Tom's line about Shiv being selfish and "find[ing] it very hard to think about me" is actually so telling because while it's absolutely true that she rarely takes his position into consideration, Tom never once thinks about what he can do to help Shiv unless it also benefits him.
Every single time he makes a move or sacrifice that might help her, it's always something that he thinks will give him a leg up. He volunteers to take the fall for cruises, not for Shiv, who is in no way implicated, or even for Waystar, but because he thinks it'll ingratiate him to Logan, and the second it seems like he might have to actually follow through on that, he immediately tries to get out of it and even throws Shiv under the bus. Meanwhile, for all that Shiv disregards his interests, there are a number of things she does that only help him, and she's the one who actually sacrifices something and undermines her position with Logan to beg him not to let Tom go to jail.
It just makes it so clear that no matter how much he might love her (and I think he does, in his own compromised way), for him their relationship was always built on the underlying assumption that it's her job to prop him up, but it's not his job to help her.
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People who really like shuake also seem to write themselves into a corner wrt Akechi and his relationship to Akiras team. Contrary to popular belief, the team, including Haru, does not hate Akechi. At worst, they tolerate him and deal with his attitude. Hes a good teammate and respectable fighter and the team recognizes that at the end of the day, he was a teenager who was manipulated and abused by a man who saw him as disposable. Just about every thief understands this intimately. They have the same mindset wrt adults who take advantage of the people beneath them. Under different circumstances they wouldve been friends. And if u approach it from that angle, it becomes less about Akechi being the sole person who ‘gets’ Akira, and more about the thieves being the only people in the world who ‘get’ Akechi.
When you expand your thoughts to include the thieves as members of his Team and not roadblocks that get in the way of your ideal shipping dynamic, you allow urself to give Akechi and Akira more depth and nuance to their own relationship.
Akira and Akechi are wildcards; both of them struggle with the face they choose to display to the world. Its the first time Akira interacts with someone who is, at a literal, technical level, his ‘equal’. But Akechi is one of many firsts for Akira yeah? Every thief has their bond with Akira thats completely unique and personal. Akechi will never be the person who witnesses Akiras Awakening, hes never the person who watches Akira have his restless nights alone in the attic, and hes never the person who realizes in real time that the teenager hes housing is just Some Kid, not the delinquent hes been warned about. Hes not Ann or Yusuke, or any of the thieves; he doesnt have the time or experience that they have with Akira, and I think its interesting to explore that part of their relationship, shippy or not.
Akechi is someone who is incredibly lonely and self depreciating despite his cockiness and attitude. He has no positive bonds to speak of save for his connection with Sae. To have him see a team that works together and cares for each other, how do you think he would feel? Out of place? Inferior in some way? Angry about how hes been alone for so long in this single minded quest for revenge? Wouldnt that be a point of struggle between the two of them? I think what makes shuake good for me is knowing that Akechi needs alot of time to heal, and the thieves would want to help with that process. They do it bc they care, bc Akira cares, and bc they trust Akiras opinion (and he trusts theirs in return); if Akira feels like Akechi is someone who can be trusted Now after everything thats happened, then the thieves would do their best to help. And how would Akechi feel about that? Angry about the show of pity? That even now, he has no real say in what happens to him? Or begrudgingly grateful that they are cordial with him? Because they do care, he KNOWS they care, they care TOO MUCH actually; but the one thing he values over brawn and wits is honesty- fighting for what you believe in without having to use soft words to justify it.
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@intertexts im being haunted by pd parahumans au. officially
some Thoughts under the cut hehe
WILLIAM:
I like 2 think he wears a LOT of body armor especially if his power involves leaving his physical body vulnerable. i think he'd take every precaution possible to protect it w armor/the majority of his costume being darker in color. since his powers wouldn't require direct contact with other people PLUS he's really the only one on the team with close direct family members to protect with his identity, he'd keep the majority of his skin covered/concealed and use loose bulky clothes + the cape to change his silhouette. bold of him to have fire motifs in his costume design and not actually have fire based powers <3 I'm totally bullshitting the classification numbers but I think his breaker level would be higher than the master level since he doesn't always have the greatest control over the wisps (they do their own thing sometimes it's fine)
DAKOTA:
I REALLY like the idea that at first glance everyone EXPECTS him to be a brute. but hes not. he's just insane about martial arts training and has built up a lot of muscle because of it. has the least protective costume. VERY little armor on him, doesn't like the restriction/weight of armor. has a ton of scars from a combination of that lack of protective gear + putting himself in front of teammates in danger + the insane amount of training he does, basically pushes himself to the limit constantly. has a lot of big pockets in his pants, usually keeps things like extra bandages and snacks in them :] belt around his waist is like a karate black belt. doesn't wear shoes, keeps hands and feet bandaged basically at all times.
VYNCENT:
also keeps a lot of bare skin showing in costume, mostly on his arms in order to use his powers. has a lot of belts that look pretty useless/only for aesthetic reasons but uses them to hide a lot of little concealed weapons in case his powers backfire and he can't use them immediately. pretty well trained in melee combat. the most lax with his identity, but is still somewhat careful about it. the highest power rating on the team, but also the one with the least amount of control over his powers. it takes him a while to get used to using someone else's powers, so it's general knowledge among villains that you DONT want to fight him more than once in close succession (and if you do, to stall the fight/draw it out as long as possible because he can only use his powers in short bursts. gotta wear him out). he's the most comfortable with using williams and dakotas powers (and on rarer occasions, tide's) but still can't fully control them
SIDE NOTES:
- when asked who the leader of the team is, william will say it's dakota, dakota will say it's william. vyncent will say either of them depending on the day
- I like 2 think tide kind of takes the role of director piggot ? since she seems the most like their caretaker/mentor. except it's different with tide, he's a little more directly involved with them 1) because he genuinely cares about them and they care about him and 2) because he's also a cape, he can more directly kind of teach them the rules (?)
- ashe joins the team way later and there's a little but of strain because of it. this is mostly from william, who gets jealous easily and doesn't generally do well with new people (he defends himself by saying putting two masters on the team makes them unbalanced, really he's just a little jealous that ashe is master 8 and he's only master 5) HOWEVER. eventually they end up being the ones that hang out the most out of costume <3
- THINKINGGGGG A LOT. ABOUT HOW ASHE JOINS THEM BTW. I think I need 2 read more worm before I actually decide. learn how the prt responds to certain things. i.e. how does this kid with a villain dad end up on the wards (right now im considering a chariot situation where he originally joins as a mole . but then decides he likes them <3 this could also contribute to why william doesnt like him at firsr because hes the most likely to figure that out. )
- thinking a LOT about the leviathan fight. i don't exactly know how to put those thoughts into words rn but. tide gets OFFICIALLY sent to the leviathan fight bc of his water powers and i think maybe. they follow him when they're not supposed to. but then they get to stay because they're already there and the rest of the heroes are not gonna turn down more hands in the fight. (somewhat similar to the meatball planet situation)
- extreme ghostkicks codependency. that is all
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What’s your favorite, most unrealistic or downright ridiculous Tuvok hc?
For some reason I've always pictured him eating chips with 'chopsticks' (Vulcan word swapped in but we all know) as he watches/listens to some Documentary or History Channel thing Head Empty in his room. He has to destress after work too! He can't spend ALL his time meditating or taking care of plants - Vulcans have to just chill in their rooms sometimes too...but of course he'd never admit to this.
BONUS HEADCANON: When he's alone in his quarters he sometimes sings or hums to himself as (he says) a way to focus on whatever he's doing...like a mantra or a chant. The only people who've heard him do this outside family are Janeway (who didn't let him know she knew) and Kes (who said she heard it can be good for plants, while smiling)
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y’all ever think about how Harry loved Dora to such a degree it was worship, she wasn’t his lover but his savior, his deity, a symbol of the good and the lovely in the world - and she’s portrayed as Dolores Dei because of this, because his love was his religion and he put her on such a pedestal that when she left it absolutely destroyed him (because what else would losing your salvation, your hope, your god, do to a believer?) And how this comparison is a warning of putting someone, anyone or anything up so high and believing it can do no wrong, only to be devastated when it leaves. How she’s also the middle/upper middle class who can just leave the conflict, decide to fly away because they have the money and means, and leave the ‘poverty stricken fucks’ behind. The danger in placing blind and total faith in something that tells you (or that you tell yourself) its morality is infallible, and it will be forever, because you will be blindsided when it leaves or does something terrible, and that utter devotion will be the dagger you fall on when this clean and holy thing, this love, leaves you for something better, betrays you in the worst way.
y’all ever think about the comparison between Dora and Dolores Dei and moralism and middle class with the religious themes, how love is just as dangerous as wrath and despair and ego, how Harry wasn’t great, not even good, but there was nothing he could have changed. the layers of how he has to learn to live for himself instead of the woman who left him half a decade ago, how Dora is Dolores Dei is Moralism and the privilege to stay neutral with the ability to leave when things are rough, how he has to pull himself out of his misery and try his best and it’s not always enough it’s not going to stop the nightmares it’s not going to bring that holy love back it’s not going to save him, but it has to be better than nothing.
y’all ever think about that beautiful stained glass wall in the old church, Dolores Dei larger than life, a picture of innocence so lovely and divine - but all it’s ever been was glass, and it’s shards are all over the hardwood floor.
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