#not believe he should get one at this point ?? but that too is a kind of a statement

[pureomi]

˚୨୧⋆｡🍓˚ darry rings - are limited to one per lifetime, emphasizing that love should be exclusive and irreplaceable. true love verification ensures each customer can only buy one ring.

includes: itoshi sae! x reader. 0.9k wc. fluff hehe

you are unable to believe the outrageous actions of your boyfriend. this time, his doings were diabolical to the point of no return. “get out!”

you push itoshi sae out the door in a fit of frustration. his sigh is so loud, it feels like it’s echoing in your head, only making your irritation worse.

“this is my bedroom,” he deadpans, as if stating the obvious will reverse his sudden eviction. it doesn’t work. you’re already diving into the duvets with a determined scowl.

“what are you even doing?” he asks, his tone tipping into annoyance. he narrows his eyes when you march a little closer and throw his pillow into his arms.

“you’re sleeping on the couch,” you declare, voice firm, matching his now sour expression. “and actually, that pillow is way too nice. hand it back.”

he blinks, baffled, before the "too nice" pillow is snatched away and replaced with a sad, flat one that looks like it’s seen better days.

sae stares at the new pillow and then at you. this is so absurd, so far removed from the usual luxurious facade of his life, that the ever-composed itoshi sae actually laughs.

“you’re forgetting something,” he says suddenly, catching your wrist and pulling you closer.

“sae! let go!” you yelp, squirming in his grasp.

“are you seriously this upset over that cheap ring?” his tone is somewhere between exasperation and amusement, as if he should've expected such a reaction.

“it doesn’t matter if it was cheap; it was mine!” you hit his chest with a fist, glaring up at him. “and you hid it!”

“because i got you a better one,” he says, his eyebrows raising slightly, as if that explains everything.

“well, you could’ve just said that!” you huff, shoving his arm. “i was freaking out, thinking i lost it!”

"why do you even like that ring so much?" sae asks, pinching the bridge of his nose like he’s debating whether this argument is even worth his energy.

"because you gave it to me in high school!" you snap back, arms crossing dramatically. "i've spent more time with that ring than with you!"

he freezes, the weight of your words sinking in. the usual sharpness in his expression softens, and for a moment, he just looks at you—really looks at you. his gaze lingers on you, quiet and heavy with a mixture of guilt and something unspoken.

it's true. he knows it. he knows just how many times he’s failed to be present for you, how many moments he’s missed, how many nights you’ve spent waiting for him to come back—both physically and emotionally. each time, each goodbye felt like he was leaving behind another piece of you. your glassy eyes were all he would remember during those long flights.

but that's exactly why he's been wanting to do this for a while. because, although he might not make it obvious, itoshi sae is more attentive than you think.

he reaches into his pocket. the movement catches your attention, and when he pulls out a small velvet box, your breath hitches.

“is that...” you begin to question, even though the answer is obvious.

he opens the box, revealing a sleek, elegant darry ring. it gleams under the soft light of the bedroom—intricate, expensive, but graceful instead of loud, the kind of thing only sae could choose.

“i didn’t hide your ring to be an ass,” he says, a rare gentleness lacing his tone. his firm hand captures yours and slides the perfectly fitted ring on your designated finger.

"i wanted you to have something better," he brings your jeweled hand to his lips, pressing a warm kiss. "something worthy of you."

"i wanted to sign my name to you."

you blink, your chest tightening, and before you know it, you're rushing forward to throw your arms around him in an impulsive, tight hug.

"you're an idiot, sae!" you voice, sound coming out teary-eyed.

a moment passes without either of you saying anything. he just holds you tighter, as if making up for every moment he couldn’t be there. then, he chuckles softly, a low, soft sound that fills the space between you.

you pull back just enough to frown up at him, your hands resting on his chest. "you're laughing?!"

sae, with that trademark smirk, tilts his head slightly. "do you like it?" his voice teasing but with that edge of sincerity you know so well.

you scoff, still holding on to his shirt, a little stunned. "are you seriously asking me that right now?" you mumble, though your heart is already swelling.

"i love it," you finally smile, leaning up to kiss him on the cheek. "i love it, sae."

he leans forward, the tug of his smile remaining. "yeah?" he inches closer, grabbing you, leaving no room for escape. "how much?"

"so much.." you manage to whisper against his lips before he fully dives in for a kiss.

his lips move gently against yours, tasting the words you just spoke, savoring your happiness. it’s soft and tender, and deliberately slow, as he prefers.

when he finally pulls back, you're left breathless, your heart pounding in your chest. you glance up at him, suddenly shy, feeling a soft blush creeping on you.

"you're still sleeping on the couch," you point and smile, face full of mischief.

sae shrugs, his expression slipping into one of playful indifference. “fine. but you’re joining me.”

before you can even protest, he scoops you up effortlessly, your squeals of protest only providing him amusement as he holds you securely in his arms.

"okay, okay! you can sleep on the bed!"

a/n: me ignoring my 1k wc essay to write a 1k wc sae fic 👍🏼

[helluvabinge]

Way to completely (and I have to believe purposefully because otherwise… damn) misunderstand why Blitz chose not to kill that family.

Show me where Blitz indicated in any way shape or form that he found killing a family to be “too far” or “too cruel.”

Show me where Blitz indicated in any way shape or form that doing so at Christmas time was the problem.

What we got this episode was Blitz taking care of his depressed and spiraling boyfriend while trying to create some level of comfort and normalcy for both of them. He gets a job that feels uncomfortably familiar at a time when he’s stressed out and feeling particularly empathetic to the first romantic partner he has ever allowed himself to be open and honest with.

When they finally see the target, all Blitz can think about is that this family achieved what Blitz wants for himself. He literally sees his family in their place and realizes that yeah, this is something he really wants. It’s also something that’s really far out of reach right now, given everything Stolas is currently going through, and Blitz just needs to be able to hold onto the hope that someday they’ll get there.

He doesn’t decide not to kill them because of some moral judgment he’s casting on them or even on his own actions being an assassin. He needs this family to be left alive because he needs to know there’s proof in the world that a family like his own can actually make it and be happy.

And yeah, that’s what character growth is. Character growth doesn’t mean the character becomes a “better person.” It just means they learn and change and make progress in their full character arc. Blitz’s willingness to accept love and open himself up to the type of committed relationships he has always craved deep down, whether as a boss, dad, or romantic partner, is growth. Allowing himself to hope for a happy family for himself is growth. Feeling like he deserves this kind of love in his life is growth.

But I’m not saying anything terribly profound here. This is all basic, fairly surface level stuff that should be easy for anyone to get. Helluva Boss is many things. Subtle is not one of them. So if people aren’t getting it at this point, I can only conclude that’s intentional.

To the people that are saying blitzo had a change of heart and has got character development just remember he is same guy who has

Stalk moxxie and Millie

Killed a child (in the pilot)

Set a fun park on fire (lo lo land)

killed a whole audience

killed a bunch of college students all because of a parking lot

Killed a whole audience AGAIN in a filming studio (seeing stars)

fuck Chaz knowing full well he was moxxie and Millie ex boyfriend

almost called the nurse lady the r slur

Killed a girl over shipping fictional characters

Yet killing a husband who was cheating on his wife during the holidays was too far and cruel to commit….

[weewookinard]

I know you said fluffy, this is more smutty, but still happy I promise.

We all know Buck and Tommy are masc4masc, horny4horny, freak4freak, but the reason why they're each other's best ever sexual experience is because they're also goofy4goofy.

Both big beefy firefighters, they're used to being expected to act a certain way, to play a certain role in a sexual relation. They're no strangers to kinks either. What's precious about them is that they feel safe enough to enjoy sex with one another for what it is, without any pressure to preform, and sometimes it means laughing and goofing off mid-act.

Buck is lying on his back in bed, Tommy is bouncing up and down on his cock with near perfect cadence. While Buck enjoys being sloppy, getting lost in the feelings when he bottoms, Tommy never struggles to maintain control when he does, like an expert lap dancer.

Tommy's leaking cock gentle slaps onto Buck's stomach every time their bodies meet. This erotic picture almost makes Buck come on the spot, but then Tommy introduces some circling motion to his hip movement, Buck can't help but close his eyes and throw his head back at the new sensation.

When Buck opens his eyes, he stares at Tommy's cock for a bit, then suddenly turns his head to the side and covers his own face with his hands. Tommy gets a little worried seeing Buck's shoulders shaking, but he merely slows down his pace. They've both seen each other cry during sex before, it's not a big deal, sometimes it gets emotion or it's just hormones doing weird things after a magnificent orgasm.

"You okay, Evan? Want me to stop?" Tommy asks in concern.

"No, don't stop. It's... it's fine," Buck finally takes his hands off his face. While he does have tears in his eyes, he's not sobbing, he's laughing so hard that he tears up.

"What's going on?"

Buck points at Tommy's dick, now spinning around in circles, "it's a... hahaha... it's a helicopter."

Tommy looks down, and yeah, it is kind of funny.

"Wait wait wait, get off, I want to try it myself," Buck pulls out and flips them around so that Tommy is on his back this time.

It takes Buck a few minutes to get the hang of the spin, but he's so proud of himself when he finally gets it.

"Look, Tommy, I'm the pilot now!" Buck's chuckle is soon cut short by a moan, "ahh... wow, this actually feels amazing."

"Don't stop, baby. Keep it in the air."

in France we call this hélicobite and i think that's beautiful 🥲🥲

but for real, i am a fan of this Cee!! my husband and i we laugh a lot when we have sex and sex should be fun and relaxing!

which might not have been the case for Tommy before he met Evan! Sex is supposed to be sexy for a strong man like him, almost animalistic, and shit, and at first he believed it too because he only knew gay sex through porn. what he has with Evan? you don't find it (in porn movies) son, you make it (happily, messily, perfectly ❤️)

[twopoppies]

I’ve been in this fandom for a few years and i’m still here because i love some aspects of it but what i’ve been really struggling with and what annoys the shit out of me about being a part of a fandom (and it’s obviously present in every fandom not just this) is how far up someone’s ass people can be, it’s so ridiculous. Fans genuinely believe their fav can do no wrong, their fav never not once lied in their life, if they did something questionable then it’s justified. But this way of thinking is insane to me. The amount of comments i see about the blocking situation in particular that are like “i can’t imagine the horrible things you must say for Louis to block you!”, “if he did it then it’s deserved!”. Yes, because Louis is an angelic little thing known for never throwing tantrums out of nowhere, it never happened, sure. Solos feeling the need to defend his honour all the time is so parasocial as well. Saw someone with a hate tweet saying “I don’t hate on larries, i just stand by Louis standing up for himself and his family!!” What even?? They’re really fighting some kind of holy war in their imagination. Not to mention blindly adoring his entire family for no reason and calling them victims of “vile horrible fans” (larries) because “they should be able to share the children on the internet like everyone else!” Should they? Maybe let’s put our thinking caps on! So the point is this part of fandom culture is insane to me and i will never be able to take it seriously i fear

Yep. Totally agree. And I don’t understand it.

I know it happens with Harry, too. But the wild thing is that people feel justified calling him out/holding him accountable. And you’ll barely get any pushback when you do. Interestingly, what you’ll get criticized for is defending him. It’s the complete opposite with Louis.

Obviously there are blips of support/attack in the reverse on either side. But that’s been my experience as a whole.

The habit of fans just swallowing the narrative hook, line, and sinker is so aggravating. It’s like no one has any media literacy. No one thinks for themselves. And no one cares to look at anything drier than surface level.

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Rose Recaps 2024 - Japan [Thailand | Korea.]

Ok, the individual show's recaps will be shorter in this one, because there are too many shows I've loved. I am partial to Japan, so it shouldn't be surprising.

We've had 4 different shows that had BL's within BL's. Which is a lot. And also kind of amazing. I'll start with those and then move on to all the others.

The Last One of 2023 and the First One of 2024 - I Became the Lead in a BL Drama: Crank up Edition

I love them and I can't believe I will get more of them this year. the comedy is great and they are both so earnest and adorable.

The One With the Slope - At 25:00 in Akasaka

They rewired my brain. One of my big obsessions of the year. The show within the show was used so efficiently. And Hayama. What a phenomenal character. I love pining boys, but this was on another level. A stand out moment was when Hayama finally chose himself and left Shirasaki before going too far, and tainting the beautiful memories they had created together.

The One With the Fourth Wall - A Man Who Defies the World of BL 3

Adding the making of a bl to this one was particularly interesting. That and the triangle made this season particularly fun to watch. Also Hatano was an incredible addition to the story and the filming of the bl was both adorable and heart breaking at times. A huge thanks to @ikeoji-subs for making it possible to watch.

The One With All the Tropes - Twilight Out of Focus

What a beautiful and lovely show. Just a gift for the eyes and a really fun and adorable watch. My favourite couple was the first, but I liked things about all of them. Such interesting use of tropes.

The One About Family - Ossan's Love Returns

I should thank @twig-tea everyday for convincing me to watch this one, even though I hadn't watch the previous ones. This is such a sweet show, with endearing characters and amazing family dynamics. Haruta and Maki deliver such sweet romance moments and Kurosawa makes me laugh so hard. It wasn't perfect but it was so so good.

The One With the Cutest Puppy - Sugar Dog Life

With so many disappointments, this show stands out by executing a simple and heart warming story really well. Isumi is the most adorable lonely boy and even though I wanted to strangle Amasawa at points, it all made sense in this context. They have great chemistry and their scenes together had a warmth that felt real.

The One With the Glass - Takara no Vidro

I will never get tired of someone falling for a crush because they were kind. It's something that Japan does a lot and I will always root for those characters. Taishin was such a beautiful character to watch grow and learn about his own feelings. And I adore Takara. His fear that his love for Taishin would bring out his possessiveness, and much like glass, if he held on too tight he might crush it, was heartbreaking to watch.

The One With the Succulents - Love Is a Poison

I just spoke a bit about it in my monthly breakdown so I'll just say one more thing about it. The visual effects in this show were used incredibly well, as were Shiba's insane dream sequences. The dropped green ink, the shine in the succulents and the heart eyes on Haruto. Perfection. Oh and the sound effects of the succulents. Freaking adorable.

The One With the Two Lonely Boys - Perfect propose

These two were looking for connection and a place to rest and found it in each other. It was short and gentle and sweet and managed to say a lot even though we only had them for 6 episodes.

The Other Magical Adaptation - Cherry Magic Anime

I would watch this story over and over again. And to have this one airing at the same time as the thailand adaptation was a joy. I feel the characters in this one are closest to the ones in the manga, they feel less perfect for lack of a better world. I want to rewatch this one soon.

The One With the Food and the Dog - Mr. Mitsuya's Planned Feeding

One of my new comfort watches. It's adorable in a very realistic way. The acting feels effortless, everybody feels comfortable in their roles, and all the supporting characters have purpose and play a part in the main romance. The best BL dog ever and all the food looked amazing and kept bringing me back to Kinou Nani Tabeta, which is not surprising since it shares a director with it. Thank you to @isaksbestpillow for allowing us to watch.

The One With the Amazing Women - She Loves to Cook, She Loves to Eat

I spoke about this one several times. I watched both seasons this year, my full review is here. I love all of them, although Kasuga holds a special place in my heart.

That's it for the breakdown by country. I still have one more post I wanna make with a couple of other bl's that I couldn't fit in these posts. Let's see if I find the time and the spoons for it. 💜

[angrykittybarbarian]

The Qunari and how DATV handled Taash's character arc

Taash's character arc has been controversial for several reasons and while the grifters and rage tourists are bothered by their non-binary identity it is in fact not the problem.

The real problem in my opinion is rather the immature way in which this was handeled and the entirety of qunari culture along with it.

Because what I came to realize at a certain point is that Taash's character arc is about identity in a broader sense. Not just in regards to gender but also to culture.

While the gender aspect is handeld immaturely the cultural aspect is not really handled at all.

Let me elaborate:

I have already explained in a previous post how DATV sets up Taash's gender identity as a conflict with their mother while there is actually none.

The game desperately wants the player to believe that Taash being non-binary is a sore subject between them and Shathann but does not actually show it.

Instead we get Taash lashing out at their mother when she was simply asking questions. That kind of behaviour only served to paint Taash as a bratty teenager á la 'It's not a phase, mom-uh'.

Not only did this portrayal not achieve its intended emotional effect but also reinforced a harmful stereotype about trans and non-binary folk I have heared in the past few years too often: 'They are just confused.' 'They are too lost in emotion and make rash decisions.' 'They are just rebelling against their parents.' You get the gist.

The devs were so concerned with not offending anyone that they became even more problematic in turn.

The Youtuber Slandered Gaming made a, in my opinion, good suggestion on how this particular character arc could have been improved upon. He suggested Taash should have been firm in their non-binary identity. There shouldn't have been a question about it in the first place. Taash would have been subsequently more mature in their approach to the topic and the discussion could have been taken deeper than that coming out scene where we have to pretend Shathann was problematic for asking questions.

Perhaps Taash could have gone no contact because of several interpersonal differences with their mother, the non-binary identity being one of them.

It's why Dorian's character quest felt deeper. He was an adult who was sure of what he wanted. There was no question about him being gay. It was about how his father reacted to the fact and how Tevinter culture and society informed that reaction. It was all so tightly knit together that it was impossible to seperate. Talking about Dorian's sexuality had to involve discussing Tevinter society.

The same was done with Krem despite being a side character you potentially could completely ignore.

Circling back to Taash their character arc pales in comparison because it always remains on that surface level of "So, I'm non-binary. I will be offended if you ask questions and don't understand me right away.'

But the kicker is that the same template was right there. They simply had to fill it out and yet they didn't.

Taash's cultural identity could have been tied so much deeper and much more intrinsicially with their gender identity. Taash, aside from struggling to find their true gender, also struggles to navigate multiple cultures.

They are the child of a qunari who has been raised in Rivain.

Taash's story is not only the expereince of a trans/non-binary kid in a hetero- and binary-normative society, it is also the story of an immigrant kid.

And this is where Bioware missed a golden opportunity to explore what it means to not only be an immigrant kid but also a queer immigrant kid.

Many of us are raised by parents who have had no experience or touching points with queer identity up to the point of us coming out or are not tolerant at all because of rigid gender roles/ideas of morality they have grown up with in their home countries. Many of us do not come out at all to our parents because of that.

Given that Shathann seems to still be very much attached to the belief system of the Qun despite having left the core society this could have been an aspect thoroughly explored. We could have gained a more nuanced and humanized depiction of the Qun instead of having it presented to us via The Butcher or the Dragon King (cringe).

Shathann could have had a very rigid idea of gender and the roles she expected of each. The constant conflict between the more conservative mother and her more flexible child could have been shown very easily and beautifully. Shathann's general perfectionist tendencies would have played very wonderfully into this. It would have made Taash lashing out at her more believable.

And I think many of us immigrant kids could have empathized with and seen ourselves more in Taash, since many of us do know this constant struggle of trying to have a family, maintain a cultural identity while also wanting to be part of the countries we've been born/raised in. Many of us can exactly recall times when the way we wanted to live was in direct opposition to what our parents expected of us. This finds its expression in mundane things like the way we want to dress and, in case of some, extends to big life decisions (expectations of getting married, in regards to education, wether you want kids and a traditional family or not, purity culture in general, etc.).

For Taash it could have been Shathann berating the way they dressed, their very profession, going out and fighting because under the Qun only men fight or expecting them to observe certain traditions and rituals. And ultimately Shathann could have doubled down on her expectation from Taash to finally adhere to one specific gender role while refusing to understand the non-binary thing instead of simply asking questions.

This could have been so beautifully shown and resolved. It would have made the scene where Shathann finally uses the correct pronouns for Taash all the more meaningful. But Bioware adresses none of these things.

Did they really have not one single employee with an immigration background? Couldn't they have done some research? It's not so hard to find first person accounts on the internet or in the real world.

Instead the question of Taash's multiculturalism is adressed in one small quest where Rook has to make the decision for them wether they want to be rivaini or qunari.

Taash has appearantly no idea about what culture they want to practice and do not even entertain the idea of possibly being both.

The character that refuses to be bound by rigid gender roles appearantly draws the line at multiculturalism.

I cannot even begin to explain how this is so problematic on so many levels. It prepetuates this idea that people will always be seperate and if you happen to have a different cultural background you better abandone your parent culture if you want to participate in the culture of the place of your birth/upbringing.

In game it could have been an opportunity for Taash to recontextualize the Qun in a more flexible way. Seeing the positive aspects of the wisdom the belief system does have while questioning problematic parts. It would have brought nuance to the Qun that was previously othered as an orientalist religion in opposition to the Catholicism coded belief system of Andrastianism.

Without exploring these possibilities the Qun remains this strange system that is ultimately worse than anything else and not worth understanding. What semblence of nuance the Qun posessed in the previous three games has been sanded down to nothingness in DATV.

[m4rs-ex3]

the season 7 quotes ever: personal favorites (aka wildcard) edition

“oh? i suppose you’ve seen that written in the stars?” “no, no. i’ve seen it written in his eyes.”

“part of me wishes i hadn’t seen you. but my eyesight is perfect.” “then just look away, Soren.”

"you're stuck with me now."

“you speak the name of a Ghost.” “i speak the name of my daughter.”

“it’s not enough for me to watch the world. i want to make a difference.”

“we’ve been sitting here eating dessert, Rayla. DESSERT.”

“each of us pledged a part of ourselves for that mission. your son pledged his blood for justice. and the thing is, no one should have to spill their blood for justice.”

“now what?” “now, we wait for Callum to catch his breath. and then, he will decide whether you live or die.”

“Runaan, be kind to the boy. it’s not easy getting to know his girlfriend’s parents. he’s nervous.”

“i have to stop you.” “i know you have to try.”

“i never asked for this. i wasn’t ready to be a king, i’m just a kid."

“besides, my home now? it’s wherever you are.”

“what do you think, Callum?” “i think, uh… i think i agree with Barius. pretty sure he had a… a good point. everyone nodded.”

“history has a way of burying the ugly truths of those who write it.”

“you’re ridiculous.” “thanks. i mean, i think thanks. y-you meant that in a nice way, right? ridiculous can be a-a compliment, in certain contexts.”

“the Pearl you brought to the Starscraper… it was made of candy. we ate it.”

“Ghost. i thought you’d run away again.” “i’m here. but not to give you what you want. i’m not going to beg you to forgive me.”

“well, i don’t want you here.” “you mean, you don’t want you here?” “i said that! but not me you. you you!” “me?” “yes.” “me.” “no. oh, what am i doing? i’m talking to myself.” “yes, you am.”

“well, that was salty.” “the tears.” “yeah.”

“feel his hair! it’s… so greasy.” “why does everyone keep saying that? i-i wash it regularly.”

"Rayla loves me. she believes in me. this version of myself.” “it’s not about you, is it? if you love her, you’ll be the you who can save her."

“like the moon itself, all of us may be reborn from darkness.”

"i was trained to accept that i was already dead, so that i might carry out my dark work without fear. but… i am not dead. i am alive! i have a family i love. i have so much to lose, the very things i took from you.”

“i mean, at the end of the day, you’re at the top of the org chart.” “we have an org chart?”

“yes. yes i do. i love her. i love her very much.”

“confirmed. regular sap.”

"i still need you, Ezran. i know it’s been a hard time, but i really hope—” “i need you too.”

“so, how’s your book?”

“the three of us have been through a lot together. we’ll get through this, too. right?”

“the stars have never smiled upon their creations.”

[blueishspace]

Hero, Villain God 44

(Prev) (Next) (First)

*Mumbo's pov*

Mother Spore being silent is not new, that's one of her defining traits together with being uncanny and weirdly ominous constantly. Yet, there's is a difference between creepy silent and bored silent and despite this being probably one of the most important meetings you have been called to she definitely looks bored.

It's not like obvious or exaggerated or anything like that but it's definitely visible, the only reason Quackity doesn't have seemed to notice is because of the heated debate going on between him and Xonorth.

You don't exactly blame her either, you tio would also be bored to the point of sleep after so long of listening to Xonorth and Quackity discus matters that don't have any worth outside of petty grudges if you weren't panicking internally the whole time. But you can't be bored because you are panicking and for good reason and she clearly isn't.

That's the worrying part, these are all extremely powerful villains and most of them have no problems with killin and she doesn't even seem on edge, not even slightly.

Is she on something? Did Quackity spike her drink to leave you defenseless? He's done it before to others so it wouldn't be out of character for him. No, you look at her glass and she hasn't drunk anything yet, she has not touched it once.

Is she just so foolish to believe that she can just fight and defeat all of them should something go wrong? Defeat not only the villains here but also the rest of the people working for Quackity in this establishment?

Is she ...pretending? As a tactic to lower their guards? Or make them back off? Or something of that caliber? That could make sense you reckon, she has always been the impassive type so it wouldn't be too hard to believe this somewhat clear emotional reaction is some kind of well made fabrication to manipulate the others. You still don't get why she would do that to begin with though.

Is she just...truly strong enough to defeat them all? You haven't seen her ever use her powers to the fullest and... that's a worrying thought you do not wish to engage with. You haven't forgot the way the slime guy did not recognize where she came from and just seemed to blank on her.

...

You decide to stick with it being a minipulation tactic of some kind, for your own sanity and peace of mind.

She coughs, a fake and loud one, everyone turns to stare at her and she just smirks...you feel like your soul is about to leave your body. What is she thinking!?? You are going to die and It's going to be her fault.

She gets up and you whisper to her.

"Mother Spore!"

"..."

"What do you think you are doing???"

"..."

She turns to you, eyes glowing violet through her veil and the sinister smirk still on her face.

"I got bored"

Oh. Oh no no no. You don't like this, nope.

[oddsandends58exe]

hii :3 two in one combo ask 1. when do odds and draki begin dating ? 2. c can you draw dmitri strelnikov/agent strelnikov if ur taking art requests rn (you can do this one separately if u wanna)

I've already drawn Strelnikov which means it's time to answer the first question!

and to do this I'm gonna have to explain Kondraki's feelings towards Odds and I think it's gonna be very strong OOC so be warned

So Odds has been working as Kondraki's assistant for about a year now. Surprisingly great, surprisingly not complaining to anyone, not even to her only friend Lainystarskiy. Instead, she's been telling Lainy all about how cool and wonderful Benjamin is to the point where her crush on him was getting a little annoying. In fact, they were the only one Odds told that she had a crush on him. She tried to keep it a secret from the others, but it was pretty clear to everyone...

...but not to Kondraki. For a long time, he thought Odds was an example of the perfect junior staff member. She listens to him, and does everything as it should and on time, cleans, brings coffee, reports to him if someone messed up somewhere, does not get on his nerves, and he can talk to her about anything. So, after a while, he began to consider her not only a good assistant, but also a good friend.

But it wouldn't be Kondraki if he wasn't paranoid. After a while, he began to wonder if all of his assistant's friendliness and how nice she was to him was part of some sort of plan against him. Maybe they're trying to eliminate him through Odds in some way? Kondraki told a friend of his about this worry. A friend of his, however, as well as many others, were well aware that Odds was actually in love with him. In fact, a friend of his was sure that Kondraki was aware of this fact and simply ignored Odds (a friend of his finds her annoying). But as it turned out, Ben wasn't aware of it, and then a friend of his had to open his eyes to it.

This came as a real shock to Kondraki. He didn't believe it was possible. He couldn't believe that someone could just be so nice to him, show such care, and most importantly have any warm feelings for him. After that, he could have easily walked up to Odds and said, "sorry, but it's not gonna work" but something was holding him back. He would do that if he felt nothing for her. But after realizing that all her kindness, friendliness, and genuine interest towards him meant something more, he began to fall in love with her too. And he hated it. He hated it because he thought that after his failed relationships, he would never love anyone again, and he hated it because he knew that if they were in a relationship, sooner or later he would hurt her and she would be disappointed in him. Being in love with her, he, to his own surprise, cared and worried about her a lot. Ben knew that Odds was kind of fragile, and he could break her with his fuck-ups. He didn't know what to do.

One day, though, Kondraki decided that something had to be done about it. On this particular day, he asked Odds to stay in his office because they needed to talk. She knew where this was going, so she got very worried.

After a long time of "we can't date, I'm a horrible person" and "no, that's not true, I know you're not as horrible as you think you are and that actually deep inside you are a very nice person", he finally decided to start a romantic relationship with her. Not just because he's also in love with her, but because maybe she's right and he should give himself a chance and prove through this relationship that he really isn't such a bad person.

yeah

[ameliathornromance]

Tw: Reader feels ashamed about her body and about stretch marks (this post is really self indulgent) but Orc Bf is a chad who tells her off about putting herself down!!!

Your reflection stared back at you in the mirror. Standing in front of it, only in your undergarments, you narrowed your eyes at the jagged red marks that stretched at the top of your thighs.

They’re disgusting you think, revolting. Placing your hands on top of them, you try to picture your body without them. Smooth like glazed clay.

In your minds eye, you look so much happier without them. You imagined yourself in shorts, rushing through a field, frolicking so freely.

An annoyed sigh escaped you when you removed your hands and found that your visualisation hadn’t done anything to make the marks magically vanish.

“What’s got you sighing like that?”

From the bed, your Orc Boyfriend looked up from his book upon hearing your irritated exhale.

“It’s these.” You jabbed a finger at the effected skin. “They’re so horrible to look at. They look like bruises.”

“You didn’t do anything to hurt yourself, did you?” Your boyfriend asked. You knew he was trying to be helpful, offer some alternative explanation to them. But his question still irked you.

“Why on earth would I do something to make these?” You snapped. Seeing his shocked reflection in the mirror, you apologised. “Sorry… It’s just… I know no one else will see them much or even comment on them, but they make me feel so ugly. They’re only stretch marks, but…” You trailed off.

After a moment, your Orc snapped the book in his hands shut and swung his legs off the side of the bed. “Come over here.” He said, beckoning you over.

Frowning, you walked to the bed and stood in front of your Boyfriend. Taking your hands in his, he locked eyes with you. “You’re not ugly. I know it feels like it, but you’re not.”

You pursed your lips, “I just wish they’d go away. I don’t even know how they got there.”

“And sometimes you don’t and that’s okay, so don’t be harsh on your body for it.” He squeezed your hands tightly. “Bodies are weird and strange and they do things that sometimes we don’t understand. They change all the time and that’s normal.”

Running a thumb across the back of your hand, he continued. “Even though you have those scars, you are still beautiful. You don’t think I’m any uglier because of my scars do you?” He pointed to the jagged moss green slashes that sliced up the front of his chest, blotches of scar tissue from arrows that had been lodged into his muscle along with an array of other cuts that have their own gruesome stories to accompany them.

Your jaw dropped, eyebrows shooting up in horror. “No! Gosh no, I wasn’t trying to imply that-”

Your boyfriend chuckled and pulled you into a hug. “I know, I know. That wasn’t a good joke, sorry.” He looked up at you, “but you get the point, right?”

Nodding, your cheeks reddened. “But my scars aren’t the same as yours, they’re not-”

“I won’t let you put yourself down anymore. Stop it.” Your Orc said firmly. “I’ll keep telling you until you believe it yourself: you’re beautiful as you are. Say it back to me.”

You spluttered, before sighing. You repeated the words back, “… I’m beautiful as I am.”

A smile graced your boyfriends lips. “That’s my love.”

The heat in your cheeks rising again, you mumbled. “You’re beautiful too.”

Your Orc laughed as you wrapped your arms around his head and held him close to your chest. “Thank you love.”

Hi! Thank you so much for reading my story! If you like this kind of content, you should check out my Patreon! There, I post stories twice a week and earlier than I post on Tumblr. I also post exclusive stories there too where you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

A/N: There's no longer a 7 day free trial enabled on Patreon, those who have already signed up however, will still finish out their trial.

Also PT2 of The Other Woman will hopefully be out next Friday :)

Taglist <3

@sunndust @greenie-c

[welivetodream]

Started the new year on the wrong foot by watching DIABOLIK LOVERS;

Is it wrong to call it my guilty pleasure, mostly the anime; the game is 😱😨😨😨😳🫢🫢

So naturally here's a rating of the boys; DISCLAIMER---- I KNOW they are terrible and would never be hot irl but this is fiction and we love mentally ill mfs in this house. I do not condone violence and assault. And I don't think this is a good representation of bdsm community. It is a work of fiction that should be taken as such.

1. Shu Sakamaki: babygirl

10/10

When I first saw him, he was already my fav. Lowkey the best choice despite his actions, he's the least likely to harm you, cuz he will just ignore you. And man is PRETTY. He looks like a prince okay? If he calls me a perv and a slut, I will just accept it cuz I am FOR HIM. (I am just gone, bye bye my long lost sanity). He was okay in HDB, but in Dark Fate, with the cat, I am sorry, I can't take it 💓💓💓💓. Shu takes first place mostly cuz this is an Otome game and I find him the most attractive, but this also might be cuz he is more laid back and older, which makes me feel more interested in him. His backstory makes sense of why he is so distant, if my brother killed my best friend and HIS ENTIRE VILLAGE I would stop giving a fuck too. Also while we are at it, Fuck Reji, Shu did nothing wrong 😡😡😡🤬🤬🤬. If he is a red flag, I am colorblind.

2. Subaru Sakamaki: baby tsundere

9/10

I have a history with loving tsunderes the most, so naturally his whole "....I lik---fuck off" made me giggling and kicking my feet. But not for long, his violent behaviour actually fucking scared me (all of their behaviour ofc) but the fact he is a walking rage ball doesn't help his case. BUT he is definitely the least perverted out of all of them (Shu isn't, he is on level with Laito when it comes to it). He blushes from the start of the game, he warns you multiple times not to get close and leave. And when he says "I love you" I believe it okay. Cuz I think he does truly love Yui. He doesn't make fun of her looks, he likes hugging her and while violent at the start, by Dark Fate, he is just a big old softie. I don't think any of the Sakamaki's love Yui as much as he does. I just want to give him a hug okay? I feel so bad for him at times. Fucking Karlheinz, fuck him. When he kissed Yui while she was sleeping ahhhh, he also apologize to her, asked for consent, as well as felt embarrassed when he saw her in a bath. Him and Yui also bicker like an old married couple and she doesn't hold back when it comes to him. I dock points at his wall breaking 😭😭😭 and the fact he feels a bit too young for me now (I don't like younger guys sorry).

3. Ayato Sakamaki: dumb jock energy

7/10

I didn't like him at first, his whole "yours truly" drove me insane but he kinda grew on me. Mostly cuz of the fanarts and stuff. I didn't think I'd give him this much credit but I had to. He's the main guy after all. With marrying Yui in all good endings and just generally being the one who wants to claim her the most (all of them do but I think ayato especially hates seeing her with anyone). He gives off massive jock energy, and his "pancake" made me mad at first but that became funny (I should not be laughing at the scene where Yui was reading his magazines but I did 😭😭😭). Now he is SUPER aggressive with Yui, my girl never deserved any of this, at times he really gets on my nerves cuz he is so contradictory. Like if you want her just say it, throwing her in the pool and then rescuing her??? Bitch, you are stupid. But his whole stupid behaviour feels charming to me, I love dumb guys they are funny as hell unintentionally. Cordelia can rot in hell, that's all. To me, the best looking and the best choice out of the triplets. I understand why him and Yui are the best Dialovers ship cuz I get the memo.

4. Laito Sakamaki: hear me out---call cops

4/10

Dumbass fedora wearing little----

I thought he would be lower in the list when I first saw him. But...he's kinda funny to me. Idc but his whole "bitch-chan" made me laugh so much. Maybe I was just looking for the bare minimum to like any of these guys, cuz I think Laito doesn't suck as much as I expected. Would I run from him? Yeah. Everything he does is overtly perverted and sexual. But there is a reason behind all this. Cordelia really DID HIM BAD. She fucking groomed him, I understand why he went all crazy in the head. HIS MOTHER...IM SORRY I CAN'T TAKE IT. While I don't like his route and in terms of the romance aspect I don't want him. But he gives SO many funny moments and is just such a goldmine in memes that I can't help but like him. Also being a thigh guy, huge respect. I definitely don't hate him, unexpectedly, he can become one of my "hear me out---". If he didn't fucking assualt Yui so many times, I might have put him above Ayato.

5. Kanato Sakamaki: Demon child

2/10

He looks mentally ill. He actually looks like a malnourished victorian boy. He looks possessed. And I DON'T LIKE HIM.

My feelings towards Kanato are so complicated. Like I do find him funny at times but he usually makes me roll my eyes. In terms of the romance aspect, just no, no, NO. Even my 14 year old self wouldn't like him, he looks like a CHILD. There's nothing attractive in him, the other boys have something, Kanato is just a demon child. And his teddy, I want to burn that teddy just cuz it makes Kanato even more annoying when he's talking to it. Did you not take your pills Kanato? Why are you the way you are. Ofc it's all his deadbeat dad and especially his bitch of a mother's fault. She had affairs in front of this little boy, no wonder he is so ill. He's definitely the most unhinged of the brothers, even they find him scary at times. He would just kill you for funsies. He would. I don't hate him but I don't like him either.

6. Reiji Sakamaki: Bleh Bleh Bleh

1/10

I am sorry I can't take this man seriously. Everything he says and does makes me go "ughhhhhhh" so bad. When he got mad at Shu for leaving their weekly dinners, aura point loss, loser behaviour. The only reason I gave him 1 point is cuz he's hot...sometimes. I generally love glasses guys but no Reiji just gets on nerves each time he opens his fucking mouth and says smtg on the lines of "um....akschully 🤓"

Fuck you. Fuck Reiji. His entire backstory is just being jealous of Shu. And then he spends his entire life trying to get on Shu's nerves and the fact Shu doesn't give a fuck drives Reiji even more. When he killed his mother and wanted to revive her just to kill her in a satisfying manner...bro... 😭. His relationship with Yui sucks, his little tea parties suck, he just sucks. I know Reiji has his fans, but I am a hater. With Kanato I don't like him romantically but with Reiji I don't like him at all. And when he spanks Yui and is like "don't drink her blood assholes" and then does the SAME thing. He actually made me mad. I was ready for whatever came my way when I got into this but Reiji is so annoying that I would take fucking Latio over him. All of this rage just cuz his mom didn't listen to his poem or whatever. I am sorry you are parentless Reiji, I just cannot care less about you 🍵.

And....

I love you Yui. Such an adorable girl. I feel so bad for her the entire time. She deserves so much.

Top 3 ships ranking:

1. Ayato x Yui

2. Subaru x Yui

3. Shu x Yui

🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸🌸

[protect-namine]

this post is about qiao ling. but first, I want to talk about the power rangers of this show.

so. I'm really glad YE2 is putting the triple star warrior mirroring in a more interesting context

because that's clearly the intent and it's not like it doesn't make sense back in S1, but the actual execution of that mirroring seemed shallow at best with just S1 knowledge

(look! qiao ling even bought cake of them in the S2 finale)

I think it's because I couldn't quite place qiao ling's role in this until now. she's the star of wisdom, but she's the one who is the most out of the loop and lacking in knowledge... or so we thought. but with the S2 ending giving her tianxi's ability, and YE2 showing that it's a pattern for her to keep relevant information, then yeah, it's starting to make sense. the triple star warriors really are their character arcs.

star of justice, bringing hope (cheng xiaoshi's kindness being both a strength and a weakness that can either uplift or endanger other people; "even if you don't see hope, it doesn't mean it's not there")

star of courage, conquering fear (lu guang timelooping himself is the most extreme response to fear he has over cheng xiaoshi's death)

star of wisdom, serving knowledge (qiao ling and the burden of knowledge that she keeps from people out of guilt or protection)

and they really do need to overcome all of that to get the good ending.

anyway, I just think it's neat. I thought the triple star warriors mirroring was cute back in S1, but now I love it even more knowing qiao ling's place in all of this. I actually love this trait about her. she is always taking care of other people and has "big sister" vibes. she's the one who actually goes out of her way to find clients for shiguang to help and hearing their clients' troubles, even when she had no idea how their abilities worked. she's the one who truly connected with tianxi and knew how to communicate with her — even better than cheng xiaoshi could, and cheng xiaoshi was the one who actually got to live as tianxi.

it's in her nature to care for others, but it's also her biggest flaw. much like lu guang, in her desire to keep cheng xiaoshi safe in her own way, she hides relevant information from him. and the act of secret keeping causes her to keep doing it out of guilt too — as we've seen in the doudou case. it's a very human trait to have.

it puts the earthquake arc in a new context. a young cheng xiaoshi went to qiao ling, distraught over the possibility that maybe his parents died in the earthquake. young qiao ling, wanting to comfort cheng xiaoshi but also knowing that her parents were advised that it's safer for cheng xiaoshi to not go to bridon, tells him that his parents are probably somewhere "far away" and wasn't caught in the earthquake. this isn't just words for the sake of comfort. she has reason to believe this is actually true.

she's in a tough spot when S3 rolls around, because she should, by then, know about cheng xiaoshi's death, if not possibly everything that happened in bridon (through tianxi's power/memory transfer). unlike lu guang, who is dead set on timelooping himself as a way to fix things, qiao ling is in a precarious spot.

should she honor aunt shao's wish and keep cheng xiaoshi safe, which she also wants? or should she tell cheng xiaoshi information he rightfully should know, thereby allowing him to exercise full agency over his own future, even if that future has the risk of death? and whatever she chooses will affect lu guang too. what is the wise thing to do here?

on that note, others have pointed out how this recontextualizes S1E1 cheng xiaoshi talking about his parents. looking back, it's insane to me that S1E1's opening scene (not the dive rules, the one after the op plays) has cheng xiaoshi saying, "I won't go anywhere until my parents come back. if you drive me away, I'll hang myself here! then your father will never get a new tenant."

(it's looking like whatever he learns in bridon won't carry over to the cheng xiaoshi of S1, but I digress)

he says this, and both lu guang and qiao ling are sitting there calling him a childish idiot, all the while harboring knowledge about his parents that cheng xiaoshi doesn't have. (lu guang also has the extra knowledge of cheng xiaoshi's death and what happened in bridon at this point probably, but this post is not about lu guang)

like... in S1 this could just be seen as a little "haha okay so this is exposition and this is their dynamic" scene but now... man. qiao ling knew all this time, in this scene, where his parents might be. she knew during the earthquake. she knew while they were renovating the shop.

I understand the reasons behind it, and in her eyes it probably was the wise thing to do. but when S3 comes around, should she still keep hiding it, like she did with the doudou case? when she confronts lu guang about his memories, what will she do?

I have hope that she'll bridge the two boys together. we saw how her strength has always been communication and delivering words. she is the person the clients look to. she is the person that gained tianxi's trust and knew how to meet her where she's at. she is the person who knows cheng xiaoshi and lu guang best.

here's hoping that she can overcome her guilt and desire to protect cheng xiaoshi from himself, and become the star of wisdom the show wants her to be

[fadebolt]

I'm guessing this is about the character, and not the region, judging by the fact that you used 'him' instead of 'it' on the poll, and by the things said on the other reblogs. I could almost definitely do a full character analysis on the guy, but honestly, I don't feel like there would be of a point. The characterization of Five Pebbles has already discussed to death by the community, and I don't think I have anything to add, outside of maybe commenting on the readings of others.

And this poll isn't really about that, anyway. But instead, it's about how much we enjoyed him, as a character. And the fun thing about that is how there isn't a consistent metric for it. We all have our list of requirements, that need to be fulfilled, for us to fall in love with a character - and that list is completely different for each of us.

Mine is... certainly on the more unusual side, as I almost never get grabbed by the popular central characters, but instead, the one that really catches my eye is that one neat side character not many people cared about. (The most recent example would be Arcane, and how I wasn't overly invested in CaitVi, but got super excited whenever Singed showed up. And believe me, this happens in like, every piece of media I consume xd) But the weird part is that Rain World is the one thing that is completely exempt from this. Sure, with ships, I always had a preference towards the less popular ones - but if you're looking at just the singular characters, my favorites were actually the important central ones that most of the community also cared about.

Five Pebbles is undoubtedly on that list, and that is due to a combination of two things - the way he was framed, and the compelling, yet nuanced characterization. The game did a lot to make him seem godlike, and boy, does it work phenomenally! He's enormous. He's practically immortal. He's incredibly knowledgeable. He wields immense power. He talks in a very inhuman way, and makes it clear he sees you as someone who is beneath him in every way. And if you annoy him even just a little, he won't hesitate to just effortlessly kill you in a snap. The point is that this guy has an overwhelming presence, far above anything you've ever seen before, or since. And this only gets hammered in more, as you learn about the lore. As for the characterization, I'm gonna reiterate that I really don't have much to add, except for the fact that I personally found it quite compelling. The base game didn't show too much of him, but it did establish him as a bit of a flawed/morally grey figure. He's made mistakes, and is not exactly the most kindhearted fella, but he still wants the best for everyone, and is willing to assist both the Survivor/Monk in their mission for ascension, and the Hunter, in their quest to restore what's left of the group senior. Downpour did expand on him a bit, though a lot of what we've seen were things we could easily infer. Of course there were three things that stuck out - some of the pearl readings on Artificer's campaign, the sacrifice on Rivulet's, and the sheer extent of his collapse on Saint's. Some people understandably didn't like how the DLC humanized him, and heavily reduced how 'distant' or 'godlike' he felt. But honestly, I like that we got to peer into him a little more, and see what's beyond this outer layer that the base game presented us with. (And frankly, this is pretty much the direction I would have taken him, too..... okay, the Spearmaster outburst is something I almost definitely would have written differently, but that's about it) However, in spite of all of this, he... didn't really make it into the list of all-time favorite fictional characters - the kinds I would think about about on a daily basis, for multiple years. And why? I'm... not quite sure, actually. Because in theory, he should be up there. The only thing I could really note is how I don't think there's anything more I could add to him. Everything is already so well tied together. We got to see both the prelude, and the conclusion to his story, all the while his personality was completely fleshed out as well. And this is a really rare thing, actually. Usually, there are always some holes left to fill, but for Five Pebbles, I frankly don't see any. So I'd rather think about characters like Saint, who are practically nothing, but a bajillion holes, on top of a really intriguing premise (that's drastically oversimplifying it, but you get the point). But this is really not a bad thing, and is actually quite a breath of fresh air for me, after World of Warcraft's inconsistency, in regards to the execution of character conclusions, or the lore of Runeterra setting up a boatload of interesting things, only to never properly expand on them. Five Pebbles is how you do character writing right. And while you could argue that he lost a good chunk of what made him so memorable in the base game (even if you discount all the memes, and catboy stuff, and other fandom nonsense), what we got was a compelling, and absolutely devastating journey that undoubtedly stuck with me. So yeah. He deserves a 'love' for that. He technically ain't a brainrot of mine, but he doesn't need to be <3

maybe been done

Thoughts on Five Pebbles

[bumblingbabooshka]

I hate when Chakotay is watered down to be Janeway's yes man because their disagreements are actually very interesting. [A lot of rambling analysis of this debate in particular below]

Chakotay in Parallax is very interesting in that he has to navigate a lot of different dynamics. Balance a lot of plates while being watched keenly by everyone around him. Immediately preceding this scene we see him ask B'Elanna for her opinion on the bridge - both as a chance to show her knowledge in his bid to make her chief engineer (because she wouldn't get a chance to otherwise as Janeway has clearly indicated that at this point she views B'Elanna as a troublemaker who won't be considered for the position) and because he just thinks she's a better engineer than Carey and wants the best possible chance of them succeeding. Janeway sees this as unacceptable. Carey is the chief engineer and so he should be called and Chakotay NOT asking for his opinion is an insult to Carey, Janeway, and might make the crew doubt Chakotay (and by extension the Maquis') loyalty to the Starfleet crew.

At this point it seems that to Janeway integration ["They're not your people"] means the path of least resistance, specifically tailored towards the Starfleet crew. She wants Chakotay by her side to keep the Maquis crew calm but also seems unwilling to consider them for important positions aboard the ship. Though she says that the Maquis are not Chakotay's people, not his crew, she certainly doesn't seem to consider them hers [Compare this to later instances where she stresses 'our' crew, here she simply says they aren't Chakotay's: Whose crew are they? Are they crew at all?]. This less leaves the impression of "We need to be a cohesive team" and more "You're not in charge here." She essentially accuses Chakotay of playing favorites. In her mind Chakotay's actions are not conducive to integrating the crews which would (again, in her mind) mean the Maquis being docile and accepting, obedient and content - not making trouble for the Starfleet crew. Chakotay counters Janeway's accusation with one of his own: That he IS trying to integrate them into the crew but her not allowing the Maquis any opportunity to prove themselves or succeed, not showing any trust in any of them (except, implicitly at this point, him) is making things difficult. At this point the Maquis crew are ready to mutiny on his word at any time. He knows this for a fact. Aside from that looming threat (the threat being that tensions are high and if nothing changes and they remain high there might be a mutiny even without his word) - Chakotay knows these people and trusts them. Though Starfleet and Janeway think of the Maquis as a violent bunch of criminal terrorists, Chakotay and a good number of the Maquis joined because they believed in the cause they were fighting for. These are people Chakotay knows WILL fight fiercely for what they believe in and conversely, AGAINST what they perceive as injustice. Even if they're not in the majority - they're used to picking fights which seem impossible to win. At this point Janeway admits that she ISN'T making it easy for Chakotay to integrate the Maquis - specifically talking about practical concerns; how she doesn't feel she can let Maquis crew have roles of importance on the ship because they lack the ability to hold them. "They don't have the discipline, they don't have the training," - asserting that they just aren't prepared for any such roles and it doesn't have to do with them being Maquis specifically. Ostensibly, she's treating them as she might treat anyone unqualified for the job.

Chakotay maintains that some of them, like B'Elanna, have the ability to be trained - challenging her point by saying that IF they're trained there's no reason for any Maquis member NOT to be given a more prominent role on the ship. He isn't suggesting they just unqualified people important jobs. If the problem is that they aren't trained, let's train them. These people have the ability to succeed if you give them the tools they need and a fair chance, he insists. Janeway then switches gears and her argument becomes not "The Maquis are untrained so they can't be given those jobs" but "The Maquis crew are unworthy of those jobs when compared to Starfleet personnel" saying that it'll cause insult and upset among the Starfleet crew if any member of the Maquis were to be promoted above them. Again, her idea of integration is based more on Maquis subservience to the Starfleet crew than it is the two crews working together. (Not that I believe she looks at it that way, it's just where her 'path of least resistance' leads) - though she accuses Chakotay of being too focused on "his" crew, she is admitting here that she believes her real crew are the Starfleet officers aboard, not the Maquis. She also admits here that the system she wishes to maintain (and is asking Chakotay to enforce) is one where there will ostensibly never be any chance of a Maquis crew member being promoted because no Maquis crew member will ever be more qualified, more worthy, than a member of Starfleet. We can see how it'd be difficult for Chakotay to convince his crew to remain calm under these circumstances. There's also Tuvok's behavior toward him at the beginning of the episode where the Vulcan nearly goes over Chakotay's head and when he doesn't do so (as Chakotay reminds him that HE'S the superior officer, the First Officer in fact,) Tuvok acts as if him backing down (partially) and conceding (partially) to Chakotay's authority is a favor to Chakotay.

Tuvok in this conversation is downright insubordinate to Chakotay. Despite Chakotay being the first officer, he doesn't take what he says seriously, argues that his own opinion on what should be done should be followed rather than Chakotay's, lectures the first officer about his conduct, and then almost seems to threaten him with a report. In Starfleet's rigidly hierarchical rules, acting like this to a superior officer (ESPECIALLY the first officer) wouldn't be tolerated and Tuvok knows this perfectly well. He isn't a rebellious character and clearly in other episodes adheres to these Starfleet hierarchies and codes of conduct very strictly. He values them highly. But Chakotay, a Maquis, shouldn't be First Officer. Why should he be given respect for a title he didn't earn? [Affirming Janeway's argument about how Starfleet officers won't be eager to follow a Maquis senior officer] Even though Chakotay tells Tuvok off for it ["I don't have to explain myself to you"] he doesn't threaten to put Tuvok on report or explicitly mention his insubordination. It's unclear if this is Chakotay's personality or if he just doesn't feel he CAN do that. Tuvok is one of the three most senior officers aboard and very close to Janeway. Chakotay has to think of the optics of any situation at all times - we see seconds after this conversation that rumors have already started swirling around B'Elanna being relegated to quarters that've fanned the flames of mutiny. Though we know Tuvok has personal reasons for behaving the way he does toward Chakotay (which he later admits), I really don't think it'd be out of the ordinary for this to be how most Starfleet personnel would treat the Maquis if they weren't outright hostile: Like they're only pretend crewmen. To a lesser extent we even see this with Janeway: In the following staff meeting, she clearly doesn't consider B'Elanna a viable option when Chakotay brings her up and almost ignores the suggestion entirely.

It also, again, leaves Chakotay in an impossible position. If he doesn't protect and fight for the Maquis crew, they won't ever be considered a true part of the crew and dissatisfaction will likely spread among them. Dissatisfaction which the Starfleet crew will then use to further label the Maquis as insubordinate, uncontrollable, unfit. Not to mention that if he doesn't advocate for them, he might lose their trust. However, if he DOES try to help the Maquis crew advance the Starfleet crew will view this as 'favoritism' and will further distrust him, won't respect the people he puts forth as worthy. Janeway seems to be intent on not advocating for any of the Maquis crew and also seems unwilling to ask that the Starfleet crew grant leniency. She implies that the Maquis crew need to learn to get in line and keep quiet and it seems almost like [we must remember the optics] she has Chakotay as the only Maquis in a position of power to facilitate that. Chakotay recognizes and pushes against that, saying that he won't just be her token Maquis - there only so she can point to him and say "See? We don't discriminate against the Maquis here." effectively a tool used to shut down any arguments of unfair treatment and a tool to quell the Maquis if any talk of mutiny DOES arise. In this model, Janeway can just tell Chakotay to calm them down and they'll listen because they trust him. She also doesn't have to really listen to anything he says: A token First Officer has no authority; his words don't hold weight. [Chakotay isn't Maquis anymore, they aren't his crew anymore - ok. What is he then? What are they? Nothing, without respect.] This plan seems untenable, as much as Janeway frames it as sensible: "I can't make it easy, Commander. Surely you can understand that," and alternatives as impossible "How am I supposed to ask them to accept a Maquis as their superior officer just because circumstances have forced us together?" - in the long run, how would this be sustainable? In any power structure, you cannot expect a group of people you're unwilling to grant trust or agency to obediently follow you forever. This proposed form of 'integration' in which the Maquis are kept on the bottom rung and told intermittently to stay there quietly by the only one of them granted permission to stand at the top would never be sustainable - especially with a group like the Maquis who again, were founded on the belief that its members should fight against inequity and are already on the verge of mutiny.

I specifically find the statement "How am I supposed to ask them to accept a Maquis as their superior officer just because circumstances have forced us together?" to be interesting because personally I'd say that being forced together for the rest of almost everyone's natural life is a pretty good reason to ask people to adapt and Janeway does understand this but only applies it to the Maquis - the Maquis are the ones who have to adapt, not Starfleet. The only thing the Starfleet crew have to do is tolerate their presence on board.

At this point Janeway again claims that if Chakotay can show her a 'qualified' Maquis candidate she'll consider them. I believe this is true but we already know that Janeway's standards for qualification will likely not fit the vast majority of the Maquis and Chakotay ignores the claim in favor of putting forth B'Elanna again, firmly. Janeway predictably dismisses her as unqualified and Chakotay disagrees, arguing that he knows her. He's worked with her. He KNOWS that B'Elanna can excel at the job even if she doesn't meet Starfleet/Janeway's qualifications. He doesn't value those qualifications over what he's observed about her - just as he didn't value Carey's title over what he knew about the gap between his and B'Elanna's abilities. Then, Chakotay switches gears. He admits that Janeway's right - he does view the Maquis as his crew but that's because Janeway (almost self admittingly) doesn't and if he doesn't, who will they have? [What kind of captain, kind of man, would he be?] "You're going to have to give them more authority if you want their loyalty." "Theirs or yours, Commander?" Janeway frames Chakotay's words pointing out the flaws in this plan which I outlined earlier, as almost a threat (if she doesn't have Chakotay's loyalty it'll most definitely mean mutiny). Chakotay asserts that it wasn't a threat, he's only trying to help by telling her how the Maquis crew will react to what she's telling him. "I'm sorry you can't see that" - not an apology for what he said but that she isn't willing to budge, not willing to listen to him and acknowledge that she might be as biased towards her crew as he is towards his. Chakotay is trying his best to acclimate his crew but if Janeway isn't willing to do the same, to talk to her people as he's talking to his, then this will not end well and that isn't a threat. It's just the reality of the situation. He then asks permission to leave, showing he is willing to observe Starfleet protocol (just as when he asked permission to speak freely), and Janeway lets him go, exhaling at the intensity of their debate when alone in her ready room.

[bunnyboy-juice]

spent the first hour and change at work deleting some old files and am having a grand ol time laughing at myself for not realizing i was a lesbian sooner

[emeraldhub225]

What I unpicked is that Shadow can 'die' - being stuck in stasis - but he is stuck in a limbo, and can be reawakened at any time.

Something like Shadow should genuinely be harder to create than destroy. If Gerald and Black doom worked together, they may have a chance of killing him. Since he is artificial, he won't have a chance of going into the afterlife (there is a canon afterlife, Shadow himself stated), but on the other hand, Black Doom gave him life. His army may have gone to hell, it isn't exactly confirmed. What is confirmed that the black arms are living organisms, and can die. It doesn't necessarily mean Shadow can too, since he likely has the base of his body made into a hedgehog (confirmed by Maria), and the spirit that Black Doom gave him, (made of somebody with a kind heart, because that is what Gerald would order, instead of a destructive heart which Black Doom would've wanted).

It leaves his spirit open for chemistry as Black Doom altered with it many times, I believe in SA2 he was actually remotely controlled by Black Doom rather than Gerald to take revenge for Maria. In the Shadow manga, Maria wasn't exactly killed by a GUN soldier, she was indirectly killed by Black Doom to provoke Shadow into destroying the world 50 years later, which adds onto the point that Black Doom manipulates him.

Black Doom is dead, but with things like the time eater, he is brought back. Mephiles stated that in the future, Shadow's power is feared, hitting at a slight possibility that by one way or the other, Black Doom came back. The point is if he could die, he would end up in hell if he had a possessed spirit, and he would end up in heaven if he got to choose his own path.

A way do disband Shadow completely is by wiping him out of time like Solaris. Solaris was wiped out by blowing a flame, while Shadow doesn't have something like a lone flame. He isn't a diety of sorts, but deities were messed around with in Sonic 06, so if somebody as smart as Gerald or Egggman, or have the powers of Black Doom, they could find one and create something similar to a flame to abolish Shadow from the past, present, and the future. He wouldn't he in hell or heaven, he would have no life to die from, and he would have no birth to live from. No limbo, no stasis, just completely gone.

This would be the similar to travelling back in time by inducing a chaos control (in my AU, Gerald created a realititve mirror which he could use to make it function like there are two people if he is the only male hedgehog left. In my terms, he could find a scientist that could create it) to travel back to where Gerald was thinking about Project Shadow, and do something to wipe himself out.

This also messes with Shadow's reasoning for ending his life. He isn't the type of person to end himself, although circumstances could change and again, he could get manipulated.

Stated somewhere where I don't remember, or it's a theory, Shadow wouldn't time travel to save Maria. In Sxsg, Shadow wanted to tell Maria about what was going to happen at the ARK, but didn't, as Gerald told him not to and for the fact that rewriting the past causes many complications. What if Shadow was at such a low, he didn't care about complications? He didn't care about the timeline being all wibbily wobboly, even if that wasn't what Maria wanted. Compromising his thoughts to Maria only wanting the Earth and humanity to be safe, he travels back in time to save his loved ones? He could also be turned back on this opportunity, since it could do more harm to him than not.

(In Sonic generations and Forces, Sonic regularly hung out with classic Sonic, I wonder how he doesn't worry about the complications of visiting the past and his past self. He's the type of person to never consider the long run, but when has the long run ever failed because of him in this situation?)

Either way, his loved ones are all mortals, and he would have to lose them one way or the other. He could bring them back by time travel over and over again to live his life forever with the same people, but lifetime over lifetime he doesn't keep repeating history because he knew what happened before, and to prevent it from happening again he does something different. For example, if Shadow went on a picnic on Jan 2nd 2025, the next time he revisits Jan 2nd 2025, he will go on a hiking trip.

But this doesn't mean Shadow is dead, it means Shadow doesn't want to be dead.

What if there was a being transcending Shadow completely, that it was capable of killing him (taking his spirit out of his body) using not strength, but magic? What if this being could creage a gateway between reality and afterlife, which Shadow could use? This would mean, as a being so powerful, Shadow could be awaken back into reality. On the other hand, this also means that every other mortal can be brought back to life.

Anyways, another method of killing him would probably be to shred him into a gazillion pieces, melted into a soup, then ejaculated into the other side of the universe so nobody could put it back together. If somebody did happen to rebuild him, he wouldn't be the same person, unless the person that rebuilds him are his creators, Gerald (brought back by Black Doom's ability to toy with time) and Black Doom. For him to be ejaculated into the 88494847371694938726 corners of the universe, his memory would be a part of those pieces. If Shadow has a brain, it will be in it, or if his memory part is artificial he would have a chip. His creators could regather the pieces and glue him together. This brings the question to where his spirit went - it cannot be shredded just like his body. Without the spirit to power the memory, the memory would be useless. So for the spirit that is still living on somewhere, Black Doom can bring it back and resummon life to Shadow. I believe that if they do this perfectly, it will be the same Shadow the hedgehog from before. (Ignore that humans and someone like Black Doom that was defeated by Shadow can have many anomalies in their work.)

The chaos emeralds brought Sonic back to life in Sonic 06. He wasn't fully dead, and his spirit was still felt by Elise. This is the same as when Shadow was 'dead', after SA2, after the meterex saga, etc. The 7 chaos emeralds could've brought Shadow back too. If negative chaos emeralds existed with the same power, they could banish Shadow's spirit instead of bringing it back into his body. At the same time, the negative chaos emeralds do not need to exist. The chaos emeralds adjust to the person using it, if they have a good heart, the emeralds will be used for a good purpose, stated in Sonic X. If the person has a bad heart, the chaos emeralds will be used for a bad purpose.

All 7 chaos emeralds have only worked for a good purpose when with Shadow. When Sonic 'died', everybody there when reviving him had good intentions. If Shadow was 'dead', it brings the question to whether it is the people around him that will make the emeralds act in a negative way, or Shadow himself will prevent the negative causes just by being there. Eggman doesn't have a pure heart, and he was there while reviving Sonic, and Sonic came back to life. It was 8 against 1, though, and he wanted Sonic to be back.

It could be said that Elise was the one handling the emeralds. It could also be said that the emeralds had a good cause because of Sonic and Elise's connection. If a villain with bad intentions collected the 7 emeralds to kill Shadow in stasis, with Shadow's good relation to chaos, the effect could be cancelled out.

Last point, in Sonic X, Shadow said the best part of his life was being 'dead'. He may enjoy being in stasis. 😆

Shadow can’t die, not really.

He’s immortal, an experiment he was built from the ground up. He was made to be a cure, to outlive everything and everyone. To be invulnerable.

He can’t die 

When all is gone thousand of years into the future, what will happen? He’ll have nothing left, everything will be gone but him. Maybe a way to die would be to undo everything. 

Take apart his body and mind, unmake him by the atoms, unmake what was made. Separate the consciousness from the body, separate what made him alive. But where would you put what you unmade? He would still be there, because you broke something doesn’t make it gone. you still have the parts that made it together, that held him up and made him a being. He would still be there, a lingering sense of what he used to be, who he used to be. 

Or maybe not, maybe he is gone, separating them you might be killing him, stripping him of what made him himself. But he’s still there, or maybe not, after all you might’ve taken him apart but if you put it back together, is it the same?

He’s not the same mobian that met Maria,

He’s not the same mobian who fought with Sonic,

He’s not the same mobian that fought black doom,

That fought to choose for himself, and not what others told him was him,

Choose to make something of himself,

Chose to be, 

Chose to live.

May be the same pieces but they were still pulled apart, they were still undone, they were put back together yes. But that doesn’t change the fact they are not where they used to be, they don’t have the same connection or maybe even the same place. 

That may look like shadow, and think like him, have the same memories as him, but is it him? 

Or maybe it is, after all it is the same pieces when you pull him apart it’s still the same guy, that’s still him, he didn’t pass, he has the same parts same consciousness.

He still, there. He’s unmade, not dealing with what was, he’s gone but that’s not mercy, that’s not death. He’s gone, but not really. He still didn’t pass.

If there is an afterlife he wouldn’t join it, he can’t, he didn’t pass, he was unmade, torn apart by the seams, he was unbuilt, separated, but he didn’t die. 

Maybe the closest thing would be stasis but that’s not death either, that’s more like a sleep, a deep sleep. He’s not conscious but he is awake, that’s not death, time is moving, he is not, but he’s not DEAD.

In all of these versions he would still be awake, and after that he would be alone, he would never have what he used to have, he would never have the life he fought for, the friends he fought for. He would be alive but not really he wouldn’t be living, maybe he would just be awake, a consciousness of what he was, can be, an is. But he’s still alone.

Maybe that’s how he was always meant to be, 

Alone.

Awake.