Dunno why, but today I got the itch to make up some nice versions of these redesigns for Rosemary and Amadeus Prower that I've had kicking around in my sketchbooks for ages. I don't know why I've been fascinated by the two of them for awhile now, but I've actually gotten really attached to Rosemary especially by thinking about how their characters could have been made more interesting. Never cared for them much in the book, design-wise or backstory-wise. Abducted by aliens? Urgh.

But actually, they're pretty salvageable. I didn't want to change their history so much as find a use for them in present day and the future. I did fill in some non-canon gaps though to explain why they act the way they do.

Story time!

Past:
Amadeus and Rosemary met in their 20s- Amadeus a young military officer quickly rising in the ranks, and Rosemary a law student working in a administrative position at the castle. Both of them were incredibly politically inclined, and it was a shared ambition to debate and bring about reform that drew them together. They had big dreams to shake up the kingdom from the very beginning, though they expected to have the time to do it gradually, introducing new ideas to the King little by little. The Great War put many of their plans on hold, but they held onto the belief that one day they'd be able to help build a better kingdom.

When the Great War ended, Amadeus believed the world would finally know peace and at his urging, they decided to have their first child before resuming their political activities. However, Robotnik had other plans in store for the kingdom…

The coup took place on the same day as Tails' birth. Amadeus was captured by Robotnik and roboticized, and Rosemary shortly afterward. The newborn Tails was taken care of by Rosie Woodchuck and Sonic the Hedgehog as the coup erupted and refugees fled the city.

Fortunately, a lucky break arrived in the form of the BEM sigh . They were abducted into space and deroboticized, but now stranded on a far-off planet. They lived a comfortable life among the BEM, but resolved that one day they would find their way home.

Present:
Sonic finally brought the two back home to Mobius where they were reunited with their son. Though they were happy to have their family 'restored', they immediately saw that the monarchy was collapsing and that things had become far worse than ever before. They wasted no time trying to implement their own radical views and the political practices demonstrated by the BEM in order to strengthen the kingdom.

Returning home, Amadeus and Rosemary found that Mobotropolis was a far different community than what they once knew. The people had changed, and so had the rest of the world. Even friends that had known them years ago seemed strange and new. A new, inexperienced king was trying to take the deteriorating Max's place in the middle of the worst war to ever occur on Mobius. They found it difficult to settle back into their community, but knew that they wanted to help protect it. And in this new community, they'd found that they'd changed too. Amadeus was eager to rebuild his life with the son he'd never had the chance to meet, but Rosemary, still as ambitious as ever, sought to fix the government first. Expecting a weak resistance, Rosemary, with Amadeus following, quickly made a push to overthrow the government for the good of the people.

Eventually, a compromise was reached, and now the Kingdom of Acorn is ruled by a Council overseen by the King.

Amadeus is the less politically inclined of the two these days, and since returning to Mobius, he's been having a hard time staying on the same page as his wife. He's more of a people person, and he wants to rebuild lost friendships and establish a relationship with his son. He wants to be an activist, too, but not at the expense of alienating those who matter most to him. He backed off from being a Council member and let his wife take that mantle, knowing she'd be the better fit for it. Secretly, he was grateful to have the time to spend with Tails instead.

Rosemary, on the other hand, has no off switch. Her ambitious nature that originally drew her and Amadeus together is now what is pushing them apart. She is vicious in a debate and strikes hard, causing many people to think she's just a cold-hearted witch. In truth, she is just bad at holding back, and rejects weakness. Her son is a mystery to her. She loves him, but he's 12 now, and she has no idea who he is or how to be a mother. While grateful, she feels a strong jealousy towards the families that have taken care of Tails in her absence, because to her it appears that he loves them more. She particularly dislikes Bernie, who is warm-hearted and playful, everything that Rosemary struggles to be. She wants to draw a line between work and family life, but can't figure out how to set those boundaries. It seems she spends more time with the Council than she does with her husband or child.

Future (all made up):
Sometime after Geoffrey is taken over by Naugus, many of the SFF's activities are revealed to the Council. Chuck, specifically, is singled out as being a conspirator, and is threatened with treason. Shard's still recovering body is raided in Chuck's lab, and there is enough evidence to back up Geoffrey's claims. Records that show Shard's rescue of Antoine prove his good intentions, and the Council votes against jail time for him, save for Rosemary, who viciously lays into him about his poor judgment in the creation of the roboticizer. The others are bit put off by her biting honesty, as she seems to consider Chuck the sum of his mistakes. She's been absent during the time that he led the resistance, and she does not have the same sense of comfort and respect for him that many others do. Naugeffrey tries to veto as acting 'king', but having already used his one yearly veto during Geoffrey's trial, he is unable to block it. Though he is not sentenced to jail, he is stripped of his title as a Council member and is forced to step down.

Though Chuck is unable to run for the position again, another member of the hedgehog family decides to get involved. Bernie, always a fierce debater in college and sharp witted, snags the vote and fills the hole Chuck left.

A bitter rivalry soon develops between Bernie and Rosemary. Each has completely conflicting ideas, and each is cunning in their defenses. Rosemary pushes her ideas for the kingdom further, delving deeper into her work. At the same time, she is becoming more and more frustrated by the growing distance between her and her family. Bernie seems to take to her family so naturally and it drives her up a wall. Seeking to 'win' on both fronts, Rosemary draws Tails into her latest political push, and puts him between herself and his surrogate mother, asking him to choose. It is Bernie who backs off and lets Tails out of the fight, but the tension between all three is at an all time high. Conflicted about his alliance, Tails follows his mother's lead for awhile, but eventually breaks away from her, leaving her alone in her ambition.

She tries to make it on her own for awhile, becoming just a horribly cold and unforgiving person. Not evil, but without a single ounce of generosity. She rises to the ranks of the villains for a short time, before her lofty plans are taken over and warped by Naugus. The whole thing comes crashing down around her as Naugus' true colors are revealed. As the Freedom Fighters work to save the day, and other people, like the Hedgehog family and her husband work to help others, she begins to realize what she wasn't seeing before. Bernie, specifically, goes back to help her escape from Naugus' wrath, and much of the anger between them goes away. Seeing her rescued, Amadeus rushes to hug his wife out of relief.

When all is said and done, she realizes that she's been prioritizing the wrong things. Her political views have not changed, but her views on people have. There's more to value than just efficiency and strength. She's learning to open up and forgive others, to stop and take the time to get to know friends and family better.

In the aftermath, the Council wonders whether they should kick her out of her position, as it was tied to Naugus' return. To everyone's surprise, it is Bernie who advocates for Rosemary's continued service, and convinces the others to keep her on board. The two of them develop a close bond after that, and what once was a schism between two families turns into a bridge that merges them together.

I wanted to do a lot of things with the characters. I wanted to give Rosemary more of a personality and agenda, and Amadeus his own too. I always felt Chuck's potential was wasted on the Council, so I wanted him out. And Bernie and Jules have always surprised me by how passive they are, considering how involved their son is in the war, and that they were both soldiers. Bernie was supposedly good at debates, and so I thought she'd be a better fit for the Council. I've mused about the strange relationship Tails must have with his parents after their return for awhile, wondering if things were awkward at first. If he sees the Hedgehogs and Rosie as his 'true' family, and his parents as complete strangers. I sorta like the mom vs. mom rivalry. It's one that you don't see elsewhere in the book. I also think Rosemary would make a good anti-villain, at least for a short time. There's a lot that could be done with her.

Design:
Rosemary's managed to have the most inconsistent design, while having consistently BAD designs. Her last design always looked like Sally to me, and the earlier ones weren't much more appealing. Because of her frosty and ambitious nature, I wanted to make her look a bit more arctic. She's not an arctic fox, but I imagine that because of her attitude, she's got a perpetual winter coat. :V
I want to play with the council uniforms, since they're butt-ugly as is. I'm trying to separate the colors worn by the council and the colors worn by the military figures. Too many characters wearing the same blue and red. And I think the white really suits her. Good villainess colors.

Amadeus is mostly okay. Mostly just wanted to make him less like Tails. He's still got the look of a fox, but there's no need for all the family members to all look exactly the same. Also wanted to do something with the uniform, because it's really same-y to many other characters in the book. I get that's the point, they're uniforms, but uniforms still have variations for different positions. He's just more appealing like this. Made his sword something more delicate, like a rapier. Seems like the kind of guy who would know how to fence.

I figure that kids generally look more colorful than their parents. Amadeus may have been a brighter orange in his youth, but his fur darkened. The same will happen to Tails.

And of course, bigger and more generalized shapes for all. I don't like the way hair is drawn in the old comics.

Haha, lol that's a lotta text. XD;;

Rosemary and Amadeus Prower © Archie, SEGA