#I understand if you have a different opinion and wanted an actual apology from her but I thought the way she handled it was great

[makeoutstopcrime]

I’m just so here for the way Lucy didn’t apologize. She made sure he knew that she heard his concerns and wasn’t dismissing them but she also defended her choices because they were centered around concern for him and their relationship.

Tim trying his absolute best to stay mad at her was so funny because our man lasted approximately .2 seconds before he had his “Lucy smile” back on his face and was reaching for the necklace he picked out while cracking jokes. He was initially like LOOK DOWN AT PAPERWORK. ANSWER IN ONE SYLLABLE WORDS. DO NOT CAVE- yes okay you’re right anyway moving on to the sex we’re going to have later

[pupyuj]

→ “ruin our friendship.” || kim gaeul x reader fic.

— for years, gaeul has trusted your heart and tried to find whatever good you saw in your douchebag of a boyfriend, but she has had enough. and now she wants to show you that you deserve so much better...

word count: 6.9k.

dynamic: dom!kim gaeul x sub!taken!reader.

warnings: bffs-to-lovers, cheating, oral, fingering, cunnilingus, facesitting, faceriding, overstimulation, masturbation, praise kink.

requested ? : nope.

a/n: i don't even know how long this has been rotting in my drafts but SHE IS FINALLY FREE! and we have our first gaeul fic AND I HAVE OFFICIALLY WRITTEN A FIC FOR EVERY IVE MEMBER EYAYYYY 🥰💖 now i don't have to worry about possibly looking like i favor one member more than the others omg guys i can assure you i have thoughts about ive unnies all the time, the ones for yujin are just loud as FUCK. much like herself. ANYWAYS, HEHE I HAD A LOT OF FUN WRITING THIS and i hope you all love it 💕

p.s. as usual this is not proofread thoroughly so apologies in advance for any mistakes! 😭💞

ever since entering college, you and your best friend gaeul have had to match your schedules perfectly in order to hang out and even talk regularly. those assignments couldn’t finish themselves after all, as much as you hoped they did. years before, you and her would have the time of your lives shopping and visiting the many different restaurants your vast city offered, but now, everything was different. and in gaeul’s most humble opinion, your busy lives as college students wasn’t the only problem. she could name a few actually! there was her part-time job at her mechanic father’s service shop where she spends most of her time sitting on a chair and listening to middle-aged men try to woo her as they wait for their car to get fixed, and there was your side gig as some small-time coordinator in a pretty popular live house in the downtown part of the city.

but gaeul can’t exactly be angry at your jobs for pulling the two of you away from each other! what she can be angry about was you were always distracted whenever you did go out together. here’s a clear picture: you would be sitting with her in a cute coffee shop after two weeks of not being able to see each other and there gaeul is, talking about the shenanigans that happens in her classes, her dad’s shop, and her life in general. then, she’d find you spacing out, or staring at your phone—just completely ignoring her. for the first few times it happened, gaeul just thought that perhaps you were just worried about your schoolwork!

it made sense after all. you were some kind of academic overachiever that always used to nag at gaeul to finish her geometry homework during your high school days. gaeul was going to be fine with it all; she even thought about things she could tell you to soothe your head but one little peek at your phone screen ruined it all. every ounce of patience in gaeul just disappeared into thin air once she saw that you were distressed because of your stupid boyfriend’s messages.

ugh. your boyfriend.

now, gaeul wasn’t one to shit on her best friend’s lovers just because, okay? ninety-three percent of the time she has a valid reason! here’s the breakdown: your boyfriend is manipulative, abusive, possessive, and ugly. one would say that maybe he wasn’t always that way, or that maybe he’s struggling with things! well, gaeul can confirm that he has always been horrible to you and that whatever the fuck he’s dealing with doesn’t give him the excuse to be such an asshole to someone that genuinely cares for him. gaeul can’t even count how many times you’ve showed up at her doorstep in tears because of him. 

she really can’t understand why you’re still dating him. it’s been about five years since the two of you got together and really, the only good thing you got from that relationship is a ride to the campus and if you’re lucky and he actually feels like being a decent boyfriend for once, some fancy clothes. clothes that he picks out for you, and he can’t even get that shit right! he doesn’t know your style, the kind of clothes you want to wear, the brands you’ve always wanted to get clothes from, and in general, you. gaeul knows people like him all too well. people that only want you to fill a very specific void in their miserable life.

gaeul can’t stand him. you deserve so much better, you can do so much better.

and gaeul is better.

just like that, an idea pops up in gaeul’s head as she sits in a booth in her favorite diner, but she didn’t have time to think about it because she looks out the window and there you were in a pretty, pink sundress with your hair arranged in a cute braid adorned with little butterfly clips. gaeul lets out a chuckle—rei, your roommate, must’ve helped you with that. gaeul also notices that you were wearing the sneakers that the two of you bought together so you could match, which warmed her heart. even more so when she remembers that she was wearing her own pair of those sneakers too!

gaeul watched patiently as you entered the diner and greeted the waitress behind the counter like you always do. a bright smile spreads across your face once you find gaeul in your usual booth, and gaeul feels herself flashing her very own grin as you start walking faster towards her.

“hey! sorry, i’m late. i had to change my entire outfit. i didn’t think it would be so warm today.” you said, pulling gaeul into a quick hug before sitting across from her. gosh, you looked beautiful! the baby hairs that stuck to your forehead and the sides of your face only made you look even cuter, gaeul almost wanted to reach out and pinch your cheeks.

“careful. look any prettier and someone might mistake you as my girlfriend.” gaeul quipped. she finds herself grinning proudly as you laugh.

“you look dashing yourself! they probably already think you’re my boyfriend, but you’re not neglecting me for ‘a night with the boys’ so we would get found out quickly.” you sighed. you were clearly disappointed, but you covered it up with another laugh before sipping on the glass of water gaeul kindly ordered for you.

“then today is a date. he probably hasn’t taken you in one for ages, anyway.” gaeul doesn’t know if you’ll actually buy it. she wasn’t even joking! as far as she knows, his version of dates is taking you on a boring ass car ride and spoiling you with useless shit. she knows what you want on dates. she knows what you want in general. let this work.

you giggled, “true. it’s a date then.” and she doesn’t miss the shy smile on your face afterwards.

well! it looks like this was going to be easier than gaeul predicted.

as the two of you ate your lunch, you talked about school and how life has been treating you both. you were thriving for the most part! you were up to date with your coursework, your job hasn’t been too demanding or taxing, and you were able to have enough breathing space in your life to actually meet up with gaeul, like right now! it seems like the only problem in your life was your boyfriend. he hasn’t been spending too much time with you, and one would think it might be because he’s gotten busier but nope, he’s as shitty as gaeul describes him to be. he only wants to hang out with his team and his stupid friends, and he barely talks to you even in text! that asshole.

gaeul didn’t let you dwell on it all though. she absolutely detests seeing you upset. especially over that useless fucker. she distracts you with a few funny shenanigans from working in her dad’s shop, and how she has actually been doing quite well in her classes! it was clearly your influence. hell, if it weren’t for you, gaeul wouldn’t even be in college at all! you gave her direction, and now you were giving her all the motivation she needs to make it through one school day at a time.

fuck, your boyfriend was so lucky. gaeul has to let you see that he wasn’t worth anything you’re giving him. she has to pull you away and make you see that a pretty girl like you needs to feel good!

in more ways than one.

“so, boyfriend, where are we going?” you joked as you settled yourself in the passenger seat of her car. while gaeul started the engine, that was when she put her little scheme in motion.

“bowling. or rather, sending the balls to the gutter for two hours straight.” she said. bowling happens to be your favorite stress reliever, it always has been! gaeul always liked watching you as you played. even when you didn’t hit any of the pins, you still had fun. gaeul was willing to bet that your pathetic boyfriend rarely ever takes you bowling.

“god you’re the best.”

“mhm, i know.”

from then on, gaeul knew it was going to be a breeze. especially when she did get on the road and you just allowed her to put her hand on your thigh. you didn’t even notice at first, occupied with fixing your charming but unruly hair. but then gaeul lightly squeezed your thigh, caressing slowly just to test the waters, and finally, you noticed her. she was afraid that your attitude would change, but it seemed like… you liked what she was doing. and so gaeul’s hand stays in place. she took note of how you squeezed your legs together every time she caresses your skin gently, or how you would sometimes put your hand on top of hers.

the drive to the bowling alley was quiet, save for the music you’ve put on, of course. silence was a rarity between the two of you since there was always something to catch up on, things to complain and whine about, people to talk shit about, and casual conversations that have become needed just to have some sense of normality in your chaotic lives. gaeul was afraid she had made you uncomfortable because come on, she was quite literally trying to take over your boyfriend’s place! joke or not, this was bound to make you just the least bit weirded out!

imagine gaeul’s surprise when she briefly glanced over to your direction and find you looking relaxed. not even the constant buzzing of your phone was able to break your focus on the road. just like that, gaeul doesn’t stop a smile from forming on her face. forget about him.

and it seems like as soon as gaeul parked her car near the bowling alley—you did! you took gaeul’s arm and started gingerly dragging her through the doors, giggling as you did so. it was easy to secure a spot for the two of you, the place wasn’t too busy yet after all.

“two hours of this? you ready to lose, kim?” you said with a mocking smile as you approached the lane. gaeul sat back on the couches behind you, smirking as she very shamelessly checked your backside out unbeknownst to you. there was a small table in the middle of the u-shaped couch that gaeul sat on where you laid down your phone. as you busied yourself making your cute little bowling profile on the monitor near the lane, gaeul glances down at your phone that kept lighting up at it vibrated. your boyfriend was calling you, and he has sent you a dozen or more messages that you still haven’t bothered to look at.

gaeul sneers at the picture of your boyfriend on the screen. he really didn’t deserve you! luckily for him, she will happily take you off his hands. gaeul takes your phone and declines the call, smiling happily when she leaned back on the couch and continued on staring at your beautiful form. you hooked a medium-sized ball with your hand and prepared yourself—sure, you were never the best at the sport but you were to have fun and have fun only! and so you delivered the ball and hit exactly seven pins. gaeul tilts her head a bit to see the look of pure joy on your face and finds herself grinning along with you.

for once, it was not at all a bad start for you! you grabbed the smaller ball and prepared to take down the last three pins at the other end of the lane. upon staring at your near flawless little pose that especially accentuated your ass, gaeul whistles. the sound catches you off-guard and you end up messing up your throw, sending the ball into the gutter in a fit of laughter.

“you little devil.” you said, playfully glaring at your best friend who has stood up and started stretching all of her limbs.

“this is where your short-lived lucky streak ends,” gaeul pats your butt as she approaches the lane. and of course, she didn’t lie. gaeul delivers a ball and hits her first (and certainly not last!) strike. she winked at you while you stared at her, mouth agape at how she didn’t even hesitate to not go easy on you. “cat got your tongue, baby?” your best friend teased.

you don’t even notice the nickname, what with your competitive spirit alive and well. “oh, it is so on, kim gaeul!”

and for the next two hours, you and gaeul had the best time of your life in that bowling alley. the longer the two of you were together and the more you got drunk from pure joy of being with each other, gaeul got bolder. she was touching your waist, your back, and sometimes even rested her hand on your ass for more than a few seconds! you didn’t care—in fact, you were just as bad! grabbing her and pulling her close to whisper things in her ear (partly because the music would have drowned your voice, mostly because you wanted gaeul nearer), allowing her to not-so-discreetly touch you in places a best friend should definitely not, and finally, sitting on her lap, playing with the collar of her shirt and telling her to take you to her home.

exactly zero innocent intent at all, and gaeul was seemingly more than happy to comply!

on the way to gaeul’s apartment, it was noticeably… warm. both of your hearts were beating fast and loud from anticipation. gaeul yearned to feel your skin without the hindrance of your clothes getting in the way. her fingertips itched to feel goosebumps run along your arm, shoulders, and back as she touched you in ways she always dreamed of doing. her lips longed to taste yours since she knew that peach-flavored chapstick you two liked to share would taste so much sweeter if you were the direct source. gaeul wanted you, and she was going to have you—boyfriend be fucking damned.

when gaeul flipped the lock on her door, the two of you were all over each other. bags and jackets thrown to some random corners, shoes messily removed and left all over the living room area. gaeul barely twisted open the doorknob of her bedroom door, being so focused on exploring every crevice of your mouth with her tongue until she tugs you inside her room. her lips stayed locked with yours as she sat on her bed and pulled you to her lap, hiking your dress up and squeezing your ass. your moans were much, much sweeter than she imagined. she shivers at the feeling of your fingers playing with the back of her neck, her own whimpers only encouraging you to busy your hands with unbuttoning her shirt.

when you’ve successfully taken her shirt off, your dress was next. and gaeul made sure to take her sweet time with that! her hands caressed your thighs, gently squeezed your hips and even moved you so you could grind on her thigh (the cute whine she earned from that was very much appreciated!), and then her hands stayed wrapped around your waist as she placed soft kisses along your collarbone. you could feel her smile against your skin when you squeezed at her arms, knowing damn well what you wanted but refusing to give it to you because… well, if this happens to be the only time she fucks you then she might as well make it last!

finally, when gaeul was satisfied with the little marks she had left on your collarbone, she started pulling the ribbon on your back and loosened up your dress. “you made sure to look pretty for me, huh?” she asked as she watched you undress yourself. she took note of the bright blush on your cheeks under her dark stare, and it made her think that perhaps she wasn’t the only one who was thinking of fucking her best friend for the longest time. meanwhile, in your defense, it’s been quite a while since you had to dress yourself up and what better occasion to do that than hanging out with your best friend?

plus, if it got you to get fucked by the friend in question then you’d say that the two-hour preparation was worth it!

when gaeul laid you down on the bed, she noticed how you suddenly became quite tense, looking as though your boyfriend was about to come breaking down gaeul’s doors to drag you back with him. gaeul made sure to relieve you by kissing your forehead, taking your hands with hers and then putting your knuckles to her lips. “you’re safe with me, (y/n).” she whispered, pecking your knuckles gently and smiling at you. sure, it works… but the fear that bubbled up in your stomach did not go away.

“if he finds out about this…” you pull your best friend close, letting her embrace you while you wrap your arms around her neck.

gaeul scoffed arrogantly, “he won’t—”

“—if he does, i don’t know what i’ll do,” you never told gaeul that your boyfriend has been watching out for her for the longest time. he was always suspicious of gaeul, saying that he was so sure that she wanted to fuck you and make you hers. because of his suspicions (that now proved to be true), he always made sure to be annoying and text you and call you an absurd amount of times whenever you were hanging out with gaeul. he never does that when you’re out with your other friends. no. that behavior was reserved for the one person he was threatened by. “i don’t want him to hurt you.” you said. you can’t even imagine what he would do to you, let alone the girl he absolutely detests.

“he’s as dumb as a brick. i could fuck you in his own bathroom and he’d have no idea.” gaeul makes a mental note to reserve that exact scenario in the future.

you couldn’t help but stifle a laugh, “you know he can very much send you to the hospital, right? he’s like, three heads taller than you!”

“three heads yet he’s still stupid enough to treat you horribly and practically give you away to me,” gaeul sneaks her hands behind you, unclasps your bra and pulls it off of you in one swift motion. your heart beats louder every second gaeul’s eyes travel downward, soaking in more and more of your naked beauty that she longed to set her eyes on forever. “i’ll teach him a thing or two about giving a pretty girl the pleasure she deserves.”

every doubt and fear you had evaporates into nothing as soon as gaeul puts her lips against your skin once again. sucking, biting, licking—anything she can do to leave marks and make you remember this night akin to a skilled painter perfecting their masterpiece with every stroke. you feel gaeul’s hand trail down your stomach and palm your soaked panties, and you had an almost automatic reaction to grind against her, blushing wildly upon hearing her chuckle at your enthusiasm. gaeul wraps her warm mouth around your nipple, your back arching at the feeling. an embarrassingly loud moan escapes your mouth when she flicks the hardened bud and presses her palm flat against your clit at the same time.

you were losing further control of your actions. grinding restlessly on gaeul’s hand for further pleasure, taking her free hand to play with your other breast, and even pushing her head impossibly closer to your chest. she was skilled with her tongue—you shuddered at the mere thought of what else she could do to you should this night go on for longer. you feel gaeul slide her hand inside your panties, only to feel your pussy with her fingers rather than fucking you immediately.

it was adorable how impatient you were. you needed and wanted to be pleasured. it must have been quite a while since you’ve gotten some action—gaeul isn’t surprised that even in sex your boyfriend can’t deliver. every flick of your nipple, every pinch to the other one, every parting of your pussy lips, and every brush against your clit, you were mewling. you would be embarrassed if you actually heard yourself but instead, all you could focus on was the little pleasure gaeul was giving you right now.

“that feel good, hon?” gaeul asks as she presses her lower palm against your clit harder than ever. she found your little nods endearing and your inability to find the words to answer her only inflates her ego, but as much as she would love to tease you all day long, she was just as desperate for you as you are for her.

“how long has it been since he’s made you cum?” she asked, slowly pulling your panties off and letting it drop to the floor. gaeul keeps her eyes fixed on you, looking for discomfort or doubt or any sign that tells her how you could be feeling about all of this. while gaeul knows that the two of you have already crossed a point of no return, she knows that if you gave yourself the time to think about all of this, you would come to your senses. in other words, you would get the fuck out of her house and never talk to her again. it would be disheartening, yes, but gaeul unfortunately knows you well enough to know that it would be possible.

to her surprise though, you seemed to have stopped caring now. you didn’t even bother to glance at your phone that was on the floor, vibrating wildly due to the amount of times you were being called by your boyfriend. you only silently beckoned for gaeul to touch you, to taste you, to claim you. and gaeul doesn’t need to be asked twice to oblige!

“he… he has never made me cum.” you admitted, looking away from the embarrassment.

“are you serious?” gaeul laughs, but then her jovial expression is replaced with an incredulous one. “you guys do have sex, right?”

“of course we do! just… h-he’s horrible at it… every time we’re done, i have to get myself off because he never can!” you covered your face in frustration, now just wondering how you actually survived years without being able to cum with your partner during the act.

“fuck, he really is worth nothing at all, huh?” gaeul cackles. ah, poor you… but you didn’t have to worry about not cumming tonight, because gaeul just now made a silent promise that she’ll make you cum as many times as you want. she lowers herself so she could be facing your pussy, all wet and ready just for her. just as gaeul was about to bury her face in between your legs, you take a hold of one of her hands and intertwine it with yours, making her heart swell with affection. she doesn’t look back up at you, knowing that the blush on her cheeks would be too noticeable. gaeul starts off giving your cunt gentle kisses and little licks—hearing you softly whimper and seeing you jolt every time the tip of her tongue so much as brush slightly around your clit gets her adrenaline going, and eventually, gaeul commits herself to eating you out.

within mere minutes of practically making out with your pussy, gael feels you put your free hand behind gaeul’s head and pushes her closer. “more…” you could barely say, too caught up with the euphoric feeling gaeul has instilled in you using her tongue alone. it takes everything in gaeul to let go of your hand to part your lips to have better access to your clit, and when you grabbed a fistful of her hair and let out a beautiful moan, gaeul knew she was doing something right.

something adorable gaeul notices is that you were extremely sensitive when it comes to your clit, more than any woman gaeul has ever been intimate with and even herself. she licks a stripe up your cunt, relishing in your taste and the way you whine her name, before sucking on your clit. it’s almost as if you’ve never had your pussy eaten out this good before! and truthfully, you really haven’t. gaeul’s own satisfied moans created a buzz in your head, letting you know just how much she loved and savored your taste with each lick. she brings a new kind of pleasure when she makes out with your clit at a gentle, slow pace. the kind of pleasure you would never find your boyfriend (or anyone else for that matter) to be giving you.

it almost makes you wonder what gaeul’s true intentions were. of course, you weren’t expecting her to be completely in love with you. if she was, the first thing she would do to show it was not making you cheat on your boyfriend with her. was she just looking for a quick hook-up? but if that was the case, she could have just grabbed some random girl instead of putting your friendship in an awkward spot like this. perhaps you were just another box in a list that she wants to check off, but that would be cruel and completely unlike the gaeul you have known since the two of you were young. with the way she was cautious with how she fucked you, touched you, and even handled you during all of this, you wanted to believe that she has some sort of undiscovered feelings towards you.

but why were you even thinking about that? did you even have feelings for her? that was a dangerous territory you never wanted to explore, not when you cherished your friendship too much. but the ‘idea’ of dating your own best friend was never really just an idea with you. not when gaeul had ten times the charm that makes your boyfriend look like some hopeless wimp. not when gaeul will forever be the person that knows you the best. not when every time she does something as simple as tell you you’re pretty, or open a door for you, or laugh at your jokes, or smile at you so handsomely, the tiniest of butterflies flutter around in your stomach.

it was a scary feeling, one that you always hoped to go away one day but these days, and especially today, it has been hard. maybe when this is over… you don’t have to run away from it anymore, because when you look at gaeul’s eyes that pierced right through yours even as she was eating you out, you can see something beyond the hunger, the lust, and the desperation.

whatever it was, you found yourself more willing to uncover it, even if it might ruin everything.

“you’re so perfect, (y/n)...” gaeul snaps you out of your trance and immediately after, she dips her tongue inside you. “you’re better off with someone else… someone who knows you better, inside and out… mmhn... don’t you agree, princess?”

you whine shamelessly, “y-yes..! ahh… with you…” now you didn’t even mean to let that slip past your lips, but gaeul seems beyond satisfied that you did. completely addicted to your taste, gaeul pulls you closer and further down the bed by your waist, your back arching with how well she was using her mouth. the pleasure gaeul brought was enough to make your thighs twitch, your legs slightly rise in the air, and your eyes to roll to the back of your head.

“you cumming soon, baby…?” gaeul asks, briefly lifting her head slightly from in between your legs. a sly smirk graced her features, knowing that the cause of your incoherence was her. it gives her the confidence to do a lot more to you, to do everything she has been wanting to do for years. you seem to notice how she had paused to stare at you, and you shoved her face back down to your core, earning a chuckle from her. gaeul pushes your thigh back, almost lifting your leg up, for better access and eats you out better than before as if that was even possible.

at this point both of your hands were on her head. you would be worried about the tight grip you had on her hair but you were way too busy on that tight knot in your stomach. you think you hear gaeul encouraging you to cum, and you can vaguely feel her palm resting on your stomach and it does help you relax a bit. enough for you to have the strength to look down at your best friend, whose eyes have always been on you this entire time. god, she was pretty… and she looked like she belonged right where she was. she didn’t give you any more time to admire her though, as a flick of her tongue on your clit sends you to a blissful orgasm.

your body softly falls backwards your bed as you throw your head back with only gaeul’s name filling the air. gaeul spends a good few seconds staring at your face—her doing. you were simply bewitching in her eyes. she made sure to take her time cleaning you up while you came down from your high, waiting patiently until you’ve caught your breath and calmed down. she sees you breathing normally and smiles before rising up, attacking your face with a barrage of kisses while you laugh and take her in your arms.

“don’t get comfortable. this is all we’re doing until morning.” gaeul, more than ready to please you all day and night long, places a wet kiss on your collarbone before sliding her hand in between your legs. she was well on her way down your core until her phone blares loudly—someone was calling her. she ignores the sound, opting to kiss down your neck while her fingers start ghosting over your clit. and just then, you turned your head and got a glimpse of the caller id on the gaeul’s screen. but gaeul sees it first and she swipes her phone away with a dark chuckle.

“w-who is it…?” you asked quietly, not wanting to alert whoever was on the other end. gaeul’s smile grows wider as she puts the caller on speaker. your heart drops to your stomach as soon as you hear the other person’s voice. 

a man. your man. your fucking boyfriend!

“are you there, kim?”

sheer panic courses within you. you tried grabbing gaeul’s hand, but she moves away, pressing a single finger against your lip. and then her mouth moves, but she doesn’t make a sound. trust me, she says silently. you kept still, trusting your best friend to not do anything stupid. of course she wouldn’t put you in any danger just to have fun, but you did worry that she would set your boyfriend off enough for him to do something to her. your heart beats loudly in your chest and goosebumps appear all over your skin. you were terrified beyond comprehension, but gaeul’s soft caresses and reassuring eyes comfort you, even just a little bit.

“what do you want?” gaeul asked, annoyed that he just had to interrupt the two of you. her hand once again travels downwards your body until she reaches your cunt. she traces your lips before inserting the smallest length of her two fingers, making you bite back a moan.

“where’s (y/n)? why isn’t she answering her phone?”

gaeul grins and plunges her fingers deep inside you, she couldn’t hold back a quiet laugh as she watched you choke out a moan. you immediately covered your mouth, pitifully glaring at your best friend but not being completely mad at her. her fingers felt too good inside you—staying perfectly still just to get you to get used to the feeling until she starts moving, slow and steady as if she herself was savoring the feeling of your cunt clench around her digits.

“what was that? is that her? are you fucking my girlfriend?!”

gaeul cackles, “you wouldn’t know what (y/n) sounds like when being fucked even if you’re the one fucking her.” she increases her pace, even nodding towards you to get you to relax and just keep trusting her because she could feel your fear. it made her angry. no one should claim to be your partner if they made you feel so afraid of them. you shouldn’t have to beg for them for their time and love either. if gaeul had known that this was what everything from back then would lead up to, then she would’ve intervened when you and your boyfriend were still just acquaintances. but there was no point in dwelling on that because she has the opportunity to make this all right.

and the correct ending to all of this was her freeing you from him, him ending up all alone, and the two of you figuring out what to do with each other.

“you bitch! i swear to god if that’s (y/n)—”

“—i’m not fucking my best friend, shithead. you should start worrying more about the fact that she’s refusing to call your lacking ass back.” gaeul watches you intently as you slowly lose most of yourself to her. moving your hips accordingly, meeting her little thrusts with eagerness that only got gaeul herself drenched. you tugged on gaeul’s top, silently asking her to get off the call already and just fuck you. and that you didn’t have to ask her twice, of course. while your boyfriend kept yelling at her, gaeul ends the call before blissfully dropping her phone to the ground.

you don’t know what came over you, but all of a sudden you wanted to see your best friend under you. tugging her down harder, catching her lips with yours in a searing kiss… feeling sick satisfaction in you when she stiffened at your sudden surge of passion, and using her shock to flip your positions over. gaeul pulls her fingers out, putting them on your hips instead and trying to keep up with the way you kissed her feverishly.

“you’re cute…” gaeul whispers, thoroughly entertained by you. ugh, those eyes. that nose, her perfect moles, her smile, that mouth… fuck. you have to feel her lips on your pussy again but this time… you wanted to be in control. you smile at your best friend as you swipe your thumb across her lips before getting in position.

“holy shit, (y/n)—”

“—shut up, man.” you cut her off with your face so warm you think you might explode. she didn’t look like she was turned off by the idea. in fact, gaeul places her hands on your thighs, looking more excited than she has ever been this entire time. “t-tell me if i’m hurting you… or anything.” you said. gaeul merely nods, eyes focused on your core. you were going to say a few more words, maybe tell her that you haven’t sat on anyone’s face in a while so you might be bad at this but gaeul couldn’t wait another second. she pulls you down, and the sound that escapes your lips when her nose bumps against your clit was simply criminal.

“ffuck…! oh, g-god…!” with one hand tightly gripping the headboard and the other holding onto a random pillow, you start riding gaeul’s face. and again, she was moaning. as if a better flavor has never graced her tongue until she got to taste you. gosh, the way you threw your head back and let every lewd sound fill the air as you rode her got gaeul clenching, but she couldn’t keep her hands off of you either. she squeezed your thighs, almost as if she was encouraging you to go faster and just use her.

“mmhgn… so good… more, please..” letting go of the pillow and the headboard, you put your hands on gaeul’s head. you ride her faster, focused on pleasing yourself and chasing another orgasm while gaeul does her work with her tongue. it was getting harder and harder to hold herself back from touching her own pussy; she was too drenched and you were simply too delicious. at this rate, she might just cum untouched! the idea of it was humiliating almost, but gaeul figured that if she made you cum hard enough then you wouldn’t even realize what had happened to her. but then again… why would she go through all that trouble?

with one hand, gaeul reaches down and unzips her jeans, sliding further down and massaging her clit through her panties. of course, you don’t see this. you don’t even hear gaeul over the sound of your whimpering and moaning—all you wanted was to use her mouth to get yourself off. you managed to open your eyes slightly, however, and looked down at gaeul. her eyes were shut off, eyebrows furrowed deeply as she diligently ate out and fingered herself at the same time. 

you heart swells as you allow yourself to etch every single facial feature of hers in your mind. you didn’t think you’d find a more fitting place for your best friend. it turns out she looked good underneath you, too! when you got distracted by admiring gaeul’s face, you felt a sting on your ass. you gasped loudly, and although it caught you off guard, you liked it. you moved your hips enthusiastically as gaeul squeezed your ass, now glaring at you to intimidate you to keep going. and it works! well, it’s not like you were going to stop just like that.

“p-pretty… you belong right here…” you said, gripping her hair tighter. gaeul moans at your words and she feels herself only clenching tighter around her own fingers. she didn’t expect to get so turned on by merely fucking you and hearing you talk to her in such a different way than usual. she pushes her tongue inside your cunt, making you scream in pleasure. gaeul’s ears ring at the sound of your voice—she was sure now that you wouldn’t dare go back to that pathetic boyfriend of yours.

you were hers now. and she has always been yours.

“gaeul… babe, i’m cumming—god…!” with one last thrust on your best friend’s face, you came. moaning blissfully in the air as gaeul allowed you to ride your orgasm out, and while she laps up your cum as best as she could, she hits a satisfying climax which grants you the perfect chance to hear a cute squeak from her. gaeul removes her hand from her panties and holds you down on her face, not entirely satisfied to let you go even though she can see that you can barely keep yourself sitting. that wasn’t going to be a problem anymore though as gaeul once again flipped your positions so you would be sitting on the bed and she would still be in between your legs.

“mmh… stop, i’m tired… please.” you shake your head weakly, gently tapping gaeul’s hand. fortunately enough, your best friend respected your wishes and stopped, opting to scoop you up in her arms instead and hug you. you laughed at how much of a mess you made on your best friend’s face, wiping all of it clean with your hands before giving her a quick kiss. gaeul doesn’t forget to get rid of her pants before staying completely still in bed with you, staring at nothing but your pretty face for minutes on end.

you think you fell asleep a couple of times, and you ended up always opening your eyes to gaeul smiling dumbly at you like a lovesick puppy. if you had known gaeul allowed herself to see you in such a different light, then you wouldn’t have wasted time trying to fall in love with a boy who did nothing good for you. but no matter, you were going to leave him, and finally, you and your best friend can work towards a more fulfilling relationship for the two of you.

“i always knew it’d be you in the end.” gaeul whispers as she leaves the tiniest and sweetest kisses on your knuckles.

the tiniest bits of fear settled in the pit of your stomach—you didn’t want your boyfriend to find out about this at all. you wanted to protect gaeul and dump his ass with as much as peace as you can manage, but you know he was going to bring her up somehow. at the end of the day, the blame should be put on you since you were the one who allowed gaeul to make those advances towards you anyway… but you knew all too well that that wouldn’t stop your boyfriend from coming up with an excuse to try and confront your best friend.

but every time you dwelled on those thoughts, gaeul somehow notices it and keeps your eyes on her. she knew she would be able to pull your attention to something else and that she does rather effortlessly. and you knew that you would be safe, as long as you were with her.

you laugh at her words, “i’m glad that you didn’t fuck me just because i’m hot and you hate my boyfriend.” you joked, earning a playful slap on the shoulder.

“no, stupid,” gaeul pulls you closer by your waist, kissing your nose. “i love you.”

[deadbeat-motel]

ᑕᕼEᖇᖇIᗷOᗰᗷ ᗩᑎᗪ ᔕIᖇᑭEᑎTIOᑌᔕ ᖇEᗪEᔕIGᑎ

The last two designs for the main cast. With these two done, I can finally work on miscellaneous characters that I've been eyeing the most.

Again, thoughts below the cut:

My issues with their Original designs:

Sir Pentious:

I thought I would only have one thing to say about him (the unnecessary eyes) since he was my favorite in the entire original cast but having taken a closer look at him for this, I saw a lot of things that bothers me.

Too many eyes. specifically the lower half of his body has too many eyes and it seems detrimental to him. It's kind of painful to think about it since I do not think we ever see those eyes close. Is he just slithering on the ground with those exposed eyes? That's got to be irritating at best and damaged at worst as he continuously slithers on them.

There are eyes on the bowtie and the hat? There are already 4 extra eyes on his hood, so why have even more? I get that the original Pentious design was basically a monsterous amalgamation of eyes but the eye thing could have been scrapped altogether.

While his palette was the least red out of the cast (More so composed of yellows), it still blends in with the rest of the reds.

The claws are an unnecessary repeating design trait (Alastor and Vox notably have them too). I don't think it would've been too big of a difference to just keep his fingers fully black.

The stripes on his suit are too thick. It's called pinstripes for a reason.

I don't like how the hat is shaped to fit the head, It's awkward.

not a point, but I just wanted to say how the blue color palette works really well with him in that last episode.

CherriBomb:

She's not that bad of a design (She's sort of bland in my opinion) but it's the little small details about her that makes her so simple and also so complicated at the same time. There are so many batches of freckles scattered everywhere, little explosion lines on her skirt as well as the X on her chest, the tattoos are a jamble of random loops and bombs, and her tattering doesn't have an easy shape to consistently draw.

The thought process for these two:

Mx. Pentious:

Pentious goes by both Sir/Miss/Mx. but uses she/they pronouns.

Minimized the actual amount of eyes on her, I kept it only to her actual eyes and those on her hood.

Gave her a butterfly-shaped hood. It's nothing deep since it stems from the fact the notches in Sir Pentious' hood almost looked like one to my bad eyesight. I decided to play more into that idea.

I read some posts where people talk about how Sir Pentious should have a snout and while I understand why and fully support people giving him one, I really didn't want to add the snout to this design. It drove me crazy since I'm not a big fan of it. I tried a compromise where her head was shaped more like Phineas.

Kept the tophat but removed its eye and mouth. If I remember correctly, Viv took that from one of her co-workers from the pilot. I decided to just have it as a regular tophat.

It doesn't have all the colors, but her design does have the Neptunic flag.

I'm not sure if this even is a real snake but I based Mx. Pentious' design on this:

CherriBomb:

Scraped most of her features in exchange for a sukeban theme. I personally have zero knowledge about the punk scene in Australia.

A majority of the suggestions I received for her rough draft had something to do with the skirt. I elongated it and gave it a slit in which the magenta from the inside is able to pop out.

Thought it would be a cute detail to have her hair explode if she's angry.

----

Apologies this took too long to be posted, Life got in the way as well as the fact I was feeling shitty about Pentious' first draft. Her skin was an awkward and ugly shade of green and seeing some posts critical of Pentious' design got me to think a little bit more about what direction I'd like to move her redesign.

You could see this in the earlier rough sketches but this was how Pentious' first redesign looked like

[achaotichuman]

ACOTAR Rant

This rant was motivated by an anon @arson-09 got. The person who claimed they were gonna go and make fanfiction about Nesta/Tomas or Elain/Tomas since we are 'apologizing for abusers now'

First of all, everyone knows you aren't gonna write any such fanfiction about Nesta and Tomas, because you wouldn't dare take off the anon, because then you would be exposed as a horrible fuckin person. Simple as that.

Now onto the point I want to make a whole.

There is room for nuance with characters. Especially in fantasy, and clinging to the author or the MCs view of characters for how other characters 'should' be viewed is a very childish way of looking at media.

It shows you lack any kind of media literacy. You need things spelled out word for word for you in order to form an opinion. But guess what? An author can be biased and media can be more complex than what the perspective of the MC shows.

What there is not room for, is nuance when it comes to characters that actually arent 'characters' per say. They are writing tools used to push a person story forward.

So in the case of Tomas vs Tamlin, the difference is one is an objectively bad person, who, unprompted, assaulted Nesta for no reason other than personal gain. He is a writing device.

Then Tamlin, who hurt Feyre, not out of spite, malice, hatred or personal gain, but out of fear for her actual safety.

Tomas sexually assaulted Nesta for no reason.

Tamlin locked Feyre in his house because she was trying to follow him into a highly dangerous situation when she was untrained to do so.

Tamlin suffocated her, not from some highly creative, manipulative plan, but because he wanted her safe. He watched her die for him, and never ever wanted it to happen again.

Tomas just assaulted Nesta. Thats it. He made an evil act that affected her for the rest of the series.

Tamlin tried to protect her on every single occasion. Feyre's safety was at the forefront of his mind in every single one of his actions.

It doesn't take having more than half a brain to understand these very simple concepts. Tomas is a tool used to push Nesta's story forward. Tamlin is a fleshed out, complex character. That is the difference between them.

I could go on and on about the differences in motivations, how what Tamlin did was as a whole for the betterment of his Court and Prythian as a whole. What he did helped win them the war etc etc.

The reason I won't in this rant is simply because then I'd sound like a broken record, because I've gone over these topics time and time again. Other people have gone over these topics time and time again. It doesn't take that much to understand them.

Rant over, Im done with these bullies online. Y'all are either over the age of forty and projecting yourselves onto Elain, or under the age of fifteen and haven't learned the values of being a nice person yet. At least thats the way you act.

[randomfandomblabdom]

I really need to vent about how much I like Cal and Merrin's dynamic in Jedi: Survivor cause they've quickly become probably my favorite canon pairing in the franchise.

I absolutely love that this relationship is built on the basis of friendship, respect, and a genuine mutual understanding of each other. From gameplay comments and conversations, Cal is very clearly so enamored with Merrin and literally everything about her. I know it's become a bit of a joke how clearly into her he is but he just thinks she's the most incredible being in the entire galaxy and it's honestly the sweetest thing. The writers could have very easily made his connection to Merrin a weakness or had it where it made his struggle with the darkness harder but I adore that they allowed him to be completely smitten with her and presented it as a strength. It's refreshing not only in Star Wars but in media in general, at least in my opinion. Love being presented as a positive asset is something so deeply missing in media nowadays - especially romantic love. Far too often in this day and age, love is presented as a weakness or something that will only bring you down, so I respect the fuck out of this writing.

Oops, this got really, really long so I'm putting the rest under a cut. It's kind of spitfire, so I apologize if it feels random.

I love how their first kiss is Merrin basically making a split-second decision where she realizes she doesn't want to die without kissing him at least once even if it runs the risk of making things awkward should they survive. Is it cliche as fuck? Absolutely, but it works so well in this instance. Cal being so dumbfounded, gawking at her like a fish, trying to process what the hell just happened that BD has to remind him they're literally about to die is the best thing too.

I appreciate that Cal is so obviously hesitant about giving into any sort of romantic feelings for Merrin because, of course, he would be due to his upbringing. He's pushing so hard against it to the point that he's even completely reluctant to so much as discuss it with Bode when they're on the Lucrehulk. Personally, I don't think Cal is oblivious to their potential feelings for each other. I've never been a huge fan of treating Cal as completely naive. He still might be a bit emotionally stunted, sure but he's lived 10 years outside of the Jedi Order at this point. I think he's hesitant to talk about it because first of all, it's really none of Bode's business but also, if he talks about it, he has to admit it, and if he admits it, that makes it real, and if it's real... well fuck, now he has to do something about it either way which is exactly what he's trying to avoid. I think he's trying to stay as neutral about it as he can until he gets to a point in the story/his arc where he decides he actually wants or feels ready to make a decision. Bode almost gets it out of him too before they're interrupted. The progression of Bode's questioning during that mission is something I actually find really interesting but that's a different topic.

Many people have pointed this out but Cal smiling so brightly while Merrin is clearly freaking the fuck out of Bode is just the cutest thing. Not only because he finds such humor in her scaring the shit out of people for fun when he of all people knows it's a running joke but he also goes along with the joke any chance he gets. He does this even when she's not around. People will be freaked out by her and he still plays along and it's not even like, "Yeah, I know, she's fucking scary bro," it's more like, "Yeah, I know, she can wake the dead, isn't it amazing how scary she is!" Someone else already pointed this out in another post but that feels almost more intimate than any kiss they share. His attraction to her encompasses all sides of her including those that many people find incredibly terrifying and I find that so endearing, he wouldn't ask her to change for anything. He's the only person who genuinely isn't freaked out by her in the slightest but not only that, he finds that side of her to be so incredible. Also, Cal being so blase with Bode about his obvious attraction to Merrin a mission prior and then having the most blatant sexual tension with her in front of Bode in the next scene is peak comedy, I don't care what anybody says. Like, Cal, honey, you just spent the entire previous mission trying to convince Bode (and yourself) there's nothing there and/or you're not pursuing it, so you're not doing yourself any favors by looking at her like that, standing that close to her, and speaking to her with the cadence of a lover bro.

I love that the second Cal walks onto the Mantis after killing Rayvis, she instantaneously picks up on the fact that something's wrong. Literally instantaneously. You can see her face drop the moment she sees him. She just knows something happened. Her ability to read him insanely well is something that is introduced very early on in the game, most noticeably in the campfire scene, and it stays consistent over the course of the story. The following conversation they have is honestly one of the best moments between them in the entire game. It's this type of conversation I've been wanting to see with a Jedi and their potential lover since Revenge of the Sith. He is so open with her even in a somewhat roundabout way about his genuine fear of losing himself and while the conversation is not explicitly about their relationship, the implication is still there and she 100% picks up on it, especially since he wonders aloud why Santari didn't see the change in Dagan before it was too late. Instead of shaming him for his reservations or calling it ridiculous or anything else she could have said at this moment, she instead decides to possibly help curb those fears and give him some comfort regarding it. She goes on to basically tell him in so few words she knows what she's signing up for and is willing to cross those bridges with him if they come. It's a great difference between Cal and Dagan. Though it's never outright stated that Dagan and Santari were in love, I feel like it's... pretty heavily implied, or at least he was definitely in love with her (was I the only one who read it that way??) but whereas Dagan demands that Santari talk him away from the darkness and seems to almost expect her to, Merrin herself plainly offers to do it with no prodding on Cal's part. It doesn't seem to be a burden Cal wanted to put on her, not something he was inherently expecting of her but she willingly offers, it is her choice, she wants to carry that burden with him. While she does seem maybe slightly annoyed by his hesitancy regarding their relationship to each other, she is also so incredibly patient with him while he's stewing over what he wants to do. It's beautiful. As a side note, "A shared dream is not so easy to wake from," is such an amazing line. Seriously, I want merch with that quote on it.

I liked that going through with the relationship was Cal's choice in the end. Merrin didn't push it, she didn't pressure it. She let him bring it up and come to her when he was ready and if that meant potentially being rejected by a man she very clearly adores, so be it, and I have no doubt she would've respected that choice if that's what he'd wanted. I know a lot of people seem to think he only makes this decision due to Bode's questions earlier but it really seems to be a combination of multiple things that lead to this. Bode picking his brain definitely got him thinking about it, maybe more than he wanted to, but I do think the other big part of Cal being willing to go forward with it at this moment is his confrontation with Dagan that, while an illusion, did cause him to come to grips with his own mortality in a way. "How does it feel knowing you're about to die. That your life meant nothing." As Cal says, Dagan uses an extremely powerful force hallucination based on fear here, so while losing himself to the darkness might scare him, his life being completely meaningless is what he seems to fear the most. Cal's journey throughout Survivor encompasses many things but one of them revolves around feeling aimless and finding a purpose, preferably outside of being a hired weapon that will surely and slowly consume him. It's what everyone consistently tells him: find a home, settle down, embrace happiness because it's fleeting, the path you're on is not healthy and will consume you otherwise...etc. His decision here to give in to his romantic attraction to Merrin is a culmination of all of these interactions and conversations he's had throughout the story, how they've influenced his line of thinking, and him coming to his own conclusions regarding what he personally wants and at this moment, when things are finally, calm and everyone is in a good place with a plan going forward, he personally decides there's no point in living up to the expectations of the Jedi when the Order doesn't exist anymore and wants to see where this could go.

I love the fact that when Merrin witnesses Cal's darkness in the ISB, it's made abundantly clear that she's just as afraid of losing him as he most likely is of losing her. I do think a major reason why she was able to talk him down at the moment is that he fundamentally understands what it feels like to lose everything and everyone, your entire livelihood. That is what they first bonded over and it's something that keeps them bonded in the saddest, yet most profound way and he would never want to add himself to the list of people she's lost. She's also doing exactly what she said she would. In an instance where again, she reads him like a fucking book, she can tell just from his responses on the intercom that he's losing himself and is guiding him back. She immediately went to rescue him as she says. No question, no argument, nothing, she simply does it. She made him a promise and she kept it and in that moment, he promises that she won't lose him, he won't allow it. This is a fundamental difference between Anakin and Padme's dynamic and Cal and Merrin's. While Anakin's love for Padme quite famously ends up extremely selfish in an "I would lose myself to ensure you're not ripped away from me" type of way, Cal and Merrin's dynamic is leaning towards a more selfless, "I won't allow myself to be lost because I can't let that happen for your sake," type of way and god damn it, I love it.

There are several interactions they have in gameplay that I'm lowkey peeved weren't included in cutscenes and one of them is when Cal returns to the Mantis after all but demolishing the ISB, they have this really short but great interaction where Merrin says that if he ever feels that way again, he needs to tell her. She doesn't even ask him to do it, she all but demands it, "If you feel that way again, you will tell me." She's demanding communication from him regarding the darkness and he doesn't fight this demand at all. He agrees to respect this request and I fucking love that from both of them. I will genuinely be kinda upset if we don't get a moment like that in the next game.

I like how their kiss after they've successfully navigated the abyss is kind of their first kiss inverted but instead of "omg we might die, I need to kiss you" it's more "holy shit, we survived, I need to kiss you," but instead of Merrin initiating, now it's Cal. I'm probably reading too much into that but whatever, it's cute.

This isn't about any one part in particular but I do love that it looks like the headcanon so many people had regarding Merrin most likely being quite physically affectionate is turning out to be true.

...I think that's enough for now lol I might add on some things later

Apologies for any typos and thanks for indulging my rambling if you got this far.

[lxmelle]

I don’t think Gojo died dissatisfied, or with any regrets.

Just a personal opinion that I wrote on twitter/X but I also wanted to capture and put into words here.

I can see how and why it can be interpreted that he did die with at least 1-2 regrets. However... as I read and re-read and thought about it to the point of being overthunk (lol), I have come to conclude (for myself at the very least), that he died with peace in his heart.

First we see him grumble about being wrong about dying alone because he told Megumi this. Then, he said he had unfinished business with informing Megumi about his dad, to which being a largely accepting/stoic person (kinda like the “resignation man” thing again that Gege described him - not necessarily in a negative way) really helps, because he readily accepts that he left it to Shoko and would be taken care of on his behalf.

So with that regard, he was at peace.

Next, Gojo admitted that he couldn’t reach Sukuna, and for that, he was apologetic/sorry/regretful (Not so much disappointed, due to the usage of the phrase 申し訳なく which conveys more of a sense of humility and responsibility, rather than feelings of being let down).

This is an important one for me... because if we understand how human bodies work in real life, and also if we subscribe to some form of faith/spirituality (in this case maybe Buddhism), the physical body actually takes time to die and the soul therefore takes time to depart the body.

We see Gojo smirk at the end of Sukuna’s speech saying that Gojo had “cleared his skies” and would be remembered by him for as long as he lived.

This can be interpreted in two ways (or both) - one, that those words were conveyed and Gojo heard them, understanding that he did reach Sukuna in some way. And 2nd that he smirked knowingly that he could “bet on the future” / the next generation, with what Yuta would do with his body…

Which also aligns with his soft reaction to what Nanami said about betting on the future. Gojo did his best with his students too.

So much so that he jokes with Yaga that he was wrong about sorcerers all dying with regret!

So with the body taking time to die, I see it as something similar with what happened with Jogo and Choso - their last moments took some time to happen.

As Jogo was burning, he met with his friends and had his send-off / acknowledgment from Sukuna that he was strong, that it was fun, and that he could stand proud. Jogo died feeling he had worth and believed he would reunite with his friends.

As Choso was shielding Yuji (I’m still not recovered from this btw) he also had his send-off at the long table with Yuji. He died protecting his brother, which gave him absolute meaning and purpose as a human being and not a curse. Similar situation at the end can be said about Nanami (arguable whether the process of dying was beginning to happen with his hallucinations of being at the beach) with his brief send-off with Haibara standing before him. They were consolidating their lives at their final moments. Expressing any regret/sorry’s helped them pass on peacefully. I’ll spare you the picture of mortally wounded Nanami 😢

Another one I won’t put a pic of would be Hajime’s death where he and Sukuna have an exchange too. I don’t know if he died with regret or not, but he got his answer at the very least - what he was searching for.

As for Nobara, we see her with the chairs, her thoughts and reflections - saying her farewells / apologies, and finally concluding that her life wasn’t so bad 😢

Those with mortal wounds to the head seem to die a little more immediately, so their vision of salvation / death dream / whatever you want to call it - appears to happen a little bit earlier. But it doesn’t stray too far from the theory that a “good death” comes to some of the characters in the jjk world and it exists in a space... uhh... we can describe as “between dream and reality”??? 🫣 idk about what/who is right or wrong. We know different characters have different theories about things - just like in real life I guess. Nevertheless I (as a reader) want to believe there is some kind of afterlife.

Back on topic: Gojo’s other “disappointment” was that he wished that Geto was there to “pat him on the back”. He would have been satisfied if Geto was there.

And now, well, Geto was there. Flowery speech bubbles and all. So I think the fact that he was with him as a soul, reunited, was enough of a pleasant surprise.

Enough for Gojo to go into “husband is home from a hard day’s work - time to let go and grumble” (lol). And Geto wasn’t a flower because Gojo wanted him to understand him, so I can see how this was satisfying for Gojo, who felt he wanted to catch up to Geto.

Narratively/Thematically it also makes sense that Gojo was at Geto’s end (sending him off), and Geto was at Gojo’s end (picking him up). You know... “you’re late”x2 “you’re early”? “I was left behind”x2 “I have to catch up?” (These two were just busy chasing each other).

Yeah. It wouldn’t take away the satisfaction over all that happened just because Geto wasn’t there to pat him on the back - because then dying would leave him behind. And crucially, Gojo prayed that being there at the airport wasn’t a dream. So he was satisfied with being reunited and being there with everyone.

My conclusion is basically this: I think that Gojo fully died physically when he smirked. A human body left to bleed out with a wound like that would take time to stop functioning. But we know that mercifully he was mostly dead, which was why his consciousness was at the airport. Arguably, where his soul needed to be. He would’ve internalised Sukuna’s message as his body physically died, which could explain why it reacted.

So if we believe that it wasn’t just a hallucination and there is an afterlife (there are many reasons to believe there is, with talk of soul resonance, reincarnation, etc.), just as how Geto knew Gojo fought Sukuna, the souls in the afterlife have awareness of what goes on in the world of the living.

I’m pretty certain that one way or another, Gojo would have received the knowledge that Sukuna had praise for him, even if he couldn’t reach him with his humanity. So there were essentially no “regrets”.

Gojo was satisfied with having left the information for Megumi for Shoko to deliver, with how he died in battle to someone stronger, that he was able to satisfactorily go all out & felt he had fun, that Sukuna acknowledged him, that he could bet on the future, and that he was also reunited with Geto & his friends from his youth.

Yes, so… I believe that Gojo died satisfied.

🥲 RIP Gojo Satoru. I hope you and Geto have a good time in the afterlife.

[cripplecharacters]

Hello! First of all I wanted to thank everyone who runs this blog, it's wonderfully helpful in a lot of ways, and it's nice to see so much information coming from direct sources all in one place. I have a lot of anxiety around accidentally harming people with my work, so finding such a wealth of references, opinions, resources, and discussion is very valuable to me. It gives me the confidence I need to move forward knowing that I won't get everything right, but I can avoid what I know to be harmful.

I do have a question, sorry for taking so long to get to it. I want to write a story featuring a physically disabled character from at least a semi-accurate historical lens (specifically 19th century England), but I don't want to rely on notoriously ableist doctor's accounts. That's potentially useful for understanding how the medical field understood various disabilities and the social attitudes surrounding them, but I want to know more about the day-to-day lives of actual disabled people before modern medicine/research, especially those who may not have had access to hospitals. My intent is this- I want to understand my character and her disability from a modern perspective, but within the time frame I know this character would not have access to the same information and so would approach her life differently than a person today with the same disabilities would. Do you know of any particular historians or research organizations that might have that kind of information? I apologize for the broad scope of the question, but I am very lost on where to actually start looking and any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read this ask, and for all the work you do in general, have a great day!

Hi,

Thank you for your thoughtful question.

I'll start of with the fact that disability history is painfully under-researched, particularly the further back in time you go.

Part of this is modern ableism, part of it is ableism from the past, part of this is scattered understanding of conditions in the past, part of it is that a decent number of disabilities need treatment for survival, and part of this is simply a lack of sources. There's other factors, of course, but these are all pretty relevant.

If I'm honest, I generally do my historical research in very sort of piecemeal ways and I get bits and pieces from various sources that I often lose years later, which I recommend to no one lol.

I usually end up reading scientific/historical modern articles that I go to like the third page of google to find, or try my best to find a period piece that will show me a sense of how a person with a certain condition could be treated,

However, let me point you towards some organizations that might help:

This is a page from Historic England that has a general history of disability from 1050 onwards. It's categorized in general time periods, starting with 11th-14th century and ending in the modern times. I like this resource and have used it often, and it's pretty accessible and easy to read since it's made for the general public as opposed to for researchers and historians. Historic England also has further Inclusive research, if you're interested.

The US's National Parks Service (unlikely source, I know) has a project named Telling All Americans' Stories, and has a section for disability history right here. It has a general overview, a section for places, a section for people, a section for education, and one for Franklin Delano Roosevelt's experience and impact re: polio and resulting disability. Of course, this source has more things connected to the national parks, given who is doing the research, but I still find it a pretty good source to start off with. It's also quite accessible since it's aimed at the general public and not historians or researchers.

The Minnesota State Government has a "Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities," and this council has a general history of developmental disabilities resource right here. It's divided into pre-1950 and post-1950, but it covers a lot of ground while being pretty accessible. It's a pretty cool resource, actually. I'm pretty sure I've found relevant photographs here.

The Disability History Association was established in 2004 has a podcast and is focused on specificlly funding research of disabilities. They have a page right here with a list of recent books and articles about disability history. These are all 2016 to present and all seem to be English language. It also lists two upcoming research publications that are in progress. I haven't specifically used this for my research, but I recognize some of the articles it refers to on that second page I linked. It's entirely possible I've been on this site before without remembering, though.

All Of Us is a blog by the above DHA which seems to have multiple contributors. This one I have not used.

Inclusive Historian has a resource here on a sort of general disability history, and is aimed more towards historians themselves to use to write more effectively. I also see this as a potential tool for fiction writers, as it can be useful when it comes to combining historical accuracy (to whatever degree you want it in your fiction) with modern sensitivities for modern audiences.

Disability Social History project is a self-named newer project aiming to collect historical information about disability and disabled people. It has a resources page here as well.

The Missouri History Museum has a legacy website called Action for Access with a focus on the history of the disability rights movement. This is a narrower focus and earlier than the time period you're going to write about, but it has pictures to browse. I have not found a modern equivalent of this website. Be aware that this website might not fit accessibility standards more common today because it's a legacy website.

Anyway, sorry that this seems so broad and maybe less specific than you'd like — I still hope it helps you and anyone else needing a jumping off point to research.

– mod sparrow

[totoanime52]

SPOILERS FOR BNHA 427 BELOW

I actually like how Overhaul's story is ending.

People get on Endeavour's case about him being an abuser and how he got a redemption when he should have died, but then I saw people who kept saying that Overhaul should have had a chance to do the right thing and have his redemption.

Here's the main difference between the two: Endeavour actually regretted the things he did and wanted to better himself as a person. He tried doing what he could to help his victims while understanding that he may never get forgiveness, which was okay for him because he understood that they didn't owe him anything in return. When Natsuo said he was going no contact, Enji was okay with that because this was Natsuo's choice, just as it would be the rest of the family's choice what they want to do in the future. His redemption arc worked because he was bettering himself with no expectations of getting anything in return for it; it was for the people he hurt.

Now look at Overhaul: he never regretted the things he did other than his boss's coma. All the people he killed or maimed? No. The treatment of his subordinates? Nope. What he did to Eri? Absolutely not. Even when Deku found him after the Tartarus Prison Break, all he wanted to do was use Eri again to reverse what was done to him (funny enough, it's what many in the fandom wanted her to do for several characters, HMMMMMM). How can redemption be given to someone who shows no remorse for what he did?

Now Chisaki's boss is confronting him with this reality: the disgust the boss feels towards him for what he did (to the boss's granddaughter, no less), the fact that his apologies are not being directed towards the person he arguably tormented the most because he never cared for her, and that he will be forced to think of his actions towards Eri for the rest of his life. The thing is, it's a path he is being forced down, not one he is taking the initiative to walk himself.

People can have their own opinions on both these characters; that's the beauty of fiction, you make of it what you interpret. At the same time, writing Todoroki Enji's character development and conclusion off as abuse apologist is kind of a bad take when Kai Chisaki, the character who doesn't regret his deplorable actions towards a child and made no move to actually want to apologize or make up for what he did, is given this kind of ending. I think Horikoshi did a good job at having these two characters end up where they are. Neither have a particularly happy ending, but Enji embraces this path as one he will walk as unending atonement for the harm he caused (you could say, his own personal endeavor), while Chisaki is being forced to remember his deplorable actions for the rest of his life because he didn't care about his victims as people.

P.S., The shot of Bakugou and Todoroki running away from their new admirers is priceless.

[sturnsdc]

"what was his reaction when Yn started to cry in the middle of an argument?"

dividers from: @cafekitsune !♡

i was listening to Cry Baby by Melanie when this idea popped into my head.

for a few minutes now, Yn's home had been transformed into a war field. Because the girl was arguing with her boyfriend, Carl, after having different opinions about a run she wanted to go to.

this situation wasn't unusual for them, or for the adults who escaped as soon as they felt the tension in the air. No, actually it was more... common, because Carl always lets out his protective, or overprotective, side towards the girl, insisting that she should stay and not expose herself

however, today started badly for the girl, after an argument with Maggie, her older sister, which left her in a bad mood for the rest of the morning. Everyone knew not to bother her, but Grimes decided to ignore the warnings and give his point of view.

“enough, Carl,” Yn said, shaking from the anger and frustration she feels at that moment.

“you should stay here, it's safer!” the boy said sharply.

“we've literally known each other since the farm, you know what i can do! you know i can defend myself!” the girl moved her hands desperately, trying to get him to understand her point.

“but it's stupid that you wanna go out now with all the risk out there! you're safe here! it took us too long to get here.” Carl narrowed his eyes, looking at her defiantly, completely sure that he was the voice of reason.

Yn was exhausted. She hates yelling, she hates raising her voice.

the arguments with Carl never went that far. In fact, it was the first time she raised her voice in an argument with him, as she always tried to remain calm, listening to the boy's point and then giving hers in the most respectful way possible.

and since the arguments never went that far, there was one detail that Carl didn't know about his girlfriend, and that is that the young Greene cries involuntarily when she feels too frustrated. Sometimes she doesn't even notice that she's crying, 'til she sees the expression on her sister's face, with whom she usually has arguments, change.

to say that it was shocking for Carl is an understatement. The boy felt his soul leaving his body and terror filled him. He tried to remember every word he said, to know if the crying was because of that, and then the guilt came. He quickly tried to get closer, but Yn, who didn't understand his action, only backed away.

“Yn, babe, i'm so sorry” she frowned, not understanding the sudden apology. But it was when she noticed the change in her boyfriend's gaze that she began to be more aware of her body, feeling her cheeks soaked and her entire body tense, trembling and cold.

“Carl…” she tried to speak, but was interrupted by a tight hug.

“i'm so sorry, i went too far, i didn't wanna hurt you, i swear.” the fear in his voice was noticeable, as was the guilt.

the tension left her body as soon as she felt the heat emanating from Carl's body. The tears also stopped along with the shaking. She felt safe again.

“it's okay, Carl, sometimes that happens.” one of her hands went to the boy's back, while the other went straight to his hair, playing with it to help him calm down. “Today has been a bad day since what happened with Mag… and i'm just frustrated, and when i get very frustrated the tears come out without being able to stop them” she explained to him, feeling how the hug stopped being so tight, as he began to relax too, understanding the situation “i'm sorry for scaring you tho. And i'm sorry for arguing so much…”

“I'm sorry too,” he said this time, lifting his head, which was previously resting on the girl's shoulder, so he could look her in the eyes. “i let my fear take control. I'm terrified of losing you, and all the time i want you to be safe, so when you wanna leave i... i don't know, i get frustrated. I'm sorry".

although tears were what managed to stop the argument, this new conversation strengthened their relationship, and Carl promised himself that he would never be the cause of her crying again, at least not this way.

so when later, in an argument with Ron, she began to cry, he butted in, ready to defend her and make the boy pay for making her cry.

no one was going to push her over the edge again, not if he could help it.

because he didn't want to see his girl's face like that again. And maybe that would be his new way of overprotecting her.

[maleyanderecafe]

Sweet Dreams (Visual Novel)

Created by: C2PHOS

Genre: Horror

Sweet Dreams is a spin off? Sequel? To Missing. This game pulls the breaking the forth wall when you remove the Key, which angers Cro. If you do interfere, he will kick you out of the game for good so be careful when you play. Still, I think this game is a big improvement to the first in terms of story telling as we get to learn a bit more about Cro and the person that he fell in love with.

The story starts out with Lee on a train. She seems tired, constantly checking on her phone until her mother calls her. Lee's mother seems cold and wants her to get to Bolder Springs(her birth place), with this train being the only way to get there. As much as Lee wants to sleep, she can't due to the loud and love dovey couple just sitting a couple of seats away. Upon trying to leave her seat, she ends up bumping into Cro, who seems familiar. Cro will offer her a drink as an apology for bumping into him, which later extends to the couple as well when they butt in. Cro comes back to offer Lee the drink, and the two start talking. The two talk about why Lee is heading to this city. The couple seems to have disappeared and Lee starts to fall asleep, with Cro coming back to let her sleep on his shoulder. He talks about how different she looks as she's passed out, but how he could still remember what she looks like, promising to never let her go.

Cro can also come close to Lee later, when she nearly passes out, after they have a conversation about why Cro never seems to have left Border Springs despite working on the train. Before leaving, Lee calls out to Cro stating that she'd love to be friends with him while she hangs out in Border Springs, leading to a very flustered Cro. The two pinky promise before he leaves to do something in another section of the car.

The last ending (which is hard to undo) requires going into the game and deleting the "Safety Key" inside of the game files. Upon doing this, Lee will have the option to look around the train and not drinking the drink Cro gives her. Going into the empty car, Cro finds the girl from the couple crying. Eavesdropping, she sees Cro looming over the girl, stating that they had come in at a bad time, and that the girl had seen powder being put into Lee's drink. Cro makes a drink, asking the girl about her opinions on love. Cro talks about how he used to see love as strange, even pointless until he saw someone that he cared for, and how much he was willing to do for them. Cro hands the girl the drink, with hair and her lover's eyeball floating inside of it. He forces her to drink it as Lee runs back in an attempt to call someone. Cro immediately appears next to her calming her down. He turns to the player (you) about how he doesn't appreciate people messing with his story before the game quits out.

Going back to the game, you are greeted with a dark screen and a conversation with Cro. Cro is unhappy that you've changed his story, stating that you decided to make this decision to delete the key. Cro allows you to ask him various questions before kicking the player out again. Attempting to go back in will simply leave you with an empty screen.

I think that it's very nice that we see an expansion of Missing thanks to Sweet Dreams. In Missing, we didn't get a lot of reason to why Cro was so obsessed with the MC's friend much less really any information on him besides that he is a yandere. It's really nice that we were able to get more information on the two. Still, while it is the second game there isn't a whole lot of information on the two (especially Cro)'s past. Of course, this is the second installment out of hopefully more, so it's understandable that we don't have the full picture as of yet.

I was surprised to see that Lee is actually (essentially) a rich kid, considering that her mother seems to be pretty high ranking. I'm not sure if those holographic phones are a style choice or if it's just to show that Lee's family is just that rich. I guess based on her appearance, she doesn't really seem like anything too special considering that she dresses in pretty plain clothing. That being said, besides that and the fact that she isn't the best at conversing with people, there's not too much character for her, so hopefully we get to see more in the future about that.

Cro on the other hand gets a lot more development, especially during the endings where you remove the "Key" that allows Lee to walk around the train. We learn that Cro actually views love in a lot more of a shallow way, believing that it's fruitless, until he actually grows into infatuation himself. From what I can tell, Cro basically never had a crush until he met Lee, which then grew to the yandere levels that it is now. Before, at least from what I remember, Missing doesn't really talk about how he views his love for Lee, only that he is rather calculating and willing to eliminate others for his love. We also know that he does have some awareness over us as the player, as he talks directly to us when we mess with the files, leading us to be kicked out the game permanently, or at least unable to access the original game until it is properly reset. How or if it's relevant that he was able to gain this kind of awareness has yet to be stated, so it's hard to say if this is a skill that Cro has or if it's something that's specific to this game and while it wasn't present in Missing, it's unknown if it will change during the next game that features Cro. Cro, besides his ideals of love, also continues to showcase how he will get rid of anyone who interferes with his love with Lee-even to the extent of kicking the player out.

Overall though, I think it's a fun use of breaking the fourth wall with a yandere. Although the concept has been done a lot, I always find it fun to see how people incorporate it into their games and it's now fun to figure out how to do it via code. If you liked Missing, please try out this game if you are curious about Cro's story.

[leggalese]

how do you imagine Edgeworth and Phoenix parenting Trucy?

Thing is... I usually don't imagine them parenting anyone really... I mostly focus on humor and tension between the two. Closest thing would probably be Maya and Pearl but I see them more as surrogate family members akin to siblings and nieces or some third option. I guess you could say it would be two guys and their dog? As far as I am concerned two men and a dog are a family.

Reason for that being is that Trucy didn't "grasp" me as much character wise so it's a bit difficult to flesh and figure her out...aaand I'm not actually that fond of Apollo Justice (the game that is), atleast narrative wise, I just really really prefer the goofier tone of the OG trilogy and its characters. That is to say there are characters i legitimately enjoy in AJ, Klavier is flamboyant and fun, Ema Skye is wonderfully re-imagined as grumpy and a little bitter (which brings more personality to her than she had in Ashes), Kristoph is a wonderfully unhinged Regina George-esque prissbitch and Apollo is a high strung little chicken nugget. Not really a fan of the disbarment either, and while "Beanix" is an interesting idea and I certainly understand why people enjoy him it's just ehh.... it sorta makes sense for his personality to change but I personally didn't like that it changed that much. Then again I generally don't like change and am very stubborn about certain things. This to say Anon I'd hate to see you sad and empty handed so i give you this:

My best guess would be that Wright would be good at consoling, telling stories, being creative and imaginative and such, also surprisingly, house cleaning. Edgeworth would be good with homework, general organizing of things such as paperwork, finanical organizing maybe? I think he would also give great advice and nuggets of wisdom. As far as I am concerned they can both cook, just different things.

Anon and future anons please don't let my opinions discourage you from asking further questions or drawings connected to AJ. There are things I do like about it, I love having conversations about it and seeing other people's perspectives just because they are so different from mine. But most importantly I like making people laugh and feel good so don't hold back, yea? I apologize for the rant, a lot of things are interconnected and i wanted to give a good explanation on how and why I see things.

[highvern]

drunk goggles couple are my otp fr fr!!!!!!!! but because i love the pain i would very much like to know what was their first fight over? 👹

first silly non-couple fight:

in high school Mingyu crop dusted her so she tackled him to the ground, twisted his arm behind his back, and sat on him till he cried and apologized lol that is the story of how they become friends and why he has always been a little scared of her

first serious fight as friends:

was probably in college like freshman/sophomore year when Mingyu accidentally dogged some girl she was somewhat friends with and she’s is like wtf is wrong with you? Like they were only really acquainted/friends in group settings so they weren’t super close yet and she is like of course he comes to college, joins a frat, gets hot and turns into an asshole. He thinks she’s being nosy and needs to mind her own business lmao. They bicker constantly about it but it resolves itself after a month or two helped by the fact that the girl was like “he picks his nose in public anyways sooooo”

first silly couple fight:

he accidentally leaves the seat up and when she falls in he laughs at her, she texts his mom to let her know that her son is horrible and he gets an earful about why he should be nicer to her (bc his mom adores her)

first real couple fight:

definitely pre-Lucky Me, a combination of his sometimes oblivious/too trusting nature and her passive aggressive tendencies me thinks. plus they're both sensitive babies. the first real fight of a relationship is always so hard and can really make or break things, as much as I've written him to be the perfect man he'd definitely be frustrated even if he gets where she's coming from.

if y'all watched sex lives of college girls, two characters (Canaan and Whitney) fight because a girl hits on him. she obvi doesn't like it but he's like "im successful, nice, and attractive. people are gonna hit on me but i don't want them i want you." and its essentially a trial of trust. he basically tells her that if she can't trust him then he doesn't know what to do. so literally Jealousy pt 2 except she actually does have the right to be upset but takes place at like a work party and its Mingyu's coworker who knows he has a gf

I think Mingyu would definitely be super offended if she implied he was dumb/naive for being nice to the girl that was hitting on him, even if he side stepped all her advances and all he talked about was "my girlfriend likes that show too" or "my girlfriend is the one who got me this shirt, i'll tell her you complimented it" because he's not gonna be an asshole to people its just not who he is but he makes it painfully clear he is happily locked down and tries to leave the conversation the second an opportunity presents itself. She would still be upset because insecurities and she can't understand why he doesn't see it her way even though she knows this is something she is gonna have to accept. It’s a fight where they’re both upset about two different things ie her upset about girls flirting with him and kinda takes it out on him and he’s upset that it feels like she doesn’t trust him

they don't talk for a few days both very heated and opinionated but unbeknownst to each other, they each reach out to Seungcheol and his then fiancé for advice on how they handle fights since they're both in it for the long run. eventually someone apologizes, they work through it, and come out the other side stronger than before thank god

[emrulerz]

I’ve seen some people who seem to strongly dislike Della Duck or see her as a terrible mother so I wanted to give reasons as to why she’s actually a good mother. I’m writing this as in-depth as possible to prove how Della is a good person. This is a biased opinion, obviously, but I’m also not entirely disregarding Dellas mistakes.

I talk about her mistakes but I also talk about how those mistakes aren’t her defining characteristics. She’s way more than how people make her out to be.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Coming back to Earth after ten years of being stuck on the moon can be challenging for multiple different reasons. (Adjusting to society, missing out on a decade of new things, getting back on a proper food and sleep schedule, etc).

The biggest thing the show highlights for Della is her struggle to parent. It can be hard to interact with people again after such a long time let alone become a parent of three (especially once they’ve already grown into 10 year olds). One could say that she had it coming since she was the one to have kids and then hop on the rocket prematurely. I can understand that it is infuriating that Della got onto the rocket but obviously getting lost was never her intention. She made a mistake and it’s shown throughout the show that she does deeply regret it.

Della did not intentionally leave her kids when she did this. There is a difference between leaving your family intentionally and going missing. It’s clearly shown throughout the show that Della cares for her kids so she would never leave them permanently. She tried her best to go back to Earth to get back to Huey, Dewey, and Louie.

Even when Della was stuck on the moon all she talked about was her kids and how much she missed them. No matter how many years went by she still talked to them through her camera to communicate a message to them (that, at the time, she believed would get to them) and would even talk about them to people she didn’t even know that well. She never stopped thinking about her boys.

“Whatever Happened to Della Duck?!” Episode 7, season 2

I fully believe that her only optimism and motivation to keep going was her kids. She always tried to remain positive even after several years went by. It can be really hard to remain optimistic while being stuck on the moon especially when you have no one else there with you. It can be isolating and terrifying.

Della has gone through ups and downs especially after seeing a beast who turned out to also be a mother. Della felt she related to the beast and even gave the mother her gold tooth even when she didn’t need to. She realized there was no way she’d be getting home if she did this yet she selflessly did it anyways. She felt heart break after heart break of losing her ways to get home.

It is unfair to say that Della hasn’t gotten any backlash or a punishment from her mistake. Yes, getting on the rocket was a big mistake and an awful one but her mistake was her punishment. She faced monsters that constantly attacked her and prevented her from getting home, she’s been stuck with no interaction with anyone for 10 years, she faced trauma, and she had to face her children whom she left after 10 years. So yes, she was punished and I don’t see or understand what other punishment she should have gotten.

Once Della had gotten back on Earth she immediately went to Scrooges mansion to see her boys.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Della apologized and even asked her boys if they could have her back as their mother. I do understand that they are children and it can be difficult to make such a choice. And, being children, it would be likely that they’d say yes. But I believe Della handled this apology well and the most important thing is that she DID apologize and even asked for forgiveness. Not a lot of parents do that.

I understand that during this scene Louie didn’t have a moment to accept like his brothers did. Dewey got excited and instantly agreed to having her as a mother so he didn’t give Huey nor Louie a chance to say anything. This is more of an issue with Louie’s feelings not being heard by, not only Della, but also by his brothers. It can be easy to unintentionally ignore someone’s feelings when you aren’t paying attention.

This isn’t necessarily Della nor Dewey’s fault. Louie in general has very complex feelings unlike his brothers (but I’ll get to that in a moment.)

This is an easy mistake to make especially if you’re too excited when seeing your kids for the first time. To Della she’s meeting new people she doesn’t know yet. Each of her kids are different with different feelings and she just needs to learn more about them. That’s why I believe it made sense for Della to come off as “too much” when first meeting them. She’s still learning to be a parent and that comes with some mistakes.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Della messed up a lot on learning to be a parent which is natural! She’s taking care of ten year olds whom she didn’t know at birth so obviously she is going to have some trouble.

She made the boys cake which she messed up, she told them scary stories, and she tried to act fun. Della may have made these mistakes but she was trying to be the best mom she could for them. It would be completely strange and unrealistic if Della had been completely perfect for them.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Della & Huey

Out of the three triplets Huey definitely had the least interactions with Della but that didn’t make their relationship is any less important. They still related in ways that they are both intelligent and, when first meeting each other, Huey got super excited when he discovered that Della was a Junior Woodchuck too.

The side plot in “Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!” Is an example of a bonding moment between both Della and Huey. The two were both playing a video game called “Legend of Legend Quest.” This is a game Huey was currently obsessed with while Della mentions she used to play it all the time after adventures. This is another example of what both Della and Huey have in common relating to special interests.

While playing Della discovered that Huey would rather sit and plant his garden than fight because he claimed it was too dangerous. Della, on the other hand, would rather fight than sit around and plant. This seems to be the twos defining differences, super safe VS the not so super safe.

While Della is fighting, however, Huey seemed to be getting jealous and antsy, suddenly getting the urge to fight as well.

“Happy Birthday, Doofus Drake!” Episode 18, season 2

Huey wanted to step out of the area that caused him comfort and Della was fully encouraging of this. It’s good to step out of your comfort zone every once in a while and to not stay so boxed in to one area. She claimed that “every journey begins with a single step” which is a motivating and good thing for a kid to hear.

Della never once forced Huey out of his comfort zone and slowly allowed him to do it himself. This is completely his choice and Della is just encouraging it which is a good thing. Theres nothing wrong with stepping out of your comfort zone as long as you aren’t being forced into uncomfortable situations.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Della & Dewey

In season one Dewey discovered information about his mom and found out about the Spear of Selene so it’s only natural that the two would bond well together once she had come back.

Della does relate to each of the boys in different aspects but Dewey was definitely meant to be the one she related to the most. Dewey is like a mirror of Della. They’re both very similar and the show wants you to know that. They’re both hyper, ambitious, and jump into action/danger.

With this information in mind, it is known that since they’re similar they have a lot of moments together throughout the show. This does NOT mean she picks favorites as some people like to point out. She loves each of her kids individually and just because she is similar to Dewey that doesn’t mean she favors him the most.

Della and Dewey instantly went on an adventure together after the episode Della came back. Throughout the episode “Raiders of The Doomsday Vault!” Della taught Dewey how to fly the plane and they both defy Scrooge to go on their own little adventure to the money tree. Della and Dewey both struggle in this episode with each other: learning to say no.

Della is very encouraging to Dewey and tells him he can do anything he sets his mind to. When a kid as young as Dewey gets told this by their mother they truly feel that they can do anything no matter how impossible. This can be both good and bad for a multitude of reasons. While, yes, it is good to encourage your kid that they can do things it can also be very dangerous since the kid could get into bad situations.

Dewey started to get more risky the more Della convinced him he could do anything. When he hopped toward the money seeds, no ground beneath him, Della started to panic, thinking he’d fall. Dewey just convinced her it would be fine, “I can do anything! Just like you told me!”

Della started to realize that maybe what she had said wasn’t the best but she didn’t stop him. Once he made it to the money seeds, accidentally planted them, he slipped and fell when he realized he couldn’t do it. Della saved him and Dewey suddenly felt like he let her down.

“Raiders of the Doomsday Vault!” Episode 13, season 2

Dewey let out his emotions and Della convinced him that he didn’t need to impress her. Dewey didn’t need to be her. He had limits, obviously, and there was just some things he couldn’t do that she could. But no matter what she would always love him.

Della made a very simple mistake that a lot of parents make. It’s not talked about a lot because not everyone sees any bad in encouraging your kid but sometimes in situations like this it can go too far. No one usually wants to say no to their kid or tell them they can’t do something.

Throughout the show Della seems to be very supportive of Dewey and what he wants to do (an example of this is “The Lost Cargo of Kit Cloudkicker!” Episode 20, season 3.) It’s hard for Della to say no because she wants to support Dewey no matter what even if it’s something he’s not so good at.

Again, theres nothing wrong with doing this. Dewey will grow and learn that the hobby he wanted to do so bad wasn’t something he was so good at. Dewey is a kid who seems to jump from one hobby/activity to the next. And once he discovers he’s bad at something he will just hop to the next thing to see if he’s good at it. And Della will always be encouraging and supportive no matter what new thing he tries.

I’ve seen a point being made that Della is too dangerous and isn’t considering her kid’s safety. Just to clarify this is a Ducktales! This shows whole premise is big, dangerous, adventures. Scrooge Mcduck puts these kids through so many dangerous situations that is the point of the show. But people seem to pick on Della more for doing the same thing Scrooge does. I understand not every character is into big and dangerous adventures (Ex: Louie, Donald) but that is more of an issue that needs to be communicated with the rest of the family.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Della & Louie

This is where people have the most complaints regarding Della. You could say that Louie is the complete opposite of how Dewey is with Della. But this doesn’t necessarily mean Della and Louie don’t have a good relationship. In “Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” It is very clear to the audience that Louie is confused and has complicated feelings towards his mom unlike Huey and Dewey.

Not only does Della unintentionally ignore Louie’s feelings but so does his brothers. Both Huey and Dewey are happy that their mom is back while Louie seems confused and conflicted by his own feelings. This is a completely valid emotion for Louie to have. If someone you barely know comes back after a long time it can be hard to trust them or see them as family.

“Nothing Can Stop Della Duck!” Episode 12, season 2

Louie expresses his feelings about his mom and even felt guilty for feeling this way. Della over heard this and it hurt her, for obvious reasons. But then later, near the end of the episode, Della saved Louie from the Gilded Man which was a very emotional moment for him. Della and Louie hugged then Della said to her three kids, “I know you’re not used to having a mom…and I am not used to being one, but I’ll figure it out as we go along. In time.” To which Louie smiled and responded back with, “we all will.”

Even though Della was talking to all three of her boys here you can tell it was more directed toward Louie considering he was the one that felt conflicted with their mom coming back. Della saying this and Louie’s response is like a silent agreement that they both understand each other in some way. Della will figure out how to be a mom and Louie will figure out how to have a mom.

Another big important moment between the two comes from “Timephoon!” In season two episode 21. Throughout this episode Della is convincing herself, and others, that she is a cool mom. She’s not strict and she is completely ok with the kids bringing in a cave Duck that came from no where. While a storm is happening outside the family is forced to stay indoors. Dewey and Webby get food prepared which is revealed to be chili dogs. Beakley is highly against it while Della is fully ok with it.

While watching it’s noticeable how often Beakley picks on Dellas parenting style. She’s too ok with what her kids are doing and she lets things go easily. That is until things get more and more out of hand when they discovered that different people from the past were appearing in the present time. Scrooge and Beakley instantly assume that one of the kids must have caused it. Della, on the other hand, is certain that her kids could not be the cause of it.

While Beakley and Della fight ninjas from the past, Della is still not convinced that her kids would be the cause of the time incident. She believed that her kids are “good kids” and says so to Beakley.

“Even good kids do dumb things and we have to make sure those dumb things don’t turn into bad things.”

Beakley is stating that good kids can make mistakes but that it’s a parent’s responsibility to make sure they don’t make more or worse mistakes. If a kid makes a big mistake, but they don’t learn from it, that can lead them down a bad path. At the end of the day a kid needs discipline to learn from their behavior and to never make that mistake again.

That being said there are right ways to discipline but there are also very, very, bad ways to discipline (ex: any form of hitting/spanking). But i believe Della handled it well.

“Timephoon!” Episode 21, season 2

In the end Della found out that Louie had been hiding the fact that he stole the time tub from Gyros lab to steal treasure from the past which, in return, caused time to get screwed up. Della was furious when she found out and took Beakleys advice into account. She realized that Beakley was right: kids need discipline even if you love them. Tough love. So Della gave him a stern talking to and explained that what he did was wrong: he stole and he almost lost his family by causing them to go back in time. So Della grounded Louie when no one else was going to.

Louie was mad, obviously. He’s a kid and to him he felt it was unfair, no kid wants to be grounded. But he needed the grounding to learn his lesson. Once Louie marched to his room Della dropped to her knees. On her exterior she had been trying to remain strong and tough towards Louie but once he was gone she expressed how hard it was for her to do it.

Beakley let her know that it would make Louie a better person in the future to learn from those mistakes. No matter what anyone says a child needs proper discipline. It’s hard to raise a kid and not everyone wants to discipline their child. But it is needed so they don’t step all over their parental figure and get away with things.

No one else was going to do anything about Louie’s behavior. He’s a kid and he’s obviously gonna make mistakes but he needs to learn from them and not get away with it, especially if it hurts others.

People seem to take this scene way too seriously even going as far as to say that Della is an abuser or a terrible parent for this reason. This is an absurd way of thinking. No good mother is going to allow their kid to get away with their behavior and potentially hurt others.

Louies grounding was completely deserved because he did something he really shouldn’t have done. Also this clearly isn’t Della “picking favorites.” If Dewey or Huey did something this bad Della would also ground them. Huey, Dewey, and Louie are all different and those differences come with some negative and some positive attributes and behaviors. Louie gets into more trouble than his brothers due to his money schemes so, eventually, it’s gonna bite him in the ass. And as we see here, it did.

The episode that comes after (GlomTales! episode 22, season 2) is another big moment between Louie and Della. In this episode Louie is grounded and he’s forbidden to leave his room. The family is getting ready to go to Big Rock Candy Mountain without Louie which is unfortunate since it’s the perfect place for him. Cherry pep springs, gold/money, being lazy. This was unlike their other adventures which were usually more dangerous and less enjoyable for Louie.

When Louie found out they were going he was mad and demanded he go too but Della claimed that he was still grounded and couldn’t come. I see this as an unfortunate coincidence considering Louie conveniently got grounded before they went on the trip. Scrooge chose this adventure as a victory to when he would beat Glomgold in the money bet. Della didn’t choose this adventure to purposely upset Louie as she didn’t choose it at all. But her grounding against Louie still stood. Just because they were going on a fun adventure this time that didn’t make him any less grounded.

The only complaint I have against this situation is that I wish Della didn’t go on the adventure. Even though Louie did have protection at the mansion due to the home security I still feel as though Della should have stayed home with him. I also do feel like the family going on this adventure is to poke more fun at Louie since it’s a place he’d actually enjoy but that isn’t necessarily the fault of Della or Scrooge. It was just imperfect timing.

While grounded Louie tries to use his phone or even Hueys tablet but Della programmed a way to only show videos of her giving lectures. This can be a good way to get your kid to listen when they have nothing else to do in a boring room. Preferably, though, I’d say Della should give those talks in person so it’s most likely that Louie would listen. But I believe those lectures on the phone are meant to be taken lightly just in a way that Louie can’t use his phone or any other device.

Throughout the episode Louie is trying to escape his room to go to Big Rock Candy Mountain but the DT-87 (security robot) doesn’t make it any easier. He tried to escape multiple times only to fail each time.

Louie even dressed up as Huey to try and trick the DT-87 into believing he was Huey. This unfortunately didn’t work out as Huey conveniently called at the same time. Huey talked about how cool the place was (which obviously only made Louie more jealous). When Louie tired to ask for more details Huey hung up the call.

Louie got mad at this and asked out loud to no one in particular, “What’s so wrong with an innocent scheme?” to which the DT-87 replies back with another lecture video from his mom. Louie just rolled his eyes until Della in the video said,

“Your plans, your schemes, they only lead to bad things for your family. If you wanna be apart of this family, you’ve gotta stop.”

Louie looked guilty and slowly sat back on the floor while saying out loud, “this is the one thing I’m good at. Why can’t you see?”

“GlomTales!” episode 22, season 2

This shows a big miscommunication/misunderstanding between Louie and Della. Louie believed that his only good trait was his schemes and his ability to see every angle of a situation. Meanwhile Della is concerned about whether these schemes Louie has are good for the family if they just end up hurting everyone.

I don’t fully agree with how Della worded her statement. I understand her worry that Louie’s schemes might hurt the family, since it has before, but saying that the only way he can be apart of the family is if he stops entirely, i’d say, is going too far. This is the first time Della had ever disciplined one of her kids and, again, she’s still struggling with what’s right and what’s wrong when it comes to parenting.

I understand this doesn’t excuse her words and it may have cut deep with Louie. I do genuinely wish we got a call back of what Della had said here and that maybe Louie would bring up how much it hurt him.

Near the end of the episode after Louie took the villains (and Scrooges) money, he talked to his mom.

“I know I messed up before but seeing all the angles is what I’m good at.”

She smiled and hugged him, “ok, but you need to take care to not hurt the ones you love and i’ll be here to help you see the angles you can’t.”

“GlomTales!” episode 22, season 2

Here we see a bit more of them understanding each other. It’s not a lot but it’s a start. Della says she will be there to help him when he needs it and Louie’s learning to not hurt others with his actions (which can be debatable). There are some instances after this incident (Ex: The Richest Duck in the World! Ep 23 season 2, Louie’s Eleven! Ep 5, season 3.) where Louie does still come off as mean or selfish. This doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t learn what his mom said. It could be the case where Louie struggles with being more considerate and thoughtful of others. Again, not every kid is the same and they all learn differently.

In the second half of the “Moonvasion!” Episode, Della is struggling with wanting to keep her kids safe. They’re going through an invasion by the moon people and the kids want to help. Della, on the other hand, wants to keep her children safe. She’s already lost them once and she does not want to lose them again.

Her kids later pick up on the fact that Della was trying to get them to safety instead of getting help for the war. When they get stuck on a deserted island the kids try and find a way to get home. Meanwhile, Della is still insistent that they should just stay on the island since it’s so safe.

When they deny her she started to sulk and hide in the plane. Louie walked over and decided to talk to her. When they talked Della expressed more how she’s scared to lose them. Louie, who’s usually scared of most things, comforted her to believe it’ll be fine.

Louie noticed how Della is in clear distress about possibly losing her kids again. He sat down next to her and had a talk with her.

“Moonvasion! Part ll” Episode 25, season 2

Louie admits to her that he hates surprises and that’s because they come unexpectedly and a lot of the time they’re bad. But when a bad surprise comes, that can also lead to a good surprise. Implying that his mom was a good surprise for him.

Louie loves his mom no matter what anyone thinks or believes. He wouldn’t just lie to her face if that was the case and probably wouldn’t have said this at all. He was really happy when his mom came back he was just indifferent about her which is understandable.

Just because he was confused about her at first, that doesn’t mean he hates her. Just because he got discipline from his mother, that doesn’t mean anything. They both still love each other.

“Moonvasion! Part ll” Episode 25, season 2

Della & Donald

Donald and Della broke down once they saw each other (of course, after yelling at each other). Donald thought Della, his sister, was dead for all those years. And, even though Della seemed to put him under a lot of stress, he never stopped loving her. Even when he had to take care of her kids.

He doesn’t and has never hated his sister. He also doesn’t seem sad to let Della take care of the kids again. If anything he’s probably grateful since he was struggling so bad with money (this doesn’t mean he doesn’t still love the triplets.) Obviously he’s still gonna see them, he is their uncle, after all.

Just because Della is taking her kids back, that doesn’t mean Donald is against this. He was going to go on his own trip with Daisy and start his own life with her (“The Last Adventure! part I” Ep 22, season 3). Della was even against this, as she wanted to spend more time with him, but eventually she knew it was best to let him go.

Donald and Della never show any awkwardness and hatred towards one another once she got back. Donald loves his sister and aways will.

OVER ALL

Did Della make a mistake? Yes, obviously, but that isn’t her defining feature. Donald has made mistakes (Ex: Quack Pack! Ep 2 season 3) and Scrooge has as well (Ex: New Gods on the Block! Ep 15 season 3) but no one holds those mistakes against them as much as people do with Dellas mistakes.

You could say that their mistakes weren’t as impactful or important but, and I don’t know about you, but Donald wishing he’d rather have a “normal” family isn’t too loving.

“Quack Pack!” Episode 2, season 3

I’m not saying he’s awful for this. He obviously has reasons for wishing and thinking this (wanting his family to remain safe and out of trouble) but he still made a mistake and he then went to apologize to them and help them. He was forgiven by his family and no one in the fandom bat an eye.

Scrooge is another example. He treated the triplets and Webby like they were useless, even if he did it unintentionally, he was still going to replace them in some way. Della was even the one to try and help the kids and motivate them that they could do anything and to not listen to Scrooge.

“New Gods on the Block!” Ep 15 season 3

Scrooge has done this a few other times in the show where he would hurt the kid’s feelings. Sometimes unintentionally while other times he would intend on coming off as hurtful.

“The Missing Links of Moorshire!” Episode 11, season 1

“The Rumble for Ragnarok!” Episode 7, season 3

People can be biased when it comes to their favorite characters which I think isn’t a set way to determine whether a character is good or bad. If Donald, Scrooge, or Della did something bad it should be acknowledged and not just thrown under the rug just because they may be your favorites. But to obsess over EVERY mistake a character has made can also be very tedious because they will always make a mistake of some kind.

I acknowledge Dellas mistakes but I don’t obsess over it and make it her whole personality (just like how I don’t do this with Donald or Scrooge). I see how she genuinely feels bad and has made up for her mistakes and THAT’S how I determine whether a character is in good faith or not. If I saw that she didn’t feel bad about her actions then my opinion on her would change into a negative one. But since the show represents Della as a kind hearted character who saw how negative her actions were my opinion on her is a good one.

These characters are bound to make mistakes it’s natural and it’s what makes a character realistic and complex. Sometimes it can range from little things like lying and other times it can be big things that can impact a characters life. It can make a story interesting and, in Dellas case, I was really interested in what the Ducktales 2017 show did to her and her story.

It was heartbreaking and sad, in my opinion. She was lost and she had to be stuck for years knowing that it was her fault that she was in that predicament. She knew that her kids were growing up without her.

No one’s denying that Della has made a mistake, but to make it an excuse as to why Della is a terrible person or parent is lazy thinking. I truly believe that people don’t look as in-depth with her character and only see her for her mistakes. This is ridiculous especially if you don’t hold other characters to that same standard.

That’s all <3

(I also love Della and Webbys relationship. “The Golden Armory of Cornelius Coot.” Season 2, episode 20 is a good example of a nice moment between them.)

[backjustforberena]

I'm so tired of people criticizing Rhaenys just because they can't grasp a nuanced conversation. I keep rolling my eyes when they bring up Jaehaerys or Luke taking Aemond's eye—it wasn't that hard to understand her point.

By the way, I'd like to know your opinion on Corlys when he said, "then we must hope to see our way forward in time." Some people think he was hinting at having a son, especially since he was holding Rhaenys's hips. However, in my opinion, he was already considering his bastards.

I'm on my mobile phone right now, so apologies for any mistakes or autocorrect mishaps that I fail to spot.

It is frustrating to see the criticism of Rhaenys but, as things have gone on, it's become fairly unsurprising to me. Sad, though. I think there are a myriad of reasons why Rhaenys as a character particularly seems to suffer from woeful interpretation from some viewers. This can range simply from her not behaving like however the watcher might have envisioned her character in the book, to having a certain negative opinion of her to be applied every time she speaks or acts, no matter what.

I think a lot is to do with Rhaenys's positioning. You need to engage with Rhaenys to fully appreciate her point of view. Her perspective is not an easy one to come by unless you make the effort to understand some fundamental truths about her. And, on screen, she is a character who is ambiguous, certainly in the first season. She is deliberately cautious and her speech reflects that.

We very rarely see her vulnerable and very rarely see her being inconsiderate of context. We have an idea of her backstory but we have not seen everything she has been through or how major events have shaped her, personally, on an emotional level. We are denied seeing unguarded responses or aftermaths.

She is frequently a vehicle for uncomfortable truths. She mainly shines in 1 vs 1 scenes, and they often include some judgement or passing of information or confrontation. When the scene partner is a favourite character or a character who has had more prominent screentime, it's very easy to discredit Rhaenys because to credit her would be to admit some flaw or ugliness about the other player. So much that I've seen is about what Rhaenys's words mean for that person or that issue rather than what it tells us about Rhaenys. What Rhaenys is thinking of considering. What her perspective is. And to also admit that an audience's perspective on something is different to Rhaenys's, either by proximity (our sense of time between things is different due to the storytelling) or by information (us being aware of things or details Rhaenys isn't - or IS, as as may be the case with various relationships and her past and her claim).

So I think a lot of hate comes from a lack of willingness to engage with what and who Rhaenys is. Rhaenys is usually, frankly, an onion.

On to your question about Rhaenys and Corlys and Corlys's intentions... He is not hinting at having a son with Rhaenys. Rhaenys is in her 50s at least and is a menopausal woman, if we take Eve Best's word for it. She is NOT having a baby. Corlys is just putting his hands on her hip for the same reason she puts her hand in his hair: they want to be close and love one another and they're also always one good reason away from having sex.

Do I think he's considering Alyn and Addam? Actually... no, I don't. Certainly NOT consciously. It's not an option right now, not with Rhaenys living and, and I cannot stress this enough, Corlys is not expecting to lose his wife. Nothing about that conversation suggests that, nor have any of their others. The possibility of HIM dying has come up. Her? No.

I think it's a general feeling of wanting to avoid the issue for the sake of peace with his wife. He just doesn't want to have the conversation. I think he is also still grappling with his own mortality, having nearly died and having had Luke die. He may simply not want to move on from that space yet. He's asking for time. He's still including her with "we", but it's a tricky conversation and not one he's up to having. Nor one that he wants to admit to have to have.

In short: dumbass is trying to deflect.

[lackey-of-louis-du-point-du-lac]

Although I've put some distance over fan discourse now because it's a lot and very buzz right now I actually can't stop thinking about the argument about Who Is The True Big Bad.

Though I once believed that they are all bad in their own respective degrees (leaving out the murder they all commit) I recently changed my mind.

Louis' story is a story at its core about a human who has been oppressed his whole life and struggles with his Morality even before the whole "you have to kill people to survive" thing started. Louis' story is about being human in a vampire's lifestyle. And it's understandable because he sees his world as a human and himself a monster.

Everyone defending Lestat saying what he did was fine or normal for a vampire aren't wrong. It is normal for him to act violently. It's their nature as Vampires. But it's also...wrong.

Lestat is the villain because we see it in a lens of a human. Louis will always be human so his horrors will always be leveled in terms of the humanity he clings to. The cheating, the screaming, the apathy to his family and business are everything everyone sees as a horror. A tragedy. Especially to Louis. He doesn't understand it. He fears it. And it hurts him.

Louis is a connection to the world and we can't fault him for being himself, for valuing his humanity.

But for Lestat Louis is kinda the villain in his story. Or better fitting his "Judas". In his own way Lestat clings to the parts of him that he desires to fulfil about himself. To be loved. Wanted and joined in a companionship. To be a monster without apology or shame. Louis does not fulfil this and it frustrated Lestat. He acts out. He doesn't understand that acting out or the way he does it is wrong. He acts towards Louis as if he's already a well versed vampire or someone who takes to vampirism well. He expects this from Louis when it isn't FAIR for him to do so since he knows, somewhat, how Louis thinks but this doesn't stop him.

And I know this is the point of the show but also now that I've understood the show a bit better over time Louis is Lestat's lover in the truest word. I think Lestat Loves Louis more than Louis does most of the time. Louis might be full of humanity than any other vampire out there but Lestat is filled with Love than any other vampire out there.

I always thought of Nikki as "the one who got away" but the more I learned about him, he was more of a tumble and stumble into love. Lestat loved him but he never really gave himself into Nikki as much. There are parallels between Louis and Nikki (which is a post for another day) that are obvious. But what really makes Louis and Nikki different is that Nikki was made and left. Once he got mad and guilty and depressed Lestat had left. When Louis got like that Lestat didn't leave and even when he did it was far. He knew that Louis was still home.

But I digress that's not the point. The point is that Louis out of all them is not a true victim but can't ever be a true villain. Louis is so human it hurts and so we are forced to see through the lens of defining good Vs evil through it because that's what he does to himself.

Yes they all do horrible things to others and to each other but out of all of them (Claudia aside because she's really the true victim as they took a lot of her own agency away from her) Louis is not as bad. I do not think he is. Of course this does not mean any of them deserve love any less.

I just think painting them as villains is not really encompassing them all but if we have to then Louis should not be the top and most hated one. If we have to judge them as villains I think that it won't do to judge them based on opinion but rather how much agency one had and what they reacted with. Along with that how much power and what they do with it.

[kzele]

Unpopular TSSM Opinion

Sha-Shan was a better example of a serious moral compass love interest to Flash than Gwen was to, well, anybody.

The gal clearly has no problem turning a guy down until they've proven he isn't a too much of a douche. And she doesn't care how popular they are. If they make make the right, but hard choices, then they've got her interest.

Gwen, on the other hand, can’t seem to judge any of her friend’s moods or situations correctly and make an appropriate decision. For instance, whether as friends or love interests she and Harry are a dumpster fire. When the guy passes out in the courtyard and then avoids her, what does she do? Does she (a) tell her COP dad about it at home, (b) tell Harry’s father, (c) tell a teacher/coach/school counselor AKA any other figure in a position of actual authority? Nope. She tells Peter that something’s wrong with Harry, but doesn’t elaborate enough for him to take her concerns seriously, so he puts it among the lesser problems he has to deal with. Because if Peter was actually told the specifics, this would be MUCH higher on his problems list. There’s no way he’d have to be bullied into talking with Harry, otherwise. (Also, how is it possible that she couldn’t sense anything off about Eddie after he returned to the lab? He’s obviously creepy and fake and you’ve known him since you were both in single digits. If it was just Eddie this happened with, I wouldn’t be having my doubts about her judgement.)

This brings me to my next point about boundaries. Peter respects hers more than she respects his. Thus, she can only enforce her boundaries and/or will if someone already respects her. Harry and Gwen’s full-on couple status is proof. Harry’s shoved her against a locker, jumped over her during a villain attack (did he ever apologize for that?), and the first thing he does is ignore his new girlfriend in favor of calling his dad about having a girlfriend. Oh, and she’s ignoring all these red flags in an implied attempt to make Peter jealous. Nuff said about that ball of toxicity they got going on.

Flash saw Sha-Shan as a hot nerd/rebound, then as a challenge, and finally as someone whom he wants to be respected by. She didn’t let him get anywhere by being a jerk or overstepping. Granted, she had the benefit of not caring about Flash’s opinion of her, like Gwen would with long-time friends. And yet, despite being very judgy about him at the start, once they’re together she understands that Flash will say/do dumb things but it doesn’t take away from his good heart. Sha-Shan accepts him and his flaws. Ironically, despite Gwen being in love with Peter over Harry, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a time where she cuts Peter any slack for anything even when it’s not his fault. Including and up to not dying.(Not actually joking about that. See Christmas Tree aftermath s2ep3.) Maybe it’s just me, but I swear Harry and Eddie could be be kicking puppies off the Brooklynn Bridge in front of her and she’d be giving Peter the silent treatment for missing her calls trying to stop it.

I'm aware that Gwen isn't evil whatsoever but I find her immensely frustrating when TSSM has better female characters to choose from. And this post is for other people who agree with me. I'm not denying the flaws of anyone else here, be it Peter or Harry or whoever else, but I can't cover my thoughts on all the dynamics at play here without overloading my laptop and this site. I feel like Gwen's actions in the show get glossed over a lot. I've seen Peter and Harry get criticized for their actions and sympathy for their differently bad lives within the show, but Gwen. . .doesn't get that same scrutiny. She makes objectively horrible/stupid choices about how to go about things in her relationships but somehow she seems to get less spotlight shed on those things. Instead, the responsibility is often shoved the two guys for screwing up, despite either having far more on their plate or a bad home life. Anyways, I've rambled incoherently enough. Hope it brought you some food for thought even if you don't agree with everything.