jade-branch-qa

[jade-branch-qa]

The Whisper whose Sonic is Missing, hissed as she held her hand to her cheek, the bandage plastered to it slighty red from the blood. It would soon need changing, but Whisper didn't mind so much - surge was making excellent progress. Walking through the halls of the Restoration, she blinked as she realized she didn't recognize where she was.

But she did recognize the older version of Whisper sitting at a desk eating a meal. SiMWhisper approached Jade Whisper, maybe she could get some advice on how to handle Surge.

"Handle Surge?" Jade Whisper repeated the other Whisper's words as her ear flicked. "Positive reinforcement."

"Positive reinforcement?" SiM Whisper asked, her own flicking much like her older counterpart.

"Mmm... Surge is used to demands, not having a choice, not being good enough, never good enough. Tell her she did a good job. Thumbs up. Genuine. Don't overdo."

"Or she'll think we're manipulating her." SiM Whisper added, pointing at her bandage and the older wolf nodded.

"Mm, reacts badly. A lot of trauma. Be honest, be positive. She's good at her job, let her know that. She's a strong ally...and a good friend."

"One day, I hope she'll be."

"Give her time. She will be."

And then without warning, SiM Whisper vanished from sight and Jade Whisper let out a sigh.

"Should go feed the ducks again. Been a while."

[jade-branch-qa]

Jewel is completing her day at the Restoration. The instructors from GUN had arrived and started training the Restoration security and the weapon shipments were in the storage bays ready to be handed out.

Sighing with worry, Jewel walked into her office, the paperwork for a armored mech to be donated by the United Federation in her hand as a throat clearing stopped her dead.

Looking up, SiM Jewel looked into the older face of Jade Jewel.

"Who-" SiM Jewel began before falling quiet at the frown that her older self was wearing.

"Weapons, war machines, GUN soldiers... Intelligence sharing and the odd joint mission is one thing but this...this isn't the Restoration." Jade Jewel said and while the disappointment was evident in her voice, it was naught compared to the worry shining through." What's going on?"

"What's going on is that Eggman almost killed all of us!" SiM Jewel shouted back in anger. "And I will not have a shapeshifting cephalopod questioning my judgement!"

"Look at me, I'm not Mimic." Jade Jewel hummed as she took off her gloves and held up suctioncup free hand. "I'm you, just another version of you."

"Another me?" SiM Jewel asked, taken aback.

"Yes, I believe they're called we've taken to calling them wormholes." the older beetle replied before she gave SiM Jewel a worried look. "But what's this about Eggman almost killing you all? Weren't Surge and the other Cutters around to beat him back?"

"They were...and they almost died..." the younger of the two said as she looked off to the side, eyes misty at the memory of her wonderful Lanolin covered in bandages. "I...I almost didn't get to tell Lanolin...I almost lost her."

She wiped her eyes, eyes that now shone with determination.

"And that's why I'm working with GUN! I'm not losing her! I want Eggman gone and my friends and family safe! I want *my* Lanolin safe!"

"Your... Lanolin?" Jade Jewel hummed, her poker face hiding the shock at the idea.

"Yes! My Lanolin! My sweet, caring and steadfast Lanolin!" SiM Jewel huffed. "Why is this a surprise? Your older than me! You-"

"I'm dating Surge." Jade Jewel interjected. "I'm a version of you but our universes aren't the same. I'm dating my sweet, caring and steadfast Surge."

"SURGE?!" SiM Jewel shouted in disbelief. "But she-"

"Did a lot of bad things. I know. Horrible things even. Please be patient with her. Trust me, there's a loving, loyal and hardworking tenrec beneath all the cybernetics. I promise."

The ground beneath the interdimensional interloper shimmered and the older director let out a sigh.

"Seems like my time is up so let me just give you one piece of advice. You can trust Topaz. She'll look out for you. Don't trust the brass. Too much politics. They'll turn you inside and out looking for any minor advantage."

And with that, the beetle from the Jade Branch universe blinked out of existence.

[jade-branch-qa]

Alright, this universe seems to be the one with the most in-depth explanation/analysis of what the islanders/animal-people are like, so...

Tails and Kit, you're the smart ones. Why are certain people just born with superpowers? Some have major parts to play in the world, but others like Tangle start out as just ordinary civilians who happen to have gifts.

"If I knew, I'd be rich." Tails snorted while looking over a bunch of schematics. "What I do know is that there's no all encompassing reason. Everyone with what you call 'superpowers' seem to have acquired it in different ways. Knuckles seems to have been blessed by the Master Emerald to be a better protector, Surge...well, the less said the better. Same for Shadow."

She stretched before gesturing to one of the papers in front of her, an x-ray scan of Amy Rose.

"But then we have people like Sonic and Amy and it's just...it doesn't make sense. Yes, they both have more chaos energy in their bodies than the avarage islander but that's likely from continued exposure to the chaos emeralds. The issue is that there's no data from before their first contact with the stones. All I know is that Sonic was fast even before he ever touched a chaos emerald so while they might have amplified what's already there, they aren't the source of his speed."

The sound of bleeps and bloops snapped her out of her tirade and rolled her eyes at her fennec friend who was lazing around on her sofa, playing on his Neo Geo Pocket Colour.

"Don't you have anything to add? The question was for both of us."

"Does it really matter? Some people win the genetic lottery and gets super speed, the rest of us lost and were left with nothing." He replied as he paused his game. "How they got their powers doesn't really matter, what matter is what they do with their gifts."

"That's...not really how genes works but..." Tails hummed before giving her best friend a soft smile. "... you're right, like always. Damn Kit, when did you get so insightful?"

"Spent too much time around saps like you." he grumbled before turning his game back on, the sounds of bleeps and bloops once more filling the room.

"Awww, love you too, buddy!" Tails giggled, earning herself an annoyed huff from the fennec fox.

[jade-branch-qa]

I have a question for Jewel and Surge.

I was born feet first, my head was the last part of my body to leave my mother.

So, for a few brief moments, was I wearing my mom as a hat?

Both of them looked absolutely shell shocked for about two seconds before Surge doubled over in howling laughter, struggling to get words in between her bouts of laughter.

"F-FUCK YES YA DID!" Surge howled before falling to the floor, howling with laughter and kicking her feet.

Jewel for her part stared blankly at nothing, the blood drained from her face.

"I'm so glad beetles lay eggs..." she mumbled to herself.

[jade-branch-qa]

Surge.

Boba is round candies in a drink.

Soup can be drunk out of a thermos, making it a drink.

Meatballs are a sphere.

Meatballs in Soup is Italian Boba.

"Being in a thermos doesn't make it a drink but otherwise I'm with you." Surge hummed as she slurped down some Italian Boba.

[jade-branch-qa]

sooo

has anyone here completed crash bandicoot 4, or at least attempted to?

"If you mean beating the story mode, then yes I did." Tails replied with a shrug. "Wasn't that difficult. Got a few skins I liked too. Completing it all the way tho? Nah, you'd have to be insane for that."

Kit just sat there and gestured quietly towards his save file, proudly displaying 106%.

"Can't even disagree with her on that." he hummed.

[jade-branch-qa]

Happy Pride Month!

"Happy Pride Month!" Surge cheered, waving a lesbian pride flag with a big shark grin adorning her muzzle.

[jade-branch-qa]

So you like trains, Surge?

Name every train.

"I have fucking amnesia!" Surge growled as she crossed her arms with an angry glare in her eyes. "I was reminded that I even liked trains yesterday!"

"And her interests were really specific back in the day." Sang-mi said while resting a hand on her sister's shoulder in an effort to calm her down. "She was mostly interested in electric trains from Holangi. I know that a few international electric trains caught her attention but she was otherwise really single minded when it came to her special interest."

"Damm, old me sounds like a fucking dweeb!" Surge grunted, earning herself a raised eyebrow from her sister.

"You're still a dweeb, Surge."

"The hell? You're the dweeb here!"

"Dweebus!" Sang-mi laughed, barely resisting the urge to hug her sister, settling to just tighten her grip on her shoulder with a happy sigh. "But you're my dweebus sister who I love very much."

"Fucking sap..." Surge groaned with a roll of her eyes before leaning into her sister's touch with a small, happy smile on her lips that betrayed her true feelings, even if unspoken.

[jade-branch-qa]

A rather confused looking Surge in a yellow tunic, a chainmail hauberk, and a large Viking-style axe on her back loudly faceplants on the front mat. She doesn't recognize the name Surge and instead goes by Astrid.

Jewel let out a soft sigh as she fluttered through the air. Her day at work had been exhausting but at least she was almost home and -

That's when she saw it, Surge punching what looked like a viking clone of herself in the face while said viking kept chopping Surge in the neck with a giant battle axe.

Not only that but they were both laughing uproariously as they kept hurting each other with happy grins plastered on their faces.

"These wormhole portal visits just keeps getting weirder and weirder..." Jewel sighed as she watched the insanity unfold below her.

[jade-branch-qa]

with a flash of green light, Sonic is Missing Surge barreled into Jade Surge.

"Tell me!" SIMSurge demanded, grabbing onto JSurge's front, "Tell me how you did it! How did you break the programming!? How did you get a girlfriend!? HOW!?!"

"The fuck you on about?!" Jade Surge shouted as she slapped the younger tenrec’s hands away.

"How did you get a girlfriend?!" SiM Surge repeated, her eyes almost manic, prompting Jade Surge to take a step back.

"I mean, I asked her out, took her to a nice restaurant and-"

"No, no, NO! Before that! How did you get past your programming?!" SiM Surge screeched, reaching out to grab hold of the older tenrec in a mad frenzy, only for the cyborg to deftly move out of the way.

"Fucking calm down! I'll fucking tell you just...calm down, okay?" Jade Surge tried, her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "I don't wanna have to beat your ass so sit down and we'll figure this shit out."

SiM Surge blinked as if a haze had been lifted and she slowly sat down on the floor, her eyes never leaving the other Surge.

"Now, you wanted to know how I got past my programming? Not sure what it had to do with me dating Jewel besides getting my temper under control but...the realisation that I didn't want to kill Sonic but that Starline did was a start. Emotionally I mean, sure I hate his fucking guts for not stopping the quack but... to know that the desire to kill was just a programmed-"

"Not that one! The one that makes me freak the fuck whenever I think about Amy! The one to stop us from falling in love!" SiM Surge cried, desperation clear I'm her voice. "You beat it! How?!"

"I...didn't? I'm sorry, I just...never had anything like that?" Jade Surge sighed as she sat down next to her younger self and put a hand on her shoulder. "That's a fucked up thing of DuckDoc to do tho..."

"You didn't...I'm the only one...the only one to throw up because I think of Amy? It ain't fucking fair!"

"It isn't." Jade Surge hummed in agreement. "But hey, we're a strong bitch. If I could work past my directive to kill the lamehog I'm sure you can get through this. I believe in ya, Kiddo."

"Fuck you." SiM Surge sniffled as she wiped her eyes. "But...thanks...it's just...a lot."

"Hey, on the bright side. At least you've fallen for a dyke!" the older cyborg laughed, a laugh so unlike SiM Surge's own, often sarcastic laugh. A laugh full of genuine joy. "The Pinks of this universe? She moved to another island to be with her wife so if your bundle of love is anything like ours, I'm sure you have a shot!"

"Eh..that..." SiM began before her eyes went wide as saucers. "W-wife?!"

"Yeah? Some badger girl. Strixs? Tricks? Trip? No wait.... Sticks! That's the one!" Jade Surge laughed as she snapped her fingers.

"Marrying... Amy..." SiM Surge mumbled before pain coursed through her chest and her sight started to dim. "Fuck...not now...not..."

That's when the older tenrec wrapped her younger self in a tight hug.

"It'll be alright. Tough bitch, remember? Tough bitch who isn't afraid to ask for help." Jade Surge hummed as she gently ran her fingers through SiM Surge's quills.

SiM Surge felt her breathing get under control. Her body hurt, the other Surge wasn't Kit but it was helping, just being held by someone who was genuinely trying to help. She hugged her doppelganger back with a tired sigh.

"Thank you."

"Always, Kiddo."

The pair sat there, just embracing each other until the younger of the two vanished into thin air, returning to her own world.

"That's some fucking rotten luck." Jade Surge hummed as she stretched her back. "Hope she gets through it okay."

And with that, she began the walk home, being in no hurry, instead just taking it slow and enjoying the autumn leaves slowly falling all around her.

"She could do better than Pinks tho...then again, maybe her Jewel is taken?"

[jade-branch-qa]

Jade Lanolin and Sang-mi are sitting at a café, the tenrec engrossed with the tales of her sister's bravery when another sheep walks by.

SiM Lanolin walks past one of the many cafés littering Spiral Hill when she spots them. The mysterious tenrec who's been evading her questions along with...an absurdly buff version of herself.

"You there!" she shouted, getting the attention of the two café goers.

SiMLanolin ran up to the group, Sang-Mi and Jade Lanolin jumping as they stared at the thinner Lanolin.

"I'm going to have my answers!" SiMLanolin demanded, "Why are you so interested in my reality? You gave me head pats, you left food for Jewel, and you're going to explain why!"

JLanolin blinked in surprise, "Aren't you the least bit curious about how strong I am?"

SiMLanolin waved her off, "Yeah, alternate universe things, I know. That's not important." SiMLanolin stepped closer and waved a finger under Sang-Mi's face, "Now answer me! What are you doing with my universe!?"

"Okay, that's enough." JLanolin said. Getting up from her chair she stepped behind SiMLanolin and picked her up like she was nothing more than a grape. Holding the struggling SiMLanolin under her armpits she carried her away from Sang-Mi and set her down on the side walk.

"You can come back and ask your questions when you've calmed down." JLanolin said, putting her hands on her hips.

SiMLanolin raised a hand, finger pointing, ready to argue, but JLanolin simply stretched her muscles, the cloth tightening around bulging muscles, tendons coming into sharp definition on JLanolin's powerful body. The display of power made SiMLanolin stop, before she glared hard at her counterpart.

"That's enough," Sang-Mi said, stepping closer, "Listen, all I want to do is spread happiness through the multiverse. I'm not trying to cause trouble."

SiMLanolin sighed as she scratched her head, "That makes sense," she said, "But these inter-dimensional things are a pain in my ass."

"Maybe," Sang-Mi said, "But it's true. Now both of you stop arguing and make up."

JLanolin held out a hand, And SiMLanolin eyed teh hand for a moment before taking it. They shook hands firmly, and then parted. "I just want to know," SiMLanolin said, "What were you two doing here? You're not dating are you?"

"Oh, no," JLanolin said, "I was just telling Sang-Mi stories about my Surge. Maybe you have some?"

"I've only known my Surge for a month and a half," SiMLanolin said, walking with JLanolin and Sang-Mi, "But I'd like to hear your stories. Maybe we can compare notes on Surge."

The three would spend the afternoon talking. Sharing stories and laughing together for hours. All in all, a very nice afternoon.

When SiMLanolin came back to her universe, she was smiling wide, and as she looked around her office a thought popped into her head.

'Maybe I should start working out.'

[jade-branch-qa]

Hey, Sang-Mi, have you considered setting up a harness to Surge and letting her pull you along on roller skates?

"WOOOOHOOOO!!"

Sang-mi squealed in delight as she sped through Spiral Hill on a pair of skates, pulled along by her sister. While Surge were nowhere near top speed, it was more than fast enough for Sang-mi to get her adrenaline fix.

"Best idea ever!"

[jade-branch-qa]

(This takes place after the FoF! & ATN!Surge ask where ATN!Surge’s Thomas obsession is revealed)

A wormhole sent Jade!Surge flying into Amy Rose’s bedroom. She stood up and looked around, finding two of her counterparts crowded around a shelf stuffed full of Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise.

“OOH, and this is one of my favorite ones,” ATN!Surge squealed, reaching for a box, “A new in box Tomy Plarail Oliver!”

“Mhm…” FoF!Surge mumbled, quickly losing interest.

“Yeah. This guy gets scalped hard online. Like, hundreds of dollars, because they never released him in the US, but did release him in Britain. Some motherfuckers have sold hundreds of these for insane profit.”

“Damn. That’s actually nuts,” FoF!Surge shook her head.

“It is,” ATN!Surge grinned, “So I decided to just head on over and snag one for myself for free.”

“Ha ha, nice.”

The Surge’s high-fived. Jade!Surge finally made her presence known with a chuckle.

"Heh, it's nice to see some of us not fighting for once." Jade Surge chuckled, prompting the other tenrecs to turn their heads towards her while she casually strolled up towards ATN! Surge's collection. "Is that...are those trains with faces?"

"Yeah? What about it you-" ATN! Surge began with a growl, ready to defend her hyperfixation from the older tenrec before Jade Surge shot her the biggest grin she'd ever seen on anyone but herself.

"That's so fucking awesome! Is it like a TV show or something?" Jade Surge asked as she eyed an older looking Thomas toy.

"I-Y-yeah, it is!" ATN! Surge managed, clearly not expecting yet another version of herself to not just be okay with her interest in a children's show but being genuinely curious.

"Some of it is actually kinda fun." FoF! Surge chimed in. "I'm not obsessed like Ms. Quantity over Quality over there but still, it's a good time."

"First of all, fuck you." ATN! Surge sneered before looking towards Jade Surge with stars in her eyes. "You wanna watch it?"

"Do I? Fuck yes I do!" Jade Surge replied, her eyes mirroring her younger self. "Trains are fucking awesome!"

"Fuck yes!" ATN! Surge cheered while FoF! Surge couldn't help but quietly wonder what she'd gotten herself into.

Roughly half an hour later, the rest of the Amycule got home to find not just one Surge but three of them huddling in front of the TV, all of them cheering loudly as Thomas weered off the tracks and into a field.

"Should I be worried that there's three of her or...?" Honey wondered aloud but it was clear that there were no actual bite to her words.

"I think it's cute!" Amy hummed and the rest of the polycule couldn't help but agree at the sight of the three shark-like grins.

[jade-branch-qa]

Sang-mi, how do you deal with your sister when she's extra angry?

"I've only ever seen her angry once since we were reunited and that was back during her first phone call." Sang-mi replied as she nursed a mug of blueberry tea. "You speak as if my sister has some kind of anger issues?"

Muffled laughter could be heard as the gathered Diamond Cutters tried and utterly failed to hold in their laughter at the notion that Surge didn't have a short fuse.

"Sis...you saw what I did to that forest back then...I destroyed a large chunk just because I got upset." Surge managed, being the first one to get her snickering under control.

"Yes...but you were afraid, your memories were messing with you." Sang-mi tried, refusing to believe the idea that her sister was prone to anger. "It's not like you blowing up like that is a common occurrence-"

And with that, the room erupted with howling laughter, with Tangle clutching her stomach and Whisper gasping for air between bouts of the loudest laughter anyone in the room had ever heard.

Even Lanolin was struggling, the sheep bending over in a futile attempt to keep her laughter in check. The only one not laughing aside from Sang-mi was a certain beetle who just shook her head.

"Sang-mi...Surge...has a temper to be sure." Jewel said, with a small smile as she fluttered up to the tall tenrec and pit a hand on her shoulder. "But her temper has gotten a lot better over the years, nobody can deny that."

[jade-branch-qa]

*A new portal opens*

Jade Branch Kit, meet comic psychopath Kit!

Jade Kit wrapped up comic Kit like a watery burrito as soon as their eyes met.

"I'm taking you to Vanilla. She'll help you, I promise."

Kit didn't reply, not because he didn't want to but because he couldn't.

[jade-branch-qa]

The Whisper and Tangle whose Sonic was Missing were walking along the park path, sun shining and dragonflies lazily drifting above the reeds of the pond. SiM!Whisper threw a handful of seeds from a bag for the ducks as SiM!Tangle enjoyed the afternoon sun on her face. Suddenly, SiM!Whisper threw out a hand and stopped her girlfriend dead. Staring directly at them were older versions of themselves. They stared at each other in shock. "H'lo?" SiM!Whisper said, uncertain as she raised her hand in greeting.

Jade Whisper just stared at the younger wolf, a tinge of envy at the lack of gray fur making itself known at the back of her mind. She raised her hand in greeting but before she could even get a syllable out, her wife dashed towards their younger selves.

"Ohhhhh! Whisper! You look so young!" the lemur gushed as she stopped just short of hugging the wolf, opting instead to clutch her own cheeks as if she was looking at the most adorable puppy dog in the whole world. For all intent and purposes, SiM! Whisper might as well be from her perspective.

The overexcited lemur then turned to her own doppelganger before letting out a deep sigh as a frown graced her features.

"And I...look exactly the same!"

The SiM! couple exchanged looks before SiM! Whisper cocked her head ever so slightly.

"Older, time travel perhaps?" she asked as she studied the graying muzzle and ears of her doppelganger.

"That and probably a different universe all together." Jade Tangle replied with a shrug. "Been happening a lot recently. Don't worry about it. It'll sort itself out soon."

"Oh, older...more experienced versions of us?" SiM! Tangle said as she rubbed her hands together. "This is the chance of a lifetime! Other me, girlfriend swap? Or, I know, self-"

"What? I-ewwww!" Jade Tangle shuddered as she took a step backwards. Neither of the Whisper's looked comfortable as they both gave the younger Tangle a look that the lemur knew all too well. The 'dial it back, Tangle.' look.

"Okay, okay. Maybe a bit too far on a first meeting but, you're more experienced versions of us! You gotta have some tips to spice things up! Help yourselves out with some ideas?"

"We're....both on the ace spectrum..." Jade Tangle replied while her wife nodded in agreement. "We...rarely do that kind of stuff..."

"Mmm...prefer hugs...cuddles." Jade Whisper added as she stepped up to pull her wife into a sideways hug.

"Cuddles are nice." SiM! Whisper agreed with a nod.

"Sure but...no sexy fun times? I-" Tangle began before shaking her head. "No, if that's your jam, I'm not gonna judge! Happy ya found what works for ya!"

"Yeah, feels nice to find someone who understands me." Jade Tangle admitted as she planted a chaste kiss on Jade Whisper's cheek. "Anyways, what are you two doing out here?"

"Feeding the ducks." SiM! Whisper replied, holding up the bag of bird feed for the older couple to see.

"Ohhhhh! Can we join in?!" Jade Tangle asked as she jumped in place, clearly excited over something so mundane.

"Yeah, sure." SiM! Tangle laughed. "The more the merrier!"

The four islanders spent the next ten minutes in relative silence except from the occasional quipp from either Tangle as they fed the ducks who happily quacked and filled the silence.

Then without a word of warning, the older islanders phased out of existence with a pop, leaving SiM! Whisper and SiM! Tangle alone with the ducks.

"That was...weird but..." Tangle hummed before her muzzle split into a big grin. "Good to know that you'll age like fine wine. I mean wowza!"

"And you looked exactly the same." Whisper noted as she kept feeding the ducks.

[jade-branch-qa]

Sang-mi, Favorite and least favorite you've met since reconnecting with surge?

(assuming you meant person)

"I...don't really want to pick favourites and truth be told I can't. Kit and Jewel, they've both been there for Min-ji, looking after her, caring for her. Loving her. I...that means more to me than I can put into words."

The tenrec let out a hum, idly resting her cheek in the palm of her hand as she considered the second part of the question.

"I wouldn't say I have a least favourite person. Everyone has been lovely in their own way but... Tangle did not make a good first impression. I'll say that much."

(yay chapter tease)