#feel free to say hi ^^
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Mutuals who I don't know very personally yet I am holding a sugarcube out in my hand in the hopes that you will approach me like the noble horse
#dru speaks#what am i even saying#anyway hi new mutuals :]#i'm awkward and don't always know if people want to get closer to me but. i'd like to get closer if you want#feel free to reach out if you'd like but no pressure. i always try my best to be nicies ^^#😊🫶🩷 <33#y'all are neat
16K notes
·
View notes
Text
i'm a little afraid to go to pride this year. many of us are, a little. sitting around our tapas and video games, the silence that hangs over the discord server. it feels different, we say.
we're privileged. the community that came before us laid the groundwork so i could be raised in a different world, and i will never forget their sacrifices and dedication. they gave us this: a pride that feels like community and celebration and joy. i remember the first few times i went to a queer event - i'd been raised so catholic. feeling safe like that, for the first time... it saved my life. i go to pride to celebrate that feeling - my people, laughing. out in the sun, the way we couldn't have been even 25 years ago. that feeling: no wonder we call it "pride."
who am i to be afraid anyway. there are parts of the world where people are doing much better work than i am. but it's just: i felt at home there, you know? and this year feels different. we are waiting on the dam to break. last year, at boston pride, there was a whole gaggle of sign-holders shouting about jesus. you walk around them and try not to let it get to you.
this year, i'm going to DC's pride with my girlfriend. google sends me concerns about if it's safe to exist in trump's america, if World Pride is a bigass target on all of us. every article uses the words "safety concerns" many, many times. three days ago i witnessed a shooting.
even straight people keep telling me - people are weird lately. sometimes we blame it on Covid and sometimes we blame it on the full moon. but i do remember a time before this, right. it's not just that people are more comfortable being rude. it's this strange, outwards violence. a comfort in being cruel.
it's a big hole to fall down anyway. it's not like they're going to do anything to make pride safe, not really. i don't want a police presence as the solution. and what if this is just fearmongering! what if this is just to get us to stop attending our own events! what if everything is actually fine, and i'm just freaked out by the stated intentions of our president!
and what if i'm just listening to things that are being said. what if i'm weighing the shape and size of this america accurately.
my mother calls me. she's been getting the articles too. i assure her i'll be careful, but i put the phone down and stare at it. i'm going to go to pride. other people made it safe for me, it is my duty and my honor to show up for my community. the only thing we've ever had was each other. it was always an act of bravery. being ourselves is brave.
but i am afraid. i lay out my outfit and i kiss my girlfriend. i cut my nails and clean up my undercut. i hold her hand and hang the sunset flag. the sound of this america feels different. like a volcano trembling. i will love her and i will love being queer and i will sing over the noise of it.
but ... still. in the back of my mind. that feeling, like something terrible has been shifted. like somewhere in the night - they remembered we're different.
#spilled ink#warm up#please do not be weird on this#i hate when i express a real fear/etc that is normal to have -- like being scared of violence in trump's america#and ppl immediately are like ''isn't it nice ur afraid this year but u haven't been previously??? imagine being afraid every year''#not the point of this post and also not true just not included in the body of the work. u do not know me personally.#''ur lucky u have a pride'' yes i know this & am aware of it. can still be afraid of violence.#''well i think [misunderstanding of the post]''#this is about feeling the genuine shift politically that has occurred in trumps america wherein extremist ideas are more accepted.#'' WELLLLLLL'' . it's a tumblr post. go to bed.#<- poet who has made the mistake of being honest about her feelings 1 too many times#i just write about stuff i think other people can relate to. and i think i've felt this very loudly#and if u dont relate okay! it wasn't written for u then. it was written to comfort someone else.#anyway. i love u all happy pride. genuinely.#come say hi if u see me#feel free to dm me if ur also at pride i'll tell u what im wearing we can hunt each other down for sport#((just realizing right now in the tags that the shooting probably traumatized me lol))
2K notes
·
View notes
Note
ANNIVERSARY GROOVY BOYBAND! THEY ALL LOOK SO GOOD, I also love the hades reference with idia! Ik ur probably really swamped with the book 7 brain rot but I wanted to know ur thoughts. I also wanted to mention that I am so card deprived I feel like I need a replacement event to take tsumderlands place
AUGH NO I LOVE THEM. 😭 UGH now I really have to think about if I want to try pulling for Grim again. dangit. heck. I already got his little pedestal to add my guest room shrine, but...now I kinda need the boss himself...
also, the implications of it not being an OB thing, Idia can just. Do That? apparently? do you think he ever just sometimes does it by accident? what am I saying, he absolutely sometimes does it by accident.
gosh though. this event has been SO cute in general! I was wondering who'd get the focus for year 5; I could not be happier that the answer is apparently EVERYBODY. :D all the dorms get their own special songs! so many cute little scenes!!! the lowest of stakes bringing out the highest of pettiness in everyone!!!!!! it's excellent.
(also, because I will make literally anything about my diaboys...I know these events are typically sorta, let's say chronologically unmoored with regards to story. but the further implications that this takes place pre-episode 7/Malleus' Big Existential Crisis, and yet...some of these lines?)
#art#twisted wonderland#twisted wonderland spoilers#twst 5th anniversary#i hope that's the correct tag for filtering purposes#anyway gacha continues to have me in a bind#i have scrambled up enough keys/gems that i could hit the 100 pity mark on ONE pickup#so now i have to choose between grim or silver#with the caveat of course that i might end up not getting either#(or hoping i might magically somehow get another 31 keys to hit 150 on the anniversary medal pickup to trade for masqueralleus)#(this is extremely unlikely but if we don't have hope we have nothing)#uggggh i hate decisions#on the one hand. look at silver's card. just LOOK at it.#and i could absolutely use a void-typed attack card! especially with that duo!#but also my sweet grimbleshanks in his little sparkly blazer...#how can i possibly say no to the boss#i feel like if i had managed either platinum grim or armor sebek that would've decided it for me for collection reasons but NO#the pulls have just been an unmitigated disaster all around#the way this has been going i'm going to go all in on one of them and come out with yet another dorm trey#and then five minutes later they'll announce white rabbit rerun with froufrou fluffy bunnies leona and malleus#truly...f2p mobage is suffering#i had also kinda been thinking if i didn't get anything i might buy that malleus figure once it went up for preorder...#(i do not allow myself to spend money on gacha because. i know myself. but i will buy ALL the overpriced merch)#i forgot just how STUPID overpriced those figures are though#it is a really nice figure though...and it'll only be worse on the secondhand market...#i mustn't. i won't. but also.#hey twst feel free to make this up to me by giving me that fluffy bunny malleus after all okay
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
caterina's datamined character description calling her korean-italian and early lucanis designs having him look east asian . i'll just do everything myself i guess
assorted thoughts: caterina is fully 'korean' or whatever the thedas equivalent would be in this design, and clawed her way to the top of the crow food chain after years of work. their armor is something caterina forcibly incorporated to distinguish house dellamorte from the other crows, and a symbol of their status because they get it custom made or imported. of course race-equivalents do not really exist in thedas or this world but i also will never forget how gaider just implied (east) asian people don't exist in thedas because it just so happens that there are no asians on the continent of thedas (guy who forgot about boats) . explode and die. there's not the same kind of discrimination as exists irl ofc (and the dellamortes are actually treated fine, much better than a mage or elf) but a level of xenophobia against foreigners from a different continent. illario looks the least like her, and passes for being fully antivan, which changes how he is recieved by the other crows.
and sorry if the korean is bad please actually let me know if it's horribly translated i relied on google translate . if you are one of ten asian dragon age fans feel free to talk to me at any given moment.
#there's also some things in my mind about illario's ability to pass as an antivan while not really being antivan at all#so he's actually partially rivaini. and how differently he sees his family being treated whereas he gets the privilege of passing#but isn't at all 'antivan' . and while he tries to distinguish himself as being like caterina and her heir etc.#he is Aware of the difference in how he is perceived. i can really make anything about immigrants fr LOL#if you the dragon age fan reading this are korean feel free to give me constructive criticisms PLEASE.#it was all referenced off the 'joseon army' wikipedia page with some da-specific embellishments#oh plus modern styles of hanbok. ok. thats it#and other thoughts from my own background. lol#dragon age#illario dellamorte#lucanis dellamorte#caterina dellamorte#veilguard#my art#edit. slight adjustment because technically gaider has been misquoted#but its still a stupid fucking idea#you cant decide you're including india dressed up as the roman empire and say 'dorian is indian' without thinking of THE SPICE TRADE#NO ONE CARES ABOUT THE SILK ROAD AND CREATING FANTASY EQUIVALENTS ANYMORE
3K notes
·
View notes
Note
Does Silvers and Espios kids also have their abilities? PK and/or Invisibility?
They sure do! Let's start with Psi;
Psi inherits psychic powers from Silver, but they don't work the same. His powers are exclusively telepathic as opposed to Silver's telekinesis. He can project thoughts and illusions to any target of choice, as well as read minds. He and Alloy use the mind read/transfer thought trick ALL the time to chat and goof off without anyone knowing :'D It's the only time he's ever a real chatterbox
He's very unstable, though. When not held in check, he can't focus his powers at all or control how much of it he uses. If he doesn't wear the braces, he can just hear everyone's thoughts simultaneously, and he gets super overwhelmed very very quickly. The more stressed he is, the more power he unleashes, and the more power he unleashes, the louder everything gets. When he's in top overload like that, he emanates an aura of psychic noise around himself that interferes with the senses of anyone who gets close to him.
I think that about covers it for him, so lets move on to Alloy;
Where Psi inherited Silver's powers, Alloy inherited all of Espio's chameleon abilities! She can climb on walls and ceilings, she can use her tail to grapple and cling to things, and she has a chameleon tongue that she can use to steal shit out of her brother's hands <3
The only thing that doesn't directly transfer is the invisibility. She can colour shift, but she can't control when she does it. Usually, it only happens if she's either frightened and feels the instinctual need to hide, or if she's very angry where it works as a form of threat display.
I think that's all there is?? I hope this made sense! :'D
#sth#sth fanart#silver the hedgehog#espio the chameleon#espilver#sonic fankid#sonic au#pitayaverse#psi the chameleog#alloy the hedgeleon#roonies doodles#roonie answers#tldr psi gets telepathy and alloy gets all the freak chameleon abilities#tw blood#ALSO i thought it'd be really really cute if espio taught his kids to call him dad in japanese#i went with otousan because from what i could gather that's like saying father? and imo espio WOULD teach them the formal word#but i dont speak japanese so while i tried my best to find the right word i may have messed it up :') feel free to correct me if im wrong!!
935 notes
·
View notes
Text
SEVERANCE 2x10 / 1x04 | "Whatever this life is, it's all that we have."
#severance#severance spoilers#severanceedit#myedits#oh man#oooooh maaaaan what the fuck#oh i need to think about all this for like 400-500 business days before i can say anything about it#but this is the first thing that smacked me#watching him trying to bullshit manipulate himself and undermine his innie's entire existence#and him being like 'it's helly actually. helly. that's the person I'M in love with' like fuck you actually#it's so goddamn messy and i love it so much#once again: you would think jetlag gifs would be harder to make and you would be WRONG#so wrong#also severance giffing is way more depressing but i feel like i need to gif my way through all these emotions#because fuuuuuuUCK#those comments about mark/helly shippers not being disappointed like askdjaskdjnkwjbrasf#don't get me wrong i love gemma and i love mark/gemma and i do want him to get her back but like#he did the right thing for gemma and his outie (sort of). he got her out. and then he just noped and chose life and helly#even if it's only for another minute#HONESTLY#that last scene will be living rent free for eternity
745 notes
·
View notes
Text
“things were so hard with dad in recent years...how did he go from paparapluie to père? i wish i could face him and understand, but while he was still here i didn't dare try to tell him [any of my feelings] and now...it's too late.” * paparapluie is a pun on the words papa and parapluie (umbrella) since the plush is a frog. père is the french word for 'father.'
#ml spoilers#ml s6 spoilers#miraculous spoilers#ml el toro de piedra#mledit#miraculous#miraculous ladybug#miraculous lb#miraculousedit#adrien agreste#adrienette#adrinette#my edits#fascinated at umbrellas constantly being a motif for protection in this show. the theme is “in the rain” because marinette fell for adrien#in the rain but he offered her an umbrella (an act of kindness and protection from the weather). next to how#adrien's father used a pun about umbrellas as his own nickname when adrien was younger and he was still caring for him as a dad should#but as he got older his father stopped protecting him so the nickname (and also any form of 'papa') fell through in favor of the#cold + formal + distant 'père.' this specific pun between parapluie and papa might also come from the french poem un papa by pierre ruaud#which is a poem about papas serving as protection and a sort of shelter for their children. so ig ml is saying gabriel started this way too#i think the fandom glosses over the complexity of adrien's feelings for his father bc in earlier seasons he defended + made excuses for him#part of this is because he was sheltered + didn't know better but it's also bc he DOES recall a time before his mother's illness grew worse#(some time between age 6 and the werepapas flashback) when he didn't have an absentee father. the show writes gabriel agreste#inconsistently: in earlier seasons he had moments of concern for his son before he became awful all the time. and these on/off moments give#adrien whiplash because he's left doing things like becoming a model for his father (i'm choosing to believe gabriel didn't use the rings#until later bc much of the earlier seasons make no sense if he was controlling adrien) in the hopes that they'll bond only to realize#his father still won't spend time with him even for a meal. s5 has gabriel making him pancakes (the wrong way) and asking about his day#and his friends and interests only for him to become even more controlling and mean. how he let him quit modeling only to create an#AI version of him without his consent and when he said that made him feel uncomfortable gabriel convinced him it was fine bc now he had#more free time! only to still control how he spent that free time. adrien didn't start grappling with these things until s5#and now he laments the things he never actually got to say about the papa he misses and the father he wished had unconditionally loved him
1K notes
·
View notes
Text

My page for @sheikahzine; about Impaz's duty to her village, empty of people and full of memories.
[id in alt text]
#legend of zelda#loz#twilight princess#loz tp#i'm still reeling that someone sent me an ask about this one.. that they took the time to find my tumblr and tell me they liked it#it really meant a lot; thank you to anyone that stops to leave comments like that. they make me happy#but yeah! here's the usual symbolism ramble:#i thought it'd be cool to have the 'spirits' flowing one way and the cats walking through them the other way#to kinda show the difference in life inhabiting the village in the past and present#link's face is covered because impaz was just waiting for 'the hero' so his clothes are what matters; not his face#and it (hopefully) gives a surreal and intangible sense to 'the hero' she could only hope would actually show up#you can feel free to interpret the glowy blue sheikah as ghosts or just as memories of the past! i couldn't decide either way#the one on the bottom left is oot impa since she's implied to be the village founder. so i guess she would be a ghost actually?#fan art#my art#project stuff#and ahhh the book-- everyone's stuff is so beautiful!!#especially the writing. some of the fics made me really tear up and some were so fun and clever. i really love them#a lot of them captured the sheer burden of the role of the sheikah; all of the time and grief and doubt#i know i always say this stuff about every project but. the people i get to work with in these are truly so skilled every time
4K notes
·
View notes
Text
some free draw doodles :9
#sticky notes 📝#dandys world#dandys world fanart#dandys world art#cosmo dandys world#cosmo dw#sprout dandys world#sprout dw#shelly dandys world#shelly dw#astro dandys world#astro dw#poppy dandys world#poppy dw#boxten dandys world#boxten dw#toodles dandys world#toodles dw#pebble dandys world#pebble dw#coal dandys world#coal dw#dandys world fruitcake#sprout x cosmo#dandys world moonshell#astro x shelly#I LOOOOVEEEEE DOODLING IN FREE DRAW !!!!#if you see me out in the open ... feel free to say hi !! <3
723 notes
·
View notes
Text
you know from experience that hungry students will go through many, many lengths to sate that hunger—and that’s why you’ve decided to hike a mountain on a school night.
you take a cutting of berries and slide them into the glass jar. hopefully, these aren’t poisonous. they’ll need to be checked by professor crewel first, obviously, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. grim might survive eating poison. you, on the other hand? not so much. a specialist would need to vet them first.
“i wouldn’t recommend eating those, if that’s what you’re planning.”
or a very knowledgeable student.
you turn your head. jade leech smiles politely at you from the long shadow of a tree, his usual suspicious demeanor offset by a knitted yellow cap and several layers of hiking gear. his lantern casts a soft glow across his face. you wonder why he has it out at all. the sun has only just begun to set, after all.
you must be staring too much, because jade steps out of the shadow and crouches down next to you, setting the lamp on the ground. “it’s good to have one in case of any delays. the mountains can be rather perilous, as you must be aware by now,” he explains. “one reckless act, and nature’s bounty can prove fatal,”—he taps your jar—“such as these.”
you blink at him slowly. his yellow eye almost glows in the dying light of day, but they are not predatory. not today.
“right. thank you for the notice.” you screw the lid back on, put it into your basket, and push yourself from the ground. he begins to do the same. “i’ll be leaving now. i don’t want to inconvenience you any further.” yes, he did just get here. no, you will not be acknowledging that.
“not at all. on the contrary, it is lovely to see you, prefect, especially on such a pleasant day. ah, but that reminds me,”—oh, sevens. please don’t say what i think you’re going to say—“seeing as we’re both here, perhaps you wouldn’t mind a bit of a hike to the peak? the sunset is beautiful this time of year.”
you swear. internally, of course, but the idea is the same.
you really hoped to avoid octavinelle after azul’s incident. it was one thing to be riddle or leona; they hadn’t targeted you personally. moreover, riddle has relaxed on some of his rules, and leona doesn’t bother you any more than he talks to you (which is very rarely). you got over it.
octavinelle, though, had contracted your friends into forced labor (it was mostly their own fault), stolen your house (you willingly agreed to hand it over), and sabotaged you in getting it back (in a deal you knew was sketchy). it was, it was—!
oh, who are you kidding? you feel hurt. that’s the long and short of it. it is juvenile and illogical and out of character for you and you hate it, but there is no time to unpack that, and the consequences for purposeful ignorance are little to none. jade leech couldn’t possibly have cared anyways.
“-efect? prefect?” he taps you gently. “are you alright?”
but you must have forgotten how entertaining the students find you.
you step back, hands gripping the strap of your bag. “i don’t think that’s a good idea. if i went with you, the sun would be gone by the time we got there. we’ll be better off going our separate ways.”
“i beg to differ.” his eyes glance at your bag. several jars clink emptily. “you’re foraging, yes? there happens to be a berry hedge on the trail down. i could lead you there, if you so wish.”
“that’s okay. it’ll be dark.”
“then i could accompany you on the way down,” he offers, “if the dark is what worries you.”
“i’ve faced worse—and i really should be getting back to ramshackle soon. grim will be hungry.” not to mention the three other teenage boys who might be ransacking the place.
“even so, you can never be too careful.”
you cut the pleasantries. “and what would you get out of it?”
“pardon?”
“what are you getting in return?” your eyes bore into his. “i don’t have anything to give you, but frankly, i’m not interested in any kind of exchange if that’s what you have in mind. you won’t get anything from me.”
jade leech blinks at you twice in rapid succession, eyebrows raised, before his features school themselves into something neutral. concealed, even. you’re almost comforted by the sight of normal jade.
key word: almost.
“is that what you think of me?”
“how else am i supposed to think?” your eyebrows furrow. “i could never tell with you before, but i knew you weren’t malicious at the very least. i don’t have a clue where we stand now.” excuses. truths. you hold your basket closer. “does it matter, anyways? i don’t have any business with you.”
the sun is lower on the horizon now. the lamplight flickers.
jade leech sighs—sighs!—so inaudible you might’ve thought it was the wind. his eyes fall shut for a moment. when they open again, his left one shines gold. “you’re still nursing injuries, are you not? as vice housewarden of octavinelle, it would be remiss of me to ignore someone personally hurt by the actions of our dorm. i’ll ensure your safety against anything on the way down.” his gaze meets yours. “an eye for an eye, yes?”
you scrunch your face. “i don’t want your eye. i don’t want anyone’s eyes.”
jade blinks at you—(wow, that makes it, what, three times now?)—before unexpectedly giving into chuckles. it’s breathy, and true, and a whole host of other adjectives you wouldn’t normally assign him. that must be the floyd in him, you think as you stand there awkwardly. you wonder if you should just leave.
jade gets a hold of himself soon enough though, and he ushers you down the mountain under the guise of benevolence and whatever else he tries to sell to you on the way. you ignore it the best you can.
what you don’t see is the lingering grin tugging at the corners of his mouth, the entire trip down.
#twisted wonderland#twst#twisted wonderland x reader#twst x reader#jade leech#jade leech x reader#i struggled for five minutes on what to title this and then i made it a pun#impasse like pass like mountain pass are you seeing the vision#i don't actually know how to write jade leech like he's formal and mildly unsettling with how polite he is#but also weirdly playful? (well the leech version of it anyway)#my impression is that everything he does is for a bit and personal enjoyment#which makes sense considering him and floyd are. well. related#there's also definitely a distinction in his speech patterns from someone like azul but i can't pin it. maybe theatrics#anyways all this to say i don't actually know if he's capable of being sincere without some level of evasion and redirection#so i have no idea if this portrayal is ooc or not#considering how many interpretations i've seen it has to be at least someone's canon#if anyone has thoughts feel free to share
373 notes
·
View notes
Text
I’d like to take a moment to clarify the purpose of this blog.
I don’t view my posts as “content” and I’m not here primarily for the purpose of engaging with followers or other blogs. I really hardly even look at my dashboard anymore, and I don’t always check my notes.
This blog is more of a way for me to keep records, to save and organize photos and videos that I like and to remember how I was feeling at various times in my dogs’ development.
I am, of course, cognizant of the fact that I’ve somehow accrued 15,500 followers over the years, and I do make an effort to be kind to people and to answer questions if they haven’t been asked before and/or if it involves some aspect of the dog world that’s difficult to learn about without a mentor and direct experience. I also have made very dear friends here on Tumblr that have followed me into my real and personal life.
I do not, however, answer most of my asks, especially if they are questions I’ve answered before. I’m not really interested in people having parasocial relationships with my dogs or with me. I am not very interested in notes or prestige, though I am glad that many people derive comfort from my blog. I love when people add something funny to my posts or share fanart, but I’m mostly just here for me, and that is not likely to change.
So, if I don’t respond to your asks or comments, it’s nothing personal, and if you’ve sent me a sweet message, I probably enjoyed reading it. I just don’t have the desire to engage with people as “fans” or watchers.
I’m just a lil guy who loves her dogs and wants to remember all the stuff we’ve done together. And occasionally, when I’m up to it, I do enjoy providing information on breeding and conformation because that’s the kind of info I would’ve killed for when I was brand new.
You’re all wonderful people, I’m sure. I’m just not here for you.
#text#i try to be blunt and direct but kind#so truly i don’t mean anyone ill will#i just don’t really care about the so-called ‘social’ aspect of this particular social media#i also just really don’t care what people think about me#i don’t really care about the praise or criticism of strangers#and that’s just who i am#ETA: if you ever see me irl at a show or something feel free to say hi#I’d be happy to meet you#i just don’t view tumblr itself as a place to form relationships
319 notes
·
View notes
Text
i wrote an interactive poem for my girlfriend in 3 parts. she said you need to read it.
go here: take only the final quiz or take all 3. i don't mind. it's sad, though. this is a poem about choice. about fate and mental illness and how love fits inside of all of it. this is a poem about a long dark hallway. mostly this is a poem about mango sushi rolls.
good luck. i love you. despite it all, i'm hopeful.
#uqiz#she said i need to put it up here lmafo#something something feel free to send me 5 dollars towards my next sushi roll run#poetry#experimental poetry#there's no specific like warning on this except that im not doing well n therefore it LEAKS into my writing lol#the realllll shit as an author is like ohhhh fuck i write so much better when im mentally unwell lol#:( why cant i be sane AND rational. why does my creativity gotta stem from suffering.#(bc when im not suffering im outside saying YIPPEE and kicking my heels lol)#IF YOU SAW THIS BEFORE I CLICKED THE RIGHT LINK NO YOU DIDNT#hey btw if you're experiencing an error idk what's up with that bc it still loads on my end.#i'll look into solutions but sorry :(#hi friends: i have no idea why sometimes the links break for random people.#it might be a chrome/firefox/etc thing but i will say that the links still work on my end AND i still have people taking each quiz.#so i know it works .... i have no idea what the exact solution is - maybe reload it if urs isn't working?#sorry im not good at coding :(
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Thinking about marriage/women's rights on Vulcan Some may think that T'Pring not being allowed to divorce Spock was because he was going through the pon farr but if she were allowed to divorce him at all she probably would have done that a long time ago, confirmed by T'Pol when she's speaking with Koss, who isn't suffering from the pon farr. She says that he can choose another mate (without invoking a fight it seems: note the difference between a 'mate' and a 'challenger') and after he makes it clear that nothing she says will change his mind about marrying her, she finally threatens to declare a kal-if-fee. It's clear that Vulcan women cannot divorce/refuse to marry a man they've been betrothed to under any circumstances if A) He himself doesn't consent to ending their marriage or B) She doesn't have someone else waiting in the wings to be given to in his stead. Though, if the challenger she selects fails to win the fight, she'll have to marry her betrothed anyway unless (again) he decides he doesn't want her after the challenge. That seems like an incredibly unfair system, heavily biased towards men. SNW is an alternate universe in many obvious respects but most egregiously in that T'Pring has a lot of non-canonical agency over her relationship with Spock. It's interesting to me that Vulcan society has women in many positions of power and treats women as equal to men from what I've seen despite these laws. We don't really see Vulcans exhibiting a misogynistic attitude towards women in general but in TOS (perhaps because of its general writing style but it's still interesting to note) both Sarek and Spock take on patriarchal attitudes specifically regarding wives. Amanda says that 'of course' Sarek commands her because "he is a Vulcan and I am his wife." It's worthwhile in my eyes to note that she specifies 'wife' instead of attributing this attitude to women as a whole. Again, with TOS' writing style it wouldn't be out of place for her to say "he is a man and I am a woman." Spock, while in a pon farr induced irritation, states that it's "undignified for a woman to play servant to a man that isn't hers" - again implying that there's something specific about being a Wife in Vulcan society which is different from being a woman in general and demands subservience to a husband. This could perhaps stem from the extreme sense of ownership that Vulcan law has permitted men to have over women. A woman legally cannot point blank refuse marriage. There is no option which guarantees she won't have to marry her betrothed other than death. When T'Pau speaks of T'Pring she refers to her as being 'property' and Stonn, before being interrupted, states he's made 'the ancient claim' - we don't know what this is because he gets cut off but it's obvious they're both using the language of Vulcan law. Men are permitted true freedom to choose. If a woman wants to choose someone else to be with there is no option available to her other than the kal-if-fee which might result in the death of the one she wants to be with. And, if her lover fails, her husband can still just decide he wants to marry her and she'll be forced to. T'Pring gives two scenarios: One where Spock 'frees' her and one where he doesn't - it's still ultimately his decision which is clear when he ends the conversation with "Stonn, she is yours." This again isn't just because of the pon farr as T'Pol also goes through this. Koss can choose another mate and when the option is talked about there's no implication that this would result in any sort of fight (both by the casualness of its mention and by the fact that there's no formal word for it unlike the kal-if-fee.) Also, the fact that Koss does eventually grant T'Pol a divorce and it's all fine means that T'Pol isn't lawfully required to have another man waiting if her HUSBAND doesn't want her. It's ONLY required if SHE doesn't want her husband. Tradition must take precedence over individual desire UNLESS!!! You're a man. Then it's fine. Like, your parents might not be happy but legally you're golden.
#as a note do NOT read the comments on any T'Pol marriage clips on youtube they're full of 'haha women amiright' jokes about#how she's leading Trip on and being a bitch for not choosing him etc - if you become interested in female characters you learn#quickly just how much people still hate women displaying any amount of complexity/doing anything that isn't just falling into a man's arms#even if that hatred doesn't take the form of outright vitriol (aka: 'I feel so sad for Trip bc T'Pol's marrying some other guy')#Trip: T'Pol listen this arranged marriage stuff is no good - you've gotta be free! You have to do what YOU want to do!#T'Pol: -legally seen as property of her husband in the eyes of the law- ...............#<- not dunking on Trip it's just funny how easy it makes it seem - but!! He doesn't know all the facts#as evidenced by him saying T'Pol might 'call off the wedding' to her mother - T'Pol can't legally call off shit#It's also interesting how gender isn't really mentioned in any of the clips I've seen - it's very clear to me that T'Pol has no options#specifically because she's a WOMAN within her culture but that's almost like a quiet undercurrent and not focused on as a main#point of dissatisfaction - which I imagine it 1000% would be for Vulcan women when men have infinitely more freedom#Vulcan Man: I don't wanna marry this lady#Vulcan Law: Ok#Vulcan Woman: I don't wanna marry this guy#Vulcan Law: Noted. So - if you and your lover are willing to risk his life there's a chance (if he wins) that you can get out of marrying#him BUT if your husband kills your lover and still wants to marry you you DOOO have to marry him sorry you just gotta#<- this also makes it incredibly dangerous to in any way warn your legal husband that a kal-if-fee might be incoming#the element of surprise is a HUGE advantage when it comes to winning a fight to the death (which your lover can train for)#Vulcans#T'Pol#T'Pring#star trek#I don't think this is bad necessarily (as a fictional worldbuilding thing) but I wish it were explored more#It's especially interesting because it's an aspect of logical Vulcan society - it's clearly not logical but it's also clearly rooted deeply#in tradition which may mean Vulcan long ago used to have a much more extreme gender bias towards the male population#it just implies a lot that Vulcan has these old laws which are unfair towards women yet they still follow BUT women are treated as equal#citizens OUTSIDE of marriage! Maybe there was a feminist movement before? Is there another brewing? Where are the Vulcan feminists!
472 notes
·
View notes
Text
"Toshiro Is Sexist," "Toshiro Owns Slaves": What's Really Going on With This Guy?
I've seen a lot of debate on whether or not Toshiro is problematic because he's a slave owner or because he's sexist in the context of his crush on Falin. While I do want to examine his relationship to Falin, I'd like to take a few steps back and unpack his upbringing first. We'll dive into the gender and class dynamics he was raised with and how it impacts his behavior in the main storyline.
Like all people, Toshiro is shaped by the environment he grew up in. Toshitsugu, Toshiro's father and the head of the Nakamoto clan, is the most impactful model of authority and manhood in his life. Toshiro does recognize some of his father's flaws and tries to avoid replicating them. But whether or not he emulates or subverts his father's behavior, Toshitsugu is often the starting point for Toshiro's treatment of others, particularly marginalized people.
The Nakamoto clan exists under a patriarchal hierarchy with Toshitsugu at the top. As noted by @fumifooms in their Nakamoto household post, his wife has more authority than Maizuru. She's able to ban Maizuru from parts of their residence, but despite disliking his infidelity, she can't divorce him or stop him from cheating on her. Their marriage is not an equal partnership.
On an interpersonal level, Toshitsugu and Maizuru also have a fraught relationship. While she does seem to care for him, she's often frustrated by his thoughtless behavior.
For example, he drunkenly buys Izutsumi for her — without considering how she'll have to raise this child — and invades her room in the middle of the night. When he cryptically says, "It's all my fault," she replies, "I can think of a lot of things that are your fault." She calls him an "idiot" and "believes that [Toshiro] will grow up to be a better clan leader than his father," implying that she takes issue with Toshitsugu's leadership.
Because Maizuru and Toshitsugu are described as being "in an intimate relationship" and "seem[ing] to be lovers," Maizuru appears to be a consensual participant. Still, this doesn't negate the large power imbalance between them as a male noble clan leader and his female retainer. This imbalance introduces an insidious undertone to Maizuru's frustration with Toshitsugu. Like Toshiro's mother, Maizuru doesn't have the agency to do as she pleases in their relationship; he has the ultimate authority. For instance, she doesn't seem to want to raise Izutsumi, but she has to anyway.
While Maizuru's role as Toshitsugu's mistress is significant, she's also the Nakamoto clan's teacher and Toshiro's primary maternal figure. She cares deeply for Toshiro: tailing him, feeding him, and taking responsibility even for his actions as an adult. While it might seem sweet that she cares for him like a son at first, Maizuru was notably fifteen years old at the time of his birth. In the extra comic below, he's six years old and has already been in her care for some time. Even if we're being generous and assuming that she didn't start raising him until he was six, she was still only twenty-one at the time she was parenting her boss/lover's child with another woman.

Maizuru's roles as mistress and maternal figure, in addition to her role as retainer, demonstrate the intersection between gendered and class oppression in the Nakamoto household. Despite her original role being a retainer trained in espionage, Toshitsugu presses her into performing gendered labor for him and eventually, Toshiro. She's expected to be Toshitsugu's lover, perform emotional labor for him as his confidant, care for his child, and carry out domestic tasks like cooking. She says, "Even during missions, I was often dragged into the kitchen." If she was a male servant, I doubt she would have been expected to perform these additional tasks. She can't avoid these tasks either, stating that her "own feelings don't factor into it."
Toshitsugu disregards his wife's and Maizuru's desires and emotions to serve his own interests. Because he has societal power over them as a nobleman and in Maizuru's case, her master, neither woman can escape their position in the household hierarchy.
As a result, Toshiro grew up within a structure where men and male nobility, in particular, wield the most societal power. The hierarchical nature of his household and society discourages everyone, including him as a clan leader's eldest son, from questioning and disrupting the existing hierarchy.
The other Nakamoto household members also internalize its sexist, classist power dynamics.
For example, Hien expects that she and Toshiro will replicate the uneven dynamics of the previous generation, regardless of her personal feelings. She sees her and Toshiro's relationship as paralleling Maizuru and Toshitsugu's relationship; she is the closest woman to Toshiro and his retainer, so she's shocked when Toshiro doesn't attempt to begin an intimate relationship with her. Notably, she doesn't have actual feelings for him. Her expectations are centered around the household's precedent of placing emotional, sexual, domestic, and child-rearing labor onto the female servants without any regard for their personal desires.
Hien also probably knows that her position in the household will improve if she is Toshiro's lover because she's seen it improve Maizuru's position. However, the fact that being the future clan leader's lover is the closest proximity she, as a female servant, has to power further reveals the gendered, class-based oppression she and the other women live under.
It's important to note that the Nakamoto clan bought Benichidori, Izutsumi, and Inutade as slaves, so they have less power and agency than Maizuru and Hien. The clan further dehumanizes Izutsumi and Inutade as demi-humans; their enslavement contains an additional layer of racialization.
Toshiro isn't oblivious to the gendered, class, and racial power dynamics of his household. He tries to distance himself from participating in its exploitative power structure. He walls himself off from Hien, who he's known since childhood, to avoid replicating his father's behavior and making his servant into his lover. He disapproves of his father's enslavement of Izutsumi and Inutade, and he lets Izutsumi go when she runs away in the Dungeon.
But does any of this absolve him of his complicity in his household's sexist, classist power dynamics and racialized slavery?
The short answer is absolutely not.
Despite his distaste for his father's exploitation of his servants and slaves, Toshiro still uses them. He refers to his party as "his retainers," and he has them fight and perform domestic tasks for him. You could argue that Toshiro doesn't like to and thus, doesn't regularly use his servants and slaves. In the context of him asking his retainers to help him rescue Falin, Maizuru says, "The only time he ever made any sort of personal request was for this task." But it shouldn't matter whether exploitation is a regular occurrence or not for it to be considered harmful. Toshiro asking Maizuru to cook him a meal still constitutes asking his female servant to perform gendered labor for him. He's also very accustomed to her grooming and dressing him.
Maizuru sees feeding, washing, and even advising Toshiro romantically as fulfilling Toshitsugu's orders to care for his son. They aren't fulfilling a "personal request." But just because her labor has been deemed expected and thereby devalued doesn't mean that it isn't labor or that she isn't performing it.
Maizuru's dynamic with Toshiro is also complicated by her role as his maternal figure. She loves him and wants to take care of him, and she doesn't have a choice in the matter. During Toshiro's childhood, the onus was on Toshitsugu to cease exploiting his lover and release her from servitude, but Toshiro is now an adult man. Seeing as how Maizuru defers to his wishes and calls him "Young Master," they still have a power imbalance that he's passively maintaining. Ideally, he would not ask anything of her until he has the authority to release her from servitude.
Throughout the story, Toshiro acts as if he has no agency and quietly disapproving of his father's actions absolves him of his participation in maintaining oppressive dynamics. While his father still ranks higher than him, he's essentially his father's heir. He has much more power than Maizuru, the highest-ranked servant. At the very least, he could leave his slave-owning household.
Unfortunately, his refusal to confront injustice is consistent with his character's major flaw: he does not express his opinions, desires, or needs. While this character trait obviously hurts his friendships, it also furthers his complicity in the injustices his household runs on.
Toshiro's relationship with eating food — the prevailing metaphor of the series — also parallels his relationship with confronting injustice. Maizuru mentions that he was a sickly child, so the act of eating may have been physically uncomfortable for him. As an adult, his refusal to eat crops up during his rescue attempt of Falin. Denying himself food might have been punishment for not accomplishing important tasks like rescuing Falin and/or a way to maintain control over something in his life when he felt like he'd lost control over the rest of it, again in the context of losing Falin. (Note: I suggest reading this post on Toshiro's disordered eating by @malaierba.)
But he cannot and does not avoid consuming food forever.
Similarly, Toshiro keeps his distance from his retainers and tries not to use them until the Falin situation occurs. His efforts to avoid exploiting his retainers amount to inaction — things he doesn't ask of them or do to them. But his inaction does nothing to dismantle the existing hierarchy that places his retainers under his authority, denies them agency, and often marginalizes them as not only servants or slaves but as women, and he ends up using them as servants and slaves anyways.

Returning to the narrative's themes of consumption, Toshiro cannot avoid eating just as he cannot avoid perpetuating the exploitative system of his household. The Nakamoto clan consumes the labor and personhood of those lower in the hierarchy. The retainers' labor as spies and domestic servants is the foundation of the clan's existence. Thus, the clan consumes their labor to sustain itself.
Within this hierarchy, the retainers' personhood is also consumed and erased. As Izutsumi describes, they are given different names and stripped of their agency to reject orders or leave. Maizuru and Hien also say their feelings are irrelevant in the context of Toshitsugu's and Toshiro's wants and needs. Both women are expected to comply with whatever is most beneficial and comfortable for the noblemen. Clearly, despite Toshiro's detachment from his household's functions, these social structures remain in place and harm the women under him.
Although we know the Nakamoto clan has male retainers, the choice to highlight the female retainers seems intentional. We're asked to interrogate how not only being a servant or a slave in a noble household impacts a person's life and agency, but how being a woman intersects with being a member of some of the lowest social classes.
Toshiro only distances himself from his father's behaviors of infidelity and exploitation so long as it doesn't take Toshiro out of his comfort zone. He doesn't free his slaves. He's far too comfortable with his female retainers performing domestic labor for him, and he barely acknowledges their efforts; they're shocked when he thanks them for helping him save Falin. He hasn't unpacked his sexist (or classist or racist) biases because he perpetuates his household's oppressive hierarchy throughout the narrative. Considering all of this, he inevitably brings this baggage to his interactions with Falin.
Falin is presumably one of the first women he's had extended contact with that isn't his relative or his family's servant. Because of his trauma surrounding his father and Maizuru sleeping together, he understandably falls for a woman as disconnected as possible from his father and his clan. He seems to genuinely like Falin, respects her boundaries, and graciously accepts her rejection. His behavior towards her is overall kind and unproblematic.
But if Falin had gone with him, she would've likely been devalued and sidelined like the other women of the Nakamoto household. No matter how much he loves Falin, simply loving her cannot replace the difficult work of unlearning his sexism. Love, of course, can and should be accompanied by that work, but by the close of the narrative, we gain little indication that Toshiro acknowledges or seeks to end his part in exploiting and devaluing women and other marginalized people.
A spark of hope does exist. Toshiro expressing his feelings to Laios and Falin suggests that his time away from home has encouraged him to speak up more. Breaking his habit of avoidance may be the first step towards acknowledging his complicity in systems of injustice and moving towards dismantling them.
Special thanks to my very smart friend @atialeague for bringing up Toshitsugu's relationship with Maizuru and the replication of dynamics of consumption and class! <3
#toshiro nakamoto#maizuru#hien#toshitsugu nakamoto#falin touden#izutsumi#inutade#benichidori#shuro#dungeon meshi#dunmeshi meta#dunmeshi analysis#quite literally free my girls#i got so sad after finding that parallel between maizuru and hien both saying their feelings don't matter#reading maizuru's character bio and how she's a brilliant woman#but she's stuck w toshiro's dad like#i'm toshitsugu's number one hater he better watch out#also thinking about how toshiro looked up to maizuru not even his own parents until he found out about maizuru and his dads relationship#that's devastating bro#im entering my clickbait title era LOL i was told my prev titles were too academia pilled and boring sounding#i think i want to write about izutsumi's and inutade's relationships w gender next#delicious in dungeon#dunmeshi#*mine#*meta
951 notes
·
View notes
Text
you ever just have a lot, a LOT of feelings all at once about a character and not even remotely enough words or brainpower to FORM the words to describe everything you're feeling. so it feels like you may explode. yeah
#sorry i got really into my feelings about mark hoffman again#the very specific version of him in my brain that i really really wish i had the time and energy to properly share with you guys#saw#well until i muster the energy to explode all of my feelings out into a fic. if you want to TRY and understand#know that my three biggest hoffman fic insps right now are as follows#your best kept secret hoffman. a series of mistakes hoffman. and rushed like a dreadful wind hoffman.#there is a very clear throughline just know i am extremely emotionally compromised rn#thinking about theee fics vs the canon path hoffman spirals down#something something the absolute tragedy of watching a man's descent into madness#the transformation of a man into a monster#and what could have saved him from himself and kramer's corruption#sorry i'm rambling so much oh my god i was just having such a crying fit out of nowhere about this#do you think he could feel it happening. do you think he was aware he was losing his mind.#the script version of him fucks with me so bad. the crazed rankings and the longer hair and him not being well kept anymore#it's impossible to think he didn't know he was deteriorating#fuuuck okay i need to either chill or write a whole longfic rn#i project on that guy so much i truly don't know if i could properly write my vision of him#until i do something more substantial the full extent of my hoffman exists for me and my boyfriend only. they get me like no one else#well ginny and jenna also get me. please read best kept secret and a series of mistakes Oh My God#where am i going with this. i like tag rambling actually this is a nice way to do it without forcing EVERYONE to read my delirium#anyways if you've read all of this i think i love you? feel free to dm me about hoffman and my very specific headcanons and aus#maybe soon i'll try and start writing my fics about this tragic man#i could never say any of this on twitter btw they'd string me up for my opinions on him as a sad wet beast who could have been fixed#if only he hadn't been weaponized first#god i'm too tired to even be as embarrassed about this as i should be. thought i unlearned cringe already#but i've been spending way too much time on twitter and they HAAATE hoffman there#rip. i know it's not that serious but i'm sensitive rn and hate feeling lonely in my thoughts#ok bye for real otherwise i'll never shut up. i might tag ramble more often bc this was therapeutic in a way i needed badly#cat chat
1K notes
·
View notes
Text
I think sonadow shippers aren’t utilizing the absolute gold mine that is when your baby brother and your boyfriend absolutely hate each other
#you're telling me tail's big brother got with the guy that likes to play kick ball with his head and wouldn't feel some type of way about i#I think tails should be allowed to be a brat as a treat#if anyone has any fic recs with this concept please share#Sonic boom#because idk if video game shadow would say something like that#boom shadow feels like free game tho#miles tails prower#sonic the hedgehog#shadow the hedgehog#sonic fanart#sonadow#i drew a thing
301 notes
·
View notes