#And then went lol Fuck no I'm not helping her with zero sympathy

[retro-stars]

 I have been seeing far too much content trying to paint Belos as a sympathetic character. 

He’s not.

You can be mad all you want, he is not a sympathetic character.

Want to know what he is?

A fascist, prejudiced, and overall delusional man who is designed to be seen as nothing more than a sad, irredeemable fool.

He was given a list worth 300 years of witches being nothing but peaceful so long as you returned the favor. People who were no different than him. He spent years mutilating himself with the explicit purpose of committing mass genocide.

 He was given a hand to reach to in the form his brother; the boy who raised him after he was dropped in his lap when he was a grieving teenager. Who, even after seeing countless acts of severe distrust towards witches, towards him, still loved and trusted Belos. Who asked for nothing in return but for Belos to trust his judgement in knowing what good for himself.

And what did Belos do? He looked Caleb in the eyes, spat him in the face for his kindness, and then stabbed him in the back. He then proceeded to spend centuries creating version of his brother to abuse and kill due to some strange mix of enjoying the pain of his brother, relishing in the suffering of all those around him, and a bizarre sense of entitlement to his brother life and loyalty.

He had more than enough time and resources to get over his own bigoted attitude. He just didn’t.

Don’t try and tell me that “It’s just how he was raised.” There are more than a few cases of people in History being raised in far more prejudiced environments, looking around and realizing “We are assholes actually” and changing for the better without nearly as much time or proof to the contrary as Belos.

Belos and his backstory is purposefully treated with a level of casualty that is designed to give off the impression that he is NOT sympathetic or complex. He is a sad man who baby raged for 300 years instead of getting over himself.

[frazzledsoul]

So I find it interesting that in the last few years of the show we know almost nothing about how Rory processes the break-up with all three boyfriends.

After Dean dumps Rory for the third time because he realizes they have nothing in common anymore, I don't think we hear anything about him from her side other than telling her therapist that the affair was a bad idea (obviously). The last time we see Dean he's angry at Rory for wanting to move on from Stars Hollow and insisting to Luke that Lorelai will do the same for him and we... essentially never hear anything about him in the OS ever again. In AYITL, he's married, has a gazillion kids, seems emotionally stable for a change, and doesn't seem to resent Rory or idealize their relationship as much as she does. They've obviously run into each other from time to time and they're not bitter. What does Rory think about how all of that ended? I guess we'll never know, because ASP bizarrely thinks Dean was perfect. Whatever! Moving on.

Logan is even more of a question mark. Rory doesn't seem to take their breakup particularly hard, even though he blindsided her with a proposal and refused to accept any sort of compromise. Maybe she figured that their breakup was in some way inevitable as they went through this milestone and moved into adulthood? Who the fuck knows, because in AYITL she seems to be a complete commitmentphobe in every sense of the word (not just romantically) and they're having an affair that definitely looks like a relationship at times but invites no self-reflection from either of them. They don't talk about their relationship and both seem to have accepted they'll never have a real one again or move onto anything deeper and....lol, no one knows why? Do they love each other? Do they regret how things turned out? Would Logan be willing to leave his life behind and give it a go? Does Rory want a relationship with anyone, period? Does Rory even care about him as a person, since she seems to know absolutely nothing about his life and I'm not sure she....wants to? (Seriously. Compare how she interacts with Dean and Jess and seems genuinely interested in what's going on with them). I guess we'll never know any of this either.

Jess is a different scenario because Rory meets him again during the OS and we have an entire year and a half in which her demeanor towards him drastically changes. He leaves town and she's hurt, but claims to have moved on: during their two brief interactions in season 4, he avoids her, confesses his love for her on two separate occasions with zero context, and she's still so pissed at him she could spit nails in his direction and wants nothing to do with him...and runs into the arms of married Dean because she sees him as genuine and safe.

When Rory meets Jess in season 6, she's clearly not angry at him anymore: she's nervous, genuinely interested in his life, proud of his accomplishments, wants to spend time with him, gushes about how she always knew he could do something great because he was so smart and had so much potential. He gets into a fight with her boyfriend and her sympathies are absolutely towards him, not Logan.

Obviously it would be weird if she were still angry, but what changed, specifically? Is it because after her dalliance with Dean she's less inclined to judge him for how he hurt her? Did moving on with Logan (I don't think she ever really loved Dean again) help her finally process all that hurt and anger? Did Jess just obliterate all of her hurt feelings with his charm, maturity, and artfully arranged coiffure?

I guess it was a combination of all these things, but this is the first time in a long time that Rory shows him a lot of respect as a *person* as opposed to someone who frustrates her one minute and delights her the next. She doesn't have to spend her time defending him, because he doesn't need to be defended anymore. And not only is he the person to drag her out of that hole she's sinking in, she lets him.

Then we move onto the open house at Truncheon, where Rory....behaves badly, to put it mildly. I don't think she went there with malicious intentions. She was genuinely proud of Jess and wanted to see him and spend time with him. Still, it's got to be one hell of a blow, for her to show up on a night that was important to him, let him believe he still has a chance with her romantically and that she was single, and then to confess that she's still in love with the other guy and he's only a distraction. What stands out to me about that scene is that Jess flat out tells her that he doesn't deserve to be treated like that while Rory is in the middle of apologizing. While I think that romantically the door was closed for the time being after that incident, Jess doesn't appear to resent her or lash out, and Rory knows that SHE'S done wrong, that SHE hurt him, and she's sorry. She might not love him again like he wanted her to, but she cares about him, she respects him as a person, and she doesn't want to see him hurt. I don't think we have seen her have that attitude towards Jess for years and years.

Does she respect Logan as a person at this exact point in time? I would have to say no. She seems to feel zero guilt about running around on Logan, even if she can't bring herself to go further. She flat out says she's in love with him but he deserves to be hurt (ouch). She only grows tender towards him after he nearly dies. She might love him, but this relationship is not exactly bringing out the best in her.

Season 7 is a different story (I definitely think Rory respects that version of Logan) but since this is ASP's story, we have to return to her fatalism and her belief that Logan can never, ever change, because then he won't be able to ruin Rory's life and effectively crush all her hopes and dreams with his super sperm. Meanwhile, she clearly still respects Jess: not only is his advice the only advice she is willing to take, but she's clearly still involved with him on this writing project afterwards and as a member of her extended family. And shouldn't you, in the end, seek a partner you actually respect as a person, as well as love? Shouldn't you actually....like them?

[thaleleah]

awe tal 🩷 don't even apologize!

no girl same i have not met a single step parent who's at least a bit decent! my uncle recently married this woman who has two grown kids, my uncle also has two grown kids. and let's just say that both my cousins disowned their dad 👀 his wife and her daughters are all so problematic that my uncle only hangs out with them and he doesn't even talk to his sons anymore. it's honestly so sad how divided a parent and their child's relationship becomes. and they are so blind to it!

my stepmonster is 43-44! same age my older sister 🥴 and her dad is a year younger than my dad like it's actually so gross 🤮 i do not have an issue with huge age gap relationships, i was in one myself 2 years ago, but when it comes to it being the same age as your own kid or dad i'm like ew dad 😂

and tell me about it? how can they still get it up is the question 😂 my stepmom is actually sick. you know what she would do? she would come up to me and tell me how good my dad fucks her 😑 like bitch i don't want hear how my dad is in bed. i was about to throw up with the details she was providing me 🤢

also girl don't even feel bad for my dad. he fucked up his kids lives so much. he's been a serial cheater since he married my mom, which is why they got divorced, and yet he claims he's still in love with her like what? 😂 and my mom is just selfish. both did so much wrong. my dad actually has a girlfriend on the side rn 😂 and stepmonster knows, but it's all about the money for her. it's a mess of a shitshow lmfao 😂

i just went on a long ass rant i am so sorry girl 😂

your poor mom 😢 your step dad is such a pos. and of course he uses religion as an excuse to control your mom 🙄 "God first, then the husband, then the children" - fuck off clown. he knows damn well it's the kids that come first, you're not even her father? like stfu dude.

girl i get you, i also have to be civil, and it's so hard. i can't imagine how hard it is for you 🩷 it's so sad we have to keep the peace in order to still be in our parents lives 🫤 it's so unfair to us. some parents are just selfish. both mine fucked up everything for their own sake and happiness and completely forgot how it would affect us.

but... thank god we're not alone 🩷 like we always have each other to talk to about this stuff and that helps a lot to know that there is a lot of us who have gone through this!

thank god for tom blyth cause that man is my happiness atm 😩 he literally makes me so happy. whenever i see his face i have this instant smile on my face like an idiot 🥰 i honestly can't for june!

and tal, my love, you have gift.... that tom blyth drabble ughhh 👄💦

THE FUCKING DRAMA WHAT

First of all, I take back everything I said about your dad lol. That man is a cheater and therefore I have ZERO sympathy for him.

I agree that the age gap isn't an issue but it is superrrrrr uncomfortable for him to be older than her own dad and her to be the same age as his daughter. Those vibes are NOT it 😭

Also, your stepmom is fucking horrid. Staple her lips shut cause no! No one wants to hear about their parent and how they are in bed. And that man is almost in his 80s. I'm sorry but there is no way he's fucking anyone that good. He'd probs break a damn hip, be so for real right now. I'm actually so curious how "attractive" your dad is to be having a side chick at 78. Or is his side-girlfriend trying to get money too? Is the side-gf nice at least???? How old is she??

I have so many questions lol. Tell me the tea ☕️ (if you're comfortable of course, no pressure)

My stepdad is the absolute worst. Nothing pisses me off more than someone using religion to control people and cause harm but it seems more and more that that's the norm. Also like... she loves me because I'm her daughter. She chooses to love him. He won - can he stop this bullshit feud now? I'm tired of it. Having to deal with him and constantly be in survival mode, plus seeing how he mistreats my mom has absolutely fucked me in terms of my own romantic relationships. I have never had a relationship that lasted longer than a month cause if I see even one thing that reminds me of my stepdad, I'm gone. He completely messed up my sense of trust and I'm trying to work through it but its sooooo hard.

Also, he threatened to take me to court once cause I pissed him off. That's not relevant to anything other than to further show that he's an asshole lol

But yes, you can 100% always talk to me about this cause even just going through these messages was actually really cathartic. I don't have any siblings so anyone that I talk to about this really can't understand anything completely from my perspective so its nice to talk to someone who gets it.

JUNE CAN'T COME FAST ENOUGH. I'm so excited for the new episodes, I'm gonna be completely unbearable for a lot of people lmaooooo

Thank you, babesssss 😏 I'm glad you liked it! I'm proud to serve 🫡

[thegreymoon]

LMAO, WHAT DO YOU THINK?

You've been expertly played by an opportunist for 20 years! I think it's about time you transferred your higher brain functions from your dick back to your head.

***

LMAO, as a Song Dynasty equivalent of a bank account, obviously! 🤣🤣

I have no sympathy for this man. Zero. None at all.

***

LOL, what is she doing??

I mean, technically, she's right, they must resolve this, but isn't she digging her own grave? Things were bad before, but now she's admitted to him that she never loved him and was using him all along, plus she is threatening the rest of his family?

Has she forgotten that she is a concubine and that they can sell and kill her at a whim? Does she think Molan will save her? There is NO CHANCE Molan's in-laws will lift a finger for her and what power does Molan have on her own? None! Changfeng is also useless.

And even if she is not banished, her life of leisure in this house is over! I think she has lost Sheng Hong's protection here for good.

***

Oh, fuck you.

Yeah, she's a bitch, and yeah, she has been a cancer eating away at this family for twenty years, but you brought her in! You! You fed her and nurtured her and gave her free reign to abuse and murder in your own house! You turned a blind eye to everything! You!

The nerve of him to act all offended now, smh.

***

Oh, and the best part of all this? Molan was undoubtedly his favourite child 🤣🤣

***

Oh, Hualan, you don't have an in-law problem. You have a worthless husband problem.

I am fascinated by this woman. Here she is, living with this useless man in a hell of a marriage and she is still here, preaching to her mother how she must support Sheng Hong and endure calamity together because they are husband and wife? How he will no longer pamper concubine Lin?

HE HAS BEEN PAMPERING CONCUBINE LIN FOR 20 YEARS! HE HAS CAUSED THE FUCKING CALAMITY! WHAT HUSBAND AND WIFE? HE BROUGHT ANOTHER WOMAN INTO HER HOUSE, HAD CHILDREN WITH HER AND UNDERMINED HER FOR HIS MISTRESS' SAKE AT EVERY TURN! HE HAS SPAT ON HIS MARRIAGE FOR DECADES AND WANG RUOFU IS FULLY ENTITLED TO NOW SPIT IN HIS FACE!

***

And when do we beat your worthless son to death, please tell?

Have I mentioned lately how much I despise Countess Wu?

***

Eww, gross 😬😬

I know this is technically not incest and that this is hugely hypocritical of me but family members sharing sexual partners is a HUGE squick of mine (like two brothers with the same woman, two sisters with the same man, or god-forbid, parent and child with the same partner). I nope out so hard.

***

LMAO, Granny remains an undisputed Queen 👑

End them, Granny!! 😅😅

***

LMAO, Granny is ruthless!

But I'm with her on this. I would react in the same way. If somebody went out of their way to endanger the life and livelihood of myself and those I care about for their own petty gain and then came to me asking me to ruin my life to help them get out of the hole they dug for themselves? I too would tell them to feel free to die.

***

LOL, she's pregnant?

But I am fascinated by all this. So, you were willing to beat a whole living woman to death for the crime of having sex, but are now unwilling to follow through because of a barely-there fetus that is the product of said sex? 🤔

I just cannot with this conservative, pro-birther logic.

***

Honestly, I've been thinking about what Molan would have turned out like if she'd had a different mother since I started this show.

She is beyond doubt a sociopath, but was she born that way, or is it her upbringing that turned her into one?

Honestly, I can see both sides of the argument.

Even if she's been born a legitimate princess, I can totally see her using her power to murder people to get a man who isn't interested in her to marry her too. If she had been born a man, she would have been even worse. The more power you give her, to more she will misuse it.

***

LMAO, Eldest Sister wanted to beat her ass so much 🤣🤣 Imagine pissing her, of all people, off to such an extent!

***

LOL, good girl, Minlan!

Honestly, same! With her prospects and the way all these marriages around her have turned out, I would have sooner become a nun.

***

LMAO, the mentality of these women, I cannot 🤣🤣

Each and every single one of them has had a hell marriage and still they are all, "Not marry? IMPOSSIBLE!"

The Story of Minglan

There is so much RL stuff that needs to get done ASAP but I MUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS!! 😭😭

I have the impulse control of a chipmunk, I swear 😫😫

***

All these servants are going to end up dead to cover up for Molan, aren't they 😔

On the one hand, they should have known better than to get involved in something this stupid and dangerous, but on the other, did they really even have a choice?

***

LOL, YOU HAVE LESS TIME THAN YOU THINK!

***

LMAO, IS HE SERIOUS?

The men on this show are so self-absorbed and stupid, I cannot 🤣🤣

My good sir, she is risking her whole life and future here if she is found out and all that will happen to you is a moderate scolding from Mommy 🙄

***

IKR! The audacity of him!

And you are still doing all this just to get him! GIRL!!

No brain cells are detected anywhere in this room!

***

IT IS HAPPENING!!!!!!!!!! 😱😱

OH, MOLAN, THERE WILL BE NO CRYING YOUR WAY OUT OF THIS ONE NOW!! YOU'VE FINALLY DONE SOMETHING DADDY CAN'T FORGIVE OR BLAME ON YOUR YOUNGER SISTERS!!

***

GETTING ALL THE POPCORN!! 🍿🍿

***

LMAO, everyone is so sick and tired of her bullshit 🤣🤣

"Daaaaaarling Hoooooong" is not going to do you any good this time!

***

Oh my goooooooddddd 🤣🤣

WHAT DID YOU THINK WAS GOING TO HAPPEN?

***

LOL, and of course she pretended to faint 🤣🤣

Bitch, the time for these cheap tricks is OVER!! YOU ARE DONE!!

***

LMAO, but god forbid she marries a scholar, and a farmer's son at that 🤣🤣

She must marry a 🌟COUNT🌟

***

Wait, would they really kill her?

I mean, I know they regularly murder servants, but she is a daughter of the house after all. I assumed that she'd get sent to a nunnery or something.

***

LMAO, THESE THINGS ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE!

IF THEY BEAT MOLAN TO DEATH, THEY ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO KILL YOU TOO!

***

LMAO, isn't your daughter implicated by association too?

What are you happy about?

***

Oh! They thought they could hide it!

No such luck, LMAO! 🤣🤣

***

LMAO, drag his useless ass, Granny!

This is all the fruit of his neglect and unfairness!

***

LMAOOO, THIS SCENE IS THE BEST!!

She's taking no prisoners today and he's so ashamed 💪💪

***

Oh my god.

She still thinks she's getting away with this?? 😬

***

OOOH, SHE IS SCREWED NOW!!

SHE LEAKED IT, DIDN'T SHE?

***

She is so over. She sorely overestimated herself here.

***

LMAO, this whole exchange 🤣🤣

The endless nerve of this woman!

[derireo]

Perfect timing for angst because I'm not feeling great myself currently ;; Itaru with the lines of "Don't you see that this was a mistake?" "Don't say anything, please." Maybe Itaru did something that hurt the reader?

got it! tell me why i went off on this one :/

It kind of sucked that you were sitting alone at your dinner table right now. It kind of sucked that, after having gone on so many dates with this guy, he only saw it as a short little game.

Maybe you were just dumb for not realising it, but Itaru— that charming guy.. Fuck. He knew how to play his cards right.

How many times have you fallen for this scheme? How many people have tricked your foolish self into thinking that, hey, maybe you do have a chance at dating again.

And then— and then he pulls this shit off that makes you revisit the past that created the insecurities you have now, and you can't help but conclude that maybe you just weren't interesting enough for him.

You just can't believe Chigasaki has the gall to bring another woman to the same restaurant you both were talking about not too long ago.

He didn't even notice you at first despite sitting at a table near the reservation desk, and you were kind of glad because you felt like you were going to vomit.

The woman beside him held onto his arm as he asked about their reservations, looking up at his stoic visage with hearts in her eyes. Her finger was absently drawing circles into his bicep as he held conversation with the receptionist.

You figured this might be the best time to wave a waiter down and ask if you could cancel your appointment here.

"I may have to charge you for cancelling even though you haven't ordered yet. Is that alright?" They said with concern lacing their words while at the same time giving you a look of sympathy.

"It's totally fine. I just want to leave." You smiled reassuringly and smoothed down the wrinkles in your clothes. The dread in your heart continued to grow as time passed by, the waiter leaving to go and figure out for you how much you'd have to pay.

"I'm sorry, Sir. I believe you've booked two reservations here. You had an appointment set for seven, and this current reservation overlaps it by an hour." The receptionist said just as your waiter came back with your bill.

You thanked them with another kind smile of yours and looked down at the numbers. The bill wasn't too expensive, but still a hefty price to pay for cancelling. You shrugged it off as best you could and began to count the cash in your wallet, trying to ignore the buzzing fear of being seen by him.

"Your tip." You said to the waiter in a gentle whisper, finger pointing at the 50% you left on the money tray as you stood up from your seat. "Make sure you take it all."

"Oh. Thank you." They exhaled, bowing to you in gratitude. You tucked your chair in neatly as the confused rumble of Itaru's voice made it to your ears and you began to scramble to gather your things. Your heart stopped when he asked if he could check if the people for his other reservation was still here, and you begged in your head for the receptionist to say no.

"Please go ahead." They offered in kind, and you just had to punch yourself in the thigh.

You quickly began to stride towards the other side of the desk to avoid passing by Itaru who was walking in, but he immediately spotted you and cursed under his breath.

"Wait! Wait." He called for you, rushing to reach for your wrist before you could get away; lucky enough you two were out of the periphery of his date tonight.

"Let go." You hissed, tugging at your arm to pull away but to no avail. Itaru's grip on you was firm and gave you no chance to escape, so you took in a deep breath and lifted your head to glare look at him.

"This was a mistake, I swear." He said in a hushed tone. His stoic expression had changed into something more panicked and frazzled, but you couldn't bring yourself to care about the 180. "She invited me and I couldn't say no—"

You snatched your arm away from him with a stormy look in your eyes. Couldn't say no?

"Look. I like you—"

"Don't say anything." You cut him off sharply and held your bag to your body to protect yourself from whatever bullshit he was spewing at you. You took a glance to your side to see your waiter awkwardly hanging around to see if they'd need to diffuse the situation, but you shook your head, smile slowly appearing on your face.

"I appreciate your kind words," you started, your voice morphing into your workplace tone, "but from now on, I'd like it if you refrained from interacting with me."

Your face held a look of disgust towards Itaru who was grimacing, but you ignored it and opted to look at your waiter who was now.. looking proud. Of you. (lol).

"Did you take the tip?" You softly asked them, and when they flashed the bills you left on the tray, you felt your heart ease up a little. At least someone was going to have a good night.

You quickly returned your attention to Itaru who was running his hands through his hair and sighed, holding yourself back from curling your hands into fists.

"Delete my number from your phone. Only contact my work number if we need to collaborate. Bye." You waved your hand dismissively and left in a flash before the man could say anything else, your body filling up with the warmth of satisfaction.

You didn't really know if that night affecting Itaru in any way, but your interactions with him at work definitely lessened to a near zero; only making eye contact and having one worded conversations if you two had to work together on a project.

Ignoring him and pretending he didn't exist most of the time helped you get over the attraction you held for him, but each time he tried to start a conversation with you, you'd turn around and speak to another colleague.

And eventually, you two were only left with a work relationship. It was just like when you first started in the office and you felt like you wouldn't have it any other way.

You didn't notice it, but, Itaru felt the exact opposite. Everyone else but you saw how he'd give you those lingering glances every chance he got and how he'd hesitate to approach you whenever you were near.

Suddenly there were rumours going around that you had broken the heartbreaker.