#I keep comparing it to first kill just because that’s my worst case scenario lol

[vintage-bentley]

I usually agree with your takes, but I loved that ending. This is the middle part of a three part story, it makes sense they're not together at this stage. In my opinion the most important part is that the declaration had been made and the romantic feelings are known now. I really don't doubt that there will be a S3. This is now canonically a romance between two same sex characters, one of whom is a devine figure, is that not a good thing?

I’m warming up to it. My initial reaction of anger came from First Kill flashbacks…where the same theory was in mind—there’s another season, so we can’t have the happy ending yet…but the happy ending never came, and my girls are forever heartbroken. I’m so scared of that happening here. If we don’t get season 3, that’s it. That’s where it ends.

It does make sense that they’re not together here, and this particular conflict is really interesting to me. It’s just that it’s not confirmed yet if this is a three part story, y’know? But I guess that’s the gamble of making a TV show.

What I’m trying to say is that my heart says NO NO NO because this a comfort show for me, so it sucks that now it has this ending, and that there’s a possibility it will always have this ending. But my head says YES YES YES because this is how good love stories go. They fall in love, there’s conflict, they resolve it. If we get a season 3 with that conflict resolution, that’ll be amazing.

But yes, it’s an amazing thing that this pairing is now canon. They’re canonically romantically in love and I’m super happy about that. It’s just sad that unlike First Kill, we didn’t really get any romance before it was ripped away from us.

I’m also super bitter about the heteros.

[alison-anonymous]

♡ miss understood ♡ t.l.

Miss Understood ♡ Tom Lucitor Imagine 

Requested: yes, thank you to @technolilly for requesting this! Let’s try to bring some popularity to Tom Lucitor fics because he doesn’t get enough attention!

Warnings: angst, EXTREME FLUFF ALERT!

This took me all night to write, and it is decently long but I had a lot to say! I was excited, this was my first Tom Lucitor request so PLEASE SEND IN MORE IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS FOR HIM! 

♡♡♡

      To say you had a crush on Tom Lucitor would be a very big understatement.

      You had always had a bit of bad luck when it came to the love department, but when you did fall for someone, you fell hard. Which is probably why literally everyone except for Tom knew about your crush on him, even Ludo. But, knowing you, you were far too terrified to try anything. You loved him enough to distance yourself from him, is what you always claimed your excuse was. Not like that made your aching heart any better. You feared that there was no way he could love you compared to someone like his ex, Star, because whereas Star was this beautiful, fun, princess from Mewni, you were nothing but a human bookworm with a strange obsession with cows (I added in that last part lol). You would never have a chance with someone as stunning as him.

      Where people found Tom creepy, you found him charming. Where people found him scary, you found him misunderstood. And where people claimed he had anger issues, you said he was just a work in progress. 

      Of course, just because you were hopelessly in love with him didn’t mean that you couldn’t be friends. You spent most of your time hanging out with Marco and Star, so you got to see him a lot. You were known as his favorite out of you and all of Star’s friends, which you didn’t mind. If only you wouldn’t feel like throwing up every time he was around you from all the butterflies. 

      You were committed to keeping your feelings inside, as you were petrified of rejection. Little did you know that that wasn’t quite what Star and Marco had in mind...

♡♡♡

      It all started with an innocent sleepover at the Diaz residence. 

      You, Star, and Marco had became known as the Crackhead Trio among your oh-so-loving peers, but you loved the two goofballs with all your heart. They made all the rough stuff you dealt with in life fade away. It was the weekly sleepover you guys had began having, and after filling yourselves until your stomachs bulged with junk food, you all huddled around in a circle on Star’s bed and began a friendly game of Truth or Dare.

      Innocent enough right?

      “Marco,” you smiled at him deviously. “Truth or dare?”

      He eyed you carefully, resting his chin on his hand as his chocolate eyes tried to read your level of danger. “Mmmm… truth.”

      You cackled wickedly, rubbing your hands together as an evil grin spread across your lips. Star and Marco backed away from you, arms wrapped tightly around each other as they waited for whatever cruel fate Marco was about to receive.

      “Fuck, marry, kill; Star, Oscar,” you had to bite hard on your lips to prevent you from bursting out laughing. “and Glossaryck.”

      A look of disgust crossed across his face as you burst out laughing, Star quickly following in suit until she realized she was an option in this too. An unexpected blush crept onto Marco’s cheeks as he avoided your piercing gaze, wringing his hands nervously in his red sweatshirt. 

      “We need an answer Marcoooo,” Star singsonged, leaning her head closer to him expectantly. He heaved a sigh.

      “Kill Glossaryck, fuck Oscar, and...” he turned redder than a tomato. “Marry Star.” 

      You let out the fangirling scream you had been holding in for so long as you grabbed a beet red Star and hugged her close to you. She buried her face in your shoulder so that Marco couldn’t see her face and muttered a soft ‘thank you’ so that only you could hear. She had confessed to you the same night you confessed to her about liking Tom. You had been petrified she would have been mad, but when she squealed, hugged you, and told you she was going to form a plan to get you both hitched, you knew she was completely and utterly over him. It was only right for you to make the same promise to her as well!

      Marco pulled his hood over his face and tugged on the drawstrings as you and Star sat back up. 

      “Okay, okay,” Star brought herself back. “Marco, it’s your turn!” 

      He shook his head slightly from behind his hood. “Marco is not able to come to the phone right now. I transfer my position to Star.” 

      You giggled, rolling your eyes slightly as you took a sip of the Coca Cola bottle you and Star were sharing. 

      “Okay! N/n, truth or dare?”

      “Dare. I feel pretty daring,” you smiled. Star shuffled back towards you and began to scratch her chin, staring at you intently as she formulated a plan in her mind. You sat there patiently, figuring she was just going to dare you to do something stupid, like eat a whole stick of butter or something. However, when her eyes suddenly filled with large pink hearts as a gasp left her lips and she turned to excitedly whisper something into Marco’s ear, you began to feel less sure of yourself. 

      At the sound of the words, Marco suddenly perked up, pulling his hood off his head and letting it dangle around his neck as he grabbed Star’s hands, staring excitedly back at her. “That is perfect! Oh my god!” 

      “What?” You asked incredulously. “What’s perfect?” The look Star and Marco gave you struck fear into your brain. “Star...” You warned, narrowing your eyes.

      She gave you an angelic smile that quickly turned into a devilish grin. Marco also smirked as he reached for more of his nachos. You sighed, already knowing that whatever she had planned for you, you had to do by the laws of the game. 

      “What is it?”

      “I dare you to...” she paused for dramatic effect. “ASK OUT YOUR CRUSH!”

      You had a heart attack. Not really, but your heart stopped for a minute due to the momentary shock that coursed through you. Star could not possibly be serious. Because if she were being serious, that meant that you had to ask out your crush who just happened to be the fucking demon Prince. The one who had adorable lavender skin and enchanting red... eyes...

      SNAP OUT OF IT, Y/N! 

      “Y-you don’t m-mean...” you stuttered, feeling the room suddenly become a lot more suffocating than it had previously been. Star snuggled up next to you, wriggling her brows suggestively. 

      “Ooh yeah, baby, you have to ask out Tom!” 

      Images of him flashed through your mind at a million miles an hour, startling you so much that you fell back against her pillows, hugging your knees to your chest. 

     “No, no, no, no, no, I can’t do it!” You cried out, feeling the tears of frustration prickle as Star and Marco threw their arms around you in encouragement.

     “Come on, N/n,” Marco drawled. “You like him, what do you have to lose? Worst case scenario, he says no!” 

     “Yeah!” Star chimed in. “You two would be perfect together! And besides, you are his favorite!” She poked you in the side, but their encouragement did nothing for your heavy heart. You shook your head rapidly, feeling your heart rate go through the roof.

     “I can’t.”

     “Alright,” Marco heaved a heavy, dejected sigh, giving Star a subtle wink. She suddenly leapt off the bed and raced out of the room without giving you a sign as to where she was going. You were about to follow after her, but Marco quickly blocked you, snickering slightly.

     “Marco,” you suspiciously said his name. “What’s going on?” 

     “Well, you wouldn’t do it out of your own free will, but trust me - you’ll thank us later!”

     “What in the hell are you talking a-”

     Before you were even able to finish your sentence, a portal appeared as the last person you wanted to see stepped out of it, followed by Star as well, with a giddy grin imprinted on her face. He looked around the room before his eyes rested on you, sitting on the bed, with complete terror written on your face. This was crazy. You could actually see your nightmare coming true. 

      As soon as he saw you, a smile spread across his lips as he waved slightly at you. “Hey there, darling.” He greeted, using the nickname he had given you back when you two were just starting to become friends. Usually you tried to pay no mind to it, but tonight, just the sound of his voice melted you like butter.

      Before you even had a chance to reply, Marco’s hands were suddenly pushing you towards Tom as Star was doing the same with him. He glanced at them all in confusion as you attempted to scramble away from him out of fear, but Marco prevented you from leaving until you were so close to Tom that you could practically hear his heartbeat.

      “Y/n has something she wants to ask you,” Star giggled, as she grabbed Marco by the hand and suddenly, you and Tom were alone together. 

      A gentle silence followed as he stared at you in concern, you practically fearing that your stomach was going to pop out of your mouth if you dared to open it. It felt as if though your heart were racing so much that you might drop dead, but you forced yourself upright because the perfect guy was staring at you right now.

      “Are you okay?” His voice suddenly yanked you out of your thoughts and you blinked quickly as a loose strand of your hair fell into your face. You began to reach up to brush it away, but he beat you to it, stepping even closer to you and gently tucking it behind your ear, his hand lingering on the side of your face a little longer than it should have. He stared down at you with those enchanting red eyes until you forced yourself to look away, causing him to awkwardly clear his throat and retract his hand. It might have been you, but it seemed as if though he were hesitant to move it. 

      “I’m f-fine,” you cursed your stutter. “I-I’m really sorry about this.”

      He chuckled, tucking his hands inside his pockets as he looked you in the eyes once again. “It’s alright, so, what was it you needed to ask me? It must have been pretty important for them to stage it like this.” 

      You both laughed at the awkwardness that had been created, and you suddenly realized that you had to ask him. Your brain was screaming at you to be logical and to just half ass another question, but your heart really wanted you to ask him. I mean, what did you have to lose? Marco was right, the worst thing that could happen was that he would say no. And if he said yes? Well... maybe you didn’t have to be unhappy after all. 

      “Tom, I wanted to ask if, maybe, and you totally don’t have to if you don’t want to, I know I’m-”

      He gently rested a hand on your shoulder, startling you slightly as you looked up into his eyes. “Y/n,” he softly said your name. “Breathe.”

      You slowly nodded your head, and did as he said, taking in a deep breath and letting it out softly. “I was wondering if... you would want to go out with me? Like, on a date?” 

      As soon as the words left your lips, you scrunched your eyes shut, preparing for the worst heartbreak you could ever imagine. But when only silence followed, you were confused. You began to open your eyes when you suddenly felt his arms around your waist. Before you knew it, he was shooting you up into the air with fire from his boots, holding you close, and spinning you around in his arms with the hugest grin you had ever seen on his face. “Yes, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” He cried out as you gently placed your hands on his shoulders in confusion. Were you hearing him right? “Do you have any idea how happy you’ve made me?”

      It finally clicked into place in your head. He said yes! Tom was yours! Well, not quite, baby steps, Y/n. Baby steps. You laughed, pulling yourself closer to him until you suddenly realized how high up you were, and you pressed your body against his as he slowly stopped spinning you around, but continued to hover. He must have realized how desperate he had sounded because he suddenly cleared his throat, but made sure not to let go of you as he reworded. “I mean, yeah, that’d be great.”

      You pulled back enough so you could look him in the eye. “Wait a minute, you really want to go out with me?” You couldn’t help but ask.

      He slowly began to descend as he switched from holding your waist to holding onto your hands as he gave you a sheepish look. “I mean, yeah, of course I do. You’re Y/n, you’re incredible! I’ve actually had a crush on you for a while now, but I kind of suck at this,” he laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. Your eyes widened in shock. So... he felt the same way?

      Taking a leap of faith, you delicately lifted his chin so his eyes met yours, causing a slight blush to rise on his cheeks as your sudden intimate action. You offered him a soft smile. “I feel the same way.” 

      At those words, though they were few, Tom regained his confidence completely as he swept you back up into his arms and spun you around again, this time only on the ground. You couldn’t help but laugh at how overjoyed you had made him as he gently set you back down on your feet and held you close to him, cupping your cheek gently. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow. Six sound good?”

      “I’ll be waiting.”

♡♡♡

      Of course, the date was even better than you had hoped for. Marco and Star helped you get ready before it, each of them gushing about all the future possibilities for you two, Star being most concerned about the wedding that was supposedly going to happen. He arrived to pick you up by a carriage drawn by a skeleton unicorn enveloped in fire. To any other human girl, it would have been horrifying, but to you, it was romantic. 

      He had planned the first date entirely, so it was a complete mystery as to where you were going. He first took you to have a dinner by candlelight in a very fancy restaurant that knew exactly what you favorite foods were (wink wink). You two talked and laughed and made fun of some of the other guests for hours, and it was the most fun you had had in a while. 

      After that, he took you to one of the most beautiful cliffs with a perfect view of the setting sun. You began to take a walk near the edges, but not too close out of fear you might fall off, talking the entire time. Your heart began to beat a little faster when he slipped his hand into yours. You both slowed to a stop as you stared out at the sunset in a comfortable silence when he turned to face you, gently lifting your chin to face him too. Hearts beating faster, faces turning your red, and butterflies fluttering like crazy in your stomachs, you watched as he began to close the distance between you too. Your eyes fluttered shut and you leaned in closer until-

      “SPACE UNICORN SOARING THROUGH THE STARS~” you both froze at the sound of your phone going off. Disappointment set in your stomach as Tom hesitantly pulled away, but wrapped his arm around your waist to show that he wasn’t upset. You shot him an apologetic look as you retrieved your phone from your bag and saw the familiar contact photo light up across your screen. 

      “Marco,” you sighed, a smile forming on your lips. “He probably wants to know how the date was going.”

      “Put him on speaker!” Tom said excitedly. You gladly accepted his call and clicked the speaker button.

      “Hey Marco,” you said.

      “Hey, dude,” Tom added.

      “Hi guys!” Marco greeted cheerily. “How’s the date going? Star would’ve called but she’s working on perfecting one of her spells for her mom.”

      “It’s alright,” you responded, looking up at the beautiful sunset. “I think the date is going pretty perfectly. What do you think?” You asked teasingly, looking at Tom with raised brows. He simply smirked at you.

      “I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a second one.” He chuckled.

      Even though you couldn’t see him, you were pretty sure Marco was grinning ear to ear. “I suppose you have us to thank for that, right?” 

      You were about to answer when Tom suddenly turned to you with furrowed brows in confusion. “Wait, thank him for what?” 

      Uh oh. “Uh, Marco, I’ll call you back.” You quickly hung up the phone before he could object and turned to Tom who was already starting to get even more suspicious. His eyes searched yours in confusion, and you scrambled to find the right words before he brimmed with anger.

      “Tom, please, it’s nothing-”

      “Just tell me, Y/n,” he interrupted, his expression changing slightly to desperation. You sighed. How he knew you so well was a mystery to you.

      “Before I asked you out, Marco and Star dared me to.” His face slowly began to contort out of confusion and into anger. “Wait, Tom, it’s not what you think-”

      “It was a dare?” He retracted his arm from around you, and you instantly felt a chill from where his arm used to be. “So none of this was real? You were just leading me on, toying with my feelings for you?” The last words came out in a demonic voice that was not his own as his eyes became engulfed in red hot fury, his hands setting on fire as well as his feet. He gritted his teeth in hatred as he slowly began to levitate in the air. Fear coursed through your veins as you stumbled back from him, feeling your heart breaking as tears began to fill up your eyes. 

      “No, no, Tom none of it was a lie, I do like you, I just-”

      “You led me on! This was all a joke to you, don’t even try to deny it!” He snarled, shaking with rage as his entire body became swallowed up in flames. You felt a thin layer of sweat form on your forehead from the heat and from your frustration as tears began streaming down your cheeks. At the sight of your tears, his anger faltered, if only for a moment, before he went back to being furious again.

      “Tom, no, please,” you sobbed. “Please just let me explain.”

      “I don’t want to hear it.” He opened up a portal, and in a flash, he was gone. You stood there for a moment in shock, trying to wrap your brain around what just happened before your knees buckled and you fell to the ground in a sobbing mess. 

      Of course, only then did it begin to rain. 

♡♡♡

      “Come on, N/n,” Star pressed her cheek against your closed bedroom door. “You’ve been in there for days.” Only silence followed. They couldn’t see you, but you were buried deep within your covers, still dressed in your outfit from your date with Tom, with matted hair and bloodshot eyes from all the tears. Your heart was broken. And you couldn’t find a way to get up anymore.

      Marco sighed from his sitting position on the floor next to her. “I’m not sure if it’s any use. Ever since she got back from her date, she crashed and didn’t get back up...” 

      A look of determination remained on Star’s face. “Well, I refuse to give up! She’s my co-best friend! I want her to be happy.” She grabbed Marco by the collar of his sweater and pulled him close to her face. “We have to fix this!”

      Seconds later, they were back at Marco’s in front of Star’s mirror. “Call Tom,” Star commanded. As soon as his face popped onto the mirror, Star and Marco gasped in horror. He looked even worse than they figured you did. His eyes were red and puffy, his lavender skin looked paler than normal, hair hair was messy, and his clothes looked sloppy. 

      “Hey,” he half-assed a greeting, running a hand over his face. 

      “What on earth happened to you?” Star gasped. 

      Tom’s face contorted into one of confusion and a bit of surprise. “Y/n didn’t tell you?”

      Marco and Star shook their heads. “No, after your date we were waiting for her at her place, but she stormed in soaking wet, went into her room, dropped into bed and didn’t get back up.” Marco explained. 

      “She hasn’t left her room in days,” Star continued. “I’m worried about her. So WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?” She cried out, jabbing a finger at the mirror with narrowed eyes. Tom held his hands up in surrender as a look of guilt and sadness crossed his features. His three eyes cast down to the floor.

      “I may have gotten a bit mad when she told me the only reason she went on a date with me was because you guys dared her to.”

      Star and Marco sent each other fearful looks. “Okay, first, that doesn’t sound like Y/n at all,” Marco began.

      “And second, we dared her to ask out her crush. We never said you specifically! We knew she liked you, we wanted her to give her a chance because she was too scared you wouldn’t like her to ask you out on her own!” Star cried out in exasperation. Marco sighed as Star whirled around to lean her forehead on his shoulder out of frustration. A look of realization crossed over Tom’s face.

      “Oh my god,” he breathed, terror in his eyes. “What have I done? How can I fix this?” 

      “You can start by getting over there with us and apologizing,” Marco replied, rolling his eyes.

♡♡♡ 

      It was getting hot under your blankets, and it didn’t help that the sheets were wet from your dress and skin and hair, but every time you tried to move your limbs, they refused to comply from your heavy heart. You felt the tears begin to prickle once more as the thought of... him crept into your mind once again.

      Suddenly, there was the familiar sound of a dimension ripping and footsteps walking towards your bed coming from outside your sadness cave. Fear began to set in your mind as you feared the worse, when you felt the stranger sit down on the side of the bed. Slowly, the covers were lifted off of you, revealing your horrid, heartbroken figure to the harsh bright light. You squinted as your eyes became accustomed to the light and the first thing you saw was the person who stole your heart and crushed it sitting next to you, with a look of pure guilt and sadness written on his face. 

      “Y/n,” he breathed your name, and you hated the way you felt your insides melt at the sound of it. He reached out for you, but you forced yourself to prop yourself up on your arms and back away. “Y/n, I am so, so sorry.”

      With the little you had allowed yourself to look at him, you could tell he looked as bad as you did, if not worse. But you forced yourself to look away from him and out your window, resting your head down onto your pillow as you stayed silent.

      “I should have listened to you. It wasn’t right for me to be so quick to judge. I just...” he sighed in frustration at his feelings. “I like you. A lot. So much in fact, that even the idea that you might not like me back after asking me out in the first place made me feel... furious. I know I have problems, and I know now that it wasn’t about me, that your friends just wanted you to have a shot with me...” he paused for a moment. “Is it true you were afraid to ask me out because you thought I wouldn’t like you?”

      Even though you didn’t want to, you slowly nodded your head as your lips began to tremble. A lone tear slipped down your cheek as you stifled a sob. You felt disgusting for crying in front of him as his eyes softened and in seconds, he was picking you up and pulling you to him, cupping your face in his hands and wiping away the tears that began streaming down your cheeks. You were so glad to be back in his touch that you leaned in to his hands, savoring every moment.

      “I am so, so sorry, darling,” he whispered, his own eyes began brimming with tears and only then did you notice how swollen his eyes were too. You cracked a small smile and wiped away his tears as well, resting your hand on his cheek as he stared longingly at you.

      “I forgive you,” you smiled. He let out a breath in relief and tilted his head back before resting it against yours. You teasingly tapped your nose against his, causing him to laugh. 

      “I may have liked a lot of girls in the past, but you, Y/n L/n, are the only one for me. Alright?” He whispered, his breath warm across your lips. You felt your heart race as a giddy smile spread across your lips.

      “Alright.”

♡ a.a.

[ursae-minoris-world]

KALTENECKER: Who is your favorite Voltron character? (part 2 : Keith)

...and, my last answer for @ashrayus‘s ask for the Voltron ask meme ! As a follow up to that one about Hunk !

Thanks a lot for tagging me, by the way, I’m having way too much fun doing this !

Sooo. I didn’t think I would get that much attached to that guy that fast. Oops.

(Me : “oh, you think you’re cool ? I’m not impressed. No way I’m getting attached to a character like that”. Narrator’s voice : “it didn’t go as planned...”).

So yeah… the one that really grew on me was Keith, to the point that I think he’s probably my fave now (well I love him different ways that I love Hunk, if that makes sense ; it’s hard to compare). This is funny because when he was introduced, for some reason, I really wanted to hate him (lol).

He had this epic introduction scene and I just thought “Ok, here comes the cool guy, he’s gonna be the leader and overshadow every other character... and I liked the others, damn ! So annoying.” Which is funny considering it was Shiro who first was set up to be the leader and it became explicitly so pretty soon. But, even without the leadership, he had this sort of Main Character aura. Well I thought he would be the 80’s hero stereotype, and the others would be kinda reduced to side-kicks, and it rubbed me the wrong way. But then he kept surprising me.

His soft, worried expression when he saw Shiro caught me off guard. Then, when Lance interrupted, and he wasn’t able to recognize him despite having been in the same class, and clearly trying honestly hard to remember, got me chuckling despite myself : “OMG, not good with people, are we ?” lol.

And him begrudgingly saving the garrison trio along with Shiro, and then being salty when they had the guts to complain about  how he did it was… more relatable than I expected. Also, it was pretty cool to see him using the fact that his hoverbike was overloaded as an advantage to gain speed. And when he excitedly drove of that cliff, it was kind of endearing.

Then he brought them to that shack in the middle of the desert when I expected to see his family or at least a somewhat decent flat, and I started getting intrigued. Added to that heartfelt dialog with Shiro (“good to have you back”) and when he then admitted how lost he had felt when booted from the Garrison…  How his voice breaks, the sad look Shiro and him exchange… I started connecting the dots about their past. And getting really invested in it.

But a voice in my head was still saying “well of course the cool hero has a tragic back-story ! Don’t fall into this trap !”. I don’t even know why I was so stubborn about NOT liking him lol. But I couldn’t help but being fond of this emotional and vulnerable side I was starting to see in him, and that I really didn’t expect (same goes for Shiro, but I really liked Shiro from the start).

(you all took that decision together as a team, Keith !)

And the moment I let go of that curious mindset of “I don’t like the stereotype so I’m determined not to like this character” was when, at the Castle of Lions, out of sheer provocation, Lance tells Allura that them being attacked has to be Keith’s fault. Keith starts sarcastically “Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better.” And, as much as I actually enjoyed the reply, I was still thinking, a bit annoyed “yeah of course he would be more mature and not react to the provocation”. But then… Keith explodes. And I realized that he was not being mature, but trying to appear so by bottling up his emotions and that they had just...blown up on him. And that was such a good character flaw that it completely scraped the “cool guy” stereotype I had seen at first. And I started really liking him.

And he just kept growing on me.

Basically, what really got me with Keith was this struggle he has, with desperately wanting to belong… But also being terrified to let himself get attached, because then it would hurt too bad if he gets rejected again. And how that ends up being a self-fulfilling prophesy. Because the way he keeps a distance by trying to protect himself doesn’t allow him to grow deeper bonds with others, or communicating properly with them. Which, in turn, results in misunderstandings and conflict. He ends up running away (come on, it was not the only reason why he left, but I bet this was at play too), isolating himself from the people he cared for.

(Canonically his greatest fear is being rejected by Shiro...)

(...and of course it ended up happening… or well, not really, it’s complicated, but it must have felt pretty close to him)

And it makes complete sense that he struggles like that , it all comes from his childhood trauma ; and honestly he keeps getting traumatized  again, like losing Shiro not once but twice already, and being there not only for Ulaz’s death, but also for Thace’s after having fought alongside with him, and Regris’, who was his teammate and with whom he had at least been on several missions ; that doesn’t help ! And the growing tension with Shiro after finding him again ; and the gap that has been slowly widening between him and the team (his “found family”), culminating in his decision to leave. Heck, even having to leave Red, with whom he had such a great bond, to pilot Black in season 3. And then, leaving Black too for Shiro’s benefit. So far, the story keeps feeding his narrative of “I’d better not let myself get attached” : it seems each time he bonds with someone, they end up separated, or, in worst case scenarios, that person even dies.

It just breaks my heart and I really, really need him to solve this issue. He deserves to be loved, and for that he needs to learn to accept that love, too. Because more than once, we see him dismissing it or misinterpreting it when others try to show concern or support. I kind of hope the tide will turn now that Krolia is in the game. And I really cross my fingers for Kolivan to not being killed off, and forging deeper bonds with Keith as well, although I’m really worried about how that will turn out.

Also, I like how deeply emotional he is, but how he tries to bottle it up, and how that doesn’t work at all. Please Keith, please open up to others.

I’m also extremely curious about all the secrets that surround him. We found up about his galra origins, we finally met his mother, but there is so much more I want to know. For instance, I’m dying for his back-story with Shiro. I need to know more about his family history, how his parents met, what happened to his father. I wonder if Acxa could, indeed, be related to him. I want to know more about this weird connection he seems to have with magic and quintessence. I want to see if those visions of galra invasions (both in his dream in “the Ark of Taujeer” and in his visions in “the Blade of Marmora”) could be repressed memories, like some theorize.  I want to know what happened between his father’s disappearance and the garrison, did he hop from foster family to foster family like many of us headcanon ? How did he get into the garrison ?

(I don’t thing that’s what Kolivan meant by “undetected”, Keith !)

Another thing I like with Keith is how he is balanced. Yes, he is extremely talented in some fields. He’s an amazing pilot and a great fighter, and it’s really cool to see him improve in those domains. He’s also pretty good at improvising on the spot in dangerous situations. He’s extremely focused, loyal, dedicated and resourceful.

But at the same time, he can be pretty awkward in social situations. He has a hard time managing his feelings. He might be really good with blades and in close combat, but struggles when he has a gun. He gets caught almost every time he tries to be sneaky, which is both endearing and worrying, considering the risks of this while he works with the Blades. He is the worst liar ever and it’s hilarious (I hope Kolivan has given up any expectation to make him go undercover, that would be a disaster).

Anyway, some characters are well balanced by being moderately good at everything and being a jack of all trades (Lance for instance). But Keith… he’s amazing in a few domains (flying, fighting with a sword…) but pretty bad in others.

So despite his obvious talents, he is quite far from the cool, flawless character  that I first thought he would be.

Although he has a quite eventful and compelling arc, I don’t feel he overshadows the other characters as he’s often (and sometimes painfully) out of focus… We barely saw him at all in the last two seasons. And honestly at this point I’m invested enough in his story that I wouldn’t even complain if he hogs the spotlight a bit more at times.

I ended up getting way too attached and it’s hard to watch him getting hurt by the story all the time. I really hope he gets some good comforting moments soon (same goes for Shiro, by the way).

Yeah, I also love Shiro very much, I think he’s an amazing character. Honestly, there is such a good cast of characters in this story, including really charismatic side characters (Kolivan ! Matt ! Krolia ! Shay !). So it’s really hard to pick a favorite.

[holydragon2808]

Replaying Dragon Age II and Forgot How Much I Loved Bethany Hawke

It’s been quite some time since my last full run of the Dragon Age series. Finished my replay of Dragon Age Origins some time last week and I’m now replaying DAII for the umpteenth time lol. I used to see a lot of people say that Bethany is so one dimensional compared to Carver which I’ve always disagreed with that personally. Despite my preference for Bethany, I do find both twins to have a lot of depth to both their respective characters. However, here are the reasons why I’ve always enjoyed having Bethany around. I started a discussion a few months back on the Dragon Age Wiki site about which twin I preferred and why (as well as asking others about their preferences) so I just decided to copy/past what I said on that site. Gonna undercut because it’s pretty lengthy.

I personally always preferred Bethany over Carver. One, I don't care for playing mages in RPGs in general as I said before (just not my style personally. Usually into the sneaky rogue type most of the time or I'll play a warrior of some sort) two, I just can't get into a sibling rivalry type of relationship when it's already forced onto my character (my Hawke had enough to worry about with the other party members and their colossal issues as well as trying to look after Leandra and in my case trying to keep Bethany out of the Templar's radar in Act 1) without having a sibling who's basically a younger and even more annoying version of Gamlen in her ear constantly complaining about being overlooked and it being all her fault and blah blah blah) and three I just found Bethany's character to be more interesting and actually more plot relevant if she joins the Circle.

I see a lot of people in general believe that Bethany is one dimensional or doesn't develop like Carver does. I personally disagree with that entirely. I actually like how different the twins are in their developments. Carver wanted to be a famous swordsman and make a name for himself and feel like he's apart of something important (which is why he thrives and gets that stick out his butt when he joins the Grey Wardens). It's cool to see his development and all but it has very little plot relevance IMO with the mage/templar conflict in Kirkwall.

Even if he joined the Templars instead of the Wardens, I never felt any reason for my Hawke to sympathize with their side of the conflict at all (him joining the Templars seemed to be more about him trying to get back at his brother/sister and being desperate to escape their shadow than him genuinely believing in the cause, especially in Kirkwall's Circle) so for me personally, it was hard for me to get invested in the conflict even if I'm a mage considering how oblivious the Templars are of that fact. It makes sense that they can't touch you in Acts 2 and 3 but not so much in Act 1. You'd think they'd at least comment on it (though I'm aware the developers had to cut corners because of time constraints or whatever) and it just breaks the immersion for me when I'm a mage and Carver's alive despite his potential for character growth from whiny annoying brother with a massive chip on his shoulder due to his own insecurities (that he projects onto Hawke a bit unfairly at times) to a very mature, considerate and capable warrior. Where some people find sibling rivalries interesting, I find them cliche and overdone and I just couldn't get into this one. The game gave me no real reason to care about mending the relationship (or enforcing it) beyond role playing purposes. They just played up his jerk qualities a little too much in the first act without enough balance with his more virtuous qualities for me to care about him in general.

However, with Bethany, her arc is a bit more subtle compared to Carver’s, but subtle =/= one dimensional. All she's ever wanted was to feel a sense of normalcy and acceptance. Her character arc isn't about proving herself as some awesome warrior or making a name for herself (though she's definitely awesome in battle). It's about her reconciling her apostate status with (her initial) perception of the Maker's/Andraste's will regarding mages as well as her faith in the Maker as well as finding a place where she doesn't feel like a burden to her family.

I found Bethany to be surprisingly refreshing considering the majority of the cast has far too much to angst about. Throughout Act One, she confides in your character about her issues without immaturely casting blame at your feet (Carver) or dipping into wangst territory (Anders and Fenris come to mind though I do like Fenris overall and hate Anders in this game but that's another discussion entirely) which gets me far more willing to hear her out and indulge her personally rather than Carver and his massive chip on his shoulder and his petty insults to garner attention and a rise out of his elder sibling. All her life she's felt like a burden who's role as an apostate forced her family to go (in her eyes) way too far out their way to keep her with them. She brings it up a lot and it's clear that one of her flaws is that she's become too adjusted to being protected ("It [being an apostate] was something I never had to work for. Other people took the risks to keep me free") to really understand just how bad other mages had it and just how lucky she truly was to have a family that loved her ( As she says in the final goodbye on the mage path: "I always thought it was hard living outside the Circle. Always on the run. I never realized how free I was").

By leaving her behind during the Deep Roads Expedition quest after she expresses she wants to go, in a way, Hawke is unintentionally reinforcing this idea that she a burden that needs protecting (which similarly to Carver, is why you gain rivalry points with her if you leave her behind). She also realizes that as long as she's with the family, Hawke will always prioritize keeping her safe above pursuing any dreams they might have which is exactly why she doesn't put up a fight (and begs Hawke not to basically stab Cullen to death) when she's apprehended by the Templars. For the first time in her life, she is the one making a sacrifice for her family instead of the other way around. I personally thought this was a good start to her character growth into a young independent woman who could learn to accept herself as a mage in a world (sans Tevinter) that despises magic (and with being forced on the other side of the fence, she would inevitably later gain a better understanding of what Anders meant with "You have no idea just how lucky you were. To have someone who loved and could help you. Most mages would kill for that").

With Bethany in the Circle, it gave my character a real reason to care about helping the mages in the city (and being pissed at the Templars for taking Bethany away and being angry at herself for not getting back in time to reclaim the estate) and a real reason why she couldn't do as much as she'd like for them (Knight-Commander Meredith practically holding Bethany as leverage to get Hawke to cooperate with her during the "On the Loose" side quest). Despite a lot of the mages being completely crazy in Kirkwall, Hawke (or mine anyway) would always stand by her sister (and was practically waiting for the moment to be able to openly defy Meredith and her zealotry.

Reuniting with Bethany again in the Gallows (if you side with the Mages in "The Last Straw") was actually one of my favorite moments about that ending. Seeing her as a confident young woman happily and (most importantly) proudly and unashamedly embracing her magical gift, willing to fight for her freedom as well as that of other mages (in a much healthier way than Anders/Justice) and gaining a much healthier perspective of the Maker's will and magic (that being locked away and living in fear and oppression just for being a mage just "cannot be the maker's will") spoke volumes about her willpower and development over the years. I also like to think that she found her personal understanding of what her father tried to teach her ("Magic will serve what is best in me, not that which is most base") and was able to use that and pass it along to her apprentices and I love in Legacy how she says she still finds strength in those words even while being locked away in the worst Circle in Thedas. It's a far cry from the insecure, scared, naive and ashamed of her gift (or rather ashamed of the difficulties it put on her family) little girl she was in the first act.

In other words, I loved that the hardships she endured in the Gallows for the past 6 years didn't break her spirit or resolve nor did it break her faith in the Maker. It served as a nice and unexpected contrast to my own character during my very first run as a warrior years ago. I was playing a sarcastic Hawke and during their final conversation about the Maker, I think sarcastic Hawke can say something like "He just loves watching us rip each other apart" where Bethany is like "I cannot believe that. The Maker is just and merciful. This injustice was created by men. A new age begins today. People will overcome their fears and find better ways to live with mages. Whether we live to see it or not, a new age is coming brother/sister. I wish mother had lived to see this. I hope she's found peace". It was just interesting to note that my character's challenges made her more cynical in her view of the Maker while Bethany's hardships only made her stronger in some ways. I was proud of her really.

As for Warden Bethany, I just didn't think it fit her personally. Just like Templar Carver, I personally felt it a step back from where they were in act one. They both each make peace with their fates in these scenarios too, but I find Warden Carver and Circle Bethany to be better. The latter in particular. I don't feel like a character has to always go from innocent and nice to bitter/resentful or to constantly angst about everything in order for it to be considered "deep" or "compelling" growth. I like that Bethany was still very much her sweet old self in the Circle but she's become far less naive and sheltered and unafraid to fight for what she truly believes in and embraces her prodigious magical talents (because face it she's pretty awesome in a fight and I loved having her as my mage throughout act one and was devastated that I was forced to use someone else).

I enjoyed Dragon Age 2 despite it's many flaws and I always play rogue (my very first run was a 2 handed warrior though but after I did a duel wielding rogue and stuck with that) and Bethany always goes to the circle in my play throughs. See this post for a follow up on the Hawke Siblings Warden path.

[tommykaine]

Till Death Do Us Part ramblings

Now that I’ve been tinkering with the game for a bit (two days I have no shame) I feel that I can ramble a bit about it

Warnings for assorted spoilers under the cut and also mentions of things of distasteful nature due to the game in question

First things first I’m gonna get this out of the way because I know it’s just unescapable: whether this is “another BTD”, and just the general comparison that is bound to happen between the two BTD games and TDDUP.

My answer to that is no, it’s very much not “BTD 3 but with a different name”.

Yes, the “genre” is of the same nature, and the way the game functions is similar (but it’s a visual novel pretty much, all visual novels have multiple choices and different story outcomes at the end depending on previous choices). However, there are significant differences, enough to make me come to the conclusion that this is only superficially related to the first games.

Firstly, TDDUP is a lot more story-driven. You still have several choices, but there is a lot more reading involved than in the BTD games. Besides the amount of text, however, the main difference is with the MC:

In BTD, the MC was more or less a blank state. Yes, there was a hint of pre existing characterization (in BTD 1 we know they are a drinker and have trouble socializing) and some that would come up depending on the choices (in one route it comes up that the BTD 2 MC likes to paint, for example), but for the most part, you could imagine whatever backstory and it would fit.

In TDDUP, you still have room for your own headcanons and some degree of customization (name and gender - note that the gender option influences more than just pronouns/titles. If you want to headcanon the MC as a pre-op trans character you might want to pick the “they” option), but there is a whole pre-existing set-up that is different in each story.

So basically in BTD it was more like the MC was a self-insert/your own OC in a story, whereas in TDDUP it’s more like you are playing a pre-existing character.

Same with the relationships - in BTD, you’re just getting to know the guys, and even with the more “romantic” outcomes there is no pre-set relationship. In TDDUP, each pairing has a more specific setting. Either you’ve recently escaped a relationship with an obsessive partner who just can’t let you go, or you’re the main asshole in what ends up being a mutually destructive relationship, or you’re in a loving marriage that is suddenly shattered by a dangerous secret. The same is true in the scenarios with Aria and Ellen, albeit a bit less so in Ellen case as she knows about you but you barely do.

Another major difference is that in BTD, your “goal” was to survive (even if that was not the real goal for most of the players let’s be real ;) ). Most of the endings involved the MC being killed for failing, with a few harder to get ones where you get to survive (albeit how “good” of an ending you’d get was quite arguable). In TDDUP however, there isn’t really a “goal” towards getting any specific ending. In one of the routes it’s not possible to be killed in the first place so all endings are survival endings, in another there are a few death endings but they’re not necessarily the most likely endings you’re gonna get. So the “goal” is not really to survive, but to advance the story (or for a “final goal”, to unlock all the endings and get the bonus content, if you’re a completionist).

Finally, there is as far as I can tell no connection between the BTD characters and the TDDUP characters. Whereas in BTD 2, you had some characters being connected to and/or mentioning BTD 1 characters, so there was an explicit connection between the stories. In fact, TDDUP might not even take place in the same universe as the BTD games, as evidenced by the fact that there are no supernatural elements in it (even Strade, who was the closest to a “regular human” you’d get in the BTD universe aside from the MCs, had a supernatural creature as a pet).

There are some other differences (the obvious one being that this is @electricpuke’s fully own creation of course) but I think that these are the main ones that bring me to consider TDDUP as a completely different creation than the two BTD titles, rather than a spin off or a sequel in all but name.

Now that that’s out of the way, I’m gonna talk about some of my first impressions. Please note that this is all very subjective and mostly based on personal taste!

I’m also using pronouns based on which ones I picked in each route, as those are kind of my own “headcanon” for the situations, so it’s not gonna be gender neutral in all of them for that reason.

Also, this is where the most spoilery part starts, so be warned for that!

My first reaction was that I really loved the first endings I got for both Chris and Jack. They are also my two favourites out of the four characters, followed by Aria and Marcus. I don’t know why, but I just couldn’t get into Ellen (no pun intended). Her storyline just didn’t click with me for some reason.

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I think my absolute favourite storyline and pair out of the three might be the one with Jack (unfortunately he hates the memes - btw the first time I arrived at the “stab me daddy” option I was unable to continue for like 5 mins cause I was just stuck there laughing at it). I’m a sucker for fictional serial killers, and as unrealistic as that’d be IRL I love the “one exception” type of dynamic with a serial killer and another character. I really liked how Jack was genuinely in love with the MC, the fact that it wasn’t just an act for him to act like the caring husband. In my first playthrough with him my character was trying to reach out to his caring side, to still accept him to some degree, but in the end Jack couldn’t kill him nor keep him - therefore, the only thing he could do was leave. It was really sad, but I liked that ending the most. I was expecting to prefer the one where MC snaps and comes to love the twisted side of Jack (for example the survival ending in BTD 1 where MC snaps and joins Sano as a fellow killer is still my favorite one out of all the endings in that game) but I actually didn’t. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t love it either.

I just really like that the ending where he leaves was the closest Jack could get to a genuine love for his partner, as he realizes he cannot have him like he’d want to, and that MC will never see him in the same way he did before, but he doesn’t want to kill him to save himself from the consequences, so the only thing he can do is leave.

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The first ending I got with Chris (by the way I hadn’t understood from the warnings that the temperament referred to how MC acted, so I went in thinking “I kind of want my character to be a dick to him” and it turned out that was exactly the case, lol) was the one where he gets his revenge, then he just leaves. It felt like the best culmination of their dynamic, honestly. It just was doomed to not end well, and in the end it doesn’t - not because Chris kills MC or tells him off and says they both need help, but he just has had enough, and that’s it. There’s no closure, no lesson to learn, no attempt to salvage what’s left. MC destroyed what they had built together and was left with nothing, and no one to blame for that but himself - if he even could have the self-awareness to do that.

I also really like the ending where he decides to leave but explains you why, and you repent for your actions but too late, which is probably the closest thing to an actual good ending you can get in the entire game with any character. Arguably the one where you stay together and agree to work on your issues is the “actual good ending” but I’m honestly too jaded to believe it. In my opinion it’s just not going to work out, either MC is going to slip back into his old habits and Chris will either tolerate it or break it off, or if things go a bit better then they’re just gonna end up breaking up because they each bring out the worst in the other. It’s also why it’s not one of my favourites, even if I do like it. My third favourite is the one where Chris turns himself in, which is also the saddest in my opinion. MC doesn’t have the self awareness nor the care to realize their wrong-doings in years (unless someone else forces them to), yet Chris cannot cope with what he has done in maybe a couple days, he’d rather face the consequences of that and be done with it. You could argue there is a big disproportion between what Chris and MC did, but also consider that especially in Aria’s route it comes up that MC sexually assaults Chris, and we do not know whether MC has ever been physically abusive as well, plus MC has been abusing Chris for years whereas Chris snaps after years of mistreatment from pretty much everyone (not saying he’s right to be violent, in an IRL situation no one would be innocent, but in the contest of the story it’s hard to argue that Chris is the one to blame).

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I don’t love any of Aria’s endings to the same extent, but I do like her route nonetheless. I think my favourite ending is the one where you are trapped in her basement until you die and she wants both herself and Chris to forget about you. It’s just so tragic and twisted, plus it low-key references Poe so that’s a plus (I loved the Poe reference in BTD 2 too - sorry for comparing the games again but I’m just a sucker for this kind of thing, plus The Pit and The Pendulum is my favorite of Poe’s tales). I like how her confrontation of the MC comes both from a loving place but also from a selfish one - that’s why you don’t get any “good” endings in her route, not even a sad one. She never actually wants MC to do things right, she just wants her gone so that she can no longer hurt her brother, and she wants her to pay for what she has done.

I kind of would have liked to have a survival ending in which she keeps MC for herself but I definitely understand why that’s not an option. Probably wouldn’t have suited the storyline if there was.

Still, if there is ever a TDDUP 2 or another game involving murder husbandos/waifus, I’d love it if we got a femdom route with that option, JS ;P

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I liked Marcus’s route, but just not as much as the other ones. It’s the first one I tried, so if I didn’t like it at all I might not have been so inclined to play the others, but I think it just was overshadowed by how much I liked Jack’s and Chris’s routes. So it’s not like I can find any specific fault to it, I just loved the other ones too much, lol. I definitely liked John’s character too (he’s the one true Cinnamon Roll) and his relationship to the MC. Which works very well to make all of the outcomes for MC all the more tragic.

I like that there are ONLY survival endings to his route. MC doesn’t get to escape their fate, not even by dying. They *are* going to stay with Marcus whether they like it or not. The closest they can get to a “good” ending is by getting mindbroken and accepting the situation, which is arguably the “worst” ending you can possibly get as in all of the other ones MC does at least retain their determination.

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As I’ve mentione before, I’m not a great fan of Hellen. I think the ending I liked the most is the one where she lets MC go because she is now obsessed with both Jack and his wife. I don’t foresee a good future for MC there XDOverall, I just wasn’t as invested. I wonder if maybe if I had played her route before Jack I would have liked it more, as by that point I was so enamoured by the Jack/MC dynamic, and maybe I just saw her as getting in the way of that? No idea. I ended up using guides to get most of her endings to see if my opinion of her changed, but it didn’t make much of a difference, aside from the aforementioned survival ending.

That’s just me though, I’ve seen other posts from people who really liked her! I’m glad she’s there for those who do, I’m just not going to be one of her fans XD sorry.

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Overall, I really liked the game, might play around with it more (especially if I draw or write something with the characters), it definitely was an experience that I’d like to repeat and a great early Christmas surprise as I only found out about it the other day XD

I’ll definitely be looking forward to other games from EP, whether to continue from where this left off, or to see something new entirely. 

[elizabethrobertajones]

unpopular opinion but I hope this babysitting jack comes to an end asap, it's boring to me and I wouldn't like the show turned into a weird family sitcom lol sorry ,just not my thing, also regarding the other ask, people seem too obsessed with the nephilim and well cas was supposed to be in a very few episodes but fans were crazy about him so he (fortunately) stayed I just hope the nephilim doesn't replace him (nothing against him but i would be heartbroken if cas was relegated in favor of nephi

Fortunately they’re not and never have been writing a weird family sitcom and it all has a plot purpose :D 

I was responding to asks just like this fearing this situation that’s not happening before the season and I kept on saying, the tension is on Jack in the Bunker because he’s scary and they’re “babysitting” him because he’s potentially dangerous and everything about him is a great big uncertain knife edge for if the Winchesters can raise him well enough to save the world, while being their more than usually fucked up selves… The only reason they’re keeping Jack in the Bunker is because he’s dangerous and vulnerable in equal measures and Sam and Dean have never had possession of something like that before, to break Jack down to raw plot McGuffin. Usually if they ever get hold of something game-breakingly powerful (the Colt, Cas) it slips between their fingers. And if they capture something dangerous it manipulates or breaks its way free as soon as the plot requires it, which is usually within the episode. And if they have friendly allies staying with them (Cas, Kevin, Mary) then there is no tension or drama in the story if they stay, and stagnation for their own characters (Kevin’s off-screen nonsense staying in the bunker in season 9 was really painful >.>). Jack is a whole mixed up bundle of them, like a Colt, Crowley in the dungeon/Kevin in the library at the same time, amalgamation of a character-plot McGuffin thing in the story. And all this is being made all the worse because Sam and Dean’s grief plots come first and foremost, including in how they treat and see Jack, while balancing their own responsibility to him and the world. 

None of it is strictly about babysitting or raising him because if it was they’d put that first, and actually make it fluffy. So since it’s not fluffy and Jack’s extremely dangerous to them as a worst case scenario, anything where they treat it as a humour beat is just that. Of course Jack isn’t an intern. But it’s funny to compare him to one. He’s not even their brother or child, really. Sam keeps trying to drag him into the family too soon but it’s paralleling 4x17 and that went swimmingly with “Adam” who turned out to be a ghoul, or 5x18 where Sam tried bonding with the real Adam and he still sold them out to Zach and they never reconciled over that, lost him that same day, and just added him to their guilt pile.

At the moment though we’re on episode four and it’s incredibly hard to treat Jack as all the things he is and may be all at once, which is what makes him so interesting. Like sure the POTENTIAL for a fluffy family sit com is there but that’s not the story they’re telling, nor what the show will ever be, so we can immediately write that off as a tragic never going to happen scenario, which is what makes every bone they throw about it resonate to people, because there’s an inherent tragedy in watching this show and knowing the characters aren’t ever going to have happy lives while the show keeps on churning, unless they’re some of the few lucky characters released by the narrative to go be free of the story. (Who still live in threat that they may be brought back and killed - so far the surviving candidates for Wayward Sisters are the only ones to TRULY escape, though there’s a couple of side characters who survived, but only, like, Lisa & Ben or Amelia or other characters who were deliberately set aside like that and genuinely have no further role in the story but escaped the death sentence.)

I don’t think you should judge people for being “obsessed” with Jack though. He’s a new character, a vital plot arc, and they’re giving him a disproportionate amount of screen time while showing us 1000 character and plot mirrors in him and making him cute and sad and stirring up protective instincts for him deliberately. 

Like I don’t think anyone’s oblivious to the tension that makes about him being sweet and naive and not wanting to be bad, but we KNOW the turn is coming (turn of the story, or turn of Jack) and we’re still in the “honeymoon” stage where they’re making sure we like and care about him. So of course it feels like it’s all going to be fluffy now, so you either enjoy it while it lasts, or decide early that because the turn is coming not to trust him or not to get attached because he doesn’t interest you or whatever and you see him as just another problem down the line, but it’s that very tension that makes him fascinating and has made him so compelling, because his supposed legacy and destiny has been describe for him in season 12 and is hanging over him and they’re characterising him very well… 

But I don’t know how to keep saying that Jack is different from Cas, has this precarious weird place in the story where he’s pre-the bad stuff happening to him/him doing bad things, but we all know that he’s got to at least be TESTED on this sense of self and morality he’s developing. And it’s not going to be in a series of sit com level adventures hanging out with the Winchesters. It’s going to be cosmic. 

And Cas is a major character with a major arc with a major place in the heart of the story, Dabb loves him to bits, goes out of his way to be good to Cas right back through the seasons. I can’t IMAGINE a world where Cas is replaced. If you’re worried the fandom will love Jack more than Cas, look at the explosion of love for Cas’s method of getting out of the Empty… it’s like my entire dash :P

Like, sure, Jack is being cute, but Cas is embedded and he’s never been replaced and he’s going nowhere. It’s okay. The show is NOT the stuff people say about it on the internet (including what we all say about it) - you just have to watch what’s on your screen and form you own opinion. I see Cas as being so absolutely integral to the show that I can’t even get down to the headspace where people think he’s mistreated or that the show doesn’t love him and would do anything to get rid of him, or doesn’t care about his personal arc, or anything else people say about it. I like to think I can take a general surface level read on the show as well as delving underneath the hood, and what I see is Cas is being absolutely worshipped by the narrative this year. He’s in no danger - in fact he only just got back :D

And I’ll repeat what I said in the last comment about this: characters aren’t given worth by their screen time, especially not in comparison to each other. They’re given worth by the story written about them. And Cas and Jack have two equally compelling, complementary, INTERTWINED stories. So what if Jack has had more screen time and Cas was dead? We’re getting to know Jack in a way we already know Cas and implicitly trust him - and Cas had some character development of his own to handle, and Sam and Dean also need to have some serious reflection on Cas and what he is to them, so that’s all great for this year which is absolutely ripping these characters open, and exploring these things.