#i refuse to believe there wasn't at least one developer for that game who knew who they were

[sage-nebula]

There has been a lot of speculation about how Jinx and Ekko will interact in the upcoming season, and as someone who both loves the tragedy of timebomb, but also loves both Jinx and Ekko individually as characters and wants to see them both respected, I want to speculate on how they might interact in the upcoming season with particular focus on Ekko, and how their interactions in season two can be handled while treating his character with the dignity and respect that he deserves.

So, with that said: Let's start with what he know about Ekko and how he feels about Jinx, and how that might inform how he interacts with her in season two.

Ekko did have a crush on Powder when they were kids, as one of his quotes from the card game says: "I used to have a crush on you, before you started talking to the gun." We know from the "Enemy" music video that they were childhood besties; they jumped on beds together, rode around on that circle bike mocking enforcers together, et cetera. And we know from their fight on the bridge that they played a game together involving Ekko's pocket watch and Powder's toy guns, that they then recreated in their actual fight. (And that while Powder always won as kids, Ekko won in their rematch as teens, because his growth and development wasn't arrested like hers.)

But we also learned something else on that bridge, from Jinx herself.

"Well, look who it is. The boy savior!"

Jinx says this in a mocking tone. In a Reddit AMA, we learned that there was originally going to be a flashback showing Ekko trying to save Powder from Silco, believing her to have been taken hostage / kidnapped. Powder, however, refused to go with him, telling him, "Powder is dead." This is why she mocked him on the bridge with the title "boy savior": Jinx was mocking Ekko for trying to "save" her from Silco. She was twisting the knife that she wanted to be with Silco, that he couldn't save her like he intended.

And how do we think that made him feel?

There's a reason that Ekko was so insistent to Vi that Jinx wanted to be with Silco, that she worked for him voluntarily and didn't want to leave. It's because he knew that from firsthand experience. He tried to get her out of there, and she not only didn't go, but she still mocks him for trying years later. She was his best friend in childhood, the only one he had left after Benzo, Vander, Mylo, and Claggor died (and Vi was arrested, but he thought she was dead too), and she essentially spat in his face, rejected him in the harshest way possible, and continues to mock him for even trying to rescue her, for even trying to still be there for her after they had lost everyone else.

And then, on top of that, in working for Silco, she also ended up killing a number of his friends in the Firelights. (Well, we know that she at least for sure killed the pink-haired girl; I don't think we know for certain that she killed others, but I don't think it's outside the realm of possibility.)

Suffice to say, Ekko has more than enough reason to raise his hand if someone asked, "Who here feels personally victimized by Jinx?" It's easy to see how Jinx has been traumatized and hurt, because we saw everything that happened to her; but Ekko also suffered traumatic losses, had no idea what happened to Powder the night everyone died, but he cared about her so much (even setting aside his crush, he just loved her as a best friend) and put himself in danger to try to save her, only to be rejected for no reason he could understand, then continued to be mocked for it years later while also losing his friends to, if not Jinx directly, than to the man she works for and decided to see as a surrogate father. Ekko lost everyone in that same night, too, for reasons completely beyond his control, for reasons he probably still doesn't understand or have closure on. And I'm not saying that Jinx needs to open up to him about her trauma, but I am saying that I don't think that this would make her very attractive to him as a romantic partner or even a friend at this point.

(As a side bar: I don't think that Jinx ever felt true malice toward Ekko. She did him dirty by mocking his attempt to save her on the bridge absolutely, and cutting ties with him after Silco took her in is a lot more complicated and messy than we have time to get into right now, but to try to tl;dr it . . . I think that Powder saw Silco as her only lifeline. He was an adult who took her in, gave her a home, and was promising to be her family. He also, crucially, didn't know her as the person she was before. Ekko, on the other hand, was a child who did know who she was before. So Powder felt she had to cling to Silco and push Ekko away for her own sake. But -- and this is headcanon on my part -- I do still think she cared about Ekko as her childhood bestie, and I think this because Ekko is still alive. I think that Silco would have killed anyone who would cause Jinx distress, even at that early stage, and Ekko definitely would have triggered Jinx's psychosis (albeit by accident) by asking about Vi and the others. And I think that Jinx/Powder, caring for Ekko, would have told Silco not to kill him, saying something like, "He's not worth it, he's just some guy, let him go," or something of the sort, to make Silco back off. Something that would make both Ekko and Silco think she didn't care, when she did. So I don't think Jinx ever hated Ekko, or held true malice toward him. She was absolutely out of pocket and mean with that taunt on the bridge, but I don't think she was ever actually malevolent toward him.)

So, what do I see possibly happening between them in season two?

Well, if we remember how their fight on the bridge concluded: Ekko was winning the fight, and was essentially beating Jinx to death when he got a really good look in her eyes for the first time in years and realized that Jinx = Older Powder. That made him hesitate long enough for Jinx to pull a pin from a grenade, intending to die and take him down with her. (I think it might have been Amanda Overton who stated that Jinx "does not have a healthy fear of death," and that she wanted to take Ekko down with her because he was the only one who never left her? Which is truly funny considering how he tried his goddamn hardest to stay with her and she actively shoved him away and then mocked him for trying to stay with her literally right before that fight lmao. But that's our mentally ill girly at her finest.) Ekko, of course, saw what she did and escaped enough to not die, but to still be wounded. And Jinx would have died had Silco not taken her to Singed, and, well . . . we all know how that turned out.

So, season two.

From the trailer, we can see that there are at least some people in Zaun who see Jinx as a revolutionary figure. Some have pointed out that the mural looks like it was made in the style of Firelight art, with some speculating that perhaps it was even Ekko himself who painted it. Given all of the above, I really, really, really doubt that it was Ekko himself who painted it. In fact, I would actually be pretty upset with the writers of the show if they did make Ekko the one to have painted it, because I feel it would be a disservice to his character. Again, quick recap:

Jinx rejected him soundly when he tried to save her from Silco / reconnected her after everyone else in their lives was killed.

Jinx continues to mock him for this to his face years later.

In working for Silco, Jinx helped pump Zaun full of shimmer, which actively harms the very people whose lives Ekko wants to make better.

In working for Silco, Jinx has killed at least one, though probably more, of Ekko's friends in the Firelights. (Silco's other employees have also undoubtedly killed them as well and, again, Jinx still aligns herself with them.)

The big revolutionary act that others in Zaun are hailing Jinx as a heroine for is blowing up the council tower, which is bringing the military might of Piltover down on Zaun, guaranteeing bloodshed that I highly doubt Ekko wants. He wants change, but not like this.

It simply doesn't make sense for his character for him to have painted the mural. More likely, there are some Firelights who see what Jinx did as "the base violence necessary for change," believing in her "cause" over Ekko's -- not realizing that Jinx didn't do what she did because of a grand, overarching cause, but because she was lashing out as a result of the sustained agony the system had been putting her through for her entire life. She isn't going to be leading a revolution in season two; she didn't ask for that mural to be painted and she isn't going to be raising a flag. She'll be raising hell, no doubt, but not a flag. That's not who she is. The person painted in that mural isn't Jinx, not really, and Ekko knows that better than the actual artists.

Instead, I see Ekko as being in a sort of 90 / 10 situation regarding Jinx. 85% of him still feels all of the negative feelings he had about her regarding everything in the past six or seven years, plus her recent murder of the pink-haired Firelight, attempt on his life, and blowing up of the council tower that brought the Enforcers down on him. (Because don't misunderstand, he doesn't care about the Pilties in the tower, but he does care about the innocent Zaunites that are about to get murdered by the Enforcers who are going to blow apart the undercity's streets looking for Jinx.)

But then 10% of him is going to keep thinking back to that moment on the bridge, where he looked into her eyes close-up for the first time in six or seven years, and realized that Jinx is Powder, just older, and be just wracked with sorrow. No, he doesn't want to date her. No, they can't be friends when she's doing all this shit. She's literally killed people that he cares about. Her actions have resulted in the deaths of innocent people and she doesn't seem to give two fucks. (Again, not the Pilties, but the innocent citizens of Zaun that the Enforcers are now killing, and yes Piltover and the Enforcers are choosing to do that, but the reason why they are choosing to do that does matter, and if other Zaunities can hail Jinx as a hero for it, then he can call her out as a fucking dumbass for it, too.) But Janna, he wishes she wasn't doing this shit. He wishes she wasn't like this. He wishes things could have turned out different. Why didn't they turn out different? Jinx is Powder. Powder is Jinx. So what went wrong? When she left that night, why did she come back under Silco's wing? Why did everyone die, with Vi in jail? What happened? Was it his fault? Could he have stopped it somehow?

But there's not enough time to think about that, and it doesn't matter when here, in the present, she is like this and she is doing this shit and it's not his fault that she, here and now, is like this and doing this shit. He's not responsible for her. And she made it clear she didn't even WANT him to be in her life, so -- !

It's messy. It's messy and tragic and painful, but since when are the relationships in Arcane anything but?

The point I'm getting at here is: I don't think that Ekko will be supportive of Jinx. And if they work together at all, I think it will be with gritted teeth on his part, out of forced necessity. Or more like . . . it seems, from the trailer, that Jinx and Sevika may be teaming up to take down the chembarons. (I say "may," because the idea of Jinx and Sevika teaming up is still very hard for me to believe. But like, Sevika has Jinx's gun, and her new arm looks like it was made by Jinx, and we also see Jinx standing at the other end of the alleyway when Sevika is fighting one of the others so like . . .) We also know that the distribution of shimmer hurting Zaunities is something that Ekko doesn't like. So it is possible that Jinx and the Firelights could potentially work together in order to take down the other chembarons, with Ekko seeing it as a "the enemy of my enemy is my ally" situation, and Jinx agreeing to those terms while also, in her way, still viewing Ekko as "the one who never left" and thinking, hey, maybe we could start over.

As with everything else in Arcane, I fear it can only end badly for her.

It's also possible that, because of that moment they had on the bridge (and because of Vi's insistence to Ekko that she could talk Jinx down), Ekko could use this temporary truce to try himself to talk Jinx down again, to talk reason into her to some degree, especially now that Silco is dead. He might see it as an opportunity, a sort of, "Now that he's dead you don't have to work for him anymore, you can start over." Which, again, would end badly because Jinx herself is the one who killed him (by accident), and he was the one who gave her the affirmation of unconditional love that she'd always wanted, and as such his death is something she deeply regrets and would not appreciate hearing lauded as a good thing. So again, yet another thing in Arcane that would go horribly wrong. Still, I could see him potentially trying that avenue if in fact they did work together. Not as a romantic or "let's be buds again" angle, but in a "it would be better for everyone if Jinx stopped killing people" angle. (And then, you know, maybe after years of no murders and less hostile behavior, maybe then they can be friends again.)

Of course, that would never happen, but I think that would be Ekko's thought process nonetheless.

Bottom line here is, if Jinx and Ekko do end up teaming up, my hope is that Ekko's feelings and character are respected. So far, the Arcane writers haven't given me a reason to think they won't respect him, thankfully, but I still wanted to put it out there regardless. Ekko's trauma and how the tragedy of arc 1 impacted him is often overlooked, particularly since he is one of the more well-adjusted members of the cast (especially on the Zaun side, good god), but he still was traumatized and hurt horribly by what happened and he deserves to be treated with as much respect and dignity as anyone else. He certainly doesn't deserve to have his character or motivations pushed aside or forgotten just to prop up Jinx.

But those are just my thoughts. Everyone else is free to have their own. :)

[ginza-division]

Eiji's Thoughts on Edogawa Division

Yuriko Kuromiya

"Yuriko Kuromiya... I must admit, I'd never thought I'd see her again. At least not in a rap tournament. If you're wondering how I know her, well... suffice it to say, I hired her once. Not to assassinate anyone, of course! Even though I dislike certain people, I'd never wish any of them dead. Rather, I hired her to watch over my family. ...You know what? Maybe it's better if I just start from the beginning." Eiji says, sighing as he lights a cigarette.

"It was just after a year when PROFILE had launched. Naturally, it was a global success. Many companies wanted to partner up with Sigma Inc., but I refused. I wasn't in the business of doing partnerships or collaborations. PROFILE was my brainchild, and I developed it with my own two hands. I wasn't going to let some other company try to reign in on my success. Naturally, they didn't like that and decided to teach me a lesson. They had hired someone to tamper with my car, and the result was... well..." Eiji taps his prosthetic leg, emphasizing his point.

"Still, that wasn't enough to get me to submit. But it did make me realize that if they could go after me, they could easily go after someone I care about; i.e. my family. Therefore, after I did some research, I came across Black Dalhia, and from what her reputation said about her, I knew I could rely on her to keep my loved ones safe. I contacted her and hired her as a bodyguard. And if anyone tried to hurt my loved ones, she had free reign to do as she pleased."

"I have to say, I grossly underestimated just how many enemies I had. It seemed every day, Dalhia was sending me a message about stopping some assassin, or accident that would have hurt my parents, my wife, or my children. To be honest, I came close to giving the companies what they wanted. But thankfully, it seemed that they got the message to 'back off'. I thanked Black Dalhia immensely and paid her all that I owed her and more. That was the last I saw of her."

Eiji looks at Yuriko's PROFILE. "I have to admit, I never thought that Yuriko-san would retire from the killer life, but I guess she got tired of it. Not that I'm complaining, of course." He shows a picture of her and her daughters. "From what I can tell, she seems much happier."

Kaoru Shinozaki

"I've never met this young woman, but anybody who's a techno-geek has heard of the legendary '8Cloud'. The live streams of her video game playthroughs are known throughout the Internet. I think the only other person who has her beat is the legendary '1-Up'. I've seen videos of the two of them competing and they always have me on the edge of my seat! I wonder if I message her would she be willing to post a video of her playing 'Demons and Despair'. I've passed the game, but I can't seem to get to 100% completion."

Kanra Akemi

Eiji looks at the photo of the young red-haired girl. "I'm a bit surprised Yuriko-san let Kanra make her own PROFILE. There's no real age limit to joining PROFILE. Anyone can create one, provided they follow and obey the rules, of course. But I do require everyone to fill out their birthday before they register. That way, the site automatically blocks any, shall we "mature" pages from young kids' eyes and minds."

"But besides that, Kanra's page is pretty much what you'd expect from a 16-year-old girl. Many of her pictures show her either cooking, training with her mother, or hanging out with her friends. She seems like a normal, well-adjusted young teen. ...Of course, stories of her insurmountable strength have shown up in some videos on PROFILE. And all I can say is, woe to anyone who ends up on the wrong side of her."

Wicked Requiem

Eiji sighs, rubbing his forehead. "Masa, what the hell are you thinking? Intentionally antagonizing three dangerous women? Are you tired of living? Because believe me, there are much easier ways to commit suicide." He sighs again before looking up at the screen. "Wicked Requiem, I apologize dearly on behalf of my teammate's comments. If we should meet in the D.R.B., I hope you won't take any of what is said or done personally. I, at least, have nothing against you. I can't say the same for my teammates, however."

[matchbet-allofthetime]

Mass Effect Endings Ramble (very long)

Nowhere near there yet (still playing through ME2 atm after soaking like 60 hours into Andromeda)

HOWEVER I'm pondering which ending to pick

On one hand, becoming Reaper Shep is funny as hell to me and also soul shattering.

I think though I'm really caught between Destroy and Synthesis. In Destroy, as far as I'm aware, it's the only ending where Shepard canonically survives, but this also kills EDI and every other AI. And I think that's really unfair- to us, the players (but that matters less to me, a good story is a good story) but also to Joker and other characters. This game series puts a lot of emphasis on "what makes life alive?" And it really presses to us, the player, that it isn't necessarily living cells we define as alive that defines life- just a capacity to understand, learn, and grow.

Similar to EDI, for example, in Andromeda we have SAM, who is arguably developing his own sentience over the course of the journey in Andromeda, thus he is alive, just like Legion and EDI.

I understand Legion has to die- they relinquish control over their life to save everyone they love and hold dear. Their shepard- commander, Tali and her people, and the geth too. They grant their own people the sentience they developed entirely and allowed their people to truly help bridge the chasm between Quarians and Geth and Geth and the rest of the galaxy.

But Joker loves EDI and EDI loves Joker. Even if Joker knew it had to happen, he knows Shepard (or at least, a paragon Shepard) would do anything to keep everyone they could alive. And he'd still hurt over losing her. Watching the development of those two together is just too important to me.

But then, we all want Shepard to live. And I accept that the Citadel DLC basically cushions all endings that isn't Control (since Shep becomes reaper Shep of course). I am fine with it being the cushion for it because I refuse to believe they don't all live because screw realism, yk?

I can get into how I understand the mechanics of story telling and how I want every character I love to live, from Legion to Mordin to Kirrahe to Nihlus to even Saren to survive (Saren because I have a soft spot for turians and I got the paragon option to get through to Saren and I know he wasn't what he became, just like Benezia wasn't. Sovereign was powerful and Saren likely didn't come across Sovereign purposefully and didn't, under it all, want to stay. It's like you become the exact opposite of what you truly are when under Sovereign's power.)

I can get into how I want everyone happy because I do and I want them to all live happily.

All these different species and people only ever met because of Shep. They only ever found love in some endings (like Tali and garrus together) because of Shep. They only became who they were because of Shep. (Ex: plenty of them were just "normal" people. Tali was just on her Pilgrimage, which was completed with Shep's help. Garrus was a man who hated red tape but a paragon Shepard stops him from keeling over a very dark ledge, seen in his ME2 loyalty mission where he insists on killing sidonis when really, it would've hurt garrus more. Would've been worse. Alenko who was just a soldier until he got promoted and became Commander Alenko, because he moved on after Shep died with the SR1. That kind of thing.)

They only became more of themselves- for renegade or for paragon, better or worse- because of Shepard, who they're all (if you do loyalty missions) hopelessly devoted to.

Even without romances, the endings are all painful for many reasons, regardless of the Citadel DLC cushioning that pain. We've had three games to be utterly devoted to not only the character we've created and curated and grown from just a commander who comes from any sort of background, to Commander motherfucking Shepard vas Normandy, friend (or foe) to everyone in the galaxy as long as they're the right type of person for whatever Shep we create.

We get so attached, so seeing them ripped away hurts more.

I think synthesis is the one that I, if I were in Shepard's shoes, would choose realistically. All synthetic and AI life would understand and live on

And that's all my Shep would want. That, and the reapers would assist in sharing knowledge. Everyone together would help rebuild. The Normandy crew survives, and so does the Normandy. (Joker, ME2: I'm not losing another Normandy!) Joker would have EDI, all would be, for intents and purposes, well...

All that would be lost is Shepard. Shepard is vital, fundamental, and key to what keeps them all together in this story. They all found each other through some insane half-dead, half-alive Spectre Commander ship captain impossible odds dead person walking who can- and will- kill or cure or help or hinder anyone who gets in their way or needs help regardless of what happens. Consequences- good, bad, or both- be utterly damned

My Shep would take synthesis, I think, as they're a reflection of myself. An insert, as Shepard was intended to be. They would choose synthesis realistically, just so everyone survived, regardless of them being lost.

But that begs the question- would their death mean anything? To outsiders, to the entire galaxy- yes. It would change so much, no matter which ending taken.

But synthesis in particular would leave everyone alive and mourning the person who found them all, fought with them, fought beside them, and brought them all back together countless times, all the while bringing new people with them. New friends. New family.

Synthesis would leave everyone heartbroken and would they even stay? Together, by one another's sides, fighting even still, helping to rebuild, while Shepard is not their to guide them? Laugh with them, help with them, cry with them?

Would they all just leave again, just like they did after Shepard died with the original Normandy?

There's a chance, even after all that happened through all three games.

Losing one another is tough- Mordin, because he grows on the crew, EDI, who is curious and sassy as she grows and who grows with us the player and the ship sees develop, etc. Losing each other is rough and hurts like hell. But losing the single person who anchors them? Who knows all their worst choices, their best, who was the sole person trusted with their pasts? Jack trusted Shep with her childhood horrors. Miranda trusted Shep with her sister. Garrus trusted Shep more times than I can say. Liara trusted Shep to help her take down the Shadow Broker. Samara with Morinth- and the emotions coming with. Mordin and his assistant, student, friend.

Shepard is trusted with things that nobody else in the galaxy is trusted with. They are trusted to decide how the story goes. Whether the characters wallow in hurt or finally feel freed from the pain of their pasts.

Would they stick together in honour of one another and their Shepard or would they shatter and fall away?

I think an argument for either side could be made.

I think, honestly, I'm going to go for Synthesis because it's what I would do. I only seek to help people, regardless of whether or not they were made or regardless of what their species did to another. All that there is to me, even in games, is the now and the future. What can be done now? Where do we go next?

I'd rather one die for millions- even if saving the council was a choice made as a way for me to maliciously comply to them pissing me off about the reapers numerous times- than millions die for one, yk?

Anyways SUPER long rant post, mind is running at about a million. Hopefully my thoughts are (semi?) understandable. This was a lot and I don't think any ending or any Shepard is a bad way to play, badly written, etc! I think all are fascinating choices and I'm one of many true paragons (aside from the choice with Kai Leng. I'm renegade stabbing that bitch for thane. "That was for Thane, you son of a bitch!" Can't wait for that. The shock value would be god damn comedic with a Shepard with 0 renegade points.)

I really can't wait to play the rest of 2 and start 3 (and I regret not knowing I couldn't save Kirrahe in ME1 earlier!! I didn't know. Fuck!! Love him so much. Getting his "hold the line" tattooed.)

I'm really loving this whole journey and writing all my rambles out is really nice for me. And I've found a lot of others seem to enjoy seeing me ramble, so uh... Yeah! Ask away if you have questions about my opinions or whatever or gimme your thoughts too!

All in all, I'm loving this. And I know my Shepard would survive out of sheer spite alone, no matter the ending.

So here, have my dumbass Shepard who always wears fatigues or red and black armour XD (aka Commander ??? Shep vas Normandy. They/them, afab/fem!Shep body. I've got more info on them, their past, etc but this post is already a mile long lmao. Just ask if you want info ig lol)

[bioticgoddess]

Characters: Seven of Nine, Liam Shaw, OC (mentioned)

Pairing: Liam Shaw x OC (gn)

Transfer of Command

Captain Shaw, most recently of the USS Titan, sat up in the bio-bed of what had been his ship. He had no regrets giving Seven the field commission and transferring the ship to her. Not that he could have made the computer recognize the transfer at the time. Fucking Borg bullshit. But that, he realized when he thought he'd die, no longer meant *former* Borg. It certainly hadn't meant the literal (to him) children on his ship. Still. No regrets.

"Sir," Seven's voice yanked him out of contemplation. "I'm glad to see you're awake and doing," she hesitated, "Better."

He had a suspicion what she was here to do. "Don't "

"Sir?"

"The ship. You're her captain more than I ever was" he said matter of fact. "Don't you dare give her back Captain Seven of Nine." He used her name to her face for the second time in their years together on the Titan. "She was always yours."

"Sir I don't understand. Protocol-"

Raising a hand he stopped her, "Can't believe I'm about to say this but, fuck protocol." A long and strangely uncomfortable silence stretched between them. "Do you know how I met my spouse?"

Seven shook her head. It was clear from her furrowed brow and pinched lips she didn't understand the relevance. Every one knew that Captain Shaw was married even if he didn't wear a ring, his spouse hadn't believed in them he said. Wasn't a part of their culture.

Clearing his throat he explained, "I'll give you the short version since they're en route via shuttle with the kids, who I understand very much need hugs from their father. Anyway," he got on with it, "Commander Taris, then a freshly minted by all of an hour lieutenant, was on the ship that rescued my life pod at Wolf 359. I met them a handful of times when the fleet limped back to earth after that fight. Including when one of my Vulcan crew mates decided to pick a fight with Star Fleet's only Romulan crewman. They were nothing but polite and Vash didn't swing first but they sure as hell put Ensign An'ris on his ass and refused to press any of charges. Trauma, they said would do that. They understood. Turns out I'd developed an infatuation with a Junior Counselor as a result - and no, I wasn't one of her patients. Well, three duty stations, a lot of dating both in person and long distance and a couple promotions later and I proposed. We have three little pointy eared angels who every day I have to remind are loved and perfect as they are. Why? Because people still treat my spouse like they are the enemy despite the fact that they have literally bled for both the Federation and Earth. My kids see the toll it's taken on their parents. So what I'm saying, Seven, is that I should have carried forward what Vashti and those kids teach me every day in how I treated you and the other former Borg. I'm sorry and you deserved better," Begrudgingly he added, "Picard too; though my issues with him and Riker extend beyond the Borg shit."

The former Borg swallowed, blinking at him confused. "Sir? I...um...thank you," she arrived at those two words carefully.

He cleared his throat and spoke again, "So, let's make this official," he clapped his hands together, rubbing them, "Computer, transfer command to Captain Seven of Nine. Authorization Code Shaw 12-11- Bravo-Delta."

---

Notes: Commander Vashti "Vash" Taris is a Romulan defector who joined Starfleet before/early in TNG. They would be approximately the same age as Captain Shaw. The one in this story is based on my PC for the Star Trek TTRPG that made it exactly one session. (RIP) That story/game was meant to take place during the Dominion War; I figured they'd have had the personality that could handle Shaw's and having a Romulan partner plus some half-Romulan kiddos made sense. After all, I bet money a Romulan would be treated at least as strangely if not outright poorly compared to Worf during TNG/DS9/VOY.

[orlandospride]

appreciate being called the most rational uswnt fan lol, i promise it won't inflate my ego. a lot of it, i think, comes from the fact that soccer breached containment in the US last world cup. so a lot of people who've literally never played soccer and who don't really know anything beyond "US good" are suddenly commentating like they've got 30 years of experience. i played for 12 years, and watched soccer constantly in my down time. i can't comment on other countries but i feel like a lot of people who follow women's soccer in say Europe have similar experiences to mine. US fans were at least a bit more rational to a point while i was growing up watching, because you only knew about the league if you played. even then, a lot of people didn't know. around 2011, things started to take a turn to where we are now (i'm not getting on my shipping high horse), but it was still mostly focused on the soccer. now, the block button is my best friend lol.

in terms of vlatko, i don't really know what to say. i kind of avoid talking about the coaches because 90% of coaching is what we don't see. obviously, the subs thing is an issue, but i honestly don't know. i had coaches growing up who coached us through seasons where we lost everything. but that didn't mean they were bad coaches. one season, we literally only had 11 players, and that wasn't his fault. one season, our goalie got injured and we didn't have a back up. i also had shit coaches who coached us to a championship. the first thing i told this guy was that i was left footed, and it wasn't until our final game when he realized, in shock, that i was left footed. there's lots of stuff that goes on behind the scenes. everyone clowned on jill but she somehow won two world cups. we don't have any wingers right now. that's a problem. we don't have trained central defenders. that's a problem. i don't know what will happen to his job. on the one hand, US Soccer has made it very clear that you either win or you get the boot (see Tom Sermanni). on the other hand, they've also refused to fire coaches when players complained (see Jill Ellis). they also refused to pay Dawn Scott who was single-handedly the reason why we were dominant for so long in what i refuse to believe wasn't a political move (this happened during the second lawsuit). it's completely a toss up.

as you said, this is a positive for the US and soccer at large. i'm so excited to see new styles of soccer develop, i'm excited for a new team to win the cup. upsets are genuinely exciting. while losing to sweden wasn't necessarily an upset, there's been so much growth and new teams breaking records, this is so fucking exciting. the US has never been a super tactical team. we've had tactical players, but never as a team. for the longest time, our strategy was to just kick the ball as far down the field as possible and have alex morgan chase it down. simply put, the reason why we've been dominant for so long is because we were always bigger, stronger, and faster than the other teams but we can't do that anymore (see Dawn Scott). the US have never played the most beautiful or advanced soccer, we suck at passing, we don't defend properly at all, and we don't take proper first touches. i hope that this is the push that we need in order to move towards turning into the beautiful game. for now, i'm just hoping and praying that Nigeria beats England. every world cup that Jamaica has been a part of, i've wanted them to do well, and it's finally happening.

all i ask of US fans right now is to choose a team, follow that team, and watch the rest of the cup. after the cup, choose a club team or two, and follow that team. historically, women's soccer has had issues keeping viewership after the world cup and i'm really concerned that it's going to happen again. the US has one of the largest (or at least loudest) fan bases. please keep that energy going forward, i don't think that i can take another league collapse. when teams from other countries are fighting for their rights, be loud, don't let their federations steam roll them. you're allowed to be sad, i'm sad too, but please don't let women's soccer die out. also, please join me in my campaign in rooting for the US men to lose at the next man soccer world cup, and for Canada to win, simply because i think that it would be funny.

it probably is a little weird if you’re a (fairly) recent uswnt fan or don’t keep up with football outside of the us because the us has always been so successful. losing isn’t really in the vocabulary and we probably have all overestimated the amount of pressure it’s put on players for, literally, decades. expectations have always been sky high regardless whether it was realistic or not, and the bigger they are the harder they fall, etc. it sucks the us team will be going home to such hate though, especially since most of it is nothing to do with football at all

i don’t personally agree the us can’t really defend or pass, even if they could be better, but i do agree that fitness has been a major factor in success. they haven’t always been better, but they have always been able to run faster and for longer. so they were able to wear teams down…eventually. that’s not so much the case anymore

(i’m pretty neutral on jamaica, but it’s a cool story with the fundraiser and that, so hopefully it inspires them regardless. i hope nigeria beat england too)

i don’t think there should really be a concern for the state of women’s football overall though, right? women’s football post 2019 wwc has exploded, at least from my own experience in the u.k, it’s gone from strength to strength here. there’ll always be a drop off post wc, but there will also be those who stick around. every international tournament (generally) has a net gain. if doesn’t keep all viewers, but it does usually increase them from the pre-tournament. plus… women’s football is resilient 👊

[eccedentesian]

lot of heart-wrenching developments in elmer's d&d canon from the last few days...

right now, as we're in between one-shot sessions, we've been doing text-based events to pass the time, with one real-world week spanning two in-game weeks. this fortnight, one of elmer's new friends kor woke him in the middle of the night && asked him to be her guide through the veld, a mystical forest known for luring travels into danger. one step off the road could put you miles away from where you started, && the passage of time is never consistent in the veld. there's a lot of folklore associated with the veld, && elmer knew a lot of it from his first time traversing the forest when he was fifteen or so ; though some of it may be superstition, most is grounded in some level of truth.

just before they got into the veld, they had to swim, which made elmer's clothes soaking wet. he hung them up to dry when they made camp for the night, && in the morning, kor caught him with his shirt off, && saw the horrific scarring && burn injuries on his back. elmer immediately brushed it off, apologizing for letting her see something so upsetting. she didn't ask, && he didn't explain.

on the road, the pair got to talking about mostly mindless things just to pass the time. elmer, like usual, was talking about smiles, && he mentioned that people's smiles give him strength. kor expressed that she didn't believe something as 'soft' as a smile could give someone strength, && as they went back && forth about it, elmer explained, very nonchalantly, that the smiles of his parents as they brutally tortured && abused him, weren't soft, but they were real, happy smiles.

in that instant, kor's entire opinion on elmer changed. she no longer saw him as a competent, if somewhat strange, warrior — she saw him as something fragile, in need of protection. immediately, she tried to turn around && take elmer back to the city, apologizing for asking him to go with her in the first place.

obviously, elmer refused. kor too stood her ground. i'll just... let this little exchange speak for itself:

His expression clouds, and the smile slips away entirely. “Don’t,” he says quietly, seriously. He reaches behind him, petting Sylvie rather vigorously. “Please don’t look at me like I’m something to be pitied. This is…” He sighs, and finally stands up. He takes the outstretched hand, but just holds it tightly, looking to her eyes sincerely. “I need to do this. As much as you do. We came all this way.“ He releases her hand with a sad smile. “And if you don’t want to go with me, then I’ll find that shadow of yours on my own.” Kor just shakes her head. “I cannot in good conscious go with you into more danger,” she says. There is a profound guilt in her expression, outweighing even the pity. “You won’t find smiles in this forest, Elmer. Even if we find the shadow. I cannot give you strength. Let me help you find your friends—or someone who can smile for you, at least. We’re better off without each other.” But he doesn’t budge. “At the risk of being very crass, you saw what I’ve endured. Do you really think anything in this forest could ever be as bad as that? I’ve been here. I can assure you — it’s not possible.” He’s still smiling. “The truth is, most of the people around me probably can’t smile right now. I’ve tried. But this war is…” He shrugs. “I don’t discriminate in who I want to see smile. I’ll tell you a secret. One that only my friend Huey knows. I’m not doing this for you. Not the trip, but trying to get you to smile. I’m doing it for me. A person who wants to make people happy for his own selfish motives — it’s funny, isn’t it? Ridiculous, even. But that’s who I am. So if you want to do something for me, then you let me see this through. You think you can’t smile for me — then let me try and prove you wrong. Because if you can, maybe I can. Is that terribly confusing?”

he rolled a 26 persuasion check on that, && kor gave in, though she wasn't happy about it. they continued on with tensions running high.

eventually, they reached a roadblock — a 30-foot wide puddle of water. there's an old superstition in the veld to never touch still water, && elmer cautioned kor against trying to cross it on foot. instead, he spotted a tree he could climb, a little ways off the road, && intended to tie a rope to it && have kor swing across. but the folklore also says to never stray from the road, or else you might end up miles away. elmer wrapped the rope around his wrist && gave the other end to kor to hang onto. only a few steps off the path, the rope snapped, stretched to its limit, breaking elmer's wrist in the process. no sign of kor, or the road.

he wandered for hours, without any sign of his companion. and then, almost as if by magic, he found the road again. the water had dried up, leaving only cracked mud behind with kor's lantern half-buried. she was nowhere to be found.

elmer went to sleep, more or less accepting that kor was most likely dead, swallowed up by the water. the next morning, he encountered a strange, suspicious merchant on the road. elmer did his best to be elusive, but he's incapable of ignoring someone when they're sad, incapable of not trying to make someone smile, so he agreed to at least look at what he was selling. in his wagon, the merchant had kor's notebook. instantly on edge, elmer attempted to get him to admit to stealing it from her, or worse, hoping that maybe he'd at least get more information on what had happened to her. but when he accused the merchant of stealing, he explained that kor had traded it to him fair && square.

“Really?” He’s still smiling. “I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding! Who did you buy it from?” “A traveler,” Felix says. “One rather in need. Her friend had gotten lost, you see, and she was in rather dire straits without him. If I recall she was quite satisfied with our trade. What became of her after that, I’m not quite sure.” The smile becomes more strained. Something starts to click in his mind. “And what did you give her in return?” “I bent the path for her friend. Brought him back to the road.” His smile widens unnaturally, the corners of his mouth curling. “It wasn’t easy. Her friend can be quite stubborn.”

elmer took the notebook && threw it as far as he could, attempting to get his dog sylvie to grab it && hide. but felix was faster, && instantly, both elmer && sylvie were teleported back to the middle of the forest, off the road once more.

it took a while, but elmer finally made it to his original destination: a tree that supposedly held the secret to what kor was looking for. && there, he found kor as well. except it was not kor. he couldn't focus on the creatures face as it kept shifting, next taking on the form of his friend esperanza, && then his friend vilitzr.

he tried to reason with the shapeshifting creature — “You’ve stolen someone else’s smile. Whoever you are, I’d like you to smile too — but I’d prefer if you did it with your own face. Come on! Don’t be shy! I won’t judge. People say I’m not all that handsome myself either, so if you’re worried about showing what you really look like, you’re in good company!” — but it did some sort of magical attack on him, causing his vision to blur with every nerve on end. in a desperate attempt to stop it, elmer cast hold person on the creature ; it failed its wisdom save and lost its grip on him, dragged off by sylvie who finished it off.

when elmer's vision cleared, he saw the real kor unconscious on the ground beside him nearly consumed by another shadow creature. using rebuke the violent on it, elmer dealt an equal amount of radiant damage back at it, which destroyed this shadow too. finally free of the creatures, elmer healed kor with his full pool of lay on hands hp — he saved her life. && as she asked him what happened, he simply said he didn't know, but it didn't matter — "We’re here, we made it, so please, Kor — smile.”

and she did. they spent the rest of the night eating && resting && making up stories to tell each other.

kor then told elmer that she intended to go through the doorway in the tree, to chase after the thing she lost. she said there was a good chance she wouldn't survive, if it was even there. elmer tried to argue, to let him go with her, but she was able to talk him down this time — he understood her need && desire to go alone. he did, however, make her promise something.

“One thing,” Kor says with a wry smile. “Two things,” he counters. “One — that you try your best to come back alive. I know there are people who would be very sad if you died. And two — if you do find what you’re looking for… That you’ll give me the biggest smile in the world. Even though I won’t be able to see it. I’ll know.”

she agreed. the next morning, when elmer awoke, kor was gone. along with all her supplies, she left him piece of cloth with a childlike sketch in charcoal—a round face with a wide smile. he gathered up what she left behind, tucked the cloth into his pocket, and continued walking — straight on, this time, rather than turning back the way they came — out of the veld.

the end (of this segment, anyway).

.................unless?

— once out of the forest, elmer wrote a letter to his friend esperanza, back in the city. esperanza stressed that under no circumstances should he return — vilitzr, the invading warlord that elmer had befriended (&& kor's commanding officer) believed that he kidnapped kor, && wants elmer dead. faced with no other option, lest he walk right into danger, he began to flee east... never failing to try && make people smile along the way.

[red-dragon-archfiend]

The Marxio Brothers should’ve been in Sonic Mania

[imvexshesvax]

Not to be like, "this has to be temporary because my favs are dead/dying and I refuse to accept it" because if it shakes out that Orym and or Fearne and or Laudna are done then that's the game and I'll be sad but them's the breaks.

However! This felt very pointed.

Yes, Otohan got a very high initiative which helped in keeping the Hells down but they felt primed to bounce around the map and do damage. Being able to switch places with your echos? Psionic Leap? On top of having legendary actions? Otohan was going to be running circles around the Hells no matter where she was in the lineup. And Otohan was set on getting Imogen to break.

Furthermore, and somewhat predictably considering the character relationships, the Hells rather quickly proved to not be willing to scatter as originally planned so really all Otohan had to do was get one person down to draw back the others. Imogen wouldn't leave Laudna, Fearne wouldn't leave Orym, Orym is the definition of last man out the door, and FCG's a healer so if someone fell and they knew they'd go back. Chetney and Ashton were the only two I could sort of see running for the hills by themselves. Then Chet refused to leave and Ashton kept coming back so they're all tied down. Like this party could've been the one to be able to scatter and meet back up but Otohan was at the top rather than the bottom of the order.

Put together, the only thing really stopping Otohan from wiping out the Hells was Imogen coming back and letting go or a series of incredible rolls.

Now maybe Matt is more ruthless than I thought but I find it hard to believe he would wipe out the rest of the party for one character's development. Especially because he had Laura roll a wisdom save when Laudna was knocked out. Not to say it wasn't in character because it definitely made sense. Relationship with Laudna or no Imogen was under a lot of stress and here was a power that could potentially save her friends and Imogen is scared of losing her friends but she's also scared of whatever this power could do and it does come down to, roll to see whether you keep your head. However, it was also taking the decision to not let go out of Laura's hands and putting it into the dice. Because if Imogen does let go then Otohan achieves their goal and is prevented from, at least immediately, continuing on their killing spree and it moves the encounter along so that the encounter can end and the remaining Hells can figure out what they're doing next. Again, it's possible that Matt was going to have Otohan just destroy the Hells bar Imogen. Maybe this type of scenario is in one of the agreements and discussions they've had about what could happen. But it seems like a lot to place on one character to me.

Now, maybe that wisdom save, and any potential future ones if Laura had rolled differently, was Matt pumping the breaks and the Hells will have to contend with the question of who to bring back. However, either way, again with how pointed this encounter felt, I find it hard to believe there isn't some way back from this.

[serenityseventeen]

Love & Letter: To The Thirteen Boys I've Loved Before

The Second Letter

----------------

To: Yoon Jeonghan

From: Y/N

Dear Jeonghan,

I hope everything's going well with you, wherever you are. I'm writing you a letter without knowing where you are so even if I did ever decide to send this letter, I wouldn't know where to mail it.

Are you doing well? Why don't you call me? Contact me somehow? Why don't you say something to me? Don't you have anything you want to say to me? Oh right, you don't have my number. I don't know any of your social media accounts and you don't know any of mine. I can search on Facebook for you, through a thousand different “Yoon Jeonghan” profiles, but what would be the point?

Actually, I'm angry with you. I'm really angry and I'm a bit heartbroken too because you just took my heart and left.

Why didn't you tell me beforehand?

I waited for you to return. I spent the rest of my freshman year waiting and I even waited through my summer break, hoping that maybe you'd come back or send a letter. School starts in a month and you still aren't here. I don't know what I feel toward you anymore because you're gone. Do I love you since I'm angry at you like this?

From the first day we met, I could tell we didn't match. I don't even know why you pursued me. You joined the basketball team and whenever you had games, you wanted me to come to watch. I didn't know why so I refused the first few games.

We had many classes together, you know that. Did you use the advantage of being in the same classes as me to try to get to know me? What were your intentions when you asked me if I had lunch? Why did you always ask my friends if I was eating well?

I have so many questions I'm dying to ask now that you're gone. One day you were laughing, joking with me while I watched you practice basketball and the next day you suddenly disappeared. One day of absence turned into months, then half a year. I didn't want to ask but I was dying to know.

Then, the answer finally came.

You moved?

Why didn't you tell me anything?

I thought we were developing something special, was that only me? I thought that you liked me, that's why you did so many things to me, making my heart race and pound. Am I wrong?

If I am wrong, why did you do it?

Maybe I'm completely getting the wrong idea and the sudden move wasn't your fault. I bet that it wasn't your fault. I'm just angry that you didn't inform me. Not everyone moves houses in one day, it takes a lot of planning, doesn't it?

Now I'm just left here, confused.

Now I'm just left here, reminiscing about my second love that disappeared. I'm still remembering the first day we met when you bumped into me at the stairs and held me to keep me from falling backward.

Jeonghan, just, where did you go?

I know this message will never reach you anyway, anyhow, so I'll tell you this much.

Because of you, I changed. Hanging out around a mischievous guy like you made me pick up your habits. Before I knew it, I was playing small pranks on my dad and enjoying it, just like when you and I teamed up to prank the gym teacher into thinking that he had sat on a freshly painted bench. I can still remember how long I laughed because of it.

I still have the pen that you forgot when you were here to study with me. My father constantly asks me where you are and I always reply that I don't know because I don't know.

You came by twice every week for three months because you wanted me to tutor you. I don't know if I became a sheep to you but even though I knew you were gifted intelligent, I tutored you anyway. Jeonghan, you were one of those people who didn't need to study to ace a test. Even your methods of trickery are intelligent.

So as I reminisce, I also wonder why you would do something like that if you didn't like me. You were the one who told me that all men act like this, wanting to be around someone, making up excuses to stay close, and doing things they won't normally do if they like someone. Was that all a trick, Jeonghan?

Not only did you study with me but you studied the times that my dad was gone and came by when he wasn't here. You were respectful toward my dad and kind too, so I wondered how you could have such a naughty nature but at the same time be so caring.

It was one of those days when my dad went to work that you came over. Look, I was so confused that's why I kept stuttering. I knew that you weren't supposed to be at my house at that time of night so we stayed on the porch, gazing at the fallen sky. What were you thinking about? You stared for a long time and didn't say a word. It was the middle of winter too and you came by with your hands tucked in your puffy black jacket with your nose cutely red. You remember this night, don't you? If you don't, I'd go even more nuts than I did.

Why did you kiss me that night?

I mean, we weren't even talking, just gazing at the sky where stars were barely visible. Then all of a sudden, you said, “Look at me.”

I turned to you and then all of a sudden, you kissed me. I honestly didn't expect to get a kiss this early in my life and for it to be from you, the second love who disappeared, I can't be any more disappointed.

Jeonghan, the thief.

Your lips were cold at first but then they grew warm. I'm also sorry if I didn't know how to kiss. I just went with the flow and followed the way your thin lips moved against mine. Your hand also touched my neck as you kissed me, I could still feel the warmth of it lingering on my skin.

After you left that night after kissing me quietly, making my heart burn in the cold night, you stroked my hair. I ran inside my room and rolled on my bed, wanting to scream on my bedsheets because my lips have finally been pressed against another man. A boy that I liked at that.

How about you?

Do you think about that night at all?

It was about two days before you moved away.

Strangely, the next days, you continued to talk to me as if you didn't kiss me the days before. I was confused but since I was naive, I just believed that's how it went for everybody.

Also, because of that kiss, I began to notice your gaze. Maybe I could have noticed something in those two days before your departure. I just remember seeing you gazing at me with different eyes. I want to believe that you had fallen for me, but because of you, I'm being delusional like this.

The only way to know is when you finally decide to speak it true somewhere and it reaches me.

In this letter to you, I just can't help expressing the emotions I'm feeling. I have nowhere else to rant and I need you to know about my feelings though you'll never receive this letter.

Gosh, writing this letter makes me remember the weekend that you took me biking on a couple bicycle. Why did you ask me to go with you when you were leaving the next day? It's not like you at all. Knowing you for those short six months, you would have just told me with a pitiful face, “I'm going to move.”

Instead, you kissed me and decided to take me biking. I can still remember that grin on your face when you came to my house and said, “Hop on, Y/N.”

The wind that hit my face that day was amazing and my heart was racing just to have my hands around your waist.

Because of you, I became rebellious for the first time. I never disobeyed my father. He told me to go buy groceries that day and I went on a bike ride with you, enjoying the chilly winter breeze and ditching groceries. When we arrived at the basketball court, I watched and played a bit of basketball with you. Do you know what that means, Jeonghan?

Were you aware this whole time of my feelings? I know you can read other people's expressions well.

I can't understand you, Jeonghan. I don't think I ever will unless you come back and tell me.

I won't believe what any of your friends say even if it's the only source I have. ‘You moved away because a different high school was giving you bigger opportunities’, how am I supposed to believe that? In the middle of the school year?

Now, all I can do is sigh.

I won't wait for you anymore. That's why I'm just going to leave it. I loved you. Now, you're just one of the boys I've loved. I'm not going to spend the rest of my summer waiting to find a needle in a haystack.

I'll remember how I loved you. I'll remember how you changed me. I'll remember how loving you changed me.

I'll wonder sometimes about what we could have been if you didn't leave. If you didn't leave, I think I would have still been in love with you. Now, I'm pretty sure I would still be in love with you, at least for a little longer.

Please, send me a letter.

I know the chances are low.

I'm still angry at you for not telling me. If you did like me and think you did it for our own good, you're wrong. At least I wouldn't have had to wait and worry for the weeks that you disappeared that your life's clock stopped ticking. If you did tell me beforehand, I would have known that you'd be fine and that you were just moving away.

Did you have no faith in us?

Or did you really find a better opportunity in a better high school somewhere far away?

I'm still angry.

Is this what you call ‘the one that got away’?

Anyway, I don't love you now, but if you come back, I might again. I can't make up my mind.

I miss you, Jeonghan.

Sincerely,

Y/N

-------------------

© serenityseventeen

6/18/21 - 9:51 pm

a/n: SEVENTEEN back on Instagram?? Seungcheol, Minghao, Vernon, Joshua, and Seungkwan posted today/yesterday. I didn't even notice WOOZI changed his profile picture. Also, I find Seungkwan and Seungcheol so funny...

SC: you are my escape

SK: you are my s.coups

But yay? Seventeen is back on Instagram!

[writer-dreams]

Colors (Draco Malfoy X Reader)

I'll be honest, I've had this one fully written since last week. I've just been very nervous to post it because the ending is so bad 😅. I haven't been sure how to fix it and I've re-written it several times. This fic is definitely rushed but hey, it's a one-shot (and I wanted to try writing something short and sweet for once). This is still part of the Cliche Month Challenge by @wreckofawriter (sorry this was so late). I've finally gained enough courage to post it and I hope you enjoy this messy fic.

Prompt: An AU where you can only see the shades of your soulmate's eyes until you first touch.

House: You choose

Blood Status: You choose

Warnings: Possible swearing

Note: Again, very messy. Not sure I like this one too much. The reader in this story is female / uses female pronouns.

Word Count: 1,694 words

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3rd Person POV

Y/n opened her eyes to see the world was still the same shade of steel grey. She longed to know what the world truly looked like, to see actual colors other than this grey. When she was younger, she was ecstatic to learn that someone out there was destined to be with her. She used to fantasize about meeting her soulmate, seeing in color and her falling in love. She imagined what her soulmate would look like, what their personality was like, their likes and dislikes.

Now, as she grew older, she began to develop fears. What if they didn't like her? Even if the universe had put them together, there was still a chance they could reject her. What if she didn't like them? She never considered herself to be a picky person, especially when it came to love, but that didn't mean that they couldn't have a horrible personality. All of her friends have already met with their soulmates, and it did seem like they matched each other perfectly. They always talked about how beautiful the world was and how they couldn't wait until she could see the colors too.

She snapped out of her thoughts. Taking a deep breath, she walked off to the courtyard, hoping a good book could distract her from the whole soulmate situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/n wasn't sure how much time had passed when she finally finished her book. A few hours, at least. She looked around the courtyard, seeing that she was the only one there. She sighed, deciding to go back inside. Y/n looked at the sky, dreaming about the day she could finally see the blue sky her friends talked about. She wondered how beautiful the night sky looked when it was in full color, how pretty a sunset could be. Yet, all she could see was grey. She was almost at the point where she would begin to resent the color. Still, she remained patient, still trying to hold on to the small shred of hope that she would someday meet the one.

On her way in, she bumped into someone rather harshly. The two fell back, Y/n closing her eyes and rubbing her head gently from where it hit the ground. When she opened her eyes, her mind was blown as suddenly, she could see the world in color. Amazed, Y/n slowly took in her surroundings, admiring the green grass and the blue sky. She looked at the bark of the trees, the castle, the white fluffy clouds. Her eyes began to fill with tears as she slowly let it all sink in. She could see, she could finally see! It was all so much more beautiful than she could have ever imagined.

The boy in front of her got up with a groan. In her dazed state, Y/n had almost forgotten about him. She looked back at him to see platinum blonde hair and grey eyes looking back at her. Her face immediately became shocked as she recognized that familiar face, those eyebrows, those thin lips, those sharp cheekbones. Draco Malfoy.

Said boy looked back at her with the same shocked eyes. He glanced quickly around him, an astonished expression on his face. His grey eyes landed back on her, almost in disbelief.

"You're my—" They both whispered.

Y/n couldn't do this. Even when he didn't know they were soulmates, Draco Malfoy was a bigoted twat. How could the universe possibly pair her up with him? Y/n shook her head, before she got up and quickly retreated to her dormitory. She could hear Draco calling after her but she ignored him and simply kept running.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When she arrived, most of her friends were already there, talking amongst each other on their beds. At the sound of the door opening, they all turned their heads and greeted her. Y/n still couldn't believe that she could see in color because of Draco Malfoy. Now, she could see the color or her friend's hairs and their eyes. She turned to a mirror and examined her reflection, playing with her (h/c) hair. She could see that she had (e/c) eyes, which was so surprising, considering that she had only seen a grey version of herself for years.

"Hey, Y/n! I just want you to know that you're beautiful and you better not be saying bad things about yourself to that mirror!" (F/n) said.

"I'm not....I just...."

"You'll find your soulmate eventually, Y/n. Then you can finally see how pretty you are." Another friend reassured.

Y/n smiled back at her, not sure if she should tell her friends that she met them and that it was the worst possible matchup ever. She decided against it, telling herself that the universe had made a mistake. There was no way that Malfoy was her soulmate, she refused to believe it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Almost a week had passed after that incident and Y/n was still avoiding Draco. She could see him trying to reach out to her but she would quickly lose him in the crowded hallways. Everyday, every hour, she was playing a game of avoidance cat and mouse. She had gotten pretty good at it too, swiftly navigating her way through all the students.

Today was just another one of those days. There she was again, quickly walking through the crowds, afraid that she would see Malfoy and have to talk to him. Luckily for her, she managed to make it to class without running into him. She settled into her seat next to her friends, who were quietly gossiping to each other.

"Malfoy's been pretty quiet lately. Hasn't been taunting Potter or anything. He's not even picking on any first years."

"Maybe Dumbledore's finally had enough of his behaviour. Or maybe his father threatened to ground him or something."

Y/n stayed silent, listening in to their conversation. Great, even if she could physically escape Malfoy, he was still there in conversation. It really seemed like the universe was insistent that it was right with this pairing.

"Could you guys stop talking about Malfoy? He's old news anyway. Who cares if he's not bullying anyone for once? Maybe he's actually become a decent person." Y/n snapped.

Her friends looked at each other. "What's gotten you so riled up? You care about him or something?"

"Nothing. I just don't wanna hear about him. Let's just focus on the class, okay?"

Her friends nodded slowly, looking at her suspiciously before they changed the topic of their conversation. Why did she defend him? Everyone, including her, knew that he was a prat and that wasn't changing. Y/n sighed quietly, feeling frustrated. Another thing she had kept to herself was a feeling of longing for the blonde male. He appeared in her dreams like a prince offering to sweep her off her feet. She'd feel drawn to him when she saw him in the hallways, even when she forced herself to stay away from him. Y/n was afraid as to what it could mean, she couldn't accept the truth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After classes ended, she continued through her usual route back to her dormitory. Unfortunately for her, Draco Malfoy was waiting for her right at the entrance. She quickly turned to try and make a getaway but he grabbed her arm.

"Wait. L/n, can we please talk?"

"What's there to talk about?" Y/n asked coldly, even when her heart fluttered at his touch.

"Just, come with me." Draco began pulling her away as Y/n rolled her eyes and allowed him to drag her.

He took her to an empty hallway, where he finally let her go. Y/n looked at him expectantly, putting her hands on her hips. She knew this was coming, there was no avoiding it, especially when the universe constantly pushed them together. The universe can rot in hell.

"So...we both know that we're.....soulmates. Why do you avoid it?" He sounded hurt, and Y/n's heart ached at the thought of that.

"Because, you're Draco Malfoy. You bully Potter and practically everyone else in this school. All you care about is blood status, the Slytherin house, and impressing your arsehole daddy. You're a spoiled brat who acts like you're entitled to everything, and I refuse to be one of those things just because I'm your 'soulmate'." Y/n growled at him.

He seemed to take everything she said into consideration, which was extremely out of character for him. "I can change, Y/n. I can change for you. In fact, I already have. Haven't you noticed how silent I've been? It's been the talk of the school this entire week." He said, desperately. Y/n wondered why he was so persistent, why did he continuously chase her, even when she actively ran away?

"You feel it too, don't you? A pull to me, like a bond?" Draco asked, watching her carefully. Y/n didn't answer but her silence gave her away. "I feel it too. I see you in my dreams and Merlin, I feel my heart race when I see you. I know you think this is a mistake, but the universe doesn't make mistakes. I love you, Y/n. Just give me a chance to prove it." Draco took her hand softly.

Y/n felt it. Some sort of invisible bond tying her to him. The universe had her in its clutches and it would not let her go. She felt her heart tighten and she sighed. What could it hurt to try? Clearly, the universe wasn't giving up on this and maybe there was a good reason for that. She remembered that feeling of longing for the Slytherin boy and bit her lip.

Damn it all.

She took Draco's face and smashed her lips against his. It felt like everything clicked into place as he held her face and kissed back. His lips fit perfectly against hers and she could feel the world around them stop. It was as if the universe was satisfied with its work and was allowing them to enjoy their moment. She pulled away and opened her eyes, the colors around her seemingly more vibrant than before. Draco looked at her with the widest smile on his face.

"I'll take that as a yes?" He chuckled.

"Don't make me regret it, soulmate." Y/n smiled back.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Permanent Taglist (if your name is crossed out, I couldn't tag you for some reason):

@my-name-is-jazzy-x

**********************************************

Thank you so much for reading! This was pretty hard to write (I guess I'm not that good at soulmate AU's yet 😅). I hope it wasn't too horrible to read. Yes, I am still working on requests while I'm writing these things (I promise). Thank you again for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Until next time.

-Jade

[snapdragon-mina]

Sunflowers and Snakes

Pairing: Dabi x Reader x Hawks

A/n: Written for the Bnha spring time event. Hi @amaamajiki , I'm your anon! I really hope you like this lmao.

Word Count: 2.25k

Warnings: Sorta spoilers for bnha, swearing, blood mention, Suggestive themes(Very very minor)

For the first time in about a month, You could go home on time. The restaurant you worked in constantly asked for you to work overtime. The only reason you continuously agreed was for that sweet sweet paycheck. Fortunately, everyone else was at work and did their jobs, so you were free to go home and cuddle the shit out of your dog. 

When you got home, all you could hear was the sound of paws on wood before your life flashed before your eyes. Seems your dog missed you a little too much because he pounced, knocking you off balance, and eagerly started licking your face. 

"Okay! Okay! Hey let's make a deal. If you get off of me, I'll give you a surprise?" You held your dog away from your face with one arm, while wiping off the sheer amount of dog slobber that was on your face with the other. The dog paused as if he were thinking before moving off of you and sitting down with a sharp bark. 

"That's a good boy." You smiled at him before turning on the TV for background noise. You walked into the kitchen to fix your dog's food. After pouring the food into the bowl, you stuck a lil treat in there. Boom! Recipe for a happy Schnauzer. The moment you sat the bowl down, he shot forwards and barely gave you back out of the way. 

Shaking your head, you walked back into your living room and sat on the couch. Moments of complete peace were hard to come by. After the fall of All Might, nobody was really safe. I mean, Endeavor doesn't give a shit about his fans, so why should you trust him to protect you? 

From what you gathered, the number two hero, Hawks has actually started searching for his soulmate. When asked to show off his tattoo, he refused. Something about "The thrill of the hunt". 

Tattoos are typically two of a kind. Only two people would have the same tattoo. Speaking of soulmate tattoos, Yours was a Snake winding around a single sunflower. It was actually huge, since it covered your entire left arm. It was a really cool design when you think about it.

A small whine managed to shake you out of your thoughts. You got up, grabbed the yellow leash, and hooked it to the matching yellow collar your dog wore. "Come on pretty pup, it's been awhile since I've had time to go on a walk, huh?"

He barked in response as his stubby little tail wagged rapidly. You opened the door and locked it behind you before letting yourself be led by your dog. Around five minutes into the walk, you felt your arm grow warm. Apparently your soulmate was close. It was like a game of hot and cold until you bumped into a guy with a black trenchcoat. Your arm felt extremely hot, so you looked at him. 

"You gonna apologize? You were the one that bumped into me." He had a relatively bored tone of voice. He was eerily calm for someone to be in this scenario. It felt like his eyes were staring deeply into your soul.

"Yeah uh, sorry… But-" You couldn't even finish your sentence, because he walked off with a dismissive wave. You wanted to follow after him, but your dear dog had decided he wanted to shit right then and there. You were forced to wait on him to finish. 

After cleaning up and disposing of the waste, you just decided to go back home to get some much deserved rest.

•••

Two weeks later, you had a day off and it was really nice outside, so why not go for a walk through the forest? You went through your typical morning routine and got dressed. You fed your dog and took him out for a bit. "Alright pup, I'll be back soon, okay?" You blew a lil air kiss and left the house. 

After roughly 15 minutes, you reached a clearing in the forest. It was peaceful and nothing seemed to be out of place. There was a river a few steps away from you, and all sorts of flowers blooming. The trees actually provided very nice shade. You wouldn't mind living out here or at least somewhere just as peaceful as it was out here.

You took a deep breath and sat on a nearby stump, just taking in nature. You didn't get to enjoy the peace for long, due to the sudden burn on your left arm. Your soulmate was quickly approaching your location. You glanced around, but didn't see anyone. Yet your arm was getting warmer and warmer. 

Suddenly, a voice spoke out. "You're the person from that night, right?"

You recognized that voice. You focused on where the sound came from and fixated on where he was standing. He was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed. "Yeah, I am. Hey can I-"

"I'm not your soulmate." He interjected. You shot him a confused look. There was no way you were wrong about this. "Don't believe me? I don't even have a tattoo." He held up both of his scarred arms. 

This only served to confuse you more. "Yeah no, I'm right. There's no fucking way I'm wrong." You shot back. He raised an eyebrow at you. 

"Are you sure about that? People are born without soulmates, y'know." He said.

"Let's say you aren't my soulmate. Why the hell did you follow me here?" You sighed, already annoyed that he ruined your perfectly peaceful moment. 

"Because I know who is." 

"Why would you help me? You don't seem like the type to help someone just out of the kindness of your heart." You narrowed your eyes and he laughed. He laughed at you. 

"Oh trust me, I'll be getting a pretty little payment for this," His eyes shone with amusement. "Follow me."

He walked off. Bold of him to assume you were gonna follow him. You stayed put for a moment before ultimately realizing it was useless. You had to speed walk to catch up to him. He walked out of the forest and towards a building that was pretty much hidden from view. 

Your arm was still extremely warm, due to you being close to the strange man. Hold on. You don't even know his name and yet you followed him to some secluded building where he's probably gonna-

"Dabi." 

The statement broke you out of your train of thought. That was… weirdly coincidental. He suddenly announced his name just as your mind began to wander. "Yeah… I'm Y/l/n Y/n…" 

He just hummed in response, as he continued to lead you through the strange building. Eventually the two of you came to a stop. The both of you stood in front of a door that had been painted red. He didn't even bother knocking and simply opened the door, revealing none other than the number two hero. 

Hawks' head perked up at the sound of the door opening and grinned lazily. "Hey, thanks again for bringing her." He had a glint in his eyes. Like he knew something you didn't. 

"Mhm. I'm expecting my… you piece of shit." Dabi trailed off before there was suddenly emotion in his voice. It definitely wasn't a good one. Had something happened between the two of them? Should you leave? Yeah… you definitely should. Dabi seemed extremely hostile and you were getting bad vibes. You went to take a step back but paused when you felt a hand tightly grip your wrist. 

"Huh?"

"You aren't going anywhere" His eyes were still focused on Hawks. Nobody moved for a moment before suddenly, the hostility drained from the air. Dabi let go of your wrist and walked out of the room. 

"Hawks-"

"Call me Keigo."

"Okay, Keigo… can you explain to me why I'm here?" The past like 5 minutes was a trip from start to finish and you really wanted answers. Keigo patted the spot next to him, so you took a seat and waited for him to start. 

"Your arm still feels really warm despite Dabi no longer being in the room, right?" His feathers ruffled slightly as a breeze drifted through the window. You nodded, unsure of what to think before it hit you. His grin got wider and he removed his jacket. "Well, Y/n, we're soulmates." He held out his left arm for you to see. Low and behold, The exact same tattoo was covering it. 

You felt extremely happy that you'd found your soulmate, but still extremely confused. How did your tattoo still burn in Dabi's presence if Hawks was your soulmate? It didn't make sense. 

"I should probably explain Dabi since he won't do it himself, and you're probably hella confused. Dabi is also our soulmate." 

That… that actually makes sense. You nod as Hawks explains everything and suddenly he gets to a topic that you'd been curious about for a while now.

"Because of his scarring, he no longer has the tattoo. But nature had him covered because he developed a telepathic connection to both of us. Aka, he can very easily read our minds."

That made even more sense. But that doesn't explain why he refused you as a soulmate. You shook off that thought and decided to get to know Hawks a little better. Eventually the two of you came to an agreement. Since you liked to cook, and he liked eating, sometime this month, you'd bake or fry chicken for him. 

It was starting to get dark and your dog probably missed you, so you decided to try to find Dabi. 

Dabi did not want to be found. It took you 30 minutes to finally get to him, and when you did he ignored any small talk you tried to initiate. Eventually he grew tired of your shit. "Look, I'm not your soulmate. Leave me alone."

"Yeah? Bullshit. Hawks explained everything to me. Why are you brushing me off?" 

"I don't fucking need a soulmate. Certainly not someone like you or Hawks." He snarled, turning on his heels to walk away. 

"I don't care about what you think you need. You need us, you can't deny that!" You argued back. You were really starting to get sick of this.

"I can and I will." 

And with that, he walked away. You balled your hands into fists tightly. You would've stayed, but your dog needed someone to take care of him.

•••

Almost a month had gone by since that argument, between you and Dabi and you hadn't heard from him since. Hawks moved in and actively bothered the hell out of your dog. He would complain about him biting his feathers, but you would often catch him sleeping with y/d/n curled up at his side. 

You were in the middle of baking cookies when a crash could be heard from within the house. You grabbed a kitchen knife and went to investigate the sound. It couldn't have been the dog, he was asleep when the crash was heard. Silently walking into the room the sound was heard from, you were kinda shocked to see him. 

He had numerous cuts in various sizes on his body. All of them were bleeding. "I just need somewhere to lay low for a bit, I'll be gone by morning." 

"Dabi…" Your heart ached at the sight of him, but you refused to be someone he could walk all over. "Get out."

It seemed like he was too preoccupied to listen to your thoughts, because your words shocked him. "...Out? Y/n, it's me." 

"I know. But you said you didn't need us, yet here you are." You stood your ground and he stared up at you for a moment. He was analyzing you, seeming like he was studying you for a weakness he could exploit. 

He let out a sigh and spoke under his breath. You raised an eyebrow at this and he cleared his throat before speaking up. "...I'm sorry. I just… don't want the two of you dragged down with me."

"Elaborate." You demanded and he nodded. 

"I'm a villain, you're a civilian, and Hawks is the number two hero. Being associated with me is like killing your chances to actually do something with your life." He hissed out. Seemed like the pain from his wounds was getting to him. 

You helped him up and led him into the bathroom. There, you cleaned up and bandaged his wounds. He studied your face carefully and you worked. "No hard feelings?" 

"No hard feelings. But Keigo should be getting home soon, so you're gonna have to relay your little speech again." You snorted as you finished up. He stood up and walked out of the bathroom with you trailing behind him. 

The two of you walked into the kitchen. You pulled the cookies out of the oven and offered one up as a peace treaty. He rolled his eyes and pecked you on your lips as a peace treaty. 

A minute or so later, Hawks walked in. He noticed Dabi sitting on the counter with a chamomile flower crown on his head. How you managed to get him to wear that is unknown to humanity. 

"Yeah, I'm gonna live here from now on. And no, you won't be topping."

Hawks rolled his eyes as you laughed. "At least you're not being a pussy about soulmates anymore."

"Fuck you too."

[tsuki-kirigakure]

My Top 10 Voltage Men

I had a really hard time in doing this I can't choose. 😥 I'm probably gonna shuffle this again next time I do this because there are still tons of guys I haven’t added. 😅 I also took hours in making this because Tumblr is being a btxh and won’t let me save nor post this. 😒

Thanks for the tag @mandyinwonderland ♥

10th: Riki Yanase ♡ [Love Letter from Thief X]

Riki is one of the guys I've been very addicted to.  I would spend my days (if I'm not at school) and nights reading his stories. He kinds of come out as an arrogant guy but he's really sweet and loving and passionate about the people he loves. He would always make them happy and safe and would put them and their happiness first. 

9th: Huedhaut ♡ [Star Crossed Myth]

When I first saw the summary or the preview for Hue’s story, I knew that I had to read it and I wasn’t wrong. This guy is a snarky hot and smart guy which rules the Zodiac sign Aquarius. He makes the best wines and all but he’s broken and refused to acknowledge love again after losing you, the previous goddess of fate, the love of his life. He sacrificed one of the stars in his life to make sure that you live. His sarcastic and funny comments would make you laugh, his painful past with the goddess of fate would make you cry, but his sweet and flowery words and gestures would definitely make you swoon. I swear.

8th: Ryota Mochizuki ♡ [Our Private Homeroom]

Before I played this story I had reservations about playing this game. Since I wasn't fond of teacher-student relationships and only went for student-student and teacher-teacher types, but boy did this story proved me wrong. I was practically smitten with him for being such a cutie and A MATH TEACHER. HE LOVES MATH AND SO DO I. We instantly clicked y’know? What’s better is that he’s kind to all of his students and cheers them on and just shows how damn good of a teach he is. Then he can like see and recognize your hard work and would totally cheer you on when you’re losing faith on yourself. He would also prioritize you, your dreams and your happiness above anything and would sacrifice his job that he loves and fight for you.

7th: Kyohei Rikudoh ♡ [Scandal in the Spotlight]

BBY KYO ❤ THIS GUY MAKES THE ABSOLUTE BEST FRIED RICE APPARENTLY HEHE JUST A FUN FACT. It was love at first sight with this guy. He’s the sexiest man alive I think? Well that’s true for me at least hihi. Kyohei loves to tease you and do sweet things for you. He would sacrifice everything for you and always put you and your happiness first. He loves seeing you blush and smile and make all those “cute expressions”. He would protect, care, love and cherish those important to him. He’s strict with work but that’s because Revance is really important to him. He’s hot and he knows it. He loves spending time with you especially alone times hihi 😉 He may come off as arrogant to other people but really, he’s just a handsome and easily jealous cutie pie. ❤

6th: Toma Kiriya ♡ [Irresistible Mistakes]

HERE COMES ONE OF MY SNARKIEST MOST SARCASTIC BUT LOVING AND SWEET AND UNDERSTANDING AND SUPPORTIVE CUTIE. He loves sugary drinks tbh he says it gives his brain the energy it needs. He loves to work and he’s good at what he does, usually handpicked for big projects. He’s unstoppable with MC beside him hihi. He’s so cute when he blush like he’s such a cutie pie. He’s probably the best guy to have a conversation with, like literally he cracks me up every time and makes me happy every time I see his face. I’m in love hihi. WHY CAN’T TOMA EXIST IN REAL LIFE?! HE’S JUST SO PERFECT.

5th: Tsumugu Kido ♡ [Our Two Bedroom Story]

Here comes my awkwardly cute, blushes easily when he says or does something sweet or bold or when MC does the same, king of tightwads. He’s what you would call stingy but it’s just because of how hard it was for them in the past. He’s good with his work and has a “split-personality” hehe when he’s at work and at home. He loves the MC so much and knows how hard she works as well as how good she is at work but would never openly admit it in normal times. He’s such a cutie pie who loves strawberries and HIS SIBLINGS ARE SO CUTE AND PRETTY, sazuku being the cute and sakura and mizuki being the pretty ones. I love his puns and jokes. He loves seeing you happy and would be happy knowing that you are. HE’S SUCH A CUTIE I SWEAR BRO.  

4th: Izaac Martin ♥ [Gossip Girl Party]

YOU GUYS, DO YOU PEOPLE EVEN KNOW OR REMEMBER GOSSIP GIRL PARTY? BECAUSE I CERTAINLY DO. THIS GAME IS STILL AND WILL FOREVER BE IN MY HEART AND MIND AND NOTHING CAN EVER MAKE ME FORGET THIS ESPECIALLY MY BABY IZAAC. Y’KNOW SEEING THE FAREWELL MESSAGES THEY GAVE US WAS DEFINITELY HEARTBREAKING. I WAS FREAKING CRYING THE WHOLE ASJAKDDGDSNVKDJBVUD TIMES I READ THAT MESSAGE. WHY DID VOLTAGE HAVE TO REMOVE IT FROM GOOGLE PLAY? WHY CAN’T WE JUST KEEP THEM EVEN IF THEY WON’T UPDATE IT ANYMORE? 😭💔 But okay let me just say that Izaac is my forever babe even if I hated one of his stories that led me to uninstalling the app and reinstalling it again right away hehe. He’s like perfect. He would tease you with his words but would also say and do the sweetest things. He loves you so much and knows you so well. He’ll support you in the things you wanna do and he’d be really proud of you. I love this guy so much you know and I miss him so bad 😭💔

3rd: My Forevs Inspiration and Smexiest Cool Baby, Kiyohito Shirakami ♥ [Kings of Paradise]

OMG BABY KIYO OKAY HERE IT GOES WE’RE DOWN TO MY TOP 3. Kiyo is what would seem to be cold and indifferent. He would also be considered as strict and is like a robot who constantly works and doesn’t feel or show feelings at all. That’s what I thought at first too but his harsh words are actually very sweet in his own ways because he believes in you. He doesn’t want you to be sad and wants you to regain the confidence you lost. His story has inspired me to overcome my anxiety and do my best in the things I thought I couldn’t do. He would tell MC to decide on her own and he would grade her as well as to go beyond because she can. The story doesn’t just revolve around sweet stuffs tbh it also includes growth in both Kiyo and MC and it’s one of the best y’know. Kiyo also loves it when MC is being honest with him and is greedy with him as well. His ways have truly changed MC and you guys his story is really meaningful. And bro age doesn’t really matter here. I even forgot that Kiyo is younger than MC. hihi. 

2nd: My Precious Hot Ninja, Saizo Kirigakure ♥ [Samurai Love Ballad Party]

OKAY LAST TWO WOHOO HERE COMES MY BABE SAIZO!!!!! Okay so this guy is one of the best. He freaking write smuts HAHAHAHAHAHA kidding aside you guys saizo would seem like a cold, heartless killing machine but that’s because he was trained to be like that. He was trained in Iga to be a fearless killing machine that would carry out missions without feeling anything. But HAVE YOU GUYS EVER READ HIS POVS?!?!?!?! BRO THAT IS NOT HOW AN EMOTIONLESS KILLING MACHINE IS BRO HE’S SO SWEET AND PRECIOUS AND WOULD GIVE AWAY HIS LIFE FOR MC EVEN IF OFC WE DON’T WANT THAT! I WOULD NEVER WANT TO SEE MY BABY DIE LIKE I WOULD CRY AND MY WORLD WOULD STOP SPINNING AGAIN @voltageparty pls don’t do anything stupid. And so Saizo loves his little lady so much even if he doesn’t say it often but he would let you feel it. Your smile would brighten up his day and maybe even his life. You’re the only reason he wants to live because he wants to go home to you. He always wants you to be safe and happy. Baby ninja, always remember that the moon is beautiful. ❤

1st and would probably be always my first, the King, Eisuke Ichinomiya ♥ [Kissed by The Baddest Bidder]

AND HERE WE ARE TO MY FOREVER BABE EVER SINCE IT WAS RELEASED. Yes you read it right, I just fell in love with him before the game was released because at that time I thought that game was too mature for my age when I based it off their trailer. But I still tried it hehe Eisuke is known as the “King”. He owns the Tres Spades Hotel and the head of the Ichinomiya Group. He’s aloof, bossy and isn’t the type to be full on honest but he has a kind heart. He’s DEFINITELY HANDSOME and is a great leader and businessman. Despite his heartless facade, women would always surround him and beg for his attention even if he wouldn’t pay attention to them. He’s easy to misunderstand for being cruel and ruthless, but don’t be fooled, he’s doing things for a good reason.During his first season tho, he thought of you as a pawn, just something that he owns to be used, but the character development after passing through that phase was definitely tear-jerking and heart melting, all in a good way of course.  Another thing that I love about Eisuke is how his stories understands and helps solving one of the social problems in the world, shaming people, both physically, emotionally and also mentally. It has helped not only me, but many other people out there to love and accept who they are and that they don’t need to change and just be themselves. I’m really glad that I got to meet and fall in love with Eisuke for this long. He has and will always have a special place in my heart. The moon is beautiful, Eisuke and it will always be. ❤

I'm still wondering why people hate Eisuke like why

[sydney-stylites-blog]

Of betrayals and backstabbings | The Dragonpit edition

Yeah the title really doesn't make a lot of sense, but I liked how it sounded 🤷🏻 I kind of wanted to explore the whole Jon betraying Dany thing again, and why the Dragonpit scene conclusively ended any doubts I might have had regarding that.

I've been staunchly against the concept of Jon betraying Dany and I've addressed it multiple times already. Betraying Dany doesn't fit in Jon's character sketch. There a million already existing problems which everyone has to deal with, and Jon playing Dany is not one of them. Of course, then we have the classic case of Ygritte brought up. If Jon could betray her for the Night's Watch, why can't he betray Dany for his family? What antis conveniently forget every time they bring this up is that Ygritte (and the wildlings) were coming to destroy the Night's Watch (and a ton of innocent people while at it). So Jon betrayed her because he had no other option. Dany is coming with her armies and dragons to save Jon's home, save the North...so why, why would Jon betray her? What would he have to gain by this?

Consider this. When Sansa and Arya played Littlefinger, that was awesome! We not only supported it, but we were thrilled af when it happened! But what about when Littlefinger had betrayed Ned Stark, and that was after telling him he shouldn't have trusted him? I mean, he had warned him earlier hadn't he? So the betrayal wasn't out of the blue, right? It was something we should have been expecting, wasn't it? But did we support that? Did we agree with or sympathise with Littlefinger?

And okay, when Jon betrayed Ygritte, who did you agree with more? Did you feel bad for Ygritte but also felt that Jon had done the right thing? Could you see Jon's struggle between love and duty and acknowledge that the right choice wasn't as easy to make?

Why were our reactions different to all those situations? Short answer - motive. Our reaction to betrayals are based on the motive, and how well it is portrayed in the narrative. 'A woman murdered a man' evokes a different reaction than 'a woman executed a man who had led to the death of her own father'. Throw in the fact that he was still trying to get her to kill her sister, and we not only agree with the woman in question here, we are positively cheering her on! Because that's the difference motive makes - it justifies actions otherwise considered wrong, and we have numerous examples of it in Game of Thrones. My personal favorite, of course, is Jaime and the Kingslayer story because it perfectly highlights the difference between us knowing the reason, or judging the action as it stands.

So what could be Jon's motives for playing Dany?

We have the obvious, to protect his family and Winterfell from the unstable witch (that is supposedly Dany on tumblr).

But that's the thing again antis. Dany has never once, not once threatened or even implied in extremely vague terms anything that could be constituted to be a threat to Winterfell or the Starks. In all their interactions, whenever she wanted Jon to bend the knee, she never even went in the general area of threatening his family if he refused to. The issue of family wasn't brought up at all in that sense, so the idea that she would harm his family now, after having clearly developed feelings for him, has only sprung from the minds of the Jonsa Fandom who very much want it to be true because it justifies their POV and their ship. Because the assumption that Dany would want to destroy Winterfell, destroy the Starks and Jon realized this and is appeasing her by catering to her romantic feelings would work extremely well if, if it had been implied anywhere at least once, even if vaguely. But it hasn't been portrayed, and by itself fails to suffice as the motive setting up Jon conning Dany.

Jon will never betray Northern independence for love, and is only faking it to protect the North from Dany's ire.

Considering that the North was already protected from Dany's ire before Jon pledged himself to her, I don't even know where this comes from. Dany promised to fight the White Walkers without asking anything in return (an action which squarely put her in the 'good guy' category), Jon playing her to accomplish something which had already been accomplished is not only senseless, paranoic and unnecessary, but it also would then put him firmly in the douchebag category. Dany let him keep the North, only for him to offer it to her twice, and then ultimately turn right around and say lol, kidding?? Really Jonsa peeps? That makes sense to any of you? Why is it so hard to accept that Jon judged her worthy of his allegiance? But of course, that wouldn't work for the antis and this mess is far more appealing.

About the Northern independence though, I've already mentioned it before, but I'll say it again. The whole 'King in the North' concept arose because the Starks would not accept the Lannisters as their king, not after what they had done. Supporting the Baratheons would have been treasonous and dishonourable, and would have embroiled them in a civil war they had no interest in being part of. The main reason however, was that the Northern Lords had grown disillusioned with the Southern kings who did not care about the Northern issues at all and only paid attention to the North when it was in their own interests. Now, with Daenerys pledging herself to defeat the White Walkers, the entire dynamic of the game had changed, the Southern ruler in point, was not a Lannister or a Baratheons, but a Targaryen, who was coming to save the North instead of abandoning them to their plight and, contrary to popular belief, could in fact be trusted. The North Remembers, and it is this that Jon hopes the North will remember once the Walkers have been defeated, that Daenerys is not her father. So, in short, Jon is not playing Dany for Northern independence because it's frankly ridiculous and the alternative (he feels she's a worthy ruler) makes much more sense in this case.

Jon is playing Dany for Sansa's sake, either because he took her advice about not making mistakes seriously or he's deeply in love with her.

This is a very shipper reason, as canonically there has been no love shown from either of them, but I would have still accepted this reason if they hadn't already made it crystal clear that Jon and Sansa don't agree politically. They both have different views regarding politics, and while Jon does ask her for her opinions, he does what he believes he should do anyway. Also, while Sansa has a more grounded worldview which takes into account people's feelings and motivations - rewarding those true to you for their loyalty (Karstarks and Umbers), taking Cersei more seriously, not abandoning the North and literally everything else, Jon's are more idealistic and based on his strong moral code of 'honor' - not taking the castles away from the Karstarks and Umbers, choosing to believe in Tyrion, putting his own life on the line to save his people (by going to Dragonstone). Jon has been consistently portrayed, all throughout this season, as valuing honor above everything - a very strong Ned Stark trait tbh - and not taking Sansa's advice as seriously as he should (which is what she notices as well, and it upsets her). So with this set-up, believing that he is actually playing Dany because of what Sansa has told him is, quite frankly, a stretch, because there is no narrative indication which would make us believe that. This would also explain Sansa's reaction to learning he had bent the knee, she's resigned to it because she knows that though Jon loves and respects her, he still does what he thinks is the right thing to do. Also, Sansa doesn't berate him for doing what he did in the way she would have had she believed he had been repeating Ned's and Robb's mistakes - - > she doesn't believe he's making those mistakes ie bending the knee to Dany is not disastrous (as the antis would have you believe). Sansa is upset because Jon clearly didn't consider asking Sansa's opinion about a very important political decision, and she's upset because she knows that the Northern Lords will not accept this easily, but she doesn't react as if it's the worst thing in the world ever, nor does she act thoughtful, which would have indicated that all is not as it seems. In short, Sansa's reaction is very much expected under the circumstances, which are that Jon doesn't take her as seriously as he should. And given this, it seems unlikely to imagine that he's in cahoots with Sansa and they're taking down the Dragon Queen together (together! 😂)

Every reason for Jon playing Dany would have worked if the narrative had given some sort of suggestion about a possible motive, some indication of Jon treating Sansa's advice seriously, or made Jon give up the North before she pledged to fight the Walkers. And the nail in the coffin for the 'undercover lover' theory was the Dragonpit scene. Nothing would have cast stronger doubts on whether Jon truly loves Dany or not, than him accepting the truce. Despite it being the smart political move, it would have also raised a tiny red flag regarding Jon's true intentions, in my mind at least. Jon basically had nothing to lose by accepting the truce, nothing except for his honor. And that made him refuse! It wasn't just him making a public proclamation that he loves Dany (although it sorta was 😂), it was him being faced with a choice to sacrifice his honor, his word, to get what he wanted, it was him being asked to choose whether he truly was his father's son, it was him being expected by the one who knew the truth to do the dishonourable thing for the greater good. He could have lied and supported Dany later, he could simply have walked away from the battles to come because they didn't directly concern him and his people and let Dany fend for herself. But would it have been the honorable thing to do? Smarter, yes. Wiser, yes. More beneficial to his own people, yes. But honorable? After taking Dany's help to defeat the White Walkers, which let's be honest, are a far greater threat to the North than anywhere else, after taking her armies and dragons to save his home and then turning his back on her when Cersei came at her with fresh forces would have been as far from honor as possible. If Jon has indeed been playing Dany all along, then he should have accepted Cersei's offer - which would not only have placated the Northern Lords later, but would also have served as a potential hint of him playing Dany. But in keeping with the characteristic theme of this season, Jon chooses honor over the alternative more politically savvy choice. He upset everybody, even Dany, with this choice when he could have gone with the easier one, which would have ensured everyone - those at the Dragonpit as well as the Northern lords - would have been happy with the outcome. Everyone would have gotten what they wanted, and the subsequent - if any - reveal of Jon having played Dany all along would have made much more sense to the audience.

But Jon did not make the easy choice. The deliberate inclusion of this scene was only to portray that even when the choice is tough, Jon would choose honor. This is his character, his identity. Also, the callbacks to Ned Stark, aside from foreshadowing that when the time comes to choose, Jon would most likely choose his Stark heritage, remind us that Ned Stark valued honor above all, and the only times he sacrificed it was over love - love for his sister and love for his daughters, which caused him to abandon his honor for their survival. So for Ned Stark's son to betray a woman who trusts, loves, respects and admires him, a woman who's had the same struggles in life as he himself has, a woman who is willing to set aside her own personal goals to help him destroy the threat to his home, for him to betray a woman who has already given him everything he wanted, is actually a betrayal of Ned Stark's legacy and everything he stood for. By going so far as to blatantly lie in Ned Stark's name, Jon would have, in one stroke, destroyed everything that Ned Stark inculcated and symbolised, given what we already know about him having no motive at all for the undercover lover angle. So the callback to Ned was very necessary in highlighting that Jon is truly Ned's son, and throwing away his honor without an ironclad reason is not his character. It's simply not.

Also, this scene was very important because it very starkly set up the contrast between Jon (and even Dany) and Cersei. Remember how all of us were totally skeptical about believing Cersei at all in the first place? Even after the convincing reason of her wanting to protect her to-be-born child, it still was hard to believe that she would actually help them. And why was that?

'When enough people make false promises words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies.'

As the audience, we now know not to trust Cersei. Even when she's being completely sincere, it's hard to trust her because her words have long since stopped meaning anything to us, she's not someone who's promises we'll ever trust, because as Jon said, they are only better and more elaborate lies. And lies won't help us in this fight. So Jon not lying is very important to show us this difference, of how we basically trust Jon's promises and how cautious we are when it comes to Cersei. And as if that's not enough, Cersei's scene with Jaime lays it all completely out, when Jaime is do adamant about sticking to his promise and is struggling to understand how Cersei could have lied to them.

Cersei: I'll say whatever I need to say to ensure the survival of our house

To Cersei, the priority is only her house, her family, to the point that she can't even acknowledge the enormity of the Northern threat. She's focused on ensuring her family's survival, everyone else be damned. And that is categorically shown as an evil thing. Saying whatever is needed to be said, making false promises, basically everything that the Jonsa fans expect from Jon is clearly and emphatically shown to be evil, to be wrong. The whole purpose of the Dragonpit scene is to bring out this contrast between Jon and Cersei - Cersei doesn't care about futile things such as honor and promises when the question is about her own family's survival, Jon however not only cares about the realm, as a whole, but he also highly values honor and takes his promises seriously. We even have Jaime Lannister (my cute nugget 💖) walk away from Cersei, whom he loves above and beyond all, because of his honor. If, after all this, Jon is shown to not have any honor at all, then...

[ageofdragon]

that article about mea really shows that all those people were right when bioware never showed us anything from the game in the years leading up to the game, a lot of people said it was a bad sign but I didn't believe them. to now hear that studio gleefully say that they knew the game wasn't good but they could get away with the bare minimum really sucks because it almost feels like they wanted to trick us into buying the game and financing there next project that might be good...

That’s exactly what it feels like and ultimately what it was. The developers up until the game’s release kept trying to hype up the game, talking about how it was going to be deeper, more beautiful, larger, and have better characters/character interactions than any other bioware game in history.

They ultimately succeeded at only two of those, it was larger and arguably more beautiful in many areas. The rest was bullshit.

This is also why they kept quiet and vague about the lgbt content in the game (even though we know by now they were lying), but they’ve seen the Real Impact from that too. The LGBT+ community actually made up a good size of their fanbase and due to their lies, the lack of content, or just blatant homophobic and transphobic content they suffered for it. Even though they thought if they could sell it to them, they’d pull out on top.

They even admitted in the article that they knew a large part of their fan base was going to be disappointed, but if they could at least please the bare minimum they would be able to continue. Which is just…so unsettling to me, they realized they shot too far and decided to go to the other extreme and do as little as they could. Especially because they ultimately harmed themselves, this was no “EA is at fault” conflict. This is Bioware being Bioware’s worst enemy. They spent 3 years trying and failing, too prideful of their vision (and worried about the other Bioware studios) to second guess it and ultimately it was their own egos that got to them.

Which I understand, it was extremely hard, they were working under harsh conditions. Some of that ultimately was EA’s fault, but Bioware refused to adapt and scrap ideas as they moved forward. And I’m glad to know the developers were just as unhappy with it, it shows awareness. Did they do a decent job with ONLY 2 years left to create a game from scratch? I guess, it depends on who you ask and where your priorities lay. 

Just having 3 years lost on a random planet generator that ultimately would not fit in the game anyways (they also talked about how they had no idea how to add quests or story to the planets since they were so dynamic) is ridiculous and lacked a HUGE hindsight.

So yeah, on one hand I’m sorry that their game ended up the way it did, in the circumstances it did. But on the other, this was a very weak game by a very famed company who find themselves to blame for circumstances many of us called right out of the gate.