#but I'm not sure how much respect or interest the commanders have in each other at all

[ceiling-karasu]

I don't really see anything for this one. The Weasel and Wolf Units hate each other, and Dr. Huinjogjebi has to essentially bribe Commander Seungnyangi into coming to help them. And I still hold that it is very strange that the wolves don't already have an Iron Crow, since those weapons exist in real life. Then again, they exist on large navy ships for now, but if the Wolf Unit is an attack unit you would think they would already have something like that on their planes. Unless Dr. Huinjogjebi and the Weasel Unit stole it in the past somehow, and that is the real reason why the units hate each other.

Even then, if the units combined, both commanders would be far busier trying to keep their own troops from fighting each other than having anything to do with each other.

Lt. Vixen comes off as more likely trying to control each of them than attempting to romance them.

Sorry about the late post this week! Tumblr ate the post I had scheduled.

This week, three characters we know are on the same side:

Commander Seungnyangi, Dr. Huinjogjebi, and Lt. Vixen

[thewulf]

Lost and Found || Jake "Hangman" Seresin

Summary: Request - I was wondering if I could request a Jake x Reader. I was thinking a good friends situation where they were both interested in the other but didn’t want to mess up their friend group dynamic and so they never said anything. And of course they were each oblivious to the fact they were into each other,.. Read Rest Here

A/N: Ahhh sorry anon, this took forever to write as I was feeling uninspired. Turns out I just needed to watch TGM and whew! I forgot how much I love Jake Seresin and the TGM crew :) Hope you guys enjoy!

Pairing: Jake "Hangman" Seresin x Female Reader

Word Count: 4.2k +

T/W : Angsty in the beginning

The air in Virginia was thick with the scent of saltwater and fresh possibility when you first noticed the cocky Lieutenant who was making a beeline towards you. It was a humid afternoon on the naval base, and you, a newly hired trauma surgeon, were immersed in your work, lost in the world of medical charts and patient files. And just as you were about to get up, he walked in with a cocky grin and an air of self-assurance that demanded attention. You knew the type, he had to be a pilot. They just had the air about them.

"Hey there, beautiful," he greeted you with a wink, his voice carrying across the room with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. Yeah, he was a pilot. Only they had the reassurance to be so fearless on a first interaction.

You raised an eyebrow at his boldness, unimpressed but intrigued by his approach. "Can I help you with something?" you replied, your tone cool and collected. You knew how to deal with his type. Be dismissive. Ignore them and eventually they’ll get bored enough to leave you alone.

The blonde-haired man slid into the seat opposite you, his grin never faltering as he leaned in closer. "Just couldn't resist the chance to introduce myself to the most captivating woman on base," he said smoothly, his words dripping with charm.

A chuckle escaped your lips, though you tried to suppress it. That was a new one for sure. "Flattery will get you nowhere Lieutenant," you responded, a hint of amusement in your voice.

He grinned in response, undeterred by your playful resistance. His eyes flashed down to your chest which displayed your rank and last name. "Ah, but I'm not just trying to flatter you Lieutenant Commander. I genuinely want to know the name of the woman who's been keeping me up at night," he admitted, his tone sincere but laced with playful arrogance.

You couldn't help but roll your eyes at his persistence. "Well, in that case, I suppose you'll have to earn it," you teased, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. For whatever reason you were having fun with this interaction. It wasn’t often you would give these Navy boys much time but there was something about him. Something that had you setting down your charts to get a good look at him.

Jake leaned back in his chair, his expression turning thoughtful. "Fair enough," he conceded, his gaze locking with yours. "I'm Jake, by the way. And you are?"

You maintained a playful smile, keeping him guessing as you decided to reveal just a fragment of yourself. "I'm a trauma surgeon," you replied cryptically, letting the mystery linger in the air. It was then that you noticed how handsome he was. Blonde, clean-cut hair and deep green eyes… who wouldn’t swoon for that?

Jake's eyebrows lifted in genuine surprise, his cocky demeanor momentarily faltering. "A trauma surgeon? Now, that's impressive," he remarked, a newfound respect coloring his tone. "Here I am, just a pilot, and you're out there saving lives and I take them."

You chuckled softly at his dark humor, appreciating the humility that so rarely came from the pilots you had known in the past. "It's not a competition," You assured him, feeling a sense of something beginning to form between the two of you. No wonder he was so cocky. He was striking and a pilot to boot? It should’ve been over then and there, but he drew you in further than you had ever intended.

Jake nodded, his gaze lingering on you with a newfound sense of admiration. "I know, but still...what you do is pretty incredible. Badass even.” he said earnestly, a genuine warmth in his voice.

As the conversation continued to flow between you, a comfortable exchange began to form, fueled by mutual respect and a shared sense of adventure. And though you kept him guessing with your playful evasions, there was a part of you that couldn't help but feel drawn to Jake – to his confidence, his charm, and the undeniable spark that crackled between you. And so, as the afternoon sun cast long shadows across the mess hall and the sounds of laughter filled the air, you found yourself fascinated by Jake, captivated by his irresistible charm and magnetic personality. Little did you know, this chance encounter would be the beginning of a friendship – and perhaps something more – that would change the course of your lives forever.

Over time, you found yourself drawn to him in ways you couldn't quite explain. Despite the demands of your respective roles on the base, you made time to see each other whenever you could – stolen moments between shifts, late-night conversations beneath the stars, stolen glances in the dimly lit corridors of the barracks. Everyone knew of the two of you. Clearly in love but too stupid to do anything about it.

But beneath the surface, there was an unspoken tension between you, a lingering sense of longing that neither of you dared to acknowledge. You were both fiercely independent individuals, committed to your careers and reluctant to jeopardize the fragile balance of your friendship with something as unpredictable as love. So, you buried your feelings beneath layers of professionalism, convincing yourself that it was better this way – safer, more practical, less likely to end in utter heartbreak. But no matter how hard you tried to ignore it, the spark between you refused to be extinguished, flickering to life with each passing glance, each fleeting touch.

Then, on a random Tuesday afternoon, Jake dropped a bombshell that shattered the delicate equilibrium you had worked so hard to maintain. "I'm being reassigned after this deployment," he confessed, his voice tinged with regret. "To Miramar."

As Jake's words sank in, a heavy silence enveloped the room, suffocating you with the weight of what his departure truly meant. You had been through so much together over the past three years. The highs and the lows, the laughter, and the tears. And now, faced with the prospect of his absence, you couldn't help but feel as though a piece of your heart was being torn away.

"Miramar? To Top Gun?" you echoed, your voice barely above a whisper, betraying the ache in your heart. You knew it was everything he had been working towards. And you knew how damn good of a pilot he was. It just surprised you how soon he was getting sent there. He must’ve been the best of the best.

Jake nodded. His expression somber. "Yeah. It's everything I’ve been working towards, but..." His voice trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken, hanging in the air like a heavy cloud of regret.

But all you could feel was a sense of loss. For the friendship you had built, for the moments you had shared, for the possibility of something more that now seemed out of reach. "I'm so happy for you, Jake. You deserve it. You deserve the whole world." You forced the words out, though they felt like shards of glass tearing at your soul. A single tear escaped your eye, tracing a silent path down your cheek.

Jake reached out, gently wiping away the tear with a look of utter despair in his eyes, as if he couldn't bear to see you cry. "I wish you could come with me," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper, filled with a longing you knew mirrored your own. He grabbed for your hand joining his fingers in with yours.

Tears welled up in your eyes once more, threatening to spill over at any moment. "I know," you replied, your voice thick with unshed tears. "But I'm still in the middle of my fellowship. I can't just drop everything and leave. No matter how badly I want to." Another tear escaped as you realized what this meant. Your little bubble of happiness was going to vanish in an instant.

Jake nodded in understanding, his grip on your hand tightening as if trying to hold onto the moment for just a little while longer. "I know," he murmured, his gaze filled with a mixture of sadness and longing, mirroring the storm of emotions raging within your own heart.

Then, as if trying to lighten the mood, he flashed a small smile. "You know, I used to dream of being a Top Gun pilot when I was a kid," he confessed, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "Never thought I'd actually get the chance to fly jets like that."

You couldn't help but smile through your tears, touched by his vulnerability. "You've come a long way from your childhood dreams Jake. I knew you’d be able to do it. If anybody could, it’s you," you remarked softly, a sense of pride swelling within you despite the ache in your heart. Because he did deserve it. He may have come off as an arrogant asshole at first, but he was anything but that. He was your best friend. The man who looked out for you over himself time and time again. You loved him but you held it close to your chest. Because you did love him you had to let him go. Let him go live his dreams.

And as the reality of his departure settled over you like a dark cloud. You couldn't help but wonder how you would ever find the strength to say goodbye to him. As you sat there together, holding hands beneath the harsh fluorescent lights of the barracks, you realized that no matter where life took you, no matter how far apart you may be, the bond you shared with Jake would endure – a constant reminder of the love and friendship that had blossomed in the unlikeliest of places.

After Jake's departure, life on the base took on a different rhythm. The days stretched into weeks, and the weeks into months, each passing moment marked by the absence of his laughter, his warmth, his unwavering presence by your side. Despite the distance, you and Jake still found solace in occasional phone calls and sporadic messages, though never as often as you wished.

On an ordinary day, your world was turned upside down once again. Your commanding officer called you into his office, his expression serious as he delivered the news. "Doctor Y/L/N. I have some important news for you," he began, his tone solemn. "Due to some unforeseen circumstances, we've had to make some adjustments to our staffing plan. You're being reassigned."

Your heart skipped a beat at his words, a sense of unease settling over you. "Reassigned? But I thought I was heading to Austin for my next rotation. Replacing Doctor Warmack." you replied, trying to mask the anxiety in your voice. You had plans. You were moving to Texas. You had a house picked out. A life you were planning to start. But then again, you were in the military. You should’ve expected this.

Your CO shook his head, his expression unreadable. "Plans have changed. Chula Vista is in urgent need of a trauma surgeon of your caliber," he explained, his words sending a jolt of shock through your system.

Upon hearing the news of your reassignment to Chula Vista, a whirlwind of questions surged within you. "Sir, may I ask where Chula Vista is located?" you inquired tentatively, your voice betraying a mix of curiosity and apprehension. You hadn’t heard of that base. And you could’ve sworn you knew all the potential bases you could’ve been assigned to.

Your commanding officer, a seasoned veteran with a weathered expression, glanced up from his desk, his gaze thoughtful. "Chula Vista is a city just south of here, part of the San Diego metropolitan area," he explained as he pointed to the map of the states, his tone carrying a sense of gravitas. "It's home to several military installations, including Naval Air Station North Island and Naval Base Coronado. It's also in close proximity to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar.”

The mention of North Island and Miramar sent a jolt of emotion through you, memories of Jake flooding your mind with a bittersweet intensity. "Chula Vista also supports Top Gun operations, among many other military endeavors," the CO continued, his voice steady as he provided further context.

You were heading to exactly where Jake was. A shiver of anxiety ripped through you as you processed his words. “Thank you, sir," you replied, a mixture of gratitude and anticipation swelling within you.

As you turned to leave, the weight of the news settled over you, mingling with a newfound sense of purpose. Chula Vista, a city steeped in military history, a place where your path will intersect with Jake's once more. And though uncertainty loomed on the horizon, there was a glimmer of hope shining through. The possibility of reconnecting with Jake and the chance to explore what the future held in store.

As the days passed and your departure drew nearer, you found yourself grappling with a dilemma: should you reach out to Jake before making the move to Chula Vista, or should you let fate take its course and surprise him? The months of silence between you weighed heavily on your mind, leaving you uncertain of where you stood with him. Would he be glad to hear from you, or would your sudden reappearance only complicate things further?

Part of you longed to reach out, to bridge the gap that had formed between you and reconnect before the distance between you grew even wider. But another part of you feared rejection, feared that your efforts would be met with indifference or worse… that Jake had moved on without you.

In the end, you couldn't shake the feeling that fate was leading you back to Jake, guiding you toward a reunion that was long overdue. And so, with a leap of faith, you made the decision to keep your plans a secret, to let the element of surprise be your ally. With each passing day, your anticipation grew, your excitement mingling with a touch of nervousness as you prepared for your move to Chula Vista. And as you boarded the plane bound for your new home, you couldn't help but wonder what the future held in store for you, for Jake, and for the bond that had endured despite the trials and tribulations that had threatened to tear you apart.

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the Hard Deck. You found yourself seated at the bar, engaged in conversation with Penny, the owner of the establishment. The ambience was relaxed, with the murmur of chatter and the clinking of glasses providing a soothing backdrop to your discussion.

Penny, a vibrant and charismatic woman with a penchant for storytelling, leaned in with genuine interest as she got to know you. "So, what brings you to the Hard Deck? I haven’t seen you around here before," she asked, a playful twinkle in her eye.

You offered her a warm smile, appreciating her genuine curiosity. "Just got here a week ago. I've heard so much about this place from my coworkers," you explained, gesturing to the bustling bar around you. "They all recommended it as the must-visit bar in Miramar."

Penny's eyes lit up at your mention of coworkers. "Ah, you must be part of the base personnel then," she observed, a knowing smile playing at the corners of her lips.

You nodded, a sense of camaraderie forming between you. "I am! I'm a trauma surgeon over at the hospital in Chula Vista," you confirmed.

At the mention of your role, Penny's expression shifted, her eyes widening with recognition. "Wait a minute... are you Y/N? Doctor Y/L/N?" she asked, her voice tinged with excitement.

Surprised by her sudden enthusiasm and knowing of your name, you nodded cautiously. "Yes, that's me. But how did you...?" you trailed off, curious about Penny's sudden change in demeanor. Her excitement was palpable, you could feel it in the air.

Penny beamed at you. "Oh, Jake talks about you all the time! You're one of his favorites," she revealed, a hint of mischief dancing in her eyes.

A warmth spread through your chest at her words, touched by Jake's apparent fondness for you. "He does?" you asked, unable to conceal the smile that tugged at your lips.

Penny nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely! He's always mentioning how talented and dedicated you are. He won’t admit it… or he doesn’t recognize it, but that man is head over heels for you, Doctor," she added with a playful wink.

You couldn't help but chuckle at Penny's teasing, feeling a flutter of anticipation as thoughts of Jake filled your mind. Little did you know, your reunion with him was just moments away, and the excitement of seeing him again filled you with a sense of joyful anticipation. Penny's mischievous grin widened as she caught sight of your reaction. "Oh, don't try to hide it, Y/N. I can see that spark in your eye," she teased, nudging you playfully.

You couldn't help but laugh, feeling a rush of nervous energy coursing through you. "Alright, you caught me," you admitted with a grin. "I'm looking forward to catching up with an old friend."

As you sat at the bar, lost in your thoughts, you didn't notice the door swinging open, admitting a group of pilots. It wasn't until Penny nudged you once more and whispered excitedly that you looked up, your heart skipping a beat as you caught sight of Jake among them.

Before you could react, Jake's eyes locked onto yours, a look of sheer astonishment crossing his face. In a flash, he broke into a wide grin and dashed toward you, weaving through the crowd with purpose. You barely had time to register what was happening before Jake was upon you, pulling you into a massive bear hug that lifted you off your feet. Laughter bubbled up from deep within you as he spun you around in a whirlwind of joy and excitement, the world around you fading away as you surrendered to the moment.

"Y/N!" Jake exclaimed, his voice filled with genuine delight as he held you close, his grip on you tight and unyielding. You couldn't help but laugh along with him, feeling the warmth of his embrace enveloping you like a familiar cocoon. In that moment, it didn't matter who was watching or what anyone else thought. All that mattered was the sheer exhilaration of being reunited with Jake, of feeling his arms around you once again.

"What the hell are you doing here without telling me, Doc?" Jake exclaimed, his voice filled with mock indignation as he held you close, refusing to let you go.

You laughed, feeling a rush of warmth spread through you at the familiarity of his embrace. "Surprise?" you replied, unable to keep the grin from your face as you met his gaze.

Jake shook his head, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "Well, consider me surprised," he admitted, his tone playful as he finally set you back down on solid ground. “I have to say, this is the best surprise I've had in a long time." As you stood there together, wrapped up in each other's arms, you couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over you. Despite the years that had passed since you last saw each other, it felt as though no time had passed at all. As though you had simply picked up right where you left off.

As the warmth of your embrace lingered, Jake's eyes remained fixed on yours, a softness settling over his features as he took in the sight of you. His hand remained firmly on your shoulder, his touch comforting and reassuring.

"I've missed you, Y/N," he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper as he spoke. "More than you'll ever know." You felt a swell of emotion rise within you at his words, the sincerity in his voice stirring something deep within your heart. Despite the distance and the time that had passed, the connection between you felt as strong as ever – a testament to the bond you shared.

Before you could respond, Jake's gaze softened even further, a flicker of determination shining in his eyes as he made a decision. Without hesitation, he reached for your hand, his fingers intertwining with yours in a silent gesture of solidarity. "Let's catch up," he suggested, his voice filled with a quiet determination. "There's so much I want to tell you, so much I want to share."

You nodded, a smile spreading across your face at his eagerness to spend time together. "I'd love that," you replied, feeling a surge of excitement at the prospect of reconnecting with Jake.

As you stepped outside into the cool night air, the sound of laughter and music fading into the background, Jake turned to you, his expression earnest. "Y/N, there's something I need to say," he began, his voice tinged with nervousness.

You looked at him, curiosity piqued by his serious tone. "What is it, Jake?" you asked, concern flickering in your eyes.

Jake took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before continuing. "I've thought about this moment for so long, wondering if I'd ever get the chance to tell you how I feel," he confessed, his gaze unwavering as he met your eyes.

Your heart skipped a beat at his words, anticipation building within you as you waited for him to speak. "How you feel?" you prompted, unable to contain the hope in your voice.

Jake's lips curved into a tender smile, his eyes shining with sincerity. "Y/N, I've been wanting to tell you for so long, but I've been too afraid," he admitted, his voice filled with vulnerability. Before you could respond, he took a step closer, his hand reaching up to cup your cheek gently. "I want to be with you, Y/N," he whispered, his breath warm against your skin. "I want to make up for lost time and see where this goes."

Your heart fluttered at his words, and as you gazed into his eyes, you found yourself lost in the depths of his sincerity. His vulnerability touched you in a way you hadn't expected, and you felt a surge of affection for him that was impossible to ignore. But before you could respond, Jake took a deep breath, his gaze never leaving yours. "May I kiss you?" he asked, his voice soft but filled with determination.

Your breath caught in your throat at his question, surprised by his respect and thoughtfulness. You nodded eagerly, a smile tugging at the corners of your lips. "Please, Jake," you replied with certainty, your voice barely above a whisper. "Of course."

As Jake's lips met yours, a surge of warmth flooded through your entire body. It was as if every nerve in you ignited with a newfound energy, responding to the tender, loving touch of his kiss. Your senses were overwhelmed by the sensation of his lips against yours, soft and yielding yet filled with an undeniable passion. Time seemed to stand still as you lost yourself in the sweetness of his embrace. His lips moved against yours with a gentle rhythm, each kiss sending sparks of electricity coursing through your veins. It was one of those kisses filled with longing and desire, a silent confession of the feelings that had been building between you for so long.

Your knees threatened to buckle beneath you as the intensity of the moment washed over you, but Jake's strong arms wrapped around you, holding you close and steady. His touch was both comforting and electrifying, grounding you in the present moment even as you felt yourself swept away by the sheer emotion of it all. His hands roamed over your back, pulling you closer to him as if he could never bear to let you go again. They were warm and reassuring, tracing the curves of your spine with a tenderness that left you breathless. For the first time in your life, you felt utterly and completely cherished, as if you were the most important person in the world to him. Because you were and he was determined to show you that.

As the kiss deepened, the world around you faded into nothingness, leaving only the two of you in your own private cocoon of love and desire. It was a moment you would treasure forever, a testament to the depth of the connection you shared with Jake.

When you finally pulled away, your lips still tingling from the sweetness of his, you found yourself lost in his eyes once again. As you gazed into Jake's, feeling the weight of his gaze and the depth of his love, a sense of peace washed over you. It was as if all the pieces of the puzzle had finally fallen into place, and you knew, deep in your heart, that this was where you were meant to be.

With a gentle smile, Jake pressed his forehead against yours, his breath warm against your skin as he whispered softly, "I am never letting you go again." His words filled you with a sense of warmth and belonging, reassuring you that no matter what challenges lay ahead, you would face them together. While you gazed into the depths of his soul, you knew that this was just the beginning of a new chapter in your story together.

Jake Seresin/Top Gun: Permanent Taglist (If you'd like to be added to any or all works please fill out the form here: Taglist Sign Up) @loving-and-dreaming @kmc1989 @memeorydotcom @matisse556 @buckylov3r @taygrls @ah-blossom @mamachasesmayhem @hardballoonlove @rosiahills22 @djs8891 @illisea @jessicab1991 @guacam011y @dempy @mrsevans90 @il0vebeingdelulu @hiireadstuff @missxmav @kajjaka

[cherubfae]

𝔩𝔬𝔳𝔢 𝔯𝔦𝔳𝔞𝔩 || {𝔞𝔨𝔞𝔱𝔰𝔲𝔨𝔦}

They're now realizing what a mistake it was to introduce you to the group, now they have competition with their own teammate.

tags: former ninja!reader, gn! civilian reader, established relationships, threats, violence, protective!akatsuki, slightly suggestive in Sasori's || MINORS DONT INTERACT

Pain

He knows that Konan is harmless and she's not the sort of disrespectful person to go sniffing about where she doesn't belong, especially where he and his partner are concerned. Pain, however, cannot tolerate the lingering touches Konan gives you as she passes by. Her hand brushing yours, guiding you with an arm around your shoulders, and blushing at you. He feels a warning is warranted.

"You are my dear friend, Konan, I have known you many years, but this simply won't do. You are better than how you are acting. Be respectful and leave them alone, and I won't need to inflict pain upon you."

Konan

Oh, well isn't this troublesome. Konan isn't the type to make idle threats, but Pain is her commander and leader. That would not be a wise decision on her part, but she does trust her long-time friend to be somewhat respectful and not place you in any situation where you would be uncomfortable. She's not above putting her foot down if she really must.

"Sir, with all due respect, my partner isn't interested and we would both appreciate you to mind your manners."

Obito

You are his everything. He would destroy the entire world for you. Level mountains, tame seas, there isn't anything he wouldn't do as long as it's within his power. He's pretty surprised that Zetsu even took a liking to you, as he's not one that's expressed interest in most anything other than his eating habits.

"Surely Zetsu is mistaken. My partner isn't a corpse for you to munch on you, nor are they yours for the taking. Keep your distance and I won't have to bloody you up too much."

Zetsu

As with anything, both sides of him are at a near constant quarrel with each other. His light side trying to reassure his darker side that Tobi is harmless and doesn't mean anything malicious by taking interest in you.

"Tobi is a good boy, he means no harm." "His harm is his unwarranted interest in our beloved partner. Fool! You have no sense, do you?"

Hidan

Honestly he could laugh so hard he may undo the stitches in his neck. That old fucker wants his partner?? Is he actually serious?

"Haha! That's fucking rich! You've gotta be at least one-hundred by now, huh? Fuck off, geezer! They're not yours!"

Kakuzu

Clearly decapitating Hidan over and over doesn't make him talk any less. Neither does stabbing him-- but it sure does take the edge off. Kakuzu would rather not deal with the younger man's insufferable stubbornness. You are his lover, his alone, and Hidan had no chance in whatever the fuck kind of afterlife his mighty lord Jashin provides. None. Fuck off, Hidan.

"As if they'd want someone as lowly as you. You don't even pay for your own shit. Remember your place or I won't hesitate to remove you from this world permanently. One swipe and your head will be freed from your miserable shoulders. I'm sure all sorts of insects would love to burrow inside of that hollow space."

Itachi

For a moment he's reminded of Sasuke's little schoolboy crush on you, except Kisame isn't Sasuke. He is a grown adult capable of getting in the way of Itachi's livelihood. Threatening the sanctity of his relationship. He's unlikely to do much other than step in if he crosses any boundaries or makes you uncomfortable. So until something is said, it's just this weird, heavy atmosphere. Kisame starts to speak but Itachi cuts him off immediately.

"Keep their name out of your mouth, Kisame. I won't warn you again."

Kisame

Oftentimes he wonders how lonely Itachi is. He annihilated his entire clan save for his younger brother in a single night. He took away everything he loved and for what? He can appreciate Itachi's past but Kisame doesn't take too kindly to the eldest Uchiha brother being a bit too welcoming and protective of his partner.

"Itachi, a word of advice. Don't shit where you eat. And keep your nose out of other's relationships. You're a good, respectable man and I appreciate your concern in my partner's well-being. Let me handle it from here."

Sasori

There's still the age-old artistic view difference between the two: eternal art vs shortlived art. One could argue both have their merits, but even after all these years it was a sore subject between the blonde and redhead duo. And now you were thrown into the mix.

"If you truly think you're so superior to me, Deidara, then perhaps you'd be more open to what a waste your art truly is. My partner prefers eternal, long-lasting, but there's nothing long nor lasting about, is there?"

Deidara

This was great. Jusssst great. Sasori had been hanging around his area of the hideout more and for what, Deidara wasn't sure. Until he recalled that you had been given special permission to visit from Pain himself. You'd forsaken your village long ago and clearly had no interest in reporting them, so it was allowed. Sasori had begun skulking about ever since and the blonde could guess why he might be drawn to you.

"If you even think about turning my partner into a fuckin' puppet, I won't hesitate to kill you, Sasori. No matter which way I go about it, you'll end up in splinters. So, I repeat. Stay the fuck away from them, hmm."

|| ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ʀᴇᴘᴏꜱᴛ, ʀᴇᴜꜱᴇ, ᴏʀ ᴇᴅɪᴛ ᴍʏ ᴡᴏʀᴋꜱ ɪɴ ᴀɴʏ ᴡᴀʏ! ɪ ᴅᴏ ɴᴏᴛ ɢɪᴠᴇ ᴘᴇʀᴍɪꜱꜱɪᴏɴ. ᴛᴜᴍʙʟʀ ɪꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜱɪᴛᴇ ᴡʜᴇʀᴇ ɪ ᴘᴏꜱᴛ. ᴀʟʟ ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀꜱ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʀɪɢʜᴛꜰᴜʟ ᴏᴡɴᴇʀ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀʏ ʙᴇʟᴏɴɢꜱ ᴛᴏ ᴍᴇ © ᴄʜᴇʀᴜʙꜰᴀᴇ 2024 ||

[risingsoleil]

did linzin ever fight? And i mean big fights and they stopped talking to each other for days even their kids noticed? If yes how will they fix it

100% yes.

I'll break down a couple they've had:

#1 is one of the most common ones they have. It's Lin disregarding her own safety and putting herself on the line to protect others (not their family). They've had loud arguments about it.

Tenzin: do we mean nothing to you?! Do I mean nothing to you?! Lin: Stop saying shit to hurt me! I know what I'm doing! I wouldn't put myself in danger if I thought I'd end up dead! Tenzin: You owe it to me and the kids to not put yourself at risk. Why don't you let someone else die?! Lin: That's so rich coming from you--an airbender who's supposed to value all lives.

I'm not sure how they've solved this. Tenzin steps up to protect Lin so that she's not the one taking hits. But then Lin gets pissed at him. Then they fight about it. The cycle continues. Lin brings up "We can't both put ourselves on the line, otherwise our kids will end up as an orphans!!"

#2 - Tenzin wanting to take Jin and Areum on a long trip for airbender studies. Lin is frustrated because she knows that he only wants to pass down the knowledge of his culture to their kids, but she worries about how this will look to their other kids who might feel that he's showing favoritism. Tenzin argues that it's like an airbender rite of passage, and there are just specific things that airbenders will relate to. The kids overheard this one and would slide little notes under their parents' door. "Please don't fight ��" Lin and Tenzin have definitely ignored each other for a while with this fight. It doesn't last long, but they definitely want a break from the other.

#3 - One fight that I think would be interesting is Tenzin being jealous that Lin is getting more respect in her workplace than he does. As an officer, Lin is good at being stoic and abrasive when she needs to be. She earns and commands respect over the years--even before they had kids. Tenzin struggles to find his own authority in politics. No one takes him seriously and constantly compares him to Aang. He's trying not to let his temper come through and once it slips a bit, City Hall uses that against him. Eventually, he kinda takes it out on Lin. And she can't understand what his problem is, and why he's being so snarky about her work. At first, she thought it was just jealousy over guys checking her out and things like that. But eventually, she hears from a little birdy (or maybe she just interrogated a worker) that no one sees Tenzin as a strong legislator on the Council.

#4 Not feeling prioritized in the relationship. This has happened on both parties. Both of them with their work schedules, but especially after Aang died. That period of chaos before the next Avatar is discovered was crazy and a bit of a blur for them.

The way they resolve or work through some of these fights changes. Sometimes, swallowing your pride and getting on your knees to give head to show you're sorry will work. Other times, it requires compromise and talking things through--Lin's *favorite* method.

Linzin tries to keep their fights/arguments away from the kids as much as possible. I think the kids have heard more fights than Linzin thinks they have. But Linzin's determination to work through these fights reinforces their love for each other to the kids.

[ragequeen94]

An absolute insane stream of consciousness about ghost and everything else...

Been thinking about the title "Emeritus"....

It has meaning:

- a person retired from professional life but permitted to retain as an honorary title the rank of the last office held.

....Now I'm assuming the ministry works how the actual catholic church works and the choose a name. Like when your picked to be pope you pick a biblical name instead of your real name....

Their real names being... primo, secondo, etc.... and in assuming those are first names unless Nihil was able to find women with numerical last names IN ORDER all willing to having his satanic church bastards. Which for him seems possible but I digress.

It just seems like an interesting choice of title. (Especially for a wild little sweed) and what he was trying to say... perhaps just that they are "past their prime"? They have the title only because they are old?

Also thinking about the usage of "bloodline"... now we all think it's because of Nihil and his breeding fetish. Which may be true. But I'd like to bring up the secondo Papaganda where the "special ghoul" is talking about Secondo and the bloodline...

We can pretend that in this universe, those characters are... real? Easy. Or perhaps they are all "choosen" perhaps the bloodline actually being more children chosen by darkness? Or the devil? Now the three confirmed brothers and now also Copia are all Nihil children, we are about to get Papa V... and is realistic to believe it's Copias twin (also because his name is literally copy in italian) but a copy of who? The only other character could be .... Father Jim??

I'm 100% sure that his name was picked for this reason... but is he being dethroned? Is he dethroning?? We don't know much besides that he's kind of a shit priest and uses cum as hair gell....

And that all other Papas have been dethroned as well for also not being good at their jobs. Interesting. Maybe a comment on hypocrisy with the satanic church having higher standards for leadership??

Also Copia is Imperator now...

Which literally means commander. But commander only lead armies... they aren't kings or emperors and even Sister Imperator was answering the phone to someone she was respectful and obedient too. (See that one chapter when nihil was on the toilet)... I'm pretty sure it wasn't Psaltarian.... but what does that name mean??

My best guess is either someone who documents OR

Which is basically a kinda early guitar.... so hes... the band manager??

I don't think he's running the church. So there are way more characters and story to uncover.

What I can say I at this point... we know absolutely nothing and nothing makes sense.

Fuckin... since we know copia is Imperator and Nihils kid and he's the youngest... and Secondo and Terzo are 3 months apart and can't have the same mother.... Nihil had had 3 children with a minimum of 2 other women already by the time he met Imperator.

And let's pretend everything we see in the MV and the chapters is canon legit. Nihil was a little unsure of what was going on at the party... but that doesn't mean he wasn't already part of the church. We know that Ghost is just the public relations section of the ministry. Not THE MINISTRY... they are important but one one piece. They are the face or figure head. Which is pretty much said word for word. PAPA STILL ANSWERS TO A HIGHER POWER. Who or what we don't know.

Nihil and his father (and his fathers father, his father... his father... hid father's father's father... his father) are all part of the bloodline. All this means is that they are related or choosen by... the devil? That Dracula and the Canadian guy who wrote "Hallelujah" are related??

Or that all of these characters/people are entertainers.

Is the ministry just a record label? Each papa a musician trying to make it?? It's all a metaphor for stardom?? Probably.

Basically papa nihil could have easily been part of the church before he met Imperator. She just got him involved in the ghost project (her project by the sound of it). Then when it fell through got nihils kids involved... cause... why. We don't know.

We have Nihil who is... nothing.

Psaltarian that... writer? Manager?

Imperator the commander.

Defroque the cum guzzling priest.

And the Papas who are all already passed their prime?? but they picked the name.

But nihil wasn't an Emeritus.

Unless nihil was the name he picked and we don't even know his name... and he named his kidd first second and third cause he thought it was funny.

Also it's 100% that Imperator named Copia.

Is he a copy of his twin (or just a copy in general) or is he a copy of his father? Or of her????

Please dear fucking unholy shit can someone hyperfixate with me....

[system-architect]

ok here's my collected JW thoughts in general. obviously this is spoilers

OK.................................... so i think anet is Back. its not quite "we are SO back" levels but it COULD be "we are SO back" levels depending on what they do in the next installment

they did good, though, and i think the most obvious jump in quality is actually in the maps themselves. they feel so much better than soto maps just to run around in and explore. theres a LOT more detail and they actually feel pretty intriguing and immersive with a lot of fun easter eggs and surprises!

the story didnt always hit for me but it was still overall Better than soto. the first instance alone grabbed me more than all of soto had tbh. the bears don't personally interest me but the mursaat do, and we're getting somewhere with all the bloodstone and titan stuff

i DO enjoy the angle of the commander starting to go kind of lie-lie man acting in personal interests. isgarren is a bitch but we can also be rude to waiting sorrow for no reason oops sorry nice again haha oh man how'd this bear teleport here that's craaazy.. there were points at which i actively lost track of who we had lied to about what and when, and while the confusion grated me a bit it was also funny in a way? like yeah if i was the commander i'd lose track of this shit too right

the commander doesn't have much of a personality technically, beyond "person who does good(TM) things", and what we make of our canon commander's personality is mostly just our own notions and conceptions and interpretations being placed on them, BUT that said it felt like the story did take the commander in some interesting directions for me.

i felt like i got the sense that the commander really is sort of a "free agent" now, which is fun. when you've already killed all the dragons and your life's purpose is TECHNICALLLLYYY over but you're still around and you're still many things to many people, what do you do with your life? this, apparently.

i like us being kind of a mirror of isgarren in the sense that the comm is an ultra powerful guy, with a lot of worldly+scholarly experience at this point, who a lot of other very powerful figures respect and Need, but that not everyone necessarily Likes. yeah this is our free-range deployable killing machine politician who's kind of strange interpersonally.

my favorite instance in the whole story was the one with the bloodstone ghosts btw. i thought they did a really good job imbuing each with a fair amount of personality and showcasing a wide array of perspectives on what happened in gavril-- a thing which i was prepared to not be particularly interested in tbh, and yet...

ALSO, the voice actor for the gavril citizen ghost was SUPER good! i'm pretty sure they were a new VA but i'd really love to hear more voicework from them. in general i felt a lot of the VA work in this xpac banged-- it feels like they got a decent amount of new/fresh talent?? it's been nice, i hadn't realized how stale the world was starting to feel only hearing the same 3-5 voices constantly (no shade towards the longer-standing VAs who DO do a good job, i just wished for more variety)

REALLY liking the amount of unique voice lines and racial dialogue also

features wise its also been pretty good! i like the repeat renown heart thing plus the return of the hearts. as a revenant with a condi set i cant say ive got any issues with the spears LOL. and warclaw is super fun once you get the hang of it-- i like that it has a learning curve and some nuance like most older mounts do, as opposed to skyscale's fairly 'flat' mobility. have NOT really tried out decorating my homestead yet and ive heard mixed opinions on it, so we'll see how i feel there!

[dr-futbol-blog]

Hot Zone, Pt. 6

If the final conversation before Sheppard detonates the nuke is between him and McKay, it's also McKay's reaction that we get to first hearing Sheppard's voice after the explosion. Sure, these are all sandwiched between conversations or reaction shots of Weir so if you're not paying attention, it's easy to come to the conclusion that there's a special bond or understanding between them, that they care about each other more than co-workers.

But, and I emphasize, thus far on the show it has always been McKay's reaction we get to intense Sheppard moments. While Weir does the asking of whether Sheppard is alright, it is McKay's relief to his survival that we get to share.

If it happened now and again, it might be co-incidence. But every time?

And again we are reminded that for Sheppard, Atlantis is home. His first words upon surviving the blast are: "This is Sheppard. I've cleared the blast -- I'm returning home." I'll remind you of McKay's words at the beginning of the episode: "I don't often get a chance to say this, so savour it: good work, boys and girls! Let's go home." It's been a long, hard day but both Sheppard and McKay have been on their way to the same place all along.

McKay's face, here, when Ford hugs him tells us everything we need to know when it comes to how he feels about Atlantis and the people therein. The thing is, however much Rodney and Sheppard may care about one another, however often they may come to rescue one another in the future, they both care about everyone else there too. They are heroic in the truest sense of the word.

Then there's the rather interesting conversation Weir and Sheppard have at the end of the episode, the coda.

We find Sheppard in Weir's office, lost in thought. In fact, he's waiting for her there, seeming kind of like a school boy at the principal's office. This is not a conversation he wants to have, things are tense between them. Sheppard tries to get out of it using his charm, stands up and tells her he's going to bed. She's not having it, wants them to talk it out right now.

The discussion they have is very interesting.

Weir: We need to discuss what happened earlier. Sheppard: Now? Weir: That can never happen again. Sheppard: Look, I'm sorry about... Weir: I understand your expertise in military matters and I agree that I should defer to those expertise in such situations. Sheppard: Thank you! Weir: But you are not the one who decides what is and what is not a military situation. Now, both General O'Neill and Colonel Sumner warned me that you don't respect the proper chain of command.

Now, later on we learn that Sheppard was court-martialed for disobeying orders not to cross enemy lines to save a field medic serving under him. From the parallel universe of Vegas (S05E19), we learn that they had been involved. The gender of the field medic isn't really relevant here, because Weir is implying that she knows that he is willing to disobey orders to save people he cares about and since she's seen him bend the rules for Teyla, she has to think that he would do this regardless of gender. While a noble sentiment, that can become a problem if it comes at the cost of sacrificing other lives, or even the whole mission. And she's seen now that no matter how much she believes or has good faith in him, no matter how much she might consider him a friend, he is willing to do anything for the people he loves. To kill enemies, yes. Definitely, she's seen this with her own eyes. But even civilians. Even to jeopardize the lives of everyone in the city. To save one person.

General O'Neill and Colonel Sumner both knew the details of his court martial. We don't know whether he was not yet married, married, or divorced at the time but in high likelihood, both of them thought that Sheppard was a gay man regardless -- those kinds of documents aren't really made for nuance. O'Neill had some personal experience of combating inappropriate feelings toward someone serving directly under him, but he managed to conquer them -- for the most part. But the whole reason why DADT was a thing in the first place was that before it was in effect, gay men were considered a liability due to the inherent secrecy that was required for them to serve. This demand for secrecy compromised them, made them targets for extortion, manipulation, blackmail, being influenced by the enemy. This made them inherently suspicious. And even though DADT had originally been intended to make it easier for gay men to serve, it wasn't just an invitation for dishonesty, it was a requisite. And therefore if you were anything other than heterosexual in the military, you couldn't be trusted.

This is what O'Neill and Sumner had been trying to tell her. That no matter how noble his intentions, Sheppard's loyalties were suspect. That he couldn't be trusted, not in the way a fellow soldier should be able to trust another. He couldn't be counted on to make impartial calls. Whether or not he had thought he was doing the right thing, he had still demonstrated that he did not respect the proper chain of command, not when it went against his personal moral code.

Sheppard seems to understand that she's referring to this. What else could she possibly be talking about? He's understandably defensive:

Sheppard: Well, sometimes I see a situation a little different than they do--

He sees things a little different than General O'Neill and Colonel Sumner. He sees things a little different than your average G.I. Joe. He's a little different. He has a different perspective. His outlook is different. He's a little... you know. He's "kinda... never mind", like General O'Neill would put it. You've got to excuse him because he is in something of a bind, here.

But Weir knew that already. That was never a problem for her. She's a civilian, she's seen all manner of things as a diplomat. But she assumed that since she was willing to turn a blind eye here and there, that Sheppard would repay this with loyalty. Clearly, Sheppard didn't trust her. Didn't trust her to keep his secret or to side with him if push ever came to shove against his superiors. Sheppard had been looking for Weir's protection from Colonel Sumner from the get-go but it seemed clear to her now that he was not willing to respect her by being truthful. And where did that leave them?

Weir: No. Listen to me, John. Now, you endangered yourself and the lives of many others. Sheppard: Because I thought it was the best course of action to take -- and, by the way, I saved your ass. Weir: I know you did -- but you have to trust me. Sheppard: I do! Weir: Do you?

Her problem was never that he cared about members of his team. She cared about them too. Her problem was not that he cared about Rodney McKay in a special way. She cared about Rodney too, although not in the same way. If they could find a modicum of happiness in each other, who was she to get in the way of that? But if she couldn't trust him to do the right thing, make the right choices, then how can they work together? That is what this conversation was about. She's not asking. He's obviously not telling. But she still needs to know. She needs to know that she can trust him.

She needs to know that he can trust them. Because she is starting to realize that together, they can talk her into anything.

They don't get to finish the discussion, as Rodney and Beckett barge into her office. They bring with them a new mystery, leaving this unresolved issue lingering between Sheppard and Weir.

Finally, I want to draw attention to the fact that during their conversation, Sheppard had his whole body turned away from her. He was feeling obviously defensive and hence used his body to build a barrier (Rodney is also projecting defensiveness here with his crossed arms but it seems to have more to do with what they had just discovered about the potential new enemy). When McKay enters, Sheppard can't help but turn his entire body toward him. He pulls his hand to his thigh. He does not need or want there to be anything between them.

They exchange deep, meaningful glances that seem to communicate things beyond words. They have been getting so close that something has to give. If in the previous episode it was McKay who was reminded of why he was impossible to love, it is Sheppard''s turn here to be reminded that his love is lethal.

[seraphjewel]

Star Trek Prodigy Season 2 thoughts

This show is everything I love about Star Trek. It may be produced by Nickelodeon, but it doesn't dumb anything down just because it's "for kids." I love how none of the main characters are humans, which not only takes advantage of being animated to give us cool alien designs, but also acts as a great visual for Starfleet's ideals. It's visually stunning and the writing is superb. It gives a season-spanning story while also making time for those wacky space shenanigans we expect from the franchise. It's funny, it's creative, it's heartfelt, it's emotionally powerful. The season finales for both the first and second season had me in tears.

Aside from adding to the chorus begging people to watch season 2, I'm just going to share some thoughts on this season. I tried so hard to watch it slowly but it's easy to binge. I'm now watching through it a second time. Cut for spoilers.

As a fan of the older Trek shows, I love how much the show clearly loves older Trek. We saw it a lot in season one, but since season 2 has the legacy characters in more prominent focus, it's more obvious. They are written with such loving care, every part of who they are is nailed down perfectly. There are so many callbacks and references and small touches that are scattered in the dialogue and visuals. Amazing Easter Eggs for Trek enthusiasts-- and another reason to go back and watch, to find ones you didn't notice!

This season made me much more interested in Chakotay and Wesley as characters. I was pretty ambivalent toward them both when watching their respective shows. I didn't find Wesley annoying, I just didn't care for him one way or the other. So having him return as this slightly unhinged Time Lord made him so much more appealing to me as a character. The fact that he was willing to go to some extreme lengths in order to get the timeline just right was some fun gray morality. I also liked that he seemed like he wasn't always sure when he was in the timeline. It reminded me of Mantis in the Guardians of the Galaxy game. And that made perfect sense coming from someone who could jump through multiple timelines just through thought. Wesley was complex, intriguing, and I'm so glad for him and his actor. He deserved it.

In a similar vein, Chakotay was one of the least interesting Voyager crew members to me. This isn't necessarily his fault. He was going up against some pretty big personalities, like the Doctor, Tom, B'Elanna, Seven, and Janeway. I also don't think the writers really knew what to do with his character. But again Prodigy wrote in some depth and complexity. They actually identified what tribe he was from. Watching the episode where the Protostar crew finds him made me want to write fanfic about Chakotay. That's how good they were at making this guy interesting for me! I loved seeing his slow descent into isolation and bitterness; I loved how almost insecure he was at times; I loved how he took command and led the crew. I'm a fan now and I want to go back to watch Voyager for him.

The season also made me a Janeway/Chakotay shipper. I saw the episodes in Voyager where they were feeling things, but personally I'm glad that they never crossed that line. There are way too many stories with female leads that act like they have an obligation to give her a romance, when the same would not be true if the lead was a male. In my opinion, it was better there was no definite love story for Janeway on Voyager since that was going against expectations. As Prodigy season two told its story, I was definitely picking up on strong love vibes between Chakotay and Janeway. I was convinced they were separated lovers, and when they were together they couldn't keep their eyes or hands off each other. It was excellent visual storytelling. I wanted them to be together at the end. For someone who didn't ship them before (I was more into Tom/B'Elanna), I'd say that's a big achievement for the show.

To sum up, I love this show so much! My only request is they try to incorporate Deep Space Nine somehow. #SetCoordinatesforSeason3

[centrally-unplanned]

Something I struggle a bit with a sort of disconnect with the current leaders of "professional-quality anime discourse". We live in the sakuga era, where groups like Sakugabooru & Full Frontal Moe are doing really stellar work on peering behind the curtain at the realities of anime productions. They aim to give you the "animators look" at how it all happens, what people are thinking, what studio conditions are, the works. They command the heights from a respect standpoint in my opinion right now, and sort of "drive" analytical discourse.

But they aren't really what I find interesting. I love and need a ton of their work, but in the end the sakuga era is the animator's era; it centers anime-as-art, the people who create, their techniques, etc. That isn't actually my thing! I care about cultural history & casual history, "otaku studies", and consumers of media always outnumber producers of media a hundred to one. They of course exist symbiotically with each other, but the creators side is only ever going to be a part of that. And its not the load-bearing part of questions around why this or that media product succeeded, what it meant to audiences, how it reflects people's relationship with individual media & wider identity norms, etc.

And ironically I think the "peak" of this discourse in western spaces is coinciding with its decline in relevance in Japanese spaces. This is a whole other topic but in earlier eras the telos of technological progress, its intensity and directionality, created a parallel momentum in cultural identity - "new, better anime" seemed always around the corner and people responded to that via identity formation around the momentum. But now, even though technical improvements occur, from an audience perspective the telos is gone. Audiences would actually get a bit wrapped up in things like the digital revolution back then - now its more like trivia, it doesn't shape as much.

There is of course people out there who touch on the cultural & historical topics, I'm no island or anything. But its very diffuse, and other sections of the discourse space are struggling. Great YouTubers exist but imo overall this is not a great time for AniTube, the intensification & legibility of financial success has not inspired that kind of work. Obviously the blogosphere is bleeding heavily. Academic works have gems in there but media studies as a discipline is shackled with awful theoretical concepts and compositional norms, its like pulling teeth with their output every time. And also are generally interested in western fandoms as befitting western academics (and while I do use Japanese academic papers sometimes, the legibility barrier is...its tough).

Beyond just "feeling alone" its an issue because right now I am quite demotivated on this area; I feel in-between ideas, with any potential project seeming dim in its payoff. The default source of inspiration normally is the works of others! Every time I get politics-burned at some point someone else puts out a really good analysis, or even just a good question. Proposing good questions is underrated, its the fuel that powers research. Not to mention "shit keeps happening", you know? Fukuyama may hold an iron grip on the ruleset still but within his bounds the game keeps on playing, which results in flurries of activity that are inspiring. I really lack that for media discourse stuff right now. I can't remember the last time I read a work that I loved. Liked, yes, sure. But you don't get out of ruts with a like.

80% of this is explained by "I am going through a depression episode" lol don't worry I'm not an idiot. But hey, what is Tumblr for if not to rant...

[thankskenpenders]

In the wake of Frontiers I've been thinking a lot about Sage, so here are some spoilery thoughts on her and the possibilities for further stories with her

One of the most interesting things to think about with Sage is where she could go next. And I hope that she does have somewhere to go next and that she doesn't become yet another one-off character who's off limits for the comics and future games. You can't just introduce a character like "Eggman's AI daughter who he actually genuinely likes" and then just memory hole her like she was just created to be a story hook for one game and nothing else. My main worry is just that they would consider her appearing elsewhere a spoiler for the five minutes you spend thinking she died at the end of the game, which I really really hope doesn't mean it'll be 5+ years before we see her again

Really, though, she creates some interesting conundrums if placed outside of the context of Frontiers, and I really wanna see how they tackle this

The thing is, Sage is a sympathetic character. She's nice, once you get to know her. She's level-headed and avoids unnecessary conflict. She encourages Eggman to work with Sonic when she sees it as the best option, and she's kinda friends with Sonic by the end? But... she's also still Eggman's new second-in-command. And they have an adorable father/daughter dynamic, sure, but this still makes her Sonic's enemy in the long run. This isn't a critique - in fact, just the opposite! I think it leaves the door open for a lot of interesting possibilities. They didn't really have to address this much in Frontiers since Eggman isn't the villain of that game, but should Sage come back as a recurring member of Eggman's team, I'm fascinated to think how they square these conflicting sides of her

Do they make her more villainous, supporting Eggman's attempts to conquer the world, playing up the Sage who gleefully reported on her wins against Sonic? Does she try to reign Eggman in more? Hell, how will Sonic feel about her once the truce with Eggman is over? Does Sonic try to get Sage to leave the Eggman Empire? Or do they make her a friendly rival of Sonic's, one who works against him due to her allegiance but still respects his capabilities with no actual animosity between them? I could see this working well with how nonchalant Sonic often is about having to fight Eggman, and "villain who the protagonist just has fun fighting against without really hating them" is a pretty shounen thing to do, but it's not the only route

Should she appear in the comics, the other elephant in the room is Belle. On a BumbleKast a couple months ago, Ian acknowledged the parallels and said that Sage and Belle just happened to be conceived around the same time - and that he felt sorry for potentially undercutting Evan there. But he also said that the possibilities for interactions between them in the comics were fascinating, and BOY do I wanna see that happen now. Belle was created by Eggman when he was Mr. Tinker, and therefore resents him now that he's back to his normal self. She struggles with whether or not he's even the same man now, and how being created by Eggman reflects on her. Sage, though? Sage just loves Eggman, period. She loves him as her father, and she seems to love working with him. The possibilities for the two as foils of each other are endless. Does Belle wish Sage would come over to the Restoration? Does she envy Sage for being loved by Eggman? Is Sage cool with the fact that Eggman technically has another daughter out there who just isn't part of the Eggfam? Does she view Belle as a traitor? There's so much you could do there

And also yes I want to see her interact with Metal Sonic like in all the fanart. Sage is good! We need more Sage!!

[hisui555]

Hazbin Hotel thoughts : Foils 2

(Foils 1 here)

(Foils 3 here)

(Foils 4 here)

Masterpost here.

Crawling back out of my cave because my stupid brain won't let me rest. Synapses fired all night yesterday, I'm sure there's some structural damage in the front lobe from all the fireworks going off and bouncing around the walls of my skull, but mostly color me impressed that my asocial side actually got cowed into submission, by PRODUCTIVITY of all things, holy shit, why can't it happen for job interviews ?

...Anyway.

Aaaand without transition I would like to talk about Rosie VS Carmilla (I'm putting a "VS" so that it's clearer from a couple/team, see Foils 1), especially around Ep 7, which has just this magnificent parallel between them, respectively coaching Charlie and Vaggie (yes, TV Tropes already covered that one, shhhh, don't tell my spark of productivity, it might disappear and play dead for months again). For the A plot, we have Charlie, led by Alastor, who's going to Cannibal Town to meet Rosie and ask for reinforcements - basically getting an army of cannibals to lend a hand, even if it's not theirs and has some bite marks on it. For the B plot, on the other side, Vaggie goes to Carmilla to learn how angels can be killed, and from that on asking her for the appropriate weapons. On both sides, the two girls learn about confidence and fighting for the right thing - Charlie grows into the leader she's capable of being, Vaggie steels her resolve and grows her wings back.

What's interesting about those parallel scenes is how much Rosie and Carmilla contrast each other, and are similar to Charlie and Vaggie respectively yet have differences : again, a square of foils. But let's talk about the (seemingly) older women first.

When we stumble upon Cannibal Town, it has a very gentlemanly aesthetic, streets are clean, people are well-dressed and polite, and if you forget the minor detail of cough eating people cough, they are quite the amicable bunch - something Charlie herself comments on, how "surprisingly nice" it is. The second we meet Rosie, we understand why : she's a councelor, the unofficial mayor and of course the Overlord representing them all. She's a faultless host (again, if you don't care much about her specific ingredients), very accomodating, and doesn't rebut Charlie right away despite her enormous demand. In fact, once Alastor chimes in that her citizens would be not only well-armed but also well-fed, she's happy to give it a go and coach Charlie on how to convince them (well, for the most part. Susan.), showing she knows her community very well. Rosie is shown as more of a knowledge broker : she trades information to Alastor in exchange of favors, seems to know things about him that even our deer friend doesn't ("A what now ?" *Pats your shoulder in ace, buddy. You'll get the hang of it.*), and overall comes off as very well-informed.

In the meantime, we follow Vaggie to the industrial side of the Pentagram, where it seems to be more smoke, steel and craft than rural, pictoresque town. Carmilla doesn't let Vaggie enter until she threatens to spill the beans out in plain view of the street, and once she's inside, Carmilla is immediately verbally hostile and commandeering the whole speech ("Ninety seconds."), rebutting each of Vaggie's claims with clinical precision - rightfully countering that she doesn't want to bring the trouble to her doorstep, and put her loved ones (+ workers) in danger, to which Vaggie counters (also rightfully) that if the Hotel fails to defend itself, Carmilla might still kiss her pointy shoes goodbye. Once the time is up, Carmilla attacks, but it's quickly blatant that she's actually stealthily coaching Vaggie into fighting better, both physically and mentally. She's ruthless, brutal, and elegant, but not with the same elegance as Rosie : Rosie's charm and mannierisms are day-to-day, yet she's a proud cannibal, so her elegance hides a very carnal nature by the way of eating human flesh (even if she wraps it in pretty ribbons in a candy box), while Carmilla's cold and sharp demeanor hides her graceful but efficient fighting style - I mean, have you seen those twirls and acrobatics ? Hot dang, she's cool. Rosie is a knowledge broker that knows damn well how to use her information, Carmilla is a weapons dealer that knows damn well how to use her weapons : no wonder she arms herself (and her daughters) first. Carmilla, on the surface, rejects Vaggie's deal, but after a few moments, we see that she's turning it into her own way of helping.

Now we arrive to the two main songs, Out For Love and Ready For This, who are almost back-to-back. Charlie has had her moment with Rosie, who genuinely helped her through her personal problems and her moment of uncertainty concerning Vaggie's secret, and it's time for the big rallying song. And, Charlie, you're cute and all, but sightseeing and camaraderie aren't the things cannibals are interested in - they might have a child's heart (somewhere in a jar behind a desk), but EATING is where it's at ! Good thing Alastor chimed in, hm ? Which kinda rebounds on his private part of the song with Rosie ("Stick with her, you'll be on the winning side !") : their motivations are more selfish than we think. Rosie is genuinely kind and empathetic, but not altruist : doing the Princess of Hell a solid might be a real advantage in the long run, especially for someone like her who trades in favors. On the other side, Carmilla has it out for her own reasons right away, but does a selfless move by teaching Vaggie and lending the weapons : while she doesn't directly stick her neck out, she still helps from the shadows. Her main motive is to protect her loved ones and avoid bloodshed, while Rosie's and the cannibals are to get their belly full and gain political advantage.

It's really like an hourglass between the two : Rosie hears Charlie (and Alastor) out and accepts to help but actually for selfish reason, actively and directly helping Charlie to assert herself, talking her through therapy and words - a language Charlie is very receptive to - teaching her confidence and leadership (something Vaggie already has). Carmilla on her side rebukes Vaggie but actually for more selfless (even if personal) reasons, indirectly (but still actively) helps her to rekindle with her own emotions and be honest with herself (something Charlie already is), all that through physical training and fighting - a language Vaggie knows quite well. You'd think they have the names of the songs crossed and mixed up, yet they fit perfectly : Charlie needs to be Ready For This and finally face physical confrontation, while Vaggie needs to be Out For Love and honest with her feelings and past. They both complement each other.

The smiles Carmilla and Rosie also give at the news are contrasting : Carmilla hears the news and smiles a little smile, to herself, looking proud that it worked, and proud of her 'student'. Rosie on her side has a charming, calculated, wide smile that seems to spell out 'now there we go' and 'ooh, this was nothing, darling' more than 'good job', complete with a cup of tea. It's like she smiles more at the camera than out of genuine pride, unlike Carmilla who just smiles to herself. You'd think tough-as-nails Carmilla would be the last person to teach people to fight for love, yet here we are, while ladylike elegant Rosie, who does show genuine understanding and kindness, is also planning to use Charlie for her own gain.

Wrapping this up, Charlie & Vaggie VS Carmilla & Rosie : Carmilla is kind of a more experienced version of Vaggie (a figther, determined, devoted to her loved ones), with Charlie's core ideas (love, compassion, avoiding fights) while Rosie is a more experienced version of Charlie (connections, empathy, people person) with Vaggie's way of thinking (strategic, knowledgeable, prepared).

Like Vaggie, Carmilla is a fierce fighter that you don't want to piss off, with people to protect, an expert in dealing with weapons (cherry on top : both about angelic steel), even physically they're quite alike : long white hair (especially when Carmilla lets hers go in response to Vaggie's grumbling), similar tone of skin, palette in dark grays and white mostly (Vaggie has more pink where Carmilla has black), both are also Hispanic. They already (unknowingly) share a duet in Whatever It Takes, with personal reasons very close to one another. Carmilla is the perfect combination of Charlie's ideals and Vaggie's realism, leaning more towards Vaggie's side as a fighter. They also look the less relatively demonic, past some features (like Carmilla's oversized arms).

Rosie on her side looks like an upper-class lady who is the leader of her town and an Overlord (mirroring Charlie being a princess and the founder of the Hotel), sharing some reds in their respective palettes (even if Charlie's is more solid red and Rosie's burgundy), pale hair and a very affable, accomodating demeanor. Rosie is the perfect mix of Vaggie's pragmatism and Charlie's kindness, leaning towards Charlie's side as an informator and councelor. They naturally stand in the spotlight, one way or another, and guide people through their problems. They're also both more "demonic" : Charlie is the literal Princess of Hell and hellborn demon, while Rosie has notable very sharp teeth, pitch black eyes (like the town citizens) and... what was it again...? oh right ! Eats people.

(Don't worry, I'm not always a smartass : sometimes I'm asleep.)

That went longer than expected (...as always), but, well, enjoy. Skyscrapers like those are useful when you have time to kill. I might need to consider doing a masterpost for those... might be more practical for those crazy enough to want to read all of my inane rambling (boredom is such a pain, right ?)

Hope you enjoyed.

Again, Masterpost here.

[xfolex]

Looking through Project Moon's old YouTube channel, there's some interesting stuff. Originally I was going to write about the Tumblbug as well, but there was a lot more stuff there than I realized, so I'll just talk about the YouTube for now.

The first video shows some very early concept ideas for the game. There's actually a lot of information in this first video, which I suppose makes sense as it's the first introduction to the game and the oldest as well. I've added some markings on my thoughts of some of the images and also brightened some of them as well.

Throughout the video we get to see pages from a manual that gives some basic information about the game. These are in Korean so I put them through Google Translate to read them. It's interesting how even from the very beginning the concept of the Sefirot and the Tree of Life was being used. Page 5 has the same list of Abnormalities that I was straining my eyes to figure out in my NDC post, but then there was the same list in color so all my effort trying to figure out each Abnormality kind of went to waste.

The list that explains the attack types corresponds to the way the attack types worked in the legacy version. With Black damage affecting the facility and Blue damage being Instant death (though attack types are very inaccurately assigned in-game). You can also see how it originally seemed like there were going to be only three types of work: feeding, cleaning, and suppressing. Though there's more information about that on the game's Tumblbug.

It's kind of hard to see, but page 15 shows Tangtang being part of the "Command and Surveillance Team" which is something mentioned in the game's code in early versions. According to the game's code, it seemed like the Control, Information, Safety, and Training teams were originally called the Command and Surveillance, Solution Development, Emergency Planning, and Material Management teams respectively.

This manual seems to be missing page 16 and 17, and it doesn't seem to be shown anywhere in any video.

The line of never forget/we remember the day the Abnormality first escaped that occasionally pops up here and there seems to be referencing Nothing There since it's a line from the first training video where Nothing There escapes.

The second training video was released on October 30, 2015. I don't have much thoughts on this video, but I thought the pixel art was very cute. I mention the date this video was posted because this is the last video with the square employee art style. The next video posted on February 15, 2016 has the Legacy art style, so between October and February the art style for the game changed. I'll talk more about this shift in art style when I look at the Tumblbug.

I also want to take this time to mention Jeremy, the original Lobotomy Corp mascot (not really) who appeared in only three videos but still managed to capture my heart. This post is dedicated in loving memory to Jeremy.

The Teaser Trailor video has a few key things I wanted to mention. First, the assign work UI seems to have the Book w/o Picture or Dialogue as the default icon for every Abnormality, and has a very different UI that I'm not quite sure how it works. Next, you can see some silhouettes of various Abnormalities, and most of them I recognize, but there's some I'm not 100% sure on. Throughout the video we see some Abnormalities that ultimately never made it into the game, but we can see My Sweet Orange Tree in the containment unit at the very end, which made me wonder how far along these unreleased abnormalities were in development. Even the ones in the very old videos, were they actually semi-functional Abnos or were they just placeholder images that never got developed?

The Proto-Demo video shows a manual and a line that leads to the target. The manual isn't in the demo version I have access to but can still be found in the game's files. I don't have much else thoughts on it other than how purposely bad the person playing the game is doing. Just absolutely picking the worst option consistently.

I also don't have much to say about the other game test videos except in the Day 14 video where we can see some very minor differences. First, the entire game seems a lot darker than normal, but that might just be due to the recording. Second, the Abnormality's Damage Type is listed instead of the Attack Type, which is honestly more useful information that I wish was kept for the Legacy version. Third, the hallways are all very dark as if Big Bird was breaching, and generic irrespective of the department. Fourth, the employee assign UI is very slightly different not that huge but just enough to be noticeable. Lastly, I found it funny how PM just left a broken icon for Snow White's Apple in the video.

The third training video with Queen of Hatred is pretty interesting because it seems to be following QoH's story where an employee talks to her over the course of a few days and her moods gets worse every day. But specifically the old version of QoH's story, since it seems like a lot of Abno stories were ever so slightly changed sometime after the 1.0.2.2 version. The new version of the story omits the fact that QoH was neutralized with anesthetic, which was probably because that mechanic was removed after the legacy version. Also, another interesting thing about the video is that the background containment unit seems to be different that usual, where some stuff is in different places and the number written on the wall is 76 instead of 27.

The Lobtomi♥High video was PM's April Fools for 2017, released alongside version 1.0.1.0 which introduced Little Red, Big and Might be Bad Wolf, Central Command Team, and most importantly You're Bald...! PM has historically celebrated April Fools a lot, whether intentionally or not. There's a lot of random abnormalities in this video, including some released, unreleased, and joke abnormalities. I find it interesting that Fragment of the Universe was the only abnormality that was unreleased and not shown before when the video was published that was then released later on. This video was the first time Fragment of the Universe was ever made public.

[ I can't show a screenshot of the video because I reached the max image limit for the post :( ]

There's two launch trailers for the game, one for when the game was first released in early access, and one for when the game was about to fully release. Between the two, I personally like the first one better because it has a better sense of progression rather than just showing bad things happening out of context, but maybe I'm just biased since I like first trumpet more.

Ok, I think that's enough for this post. There's a lot of stuff to unpack with these videos, so it was nice to look back through them again since I haven't really sat down to watch them all in years.

[generic-sonic-fan]

Hi! Just in case you're still doing the ship chart asks, i'll ask for Shadow x the Commander. I'm gonna have to explain a lot on how I got here (i don't think anyone else has made a case for it on this website before) so please bear with me for a bit lol

My first point of interest... I genuinely think the Commander is meant to mirror Shadow's own journey in a way (both in SA2 and Shth i mean). The details vary but it stands that either through manipulation or general lack of information, they're both driven to seek revenge against eachother for their childhood best friend/sister figure, Maria : to Shadow, GUN, humanity and therefore the world, is responsible. To the Commander, Shadow (along with his two dads) is responsible. But in the end, they're able to see the situation with more clarity. Shadow realizes that Maria loved the planet despite all the flaws of its inhabitants, respecting her wish for her sake... And although those feelings aren't explored that much in depth, i think the Commander realizes something similar too, that Shadow cared about Maria a lot and in a way is finally able to see the kindness she saw in Shadow too...

I also believe that in a subtle way, the commander's arc is an echo to Shadow's search for the truth. Even though he starts out convinced Shadow is the evil one, that viewpoint is challenged when he actually faces him... (in the only scene they have together, the Commander leaves their interaction uncertain and confused, when a minute earlier he was determined to get rid of Shadow for good... just one short interaction with Shadow was enough to shake his resolve and question his convictions. The commander was one piece of the puzzle Shadow needed to solve, but the truth was just as lost on the commander as it was on him)

All this to stay. Shadow's journey of finding the truth in its whole and putting the past behind you is also the commander's, methinks. They're two people coming from opposite sides of the story, they deeply mirror yet contrast eachother... i thought that was really brilliant. So i'm really invested in what their interactions would be like after this game.

Canon hasn't really brought back the commander in the past 20 years (i heard shadow gens would change that though! hurray for me), so this next point would be about what their dynamic (relationship?) might look like post-shth.

We know the commander is pretty remorseful, and goes so far as to invite Shadow to his house... not sure if Shadow would have accepted though, lol. But either way i do believe the commander wanted to bury the hatchet for good and is determined to keep it that way, even if Shadow is still a menace sometimes.

As for Shadow... there is that one scene in Chronicles.

(It's hilarious to me. its canonicity is dubious but i couldn't not mention it)

Shadow doesn't like humans still so I think he has little respect for the commander lol. I feel like while the commander really tries to get along with shadow, the guy remains pretty ambivalent to him at best ha.

However, with their shared past and all, there's potential for them to grow closer on that basis... maybe a sort of confidant relationship. The past isn't something either of them are defined by, but it still can't help but hurt at times... I imagine it would be especially hard for Shadow, who could still be recovering memories of that time and whose trauma seems so much fresher in his mind. In those moments, the commander might be the person in the world who understands his pain the most, and as someone who's lived with it for decades and managed to build a new life around it, his support would be really valuable, even if Shadow doesn't accept it at first. I think that vulnerability and the emotional intimacy that comes with it would be the key for a more intimate relationship to develop between the two... they'd become really important part of each other's lives this way, irreplaceable

Sorry about the huge wall of text haha. even without the shippy stuff, I find their dynamic really interesting and i like thinking of their possible future together... it wouldn't be all sunshine and rainbows, probably really messy in the beginning. I believe they could have a sweet ending together though. it's the rarepair that's closest and dearest to my heart and i'd go as far to say i think it would be more popular if they were the same species! That's not the case though, so i'll keep spreading my propaganda >:)

Anyways, I'm excited to know what you think! Even if you don't see it, I hope you got something out of my ramblings

You're honestly kind of insane for this but you know what? I respect it.

Made it into a messy QPR since while their chronological ages match, their mental ages don't quite mesh for me. You go off though, sonadowkismesis. This is a genuine rarepair and I enjoyed thinking outside the box for this.

[bite-the-bloody-hand]

:3 Eros: 2, 5 Philia: 1, 4 Storge: 2, 4 Agape: 2, 5 Ludus: 1, 2 Pragma: 2, 4 Philautia: 1,5

Baby you SPOIL me!!!!

For the 7 Forms of Love ask game

Eros: 2, 5 How important is sex to them in a relationship? Do they see it as something essential to their happiness? Would they be able to remain in a monogamous relationship with someone they loved without sex?

I think Zell is best described as an allosexual demiromantic, so in short-term situations sex is the relationship whereas in a long-term situation the sex is secondary to the companionship with his partner. Sex is definitely fun for him, he enjoys it as recreation and as a way to deepen communication with his partner. If his lover wanted to be monogamous without sex, he's fine with that as long as they don't have a problem with him masturbating. If that was off the table, then they'd need to have a serious conversation.

How closely is their opinion of their own beauty (or lack thereof) linked to their confidence? Do they see themselves as more or less worthy of love or sex based on how attractive they feel?

He knows he's attractive and always has been, that's part and parcel with being a Dhampir. Not something he can really get away from without serious self harm that he isn't quite into, so he rolls with it without being particularly vain about his looks. 'Yeah yeah I'm super hot fine whatever did you know I also have A Personality?' is the vibe with him, he has ZERO patience for sycophants who are all about fluffing him up just because he's gorgeous*. He knows he can get laid regardless, so 'attractiveness' to him doesn't have as much to do with physical looks. As far as being worthy of love… he knows looks don't have much to do with real love, and often worries that he'd fall short of any other criteria.

Philia: 1, 4 Does your OC have a Best Friend? If they do then how long have they known each other and how did they meet? If they don't then do they have a close group of friends they love equally? Or are they more of a loner?

(You just want me to talk about Aslan I SEE YOUR GAME)

For a long time Zell's only friend was his horse Yanga, but then he met Aslan. After running away from Ustalav at 17, He signed on to a security gig for a fledgling merchant crew in the River Kingdoms, where the young Captain Aslan Ciardha (19) was still learning how to leverage his charisma to get things done. He immediately latched on to Zell's (at the time) acerbic but genuinely funny sense of humor and did everything in his power to dig through the layers of Zell's deflective hostility and self-deprecation to find the candy fluff center. Much to Zell's shock, it did not take Aslan long to barrel through his defenses and set up a little Best Friend shack in his heart. They stuck together for a few years until Zell went on his own to hunt a lead on some of his private research. They reconnected after Zell heard Aslan had become Baron in the Stolen Lands. He headed there immediately, figuring his friend would need all the help he could get keeping things in line. Zell stayed through the campaign until apparently falling in battle, not expecting to wake up in Kenabras half a decade later. He does slowly begin to grow close to his companions as Knight Commander, though it's difficult to find the space for friendship when he's supposed to also be their boss.

Is your OC able to build close friendships with people very different from themselves? Perhaps in terms of culture, age or personality?

Over time, yes! It can take a while to build that mutual trust, to be sure. It took less time with Aslan bullying him into best friendship pretty thoroughly. With Seelah and Woljif for example it took a while to really solidify the friendship. He had a shockingly easy time forming a respectful solidarity that could be called friendship with Regill. Ember and Daeran were easier to friend, Ember because he truly vibes with her cause and interests, and Daeran because they have complementary senses of humor. Zell ended up using similar tactics on Daeran that Aslan had used on him, which was especially helpful to strengthen their friendship after Daeran gets conscripted. Befriending Arueshalae was difficult in that he had to dodge around her hero worship puppy love but once that was resolved they became genuinely good friends. Lann… They get along in that 'friend you always fight with' kind of way. I'm still not sure how things go with them, but generally the vibe is 'he is my brother but I could be an only child again.' Unsurprisingly he had a much harder time befriending Ulbrig due to his whole being half undead and a sorcerer, and never ended up getting along with Camellia or Wenduag (though that may change with Wendu next playthrough, I feel like they'd come to an understanding.) Sosiel was the hardest to befriend because he reminds Zell too much of someone else; meanwhile befriending Trevor was incredibly easy, they have a kind of nonverbal vibe together that's very chill. Nenio is Nenio, he loves being her loyal assistant and doesn't mind that she's still getting a hang on the whole friends thing. He was surprised to learn that Greybor liked him, and really respects Greybor in turn. Zell maybe has too many complicated dadfeels to be truly close with him, though. Galfrey… It's unlikely they're ever going to be friends, but he does come to understand her better after a while. If nothing else he'd like to prove to her that he isn't a complete fuckup.** Anevia and Irabeth are his moms when Aslan's mom isn't around so they get along great, haha.

Storge: 2, 4 Does your OC have children? If so then how fiercely do they love them? If they have more than one then do they love them all equally? If they do not have children then is this part of their future plans?

Noooo he is. Abjectly against having children of his own, and unsure if he would be a good father, though he is firecely protective and supportive of all children. Especially little shithead ones, because they remind him of himself. There are so many awful what-if scenarios about his own shortcomings he agonizes about that the joyful parts of having and raising children of his own are a very distant consideration. However he will always try to be on hand to help rear his close friends' children, and generally has good Kid Energy so they come to him when there are problems anyway.*** He is also known as a favorite uncle of Aslan's children. (There are three, from different mothers. He makes sure they're taken care of and is on speaking terms with their moms, they just never got married or anything.) Ultimately, Zell would be an excellent parent if he could get over himself, but he probably won't without a lot of time and assistance.

Does your OC have any siblings? If so then did their parents have a favourite growing up? Has their relationship with their sibling changed in adulthood? If they don't have any siblings then do they perhaps feel they have missed out on an important relationship? Do they have any especially close friends who go some way towards filling that role?

As far as he knows he doesn't have any direct siblings, but he's certain he has several Dhampir half-siblings out there in the world. He's not entirely sure he'd want to meet any of them. There's also the matter of any Vampires sired by his father who he also would very much not want to meet. There were plenty of children his own age growing up in Hongli, but once he went to Ustalav he was isolated until his later teenage years put him in the Hellknight Military Academy on the Estate where his father is 'Interred.' He didn't get along with most of his classmates at that point, and the few he did get on with mostly befriended him for protection or clout. As far as he's concerned, Aslan is his brother, and the feeling is mutual. Woljif and Lann also step into the brother circle; Ember is his sister. He was hoping things might go that way with Seelah, but they aren't quite there yet. Give it time. Arue will get to the sister place when the crush finally dies in like 100 years. He sees Suture as something of a stepbrother… there's a complicated kind of kinship there he's not sure can be really defined any one way.

Agape: 2, 5 Does your OC feel a spiritual connection to the world around them? Do they have a particular love for nature or living things?

Being half undead gives Zell a really interesting perspective on the life-death cycle, and has turned that to really tuning in to the natural world. Coupled with having lived as a Nomad dependent on the land stewardship of generations past, he's got a long history of loving nature. He is deeply connected to the land, and tries very hard to maintain that no matter where he roams. He follows ancient traditions of greeting and working with land spirits, and is very keen to learn the customs of those spirits as soon as possible. As such he is something of a thorn in Ulbrig's side for a little bit because of this. For example, his way of greeting and revering spirits and ancestors is based on Hongli traditions, which can differ significantly from Sarkorian methods. They get in lots of debates about the proper methods of spirit work that often come to blows. (it's never really that serious they just both need to blow off steam.****) Zell is especially skilled with handling horses, but treats all beasts with respect and care, which means he also kind of. Adopts many creatures in his travels. He's not a healer as such, but he does know enough about rudimentary vetinary medicine to help most animals, and this ends in quite a few just following him or finding him. Besides, if he can't heal it, now he's travelling with a bunch of people who can! (Congratulations Daeran on being the unofficial horse doctor of the crusade)

Does your OC find it easy to empathise with their enemies? Or do they see it as important to dehumanise them in order to combat them with sufficient determination?

He empathises with his enemies just fine, and has no problem beating or killing them anyway. While he doesn't like to turn to violence as a first resort - negotiation is always first, followed by intimidation, then cunning, then violence - he's not shy about being really, extremely good at violent problem solving. He tries not to revel too much in combat; as a Bloodrager the risk of completely losing his head and harming a friend with spells or weapons does not appeal to him. But there are some foes, especially certain demons, that are literally too delicious for him not to go after. At that point, they're prey.

Ludus: 1, 2 Does your OC have any particular favourite chat up lines? If not for themselves then perhaps ones they have suggested to a friend? How effective do these tend to be?

Flirting is very situational for him; if he's interested in someone it's usually after he's listened to them talk for a while - at least long enough to get a decent cold read on their sense of humor. His opener will always be something lighthearted and funny to set an easy mood, and if he gets a positive response he keeps up the banter. He has a pretty decent success rate with this method.

Alternatively he goes the bratty body language route, by getting in someone's space and goading them into chasing him. He rarely goes this route unless he's really just down to fuck with no strings.

Is your OC particularly skilled at flirting? Have they had to practice this or does it just happen naturally?

Zell is usually pretty good at flirting, and even when he isn't he has enough charisma for a corny ass goofball line to flip right back around to charmingly effective. Part of it is looks, part of it is (much practiced, somewhat feigned) confidence, some of it is cool emotional reservation, and the rest is just genuinely wanting to have a fun time. He's not into using people or stringing them along and that comes through strongly in his demeanor. He did have to practice to get to this point. In his younger days he was more bratty and forceful, which got him into a lot of short-term, short-fuse situationships that weren't good for anyone.

Pragma: 2, 4 What is the biggest challenge that your OC has had to overcome in a long-term relationship or friendship? What helped them get through this?

It's always accepting that he's wanted, and not just being kept around. It's purely an internal, emotional reaction to a lifetime of displacement, and he knows that, but it's hard not to feel it. Getting past the fear that no one would want him around just for being him is hard enough as just a regular person; being an undead freak and (depending on who you ask) walking harbinger of death and pestilence doesn't make that any easier. With Aslan, he got hardcore bullied (affectionately) into accepting that not everyone saw his condition as a contagion, that his life was worthwhile, and that he had things to look forward to that weren't just sacrificing himself. It was relentless and merciless and Aslan simply would not allow him to live without having to do stupid shit like putting a gold piece in a special savings pouch every time he said a self-depricating joke. They are best friends your honor. Where romance is concerned… losing a chunk of his memories and then suddenly becoming a mythically, historically significant individual with a world-shattering responsibility and massive cultlike following makes keeping up the self-love way harder. It is a very good thing that Daeran isn't the type to get dazzled by power, or care overmuch about mythic status. The fact that he dismisses and jokes about it outright is something that draws in Zell's affection and devotion completely. If anyone is going to see him for himself, and not the overblown myth surrounding him, it's Daeran.

After the initial fires of passion cool to some degree, what would keep your OC engaged in a relationship? Shared goals? Similar values? Or contented companionship?

Contented Companionship definitely, and also a sense of shared goals, though they need not necessarily be grand ones. He wants very much to find and be around his person, to enjoy living and holding space with them. Being with someone who can stand to be together for long stretches of time is the ideal after all, because there will always be opportunities to travel.

Philautia: 1,5 Does your OC have a healthy sense of their own worth and value? Or do they see themselves as failing to live up to their original potential? Perhaps they are convinced of their own sinful or inadequate nature?

Oh indeed he does not. Zell is constantly at war with feelings of outrage, misplaced regret, sorrow, and despair over being born a Dhampir, as well as the Celestial lineage he taps into as a Bloodrager. As a Dhampir, and one of the very few related to His Majesty, there are many levels of self-loathing that only started coming at him once he was taken to Ustalav. In Hongli it was understood that he was a little more sensitive than usual to the sun, would have to hunt demons from time to time for extra nourishment, and would need extra special weapons training to reign his shit in. No problems. But in Ustalav? Social pariah. Blight on the face of Golarion, a Sin in the eyes of Pharasma, only kept alive by the pact between this specific group of really weirdly anti-Iomedaean Hellknights and his father. Forced to learn a new language, new etiquette, new rules (that were HIGHLY contradictory ALL THE TIME), wear new (terrible, uncomfortable) clothes, and constantly being told he should be grateful for the privilege really. Fucking. Sucked. He held on to what bits of self-worth he could with whimsy, mischief, and unhinged violence until he could get himself out of there, but the experience had left its mark. He wouldn't be the same after. As for his Celestial ancestry… he isn't sure entirely where it comes from as his mother is a complete unknown and his father is enigmatic and unavailable. All he knows is that it causes him pain when he uses his abilities that lingers in his body for days at a time, and that he feels nothing of the supposed holy ecstasy one is supposed to feel when thinking of literally any god. A complete atheist with a celestial heritage who also happens to be half-vampire sounds like a joke character from a pulp novel, but it's his life. He can't connect meaningfully to either of those parts of his heritage without potentially completely abandoning the other, or his sense of self, in the process. He never asked to be born into a bizarre legacy and fucked-up body but those were the cards he was dealt and he wishes he could truly forgive himself for not already having found a way to cheat the house and fold in a better hand for himself. He is slowly, very slowly, coming to accept his own worth again. It's a long road, but he'll get there.

Has your OC always had the same opinion of themselves or has this changed over time? Have they learned to love themselves - perhaps with the help of others - as their journey progressed? Or have the consequences of their actions only served to erode their sense of self-worth?

He certainly had a dip with the ol' teenage depression as you have previously read. Truly it was through being open enough to ask Aslan (and later others) for help that he's been able to start remembering what it's like to just be a person and not be completely consumed by anger and pain. Meeting and befriending Arueshalae was also inspiring for him. Arue's constant grappling with her own self-worth made him re-evaluate some of what he was doing to himself, and in turn help her as well.

*Woljif only got away with it because Zell could tell he was trying to pull a con and he's not immune to furthering mischief.

**He suspects, though he can't outright confirm, that Galfrey would appreciate knowing that he isn't just out for a fling with Daeran. If nothing else, he respects custom enough to be forthright about his intentions, even if he doesn't really get how Mendevians do things.

***[Minor act 4 spoiler] 'Adopting' Xorges doesn't do much in-game but in my head Zell takes full responsibility of ensuring Zorges gets set up for success. He doesn't want to be intrusive because clearly the kid can handle himself, but he also wants Xorges to know he has support. As a test-run for parenthood, he does all right.

****IF I HAD KNOWN HE WAS ROMANCEABLE like maaan Dae you would've had some competition for once.

[corrupted-creatures]

BRO I LOVED THE SWATCHTON RAMBLE I'D LOVE TO HEAR WHATEVER ELSE YOU ARE PARTICULARLY AGITATING ABOUT W THEM/GEN

Literally anything you want to talk about

(Sorry for the delay!! Got busy IRL and haven't had the time or brain power to sit down and write this out)

AHH I'M GLAD YOU LIKED IT!! I was hoping I got my point across in an understandable manner!

As for swatchton thoughts, I have been thinking a lot about them and the role the machine/NEO body has played in their relationship and individual lives... (most of what's ahead is not particularly based in canon and is just a result of me thinking about these guys A Lot) [Long post ahead once more]

I've always believed that the machine holds a lot of personal significance to Swatch. They aided in its creation, after all, only for it to end up in the basement. While I don't think Swatch has the sort of religious reverence for the machine (and the Light World in general) that Spamton does, they do still hold Lightners in high regard, which I'm sure extends to Lightner creations as well. The machine, with all of its power and history, commands respect regardless.

I've mentioned it before in a post or two a couple of years ago, but I like to believe that Swatch visits the machine when they've had a long day and need some alone time. Not only is the basement it's housed within quiet and virtually inaccessible to all but a select few, but Swatch's personal sentimentality towards the machine makes it all the more soothing when they're stressed.

Spamton was, most likely, incredibly stressed out during his big shot days. He was juggling a massive amount of success he'd never experienced before with keeping the "recipe" to this success under wraps, all while dealing with the fallout of his broken relationship with the Addisons. We know Spamton would vent to Swatch about these things thanks to the Spamton Sweepstakes Q&A. We also know that the machine is a closely guarded secret that Spamton somehow found out about.

What if, as Swatch and Spamton grew closer and Swatch began to trust Spamton to a greater degree, they told him about the machine.

Spending time with it was how Swatch de-stressed, so perhaps they brought Spamton to it after he'd had a particularly rough day. In my mind, Spamton was a bit of an egotistical ass at this time, but not really mentally unstable, so Swatch had reason to believe Spamton would not do anything with the machine. They trusted him, after all.

Perhaps the two of them made a habit of spending time down there. They would share what was bothering them, joke around, fall for each other, you know the drill. It was wonderful for a time, and while Spamton certainly took more of an interest in the machine than Swatch expected, it wasn't anything to worry about.

...Until the voice on the other end of the phone line went silent.

That's when it all began, really. The desperation, the reverence, the begging, pleading, praying. That's when the obsession began– with the machine, with the light, with Heaven. Spamton was losing it all, and he couldn't do a thing. Nobody could.

Swatch bore witness to it all, at least all that happened within the mansion. They wanted to help, even as Spamton distanced himself from everyone and even after he was evicted, because Swatch still trusted him. They loved him.

But then Spamton began breaking into the mansion. He began impersonating Swatch. He began trying to steal the machine for his own goals. And Swatch's trust was eroded.

And when Spamton finally got ahold of it... well, the mere thought is almost too much for Swatch to bear.

The machine, the NEO body, lies at the heart of their mutual trust issues I think. It's something that they bonded over once upon a time, but as things started falling apart it drove a wedge between the two. It holds value to the both of them in such differing, conflicted ways. It represents both of their hopes, dreams, insecurities, and flaws. The machine was, and always will be, a broken dream at the end of the day.

(A lot of this post was sort of Swatch-centric but I have so many thoughts about Spamton with regards to the NEO body as well that I'll have to get into at some point)

Thank you so much for the ask!! Feel free to send in more if you want to pick my brain about them or if you have thoughts of your own!! (And this goes for anyone)

[everyneji]

Do you ship Neji with anyone?

Hehe. I answered this once but I'll definitely talk more on it. I love Shikamaru/Neji, and considering I published fic for them as recently as of 2021 those feelings are still going strong. Generally I prefer my ships to have a little more, er, content, but they captured my imagination so what can I say ...

If my followers will forgive me for getting indulgent for a spell, there's something very charming about how, in the Sasuke Retrieval Arc, Neji is keeping up with Shikamaru.

When they're trapped by Jirobo, Neji seems a little surprised by Shikamaru's false surrender, but keeps quiet. Now he's not a loudmouth like Kiba and Naruto, but he's also not shy about speaking his mind. However, between his own observational skills, a likely respect for the command structure, and Choji's words, he doesn't interfere. He's then right in step with Shikamaru and Choji when the plan starts.

Neji then explains that he observed everything Shikamaru did (that the prison recovered from Kiba's attacks at different rates) and why Shikamaru spoke to the enemy and so on. We expect Choji to work well with Shikamaru 'cause they're besties, but Neji was essentially a stranger to them and he's right there with them because he can get why Shikamaru does what Shikamaru does.

When they break free, Neji briefly assumes command to stop Kiba and Naruto from attacking while Shikamaru is busy thinking of another solution. Shikamaru names Neji his second-in-command -- and I know it didn't come up earlier because it wasn't relevant to the story, but in a more Watsonian perspective, it seems like Shikamaru should have done this at mission start. Neji is the shinobi with the most experience there. So did Shikamaru just assume they wouldn't have to split up or he wouldn't die (optimistic) or would he prefer to evaluate someone's leadership potential before trusting the lives of his buddies to them? I'm more inclined to believe the latter.

From all this we gather that they're both intelligent, observant people who quickly gain a mutual respect of each other when asked to work together. I happen to be a big fan of relationships between people who are both strong-willed and opinionated leader types. Yes, they can clash, but so long as they're respectful of each other there's so much potential for an interesting dynamic to explore.

They're also both lowkey people with compatible lowkey hobbies (cloud gazing & bird watching, napping & meditating) who I think could just relax together, though Neji's got a more active personality to keep some of that spark and spice. Neji needs some relaxation in his life ... Shikamaru can be very tender and emotionally intelligent if he feels like it, and Neji could use that too. What does Shikamaru need? Someone who is unafraid to challenge him, haha.

In fact, figuring out what Shikamaru wants (answer: a hardass with a nice smile) is easy because we see it in canon, but what about Neji? That, my friends, is a separate post I will make because I get very sidetracked from just gushing about my little rarepair.

Thank you for the question! ♥ In the end, I stand by my opinion that so long as Neji is getting some love all's fair! I've read or at least seen art of every Neji ship that exists I'm pretty sure … I just want good things for him. ✌️ Also, if you want to talk more specific shippy stuff, feel free to hit me up on my Naruto sideblog @hallwaydodge!