#redacted shipping

[w0lfie-drawz]

Hi, I'm here to talk about why Freelancer and Gavin are the best couple and comfort me in many ways.

I will be a bit personal, so trigger warning for mentions of abuse!

To start, Freelancer is probably the Y/N character I see the most of myself in. Even it I may have ADHD like Angel is implied to, Freelancer is someone I absolutely love. I have ADHD, GAD, and Autism Spectrum Disorder. This has caused me to headcanon Freelancer as having Autism and an anxiety disorder. I put a lot of myself of them. Their empathy and selflessness to a self harming point is something I deal with, too. I have been told several times that I am an Echoist. Freelancer is definitely an echoist, too. They seem to ignore their own feelings, whether that be to help others or to make sure people don't feel obligated to care. It means the world to me to show a character like this. Usually, overly caring characters also know how to look out for themselves. So, seeing one that can't is really relatable.

Now, why is Gavin and Freelancer relationship important to me. It's because of how much they grow together. Gavin is a character who exudes confidence and arrogance. He pushed Freelancer to be more open. The comfort audios are absolute perfection. It shows how much Gavin cares. It shows that he won't push Freelancer away for being themselves. He wants to see Freelancer be FREELANCER. Gavin didn't want anyone else. Freelancer also returns that to Gavin. They don't want the fake persona he put up. They want to see Gavin be himself. They don't love each other despite their flaws. They love each other because of WHO they are.

I seek out that kind of relationship myself. I want someone to care about me like that. I want to care about someone else like that. I have been abused by people in such a way that changed me forever as a person. I became insecure about being myself(I am in therapy now). I am constantly surprised when people share my opinions or enjoy the things I do. I am shocked when people compliment me and my artwork.

So Freelancer AND Gavin are both VERY relatable characters. They mean the absolute world to me. Their love for each other is endless. They care so much and are so willing to express themselves.

They are my precious babies, and I want more hurt/comfort with them.

Enough ranting from me. If you don't like Gavin, you are wrong/j

[empydoc]

im the biggest canon character x canon (that character’s) listener fan, ok? i enjoy it. they all have incredible dynamics

however. i also love thinking of ships between canon character x canon (not that character’s) listener.

doesn’t have to be romantic. like, id love to see angel and damien interact (ergo having a better relationship than in the imperium . ough)

but sometimes it is! and i mean people have vouched for the david x darlin propaganda (and i salute that!)

however … i think it’d be interesting if like, i dunno, in some reality maybe gavin met and fell for honey. or avior came across doc. or sweetheart caught geordi’s heart. you know??

i just like thinking about what-ifs.

(also in terms of the question of ‘well what about their canon partner??’ erm. solution one: polyamory. solution two: alternate universe. solution three: their partner gets with their partner’s canon partner. solution four— need i say more? :]c)

[paintedcrows]

Introducing RoyalAuthor! ...I cannot stop thinking about these old man scientists...

[ratherembarrassing]

shout-out to the person on twitter who edited the music out of this scene

[soranker]

tomorrow :)

[rendevok]

“Take my hand” a comic for NaruMitsu Week 2023

day 1 - lies & secrets - 2 - 3 - 4

[earfgoddesss]

one of these is not like the other.

((also moots, who wanna be the one other zukaang fan with me??))

[slightlypoisonedtea]

Unpopular opinion: Shannon Messenger makes way too many little plots then abandons them, I'm literally only in it for the sokeefe at this point.

Mr. Forkle was SO meant to die. Shannon just got cold feet and made up a little nonsense explanation out of nowhere.

And love-interest-age-gap was receiving hate? Oh no worries Sophie is actually one year older than we thought she was.

And I'm pretty sure Keefe was meant to be with Biana in the beginning, before Shannon decided to switch to sokeefe and dexiana endgame bc of what the audience wanted. !!NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING I LOVE SOKEEFE!!

And then oh haha Vespera was the main villain all along! wait no this isn't working, let's just kill her off unsatisfyingly. Same with, like, all of our other villains teehee

dex? who's that? oh haha that guy well we couldn't have him mistaken for a love interest so, yk, *poof*

prentice who--

Omg guys we forgot Marella existed quick make her important

Keefe can sense whether or not Sophie likes him?? Which makes it so that Sophie can't have her cute lil love confession? oh hahaha not anymoreeee (unexplained magic malfunction)

theres more but I forgot and yes this rant was absolutely necessary

[ironunderstands]

Sunday’s worldview sucks, his outlook and perception of himself and others sucks… and that’s why he’s so interesting

In honor of his drip marketing releasing tonight (or maybe yesterday for you depending on when I get this out), I’d like to talk about why I think Sunday’s beliefs and perspective is very, very flawed and how his own biases rather than the actions of those who oppose him are what led to his downfall.

Sunday is entirely responsible for his own failure, and that’s exactly why he’s incredible.

This contains mentions of leaks and spoilers for the Penacony quest line… you have been warned

To start with, oh my lord do Sunday’s preconceived notions kick him in the ass. 

I think the best example of this is his conversation with Dr. Ratio in which Ratio pretends to betray Aventurine, selling out his plan to Sunday. Now, what’s incredibly interesting about this exchange is that Ratio doesn’t fully lie to Sunday once in this exchange, rather he says half truths and makes vague statements which Sunday himself interprets as being in support of him. 

Take what Ratio said the whole, “A scholar knows their position and wouldn’t forsake it for the sake of petty pride.” In retrospect, we know this line is actually referring to Aventurine- aka Ratio is saying he’s not just going to sell him out to Sunday for the sake of information about the Stellaron (which he would get anyways if the IPC attained Penacony, plus Mr. Incredibly Dedicated Knowledge Spreader probably has other means of gaining it then through The Family). 

However, since Ratio answered the invitation Sunday gave him, Sunday assumes that Ratio is on his side, believes his cause is righteous, and that he won Ratio over with offering him information about the Stellaron, therefore making that previous statement of Ratio’s null, because Sunday interpreted it as, “convince me this is worth my time + prove to me you’re correct,” when it really meant, “there is no way in hell I’m about to sacrifice my friend to you, and there is nothing you could offer me to make me do so you crazed lunatic.”

But why did Sunday not weigh the options? Why did he unquestioningly believe his perception of the situation was the correct one?

Well- partly it’s because Ratio and Aventurine were doing their damndest to make it seem like they hate each other and that their plan was going off the rails.

But the more important part is that even without Ratio saying a word or even accepting the invitation, Sunday already believes he’d be on his side. 

Let me demonstrate this through Sunday's perspective:

I am a righteous person, I am doing the correct things, my worldview is the correct one. Dr. Ratio is also a righteous person who seems to be doing the correct things. Therefore, since we are both on the side of good, and Aventurine is clearly not on that side considering his status as Stoneheart and his negative relationship to Ratio, then Ratio will naturally want to be on my side. After all, the good guys work together, do they not?- and together will vanquish this evil villain.

This perspective is a simple one, but Sunday’s unshaking belief (up until the end of 2.2) that he is 100% in correct and in the right, that any and everyone who he also perceives to be in the right (like Ratio) would believe/side with him without truly needing to be convinced. Sunday doesn’t come out the gate offering the Stellaron information- he only keeps it as a backup just in case. 

However, this is complicated because Sunday is also not an idiot, and he’s extremely paranoid, so he’s going to make sure that the way he views the world is 100% correct on the off chance he’s wrong which could foil his plans- which is why he invited Ratio in the first place. Nevertheless, this isn’t him hunting for new perspectives, but rather him desiring to prove himself right again, which is a bad thing because Sunday is very much not right. 

A perfect world is a perfect pris- *gets shot*

Reference that approximately 2 ½ people will get beside, Sunday’s ideology that he is fully confident in.. sucks. It sucks ass, it’s terrible, and let me explain.

I’m not going to try going over all the little intricacies to how the dreamscape works because I a) don’t know and b) don’t particularly care because they aren’t relevant to the argument I will be making- which is that Sunday’s ideology is inherently flawed and immediately falls apart under scrutiny.

Essentially, he desires to create the perfect fake reality, enveloping the whole galaxy in Ena’s dream and fulfilling their every desire and whim within it, with himself as the sacrifice to allow it to exist. The seven rest days, no illness, no pain, no challenge, you get the idea. 

And, this perfect world paradoxically sucks ass because of its perfectness.

Improving society is great, eliminating hardship is great, increasing quality of life is great.

But declawing reality itself- absolutely not.

I’m going to try to explain this through my favorite strangely specific anecdote- the process of obtaining diamonds in Minecraft.

Stay with me now.

You essentially have two options- go out and mine them yourselves the hard way, which takes hours, gives you less diamonds per the amount of time spent on it, and likely with you exhausting some of your resources like food, torches, and tools which you will need to replenish.

Or.

You can just.. get them from creative mode or commands, and you can get as many as your heart desires.

However, despite the fact that option one is harder, gives you less diamonds and takes significantly more time, I, as well as hopefully you, would pick it every time (at least in a survival world, although honestly idk why you would even need pure diamonds in creative).

And that’s because the first option is rewarding. 

You did not earn the diamonds you easily and magically summoned into your inventory, there is no struggle, no journey, no challenge to it, therefore it feels entirely unremarkable, as compared to the feeling you (hopefully) get from mining diamonds, which makes you happy because you earned it. Yeah, it was harder, but the process itself is fun- the anticipation of not knowing when you’re going to find them, if at all, the danger, the fighting and digging and mauvering you will have to do in the process.

And with this unconventional example, the fatal flaw with Sunday’s ideology is revealed- it’s boring. 

It’s boring as shit.

Yeah, for the first few months or even years it might be enjoyable- having everything you could ever want served on a silver platter. However, humans are a) inherently a bit greedy and b) desire challenge, and this scenario fulfilles neither of those things. Naturally having everything means your desire for more can never be fulfilled, leaving the wanter forever unsatisfied, whereas in the real world, things are truly out of your reach, meaning that even if you never end up getting them, they are still a tangible thing just out of reach… as strange at it sounds, we like being tantalilus-ed more than you think. After all, if what you want is so easy to get, you will never run out of things to want, and eventually that gets draining. 

Continually, if everything is easy, if everything is just right there whenever you want it- existence itself no longer has stakes. 

And that’s the problem, because much like how a story with no stakes is extremely hard to find compelling, a life with no stakes feels boring at best and downright pointless and meaningless at worst.

I’m just saying, there is a reason why the Nihility was such a strong presence and problem in Penacony.

Anyways, like with the diamond problem, a lack of stakes means that nothing you do feels rewarding, because you didn’t truly earn it. 

Which is where the Sunday’s idea of a “perfect” reality falls apart, because the most enjoyable reality for humans to live in is not one literally devoid of any possible flaw.

So why does he believe in it? When it’s so clearly flawed?

Well, it’s because Sunday doesn’t think a better alternative exists.

The world made you this way.. and you chose to continue what it started.

I’m sure I don’t need to repeat the story of the Charmony Dove all over again because trust me, we’ve all heard it before. Nonetheless, it reveals something important both about Sunday’s personality and his ideology- he’s fundamentally a defeatist.

He doesn’t believe that there is any alternative for the dove, that it could ever be able to fly again with its deformed nature, so instead of being “cruel” and letting it “inevitably fall to its death,” he’d rather keep it in a cage all its life where it has no freedom, but at least it would he alive and “happy”.

And this is where his defeatism reveals itself- Sunday doesn’t believe reality itself can get better because improving it when there are so many factors and things out of your control is hard at best and impossible at worst. Therefore, he resorts to creating an escapist, false version of it- a perfect golden cage, because constructing that is far, far easier than trying to help the dove fly again. 

The universe has endless possibilities, if Robin and Sunday had tried hard enough, they probably could have found a solution. Sure, they were both children, so the capabilities necessary to even attempt that were likely far out of their reach. However, it was still possible, but Sunday doesn’t believe in possibilities- he believes he’s right above all else, which is where that stubbornness and arrogance comes into play again.

Sunday doesn’t think better solutions than his exists, and he believes everyone would could possibly stand in his noble way are either villains, or horribly misguided; so it’s his job to show them the light.

This is why he lets the Express Crew + Firefly try to change his mind- Sunday wasn’t actually interesting in shifting his perspective, or really what they wanted to say. Rather, he just wanted to let them say there peace, because well, Sunday’s a good, righteous person (at least from his perspective), and good, righteous people listen to others. Good, righteous people will let these poor, ignorant souls offer their foolish words before exposing them to the harsh truth- or at least that’s how Sunday sees it. 

Moreover, this also explains his arrogance. If he believes his worldview is the sole correct one, then why listen to anyone else? He’s this world's savior, or at least he’s been raised to believe that- so why not relish in it? He enjoys punishing Aventurine, enjoys the bastard who stood in the way of Sunday’s plans, shrinks away in “defeat” and get what he “deserves.” Despite how miserable it sounds, Sunday also takes pride in having to be a martyr to bring about his beautiful dream. The belief that he is a selfless, good person is a selfish desire of his, even if a genuine one, and it’s what leads to his downfall.

Sunday could have actually listened. He could have reevaluated his loss to Aventurine and realized it was not through the others clever deception, but through his own biases. He could have actually taken the Express’s and Firefly’s advice. He could have looked for other avenues to help the people he truly does care about. 

Despite Gopher Wood’s manipulation- Sunday’s decision to go forward with the pain is entirely his own, because he truly believes- even with all the evidence for the contrary- that he is correct.

And that’s why he fails. Not because of the Express. Not because of Ratio. Not because of Aventurine. Not because of Gopher, or even the rest of The Family.

No, Sunday fails because he is flawed, and he is wrong, and he is the arrogant, selfish and biased one, and his worldview is wrong.

So what now?

This might have seemed like I think Sunday is pure evil and irredeemable, but I think it’s quite the opposite.

He has very good intentions, and he does genuinely care about it the well being of other people around him. He gives Aventurine a chance to prove his innocence, even if he never intended on changing, he does listen to what the Express + Firefly have to say. He pauses when Robin shows up, as she’s the one person (until the very end) he’s actually willing to accept the perspective of. The whole reason he ended up here in the first place is because Gopher Wood twisted Sunday’s good intentions into a fatal arrogance and utmost belief in a flawed worldview. 

However, what really sells me on Sunday’s goodness is when eyes widen at that final moment, the light draining from him as he realizes he is wrong. 

And once Sunday realizes he is wrong, those flaws that bind him can finally be examined and improved upon, as they all stem from that worldview he no longer believes in. 

His whole life, Sunday has been enacting out someone else’s plan for him, even if he’s come to internalize it over time, at the end of the day- it was never his, and without it, he’s empty.

Which is exactly why the only place he can go now is the Express, and the only thing left for him is redemption and growth.

Dan Heng is right- Sunday has a noble soul, and now that he has stopped believing in himself, he’s no longer shackled by the past either. Improvement or utter demise (in a likely nihility-flavored manner) are his only options remaining.

I understand a lot of people want to see him become a Stellaron Hunter, but imo, that just does nothing for him. He’d still be following someone else’s path/script, and Mr. I Will Sacrifice My Whole Existence To Become The Sun To Illuminate These Wandering Souls probably wouldn’t be so on board with the whole.. terrorism part of being a SH. Like yeah, they are our friends (kinda), but they absolutely kill innocent people and cause millions of dollars in property damage to people who don’t deserve it. 

Also, being on the Express Just Makes Sense. This is a game about choices, a game about accepting the mistakes of your past, but not letting them define you in order to move on and forge a better future for yourself and others- with the Astral Express + Trailblaze as a concept being the literal embodiment of it. There’s a reason when you switch to the Trailblazer’s POV in stories, it includes Kafka’s most important words to us- “When you have the chance to make a choice, make one you won’t regret.”

Therefore, I hope the choices Sunday will make in 2.7 are ones he’s proud of, and I can’t wait to see how exactly they get him on board with the crew, because there still is a LOT of development he needs to do before then. 

Anyways, thank you so much for reading, and if you have any thoughts I’d love to hear them. This was a stream of consciousness mess, but I hope it was still valuable nonetheless! Also if you are reading this on the day it was written, I hope we don’t get disappointed by his drip marketing!

[choccy-zefirka]

They hover on the threshold like ghosts. It still feels wrong to disturb Rook's privacy... Even if they are gone. Even if their quarters are empty, and the blue shimmer of the aquarium has never been so cold.

They look the part of ghosts, too, pale and worn down from lack of sleep over several days, nights, whatever Fade units of temporal measurement, of working on the replica dagger. And scrying the vast indifferent void, again and again, for any sign of a familiar presence.

Emmrich in particular is a stark contrast against his usual perfectly groomed self. His hair is in disarray, loose silver strands hanging over bruised, almost feverish eyes; he has misplaced his skull collar pin, and seems not to have bothered buttoning down his shirt, or even changing it, for about as long as he has not bothered to shave his ever-darkening stubble.

Beside him, Lucanis is drifting off to sleep, finally out of his precious coffee; the only thing that keeps him from falling head-first into the leering emptiness of Rook's room, is Spite propping up his limp, tired body.

"Go in!" he snarls through Lucanis' lips, eyes flickering a vivid, impatient purple. "We must search!"

Neve, who has picked a hat with a veil today, to hide the harried shadows on her face, pushes the delicate mesh aside to rub her temples.

"We did agree that a personal article of Rook's would be ideal for establishing a connection. Just like — "

Her sentence hangs in the air — which is still and thick, as though in the anticipation of a thunderstorm that will never erupt in the Fade. She never finishes it. But they all know what she must have meant. Whom she must have meant.

An eternity ago, in another, simpler life, when Solas was just an exciting mystery to chase and the sky still looked mostly normal, all of them, in one way or another, had a run-in with Nadia Carcosa. A haunted young woman from Tevinter, desperately searching for a dear friend, a lover, a man who meant everything to her, as he, too, had gotten trapped in the Fade. Nadia's companion Drayden has since sought them all out and written them letters about how that story ended. They made it through the whole ordeal alive, as did Nadia. Elio, however — the lost soul whose name Nadia called out at night, in broken, wailing sobs... His ending was not a happy one. The Fade did not return what it had swallowed. They all think of it now, suffocating in the stillness; Emmrich claws at his own grave jewelry, knuckles white.

At last, Taash breaks the silence.

"Okay. Think I got a clue."

They shuffle awkwardly past the others, finally breaching that unseen, unspoken barrier. To tread across the same floor where Rook once walked... It must take the same resolve, the same courage, as to step into a dragon's lair.

Once they stand square in the room's middle, Taash inhales deeply, their keen adaari senses picking up the subtle hints of scent that still remain in Rook's wake.

"Shoulda done this sooner; it might have gotten cold..." Taash mutters to themself... And then, a spark lights up in their eyes — which are just as tired as those of their companions, and a little red around the rim. Though, of course, they will never admit it. Crying is vashedan. And Rook, their big sibling Rook, who understood what it's like to be Qunari and also not, and to struggle with making all parts of their body, their very self, fit right — Rook is not gone like their mother. Taash had not held their body in their arms. So it does not count.

"Oh yeah! There it is!" Taash cries triumphantly. "Metal and leather and still a bit of smoke! I got it!"

With a grin that almost creates an illusion that everything is back to normal, Taash dives into a chest of drawers in the corner, and flourishes their find — a large, curved pendant.

Lucanis' nostrils flare: Spite seems to recognize the scent as well.

"Dragon?" the demon asks, sounding rather... hungry.

Taash nods.

"Yeah! Fangscorcher! Remember the fight we had, huh?"

They run a finger along the leather straps wrapped around the pendant, and their expression softens to a sudden, un-Taash-like sadness.

"I got a trophy from her, and then Rook came along and asked to help with a thing. A Qunari thing. I'm Rivaini, they were — are! — Tevinter, but some Qunari stuff just makes sense. To us both.”

Their brows knit together again, and their gaze snaps back, directly at Emmrich.

"The Qunari have a custom," they say with deliberate slowness, extending their open hand with the pendant. "When two people want to show how much they mean to each other, they take a dragon's tooth, split it in two, and each keeps a half on them. Always. So — "

They pause; Emmrich slowly raises a shaky hand to his mouth, realization beginning to dawn.

"Rook had one half with them already. This one was meant for you. I think they wanted to give it to you before we sailed to that stupid island, but..."

"...But I made it all about myself and my foolish anxieties," Emmrich whispers, his sleep-deprived gaze dimming with welled-up tears.

"Thought I heard your door slam."

Taash does not break eye contact with him; every angle of their face, their hard-set jaw, is an accusation. But eventually, they catch a breath, and force themself to go on explaining.

"My mother said that this amulet meant to signify a warrior's bond or whatever, but lots of people outside Par Vollen use it to show romantic love. Like..."

Emmrich interjects again; it looks like he is about to double over, and Lucanis slips back into consciousness just long enough to place a supportive hand on his back.

"Like engagement rings. Oh, Rook — "

He raises his hand to meet Taash's, but his fingertips do not quite touch the pendant. Do not quite dare trace the curve of the dragon fang. As if it might strike him with a bolt of punishing magic.

"Rook, my dearest heart... I was too much of a coward to tell you I loved you; I never even apologized for all the things I said that night... And all the while, you had so much faith... in us both... Rook..."

"Hey," Neve approaches him on the other side from Lucanis, and touches his elbow. "You will get to tell them all of this once we find them. This is the perfect conduit: they hold one half, we — you — hold the other. They are bound to call to each other, across the Fade."

Emmrich's lips twitch, and slowly, the tear drops begin to spill.

"Nadia had an engagement ring as well... But she was too late."

"We won't be, though," Taash objects, their voice decisive as the chop of an axe.

"We won't!" Lucanis and Spite insist in unison.

"Come on, Fade expert," says Neve, guiding Emmrich's hand to Taash's and closing his fingers around the pendant.

"Do what you do best."

[machtomiles]

handsomest (even first thing in the morning)

[ofswordsandpens]

trying to convince my friends to watch the 100 like-

is it good? no. is there a satisfying pay off? never. is there a cohesive story and plot? sure not! but is it fun? only sometimes :)

[aimedis]

what's up with the shaw idiots and dating outside of societal norms?

david has a human mate

asher has a human mate

darlin' has a VAMPIRE mate after being abused by one already (vampires & wolves historically didn't get along if you forgot)

milo is the only normal one ig with a stealth mate (but i saw a hc once that that was kind of frowned upon in milo's family and that's funny to me, in a good way)

christian and amanda were the only normal ones for dating each other but even that didn't last 😭

it's like it's a rite of passage in the shaw pack to never date another werewolf or something

[breezysuffers]

dear redacted community what’s your favorite rarepair and why

[fallloverfic]

I remember when I first read this manhwa and thought, "Huh, that is a weirdly boys love-esque intro for this random dude. I'm guessing we'll never see him again cause it's a one-off gag? Was it just a marketing thing?" Like I was legitimately confused and thought the story switched genre temporarily just for him for some reason. Like some brief fever dream before returning to the regular plot.

I have never been so happily wrong, at least about the brief/temporary nature of Hyunje's presence in the story.

[grand-theft-carbohydrates]

you should give me a han dynasty vase. i deserve a han dynasty vase. if i had a han dynasty vase id take really good care of it and put it on my bedside table so the first thing i see when i wake up will be my han dynasty vase. most of my house is carpeted so you don't need to worry about me dropping it or anything. and if i did drop it i'd glue it back together real careful you wouldn't even see the cracks.