#and serena being the only one of the main cast who was born and raised in the city and therefore has such a deep connection to it before
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ichorblossoms · 1 year ago
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having ttw Thoughts while reading house of leaves but it's nothing that's lead to a breakthrough yet so i'm just like soaking in the vibes
#ttw's been in limbo for the past few months. as it is wont to do really#there's a lot of nebulous connective tissue that's currently the middle of the story and it needs more direction but nothing has really bee#particularly exciting for my brain to gnaw on#also honeybee's been my brain's Focus for the past few months so it's not like i'm twiddling my thumbs with nothing to write#but yeah house of leaves and ttw it's like. okay the House super parallels what i want of the undertow as this like. nebulous structure#that's kind of alive on its own and doesn't adhere to any actual expectations of space#(the undertow is like. the semi-literal bowels of the city of sanguine)#and i knew that going in to the story that it was going to be similar so that's somethign that's sparking some things#but also the main character. one of the mains idk how to even articulate that. main narrator i think.#anyways he reminds me of leon as someone who doesn't have much going for him being super fucking susceptible prey of sorts for this...nebul#ous entitiy#not to mention my thoughts on the city of sanguine as like how a city is given life by its denizens. and that interpretation of the city-#affects how the undertow manifests for different people#and how it (sanguine) wants people to stay but will happily let you go if it knows you'll come right back to it#but if you want to Leave it'll happily trap you in endless corridors for ever and ever#and serena being the only one of the main cast who was born and raised in the city and therefore has such a deep connection to it before#yknow. realizing it's Alive in a way#vs the rest of the cast who have all moved to the city and don't see sanguine the same#vs leon too who has absolutely adopted this city as their home and what that means#oh that is a Tag Ramble hello#rambles#thicker than water
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Alright Mika you asked for this
@narcissisticvictorian
Context: this is a post-apocalyptic world with two main opposing sides, those who manage to get a place inside an underground city and those who managed to survive outside of it. There are also humans on Mars.
The underground people's naming fashions are intentionally questionable. The underground people are intentionally questionable. It's not their fault, they just don't know better. Yet.
Generation 1:
Serena (she/her)
-do not mess with this woman or you will soon learn why that was a bad idea
-tendency to be...how do I put this, political
-literally no friends, only haters and followers and a few people who tolerate her at lunch
-actually of sound mind and tries to change things for the better
-does not sleep
-you do not want to know what happens to her. I do not want to know what happens to her. My mind knows and I wish it didn't, it's not...it's not good to think about.
There's also her illusive enemy's figurehead but let's not go there yet.
Three generations pass: you do not. want. to. know. what happens. Most people survive fine and get to somewhat establish a life, but some...new rules and major life events are introduced. But basically no one is raised by their parents anymore
Gen 2: Gen 3's parents basically, I'll explain more when I get there
Generation 3: Rebellion
Atziam (they/them)
-rebel rebel, a two-faced liar, cosplays as a perfect science student
-think Vi from Arcane but with extreme caution born from constant fear, and a lab coat
-confident introvert, only their best friend and squish know they have a heart (and weaknesses)
-developed a new language with their mom in which Atziam means hope (atzi=fire, ziam=night)
-they/them, asexual
-extremely vengeful
-likes to read and daydream and think
Rani (she/it)
-average on purpose, keeps to the background, secretly runs the entire circus that is their friend group
-the only sane person in the whole gen 3 cast, the only voice of reason, liked and trusted by basically everybody
-likes to try weird food combos and loves growing abnormal plants
-ecology and agriculture student
-somehow simultaneously more and less emotional than everyone else
-when Rani snaps, run
Neriko/Neri (she/they)
-female (or feminine nonbinary idk how to explain) sherlock holmes with manners
-or not (sarcastic as fuck)
-enjoys victory immensely, think Kirari
-studies physics and history
-sweet tooth, likes sweet flowery tea and fancy things, and is a book nerd
-slightly political and slightly bossy but mostly just gives sarcastic input
-gets shit done but freaks out when asked to make decisions under pressure
-likes to do her hair up, mostly in a bun over her head when there's no time for anything else
-HATES Atziam and hates being challenged
Cora (she/they)
-give her all the love she's attention starved
-hopeless romantic and constantly worried abt appearance and performance and all that
-tries to please everyone and clings to Neri in the beginning, however as the story progressed Cora will go through some big character development just you wait
-chemistry student and really invested in science stuff but holds herself back
Caspian (he/they)
-kind of lost??
-doesn't really know who he is or what a personality is (but will figure this out eventually)
-just wants to exist
-constantly tired of Scarlet
-guard
Scarlet
-hates given name so she changed it, she was called scarlet witch (derogatory) for dyeing her hair red very young so she just...reclaimed it out of spite I guess
-very extremely stubborn and angry and I mean will fight anyone for any reason
-loud and rude but actually respects boundaries??
-might be aro???
-also guard like Caspian (they're like siblings and constantly fighting but also best friends)
Snow (she/they)
-quiet and extremely nice, very soft, you can't not like her
-also small and wears mostly blue and white
-yes that's a chosen name she's trans
-studies medicine and psychology
-secondary passion is music and visual arts
-reading comprehension problems
-really likes decorated knives and blades for some reason
-very aesthetic focused
-prefers to sit weird on table surfaces rather than in a chair
-has a habit of stealing random things and sneak into random places just to see if she can (she can)
-gets along well with Atzi and Rani
And many others
Also gen 3 from Mars:
Tega Scott
-shsishdidgsaisbsjdiahsjsi
-she.
-she doesn't hesitate to do what needs to be done, no nonsense, no wasted time, nothing.
-Tega is short for Ortega, named after the character from Altered Carbon BUT think more Quellcrist Falconer
-leader. I can't find any other way to describe her. She doesn't try to be but that's where she ends up. She's always doing things
-she was a bit asocial growing up and her only good friend used to he her study partner from earth (Atziam), they're the only one she's opened up to as a teen
-her worst trait is how uncompromising she is with her decisions, she doesn't let anyone get in her way and will burn herself out trying to reach a goal she's set and she can only do team play when she focuses very hard. That's why she once hesitated with everything and it will also be her downfall
-she's used to having enemies and having to go through them, but she has a few casual friends she trusts
-she's an only child and her parents are usually busy but they all love each other, but...well, they're all very stubborn. So they fight and when they do it can get pretty bad.
-she cut ties with Atziam because she was falling in love and she couldn't handle that since they're on different planets. (Tega's asexual)
Gen 4
Keizan / Varjon / "Key" (he/they)
-basically the reluctant prince of the former underground cities
-daddy AND mommy issues but doesn't show it
-hates his mother, biological dad some unknown person in high society, liked his adopted dad and half-sister though
-leaves for the outer cities, changes his name and disappears and almost dies several times
-does he have emotions? no one knows
-doesn't understand people at all, very confused all the time abt people
-no personal moral compass, asks his friend instead and has adopted her idea of right and wrong over time, and he trusts her more than he trusts himself.
-very polite at all times and very chill, never loses composure
-will get stabbed, say "ow" in a casual tone and sort of laugh before collapsing, and he'll just look at you confused if you charge at him with a knife
Vale (she/they)
(not me and not a character I kin, I just found the name while searching for a name for this character)
-military family, youngest, two older brothers
-tomboyish but only kind of
-colorful hair, huge t-shirts and weird sunglasses when she has the chance
-very professional and serious when necessary but more silly/goofy when not working, basically night and day
-strong sense of right and wrong and basically functions as Key's moral compass
-very compassionate
-doesn't get angry easily but when she does...well. sometimes she loses her head and Key logics her out of it. They're a good team
(Outside the underground people's cities now expanded above ground for resources) (descendants of the people who were closed outside of the bunkers in year 0)
Arunn (he/him)
-oh dear he has trauma
-always sits weird, barely talks, talks in a manner the others find "off", can somewhat read social cues but doesn't care, just...they don't understand him and would rather believe the worst than try to understand
-literally rejected by everyone until they discover he's actually incredibly intelligent and the only person in their community who understands how their enemy works when they're attacked
-before that he had one friend, a mentor of sorts who taught him how to hunt, and he contributes by hunting alone or with his mentor using traps and a bow and arrows, spending a lot of time alone out there, also sneaking closer to the newly re-inhabited cities and learning about them (this knowledge is what eventually buys him a place in his own community)
-sometimes frees the animals he's caught for food
-likes berries and fruit
-actually doesn't mind people and cares about everyone's well-being but he just gets tired trying to communicate and doesn't want to be yelled at
-likes to climb things and is really good at it, has crow friends he's taught to find potential food
-basically aroace
Aojasin (it/he/they)
-vampire coded but not a vampire
-extremely pretty
-rich bitch with heavy material girl energy and a minor god complex, think if Light Yagami didn't care abt justice and liked fancy and flowy clothes instead
-not exactly evil but definitely not good. Very selfish, only interested in personal gain and not shy about it, and he struggles to see other people as people
-it's not exactly all his fault though, he's practically worshipped where he's from bc he likely has a mutation that protects him from the affects of radiation, meaning he's protected by everyone and gets all the attention from suitors, he's basically groomed to be the next ruler of the region (this world suffers from radiation pollution and it's causing a lot of health problems for everyone especially outside the underground bunker thing)
-very kind to his parents and younger sister who he actually sees as people like him, so there's hope
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laureviewer · 5 years ago
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Dragons Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age—A Review
WARNING: (not full) spoilers below.
‘We did it darliiiings!’
That’s what I cried, a-la the Great Sylvando, once I finished this game. 112 hours in, and all the way through it showed no signs of slowing. Which, for a shameless JRPG-lover like myself, is exactly what I want in a game. Hours and hours of combat, exploration through stunning scenery, empathetic and deep characters and, most importantly, a completely immersive and entertaining story that I can’t wait to see the climax—but, crucially, I can.
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The Chosen One
The story begins in Erdrea, where monsters have invaded the fantastical world—why, we’re not quite sure. All we know, as the infant protagonist, is that we are found washed up on the riverbank by a kindly old man named Chalky, who takes us to his village and gives us to our adoptive mother, Amber.
And, guess what? He’s the Chosen One—the Luminary. You’d have thought our hero would have realised something was different about him with the presence of a very specific birthmark tattooed on the back of his hand, but he and his childhood friend Gemma do come from a sheltered town with very little knowledge of the outside world, after all. True to form for a lot of adventure games, he’s the only one who can save the world. After finding this out in a coming-of-age ceremony a few years later, Amber tells him to go to King Carnelian of Heliodor, who is sure to help him understand what all this means. Right?
If our silent protagonist could talk, this is where he would be screaming, ‘I’m not the Darkspawn!’ as King Carnelian throws him in the dungeon. But thank Yggdrasil he did, or we wouldn’t meet our first companion in our band of loveable misfits.
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The Power of Friendship
I’m still unsure why, after so many hours of gameplay, why Erik endears himself the most to me, but he does. Sure, he’s the first one you meet, and you team up to escape the dungeon (running from a giant dragon along the way!), but he’s also a dishonest thief. Throughout the game, you never quite know if he’s in it for himself or to help you save the world. I’ve concluded that he’s actually doing it for you, and your budding bromance…or, at least, that’s my own head cannon. He’s misunderstood. His cutting sarcasm is welcome in a story of overly keen optimists (see: Sylvando). And he’s who the hero seems to look at whenever there’s a sweet, sentimental moment in the story, cementing their true friendship.
Or, maybe it’s because Akira Toriyama drew these characters, and his colourful hair and spunky attitude remind me of my childhood DBZ crush, Trunks. Either way, I’m Team Erik, with his knife-wielding, quick-thinking style of fighting, all the way. My only gripe is that his damage wasn’t that great for me until endgame, unfortunately.
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Even though we don’t meet Sylvando until later, it seems that my mind demands he be the next to discuss—much like Sylvando demands much of the attention within the game. We first meet him at the circus, where he is a beloved performer. His quest is to make the people of the world smile—a noble endeavour in a world where the Dark One is coming to rid the world of happiness for good. He is the absolute epitome of flamboyance: he calls your band of companions ‘darlings’; he has a half-naked ship captain with bulging muscles and a pink face mask called Dave, of all things; and he even leads a peacock-feathered parade at a certain point in the game, which the hero must cheerily join in, feathers and sassy sway absolutely necessary.
And yet, he doesn’t simply function as comic relief. He is brave, charming, sympathetic, and quite often the heart of the group. He is always the one to ask if a character is okay, or if they need help, and has conviction that only Henrik, our resident knight in shining armour, would rival. Plus, he’s fantastic with a whip (because of course he is) and has some fabulous healing moves that have saved me more than once in a tough fight. The group would be nothing without Sylvando—and he absolutely knows it!
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Veronica & Serena serve as our other characters who are bound by destiny. They are Keepers, born to protect aid the Luminary on his quest. As twins, you’d expect them to look the same…but, after an encounter with monsters, Veronica was turned into a child, and is stuck that way. As an offensive mage who hates being treated like a child, she serves as the brash one of the group, quick to anger, much like her fiery spells.
Serena, on the other hand, serves as the yin to Veronica’s yang. She is temperate and always willing to help, if somewhat hapless. The primary healer of the group, she excels in restorative and defensive magic, and has a harp to while away the less hopeful days. As a pair, these two are steadfast, loyal, and…to be honest, aren’t much more interesting than that, unless Veronica is being goaded into an argument.
Until the later game, anyway. I won’t spoil that here, but will just say I underestimated both their spell casting abilities and their importance in the story. 
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You know how the hero is the Chosen One, the Luminary and the absolute saviour of the world? Well, he also happens to be a Prince of Dundrasil. Had the fates been kinder, he might have been brought up in a huge castle, with loving royal family around to raise and guide him.
Rab, a fierce, playful and wise old man (with a banging Scottish accent) is ready to heal, attack with offensive magic, and guide our hero around the expansive world. And, as we find out after defeating him and his sexy companion in a battle competition in Octagonia (see: Jade), he is also grandfather to our hero, and thus a Lord of Dundrasil himself. He may seem old, but not only does he have royal blood, but he is a capable spell-caster and martial artist, making it apparent that he is one of the most capable companions in the game. If I were to ask anyone for advice, knowing that he would neither mince his words nor omit anything important, I would go to Rab.
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You know what any game directed at kids needs? That’s right, a sexy warrior princess that you can stick in a bunny costume for most of the game. Even if you choose not to do that, her combat outfit doesn’t leave much to the imagination.
Thankfully, Jade isn’t just eye-candy. She has far more going for her. She’s a Princess of Heliodor, the hero’s childhood companion who lost him as a baby. She just wants to find him, her younger brother figure (sadly), and help him fulfil his destiny. Plus, as a battle and spear fighter, she has some of the strongest moves in the game—albeit mostly from her sexy, love-based moves such as ‘Hip Thrust’ and ‘Sexy Beam’, only comparable with Sylvando’s equally as sexy and flamboyant ‘Lashings of Love’ and ‘That’s Amore’ moves. She’s a badass bitch who takes no crap from lovestruck men or monsters.
Though, she has her very own Princess Leia moment, where she is captured by a horrific, giant, evil and ugly monster and made to wear a sexy outfit (hey, there’s that bunny girl outfit again). It is heavily implied she has been under his mind control, and that he’s been having his ‘wicked way’ with her. Good thing she comes out of it with sexy vampire powers, isn’t it?
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HEAVY SPOILERS NOW. I warn you, don’t go any further if you care about that kind of thing.
Our final companion is one who doesn’t show up until late game. Sir Henrik, a Knight of Heliodor, is the hero we all need. He defends his ruler to the last (which, spoiler alert, nearly ended up being his fatal flaw), is willing to sacrifice himself for the good of all, and defends the weak: a true knight, with chivalry, bravery, and total care for all others. It’s a shame he hated the hero for the first half of the game, really.
But do I care about that? No, I care that his greatsword abilities make him an absolute tank. On a one-on-one fight, I needed him front and centre of every battle just for his incredible damage output. Against multiple enemies, he is less useful, but with his supplementary healing and defence skills, he isn’t just an attacker, but a true defender of the people to the last.  
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Calm it with the Combat
My god, this game has a lot of battles. While that’s expected for a turn-based JRPG, and there were a lot, unlike others such as Pokémon, you can choose which battles to avoid as the figures traverse the overworld. This is useful in such a slow-burning game, and also helps you find the monsters you want—again, a definite improvement on the way Pokémon works, as it saves you having to fight hundreds of creatures you don’t want to find the ones with the best EXP.
A notable exception to this is when you have to find and defeat a rare monster for a quest, which don’t traverse the overworld. This means you have to fight potentially hundreds of more common monsters to find the one you want, which can be frustrating, especially as it is all done on chance and not on how many you have defeated. While you can increase your chances with various items or equipment, it still adds a frustrating amount of time to an already long game.
Another vague annoyance is how much harder the game gets post-game. I actually did not have an issue with this, as a friend told me how to farm the elusive and high-EXP metal slimes using a particular Hero-Erik-Jade Pep Power and so I could use this ability throughout post-game. However, for those not in the know, the potentially grinding at the end of the game may put some people off finishing an already saturated game.
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What I loved about the combat was how it kept getting harder and harder. I never worried about over-levelling (as said above, I was more worried about being under levelled) and that meant I could do what I do best: do all side-quests before the end of the main story. In other JRPGs, the completionist in me has always made me want to do all side-quests, but this has meant the final boss has been underwhelming and easier than it should be.
The variation of powers and attacks was also really interesting. You can spec into different forms of fighting for each character—I went for Swords with the hero, Whips for Sylvando, Boomerangs with Erik (after using Daggers for most of the game), Heavy Wands for Rab and Veronica, Wands for Serena, Spears for Jade, and Greatswords for Henrik—and this makes all the combinations of them in the party very cool. I normally just controlled the hero during the fights and let the others fight wisely, unless there was a specific quest to fulfil or a particularly hard boss. Not only did this speed up combat, but it also helped me to learn which of their moves were the most effective against which monsters automatically and quickly, which was easier than picking moves and trying them out myself. It’s easy, with enough gold, to respec if you like, and this I’m sure could make the game fee different every time if you wanted to play with different specs.
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Pep powers were also a lot of fun. While it was sometimes annoying waiting for some or all of the characters to pep up and therefore use these moves that combine different characters’ moves for ‘Ultimate’ attacks, they provided fun cutscenes and made the battles more interesting. Plus, they reminded me a lot of DBZ moves, especially the epic ones with the hero and Rab!
Top tip: you can swap out characters and they will keep their pepped-up status. I wish I’d known about that a lot earlier!
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The monster designs are great, as per usual Akira Toriyama style. There are lots of different kinds, from slimes, to mechs, to really weird ones like the kissy lip monster and the Bongo Drongos. The bosses are also amazing. Just all the character designs, from human to monster, to anything else. I see a lot of DBZ in all of them, which is fantastic.
You know what? Here’s some pictures. You’re welcome.
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Mini Games & Challenges: Hey, I actually want to do these!
I often have issues with mini games, as sometimes they are so different from the main game that I just don’t want to spend time playing them. Gwent in another of my favourite games, The Witcher 3 is a good example: I never really learnt the rules, which I’m sure would have helped, but it was so detached from the main game I just didn’t care. Plus, it had no effect on the story or game at large, so what was the point?
In DQ11, sure, you don’t need to rack up 500,000 casino tokens in poker or the slots to buy better gear. You don’t have to finish first in all five Gallopolis horse races. Forging items isn’t totally needed to advance the game. It’s not necessary to win all five rounds of the Wheel of Harma in a certain number of moves (though this is much more like the rest of the game than the other mini games). But I did all of these, and it was great fun. It’s what’s helped make the game such a time suck (especially the casino) but I never felt like they were a chore.
Apart from the crossbow bullseyes. I did none of them as apparently I only noticed about three out of however many there are. They can suck my Sword of Light.  
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 What’s a good JRPG without me questioning the point of life after it’s over?
JRPGs do it best—fight me.
The story of DQ11 is immersive, interesting, intricate and, at times, incredibly heart-breaking. Following the hero and his friends for over 100 hours really means you get to dive into their adventure, and more so, their relationships. You truly believe why they have chosen to follow each other into danger, to protect each other as well as the world. Sure, he’s the Luminary, so Serena & Veronica, the Luminary’s guides, at least have a reason to follow him to the end. The fact he’s the Luminary at may mean the characters have more faith in him than they would anyone else without lightning powers. But, even without that, you get the impression that they trust him for his innocent and yet resolute determination to do the right thing, whatever the cost.
The NPCs in the game also provide variety and are a lot of fun. There’s a lovesick mermaid, a brilliantly incompetent prince, two brothers in Laguna di Gondolia who are trying to sell the same things to you for different prices, and Silvando’s Smile Brigade, to name just a few. Their backstories, personalities and current stories all bring life to a game already chock full of it, and makes even simple fetch quests interesting and well worth doing, if you value a good story like I do. These little touches explain why the game clocks in at well over 100+ hours, but at the same time gives true justification to why that is. It’s the difference between a boring game, and one I loved to turn on and just relax of an evening. I might not have done all that much in three hours, but I still enjoyed every minute.
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With everything considered, I will remember DQ11 fondly as one of my favourite JRPGs to date. The storyline, characters, combat and score are all fantastic and makes me wish I played the older games. Thank you, Dragon Quest, for giving me 112 hours of fun. 
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withallthingslove · 5 years ago
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the handmaid’s tale s3ep5 thoughts
PUTTING THEM OUT A DAY EARLY BECAUSE IM SO EXCITED
man just when i think im done with this show it pulls me right back in lol (okay I wasn’t actually done I just was annoyed)
baby holly is so fucking cute
so fucking cute
but man was i annoyed at the beginning of the episode... I like(ish) luke in the way that i want him to be written better and just want to be able to root for him and his story. But I constantly get annoyed with how he is written. Because he was kept alive in the show when he wasn’t in the book it’s like the writers dont know how to include him sometimes so he feels shoehorned into june’s thoughts. I love the story line of him raising holly, but then to have the opening be june talking about how much she misses being held and called june as if nick who she loves didnt do that.... it reminded me of in season 2 when june hadnt thought of luke at all and didnt want to leave nick and then suddenly in episode 9 when luke was the main focus of the episode then june thinks of him. It feels like a cop out and the writers being like “oh time to remind viewers june loves luke because we forget about him until now”
and this isn’t anything against luke. i 100% believe june loves him with all her heart. no question. but it’s like the writers think we are dumb and can’t realize that june can still love luke and their memories while also loving nick in the present. So they waste a monologue of june’s voiceover reminding us that she was married
i told you bitches serena was gonna backslide
I fucking told you
jdfghreuijgrew
if anything this demonstrates that june is a selfless mother and serena is just fucking selfish. her one good deed of letting holly go is nothing compared to june as a mother. june fucking told her seeing holly would not do any good, and she of all people knows that considering HANNAH WAS TAKEN FROM HER. but serena is delusional and she thinks its her right to go see june’s kid and june’s husband while june is stuck in gilead
that phone call with luke.... MY HEART. luke fully expressing his emotion and june trying to keep her’s in.... the utter love they have for each other to this day. one plus of this season is luke finally getting emotional moments. it’s about time
i think lawrence felt really bad for june. he says he doesn’t like her but he clearly does a little bit. the way he silently offered a handkerchief and the way he looked at her after the call ended... you could see the wheels turning in his head like “this is fucked up and i cant really do anything to help her”
tuello looking fine as always
i told one of my friends the other day that while serena sucks and she doesnt deserve love i do want her to just fuck tuello. And I said that since serena is fertile and it’s fred that is sterile she should just go have a baby with him instead. And idk if its my bias to that possible story line or what but i feel like this episode kind of hinted at that? tuello again offered her a way out of gilead and i mean... they’re both hot people and they want this show dragging on for 7 more seasons so they gotta do something
after this encounter though i stan luke
the way he said “fuck you” to serena
the way he did not give her the satisfaction of playing into her delusion 
WE STAN AN ICON
when serena very angrily went “i protected your wife” and luke went “what did you say?” .... where was serena going with that?
because she literally held june down while she was raped including when she was pregnant.... that is not protecting her. has she somehow wiped s2ep10 from her memory??? 
the only two things I could think of was either serena arranging for nick and june to sleep together (lol as if they wouldnt have anyway) and then keeping holly’s parentage a secret, or her covering for holly’s escape and june’s reassignment. If anyone else has any ideas about what that line meant feel free to reply or hit up my ask box because I wasn’t sure how to interpret it. But I interpreted luke’s reaction as either “wait what did she need protecting from?” or “shut up you are the reason she is in danger”
luke was too good for letting serena hold holly and that scene was gross... serena is NOT her mom she’s just a delusional and selfish woman
watching her cry... im supposed to feel sorry for that bitch???? I dont
as soon as fred said “it doesnt have to be” i looked into an imaginary camera like here we fucking go
at first i thought the gift for luke from june was just going to be music to remind him of her but omg
omg 
omg
omg
I knew luke was going to find out that holly is nick’s child eventually based on cast interviews
but
fjrgfhrewfjkrhfkfdjrf
i have so many thoughts on that recorded message and kind of blacked out when i realized what she was going to say. and then she said even more than i thought she would
1. june is so fucking mature. your protagonist could never
2. seriously june articulates everything so well. obviously she is ashamed that she fell in love with someone else and has conflicting feelings about loving two people. and I think it’s so great that she acknowledged that
3. she encouraged luke to move on. that’s.... really big of her. i think june at this point has resigned herself to dying in gilead. But she also tells luke that she is not the same person anymore, and that she had to make a life for herself in gilead. Which is you read any of my posts/anon replies IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN SAYING FOR 2 YEARS. Luke and june obviously love each other SOOOO much. But i think luke has been a bit more daydreamy in his thinking of being reunited while june has always been a realist. that’s why she has survived in gilead for so long
4. SHE SAID NICHOLE’S REAL NAME IS HOLLY. THANK FUCKING YOU. now we can drop the bs of nichole lol
5. She said Holly was born out of love. LOVE. And told Luke Nick’s name. NICK AND JUNE ARE HOLLY’S PARENTS. AND THEY LOVE EACH OTHER. THE WRITERS SAID NICKxJUNE RIGHTS. I have been waiting for this admittance for 5 fucking episodes because we spent so much time on serena bullshit
6. She admitted the reason she stayed was to find Hannah and try and get her out and then told luke she loved him
7. Luke’s reaction... that had to be so hard for him to hear. But at the end of the day I think it’s better to know that than to keep thinking holly is the product of rape. And that’s why june wanted him to know. Holly’s history and her true parentage are important. And I think luke’s reaction was so human and heartbreaking, but the fact luke can take care of holly i think he can have it in his heart to accept what june is saying and not resent her
aight so june’s shopping partner.... not really sure what to make of that scene. She seemed to be in shock. And so much softer than we are used to seeing and I felt like that was a hint to her true personality. But who knows
fyi in case you guys forgot... the waterfords suck ESPECIALLY SERENA 
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