The crackship was both originally created and suggested by @claracatwhisper.
Apologies in advance if I get most of Jingliuâs characterization incorrect here, I only have minimal knowledge towards Honkai: Star Rail, along with both its story and characters, so I give it my best shot.
There was a sound tied to broken worlds, and Sonic the Hedgehog had learned to trust it.
It wasnât loud, like an explosion or Dr. Eggmanâs usual complex disasters. It was a wrongness in the air that made his quills prickle. He slowed from a sprint to a careful jog, his boots sliding over ice that hadnât been there a moment before. Snow covered the ruins ahead, sticking to shattered stone that looked older than anything in his world.
Sonic the Hedgehog (through communicator): âTails, are you seeing this?â
Static crackled. Then Miles âTailsâ Prowerâs voice came through, strained.
Miles âTailsâ Prower (through communicator): âYeah⊠kind of? The readings just spiked and then flattened out. Knuckles says it feels like a bad omen.â
From somewhere behind him, Knuckles the Echidnaâs voice cut in.
Knuckles the Echidna (through communicator): âTell Sonic not to touch anything.â
Sonic the Hedgehog (through communicator, muttering): âToo late for that, Knux.â
His eyes are then drawn to the figure standing at the center of the frost.
She was still, impossibly so, as if the storm had formed around her instead of the other way around. Pale hair framed her face, and her sharp, distant eyes rested on the horizon. In her hand was a sword made of translucent crystal, its edge catching the broken light of the sky.
Sonic took a step forward, and the ice creaked in response.
Sonic the Hedgehog: âWell, this place could really use a chili dog stand.â
After he had broken the silence, her gaze shifted towards him, assessing and weighing.
Jingliu: âYou are not of the Xianzhou.â
Sonic the Hedgehog: âUnsure of who or what youâre referring towards, but thatâs quite an accurately good guess youâve made, Iâm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. Long story short, I fix weird stuff like this.â
She considered him a moment longer before answering.
Jingliu: âJingliu.â
The name carried weight. Sonic didnât know why, but he felt it settle in his chest.
The rift opened moments later.
Creatures poured through twisted, echoing things that had uncomfortably reminded Sonic of the Phantom Rubyâs constructs. He didnât hesitate; he never did. Blue light streaked across the battlefield as he took them apart one by one. Jingliu moved differently. Her strikes were deliberate and final, each swing of her shard sword cutting through the chaos with chilling precision.
Fire and ice. Motion and stillness.
Somehow, it worked.
When the last of the echoes faded away, Sonic leaned against a half-buried column, catching his breath.
Sonic the Hedgehog (grinning): âOkay, youâve made it to my top five âmost intense first meetingsâ.â
She wiped her blade clean as she listened.
Jingliu (observing): âYou fight without hatred, that is rare.â
Sonic the Hedgehog: âGuess Iâve had good teachers.â
After letting that leave his mouth, Sonic then thought of Amy Roseâs stubborn faith, Tailsâ quiet belief, and even Shadow the Hedgehog, who had taught him that pain didnât have to end the story.
They didnât part after that. Instead, they traveled together through broken space, stabilizing weak points and chasing down remnants of whatever had torn the worlds apart. Jingliu spoke little at first, but Sonic was patient. He always had been.
At night, when the cold settled in, they shared quiet moments. Jingliu told him about the Xianzhou, about Jing Yuan, once her student, now a general weighted down with responsibility. She spoke of Blade and Dan Heng, of past bonds twisted by fate and memory. Sonic listened, sitting cross-legged by the fire, not interrupting.
He told her about his world in return, about Dr. Eggman and his endless schemes, about Amyâs hammer and heart, about how Shadow pretended not to care while caring too much, and how Rouge the Bat somehow knew everyoneâs secrets.
Sonic the Hedgehog (gesturing and commenting towards the floating piece of machinery by Jingliu): âTails would love this tech, heâs probably losing his mind back home.â
Jingliuâs expression softened at his quip.
Jingliu: âYou are surrounded by people who trust you.â
Sonic the Hedgehog (quieter tone): âYeah, Iâm lucky.â
The moment that changed everything came without warning.
They were resting in a ruined courtyard, moonlight glinting off ice-coated stone. Jingliuâs sword rested nearby, its crystalline surface reflecting the stars. Sonic paced, restless as always, until her voice stopped him.
Jingliu: âCome here.â
It wasnât harsh or loud; it was absolute.
He turned to her, his heart skipping, not from fear, but from both understanding, yet holding a sense of confusion.
Sonic the Hedgehog: âYou sure?â
Jingliu: âYes.â
Sonic reluctantly did as told.
There was no pain, no threat, only trust. Jingliu knelt beside him, one hand braced near his shoulder, the other hovering, as if giving him space to change his mind. He didnât.
Jingliu (softly spoken): âThis is not control taken, it is control given.â
He swallowed some air, his eyes never leaving hers.
Sonic the Hedgehog: âI know.â
She nodded, satisfied, and withdrew her hand. The moment lingered, quiet and deliberate, before she helped him up again, her touch lighter than before.
After that, things shifted. They shared a kiss weeks later beneath falling snow that reminded Sonic faintly of Angel Islandâs higher peaks. Jingliu set the pace, and he followed, content to let her lead. It wasnât about speed; it never was.
When the rift finally stabilized, the end came quickly.
Tailsâ voice crackled through the communicator again.
Miles âTailsâ Prower (through communicator): âSonic, the readings just normalized. Whatever you did, it worked.â
Sonic the Hedgehog (through communicator): âGood to hear!â
Unknown to the twin-tailed fox, Sonic had his gaze fixated on Jingliu.
Jingliu (stepping minimally closer) âYour path calls you elsewhere.â
Sonic the Hedgehog (smiling): âYeah, guess so.â
She rested her forehead against his, a gesture intimate in its restraint.
Jingliu: âRun well, Sonic the Hedgehog.â
He comfortably closed his eyes in response, returning the gesture.
Sonic the Hedgehog: âYou too, Jingliu.â
When he ran again, past Green Hill, past Station Square, past friends who greeted him with relief and questions, he carried the memory of stillness with him. Of trust balanced carefully on the edge of a blade.
And somewhere among the stars, Jingliu resumed her journey, lighter than before, knowing that even fleeting warmth could leave a mark strong enough to endure.
Hello, I'm a user on that website known as SplatoonMangaFan, I've been experiencing this issue of a "SSL handshake failed" according to a different site; cloudflare.com.
I'm fully unaware of a proper solution to this problem. Aside from refreshing the page after a few minutes.
EDIT (May 10, 2025): Here's more information on the page that the screenshot couldn't fit;
If you're the owner of this website:
It appears that the SSL configuration used is not compatible with Cloudflare. This could happen for a several reasons, including no shared cipher suites. Additional troubleshooting information here.
A small rant I would like to get out of my system about DeviantArt literature
To: @deviantart
Who here agrees with me that the previous version of DeviantArt was better than the current one?
Here's what I have currently gathered with the new version;
The removal of creating polls via the "+ Submit" button.
Updated literature (Google Docs/Archive of Our Own-like features)
If I have to be completely honest, I really am not a fan of the new version of creating literature, the best comparison I can make when looking back at the old one is Wattpad, it isn't anything like Google Docs/Archive of Our Own, you're still able to use the CTRL functions to change text styles (Bold - Ctrl + B, Italic - Ctrl + I, Underline - Ctrl + U, etc). In both Wattpad, and the previous version the literature on DeviantArt, you use these functions still, but you are allowed to add them manually be highlighting the text you have selected, along with changing it's alignment, adding and removing links, along with adding dividers [and, in the previous version, you were able to change the size of dividers, along with a notable feature of showing that you can change what type of line it was, which I prefer a whole lot more over the current version where it's just a straight line that cannot be changed at all].
Also worth noting that in the old version, whenever you highlight the text, if using the site in "Dark Theme", the highlighted text would show the words being showed in black text, instead of keeping it white.
I also posted on DeviantArt itself; https://www.deviantart.com/splatoonmangafan/journal/A-small-rant-I-would-like-to-get-out-of-my-system-1098641179
And Reddit; https://www.reddit.com/r/DeviantArt/comments/1fgp130/who_here_agrees_with_me_that_the_previous_version/
vaporwave
kianamaiart
ellievsbear