#this is true on so many levels

[swordscleric]

I'm only halfway through the second phase of Predathos (which, to be clear is an incredible vibe for a bossfight, love a good head & hands/multitarget-same-entity boss) but I cannot shake the feeling of disappointment and just dissatisfaction I have had with this campaign that definitely started with Dusk/Yu, got followed up handily with the first Delilah/Sun Tree fight and then has been unfortunately reinforced with every discussion surrounding the Prime Deities since Hearthdell. This campaign is fascinating to pick apart, I have been really enjoying pulling apart why it isn't working compared to C1 or C2. But as much as I'm having fun dissecting where the worldbuilding has led to the current weaknesses in the gods' argument or reading other people's incisive commentary on the lack of personalities on the Ruby Vanguard's end, the "girlfailure" nonsense, etc etc, man do I wish this campaign was better than it is.

There are so many avenues of improvement -

Matt telling everyone to prep and write characters for this campaign instead of a C2-esque character-focused campaign.

Matt working religious organisations into the world properly.

The cast engaging with Marquet as a genuine location rather than set-dressing.

Otohan, Ozo and the rest of the Vanguard having more than "*insert snappy line here*" for their personalities.

No Delilah.

Bell's Hells having an iota of curiosity for anything outside of their own selves, including but not limited to: the gods, religious worship, the Elemental Titans and why they were sundered, how the people of Exandria feel about the gods, Vasselheim and its role in suppressing information about Predathos, Ludinus Da'Leth's plan and how it would still break the world if they did it in his place

I don't know why all of this fell into place in the way that it did, but it did. We can endlessly speculate why - the cast resting on their laurels after C2, not having enough time between the animated shows and Daggerheart and Candela Obscura and, and, and - but at the end of the day I really do hope that whatever form the final campaign wrap-up takes, they burn the damn questions asking the cast "what if the world was made of pudding and this character and this character kissed?" and instead pick questions that get them to introspect for a potential Campaign 4. Otherwise I don't know what will happen, but it sure as hell won't be Mighty Nein part 2: Issylra Boogaloo.

[atwas-gaming]

I've had a scenario in mind for a while now about what it would take for Sonic to finally own up to his feelings about Amy. And I think what it would take is...

Shadow.

Well, just plain jealousy and a fear of losing Amy before he even has her. But Shadow would be the best one to instigate it.

First, some headcanons about how they behave romantically:

Amy's maturing and spreading her wings. She's not moving on from Sonic, not really, but it's possible that she's starting to notice other guys. There's some hints in the Twitter takeovers that she may be developing some small interest in Shadow.

Sonic is clearly interested in Amy, and if you pay attention, he has been for a long time. What he's not interested in is marriage- at least, not yet. And Amy is clearly wifey material- she cooks, she takes care of people, she has a caring nature, she's protective, and she's extremely loyal. She's not someone you can use for a one-night stand, you take all of her or you risk shattering her into pieces. She's Sonic's friend, no matter what else he may feel about her, so he avoids any romantic interaction because he doesn't want to hurt his friend.

Meanwhile, Shadow is... not aro-ace, per se, I don't know what you'd call him. He can see that Amy is attractive, but so is Rouge, and Shadow has no interest in Rouge. He just isn't interested in the physical side of romance.

What I think it would take to get Shadow's attention is something deeper, an emotional or spiritual connection.

So here's the Sonamy/Shadamy love triangle scenario that I came up with:

As Amy ages, she feels her desire for male companionship growing stronger. Sonic takes little notice of it, but it doesn't escape Shadow's attention.

Somehow or other, Shadow and Amy end up alone together, probably on a mission or something. I haven't figured out the exact circumstances, but they're together for quite a while. Amy loves to talk to people and get to know them, and Shadow has a soft spot for her, so she's able to get him to talk to her about things that he's probably never told anyone before. And he knows she won't tell anyone about them, either, so he feels safe telling her.

At some point, Shadow realizes, she's done it. She's broken through his barriers, and at the same time, she's calmed the storm of emotions that he's had swirling inside him for 50-odd years. He hasn't felt such peace since... no, not even then. This is something else. He's never felt this way before, and he doesn't have the words to describe it, but he's fallen head over heels for her.

This is why he never lets his guard down, even around the people he trusts most. Because if he lets them in, even a little bit, he might let them in too far. ("Can you see all of me, walk into my mystery, step inside and hold on for dear life.")

He loses control of himself and kisses Amy.

And when he lets go, he instantly hates himself, he starts throwing his barriers back up, because... she's crying. She's crying because she liked it, and she wants more of it, but she's still so desperately in love with Sonic, and she's starting to think she'll never get it from him, so she'll accept affection from just about any man, and it's not like Shadow's unattractive, and, and, and...

So Shadow's raw and open and hurting, he knew before he said or did anything that he was going down a dangerous path, but talking to Amy felt so good he didn't want to stop. And he wants to erase what just happened like it never did. But now he has to be the one to comfort Amy, because this was his fault, Amy was just being the kind and compassionate person she always was and Shadow was an idiot for letting it get to him and making more of it than what it was and losing control. So he has to keep his barriers down for just a moment longer, just long enough to hold Amy and tell her it's not her fault, until her tears finally stop.

It leaves Shadow burning with rage, and as soon as he can, he forcefully confronts Sonic (I imagine Shadow slamming Sonic against a wall or a tree and shouting in his face 😝) and basically tells him, "Amy needs attention from a man, she wants that man to be you, but if you can't grow up and do what it takes, then I'll be more than glad to take your place."

Which scares Sonic good and proper. It's bad enough to think that he could lose Amy, anyway, but to lose her to that faker??? And it finally makes him go to Amy and (very, very awkwardly) ask her to be his girlfriend. And... I'll let y'all imagine the rest.

As for Shadow... he, quite understandably, becomes somewhat aloof towards both Sonic and Amy for a long time after that.

But Shadow's immortal, right? And there's other Amy's in the world. He doesn't have to be alone forever.

Oh, and as for why Shadow would confront Sonic instead of just taking Amy for himself: because he respects both Amy and, especially, himself far too much to do that. He knows good and well she will never be able to fully commit to anyone else as long as Sonic is still an option. If Shadow was to start dating her, she'd go along with it, but it would become a power play between him and Sonic to try to "win" Amy's affections. Shadow has no issues with fighting Sonic over just about anything, but when it comes to his own feelings, he won't stoop that low, and he's not about to hurt himself by playing such a game. I also don't think he would view Amy as "a prize to be won."

[why-the-heck-not]

back home the cats act like a cranky old married couple, but in the cottage? my guys are chilling

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Smell Check [Easy: Failure]

MDZS Disco Elysium AU part 1 (part 2 - part 3)

[liloslittlethings]

louis offering liam a comforting hand when he gets emotional talking about his parents missing him

(via daybreak during This Is Us promo)

[hazel2468]

Something that I need people to understand, especially on this hellsite. Is that oppression does not depend on who you actually are.

It depends on how the world sees you.

If the world sees you as X identity. They will treat you as X identity, whether you are or not. If the world sees that you are not X identity, but they can use the oppression of X identity as a cudgel to make you act the way they want you to? They will use it.

Oppression is NOT dependent on who you actually are. It depends on how the world sees you. It depends on how people see you and what they decide to put on you because of that.

Oh. And when someone experiences a form of oppression that is NOT based in the reality of who they are? It's still that kind of oppression. It's not "misdirected"- it is still that kind of oppression being leveraged to maintain the current social climate.

[starlightwayfinder]

aros when the story explores the role of relationships and their effect on sense of self and fulfillment, the acceptance of impermanence and change, the perceived emptiness and isolation that comes from having a different emotional experience than the people around you, the struggle to balance independence with connection to others, wanting to be loved but not at the expense of being ‘imprisoned’ or tied down, choosing to be true to yourself at the expense of meeting others’ expectations—

[anghraine]

It feels extremely silly that only today did I realize that pantry and panadería are slightly similar-sounding for a reason >_>

(The English word pantry is one of the many, many common modern English words derived from Anglo-French: in this case, panetrie, from Old French paneterie, "bread room" ... Spanish panadería also has a complex etymology, but all are related to Latin panis, "bread.")

[theunwrittengirl]

"Your so funny" thanks l have more fictional crushes than l have in real life crushes

[cosmicqueen10]

Lord forgive me for the cringe fest that is the real me. (Keep reading to get the whole story cause it's a still a lot for me to take in, thnx).

But thank you big sis for recording this which I was unaware of at the time because I was fully glued to Aleks who has bewitched my heart since November because of Lighter from Zenless Zone Zero and then rewatching Solo Leveling S1 but dubbed just to hear his all out performance as Sung Jinwoo.

Him being my first ever celebrity to meet and talk to at my first ever convention literally sent me on Cloud 9. Sorry the audio is kinda hard to hear at some parts. Some of that interaction I don't remember every little detail and some things I forgot or didnt get to say. Like telling him how I wished I could be more stronger and capable like Jinwoo and how he said I can and its all about perspective, I don't remember some of that exactly. I was in such a daze.

This is what I drew for him and Yuri to sign. Took me five days, lots of sleeping shifts between the couch and my bed working on it. Seriously hope to get this laminated ASAP since I did use some colored pencils in this piece and don't want this to smear or worse.

Big sis gave me $200 which means I also could get a print. Plus Lighter is single and not dead. He doodled on it as thanks for me drawing for him and being so modest about me praising him for being an amazing artist himself, I have seen some speedpaint videos of his.

Aleks himself is very cute in person, sweet, modest, and I got to shake his hand after the end of this video cause my sis had to stop recording to take our photos. And let me tell you ... best damn handshake of my life. Warm and calloused to a T. ☺️

I know he doesn't like smiling in photos but tbh my eyes always get too beady like my mom's when I smile in photos.

Out of all the photos I took those two days at Megacon, only like 2 of them I looked decent. Like with Yuri I looked fine. That's a story post for another time.

Got overwhelmed and went to the bathroom a lot those three days cause I was a nervous wreck, slept not so well, and now I'm fully sore and may just hit the hay after posting this.

Overall, Aleks went from being my #2 favorite voice actor to now tied with Yuri as #1. Even though I told him he's #2. I did tell Yuri that as well and asked if he could tell Aleks they're both tied. Honestly those two be busy bees. I'm a face in a sea of tens of thousands weebs. But I needed this, wanted it, despite the not so good moments that happened before and after this ...

Oh the day after I wanted to say hi to him again and update him on the whole #1 thing but his line was more packed and even at closing time the line still be packed. I legit parked myself nearby like a shameful giant ... God if he saw me like that, I doubt it cause again packed line but still 😑. Forcing me and big sis to wait until closing time but after that it lead to us struggling to get an Uber to drive us back to our hotel cause night traffic be hell in Orlando especially before Super Bowl Sunday; I don't get the appeal of it tbh. All cause of my selfish wanting. 🙃 Again, cringe case.

Yeah. This selfish Demon in human flesh is a mess still after all that. But at least meeting him, Yuri and others made me feel alive, free, over the moon and back. And I wish it never ended. I miss it so much. Maybe in another life, I get to have more moments like that with others outside my family. Like friends. And someone very special to me. If only. This moment is my safe haven. Paradise. Heaven.

Aleks Le, if you ever find this post, then thank you. I'll always love and support you and your endeavors. In voice acting and for being your driven, intense, goofy, crazy, beautiful self. With all my ❤️.

[thedreadvampy]

lmao it is undeniably true that I am Depressi Spaghetti but you know. fuck it we continue.

[funkily]

i think traffic scott has crazy issues with his sense of self . i cant defend this at the moment but i feel it in my heart and also depending on how u look at his character i think there is canon backing

[astralleywright]

and the curse, of course, is that i wouldn't want VM or M9 being the ones answering the questions and making the decisions BH is making. they really were the perfect party for this, and having these other favored, more powerful groups hanging over their head only enhances their mythos. so like they were perhaps doomed to the short end of the stick by exactly what makes me love them so

[angelsdean]

me, dean, and everyone else watching: ok sure, sammy

[kacievvbbbb]

Truly from the depths of my struggling heart. Viva La Vida by Coldplay belongs to one Toshinori Yagi aka the one and only All Might.

Coldplay should just sign over the rights of the song at this point promptly too.

[corpocyborg]

"I know all about you, Morinth. Why would you even try seducing me?"