to make connections, but is held back by his own doubts. And then there is Shadow who despite genuinely caring about others, has a difficult time making connections because his own past, and deeply ingrained fear of loss. So for a younger Shadow, forging friendships isn't the easiest. I think it would take some time for him to get used to the idea of having a family again, especially considering what happened to the last one. Then you add onto that Silver constantly leaving to the future. One day he could just not return to the past, and no one would have any idea what happened to him, or if he's even alive. That's a terrifying thought.
The whole reveal would probably make things even more awkward between them. But it might allow them to actually think about their relationship and decide how they want to proceed. Y'know, actually get them to talk to each other properly. Plus, they are still a lot of questions both both of them would like to be answered. Just because they know they are somehow related, doesn't mean they have the whole picture.
As for some more of the Black Arms stuff. For the Doom Morph I had something slender and nimble in mind, so that fits. (Especially since I didn't want to just recolor Shadow's.) As for the Surf form, well, I did have a few more reasons to choose orca to base it on. They are incredibly smart and very social creatures. Also, I feel like a lot of people tend to underestimate how good of a hunters they are, there is a good reason they are called the "killer whales". Similarly, Silver may look like a cute furball, but he's deceptively strong and should not be messed with. (He did kick Sonic's butt twice in his debut game.) But the diving thing is a pretty cool idea, I didn't think of that.
I really like the idea of their blood being black though. Afaik the general consesus is that their blood is green (I think that's how it's in the game too, because censorship). But it being black just sounds much cooler and looks more on brand. I'll definitely be borrowing this. (I also just realized how well that would blend in with Shadow's fur, oh no)
I admit I've already been toying with the idea of Silver getting controlled through the hivemind. It's absolutely ripe with some angst potential, and ho boy do I love me some good angst. >:)
Like, imagine if this was how their relation was actually revealed.
It would require there being another Black Arms aside from our two hedgehogs. So either Black Doom somehow returns from the dead again, or I actually come up with a way to include Eclipse. (Speaking of Eclipse, I really do wanna involve him somehow, he's very neat.)
__________________
Honestly yeah, at this point this might as well become a fic lol. To be fair, I have been considering writing a one based on this, I just need to wrangle the plot a bit first and I'm ready to go.
So allow me to continue a bit:
Silver's day just went from bad to worse, and all it took was one unlucky hit to the head. His vision was swimming. His ears were ringing.
When did he fall to the ground?
He pushed himself to his knees. The enemies were closing in. Large hulking machines, the lastest of Eggman's attempts to take over the world. One he couldn't let succeed.
He tried to focus his powers, but they fizzled out pitifully. He grit his teeth.
Focus.
Focus.
His hand sparked with power, and the nearest robot crumpled like a tin can. A stab of pain through his head sent him down again. He tried to get his hands under him, to crawl as far away as he could, his pride me damned. But he didn't get far.
He could only watch as his enemies lumbered closer. No... It can't end like this.
Someone.
Anyone...
Help.
HELP ME!
In what felt like a crash of lighting, and just as fast, the foes fell one by one. Leaving only a dark figure standing atop the scrap metal.
He could barely see, yet somehow... "S-Shadow? How did you..." he knew who it was.
"I heard it."
What?
Shadow wasted no time in approaching him. He knelt next to him and helped Silver sit up. The whole world lurched with the movement. Silver felt a hand touch the side of his head, causing him to hiss in pain.
"Sorry." The word was almost too quiet to hear. Shadow pulled his hand back, white glove stained black. He seemed to study it for a moment before wiping it on his leg. Carefully he gathered Silver into his arms. "Hold on. I'll get you out of here."
I hope you don't mind me adding my own take on some designs! :)
(Extra design notes/lore ideas for those interested under the cut.)
General design notes:
- his eyes are still yellow, but turn blue when using the Black Arms powers
- the brightest blue parts are actually luminescent
- still show some darker colors, since I though pure white would be boring
- I imagine the forms are fire/lava proof, since he grew up in a literal hellhole
Doom Wing:
- the wings are longer and thinner than Shadow's, good for long flights and passive soaring, but not as good at making quick turns
- the bottom part is thin and ribbon like and trails behing him when he flies, doesn't have much practical purpose, I just thought it looked nice
- using them a lot sometimes discolors his quills
Doom Morph:
- long and eel-like, the individual tentacles "twist" together, turning into two long tentacles at the end (something like a squid's)
Doom Surf:
- based on an orca, I think they are neat
Lore Ideas?:
Honestly him being a different color from the other Black Arms should have some lore-significance, since they are literally named after a color and he's the exact opposite. Though I don't know how or how significant, could be anywhere from "he just looks weird" to "this thing has been prophesied to wipe out our entire race, and therefore must be eliminated at any cost". So yeah, I feel like there's some fun to be had with the idea.
I also keep thinking about his possible connection to the Hivemind. It could be possible he just can't due to not having enough Black Arms blood, but that's just boring. So I was thinking, since he already has psychic powers, maybe his could be a bit different.
So he's connected to it since the beginning, but it's not like he really knows it, considering there are no Black Arms left in his original timeline. But due to his powers he tends to project rather loudly into it, and strong emotions tend to amplify it. Even when he's calm, there always a sort of "white noise" surrounding him, but this quickly fades with physical distance. But if he were let's say... fighting for his life? There wouldn't be a place on the planet you couldn't hear him from.
Maybe it could be bit of a left-over habit from childhood, where he would have needed a lot of help from others to survive. Instinctually calling for help in any way he could, even if he never got any response back...
So yeah, that's about what I've got for now. But I'd love to hear what everyone else has come up with!
This one in particular gave me ideas, im sleep deprived and my wisdom teeth hurts so much i feel it in my eyes, so its perfect for writing lez go.
Him looking different could be an accident depending on wich take you wanna go for his origins, if he was lab created for, idk, GUN getting quirk and wanting something that could counter shadow but obey them, just for this little silver thing that looks useless and physically weaker to appear, they discard the project cause they made it in the molds of the ultimate lifeform and not only it seems weaker it also do not look like him at all so it do look like a failure.
If you go with the biodadow, albinism is a thing and its just cute in general cause i think its funny if silver being this really strong character (he can FLY USING HIS MIND and we dont talk about it enough) just getting sunburned cause he forgot sunscream.
Not trapped into any specific thing (lab, bio, just spawned) it also could just be like a mutation in general that its not commonly found between the blackarms that make them physically weaker but mentally stronger (yeah like rpg stats my boy but them in wisdom and called a day). This ine can tap into the prophecy territory like, these mutated blackarms were attack and distroyed cause their mind wouldn't bend to the hive call and they were so strong they were challenging their leader ignoring the call and even assuming control of others, that's why they were exterminated and every B.A. with the mutation were quickly terminated, but as they don't exist in silver's time, and anyway he got this alien DNA, his chaos signature and his DNA just worked together for him to get this mutation.
Now, im going to get this last bit and tie it along with him constantly having the white noise AND why shadow just don't interact much with him in cannon, lets dive into it and i really need painkillers now.
So, as i said before, he has an unique mind and control over the call, the concept for some reason remembered me of the force in star wars, whatever, so, as his mind is stronger he can just always be in tune, but as most of his futures are apocalyptic and idk from wich he came, he just don't know what he's doing, he feels like he should hear something, sometimes he even gets this feeling someone is reaching out (in the hypotesis of shadow being trapped like in 06 or something like that). The white noise is there cause he can't turn it out, he can turn it down, but its always in the back of his mind.
When he travels back in time, shadow is not a fan of being too close to him and always seems annoyed when he tries to be polite (i like my silver with edge so i like when he's salty like the 14 year old teenager boy that he is). Shadow's actually feeling some connection, he doesn't like it one bit cause it feels like its gnawling in his brain and he can't point out why, silver came from the future and all but he doesn't seem to know him so why does he feels that way? It clicks when, someday, the gang is called and everyone is there to help, even the future boy, shadow's there fighting when he feels something is wrong, a sharp feeling in the back of his head, soom followed by a familiar voice ecoing inside his head, the words clear...
Oooooooh, I didn't expect anyone would add onto my ramblings, but this really made my day! AND gave me some more ideas! >:)
So I have to admit I initially imagined this being somewhat inline with the 06's future timeline, but time travel being time travel, it gets so confusing at one point it might as well mot matter. Either way, for this AU to work, Silver does need to be biologically related to Shadow. Whether that's due to him being artificially created, or made the traditional way, is not as important right now, that's future-Shadow's problem. (Though I'm leaning more towards the lab-baby thing. I dunno. I just feel like it makes sense for someone who was made in a lab, to have a "child" be born the same way.)
But most importantly, this gave me an idea for how a hypothetical subspecies of Black Arms could work. It goes something like this:
So basically, I'm running with the "psysically weak but mentally strong" idea. They would have strong connection and effect on the hivemind. As a result, they weren't really meant to fight on the front lines. Instead they had more of a "commander" role. Essentially their role was to gather information on the battlefield, from the footsoldiers, scouts and their own observations, analyze and interpret this information, and organize and lead the forces based on this. They would also interpret and carry out orders from higher in the command chain, while having enough authority to give out orders of their own. This basically streamlined they command chain and made it easier to sift through and pass on important information.
I also imagine that some of the older members would retire from the battlefield. And instead focus on preserving the history of the Black Arms and all knowledge they have collected over the eons. Making sure it doesn't get lost, diluted or misinterpreted over time, and is readily available when needed.
So by default, they could exert higher and stronger control over the other Black Arms, allowing them to be effective leaders on the battlefield, while being resistant to such control themselves. Only their superiors were strong enough to control them. Of course, as fate would have it, gradually more and more of these members would rebel, try to take complete control of sections of the hive, all while being practiaclly uncontrolable themselves. Eventually they were deemed too dangerous to be left alive, and were hunted down and eliminated at no small cost.
Since there was a lot of knowledge that couldn't be absorbed by the rest of the hive. Over time, most of the information about them became corrupted. They went from competent data analyzers to something that once almost destroyed their whole species from inside out.
Now, I don't know much about Black Arms reproduction, or even how much info there is on it, if any. So I'm just basing this on my headcanon. But basically, I imagine new members are born depending on which roles the hive needs to fill. And their genomes can be adjusted to fill that role better. Plus they are provided all the information they will need by the hive. So for example, all warriors are already born knowing how to fight. But since this subspecies was intended to be elimitaned completely, none of the genes necessary survived in the population. That is, with the exception of Black Doom, who passed them onto Shadow, and then eventually Silver. (Where they became dominant due to genes being passed on more randomly)
So I think Silver would have naturally equally strong connection to the hivemind, but none of the knowledge on how to use it. So anything he does with it is purely instinctual, more based on his emotions and immediate needs. He would need to train and learn it to properly utilize it just like any other skill. ((Ironically, I imagine this could initially make him more susceptible to getting controlled himself, unless he learns how to resist it.))
Also I imagine this whole thing would affect his social skills a bit, partially because he grew up in an apocalyptic future. Sometimes he would have problems expressing himself properly, because part of him would subconciously assume his intent would be carried without words or gestures. And since he wouldn't get to meet that many people growing up, he never realized it's not normal. For him it's like constantly having a word on the tip of your tongue you can't even begin to explain.
Naturally, his relationship with Shadow would be affected by all this too. Subconciously they would be aware of each other in a way they just aren't with anyone else. In a fight they would be able to predict each others moves a synchonize their attacks just a bit too easily. Shadow would always somehow be the first one to know when Silver returns to the past. And whenever Silver gets too excited or angry his ears would fill with tinnitus. He's also the only one to be able to parse the extra meaning in Silver's words. It would kinda creep Shadow out, to the point he'd start avoiding the kid. Even if he knows Silver did nothing wrong.
At first he'd just assume it had to be some weird mix of Silver's psychokinesis, chaos powers and Shadow's own odd biology. But after (very reluctantly) mentioning it to Sonic, to which the blue hedgehog has no idea what he's talking about. He does start getting a bit more concerned.
It's not until one fateful day, during another world ending catastrophe that needs to be dealt with, one so bad even their resident time traveler had to show up, it happens. One moment he's lost in the heat of the battle, and the next his mind is pierced with an achingly familiar cry for help. In a split second he's painfully aware that Silver is in danger. That he's injured and can't defend himself. He's aware of all of this, even though he can't see Silver from where he's standing, and that no one else has reacted to the call. But more than any of this, the one most damning thing is the sickening compulsion that urges him to help. His feet move before he even registers what's happening.
It's in that exact moment he knows. Maybe not how or why. But be knows.
Silver is one of the Black Arms.
But more importantly: he's a kid that needs his help.
I hope you don't mind me adding my own take on some designs! :)
(Extra design notes/lore ideas for those interested under the cut.)
General design notes:
- his eyes are still yellow, but turn blue when using the Black Arms powers
- the brightest blue parts are actually luminescent
- still show some darker colors, since I though pure white would be boring
- I imagine the forms are fire/lava proof, since he grew up in a literal hellhole
Doom Wing:
- the wings are longer and thinner than Shadow's, good for long flights and passive soaring, but not as good at making quick turns
- the bottom part is thin and ribbon like and trails behing him when he flies, doesn't have much practical purpose, I just thought it looked nice
- using them a lot sometimes discolors his quills
Doom Morph:
- long and eel-like, the individual tentacles "twist" together, turning into two long tentacles at the end (something like a squid's)
Doom Surf:
- based on an orca, I think they are neat
Lore Ideas?:
Honestly him being a different color from the other Black Arms should have some lore-significance, since they are literally named after a color and he's the exact opposite. Though I don't know how or how significant, could be anywhere from "he just looks weird" to "this thing has been prophesied to wipe out our entire race, and therefore must be eliminated at any cost". So yeah, I feel like there's some fun to be had with the idea.
I also keep thinking about his possible connection to the Hivemind. It could be possible he just can't due to not having enough Black Arms blood, but that's just boring. So I was thinking, since he already has psychic powers, maybe his could be a bit different.
So he's connected to it since the beginning, but it's not like he really knows it, considering there are no Black Arms left in his original timeline. But due to his powers he tends to project rather loudly into it, and strong emotions tend to amplify it. Even when he's calm, there always a sort of "white noise" surrounding him, but this quickly fades with physical distance. But if he were let's say... fighting for his life? There wouldn't be a place on the planet you couldn't hear him from.
Maybe it could be bit of a left-over habit from childhood, where he would have needed a lot of help from others to survive. Instinctually calling for help in any way he could, even if he never got any response back...
So yeah, that's about what I've got for now. But I'd love to hear what everyone else has come up with!
So, Monster Hunter Stories 2 came out recenty, and this is what happens when a game I like combines with my current obsession: the Linked Universe. Sky just so happened to be my first victim.
Without further ado, I bring to you my LU MHSt AU.
I don't have everything thought out yet, but feel free to ask about anything or add to this AU if you'd like.
Just a drawing of Sunny from the Humans are Space Orcs series by @starr-fall-knight-rise. I was trying to draw her more ferocious side and I'm not sure if I got it completely right. But I hope you like it!
