#why did it take me so long lmao | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marinaiguess · 11 months

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I've always imagined a small one shot of Sonic and Blaze having a playful sparring match, I'd love to see your take on that idea (if you want to ofc) x

ahem. this took. 7 months. im so sorry, hope this is worth the wait lol. i hate action sequences but i'm always up for a good challenge, amirite? I'll upload this on ao3 once i'm able to:/ The ending was inspired by a @hishighnesstheprincess fic that I absolutely love. Read it afterwards so that you don't get spoiled:)

playing with fire

warnings: violence, blood

It was a while since the last time he enjoyed a nice and calm afternoon like this one, surrounded by nature and its beautiful creations, like the picture-perfect painting across the sky, the colors seeping through the canvas, staining the grass, the trees, the field.

The table they were all gathered around.

He took a breath and allowed his lungs to be filled with the air that had previously been knocked out of him due to the realization that dawned upon him while looking at his friends.

That wasn’t a regular occurrence, he mentally noted, while the sound of laughing in the background was drowned out by his own thoughts. It wasn’t often that he felt overwhelmed, but of course, when he did, it was because of his friends; only they had the power to knock him down. Yet, what was also quite rare, was them gathering together like they did today, especially without being interrupted by any mad scientists and their evil plans.

A smile was adorning his expression, a small one, directed at no one in particular, as he looked into the distance, behind the pink hedgehog that kept on talking about her adventures.

His ear flicked as he picked up a different sound; a foreign one. He whipped his head to the source of it just to witness another rare moment; Blaze the cat laughing.

Well, it was more of a giggle because she tried her best not to be loud (and was successful) but that didn’t mean they didn’t hear her or that they didn’t see the joy that was written all over her face.

Sonic exhaled softly at that. The fact that Blaze was here, in his world, was a scarce incident on its own. And he was very happy that she was here, that she visited them, deciding to leave her world, lay off from her duties to relax and have some time for herself. On top of that, she chose to spend that free time, with them, with her friends. She sure has come a long way; how could he not be happy?

Gold eyes met his and he soon realized he had been staring at her, judging by the confusion prevalent on her features.

His own dumbfounded face was quickly replaced by a nonchalant and reassuring grin before he turned his attention towards Amy who was talking about… the chao races?

Okay, so, he might have been a little too happy about Blaze, but he didn’t like that everyone else could tell. He’d always hide his emotions quite well and he never enjoyed others knowing how he felt (maybe he never enjoyed dealing with his emotions himself) but in this specific case, something felt off. Out of control.

“Mr. Sonic?” Cream had called out a little while after Blaze’s arrival, when she had been taken away by Amy who was too excited and impatient to show her a photo album she made with Cream’s help.

“Hm? What’s up kiddo?”

“You seem very happy today!”

“Well, I am happy! We’re having a tea party!” he bent down to squish her cheeks, Cream escaping his attacks, giggling. “Isn’t that great?” He smiled widely.

“Yeah, but that’s not what I mean.”

A tilt of his head was enough to make her elaborate her statement and thoughts.

“You’ve been smiling…a lot. From the moment Blaze visited!”

“Huh.” He scratched the back of his quills nervously. “I didn’t realize.”

“You must have missed her.”

He tried to intervene but didn’t have enough time to.

“I’ve missed her too, so I understand! You like Blaze just like I do.” She smiled.

Sonic kept smiling, ignoring whatever weird feelings this conversation had brought up. “Of course, I like her, Cream. Same goes for you and all my friends.” He explained, refraining from opening his heart too much, his face was betraying him enough as it was.

“That’s very nice of you Mr. Sonic!”

If Cream could tell Sonic was just a tiny bit giddier than usual, then Amy would too and who knows who else, so that was a little worrisome. Especially if Vanilla had caught up, then, yep, he wouldn’t be able to save face anytime soon.

His shoulders relaxed a bit when he reminded himself that he didn’t actually care about all that because he didn’t need to have a justification for his delight, he didn’t need a reason to be happy for his friends. Why was he even so worried about it in the first place?

“So, yeah, the maze part was crazy but taking those guys down? Real trouble.” Amy’s storytelling was abruptly cut off by her groaning. “Man, just the memory of it gives me a headache.” She said closing her eyes and massaging her temples to soothe the pain. She really got into the story, huh?

Both Cream and Blaze looked a little taken aback by the whole story and Sonic couldn’t blame them; either of them is used to dealing with robots or having these types of adventures on a daily basis just like he did. In fact, part of why Blaze was here to begin with was that there was no threat in her world, she told them that much. Which was ironic at best, since his own world never seemed to be at peace, they were somehow always fighting against mad scientists who only caused chaos—

Sonic bit his lip as he remembered the one thing that almost destroyed them all: the metal virus. He glanced at Cream as the image of her broken form, of her lifeless eyes, inched into his brain, the way she had lost all hope the moment she lost her mother. It was painful to recall, (guilt still taking the best of him sometimes) but he couldn’t imagine how Cream was handling the aftermath of that—now gone—threat or how hard it would be to handle any other hurdle that life threw their way after that one.

Even now, she looked hesitant, sinking into her chair slowly until half of her face was hidden. Sonic raised a brow at that. Was she…scared?

“Amy…” she squeaked, everyone’s attention now on the youngest of the group, “…that sounds like real trouble. What if you couldn’t beat the robots and get out of there in time?”

Amy cringed visibly at that, Sonic’s eyes widened in surprise and the two hedgehogs were silently sharing the same thought. They knew where this question, this hesitation, was coming from, why Cream was afraid of them losing.

Because they almost did, not too long ago.

But Blaze didn’t know what their shared glances meant and didn’t care to understand at that moment as she only paid mind to Cream’s visible fear, carefully rubbing her shoulder without thinking twice about it.

“I’m sure it was nothing spectacular.” She smiled reassuringly. “They had it under control. They’re both safe, see?”

Cream peaked at the hedgehogs, gaze finally settling on the blue one, on the famous hero who everyone relied on. Sonic’s eyes flicked between the people who were staring at him, Cream and Blaze, like they were waiting for him to confirm that they were indeed safe. Because he was Sonic, he had to be the one who could make that confirmation, right? He was expected to.

The world always fell on his shoulders.

But as the thoughts multiplied and the words dried out in his slightly open mouth, Blaze took it upon herself to take his role.

To help him carry the weight he so desperately tried to carry alone.

And he was thankful for her help.

“They’re right here with us.” She tilted her head closer to the bunny in an attempt to gain her attention, to allow her eyes to communicate whatever else she wanted to add but wasn’t able to say through words.

Cream gulped and nodded slowly, registering what she meant.

“Besides,” Blaze bent backwards. “I didn’t lie before. I’m sure these robots were nothing spectacular. I could have taken them all down by myself no problem.” She smirked cockily as she crossed her arms.

Maybe this was her trying to sound confident enough to convince Cream that no one was really in danger but the way her lips curved upwards, made Sonic think otherwise.

Especially when she popped one eye open to directly look at him.

He knew this was a challenge.

So, he acted without thinking twice. He got up and walked next to Blaze who hadn’t flinched an inch despite having heard him alright. His footsteps on the grass were all that could be heard along with the occasional howl of the wind because everyone else had gotten silent. Was it the look on his face that caused this? Was the excitement too obvious? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t really care.

“So,” he speaks once he reached her side, hands planted on his hips. “you’re sure you could have taken them all by yourself?”

“Oh yeah, I’m most certain.”

Getting cocky, are we? “Then, I don’t think you’ll have trouble taking me down?” Sonic countered, jabbing his chest with his thumb.

“Where did this come from?” Blaze side-eyed him, unable to fully conceal her grin.

“I just wanna see how high you think of yourself princess.”

Blaze scrunched her nose at the nickname. “Are you suggesting we fight?”

“I wouldn’t call it a fight.” He crossed his arms. “Battle is a better word, to decide who is the…better one.”

“We did ‘battle’ the first time we met, Sonic, and it ended in a tie.”

“Yeah, but I was going easy on you. Right now, I can win no problem.” He closed his eyes as if that settled it, with a satisfied grin plastered on his face.

“Oh, a bit overconfident, aren’t we?”

“Uhhh, guys?” Amy interjected, suddenly feeling like she was covered in cold sweat. “You don’t have to—”

“Oh, don’t worry Amy, we just need to settle this, it won’t take too long.” He popped one eye open as he bent closer to his challenger. “Right, your highness?”

Blaze inched closer as well, almost making Sonic stumble back. Thankfully, almost. “If you keep calling me that, it certainly won’t take too long, yes.”

Sonic stepped back as his grin widened, cocking an eyebrow at the equally overconfident cat. “Huh.” He exclaimed in amazement. To say he was excited with how things have turned out would be an understatement.

“Whatever you say—” he bowed, still holding her gaze, “your highness.”

His added wink only infuriated Blaze more. She jumped out of her chair, not wasting another look on the hedgehog as she headed towards the open field not that far from where they had been spending their afternoon. Sonic snaked his hands between his spines before following her, his attitude exuding relaxation and assuredness.

They took their positions opposite to one another, a good 10 feet apart. They locked eyes as they prepared themselves, taking the same pose without really intending to do so. Besides, everyone knows bending your left leg forward and stretching your other one far back is the best way to get a good head start before boosting.

“Hey Ames, do me a favor and count down from 3 for me.” Sonic spoke, without taking his eyes off of Blaze.

Amy on the other hand, flicked her eyes between the two of them, waiting for either one to back off. Her hesitation was short lived though, upon seeing as none of the two moved away or towards each other. They were really waiting for her. So, she gave up and did as she was told, grabbing ahold of Cream’s hand to direct her behind her. Yet Cream tilted her head on the side to be able to look at the oncoming fight.

“Fine,” Amy sighed. “3, 2…1.”

Blaze was the first to get on the offensive, wasting no time to lunge forward, her fist directed right at Sonic’s face. Sonic understood her intentions and knew he would be able to outpace her, so he stayed there with a confident smirk plastered across face, waiting to evade at the last moment.

To his detriment, his confidence was predictable.

Blaze retrieved her fist and began sliding on the ground, aiming at his feet with her own. Sonic’s eyes narrowed at the incoming danger as he jumped just before she reached him, avoiding Blaze by a very small margin.

Using the momentum from his leap, he turned around with his right leg raised, aiming right at her, only for his kick to be blocked by Blaze’s arm.

How did she—?

Her other arm charged a punch at him which he easily avoided by landing a backflip. It seemed like he didn’t have much room for mistakes. But he didn’t have to worry about that if he started his offence right now.

And that’s what he did.

He boosted off at her direction with a very clear target. If his smirk had faded away, it returned in no time, especially when he witnessed Blaze dash as well, right at him. Just at the moment they were ready to crash, Sonic dodged by side-stepping, readying his kick at the back of her head.

What he was unable to predict however, was Blaze’s powerful kick that she delivered before he even had the time to comprehend her moves; bending her body forward and pirouetting with an outstretched leg, sent him flying at the bark of a nearby tree. He heard it crack as he slid down, his hand bracing his abdomen in an attempt to soothe the sudden pain that he definitely hadn’t accounted for.

He closed his eyes as he winced, trying his best to pull himself together as quick as possible but that was until something else caught his attention. A hunch. As if on instinct, he ducked, only to witness a punch landing just above his head, one which left another crack on the tree trunk behind him. The severity of it was obvious and Sonic found himself to be very lucky that this specific hit didn’t land on his face.

He shook his head and faced forward again, straightening his legs and launching himself at her feet with his own, using his entire body weight without thinking twice about it, giving little time to his opponent to react.

Next thing he heard was a thump. He craned his head to find Blaze lying on her back.

That was it. That was his chance to deliver the finishing blow. This fight was truly fast after all.

But just as Sonic readied his attack, Blaze raised her legs and gained significant momentum, using it to do a handstand and then land with a back flip. Her attempt to also kick Sonic in the process was in vain, as he was able to evade the hit this time around.

Well, to be fair, he wasn’t expecting such a recovery. Maybe she even faked that fall to trap him. He grinned at that thought as he playfully wiped his nose, watching her back away from him, possibly planning how she should attack next.

“Oh, I see you’ve gotten faster.”

A smirk spread across her lips as she skidded to a halt by planting one hand on the grass, her free arm stretched outwards in an attempt to keep her balance. When she sat up straight, still wary of her opponent’s movements, she turned her head to face him while the sunset in front of her illuminated just the outline of her features with a bright orange hue, making them glow like the flames on her palm.

“Or you are just too slow.” She said as he was approaching dangerously.

Sonic stumbled mid-air, feeling as though time had slowed down and for a short span of time, for a mere millisecond, he was overtaken by hesitation, unable to directly land the punch on Blaze and he didn’t know why. Maybe it was her comeback or that damned smile that accompanied it, but despite it all, it was exactly what Blaze needed to duck out of the way unharmed. Sonic’s fist met the ground not long after, eyes widening as he felt blood rush to his cheeks all of a sudden.

Battle. He reminded himself as he realized he had his back turned-on Blaze (bad decision), quickly side-stepping to narrowly avoid the incoming attack he had predicted with ease.

Of course, it’s getting hot, he tried reasoning with himself, I’m running around trying to take her down, I knew it would not be easy, she’s tough. He grinned at the ground before getting up and turning around, ready to keep up the fight.

And that’s the fun part of it.

“I can’t catch a break, can I?” he flicked his nose, grinning at her.

Blaze answered with a smile of her own, using her flames to boost herself towards Sonic at unprecedented speeds.

Sonic blocked her attack with an air cancel, a trick that helped him use the air to his advantage, by raising dirt from the floor with his feet. That would be enough to mess with Blaze’s sight for a little while. But as he was upside down, not yet stopping his “attack”, his head was momentarily close enough to the ground to notice fire shooting from underneath Blaze’s shoes. It was minimal and if he weren’t in that position at that time, he wouldn’t have noticed it. So, he steadied himself by landing on both his feet.

He witnessed Blaze shooting upwards with her makeshift rocket shoes, in an attempt to avoid the debris. This gave him a few seconds to think about it as he relaxed his body, the realization hitting him like a brick.

“You’re holding back?” he asked, not sure if she heard him.

She hadn’t used her flames to attack him or even restrict him yet. She was giving him a hard enough time as it was so maybe it was because she knew her powers wouldn’t contribute much to stopping him or slowing him down. But she also knew he liked to play with fire. If anything, he was concerned.

Blaze kept looking at him, the hint of a smile she wore until now suddenly gone as she extinguished her flames and used gravity to her advantage by doing another back flip. As she descended, she aimed a kick right at Sonic, clearly never letting her guard down. In order for him to be able to block the attack, Sonic had to use both his arms and even that got him pushed a couple feet back, planting both his feet firmly on the ground so as to prevent his fall.

A series of kicks and punches followed all of which were avoided by Sonic. Though, each time he evaded, he found it increasingly harder to get out of the way in time for the following attacks.

“Does it look like I’m holding back?”

Well, she was right to an extent. She wasn’t holding back physically. Heck, here he was hyperventilating, trying his best to keep his breathing in check.

However, he smiled, closing his eyes.

“Where’s the fancy fire then?”

Blaze blinked, lowering her fists, just a tiny bit. “I don’t need to use fire to defeat you.” She said expressionless.

It reminded him of that cold-blooded girl he met a long time ago. That expression; her way of hiding her emotions. Sonic didn’t like that. He didn’t like what that implied. Blaze was one with her flames; without them, she wouldn’t be the same. Her being hesitant to use it in this battle only meant that she hadn’t fully come to terms with her powers yet. Or even worse, she was afraid that she might hurt him and that’s why she was holding back.

“Come on Blaze, give me everything you’ve got.” He winked, smirking at her and her surprised face.

----------------------------

A punch sent him flying backwards. His eyes widened in realization when he saw what was in front of him and managed to curl himself into a ball to minimize the damage from the unavoidable hit. When he hit the rock, he couldn’t do anything but allow his body to land on the sand, thankfully a few feet away from the sea water.

The damage wasn’t that bad. But it didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt.

He kneeled on the ground as he coughed, holding one hand around his abdomen to support himself.

He looked up through blurry vision to find his opponent looking back at him, waiting for him to get up.

That look… A sense of déjà vu washed over him.

He suddenly recalled their last battle. The one where he was worried about her holding back.

He huffed a short inaudible laugh at that while mustering whatever energy he had left to stand on his feet, wiping his sweat with his forearm. He remembered how, if he were being honest, that he himself was also holding back during that battle, lest he hurt her.

The situation right now was similar, at least on his part; he was still holding back against her. Then again, he always had. From the very first moment they met.

But she wasn’t. And she was more ruthless than the first time they got into that fight.

She was burning everything around her to the ground, leaving nothing but ashes in her wake. No hint of fear could be seen on her emotionless expression. No remorse. No hesitation.

Her dark eyes were piercing through him, as he was focused on her glowing form, glowing brighter, more fiercely than the sun rising behind her. The sun that overtook the darkness, that started painting everything beyond the hills, except for her form, as her fur remained white, that unfamiliar color on her which he had learned to despise already. He wished the sun had the power to paint her fur back to its normal color. He wished her real self, the one that wasn’t affected by the fake Sol Emeralds, would come back to him.

And Sonic silently wished, if nothing else, that she would hold back against him, even a tiny bit, just like she had back then.

Or that he could find it in him to not hold back himself.

Sonic forced a grin as he spat out blood. “Come on Blaze, give me everything you’ve got.”

He was always up for a good challenge.

#A LONG ONE #3.7K WORDS LETS GO #hope you like this guys:)#why am i so nervous help #why did it take me so long lmao #sonaze #sonic the hedgehog #blaze the cat #sonic #sth #sonic idw #fanfic #fanfiction #sth fanfic #sonic fanfiction #amy rose #cream the rabbit

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brookheimer · 1 year

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i feel very mixed on shiv's ending, particularly her choice to return to tom -- i think it makes sense from a thematic/character arc perspective and is a powerful yet devastating indictment of both shiv and the world that created her as well as showing that the cycle of abuse will always continue to cycle, that shiv will become her mother etc, but i also think it does not make sense from a character/internal logic perspective. it's a choice that makes sense from the writers, but not from shiv, not yet. it could've been a brilliant ending to her character, but is tainted for me by the less-than-ideal execution of it, which felt very rushed, making shiv's final submission to tom feel forced by the show rather than forced by the situation or honest to her character. the ending is not inherently misogynistic from the writers' side as i've seen some criticisms claim (it is a dark but real portrayal of misogyny within capitalist society and how it's internalized within the white women who end up at the hips of the CEOs who run it), but i do understand how it could feel that way. the show fails at building up to (and thus convincing us) that the version of shiv we currently know would so immediately subject herself to her mother's fate, so instead of it feeling like shiv's hand was forced by patriarchy to place herself into her worst nightmare, it instead feels like the show itself was the thing that forced shiv to take that route, which does leave a sour taste in the mouth. it doesn't feel like the result of a choice shiv would make or the impact of patriarchal society bearing down, it just feels rushed and thus wrong. shiv would've benefitted immensely from a few more episodes or even just a few scenes dedicated to teasing out her newfound willingness to subject herself to immense disrespect in order to remain close to power, but given that her entire character has always been defined by her inability to do just that unless forced to (which i don't think she was in this situation as she could've easily not waited in the car for tom, not put her hand in his, but she did), her return to tom feels hard to comprehend, and her near immediate submission to him hard to stomach.

(read more under the cut because jesus christ did this get long)

in my mind, at least, i've always understood shiv as being respect-driven rather than power-driven -- she wants power, yes, but more than anything she wants to be taken seriously and respected and seen as a legitimate player, and time and time again we've seen her blow up situations that would've been very advantageous long-term because she felt disrespected and needed to speak up and force people to take her seriously (which, ironically, typically results in the opposite). shiv's overarching goal is power, but her immediate necessity is always respect. her dignity is her number one priority at any given moment, even when it shouldn't be, even when it stops her from attaining the success and power she wants. i can kind of understand shiv going against kendall because of this -- she's always had a very, very narrow lens whenever she feels like she's being disrespected, and even though it is infinitely more humiliating for your (somewhat ex) husband to betray you and boot you out of the CEO position behind your back at the behest of your supposed closest ally (and for you to still vote for them after that!!!) than it is for you to magnanimously allow your brother to be CEO (which would publicly be seen as a choice, as telly etc said - sibs need to stand united behind one chosen CEO - rather than shiv being out of the loop and fucked to infinity), the narrowness of her vision upon seeing kendall about to win makes it impossible for her to think about that legitimately. it's not just jealousy, it's indignity: shiv feels she earned CEO through her machinations with mattson and feels genuinely sick seeing the loganified kendall grinning at the head of the table, hearing his "that's fucking right" and witnessing his cocky entitlement to the job that belonged to her. so, she does what she always does when she feels disrespected, when she feels her dignity is at stake, and impulsively blows everything to fuck, including her own best interests. that makes sense for shiv, at least somewhat -- i still think that as much as she wouldn't want ken as CEO she'd feel like at least w that outcome she'd be seen as a player and a deciding factor, whereas with mattson/tom she'd be viewed as a pathetic fucked-over nothing woman pawn etc (a situation of unparalleled indignity imo), but i can rationalize her choice to go against ken anyways as being part of the narrowed field of vision she always gets upon feeling disrespected by men in her life that makes it impossible for her to think strategically (and i guess even though the disrespect was greater and more humiliating from tom/mattson than ken, ken was the most recent most present and most lifelong source so that's all she could focus on; seeing him like logan was too much to bear). it's hard to imagine shiv publicly throwing her vote behind two men who publicly fucked her as humiliatingly as mattson and tom just did, even if the other option is kendall, but i think that's part of it -- it's fundamentally illogical, even from her disrespect-lens, because there's just something about kendall specifically being in charge that she's never been able to stomach. it's visceral and impulsive. it's not meant to make "sense." it's just what she feels she has to do to preserve her own dignity, even though it works directly against those same interests realistically. it wasn't executed very well, making it hard to entirely buy it given just how publicly humiliating the alternative is, but it can still be chalked up to her historically one-track-mind when it comes to indignity by the hands of kendall in particular. it's a last-ditch attempt for shiv to at least feel like she's maintaining her dignity, her self-respect, as counterintuitive as it actually is. it makes sense. i can stomach it.

again, shiv's fatal flaw (in logan's eyes and aside from her original sin of being a woman) has always, always been her inability to shut up and make the smart move in situations where she feels she's being disrespected or not taken seriously. if shiv stayed quiet during that dinner with the pierces, maybe she would've been logan's CEO, but no, she couldn't stop herself, she needed to feel she was being taken seriously, she burst out 'cmon, dad, just tell them it's going to be me.' she is unable to play it smart, to keep quiet, to win when winning means perceived disrespect. she's allergic to it. even on a personal level, she shoots herself in the foot constantly because of this: she is unable to let herself have the things she wants because she can't put herself in positions that open her up to disrespect and perceived inferiority. she can't be vulnerable because she needs to be respected. tom asks her if he could 'try to make love to her' in episode one of this season, and even though she clearly wants to, she says 'no, i don't think so, tom.' tom tells her he 'wants her, wants this' back in episode six, and even though she clearly wants that too, she draws back and says 'well then you shouldn't have betrayed me.' shiv is fundamentally incapable of allowing herself to remain in possibly advantageous situations when she feels at risk of being seen as lesser, of being disrespected, of being perceived as weak. that is her response to patriarchy. when patriarchal forces bear down, shiv is unable to grin and bare it -- she has a short fuse, a sharp tongue, and an inability to entertain even a second of being treated like The Woman, of being looked down upon, especially when it's for her gender. it's the one thing she cannot do, cannot let herself do, and it's why she fails to "win" over and over and over again. she shoots herself in the foot the second her patriarchy disrespect sensors tingle. she makes the wrong choice, the dumb choice, the one that makes her feel like she stood up for herself in the moment but ends up leaving her powerless and helpless in the end. that's the only explanation for why she chose to vote against kendall (the clearly better option for her long-term as she'd 1) be respected as part of the decision, as someone who helped choose the CEO rather than a Woman who got fucked over and had the door slammed in her face by her husband and close ally simply because she possessed a womb, and 2) probably be head of ATN or some other area of waystar, she'd have actual power within the company and be respected as a legitimate source of power rather than the CEO-to-be made CEO's humiliated wife -- if she was capable of making the smart, selfish choice in terms of power instead of having a hair-trigger reaction to gendered disrespect and cocky male superiority, she would have voted kendall. but she is not capable of doing that. she never has been. so she voted tom and mattson.

so what i still cannot for the life of me understand is what would compel this shiv, the one who cannot stomach indignity even when power's on the line, to immediately return to tom's side the second he beckons her, which is like five minutes after he becomes CEO (the job she was promised) by mattson (who gave it to tom instead of shiv because 'why get the baby lady if i can get the man who put the baby inside her?'). it makes perfect, cruel, devastating sense from a show perspective, and that's what most people are talking about, understandably. it's a devastating yet unavoidable, inevitable outcome. she's left with no other choice once she makes the decision against kendall, and patriarchy compels her to play the good wife to stay close to power. except, like... she does still have a choice. she does not have to go back to tom's car. she does not have to sit patiently waiting for him. she does not have to quietly congratulate him on his victory. she does not have to place her hand in his. these are all choices she made very voluntary. they're choices between maintaining her dignity and self-respect at the cost of future power versus maintaining the potential for future power at the cost of her dignity and self-respect -- the classic siobhan roy conundrum. she's been faced with it time and time again (even just five minutes prior with kendall) and she has never, not once, chosen the latter of her own volition. she hasn't been able to. that's her fatal flaw. maybe i could stomach her going back to tom if she didn't congratulate him, didn't place her hand in his when he expectantly held his out -- then some dignity would be preserved, maybe. but her complete and total submission for the sake of future power does not make sense with her lifelong inability to do just that. it makes sense that this would be her eventual endpoint, but we have seen nothing that implies shiv would so willingly subject herself to this feminine submission of wife and mother before person or source of power, to the complete and utter humiliation of being the quiet wife at the side of the man who knifed her in the back (and notably handed said knife by the man she thought her closest ally) in order to steal the job she fought for her entire life and, in her opinion, had earned. maybe she would come back to him eventually, for love or (more likely) for power, but it is incredibly hard to believe that shiv 'impulsive when faced with indignity' roy would be capable of immediately and publicly playing the role of the good wife after such intense and public humiliation at the hands of her husband.

really, the way i feel about the shiv ending is similar to how i feel about the daenerys ending -- unlike most people, i really wasn't that against the daenerys outcome. i thought it made a lot of sense and was interesting, devastating, and fascinating. i thought there had been a few signs all along and that that ending for her would make sense and be far more interesting than a Hooray ! Girlboss ! ending. however, it was poorly executed -- it was rushed. it did not make sense from where daenerys was at that point in the text. it could've worked, it could've worked brilliantly, but it needed more time to build and fester in order for her ultimate turn to feel earned rather than forced for the sake of the point the writers wanted to make. that's kind of how i feel about shiv. i get the ending and i don't think it's inherently bad or misogynistic or anything, but it feels like the writers saw the possibility for a shiv 'mommed' ending and immediately took it, with little regard to what actually made sense for shiv herself to do in that moment. outcome > character. that's frustrating for me particularly for succession because my like number one reason for adoring succession as much as i do is their consistent refusal to operate the way most media does (using the characters as instruments to achieve the plot/outcome the writers want), instead prioritizing following the characters themselves in a way that feels honest and real. it's character-driven, not plot or ending driven. i think that this fell by the wayside a few times in the latter half of this season simply because there was so much that needed to happen in such a short space of time (especially during the finale), but in my opinion, at least, the most egregious case is shiv. given more time, more development, more build-up, the last shot of her hand in tom's would've struck the chord the writers wanted it to -- and for some people, it did anyways! but for me, it rang out and fell nauseatingly flat. it felt hollow and wrong and unearned. shiv could end up becoming her mother, that feels entirely possible, but not in this particular sense, not yet. in what world would siobhan roy willingly choose to be seen as nothing more than a woman hanging off her husband's arm, especially when said husband had publicly humiliated her and ruined her entire life just five minutes prior? when, just five (metaphorical) minutes prior, she was the one poised to be CEO and everyone knew it? when now everyone will see her on tom's arm and whisper and gawk? she has become her worst fear, yes, but unlike kendall, it does not feel earned. it does not feel like she has actually become her worst fear. it feels like the show forced her to. not patriarchy or the situation or her own desire for power, but the show itself. that's what feels so shitty.

i wouldn't necessarily call the writing misogynistic as a result of this, as it's less a flaw of misogyny and more a flaw of bad, rushed writing that could happen to any character. it's the same as with daenerys -- although (somewhat unlike succession) there were many, many aspects of GoT's writing that were deeply misogynistic, especially in the last season (just look at fucking brienne), the core issue with the daenerys plotline is not one of misogyny but of time. they did not give daenerys the time needed to become the version of herself seen burning down the city. that could've easily been a focus of previous episodes, but it wasn't. they simply did not develop her enough for that turn to make sense yet. it could make sense, hypothetically, at some point down the line, but at that point it felt sudden, off-putting, and wrong. shiv could easily become her mother. that's been made evident especially regarding her relationship to pregnancy/children, love, and vulnerability (or the lack thereof). but for this ending to make sense, we would have needed to see signs of shiv imitating her mother's willingness to be relegated to the sidelines, to bring out the food while the men eat and make deals, in order to remain tangential to power. that is a concession shiv roy had never been willing to make prior to the last five minutes of the entire show. other signs of shiv imitating caroline or falling prey to patriarchal norms throughout the show are not enough to undo shiv's fundamental refusal to weather gender-related indignity even when doing so would benefit her. in my opinion, that's why the final five minutes of shiv's plotline were so unsatisfying.

shiv could become her mother, and her ending could be a devastating portrayal of the inability for even rich white women to escape their original sin of being a woman in a man's world, as well as a dark, ironic criticism of both women like shiv and the patriarchal world that breeds them into existence. but because the show did not develop shiv in this particular direction and because her entire character thus far has been defined by her self-destructive insistence on being respected at all costs, shiv's ending did not land the way it could've, or should've.